New Coastie

Ed Amon edamonnz@gmail.com

Looking for the ultimate all-seasons climate control? You’ve come to the right place!

View Services: We are your go-to heat pump retailers and installers, servicing Auckland’s North Shore, Whangaparāoa & surrounds. We offer a wide range of heat pumps from the best brands in the industry, and with 24 years of industry experience, we can help you choose and install the right heat pump to deliver complete comfort to your home or office all year round Don’t let the weather get you down, contact us about installing a heat pump today. We also provide after-sales care, which includes regular servicing from our technicians, maintenance, and warranty claims and repairs if required.

We keep our prices sharp to give you the best deal. For quality heat pump specialists that you can rely on in Whangaparāoa, choose COOLTHERM.

New Coastie under construction

I am going to have a baby this summer. The news did not come as a shock because we planned it. The shock came when I saw the first scan of the tiny wiggly worm growing in my wife’s belly. There was a sudden current of joy. However, the joy could not be shared with the world because societal convention dictated that I wait until a healthy fourteenweek scan. That seven-week wait was a very anxious time because there is a greater chance of miscarriage. It was also an anxious time because I had my mother on my back for the last couple of years about giving her a grandchild. Since our wedding, every time I talked to her, she would interrogate me like the prominent New Zealand journalist, John Campbell, about my “progress”. Thankfully, the fourteen-week scan got an excellent pass mark. It was time to inform people about the arrival of a new human being in my family. My mother was as joyous as John Campbell whenever the Hurricanes win at Super Rugby. A poor goat in Pakistan got the short end of the stick because my parents sacrificed it as a custom and distributed the meat to people who cannot afford to eat meat. My baby, only fourteen weeks in the belly, was already, indirectly, not a vegetarian. Poor goat. Thank goodness John Campbell does not sacrifice a goat whenever the Hurricanes win.

My mother did go a bit overboard by crediting God for the whole thing. Calm down Mum, my wife and I had something to do with it. We implemented technological and mathematical prowess of the 21st century to pin down the baby making window to a day in a month. Two months into it and et voilà!

With the joy came the dread. I looked at our house and it is a hazard bonanza for a baby. I have got to fix it. The gaps in the stairs and the railing, the chic, sharp cornered furniture, and floor level electrical sockets to name a few hazards. Then I looked at our bank account and the baby is a hazard bonanza for our finances. Do not get me started on the hundreds and thousands of dollars the baby products market is salivating to take from us just by selling me a stroller. I cannot even imagine what my wife is going through. She is doing all the work.

I hear that a parent’s frame of reference for life changes once the baby is born. You are not the centre of the universe anymore. I am looking forward to that. I was getting tired of myself anyway. I will take in the dread and the joy and go with it. I carry my ancestors with me and now I am going to be somebody’s ancestor. The kind of ancestor I will be is completely on me. My life is for my pepi and I will give it my sincere best.

We have been providing quality heat pump installation and maintenance services throughout Whangaparāoa and beyond. With 24 years of experience in the industry, you can have peace of mind knowing our qualified technicians will deliver stellar service that is like no other. We offer a wide range of heat pumps from the best brands in the industry; Daikin and Mitsubishi Electric. With our years of experience and knowledge of these brands, we can help you choose and install the right heat pump to deliver complete comfort to your home or office. No matter what make or model of heat pump you’re after, we have something to suit everyone’s preferences and budget

Maintenance & Repairs: We also provide maintenance services to ensure that your heat pumps are running smoothing and efficiently. If you bought your heat pump from us, we offer our workmanship guarantee for the full length of the warranty on your heat pump, which is a five years Manufacturers Warranty on both Mitsubishi Electric and Daikin. Doing simple maintenance yourself, such as cleaning the filters regularly, is important to reduce the servicing needed. However, if your heat pump does need a good deep clean of its filters and/or fans etc, we can put you in contact with experts that are part of our extended team to get your heat pump working well again.

Pricing starts from $145+GST for repairs or maintenance $120+GST

‘Hope in the face of loss’: Hospice honours long-term volunteers

Harbour Hospice last week honoured longstanding volunteers and staff for their service, as the charity celebrates a milestone anniversary.

