www.southmagnz.co.nz
The appropriate lies
Patrons will not feed you longer than they need to Your all-consuming passion will leave you craving love (Song for Randy Newman Etc, The Chills)
It will be 40 years ago this November, but I still have faded memories of the first gig I attended. Split Enz at the Trafalgar Centre in Nelson with my school mate Peter, and my sister. Our mother had bought the tickets, and dropped us off.
That was Split Enz’ farewell tour, so all attention was on them. The support act - The Chills - were unknown to us, but their dark, introspective pop songs cut through the anticipation.
Almost a decade later I again saw The Chills on the 1992 Soft Bomb tour. In support that night was David Kilgour, the cover story for
this issue of South.
At that time The Chills were crumbling, ultimately leaving songwriter Martin Phillipps flailing.
But I remember another show, a weirdly triumphant appearance at Dunedin’s Arc Cafe just before Christmas in 1999.
While Phillipps would continue to struggle for years, he was gathering new collaborators who could certainly do justice to his deep well of brilliant songs.
Those three Chills shows, and hundreds of other performances I’ve been fortunate to witness, have enhanced my life in ways I could
never express.
That’s why it’s so galling to see the arts sidelined yet again by those who fail to understand the contribution they make both to individuals and society at large. Artistic expression is not merely entertainment, it’s a necessary aspect of human existence. It may be hard to quantify its value, but without it we are far smaller.
As someone sagely noted when Martin Phillipps died recently, “Dunedin isn’t mourning an accountant or landlord this week.”
Gavin
Bertram, Editor
EDITOR
Gavin Bertram
gavin.bertram@alliedpress.co.nz
DESIGN
Mike D’Evereux
ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER
Nic Dahl (03 479-3545) nic.dahl@alliedpress.co.nz
CONTACT
Email: south@alliedpress.co.nz
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Cover image: David Kilgour (Photo: Genevieve McCoy)
(Photo: Gerard O’Brien)
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(Cooee Bike Park, Balclutha. Photo: South Otago Mountain Bike Club)
Blues to make rooms soar
Who doesn’t love blue? Wispy, soothing tones of pastel blues are perfect for creating the coastal breeziness that’s a perennial favourite
But we’re also getting bolder in our use of blues, with deep dramatic midnight hues like Resene Carpe Noctem and vivid primary blues like Resene Wet N Wild that give us all an immediate mood lift.
There are few colours so universally loved than blue in all its iterations. Get the colour combinations right and blues can really make your rooms soar with timeless style. Set the tone
If you’re thinking about a blue-based colour scheme for your home, start by thinking about what kind of feel you want the space to have for the people in it.
As Resene colour consultant Amy Watkins says: “Blues are a great colour tone to change the whole look and feel of the space.
“Try Resene Morning Haze or Resene Timeless for that light, easy breezy coastal feel in your living areas, bedrooms or throughout your home.”
To complete that beachy, bachy vibe, pair your muted, grey blues with wood finishes in Resene Colorwood Natural or Resene Colorwood Breathe Easy from the Resene We Speak Beach range. To add visual interest, pair your soft blues like Resene Duck Egg Blue with sunset shades like Resene Crail or Resene Sante Fe. Billowy white curtains, and plenty of natural fibres and plants will complete the look.
Add a sophisticated beachy tone by going for bolder blues like Resene Cobalt with brighter naturals like Resene Quarter Spanish White, and accent touches of deep terracotta Resene Mexican Red for more of a ‘Hamptons-style’ coastal feel. But blues needn’t always mean coastal or nautical. Amy also suggests experimenting with bluegreens and dark navy shades for a completely
different effect.
“Resene Boost is a soft-edged teal blue that can be great for bold feature accent walls, while Resene Carpe Noctem or Resene Indian Ink are deep inky blues that will add drama to any room.”
Unexpected combinations
Blue is an extremely flexible colour to decorate with, as you will likely find a shade of blue to work with almost any other colour. That said, it does have some classic colour partners, like primary red and bright white, or yellows, which sit opposite blue on the colour wheel.
Amy adds that mustard tones, which are typically yellows with a blackened or slightly green edge, such as or Resene Sunbeam are another safe complementary colour to try with blues. If you’re worried about your palette getting too overwhelming opt on-trend muted colours like Resene See The Light with softer blue Resene Upside.
“But to step outside the box I would recommend trying an orange or pink,” Amy says. “Orange tones such as Resene Tequila Sunrise will bring added life and vibrance to any blue space.”
If you want to use a moody deep blue like Resene Midnight Express, softer pastel pinks can help prevent the darker colours becoming overwhelming.
“Classic pinks like Resene Coconut Ice or Resene Valentine paired with heavier deeper blues can soften spaces and add a sense of comfort,” Amy says.
Other unexpected colour combinations to try are charcoal greys like Resene Thunderstorm and dramatic reds like Resene Incarnadine with tropical blue Resene Idyllic. Deep crimson Resene Very Berry is another shade that works deliciously with these turquoise blues.
1. This room showcases the dramatic impact of rich blues and golds. A framed section of Resene Wallpaper Collection ONB102646290 makes a stylish backdrop against walls in Resene Wallpaper Collection ONB7684565.
2.Breezy sea blues elevate neutral off-white decor pieces for a fresh modern sitting room with highimpact. Walls painted in Resene Ziggurat with flooring in Resene Mountain Mist, planter in Resene Alabaster. Furniture from Nood. (Project by Laura Lynn)
3. Soothing walls in Resene Breathless (top) and Resene Duck Egg Blue (bottom) are perfect for a relaxing bedroom. Floor finished in Resene Colorwood Breathe Easy, skirting in Resene Breathless, pendant light in Resene Colorwood Whitewash, bedside cabinet in Resene Half Duck Egg Blue. Bedlinen and flower cushion from Small Acorns. (Project by Annick Larkin, image by Bryce Carleton)
4. Caramel accents add to the impact of these walls in Resene Epic, which above the trim line is painted over textured anaglypta wallpaper - Resene Wallpaper Collection RD5671. The trim and coffee cup are Resene Toffee with bedside table and console table in Resene Pendragon. Bedlinen from Foxtrot Home, throw from Adairs, cushions from Citta and H&M Home. (Project by Vanessa Nouwens, image by Bryce Carleton)
For a simple yet vivid modern art finish, try pairing the primary colours of Resene Resolution Blue, Resene Red Berry and yellow Resene Turbo with crisp Resene Black White and Resene Black. It can be a fun, and inspiring combination in kids’ bedrooms or workspaces like creative studios and home offices; or even toilets and bathrooms. Using blue with neutrals
The inherent versatility of blues, means they are fairly easy to pair with neutrals. The neutral you choose to pair with your blue will depend on how you want your blue to transform your space, Amy says.
For example, she suggests softening the crystalline aqua edge of Resene Breeze by using a cooler based white like Resene Poured Milk or Resene Black White. “It reduces the intensity of the blue undertones,” Amy says. “To intensify the blue nature of Resene Timeless try pairing it with Resene Chalk Dust or Resene Bianca.”
