The Weekend Sun 7 March

The Bay’s largest circulating, most read newspaper.

7 March 2014, Issue 690

64,180 copies

to the homes of 159,700 residents throughout TAURANGA, MOUNT MAUNGANUI, PAPAMOA, WAIHI BEACH, KAIMAI, KATIKATI, TE PUKE, PAENGAROA, OTAMARAKAU and all RDs

Piping hot competition

Coast on show

P8

P17

P3

P11

Maori medicine

Hockey ‘hero’ Going for goat

Plus so much more!

The sounds of up to 50 pipe bands will resonate through the city this weekend as Tauranga hosts the National Pipe Band Championships. See page 14 for more.

Pictured: Bay of Plenty Pipes and Drums members Wayne Terrey, Brian Smith, Lewis Graham, 11, and Colin Graham get in some practice before competition starts today. Photo by Tracy Hardy.

Enrolling Patients Now

formerly known as the Accident & HealthCare Centre

19 Second Avenue - Tauranga

Opening Hours 8AM - 9PM Every Day • accident & medical • chiropractor • dentist

• family medical practice • physiotherapy • pharmacy • xray

The Central City Family Practice Doctors: Anthony March - Brad Little Matilda Lawrence - Angus Watson

HOURS: Monday - Friday 8.30 - 5pm Enrol Now For Reduced Fees

City Centre Medical

ph 578 8089

Located Downtown Central City in the 2nd Avenue Health Centre building

2 1 The Strand, PO Box 240, Tauranga

ads@thesun.co.nz newsroom@thesun.co.nz

The Weekend Sun

The Weekend Sun is published every Friday, circulating throughout the Western Bay of Plenty, delivered free to 64,180 homes of more than 159,700 residents from Waihi Beach, through Katikati, Tauranga, Mt Maunganui, Papamoa and Te Puke including rural and residential mailboxes.

The Weekend Sun is produced by Sun Media Ltd, an independent and locally owned company based at 1 The Strand, Tauranga.

Sun Media Ltd Directors: Claire & Brian Rogers General Manager: Ross Brown Editorial: Andrew Campbell, Hamish Carter, Letitia Atkinson, Phillipa Yalden, Corrie Taylor, Elaine Fisher, Zoe Hunter, Luke Balvert, Merle Foster. Photography: Tracy Hardy, Bruce Barnard. Advertising: Kathy Sellars, Suzy King, Lois Natta, Kirsty Hutcheson, Rose Hodges, Aimee-Leigh Brunsdon, Tasha Paull, Abby Taylor, Lucy Pattison, Bianca Lawton. Design Studio: Kym Johnson, James Carrigan, Sarah Adamson, Kerri Wheeler, Kyra Duffy, Amy Bennie. Digital Media: Lauren McGillivray, Jay Burston Office: Julie Commerer, Melanie Stone, Kathy Drake.

Wrecks, racers, routes and royals

The big news this week would have been Mr Council, and maybe the court.

If elected, Labour says they’d force Daina Cunliffe saying he would “make” the Rena Shipping to remove the wreck from Astroowners clean up their mess. labe Reef. In reality he has more chance of Unfortunately Mr Cunliffe hasn’t done his homework. Rena is not the business of aspiring political leaders. It’s in the hands of the BOP Regional

“making” world peace, eradicating haemorrhoids, re-incarnating Michael Jackson and getting Route K to turn a profit.

Because it’s nothing to do with the government or wannabe government. They’d be bulldozing over the Regional Council and possibly the Environment Court in the process.

This makes Mr Cunliffe’s pontificating a hollow and callous promise – that he can never fulfil. Either he doesn’t understand how the process works or he is trying to mislead the people of the Bay. Or both.

It’s naive and fanciful to think this wreck will ever be completely removed. Experts have said how dangerous and complex it would be.

And the speculation about whether it would be a good dive wreck is irrelevant at this stage. The only consideration should be the environment; and if it so happens that leaving the wreck there turns out to be a dive attraction, then that’s a small consolation.

However, it should not be a factor at this stage in deciding whether the whole wreck is removed, or not.

Yes, in a perfect world, the reef would be returned to its original pristine condition.

Reality, however is that’s incredibly unlikely.

To play political games is irresponsible and dishonest.

Principals caned

Hats off to the region’s school principals who battled at ASB Baypark at the weekend, for the SunLive Principals’ Challenge.

It was a great night, thanks to Baypark and the teams who made it possible. No, it wasn’t a jack-up that the SunLive car won!

ously drawn by an angry child with a set of crayons on the lounge wallpaper.

But he wonders if other corporations will also change their names to storybook characters.

Can we expect to see the Port of Tauranga dubbed Little Toot?

Or Air New Zealand becoming Dumbo Jet (the Flying Elephant?)

Others have pointed out that a spark is the result of a technical failure. And others concerned at how it reads when spelt backwards.

Shocking news

A shocking story appeared in the news recently, when a bomb threat was made in Taupo. Police evacuated the court house and the museum. This is terrible news. I was shaken to the core. I mean, Taupo has a museum? And we don’t!

Right royal snub

Kate and William and the royal sprog are visiting, not to Tauranga of course.

No one of any significance comes here, except Strassman. All we get is the mundane (Oh no, not Cunliffe again). So it would be completely unreasonable to expect any royals to show up. We don’t even get Billy Connelly. Or Bruce Springsteen. Why is it, that NZ’s fourth largest city, and NZ’s most desirable place to visit, is ignored by almost all celebrities and acts? Ah, it must be because we don’t have a museum.

Join the queue

What is the fascination with this blobby excuse for an overstayer? Winston’s been to see Dotcom. John Banks has been to see Dotcom. Even the jolly SAS have been to the mansion to see Dotcom. Is there anyone left in NZ who hasn’t been to see Kim Dotcom? Just you and I, even the blimmin royals are probably going to see Dotcom.

F for Francis

In other news, the pope is reported to have dropped the Italian version of the F bomb, while appealing to the international community for a peaceful solution in the Ukraine. I wouldn’t worry, Francis, it’s going to take a whole lot more than a bit of papal cussing to stop the turmoil brewing there.

Feedback

We’ve had a bit of feedback on the gondola story from last week, a Maori friend confirmed that there’s no way a gondola, or a gondolier, should ever be allowed up the Mount, “not even if Tangaroa himself was poling it,” he quipped. Which got us thinking how that would look:

Quote of the week:

From transgender former MP Georgina Beyer: “I would have left with Tariana if I’d had the balls, quite frankly.”

Well, Georgina darls, you once had the balls... what more can we say?

Sparks fly

Telecom’s new name, Spark, is drawing fire from all quarters.

One caller to the RR Hotline of Silly New Company Names says it reminds him of the children’s story of Sparky, the little fire engine. He reckons that this is probably appropriate, since Telecom’s logo was obvi-

Gondola Part 2: Tangaroa strikes back.

IMPORTANT STUFF: All material is copyright and may not be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. Sun Media makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information and accepts no liability for errors or omissions or the subsequent use of information published. According to Wikipedia, Tangaroa is one of the great gods, the god of the sea. He is a son of Ranginui and Papatuanuku, Sky and Earth. After he joins his brothers Rongo, T matauenga, Haumia, and Tane in the forcible separation of their parents, he is attacked by his brother Tawhirimatea, the god of storms, and forced to hide in the sea.

The Weekend Sun

3

Turf wars ahead After more than 150 caps playing for the Black Sticks, Andy Hayward still loves returning to Tauranga for an international test.

Andy, who emerged as a talented player at Tauranga Boys’ College, is excited about returning home next week for the three test series against Japan on the Tauranga Hockey Centre’s new turf.

“With hockey and work, I don’t get back home that often so it’s always good to get down,” says the Auckland-based defender. “And the guys always love it at the Mount.”

Andy, who has been out of action for almost six months with injuries, is looking forward to a competitive series with the Japanese from March 12-15.

It will be the Black Sticks’ only home test series this year and will play a critical part in the team’s preparation for a major year ahead, with the Champions Challenge in April (Malaysia), the World Cup in June (Holland) and the Commonwealth Games in August (Scotland).

“It’s going to be a big year, so we all know how important this series is,” says Andy, who is expecting some tough games against Japan.

“They are a pretty good team. They’re ranked 14-15th [the Black Sticks are ranked sixth] and can really turn it on. Every game is a bit of a fight.”

Andy is hoping the Black Sticks will play as strongly as they did at the Hero Hockey World League Final in India, where the team finished second.

While admitting it was a little frustrating to miss the international series in January, Andy says it was great to see the team’s combination of talented new players and seasoned veterans gel and play their best.

“It was awesome to see them do so well; and I can’t complain about the injuries because I’ve been very lucky with hardly any over the years,” says Andy, who has been training up to 20 hours a week since mid-January.

Black Sticks player Andy Hayward always loves returning to play in Tauranga, where he cut his teeth in hockey and had his international debut against Holland.

By Hamish Carter

4

Speaking the language of trade

A selection of some local breaking stories featured this week on...

The only local daily news source you need, constantly updated, seven days a week

www.sunlive.co.nz News tips ph

The Weekend Sun

0800 SUNLIVE

Dog attack decision stuns father

The father of a five-year-old boy left with permanent facial injuries from a dog attack last year is still coming to grips with charges against the dog's owner being dismissed.

Anthony Hedgeman and Tara Julian successfully defended the charge of owning a dog that attacked a person causing serious injury at a judge alone trial in Tauranga District Court this week.

Charlie, now five-years-old, and his older sister and mother, Miranda Devereaux, were visiting Anthony Hedgeman and Tara Julian's Baycroft Avenue home on July 12, when he was attacked by the couple's bull mastiff dog.

The charges against the pair were dismissed on the basis there is no evidence they had failed to protect their visitors from an attack.

Labour vows to remove Rena

Labour leader David Cunliffe is vowing to make the owners of the grounded Rena ship pay the full cost of the clean-up and remove the wreck remains from Astrolabe Reef.

Speaking during a visit to Tauranga this week, Labour leader David Cunliffe says a Labour government will make sure the ship's owners Daina Shipping “pay the full amount to clean up Astrolabe Reef.”

Man dies in quad bike accident

A Welcome Bay man has died in a quad bike accident on a semi-rural property in Tauranga.

The 66-year-old man was found with the bike about 5.45pm on Tuesday, but had been missing since the morning, says Tauranga Police Senior Sergeant Rob Glencross.

The accident happened on farmland on a rural property accessed from Waitaha Road South.

Paedophile on 10-year watch

A former sex offender, who abducted and molested a five-year-old Tauranga girl in 2005, is under an extended supervision order for the next 10 years after he breached his prison release conditions.

Tony Douglas Robertson, now aged 26, was 18 when he was jailed for sex offending that took place in Tauranga in December 2005.

He was released from prison December 11, 2013, after serving an eight year sentence, and on January 6, was convicted of breaching parole conditions.

Man arrested after police chase

A Gate Pa man who led police on a dangerous high-speed chase through Tauranga will appear in Tauranga District Court facing a raft of charges including driving in a dangerous manner.

The 24-year-old driver was arrested by police at a property in Gate Pa on Wednesday night after police failed to stop him during the chase.

Chilly challenge to warm hearts

The 2014 Heart Stopper Challenge is coming to Mount Maunganui on March 22 and organisers are busy encouraging everyone to sign up for the cause.

The national event – which began in Tauranga 10 years ago – involves teams of four-six sitting in an icy pool for five minutes to raise awareness and funds for children with heart defects.

To register visit www.heartstopper.org.nz or email bopatheart@gmail.com

Councillor Matt Cowley and Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby attempt to learn Japanese.

Photo by Tracy Hardy.

Education, marine research, tourism and the exports sectors should be the major beneficiaries of the Tauranga City Councilled sister city delegation to Asia later this month.

The two week trip – made up of visits to Yantai (China) and Hitachi (Japan) – which have both been sister cities for more than 26 years – has a strong focus on building economic partnerships.

Tauranga City councillor Matt Cowley, who is stumping up $5000 of his own money to take part in the trip, hopes it opens doors for the region’s businesses.

“It’s about linking ourselves in more

strongly into the Asia-Pacific economy, and looking beyond our own bubble.”

Matt wants to attract investment into the Bay region from the trip, saying the biggest driving force for economic growth came when new money was poured in from outside the region.

“We’ve got these long-standing sister city relationships, so there is a real opportunity to consolidate and build on them.”

Matt says one area he’d love to see attract investment is the commercialisation of research being undertaken at the Waikato University’s Coastal Marine Field Station at Sulphur Point, which is discovering compounds in sponges that could have pharmaceutical applications such as fighting cancer.

“Professor Chris Battershill is doing some amazing things there. He is one of the most internationallyrenowned in field and the challenge is to be able to commercialise some of the research.”

The trip also aims to build partnership with the Yantai Marine Institute and the Korean Ocean Research and Development Institute, which will be visited on a two-day investigation in Ansan, Korea.

The Korean city, which is also a sister city to Yantai, last year expressed interest in developing closer links with Tauranga and is funding the Korea-leg of the council trip, which will also look at increasing the number of Koreans studying at Tauranga schools.

Closer education links is a major theme throughout the trip and international relations manager Yvonne Tatton says a highlight will be signing a partnership between Bay of Plenty Polytechnic and Waikato University, with the University of Yantai.

Under the agreement, Yantai students will be able to choose to complete their business degrees by studying in Tauranga.

Export New Zealand Bay of Plenty representative Angela Wallace will be showcasing the region’s products on the trip. Delegates, including Mayor Stuart Crosby and his wife, leave for the two-week trip on March 30.

By Hamish Carter

5

The Weekend Sun

Walking the wild Next week Suzanne Delores will leave the comfort of her Mount Maunganui home to walk 193 kilometres in seven days and sleep in the South Island wilderness. But it’s all for a good cause.

Suzanne, who has multiple sclerosis, is taking on Stage 9 of the Great New Zealand Trek – which will see her walk from Wairau Valley to Clarence from March 8-16.

Walking a minimum of 28km daily, and 35km on some days, each night she will sleep in a tent alongside 300 others raising money and awareness of MS.

The 56-year-old was diagnosed with the condition – which affects one of her legs and prevents her from driving – when she was 19.

But the diagnosis hasn’t stopped her from keeping active. Suzanne is a regular overnight tramper and has completed numerous largescale walking and running events, including a half ironman.

“In the past I’ve done those distances; and I tramp a lot, so it’s not going to be that difficult.

I’m just going to put my running shoes on because I want to walk it quickly.”

She’s hoping to complete the Rotorua marathon after this event, if she remains strong.

“I have a lot of amazing friends here in Tauranga

who have been so supportive and really kept me going.”

Difficulty with one of her legs now prevents Suzanne from running long distances, so these days she sticks to walking. She does have to keep her training at a balanced level to prevent symptoms from increasing, so the upcoming walk will be the biggest she has completed in a while.

“I have to get the balance right, or my symptoms can flare up.”

Having raised some funds through friends, Suzanne is asking people to donate to the BOP MS Society directly at www.bopms. co.nz where she hopes funding will be used for exercise equipment to help with mobility and

By Corrie Taylor fitness.

Tauranga walker Suzanne Delores training at Mount Maunganui.

Photo by Bruce Barnard.

Bruce Matthews

Ben Heath

021 580 580

021 701 237

UP TO

% 50OFF Sleepyhead Beds*

Proud to be locally owned and oPerated

Proud to be locally owned and oPerated

Proud to be locally owned and oPerated

0 0 , 0 0 0 , 0 $cu1rtain & blind !

E C N A R A CLE 6

The Weekend Sun

A HUGE RANGE OF

Sabana

READYMADE

CURTAINS

HALF

PRICE

40

Applies to a wide range of selected Readymades. Sizes & colours may vary between stores. Only while stocks last.

%

ALSO

OFF

ALSO

AVAILABLE

AVAILABLE

40%

40%

ONLINE

A HUGE RANGE OF

ONLINE

177

57

OFF $ From Fro

pair

M Maze Li Lined dR Readymades Pencil Pleat or Eyelet. 1 size

89 FABRICS 97

OFF $ From Fro

each

Applies to selected fabrics. Designs & colours may vary between stores.

Only while stocks last.

H Harvey's ' Readymade R d Sunscreen Roller Blinds. 3 colours. 4 sizes

ALSO

ALSO

AVAILABLE

AVAILABLE

ONLINE

ONLINE

GREAT

59

VALUE $ From Fro

95 set

Serenade Quilted Bedspreads 3 sizes. Bedspread & 2 Pillow Shams

20% OFF

Rufflette Curtain Tracks

Applies to pre-packaged and cut to measure curtains rods and tracks

HALF

12

PRICE $ N Now

FREE On Metropolis 20%

48 MAKING Thermal Fabric each

Assorted Button Chair Pads 40 x 40cm

Applies to Pencil Pleat making on Metropolis Blockout Thermal Fabric. 140cm wide. Some conditions apply

FREE In-home Curtain Consultations CALL TODAY 0800 00 88 80 or book online harveyfurnishings.co.nz See our website for more custom making offers

TAURANGA, WAIHI, TE PUKE, WHAKATANE & ROTORUA

harveyfurnishings.co.nz

BOTANY • HENDERSON • MANUKAU • MT EDEN • NORTH SHORE REMUERA • NEW LYNN • HAMILTON • WHANGAREI • PALMERSTON NORTH ALL OFFERS AVAILABLE WHILE STOCKS LAST UNTIL 3RD APRIL 2014 UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED. STOCK MAY VARY BETWEEN STORES. 06/03

Blockout Roller Blinds R

Applies to Asto Aston Blockout fabric range only

0800 00 88 80

TAURANGA • OPEN SEVEN DAYS 387 CAMERON RD • PH (07) 578 6428

Find us on:

OFF

7

The Weekend Sun

National attention for city vets The dedicated work of a Tauranga veterinary clinic and wildlife trust will go national this month with the premiere of its own television series.

‘M.A.D Vets 24/7’ premieres March 10 and features the day-today events of ARRC Wildlife Trust and Holistic Vets as staff work to rehabilitate and heal wildlife, address Tauranga’s stray cat population and educate the community on pet ownership, conservation and environmental sustainability.

Founding trustee and chairperson Dr Liza Schneider and ARRC manager Sue Mackey agree this is

Holistic Vets and ARRC Wildlife Trust founder Liza Schneider and manager Sue MacKey bandaging a juvenile seagull. Photo by Tracy Hardy.

the first big step in taking ARRC to a national level – with the show being broadcast to a potential audience of 1 million, airing on TV Central, TV Rotorua and nationwide on SKY Cue 200 and Country TV. “For ARRC education is a core part of our work and having this opportunity to share our work nationwide is really exciting and we can’t wait to see it unfold,” says Liza.

The show portrays the work of ARRC and Holistic Vets equally, showcasing a range of treatment techniques that go beyond the realms of traditional veterinary medicine.

Each 30-minute episode will explore the stories of animals whose lives have been transformed by the innovative treatment options used, and showcase some of the beauty of Tauranga and its wildlife.

“There are lots of cute characters, like a heron coming in; and a shag, a hawk and penguin, and seagulls too.

“The series follows a lovely little cat that was paralysed in her back end, called Pisa. It shows her progress over time and what we did to help her, making use of acupuncture and hyperbaric oxygen therapy.”

Liza says filming of the show, which began last October, was “very full on”.

“It was very interesting to see

what goes into a production like this; and it’s exciting to be able to share the work we do on such a great scale.”

Holistic Vets primarily uses alternative treatment options, such as acupuncture and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, balanced with conventional methods to heal their animals.

ARRC Wildlife Trust is a voluntary organisation established in 2003. It works primarily to rescue and rehabilitate injured and orphaned wildlife, and is well-known in the region for

HUGE SAVINGS direct from the manufacturer

Quality Blinds 100% made in the Bay

BAY BLINDS

w ww ww. w.b baayyb blliin nd dss..cco o..n nzz

PHONE NOW FOR A FREE MEASURE & QUOTE

8 Maleme Street, Greerton

Last year Trustpower customer’s annual TECT cheque was worth $480 on average.

TP0087/WNS/HP/TECT/001/02

If you don’t want to miss out on the welcome windfall for the festive season, you’ll need to join Trustpower NOW. Because it can take up to two weeks to switch from your current supplier, we suggest you get onto it today.

Simply call 0800 44 22 22.

% 578 7794

En erg 3 y P Yea ric r eF ree ze *

Don’t miss out on a nice big surprise this Christmas.

If you’re not already with us, switch to Trustpower before 1 April and you’ll be eligible** for a great TECT cheque just in time for the Christmas shopping.

its Spay the Stray Cat Campaign.

Liza is hopeful this series will be the first of many, and will help kick-start similar work throughout the country.

“We’re hoping that this series will entertain, educate and inspire people to care for animals, conservation and environmental sustainability.”

‘MAD Vets 24/7’ will air weekly on TV Central and TV Rotorua on Mondays at 8.30pm, then repeat on SKY Cue 200 every Friday at 8pm and Country TV on Wednesdays at 8pm. By Corrie Taylor

More great reasons to join When you join Trustpower you get more than your annual TECT cheque – you could also save money on your phone, internet, gas and ultra fast broadband.

Power

Phone

Broadband

Gas & LPG

We do the lot – it’s easy and great value.

Call our friendly Tauranga-based call centre and we’ll take care of it all for you.

* Does not apply to external costs outside Trustpower’s control. Terms and conditions apply, please see www.trustpower.co.nz/pricefreeze for the full details. ** To be eligible for the TECT cheque you must be an eligible Trustpower electricity customer in the Tauranga City and Western Bay of Plenty region on 1 April 2014, and remain with Trustpower in the district until at least 30 September 2014.

8

The Weekend Sun

Fighting talk: Not okay With 100,000 annual police callouts for domestic violence incidents nationwide, everybody needs to wake up and help deal with the unseen crisis around us.

That is the call from former family violence perpetrator Vic Tamati, who is speaking at Mount Maunganui on Tuesday. Vic and former victim Jude Simpson will share their stories and reinforce the

message that family violence is unacceptable, as part of a free Community Violence Presentation.

Vic, who grew up in a family where it was normal to get a ‘hiding’ almost every day – “my dad said it was his way of showing his love” – fell into the same pattern when he had a family.

Aware of how badly he’d been hurt, Vic made a conscious decision to use a length of hose rather than the back of a machete – as his father did. But it was only after his family left for a week he began to realise his

Tauranga family violence prevention advocate Jude Simpson, who is a former family violence victim, will talk about how we can all help address the issue on Tuesday.

Photo by Tracy Hardy.

behaviour was a problem.

His wife and children walked out after he battered his eight-year-old daughter when she refused to go to school. When his daughter blamed all the family problems on herself he realised he needed to do something.

Vic has been violent-free for 22 years – earning back the trust of his family, which sees him regularly babysitting grandchildren and speaking at events on the subject.

“The thing is you don’t know that you need help because you see it as normal,” says Vic, who encourages everyone to look out for problems around us and help. Fellow-speaker Jude says a key to help her move on from letting herself be a victim was when a counsellor believed in her. Jude encourages everyone to recognise the good qualities in others,

PLACES FILLING FAST Secure your spot today!

FREE HAIRDRESSING COURSE No Student Loan Are you 16, 17, 18 or 19 years of age 40 scholarships offered for 2014 NZQA Category 1 Provider Gain the Certificate in Elementary Hairdressing Skills Level 3 133 NZQA Unit Standard Credits

Course starts 15th April 2014 9 Anson Street, Tauranga Tel / Fax: 578 5747 Txt: 027 531 6606 Email: office@hairtotrain.co.nz

which boosts victims’ self-worth and motivates them to take control.

For the last seven years Jude has worked as a family violence prevention advocate for Presbyterian Support Northern in Tauranga.

Dealing with family violence is a community responsibility, says Jude, and she urges everyone who sees or hears anything to reach out to the victim or make an anonymous call for help rather than ignoring it.

“It’s a huge issue here, it’s a huge issue everywhere,” says Jude, who believes everyone needs to be more conscious of looking out for family violence and reporting rather than ignoring it. Vic and Jude’s presentation is at The Hillier Centre, 31 Gloucester Rd, Mount Maunganui, from 7pm Tuesday.

By Hamish Carter

Coastal exploration

www.hairtotrain.co.nz

Top Top trainers trainers

Top Top facilities facilities

Top Top RESULTS RESULTS

Professor Chris Battershill will lead this weekend’s tour. Photo by Zoe Hunter.

www.oceanblueclub.co.nz

Palm Beach Plaza, Papamoa, Phone 07 574 4909

A coastal bike tour showcasing Tauranga’s marine environment is on offer to residents this weekend.

The free, two-hour ‘ride with a difference’ will follow trails around the harbour coastline and parts of the Waikareao Estuary on Saturday, from 10am.

En route, University of Waikato professor Chris Battershill and Caine Taiapa will talk about the area’s biodiversity, and ecological and cultural points of interest.

Chris says points of interest during the ride include the Otumoetai foreshore and the history behind the iwi who worked there, and the origin and name of Waikareao Estuary.

“There’s a lot of tradition and legend behind the whole river system,” says Chris.

“Caine will be coming along for the ride to tell the history behind all of the cultural points of interest riders stop at.”

Chris says the second annual ride is for anyone, and will travel at the slowest person’s pace.

