Best of Times

Vol 3 Issue 4, Winter 2012

is aZerbaiJan tHe new goLD Coast?

senior voLunteers abroaD

in the Winter issue:

HeaLtH garDening reCipes

interview with bert ten broeke

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tHe teaM editor: Alex staines Advertising: Belle Hanrahan Production manager: Barbara la Grange editor-in-chief: shane cummings General manager/publisher: (APN Educational Media) Bronwen Wilkins Writers: Eion scarrow, sarah Dunn Stock images: Thinkstock Phone 04 471 1600 Fax 04 471 1080 Web www.apn-ed.co.nz/ page/best-of-times.aspx

Contents

4 desk duty – Letters, RVA column, snippets 6 engine room – The legendary Lancaster bomber 8 opinion – Who’s messed up the planet?

Good types/Food extra – Exercise resolves conflict/

12 Food chatback

Food glorious food – Two great recipes from

13 Annabel Langbein 14 interview – “can’t” is not in Bert ten Broeke’s vocab 15 Humour – 1943 guide to hiring women 16 Life & times – Older volunteers going abroad 17 Profile – Alison Pitts is keeping the faith 18 Travelling on – Is Azerbaijan the new Gold coast?

Gardening – Eion scarrow’s preparing for spring; and a

20 yarn by Gwyn Jones Published by APN Educational Media, a division of APN National Publishing NZ Limited.

Level 1, saatchi & saatchi Building, 101-103 courtenay Place, PO Box 200, Wellington IssN: 1179-3252 copyright © 2012. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Errors and omissions Whilst the publishers have attempted to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information contained in this publication, no responsibility can be accepted by the publishers for any errors or omissions.

terms and conditions 1. Entry into our competitions confirms your acceptance of our terms and conditions.

2. Entry is open to New Zealand residents only.

3. Best of Times takes no responsibility for lost, stolen, misdirected or incomplete entries. The publisher’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

4. By accepting this prize the winner consents to the publisher using his/her details for promotional use.

5. The prize is not transferable or redeemable for cash.

6. All entries become the property of the publisher.

Past lives/Health – German pirate; and avoiding

21 shingles pain 22 Puzzles 23 Giveaways

FROM THE EDITOR This issue of Best of Times is a rich mixture of articles to warm your mind over the winter months and heading into spring – and hopefully, spring comes early. There’s a legendary wartime aircraft and the brave Kiwis who flew in it, an interview with an iconic businessman, an opinion on who’s messed up the planet (from yours truly), and an esteemed chorister. We’ve got superstar foodie Annabel Langbein, who shares some recipes. Older volunteers are giving generously of their time and experience in far-flung places and we go there with them. speaking of far-flung places, we also check out the trend toward seniors heading off to odd destinations like Azerbaijan. There are tips on resolving disputes by exercising the body, and on helping the pain of shingles. Phew – and of course, where would this magazine be without our Eion scarrow? A strong theme is anniversaries – the Queen, charles Dickens, VsA, and the Royal New Zealand Air Force all celebrate milestones in 2012. I hope you all have a warm, safe, and happy winter!

This is my final issue as editor, and it’s been a great pleasure working on this magazine over the past year. I have really enjoyed interacting with people in their homes at villages, with some amazing village managers, with RVA head honcho John collyns, and your letters have been received gratefully. so now, I pass the Best of Times baton to my successor.

– Regards, Alex Staines

Become a columnist for Best of Times Best of Times magazine, which is circulated to every resident in RVA-member retirement villages across New Zealand, is interested in ‘villager’ columnists.

If you are a village resident with a background of expertise in careers advice, medicine, finance, sport, the arts, or similar, and you would like to write an occasional ‘expert’ column in Best of Times to benefit the readers, then please get in touch with the editor by email: editor@bestoftimes.co.nz or by writing to him at Editor, Best of Times, APN Educational Media, PO Box 200, Wellington 6140. vol 3 issue 4 Winter 2012 3

Desk duty – letters, RVA column, snippets

Top five regrets of the dying Australian palliative nurse Bronnie Ware has recorded the dying revelations of many of the people in her care. “When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently,” she says, “common themes surfaced again and again.”

Here are the top five regrets of the dying, as witnessed by Bronnie in The Guardian:

1

I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.

Happy anniversary, Liz and Chas This year, the Queen of England celebrates her Diamond Jubilee – 60 years on the throne. Elizabeth II’s amazing tenure as British monarch has only been equalled by Queen Victoria, who reigned for 63 years. It is also 200 years since the birth of author Charles Dickens, who gave this magazine its title (“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”) via his timeless classic A Tale of Two Cities. Although a writer from the Victorian era, Dickens’ work transcends his time, language, and culture.

He remains a massive contemporary influence throughout the world and his writings continue to inspire film,TV, art, literature, artists, and academia.

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2

I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.

This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship. Women also spoke of this regret, but as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.

3

I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.

4

I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks, and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.

5

I wish that I had let myself be happier.

This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called “comfort” of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives.

Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to themelves, that they were content, when deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.

What is your greatest regret so far, and is there anything you want to achieve or change before you die?

Email: editor@bestoftimes.co.nz

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4 Best of Times

Desk duty – letters, RVA column, snippets

From John Collyns at the RVA Open weekends

Around the time of the last issue of Best of Times, we held our first-ever Aucklandwide open weekend for retirement villages to show potential residents the best of retirement village living. 44 RVA member villages in Auckland took

part.

More than 600 people visited our villages over the weekend.

Of those, 72 per cent were first-time visitors to any retirement village and around 55 per cent lived locally to the villages they visited, so we were happy that we’d reached the right group.

Villages that involved their residents in some way reported significantly higher activity than those that didn’t.

It’s possible that more open weekends will follow in other regions, and if so, we’ll be looking to our existing residents to help spread the word.

A DVD to promote retirement village life

Our DVD, aimed at potential residents, is readily available. It’s an extension of our popular Your Questions Answered pamphlet.

It features interviews with residents and their families about the advantages and disadvantages of choosing to live in a retirement village, as well as explaining the types of tenure available, the consumer protection framework, and why people should choose an RVA-member village.

To obtain a copy of this DVD, phone 04 499 7090.

Silverstream Lion Roy Peterson (Left) and Fastway Courier driver Carl Simons check in a tonne of old New Zealand currency at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.

Ten tonne milestone

for children’s fundraiser Lions Clubs New Zealand’s nationwide campaign ‘Heads Up for Kids’ reached a hefty milestone when its tenth tonne of coins was delivered to the Reserve Bank in April.

Two containers weighing 500kg each and valued at $19,000 weren’t full of regular cash, but out-of-date New Zealand currency ranging from threepences and half crowns to large 50-cent pieces. The money has been collected throughout the country as part of the ‘Heads Up for Kids’ campaign, which collects old money and foreign currency for the benefit of New Zealand youth.

A number of young people have already benefited from the collection by receiving scholarships and funding to attend Spirit of Adventure and the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centres. They were nominated based on their positive attitude toward their school and community.

The 10-tonne total is made up of old New Zealand money and foreign currency; the old New Zealand money is redeemed at the Reserve Bank and the foreign money shipped to Australia by the tonne and exchanged. Copper and collectable coins are sold for the metal and collectible values. Kind Kiwis have been making donations at Resene stores nationwide and selected New World supermarkets for the past 18 months.The cash is then collected and delivered by courier sponsor Fastway to be counted in Wellington.

Roy Peterson of Silverstream Lions Club has been leading the counting and sorting of all cash donated; since he began he has sorted more than 2.5 million foreign and old New Zealand coins and hundreds of banknotes. Among the millions of coins he has discovered a range of unusual and rare commodities from tokens for Las Vegas strip clubs through to 18th century francs and gold sovereigns.

“It’s an interesting project,” says Mr Peterson.“You never know what you will come across.”

Mr Peterson says that the Lions Clubs New Zealand aim to collect one million dollars and will continue to provide positive experiences for good New Zealand kids who may not otherwise get the opportunity.

More, visit: www.lionsclubs.org.nz/oldmoney

Auckland rate rises

The Auckland Council recently completed its hearing process on their long-term plan. Our calculations suggested that the new rating base would include some savage rates increases for many villages, some around $8 per unit per week. This is, of course, unacceptable, so the RVA made a submission in April to the Auckland Council, seeking a 50 per cent discount in the Uniform Annual General Charge.

We’ve continued to make the case to the Minster of Local Government to get the Rates Rebate Act 1977 amended so that eligible retirement village residents are able to access the rebate as a right.

– John Collyns, executive director, Retirement Villages Association

Newsflash – rates relief for retirement villagers People with licence to occupy units in retirement villages will be able to apply for a rates remission in a new scheme to be offered by Auckland Council next year.

For Manukau and Franklin this includes charging a uniform annual general charge for each unit and for North Shore, Rodney and Papakura, applying charges by capital value.

Mayor Len Brown has welcomed the decision which he says will address the issue of inequity and one of the extreme impacts of the new rates system.

Footnote

Frances Boswell from Paremata called about the article on foot care in the Autumn issue (‘Putting your best foot forward’, page 18). She pointed out that foot care services as described in the article seemed to be thin on the ground south of the Bombay hills. A bit of investigating by the editor revealed that, south of the mythical divide, foot care tends to be the province of a) podiatrists, b) foot care nurses, and c) beauticians. Check these out in your area for foot care services.

