Plus - September 2015

A New Zealand Herald Commercial Publication

Thursday, September 24, 2015

STAGE MASTER

RAYMOND HAWTHORNE’S BRILLIANT CAREER

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Contents 4

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Stage master

Stars and bars

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Taking control of spring

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PLUS Yates giveaway

Age gap love

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Where have all the cowboys gone?

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ARTS

STAGE MASTER One of our finest acting and directing talents turns his attention to the classic musical Guys and Dolls. By Dionne Christian

Raymond Hawthorne will be directing the AucklandTheatre Company’s production of Guys and Dolls which opens next month. PicTed Baghurst.

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n his stylish studio apartment in Auckland city, theatre doyen Raymond Hawthorne is surrounded by the elegant yet simple trappings of a life lived well: classical music CDs, fine art prints, pottery, books and photos of his much-loved daughters, Sophia and Emmeline.

Hawthorne is as urbane as his surroundings, immaculately dressed in smart jeans, a pink collared shirt with a navy blue jumper and well-polished shoes.

When he heads out into the blustery afternoon, he tops the outfit off with a woollen coat and scarf.

Reflecting on turning 80 next year, he

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daughter Sophia. In a 2009 interview with the New Zealand Woman’s Weekly, both said nepotism is never involved when she appears in one of his shows. He told the Weekly he likes to tell his drama students, ‘if you think I’m hard on you, you should see how tough I am with my daughters!’

shrugs when asked about retirement and says he sometimes thinks about it but probably won’t do it. He’s presently preparing to direct Auckland Theatre Company’s end of year musical, Guys and Dolls.

Hawthorne has a 16 strong cast, including Shane Cortese, Roy Snow, Auckland newcomer Rachel O’Connell and his own

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ARTS

It also reunites him with creative collaborator designer Tracy Grant Lord whom he first met at the Mercury Theatre. He says the two have an innate understanding and even when they don’t see eye to eye – which isn’t often – she’ll always listen to his opinion and create alternatives that please them both.

Amazingly Hawthorne has never worked on Frank Loesser’s musical comedy; has seen it only once at the Mercury Theatre many years ago and didn’t much like the film because it was too long and naturalistic. When asked by ATC artistic director Colin McColl to direct it for Auckland, Hawthorne went to his cosy home and listened to the CD which includes immortal classics like Luck be a Lady Tonight, Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat and I’ve Never Been in Love Before.

“I knew every word of the songs, probably because they are so much a part of the musical culture; during the years, I must have just absorbed them into me,” he says. “I got the script and thought it was very funny but far too long so I have cut bits here and there and now I think it will be fun and exciting.”

Hawthorne says he looks for material which interests him and will offer creative challenges. Three years ago, he starred as Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream which involved swaggering shirtless around the stage and, in one scene, tagging with spray paint a piece of the scenery. He said he’d taken a little while to get used to the idea of playing the roguish sprite but had been attracted to the production because it was different and sounded intriguing.

He liked the idea of directing Guys and Dolls partly because it’s a production he hasn’t been involved with before and because of the design challenges involved in staging what many regard as the perfect musical comedy. But he did think the script, like the film, was too long and acknowledges he’s made some cuts to keep it moving apace.

Given Hawthorne has spent most of his life working in the theatre, an institution synonymous with urban-living, it would be easy to pigeon-hole him as a city-dweller through and through. But, he grew up in Hawkes Bay and says he sometimes contemplates returning to his more rural roots.

“But my sister-in-law says I’d shoot myself within two weeks,” he grins, “because there wouldn’t be enough for me to do there, but I don’t think that’s true.

I love the countryside and I love horses.”

He rode to Pakipaki School (now Te Kura Pakipaki) and, later, Hastings High School (before it was a boys’ school) on his own pony that he started riding when he was just two. Hawthorne is fond of recanting a childhood tale of how, dogged by rheumatic fever, he spent a number of his formative years recuperating and

“When you share your life with people in this business and watch one another grow and learn; you are bonded to them in a very special way.”

ABOVE: Hawthorne as Puck in a 2012 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. RIGHT: With daughter Sophia Hawthorne, who is starring in the upcoming Guys and Dolls.

reading. He hurled Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty across the backyard – and refused to finish it for years – when he was heartbroken by the death of Ginger the horse, one of Beauty’s friends.

Most of his life has been spent working in Wellington, Auckland or, from 1957 – 71, in the United Kingdom. Of course, Hawthorne didn’t realise it at the time but his career started when he was five years old and won a primary school singing competition judged by Emma Natzke, the mother of Russian New Zealand opera singer Oscar who performed internationally until his death aged 39.

“World War II was just over and I was singing There’ll be Bluebirds over the White Cliffs of Dover,” he recalls, “and after, Emma Natzke approached my mother, who was a very acquiescent woman in these matters, and told her, ‘your son has a good voice; you need to get him trained,’ and my mother nodded and that’s what we did.”

After performing with Hawkes Bay community opera and theatrical companies, he joined the country’s first professional theatre company, The New Zealand Players, in 1955; gained a government bursary in 1957 to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and stayed in the UK, performing and later teaching at RADA, until he returned home in 1971 to nurse his terminally ill mother, Mabel. He ran Theatre Corporate from the early 1970s to 1981, directed Opera New Zealand and later the Mercury Theatre before setting up the Actor’s Space and, in 1997, joining the UNITEC School of Performing and Screen Arts as Head of the Major Directing and Writing for Theatre and Screen.

