Our Wellington

Stories

• Startling staff turnover

  WHY do so many staff leave Wellington City Council? The turnover figures outlined in the council’s 2009 Annual Report show that on average, over the past three years, 23.3% of staff– almost a quarter of the organisation – have resigned every year. The cumulative… Continue

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  Mountain Kate

  TRIATHLETE and mountain running champion Kate McIlroy was fast asleep when Capital Times called to talk about her chances of winning the New Zealand Cup Championship and Oceania Championship titles in Wellington this weekend. Training at high altitude is really… Continue

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  Break the farce

  THE Walworth Farce looks creepy. A father makes his two sons put on moustaches, wigs and ill fitting suits and do a farce. Since they were kids they have done this every day all the while cooped up in a rundown council flat in London. “That to me is a strange… Continue

• Season of concerts

  THE St Andrew’s Season of Concerts will bring interesting performers to Wellington. Building on a long history of lunchtime concerts at St Andrew’s on The Terrace, the organisers hope to recreate the buzz and camaraderie of previous festivals. The NZ International… Continue

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  There’s a hole in my  bucket

  DUNCAN Sargent admits the sculpture he’s entered in this year’s shapeshifter exhibition at TheNewDowse was a “bit of a science experiment”. The Newtown-based furniture maker decided to use green wood – wood that has been recently cut and not treated – to create… Continue

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  Festival fanatic

  HOT old guy Geoff Dyer has more going for him than fine boyish features, a smooth speaking voice and a gentleman’s manner. He can write. Imagining 53 year old Dyer in a hallway hunched over the receiver trying to hear each question (the house he takes the call… Continue

• Jack chat

  The 2009 NZ Post Junior Fiction winner has just released another book, The Haystack. Jack Lasenby chats to Capital Times about his life and love. RAMBLING vines that droop from the veranda of a darling little townhouse are an appropriatley storybook welcome… Continue

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  All good in Wellywood

  IT’S official. We must be the Hollywood of the South Pacific because Wellington International Airport will erect a 28m long Wellywood sign to celebrate the capital city’s film industry. At least seven film-related companies are based on the Miramar peninsula.… Continue

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  I am an anarchist

  Anarchism is not a euphemism for chaos. According to Wellington anarchist Sam Buchanan, it’s a very small group of people living in the burbs, working in the head offices of banks and community gardens. ANARCHISM belongs in the community, says anarchist… Continue

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  The Fringe Cut

  ONE was a secret Spice Girl’s fan, and the other fell in love. Both are stoked to be named Downstage Theatre’s Pick of the Fringe. Fringe festival productions Wannabe and Back/Words will be reworked for the big stage, and enjoy a one-and-a-half week season at… Continue

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  Naked and free

  Guests buzzed around the National Portrait Gallery looking at the 93 portraits in wonder. Who was the winner of the career-changing 2010 Adam Art Award? Capital Times speaks to the lady behind the prize. WHEN artist Harriet Bright heard she’d won the prestigious… Continue

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  Horsey handstands

  IT’S hard enough executing a neat handstand or cartwheel on terra firma let alone on horseback. The Kapiti Equestrian and Vaulting Club will demonstrate the art of performing tricks on trotting or cantering horses at Waitangi Park this weekend, and the club’s… Continue

• STOP Wellington

  A GO Wellington bus incident last Wednesday badly frightened some Wellington College girls. The girls were taking a bus back to school from Newtown Park after athletics, when the bus knocked the entrance gates of the park, badly cracking a window. The girls were… Continue

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  Variation11 in court

  WELLINGTON Waterfront Watch is confident it will win its appeal against Variation 11 in the Environment Court. The group is one of three challenging Wellington City Council in the Environment Court after it passed the controversial Variation 11, which will restrict… Continue

• Caledonian goes upmarket

  THE old Caledonian Hotel on Adelaide road by the Basin Reserve is being transformed into an accommodation facility. Work to convert the downstairs area of the old hotel began at the end of January, and is expected to finish around June, says Robyn Green of Newman… Continue

