Riff-Raff lives
New Zealander Richard O’Brien’s as-yet unnamed Rocky Horror Picture Show #2 will premier on the London stage in 2001.
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Idiosyncratic Mambo
Designer Reg Mombassa, “the quintessential idiosyncratic Australian artist, even though he’s from New Zealand,” is a key part of Mambo’s international success.
SPF15+ Orchards
The phrase apple-red cheeks will no longer apply to New Zealand apples coated in kaolin clay to ward of the sun. “The kaolin-based product has cut sunburn damage on apples in half.”
Home Brew
New Zealand horse takes out the Melbourne Cup. “Brilliantly ridden by 20-year-old South Australian jockey Kerrin McEvoy, the regally bred Brew made light of 49kg when scoring a two-length victory after starting from the outside barrier.”
Dog Eat Cat World
Felines are unwelcome at Macquarie Island. New Zealand cat-hounds are cleaning them up.
Brickwork Brierley
“It was a scene from yesteryear. Sir Ron Brierley, armour dusted off and polished and gauntlet raised, charged into the battle …”
Midget Motoring
An eight year old boy hitting the motorway at 80k in his Dad’s car was doing his bit to bring the average driving age down. Police stopped the boy who was “not fazed,” by them,…
Pain Buster
Dr Abbey recommends New Zealander Robin MacKenzie’s Seven Steps to a Pain-Free Life to tame the back pain of Chicago.
International Treasure
Enterprising techno-toy hounds have devised a use for hand-held GPS systems: geocaching. 120 caches have been laid in 31 states and 13 countries, including Australia, New Zealand and Chile.
Fearless storyteller
“At 12 she was carrying a gun as big as she was, fighting for freedom in the Hungarian Revolution.” Later, Anna Porter made it to New Zealand as a refugee. Now she runs a…
Out of flight juice
Kiwi music icons The Mutton Birds are due to tour the UK. They’re expecting a warm reception, but nervous they’ll be grounded if petrol shortages strike again.
Guru Gilson
Clive Gilson, University of Waikato Professor, co-author of Peak Performance: Business Lessons From the World’s Top Sports Organisations, and motivational coach, “is to turn the Football Association from its traditional home for semi-retired blazers into…
Dame Delights
“Well, little Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is a friend of mine. She’s a little New Zealand singer.” Dame Edna Everage of Australia on her illustrious mate, Kiri.
Steel Plants
A New Zealand Modernist steel garden contrasts with the Alhambra in Granada and a magnolia-festooned paradise at Lake Lugano in gardening aficionado Tim Richardson’s The Gardening Book.
Magical Mystery Tour
Bus till you bust with Magic Travellers Network, winners of “Best Scheduled Transport” in the 2000 NZ Tourism Awards.
Senior Junior
Anne Martindall (86), former US Ambassador to New Zealand and long-time companion of Sir Toss Woollaston, returns to college to complete her degree. “I believe in finishing what you start,” says Martindall.
Booby Trap
It’s tough on the beat. Two Hamilton police officers were innocently holding a cam-corder when the woman it was pointed at ripped her clothes off, landing them in breach of regulations.
Bloody Lucky
King Country farming means clear air, rich milk, hay and leeches? Maria Lupton’s slimy sweeties saved the lips of an Australian girl mauled by a dog. The leeches, usually fed on blood and intestines, restore circulation to…
Dr. Johnson of the Web
Arts and Letters Daily and Cybereditions, the Guardian‘s top two brain sites on the web are the work of Canterbury NZ academic Denis Dutton. “Over dinner with him, trying to keep…
Honey Cures Tummy
New Woman confirms a “traditional New Zealand cure”: eating manuka honey to banish stomach ulcers.
Towel Rage
Staff at the Rotorua Polynesian Spa were menaced by a naked customer, furious that he hadn’t been provided with a towel. The customer walked naked into the foyer, pushing a computer off the front desk to…
Antipodean Etonian
Many quintessentially British institutions are headed by foreigners – including Eton, where Kiwi John Lewis is headmaster.
Edge Stories in Ireland
Rangimoana Taylor and a Ngati Ranana group are among the storytellers to be powhiried onto a marae recreated by Dublin school pupils for the ninth (festival of story-tellers), highlighting New Zealand and immigration.
Late News
The New Zealand-based Afghani terrorist plot to blow up the nuclear reactor during the Sydney Games may not have been so threatening after all…
Unprivate Moments
“Keep a diary online and you’re exposed to Mom, Dad, potential employers, and strangers in New Zealand with strong opinions about the way last night’s date should have been handled.”
A Teaspoon of Honey
Search under ‘Honey New Zealand’ to view Waikato scientist Peter Molan thinks honey doesn’t just help the medicine go down, it is the medicine. Honey from New Zealand’s Leptospermum tree kills bacteria, reduces inflammation and encourages re-growth…
Fat Tax
Proponents of the New Zealand “Brain Drain” myth complain about income tax, but the government has so far rejected calls for a “fat tax” on butter, cheese, meat and milk.
Shorts and sweet
Four NZ films feature in NY’s Shorts International Film Festival, including Felicity Morgan-Rhind’s Donuts for Breakfast. Top shorts will be considered for Oscar noms.