The soft, muted and versatile nature of some popular modern trends mean they can actually be used as neutrals themselves, if you are looking for a subtly different look that is still fairly minimalist.
Try the wispy blue of Resene Quarter Duck Egg Blue on trim areas with walls in Resene Half Pale Rose, or painting ceilings, skirtings and doors in Resene Dusted Blue with the deeper faded denim of Resene Atomic on the walls. Add notes of olive brown Resene Go Ben for unexpected contrast.
Top tip: If you want to add a note of glamour, warm midblues like Resene Takaka, blackened blue Resene Indian Ink or deep teal Resene Warrior all look great with notes of metallic Resene Gold. Turquoise sea blues like Resene Boost and violet-toned blues like Resene Astronaut can work well with touches of silver.
Let’s talk feature walls
Because of the variety of shades available blue is a good choice if you’re stepping out of a strictly neutral colour comfort zone. But if you do want to go bolder why not experiment with shades of blue as a feature wall.
How about geometric shapes in a combination of palest blue Resene Zumthor with steely blue Resene Hammerhead and Resene Half Gull Grey?
Add a drop of textured navy blue wallpaper with Resene Wallpaper Collection E307334 as a visually interesting backdrop to a warm beige couch, then add a couple of cushions or a throw in copper or deep mustard. You could be more adventurous with a floral on muted blue wallpaper pattern like Resene Wallpaper Collection E307306. Whatever your colour preferences there is a shade of blue out there to suit your palette and take your interiors to the next level.
For help choosing the right blue to suit your home, visit your local Resene ColorShop, ask a Resene Colour Expert free online, www.resene.com/colourexpert or book a Resene Colour Consultation, www.resene.com/colourconsult
Crowded House
Dunedin Town Hall, Dunedin
7pm, Tuesday November 12
One of the finest songwriters this country has produced, Neil Finn returns to Dunedin with the latest manifestation of Crowded House. With multiple awards, and having sold over 15 million records since their formation almost 40 years ago, Crowded House have a reputation for delivering. Featuring veteran Nick Seymour, Mitchell Froom, and Finn’s sons Liam and Elroy, the band is now touring the recent Gravity Stairs album.
OF THE BEST
Queenstown Winter Pride 2024
Queenstown August 22-September 1
The largest winter rainbow festival in the southern hemisphere, with 11 days of adventure, music, and inclusivity. As well as skiing, snowboarding, and mountain walks, the Queenstown Winter Pride festival includes dance parties and other entertainment, with something for everyone. Plus, they give back to local youth and charities.
Otago v Canterbury
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
4.35pm, Saturday September 7
In last year’s Bunnings NPC, Otago didn’t play their old foes Canterbury. However they lost heavily to the red and blacks in a pre-season match a month ago, so they’ll be looking forward to getting some vengeance with home support behind them in Dunedin. The Otago Spirit will also be playing Wellington in this double header, with kick-off at 2.05pm.
The Kingdom of Bling Regent Theatre, Dunedin 7.30pm, October 15
From New Zealand’s The Rocky Horror Show creator Rechard O’Brien comes a new satirical musical. O’Brien is the narrator on the Celebration of Kindness Tour, and is joined by an extraordinary ensemble cast, and of course a stonking rock band. All royalties from The Kingdom of Bling will go to the Starship Children's Hospital in perpetuity.
Pedal & Pour
Carrick Garden, Bannockburn
From 7.30am, Saturday September 21
A series of mountain bike races in the beautiful surrounds of Bannockburn, with each event starting and finishing at Carrick Garden. There’s the 5km Family Fun course, a 10km Social Fun course, and the longer Adventure course, which includes a team relay option. There’ll be a fun filled and supportive vibe, plus music, food, and wine. See www.carrick. co.nz for more information.
Big Ask: Clare Curran
Following four terms as MP for Dunedin South, Clare Curran now manages the Life Matters Suicide Prevention Trust. The theme for World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10 is ‘Changing the Narrative’, #starttheconversation.
What inspires you?
The team I work with at Life Matters Suicide Prevention Trust, who work to support anyone in mental distress as peers, themselves with lived experience, to connect with the person being supported, establish a relationship of trust, and through the power of shared experience build resilience and inner strength and the capacity to go on with life. Peer support is a social movement and thankfully it’s taking hold in our mental health system. I feel utterly privileged to be working in this world alongside such empathetic and talented kaimahi.
And what annoys you?
The tendencies of our systems to label people with diagnosis and other categories that strip them of their humanity and dignity. Our health system and social services are there to support and build resilience not to patronise and stigmatise people. Sadly the latter happens too often.
Can you recommend a book, a film, and an album (or song)?
I’ve been listening to a lot of music by The Chills. My favourite song of theirs is Submarine Bells. I’m so sad Martin Phillips is gone, he’s such an important songwriter and a genuinely lovely man. I love listening to anything by Aldous Harding. I belong to a writer’s group and I’m looking forward to the next crime novel emerging by Jane Woodham.
What’s the most important thing that you’ve learnt?
To properly listen to other people, especially when there’s been a conflict of some sort and understanding their worldview and perspective. To let go of anger and disappointment and accept who you are. To notice and acknowledge moments of joy. And to look forward to what’s next.
Who do you admire?
People who work largely behind the scenes on causes that really matter to them and are about improving the lives of vulnerable people or to improve our planet. Mostly these people are unrecognised but this does not matter to them because the cause they strive for is more important and the rewards are the outcomes rather than personal recognition. Plus I admire my mum who continues to be involved in her community and supports me and our whānau at the age of 91.
What do you love about where you live?
From my house I look out over South Dunedin, the lower part of the harbour and across to the hills. The beach is a short walk away. My trees form part of a corridor for kereru, tui, and bellbirds. I’ve got wonderful neighbours, it’s a short drive to everywhere and I mostly love the changing moods of the weather. Ōtepoti Dunedin has been home for much of my life and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, other than the Māniatoto, which is my other favourite place.
What do you most enjoy doing?
It’s a toss up between grabbing a few hours to sit and write (I’m writing my second crime novel – the first one is yet to be published) and going for a long walk in the bush around Dunedin, or further afield if I have the time.
When (other than now) was the best time of your life?
After several years of failed IVF, finding out I was pregnant, discovering I was having twins and then (not the birth bit) having them and working out how to be a parent.
What are you looking forward to?
More time eventually to write, and walking the Camino Francés next year.
I think everybody should… at least once in their life. Visit Waitangi. It’s a very special place and it could form part of a journey to understand what led to the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and what followed. We will be a better country if we all better understood the history of the colonisation of Aotearoa New Zealand and our place in it today.
World Suicide Prevention Day: Tuesday, September 10. A free community event hosted by Life Matters will be held at Knox Church from 6-8pm.
Clare Curran (centre) with some of the Life Matters team.
Your Big Day
Welcome to Your Big Day wedding guide 2024
“Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.” (Aristotle) Being someone’s true love means that you accept them for the person they are, and that you do not wish to change them.
