THE BLUESKIN BAYLEAF: Hampden Apple Harvest Day

THE BLUESKIN BAYLEAF

Apple Harvest

by Rowan Holt

On 10 April I had such fun at the Hampden Apple Harvest Day. I was
able to persuade the council to allow me to hold my first community
hands on cooking school, where I showed my "students" how to prepare
Baked Apples. It was great success so I thought I'd share the recipe
with you. I'm very much looking forward to my next school session!

Medium/large cooking apples, remove the core. I found a brilliant
apple corer for $1 at the Seacliff market. Keep a look out for one, as
they are hard to find in the shops. If you like, with a small knife
run a line around the centre circumference of the apple. This will
stop the skin bursting when cooking.

Sticky fruit – use a mix and match of what you fancy. Try dates, figs,
prunes, dried apricots, cherries or crystallized ginger. Chop this up
into fine little bits and put in a small bowl.

Spices – in your mortar and pestle (you can buy economical and
effective ones either at centre city new world or the asian
supermarket on Howe St for about $20 and you will use it all the time)
put the flavours you desire. Try black or pink peppercorns, cardamom
pods, star anise, cloves, and cinnamon. Choose a maximum of 3 spices
otherwise the taste can become confusing. Grind these to a fine powder
and remove any thing that looks like it will stuck in your teeth (pod
shell, any woody bits.) Put this too, in the small bowl.

Add a knob of butter, a spoon of brown sugar and a pinch of salt. The
salt takes the sickly sweetness away and brings out the flavour of the
spices.

Massage this all together with the back of a wooden spoon or clean
hands. Make it into a paste.

Have a 30cm square piece of tin foil ready per apple. Place the apple
in the centre and stuff the cavity full with the paste. Wrap up the
apple tight and put in a baking dish. Once you have prepared all the
apples you wish, pop them in the oven for 15 minutes bake at 180
degrees.

Serve with yoghurt, mascarpone, cream or ice cream for a supper treat.

--
--
Ā ā Ē ē Ī ī Ō ō Ū ū
From blueskin.co.nz and 'Blueskin News' published by Blueskin Media:
voluntary/non-profit community publishers in Blueskin Bay (Seacliff,
Warrington, Evansdale, Waitati, Doctors Point), Dunedin, New Zealand.
All material sent to or published by us is "copyleft" in the public
domain and may be freely shared, archived, re-edited and republished.
If you want to credit the source it's "blueskin.co.nz".

Waitati Open Orchards

By Jason Ross

It's time to plan winter plantings of fruit trees and order the trees. WOO
will be meeting the first week of May to plan for this winter's maintenance
and new plantings. Where to plant and what varieties?

The April Harvest Market lacked crowds due to the weather, those that made
it found the weather calmed and warmed nicely just for the duration of the
market! We did though have abundant autumn fruit. We had fun making some
special apple juice blends (apple and fresh ground ginger was my favourite).
We also did some juicing of one variety at a time; the unknown green apple
made a lovely light green, tart juice.

Hampden Apple Day
This was a fun day with about 40 varieties of apples on display. Many
people brought fruit to have us try to identify, by comparing to the fruit
on display or by looking them up in reference books. It was appreciated that
identification is a difficult task as in the Otago area there is thought to
be at least 600 varieties of apples growing in people's backyards. Hampden
is in the process of planning open orchard plantings of old varieties for
its streets.

Check out this fantastic blog
Written by our very own Hillary, the giant impossible vegetable grower. She
has turned a very steep north-east-facing clay section into a large garden
producing stacks of vegetables. Many fine specimens have been
seen on the WOO harvest market stall. The purple beans were beautiful.
Hillary's blog gives enthusiastic accounts of both her gardening and her
cooking. Inspiring stuff. Love the photos Hillary, more please! Find
the blot at www.selfsufficiencydreams.blogspot.com

Waitati Open Orchards is a group of keen folk on a mission to plant fruit
trees in public spaces around Waitati for all to enjoy. Email
waitatiopenorchard@gmail.com to join our mailing list.

