WAYS TO FUND YOUR STUDY

The year is moving ahead quickly and many of you will be deciding whether or not you are keen to start tertiary study or industry training.   For most of us one of the predominant considerations we need to make is “how much will it cost” and “how will I be able to afford it”.   The Ministry of “Social Development – Studylink have set out information to help you find answers to the above questions.

Fees-free:

You may be able to receive a year of fees-free tertiary study, or two years of fees-free industry-based training.  To see if you qualify check www.feesfree.govt.nz

The website also has information on what programmes and courses are eligible for fees-free.  Make sure you have your National Student Number (NSN) on hand, as you will need to enter this to check.  Once you enter your number, you’ll find out immediately if you’re eligible or not.

In some circumstances more information may be needed, and the FeesFree website will take you through everything you need to do.

What about other costs:

If you can get fees-free study you may not need a Student Loan for your course fees, but you may still need to apply for a loan if you need course-related costs or living costs. … Continue Reading

The airtight lid

It is probably surprising to learn that the airtight  lid ( Milo, paint tins etc.) was designed by a New Zealander. Away back in  1884 a Dunedin tinsmith,

John Eustace designed a lid with a flange which clicked into place. Up until then lids were plain and slid on , and just as easily off. 

He and his brother  started manufacturing  tins with the lids which proved to be really popular. To  meet the growing demand they designed an automatic machine however it required a die to be cut for it in England. They did patent their invention but for some reason only for in New Zealand.

They were legally unprotected anywhere else, there was nothing to stop the die making company from stealing their idea – which, on realising that it was not patented in England it did. This company was soon producing millions of lids.

This bad fortune  did not seem to faze John and his Dunedin company’s business thrived to where he was making  100 tons of lids a year.   

STOP PRESS

Martinborough Music Festival Board (MMF) announces changes to MMF musicians and programme resulting from the suspension of the trans -Tasman travel bubble. Michael Houstoun will replace pianist, Laurence Matheson; Zephyr Wills (up-coming violist) replaces Christopher Moore; and Andrew Joyce (Section Principal Cellist NZSO) replaces Timo-Veikko Valve. The Ethel Smyth Trio in D Minor will be replaced by the Ravel Trio in A Minor.

SOUTH WAIRARAPA REBUS CLUB

The guest speaker at our 23 July Meeting was Lisa McLaren QSM of Masterton, a “reluctant activist”, who was awarded the Queen’s Service Medal in the 2020 New Year’s Honours for her services to climate change advocacy. Co-convenor of the NZ youth delegation to the Paris climate talks, she was also convenor of the Zero Carbon Act Campaign, supported by Generation Zero, a New Zealand-based youth climate change group who launched their blueprint for the law change some four years ago.

Lisa has attended several United Nations climate change negotiations including those in Poland, Germany, and France. The New Zealand youth delegation had been attending climate negotiations for the decade following the notoriously unsuccessful talks in Copenhagen in 2009, as they saw that there was a crucial role for young people to play in creating the solutions that would define their future. They knew the importance of New Zealand’s stance in the world; they saw the symbolic power of New Zealand leadership. Climate change is the challenge of their generation and young people are the inheritors of humanity’s response to climate change. 

Solutions to the problems were available; many world leaders were acutely aware of the scale of the issue; maybe the governments of the world would make a binding agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent runaway climate change.  Hope and belief were shattered when negotiations failed to reach a meaningful agreement each year until the 2015 Paris negotiations. Despite the need to act in order to secure a stable future for young and future generations, successive attempts saw no political consequences for inaction and plenty of pressure from special interests to maintain the status quo. … Continue Reading