Alison says:-
That all our Library members who come in to the Library, do some borrowing, read their selections, then return them to the library and take out some more reading, must be thanked for the support they've given the Library through the year.
Likewise, her team of volunteers who open the door, carry out their duties and then close the door 2 hours later need thanking too.
Without these 2 groups in the community, there would be no Library.
We'll see you all next year - have a good time over the holidays and remember, the Library's hours are constant these holidays,- there'll be no changes.
Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou.
Posted by Trevor on behalf of Alison who's attending to her goat.
Thursday, 20 December 2012
In the last post, I said Alison would divulge the new book purchases for the Hampden Library.
Well, various impediments arose.
One of her goats has developed what seems to be an incurable ulcer on its hoof and alot of her time is being spent looking after her (the goat).
The books were boxed up and sent to Oamaru for catalogueing, but the staff there are working flat out and have not yet been able to start this task.
On Tuesday this week, the Waitaki District Council Libraries Division put on a morning tea for all the volunteers that help to keep the District's libraries running efficiently. There are 60 volunteers help the salaried staff at the Oamaru Library alone, - then there are the libraries at Omarama, Otematata, Kurow and Plamerston, as well as Hampden. But while at this morning tea, the Hampden reps asked for at least some of the books, cataloged or not, to be returned to Hampden for putting on the shelves for Christmas reading. They can be returned at a later date to Oamaru for registering in the catalogue.
So Yippee!!
We have some of the new editions - additional on our shelves for your summer reading.
They are:-
The Summer Garden, by Paulina Simons.
A Wanted Man, Lee Childs.
The Casual Vacancy, JK Rowling.
The Black Box, M Connelly.
Dominion, CJ Sansom
Daughter-in-Law, Joanna Trollope.
Post Mortem, Patricia Cornwell.
The Family Frying Pan, Bryce Courtenay.
Be in quick. This list is about half of our new purchases, the others will be put on the shelves and notified on this blog as they come to hand.
Well, various impediments arose.
One of her goats has developed what seems to be an incurable ulcer on its hoof and alot of her time is being spent looking after her (the goat).
The books were boxed up and sent to Oamaru for catalogueing, but the staff there are working flat out and have not yet been able to start this task.
On Tuesday this week, the Waitaki District Council Libraries Division put on a morning tea for all the volunteers that help to keep the District's libraries running efficiently. There are 60 volunteers help the salaried staff at the Oamaru Library alone, - then there are the libraries at Omarama, Otematata, Kurow and Plamerston, as well as Hampden. But while at this morning tea, the Hampden reps asked for at least some of the books, cataloged or not, to be returned to Hampden for putting on the shelves for Christmas reading. They can be returned at a later date to Oamaru for registering in the catalogue.
So Yippee!!
We have some of the new editions - additional on our shelves for your summer reading.
They are:-
The Summer Garden, by Paulina Simons.
A Wanted Man, Lee Childs.
The Casual Vacancy, JK Rowling.
The Black Box, M Connelly.
Dominion, CJ Sansom
Daughter-in-Law, Joanna Trollope.
Post Mortem, Patricia Cornwell.
The Family Frying Pan, Bryce Courtenay.
Be in quick. This list is about half of our new purchases, the others will be put on the shelves and notified on this blog as they come to hand.
Saturday, 24 November 2012
Alison's been going bananas purchasing some new titles to put on the shelves before Christmas - speaking of which, the Library will maintain its normal hours right through December and the New Year.
Anyway, I'll leave the announcement of the new books to her.
Here are some notices from the Oamaru Library that may be of interest to Hampden people:
Genealogy and the internet:
Geneologists make extensive use of the internet but can we really believe all that is available
on-line?
This talk, by NZSG Mainland South Education Officer Heather Bray, looks at some of the
pitfalls of relying on the Internet, and how you verify any information you find on sites, such
as Ancestry.com, to ensure your family tree is accurate and well sourced.
