Tim Shadbolt's blog

Despite the onset of unseasonable weather, the large number of events being hosted by the city continues unabated.

Once again it's been a busy and exciting week for Invercargill with the South Island Country Swimming Championships; Badminton; ‘Big Day Invercargill'; the Royal New Zealand Ballet; the launch of the Bluff oyster season; the red carpet premiere of ‘Oku Tuakana' (a local movie) and the Chinese New Year celebrations.

At present council is setting the rates which means spending hour after hour analysing page after page of financial data.

The school holidays are over and usually there's a collective sigh of relief as parents all over the country send their little darlings back to the classroom.

Looking back over the past year, Invercargill has plenty to celebrate.

Usually when I'm invited to a function it's to perform as the guest speaker and it's hard to fully relax and enjoy the occasion. However last week I had the luxury of sitting back and being entertained by others. It was great.

Magnificent! Brilliant! Fantastic! Glorious! Stunning! Heroic!

The public meeting held on alcohol abuse at the Civic Theatre was both informative and inspiring.

Last weekend I drove to Queenstown to be MC at a Bingo tournament to raise money for Cure Kids, a charity that helps kids who get cancer.

What a roasting Bill English has faced over his accommodation allowance.