Opinion: More liquid gold please

Linda Hall: More liquid gold please.

I know it's summer and people take holidays at this time of the year and they want sunshine.

I also know that many parts of the country have had a terrible summer.

However, it bugs me when the weather presenters always, no matter what time of year, apologise because it's going to rain.

Since the fires here and in Christchurch they have said "much needed rain" a couple of times but for the rest of the year it's "sorry, it's going to rain".

We in Hawke's Bay understand that water is precious.

We have all taken it for granted that we can turn our taps on to drink, water, shower, bathe, wash our cars, clothes, dishes or water our gardens whenever we feel like it.

Yes, we've had water restrictions before, it's almost a yearly occurrence in Hawke's Bay but this year it just seems like everyone is angry about it because of the water bottling plant.

I don't know how many texts I've read along the lines of "why should I conserve water so the council can give it away".

So people who normally comply with the restrictions didn't and it didn't rain.

Then people in rural areas of Hastings had to replace or adjust pumps to reach water in their bores and still it didn't rain.

I Googled when Hawke's Bay had any significant rain and came across a story from WeatherWatch about the cricket match that wasn't at McLean Park which said "November was the last time the Bay saw a decent fall of rain".

Temperatures soared and the wind blew. Perfect conditions for fires which ignited across the Bay, the worst on Waimarama Rd leading to a state of emergency being declared - still no rain.

It was almost as if the very air was waiting for something terrible to happen and it did.

At last it rained. It was unfortunate that it coincided with the Art Deco festival but from what I have seen and read I really don't think anyone attending cared about the rain.

They put up their brollies and carried on in the spirit of the festival - jolly good show, old chaps. Yesterday the sun was blaring down again just in time for the trolley derby and the Gatsby Picnic.

Was it enough rain to quench the land? I fear not. We need much more of that liquid gold.

Catch it in a clean container and you can drink it - no boiling required unlike Waimarama water at the moment.

And it doesn't taste like chlorine, unlike Hastings water at the moment. Napier has stopped adding chlorine but still that's three different water supplies to the twin cities that have tested positive for E.coli in six months. What's going on?

The rain does ruin plans but without it we wouldn't be here - let's hope we get some more soon.

Back to Art Deco. I went to Festival's Sileni Estate opening at the MTG on Friday night.

Nice food, nice people, amazing outfits but what really made my evening was the entertainment.

First up were three gorgeous belles from Born to Move Dance Group who danced in grand style in a confined space. Well done ladies.

Then three rather shy-looking young men took to the stage, one with a guitar. They belted out three songs to loud clapping and cheers.

From Project Prima Volta, L.J. Crichton, Emmanuel Fuimaono and Jordan Fuimaono are truly stars in the making. I could have listened to them all night. Watch out for them.

I bet there are plenty of people heading home today with great memories from another fabulous Art Deco Festival - rain and all.