Hawthorne’s great-grandfather was the artist John Gully, but his parents (Mabel worked as a governess before marrying farmhand Victor) and two older brothers did not share his love for singing and acting. Indeed, oldest brother, Norman, who died last year aged 87, was regarded as one of the great characters of New Zealand’s thoroughbred industry having operated Paramount Stud firstly in Hawkes Bay and then the Waikato.

He admits he sometimes wonders how his career might have developed had he stayed in the United Kingdom but does not regret coming home and has never thought of doing anything else apart from his midteens, when he thought he might want to be a lawyer.

He describes himself as a people person who is fascinated by human nature; his lengthy association with the performing arts has allowed him to pursue this interest in terms of the collegial character of the industry and the material he gets to work with. He says finding creative solutions to the challenges presented by staging various plays and musicals and the “privilege” of working with a diverse range of energetic and creative people keeps him youthful and invigorates the mind.

“I am so proud of the younger people I have worked alongside and we often become such great friends,” he says. “With my contemporaries, there’s the joy in having watched one another’s successes over the years and shared memories. When you share your life with people in this business and watch one another grow and learn; you are bonded to them in a very special way.”

Guys and Dolls runs from Oct 29th – Nov 22. Bookings open now at www.atc.co.nz/whats-on/2015/guysand-dolls

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STARS & BARS

Ewan McDonald sips the flavours of the Old South in Texas and New Orleans

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f I told you who told me about this place,someonewouldhavetokillme.

You walk down a street full of shopfront taverns until you get to No. 313, an anonymous door with a panel of buttons, the sort you buzz to be let into the apartments upstairs.

If the red lightbulb is shining above the door you press a certain button and tell the woman who answers you’ve come to see Harry. She will go to see if he’s home.

Of course, you have to know that Harry Craddock is the guy whose button you want to push.

Welcome to Midnight Cowboy in Austin, Texas. Until 2008 it was the Midnight Cowboy Oriental massage parlour, until someone rubbed someone up the wrong way, and Austin’s best-known nudgenudge wink-wink bordello was busted.

A couple of local hospitality entrepreneurs commandeered the long, narrow building, with its gorgeous deco pressedsteel ceiling and, ah, suitably sized private booths, in 2012. They kept the name and changed the services to high-end cocktail mixing. With the theme of a little-known nudge-nudge wink-wink Prohibition-era speakeasy.

Once inside, customers are allocated two hours at one of the booths – it’s okay, the leather seats have been re-upholstered since their previous occupation – and given a menu of cocktails. Highly priced by local standards, around $US12 ($NZ18.50). They don’t serve food.

For most of the drinks a mixologist wheels his mobile bar to the table and lectures on the provenance and tasting notes for each of the eight or more ingredients and flavours. It can sound like “chemistry lecture meets brand-liquor snob” but I guess that’s a little rich coming from someone who’s picky about their wines and cheeses.

Late on a Texas evening exotic, quixotic cocktails with names like Courting Two Sisters, Kalamazoo Julep and Carmine Swizzle, are sipped, in the half-light, to

Etta James crying I’d Rather Go Blind.

The Roaring 20s could never have been this much fun.

Why Harry Craddock? Possibly the world’s most influential cocktail shaker, the Brit wrote the Savoy Cocktail Book (1930) and worked in New York until Prohibition, then at London’s Savoy and Dorchester hotels.

TIM turned his car into a suburban strip mall. He’s an old mate: we worked together in Auckland some years back, now he lives in Houston with his Louisiana-born wife and their Texas-born son, he works for an IT firm.

and I caught the music on the jukebox.

It didn’t seem, well, just plain right to be sipping red wine in a bar in Texas when Willie Nelson was singing. I flagged down the bar keep and asked him about the local beers.

“Y’all wants t’try them craft beers, yer won’t find ‘em around here,” he said.

“Y’all needs to go up Austin way fer that.”

As Creedence Clearwater stomped into Who’ll Stop the Rain? in the middle of a Houston heatwave, Tim and I continued our catch-up over several Lone Star beers.

Till it was time to head for my hotel downtown. I pointed out that the only thing missing from the classic scene seemed

“The businessman at the next banquette made a phone call. Within moments he was joined by an attractive younger woman who’d almost remembered to wear her little black cocktail dress” “We often come here for a wine and a meal,” he said, before bursting into laughter as my glasses fogged up in 150% humidity and I stumbled into Max’s Wine Bar in what the Americans call 100 degrees and we call 38C. The bar was suitably dark and the patrons suitably be-jeaned and, well, comfortably proportioned. So is the food, Tim said: “We order one meal and share it, and then I take the rest to work for lunch next day.”

Wonder of wonders for a Texas bar, they also served decent California reds and half-decent French ones. So we perched on two high stools at a table, asked the obliging, suitably bearded and black T-shirted and tubby publican for a couple of his best, my good man, and started to catch up on the past eight years.

There was a pause in the conversation

to be a Confederate flag. “I wouldn’t joke about that these days,” he said, a trifle nervously, and pointed to the sign on the door banning the carrying of concealed weapons in the bar.