Photo: Brown Street fruit tree planters

Man Freed From Cage

By Lynnaire Johnston

Waitati animal rights activist Carl Scott was last week freed from the
cage he has been occupying on the main road in Waikouaiti for the past
month.
Carl, well known locally and online for his anti-animal cruelty
stance, received national media coverage for giving up his usual life
to draw attention to the plight of caged hens. While a change is being
planned to the appalling conditions that our egg-layers live in, Carl
does not believe the changes go far enough.
He chose to highlight the issue by spending a month in a cage that was
similar in size to that occupied by chickens, relative to his size. It
was not large enough for him to stand up and was only metres from the
busy highway.
Carl's efforts have been supported by animal welfare group SAFE, with
many visitors dropping by his cage to offer moral support. Some have
even worn chicken outfits and carried placards to draw even more
attention to the issue.
Carl celebrated his "release" with a vegan potluck dinner at Waitati
Hall last Friday night with his supporters.
To add your voice to those wanting better living conditions for caged
hens, visit nocages.org.nz

WARRINGTON PLAYCENTRE column

WARRINGTON PLAYCENTRE

Konnichiwa friends! The first term has flown by in a blur of fun,
creativity and exploration at Warrington Playcentre. Early in the term
we spent a delightful morning on the beach, chasing waves, rampaging
through the sand dunes, rowing our sand-boats and gathering beach
treasures to take back to create with. Many tired and happy children
were seen heading home at lunchtime.

We welcomed Freddie and Phoebe and also some new friends from
Christchurch who have escaped the shaking in their neighbourhood.
Welcome Lucy!

Birthday Greetings and celebrations go out to Ben, Amelia and Freddie
– we hope lots of fun, partying and cake played a big part in your
day.

Our green fingers came out during the term when we discovered a huge
quantity of potatoes hiding under the soil in our garden patch. Even
more excitement when some carrots were discovered, rapidly washed and
devoured by hungry mouths. Pippa helped the children to peel the spuds
and into the oven they went for roasting. I think it was the quietest
end to a session, as all that was heard was munching and mm-ing: they
were delicious.

WANTED: Someone with a Course 2 qualification, that is able to work
with us on Wednesdays for 4 paid hours. This position would start as
soon as possible and is for the 2011 year. Please contact us if you
are available.

If you are interested in joining us this year we are open Wednesdays
and Fridays 9:15am to 12:15pm, phone the Playcentre 027 227 7329 -
we'd love to meet you.

--
--
Ā ā Ē ē Ī ī Ō ō Ū ū
From blueskin.co.nz and 'Blueskin News' published by Blueskin Media:
voluntary/non-profit community publishers in Blueskin Bay (Seacliff,
Warrington, Evansdale, Waitati, Doctors Point), Dunedin, New Zealand.
All material sent to or published by us is "copyleft" in the public
domain and may be freely shared, archived, re-edited and republished.
If you want to credit the source it's "blueskin.co.nz".

NOTICE: Community Tree Planting

Community Tree Planting

Warrington Reserve, Sunday May 15, 10 am-1 pm

Come and help the Warrington Reserve Group and the DCC continue the
work of establishing native plantings at the reserve.

Bring a spade, wheelbarrow and shovel (for moving mulch), warm clothes
and friends and family.

We will provide a cuppa and bickies. All Welcome. For information
phone Karen 4822762

Firefighters line up for Anzac Day

Waitati volunteer firefighters Paul Clements, Dave Hardisty, Brent
Bell, Amanda Church, Lindsay Scott, Keith Templeton, Seraya Figgins
and Sharo Brogan pose with a wreath at the Cenotaph on Anzac Day, 25
April 2011. Photo: Blueskin News

--
--
Ā ā Ē ē Ī ī Ō ō Ū ū
From blueskin.co.nz and 'Blueskin News' published by Blueskin Media:
voluntary/non-profit community publishers in Blueskin Bay (Seacliff,
Warrington, Evansdale, Waitati, Doctors Point), Dunedin, New Zealand.
All material sent to or published by us is "copyleft" in the public
domain and may be freely shared, archived, re-edited and republished.
If you want to credit the source it's "blueskin.co.nz".

