Latest news with #MarySmith
NZ Herald
16-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- NZ Herald
Whangārei family's sustainable renovation breathes new life into CBD
She had been working with Ngāti Hine Forestry Trust on potential extracts from trees on its land, and when she found out the building the trust tenanted was for sale, she quickly declared her love for it. Gregory said the 1960s building had potential but was very tired, with an unusable courtyard, 14 different air conditioning units and the top floor leaking from internal gutters. 'Every time it rained a bit more water got inside,' he said. 'But if you squinted you could see there was really good bones - there was potential.' The couple moved into the apartment with Mary Smith and her dog Jaz, initially anxious about the large change from the country. But all quickly found they liked the convenience of inner-city living, with almost everything available within walking distance: including events, art galleries, film nights and an extensive array of eateries. They have also not had any problems with a lack of safety or excessive noise. Mary Smith soon decided she should be putting her green thumbs to use on the green space in the neighbouring car park and Whangārei District Council gave its blessing. She transformed what was an overgrown and weedy grass area with hundreds of plants grown from seed, with the gardening soon spreading across the car park with layers of yuccas, flax, hebes, succulents and other shrubs. Mary Smith said she gets plenty of positive feedback, especially from regular car park users. 'One lady said, 'I love coming to work on Monday seeing what you've done over the weekend'.' Scroll through the photo gallery to see more detail of the renovations: Image 1 of 5: Pete Gregory and Jules Smith are proud of the renovation, which has created an industrial chic office space upstairs. Photo / Denise Piper With the family's love of outdoors evident, the first stage of the Vinery Lane redevelopment was to transform the outdoor area in 2021. Advertisement Advertise with NZME. The couple bought a sliver of land from the council's car park and built an engineered retaining wall, complete with private car park and Balinese-inspired sheltered courtyard on top. In 2022, stage two of the development saw the lower-level office, previously occupied by a small law firm, transformed into a modern, open-plan 50sq m office space. The final, and biggest, stage of the redevelopment took place after Ngāti Hine Forestry Trust ended its tenancy in June 2024. Jules Smith and Gregory took the opportunity to modernise the space, upgrade the seismic rating of the building, and replace the problematic roof and internal gutters. Using local firm DHS Construction, the final stage involved tenting the building, removing the roof and adding considerable structural steel. The new space is a modern, industrial chic office space with exposed metal beams, bagged brick and vintage kitchen light shades from Bali. With the carpet freshly installed, the couple hope to lease the office space now it has been finished. But the finished building is just one half of the renovation story: the other half is the way materials were reused or recycled during the project. With Jules Smith's new business, Again, focused on reusing textiles and the couple discovering 40 to 50% of landfill waste is from construction, they decided to recycle where possible. 'We didn't feel it was right for us to make an improvement to the building but at the same time add to the waste stream going to landfill, when it could be distributed around the community,' she said. Recycling the old materials soon became Gregory's fulltime job, including painstakingly cleaning 7000 bricks, 4.5 tonnes of acoustic ceiling tiles, 14 rimu doors and 250m of Oregon roof beams. A lot of the materials went to projects around Northland, such as tiny homes, while most of the metal could be recycled, he said. Innovation even saw things like 3cu m of mortar rubble being used for hard-fill and treated timber being used by mental health provider Ka Puta Ka Ora Emerge Aotearoa for raised garden planters. The project also used recycled wall panels saveBOARD, made from old milk cartons, to further increase the recycling. Like many grand designs, the project ran over budget and over time, but the final cost was still less than a new building and something that will stand the test of time, Gregory said. 'There's a lot of tired commercial buildings in Whangārei that haven't been shown the love: this is a good example of what you can do to transform it.'
