Familiar Faces:Lesley Parker's Halswell Community Choir and Friends

The first time I heard Lesley Parker's Halswell Community Choir and invited musicians was at one of their earlier concerts in the Halswell hall a few years ago. They made a big impression with the choir doing a fabulous job of singing upbeat songs, sometimes in five part harmonies which the audience sang along to. Afterwards, the musicians jumped on stage to belt out dance numbers and the hall erupted with the whole audience jumping to their feet and dancing for the rest of the evening. We had enjoyed the night so much that naturally when Halswell Community Project were trying to think of another community event to hold, we thought of Lesley and her friends and thought a Halswell winter dance would be fun. And yes, it was, it turned out to be another great night where the crowd danced all night long to perfectly pitched cover songs.

The Halswell Community Choir are often seen at local events and the thing that strikes you about the choir, apart from their lovely tunes, is the joy that is on their faces. They are loving every minute of what they are doing, and with the self-deprecating humour of their Irish director, as well as a mix of other musicians, it makes them a very entertaining bunch.

All this musical talent came to Halswell, not long after Lesley and her husband Matt arrived here from the UK. It was then that Lesley started the choir. Lesley had grown up in Northern Ireland and Matt, London. Music is a big part of their lives, however, they also have day jobs. Lesley works as a science teacher at Westmount school. Matt used to work for the city council but is now a pastor of Kings Church in the city. Kings Church is part of a worldwide family of churches called New Frontiers which is involved with church planting. There are New Frontier Churches here in Christchurch and also in Wellington, Auckland, New Plymouth and Nelson. Many of Lesley's fellow musicians attend this church too.

Matt and Lesley both came from homes where there was a love of singing. Matt's dad even joins the choir when he comes over from London to visit. Lesley's family attended the Quaker church, which ironically, worships in silence. Her parents could both hold a tune well and everywhere she went, Lesley joined a choir or worship band. Matt obtained a degree in Music at the Royal Academy of Music in London and plays the bassoon, amongst many other instruments.
.
The community choir was started by Lesley because "what she loves to do most is to sing with other people." She also loves to see the support the group gives to each other and also "the joy in the room at the end of evening spent singing."
Their current songlist includes a wide variety of songs such as: Sammy Davis Jnr's”Rhythm of Life”, Josh Groban's “You Lift Me Up”,”Three Dog Night's”, “Joy to the World”,  Dave Dobbyn's “Welcome Home”, Bic Runga's “Hello, Hello”, and Ross Meecham's “The World Still Turns”.

The choir sings at the Anthony Wilding retirement village, the Aidanfield Christian School Fair, the St John of God Christmas Carols and have their own concerts at Te Hapua. The next place they are singing is the Aidanfield Christian School Fair on Saturday 19th of November.

The other musicians that often accompany the choir are local musician Ross Meecham playing his own songs. You may also hear the talents of Sam Watson, Catherine Bryant, Alex Bryan, Chris Horn, Matt Parker and the fabulous Kings Blues Band.

Prospective choristers do not have to audition; the only job requirement is that ".they enjoy singing. Everyone is welcome”. If you are interested in coming along to choir, message Lesley on the choir's Facebook page or email halswellcommunitychoir@gmail.com or turn up to practice on Monday evenings in the Aidanfield Christian School 7.15-9.15pm
 

Halswell Youth Achievement:The Adventures of Jasper and Sharkcrock in Magictopia

While most children at age six are learning to read, Jasper Harrison was writing a book. His book "The Adventures of Jasper and Sharkcrock in Magictopia" has now been published, and arrived as a lovely Christmas surprise.  Jasper opened his Christmas parcel and discovered his own book!

Japser's story is set in the magical world of Magictopia where the sky is red, the grass blue and houses are made of dragonfruit.     Magictopia is in civil war and Jasper Kungbear's parents, the King and Queen, have gone missing.  Jasper and his friends embark on an exciting journey to find the map that will lead them to his parents.  They encounter challenges such as vicious giant bombardier beetles, Ninja robots and the evil villain, Dr Poisoning Pirate.  The story is full of twists and turns because in Magictopia, the kingdom where one thousand witches and wizards reside, anything can happen. It is a delightful, humorous, original, action packed story that any primary school student would love to read. 

 Jasper loved putting all his creative ideas into one story.   Justin, Jasper's dad, said he “loved seeing the unbridled imagination of a six year old.  'Magictopia' is Jasper's world and it was a lot of fun to play around in a sandbox world and edit the story together."   They are currently writing Jasper's second book and plan to write more.