TALK TO US We love letters and give prizes for selected

ones from village residents. We also love ideas, complaints, compliments, images, stories. Go on, get in touch with the editor: by post to Editor, Best of Times, PO Box 200, Wellington 6140; email: editor@bestoftimes.co.nz; ph (DDI): 04 915 9787 Advertise with us – ph: 04 915 9793; Subscribe to us –ph: 04 916 4807 Vol 3 Issue 4 Winter 2012 5

Legends of the air The sPiTFire FiGhTer is the symbol of the 1940 Battle of Britain – the image of fearless fighter aces flashing about the sky in a last ditch effort to keep the enemy out of england will endure, but the key frontline weapon in the war on europe was a much more ponderous craft – the Lancaster bomber. Between 1942 and the end of the war, formations of Lancasters, laden with thousands of pounds of bombs, took part in night bombing offensives against Germany’s major cities.

The aim of operations was to make the major German cities uninhabitable, and to destroy the morale of the enemy civilian population, especially the industrial workers.

The Lancaster’s finest hour (at least, in popular imagination), the famous ‘Dambusters’ raid by 617 squadron to destroy hydroelectric dams in the industrial heart of Germany in 1943, using a specially-designed bouncing bomb released at low altitude, showed the world that

the British had the will and means to fight on.

The Lancaster was the backbone of raF Bomber Command. it could fly further and higher, carried a greater bomb load, flew more sorties and inflicted greater damage than any other raF bomber. The Lancaster was the brainchild of design genius roy Chadwick, who worked for. in 1941, aircraft manufacturer avro in Manchester employed 40,000 people – mostly women – to build Lancasters (see the humour story on page 15). nearly 8000 Lancasters were produced. The bomber was powered by four rolls-royce Merlin engines. The Merlin was one of the world’s most reliable aircraft engines. Flight Lieutenant Jack t’hart’s new Lancaster flew faultlessly through 22 ops and always got the crew home. it had a ton of power, which kept them out of trouble, said Jack, even on the notorious nuremburg raid in 1944, when 95 of the 779 Lancasters were shot down, and

The crew of 75 (NZ) squadron’s Lancaster AA-c on the grass in front of their aircraft awaiting a mission to Germany, with a bomb load of 13,472 pounds, 23 March 1945. From left: Flight sergeant Russell, Flight sergeant selwood, Flying Officer Henry, sergeant Jillians, sergeant Hunt, sergeant Foley, sergeant Bates. Note the 89 sortie marks on the aircraft, below the cockpit. Photo courtesy Air Force Museum of New Zealand.

745 airmen were killed, captured, or injured.

The Lancaster had three machine-gun turrets and a crew of seven, and could carry a bomb load of up to 18,000lbs.

Toward the end of the war, a common payload was the terrifying 12,000lb Tallboy bomb. The most famous Tallboy ‘kill’ – involving new Zealander arthur Joplin and his crew from 617 squadron – was the German battleship Tirpitz, sunk in a norwegian fjord by Lancasters in 1944.

Lancasters carried out 156,000 missions during the war, dropping more than 600,000 tons of bombs. however, there was a high price – during four years of active service, 3249 Lancasters were lost in action,

and 487 were destroyed or damaged while on the ground. a mere 24 aircraft completed 100 missions.

Conditions for the crew were challenging. it was cramped, noisy, unpressurised and very cold. Flight engineer harry Cammish said of his first op in a Lancaster: “nothing prepares you for the reality. noise, light, bangs, whoomps, thumps. i felt it best to keep busy filling in the log sheet calculating petrol consumption, and not looking out.”

Mid-upper gunner harry Furner gives an idea what it was like to come under fighter attack, with nothing but a perspex dome for protection: “Most of the Perspex in my turret was shattered, hydraulic pipes punctured, and i was blinded in

busy year for veterans 2012 marks the 75th anniversary of the formation of the RNZAF. celebrations have been taking place around the country, including a big air show at Ohakea in March, and a compelling new history of the RNZAF, Fighting spirit, by Margaret Mcclure (see Giveaways page).

A memorial to all those who fought in Bomber command during World War II will be unveiled in June in London. Around 30 New Zealand veterans are expected to travel for the ceremony, including the last surviving pilot from the Dambusters raid, Les Munro, and rear gunner Tom Whyte.

Veteran Ron Mayhill, a resident of Edmund Hillary Retirement Village in Auckland, says the memorial meant a lot to him and to all who served. “It’s very special. It means we are belatedly being recognised but also, I’ve got so many memories of friends who went missing. I can still see their faces. When I go to the memorial I will be thinking of them. It’s a memorial to them.”

6 Best of Times

ENGINE ROOM Vehicles that made this country great both eyes by the perspex. i also received various shrapnel wounds to my arms and legs – in all, a bit of a mess.”

The four-engined bomber was a big target, not very agile, and easy to hit. The German fighters had powerful cannon and a radar screen on which they could see their target on the darkest night.

The only defence a bomber had when attacked from astern was the four machine guns in the rear turret. Lancaster rear gunners, including new Zealand veteran Tom whyte (101 squadron), had one of the loneliest jobs in the war. Their casualty rates were always high.

kiwi bombers

Following the formation of the royal new Zealand air Force (rnZaF) in 1937, Kiwis who wanted to be airmen underwent initial Training, then to elementary Flying schools to train in the Tiger Moth aircraft.

with fellows sharing a common goal and united by the sense of adventure and danger, were the best days of their lives. airmen suffering from shell shock or who just “lost the plot”, and who weren’t picked up by the station doctor and pulled off flying duties, weren’t so fortunate, and faced the horrific charge of Lack of Moral Fibre. They were not discharged, rather, stripped of rank, they were forced into menial service, still with their battle ribbons on as these were conferred by the King.

remaining aircraft

now there are only two airworthy craft left in the world – one in Canada and one in Britain. of the other 15 remaining complete Lancasters, one is in new Zealand. it is on permanent display at the Museum of Transport and Technology (MoTaT) in auckland. The aircraft was built in 1945, and the

Conditions for the crew were challenging. it was cramped, noisy, unpressurised and very cold.

The ‘graduates’ of the first new Zealand training schemes saw action in the Battle of Britain and the first bombing raids over Germany. new Zealanders who served in Lancasters were trained at the Lancaster Finishing school in england, and were then posted to combat units, including 75 squadron – an rnZaF outfit ‘donated’ to raF Bomber Command for the war. of the more than 6000 Kiwi aircrew who served with Bomber Command during the second world war – many in Lancasters – around one third were killed, injured or taken prisoner. This was a similar casualty rate to that in the trenches during world war i. Despite the high attrition rate, new Zealand aircrews rarely spoke out about dangerous or terrifying operations. There was a feeling that they were somehow better off than other Kiwis fighting on the ground in the Desert or italy.

Two tours (60 ops in a Lancaster) were considered enough for survivors to be posted to hQ or Training Commands.

Many veterans say that their time in Bomber Command,

raF sold it to France in 1952. in 1962 it was transferred to new Caledonia and caught the eye of Kiwi veterans when it visited whenuapai. in 1964, the French donated the aircraft to new Zealand. it was dismantled, moved to the new MoTaT site and re-assembled for display. a group formed by ex-101 squadron navigator John Barton maintained the aircraft for over 40 years. in 1986, the nZ Bomber Command association was formed, and, with president Bill simpson at the controls, the ‘save the Lancaster’ project resulted in a specially-built hangar and pad at the MoTaT 2 site, and the aircraft was under cover by 1988. after two decades of work and many thousands of hours by volunteers and veterans, the aircraft is fully restored and complete, in correct 1944 camouflage and markings.

a Lancaster bomber in action. photo courtesy air force Museum of new Zealand.

Command during the second world war, with numerous photographs.

Peter says if you are a veteran of Bomber Command, or a relative of someone who served in Bomber Command, the nZ Bomber Command association would welcome you as a member. Go to: www.nzbombercommand.co.nz for contact details.

The air Force Museum of new Zealand at wigram in Christchurch is an awardwinning museum holding the premier collection of new Zealand military aircraft and around one million related artefacts, archives and support equipment. The aircraft in the museum’s collection range from

the iconic spitfire to the unique Vildebeest, and workhorses such as the Dakota. The museum has recently launched a big upgrade.

The flight simulators and behind-the-scenes tours to see restoration projects in action are recommended.Visit: www.airforcemuseum.co.nz The Museum of Transport and Technology, auckland needs little introduction.

MoTaT is new Zealand’s largest transport, technology and social history museum. spread across 40 acres, MoTaT offers interactive journeys to explore and discover the achievements that have helped shape new Zealand, from the 1800s to today: www.motat.org.nz

More info

Kiwis do Fly, by Peter wheeler, administrator of the nZ Bomber Command association: an excellent history of new Zealanders in raF Bomber

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www.motat.org.nz vol 3 issue 4 Winter 2012 7

OPINION The editor has a spiel

Who’s messed up

the planet?

I

f environmental expert Paul Downton is to be believed, young people should be very angry with older generations, because we are responsible for messing up the planet. In an article in New Internationalist magazine, Downton apologises to the young on our behalf for failing them. We have, says Downton, trashed the climate, driven species to extinction and created insane financial markets. “…don’t follow sage advice from old folks – they got you into this mess in the first place,” he writes. Anyone over 50 is, apparently, a no-hoper.

Is this fair, even accepting the evidence that the planet is in a bad way, which some of us still question? Older generations – people who were born in the middle of the 20th century – survived economic depression, shortage of food and other basics of life, poverty, displacement, uncertainty, and war. People wanted something better. In the years after the war in the West, people strove to build a stable life with the tools at hand. A smokestack was a sign that at last, prosperity might be just around the corner, not a symbol of a doomed environment.

