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Gulf Insider
02-07-2025
- Automotive
- Gulf Insider
Fujairah's Musical Road Plays Beethoven While You Drive
The 'musical road' in Fujairah, a unique stretch of Sheikh Khalifa Street, has become viral. Why? It turns a routine commute into a drive-through symphonic experience. This nearly 1-km-long installation, located just before the Fujairah Police Headquarters, is the first-of-its-kind in the UAE and the Arab 'rumble strips' embedded in the road surface play a portion of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony as cars drive over them at a steady speed. Fujairah, one of the seven emirates comprising the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is about an hour away from Dubai by car. The emirate is known for its beautiful beaches along the Gulf of Oman, the rugged Hajar Mountains, historical sites like Fujairah Fort and Al Badiyah Mosque, and its role as a major shipping and bunkering port. The road features precisely spaced rumble strips, cut into or laid onto the asphalt. At what speed does it work? When a vehicle's tires roll over these strips at the recommended speed (about 105 km/h), the vibrations produce musical notes. The spacing and depth of the grooves determine the pitch and rhythm, allowing the road to 'play' a recognisable melody — in this case, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. This technique is based on the physics of vibration, where the frequency generated by the tire corresponds to musical notes, depending on the distance between the strips. The road has clocked up virality on social media. ஃபுஜைரா நுண்கலை அகாடமியில் 🎨 தொடங்கப்பட்டுள்ள இந்த முயற்சி பொது இடங்களில் கலைகளை 🎭 ஊக்குவிப்பதற்கும், அன்றாட வாழ்க்கையில் இசையை 🎶 ஒருங்கிணைப்பதற்கு கொண்டுவரப்பட்டுள்ளது.அமீரகத்தில் 🇦🇪 முதன்முறையாக இதுபோன்ற முயற்சி ஃபுஜைராவின் ஷேக் கலீஃபா சாலையில் 🚗 மேற்கொள்ளப்பட்டுள்ளது.… — Tamil Buzz Dubai (@tamilbuzzdubai) July 1, 2025 Musical roads have been created in several countries around the world, including: Denmark: The world's first musical road, the Asphaltophone, was built in Gylling in 1995 and played an arpeggio in F major. Japan: Multiple 'Melody Roads' play local folk songs and classical tunes. South Korea: Roads play tunes like 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' and traditional songs, often to keep drivers alert. United States: California's 'Civic Musical Road' plays part of the 'William Tell Overture'. China: Roads in Beijing and other provinces play patriotic songs and classical pieces. Hungary: Roads play national pop and folk songs, such as '67-es út' and 'Nélküled'. Other countries include Iran, Taiwan, Indonesia, Argentina, Belarus, Russia, France, and Turkey. Musical roads serve several purposes: Artistic and cultural engagement: They turn ordinary infrastructure into public art, offering a unique, interactive experience that delights both locals and tourists. Tourism and local attraction: Musical roads attract visitors, boosting tourism and local pride. In Fujairah, people are making special trips just to experience the musical road. Traffic safety: In some countries, musical roads are designed to encourage drivers to maintain a safe, steady speed for the best musical effect, which can reduce accidents caused by speeding or drowsiness. The musical feedback only works at the correct speed, subtly encouraging safer driving habits. Community identity: By featuring globally recognized or local musical pieces, these roads can foster a sense of community and cultural identity. The Fujairah musical road is a permanent, innovative blend of engineering and art, made from carefully spaced rumble strips that play a Beethoven tune. Sort of like the road becoming a destination in itself, while also serving as a safety feature, and adding to Fujairah's cultural landmarks. Also Read: Yas Waterworld Unveils Massive Expansion With Over 20 New Rides In Abu Dhabi
Los Angeles Times
15-06-2025
- Los Angeles Times
Some L.A. neighborhoods clear out as immigration raids send people underground
A week of immigration sweeps across Southern California has left some communities eerily quiet, with some residents saying they are avoiding going out and attending to routine business out of fear of being stopped. Among the places where residents and merchants say foot traffic is way down include the normally bustling MacArthur Park area, downtown Downey and the Fashion District, which saw a large immigration raid June 6. Some car washes, which were a frequent target of agents last week, have also temporarily closed. Here is a sampling of how life is changing: These were the sounds you didn't hear coming from a school in South Los Angeles on Saturday — children laughing with their friends, parents whooping for their kids' first guitar solos and teachers burbling about the piano pupil who exceeded all expectations. The music went silent this Father's Day weekend at the Young Musicians Foundation. The venerable school for working-class students canceled its traditional semester-ending concert and celebration because many of its students and parents were afraid that gathering would make them vulnerable to the Trump administration's immigration raids. After a week of Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests around Southern California, many parents in the working class neighborhood east of USC pulled their kids from classes last week. Even more families, including those legally in the U.S., said they wouldn't attend Saturday's now-cancelled concert, out of an abundance of caution that they could be sent arrested and have to spend weeks proving their legal status. 