 A love of reading and a well-developed imagination have been nurtured in Jasper by his parents, Justin and Lisa, who began reading to him even before he was born.  He had had so many stories read to him that at age four and a half, he would happily read books by himself.  Furthermore, Jasper of his own accord, decided to read movie subtitles. "He did this for two and a half years and increased his reading speed considerably," notes Lisa.   "He reads up to ten hours a week, especially when he has discovered a new series that he loves."

Further confirming his writing talents, Jasper achieved a High Distinction in the writing ICAS exam, which is only achieved by the top 1% of students entered from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.

Other influences are his writing Granny and a writing Dad. His Granny, Tui Harrison, wrote for a regional newspaper and still enjoys writing the occasional poem and short story.   Her son, Justin, is a member of the Christchurch Writers Guild and reviews New Zealand books for "Takahe", a nationwide literary magazine.   Justin also loves to write fiction.  He, in fact, wrote his own first 20,000 word story when he was still at school and has written his own 120,000 word novel: "The Eye of Torrbey" which he hopes to get published soon.  Recently, too, he wrote its prequel: The Mage Wars.  Jasper credits "The Eye of Torrbey" as being an inspiration for his own writing.  

"The adventures of Jasper and Sharkcrock  in Magictopia" by Jasper and Justin Harrison can be purchased on Amazon, Fishpond or by emailing :  HarrisonFamilyPress@gmail.com   Look out also for  Jasper and Justin's next book in the Magictopia series that is coming out in November 2016.

Familiar Faces: Barry Perkins and Sal Marks

More often than not, when you walk into Halswell Hammer Hardware on the corner of Sparks Road and Halswell Road, you hear laughter and familiar banter going on between
Barry, Sal and their customers.  You get a sense of long history and long relationships at the shop. Sal began working at the shop in 1990 and Barry bought the franchise five years
later. But even if you are new to the area, Barry and Sal will chat away to you about your day, your projects, making you feel as though you are already “one of the locals”.
Surprisingly, even though Barry and Sal have been at the corner store for twenty and twenty-five years, respectively, they both travel long distances to get to work.  Barry commutes daily from Brighton as he “loves the beach” where he lives with his wife, Linda. And Sal drives from Eyreton, North Canterbury, where she lives with husband John and spends time working with young horses.
Sal’s interest in horses led her to a job in Kennedys Bush Road, working for Dr. Cliff Irvine and Sue Alexander who are world renown specialists in equine reproduction. Sal would
spend early mornings with the horses, and then go to Halswell Hammer Hardware. Today, she continues a similar pattern of being at the shop in the morning and then going home to handle young horses in Eyreton.
 Barry also cites horses as one of his interests commenting that he is a typical Kiwi bloke that loves rugby, league, cricket and horse racing.  He finds a little time to do DIY on
Saturday afternoons and Sundays, otherwise, you will find him at the store.
All of Barry’s working life has been in Hardware.  He retells the of a day when it all began by chance.  He was biking into town to see a girl when someone he knew yelled out to him
“Are you looking for work?”.   Having just finished school, he yelled “Yes” to which the man yelled back “You start Monday”! After this informal introduction to Briscoes, which was then a hardware and importing business, Barry worked for Ramset Fasteners in Hamilton and Wellington before coming back to Christchurch in 1990. Being in the hardware business, Barry and Sal have been privy to a steady stream of post-earthquake stories. Their tone saddens as they speak of the number of clients still waiting to have repairs done, but worse still is the number of clients coming in to buy supplies to repair the EQC work that has been done on their homes.  The shop, currently filled with painters, draping drop sheets and ladders, is also finally getting its repairs done. On a brighter note, Barry admits the earthquakes have had positive spin offs for Halswell businesses and the Halswell community.  They both agree that they love the spaciousness of the area and the friendly people that live here.
Words: Deb Harding-Browne

Familiar Faces: Kate Cleverly

Kate Cleverly is a familiar face in Halswell as she has been the organiser of many of the local community events over the last decade or so.  Think youth events such as Fusion, Blast Off, The Light Party, Skate Jam and community events such as The Halswell Market and The Halswell Dance; the central organiser behind them all is Kate.

Hailing originally from Wiltshire, England, Kate and her husband Jason and children Aimee and Matthew were drawn to Christchurch because of family connections; Kate’s Kiwi Granddad originated from Banks Peninsula.   While on holiday here, they were taken by the spacious surroundings and applied for residency. They decided to settle in Halswell because of the fact that “ it was close to the city centre but it still felt like a small town. There are lots of wide open spaces and you can easily get out into the countryside. You don’t have to go far and you are biking down a little leafy lane, and there is also a lot going on for kids here” enthuses Kate.

