April 2022

This year the RSA marks 100 years of the Poppy Appeal. First held on the day before Anzac Day in 1922, the familiar red poppy continues to serve as a symbol of remembrance, while the appeal raises critical funds used to support the welfare of New Zealand’s veterans. This year’s Poppy Campaign runs throughout the month of April with the street appeal, known as Poppy Day, being held on 22 April. The 2022 campaign hopes to raise much needed…

Wayne and Sharon Snellgrove are a busy family orientated couple with a wealth of customer care and construction industry expertise, who have recently embarked on an exciting new venture. As proud new owners of the South Auckland A1 Homes franchise, they have made it their goal to ensure that every one of their clients has the most enjoyable experience possible when it comes to building their new home. Whether it be a Full build, a kitset or…

This year marks the 100th year of Poppy day, and we tell you all about how it came about in our series This month in history this month and while the reason for the poppy day drifts further back into history each year, one thing is for certain. War impacts immensely on thousands of lives, displaces whole communities, and leaves scars deep in nations for many years. New Zealand’s remote location has ensured it has remained relatively untouched…

Amendments made late last year to the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA) have had a significant impact on the average Kiwi who wants to apply for a credit card, obtain finance or get a mortgage – and the announcement of minor tweaks made in March by the Commerce Minister won’t lead to any real change. In 2019, Parliament voted to amend the CCCFA with the goal of reducing predatory lending from the likes of loan sharks and truck…

For only the second time since Rotary has been associated with Hospice Golf, the annual Golf game had to be postponed from the scheduled date, and this time it was due to the weather. Sunday the 13th of February was a shocking day; high winds which made the Pukekohe Golf Course too dangerous to play. And so finally the event was held on Friday March 4th. Originally set down for 15th November 2021 that date was rescheduled to February due to…

Honour the Maunga says it is “over the moon” at yesterday’s judicial decision, which has put a halt to Tūpuna Maunga Authority’s plans to rid Auckland’s volcanic cones (maunga) of exotic trees without first consulting the public. In all, the ratepayer funded co-governance body plans to rid the city’s maunga of around 2500 non-native trees, so this decision has implications for all maunga. Ōwairaka’s trees would have come down in November 2019…

Walking into Magazine Designer Clothing you’re greeted with a gorgeous array of colours, beautiful predominantly New Zealand made clothing, exquisite accessories, and most importantly fabulous friendly staff. The store thrives on helping their customers find the perfect style, no matter their size, age, or occasion their shopping for. When they say they have something for every occasion they mean it, covering casual, daywear, and lifestyle…

Kerry Brocas is a familiar face around Pukekohe especially in both the motoring and business space. As the winner of the 2018 New Zealand Sprint Car title, Brocas has enjoyed a long and successful speedway career and has combined his love of the sport with his motoring experience to be the director of Pukekohe Honda from 2006 through to 2019. Honda then set out to move into bigger and better premises to service the area and have now opened a…

What a summer it was huh? Get jabbed for summer was the catch cry and by February we were flicked into a RED light setting as per the government Covid mandates. This setting based around the Omicron variant has played havoc with event promoters and clubs for all forms of sports and activities. The world of hot rodding has been no different with a summer full of constant cancellations or postponements. However, back in mid-January the annual…

Not many months after the 2020 election freed the Labour Party from the constraints which New Zealand First had placed on them between 2017 and 2020, the Government admitted to commissioning the most radical plan for over-turning New Zealand’s constitution since the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840. It was called He Puapua, and I have written about its quite extraordinary implications previously. In short, it envisages New Zealand’s…

It’s that time again when the ‘love them or hate them’ fruit is in abundance, whether you like to eat them straight off the tree, in desserts or cakes, or just want others to take them away, the Feijoa is a big part of every kiwi’s Autumn. The feijoa was collected in southern Brazil by a German explorer Freidrich Sellow in 1815 and introduced to Europe by French botanist and horticulturist, Dr Edouard Andre, in 1890. It was named after…

Nz’s First Poppy Day One Hundred Years Ago, on April 24th 1922, New Zealand held its first Poppy Day. It followed an international effort led by French woman, Madame Guérin who was a well-known touring lecturer and fundraiser, who split her time between living in the USA and France during the First World War. She was a director of the “American and French Children’s League”, which was the US branch of the French charity “La Ligue des enfants…

Did you know that in Papakura we have … • Sushi places • Cafes • Bakeries • Barber Shops • Gyms and the Rec Centre • Health places including Physio, Doctors, Foot Clinic, Massage Salons, Lab tests, Family Planning, Medicine clinics, Chiropractic, Hand clinic and more. • Dental Clinics • Accountancy Firms • Banks and Instant Finance and NZ Home Loans • Finance Companies • Valuers • Design and Architecture Firms • Optometrists and Fashion…

Rising interest rates and tighter bank lending have combined to take the heat out of the market in the first two months of the year and the long-anticipated return to a more stable pricing environment is starting to occur. Due to low stock levels the rural and lifestyle markets in Auckland experienced a quieter trading month in comparison to 2021. The February sales numbers and prices are now in line with those being achieved midway through…

In part the inclination might be explained by the tendency to place greater prominence on the present than the past but it typically the past that conditions the present in business or personal relationships and particularly in global politics. As to how Putin regards the Ukraine is somewhat by the way because the attitude with regard to Iraq over eight years from 2003 was equally high handed and without UN approval. The Kurds were referenced…

An alternative title might have been: “The Ukraine adjusted 90 years from the 1930s” but the good thing about political forecasts is that they are a bit like the weather; one is either right or wrong and the most in error one can be is wrong. However one may be wrong in regard to a conclusion but not in terms of motive or effects. The curtailing of NATO expansion is one (obvious) Russian objective but listening to the rhetoric1 is also…