Life + Style 8 June 2018

life+style The Weekend Sun 1

Photo: Nikki South

21 August, 2015

THE WEEKEND

Lorraine Browne

Hollywood scouts

House of cranks

Mushroom risotto

Eyes and ears

2

life+style The Weekend Sun 21 August, 2015 8 June, 2018

Indica Knox Corcoran Surfer with eyes on 2020 Olympics

Photo: Tracy Stamatakos

Champion surfer Indica Knox Corcoran is heading to Bali for four months in preparation for the prestigious Sydney BL Blast Off competition in October.

A student at Tahatai Coast School, the eightyear-old from Papamoa sometimes surfs before his school day starts.

“He was four when he started saying: ‘I want to go surfing’ nearly every day,” recalls his father Phil Corcoran, a national surf competition judge.

“Indi has been surfing since he was about two, but really got into it when he was four.

“I think it was early 2015. His older brother Devon entered a competition in Gisborne, but decided he didn’t want to go in it. Indi said ‘I’ll take your place’, and it’s gone from there.

“He caught waves, had fun and did amazing, but he was up against under 14-year-olds.”

It’s the third year Indi has gone to Bali to surf.

“So I asked, why Bali?

“It’s heavy and clean,” says Indi. “It’s glassy and it’s breaking more. It’s heavy breaking.

“We’re going just for surfing and going to kids surfing comps.”

“Last year he got third in the under-10s, as a seven-year-old,” says Phil. “He was competing with mainly Balinese, but there were a couple of Australians, South Americans and Brazilians as well. Because of the time of year, a lot of surfing

families go there.

“He also did that same competition the year before and got fifth.

“This year, his goal is to win.”

On returning from Bali, Indi’s greater goal in 2018 is to head to Sydney to the BL Blast Off a major competition.

“He won the under-six category there in 2016,” says Phil. “Last year he went up another division into the under-eights, and he got sixth. All those other kids that were in the final with him had to move up to the under-10s this year. He’s still eight.

“If our training works well in Bali, then he should win this one in Australia too.

“The Bali competitions are like the training for the BL Blast Off.” Clearly Indi is very competitive. He’s just won the Bay Board Riders 2018 Boys Under-10s division, with Tyler Stenzel coming second and Zen Mouldey third.

“I like surfing because you can do some cool tricks,” says Indi, “like barrels.”

He remembers his first board - a distant four years ago.

“I surfed on a soft top,” says Indi. “The surf board was about six-foot long.”

How does this affect his schooling?

“He’s away quite a lot,” says Phil, “but he’s a smart kid and loves reading and writing.

“When we’re away he takes books with him and gets through them quick as.

“He’s reading every day and also writes about

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life+style The Weekend Sun 3

“I like surfing because you can do some

what he does each day. He’s not ahead, but he’s not behind either. He’s at a good plateau. For how much time he spends away, we’re reasonably happy with how he’s going.

“Tahatai Coast is such a great school.

“They’re so supportive and they’ve helped us lots.”

The family - mum Renee, brother Devon and sister Georgia - are also looking forward to the trip away together.

“I’m a professional surf judge, so I judge all the competitions around NZ and used to do it internationally,” says Phil.

“When we’ve gone to Australia, it’s mainly been me and Indi, but last year we managed to take his mum with us, which was amazing.

“Other years, in Bali, it’s just been me and Indi but this year my family has helped support us, and we’re able to take his mum and brother and sister as well.”

The family have recently started vlogging, and intend to focus on that while staying in Bali.

“Ideally, we want to get a short out each day,” says Phil. “We’ll be doing them regularly and once a week we’ll do a fiveminute update about what we’ve done that week and put it on social media.”

“My brother sort of likes surfing, but my sister doesn’t,” says Indi.

Photo: Nikki South

cool tricks,” says Indi, “like barrels.”

Indi with, from left: sister Georgia, brother Devon, mum Renee and dad Phil.

“Devon is mainly a skateboarder.”

Kiwi surfing great Ricardo Christie has also taken note of the young grommit.

“Watch out for this young NZ sport star as he’s set to make waves, literally - in the surfing world,” says Ricardo.

“Indi is a little legend! He’s already ripping at such a young age, I can’t wait to see what he does in the future!”

Rosalie Liddle Crawford

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8 June, 2018 life+style The Weekend Sun 21 August, 2015

Lorraine Browne Cheery colour from a garden studio I phoned Lorraine Browne one evening while she was getting ready to go out to a dance class. “May I call in and see you tomorrow morning?” I asked.

She has a painting studio tucked away in the corner of her Katikati garden. At the other end of the garden, her husband Glenn has his woodturning workshop.

