Letters to Editor: blues to be heard

"Not enough blues" at festival.

I went to the Blues, Brews and BBQs on Saturday evening. It was a great venue and great weather. There was not a huge crowd but a good atmosphere.

There was plenty of brews, one BBQ that didn't seem to be doing anything and no blues.

As someone who likes all three, I found this disappointing. The sound was generally good but of the three bands that I saw, neither played blues.

The first one was a very average covers band with a try-hard front man who could not sing in tune, one was a band of young fellers that played original material with enthusiasm, sang and played well but there no quality lead breaks.

And the other called Devil's Elbow really impressed me; great songs, great lyrics and well played.

I didn't stay round for the last act as I had had enough. Blues is blues.

What I saw was old pop/rock covers (played badly) and modern rock (which was very good), but no blues. I felt cheated of my $40.

Jeremy Smith, Pakowhai

Accuracy lacking

Thing is, whatever Niwa says our forecast is for the summer, it's always the opposite.

When they first postulated the El Nino and La Nina theories, they said that El Nino brought hot, dry weather to the East Coast, and La Nina wet.

This year, they had a foot in each camp announcing in November that we were going to have a hot, dry summer because of La Nina. Up until then, we had had three weeks of hot dry weather (that's another thing about Niwa - they always say we're going to get what we've just been having).

Ever since it was raining - until last week, when Niwa declared we were going to have a wet summer through until the end of March.

"Thanks Niwa," I said - it's been hot and dry since.

God knows what we're paying them but a dart at a board would be more accurate.

Paddy Cooper, Hawke's Bay

Unfair targets set

A friend of a friend with a family recently left his job because of pressure to meet production targets 20 per cent higher than last year. The manager of this store, possibly indoctrinated to believe good management is setting higher targets than the year before, continued to put pressure on for this new target to be met in a recessionary economy. Eventually, the person resigned because of the impossible pressure.

The four month so-called stand-down because of this "resignation" raises serious questions of social justice.

1) If management set unrealistic targets in recession economies are they irresponsible, bullies or simply reacting to pressure up the shareholder-responsibility chain?

2) When "standing down" such employees and not exercising their discretion about the unemployment benefit (UB) on the grounds such persons should have taken the boss to the Employment Court, really believe this would have no impact on this sole-income earner to get a job in the new year?

3) Should regulations concerning stand-down periods be a matter for humane discretion that takes into account the actual psychology and pressures of the modern workforce - or are they government targets of another type?

4) Can try-harder management by target setting - and/or punitive government policies with eye-on-re-election budget balancing - be any substitute for a fair go?

5) Isn't it time we changed the name of the UB to JSA, job search allowance, that doesn't take away dignity or payments already made (or to be, when working in the future) just when needed most - or just to meet someone else's school-corner punitive, short-run silly and to my mind too-blanket regulation?

Steve Liddle, Taradale