August/September 2015 News

 

Unloading 25 tonnes of firewood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tickets for the Grass Roots Gig on the 19^th September are heading out the door ($20 each). We are looking forward to rocking the Long Beach Hall. Our bands? Jimmy and the Stalefingers are a really cool Logan Park band who will warm us up with some blues/rock numbers. Local musician Carl Stevens presents ‘Paradigm Shift’, a collection of songs reflecting the influence of our coastal landscapes and the human connection and conflict with nature. Carl is a multi-instrumental performer, combining originals with covers of related themes, and he uses a loop station to record live layered arrangements, creating an authentic real-time ‘sound experience’. Delaney Davidson will be fresh back from his European tour. ‘Part man part wheel, Delaney Davidson is part wandering minstrel, part travelling salesman. One hand holds a small brown suitcase; his trade, his ghost orchestra, the other holds his guitar. One foot's firmly in the Blues Trash corner of the ring, the other on the road. You could say Delaney sees music as he sees geography, and that although he has certain preferences, in fact all territories are up for grabs’. Our MC for the night is the one and only Metiria Turei. All in all, a great “Hard Times” round-up! By the way, we’ll be having the Useful and Curious Auction again this time and we will accept early and silent bids for one auction item this year: the vasectomy, provided by Mr Stephen Packer. Text 0274 888314 to put in your bid. Silent bids will be accepted throughout the week of Sept 14^th to 19^th.

This year BRCT has some new services, which have required the development of improved efficiency and systems. I’m particularly grateful for John’s help as Operations Coordinator, as we’ve expanded, because there is always plenty happening at BRCT. It is great to have someone so capable in the team. Our new services are: sale of affordable insulation for residents who want to do their own installation, and; a carbon offset service, for people who want to offset some of their carbon heavy activity, i.e. flights. You can find out more on our website. We are also piloting the provision of bulk wood deliveries which are delivered as logs in either 25 tonne or smaller loads. Douglas Fir is currently available. You will need to have easy truck access and a place to dump logs. Call/email for information if interested.

The office has been very busy, so much so that our monthly email updates have not gone out as usual. We’ve been flat out actually. We’re gearing up for the Public Health Association conference in September with the help of Neville Auton and Annabeth Cohen and our Home Performance Advisors. On Sunday the 6^th of September BRCT will have a small stall at the Blueskin market to present the Blueskin and Karitane Food System work. Meanwhile we’ve had visits from Sean Barnes from our NGO partner the Akina Foundation, and Ian McChesney, one of the co-founders of the Community Energy Action Charitable Trust. At time of writing we are working on our submission on the draft Environment Strategy, and we are still seeking donations to help us purchase computers for the BRCT office. The latest Cuppa Tea article is actually an interview with Councillor Jinty MacTavish, which provides an inside perspective on local government and the mechanics of our local democratic system... as well as many other stimulating insights.

The BRCT office is in the old dental clinic at Waitati School, tel: 4822048 , or just check out our website (www.brct.org.nz).

By Scott Willis