'One by one, they were calling this week, saying 'It breaks our heart, but we are scared to death to come out,'' said Walter Zooi, executive director of the Young Musicians Foundation. 'Folks are being disconnected from their families, from their communities, from these kinds of opportunities, which they love.' Instead of the traditional party — and an accompanying feast of pizza, papusas and other Mexican and Central American delicacies — students handed in their borrowed instruments Friday and quietly said their farewells. One mother said she was saddened but felt she had no choice but to pull her 12-year-old daughter out of classes at YMF. 'She misses being with her friends and she is missing out on being inspired by the other students,' said the woman, who gave only her middle name, Esther, because she said she was concerned about being targeted. 'And as parents we are missing seeing that happiness when they are done performing and the satisfaction they get from the applause and encouragement.' Esther's U.S.-born girl, who first struggled to plunk out 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' on piano, now sends her fingers flying over the keyboard, delivering American pop classics and tunes from her parent's native Mexico. 'She sees this place like an oasis,' said Esther, a computer tech, who says her daughter has sometimes struggled with anxiety. 'This program is like therapy. It's something that helps her, that makes her better.' One of the YMF teachers is Andy Abad. Himself the L.A.-born son of immigrants, the guitarist went on to perform with Jennifer Lopez and the Backstreet Boys, among others, and to record with Lady Gaga and Bonnie Raitt. He now teaches at USC and a couple days a week at the YMF school, tucked into the ground floor of a subsidized housing complex. He started teaching at the school to give a role model to students, many of whom have never had access to instruments or music lessons. 'These immigrants work hard. They pay Social Security and other taxes. They just want to live,' said Abad. 'That's something some current political leaders don't want you to realize. They want to demonize them and to scapegoat them.' 'It's affecting everyone,' said Abad, 'and especially these kids, who just want to learn and who just want to do more.' On Friday morning, the area around MacArthur Park, a longtime immigrant hub west of downtown, was noticeably quieter than usual. Gone were many of the vendors who once lined South Alvarado Street at all times of day, selling everything from baby formula to Lionel Messi jerseys. 'There's like sadness, maybe grief. I think a lot of fear, a lot of fear is going around these communities. And yeah, people are walking around just very cautious, very cautious,' said Cristina Serrano, 37, as she was doing mitt work at Panda Boxing Gym, near the corner of Westlake Avenue and 8th Street. At Panda Boxing, the gym's owner now regularly walks up and down the block looking for signs of trouble and to make sure that people in the gym feel safe, said Serrano. 'I mean, most of us are U.S. citizens, but again, if there's someone that we may know in the gym [who isn't], we're gonna make sure we protect them and keep them safe,' she said. 'In general, that's where we stand as far as this gym.' Even though she is a citizen by birth, she says that she's taken to carrying a copy of her birth certificate with her everywhere she goes as a precaution. She also has a lawyer on speed dial. 'I don't know who they want to stop, who they're targeting, to be honest, because they're targeting people that look like me,' she said. She also said the Mexican restaurant next door abruptly closed its doors for two days, without explanation. Over at Tony's Barber Shop on the next block over, one of the barbers dusted hair off her chair as her customer got up to leave. The barber, who declined to give her name, explained in Spanish that business had almost disappeared. Asked why, she exchanged an exasperated look with the customer, before saying that 'la migra' — slang for ICE — was popping up everywhere in the area, scaring off her customers. On Friday morning, Julia Meltzer was on her way to work and had just turned left on Virgil Avenue from 6th Street when she saw a number of men in bulletproof vests. There was at least one vehicle, a silver Ford SUV with an Arizona licence plate, parked on the driveway of an apartment complex. As she pulled up closer to the vehicle, she said she saw men handcuffing a man wearing an orange shirt and white shorts. Meltzer said she pulled over and began taking photos and videos after realizing she had just stumbled upon a federal immigration operation. As she and other residents continued documenting, Meltzer came across a distraught woman who was the wife of the man the federal agents had just arrested. On Thursday, federal agents stormed a Huntington Park home and were accompanied by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Sabrina Medina, 28, was cleaning her patio Wednesday night when she saw a silver minivan slow down in front of her home in Huntington Park. She said she saw the driver recording her and her brother-in-law at the home. 