Western News: December 11, 2025

FOR LOCAL ADVERTISING
Alana Powell
Ph: 027 535 6583
alana@alliedmedia.co.nz
Sports gear
project bags
top award
FOR LOCAL ADVERTISING
Alana Powell
Ph: 027 535 6583
alana@alliedmedia.co.nz
FOR LOCAL ADVERTISING
Annabel Judd
Ph: 021 457 469
annabel.judd@alliedmedia.co.nz
A community-driven project
to help children play sports
by recycling gear has been
recognised nationally.
Gear Up Ōtautahi took
out the top spot in the
outstanding community
recreation programme
category at the 2025
Recreation Awards,
which celebrate the
projects, programmes,
facilities, and people
shaping the future of
recreation.
“This is a fantastic
result
The Star,
for a
January
project
23,
that
2025
has
helped hundreds of tamariki
across Christchurch and Banks
Peninsula get involved in
sport,” said city council head
of community support and
partnerships John Filsell.
“This win reflects the
creativity, The Star, January collaboration, 23, 2025 and
John Filsell
commitment from the many
people that make this project a
success.”
Gear Up Ōtautahi – originally
known as Give Gear Get
Great – began in 2015 as a
one-off sports equipment
drive, with donated
gear redistributed at
community events.
The idea, conceived by
then-Spreydon-Cashmere
Community Board chair
Karolin Potter, quickly
gained momentum and
grew into a city-wide
movement.
People can donate their
used or outgrown sports gear,
excluding helmets and clothes,
that is in good condition to the
more than 30 collection bins
around the city. The gear is then
redistributed at community
events.
FOR LOCAL ADVERTISING
Jenny Wright
Ph: 021 220 3484
jenny@alliedmedia.co.nz
Gear Up Ōtautahi – originally known as Give Gear Get Great – was created by former Spreydon-Cashmere Community Board
chair Karolin Potter, left, as a one-off sports equipment drive. Potter is pictured with city council community governance
manager Emma Pavey.
starnews.co.nz
PHOTO: CCC
Filsell said thousands of items, project also helps combat all the this year, Gear Up Ōtautahi
including boots, balls, and other waste generated by unused or became a fully community-led
equipment, have been re-homed, outgrown sports gear,” he said. and operated programme,
directly reducing the financial A key goal of the project was The city council was also
barriers for young people to to create a sustainable model a finalist in the Recreation
participate in sport.
that would allow the community Awards’ outstanding event
“They can then join teams, stay to eventually take ownership category for its Children’s Day
active and feel included. The from the council, and earlier 2025 event. starnews.co.nz
A very Happy
Christmas &
The Star, January 23, 2025
Prosperous 2026
Paul and the team at Somerfield
Upholstery wish to thank all
their customers for their valued
support The Star, January throughout 23, 2025 the past year
Closing Tuesday 23rd December 2025
Reopening Thursday 22nd January 2026
starnews.co.nz
starnews.co.nz
Somerfield Upholstery Ltd
FURNITURE RECOVERY SPECIALIST
43A Epsom Road, Sockburn | Ph 021 251 6200 | 349 0456

The Star, December 11, 2025
starnews.co.nz
‘I don’t believe I should be getting
BY KEES CHALMERS
Ian Telfer is preparing to take
on Santa duties for yet another
festive season – 62 years after he
first put on the iconic red-andwhite
coat.
It all began on Labour weekend
in 1962. Ian and his parents,
William and Jesse, were staying
at their holiday house in Tikao
Bay, a short drive north of Wainui
in Akaroa Harbour, which
Ian and his father had built
seven years earlier.
He met a girl on the beach and
the attraction was immediate
and mutual. By New Year’s, they
were a couple. That girl later
became his wife and the mother
of his two children. Ian and Ally
were married for 51 years before
she died in 2017 from a pulmonary
embolism.
Ian can’t remember exactly
what he said to her that first
day – only that “he was very
complimentary”.
Ian, now 84, taught her to
swim and water ski, while she
tried to teach him to dance, “neither
with much success”.
“I met this bird on the beach
and my life changed,” he said.
The following November, while
staying with Ally’s family, he was
handed a brown parcel from his
mother-in-law, Dulcie Comfort.
Inside was a red and white coat
Dulcie had hand-stitched for him
– without his knowledge.
"She said, ‘there we go, you’re
Santa for family Christmas’,”
Ian said.
This week, Ian Telfer will be back doing what he loves most – being Santa. The 84-year-old has been Father Christmas since 1963, still wearing the same suit his
mother-in-law stitched for him.
“I was a 16-stone prop, being
Father Christmas was nothing
I’d ever thought of.”
