Capital 55 by Capital

CAPITAL TA L E S O F T H E C I T Y

BUS DEBACLE OCTOBER 2018

ISSUE 55

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CAPITAL

MADE IN WELLINGTON

his is our annual eco issue, and the possible stories we have uncovered far exceed the space we have available. Eliminating and minimising plastic is at the forefront of many minds as we frown upon plastic straws and try to remember our re-usable bags – or if you are like me – regularly pay extra because those pesky bags have been left behind again. Local Derek Lander has invested a lot of time and money to turn plastic into a reusable resource; he talks to John Bishop about the process. Hydroponic microgreens, grown in central Wellington, minimise food miles and add another dimension to our food supply, Sarah Catherall explores what’s on offer. In our rivers the whitebait season is upon us and Melody Thomas looks at īnanga and its sustainability. Our interest in things eco has been with us from the beginning, Capital is printed locally, on paper produced from sustainable sources and using vegetable inks. Of course many of our other features are just fascinating in their own right, without any eco considerations. Edo de Waart, music director for the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, ranges far and wide in a chat with Dan Poynton while author Danyl McLauchlan discusses midnight auditory hallucinations with Sarah Lang. To sign off, we return to our eco theme with the Alien Junk Monsters, a percussion group whose costumes and instuments are fashioned from junk. ‘We don’t smell of garbage’, they say. See you next in November as the Christmas buildup begins.

SUBSCRIPTION Subscription rates $77 (inc postage and packaging) 10 issues New Zealand only To subscribe, please email accounts@capitalmag.co.nz

C O N TA C T U S Phone +64 4 385 1426 Email editor@capitalmag.co.nz Website www.capitalmag.co.nz Facebook facebook.com/CapitalMagazineWellington Twitter @CapitalMagWelly Instagram @capitalmag Post Box 9202, Marion Square, Wellington 6141 Deliveries 31–41 Pirie St, Mt Victoria, Wellington, 6011 ISSN 2324-4836 Produced by Capital Publishing Ltd

PRINTED IN WELLINGTON

Alison Franks Editor editor@capitalmag.co.nz This publication uses vegetable based inks, and FSC® certified papers produced from responsible sources, manufactured under ISO14001 Environmental Management Systems

The opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. Although all material is checked for accuracy, no liability is assumed by the publisher for any losses due to the use of material in this magazine. Copyright ©. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form without the prior written permission of Capital Publishing Ltd.

NEW SEASON FASHION IS HERE OVER 140 STORES \ QUEENSGATESHOPPING.CO.NZ

CONTRIBUTORS

Staff Managing editor Alison Franks

FEATURED CONTRIBUTORS

editor@capitalmag.co.nz

Campaign coordinators Lauren Andersen lauren@capitalmag.co.nz Haleigh Trower haleigh@capitalmag.co.nz Lauren Edwards laurenedwards@capitalmag.co.nz Lyndsey O'Reilly lyndsey@capitalmag.co.nz General factotum John Bristed

john@capitalmag.co.nz

Art director Shalee Fitzsimmons shalee@capitalmag.co.nz Designer Luke Browne

design@capitalmag.co.nz

Writer Francesca Emms

journalism@capitalmag.co.nz

Editorial assistant Leilani Baker

hello@capitalmag.co.nz

Accounts Tod Harfield

accounts@capitalmag.co.nz

Contributors

LAUREN EDWARDS Campaign Coordinator Lauren has recently joined the Capital team after spending an adventurous three months in South East Asia. She knew returning to Wellington was a must, as it’s the best place for her to maintain a ‘healthy’ obsession for all things coffee, wine and cheese related.

J O H N B I SHO P Writer John is a Wellington writer and advisor who helped out in the 1989 re-organisation of local government, and has been active in civic affairs in Lower Hutt and Wellington cities.

Stockists Pick up your Capital in New World, Countdown and Pak’n’Save supermarkets, Moore Wilson's, Unity Books, Commonsense Organics, Magnetix, City Cards & Mags, Take Note, Whitcoulls, Wellington Airport, Interislander and other discerning region-wide outlets. Ask for Capital magazine by name. Distribution: john@capitalmag.co.nz.

Submissions We welcome freelance art, photo and story submissions. However we cannot reply personally to unsuccessful pitches.

JORAM ADAMS Ph oto g r aph er

LEILANI BAKER Editorial Assistant

Growing up, Joram wanted to be a superhero, then a cyclist, and then an engineer. He never quite got round to any of those, so settled for being someone who just loves to create. Wellington has been his home for the last 17 years. You can check out his Instagram at @joram_adams.

Leilani is a sporty Hamiltonian trying to survive in the windy capital. A journalism student at Massey, she loves writing about sports that gain little media coverage. You can find more of her writing at onthelinenz.com

CONTENTS

10 LETTERS 12 CHATTER 14 NEWS BRIEFS 17 BY THE NUMBERS 18 NEW PRODUCTS 20 TALES OF THE CITY 22 CULTURE

WINTER OF DISC ONTENT

FARM IN THE BASEMENT

Wellington Commuter Tony Randle examines the new bus network

Growing microgreens in a nightclub

MAJOR MAESTRO Catch up with NZSO conductor Edo de Waart

TRU TH TELLING

METRE BY METRE

PL ASTIC WRAP

Porirua playwright Isaac Te Reina is all good

We dig below the surface in our new visual feature

A Lower Hutt company tackling plastic

CONTENTS

SHEARERS' TA B L E

SPRING CLEAN

Pan-seared salmon with pickled cucumber, baby leeks and coriander lime oil

Soaps for the season

53 59

ECO BRIEFS LIFESTYLE BRIEFS

PASSING THE BATON

RE-VERSE Chris Tse introduces How to make a staunch Māori woman: a recipe by Nicole Titihuia

FASHION Megan Blenkarne encourages us to mend and make new

76 65 66 73

FISHY BUSINESS EDIBLES BY THE BOOK

EARLY RISER Meet novelist and insomniac Danyl McLauchlan

Wellington's hippies are heading north

86 SPORTS 88 TORQUE TALK 91 WĀHINE 93 WELLY ANGEL 94 CALENDAR 96 GROUPIES

H O L I S T I C FA C I A L S B Y S T E P H A N I E M A L C O L M B O TA N I C A L FA C T O R Y / N AT U R O PAT H Y / H E R B A L T E A S / M A S S A G E / N AT U R A L S K I N C A R E / A R O M AT H E R A P Y / W O R K S H O P S

C r e a t e d b y H e r b a l i s t s M a d e i n N e w Z e a l a n d w e l l i n g t o n a p o t h e c a r y. c o . n z 1 1 0 a C u b a M a l l 0 4 8 0 1 8 7 7 7

LETTERS

ROLLING ON We just love your covers and the magazine but ‘specially the most recent, (Cap#54). We have a copy each month in our staff room, and that forward roll has been the source of much mirth and improv quizzes and games. Please keep them coming. Also the conversation between Nicola Willis and Sue Kedgley was a good idea. I liked the reading of it. Teacher, Wellington (name and address supplied)

ArtZone ART HAS A NEW HOME

THANK BREW VERY MUCH I have recently discovered your magazine on sale in Marlborough. Its great. Your beer tasting results, published in August (Cap# 53), I am using often and finding it very helpful. Keep up the good work. Commuter, Blenheim (name supplied) ORGANIC OVERKILL

W W W. A R T Z O N E . C O . N Z

The discussion of ‘natural wine’ published in your food issue (Cap#53) was helpful, thanks. I have often been confused about the meaning or importance of terms such as ‘natural’, ‘bio grow’, and ‘organic’ and that was a nice simple summary of the issue. S Smith, Horowhenua ALL AGES Good on you for publishing an oldie in fashion (Cap#54) and congratulations to your model Josette. She looks wonderful. As senior citizens of 70+, I and my friends often feel increasingly invisible, so it is refreshing to come across a celebration of age in your September issue. J Young, Waikanae

Send letters to editor@captalmag.co.nz with the subject line Letters to Ed

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D R AW N I N If you’ve ever wanted to use your detective and drawing skills at the same time then the Magical Mystery Drawing Tour, part of Heritage Week, will be right up your alley. Those who sign up will be given heritage-themed clues to lead them to a secret location for a drawing session with an internationally renowned mystery painter on 28 October. Bookings are essential; contact Wellington Museum for more details.

MEGAN DAVIDSON BALD O CK Art or rebellion? A bit of both. I booked the appointment for my 18th birthday. I never told my parents because I knew they wouldn’t let me do it. Why did you choose the design? I chose something as fast as I could, but ended up really falling for the art of Sanskrit. It translates to ‘Everything happens for a reason'. For me the saying helps me get through the toughest of times – I know I will learn and come out stronger.

LAVISH LAVATORIES AND WONDERFUL WCS There is no doubt that the bathroom experience can have a major impact on one’s assessment of a hospitality establishment. To that end the WCC have curated a list of the best and most stylish bathrooms in Wellington. Those that made the list have an extra quirk or flourish which really stands out. Notable members of the list include the Embassy Theatre, Tomboy, Rita, and the QT Museum Hotel.

Family, for or against? My parents have always been against me doing anything like dying my hair or getting piercings, so I would dye my own hair and get the girls at boarding school to pierce my ears. They'd eventually come around. So of course initially my parents were against it but now they love my tattoos (as long as they’re hidden).

C HAT T E R

WELLY WORDS

COCKTALE A recent trip to Moore Wilsons to purchase kombucha saw the staffer cast a doubtful glance at the bottle presented at the checkout. Upon questioning from our Wellyworder he confessed, ‘Went out for a drink with my mates the other night. One of them said “I'll buy you a cocktail mate”. Had it, and it was a bloody kombucha!’

DON’ T FALL FOWL A word of warning from one Wellyworder. If venturing into the Botanic Garden, beware the black goose. They saw the bird being enticed with a muesli bar by a visitor. The goose flew from its perch toward the snack, and upon the taunter’s retreat, set its sights on the nearby Wellyworder. A short standoff ensued, and a swift escape (not by the goose).

RUNNING LATE HAS CONSEQUENCES Forget about no smoking on aeroplanes. A Wellyworder recently slunk shamefacedly out of his doctor’s rooms after a small incident of vaping in the toilets while waiting for his appointment. The smoke alarms went off, the patients evacuated, the fire engines turned up, and our addict slid unobtrusively away.

IT'S COOL TO KORERO Whatungarongaro te tangata; toitū te whenua People come and go, but the land endures.

FOR A BUCK A fun little appendix to the recently released Electricity Price Review: First report for discussion shows what a typical consumer could buy with one dollar’s worth of electricity. For example one electricity dollar toasts 140 slices of bread, or charges your phone for a year, or dries one large load of laundry. For one dollar you could cook two roast dinners or watch 20 hours of TV. While these stats were new to us, we weren’t surprised to read that one dollar buys 60 hours of lighting with an incandescent lightbulb, compared to 600 hours of LED lighting.

REAL LIFE Of the 14 young people who were accepted into the initial Keeping it REAL programme, seven are employed, three have moved into study, one was awarded a scholarship to attend Outward Bound (and will have employment afterwards), and two are currently on work experience. The eight-week course, a collaboration between Upper Hutt City Council and the Ministry of Social Development, is designed to give young Upper Hutt residents Realistic, Engaging, Ambitious, and Lifelong opportunities and help them into meaningful employment. The next course starts this month.

NEWS BRIEFS

GREEN HOUSE Aorangi House on Molesworth Street has won a Leadership in Sustainable Design & Performance Award at the Asia Pacific Green Building Awards. The 1970s office block had to be vacated in 2005 because of a number of issues including leaking, but now it’s a ‘stellar example’ of a green building says the World Green Building Council. The major refurbishment, designed by Beca building services and Studio Pacific Architects, resulted in ‘64% energy savings, 78% operational waste diversion and a re-used building that saved both demolition waste and energy for new materials,’ says the New Zealand Green Building Council.

O N T H E M OV E

R A B I D’ S R A P I D R I SE

S A F E T Y F I R ST

To escape the ‘heavy and noisy construction work’ due to start in the Town Hall in the New Year the Wellington City Council will move out of Civic Square for at least three years. The first staff will move to a temporary space at 113 The Terrace later this month, and the Mayor’s Office and council meeting rooms will be relocated over Christmas. The contact centre and service centre doesn’t yet have a new location.

When Breccan McLeod-Lundy (pictured) began Rabid Technologies in 2010 it was a one man band. The next year he met his business partner Josh Forde and in 2012 they hired their first staff member. Now the Wellington software development company has around 30 team members, is ranked 25th in the Deloitte Fast 50, has expanded into Australia and has a new name – Ackama. Breccan chose the name Ackama (a small native tree found only in Northland) to reflect the fact that Ackama work on digital ecosystems, and nature is the biggest ecosystem of them all.

All 25 Lower Hutt buildings with unreinforced masonry parapets and façades deemed a risk to public safety in earthquakes met the 10 September deadline to bring them up to a safe standard. ‘Taking into account challenges like the availability of engineers and trades and the costs and complexity of this kind of work, building owners did well to meet the deadline,’ says Council Building and Quality Assurance Manager Derek Kerite. Hutt City Council prosecuted the owner of a quakeprone building earlier this year for failing to complete required strengthening work.

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NEWS BRIEFS

IT’S ELECTRIFYING Wellington businesses Z Energy and Flick Electric have announced that they are joining forces. Z Energy invested $46 million to acquire a 70.1% shareholding in Flick Electric. ‘Z Energy is one of the largest fuel retailers in New Zealand, so it makes sense [that] their desire to diversify into the electricity sector saw them pick out another Wellington success story, Flick Electric,’ says Wellington Chamber of Commerce CEO John Milford. He said the announcement is a boost to the local economy.