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  A Te Papa mystery

  LAST Friday a student artist infiltrated Te Papa Museum. A small blue painting was first placed next to the Peter Trevelyan mirrored work outside Te Papa, and then underneath a Judy Millar artwork in a fifth floor exhibition. The work featured the words: “I Believe… Continue

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  Miss you, bro

  MIKE Eager promised his poet friend Simon Williamson that he’d turn a selection of his poems into a book one day. The result is Twenty-five Cars. Sadly, Williamson killed himself in 1999 after a battle with mental illness, and didn’t get to see the book. But… Continue

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  Free love

  JAMES Coyle loves Newtown so much he will perform in the suburb’s annual festival for free, is helping organise it for free, and gave up his day job for six weeks in preparation for it. The Newtown Rocksteady band member, who fittingly performs a song with the… Continue

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  Write a letter

  I have a large TV-sized box filled with letters that friends wrote me while I was at school, stored in the roof of my parents’ house.  I can’t bring myself to throw them away. Playwright, producer and director Juliet O’Brien loves letters too. She can’t remember… Continue

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  Life is a skate park

  Go out to Waitangi Park on a sunny day in the weekend, and you will hear the swish of wheels rolling on concrete, crack of wood hitting the ground, and the occasional grunt of pain. Mostly though, you will hear cheers of triumph. Skateboarding is more than just… Continue

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  Cooper trooper

  In the lead up to the Hurricanes’ second home game of the Super 14, coach Colin Cooper comments on the irony of captain Andrew Hore playing hooker, and the likelihood Wellington will win the competition. COLIN Cooper is cool as a cucumber. Fresh off the field… Continue

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  CBD has it all

  Deputy Mayor Ian McKinnon says the variety of attractions in Wellington mean CBD businesses will thrive in spite of the proposed revamp of Johnsonville Mall. “IN a mall all you can do is shop,” says Deputy Mayor Ian McKinnon. He says “sterile” malls lack… Continue

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  Empty talent

  As MTYLAND unfolded, I watched happiness, sorrow, regret, despair and pure madness. I was left feeling empty, but strangely ready to be full again. I couldn’t believe it had been an hour. CLAIRE O’Neil cried after watching a rehearsal of her own dance production.… Continue

• How to be an activist

  MOVING into Mount Victoria turns people into activists, says Mount Victoria’s new acting Residents Association president Kent Duston. He will take the reins from Jessica Closson, who moves back home to America in March. “Jessica has been a fantastic president,… Continue

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  McPhun with dogs

  AS a child, two of Ryan McPhun’s best mates were dogs. The lead singer of the Ruby Suns said one of the most difficult things about moving to New Zealand from America 10 years ago was saying good-bye to his pets. Fortunately they found a good home with dog-friendly… Continue

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  Stylish theatre

  ANYTHING can happen in a site-specific show, says theatre director Paul McLaughlin. During Hotel, the multiple award winning Fringe Festival show (2008) set in a hotel room, All Black Rodney So’oialo walked in. He was staying at the Museum Hotel at the same time… Continue

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  No bus stop here

  SHOP owners in Island Bay are fed up with bus drivers illegally parking, taking up customer parking spaces, and being abusive. The last straw for hairdresser Robyn Mouzouri who works on The Parade, came when a bus ripped the bumper off her car. “I was parked… Continue

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  Keep Wright

  Homegrown ticketholders get ready to trek: this year the Dub and Rock stages are a 15 minute walk apart.  “IT’S a bit of a pain,” says Homegrown’s Kelly Wright referring to the new layout of the music festival on Wellington’s waterfront. “It was so… Continue

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  Floating homes for Wellington

  Wellington City Council asked residents where they’d like to see Wellington in 2040, so a group of experts told them. IMAGINE a Wellington with floating houses, rooftop gardens, light-rail, rentable electric cars and a waterfront haven where Jervois and… Continue

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  Bubble boy

  KOREAN-BORN artist Seung Yul Oh is strange. “I’M not that wacky,” laughs Aucklander Oh, who says his friends often describe him and his art as “random” and strange”. Almost all of Oh’s solo and group shows, during the past 10 years, either have weird names or… Continue

