Writer and musician
Kia ora from a chilly Golden Bay, Aotearoa, New Zealand 👋🏼 I’m wearing my winter attire: gumboots and a Swanndri. This week I want to talk about your unique voice as a writer. We all have one and you are most certainly no exception. When you write your story, I invite you to relax and …
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Kia ora, Today I’d like to talk about spelling. Please don’t let fear of getting it wrong hold you back from writing your story. English is such a confusing language, because it’s a combo of around six older languages. For many years, although I loved writing creatively, I didn’t feel confident as a speller. People …
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Time travel with me? Let’s go back to 1981. I am five years old. It's a wintery morning on the weaving road of the Tākaka Hill, top of the South Island, New Zealand. I am in the back seat of a Ford Zephyr. My dad is driving. My mother’s there too, wearing an old, cream …
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There’s something about old community halls that I love. They ooze history and character. They speak of the events of yesteryear, of the sweet new beginnings of weddings, of the many flavours of meetings that took place there, of the funerals - some expected, some not - and the iconic dances that people would travel …
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Keep writing. For me, writing is nourishment. When I make the time to write, I’m amazed at what comes out of me! It’s almost like I’m reading it as I write it, I never know quite what’s going to come out. I’m working on my second novel right now, it’s going to take me a …
https://youtu.be/jhKpI8Cb-48 Before you start writing your memoir it’s important to know why you’re writing it and who for Just as you need solid foundations to build a house, you need to put in some decent planning before you write your memoir, life story or family history. Two things to clarify before you begin are: 1. …
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Meet Charlotte. She’s the mummy of Climate Love. Here’s some stuff you should know about her: 1. Why Climate Love? I’d been running the good news website Happyzine for years and I wanted to explore applying the power of solutions focused media to the climate issue. I was also keen to experience publishing an actual …
Tui Balms team members, from left: Cathy Mountier, Inna Alex and Ngarie Jones with their new cardboard packaging. They deliver locally in their electric van. After a seven-year odyssey of searching for the most eco-friendly packaging, Tui Balms are shifting from plastic to cardboard.The years of research and experimenting included bioplastics (plastic made from a …
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Tena koe, Charlotte Squire here. I run Climate Love - two tiny, local newspapers plus online media - and I live with my whānau (family) in my tūrangawaewae (place to stand) Mohua/Golden Bay. Yet another majestic river in Golden Bay. I took this pic yesterday while filming on the Wainui River. Are you creating or …
An architect’s impression of a three-bedroom dwelling in the Tākaka co-housing neighbourhood. The Takaka co-housing team are coming to the Earth Hub to invite people to hear about their project and buy into their new neighbourhood in Golden Bay. They are building two sustainable 34-home neighbourhoodss on the edge of the Tākaka township. While the …
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Early potatoes popping through soil in September Blossoms herald the shift into spring and the beginning of the main growing season. Garden bed preparation A busy time for the keen gardener, as bed preparation tops the list in the vegetable garden. Go over beds with a fork, weeding dock, buttercup and couch especially, followed by …
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Golden Bay librarian Suse Toder says we don’t need to leave our cars running anymore. Golden Bay resident Suse Toder would like people to think about not idling their cars, both to save on fuel costs and to reduce greenhouse emissions. Suse says that in the UK, Canada, US, and Germany it’s illegal to leave your car running to …
Anita Peters with a wild basket she made using willow and other “random branches” from trees that were washed up on Pohara Beach after a recent storm. East Takaka resident Anita Peters delights in making baskets from material she finds in her environment. She uses plants such as banana passion vine, harakeke, muehlenbeckia, wild riverside …
By Charlotte Squire The newlyweds sit down outside the weather beaten shop. Their shoulders visibly drop as they gaze at a horizon of hills, feeling the sun on their faces. They make eye contact with a nearby elderly couple who are doing the same, and before long the four have become life long friends over …
Continue reading "Time slows and connection grows at the iconic Langford Store"
Charlotte Squire 