SE C O N D R AT E

SH E’ S D EV I N E

FUTURE FOCUS

The Kapiti council has ranked second lowest in the country in terms of operating costs per ratepayer, according to the Taxpayers’ Union 2018 Ratepayers’ Report. Mayor K Gurunathan says the Council’s approach is, ‘spending less in order to pay back more and help keep rates affordable.’ Chair of the Operations and Finance Committee Councillor Michael Scott says, ‘This does mean that we need to make some tough calls, but it will ensure we can meet the needs of our communities both now and in the future.’

Sophie Devine, who grew up in Tawa, was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at age 15 and thought her sporting career might be over. Then she decided it wouldn’t stop her. At 17 she became the youngest member of the White Ferns national cricket team. Now the Wellington Blaze all-rounder is one of the most powerful players in world cricket, and a Diabetes Youth NZ ambassador. She’s one of five finalists in the sport category of the Next Woman of the Year Awards, with winners announced in Auckland on 11 October.

Victoria University led-teams have received more than $34 million from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Endeavour Fund. The money is shared over 11 projects including a magnetic sensor for non-invasively testing the integrity of infrastructure, technology that uses solar-generated steam to purify water for drinking, hand-held biosensors for winemakers, fungal ‘factories’ for potentially tackling cancers and viruses, and next-generation computers that use superconductor technology.

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E S TA B L I S H E D 2 0 1 0

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Times, they’arr a’changin’ It’s not easy being green – just ask Kermit the Frog or Metiria Turei – but if the scientists are to be believed then living green is going to be more and more important heading into the future.

93–97

200

the percentage of scientists who believe humans have made an impact on global climate change (depending on what studies you look at)

number of worldwide scientific organisations that believe climate change is caused by humans climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/

Cutting carb(on)s

20,971,144

2,700,000 +

80%

2.1%

number of years Trees that Count – Te Rahi o Tāne have been connecting native tree planters with funders

number of trees planted so far

number of trees in greater Wellington region

the Wellington City Council expectation for the reduction in emissions by 2050

the reduction in emissions between 2001 and 2015 before the Low Carbon Capital plan was introduced in 2016

Not waving but drowning

20–30 cm

300mm to 6m

130,000

likely sea-level rise by 2050 according to the Fifth Assessment Report (a sprawling synthesis of thousands of peer-reviewed studies published by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)

range in sea-level change that the public can set in an interactive virtual reality game about the effect of sea-level change on the harbours and bays around Wellington

estimated number of people living within areas of coastal erosion in New Zealand

wcc.maps.arcgis.com/ apps/MapJournal/

Compiled by Craig Beardsworth

17 17

newshub.co.nz/home/newzealand/2017/10/climate-change-sealevel-rise-inevitable

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TA L E S O F T H E C I T Y

J u s t l i ke riding a b i ke W R I T T E N BY F R A N C E S CA E M M S P H OTO G R A P H BY A N N A B R I G G S

HOBBY

PUB

HOLIDAY

MUSICIAN

READING

Cross-stitch

Sprig and Fern

Rarotonga

Pink

Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead

By day he’s a research executive, but by night (and weekends) this superhero is helping people get back to biking.

ongtime bike library volunteer Richard Stephens has recently become the service coordinator at ReCycled Rides. Based at the ReMakery, it’s a community bike library offering rescued, fixed-up bikes to Epuni and the wider Hutt Valley. Richard oversees the operations and manages the volunteers, while keeping his hands dirty fixing up secondhand bikes. ‘We do a full safety check and any repairs. Any bikes that aren't able to be fixed, or that would be very expensive, are stripped for parts which can be used on other bikes. Getting people back on bikes is a highlight,’ says Richard. ‘Recently we serviced and donated a bike for someone supported by Downtown Community Ministry. They were really appreciative and it will make a huge difference to the person they support. DCM gave us a shout-out on Facebook and seeing the comments gave me a fuzzy feeling.’ The Hutt Valley local has always been a cyclist and as a teen he often spent summer holidays working on bikes. He’s an active cyclist, both mountain and road, and is currently doing the HuttCross cyclocross season. Next on the agenda is the Iron Māori Duathalon in Masterton this month, the Half Taupo in November, and this summer he intends to do some ‘cycle tourism’. Richard also volunteers as a marshal and time-keeper for cycling events and finds time to help out at the Paekakariki Bike Library. He loves being able to share his passion, skills and knowledge and to help

his volunteers upskill. ‘The sense of achievement and even excitement from them in some cases, as they replace brake cables by themselves for the first time or complete their first bike check, is very rewarding.’ Originally from Christchurch, Richard loves the Hutt Valley. ‘It has a lot to offer – easy access to tramping tracks and mountain biking, yet still has cafes and bars nearby.’ He likes Sprig and Fern (‘good beer and food’), and Fellow Cafe is his regular for catching up with mates. When he’s not knee deep in bikes, or disappearing into the bush (usually Catchpool or the Tararua Ranges) you might find him reading – ‘I’m a huge bookworm and friends have banned me from buying books’ – catching up on TV shows – ‘NCIS, Chicago Med and Code Black’– or working on his cross-stitch: ‘Yes, I cross-stitch, lol.’ He frames the larger pieces which usually have an urban fantasy theme and can take up to a year to complete. Richard is gearing up for a busy summer. In early October ReCycle Rides will host a Community Bike Check day. ‘We plan to check peoples’ bikes as they bring them out of storage and do some basic maintenance on the day.’ And he plans some group rides to, ‘get people out on their bikes and enjoying the Hutt.’ What about personal goals? ‘I would love to do my master’s in psychology,’ he says. And the ultimate dream? ‘An isolated block of land with a hut on it surrounded by native bush, and a small stream running beside it.’

CULTURE

O L D N E WTOWN How has Newtown changed since 1900? New Zealand’s earliest film footage of Boer War soldiers, later television items and home movies capture the suburb’s early sights such as rubbish collection, official city events at Newtown Park, and the last tram. Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision has used these sources to create showreel Newtown on Film, which screens at Ngā Taonga’s small cinema and Newtown Community Hall, with live music during silentfilm segments. It’s part of Wellington Heritage Week (22–28 October) with 35 events including walking tours, exhibitions, talks and open days.

TOILET HUMOUR

AHEAD OF HER TIME

NEW SPAWN

Humankind’s warmest seat is the protagonist in short comic film Toilet, where a drunk man learns you must keep one particular loo clean – or else. It’s written and directed by Simeon Duncombe, a WETA animation supervisor who climbed the studio ladder from textile painter. Toilet premieres at short-film festival ShowMeShorts, which screens category winners from the 50 festival films at opening night (The Roxy, 12 October), then themed sub-groups at Light House Cuba and Light House Pauatahanui.

While The Whanganui Chronicle recently added an ‘h’ to its name, the Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua Whanganui addressed another issue. ‘Our collection isn’t alone in its gender imbalance,’ says curator Greg Donson. Its new exhibition 125: Celebrating Women from the Collection showcases images of women, including Whanganui artist Edith Collier’s 1917/18 painting Ministry of Labour: The Recruiting Office for Women, depicting Englishwomen lining up to offer to work. The accompanying Edith Exhibition displays her portraits of women.

Unusually, local composer Ross Harris’ new work Orowaru is a meditation on trout fishing and the rivers near Turangi. Orowaru premieres, appropriately, alongside Schubert’s ‘Trout Quintet’ (plus Schubert and Rossini works) in Chamber Music New Zealand’s aquatic-themed concert (11 October). Australian pianist Piers Lane joins the New Zealand String Quartet members and bassist Hiroshi Ikematsu (pictured), a favourite during his New Zealand Symphony Orchestra stint.

CULTURE

A SPRING CHRISTMAS Young dancers from 95 schools will perform as extras in front of their local audiences as the Royal New Zealand Ballet tours The Nutcracker nationally – for the first time in eight years – in a production choreographed by US luminary Val Caniparoli. Christmas comes early to Wellington as The Nutcracker’s first stop is the Opera House (31 October to 5 November). There are school and educational events, plus performances with audio description to help visuallyimpaired people understand Clara’s Christmas eve dream of the Nutcracker Prince and the Sugar Plum Fairy.

DRAG’S ON

SOMETHING IN COMMON

WORTHY WAHINE

Alex Kachfi, a pharmacy manager whose stage name is Kelly Fornia (say it out loud) is Wellington's reigning Ms Capital Drag, and was a finalist in Mr Gay NZ 2017. To create more performance opportunities, he’s staging (and performing in) the first Ultimate Drag Supershow (18–19 October, Hannah Playhouse): lipsync performances by seven ‘Drag Kings & Queens’. ‘New Zealand’s growing drag scene has increased acceptance of drag in everyday society,’ says Alex, who has performed in drag for two-and-a-half years.

Frances Parker’s early-1900s Suffragette Medal, a 1960s contraceptive-pill packet, and a pink ‘pussyhat’ worn by knitter Erin Kennedy at the Wellington edition of the Women's March on Washington (the global anti-Trump protest) are three of the items in Te Papa’s exhibition Te Tohe mō ngā Take Wāhine/Doing It for Themselves: Women Fight for Equality (until 28 February). The exhibition reflects on female suffrage and today’s issues, including the gender pay gap. Tours and talks run throughout October.

Hutt Valley High student Sithmi Sathruwani (pictured) – a UN Youth Ambassador who introduced a programme to teach coding to her school’s girls – is one of five women whose faces and stories feature in Petone Settlers Museum exhibition Whakatū Wāhine: Women Here and Now (until Easter 2019). The museum asked locals to nominate Lower Hutt women who ‘uplift and inspire the community’.

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CULTURE

It’s ancient history

Gone with the wind

By Sarah Lang

It’s not often you get a chance to see ancient Greek and Roman comedies and tragedies in Wellington. But it turns out there’s a Victoria University Ancient Theatre Society, which has quietly put on an annual production for five years. Last year’s excellent production of the tragedy Alcestis showed David Bowers-Mason (pictured) as an acting talent. He used physical comedy to play the god Heracles (an amusing, interfering loud-mouth in Alcestis), earning laughs from an audience made up mainly of students, staff and friends, although the performances are open to the public. ‘Playing Heracles was great fun,’ says David, who is assistant director for this year’s production of Rudens (The Rope) at Victoria’s Memorial Theatre (10–12 October, vatsbookings@gmail.com). Written by Roman playwright Plautus around 211 B.C, Rudens is about a girl, Palaestra, stolen from her parents by pirates. David says they’ve modernised and slightly lightened the play by making Palaestra a sex worker rather than a sex slave, making Labrax an ex-boyfriend rather than a pimp, and emphasising the comedy. David isn’t acting in it because he’s busy with his Master’s degree in International Relations and with rehearsals for the Wellington Footlights Society’s musical-theatre production Is/Then (on in November and December).

Max Patté is ‘stoked’ that his waterfront artwork Solace in the Wind won Best Sculpture in Capital’s ‘Best Of ’ awards. Limited-edition 300mm and 900mm maquettes (small reproductions) of Solace are selling fast. ‘I can't quite get my head around how so many people know and love him. When I move, part of me will remain here.’ The British-born artist, wife Amy and Beau, 2, are moving to Europe next year (though they may return one day). ‘We’re having another baby and want to be closer to family.’ Max speaks at the opening night of Wellesley College’s sixth annual art exhibition/sale ARTBOURNE (1–4 November, artbourne.org. nz). He’s exhibiting about 10 works including lightwork Subconscious, and maquettes of various sculptures. The eighty prominent and emerging artists exhibiting will donate 30% of sale proceeds to fund scholarships for boys to attend the primary and intermediate school. ‘Artbourne keeps growing,’ says organiser Margie Beattie. ‘We’ve partnered with dealer galleries to showcase more contemporary art. Also new is Collectors’ Corner with ‘pre-loved’ contemporary art – not any old thing gathering dust, but something collectable. There’s also artisanal jewellery from The Makers collective.’ Take a curated tour or stop by the popup café/giftshop, with an art framer at hand.

CULTURE DIRECTORY

ECLECTIC ART

LIVE LA DOLCE VITA!

Experience Minkisi – Art and Belief in West and Central Africa – an exhibition of 100 rare sculptures & masks from 33 tribal groups. The personal sketchbooks of Collector Desmond Bovey on public display for the first time. Aratoi is open daily. Free entry.

MINKISI @ ARATOI

The Sarjeant mixes it up in October. Glen Hayward’s Dendrochronolgy (pictured) is a reminiscence on the mighty Toyota Corolla; Ahead of Her Time showcases portraits by NZ’s modernist painter Edith Collier. 125: Celebrating Women from the Collection alone makes the trip worthwhile, along with the clever group show In the Hand.

Lovers of Italian culture are in a for a visual feast when this year’s Italian Film Festival arrives in Wellington. Come and celebrate the Opening of the Festival with Italian wine, Italian food and other Italian treats at the beautiful Empire Cinema in Little Italy Island Bay.

Daily until 25th Nov 12 Bruce St Masterton aratoi.org.nz

October 2018 38 Taupō Quay Whanganui sarjeant.org.nz

1 November - 14 November 214 The Parade Island Bay, Wellington cinemaitalianonz.com

NO SHAME NO SILENCE

SHOW ME SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL

The exhibition aims to generate conversation about family violence and the implementation of family violence legislation in our Family Courts. The exhibition features over 20 artists from throughout New Zealand who have been given the platform to comment freely on experience, observation and perspectives through their chosen art medium.

Enjoy a selection of the top short films from Aotearoa and around the world. There are 50 short films divided into seven themed programmes. Including a special Korean Focus section. Learn something. Feel something. Be inspired!

Greg Johnson’s special tour Every Song Has A Story comes to Wellington for a fantastic Friday night of great songs, tall stories and rediscovered visuals. Greg and guest guitarist Ben King (Goldenhorse) will present classics like Isabelle, Save Yourself, Now The Sun is Out, plus album favourites and new material.

