Penrose, Auckland

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1696 days ago

Be Prepared

Denise Lee MP

Hi everyone, I've heard official word that we may need to prepare for potential power disruptions this Easter Weekend.

Vector has been keeping a close eye on the weather and there's enough concern for them to continue with preparations, including additional measures to keep crews and … View more
Hi everyone, I've heard official word that we may need to prepare for potential power disruptions this Easter Weekend.

Vector has been keeping a close eye on the weather and there's enough concern for them to continue with preparations, including additional measures to keep crews and customers covid safe.

What this means is that it's possible it could take longer to get power back on if there are outages due to the forecast bad weather.

Vector's asking all Aucklanders to:

✔️ Prepare as you normally would when a storm approaches – tie down trampolines, bring in sun umbrellas, make your area as safe as possible to minimise the chance of emergency call outs - have torches and check batteries, and if on tank water, make sure drinking water is stored.

✔️ Take particular note of items that may fly around the neighbourhood during gale force winds – we don’t want people to break their bubbles to retrieve property.

✔️ Not approach Vector teams for their own safety. Please remember physical distancing of 2m.

✔️ Use Vector's Outage Centre (below link) to monitor restoration progress if power is out:

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1696 days ago

Auckland architecture wows

Colleen Hawkes Reporter from Homed

Here are some highlights from the shortlist for the Auckland Architecture Awards 2020. We have a particular soft spot for the tiny Point Wells Cricket Club by Pac Studio! And this new build in Remuera, Auckland.

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1699 days ago

Meet Fonzie, the Cockatoo who spent 20 hours upside-down

Todd Niall Reporter from Auckland Stuff

Hi Neighbours, He's famous on Instagram, but Fonzie the Cockatoo has a new claim to fame, after getting such a fright he landed on a powerline, giving his owner a 20-hour ordeal while he hung upside down. Read the happy ending :

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1697 days ago

Easter COVID-19 Update - Melissa Lee MP

Melissa Lee MP

Although my Parliamentary offices are closed during the lockdown my teams in Auckland and Wellington are happy to help if you need assistance during the weeks ahead, please get in touch with me at:

Melissa.lee@parliament.govt.nz or by phone on either 04 817 6636 (WGTN) or at 09 815 0278.

Best… View more
Although my Parliamentary offices are closed during the lockdown my teams in Auckland and Wellington are happy to help if you need assistance during the weeks ahead, please get in touch with me at:

Melissa.lee@parliament.govt.nz or by phone on either 04 817 6636 (WGTN) or at 09 815 0278.

Best wishes for a lovely Easter with your bubble!

Melissa Lee MP
National List MP based in Mt Albert
Find out more

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1699 days ago

Challenge Pick up rubbish on your daily walk

Helen from Greenlane

Hi Everyone
I challenge those who do a daily walk to take a bag with them and
pick up rubbish in their street.

I started in Te Kawa Rd
Do You accept this challenge?
We can all help make our area more beautiful

1699 days ago

COVID9 van on Rawhiti Road

Jennie from One Tree Hill

Does anyone have any idea what's the deal with black van that has "COVID9" on its number plate?

1698 days ago

Join us for lunch and some new ideas

Jo Haywood Reporter from Homed

Hey neighbours, it was great to see so many of you at our live lunch with NZ Home and Garden and NZ Gardener editors Naomi Larkin and Jo McCarroll. Thanks for stopping by :)

If you missed it, you can still drop in for a recap and see if Jo and Naomi answered your questions, here.

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1697 days ago

25 years evolves into Remote Covid learning

New Zealand School of Food & Wine

We were lucky!

Over the weekend of 14/15 March, we celebrated our 25th Anniversary at NZSFW and 10 days later, New Zealand ground to a halt in the Covid19 Lockdown.

And while our day to day life has dramatically changed, looking at all these photos gives me a lot of pleasure and especially to be… View more
We were lucky!

