One year on: teaching online cooking, wine and history and our News
We watch captivated by the spectacle of those impressive America's Cup yachts foiling at 40 knots across the Hauraki Gulf, and at the same time, it's hard not to have a salutary reflection on the last 12 months.
Almost to the day, we were celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the New Zealand School of Food and Wine with special wine tastings, cooking classes, forage and gastronomic dinner for over 75 guests + our students. Many of our Christchurch team, including Lois, Philippe and Victoria had come up for the weekend. My mother-in-law, June Hay had also joined us from her retirement home in Christchurch. By Sunday 15 March, I was getting pretty nervous about Covid-19 and rather than have June stay in the North Island for a holiday, she returned home the next day. A few days later June's rest home went into lockdown and I counted the 14 days to see if we too had a NZSFW Covid Cluster. Fortunately not! See below some photos as we recalled the 10th Anniversary of the Christchurch Earthquakes.
Read the full story on our latest newsletter.
Poll: Is it ok to regift something that you have been given?
🎁 Holiday Gift Chat!
Do you ever regift?
What’s your take on asking for a receipt if a gift doesn’t fit?
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78.9% Yes! It's better to regift what I don't need
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21.1% No. It's the thought and effort that matters
Some Choice News!
Many New Zealand gardens aren’t seeing as many monarch butterflies fluttering around their swan plants and flower beds these days — the hungry Asian paper wasp has been taking its toll.
Thanks to people like Alan Baldick, who’s made it his mission to protect the monarch, his neighbours still get to enjoy these beautiful butterflies in their own backyards.
Thinking about planting something to invite more butterflies, bees, and birds into your garden?
Thanks for your mahi, Alan! We hope this brings a smile!
The gift of giving …?
The author of “The Gift of the Magi” is O. Henry, a pseudonym for William Sydney Porter.
“The Gift of the Magi” is a poignant short story about a young couple, Jim and Della, who are deeply in love but financially struggling. With Christmas approaching and limited money, each decides to sacrifice their most prized possession to buy a meaningful gift for the other. Della sells her beautiful long hair to buy a platinum chain for Jim’s watch, while Jim sells his grandfather’s watch to buy a set of combs for Della’s hair. In the end, their love and sacrifice underscore the true spirit of giving during the holiday season.
🤔
I would say the story underscores the stupidity of Xmas gifts … after all, it is not YOUR birthday, so how about donating something to good causes and otherwise enjoying being together?
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