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Otago Daily Times
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Pristine vinyl in music sale
Regent Music Sale co-ordinator Mark Burrows is looking forward to welcoming music-lovers to next weekend's sale, where they can browse through tens of thousands of items, including New Zealand vinyl in excellent condition. PHOTO: BRENDA HARWOOD A mountain of donated music and entertainment material has been sorted and priced ready for bargain-hunters at next weekend's giant Regent Music Sale. Sale co-ordinator Mark Burrows said tens of thousands of music-related items, including CDs, vinyl albums and singles, DVDs, sheet music, music books and some stereo equipment would be up for grabs in the sale, to be held next Saturday, July 26, from 10am-6pm on the Regent Theatre stage. Some unusual and exciting donations had come in for the current year's sale, including a collection of pristine vinyl albums of New Zealand and Dunedin music, along with some rare mini-78 singles made in 1925, Mr Burrows said. "I think both of those groupings will attract a lot of interest," he said. "The quality of the New Zealand vinyl is incredible, so we will be making a special stand for those." Interestingly, there had also been a significant amount of music on cassette tapes donated, as the format enjoyed a resurgence in popularity. "And along with music cassettes, we also have quite a lot of talking books on cassette." The DVDs donated for the sale featured music, movies and documentaries, and also included a very large collection of box-set classical operas. "There really is something for every taste in the music sale, so hopefully we will get another big turnout of bargain hunters," Mr Burrows said. Another popular category in the Regent Music Sale was sheet music, and there was a large collection available. "Sheet music is always very much in demand, and fortunately we have plenty to go around," he said. The vast majority of items in the sale will cost $1 or $2, with more valuable items given individual prices. Mr Burrows said the Regent Music Sale attracted a "really interesting cross section" of people with an interest in music. It was also a nice chance for people to visit the theatre and experience browsing through the musical items on the Regent Theatre stage. Access can be arranged for people with disabilities.
Otago Daily Times
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Pristine vinyl to feature in music sale
Regent Music Sale co-ordinator Mark Burrows is looking forward to welcoming music-lovers to next weekend's sale, where they can browse through tens of thousands of items, including New Zealand vinyl in excellent condition. PHOTO: BRENDA HARWOOD A mountain of donated music and entertainment material has been sorted and priced ready for bargain-hunters at next weekend's giant Regent Music Sale. Sale co-ordinator Mark Burrows said tens of thousands of music-related items, including CDs, vinyl albums and singles, DVDs, sheet music, music books and some stereo equipment would be up for grabs in the sale, to be held next Saturday, July 26, from 10am-6pm on the Regent Theatre stage. Some unusual and exciting donations had come in for the current year's sale, including a collection of pristine vinyl albums of New Zealand and Dunedin music, along with some rare mini-78 singles made in 1925, Mr Burrows said. "I think both of those groupings will attract a lot of interest," he said. "The quality of the New Zealand vinyl is incredible, so we will be making a special stand for those." Interestingly, there had also been a significant amount of music on cassette tapes donated, as the format enjoyed a resurgence in popularity. "And along with music cassettes, we also have quite a lot of talking books on cassette." The DVDs donated for the sale featured music, movies and documentaries, and also included a very large collection of box-set classical operas. "There really is something for every taste in the music sale, so hopefully we will get another big turnout of bargain hunters," Mr Burrows said. Another popular category in the Regent Music Sale was sheet music, and there was a large collection available. "Sheet music is always very much in demand, and fortunately we have plenty to go around," he said. The vast majority of items in the sale will cost $1 or $2, with more valuable items given individual prices. Mr Burrows said the Regent Music Sale attracted a "really interesting cross section" of people with an interest in music. It was also a nice chance for people to visit the theatre and experience browsing through the musical items on the Regent Theatre stage. Access can be arranged for people with disabilities.