Community work has not always been the path that Kate has taken. On leaving school, she started out building computers in her Dad’s computing  business, then she worked as a data analyst in drug trialling.  Following that, she taught high school science for five years in the UK and four years here at Cashmere High School.  Kate stopped teaching after her son Matthew was born and as he got older, became the Children’s Youth Worker at Halswell Baptist Church. Since late 2013, Kate has worked as the Halswell Community Coordinator for the Halswell Community Project.

Community work for Kate became a passionate interest for her as she realised that the socialisation provided by the local hotel didn’t exist here in the way that it did in England,
which is less about a drinking culture and more about being a meeting place. However, after speaking to Kate for a while you begin to realise within her community focus is   a deep-seated desire to accommodate the youth in society. Anything with a youth focus is close to her heart and if you look at the events that she has organised, there is always a strong child and youth focus to it.  She credits this to feeling like a bit of an outsider when she was a child.  She feels compelled to make sure everyone has a sense of belonging, especially young people.

Some developments that Kate would love to encourage in Halswell are “more places for the young people to hang out, more youth involved in the decision-making process, more
ways to bring families together and to see all the schools working together”.  Although, she says, “But I also think Halswell is pretty cool as it is”.

Kate’s family is also a high priority for her.  Kate’s husband Jason, incidentally, is also well-known in this area as he worked as a much-loved pre-school teacher at “The Lighthouse” for several years.  Aimee and Matthew keep Kate busy with lots of after school lessons. As
 a family, they like to go to church, play board games, go biking, and get into the outdoors. Juggling a busy home and work schedule, Kate has been described by friends as “little dynamo” as she seems to take it all in her stride.  And Halswell, especially its younger population, has certainly been very fortunate to have some of Kate’s focus and energy directed its way.

Familiar Faces: Chrys Horn

Chrys Horn is well known to many Halswell people because of her work with the Halswell Community Project which began in 2010 with the first Halwell E-Newsletter, just prior to the Earthquakes.
After she connected with a few like-minded people, the HCP was formed officially in early 2012. Today, we would be without the Halswell monthly E-letter and  printed newsletter, the website, the blog, the community garden, the community market, and the welcome bags had she not had that vision six years ago. There has been a remarkable amount achieved in a short time thanks to the hard work of everyone involved with the HCP.
Chrys' love for this area has come from growing up here and her work here has most likely come about because she came from a family who modelled strong community values. Chrys' mum (Philippa) was involved in Brownies, Guides, the Halswell Swimming Club and started up the Halswell Library. Philippa still works for St Mary's Anglican church, mostly in Prebbleton, these days.
Chrys has worked  in a variety of places and jobs around New Zealand, with seasons of study in between.  After high school,  Chrys completed a science degree majoring in Botany at Canterbury University.  From there she went to Gore and for the next 6-7 years, Chrys tried her hand at tailing, woolshed rousing, and working as a hut warden, for DOC in Glenorchy, and in the Youth Hostels Association in various places in the lower South Island. It was here that  Chrys built a house with her partner.  Canterbury began to beckon again, when she moved here with her partner.  She enrolled at Lincoln University, and ended up staying longer than she had anticipated completing a Masters degree and then a Ph.D in Social Science.  She then worked for Landcare Research for a few years, working to see how communities could manage their natural resources and deal with environmental change.
Inspiration to start community work in Halswell came to Chrys because she had been working in many  other people’s communities while at Landcare Research and felt that she should do some work in her own community.  Her professional work made her aware that communities everywhere will have to change and need to be resilient to weather shocks such as drought flood, wind and so on,  that are occurring because of climate change. Of course, as we all learned, building resilience is also important for managing earthquakes as well.  The Halswell Community Project is Chrys' brainchild and all of the projects under its umbrella have been started with the intention of building closer social and economic connections here.
Chrys feels all of the projects are going well, although she would like to see more people involved in them. Her vision has also been inclusive.  She tries to work alongside other long established community groups such as schools, sports clubs, churches and the Halswell Residents Association.  Chrys wants to build a stronger Halswell, and living in a post-earthquake city, few would argue with this aspiration. Chrys, who is seen biking far more often than driving, would like to see a more walkable, bikeable community – something that she thinks would mean fewer traffic jams for those who need to use their cars.  On top of that good walking and biking opportunities makes places more attractive and means that people are likely to meet and talk to each other more often.  It also makes a community safer to get around for all that live there.
Working in a part time job at the Addington Timebank, Chrys is  developing a Halswell branch. Again, the idea behind the Timebank is to build a resilient community.  The Timebank is a good way to connect people with each other and find what skills are available locally. Chrys also works as a social scientist and does contract research for a range of organisations.   When Chrys is not working she likes to read, walk, bike and spend time with friends.
Most definitely a person of vision and action, Chrys Horn has helped to make this community far more connected and more of a home for us all and a place with a much stronger identity than it would have had otherwise.

