A member of da Robbin’ band with a money pouch which poor ratepayers of da Hood have to fill.
Members of da Robbin’ band enjoy themselves.
A little satirical piece on the Spotlight on Paraparaumu and Raumati FB page began: “Mayor Robin Hood has forgotten the story line. The band was supposed to rob the rich and give to the poor ratepayers, not the other way around. Clearly some of Robin’s story book characters can be readily identified around the Council table, Maid Marian and Friar Tuck are so obvious, there’s no denying them. Let’s look at Much the baker’s son. Sometimes it appears he wants to usurp Mayor Robin but other times it is not so clear. Occasionally in public speaking time he will sit closer to the public lectern so he can ask speakers repetitive questions.”
But who does the money that da Robbin’ band take from ratepayers of da Hood go to? About half of it goes to pay da Sherrif and his many minions, but a lot also to da friends, da Consultants in Auckland and Wellington, and of course, interest to da Moneylenders…
Another of the pdfs on the council webpage for tomorrow’s meeting is this, which amid the high profile investment gambling scheme has probably attracted little attention.
The document is fairly self-explanatory: this committee now comprises five councilors including the mayor plus two independent members and the paragraphs 3 and 4 make clear that detecting fraud is the primary concern. A bigger general problem, however, is corrupt practices which include things like nepotism, cronyism and backhanders.
It seems Warwick Tuck may just have decided it’s time to move on. Bernie Randall thinks well of him and another contributor says: “From what I can see from the paper the role is poorly paid for the work involved. It carries some serious reputation risk too, and why would you accept that for $190 per meeting. The agenda for each meeting is probably 2 inches thick and would take hours to read — you may get down close to the minimum wage!”
Raumati Paraparaumu Community Board members Guy Burns and Bernie Randall welcome the recommendation from Kapiti Coast District Council staff that Council cease pursuing a grand plan to borrow funds for investment purposes.
“Pressure from ourselves, the Auditor-General, public opinion and others has rattled the Mayor who quickly jumped ship late last year after realising the borrowed funds scheme will cost him dearly at election time. Staff are aware market conditions are not favourable for establishing new funds and expose failings in the idea. The Plan is flawed and has been met with disbelief by ratepayers. Using loans to invest is counter-intuitive and goes against what ratepayers find acceptable.”
Council will consider the staff’s suggestion to abandon the proposal this Thursday 24 January. “We hope some of the diehard Councillors who whole heartedly backed the foolish proposal will also ‘see the light’ and follow in Mayor Guru’s footsteps,” say Messrs Burns and Randall.
Of the many fascinating stories about New Zealand’s rivers, none would be more mysterious…
About 130 years ago, the Waimeha River forked off the Waikanae River near the current road bridge south of Waikanae township. It then meandered through the current Waikanae township, largely following the route of what is now Te Moana Road. As it neared the coast it sharply changed direction southwards to follow the coastline, before eventually meeting up with the Waikanae River and making its break out to sea.
However, as Chris and Joan Maclean relate in their 1988 book Waikanae Past & Present, the upper reaches of this river disappeared completely sometime after 1890: “Why and how it did so is not known, but it is probable that a realignment of the Waikanae River channel was caused by flooding or some other natural force [and influenced the course of the Waimeha]. It seems unlikely that anyone undertook such a massive exercise in aquatic engineering, even though the small Waikanae community of the 1890s stood to gain from the disappearance of the Waimeha” (pp.153-4).
The once substantial river (significantly wider than the Waikanae, as can be seen from the 1872 map, above), has now been reduced to a small stream, and only appears above ground west of Waikanae Park, about 2 kilometres from the coast. Its current course can be viewed here on Google maps.
[Illustration above: an 1872 map showing the Waikanae and Waimeha Rivers separating just below the railway bridge and then rejoining near the coast (larger map in Waikanae Past & Present, p. 153)]
One of the items on the agenda of the council meeting for this Thursday is a recommendation that the council not proceed with this plan. pdf
” There has been some level of concern raised in the community and with elected members about the level of risk associated with the investment funds, particularly given that in the financial markets currently there is a level of uncertainty around the equity markets.”
No doubt the Councilors will be pleased to give this recommendation their rubber stamps — even the notion’s previously aggressive supporters — after the revelation that they could be personally liable for losses.
Mulled Wine Concerts — Kapiti’s vibrant concert organisation headed by pianist Mary Gow — will put on a special event to kick off their 2019 season. This concert, featuring three giants of the New Zealand music scene – Ray Woolf, Rodger Fox and Erna Ferry — will happen at the historic St Peter’s Hall in Paekakariki on Saturday 26 January 2019.
Ray Woolf’s appeal crosses generations with a musical CV that includes pop, rock, soul, cabaret and jazz, while his television career ranges from drama and soap opera to fronting Play School and his own talk show. Mums, dads and grandparents love him and even those with little interest in music will remember him as the guy with Howard Morrison on the Bic television commercials.
In 1980 he began his association with musical theatre starring in Hans Christian Anderson, The Music Man, The Sound Of Music (100 performances so far) New Rocky Horror Show, West Side Story, A Slice Of Saturday Night, Blood Brothers, Golf the Musical and later this year the King in The King and I.
For 43 years Rodger Fox and his big band have set the benchmark for jazz in New Zealand [Roger had his music shop The Golden Horn off Cuba Street at least as far back as 1974 —Eds]. Unlike many jazz musicians who’ve gone offshore, Rodger has stayed here to offer his gift of performance, arranging, administration, conducting and teaching.
The Mulled Wine concert will see Rodger lead his select jazz ensemble, playing his dynamic solos and leading the music. Erna Ferry is a vivacious, fun and sparkling jazz/blues singer with a great stage personality. She has the ability to grab the audience and make them hers. Whether she is singing a slow sultry ballad or belting out a swinging blues, you are in no doubt that Erna is giving the song her utmost. St Peter’s Hall, Paekakariki Saturday 26 January 2019 at 7:00 pm
Tickets: $30 adults, $25 Gold Card and $15 students.
Online sales: marygow@gmail.com. Tel: 021 101 9609 or 04 902 2283. Info: http://www.mulledwineconcerts.com, or like on FaceBook: Mulled Wine Concerts.
Pre-sales until 25 January: Magpie Paremata, 99 Mana Esplanade; Darcy’s Paekakariki Fruit Supply, 11 Beach Road, Paekakariki; Milk and Ginger, 18 Margaret Rd, Raumati Beach; Moby Dickens Bookshop, Paraparaumu Beach; La Chic Hair Design, Kapiti Lights; Lovely Living, Waikanae.
Unlike the last one in November 2017, all the gardens this time are in Waikanae proper and comprise 13 in total rather than the 10 of 2017. Several are on the trail for the first time.
The pamphlet and tickets ($20 each) are available at Gus Evans Nurseries and, on the weekend, at a ticket booth in the Grand Carpark as well as at any participating garden. The tickets are stated to be “per day ” meaning you can’t spread your visits over both days at the $20 price. The visiting times are 10 am — 5 pm both days.