He argued his beard was
“black as spades” and he
couldn’t possibly play the iconic
figure, but Dulcie had anticipated
that too. She made him a
false beard to cover it.
“She had me right under her
little finger,” Ian said.
The sheer scale of the Comfort
family Christmases came
as a major shock to Ian, who
had grown up as an only child.
Dulcie was one of 12 children
and Ally’s father, Ernie, was one
of 11.
“There were aunts and uncles
and cousins and whatnot coming
out the woodwork in all
directions,” he said.
“But, you know, I had a ball. I
thoroughly enjoyed myself.”
The next year he played Santa
at the family’s church – and the
gig grew from there.
Since then, he has
impersonated Father Christmas
all over the country at work
parties, playcentres, schools,
and family photoshoots, never
charging a cent.
“I don’t believe I should be getting
paid for having so much fun.
“I just enjoy seeing the joy on
people’s faces.”
Ian still wears the same suit
Dulcie made in 1963 and insists it
has never been washed.
“I’m terrified if I wash it, the
thing will fall apart,” he said.
He dreams of reaching 70 years
as Saint Nick. Mentally he feels
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starnews.co.nz The Star, December 11, 2025
paid for having so much fun’
up to it, but physically he’s less
confident.
He is blind in one eye and
partially blind in the other, and
three years ago he fell down his
outdoor steps and broke 10 ribs.
When he eventually hangs
up his duties, he won’t be retiring
the coat – he plans to pass
it on to one of his great-grand
nephews.
Ian has played Santa at
Akaroa’s Christmas in the Park
since 1998, and used to wander
around New World on Moorhouse
Ave giving out lollies and
offering hugs.
“There was even businessmen
in suits – that was probably the
nearest they came to empathy
and compassion in their business
life,” he joked.
He has 14 “duties” lined up in
the weeks before Christmas —
six of them in Rotorua, where
he will be appearing this week.
Ian worked as a BP troubleshooter
for 31 years, mostly
based at the company’s Wellington
head office, but his job
required him to travel wherever
issues arose. He said he
and his family lived in nine
houses in seven years.
Ian decided to take early
retirement in 1994, aged 52.
“I was losing count of the
number of mates that I had that
were falling to cancer,” he said.
“I thought, well, if we’re
gonna have any sort of retirement,
we need to start it soon.”
He and Ally had planned to
retire in Paraparaumu, but
Ian and his late wife Ally met on at Tikao Bay in 1962. “I met this bird on the beach and my life changed forever,” he said.
after spending Christmas at
their regular holiday spot in
Tikao Bay in 1997, Ally asked
him a question on the drive
home.
“She said, ‘how long is it from
Paraparaumu to Wellington’, I
said about an hour. Then she said,
‘how long is it from Christchurch
to Tikao’, I said, well, about an
hour.”
“She said, why the hell are we
moving to Paraparaumu.”
So they changed course and
moved back to where it all began
— into the house Ian and his
father had built. He still lives
there today.
Over the years Ian has had
many memorable experiences
while serving as Santa, but one
standout happened at a specialist
school in Wellington in 1979.
After handing out presents,
a child told Ian there was still
Jesse who was waiting outside in
a hospital bed after her fourth
operation for spina bifida.
“I went out and there was this
little kid with the biggest smile
I've ever seen. I go to give her the
present and she held my hand
and she held my hand and she
held my hand,” he said.
“I planned on being there for
about an hour and it was threeand-a-half
hours before she
fell asleep and I could quietly
disengage.”
He still makes memories, with
or without the coat.
Just last week at New World in
Halswell, he felt a bump on his
leg. It was a little girl.
“She said, are you going to
grow your beard down below
your knees? I said no.”
“Why not?” she asked.
“I was a 16-stone prop,
being Father Christmas
was nothing I’d ever
thought of.”
Ian Telfer
“Because if it gets too long,
it gets in the way of saying ‘ho,
ho, ho’,” he replied, to the girl’s
amazement.
It’s not just children who get
into the festive spirit. Ian said
people in their seventies and
eighties have sat on his lap to
tell him what they want for
Christmas.
He recalled 85-year-old Wainui
farmer Vern Shadbolt sitting on
his lap and saying he wanted “a
good crop of ewes that produced
twins”.
Ally joined him for many
duties as Mrs Claus, reading out
the names of children when his
eyesight failed.
“She loved being Mrs. Santa,
absolutely thrived on it,” he said.
Even after Ally’s death, Ian was
never tempted to hang up the red
and white coat.
“Certainly Ally wouldn't have
wanted me to stop being Santa, so
I've just kept doing it,” he said.
