Avalon, Lower Hutt

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1489 days ago

Poll: Which NZ destination do you most want to travel to?

Lorna Thornber Reporter from Stuff Travel

To celebrate the refreshed Stuff Travel website, enabling you to dream, plan and now book your next escape all in one place, we're giving away a $100 voucher.

To go into the draw to win simply vote below on which of the following destinations you're most likely to use your voucher on. … View more
To celebrate the refreshed Stuff Travel website, enabling you to dream, plan and now book your next escape all in one place, we're giving away a $100 voucher.

To go into the draw to win simply vote below on which of the following destinations you're most likely to use your voucher on. Visit travel-booking.stuff.co.nz for inspiration and to view all the other destinations.
Explore now

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Which NZ destination do you most want to travel to?
  • 4.3% Auckland
    4.3% Complete
  • 20.7% Coromandel
    20.7% Complete
  • 6.2% Rotorua
    6.2% Complete
  • 5.6% Taupō
    5.6% Complete
  • 5.7% Wellington
    5.7% Complete
  • 18.7% Nelson Tasman
    18.7% Complete
  • 10.3% Marlborough
    10.3% Complete
  • 28.5% Central Otago/Lakes
    28.5% Complete
2856 votes
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1490 days ago

Halloween This Saturday

Patricia from Belmont

If you are participating in the Halloween Celebrations, please put some Halloween decoration on your letterbox or by your door step, to let kids now when they go trick or treating , so they don't bother you unnecessarily.

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1490 days ago

Heritage is about people

Jon from Hutt City Council

Learn some new things about your city at our heritage webinar tonight at 6 pm.

Go to the link below for more information.

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1490 days ago

Neighbourly 101: Contact Us

Neighbourly.co.nz

The Neighbourly team is here to lend a helping hand! Whether you have some questions around how the site works, or you need help updating your details or settings, getting in touch with us is simple:

- Click "Settings" at the top right of the website
(If on mobile, click your profile… View more
The Neighbourly team is here to lend a helping hand! Whether you have some questions around how the site works, or you need help updating your details or settings, getting in touch with us is simple:

- Click "Settings" at the top right of the website
(If on mobile, click your profile picture and select "settings")
- Select "Help”
- Under Top Articles, select "Contacting Neighbourly"
- Click on the link to our Contact Us page

We look forward to hearing from you!

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1491 days ago

Khandallah and Lower Hutt SAYGO classes

Corinne Morris from

Steady as You Go classes improve:
Balance and leg strength
Flexibility
General fitness and wellbeing
And are a great way to meet new people.

Classes consist of a combination of sitting, standing and walking exercises, and take around an hour. They are ideal for complete beginners, are ongoing and… View more
Steady as You Go classes improve:
Balance and leg strength
Flexibility
General fitness and wellbeing
And are a great way to meet new people.

Classes consist of a combination of sitting, standing and walking exercises, and take around an hour. They are ideal for complete beginners, are ongoing and you can find out how you’ve improved over your first 10 weeks.

KHANDALLAH Tuesdays at 11am
St Barnabas Church, 35 Box Hill, Khandallah

LOWER HUTT Wednesdays at 11am
Knox Church, 574 High St, Boulcott, Lower Hutt

For more locations, visit www.acwellington.org.nz...

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1514 days ago

Gratitude

Jane from Naenae

Hi neighbours.The Pataka Aroha is operated exactly as its called
Love Pantry.Everything in the Pataka is FREE because of the Neighbours n beyond our Community who keep giving to help others.I have 2 wonderful lady Volunteers who can pikup or deliver from the Pataka.One is from Upper Hutt which … View more
Hi neighbours.The Pataka Aroha is operated exactly as its called
Love Pantry.Everything in the Pataka is FREE because of the Neighbours n beyond our Community who keep giving to help others.I have 2 wonderful lady Volunteers who can pikup or deliver from the Pataka.One is from Upper Hutt which is along way to come.I am not funded thru any one n would be lost without them.Im asking on their behalf,if you should need their service could u donate $3 towards their petrol or what u can,their job being harder than mine.Please when visiting Pataka Aroha could you please drop all Donations into the not working Freezer by my front door.an Sign the Book in the Pataka ( security). reasons only.Hava wonderful Day Neighbours nga mihi katoa.

1491 days ago

Heritage is about people

Jon from Hutt City Council

Come to our heritage webinar tomorrow at 6pm.

More information via the link below.

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1491 days ago

Linden Pop-up Hub

Corinne Morris from

Join us for this free event where there will be a light lunch, a cuppa and some friendly chats at the monthly hub.

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1491 days ago

Popular baby product recalled

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

Herobility Eco Feeding Spoon and Eco Baby Spoon & Fork have been recalled as they pose a choking hazard for babies. It has been found that these can break into small pieces.

The product has been sold at Mummum, Global Baby, Hatch Boutique, J Ballantynes, Mighty Ape, Smith and Caugheys and … View more
Herobility Eco Feeding Spoon and Eco Baby Spoon & Fork have been recalled as they pose a choking hazard for babies. It has been found that these can break into small pieces.

