From the Acting Mayor

By Melissa Sadler-Futter

It’s great to be able to connect with you through The Star as your Acting Mayor again this month, during Martin’s continued leave of absence. 

If we haven’t had the opportunity to meet yet, “hi, I am Melissa”, I am normally the Deputy Mayor and I live in Featherston with my family. I’m here to address any questions or concerns you may have. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me at melissa.sadlerfutter@swdc.govt.nz.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to meet and chat with a number of you during April at community workshops, the Hinekura Road opening, community meetings in Ngawi and Tora/Tuturumui as well as councillor drop-in sessions bright and early at Kitcheners. It is these opportunities for conversation with the community that make the work of councillors more accessible, meaningful and informed. Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge and feedback with us.

This month I am keen to focus on one important topic – consultation for the Enhanced Annual Plan that is currently open until May 5. 

We are inviting our community to provide feedback to the proposals which are included in the document. You do not need to be a local government expert or to have taken part in council consultation before, you simply need to care about your community and I know we all do!

I know councils spend a lot of time talking about plans – Combined District Plan, Spatial Plan, Long Term Plan, Annual Plan and now an Enhanced Annual Plan but what is it all about and what does it really mean?  … Continue Reading

Martinborough Community Noticeboard

This new Noticeboard is to list Martinborough community groups and activities. The goal: provide a location where people can find what is happening and participate. This project is part of Martinborough Lion’s Club contribution to progressing Martinborough. If you’d like your group or activity added, please contact: AshleyMudford.Lions@gmail.com

Martinborough Community Groups

Bingo for Seniors

Description: A chance to enjoy others’ company over a cup of tea and games of Bingo.

Location: Wharekaka Hub, 20 Oxford Street

When: Monday 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Contact: Matt: 022 5686 352

Information: Gold coin donation to cover costs

Board Game Club

Description: For those who love board games, cardboard squares and dice

Location: Yet to be established

When: Yet to be agreed

Contact: Sergio

Information: https://www.facebook.com/groups/martyboardgaming/

… Continue Reading

ARATOI: Jane Sinclair – Quiet Observations

First Light, Milford Sound, 2023, oil on stretched canvas. Image credit: Jane Sinclair.

Masterton painter Jane Sinclair has finally finished painting new works for her upcoming exhibition Quiet Observations, on display at Aratoi from mid-April through to June.

Jane has been inspired by the physical landscape of the mountains, hills, valleys,rivers, and the coastlines of the Wairarapa and New Zealand. 

This geology, combined with our country’s dynamic weather patterns, creates vast cloudscapes that affect how the light falls on the land and water.

The exhibition is comprised of twelve landscapes, some instantly recognisable and some a little more unknown.

“I don’t like to paint the same scenes as everyone else,” she says. “I will try a different viewpoint or paint at dawn or dusk, the colours and atmosphere are fabulous then.”

Jane has borrowed some of her works from private collections around the region as well as using some pieces that hang on her wall at home. She has also been busy painting several new works for the show.

Quiet Observations will be her first solo show in nearly a decade.

Jane Sinclair: Quiet Observations 20 April – 16 June Aratoi gallery.

The Star Book Review

By Brenda Channer

In 2020, during lockdown, did you drag a chair to the end of your driveway with a coffee or glass of wine in hand to commune with your neighbours from a “safe” distance of an evening?

“Fourteen Days,” edited by Douglas Preston and Margaret Attwood, gives us a distinctly New York take on that notion. 

Residents of a small Manhattan apartment building gather on the roof, keeping their distance and reluctantly wearing masks. Initially they gather to applaud emergency workers at 7:00 p.m. each night but ultimately remain for the company – the price of which is to tell a story.

36 different authors contribute these stories as the initially prickly characters gradually become vulnerable to one another. Anchored by the narration of the building superintendent they share stories of love and loss, of ghosts and adventure, of travel and mystery.

Who is the author of which story is unknown until you flip to the back of the book – you can check the list as you go or decide to keep it a mystery until the end!

I was intrigued by the concept of the novel’s construction and attracted by the quality of the 36 contributing writers – John Grisham, Celest Ng, Diana Gabaldon, R.L. Stine, Emma Donaghue, Margaret Attwood and 30 more! It did not disappoint, and I found myself drawn into their little community, wondering who would tell a story next.

Unsurprisingly there are many different styles to the storytelling as befits the different personalities of the characters, including poetry and song.

There is a twist in the tale too which firmly reminded me that this is a pandemic novel. 

It made me pause and reflect on that time in the not too distant past and how it has changed us all.

Available at your local bookshop.