A century ago, a rangatira of Ngati Kahungunu predicted there would be a revival of te reo in Wairarapa.

It seems those of us who belong to certain group of society are very keen to distance ourselves every time an atrocity is committed by a member of that group.

Wairarapa veterinarians and animal advocates are urging pet lovers to give their critters a life-saving Christmas present this summer.

Many of us are familiar with the New Zealand national anthem -- we've warbled it tunelessly at school prizegivings, belted it out at All Blacks' games and got a bit teary when hearing it played for our Olympic medallists.

A woman who could barely speak English, youngsters with a criminal past and a young mum disillusioned by unemployment are just a few of the lives the Wairarapa Resource Centre has turned around in 2015.

In 1985, the law changed and allowed adoptees to obtain their original birth certificates -- effectively giving them the name of their birth mother and in most cases, their birth father.

To many in Wairarapa, Pip Hansen is best known for belting out up-tempo pop-rock anthems as front woman of Masterton's Deaf Lemon.

The recipients of Elaine Hurndell's colourful, hand-moulded sculptures don't get to see the final result -- but each monument she makes needs the same attention, time and love you'd put into a birthday gift.

I'm just going to come out and say it now: I'm not a Christmas person.

Over my next three columns, I would like to tell a very special story.

What do tales of sheep dogs, eels, former mayors, the New Zealand national anthem, olive groves and delivery men have in common?

If Isaac Shenton were alive, he'd be doing something to help others, say his proud parents.

I think it's safe to say that many of us were affected by the recent terrorist attacks in Paris. Three suicide bombings, mass shootings and 130 people dead, all at once.

Abraham Lincoln is back, and bringing people together in Wairarapa -- in maritime form.

A Masterton muso is organising a day full of folk songs, facepainting, gourmet meat and coffee -- to help a decimated village on the other side of the world.

Christmas can be a difficult time of year -- especially when you add an overwrought mother, two vindictive daughters, a trophy husband, an eccentric neighbour and an alcohol-addled psychologist to the mix.

Carterton's most recent makeover has lead to "brighter and fresher" building fronts, new friends being made -- and even interest from new businesses in previously abandoned shops.

Feisty, bow-wielding heroines, their mentally-tortured lovers, courtesans seeking stability, disabled noblemen, revenge plots and nefarious relatives -- it's all in a day's work for Featherston's Jude Knight.

Spoken word poems, hula hooping, Ki o Rahi tournaments, a giant art installation and a violence-free pledge are to set the scene for Featherston's upcoming outdoor "shindig".

Biker Tony Allen is proud to be "growing old disgracefully" -- and seeing a fair bit of the New Zealand countryside in the process.

A Masterton couple have used their talents, teaching skills and Kiwi ingenuity to transform Pacific village communities ravaged by weather and poverty - and are appealing to their own community to open their hearts.

It would seem the humble paperback book is still very much in style -- in Masterton, at least.

In a world of eBooks, Netflix, and every kind of gaming console, Masterton residents still enjoy picking up a good, old-fashioned paperback.

Ron Mark was seeking a youth representative who would one day use their public profile to "make people's lives better" -- so Hope Sexton was the perfect choice.

Two Masterton women hope to get Wairarapa's disabled population more involved in the community -- one strike at a time.

Property Brokers' upcoming sports contest will be a chance to "have a giggle", raise money for a good cause and remember "a wonderful man".

Disillusioned by the rows of muted clothes for boys, and pink and purple girls' outfits while shopping for her kids, Gladstone's Rachel Hansen wished someone would set up a children's shop which didn't "yell gender stereotypes".

The Rimutaka Tunnel's 60th birthday celebrations were attended by "all kinds of colourful characters" -- including the relative of a railway filmographer, an American tourist who made a special visit, and even one of the tunnel's working crew.

Wairarapa youth may soon have the opportunity to attend more free health clinic sessions after Youth Kinex's successful start.

So. How about that sports team?