NZ Herald Plus Feature - May 2019

A New Zealand Herald Commercial Publication

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

WIN A YATES

FIFTY AND FIT Making positive changes

20 YEARS OF

THE SOPRANOS WAS IT REALLY THAT GOOD?

See NEW YORK like a local

GARDENING HAMPER

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nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Tuesday, May 21, 2019

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FITNESS

nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Tuesday, May 21, 2019

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Keeping fit in your 50s Staying healthy and active is important as we age, writes Joanna Mathers

W

hether you’re a lifelong gym bunny or a couch potato with everything heading south, exercise and healthy eating is even more important once you reach the big 50.

The 50s are the age when health issues can start to kick in; heart disease, osteoporosis, high blood pressure and a raft of other agerelated conditions emerge as our bodies age.

Being mindful of what we eat, getting enough sleep, and regular exercise can all help to mitigate the effects of ageing, but you need to be committed to making changes and keeping them.

It’s never too late to make positive changes and to see positive results.

Personal trainer Brooke Frandi (52) can testify to this — she used the power of exercise after a dramatic car accident left her with a brain injury.

“In 2014, I had an accident that lead to bad head trauma,” she explains. “I was taking very strong pain killers, which were having terrible side effects. But I forced myself to exercise

at the gym every day.”

Heading to the gym four or five times a week, the lifelong fitness fanatic made slow progress at first.

But her weight training and cardiovascular workouts slowly started to work their magic.

“I’m actually fitter now than I’ve ever been,” she says. “Anyone can get back on top if they try and put the effort in.”

One of the keys to keeping fit and healthy in your 50s is to include weight training in your workout regime. Frandi explains that the extra compression on the bones and bone mineral density decreases the likelihood of conditions such as osteoporosis. This is particularly important for women, who make up 80 per cent of those suffering with the condition.

Weight is great Weight training at the gym is great for strengthening, but those who prefer something less intensive might prefer to choose an activity such as yoga.

Yoga is a celeb-endorsed exercise system (Gwyneth Paltrow claims to have popularised it through her lifestyle website Goop) that works with the mind and body to help create increased health and wellbeing. It has proven mental health benefits and the more rigorous versions (such as ashtanga) also offer a cardiovascular boost as well.

Energy levels tend to go down as our years on earth go up. It’s tempting to stay still if you feel tired, but it’s also counterproductive. Sedentary lifestyles lead to health problems such as heart disease, so it’s important to exercise even if you feel knackered.

When a person exercises the heart muscles contract, and this increases the amount of blood that flows through the arteries. Changes in the autonomic nervous system start to occur, and this in turn leads to a lower heart rate when you are resting. The flow-on effect of this is lower blood pressure and a more even heart rate, which reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Another important byproduct of regular exercise is that it helps reduce levels of inflammation that can lead to heart attacks.

There is also evidence that regular exercise can reduce the risk of cancer.

A study undertaken in the United States followed more than 1000 individuals for a period of several years.

The results showed those who exercised were less likely to suffer from either breast or colon cancer, but the reasons why have been hard to pinpoint.

The science supporting the import-

Yoga is a celeb endorsed exercise system... that works with the mind and body to help increase health and wellbeing ance of exercise is there, but for many of us, the motivation isn’t. Having a fitness buddy can help. If you are working, look for someone of the same age who is keen to take regular lunchtime strolls with you. Make gym dates with your partner, or join a walking group. Exercising with others provides motivation and is a great way to socialise healthily.

Eat right Healthy eating is just as important as good exercise. It’s easier to put on weight as you get older, as the metabolism starts to slow down. Extra weight (especially around the abdomen) increases the likelihood of health conditions such as diabetes and certain types of cancer.

Fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, and good proteins are the backbone of any good diet. The villains are saturated fats, sugar and processed food. If you are concerned about what you are eating, keep a food diary for a week. This will help you pinpoint your problem eating areas and help you to redirect you towards healthier alternatives.

There are many online resources to help people wanting to experiment with new and healthy food. Try holding a healthy dinner party for friends and experiment with new ingredients and recipes. Embrace the new food fads — raw food and vegan food may not work for you as a full-time diet, but it’s fun to experiment with new flavours.

And remember to cut down on the drinking — it has far more negative than positive effects as we get older.

A couple of glasses a few times a week is more than sufficient and your body will thank you for it.

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ADULT CHILDREN

nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Helping children on to the ladder I

Diana Clement

birthright. Gifting money can also breed entitlement. They expect you to give them money whenever they need it.

t’s as Kiwi as paua and pavlova to help your adult children buy their first home. Whilst many parents go guarantor on the children’s home, there are other ways to help.

