Our Second Community Market

Nancy playing her harp under the trees

The second experimental community market held in the grounds of St Lukes Church was another success.  35 great stalls filled our space and there was something for everyone.  Stalls sold local produce, garden plants, cut flowers, pickles, bread and bakery goods, some food stalls and a range of crafts. A number of community groups ran fundraisers and we had some great live music from Rachel (singer songwriter guitarist) and Nancy, (a harpist).  There was also a bouncy castle and kids games going on throughout the market.  3-4 local businesses also ran stalls to highlight and sell their products and services

David, a fruit and vege grower from the Old TaitTapu Rd

The team from the Halswell Community Project and our sponsors at St Luke's Church were delighted when Sunday 24th November dawned sunny and warm (after a week of cloud and drizzle), although as people noted later, perhaps it got a little too hot during the afternoon!  Most of the people who came to the market were able to spend some time sitting in the shade and perusing the various stalls.  The sunshine was a little more challenging for stall holders who did not have umbrellas or tents to provide shade.

Craft, plant and clothing stalls

 Overall we'd have loved to have seen a few more local residents at the market.  We were pleased that most of the stall holders felt there were enough people attending the market to justify their running a stall and are keen to come back again in February.
We really appreciate the support of the locals - ongoing support is going to be really important to keep our stallholders coming back and to ensure the sustainability of the market.  We will need to see a few more supporters at our coming markets this summer in order to decide what we should do next year.  The long term viability of the market will depend on having plenty of people coming along. 

There is quite a bit of parking available across in the Library carpark and down at the Hall (both less than 5 mins walk away).  Many people from Halswell on the Park, Muir Park, and Oaklands chose to walk from home and a few also biked to get to the market.  cyclists could park onsite in the new bikestands or at the gate and most brought panier or packs to take away their purchases.

Put Feb 16th 2014 - 1-4 pm into your diary and come down and check out what is on offer at the next market!

Two local businesses soon after setup, before the rush

Shining Cuckoos around Halswell

I was in my garden earlier this week (near Quarry Park) and heard a shining cuckoo/ pipiwharauroa.   They have a very distinctive call  and are said to herald spring.  I always like hearing them for that reason - no matter if it is well into summer when I hear them!   They are also known as rainbirds in some parts of New Zealand - testimony to the fact that that on the west coast of both islands, spring can be quite a wet season!

Shining Cuckoo:  Photo from DOC website

Pipiwharauroa are small insect eating birds - only about the size of a sparrow and they fly each year between here and the Solomon Islands.  They go there to eat up large on insects over our winter, before returning here in spring.

They breed here, laying their eggs into the nests of  grey warblers tiny birds with relatively loud and also very distinctive song.

There are a few places around Christchurch where you can hear shining cuckoos throughout the summer - so listen out as you walk, or bike around Halswell  because you might just hear one.

You can find out more about shining cuckoos here  or you can listen to an interview about the shining cuckoo here.

A Spring Clean ....

Another post from the lovely Rebecca Harford of who runs the Love my Body Programme.

The weather is getting better and the days are getting longer, now is often when we give our house and gardens a bit of a clean out - well we should also do the same with our body.

1) Clean out your wardrobe: Try on your clothes- are they too big? put in a recycling pile to either be dropped off in the closest clothing bin ASAP or have a 2nd hand clothes swap party with friends. Have you not worn that item last summer- put it in the recycling pile. If there is clothes that you haven't worn this winter- put them in your pile too!! no point in saving them for another year and taking up space!! Check your clothes over- are they a little too loved or need mending (and be honest with yourself if you don't fix it tonight then put it straight in the bin!!)?? Make sure to check your undies and socks too- have a good clean out and then treat yourself to some gorgeous new frills- its amazing how great it makes you feel!!

Here's some good advice on when to bin your bra!!

