The World’s Best David Walliams

David Walliams came into the Christchurch Boys High auditorium through the crowd – a real rock star entrance.  And in kid books circles (and tv entertainment ones) he really is that level of famous. There were about 700 kids and 400 adults here to see Mr Walliams.

Rachael King, WORD Christchurch literary director asked him about the 20 million books he has sold – “All bought and burnt by Simon Cowell”, he said. David had the audience in the palm of his hand from the get go, with stories, heaps of audience participation, and his trademark naughty wit. Even the obligatory Australia diss – The World’s Worst Children?:

Well, I’ve just been in Australia and met a lot of the children …

He read us the tragic tale of Windy Mindy whose farting into wind instruments leads to a galactic end.

The kids in the audience served up stories about why their siblings are so bad. One answer had the crowd in stitches (beautifully conveyed in this tweet):

CoverBad Dad is his latest bestseller, and tells the story of Frank, whose Dad is a banger driver who ends up in jail after being a getaway driver. David read for us a rather splendid excerpt about how one might get the dreadful medical condition Bottom Freeze (including cryogenically freezing your bottom for posterity). 

CoverDavid’s favourite of his own books is Gangsta Granny (my kid’s fave too), and it came from listening to his own Gran’s stories about the Blitz:

Every old person has a story to tell.

He read Gangsta Granny’s famous naked yoga scene (and see Tony Ross’s brilliant illustration came up on the big screen). David gave a big shoutout to his illustrators Tony Ross and Quentin Blake – both in their 80s.

Walliams explained a bit about why he loves a villain:

Without Voldemort, Harry Potter would just be having a lovely day at school.

Burt, the Ratburger villain, was inspired by a contestant in Britain’s got talent who ate cockroaches. Ergh. Miss Trunchbull (from Roald Dahl’s Matilda) is one of his fave villains. It’s that combo of funny and evil,  and who wouldn’t want to be a villain (for a day).

We got to see sneak preview clips of Ratburger (Walliams himself is unrecognisable as the grotty villain), and Grandpa’s Great Escape (Jennifer Saunders is the Matron in that, and veteran actor Tom Courtenay is Grandpa.) He is that rarest of beasts – an author who gets to see his creations come to life first hand, because he stars in the adaptations.

David admits he was a reluctant reader. He went to the library with his family every couple of weeks, and would pick books on the solar system, space travel, and dinosaurs. And then he discovered Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It got him into reading, and to writing.

Roald Dahl is his “gold standard”. When he visited Dahl’s Gypsy Cottage and met his widow, she said kids still ring the doorbell and ask to meet the author. David has visited the Roald Dahl Story Museum and looked at the handwritten manuscripts. He clearly loved the writing set up of Roald Dahl – sitting in armchair, a picture of his much-missed daughter nearby, with a big ball of rolled up choccie wrappers to add to, and a telephone (to put a sly bet on the gee gees).

And David loves his fan mail, and who wouldn’t when kids are so honest:

Little Britain fans – he thinks the funniest thing he’s ever written is this:

10 lucky kids got to ask a question, and got a fab box set of Walliams’ books. A ripper of a prize I reckon. Thanks to David Walliams, WORD Christchurch, HarperCollins New Zealand, Merivale Paper Plus, and the crew involved in the event – and to everyone who came along, you rocked and made it a fun whānau night. It was especially awesome to get to get your book signed and a picture taken. Ka rawe!

Balance and Harmony: The Creation of a Sand Mandala at Te Hāpua: Halswell Centre – 12 August to 2 September

From Saturday 12 August to Saturday 2 September at Te Hāpua: Halswell Centre, Tibetan monks will be constructing a sacred cosmogram grain by grain with crushed marble coloured sand, representing a world in perfect harmony. There will be events including public talks and activities for children.

Balance and Harmony: The Creation of a Sand Mandala will open at Te Hāpua: Halswell Centre with a ceremony on Saturday 12 August at 10.30am when the monks will perform a consecration service and pour the first grains of sand after being welcomed by local iwi.

The monks will slowly build up the mandala, labouring over their work for hours at a time as they place one grain of sand after another to realise an intricate symbolic design in vivid colour.

After painstakingly placing the elements of the cosmogram, the grains will be brushed away, signifying the impermanence of all things. This ancient art form was an integral part of Indian Tantric Buddhism.

