rd rd th Jan 2018 23 27th Jan - 329 Feb 2014
FIRST ON THE STREET
No No 434 634
LAKES WEEKLY BULLETIN
1 J IN O 25 SI BS D E
www.lwb.co.nz • buy • accommodation • sell • information • jobs • enquiries@lwb.co.nz
This weekend demonstrates one of the most irritating things about living in a ‘destination’. The Gibbston Valley Winery summer concert attracts visitors from across New Zealand and though the concert itself is very well managed, it’s the chaos before and afterwards which really grinds my gears. My issue is with the typical demographic of these visitors. They’re older and contrary to popular opinion, they still know how to party like animals. They’ve been doing it since before we millennials were born and as far as I can tell, they’ve kept up both the pace and the debauchery. The only difference being that a few grey hairs and a handful of decades under your belt makes the chaos seem more sophisticated and therefore attracts little-to-no media attention. And I think that’s unfair. When millennials descend on the lakefront over Christmas and New Year, drinking, having fun and being noisy, public attention focusses on the few who spoil it for everyone else. The littering and bad behaviour by a few raises discussions about visitor management, banning public drinking and the problem with the youth of today. But when the older generation cause trouble, nobody calls for a drinking ban or bemoans the state of sixty-year-olds today. While trying to enjoy a quiet meal this weekend, there was a group of men my father’s age sitting near us outside of a restaurant. They slopped beer everywhere, swore loudly and argued with the bartender about how much they’d had to drink. Friends who are security staff and bartenders say this generation are more difficult to manage because they feel entitled to argue with young hospitality staff. Tell a drunk 21-year-old it’s time to go home and most often they do. Tell a drunk 60-year-old to go home and apparently, you’re likely to get an argument.
Alanis Morrisette (2nd left) with The Rees staff members Yana Holdsworth, Roman Lee-Lo and Micka McDonald at the Gibbston Valley Winery Summer Concert
The result is that people are more likely to complain or take action against a group of misbehaving, young French backpackers than a group of baby boomers from Auckland causing just as much trouble Poor behaviour isn’t a generational thing – there’s visitors of every age causing trouble and behaving badly when they visit our town. The ‘here for a good time not a long time’ attitude is not confined to young backpackers, but they’re the ones who are often blamed and berated. Though the troublemakers are a minority, they ruin the atmosphere for the rest of us and if we decide to let half of them get away with anti-social behaviour simply because of their age, we’ll never be able to manage the problem. Bethany G. Rogers Geordie Off-Shore
(Photo: Greenstone Entertainment)
YONDER, TIME IS AN ILLUSION
@yonderqt 7.30am - 1.30am
Dinner & brunch for the healthy & indulgent. Craft beers, wines & QT’s best sustainable cocktails. Happy hours 5-6pm and 9.30-11pm.
LATINO PARTY
www.qac.co.nz
New Zealand + 03 409 0994
14 Church St. Queenstown, 9300
THIS THURSDAY
@yonderqt www.yonderqt.co.nz
JOHN RAVENS WEATHER Last week John was 100% correct
RENTAL PROPERTIES
See inside back cover for our full list
TUES
WED
Mainly fine. Northwesterly.
Fine spells, a few showers.
THUR
FRI
Rain at times, Fine spells, chance clearing later. afternoon shower.
SAT
SUN
MON
Partly cloudy. Little wind.
Partly cloudy with light winds.
Fine. Light winds.