Just beware that banks want to see evidence that the borrowers can save and manage their money. If the entire deposit is stumped up by the parent the adult child may not be viewed as a good risk by the bank.

Go guarantor In the 21st century an awful lot of parents choose to guarantee their adult children’s first home loan. The bank secures the loan against the parents’ house.

One downside of this is the parents can and do lose their own homes if their children default. The risk can be mitigated if parents take legal and lending advice, says Stuart Wills mortgage broker at the Mortgage Supply Company. For example, a mortgage broker can help ensure the guarantee is limited to the minimum amount required, not unlimited as is often the case. Westpac has a product called Family Springboard for exactly this purpose, says Wills, although it has limitations, such as the child having to repay the parents’ portion in 10 years, which not all can afford to do, says Wills.

Co-buy with the children A parent and child can buy together.

With co-borrowing the child doesn’t have to pay the entire cost and the parent shares in the capital gain, which can be a bonus for a parent looking for investment opportunities. There are downsides. Cobuying means the child probably

Lend the deposit If you don’t have the money to gift, need it for your own retirement, or don’t want it to become relationship property, consider loaning the money for a deposit. Just be aware that loans like gifts can create tension in a family and sometimes they simply don’t get repaid. The children view the loan as an early inheritance.

Reducing interest using offset mortgages Parents with a chunk of spare cash sometimes deposit it in the child’s offset mortgage, says Wills. BNZ, Westpac and Kiwibank have accounts that allow parents to deposit a chunk of money in the child’s offset mortgage, reducing the interest paid while it’s there. The money still belongs to the parents.

The family trust buys Family trusts can buy the property for the child who then pays rent to the trust, but the house is, in effect, theirs. The trust could also make a gift or a loan to the child to buy in their own name. Good legal advice is needed. won’t qualify for a KiwiSaver first home withdrawal or the HomeStart grant. A property sharing agreement is needed and even then sometimes adult children have different views on what the arrangement is.

Borrow against your home It’s common for parents in New Zealand to extend their own mortgage to extract a deposit for the children. The

money can then be gifted or lent to the children. You really do need to take legal advice about this because it can turn into a quagmire if your offspring and their spouse/partner later split, or they lose the home to a mortgagee sale.

Give a cash gift If you are secure financially and can afford to, a no-strings attached cash

gift might work. But make sure you get legal advice for this and the next point, says Wills. The downside is if it’s a gift not a formal loan, then it becomes relationship property divided between the unhappy couple should the relationship later break down. A loan can be recalled if they divorce. Be wary of causing bitterness and division between your children who may view an inheritance as their

Help with the incidentals If your offspring is stretching to the last cent to buy their home and you have some spare cash you could pay for the building report, conveyancing, insurance, moving costs, furniture and other items that home buyers sometimes don’t budget for.

Sometimes it’s better for everyone if the child has to save up for a few years to get their first home.

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nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Tuesday, May 21, 2019

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FOOD

nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Javier Carmona and David Saavedra, owners of Royal G at The Eatery at Eastridge.

Photo / Rebecca Zephyr Thomas

A dash of sophistication

K

Ewan Mc Donald

ids today, they don’t know how lucky they are. When we were their age, we didn’t eat out, unless you count Friday night fish’n’chips. When mine were small, we took Cate and Alex to Cobb & Co for a treat. Later, to introduce them to the richness of exotic cuisine, it was Pizza Hut, sitdown in those days, with red-andwhite check tablecloths because it was an Italian restaurant.

We’re so sophisticated now. We’ve had McDonalds (no relation, though I owned a burger restaurant once), KFC, Burger King and we’re about to enjoy the delights of Taco Bell. Every mall has its own food hall, or hell, and I don’t mean the pizza.

The newest kid on the block raises the bar. It’s the Eatery at Eastridge, until recently a rather tired little shopping centre on Kepa Rd, Mission Bay. Rather smaller than the food court at your local Westfield, and this is the last time I’ll make that rather unfair comparison, the Eatery scores for the quality of its operators and their food, its fitout, and that intimacy.

Most of those operators have, or have had, well-regarded eateries around the city, and given the demographic of the area it would be wrong for me to give the impression this is just a place to take the kids. It’s rather more grown-up than that.

For those who aren’t au fait with this part of town, Eastridge has been built on the crest of a commanding maunga.

Recent renovation, creating the Eatery, has opened up the frontage, so that one has a view of the arterial route and the carpark. It is designed as a “shared eating space” — choose food and beverage from one of the

Ruby red.