'I screamed at them: 'Why are you recording me?'' she said. 'I started screaming because I thought, you know, something bad was going to happen to me.' She said the people in the van didn't respond. Scared for her four children, Medina went inside the house and called her husband, Jorge Saldana, 30, who was at a nearby laundromat washing clothes. She told him what happened and that he needed to come home. She and her husband got into an argument about his immigration status, she said. Medina worried immigration officials were now targeting him and their house. At one point, she told her husband she didn't want him attending his 10-year-old daughter's graduation. She said the argument ended with her husband storming out of the house. 'He was upset,' she said. 'He wanted to go to the graduation but I told him no and that I was going to take my sister.' Medina's husband, Saldana, was wanted for being in the country following his deportation. Eight years ago, Saldana was arrested for a violent crime, but the criminal charges were dropped and he was subsequently deported, Medina said. Early Thursday morning, Medina was rattled by several loud knocks on the front door. When she looked through the window she saw men in fatigues carrying assault rifles. One of them was pointing his weapon at her and ordered her to come out of the house, she said. She explained she had just finished showering and needed to get dressed, as well as wake up her kids. Medina asked the soldiers to put down their guns and they did, she said. Eventually, the family walked out and stood in the driveway as the men in fatigues searched the house for her husband, Medina said. He was not home at the time. As she, her brother-in-law and her kids waited in the driveway, Medina said she spotted Noem watching the operation. She said she also spotted a video crew and someone she believed to be Dr. Phil McGraw — the TV personality — sitting in an SUV. The site of Noem in a baseball hat and ballistic vest was startling, and Medina said she began to record her with her phone. 'I got scared. I did recognize her. I was like, 'What is she doing in my house?' So I started recording her,' Medina said. The pregnant mother said Noem was laughing and appeared as if she was 'waiting for something to happen.' Cameras inside and outside the home captured the men in fatigues walking around and searching the house. The men left shortly after, Medina said. There were at least a dozen men in fatigues, according to Medina and videos reviewed by The Times. She hasn't spoken to her husband since the raid on their home and is now worried how she will be able to pay this month's $3,000 rent. Her husband was the main breadwinner. The incident has traumatized her four kids whose ages range from 2 to 10, according to Medina. She said she is four months pregnant with twin boys. 'My daughter is very sad, she wanted to go to her graduation,' she said. ' My 7-year-old has been asking where her father is, they're very close to one another.' 'This is no way of living,' she added.
San Francisco Chronicle
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Rob Reich, pianist and accordion player with a regular gig at S.F.'s Zuni Café, dies at 47
Weekend diners at Zuni Café in San Francisco walked in to the jazz stylings of Rob Reich either at the grand piano by the door or strolling with his accordion — a timeless presence with a timeless sound. Reich, a versatile composer, bandleader and solo performer who could cover a full century of jazz styles, was booked through Memorial Day weekend at Zuni. But the piano will be silent, with an arrangement of flowers on top, and there will be no accordion standing by on the floor. Reich died May 15, at Orr Hot Springs Resort in Ukiah (Mendocino County), where he was a regular visitor to its meditative waters in a redwood forest environment. Paramedics were summoned after he was found unresponsive by staff in one of the resort buildings, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. He was 47. A final cause of death is pending a full autopsy by the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office coroner. Reich's parents, Richard and Linda Reich of Sarasota, Fla., declined to speculate, other than to say he had no known medical condition that would have caused their son's sudden death. 'Rob brought tremendous pleasure and joy to the restaurant,' said Gilbert Pilgram, owner of Zuni. 'Aside from being a talented musician, he was one of those people who everybody loved.' Reich had been in the midst of composing the annual summer performance of Circus Bella, a one-ring circus of acrobats and aerialists set to an original score by Reich. It is performed by the Circus Bella All Star Band, a six-piece ensemble with Reich conducting and playing piano, accordion, glockenspiel and about anything else that can produce sound in an orchestra. 'Rob's ability to create music in such a rainbow of styles was unparalleled,' said Abigail Munn, co-founder, executive director and ringmaster of Circus Bella. 