NZ Herald Plus Feature - February 2018

A New Zealand Herald Commercial Publication

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

CRUISING

WITH MS NOORDAM

EMPTY NESTERS FLY BABY BOOMERS’ LEAVE HOME

TV

PAUL CASSERLY ON VERSACE

INSIDE: WIN A YATE’S GARDENING HAMPER

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nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Tuesday, February 20, 2018

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nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Tuesday, February 20, 2018

INSIDE +PLUS

Tourism is (baby) booming p4

Forgetting time on board the Noordam p6 Force of habitat p14

Inside the world of podcasting p9

The impact of retirement p10

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+Plus Cover story

nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Picture / Getty Images

Tourism is (baby) booming Forget millennials, it’s the cashed-up baby boomers who are destined to drive travel trends in 2018, says Dani Wright

T

ourism advertising campaigns seem to only focus on good-looking millennials. But it’s the baby boomers who are the ones with the money, time and willingness to travel, and their appetite for packing their bags and hitting the road looks to increase, with seniors estimated to account for 11 per cent of the world’s population by 2025.

The industry research, by hospitality technology provider Intelity, also finds baby boomers spend $157 billion on trips every year, fuelled by both the desire to ‘spend the kids inheritance’, but also travel out of necessity to visit children and grandchildren spread across the globe.

“From a New Zealand perspective, the cruise industry is growing exponentially, thanks to baby boomers,” says Leanne Erceg, who has worked as a travel broker for the past decade, as well as for TravCom, New Zealand’s Travel Communicator’s Society.

“Cruises now have so many more activities onboard that cater for different levels of mobility and interests.

There’s even miniature golf courses on board some liners.”

She says cruises are a good option for baby boomers, particularly if one partner is less mobile, or with health issues, as there’s medical care onboard and a chance for one to stay on board and the other to explore different regions.

“Cruises are a way for baby boomers to have an easier holiday, where everything’s taken care of, particularly for those who want to unpack just once and have familiarity and comfort between destinations,” says Erceg.

“There are also different types of cruises — from the big liners, to cruising the waterways of Europe, where you can park up in a downtown city, rather than mooring 40 minutes or so out of town. It’s the difference between travelling by car, or by bicycle, when you compare a large cruise liner to a more intimate river cruise.”

The youngest baby boomers possibly have another 20-something years to fill up with all the adventures they’ve put off while raising children and saving for retirement. “It’s a

booming industry, and baby boomers still feel at their peak, with a lot of energy and plenty of things they haven’t done that they want to,” says Ms Erceg.

“And it’s going to keep growing, because we’re living longer with less responsibilities and more disposable income.”

While it’s the millennials who are chasing the cheap deals, baby boomers are heading off on luxury escapes, rather than backpacking. As self-confessed ‘life-long learners’, this generation are also chasing experiences such as culinary travel experi-

Cruises now have so many more activities onboard that cater for different levels of mobility and interests.

There’s even miniature golf courses on board some liners.

Leanne Erceg

ences. Road Scholar Guided Tours include experiences for baby boomers in search of educational travel, such as visiting Shakespeare’s house with an Oxford University scholar or Egypt’s pyramids with an archaeologist.

Multi-generational travel is also popular, whether it’s heading off as the designated babysitter with children and grandchildren, or taking a grandchild to see the sights, it provides the opportunity for a bonding experience with loved ones.

Far from being technologically challenged when it comes to researching and booking travel online, baby boomers are doing their homework and are careful where their hard-earned retirement dollars will be spent.

As with most things they’ve done in life, the baby-boomer generation is paving the way and forcing younger people to offer more diverse retirement travel options, which everyone who comes after them can only benefit from.

Raewyn Court and husband Chris went on a two-month trip once their children left home.

Picture / Ted Baghurst

Travelling as empty nesters Raewyn Court

I

n the 1970’s when people still wrote letters by hand, it was cool for teenage girls to have a penpal. I started writing to an English girl, Jo, when we were 13 but I didn’t meet her in person for another seven years, when I landed at Heathrow. It was the beginning of my year-long OE. Jo quit her job so that we could both temp in London and go travelling any time we managed to save a bit of cash. We spent a month blasting around the UK in her Fiat 127 and our attitude to finding a bed for the night was cavalier — we’d stop each evening at a public phone box and book into the nearest youth hostel.

Jo visited New Zealand a couple of years later but after that, life and kids got in the way for about 30 years.

Then, last year, I went back.

Our youngest child had flown the nest. He’d got on a bus to join the army and I cried for a day, moped for a week, then threw back the duvet and realised that I had freedom! I was no longer a taxi service, caterer, and coaxer of teenagers through exams and heartaches.

While we’d had the trip pencilled in for a few years, it was daunting to actually make the bookings. I was accustomed to being home for the kids, and the thought of heading overseas for two months seemed decadent and even a bit selfish. I got over those wasted emotions though,

the moment I stepped on the plane.

This time, Jo and I were 33 years older and we had each brought along a husband. Besides those changes, the trip really highlighted the ways in which the world has moved on since 1985. Pre-internet, my parents wouldn’t hear from me for weeks, until a hand-written letter containing a stack of photos arrived in the post.