Events

Explore all the events related to Balance and Harmony: The Creation of a Sand Mandala:

Public Talks

Compassion, love, and patience
Sunday 13th, 20th, 27th August 11am to 12pm
Free to attend, no bookings required.
The Geshes (monks) will give talks in the library on how to cultivate compassion, love and patience from their training and perspective. This will cover ways to increase wellbeing and reduce internal emotional conflict. Known as the ‘four noble truths’ this will be discussed for practical everyday use, not from a religious perspective.

Inner Harmony and balance
Saturday 19th and 26th August 2pm to 3pm
Free to attend, no bookings required.
While the Sand Mandala is being created we will be hosting public talks by the Tibetan Monks. The Geshes will talk from their training and perspective on inner harmony and balance.

Children’s Activity: The Creation of a Sand Mandala

Sunday August 20th and 27th  2pm to 3pm
Please contact us to secure a place – phone 9417923 or email 
Here is a unique chance to attend a children’s mandala making programme. The Tibetan Monks will draw a lotus flower and children will have the opportunity to use the proper tools to fill it in with sand. There will also be mandalas to colour and iPad mandala apps with library staff. This activity is not suitable for pre-schoolers – to get the most of this activity children must have the motor skills to manipulate the tools. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Parklands at play – Sunday 19 February

One of the great things about living in Parklands is there are lots of parks. Great if you have children who like to swing, slide, run or need a safe place to ride a bike. Fantastic if you want to take a walk or go for a run. The Parklands Reserve on Queenspark Drive is big and a perfect place for children to play. It’s located near the Parklands Library, so there is another plus.

If you are in Parklands on Sunday 19th February, come over and join the fun. If you have a bike, pedal along for a bike check and try the bike obstacle course. Local sports clubs will be there so you can have-a-go. A great way to try a new sport and maybe join a local club. Kelly Sports and Waimairi Golf Club will be there, so you can try SNAG and putting golf.

Would you like to try out the bubble balls and mega slides? What about pedalmania or table tennis? Did you enjoy watching The Karate Kid and secretly wish you could learn karate? What’s Zumba?

The pre-schoolers are welcome too with Toy Library ride-ons, story time, bouncy castle, messy play and face painting.

Do you own a ukulele? Have you always wanted to try one? Then join in with the Ukulele band. Maybe you prefer the sound of brass. Have a go at playing wind instruments provided by Northwest Brass Band.

By now you are probably feeling a bit tired and hungry. There will be food for sale including a Devonshire Tea tent.

Will I see you there? I hope so. I’ll be the one with the camera.

  • If you want to go outside and play games, we have books that have great ideas.
  • The library has books, magazines and e-resources on sport. You can also do a Subject search for your preferred sport.
  • To join a sport club, check out CINCH.

Have your say about library events and programmes

preschool-sessionsWe are reviewing our schedule of public programmes and events and would love to hear from customers (and potential customers) about which activities you’d like to see prioritised.

Have your say! We welcome any suggestions.

If you’d rather do a paper version, fill one out at your library and pop it in the survey box. You can also download the survey [PDF] and drop the printed copy off. (consultation closes 12 Feb)

survey2

Record Store Day – Saturday 16 April 2016

2016 marks the 9th year of Record Store Day around the world – it’s a celebration of the culture and communities of independently run record stores. We’ve done a blog post about some great vinyl-related stuff, and a booklist of records and record labels.

Here’s our listing of Christchurch events and stuff of interest to music lovers, vinylistas, and LPistos:

Canterbury Museum

Want to see how your LPs, and EPs get made? There will be a special vinyl record cutting event on Friday 15 April at 12pm at the Canterbury Museum as part of their Exhibition “Alternative Radio: RDU98.5FM since 1976”

James Meharry from In Real Life Vinyl Mastering records special RDU selections direct to disc in a unique performance. Cutting for RDU, each session will see a double A-side 7” selected by the music director, mastered and cut to vinyl live in a special custom studio built for the vinyl lathe.

Galaxy Records

On Saturday 16 April, Galaxy Records (next to the Darkroom in Tuam Street) will be hosting Mixtape Connection vs. The Rest Home Massive on Saturday! The Mixtape & Rest Home DJs battle it out at. There will be special Record Store Day releases & goodies! Featuring on the decks: Pinacolada Soundsystem, Dr. Hitchcock, Missy G & Skew-whiff. See the Facebook event for more info.

