It Must Be Heaven
Gore woman Gay Dillon and Joni Knight from Langley, British Columbia have been penpals for 45 years. Knight finally got to meet Dillon in person in 2010, when she travelled to New Zealand with…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Irish Take to the Edge
“It is the home of the All Blacks and Middle Earth, and it is increasingly home to a growing number of Irish migrants, seeking a fresh start in the southern hemisphere,” Keith Lynch writes…
Revealing the inner
“Everyone’s favourite sexy vampire-loving barmaid” New Zealand actress Anna Paquin is on the cover of the January 2011 issue of Dazed & Confused magazine. In the cover story titled ‘True Colours’, Paquin, 2008, was…
New Zealand and You
After more than a decade of success with the 100% Pure New Zealand brand, Tourism New Zealand has changed the slogan to 100% Pure You. Tourism New Zealand chief executive Kevin Bowler said research…
Ulva Island transfixes
“I feel like I’m in a New Zealand tourism commercial,” Sarah Nicholson writes for Adelaide Now describing her “perfect New Zealand moment” wandering the golden sand of Ulva Island, one of the small islands…
Sydney’s Secret Weapon
Thirty-four-year-old former Olympian basketballer and Albanian coach Dunedin-born Mark Dickel recently played at point guard for the Sydney Kings. The Sydney Morning Herald asked: “Is it a publicity stunt or the ultimate act of…
Ali plots his return
All Black lock Ali Williams, 29, “plots international comeback” from the east Midlands where he is “exorcising a few mental demons as well as playing his first rugby for nearly two seasons.” Having…
Dutton’s Digital Legacy
Arbiter of culture Denis Dutton was one of the most prominent patrons of the arts of the 21st century, writes Sam Sacks for the Wall Street Journal, reflecting on Dutton’s legacy. While being a…
Loving Lucretia
Auckland-born actress Lucy Lawless returns to ancient Rome as Lucretia in the prequel to Spartacus: Blood and Sand, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, which premieres on American television channel Starz on January 21. Lawless…
Bollywood on Balmoral
The lavish Bollywood-style wedding of Auckland doctor Pooja Chitgopeker and Chicago millionaire and heir Vikram Aditya Kumar stopped traffic in the City of Sails recently when seven horses and a 2-strong procession danced its…
She can’t be serious
Auckland-born comedian and actress Stephanie Paul recently performed at Edinburgh’s The Stand Midweek Comedy Cabaret. Edinburgh Evening News reviewer Neil McEwan wrote that, Paul had “far slicker comedy stylings” than her predecessor of the…
Not just about money
In a survey of 4000 people, jobs website seek.co.nz has found salary is one of the least significant factors to New Zealand workers, while work environment, company culture and workplace morale are the most…
Sense of spaciousness
The Phoenix Foundation’s fourth album Buffalo is reviewed by the Guardian’s Dave Simpson who writes that “songwriting this good doesn’t come along often.” Like the xx — whose sense of spaciousness they share —…
North Carolina to Maine
Auckland-based guitarist Mark Mazengarb will tour with American musician Loren Barrigar “from North Carolina to Maine” later this year, after a successful 2010 collaboration in Nashville at the annual Chet Atkins Appreciation Society convention,…
Drawn into the fold
Christchurch City Art Gallery is a “place that works” according to design and architecture publication Metropolis Magazine, connecting to the natural environment “through modern architectural form that resonates with the self-image of people…
Time is precious
Colyton man Bill Williams has set a new world record for the Largest Collection of Clocks; Williams owns 321 timepieces. The previous Guinness world record for the Largest Collection of Clocks was 19. They…
Theatrical Isolation
Paul Stephanus, director of the play Quarantine, plans to ferry his audience at dusk to a disused convalescence chamber on Matiu/Somes Island in Wellington harbour during next month’s Fringe Festival. Once the audience disembarks…
Designer sale in US
New Zealand-born fashion designer Rebecca Taylor has sold her label to American apparel company Kelwood. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Rebecca Taylor was founded in 1996 by Taylor and her business partner,…
Pastry headache cure
“Many a New Zealander knows a mince and cheese pie and chocolate milk works a treat” for curing a hangover, according to the Guardian’s Word of Mouth Blog. In a post entitled, ‘Hangover cures…
London’s NZ treasure
Friends Peter Gordon, New Zealand chef, 47, and Briton Tim Lott, acclaimed writer, 54, are interviewed in The Independent on Sunday about how they met, their differences and Gordon’s tartan. “It was around the…
Humbug Like the Lolly
New Zealand abstract painter Peter Adsett and architect Sam Kebbell’s collaboration on Adsett’s Mornington Peninsula, Melbourne property, ‘Humbug’ features in the summer 21/11 issue of Architectural Review Australia. The building had to serve two…
Auckland sees in NY
An NZPA photograph of the New Year firework display over Auckland was included in a Guardian gallery of New Year’s Eve celebrations around the world. ONE News reported that traffic in the CBD stopped…
Business Realities
In an article titled ‘The Rise of the Global Elite’, in which New Zealander Stephen Jennings is referenced, The Atlantic’s Chrystia Freeland discusses the modern-day super-rich, a “more hardworking and meritocratic” group, though “less…
Little guys think big
“Historic inner-city suburb” Freemans Bay in Auckland is one of “five great city districts” included in Monocle’s December 2010/January 2011 issue as part of the magazine’s “annual global guide to the little guys with…
