Te Aro, Wellington

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1399 days ago
1396 days ago

SPCA Pet of the Day: Meet Sophie

Reporter Community News

Our Pet of the Day this week is Sophie.

"I have a bit of history here at the SPCA. I originally came in as a shy kitten in 2015. I was adopted and this is what my foster family said about me. "Sophie was shy and hid a lot when she first came home with me. I put some food by her hiding … View more
Our Pet of the Day this week is Sophie.

"I have a bit of history here at the SPCA. I originally came in as a shy kitten in 2015. I was adopted and this is what my foster family said about me. "Sophie was shy and hid a lot when she first came home with me. I put some food by her hiding spot and a little trail towards me and she came out and was affectionate. Until she feels safe she will hide. Sophie still - three months later - hides when other people come to the house, but is brave and affectionate with me. Sophie isn't really interested in toys and prefers to sleep in the sun or hang out with me. She will either snuggle into my leg on the sofa or on my lap. When she wants attention she will pat me with her paw. In the evening I would cradle her like a baby and sing to her and rub her belly, she loved it."

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1397 days ago

Found - keys @ Te Ahumairangi:(Orangi Kaupapa carpark entrance)

Melanie from Northland

Are these yours? They will be handed in to Wellington Central Police Station tomorrow, 31 January.

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1398 days ago

Wellington penguin colony loses 82 chicks to starvation

Reporter Community News

Thirty-five per cent of little blue penguins born on the Matiu/Somes Island have died of starvation after an otherwise successful breeding season.
During a fortnightly survey of the colony in mid-November, the Wellington Harbour Penguin Study team discovered 66 dead chicks – 54 of them in one … View more
Thirty-five per cent of little blue penguins born on the Matiu/Somes Island have died of starvation after an otherwise successful breeding season.
During a fortnightly survey of the colony in mid-November, the Wellington Harbour Penguin Study team discovered 66 dead chicks – 54 of them in one day.
Their death has been attributed to silt and the water temperature in the harbour, which resulted in a lack of fish.

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1397 days ago

Textile Fibres and Their Characteristics

Robert Anderson from Curtain Clean Wellington (The Wash House)

We are passionate about fabrics and finding the right solutions for our customers. With over 110 years of experience in the textile industry we have compiled some of this knowledge and look forward to sharing it with you over the next year through our blog series – An Educational Yarn. Our … View moreWe are passionate about fabrics and finding the right solutions for our customers. With over 110 years of experience in the textile industry we have compiled some of this knowledge and look forward to sharing it with you over the next year through our blog series – An Educational Yarn. Our first topic explores the different characteristics of textile fibres.

Textile fibres are natural or synthetic structures that can be spun into yarn. Yarns are then woven, knitted or bonded into fabric. The inherent characteristics of fibre properties directly relate to the performance and required care and maintenance of the finished fabric, therefore understanding fibres and yarns will in turn help you to understand the how to apply specific fabrics within your interior schemes.

Natural Fibres: Occurring in nature; which are of animal, vegetable/plant or mineral origin.


COTTON (Plant Origin)

• A strong fibre, even stronger when wet, cotton has good natural durability.
• Can be affected by mildew however a mildew resistant finish can be applied to reduce this issue.
• Generally has reasonable sunlight resistance but should be protected with a quality lining when used as a drapery and protected from direct sunlight when used as an upholstery.
• It is an absorbent fibre which means it can move with changing humidity levels.
• May shrink with laundering but this can be reduced through a finishing process on the fabric known as sanforising.
Sunlight resistance can be greatly reduced in acidic polluted conditions.


SILK (Animal origin; an animal fibre that comes from the silkworm. The silkworm creates its cocoon from very long silk fibres which are harvested from mulberry trees.)

• It is naturally fine in texture, and colours beautifully.
• Its biggest disadvantage in furnishing is its sensitivity to UV light degradation (direct and reflected). Due to its sensitivity, it should not be used in direct sunlight or even bright light.
• An absorbent fibre, it has the potential to move in humid environments.
• Silk is a relatively strong fibre and can withstand a certain amount of abrasion, particularly when used in conjunction with
• a backing fabric.
• Unrivalled in splendour and smoothness, silk is regarded the most exclusive of all natural fibres.

LINEN
Plant origin; derived from cellulose fibres that grow inside the stalks of the flax plant.
• As with cotton it is affected by acidic pollution.
• Can be affected by mildew which will likely cause the fibre to deteriorate over time.
• Considered to be the strongest of the natural fibres; if constructed for upholstery it is very durable, particularly when blended with up to 10% nylon.
• Is regarded as a luxury fibre because of its lustre and texture.
• It is an absorbent fibre which means it can move with changing humidity levels
• Linen has moderate sunlight resistance and should be protected by a quality lining when used as a drapery and protected from direct sunlight when used as an upholstery.



