Happy birthday to Parklands Library

The fabulous community library at Parklands is celebrating ten years. There are some events on next week – come along and join in with the people of Parklands to have some fun.

Hip Hip Hurrah! – Story-telling and craft

Wednesday, August 5, 2015 (3:30PM – 4:15PM)
A birthday themed Storytime for Parklands Library which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this week, and for our favourite cat Slinky Malinky who turns 25 this year! For ages 3-7yrs.

3D Printer Taster

Thursday, August 6, 2015 (3:30PM – 5:00PM)
Calling all 3D tinkerers! Check out a 3D printer in action at Parklands library with a live demonstration and find out how you can start creating your own 3D designs using free software.

Family Fun Day

Saturday, August 8, 2015 (11:00AM – 3:00PM)

Live music and storytelling – a day for the whole family.

Better than Bacon – Live Music (11:00am-11:45am)
These young local rockers took Parklands by storm during May Music Month and now they’re back to help us celebrate our birthday! All ages

Tales with Tania – Story-telling (1:00pm – 1:30pm)
Stories, rhymes and music from our very own story-telling superstar Tania! Ages 3-5yrs

New Brighton Ukulele Pirates – Live Music (2:00pm-2:45pm)
Shiver yer timbers, these ukulele playing pirates will have the whole family singing and dancing with original pirate tunes and well-known classics. All ages – bring your ukulele!

There are also the usual Parklands activities, crochet, Science Alive, storytimes and more. Parklands is a lovely library with friendly staff, so if you haven’t been in – come and visit!

Sheep at Parklands Library. Art by Sally Blake and Knitting Ninjas. Flickr 2015-07-29-IMG_8422

Parklands Library. Flickr 2015-07-29-IMG_8415

Happy birthday, Emily Brontë

Oh Emily. Your creations and their goings-on out on that moor have captured the imaginations of millions of women everywhere. And more than a few men I guess, although I’ve never met one.

You only lived for thirty years but Cathy and Heathcliff (and Linton and Isabella and Edgar and Hareton and Nelly) are immortal.

Even your possessions still fascinate.

Here’s to you, and to Wuthering Heights, and thanks for one of my favourite books.

Learning te reo Māori – Te Wiki o te Reo Māori – Rāpare

Karawhiua! Kōrero Māori.

Ngā Kete Wānanga o Ōtautahi has a range of te reo Māori resources to help you with your te reo Māori learning.
 

Whether you are a visual learner or love to write, write and write some more or even if your best learning is done by listening, there is he pukapuka for you to enjoy and discover.

If you like to stay connected then our Te Ao Māori page on our website will keep you engaged for a very very long time. Take a moment (you may need several) to immerse yourself with our online resource Te Whata Raki – learn about Te Ao Māori in a graphically beautiful and bilingual space. New content has just been added as well.

Mā te kimi ka kite, mā te kite ka mōhio, mā te mōhio ka mārama!
Seek and discover, discover and know, know and become enlightened!

Have you a favourite learning tool for Te Reo Māori?

Kōreroreo mai.

William Burn – 100 years since the death of a Christchurch aviator

On 30th July this year it will be 100 years since William Wallace Allison Burn was killed in Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq). A pre-war member of the New Zealand Army, he had trained as a pilot in the UK and in 1915 was serving with the Australian Flying Corps in the Mesopotamian Campaign against the Ottoman Turks. He was the first New Zealand airman ever to be killed in action.

Although born in Australia, the family later moved to Christchurch, living in Hereford Street. William was educated at Christchurch Boys’ High School and went on the join the New Zealand Staff Corps.

Find out more about William’s life and tragic death:

• Cenotaph record from Auckland War Memorial Museum
• A modern overview of the story from the New Zealand Herald and further information about the family
• NZ History biography and image
• Te Ara biography
• Information from the Royal Australian Air Force rugby website about Burn and George Merz, who was killed at the same time, and the Burn-Merz Shield that was named after them.

Do you have any connections with any less well-known parts of the World War One?

New Zealand writer Anna Smaill is on the Man Booker Prize longlist

We’re all very excited to hear New Zealand author Anna Smaill is on the longlist for the Man Booker Prize for her book The Chimes. I’ve read it, and loved it. It’s a dystopia, yes, and also timeless and full of history, music and atmosphere:

Have just finished reading The Chimes. After is a different place.

— Donna (@kebabette) March 28, 2015

You can hear Anna talk in Christchurch at a WORD Christchurch session Imaginary Cities, on Sunday 30 August along with Fiona Farrell, Anna Smaill, Hamish Clayton, and Hugh Nicholson  (chaired by Christchurch Art Gallery’s senior curator Lara Strongman). It’s part of a Shifting points of view season in the Christchurch Arts Festival.