13 – 22 October Light House Cuba 23 Wigan Street Te Aro, Wellington showmeshorts.co.nz

Friday 26 October 2018 Meow 9 Edward St, Te Aro Wellington Tickets at Eventfinda.co.nz

2 November – 15 December Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom 22 Harbour Street Foxton noshamenosilence.co.nz

GREG JOHNSON - LIVE AT MEOW

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Major Maestro P H OTO G R A P H BY A N N A B R I G G S

NZSO Conductor Edo de Waart lets Dan Poynton into his hotel room for an exclusive Capital interview.

do de Waart may be a top international conductor but he’s not the maestro of cliché. He doesn’t prance all over the podium tossing his hair about and he hates photo shoots. Actually he’s not too keen on interviews either. ‘But I love talking about music,’ he tells me, so last month I sat down in his hotel room with him and just talked about music (well, mainly). It felt like a conversation with an old friend. I soon realised his tricky reputation with some journalists is probably because he doesn’t like nosy personal questions and showbiz gossip. He just likes to get on with what he’s ‘trained to do’ – no fuss. And right now that’s being the music director of the NZSO, a position he took up in 2016. He’s also the conductor laureate of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic and guest-conducts other international orchestras too numerous to list. So how did he end up here in this faraway little place? ‘I’ve always been interested in countries I don’t know,’ he says. ‘I wanted to see New Zealand.’ And how does our national orchestra measure up? ‘I think we’re growing, and it’s a very good orchestra,’ says the man who is known as an ‘orchestra builder’. ‘It’s very surprising because you’re so far away from everything. They have the willingness to keep searching, and when I challenge them in a rehearsal they’re right there.’ At one of his NZSO concerts in August he could have been mistaken for the triangle player if he hadn’t been on the podium. His movements were minimal, not the exotic dance-ritual of so many conductors, and he wasn’t even wearing a penguin suit. This small

man’s stillness and subtle black attire camouflaged him, as if he was a commando in stealth mode rather than the commander-in-chief of a symphony orchestra leading his troops. But de Waart has plenty of charisma, and a passion for making music – and talking about it. Officially this is his last gig as a resident music director, but when asked he hesitates. ‘I think so. I’m 77,’ he finally says. ‘But I still conduct 60 to 80 concerts every season.’ So what drives a man to keep working so hard at an age when most are way past retiring? After all this is not a cushy corporate board job. It’s highstress performance, with every nuance of your work continually scrutinised – adored by some, scorned by others in the notoriously bitchy classical world. And then you’ve got a hundred or so highly strung musicians to tame. ‘I just had 10 weeks off before I came, and that got a little long,’ he says. He found himself rattling around the house with nothing to do but helping his son with his Lego construction.‘My wife thought I needed a project!’ he laughs. ‘It was time to do what I’ve done my whole life – the only thing I really do well is being in music.’ Is he addicted to music? ‘I could not live without it, but it’s not an addiction. It’s a need, which might be the same thing, but it has only good by-products.’ Lurking under his natural and charming modesty is a passion for life. He’s had six wives, reportedly all opera singers, which every journalist is dying to point out, and which unsurprisingly

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annoys him. ‘It’s very interesting to everybody, but not to me,’ he says with a look in his eye of ‘Make my day!’ so I quickly veer off onto another topic. Tabloid gossip and sarcasm aside, it’s a testament to the energy of the man to conduct such a busy private life in the midst of a distinguished and full career. And with two older children from an earlier marriage, he now has a new family with his wife Rebecca and two children – Olivia, 17, and Sebastiaan, 14. He met Rebecca, who is 30 years younger than him, on a conducting gig with the Santa Fe opera. ‘She has a lovely mezzo-soprano voice, but she wasn’t made for this life of travelling and being alone in hotel rooms. She wanted to raise a family.’ And he seems to have finally found home. ‘We are very tight,’ he beams. ‘I am very very happy.’ But he misses his family a lot these days. Before the children were at school, they’d all travel together. Now they’re living in Rebecca’s hometown of Madison, Wisconsin, from where de Waart recently directed the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra to great acclaim. He says this happy family life is probably the reason he’s cut down on conducting a lot of contemporary music. ‘I have two kids at home and I don’t want to sit in my study the whole time. I want to have a life.’ He virtually discovered superstar composer John Adams while he was the conductor at the San Francisco Symphony, although he modestly denies this. ‘He would have made it anyway, he’s such a talent. He walked in and we hit it off like soul mates,’ he says, although he’d never heard a note of his music. Since then he has collaborated in many premieres and recordings with Adams. Despite his thriving family life, there is a feeling of the loner about de Waart. He’s a man

who seems to yearn for the ‘symbolic homeland’ universally expressed by the Romantic composers he has championed, such as Mahler and Rachmaninov. ‘Madison is home, where my family is, but my sense of Holland has gotten stronger in the last three years,’ and he loves going back every year to conduct and see his family, including four grandchildren. ‘Two of my best friends have died there so the world has gotten smaller, but the feelings between us all who are still here are stronger – a belonging together.’ His life seems to echo that of Rachmaninov, who spent 25 years exiled in the US, always longing intensely for his Russian homeland. De Waart has recorded all of Rachmaninov’s concertos and symphonies – twice. He has a particularly strong connection with this composer, who many serious musicians see as too über-Romantic and not exactly ‘northern European’. ‘That’s too bad, I love Rachmaninov. I know it’s a little bit opposite to the Dutch – we don’t have that...something,’ he says. ‘His second symphony is very longing. He was homesick, and I can identify with that − always being somewhere else far away from your home.’ A couple of days after the interview he conducted this symphony with the NZSO. I don’t think the orchestra has ever sounded so pure and simply on-to-it. There’s something direct and human about his conducting, without ‘milking it’ as he puts it. Critic Peter Mechen wrote that the playing ‘could only be described as sublime,’ which pretty much says it all. De Waart has an affinity for composers who write super-emotional, cosmically structured music – the big stuff. ‘Yeah, Mahler and Beethoven are my two,’ he says, as if he’s their affectionate father. He’s conducting most of Mahler’s nine symphonies over his tenure with

BESE T COTFI OWNI N HNE EA RDSE R

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the NZSO, except for the notorious eighth with its ultra-mammoth forces. ‘It’s a little bit of a circus, and it’s expensive,’ he frowns, as if the cat just brought in something disgusting. And next year he will conduct the NZSO performing all nine of Beethoven’s symphonies – some would say the towering achievement of all classical music – over just two weeks. So where did he come from, this international conductor? He grew up in war-torn Amsterdam. His parents were poor but musical ‘social democrats’ who separated when he was 12. They sent him to a Montessori school, a radical thing for the time. ‘My mother was in the Social Democrat choir,’ he laughs. ‘There were 450 in that choir and they did one concert a year, Handel’s Messiah. Very socialistic!’ Young Edo showed talent on the piano so his father took him to the head of the Amsterdam Conservatory. ‘I played some Mozart and he said I should definitely become a musician, but probably not a pianist,’ laughs de Waart. ‘He got that so right! I can’t practise six hours a day on the piano. You’d have to lock me up!” So he took up the oboe, a less competitive instrument. It was only with the help of scholarships, and a borrowed oboe, that Edo was able to study at all at the prestigious conservatory, ending up as associate principal oboe of the Concertgebouw Orchestra. But at 19 he heard Otto Klemperer conducting Brahms, and suddenly he knew what life was calling him to do. ‘I had no idea what I had heard but I knew it was special,’ he says. ‘I was blown away.’ His talent as a conductor meant that by the age of only 23 he was assistant conductor at the New York Philharmonic under the flamboyant Leonard Bernstein, who de Waart calls ‘a flawed genius.’ The next year he was back in the Netherlands

as assistant conductor to Bernard Haitnik at the Concertgebouw. After working with these two conducting legends he landed his first directing gig with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, and the rest is history. But aren’t symphony orchestras just expensive dinosaurs on the point of extinction? ‘We all say that but we should stop.’ He’s irritated now. ‘For what one F16 costs you can run the whole arts budget of Holland. They just fly around in case the Russians come to shoot us. Ridiculous! Why don’t people say the military costs too much? $700 billion this year in America!’ He’s says he’s really angry that, for just a fraction of its military budget, the US could sort out all the problems in its broken medical and educational system – as well as run all its orchestras and opera companies. ‘It’s our legacy – this is what makes us different from the animals,’ he pleads. ‘This is what we are, what humanity is, and all we talk about is that it is so expensive!’ He loves living in the US heartland, but mention today’s polarised US politics and he gets really upset. ‘Don’t talk about it, it’s sickening. Trump sets us back many years. It’s a joke and it’s dangerous.’ He contrasts Trump with our perhaps more appealing leader, Jacinda Ardern, who recently came to watch him rehearsing the NZSO. ‘She stood there for a while, so I said “Can I take you home with me?”’ he says, bursting into naughty laughter. ‘She laughed and said “No, I don’t think so!” I thought, look at this nice lady – to have just a normal good human being as your leader.’ I was left wondering if this was Edo the social democrat or Edo the man and artist speaking. Probably both.

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Truth telling by Sarah Lang Isaac Te Reina (pictured), a Porirua director, playwright and actor, went through a ‘dark time’ during high school. ‘I wouldn’t diagnose myself with anything in particular, but getting through it was really difficult.’ Isaac was more into sport than art at Aotea College. ‘But when I made my first music video in a media-studies class, I knew I’d found the thing for me.’ He graduated from the New Zealand Film and Television School with a Certificate in Film and Television: Directing and Film Production. There, he made a short film, Entropy, about a young man struggling to make his shortened life meaningful. It was one of a handful to be selected for the 2014 Pasadena International Film Festival. ‘I flew over for it. That was such a buzz.’ In 2016, he nabbed one of 16 spots in a one-year intensive course, The Actors' Program, working with Sara Wiseman. Isaac has since had some acting roles, as well as making educational videos for Whitireia, and writing, self-producing and directing short films and documentaries. This year, he participated in the Māoriland Film Festival’s NATIVESlam, which brings together international indigenous filmmakers to make a short film in 72 hours. Meanwhile his theatre script Allgood was shortlisted for the Playmarket b4 25 Competition (for playwrights under 25). Isaac, now 25, is rehearsing his part in Allgood, on at BATS (9–13 October) as part of Atawhai, a theatre festival run by Auckland organisation Taurima Vibes to raise awareness of mental-health issues. Directed by Whetu Silver, Allgood follows young wāhine Parekura as her father and her best friend Ra (played by Isaac) connect over concern for Parekura’s state of mind. Allgood ‘talks around’ mental health rather than directly addressing it, Isaac says. ‘It’s about normalising that inner critic that can take over people’s light. I’m speaking the truth I know.’

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OPINION

Winter of discontent We were promised a simpler and more reliable bus service for Wellington. Launched in mid-winter, the new bus network is being described by users as a ‘bustastrophe’, and a ‘disaster.’ Public transport advocate and long-time commuter Tony Randle looks at what happened and what needs to happen next.

ublic transport has one main purpose and that is to transport the public. On that most basic objective the new Wellington bus service is clearly a failure. The Greater Wellington Regional Council’s Metlink call centre receives dozens of complaints every day from Wellington bus users. Stories of failures and adverse comments fill social media; the bus service ‘...is now hideous, was good before; the resentment from people waiting long periods at winter bus stops is intense. The mess continues,’ is typical. The CEO of the Greater Wellington Regional Council has been directed to devote all his attention to the problem, but how did we reach this situation? And how can the regional council and the city work to fix this mess? The GWRC started the Wellington City Bus Review in July 2009 as a ‘service review’. It stated that the review had a short to medium-term view, and focused on ‘operational improvements to the study area network that can be delivered within existing public transport budgets’. It was expected that the review would be ‘substantially complete by December 2011’, and that implementation planning would ‘take place from early 2012’. The first stage of the review was a survey of Wellingtonians asking questions about what was needed to improve our public transport service. The public response to the GWRC’s survey was published in March 2011, and unsurprisingly concluded that the key barriers to providing good public transport services in Wellington included roading bottlenecks, narrow roads, congestion on the Golden Mile and a lack of bus priority infrastructure.