"News" influence felt afar

By Lynnaire Johnston

Blueskin News is, as you will be aware, produced each month by a group
of volunteers keen to give everyone in the community an opportunity to
be heard.
It is funded primarily by advertising, but donations play an important
part. Indeed, there is one member of our community who regularly
contributes a substantial sum but refuses to be publicly acknowledged.
Whoever you are - we thank you!
Contributions generally turn up unannounced, and one did exactly that
very recently. Addressed merely to "Storekeeper, Waitati" it found its
way to the right place thanks to Heather and her staff at the general
store. It was unusual in that the donation was accompanied by a
letter, which read:
Dear Storekeepers
Pardon me for not knowing your names, I do know Terry [Sheppard] liked
you very much.
It is near the "Good Shepherd's" memorial, May 15. We were at his
wonderful arranged funeral. Would you kindly forward the small
enclosed memorium to the Waitati booklet office.
I still feel a tear unshed for what Terry will miss, such as the new
shop - he would have enjoyed a debate about it, bless him.
I was told he used to take unleashed "Chopper" to the shop when
Yolanda was in Australia. She is forever grateful he was so good to
the dog who is a lovely pet - but amazed he survived the busy road.
Joy Groves, Oamaru
It never fails to amaze those of us who work on Blueskin News, just
how far-reaching an influence it has for such a tiny distribution. We
invite you to contribute to it as the more information and articles,
the better the publication.

Orokonui Ecosanctuary

By Sue Hensley

Results of the first kiwi health check at Orokonui have been promising. They
have all put on a substantial amount of weight and one of the females is now
3.1 kg. Perhaps in the next six months we will begin to hear the occasional
night call. For several months there has been no response from the
transmitters of two of the kiwi and so it was a great result when the kiwi
search team including a kiwi tracker dog found one of the missing birds. Its
transmitter mysteriously had switched off. The other bird was not located
although the dog indicated a couple of promising leads.

The release of kaka pair Mr and Mrs Roto went well. They continue to spend
quite a bit of time around the aviary and Mr Roto has been entertaining
visitors – sometimes following people along the ground!

Kleopatra, the new aviary kaka still does not recognise nuts as real food
and has to be fed huhu grubs to keep up her protein intake. We'd love to
hear from anyone who might be able to supply huhu grubs.

Rats have once again appeared on the monitoring radar in very small numbers
(0.97% of trakka cards) and 42 mice have been caught for the Rhodamine dye
trial and will be sent away in due course.

The visitor centre and café are open every day 9.30-4.30. All day self-guided
walking, guided tours and annual passes are available. Keep up to date with
events on facebook and www.orokonui.org.nz.

BLUESKIN BAY LIBRARY column

Blueskin Bay Library News May 2011

In May we once again celebrate Music Month and our very own Waitati
Ukulele Orchestra will perform at Gallery on Blueskin on Saturday 21
May at 12pm. The theme is 'Kiwi girl rock chick music' and Metiria
Turei will be there too. This will be an open mic so be sure to bring
anything musical with you that you can share with the greater
community. Please spread the word to your friends and family. There
are many other free live performances around the Dunedin Public
Libraries network so be sure to pop by and pick up a timetable.

Carolyn our fiction guru has replenished our fiction shelves with an
eclectic mixture of fiction to hopefully tantalise the taste buds of
our fiction readers who have read out our current fiction collection.
Carolyn kept in mind what your tastes are so please come back and
visit us and take out some of the new fiction.

