It's a messy one this week - a couple of bits 'n' bobs that I can't tie together.

Firstly, I wanted to follow up on last week's column.

You can find it on the SunLive website under ‘Music' but, to cut a long story short, it involved the new album Be More Kind, from wonderful English singer/songwriter Frank Turner.

The genesis of the column wasn't the album.

The plan was to write about the fact that for the first time Mr Turner is coming to New Zealand. He has been as close as the Byron Bay Festival but not, so far, to these shores.

I planned to highlight the incongruity in the fact that he's played Wembley Stadium in London but, here in Auckland, had chosen the 300-person Tuning Fork - the (very good) bar/venue next to the Spark Arena. Then, of course, tickets for the Auckland show sold out immediately, so it seemed cruel to even mention it.

But, stop the presses! I got an email yesterday saying that due to ticket demand, the show has been moved to The Powerstation, which holds more than 1000.

So if you're itching to see Frank Turner live, go to Ticketmaster and check out November 30.

From what I've seen, Frank and his band, the Sleeping Souls, are fantastic on stage.

That wraps up last week. Let's move on.

The referendum

Like many others with an interest in Tauranga becoming a thriving and cultured modern city, I've been rather appalled by the gloating at the defeat of the museum referendum. Words along the lines of: 'Told you so – we don't need to waste money on things like museums. If you want a museum go to Wellington.”

Personally, I think it is a sad day. People have decided the city can't afford a museum. I would hope that even people against the idea would be a little sad.

But perhaps those Aucklanders were right after all – perhaps Tauranga is eventually destined to be just a retirement village, and who needs a museum for that?

Certainly more and more of the population are disappearing behind the walls of (usually) gated communities. The more who do, the more they attract any form of entertainment – be it concerts, wine clubs or quilting classes – behind those walls, rather than in the general community.

Residents gradually withdraw from life in the community because it all happens in their gated world.

So Tauranga effectively shrinks while everyone ossifies in their own little bubbles.

It make me wonder. Tauranga pulls far below its weight in many categories – venues, restaurants, you name it – compared to its population.

Could that be because our much-hyped population is an illusion, since so many people in gated communities are effectively living in their own world, not in Tauranga?

Whoops, bit of a tangent there.

Creative Sparks

The non-museum is being quietly celebrated on Sunday when five diverse individuals are taking part in the Creative Sparks panel - one of many events in the Escape Mini-Arts Festival over the Queen's birthday weekend.

At 4pm in Baycourt's X-Space, they will each present an object chosen from the museum collection and offer their reflections on it. The individuals are children's author and drama teacher Angie Belcher, journalist David Tauranga, artist Que Bidois and physicist Dr Simon Taylor.

For the musical connection, there's singer/songwriter Marion Arts.

Marion is a prolific songwriter - one of the Bay's finest - but her last couple of albums have been instrumental music. Marion writes songs in many styles, from literate folk to throwaway swing, so it'll be great to hear a new song, especially as it promises to be a big, serious one.

The item Marion picked was a commemorative bronze medallion - one of the medallions known informally as Dead Man's Pennies - which were received by kin of soldiers killed in action.

It came from a local soldier who had been married for only three weeks before shipping out.

She says: 'I heard this tragic story from World War One and the song I wrote, ‘Dead Man's Penny', is told by the soldier from beyond the grave.”

The panel lasts roughly an hour, and tickets are $20 from Ticketek.