GREBE GRABS GREATNESS
Never heard of the Puteketeke or Crested Grebe until fast talking, fact amassing comedian, John Oliver of the American network, spluttered about the grebe a couple of weeks ago.
It is a kind of duck and not seen in the North Island for ages and only a 1000 survive in the bowels of the South Island.
Oliver has done me a favour. The annual NZ Bird of the Year is a bit of a farce and so when it came to the NZ Bird of the Century which promised to be equally farcical, along comes Oliver, whom I have a great admiration for, and dug the knife deeper into farcical.
Every year we are virtually told by NZ Forest and Bird whom to vote for in Bird of the Year or at best given a list of maybe three birds and advised who could be favoured. The idea is to spread it around the dozens and dozens of birds that grace our lands. So it is a joke this annual public voting. It is just a publicity stunt.
And who can forget that two years ago Forest & Bird promoted a non- bird for the Bird of the Year and of course sheep-like voters complied and the animal ( a bat) won.
Be that it may, we were told to select who we like as NZ Bird of the Century but to really go for the North Island Brown Kiwi.
In steps Oliver and proclaims on his televised weekly show that the Puteketeke nestled in Australia, NZ and in some other Pacific islands should be honoured with the title and not the little Brown Kiwi.
The Kiwi is reserved, rather dour, colourless, quiet and a night-time-only prowler. The Crested Grebe is the opposite. Colourful, quirky, well adorned and can make a splash.
Oliver's choice and his organisation's promotional costs won out by a landslide - over 290,000 votes to the 12,000 allotted to the NI Brown Kiwi.
if you have never before heard of John Oliver you have now. Thank you John. NZ Forest & Bird just might feel compelled to change the way they promote animals that live in NZ in future.
Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut
This Wednesday, we are having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.
John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!
As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!
John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.
Share your question below now ⬇️
Moe mai rā, Nicholas.
We're sad to announce the passing of Nicholas Boyack, our Hutt Valley reporter who has long written for The Dominion Post, The Hutt News and Upper Hutt Leader.
Poll: Should all neighbours have to contribute to improvements?
An Auckland court has ruled a woman doesn’t have to contribute towards the cost of fixing a driveway she shares with 10 neighbours.
When thinking about fences, driveways or tree felling, for example, do you think all neighbours should have to pay if the improvements directly benefit them?
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82.7% Yes
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14.7% No
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2.6% Other - I'll share below
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