Opinion surveys show that when the national economy is bad, people worry less about the planet. During hard times, people want economic growth, even if it hurts the environment. Put another way, people want life to improve now, and are prepared to pay a price in the future to fund the present.

Big business has – and still does – exploit the natural world to make money for its shareholders.

The emerging economies of China, India and Brazil rely upon often massive exploitation of natural resources to fuel their growth – in other words, cutting down forests, burning off, and digging stuff like copper out of the ground.

Some future prospects seem so bright. Many people in the west have a fanatical belief in the power of technology. This technology has produced all of the magical tools we have at our disposal, even if this tends to benefit the better educated among us – and the gap between rich and poor is increasing.

Earlier this year, the New York Academy of Science’s Green Science and Environmental Policy Discussion Group met to discuss whether technology will let us avoid the limits to economic growth. Dennis Meadows, who wrote a landmark in 1972 called The Limits to Growth, detailed the three points he first contended over 40 years ago concerning economic growth and sustainability: physical growth cannot be sustained on a finite planet, population/industrial growth will not stop without intervention, and, lastly, without intervention, growth will lead to economic and societal collapse. He contended that sustainable development is a fantasy in which developed nations are able to maintain an

8 Best of Times

untenable standard of living and of energy consumption while also preserving the environment. “we must learn to change our standard of living,” he said.

Thomas Graedel, co-author of the textbook Industrial Ecology and Sustainable Engineering, talked about how renewable-energy technologies often require the incorporation of rare materials such as tellurium, creating a new set of challenges in pursuing alternative energy technologies. a staggering increase in the quantity of metals like these will be needed for renewable energy technologies to replace fossil fuels and meet demand in 2030, when the oil starts to run out.

not so green

new rubbisH – e-waste some technology manufacturers claim their products are “sustainable”. But just what materials go into mobile phones and mini-computers? According to the Global Futures Foundation, electronic waste accounts for 70 per cent of the toxic waste in landfills.

The idea that today’s young adults (called “Millenials”) are environmentally conscious has been challenged recently by a survey reported in the NZ Herald revealing that they might not be so ‘green’ after all. “i was shocked,” said Jean Twenge, a psychology professor at san Diego state university who is one of the study’s authors. “we have the perception that we’re getting through to people.

But at least compared to previous eras, we’re not.”

Based on two longstanding national surveys of high school seniors and college freshmen, Twenge and her colleagues found a steady decline in concern about the environment and taking personal action to save it.“This is a change in overall culture,” she said, “and young people reflect the changes in culture.”

Kelly Benoit, a 20-year-old political science student at northeastern university in Massachusetts, thinks members of her generation, like a lot of people, simply don’t want to give up conveniences. or are they just overwhelmed by national debates on climate change, and all the publicity? i think this is likely.

Dennis Meadows said that the problem about public engagement with sustainability efforts is not a lack of knowledge, but rather a general lack of interest.

Pre-digital Tv sets contained a heap of lead, a very toxic element.

Cell phones have a short shelf life and there are hundreds of millions of them needing disposal. Plastics make up most of the phone, and plastics are made from crude oil. There is lead in the flame-resistant coating and strange, rare, or nasty things like nickel, lithium, cobalt, cadmium, zinc, copper and gold in the batteries. These become toxic when incinerated. Many of the 64 different chemical elements used in cell phones are difficult to recover. stuff called coltan is used to make the capacitors. coltan mining has been cited as helping to finance serious conflict, for example in the congo.

Computers contain lead, quite a lot of mercury (a very dangerous substance), and our old mate cadmium. Mini-computers use rare earths for their display colours, and odd elements like lanthanum.

The New York Times reports that china currently controls 95 to 97 per cent of the world’s supply of the rare earth materials that Apple uses to make the iPad, and china’s decision to cut export quotas has caused prices of the materials to rapidly increase.

Last worD to a sage HeaD

Bert ten Broeke, interviewed on page 14, on the decline of the planet: “It’s only happened in the last 60 or 70 years. What goes on today is just unbelievable. If something doesn’t work, throw it away and get another one. Nowadays you have panel exchangers, not panel beaters. Another thing I’m against is cash help for poorer countries. Donations go to the fat cats who smoke big cigars and travel first class. Politicians get the biggest hand-outs of all. The people who need it the most get nothing.

The whole problem in the world today is greed, greed, greed.”

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vol 3 issue 4 Winter 2012 9

The box Best of Times answers your questions on going digital

New Zealand will start going digital in less than four months and 84 per cent of households are ready for it..

84 per cent of new Zealand T

he first regions to go digital will be Hawke’s Bay and the West Coast of the South Island on 30 September 2012. The rest of the country will go digital in stages over 2013, with the Upper North Island the last to go digital on 1 December 2013.

The West Coast and the Waikato region have the highest proportion of households currently watching digital television at 92 per cent.

“Television is a leading leisure activity in many New Zealand households and it’s great that so many Kiwis have already gone digital and are enjoying more channels and better picture quality,” said Going Digital National Manager Greg Harford.

“Everyone in New Zealand who wants to watch television after their regional deadline will need a set-top box and the right aerial or satellite dish.”

The Government has launched a targeted assistance package to support some people to go digital.

Those people who could qualify for the package will receive a letter from the Going Digital team at least six months before their region goes digital with details on how to take up the assistance.

The package is available to those who aren’t already watching digital television and are either: » aged 75 and over with a Community Services Card; or recipients of a Veteran’s Pension or Invalids’ Benefit; or » former Veteran’s Pension and Invalid’s Benefit recipients who transferred to NZ Superannuation at age 65 or over.

Rest home residents who meet the criteria are eligible for the package as are eligible people who live in rented accommodation.

People don’t need to do anything until they get a letter from us. Mr Harford said anyone who fits the criteria above and doesn’t receive a letter should check their address is up to date with Work and Income or Senior Services.

Those eligible for the programme will receive a set-top box and the right aerial or satellite dish. The equipment will be installed and training will be provided, along with technical support for 12 months.

Digital television offers more channels, better pictures, and new features such as an electronic programming guide.

“You don’t need a new television to go digital. Any set can be

converted with the right equipment,” Mr Harford said.

For those people already watching Freeview, Sky, or TelstraClear, you are already watching digital television and you don’t need to do anything unless you have other televisions in your home that don’t have a set-top box.

Mr Harford said it is also important to remember that all televisions, video, and DVD recorders will need to go digital if they are to continue receiving and recording programmes.

“If recording is important in your household, you might want to consider a new personal video recorder such as MyFreeview or MySky,” Mr Harford said.

Going digital by the end of 2013 will free up radio spectrum, which is ideal for next-generation mobile telecommunications services. These will support economic development in New Zealand by offering faster and cheaper mobile broadband services.

The Going Digital team includes nine community advisors based around the country who are available to speak with community groups and attend events where they can share the Going Digital story and answer questions about how to go digital.

watching digital television

For further information about going digiTal contact a going digiTal Community advisor on 0800 838 800

fooD chatback

gooD types with great tips

Exercising

conflict resolution Some wag once said that the world can be divided into two kinds of people: those who divide the world into two kinds of people and those who don’t. when it comes to conflict resolution and older people, however, an interesting item of recent research suggests that a couple of very different categories really do exist – and exercise might be the thing that differentiates them. according to Canadian scholars with the university of British Columbia and the Brain research Centre at Vancouver Coastal health, regular exercise not only keeps the ageing body fit, but it can also keep an ageing mind in much better shape to tackle disputes.

The study was based on a six-month study of 86 senior citizens and published in april in the archives of internal Medicine. it shows that regularly using a senior’s exercise programme, in particular, one incorporating resistance training, helps to slow dementia. such exercise improves an array of mental functions, it was found,

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12 Best of Times

including executive cognitive processes of selective attention and associative memory – and also the ability to handle conflict resolution.

The last item was discovered because the researchers involved in the trial also looked at the effect of exercise on associative memory performance and corresponding functional brain plasticity – the kinds of qualities that help all of us navigate through the difficulties in finding resolution to life’s most nettlesome conflicts. if limbering up on the weights helps cognition, then it should also help us commit to memory important tips that i’m in the business of sharing: » Know what’s negotiable and nonnegotiable before you start to address a difficult situation. » Communicate. Just because you and i are interacting doesn’t automatically mean we are on the same wavelength. » remember we have twice as many ears as we do a mouth, so listening and asking questions is always important. » if you can’t sort out a dispute, don’t let it fester. Be aggressive about seeking outside help. » Consider mediation – a consensual process in which an independent mediator helps you to sort out your dispute. arbitration is a similar process but one in which the arbitrator rules on the outcome. The arbitrators and Mediators institute of new Zealand offers a comprehensive list of each. see: www.aminz.org.nz » Taking the best advice early is a great idea. This includes advice on how to best structure your business so it is “dispute-wise”. whatever this may cost will be small beer compared to the price of an all-out legal spat.

These are just a few guidelines for the next time you need to resolve conflict with another person, and they’re well worth keeping in (an exercise-improved) mind.

Meantime, i’ll look forward to seeing you at the gym.

by Deborah Hart, executive director of the arbitrators and Mediators’ institute of new Zealand.

WHAT DO OLD PEOPLE EAT? We came across the following rather amusing exchange in an online forum called Answerbag.

A woman calling herself ‘The sun’ asked, “What do old people like to eat?