The ride is being held in conjunction with the Coastal Marine Field Station’s open day between 12pm-4pm.

The station will open for people to learn more about the region’s marine environment, with free activities, including observing microscopic marine life, searching sand core samples for small marine organisms, conducting simple science experiments, and a scavenger hunt.

The two-hour bike ride leaves the Coastal Marine Field Station, Cross Rd, Sulphur Point, at 10am Saturday. Register by emailing nyree@waikato.ac.nz, or phone 07 577 5376.

By Corrie Taylor

9

The Weekend Sun

Ready, set,

GO!

Tauranga City councillor Catherine Stewart stuffing envelopes with clues ahead of the race.

Photo by Tracy Hardy.

Time is running out to register for Tauranga’s first-ever ‘The Amazing City Race Tauranga – get to know your place in a walking race’.

Organised by Tauranga City councillor Catherine Stewart, The Amazing City Race Tauranga is designed not for competition, but participation, with entrants walking to each destination and taking to time soak up some of the city’s history.

The event involves individuals or teams deciphering clues to get to each new destination – hopefully learning more about some of Tauranga CBD’s highlights.

“This is a walking event; it’s about having fun, participating and learning.”

Participants will meet at Tauranga Library Arcade from 8.30am on March 15 to begin the race at 9am. Without giving away details on clue destinations, Catherine says there are about 20 places dotted on the race map.

“If it’s successful there is nothing stopping us from doing similar events all around the city, and it could become an annual event.”

All funds raised will go towards providing swimming scholarships for individuals who cannot swim.

“Given we’re surrounded by oceans and waterways here, I think it’s really important that everyone – no matter their age – is confident in the water,” says Catherine.

She estimates swimming scholarships cost about $130 per person and offer enough lessons to make the recipient feel confident in the water.

On the day there will be plenty of spot prizes, and a prize for the first individual or team to arrive home with the highest number of correct destinations.

“As long as the participants return to the Library Arcade by 11.30am, they will go into the prize draw.

“On the day we’ll be able to announce how many swimming

Cleaning up estuary Volunteers are invited to join in a clean-up day planned for Waikareao Estuary on Thursday, March 13, from 12pm-2pm.

Waikareao Estuary is a unique wilderness close to the heart of the city, with a boardwalk and track system that goes around the shores of the estuary.

Top talent reigns Tauranga runner Russell Lake won the 67km Length of the Lake race in Taupo last month, for the second year in a row. Russell was the top solo male runner, with a time of four hours, 59 minutes and 44 seconds.

His success runs alongside Otumoetai walker Penny Purcell, who won the solo female walking section of the same event – completing the distance in eight hours, 12 minutes and 10 seconds.

scholarships we can give away.”

Entries close March 12. People can enter by paying online or visiting Mainstreet Tauranga or Westpac Tauranga. Payments ($10 per individual or $20 for team of two-five) are made to 03-0435-0492278-03 with a team number or phone number as reference.

The Amazing City Race Tauranga starts 9am, March 15, with prize-giving at 11.30am.

Information flyers are available from Tauranga

By Corrie Taylor Library and Sport Bay of Plenty.

“Don’t Miss This Chance” HUGE DISCOUNTS

on Sealy, Sealy Posturepedic and other Top Brand Beds!

Both stores close for renovation soon!

PAPAMOA TAURANGA

® Fashion Island, Gravatt Rd 65 Chapel Street (Bay Central Shopping Centre) (Next to No.1 Shoes) T H E B E D S T O R E 07 - 572 - 4075 07 - 571 - 1415 MON-SAT: 10am - 5pm, SUN: 10am - 4pm www.westlifefurniture.co.nz

Westlife reserve the right to amend any misprints or error with in this advertisement.

All stock subject to prior sale. Stock may vary from store to store.

10

The Weekend Sun Papamoa’s Matthew Haines shows how TV presenting is done.

Photo by Bruce Barnard.

Lights, camera, action While its glamour and excitement that It’s a dream job for many, but attracts many to the role of presenter, for Matthew Haines wants your support 20-year-old aspiring Papamoa actor Matto turn his aspiring role into a reality. thew it’s as much about using his skills to

By Hamish Carter

Matthew has made it into the final 10 applicants for a presenter role with the Shopping Channel –but with the successful candidate chosen by an online vote, he’s hoping to get the Western Bay behind himnot that he might need it with him leading the poll by a whisker when The Weekend Sun went to press.

earn a regular income.

“It can be a real challenge balancing being available for auditions and having a job, so this would be perfect.”

The former Mount Maunganui College student developed a love for theatre at school, prompting him to go on to study acting and presenting – but landing paying parts has been a struggle.

“I was in Mount Zion, but I was cut,

and I was in the Shapes commercial for Australia,” says Matthew, who is excited about the opportunity the role offers to be on camera every day.

To see if Matthew deserves your vote watch him presenting his favourite product by clicking on the event tab at www.yesshop.co.nz Voting closes on Sunday. Yesshop spokesman Phil Dodds says the top candidates voted by the public and others the channel liked would get three chances to prove themselves on screen in April before the final winners are decided.

Surfing skills to the fore From surf boat crews to beach sprinters, more than 1600 surf lifesavers will crowd Ohope Beach for the 92nd New Zealand Surf Life Saving National Championships this weekend.

inside

The event, the pinnacle of the SLNZ calendar, is one of the oldest national championships in the country since its first running in Napier in 1915.

The four-day event, from Thursday to Sunday, sees more than 1600 athletes, across under-16, under19, open and masters divisions take to the sand and water in competitive club spirit.

About 50 clubs will be represented at the championships, with seven clubs bringing more than 50 athletes to the open championships – including Papamoa with 55 competitors and Mount Maunganui sporting 76.

But they’re all dwarfed by Red Beach’s amazing 123-strong posse of athletes, with the club’s colossal 69-strong boat and canoe contingent the third-biggest contingent alone.

And the weekend throws up some mouth-watering battles, particularly the ironman title with a mere five different winners in the last 21 years.

In an already-intriguing open ironman field, the defending champion, Omanu’s Max Beattie, will have his work cut out if he wants to claim three consecutive titles in the coveted race.

Devon Halligan, meanwhile, will headline a strong women’s field after missing last year’s nationals. She’s been racing on the lucrative Kellogg’s Nutrigrain series in Australia this summer and will again compete for Gisborne’s Midway club.

Papamoa’s Natalie Peat has emerged in recent years as a consistent force in the female ranks and will continue her duel with Danielle McKenzie, Mairangi Bay, Red Beach’s Rachel Clarke and the Mount Maunganui pair of Jess Miller and Katie Wilson.

The women’s ski race sees an Ohope homecoming for world and Olympic champion Lisa Carrington, looking to win back the title she last held in 2012.

Red Beach’s Caitlin Ryan handled the big surf best in Mount Maunganui last year, consigning Carrington to second in the ski.

By Luke Balvert

11

The Weekend Sun

Owners of old photo sought

Goat Goes Bush competitor Jo Wills loves running in the pristine bush that this race course passes through.

This old photo was found last month outside Davidson Plastics in Mount Maunganui. Administration manager Carol Malone has kept the photo in the hope of finding its owner.

“We have had this gorgeous photo for a couple of weeks now in the hope that the owner might have retraced their steps. I would hate it if someone was going to restore it or something and it was their only original.”

Photo by Bruce Barnard.

Anyone with information can contact Carol on 07 575 3411.

Tackling the goat It’s a gruelling, gritty undulating track of rugged, rooty, momentum-interrupting challenges but none of this fazes Mount Maunganui woman Jo Wills.

She’s gearing up to tackle The Goat Goes Bush adventure run in the Kaimai Ranges this Saturday – after coming away on a high when competing in the inaugural event last year.

“I love off-road events – and this is the most off-road orientated event I’ve ever done,” says the 37-year-old, who will be among 250-odd competitors in four waves taking on the goat.

“It’s all Department of Conservation tracks, amazing bush, it’s really rugged – there’s heaps of hills and heaps of river crossings.

“It’s just exciting and it’s just really cool to be able to run a track you wouldn’t normally run without the event.”

Jo says competitors have to train for the

Roof

tough event – but it’s worth it. “It’s quite demanding – last year I walked the course [prior] – I went up either side three or four kilometres, so I knew what to expect.”

She says the event’s atmosphere makes it, with huge efforts in its organising and running.

Event director Jason Cameron says the 17km trail begins on the ranges’ Western side at Wairere Falls, loops private farmland – via milking sheds – to the falls’ track, the northsouth track and the ranges’ eastern side to finish at Aongatete Lodge.

“It’s a great family day out, so people are welcome to come to the lodge to see family, friends and work colleagues come in.

We’ll have lots of music in a carnival atmosphere up there.” For information, visit www.thegoat.co.nz

By Merle Foster

Cleaning

House

Washing

Pest Control

12

The Weekend Sun

All fired up for the big Bash

With over 100 years of history, Jones & Company is the oldest funeral services firm in our region. We remain wholly owned and operated.

We have the Bay’s most qualified staff.

We believe you should never accept less.

Bay Panelbeaters owner Karl Amundsen and Variety team leader Morris Danks getting the fire truck ready. Photo by Tracy Hardy.

After making a debut in the annual Variety Bash classic car rally fundraiser last year, Morris Danks and his crew ‘The 8th Tribe’ are preparing for another fun road trip next weekend.

“It was a bit of steep learning curve,” says Morris, who says the biggest surprise was just how far they travelled in the old fire truck.

“We went all the way down to the South Island, covering 3800km – which is quite a bit for a 33-year-old truck,” says Morris.

This year the drive is not so far, with the bash leaving from Manukau next Sunday, March 16, heading down to Waitomo,

Rotorua, Waikaremoana, then Gisborne, before heading around the East Cape to ultimately finish in Tauranga at mid-afternoon on Saturday, March 22.

“That’s got to be really special. That does have a very big meaning for us, to be finishing here,” says Morris. Others taking part from Tauranga include seasoned bash veterans ‘Every Little Boys Dream’, who are among the five other crews in a fire engine, along with travelling paramedic Les McLaren in his ambulance.

“It’s like being in a parade of all these weird and wacky, wonderful vehicles; and even weirder people are driving us around the countryside raising money,” says Morris.

When The Weekend Sun caught up with

Morris, he was finalising preparations and had the fire truck at the panel beaters.

“There were a lot of little things we needed to do to keep it roadworthy.”

The week-long event, which is a fundraiser for Variety - The Children’s Charity, will see thousands of dollars in goods and cheques given out to help sick, disabled or disadvantaged children, with medical or mobility equipment or educational initiatives to help them reach their potential.

“We’ll make sure we have lots of fun with plenty of water fights [between the fire trucks] and raising as much money as possible. And it’s the 24th bash, so we want to make sure everything’s under control for what will be a big bash next year.”

By Hamish Carter

Greerton Gardens Retirement Village offers retirement village living with a modern two bedroom villa priced at $285,000. The two bedroom villa is tastefully decorated and comes complete with a modern kitchen, garaging and a heat pump.

With the right mix of independence and community, freedom and security, Greerton lets you forget about the worries of home maintenance and concentrate on getting the most out of every day.

Only

1 villa

availab le!

GREERTON GARDENS RETIREMENT VILLAGE

IT’S TIME TO MAKE THE MOVE

OPEN HOME THIS SATURDAY & SUNDAY 8 & 9 MARCH FROM 10AM - 12PM Greerton Gardens Retirement Village 45 Greerton Road, Greerton Call Judith Gilmore on (07) 579 4972 or 027 283 4995. www.bupa.co.nz

13

The Weekend Sun

www.palazzokitchens.co.nz

NZ’s LARGEST KITCHEN & APPLIANCE SHOWROOM

18 KITCHENS ON DISPLAY FROM $5,000 TO $25,000+ • OPEN 7 DAYS FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE FREE, NO OBLIGATION CONCEPT DESIGN & QUOTE USING THE LATEST 3D DESIGN SOFTWARE

Grand Opening APPLIANCE OFFERS

WOW!

LY FOR BOTH ON

INDUCTION COOKTOPS

JUST $997!

7KG FRONT LOAD WASHER + 6KG SENSOR DRYER COMBO

54 BOTTLE STAINLESS WINE CABINET

FR FREESTANDING RANGE

Multifunction oven with twin fans for even heating plus 5 burner gas cooktop with wok and cast iron trivets.

$1745

HOT BUY!

CERAMIC ORP O GAS COOKTR - IT’S YOU CHOICE! 90cm PREMIUM 90

90cm STAINLESS FREESTANDING RANGE

!

UNBEATABLE

STANLEY ROGERS 56 PIECE CUTLERY RY SET WORTH H $399

WITH ALL DISHWASHERS SOLD!

$1199

$1288

BONUS

Premium Italian ranges in your choice of colour plus gas or ceramic cooktop.

KS LIMITED STOC IN OUR FIRS-T SHIPMENT S ORDER YOUR TODAY!

$4799

STAINLESS DISHWASHER

Feature packed with Delay start & half load options plus 8 wash programs and cutlery drawer!

$868

INTRODUCING BRIAN STEWART, OUR SPECIALIST FOR ALL YOUR APPLIANCE NEEDS

PYROLYTIC G SELF CLEANIN OVEN

$2599 STAINLESS STEEL KITCHEN APPLIANCE PACKAGE

Fantastic buying for all 4 items including a touch control ceramic cooktop! Also included are a multifunction fan oven with digital clock, electronic control dishwasher and 60cm canopy rangehood.

$3649 KITCHEN APPLIANCE PACKAGE

Stylish package in stainless steel consisting of a multifunction oven with self cleaning liners, 4 burner gas cooktop with convenient front controls, fully integrated dishwasher and 90cm canopy rangehood.

INDUCTION COOKTOP

$7296 KITCHEN APPLIANCE PACKAGE

Premium offering featuring a Pyrolytic self cleaning oven, 4 zone Induction cooktop, whisper quiet dishwasher with unique PowerZone cleaning technology plus a 90cm canopy rangehood.

104 ELIZABETH ST, TAURANGA (NEXT TO NO.1 SHOES) 07 578 6948 OR 0800 PALAZZO sales@palazzotauranga.co.nz Steel

rational

14

The Weekend Sun

Piping ahead to nationals Cover story

Eleven-year-old Lewis Graham doesn’t spend early mornings and late afternoons on a typical youngster’s activity – instead practising the bagpipes every minute he gets.

Lewis signed up to Bay of Plenty Pipes and Drums two years ago and will this weekend experience his first National Pipe Band Championships, being hosted by his band at Tauranga Domain. With 2.5 years’ playing under his belt, Lewis won first place in the novice section of the Paeroa Tattoo last month after playing two tunes: ‘The 79th Farewell To Gibraltar’ and ‘Mist Covered Mountains’.

“I was surprised I won, because it was a bit tough.”

Fellow band member 16-year-old Stella Dobbs also came first in the Paeroa competition, taking out the D Grade, playing ‘The 79th Farewell To Gibraltar’ and a straspey and reel. Stella, who’s played the bagpipes

for five years, likes the Scottish instrument for a number of reasons.

“I like the sound, I like being involved in our band; and it’s quite a unique instrument.”

Today and tomorrow the Bay of Plenty Pipes and Drums host the national championships for the second time.

Club president Annette Amundsen says this year’s event will be a delight for onlookers – with up to 50 pipe bands nationwide, and two from Australia, competing in music and marching events.

On Friday (March 7), bands will compete at the domain, playing sets and medleys from 9am to 5pm, with grade and juvenile presentations following the day’s tunes.

Bay of Plenty Pipes and Drums members Lewis Graham and Stella Dobbs are gearing up for the 2014 National Pipe Band Championships, being hosted by their band in Tauranga.

On Saturday from 9am, about 20 competing Grade 4 bands will take a street march – from the corner of Cameron Rd and Harington St, along Durham St to Spring St and competition continuing throughout the day.

Sustainable art challenge for savy students Western Bay of Plenty and Tauranga students are taking on the challenge to create furniture and clothing from ‘waste’ generated at local businesses.

sponsoring prizes worth up to $500 within each category.

There will also be an exhibition of the entries at Baycourt on March 29-30 from 10am2pm, via gold coin entry.

The Sustainable Art Challenge forms part of the ninth annual Sustainable Backyards Calendar, with more than 70 workshops, tours and forums happening throughout March.

Tania says those who attend three events during March go in the draw to win an eco-hamper worth more

These ‘waste' items Jaylem Caley, Zoe McCaul, Nikita Burberry, Calista Cristobal, include materials such as James Cowie from Papamoa College show the ‘junk’ fabric offcuts, wooden they’re planning to up-cycle. pallets and construction left-overs.

Baycourt in Tauranga , all Sustainable Art Envirohub BOP’s Sustainable Backyards than $500. coordinator Tania says 12 Intermediate and Challenge entries will be on display. A live Visit the Sustainable Backyards page at fashion show will exhibit the ‘Trash to Fash’ www.envirohub.org.nz for the full calendar secondary schools have taken up the chalentries – and the short film entries will be lenge so far. of events.

“This it is a great opportunity to highlight screened between 5pm and 7.30pm.

Tickets are on sale now to the March “We have had great support from local issues around waste management in our 28 awards evening, costing: $15 adults, businesses” says Tania, who wants to express $40 family, $10 for children five-18, with region. The event encourages businesses appreciation to Waste Watchers NZ, and households to look for creative ways of those aged under five entering for free.

Waste Education NZ, Bayfair and diverting their waste from landfills.”

Visit www.ticketek.co.nz and enter the Capture It Photography, which are At the awards evening on March 28 at keyword ‘sustainable’.

MONSTER RELOCATION GET IN QUICK WHILE STOCK LASTS!

NOW ON!

S D I K • E C I F F O • G N I N I •D M O O R D E B • E G N U O L

!

O G T S U M L L A E R O M D N A

Cnr 12th Ave & Cameron Rd, TAURANGA Phone: (07) 579 9256 Mon-Fri: 9am to 5:30pm Sat-Sun at-Su un 9:30a 9 9:30am am to t 4 4: 4:30pm :30pm 0p Stores are NZ owned & operated. LIMITED STOCK, WHILE STOCKS LAST!

Join us now on facebook www.facebook.com/TargetFurniture

WE ACC ACCEPT: CEPT:

15

The Weekend Sun

Action on water

Terrific opportunities for Katikati Discussing our digital future Imagine our children being able to enjoy the spoils of living in Tauranga while they work on highpaying projects based in Asia, Europe and elsewhere in the world.

We can stop the brain-drain of our talented young people leaving Tauranga after high school by improving the city’s access to technology.

Those who fear technology believe it creates barriers by reducing the human touch.

But if technology is used correctly, it eliminates barriers by instantly connecting people anywhere in the world.

Technology can connect you with the officers processing your resource consent in real-time.

I was delighted to host Prime Minister John Key in the electorate recently. While we didn’t have the opportunity to come to Katikati on this occasion, Mr Key is certainly aware of the great things happening there.

During his visit, the Prime Minister attended a number of community meetings on the eastern side of the electorate and took questions from the audience.

It was fascinating to hear the wide range of topics people wished to discuss, ranging from fishing and education to 1080 and even Kim Dotcom. What was noticeable was the absence of questions on anything to do with the economy and our Government’s management of our finances. I don’t believe this is coincidence.

One of the most important environmental and economic issues facing New Zealand in the future is ensuring we have a reliable supply of healthy water, as and when we need it.

We’re fortunate in New Zealand that we generally have ample water – but there are many types of water – groundwater, surface water in lakes, rivers, streams and harbours, drinking water, water for indus-

try and water for stock.

There are significant concerns about our water quality; and in some areas water quantity and availability is an increasing problem. There are some areas in the Bay of Plenty, where the water is theoretically over-allocated. Then there are treaty settlements being negotiated, which recognise the special relationship Maori have with waterways within their rohe.

Annual Plan consultation Tauranga City Council staff are busy preparing the draft Annual Plan which is due to be adopted by elected members at a council meeting on March 14, 2014.

The draft Annual Plan will then go out for public consultation with opportunities for the community to make submissions

by April 17.

Some of the issues are how involved should council be with regards to ratepayer funding and concessions for a University, Marine Precinct, Events and hotel?

I am sure there will be many submissions on these topics and others such as Greerton Library and the proposed storm water levy.

Apply now for a 2015 scholarship Based in Auckland, Dilworth is a century old, Christian-based school supported by a substantial

Big business wins again

trust. As one of the area’s top educational providers, Dilworth offers significant academic, sporting, musical and cultural opportunities.

Second-hand traders are the big losers in a recent deal between the Ministry of Social Development (as WINZ) and Fisher & Paykel Appliances Ltd (now

By Ian McLean, owned by the Chinese spokesperson for the Green Party company, Haier).

These are small businesses, often family-owned, employing only a few people. They are scattered throughout our communities, and provide income for hundreds of families.

There are at least 10 in Tauranga alone, for whom WINZ provided significant business.

The deal? When a hardship grant is awarded to a WINZ client, new Haier whiteware is delivered and paid for through benefit deductions.

Open Days Dilworth Junior Campus: 27 Omahu Road, Remuera, Auckland Friday 21 March Welcome and presentation: 10.00am

Dilworth Rural Campus: 500 Lyons Road, Pokeno Saturday 22 March Welcome and presentation: 1.30pm

Scholarships are available for Year 5 and Year 7 (there will also be a very limited number available for Year 9) For further information, including a full Prospectus: • Go to www.dilworth.school.nz or • Email: applications@dilworth.school.nz or • Telephone (09) 523.3179 ext 701

Information Evening in your area Monday 10 March, 6.30pm Papamoa Community Centre, 15 Gravatt Road, PAPAMOA

In step with community

independent

VIEWS

Tauranga MP Simon Bridges seems out of step with our community, yet instep with his party line.

The Prime Minister John Key keeps his election promise but fails to solve the problem; and as expected a

Route K announcement.

It appears most in the community, and perhaps nationally, want the Rena and all of its unseen dangers and toxins removed. Mr Bridges is, however, confident all National Party members locally support his view, that calls to fully remove the wreck are “pointless posturing”.

The PM promised an underpass tunnel between Welcome Bay and the city, but has failed to solve any of the transport problems on the route.

BR-j8070

Fully funded boarding school education for boys (criteria apply)

16

The Weekend Sun

AUTUMN

Blooming great bulbs Nothing heralds spring like the splash of colour and fragrance from spring bulbs. Bulbs are fun and easy to grow, but here are a few tips to give you longer-lasting floral displays with guaranteed success.

Bulbs need a period of consistently cold temperatures to kick them into action.

Placing your bulbs in the fridge for up to six weeks before planting will ensure, once planted, they will burst out when the temperature of the soil warms up. Use either a paper bag or a plastic bag with perforations so the bulbs can breath and won’t go mouldy.

To extend the length of your spring bulb display, stagger the planting of your bulbs for a continuous display. Anemones and Ranunculus planted every two weeks, from the end of February, can give you flowers from late-winter to early-summer.

New this season is the Golden Rain Early Cheer, one of the first to flower, which is heavily-scented and now in a lovely cheery yellow.

Palmers are proud to release

this exclusively to the market.

It is easy to grow and ideal to plant in pots for some latewinter colour. The fragrance combined with its rich yellow fully double flower; and early flowering is going to ensure it is going to be a hit.

This gorgeous bulb is part of the narcissus genus, a double mutation from Grand Soleil d’Or. The golden rain daffodil is quite a low maintenance plant and is easy to grow – a great for beginner gardeners. Try to plant it in a location that enjoys partial sun; and remember to water moderately.

The size and quality of you bulbs will also determine the success of your booms in spring. Palmers specify larger grades of bulbs from our supplier, which are bred to be resistant to diseases.

Happy gardening, from Palmers Bethlehem and Welcome Bay.

Help sought before orchids go on show Preparations are underway for the 2014 Bay Of Plenty Orchid Show in Te Puke and organiser Elizabeth Bailey is asking people to get in touch if they want to lend a hand.

“It happens once a year and this is a really big event for Te Puke. We do the setting up on Thursday, April 10, and the show is on Friday and Saturday, March 11-12,

g n i m o Blo GREAT BULB BUYS

from 10am-4pm.” The Tauranga resident, who is a member of both the Bay of Plenty and Tauranga orchid societies, says the April event is set to be a blooming success. “The show has been in Te Puke for the best part of 30 years; it may even be longer,” says Elizabeth.

Both societies set up big displays at the show, as does a bromeliads group. Sales tables are occupied by orchid members and specialty stalls.

To help, phone Elizabeth on 07 578 6569.

New

That’s

6bulb0s!

Our best seller!

Palmers Bulbs - 20 pack Any 3 for Anemone double or single, Ranunculus mixed

and exclusive to Palmers

$10

Freesia Bulbs Double Mixed 15 pack %

25

OFF

now $5.24

Mini Cyclamen - 100mm pot

2

for

$10

$5.49 each

sample Free NovaTec slow release fertiliser

Daffodil Bulbs

Golden Rain - 5 pack

Hot buy!

EVERY $1 SPEND =

1 POINT

$999 EVERY 100 POINTS =

$10 VOUCHER

GROW YOUR POINTS WITH EVERY PURCHASE

It’s time to grow.

Garden X Potting Mix - 40L

3

for

$20

save $15.97 $11.99 each

Swan Plant Elite - 10cm

2

for

$10

Cnr Bethlehem Rd & SH2, Bethlehem. Ph 579 3925.

