Very, very well-deserved re-launch luck
Event Saturday 16 May 2009, 10.30am onward
Wharf Street, Warkworth
How Lucky is That? Forecast for the Saturday of the Jane Gifford’s re-launching celebration, by Victoria University’s online meteorological service. Time of forecast: 0000 NZST 15 May 2009. chart www.metvuw.com
The fine forecast for Saturday is staggering good luck.
Given the months of fine weather Warkworth enjoyed this summer, contrasting with the recent weeks of early winter cold and rain.
But this luck with the weather forecast is utterly deserved—the revival of the Jane Gifford is an achievement Auckland would be proud of, much less little Warkworth.
With the forecast holding, it was an easy decision yesterday to confirm the order for 1000 Woodburn Venison hamburger patties. Not that any real risk was involved: If the worst came to the worst and the ‘welcome home’ at Wharf Street was washed out, the succulent patties would quickly find homes—a kilogram here, five kilograms there—at the very generous discount allowed by Woodburn Venison.
Meantime, the 1000 baps ordered are far less of a problem. Being baked on the Saturday morning at nearby New World, the order can be tweaked last thing Friday.
On the face of it, there are no strong heritage links between hamburgers and scows. But they both derive from North America, the first claimed hamburger was a decade after the scow concept was introduced to Aotearoa by Captain George Spencer—John Meiklejohn building him the Lake Erie, in 1873.
Jade River: A History of the Mahurangi has Septimus Meiklejohn as the Lake Erie’s builder. Given that Septimus was not born at the time, author Ron Locker probably repeated the error Ted Ashby made in Phantom Fleet, which was possibly a case of the royal we being fondly misapprehended by Septimus’ son, Leslie.
Such errors highlight the value of publishing Jade River: A History of the Mahurangi online. This would allow for corrections to be made, or for sections to be annotated where facts are disputed. It would also allow significant gaps in the history to be addressed—the history of the Mahurangi West Hall, for example.
Back to the burgers
Catering corps members are volunteering in solid numbers. Many are stalwarts from the Mahurangi Regatta Prize-Giving and Dance catering, but an encouraging number are recruits responding specifically to the Jane Gifford re-launch call to duty.
However, more volunteers are needed—the organisers have requested that the burgers be available again early evening, in addition to the lunchtime production.
And once the scow is in service, sometime around September of this year, the volunteers will be treated to a day aboard the Jane Gifford.
All this and Tī Point wine while you work!
Offers of assistance Please contact David Mooney, 422 0521 or the editor , 422 0872