Events

Chouchou 

RCPN Christmas Lunch

BONJOUR! Located inside the newly refurbished Circa Theatre, Chouchou is our destination for this years Christmas lunch.

A touch of Parisienne fare to titillate our taste buds!!!

Date: 7 December 2025

Time: 12pm - 2pm ish

Address: 1 Taranaki Street, Te Aro, Wellington

The decision has been made - we are booked to go to Chouchou. The Xmas menu has yet to be finalised, but this will be a delicious lunch event to welcome in the Christmas season.

As we need to make sure our booking is confirmed, we need all registrations to be in by Wednesday 26 November 6pm, so Geoff can give the restaurant numbers. The restaurant has a cap of 40 peple so if you want to go make sure you register ASAP. All partners welcome, don't forget to reegister them when you register yourself..

To add to the fun a raffle will be drawn at lunch, details follow:

The raffle is for a 3 course dinner for 8 people at Novotel Wellington, 133 The Terrace Wellington Central 6011. The voucher is valid until 19 March 2026.

The cost of the raffle tickets are $20 each or 3 for $50

The funds from the raffle will go to part of the Grand Night Out to the charity “Lifting the Lid on Youth Mental Health”.

Raffle tickets can be purchased by paying into the 03-0502-0407484-000 Rotary Club of Port Nicholson Charitable Trust Account reference your Name and Raffle. Cash is also acceptable - hand the money to Paula McKnight. As you purchase tickets for the raffle your name will be put on a numbered list and the draw for the lucky winner will happen at Chouchou on Sunday 7 Dec.

Don't forget registrations for lunch at Chouchou close Wednesday 26 November 6pm. There is a limit of 40 people so best register now.

Dear all

This message is to ask you if you plan to join us for our Christmas lunch at Chouchou, 1 Taranaki Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011. Located inside the newly refurbished Circa Theatre, Chouchou brings a touch of the Parisienne lifestyle to Wellington’s waterfront.

Start time 12pm, Sunday 7 December 2025.

The restaurant can only take 40 people and we need to have a quick indication of who would like to come so I am going to close this off next Tueday evening 11 November 6pm.

Partners welcome, please add them when you register so that we can properly gauge if Chouchou is large enough to meet our needs.

Geoff and Lou

This week our speaker is

Wayne Naylor

CEO NZ Hospice Foundation

Wayne joined the Hospice New Zealand team in 2021 following on from 9 years with Hospice Waikato in Hamilton as Director of Nursing. Over his nursing career he has worked primarily in oncology, haematology and palliative care. He has been a Research Nurse, Clinical Nurse Specialist and Nurse Lecturer. Wayne also spent almost four years as a Senior Analyst for the Palliative Care Council of New Zealand before moving to his current role.

His topic is "The challenges faced by Hospices."

Please register yourself and any guests for next week's meeting no later than 6pm Sunday 7 December with details of any dietary requirements, so that we can advise attendance information to the Wellington Club. Please note - if you dont register and turn up - there may not be any breakfast available.

Duties for the meeting:

Desk - 6.45am            David Quinn   

Greeter                       Darryl Ross

Kaikohau                     Tony Robinson

Opening Thought       Ross Buxton

Introduction               Richard Westlake

Thanking                      Brenda Lazelle

Sharing                         Brad Weekly

Parting Thought          Yon Yi Sohn

Club Reporter              Julian Bateson

If you are unable to perform your duty please get someone else to stand in for you and advise President Nicole Barker (nicolebarker883@gmail.com) who the replacement is.

Notes for the coming weeks meeting:

• RSVP no later than Sunday 7 December, 6pm (Best do it now). 
• Please make sure you register to assist the Wellington Club staff. No registration could mean no food and no seat.
• If you have any dietary requirements, please note them in the comments section of the registration
• Include your email address and mobile phone number in the response
• If you wish to bring guests/spouse/partner, please add them when you register
• Remember to click "Save" at the bottom of the page
• If you do not receive a confirmation immediately after you have registered, you have not completed the process.

Christmas Perambulation and BBQ Lunch

Sunday 14 December 9.15am

at the Shackleton's Home

47 Homewood Avenue

Karori

Christmas Perambulation and BBQ Lunch

Sunday 14 December 9.15am

at the Shackleton's Home

47 Homewood Avenue

Karori

This week is our last meeting for 2025

We will celebrate by asking you to invite your partners to come and celebrate with us and enjoy:

A glass of bubbles or orange juice or both and

Fresh strawberries on the table as well as other festive things,

Plus another great speaker!!!

Who is.....

