LOCAL NEWS
KEN RING:
WEATHER BY THE MOON - AUCKLAND WEATHER DIARY, DECEMBER 2021 December features average rain and temperatures, but with cloudier conditions. The first week is the wettest. The second week is the driest with highest atmospheric pressures and coolest nights. There is heavy rain again in the third week, and, after a changeable Xmas Day, the last week is expected to be dry and sunny. The barometer may average about 1016mbs. Most rain will be around 7th and 20th. The 11th/12th should be the best weekend for outdoor activities.
- 20th. Chances are also good for around noon of 9th - 12th, and 25th - 27th.
For fishers, the highest tides are around 5th. The best fishing bite-times in the east are around dusk on 1st - 4th and 17th
Always allow 24-hour error for all forecasting. (KEN RING)
For gardeners, planting is best on 5th/6th (waxing moon ascending), and pruning is best on 20th (waning moon descending). For preserving and longer shelf-life, pick crops or flowers on neap tide days of 12th and 28th.
For future weather for any date, and the 2021 NZ Weather Almanac, see www.predictweather.com.
Opinions expressed in Ponsonby News are not always the opinion of Alchemy Media Limited & Ponsonby News.
LEYS INSTITUTE UPDATE: GOOD
AND BAD
First the bad news: the back of the Leys Institute Gymnasium was comprehensively graffitied in Level 3 lockdown in early November. Thanks to the efforts of Local Board member Adriana Christie it was removed reasonably promptly. But it’s a worrying precedent – as the Leys Library and Gymnasium have been shut up and vacant for nearly two years now, they are possibly being seen as derelict and a target for vandalism. It is hoped that council maintenance staff are constantly checking the buildings.
The group will meet with a series of five hui, starting in early December, through to early March. They will cover the history and current state of the Leys buildings, looking at the opportunities present, commencing concept designs and providing feedback on draft designs.
The good news is that the steering group looking at the future of the Leys Institute has now been established. Members of the group include Local Board chairperson Richard Northey, Leys librarian Chloe Fryer, Helen Geary from Friends of Leys Institute, a member of the Leys family, representatives from St Mary’s Bay, Herne Bay and Freeman’s Bay residents’ associations, along with several other community representatives, mana whenua and council staff.
Friends of Leys Institute would like to be able to represent the views of its 225 members, so this is your opportunity to have your say on how you wish the buildings to be utilised and upgraded.
Also joining the group are conservation architects Robin Byron of Heritage New Zealand and Antony Matthews, who has a long history with the buildings, going back over 20 years.
heleng@maxnet.co.nz, 021 208 7490
Please do send in your thoughts and ideas for the future of the Leys Library and Gymnasium to the email address below: Helen Geary, Friends of Leys Institute Co-ordinator,
44 PONSONBY NEWS+ December 2021
PUBLISHED FIRST FRIDAY EACH MONTH (except January)