THE businessman at the next banquette made a phone call. Within moments he was joined by an attractive younger woman who’d almost remembered to wear her little black cocktail dress.

Four of us looked at the drinks menu but for me there was no choice: this was the Sazerac Bar in the ornately deco Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans, and the only option was a Sazerac.

Mojito mavens and Cosmopolitan queens may be unaware, but their favourite tipples allegedly owe their origin to this overly sweet concoction of bourbon (originally brandy), absinthe and bitters.

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In 1838, the legend goes, local apothecary Antoine Amedie Peychaud mixed “brandy toddies” for his friends in a double-ended egg cup or coquetier (pronounced “ko-k-tay”). Voila! If you choose to believe the legend, the word and the style “cocktail” were born.

In later years American rye whiskey replaced brandy and the local Herbsaint pastis replaced absinthe. By 1933 the cocktail was bottled and marketed by the Sazerac Company.

The bar’s history is even more colourful than its bright orange namesake.

It opened in a rough alley in 1853 and stayed in the same location for about 100 years before some enterprising businessman bought Peychaud’s recipe and moved the bar to the Roosevelt. A couple of hotel name changes, a move within the hotel and Hurricane Katrina later, the Sazerac bar, its massive walnut bar, tiled floors, giant mirrors and chandeliers are beside the re-christened Roosevelt’s jaw-dropping lobby.

The walls are covered in 1930s’ artist Paul Ninas’ murals of Louisiana life from sharecroppers in the cottonfields to the era’s celebrities, possibly Wallis Simpson and certainly the bar’s most famous patron.

That would be former Louisiana Governor and US Senator Huey P. Long. The “Kingfish” (if you know your Randy Newman, the very same) has been described as “one part circus ringleader, one part frat boy and one part Don Corleone”, he wheeled, dealed and held court in the bar that became known as “Huey’s office.” Time for our second drink: Huey’s favourite Gin Fizz.

The man and woman left, having successfully negotiated her attentions, if not her affections.

Ewan travelled to Texas and New Orleans with Air New Zealand. The airline begins direct flights to Houston in December.

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GARDENING

TAKING CONTROL OF SPRING After a frosty winter we are on the downhill slide into summer. By Sarah O’Neil While summer holds all the glory as the warmest, nicest and most productive season for the garden, spring has something that no other season can provide.

It is full of hope, anticipation and the Sarah O’Neil promise of the kind of conditions that will set the foundation for a bumper harvest in months to come.

Each season we cross our fingers for a perfect spring.

However the weather decides to play it, it is firmly outside our control. Be it cold and miserable like last year or drought stricken like in springs gone by, all we can do is learn from the past and apply it to the future. But there are things you can do in your vegetable garden to ensure you can navigate whatever this spring throws at us and emerge into the summer with an amazing garden.

START YOUR SEEDS AT THE RIGHT TIME It is so tempting at the first sign of warmth to drag out the seed box and plant everything. However not only is this not necessary, it is foolhardy. Each plant has their own sense of personal timing and not all need to be planted early, as much as the gardener wants too. Tomatoes and peppers don’t mind a bit of a head start because they are slow to get going.

However pumpkins, cucumbers, beans and corn really don’t benefit from a head start at all and will fail to thrive if planted out into cold, wet soil. If you want to start these indoors it is best to wait 3 – 4 weeks before it is warm enough to plant them out in the garden.

THE UPS AND DOWNS OF A GREENHOUSE Short of cluttering up every available windowsill in your house with bourgeoning seedlings, investing in a greenhouse can be a great idea. You pick up a small one that is little more than shelves covered in plastic, or spend a little more and get a poly tunnel or a polycarbonate and aluminium greenhouse. At the top of the line you can install a luxurious glasshouse.

There is something for everyone.

Having a greenhouse is great for the seedlings as they are able to absorb the much needed light from all directions and

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Each plant has their own sense of personal timing. Not all need to be planted early.

grow into strong plants without being disturbed by the elements or having to reach out for what they need.

However the Achilles heel for most greenhouses is they are completely vulnerable to the wind. Some can topple over in the slightest breeze and others are at risk from a strong spring gale. My advice – from experience, is to make sure the smaller ones are weighted down or screwed to a wall. In a gust they are nothing more than unmanned kites – taking your precious seedlings skyward.

Keep an eye on the weather forecast and if a storm is brewing, make sure the larger greenhouses are well secured. You don’t want to be looking for polycarbonate panels in an electrical storm and I’m also speaking from experience here.

TAKE CARE OF YOUR SOIL While the plants are the showy stars of the garden, behind the scenes, working very hard is the soil. It is more than just dirt.

It is what feeds your plants and allows them to bloom beautifully for you and produce a fabulous harvest. But it needs taking care of, as it can’t keep giving out year after year without putting something back in. Before planting out your garden, take the time to feed your soil with rich organic matter. Using an affordable test kit, find out what state your soil is in. It is possible to over fertilise your garden.

Taking the time to sort out your soil will

allow your plants to be as healthy as they can be, which means their crops will be bursting with good health.

HAVE A LITTLE PATIENCE A lot of gardening is about waiting, and a lot of weeding and watering. But waiting for seeds to emerge and waiting for the fruit to come. But most importantly waiting for it to be warm enough in the spring.

