Newsletter May/June 2010

Patea Maori Club

 

‘...He homai ana rongo kia komai atu au – ka mate nei au –
kamate nei au i te matapouri, i te matapourehu o roto – i a au-

... they come with their message that I may rejoice.
Here I am full of sorrow full of sadness within! '

 

Festivities to mark the new year differed from iwi to
iwi but was celebrated by singing dancing and feasting.
Kahui Cassidy came to work at Heron’s Flight Vineyard Restaurant just over a year ago. We wanted to do something then for Matariki, but we couldn’t, partly because I was
being treated for breast cancer. This year we discussed
it again. Kahui comes from Patea, and we thought it would
be wonderful to have the Patea Maori Club singing and
dancing to celebrate the new year.

 

 

David Hoskins and I sold a share of our restaurant and winemakers business to Clyde and Farida Cooper,
and Kahui and I thought it would be a good idea to celebrate our past, and welcome the new owners on June 26th 2010 with a feast, a Maori market where we shared our skills and knowledge with each other and to see the moon rising on a new venture. We are fairly confident that it will be a fine night- according to the Maori Moon calendar the day of the full moon is usually good- and we know there will be feasting, singing and dancing. This will be the grand finale for Heron’s Flight Vineyard restaurant and winemakers’ centre as we know it. We are confident that it will be a magnificent evening.

 

I know exactly what that proverb means- here I am full of sorrow and sadness within. Like many people
David and I have had a rough few years. But you can’t really see the light without the dark, so we have
to know sadness to feel joy.

 

Here is a story

 

Our lovely waitperson and event manager, Garcey Mirus, worked last weekend and rang on Sunday night to say she wouldn’t be available on Monday because she had to take her daughter to hospital- she was suffering badly from pains and cramp.

 

So we were all concerned here at work because we were worried about what might be wrong. We kept ringing and it wasn’t until Thursday that we found out what the ‘problem’ was. After two hours labour,
Asher gave birth to an eight pound baby boy.

 

For four days the family anguished about whether to keep the baby, and on Thursday they decided yes!
They had too much love to give to not share it with little Kurt. I had the joy of holding this baby on Saturday morning, and it is obvious that little boy was meant to be born. Garcey is going to be his primary caregiver and I am going to be nana Mary.

 

He is a little miracle, and we are all blessed.

 

 

The Patea Maori club was formed when the freezing works were closed in their town. Those must have been dark days. Matariki is a celebration of the renewal of life, after the shortest day, and we are celebrating in real style here at Heron's Flight.

 

So we would like to welcome you all to join us here on June 26 at 5 pm for a powhiri, hakiri, performances and a maori market. Click here for details

 

> Click here to make a booking

 

 

 

 

Arohanui!
Mary Evans