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