My grandmother (72) is coming to visit tomorrow, and yes, I already have crackers, apple sauce, tapioca pudding, and prunes.

Anything else?” and here’s a selection of the answers: ‘nelson’: Old people, just like young people, like to eat a variety of food. If there are dietary restrictions (choice or medical), then just ask. If she asks for brains, she could be a zombie. If she asks for no meat, she could be a vegetarian. If she asks for kosher, she may be Jewish. ‘gt’: Old people like to eat what everyone else does and they do, take it from me!

I work with them all the time. Your menu sounds fine so far if your grandmother is toothless and likes to spend her time in the bathroom. ‘galeander’: Gee, aren’t you putting your grandmother’s taste buds along with her teeth out to pasture a little early? My MIL is now 94. she is still eating chinese food, Mexican food, all sorts of things. she doesn’t like them real spicy but she enjoys different foods as long as she can have a banana once a day. Why don’t you give your grandmother some taste options. Let her teeth work and her tongue get a thrill.

Don’t lock her up with soft, bland food. ‘sheriff raff’: Are you assuming that your grandmother is constipated and that she has lost all of her teeth? My father is 72 and he still has all of his teeth and he goes potty just fine. He does have type 2 diabetes. It would be nice if you asked your grandmother in advance of her food choices. she may be old, but she is still a member of your family and deserves to be treated with respect and dignity.

‘Jade’: My mother is 77. The only difference in what she eats is that she gives a little more attention to the health factors in her diet. she is diabetic, has heart problems, high blood pressure, etc.

If I tried to serve her tapioca, apple sauce, and prunes, she would be going out to eat.

Most 72-year-olds eat the same thing as other people eat who are watching their diet to keep cholesterol, sodium, etc. to a minimum. ‘miteb’: You mean pizza and cheeseburgers are only for “young” people? Wish I could be around to see your definition of “old” change as you yourself age. You will probably also find that unless you have dietary restrictions due to a health condition (which could happen at 16 as well as 90), your food preferences will be based on taste, not age.

‘Marcie’: some old people like to chew on the butts of their sassy, impertinent grandkids!

fooD glorious food

Two great recipes from Annabel Langbein here are a couple of excellent chicken and egg recipes from best-selling food author annabel langbein’s book Free Range in the City.

CHiCken tonnato sMokeD saLMon anD egg gratin My friend Emerald introduced me to this easy dish, which is based on a recipe from her friend Fran. I love the way these things go around – when something tastes good, everyone wants to share it! You could add a mashed potato or crumb topping or even layer some wilted spinach through the eggs and salmon.

Prep time: 20 mins cook time: 15-20 mins serves: 4 as a main or 5-6 as lunch 600g boneless, skinless hot-smoked salmon or other smoked fish 6 hard-boiled free-range eggs, peeled and halved 2 tsp worcestershire sauce 1 tbsp tomato sauce a pinch of cayenne a sprinkle of paprika white sauce 70g butter 1⁄2 cup flour a pinch of nutmeg 3½ cups milk salt and fine white pepper to serve crisp green salad To make white sauce, melt butter in a medium pot.

When butter starts to bubble, add flour and stir over heat for about 1 minute. Add nutmeg, then gradually whisk in milk, stirring until a thick, smooth sauce is produced. season to taste (it should be well seasoned). White sauce will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days. It will thicken as it cools, so cover the top with baking paper so it doesn’t dry out or form a skin.

To make the gratin, flake salmon or other smoked fish into large chunks and arrange in the base of a medium baking dish. Arrange the hardboiled egg halves on top. stir worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce and cayenne into the white sauce and spread evenly over the top of the fish and eggs. sprinkle with paprika. If not serving at once, cover and chill – it will keep for at least 24 hours in the fridge. Bring to room temperature before baking.

When you are ready to serve, bake at 220°c until the sauce is bubbling and the top is lightly golden (about 15-20 minutes). serve hot with a crisp green salad on the side.

The classic Italian dish vitello tonnato involves veal with a tuna sauce. My version combines poached chicken breasts with a creamy tuna mayonnaise.

It’s quick to prepare if you poach the chicken in advance. The tonnato sauce also makes a great sandwich filling, or you can add a little extra mayo to make a tasty dip.

Prep time: 10 mins cook time: 12 mins + cooling serves: 6 to make the perfect poached chicken 6 single boneless, skinless chicken breasts 2 bay leaves 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme 1 lemon, thinly sliced 1 tsp salt

When ready to serve, remove cooled chicken from stock (strain stock and reserve for later use). cut chicken into finger-thick slices across the grain and arrange on a bed of lettuce.

To make tonnato sauce, place drained tuna in a bowl with mayonnaise, chopped capers, lemon juice, and pepper. Add 1-2 tbsp water, as needed, and mix with a fork to a creamy consistency or purée for a smoother sauce, adding a little more mayonnaise if required.

To serve, spoon tuna onto sliced chicken breasts and garnish with sprigs of thyme and chopped olives.

tonnato sauce 185g can tuna, drained 5 tbsp good-quality mayonnaise 1 tbsp chopped capers 2 tbsp lemon juice ground black pepper 1-2 tbsp water, to thin to serve lettuce leaves chopped olives sprigs of fresh thyme To make perfect poached chicken, place chicken breasts in a single layer in a large pot. Add bay leaves, thyme, lemon slices, and salt and add water to cover chicken by 4cm. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from heat and cool without uncovering for about 2 hours. If not using at once, the chicken can be stored in the stock in the fridge for up to 4 days.

“i use free-range chicken and eggs whenever possible, not only for the sake of the animals but also because i think they taste better. They’ve got more flavour, and i also love the deep orange colour the egg yolks become when the hens have been pecking on fresh greens.” – Annabel Langbein, food expert. vol 3 issue 4 Winter 2012 13

interview

Bert ten Broeke at schiphol airport in Amsterdam in 1950, boarding a KLM Dc-4 to New Zealand.

Can’t is not in his

vocabulary

ALEX STAINES met with Bert ten Broeke – butcher, businessman, athlete, family man – at his home at Sevenoaks Midlands Trust Retirement Village on the Kapiti Coast.

Bert is the archetypal “staunch” human being, with a genius for self-possession. This goes much deeper than self-confidence, because confidence can be built on unsound foundations.

Throughout his life, Bert has seen opportunity in seemingly impossible situations, and has drawn on a personal fund of determination that appears inexhaustible.

Bert was born in the small Dutch town of nieuwe schans in 1924. his parents owned a butcher shop. People were brought up the hard way, with no government handouts. Bert decided at 14 that he wanted to become a butcher like his father. he worked from dawn till dark – and longer on saturdays – in his father’s butchery. harder times came for Bert’s family with the German occupation in 1940. The teenaged Bert profited from black market dealing in farm produce. one of his customers was an army sports instructor who taught Bert boxing and unarmed combat skills. Then one day, Bert was caught without a permit, deported by train to Germany and ended up at an industrial town in the ruhr.

Bert regarded the deportation as a free holiday. he convinced the bloke in charge of the camp that he was a cook, not a steel 14 Best of Times

worker, and began work in the camp kitchen. There were men and women inmates in the camp, including many russians.

Bert announced one day that he needed some russian girls to help him make pancakes. so a guard opened the gates to the russian girls’ camp and told Bert to help himself. Most of the girls knew Bert from collecting food from the kitchen. The inmates saw Bert sauntering by with four of the loveliest russian girls on his arm. when the air raid sirens went and everyone ran for shelter in the cold, Bert would enjoy a hot shower with the most beautiful girl in the camp.

Then they’d drink real coffee. he would walk out of the front gate of the camp with his girlfriend to go to the pictures and have a few drinks. Because she wore a dress instead of a camp uniform with “ost” stencilled on it, no-one took any notice. always very fit, back in holland after the war, Bert trained hard in typically vigorous fashion for a year and became the 5000 metres, and cross-country champion of east holland, and silver medallist in the 3km steeplechase at the Dutch national championships in 1949. not bad for a beginner. he was also a pretty fair footballer. he had an arrangement with a couple

having problems conceiving a child, which involved sleeping with the woman repeatedly in the hope she would become pregnant. she didn’t, but became very fond indeed of Bert. nice work if you can get it.

Bert had been interested in emigrating for several years and had chosen new Zealand. in 1950, he landed in auckland and began work as a butcher almost immediately. after only a few hours in the country, Bert could see his future would be in the sausage and salami trade. “Meat in holland was very expensive and labour was cheap. here the meat was cheap and labour was expensive,” said Bert. “when i

customers than a happy inland revenue Department.”

Bert has been engaged in gladiatorial conflict with bureaucracy for most of his time in new Zealand. his two pet hates are queues and committees.

“That’s why nothing ever gets done,” said Bert. when Bert started his smallgoods factory in elsdon, near Porirua, someone said to Bert that the way to get on with the council was to give them a ham for Christmas. “if they want a ham, they can pay for it themselves,” was Bert’s reply. a friend once said to Bert that he was the only bloke he knew who could insult a person in a nice way. Bert said he’s only rarely

“i’m only 87,” said Bert. People ask him how he does it. “it’s easy,” Bert tells them, “never give in. came out to new Zealand, i had six pounds in my pocket. when my brother immigrated a decade later i had three butcher shops in wellington and a beautiful place in Khandallah. and it was all freehold. “i’ve been in business a very long time. i’ve always looked after my staff. i’ve never robbed anyone and i’ve always been fair. i’m more interested in happy

become angry, usually when playing sports. once, he smacked an opponent in the jaw during a football game in wanganui because the fellow wouldn’t stop grabbing him. They ended up in adjacent hospital beds.

