Are you a parent who loves going to gigs – but the late nights aren’t an option these days? Let us put this to you - how about a daytime show that will be a blast for both you and your kids?

The Free Family Fun Day Mash Up may be exactly what you’re looking for.

This Whau Local Board-sponsored event truly is "all ages". The ‘Mash Up’ is a celebration of family and community and the many differences that also bring us together. Featuring Captain Festus McBoyle’s Travellin’ Variety Show, Le Cirque de JP, a kids’ disco thanks to 95bFM Kids’ Show host Lee, a full live band in the form of Otis Mace and the 1B4s, plus face painting ($5 per face), a sausage sizzle by the Lions Club, cupcake and food and drink stalls by both Blockhouse Bay School and Blockhouse Bay preschool.

Le Cirque de JP: JP studied at the French Circus School and in France and Italy worked as a Clown Doctor in the Children's Oncology & Serious Burns unit for two years. Later, he developed 'The Caterpillar' Circus School in France for children and teenagers. JP is a troupe of performers in one: Flying trapeze artist, clown, juggler, unicyclist, acrobat, balloon twister, magician & musician.

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For more info and updates, keep an eye on the Free Family Fun Day Mash Up Facebook page, or contact Rich Manic: rich@manic.co.nz Ph 021-359-314

The Free Family Fun Day Mash Up
Saturday August 11th
12pm to 4.30pm
Blockhouse Bay Community Centre.

​It all began in 1981 with one little shop in White Swan Road, where Roop Darshan is now. 18 months later Kevin Giles moved his fledgling carpet business across the road to where the liquor store is, and over the next 19 years progressively took over the three neighbouring shops and the warehouse below.
Kevin remembers having to manhandle huge rolls of carpet down the steep drive because they couldn’t get a fork hoist in there. “Definitely a young man’s game, back then,” he recalls. “We were ten foot tall and bullet-proof. One time in the pouring rain we had a roll of carpet on the trolley and the thing took off on us down the driveway. Had to recover it from the drain pretty fast. Fortunately it was wrapped in plastic, but it sure had us going!”

​Age Concern has started a pilot project to help lonely and isolated seniors to engage in the community.
As part of this project a directory, or ‘asset map’ is being developed to identify what activities and groups are available for older adults within their communities, including information about the culture and environment of the group. Information of this type can allay fears and concerns people have about attending new groups, further supporting and encouraging the older person’s participation.
While most older adults are capable of becoming involved in their communities and accessing information on what is happening via the local library, community centre, noticeboards and newsletters, a number of our older population struggle to achieve this. It is these who the project aims to support.
The pilot project is focusing on small, localised areas of Auckland, including Avondale, Blockhouse Bay, Glen Innes, Panmure and Ranui where it is known that a number of seniors are in need of support and assistance. In these areas, Community Development Coordinators are working to find out what is already available in the community for older adults and then helping to connect them into these groups.
If the pilot project is deemed successful it will be introduced to other community organisations and services across wider Auckland.
For more information or to enquire about assistance for an older person, please contact Age Concern on 09 820 0184.

​17 years of service to the community by Harish and Geeta Patel from their Lynfield shopping centre business, Lynfield Floral Design, will all be over by early August.
The popular couple have to cease trading after being given the required 30 days’ notice to terminate their month-by-month lease. Like many businesses that cannot reach agreement on rental increases at the time of lease renewal, the Patel’s lost the security of a long term lease and reverted to a monthly lease about a year and a half ago.
After years of long hours and facing increased competition from other stores selling gift items, they decided that it was time to sell the business. With four potential buyers in the wings, they approached their landlord Progressive Enterprises to see about getting the lease reassigned to a buyer. As is their right, the landlord did not agree and instead gave them notice to vacate.
People have been asking if there could be an intent to build apartments in the retail area but this seems unlikely as there are shops being advertised for lease.