Of a total of 125 volunteers and 25 staff members across Harbour Hospice awarded for service ranging from five to 35 years, 30 of them serving the Hibiscus Coast community were recognised at an event in Red Beach.

Among them was Carol Bell of Army Bay, whose 25 years of volunteering has included working in Harbour Hospice shops, baking cakes, and giving new life to donated dry flowers by creating bouquets to be sold.

“It’s nice to help people and it makes you feel good,” the 72-year-old said of her work, adding that it also keeps her busy – “and the more busy you are the more energy you get.”

Topping the list for long service was Jan Adams, honoured for 30 years of volunteering ranging from fundraising events to creating quilts for patients. she said. “And the years just clock up. It’s not like I’m trying to attain the years – they clock up because you enjoy what you’re doing, and it’s meaningful.”

Glennis Farrell and Doreen Bunker, both working in Harbour Hospice shops, received 25-year badges.

The dress show was inspired by reminiscences shared by patients over Yvonne’s years as a volunteer life story writer. Typically, Yvonne will sit with a patient for about an hour at a time, allowing them to tell their stories, which often tend to be about their youth.

“You’re given a privilege to enter into someone’s history,” she says. “It’s really lovely.” opportunity to show our volunteers just how much we appreciate them, as well as thank them for their dedication, hard work and loyalty,” said chief executive Jan Nichols.

“Without the dedicated support of our volunteers – whether they were there at the start or joined us last year – we are incredibly grateful to them all,” she said. “Without our volunteers we couldn’t provide the community with the palliative care that we do.”

Recognised for 15 years’ service was Yvonne Payne of Stanmore Bay, who recently organized a show featuring original wedding dresses from the 1950s through to the present, raising $15,500 for Harbour Hospice.

“I do what I do for hospice because I like everything about it, the reason behind it,”

This year’s awards come as Harbour Hospice marks its 40th birthday. Over the decades it has grown from a one-car, one-nurse operation to one with more than 230 staff supported by more than 1200 volunteers. Last year those volunteers enabled the provision of free care for 1239 patients and their families.

“Our long-service awards give us an

During the awards ceremony, Jan read out excerpts of a letter from a woman whose family was touched by Harbour Hospice staff and volunteers.

“Your work is so important for those dealing with the end of life crisis,” the writer concluded. “But just as importantly it affirms values that are often hidden in society – giving heart in times of sadness, and hope in the face of loss.”

Driving Miss Daisy Hibiscus Coast

Driving Miss Daisy Hibiscus Coast

Driving Miss Daisy Hibiscus Coast

freedom with our safe, reliable

Keep your independence and freedom with our safe, reliable companion driving service.

Keep your independence and freedom with our safe, reliable companion driving service.

We can drive and accompany you to:

We can drive and accompany you to:

We can drive and accompany you to: our independence and freedom with our safe, reliable companion driving service.

•Medical and other appointments

We can drive and accompany you to:

•Medical and other appointments

•Family/social occasions

• Medical/other appointments

• Family/social occasions

•Medical and other appointments ocial occasions

•Shopping trips

• Shopping trips

•Scenic drives

• Scenic drives

•Take your pets to the vets

• Take your pets to the vets

Total Mobility Scheme cards accepted. ACC contracted supplier.

•Take your pets to the vets accepted. ACC contracted supplier.

Total Mobility Scheme cards accepted. ACC contracted supplier.

Total Mobility Scheme cards accepted. ACC contracted supplier.

Bookings essential, call Dave & Kathryn today: Ph: 09 428 4490 / 021 035 0431 hibiscus@drivingmissdaisy.co.nz www.drivingmissdaisy.co.nz

Bookings essential, call Dave & Kathryn today: hibiscus@drivingmissdaisy.co.nz

Driving Miss Daisy Hibiscus Coast

Bookings essential, call Dave & Kathryn today: Ph: 09 428 4490 / 021 035 0431 hibiscus@drivingmissdaisy.co.nz www.drivingmissdaisy.co.nz

Driving Miss Daisy Hibiscus Coast

Driving Miss Daisy Hibiscus Coast