Someone must have called in the angels on Saturday morning. Our massive earthquake caused monumental amounts of damage to Christchurch and surrounding Canterbury, but not one life was lost. The Haiti earthquake, exactly the same force at 7.1 on the Richter scale, killed 300,000 people. Thank goodness for our First World building standards and the… [Read more…]
August 31, 2010
The recent celebrations of 150 years of settlement in Heathcote were well-attended and awesomely well organised. I got along to the church service at St Mary’s Anglican Church. The church was itself celebrating 150 years. Not only were the locals turned out in nineteenth century clothing, the church laid it on too. The bishop and… [Read more…]
August 30, 2010
It was a buzz to catch up with the folk of the Linwood Playcentre recently. They had an open day to attract interested folk and raise funds. Playcentres are a great example of local neighbourhoods getting together to provide a benefit for their community. Children learn and play in a family-centred environment. Parents have the… [Read more…]
August 26, 2010
I have been astonished at the number of people who, in reaction to our People’s Forum proposal, have expressed the view that city decision-making should be removed as far from the people as possible. People’s Forums are a new approach to city annual planning, giving residents more of a say. They are based on the… [Read more…]
August 18, 2010
A new approach to city annual planning will be trialled in Christchurch over the coming month. Peter Taylor, a city council candidate standing in the Hagley-Ferrymead ward for The People’s Choice, is introducing the concept of participatory budgeting to the city. In a series of public meetings leading up to the local body elections, Peter… [Read more…]
June 18, 2010
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This piece appeared in The Press in 2009. —– I was heading back from a great day in the hills on a recent winter’s Saturday evening and decided to hit the Springfield pub for a beer and a feed. It was a rugby test night and walking through the rows of utes and stepping past… [Read more…]
May 17, 2010
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The story of one school’s marketing efforts, plus thoughts on the use of email for communication and promotion. One of the highlights of my paid and voluntary career to date has been a stint as a school trustee. Like more than 100,000 other New Zealanders over the last 21 years, I put my hand up… [Read more…]
September 5, 2010
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