Bert greeted his victim with a pleasantry. “But the guy had no sense of humour,” said Bert.

Bert’s presence of mind seems to be something he was born

HuMour Time for a giggle with. To illustrate, Bert says, “a little boy went to his father and asked, ‘Dad, where did i get my brains from?’ ‘it must be from your mother, because i’ve still got mine’, was the reply. “sometimes i can see more with my eyes shut than a lot of people can see with their eyes open,” said Bert. But it is a little spooky how Bert always ran into the right people at the right time. “i’m easy to get on with, providing things go my way,” said Bert. “i’m only 87,” said Bert.

People ask him how he does it. “it’s easy,” Bert tells them, “never give in. Be honest, be straight and don’t be frightened. i have an attitude, when i wake up in the morning, i say ‘thanks very much, there’s another one’. There was a woman back in holland who said to her husband, ‘water the garden, Charley’. ‘But it’s raining’, Charley replied. ‘well, you’ve got a raincoat, haven’t you?’ she said.”

There are so many negative people. They’ve got the wrong attitude. a business competitor once told Bert that he hated him. Bert was all smiles. “nobody hates someone who sleeps in the Basin reserve,” said Bert. “i must have been doing something right.” i asked Bert about the parlous economic situation in europe and the united states. “what i can’t understand,” said Bert, “is that all these so-called clever people are so clever, they don’t know that if they earn $100 a week, they can’t spend $120 a week. when we were kids, you had five

gulden in your pocket when you took a girl out, and when the money was gone, that was it. now, there are credit cards, and the banks are sitting there, rubbing their hands together. it’s as simple as that.”

Bert said that where we have gone wrong is to do with greed. People are never satisfied. and people don’t realise that the greedier they are, the worse it is for them. stupid people think everyone else is stupid, too. when Bert owned a beautiful farm near Bulls, he used to visit the Feilding sale yards, and couldn’t understand how the farmers operated. “They would buy when the prices were high. if the prices were high, i would go home.” once, Bert sold all his 550 head of cattle when prices were at their peak. he got a big cheque. The consensus was that Bert was stupid. Then three months later, everyone was destocking. But Bert had lush grass on his spread and the only animals around were birds. Farmers from as far away as Marlborough were trucking their yearlings up, trying to sell them. Bert bought stock at low prices and he had plenty of feed for them. “i’m very happy, and i sleep well at night. i’ve done my best. i’ve got two children and three grandchildren. i’ve bought them all a house,” said Bert.

If you’re interested in acquiring a copy of Bert’s thrilling autobiography, Can’t is not in my vocabulary, visit the publisher’s website: www.transpressnz.com

1943

GuIDE TO HIRING WOMEN

Eleven tips taken from the July 1943 issue of Transportation Magazine, written for male supervisors of women in the workforce during World War II

1

Pick young married women. They usually have more of a sense of responsibility than their unmarried sisters, and they’re less likely to be flirtatious.

When you have to use older women, try to get ones who have worked outside the home at some time in their lives. Older women who have never contacted the public have a hard time adapting themselves and are inclined to be cantankerous and fussy.

General experience indicates that ‘husky’ girls – those who are just a little on the heavy side – are more even tempered and efficient than their underweight sisters.

Retain a physician to give each woman you hire a special physical examination – one covering female conditions. This step not only protects the property against possibilities of lawsuit but reveals whether the employee-to-be has any female weaknesses that would make her mentally or physically unfit for the job. stress at the outset the importance of time – a minute or two lost here and there makes a serious inroad on schedules.

Give the female employee a definite schedule of duties so they’ll keep busy without bothering the management for instructions

2

3 4

5

6

every few minutes. Women make excellent workers when they have their jobs cut out for them, but they lack initiative in finding work themselves.

Whenever possible, let the employee change from one job to another during the day. Women are inclined to be less nervous and happier with change.

Give every girl an adequate number of rest periods during the day. You have to make some allowances for feminine psychology.

A girl has more confidence and is more efficient if she can keep her hair tidied, apply fresh lipstick, and wash her hands several times a day.

Be tactful when issuing instructions or in making criticisms. Women are often sensitive; they can’t shrug off harsh words the way men do. Never ridicule a woman – it breaks her spirit and cuts off her efficiency.

Be reasonably considerate about using strong language around women. Even though a girl’s husband or father may swear vociferously, she’ll grow to dislike a place of business where she hears too much of this.

Get enough size variety in operators’ uniforms so that each girl can have a proper fit. This point can’t be stressed too much in keeping women happy.

7

8

9

10 11

vol 3 issue 4 Winter 2012 15

Life & tiMes Older volunteers doing great things

Photos: Top, Mary Morwood on assignment in south Africa. Middle: Bruce and Gwen Levick on a side road in the solomons.

Lower: Tony Bray in Kokopo, Papua New Guinea.

Mary Morwoo in south Afr d on assignment ica.

Gwen and Bruce Levick on a side road in the solomons.

, in Kokopo Tony Bray Guinea.

Papua New

Seniors go abroad to give something back vSA has recruited more than 3500 ordinary new Zealanders to work in countries in the Pacific, asia and africa since it was first established in 1962. it now focuses its efforts in the wider Pacific – Melanesia, Polynesia and Timor-Leste. assignments last between three months and two years.Vsa works with its partner organisations to make sure that all assignments are locally identified, locally relevant, and locally delivered. age is no obstacle to becoming a Vsa volunteer. according to volunteer recruitment manager Carolyn Mark, people approaching retirement age, or those who have recently retired, are one of Vsa’s core groups of volunteers.

“The older baby boomers seem to be an adventurous group, and they have a lot to offer,” she says. “They have years of experience, which means they have many skills to share with our partner organisations.” she says it’s important to be in good health – all volunteers must undergo a thorough medical check – and she warns that living conditions are more basic than they are at home. “it can be hot and humid, and the accommodation is usually fairly simple.

Volunteers have to be prepared to walk long distances to do things like get their groceries, and they have to cope with an often erratic electricity supply.”

There is an upper age limit for volunteers of 75, and retired volunteers continue to receive national superannuation while they are on assignment.Vsa pays travel and accommodation costs and also provides a small living allowance.

16 Best of Times

VSA has been sending Kiwi volunteers to share their skills in developing countries for the past 50 years.

ALEX STAINES and SARAH DUNN look at VSA and talk to some of its older volunteers.

oLDer vsa voLunteers sHare tHeir stories bruce and gwen Levick

Gwen Levick and her husband Bruce never expected to become radio personalities when they set off for a one-year Vsa assignment as education advisers in the solomon islands.

But thanks to ed Makira, the weekly education show the wellington couple hosted for the solomon islands Broadcasting Corporation on wednesday nights, they become mildly famous throughout the solomons.

The radio show was just one of several education-related activities that Gwen and Bruce became involved in during their year in Kirakira, the tiny settlement which is the capital of the province of Makira-ulawa.

They also wrote speeches, represented education authorities at official functions, and spent six weeks working with education officials on financial management systems.

The main purpose of their assignment with Vsa was providing leadership and management training for school leaders in the province. it was a task that drew on all the skills the couple had developed during their long careers as teachers and educational managers. But the response they got more than made up for their sometimes uncomfortable journeys.

“it was a real eye opener to realise how much you pick up during your career – how many tools you actually have in your kete,” says Gwen.

“Kirakira is much smaller than honiara, and you have to become very self-reliant,” says Gwen. “i would really recommend it – as long as you don’t go with the idealistic idea that you are going to change things. one of the big lessons i’ve learned is that there is often a good reason why people do things the way they do. often it’s because it works well in their cultural context.”

Mary Morwood

Mary’s first Vsa assignment was a physiotherapy trainer and adviser in Mthatha in the eastern Cape, south africa, in 2008. she is about to head off on another similar assignment in Bougainville. “i worked in Dunedin with a volunteer physiotherapist who’d worked in Vietnam through Vsa and this made me realise i could do more through the same organisation. i think i wanted to go to Bhutan, but when the position working with young disabled adults in south africa came up i thought that would be a great experience,” says Mary.

Mary had done some travelling before

“The older baby boomers seem to be an adventurous group, and they have a lot to offer.”

profiLe Spirituality retiring, though it was not till her four daughters were independent that she considered volunteer work. “i’m always conscious of being a guest in the country where i am volunteering,” says Mary. her entire family has been very supportive of what she’s doing.

The best experience she’s had was in Mthatha. “The mother of a disabled man who i had taught to walk with calipers visited the centre he was staying at and saw her son walk for the first time [see photo – ed]. we both cried! Though there have been many best times. i think it is the friendliness of the people i meet that is the best,” says Mary. i think the best was when the mother of the man i talked about previously who i had taught to walk with calipers visited the centre he was staying and saw her son walked for the first time we both cried! Though there have been many best times. i think it is the friendliness of the people i meet that is the best.”

tony bray

Tony is about to set off on his fourth Vsa assignment to work with the director of education in the Papua new Guinea province of new ireland. all of them have been iT-related – setting up iT networks, providing training, and setting up databases.

Volunteering has sort of become his retirement activity. he’ll be 72 when he gets back from his ‘tour’ in PnG. it all started when Tony was made redundant from his job. he thought, ‘what am i going to do now?’ and then saw an advertisement in the paper looking for volunteers to go to africa. his son was grown up and on his own, he had no mortgage or money worries, and thought, ‘well, volunteering could be quite fun’. “and it has proved to be so,” says Tony. he was in south africa from 2005 to 2007, in Kokopo in east new Britain (Papua new Guinea) from 2009 to 2010, and spent four months in Tonga last year.

