FMD, University of Waikato
Issue No: 76 – November 2009
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John Joins the Millionaires club Picture shows John Cameron accepting a Honeywell Plaque on behalf of the University of Waikato. Honeywell, who made the presentation, stated that only three institutions in New Zealand had to date received this million dollar energy saving award namely, Auckland District Courts, Christchurch Polytechnic, and now The University of Waikato. The presenter, Honeywell’s New Zealand manager Mike Thomas went on to say that a lot of opportunities to the client were made at the time Waikato adopted its energy performance contract and now 1.17 million dollars down the track other’s that hadn’t had the same vision as the three clients were now very sorry. The plaque is housed in the FMD meeting room one, so please drop in and see it. Proud Dad!! Porter Charlie Watson’s daughter Kaiya capped off a very successful 6th form/year 12 with a haul of cups at the end of year prize giving. In July Kaiya was accepted for a year long AFS cultural exchange to Norway. In October she received notification that she has been awarded a full scholarship to cover her exchange costs. Kaiya’s academic year was difficult as she had to take her science subjects by correspondence. At Raglan Area School senior prize giving she was awarded cups for top Year 12 Maths, Top year 12 English, Top correspondence student and Year 12 cross country champion. Kaiya has a brother named Matt who races Radio controlled nitro trucks. He had his first top placing during the qualifying for the recent Waikato champs. If you see Charlie smiling it’s probably because he is thinking of his kids. Holiday Information from Neighbourhood Support – Tips to Prevent Burglaries When Away
 Before going away have a think about how easy or hard it would be to break into your own home (even open windows upstairs can make it easy for a burglar).  Lock all gates to the back section of your house.  Set little traps that will make lots of noise i.e. leave cans where they can be knocked over in the dark or wind chimes at head height. (remember to tell anyone looking after your house to look out for them)  Tell your neighbours the date you are leaving and returning to your home.  Have your mail collected daily. Use a “No Circulars” notice on your letterbox to reduce the amount of junk mail.  Ask a neighbour to hang washing on your line.  Give a trusted neighbour a key so that they can close / open curtains and check that all is OK inside your house.  Plan what you will do if your alarm is activated while you are away, i.e. monitored by a security company, or an alarm code & your contact details with a neighbour.  Consider purchasing timer switches that you can plug a lamp into so that the lights go on and off to simulate someone being at home.  Don't leave the garage door a little bit open to let the cat in and out, fit a proper cat door.  Unplug your garage door opener and lock it closed.  Make sure that if you have dead locks you take the key out of the inside of the lock.  If you haven't already, get security latches fitted to windows and dead bolts fitted to doors.  Have a neighbour park a car in your driveway from time to time.  Have the lawns mowed to keep them looking well maintained.  If you are looking after a neighbour’s house check that no strangers are watching you check your neighbour’s house.  Burglaries happen both during the day and night so mix up the times that you check or make changes the house you are looking after. Be sure to return the favour to someone who looks after your place for you so that you can have peace of mind that your neighbourhood is well looked after while you are away. We all have to look out for each other. ‐‐‐ Robin Dunmall Trevor Grant 1930 – 2009 It was with some sadness members of FMD learnt of the passing of Trevor Grant on 30 October this year. For newer members of staff, Trevor was an employee of the University and held the position of Mechanical & Electrical Superintendent for the Works and Services department (now Facilities Management Division) for a period of twenty years between 1973 and 1993. Several members of staff and the wider University community attended a celebration of his life officiated by Lindsay Cumberpatch also an ex University staff member (Chaplain) held at Seddon park on Wednesday 5 November. FMD Social Club update
On Friday 18th December there will be a sausage sizzle lunch and Secret Santa in the FMD courtyard. If you want to participate in the Secret Santa, please bring a $5 present for the lucky dip. For those attending the social club Christmas function at the Riverlea on Thursday 3rd December ‐ the venue opens at 6.30pm so you can mingle and have a few drinks, dinner is from 7pm, with the show starting at 8.30pm and finishing at 10.30pm. Travels abroad On September 13 Grietje and I flew out of Auckland to visit our family in UK. Our departure had been delayed by a week so we
