A regatta build, a roaring chorus, and an ode to Auckland's libraries

If this email is not displayed correctly, [click here]( to view an online version. On Tuesday afternoon I walked through the doors of the central city library in Lorne Street and took a seat at a long table, alongside a dozen swotting high-school students and a guy in his 20s who was putting the finishing touches to a huge, colourful artwork featuring what may have been a couple of rappers. I looked around this one-time temple of books and saw the following: a busy cafe over by the entrance, next to a “maker-space” complete with a communal sewing machine and a row of computers where you could log in to use a 3D printer. Next to that was a huge display of “zines” from around the world (zines are those low-budget, limited-run publications that range from fringe literary magazines to weird comics by people who can’t really draw). Then I went roaming. I’d only gone to remind myself what the inside of a library looked like, because early this year I got my first-ever iPad and have discovered that you can download near-limitless ebooks and magazines from the library for free - and when they’re due back they just vanish from the iPad, saving me huge sums in overdue fees. The upshot is I’m using [Auckland’s libraries]( more than ever before, but hardly ever set foot in them. While I’ve been away, the Lorne St library has got kinda cool. I found an amazing children’s library/adventure playground, where kids roamed free and a couple of teen girls were snuggled into a nook, sharing a pair of earphones and watching a smartphone video of a young man smoking something illegal-looking. I saw a university student drinking bubble milk tea through a large-bore straw. I saw an old man in sandals shuffling slowly past a shelf labelled “Kōrero Paki/Fiction”. I saw a man with weathered skin and a long beard tapping away at a library computer, with enough rumpled possessions in bags at his feet that I suspect he was homeless or near enough. And everywhere, at tables, in armchairs, in clusters on the floor, there were school students studying for end-of-year exams. There were hundreds of them, leafing through an NCEA level 2 accounting textbook or whispering algebra advice to each other across the corner of a table or, most often, staring anxiously at a laptop screen. I hadn’t even realised communal exam-cramming at public libraries was a thing. Unless I need a coffee or the use of a sewing machine for emergency trouser repairs, I don’t have a pressing need to return to Lorne St soon: I’ve got five books and a year’s worth of New Yorkers backing up in my iPad already. But my vague fear that the disappearance of enthusiastic users like me would turn our libraries into empty, echoing corridors of dusty books was obviously misguided. Libraries are changing, but they’re not going anywhere. NEWS - DATING - RUNNING Improvements to Auckland's waterfront for the Americas Cup In 2021, the City of Sails will host its first America's Cup in nearly two decades. More than $2b worth of construction will transform Auckland's waterfront and lower downtown over the next two years in the run-up to the America's Cup regatta. It's the country's biggest concentrated urban transformation and will accelerate public area improvements that were planned longer term, but now have a December 2020 deadline. Get the latest details [here](. My approach to dating used to be "the floor is lava", leapfrogging from one relationship to the next without ever letting my feet touch the ground. Because of this, I was a sucker for ignoring red flags. Not "barely a flag really, and not even that red, just sort of pink-ish" flags, mind you - but bright red, flapping, "ABORT" flags. As a New and Improved Single Person, however, I can now present to you a list of [35 dating red flags you should absolutely never ignore](. For a run around a different part of the coast, explore the Luckens Coastal Walk, in West Harbour. A concrete path stretches for just over 2 km one way, with chances to drop down to the water via a handful of beach access points along the way. But mostly you’ll just enjoy looking out over the Upper Harbour, and glancing at the boats moored at the marina. To stretch out your run, loop back around the roads. Read Eugene Bingham's running column [here](. Enjoying this email? [Check out Stuff's other daily and weekly newsletters](. NEIGHBOURLY - FOOD - WHAT'S ON Lost teddy bear An Ōtāhuhu resident was shocked to discover a left behind trick-or-treater on her doorstep on Halloween - and she's been looking after him ever since. A call has been put out with the hope to find his family, but it's not known who he arrived with. He was discovered sitting alone on the doorstep about 7pm and it's assumed he was put down while his 'buddy' made the most of the candy. If you know of anyone who lost a furry friend on Halloween, [visit Neighbourly](. Everyone knows that there comes a day in November sometime when you blink and… Christmas. There's loads of forward-thinking preparation that can be started now in the kitchen, so that when everyone else is running around like a headless chicken in that week before the big day, you'll be kicking back with a Mona Lisa smirk on. From Christmas pud and platters to cocktails and edible gifts, we've got [all the practical tips you need]( to make your festive season stress-free. A 'roaring chorus' will [break out throughout the country]( on Sunday to mark the centenary of the Armistice that marked the end of World War I. At 11.02am - following two minutes of silence - tens of thousands of people are expected to sound their bells, horns and hooters at a service at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. Ships, police cars and fire engines will also be tooting their horns nationwide, while churches and cathedrals will ring their bells. For more information, [click here](. [Click here]( for Stuff Pix competition terms and conditions. Did a friend forward this to you? [Sign up to get Your 09 to your inbox]( [Unsubscribe]( [Newsletter Settings]( [Privacy Policy]( [Advertise]( [Feedback](