Newsletter - July 2025
- Helen Vear
- Jul 14
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 1
Greetings from the President:
This is the time of the year with dismal weather that I sometimes have to work on keeping my spirits up and it has certainly been cold with what seems like never ending low cloud, but yesterday I noticed in my garden that my Aconites were ‘up’ – always something that makes me smile, because I know they’re just the start of more to come……
Series Four, Hotspots, is looking exciting and couldn’t be more relevant to the times. David Morrell and Chris Connor have organised this series for a number of years and they seem to ‘hit the spot’ time and time again. Thank you to them both.
Another thankyou to Ross Nicholas for his considerable help with revamping our constitution. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of people who stayed back after the final session of the last series for the Special General Meeting which we were required to hold. All went well and the new constitution was swiftly approved. On a broader note, the Committee and I are very happy with the consistently large numbers coming to talks each week and the overall participation of members in the Interest Groups. Thank you again for your ongoing support.
Series Four: Hot Spots
July 21 | Dr Nick Smith Senior Research Fellow National Centre for Research on Europe University of Canterbury | Survival and Security in the Pacific |
July 28 | Professor Robert Patman Professor of International Relations Department of Politics University of Otago https://www.otago.ac.nz/profiles/robert-patman
| A New International Order |
August 4 | Assoc Professor Kate McMillan Comparative Politics Victoria University of Wellington | The International Politics of Forced Migration |
August 11 | Dr Nick Smith Senior Research Fellow National Centre for Research on Europe University of Canterbury https://profiles.canterbury.ac.nz/Nick-Smith
| Adjustments in Europe |
August 18 | Assoc Professor Jeremy Moses Political Science and International Relations | The Politics of Genocide in Gaza |
Places of Interest Visit to Kea Aerospace
We plan to visit Kea Aerospace on Friday 22 August at 10.30.
The company was founded in 2018 in Christchurch, New Zealand and was an early participant of New Zealand’s Airspace Integration Trials Programme which was run by the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment. Kea Aerospace is currently flight-testing stratospheric aircraft in New Zealand - the solar-powered Kea Atmos operates as a High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) and High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) aircraft. Kea is a research partner with the University of Canterbury and has supported the establishment and growth of the industry body. Aerospace New Zealand has projects underway with NASA and the German Aerospace Center. 20 will be the maximum number for the Kea Aerospace visit.
If you would like to go please contact Richard Pickering
Interest Group Activities
An impressive 25 walkers this week!
Stop Press! Another John Dodgshun Organ Recital Coming Up
- mark your calendars now - Friday 3rd October, St Andrew's at Rangi Ruru, 10.30am.
Art Group Visit Report
On June 27, we visited the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū to see the fascinating exhibition of the late Fred Graham’s sculpture: Toi Whakaata/ Reflections. If you have not yet seen it, you have plenty of time as it will be there until October 5.
Another exhibition worth seeing is Background Matters: Portraiture and Place in Aotearoa, toured by the National Portrait Gallery. This is at Kate Sheppard House, 83 Clyde Road, open daily 11-3. Free entry. It closes on July 27. Supported by Heritage NZ.
I am planning the next tour for Friday August 15. It will be the usual time- 10.15am, this time at COCA, the pop-up museum. This exhibition, He Riri Awatea: Filming the New Zealand Wars, closes on September 7. It is also being toured by the National Portrait Gallery.
If you are interested in being on our mailing list, email me at foleyfamily@xtra.co.nz
I will confirm details of the each visit the week before the planned visit. Julie Foley.
Places of Interest Report
Visit to Airways International Ltd (AIL), Harewood, Friday 11 July 2025
AIL is the commercial arm of Airways New Zealand and, among other things, provides training, digital solutions and aeronautical information management to air navigation service providers, airlines and airports. It manages more than 500,000 flights throughout a very large airspace.
Shem Love, our host, showed us the equipment used to train air traffic controllers. He demonstrated a bank of radar monitors for trainees to be able to contact aircraft within the airspace of Christchurch. Shem then took us into a simulation of a control tower. One of its walls showed a panoramic view of Christchurch airport as it would appear from the control tower itself. Other airports can also be displayed for training, and weather conditions, emergency landings and take-offs can be projected onto the visual display to allow trainees to become accustomed to handling every contingency. Similar flight simulation installations are sold overseas which provides additional income for the company. We were all impressed with the technical capabilities of the centre aimed at giving excellent tuition and experience for potential new recruits. Richard Pickering.
Did You Know?
If you plant some garlic cloves now or soon, in late January/early February you should be able to harvest a good year’s supply of garlic heads. The photo to the left is what I have left of mine from Feb this year – four or five already used…..It is customary to plant garlic on the shortest day of the year and harvest it on the longest. Last year I used a ‘regular’ head that I had bought at the vegetable shop, planted individual cloves pointy side up, about 2-5 cm deep and 10-20 cm apart. The cloves need to be in a sunny spot with well-drained soil and I added compost for good measure. When I uplifted them, I hung them in the shed to dry off and then I had much joy in braiding them so they could look suitably decorative on my kitchen wall. Of course you can do that too if you wish. You will know that garlic has numerous health benefits as well.
Here’s how you braid it:
See you Monday 21st!