On this trip, my kids could message me daily but fortunately they didn’t often — they could see the fun I was having from my daily facebook posts.

Thirty years ago, Jo and I stayed in youth hostels and cheap hotels.

This time, the four of us stayed in youth hostels, cheap hotels and a few stylish airbnb’s. A converted stable block on a Somerset farm had enchanting attic bedrooms and a country kitchen stocked with farm produce. It even had a party room … but after a full day of adventuring, we knocked back a couple of whiskies and went to bed. I didn’t quite get around to getting fit for this trip and in hindsight, it would have been beneficial. Being constantly on the move for two months needed stamina as well as the legwork required to climb 528 steps to the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral and hundreds of stone steps to the sprawling ruins of Tintagel Castle on the Cornish cliffs. Most challenging of all was Clovelly, a north Devon fishing village. It’s a must-see, with cute-asa-button cottages cascading down

the cliff to the sea wall below, but it’s too steep for cars and after a leisurely amble down the cobbled street to the sea, it’s a lung-busting climb back up. Fortunately, there’s a tea shop halfway up selling legendary Devonshire teas — fresh warm scones, strawberry jam and perfectly clotted cream. Refuelled, I managed to make it to the top without suffering a cardiac arrest, but it took some soothing purchasing of souvenirs in the gift shop before I was fully recovered.

Travelling as a foursome was great as it meant we always had dinner partners. Jo and I once cooked for ourselves in youth hostels but now, with the benefit of credit cards, the four of us could eat in beautiful, historic old pubs for most meals. Having been on brewery and whisky-tasting tours early in the trip, we knew what to order and sometimes it felt like ‘the beer and whisky tour of the UK’. The husbands did try an alcohol break once and ordered “two Diet Cokes”, but it was misheard by the waitress as “two Tetley’s ales”. They didn’t send them back! The day came when it was all over and we touched down in Auckland with suitcases full of mugs and t-shirts. It was a relief to be home — we were exhausted.

But we’d done it, and in the process we’d discovered that empty nesters who travel can have as much fun as 20-somethings — it just takes longer to recover.

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nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Tuesday, February 20, 2018

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+Plus Travel

nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Forgetting time on the Noordam B

etween the staples of cruise life — breakfast, lunch, dinner — the desultory trip to the gym and exploring ashore on port days, one exists in a well-oiled, minutely managed comfort cocoon.

Welcome to the cruising life where, for a few days or weeks, if you’re lucky, you get to do very little at all; the sights, cities and entertainment are served up in easily consumable portions, the food too, though those portions are — on the Noordam as with most cruise ships — Americansized.

And thankfully some of Holland America’s celebrated dishes — a moreish bread-and-butter pudding and the excellent burgers (best this side of LA’s In-and-Out) and french fries at the pool-side Dive In Bar — remain. But just as compelling were the sights and destinations in between meal times.

Early one morning, as breakfast service was in full swing on the ninth deck, an Orca whale appeared off to the port side, prompting hundreds of bleary-eyed cruisers to abandon their coffee and fish out their phones as it frolicked.

A day after I boarded in Dunedin we sailed through Fiordland’s Dusky, Doubtful and Milford Sound — a part of New Zealand I’d never seen. That had been my loss as the Sounds are truly stunning. All was breathlessly narrated through the ship’s PA by an onboard guide who reckoned this the best weather she’d encountered in the area in four years. But the majestic beauty of the glacial fiords spoke volumes, and the day spent slowly navigating through the Sounds even impressed a brash sightseer from Kansas who had doubted the fiords could compete with the wonders glimpsed from a recent Alaskan cruise on another Holland America ship. Turns out they did.

This slow, whisper-quiet sail through Fiordland was a highlight of a trip, which also got its 2000 passengers to Hobart, Melbourne and Eden (a small harbour town in New South Wales).

Days at Sea The weather on this trans-Tasman crossing was unpredictable, so much time was spent in the Noordam’s excellent library/cafe (usually an afterthought on cruise ships.

The food

It’s lucky that, on the floor of all the elevators on the Noordam there are mats to remind you what day it is — because onboard one’s sense of time starts to slip. By +Plus editor Greg Fleming.

The MS Noordam (top); cruising through Milford Sound; crepe Pictures / Supplied; Greg Fleming maker Jermaine (left).

Noordam’s makes a nice exception, it even had a book I’d had on my toread list for months, The Dry, from award-winning Melbournite Jane Harper).

A few passengers — many of whom seemed to be retired Canadian school-teachers — spoke of the lack of things to do on board, but I wondered if they’d checked out the daily schedule, which is delivered each morning. This listed cooking classes, table tennis, acupuncture and computer seminars, movies, spa treatments, shopping, workout classes, the nightly entertainment (an Aussie comedian, a jazz show, a song and dance night, a pretty good soul and blues band in the B.B King Lounge), and a seemingly infinite

number of bars.

There’s also a daily Mass, Shabbat on Fridays, an AA meeting and a poker competition!

Or you could do, as many did, very little at all.

What between deck-chair lounging, swimming, food, ESPN and people watching, hours can fly by.

And that’s when I started to look down at the elevator floor to check what day it was.