Galaxy Records - RSD 2015
Galaxy Records – RSD 2015

Penny Lane Records

Penny Lane Records are celebrating Record Store Day Saturday 16 AND Sunday 17 April by offering super duper discount deals.

Penny Lane, RSD 2015
Penny Lane, RSD 2015

Sadhana Surfboards

I recently stumbled across second-hand records at Sadhana Surfboards at the Tannery in Woolston. They are celebrating Record Store Day on Saturday 16th with Fraser Ross & the Felt Tips playing live instore at 1:00pm. DJs from 11:30am to 4:00pm.. Limited Edition 7″, 10″ & 12″ Record Store Day Releases!

sadhana
Sadhana Surfboards

Get along and support record stores – and vinyl events – across Christchurch and New Zealand.

Bad Evil performing at Galaxy Records, RSD 2015
Bad Evil performing at Galaxy Records, RSD 2015

Upcoming music events in Christchurch

Anika Moa at Te Hāpua: Halswell Centre

Anika Moa, who is performing music from her album Songs for Bubbas 2 at Slow Boat Records in Wellington for Record Store Day is making her way down to Christchurch on Friday 22nd April and 23rd April. Get along with your tamariki to the Te Hāpua: Halswell Centre on Saturday 23 April 10:30am for her children’s concert.

NZ Music Month

Explore the NZ Music Month May events at libraries.

More on Record Store Day

Garry Knight of Penny Lane Records (in Sydenham and Eastgate Mall) says:

Record Store Day is all about celebrating the independent record store. Up against the big chains and online outlets it can be difficult to get exposure for the work that is done sourcing the hard to find product across all formats that people may not know we carry in store. Increasingly people want the tactile, flicking through bins to find treasures, experience. Retro items have become more interesting and desirable across a very broad age group, especially the vinyl records, and we are seeing a huge increase in younger people frequenting the stores again.

Dave Imlay, who runs Galaxy Records, thinks:

Record Store Day is a chance for music fans to get together in a record store, exchange ideas and share their love of music.

Southbound Records (Auckland) have produced a short video inside their shop expressing the enduring appeal of records and record shops and their love of the vinyl format. It features music by Delaney Davidson and Tami Neilson.

For more music, explore our page of music resources.

Kim, Shirley Library

Armageddon is coming!

Woohoo ! I’m so looking forward to going!

Despite having lived in Christchurch for six years now, somehow I’ve never quite made it to Armageddon Expo, the annual celebration for pop culture geeks: always something else to do, somewhere to go, or something else to pay for… But this year it falls on my birthday, so I am going instead of just dropping off the teenagers.

But to get the best out of it, I need to do my homework.  So :-

Armageddon Pop Culture Expo
Pikachu and The Joker, Armageddon Expo 2015, Flickr 2015-03-07-IMG_6162
  • Where? When? How much?  Programme? The Armageddon website has all the info
  • Watch Star Trek: The Next Generation DVDs as Marina Sirtis will be there, and I loved her character Deanna Troi
  • Also need to watch Stargate again, three guests are from that series, and I only ever saw a few episodes when it was on TV (raising children is hazardous to your TV viewing!)
  • Re-read Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander.  When I first read it, was one of those “un-put-down-able books” that I stayed up all night reading
  • Find out if any TV/Movie producers will be going, and aim to convince her/him that Scott Westerfield’s Leviathan would make the most AMAZING film!  Could have it’s technical challenges, of course, but I’m sure Weta Workshops would be up for the job!
  • Then there’s the people watching – if previous photos are anything to go by, I think I’ll need to load up my tablet so I know who some of the cosplay characters are
  • Costume!  Eek!  What will I wear?  Not very good at sewing, so hopefully  I love paper: paper-cutting Techniques and Templates for Amazing Toys, Sculptures, Props, and Costumes will do the trick
  • And finally, dust off the credit card, ready to go s-h-o-p-p-i-n-g

Phew! Sorted!  How about you?  Are you going to Armageddon Christchurch this weekend?