Keep reading: www.curtainclean.co.nz...

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1397 days ago

Back to school haircut? We are open all weekend.

Aaron Graham from Hataitai Family Barbers

Yay! Almost time to get the kids back to school. If they need a bit of a post holiday tidy up before they hit the classroom, bring them in. We are open 10-4pm Saturday and Sunday. No appointment required. 31 Waitoa Road, Hataitai Village.

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1397 days ago

Free events at the National Library, Thorndon - February 2021

The Team from Alexander Turnbull Library

Kia ora all
Please find our suite of free events for February 2021at the National Library, Thorndon. For more information visit our website: natlib.govt.nz...
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Waitangi Day at the National Library
Date: Saturday 6 February 2021, 9:30am to 4:30pm
Cost: Free
Come to the National Library this … View more
Kia ora all
Please find our suite of free events for February 2021at the National Library, Thorndon. For more information visit our website: natlib.govt.nz...
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Waitangi Day at the National Library
Date: Saturday 6 February 2021, 9:30am to 4:30pm
Cost: Free
Come to the National Library this Waitangi Day to see the original Treaty of Waitangi and engage with Aotearoa’s history.
Join us for other activities while you are here
We will also have other activities available to help you learn and reflect on the ways in which the signing of the Treaty has impacted on our nation’s history:
10:30am — Nan and Tuna, a bilingual puppet show about eels, rivers and friendship called by String Bean Puppets (40min)
11am and 2pm — join a bilingual tour with Wātene Kaihau (30min)
11:15am, 12:15pm and 1:15pm — te reo pronunciation workshop with Wātene Kaihau at (30min)
Get involved in arts and crafts activities for the whole whānau
watch historical footage of Waitangi Day commemorations curated by Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision, experience an installation of giant banners featuring four Treaty signatories, including local rangatira Te Wharepōuri. Make your own treaty.
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Singing the trail: the story of mapping Aotearoa New Zealand
Date: Tuesday 9 February 2021, 5:30pm to 6:30pm
Cost: Free. Koha from non-members appreciated. (Friends of the Turnbull Library event)
John McCrystal of Wellington has been working as a freelance writer since 1996, contributing to most of New Zealand’s leading newspapers and magazines. Singing the Trail is the story of New Zealand through its maps – and the story of the explorers who made those maps.
John was to discuss oral maps made by early Polynesian and Maori settlers: waypoints, lists of places in songs, chants, karakia and stories that showed direction. Centuries later came the great navigators, Abel Tasman and then James Cook. And finally it was the turn of the surveyors, explorers, rockhounds, gold diggers and politicians to negotiate the internal detail.
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Connecting to the collections
Date: Tuesday 16 February 2021, 12:10pm to 1pm
Cost: Free
Want to know more about the collections and services of the Alexander Turnbull Library and National Library of New Zealand? Keen to learn how you can connect to the collections and use them in your research or publication? Then these talks are for you. Connecting to Collections talks are held on the 3rd Tuesday of each month (February to November)
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National Preservation Office Conservation Clinic
Date: Tuesday 16 February 2021, 1pm to 2pm
Cost: Free
Do you want to learn more about looking after your precious family taonga? Join Vicki-Anne Heikell MNZM from the Alexander Turnbull Library to learn more about the preservation of your treasured items-from physical books and papers to digital materials.
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Knowledge is a blessing on your mind: Wānanga and the Scientific Project
Date: Tuesday 23 February 2021, 6pm to 7pm
Cost: Free. Booking essential. turnbullfriends@gmail.com
Dame Anne Salmond ONZ, Distinguished Professor of Māori Studies and Anthropology at the University of Auckland, will deliver the 2020 Friends of the Turnbull Library Founder Lecture.
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Mīharo Wonder: 100 Years of the Alexander Turnbull Library exhibition
Date: Friday 26 February 2021 to Thursday 30 September 2021
Cost: Free
National Library Gallery - Ground Floor
What does the word ‘wonder’ – or ‘mīharo’ – mean to you? It could be something that is amazing, fascinating or astonishing; it is also to think, speculate, meditate. Discover wonder in this Alexander Turnbull centenary exhibition.
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Mīharo: Imagine libraries
Date: Friday 26 February 2021, 12:10pm to 1pm
Cost: Free
A talk with pictures by Ian Wedde — imagine a national library in a time of plague. Will it incorporate a global vision? How will it moderate ‘relevance’? How will it incorporate the archival and non-moderated domains of social media? What kinds of censorship may emerge? Could global crisis stimulate an expanded concept of relevance both contemporary and historical?

1398 days ago

Poll: Do you wash chicken before cooking?