1. Has the lace on your bra begun to pill, stretch or tear?
2. Do the straps on your bra hold their length without stretching?
3. Is the band that fits around your rib cage stretched? Does it still hold tight to your body?
4. Have you gained or lost weight recently, resulting in a change in your rib cage and breast size?
5. Do you notice any fraying fabric anywhere on your bra?
6. Are the moulded cups of your bra beginning to show signs of wrinkling or dimpling?
7. Is the fabric of your bra looking dingy, gray or stained from perspiration or everyday wear and washing?
8. When you wear a tight-fitting top over your bra, do you notice any bra bulge anywhere along your breast line and back?
9. Are you feeling any discomfort or pain between your shoulder blades or back?
10. Are you having to tighten the straps of your bra more often to give your breasts proper lift and support?

If you answer yes to one of these questions then you need to ditch that bra!!

2) Give your skin a refresh!!- Not the skin on your face!! now is the time our pearly whites are starting to come out and I'm not talking teeth!! SO its time to give everything a spruce up.

                 - Dehair- do whatever it takes and get rid of ALL of that unwanted hair no excuses!!

                 - Exfoliate- give EVERYWHERE a good scrub with a lovely exfoliant

                 -Moisterise, moisterise, moisterise- get a gradual fake tanner (like Dove summer glow its great!!)- having a bit of colour on your skin will make you feel more confident :)

Now you need to be doing this at least 2x a week- believe me you will thank me for the extra 15 mins a week you spend on this when you need to slip quickly into a skirt, shorts or singlet and your legs and arms look great!!

3) Clean out your makeup, skincare products etc etc- Have you been holding onto some nice smellies for another day??- well start treating yourself and use them!! IF you haven't used something for 6 months either pass it on to someone who will, use it yourself or bin it!!

Here are some tips for when to bin your make up and skincare products:

• Most powders, concealers and lip balms are anhydrous (they don't contain water), so they can last for a couple of years.
• Cleansers and moisturizers often contain fatty acids, which can turn rancid quickly. Toss after six months.
• Multiuse products such as 3-in-1 sticks and creams can spread germs from lips to eyes and cheeks. Wipe the surface before switching areas, and discard or replace after six months.
• Pencils can last several years unless you wet the tip with saliva or water. To be safe, sharpen before each use.
• Mascara should be tossed after three months without fail. The tube is a breeding ground for bacteria.
• Foundations can last up to a year if you keep your fingers away from the bottle. Instead, use a sponge to apply..
• Store cosmetics in a cool, dry place outside the bathroom to extend their shelf life.

Good luck and enjoy the results from your big spring clean :)

Post from Shirish Paranjape (standing for community board in Riccarton/Wigram)

The joys of democracy

Some weeks back, I decided to contest for the position of a community board member for Riccarton-Wigram ward.

During these past weeks of campaign and community interaction, I have experienced many aspects of our community, our city.

1.  Our local government structure of mayor, councilors, community boards: Many people, particularly those born overseas asked me to explain what a community board is, what it does etc. After listening to me, their unanimous comment was that this structure is such a nice one to have. Let us make this structure work for our communities!

2.   I found that most people were genuinely interested in discussions leading to positive outcomes for the city. The awareness level of local issues is very high, and people liked to discuss issues which affected them and others.

3.   Community support for the process of elections, including candidates’ campaign is very high and positive. House-owners and businesses not only gave permissions for signage, many actually made adjustments to accommodate the same. Businesses engaged in printing brochures, signs etc. supported with quick turn-around times. Media and community groups engaged actively and promoted good discussions.

Personally, I learnt a lot just through this process of campaigning, communicating, meeting people and visiting different parts of our city.

But I also learnt that the voter turnout at local elections is less than ideal, around the 50% mark!

When I first heard this, this was indeed a surprise, as this did not match the active community involvement I had experienced otherwise.

I wondered about the reasons, which perhaps include.

1.    Lack of voter awareness about candidates

2.    Some candidates not forthcoming about providing detailed information about themselves.

3.    The website www.vote.co.nz run by Local Government New Zealand is an excellent resource but very few voters know about it. Perhaps the publicity is not adequate.