1 Ohauiti Road, Welcome Bay. Ph 544 1306.

Offers available till Sunday 16th March 2014, while stocks last. www.palmers.co.nz 0800 PALMERS

$5.49 each

facebook Like our Facebook page to keep up with the latest news

Chrysanthemum Garden Mums 1.5L 3 save $3.97 for $7.99 each

$20

Join in store today! time to go to

ME

TO GROW

s Palmerrds a w e R TI

pinterest

Follow us on Pinterest 10298-WS

17

The Weekend Sun

AUTUMN

Walking through the medicine cabinet

By Hamish Carter

Traditional Maori medicine expert Robert McGowan will help people see beyond the shrubs and plants in native bush, to learn about remedies growing around us when he takes a guided walk on Thursday.

The walk through re-vegetated bush in the Kaimai Ranges near Aongatete Lodge (834 Wright Rd, Katikati, from 10.30am-noon) will offer anyone interested a chance to learn about Rongoa – traditional Maori medicines produced by plants.

“There are at least 30 or 40 plants just in the close area around the lodge, thanks to all the pest control work by Forest and Bird members.

“They are generally quite sweet, so the possums and the rats love them,” says Robert, who is encouraging rural landowners to plant the natives. “It won’t be an active walk, but if people are

interested they should learn a lot.”

The walk is being run as part of Play in the Bay’s Walk Month, which offers a full calendar of walks around the region in March to encourage people to get active outdoors.

For more details, or to register for the walk, call Sport Bay of Plenty recreation advisor Jen Riley on 07 578 0016 extn: 829.

Traditional Maori bush medicine expert Robert McGowan will Others walks on offer teach people about native medicines on a guided walk at Aongatete next week include Lodge on Thursday. Photo by Tracy Hardy.

Diabetes awareness On Thursday you can join a fun walks in Katikati group exploring Omokoroa by on Sunday, leaving from the foot from 9.30am (details via Dave Hume Swimming Pool at Mary on 07 578 5561), or take 10am (30 minute and two-hour part in the guided Mudflat Chaloptions, for details call Carol or lenge on Saturday (March 15), Brian on 07 549 1032), or a fun walking across the mudflats from pre-schoolers walk and feeding Omokoroa Point Wharf to the ducks at McLaren Falls on Matakana Island from 10am (regWednesday (from coffee shop at ister at www.echowalkfest.org.nz/ 9.30am, for details call Keri walksentry is $20). on 027 269 9669).

A world-class ‘how to’ farming course A world-class course in sustainable agriculture will teach Kiwi farmers key sustainable farming practices.

Kiwi farmers have the opportunity to increase their productivity and reduce their environmental impact, by attending a four-day Nutri-Tech Solutions course.

The course, hosted by Franko Solutions, will be held at Trinity Wharf in Tauranga, and will show farmers key sustainable farming practices, enabling them to increase yields and plant health, while reducing spending and chemical input.

“Farmers and growers do not have to sacrifice profit and productivity to farm in an environmentally sustainable way, and this course will show them how it’s possible,” says Franko Solutions director Daniel Schuurman.

Led by Graeme Sait, expat-Kiwi and co-founder of Nutri-Tech Solutions of Australia, the course has been likened to receiving a four-year degree in four days, based on the amount of information conveyed.

“Balance, both mineral and biological – is the keystone of this approach, but there are numerous management tips, tricks and synergies that complete the equation. The bottom line is the fact that this holistic precision approach simply outperforms the conventional approach,” says Daniel.

Servicing more than 15,000 growers, with more than 200 products exported to 40 countries, Nutri-

Tech Solutions is the largest biological growing solutions company in the world.

The four-day course will feature mineral management, microbe management, plant management and pest management with human health management interspersed throughout.

The course includes comprehensive presentations and hands-on workshops. The human health workshop is both entertaining and informative, with patrons receiving a comprehensive report card on their personal health.

Course: Wharf, Tauranga, New Zealand 20th Mar 2014

Franko Solutions are the Master Agents for Nutri-tech Solutions in New Zealand. info@frankosolutions.com

ns P/L (NTS)

Yandina. Queensland 4561. Australia 472 9900 Fax +61. 7. 5472 9999 om.au www.nutri-tech.com.au

®

18

The Weekend Sun

Modern technology moves Technology Centre in Tauranga is bringing Bay of Plenty businesses access to 21st Century technologies after reinventing and re-launching a newlyformed Product Suite under the Stratus Blue.

As a local service provider for more than 18 years, Technology Centre has an established history in Tauranga. Commonly known for its association with Apple, TC also has a strong team of Microsoft engineers. TC will continue to offer its traditional service and repairs in both computer brands as well as other brand-named PCs. Now, under the banner ‘Stratus Blue’, TC will bring Bay of Plenty businesses access to modern technologies, including Cloud Computing, Ultra-fast Broadband, Voice Over IP, and much more, says TC manager James

Technology Centre manager James Johnston.

Johnston. During the last year, TC has undergone a major restructuring, says James.

“As the industry evolved so too did the TC, re-inventing and relaunching itself under the banner of Stratus Blue.”

Reinvented and re-launched, the company now delivers professional, cloud and education services which include consultancy, risk management, project management, connectivity, Tool

Pad and My Big Campus.

“With the advent of Cloud computing, we are experiencing the greatest disruption to business since the invention of the automobile – is your business prepared?” asks James. TC offers a wide range of IT services with one major point of difference – they are always looking for ways to help clients work smarter and improve efficiency through effective use of technology.

By Zoe Hunter

Deciphering retirement opportunities Retirement brings about so many interesting opportunities. Not only do you have to work out where you are going to spend that retirement fund you have put together, but you also have to come up with activities to fill your days.

While many of you will continue to do some work, there are others who want to take a well-earned rest.

The options are endless and it really is up

to you, but you should take some time to work out the type of things you like to do. Whether it is travelling, golf, spending time with family, reading or chocolate fish-eating contests – think about it now. The money you’ve saved will help you facilitate the activities you choose. Let you adviser worry about things like interest rates, maturities, reserve bank statements and other financial stuff you have probably avoided your whole life anyway.

Keep having fun, as you know life is too precious to waste.

New Waterline online site traffic multiplying ‘Waterline’ – the region’s own boating, fishing, sailing and watersports magazine – is now widening its reach with a free, sister online publication www.waterline.co.nz Launched in November 2013, waterline.co.nz is fast becoming one of the region’s top sources of online news, reviews, opinion and content in the marine-based world.

‘Waterline’ magazine, owned

by Tauranga-based Sun Media,

has been in production for two decades. Editor and director Brian Rogers says this is an exciting time for online publications.

“It’s great to be expanding Waterline readership to an unlimited market.

“Thanks to all our readers and advertisers who have been on board with Waterline’s print version since its inception in the mid-1990s.

“A lot has changed in that time, particularly the growth of online

readerships and Sun Media is right at the forefront of that market.”

All of Sun Media’s publications operate in tandem with news websites. Since its launch, traffic visiting Waterline.co.nz has multiplied five times and it now has more than 20,000 readers.

“Keep your stories and photos coming,” says Brian.

For story tips, marine news, photos and information email newsroom@thesun.co.nz

19

The Weekend Sun

Sustainable and ethical Of key interest to Tauranga, Sustainability Options in is the brothers’ commitment to Tauranga is passionate about provide free sustainable living ethical and sustainable living and advice to every home in the city. all about helping the community. Nik and Phil have been

With Sustainability Options being new to the city, owners and brothers Nik and Phil Gregg want to prove business is more than just about making money.

Their business is an “altruistic business” with community, social and environmental concerns as key priorities.

inspired by some of the great socially and environmentally focussed businesses around the globe, including Tom’s Shoes, Grameen Bank and Freeset – and they want to offer the Tauranga community the chance to access a range of ethical and sustainable living solutions.

The company offers solutions to energy efficiency, including solar and renewable energy,

waste minimisation, water conservation and what natural cleaning products to use around the home.

They also offer economicallyfriendly insulation, double glazing, ventilation and lighting solutions, as well as energy efficient appliances, home health audits and free home sustainability assessments.

They will also show Tauranga home-owners how to harvest rain water for sustainable water usage. Their desire is to locate, promote and provide a range of products and services that are good for the environment, fair trade and charitably supported.

Keeping to their community promise, the pair has made a commitment to sharing the profits they make at the end of each year, directing 85 per cent back to charity, community, to their vision of doing good, to their staff and back to their customers. By Zoe Hunter

Sustainability Options owners Phil Gregg and Nik Gregg with ceiling insulation. Photo by Tracy Hardy.

Advice is paramount to making wise choices High on the public agenda during recent months has been mortgage interest rates, new lending restrictions for home purchases, and the housing market in general.

Putting mortgage interest rates into perspective, a 15 basis points interest rate increase on $100,000 of mortgage lending actually represents a $150 per annum increase, or $2.88 per week.

For many this may not be significant enough to warrant a substantial change in restructuring your entire mortgage.

Going for the cheapest rate is not Many participants in the financial sernecessarily the best advice either, vice sector have an opinion, and many

By Bruce Cortesi from depending on your long-term objeclogical arguments have been thrown Planwise Financial Services tives. Flexibility for many clients is into the furnace as to the current and just as important, rather than locking in substantial future state of the home lending market. mortgage lending on three or five year rates.

As chairman of the NZ Professional Advisers AssoAgain, getting advice is crucial relative to your ciation, an impartial and independent professional specific situation. body representing the largest group of financial In closing, consider the person you seek advice from advisers in the financial services industry, we’re reguin respect of your mortgage, or any financial transaclarly asked for feedback on many topics. tion. Perhaps even consider if they do belong to a The biggest concern our members have is the professional association. If you would like public reacting to media statements without first a second opinion, get one. seeking professional advice relative to their circumstances. This could potentially seriously disadvantage you, the client.

Making any changes to your financial plans should involve seeking advice as the first step; I would not deem reading media publications as getting advice.

the

WEB & Design Graphic

0800 00 1950 35 Chapel Street, Tauranga

www.thecomputermedic.co.nz

20

The Weekend Sun

Mint and the meatless barbecue Today I yearn for one of those beautiful still days we’ve been lacking. As recently, the typical day has often meant dealing with some sort of pesky, drying, and annoying wind.

Anyone digging a hole lately would know how dry the ground is – and relying on tank water for watering the microgreens has become more of a challenge.

There are some plants that don’t mind the odd bit of drought and thrive in the right conditions.

Basil is one of them and mint is another.

I’ve lost one section of the garden due to the invasive nature of mint.

The chickens don’t seem to mind though; as when I’m clearing up I find a secluded nest of eggs.

It was my intention to weed the minted section and prepare the ground for some silverbeet and beetroot. But before too long, I had a huge pile of mint I had to do something with. I thought a relish or chutney would be great.

Most of us associate mint sauces with lamb; and yes, this mint relish recipe would go great with lamb cuts but it is equally as nice with zucchini or grilled kumi kumi.

My barbecue is a TradeMe deal gone wrong, but once I scrape off the ferric oxide from the chargrill, brush some oil on the thick-sliced kumi kumi, and char well on each side, it provides me a delicious meal. The texture of the barbecued kumi kumi is very meat-like and makes a great vegetarian option.

RELISH

Mint and coriander relish

Ingredients 1 cup chopped, fresh coriander 2 cups fresh mint leaves (no twiggy bits) 1 green chilli pepper ½ tsp salt 1 medium brown onion, cut in chunks 2 Tbsp tamarind juice ¼ cup water, or as required Method In a food processor add all of the ingredients, but leave out the water. Process to a fine paste.

Add water, as needed, to achieve a thick sauce.

Chill in the fridge and use as required. It’s amazing with grilled halloumi.

Top produce on show at markets The country’s top farmer’s market produce and products will be on show in Tauranga this month for the 2014 Farmers Market New Zealand Summer Producers Awards.

Held at the Tauranga Farmers Market on Saturday, March 29, the event is “very much a local event with a national focus,” says market

manager Trixie Allen.

Residents are invited to see the market in action – with producers, chefs and customers.

National celebrity chef Julie Biuso and Tauranga celebrity chef Peter Blakeway will be joined by students from Tauranga Boys’ College’s hospitality classes and FMNZ chairman Chris Fortune to judge the fresh produce entries from 9am10am. Following this, the chefs will

create ‘fresh, funky food’ for their audience using the market’s fresh produce.

Due to demand, this is an additional section of the national awards held annually in July by Farmers Market New Zealand’s national organisation, to recognise the producers throughout New Zealand who attend farmer’s markets.

Summer Producer Categories for the event include: Tastiest pip fruit, Juiciest stone fruit, Dirt on the roots, Dirt off the roots, Organically produced, and Ugly is tasty.

Less fizzy and more water, says nutritionist A Tauranga nutritionist is urging residents to swap soft drinks for water after a Southern Cross Health Society survey found a worrying amount of fizzy is consumed by residents weekly.

Released recently, the society’s annual survey results show 27 per cent of Tauranga residents under 40-yearsold drink more than five servings of soft drinks a week.

Food Solutions nutritionist Fiona Boyle says despite 67 per cent drinking no soft drink, other statistics are alarming for the city.

“I think it’s interesting that people say they know they drink that much, so it does take a person to take responsibility to try and decrease that,” says Fiona.

“We also know these really sweet drinks perhaps tend to encourage a sweet tooth and bites into that loop of you need to have another one to help prop yourself up; so they are often better to try and knock it on the head.”

By Luke Balvert

Ph 0508 KIWIFRESH (0508 549 437)

The Weekend Sun

21

Sisters nervous as cooking skills go on show Tauranga sisters Shelley and Trudie Robinson are enduring a nail-biting time watching themselves on television, with their roles in 2014’s ‘Masterchef ’ television show now rolling on Kiwi screens.

By Letitia Atkinson

Shelley admits it’s painful watching herself on the box. “The pressure we were under on the show is hard for the public to understand.

“It was amazing to meet so many fabulous people, who will be friends for a very long time,” says Shelley, who reckons the show offers “a combination of a shared experience and a love of food”.

Meanwhile, Trudie says it’s great to have things back to normal. “[I’m] Feeling a little frustrated with the show, as not a lot of cooking going on… it just seems to be a lot of talking to the contestants.

“The reason I went on the show was because Shelley applied and found out it was duos, so she asked me if I wanted to do it with her.”

The sisters feature on the TVNZ show after being one of 15 duos awarded a coveted MasterChef apron. “I have wanted to apply for ‘MasterChef ’ for a long time, but the time had not been right,” says Shelley. “[Last year] I applied and found out it was duos, so asked Trudie if she wanted to do it with me. I knew we could work together, as we’ve always been close and can say it how it is and move on.”

Trudie and Shelley had to demonstrate their knowledge of food and ability when they auditioned for the show. “I am proud of what we’ve done, it was a brave decision to apply for the show and to get chosen; and then to actually do it is sort of surreal.”

The show’s filming is finished, with the series now airing on Sunday and Monday nights at 7.30pm on TV One. If the sisters win the series, they’ll gain the MasterChef New Zealand duo title and more than $100,000 worth of prizes, including two Skoda Rapid Spaceback cars, $15,000 worth of kitchen appliances from

Making the most of our sweetcorn The sweetcorn is still streaming in. In fact it’s so sweet you can eat it straight off the cob.

We are so privileged in this country, having fine market growers who provide us with such sensational vegetables. Overseas, some countries don’t even see the sun like we do. We love corn fritters in our house and I created this recipe to try and make them light and fluffy. The judges were impressed – that’s the family of course.

Ingredients 5 sweetcorn, (with corn removed from cob) 4 eggs, separated 1 cup self-raising flour 1 tsp cumin 1/2 red onion, diced Salt and pepper Bacon Aioli Pesto Method Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Beat the egg whites until nice and fluffy. In a separate dish, mix the yolk with corn, cumin, onion, and a little salt and pepper. Mix in the egg whites and stir in flour, but don’t overmix.

Spray a non-stick pan with cooking oil and fry the fritters on each side until golden. Place on an oven rack and finish cooking the middle of the fritters in the warmed-up oven. In a pan cook some bacon.

Serve the fritters with bacon and a fresh salad, with a little aioli and pesto.

Fisher and Paykel, $5000 in kitchenware from Stevens, $15,000 worth of groceries from Countdown and an

exclusive MasterChef cookbook deal.

Pictured: Sisters Trudie and Shelley Robinson.

22

The Weekend Sun

23

The Weekend Sun

All Ford Day favourites Ford-lovers were in for a treat last Sunday with the 15th All Ford Day attracting a large crowd and a near record number of cars.

Ford Muscle Club president Barry Gordon says the annual celebration of all things Ford at Blake Park had attracted top cars from around the North Island, including the winner of the English/European category who drove his 1972 Ford Capri V4 all the way from Whangarei.

“It’s great to see the event become one of the top competitions and get cars from all over the North,” says Barry, laughing about the winning Whangarei driver leaving on his long journey home before organisers grabbed his name.

DON’T

SETTLE FOR ANYTHING

LESS “We had a great day with sunny weather and 283 vehicles arriving, a large number of people through the gates and new activities for the children; a hit was the super slides.”

Winning vehicles were: David Max’s 1964 Ford Fairlane Coupe (American class and ‘best of the best’); Kelvin Couchman’s 1973 Ford Falcon XB Couple (Australian); Chris Edwards’ 1934

Ford Sedan (post vintage); Derek Bryan’s 1915 Model T Town Car (vintage-veteran); Mike Hunter’s Formula Ford (competition); David Aitchison’s 1956 F100 Pickup (commercial); and David Goodman’s 1930 Model A convertible (hot rod).

Murray Urquhart’s 2010 Mustang Super Snake won the people’s choice award, and best club represented went to the BOP Mustang Owner’s Club. By Hamish Carter

24

The Weekend Sun

Riding high at Altitude 450 Dirt bike riders have their last chance to enjoy the Tauranga Motorcycle Club’s new Altitude 450 trail track this season, with a one-off event this Sunday.

The new 15km track – which links in with 5km of existing trails – was carved out by club members undertaking regular working bees last year to offer a longer and varied 40-minute ride. The track, which has been slashed and chopped through terrain in the Te Matai Motorsports Park, is only open to riders for special events.

Club spokeswoman Nicki Meredith says feedback from riders who have taken part has been “fantastic”, with numbers participating in the February ride doubling to 100 as word got out about it.

“Everybody absolutely loves it – but there have been some instances of people going in outside the set ride days, which is an absolute no-no.

“Because the area is used by others, including for rallying practices, riders who sneak in could be wiped out by a car flying around the corner. The whole club could be banned from using it if it continues.”

To tackle the issue the club has installed warning signs, reminding riders legal action

will be taken if riders are found in prohibited areas.

“The quite cool thing that people love is it goes through the bush, and there is a section that goes under the power pylons and there is a Riders are in for scrubby area.” a treat when the Meanwhile the Altitude 450 trail club has begun opens on Sunday at work on a motoTe Matai Motorsports cross trail in its Park for the last time leased area of the for at least six months.

TECT ALL Terrain Park, with hopes it will be completed for its first event in spring.

“But there is a lot of expense involved - we’re probably looking at $200,000 all up – so it all comes down to applying for grants and fundraising.”

Riding on Sunday is from 9am-3.30pm, with registrations from 7.30am. Riding fees are payable by cash or cheque, with funds going to the motocross track.

Details: www.taurangamcc.co.nz

Free event targets safer young driving Turners Auctions’ Tauranga branch is hosting a free Tauranga Young Driver – First Car event on Monday, March 10, to encourage and support safe driving by the region’s youth.

The event from 5pm-8.30pm, in conjunction with Students Against Driving Drunk, targets learner and novice teenage drivers and their parents.

supporting the Tauranga community It will include practical information and its young drivers. and tools on a range of topics, from A number of road safety and combuying a first car and gaining a licence, mercial partners in Tauranga are to navigating processes, such as supporting the event with expo insurance and finance, and stalls covering the key issues managing risk. SADD 15-19yrs old... facing parents and teens operations manager Julie in getting young drivers Elliotte says drivers are are more likely mobile safely. never more at risk than to die in a car Travel Safe coordinaduring their teenage tor for the region Alana years. “In fact if you are crash than by Rapson is pleased to see aged 15-19 years in New any other cause.

Tauranga selected as one of Zealand, you are more the locations for the event. likely to die in a car crash “Providing opportunities for than by any other cause. That young people and their parents is a is a scary fact for a teenager or parent to really important part of educating about consider, but the good news is the vast driver safety at such a vulnerable time in majority of these crashes and fatalities a driver’s life. are entirely preventable.”

“Being able to do this collectively with Turners Auctions has partnered with community partners adds relevance and SADD for five years, and national meaning to the event.” For information, marketing manager Annabel Huskinphone Julie Elliotte on 03 470 1973 or son says this event is special because it email julie@sadd.co.nz enables them to play a role in directly

The Weekend Sun

Appraised Used Vehicles

25

26

The Weekend Sun

Tauranga Hospital turns 100 years old This week marks 100 years for Tauranga Hospital. In collaboration with the hospital, The Weekend Sun is marking the momentous occasion with a six-page spread offering an insight into the rich history that has accumulated during the last century.

Within these pages you will find many stories about some of the people, places and practices making up the hospital’s first century.

Tauranga Hospital was officially opened on March 6, 1914, by the Inspector-General of Hospitals, Dr THA Valintine. The opening fell five months out from the outbreak of World War 1.

From day one – the need for a hospital was shown, with two patients admitted on March 6: Herbert Wood, aged 20, and his brother, Reginald, aged 16.

Both men were diagnosed with typhoid fever and together clocked up 111 days in hospital.

By 1950 Tauranga Hospital was considered a ‘cottage hospital’ and was located a distance from the town centre. Greerton was a Town Board and there was little housing beyond what is now 23rd Ave. Bay of Plenty District Health Board CEO Phil

Cammish says Tauranga Hospital is no longer a ‘cottage hospital’ by any means.

Today the hospital provides medical, surgical, paediatrics, obstetrics, gynaecology and mental health services to Western Bay of Plenty residents and beyond.

It is a base for a range of associated clinical support services and allied health, such as rehabilitation, speech therapy, physiotherapy, stroke and cardiac support, district nursing, and drug and alcohol programmes.

There are 349 beds at Tauranga Hospital, including the Special Care Baby Unit, maternity and mental health. Of these, 224 are available for medical and surgical patients, with 58 more for children and elderly, and 17 for medical day stay.

Mental health patients have 34 designated beds – 10 for older patients – and there are 43 beds for maternity, including 12 for the special care baby unit.

In 2007, the Bay of Plenty Clinical School was set up to provide the health workforce with clinical Doctors operate in Tauranga Hospital’s operating theatre in the early 1950s. training, facilities, resources and support for clinical and a wonderfully dedicated staff of the Bay of Plenty,” says Phil. trials and research projects. practising innovative and sometimes “Today we have a modern hospital that in no way

By Corrie Taylor world-leading medicine for the people could any longer be considered a ‘cottage hospital’,

Recognising a century of dedication Right now we are celebrating the Tauranga Hospital Centennial – 100 years of dedicated service to the people of Tauranga and the wider Bay of Plenty.

Earlier this year Phil Cammish, Bay of Plenty District Health Board CEO put out a request for memories, anecdotes, family stories and photographs to help tell the story of Tauranga Hospital’s first 100 years.

What a great response he received. These have been developed into Story Boards that now line the main corridor at the hospital.

If you are up there, take the time to read them and find out some of the interesting stories about the people who have made this a great hospital over the years. These are stories from patients, people who have worked there as well as current staff.

I have a couple of stories myself from past experience with the hospital – the first goes back to the 1950s when we were living at Pyes Pa. My older brother spent quite a long time in the hospital with osteomyelitis in

his anklebone. This was before the antibiotics that would be used to treat this disease today, and he had to have numerous operations. He was in those old wards that are long gone. I well remember being bored stiff while we were visiting him every day so I would amuse myself climbing in and out the windows; the staff were very patient with this exuberant 10-year-old. Perhaps that’s where my nursing career started?

In 1967 I started my nursing training at Tauranga Hospital and was there for five years. Now there are many stories I could tell about that time, some tragic and some funny; probably one of the safest ones was when we built a float for the August 1969 Orange Festival Parade. The second part of the then New Hospital was being built and a group of us convinced the construction firm to help us build this float and provide the materials for it. Not sure that would happen today!

We had a great cross section of staff

involved: nurses, house surgeons, orderlies, stores men – it was a real hospital effort. We even had people with plaster casts on legs and arms in beds on the float – had a few laughs making them in Outpatients the week before.

What a fun day we all had being part of the parade.

Back to the present day. On Friday morning March 7 the Minister of Health Hon. Tony Ryall is unveiling a plaque to commemorate the Centennial of Tauranga Hospital. It is people that make a hospital, both the people who have worked there and the people who have used the services. In celebrating 100 years we are celebrating the numerous people who have been involved over those 100 years.

What ever your experience and story has been, on behalf of the Board I want to thank you for being part of the history of Tauranga Hospital.

Sally Webb Chair, Bay of Plenty District Health Board

Hospital’s 100 a privilege to be a part of As Minister of Health, MP for Bay of Plenty, and as a local Bay of Plenty resident, it is a privilege to play a part in the Tauranga Hospital’s 100th Anniversary.

square metres and employs 2300 staff.