Just like everything else at Rawhiti, it’s her choice.

nine or so kitchens, or pool together a meal from different places and tuck in at the communal tables.

Whoever planned this democratic dining experience did not reckon with the New Zealand licensing laws: some places can sell you wine or beer but you can only drink it at certain tables, which might not be where the rest of your party is seated and planning to eat and hoping to drink.

A minor, but frustrating, inconvenience.

Most operators describe their menus as street food — cute, and contemporary, but it’s really a little more sophisticated than that.

You may have heard of most of them: K Rd Malaysian Uncle Man, chicken curry and dahl, nasi lemak; Dante’s wood-fired, sourdough-base pizzas; Boy and Bird’s chicken every which way; and Temakeri, the grownup sibling of Temaki Food Truck, Japanese / Korean-influenced sushi wraps with a kimchi twist, which are said to be very big in Brazil.

Bridget and I thought we would be smart when taking her daughter for her first grown-up eating-out experience: Natalia is 8, and we thought that the place wouldn’t be too crowded and overwhelming at 6pm on a Monday evening.

That’s usually Ground Zero for most eateries — if they’re even open — but we were wrong. The place was buzzing and we worried we might have trouble finding a space at a communal table. Fortunately, there’s a quick turnover. Call it fast food. We opted for Royal-G, created by Javier Carmona, formerly of Inti, Mexico and Beirut, and his business partner David Saavedra, because we’d heard good things about their place.

The sign above their eatery reads “Not Your Mum's Indian”, which means that they don’t serve those

recipes Kiwis think are Indian but were concocted in Glasgow or Birmingham. Instead, you’ll find Mr Singh's Dry Spiced Fish, Bombay Street Sammy and First Class Railway Pork.

That would be me: the slowcooked meat atop a hearty wrap — well, most of it dripped out the sides and on to the platter, to be swabbed up into a mess of gorgeousness including green chilli pickles, mung beans and several other tastes that I might not have been able to define.

For Bridget, a similar experience, with chicken, capsicum and fennel, allegedly from Pondicherry, but we’ve already agreed that most menu names are merely allusions rather than specific cultural or cuisine attributions these days.

Our food was good, but Natalia’s was the highlight: tiffin dishes of rice, chicken and vegetables, just the right size and presentation for a child, and my praise to the server, who made her both comfortable and special, and came back several times to make sure everything was okay.

More than happy with the experience, we returned to the Eatery that weekend, settling on Alex and Nigar Isik’s Noa. They’re the couple behind Deco Titirangi, Devon on the Devonport Wharf and Bodrum New Lynn, as well as Miss Istanbul in Ponsonby Central.

If you mix those together, you come out with this bar serving charcoal-grilled meats and smoky burgers. The sort of comfort food you need after an exhausting afternoon at swimming lessons — large, meaty, juicy ones for Mama and godfather; more petite replacement energy for Natalia. Kids today, they don’t know how lucky they are. ● The Eatery at Eastridge 215 Kepa Rd, Mission Bay @eateryateastridge

After decades building lives of their own design, the residents of Rawhiti Estate have found the place where they can continue to do the same in retirement.

From the way we created each apartment, to the suite of services available, everything we do is bespoke.

Our view is it’s your life to live how you wish, and retirement should be no different. Right down to your manicure preference.

If you or a loved one is looking for a bespoke arrangement that goes above and beyond expectations, come and connect with us at our next Open Home or call Angus on 09 522 7001 to arrange a visit.

Join us at our

Open Home Sunday 16th June | 12- 3 PM | Estate tours and refreshments 14 Rangitoto Avenue, Remuera | RawhitiEstate.co.nz

TRAVEL

nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Tuesday, May 21, 2019

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The Staten Island ferry.

Photos / Getty Images; Supplied

New York, like a local Follow the locals to NYC’s best spots to dine, shop, play and stay, writes Kristie Kellahan

N

ew York, New York. A city so nice, they named it twice.

With so much to see, do and eat in the city that never sleeps, it pays to skip the tourist traps and head straight for the spots locals love.

Take a bite There’s no shortage of great food in NYC. If you have limited time to eat it all, mix it up between high/low and across different cuisines, price points and neighbourhoods.

For the hottest restaurants, you’ll need to book in advance. Start planning a few months ahead by subscribing to the EaterNY and NYC Yelp review sites. On the hot list right now are Manhattan, the downtown finedining spot where tipping is not allowed, and Frenchette, a Paris-style bistro. For the true romantics, breakfast (or afternoon tea) at Tiffany’s Blue Box Cafe on Fifth Avenue is a must.