Edge of a Lonely Planet
“New Zealand values its independence and is not afraid to take on the world,” states the latest Lonely Planet, labelling New Zealand the place for adventure, coffee and wide open spaces.
Unique urenika
Dark purple and delicious, urenika (Maori potatoes), are on display at the RHS London Flower Show.
Rugger Scrum
Recent south-north tests have created a scrum among sport journalist, players and coaches over playing style and rule reform SMH likes the running game, French coach describes losses as “no-brainers“, Welsh coach Kiwi Graham Henry has…
Kiwi in the House
Kiwifruit-based products from Evolu rate with Estee Lauder, Chanel and Givenchy as a key product line at the House of Fraser, Oxford Street’s newest beauty arena.
Vertical limit
The stunning slopes of Aoraki (Mt Cook) backdrop Kiwi Martin Campbell’s ice action thriller, Vertical Limit. Starring Chris O’Donnel and Nicholas Lea, Vertical Limit is scheduled for 15 December release.
Gender Bender
Questions continue to be raised about surgical gender re-assignment, a la Kiwi sexologist John Money.
Tua Much
It wasn’t his destiny this time. Pre- and post-fight opinion on Tua-Lennox.Pre in the Sunday Times, New York Daily News, USA Today and the Scotsman. Tua’s toxic hair at News24. Post in Las Vegas Sun, New York and Daily News.
Gulf Rugby Shock
The Arabian Gulf 7s team are rather daunted by the thought of meeting New Zealand at the World 7s Series. “When I heard the draw I was lost for words,” said Arabian coach Darryl Weir. …
BSE Breakthrough
Professor Roger Morris of Massey University suggests Britain’s BSE epidemic may have come from “a wild animal commonly found outside Britain that was chopped up for cattle feed”.
One mammal, One Moniker
New Zealand is to be included in an Asian flora and fauna database aiming to reduce confusion caused by species with more than one name.
Drink Up
High-calcium milk Anlene, manufactured by New Zealand Milk, is shown to ward off osteoporosis in Asian women. Dairy exporters will have to bone up on their Asian languages to spread the word.
Going Cold Kiwi
The League World Cup Lebanon vs NZ match was played in bitter weather. Three Lebanese players became hypothermic, but the New Zealanders seemed to cope OK. “The New Zealanders were probably used to it,” said…
Godless Digest
“The Digest, however, has been less than honest. In a December 1999 story by Raffaele about the Chatham Islands in New Zealand, a fisherman picked up a lobster trap and exclaimed, “Gifts from Maru…
Clean Green Methane
While some countries battle automobile emissions, New Zealand scientists at the Rumen Microbiology Unit, Palmerston North, are working on producing a gas-less sheep. It’s a tricky business though: “There’s no point in getting rid of the methane…
Forbes Gets a Bargain
Forbes Global have included New Zealand company The Warehouse Group in their 2000 list of Best Small Companies: “Dynamism is all about growth and profits; in our opinion these 300 are among the best the world has…
Disease Beaten
Polio has been eradicated in the Western Pacific, which stretches from China to New Zealand to French Polynesia.
Goldie Rides Again
The prodigiously talented Jeff Wilson – in this age of professionalism, perhaps the last person to be an AB and a Black Cap – has returned to rugby after a year’s refresher. “I’m sure he will…
Democracy Deal
PM Helen Clark was at the forefront of the push to make the Pacific Island Leaders Forum a defender of democracy in the region.
Healing Touch
A new London centre devoted to the study of the “healing touch” is “an outpost of a university in New Zealand whose ideas are based on feng shui and other Oriental philosophies.” Could tight…
Sam Neill is in LA filming Jurassic 3
The grounds of his temporary residence are described as “park-like”…
Macpac Knack
Macpacs made their reputation being hauled up and down New Zealand mountains. They’re also good for gentle English country walks.
Out Out Damn E-mail!
Deleted files may come back to haunt you, says Peter Gutmann of Auckland University. “It is possible to install a computer that overwrites data when you hit the Delete key, making it much harder to recover….
Join the army and let the world see you!
New Zealand defence personnel will feature on big screens around the globe – as extras in Lord of the Rings. The soldiers were perfect when the filmmakers needed “big numbers of people who were…
Wright for the Job
The Indian cricket team is looking for a new coach and former New Zealand opener John Wright seems to be the man for the job. The final appointment will be announced before the team’s November tour…
Murderball Awe
New Zealand collected the Bronze at Sydney, impressing with their toughness along the way. “These are the hard men of the Paralympics. New Zealand’s heavily-tattoed Curtis Palmer emerged unscathed from a high-impact collision that sent him somersaulting…
Three Foot Six and still growing
Vanity Fair estimates the cost of Lord of the Rings at NZ$623 million. If correct, Wellington company Three Foot Six is producing the second-most expensive movie ever.
Our Cup Overflowed
The America’s Cup generated NZ$640 million in economic activity. Competing syndicates spent $149.2 mill, nearly matched by $118 mill from super-yacht spectators.
Fruit Nuts in Mumbai
Kiwi fruit and Enza apples are status symbols in Mumbai: “New Zealand apples are more juicy and have a better shelf-life … these are basically popular in higher middle and elite class of the town.”