Recently the library has been packed to the rafters and heavily used
which is the way we want it to be. Sadly we have had one or two
incidents where unsupervised small children have got behind the desk,
or outside the library. Luckily no one has been hurt but we are
concerned that an accident could happen. Please parents remember that
your children are your responsibility. Library staff can not take
responsibility for unsupervised children. Because the library is so
small and congested we all need to take care and be respectful of one
another.

East Otago Sustainable Action Goup hosts:

Keep it Local – create and share a database of sustainable products to
harvest and purchase

WHERE: Blueskin Library

WHEN: Thursday 19 May, 7pm

NOTES: Bring knowledge of local resources (food gathering, compost
materials etc) and local products to buy. The information will be
typed up on the night and sent out to our group and kept as a valuable
resource at both the Blueskin Bay and Waikouaiti libraries. Everyone
welcome.

Staff Hot Picks

Averil

DVD – Second hand lions. (A good family movie)

Gran's kitchen: recipes from the notebooks of Dulcie May (A lot of old
favourite recipes)

Carolyn

Fostering by Emma Neale

Island beneath the sea by Isabel Allendale

Louise

Gypsy boy by Mikey Walsh

Radio Shanri-La by Lisa Napoli

A successful journalist working for public radio in Los Angeles,
Napoli hit a wall. Burned out and overwhelmed by regret, she wondered
how to recharge her life. Enter a friend of a friend with connections
to the tiny Himalayan country of Bhutan. In 2006, this Buddhist
kingdom, long cocooned against the outside world, launched a new youth
radio station, Kuzoo FM (kuzoo zampo means hello). Would Napoli like
to volunteer as a consultant? So begins a love affair with a land
unlike any other, a bond that lifts Napoli out of her blues and
enriches the lives of the young people with whom she works. The
stories of the wildly popular station are charming and gracefully
revealing as Napoli shares her experiences of Bhutan's magnificent
landscape, fiery cuisine, and open-handed daily life in a society that
measures its achievements not with a Gross National Product but,
rather, with Gross National Happiness. Napolis engaging keenly
observed, and informative chronicle captures Bhutan mid-metamorphosis
as it transforms itself into a democracy and as media and the Internet
redefines the Bhutanese concept of contentment. --Donna Seaman

Our audio visual collection has just been changed over so we have on
offer some newish DVDs, CDs and talking books for all ages. We also
receive about 15 brand new books which are put on display just as you
enter the library. We also have a colourful new bean bag in the
children's area which has proved popular. To reduce congestion in the
library we have also bought an outside table and four chairs to use
for your use during library hours. Remember Blueskin Bay Library is
your library and we are here to help you enjoy the experience.

--
--
Ā ā Ē ē Ī ī Ō ō Ū ū
From blueskin.co.nz and 'Blueskin News' published by Blueskin Media:
voluntary/non-profit community publishers in Blueskin Bay (Seacliff,
Warrington, Evansdale, Waitati, Doctors Point), Dunedin, New Zealand.
All material sent to or published by us is "copyleft" in the public
domain and may be freely shared, archived, re-edited and republished.
If you want to credit the source it's "blueskin.co.nz".

Blueskin Garden Club

By Lynnaire Johnston

The Blueskin Garden club's Annual General Meeting will be held on
Thursday May 12.

This year it is planned to hold a combined AGM and dinner at Tall
Poppy in Port Chalmers. Minimum numbers are required as the Club will
have the restaurant to itself so please email Lyn Hastie at
hastie2@xtra.co.nz with your acceptance.

The Club's most recent outing was to the Orokonui Ecosanctuary. The
orchids there provided a magnificent display for those venturing out
into the pest-proof enclosure.

Waikouaiti Coast Community Board

By Gerard Collings

Our April 6 meeting was held at the Puketeraki Marae. The Board wish
to thank the members of Kati Huirapa Runaka ki Puketeraki for their
warm welcome and hospitality shown to the Board, staff, and those
members of the public that attended the meeting.