Labour Weekend in October is generally considered safe to plant out the garden without risk of frost.

Sarah is a garden blogger, speaker and author. Her books The Good Life and Play in the Garden are available now.

On the web: gardeningkiwi.wordpress.com

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View from the Communal Facility

Clean up your vegie patch and get ready to get growing great vegies in the Yates Spring Vegie Growing Challenge. Be in to win one of two Yates hampers to get your garden underway.

Each pack contains: • Every gardener’s bible –Yates Garden Guide • A selection of vegetable seeds • Blitzem to control snails and slugs • Thrive Natural fertilisers with the goodness of seaweed and fish • Easy Patch to regenerate those annoying bare lawn patches • WeednFeed Granular to nourish grass while getting rid of common lawn weeds • Zero Rapid Gel – visible results within 1 hour action weedkiller Everyone who registers online at www.yates.co.nz/vegiechallenge/2015 will receive a free packet of vegetable seeds to get started. Great cash and product prizes to be won.

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LIFESTYLE

AGE GAP LOVE Older man, younger woman or vice versa Leigh Bramwell looks at love that knows no age

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ype ‘cougar’ into Google and only the first two listings on the first page relate to the animal. A cougar, for those who only recognise the term in a completely different context, is in fact a mountain lion or puma.

But you could be forgiven for thinking that it’s an older women out to snare a younger man, because there are thousands of listings exploring the ‘cougar’ phenomenon.

I rather like the term.

Cougars are admirable animals, but if you’re a younger bloke feeling a little nervous right now, I can assure you that fatal cougar attacks are extremely rare and far less frequent than fatal bee stings. If

you do find yourself cornered by either kind of cougar, the advice is, don’t run – a fleeing human stimulates the cougar’s instinct to chase. Don’t play dead, either, or she’ll be on you in a flash.

Some of the world’s most unlikely women have been cougars. Cleopatra, Catherine the Great and Elizabeth I have all been documented as having ‘dated’ younger men. Mary Tyler Moore married Robert Levine in 1983 when she was 47 and he was 29, and they’re still married. Carol Burnett married Brian Miller in 2001 when she was 68 and he was 45, and their knot is also still tied.

And then there are the 22 million-odd listings on Google to do with older men dating or marrying younger woman,

DEFYING THE ODDS

Billy Joel (66) and new wife Alexis Roderick (33) married in July. Pic Getty.

ranging from the infamous Hugh Hefner who married a woman 60 years his junior in 2013, to Rod Stewart (70) who married the much younger and much taller Penny Lancaster (43) in 2007.

These days, couples comprising an older man and a significantly younger woman are not uncommon – a 2013 US population survey found 4.8 per cent of married couples has a 10 to 14 year gap, and 11.6 per cent a 6 to 9 year gap.

However, only 1 per cent of women had a husband 10 to 14 years younger.

In the same year that survey was taken, Immigration New Zealand denied a man’s visa application because his Kiwiborn wife is almost 40 years older than he was. The department felt the age gap was a

negative factor in the relationship surviving.

This year’s been a good one for age gap marriages.

Billy Joel (66), married Alexis Roderick (33), Johnny Depp married Amber Heard, 23 years younger than he is, and Stephen Fry married Elliott Spencer, 30 years his junior.

Who knows whether or not they’ll stay the course, but they have some great examples to follow. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall met when she was 19 and he was 44, married a year later, and stayed married until he died. And Joan Collins (82) and Percy Gibson have a 32 year age gap. They married in 2001 and are still married. When reporters once asked Collins about whether the age difference worries her, she replied: “If he dies, he dies.”

Madonna defends her predilection for toyboys by saying older men lack a sense of adventure, but that didn’t deter Northland woman Miranda Beere from marrying a man 29 years older than she is. It wasn’t exactly love at first sight – when they first met Miranda thought: “you’re just a nice old bugger who had a hard time when your marriage ended after 22 years.”

Everyone they knew worried about the age gap and some of Grahame’s friends warned him it would never last. Despite that, he never worried she’d run off with a younger man.

“Why would she? She loves my cooking,” he jokes, and adds on a more serious note that Miranda was very mature when they married 17 years ago when she was 24.

Miranda was advised to expect an energy difference between them in terms of physical energy and drive, but she had her own experience to call on.

“I’d worked in nursing homes and retirement villages and been involved in geriatric care, and I saw people in their eighties who were full of life and exuberance,” she says.

Both agree that any differences they have are rarely to do with the age gap. They’re quite different personalities and when they clash, it’s because they’re both stubborn. “Two bulls head to head,” they say.

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LIFESTYLE

WHERE HAVE ALL THE COWBOYS GONE? Paul Charman pays tribute to a Western town which keeps the cowboy myth alive

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hat Mellonsfolly Ranch even exists is a wonderful thing for us romantics.

That well-crafted “Neverland”, standing in the hills near Raetihi, has been built in very Kiwi looking bush, as opposed to expansive desert.

To me it’s a reassuring reminder of a baby boomer youth, steeped in the cowboy idiom.

I got a beautiful white and silver Winchester rifle for Christmas circa 1962, while I was still a toddler and numerous plastic cowboy and Indian figures and six-shooter cap guns after that. I grew up listening to my parents’ cowboy records.