The average bed occupancy today is 307, the average length of stay is four days; and it now costs $250 million a year to run.

The hospital has the distinction of being the first in the country to have all of its 10 inpatient wards comTauranga Hospital has a proud history of providing plete the Releasing Time To Care Programme. excellent healthcare to generations of Bay of Plenty This programme aims to free up nurses’ time, which families. they can then spend one-on-one with patients, greatly It was officially opened on March 6, 1914, by the improving quality of care.

Inspector-General of Hospitals, Dr THA Valintine.

I also visited the hospital’s acute Stroke Unit, which The opening coincided with the year of first motor opened in January 2013 and has been performing above vehicle accident recorded in Tauranga – 11 years after national benchmarks for patient treatment. the first sighting of a car in the town.

By working closely with ambulance, emergency Minister of Health department and radiology services, the hospital has Originally, the hospital had six beds, and the average Tony Ryall. length of stay was 17 days. It was run by four staff who reduced or removed many of the barriers preventing lived on-site, at a cost of the equivalent of $17,511 stroke patients to get the treatment they need. per year.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to share in this signifiDuring the last 100 years, the hospital has undergone a remarkcant milestone in the hospital’s rich history, and I look forward to

By Tony Ryall able transformation. It now covers 58,000 many more milestones to come.

Did you know...?

• In 1914, if you broke your shin bone you’d be in hospital for at least six weeks, in plaster for three months, and require at least six months off work. Today, the average time off work is six to 12 weeks.

• The number of joint replacements required worldwide is increasing. In 2000, the Bay of Plenty District Health Board recorded 155 hip replacements and 110 knee replacements. In 2013, this increased to 391 hips and 333 knees.

• In 1914, parents were discouraged from visiting their sick child in hospital. Today, parents can stay at the hospital and are encouraged to be a part of the decisionmaking process.

• On February 24, 1944, the first baby was born in the old Maternity Annexe. His name was Norman Leslie; and to celebrate his birth, Tauranga Hospital gave the mother five pounds.

• Throughout its early years, Tauranga Hospital’s staff maintained a small farm near the premises. Farming operations were ended in July 1935.

• In 1914, doctors were unable to see inside the human body. Today, Tauranga Hospital’s Radiology Department includes equipment that allows doctors to see inside the body through the use of x-rays, ultrasounds, MRI scans and CT scans.

• At the time Tauranga Hospital opened, nurses were typically young, single and untrained. They predominantly made beds, and fed and washed patients. Today, nurses are highly trained, often specialised, and perform many tasks previously done by doctors.

27

The Weekend Sun

Witnessing development of surgery Dr Paul Mountfort worked at Tauranga Hospital from 1949 to 1991.

By Corrie Taylor

Dr Paul Mountfort with an iron lung which he used during the 1950s.

Photo by Tracy Hardy.

Arriving as a junior doctor – he spent his first four years in Tauranga before travelling to England in 1953, training for four years to become a surgeon.

“I was just an ordinary young doctor when I started, and I came back as what they called a senior registrar,” says the now retired senior surgeon.

For Paul, the difference in the surgical industry between when he worked, and now, is incompatible.

“There is almost no similarity really, except the actual operating.

The instruments they have today are so much better, the diagnostic equipment they have is so much better.

“We didn’t have any scans of any sort, we had x-rays. When I started we didn’t even have a laboratory set.”

The most complicated instrument Paul used in his early years as a surgeon was a diathermy – an electric knife used to coagulate tissue.

“The instruments we had were simple instruments by today’s standards. There were no cat scans, no ultrasounds or MRI scans.”

Without such equipment, surgeons were expected to accurately diagnose patients using

little more than their eyes and ears.

“The surgeon making the diagnosis had to be a jolly site cleverer. In these days it’s much easier to diagnose, now there are all sorts of strange tests.”

Paul says the process of introducing technology enabling easier diagnosis, began when Dr Paul Wishart started a radiology unit at Tauranga Hospital in 1951.

As time went on, more modern technology was incorporated into the hospital – changes Paul says were “very easy” to adjust to.

“It was very nice, and welcomed. It’s like driving a car and having no road signs. They put the signs up – and it’s good.”

Through his career at Tauranga Hospital many big events occurred – though Paul says many of the memories that last are bad ones.

“Though there were some great things that happened. Things that stand out in my mind is a girl who got kicked in the head by a horse, and someone else came in with a bullet in their lung and we managed to get that out.

“The most rewarding thing in a way was setting fractures, because they were young fit people; and when they got better, they got completely better.”

Dr Paul Mountford retired in June, 1991.

A surgeon’s arrival in 1949 Paul Mountfort arrived at Tauranga Hospital on December 28, 1949. He was a young doctor in his early 20s. He tells us about his arrival, what the building was like, and how the organisation ran at the time.

“Hello Mountfort! Nice to see you. I’ve been on-call continuously for 35 days, and now I’m going on holiday.”

In saying so, Dr Sligo handed me a bunch of keys and said: “I’ll see you in a fortnight”.

Tauranga Hospital was a single-storied rough cast building with a tiled roof. From the outside it was quite attractive.

There was a tennis court in front, with a drive for cars separating it from the Boiler House with a tall chimney.

Entering the hospital

The entrance led to a short corridor, from which there was a small receptionist’s office, with a switchboard, the superintendent’s office, the dispensary and a public waiting room.

At the end was a larger corridor at right angles, which gave access to two wards, the theatre, the X-ray room, the matron’s office and the kitchen.

The two wards were identical; each was a large hall with a divider across the middle. There were two side rooms, a ward sister’s office, a sterilising room and to one side, a sluice room and toilets.

Around two sides was a glassed-in veranda for children and convalescents. One ward was for females and the other for males.

The patients were aligned along the walls – and if necessary, down the centre too. The first half was for acutely ill patients and the second half for elderly permanent cases.

There was a third ward, made of wood, which had about a dozen single rooms used for chronically ill tuberculosis patients.

It was on a small rise, not far from the main block.

There were a number of small wooden huts dotted about, for the carpenters, the painters, the laboratory, a surgical boot-maker and one was used by a chronic paraplegic called ‘Scotty Savage’, who went out there in his wheelchair and made ‘home brew’.

There were two full-time medical staff, the Superintendent, Dr Sligo and a house surgeon, and me.

There were also two part-time surgeons, Dr Mark

and Dr Park, who did the two lists each week and attended to the acute cases.

They worked week and week about. The local general practitioners attended to the obstetric cases in the Maternity Annex, which was nearby.

There was no physician, no radiologist and no pathologist.

There were some visiting specialists, including a tuberculosis officer from Hamilton and later from Rotorua.

He did a clinic every fortnight, seeing numerous patients collected by the district nurses.

Dr Pickerill and his wife Cecily, both plastic surgeons, saw children with congenital defects and arranged for some to be treated in Wellington.

They came twice a year and stayed for two days; the second day they spent operating on minor cases.

A simple x-ray

The X-ray Department had a main room with the usual universal x-ray plant, such as a couch with an over-couch tube for doing most x-rays.

It could be raised up to the vertical and had an under-couch tube and a screen for doing barium studies of the stomach and bowel.

There was also a very fine Westinghouse portable, which the medical staff could use when the radiographer was not available.

There was a radiographer, but no radiologist, so the doctors had to report based on the patients’ films.

The laboratory consisted of a small wooden hut, with some basic equipment and a few chemicals to do simple tests. The equipment was not cleaned properly and the doctors were not trained laboratory technicians, so anything important was sent by bus to Waikato.

Jobs done well

In spite of all the problems, two areas of the hospital functioned very well. The first was the nursing service.

Tauranga was a training school for nurses and the girls were a very dedicated group who worked hard and well. The second was the standard of the surgery.

Both surgeons were London-trained and were able to perform excellent surgery.

Pictured: Numerous old surgical equipment currently on display at Tauranga Hospital.

28

The Weekend Sun

Patient’s 40-year hospital stay Changes in medicine James Lynch lay in a bed in Tauranga Hospital for more than 40 years.

birth certificate.

“So we got in touch with the local registry office but couldn’t find any record of his birth, and that really upset him.

We were told that some people weren’t registered at birth but when they went to school, so we applied to his old school, Tauranga District School, and we found his entry in the archives.”

When James was six years old, his grandfather had enrolled him; and Stella discovered his birthday was in fact August 20, 1918.

“I’ve been reading Scorpio [horoscopes] to you all these years and you’re a Leo,” she told him.

“A local lawyer applied for his birth certificate and that became one of his prized treasures.”

Stella used to take James to the movies and says he liked action and cowboy movies. “He used to get so excited he’d shake. If he had had a normal life, he would be an accountant he told me once. He’d lie there and count cars and trucks going past his window within 10 minutes, and how many in an hour. He was a lovely man.”

James Lynch died peacefully at Tauranga Hospital in May 2001.

Stella Ward, with James Lynch in Tauranga Hospital.

Paralysed at age 14, James was admitted to Tauranga Hospital in 1957, and to this day carries the record for the hospital’s longeststaying permanent patient.

Retired registered nurse Stella Ward was one of many staff who looked after James and says his sense of humour, strong Catholic faith, positive attitude and sharp mind were inspirational.

“One day when I was washing him, he surprised me when he said out of the blue: ‘I've had such a good life’,” says Stella.

“I was stunned for a minute. ‘Do you think so James, with all that’s happened?’ I asked him. ‘Well I’ve never had any pain and I’ve never been bored.

I’ve had such a good life,’ he replied.”

James was paralysed when taking an on-board visit of the HMS Veronica, as he tried to help a sailor who was holding a live wire. The current passed through James, paralysing him and during the following years his body slowly deteriorated.

In recalling his sharp mind, Stella says James used to celebrate his birthday each year in November.

“One day he’d been thinking and said: ‘I’m sure my mother didn’t die in the 1918 influenza epidemic, but in 1919’, and he wanted to get a copy of his

Arthur Reid witnessed huge changes in medicine and treatment during the five decades he worked at Tauranga Hospital, as a physician and deputy medical superintendent.

Working for the hospital until 2000, the 87-year-old has seen a number of first in medical improvement such as the progress in radiology (CT and MRI scans), coronary and open heart surgery, organ and join replacements and other revolutionary discoveries.

“I graduated in 1949. That was near the beginning of the antibiotic era with Penicillin and then Streptomycin being the first antibiotics made widely available.

“The results in overcoming bacterial diseases like pneumonia and tuberculosis were miraculous. Unfortunately due to the emergence of bacterial resistance factors we are now loosing that miracle,” says Arthur.

Other advancements Arthur has seen change the face of medicine include the use of nuclear medicine, advances with drugs and radiology in all forms of cancer treatment, and new vaccines for disease prevention like polio, rubella, hepatitis and mumps.

“All these wonderful developments in treatments we now regard as routine and meet our ordinary everyday expectations.

“Whole groups of highly qualified specialists have been trained to meet these expectations and do so now with ‘routine’ success. We all enjoy extended health and happiness as a consequence,” says Arthur.

Pictured: Arthur Reid is now enjoying retirement with his wife, living in Bethlehem.

Life as a nurse in the late 1950s When Roie Kingan began training to become a nurse in 1954 there were five women in her preliminary class.

Under Sister Natalie Banner, the group graduated in 1958 – none of them married and all of them were living in the nurses’ home.

“In the early 1950s you trained in general nursing; there were no specialties as such, however I spent quite a lot of time in theatre for some reason or another.

“We only had six weeks when we first started with the Sister, and then we went straight into the wards.”

Roie recalls living in the nurses’ home as an “amazing experience” filled with social occasions.

“When we went out, one of the two Sisters would be rostered on and remain at the nurses’ home. It would be an effort at times when you’d find yourself at 12am or 1am trying to evade Sister Bakewell, or whoever was on that night.”

Roie says the nurses became very close friends, living and working together every day.

“I mean really it; that was our home and nowhere else. You only had one or two days off a week; and if you lived further away sometimes you got away, and sometimes you didn’t.”

At that time, nurses normally worked in one ward for six weeks, then moved to another. “On night duty there

was one nurse on in each ward, an afternoon supervisor and there was a nurse that was called a runner; and she went from one ward to another as required, helping.

“Ward 3 was the TB Ward and that was right up the hill and Ward 6, which was the geriatric or old people’s ward, was also right across, quite an area away, and some of the girls didn’t like going up there at night either, as they were a bit scared.”

Roie says nurses then were probably much closer to the doctors and house surgeons.

“Now a huge amount of work goes through Accident and Emergency, but in my time our patients nearly always went straight to the ward.

“Bad accidents and things like that went straight to wards; therefore you had to be much closer to doctors and so on, because they relied on you so much.”

A typical work day began at 6am, washing sheets and making beds.

Patients had breakfast at 7.30am, and from then on duties consisted of treatments and other jobs.

Visiting hours were 2pm-3pm and 7pm-8pm. Roie says there were always funny instances. “One time I was on night duty in Ward 3, the TB Ward, and I was told to watch out as some of the ladies were going into the Men’s Ward.

“The other thing was I was supposed to be watching out for, was any beer going into the Men’s Ward.”

The Graduation Class of 1958.

Retired registered nurse Roie Kingan now lives in Pongakawa.

While she loved her job, Roie says today’s nurses are doing more and more.

“They can put in a drip these days and we weren’t allowed to. The technology has changed; we had very little technology.

“We would set up for our senior nurse to do all her dressings. She had to sterilise all of the equipment and things in a little steriliser and set up her own trays.

“Nowadays, they come in packages and you just pick up what package you want and so on.”

“What we had available was much more basic compared to today.”

By Corrie Taylor

Did you know...

ranga Hospital was • The first matron at Tau . She worked as Miss Gertrude Ellen Mason It is believed she 20. the matron from 1914-19 en in 1925, and ack Cr married Crawford Mc died in 1962. ranga Hospital Com• In March 1919, the Tau mendation for a om mittee reported the rec -site, to make room on ilt bu nurses’ home to be . In November 1920, for more accommodation hospital’s first Miss Gertude Mason – the ation, and the ign res her matron – handed in erintendent for the position of a medical sup position would pay hospital was created. This $600 per year.

29

The Weekend Sun

Saving sight worldwide

By Corrie Taylor

Fighting influenza New Zealand’s worst disease disaster to date is the influenza pandemic that struck during October to December in 1918.

It is estimated more than one million people in the world can see today because of initiatives introduced by the late professor Fred Hollows.

Above: Fred, working with young children overseas. Photo by Michael Amendolia.

the United Kingdom, before moving to Australia in 1965.

Fred went on to become an internationally-acclaimed eye surgeon and social justice activist, who championed the But many people don’t know right of all people to access it was during his two years spent high quality and affordable at Tauranga Hospital that Fred eye care. made his first significant move The Fred Hollows Foundatowards becoming an eye doctor.

Professor Fred Hollows tion was set up in 1992, and Born in April 1929, Fred first learned to remove carries on Fred’s work in 30 worked at Tauranga Hospital a cataract at Tauranga developing countries across from 1958-1959, under the Hospital. Photo by Peter Solness.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific. assistance of eye surgeon DR R.E The work of the foundation restores sight to Tingey, who let Fred assist with operations. the needlessly blind, and trains local eye health Fred completed an ‘eye term’ as part of his specialists to provide eye care services in their initial medical training, and within a year at Tauranga Hospital learned how to safely remove own communities. In the last five years alone, the foundation has performed nearly one mila cataract. lion sight-restoring operations and treatments, Following this, Fred took a position at and trained more than 38,000 local eye health Wellington Hospital as an Ophthalmologic specialists.

Registrar. In 1961 he went to Moorfields Eye Fred died in 1993 in Sydney, Australia, at the Hospital in England to study Ophthalmology. age of 63 years.

He then did postgraduate work in Wales and

Nurses and young patients outside the old children’s ward in early 1950s.

Nurses working in 1933.

No event has killed so many New Zealanders in such a short space of time.

While World War 1 claimed the lives of more than 18,000 New Zealand soldiers during a four-year period, the second wave of the 1918 influenza epidemic killed almost 8600 people in less than two months.

No other recorded influenza pandemic has been so deadly; and to this date nobody knows why it was so deadly.

The 1918 influenza pandemic was commonly referred to as the Spanish Flu, though it didn’t originate in Spain.

It was given the name by journalists when the Spanish King, Alfonso X111, fell seriously ill with a form of influenza in May that year.

1918 influenza

but those who are most susceptible to that are often people who are already unwell, suffering other conditions.”

Phil says influenza is a viral illness, and therefore cannot be cured.

“You can take medication to ease the pain, but there is no treatment for it and nothing that will actually get you back to work faster.”

It often renders people sick in bed, unable to carry on their daily life, and takes about a week to get back to normal, says Phil.

Fighting influenza today

A significant step in fighting influenza came in 2000 with the Ministry of Health’s announcement it would fully fund the flu vaccine for a number of people.

Bay of Plenty Medical Officer of Health Dr Phil Shoemack says the decision to make it free and the active promotion of the vaccine has made a difference in fighting influenza.

“The target was set to have 70 per cent of the over-65 populations vaccinated annually, and most years we reach that now.”

The vaccine is currently free to residents aged over 65 years old, and to those with chronic medical conditions.

“A large number of employers now also fully fund the vaccine for their employees, so that’s a massive benefit to them, their families and to the productivity of the country,” says Phil.

The Tauranga district did not suffer as much from the 1918 epidemic as other areas.

The Bay of Plenty Hospital Board meeting of November 8, 1918, was held just as the violent influenza epidemic was reaching its peak. Yet the only mention of the epidemic in the meeting’s notes was: ‘Leave of absence was granted Messrs Spence and Green, who were detained in Auckland by the prevailing epidemic’.

The death rate of the epidemic Influenza was highest in young, healthy males epidemic spreads around the world in s, result season – the group which had suffered cases of severe ing in three to five million al an ill most in the war. each year. Thi ness and 250,000-500,000 nual s deaths ri se s to millions in By the board’s next meeting in years. some pandem ic December, the epidemic was startThe first cases of th e in ing to diminish. fl uen (swine flu), ar rived in New za virus strain H1N1 In Tauranga County (populaZealand on A 2009. pril 25, tion 2942), there were 12 deaths In the months th at fo llo recorded, and six in Tauranga wed, the Minis Health report try of ed 35 Borough (population 1685).

It was recorded 00 cases of swine flu infect ion. as be ing responsibl This was a combined mortality deaths, althou e for 20 gh m or e m ay have resulted rate of 3.9 per 1000. infection. from In contrast, Whakatane’s mortality rate was 12.5.

What is influ enza?

• A vi What the doctor says or sneezerus.s transmitted through the air by coug hs Bay of Plenty Medical Officer • Symptoms in cl ud e ch ills, fe of Health Dr Phil Shoemack sore throat, co ughing, headac ver, runny nose, says influenza is potentially pain. he and muscu lar serious to each individual.

• The real kille r in 19 18 was pneum “It’s huge. But because so secondary infe onia – a ction. many people get it each year, • The skin of so m e people who the overall burden is difficult monia in 1918 darkened, beca caught pneuto calculate. vessels. If the whole body be use of burst blood “Every year a number of ca this often mea nt imminent de me virtually black, people die from influenza, ath.

Did you know .

..

30

The Weekend Sun

“BIG OR SMALL WE DO IT ALL” “We have the expertise to do the job right from driveways to motorways”

Higgins Contractors Bay of Plenty Proud to be associated with Tauranga Hospital.

Congratulations on their centenary 92 Hewletts Road, Mount Maunganui Phone: 07 574 4100 www.higgins.co.nz

Friends’ small sacrifice Doreen Birchfield, 76, and Di Tate, 65, catching up in the city. Photo by Tracy Hardy.

Di Tate and Doreen Birchfield have a special bond – created by spending countless hours volunteering together in Tauranga Hospital’s Children’s Ward.

Doreen, 76, has been volunteering at various hospitals for close to 30 years, and is now in her 20th year at Tauranga Hospital. She spends every Wednesday morning entertaining children in the ward, and was joined 12 years ago by Di – who finished her volunteer work late last year.

“We’ve been working together on a Wednesday morning for so many years, so it was really a lovely kind of connection between the two of us,” says Di. “Doreen is a special lady.”

While the idea behind their volunteering hasn’t changed – the way it’s done has altered during the years. “When I first started, the children’s ward was

luxury airport

shuttles

about where the cafe is now downstairs. We had a lovely big space and an outdoor area, and the children could be outside within the fenced area,” says Di. “We set it up a bit like a kindy really; and our job was to keep the children occupied with something, to make their time in the hospital not just about nasty experiences, but hoping they’d have a bit of fun too, so that was the motivating thing.”

In 2012 Tauranga Hospital opened a new children’s ward on the fourth floor – and with that came changes in the way children are looked after by volunteers.

“They have play therapists in the paediatric ward now, and we’re just there supporting them now. So it’s changed quite a bit,” says Di. “But we still do the same things; we’d go along, set up the room and really just play with the kids.

“It was lovely.”

While rewarding in many ways for both women, they agree the role comes with challenging times.

“You just see children dealing with pretty icky things; they’re pretty brave wee poppets, “There are some children who we’ve known since they were tiny, and they’re still coming there because they’ve got ongoing issues.

“So we have relationships with some of them just because we’ve known them for such a long time. It is nice and you get a bit of a connection with their parents too.”

For Doreen, she has definitely shed a few tears.

“I have only been to one funeral. It was little girl and after that I thought: ‘No, I’m not going to do that, I’m going to keep things happy the best I can’.”

She also believes the role has changed, but for the better.

“If we go back to the start, we started off with a couple of books, and toys. Now they have the child play specialist.

“It was still adequate, what we did, it was better than not having anything.”

Doreen says all children’s volunteers play a very important role, for the children and their parents/caregivers.

“Because they need a break, often they come in and they could be stressed; and if they don’t have to worry about the children and know they’re happy playing, it’s very important. Sometimes I go home and think how lucky can I be.”

By Corrie Taylor

31

The Weekend Sun

The changing times of delivering babies Esther Mackay has cared for about 3000 women in her midwifery career, which started in 1978.

The rules have changed significantly throughout the years in the industry, leading to a far greater choice for women in terms of the care they receive, she says.

Clinical midwife manager Esther Mackay, at work in Tauranga Hospital.

Photo by Tracy Hardy.

Introducing an intensive care unit In the early 1980s Tauranga Hospital could perform limited intensive care, and if patients needed prolonged care they were usually transferred to Hamilton or Auckland. In 1985, after successfully opening the first ICU in Africa in Durban in 1970, Neil was looking to relocate.

“A friend said to me: ‘I’ve just the spot for you in one of the nicest towns to live in, it’s called Tauranga. They need someone to build and run an ICU there’,” says Neil. “He then negotiated a new post with the Hospital Board; I was appointed and arrived in December 1986.” Neil says designing the new ICU was easy, but the problem was deciding where to put it.

“If it took over an existing ward; and the extra space required for ICU care

“[In the early days] Rules were imposed.

Women often gave birth on their backs with their feet in stirrups and fathers were not allowed to attend the birth.

“It took until the 1970s for practices to change, when husbands were allowed to attend births and midwives and women worked to achieve more natural birthing,” says Esther.

Today every pregnant woman in Tauranga has her own midwife who supports her throughout the pregnancy, says Esther.

“The midwife monitors progress, arranges screen tests and provides information so the woman and her family can make evidence-based

would reduce the hospital bed total.

Tauranga only just had enough beds to qualify as a major establishment and any reduction would have a major effect on funding and staff salaries. We looked everywhere from the basement to the roof garden.”

The hospital’s next budget allowed for the ICU to be built in what was Ward 7, conveniently close to the operating theatres. The new unit included cubicles for six Coronary Care beds, six ICU beds in an open plan area, two isolation rooms, plus all of the necessary storage, gas and power supplies.

The ICU medical staff were all from the Department of Anaesthesia and 24/7 cover at specialist level.

This fourth floor unit was used until 2012, when it was replaced.

choices around their birth experience.

“The midwife then cares for the woman during labour and birth, whether in the shower or pool, or lying on a bed pain-free with an epidural.”

Following the birth, the midwife visits the woman at home to give six weeks’ support of breastfeeding and monitor wellbeing.

“The midwives and obstetricians work as a team to provide this family-centred care,” says Esther.

“Our maternity service has grown to be a modern, highly regarded centre, working in partnership with women and their families.

“With approximately 2000 births each year, we are a busy unit.”

You’ve got the phone, now get the value Visit us in store at 306 Cameron Road Tauranga Phone: 07 578 6916 Vodafone Power to you

per month on Red Essentials Unlimited talk and TXTs

to standard NZ and Oz numbers

Hurry offer ends March 31

1.5GB data Open term plan

Only on the

SuperNet™

Customers who sign up to a Red Essentials open term plan prior to the 31st March 2014 will receive a monthly discount of $10 per month (usually $79) off the standard monthly price for the life of their plan when they BYOsmartphone. Unlimited talk and TXTs is for standard person-to-person calls and TXTs to standard NZ and Oz numbers. Excludes premium and special numbers.