What happened next turned a limited service review into a fundamental change towards a totally new bus network. In April 2011, the GWRC engaged a team from Australasian consulting firm MRCagney led by US transport consultant Jared Walker. By July 2011, the bus review was reporting: ‘MRCagney ran a series of planning workshops with key stakeholders in mid-June. The workshops were highly successful, resulting in a confluence of ideas around potential changes to the network [which will] involve simplifying the network to improve service levels through frequency improvements, particularly on core corridors, … Route simplification will make the draft network more reliant on interchange than the current network’. The proposed radically new bus network design was based on ‘core-routes’, ‘feeders’ and ‘bus interchanges’. In early 2012, the GWRC did a public consultation on the new design and the public response was overwhelming – we did not like it. For example, when asked ‘What do you think about the proposed changes to the services you use?’, only 12% responded positively, while 74% said they disliked them. It is true that major community changes generate a lot of negative feedback (people who object to something are more likely to say so). A 2% response to any such public consultation is considered good, and the alarm bells should have been ringing at the GWRC when it got responses from over 7% (approximately 6,200) of Wellington households, with a clear majority against the new bus service design. However, the regional council pressed forward with its fundamental change from a direct bus service to a ‘core-routes with bus interchanges’ design for our city. It

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responded to public negativity by reducing the amount of bus interchanging and refined some routes, but always with the constraint that subsidy costs could not be increased (leading, for example, to Route 18, ‘the Campus Connection’ from Miramar via Newtown to Karori service, being reduced to peak time only). The redesign was then implemented on the cheap. Instead of increasing funding to support this major change, the GWRC reduced its transport subsidy by about $5.4 million per year when it contracted bus services to new operators. To get this saving the regional council seems to have used detailed long-term contracts with bus operators without the flexibility to change or correct bus services, even though flexibility was something the original MRCagney consultants had recommended to the GWRC. More than half of all public transport commuters in the region travel on Wellington City buses, yet the GWRC reports on the Wellington Bus Review make it clear that the council’s officers simply do not believe the Wellington City bus service is at all important. There is no evidence the GWRC completed any practical review such as is normal for major transport projects. They seemed to have undertaken the review as a theoretical design and cost-saving exercise. The planned trial of a bus interchange hub was not carried out, and not one bus hub was completed before the new system went live. Even the simplest stuff, like testing to ensure the real-time information system was accurate seems not to have been done, or at least not checked by real people in any way. In fact the GWRC thought the impending

implementation of the Wellington City bus changes was so unimportant that it merited just a couple of paragraphs in the Public Transport General Managers Report to the June 2018 GWRC transport committee meeting; Section 4.1.3 merely says that ‘Transition activities ... are progressing to schedule’. The transport committee was much more concerned with investigating rolling stock for the Wairarapa rail line and Metlink’s advertising policy. Instead of doing a review to determine how best to get simple bus service improvements done by 2012, the GWRC, on the advice of consultants MRCagney, undertook a radical redesign of the whole Wellington City bus service. We told them we didn’t like it and that it wouldn’t work both in 2012 and in the years since but the council didn’t listen and ploughed on with a design that cannot work without a large additional investment. Most Wellington bus riders can now tell stories of how the new bus system is failing them, be it new bus drivers getting lost; buses running up to an hour late; bus information screens showing ‘ghost buses’; or everywhere, it seems, overcrowded buses − if you can get on one. The GWRC is now scrambling to fix the gaping holes in its service, and trying to re-engage with a public that is angry at being so badly let down on a daily basis; but is this enough? My opinion is the GWRC has broken our bus service in two ways: •

It did not contract enough buses for many routes. It is ridiculous that many commut-

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•

ers simply cannot get onto a bus. The regional council made this worse by adopting low-cost contracts with bus operators that don’t include the flexibility to quickly add more buses where they prove necessary. The design basis of ‘core-routes with bus interchanges’ is not working and it cannot work where bus services between the hubs are unreliable, especially at evening peak times when people trying to get home cannot catch their connecting buses.

Wellington probably cannot simply go back to the old routes. The services are now provided under new long term contracts made under new legislation. However we probably can go back to the direct-to-town bus service approach which would be similar to the old service if the bus operators will agree and the money involved in the contracts can be agreed. I think Wellington must return to the previous peak direct bus service approach, and some of the smaller hubs should also be shut down. Yes, this will mean more buses through the Golden Mile but this is better than having commuters waiting and wondering when they will get to their destination. And there are things that can be done to improve Golden Mile’s capacity, such as bus lanes, better bus stops or an intelligent traffic system. Fixing all this will be expensive so funding is an issue. The GWRC is providing this ‘service’

for about $5.4M less than the subsidy for the previous bus service, which worked. The regional council should commit to restoring this funding to restore the Wellington City bus service to the previous levels of service to and from all the larger suburbs. The path to fixing our bus service must start with a clearly agreed goal. We then need a team who want to champion our bus users; a team with real bus operations expertise who will work with communities and bus operators; a team who can come up with a plan that will convince an angry and sceptical public that public transport services to their suburbs will be restored. But does the Greater Wellington Regional Council have the commitment, capability, and leadership to put things right ? I am yet to be convinced.

Tony Randle is a resident of Wellington and has used public transport in the city for nearly three decades. He is long-time public transport advocate and was a member of the Wellington Public Transport Review Reference Group in 2012. He works in IT and lives with his family in the suburb of Johnsonville.

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Farm in the basement P H OTO G R A P H Y BY A N N A B R I G G S

Shoots is an underground vertical garden producing highly nutritious and delicious microgreens. Sarah Catherall meets the green guys growing in the CBD.

n the basement of a former nightclub on the corner of a busy Wellington street, dozens of trays of microgreens grow under bright blue LED lights. Wellington’s first inner-city vertical farm is the brainchild of two Wellington men: Matthew Keltie, a former farmer, whose green thumb is being put to good use at a disused underground space once full of rubble and rubbish; and Steve Carden, who is the CEO of Pamu, formerly called Landcorp. Vertical farms are increasingly in vogue in parts of Asia such as Singapore and Japan, where a lack of land and soil is forcing residents to grow their vege gardens inside. Matt grew up on a farm, studied agriculture, and most recently worked in the stock market. He mucked around growing microgreens in his garage, mainly radishes and salad greens, and then thought he could turn it into a start-up business. Meanwhile, Steve has always had an interest in hydroponic farming, and had a small hydroponic operation when he lived in Melbourne, which he left five years ago. Microgreens are tiny vegetable or herb greens grown for their appearance and complex flavours and textures. Larger than sprouts, they are smaller than baby salad greens. Despite their small size, they are packed full of flavour, and a mix of microgreens in a dish give a burst of tastes, colours, textures and shapes.

Since he launched Shoots in the basement of the former Sandwiches night club two months ago, Matt has grown 22 different plants, including chives, sorrel, thai basil, oyster plant, radishes, and shiso. Some trays are dotted with tiny seeds, while others sprout green or purple leaves. Matt rips off an oyster plant leaf, holding it up to the light. Its surface shimmers, as though tiny crystals are scattered over it. A plant like that will take 50 days to grow in the soil or a greenhouse; thanks to the hydroponic watering system and the lights he has devised, here it will take about half that time. He starts by planting the seeds in a biodegradable system, then puts them in a homemade germinator in the fridge, which speeds the germination process up. He then whips them out and lays them to grow in trays under the lights. The greens take from seven to 30 days to grow, depending on the variety. The amarantha mekong takes up to 30 days in soil − here, Matt will grow it in 16 days. Describing the setup as ‘one step off a garage start-up’, he says the specialist plants would normally be grown in a glasshouse. ‘We’re passionate about sustainable farming, minimising waste and producing locally. This was an unused space and we are using technology to make the whole process efficient.’ The greens are being delivered by bike to restaurants twice a day. Matt has already

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started growing microgreens to order, and envisages a symbiotic relationship, where he will grow specifically for chefs − green delights such as the ice plant, the oyster plant, and the red amarantha. The basement temperature is perfect for growing microgreens. Matt can manipulate growing conditions to change appearance and flavours by changing the lights and the watering. At night, the lights switch off as microgreens need hours of darkness as much as they need time in the light to grow. Matt hopes to replicate this vertical farm in Christchurch and Auckland. And he also thinks he will branch out into growing other vegetables, such as hydroponic lettuces, also in a totally sustainable way. ‘We need to look at innovative solutions like this to guarantee food supply.’ Steve says there is nothing else like this in New Zealand. Saying it fits with Wellington’s image of being a city of innovation, he adds, ‘It’s a radical departure from how New Zealand has produced food until now. This is local food being produced for Wellingtonians, right here in the heart of Wellington.’

Capitol chef Tom Hutchison is across the road from the vertical food farm so it’s handy when he needs microgreens. Describing himself as a chef who is more concerned about the flavour than the appearance of food, he is more likely to use the greens within a dish than as a garnish and has incorporated shiso leaf into a dish. Nutritionists claim that microgreens have a higher nutritional content than equivalent full-size vegetables, and are ideal for enhancing salads, soups, main dishes, or as a garnish. Chef Sam Dinsdale is a brand ambassador (see Cap#53). She is talking to local restaurants, about how they might use the microgreens. Chefs from restaurants including Monsoon Poon, Ortega Fish Shack, Shed 5, and Fratelli have also used the microgreens in their dishes. Sam says that purple shiso and opal dark basil are two varieties where the taste is more intense than it is in their usual forms. ‘The flavours are incredible. They’re more punchy than usual.’

Te Ara Tapere ki Pōneke Open Streets

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9am–1pm Sunday 28 October

A chance to get active and enjoy your city in new ways on streets that are open to people and closed to cars.

bikethere.org.nz #openstreets Taranaki — Dixon — Cuba Wakefield — Victoria

ARTBOURNE Art Exhibition and Sales at Wellesley

Join the artists on Opening Night 7pm, Thursday 1st November for tickets go to

www.artbourne.org.nz Exhibition continues until Sunday 4th November at Wellesley, Eastbourne, Wellington In support of creativity and 4 3 Wellesley scholarships

SPRINGTIME IN THE GARDEN OF NEW ZEALAND Taranaki has been labelled the ‘Garden of New Zealand’ for over a century. Discover why this spring, and catch two spectacular garden festivals, a landscape filled with adventure, and a surprisingly cool cultural scene.

Photo: Rach Stewart

visit.taranaki.info

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2. 7.

10.

3. 10. 4. 1.

2. 10. 5.

4. 3. 9.

Metre by metre P H OTO G R A P H BY SA K U R A S H I BATA

1. Karo 2. Five finger leaflet 3. Pittosporum ralphii 4. Gum 5. Rangiora 6. Whau fruit 7. Redwood 8. Macrocarpa female cone 9. Gum with flower buds 10. Mahoe

What would you find if you excavated a 1m x 1m area around Wellington? That's exactly what we do in our new series, Metre by metre. This month we explore the Mt Victoria town belt. Thanks to the Wellington Botanical Society, secretary Lara Shepherd and Te Papa curator of botany, Leon Perrie for their help.

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Plastic wrap W R I T T E N BY J O H N B I S H O P P H OTO G R A P H Y BY J O R A M A DA M S

Plastic gets a bad wrap, but one Wellington business is doing it right.

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lastic is a resource not a waste product, and it can be reused again and again when a commitment to recycling is married with the appropriate equipment. Flight Plastics, a Lower Hutt company which used to make luggage under the Flight brand, moved into plastic packaging in the 1970s and is now a New Zealand leader in recycling the plastic used in drink bottles and food trays. The company has invested $17 million in sophisticated high-tech equipment that washes and cleans plastic bottles and extrudes them into clear plastic film to be remade into food trays. For doing this Flight Plastics won the Green Gold category for businesses at Wellington’s Gold Awards in July this year, adding to the host of awards the company has received. Flight Plastics boasts that it is reducing the plastic waste stream, cutting imports of virgin plastic, providing jobs, building capacity, and providing a model of the environmentally responsible business. The company says on its website, ‘The world relies on plastic and it is our role to make it perform effortlessly for today’s people and our world.’ Director Derek Lander believes that ‘plastic is a fantastic packaging material. It is light, clear, good for displaying products, cheap to transport, but it is important for it to be recyclable.’

Plastic often has a bad rep, so are they trying to make using plastic respectable again? ‘Yes − and we are taking it out of the New Zealand waste stream.’ Not all plastics, however, (and not supermarket plastic bags, which the company doesn’t make or handle), only the most common sort known as PET (Polyethylene terephthalate), the plastic that makes drink bottles and other display items. PET is a thermoplastic polymer resin, part of the polyester family, and is used in fibres for clothing, containers for liquids and foods, thermoforming for manufacturing, and in combination with glass fibre for engineering resins. Producing bottles accounted for about 30% of global demand for PET, according to a 2013 study in the journal Applied Mechanics and Materials. Flight Plastics collects between 30% and 40% of the 8,000 tonnes of PET collected in New Zealand each year. ‘Our suppliers truck bales of bottles to us in Lower Hutt, and we pay them. They don’t have to worry about getting enough for a container load, then sending it offshore and waiting to be paid by a foreign company. It’s much simpler and safer to do it in New Zealand.’ About 80 percent of the material received in big bound bales makes its way into the recycling process. Much depends on how well the sorting and packaging at the sending end has been carried out. ‘In the bale we receive there

F E AT U R E

may be cans, stones and other objects which are not PET material,’ says Derek. ‘Although the caps on drink bottles are not PET we can separate them out and we have a home for them as well. They are not food grade plastic, but they can be recycled, and we do that.’ From the yard, the bales of plastic (and other detritus) are taken by forklift and dumped onto a conveyor belt where the highly advanced near-infrared scanners sort it into clear PET material and the rest, such as bottle caps. Once it has been cleaned the material is sliced and diced into flakes, and washed again to take out labels, glue, and any remaining caps. The scanning process removes all non-PET material, and then the flakes are reconstituted into continuous sheets of plastic film with a very thin top and bottom layer of virgin PET to ensure there are ‘no food safety compromises for customers and consumers’. This sheet is then fed into a machine which stamps out the trays, or other containers, to the customers’ requirements. Surplus material from the sheets is fed back into the recycling process and can be used again. For PET plastic, there is no degradation factor. Once it has been treated it is the same as it was before. ‘We have the plant capacity to process and recycle all the PET in use in New Zealand’. The company received $4 million from the last government through its Waste Minimisation Fund, so without that government funding would there have been a PET recycling facility? ‘The grant was important because it gave us a real sense that the plant was wanted. We spent a lot of time making sure that the investment added up commercially as well as environmentally, and in that we had a lot of support from people at the Ministry for the Environment,’ says Derek.

‘We got the commercial and social imperatives to line up. We are satisfied with the return on a commercial basis, although we have plenty of unused capacity now.’ The company currently operates just one shift a day. Most of the film made in the old Griffins factory at the foot of the Wainuiomata hill is clear, although some of it is black, and it can be any colour the customer wants. Clear is by far the biggest market. The core business proposition that makes recycling attractive to those who are collecting or generating plastic waste is that Flight pays them the same price as they would get for exporting their PET bottles. At the same time, it sells the recycled PET (or RPET) to customers at the same price as they would pay for imported PET products. The business challenge for Flight Plastics is to manage both sides of the equation so that they can extract a margin and earn income. This means convincing customers that using recycled plastic is a positive way of marketing their brands. ‘We must convince the supermarkets and food producers and manufacturers to use the recycled plastic to display their goods. Some do, and we hope more will.’ To make consumers more aware, the company is putting the words ‘Made from New Zealand recycled plastic’ on all its containers ‘so that consumers can see that in buying these goods they are helping the recycling process and are not contributing to more waste.’ Derek Lander says the future for Flight Plastics is bright. ‘We have the capacity to grow. There is huge potential in the market and the opportunity to do good for New Zealand as well.’