I feel that to improve democratic processes, indeed the effectiveness of democracy itself – widespread community participation is vital.

Let us look at countries such as Egypt. Hundred have laid down their lives in an effort to get democracy.

We in New Zealand are much luckier. We do not have to go to such extremes. All we need to do is to participate in the elections in big numbers.

We do not even have to leave the comforts of our homes.

Let us make Christchurch as the city with (near) 100% voter turnout.

Let us do it together. Let us make it 100%.

Shirish

Halswell Market - What's happening?

The Halswell Community Project are going to try to put on three market days over the coming summer (Sunday 13th October, Sunday 24th November and Sunday 16th February) on a a small site (St Lukes Church) to test the feasibility of setting up a market in Halswell.  These days will help us find out what people want from a market here and also whether the community are interested in the market idea. 

We set up the Halswell Community Project in February this year, and amongst other things we have been finding out more about what we need to do to set up a market.  In that process we also learned about markets that have failed around Christchurch and the reasons why they failed. 

Lyttelton Market 2013

To run a weekly market, you need:

• A good venue, 
• A consent to trade,  
• Reliable vendors who are selling things that people want to buy, and 
• Many customers who come regularly and buy from the vendors. 

Venue
We are working on the venue and have had talks with a few people around the place.  We have been told by the Council that doing it on Council land is difficult and something to be avoided, and we have talked with the supermarket manager and he is not keen to have a market in his carpark because it will create congestion issues.  Schools are a good place to run a market and we are working on that but this will take us some time to sort out.

Consent
To run a regular market, the Council requires us to have a consent, in which they assess things like noise levels, parking, effects on the neighbours, effects on traffic and a number of other things.

A consent costs several thousand dollars which includes Council costs and the cost of paying a planner to work with us to put the application together.  We expect that it will also be a major investment in our own time - both in finding funding and in doing what is needed to put in an application.

The rub is that a couple of new markets in Christchurch have failed, so funders are going to want to know that we are sure that we can get a market up and running if they are going to give us that amount of funding.

Vendors and buyers - how markets fail
To run a successful market you need a good number of reliable vendors and a good number of reliable buyers and the vendors need to sell what the buyers want.  Without ALL of this nobody comes!

 Having a good number of buyers
Last year we ran a survey to find out how interested people are in the idea of a market. Perhaps the most important aspect of that was how many people chose to go and fill in the survey.  We put 4000 fliers into letterboxes around Halswell and about 390 people filled in the survey.  We know that some people do not have access to computers, but the question is if only 390 people were prepared to fill in our survey how many would actually come to a market (something that arguably takes more effort).  At this stage, we are unsure exactly how interested Halswell people really are in a market and what this might translate into when we actually run a market.

Without a good number of buyers, vendors don't want to come back

Vendors. 
To get a good number of buyers, you have to sell what people want to buy!
People are most likely to want to buy food on a regular basis. If you think about it, many of us do buy food each week but we don't spend nearly so frequently on other goods and services.  So a good market needs things like eggs, bread, good fruit and veges, and food that people can eat on the spot with a coffee.
There are a relatively small number of vendors around Christchurch.  Vendors selling things like bread, cheese, pastries, pies or preserves (for example) need to be licensed.  Vendors that sell veges either need to be reasonable sized growers of a variety of veges,  or commercial operators who buy from the grower, so they have enough to sell at a regular market.  Many vendors attend more than one market and while some might be keen on a new option (if it doesn't clash with a market they already attend) some may not want to come to another market.
We'd love to get new, local vendors but new vendors may need time to learn what it takes to run a good stall and whether they really want to do it. As such there is a little more risk in getting new vendors to a new market, so we need a way to manage that.

Why market days?
We've decided to run three community market days this summer to see if we can find vendors, to give vendors a chance to test the water here,  and to see who comes along.