Vodafone On Account and Red terms and conditions apply. See vodafone.co.nz/red

32

Families to fish for fire funding Fishing and fire callouts don’t have much in common – but on March 14-15 Katikati’s volunteer fire brigade will drop their hoses to weigh-in fish at the station’s 13th annual family fishing competition.

Katikati brigade’s deputy chief Gavin Amrein says there’s only two differences to this year’s fundraiser

– a new children’s fishing section replacing the traditional eeling, and weigh-in is at the new station.

“This year we really want to push the children’s fishing, and we have heaps of spot prizes for youngsters up for grabs.”

The competition has adults and children’s sections for average weight snapper, kahawai and trevally, with an adults dive section crayfish prize too.

All entrants weigh-in one fish for each category. The land-based

Four-year-old Malakhai Deane-Freeman and older brother sevenyear-old Lauchlan Deane-Freeman, are ready to enter Katikati fire brigade’s family fishing competition.

children’s section permits fishing at the Uretara and Kauri Point jetties and Waihi Beach.

“There’s a $200 prize for the average weight fish in each category in the children’s section. The adult’s section has $200-plus prizes for average fish species. Adults can fish anywhere for their catch.”

On Friday night, a barbecue and bar opens at the new station from 5pm, with a lucky draw for all tickets-holders (6pm-8pm), and children’s spot prizes.

On Saturday, children’s weigh-in is 2pm-4pm, with prize-giving at 4.30pm. Adults’ weigh-in is 2pm5pm, with prize-giving at 5.30pm.

Funds raised go towards the new fire station, on the corner of Sheffield St and Middlebrook Drive.

Gavin says the station is a muchneeded resource, with the brigade’s 25 volunteers already responding to more than 20 callouts this year – ahead of the same time in 2013.

Last year’s competition saw 300 entries, with Gavin thinking they’ll hit or succeed the mark again.

Tickets cost $20 adult and $15 child, from Katikati Building Supplies, Maree Finance, The Onion and Vege Place, and Katikati Tractors.

By Merle Foster

The Weekend Sun

Covering all bases

Papamoa College’s senior softball team. Photo by Tracy Hardy.

When it comes to softball, Papamoa College’s senior team has all bases covered. But they’re missing one thing – matching team hoodies.

The 13-strong mixed team is competing in division two of the Pak’n Save North Island Secondary Schools Boys’ and Girls’ Championships at Carlton St Reserve in Otumoetai on March 25-28.

And to represent the school in style, the team is fundraising for new hoodies.

Team manager Nia Finau says the group needs to raise at about $600 – and to do so they plan to hold sausage sizzles at the school and hopefully Pak’n Save.

Nia says next month’s competition will be the first time the group has played together in a national tournament after starting the team last September.

Consisting of 10 boys and three girls, the team is competing in the boys’ section of the competition – but Nia isn’t worried. “My girls are pretty tough, so they will be able to handle it.”

Coping with legal aid reductions Senior family lawyer Patricia Jones of Beach Legal says as of March 31, people’s ability to get lawyers will be reduced.

People will have to draft their own documents and attend Family Court themselves, she says, and there will be a “dramatic reduction” in eligibility for legal aid.

Also, until now, children have had their own lawyers who help explain the process to children and give a voice to the children’s views and wishes - this is also being reduced.

“Relationship breakdowns, especially when children are involved, can be enormously stressful. The legal profession fears that this stress will be aggravated by the fact that, on top of everything else, parties will be expected to prepare their own documentation and manage their own court appearances in front of a judge.”

Beach Legal has three lawyers: Patricia Jones, Talia Marshall and Benjamin Ron, who are experts in Family Court matters.

People with family matters including custody and contact disputes, and other disagreements relating to the care of their children are encouraged to contact Beach Legal before the end of March.

By Zoe Hunter

‘When children are involved, it can be enormously stressful.’

33

The Weekend Sun

Safer travel for school The first stage of Oropi Memorial Hall’s $1.8 million upgrade is complete with the opening of the new access connecting the hall and Oropi School.

away from the road.” The nearly $2 million upgrade will see the now named Oropi Memorial Hall become the Oropi Memorial Hall and Community Centre. Further proposed plans to redevelop the 59-year-old hall include an extension, fitness

Today Oropi Settlers Association Inc – operating as the Oropi Hall Committee – and Western Bay of Plenty District Council are celebrating the completion of the 300 metre footpath.

The footpath will enable Oropi School pupils and staff to safely access the upgraded centre and utilise it as a school hall.

The first stage of completion is being welcomed by Oropi School principal Andrew King who had safety concerns about pupils’ daily walks to the hall for school activities.

“The huge benefit is that access to the hall is now very clear for the children,” says Andrew.

“Especially the younger children, there is no question about where exactly to walk – no gutters, puddles and bushes to negotiate anymore.

“The council have put a fenced path along the top of the bank so the children are well

gym, squash courts, and footpath and parking area.

Built in 1953 as a war memorial, the hall will be modernised to be used by a number of community groups at the same time to cater for a growing district, says convenor Joan Kehely.

Oropi School principal Andrew King on the new footpath that runs between the school and the hall. Photo by Bruce Barnard.

A small sacrifice for a big cause TrustPower chief executive Vince Hawksworth will light up the room when he returns to work with no hair after he loses his locks for child cancer.

The 55-year-old is this year’s Tauranga businessman shaving his hair for Child Cancer Foundation’s annual Mount Beach Bald – Shave Your Lid for a Brave Kid on March 15.

Asked by fellow colleague Dean Roberts, who is involved with CCF, to shed his hair for child cancer – Vince says he’s honoured to follow in the footsteps of Port of Tauranga CEO Mark Cairns, Zespri CEO Lain Jager and Dame Susan Devoy, who all swapped a head of hair for a bare one as part of the cause.

Vince says losing his locks seemed

TrustPower chief executive Vince Hawksworth is shaving his head for child cancer. a small sacrifice after losing two uncles to prostate cancer and a colleague to melanoma earlier this year.

“I am assured it grows back. And I’ve been told there’s only six weeks between a good and a bad haircut.”

But Vince wants people to know

the disease is not all about sad endings, with his father surviving testicular cancer.

“At the end of the day, there are survivors and there are good news stories. I think that’s another thing about CCF…the work they do gives families help and hope; and they’re not all bad endings.”

Vince is hoping his first efforts will raise $10,000 for the Child Cancer Foundation and he’s well underway to achieving his goal, with more than $8000 in donations already in the bank.

Mount Beach Bald is at Mount Maunganui Main Beach on March 15 from 11am.

Registrations are still open and people can sign up for Shave Your Lid for a Brave Kid at childcancerfundraising.org.nz/event/ mountbeachbald2014 or donate to Vince’s head shave at mountbeachbald2014.everydayhero.com/nz/vince

MOUNT Turning your perspective upside down BEACH Often the idea of losing the earth beneath our feet terrorises us, both literally and figuratively speaking. And, the thought of having the structure that supports us gone isn’t pleasant, but it happens.

What if we were so used to it we became like cats, always falling on our feet?

See, the constant training of jumps, hand stands, and other acrobatic movements improve not only our physical capabilities, but our mental ones as well. Being upside down really changes your perspective on the world, and maintaining balance while doing it keeps your mind calm and your body under total control.

Putting it all together blurs the line between what is possible and what isn’t; and brings a ‘can do’ attitude. It also becomes the perfect opportunity to become a child again and play while working out every muscle in your body. So next time you get the chance, take that leap of faith – out of your comfort zone and stand on your hands, you won’t regret it.

BALD! SHAVE YOUR LID FOR A BRAVE KID! Get involved and register now to support child cancer! Participate as an individual or get a group together.

To register visit www.childcancer.org.nz or for more information contact Delwynne Hahunga PHN: 07 579 4141 or 021 497 859 EML dhahunga@childcancer.org.nz

>

Where: Main Beach Mt Maunganui When: 11am, Saturday 15th March

34

The Weekend Sun

Adopt-a-thon a ‘superb’ success Thirty formerly homeless animals are now enjoying the love and warmth of a new ‘forever home’ following The Weekend Sun’s Adopt-a-Thon with Tauranga SPCA. The February adopt-a-thon saw 21 kittens, five puppies, four adult cats and one bird adopted into new families throughout Tauranga.

Among them is four-month-old ginger kitten Leo, who is settling into his new home with the Signal family in Papamoa.

Peter Signal says he and his wife went to the adopt-a-thon after losing their 17-year-old cat a month ago. “We said

Peter and Sharmaine Signal with new kitten Leo. Photo by Tracy Hardy.

we’d take the cat that came to us, not the other way around.”

Leo is a “feisty” kitten. “He’s a real lively thing, tears around the house and chews on the blinds. He’s had a few water squirts.”

Leo is happily adjusting to his new surroundings, and is eagerly awaiting being allowed outside.

“He’s busting at the door, he won’t let you out of his sight,” says Peter.

The Weekend Sun also raised enough funds to donate $750 to Tauranga SPCA, to be spent on food and supplies for the shelter’s animals. Margaret says staff are very thankful for the “amazing support” from the businesses which got involved with the adopt-a-thon, and the families.

By Corrie Taylor

The tale of Freddy - finding the problem Freddy the poodle was brought into our clinic because he was losing weight, not eating well, occasionally vomiting, and becoming lethargic.

He was three years old and usually a very active chap. These symptoms can appear in any of hundreds of illnesses, so we ran a blood test to try and find the cause.

The blood test results were very similar to what we see in renal failure. But why would Freddy’s kidneys fail him at a young age? If this was renal failure, his chance

of survival was very, very slim. We sent a urine sample to the laboratory, which ruled out kidney infection and many other kidney and bladder disorders. So we looked further and did an ultrasound scan of his kidneys; which looked nearly normal.

So something else was making Freddy unwell. Disorders of the hormonal system can show up in unusual ways, and are often known as ‘the great pretenders’, so two more specialised hormone tests were done and we found the

problem. Freddy’s adrenal glands were not functioning. Adrenal glands produce the corticosteroid hormones needed to adapt to stressful situations (the fight or flight response). And without these hormones, even small stresses can lead to physiological disaster. If not diagnosed early, this disease can also be rapidly fatal.

But Freddy’s story has a happy ending. He is on hormone-replacement medication for the rest of his life – but he's happy.

‘Kathleen joined VCT in 2005. She completed her Veterinary Degree in 2003 and has a special interest in Ophthalmology (eyes) and Oncology (cancer).

She is proud Mum to Manny & Pearl (dogs) and Woof (cat). Ph VetCare 07 576 9555’

How do I socialise my puppy?

The best puppy-raisers begin an intensive socialisation programme starting when pups are four weeks old.

Do this by exposing them to gentle handling and touch from an increasing number and variety of humans as the days and weeks pass.

Handling ears, touching paws and examining teeth should all be accompanied by treats, toys or praise, so the pup comes to believe humans and human touch make good things happen.

This concept should be instilled in his little brain before he’s at the

age of four months.

Once the pup has reached the age of 12-14 weeks, it’s time to begin socialising him with other puppies, dogs and the outside world.

This should continue to be a priority in your socialisation training right through to the age of two years.

Successfully socialising your pup requires meeting a variety of dogs, people and encountering new environments every day.

This hard work you put in now is what will ensure your dog is a confident, happy dog that takes new

experiences in his stride and is a joy to be around.

Taking the time to socialise your puppy will help prevent a lot of future behaviour problems we see in adult dogs.

We all want our dogs to lead happy lives; and it’s through this socialisation from puppy-age that enables him to happily live in this crazy human world of ours.

35

The Weekend Sun

Understanding the inner workings of a dog I was minding my own business, stalking the retractable garden hose to ambush it mid-way through its evil habit of retracting, when a strange noise was heard emanating from the compost bin.

Now ordinarily, the task of pursuing the garden hose while retracting takes a higher priority in the Schedule of Things a Dog Needs to React To. Schedule of importance of things a dog reacts to: Distant cat howl Compost bin intruder Car stops outside butchery Sound of garden hose retracting Sound of Dog bowl replenishment Gun cleaning Goose flies overhead Duck call Cat enters yard But on this particular day, the garden hose had been thoroughly disciplined on a number of previous occasions, the thought processes of this Labrador quickly deduced that in fact, this could one of those times when a Compost Bin Commotion

Distant Compost Car stops Sound of Sound of Gun Goose cat howl bin outside garden dog bowl cleaning flies intruder butchery hose replenishment overhead retracting

gets a special exemption on the aforementioned scale of seriousness requiring Dog intervention.

Trotting toward the compost bin, with a spring in step and ears appropriately positioned to indicate Alert Level 2.5 (higher than the cars keys being picked up, but not as alert as the fridge door openCar key ing). movement detected Car key movement detected Fridge door opening Signs of lead/ball thrower/frisbee Uncle Tony moves within three miles Uncle Tony enters room Uncle Tony picks up car keys, lead, ball thrower and says “let’s go”. (off the scale) I arrive at the compost bin just in time to witness the last death throes of Rodney the Rat, long-time mutual nemesis of Chad the Champion Rat Catcher and myself. He’d finally fallen for the old almond nut in the rat trap trick.

Not often that me and a cat celebrate a mutual victory.

The moment of glory was shattered seconds later, when, clicketty clacketty click, the garden hose made its break.

Despite reaching Mach 2 around the corner of the house, startling Chad who went up the avocado tree pulling 5G forces and teetering on the brink of unconscious from the vertical acceleration – the darned hose got away. Again.

Never mind. I know where it lives.

One day I will beat the evil Duck call Cat water snake, before it escapes back enters yard into its shell.

- Flo.

ENJOY THE SUN

In the Bay this

SUMMER! We're so close to the beach even the lifeguards can spot us!

Come inside, cool off and enjoy all the food, fashion and retail stores right here under one roof.

Fridge door opening

Signs of leash/ ball thrower/ frsibee

Uncle Tony moves within 3 miles

Uncle Tony enters room

Uncle Tony picks up keys, leash, ball thrower and says “lets’s go”

36

Taylor Burley

Kleiman

The Weekend Sun

New salon in the city A brand new hairdressing salon is now open in Tauranga City.

J&K La Bella is one of the newest salons to the city and is now operating on Cameron Road.

Owners Kevin and Judy Lee are inviting men, women and children to come in and get their hair cut or coloured.

At the salon, men can get their hair cut, shampooed and styled for $20, while women can get the same service for $25.

They also offer clipper cuts, boys’ and girls’ haircuts and pensioner haircuts as well as colour dyeing.

Customers will receive a $5 discount on any one service when they present the voucher on this page at their appointment.

J&K La Bella owners Kevin and Judy Lee. Photo by Tracy Hardy.

J&K La Bella is open Monday-Friday from 9am to 6pm and from 10am to 2pm on Saturday. Phone them at the salon to make an appointment. By Zoe Hunter

High intensity interval training Recently, there has been an explosion of exciting research promoting high intensity exercise for health.

This High Intensity Interval Training exercise has been shown to improve a wide range of health measures in considerably less than half the amount of time.

Some of the benefits and characteristics of interest to us include: • Time efficiency • Flexibility, as to when or where it is carried out • High intensity is performed at a safe level for each individual

• No equipment is necessary • The resting metabolic rate is elevated and blood-sugar levels are decreased for many hours after HIIT. So, HIIT is the timeefficient way to get fit and improve health. The intensity is relative to your own level of fitness.

For example, for a fit person, sprinting up a hill would be high intensity.

But for a less fit person, walking up that same hill would be high intensity.

Mix it up – many different intervals (durations and intensities), have been shown to be effective.

For example: • 5 x 30 seconds exercising “as

hard as you can go” with 1 minute easy recovery between each – that is just 2½ minutes of exercise.

The pain is short-lived and feels great, like you have really achieved something.

Mix up the types of exercise: • Arm exercises – boxing, grinding, resistance bands or weights, swimming, rowing.

• Leg exercises – running, walking uphill, stairs, squats, lunges, skipping, cycling.

• A combination of the above.

• 1 x minute walking uphill, 1 x minute resistance band, or classes like CrossFit, team sports and aerobics or dance classes.

Leigh is the founder of Eat for Keeps and can be contacted on 027 2941980 or by emailing katlee@xtra.co.nz

Tangerine peel extract for your heart (Part 1) Oxidation is a common body process, where electrons are moved from one molecule to another.

This is essential for extracting energy from food but can damage our cells by causing disease. Fats such as cholesterol are especially vulnerable to damage from oxidation. This changes cholesterol to its dangerous oxidised form, which can cause heart disease.

Cholesterol that becomes trapped in the walls of heart arteries is particularly dangerous once oxidised. Immune cells ‘gobble up’ the oxidised cholesterol just as they would when invading bacteria, but these accumulate in the immune cell until it is full of oxidised cholesterol which is the first step in forming plaques in arteries.

Fortunately nature has given us built-in protection against this process. When the liver is making the carriers to move cholesterol around the body, it builds in vitamin E to prevent dangerous oxidation. Other

Abundant Health

antioxidants patrol our blood and prevent the same type of damage including vitamin C, the OPCs from grape seeds, and co enzyme Q10.

Another group of compounds, called citrus flavones, have some special tricks. As potent antioxidants they help to reduce cholesterol oxidation. Secondly, they help balance the cholesterol we produce; in particular the important ratio between ‘good’ high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and ‘bad’ low-density lipoprotein (LDL). They then help remove oxidised cholesterol and use this as a source of energy for your body.

These flavones are extracted from tangerine skin and only supplements can deliver enough to address the dangers of cholesterol. These are excellent for those who cannot tolerate cholesterol-lowering medications, or for those who would prefer a more natural solution.

John Arts is a qualified nutritional therapist and founder of Abundant Health. Contact John on 0800 423 559.

To read more go to www.sunlive.co.nz

37

The Weekend Sun

Own brand of attractive The vitality of a youthful, toned, smooth complexion is universally attractive.

changes with age.

Shrinking facial fat pads, thinning of facial skin, muscle and bone wastage, and loss of elasticity, are responsible for Lovely high cheek contours, well changes in our appearance that defined lips and wide awakerob us of our familiar, unique looking eyes, just add to that identity and categorise us as attractiveness. looking typically ‘old’.

I’m constantly amazed that, Many want to present themdespite no two faces being the selves in their ‘best light’, as same, we all have our own brand long as is reasonably possible. of attractiveness; our unique Very few patients request identity. treatments to obtain facial feaDuring the last 18 years I’ve been tures they were never naturally involved in cosmetic medicine, endowed with. it has been wonderful to provide While there is a place for cornatural-looking facial treatments rective treatments, most people using dermal fillers (for example, are pretty happy with their Restylane) and facial muscle relaxappearance and feel motivated ants (for example, Dysport Sharon Melrose. to have treatments to maintain and Botox). the status quo, slow down the effects of facial ageing, The relatively low cost, and convenience of these and refresh their facial appearance. treatments has resulted in an ever-increasing number Prospective clients are welcome to book in for of happy clients who look and feel more refreshed a complimentary, confidential consultation to and confident. discuss how these safe and affordable treatments My clients are most often between 35-65 years of may benefit them. age, who are reluctant to accept, not so much the

By Sharon Melrose inevitability, but the speed with which their face

New groups for rainbow youth A Tauranga woman is setting up two Rainbow Youth groups in the city for people 25 and under questioning their sexuality or gender.

Kaye McLaren saw a need for the groups after setting up the Tauranga Rainbow Social Network for older residents.

“I didn’t expect to get calls from health services and parents asking

‘Have you got a group for young people?’.

Kaye, who has a background in developmental psychology, says under 25-year-olds questioning their gender or sexuality have a tendency to attempt suicide at least five times more often than the general population of their age, according to New Zealand research, and need peer support to reduce stress and isolation.

“They also have higher levels of depression and anxiety – a lot of it

is because they’re so isolated.”

Kaye is setting up two groups: for 17 years and under, and 1825 year olds.

She’s linked up with Rainbow Youth’s general manager Duncan Matthews, and is holding a public meeting in Tauranga on March 12 for adults and young people, to plan the groups.

To attend the meeting, phone 021 239 7142 or email kaye.mclaren@gmail.com

HEALTH 2000 MT MAUNGANUI 194 Maunganui Road, Mt Maunganui 3116 PHONE: (07) 575 7002 www.health2000.co.nz

By Merle Foster

Frown lines

Lip wrinkles

Crow's feet

Cosmetic Medicine

38

The Weekend Sun

Enriching life with Parkinson’s

By Hamish Carter

If there is a friendly face to Parkinson’s disease, it has to be Joelene Morris.

DO YOU SUFFER FROM CONSTIPATION, IBS OR GUT ISSUES?

After 16 years as the field officer for Parkinson’s Bay of Plenty, she has come closer to experiencing the impact of the progressive neurodegenerative condition than most – as a listening ear and first person for advice for families and people affected.

Parkinson’s Bay of Plenty co-ordinator Mary Reid can’t praise Joelene highly enough, saying she’s made a major difference for many of those suffering from the condition and their families by helping them learn about and adapt to life with Parkinson’s while preserving quality of life.

“She really has helped hundreds of people over the years,” says Mary, about Joelene, who is retiring and will be given a special farewell at the organisation’s AGM on March 11. The field officer role is being filled by Kylie Webster.

Joelene herself downplays her contribution, saying it was just great to be able to work with the sufferers and their families to help make a small difference. “It’s all about the people.”

Parkinson’s affects about one in 500 predominantly older people, with degeneration in their muscles, ability to control movement; and it can increase the likelihood of depression.

Joelene generally encourages sufferers to exercise and get more active to improve quality of life. She rates weekly choral sessions by the Brainwaves Singers as one of the biggest successes, with sufferers of Parkinson’s, strokes, Alzheimer’s and head injuries all getting a lot of satisfaction out of the singing. “Everybody absolutely loves it, even those of us who can’t sing.”

Bacteria – its role in digestive health Your gut holds trillions of bacteria that help process your food, produce nutrients, and fight disease.

LET Therapy Lymphatic Enhancement Technology

Desiree De Spong 0800 4 LYMPH (0800459674)

www.lettherapy.co.nz

Kylie Webster and Joelene Morris with members of the Brainwaves Choir. Photo by Bruce Barnard.

In fact, there are 10 times more bacteria in your gut than cells in your entire body. These little guys are super important and they need your help.

Since what you eat, drink and think affects the environment in your gut, your daily choices play a critical role in whether those trillion-plus bacteria help or hinder your wellbeing.

It’s all about balance when it comes to gut health. When your gut is in tip-top shape, about 80-85 per cent of bacteria are good guys and 15-20 per cent are bad guys.

You feel great, your body is strong and nimble, you rarely get sick, your energy is consistent, you poop like a champ; life is good.

The healthy bacteria are free to do their job with ease.

They assist with digestion, produce disease-fighting antibodies, crowd out bad bacteria and produce certain hormones, vitamins and nutrients. But when

the harmful bacteria stage a revolt, things go wrong.

They cause painful problems like inflammation and infection, which can then lead to health issues such as constipation, candida, allergies, arthritis, headaches, depression, autoimmune diseases and more. Medications (especially antibiotics and antacids), environmental toxins and chemicals, stress and illness greatly affect the ratio of good to bad bacteria.

When bacteria is wiped out indiscriminately, the good guys get mowed down, giving the bad guys a chance to increase their ranks.

So the role bacteria play in digestive health is important; we need those good guys.

Funds for Malawi

Tauranga woman Kaz Weatherley is holding two charity concerts to raise more funds for a small Malawian village – this time to aid a food crisis in the country.

Last year Kaz raised more than $1000 to help the Mikolongwe Health Centre gain better access to medication, after she travelled to the southeast African country to meet 17-year-old Patrick Kachiswe, who she’s sponsored for about 10 years.

“Malawi holds a very special place in my heart and I’m committed to doing anything I possibly can to help the people of Malawi,” says Kaz. “The country is known as the ‘Warm Heart of Africa’ for a very good reason,” says Kaz, who raised $1100 for World Vision through her November concert at Bethlehem College.

The concerts are on Sunday, March 9, from 2pm at Omokoroa Community Church; and Monday, March 10, from 7pm at the City Church Tauranga.

Tickets to the concerts are on sale at www.eventfinder.co.nz.

To donate phone Kaz on 027 279 3992.

By Zoe Hunter

39

The Weekend Sun

Solar power: The facts Max Lewis (‘Shedding more light on the Greens’ solar deal’ The Weekend Sun, February 28) is sadly misinformed about solar feed-in tariffs and the Green Party’s energy policy.

Firstly, to quote Mr Lewis; “…the grid company will buy it at 0.6c/unit…” – this is incorrect. Tariffs differ from company to company; our provider pays 25 cents per kWh for the first 5 kWh exported each day, reducing to 10c per kWh thereafter - far more than .6 of a cent per unit. Furthermore, fair feed-in

tariffs are an integral part of green energy policy; storage will not be an issue if exported power is fairly recompensed.

Consumption can easily be planned around generation, for example: Do the washing in the morning, install a simple timer to turn the water heater on in the early afternoon, cook food in the late afternoon and reheat for the evening meal.

Lost opportunity costs? Our system cost just over $14,000 (and photovoltaic system prices continue to drop).

We do not avoid using imported electricity

at night; even so, return on our investment is considerably more than that of “money in the bank”.

It’s interesting that any innovative and forward-thinking policy providing such an obvious benefit to ordinary people is labelled “election bribery”.

