718 days ago

'The Stevie Wonder of Silverdale': Retired piano teacher plays for commuters

Melanie Earley Reporter from Rodney Times

Kia ora neighbours, every Thursday Lorraine Sampson makes the 40-minute bus trip from Silverdale to Auckland’s Britomart Station to play the piano for commuters.

The 75-year-old, who is legally blind in one eye and has cataracts in the other, can no longer read music due to her poor vision, so she plays all her music by ear.

There was a time Sampson, a retired teacher, believed she would have to give up playing music altogether due to her eyesight, but she said she found her fingers remembered songs she thought she’d forgotten.

When Sampson discovered there was a free piano for the public to play at Britomart Station she began making weekly trips there to play and raise funds for St John in Silverdale, where she lives.

Read the full story at the link below.

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More messages from your neighbours
23 minutes ago

🤯 Warning: These Riddles Might Melt Your Mind! 🚀

Riddler from The Neighbourly Riddler

I'm everywhere and a part of everyone.
I am at the end of space and time and existence itself.
What am I?

Do you think you know the answer? Simply 'Like' this post if you know the answer and the big reveal will be posted in the comments at 2pm on the day!

Want to stop seeing these in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.

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23 minutes ago

Local grants empower KiwiHarvest’s mission

NZ Lotteries

Every day in Aotearoa, tonnes of food go to waste while many families struggle to eat.

KiwiHarvest is tackling this by rescuing surplus food and redistributing it to over 220 community groups across the country.

With $150,000 in Local Grants funding from Lotto NZ, KiwiHarvest delivered 159,914kgs of food—equivalent to 355,366 meals—while preventing 423,774kg of CO2 emissions.

Since 2016, they’ve rescued 14.5 million kgs of food, providing over 32 million meals.

“Just $5 feeds a family for a day,” says Anne-Marie Friis, Head of Fundraising. Every Lotto ticket helps support crucial initiatives like KiwiHarvest.

Read more Local Grants recipient stories on mylotto.co.nz/community-winners
Read More

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12 days ago

Poll: Is your nearest emergency department up to scratch?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

Concerns have been raised about Nelson Hospital with complaints of lack of staffing and excessive wait times. Do you have confidence in your local emergency department?

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Is your nearest emergency department up to scratch?
  • 36.5% Yes, it serves us well
    36.5% Complete
  • 62.7% No, I have concerns
    62.7% Complete
  • 0.7% Other - I'll share below
    0.7% Complete
1773 votes