Newsletter - 1st February 2026

Our Convenor:            

This has been another successful week for the walking group with Churton Park Walkers Striding out in Seatoun on Wednesday, Charging around Churton Park on Thursday and Haring through the Hutt on Friday. With so much activity, and with the prospect of hot and windless weeks ahead, I’d like to remind everyone of the importance of carrying water when we walk. In fact, not only carrying water, but also drinking it in order to stay hydrated.

David Pegram

Our Social Co-Ordinator:

To celebrate the first of our monthly CPCW drinks for this year, we are going to gift an amazing 2026 Michelle Bellamy calendar to one of our walkers – see image above.

Michelle Bellamy is a contemporary New Zealand landscape artist who is inspired by the land, back-country and outdoor culture of New Zealand.  The artwork in this calendar is simply stunning.  Some of you may have walked or visited the scenes of her work.  You can see a sample of her work at bellamygallery.co.nz.

To be eligible for this gift just come for drinks at the Johnsonville Club on Friday 6 February. You will be assigned a random number which will enter you into the draw.  The draw is expected to take place at approx. 5.30pm.

Rowena Rowe

Our Treasurer/Website Administrator:

In addition to the map that David will pin at the regular Friday drinks, we have found a way to have a record of the map on our website.  For both maps, walkers will need to submit their walking data at the end of each month by completing a simple form on the website.  The only pieces of information required will be your name (taken from a dropdown box) and the distance you have travelled within a range (again from a dropdown box). Once all the data has been received it will appear on a map on the website.

To see how it will look you can click here to see a map containing real names, but fictitious data. Click on the top left of the map and you will see a list of people. Click a person and you will see that person’s position on the map along with their goal. Alternatively, click a pin and the same data appears.

What do I need to do now?

Now you need to set your goal and submit your first entry.

For the first entry you will need to enter your name in the boxes on the form on the website. You will also need to enter your goal from a dropdown list. (For subsequent months your name will also be available from a dropdown box.)

Lastly, you will need to enter how far you have walked in January using the appropriate range from the dropdown box, using the dropdown box appropriate to your goal.  You’ll get this information from your log sheets.  You can enter your partner/spouse information on the same form, or it can be done separately.  You can do all of that here .

And that’s it!  Enjoy your walking towards whatever goal you choose.

Keith Thomas