We hope to find out:

• Whether we can develop a good set of vendors,  
• How to locate and work with vendors and 
• Whether people in Halswell are likely to support a market - by coming along to it.    

Doing this is also a way of proving to potential funders that we are worth supporting if, and when, we decide that we can go ahead with developing a weekly market.

So you can help by coming along, making suggestions to people who might make good vendors.  If you have some ideas about the latter, then contact Phil at communitymarket.halswell@gmail.com

Another Spring

It was with great sadness that we farewelled an equine friend this winter. Bridget was at the property that I graze at when I first arrived in June 2003. She was 'twenty or so', a grouchy, bossy mare with a stubborn streak a mile wide. She breathed like Darth Vader, had a figure shaped by seven pregnancies, and tended to chase cattle and horses alike into corners so that she could kick them.

She had several talents, including a surprising burst of speed when the gate to the road was left unattended (fortunately she always turned left to rampage on the lawn, rather than charging down the driveway). She loved water. You only had to walk towards the hose on hot days to have her come over. She would stand for you to drench one side, turn so that you could spray the other, then trot off down the paddock, flicking her tail at the drips running from her belly. She would stick her head in the water trough up to eye level, and roll and play in any large puddles she could find.

As the years passed, Bridget began to show the more obvious signs of ageing. She started to struggle with chewing hay, and became less eager to trot away after a wash, instead settling for a fast walk. She stopped itching her belly by rolling, and instead became extremely partial to tummy scratches (which were welcomed by heavy breathing and drooling). Bridget slowly sank down the pecking order until she was put in a separate paddock to stop her being bullied. She started to lose weight in the winters, and found it harder to put it back on in spring. She was getting old. A conversation with her owner revealed that she had been born in 1977.

In the last few years Bridget was a great customer of the local stockfood supplier. She would devour 40 litres of hard feed each night, and had a feed bill running into the hundreds of dollars each month. I often remarked that it would be easier just to feed her the money, as it would save on the heavy lifting. She adored her food and, when insufficiently hungry, she would tip over her 20L buckets to pick out the yummy bits, leaving the rest. This winter she stopped walking down to the gate for me to feed her, instead requiring yours truly to cart her (very heavy!) dinners down to the part of the paddock she liked to eat her dinner in. I put this down to dodgy eyesight, but having seen her make her way to the gate for her owner to feed her treats, realised that I was being manipulated. I was happy to be manipulated by her, so the waitressing continued.

In July of this year I arrived at the paddocks to find Bridget lying down. Her eyes were becoming glazed, and I couldn't get her up. The vet arrived, and was followed by her owner's brother. After roughly 45 minutes of the three of us cajoling, pushing and pulling we managed to get her up. She was a bit shaky, but practically dragged the vet the length of the paddock so that she could get into the shed to warm up. She went through every possible puddle on the way, to the dismay of the vet, who had forgotten her gumboots.

Bridget had another three weeks with us. She started coming down to the gate for her dinner again, looking over the fence with an expressive, expectant face as 4.30 approached. She began shedding her thick winter coat, in preparation for the spring that never came for her.

Bridget was put down on Sunday 4 August, at about six thirty in the evening. She had been found unable to rise at seven that morning, and despite a day of vets and injections and pleading, did not regain her feet. She was a horse who always tried her heart out, so the decision to end her life was relatively easy.

I have many memories of Bridget, most of them happy, some sad. The most bittersweet is this: In the hour before she was put down, she rallied a little. She sat up, pricked her ears at me, and looked around for her dinner. I brought over her feed bucket, she gobbled a few mouthfuls. She did this a further dozen times, and I was happy to serve such a courageous spirit.

Bridget, summer 2011.

Rest in peace, darling girl.

Cycling: a good way to get around

I started biking round Halswell when I was a kid - around about the age of 9, from what I remember.  It was nothing unusual at the time - it was just what we all did.   Unlike most, however,  I’m still cycling now a few decades later.  Why? Mainly because it’s fun,  but it is also convenient, quick, cheap, friendly and safe.  