Words: Deb Harding-Browne

Keeping Halswell the safe place it has always been

Halswell has long been a very safe community with low levels of crime.  Recently there has been a significant spike in crime, probably due the actions of a very small number of people, and for most of us this this is very unsettling.  

It is good to remember that much of the crime is petty in nature.  However, it is also important to remember to lock cars and homes, to remove valuables from cars, and generally to be security conscious.   Please do make the effort to report any crime to the police.  Even if they can’t do much straight away, they may be able to see patterns in what is going on which may help at a later date.  

Remember too that we all  actually  still live in a community of pretty trustworthy people who care about their neighbours.  There are regular discussions on Facebook and neighbourly where we see people actively helping each other out and thanking others for help, for example. 

Thanks to Halswell Miniature Trains for this pic!

There are a range of things that we can do as a community to discourage crime.  Setting up neighbourhood support groups, getting to know our neighbours, knowing what is going on in our community and knowing about groups that work to protect us are all useful.  

If you are interested, the Halswell Community Project are running a  meeting on Monday 20^t June from 7.00 til 9.00pm to the Baptist Church at 6 Balcairn St to discuss this.  A  number of people will speak about what already goes on in our community and how we can work together  to keep Halswell  the safe place it has always been.  There will be an opportunity for discussion afterwards.   

For anyone who can’t make it or who wants to hear more, the Halswell Liaison Group is also discussing Neighbourhood Support groups at midday on Wednesday 29^th June at Te Hāpua.

The skate park debate: Finding Common Ground

For those who don't know me, I've been working on a voluntary basis in Halswell for the last 7 years to build more connections between people in our community and to help people feel more connected here - to each other and to the things that go on.

Imagine my discomfort, then as I watch and participate in the debates around a venue for a youth facility and what it turn us into warring factions!

I was deeply upset at the meeting that the CCC ran at Halswell School to discuss this because of the way we were all steered away from talking about what clearly matters very deeply to us.  The meeting felt like it turned into an us versus them competiton.   It is not!  And it made me very sad that lovely people were essentially working very hard to dismiss each other.  This process has resulted in us missing the point by focusing our attention on a skate park.  Incidentally, we are also missing an opportunity to deepen our sense of community and with it to feel that we are ALL safe and supported as part of this community.

I work to build community because I see that everyone who lives here really matters and that we all do better if we look after each other.  Based on my own experience, and having studied the experiences of others, I know that we in Halswell are more than resourceful enough to deal with our differences, and meet each other's needs at the same time if we choose to work together.    I"m not arguing that it is easy and I am sure that we will have to work to discuss our disagreements.  I also know that we are stronger, safer and happier when we work together than when we split apart and lose sight of our common humanity and our common ground. 

My question to everyone is how can we meet the needs of all who live here?

• How can we meet the needs of our young people for a safe place to meet  and spend time with their friends, to play and build social skills together with other kids, and to have a safe place to develop and practice physical skills?  
• How can we meet the needs of local residents to feel safe and secure in their own homes?  
• How do we convince each other that we do in fact care for the wellbeing of all those we live near?   

At the moment I think that we are missing important understanding by focusing our attention on trying to influence the Community Board, rather than spending time talking to each other across the gap that seems to have opened up about how the needs of everyone can be met. This is not all our fault, but it IS for us to do something about.

Dismissing the needs of any group in this community is not, and never will be, the way through this.

The Happy Bicyclist and the Supermarket Problem

This post is in the spirit of always offering a Solution whenever there is a Complaint to be made. First, the Complaint. The Happy Bicyclist has been getting more and more irritated with the supermarket in Halswell - it's too hard to find stuff, the shop is full of strangers, and to get to the scanty, hidden - away bike rack requires navigating an enormous wilderness from roads infested with cars.

Today I tried a solution suggested by a friend. The first step was to turn Left at the front gate, instead of Right. Then through Oaklands and Westlake to Dunbars Road, over the bridge and onto the motorway cycle path. Turn off at the Aidanfield Drive overbridge onto Skyhawk Road's painted cycle lane for a couple of blocks. ..to The Landing in Wigram Skies. Straight up to the plentiful, modern bike racks, and in the door. The Happy Bicyclist still didn't know anyone, but at least the place felt smaller than a football field. And nice places next door for a coffee afterwards.