Today’s relatively short list of Western movies and TV shows is but a dim memory of a genre which obsessed the world through much of the 20th Century.

Cowboy culture first became fashionable while it was still current, in the late 1880s. Journalists and authors trailed round after the likes of Buffalo Bill Cody and Wild Bill Hickock, wildly exaggerating their gun-fighting exploits for an insatiable readership back East.

Soon pulp fiction about lawmen, gun fighters and hostile Indian

tribes was selling across the world.

Silent Western movies flourished from 1899, right up till the first talkies emerged in the 1920s.

For more than 100 years, these movies have been exploring every facet of the Old West. True, there’s been such a long caravan of Western films that even enthusiasts such as myself are a little tired of it all.

To me, all the best Westerns have already been made, and should not be tampered with. But I still adore Mellonsfolly Ranch, as a reminder of simpler times and less sophisticated tastes.

It was constructed over a decade ago by eccentric millionaire John Bedogni and his wife Kenda.

The couple, who have now sold the town on, said they began the eight-million-dollar project with no idea how far it would go.

Mellonsfolly stands on a 400-plus hectare property the end of a winding 42 kilometres dead-end road.

The 14 buildings, though accurate in design and filled with real Victorian-era antiques, drapes and furnishings, are far better engineered and finished than anything built in the 1880s.

There’s abundant modern technology just out of sight in every room and a court-

house which doubles as a theatre to view a library of 500 Western movies.

The Lucky Strike Saloon has a polished bar – easy to send whisky bottles skidding from one end to the other; the Sheriff ’s office has a safe full of air pistol revolvers and skeet guns; there’s a lavish bath house and rooms full of period furniture and memorabilia.

Mellonsfolly is a tribute to a largely fictitious “Western World”.

Only the songs and stories of the Old West remain today.

That these have managed to endure longer than the era they depict, seems to me quite staggering.

Mellonsfolloy Ranch in Raetihi keeps the cowboy idiom alive for wedding parties, corporate and private guests.

We wanted to believe in a place where hard work could build a ranch, where fortunes could be won or lost at the poker table, or the gold claim; where a young fellow could make his name through proficiency with horse and six-gun.

Cue theme music; pan across desert wilderness to approaching rider; narrow shot to bandana-wearing stranger . . .

Scottsdale Tours

Health & Care

Fully Escorted Tours for Seniors

®™

Moving Assist Ltd

t nves i e r We into back alth e the h ew of N ers and Zeal

Making a difference in health and care.

We provide a broad range of health and care services including medical alarms, rehabilitation services, retirement villages and care homes throughout New Zealand.

0800 60 80 99 bupa.co.nz

• • • • •

Preparing your home for sale Downsizing and decluttering Packing and moving Unpacking and layout assistance Assistance with the sale of furniture and belongings • Estate dispersal Moving Assist Ltd is a sister company to Elderly Assist Ltd

Phone: 0800 839 874 Janice Willis

www.movingassist.co.nz

2015 Tours

• Australia’s Red • Wonders of Westland • Touring Tasmania Centre Jan 2016 12 - 20 Oct 7 - 24 Jul • Winterless North • Taranaki • South Australia Feb 2016 Rhododendron Explorer Festival • Top of the South 27 Jul - 9 Aug 30 Oct - 2 Nov Feb 2016 • Sydney, Canberra & • Chatham Islands • South of the South Outback 7 - 12 Nov Mar 2016 12 - 26 Aug • Melbourne, Adelaide • Cape York Discoverer • Norfolk Island 29 Nov - 6 Dec & Murray River 30 Aug - 9 Sep Apr 2016 • East Cape for • High Country Christmas • Samoa Spectacular 25 Sep - 6 Oct 23 - 27 Dec May 2016

Our tour costs are all inclusive apart from your own spending money and some lunches.

For our 2015 brochure or to make a booking, phone 0800 66 44 14 info@scottsdaletours.co.nz www.scottsdaletours.co.nz

Homehealth One of NZ’s leading home healthcare organisations, we work with the MoH, DHBs and ACC to care for over 16,000 people in their own homes. Our skilled team of nurses and support workers provide personal cares, household assistance and fully qualified nursing services, to help people maintain independence.

We help those: over 65 and requiring home healthcare • living with a disability or long-term condition • rehabilitating and recovering following an injury or accident, illness or surgery • requiring Individualised Funding services • in the final stages of life • private carers needing relief

Call FREE on 0800 284 663 Visit www.access.org.nz

Email info@access.org.nz

+PLUS

SUPPLIED EDITORIAL

11

MAKING WAVES IN THE CITY OF SAILS Ryman Healthcare staff are lighting up the runway at New Zealand Fashion Week and hard at work building new villages for thousands of Aucklanders RYMAN STAFF from all over New Zealand stormed the runway at Fashion Week modelling new uniforms designed

by Annah Stretton.

Annah and her team were asked to design new uniforms that were comfortable, practical and beautiful for everyone at Ryman from nurses and caregivers through to the maintenance team.

“We wanted garments that brought a smile to the faces of residents, increased the level of pride in what staff wear and emphasized the vital role they play in residents’ lives,’’ Annah says.

The uniforms are made of lighter materials for staff working in kitchens and laundries and a popular change was to introduce three-quarter length trousers for caregivers and housekeepers instead of dresses.