Edinburgh Reporter
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Edinburgh Reporter
Special guests join VE Day 80 celebrations at Edinburgh care home
An Edinburgh care home welcomed the community to join residents and their relatives for a celebration marking the 80th anniversary of VE Day. Care UK's Murrayside, on South Beechwood, pulled out all the stops to commemorate the poignant anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe in 1945, hosting 1940s-themed festivities including a lively performance from Sarah Sings, who provided the perfect atmosphere for a dance to vintage tunes. Mary Smith, 103, a former Navy servicewoman, said: 'On VE day I was in the middle of the ocean, it was the first time we sailed with any lights on! 'I helped light the lamp of light on the balcony this morning, and it's been a really special day for us all.' Suzanne Welsh, Home Manager at Murrayside, said: 'We had a fantastic time celebrating VE Day 80 with residents, their families and the wonderful Edinburgh community. Everyone was in high spirits as we marked this momentous occasion, but we also took time to reflect on the poignancy of the milestone. 'It was a privilege to honour this important anniversary and to see the residents enjoying Sarah's performance, delicious food and the company of the community as they shared their memories of times gone by. It's so important to enable residents to foster meaningful connections with the local people and for us to host nostalgic events that can prompt reminiscence, so our VE Day celebration was a roaring success.' Murrayside care home, which provides full-time residential, nursing and dementia care, has been specially designed to support residents in living active and fulfilling lives, while also promoting independence. The care home incorporates plenty of space for leisure activities and hobbies, and has its own cinema, hair and beauty salon, café and namaste rooms. To find out more about Murrayside, please contact Customer Relations Manager Cliona Robertson on 0131 516 2487 or email Team member Gemma McInnes, resident Pat Wood, and team member Sheena Yallop and resident Pauline Travers Like this: Like Related
Edinburgh Live
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh care home residents 'step back in time' to mark 80 years since VE Day
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info An Edinburgh care home commemorated the 80th anniversary of VE Day in style with 1940s-themed festivities. Murrayside care home on South Beechwood, which provides full-time residential, nursing and dementia care, went the extra mile on Thursday, May 8, as they commemorated the anniversary of the end of the second world war in Europe with a forties style party. Mary Smith, 103, is a former Navy servicewoman reminisced on where she was when the war ended and played a special role in the care homes celebrations. She said: 'On VE day I was in the middle of the ocean, it was the first time we sailed with any lights on! I helped light the lamp of light on the balcony this morning, and it's been a really special day for us all'. Residents and staff welcomed their community in for the celebrations and enjoyed tea, cakes, vintage decorations, wartime music, and a live performance from Sarah Sings who provided the perfect atmosphere to dance along to the vintage tunes. There was also the opportunity to share stories of times gone by and everyone was in high spirits as they connected with locals. Suzanne Welsh, Home Manager at Murrayside, said: 'We had a fantastic time celebrating VE Day 80 with residents, their families and the wonderful Edinburgh community. Everyone was in high spirits as we marked this momentous occasion, but we also took time to reflect on the poignancy of the milestone. 'It was a privilege to honour this important anniversary and to see the residents enjoying Sarah's performance, delicious food and the company of the community as they shared their memories of times gone by. "It's so important to enable residents to foster meaningful connections with the local people and for us to host nostalgic events that can prompt reminiscence, so our VE Day celebration was a roaring success.'
BBC News
08-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Maidstone's underground school tunnels used during World War Two
The underground school tunnels used during WW2 11 minutes ago Share Save Piers Hopkirk BBC News, Maidstone Jacob Panons BBC News, South East Share Save Andrew Marshall/BBC The tunnels were rediscovered in 2020 In the shadow of Maidstone Grammar School for Girls sits a set of concrete steps built into a grassy mound. It's the only clue to the extraordinary wartime legacy that lies below the ground here. Former headteacher Mary Smith leads the way down the steps and through a set of steel doors to reveal the extraordinary scene rediscovered by surveyors in 2020 - a zig-zag network of underground tunnels that served as subterranean classrooms – bomb shelters that became schoolrooms throughout World War Two. "When we opened them up, we didn't know they were going to be in such good condition," said Mrs Smith. "When we came down here we were astonished to find they were almost exactly the same as they were during the war." There are benches up against both sides of the narrow tunnels that served as seating for the classes that took place here. The walls are cold and damp, the tunnels lit by a single electric light. Mrs Smith said: "When the air raid siren sounded the girls in class were told to be immediately silent and then they would stand up and leave the school in single file." Andrew Marshall/BBC Mary Smith is a former headteacher at the school Mrs Smith said: "They came down the steps into the tunnels and then it was books on laps and the lesson would continue from where they had left off in the classroom. "There were six of these tunnels so there would have been six classes with 30 children in each, so 180 children in total." They were created in a zig-zag formation in an attempt to limit blast damage should a bomb land nearby. Shovels and picks were also left in the tunnels should the girls ever need to dig themselves out. Former wartime pupil Inga Mayor, 94, said: "You would be sat down here and be chatting but aware all the time that you could hear enemy planes. "There was camaraderie of course. War brings that doesn't it? Danger brings that. "We somehow felt safe down here." Maidstone Grammar School for Girls Wartime art teacher Helen Keen included paintings in her diary Vicky Milsted, 92, who was also a pupil here, said: "It didn't matter where you were, you picked up your dinner and you went down to the shelter. "To start with it was very frightening. Until then the war had been over there in London." The school's war-time art teacher Helen Keen captured the reality of life in a series of paintings which she included in a war diary. Her watercolours include pictures of staff running into the tunnels, and of lessons continuing underground. Ms Milsted also painted pictures of the staff on VE Day as they removed splinter netting from the school's windows. Current headteacher Deborah Stanley said: "They were absolutely determined that they were going to carry on with their education. "That was the mantra of the headteacher at the time, that the girls' education was not going to be diminished by a national crisis, they were still going to get the best possible education they could during their time at the school." Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.