Going to a more distant supermarket requires more planning. Another Solution. A couple of weeks ago, J. attached her bike touring pannier bags for her bicycle visits to Healthy Harvest, and today I figured out that I could do the same for supermarket trips. Not exactly the boot of an SUV, but certainly enough to feel virtuous.

So, how often will we apply these Solutions? Probably not every time, but enough to ease the frustration that goes with powerlessness. And if we want to get really serious, we can always go see Steve Muir about a bike trailer.

Familiar Faces: Allan and Joyce Cleave

Allan and Joyce Cleave are familiar faces in Halswell in that they have lived here for 57 years and have been hugely involved in helping the Halswell community.

Allan and Joyce arrived in Halswell as in 1958 and lived in Checketts Avenue for 35 years. Halswell was considered a country area then and they built the house. When they arrived, there was one shop with a petrol bowser, St Mary's Anglican, the Catholic church and Oaklands school. They made good friends with their neighbours with whom they are still good friends today.

They raised four children here: daughters Linda and Eleanor and sons Bruce and Roger. Sadly, they have lived through the loss their daughter Eleanor who was taken with cancer at the age of thirty-nine and the death of one grandchild involved in a car accident at the age of nineteen. Bruce and Roger and families live in Halswell and Linda and her husband live in Rolleston and they have a total of ten grandchildren.

Allan worked for the railways for thirty years, delivered the mail for two and a half years in Halswell and then managed the Salvation Army thrift furniture and clothing shops with Joyce in Addington and Halswell. Joyce's ties with the Salvation army were early, as she was one of eleven children. When her father was killed, her mum turned to the Salvation Army for help.  Allan became involved when he wished to go out on a date with Joyce and she took him to church instead!

The list of their voluntary work positions is endless and includes cooking at 156 Salvation Army camps for children and teaching Sunday School for fifteen years. They also lead for three years, sang in church choirs, and held positions of leadership in the church for thirty-five years. voluntary work was with the Friends of Resthaven,  the Civil Defence and the police. They have also delivered meals for the Sallies and the Lions, of which Allan is also a member. For years, Allan organised the annual Red Shield Appeal and for over fifty years, he has delivered the Salvation Army magazine 'War Cry' to pubs.

Allan has won prestigious awards for his hours of community service including the Caltex Unsung Hero Award (2000) and the American worldwide Lions award: the Melvin Jones Fellow for dedicated humanitarian services. Allan will tell you that he has done everything with the blessing and full support of Joyce. “We did everything together,” says Joyce. When asked how they find the time to do all this, Joyce “Without the Lord's help we wouldn't have been able to do any of it.”

In the last few years, they have moved to a smaller home, closer to buses and the supermarket. Joyce says that while they have been very busy in their lives, they are enjoying taking things easier now and are taking family trips such as the one soon to Auckland to see a granddaughter. Joyce loves to point out her lovely array of family photos and is called Nana Joyce by her grandchildren but also by many of the local children. She loves to give out hugs and says “People need hugs; people need love.” Another indicator that their heart has always been about people. Joyce also enjoys cross stitching and has made huge tapestries. On her wall unit, there are traditionally decorated eggs and hand-painted porcelain ornaments. Joyce has been involved in craft groups in Halswell for years, and it is a source of great joy for her. And out and about, you might bump into Allan dropping the Salvation Army magazine in the pubs, collecting money for the Sallies outside Halswell New World, at the Lions club or being Father Christmas least two Halswell events.

On a final note, when asked what they thought of post-earthquake Halswell, they affirmed that they like living here, “It feels safe and the people are friendly.” They still go for walks and bump into people to chat to. Their advice for people new people moving into the area is “Get to know your neighbours.”

WORDS: Deb Harding-Browne

Have you ever thought about buying an electric car or bike?

We hear a lot about climate disruption and the heating up of the air that supports us. Transport is a large part of the issue.  Trouble is that we live in a world where we need to get around – so what can we do about it?  It turns out, quite a lot, and we have local people who can help us out.