I bike all around the City and out to Lincoln regularly to get to work meetings, shop, run errands, visit various libraries or meet people for coffee.  And heaven forbid - at weekends I've been known to do it for recreation but that's a bit less common!

 "You're taking your life in your hands" someone said to me the other day and many people say to me that they won't cycle because it is too dangerous.  It's not as bad as most people think.  It is much more common to die or be severely injured driving a car or a motorbike than it is riding a bike - so much so that bike deaths are still considered newsworthy - so we hear about them.

Looking back over the many decades that I've used roads around Christchurch - and I've biked 1000s of kilometres each year -  I've had one accident (in 2010, someone turned his vehicle, right, into my path as I travelled straight ahead at the traffic lights by the Halswell Library, because he didn't see me) and I was driving my car at the time.  Despite travelling at well below the speed limit, the car never recovered, and I was out of action for about three weeks while my ribs healed enough for me to get back on the bike


Not that I haven't had near misses on the bike, but I've also learned where to look for trouble,  and how to avoid it.  It is possible, as with driving, to be a very defensive cyclist and to cycle in ways that minimise risk.

In rush hour, cycling is incredibly safe, fast and fun.  I love passing all the cars in the tail backs from Dunbars road onwards.  The only things moving at any pace are cyclists.
On top of all the obvious things, are the statistics on the effects of inactivity on health and death rates. We never consider that too much time sitting down in front of the computer or watching TV might be dangerous - but it is!In fact it turns out that the overall health benefits of cycling are far greater than the overall health costs (in terms of cyclist injuries etc)

"Those who exercise regularly are at significantly lower risk of cardiovascular disease, type two diabetes, all types of cancer, high blood pressure and obesity,” says Dr Lynn Cherkas" in this article. 

As a cyclist, the research indicates that I have less chance of catching colds and 'flu and when I do I"ll recover quicker than people who do not exercise as much.  Kids who get exercise on their way to school do better at school and adults who exercise before work do better too.

A study of 200 people carried out by the University of Bristol found that employees who exercised before work or at lunchtime improved their time and workload management, and it boosted their motivation and their ability to deal with stress. 

And on top of all this cycling is a great for mental health! As this article points out, cycling not only makes you smarter - it also increases a lot of the chemistry in your brain that makes you feel peaceful and calm.

On top of that, I save money. There is the obvious, of course.  I fill my car up with about 35 litres of petrol every 6-8 weeks rather than every week or two weeks.  My car running costs are not high.  I don't have as many sick days as I would if I didn't bike (and because I work for myself and as a volunteer, that is significant).  I don't have as many doctors bills, I don't pay gym fees.

I even save YOU money! How?  Well, There's lower health bills, and this is pretty significant!  Check out this publication for a very comprehensive outline.
I do about 10,000 times less damage to the roads on the bike than in the car, (and I still pay the same rates and taxes as you for that roading). In Portland, Oregon, they found that investing a few million dollars in cycle paths caused about 10% of car drivers to get onto their bikes.  The savings to the city in road maintenance alone more than paid for the cycle paths.

I also subsidise your parking - particularly around Halswell where parking is "free".  Car parking is, of course, NEVER free! It's just that out here you don't pay the cost of it directly (and even in town you don't pay the full cost of it).  Car parking takes up a lot of real estate and we share the cost through rates, or in our shopping bills.

So, get out there guys - consider the benefits and think about the possibilities.  Even getting out there and walking more can be of major benefit to you personally.  Both cycling and walking are friendlier than driving a car -  after all, it's much easier to smile and say hello! :-)

Halswell Craft Group

This month I decided to visit the Halswell Craft Group.  They meet in the Scout den in the Domain on Wednesdays 10-12am during the school terms (and not during school holidays).