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  Gloom and Doomadgee

  CHLOE Hooper hadn’t heard of Palm Island in Australia before she got buried in a court case that was meant to go for two weeks, but is still continuing six years later. The writer admits she was naïve about Aborigine issues before she embarked on covering one… Continue

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  Funny girls

  SARAH Harpur and Jim Stanton recommend wrapping your child’s head in gladwrap. “I find it locks in essential moisture and keeps those nasty flies at bay. It is frowned upon in today’s society to have flyblown children with crow’s feet and liver spots,” says Harpur.… Continue

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  Go West

  PHOENIX FC and the Hurricanes have much in common. Not only are they our regional sports teams – in soccer and rugby – sharing the Westpac Stadium as their home turf, but both will face-off against Perth at the stadium this weekend. The Hurricanes play their… Continue

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  A healing walk

  GRAHAM O’Gorman walked a long way to turn up at the Capital Times office last Monday. Eight hundred kilometres to be precise. O’Gorman has walked from Rotorua via Ruapehu and Parihaka, dragging his rickshaw style trailer. He arrived in Wellington on Monday with… Continue

• Hub hub, hooray!

  AN initiative that will help Wellington retain the title of “Arts Capital of New Zealand” will be launched on Thursday. Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast will open the Toi Poneke Hub at the Toi Poneke Arts Centre on Abel Smith Street. The Hub will be the focal… Continue

• Get Creative

  CREATIVE New Zealand’s board and committee members could be reduced from 28 to just 13. A review of Creative New Zealand’s governing legislation has revealed the need for a more streamlined service to allow staff to concentrate on responsibilities “rather than… Continue

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  Will it fly?

  LOCAL residents are concerned that decisions being made for the Basin Reserve ignore national design protocol, and the result will be a $97 million flyover. The New Zealand Transport Agency, which signed up to the 2005 Urban Design Protocol, is discussing preliminary… Continue

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  En-light-ened

  EVER been frustrated by the traffic lights at Pirie Street, Vivian Street and Cambridge and Kent Terraces? Capital Times has received many complaints from drivers irritated by the timing of the lights, particularly the short duration of the green at Pirie Street… Continue

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  Wellington warrior

  Charlie Gubb has had a happy time growing up in Wellington, playing rugby at Wellington College and league for the University Hunters. Now he’s spreading his wings. NINETEEN year old Charlie Gubb had a big decision to make before Christmas. The New Zealand… Continue

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  A mortal makes the most of it

  Capital Times movie reviewer Dan Slevin is a busy man for a mere mortal. He talks to us about how he does it, and The Immortals, his latest project. CAPITAL Times reviewer Dan Slevin has watched every commercial movie released in New Zealand since December… Continue

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  Wheel love

  LOVEBIRDS Verity Carroll and Ingo Schommer will celebrate their second anniversary this Valentine’s Day, on wheels. The capital couple started going out on February 14, 2008, and plan to spend part of their anniversary at the Frocks on Bikes – Love to Roll event… Continue

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  Pea hoarders and skin pickers

  BRIGID Costello jokes that people may need a massage after watching the Fringe Festival dance production she is directing about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Already, one of the dancers is displaying symptoms scarily like the character she is portraying, who… Continue

• Island Bay Festival wreck

  DID you know Owhiro Bay is home to four shipwrecks? The Maritime Archaeological Association of New Zealand (MAANZ) and DOC will have a marquee up at the Island Bay Festival, with information and pictures of Wellington’s wrecks. “There’s nothing much left of… Continue

• The hills are alive

  ONE of New Zealand’s finest jazz composers has his fingers crossed the weather will be good so he and his 18-piece Big Band can let loose for a loved-up audience. Jazz trumpeter Vaughn Roberts is performing a free show on Valentines Day at Williams Park in Days… Continue

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  The cat that got the milk

  BEING given 60 days notice to vacate the premises was a blessing in disguise for Willis Street café owner Damian Jones. Meow Café’s landlord decided he wasn’t keen on the café being there any longer. “The only reason he really gave was that he’d found someone… Continue

• Can we park here?