Managing director Simon Challies said Annah’s designs were a radical departure for Ryman, which is exactly what staff were after.

“We put a lot of thought into the design of our villages and we wanted to do the same for our uniforms.’’

“We love the designs that Annah’s come up with.The reaction from staff has been tremendous and we think they’re

bound to put a smile on the faces of our residents.’’

And it’s not just new uniforms that Ryman Healthcare is bringing out. With four successful villages already operating in Auckland (Evelyn Page, Grace Joel, Edmund Hillary, and Bruce McLaren), they are currently working on the construction of two new villages, and three proposed villages.

The Ryman village in Pukekohe is under construction, with the first set of townhouses ready for residents by the end of the year. Sales of this village have broken all Ryman records and the community has really embraced the village.

The new village at Birkenhead is also progressing well, with construction well underway and potential residents lining up to get plans for these apartments with panoramic views.

Adding to this is three proposed villages in Devonport, Greenlane and Lynfield, showing that Ryman is committed to providing Aucklanders with the very best in retirement living and care.

With resort-style living and superb facilities, the hardest part of a resident’s day will be deciding what to do. Ryman know that the lifestyle preferences of

Flex your $$$ Play Golf Your Way For only $300 you can …

FLEXIGOLF conditions apply

*

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• Enjoy discounted weekday “quiet time” green fees • Enjoy discounted weekday “quiet time” cart hire rates

• Enjoy a NZ Golf Handicap • Enjoy Affiliate Fees at other courses • Enjoy preferential Member Guest Rates at other times

JOIN NOW : CONTACT 535 1001 or 535 1004

Let the Scenery Unravel with Twilight Travel

FOR MORE DETAILS

www.howickgolf.co.nz Spring Garden Tours Taranaki Rhododendron Garden Spectacular.

6 days Departs 4th November 2015.

Gardens of the Wairarapa and Beyond.

6 days Departs 14th November 2015 Festive Tours • Christmas in the Bay of Plenty: 4 days 24 December 2015 • Tarankai Festival of Lights : 5 days 29 December 2015 • Hawkes Bay New Year Holiday: 5 days 29 December 2015 Chatham Islands 7 night all inclusive tour escorted from Auckland.

Departures 11th February and 10th March 2016

Leisure paced escorted touring for the active 55+ traveller.

Catlins & Stewart Island Explore the ‘Wild South’ from Dunedin to Stewart Island via the Catlins region.

Departs 19th March 2016

Twilight Travel & Tours

0800 999 887

www.twilighttravel.co.nz

Ryman staff from all over New Zealand stormed the runway at Fashion Week modelling new uniforms designed by Annah Stretton.

retirees are as individual as they are, so depending on the village they choose, they could be starting their day with a dip in the sparkling blue indoor heated pool, a stroll around the breathtaking village gardens, joining in the everpopular Ryman Triple A exercise programme, or simply relaxing and enjoying a chat with friends.

Plus, all Ryman villages offer fixed weekly fees for life – guaranteed*, giving residents peace of mind when budgeting for the future.

With 30 villages nationwide, Ryman is able to offer the full package of care – from independent and assisted living, through to resthome, hospital and dementia care.

If you would like any further information on Ryman’s villages, please call 0800 179 626, or visit their website www.rymanhealthcare.co.nz *Terms & conditions apply

TravelScoot By Far The World’s Lightest And Strongest Foldable Mobility Scooter!

Are your legs not what they used to be?

Finding it more difficult to walk longer distances?

If your mobility is beginning to change the way you live your life perhaps a TravelScoot Mobility scooter is for you.

• TravelScoot is the worlds lightest folding mobility scooter weighing as little as 11kg.

• It’s strength and light weight comes from aircraft grade aluminium tubing, and with a 15km range the compact, powerful and lightweight, state of the art lithium battery (ONLY 2kgs) powers the TravelScoot to take you places no other scooter can.

• Airports, cafes, restaurants, shopping malls, cruises, all are easily accessible on the TravelScoot.

• Whether your mobility need is temporary or more permanent, TravelScoot gives you back your mobility freedom, so you can live the life you want and have fun while doing it.

For a no obligation 5 day FREE trial call 0800 272 668 Or view at www.travelscootnz.co.nz

12

+PLUS

SUPPLIED EDITORIAL

A Professional Service You Can Trust H.Morris Funeral Services and Romaleigh Chapel are familiar names to residents of Auckland’s North Shore THE BUSINESS WAS ESTABLISHED in 1933 and has since been an integral part of the community, being a part of the many changes in how funeral services are conducted and responding to the needs of the bereaved.

The core values of integrity, dignity and respect remain at the forefront of all that H.Morris do in service provision; values that manager John Drake and his team live and work by.

H.Morris staff are available at any time to discuss funeral choices and options and to answer any questions you may have about arranging a funeral or what you may need to do when a loved one dies. There are no “silly questions” – we understand that talking about funeral arrangements can be difficult; we are here to guide and help you through.

The Romaleigh Chapel and reception facilities at the funeral home are spacious and modern with car parking available and there is a beautiful covered deck area that families are welcome to use whilst having refreshments. This covered area overlooks the Stancich Reserve.

Alternatively, if a service is to be at a church, sports club or other venue, a H Morris funeral director will talk through

the options available and put in place all the necessary arrangements to make the service as you want it to be.