I was surprised at the number of cars parked outside, and walked in to find 21 women sitting around tables working away on a wide range of crafts.   I first chatted with Marion and Trudy who run the group and they told me that this was a small group compared to what they normally get - perhaps because of the bad weather.  They also introduced me to some of the women there, and to the activities that were going on in the room.
The room was humming with conversation and I moved around and chatted to many people.  Crystal made my day by telling me that she found out about the craft group through the Halswell Community Website and had been coming to the group since she retired.  She told me that her first projects were photo albums that she 'scrapbooked' for her family.  "The earthquakes taught me that for family memorabilia it is well work having copies in different places.  That way, if one gets lost, there are others around.

Carola had been helping another woman learn about beadwork - how to translate the instructions and the basic techniques to produce some great looking stars - perhaps Christmas decorations.  i could see possibilities for making some great earrings.  Next to her was a woman who showed me some fantastic cards while another was stitching some applique Christmas decorations.  Over at another table were three women painting and drawing, and at another was someone working away on some incredibly fine embroidery and someone next to her stitching a picture for a cushion cover.  A number of people there are also experienced quilters although no-one was working on quilts at the session.  Quite a number of people were knitting and there was one women wandering around and knitting whilst talking to people at various tables (I was very impressed, and had pictures in my head of Aran knitters known for their capacity to knit while walking, tending sheep and  range of other tasks!).

The craft group offers the women who go a great place to talk about the issues going on for them.  For some it was a useful outlet for managing the ongoing problems emerging from the earthquakes.  As Marion pointed out, as she dished out soup (served up as an end of term treat), it is quite easy to come along and not actually do any craft work because there are so many people to talk with.  Mind you, looking around, this is a great place to come to learn some new crafts or to work on crafts you've been working on for years and there's a huge depth of knowledge here to tap into!  

Find out more here

How can we promote, grow and sustain our Halswell businesses in these times of social, environmental and economic change?

The  Halswell Residents' Association and the Halswell Community Project invite all businesses in Halswell to a meeting at Craythorne's Public House, 5.30 pm on Monday 19th August.  This is an opportunity to meet local businesspeople, network and think about the idea of forming a Halswell business association to strengthen and grow business in the area.  

Population in the area is set to double over the next decade.  In that event, Halswell be a suburb similar in size to what the City of Gisborne is now increase.  This brings in new businesses and increases demand for business.  On top of that, more people are now working from home, having lost their premises in the earthquakes.   

There are many small businesses in the area that it’s difficult to find out about.  As a result, Halswell people often go outside Halswell for their goods and services when they might be available here.   Likewise, it is surprising what we don’t have available here, given that the population of the suburb was about 14,000 back in 2006 and it has been growing ever since.

All this means there are great opportunities to promote Halswell business to Halswell residents and even to other Halswell businesses.  The business page on the Halswell Community Website and the Halswell E-Newsletter provide a starting point for doing this.  However, businesses in other places have found that having a local business association helps them to reap greater benefits by working together. 

A business association would create a strong central platform for dealing with issues facing businesses in the area and help to advocate for good local facilities (e.g. public toilets open 24/7).  Such an organisation might also allow businesses to access cheaper business supplies, for example, by buying in bulk. 

So to any and all businesses out there – sole traders, retailers, people working from home, tradespeople and other service providers, come along, buy a drink and do some networking, whilst having a bite to eat (food will be provided free).   

5.30pm Drinks and nibbles (Buy your own drinks, food provided)

6.00pm Speakers begin.  

• Anthony Barker, chairperson of the Sydenham Quarter will speak about the Quarter’s experiences with growing businesses and regenerating Sydenham by working collaboratively.   
• Lorraine Rouse from the Canterbury Employers Chamber of commerce will also speak about the services they provide and a collaborative business development initiative she was involved with.   

6.35pm:   Discussion of the issues and opportunities of doing business in Halswell and whether there would be benefit in forming a Halswell business association.

Cost: Attendance is free, thanks to Craythornes and Christchurch City Council for their generosity in supporting this

Please RSVP for catering purposes to Halswell.Newsletter@gmail.com or phone Chrys on 338-0313 by Thursday 15th August.