There's nothing more New York than a classic steakhouse, and there's nowhere more classic than Peter Luger Steak House in Brooklyn. Book well in advance, bring cash (credit cards are not accepted) and arrive hungry.

Prix fixe menus can run to hundreds of dollars at New York's finest restaurants, so take this tip from those in the know: Lunchtime is when you'll bag a bargain. Same chef, same kitchen, same white tablecloths, at a fraction of the price. From Porter House at Columbus Circle, to Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Nougatine, threecourse lunch menus can be savoured for less than $50.

If your budget is more hot dogs than haute cuisine, follow the food trucks. New Yorkers love these mobile cafes-on-wheels and vote vigorously in the annual Vendy Awards.

Serving cupcakes, lobster rolls, fried chicken, Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches and more, food trucks can be found near all the major tourist destinations. Queues wrap around the block for the lamb and chicken plates from The Halal Guys food truck on the corner of 53rd St and 6th Ave.

From left: Brooklyn Bridge; Williamsburg; Flushing, Queens (below right); Peter Luger's Steak House, Brooklyn (below left).

Culture fix World's best museums, galleries and outdoor exhibitions compete with Broadway extravaganzas, jazz greats and stand-up comedy for your attention in NYC. For the most popular Broadway shows, including Hamilton, it’s best to book your ticket before you book your flight. If you’re happy to go with the flow and see what’s playing that day, digital lottery or standing-roomonly tickets can deliver great savings. Check out the Playbill website for latest listings.

After you've visited the must-see museums — the Met, the MoMA and the Whitney — explore some of the city's other gems. The Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side recreates the living conditions of past residents from different eras in an authentic tenement apartment building. Timed-entry tickets should be booked in advance. Museum of the City of New York goes deeper into the city's history and psyche with onpoint exhibitions and discussions. At Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens, blockbuster exhibitions in the past have covered a re-creation of the Mad Men sets and an in-depth look inside the world of The Muppets.

Have a laugh at one of the city's

leading comedy clubs, including the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, Caroline's Comedy Club and Gotham.

Famous funny faces — Jerry Seinfeld, Ray Romano, Amy Schumer — have been known to stop by for an impromptu set or to try out new material.

Shopping is a sport, so play hard True New Yorkers avoid paying retail prices, making the most of outlet shopping and end-of-season sales. Be sure to stop by Century 21 and TJ Maxx stores for drastic designer markdowns, though be ready to wade through overstuffed racks. Serious shoppers should consider a day trip to Woodbury Common, an outlet mall about an hour north of Manhattan where the brand-name bargains are unbeatable. In May, a new outlet mall is opening on Staten Island. Even better, time your visit to coincide with Black Friday in November, the day after Thanksgiving, when the best sales of the year are found city-wide.

For unique NYC souvenirs, ditch the fake NY Yankees caps and cheap T-shirts. Instead, consider the gift stores of museums, where you’ll find lovely and original mementos of the city, including jewellery, subwaythemed toys and books. Well worth a look are the stores at Tenement Museum, MoMA Design Store, Museum of the City of New York and The Met on Fifth Ave. A walk across the Brooklyn Bridge is a must. It doesn’t cost a cent, leaving you with greenbacks in your pocket

to spend on unique finds in the borough that is home to the Brooklyn Flea market and vintage stores along Bedford Ave. Borough deeper Speaking of Brooklyn, true New Yorkers know the best of the city goes beyond the famous island of Manhattan. NYC is made up of five boroughs, so use the subway and ferry service to get out and about to see the best of Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx.

Sports nuts will find much to cheer about in the Bronx, a straight shot on the subway to the north of Manhattan. Yankee Stadium, home of the famous Yankees baseball team, proudly waves the Bronx flag, and is a great place to watch the popular American ball game with a beer in one hand and a foot-long hotdog in the other. While you’re up there, check out the New York Botanical Garden, pay a visit to the Bronx Zoo or join a thrilling tour of the birthplace of hip-hop music.

Queens has been called the most diverse of all the boroughs, and the flavours of the world are wellrepresented in neighbourhoods including Astoria (delicious Greek food), Jackson Heights (Colombian

empanadas) and Flushing’s thriving Chinatown. The 7 subway train now runs from Hudson Yards in Manhattan, all the way to Flushing.

Hop aboard what’s been nicknamed the International Express and taste your way around. If a guided food tour appeals, check out Culinary Backstreets’ deep dive into Queens culinary culture.

The way to the hipster heart of Brooklyn might also be through its stomach. At Smorgasburg, held every weekend, more than 100 vendors bring their gastronomic greatness to the table for a feast that has been described as the Woodstock of eating.