Angela Green

Executive Director at Tāwhiri Festivals and Experience

Angela's completed an MBA at the University of Auckland Graduate School of Business in 2017 and trained and worked as a performer in Wellington through the 2000s. Her management experience is drawn from producing arts and entertainment events, theatre venue administration, operations, finance and programming. She 

She has worked in roles responsible for project and financial planning, strategic thinking, stakeholder management, contract negotiation, and arts programming.

Angela is also an alumna from our first Shakespeare GCNZ NSSP in 1996! She was an early mocap artist for Peter Jackson in Jane & the Dragon (she was Jane), and first winner of the Museum Hotel Scholarship.

Her topic is "New Zealand Festival of Arts."

Please register yourself and any guests for next week's meeting no later than 6pm Sunday 14 December with details of any dietary requirements, so that we can advise attendance information to the Wellington Club. Please note - if you dont register and turn up - there may not be any breakfast available.

Duties for the meeting:

Desk - 6.45am           Paula McKnight  

Greeter                     Spencer Petherick

Kaikohau                   Hadleigh Petherick

Opening thought       Lou Bray-Burns

Introduction              Dawn Sanders

Thanking                     Marc Rand

Sharing                       Geoff Smith

Parting Thought         Rob Whitney 

Club Reporter             Linda Wellington

If you are unable to perform your duty please get someone else to stand in for you and advise President Nicole Barker (nicolebarker883@gmail.com or 0275866666) who the replacement is.

Notes for the coming weeks meeting:

• RSVP no later than Sunday 14 December, 6pm (Best do it now). 
• Please make sure you register to assist the Wellington Club staff. No registration could mean no food and no seat.
• If you have any dietary requirements, please note them in the comments section of the registration
• Include your email address and mobile phone number in the response
• If you wish to bring guests/spouse/partner, please add them when you register
• Remember to click "Save" at the bottom of the page
• If you do not receive a confirmation immediately after you have registered, you have not completed the process.

Perambulator's Orongorongo Track Walk

Thursday 1 January 2026 10.00am

Happy New Year to all our wonderful members and your families!!!

Our first get together is an informal breakfast at

Cafe L'Affare

27 College Street, Te Aro, Wellington

28 January 7am

Heather has been in touch with the Cafe and has us booked in for a delicious breakfast to start the year at 7am, to get us back into the swing of early meetings .

The manager has asked that breakfast orders are to him by Monday 26 January, so in order to facilitate that I will close registrations off by 12pm Monday 26 January. Please meake sure you register before then.

Please read the attached menu and place your breakfast order in the comments box at the time you do your registration.

If you want to bring partners of friends please do - all are welcome. Please remember to place their order in their comments box when you do thier registration.

See you 28 January 7am at Cafe L'Affare.

Lou

Perambulator's Picnic Lunch in Otaki

Sunday 1 February 2026 10.00am

at Philippa and Tony's Farm

124 Ringawhati Road

RD3

Otaki

This will be our first meeting of the year. It's good to be getting back!!!

Our speakers are

Jenny McDougall and Iona Elwood-Smith

Club Leaders of

CanSurvive Dragon Boat Club

The CanSurvive Dragon Boat Club provide dragon boat training and camaraderie for breast cancer survivors and other women on Wellington’s challenging harbour. Their members come from all over the Wellington area including the Hutt Valley, Kapiti Coast, and Wairarapa.

In 2024 a CanSurvive team won gold medals in all race distances in the breast cancer division at the World Club and Crews Championship in Ravenna, Italy. Following this achievement they were privileged to be voted as Wellington Sports Team of the Year 2025 at the recent Āti Awa Toa Wellington Regional Sports Awards.

Their topic is "CanSurvive Dragon Boat team." They have compelling stories to share about personal journeys, and the impact of teamwork and perseverance leading to sporting success

Please register yourself and any guests for next week's meeting no later than 6pm Sunday 1 February with details of any dietary requirements, so that we can advise attendance information to the Wellington Club. Please note - if you dont register and turn up - there may not be any breakfast available.

Duties for the meeting:

Desk - 6.45am           Lou Bray-Burns (me :)                        

Greeter                      Lindsay Chitty

Kaikohau                   Jo Douglas 

Opening Thought       Bill Day

Introduction                David Barnes

Thanking                    Richard Brodie

Sharing                      Ross Buxton

Parting Thought         Rick Hughes 

Club Reporter          Julian Bateson    

If you are unable to perform your duty please get someone else to stand in for you and advise President Nicole Barker (nicolebarker883@gmail.com) who the replacement is.

Notes for the coming weeks meeting:

• RSVP no later than Sunday 1 February, 6pm (Best do it now). 
• Please make sure you register to assist the Wellington Club staff. No registration could mean no food and no seat.
• If you have any dietary requirements, please note them in the comments section of the registration
• Include your email address and mobile phone number in the response
• If you wish to bring guests/spouse/partner, please add them when you register
• Remember to click "Save" at the bottom of the page
• If you do not receive a confirmation immediately after you have registered, you have not completed the process.

