Alyson Shipley had never played an actual game of cricket before she took to the field as an umpire in Canterbury. Now she's on a path to one day taking control of national and international level matches.
It is a busy time of the year for contractors in the Waimakariri District with many major roading and infrastructure projects being started before summer arrives.
The organisers of the Alpine Winter Festival in Hanmer say they have everything ready to go - and now all they need is for the weather to play ball and dump some snow on the surrounding mountains.
The school ball season is fast approaching and parents and students in a Canterbury town are working together to keep the costs of attending the major social events affordable.
An old family photo from 1917 of an eight-year-old girl holding her brand new British teddy bear inspired a Kaiapoi woman to start her Teddy Bear Hospital.