What happened to November? For that matter, what happened to October? One minute it was the middle of the year, now suddenly it's damn near Christmas.

I know, and have been told often enough, it's all about aging – the older you are the smaller each passing year is compared to the span of your life so the shorter each subsequent year seems. But it's still alarming when you start at a relatively calm September then in a blink of an eye everyone is saying '12 more shopping days till Christmas”.
But, as I've said before, we are here to help. And as the mad scramble to assemble those last-minute presents intensifies, let me suggest one possible solution – tickets.
Over the past couple of weeks or so I've been checking out events happening over the next month. I've mentioned the Blues Brews and BBQs, and the two Dave Dobbyn concerts; this week some more outdoor summer shows that should be good for a few Christmas tickets.
I'm talking about the Mills Reef Summer Series. Every year the winery puts on a series of shows that take place outside – weather permitting – or in the restaurant otherwise. It's one of the few outdoor events where there actually is a rain plan so there's no need to be nervous about buying in advance.
This year they have gone for a line-up of old favourites, bands with distinct Tauranga connections, plus one of New Zealand's rising international stars. There are two shows between Christmas and New Year, then another three in early January.
Kicking things off on December 28 is Kokomo, promising a night filled with surprises and special guests. The band's album of last year, In The Well, the collection of re-arranged Bob Dylan songs, has become their biggest-selling CD so far, attracting – for the first time – a fair level of international interest. It has also proved a popular i-tunes download.
Two days later some old mates of Kokomo return to town. Shaken Not Stirred are up from Wellington to play on December 30, shortly before heading to the South Island for the Nelson Jazz and Blues Festival. Shaken are a terrific band, fronted by the twin horns of Chris Pearce and Damian Forlong, the latter a Tauranga boy with a proud heritage in local rock bands before being lured to the capital and the joys of jazz.
As usual, they will have a female vocalist, though I've no idea who it will be. The band has had a long procession of impressive vocalists, many of whom have gone on to great things (Lisa Tomlins is singing on the new Fly My Pretties tour). One of the pleasures of seeing them is hearing their latest discovery.
If you don't know Shaken, expect swing and grooves – they move with ease from classic jazz to modern rhythm and blues, all the while having a whole bunch of fun.
Skipping into the new year there are two shows by up and coming star – if you can call someone whose album has gone platinum 'up and coming” – Yulia. She's the next Hayley Westenra, don't you know? Not my cup of meat but don't let that stop you. The Yulia concerts are rather special in this series as they include full dinner. For this you pay $110. All the other Summer Series concerts are $20 for tickets and you can chose to dine or drink as you like. Yulia is on January 5 and 6.
The following week (from Monday, January 11) the final concert features Torch Songs. They will be arriving directly from headlining the Nelson Jazz and Blues Festival and are planning to record tracks for a new album while in Tauranga, which should be ready for release at the Easter jazz festival (more on that next week).
Meanwhile Torch Songs singer Carol Storey has just returned from travels in Egypt with her Tauranga Intermediate students, topping off a busy year including recent appearances on Maori Television with her daughter Nataalia and sister Hemaima. And keyboard player Liam Ryan is just finishing the final tracking for the follow up to his M2M:Mississippi To Mauao album, called M2M: Pacific Riviera.
All shows start at 6.00pm, tickets from Mills Reef Winery, ph: 5768800.