Published as Issue No. 138
October 13, 2015
Hands across the Valley: Andrea from View Rd extends a call to ‘arms’ to anyone with basic drawing skills to join in Henna Hands Painting, a community-based Workshop. This ‘Celebrate spring and coming together …’ will be held over successive Sunday afternoons, October 18 and 25 in community Valley Hall. Artist, teacher and parent, Andrea has run the Henna Hands stall at the school fair for the last 8 years wants to pass on this tattoo art tradition from her original Indian teacher to others in the hope of enlisting extra helpers for the fair (!). Mehendi is henna, a plant-based dye mixed to paste then applied to the skin. The curvilinear designs fade quickly over 3 weeks. Mehendi traditionally marks special occasions such as weddings and festivals in the Indian cultural calendar i.e. Diwali (Festival of Light). It is an enjoyable social activity involving shared conversations, very popular at girls and hen parties. Skill develops simply, quickly and intuitively through practice. As a non-profit event, a $2 gold coin donation is required to cover cost of materials.
Houghton Valley School Fair 31 October: A big thank you from organiser Karen Parr for people who have contacted us with donations. They will be accepting donations until October 30, as well as vouchers, crafts, chutneys, jams, baking and other such goodies. Our silent auction will be on-line this year, and bids can be placed anytime from Thursday Oct 15th. [Link not current] Have a look at some of the great offers we have. We are not just on the scrounge though, and more than anything we would love local people just to come along to visit our school and enjoy the Fair with us. The community garden is looking for native plants and/or vegetable seedlings to sell at the fair. If you have any, bring them the garden on a Sunday afternoon, or to the fair on the day.
Wellington Scoop article: Recently Scoop published a comprehensive article about Friends of Houghton Valley’s (FoHV) struggle to overturn WCC’s decision to not notify the resource consent application for 215 Houghton Bay Rd. You will find the article by following this link Protecting the south coast; residents challenge approval for 13 new houses. Donations towards legal fees: A number of supporters have expressed a desire to help financially. If you would like to support the cause in this way, we are suggesting that donations of $200 will help us reach our goal. Or please feel free to give any amount as you are able. Friends of Houghton Valley (FoHV) can provide a receipt on request. Fundraising: FoHV are fundraising to pay costs for the judicial review of WCC’s decision to not notify the resource consent application for 215 Houghton Bay Rd. On 9 August we had a very successful fund raising concert at the Pines and the next event is a Quiz Fundraiser at Brew’d Bar Island Bay, Thursday 29 October from 7 pm; quiz starts at 7.30 pm. The quiz master is a lot of fun and very entertaining. The quiz lasts about an hour and a half including 5 rounds and an interval. We even have a ‘Buy Answers Jar’ to increase your chances to be in the win. We play in teams of four or five and there is an awesome prize for the winning team to enjoy together; brunch at Fidel’s, 234 Cuba St. Team tickets are $10 per person, totalling $40 or $50 for a 4 or 5 person team. You can register a team of four or five or you can also register individually, or per couple, and we will organise teams for you. We have a maximum of 60 places. So please get your team together and book. To confirm your place email us.
Houghton Valley Progressive Association: The quarterly meeting of the HVPA was held on Sunday. News from the meeting to follow in a later issue of the newsletter, minutes from the last meeting/AGM are attached. [No attachment] It is interesting to note the Council is currently putting effort into helping similar Associations in our much larger neighbouring suburbs of Island Bay and Kilbirnie while we just keep on keeping on.
Koha Coffee: It was only a matter of time before quality coffee found the valley! The hall has hosted two coffee mornings so far and keep your eyes open for the next offer. Shaun Peterson kindly donated a Wega espresso machine and Ross, Jan and Ella are providing barista experience. Eric Heycoop at Emporio coffee stepped in when we needed a second filter handle and donated one. So, coffee with table tennis on the side and blues piano if Ella’s in town.
Norman and contributors