Saying ‘‘I love you’’ in front of the world is what your wedding day is all about. It means standing by the one you love during those days of delirious happiness, and also during days of sadness and self-doubt. It means knowing their deepest secrets - and how they have their coffee. It means coming together to plan your wedding - because it’s time to take that ultimate leap!
While planning a wedding can be a lot of fun, it can also be very stressful. That’s why within Your Big Day you’ll find a safety net of tips and useful information - keep it handy as you plan this great occasion.
WEDDING CHECKLIST
You’re going to need to be superorganised to make it the best day ever. There’s a lot to think about, so use this checklist and tick items off as you go.
9-12 months before 6-9 months before
PLAN style and budget, and decide who is contributing to the wedding.
SET date, time, and place.
BOOK venue(s) and musicians/DJ.
ASSEMBLE quotes from photographers, caterers, and wedding dress makers/suppliers.
ORDER wedding transport.
LOOK at wedding dress designs. DECIDE on colour scheme.
INSURE your engagement ring.
CHOOSE your wedding dress.
VISIT your minister, priest, or celebrant.
WRITE a guest list.
SEND a save-the-date.
ESTABLISH beauty and exercise routine.
SELECT a caterer.
BAKE/order the wedding cake.
DISCUSS flowers with the chosen florist.
CHOOSE your photographer. ARRANGE videographer and discuss your social media/ Insta/Twitter plan.
3 months before
BUY bridesmaids dresses and decide on accessories.
THINK about the vows you’d like to take, or write your own.
FIT groom and groomsmen suits.
SELECT a wedding gift registry or piece of art etc. for guests to contribute towards.
FINALISE guest lists.
SEND out invitations.
BEGIN any DIY decorations.
RESERVE wedding night accommodation for yourself and out of town guests.
LIAISE with photographer, chauffeur and celebrant. CONTINUE beauty and exercise routine.
TOITŪ OTAGO SETTLERS MUSEUM
WEDDING AND PHOTO VENUE
Situated in the heart of Dunedin’s picturesque heritage district, Toitū Otago Settlers Museum offers a variety of high quality venues perfect for your special day.
For all enquiries, please contact Functions and Events Coordinator
Phone 03 477 5052 | 31 Queens Gardens
Dunedin | toituosm@dcc.govt.nz www.toituosm.com/venue
One month to go
APPLY for a marriage license.
ARRANGE seating plan.
ATTEND hairdresser with veil or headpiece.
PURCHASE thank you presents.
DECIDE who will be making the speeches and let them know.
ARRANGE wedding rehearsal.
ACCEPT last-minute RSVPs.
TASTE menu selections and beverages.
FINALISE running order.
SCHEDULE final dress fitting.
PICK up wedding rings.
CRAFT or purchase wedding favours for guests to take home.
TRIAL hair and makeup.
WEAR wedding shoes so they are comfy on the day.
One week to go On the day
GO through a full rehearsal at the ceremony site with all attendants.
PRINT speeches.
COLLECT hired items. WRITE place cards.
RECONFIRM all bookings, numbers, times and details.
ENJOY a hen’s night or combined party.
CHECK venue has the running order.
WRAP presents for attendants.
PACK for your wedding night and honeymoon.
PRACTISE your wedding vows.
SLEEP late. EAT breakfast. PAMPER yourself. LET others do their job. THANK friends and family.
RELAX don’t stress over tiny details.
ENJOY YOUR WEDDING DAY.
Save your pennies
Weddings can easily get expensive. Here are some tips to help ease the financial burden
• Shop around
• Make, borrow, or hire
• Any day but Saturday
• Have an off season wedding
• Invite a smaller number of guests
• Buy booze wholesale, and make your own signature drink
• Don’t arrange such a lavish wedding that it will put you in debt
• Ask guests to contribute to a money wishing well
Discover Otago's most iconic venue
CARDRONA HOTEL
Whether you’re dreaming of a beautiful garden ceremony followed by an equisite dinner & dancing, or casual and initmate vows followed by a few beers around the fire with your best mates at your favourite pub, we can make your wedding day dreams a reality.
This must be the place
There’s a venue to suit all sizes and styles of wedding in this beautiful part of the world that we live.
The level of involvement you wish to have will determine the perfect location for you. Some couples prefer a more do-it-yourself style of function, while others just like to turn up on the day and have nothing to worry about.
The reception is likely to take up the largest chunk of your budget, so it is certainly worth putting in a little more effort to find the place that is just right for you.
Hotels, resorts, events centres
With everything taken care of, there’s really no guesswork involved. All you have to do is arrive, unpack, and be pampered.
Vineyards and wineries
What’s not to like about an outdoors wedding surrounded by vines? But yes, this is a weatherdependent choice requiring sensible footwear, so make sure that you have a rainy-day Plan B. Gardens, parks, gazebos
A seasonal favourite for the outdoors inclined. Plan for the best blooming season so photos are filled with flowers and green leaves.
Church halls and sports clubs
If you know how to make the most of a fairly
stark space, this is the perfect option for an inexpensive, cheerful family-friendly occasion with all your favourite people.
Unique locations
It’s your special day, so why not make it super memorable by tying the knot on a boat, a hilltop, or even in your perfectly decorated backyard?
TIPS
• Go online, and ask friends for some ideas.
• Be clear on the budget.
• Is it a good fit your style?
• Consider having your wedding on a weekday.
• Save by having the ceremony and reception at the same place.
www.cardronahotel.co.nz/weddings functions@cardronahotel.co.nz
Photography: Ryan McCauley Photo
Ticking the legal boxes
You’re not really married if it’s not legal. In New Zealand there are two ways to get married or have a civil union:
By a registered marriage celebrant
You can choose:
When and where you’ll get married.
To write your own vows.
A religious or independent celebrant. To find a celebrant visit celebrants. dia.govt.nz (only registered celebrants can perform weddings or civil unions in New Zealand). You will need to arrange your celebrant before you can get a marriage licence. The cost varies.
Registry ceremonies
Although registry offices have not been available for ceremonies in New Zealand since 2019, registry ceremonies remain a popular option. They must be held on a weekday and not on a public holiday, and have a set cost ($240 in total) and standard vows.
Step 1: Decide where to get married in New Zealand. You’ll need to arrange the celebrant and venue, and remember guests are limited to 20 people.
Step 2: Apply for a marriage licence at least three working days before the ceremony, to confirm that it’s legal for you to marry.
Step 3: Arrange witnesses - you’ll need to bring two to the ceremony. Step 4: Get married. Registry ceremonies follow a script and you must use standard vows. Your celebrant will give you a “Copy of particulars of marriage”, and will register your marriage with the government.
Dishing it up
Canapes keep guests occupied and socialising while they wait for you to arrive.
Platters of meats, salads, and vegetables allow guests to help themselves, and encourages interaction.
A buffet is a great way to serve a lot of people on a budget, and guests are in control of food selection.
A formal meal brings structure to the reception, but the additional wait staff will cost more.
