Library news

Greetings from The kabin where the sandflies eat my feet and the sun shines all day long!  We are entering that heady time when there are loads of new books coming out and my head is buried in publisher’s catalogues. So watch those shelves. I’ve ordered some interesting non-fiction books recently after requests by customers. Here are a few:  … Continue Reading

Letters

Amalgamation
Your item “Survey shows opinions mixed” (“Star” August ) shows little ambition among Wairarapa residents for their futures. The random survey result showing 45 percent of those questioned (residents, I assume) currently prefer a stand-alone Wairarapa council as their preferred option for a reshaped wider Wellington region is a chimera.

With no costings and no details yet available on the shape, size or anything else in relation to the so-called Option 3, the survey merely shows less than a majority of the area’s people are afraid that some local control may be lost by an amalgamation into a wider regional local government system. … Continue Reading

Comments

I happened to be one of the people randomly chosen for the Wellington Regional survey of opinions on the amalgamation options. As the now published results show, an overwhelming majority of Wairarapa people opted for a stand alone Wairarapa council. While on the evidence currently available this was not my personal preference, I am not at all surprised at the finding.

The questions were mainly straight forward; ‘do you prefer (a) or( b)?’ without any mention as to the financial or other consequences of each option. (Rather like a car questionnaire asking do you prefer BMWs or Chinese Cherrys – without taking into account the various costs). Nor does a telephone interview give the interviewee much time to think about such issues as financial implications. … Continue Reading

Cooking corner

Banana Walnut Loaf

Ingredients
4 ripe bananas mashed
4 tbsp chopped walnuts
100gr butter
50gr rw sugar
4 tbs golden syrup
4 eggs
225gr self raising flour

Method
Preheat oven to 120 C
Prepare 22cm x 12cm loaf tin with melted butter
Put softened butter into bowl add sugar and beat for 2 minutes
Add golden syrup and eggs beating continuously
Fold in the bananas
Gently combine the sifted flour
Add walnuts
Tip mixture into the cake tin and cook for 55 minutes or until skewer comes out cleanly
Leave cooked cake in tin for 10 minutes before removing