We're having some drinks. In association with our Great Blend sponsors, Orcon and the Quadrant Hotel, allow me to invite you as readers, fellow bloggers and interested parties to join us at the Quadrant Bar from 5.30pm on Thursday for the PA Social.
The PA Social is something of an experiment to provide a community event in months where we don't have a Great Blend. It's intended as a relaxed get-together where you'll be able to meet the people you debate with here, including as many Public Address bloggers as can make it along.
There will be optional name-tags on which you may write your screen-name, and a free drink for everyone who comes along.
And Wellingtonians: stay tuned. We're working on a similar meet-up in the capital too.
The Quadrant Bar is at the Quadrant Hotel, 10 Waterloo Quadrant, central Auckland, next to the Hyatt and across the road from the university grounds. Here's the map.
See you there …
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You may also wish to attend tomorrow's recording of Media7, which will have two topics: the smothering of press freedom over recent days in Fiji, and the apparent disappearance of the green message from the media in the midst of the credit crunch.
If possible, the Fiji panel will be the same as that featured in our previous show about Fiji and the media -- which was actually re-broadcast on Fiji TV. David Robie, whose Cafe Pacific blog is a must-read, is already confirmed.
As the "khaki editors" move in, a group of blogs maintains the last trace of media freedom in Fiji. Of particular note: Fiji Free Speech and Discombobulated Bubu.
The sustainability panel is Jeanette Fitzsimons (and yes, I will be asking about the Green Party's new accommodation with National), Vincent Heeringa and Richard Simpson.
If you'd like to join us tomorrow from 5pm at The Classic in Queen Street, hit Reply and let me know.
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PS: And THIS JUST IN!!. They said it would never happen. They even said the original didn't exist any more. But there it is, freshly uploaded to NZ On Screen: Episode 1 of The Governor.
Younger, or forgetful, readers may find the synopsis helpful:
The Governor was a 1977 television epic that examined the life of Governor George Grey in six thematic parts. In ‘Episode One: The Reverend Traitor', Grey arrives to colonial troubles: flag-pole chopping Hone Heke, missionary Henry Williams, and rebellious Te Rauparaha. Grey's "Good Governor" persona was undercut with laudanum, lechery and land-confiscation. NZ TV's first (and only) historical blockbuster was hugely controversial, provoking a parliamentary inquiry and "test match sized" audiences. It won a 1978 Feltex Award for Best Drama.
Rights issues have kept the series off air for many years, to the extent that it has become a symbol for "lost" television in New Zealand. Its appearance today is something really worth celebrating.