For aspiring Santas,
Ian advises simply being
themselves and fully believing
in the character while wearing
the coat and beard.
› Continued on next page
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Merry Christmas
Wishing you and your families a
safe and relaxing festive season
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Labour List MP based in Banks Peninsula
Tracey.McLellan@parliament.govt.nz
Authorised by Tracey McLellan MP, Parliament Buildings, Wellington
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The Star, December 11, 2025
starnews.co.nz
Still jolly after 63 Christmases
› From previous page
Ian grew up in Christchurch,
raised solely by his mother until
he was four, while his father
served as a lieutenant during
World War 2, mostly fighting in
the Pacific.
His first memories are of his
father teaching him how to box.
“He started off with one hand
behind his back, up until I got
him right on the nose, from then
on it was both hands,” he said.
His grandmother Elizabeth, a
Presbyterian, insisted he attend
Sunday School at St Paul’s when
he was six.
He recalled an older boy who
acted as “commander”, hitting
him over the head whenever he
made a mistake.
“He probably hit me five or
six times and I just hit him once,
but I was the one banned from
Sunday school,” he said.
“I thought if that’s their bloody
attitude, they can stick it up their
jumper and I’ve thought so ever
since.”
He went on to become the
heavyweight boxing champion
at Christchurch Boys’ High.
Ian doesn’t see Santa as a
religious figure, comparing him
instead to Odin, a chief god in
Norse mythology.
“Compare what Odin
reportedly did, to what Santa
does, which is basically make
people happy all around the
world,” he said.
Ian played for the Boys’ High
first XV and Old Boys’ as a front
When not in Santa-guise at family Christmases and public events, Ian keeps himself
busy building model boats, refurbishing wooden dinghies and carving wood.
rower, alongside players like
John Graham and Tony Steele,
both future All Blacks.
But Ian’s job at BP stopped him
committing to representative
rugby.
After high school he
completed his national service
with the New Zealand Scottish
Regiment.
He recalled being in a bar,
buying drinks for his kilted Scots
companions, when two patrons
approached and asked how
things were “under the skirt”.
“I put an arm around each of
them and banged their heads
together, picked up the glasses
and returned to the Scots,” he
said.
“These two then started to
fight one another and of course,
immediately that started the
whole place off, everyone was
suddenly having a punch up.”
Except for the Scots, who
sat up the back, observing
the chaos. They were the only
ones not barred from the
establishment.
Ian said his father’s selfdefence
lessons stayed with him.
“I’ve always been a big ugly
bugger, I’ve always hated bullies
and I’ve helped people when I
can,” he said.
Even at 84, he keeps
busy building model boats,
refurbishing dinghies and
carving wood. He also attends a
weekly book club in Akaroa.
“Even though I can’t read the
books anymore, I still go along
and give them cheek,” he said.
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Saturday 13 December, 12pm–2pm
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starnews.co.nz The Star, December 11, 2025
Safer school journeys ahead as
roading upgrade work starts
Work has started on several
Halswell roads to make it safer
and easier for children to get
to and from school in the fastgrowing
suburb.
Upgrades started last week at
the Dunbars Rd, Hindess St and
McMahon Dr roundabout, along
with minor changes on Ensign
and Lillian streets.
The work, due to finish on
December 19, is part of a wider
package of improvements
approved by the Waipuna
Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton
Community Board in July.
City council transport operations
manager Stephen Wright
said it was good to see the work
under way.
“We know Halswell schools
and residents will be pleased
to see this first phase of work
beginning. The aim is to protect
our most vulnerable road users
as they walk, bike or scooter to
school.”
He said the next phase,
involving signalised crossings
on Dunbars Rd and Halswell
Junction Rd, is scheduled for
January and February when
temperatures are more suitable
for high-friction surfacing work
to be carried out.
“Our contractors are doing
their best to minimise any
impacts the improvement
works may have on commuters
and residents.
“There are likely to be some
road closures and detours
in place for the next stage of
work, and we ask for people’s
patience during this time,”
Wright said.
Residents will be notified of
the specific dates and impacts
before Christmas.
Design work for the third
phase, for Halswell School, is
still in progress, with an update
expected after Christmas.
The plans were developed
with input from Halswell,
Oaklands and Knights Stream
schools, which raised concerns
about pedestrian safety through
their community board and city
council service requests.
Upgrades to several roads in Halswell are intended to make travel to and from school safer for children after several schools
raised safety concerns.
PHOTO: CCC
New variable speed zones
a boost for student safety
Speed limits are being lowered
at the start and end of the
school day to make it safer for
students travelling to schools
across Christchurch and Banks
Peninsula.