Sure, there are bigger, flashier ships than the Noordam, and if you want ice skating, rock climbing, wave surfing or robots serving you cocktails, look elsewhere, but I liked the laid back, low-key vibe here.

Hobart to Sydney Each morning I had crepes made by Jermaine in the Lido (the main casual, buffet-style dining area).

He told me he reckoned it took him at least 1000 crepes before he perfected the art — and perfect it he did. He was halfway through his 10-month stint, all in daily split shifts: morning, night. It was fascinating to watch him pour the crepe mixture on the element, turn it deftly and then fold in the berry filling.

I told him on the last morning that I’d be back next year just for his crepes — and I was only half joking.

The first Aussie port of call was Tasmania’s Hobart.

Famous for its cold-climate wines and natural beauty, Hobart’s a growing tourist destination. Best of all it’s a city that’s easy to explore on foot.

Salamanca square offers lots of restaurants and arty boutiques, and a few minutes up the hill is the picturesque Battery Point with worldclass bakery Jackman and McRoss.

The Melbourne stop was a great excuse to grab some proper coffee — cruise ship filter coffee just isn’t the same — and return to an old fave, the

Why do people always have an opinion on the food on cruise ships? Because bad food can ruin a cruise experience. And, let’s face it, cruisers are a captive audience. No fear of that on the Noordam. There are four restaurants on board — the Italian themed Canaletto ($15 surcharge), the complimentary main dining room and Lido Market, and The Pinnacle Grill (a US $35 dollar per person surcharge — and worth it — the 20-oz prime rib-eye steak is the best argument for US beef I’ve tasted).

But good food could pop up anywhere — one of the best meals was a simple veal ragout parpadelle in the main dining room. And the more relaxed buffet at the Lido Market had something for everyone, a great salad bar, and plenty of Asian options. On cruises I’ve found the trick is to find the good stuff quickly and keep going back. And the service on the ship is excellent; engaging and genuine.

Note: room service is also available for all restaurants and, unlike some lines, there’s no service charge for this.

And nothing beats dining on your private balcony as the sun sets.

Din Tai Fung dumpling house in the busy Emporium shopping centre; while the stop at New South Wales’ Eden — famous for its whale museum and whale-watching opportunities — gave us a glimpse of small-town Australia, but alas no whales.

Sailing into Sydney at dawn never gets old — and most of the ship were up early for it. The Noordam docks at White Bay, not the CBD cruise terminal, so passes under the Sydney Harbour Bridge — and we were up on the top deck to witness it — with just metres to spare.

Later that morning when I got into the elevator with my suitcases, destined for the airport, I discovered it was Tuesday — nine unforgettable days since I boarded.

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nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Tuesday, February 20, 2018

SPONSORED BY NZ EGGS

Eggs for the ages

I

t might only be a humble egg but for older Kiwis especially it is a nutritional powerhouse.

If you’ve been limiting your egg intake because of fears it will raise your cholesterol levels – think again.

Far from being bad for you, eating eggs as part of a balanced, healthy diet is considered one of the best things older Kiwis can do, and according to New Zealand Nutrition Foundation dietitian, Sarah Hanrahan, they are “a really good everyday food.”

She says a lot of study has gone into eggs since the 1970s: “The weight of opinion now is there is absolutely no harm in an egg a day for most people and as we age we should all really make sure we are including and enjoying eggs as part of our normal daily diet.”

A 2014 foundation study, The Role of Eggs in the Diet of New Zealanders, reviewed scientific and medical research across the world and found little evidence to suggest eggs, a food rich in dietary cholesterol, but low in saturated fat, lead to increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Eggs bad reputation can be traced back to a Framington Heart Study in Massachusetts in the 1940s which zeroed in on the link between cholesterol and heart health.

“In the 1970s the advice was to limit eggs in your diet if you had raised blood cholesterol levels as egg yolks contain cholesterol,” says Hanrahan.

“So it wasn’t such a leap to assume dietary cholesterol raised blood cholesterol.”

Researchers at that time didn’t

understand consuming cholesterol in food is not the cause of high blood cholesterol - and today attention has shifted to the influence of saturated and trans fats on heart health.

The New Zealand Heart Foundation states that for people with an increased risk of heart disease it’s prudent to limit the number of eggs to six or seven per week.

“Our protein requirements increase with age – and eating eggs is a very easy and simple way to get what we need daily without too much fuss,” says Hanrahan.

The foundation says if people do have high cholesterol (which may lead to a build-up of plaque in the blood vessels and increase the chances of having a heart attack or stroke), it isn’t from eating too many eggs; genetics, weight, fitness and a poor diet are probably other key factors.

There are many compelling reasons why a healthy senior should pack a carton of eggs into their weekly supermarket trolley.

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Safe, secure and low maintenance, ideal for those who wish to live in a friendly and vibrant community. With a massive choice of outdoor activities on your doorstep, whether it be bush walking, cycling, swimming, fishing or gardening.

“Our protein requirements increase with age – and eating eggs is a very easy and simple way to get what we need daily without too much fuss,” says Hanrahan.

Eggs also contain choline, a macronutrient that’s important for liver function, normal brain development, nerve function, muscle movement, maintaining a healthy metabolism - and play an important part in maintaining muscle-mass as people age.