Oamaru Library Wednesday 5 December at 6pm
Hap Cameron on working the world:
After finishing a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Otago, Hap Cameron
decided to set himself a big goal: live and work on all seven continents of the world before
the age of 30. It took eight years, but he did it.
Hap will talk at the Oamaru Library, 6pm Friday 7th December.
Celebrating Janet Frame:
Oamaru Library and the Janet Frame Eden St. Trust invite you to an evening celebration to
mark the publication of “Gorse is not People”: A new collection of short stories from
renowned writer Janet Frame
The guest speaker will be poet and novelist Emma Neale.
Join us at the Oamaru Library at 6pm on Friday 14 December 2012
Anyway, I'll leave the announcement of the new books to her.
Here are some notices from the Oamaru Library that may be of interest to Hampden people:
Genealogy and the internet:
Geneologists make extensive use of the internet but can we really believe all that is available
on-line?
This talk, by NZSG Mainland South Education Officer Heather Bray, looks at some of the
pitfalls of relying on the Internet, and how you verify any information you find on sites, such
as Ancestry.com, to ensure your family tree is accurate and well sourced.
Oamaru Library Wednesday 5 December at 6pm
Hap Cameron on working the world:
After finishing a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Otago, Hap Cameron
decided to set himself a big goal: live and work on all seven continents of the world before
the age of 30. It took eight years, but he did it.
Hap will talk at the Oamaru Library, 6pm Friday 7th December.
Celebrating Janet Frame:
Oamaru Library and the Janet Frame Eden St. Trust invite you to an evening celebration to
mark the publication of “Gorse is not People”: A new collection of short stories from
renowned writer Janet Frame
The guest speaker will be poet and novelist Emma Neale.
Join us at the Oamaru Library at 6pm on Friday 14 December 2012
Thursday, 16 August 2012
Book Review:
From Dust To Gold by John Perriam,
Photos by Stephen Jaquiery and the Perriam family.
John Perriam was angry. His family had
farmed quite successfully at Lowburn for a century. Who was Robert
Muldoon to say they had to go? But go they must. Their farm buildings
were bulldozed and Lake Dunstan's waters rose.
Bendigo Station came up for sale and
the Perriams, knowing nothing whatsoever of high country farming,
took it on. What a task. And a very big learning curve. Fortunately
the Perriams were up to, but they had to learn all there was to know
(and more) about the type of country, its history, merinos and their
wool, wool marketing, the politics of rural life, grapes, and then to
have the entire scene abruptly change when one of the shepherds, Ann
Scanlan, found a five year old woolie while on a high muster.
Shrek, as he was named, fitted into the
scene very well, but John Perriam had to change his life to fit in
with Shrek, his schedule, his politics, his star performances, his
popularity and his fans.
Along the way two great environmental
vandals set about trying to ruin the Bendigo Station; firstly the
gold miners, secondly the rabbits.
At about the time Shrek was shorn, this
reviewer wrote a newspaper article congratulating the Perriams on the
way the Shrek affair was being handled, and how the Cure Kids Charity
and the country were benefiting from the exposure Shrek was
receiving. This book tells of the hard work, deep planning and
sleepless nights that went into making this happen. Fortunately, John
Perriam was up to it. A lesser mortal could not have coped.
The story of Bendigo Station is told
from its earliest history through to the present day, and portrays
just how things have changed. Various Perriam family companies now
produce wine, slaughter rabbits for the restaurant trade, make cloth
in conjunction with Italian mills, run a retail complex in Tarras,
and bring in tourists for game safaris, and still run sheep. John
Perriam has got over his anger.
The book is well written and easy to
read. There are far more photos than one would normally expect, but
these are all of superb quality. They could very well fill a book on
their own.
A pleasant, but eye-opening read.
This book is not in the Hampden
Library, but is in the Waitaki Library system, and can be readily
obtained.
Trevor
Friday, 6 July 2012
Library Lunches.
Periodically, interested people get together at the Hampden Library to discuss the library and its contents.
