Mangawhai Probus - New owner keeps it fresh and local

 

Ewan King from the Wood Street Freehouse spoke about his new establishment in Mangawhai. A freehouse, explains Ewan, is a place for community to come together, eat and drink.

Ewan was born in Canada and raised in New Zealand. He went to university in the USA at age 16 and on to Europe at 18 to pick grapes and then bartended for the next 10 years. Next stop was New York for 5 years and then to Vancouver where he developed an entertainment business and opened his first restaurant with small plate tapas, wine and craft beer.

He then came back to New Zealand and opened three restaurants in Auckland. After selling two he decided to keep Lumsden Freehouse in Newmarket and look for an opportunity in Mangawhai, a place he and his family have enjoyed holidaying in over the past 20 years.

Ewan deals with local New Zealand producers and likes to buy fresh. He also enjoys having local craft beers for sale. These beers take four weeks to brew and have a flavour along the lines of beer brewed years ago, something Ewan is passionate about. Ninety percent of his staff are local.

From December 1 Wood Street Freehouse will be open from 10am for brunch, 7 days a week for the summer. Watch out for his pizza menu which will come with free delivery on a scooter but this is a cash only aspect of the business. Wednesday will be movie night with a kids movie and small pizza menu from 4.30pm-7.30pm, then onwards with a small menu, including pizza, along with a movie.

Always take the weather with you
The second speaker was Ken Brierly with a presentation entitled ‘Can the weather forecast be trusted?’ Ken was brought up in Wellington and served with the UK Royal Navy as a weather forecaster as well as working in radio and briefly with TV.

He had a very entertaining way of presenting how he and other weather forecasters work, the words they use and the way we, as listeners, interpret what is said. He believes there is no fame in being a weather forecaster although the forecast is correct 95 percent of the time, but the timing can sometimes be wrong!

The weather over 12 hours will be pretty much be the same, which in forecasting terms is the 60 percent rule. Forecasters like to deal with past weather because that will be correct.

Ken explained the use of lines like sunny intervals, sunny breaks, sunny periods. All are very similar but it depends on how the listener interprets what they hear. Rain can be light, intermittent, moderate, and heavy and the use of the words “surprised if the rain didn’t ease up” really means the forecaster is hopeful the rain is going to stop shortly.

These days forecasts are far more accurate with the research undertaken in the field, however, the use of some key words can make the listener more comfortable with what is forecast.

Ken really entertained the Probus group and we now have a new insight into what the words used in forecasting may mean.
 

Next meeting The Probus Club Christmas Party, Thursday December 7, 12 noon at the Gateway Motel Conference Room, Kaiwaka. The club will not meet in January so the first meeting in 2016 is Thursday February 18 at Senior Citizens Hall, Fagan Street, Mangawhai, starting at 2.00 pm. Mangawhai Probus meet every third Thursday in the month. If you require more info or transport please contact Ron and Gaylene Lawrence 431 5617 or Beve Smith 431 5777. All visitors are welcome.