While muscle loss, or sarcopenia, is a natural part of growing older, it accelerates after 30 – when people begin to lose as much as 3 to 5 per cent each decade; muscle strength

also declines by 12 to 15 per cent per decade.

“We know older people have their best chance of maintaining muscle mass if they consume protein distributed throughout the day rather than just at their main meal,” says Hanrahan. “This also helps maintain energy levels too.”

“Eggs are a good way to include protein in lighter meals like breakfast and lunch, and may also be doing some good for your eyes as they contain nutrients like lutein and zeaxanthin which appear to help reduce the risk of cataracts and agerelated macular degeneration.

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in a smudge of oil, added to pasta, or in a basic frittata using leftovers they add an easy and nutritious hit. They are an affordable and highly nutritious food – there’s no excuse not to eat well if you have eggs in your pantry or fridge.”

What is her favourite egg dish?

“While I really like poached egg and baked beans on toast, one of my absolute favourites is boiled eggs in the middle of meatloaf,” she says. “It looks stunning, tastes fabulous and everyone eats it, so there is no waste.”

To read more and for nutritional information, recipes and tips: www.eggseveryday.org.nz

LIVE THE LIFE

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nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Tuesday, February 20, 2018

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+Plus Podcasting

nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Tuesday, February 20, 2018

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The growing world of podcasting

T

Steve Hart

here’s a whole world of entertainment and information available among thousands of podcasts that are released every week.

Subjects cover anything you can think of; from news to discussions about the latest movies, music, TV shows and everything in-between.

A quick trawl through iHeartRadio.com throws up podcasts about crime, food, entertainment, hobbies, health, the paranormal, sport and news.

The great thing about podcasts is that because they are downloadable (like music) to your favourite player, you can Play them On Demand.

Episodes are free and ideal for breaking the boredom while at the gym, on the bus, jogging around the block or sitting in one of Auckland’s long car parks. Learn a new language, keep up to date with new technology, fashion, books, music, listen to interviews . . . you name it.

There aren’t too many studies available on the popularity of podcasts — it’s early days for the medium really — but Edison Research out of the United States has been tracking the trend since 2006, and this year it turned its attention to Australia.

In the first quarter of 2017, the firm conducted a telephone survey of 1007 people aged 12 and older to gauge their podcast listening habits.

According to Edison, of all podcast listeners in Australia, 31 per cent are aged 55 and over, and it’s likely no different in New Zealand.

The survey found that 72 per cent of people are aware of the term podcasting and of those, 29 per cent listen to them, with two thirds listening to one every month. Of all those 56 per cent are men.

Most podcasters are free to say what they like (few have advertisers to worry about), which might explain why Edison’s listenership figures show the popularity of podcasts among baby boomers.

There is also a bundle of podcasts specifically aimed at boomers.

Among them is BoomerVille by Jim Enright (planetboomerville.com), which covers subjects such as health, relationships, romance, grey divorce, retirement, finances, and business ventures.

And a just-launched podcast from BoomsDayPrepping.com out of Australia is also hoping to tap into some of the world’s 900 million baby boomers it says are facing a life change.

Founders of the podcast are Wayne Bucklar, who describes himself as a technologist and media person, and Dr Drew Dwyer. Their latest episode deals with empty nesting and finding space for yourself. They describe their show as independent, savvy, and focused on health, wellness, and longevity.

Picture / Getty Images

+Plus’ favourites Happier in Hollywood Two LA screenwriters — Liz Craft and Sarah Fain — host this engaging weekly podcast about how to be happier, healthier, more creative and productive in a fundamentally insane world.

On iHeart Radio Chasing Ghosts True-life crime podcasts are popping up everywhere and this is one of the best locally, delving into the disappearance of Bucklar says he started the podcast because he had turned 60 and started receiving market material about grey power, cruises and retirement villages — nothing he was even the slightest bit interested in.

“I don’t feel old or retired and the things that interest me as a 60-yearold are not the things that are generally in the genteel retirement media,” he says.

“I wanted a media service [podcast] that dealt with the gritty topics, not the topics my mother would want [she is now 89] and like a lot of boomers, I am dealing with her late-stage life and care at the same time as I am becoming third age.”

Amber-Lee Cruickshank.

On iHeart Radio Rolling Stone Music Now Hosted by Rolling Stone writer Brian Hiatt, this is a great weekly podcast for rock and pop lovers — covering everyone from Miley Cyrus to Bob Seger.

On Spotify The Moment by Brian Koppelman Koppelman’s (right) the coBucklar and Dwyer hope their podcast will create a discussion between them and their audience.

Bucklar says they are fearless in talking about the issues that are important to boomers. And Dwyer is particularly passionate about being prepared for ageing because of his work as a gerontologist and the ageing people he cares for who regret not being prepared.

“We want to motivate and help boomers to be well prepared for the next stage of their lives,” says Bucklar.

“Becoming disconnected from your community is a definite trigger for poor health, both mental and physical. Social media is an easy and low-

creator and show runner of the excellent Billions the third season of which launches next month.