A spot of science, a splash of arts, and a tonne of fun – Introducing Fun Palaces 2015

We are super excited to report that Fun Palaces are in Christchurch this year! Free, pop-up ‘Fun Palaces’ will be hosting exciting arts, science and culture activities for people of all ages and abilities. In the weekend of Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 October (2nd weekend of the school holidays), we will be the first place in the world to get our Fun Palace on!

You can win too – snap a selfie at any of the Fun Palaces and upload to your social media accounts with the hashtag #funpalaceschch and you are in the draw to WIN a bicycle worth up to $2,000!

Be There lists all the local Fun Palaces and our Central Library Peterborough will play host to 12 events over the weekend:

Fun Palaces at Central Library Peterborough

Saturday 3 October

Fun Palaces - augmented realityAugmented reality 10am to 12pm
Colour in images in the “old school” way and watch them come to life using Quiver Augmented Reality technology with an iPad that will transform your pages into a magical and engaging 3D experience that is sure to have you entranced. Presented by Christchurch City Libraries.

Spider phobia demonstration 10am to 4pm
Don’t miss out on this experience to have virtual spiders creep and crawl all over a desk and up your arms! Presented by HIT Lab NZ and Christchurch City Libraries.

Augmented reality - Fun PalacesAugmented reality kiosk 10 am to 4pm
Come check out the latest in Augmented Reality! Bringing virtual images into the real world. See comic books and colouring books come to life right before your eyes! Presented by HIT Lab NZ and Christchurch City Libraries.

Nao robots 10am to 12pm
Robots robots robots! Swing by play with real humanoid robots and learn how to program them too! Presented by HIT Lab NZ and Christchurch City Libraries.

3D printing demo 11am to 2pm
Come in and see one of the Library 3D printers in action during a live demonstration. Learn a little about how they work, what material the Libraries use and some interesting facts about this exciting technology. Presented by Christchurch City Libraries.

Minecraft Fun PalacesMinecraft 12pm to 3pm
Create your own Fun Palace. Come and build your own “Fun Palace” in Minecraft. Build something exciting on your own or in collaboration with friends during a 3hr session aimed at creating the most fun environment you can think of within the minecraft realm. Redstone disco light floors, minecart roller coasters or massive waterslides the more fun it is the better. Unleash your creativity! There will be 20 computers available and will be on a first in first served basis. Presented by Christchurch City Libraries.

Oculus Rift 1pm to 3pm
This is Minecraft on a whole new level. Experience Minecraft as if you were really there using the Oculus Rift. Presented by HIT Lab NZ and Christchurch City Libraries.

Sunday 4 October

Augmented reality kiosk 10am to 4pm
Come check out the latest in Augmented Reality! Bringing virtual images into the real world. See comic books and colouring books come to life right before your eyes! Presented by HIT Lab NZ and Christchurch City Libraries.

Spider phobia fun palacesSpider phobia demonstration 10am to 4pm
Don’t miss out on this experience to have virtual spiders creep and crawl all over a desk and up your arms! Presented by HIT Lab NZ and Christchurch City Libraries.

Nao robots 10am to 12pm
Robots robots robots! Swing by play with real humanoid robots and learn how to program them too! Presented by HIT Lab NZ and Christchurch City Libraries.

3D printing demo 11am to 2pm
Come in and see one of the Library 3D printers in action during a live demonstration. Learn a little about how they work, what material the Libraries use and some interesting facts about this exciting technology. Presented by Christchurch City Libraries

Oculus Rift 1pm to 3pm
This is Minecraft on a whole new level. Experience Minecraft as if you were really there using the Oculus Rift. Presented by HIT Lab NZ and Christchurch City Libraries.

And if you visit Be There, you will see heaps more Fun Palaces to explore. Grab bookmarks and flyers from your local library. See you there!

Comics and colouring in

You can go online and make your own Fun Palaces comic. Or do some colouring in:

Fun Palaces

Happy birthday to Parklands Library

The fabulous community library at Parklands is celebrating ten years. There are some events on next week – come along and join in with the people of Parklands to have some fun.

Parklands 10th Anniversary - Facebook tile

Hip Hip Hurrah! – Story-telling and craft

Wednesday, August 5, 2015 (3:30PM – 4:15PM)
A birthday themed Storytime for Parklands Library which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this week, and for our favourite cat Slinky Malinky who turns 25 this year! For ages 3-7yrs.

