Homewood bound

BY SOPHIE CARTER PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDY HANSEN

RESTAURANT

Ortega

Fish Shack

FILM

Four Weddings and a Funeral

HOLIDAY Outer Hebrides

Royal invitations, magical dinners, and counter-terrorism. It’s all in a day’s work for Iona Thomas, OBE.

In August last year diplomat Iona Thomas touched down in the Shaky Isles to begin her posting as British High Commissioner to New Zealand and Governor of the Pitcairn Islands.

The move hasn’t been difficult. Iona has developed a knack for adjusting to new cultures. Her family travelled regularly during her childhood, living in Germany, Belgium, and the USA. “It was perhaps inevitable that I’d end up doing something that allowed me to live and work in different countries,” she says. After returning to the UK for university, she again headed overseas, working with charities, then teaching in Malawi and Chile.

Our little capital is a change of pace for Iona, who has had previous diplomatic postings to Pakistan and Libya. It was her work in Libya that earned her an OBE, re-establishing a British Embassy in Tripoli, after it was evacuated when civil war broke out 2014.

May is shaping up to be a busy month in Iona’s hectic schedule, starting with the biggest event of her year, His Majesty King Charles III’s coronation on May 6. “I’m enormously privileged to be invited. It will be amazing to be part of such a historic occasion.”

Fashion-conscious Iona has asked Trelise Cooper to design her outfit for the event. Iona says she has enjoyed discovering Kiwi designers. “I firmly believe that you can never have too many handbags, so it’s been great to find talented local designers, such as Jessie Wong and her Yu Mei line.”

A coronation celebration is also being held by the British High Commission, at its Karori residence

Languages

English, French, a little Spanish, learning Te Reo

Homewood, which will recognise people from various voluntary sectors. Homewood will be bustling with guests throughout the month, and two Wellington on a Plate events are being hosted there. “We arrived during Welly on a Plate last year and really enjoyed going to a couple of events and experiencing the buzz it created, so it’s great to be taking part as hosts this year,” says Iona. One of these events, Aslan’s Table, inspired by C S Lewis’ Narnia novels, will offer a magical wintry feast, created by chef James Perry. The second event, Sensory Botanics, is all about gin, offering local and British tipples with live music and canapes.

Built in 1847, Homewood is one of the oldest buildings in Karori. “It’s a fantastic, iconic house and people are always sharing their memories of it with me,” says Iona, who lives there with her husband and fellow diplomat Matt Thoume.

Keen hikers, the pair have managed to see a lot of Aotearoa in a short time, exploring the Wairarapa and Central Otago, and in March they completed the three-day Routeburn Track in Fiordland. “We had amazing weather and the views were spectacular. The DOC huts were surprisingly comfortable too!”

On her return to England, Iona is looking forward to a “Sunday roast at the pub.” Coming recently from Pakistan, Matt misses the curry, though “we’ve found a few curry houses here that we like too.”

Having happily discovered ginger crunch and Whittaker’s chocolate, these self-described “brunch people” seem to have decided that Wellington is the icing on the cake.

Much more than just a place to put down a bottle, the Sydney trolley is a statement in your home which can be styled in so many ways. Available from BoConcept Wellington.

BoConcept Wellington is the go-to destination for highquality Danish furniture that can be customised to suit your style and space. With a team of experienced interior designers available, they help you bring your home décor ideas to life.

WE’RE HOME

The people of the Royal NZ Ballet company – from the dancers and choreographers to the costumiers and administrators – are delighted to be back in their HQ, the Edwardian St James Theatre building, after its four plus years of seismic strengthening. Now the timing’s right for new production of timeless ballet Romeo & Juliet, 4-6 May. Can’t make it? Between 16 June and 6 July, you can purchase an online broadcast of the production, filmed during the Wellington season.

How We Choose

Award winning comedian, actor, writer, and director Sameena Zahra grew up living between India and Britain. She was living in England, and performing solo-comedy shows worldwide, when she visited Aotearoa in 2016. “I fell in love with Wellington.” She later convinced her musician/poet husband to move here. At 2022’s Wellington Theatre Awards, Sameena was nominated for Outstanding Performer for solo show Tea with Terrorists. During the NZ International Comedy festival, she performs Immigrunting, (9–13 May). “I ask ‘why pick me as an immigrant? How do we choose and discard people?’”

ROLL-INS

American artist, musician, writer, broadcaster and actor, Henry Rollins, travels the world performing spokenword shows that mix political commentary, pop culture, and personal anecdotes. It’s been seven years, but he’s back for a New Zealand tour. His Wellington show, 8 July, is at Old St Paul’s, a venue chosen for its excellent acoustics and striking architecture.

Changing Times

The title of Mozart and da Ponte’s opera Così fan tutte loosely translates to "they all do that” regarding women's unfaithfulness to men. Thankfully attitudes to women have progressed since 1790. Lindy Hume directs and Natalie Murray Beale conducts NZ Opera’s new production of Così fan tutte, set in contemporary times. Soprano Emma Pearson (The Marriage of Figaro) has the vocally demanding role of Fiordiligi. No outright spoilers here, but it’s part farce, part tragi-comedy. 14-18 June, Opera House.

Go Figure

A ceramic bust of a woman “weeping” gold tears – Black Haired Weeper With Tears of Gold by Andrea du Chatenier – is on display in the NZ Portrait Gallery exhibition In the Round: Portraits by Women Sculptors (until 14 May). Curator Milly Mitchell-Anyon says in New Zealand, noticeably fewer women than men pursued careers in sculpture. Of those who did, many were underrepresented and underappreciated. This exhibition displays three-dimensional, free-standing figurative sculptures by seven artists from the last century.

In It Together

Award-winning Porirua singer-songwriter Aja Ropata (who performs as AJA) has a theatre-practitioner partner and a daughter who dances. They’ll perform cameo roles in her show Manawa Pao, Circa, 2, 3 June. She’ll sing original and new work (including waiata in te reo Māori and English), bringing in creative friends in a production that’s a hybrid of music, theatre, dance, poetry, and visual art. It’s Aja’s first-ever theatrical show. Is she nervous or excited? “Both!” Manawa Pao opens indigenous-arts festival Kia Mau, 2–7 June which comprises 16 productions around Wellington.

Access Axis

See works from our up-andcoming contemporary dancers and choreographers in the New Zealand School of Dance’s Choreographic Season at Te Whaea, from 23 to 29 June. This year titled Axis, it consists of eight independent works, each composed by a student, stitched together to create a sense of one collective work. Third-year student Elliot Gordon’s choreography is a duet about romantic love.

Once In A Lifetime

NZSO National Youth Orchestra members from around the country converge in the capital on 30 June to perform with Giancarlo Guerrero, a six-time GrammyAward-winning conductor, music director of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, and a champion of youth orchestras and music education. He will lead the young musicians in performances of Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations, Aaron Copland’s Billy the Kid Suite, and the world premiere of The Convergence of Oceans by 2023 National Youth Orchestra Composer-inResidence Nathaniel Otley.