Greg Wilton from Australia. A proud Magpies supporter.

We also won the Party vote with 16,543 for National in Tukituki. The future is so bright. John Key and our National team will continue our hard work towards an even better Hawke’s Bay and New Zealand.

Chris and I will continue to ‘Back the Bay’, every day, both here and down in Wellington, ensuring we get the best possible outcomes for the people of Hawke’s Bay.

 The weather had beaten the event in Palmerston North but so in The Bay. As expected the sun shone as I jumped into a car with Racing Ray Williams for a ride of my life!

 Racing Ray Williams drove me over a couple of special stages on closed sections of Hawke’s Bay roads.

 Targa New Zealand has become New Zealand’s largest competitive rally series. It is fast, it is fun and it certainly gets your heart pumping. The unique aspect of Targa NZ is this variety of cars, from old to new, from very expensive to the very affordable, all driven by passionate car enthusiasts. This is car culture at its finest: driving fast, loads of fun and an element of danger!

 Thanks Targa NZ for this awesome opportunity.

 We both donned a new shirt, tie and apron for the occasion!

 It was great fun getting amongst the crowd pouring wine and passing round pre-dinner nibbles. We then meet the challenge of dishing out the main meals head on. ‘We served the people’.

 The comments were classic!

Thanks to Dish for the ‘Work Experience.’

This programme has been developed to ensure every primary school student has access to quality ‘swim and survive’ education at school.  We are a region surrounded by water and our children need to be water-wise and have the skills necessary to use and enjoy the water safely.

 I had a great visit to the school, meeting students, staff and of course Kiwi! Be safe this summer kids and swim safely.

 I had a title to defend; Chris had a point to make. It could have ended in tears but my good nature allowed Chris to be crowned this year’s winner!

 Another great event at the 2011 A&P Show. Well done to all the organisers of this Hawke’s Bay icon.

I had the privilege to attend this event where wine and dinner was the main focus closely followed by good company and great service.

 The Dinner attracted everyone involved in the wine industry including wine lovers, wineries, winemakers, wholesalers and retailers as well as the supporting manufacturing, bottling, transport and technical providers.

 Over 400 people enjoyed the fantastic food and Bay’s finest wines.

 This unique regional award is the largest regional wine competition in New Zealand. Entries are only accepted from wineries with wine made from 85% Hawke’s Bay Grapes.

 Congratulations to all involved in such a fantastic night.

I have to admit to being more than a tad nervous throughout most of last week. While we were undoubtedly favoured to win I recall the many occasions, where in this position, the indomitable Australians have come through to win on the night. But not last night. An absolute stunner and a victory to savour.

While man of the match was Cory Jane (and he was a hero under that high ball) if I’d been given the opportunity to select the best player it would have been Kevin Mealamu. He had a huge game taking the ball across the advantage line again and again and again. He wanted to win in front of his home crowd and he and the rest of the tight five showed a dominance which was the making of the game.  Absolutely awesome!

During last week I travelled down to and back from Dannevirke to watch my son play in the Ross Shield. Congratulations to Hastings West who dominated the tournament with a very well coached team. Well done to Wairoa who picked up the Ron Pierce memorial trophy. In the final speeches of the tournament, HB Junior Rugby Chairman, Mr Taafe, reflected on the quality of players who turn out at the Ross Shield tournament.

Just a few short years ago All Black fullback Israel Dagg had played at number 8 while in the same tournament Zac Guildford played wing. Israel had a wonderful game on Sunday looking like he would open up the Aussies every time he got the ball and returning deep  kicks well into the opposition half. Thanks to both Israel and Zac for giving us all that Hawkes Bay connection.

Of particular interest to me was the side bet between New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Following on from the Grand Final bet which required the loser to do a press conference with the others flag draped in the background this bet had a far stronger relevance for the Bay. The deal is that the losing Prime Minister must eat an apple from the opposing country proclaiming the quality of the fruit.

As a result of this bet local grower, Ross Beaton, organised a special carton of HB Apples to be packaged. Entitled the “The J & J Challenge – The Big Crunch” he delivered these to me to take to Auckland on Saturday. I did this and personally taxied them to the PM’s residence on Sunday morning. My hope is that these apples are the ones that Ms Gillard has to sink her teeth into when she delivers on her side of the bet in coming days.

Like I say a real HB connection.  Chris Tremain

With the RWC2011 in full swing our theme at this year will be of course rugby.

At every show, year we have a challenge for young and old, from gumboot throwing to golf. This year we have put the goal posts up and the challenge will be to kick a goal.

Get the ball over and as with any rugby game there is the chance of a win.
Come and see us at the show, and give it a go.

This year there may not have been the calves but with the array of other entries there was a great selection. There were guinea pigs, a cat, a budgie and even a worm! through to  lambs of all sizes to a huge range of dogs.

 The judges this year were two Nationalities; One from the National Bank and one from the National Party. Local MP Craig Foss was rapt to be a guest judge as it certainly made a change from his usual duties along with a local National Bank representative.

 The judging proved be challenging for the National boys but the best pet on the day took out the prize. There were  two main concerns for the day, one was for the worm who was last seen at the start of the obstacle course and had hardly moved an inch by the end of the afternoon. The other was for which pet most resembled the principal; the principal was happier this year as he was more likened to a dog rather than a rat as was the case last year!

 All in all this was one a great end to the school term. Well done Tikokino School for proving that rural communities still celebrate what is the essence of being rural.