A free ride on the Staten Island Ferry might fall into tourist territory, but it’s still well worth it for the best views of the Statue of Liberty and lower Manhattan. Don’t stay on the ferry and immediately return to Manhattan. Visitors to Staten Island enjoy the serenity of Chinese Scholar's Garden and Fort Wadsworth, with its historic ties to the Revolutionary War. Then, pizza. Locals will tell you the best pizza in all of NYC can be found at Staten Island staple, Denino’s Pizzeria.

Whatever you do, don’t use a knife and fork. ● To plan your NYC holiday, see nycgo.com.

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TELEVISION

nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Tuesday, May 21, 2019

As The Sopranos celebrates its 20th anniversary Greg Fleming sets aside 85 hours and sits down for a marathon rewatch

I

’ve been as guilty of it as anyone — proclaiming we’re living in a Golden Age of TV — recently we’ve had Escape at Dannemora, Succession, a politically charged season of The Good Fight and Patrick Melrose . All of them are great in their own way, but as good as they are, will I return to them in 20 years’ time?

That’s an eternity in the pop culture zeitgeist. Most shows, even good ones (anyone remember HBO’s first original drama Oz or our own shortlived cop show Harry?) — are, like Trump’s dismissed Cabinet members, forgotten in a news cycle or two.

Unless, that is, the show is Deadwood, The Wire, Mad Men, Breaking Bad or the grandaddy of them all, The Sopranos.

All turn up in every “greatest of all time” discussions; but cast your eye to the top of the list and, odds on, you’ll see The Sopranos — a show dreamt up by a depressed, middleaged, then moderately successful TV exec with mummy issues named David Chase, about a depressed, moderately successful mobster with mummy issues named Tony Soprano.

Surprise hit Chase had been hiding in plain sight for years; had worked on The Rockford Files and Northern Exposure when the opportunity to create his own show fell into his lap.

Not exactly the sort of pedigree you’d expect from someone who would soon create the greatest show of all time but Chase, after a career of toeing the line and making compromises, had a vision.

In 1997 as he finished filming the pilot he said: “It’ll either change the face of television forever, or sink like a stone.”

Even the cast members thought it’d be cancelled early.

The show didn’t just float when it finally aired in 1999, it levitated; snaring millions of viewers early it never looked back, running until 2007 when Chase shut the juggernaut down (much to the horror of his HBO bosses) with that ending.

By then Chase was tired of it, said he’d “had enough”.

The Sopranos Sessions Over the last two months I’ve rewatched all six seasons to see if it’s as good as everyone says it is (there were seven seasons really — there are 21 eps in season 6; but apparently making it two would’ve require giving too many people a wage rise).

That’s around 85 hours of tv; and by my side was a new book about the show The Sopranos Sessions by Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz.

During its original run the authors were covering television for New Jersey’s Star Ledger (the hometown newspaper of both Tony Soprano and David Chase) and that knowledge combined with the detailed research and episode-by-episode exposition make this the definitive Sopranos tome.

As novelist Laura Lippman observes in her foreword to their 464-page book: “If the FBI had brought this level of exhaustive investigation to the Soprano Family itself, Tony would have been locked up by the end of season one.”

It’s not always an easy watch — “The Sopranos challenged TV to be better,” the Sopranos Sessions authors say. “And it challenged us to be better viewers.”

It’s a deep-dive read that fans can return to, each time gleaning new insights — did you know for example that Al Green’s Love and Happiness was almost the song accompanying

The Sopranos sessions SOPRANOS TAKEAWAYS ● There are no weak seasons; but it’s a bit like that old saying about Beethoven’s symphonies — “the odd numbers are the ones” — so 1, 3, 5 and what should have been 7. ● Despite the flip-phones it hasn’t dated.

Tony’s a racist, sexist and depressed mobster who uses charm or bullying to get what he wants — remind you of anyone?

As critic Stephen Whitty has pointed out: “We used to marvel at the world of The Sopranos, once. Now, 20 years later, we live in it.” And in light of last month’s college admissions scandal one can’t forget Carmela trying to bribe the college dean with her baking. ● It’s very funny — (Chase was a big Laurel and Hardy fan) full of a particular kind of black humour — a high Christopher sitting on and killing Adriana’s dog in season five those final moments? (Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ of course prevailed).

Reading this book is almost as good as watching the show itself; almost.

After my rewatch marathon I’m convinced The Sopranos deserves all its plaudits and more; it’s an enduring cultural phenomenon of 21st century entertainment not unlike Proust’s In Search of Lost Time was for early 20th century literature.

