The Good Lord taught us that Sunday is to be a day of rest and, as is our habit, having paid Her our usual morning homage the Nun and her sisters headed off in search of early afternoon communion.

We hadn’t gone far when some brightly coloured flags led us up the garden path to the entrance to the club house at the Waiheke Golf Course. The sisters, of course, have limited experience of golf courses and, in particular their 19th holes, but we liked what we heard emanating from this rather modest looking establishment.

“Jazz and Blues in the Vines” was the event and while there weren’t any vines and not a lot of blues, there was no mistaking the quality of the jazz in the hands of the very polished Phil Broadhurst and his band of talented and good looking young lads.

While nothing, of course, can get the blood pumping as much a rousing hymn,there's also a lot to be said for whiling away a few hours listening to the soothing sounds of one the country’s leading jazz pianists and composers interspersed with the occasional ping of a golf ball and a happy bird song or two.

Also on display was Waiheke’s answer to Sarah Vaughan, local resident Briar Ross who has been a driving force behind these “Jazzy Sundays”, along with the fine ivory and vocal skills of jazz diva Julie Mason. And all this for a modest entry fee of $15 – the sisters couldn’t believe their luck.

The Waiheke Golf Club, which has been hosting a variety of groups every Sunday afternoon in February and March, had done a fair job of turning its “19th” into an indoor/outdoor bar complete with sizeable outdoor tables and umbrellas for those wanting to make the most of a gorgeous afternoon.

The tapas was nothing special and somewhat overpriced at $20 a plate, but we were reliably informed by Sister Antionette that the locally grown olives were of a good standard. There appeared to be a good selection of reasonably priced beer although, not unexpectedly, the wine list was not extensive. The Nun, who has developed quite a pallet for red wine from many years of communion, almost created a scene by declaring her first glass to be “off” and demanding another. After some initial reluctance, the bar attendant came to the party and we settled in for a lazy and increasingly hazy Sunday afternoon.

All up, a good effort by the Waiheke Golf Club and Briar and her enthusiastic band of helpers to open up another venue for Auckland’s many talented jazz musicians.