  A Fringe Festival theatre group are shocked that businesses helped them with a parking dilemma, while Wellington City Council refused. The group planned to perform their show Who’s Neat? You! from a five-tonne truck parked outside BATS Theatre from February 17.… Continue

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  If it smells like a scam…

  PHILIP Bentley says the Tory Street car park outside the Warehouse and Exodus Gym “smells of a scam”. Bentley, a member of Exodus Gym, had to foot a $240 bill, after his car was clamped for over parking on two separate occasions. He thinks the clamping is unfair… Continue

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  The Don with dreadlocks?

  One Love organisers hope to broaden the music festival’s reggae-focussed appeal by adding Kiwi singer songwriter Don McGlashan to the bill. WHEN Don McGlashan heard he was to headline Radio Active’s One Love music festival he was sure there had been a mistake.… Continue

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  Sailors at the Sevens

  THREE Wellington City Council employees are swapping their day attire for “flirty” sailor uniforms at the much-anticipated Rugby Sevens. Anita Denzel, Jodi Turton and Hanna Stephen came across five sailor-girl outfits on Trademe, and decided they would be the… Continue

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  Waitangi Day raises future questions

  ARETI Metuamate left his holiday in Dubai a week early to fly back to New Zealand so he could meet Prince William. Despite this, the young Kiwi to watch out for doesn’t think the Prince should be our Head of State. “We had a great time chatting with him and were… Continue

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  Mana and Tramways back in court

  MANA Coach Services have taken the Tramways Union to court for damages for an unspecified amount of money due to an alleged breach of a settled employment dispute. The Investigation Meeting was heard by Employment Authority member Gregory Wood at the Employment… Continue

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  Why flyover when you can flyunder?

  A group of architects, artists and designers have come up with an alternative proposal to the basin flyover, and it’s been met with community approval. The Architectural Centre submitted its Basin Reserve proposal to Wellington City Council’s Wellington 2040 plan,… Continue

• Public "nuisance"

  A man with a vendetta against liquor licencing has frustrated a group of café and bar owners who have the intention of applying for or renewing their liquor licences. Newtown resident Bernard O’Shaughnessy has lodged a formal objection against outlets that publicly… Continue

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  Stirring writers

  A controversial author who thinks those who are disabled are not “people” will make an appearance at the New Zealand Post Writers and Readers Week. Australian philosopher Peter Singer has generated outcry from a variety of disability groups over his eugenics-laden… Continue

• Why should I pay rates?

  BERNIE Harris refuses to pay his rates. The Brooklyn resident is in arrears $686.98, as of December last year. “The mayor says if we don’t pay rates then we won’t be able to pay for services. If I’m not going to use the services why should I pay for the rates?”… Continue

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  Lifecycle of a house

  For the third time since Duncan Sargent and Kim Young bought their home in Constable Street they have received a letter relating to one of the previous residents – shedding more light on the history of their home. DUNCAN Sargent and Kim Young have hidden… Continue

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  Move over Hayley

  IF all goes to one young man’s plan, Wellington City Council will have a 21-year-old councillor representing the Lambton Ward in October’s Local Body Elections. Local politics enthusiast Jevan Goulter has announced his candidacy in the elections, and says the… Continue

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  Sir Peter

  PETER Jackson was appointed a Knight Companion of The New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Zealand New Year Honours list. The Seatoun resident has continued to contribute to the New Zealand film industry since he was made a Companion of The New Zealand Order… Continue

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  Is it Supreme?