Often a Librarian from Oamaru, or an author will be in attendance. These meetings are usually about every four or six weeks and are held from about 12.15 to 1.30.
Participants bring their own lunch to munch during sometimes very lively (but always interesting) discussions.
The forthcoming lunches are publicised in the Hamraki Rag. Come along and join in. All Library members are welcome.
Book Review- The Twelve Cakes of Christmas
The Twelve Cakes Of Christmas, by Helen Leach, Mary Browne and Raelene Inglis.
“An evolutionary history, with recipes.”
The authors take us on an interesting odyssey of cake baking back to the 1600s. No doubt
there were cakes baked before that time, but written recipes do not exist for them. The earliest
recipes used strange words and strange measurements, but throughout this book the authors
have determined what was meant in each case. Indeed, some recipes of the modern era may
seem strange also. Each recipe, the ingredients, the oven heat, the method of mixing and the
finished product is well analysed.
The book looks at cakes; cakes baked for a particular season at that. The time portrayed at the
start of the book tells of a time when a Christmas cake was unknown and the pudding (that
was the cake of the time) was baked for Twelfth Day (or Twelfth Night). They were called a
Twelve Cake.
Over time, raising agents and methods changed, ingredients and their quality changed, ovens
improved, and the cake became a Christmas cake as the Twelfth Night celebration fell into
oblivion. Cooks were able to write recipes down, and noted adjustments for what ingredients
were available and affordable. They swapped their favourite recipes with friends, and passed
them onto to magazines, newspapers and community fund-raising cook books.
The authors have worked out plausible family trees for the most popular recipes and are able
to show how a recipe moved from town to town and country to country.
Hundreds of recipes were investigated to produce this book and each step along the way is
explained. Although the book contains quite a few recipes, it is not so much a recipe book as
a “who dunnit”, why and how. It makes for very interesting reading, whether you be a cook or
not.
Well recommended.
There is an autographed copy of this book in the Hampden Library.
Reviewer: Trevor
ZNF 641.86 LEA, Published by Otago University Press. ISBN 978 1 877578 19 9
“An evolutionary history, with recipes.”
The authors take us on an interesting odyssey of cake baking back to the 1600s. No doubt
there were cakes baked before that time, but written recipes do not exist for them. The earliest
recipes used strange words and strange measurements, but throughout this book the authors
have determined what was meant in each case. Indeed, some recipes of the modern era may
seem strange also. Each recipe, the ingredients, the oven heat, the method of mixing and the
finished product is well analysed.
The book looks at cakes; cakes baked for a particular season at that. The time portrayed at the
start of the book tells of a time when a Christmas cake was unknown and the pudding (that
was the cake of the time) was baked for Twelfth Day (or Twelfth Night). They were called a
Twelve Cake.
Over time, raising agents and methods changed, ingredients and their quality changed, ovens
improved, and the cake became a Christmas cake as the Twelfth Night celebration fell into
oblivion. Cooks were able to write recipes down, and noted adjustments for what ingredients
were available and affordable. They swapped their favourite recipes with friends, and passed
them onto to magazines, newspapers and community fund-raising cook books.
The authors have worked out plausible family trees for the most popular recipes and are able
to show how a recipe moved from town to town and country to country.
Hundreds of recipes were investigated to produce this book and each step along the way is
explained. Although the book contains quite a few recipes, it is not so much a recipe book as
a “who dunnit”, why and how. It makes for very interesting reading, whether you be a cook or
not.
Well recommended.
There is an autographed copy of this book in the Hampden Library.
Reviewer: Trevor
ZNF 641.86 LEA, Published by Otago University Press. ISBN 978 1 877578 19 9
Friday, 23 March 2012
Three books by Sara Henderson - Review
The Sara Henderson Trilogy.
From Strength to Strength*
The Strength In Us All
Some of My Friends Have Tails
These are 3 separate books, the first two written to stand on their own.
Unfortunately, the 3rd isn’t, and would at times be incomprehensible to
readers who had not firstly spent time with the previous volumes.
