Extra

Can you help us to solve a mystery?

Wendy Crane popped into Aratoi on a recent Saturday to join in with our Curiosity Fayre event; we had asked the community to bring in some curious objects that could be discussed with our panel of experts – Gareth Winter, Sarah McClintock and antiques expert Peter Wedde.

We had quite the range of curios, from diamond rings, Russian icon paintings, kinetic moneyboxes and Chinese Ming bowls.

But what Wendy brought in baffl ed us all. Found on her property on the outskirts of Greytown, buried deep underground, these objects were discovered when she was digging out roots from a fenceline tree. She initially thought these objects were some kind of spoon. She had roughly dated them from the 40s or 50s as the trees were planted then and had grown over them.

However, on closer inspection, these three spoons were fashioned out of thick No 8 wire, all exactly the same, purposefully twisted and bent to form a handle of sorts and a base. The base was made from a type of concrete, fi lled and shaped perfectly to fi t the wire surrounding. All the Curiosity Fayre experts were a bit confused, what where they? What could they possibly be used for?

We are used to strange mysterious objects. The Masterton Museum: A Cabinet of Curiosities is full of strange objects with hidden stories ready to be uncovered.

Do you know what they are or what they were used for? We would love to unravel this mystery.

Call us on [06] 3700001 or email info@ aratoi.co.nz if you have any information that could help Wendy uncover the true identity of the objects she discovered.

However, on closer inspection, these three spoons were fashioned out of thick No 8 wire, all exactly the same,

Wendy Crane and her mysterious ‘spoons’. PHOTOS/SUPPLIED

WAIRARAPA WORD

Wairarapa Word celebrates 10 years

Wairarapa Word has been off ering a free monthly programme for the community ever since 2012.

This year marks its 10th anniversary and celebrations have been happening all year long – the 2022 line-up featured: Mary Holm, John Summers, Jillian Sullivan, Sue Orr with Noelle McCarthy, Charity Norman at Yarns in Barns, Kate Camp, and the fi nale, Caren Wilton interviewing top foraging expert Johanna Knox.

First up, the prizewinning author Kate Camp will tell us [true] stories from her memoir, You Probably Think This Song Is About You at Carterton Events Centre on November 13, at 3pm. All welcome, koha. Camp was also the voice behind “Kate’s Klassics”, which aired on RNZ for 20 years.

“I love reading from and chatting about the book, because of the response from audiences,” Camp said.

“People really connect with it, it reminds them of their own embarrassing moments, their own struggles – or maybe it just reminds them of their grandparents’ windowsill. There’s something very Kiwi in the mix of raw honesty and humour which I think appeals to people too.”

“Never apologise, never explain,” Camp’s mother used to say, and whether visiting her boyfriend in prison, canvassing doorto-door for Greenpeace, in a corporate toilet with sodden underwear, or facing the doctor at an IVF clinic, Camp doesn’t.

The result is a memoir brimming with hard-won wisdom and generous humour; a story that, above all, rings true.

To fi nish off the 2022 season, foraging expert Johanna Knox [Ngāti Tukorehe, Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga] comes to Wairarapa. Knox is the author of The Forager’s Treasury – The essential guide to fi nding and using wild plants in Aotearoa, Guardians of Aotearoa - Protecting New Zealand’s Legacies and Ethical Fashion.

Knox will discuss The Forager’s Treasury with Carterton’s Caren Wilton [December 4, 3pm, Carterton Events Centre]. Knox asked attendees to please wear a mask for the session. Books will be available for purchase and signing.

Knox will also lead a writing workshop at the Greytown Library on December 5 [10am, space is limited - email: dan@wls.org.nz]

This two-part programme is in collaboration with Wairarapa Library Service and Wairarapa Herb Society.

Wairarapa Word thanks Carterton Creative Communities and Almo’s Books for their support. For more information, email: events.waiword@ gmail.com

Author Kate Camp. PHOTO/EBONY LAMB

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