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641 days ago

Local Artist Supporting Manawatu Rural Support Service

Natasha from Ashhurst - Pohangina

Local painter Graham Christensen is supporting the important and very necessary work of the Manawatu Rural Support Service (MRSS) in his latest exhibition ‘A Rural Perspective’ on at the Feilding Art Centre until the 30th of March.

The entire proceeds from the sale of ‘Let them Out’ will be donated to MRSS to assist them in continuing their essential work within our local rural communities.

The Manawatu Rural Support Service is a not-for-profit organisation who specialises in supporting the stability and wellbeing of all rural individuals and their families who live within our rural Northern Manawatu and Pohangina Valley communities. They do this by providing a free, confidential mobile support service that can visit on the farm (the Rural Community Workers travel in all-wheel-drives to assist their access to remote areas and always carry a pair of gumboots!), within the home or to schools and community groups.

They assist at any time of need including sickness, bereavement, unemployment and financial hardship. They work with their clients to resolve loneliness, isolation and other personal difficulties and provide support programmes and workshops for specific needs in the community.

MRSS also assist Civil Defence at times of emergency and recently their services were greatly appreciated by the community of Pohangina Valley following the devastation to the area by Cyclone Gabrielle.

About the Artist
Graham Christensen has lived much of his life on and around farms within the Manawatu/Rangitikei region. His father, grandfather and great grandfather were all farmers and from a young age Graham worked on shearing gangs and hay trucks before studying agriculture and going on to spend a lifetime within the sector.

Now retired, Graham lives on a farm near Ashhurst and paints from a large light-filled studio – fittingly, a converted room at the back of the barn.

In this exhibition Graham takes his lived experience and captures moments in time that many of us will know and love from our own memories of rural New Zealand.

Graham regularly exhibits throughout the Manawatu/Rangitikei region and is frequently commissioned to paint pieces of sentimental value to celebrate anniversaries, special birthdays and retirement. His work is hung in homes, businesses and private collections throughout New Zealand and internationally.

More of Graham's work can be seen on his website: www.grahamchristensen.co.nz...
and facebook page: www.facebook.com...

More messages from your neighbours
15 days ago

⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️

The Team from SPCA New Zealand

It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:

👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️

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7 days ago

Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.

If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?

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Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
  • 62.2% Summer
    62.2% Complete
  • 36.4% Winter
    36.4% Complete
  • 1.5% Other - I'll share below
    1.5% Complete
1493 votes
4 days ago

Worst Xmas ever?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.

Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...

Share your Christmas mishaps below!

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