They meet for lunch. In between the studio and workshop, and surrounding the 1950s stucco house, are tidy box hedging, topiary, a white camellia hedge, colourful bird boxes, and plantings of feijoas, grapes, oranges, olives, apples and blueberries.

She and Glenn moved from Auckland nearly five years ago.

“The box hedging helps to tidy everything,” smiles Lorraine. “It brings order.”

We step through the little portico into her studio.

Welcome to Gallery on Mulgan.

Lorraine is wearing a lime green cardigan over blue jeans, her eyes sparkling and framed with wonderful purple glasses.

Looking fresh and invigorated, she laughs as she recounts the dancing from the night before.

“The group is called ‘Dancing Divas’ and we dance in a purpose-built yurt on Kauri Point Road.”

Now she’s got me immensely interested. A yurt?

How fascinating!

“I’ve been dancing a short time, probably eight to nine months,” says Lorraine. “I had a big break over

12 years of enhancing smiles in the Bay of Plenty

Christmas. It’s fun. But I also do Tai Chi which is my first love, and I’ve been doing that for three-and-a-half years now.”

I know she’s always painted to music, so it’s a pleasure to learn she sometimes finds herself dancing while painting. Knowing this, the artwork around me becomes even more alive. It’s organic, expressionistic, playful and imbued with blends of colours that reveal an intelligent imagination.

There are textures, patterns, tartan, paint, ripped newspaper and fabric. Part Fauvism, part modernism, with strong colour over the representational values retained by impressionism, her artist’s voice is distinctive, bright and cheery.

She’s evolved boldly over the past decade, with colour and paint joyously using the painter to find their voice, rather than the other way around.

Lorraine’s work reminds me of Guy Charon and Raoul Dufy, both French artists, and some of the inspiring bohemian and abstract style of American painter Karen Fields.

She and Glenn haven’t always lived in Katikati.

“We came down from Auckland about four-and-ahalf years ago,” says Lorraine. “Glenn and I had both been made redundant up there. Then we had a leaky house in Auckland and we decided to move here.”

I’ve caught her mid-painting. Lorraine explains to me that with her graphics background, she likes a tidy space, but once she gets painting she gets messier. I find that hard to believe, as the paints and brushes are well-laid out and organised.

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8 June, 2018 2015 21 August,

life+style The Weekend Sun 5

“She’s evolved boldly over the past decade, with colour and paint joyously using the painter to find their voice, rather than the other way around”

Right-handed, Lorraine often paints with one hand in her pocket, expressing her enjoyment in landscapes, paintings of animals, and organic shapes from nature. Completed canvases cover the walls of the airy garden studio providing an exploration of her painting journey.

There’s a goat chewing a flower.

I enjoy the good-natured humour in her work.

And then there are the collages.

“The beginning was the Singer sewing machine,” says Lorraine, pointing to a particularly interesting collage that incorporates the Singer. “I’ve done a lot of animals and landscapes. But this was the start of me doing something different.”

Bright and cheerful, Lorraine has found quite a lot of success with selling her collages.

“You don’t see many of them here, because I’ve sold them.”

A triptych made from a combination of fabric and paint stands out. It looks like there was fun had putting it together. I’m fascinated to learn which painters she regards as her main influences.

“I worked in a studio when I was really young, and I love Nigel Brown,” says Lorraine.

“As much as I would like it to, my work never looks like his. I struggle to stay loose.”

During September 2017, Lorraine took part in a group exhibition in Katikati with four other local artists – Val Tubman, Birgitt Shannon, Anne Bowling and Leigh Basinger.

The exhibition, titled ‘Friends’, reflected the

friendship of the talented five, and was part of the NZ Mural Contest and Arts Festival.

She also had a successful exhibition during a previous Garden and Art Festival, at Earth Force, a garden nursery on Wright Road.

Her confidence at introducing new elements into her work resonates from each canvas. I find her work truly remarkable and uplifting.

She has a large portrait underway. It’s stunning, but we’re not allowed to photograph it unfinished.

Lorraine has painted a vase of flowers in a similar style. Hanging in the couple’s lounge, it’s superb.

Bruce captures that via his camera instead.

Gallery on Mulgan, 13 Mulgan Street, Katikati, is open by appointment by calling Lorraine on: 07 549 2048.