Masha interviewed Anna at the Auckland Writers Festival – read her interview Anna Smaill – from a writing musician to a musical writer:

The first impulse is the sense of time going past. It’s almost having the experience of pathos in the moment, having feeling of something happening that is already gone. I’ve always had very acutely this feeling of things being transient and ephemeral and I wanted to capture them.

I definitely think the impulse to write first came from that. Of course it is also a way of working things out for me. Just to process my experiences, work out what I think about things. It always seemed a necessary thing to me. And also it’s a great entertainment.

And just the other day Anna answered some quick questions.

Best of luck, Anna.

• Find Anna’s books in our catalogue.
• Listen to her interview on Radio NZ.
• Read a review about The Chimes.
• Check out her web page.
• Kiwi author Anna Smaill makes 2015 Man Booker long-list Morning report on National Radio New Zealand, 30 July 2015
• Man Booker Prize 2015 longlist

Remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki – bombed 70 years ago

The atomic bomb named “Little Boy” was dropped by American airmen on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. Three days later on 9 August 1945, the atomic bomb “Fat Man” was dropped over Nagasaki.

The Hiroshima explosion destroyed 90 percent of the city and killed approximately 80,000 people; tens of thousands more died later from radiation exposure. The Nagasaki A-bomb killed approximately 40,000 people.

Find out about commemorations in Christchurch.

Hiroshima – Small child with baby on back searching for anything of usefulness. New Zealand. Department of Internal Affairs. War History Branch :Photographs relating to World War 1914-1918, World War 1939-1945, occupation of Japan, Korean War, and Malayan Emergency. Ref: J-0012-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/23130201

I remember reading the comic book series Barefoot Gen, and following him through ravaged Hiroshima. And Sadako and the thousand cranes – based on a true story – Sadako had developed leukemia from radiation.

And later, reading harrowing eyewitness reports from Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

There’s a statue of Sadako in the Hiroshima Peace Park, at its feet a plaque that reads:

“This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace on Earth.”

Find out more about Hiroshima and Nagasaki

• A set of images and articles related to Hiroshima and Nagasaki on DigitalNZ.
• Find information about Hiroshima in our catalogue.
• Find information about Nagasaki in our catalogue.
• Hiroshima Peace Site – the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum (in English and Japanese)
• Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki History.com

 

Christchurch commemorations

Bell ringing

Thursday 6 August 11.15 am at the World Peace Bell in Christchurch Botanic Gardens.

As in recent years, the NZ Chapter of The World Peace Bell Association is participating in an international bell ringing to mark the exact time of the Hiroshima A bombing 70 years ago (8.15 am Japan time. 11.15 NZ time.) The event originated with peace campaigner SuZen in NYC. She organizes a huge event in New York Central Park every Hiroshima anniversary. This being the 70th anniversary of Hiroshima, it is suggested we ring the bell once for every year. It would be great to have church bells, tram bells, and any other bells joining in.

Information from the World Peace Bell Association.

70th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at 5pm on Sunday 9 August at the World Peace Bell in the Botanic Gardens.

The Disarmament and Security Centre would like to invite you to join us to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at 5pm on Sunday 9 August at the World Peace Bell in the Botanic Gardens. The Mayor will be one of the speakers.  There will be a gathering afterwards at 6pm at the YMCA for soup and bread and a time to catch up.

Find out more about the World Peace Bell in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens and its connection to Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Flowers under the Peace Bell, Flickr CCL-2014-02-22-22February2014 DSC_1215.JPG

Waiata – Te Wiki o te Reo Māori

Tātou ka waiata!

E koekoe te tūī, e ketekete te kākā, e kūkū te kererū.

The tūī chatters, the parrot gabbles, the wood pigeon coos (it takes all sorts…)

Having just completed a whistle-stop tour of 5 libraries with Ngā Manu Tioriori (Council waiata group) today as part of celebrating Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori, it is apt to write about waiata me te Reo Māori.

Ngā Manu Tioriori / Christchurch City Council’s Waiata Group at Linwood Library, Wednesday 29 July 2015. Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori. Flickr 2015-07-29-IMG_7431

One very effective way to enhance learning of a language is by singing! Te Ao Māori is full of glorious waiata for all sorts of occasions – from whakapapa retention, understanding the world around us, celebrations and learning. Language transmission is enhanced and embedded with the use of music, rythmn, and repetition.

Ngā Kete Wānanga o Ōtautahi has a large collection of Te Reo Maori waiata and songs for tamariki  in te Reo Maori  for you to explore.

Web sites such as Waiata mai and Maori Television allow for visual interpretation as well, with kupu often visible  –  just like karaoke! Get your tamariki and moko to find some and have a whānau competition. Waiata on You Tube will keep you busy for ages.

With artists such as Ariana Tikao and Maisey Rika producing beautiful waiata and stunning video we have such wonderful oppurtunities to listen to te Reo Māori sung with aroha.

What is your favourite te Reo Māori waiata? Kōrerorero mai.