Ezeebike

Electric bikes are taking the City by storm and allowing not particularly fit people, like me, to bike all over the City, avoid getting stuck in traffic and avoid parking hassles.  They also allow their riders to arrive at meetings dressed well  and looking cool, calm and collected.  On wet days good wet weather gear helps a lot.  Riders can ride past all the stuck traffic, to arrive at work on time, in good spirits and … dry!  A few also have found they can tow a bike trailer for carrying larger loads, and all this for the cost of about 0.1-0.2 cents per km in power. The kilometres add up too – I bought an electric bike last year and covered about 6000km on it.  Imagine what that would have cost in petrol alone). Even better I bought my bike from someone who lives and works very close to Halswell (check out EcoAnts at http://eco-ants.co.nz/)

Nissan Leaf

OK … I realise that for many of you, the idea of riding a bike is just a move too far.  But what about getting an electric car?  Although they won't save you from getting stuck in traffic or having to find and pay for a park, they have a good range for round town purposes, they have a much smaller carbon footprint that petrol cars and cost much less to run.  For people who are interested in reducing their carbon footprint, these are a step in the right direction.   For those who aren’t too sure, how about trying one out first? Blue Cars have an electric car available for hire from a place about 6km from Halswell on the way to Tai Tapu.  (Find out more about electric cars and renting a Blue Car at  https://bluecars.nz/?v=6cc98ba2045f).

Familiar Places: TE HĀPUA: HALSWELL CENTRE

When you walk into Te Hāpua: Halswell Centre, the sheer physical size of the building is a little intimidating. Although we have watched the building process evolve, I think we still pinch ourselves that this magnificent architecturally designed building has arrived in Halswell, which not long ago was considered a village by many of the residents who live here.

As we enter the library, we are struck by the natural light and spaciousness and the cheerful, modern décor with its tasteful, uncluttered displays. And while our former library embraced families and children, there are now at times children running through the library without the least feeling of disturbance. Others are playing foosball, Play Station games or the latest board games.

Reading children still abound, but they might be next to a giant teddy bear or swinging in a bubble chair. Young students fill the Learning Centre eagerly doing technology based activities and there are others in the Makerspace that is fully equipped with an electronic drum kit and keyboard. Many of the computers are in use, as are some of the spaces where you can plug in your own laptop.

Pre-schoolers play in the central area which has large cushioned couches while Mums, Dads and Grandparents eagerly grab the chance to chat. The days of when a library was a place when everyone had to be silent so the readers could read are long gone and that had meant shorter stays for caregivers. Here people are lingering much longer. The sheer volume of activities means boredom is eliminated and minutes and even hours can pass by quickly.

The number of resources available is also perhaps a little overwhelming. We have now have access to 45,000 items, sixteen free internet computers, one family history computer, three dedicated children's computers and thirty Learning Centre computers. The latest equipment has to be mastered by new staff, as well the public who are trying it all out. Some of the skills that can be mastered here are creating 3D prints, Lego animations, musical CDs and DVDs.

There are after school classes, Computer Literacy day time classes for adults and programmes designed for the local schools. Prior to the new library opening, it was often said that there weren't a lot of spaces in our community that were youth centred. That complaint has been completely abolished. While the library has been designed for all residents, the planners have clearly understood and designed for their younger users.

Having seven meeting rooms of different sizes in Te Hāpua: Halswell Centre means that the public are also arriving for other various community activities such as Yoga/ Pilates, Weight Watchers and for residents who have been a little while in Halswell, it will be hard to not bump into people who they know here. Perhaps this is the greatest achievement of the Halswell centre is that it is providing a place like the traditional market square, where you meet and greet the people who we live with. This had been sorely lacking in Halswell and the supermarket was never really designed to be a place to chat.

Halswell's new Te Hāpua: Halswell Centre is a fine engineering feat, a community centre, an educational facility and an entertainment complex, but in a sense it represents much more than that. Te Hāpua: Halswell Centre symbolises the post-earthquake journey of this area: the enormous expansion into this area and the repair and replacement of damaged buildings. It represents a new era of living here: an era that is preparing itself for the large population that is settling here and all the new opportunities that that brings for all of us to embrace.

Familiar Faces: The Pandya Family

THE PANDYA FAMILY

If you regularly drop into the very busy Halswell Dairy at 456 Halswell Road, the Pandya family will be familiar to you as you will have met  Gee  or his wife Neha or Gee's parents Arun and Uma. You may have also bumped into Neha at Halswell school where   ten year old son Shivam and  five year old daughter, Saanui attend.

The Pandyas are originally from Vadodara, (formerly Baroda) - a city of 2.3 million in the Western Indian State of Gujarat, India.   They have found themselves living on the other side of the world because after finishing a Bachelor of Science degree, Gee looked around for a "good opportunity in a country with a favourable exchange rate." He found New Zealand and   the Halswell Dairy and purchased it in 2004.   Gee then went back home to marry Neha and then together they returned here.

Running the Halswell dairy means that Gee and his family are busy and spending long hours working.  Even in in the short time that we are speaking, Gee has gone out to the shop to serve a steady stream of customers arriving at 10 o’clock in the morning.  It is hard to imagine that they would find time to do anything else given the long opening hours. Gee, however, explains that there is some flexibility in their lifestyle compared to a regular nine to five job. The Pandyas get some help at the shop and do enjoy some leisure time.  Gee plays cricket for the Burnside Strikers; Neeha goes swimming and to yoga and they all attend the Hindu temple in Papanui each Sunday.  One year, they found the time to go on an island cruise.