Domestic photovoltaic systems may not suit every household, nor provide for all electricity needs, nevertheless they are a vital part of a modern and sustainable renewable electricity infrastructure and provide cheaper, cleaner power to ordinary people.

Oh, and one more point. The sun doesn’t “lose energy” at night – it’s still there, bless it, blazing away happily on the other side of the planet.

G Oakbrook, Welcome Bay.

It would appear there are those who did not read a letter in last week’s The Weekend Sun, pointing out the dangers of building a gondola on Mauao.

As it is only a hill of 232 metres, and not the necessary 300 metres needed to be recognised as a mountain, it would be ludicrous to erect the massive framework necessary to build a gondola.

Mount Ngongotaha in Rotorua is 757 metres, well above mountain status and its gondola is safe.

What Tauranga needs to attract visitors is the long-

I fully agree with TV One’s news item on gassing of surplus impounded dogs. There are far too many cats and dogs in NZ. Some have caused horrendous injuries and deaths to children and adults, plus many have bitten their owners. Every dog on our planet has wolf genes passed down over eons, hence their aggressiveness at times, the wild instinct.

Don’t forget the large amount of faeces and urine, creating problems everywhere they roam.

I strongly object to dogs licking people’s faces. It’s is amazing there’s not more diseases from the objectionable act, as dogs are seen licking their privates, cats also. Dog’s noses and tongues have thousands of germs and bacteria. Police, guide and custom’s dogs are essential, also farmer’s dogs.

Ernest Izett, Tauranga.

Brighten your dark rooms with Solatube Daylighting Systems

us a city museum: Levy or just rate rise? Givea gondola won’t work

I believe the councillors and council are being unfair to the ratepayers of Tauranga by calling the proposed stormwater charge, of 4.70 per cent, a levy - when in reality it is nothing else other than a rate rise resulting in a proposed rate increase of at least 6.7 per cent for the 2014/2015 financial year.

Call it what you want, but when it is in place there is no doubt it will remain there forever - as stormwater issues will always be affecting the city and regardless of this they are saying it will be in place for 10 years.

The last election resulted in a huge change of existing elected representatives and those elected were elected on the basis of better accountability, better communication, debt reduction, revitalisation of the CBD along with better financial controls - but are we actually seeing this in reality?

As an example, the recent decision to give the council CEO greater spending powers is a clear example of a failure to control possible future spending and I am staggered it was unanimously passed by the councillors.

While it is important to give these new councillors a chance to get to know the role they have been elected to, I feel sure some could do better.

Mike Baker, Bethlehem.

Too many dogs in NZ

awaited museum, perhaps on Dive Crescent.

This would be such an interest to overseas cruise passengers as there are thousands of Maori and other artefacts in storage, For a free In-Home Evaluation plus Certified the cost of which is a burden Installation with a 10 year warranty, call today on taxpayers.

0800 SOLATUBE (765 288) If anyone on the council has any vision, then they will support the building of a fine museum, something of which we can all be proud.

If a cafe is included it could easily pay its way - and I am *Offers end 31 November 2013. Not in conjunction with any other offer. sure there are volunteers who would greet visitors and show them round.

C Thompson, Tauranga City.

40

The Weekend Sun

Are we the Spray of Plenty?

It is no surprise the Toxic Agrichemical Advisory Forum has been sidelined by Tauranga City Council. The same scenario exists with the Advisory Spray Group I’ve spearheaded with the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, local community leaders and the key players in the kiwifruit industry.

I too have walked away from this forum with little or no confidence that the voice and concerns of the public are being listened to.

In fact if anything the situation has got far worse, given the annual spray campaign against Hi-Cane has been dwarfed by the monthly application of copperbased sprays to combat Psa-V. Notification, as required by law, is a novelty now at best and is not

happening in our rohe.

We now live in what I believe is ‘The Spray of Plenty’ and sooner than later it will have a negative impact on why people choose to come and live here.

If they (the industry), expect us to believe everything is kapai and the saturation of our whenua with chemicals for profit is acceptable, then they are wrong and need to take the issue seriously, as they do with the perception of their brands offshore.

It seems the best course of

BOPRC responds: Mr Kapai has been an asset to the Spray Focus Group, and his contribution and innovative incentives will be missed by his Te Puna Community and this group.

The group, formed in 2009, following concerns from the community, and was made up of local people, Zespri, NZ Kiwifruit Growers Inc, spray contractors, council staff and councillors.

The group has come a long way since its first meeting, with on-going improvements.

In July 2013, the group was extended to include Federated Farmers and the avocado industry, so the focus is on agri-chemical spraying in general.

We don’t agree the situation has worsened. Since the discovery of Psa-V, substantiated complaints have declined, we believe as a direct result of initiatives

11 Hollister Lane • Ohauiti • Tauranga 3112 • New Zealand Phone 07 544 5553 • Fax 07 544 0050 email office@carmel.co.nz • www.carmel.co.nz

action is to let as many people as possible know the true extent of how much spray is being applied and how many times a year.

Also, regional council needs to meet the demands of our concerns and conduct the first-ever scientific tests on the effect of Hi-cane and copper-based sprays on human health and the health of the land.

Then just maybe they will wake up and smell the chemicals we have no choice but to breathe.

The old adage ‘less hui and more dooey’ comes to mind.

T Kapai, Te Puna.

instigated by the group and its stakeholders.

We realise it’s difficult to appease everyone when it comes to such a sensitive issue, but we need to maintain balance between individual concerns and the industry.

In August, 2006, ERMA (now the EPA), completed a reassessment of Hi-Cane and found overall controls were satisfactory, with a few minor technical changes, taking into account work the industry had put into developing alternative sprays and equipment to help reduce the risk of spray drift.

The council encourages people to use its Pollution Hotline to report spray complaints on 0800 884883.

John Morris, Senior Pollution Prevention Officer, BOP Regional Council.

41

The Weekend Sun

Ensure welfare Colourful Specials doesn’t sink us

Well, what do you know. It’s election year. Six years down the track, what score shall we give the current government, vying for a third term in power?

Well, to be frank, they started out in 2008 with the Global Financial Crisis hospital pass, and it’s been uphill ever since.

The GFC was very real for most people, with some real horror stories coming out of the USA, Europe, the UK and indeed from most of the civilised world.

And then, crunch.

Christchurch. As the rest of the country watched in horror, half a million Kiwi’s had their lives really and truly shaken.

It was not only once but twice - and it was fatal for many that dark day down south.

Christchurch changed forever.

In some ways New Zealand changed forever. How do you as a government and nation respond to that? Where do you start?

The good news is we didn’t have a huge sovereign debt at the time, so we could use our international credibility to borrow and rebuild. And we have had to. And it looks as if we had three homes out of every four damaged, insured, one of the highest percentages of any recent major global disaster.

These days we look at what’s going on in Christchurch and count it as part of our growing GDP statistics coming out

of recession. It’s a funny old world isn’t it? And among all of this, the government continues to try and grow the country’s wealth and standing in an ever-changing world. Trying to utilise our abundant natural resources. Trying to create real jobs and keep those we already have. Trying to add value and encouraging start-ups, especially in the hi-tech markets, while also trying to settle historical issues.

I believe this government has done a remarkable job considering the cards it was dealt. You don’t have to look very far to see other countries much worse off than us. The biggest challenge left to address is, I believe, the welfare laws.

This is so we actually help those people who need it, not help people who want to live on it.

It’s not a platform that will win too many votes, however, for the future of this great small nation, we must make sure the welfare bill doesn’t sink us.

Some say it’s already too late. Who knows. What I do know is there’s only one party with the balls to tackle this enormous issue. The National Party.

For this reason and this reason alone, we need to re-elect John Key’s National Government this year.

Struth, we gave Helen Clark and Michael Cullen three terms.

Surely John Key and co deserve the same courtesy.

Graeme Martin, Tauranga City.

Ban the big jackpots Just another huge prize of $25 million. Immoral some would say.

The majority of my friends and acquaintances when asked: ‘what would you do if you won $1m?’ they mention the following to be among their top priorities: 1. Pay off the mortgage and sundry debts.

2. Look after family members.

3. Upgrade the car, caravan, boat etc.

4. Holidays – tour New Zealand, visit cousie bro’s in Australia.

If the powers that be were to legislated in such circumstances a prize cap not exceeding $10 million be established, thereafter jack-potting to separate $1million prizes, until won then New Zealand would have been one multi-millionaire, and fifteen millionaires, better off.

These increased prize possibilities must be an incentive to encourage people to buy additional tickets as the weekly periods progress, thereby increasing The total Lotto revenue intake.

How sensible it would be to have additional millionaires improving the local economy within New Zealand.

G Cathcart, Katikati.

Present this coupon to receive

2 for 1

Hot Beverages

value 2nd hot beverage must be of equal or lesser

...at Esquires Bayfair

In the Bayfair Shopping Centre

& Esquires Goddard

Next to Cabbages & Kings, Goddard Mall on Devonport Road

Valid to 30 Sept 09 Not valid with any other offer

COMPUTER PROBLEMS? Relax!

Tauranga Compute rs

Ltd

Let’s soften the smacking law Smacking a child is an ineffective form of discipline for children, as it only has short term effects.

It teaches that it is normal to hit someone when you are angry. It gives a distorted way of expressing anger. It teaches children to be afraid of their own Mum and Dad. Parents should teach their children to be non-violent to control their anger.

There are alternatives to smacking, like withdrawing privileges, time out, sending them to bed early, confiscating toys, doing lines, making them do menial tasks. I understand if loving parents feel it is the only way to control

their children. Smacking should not be treated the same as assault. It should be seen as using inappropriate discipline, not assault.

Parents need to be educated on alternatives to smacking. Parents should set a good example to their children on how to be non-violent. It is inconsistent with the teachings of Christ, as Jesus is taught non-violence and did not hit anyone.

We should teach children to love and respect their parents, not fear or resent them. Colin Craig needs to soften the law against smacking, not overturn the smacking ban.

A Authier, Mount Maunganui.

The Weekend Sun welcomes letters and photographs from readers.

Preference is given to short letters (200 words), supplied with full name and contact details. Photos are best in high resolution, jpeg format.

Email: letters@thesun.co.nz

on

all

rin

rep

*

h

arc

nM ts i

42

The Weekend Sun

E N T E R T A I N M E N T G U I D E MUSIC The ever popular guide to ‘What’s On’ in the Bay.

Friday 7 March

NZ Pipe Band Championships 2014

March 7-8 at Tauranga Domain 9am 5pm. Involves 60 pipe bands competing in music & marching events, with one of the highlights being the street march of all Bands through the CBD on Saturday morning followed by a massed bands street march 11.30am. www.nzpipebands.org.nz Plunket Street Appeal Collection points at Supermarkets around Tauranga, Mt Maunganui & Papamoa. If you’d like to volunteer to collect for an hour, Liz 557 8103 or email: liz. farrell@plunket.org.nz World Day of Prayer Ecumenical service at St John’s Anglican Church, 94 Bureta Rd 10am. This year’s service focuses on Egypt. Theme: Streams in the Desert. All welcome.

Saturday 8 March

Alcoholics Anonymous Women’s meet-

ing at Mt Maunganui Primary School, Orkney Rd 10-11am. Children welcome.

Andre Rieu Friendship Group BOP

Monthly weekend gatherings to enjoy beautiful music & meet new friends. Pete/ Jennifer 574 4238 Art in the Park Coronation Park, Mt Maunganui 8.30am - 5pm, weather permitting. Tauranga Society of Artists offer for sale a variety of art to suit all tastes.

Chamber Music Concert At St Peter’s Anglican Church, Victoria Rd, Mt Maunganui 7.30pm. Lent in France.

Music for 2 voices & cello by Couperin.

MD, Chalium Poppy. Sopranos, F Andre, R McFarlane. Cello, J Carey.

Friends of Tauranga Libraries Group discussion on “Should NZ have a new flag?” Mt Maunganui Library 1.30pm.

Afternoon tea provided.

Genealogy Informal Group Members will explain about some of their exciting finds this past month. 43 Cherrywood Drive, Otumoetai 1.30pm.

Visitors welcome. Lorraine 576 7974 Goat Goes Bush Adventure run inn Kaimai ranges. Event start-line is Wairere Falls carpark, end of Goodwin Rd, Te Aroha to finish at Aongetete Lodge, end of Wright Rd. Compeititors begin racing 10.30am. www.thegoat.co.nz Marine Station Open Day Coastal bike ride with a difference. Meet at Coastal Marine Field Station, Cross Rd, Sulphur Pt 10am, following trails around the harbour coastline.

Marine Station open 12-4pm. Free activities include observing microscopic marine life, searching sand core samples for small marine organisms. To register for the ride email: nyree@waikato.ac.nz or 577 5376 Messianic Weekly Meetings The Way meet in the Kingfisher Room, Arataki Community Centre, Zambuk Way, Mt Maunganui 10am. All welcome. 570 1438 Mount Sequence Dance Theme: colour green. At Mount Sports Centre, cnr Hull & Maunganui Rds, Mt Maunganui

DVD MOVIES

OUT THERE GUIDE

News, reviews and opinionated raving on the music scene.

Reviews of DVDs, old and new, as well as other bits and bobs.

Stories, snippets, strangeness, and general entertainment.

7.30pm. Live band, good supper, great company. Entrance $8, members $7.

Organised by Mount Scottish Soc. Elizabeth 544 5633

Palm Beach Plaza Lions Market On the grass by McDonalds 7am – 12.30pm.

Stalls must be set up by 7.30am. Great range of goods for sale including fruit & vege, arts & crafts. Fundraising stalls to support needy causes. $10 per car space.

542 2559 a/hs Prestige Singles 50+ Coffee afternoon 2.30pm. Mix & mingle with other likeminded individuals. Email: mixandmingle@xtra.co.nz or 027 439 3267

Body & Soul Fun Fitness For over 50’s,

Tauranga Farmers Market

Tauranga Primary School cnr 5th Ave & Cameron Rd every Sat 7.45am - 12pm. Fresh & artisian produced food. Trixie 552 5278 or www.taurangafarmersmarket.co.nz Village Radio Community radio broadcasting from Tauranga Historic Village 1368 kHz AM. Music of 1920’s - 80’s weekends 9am - 5pm, weekdays 10am - 5pm. Specialty programmes. www.villageradio.co.nz or 571 3710

Sunday 9 March

Altitude 450 Trail Ride Held by Tauranga Motorcycle Club at the TECT All Terrain Park, Whatarora Rd, off SH36 (follow the event signs).

Seniors $35, Juniors $15, minis $5. Sign on from 7.30am, riding 9am 3.30pm. Kelvin 571 0806 or 027 431 040. www.taurangamcc.co.nz

Awareness Through Movement Class

(Feldenkrais Method) March 23 at the Katikati Resource Centre 10am – 3pm.

Gisella 544 4823 or 027 286 0891 Bible Seminars Sundays at Greerton Senior Citizen’s Hall, Maitland St, Greerton 1.45pm. Title: “Prophecy proves the Bible.” Interactive, Q&A. Refreshments provided. All welcome. Vic 543 0504 Croquet Tauranga Domain Sun, Tues, Fri 12.45pm. Peter 571 0633 Community Garden Info Evening Bethlehem Community Centre, 183 Moffat Rd 6-8pm. Come & hear the plans for the new community gardens in Bethlehem & Gate Pa. anneg@letsgetgrowing.org.nz Diabetes Awareness Fun Walk Dave Hume Pools, Katikati 10am.

3km & 7km walk. Register on the day. Free entry. Spot prizes.

Individuals, teams, fancy dress if you wish.

All welcome. Organised by Lions Club Katikati. Carol 549 1032 Gardeners SwapFest March 16 at Sydenham Botanic Park, 6 Millers Rd (next to Brookfield School) 1-4pm. Share/ sell/swap seeds & plants. Speaker at 2pm: Geoff Brunsden - caring for pollinators in the home garden. Register a site (gold coin donation) 577 6676 (evenings) or sydenhambotanicpark@gmail.com Kaya Mawa Concert for World Vision March 9 at Omokoroa Community Church 2pm. March 10 at City Church, Tauranga 7pm. Tickets on sale at eventfinder.co.nz or Kaz 027 279 3992

Mount Mainstreet Farmers Market

Every Sun in Phoenix car park 9am - 1pm. Fresh fruit & veges, breads, cheese, oils, plants & more. All home grown & home made. Downtown the Mount open 7 days. 575 9911 mountmaunganui.org.nz Omokoroa Lions Market Western Ave car park, Omokoroa 9am - 12pm. All stall holders & car boot sales welcome. Only $5/5m space. 548 2117

Radio Controlled Model Yachts

Meet Sun 1.30pm & Thurs 5.30pm at pond behind 24 Montego Drive, Papamoa to race electron & similar 3ft long yachts. Graham 572 5419

Spiritual Centre, The Psychic Cafe

Greerton Community Hall. Doors open 7pm, free refreshments. Sharing experience with psychics & healers. Q&A, meditations, workshop. Door charge $10.

578 7205 Tauranga Acoustic Music Club Blackboard concert second Sun at McSwiggans Irish Pub, 158 Cambridge Rd, Tauranga 1pm. Paul 579 2346 Tauranga Rainbow Social Network For gay, bi, lesbian, trans & intersex. Meet 2nd Sun of month 3pm. Peta 577 0433 or 021 128 2544 Tauranga Rainbow Youth For gay, bi, lesbian, trans & intersex 25 yrs & under.

Kaye 021 239 7142 or 07 218 1411

Tauranga Young Classical Musicians Soc Concert & AGM March 16 at St

Enoch’s Church, 16th Ave 2.30pm. Come & listen to our young talent. All welcome.

Theosophical Society John Vostermans: A look at enlightenment & what changes as part of the process. Followed by SGM to elect a committee. Tauranga Yoga Centre, Elizabeth St West 2pm. Entry by donation to cover expenses. All welcome.

June 576 6106 Unity of Tauranga Metaphysical study & meditation group meet 2nd Sun monthly at Matua Community Hall, Levers Rd 10am cuppa, 10.30am start. 576 0165

Wai/BOP Bisexual/Lesbian Women’s Group Trans & intersex welcome. Kaye

021 239 7142 or 07 218 1411

Monday 10 March

Achieve Toastmasters Feeling anxious about that forthcoming presentation. Learn to speak with confidence. 1st, 3rd Mon at St Stephens Hall, Otumoetai 7.30pm. Fraser 544 4579 Badminton Tauranga Badminton Club every Mon & Weds at Bethlehem College Events Centre 7.30pm. All players welcome. Sue 021 194 4335 or www.taurangabadmintonclub.co.nz Bay Salsa Beginners salsa lessons 6.45pm.

New intake every 4 weeks. Improver Salsa lessons, walk in classes 7.45pm. $15 per class. Otumoetai Action Centre. www.baysalsa.co.nz Bethlehem Bowls Every Mon at 7.15pm. First 3 nights free.

Wendy 578 2585

social events & guest speakers. Mon & Fri Greerton Hall Cameron Rd. Tues Wesley Church Hall, 13th Ave. Weds City Church cnr Otumoetai Rd/Sherwood St. All classes 9.15-10.15am. First class free. Men & women welcome. Dianne 576 5031 Qualified Instructor/Cardiac Care leader.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Martial art which teaches self defence techniques & boost self-confidence. Classes Mon, Weds, Thurs 7-9.30pm & Sat 9.30-12pm.

Kids classes Tues & Thurs 4.30-5.30pm.

At 22/3 Macdonald St, Mt Maunganui.

021 264 3211 Chess Mt Maunganui Mount RSA Chess Club every Mon at Mount RSA, 544 Maunganui Rd. Juniors 6.157.15pm during school term. Open club 6-11pm Noel 579 5412 Citizens Advice Bureau Free, confidential info & advice about anything call in Mon - Fri at 38 Hamilton St, Tauranga 9am - 5pm or freephone 0800 367 222.

JP service every Weds & Thurs 9am 12pm. Weds CAB service at Welcome Bay Community Centre 9.30am - 12.30pm, Fri at Mount Library 11.30am - 1.30pm.

No appointment necessary. All welcome.

Ebenezer Emergency Fund NZ

Presents dynamic speakers: Stefan & Keren Silver March 17 at Holy Trinity Church, 215 Devonport Rd, Tauranga 7pm. Susan 576 3814 or email: susanbull47@yahoo.com Fire Brigade Bowling Club Club night at Greerton Hall, Cameron Rd 7pm.

General meeting. Sharon 543 3929 Fitness League Safe effective, low impact fun exercise set to music using the Bagot Stack technique, designed for women of all ages & abilities. First class free. Every Mon at Settlers Hall Omokoroa 9.30am & Tues St Johns Anglican Church Waihi 9.30am. Dorothy 549 3378

Harmony a Plenty Barbershop Chorus

Every Mon at Bethlehem Community Church, Moffat Rd 7pm. New members welcome. 572 3345 or www.harmonyaplenty.co.nz Journey for Change See the impact of cbm’s work assisting people with disabilities living in poverty. Salvation Army Hall Lounge, 5th Ave 2.303.30pm or 6-7pm. Light refreshments prior. Register 0800 77 22 64 or email: enquiries@cbmi.org.nz Junction Mental Health Peer support & advocacy. Coffee & chat 10am – 12pm. Junction 579 9890 Learn to Dance Te Puke Every Mon at St Pats hall, Beatty Ave, Te Puke 7pm.

Sequence dancing for beginners & more.

More male partners needed for our dancers - if interested please come along. $3pp. Gordon 572 0060 Meditation Free classes Mon 10am & Weds 7.30pm. Find peace, spiritual awareness & the meaning of your life. David 576 9764

The Weekend Sun’s guide to who’s playing and where.

Mount RSA Indoor Bowls Mon & Thurs.

Names in by 6.45pm. New members welcome. Joy 574 8003 Otumoetai Indoor Bowls Aggregate night, Matua Primary School Hall, Clivedene St 7.15pm. New members welcome.

Karen 576 0443 Papamoa Genealogy Branch NZSG meet 9.30am - 2.30pm. Small door charge. Coffee/tea provided. Bring your own lunch. 575 4674 Parkinsons Society Exercise class weekly Tauranga, Te Puke & Whakatane. Red Tulip support meetings monthly Tauranga, Katikati & Whakatane. www.parkinsons. org.nz or Joelene 573 5668 Recycled Teenagers Gentle exercise for 50’s forwards, & injury or illness rehabilitation. Mon & Weds, 14 Norris St, Tauranga Senior Citizens Club, behind Pak n Save. Tues at St Mary’s Church Hall, Girven Rd. All 9 - 10.30am. Classes taken by qualified instructor. First class free.

Jennifer 571 1411 Taoist Tai Chi Pioneer Room, Community Hall, Te Puke 9.30-11am. All welcome. 573 5560 or 027 575 3272 Tauranga Bridge Club Sessions Mon, Weds, Thurs 7.30pm. Tues & Fri 1pm. Social bridge Thurs 1pm.

252 Ngatai Rd. 576 5022 Tauranga Civic Choir New members welcome to join & rehearse every Mon 7.30-9.30pm. 574 6366 Tauranga Creative Fibre Every Mon at Arts Centre, Elizabeth St from 9.30am.

Spinning, weaving, felting, knitting, crochet & more. Learn & share in a mutually supportive club. Also on Thurs evening twice a month. Joan 577 6781 Tauranga Rock n Roll Club Monday club nights 8-9.30pm. Teenage lessons start March 24 7-8pm. Tauranga RSA Cameron Rd. Website: Taurangarocknrollclub.org Colleen 544 4676 Tauranga RSA Indoor Bowls Mon report 12.45pm for 1pm start. Weds 3.45 for 4pm start. Leanne 570 0154 Tauranga Senior Citizens Club Cards, 500 & Bridge Mon & Thurs. Indoor Bowls Tues, Weds & Sat at 14 Norris St, behind Pak n Save 1-4pm. Register by 12.45pm. $2 includes afternoon tea. New members welcome.

Tauranga Senior Citizens Club Indoor Bowls Every Mon at St Columba Church Hall, 502 Otumoetai Rd 1-4pm. Names in by 12.45pm. $3 entry includes afternoon tea. New members welcome. 571 6663 Te Puna Indoor Bowls Every Mon at Te Puna Hall 7.15pm. Norma 552 5563 YMCA - ALFS (Active lifestyle for seniors).

Smooth Movers class Mon 9-10am & 10.15-11.15am at Matua Community Hall, Levers Rd. Also 9-9.55am & 10-10.55am at Arataki Hall, Zambuk Way (off Grenada St). Tues 9.15-10.15am & 10.30-11.30am at Papamoa Community Centre, Gravatt Rd. Weds 9.15-10.15am Welcome Bay Hall, Welcome Bay Rd. All

43

The Weekend Sun welcome. First class free. Thurs 9-10am at Otumoetai Action Centre, Windsor Rd. Also 10.30-11.30am at Bethlehem Hall, Bethlehem Rd. Fri 9.15-10.15am at Papamoa Community Centre, Gravatt Rd. Also Fri at Papamoa Library 10.20am. 578 9272

Tuesday 11 March

16 Sqn Air Training Corps (ATC) Every Tues (during school term), Tauranga Army Hall 6.30-9pm.

Lynn 027 291 6150 or email: atc16sqntauranga@yahoo.co.nz Badminton (Social) Every Tues at Otumoetai Baptist Hall 9.30am - 12pm. Racquets available. All welcome. Lorraine 579 3229

Balmorals Leisure Marching Team Ladies welcome to join aged

Tauranga Acoustic Music Club

McSwiggan’s Irish Pub, 158 Cambridge Rd 7.30pm. Friendly jam sessions. Sing, play or just listen.