The product has been sold at Mummum, Global Baby, Hatch Boutique, J Ballantynes, Mighty Ape, Smith and Caugheys and The Nile from October 2019 to October 2020

If you have one of these forks/spoons and the date stamp is marked 2019 or earlier (or no date stamp is shown), the company advises to stop using the product and contact Bloom and Grow NZ to organise for a gift voucher to the same value.

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1493 days ago

Monday Sport Blast From The Past

Reporter Community News

Gordon Llewellyn is a name you have probably never heard off but he played a pivotal role in the birth of the Special Olympics movement in New Zealand.
In 1983, he and three other Hutt athletes – Colin Bailey, Peter Spijkerman and Brent Busby – made history when they attended the Summer Special… View more
Gordon Llewellyn is a name you have probably never heard off but he played a pivotal role in the birth of the Special Olympics movement in New Zealand.
In 1983, he and three other Hutt athletes – Colin Bailey, Peter Spijkerman and Brent Busby – made history when they attended the Summer Special Olympics in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The trip was organised by Grant Quinn, who later said Gordon Llewellyn proved the perfect poster boy for the Special Olympics movement in New Zealand.
Llewellyn was a larger than life character with a bold personality and a fascination with the TV character Magnum PI.
Years later Quinn recalled the flight over and an announcement that came over the intercom.
"This is your captain speaking … I have a very special passenger with me in the cockpit. His name is Gordon Llewellyn from New Zealand."
Llewellyn quickly took over the microphone and proceeded to entertain the whole plane.
"Next minute Gordon was asking, or should I say demanding, that everybody on board give the team a rousing three cheers to wish the team a successful time in Baton Rouge," recalled Quinn.
The team performed well at the Olympics and athletes returned home heroes, proudly wearing their medals for weeks to make sure nobody missed their success.
Llewellyn died in August 2014 and Quinn gave the eulogy. He told mourners that Llewellyn and the other three Hutt swimmers had changed the public's perception of the intellectually disabled.
They had helped win mainstream acceptance and played a key role in promoting an organisation that now had more than 7000 active members.

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1491 days ago

Are Curtains or Blinds best for kids’ bedrooms?

Robert Anderson from

Choosing curtains and/or blinds for a child’s bedroom is much more complicated than you might think, with several factors to take into consideration when making the right choice. Let’s go over what you need to think about.

Blocking out light
Any parent will tell you kids need darkness to go… View more
Choosing curtains and/or blinds for a child’s bedroom is much more complicated than you might think, with several factors to take into consideration when making the right choice. Let’s go over what you need to think about.

Blocking out light
Any parent will tell you kids need darkness to go to bed. They don’t necessarily need darkness to sleep, but to convince them it’s bedtime it needs to be dark. Post daylight savings, heading into spring and summer, this can be a challenge. Curtains and blinds can help.

First of all, opt for block-out lining. Block-out lined curtains reduce natural light and UV rays, providing an ideal solution for darkening a bedroom. They also offer thermal and sound insulation properties, which come in handy too and we’ll discuss more shortly.

The best solution to block out light is curtains made of medium to heavy fabric, hanging wide and high over the window and down to the floor. But don’t make a decision yet, there are things to consider that might make you shy away from this option.

Slatted blinds are the least ideal solution as they allow small amounts of light to peep through even when fully closed and lowered. An inside mounted roller blind also allows a small amount of light to enter. For extra light blockage consider a curtain over a blind.

Reducing noise
Blocking out noise completely using only curtains or blinds is not possible, but it can be reduced. The best options are:
• Curtains – reducing noise all comes down to absorbing the vibrations so opt for the thickest, heaviest fabric you can (e.g. velvet or wool). The more layers the better so ensure you get them lined and you could also opt for a blind underneath as well.
• Roman shades – as with curtains, the thicker the fabric and more layers the better.
• Honeycomb blinds - the unique cellular design is great for cutting out noise. Just as the cells trap air to reduce heat transfer, they can also help keep out noise.

How they look
Consider the age and gender your child is now but also consider how long you want the curtains to last and how old your child will be then. What is right for a child aged 2 will be totally wrong come age 6.

Kids tend to enjoy bright colours and bold patterns, or they might want a fabric featuring a favourite character from a book, TV show or movie. Be aware the latter option is likely to date quickly and the above point applies here too; while they may love superheroes right now, will they still be as cool in 12 months’ time?

If kids are sharing a room maybe consider something a bit more neutral that will appeal to both.
And as they get older, into their teens for example, they will become even more opinionated about their “style” and what they like will have evolved and expanded a lot since they were young kids.

Privacy
If your child’s room is exposed and can be seen by neighbours or from the street, consider hanging sheers to ensure their privacy is maintained.

Health & safety
Beware of blind cords ad these are a strangulation hazard. Either make sure they are tightly wound around a cleat and out of reach, choose electronically operated blinds or spring-loaded roller blinds, or get blinds with a tension cord and pulley so there is no loose cord dangling.
Blinds or lightweight curtains are better for kids who suffer allergies. Thicker fabrics are better at collecting dust, pollen, and dust mites.