What Proust did for high society Parisians, Chase does for a bunch New Jersey mobsters who work out of a strip club , making magnificent, enduring art out of the day-to-day (one of my favourite scenes is Tony fixing himself a plate of icecream and sitting down to watch his beloved History Channel before getting interrupted by another one of life’s dramas; the look on his face is priceless).

Both works were groundbreaking but also remain emotionally resonant; their impact depeening as the decades pass and the weight of achievement recognised.

Slow TV The show’s success starts with the writing and casting.

The late Gandolfini is still the most compelling protagonist in television.

The Sopranos Sessions by Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz

(“it must’ve crept under there for warmth” he reasons), the hilarious Waiting for Godotlike Pine Barrens, the ep where Chrissie and Paulie kill a waiter after he had the nerve to question a low tip, and who can forget Lauren Bacall getting mugged for her goody bag. ● Chase knew his music and used it to devastating effect. The doomed Golria Trillo dancing to The Lost Boy’s (Stevie Van Zandt’s band)Affection; Sinatra’s It was a Very Good Year over the second season opening montage (“The whole show was about ageing, time and mortality,” Chase told Noisey in 2015. “That was one of the first instances of presenting that theme musically”). ● It is also one of the most acute portraits of a marriage (Tony and Carmela) ever put on film.

He and his fellow cast members looked different than people on network TV. They were often overweight, slovenly, they weren’t particularly articulate or attractive, most were brand new faces, or little known (can you imagine Ray Liotta or Chaz Palimenteri — both considered for the part — as Tony?). That authenticity helped sell that this was a real world we were experiencing.

Despite Tony’s occupation, Gandolfini gives him a sort of everyman spirit, disillusioned,

damaged, seeking.

“The decent part of Tony,” writes Matt Zoller Zeitz, “the part that stood in for the tragically wasted human potential Dr Melfi kept trying to tease out and embrace, came from Gandolfini.

His humanity shone through Tony’s rotten facade”.

Edie Falco — as trapped in her life-role as Tony is in his — is just as good; and the supporting players — especially ever-coiffed Paulie (Tony Sirico), Chrissie (Michael Imperioli), Adriana (Drea de Matteo) and Janice (Aida Turturro) are superb.

Another difference: Chase was in no hurry to tell the story. Themes would play out over seasons, but apart from a silly sojourn in Italy in season two, it all counted. That patience allowed it to cover a gamut of issues without it ever feeling forced — mental illness, political corruption, homosexuality, suicide, family, matricide, race, toxic masculinity, addiction, even fat-shaming.

Movie like Chase also approached the episodes as a movie director would — sitting down with the director of photography, going through the script, breaking down the scenes into shots.

And its characters spoke differently

James Gandolfini (centre), and below with Edie Falco in The Sopranos. Photos / Supplied

too.

“It was writing more the way people actually speak in real life.

People very often don’t say what they mean. They lie to each other,” said writer Terence Winter.

I rolled through five episodes of season one the first night. Episode five, College, is perhaps the first great one, prompting one critic to write: “It’s the episode that takes a show from just being one you watch to one you know you’ll follow to the ends of the Earth.”

Others for me were season six’s Soprano Home Movies, season five’s Long Term Parking and the unfairly maligned season four finale Whitecaps, where even a Dean Martin album is weaponised.

Over the next month I watched at least two episodes a night — often three or four, this was not a tough assignment. Not once did I pick up my phone for some sneaky second screening, or wonder if I should turn it off and see what had dropped on Netflix. Even the dream sequences and the Dr Melfi scenes, which I’d thought detracted from an episode, made sense now, added depth.

Legacy Ever the glass-half-empty seer Chase still believes that “the show’s gonna be forgotten, like everything. It’s not gonna have a legacy”.

But the words Tony says to Chrissie about his shlock horror movie Cleaver in season six suggest Chase, even then, sensed what he’d achieved when Tony tells Christopher “a hundred years from now when we’re dead and gone people will be watching this f**kin’ thing”.

And that legacy continues. Chase is now shooting Newark , a Soprano’s prequel set in the ’60s, starring none other than James Gandolfini’s son.

Most revealingly in The Sopranos Sessions Chase speaks of the sense of working with something larger than himself. “ . . . I would think [at times] ‘this show is meant to be’. I would feel like, “I’m not organising this; someone else is, or a greater power, a muse, is organising it. How could this fall into my lap like this?’”.

And finally he talks about that ending.

“What did I mean to say? I meant to say that time here is precious, and it could end at any moment, and somehow, love is the only defense against this very, very cold universe.”