Koppelman interviews musicians, chefs, actors, writers, fellow creatives and songwriters about their artistic process and journey — songwriter Craig Finn was a recent guest.

On Spotify — Greg Fleming cost way to maintain connection.”

It is early days for podcasting; after all, the term wasn’t coined until 2004 when journalist Ben Hammersley of The Guardian first used the phrase.

Before then, these recordings were called audioblogs.

But no matter what you call them, there’s an audience for every podcast, podcasters get to build relationships with their listeners and when it comes to the ‘share of ear’ — the amount of time people spend listening to audio — the growing army of podcasters are inadvertently giving traditional broadcast radio a run for its money.

Time now for you to start searching the podcast library of your choice.

How to make a podcast Making and sharing podcasts about your hobby and passions can be great fun, as you get to share your thoughts with listeners around the world.

The process of creating a podcast is much like writing and publishing an essay — it can be as simple or as involved as you want it to be. The trick is to keep it simple and let the podcast grow organically.

To make a podcast you need a computer, microphone and basic audio-editing software.

Most PCs come with free software but if you need an app for that go to audacityteam.org You need to decide what you want to podcast about, prepare your notes of key points (not a script), and start recording. Use whatever gear you have to get started.

Having made your recording (try to make it chatty while keeping focused) and edited it to perfection, you can export it as an MP3, ideally with the specification of 96Khz mono (ideal for speech based podcasts).

With your recording finished, you need to host or store it somewhere so it can be shared with the world via podcast libraries such as iHeartRadio, iTunes, TuneIn and Spreaker.

Firms offering this service include Podbean, Blubrry, and Libsyn.

With your podcast hosted you will get what’s called an RSS feed which you submit to the podcast libraries of your choice.

If you aren’t bothered about being on the big libraries you can simply upload your shows to SoundCloud for free.

If you are serious, you might want to create a show logo for branding purposes, and give your podcast a dedicated website, there are plenty of free options around — just Google ‘free website’.

The key to a successful podcast include setting a routine, such as releasing a new podcast at the same time every week.

Once you start making podcasts you’ll find your own rhythm and hopefully you’ll break through the pain barrier; most podcasts don’t survive seven weeks before the podcaster pulls the plug. ● Steve Hart is the author of Podcasting Made Easy, a guide to making podcasts, available on Amazon; http:/ /a.co/2ajMshm

D10

+Plus Retirement

nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Tuesday, February 20, 2018

The emotional impact of retirement You’ve got your finances in order, but there’s more to retirement than just making sure the bank balance will go the distance, writes Dani Wright

A

ccording to Barry LaValley, the author of the book So, You Think You’re Ready to Retire, there are three stages of retirement and you should be thinking about them as early as possible.

“The book’s meant as a guide that someone at 20 or 30 can use to plan their life, as well as for those in their50s and 60s looking at what the next stage of life will bring,” says Mr LaValley.

A retirement expert and trained psychologist, he’s also the president of the Retirement Lifestyle Centre and has studied retirement transition in North America, Australia and the UK for the past 20 years. He was in New Zealand recently on a book tour from his hometown in Nanaimo, British Colombia.

At 64, he views retirement as “doing what you want, when you want”, which means he wants to keep advising on retirement issues for as long as he can.

“Retirement is an emotional issue and hits people in different ways, it’s a transition and people are surprised that it’s not a destination, but a continuing journey on your life,” says LaValley.

Retirement can be a case of ‘be careful what you wish for’, as once you get the life you’ve dreamed of all those years, it still needs structure.

LaValley warns that once the routine of work is gone, retirement can feel like a death to some people who need to re-learn what it is to live life well.

“My advice is to change your view of retirement and think of it as a transition into the kind of life you want,” says LaValley.

“Look at areas of life that will be impacted by this next phase — areas like health, work, leisure, home, your financial comfort and vision and values.”

Putting these areas under the microscope means you can plan what kind of structure you’d like to create in your life that’s less about money and financial planning and more about the social networks and hobbies you’ll need, as well as making sure you have things in place for health issues.

Stages He says there are basically three stages of retirement — the honeymoon stage, when you are excited about the future and spend “like a drunken sailor”, followed by a time when the fun ends and you settle into a more regular pattern, then a late stage of retirement when health issues may come along.

“Early, middle and late stages of retirement all bring different challenges — early: doing all the spending on bucket lists; middle: finding contentment; and late: consumed by potentially unexpected health issues and costs,” says LaValley.

“Remember, too, that retirement can last a very long time — it’s multiphased.”

Sometimes, retired people experience a “What Now?” feeling after the company (and annoyances) of workmates are no longer relevant and structures are replaced by choices of what to do with their time.

“Structure has to be created internally once retired and you still need to set short and longer-term plans around what you want out of each area of your life,” says LaValley.

It’s worth checking in with your children, too, about how your new life will work in with theirs.

“You need to have conversations with your family and talk about childcare requirements; don’t make assumptions about what your children want and don’t want from you,” says LaValley.

Pictures / Getty Images; Supplied

Structure has to be created internally once retired and you still need to set short and longer-term plans around what you want out of each area of your life.

and the usual daily grind of keeping your life on track, as well as an increased focus on health issues from yourself or within your networks.”

