Capital Times, What's on in Wellington

winesale.co.nz

6 February 2012

Wheel love

10/02/2010 10:29:00 a.m.

Happy Valentine’s Day: Verity Carroll and Ingo Schommer.

Happy Valentine’s Day: Verity Carroll and Ingo Schommer.

LOVEBIRDS Verity Carroll and Ingo Schommer will celebrate their second anniversary this Valentine’s Day, on wheels.
The capital couple started going out on February 14, 2008, and plan to spend part of their anniversary at the Frocks on Bikes – Love to Roll event which will see cyclists ride around the bays from Oriental Bay on the day. Love to Roll is touted as a romantic ride to be enjoyed with a date.
“After the ride in the afternoon we will go out to dinner or have a picnic in the evening,” Carroll says.
The Upper Hutt-born cycle enthusiast vividly recalls meeting Schommer for the first time.
“The night we got together The Phoenix Foundation was playing at one of the Frank Kitts Park concerts.”
She says the attraction was instant for her once they struck up conversation.
“An accent is always a good thing,” she says referring to Schommer’s German lilt.
Carroll reckons a leisurely bike ride on Valentine’s Day is a great way to spend time with a loved one. “It’s better than going to the movies and sitting in the dark.”
The couple will also participate in the Go by Bike Day event on February 17, when Kiwis are encouraged to bike to work or school instead of go by car.
“I think it is a much better way to get around the city than by car because it is better for the environment,” says Carroll.
Frocks on Bikes – Love to Roll, meet at Freyberg Pool, 1.30pm, Feb 14.
Go by Bike Day, Feb 17, bikewise.co.nz.

Cover Story

Best of Wellington 2011

Fringe Festival

Briefs

  • Plane direction

    A new training academy will open in June to help fill a shortage of qualified air traffic controllers in the Middle East and Asia. Global-ATS, a privately owned UK-based academy, will operate from the Wellington School of Business and Government campus. The academy will open with three staff, up to 10 air traffic control students and 70 associated safety management course participants.

  • Here comes the sun

    WELLINGTON city council is one of several New Zealand councils signing up for Solar Promise, a campaign launched last July by the Nelson Environment Centre. The scheme aims to take away barriers to using solar energy and make the technology more affordable. City Council is working with the Regional Council to develop a targeted rate for solar hot water systems, as well as setting up an online map to indicate levels of solar radiation across the city.

  • Parsons stays put

    JULIAN Parsons says his bookstore Parsons Books and Music isn’t going anywhere, despite news that brother Roger’s Auckland Parsons store is closing its doors. Parsons opened in 1958 on Lambton Quay and is still on the same site today.

  • Bikes allowed

    Bikes will soon be allowed on trains on the Johnsonville line at all times following a review by the Greater Wellington Regional Council. Councillor Daran Ponter says that the introduction of the new Matangi units on the line, scheduled for mid-March 2012, means that there will be greater capacity than currently provided by the English Electric units.

  • Carter clean and green

    TEAM members at Carter Observatory have been recognised as keen greenies. Carter has won a Qualmark Enviro-Bronze Award for high standards in environmental practices including energy efficiency, waste management and water conservation. More than 700 businesses carry the Enviro Award mark.

  • Bowling for a market

    MORE than 25 stalls will be waiting behind the fence at the 100 year old Hataitai Bowling Club at the suburb’s Community Market on Saturday. The stalls include sweet treats, produce, books and vintage clothing. The market runs the first Saturday of each month.
    Hataitai Community Market, Bowling Club, 9am-1pm, February 4.

  • Iconic tour

    THE second largest wooden building in the world graces Lambton Quay near the Cenotaph and it’s now open on Saturdays for free tours. The colonial-style Government Building features a Kauri-clad interior and cast iron fireplaces.
    Government Building Open Day tours, 11am and 2pm, Saturdays, until March 31.

  • Get arty

    FOR those who would like to progress from finger-painting, artist Stephanie Woodman is running classes to teach drawing and painting in a range of styles and mediums. Sessions include acrylic painting techniques, glazing, watercolour and abstract, and there are special classes for teenagers and kids.
    Stephanie Woodman art classes, Toi Poneke, Feb 7 – April 5.

  • Wheels are turning

    WELLINGTON Regional Council’s Daran Ponter and Paul Bruce are to present the Bus Review, a proposal for a major shakeup of bus services in the city. It’s also a chance for the public to discuss their ideas and issues.
    Bus Review, Crossways Community Centre, 7.30pm, February 7.

  • Violinist awarded

    CONGRATULATIONS to violinist Minsi Yang, recently awarded The Elman Poole Music scholarship.
    The scholarship is an annual award for up and coming New Zealand instrumentalists to train with the London orchestra, Southbank Sinfonia.
    Yang gained her music degree from Victoria University, before heading to Auckland to study for her Masters degree.

  • Leap into song

    LOCAL songwriters will this month participate in February Album Writing Month, an international songwriting event that usually challenges participants to write a song every two days for the whole month. But it’s a leap year this year, so songwriters have to write 14 and a half songs in 29 days, the ‘half song’ being a collaboration with another writer. At least 12 Wellington songwriters have signed up to take part. ‘Fawmers’ will post audio recordings of their songs on http://fawm.org

  • Coastal tunes

    THE Tora Coast in the Wairarapa will this Waitangi weekend host a music festival celebrating good food and good sounds. TORA!TORA!TORA! features Imon Starr aka Olmecha the Relic, Jon McLeary and The Spines, Louis Baker, Vanessa Stacey and Conor McCabe. This is the third time the festival will take place.

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