​Going, going, gone! Ports of Auckland announce the sale of Onehunga Wharf to Panuku Development Auckland​, the development arm of Auckland Council​. This is essentially a shuffle as Ports of Auckland is wholly owned by the Auckland Council.
As the Manukau bar and harbour are too shallow for container ships to navigate, Ports of Auckland have been consolidating shipping to their Waitematā port over the past few years, freeing up Onehunga Wharf for development. The proposed project to turn the wharf into a new centre may take up to 25 years and work will not start on the site for five years, as negotiations still need to take place with NZTA and existing leaseholders. 
Chair of council's Planning Committee, Chris Darby, sees the potential for Onehunga Wharf to become a new Wynyard Quarter. He says, "The wharf can plan for a future as a magnet for Aucklanders, with the flavour of a new Wynyard Quarter. People can relax, socialise or enjoy commercial, cultural and tourism activity - all alongside the existing fishing industry."
Council takes possession of the port on 01 October 2018.

​The diverse dynamic of the Glenavon Early Childhood Centre families made the recent celebration of Matariki and Eid truly memorable. Parents helped run the event with food preparation, gardening and story-telling, while the Friendship vegetable soup was truly a group effort and symbolised the strengths and togetherness of the Centre’s community. 

In my last two editorials for BHB Beacon, I discussed cases where my office had helped constituents with housing and immigration. These are the most common concerns that we assist with, but as a local MP I am involved in a wide variety of issues.
 
Traffic congestion around Blockhouse Bay and Lynfield is one issue I’m currently researching. In some instances, getting from A to B appears to take equal amounts of time by bus as it does on foot.  This inconvenience means there isn’t much incentive to choose public transport over the comfort of a car, despite the delays caused by high levels of congestion. I’ve received a lot of feedback on this issue, with suggestions including: improving the location of the pedestrian crossing near Lynfield College, the need for safer cycle ways, encouraging car-pooling by making the bus lane a combined bus/T3 lane, and reinstating bus services like the 191. I’m in the process of collating these ideas for discussion with the Whau Local Board and Auckland Transport.
 
The first round of Winter Energy Payments has also been a hot topic. Hopefully those receiving it will find the extra assistance helpful. One constituent did alert us to the fact that the amount they received went into one partner’s bank account, rather than being split equally between them. They were advised to email the Minister for Social Development, Carmel Sepuloni, and they promptly received a phone call from MSD, who explained that the technology enabling split supplementary payments was still being developed.  The situation is not ideal, but MSD advise that they are working hard to fix this in the future.
 
Deborah Russell, MP for New Lynn

Over 50 children from in and around the Blockhouse Bay community took part in our first-ever “Our Kitchen Rules day”. Countdown Blockhouse Bay sponsored the entire event, including our pantry items, vouchers for each team, and prizes so that no child left empty-handed. Huge thanks to manager Jonathan Fraser and staff for their support.   
 
The children worked in teams to create a main course and complete the cupcake challenge. Terri and Kate from the Blockhouse Bay Pharmacy and Christine from Barfoot & Thompson were our guest judges, and they were blown away with some of the dishes they were presented with. They commented on tasty satay sauces and lemon curds made from scratch, delicious pizza and pasta dishes and many other fabulous flavours and cooking techniques the children learned to do.

With the help of a professional chef the children also learned how to budget for food shopping, work within time constraints, and how to beautifully plate and present their meals.

More recently, the Glenburn Peggy Purlers began knitting for Give a Kid a Blanket, after seeing an article last year in the Beacon. Give a Kid a Blanket is a charity which collects blankets and other warm items in the winter months and distributes to children and families in need.

In an interesting twist, Maddison and her mother Penny Hinchelwood have become part of the Give a Kid a Blanket network, picking up donated blankets and delivering them to the warehouse, and it is they who now call in to Glenburn to pick up the blankets from the Peggy Purl group.

In a gathering of 16,000 Lions, President Janelle and Secretary Alan, along with wife Barbara, walked with pride in 42ºC heat, in the parade of over 200 nations (including the latest countries to form Lions Clubs, Afghanistan and Myanmar).
 
Five days of meetings, interacting and seminars to enhance our local club’s community service followed, with the big push globally being awareness and prevention of Diabetes. Blockhouse Bay-Lynfield Lions have been supporting this cause for nearly 20 years and have conducted many screening sessions in the Bay.
 
A high point was the installation of the first female International President, Gudrun Yngvadottir from Iceland. The goal is to attain 50-50 parity between the sexes.
 