Rosalie Liddle Crawford

Photos: Bruce Barnard

LYNLEY PARK, OMOKOROA

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June, 2018 life+style The Weekend Sun 218 August, 2015

Creamy mushroom and brie risotto Winter isn’t coming, it’s here and with it comes comfort food. There is no better comfort food than a delicious creamy risotto. Risotto makes a fabulous starter, a hearty main and even a delicious dessert. If you use good ingredients it is an easy dish to prepare and get right every time. Use only Italian shortgrain rice varieties – Arborio or Carnaroli are the traditional rices used.

Ingredients 50g dried porcini mushrooms 1 vegetable stock cube 2 tbsp olive oil 1 onion finely chopped 2 cloves garlic – minced 1 tbsp finely chopped rosemary 250g fresh brown mushrooms – washed and sliced

Recipe from

300g risotto rice – arborio or carnaroli 175ml white wine 25g butter Handful Italian flat leaf parsley 50g Grana Padano or Reggiano freshly grated 150g brie – torn into bits

How to: Soak dried mushroom in 1 litre of boiling water for 20mins. Drain into a saucepan – discard the last 2 tbsp of liquid. Crumble stock cube into saucepan and squeeze mushrooms gently over to remove any more liquid. Gently heat stock. You need about 1 litre so add a little water if there isn’t enough.

Chop the mushrooms.

Heat the oil in a large heavy based. Add the onions and garlic, fry until soft.

Stir in the fresh and dried mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and continue to cook until the fresh mushrooms have softened.

Add the rice into the pan and cook for 1 minute. Pour over the wine and let it bubble to nothing so the alcohol evaporates. Over a medium heat ladle in a quarter of the mushroom stock. Simmer the rice, stirring often, until the rice has absorbed all the liquid. Repeat until the rice starts to become creamy, plump and tender. By the time the final quarter of stock is added, the rice should be almost cooked.

Take the pan off the heat, add the butter and stir in the grated cheese.

Cover and leave for a few minutes so that the rice can take up any excess liquid as it cools a bit. Give the risotto a final stir, scatter with the brie chunks and parsley – serve.

The eyes and ears

life+style The Weekend Sun 7 Photo: Nikki South

8 June, 2018 2015 21 August,

Gig and the Te Puke Community Patrol Margaret Green and Jan Ward are putting out a request for more people to join the Te Puke Community Patrol (CPNZ Te Puke), formerly known as Te Puke Night Owls.

“If you can spare an hour or two every two months,” says Margaret, “please do consider joining our patrollers, whose primary aim is to help keep our Te Puke streets and rural community safe, day and night.”

Margaret, known as Gig, she has been the patrol coordinator for the last five-to-six years.

Numbers have dropped from 90 to about 40 members, so Gig and patrol secretary Jan Ward are keen to recruit more people.

“We’d like to attract interested volunteers, the younger set and businesses,” says Gig. “We’re not the police. We’re only their eyes and ears.”

Volunteers can choose to do a day or night patrol.

During the day, pairs of patrollers usually cover a one to two hour stint anywhere from Pongakawa to Bell Road. For safety reasons, the night patrol only covers the Te Puke urban area.

The patrol car has been provided by Trustpower and the petrol paid through fundraising.

Gig draws up the rosters, and liaises with the Wellington headquarters to take new members through the vetting process so they can be certified patrollers. She volunteers at Te Puke Police Station three times a week. Police provide a ‘Tasking Sheet’,

advising of areas of concern, and suggested places for the patrol to go.

At the end of each patrol a ‘Log Sheet’ is completed, which often provides valuable information to police in instances of crime.

To fill in a sheet with the words “nothing of interest was noted” is as important to police as reporting an incident, as it quickly enables them to discount areas that may have been close to an incident.

Gig rosters six people every week on a five-weekly rotation, but is particularly short on night patrollers.

Members are provided with access to regular training opportunities, and Gig believes that the low crime rate in Te Puke can be attributed to police maintaining a strong presence and the CPNZ car being an additional visual deterrent.

CPNZ Te Puke also oversee the running of Graffiti Busters - a group dedicated to keeping incidences of graffiti to a minimum.

“For us to continue with these patrols, we are desperately searching for more volunteers,” says Gig. “If we could reach a targeted level of 65 patrollers or more, we would then be able to have a roster whereby a patroller would only have to go out on patrol for a couple of hours once every two-to-three months.”

If you’re interested in joining CPNZ Te Puke, please contact Gig Green on: 07 573909 or: 027 430 6383.

You can also email: meegreen11@gmail.com or contact Jan Ward on: 021 303323 or: kisimuljan@gmail.com Rosalie Liddle Crawford

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Margaret (Gig) Green

Dave Anderson, Sergeant Mark Holmes, Margaret (Gig) Green, Jan Ward

8

June, 2018 life+style The Weekend Sun 218August, 2015

Hollywood location scouts Hashtagging the Bay of Plenty Recently, I spent part of a day with three Hollywood movie scouts while they were on a famil of the Bay of Plenty. Lori Balton, Dow Griffith and Kent Matsuoka - all highly-qualified and respected international locations professionals - were being shown some of our best locations by BOP Film manager Anton Steel.