“There’s been no worry about the different cultures.you just accept them and go with the flow. at his first assembly at the south african school, there were about 500 people in the hall and he was the only white person. “i said to the maths teacher, ‘i’m the only white fella here’, and he said, ‘oh, so you are! we’d forgotten about that’.”

“The friendship you get through meeting people is by far the best part about volunteering.” you are expected to put in at least a nineto-five workday on assignment. “you usually end up doing a lot more than that because you’re still teaching people after hours. it’s quite a lot of work, but it’s fun.” Tony finds a downside is that the people back home can seem quite humdrum .

Anglican priest and chorister Alison Pitts.

Photos: Karen White.

Keeping the faith Alison Pitts, a resident of Summerset Aotea village in Porirua, was ordained as an Anglican priest later in life, and it came about through music. Best of Times investigates… felt called to be a priest,” said alison. “i she hadn’t been going to church for that long at Pauatahanui after her husband

“i was working as a nurse in the local hospitals,” said alison. she was 57, and decided to retire and devote herself to the died. she was about 45 at the time. she church. she’s been the Pauatahanui parish joined the church choir, and went to a priest assistant ever since. it’s a solitary, summer school in england with the royal self-supporting role. “when i started, i school of Church Music which had its was really quite busy,” said alison. “i was headquarters in a lovely old building helping to build up the congregation called addington Palace near Croydon in at the church at Paremata. as well, i did surrey, the former country residence of services at the other churches around the archbishops of Canterbury. The summer parish.” The parish priestly role is shared. ‘college’ was a residence for six weeks. “i have a very pragmatic spirituality, said There were 35 people from 13 different alison. “There’s always hope.” countries at the school. “now i’m not doing so much work “That was quite life changing,” said out in the community, though i am still alison. The music and the words together doing services,” said alison. “i am running have always spoken to me,” said alison. a singing group called ‘Parish singers’. something profound happened to her in i’m not a great, talented musician, but i’m that beautiful setting. learning to lead this singing group quite alison was on the royal school of positively and i’m getting good stuff out Church Music’s branch committee for of them.” about 10 years, four of those as chairperson. easter was, naturally enough, a busy it’s for her commitment to church music time for alison. Following the combined that alison was made an honorary member parish service on Good Friday morning, of the royal school of Church Music, the st Philips congregation, which ranges at a ceremony last May at Peterborough in age from five to 88, as is traditional, Cathedral in england. Most of these goes to alison’s place for hot-cross buns. international awards are for very talented alison is up-beat about the future and professional hymn writers, cathedral of the church, and church music. organists and choir directors and so forth.

There’s a call for small groups in quiet, she started studying for her licentiate in contemplative worship. Last year 26 theology, first through st John’s Theological priests were ordained as anglican priests, College in auckland, then through the of all ages, many of them self-supporting, ecumenical institute of Distance Theological and from country parishes. “There’s a studies in Christchurch. During the course lot of good music coming out of the of her studies, alison felt called to be more iona community, with peace and justice involved, and was ordained as a deacon in themes,” said alison. “Music from the 1996 and as a priest in 1997. There was a Taizé community in France is just huge ordination service in the wellington wonderful, too.”

Cathedral. There were four other priests For me, spirituality isn’t really about the ordained with alison. supernatural, though, it’s about mystery.” vol 3 issue 4 Winter 2012 17

TRAVELLING ON Going places because you can

Is Azerbaijan the new Gold Coast?

Older travellers are expanding their holiday horizons and seeking adventure in unusual parts of the world that were inaccessible until recently for political and economic reasons.

And many others are seeking the unusual within traditional travel destinations.

ALEX STAINES and SARAH DUNN take a look at this emerging trend.

Calder and Lawson Tours general manager Catherine Gerbich says that seniors are fitter and more active than they were a decade ago.

“We’re finding the internet and increasing globalisation has piqued people’s curiosity about far-reaching destinations. More and more seniors want to immerse themselves in cultures within the less-explored corners of the world.”

A real shift came around 2008, when Calder and Lawson’s walking and ‘travel and learn’ tours began to include places like Mongolia, Uzbekistan,Vietnam, Russia, and Central Europe.

“In 2012, approximately 30 per cent of our walking and ‘travel and learn’ tours will take our guests to adventurous destinations like Sri Lanka, Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan,” says Gerbich.

Catherine believes seniors travel choices have changed because people have more of a “use it or lose it” attitude. They want to feed and develop their minds as well as their bodies and see travel as a stimulant. A

traditional Gold Coast holiday no longer fits this bill. They like the camaraderie that travelling in a group provides and the interesting discussions that develop around the dinner table.

Also, as the world has opened up and become more accessible, there is more choice.

“I believe people now want to visit places that they heard about or learned about, but where travel was forbidden in earlier years,” says Catherine.

Better general health is another reason why senior travellers are more adventurous.

Most are fitter, more health conscious than, say, 20 years ago. Therefore, they feel more physically able to tackle the more unusual or challenging destinations.

“Travelling in a small group, escorted not only by our tour manager but also with a local guide, and using local operators that we know well and trust, reduces risk considerably and provides that safety and security factor to our clients,” says Catherine.

For Tour With Us Now

Adelaide & Murray River Explore Adelaide and the surrounding region. Includes Barossa Valley tour and a 4 night Murray River cruise aboard the paddle-wheeler PS Murray Princess

10 days departs 14 September 2012

Taranaki Rhododendron Festival Coach tour to Taranaki’s Rhododendron Festival. A variety of gardens are visited including Pukeiti & Crosshills. Includes a night at the Grand Chateau Tongariro.

6 days departs 28 October 2012

Tasmania Discover the best of Tasmania Proposed tour departs November 2012

Tours escorted from Auckland.

Phone Shavourn for further information.

Twilight Travel & Tours 0800 999 887 www.twilighttravel.co.nz

A member of Travel Managers Group - IATA Accredited and TAANZ Bonded

18 Best of Times

Neolithic drawings in Gobustan National Park, Azerbaijan.

Calder and Lawson’s top 5

unusual destinations

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Walking China – exploring China on foot, you get a glimpse of the real China “behind the curtain”.

Russia and the Baltics – a destination traditionally clouded in mystery. Russia, along with the Baltic States of Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia were closed to western tourists for many years. Many travel to see what it is really like and to learn more of its rich history.

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Yunnan and Tibet – fascinating history, a troubled past, and a culture totally different from our own.

Uzbekistan – another destination not often seen in tourist brochures. On the famous silk route, the major trading route linking Asia and Europe. Also Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia – again, off the usual tourist radar. Visit ancient civilisations and cultures, with interesting and colourful histories.

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Marquesas by working ship – the Marquesas in French Polynesia are remote and untouched, and the Aranui is the lifeline to the mainland of Tahiti. Travelling by working ship, you become part of that world, while having the opportunity to visit remote islands not often visited by tourists.

Tour With Us Now’s top 5

unusual destinations

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Veil of Rheidol Railway (travel through stunning Welsh scenery in a small steam train) The Scottish Crannog Centre at Loch Tay (where archaeologists have recreated a crannog – an ancient Celtic lake dwelling)

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Vindolanda Roman fort excavation and museum, northern England (which houses some of the finest treasures in Europe) Aberystwyth (seaside town in West Wales) Shrewsbury (English mediaeval town).

director, Geoff Millar, who’s been in the tour operator business for decades, older travellers are increasingly keen on seeking out something a bit different within countries that could be regarded as traditional destinations, such as the UK and Ireland.

“Travellers are becoming more aware that there are more choices of tours where they are not on a coach for eight or nine hours a day,” says Geoff.

“Tour managers have lived and worked in many areas we visit. They are familiar with New Zealanders.”

Barbara Gillespie, who’s 77, and her husband Allan, who’s 82, recently spent nine weeks travelling in the UK, Ireland, and Europe. Barbara was 40 when she took her first overseas trip. Then they really got bitten by the travel bug and visited the Middle East (staying on a kibbutz), Greece, and South America, all with a tour company. “We were in Santiago, Chile, when Lady Di was killed,” says Barbara.

On their own account they’ve been places, too.

In Malaysia while on a bus trip, Barbara got bitten by a monkey and was taken

to hospital by a nun on a scooter; and in Canada, they “saw people who were way out in the wops”. The thing about being part of a tour group is “you don’t have to worry about anything, because it’s all done for you”.

For Barbara, travel is more about enjoyment now, but it’s also about seeing how people live.

“You can sit in your armchair and go to all these places with documentaries and DVDs, but you don’t get the atmosphere that comes from being there.”

Barbara says her age has not stopped her from doing anything she wants to do. “I guess we’d know what our limits are; we’re fairly fit anyway and we like to walk everywhere. Our motto is, ‘You use it while you’ve got it, or you lose it’, so we use it.” She has more time to pick out tours which go to interesting places – she reads magazines and notes down advertisements, picks through newspapers.

“People say to me, how did you hear about that tour?”

Seniors travelling with 50 Plus Travel are increasingly interested in river cruises in Europe and Asia. For Anna Jones, director of 50

Khor Virap, an Armenian Apostolic Church monastery on the Ararat plain in Armenia, with Mt Ararat in the background.

Plus Travel, it’s clear why this should be so. “Nothing compares to the river.

