Christmas Greetings!

1. Christmas Greetings!

2. Another year, another theme. As always we have had a lot of fun this year. We are now on a first name basis with most of the baristas in Carlton Gore Rd. Our engineering student, William Moody has gone over the dark side (Civil Engineering) and been replaced by Amrita (3rd Year Elec). Other newcomers include Dima (Process), Azam and Kritesh (Power Systems) and Simon (CAD). In support we have been joined by Natalia (bottom left) and Anna (bottom right) who is standing in for Kylie. While we get larger we are striving to keep people as the centre of our company and not lose touch with their real needs. No new babies this year, but Azam has a work in progress. Our main area of expansion (apart from engineering) is in the area of engineering support. With additional support staff (so that Robyn doesn’t have to juggle all the balls) we are putting in place manuals, procedures and QA systems that will enable us to keep the same level of care as the company expands. I hope you all did your homework from last year. Nigel and I took our pre-teens to Waiheke again this year but I have to confess I haven’t written my letter yet but hope to before the year is out. (Funny, how hard it is to do). My challenge to you this year is to add life to your community. Stop worrying that your house isn’t flash enough, that your cooking is not up to scratch or you aren’t interesting enough. We all think that. Organise a dinner party, a pizza evening or go bowling. Use whatever you have (however humble) to make your life larger and include those around you. In 2007 organise at least one social event for six or more people. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year From The Team at Ergo

3. Chris & The Ergocentrics Chris & the Ergocentrics have become more than your average musos, engineers by day, lounge singers by night, this electric group of wannabe’s have mesmerised and dumbfounded critics with their snappy interpretations of those one hit wonders such as, Santa, Is That You?, The Bells are A-Ringing, and Do-Wacka-Do. Some have described their unique sound as east meets west, old school funkadelic, others describe it as a load of old rubbish, but this group are determined to stay in it for the long run, and not fade into the background as many covers bands do. In Chris’ words, ‘Winning last year’s Ergo Vision Contest really set us apart and gave us the confidence to branch out into the more difficult tunes such as Jeepers Creepers. It’s got a real tricky part on the bass, but I think we’ve nailed it now’. What’s more they’ve just secured a highly sought after contract, gigging through the holiday season at a mall near you. All that hard graft entertaining at children’s parties and regular late night spots at the local RSA’s is finally paying real dividends. We’re starting to see some real fans in the audience now, not just people queuing for Lotto or their dinner.

4. Christmas Cake (A little gem from Ergo’s Ye Olde Recipe Book) 1kg Sultanas, chopped raisins and currants 250gm chopped apricots 1 cup chopped walnuts 250gm butter 1 cup brown sugar ½ cup brandy or orange juice ½ cup cold tea 3 tsp finely grated orange & lemon rind 1 tbsp golden syrup 5 large eggs lightly beaten 2 cups plain flour 1 tsp baking soda Whole blanched almonds Extra brandy Line and grease a deep 23 cm round cake tin with paper. Combine sultanas, raisins and currants. Add apricots, walnuts, butter, sugar, brandy / orange juice and cold tea in a large pot. Stir over heat until butter is melted and sugar dissolved. Simmer, covered for 10 minutes, cool to room temperature. Stir in orange and lemon rind. Add golden syrup and eggs. Add sifted dry ingredients, fold mixture gently. Spread mixture evenly in the prepared pan, decorate the top with almonds. Bake in a slow 150°C oven for 2 ½ to 3 hours. When the cake comes out, Splash over some extra brandy over the top. Allow to cool in pan.