Paul 579 2346 or www.tamc.org.nz

Tauranga Astronomical Society

Observatory & hall open at Fergusson Park 7.30pm. Tonight’s programme looks at Jupiter, the solar systems largest planet that has been spectacularly bright over the last few weeks. Public welcome, telescope viewing if weather permits.

576 1943 Tauranga BMX Club Club nights every Tues. Registration 5.15-5.50pm. Racing starts 6pm at Tauranga MTB & BMX Park, 280 Cambridge Rd, Tauranga. $2 per club member. First 3 nights free to new riders.

Tauranga Morning Badminton Club

30-60 for fun, friendship & travel.

Training every Tues at Greerton 6-8pm.

Anita 571 4096 or 021 0257 6094 Bayfair Petanque Club Every Tues & Thurs at Bayfair Reserve, Russley Drive 1pm. Tuition & boules available for learners & visitors. Margaret 572 3173

Meet every Tues & Thurs at QEII Youth Centre, Memorial Park, Tauranga 9-11.30am. New players & visitors welcome. Heather 574 0976 Tauranga Toastmasters Tga Lyceum Club 7.15-9.30pm. Confidence building, speaking skills, leadership skills. Alan 544 5989

Have you lost a child? Do you wish to meet other bereaved parents? Come to 106 College Place, Poike 7.30pm. All welcome. Mary 544 3778 Bethlehem Pottery Club Tues & Thurs at 13 Bethlehem Rd 10am - 3pm. Call in for info or ph Jane 552 0046 Bokwa Fitness Tues at Bethlehem Primary School Hall. Mikki 021 773 657. Thurs at Omokoroa Settlers Hall, Omokoroa Rd. Both 6pm. Sarah 021 773 657. Dance your way to a healthier & fitter you. Easy steps to sign language. www.bokwafitness.com/ Excel Toastmasters Meet every 2nd, 4th & 5th Tues at Arataki Community Centre 6.15-8.30pm. Kaaren 572 5988

Wednesday 12 March

Bereaved Parents Support Group

Free ESOL Christian Conversation Classes For all levels of English

every Tues during school term at Holy Trinity Church cnr 4th Ave & Devonport Rd 7.30-9.15pm.

Janice 576 7839

Inachord Chorus Womens 4 Part Harmony Every Tues at Bethlehem

Community Church, 183 Moffat Rd 6.55pm. Enjoy the challenge of singing & performing varied repertoire. Cathy 579 2040 Learn Taekwondo Korean martial art of self defence every Tues & Thurs 5.307pm. 2 weeks free trial. 07 562 0989 Line Dancing No beginners. Elizabeth St extension community centre 1.15pm.

Fay 578 4081 Meridian Daylight Lodge Meet at Masonic Centre, 33 Hairini St, Tauranga. Visiting members welcome from 11am. Keith 544 4109 Mount Morning Badminton Every Tues at Mount Sports Centre, Blake Park 9am - 12pm. Social, competitive, all ages. Beginners welcome. Racquets available. Visitors $5 per session.

Margaret 575 9792

Orange City Square & Round Dance Club Tues, morning class 10am

- 12pm. Weds plus, Thurs club night. Beginners: March 27.

Frontiersmen’s Hall 7.30pm.

543 1063 Otumoetai Toastmasters Leadership skills, speaking skills. At Lyceum Club rooms, 68 1st Ave 7.15-9.30pm. Allan 544 5989 Papamoa Indoor Bowls Every Tues at Gordon Spratt Reserve. Names in by 7.15pm. First 2 nights free. New members welcome. Wes 572 1033 Petanque Tauranga/BOP Club. New piste at Club Mt Maunganui. 1pm start.

Neita 572 3768 Sequence Dancing Tauranga Social & Leisure Club. St John’s Anglican Church Hall, 94 Bureta Rd, Otumoetai 7-9pm.

Second Tues of month 3-5.30pm. Visitors welcome. John 578 9716 Shaolin Kung Fu New beginners classes.

TMAA 1st Ave (Glasgow St end) Tues & Thurs. Children 4.15-5.15pm.

Adults 5.30-6.45pm. 1st session free.

Ray 0220 776 484 South City Indoor Bowls Club Box Drawn Pairs (Black Cup). At Greerton Hall, Tauranga. Names in by 7.15pm.

Mary 541 0687 Starz 10 Pin Bowling League Every Tues at 13th Ave 9.30am. Play in pairs.

Taoist Tai Chi Exercise your body, challenge your mind. New class starts today at 15 Koromiko St, Judea 12.30pm. Ann 577 9145

Adult Support Group For Rainbow

Youth Group meet 7pm. Kaye 07 218 1411, 021 239 7142 kaye.mclaren@gmail.com Age Concern Walking Group Meet at Bayfair Bus Depot 10am. All welcome.

578 2631 Badminton Mt Maunganui Club night Weds at Mount Sports Centre, Maunganui Rd 7-9pm. All past & new players welcome. Janice 575 2438 or 027 201 0529

Baywide Community Law Service

Drop in clinic every Weds at 63 Willow St 5-6.30pm. No appointment necessary. Free legal assistance. 571 6812.

Every Tues morning at Te Puke Clinic.

For appointment 573 5614. Every Thurs morning at Katikati Clinic. For appointment 549 0399

Black Sticks Men vs Japan Test Series March 12, 13 & 15 at Tauranga Hockey Centre, Blake Park, Mt Maunganui.

Club Mt Maunganui Indoor Bowls

Weds evenings - draw 6.45pm for 7pm start. New members welcome.

Jim 572 1983

Fernlands Spa Water Exercise Class

Weds 10.45-11.45am. Held rain or shine, but not during school holidays & on a week by week basis due to pool painting. New participants planning to attend, ph Jennifer 571 1411.

First Aid for Wildlife with ARRC

TECT Theatre, Historic Village, 17th Ave 6-8pm. Our precious wildlife needs our help, come along to learn how you can help. Koha. www.arrc.co.nz Gate Pa Indoor Bowls Club night, interclub rules at Greerton Hall 7pm.

Names in book. Kevin 543 4044

Greerton Gold Leisure Marching Team Seeking new ladies aged 50+. Meet Weds at Morland Fox Park 8-9.30am.

No experience required.

Marion 578 1108 ME/CFS Support BOP Support meeting at Tauranga office, 14B Hocking St, Mt Maunganui 10.30am. Topic: nutrition & diet. All welcome. Tina 281 1480

Russian Imperial Ballet Company

Presents Don Quixote – a flamboyant & festive ballet. At Baycourt Theatre March 13 & 14 8pm. Ph 0800 842 538 or www.ticketek.co.nz Scottish Country Dancing Weds at Senior Citizens Hall, Maunganui Rd. Fri at Papamoa Primary School Hall, Dickson Rd. Both 7.30pm. 573 5055 Table Tennis Tauranga Weds 1-3pm & 7-9pm, Fri 7-9pm at Memorial Hall, QEYC. All welcome. www. sportsground.co.nz/tabletennistauranga or Bill 578 1662 Tauranga Floral Art Group Meet at Baptist Hall, cnr 13th Ave & Cameron Rd 1pm. Members note there is no evening meeting - now held Saturday 9-11.30am after. Visitors & new members welcome. 572 2193 Te Puke Toy Library 248 Jellicoe St, opp Atuaroa Ave, Te Puke Weds to Sat 9.30am - 12pm.

021 130 6476

Toastmasters - City Early Start

Toastmasters is the answer for building confidence, communication & leadership skills. Come along & check out this GenX GenY club. To find a club near you email: LaniDTM@kol.co.nz or

571 1545. http://cityearlystart.toastmastersclubs.org TS Chatham (Sea Cadets) Every Weds at TYPBC, Keith Allan Drive, Sulphur Pt 6.30-9pm. Lee 542 5377 or 027 291 6151 or email: leew.lynnc@xtra.co.nz Welcome Bay Tennis Club Every Weds 9am mixed social tennis for fitness & friendship. All welcome.

577 0462 Yoga with Ocean Views Every Weds/ Fri Fergusson Park Sports Centre, end of Tilby Drive, Matua 9.30am. Join any time. Stella 021 0249 6390

Thursday 13 March

Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting

Salvation Army, Eversham Rd, Bayfair 7.30-8.30pm.

Army Cadets (WBOP Cadet Unit)

Every Thurs at Tauranga Army Hall 6-9.30pm. Ages 13-17 youth development with a military flavour.

Email: admin@wbopcu.org.nz Ballroom Dancing Every Thurs at Mount RSA 10am. Gil 574 6754 Club 55 Tenpin New members welcome to join a fun seniors tenpin bowling league. Meet Thurs at 13th Ave Tenpin 10.30am. Jenny 543 0539 Coastal Healing Rooms Weekly at Fashion Island, 42 Gravatt Rd, next to Esquires. First & 3rd Thurs 10.30am 12.30pm. 2nd & 4th Sat 1.30-3.30pm.

No appointment necessary. No charge.

574 1510 www.healingrooms.co.nz

Community Bible Study International

At 14th Ave Gospel Centre 10am 12pm for a non denominational in depth Bible Study. Jack/Betty 544 3809 Fitness League Safe, effective, low impact exercise to music using the Bagot Stack technique, designed for females. All ages & abilities, complementary first class, every Thurs Central Baptist Church Hall, cnr 13th Ave & Cameron Rd 9.30am & Weds at Katikati Memorial Hall 10am. Pam 549 4799 or 021 117 170 French Connection For lovers of all things French. Meet like-minded people over a relaxed drink.

Meet every second Thurs at Brooklyn Eatery, the Strand 4.30-6.30pm. Andrea: agohns@yahoo.co.nz Junction Mental Health Peer support & advocacy. Addiction support group 1-2pm. If you need a ride, or info, Junction 579 9890 Keynote 4 Part Harmony Women’s Chorus Meet every Thurs at Wesley Church Hall, 13th Ave Tauranga 6.45pm. Sing for fun & health. Nora 544 2714

Ladies Lions Club (Harbour City)

Meet at 2nd & 4th Thurs at Lyceum Club, 68 First Ave 7pm & 6pm respectively. Visitors welcome. Wendy 576 2505 Mainly Music Every Thurs at Tauranga Salvation Army, cnr Cameron Rd & 5th Ave 9.45am. $3 per family. New members welcome. 544 2417 Mount Art Group Every Thurs at St Peter’s Church Hall, 11 Victoria Rd, Mt Maunganui 9am - 1pm. Visitors welcome. Merilynn 575 6777 Petanque Tauranga/BOP Club Every Thurs & Sun at Cliff Rd venue 1pm start. Jo Ann 578 3606 Salsa on the Strand Presented

by Bay Salsa. Intro class 8pm followed by social dancing. Thurs at Defy. Social, no partner required. $2 entry, members free. All welcome. www.baysalsa.co.nz

Tauranga Heart Support Group

Phase 3 rehab exercise, social events & guest speakers for those with or at risk of heart disease. Every Thurs at City Church Hall, Otumoetai Rd/Sherwood St 9.30-10.45am. Men & women welcome. Dianne 576 5031 Qualified instructor/Cardiac Care leader.

Tauranga Model Railway Club Meet every Thurs evening. Ed 543 1108

Tauranga Rock n Roll Social Dancers

50’s & 60’s music at 14 Norris St Tauranga (behind Pak n Save) 7.309.30pm. $3 entry. Maria 576 7326 Tauranga Storyteller’s Group Meet last Thurs of month. Learn how to develop your storytelling skills. Claire 577 7220 Toastmasters - Kickstart Club Have fun while learning to speak confidently.

Breakfast meeting at Alimento Cafe, 1st Ave, Tauranga 7-8.15am. Guests welcome. Helen 571 6181

Waikareao Estuary Clean-up Day From 12-2pm. Meet at

Coach Rd Reserve, Tauranga.

Bring good footware & gloves if you have them. Free BBQ lunch provided. register: toby.barach@tauranga.govt.nz

Friday 14 March

Alcoholics Anonymous Open meeting every Fri at Hamner Clinic, 1235 Cameron Rd, Greerton (behind Tyremaster) 7.30pm.

0800 229 6757 for more meetings or assistance.

Chess Tauranga Every Fri at Tauranga RSA, Greerton 6pm onwards for the whole family. Noel 579 5412 http://www.westernbopchess.weebly.com/ Free Immigration Clinic

Every Fri - legal advice & information on immigration issues. For appointment, Baywide Community Law 571 6812

Friday Friends 10 Pin Bowling League Join our

friendly league playing every Fri at 13th Ave 10 Pin 1pm (3 games). We play in pairs.

New members welcome.

Barry/Loris 571 5492

The Little Big Markets

And night owl cinema at Tauranga Waterfront, the Strand.

Markets 5-9pm.

Cinema 9pm – late. Tonight “Carving the Future”. www. thelittlebigmarkets.co.nz/

“What’s On” in the Weekend Sun is a free service for non-profit clubs and organisations.

Email julie@thesun.co.nz or fax 571 1116 or post to PO Box 240, Tauranga.

Deadline 3pm Tuesday. Contributions should be less than 20 words.

44 M U S I C

The Weekend Sun P L U S

By Winston Watusi

Still marvelling over the Boss I know it’s been a few days, but I’m still recovering from last weekend with Bruce.

Yes, he was as good as everyone says and, yes it was worth going to both shows. Each night was completely different, both were brilliant.

Over three hours on stage each night, 48 different songs, 60 songs in all, the whole of Born In the USA in order one night, the whole of Born To Run the next.

There was so much that was cool, from that Lorde opener onwards.

And a few things struck me as I watched the shows, some general observations on the hi-end of the rock biz.

The first was that something like Bruce Springsteen On Tour is an operation of a scale that is simply mind-boggling. I was trying to get my head around just how many people must actually be on the road and it’s... a lot. For starters there’re the 18 band members. Many of them have instrument techs so there’s probably about a dozen of those. Then there are the sound people. Heaven knows how many are looking after that. Another dozen, maybe 20?

But that’s just scratching the surface. Before the show started no fewer than 10 people climbed ladders 20 metres high to operate lighting rigs way above the stage and up there settled into what looked like kiddie car-seats for the show – each with headsets, five along the front, one on each side and three along the back.

That was just a few of the lighting guys. Then there were the camera operators. I counted at least a dozen different cameras. About half of them were fixed, the others were operated by hand. Then they’re mixed live by other hidden people for the three big screens.

But, again, that’s just scratching the surface. There are the many minders (both PR and physical) and, one assumes, a small army of cooks, masseurs and the same sort of support crew that would accompany the All Blacks. After all, there are several people in the band who cannot afford to be sick, or even slightly off their game for even a single show.

And most of them are over 60.

That was another thing that struck me. The old definitions of age are just melting away. Once upon a time people raised an eyebrow when the Rolling Stones turned 60 and still went on the road. Here you have Bruce (64), Steve Van Zandt (63), drummer Max Weinberg (62), pianist Roy Bittan (64), bass player Gary Tallent (64) and a bunch of others playing for over three hours in incredibly athletic fashion. They are fitter than any average sports team.

That these guys still make it look like they’re simply having fun each night is the most remarkable thing and it’s enough to make you forget what goes on behind the scenes.

They also make it look so easy that you can almost forget that they’re not ordinary people.

Unlike what the Idols and X Factors would like you to believe, these are not just regular folk. Bruce is not just another guy who sings well and writes a few songs. He is massively more talented than any musician you or I have ever met. On a different level altogether. And his whole life is dedicated to his craft, whether it’s the workouts to keep him fit enough for each night’s show or the diet or the continual engagement in improvement and excellence.

Going that extra mile. Learning a Kiwi song for a Kiwi gig – who else does that?

This is someone who, at 20, was regarded as the best guitarist in New Jersey (population: eight million).

Who for every song he releases has another dozen waiting (at the time of last year’s Wrecking Ball album he had written 35 songs for a different planned album, all of which went into “the trunk”).

That’s why he was signed for Columbia over 40 years ago by the same man who signed Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday and Aretha Franklin.

But it’s not just him. The guys you see who “make it” and continue to, do so because they’re that good. Look at someone like Prince or Paul McCartney or Bob Marley or Beck. These are not just normal musicians but a bit better – they’re people from a different planet. watusi@thesun.co.nz

Crown and Badger Friday 7 – DV8.

Saturday 8 – DV8.

Sunday 9 – Josh Pow.

McSwiggans Irish Pub Tuesday 11 – Tauranga Acoustic Music Club jam night 7.30-9.30pm.

The Matua Mount RSA Sunday 9 – The Blarney Boys Friday 7 – Marilyn Kingi and 3-6pm.

Friends 7.30pm.

Wednesday 12 – A Taste of Saturday 8 – Chris Gunn Country Night 7.30-10pm.

7.30pm.

Sunday 9 – Charlie D 4.30pm

Presents...

45

The Weekend Sun D V D

M O V I E S

CAPTAIN PHILLIPS

With Winston Watusi

If any proof was needed that this year’s crop of Oscar nominees was an exceptionally strong field, it comes in the form of Captain Phillips.

Last year it could comfortably have won the Best Film award; this year it didn’t stand a chance.

Tom Hanks was even unluckier. He wasn’t even nominated for a turn that in another year could easily have won. He’s so good here that he makes it look easy.

Captain Phillips is the true story of the US container ship Maersk Alabama, which was hijacked

by Somali pirates. The focus is on Hanks’ eponymous hero and the pirate captain, played by Andi, who was beaten to the best Supporting Actor award by Jared Leto.

It’s an exciting story, well told by director Greengrass, who uses his typical hand-held camera approach to bring the same sense of immediacy that imbued Flight 93 and his Bourne films. He’s also a very intelligent director, giving enough backstory to the pirates to stop them becoming two-dimensional villains.

Even knowing that Hanks will eventually be okay – that’s not a spoiler: Phillips did, after all, write the book – doesn’t diminish the suspense. Like seemingly everything at the moment it’s a long film (two-and-a-quarter hours) but never feels it: the combination of character and incident makes for riveting viewing.

son. There’s a palpable sense of foreboding.

His daughter is about to be abducted and the film is about to descend into a spiral of grief, revenge, injustice and obsession.

There is an obvious suspect (Paul Dano) and a dogged cop (Jake Gyllenhaal) who has to free him for lack of evidence.

It’s a big, long (two-anda-half hours) serious film, handsomely shot, with strong committed performances and a satisfyingly complex resolution. But not in any way cheerful.

Pictures on the DVD cover and the fact that it’s based on a Tolstoy short story suggest that Two Jacks is a period piece. Not so, unless you count what I assume is the seventies. Instead it’s a low-budget digital experiment from interesting if inconsistent director Bernard Rose. It has Danny Huston as a legendary but down-and-out film director returning

Marvel continue to expand the boundaries of their universe with the second solo outing for the god of thunder Thor: The Dark World . And I guess how much you enjoy it depends on how much you buy into this stuff. Plot-wise Christopher Eccleston is leading the dark elves against Asgard (that’s where Thor and the other “Norse” gods live). Duplicitous brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is kicking around too. There’s a fair amount of fighting on foreign planets but where the film really works is on earth, capturing that “Avengers vibe” with panache and humour. The gods are actually a bit dull in comparison.

A Chilly wind blows as Prisoners is starting. Gruff Hugh Jackman is hunting a deer with his

M O V I E S

Fantastic Not bad at all Dreadful

Starring: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Max Martini - Dir: Paul Greengrass

Damn fine Dubious

Thanks to Video Ezy Brookfield for the DVDs

Te Ope Whakaora

to LA in search of finance. A dalliance with Sienna Miller causes complications years later when she grows into Jacqueline Bisset and her daughter meets Jack’s son. It’s all a bit anticlimactic but does nail a fine line of vain Hollywood hypocrisy.

The internet is evil! Just ask the assembled Canadian teens in Antisocial , who live in a world where – as the cover puts it – “a contagious pandemic of violence, suicide and paranoid hallucinations has broken out”. It’s New Year’s eve and they’re at a house party, including our nominal heroine Sam. It doesn't take long before someone notices that “Yo! Something’s seriously f***** up!” but locking the doors can’t stop that wretched interweb.

The common denominator seems to be ubiquitous Facebooklike site The Social Redroom. Death and destruction ensue.

Small scale, rather obviously a zombie variant, but generally effective nonetheless.

With Rialto

Actress and director Sarah Polley turns documentarymaker to give us a surprising portrait of her own family.

“An invigorating powerhouse of a personal documentary, adventurous and absolutely fascinating.” - LA Times

The Weekend Sun has two double passes to ‘Stories We Tell’ for lucky readers who can tell us who the director is. Enter online at www.sunlive.co.nz under the competitions section.

Entries must be received before Wednesday, March 12.

new curtains blinds and

FREE making on custom made lined curtains

*

30 20

Express roller blinds ready in just 10 working days!*

Rufflette tracks & rods*

plus huge savings on readymade curtains!

Choose from New Zealand’s best selection - all on display in-store. Take home & hang them today!

MOUNT MAUNGANUI,

HomeZone Centre, 2 Owens Place, Ph 07 572 1581

Open 7 days

*Conditions apply.

Offers valid until 31/03/14.

curtainstudio.co.nz | 0800Curtains (0800 287 824)

CSM6509HP

transform your home with

Across No. 1361 7. Broadcaster and 6. Insect (4) former MP (4,8) 11. Lout (8) 8. Claim (6) 13. Compliant (8) 9. Small town (NI) (6) 14. Permitted (7) 10. Clap (7) 17. Majestic (5) 12. Meat (5) 19. Container (4) 15. Long (5) 21. Harvest (4) C O N C E A T S I H A S H 16. Mistake (7) A C O R O N E T P E A K M 18. Require (6) S Y U I E Z L A M R T I S 20. Flower (6) K N O T E A I R B O R N E E I D E D C G E X E M N T 22. Lake (NI) (12) A C O R N S G D E C A Y S Down Y E L I OWG T O O A T O K O T A R E G B A N G L E 1. Cave in (8) A R T A I M G R T T I I K 2. Lap (4) T A R AW E R A I E B B S Z N P G E R I I I M O R K 3. Cautious (7) A G E O R G E N E P I A M 4. Drink (5) F E T G E E E Y O T T E R 5. Control (8) Solution 1360

46

The Weekend Sun

MCs compete in city battle Some of the country’s top MCs will channel Organisers Critter Watene, Faybs Herewini and Mel Eminem this weekend when they battle one- Bennett are aiming to bring another hip hop element to the Bay, after successfully hosting a large breakon-one in a freestyle MC event in Tauranga. dancing event in Mount Maunganui in January.

Presented by Step Correct, MC Battles is at Rehab bar on Saturday, March 15, from 10pm, with entrants battling for $500 cash, a tailor-made trophy and national respect.

Organisers Chris (Critter) Watene and Faybs Herewini.

Photo Bruce Barnard

Mel says entry is open to anyone, with MCs expected to improvise and impress the judges with rhymes, intelligence and lyrical genius to instrumental beats within a timeframe.

Local hip hop legend Critter will be the gig’s hosting MC, and there will be specials on the bar.

The event is restricted to people aged 18 and over, with $5 entry.

By Corrie Taylor

Final touches put on new comedy The final touches are being put to 16th Avenue Theatre’s stunning new Roger Hall comedy ‘A Shortcut To Happiness’.

The play follows the fortunes of a group of disparate people who come together at the local hall for a weekly class in folk dancing, run by Russian immigrant Natasha.

Natasha has recently arrived from Russia and wants to belong to the ‘Kiwi’ way of life, and come to grips with the idiosyncrasies of the Kiwi language.

A music teacher by profession, she must do

dancing is one of them, and judging by the cast’s happy faces when they have learnt a dance, it must be said that the saying holds true.

The ‘A Shortcut To Happiness’ cast.

The cast are having a ball during rehearsals, so do not miss out on this house cleaning until her English reaches the wonderful night of entertainment. required standard.

‘A Shortcut To Happiness’ is at 16th To supplement her income she decides to Avenue Theatre Tauranga from March give lessons in international folk dancing.

12-29, Wednesday to Saturdays at 8pm and The students include man-hungry Coral, Sundays at 2pm. golfers Laura and Janet, newly single Ned, Tickets available at TicketDirect (Baycourt) and Bev and henpecked husband Ray. or at www.taurangatheatre.co.nz There are few shortcuts to happiness, but

Free course offering money management A no-fee course designed to help residents manage their money in the current tight financial climate begins in Tauranga in two weeks.

Tutor Ra Winiata has seen a recent upsurge in people wanting to learn how

to control their personal finances and look to the future at investments in property and share markets.

This course is designed to help with just that – and has proven successful for many participants in the last two years, says Ra. “It’s a really comprehensive course that encourages people to look at every

aspect of their finances and provides practical steps to achieving financial goals.

“We have lots of people who love the course.”

Alongside Ra is tutor Peggy McKenzie, a previous education officer with Tauranga Budget Advisory Service.

“She’s great at being able to enable people to get every last cent out of their dollar. She really lives what she teaches, it’s great.”

