JPs on duty at Whangaparaoa Library

Starting on Wednesday 12 November a Justice of the Peace will be duty on regular weekly basis in the Manuka Room at Whangaparaoa Library and Service Centre. They will be available from 10am-12 noon. It will be staffed by local JPs on a roster system.

A Justice of the Peace can witness documents and certify copies. For more information about the role of a JP see Royal Federation of Justices' Associations and Ministry of Justice.

Guy Fawkes

One of the hot topics at the beginning of November is Guy Fawkes night. This event commemorates the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot which was a plan to blow up the English Houses of Parliament in 1605. It’s traditionally celebrated with fireworks on November 5.

There are some new rules around buying and selling fireworks. The new rules include:

- Retailers may only display fireworks for retail sale or sell them for four days prior to and including Guy Fawkes Day; this is the period beginning 2 November and ending at the close of 5 November.

- You may only buy fireworks if you are aged 18 and over.

- Sparklers can now be sold only in retail fireworks packages together with other fireworks. They must not be sold separately. No more than 50 sparklers can be sold in any single retail package.

If you’re going to have fireworks at home then follow these safety tips from the Pyro Company website

- Read instructions on the fireworks before using them
- Use a torch to read the instructions
- Light fireworks in a wide open area away from anything that could catch fire
- Don’t give to small children to light
- Keep a bucket of water or garden hose handy
- Keep pets inside
- Don’t try to relight dud fireworks
- Keep fireworks away from open flame (in closed box)
- Burns need water for 10 minutes

Gee Up!

It's time for the big hats and race day fashions as the biggest race in Australasia breaks the gates at 5pm New Zealand time. I am (of course) talking about the Melbourne Cup. I will certainly be trying to find a TV somewhere that I can watch the 148th running of the race (although I have never been much good at picking the winner so I might refrain from my yearly trip to the TAB).

Hit up some of these websites if you want to know more about this year's race or the history of the Melbourne Cup.
The Melbourne Cup at Wikipedia
The Melbourne Cup blog
Emirates Melbourne Cup 2008 website
Cup History from the Official Australian Cultural website

If you want to do some reading, you can always head to your local Rodney Library. Browse through both fact and fiction under a subject heading like "horse racing" (click on any of these subjects to show what books we have in which library) or just come in and wander through the shelves. For fiction you would be looking for authors such as Dick Francis, John Francome or Lyndon Stacey. On our non-fiction shelves around call number 798.4 you will find biographies of horses and their trainer/jockeys as well as overviews of the industry.

If you are handy to Warkworth on Tuesday afternoon, don your hat and gloves and head along to our own mini-Flemington, Bridge House for their Cup Day event which will be raising funds for breast cancer. It may not be too late to arrange a ticket. Email organiser Rachel Sutton Rachel.Sutton@piper.co.nz or phone her on 021-374-737

Now all I have to do is choose between Master O'Reilly and Red Ruler to cheer for.

Happy Halloween

By the time I get home from work tonight, the trick or treaters will have probably passed through my neighbourhood (or maybe it's just the steepness of my driveway that puts them off). But if you are looking for something a little (or lot) scary for yourself, why not check out the Rodney Libraries DVD collection.

First off, I have to say "I don't do horror!" I am your typical hide behind a cushion type when it comes to horror movies and can remember cowering behind the couch when the original of "The Fly" screened on our old black and white TV back when I was a lot younger (anyone else who can relate to this when the scene of the mini-man stuck in the spider's web screaming "Help me" in a squeeky voice please raise your hand). So there is little point in me giving personal reviews of the horror movies in our DVD collection.

I heard someone say that good horror movies were a genre that has gone out of fashion, but I am sure this will bring roars of protest from some quarters. So whether you are a fan of the supernatural, the slasher, or the simple scary thriller, click on this Rodney Libraries link to find our list of DVD's which might fit the bill. Or look for the skull and crossbones sticker on the spine of our fiction books for a horror read.

Trick or treat everyone

Tech alert: Multiple requests from cart problem fixed

There was a problem with placing multiple requests from a cart of saved items on the online catalogue. This has now been fixed, and is working normally again.

To place multiple requests
1. Search for item.
2. Add the item to the cart by clicking blue button "Add to cart" .
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 as necessary.
4. Click blue button "View cart"
5. Click blue button "Multiple requests"
6. Enter barcode and pin.
7. Choose "Pickup location" from drop down menu. Click blue button "Request All" or select titles and click blue button "Request Selected".