Food trucks are increasingly popular - but consider how quickly guests can be served and where they will eat. Also, consider whether any of your guests have special dietary requirements, and sample the dishes before committing.
Takes the cake
Choosing what type of cake you’d like on your wedding day has to be one of the most delicious decisions.
Three-tiers will generally serve 50-100 guests. A great way to save yourself a budget blow-out is to order one small, beautiful, decorated display cake, and enough sheet cake to feed the masses.
Picture perfect
• Your budget will determine how much of the day the photographer can capture.
• Understand exactly what your photographer is offering and confirm it in writing.
• Make sure the photographer understands what style you are after: documentary, natural, posed, candid.
• You can’t control the weather. Have a backup plan.
• Make sure your wishes regarding social media posting are made clear.
Church on time
• Choose a transport option that matches your wedding theme - and your personalities!
• Depending on the location and style of the wedding, you may also need to offer transportation for your guests - to the ceremony, between the ceremony and reception, and a safe transport option home afterwards.
• Limousines, hot rods, vintage classics, buses... there are a range of providers throughout the region to suit your needs. Shop around and find the one that suits you best.
Transform yourself
If you are planning a transformation for your wedding day, here are some things to consider:
• Be realistic: Consider your time frame and what is realistic for your body type.
All dressed up
You’re the centrepiece of the entire day, so it is worth putting in some real time and effort to find the perfect gown.
Local wedding boutiques and designers have wedding gown styles to suit all tastes and budgets. Use their experience and knowledge to find the perfect dress for your perfect day, whether you intend to save on the dress, spend, or splurge.
Suitable suits
Whether you are tall, slim, and long-legged, short and stocky, or an athletic build, a well-fitted suit will make you the apple of your bride’s eye.
To buy or hire?
BUYING
Pros:
• You’ll get plenty of future wear out of it.
• Custom-made will ensure it looks and feels perfect.
• It’s a stylish keepsake from your wedding day.
Cons:
• Buying a suit can be expensive.
• You may need to have several fittings.
HIRING
Pros:
• Can ensure you look great without blowing your budget.
• You may never have use for a tuxedo again.
Cons:
• Disappointment that you don’t get to keep it.
• Potentially paying extra for any damage to the suit.
A matter of trust
The person standing together with you in front of your guests is one of the most significant people at your wedding.
In a celebrant, you must find someone that suits your style, someone you connect with and trust to have the huge responsibility of narrating your special day.
Pick someone that is going to fit with your personalities. The ceremony can be one of the most emotional parts of your wedding so you need someone you feel comfortable to laugh and cry with.
They will get to know the intimate parts of your relationship story and sometimes the harder things you want to acknowledge in your ceremony. You should feel natural and comfortable to discuss things openly and honestly, and your relationship should not be awkward or forced.
A good celebrant will book out quickly - sometimes up to a year or more in advance. An option
is to be willing to be flexible on your time or date. The most popular wedding time is between 2-4pm on a Saturday. Morning or twilight weddings are a fabulous idea and will allow you to get the celebrant you want to work around other weddings. Friday or Sunday weddings are also a great option.
Once you find your celebrant, make sure that you have something in writing with them. This not only ensures you are getting what you are expecting, in relation to date, time, location and fees, but should also outline some terms and conditions for all involved.
You should sign a contract with them, that way everyone is clear about what is expected of each other. And a tip: ask them what they are going to wear!
Say it loud
Most people getting married stick with a fairly traditional combination of ‘‘love, honour, and obey’’ in their vows. But more and more couples are looking for something fresh and deeply personal to start their marriage, with vows that tell their love story, include a meaningful poem or quote, emphasise the marriage as an adventure, or celebrate the offbeat.
Speech, speech!
Although the prospect of speaking is enough to inspire terror, remember that a wedding reception audience is there out of love. The following tips will help you deliver a memorable, heartfelt dedication: Be prepared
Give yourself plenty of time to write and practice. Memorise the speech, use cue cards when necessary. Take it easy
Make sure everyone can hear you, while speaking clearly and slowly.
Read the room
To deliver a speech that is wedding appropriate, the humour and tone
need to appeal to everyone.
Then there was the time...
It is okay to lightly tease the person you are toasting, so remember funny stories to make the room smile.
Praise be People love to have their efforts recognised, so remember to mention the bride, bridesmaids, and families.
Two drink maximum A bit of liquid courage is tempting, but you will thank yourself later for not slurring.
Timing is everything
Five-to-10 minutes is perfect - ask someone to give you a cue to wrap things up.
Traditionally speaking
Father of the bride
• Thanks the guests for coming and sharing in the special day.
• Thanks everyone who contributed to the cost of the wedding.
• Compliments and praises the bride, and welcomes her new husband into the family.
• Toasts the bride and groom.
Groom
• Thanks the father of the bride for his toast.
• Thanks the guests for attending and for their gifts.
• Thanks both sets of parents.
• Compliments his bride.
• Thanks his best man.
• Thanks and toasts the bridesmaids.
Best man
• Thanks the groom for his toasts to the bridesmaids.
• Comments on the bridal couple, particularly the groom.
• Reads any messages from absent friends and relatives.
• Ends with a final toast to the bride and groom.
Dunedin,New Zealand
Chisholm Links ClubHouse is available for weddings, engagement parties& anniversaries. Full bar& catering service provided. Our inhouse caterer Scott McCreanor (Sweet asa Nut Catering) will providea menu to suit your requirements. Chisholm Links
Formoreinformation, pleasecontact the clubhouse manager: P: 027-209-7228 E: manager@chisholmlinks.co.nz w: www.chisholmparkgolfclub.co.nz 16 Tahuna Road, Tainui
The bling ring
The colour of the stones, cuts, metals, the price - there are many things to consider when choosing wedding and engagement rings.
Ultimately it comes down to personal taste. But even well after your big day is over, you’ll be wanting to take good care of this ultimate symbol of your union.
Ring care
Insure it against theft, loss or damage (you can lose a diamond down the sink, knock it out of its setting at the supermarket, children have been known to swallow them).
Remove your ring when using harsh chemicals, applying makeup or sunscreen playing sports, gardening, doing the dishes. OK you’re probably going to forget and if your mum’s anything to go by your wedding ring will soon become a part of you.
Keep it clean
Many jewellers will clean your ring free of charge. Ultrasonic and steam cleaners are the most popular choices. You can clean it at home with a solution of water and mild liquid detergent. Use a soft bristled brush, such as a baby toothbrush to loosen dirt, rinse under hot water and dry the ring with a soft, lint-free cloth. For extra shine, soak your diamond in a small bowl of ammonia diluted three times the amount of water then clean and dry as above. (Pictured are rings from Dunedin Goldsmiths)
Yes, mother
Mums are special, and never more so than on the day you get married.
She will be so proud of you, so why not pay tribute with some thoughtful ideas that show how important your mum(s) is/ are to you?
INCLUDE her in your planning, choosing a gown, bridesmaid pamper sessions, hens’ night festivities and the excitement on the day of getting ready together.