Shorter curtains are recommended over floor length for younger children so they can’t grab hold and pull or wrap themselves up in them.

Don’t use tension rods. These are operated by spring-loaded tension and therefore not screwed into the wall. One good tug and the lot could come tumbling down.


Don’t forget – regular cleaning will keep your childs room healthy. We can help with that!


www.curtainclean.co.nz...

1492 days ago

Do you know what your car will be worth in three years time?

The Team from Gazley

The Gazley Nissan team would like to introduce you to Nissan Future Value. This tailored finance solution lets you keep your options open at the end of your vehicle loan term and guarantees the price that you can sell it for.

You simply pick your vehicle, pick your loan term and put down your … View more
The Gazley Nissan team would like to introduce you to Nissan Future Value. This tailored finance solution lets you keep your options open at the end of your vehicle loan term and guarantees the price that you can sell it for.

You simply pick your vehicle, pick your loan term and put down your deposit. Then at the end of the term, you can either upgrade, retain or return your vehicle, and rest assured that your future is sorted. And with payments from as little as $99 per week, there has never been a better time to upgrade your vehicle. (finance terms and conditions apply).
Learn more

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1492 days ago

Pukeko - modern-day velociraptors

Louise from Woburn

King of the paddock and river bank, pukeko (Porphyrio melanotus) remind me that the blood of dinosaurs flows through their veins. They have strutted over the Earth’s surface as velociraptors before hominids were even a blip on the evolutionary radar. Even their yips and crowing are like the sound… View moreKing of the paddock and river bank, pukeko (Porphyrio melanotus) remind me that the blood of dinosaurs flows through their veins. They have strutted over the Earth’s surface as velociraptors before hominids were even a blip on the evolutionary radar. Even their yips and crowing are like the sound effects from Jurassic Park (they probably are the sounds effects from Jurassic Park). They are beautiful with their regal blue and black plumage, but their eyes have that glint of intelligent thuggery and hard casual menace, like if you fell asleep on the wrong part of the river bank a gang of them would pounce and eat your face off. This severity is tempered by their fluffy white bottoms. People get down on them because they eat the odd bird – typically fledglings or ducklings – but give them a break; they are mostly vegetarian and have come a long way since they were apex predators only 70 million years ago. On the plus side, they will happily have a go at a cat or stoat roaming into their territory, which probably saves more ducklings than they kill. Look at it like having an almost benign overlord that you have to make the occasional sacrifice to for the good of the village.

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1492 days ago

Jumping for Jute!

Robert Anderson from

Jute is a natural fibre with golden & silky shine, and hence nicknamed as The Golden Fibre.

Jute is one of the most versatile natural fibres that has been used in raw materials for packaging, textiles, non-textile, and agricultural sectors.

Jute is a vegetable plant whose fibres are dried… View more
Jute is a natural fibre with golden & silky shine, and hence nicknamed as The Golden Fibre.

Jute is one of the most versatile natural fibres that has been used in raw materials for packaging, textiles, non-textile, and agricultural sectors.

Jute is a vegetable plant whose fibres are dried in long strips, and it’s one of the cheapest natural materials available; together with cotton, it is one of the most frequently used.

The plants from which jute is obtained grow mainly in warm and humid regions, such as Bangladesh, China, and India.

Jute can be grown year-round and is harvested every six months. It can take decades to produce the same volume of wood fiber and it requires much larger tracts of land to cultivate.

The woody core of the jute plant, called hurd, has thousands of potential industrial and commercial uses. As an alternative to wood, hurd is capable of meeting most of the world’s demand for wood and wood products. Using hurd and jute fibres means that the level of deforestation to meet the current demand for paper and wood could be significantly decreased if they were used as an alternative.

Jute is 100% biodegradable (it degrades biologically in 1 to 2 years), low-energy recyclable, and can even be used as compost for the garden. It is clear in terms of reusability and recyclability that jute bags are one of the best options available nowadays.

Jute fibres are tougher and more resilient than paper made from wood pulp and can withstand prolonged exposure to water and weather. They can be reused many times and are thus very environmentally friendly.

The application of jute is a significant step in combating the use of different materials containing toxic wastes. Jute bags cut down the employment of plastic bags, which have now been effectively banned in many countries due to their harmful components. Jute seems to be one of the best alternatives to it.

We hope you enjoyed learning about Jute as much as we did, we would love to hear your comments!

1492 days ago

Flood mapping

The Team from Wellington Water

Flood risk map meetings start tomorrow 🌊
A reminder that we'd like to hear your experiences, and observations of flooding in your area.

If you can't make this meeting, we have three more sessions being held shortly as detailed in the image below.

Tomorrow's meeting details are … View more
Flood risk map meetings start tomorrow 🌊
A reminder that we'd like to hear your experiences, and observations of flooding in your area.

If you can't make this meeting, we have three more sessions being held shortly as detailed in the image below.

Tomorrow's meeting details are 👇

🗓 Wednesday 28 October
⏰ 6pm - 8pm
📍 Massey University, Entry A

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