Barry LaValley

Tips for a happy retirement ● A positive attitude, because: “you really have to roll with the punches in this stage of life”. ● Being engaged in life and feeling you have value to add. ● Meaningful relationships. ● Engaging activities to do, which keep you involved in life and speak to the values you have. ● Achievement — because, “we all need to feel like we’re doing something, whether it’s big or small, there’s a need for ego-satisfaction”.

“You don’t want to be living on top of each other, but as we get older, it’s more important for close proximity to family.”

At the end of the day, once finances are in order, he says it’s about understanding life issues in the three stages of retirement and the

effect longevity can have on your plans.

“It’s about preparing your mind for retirement, too,” says LaValley.

“The most surprising thing for retirees is that it’s just life, not a holiday or a 30-year long weekend.

You still have doctor’s appointments

Are you ready?

“You’d have a hard time retiring if you feel there’s unfinished business in the workplace or if you define yourself by your job,” says LaValley.

“It’s much easier to retire if you have health issues that’s robbing you of enjoyment in your job or you have something to go to, some plan for the next phase.”

Luckily, New Zealand retirees have a lot to be thankful for, says LaValley, including large basic pensions and a good health system.

But, retirement doesn’t have to mean giving up on meaningful work.

“I’m trying to get more balance in my life, but the only way you know if you have balance is to know what values you have,” says LaValley.

“It’s about doing more of the things that make you feel good or at peace with the world — and retirement allows you time to do that.”

So, when you hang up your boots at the end of your working life, remember it’s not the end, but the beginning. ● So You Think You Are Ready to Retire by Barry Lavalley, $39.99, is available from grownups.co.nz

+Plus Gardening

nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Tuesday, February 20, 2018

D11

New beginnings in the garden A

Sarah O’Neil

fter months of fabulous summer sunshine, things are cooling down; the intense heat is softening, and the mornings are fresher. It is a pleasant change as in the height of summer things can be a little too hot, not just for us but for the plants in the garden, gasping for moisture and unable to seek shade from the searing heat.

The water shortages, burning heat and the wild storms will have left the plants in an exhausted state as they limp towards the end of the season.

In good times, the switch between summer and autumn is barely noticeable, except for the change of date on a calendar.

The plants don’t recognise this moment and continue obliviously until the first frost comes along and puts a sudden halt to its productivity.

In more challenging seasons, the plants seem to notice and are glad of the change.

Some have a second wind in the more favourable conditions and produce a final crop that encapsulate the final essence of summer in its fruit.

Others seem to go ‘thank goodness that is all over, I’m done’ and expire in a brown crispy heap.

Across the garden, change can be seen, the dead, the dying, plants pushing on regardless of the conditions waving their tatty weather-beaten leaves proudly in the warm autumnal breeze. Others are noticeable by their absence.

Bare earth emerges across the garden as crops are removed and enjoyed. Salads are reaped daily over the summer months until the plant gives up. Sweet, crunchy carrots enjoyed after months of growing; beetroot that has been pickled and is now making that burger extra special.

keep things interesting.

All of the brassicas — cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli, kale and many more — do well over the winter months.

Carrots, spring onions and beetroot can all be sown year round, if you have the right ones, just check on the back of the seed packet.

Peas, spinach, coriander and salad crops enjoy the cooling autumn

Now is the perfect time to kickstart the old and tired garden back into life.

Picture / Getty Images

Sweetcorn, which for most of the season has been a towering feature in the garden has been stripped of its ears, and having nothing more to offer has been removed. The garden has been productive and it has the appearance of coming to an end.

However, the garden can go on through the cooler months and now is the perfect time to kickstart the old and tired garden back into life and provide a fresh crunch to grace a

winter table in months to come.

The first thing to consider is, the soil will be tired and possibly sunbaked and hard. As plants come to an end, remove them and put them into the compost — provided they are pest and disease free.

Add compost and a pick-me-up fertiliser such as blood and bone or well-rotted manure, and work it into the soil to restore what has been taken by the hungry summer plants.

If space is limited, you could consider under planting beside plants that will soon be gone.

They will appreciate the extra nutrients while they are still there and once they are gone; new seedlings will be able to flourish in the space left behind.

The vegetables grown for winter consumption aren’t as numerous or exciting as the summer ones, but there are enough to chose from to

weather, until the frost comes.

Winter weather can be harsh to bare earth and compact it, making it a chore to make it a welcoming place for tender young seedlings.

A good layer of well-rotted manure, compost or even plain cardboard weighted down can protect the soil and will be drawn down deep into the soil by the worms.

It has the added benefit of keeping the weeds at bay and the result is a light and airy soil that is easy to prepare for the new season.

Summer may be coming to an end, but the productive vegetable garden doesn’t have to. ● Sarah O'Neil is an author, blogger and passionate gardener writing about the trials and tribulations of growing food for her family. Her books The Good Life and Play in the Garden and the recently released Growing Vegetables are available at all good bookstores. sarahthegardener.co.nz

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nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Tuesday, February 20, 2018

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+Plus TV

nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Tuesday, February 20, 2018

D13

Assassination fascination Paul Casserly

I

love a good assassination. As a teen I came into possession of a coffee-table book that wallowed in the glory of this particular form of butchery. Abe Lincoln, Franz Ferdinand, J.F.K, and Martin Luther King — these greats were all dispatched with well-aimed shots that have rippled through our historical timeline.