PHOTO CALL in the busy-ness of the day, organise some special time for a photograph with just the two of you; this is often overlooked with dismay.
SOMETHING old, something new, borrowed or blue will have special meaning if it’s come from your mum. Ask her for ideas and if nothing springs to mind, perhaps try to replicate her own bridal bouquet to represent an older era: new flowers, a borrowed design,
and a blue ribbon or blossom.
PUT IT IN WORDS by inviting your mum to do a reading at your wedding, thank her in your speech, and send her a note of thanks on the morning of the wedding with a bouquet.
ARM IN ARM with your mum and dad down the aisle is a current popular trend or you may ask her to be your matron of honour. There are no rules, only wishes. VIP or MVP - make her a special sign, decorate her chair or find a special place for her at the top table.
REMEMBER her. Even if you no longer have your mum with you, she can still be a part of your special day. Carry her photo, wear her gown or her jewellery, play her favourite music and toast her memory.
Whole wide world
From the bride tossing her bouquet to single female guests to wearing something old, new, borrowed, and blue, American wedding customs are still so popular today that even the most non-traditional brides happily take part.
But America doesn’t have a monopoly on such rituals - other countries have their own beloved wedding customs.
Some are sweet - female guests in Sweden kiss the groom when his new wife leaves the room. Some are perplexing - certain Indian brides must first marry a tree for her husband to chop down. And some are downright strange - engaged pairs in Mongolia must kill and butcher a chicken to find a healthy liver before being allowed to wed.
But what binds these seemingly disparate customs from near and far is one simple thing: love. If you find them charming, adopt it for your own ‘I dos’ even if it’s outside your heritage: because when it comes to love and weddings, there are no borders.
A South Korean groom has to tolerate having his feet whipped by family and friends.
In Wales, brides hand out myrtle to their bridesmaids who plant the cuttings. If it blooms, she’ll be next to marry.
In Ireland, brides and grooms must keep
both feet on the floor at all times when dancing or evil fairies will sweep her away.
Congolese brides and grooms must not smile for the entire wedding day, to show they’re taking the marriage seriously.
In China, the prospective husband shoots his brides with a bow and arrow (hopefully with the arrowheads removed) then breaks the arrows during the ceremony.
No crash dieting for brides on Mauritius: the chubbier the better for the husband, who is thought to be wealthy with such a well-fed wife.
Kenyan Masai brides’ dads spit on them so as to not tempt fate by being too supportive.
Every man who dances with a Cuban bride pins money to her dress to help the couple pay for their wedding and honeymoon.
Rain on your wedding day is good luck, according to Hindu tradition (but not Alanis Morrissette).
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Book an obligation free chat with Hannah to see if she’s the celebrant for you.
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Backwards Forwards
With the reissue of a beloved album and more coming,
By Gavin Bertram
THIRTY YEARS ago, David Kilgour was being courted by the pitiless monster that is the American music industry.
The Dunedin musician appeared on the cover of the Billboard industry magazine, and came very close to signing a major label record deal.
In retrospect, it proved a lucky escape. Instead of being swallowed by the machine, Kilgour returned home to a North East Valley villa and regrouped.
“We were always skeptical about the music industry,” Kilgour reflects. “I still am. As long as you just retain your independence amongst it, you’re fine really. Being owned by it’s a horrible thing.”
With the time and space that Dunedin has afforded, he’s followed his creative impulses over the decades since. While some of those around him fell victim to the trappings of the rock’n’roll dream, he’s remained quietly productive.
The recently reissued A Feather In the Engine album from 2002 was the first real product of Kilgour’s home-recording approach. A long time fan favourite, it’s part of a raft of reissues, including from The Clean.
That legendary band, also featuring his late brother Hamish and Robert Scott, initiated a Dunedin music phenomenon that still reverberates internationally.
THERE ARE plenty of ghosts haunting the route to Kilgour’s home.
To the left there’s the Cook, where The Clean and their contemporaries played many of their legendary shows in the early 1980s.
On the right there’s Blacks Road where Peter Gutteridge, a fellow founding member of that band, lived until his 2014 death.
And on the car stereo there’s the beguiling beauty of Gentle Hour by Snapper, Gutteridge’s band but featuring David Kilgour’s guitar. The track suits the sombre mood of a miserably cold Friday afternoon in the valley.
But in Kilgour’s front room the fire’s blazing and Appalachian bluegrass is playing quietly in the background.
It’s in the warmth of this house that he writes and records his melodic contemplative songs. Or on this occasion, reflects on reissues, his musical past, and loss.
A Feather In the Engine was originally released by the short-lived Dunedin label Arclife; the reissue is on US independent label Merge.
“Once it’s sent away, it’s like ‘just walk away from it,” he says of finishing a record. “But maybe years later you go and listen to something and you go, ‘maybe we could fix that up’.”
Having come from a do-it-yourself recording tradition with The Clean, Kilgour’s first three solo records were created in more formal studio environments.
Here Come the Cars (1992), Sugar Mouth (1994), and David Kilgour and the Heavy Eights (1997) landed well with listeners and critics. But when they didn’t make the impact that the songwriter had hoped for, he decided to take control of his own affairs.
That didn’t just entail having a recording setup at home; Kilgour also had to extract himself from some restrictive contracts.
He’d been associated with New Zealand independent label Flying Nun Records since The Clean’s first single, but informed them by fax of his desire to leave. A publishing contract proved harder to get out of, so Kilgour simply didn’t release any more music until it expired.
“All of that culminated around the same time as pulling this record out,” he recalls.
“But in waiting all those years, the stuff started to build up, which was good.”
KILGOUR HAS been recording with the Phoenix Foundation’s Sam Scott at Tom Bell’s studio in Port Chalmers recently.
It was on A Feather In the Engine that Kilgour and Bell first worked together, with the latter contributing some bass and helping to engineer. In the early part of the new millennium both of them were learning the audio engineering craft. The album was made on analogue tape
“Hamish and I, we knew we had something and it was special. But it didn’t always feel right to do it with each other. When you grow up with somebody, and then go out and make music for the rest of your life, that’s pretty intense. But we held it together for a long time.”
David Kilgour performing live in 1999. (Photo: Gerard O’Brien)
(Photo: Gerard O’Brien)
machines of various formats and vintages during a period when digital technology was taking over. Understanding more about the recording process opened up creative possibilities for Kilgour.
“I could just do more here at home and be more confident about that,” he says. “It’s a learning curve. But I’m obsessed with hi-fi and things sounding good, being a musician, so understanding what’s going on is pretty cool.”
Some tracks on A Feather In the Engine were completed in Auckland with engineer Nick Roughan, who helped pull the album together. Kilgour says it was Roughan’s contribution that elevated it to more than a “bedroom record”.
While Roughan mastered the original, Bell has been responsible for the remastering and some remixing of the album for this year’s reissue. It was a project that both he and Kilgour had wanted to revisit and see on vinyl for the first time.
The massive revival of the format has meant there’s now demand for albums that were never released on vinyl. But remastering for it is difficult, and the source material is of particular importance.