MUSIC

nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Tuesday, May 21, 2019

D9

The sounds of youth Longtime music writer Graham Reid goes into bat for “young people’s music”

T

he company was generously aged and so was the wine. The conversation flowed easily — old times mostly, and current politics — but then the subject turned to music and one of our Gold Card company turned to me and, because he knew of my four-decade engagement with pop music said: “There’s no decent music these days.”

I gently demurred but he wouldn’t let it go: “Yeah? Like what?”

So, where do I go with that?

It would be a pointless discussion to introduce excellent young artists to someone who wouldn’t recognise their names, or had no interest in finding out about them.

Someone who remembers the days before television isn’t the target demographic for artists such as 21-year old Swedish singer Zara Larsson or the award-winning internet sensation Troye Sivan whose debut album TRXYE went top five in the US in 2014 when he was 19.

But there is decent music these days.

For those who have somehow let their passion for pop music slip, here are some younger artists making music that deserves a wider hearing.

Some doesn’t give itself up on a first hearing, but my parents didn’t get The Beatles either. Until With the Beatles became my Dad’s favourite album alongside Louis Armstrong’s Hello Dolly.

Six for your your consideration, in no particular order . . .

Ella Mai Yes, this 24-year old British singer of Jamaican and Irish parents was named for Ms Fitzgerald but that’s where the similarity ends. However in the context of her beat-driven and soulful R’n’B she drops in some subtle vocal slides and has an interesting range when she extends herself.

On a first hearing she can sound like just another contemporary soul-pop singer but for her selftitled debut album last year the musical textures were clever and engaging, she wrote poplength songs (most under four minutes so they don’t outstay their welcome) and it included her yearning Grammy-nominated hit Boo’d Up. There are a hilarious number of writers credited (eight and herself on the piano ballad Easy) but this always sounds like Ella Mai running the game.

Teeks The immaculately presented and vocally poised Teeks — Te Karehana Gardiner-Toi from Northland — channels the emotional depth of artists such as the young Sam Cooke, Smokey Robinson and others who tap a deep reservoir of soul music where secular and spiritual music meet.

There’s also a soft doo-wop heart to his small catalogue, which doesn’t yet extend much beyond The Grapefruit Skies EP of 2017. But his molassessmooth vocals, elegant songwriting and stage confidence suggest that when his album arrives it will be quite something. If soft, understated and soulful singing — without the vocal gymnastics common among young artists — appeals, then The Grapefruits Skies EP is for you.

Flowers), dreamy pop (How Much, Holograms) and more. But the closely observed School of Design harks right back to intelligent, late 60s/early 70s folk.

Utterly engaging.

Julia Jacklin The critically acclaimed 2014 debut album Don’t Let the Kids Win by this Australian singersongwriter took off at such a pace she spent more than two years touring it with her small band and delivered her exceptional follow-up Crushing earlier this year.

That debut announced a mature songwriting talent and a powerfully expressive singer. The wise title track contains the following: “Don’t let your grandmother die while you’re away, a cheap trip to Thailand’s not gonna make up for never getting to say goodbye.”

Crushing — already in my “best of the year” list — confirms her gifts in songs about selfawareness, the pressure to party when you just want to grieve over a lost relationship, the death of a friend and the exceptional ballad Don’t Know How to Keep Loving You (“now that I know you”) in which this 28-year old wonders how to sustain love once the first flush fades. A timeless sentiment and song, on a remarkable album.

The Beths Fizzy, slightly distorted pop songs arrived in abundance with this Auckland band’s debut album Future Me Hates Me of last year. All graduates of the jazz school at the University of Auckland — not a skerrick of that in these 10 songs — the four-piece draw a line between the polished radio pop of Blondie and Abba (verses and choruses), the gristle of the Ramones and memorable power pop. There may be nothing exactly new here but they play it with such enthusiasm and economy that it’s infectious. Poprock, if you remember that affectionately.

Tiny Ruins Tiny Ruins — Hollie Fullbrook — brought an intimate folk sound into the New Zea-

Clockwise from main: The Beths; Julia Jacklin (above); Ella Mai; Teeks (below).

Photos / Supplied; file

land scene on two previous albums but for this year’s Olympic Girls (Tiny Ruins now being the band) she extended her poetic and allusive lyrics into a broader sonic palette, which nodded to dark cabaret (One Million

Seth Haapu For many young artists, The Album isn’t as important as it once was.

Songs on Spotify or EPs are the more common vehicles, as with this Auckland-based singer-songwriter.