'He was prolific in the range of .genres and quality of music that he was able to write.' Reich's music was superlative, his father said, noting that Rob had learned the piano at age 3 by sitting down of his own volition to play 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' — 'just out of the blue, with no sheet music because he could not read yet.' It soon became obvious that Reich was the rare child with the gift of perfect pitch. He was on his way to a life in music, a journey that reached a peak public moment in San Francisco when he was called on to play the accordion at the City Hall inauguration of Mayor Daniel Lurie in January. Accordion is the official city instrument, and Reich played the official city ballad, 'I Left My Heart in San Francisco.' Reich was equally at ease playing accordion on call with the San Francisco Symphony at 2,700-seat Davies Hall, and playing at 30-seat Bird & Beckett Books & Records. He would fill the Glen Park store for his regular gig, with a $20 admission fee. He also fronted his own band, Rob Reich Swings Left, and could put together a chamber music quartet upon request. In a good week, he played eight to 12 gigs. 'Rob was beyond category,' said Eric Whittington, owner of Bird & Beckett. 'He played original compositions that are Rob Reich-like — some are dreamy and atmospheric, and some are rambunctious. He was just a very charming and idiosyncratic guy.' When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down live performance, Reich kept playing, drawing his audience to online shows from the house he owned in East Oakland and shared with his daughter, June Price, 15. 'He didn't prefer doing one thing over another,' his father said. 'He loved having solo gigs. He loved having gigs with one or two people. He loved small venues and large venues. He had a great smile and a unique style.' Robert Erich Reich was born March 8, 1978, in Syosset, on New York's Long Island. His dad, Richard, was a manufacturing rep who commuted to New York City on the Long Island Railroad for 35 years. Once Rob's gift for music was discovered, he took lessons on the piano and guitar. At Syosset High School, he played piano and drums in the orchestra and guitar in the jazz band. In his junior year, he applied to Long Island High School for the Arts, a public school program that allowed him to go to Syosset High in the mornings and spend his afternoons studying music. He also hosted a classical music radio program at Syosset and played guitar in a hard rock band called Moonshine. After graduating in 1996, he was accepted to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio. He majored in composition and graduated in 2000. At the time, there was an Oberlin migration west, and Reich joined it, driving out in a 1997 Volkswagen Jetta. He settled in Oakland because it was cheaper than San Francisco and learned his way around the Bay Area by doing delivery for the Balloon Lady. He also delivered singing telegrams. 'He became part of numerous bands, different types of music, etcetera, etcetera,' his dad said. Reich's introduction to the local scene was on piano in jam sessions featuring graduate jazz students at Mills College in Oakland. After he heard Dan Cantrell play accordion, Reich picked up that instrument and taught himself, said Dave Ricketts, a bandmate in Gaucho, a traditional six-piece jazz band that ranges from the hot jazz of Louis Armstrong to the gypsy jazz of Django Reinhardt. For 18 years, Gaucho was the Wednesday band at Amnesia, a bar that had a painted portrait of Reich and his accordion above the entrance facing Valencia Street. But there were other bands on other nights — the klezmer band Kugelplex, the Trifles, the Amnesiacs, the Nice Guy Trio, the Nell and Jim Band, a bluegrass outfit, and Tin Hat, a chamber music quartet that toured internationally. At any given time, he was involved in as many as two dozen musical projects. When performing solo, Reich turned the accordion into an experimental instrument for ambient music played in the lobby or the galleries at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. He released four albums under his own name, with a fifth to be released posthumously. He also recorded an album with Tin Hat, three albums with Circus Bella and eight with Gaucho. 'Rob knew so much about early jazz and could play all American improvised music — jazz, country blues, bebop, surf music, rockabilly, punk rock,' said Ricketts, who played with Reich and Gaucho just last month at Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant in Berkeley. 'He could make the mandolin sound like Thelonious Monk.' Once when they were unloading to play a wedding ceremony in coastal Marin, band members got word that they were supposed to play the second movement of Dvořák's Fifth Symphony, which they had never even rehearsed. Reich got on YouTube and found a version that he could learn instantly by ear. As the bride marched up the aisle, Reich whispered the complicated chord changes to Ricketts. It came off as if they had rehearsed for days. 'Listening to Rob on accordion is like looking at a painting,' Ricketts said. 