Original master recordings are preferred, but even if they still exist they can be difficult to track down. Kilgour has been working on that, and says “we’re just about there”.
On the advice of The Chills’ Martin Phillipps, at one stage he even purloined some of The Clean’s master tapes from Flying Nun’s Auckland storeroom.
“The next time I went to Flying Nun I went in there with my bag,” he relates. “Then I just walked out and came home. I’ve got them here.”
There have already been a number of Clean reissues on Merge, including Boodle Boodle Boodle, the Tally Ho single, the Anthology compilation, and various albums. But there’s more to come, with Great Sounds Great, Odditties, the 1994 Modern Rock album, and singles Getting Older and Late Last Night in the works. There’s the possibility of a box set of live Clean recordings too.
Clean Out of Our Minds, an album from the Kilgours’ mid-1980s band the Great Unwashed, is also being reissued by Exiled Records in the US.
CURSED WITH the ‘Dunedin Sound’ appellation, The Clean was at the vanguard of young Dunedin bands in the 1980s.
Inspired by local punk band The Enemy, they and the
likes of The Chills and The Verlaines ultimately saw their music acclaimed in the Northern Hemisphere. They found success at home too.
The Chills 1990 album Submarine Bells went to the top of the local charts; Straitjacket Fits and The Clean have been inducted into the NZ Music Hall of Fame; David Kilgour and The Verlaines’ Dr Graeme Downes have been honoured with the MNZM.
But the ranks of that generation have diminished in recent years.
Peter Gutteridge, a foundation member of both The Clean and The Chills, died in 2014. In late 2022, Kilgour’s brother Hamish passed away in Christchurch.
And over the last month, the loss of Martin Phillipps has been keenly felt in Dunedin and beyond. The Chills’ frontman had played the nagging organ riff on Tally Ho, The Clean’s first single in 1981.
“Grief, it’s hard work,” Kilgour says. “It takes a bit of time to get through it. All the deaths are different, and you respond differently to them. But I’m getting better at dealing with it; processing the grief as quickly as you can and letting it go.”
He’s philosophical about the fact that a number of his contemporaries fell prey to the trappings of the music industry. The avenue of rock’n’roll dreams is scattered with casualties, but he wonders whether some may have been victims of excess even if they weren’t involved in music.
While Kilgour considers himself “quite mad”, he does largely appear to have avoided those pitfalls.
The loss of Hamish has of course made the reissue of their Clean material more poignant. As Kilgour declares, “it’s all been wound up now, so it’s got to end some time”.
THE HEADLINE of Kilgour’s Billboard cover story in June 1994 was ‘Popping Up From Down Under.
The venerable music industry publication related the story of the Sugar Mouth album and Flying Nun’s efforts to break their artists internationally.
The prominence of the article led to interest from several major labels in the United States, including Electra Records, and Rick Rubin’s American Records imprint.
“I was literally a month away from signing, after a year of negotiations,” Kilgour says. “But the company went bankrupt and the contract was pulled out from under me. It was quite a shock at the time, but I later found out if I’d signed I would have been tied up in litigation for years. So it was actually a stroke of luck.”
Over the years since, he’s found a more nurturing home on renowned independent labels including Matator and Merge.
The latter, run by friends from North Carolina band Superchunk, is perfect for Kilgour’s self-sufficient approach. He records his music in Dunedin, and the label does their best to sell it.
In a local interview during 1994 Kilgour stated, “I’m reasonably ambitious, but without compromising myself too much. It’s a hard line to walk.”
But he’s managed to successfully negotiate that precarious path. The musician says he’s just lucky that the ongoing interest in The Clean’s music has essentially subsidised his career since.
Along with the many reissues, Kilgour’s working on another solo album due for release next year.
In July he was meant to travel to the United States to perform at the Merge 35th birthday festival. However he’s been suffering from ‘trigger finger’, a tendon related hand condition that will require an operation.
Once he’s recovered from that, Kilgour’s looking forward to being able to perform live for the first time since his last solo album, Bobbie’s a Girl, was released in 2019.
“It’s about time,” he says. “I’m dying to do some shows now. I don’t miss touring, but I do miss playing for other people and playing live.”
• David Kilgour’s A Feather in the Engine is available now through Merge Records.
Obscurity Blues
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There are many highlights across David Kilgour’s back catalogue. But there are also plenty of hidden gems that need to be heard - many of them collaborations with Dunedin friends.
The Clean - Point That Thing Somewhere Else (In-A-Live EP, 1989)
This incendiary live version redefines the signature track from 1981’s Boodle Boodle Boodle EP.
The Great Unwashed - Neck of the Woods (Singles 7”, 1984)
Excellent David Kilgour song from post-Clean trio with brother Hamish and Peter Gutteridge.
Stephen - Spins You ‘Round (Dumb EP, 1988)
Kilgour’s late 1980’s trio points the way towards his more contemplative solo work.
Snapper - Gentle Hour (Vader 7”, 1993)
A darkly beautiful Peter Gutteridge love song featuring Kilgour, later covered by The Clean.
Pop Art Toasters - Everyone’s Gonna Wonder (Pop Art Toasters EP, 1994)
Cover of NZ band The Avengers from a superb 1960’s psychedelic pop EP with Martin Phillipps.
Cloth - Waterloo (Abbasolutely, 1995)
With Clean compatriot Robert Scott for an Abba cover on Flying Nun’s tribute to the Swedes.
April Fools - Autobahn (Music of Dunedin compilation, 1998)
Another Kilgour/Phillipps project, brilliantly covering German machine men Kraftwerk.
The Chills - A Message to Pretty (Secret Box, 1999)
From a Love tribute album, included on the compilation of Chills rarities 1980-2000.
David Kilgour and Sam Hunt - Talking of the Weather (Falling Debris album, 2008)
One of the many gorgeous tracks on this collaboration with legendary NZ poet Sam Hunt.
Peter Gutteridge - Don’t Catch Fire (Stroke Songs for Chris Knox album, 2009)
An austere, introspective cover of local punk heroes The Enemy, featuring Kilgour’s guitar.
Kilgour and Dunedin music contemporaries in 1991: (L-R) Robert Scott, Peter Gutteridge, David Kilgour, Shayne Carter, Martin Phillipps. (Photo: supplied)
Theatres of war
Mark Derby’s new book Frontline Surgeon documents the battlefield innovations of largely overlooked Otago-born doctor Doug Jolly.
By Gavin Bertram
Doug Jolly’s ideas largely transformed frontline medicine after the Spanish Civil War, yet the New Zealander never got his dues.
But a new book by Wellington historian Mark Derby helps fill the gap, documenting the impact the doctor made after codifying the techniques he’d developed.
Frontline Surgeon covers Jolly’s journey from Central Otago, his education in Dunedin and subsequently Britain, and his exploits in saving lives on the Spanish frontlines. It also documents his troubled post-war years, until his death in 1983.
Derby first became aware of Jolly almost two decades ago, when he met postgrad student Michael O’Shaughnessy in Wellington.