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ECO BRIEFS

N AT U R A L NUDIE Want naked deliveries straight to your door? Naked groceries that is, not naked deliverers. The Nude Grocer is an eco-friendly grocery service for those wanting to reduce their packaging waste. They’ve teamed up with local suppliers to provide packagingfree produce, groceries and dry goods, which are couriered to members. Selling everything from coffee beans from Flight coffee, and cheese from The Dutch Shop, to toilet cleaner and toothbrushes, the Nude Grocer’s got you covered… or uncovered.

HITTING THE BOTTLE Rainwear company Okewa’s latest raincoat is made from recycled plastic bottles – 22 or 31 of them, depending on your coat of choice. With a 10,000mm waterproof rating, it combines design and performance to produce a stylish garment resistant to even the most horizontal Wellington rain. This latest line was funded by a Kickstarter campaign.

BEST IN BUSINESS

DOWN LOW DONATION

Local businesses Creative Cooking, Wellington Honey, Esther’s and Half Baked have been selected for the Sustainable Business Network initiative, part of the Good Food Boost programme for 2018. The initiative promotes healthy food, waste reduction, and sustainable business practices. Each business will receive mentoring and support from national industry experts.

An anonymous donor has enabled Wellington City Council to plant hundreds of rare and threatened plants on Wellington’s South Coast. The plants, which include the endemic Cook Strait Kowhai, have been grown from locally sourced remnant populations at the council’s native plant nurseries in Otari Wilton’s Bush and Berhampore. The donor bequeathed $1 million in 2015 to the Endangered Species Foundation for wildlife preservation.

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ECO BRIEFS

T HA N K YO U M A’A M Putting money in the pockets of both workers and charities is local business Thankyou Payroll. Started in 2010, the carbon-neutral certified company provides cloud-based payroll services to charities, not-for-profits and small businesses, while donating 25c per person per pay to the Thankyou Charitable Trust. The organisation was recently recognised at the Social Enterprise Showcase, celebrating their contribution to the Wellington community, alongside their positive work environment, which includes above livingwage salaries and a morale-boosting office dog.

TRAP CITY

NEW YEAR NEW BUS

WHAT GOES AROUND

Young people are getting behind Predator Free Wellington thanks to Traplordz, a local group who provide free trap packs to Wellington students and young professionals. Traplordz’ aim is to engage young people in conservation and help them join the mission to eradicate pests around the Wellington area. Flats can sign up via the website, traplordz.nz, to receive a rat trap, peanut butter bait and trapping guide.

Bus travel in the capital will be more eco-friendly come the New Year. Fifty of Wellington’s former trolley buses will be converted to battery-power and put back on the roads in January 2019. The government grant for the work will also be used to install charging stations at two bus depots.

Keep Cups are intended to save a takeaway cup, but this good intention is redundant when you forget said cup. Vic Books are now saving their customers from this predicament by providing ‘boomerang cups’, purchased from a charity shop. Customers can take their drink away, and return the mug at their next visit. If you do opt for a takeaway cup, the café’s cups are compostable – win win.

P VC W I ND OW S

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LIFESTYLE

ALL ABOUT BA L A NC E If you’re wanting to improve your balance or rehab your injured knee, zombie teddy bears are probably not your first thought for recovery. Wellington company Swibo are trying to change your mind with their new product ‘Tilt’. Designed to spice up typically boring strength exercises, Tilt turns a run-of-the-mill balance board into a video game controller via your smartphone. The associated app tracks your movements and balance on the board, while you defeat zombies, fly through outer space and solve puzzles on your nearby computer. Sure beats staring at a wall.

FRESHEN UP Built in 1858 by William Wallis, Nairn Street Cottage is believed to be the oldest house in Wellington. The historical building has had a revamp and on 27 October the cottage will be open for A Fresh Story, a koha event to celebrate the new interior fit-out. The rooms show different eras of the cottage’s history from the 1850s through to the 1970s. Visitors are encouraged to explore the re-imagined rooms and partake in a cuppa. The project team will be on hand to introduce the changes and talk about their process.

GIFT FOR GO OD The silly season is just around the corner, so if you’re looking to get on Santa’s nice list and avoid a glut of unwanted hand cream, The Good Registry might be for you. Founded in 2017 by three community-minded Wellington businesswomen, The Good Registry allows you to gift events like Christmas, birthdays, and weddings to your charity of choice. Attendees are invited to ‘gift’ via the company’s website, and you can all celebrate your charitable success at the party. Now that’s a gift worth giving.

TOP QUALIT Y One in six Wellingtonians think their quality of life is excellent, according to the biennial Quality of Life survey conducted by Nielsen, which surveys how people in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, the Wellington region, Christchurch and Dunedin feel about their cities. Ninety-four percent of us agree or strongly agree that Wellington is a great place to live. The survey must have taken place before the buses changed.

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FASH ION

Mend and ma ke new BY M EGA N B L E N K A R N E

’m the proud custodian of my family’s Button Box, a vintage collar box chock-full of buttons collected by the women in my family over several generations. In conversations with other women who love the op shop life, the subject of buttons comes up with surprising regularity because op shops are full of items that just need a simple repair. At the two ends of this spectrum of human behaviour, my family hands down buttons through the generations, other people discard an entire shirt because it’s missing a button. One of the most environmentally friendly decisions you can make regarding your clothes is, simply, to wear them more often. If you never learned how to sew on a button or tack up a hem, you are not alone. There is undoubtedly a YouTube video that will help you out, should you not mind the wholesale destruction of your algorithm. Alternatively, the tailors of Wellington have dealt with some ridiculous requests from me over a couple of decades, so they’re primed for whatever you might ask. Honestly, they’ll probably be relieved to merely sew a button back on. Similarly, if I’ve managed to break in a pair of satin stilettos, a nightmare by any measure, I’m not throwing them away because of a weird problem with the heel. We are in this for the long haul! And this is why the guys at Dixon Street Shoe Repair know me by sight.

If you’re ready to really get into it, some elements of your wardrobe can be prepared in advance to wear well. Shoes are an obvious candidate, since any shoe repair shop can add slip-resistant soles and metal tips to protect the toes. Bought a new coat? Get all the buttons reattached now, so they’re super strong. Nothing is better than the smug feeling of having been responsible with the absolute minimum of effort. Clearly I’m a big believer in mend and make do when it comes to my wardrobe, but let’s take it to the next level – less ‘make do’ and more ‘make new’. This involves a ruthless approach to customising and rebuilding items. I’ve had sleeves shortened or entirely removed and bodices reshaped, all in the interests of increasing wear. These jeans are a pair of Levis 501s that I failed to wear for a solid year. The artwork by Caleb Barnett has given them a new lease on life, earning them a forever spot in my wardrobe. I think many of us can be scared to rip into our wardrobes, but the reality is that the world is full of things that are only nearly right. Many of those things are outside our control, but nobody knows better than you why you aren’t wearing those jeans. You can be the designer of your own dream wardrobe, with just one brave snip of the scissors, so get into it. Caleb’s work can be found on Instagram at @calebmbarnett

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Left to Right: Ecostore orange and cinnamon soap, $4, Sustainability Trust Good because: It comes with no wrapping, so zero waste

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Ashley & Co once upon & time mini bar, $9.50, Small Acorns Good because: It contains manuka honey which soothes sensitive skin Blue Earth orange and ylang ylang large soap, $10, Wellington Apothecary Good because: It features ylang ylang which is known to aid headaches Gradient pomegranate and sage soap, $18, Mooma Good because: It's handmade, vegan, and palm oil-free Ethique gingersnap face scrub, $25, Shut The Front Door Good because: It's a buffer and moisturiser â&#x20AC;&#x201C; each cube lasts 2 washes

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Think of the Mediterranean and you might think of blue but we are green as well! We are proud to say we only use paper bags and straws. We also sell our own jute shopping bags and stock reusable coffee cups and beeswax wraps. You can now bring your own containers when purchasing from our serve over deli! Mediterranean Foods is committed to reducing, reusing and recycling. 42 Constable Street, N e w t o w n , We l l i n g t o n 04 939 8989 Coastlands Shopping Centre, Paraparaumu, Kapiti Coast 04 892 0010

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FISHY BUSINESS

Inanga Name: Common galaxias

November 30 and there are many rules and regulations about the times of the day fishing is allowed and the gear that can be used (search out the DoC guidelines online). However there is currently no catch limit for native freshwater fish (something that advocates for our native freshwater fish species would like to see changed − see the ‘Did you know?’ section below).

Māori name: Īnanga Scientific name: Galaxias maculatus Looks like: Chances are you know about whitebait − you might have seen them being fished for on one of our many streams, enjoyed them in fritters or spotted their silver flash as they dart about your legs in a river. But many people don’t realise the whitebait catch is made up of five separate native galaxiid species, the most common of which is īnanga.

Cook: If you can handle hundreds of little eyes looking up at you from your meal, a whitebait fritter is the way to eat them − though fans are often divided on the essential components of a good fritter. With growing concern about pressure on native whitebait species we’re hesitant to give cooking tips here, but if you’re really keen there are plenty of recipes online to explore.

Īnanga are also the smallest of the species, growing to around 100mm in length, and can be identified in adulthood by its silvery belly, speckled olive back and lack of scales (īnanga can be confused with the common smelt, though smelt have scales, and apparently also smell like cucumbers!).

Did you know? In August Forest & Bird released a statement asking for an end to commercial whitebaiting around the country, following a report from DoC assessing the conservation status of New Zealand freshwater fishes that found three whitebait species (including īnanga) to be ‘at risk − declining’ and one ‘threatened’. Forest & Bird’s Freshwater Advocate Annabeth Cohen also identified a need for better controls on recreational whitebait catches.‘It’s time for us as a country to decide if we’re willing to see these precious creatures go the way of the huia, or if we’re prepared to ensure they’re still around beyond our own lifetimes,’ she said.

Habitat: Found in lowland freshwater habitats like creeks, streams, rivers, lakes, estuaries and wetlands near the coast − īnanga aren’t great climbers so don’t often get as far inland as some of the other galaxiid whitebait species. They are however one of the most widespread, occurring throughout New Zealand and its offshore islands, as well as in Australia and South America. Feeds on: In rivers they subsist mainly on the larvae of midges, sandflies, mayflies and caddises, as well as tiny insects and moths that fall into streams.

If it were human it would be: indigenous, overexploited and deserving of protection from those in positions of power.

Catch: The whitebait season is open from now until

Did AnYone here order A truckloAd of hops? Our latest release, arriving at a supermarket or bottle store near you.

EDIBLES

VEGAN I N VO G U E Wellington’s monthly vegan night market, Vegan Vault, is going from strength to strength. Our dairy-free staffer Leilani says 15 minutes after it started ‘the hall was full corner to corner and the courtyard was buzzing with people.’ She enjoyed a vegan passionfruit cheesecake and vegan ice cream. Kristine Bartley, of Sweet Release Cakes and Treats, created the Vegan Vault to highlight vegan options, and ‘to encourage others to create vegan food and test it out at the market.’ Vegan Vault, 7 October, 6 – 9pm Clyde Quay School, Mt Victoria.

TOHU TURNS TWENTY

PARTY TIME

FOR THE PEOPLE

Tohu Wines, the world’s first Māori-owned wine company, is celebrating its 20th birthday. ‘Over the past twenty years, we have created internationally acclaimed wines,’ says Rachel Taulelei (pictured), CEO of Kono NZ who own Tohu. ‘In making our wine we are committed to upholding our deeply held values, which include rangatiratanga, manaakitanga and hihiritanga –excellence, kindness and innovation.’ Rachel is the founder of Wellington seafood company Yellow Brick Road, and was recently named Māori Woman Business Leader for 2018.

C.G.R Merchant & Co at 44 Courtenay Place has won best cocktail at this year’s Wellington on a Plate. Their ‘Party In Your Mouth!’ cocktail of red grapefruit-infused rum, with lime juice and sugar was served with a side of blinis with Drunken Nanny goat’s cheese, lemon and basil, or walnuts and balsamic. Field & Green won the Dine Wellington: Best Festival Dish and Wilson Barbecue at The Third Eye took out the Garage Project best burger award.

Peoples Coffee has opened a new flagship store on Lukes Lane (off Taranaki St). You can obviously grab a cup of coffee there but they also have food, from a menu produced in collaboration with Esther’s Kitchen. As well as being organic and fair-trade certified, Peoples Coffee is also a member of the ‘B certification Corporation’ which expects its members to meet high standards of environmental and social accountability.

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EDIBLES

ON T OA S T We’re salivating over the prospect of Toast Martinborough on 18 November. Tom Hutchinson from Capitol will be cooking up a storm at Dry River Wines, 2018 Chef of the Year MacLean Fraser will be at Luna Estate, and Escarpment Vineyard are bringing in Martin Bosley. Te Kairanga’s lineup includes Marc Soper from Wharekauhau Country Estate, Geoff Ngan from Shed 5, Craig and Kei from Beat Kitchen, and food-truck faves Mao and Co. After a two-year hiatus Palliser Estate is back with a bang; they’ll have Toast’s first ever Michelin-starred chef, Adam Newell.

BEST PORT IN A STORM

KARMIC KEGS

ARE YOU NUTS

The Portlander Bar and Grill has undergone a makeover. The former outdoor area has been enclosed with floor to ceiling glass and become part of the restaurant. The makeover also includes a fancy new entrance on Featherston St which features a top of the line thermostat-controlled wine cellar that regulates the temperature according to fluctuations in conditions outside, keeping the cellar at a perfect temperature to house the 300odd bottles of wine inside.

