North Canterbury News: August 17, 2023

NEWS
8 The North Canterbury News, August 17, 2023
HURUNUI THEATRE GROUP ADVERTISING FEATURE
Led the wrong way
ACornucopia of Courtesans ... Ascene from the Hurunui Theatre Group’s latest
production, AFunny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum.
PHOTO: SUPPLIED
A comedicromp
inancient Rome
ACornucopia of Courtesans takes to
the stageinWaipara.
Hot off the back of last year’s
production,the HurunuiTheatre
Group is back with anothershow sure
to tickleyour ribs.
Inspired by the farcesofPlautus,
the ancient RomanPlaywright, A
FunnyThing Happened on the way to
the Forum, is acomedic romp through
ancient Rome.
This musical tells the bawdy story
of aslave namedPseudolus, and his
attempts to win his freedom by
helping hisyoungmaster win the girl
next door.
The plothas the manyclassic
elements of vaudevillian farce,
includingfaced paced dialogue with
witty puns,the slamming of doors,
casesofmistaken identity, and
satiricalcomments on social class.
The title derives from aline often
used by vaudeville comedians to
begin astory: ‘‘A funnything
happened on the way to the theatre’’.
This is the 29th show to be
performedbythe long­serving
theatre group,takingtalent from
right acrossthe districts of
Christchurch to Cheviot to bring this
comedic extravaganzatoour
audiences.
Victoria King takes on her second
yearinthe director’s chair, while
musical director andtalented
accompaniment is provided by Tony
Kingston on the keyboard.
This is afantasticevening out to
helpchase away thosewinteryblues.
The traditional freeintermission
supper provided by WaiparaSchool
willfill the tum, and there is acash
bar run by Torlessewinery to wash it
down.
Thereare someinteresting locals
in interesting costumes, and
interesting situations.
Don’tmissthe chancetocatchthis
night of laugh out loud
entertainment.
The show runs for asix­night
season at theWaiparaHall, from
August 24 to September 2, with a
matinee on Saturday, August 26.
Ticketsare available online at
TryBooking.com. If you need
assistance to book online visit any
HurunuiDistrictCouncilservice
centre, or library. Tickets cost $30 for
adults, $25 for Seniors, and $15 for
children under 16.
For further informationgoto
hurunuitheatre.org.
By JOHN COSGROVE
Confusionreignedafter the brakes
were put on traffictrying to find a
speedy exit after last month’s
Matariki fireworks display.
Drivers were leftwith no where to
go in alog jam due to roads no longer
existing, despite GoogleMaps
telling themthey did.
Many drivers complained,
demanding to know who was
responsible.
The Waimakariri District Council
beingthe first port of call, and then
Google Maps.
Google Maps was found to be out of
date.
Drivers were often sent towards
roadsthat haven't existed for many
yearsinthe NormanKirk Park
district.
Roadsthat were populated before
the devastating Christchurch
earthquakes, but now have been
removed, redirectedorshortened in
the 12 years since the area was
declared ared zone,and
redevelopedbythe Waimakariri
District Council.
The NorthCanterbury News went
in search of asolution and contacted
Google to advisethem of the issues
raised by many who took to
complaining about the problem on
line,which had spoilt an otherwise
fantasticnightout.
AGoogle spokesperson, advised
they were investigating theissue.
Google said theyuses avariety of
sources to get the most accurateand
up­to­date informationonthe map,
and use acombination of manual
and automated techniques to check
for accuracy.
‘‘Whenthere’s an issue, we work to
fix it as quickly as we can.’’
Googleadvised NC News that on
GoogleMaps pages, up on the lefthand
sideare three bars denoting
more options.
Click,scroll down the listand
selectedit the map.
Users can thenadvise via
feedback about missing places, add
or fix roads, and advise of wrong
information on maps.
Using screengrabs,ofboth Google
Maps and images from other
regional aerialmapping sources,
copieshighlighting the roads no
longerthere or ones whichhave
been changed, weredispatched to
Google.
Last weekitwas noted the changes
had been addedtothe Googlemap of
Kaiapoi.
Googleadvise theyneed people's
help in keeping maps up to date with
all the new sub­divisions springing
up around the district.
Waimakariri District Council
SeniorTransport Engineer Shane
Binder, says theyknow thebulk of
drivers use Google Mapsor an
associatedmap for directionswhen
driving.
‘‘Unfortunately, these maps aren’t
alwaysuptodate and rely on user
behaviour or userinput to ensure
they’re up to date.
‘‘So, we’dencourage you to use
your app and report bad info if you
see anything out of date.’’
Local roadclosuresfor weather
eventsorother reasons are alsonot
alwaysreflected on Google Maps.
The council’s new website is a
good spottocheckifdrivers are
headedsomewhere new.
HURUNUI THEATRE GROUP PRESENTS
Amusical Comedy
Based on the Plays ofPlautus Book by
BURT SHEVELOVE and LARRY GELBART
Music and Lyrics by STEPHEN SONDHEIM
YOUR LOCAL HUSQVARNA DEALER
Performances from August 24 th
to 2 nd September -Thursday,
Friday, Saturday 7:30pm;
Matinee Saturday 26 th 2pm
Waipara Memorial Hall
Tickets available from
Trybooking.com
(visit any HDC service centre or library
for assistance with online booking)
Adults $30, Seniors $25, Children under
16 $15 Enquiries ph. 0275 669 940
BY ARRANGEMENT WITH MUSIC THEATRE INTERNATIONAL (AUSTRALASIA)
2606301
Ph: 3136640
sales@brandmowers.co.nz
275FlaxtonRoad,
Southbrook
2498003