The student’s thesis was on New Zealand involvement in the Spanish Civil War. He’d been researching the records of the International Brigade in Moscow, which had been inaccessible during the Cold War.
“Michael introduced me to the subject, and Doug Jolly’s papers,” Derby relates. “Of all the combatants and non-combatants from this country who were in Spain, he was the one who stood out to me as the guy
who’d made the most outstanding contribution.”
The fact that Jolly’s contribution had been largely overlooked seemed inexplicable, considering his ideas had been widely adopted in battlefield medicine.
Derby tracked down some of the surgeon’s relatives in Central Otago, and while they knew he’d gone overseas, even they weren’t aware of his work and influence.
“He was this guy who had a really significant international impact,” the author says. “There were senior military surgeons in the United States saying ‘this guy’s really transformed our whole notion of wartime medical services’.”
Official war histories in Britain and New Zealand had no mention of Doug Jolly’s name, while his contemporaries from Spain were highly celebrated.
An anti-fascist, Jolly had joined the Republican fight like thousands of others during the Spanish Civil War.
He had been working as a doctor in London, and was about to graduate as a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons. Purely out of necessity, he brought new ideas to treating the carnage of the battlefront.
“His innovations were of a different nature,” Derby observes. “They were more long-lasting. He developed an entire approach to treating battlefield injuries that overturned what had been developed during World War One.”
That revolved around treating patients in the shortest time possible, an approach that has informed trauma medicine since, both in combat zones and emergency departments.
The idea of a ‘golden hour’ for treating the injured could be traced back to Jolly’s work, Derby has been told. Where soldiers with abdominal injuries had often been left to die previously, the surgeon believed it was his job to save anyone who had a chance of survival.
“He came from a Christian socialist tradition where everyone is of intrinsic value,” Derby says. “He lived by that, even to the extent that if wounded enemy troops were brought in, he treated them too - strictly in order of urgency.”
Jolly also pioneered the idea of mobile operating theatres that could be as close as possible to where
Jolly taking a break at a Spanish field hospital in 1938. (Photo: Alec Wainman)
the fighting was most fierce, rather than being miles from the frontline. That approach was widely adopted across battlefields since, and was the inspiration for the Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals depicted in television series M*A*S*H.
After the Spanish Civil War, Jolly laid down his techniques in the book Field Surgery in Total War, published in the early years of World War Two. His systems were in use during that campaign, then through the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and beyond.
However, during his research for Frontline Surgeon, Derby discovered some of the reasons that may have led to Jolly being sidelined.
As well as possibly being the victim of British snobbery towards Antipodeans, he found that Jolly clearly had a mental health condition, possibly bipolar disorder.
“In wartime it perhaps worked in his favour,” Derby notes. “He was known for being able to perform complex,
demanding abdominal operations all day, all night, all the next day. He would just keep going - a normal person can’t do that.”
Jolly was also known for performing passionate hakas in his Spanish operating theatre - a practice perhaps not so acceptable in conservative Britain.
As a consequence, although he was an experienced and highly regarded surgeon, Jolly was no longer permitted to practice surgery during peacetime.
Instead, in the 1950s he took up a non-clinical post at Queen Mary’s Hospital near London, later becoming its chief medical officer.
“It was largely an administrative role, and he was quite non-innovative at it,” Derby says. “He kept the hospital going, and that was it basically. But I greatly admire him, because he was courageous in wartime, and in peacetime. He held it together against great odds.” 75 Fox Street Invercargill 03 218 9021 or 0800 033 925
Email: office@avenalpark.co.nz | Website: avenalpark.co.nz
Honouring
Frontline Surgeon: New Zealand Medical Pioneer Doug Jolly by Mark Derby is published by Massey University Press.
Frontline Surgeon author Mark Derby.
ONCE UPON A TIME…
Hooks In You: Guitarist Adrian Smith will be hoping to fish in the South Island again when Iron Maiden performs in Auckland this month. By Gavin Bertram
Teenage fandom runs deep, and inspires many emotions.
Envy is not normally one of them. But as an Iron Maiden fan in 1987, I was consumed by that emotion when someone from school met Adrian Smith while on holiday.
My favourite guitarist was supposedly taking some time out to fish the lakes and rivers of the South Island.
While the story sounded apocryphal, Smith corroborated the yarn when I spoke to him prior to Iron Maiden’s 2009 New Zealand tour.
“I was down in the South Island for about a
month, just bumming around fishing and having a good time,” he said.
He even wrote about the experience as one of the best trips of his life in the 2020 fishing memoir Monsters of River and Rock.
In 2009 Smith was hoping to fish in this country again when the band had some days off. When they visit Auckland on the Future Past Tour this month he’ll be looking for an opportunity to hit the rivers.
Next year the English heavy metal act will celebrate their 50th anniversary. Over that half century they’ve become one of rock’s most successful outfits, selling over 130 million records.
Smith joined Iron Maiden in late 1980, after the release of their successful self-titled debut album.
Over the next decade that success exploded, with huge selling albums including 1982’s The Number of the Beast, and Powerslave, which was released 40 years ago this week.
“It was a whirlwind,” Smith remembered. “We were in the studio, on the road, in the studio, on the road for quite a few years. It was fantastic, but it was pretty grueling. It took its toll on us after a while.”
Along with the workload came the excesses of life on the road. Consumption of alcohol and drugs was a guaranteed side effect of the touring lifestyle.
Adrian Smith (centre) performing with Iron Maiden on the World Slavery Tour 40 years ago. (Photo: Koh Hasebo/Shinko Music/Getty Images)
The 1984-85 World Slavery Tour took things to an extreme, with 189 shows over an 11 month period. It included performing behind the Iron Curtain, and to 350,000 people at the massive Rock in Rio festival.
After the odyssey of that tour, the members of Iron Maiden needed a break. It was during that period that Smith returned to fishing as a necessary circuit breaker from the chaos of life on the road.
“We were burnt out,” he told Kerrang! magazine. “I went up the mountains and fished for trout and it restored my energy again. It’s healthy, mentally, just to get away. You can sort your perspective on life out on the riverbank.”
Despite having that pressure valve to balance his rock ‘n’ roll career, Smith left Iron Maiden in 1990 due to musical differences.
He pursued some musical projects, including working with Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson on his solo albums. The duo eventually rejoined the heavy metal icons at the tailend of the 1990s, and have remained with the band since.
“I just got on with my life and did different things,” Smith reflected.
“But the time was right and we went back to the band, and it was nice to be able to bring different ideas back. And maybe not make the same mistakes you did the first time around.”
There have been six Iron Maiden albums since he rejoined, including 2010’s The Final Frontier, their only album to top the New Zealand charts.
Although there may be long gaps between albums now, that was a consequence of the band putting everything into each project, Smith related.
“We don’t rest on our laurels,” he said. “People think we can just churn it out in our sleep, but that’s not the case. You write the songs and live with it for months and months and then record it - then it’s almost like you let it go.”