On the first Friday of every month at 5pm the good people from Southern Cross tap a donated keg of Black Dog Brew Co beer. Everyone who attends pays a koha and the money raised goes towards the chosen charity of the month. Last month it was donated to Parent Help, which is a Wellington based non profit organisation helping parents and whanau raise positive and resilient families. Good vibrations.

Non-dairy alternatives now make up 12% of global milk sales. Almond milk is increasingly the most popular non-dairy option, because of perceived health benefits and the widely held belief that it is more environmentally friendly. However the environmental impact of almond milk may be much worse than that of regular cow’s milk, as it takes an amazing 6100 litres of water to produce one litre of almond milk – a figure which may leave a bad taste in your mouth. Apparently oat milk is the most sustainable solution if you are dairy averse.

Brewing Exceptional Beer Roasting Rich Coffee Serving Colourful Dishes

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Pan-seared sa lmon with pickled cucumber, ba by leeks and coriander lime oil BY N I K K I & J O R DA N S H E A R E R

an-seared salmon is delicious, not to mention its impressive health benefits. This green salad has a beautiful freshness and flavour while encompassing the richness of the salmon. The salad can be served hot or cold and is an excellent healthy lunch option if you ever have any leftovers. The nasturtium leaves came directly from our garden and if you haven’t grown them yet you should give them a go. It is quite a hardy plant, and as well as brightening up the garden, all its parts are edible and the leaves and flowers make a

delicious peppery addition to salads. If you have nasturtium seeds, pickle them (they’re a little bit like capers). Add them at the same stage as leeks in the recipe below. Coriander and lime oil will keep for about 5–6 days in the fridge, or freeze it in ice block trays for later use. Play around with plating − it really is fun! Alternatively, rather than using individual plates, flake the salmon and roughly chop the crispy skin, and arrange in a large bowl for sharing. Serves 4 METHOD

INGREDIENTS 1 large bunch coriander, roots removed (reserve 16 leaves for garnish) zest and juice of one lime ½ tsp salt ½ cup light olive oil 50ml white wine vinegar 50ml water 2 Tbsp caster sugar 2 baby leeks, sliced in 2cm portions ½ cucumber, ribboned 60g dried soba noodles 6−8 asparagus spears, in 3cm pieces ½ cup edamame beans 2 Tbsp light oil 4x 150g portions of fresh salmon, pin-boned, with skin on salt and pepper 1 cup mixed salad leaves (we used a mix of mesclun as well as nasturtium leaves) 12 sugar snap peas, sliced lengthways 2 nori sheets, each sheet cut into 4 discs (or your choice of shape) 4x lime halves to serve

For the coriander and lime oil

1. 2. 3.

Place bunch of coriander in a bowl. Pour over boiling water to wilt, then drain immediately. Rinse with cold water. Place blanched coriander, lime zest and juice, salt and olive oil in a blender. Puree until smooth. Set aside.

To make the pickled leeks and cucumber

4. 5.

6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18.

In a small saucepan add the sugar, vinegar, and water. Heat until the sugar has dissolved then add the leeks. Cook gently for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add cucumber ribbons. Leave in the pickling liquid until ready to serve. Cook the soba noodles in boiling water until al dente (about 4 mins). Drain and cool the noodles in cold running water. Blanch the asparagus and edamame beans in boiling water until just cooked. Drain and cool the asparagus and edamame in cold running water. Season flesh side of salmon with salt and pepper. In a pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add salmon, skin side down, and cook for 3−4 minutes until it is golden and the skin is crispy. Turn salmon and cook for a further minute. Remove from heat and rest. To serve − divide soba noodles between plates. Arrange salad leaves, asparagus, edamame, pickled leeks, sugar snap peas, coriander leaves and nori shapes on each plate. Place pickled cucumber on top of soba noodles, topping with salmon fillet. Drizzle each plate with 2 tsp coriander lime oil. And add fresh lime half.

ADVERTORIAL

Seeing the food and beer matching movement ignite Photography by: Jeff McEwan / Capture Studios

Shaun Clouston Head Chef at Logan Brown

recent study by Brewers Association of New Zealand found more than 60 percent of Wellingtonian beer drinkers believe it’s become a more premium product and more than half of Kiwis are choosing beer as their number one drop when dining out. When it comes to wine pairings, most people probably abide by the rule “red for meat, white for fish”, but it’s time for wine to take a back seat as we let this new and exciting tide roll in across the foodie scene and allow beer to shine. The fact is, beer is made from just four key ingredients – water, malted barley, hops and yeast – so how can something so simple, provide such a great basis for a multitude of flavours? Beer flavours are as diverse as the food you match them with and so there are thousands of great combinations to be had. If you’re a newbie to food and beer pairing, a good place to start is with the three C’s; Complement – choosing a pairing with similar flavour profiles. Contrast – go to the different end of the flavour spectrum to accentuate the flavours of each. And Cut – where the beer flavour cleanses the palate. We caught up with Wellington-based Restauranteur, Shaun Clouston, Head Chef and Partner of the prestigious Logan Brown. Shaun has been in the food game for over twenty years and thrives off a deep passion for turning unexpected flavour combinations into crowd favourites. Take a look at Mr Clouston’s top beer and food picks to inspire your taste buds next time you choose to dine out.

The perception of beer is changing. This isn’t a claim, it’s a fact. Our all time favourite brew is finally getting the kudos it deserves and with this we’re seeing real pace in the growth of matching our food with beer across the country.

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Antipasto Beer match: Heineken Lager The beloved Antipasto – great for a light lunch or to start off your meal. The combination of prosciutto, coppa, mild salami, charred bell peppers and ciabatta means this plate already delivers an array of eclectic flavours. The crispness of Heineken Lager matched with the salt cured and fermented meats is an easy match - add a little chicken and cognac paté and your taste buds are in for a good time.

Goats cheese and grilled vegetable quiche Beer match: Monteith’s Phoenix IPA Monteith’s Phoenix IPA is a great beer to enjoy over a light lunch. For me, this beer is the perfect pairing for a goat feta and grilled summer vegetable quiche, fresh rocket salad and a homemade tomato relish. It’s a tasty and well-balanced combination which accentuates the light malts, zesty, light pine and citrus flavours.

Classic Kiwi fish and chips Beer match: Mac’s Hop Rocker Pilsner What’s better than an easy drinking New Zealand Pilsner, clean and crisp with a light bitter finish? A well-drained piece of fresh battered fish and crisp hand cut chips to accompany it. This is an easy match for me and an all-time favourite – Mac’s Hop Rocker is the equivalent of a squeeze of lemon on fish and a perfect beachside combination for the summer.

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Crisp Pork, Green Apple, Cress and Smoked Eel Beer match: Emerson’s Big Rig APA This is not your average home cooked meal, but a dish we recently matched at an Emerson’s Brewery dinner at Logan Brown and one to try if you get the chance. The beer is full flavoured, rich and complex. Big enough to stand up to the punchy flavours of the pork and smoked eel but leaves a clean finish that pronounces the tart apple and cress. This pairing is the exact reason why I love matching food with beer and doesn’t get much better.

Nanas Fruit Cake Beer match: Speight’s Gold Medal Ale One of my all-time favourites must be Speight’s Gold Medal Ale paired with Nanas favourite fruit cake. This quintessential southern masterpiece combining light malt, grassy and subtle spices go oh so well with a chunk of this sweet treat and the fact that most beer is 99 percent sugar free, means you can enjoy, without worrying about a sugar rush! Discard any rich, heavy white icing in between the cushions, as this part isn’t so good with Speight’s legendary taste.

Crème Caramel Beer match: Tuatara Tomahawk APA An American Pale Ale (APA) is not usually seen as a dessert match but with Tomahawks citrus peel aroma, solid malt backbone and tropical fruit flavours – this crème caramel and beer pairing is very hard to go past. This is a great way to finish a meal and enjoy a cleansing ale. It must be tried to be believed.

Matching food with a great beer that fits can lift any dish and showcase the simple nature of a really fantastic brew. Shaun mentioned that it’s important to remember that beer comes in a range of shapes, sizes, textures and flavours, and getting to know your beer will help you choose food pairings in the future. So next time you decide to dine out - before you reach for the wine list, maybe consider a beer.

BY THE BOOK

W H AT ’ S YO U R P I C K ? Bookstores nationwide have chosen their favourite 20 New Zealand titles from the past decade’s 60 best sellers. At bookstores this month, you may spy postcards asking you to vote for one of the ‘Top 20’. Will it be, for instance, Patricia Grace’s novel Chappy, or Chelsea Winter’s cookbook Eat? In-store and online voting (booksellers.co.nz/votebestsellers) closes on New Zealand Bookshop Day (Saturday 27 October). Bookstores will give away ‘Love your brain, read books’ tote bags, and run special events; Ekor Bookshop & Café’s event celebrates Scandinavian books and culture.

CRIME TIME Back-country mystery outshone bigcity crime when Jennifer Lane from Broadmeadows, Wellington won the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best First Novel in Christchurch last month. In All Our Secrets (Rosa Mira Books, $35 paperback/$13 e-book), a bullied adolescent in small-town Australia discovers why children start vanishing. ‘I was thrilled,’ Jennifer says. ‘Writing the novel was a long, lonely process so feeling like part of the writing community was a real buzz.’

THE HILLS ARE ALIVE Year 13 student Ilena Shadbolt (pictured) has won the IIML National Schools Poetry Award, receiving $500, a $500 book grant for her school library, and a place in a poetry masterclass with James Brown and Hera Lindsay Bird. Ilena wrote Vignettes after walking to the dairy with a friend at 9pm. ‘It felt like we were floating between all these glowing fish tanks dotted on the hills.’ Read it at schoolspoetryaward.co.nz

NOT ALL BAD NEWS A survey commissioned by the NZ Book Council (its previous survey was in 2017) shows a continuing drop in the number of Kiwis reading. A whopping 442,600 adult New Zealanders didn’t read even one book in the past year, with fewer men reading than women, and (surprisingly) 45 to 54-year-olds reading the least. But more Kiwis (57% of us) read books by New Zealand authors – good news for the council’s #readNZ campaign.

S EBCYT ITOHNE HB EOAODKE R

Re-verse I N T R O D U C E D BY C H R I S T S E

How to make a staunch Māori woman: a recipe 1.

2. 3. 4.

Add 1 x half-caste woman to a high decile school mix in just a pinch of other brown teachers combine vigorously with token gestures once thoroughly combined add in a hearty splash of eyerolls, several drops of mispronunciation and 12 x meetings with management Fold in your better than the national average results don’t forget to carefully remove the ones unlikely to pass first beat in social isolation and 2 x stems of tall poppy Grate the rind of 1 x sensitive heart add a dash of taha Māori imitation essence knead slowly Leave to rise in a whitestream school for three years. Bake until completely hardened.

By Nicole Titihuia Hawkins (first published with permission by Capital ).

THE POET Nicole Titihuia Hawkins (Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa & Ngāti Pāhauwera) is a novice writer, avid home-baker and proud aunt. She lives in Pōneke and teaches English, social studies and tikanga Māori at a local high school.

THE BREAKDOWN

Chris Tse holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from the International Institute of Modern Letters. He is the author of the award winning poetry collection How to be Dead in a Year of Snakes. His new collection he’s so MASC, was published in March.

I heard Nicole perform this at a recent open mic event that she helped organise to give non-Pākehā voices a safe and encouraging space to read their work. Some of Nicole's students were there sharing their powerful poetry, reminding us all in the room that we all have a story to tell and to get us to think about where we’ve come from (and where we might be heading) in our own lives. Nicole remarked that she needed to walk the talk and follow her own advice to her students, taking the opportunity to read this unflinchingly honest poem.

The response in the room was immediate – pockets of laughter that rippled into a sea of knowing nods, that last line reverberating in our chests. The recipe poem is a form that has sometimes been used by poets to frame difficult or confrontational topics in what might appear to be a light-hearted way. We use recipes to not only create but also to learn and understand how different things work with and against each other. Nicole’s poem reveals her conflict with being part of a system that works against a major population of our school students, but she also questions what it might be doing to her own values and role as a teacher. The most powerful poetry, and the poetry I’ve found myself particularly drawn to in recent years, is a mirror that often throws back a reflection we don’t want to see. There is a bravery in this poem that cannot be ignored, and from what I heard from Nicole’s students I can tell that she is the type of inspirational teacher and voice we need in contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand.

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BY THE BOOK

Early riser P H OTO G R A P H Y BY A N N A B R I G G S

Novelist and computational biologist Danyl McLauchlan talks to Sarah Lang about the ordeal of insomnia and anxiety.

n mid 2017, Danyl McLauchlan began waking in the night, sometimes remaining awake until the next day dawned. The more anxious he felt about his insomnia, the harder it was to sleep, a vicious circle. ‘The way that made me feel was devastating,’ he says. One night at 3am, he went for a walk around Wadestown and was sure he could hear a choir. He peered into a school and church, but no one was there. He then followed the music through unlit tracks in the green belt before returning home. In the morning, he realised it was probably an auditory hallucination. Danyl tells this story in his essay ‘Arise and Pass Away,’ published this month in the anthology Headlands: New Stories of Anxiety (Victoria University Press, $30), edited by journalist Naomi Arnold. Danyl works as a computational biologist at Victoria University’s School of Biological Sciences. He’s friendly and honest, if sometimes brisk in his answers. But he’s happy to discuss something that others might conceal fearing some remaining stigma about mental illness. ‘Why doesn’t it bother me putting this stuff out there? I’m not sure. I’d made the decision that my books would make fun of myself, and maybe it just developed from there.’ Danyl saw his doctor the morning after that nocturnal walk. ‘He said the auditory hallucination was tied to sleep deprivation. I'm like “Uh, obviously! Why can’t I sleep?” I demanded. “Why is this happening? I don’t drink. I don’t take drugs. I’ve cut out caﬀeine. I drink peppermint tea. And now this. I can’t be wandering around my neighbourhood in the middle of the night, hallucinating. It’s completely inappropriate.”’