Sara and her husband had a high-flying life in some pretty high-flying
situations (Charlie was a pilot) when they decided to buy Bullo River, a
(very) large station in the Northern Territory. There they raised animals, 3
daughters and debt. It wasn’t until Charlie died that Sara found out how
much debt. The story of how she succeeded in getting out of debt is the
subject of her first book “From Strength to Strength”*. For her efforts she
was named Australian Business Woman of the Year (1991), and this book
was named the Book of the Year (1993).
The second book “The Strength In Us All” tells of how she coped with the
Award and its aftermath, and at the same time, kept running the business
side of the property. One of her daughters took over the day-today details
of staff, stock, fences, vehicles, while Sara had a hectic regime of book-
writing, radio-telephone calls to bank managers, conferences, appearances
and interviews, all the time trying to reduce the horrendous debt Charlie
had accrued.
The final work is “Some of My Friends Have Tails”, and covers the animals
that kept Sara and her family company through her life, and some of the
human characters as well who had left an impression on her. It recounts
many a story from the outback and beyond, some humorous, some sad,
some ridiculous, some serious, all interesting involving the Hendersons.
All 3 works are extremely well written and easy to read. One wonders how
she manages to convey all the sensitivity and feeling in her writing whilst
retaining her chatty style.
These 3 books are now available in the Hampden Library. The second
book has information recently added to it about the author’s death in 2005,
the tributes paid to her, and the long-running legal case with one of her
daughters. (The second book also is not in as good condition as the others
and care is necessary in handling it.)
*(This book also available on audio tape read by the author, but is not in the Hampden Library.)
From Strength to Strength*
The Strength In Us All
Some of My Friends Have Tails
These are 3 separate books, the first two written to stand on their own.
Unfortunately, the 3rd isn’t, and would at times be incomprehensible to
readers who had not firstly spent time with the previous volumes.
Sara and her husband had a high-flying life in some pretty high-flying
situations (Charlie was a pilot) when they decided to buy Bullo River, a
(very) large station in the Northern Territory. There they raised animals, 3
daughters and debt. It wasn’t until Charlie died that Sara found out how
much debt. The story of how she succeeded in getting out of debt is the
subject of her first book “From Strength to Strength”*. For her efforts she
was named Australian Business Woman of the Year (1991), and this book
was named the Book of the Year (1993).
The second book “The Strength In Us All” tells of how she coped with the
Award and its aftermath, and at the same time, kept running the business
side of the property. One of her daughters took over the day-today details
of staff, stock, fences, vehicles, while Sara had a hectic regime of book-
writing, radio-telephone calls to bank managers, conferences, appearances
and interviews, all the time trying to reduce the horrendous debt Charlie
had accrued.
The final work is “Some of My Friends Have Tails”, and covers the animals
that kept Sara and her family company through her life, and some of the
human characters as well who had left an impression on her. It recounts
many a story from the outback and beyond, some humorous, some sad,
some ridiculous, some serious, all interesting involving the Hendersons.
All 3 works are extremely well written and easy to read. One wonders how
she manages to convey all the sensitivity and feeling in her writing whilst
retaining her chatty style.
These 3 books are now available in the Hampden Library. The second
book has information recently added to it about the author’s death in 2005,
the tributes paid to her, and the long-running legal case with one of her
daughters. (The second book also is not in as good condition as the others
and care is necessary in handling it.)
*(This book also available on audio tape read by the author, but is not in the Hampden Library.)
Saturday, 28 January 2012
Schola Cantorum in Hampden
I give you advance notice of a visit to Hampden of the Schola Cantorum of Christchurch and the Canterbury-Otago Consort of Viols.
They will spend the weekend of May 12th and 13th testing the acoustics of the Presbyterian Church in London Street, winding up the weekend with an all-in-together "Sing In".
This is a unique opportunity to hear a unique style of music, a style rarely heard in New Zealand.