‘Being shown’ means treks through the bush and walks up and down hills and mountains, clearly requiring a high level of fitness. All the while, cameras and iPads are clicking.

The famil, or familiarisation programme, was designed to give scouts an opportunity to experience New Zealand for themselves, so they can be sure of selling it to film directors and producers, knowing the locations will meet the criteria required for filming.

Lori, who has scouted locations for The Lion King, Dumbo, Godzilla, Hot Wheels, Jungle Cruise, A Wrinkle in Time, the Planet of the Apes franchise and Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Argo and Inception, couldn’t pass up the opportunity to visit.

“Who would say no to a trip to NZ?” asks Lori.

“I work all around the world, but have never been to New Zealand and I’m just delighted to be here and to see the variety and diversity of locations within a very small area. It’s quite amazing.”

Some of the locations visited by the trio in the Bay of Plenty included the Redwood Forest in Rotorua, White Island, McLaren Falls Park, Mauao, Tauranga Historic Village and Newdicks Beach.

I asked Lori about her impressions of the Tauranga area. “McLaren Falls was great.

“I loved the fact that there were so many looks, including the road along the canals. The lighting was just incredible and the jungle area has perfect access for getting your vehicle in.

“I just spent months scouting in the Amazon for Jungle Cruise, and you have to think about how long it would take to get the equipment in.

“There it’s a vehicle, then a boat. Here you can drive right in to a dense jungle.

“Also, there’s no film burnout here - people are still interested and intrigued in what’s happening and realise it has great short-term and long-term benefits for the local economy because it spurs the tourism industry.”

We also talked about the social impact of tourism.

“It’s good and it’s bad,” says Lori. “I worked on ‘A River Runs Through It’ in a sleepy little town in Montana. After the movie came out it seemed the entire universe went there to fly fish.

“The restaurants and hotel owners were ecstatic because tourism shot through the roof, but the people who had strangers in their local fishing spots were not very happy. If you want the tourism money you have to accept the tourists.”

Dow and Kent also have some solid work behind

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8 June, 2018

life+style The Weekend Sun 9 Kent Matsuoka, Lori Balton and Dow Griffith

“Some of the locations visited by the trio in the Bay of Plenty included the Redwood Forest in Rotorua, White Island, McLaren Falls Park, Mauao, Tauranga Historic Village and Newdicks Beach”

“Great!” says Lori. “We have the funeral business in common.

“I grew up over a funeral home in Brooklyn and Dad used to drive us to school in the hearse some days.

“We had a lovely lunch at Harbourside - the food was amazing. The mussels were very good.”

Lori found walking amongst the corroded ruins of White Island astonishing.

“It was really amazing - other-planetary, scientific, stark but with a beautiful look.

“What really struck me was the welcome we got on the first day. It was so impressive to see those kids get such strength from their heritage and their culture.

“It kind of blew my mind.

“It was really memorable.”

She’s busy on her phone, uploading photos to social media.

“I posted a photo of the Chateau and someone posted ‘let’s shoot a movie there’,” she says. “I’m on Instagram and Facebook and we were talking today about how it’s important to ask what hashtags we should use to help promote the film office in that area.”

She’s been hashtagging BOP Film on all of her posts - #bopfilm. Kent has also been using #nz and #nzfilm.

Rosalie Liddle Crawford

Photos: Rosalie Liddle Crawford

them. Dow has scouted locations for Mulan, Ghost in the Shell, The Promise, After Earth and The Bourne Legacy.

Kent’s films include Bumblebee, The Nun, Under the Silver Lake and War for Planet of the Apes, as well as television commercials for Apple, Ford, Hyundai, Nike and Pepsi.

There’s a lot of camaraderie between the trio. “What social media do you use, Dow?” I ask, while watching him expertly navigate his iPad. “None,” replies Dow. “I make all my friends call me on the phone.”

“That’s why he has zero friends,” jokes Kent. “Yeah, the rest have abandoned me,” Dow agrees.

They’d just returned from climbing Mauao, stopping for a drink at Dixie Browns. “Did you see Disney’s Pete’s Dragon at the falls?” I ask.

“My ass was draggin’, does that count?” smiles Lori.

“Anton made me go up a another mountain and my ass was draggin’.”

We have a mini-debate about whether New Zealand is first to see the sun.