Gee's parents, Arun and Uma, came to live with his family in 2007.  Interestingly, after raising their family in Vadodara, they now have a modern day global family as their other children have left India too. Arun and Uma's daughter and family live in Melbourne and their other son and family are in Chicago.  This, of course, has given them good reason to travel and they have enjoyed travelling to Canada, the USA and Australia.

Living in other cities for short periods of time, Arun and Uma have come to really appreciate and love Christchurch. They believe that "this is where they are happiest because of the slower pace of life" and say that "because of the size of the city, people are friendlier and nicer."  They have also noted that among their friends, almost all of those who returned to India, have come back to live in New Zealand again.

Gee's "good opportunity" has become far more than a business plan.  Living and working in Halswell has given them a more relaxed lifestyle which has brought contentment, and happiness to their   family as a whole.  The Pandya family have all 'fallen in love' with New Zealand, especially Christchurch and they plan to stay. 

WORDS: Deb Harding Browne 

Money - what is it REALLY?

We're trying to start up a Timebank in Halswell (and you can find out more about timebanking and what it is here, or here.  I'm interested in doing this because I've recently learned a lot about our money system and it has been an eye opener! 

 I thought over the next few months that I'd write a little bit about our money system to highlight some of the issues and talk about what they mean for us and our communities.  Money has enormous effects (much more than we realise) on our way of life, on our relationships (or lack of them) and on our environment.  The system we currently have is faulty and is creating enormous amounts of waste at the same time as many people are not able to access the things that they need to live adequately.  It is also seriously weird!

First up have you ever wondered where money comes from?  As a kid I thought it appeared magically in my mum's purse (and I guess she'd like that!).  Of course I wasn't that old before I realised that it is not like that.  However what I did notice was that the amount we had to pay for things keeps going up and so does the amount that people want to earn or that people have to pay off in their mortgages.   Why is this?

It turns out that a major reason for this is that banks are not places where we put our money for safe keeping.  They are actually places where money is created and a large proportion of our money is never anything other than 1s and 0s in a computer (as this three minute video points out).  ALL of our money comes into being when someone goes into debt.  Many people do know this.  Seven Sharp had a little article on it one night pointing this out.  If you have a bit more time and interest you might also watch the Money as Debt Series on Youtube.  New Zealand banking is no different to banking in the UK or the USA.  And in case you are wondering about whether you can trust all these documentary films, even the Bank of England spells this out in this publication. 


There are enormous implications (some of them weird, as I mentioned) that  arise from this fact.  I plan to talk a bit more about some of these things in some future posts.

Response to the CCC and Western News

In February the CCC wrote a response to an editorial in this newsletter.  The Western news (Feb 15th p. 5)  also ran an article about the Wishbone cafe in our new community centre.  This is a further response to those articles.

In the Western News, Wishbone felt that they were being blamed for a decision by Council to award them a lease.   The major issue here is not with Wishbone per se but with processes that the CCC uses to award leases.  There are problems with the fact that a café that does not employ local people in the food preparation, packs everything in plastic and flies and drives much of it around the country can get a lease in a CCC facility.  There are grounds for protesting about any cafe with these kinds of practices.  It is interesting that the CCC have provided no explanation of their own practice and instead diverted the discussion away onto the operation of Wishbone itself.

Christchurch has many potential local providers who could provide a service that helps to employ Christchurch people and that have less impact on our environment.  However even cafes already in CCC facilities were not made aware of the tender being open. It would not be unreasonable for the tender process to include some efforts to engage local business.

 “Recyclable”  and "Biodegradable"
Both the CCC response and the Wishbone article suggested that the plastic packaging is ok because it is recyclable and Wishbone also say it is biodegradable.  This seems very likely to be another way to divert the discussion away from the actual issues.  They look a lot like  good ways to make us all think the wrapping is environmentally sound when in fact it is very doubtful this is the case!

Neither the CCC nor Wishbone suggest that the packaging used by Wishbone is actually recycled.   Many recyclable plastics cannot be easily recycled in Christchurch. Furthermore, if they are put into the recycling, they contaminate other products sent off for recycling.

Plastic that goes to recycling needs to be larger than a yoghurt container, and to have a recycle number on it and needs to be clean, according to the CCC waste management team.   The question is does Wishbone clean and sort its waste and do they have a special arrangement for getting it recycled?  Furthermore, how does each customer find a place to recycle the plastic if they take the food away.  There would seem to be a high change that much of the wrapping goes directly to landfill.