Haapu works as much behind-thescenes as a producer/writer as he has presenting his own music across three EPs since 2016. With an ear on contemporary soul, his restrained songs have been growing in assurance. Of his recent single New Wave (which he also sings in te reo and which won him the Kaitito Waiata Māori Autaia/Best Māori Songwriter at the Waiata Māori Music Awards) he says: “It draws on the ocean as a metaphor for finding peace in the calm before a break, diving in and coming up renewed on the other side”. Can’t wait for the next installment of that renewal.

So there are six for starters, and when you find them on Spotify there will be leads into other similar artists.

It could be the start of journey into what we sometimes dismiss as “young people’s music”. It’s pretty decent. ● Graham Reid is a longtime music writer, university lecturer, former award-winning Herald journalist and currently hosts his own music.travel.arts website elsewhere.co.nz

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GARDENING

nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Garden projects for cooler months Sarah O’Neil

W

WIN A YATES INDOOR PLANT PACK

inter is just around the corner and only the completely committed green-fingered gardeners enjoy being out on a brisk and blustery day, raking the up remaining autumnal leaves.

For the keen gardener there are plenty of outdoor jobs to keep the green thumb from twiddling aimlessly.

For the rest of us fair-weather gardeners, there are still things that can be done over the winter months to keep us occupied in the comfort of the indoors, so we can stay connected with our gardens without getting wet and cold.

Bring the outdoors in. Create a wonderful indoor garden with a great range of decorative house plants. Apart from enhancing any room, indoor plants also help purify the air in your home. The Yates Indoor Plant Pack has all you need to get started. +Plus has four Yates Indoor Plant Packs to give away. To win simply send an email to plus@nzme.co.nz with Yates Please in the subject line.

Remember to put your name and mailing address in the body of the email.

Grow microgreens on the 1These windowsill are nutrient-packed, tiny vege-

table seedlings that take 3-4 weeks to see a harvest and can add vitality to any winter comfort food. Sow the seeds thickly on to seed raising mix, damp cotton wool or a paper towel in a small waterproof tray or dish and pop on a sunny windowsill. Mist regularly to ensure everything stays damp and watch thickets of vibrant young plants sprout before your eyes.

2

Read voraciously If you can’t get out into the garden physically, then take yourself there mentally. Go to your local library or your favourite bookstore where you will find the books and magazines that will fill that garden sized hole.

Take the time to find out more about the plants already in your garden or explore the ones you would like to have, so that when the time comes you can provide your plants with everything they need and like so you garden will be better next season.

Sarah O’Neil.

Photo / Ted Baghurst

Study 3 There are so many different ways to learn these days. You can attend

one-day workshops, short-term classes or undertake some full-time or part-time study online. Studying in a formal setting not only increases your gardening knowledge but also keeps you motivated with set tasks and assignments and you can even come out of it with qualification to add to your CV.

4

Get crafty If you relish the thought of

wielding a hot-glue gun or enjoy a spot of decoupage, grab some plant pots and embellish to your heart’s delight. Come up with a colour scheme that will compliment the plants you want to grow. Although bear in mind any pots intended for the outdoors will need to be sealed with a weatherproof coating to ensure your creations look wonderful all summer long.

Go Op Shopping 5 It is surprising the things you can find at op shops that would be perfect

for the garden; tools, pots, statues and so much more. Sometimes the item in question wasn’t even intended to be in a garden, but if you have an open mind you will find a treasure trove of wonderful things at bargain prices to enhance, improve and enrich your garden come the spring.

Start a project 6 Often garden magazines will have a “how to” section near the back with detailed instructions on how to build a pergola, a raised bed,

bird feeder or many more great projects that look easy enough to do.

Winter is a great time to give it a go and enjoy the sense of pride that comes from something you have made with your own hands. ● Sarah O'Neil is an author, blogger and passionate gardener, writing about the trials and tribulations of growing food for her family. Her books Play in the Garden and Growing Vegetables are available at bookstores. sarahthegardener.co.nz

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D11

nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Waiheke’s Boutique Retirement Village with a special family community 2 Bedroom + Study Villas from $790,000

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D12

nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Move in and enjoy a complimentary cruise for two* To welcome you aboard your new home at Summerset at Heritage Park, we’re offering you a complimentary cruise for two.

Enjoy the high life on the high seas, then come home and enjoy your brand new one, two or three bedroom home.

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Discover the home that’s right for you at our Open Day on Sunday 26 May from 10am until 3pm.

Enjoy the live jazz music and delicious canapés provided by the village’s fabulous Divine Café.

Bring along friends and family and see for yourself why our residents love the Summerset life.