Fundraising Concert for The Community Cat Coalition, Sat Oct 29th 7.30pm
Here's a fun way to support a group of hard-working volunteers who care for stray cats, by attending a variety concert! WorkShop 26 is a small arty venue in the commercial district of Blockhouse Bay. Seats are limited, so we strongly advise you to pre-book your seats.
Address: 26 Donovan Street, Blockhouse Bay.
Saturday October 29th 7.30 pm
The lineup includes:
ANDREW GRAHAM singer/songwriter/guitarist/beat maker/event organiser - a community minded all round nice guy whose delightful personality shines through in his original upbeat songs.
SHANE HOLLANDS poet/band front man/president of the NZ Poetry Society - one of NZ's top beat poets. Known for his work with bands Freaky Meat and Moebeus Orchestra, as well as for organising many wordcore events, Shane will give us an up close and personal solo performance of some of his original works
RICK TOPP singer/guitarist/songwriter/comedian - a lovable accomplished performer who delivers engaging songs from folk and country roots. Rick can claim to have fathered and mentored one of NZ's top female performers, but we won't do any name dropping here!
RANDAL and DIANNE singers/guitarists/traveling minstrels - great performers on their own and as a duo we get double the blessings and some lovely harmonies as well. Randal has just returned from Canada, where he has been regularly performing his music. This will be a chance for him to reconnect with his Kiwi friends and fans.
MURRAY HADDOW poet/comedian/reluctant entertainer - we've told Murray he has to jump up and do a couple of his comedy poems, seeing as he lives here. This will be a very welcome rare appearance, as Murray seldom hits the stage these days.
LOKO aka MATTY HARRIS hip hop musician/rapper/artist - Workshop 26's resident who made the headlines and featured on billboards around NZ for the documentary LOKO, about his colourful life. Loko will perform some of his original works with dramatic passion.
ALL PROCEEDS will go to support the work of The Community Cat Coalition Inc. (CCC) who provide humane solutions for Auckland's stray cat colonies. Their work includes "Trap-neuter-return, or trap-neuter-adopt to good homes". What they do stabilises then reduces cat populations, humanely and sustainably improving animal welfare outcomes while at the same time helping to achieve the native biodiversity goals of Auckland Council and DOC.
Tea, coffee and biscuits provided. Please bring any other refreshments you might require and some gold coins for a cash raffle.
Entry $15 donation to CCC (or a little more if you can afford it thank you.) To secure tickets, please text 021 117 9349 and we'll send you the bank account details. Refunds will be given for any cancellations due to illness. Some door sales may be available on the night.
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
Poll: 🤖 What skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
The Reserve Bank has shared some pretty blunt advice: there’s no such thing as a “safe” job anymore 🛟😑
Robots are stepping into repetitive roles in factories, plants and warehouses. AI is taking care of the admin tasks that once filled many mid-level office jobs.
We want to know: As the world evolves, what skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
Want to read more? The Press has you covered!
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52.7% Human-centred experience and communication
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14.7% Critical thinking
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29.8% Resilience and adaptability
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2.7% Other - I will share below!
Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!
Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.
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