Otago Daily Times
09-07-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Event celebrates Dalai Lama's 90th
Tibetan monks Lobsang Dhoyoe (left) and Lobsang Gyatso create a sand mandala celebrating a compassionate life. PHOTO: SAM HENDERSON A global peace icon has been honoured during five days of events. The Dhargyey Buddhist Centre recently marked the 90th birthday of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama with a range of displays and activities at the Dunedin Community Gallery. Committee member Brent Caldwell said it was all about celebrating the life and works of His Holiness. A circle of four video displays presented information on the Dalai Lama's four principal commitments — human values, religious harmony, Tibetan culture and the revival of ancient Indian wisdom. A space for meditation and quiet reflection was created in one corner, including an altar displaying the Buddhist offering of seven water bowls — for drinking, washing, flowers, incense, light, perfume and food. A "kindness tree" invited visitors to record an act of goodwill or a birthday message on a card shaped like a bodhi (sacred fig tree) leaf and hang it on the branches. The space showcased Tibetan cultural artefacts and costumes as well as information about the Buddhist centre. One screen featured information on the Portobello Stupa, while another outlined ongoing fundraising efforts to repair the basement of the centre's Royal Tce home, which suffers from water seepage and soil contamination. Talks covered subjects such as human values and religious harmony. Throughout the five-day celebration, Tibetan monks Lobsang Dhoyoe and Lobsang Gyatso worked on creating an intricate multi-coloured sand mandala, ceremonially sweeping it away yesterday after completion. The Dalai Lama's worldwide advocacy for peace was recognised with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.
Otago Daily Times
02-07-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Duck tale a quacker
The home-made "ducks crossing" sign outside the Newell family home warns neighbours to look out for a visiting mother duck and her seven ducklings. PHOTO: SUPPLIED A wild mother duck and her seven ducklings have become regular visitors to the Newell family home in Sunnyvale, much to the amusement of the neighbourhood and radio listeners across the city. For the past couple of months, The Breeze Dunedin morning radio show co-host Damian Newell has been entertaining locals by regularly sharing photos and videos of the growing duck family online. "We've been having a bit of fun with it by giving our listeners 'duck tales' updates," Mr Newell said. The saga began two years ago, when Damian and Debra Newell's daughter Molly started feeding a pair of wild mallards, dubbed Karla and Valerio, alongside the family's flock of pet Indian Runner ducks. After disappearing for a time, Karla returned about eight weeks ago, waddling up the drive with eight ducklings in tow. Sadly, one duckling was lost early on, but the mother has been able to keep her seven remaining ducklings growing strong — with a little help from the Newells. PHOTO: SUPPLIED Describing the family's tall, flightless Indian Runner ducks as "agents of chaos", Mr Newell said Karla and her brood fitted in with them well, and were making the most of the supplementary food source and a safe back yard to spend time in. "They hang out in our garden for most of the day, before we escort them back to the creek at night," he said. A home-made "ducks crossing" sign helps with safety. While Karla and her ducklings get on well with the Indian Runner ducks, they get bossed around a bit by the family's chooks. However, Mr Newell said everyone seemed reasonably happy with the arrangements, apart from the family dog Bustop, who had found himself at the bottom of the pecking order. "Poor old Bustop, they all pick on him."
Otago Daily Times
02-07-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
$2m fund revealed
A new fund aims to support environmental outcomes. The Otago Regional Council recently approved a new $2 million annual fund. Initially pooled from council reserves, it will be available for any community-led environmental project in Otago. The new fund is separate from the regional council's annual Eco Fund. Environmental implementation manager Libby Caldwell said the council was developing eligibility criteria and would take a leadership role in the funding system, but the aim was for communities to lead local action to achieve sustained environmental outcomes. "This fund is targeted at large-scale environmental projects which have intergenerational impacts, local leadership and action which is driven by communities and alignment to ORC strategy and strategic direction." A wide variety of projects could be included such as river, stream, wetland revitalisation or restoration, wilding conifer proposals, on-ground works, biodiversity enhancement, water quality improvement, animal or plant pest control, native planting and regeneration, education as well as administrative support. Work on private farmland or forestry blocks might be eligible if projects are aligned with environmental enhancement or restoration and meet the required criteria. "Each application would be assessed on its own merits, bearing in mind Eco Fund already caters for smaller projects to some extent. "The intent of this new funding is that it would be looking at projects at a larger scale, so likely to be projects which are of a higher value and include collaborative projects." Further criteria will be developed to help potential applicants understand whether their projects are likely to be supported A two-stage process for fund allocation is being proposed. First, interested organisations would submit a registration of interest so their eligibility can be assessed. This would be followed by a more detailed proposal submitted through a request-for-proposal process. Further detail on this process will also be presented to the regional council for approval in due course, she said. Councillor and environmental delivery committee co-chairwoman Kate Wilson welcomed the decision, saying the community had shown that a large-scale catchment-wide approach was the most effective delivery model. Co-chairman and councillor Lloyd McCall said the regional council's ability to support and enable community-led environmental action at scale was an excellent opportunity. "There is already significant investment that the community are contributing to environmental outcomes and to be able to support more of this to happen on the ground is vital to enhance what we have for future generations," he said.