  SOME say it looks like a prison, while others marvel at its architectural finesse. Whatever they think, you can now check out the inside of the just-opened Supreme Court in Wellington for yourself, and hopefully not for the wrong reasons. Built on an $80.7 million… Continue

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  Into the wild

  Professional photographer Rob Suisted has a catalogue of around 50,000 incredible images taken around the world, some of which feature in his latest book Majestic New Zealand, and photography isn’t his passion? ROB Suisted has been to Antarctica 12 times… Continue

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  Walk on the high side

  The boat sheds in Oriental Bay are Wellington icons, and the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club, which has been open for 126 years, even more so. Capital Times joined a harbour sail and saw Wellington from the sea – one of the best ways to get into summer. … Continue

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  Summer Magic

  THE ASB Gardens Magic Concert Series will celebrate 30 years in business this summer. The free musical event, which started in 1980 and was simply called Summer City, was originally held in the dell at the Botanic Garden. The programme then included a frog puppet… Continue

• Patience please

  KIWIRAIL is taking advantage of the quiet holiday period to work intensively on Wellington’s rail upgrade. Construction will start on Boxing Day and will continue through until January 6. Buses will replace some trains during the upgrade. The main focus will… Continue

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  Give us a green light

  CO-ORDINATING Wellington traffic flow is the aim of a consultancy firm, which is working with the New Zealand Transport Agency. It plans to implement a roading programme in Wellington, which links the phasing of traffic lights, and has already been tested in Auckland.… Continue

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  Christmas stocking filler

  BARNEY Montgomery is a Wellington doctor who enjoys stripping down to his Superman undies, or “supies”, in odd places around the world. It’s something that he and a group of mates have always done during their travels for a bit of a laugh. But when one of… Continue

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  This is not an advice manual

  Is there a way I can reuse or recycle my sex toys while still showing respect for my past relationship? Wellington author Noel O’Hare asks the hard questions in his new book. ENVIRONMENTALISM has become a religion, says freelance journalist, columnist, blogger… Continue

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  Beyond the Figleaf

  A Wellington urologist has released a book on some of the odd, interesting and horrorfying surgical practices associated with the urinary tract. IT’S filled with all the elements that make a juicy novel – sex, gruesome bits and tender moments. It’s a… Continue

• Manners bus-ted

  WELLINGTON City Council votes are in. Manners Mall is set to be a bus lane. Capital Times looks at which way the councillors voted. IONA Pannett says she supports the revocation of Manners Mall because she sees it as an important first step for light rail.… Continue

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  Fans run off with pieces of Bones

  A band set list is to a music-lover what a street sign is to a movie buff. An Irish architect was spotted walking down Kent Terrace with a large street sign from The Lovely Bones New Zealand premiere this week. Michael Landy, 22, and many other red carpet revellers… Continue

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  Waitangi whimper

  BANNING dogs from Waitangi Park isn’t fair, says Wellington City Councillor Iona Pannett. From a personal opinion, Pannett is critical of parts of the just-passed Dog Policy, which includes the surprise Waitangi Park rule. “That was a controlled area, and it’s… Continue

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  What a Tripp

  ACADEMY AWARD nominee Taika “I think I’m hilarious” Cohen stole the show as the “last minute” MC for the Chapman Tripp Theatre awards on Sunday. His endearing forgetfulness had the audience cracking up at the St James Theatre as he repeatedly neglected to read… Continue

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  You’ll get a charge out of this

  You’ll get a charge out of this? A New Zealand company has created a clean technology that will “take the world by storm”, and Wellington will be one of the first cities in the world to trial it. UniService, a branch of Auckland University, led by Dr Anthony… Continue

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  A bee in their bonnet

  ARTY Bees chose their Manners Street location because car parking outside the shop was available, but it will all be removed if Manners Mall becomes a bus lane. Owner Pippa Burch feels like the shop got a raw deal. Arty Bees expanded the shop at the beginning… Continue

• Branch out for Christmas

  WELLINGTONIANS are branching out from pine trees. Paul Mallinson, who runs Classic Christmas Trees based in Greytown, says he’s noticed increasing popularity in more European-style trees. “We’ve had a move away from pine. Fir trees like the Douglas Fir have become… Continue

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  Lovely computers

  As Wellington prepares for the New Zealand premier of Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones, Capital Times talks to Weta Digital’s James Ogle about geekiness and ghosts. THERE are benefits to being a geek. Just ask James Ogle, who works in the digital models… Continue

