Daz SwitallaFlavour SecretsNo.1 The Strand Chef www.no1thestrand.co.nz The much maligned minestrone, which means 'big soup', has no set recipe as it can be made of everything but the kitchen sink. This means using vegetables that are in season,... Read More

Sideline SidSports correspondant & historian www.sunlive.co.nz With just two and a half weeks to the London Olympics, Sideline Sid is looking forward to watching the Kiwi's 'Go for Gold' on television. The really good news this year is not only... Read More

John ArtsAbundant Living www.johnarts.co.nz Last week we looked at the importance of maintaining good blood flow and this week we discuss maintaining healthy blood vessels. Blood vessels are a lot more than just pipes to hold blood. They are living... Read More

Gardening GuruBy Peter Wayman of Palmers Bethlehem Have you ever fancied picking fresh fruit straight off a tree? It seems that young and old want to be able to crop their own fruit from their own trees, and now is the time to plant. One of the... Read More

Josh HoskinSmart Moneyjhoskin@goldridge.co.nz I can sometimes be amazed at how many of my newly retired clients just can't spend that money they have saved after all of these years. I am not advocating a mass spend-up once you retire but if you... Read More

Biting Back in the Baywith Pinky Green There were fairly large numbers of boats out in Western Bay Of Plenty waters over the weekend, but reports of large numbers of fish being caught or fishing big success stories were very few. Russ Hawkins (Fat... Read More

Pete MorrisArt blogger www.sunlive.co.nz Tamara Rendell is a Tauranga artist who has developed her own unique style and often uses her art to comment on subjects she feels strongly about. She says that she has been fortunate to have parents who... Read More

Simon BridgesNational MP simonbridges.co.nz One of the real highlights in the annual social calendar for me is the BNZ Bay of Plenty ExportNZ Awards. Held at Baypark, it is always an amazing night and last Friday was no exception. This year's theme... Read More

Jonathan Allenfrom Car Connexxion After 10 years of watching people do it, I would like to go public with a trait of the public that bugs me the most. Picture this scenario in your mind…..A man (or woman) or both for that instance wander... Read More

Brian RogersRogers Rabbits www.sunlive.co.nz Voting papers arrived for the TECT elections this week, signalling to many local folk that it's time to make that difficult decision again: do I recognise any of the names on this paper? It's odd that... Read More

News HoundsAdy & Flo www.sunlive.co.nz It was an exciting day that the boss emerged from the shop with a new throw ball and a mystery bag of goodies. I knew the throw ball meant good things but I was kept in trepidation for at least half an hour... Read More

Cr Bill FaulknerFaulkners Corner www.sunlive.co.nz In a classic display of overkill in dealing with the minutiae of the day, elected members spent well over half an hour debating the merits or otherwise of dinghies on Pilot Bay beach during the... Read More