Over the next six months,
the city council will install new
variable 30km/h speed limit
signs outside school gates.
The reduced limit will apply
to about 150 metres either side
of each school gate.
In 2024, the Government
introduced the Setting of
Speed Limits Rule 2024, which
requires councils to implement
variable 30km/h limits during
“school travel periods” outside
all schools.
‘Variable’ means the speed
limit varies during the day.
During school travel periods
the speed limit will be 30km/h.
Outside these times, the road’s
usual speed limit will apply.
The city council worked with
schools and their communities
to identify roads outside school
gates and set school travel times,
said city council transport operations
manager Stephen Wright.
“On local neighbourhood
streets, we'll use static variable
signs that list the times when the
30km/h speed limit applies.
“On main connector roads,
where there are typically higher
vehicle volumes and speeds,
we’ll install electronic variable
signs,” he said.
With school travel periods
varying from school to school, a
45-minute window at the start
and end of the school day has
been implemented for standalone
schools.
Where several schools are
clustered together, the 30km/h
speed limit will apply for a
maximum period of one hour,
so drivers can maintain a
consistent speed when travelling
through the area.
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The Star, December 11, 2025
starnews.co.nz
Pickles essential
for a successful
summer sandwich
Whether in a cheddar toastie or a bagel with avocado and mozzarella,
sandwich season calls for bright, sharp pickles, writes Nigel Slater
SUMMER PICKLED VEGETABLES
Makes 2 medium jars
The jars should be sterilised if
you want to keep the pickle for
any length of time. Pour boiling
water into them after washing,
or warm them in the oven. Pack
the jars full, with the liquor
coming to the top.
INGREDIENTS
1 small cucumber
1 large shallot
1 medium carrot
4 radishes
6 heaped Tbsp sauerkraut
For the pickle
6 Tbsp white wine vinegar
6 Tbsp cider vinegar
5 Tbsp malt vinegar
2 tsp fennel seeds
15 black peppercorns
8 juniper berries
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp salt
METHOD
• Peel the cucumber, then slice
it in half lengthways. Scoop out
the core and its seeds with a
teaspoon and discard.
• Cut the cucumber into
1cm-thick slices and put them in
a large bowl.
• Peel the shallot, slice into thin
rounds and add to the cucumber.
Scrub the carrot then, using a
potato peeler, shave into long
ribbons. Add these to the bowl,
then thinly slice and add the
radishes and sauerkraut.
• In a small, stainlesssteel
saucepan mix together
the vinegars, fennel seeds,
peppercorns and juniper berries.
• Add the sugar and salt and
place over a moderate heat.
Bring to the boil, stirring until
the sugar and salt have dissolved.
• Pour the hot pickling liquor
over the vegetables and toss
gently together.
• Transfer to clean, sterilised
storage jars, seal and refrigerate
overnight.
CHEESE AND PICKLE
MUSTARD-BUTTER SANDWICHES
Makes 2 sandwiches
Brushing with mustard
butter before grilling gives
a crispness and delicious
piquancy to the bread. It also
makes the surface brown more
quickly, so it is worth keeping
a sharp eye on the bread’s progress
as it cooks.
INGREDIENTS
150g fontina (alternatively
Gruyere)
40g butter
4 Tbsp summer vegetable
pickle (see separate recipe)
4 slices sourdough bread
1 tsp dijon mustard
METHOD
• Coarsely grate the cheese.
Melt the butter in a pan and stir
in the mustard; don’t worry if
it doesn’t mix perfectly. Brush
both sides of the bread with the
mustard butter.
• Heat a griddle pan or frying
pan. Divide the cheese between
2 of the slices of bread.
• Drain the pickle, then spoon
it on top of the cheese, place
the reserved pieces of bread on
top and press down firmly.
• Put the sandwiches on the
griddle or in the pan and press
down firmly with a palette
knife or a weight.
• When the underside of the
sandwich is golden, turn and
cook the other side. When the
cheese softens and the bread is
golden brown, eat immediately.
GUACAMOLE, PICKLE
AND MOZZARELLA BAGEL
Makes 4
I prefer avocado that is not
too ripe. The pickle juice slices
through the oily flesh and also
keeps its colour bright.
INGREDIENTS
2 avocados
1 small red chilli
2 tsp grain mustard
a small handful of coriander
leaves
juice of ½ lime
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 bagels
1 × 200g ball mozzarella
8 Tbsp summer vegetable pickle
(see separate recipe)
METHOD
• Halve, stone and peel the
avocados. Put the flesh into a
bowl, then crush it with a fork.