Bethlehem resident Glynn Smith has completed the course and highly recommends it.

“It’s really positive and we have learned lots, I’ve done it with my wife and son and his girlfriend, and it’s really good.

“We’re learning lots of information, and refreshing stuff we have known. It’s fun, refreshing and a really good learning experience.”

Ra says the Ministry of Education-funded course caters to people in full-time work. Participants meet for one three-hour session each week (either a day or evening option), then the majority of the work is completed at home.

The course starts on March 19.

Information evenings are each Wednesday at 7pm at the Public Trust building for people who want to know more.

47

The Weekend Sun

Red appeal

By Corrie Taylor

Volunteers are urgently required to assist in Red Cross’ upcoming annual appeal week.

From March 10-16, volunteers wearing ‘official collector identification’ will be collecting donations on the streets of Tauranga, and going house-to-house.

Western Bay Red Cross events co-ordinator Heather Dabrowski says the donations enable Red Cross to continue helping people in need, locally and overseas.

Recent projects include the Canterbury earthquake, typhoons in the Philippines, floods in Pakistan, fires in Australia and tsunamis in Japan and Samoa.

“It might not sound like a big deal, but everyone who gives an hour or two of their time is helping to make a positive difference to people in their hour of need.”

This year a fundraising challenge is being set in schools throughout the Bay of Plenty, and Red Cross is also encouraging businesses to participate with an ‘outrageous red’ theme.

Red Cross Bay of Plenty training coordinator Rick Hopcroft.

On Friday, March 14, people are encouraged to wear something red and show their support for Red Cross. Contact Heather on 07 578 6987.

Culture multiplies in March On Saturday, March 15, Tauranga’s Historic Village will come alive with a festival of cultures, colours and culinary treats from around the world.

It’s the date of the 15th Tauranga Multicultural Festival, which is now a firmly-established family fun event organised by the Tauranga Regional Multicultural Council.

The organisation’s flagship event is held every year in March around Race Relations Day, which falls on March 21. The festival’s aim is to celebrate the diversity of cultures in Tauranga, where there are more than 70 different migrant communities.

The festival will showcase

Tauranga’s wonderful diversity of ethnic food, crafts and entertainment. The day will include a parade of ethnic costumes throughout the village; and visitors will have lots of opportunities to watch ethnic dances from all corners of the world, listen to many music genres, and try a wide variety of authentic ethnic foods.

The programme caters to all ages. Most performances will take place on the main stage on the Village Green, but there will also be various other exciting things going on throughout the Village all day. One lucky visitor will not only enjoy the event, but also take home a great mystery spot prize funded by ANZ Bank.

The festival starts 10am and finishes 4.30pm. Admission is $6 for adults, and children under 12 enter for free.

Tickets can be purchased at the gate of the Historic Village, 17th Avenue West, Tauranga.

Fishing competition’s ‘huge’ following Te Puna Hunting and Fishing Club is hosting its annual Take a Kid Hunting and Fishing competition next weekend, which encourages children to “get out there and give it a go” with their parents.

The competition starts with a briefing at Te Puna’s Top Shot Bar from 6pm on March 14, and finishes on March 16. The event is open to children aged 15 and under to go hunting for rabbits, possums, hares and magpies – or fish in the Tauranga Harbour for

snapper, kahawai, trevally, herrings, spotties, piper and eels.

Organisers say the event has a huge following with families returning year after year to give their children a go at the hunting and fishing competition.

This year there is more than $5000 worth of prizes to give away to children with the biggest catch in each category.

Entry costs $5 per child and parents of entrants must attend a briefing at Top Shot Bar from 6pm on Friday, March 14. To find out more details, visit www.tepunahuntingfishingclub.co.nz

SATURDAY 15 MARCH 2014

@ THE HISTORIC VILLAGE, 17TH AVE 10AM - 4 PM, ADULTS $6, UNDER 12 FREE EVERYBODY WELCOME!

48

The Weekend Sun

trades & services

Showers made ‘new’

BEFORE

Look at the difference Roly Wray could do for you too.

FRE QUOTEE S!

AFTER

As a dedicated independent, Roly Wray believes his commitment and passion puts him above and beyond any competing franchise.

Card

The local owner and operator of Shower Clean Services specialises in cleaning shower glass to make it look as-new, at a fraction of the cost required to replace it.

But it’s his dedication to his work Roly wants people to know about.

“With me, every time it’s a job well done.

I’m not a franchise, and I believe that works to my customers’ advantage.

“I care and look after my customers. Franchises are always coming and going, but I’ve been doing this myself for years and I do give it 100 per cent every time.”

Roly’s specialist service sees him restore shower glass, ceramic tiles and acrylic to an as-new condition.

“A lot of people think I’ll never get it back to the standard it was, but they come along afterwards and are just chuffed.

“And when you see their faces, you know it’s worth doing.”

Roly provides a friendly service to his customers, with good advice and a quote that includes high quality protectant, with no hidden extras.

He also specialises in protecting new showers, tiles and acrylic too, and also cleans “basically anything glass”.

Visit Shower Clean Services’ Facebook page to see more before and after shots of Roly’s work.

By Corrie Taylor

broken window handle?

• • • •

We Specialise in: • Continuous Spouting • All Metal & PVC Spouting systems

*finance available

doors • windows locks • hinges handles conservatories

for a FREE quote

07 571 4491

• Long-run Roofing • Fascia • Repairs & Leaks • Spouting & Roof cleaning

 All electrical work undertaken  • New builds, renovations, lights and sockets Moss & Mold control  Repairs, maintenance and installations Your local specialists  Competitive pricing Call/text/e-mail us for a FREE no obligation quote  We cover the whole of the Bay Ph: 07 542 1016 Mob: 021 02051038

E-mail: kiwispout@kiwispout.co.nz For Prompt, friendly local electricians telephone 0800 322000 or 021 564 560 www.phase1electrical.co.nz

Haul Away trucks ready to remove unwanted rubbish.

Haul Away unwanted rubbish When it comes to removing unsightly junk – rubbish and garden waste commercial or domestic – Haul Away owners Neville and Jann Rau believe they are the ones for the job.

The friendly team at Haul Away will remove, dump or relocate anything from garden waste to old furniture, appliances and even

construction junk.

“We take pride in our work and aim to provide great customer service,” says Neville.

Haul Away will tackle anything from fixing fences to concreting patios and even do office clean-outs and relocations, as well as move small “house lots” of furniture.

“We carry out a wide range of home services and our very happy customers keep coming back,” says Neville. “We pride ourselves on a job well done and are always up for a challenge.”

The Haul Away team dispose of unwanted possessions and waste through councilapproved recycling and transfer stations.

If you need it sorted, call Haul Away.

Time 2 Shine

SAFEPLANK SCAFFOLDING

SAFE • CERTIFIED • COST EFFECTIVE

The Weekend Sun

49

trades & services LocaL repairs Genuine spare parts 0800 372 273 fisherpaykel.co.nz

50

trades & services

The Weekend Sun

firewood

travel

wanted

AAA

MASTER

PAINTERS TAURANGA

public notices

public notices

51

The Weekend Sun

public notices

Hon Simon Bridges MP FOR TAURANGA

Simon Bridges MP will meet with constituents most Fridays at 184 Devonport Rd, Tauranga.

Appointments necessary

P: 07 579 9016 | E: taurangamp@parliament.govt.nz

www.national.org.nz

Working Hard For Our Community

appliance service

2931

52

cars wanted

The Weekend Sun

mobility

funeral directors

Buyers of Damaged, Unloved & Unwanted Vehicles

Great NZ People who are Honest Vehicle Buyers Follow us on Facebook

0800 382 828 lost Choose Legacy Funerals, and all the profits go to the local community.

Mike Savage For more information, call

07 543 4780

situations vacant

Contact us to discuss pre-arrangement and pre-payment options.

We can meet at your home or at Woodhill or Tauranga Park.

situations vacant

deceased

In-Home Educators needed PORSE In-Home Childcare needs more educators and nannies to care for children in a settled home environment, using natural play and learning, with love and respect.

Work from your home or a family’s home and enjoy a rewarding career with professional development, training and support.

Call us today to discuss your career options

Ph 0800 023 456 www.PORSE.co.nz

53

computer services

financial

RENTALS

a nd

The Weekend Sun

REAL ESTATE

Two become one Two of Tauranga’s well-known real estate brands have combined to become one entity this week, with the team from Tozers Real Estate joining the Eves brand.

health & beauty

karaoke hire

need

cash? personal

Tozers Real Estate former owners Paul Tozer and Mary O’Sullivan recently sold their business to Eves Realty, after operating out of Cherrywood Village for the last 26 years.

The rebranded premises will be managed by Paul.

Ironically in 1972, Paul’s father Ray joined the Eves team, formerly known as Eves Coxhead, then in 1983 established his own business under the Tozer name.

Paul says the company has effectively come full circle in joining the Eves brand.

“When we were approached by Eves, we saw an opportunity to work through our succession plan for the future.

“The acquisition will strengthen the Eves brand and for me and my team, it’s business as usual.”

The merge brings together two companies, each with a high profile in the Tauranga region, says Paul.

Tozers’ property management division, led by Karen Johnson, also comes under the Eves brand.

Mary has been with Tozers for 22 years and is excited by the change. She is looking forward to new people coming into the office.

“My partner Peter Campbell and I will still be actively involved in listing and selling properties.”

The office was rebranded with Eves signage last week and is due to be renovated shortly.

Linsa Finance Ltd

Unsecured Loans up to $1000

By Ross Brown

Fast Approval Same Day Cash All loans subject to normal lending criteria

0800 34 62 63

www.linsa.co.nz

1 7 4 D E V O N P O R T R O A D, TAU R A N G A | ( 0 7 ) 5 7 8 7 7 1 7

real estate

for sale

Mortgagee Auction FSP 20381

0

%

INTEREST FAST $500 - Cash loan approvals in 30 minutes - Establishment fee of $99 applies

Tauranga 269 Cambridge Road Mortgagee Auction

- 3 month term Visit us.

Visit us.

Terms and conditions apply. Subject to Instant Finance lending criteria and responsible lending guidelines.

All Fast $500 loans must be approved and drawn down in branch.

This great 3049m² (more or less) site is zoned residential with an existing use for a workshop/ storage and has an 230m² (approx.) building on it. This would make a great site for a new home and provide a fabulous lifestyle. This is a must for visionaries.

Contact Lynn Eagar or John Pope and for further information go to lynneagar.raywhite.co.nz.

IF21657

unganui.

0800 760 000 | www.instantfinance.co.nz

Ray White Hamilton 07 839 7060 91 Victoria Street (Opposite Museum)

Mortgagee Auction 12.30 pm, Wednesday 26th March 2014 Conference Room, Bay Palm Motel at 84 Girven Road, Mt Maunganui View Sat 12.30 - 1.00 pm rwhamilton.co.nz ID# HAM25850

Lynn Eagar 027 458 1780 lynn.eagar@raywhite.com office 07 839 7060 John Pope 027 496 3111 office 07 928 5000

rwhamilton.co.nz Online Realty Ltd (Est 1999) LICENSED (REAA 2008)

54

The Weekend Sun

www.sunlive.co.nz/classifieds.html

THIS WEEKS GARAGE SALES! BETHLEHEM Townhead Cresent.

This Saturday from 7am – 12pm.

General household items, kids toys and clothing.

PAPAMOA 35 Summerland Cresent. This Sunday, doors open at 8am.

Lots of general items and a few treasures.

TAURANGA 15A Burrows Street. This Saturday from 8am - 12pm. All household items including babies stuff.

arts & crafts JEWELLERY IN ART CLAY SILVER The quality of jewellery produced in this workshop by beginners and returning students never fails to impress me. Full day workshop with specialist tutor Jayne to design and make your own unique piece and wear it home. Phone Lynn to book.

Clay Art Studio, Historic Village Ph 571 3726

bible digest FOR THE WORD OF GOD IS living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

cars for sale A NO DEPOSIT DEAL from $50 p/w. Cars, vans, & 4x4s. To find out more txt ‘NEWCAR’ and your name to 9090. Learner licence welcome, some conditions apply.

cars for sale

lost & found

trades & services

trades & services

GARDENER, efficient, experienced, knowledgable; maintenance, pruning, hedges, disease/pest control, rubbish removal, garden renovations. Ph Tita 027 654 8781 or a/h 542 0120

FOUND KITTEN 5 month old (approx.) female, black and white, in Village Park Drv, Welcome Bay. White nose with black spot, black lower chin, mostly white paws, green eyes. Ph Verena 544 4178

work. Prompt, reliable, excellent references. Ph Paul 576 4793 or 027 689 6252

PAINTING small job specialist, guaranteed workmanship assured, semi retired tradesman. Ph Mike a/h 576 5501 or 027 473 7482

computers

health & beauty

COMPUTER GETTING you down?

Problems, viruses, upgrades, internet, new or refurb PC’s tuition, or advice. Ph Bruce for a no obligation chat or quote 576 7940 or 021 260 9183

MASSAGE Relaxation/ Therapeutic. Stiff neck, sore back, aching legs, pressure points, sciatica. $25 for 30 mins. Ph 022 327 4497 (no texts please)

FOUND MANS WATCH Kaimai Ridge Bush, December 2013.

Ph Bruce 027 471 3737

contin

CAR FAIR – buy or sell any vehicle every Sunday at 11th Avenue Car park opposite Mad Butcher 8am-noon. Ph for more information 027 733 9686 or www.taurangacarfair.co.nz

gardening

contin

dancing

NATURAL NEW ZEALAND Health Products. Something for everyone.

NZ Registered Natural Therapies & Natural Medicine Practitioners.

Opposite BP Te Puke. Ph 573 5533 www.naturaltherapiesnz.com and www.kiwikitz.com

BALLROOM DANCE PARTNERS required, aged between 10-18 years. No experience needed.

Ph 07 544 2337

HOUSESITTER AVAILABLE long or short term, references available, please phone Jill 027 654 3790

FREE ON SITE DIAGNOSIS & quote. We come to you & don’t charge extra for travel. Pensioner discounts. Ph Kyle at Tech Solutions 027 828 7078

firewood

CUT TO SIZE native and old man pine. Ph 0226 946 209

for sale CHICKENS FOR SALE, Hyline, 21 weeks, laying. Only $30 each.

Ph 07 552 6283 today KAYAK – Ocean River 2 man – 5.2 metres, 3 water tight compartments, two paddles. Good condition. $600 Ph 07 549 4006 LIFESTYLE BLOCK FOR SALE 3.39ha 1132b Ohauiti Road.

Character home, 2brm + office.

Open to view Sun 9th March 1:302:30pm. TradeMe ID:DRY564 or 027 411 4590

house sitter

PROFESSIONAL HOUSE MINDER available. Do you want peace of mind that your treasured home is in trustworthy hands while you are away on holiday? Excellent references. Available until May. Ph Cathie 022 162 8301

lifestyle coaching FEELING LOST? Want to reconnect with self. Regain purpose, clarity and joy each day. Ph Chris at Balanced Success Coaching 027 548 2548 chris@balancedsuccess.co.nz www.balancedsuccess.co.nz

livestock

gardening

AC PETFOODS collect injured & unwanted cows & horses.

Ph 0800 369 6269

GARDEN MAINTENANCE tree pruning, hedge trimming, rubbish removal, section tidy ups, odd jobs, WINZ quotes, affordable prices. Ph Philip 0800 334 453 or 544 5591 after 7pm.

GRAZING WANTED for two horses in Brookfield/Bethlehem/ Otumoetai areas. Willing to pay $40 per week. Please text Rachael 027 408 7420 or email radrach@kinect.co.nz

SPCA FOUND Kittens, various colours, various locations, please call us if you have lost one. Te Puke, Short haired Ginger Female Cat, Ref #19779, Parkvale, Short haired Torti & White Female Cat, Ref #19785, Pahoia, Short haired Black Female Cat, Ref #19799, Pyes Pa, Short haired Torti & White Female Cat, Ref #19806, Hairini, Short haired White Cat, Ref #19732, Papamoa, Terrier x Puppies, Ref #19792-19797, Te Puke, Staffy x Brindle Puppy, Ref #19803, Bethlehem, Black & Tan Puppies, Ref #19809-19814, Katikati, Turtle, Ref #19798, SPCA 07 578 0245

mobility MOBILITY SCOOTERS wheelchairs walkers & more. Visit or showroom 29 Burrows St, Tauranga Ph 578 1213. MES ‘Supporting your independence’ STAIRLIFTS – Make life easy with a stairlift enjoy the home you love by installing an Acorn Stairlift. Call us now TOLL FREE 0800 782 475 or www.acornstairlifts.co.nz

retail VINTAGE retro - shabbi chic collectables.

2/22 Hull Rd, Mount. facebook. com/vintagemtmaunganui www.vintagemtmaunganui.com

trades & services A1 PAINTER / DECORATOR available. All interior & exterior

BOAT BUILDING repairs and maintenance. Timber & fibreglass trade qualified, boat builder. Ph Shaun 021 992 491 or 07 552 0277 BUILDING / ROOFING Repairs, maintenance, spouting, cleaning, gutters, decks, fences & more!

From alterations to new work.

Registered Builder. Ph 575 8869 or 022 121 3356 EXTERIOR HOUSE WASHING with City Wide Roof Cleaning.

Residential, commercial, rural, driveways, paths, cobble & fences. Free quotes! Ph Mark 07 578 0302 GARDENING SECTION CLEAN ups, weeding, light pruning, plants planted, pebble gardens made, painting etc. Semi retired active gent. Ph Eric 577 1988 GUTTERING CLEAN and repairs moss removal.

Experienced Certified Roofer.

Free quotes. Ph Peter now 542 4291 or 0274 367 740 HANDYMAN BUILDING and section maintenance, decks, fencing, pergolas, painting, water blasting, odd jobs.

Free quotes Ph Rossco 027 270 3313 or 544 5911 INSECT SCREENS Measure.

Make. Mend. Contact Rob at Magic Seal 543 4940 PAINTER / DECORATOR Interior and Exterior, quality workmanship friendly services.

Over 20 years specialising in residential and more. Quality paint at trade prices. For your best advice in all areas. Ph Shane Mount/Tauranga Decorators 07 544 6495 or 021 575 307

ROOF PAINTING and maintenance. Roofs rescrewed.

Waterblasting, moss removal.

Free quotes! Ph Mark 543 3670 or 021 0273 8840 ROOF REPAIRS metal or onduline gutters & down pipes clean or replacement chimney repairs.

Certified Roofer over 30yrs experience Free quote. Ph Peter 542 4291 or 027 436 7740 ROOFING new roofs re-roofs spouting and repairs. Free quotes. Ph Chris 027 276 6348 or 572 3237 STUMPINATOR STUMP Grinding free quotes & prompt service. Narrow machine to access rear yards. Ph 576 4245 or 022 076 4245 TAURANGA Tandem Skydiving Best Buzz in the Bay, Gift Vouchers.

Ph 576 7990 TILER QUALIFIED TILER references available free quotes all types of work done from kitchen splashbacks to full tiled bathrooms. Contact Nelson 021 609 289 TIMBER RETAINING WALLS decks and all types of fencing.

Excellent work at a competitive price. Ph Clive 021 048 2833 or 552 6510 TREE SHRUB and hedges trimming, topping removal, rubbish removal, satisfaction guaranteed free quote. Ph Steve Hockly 571 5958 or 027 498 1857

transport DRIVING MISS DAISY relief for busy families. Let us take care of the transportation of your parents

transport

contin

to appointments or outings. Safe, friendly, reliable service. Ph Jackie from Driving Miss Daisy 552 6614

travel & tours AUSSIE OUTBACK ADVENTURE *Mamma Mia Show *Eastwoodhill Arboretum, Gisborne *New Tour Railcarts on the Forgotten World Highway - 2 X Tours Booked Out *South Island Tours 2014 *Skyline Rotorua Luncheon - plus many more inspiring Tours. Door to Door. Free Newsletters or visit: www.hinterlandtours.co.nz - Click Newsletter. Contact The Hinterland Team of Hinterland Tours.

Ph 07 575 8118 NO.8 TOURS receive your free Newsletter, enjoy VIP pricing for great day and overnight tours throughout NZ. Ph 579 3981 TAURANGA TASTING TOURS & CHARTERS Sunday lunches March 16 Mokoia Restaurant, Rotorua.www.tastingtours.co.nz/ Ph 07 544 1383

wanted

ANTIQUES, COINS, medals, china, glass, Kiwiana, Australiana, militaria, toys, anything old and interesting.

021 392913 or 07 549 0139 mark.holwerda@vodafone.co.nz

wanted to rent

TIDY, MATURE self-employed male looking for 1-2 bdrm house, fenced, pref semi-rural and gge, refs avail. Ph Chris 570 1567 or 021 707 725 WORKING MUM with 2 children wanting 2 bdrm house, anywhere from Omokoroa to Otumoetai and surrounding areas. Ph Elizabeth 022 689 1005

work wanted

LOOKING FOR HOUSEKEEPER/ cleaner/ pet minder? Honest & reliable, high work rate, quality finish, flexible. Ph Jan 021 222 1000

55

The Weekend Sun

New church open for residents’ healing “Without change, there would be no butterflies” – this is what Tauranga minister Grant Hynds believes.

Grant’s wants to see change take place in peoples’ lives and after starting two churches in the Gold Coast and Sunshine coasts in Australia, and working at a church in Nashville, USA – Grant is now opening his first church in New Zealand to do just that.

Starting this weekend, The Well Church – a Christian healing ministry – will be open for Tauranga residents to experience both physical and emotional healings.

Grant says he was inspired to start a healing church in Tauranga after experiencing a major physical healing through

Delores Winder’s ministry in 1985.

Delores visited New Zealand four times through the Presbyterian Church during the 1980s and 1990s, when Grant says “countless numbers were revived and healed”.

Spending three extended periods with Delores, Grant decided to start his own healing ministry here.

As long as 50 years ago Tauranga was looked upon as the “buckle on the bible belt”, says Grant, who believes there were more churches in the city than anywhere else in the country.

But during recent years, the number of church-goers have dwindled, says Grant.

“I suppose we can say 50 years ago many churches were in a state of revival; and many today are hoping for that revival to come back,” says Grant, who hopes his

church will see that revival return.

Grant is inviting Tauranga residents to visit his Christian healing ministry every Sunday at Bethlehem

By Zoe Hunter Primary School Hall from 4pm.

www. www.

.org.nz .org.nz

Holding onto all that is good In my last article, I spoke about God’s Word being the standard or the plumb-line that God has given to enable us to distinguish that which is true from that which is almost true and to distinguish that which is false.

The process of weighing things up against the plumb-line of the Word of God requires us to test ministry and those ministering against God’s plumbline, so as to discern false teachers, false prophets and lying signs, wonders and miracles, and to keep us from error A common argument today is we must not judge; and the Scripture used to support this false assertion, Matthew 7:1, is usually taken out of context and without regard for the rest of the discourse Jesus brings in the following verses. Jesus does not say we are not to judge; He says we are not to judge others by a different standard than we judge ourselves.

Jesus says in John 7:24: “when you judge, judge fairly and not by appearances only”. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5:12–13: “For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside”. And he says in 1 Thessalonians 5:21: “test everything; hold fast what is good”.

To stand against biblical discernment, to oppose weighing something against the plumb-line of God’s Word on the basis of one verse taken out of context (“judge not lest ye be judged” in Matthew 7:1) is foolish at best and possibly deliberately deceptive at worst.

God has given us His Word to measure all things by, and He expects us to judge all things against that standard.

God’s Word is the only instrument sharp enough to divide soul from spirit, and to discern their distinctions.

The Church of the living God is to be the pillar and buttress of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15).

It can be found in many spiritual traditions from Ancient Greek to Celtic, Indian and Native American.

The oldest surviving labyrinth can be found in Crete, but one of the bestknown is found in the floor of the 11th Century French cathedral in Chartres, where the stones are worn down from the many generations of walkers.

Unlike a maze, a labyrinth has only one pathway, which winds its way towards the centre and back. Some people describe this as finding a way to the centre of the earth. Others see it as journeying towards the heart of God. People walk a labyrinth for many

9:30am & 6:00pm Come along!

07 576 5387 252 Otumoetai Road www.citychurchtauranga.org.nz

By Peter Whitcombe, Jesus First Church

Learning about walking with spirit Walking a labyrinth is a very ancient practice for seeking guidance or enlightenment.

Sunday Services

reasons: to seek guidance, to look for meaning to life or answers to problems.

It calms the mind and helps to release tensions. It requires no words, no special actions, no particular belief. It is open to people of any faith or none.

Wesley Methodist Church is housing a ‘travelling’ labyrinth during March.

This portable labyrinth has been travelling New Zealand since 1998, along with its log book. This book accompanies the labyrinth wherever it goes and people are invited to add their reflections, stories or images to it, as an ongoing record.

The labyrinth will be open March 12-15, from 10am-noon, Wednesday to Saturday, and from 4pm-7pm on Wednesday to Friday.

Everyone is welcome. To protect the surface of the labyrinth, we ask you walk in socks or bare feet.

Sunday Gatherings 10:00 am Mount Sports Club 51 Miro Street Blake Park The Mount

www.stlukeschurch.org.nz

56

The Weekend Sun

accepted.