The New Lynn Business Association is sponsoring a Family Fun Day on Saturday 1st December from 10am to 1pm at Memorial Square.

​Heaps of entertainment: Children's and family activities and games, cultural performances, stilt walkers, balloon art, bouncy castle, popcorn, balloons, face painting, candy floss, sausage sizzle, lollipops, slushies, and more!

The much-anticipated Blockhouse Bay Village Santa parade is well underway. Organisations and businesses are enthusiastically working on their floats and items for the procession through the village.

Wanting to be part of the parade? Get in touch with Jodie Judd, manager@blockhousebay.org for info.

​See below for details.

Christmas at the Beach will soon be back, and it’s going to be bigger and better than ever! Head down to the beach reserve any time from 4.30pm for great kids’ entertainment; DJ, bouncy castle, balloon twisters and face painters.

This will be followed by a Christmas service with all your favourite carols, then dance the night away to Shane and the Shazaam band playing good old fashioned 50s and 60s rock n roll!​

Gayle Prescott opened her dance school in 1968 and has been teaching ballet, tap and jazz in Mt Roskill and Lynfield for five decades.

When Gayle was 18 her parents converted their large double garage into her first studio. “This gave me a great start and their continued support allowed me to grow the studio”, she says.  “The children were very excited about their first dance class and this continues today.  Part of the reason I have continued teaching for so long is seeing the delight on the dancers faces after they have enjoyed their class, and how they look forward to dancing in our shows”.

To celebrate 50 years teaching dance, the Gayle Prescott Dance School is putting on a show on 14th and 15th December at Green Bay High School Performing Arts Centre. There will be some old favourite dances and some new ones. A special feature will be a Celebration dance performed by past pupils, including her sisters who she taught 50 years ago.  A function for past pupils will be held after the Saturday night performance.

Tickets go on sale in mid-November. Please check our website for details:   www.gayleprescottdanceschool.co.nz

Free Open Day. On the afternoon of Saturday 8th December, the studio is holding free open classes for anyone who would like to come along and try a class.  This is open to all ages. Please email admin@gayleprescottdanceschool.co.nz to register your interest. ​

This November, work will begin to enhance Green Bay Beach, making it more usable and pleasant for visitors. Included in the planned work is a process called ‘daylighting’ which is where a stream or water course is redirected and returned to a more natural state, which helps with reducing runoff, habitat creation and other environmental benefits.

The planned work, which should take around four weeks, includes:

• Removing the pipe and moving the inlet upstream.
• Creating an elongated “S” overland flow path to the beach, removing existing footpaths and relocating the BBQ and seating areas.
• Selective planting along the newly formed overland flow path.
• Installing new paths and a boardwalk crossing over the flow path to provide access to the shower/toilet amenities.

Tracy Mulholland, Whau Local Board Chair, says the changes will mean the reserve will become more useable for the community. “At the moment, the inlet blocks and overflows make the reserve boggy and unusable. This work will make the area both safer and more attractive, and allow better access to the BBQ and facilities.
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“It will also provide a more natural connection of the bush to the sea creating a more pleasant environment for everyone to enjoy, especially as we are coming into summer.”

For most of us a haircut is something we only need to worry about once a month, but for Shane Manuela of Green Bay Barbers it’s been an everyday affair for 22 years. 

When set up in 2013 Green Bay Barbers initially catered just for men, but Shane saw the need to provide haircuts for the whole family, and now talented hairdressers Naho and Bobby are part of the team.

Shane has a strong belief in community involvement, and since coming to Green Bay ten years ago he has found plenty of opportunities to help out. From reading to kids at Green Bay Primary for an hour each week, to providing water bottles to junior rugby league clubs in West Auckland (Shane plays for the New Lynn Rugby League Club in the masters division), Shane enjoys lending a hand wherever possible.

As part of the Green Bay Residents and Ratepayers Association, Shane also helped to fund a garden project for the West Auckland Community Toy Library and provided the building materials for it.  The result was an edible garden for the kids to interact with when they visit the library.

For Shane the barbershop is more than just a business, it’s a lifestyle that provides connections to the community that he and his family call home.

To see some of Shane’s work check out their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/greenbaybarbers/

by Kerry Lee

​We now have a Knitting Circle in the library every Thursday from 1-3 pm and every Sunday from 2-4 pm. Come to one or both!

​For all levels. We are especially looking for experienced knitters who are happy to pass on tips and tricks and help beginners.

Please contact the library for more information.

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The New Lynn Sea Scouts finished their School holidays with a trip to Lake Rotoma (Rotorua) to join the Young Mariners for their Open Regatta. This fresh water lake has always been a favourite of the Group for a place to play on and in the water, especially in summer.
 
But as many of the youth found out; it was not quite summer yet with nighttime temperatures dropping to about 2 degrees; which was a little cooler than most were used to when compared to winter camping in Auckland. The second night, with its cloudless star filled sky was just as cool as the first, meaning most crawled into their sleeping bags wearing every piece of clothing they had available.
 
The first morning started with rowing, which was a great way to get warm having just thawed out. New Lynn got off to a good start by winning the Junior, Intermediate and Senior Rowing, but the leaders could only pull off a second place. Not being able to match the results of the youth would normally have seen the Leaders get a good ribbing from the youth, but they were let off lightly this time.

