Library News

Halfway through the year – how did that happen?  The book budget is coming to an end with the new one kicking in on 1 July.  Yes, I have spent it all – there is no chance that I won’t.  There are so many good books out there and unfortunately we are not the National Library and can’t possibly have every single one on our shelves.  Nevertheless I do try and squeeze in as many as possible.  

If you follow our Facebook page, it is easy to see some of the good books that end up shuffling round the library and if you spot any you like, it is easy to ask us to hold it for you.  Talking of books (which I do quite a lot), the First Church Book Fair is this month.  I am waiting on a confirmed date but according to tradition we are a collection point for books.  Just drop them off with us when we are open or drop them off at the church hall on a Monday morning.  

We are also collecting old mobile phones for recycling – the collection box is just inside the library door by the magazines.  Hanging above the magazines are handmade book bags for sale.  The sale proceeds go towards the new children’s library furnishings, as do the lavender bag sales (made by my own fair hand).  

There is always something going on here at the library.  On the 2^nd Tuesday of each month, from 10am to 12, we have a solicitor from The Law Society on hand to help with any legal queries.  You can turn up or ring for an appointment – just ask a Librarian.  … Continue Reading

Letters

Not good enough

Today, 23 May, we again find ourselves questioning the competency of our Council and their employees. Wednesday, one of the 3 days the Landfill opens for a few hours, open according to Council information 1-3pm, so arriving  at 135pm I find a queue of traffic parked alongside the road, posing a potential risk to motorists on an open section of road with a 100kph speed limit, awaiting the landfill gates to open..

Upon ringing the Council I am told it is closed today as contractors are putting up new netting, and our Council has put this in a paper advertisement (not your fine publication) and on a “Facebook Page” to let everyone know. 

None of the waiting queue, even if they use “Facebook” ever think to look at the Council’s page to see if the services they provide are functioning !!, and yet this is how they consider they have communicated with their ratepayers. We are also told there is supposed to be a sign on the gate, which after much searching a laminated piece of printed paper is found down a fence line obviously blown off in the recent or overnight winds (who would have thought we have wind here!). … Continue Reading

Know your town

Not the place to be in 1904

A newspaper of the time reported that Martinborough and the Lower Valley supplied more tragedies that any district of it’s size. Many of the disasters were down to the weather, the year had started with a very hot dry summer which was followed by a cold, extremely wet winter with huge floods. 

The calamities began with  a murder of  Leonard Collinson at Te Awaite  Station in February, indeed the continuing tragedies coined the phrase ‘the  Collinson Curse’. Collinson was a scrub cutting contractor who had employed William Ellis. Ellis was reported to have been seen at various times shooting station deer and sheep for food and was subsequently sacked. 

Ellis – also know as Jimmy or Jack McKenzie – had been sighted in the vicinity of the Station prior to the shooting and was known to be a great marksman who could live off the land. 

Within  two days there were around a hundred police and hunters looking for Ellis. At the start police offered a reward of a hundred pounds  (2018 = $17,644) for his capture. This was  later increased to four hundred pounds ($70,576) without any result.  … Continue Reading

Jazz in Martinborough Celebrates Women’s Suffrage

This year’s Jazz in Martinborough runs 30 August to 2 September. 

Organisers are aiming to top last year’s event, which Music Director Lee Quayle said was “by far our best festival ever for tickets sold and attendance at gigs”. 

This year’s Jazz in Martinborough theme will be Women in Jazz, to commemorate New Zealand’s world-leading granting of women the right to vote, in 1893. “New Zealand led the world 125 years ago, and we will honour that legacy with some fabulous women singing fabulous music,” said Lee Quayle.

The opening night of the festival on Thursday (30 August) will feature the stylish Mary Watson and Noir, who have drawn big crowds to Peppers Parehua during previous festivals. “We thought it was time we showcase Mary’s singing talents for a wider festival audience,” says Lee. “Mary has a great band of super musicians who play a wide range of jazz with ease and style.” 

Miho Wada and her Jazz Orchestra will be front and center on Friday evening (31 August). “This concert will be one to remember, as Miho and her band always bring fabulous excitement and energy to their performances,” says Lee. “And, they play great Jazz!” … Continue Reading