Staff are yet to complete their investigations into the traffic issues
in the vicinity of Bay and Bank Road, Warrington, raised by members of
the public. It is expected that a final report will come to our May
meeting.

The draft Speed Limit Bylaw 2011 is currently out for consultation. It
proposes speed reductions on Coast Road from SH1 to 300km west of
Perry Street (recommend reduced speed limit to 70 km/h), and Coast
Road from 300m West of Perry Street to 250m north of Reservoir Road
(recommend reduced speed limit to 50 km/h). These reductions will
complete the proposed speed limit reductions for Coast Road between
Karitane and Warrington. Submissions on the draft bylaw close with
the DCC on 2 May 2011.

The DCC has agreed to set up a Council working party to look into the
creation of a Scenic Route within the City of Dunedin. The working
party will include community board representation. As a Board we look
forward to the concept of a scenic route being developed for our area.

As previously advised, the DCC is reviewing its freedom camping policy
and bylaw. The new policy is intended to be more permissive than the
previous policy. The Board is generally supportive of the intent of
the new policy and will be submitting to the DCC accordingly.
Submissions close with Council on 2 May 2011.

Submissions have now closed on the DCC's draft Annual Plan. Hearings
will commence shortly. Thanks to all those who have participated in
the process to date. A special thanks to those who took the
opportunity to drop in and express their views at the DCC stall at the
Blueskin A&P show.

A number of residents have raised concerns regarding the apparent
double construction of a roadside retaining wall along Doctors Point
Road. The matter has been discussed with staff who have confirmed that
the initial gabion basket wall was constructed by the contractor
without the appropriate approval. The wall was also considered unsafe
due to its proximity to the carriageway. The contractor was asked to
remove the initial wall and a new more appropriate structure was put
in its place. Staff assure me Council has only paid for the wall to be
constructed once.

Our next scheduled meeting is at 5.30pm 25 May at Waitati Hall, Harvey
Street, Waitati.

Members of the public wishing to speak at the public forum need to
advise Jane Hinkley our Governance Support Officer (Phone 474 3374)
before 12 noon on the day prior to the meeting.

Remember, you can view the Board's meeting agendas, reports and
minutes at the Blueskin Library or through the DCC's website at
www.dunedin.govt.nz/your-council/council-minutes

Members of the Board are only too happy to hear (by phone or email)
from members of the community about any issues within our area.

Board Contacts Home Work Mobile email
Gerard Collings (Chairperson) 4657604
4707494 0274848800 gerard.collings@xtra.co.nz
Alasdair Morrison (Deputy) 4822505 4822505 0274354384 info@calmarine.co.nz
Andy Barratt 021890048 021890048 asbarratt@farmside.co.nz
Andrew Noone 4657157 0274301727 anoone@dcc.govt.nz
Geraldine Tait 4822517 0212175492 gstait@clear.net.nz
Les Pullar 4658138 0274358020 lesgwen.pullar@xtra.co.nz
Mark Brown 4822833 mark@blueskinnurseries.co.nz

Blueskin Resilient Community Trust

By Simon Sheppard

April started with the Waitati A&P show where BRCT's
project manager Scott Willis manned and hosted an information stand on
behalf of the variety of community initiatives that fall under the
umbrella of the BRCT. These include the Waitati Energy Project (WEP),
Waitati Edible Gardeners (WEGgies), Get the Train (GTT) and Blueskin
Low Oil Commuters (BLOC).
Gatherings such as the A&P show are important opportunities for the
community to reflect on the vision and aims of the BRCT as it looks to
assist these groups to move forward on their individual community
sourced themes and goals.
Scott hosted some lively discussions and
came away with offers of volunteer support and plenty of thoughts for
keeping the momentum being generated by these projects in line with
the community spirit.