In that respect it’s similar to Smith’s approach to fishing, which is mostly catch-and release. It was an English tradition that he first learnt while fishing with his father on the canals of East End London.
As well as his personal best catches ranking highly in the UK’s record books, Smith has appeared on the cover of Angler’s Mail magazine.
But when not enjoying his latest catch, the guitarist still gets a thrill from hitting the stage with Iron Maiden.
“You’re walking out in front of 10, 20, 30, 40 thousand people, and they’re waiting for you to perform,” he said. “We’re not complacent. It’s a privilege to walk out on stage and play to those people. That’s the best thing.”
Iron Maiden’s Adrian Smith is a keen angler. (Photo: John McMurtrie)
How ya going? Anna Wirz-Justice
Anna Wirz-Justice studied chemistry at Otago in the sixties, but got distracted by joining a scurrilous group to write and act in New Zealand’s first political cabaret. In Switzerland her research has revealed the importance of (day)light for human health and well-being.
So, how are you going?
So far so good!
Where are you and how’s the weather?
I am in Basel, Switzerland, at the antipodes of the antipodes. It’s high summer. Shutters closed. Pool instead of Pacific.
What’s been keeping you busy recently?
As a chronobiologist, I study daily and seasonal rhythms and the influence of light on mood and sleep. This biological aspect has fascinated certain artists. So last year I co-curated a ‘science-art’ exhibition in Lausanne (Lighten Up! at EPFL Pavilions (epfl-pavilions.ch) featuring installations that provided a novel way, through art, of perceiving and understanding the relevance of our daily rhythms and nocturnal sleep. The exhibition is moving to Winterthur near Zürich in November, which is another nice challenge.
When you have visitors, where do you take them?
It depends on the season. In January the Wild Man floats down the Rhine on a raft and dances through the streets with a Lion and a Griffon, to banish winter. The next month we join a 72-hour masked carnival beginning at 4am with about 18,000 active participants playing piccolos and drums in the old town. Come summer, we float down the Rhine. Or visit the international ART BASEL fair. Not to mention the extraordinary variety of splendid museums and the Gothic centre
built on Roman ruins. I like to make a tour of the surrounding vineyards – it’s 15 minutes bike ride to France to the west or Germany to the north. And I’m only talking of the region around Basel!
What do you miss about New Zealand?
It’s the obvious: my close friends from those student days (I no longer have family in New Zealand). The accent. When I return, my SwissGerman-tinted English slips back into the local dialect and I feel at home. I notice intensely the hundred different shades of green in our native plants. And, living in a northern land-locked island, I miss the wild seas.
I was there: Norman Kirk
It was 50 years ago today that beloved New Zealand Prime Minister Norman Kirk died in office. The state funeral for ‘Big Norm’ was on September 4, 1974, and he was buried in Waimate the following day. His private secretary Margaret Hayward documented those dark days in 1981’s Diary of the Kirk Years.
August 31
About 9pm the phone rang. It was Gray Nelson. He said, “Margaret, I have some sad news. The Prime Minister has just passed away.”
September 1
A statement announcing that the late Prime Minister will be buried at Waimate, alongside the graves of his parents, has been issued to the press.
Whenever he contemplated death, Mr K would tell me, “Whatever happens, don’t let them bury me at Karori cemetery… I hate that place.”
So the family has made the right decision.
September 3
When a great chief dies, Maoris believe the heavens open and the rain does not stop until the burial. All day thousands have been standing in the rain waiting to pay their last respects.
September 4
Then just before the very end something happened that would have meant everything to him. The Maori choir farewelled him with a magnificent anthem. It was beautiful. Unbearable.
September 5
It was an undignified, distressing race against time because by law no burials can take place after sundown. Darkness was closing in as they reached Waimate and a thick mist had clamped down over the cemetery.
Hugh Watt stood looking down for a moment, abruptly took a spring flower from his pocket, and dropped it into the waterlogged grave.
The cabaretists in 1963: (L-R) Alexander Guyan, Michael Noonan, John Harris, Graham Mitchell (sitting), Michael Neill (reclining), Anna Justice, (music: Bill Southgate; co-author: Jocelyn Harris; photo: Anthony Harding).
The grim scene at the burial of Prime Minister Norman Kirk in Waimate.
One thing about… Jamestown
Trip.com describes Jamestown as a “city in Southland… with many popular attractions”.
Clearly they’ve never braved the northern wilds of Fiordland. Attractions there may be, however the claim to cityhood can’t be stacked up.
But it could now have been a thriving metropolis if James Macandrew had had his way.
Despite a negative surveyor’s report,
the Superintendent of Otago Province had embraced the idea of a new settlement on the shores of Lake McKerrow.
And so in 1870 a site near the northwestern end of the lake was decided upon, just a few kilometres from Martins Bay.
Of course dreams of a road over the Greenstone Saddle to Lake Wakatipu were wildly ambitious, and life on the West Coast was
predictably punishing.
Food was limited to what the land provided and pricey supplies delivered every two months by sea.
Soon the “great starvation” and a lack of capital investment put paid to Macandrew’s vision.
By the end of the 1870s the remnants of Jamestown were already being claimed back by the surrounding bush, and now there is scant trace.
5 TRUTHS IN 5 WORDS
Everything in moderation, including moderation. (Oscar Wilde) Goals are dreams with deadlines. (Diana Schart Hunt) I don’t need your help. (Lindsay Weir, Freaks and Geeks) Nothing is ours except time. (Goethe) Scream for me Long Beach. (Bruce Dickinson)
QUIZ TIME
1. When was the Benmore Dam officially opened?
2. Who drew the cover for The Clean’s Boodle Boodle Boodle EP?
3. Which famed painter was Francis Hodgkins Fellow in 1969?
4. In 1965, Tim Wallis pioneered the use of what in hunting?
5. Irish town Cobh’s previous title was the namesake for which southern location?
6. Which one-time Dunedin writer was New Zealand’s ‘Queen of Romance’?
7. In 1881, which ship was wrecked in the Catlins with 131 deaths?
8. Which current MP is the great-niece of former Prime Minister Norman Kirk?
9. Fiordland was a location for which 2017 sci-fi movie?
10. Who designed Dunedin’s King Edward Technical College building?
Answers: 1. 1965; 2. Chris Knox; 3. Ralph Hotere; 4. Helicopters; 5. Queenstown; 6. Essie Summers; 7. SS Tararua; 8. Jo Luxton; 9. Alien: Covenant; 10. Harry Mandeno.
a fault’’ approach it was originally founded on in 1999. And at the Speight’s Ale House Dunedin, the beer is matched to a menu of equal quality.
Food has always been a major part of the offering, with a focus on Southern fare, hearty servings, and value for money.
The menu has something for every taste, with classics including seafood chowder, blue cod, lamb shanks, steak, venison, and vegetarian options.
And, of course, there’s a superb range of brews on offer, including the original Gold Medal Ale, the Triple Hop Pilsner, Distinction Ale, Old Dark, Empire IPA, and even a cider.
What more could you want from a Dunedin Bar & Restaurant!