Features

Meteors are icy messengers, not fire-breathers

By VIRGINIA WINDER - Taranaki Daily News | 10:14AM

TALK of a meteorite causing a fire in an Auckland warehouse has sparked a trail of news stories. One joker even suggested it could have been the International Space Station toolbag. But the rogue bag the largest item lost in space by an astronaut is being tracked by satellites and is still out there. Back in New Zealand, Taranaki comet spotter Rodney Austin dismisses any chance the fire was caused by a flaming meteorite.

The live music champion rocks on

By FELICITY ROOKES - Taranaki Daily News

There's nothing flashy about New Plymouth's Basement Bar. The red carpet is faded and worn and tattered couches line the room. It smells like stale beer and rock 'n' roll.

The business of Xmas sure has changed

By VICKY PRICE - Taranaki Daily News

A book celebrating Christmas in New Zealand since the first Europeans brought it here has been produced by Sarah Ell. Based on archives from the Alexander Turnbull Library, it contains a selection of reproductions of photos and postcards from 1769 to 1992 that show how we've come to make Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere summer our own. It is a beautiful book with interesting narrative relating to each picture.