A good turnout of concerned Lynfield residents met for the formative meeting of local Neighborhood Support, at the Lynfield Community Church. This was an initiative of Lion Kuldeep Singh after a spate of burglaries in the area. Kuldeep was approached by his neighbour who had himself been burgled, to ask for the support of the Lions in getting a Neighbourhood Watch group running in the area.

The meeting was chaired by Blockhouse Bay-Lynfield Lions' Secretary Alan who introduced Avon Lines, chairperson of Neighbourhood Support Auckland Inc. Avon presented the hard facts of preventing and dealing with undesirables in the area.

Well-known figure in and around the Bay, Shirley Goddard passed away suddenly on 5th October. Shirley lived an interesting life filled with adventure and community service. She was a quiet, kind, generous lady with Scouting very much at heart who will be missed for her smile and her wise words.
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In the mid-1950’s Bob and Shirley Goddard bought a section in the bay and started building. Initially Shirley had to climb a ladder into the house with her firstborn and seating was apple boxes, which was quite usual then.  She was a great baker, preserver, seamstress, gardener, house painter, wallpaper hanger and curtain maker.
 
An active lady with wide interests, Shirley contributed to many groups: the garden club, tennis club, Probus and ‘Stitches’, knitting blankets and baby clothing.  She was also a keen traveller, visiting such places as China, Africa, Turkey, Thailand, India and the USA. She enjoyed tramping with WOPS and looked forward to organ recitals at Avondale.

Along with husband Bob, Shirley was a strong supporter of youth, Scouts and the community. Iona Scouts and FLT Lodge secured much of the funding to build the BHB Community Centre as it is now. In recognition of their efforts the Scout den in the Community Centre was recently renamed The Shirley and Bob Goddard Scout Hall.
 
Shirley worked with Iona Scouts Group for more than 50 years, becoming a parent helper for Cubs in 1966, a Warranted Assistant Cub Leader in 1971 and a full Cub Leader in 1979. She continued to attend special occasions with the group until very recently. The children really enjoyed her vast practical knowledge, sense of fun and integrity enriching their lives.
 
Shirley was the recipient of several awards:
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1979 Chief Scout Commendation
1985 Medal of Merit
1991 Bar to the Medal of Merit
2016 The Silver Tiki (recognition for outstanding contribution to Scouting over an extended period of time). ​

There’s no way you could accuse Jim Dan and Sharron Murdock of leaving it too late to move into Ryman Healthcare’s new village in Lynfield. The couple have already signed up for their new apartment in Stage 3.
“I think sometimes people leave it too late to move into a retirement village,” says Sharron. “We’re still young and it’s probably the best time now in that we can hopefully sell our house and have a bit left over that we can play with and perhaps do a bit of travelling.”

Plus, not having to worry about the costs that continually arise with the house maintenance is rather appealing too. “There’s always something to fork out for, especially with a wooden house,” says Jim, a former prison officer at Mt Eden prison and cab driver.  “I’m looking forward to being maintenance free!”

The Mt Roskill couple appreciated the no-pressure approach from sales team. “They let us just go away and think about it and didn’t pressure us at all,” says Sharron. “We also liked that it was just down the road so we’re not moving miles away from everything.”

Their family are right behind their decision and the couple say friends of theirs are moving in on the same floor which just adds to their feeling that this is the right move for them now.

The pair still do a bit of part-time work driving children with special needs to and from school and hope to continue that for a while longer. “We pick them up in the morning then have a few hours off in between and pick them up and deliver them home safely,” says Sharron, a former PA for St John who still volunteers for the organisation. “The work appealed to us as we thought it would be a nice way to put back into the community. And being semi-retired it suits our way of life.” 

And Jim is happy to transfer his people skills to an older age group too. “I was thinking of applying for the job of van driver at the village – I’ve got the passenger licence already!” he grins. Sharron says given Jim’s young charges get quite attached to her charismatic husband she thinks he would make quite an impact at Ryman too.
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“Once met never forgotten!” she laughs.

The iconic vet clinic at 122 White Swan Road in Lynfield has been vacant since December 2017 but is now to be re-opened by new owner, Jo Lin Chia.

The distinctive artwork on the outside of the clinic is one of the early works of well-known New Zealand artist Jeff Thomson, and was commissioned by Berend Westera, the original vet who owned the clinic for 30 years.

During negotiations for leasing the premises Jo Lin was asked if she wanted the artwork removed. “HELL NO!” was her incredulous reply, and she set about determining how to refurbish it. A Facebook connection informed Jo Lin about the artwork’s origins, and when Jo Lin contacted artist Jeff Thomson, he made the offer to come and refurbish it personally. Jeff is passionate that his artwork should remain part of the heritage of the Lynfield community. He will be working on restorations at the clinic during November.

With more than 8 years’ experience as a vet in some of Auckland’s busiest vet clinics, Jo Lin is passionate about animal welfare. She has managed a pet rescue service and works closely with many other pet rescue organisations. She is also involved in free de-sexing programs throughout the city.

Jo Lin believes in offering high quality vet services at a reasonable price and is excited to bring this service back to the Lynfield community. She plans to offer the clinic to be used by HURRAH (Humane Rescue, Rehabilitation and Rehoming Charitable Trust) regularly for low-cost de-sexing. This is run entirely by volunteers.

As the mother of an active 7-month-old baby boy, Chuck, Jo Lin will have her work cut out for her in managing both the clinic and motherhood. However, she has a room in the clinic set aside for Chuck as a playroom and has supportive family to help out.
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All going to plan, the clinic should be opened on 29th October.