The event will be themed on "John Hampden, - His Tymes, His Music".
Mr Ken Bridge will help fill in the weekend with a discourse on John Hampden, after whom our village is named. Was he a ratbag, or was he a patriot?Any further information, contact Trevor - 4394 887, or Alison - 4394 824, or members of the Presbyterian Church and Community Cultural Centre Committee.
That Rhubarb Cake at the Markets........
A couple of years ago there was a morning held at the Hall at which rhubarb in all its manifestations was presented. Recipes for rhubarb items were made available.
A couple of months ago I came across yet another rhubarb recipe - a cake and/or dessert recipe. The cake has been very favourably received by people attending the market and sampling it.
From North and South Magazine, a magazine available at the Library, I give you:-
RHUBARB CUSTARD CAKE.
This cake is best made in 3 stages.
The Custard
2 Tsp custard powder
2 Tsp sugar
1 tsp butter
1¼ cups milk
Combine all in a pot and gently make the custard over a slow heat. It needs to be thick, and is then cooled before making the cake.
Rhubarb Mixture
250g of fresh (or frozen) rhubarb cut into 1 cm pieces
¼ cup sugar
1 Tsp flour
½ tsp cinnamon
Combine and let sit for 10 minutes
Cake Mixture
150 g butter
¾ cup sugar
3 eggs
1½ cups flour (organic and stone ground for the perfectionist)
2 tsp baking powder
¾ cup milk
In a medium bowl cream butter and sugar until pale. Add eggs, flour, baking powder and milk, and gently fold together.
To assemble the cake, pour a quarter of the cake batter onto the bottom of a 21 cm buttered tin, and spoon half of the custard on top, then spoon half the rhubarb mixture on top of that. Pour over a third of what's left of the cake batter and top again with remaining custard, the rhubarb mixtures. Finish with the remaining cake batter being poured on.
Place in an oven pre-heated to 180º and bake for an hour. Turn oven off but leave cake in for a further 15 minutes to complete the cooking process. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before turning cake out.
Serve as a dessert with sweet yoghurt or cream, or slice and serve with tea or coffee.
A couple of months ago I came across yet another rhubarb recipe - a cake and/or dessert recipe. The cake has been very favourably received by people attending the market and sampling it.
From North and South Magazine, a magazine available at the Library, I give you:-
RHUBARB CUSTARD CAKE.
This cake is best made in 3 stages.
The Custard
2 Tsp custard powder
2 Tsp sugar
1 tsp butter
1¼ cups milk
Combine all in a pot and gently make the custard over a slow heat. It needs to be thick, and is then cooled before making the cake.
Rhubarb Mixture
250g of fresh (or frozen) rhubarb cut into 1 cm pieces
¼ cup sugar
1 Tsp flour
½ tsp cinnamon
Combine and let sit for 10 minutes
Cake Mixture
150 g butter
¾ cup sugar
3 eggs
1½ cups flour (organic and stone ground for the perfectionist)
2 tsp baking powder
¾ cup milk
In a medium bowl cream butter and sugar until pale. Add eggs, flour, baking powder and milk, and gently fold together.
To assemble the cake, pour a quarter of the cake batter onto the bottom of a 21 cm buttered tin, and spoon half of the custard on top, then spoon half the rhubarb mixture on top of that. Pour over a third of what's left of the cake batter and top again with remaining custard, the rhubarb mixtures. Finish with the remaining cake batter being poured on.
Place in an oven pre-heated to 180º and bake for an hour. Turn oven off but leave cake in for a further 15 minutes to complete the cooking process. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before turning cake out.
Serve as a dessert with sweet yoghurt or cream, or slice and serve with tea or coffee.
K-KITS for kids
The Library now has in stock K-Kits which are a combination of a book and Cd.
There are 4 in stock and more can be made available if there is a demand for them.
The ones we have are for children of pre-school age.
Mum (or Dad) puts on the Cd, and as the story is being told, the book gives the illustrations for the child to follow.
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