It’s impossible, yet kind of fun, to imagine how things would have unfolded if these hits hadn’t been so successful.

No WWI if Franz lived perhaps?

Nukes dropped on Vietnam if John F. Kennedy had bent down to tie his shoelace? The end of all life as we know it, or some much better turn of events?

Perhaps we’d now have billions upon billions of superannuation dosh if Muldoon had been liquidated by an assassin?

Of course, the killers are even more fascinating than the killed, perhaps because that was something I could actually aspire to, as being a respected world leader looks like too much hard work.

But I can imagine being an unhinged fame-seeking killer; that’s well within my grasp. If all humanity exists on such a spectrum, how many of us really think we are closer to Gandhi than Lee Harvey Oswald?

That notion is milked with great alacrity in The Assassination of Gianni Versace, the follow up to the tremendously executed The People Vs O.J Simpson.

Both shows appear under the banner of American Crime Story, and are the work of Ryan Murphy, a master craftsman of television who also gave us Nip/Tuck, Glee, American Horror Story and the ace 2017 biosoap Feud: Bette and Joan, which dramatised the fractious relationship between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford.

It’s one of last years best shows.

His latest lavish production begins with the shooting of the famous fashion designer Gianni Versace by a troubled young man; an appalling narcissist with just enough humanity to elicit the baseline of pity that a viewer can fashion into something approaching empathy.

Evil monsters exist in lame procedurals but in real life and better shows, we get glimpses of mental illness, shocking histories and all the stuff that adds up to the notion that no one truly chooses to be awful, let alone evil.

Edgar Ramirez as Gianni Versace (left); Darren Criss and NicoEvers-Swindell (below) in The Assassination of Gianni Versace

Ramirez, who plays Gianni, possesses a remarkable likeness to the dead fashion legend, while former Glee star Darren Criss seems like he was born to play the killer, Andrew Cunanan.

Also impressive are pop star Ricky Martin as Gianni’s partner and Penelope Cruz as Donatella Versace.

The latter is a real-life mate of Donatella and only took the part after she got the thumbs up from the living Versace. Other family members and Gianni’s ex were less impressed with the outcome.

It’s a terrific opening episode, and the only one directed by Murphy himself.

It starts with the execution.

Something chills as we flee with the killer, we want him to be caught, even as we want him to get away. Edgar

I, Claudius Around the same time I was fixated by assassins, I was often sneaking into the lounge to watch I, Claudius, or at least until I was sent to bed. Part of the attraction was that it was one of the few places where naked female

breasts were (fleetingly) shown on TV in the late ’70s.

I didn’t really understand it yet it begged for attention, even when the actors were fully clothed, which sadly was most of the time. Just this week, I started rewatching again thanks to YouTube, which handily has all the episodes of this landmark 1976 BBC production.

The star is Roman Emperor Claudius, played by Derek Jacobi in a career-defining role. We’re talking ancient Rome starting in 24BC. The late John Hurt is terrific as the awful Caligula, Sian Phillips owns the deliciously evil Livia and the booming Brian Blessed, pre-beard, is a brilliant Augustus.

Yes, it looks a bit dated, the wigs, togas and makeup lack the subtlety of a Ryan Murphy production, but there’s a reason the show remains on all manner of all-time best lists (it’s number 12 on the BFI’s best UK TV shows of all time).

For a start, the Roman empire is

a hell of a setting, replete with incest, cannibalism, murder and limitless political shenanigans. It’s not a long bow to compare it to The Sopranos and crazy not to mention Game of Thrones, which is no doubt why HBO bought the rights to remake the series a few years back, despite having mixed success with their mid 2000’s series Rome, which though good, didn’t make them quite enough cash.

Back to Claudius. You may be shocked by the leaden pace of a studio-based drama from Britain in the ’70s, I know I was, but I soon found myself binging with ease; the script bubbles, the acting fizzes. I even found myself watching a documentary about its making, also on YouTube, called, fittingly, I, Claudius, A Television Epic.

Spoiler alert, it begins and ends with an assassination. ● The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, Soho; I, Claudius, YouTube

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D14

+Plus Arts

nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Euan Macleod talks to Adam Gifford ahead of the Auckland Arts Festival

E

uan Macleod is walking along the bed of the Tasman Sea, halfway between the land of his birth and the country where he has carved out a life for the past 37 years.

That’s how writer and curator Greg O’Brien, author of the 2010 book Euan Macleod: The Painter in the Painting, sees the Lyttelton-born, Sydneybased painter.

Although Macleod’s work may be known to gallery-goers in Wellington and Christchurch, where he has representation, the rest of New Zealand has been catching up through the show Euan Macleod: Painter curated by O’Brien.

It has been touring provincial centres and goes on show at the Wallace Art Centre in Auckland’s Pah Homestead next month, as part of the Auckland Arts Festival.

O’Brien says the book and show were an attempt to reconcile Macleod to both sides of the Tasman.

