Kiwi thoughts on life, travel, politics & everything else!: October 2011

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

New Zealand and the Rugby World Cup

New Zealand in Rugby World Cup - my daughter crunches the figures

Year	Location	NZ place	Final Won	Final Lost	Teams
1987	New Zealand & Australia Eden Park, Auckland	1st	New Zealand 29	France 9	16
1991	England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France Twickenham Stadium, London	3rd (won against Scotland 13-6 after losing to Australia 6-16 in semis)	Australia 12	England 6	16
1995	South Africa Ellis Park, Johannesburg	2nd	South Africa 15	New Zealand 12	16
1999	Wales (also England, France, Scotland and Ireland) Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	4th (lost to SA 18-22 after losing to France 31-43 in semis)	Australia 35	France 12	20 – 1st professional RWC
2003	Australia Telstra Stadium, Sydney	3rd (won 40-13 against France after losing to Australia 10-22 in semis)	England 20	Australia 17	20
2007	France (+ 4 in Wales & 2 in Scotland) Stade de France, St-Denis, Paris	Quarter Finalists (lost to France 18-20)[1]	South Africa 15	England 6	20
2011	New Zealand Eden Park, Auckland	1st	New Zealand 8	France 7	20

[1] Australia also lost in Quarters, against England 10-12; Fiji lost to SA; Scotland lost to Argentina – Argentina ended up 3rd beating France in the Bronze Final

Friday, October 21, 2011

No more jazz in catherdral ... but jazz in the park

An array of great musicians have been selected to perform as part of Taste Jazz, which will take place in the Hagley Park Events Village on Saturday, November 5.

Over the course of the day some of the best jazz musicians from around the country will perform for the public, free of charge, ahead of a ticketed tribute concert to the First Lady of Song, Ella Fitzgerald in the evening.

Taste Jazz has been organised by the New Zealand International Jazz & Blues Festival to give Christchurch people a lift and to give them a taste of what is in store for them next year.

No jazz in the Cathedral for some years I suspect

“We had to cancel this year’s festival because of the quakes so Christchurch people have not had many opportunities to enjoy live jazz. We thought it was about time we brought music back into their lives,’’ says festival director Jodi Wright.

The Christchurch Jazz Orchestra will be followed on stage by Solpak, a dynamic jazz band that has been performing in New Zealand since the early 1990s.

During the afternoon there will be performances by harmonica player Nola Mills and the Tom Rainey quartet, Christchurch jazz band Sumo Jazz, the Rayna Creagh Quartet, and the Reuben Bradley quartet- the winner of the 2011 Vodafone Music Award for Best Jazz Album.

"It’s going to be a lovely day out so get your friends and family together and join us in North Hagley Park for some great soul-soothing music," Ms Wright says.

Taste Jazz will be followed on November 6 by Taste Blues, which brings together Christchurch’s blues stalwarts for another day of free entertainment.

For more information go to jazzfestivalnz.com.