could attend the launch of my late uncle's book. In the mid‐1970's Wally Badham had written his memoirs of the early settler days on Auckland's rugged west coast, and for the last two years my cousin Lisa and I had been working with Bob Harvey to edit and publish Wally's manuscript. We hope ‘Iron Bound Coast’ makes a valuable contribution to the history of west Auckland. Our time in UK and Spain coincided with the Northern Hemisphere late autumn, but we were fortunate to have good weather for most of the five weeks. The highlight of the trip was seeing our son Kelvin, daughter‐in‐law Emily and first grandchild, Jack. Our time with them included a week at a restored finca (farmhouse) ‘Las Neuvas’ near the ancient town of Alora, in the southern Spanish province of Andalucia. From our terrace and pool, the sunsets across the Guadalhorce Valley to the Sierra de las Nieves mountains were spectacular. ‘Las Neuvas’ cortijo is inland, away from the madding crowds of the Mediterranean Costa del Sol (or Costa del ‘Brits’) beaches (as portrayed in the TV series ‘Benidorm’)! Driving on the right was not too bad when following other traffic, although passing through roundabouts in an Alora, Andalucia
anticlockwise direction was not instinctive. As a pedestrian, looking right before crossing the road is also important. Most of Spain is hot, dry and mountainous, and is relatively poor by European standards. However, the people seemed laid back and friendly, and I wouldn’t hesitate to go back there sometime. On our return to UK, we helped Kelvin and Emily move from London to Newbury, where Kelvin has joined a medical practice. Grietje and I then headed off for a few days in the west of England and Wales. Herefordshire is probably the most rural of the English counties, and in many ways the countryside there is similar to the green rolling hills of the Waikato. The main difference, of course, is the much older built landscape, particularly churches, stone bridges and the iconic Hereford black‐and‐ white houses. In the case of my great‐great‐great‐grandfather’s house, ‘Shelwick Court’, near the city of Hereford, the oldest portion was built around 1400, with ‘recent additions’ of 1680! In contrast to the green rolling hills of Herefordshire, much of Wales is low mountains, a little similar to Waiouru. Grosmont, Herefordshire
Following our visit to west England and Wales, we headed to Yorkshire in the north‐east of England. The landscapes here were quite different – over a low‐level mountain range (Pennines), down into flat lowland and then on to high‐level moorland. Highlights of this part of our holiday were staying with a Badham “cousin”, whom I have known for some time. Recently, a comparison of our DNA profiles showed we were directly related in not more than ten generations, so now we are working through copious genealogy records to find where the link might be. The city of York has ancient city walls, many fascinating old buildings, and a magnificent minster (cathedral). We also spent a day at Whitby, a beautiful seaside village and former home of Captain James Cook. The North York moors have a bleak beauty about them, and includes the village of Goathland. This is famous for its “stage name“ of Aidensfield, where the TV series ‘Heartbeat’ was filmed. The picture‐
book village includes a working steam excursion train which runs over a track length of about 25 miles, through a number of “original” stations. Excursion 'Endeavour', Whitby
Finally, we had four days back at Newbury with the family, before flying home via Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). KL Airport is new and very large. The check‐in terminal is remote from the separate arrival/departure terminal and shops, the two being linked by driverless electric trains which run for about one kilometre under the main runways. UK seemed to us to be “a land of a million roundabouts”. Even in the countryside there is a lot of traffic, which does not make for relaxed driving. The many motorways have vast numbers of large trucks, many of them from Europe. UK has a land area about the same as New Zealand, but has fifteen times the population, so this sort of congestion is inevitable, despite the excellent public transport systems. On the other hand many of the minor roads are narrow and twisty, Goathland ('Aidensfield') station, North York Moors
formed as they were in the days of horse and cart. They also often have high hedgerows, and the village buildings are built right on the road edge, which makes overtaking usually impossible. UK drivers are generally more patient and courteous than in New
Zealand, but I guess this is really a matter of self‐preservation. Overall, I would say we are lucky to live in Aotearoa. Whilst we may lack the history and cultural diversity of UK and Europe, our lifestyle is certainly easier. UK has nothing to compare to our mountains, beaches, weather and lack of traffic! John Badham Facilitation will be produced monthly. This publication is available online at http://www.waikato.ac.nz/fmd/
For communications relating to the FMD newsletter please contact Judy Swetman, ext 4980, email [email protected].