Our funeral directors often meet with people that wish to pre arrange or pre pay for a funeral service. The arrangements may be for yourself or a family member or for someone that is close to you. One of our team is able to meet with you at the funeral home or at a place that is suitable to you to discuss the details and ensure that your wishes are recorded. Putting funeral plans in place in advance can be a huge help to family members when someone close dies. There are many decisions that need to be made when arranging a funeral; documenting a plan for when that time comes along which has some or all of the detail confirmed, can ease the pressure on those making the final arrangements.

A funeral information pack is available from H Morris Funeral Directors and can be requested by visiting our website or by calling us. H Morris are members of the FDANZ and NZEA and provide 24hr professional service; every day. If you would like to speak to a Funeral Director, please do not hesitate to call us on (09) 489 – 5737 at any time.

+PLUS

SUPPLIED EDITORIAL

A community that cares Aria Park offers serviced studio apartments in a delightful setting

13

CARD FROM THE QUEEN The 8th of May was a big day at St Patrick’s.

Our very own Joan Flavell celebrated her 100th birthday

YOU WILL BE PART of a community that encourages independence while providing a range of tailored services including rest home type care.

Our friendly, qualified staff will meet all your needs, enabling you to live life to the fullest and make the most of every day.

Each studio apartment features an ensuite, kitchenette and large wardrobe, with views of Aria Park’s serene surroundings.

Aria Park Studios provide: • Registered nurse on site 24-hours a day • Emergency call button • Friendly, caring, qualified staff • Laughter, friendship and a sense of community

• Activities and outings • Delicious and nutritious meal options • Guest visits at all times • Subsidised rest home care • Immaculate grounds in a secure environment • Direct bus access to Newmarket, CBD and Airport • Cafes and cinema at your doorstep Contact Sharon Rabone.

021 618 913 or 0800 274 272.

Or join us for an open home.

Tues and Thurs 11am – 4pm. www.ariapark.co.nz 1-3 Claude Road, Epsom 0800 274 272

THE MANAGEMENT and staff of St Patrick’s were in full force wearing Joan’s favourite mauve colour to celebrate this momentous event in her life. Likewise, representatives from the Aged Care Association came to present Joan with a birthday cake while Joan’s excited family came and brought her gifts and flowers.

Joan was beaming brightly when Meg presented her with the birthday card from Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth and the Prime Minister.

Joan was born as Joan Elsie on the 8th of May 1915 in the windy city of Wellington. She has two sisters and one daughter from her first marriage.

She worked as an office secretary until she got married. She enjoys classical music and used to sing and perform in her younger days. She challenges her brain by playing crossword and reading.

So far she is the best word game player amongst our residents.

Joan loves pretty things which became evident in her paintings (oh yes she is also a painter). She says she loves to

ABOVE: Joan credits her longevity to being inquisitive and keeping her mind busy.

paint flowers and anything beautiful to look at.

When asked for her secret to longevity, Joan said she owed it to being inquisitive and keeping her mind busy. She said she wanted to understand the philosophy of life and nurture her spirituality.

She reveals that suffering from Poliomyelitis since the age of four has prevented her from many physical activities but she compensated this by challenging herself mentally.

We wish Joan good health and very honoured that she calls St Patrick’s her home.

Quality Care for the Elderly

New Zealand owner operated Only 3 Studios Left

life’s good in the park

BOUTIQUE SERVICED STUDIOS FOR EASY RETIREMENT LIVING Set in the heart of Epsom, amongst the trees and the tuis, Aria Park Retirement Village offers delightful serviced studios for easy-care living in a secure, supportive and friendly community.

With support provided to you in your studio, you can have your independence while receiving the care you require from our friendly, qualified staff.

Aria Park Studios provide: • • • •

Emergency call button with registered nurse on site 24hrs a day Laughter, friendship, activities and outings Continuum of care as required Choice of lifestyle care packages

We look forward to welcoming you.

Studio units Double rooms Single rooms Ensuites Beautiful park-like gardens in a safe no-exit street Excellent food and activities Subsidised rooms available

24/7

registered nursing

St Patrick’s Home & Hospital

Call Sharon today to make an appointment to view or come to our Open Home this Tues & Thur 11am – 4pm Contact Sharon Rabone.

021 618 913 or 0800 274 272

Rest home to hospital-level care

3 Wilding Avenue, Epsom Call us on: (09) 638 8258, 022 011 2101 or 0800 030 456 Email: saintpatricks@xtra.co.nz 1-3 Claude Rd, Epsom, Auckland www.ariavillages.co.nz

www.stpatrickshome.co.nz

14

+PLUS

SUPPLIED EDITORIAL

A FITTING TRIBUTE FOR YOUR LOVED ONE You only get one chance to conduct a good funeral FAMILIES DEAL with death in their own ways, but it helps having empathetic funeral directors who can guide you through a difficult time. Simplicity Funerals Auckland understands the importance of such occasions.

Manager, Brian Stott, and funeral directors Craig Arthur, Callum McKinlay and Kaipara Solomon with other essential staff at Simplicity Funerals Auckland encourage families to have funerals that are fitting and meaningful, but at the same time, affordable. ‘‘When someone is grieving it is easy to influence decisions, but here we want families to be in control,’’ Craig says. ‘‘Clearly, funerals don’t have to be expensive affairs. You can have them as simple - or elaborate - as you want.’’