“My thesis is his most natural habitat seems to be on the ocean bed half way between the two, hence the number of nautical subjects, including people striding along the bed of the ocean in the fashion of Ulysses,” O’Brien says.

Not that Macleod has ever been about fashion. He paints in a sort of loose, painterly expressionist style that ignores fashion.

“You find your own language that suits you, and often it isn’t in fashion.

I think in New Zealand there is more of a pressure to be in fashion. Australia is just that little bit bigger where you don’t have to be so much,” he says by phone from his home in Sydney.

“In fact a lot of that expressionist painting has been in fashion a while, sort of painterly. A number of young artists are working in that thick style and doing quite well.

Ben Quilty winning the Archibald Prize for portraiture may have swayed other young painters to use impasto and painterly gestures, but from the other end of his career Macleod looks on with wry amusement.

“The punters love it, they think it is beautiful and thick, but it never dries — it is sort of like soup inside, it’s not archivally good at all.

“I don’t think my paintings are that thick, they’re actually quite economical. I don’t stick it on with a paint knife.”

“My feeling is to look for your way of expressing yourself rather than what everyone else is doing. Also whatever vehicle you use, paint, video, photography, should relate to what you are doing, what you are

Artist Euan Macleod with his awardwinning oil painting Untitled Landscape with figure ; Painting Desert (below), oil on canvas.

Pictures / Getty Images; Supplied

Force of habitat

the place, you found the subject and sat in front of it and worked towards an understanding of it.

It gave rise to Macleod’s practice of painting en plein air whenever he has the opportunity.

Macleod left for Sydney at the start of the ’80s, where he added to his immersion in the work of painters

You find your own language that suits you, and often it isn’t in fashion.

Euan Macleod

saying.

“That bit is the important bit, the end product on the wall. I would rather people not notice the paint but feel the dirt, feel the earth or fire or water or whatever, rather than the paint.”

Macleod grew up in Christchurch, specifically Lyttelton.

At Canterbury University’s Ilam Art School in the mid-1970s he was taught by modernists like Bill Sutton and Don Peebles.

Another teacher, the photographer Laurence Aberhart, took his students to places such as Cass or Kaikoura, to demonstrate his philosophy of landscape; where you found

such as Colin McCahon, Toss Wollaston, Phil Clairmont and Tony Fomison, engaging with the likes of Sydney Nolan, Fred Williams, Arthur Boyd and Tony Tuckson.

He was drawn to the rawness of Australian painting and was able to make connections, such as comparing McCahon’s kauri paintings with those done at the same moment in the ’50s by Williams, as both wrestled with the challenges thrown up by Cubism.

“Abstract expressionism was something [my generation] had to get over, but it was nothing like cubism, which all of those people had to somehow deal with.”

He explored urban Sydney, then started taking his pencils and brushes into the Blue Mountains and further afield, bringing back the results like some trophy from the landscape.

“It’s not about scenery, it’s not about the picture, it’s not about the landscape tradition. It is about going out there and confronting something in a way that is uncompromising and risky,” says the curator O’Brien.

As his family arrived, they started turning up in the paintings — O’Brien rates the paintings of the artist’s children as some of his best: “tough, interesting, challenging, not sentimental.”

Macleod’s Australian career got an early boost in 1982, when novelist Patrick White bought the largest work at his first show at Watters Gallery in Sydney and promptly donated it to the Wollongong public gallery.

Another fan is the New Zealand author Maurice Gee, whose novel Ellie and the Shadow Man includes a (female) painter painting figures in landscapes based on Macleod’s work.

The real spotlight came on in 1999 when Macleod won the Archibald, one of the most prestigious and hotly contested art prizes in Australia.

“I did not initially see the painting as a portrait, but it had a head in it so I turned it into a self-portrait. I put it in as a bit of a laugh. It was quite cynical really. I knew they always put in a weird one to keep the contro-

versy happening. “Luckily the judges were looking for painting rather than portraits that year.”

In the aftermath he got more attention than he felt comfortable with.

Macleod doesn’t follow a set routine, but he’s often to be found in his home studio in the afternoon.

“The way I paint is frenetic, an attempt to get emotion or energy into the painting. I tend to bash the shit out of it then go back later and look.

“I find when I am painting it is very hard to make informed judgments on what I should do and shouldn’t do.

I can make some judgments, not subtle ones.

In recent years, Macleod has spent more time in New Zealand, often borrowing a friend’s studio in Queenstown.

“I like working between Australian and New Zealand. New Zealand represents the old, history, heritage, memories, while Australia represents new places. It is such a harsh place, especially the interior.

“I spent a lot of time in the mountains growing up, climbing and tramping, but I didn’t see landscape as subject matter until I came over here. The landscape crept in round the sides.” ● Euan Macleod: Painter runs from March 20 - May 20 as part of the Auckland Arts Festival at the Wallace Art Centre

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Queenstown Country Club offers an opportunity to purchase an occupation right for a luxurious architecturally designed new home. The homes give attention to the living environment with an emphasis on maximising sun and natural light. This, together with the high quality fixtures and fittings, make our homes the most sought after in the retirement village market.

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Photo courtesy of the Queenstown Trails Trust. Photographer: Jim Pollard Goes Click

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