With a surprising number of younger Lions from age 20 up, especially from Africa, South America and the Caribbean, Lions Janelle and Alan were inspired in their Chapter’s goal of gaining at least 10 new members in the Bay. With more Lions, so much more can be done in service. (For info text "Lions Info 2018” to 027-661-1122)
 
Report from Alan Gray
Secretary, Blockhouse Bay-Lynfield Lions
 

Fay Pogson has lived in Blockhouse Bay for 57 years so was thrilled to hear of Ryman’s plans to build a retirement village just down the road in Lynfield. “It’s the security and being with people that I’m looking forward to the most,” she says.

Fay is ‘well into her 80s’ and keeps very busy and active – she is a member of the Blockhouse Bay Baptist Church congregation, she organises speakers and bus trips for her local Sixties club branch, and she is an avid mah-jong player. “I have a few friends come to my house to play it and I’d love to start a club in the village.”

In her younger days Fay had a great time on her OE, spending three years in London and two years in Canada but on her return to New Zealand she went on a blind date – and ended up falling in love with a Yorkshireman! Fay and John got married and settled down in Blockhouse Bay where they raised their two daughters Jean and Sandra.

John was the general manager of an electrical supplies firm while Fay worked part time as a shorthand typist and later dictaphone typist at insurance company Sun Alliance. Fay is still great friends with her former colleague Maureen, who had her two children at the same time as Fay and is also planning to move into the village.
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John sadly passed away from a brain tumour in 1991 just four years after retiring, and with Fay’s two daughters both living overseas and no grandchildren, she says the time was right to make her next move. “It’s going to be so nice living in a brand-new apartment – the hardest part is going to be deciding what stuff to take!” she laughs.

Over 100 senior citizens from the Bhartiya Samaj social group recently ventured aboard P&O’s Pacific Jewel for a three-night Food and Wine Cruise.

Mornings began with a ‘Bollyworks’ session led by fitness trainer (and Puketapapa Local Board member) Ms Ella Kumar and Bollywood dance led by Ms Simran Chadha. Other guests were inspired to join the group and start their day with some Bollywood-style fun.

Guests also earned their calories on the dance floor before sitting together for dinner at the Waterfront Restaurant, enjoying fellowship with both old and new friends.

The cruise was a huge success, with guests enjoying excellent hospitality, delicious food and plenty of onboard activities. Bhartiya Samaj offer heartfelt thanks to Saadia Juvale of The Travel Brokers for organising the group’s participation in the cruise. Some of the guests commented:

Asha Gupta: It was my first cruise trip which turned out to be a memorable one. I enjoyed it very much and we all are very happy.

Sadguna and Madhubhai Patel: It was a fantastic leisure time with all our friends. Thanks to Bhartiya Samaj for giving us this wonderful opportunity. We look forward to many more such wonderful experiences.
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Sudha Nayak:  We had a blast. The food was awesome! We were spoilt for choice. The service was great, staff was very courteous and ready to help at every point. Entertainment programmes were excellent, especially the dance show. Superb! Also enjoyed informative workshops on metabolism and orthotics. Overall a fabulous experience!

There was a great feeling of excitement, as members of the Blockhouse Bay Gardening Club gathered to celebrate their 50th anniversary.
It all began in 1968 when a group of young mothers whose children attended St Dominic’s Primary School decided to set up a little garden club which they called St Dominic’s Garden Group. They met every Tuesday in the school’s hall to socialise and talk about their shared interests. In the 90s meetings of the group moved to Blockhouse Bay Community Centre and the name was changed to Blockhouse Bay Garden Club. The club now has 80 members.
Unfortunately, some of that earlier club history has been lost, however, Mrs Mary Watters, the only foundation member remaining in the club, was able to give an approximate date of the group’s foundation based on the ages of her children!
In 1975 a silver rose bowl was first awarded for best garden and floral arrangements, and in recent years a silver cup for floral art was added to their trophies. The regular club programme includes a trading table, guest speakers (mostly on gardening topics), competitions and outings to places of interest. They also hold raffles and organise special trips to garden-related places of interest.
The club welcomes new members. Contact Yvonne Dabb on 09 627 9903.

By Kerry Lee