Where else but on the river can you journey into the heart of the world’s greatest cities and towns, and discover the true nature of the land? Comfortable and convenient, it offers a greater variety of destinations than you could not encounter any other way. Travellers spend less time getting there and more time being there,” says Anna.

Joy McLeod (65) and her husband Rod (62) took a cruise down the Volga Baltic Waterway. Joy had never been on a cruise before, though she loved the experience. She liked it that her cabin stayed the same and there was no packing and re-packing: “It becomes just like a little home. When that ship first pulls out of port, it’s the most exciting feeling.”

Joy admitted her family in New Zealand might have been a bit concerned about them travelling to Russia. “It’s a bit of a hangover from years back – behind the Iron Curtain and all that. But it’s a different place these days,” says Joy.

50 Plus Travel’s top 5 unusual destinations 1 Russian river cruise from St Petersburg to Moscow 2 Ukraine river cruise from Odessa to Kiev 3 Prague to Paris, including river cruise through Germany 4 Grand European tour from Amsterdam to Budapest – 3 rivers, 5 countries 5 Turkey, including Nile River cruise.

Small Group Escorted Tours Travel with other like-minded people on tour in 2012 7 day Singapore Garden Festival Tour - 20 July 8 day Chatham Island Tour - 27 September

Contact us today for further details!

TREAT YOURSELF! 29 Day LEISURELY UK TOUR

Join our small group tours (max. 20.)

2013 tour will be June/July.

You may choose to also join our (optional) post tour to Ireland (10 days.)

Minimum numbers apply.

Ask about a private tour for clubs, friends, family etc.

Please call 0800 276312 within New Zealand (64) 3 312 6635 outside New Zealand Or visit

www.tourwithusnow.com NZ Govt. Licenced operator, 18 years experience.

Vol 3 Issue 4 Winter 2012 19

garDening with the Scarrows

If you’re not quite ready to hang up your gardening tools just because of a few killing frosts, winter is a great time to get your soil ready for the coming spring’s planting, says EION SCARROW.

Prepare your spring garden right now Removing accumulated plant debris is a good sanitation practice. Plant refuse provides an ideal place for insects and disease to over-winter. why not turn that refuse into valuable compost? a properly constructed compost pile should create temperatures high enough to destroy insects, diseases, and most weed seeds. once the compost has decomposed (hopefully, by spring), it can be worked into the soil to add organic matter and nutrients. or perhaps, your earlier composting efforts have already yielded some of that black gold?

Tilling and incorporating organic matter into the soil during autumn and winter will save you a lot of effort once spring arrives. adding organic matter will help to improve soil drainage and water-holding capacity and loosen up heavy soils. Materials such as dry tree leaves, grass clippings, manure, or summer mulch should be well decomposed by spring, if dug under in winter. work these materials into the top 10 to 15cm of soil with a rotary hoe or shovel. Garden sites that are prone to erosion by wind or water over winter should not, however, be turned until spring. spring is a magical time of year. it’s when the gardener’s year begins. we can start afresh, put our mistakes behind us, and get out there to do some real gardening. Before the first signs of spring appear, tidying of the garden should be completed. new roses and

fruit trees should have been planted, giving their roots time to settle into place before growth starts. as camellias finish flowering, start pruning them by thinning out all twiggy growth. any growths cluttering the centre of the tree should be removed completely. open up the bush so that light and air can reach all parts of the tree. work in the vege patch in most parts of new Zealand should be in full swing, with preparations for planting or sowing seed. Cultivate empty space by turning the soil and working in spare compost. apply a dressing of dolomite lime 200g/m, letting the rain wash into the soil. autumn-sown green crops can be dug in. The addition of lime 100g/m and blood and bone 100g/m will aid their breakdown. Plants required for early spring planting can be started in seedling trays and kept in a warm, airy, welllit place. in many parts of the country, seed potatoes can be planted. if it’s still too cold, start sprouting them.

The first good feed for all plants should be done just as new roots are starting to penetrate through the soil. ann and i give most of our garden a heavy application of Dig This fertiliser at this stage, and we know that the plants will respond with good strong growth. Mulch heavily with any humic material available.

Strangest in the night

Polyanthus, primulas, and cinerarias will love you if you make weekly applications of liquid fertiliser. Larger, brighter flowers will result. weed around spring-flowering bulbs.

Prune any spring-flowering blossom trees, if necessary. when perennials start growing, apply a light dressing of blood and bone or bone dust around the plants to support sturdy growth. Cut back untidy growth.

Divide overgrown and root-bound clumps.

Roses. Lightly fork over the soil, topdress with animal manures (excluding stable manure), and then start your spring and summer spray programme using copper fungicide. To keep established roses healthy, remove all diseased and dead wood and spindly shoots, and prune back to a clean, plump, outward-facing bud. spray with lime sulphur, one part in 15 parts water for control of scale insects, moss, and lichens before pruning.

Try Gladioli. Belonging to the iris family, the easy-to-grow corms of Gladioli can be planted now. Prepare the soil for gladdies by working plenty of animal manures well into the soil, which must be free-draining and exposed to plenty of sun.

Plant corms 15cm apart and 10cm deep.

They usually take three months to flower from planting. Make successional plantings from now on.

GWYneTh Jones sent in this lovely original yarn…

LAsT TuEsDAY NIGHT, I read in bed for much longer than I had intended. It was very late when I switched off the bedside lamp and slithered quietly beneath the bedclothes, mindful that steve was sleeping peacefully beside me. The rain was tapping out a comforting patter on the roof, and before long, I had drifted into that delicious state before deep sleep. Through the mists of drowsiness, I became aware of some very strange sounds. I lay stiff in the bed as I slowly opened my eyes. The noise sounded again: Arrrgghh! Tweeep! Yooowwwl!

Phowee! Ta-de-dooo! Yoowwwl!

I turned my head in the direction of the sounds and realised they were coming from steve. He was uttering dreadful, guttural noises, punctuated with high-pitched yowls.

“My God, he must be having an awful nightmare,” I thought.

20 Best of Times

flower garden

Leaning across, I gave him a gentle shake, at the same time crooning, “shhh now. It’s only a dream.”

The noise stopped and his breathing returned to normal.

Next morning when steve brought me my cup of tea, he sat on the bed as I sipped it. “You know,” he said, “I had the strangest dream last night.” He paused. “I dreamt I had gone to the Eastern Beach country Music club and they asked me to sing. When I was halfway through my song, I began to shake and I thought you were calling me.”

My eyes widened and I spluttered into my teacup. Was he saying that terrible yowling that had woken me up was him performing an item at a country and western club? If so, I don’t think they would call upon him for an encore.

The irony is that steve has a lovely singing voice!

past Lives

HeaLtH tips

commercial postcard signed by Felix von Luckner. Portrait photo taken c. 1920 by Langhammer, cassel. http://www.flickr.com/photos/drakegoodman/6640305379

The German pirate Regarded as one of the most colourful figures of the 20th century, Count Graf Felix von Luckner had a close connection with new Zealand. at 13, von Luckner, from a noble German family, ran away from home and signed up as a cabin boy on a russian sailing ship bound for australia. he had a bewildering array of occupations in australia: seller of the salvation army’s war Cry, assistant lighthouse keeper, kangaroo hunter, circus worker, professional boxer, fisherman, and seaman.

Possessed of enormous strength, von Luckner could tear up large telephone directories with his bare hands. after shipping out to the americas, von Luckner was a guard in the Mexican army for President Díaz, a railway construction worker, barman, and tavern keeper. he served time in a Chilean jail accused of stealing pigs, suffered broken legs twice, and was thrown out of hospital in Jamaica for lack of funds.

Von Luckner was also an accomplished magician – Kaiser wilhelm was fascinated by his tricks and frequently invited him to entertain important dignitaries. at 20, von Luckner attained his mate’s certificate at a German navigation training school and volunteered to serve in the imperial navy for a year to earn a commission. he had vowed not to return to his family unless he was in uniform – and they were overjoyed to see him, having given him up for lost.

Von Luckner was called up to serve in the navy in 1912, and then when the First world war broke out, he saw action at the Battle of heligoland Bight, and the Battle of Jutland. in 1916, von Luckner was given the captaincy of a German raider, the Seeadler, a converted threemasted sailing vessel, and over the next six months, sank 14 allied ships while cunningly evading capture. he was proud of his reputation for destroying enemy chattels and also

for keeping the crews of the vessels he destroyed safe – only one person died in all of these raids. while sheltering at a coral atoll in the society islands in mid-1917, Seeadler drifted onto the reef and was wrecked, stranding the crew and their 46 prisoners.Von Luckner and several of his men managed to sail to Fiji in an open boat salvaged from the Seeadler.

Their luck didn’t hold, though, and they were arrested by Fijian police and transferred to the prisoner-of-war camp on Motuihe island near auckland. his daring escape from the island a few months later only served to boost his folk-hero status. he tricked the camp commander and made off in his boat, Pearl, with some other prisoners. They reached the Coromandel Peninsula, where they commandeered a scow, the Moa. with the help of a handmade sextant and a map copied from a school atlas, they sailed for the Kermadec islands. a pursuing auxiliary ship, Iris, guessed his probable destination and caught up with him.Von Luckner spent the remainder of the war in various Pow camps in new Zealand before being repatriated to Germany in 1919. in 1921, the book about his adventures became a bestseller. he decided to put his fame as a war hero renowned for causing minimal casualties to use, and he sailed to the us in 1926 on a twoyear goodwill mission. he was a sensation. in 1937, he and his wife sailed around the world and were welcomed enthusiastically when they arrived in new Zealand. hitler tried to use von Luckner for nazi propaganda purposes during the second world war, but von Luckner wouldn’t cooperate and was implicated in a scandal. he retired from public life to the town of halle. he helped a Jewish woman escape to the us in 1943 and negotiated the safe surrender of halle with the americans at the end of the war, although he did not return to the town, since the nazis had condemned him to death. after the second world war, Luckner moved to sweden, where he lived with his swedish second wife, until his death in Malmö at the age of 84 in 1966.

