Know your area

Wasn’t Te Awamutu’s last Christmas parade fabulous? If you remember it was a very busy day, bright and sunny. Parking was a premium, especially with the street closed off. People parked wherever they could and…

This morning, I was one of a group waiting outside St Patrick’s Catholic church ready to begin our annual Walk of Witness, an annual event when the congregations of St Patrick’s and St John’s, walk…

Yesterday it rained properly for the first time  this year. Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but that’s how it feels to me at least.  And not just me. Everyone was talking about the rain. “You can…

I am an avid reader. When we moved to Te Awamutu, I was delighted to discover that for a small town, it has a great library. Since we have been here, the services provided by…

I was speaking to someone who had recently travelled. “Do you know where your forebears are from?” she asked me. “I think there’s Welsh way back in the bloodline,” I said. “Have you ever been…

This week we end the Season of Creation that Christians across cultures and countries celebrated together. Every year, the season ends on the Sunday following St Francis Day. St Francis’ life and ministry was centred…

This week our local news has been full of the wonderful successes of our athletes at the Olympic games. I’m guessing more than one of us has basked in their glory. As well as that,…

My husband, mum and I moved to Te Awamutu  in 2019.  Because my husband’s career was in shipping, we had always lived in port cities. When we knew we going to become Te Awamutu residents…

When I was a child, my parents would often host a party on a Saturday night. Guests would arrive with a flagon and a plate to share. Non-alcoholic punch was always on offer. Singing dancing…

For the second time in a matter of days the Ōhaupō community was witness to a tragedy on State Highway 3. As former district councillor James Parlane was being mourned, more families were learning of…