On this theme, plans are being put together to start a new round of
the WEP Community Engagement Project to canvas the opinions of
residents of Blueskin Bay with regards to local community based power
generation and energy efficiency initiatives. Keep an eye on this
column and the blackboard on Harvey Street for details on official
events or give us a call any time to air your views at 482 2048.

This month also saw the patron of the BRCT, Jeanette Fitzsimmons give
a talk at the University titled "Keep The Coal In The Hole: Why
Southland Lignite Shouldn't Be Mined".

News from under the BRCT umbrella is that the WEP is making progress
in its joint venture investigation with OWL (Our Wind Limited), with
the recent delivery of wind measuring equipment to a site on Porteous
Road as part of the efforts of WEP and OWL to further generate
information on the 'wind profile' of the Blueskin Bay area.

Finally, the Blueskin Community Directory, produced by the Waitati PTA
and strongly supported by the BRCT, is full of Civil Defence
information, local groups and businesses, local services and of course
all our local numbers in a slim, elegant and well laid out format.
Buy a copy from the Waitati School office during school
hours or ask the PTA is to deliver a copy. Give them a
call (482 2888), or put your name on any of the Blueskin Directory
forms around Blueskin for delivery.

Waitati Energy Project

By Scott Willis

New Zealand Energy Strategy
The new New Zealand Energy Strategy, accidentally released by a
government official should really be called "The Dig for Victory
Economic Policy". While the non-renewable energy industry globally is
suffering badly (in economic terms) in the world recession, and with
the strong economic returns being demonstrated internationally by
clean technology, is the new NZ Energy Strategy what we need?
Dr Eric Martinot, an international energy expert who visited NZ
recently, didn't even bother talking to government officials.
Virtually every other country in the world is desperately seeking ways
to develop renewable generation but we seem to be mired in a 19th
century optimism of salvation via fossil fuels. However, it's a
question of basic economics – with known upfront costs and very low
ongoing costs (potentially forever) renewable generation is the path
to energy security and economic sustainability.
Why gamble on finite resources in an incredibly unstable market? So,
I'm disappointed that this government hasn't realised the opportunity,
or taken on board the WEP submission and many other submissions made
last year, to develop a path to build energy resilience for New
Zealand. Nevertheless, locally things are much more positive.

Renewable Generation
Alongside new offers of community support (thank you!) there's further
local energy action – LED lighting, energy monitoring tools – things
that the passionate individuals involved intend disseminating once
developed.
BRCT is supporting the development of a comprehensive engagement
process and materials, and discussion with the DCC is underway, with
the goal of finding ways in which the city could facilitate a
community owned wind cluster at no cost to ratepayers.
The Powerhouse Wind team continue their fine-tuning of the Thinair
turbine at Hagen and Sabina's place and have a special offer (once
they go commercial) for Blueskin residents wanting to buy their
household scale turbine.
On April 21 Chris Freear of Our Wind Limited delivered a 10 metre
tower and wind testing equipment for the next stage in precise wind
testing at Blueskin Bay.

Dr James Hansen visits Dunedin
Dr. James Hansen is the director of the NASA Goddard Institute for
Space Studies in New York. The world leading climate scientist gave
evidence to the US congress in 1988, and has been developing solutions
to climate change: solutions that stimulate the economy, phase out
fossil fuel addiction, and stabilise the climate. His book "Storms of
my Grandchildren" is a must-read and Dr Hansen will present a public
lecture on "Human-Made Climate Change: A Scientific, Moral and Legal
Issue" on Wednesday, 18 May at 5:30 pm in the St. David Lecture
Theatre at the University of Otago.

Contact me at: 03 4822048 or waitatienergy@gmail.com

W3 RIDESHARE column

Photo: Jackie Fanning with her W3 sign

W3 RIDESHARE

by Jackie Fanning

Worried about petrol price increases and wanting to find ways to
reduce your spending and carbon footprint?