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  Shame New Zealand

  “THERE is no planet B”, says the controversially sacked NIWA scientist and shared winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, Jim Salinger. The world-class scientist has been rallying up support on climate change issues since he was abruptly fired from NIWA after “talking… Continue

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  A park load of your money

  THE re-development of Cobblestone Park is a waste of ratepayer money, says a local businessman. The man, who doesn’t want to be named, is unhappy the Wellington City Council is spending $1 million of borrowed money to revamp the park on Vivian Street park, which… Continue

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  Wellington to be an electric city

  WELLINGTON may become New Zealand’s leader in the introduction of electric cars. Wellington City Council will discuss the capital’s Draft 2010 Climate Change Action Plan on Thursday, and will vote to include five new initiatives, one of which is the introduction… Continue

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  Charity box bandit

  A bandit who steals charity boxes is on the loose in Mount Victoria. The Welsh Dragon Bar had their second charity box stolen last week. This one had been for Mary Potter Hospice. A month ago Capital Times revealed the bar’s blind box was stolen from on top of… Continue

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  Meek creation

  COLLAPSING Creation, written by Arthur Meek, has received the most Chapman Tripp theatre award nominations for 2009. His play about Charles Darwin has been nominated in nine categories, including Best Production. “I honestly think I deserve it,” says Meek. “Downstage… Continue

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  Vet for mayor

  WHEN she’s grumpy at him, Allan Probert’s wife calls him a “politician”. The dig may become the truth if Probert is successful in his bid to become Wellington City Mayor at the next election. The Wellington veterinarian, who has clinics in Miramar, Khandallah… Continue

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  Twilight fever

  A blood-related disease is spreading through Johnsonville Medical Centre. At least five nurses and two receptionists there have Twilight fever. They’ve read Stephanie Meyer’s vampire series multiple times, watched the first film in the saga, Twilight, and all… Continue

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  See red on Courtenay Place

  WELLINGTON City Council plans to ditch the three pedestrian crossings on Courtenay Place in favour of traffic lights. The first, which will be placed on the crossing near Reading Cinema, is expected to be functioning by Christmas. But councillor Celia Wade-Brown… Continue

Columns

• Your absolute breast

  I don’t want to be labelled a knocker. But I want to deal with one or two big issues that have been thrust in our faces lately. Yes, I’m talking about the wild, wanton display of breasts during the scintillating win by the Wellington Phoenix over the Perth Glory… Continue

• Driving you mad

  All the letters that poured in from cyclists about last week’s column really deserve a response. I appreciated the comments (and humour) and genuinely apologise if I in any way suggested that bad behaviour by motorists towards cyclists is acceptable.  It is… Continue

• Leave Well enough alone

  PITA Sharples has suggested a few wee changes. And those changes might be coming to a land near you. And, if we don’t really mind, to a city near you as well. The co-leader of the Maori Party thinks it’s time for a new bilingual anthem. Also the national flag… Continue

• Re-cycling

  A plague of bicycle-riding is affecting thousands of young Wellingtonians who would otherwise be healthy, happy individuals. It can strike anyone at any time. I’ve known many people who have fallen victim to it. One minute they’re hale and hearty bon vivants… Continue

• Pull your pants up

  Today I’m getting into your pants. What I mean is that I’ve got into so many different things about you over the months in this column that it’s now time to get into a particular topic that genuinely needs urgent attention:  the length of your trouser legs. … Continue

• We need more HER-story

  PETER Jackson Airport never got off the ground. All the same, the mere fact Mayor Prendergast aired the idea of renaming our aerodrome shows someone somewhere is starting to have ideas.  And that’s good.  It should be encouraged.  But instead of… Continue

• Dunedin Stadium fuzzies

  IN BETWEEN going outside and getting rained on, I’ve spent some of my break working on a new professional sports franchise, only to come to my déjà-vu conclusion that sport in New Zealand, were it a private sector business, would not exist. It’s only thanks to… Continue

• Holiday horrors and hurrahs

  I tasted some of the nastiest and nicest wine over the hols. My worst experience was at a music festival where the bottle proudly boasted “wine made from the vines you’re peeing on”.  I should have known then to expect a killer hangover. On a happier note,… Continue