• Finely chop the chilli and add
to the bowl. Stir in the mustard,
coriander leaves, lime juice and
olive oil to give a thick, mustardseed-freckled
cream.
• Split the bagels in half and
toast the cut side under a hot
grill, or in a toaster until lightly
crisp.
• Tear the mozzarella into large,
irregular pieces and place on the
bottom half of the toasted bagels.
• Spread generously with the
avocado cream. Spoon the pickle
on top and place the other half
of the bagel on top and serve.
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starnews.co.nz The Star, December 11, 2025
How to shop smart this Christmas
Christmas is just a few weeks away, so if you haven’t
already, now is the ideal time to get started with
your Christmas shopping list.
Giving presents to your nearest and dearest is a
sure fire to get yourself in the Christmas spirit, but
finding the right gift can be daunting.
However, if this sounds familiar: stop, take a
breath, and read on for some simple steps you can
take to make Christmas gift buying easier, more
meaningful, and a lot less stressful.
Before you rush and panic buy, take a bit of time
to sit down and write up a list of everyone you need
to buy for: start with friends and family, and then
think about anyone else you need to include, such as
your little one’s schoolteacher.
Once you’ve got a list, set yourself a budget. This
will avoid you overspending and help you stay
focused on what you need to buy.
The best gifts are ones that feel personal, so it’s
helpful when making your list of who to buy for to
add a few notes next to their name with some hobbies
and interests.
Are you
ready to
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The Star, December 11, 2025
starnews.co.nz
CROSSWORD
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9
10 11
12 13 14
15 16 17
18
19 20 21 22
430
SUDOKU
Every row, column and box should
contain the digits 1 to 9.
WordBuilder
WORDBUILDER
S E I
N N A
6
330 330
N N A
words of three or more letters,
How
including
many
plurals,
words
can you
of
make
three
from
or
the
more
six
letters, using each letter only once? No foreign
How words or beginning with a capital are
from many the words six letters, of three using or more each letters, only
allowed. There's at least one six-letter word.
including once? plurals, can you make from the six
TODAY
letters,
No Good words
using 14 each
beginning Very letter Good only 17 with
once? Excellent a capital
No 20 foreign
are
words
allowed. Solution or words 329: There’s able, beginning alb, ale, at alee, with
least anele, a capital
one bale, are
allowed. six-letter
BALEEN, There's ban, bane, at bean, least bee, one been, six-letter bel, ben, word. eel,
word. elan, ENABLE, lab, lane, TODAY lea, lean, lee, nab, neb.
Good 14 Very Good 17 Excellent 20
letters, including plurals, can you make
Solution 329: able, alb, ale, alee, anele, bale,
BALEEN, ban, bane, bean, bee, been, bel, ben, eel,
elan, ENABLE, lab, lane, lea, lean, lee, nab, neb.
23 24
25 26
Across
7. Shoeless (8)
9. Keg (6)
10. Sieve (4)
11. Flawlessness (10)
12. Save from danger (6)
14. Outside (8)
15. Muse (6)
16. Death (6)
19. Southern English county (8)
21. Weeping (6)
23. Neutralise, offset (10)
24. Constructed (4)
25. Hat/country (6)
26. Benevolence (8)
Decoder
Down
1. Spite (6)
2. Warmth (4)
3. Entire (8)
4. Missing (6)
5. Brotherhood (10)
6. Explode (8)
8. Objective (6)
13. 100th anniversary (10)
15. Recommendation (8)
17. Thrilling (8)
18. Assault (6)
20. Teeter (6)
22. The habit of going unclothed (6)
24. Monastery resident (4)
Crossword
Across: 7. Barefoot, 9. Barrel, 10. Sift, 11. Perfection, 12. Rescue,
14. External, 15. Ponder, 16. Demise, 19. Somerset, 21. Crying, 23.
Counteract, 24. Made, 25. Panama, 26. Kindness.
Down: 1. Malice, 2. Heat, 3. Complete, 4. Absent, 5. Fraternity, 6.
Detonate, 8. Target, 13. Centennial, 15. Proposal, 17. Exciting, 18. Attack,
20. Seesaw, 22. Nudism, 24. Monk.
WordBuilder
Ani, anis, anise, end, inane, inn, inns, ins, INSANE, nan, nans, nine, nines,
san, sane, sea, sen, senna, SIENNA, sin, sine.
DECODER
Each number represents a different letter of the alphabet. Write the
given letters into all squares with matching numbers. Now work out
which letters are represented by the other numbers.
All puzzles copyright
T H E P U Z Z L E C O M P A N Y
www.thepuzzlecompany.co.nz
Sudoku