He’d had spells of depression in the past, but this time he was diagnosed with insomnia-induced anxiety. He took sleeping pills for a short time, but when he stopped them, the insomnia returned. He didn't want to go back on SSRI antidepressants (also used for anxiety) as they made him gain weight and feel sedated. But he started taking nortriptyline, a tricyclic antidepressant with a side eﬀect of sedation. That helped a little. But what really helped was meditation, once he realised it was a scientifically-based clinical treatment ‘not pointless new-age bullshit’. Danyl practises Buddhist-derived Samartha meditation, concentrating on the sensation of the breath at the nostrils. Initially, he felt bored and his attention kept wandering. ‘The saying “the mind doesn't want to be still” is absolutely true. But it got easier, and meditating every day seemed to make me psychologically and emotionally fitter.’ In his essay, he writes that he is ‘a cacophony of neural algorithms’ rather than a person in the eyes of Buddhists and neuroscientists. ‘It’s interesting to realise how little free will you have,’ he tells me. He also writes that he’s a ‘sometimes sleepless, sometimes anxious, sometimes medicated, sometimes depressed, often bewildered middle-aged man’. ‘That’s an accurate description of me at 44,’ he says with a grin. Danyl is funny and self-deprecating both in person and in his writing. His novels Unspeakable Secrets of the Aro Valley (2013) and Mysterious Mysteries of the Aro Valley (2016) send up both the student/ hippy setting and occult literature. ‘I’d call them Kiwi comic noir. I joked to my publisher that Unspeakable Secrets was “a classic Kiwi comic mystery erotic horror

SECTION HEADER

BY THE BOOK

adventure novel” and unfortunately he put that on the back cover.’ Danyl had read books in which the central characters seemed like the male authors’ fantasy version of themselves. He took the opposite approach in his novels, with their hapless protagonist called Danyl McLauchlan. ‘The character is the “Danyl not taken” – the person I might have become. I was once living in Aro Valley, working casual jobs. Then I travelled and worked overseas, and got my life into order.’ He likes taking the piss out of himself. ‘I have total freedom to mock the character.’ Not to mention gently mocking the setting. ‘Some friends living in Aro were trying to write books and zombie movies, but I noticed their actual lives seemed far more interesting, comic and story-worthy. One guy was dating this woman who was in a cult.’ In Unspeakable Secrets of the Aro Valley, Danyl is lured into a Byzantine cult led by Campbell Walker. The real Campbell Walker is a former Aro St Video Shop staffer who wore berets and made low-budget films. ‘He kindly agreed not to take legal action against me,’ Danyl jokes. In Mysterious Mysteries of the Aro Valley, Danyl returns from a psychiatric institution to find his vanished girlfriend and uncover an occult conspiracy. Danyl has lived in Wadestown for eight years. ‘Colleagues say “I thought you lived in Aro!” I'm a fraud in that respect.’ His current work-in-progress won’t be a third Aro novel, and he's not divulging details. ‘I'm writing a number of things, which I know is a mistake, as I’m very easily distracted.’ Yet he’s very disciplined. Danyl gets up at 4.30am to write for two hours or so before his hour-long walk to work. He goes to bed around 8 or 8.30pm, about the same time as his six-year-old daughter. ‘My wife Maggie gets outraged about this every single night.’ He can't sleep in, he says, because of his strong biological clock.

Speaking of biology, what is a computational biologist? ‘Biology researchers need someone around to help with the computer science and IT.’ There’s no typical day. ‘I might be helping out in the lab, building a server, analysing data from an algorithm. I'm not smart enough to do high-level research but I've landed in a good place. I’ve always wanted to do lots of different things. I did always want to write.’ A year ago, the Green Party supporter closed down his nine-year-old satirical political blog The DimPost. ‘When I wrote controversial things, I expected negative comments on my blog, but once I wrote about doing this walk and the same commenters said how much they hated me.’ It was no longer fun nor worth it. Instead he now writes essays, articles and book reviews for online magazines. He’s got some flak for mixed reviews of certain books. ‘I was advised not to review New Zealand writers because if you’re critical you make enemies. They’ll be standing next to you at book launches and sitting on judging and grant panels. The writer and publisher will carry that grudge ‘til the end of time, but it's deeply unsatisfying if you can’t be honest.’ He’s certainly been honest in his essay for Headlands. He got the commission after he and his friend Ashleigh Young – a VUP editor working on the book – were talking at a party. ‘Usually writers talk about lack of money, but we started talking about auditory hallucinations.’ Danyl appears in two panel sessions, including one discussing Headlands, at Litcrawl Wellington (8–11 November). He has only appeared at mainstream writers’ festivals a couple of times. ‘No one really invites me.’ The insomnia and anxiety still flare up. ‘This winter I got a virus, and I find it's impossible to meditate when you're sick and coughing. My sleep fell apart almost immediately. What helped was returning to meditation – for me, it’s extremely important.’

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T R AV E L

Passing the baton BY SA R A H L A N G

Sarah Lang finds some former Wellington hippies and a thriving Māori-tourism industry in Northland.

f Wellingtonians move away (we won’t mention house prices), families often land in the Wairarapa, the Kapiti Coast or perhaps Hawke’s Bay, while younger folk often head to Melbourne or London. But quite a few former Wellingtonians – mostly hippies, I hear – now live in the Hokianga, the region on Northland’s west coast around the Hokianga Harbour, a fiord-like estuary which points like a finger inland. Rawene residents Craig and Kirsty Joiner went to the same primary school in Wadestown but met properly later on. Thirty years ago, the couple heard the Hokianga was beautiful, visited, then bought a three-quarter-acre section in Rawene. They also bought a historic boatshed and set up a yacht-charter business. Twenty years ago they turned it into the Boatshed Café. For 18 years, Craig was head chef, known for his fresh, simple food, especially his flounder. People came to eat here from all over, thanks to word of mouth and Lonely Planet guidebook recommendations. In 2016, the couple sold the cafe (not the building) to spend more time with their four children and eight grandchildren.

The Joiners will stay here. ‘If we wanted to live in a city, Wellington would be it over Paris, London, Milan – it’s just a beautiful, compact place. But we just love Rawene: it’s very historic, with sea views, and a close community.’ In recent years, Rawene has experienced something of a revival, with heritage buildings restored, and art galleries opening. Across the street from the Boatshed, puzzle designer and collector Louis Toorenburg – a self- confessed former hippie – is manning his puzzle shop, a recently-opened offshoot of his 20-yearold Labyrinth Woodworks and Maze in Waimamaku near Rawene. Here I find the letters hidden in the simple maze and decipher the puzzle-related word (Rubik Cube Hell). I also find Sue Toorenburg knitting socks behind the counter of the puzzle museum and shop, surrounded by 600 puzzles (Louis has collected more than 2000). Sue and her two sisters grew up in Seatoun. ‘My grandfather was the first full-time headmaster at Seatoun School, and my father headed Rongotai College’s former intermediate-school department.’

Aerial view of Russell, the first capital Of New Zealand

T R AV E L

Thirty years ago, the mother-of-three moved to the Hokianga – and has stayed. ‘I miss Seatoun. I miss sunbathing at Worser Bay. But Rawene is a small community like Seatoun used to be, with a harbour. Instead of looking at brown hills below Eastbourne, we look at beautiful sand dunes. Instead of pine trees, we have kauri trees.’ Fewer kauri now. It’s estimated that only two to four percent of the original kauri have survived, due mainly to logging and now the kauri dieback disease, which is killing trees at around 40 Northland sites. To avoid spreading it, we squeegee our shoes before entering Waipoua Forest with Koro Carman, co-founder of Footprints Waipoua tours. ‘“Wai” means water, “pou” means night and “ua” means rain,’ Koro explains. He and Footprints’ other guides lead tours visiting the world’s largest known kauri trees: 2000-year-old Tāne Mahuta and the shorter, stouter 3000-year-old Te Matua Ngahere. In 2004, Koro and two friends were sitting in the forest at dusk, trying to think up an idea that would encourage holidaymakers to stay overnight in the Hokianga rather than just passing through. Their brainwave? Guided twilight tours. ‘Because no one will pay for what they can do for free,’ Koro points out. Enter Footprints Waipoua, with tours by day and by dusk to the trees, a short walk from the main road. I’d seen the trees by day. But they feel far more majestic on our ‘Twilight Encounter’,

which borders on cultural theatre with Koro’s waiata (song) and retelling of Māori myth. He mimics the calls of the male and female Kiwi – and soon we hear them for real. The Swedish couple with us squeal, wide-eyed. With support from NZ Māori Tourism and other organisations, Northland has a strengthening Māori-tourism industry, run by Māori for the benefit of Māori, and drawing on their culture, traditions, storytelling and natural environment. Established Māori-tourism operators like Koro are mentoring new start-ups and bringing Māori (especially youth) into the industry, giving them the option of continuing to live in the region and connect with their culture. Over dinner at the Copthorne Hokianga, Koro looks out over the harbour, sand dunes and thinned-out forests. ‘The harbour, Te Hokianga-nui-a-Kupe, is the cradle of a nation,’ he says, recounting the story of 10th century Hawaiki chief Kupe who paddled here by waka and stayed, later returning to Hawaiki and telling his people to settle Te Hokianga-nui-a-Kupe. You get the best view of ‘Kupe’s cradle’ at the Copthorne, built in 1899 as a boarding house, and later extended. Most of its 33 reasonably-priced rooms overlook the ocean. In December, owners Shane and Philippa Lloyd opened The Heads Omapere – 10 five-star luxury villas designed

Waka carving at Waitangi

T R AV E L

particularly for couples – on the site. Each villa has a private courtyard with hot tub and sun-loungers, a king-size bed and Nespresso machine, and the harbour is a minute’s walk away. Bliss. Over on the east coast, I visit the Waitangi Treaty Grounds in the Bay of Islands for the first time. Guide Shari Tito wears black jeans and a white t-shirt to represent her heritage: part Scottish, part American Indian, part Māori. ‘I was taught the genealogy passed down orally by our ancestors. If you can pass that baton, you should.’ She describes the stories behind the intricately-carved panels inside the Treaty ground meeting house Te Whare Rūnanga. ‘These panels are our library and tell our stories.’ Does Tito ever mention the Pakeha mistranslation of the Treaty into te reo Māori, especially regarding the crucial question of sovereignty? Only if someone asks. ‘I look forward, because to look back is more hurt.’ She once held anger and resentment. ‘But not now. We are all one.’ She seems to genuinely mean this. Tito shows us the world’s largest single-hull waka Ngatokimatawhaorua: 35.7 metres long, six tonnes, taking 80 paddlers and 55 passengers. ‘Waka symbolises moving together,’ she says. That’s the ethos at Te Aurere, the Kupe Waka Centre on Māori land at Doubtless Bay. Here waka captain Stan Conrad is spearheading

the creation of a wananga (Māori tertiary institution) that will teach waka building, carving, and celestial navigation, once fundraising is complete. Conrad envisages schoolkids visiting and international tourists choppering in. For now, it’s only accessible through a three-day Aurere Waka and Navigation Tour. Here, master waka builders Hekenukumai (Hector) Busby, Jack Thatcher, and Piripi Evans are passing on knowledge to the next generation. Conrad shows us four intricatelycarved waka, then 32 pou (carved pillars) spaced to form a celestial navigation circle (star compass) used by trainee navigators to measure the elevation of the stars. The father of the waka renaissance, 85-yearold Hector, drives into the celestial circle on a white Yamaha golf cart, wearing slippers. At his on-site home, Hector holds court, his disciples crowded around as he recalls waka trips including a stormy 23-day paddle to Rarotonga. Hector’s great-grand-niece Jolene Busby and her partner are both waka captains. The Whangarei-based couple bring their 12 children (five biological, seven fostered) here most weekends, paddling in small waka and teaching them navigation. ‘We use waka as a medicine to bring whanau together,’ Jolene says. ‘We can’t lose waka – they brought us here.’ Sarah Lang was hosted by NZ Māori Tourism

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SPORTS

SHIFU SUPREME Kung Fu guru Elliot Gonzales received the Supreme Award at the Karori Youth Awards last month. The award recognises outstanding service and contribution to youth in the Karori community. Five years ago Gonzales dreamed of having a Kung Fu club in Karori. Beginning with less than ten students, the Shaolin Kung Fu club now has 40 committed members with fluctuating casual participation. Gonzales was described as ‘possibly the most outstanding person ever awarded the Supreme Award, a great example of someone who makes things happen in his own community.’

SWEEPING THE STREETS

A DRAGON STORY

GLOW FOR GOOD

We have the Swedes to thank for plogging, a new fitness trend in Wellington. Plogging involves picking up rubbish while jogging. The eco movement originated in 2016 but spread to other countries early this year. Plogging means keen runners add a little extra weight to their workout while keeping the environment clean. With close to 300 members in Wellington, the Ploggers NZ Facebook group gives information about beach clean-ups and local plogging events.

Looking for a new sport? Head down to Whairepo Lagoon by Frank Kitts Park on 7 October to give dragon boating a try. CanSurvive Dragon Boat Team are hosting two hours of on-water fun, suitable for all ages, between 9 and 11am. CanSurvive, a group of breast cancer survivors, have been competing in dragon boating since 2003. The have-a-go day aims to raise awareness about their second team Can2, which is social and not limited to breast cancer survivors.