• How to party with wine

  THE holidays are a time of silliness, happiness and good times. Here is the best way to get yourself in the mood for those long nights partying with friends. Start with something light and bubbly, like Brown Brothers Zibibbo ($16.99).  Named after “zabib”,… Continue

• Holmes sweet Holmes

  SHERLOCK Holmes is a cot case. When he first came to literary life in 1887, he was a revolutionary breath of fresh air.  Readers found him entrancing, victims of the justice system saw him as a beacon of hope, and forensic science really took off. The most… Continue

• On good sports writing

  IT’S 20 years since I was discharged into the world of journalism and quickly discovered that a) sports reporters get double time (it was 20 years ago) and b) a press pass can get you into every possible thing you want to go and see. I used to enjoy covering events… Continue

• Stranger in the manger

  Jesus wasn’t there. But to be honest, I knew he wouldn’t be. Every year round this time, I visit St Mary of the Angels in Boulcott Street to see their beautiful crib set up in one of the side chapels. As you walk down the majestic gothic nave, your eyes go up… Continue

• Topsy turvy twins

  NEARLY 30 years ago, Andrew and Cyndy Hendry bought land at Huapai west of Auckland, planted grapes there and founded Coopers Creek winery.   Now they have vineyards dotted all over Aotearoa. Chief winemaker Simon Nunns creates one of the most diverse wine… Continue

• The faithful are coming

  WE’RE on a countdown to Christmas. Christians call this time Advent. The word refers to the “coming” of Christ to us.  It is derived from two Latin words: “ad” meaning “to”, and “venire” meaning “come”.   There is even a delightful thing called an Advent… Continue

• Air NZ Cup decision

  To: Paddy Lewis From: NZRFU media HQ Subject: Please Don’t Mr Lewis – We are aware that after today’s decision on the Air NZ Cup you are probably going to make up some sort of utterance about “flip flops” or “lack of leadership”. Can we suggest, in the spirit… Continue

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  This should not be a movie

  WHERE the Wild Things Are is a children’s picture book by New Yorker Maurice Sendak.   It tells the sobering story of an angry brat called Max who goes on a trip to an island of demented Wild Things, before making his peace with the world again. Although… Continue

Reviews

• Lucky 13

  13 Most Beautiful, Songs for Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests, Town Hall, reviewed by Garth Wilshere WHAT a fascinating look inside the cinema images From Warhol at the Silver Factory in New York circa 1964–66. The 13 Screen Tests chosen are a cross-section of… Continue

• Like an onion

  The Letter Writer, Circa Theatre, reviewed by Lynn Freeman. A world weary man who emotionally closed off himself, helps people find the right words to express their own emotions, finds himself the keeper of a terrible secret. This man, who can manipulate… Continue

• A perfect tail

  Fringe Festival wrap, reviewed by Lynn Freeman WOW, pick of the Fringe so far for this critic is A Love Tail written and performed by Toi Whakaari grads Aroha White and Matariki Whatarau with director/co-writer Kate McGill. It’s not only a new twist on… Continue

• Shutter speed

  At the movies with Dan Slevin THERE’S something very odd about the opening scenes in Shutter Island and it takes the entire film for you to put your finger on it. Shots don’t match between cuts, there’s a stilted quality to the dialogue (too much exposition… Continue

• For Real grunty theatre

  Fringe Festival Wrap, by Lynn Freeman IN the mobile classroom/container that hosts Who’s Neat? You! , we become primary school students. We are told to believe in ourselves, to practice our tolerance skills, not to crumble to peer pressure, ka pai! But… Continue

• Beer from the wood

  IN the sun drenched wine country of California there is a brewery that has taken the Victorian technology of rainy Midlands England and replicated it on a smaller scale. The English brewing town of Burton-Upon-Trent became renowned for producing fruity hop accented… Continue

• Byrd song

  The Tudor Consort, Sacred Heart Cathedral, reviewed by Garth Wilshere IN this first concert of the choral year, The Tudor Concert made glorious sound from just 10 voices. The clarity of vocal line was impressive as they sang a selection of motets from 16th… Continue