'It makes each person feel differently, but we all know that we felt something.' In 2009, Reich was in a relationship with jazz singer Kally Price that resulted in the birth of their daughter. That relationship ended after several years, and Reich shared custody of June. In 2016, Reich was playing accordion at Brenda's French Soul Food in San Francisco when Steph Solis came in for dinner. Their eyes locked while she was eating fried chicken, and they stayed locked while he played. They were together after that for the rest of Reich's life. 'Our relationship had a duality of spiritual depth and whimsy,' said Solis, 39, a nutritionist and writer who lives in San Francisco. 'Our dynamic was nearly constantly playful, like romping around with one another's inner child.' Reich began playing at Zuni in the middle of the pandemic when it was open for takeout only, of the trademark chicken for two. There was always a wait, during which Reich was hired to stand outside with his accordion to smooth the passage of time. He has been there ever since. 'If customers came over after weddings at City Hall, he would play a wedding march,' said Pilgram, the Zuni owner. 'He knew how to play everything.' Pilgram's personal request was 'Man of La Mancha.' When Munn, of Circus Bella, would come into Zuni during lunch, he would segue into the music he'd play while she swung on the trapeze in the circus. For 17 years, Munn and Reich have worked together on Circus Bella, with an entirely new 60-minute show each summer. The music is continuous with Reich on an elevated bandstand, dressed in a bandleader's uniform with his conductor's hat cocked at a jaunty angle. The first preview performance of Circus Bella will be on June 4 at DeFremery Park in Oakland. Reich's score, which was mostly completed before his death, will be performed by the All Star Band, without the only music director the circus has ever known. Twenty-one shows are scheduled for open spaces around the Bay Area. 'I can't imagine creating the show without him, and I'm just one piece of all the different communities and musicians that Rob worked with,' Munn said. 'It's a huge loss for the Bay Area.'
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First Post
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- First Post
History Today: When New York's iconic Brooklyn Bridge was inaugurated
One of the most iconic bridges, the Brooklyn Bridge, was opened to the public on May 24, 1844, thus connecting the cities of New York and Brooklyn for the first time in history. At the time, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. The bridge has grabbed headlines recently after a Mexican navy ship collided with it, killing two cadets and injuring 22 others read more Pedestrians stroll along the promenade of the Brooklyn Bridge connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn in New York, 1891. File image/AP Remember Shah Rukh Khan's Aman running on the Brooklyn Bridge in the movie 'Kal Ho Naa Ho'? Well, one of New York's most famous architectures, the Brooklyn Bridge opened on May 24, 1883. The bridge is important as it connected the cities of New York and Brooklyn for the first time in history. If you are a history geek who loves to learn about important events from the past, Firstpost Explainers' ongoing series, History Today will be your one-stop destination to explore key events. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD On this day in 1844, Samuel FB Morse transmitted the first official telegraph message, marking a pivotal moment in communication history. In 1830, the poem 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' was first published in Poems for Our Children by Sarah Josepha Hale. Here is all that took place on this day across the world on May 24. Inauguration of Brooklyn Bridge Visible in many TV shows and movies, the Brooklyn Bridge is a part of New York's identity. It officially opened on May 24, 1883, over the East River, uniting the cities of New York and Brooklyn for the first time. At the time of its inauguration, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world, spanning 1,595.5 feet. The dedication ceremony drew thousands of residents from both Brooklyn and Manhattan Island along with President Chester A Arthur and New York Governor Grover Cleveland presiding over the event. The construction of the bridge, a monumental engineering achievement, began under John A Roebling. Following his untimely accidental death, his son Washington Roebling, assumed the role of chief engineer. Washington later suffered from decompression sickness, which confined him to bed. His wife, Emily Warren Roebling, then took charge, overseeing the day-to-day operations and serving as the crucial link between her husband and the construction crew. Her unwavering dedication was vital to the project's successful completion. Officers of the New York and Brooklyn Corporation along with workmen, inspect the cable anchorage on the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn Bridge during construction, October 1878. File image/AP And so, on the day of the inauguration, she was honoured with the first carriage ride across the bridge with a rooster in her lap, symbolising victory. An estimated 250,000 people crossed the Brooklyn Bridge within 24 hours since opening, taking advantage of the broad promenade situated above the roadway, a feature specifically designed by John Roebling for pedestrian enjoyment. The bridge's completion was met with widespread acclaim. Dubbed the 'eighth wonder of the world,' it quickly became an iconic symbol of New York City . Its innovative design and impressive scale inspired artists, poets, and engineers alike. The first telegraph message sent Now extinct, telegraphs were an important part of communication in the 19th and 20th centuries. They played a crucial role in the history of communication. 