It’s time to dust off your fluoro clothes for the Neon Night Walk. Participants can choose between an 8 km, 16km, or 24km walk or run around Porirua’s Colonial Knob to fundraise for their chosen charity. The event runs from 5pm to 11pm on 27 October, and a zero waste policy means runners will leave nothing but footprints.

Fine print, small print, or “mouseprint” is less noticeable print smaller than the more obvious larger print it accompanies that advertises or otherwise describes or partially describes a commercial product or service.[1] The larger print that is used in conjunction with fine print by the merchant often has the effect of deceiving the consumer into believing the offer is more advantageous than it really is, via a legal technicality which requires full disclosure of all (even unfavorable) terms or conditions, but does not specify the manner (size, typeface, coloring, etc.) of disclosure. There is strong evidence that suggests the fine print is not read by the majority of consumers.[2]Fine print may say the opposite of what the larger print says. For example, if the larger print says “pre-approved” the fine print might say “subject to approval.” [3] Especially in pharmaceutical advertisements, fine print may accompany a warning message, but this message is often neutralized by the more eye-catching positive images and pleasant background music (eye candy). Sometimes television advertisements flash text fine print in camouflagic colors, and for notoriously brief periods of time, making it difficult or impossible for the viewer to rea Fine print, small print, or “mouseprint” is less noticeable print smaller than the more obvious larger print it accompanies that advertises or otherwise describes or partially describes a commercial product or service.[1] The larger print that is used in conjunction with fine print by the merchant often has the effect of deceiving the consumer into believing the offer is more advantageous than it really is, via a legal technicality which requires full disclosure of all (even unfavorable) terms or conditions, but does not specify the manner (size, typeface, coloring, etc.) of disclosure. There is strong evidence that suggests the fine print is not read by the majority of consumers.[2]Fine print may say the opposite of what the larger print says. For example, if the larger print says “pre-approved” the fine print might say “subject to approval.” [3] Especially in pharmaceutical advertisements, fine print may accompany a warning message, but this message is often neutralized by the more eye-catching positive images and pleasant background music (eye candy). Sometimes television a colors, and for notoriously brief periods of time, making it difficult or impossible for the viewer to rea Fine print, small print, or “mouseprint” is less noticeable print smaller than the more obvious larger print it accompanies that advertises or otherwise describes or partially describes a commercial product or service.[1] The larger print that is used in conjunction with fine print by the merchant often has the effect of deceiving the consumer into believing the offer is more advantageous than it really is, via a legal technicality which requires full disclosure of all (even unfavorable) terms or conditions, but does not specify the manner (size, typeface, coloring, etc.) of disclosure. There is strong evidence that suggests the fine print is not read by the majority of consumers.[2]Fine print may say the opposite of what the larger print says. For example, if the larger print says “pre-approved” the fine print might say “subject to approval.” [3] Especially in pharmaceutical advertisements, fine print may accompany a warning message, but this message is often neutralized by the more eye-catching positive images and pleasant background music (eye candy). Sometimes television advertisements flash text fine print in camouflagic colors, and for notoriously brief periods of time, making it difficult or impossible for the viewer to reaine print, small print, or “mouseprint” is less noticeable print smaller than the more obvious larger print it accompanies that advertises or otherwise describes or partially describes a commercial product or service.[1] The larger print that is used in conjunction with fine print by the merchant often has the effect of deceiving the consumer into believing the offer is more advantageous than it really is, via a legal technicality which requires full disclosure of all (even unfavorable) terms or conditions, but does not specify the manner (size, typeface, coloring, etc.) of disclosure. There is strong evidence that suggests the fine print is not read by the majority of consumers.[2]Fine print may say the opposite of what the larger print says. For example, if the larger print says “pre-approved” the fine print might say “subject to approval.” [3] Especially in pharmaceutical advertisements, fine print may accompany a warning message, but this message is often neutralized by the more eye-catching positive images and pleasant background music (eye candy). Sometimes television advertisements flash text fine print in camouflagic colors, and for notoriously brief periods of time, making it difficult or impossible for the viewer to rea Fine print, small print, or “mouseprint” is less noticeable print smaller than the more obvious larger print it accompanies that advertises or otherwise describes or partially describes a commercial product or service.[1] The larger print that is used in conjunction with fine print by the merchant often has the effect of deceiving the consumer into believing the offer is more advantageous than it really is, via a legal technicality which requires full disclosure of all (even unfavorable) terms or conditions, but does not specify the manner (size, typeface, coloring, etc.) of disclosure. There is strong evidence that suggests the fine print is not read by the majority of consumers.[2] Fine print may say the opposite of what the larger print says. For example, if the larger print says “pre-approved” the fine print might say “subject to approval.” [3] Especially in pharmaceutical advertisements, fine print may accompany a warning message, but this message is often neutralized by the more eye-catching positive images and pleasant background music (eye candy). Sometimes television a colors, and for notoriously brief periods of time, making it difficult or impossible for the viewer to rea Fine print, small print, or “mouseprint” is less noticeable print smaller than the more obvious larger print it accompanies that advertises or otherwise describes or partially describes a commercial product or service.[1] The larger print that is used in conjunction with fine print by the merchant often has the effect of deceiving the consumer into believing the offer is more advantageous than it really is, via a legal technicality which requires full disclosure of all (even unfavorable) terms or conditions, but does not specify the manner (size, typeface, coloring, etc.) of disclosure. There is strong evidence that suggests the fine print is not read by the majority of consumers.[2]Fine print may say the opposite of what the larger print says. For example, if the larger print says “pre-approved” the fine print might say “subject to approval.” [3] Especially in pharmaceutical advertisements, fine print may accompany a warning message, but this message is often neutralized by the more eye-catching positive images and pleasant background music (eye candy). Sometimes television advertisements flash text fine print in camouflagic colors, and for notoriously brief periods of time, making it difficult or impossible for the viewer to rea

Buying or selling property? Use our experience. We SEE the small print.

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30 Years

WOULD YOU LIKE A REUSABLE CUP WITH THAT? It’s now easier than ever to make a sustainable choice in Upper Hutt. We’re the latest city to join IdealCup CupCycling TM - the reusable cup movement taking off around the country. Simply purchase your IdealCup at one of over ten participating businesses in Upper Hutt and receive your first coffee free. Return your cup to any participating business when you buy your next coffee and get a clean cup. Easy as! The Upper Hutt version of the cup features the beloved piwakawaka and the message “Love Upper Hutt Choose to Reuse”. Available from 19 September.

GO WILD THESE SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

An advocate for conservation, Staglands Wildlife Reserve and Café is holding their Wild Trail Challenge from 15 September to 14 October where kids can learn more about our native birds and rare breeds as they interact in their natural habitat. Print the challenge sheet from www.staglands.co.nz, visit Staglands to complete the challenge, and receive free entry on your next visit and a Staglands Explorer badge.

IT’S EASY TO GET HERE Utilise our free parking or catch the train and arrive one minute away from our unique stores.

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T O R Q U E TA L K

Roving the land W R I TT E N BY RO G E R WA L K E R P H OTO G R A P H Y BY B R A DY DY E R

n 1947 Rover’s technical chief Maurice Wilks was walking along a beach in Wales trying to imagine a vehicle that could replace his old army-surplus Jeep. He sketched a design in the sand with his stick. That simple robust design contained the DNA of all the current Land Rover variations, including the aluminium (then from post-war surplus aircraft) used for the body panels, and the drab military surplus cockpit paint that decorated them. That original ‘Landie’ was the first widely available 4WD. And from Alaska to Zambia they became synonymous with versatility and rough-country capability. Along with the Ferguson tractor, which made English farms so productive, and the Spitfire which ensured that we didn’t speak German, the Land Rover is/was an icon of British ingenuity. The larger and comfier Range Rover series began life in 1970. Besides spawning four generations of itself, it generated many other variations on the 4x4 theme including the Defender, Discovery, Freelander, Sport and Evoque versions, and most recently, the Velar. (I did not know that the company also produces coffee, a range of pushbikes and even an all-terrain pushchair). Last week, I was invited to join a busload of car culturalists and prospective purchasers for the ‘Above and Beyond’ Land Rover experience at the privately owned Boomrock facility, high up on Wellington’s rugged west coast. So exciting at the start, and so memorable at the finish. There is a sealed track with a long straight, a chicane and a skidpan. In addition the ‘all terrain’ park has grassy, muddy and rocky terrain, water crossings and 8km of gravel roads, in a beautiful cliff-top setting with the Tasman sea in front and a wind turbine farm behind. We were dined, (but not wined ) and took turns driving the latest Range Rovers, the luxurious Vogue, the Sport, the Velar and the Evoque, on muddy, slippery surfaces (it had rained heavily the day before). All except the Evoque had 3.0-litre V6 turbo diesel motors (but you could order larger diesel or petrol engines if you wanted), four doors, seven seats, the choice of multiple wheel types and exterior and interior finishes, 8-speed auto transmissions, and adaptive dynamics and safety features. The Vogue is the top of the line, and the one prime ministers are often seen in. That particular model starts around $171,000 before extras. An interesting extra is bullet proof-

ing, which you could order if you really felt you needed it. The smaller Evoque has a 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo diesel, four doors, five seats, but still with most of the family bells and whistles. It is also available as a two-door convertible. There were also three Land Rover Discoveries on hand at the venue. Our mission, should we accept it, was to test one in the seriously challenging countryside. The Discovery has the familiar 3.0-litre V6 turbo diesel engine (a more powerful petrol engine is available), four doors, seven seats and 2,400 litres of load space in its aluminium body. It has 500mm of wheel articulation, leans to 27.5 degrees and can wade through 900mm-deep water. We tried to tip them over, get them stuck in the mud, or to skid them off down a steep wet hillside, but they universally refused, and needed little driver skill to perform amazingly well. These vehicles could easily handle a traverse of the Remutakas, if only the track were wide enough. In 68 years, the progress of technology and refinement at Land Rover is simply astonishing. It took the dinosaurs so much longer to become birds. There’s no getting out of the driver’s seat to manually engage front-wheel-drive. The driver sits in a comfortable command centre and dials up the unique ‘Terrain Response’ system. This is used to tell the vehicle what it is being asked to do – for example, to negotiate snow, mud, a steep descent, or deep water. The system cleverly optimises the vehicle’s engine, gearbox, centre differential, chassis air suspension and adjustable ride height systems to match the demands of the terrain, modulating the response of the throttle and suspension. It would have been interesting to compare the Discovery with the original Landie, which would on occasion (no power steering) break a driver’s thumb when a front wheel hit a rock, or cause back injuries on rough ground. Had such a thing happened at the event, it is comforting to think that at least some of the 40 prospective purchasers were probably doctors. Of course, as the owner of a 4x4, I love the philosophy of ‘making your own path’, rather than following an established one. Driving and car control in the Range Rover range, especially the hairy-chested Discovery, is wonderful, rewarding and confidence-building, and it can be done in complete comfort, wearing a suit if you wish, whilst listening to Dvorak on the splendid sound system.

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WĀ H I N E

G row i n g pains BY M E LO DY T H O M A S

little while ago I was being interviewed by a journalist about my work, when she made a throwaway comment about all the new, young faces pouring into news organisations, crowding out ‘people like us’. My initial confusion gave way to shock when I realised that by ‘us’ she meant old people, and she thought this included me. I got home and told the story to my husband. ‘Isn’t that hilarious?!’ I pleaded desperately. ‘Sorry babe,’ he said, ‘I know you think you’re young but you’re old.’ Because he never reads this column it feels safe to say this, so: he’s right. I am old. There are two kids that refer to me as Mum and one of them has been alive for coming-up six years. I am forever plucking the three hairs on my chin only to wake and find them grown again. I have a FUPA (Beyonce said it first – google if you need to) and some reverse-version of body dysmorphic disorder where I think I’m thinner than I am and only realise my actual size when I attempt to sail through a tiny gap behind someone’s chair and get stuck. Ever since I turned 30 it’s like the parts of my body struck a deal where at least one must be in pain at any given time, and by the time I finally figured out how to use Uber it was time to delete it and download Zoomy instead. In the weeks following the revelation that I’m not as cool as I thought I was I went through each of the five stages of grief − I bought stockings with ‘LOL’ and ‘WTF’ printed on them (denial) and ordered half a dozen small bottles of acid to rub on my face at night (bargaining). Finally, as I began to make inroads towards acceptance, I sat down and made a list of all of the woman I stan (youth slang that means admire or love), and thought about why

I do. You already know the moral of the story − every time it was their drive, intelligence, wit, sense of humour and capacity for empathy that won. The thing is, time and time again I hear women in their 50s, 60s and 70s say they feel better than they ever have in their lives. That after decades of working to be pleasing, passive, pliant and pretty, they’ve simply run out of shits to give. Obviously this outcome depends on a bunch of factors − economic security, good health, companionship and whānau, feeling useful and appreciated and having things in your life that you enjoy − but the idea of it is so reassuring to me. When I look back on who I was in my 20s it’s amazing to me how many shits I’ve already shed − to think we’ve decades’ worth more to lose! How light we’re going to feel! The other night I went out to a gig and found myself in a sea of 18-to-20-somethings. I clocked the fact that I was one of the oldest people there, tweeted about it, then bought a beer and danced and sang for a couple of hours to one of my favourite bands. After they finished I joined a huge queue in the ladies’ bathroom, and as I neared the front a young woman emerged from a stall, stood in front of the mirror next to me and said, ‘Oh God, is it the lighting that’s bad or is it just my face?’ I didn’t even wait for her to take a breath. ‘You’re gorgeous!’ I replied. ‘If you don’t know how beautiful you are we’re all screwed! I’m not letting you look in the mirror again − you obviously can’t trust your own eyes.’ She laughed and looked away from the mirror towards me. ‘Can you be my Mum?’ she asked. ‘I’d be honoured,’ I said.