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Thursday, June 30, 2016
The Snow Farmer - John Lee of the Cardrona Valley
The Snow Farmer
John Lee of the Cardrona ValleySally Rae
Photographs by Stephen Jaquiery
Published by Random House NZ; July 1, 2016; RRP: $50
“John’s story is one to inspire others. It’s a story
of a man with a vision, and the strength of personality and the strong
relationships with others to make it happen. It’s a Kiwi story of
grit and
determination of which we can all be proud.” –
Helen Clark, Former Prime
Minister of New Zealand (1999-2008).
John Lee has always been a law unto himself.
Entrepreneurial, inventive, determined, he
hailed from a farming background in the
Cardrona Valley; the third of five boys. Schooledin Oamaru, the young John Lee was no fan of the classroom – he was good at maths, but
struggled with words– preferring to spend his time dreaming about the day he would farm
in his beloved Cardrona Valley.
What grew from John Lee’s humble childhood
dream is an extraordinary, pioneering New
Zealand enterprise. The story behind Lee’s
passion and vision for turning a remote CentralOtago valley into a thriving settlement and tourist destination, is inimitably Kiwi in its audacity,scope and can-do spirit.
The Snow Farmer tells the rollicking adventure story
that is John Lee’s life. A visionary
par excellence, Lee’s mantra has always been to
build it first, answer questions later. Farming in the Cardrona Valley, Lee saw families moving
out of the valley, threatening the viability of the school bus. His answer? An opportunity to
enliven the valley by developing a commercial ski field, ignoring geography and bureaucracy to
make it happen. His enthusiasm for the project and ability to inspire others, brought people
and money to the table, enabling Lee to breathe new life into the valley and rescue it back
from the brink.
The Cardrona Valley of today is world-class
tourist destination for Olympic skiers, international and domestic adventure travellers. Having also
saved the iconic Cardrona Hotel from dereliction, preserving it until a suitable
purchaser could be found, he turned his energy into the Snow Farm cross-country ski area. From here,
he created an opportunity
for the Pisa Range to be developed as a cold product testing
ground. With his intrepid and supportive wife Mary, this entrepreneurial visionary opened his
slice of the Pisa Range to international tyre and car developers with ice tracks and snow roads
for development and safety testing of motor vehicles; the first of its kind in the southern
hemisphere. More recently, with son Sam, they developed the world’s first dedicated terrain
park resort.
John Lee was honoured this year with a CNZM
(Companion of the New Zealand Order of
Merit) for his services to business and
tourism. His story is one of a quiet achiever, a humble man who flies under the radar but who has
brought adventure tourism to so many.
The Snow Farmer is a stand-out book about a Kiwi
legend. Written by esteemed
journalist Sally Rae, the book is complemented by Stephen
Jaquiery’s stunning photographs.
Advanced Fiction Course – journey to publication
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Antiquarian Book News
Fonsie Mealy Auctioneers
On
July 12, Fonsie Mealy Auctioneers will be offering for sale the collection of
signed and limited Modern First editions assembled by Dr. Philip Murray. The
sale will be at the Gresham Hotel, O'Connell Street, Dublin.
Ever since Philip Murray’s earliest years in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, he has been an avid reader and collector of books. Starting with the Dandy and Beano comics, he progressed easily to more serious literature, aided by the discovery when a student in Dublin and later Galway of the great variety of second-hand bookshops to be found in both cities. While working in Australia he became a serious collector and also discovered the works of novelist Patrick White.
Ever since Philip Murray’s earliest years in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, he has been an avid reader and collector of books. Starting with the Dandy and Beano comics, he progressed easily to more serious literature, aided by the discovery when a student in Dublin and later Galway of the great variety of second-hand bookshops to be found in both cities. While working in Australia he became a serious collector and also discovered the works of novelist Patrick White.
Murray’s
main interest has always been twentieth-century literary fiction and poetry,
and over many years he has built up an impressive range of books by some of
Ireland’s most significant poets and novelists, as well as the best of British,
American (North and South) and European authors.
In
addition to frequenting second-hand bookshops wherever he went, Murray has
always made full use of specialist catalogues. Through attending book readings
and literary festivals, he met and befriended many authors. The London book
dealer and publisher Bernard Stone of the Turret Press became a special friend.