Over the weekend of 14/15 March, we celebrated our 25th Anniversary at NZSFW and 10 days later, New Zealand ground to a halt in the Covid19 Lockdown.

And while our day to day life has dramatically changed, looking at all these photos gives me a lot of pleasure and especially to be able to share in the achievements of our current students and graduates. The highlight has to be the magnificent dinner; an inspired menu created by our gifted chef, Finn Gybel and prepared under his watchful eye by the cookery students.

Fortuitously, the lamb arrived fresh from Pigeon Bay via Harris Meats in North Canterbury and after a number of dramas leaving us worried that it would in time. Finn's dish, where he wrapped the lamb in crepinette, to hold it together while cooking, was certainly a new technique that we had not used in the past.

It was a thrill to have veteran broadcaster, Carol Hirschfeld as MC for the dinner and lend her distinctive and thoughtful commentary to our story. Carol asked me who she could "interview" during the dinner. Victoria Biddick, our first enrolled student from 1995, Oliver Hay and Joelle Thomson all shared their unique perspective on their association with the school.

There is certainly some irony in the fact that as we were celebrating these 25 years, another significant challenge was about to explode. Drawing on my earthquake experience, where we relocated our students to my second business at the Duvauchelle Store and Café, I knew that we had to find a way to keep going.

As the Covid19 crisis escalated, I discussed with our tutors how we could teach the programmes online and with the cookery students cooking in their own kitchens at home. Again, I was fortunate that my son Oliver, computer systems engineer, and recently returned from his super yacht chef sojourn, decided that he wanted to work full-time at NZSFW. Oli then set about finding the best platform for the tutors to stream their classes live and to administer the programmes. We have used Google Classroom and the Hangouts conferencing software to do this and it's working well.

By Friday 20 March, we had amended our cookery timetables to focus on baking, pasta and dishes that were easier to prepare at home. The students then went home with a 5kg bag of flour, 2 kg sugar, 1kg butter, 12 eggs and other ingredients. We trialled the video streaming from NZSFW while we could and then following the lockdown, the tutors now continue from their homes. The logistics are much easier for Franck with his hospitality students!

For the cookery students, the model is they watch the demonstrations at home and later upload photographs of their cooking. It's not ideal, as the tutor cannot taste their food and sometimes the livestream is pixellated or cuts out but it's better that doing nothing. Plus, everyone gets to chat and socialise from the safety of their bubble. And with supermarkets open, we can continue to buy supplies. View Foundation cooking shots here. And Advanced Cooking here.

Stay safe and have fun,
Celia Hay

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1697 days ago

Let's chat about your garden today

Mei Leng Wong Reporter from NZ Gardener & Get Growing

Hello neighbours, our editor Jo McCarroll is hosting another Live Lunch today (with colleague Naomi who edits NZ House & Garden), so jump online between 12.30 and 1pm to join them. You can ask questions in advance, so start firing through your gardening questions and pictures of your garden or … View moreHello neighbours, our editor Jo McCarroll is hosting another Live Lunch today (with colleague Naomi who edits NZ House & Garden), so jump online between 12.30 and 1pm to join them. You can ask questions in advance, so start firing through your gardening questions and pictures of your garden or the projects you've been tackling over lockdown anytime you like!

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1697 days ago

Ancient tree proves Auckland's Maungawhau/Mt Eden erupted 28,000 years ago

Danielle Clent Reporter from Central Leader

Hi neighbours, a discovery during works for City Rail Link has helped experts prove Maungawhau/Mt Eden erupted 28,000 years ago.
DEVORA vulcanologist Elaine Smid said : "We have used other techniques to date this eruption, with similar findings. This new radiocarbon result removes any … View more
Hi neighbours, a discovery during works for City Rail Link has helped experts prove Maungawhau/Mt Eden erupted 28,000 years ago.
DEVORA vulcanologist Elaine Smid said : "We have used other techniques to date this eruption, with similar findings. This new radiocarbon result removes any lingering doubts about the age of Maungawhau/Mt Eden."

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