3D Printer Taster

Thursday, August 6, 2015 (3:30PM – 5:00PM)
Calling all 3D tinkerers! Check out a 3D printer in action at Parklands library with a live demonstration and find out how you can start creating your own 3D designs using free software.

Family Fun Day

Saturday, August 8, 2015 (11:00AM – 3:00PM)

Live music and storytelling – a day for the whole family.

Better than Bacon – Live Music (11:00am-11:45am)
These young local rockers took Parklands by storm during May Music Month and now they’re back to help us celebrate our birthday! All ages

Tales with Tania – Story-telling (1:00pm – 1:30pm)
Stories, rhymes and music from our very own story-telling superstar Tania! Ages 3-5yrs

New Brighton Ukulele Pirates – Live Music (2:00pm-2:45pm)
Shiver yer timbers, these ukulele playing pirates will have the whole family singing and dancing with original pirate tunes and well-known classics. All ages – bring your ukulele!

There are also the usual Parklands activities, crochet, Science Alive, storytimes and more. Parklands is a lovely library with friendly staff, so if you haven’t been in – come and visit!

Sheep at Parklands Library

Sheep at Parklands Library. Art by Sally Blake and Knitting Ninjas. Flickr 2015-07-29-IMG_8422

Parklands Library

Parklands Library. Flickr 2015-07-29-IMG_8415

Countdown to National Poetry Day 2015

National Poetry Day 2015 logoPens to paper (or fingers to keyboard)! There is only one month until National Poetry Day on Friday 28 August. Several poetry competitions are currently open but with submission dates that end in the next few weeks (with winners generally being announced on National Poetry Day).

There are several nationwide poetry competitions this year as well as one for Christchurch poets.

Nationwide Poetry Competitions

Christchurch Poetry Competition

Hagley Writers’ Institute National Poetry Day Competition – Open to current and previous students at Hagley Writers’ Institute. (Submission Dates: 25 July – 7 August 2015)

Christchurch Poetry Event

0800 Muse – Kickstarting the poem: A public workshop to get you in touch with your muse. Open to all. Meet at 1oam for morning tea. The workshop will run from 10.30am-12pm, followed by the announcement of The Hagley Writers’ Institute National Poetry Day competition winners and celebratory readings from competition winners, Frankie McMillan (judge), Kerrin P Sharpe, Christina Stachurski, Bernadette Hall and more.

Date: Saturday 29 August, 10am – 1pm

Place: The Writers’ Block, Hagley College, Hagley Avenue.

Bookings: Registration required. Register by August 27th. For further information and workshop registration contact Morrin Rout, Director – Hagley Writers’ Institute. email writers@hagley.school.nz, (03) 329 9789 or 021 046 4189

Poetry Resources

Need inspiration? Check out our poetry resources

Don’t forget your family, yeah

Don’t forget your roots, my friend
The ones who made you
The ones who brought you here
Don’t forget your roots, my friend, yeah

family historySix60 have a great song about family and provides the inspiration for a set of courses being held at Christchurch City Libraries during August. We are running two Family History programmes and you can choose the one that suits you. It’s all about discovering our family stories.

Getting Started: Beginners Guide to Family History

Start your family history research with this six week course that will introduce some key resources available at Christchurch City Libraries and beyond. Key life events such as births, deaths and marriages will be researched, along with sources covering migration, military and electoral information. We will be looking at online and paper-based resources.

Basic computer knowledge is needed.

Where: South Learning Centre & Central Library Manchester
When: Tuesdays, 4 August to 8 September (6 weeks)
Time: 6.00pm – 8.00pm
Cost: $15

Family History Images from Kete Christchurch

Family History Starter Series

A four week course that will introduce online resources to find information on:

  • Key life events – births, deaths and marriages
  • Living in New Zealand
  • Arriving in New Zealand
  • Where to next?

Bring along as much as you know about your family and we will help you fill in some gaps. We have tips and tricks to help you uncover your story and get you on your way.

Basic computer knowledge is needed.

Where: Linwood Library
Dates: Wednesdays 19 Aug, 26 Aug, 2 Sept, 9 Sept (4 weeks)
Time: 6.00pm – 7.30pm
Cost: $10.00
Bookings: Ring 941-7923 to book your place at either course.

If you are keen to know more check out our family history guide.
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