Because bereavement can be a difficult time for all concerned, the funeral directors of Simplicity Funerals Auckland will come to your home and coordinate everything you and your family will need for a seamless memorial experience. ‘‘We consider it an honour to be asked to guide a family through arranging and conducting a funeral, and we know our experience can take away some of the stress that many families face,’’ Brian says.

With strong connections to local residents and a keen understanding of the area’s multicultural milieu, they are able to design a service according to people’s personal preferences and traditions.

This includes assistance in selecting a headstone, monument or plaque through to the burial or cremation process. ‘‘We pride ourselves on having the highest standard of commitment to the people who rely on us,’’ Brian says. ‘‘We want to ensure every funeral is tailormade to suit not only the person who has died, but those they leave behind.’’

Simplicity Funerals Auckland offers options in pre-paying and pre- arranging funerals. The staff are always willing to offer obligation-free advice.

Their three premises at 725 Mt Albert Road, Royal Oak; 3232 Great North Road, New Lynn and 252 Great North Road, Grey Lynn come with offices, a chapel, catering areas and viewing rooms. The Simplicity Funerals Auckland premises offer a warm, friendly environment that helps families feel a little more at ease at a delicate time.

Simplicity Funerals Auckland can be contacted toll free on 0800 222 155.

Simplicity Funerals encourage families to have funerals that are fitting and meaningful.

+PLUS

SUPPLIED EDITORIAL

DBrief underwear manages mild bladder leakage with ease and confidence.

DBRIEF CONFIDENCE DBrief is the market leader of washable underwear for mild bladder leakage DBRIEF is a Kiwi success story. DBrief has been so popular that it is about to be launched internationally into Australia, Europe, and the USA. DBrief is real underwear made out of cotton or a modal/spandex mix depending on the style. It contains a built-in pad that holds up to 350ml of liquid over a four hour period. This allows most people to manage mild bladder leakage with absolute ease and confidence.

Once used, simply pop the whole garment in the wash, and launder like regular underwear. DBrief can be washed up to 100 times, and at $22.99 per pair, is a very economical option when compared to disposable products. Not to mention

that there is no longer the hassle and embarrassment of having to constantly repurchase disposable products at the supermarket. Simply purchase once and wear like normal underwear. Great for our landfills too, as disposables take a very long time to break down.

Available in men’s, women’s and children’s, there is a variety of styles, sizes and colours to suit all. The DBrief range is further complimented with a range of waterproof mattress protectors and bedpads.

Available in all good pharmacies or delivered to your door free of charge when ordered on line at dbrief.co.nz

AVAILABLE IN PHARMACIES, OR ORDER ONLINE

Bereavement help offered to families SIBUNS Funeral Directors & Advisors, which has been providing Auckland families with professional funeral services for more than a century, also offers a Bereavement Support Service for family members.

When someone close dies we experience many different feelings, which may lead to confusion and isolation. Sibuns introduced the service in 2012 as it believes having someone to talk to can help bereaved people understand their grief and loss, with support from someone outside our immediate circle offering another perspective on how grief is affecting us.

After the funeral is often the time when support from others decreases, leaving those grieving feeling isolated and sometimes struggling to cope. Claire Seel’s role is to provide families with bereavement support and all families are contacted following the funeral to see if they would like to use the service.

Claire has both nursing and counselling qualifications.

A registered nurse for 20 years, she has worked as a group facilitator for the last eight years, working with children/teens and their families during times of grief and loss. She

Claire Seel provides families with bereavement support

offers understanding and skill, together with her own experience of family life.

This bereavement support service is available to any member of a family who has used Sibuns for funeral arrangements. Their professionally trained staff are friendly and flexible.

They will do their best to facilitate any request, and work comfortably in both secular and religious environments.

Sibuns Funeral Directors & Advisors are located at 582 Remuera Road.

For more information or a free information pack please call 520 3119.

15

CELEBRATING A LIFETIME of fine performance Now well into his 80’s, Metlifecare resident and part-time actor Dr Michael Easther is still in the spotlight. Over the years he’s appeared in hundreds of stage, TV and film productions. His latest claim to fame, playing the villainous lead in Red on the Green, a finalist at Tropfest New Zealand, the world’s largest short film festival. Michael’s resume even includes two operatic shows with Malvina Major. Aside from his acting, Michael has written two books, numerous short stories and

Celebrating seniors who make New Zealand a better place.

Supported by the company that’s making New Zealand a better place for seniors.

has produced satirical verses and cryptic crossword puzzles for the Waikato Times. All achieved alongside 35 years as a Hamilton GP who pioneered the use of hypnosis as an alternative anaesthetic.

As a company we’re very proud to have Michael as one of our residents, his lifetime of achievement is one that should be savoured.

As sponsors of the Senior New Zealander of the Year 2016, we look forward to recognising other exceptional Kiwis who have put in a lifetime of fine performances.

Senior New Zealander of the Year 2016

RHM7939

Nominations Close Wednesday 30 September

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE IT

To nominate a recipient go to www.nzawards.org.nz

REQUEST A METLIFECARE INFORMATION PACK 0800 909 303 | metlifecare.co.nz