• Slevin passes with flying colours

  The Immortals, directed by Geoff Pinfield, Pit Bar, Bats Theatre, reviewed by Lynn Freeman WHETHER or not he is what he claims to be, immortal, Martin Amis’ character is far seeing and his pessimism well founded, based on human history. Theatre doesn’t… Continue

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  Bloody good

  AC/DC, Shihad, The Checks, Westpac Stadium, reviewed by Dawn Tratt “IS there blood on my face?” a guy asked my mate before AC/DC started playing. Not only was there a circle of blood seeping from his cheek, but the wound was surrounded by little teeth marks.… Continue

• Freak show

  THE first thing you need to know about It’s Complicated is that it isn’t very complicated at all. The plot, the characters, the gags (dear God, especially the gags) are all perfectly comprehensible – even to those of us with only modest intellectual faculties.… Continue

• The fantastic and the yuck

  At the movies with Dan Slevin WHAT a lovely summer we’ve been having – for watching movies. While the Avatar juggernaut rolls inexorably on there have been plenty of other options for a dedicated seeker of shelter from the storm. Released at any other… Continue

• Hot Wired

  8 Wired is the youngest of the new breed of contract brewers to take New Zealand by storm. Contract brewing companies like 8 Wired brew their beers in other people’s breweries meaning they can concentrate on producing striking character full products without… Continue

• A killer play

  Mo + Jess Kill Susie, directed by Murray Lynch, Bats Theatre, reviewed by Lynn Freeman GARY Henderson’s play about two women who kidnap a police officer is as deeply disturbing and provocative today as when I first saw it a decade or so ago. Since it was… Continue

• The must-see movies of 2010

  At the movies with Dan Slevin WELCOME to the 2010 “cut out and keep” guide to video renting (or downloading or however you consume your home entertainment these days). I suggest you clip this article, fold it up, stick it in your wallet or purse and refer… Continue

• Whoah Avatar

  THE two most common questions I have been asked this week: “Have you seen Avatar?” and “Is it any good?” Thanks to the helpful people at Readings I can say “Yes” to the first one and thanks to James Cameron I can say “Whoah” to the second. Like many Wellingtonians,… Continue

• Why so angry?

  Why?, with Grayson Gilmour, San Francisco Bathhouse, reviewed by Dawn Tratt THAT tool who stood on my foot as hard as he could then growled at me when I squeezed to the front of Why? ruined the start of the concert. Then some weirdo screamed at my mate,… Continue

• Can you Handel?

  Handel’s Messiah, conducted by Guy Jansen, Sacred Heart Cathedral, reviewed by Garth Wilshere THIS year’s Messiah in Wellington was an imported presentation from the Kapiti Chamber Choir. This performance was augmented by former members and friends of Bel… Continue

• Delicacy on a Plate

  Plate Restaurant, 75 Featherstone Street. PLATE Restaurant serves my new favourite dessert, so I’m going to start at the end. If you’ve never tried pannacota with amaretto jelly and amaretto granite, please do. The combination of the amaretto, a white, custard-like… Continue

• Loud music

  Dick Whittington and His Cat, directed by Susan Wilson, Circa Theatre, reviewed by Lynn Freeman ROGER Hall, panto, Circa. A winning end of year combination for the past few years and with big houses. It is again. Dick Whittington is a much less known story… Continue

• Best Indian

  Masala, 2 Allen Street I’VE yet to meet someone who doesn’t love Masala. A two-time winner in Capital Times’ Best of Wellington Readers’ Survey this year, Masala is a must visit for anyone in need of a spice up. Voted Best Indian Restaurant and Best Take-Away… Continue

• Brilliant death

  Death and the Dreamlife of Elephants, directed by Leo Gene Peters, Bats Theatre, reviewed by Lynn Freeman THIS second of Bat’s commissioned STAB productions has had maximum hype, with masses of pre-show marketing – on radio, in print, on Twitter, on the streets,… Continue