Martinborough Community Choir Update

The Martinborough Community Choir will soon be celebrating four years of singing together in harmony!
Our 4th end-of-year concert is scheduled for Tuesday December 6, at 7.30pm, in St. Andrew’s Church Hall, Dublin Street.
We are pleased that ‘Novella’ will (as usual!) be part of our concert.

The choir has had a successful, but quieter year in 2016. We decided to spend the first half of the year consolidating, and learning new songs without the pressure of performing as much as we had done in previous years.
One of our favourite and most inspiring guest leaders, Mark Dorrell came and did two choir ‘masterclasses’ with us around the middle of the year, and our first performance this year was in the Jazz In Martinborough festival in early September, when we enjoyed singing at Circus Cinema.

On October 15 we sang a short set of WW1 songs as part of the Anzac Hall’s Centenary Celebration Concert, and the choir was very well received by a large audience that night. … Continue Reading

News from First Church

With the Labour Weekend behind us, all the summer events are now unrolling in front of us – at the time of writing, organisation of our traditional Kirk Fair in a few days’ time is well advanced, and we are hoping the different site will attract the usual friends and supporters who can as always be sure of quality home produce and baking, and many great bargains of every kind.

An interesting newsletter has reached us – called Wellbeing and put out by Presbyterian Support Central which operates Family Works and Enliven services – both familiar names in this area. The articles describe a very important part of what we stand for – caring and making a good difference to people’s lives – adding meaning and purpose with joy, connecting as a community and creating a welcoming and non-judgmental space where all can grow and evolve with a freedom of choice.

The final paragraph of an article on Lloyd Geering in a recent Dominion Post echoes these sentiments: “Traditional religion is dead, but its ideals must live on. We have to learn in the modern secular world to be responsible for ourselves, our neighbours, and now, of course the Earth, and to carry the values that come out of the Christian tradition.”
These are themes that we engage with at First Church – in all our activities and at 10am on a Sunday.

Take care when walking those dogs

Taking dogs for a walk along country roads or amongst the vineyards while sounding great can be the cause of major trouble for those with sheep or lambs in these areas.
Dan Lynch, Project Manager for Ovis Management says each year across the country, including Martinborough, lambs grazed in vineyards near dog walking areas are processed with high levels of Sheep Measles.
Sheep Measles does not harm humans, but causes unsightly cysts which lodge in lamb muscle tissue. Affected carcases can be downgraded or condemned at processing. … Continue Reading

All Washed Up

So Spring has finally come to Martinborough. The vines are growing their leaves, lambs are everywhere and the days are getting warmer. You may have also noticed a number of re-cycled planters, signboards, cafe tables and lamp-posts are also springing up around the town !! These are all down to Tim Holman, the owner of driftwood and rustic timber design ‘All Washed Up’ who arrived in Martinborough just six months ago from the Coromandel.

Tim’s past was a world away, literally, having travelled the world for 30 years setting up, designing and running restaurants, bars and hotels. These include the famous Ice Hotel in the depths of the Artic Circle, Sweden and Antiks Brasserie in Auckland, which he set up with his then brother-in-law Micheal van De Elzen of food truck fame. … Continue Reading