Avoiding shingles pain sHingLes is a painfuL, unsightly viral infection that affects up to one in three people during their lives. It is difficult to treat, and in severe cases, can cause pain that may persist for months or even years.

Anyone who has ever had chickenpox is at risk of contracting shingles, and risk and severity of this viral disease increases with age.

“Most GPs will have experienced the challenge of trying to help a patient cope with this debilitating condition. It is difficult to treat the pain effectively and coping with shingles can severely inhibit a patient’s normal lifestyle and activities,” comments Maureen Dawson, manager, vaccines, MsD (Merck, sharp and Dohme New Zealand Ltd).

People aged 50+ are advised to contact their GPs to enquire about a vaccine called Zostavax, a prescription medicine, which will cost the patient around $200 per dose. Only one dose is needed.

If a vaccinated person does contract shingles, the vaccine can help prevent post herpetic neuralgia (PHN), the long-lasting nerve pain that can follow shingles. It is estimated that 40,000–80,000 patients are suffering from PHN in Australia and New Zealand.

More information can be found at www.shingles.co.nz This story was supplied by Merck & co.

vol 3 issue 4 Winter 2012 21

SUPPLIED BY

Puzzles page MEMORY LANE 3.4

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DOWN 1. Sam Cooke hit, ... Gang (5) 2. He played driver Stan Butler in the 1970s comedy On The Buses (3,6) 3. Association founded in 1910, shortly after the Boy Scouts (4,6) 4. First president of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal ... (7)

5. Leslie Charteris’ character, nicknamed ‘The Saint’, Simon ... (7) 6. Dragnet’s opening lines: “The story you are about to see is ... Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent” (4) 7. Communist slogan, Workers of the world, ...! (5) 8. Tarzan Of The Apes author, Edgar Rice ... (9) 14. Singer purr-fectly cast as Catwoman in the TV’s Batman series (6,4) 15. The universe beyond our solar system (4,5) 17. Indonesian province Papua was formerly called this (5,4) 19. Anne ... was the first to sing the English words of Lili Marlene during WWII (7) 20. Winston Churchill declared, “I am prepared to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of ... me is another matter” (7) 22. Upstairs, Downstairs’ Rose Buck was played by Jean ... (5) 25. Marion Michael Morrison became cowboy actor, John .. (5) 26. Word for ‘excellent’ much used by jazz musicians in the 40s (4)

T T HUMB E R N U MA UR I E R P E T R L E V E T O A E U ROA R I NG R R H ME TM I S S E H A E V A N EW T K J A I I T A L Y N T Y N GH TMA R E

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gas fire place.

For immediate enquiries and to receive an information pack: Phone: (09) 356 1810 or 0800 623 264 Email: info@oceanialiving.co.nz

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ACROSS 1. Suave star of North By Northwest (4,5) 6. Fairy tale, Tom ... (5) 9. John Osborne play, Look Back In ... (5) 10. Writer, Daphne Du ... (7) 11. US firearms organisation formerly headed by actor Charlton Heston (1,1,1) 12. Leader of the Free French forces during WWII, Charles de ... (6) 13. Power frequently exercised by Security Council members during the Cold War (4) 15. Operation Dynamo in June 1940 saw the evacuation of over 300,000 Allied Brand new retirement village apartments troops from this French port (7) in the Auckland suburb of Meadowbank 16. Cagney & Bogart film, The ... Twenties (7) Imagine for a moment living in a pleasant and likeable place with APN links Educational 18. Paris’ fashionable avenue since the people like you as neighbours; and good transport putting Media family, friends, shops and services within easyMemory reach. Lane 558 blank grid late 1700s, Champs ... (7) 20. Rodgers & Hart 1940 hit, Have You ...

On those days when people visit or when youAPNMemoryLane558blank.pdf just want to relax at Jones (3,4) ©spend Lovatts Publications 17/02/2011 home, a well –designed apartment in which to time.

Plus; 21. Joan ... starred in nearly all of those when you want to mix and mingle with neighbours, there’s both an funny Carry On films (4) indoor and outdoor community area for all to enjoy.

23. The World Health Organisation, From October 2012, this is just the sort of warm and welcoming established in 1948, has its community you will be able to enjoy right here at Meadowbank headquarters in this Swiss city (6) Retirement Village. Think of it as a “homely Hotel’ – somewhere 24. Tom Jones hit, What’s ... Pussycat? (3) comfortable, familiar and smart.

27. Arthur Hailey’s 1968 best-selling novel about planes (7) Currently under construction and due for completion in 28. This European country won the second October 2012 are: and third FIFA World Cups (5) 1. New one and two-bedroom; and two-bedroom with study 29. There’s No Business Like Show apartments.

Business singer, ... Merman (5) 2. A community centre with dining room hospitality area and 30. Tyrone Power drama, ... Alley (9) 3. An outdoor community area with pergola, seating and BBQ area.

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Contact: Bruce Cullington Ph: 09 268 8522 email: bruce@kirkade.co.nz www.acaciacovevillage.co.nz

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A R YGR A N E I T NGE R A V L T R A GA U L R U R UN K I R K E D L Y S E E S S H I MS GE N A C L I R POR T S O O T H E L N I

The apartment has 2 WCs, a separate computer area and an amazing top-of-the-range kitchen.

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D E E P S P A C E

We currently have a 102sqm, 2-bedroom apartment available with a large deck overlooking our full-size bowling green.

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A New Zealand-owned and operated lifestyle village situated on the beautiful Wattle Downs Peninsula.

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pdf - 17/02/2011

Enjoy the Good Life at Acacia Cove

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Get free stuff!

Write your preferred giveaway, your name and address on the back of an envelope and post to: Best of Times Giveaways, PO Box 200, Wellington 6140.

Or email: prizes@bestoftimes.co.nz Closing date: 20 July 2012.

kiwi CLassiC turns 40

it’s 40 years since witi ihimaera’s Pounamu, Pounamu, was first published. it was the first work of fiction published by a Ma-ori writer, it was the first collection of short stories looking at contemporary Ma-ori life, and it launched the career of one of new Zealand’s best-known authors. Penguin Books is celebrating with this gorgeous new hard-cover edition. 3

rest for tHe wiCkeD

Murray Baxter is a cop going undercover. his mission is simple – to finally get the goods on his oldest rival. Both men are now in their 70s, and Murray’s crime scene is Knightsbridge Gardens, a resthome where the residents are determined to go out with a bang instead of a whimper.

Classic nZ film with top cast. 6

singing LegenD Does it again

Multi-award winning new Zealand singer suzanne Prentice has just released I’ll Do It All Over Again – her first studio album in 15 years, on the heels of touring with the That’s Country show.

The end result is in suzanne’s words, “The best album i have ever recorded; i couldn’t be happier with it.” 6

Haribo goLDbear is Here!

all over the world haribo Goldbear has been sharing his special happiness and having fun with children and grownups alike.

Check out the full hariBo range which includes Tangfastics, starmix, happy Cola, Berries, Tropi Frutti and of course original Goldbears.

Kids and Grownups love hariBo. Win a prize pack that includes Haribo product and a Nike jacket (size mens XL).

our figHting spirit

This beautiful book marks the 75th anniversary of the royal new Zealand air Force. it traces the sweep of the air Force from the early 20th century to the beginning of the 21st, and extends beyond the romance of early military aviation and the drama of ww2 to describe the diversity of its recent roles. 3

oLD reCipes for MoDern Cooks

Grace & Flavour is a celebration of traditional anglo-Kiwi food. Presenting 90 classic recipes from vintage new Zealand cookbooks, Barbara Keen takes us on a nostalgic culinary journey, rediscovering the delicious, economical food that our grandmothers and great-grandmothers really used to make. 2

keep warM tHis winter witH a sunbeaM HeateD tHrow

safe & sound™ heater Throw - ideal for use on the lounge, armchair or bed this versatile heated Throw provides cosy comfort wherever you need it. Made from soft plush micro mink fabric with a stylish Florentine print, it features sunbeam’s exclusive sleepPerfect® Technology which continually senses and adjusts to changes in room and body temperature to maintain your selected heat setting.

esCape into tHe gLaMorous 20s

an extraordinary story of selfdiscovery, heartbreak, and love in its many forms set against the glittering backdrop of new york in the roaring 20s, The Chaperone follows a trip that changes the lives of two women for ever. 3

bring out tHe best in your faMiLy

in Growing Great Families, parenting gurus ian and Mary Grant outline the keys to creating a healthy, fun-filled family. The book is filled with practical tips and strategies that anyone can use.

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vol 3 issue 4 Winter 2012 23

Do you have questions about living in a retirement village?

The Department of Building and Housing provides free independent advice and information for people living in or thinking about moving into a retirement village.

Call us free on: 0800 83 62 62 or visit our website www.dbh.govt.nz The Department of Building and Housing is the government agency responsible for overseeing the Retirement Villages Act.