Biodegradable does not mean that you can put packaging into the compost heap. In general biodegradable plastic will only break the plastic down into lots of small pieces that make it more polluting rather than less so (unless it can be recycled of course!).  Biodegradable does not necessarily mean breaking down into non toxic or non polluting products.

It is a pity that the CCC staff involved appear to be trying to avoid the issues by diverting attention away from the concerns that were initially expressed.

Familiar Faces: Alex McLelland

If you have a seen  a young bearded man in his mid 20s cruising around the Halswell neighbourhood on his skateboard in bare feet, you will probably know the   face of Alex McClelland.  You may also know him because he has lived in Halswell from the age of six,  or because he is  a church youth group leader here.

The oldest of three children, Alex grew up in Hyndhope Road in a devout Baptist family.  What is a little more unusual for a traditional Baptist family is that he was sent   to the Catholic school, St.Thomas' in Sockburn.   On a school trip  to India at age 16, he observed the church's strong commitment to being actively involved in making a difference.  These strong spiritual influences  continue to shape Alex's character and choices today.

Alex and the Grand Canyon

Alex flats in Balcairn St with three friends and has recently completed a political science degree at Canterbury University.  He, however, has a  growing interest in mentoring young people and his daytime job is as a 24/7 youth worker at Middleton Grange School.  He says  the goal of his work is to get students to fully engage with school. Alex's studies have continued and he is presently studying Theology.

Travelling is also of interest.  After finishing his degree, he went to live in Phoenix, Arizona for a year, where the temperature is over 30 degrees celsius 100 days of the year and reaches a high of 49. At the other  extreme, another favourite place that he has been  is Northern Iceland and he loved it because "it was so remote and  there are only four hours of daylight and we got to see the Northern Lights"  He has also been to  some more unusual destinations:  the Sahara Desert, the coast and mountains of Morocco,  Georgia and Armenia.

While Alex enjoys travelling, it is also clear that having a strong connection with his local area is also very important to him.  When asked about this, he explains " I grew up in Halswell when it was a village and I'm afraid we are losing that.  It is important to me that I live in a place of belonging, not just a place of rest or a dormitory suburb and  that I live here and contribute to the area.  I think that we can have village "hub" with food, and recreational space, (including  a skateboard park) right here in Halswell.”

Alex has been a youth group leader at the Halswell site of South West Baptist Church for eight years.  The aim is to is to provide a place where young people can  "have fun without getting into trouble". Some of their activities  are:  camping, tramping, (recently they went  to  Able Tasman) and going on various outings around the city.  There are also  opportunities to develop leadership skills at the youth group and to help in other ways.  Alex explains his role there further: "All people crave belonging and value, especially young people.  My aim is to do my part to show them how to interact with the world in a positive way."
If you see Alex, skating in the neighbourhood say "Hi!" or if you would like to check out the youth group, it meets in Balcairn St at the church on  Tuesdays from 7-8.30.

New Youth Facility coming to Halswell

Christchurch City Council have budgeted money in the Long Term Plan to provide a skate park/ youth facility in Halswell and they will be kicking off some consultation around this sometime in early 2016.

The Halswell Residents' Association has long been working to get a new youth facility in Halswell.  A youth hui run by the Halswell Community Project in July 2014 also highlighted a need for youth facilities, and local youth workers have talked about the need for places where older children can meet and hang out safely and have fun.  While Halswell has great organised sports and youth clubs, there is not so much available for young people to just get together with friends casually.  The need is only likely to increase as Halswell grows and many more young people move into and grow up in the area.  

Prebbleton Skate Park

The recreation team have begun thinking about possible suitable sites which takes a bit of doing.  A site for skate boarding/ scootering etc needs:

·         To have plenty of space around it (so that nearby houses are not disturbed by noise), 

·         To be close to a bus service,

·         To be fairly central in Halswell so that young people can get to it, 

·         To good sight lines and people nearby who can see in, for safety,

·         Access to toilets.  

The plan it to look at sites across the area and to narrow down the options based on these criteria and then coming out to talk to residents about the options.

The nearest skate park to Halswell is in Prebbleton in Stationmasters Way.  Residents there were not too sure if they wanted this facility, but are pleased with it now.  Children and young people of all ages are using the area very well.

Watch out for more information in our newsletter, and look out for CCC staff who will be in places around Halswell (maybe at the Library, the Markets, in local schools, or round the shops or supermarket) to talk about this facility and listen to your ideas and perspectives.