'What hath God wrought,' this was the first message transmitted via a telegraph, by Samuel FB Morse from the US Capitol in Washington, DC, to his associate Alfred Vail at the B&O Railroad's Mount Clare Station in Baltimore, Maryland in 1844. The successful transmission demonstrated the practicality of long-distance electronic communication, leading to the rapid expansion of telegraph lines across the United States and eventually the world. This innovation laid the groundwork for future advancements in communication technologies, including the telephone and the Internet. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Morse's achievement was the culmination of years of experimentation and advocacy. In 1843, he secured $30,000 in federal funding to construct the 38-mile telegraph line between Washington and Baltimore. The project's success not only validated Morse's invention but also showcased the potential of government-supported technological innovation. 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' rhyme was published One Of the most popular English rhymes, 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' was published on this day in 1830. The rhyme first appeared in the 'Poems for Our Children' written by American writer and editor Sarah Josepha Hale. The poem was inspired by an actual incident involving a young girl named Mary Sawyer from Sterling, Massachusetts. In 1815, at the age of nine, Mary rescued a sickly lamb rejected by its mother and raised it as a pet. One day, the lamb followed her to school, causing a commotion among her classmates. This event left a lasting impression on Mary and those around her. The poem gained popularity and became one of the most enduring nursery rhymes in American culture. In 1877, Thomas Edison used 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' as the first audio recording on his newly invented phonograph, further cementing its place in history. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Today, it remains a beloved nursery rhyme, symbolising the innocence of childhood and the bond between humans and animals. This Day, That Year On this day in 2000, Israel ended its 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon. Carl Magee of Oklahoma was granted a US patent for the first coin-controlled parking meter in 1938. With inputs from agencies
NZ Herald
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
On the Up: Hawke's Bay bus driver's shelter project keeps kids warm and dry
Somervell's bus is known as the 'music bus' to his young passengers – he has loaded it up with instruments for daily singalongs of Wheels on the Bus and Mary Had a Little Lam b, among other children's favourites, and plays games of I Spy with the children. Father of two of his passengers and Esk Valley farmer Mark Mitchell said the kids love the bus so much that when their parents can collect them from school the kids would still prefer to ride the school bus with Somervell. 'They want to catch the bus because Lee's awesome,' Mitchell said. 'He gives them a present or a bit of birthday cake on their birthdays and all sorts. He's a hell of a bloke.' One wet morning, Somervell saw his young passengers standing in the rain at the end of Mitchell's driveway when he decided 'this is not good enough'. 'It's pretty cold up that Esk Valley,' Somervell said. He and Mitchell discussed building a mai mai to keep the kids dry, but Somervell thought he'd 'go to the top'. 'So I came to Mitre 10,' he said. At Mitre 10 Hastings, Somervell met with advertising, events and sponsorship co-ordinator Pip George, who couldn't help but catch Somervell's enthusiasm. 'We were like, how can we not get behind this project,' she said. 'We receive a lot of requests for good and gift card, but obviously projects like this one inspire us. It's more what we do around the DIY and building and it aligns with our values here at the store.' George sent an email to EIT's School of Trades and Technology carpentry tutor Campbell Johnson, better known as CJ, asking if he and his students would be keen to help build the shelter if Mitre 10 provided the materials, to which he replied 'absolutely'. 'EIT were crucial to this project,' George said. 'Something about students helping younger students, that full circle really means something.' Six weeks later, a bright-orange bus shelter was placed at the end of Mitchell's driveway so his children and their fellow pupils could stay dry during the colder and wetter months. 'It's a hell of a lot better than my garage at home,' laughed Somervell. 'It can be seen from [State Highway 5] and that's a great thing because what we need is giving credit to Mitre 10 Hastings. 'But to have this bus shelter now to unite us all is really good and wonderful teamwork.'