Murray
specialised in collecting signed copies of first editions. When in 1980 Sean
Golden and Peter Fallon published an anthology of the work of thirty-six living
Irish writers under the title Soft Day, Murray set out to get his copy signed
by all the contributors.
In
his memoir Adventures of a
Book Collector, published in 2011 by Currach Press, Murray writes
with the zeal of a true devotee of the thrill of the chase, the delights of
reading, and the many adventures and friendships his passion has brought him.
Murray
has now retired after many years as a general practitioner in Sligo, and the
advent of internet buying has taken away much of the pleasure of book-hunting.
Accordingly, he has decided to part with his very personal collection,
assembled over half a century and more. It includes about 2,200 American and
British first editions, of which about 75% are either signed or inscribed, and
the works of many prominent Irish writers, besides some five hundred letters.
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Wordsworth's Prayer Book Stolen
Wordsworth's Prayer Book Stolen
A
valuable prayer book that once belonged to William Wordsworth has been stolen
from a Lake District church. The book was taken from a display cabinet in St
Oswald's Parish Church, Grasmere, last week. The prayer book, which dates from
1835, was removed from the cabinet after the glass was smashed, and then taken
from the church premises. Police have now alerted antique & book dealers
around the country to look out for it.
———————————
Thomson, Roddick & Medcalf
Thomson, Roddick & Medcalf
Thursday
14 July at 12 noon
Antiquarian & Collectable Books etc.
Coleridge House, Shaddongate, Carlisle CA2 5TU
To include James Bruce's copy of Maria Riddell, Voyages to the Madeira & Leeward Caribbean Isles, 1792; Collection of the works of Abel Chapman; 3 works from the Lowther Castle library; a very extensive collection of good modern academic, art & cultural reference books from the estate of a Belfast gentleman; American War of Independence manuscript account books; private press & limited editions; antiquarian works; Cumbria & the Lake District; bookshop stock & general books etc.
Catalogues on request or at www.thomsonroddick.com.
On view: Wednesday 13 July, 10am to 5pm & sale day from 9am. Enquiries: 01228 528939
Antiquarian & Collectable Books etc.
Coleridge House, Shaddongate, Carlisle CA2 5TU
To include James Bruce's copy of Maria Riddell, Voyages to the Madeira & Leeward Caribbean Isles, 1792; Collection of the works of Abel Chapman; 3 works from the Lowther Castle library; a very extensive collection of good modern academic, art & cultural reference books from the estate of a Belfast gentleman; American War of Independence manuscript account books; private press & limited editions; antiquarian works; Cumbria & the Lake District; bookshop stock & general books etc.
Catalogues on request or at www.thomsonroddick.com.
On view: Wednesday 13 July, 10am to 5pm & sale day from 9am. Enquiries: 01228 528939
———————————
Cambridge University Library
Cambridge University Library
Cambridge
University Library's 600th exhibition, 'Lines of Thought', is currently
displaying papyrus
fragments of lines from Homer's Odyssey believed to date from about the
second century AD.
The team from Cambridge University Library will be in the Make and Create Tent at The Big Weekend
The team from Cambridge University Library will be in the Make and Create Tent at The Big Weekend
on Parker's Piece, to explore the mythical stories of
ancient Greece. You are invited to make your own
papyrus scroll to take home,
and decorate it with your own epic, magical tales. This event is being
generously supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
This a free, drop-in event for children. Visit The Big Weekend website for more information. Saturday, 9 July, 2016 at 12:00-17:00
This a free, drop-in event for children. Visit The Big Weekend website for more information. Saturday, 9 July, 2016 at 12:00-17:00
———————————
The Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon
A
first edition of The Book of
Mormon printed in upstate New York and linked to Joseph Smith's
establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has sold at
auction for more than $50,000. Swann Auction Galleries says the rare 1830
edition was sold on Tuesday for $52,500.
The buyer’s name was not released. The item had an estimated pre-sale price of $40,000 to $60,000. The auction house says the first edition of the scripture of the LDS church was released just days before the church’s official establishment in early April 1830.
———————————The buyer’s name was not released. The item had an estimated pre-sale price of $40,000 to $60,000. The auction house says the first edition of the scripture of the LDS church was released just days before the church’s official establishment in early April 1830.
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