Maybe it's time to reconsider the Waitati Warrington Waikouaiti
Rideshare scheme (W3) to get to and from work. The thought of standing
by the road wondering how long it will take to get a lift is probably
not that appealing at this time of year. However, if enough people get
involved then W3 has the potential to really work.

Getting a lift to town from the Blueskin Nursery entrance is usually
really easy. I reckon if enough people make the effort to drive past
the NZ Blood building (on Cumberland St, the one-way street heading
north) and see if anyone is waiting for a lift home, then people won't
have to wait too long at this central pickup point.

It's this early stage that's difficult as people go past these pick-up
points (the old Willowbank Motorcourt site at the bottom of Pinehill
is also one) and often not see folk and when you are waiting it may
seem for quite a while (always less than 20 min I've found) – it makes
it all seem in the too hard/not worth your while basket.

I don't wear the W3 armband but hold up the sign (see photo). You can
get these from the Blueskin Bay Library (ask for two if need be – one
for your car). It is also good to have a sign visible in your car
(back window passenger side is fine) then people know they are getting
a lift with someone who is part of W3.

A $2 donation is part of the deal – so please offer it! I just leave
$2 somewhere in the car as some people feel awkward about accepting
this.

--
--
Ā ā Ē ē Ī ī Ō ō Ū ū
From blueskin.co.nz and 'Blueskin News' published by Blueskin Media:
voluntary/non-profit community publishers in Blueskin Bay (Seacliff,
Warrington, Evansdale, Waitati, Doctors Point), Dunedin, New Zealand.
All material sent to or published by us is "copyleft" in the public
domain and may be freely shared, archived, re-edited and republished.
If you want to credit the source it's "blueskin.co.nz".

ST BARNABAS CHURCH (column)

ST BARNABAS CHURCH

Could this be the first Blueskin Arts Festival?

by Laurence Hay

A series of events held recently on six Wednesday evenings at St
Barnabas's church, Warrington, developed into a mini-arts festival as
local people pooled their skills and interests to prepare hearts and
minds for Good Friday and the celebration of Easter.

The series began with the traditional Ash Wednesday liturgical
service. However, the format was far from traditional as the people
moved outside the church to stand in the graveyard and be reminded of
their continuity with those who had established and built the
community we now enjoy. A palm cross was burnt and, after moving back
into the church, those who wished it received on their foreheads the
ash mark of repentance and humility for the start of Lent.

The next Wednesday event focused on verse with most of those present
bringing and reading a poem or a passage from the Bible, and
explaining why it was meaningful to them. The third gathering, when
favourite pictures and other art objects were shown, was introduced by
Jennifer Hopkinson suggesting ways to look at paintings, using works
by Otago artists as examples. The next Wednesday evening was devoted
to singing, with Alastair Wright on the organ illustrating hymns and
songs for the season, and then everyone singing people's chosen
favourites. The evening ended with the playing of an excerpt from
Bach's St Matthew Passion.

The fifth event, focusing on drama, involved many people reading
dramatic poems, or short plays. But the highlight was a number of
excerpts from Shakespeare's King Lear, with Vance Vidal in a
soul-piercing performance as the foolish king grieving over the body
of his loving daughter, and at last finding wisdom through suffering
and death.

Finally, on the Wednesday before Holy Week we participated in a
reflective service based around the great passage from the book of
Isaiah, chapter 53, in which the prophet speaks of the Suffering
Servant as the one who can bring forgiveness and meaning to people's
lives. A work by the black American poet James Weldon Johnson
recalling the events of the Crucifixion was presented, and the service
ended with a strong rendition, in Maori and English, of the anthem How
Great Thou Art.

The initiative for this series was taken by Margaret Hay, but its
success was due to the enthusiasm and participation of the 20 or so
people who attended week by week. This was not an arts festival, but
it did demonstrate – if any demonstration is needed – the depth of
talent and interest in the arts that exists in our community. A
Blueskin Arts Festival next year?