Sources admit there was a “balls up”.
Full story here.
What’s something that this fair city has been needing since it was founded in… say, when was Wellington founded anyway? 
That’s right, you guessed it, you KNEW it all along, Wellington needs a sonnet!
And here’s where you can help: You can write that sonnet!
Wellington Sonnet Competition 2008
Wellington needs a sonnet. London has ‘Upon Westminster Bridge’ by William Wordsworth and in more recent times, other poets have written sonnets about their favourite cities. So have you got what it takes to write Wellington’s sonnet? We are looking for the best unpublished sonnets about Wellington and you could be in to win $1000.
This competition, sponsored by New Zealand Post, is being run as a promotion for the Wellington Writers Walk, an initiative of the New Zealand Society of Authors, Wellington Branch. The walk pays tribute to nineteen New Zealand authors with a series of sculptural and ‘benchmark’ quotations set in surprising and unexpected places around the waterfront.
The Wellington Writers Walk is continuing to develop, assisted by generous individual sponsorships for each commemoration and overseen by a small, voluntary committee. By entering this competition, you are contributing to the continuity of the project.
Find out more about the walk here
Prizes
1st prize $1,000
2nd prize $500
3rd prize $250
Plus 10 highly commended prizes of $50 each
Click here for further details, an entry form & the small print.
Please note: there are very specific rules governing the construction of sonnets: the number of syllables in each line, the number of lines in the sonnet, metre, rhyme scheme etc etc…
With the cost of oil reaching record highs, it stands to reason that more & more people will see the sense in leaving their cars at home & enjoy the hassle free ride to work, in the company of like minded souls, on the region’s bus & train network.
The more people that switch to public transport, the more economically efficient the public network will become, right? Might even be worth subsidising, wouldn’t you think?
But, less cars on the roads might pose a problem for some of the wackier, recent roading proposals – that 2nd tunnel through Mt Victoria isn’t being made for buses after all.
So what’s a council to do? I know, they could look for ways to discourage people from using public transport at all.
The feud commences. I quite like the curmudgeon role.
Rob Olsen, the editor of the Wellingtonian has responded to my request that The Wellingtonista “Addressed Mail Only” sign be respected:
What is your house address?
Rob Olsen, editor, The Wellingtonian
474 0147
editor@thewellingtonian.co.nz
To which I replied:
Does that matter?
It’s the one with an “Addressed mail only” sign.
Please respect my wishes.
Because we’re super heroes dude, we can’t go giving our address out to the media, people would come & see us changing into our tights & capes.
Which got me this:
Is it 1 Woodward Street? It matters if you want the paper stopped.
It’s not, and I think it unfair to all the other “Addressed Mail Only” sign owners that we have to personally plead with anyone, to stop putting unwanted stuff on our property.
But Rob says it’s out of his hands. It’s the “System”.
Without an address I can’t act. We have to instruct the company that delivers the paper not to deliver to specific addresses. “Addressed Mail Only” is obviously not enough info. I am sorry to have to labour this point but that’s the system. Otherwise I suggest you take it up with my manager Diane Clayton on 474 0362.
Rob Olsen, editor, The Wellingtonian
474 0147
editor@thewellingtonian.co.nz
The first unstamped Foolscap envelope bearing the two copies of the Wellingtonian that were delivered last week should be arriving on Rob’s desk today or tomorrow.
That’s “The System” at work.
A question of comprehension:
A sign saying “Addressed mail only” on a letterbox means:
a) only items specifically addressed to an occupant of the premises to be posted in the letterbox?
b) who knows? Bung the junkmail in anyway?
Please note, we’ll be mailing any further copies dropped in the Wellingtonista letterbox (just below the “addressed mail only” sign) back to you without postage. Until it stops.
In an effort to encourage people to leave their cars at home, Greater Wellington has announced that from July 1 this year, bikes can ride on trains for free.
At the moment, travelling by rail with your bike will cost you another adult fare.
Sounds like a good idea to us. There is a caveat however, if the train is full, your bike cannot ride at all.
Stuff coverage here.
The first person who can supply us with photographic evidence of any workmen in the city, operating heavy or noisy machinery, AND WEARING EAR PROTECTORS!!
Will win a 1kg bag of Rahui Lodge Macadamia Nuts.
But I’m not sure you’ll find one.
On the off-chance anyone wants a bag of nuts… photos of ear muff wearing Wellington workmen can be emailed to andrew.llewellyn@gmail.com.
The Wellington Regional Council is considering charging all motorists who enter or leave Wellington during “rush hour”, a congestion fee.
The money raised will go towards improving the region’s buses and trains.
However, Mayor Kerry Prendergast is not keen on the idea at all. We’ll speculate here, that if the money raised was proposed for building a link road between Korokoro & Tawa… she & the two motorists who would regularly use it, might be more favourable to the suggestion.
Full story here.
Over at Kiwiblog, DPF suggests that revenue should be used for other purposes than merely public transport, such as improving the Bypass. If anyone would like to comment about possible Bypass improvements, feel free.
Most of the Wellingtonista walk, bus or Segway to & from the office & so we’ll not be affected, but how about you tell us what you think of the idea in the comments?
I’m just guessing that the reason the letterbox outside Borders Bookstore in Lambton Quay has been happily talking to itself (possibly with Emily Perkins’ voice) all week, has something to do with Writers & Readers Week.
That NZ Post are sponsors of the week kind of supports that theory.
Has anyone heard any other postal paraphernalia talking to them?
Please say it’s not just me…