New Zealand Food Safety

Washing chicken doesn’t remove bacteria, it just spreads it around. The best way to protect your whānau from getting sick is to wash your hands and kitchen tools after touching raw chicken, and make sure you cook chicken all the way through. Juices
should run clear and there shouldn’t be any … View more
Washing chicken doesn’t remove bacteria, it just spreads it around. The best way to protect your whānau from getting sick is to wash your hands and kitchen tools after touching raw chicken, and make sure you cook chicken all the way through. Juices
should run clear and there shouldn’t be any pink meat in the centre.

Remember to Clean Cook Chill and check our easy food safety tips here.

The team at New Zealand Food Safety.
Find out more

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Do you wash chicken before cooking?
  • 36% Yes I thought washing cleans it
    36% Complete
  • 64% No Chicken shouldn’t be washed
    64% Complete
125 votes
1398 days ago

Friday Feathered Friend

Reporter Community News

Andrew Gorrie took this beautiful photo of a korimako (bellbird) on a recent trip to Kāpiti Island.

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1399 days ago

Firefighter Sky Tower Stair Challenge

SSO Jono Ashman from Wellington Operational Support

Please consider supporting our team who are taking on the Firefighter Sky Tower Stair Challenge to raise funds for Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand.

1399 days ago

When A Lining Is Not A Lining, But So Much More…..

Robert Anderson from Curtain Clean Wellington (The Wash House)

Look, we have to be honest, curtain linings are not the sort of thing that will blow your hair back with sheer delight. It’s sort of hard to get excited about a functional item like this – a bit like getting excited about a new water heater, carpet underlay, or new gutters…! It’s usually … View moreLook, we have to be honest, curtain linings are not the sort of thing that will blow your hair back with sheer delight. It’s sort of hard to get excited about a functional item like this – a bit like getting excited about a new water heater, carpet underlay, or new gutters…! It’s usually the face fabric, the star of the show at the window that brings the pizazz, colour or texture to a space, with lining tucked in behind, performing the admirable duties of light blocking and fabric protecting.


However, these are virtues to be celebrated as they help us make bolder decisions about the drapery fabrics for our spaces. They are also not what linings once were, and many now have the capacity to stand alone as a super practical drapery in their own right, heralding a new era for a previously much maligned fabric category. Prepare to have your hair blown back boys and girls…


Where to Begin: Well, it’s important to establish the purpose of the lining – is this a room you plan on sleeping in till midday? Lucky you! You will need a blackout (sometimes called a blockout), which will completely block light filtration, allowing you to sleep easy in blissful darkness.

These are used in five-star hotels, and in the homes of shift workers or young children who need to be able to sleep at any time of the day without pesky circadian rhythms waking you up from the light. Once upon a time, blackout linings were desperately practical, coming in white or off white (if you were lucky) and with a three-pass coating on the back (three layers of acrylic based flock).



Keep reading: www.curtainclean.co.nz...

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1399 days ago

Plea to be responsible at the races

Reporter Community News

Hutt Valley Police are urging attendees at this weekend’s Wellington Cup Day to plan ahead and stay safe.
They want everyone at the event to have a great time, and get home safely.
There will be a uniformed Police presence at this event to enhance your enjoyment of the day and promote safety.
View more
Hutt Valley Police are urging attendees at this weekend’s Wellington Cup Day to plan ahead and stay safe.
They want everyone at the event to have a great time, and get home safely.
There will be a uniformed Police presence at this event to enhance your enjoyment of the day and promote safety.
Cup-goers are urged to think ahead, avoid risky situations and keep themselves and their friends safe.
Attendees are also urged not to drink and drive, as Police will be breath testing drivers leaving from the Cup Day.
Even small amounts of alcohol can affect your driving, so if you drink at all, please don’t drive.

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1401 days ago

Friday Feathered Friend

Reporter Community News

It is not Friday but this is to introduce you to a new photographer, Andrew Gorrie. He lives in Kelson and takes most of his photographs from his deck. Andrew is an ex Stuff photographer.
His favourite subject is the magnificent tui

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1400 days ago

Wellington's earthquake prone pop-up library deemed safe

Reporter Community News

One of Wellington's new pop-up libraries is safe but “earthquake-prone”, after the council said it was fine, moved in with a Mayoral speech, then slapped stickers on the front doors two days later.
A sign at Te Awe library, on Brandon St, shows the building is at 16 per cent of new … View more
One of Wellington's new pop-up libraries is safe but “earthquake-prone”, after the council said it was fine, moved in with a Mayoral speech, then slapped stickers on the front doors two days later.
A sign at Te Awe library, on Brandon St, shows the building is at 16 per cent of new building standard, not because it is quake-prone but because it is yet to get the final council tick-off for strengthening work. The Code of Compliance Certificate (CCC) has been described by the council as being in the final stages since at-least July.
There are roughly 560 buildings, including 283 seen as high priority, around the city, which must be strengthened or demolished to meet new earthquake regulations brought in after the destruction caused by the Kaikōura earthquake.

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