Blogs

My most precious Christmas gift    

Roger Rabbits with Jim Bunny I have already received my best, by far, Christmas present for '24. Nothing will upstage it. Nothing will beat it. It didn't cost anything, wasn't wrapped, there was no card, none of the... Read More

A little blues after Christmas

Music Plus with Winston Watusi watusi@thesun.co.nz It's that time of year. Our Spotify Wrapped individualised charts have been sent out and Facebook is abuzz, noting the several hundred or thousand listeners and streams... Read More

Making strong progress across our rohe

Words from the Western Bay Mayor with James Denyer As we prepare to say ka kite rā or farewell to 2024, I want to take a moment to connect with you all. Looking back, 2024 has been filled with both challenges and progress.... Read More

Sunspots and theMaunder Minimum

Weather Eye with John Maunder A sunspot is a relatively dark, sharply defined region on the solar disc - marked by an umbra, a dark area, which is 2000 degrees cooler than the effective photospheric temperature. The average... Read More

When’s early too early? 

Roger Rabbits with Jim Bunny It's in your face, beckoning, tugging at your wallet. 'It' is Christmas. And it seems to come calling earlier and earlier. This year it was about seven weeks out from Christmas, early... Read More

A farewell to Chris Thompson

Music Plus with Winston Watusi watusi@thesun.co.nz As I believe has been occasionally noted, New Zealand is not a large country. So it seems all the more unlikely we should produce two internationally-regarded musicians,... Read More

From tradition to temptation: Quick bets raise concerns

Sports correspondent & historian with Sideline Sid While an avid horse racing fan since my early teens I am getting increasingly fed up with the incessant TAB ads extolling me to 'Get Your Bet On”. The gist of... Read More

Ripping the ‘ho ho ho’ lout of Christmas

Roger Rabbits with Jim Bunny NEWS ALERT! Commonsense has crashed in a mad tangle of holly, baubles and tinsel in Christchurch. Santa's elves were ordered to wear safety belts on their Santa parade float after a health... Read More

Hello Nukes, goodbye Marmalade Skies

Music Plus with Winston Watusi watusi@thesun.co.nz We're pretty much into December. It focuses the mind, doesn't it? As I mentioned last week, gigs drop off the closer to Christmas we get. It's just too busy. But the... Read More

Annual Plan – important choices ahead

A message from Mayor Mahé with Mahé Drysdale Articles about council annual plans probably make most readers' eyes glaze over, but I'm hoping this one will prove the exception. Tauranga City Council elected... Read More

Tauranga's Deep-Sea Fishing Legacy: 100 Years On

Sports correspondent & historian with Sideline Sid As I have mentioned in several previous pieces, one of the joys of being an amateur sports historian is discovering and confirming new information about the distant past. Looking... Read More

Cancel today before it gets ugly     

Roger Rabbits with Jim Bunny The sun's up over Waikareao Estuary. 'Sparkling waters of the new day” it means. Doesn't te reo Māori paint wonderful pictures? And today Waikareao is living up to its name. The tūī... Read More