This week our speaker is

Helmut Modlik

CEO and Executive Director of

Ngati Toa Rangatira

Helmut Modlik is a seasoned director, executive and consultant with expertise in implementation, change management, economic development, public policy, and finance. His extensive consulting experience spans private and public sectors, with notable board appointments including PHARMAC, Capital & Coast DHB, and the Health Information Standards Organisation.

Helmut holds a BCA and MBA, which launched his career in accounting and finance, and later enabled him to lead economic development initiatives as the inaugural CEO of Poutama Trust. He also founded and ran a management consultancy for 12 years, specializing in change, growth, mergers, and turnaround strategies.

As Tumu Whakarae, Helmut provides visionary leadership, balancing cultural values with innovation to ensure sustainable growth and prosperity for Ngāti Toa and its people.

He is CEO and Executive Director of Ngati Toa Rangatira charitable and commercial asset holding and operational organisations, including health, education, social service and commercial ventures.

Please register yourself and any guests for next week's meeting no later than 6pm Sunday 8 February with details of any dietary requirements, so that we can advise attendance information to the Wellington Club. Please note - if you dont register and turn up - there may not be any breakfast available.

Duties for the meeting:

Desk - 6.45am           David Quinn                        

Greeter                      Andre Lategan

Kaikohau                   Marc Rand 

Opening Thought       Linda Wellington

Introduction                Brent Gerrard

Thanking                    Nick Duncan

Sharing                      Tony Herring

Parting Thought         Steve Lawton 

Club Reporter          Julian Bateson    

If you are unable to perform your duty please get someone else to stand in for you and advise President Nicole Barker (nicolebarker883@gmail.com) who the replacement is.

Notes for the coming weeks meeting:

• RSVP no later than Sunday 8 February, 6pm (Best do it now). 
• Please make sure you register to assist the Wellington Club staff. No registration could mean no food and no seat.
• If you have any dietary requirements, please note them in the comments section of the registration
• Include your email address and mobile phone number in the response
• If you wish to bring guests/spouse/partner, please add them when you register
• Remember to click "Save" at the bottom of the page
• If you do not receive a confirmation immediately after you have registered, you have not completed the process.

This week our speaker is

Mary-Therese Nalder 

Assistant Chaplin - Mission to Seafarers

The Mission to Seafarers is an organisation dedicated to caring for seafarers and their welfare. They offer practical support, emergency assistance and a friendly welcome to seafarers that find their ship in the port of Wellington, New Zealand. Mary will speak on, "The role of Mission to Seafarers."

Please register yourself and any guests for next week's meeting no later than 6pm Sunday 15 February with details of any dietary requirements, so that we can advise attendance information to the Wellington Club. Please note - if you dont register and turn up - there may not be any breakfast available.

Duties for the meeting:

Desk - 6.45am           David Quinn                        

Greeter                      Spencer Petherick

Kaikohau                   Brenda Lazelle

Opening Thought       Jeff Lee

Introduction                Tamaris Livera

Thanking                    Dawn Sanders

Sharing                      Tony Robinson

Parting Thought         Hadleigh Petherick 

Club Reporter          Geoff Smith    

If you are unable to perform your duty please get someone else to stand in for you and advise President Nicole Barker (nicolebarker883@gmail.com) who the replacement is.

Notes for the coming weeks meeting:

• RSVP no later than Sunday 15 February, 6pm (Best do it now). 
• Please make sure you register to assist the Wellington Club staff. No registration could mean no food and no seat.
• If you have any dietary requirements, please note them in the comments section of the registration
• Include your email address and mobile phone number in the response
• If you wish to bring guests/spouse/partner, please add them when you register
• Remember to click "Save" at the bottom of the page
• If you do not receive a confirmation immediately after you have registered, you have not completed the process.

FLASH BACK FRIDAY - MEAN DOSES BAR

66 TORY STREET - UPSTAIRS

12pm Friday 6 March 2026

Howard recently said to me, "Lou, let's kick the year off with a visit to Mean Doses, Tory Street. The guy who runs it is "Dean Moses"  (great spoonerism)  and he is keen to open early for us to come and sample a few of their beers and eat some delicious food from either Apache or their in house catering.

We have been there before, some years ago  - so it will be great to go back and revisit them and give them some custom.

Please feel free to bring along friends and family. With so many places closing in the CBD it would be great to support another bar and brewery that we are so lucky to have right on our doorstep, with as many people as we can get.

Please can I have registrations in by Wednesday 4 March 6pm - don't forget to register friends and family when you do your own registration so that we can give Dean some numbers :)

Looking forward to our first Flash Back of the year!!! Wooo Hooo!!!!

Lou