All three immediately respond to my assertion, telling me “fake news - it’s Samoa”. It’s impressive that they all instantly know this, but then that’s their job.

“How was lunch with the Mayor?” I ask.

June, 2018 life+style The Weekend Sun 218 August, 2015

Photos: Bruce Barnard

House of cranks Sewing hope I was writing one afternoon on my balcony when an incoming email from Betty J. Kurzfeld took over my screen. Grateful for a break, I popped around to see her.

She’d written: “Rosalie, I am trying to get a local group together to make 15 quilts for the children at Homes of Hope Tauranga.

“I have the venue at the Mount and the sewing machines, hand-cranks and treadles, people-powered machines and possibly enough fabrics, but will need more batting and an idea of making items to sell, to fund the supplies we need.

“We would hopefully be like a working museum of early sewing, encourage visitors and maybe be a local venue for the tourists on the passenger ships next

season. It would be something a bit different, and if we work on souvenirs, that’s more funding for more quilts for charities.

“What I need are folk who want to sew, others who will cut and trim, and of course a person to press the fabrics. Any males who think they might enjoy this are also welcome. In early times men were the tailors.

“And a maintenance guy would be nice.”

Betty and husband Nigel live in a Ross Bryantdesigned home on Valley Road, on a large property with a back section where their earlier home still sits.

I have previously found them both deeply involved in community activities, from the Mount Community Garden to Lions projects, and I joke with Nigel that it’s always the same people showing up and helping out.

“Always the good-looking ones,” he jokes back.

They take me down the drive to their back house.

“This will be ‘The House of Cranks’ I think,” says Betty. Bemused, I know the name has nothing to do with their long marriage!

“I don’t want to die with a big cupboard of fabrics,” Betty declares. “We had tenants for a while, and put down new carpets. But it just wasn’t worth it, so we feel we can make good use of it.”

She opens the front door and there in the living room is a sewing machine. Next to it is another sewing machine, surrounded by ten or more.

Beautiful, ornate, antique, hand crank vintage sewing machines. Some are over 100 years old.

“This one’s a mod-ren one,” laughs Betty, pointing

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life+style The Weekend Sun 11

shop,” says Betty. “Although Nigel is good with a screwdriver.”

There are other rooms, where more sewing machines and tables could go.

Betty just needs people to come and sew. Firstly, the 15 quilts for Homes of Hope.

“We could make this sustainable if

we get it going right, because I’ve got a lot of projects for machines.

“I think as soon as I let people know, we’ll have people.”

Anyone keen to join Betty and Nigel’s ‘House of Cranks’ should contact Betty on: (07) 575 4747.

“Beautiful, ornate, antique, hand crank vintage sewing machines.

Some are over 100 years old”

at a 1954 Singer, as she tells the story of her father always saying mod-ren instead of modern.

Each machine has a cover with a little key. Most covers are curved but there’s one that’s a coffin shape.

“None of them are electric,” says Betty. “Some started life as electric. I’ve bought some over the years. Some were donated because the owners didn’t want to put them in the dump.

“Now this one is a 1904 – no, 1901.

“While I was overseas once, I paid $25 for that one.

“They really don’t require much maintenance.”

We find one with a boat shuttle inside, called that because it’s in the shape of a rowing boat.

She points to another Singer.

“This has a good history. I think I paid $40 for it.

It came out from England on the Orient Line.

It had a hand crank as well as a motor.

“Now I don’t know what she thought she was coming to in New Zealand.”

I look in the case for the hire purchase agreement – it’s still there. Clara Madge Lang bought this Singer in 1953 for 16 pounds and 15 shillings from one Charles Payne in Campden High Street and brought it to NZ. She paid it off at the sum of three pounds 14 shillings on the first day of the month starting on October 1, 1953.

Isaac Merrit Singer and his company were renowned for popularising Hire Purchase - a system of gradual payments, allowing free trials in the home, employing the largest force of salesmen in any

industry in the world, and opening up Singer shops in many towns across the US. The company produced machines unrivalled for a long time by its competitors.

The Free Sewing Machine Company is also wellrepresented in this room of vintage delights, with a Rotoscillo model sitting in the corner.

It pops up from a hidden space in the desk which has drawers with holes and places to put bobbins and boat shuttles.

“Free only made the Rotoscillo for the NZ and Australian market,” says Betty.

“It’s interesting in that the hand-wheel goes the wrong way. You have to push it backwards.”

Betty, a retired seamstress, isn’t sure how many sewing machines she has.

“At one stage I had fifty,” she muses.

There are machines with ornate grape designs on their metal plates. Different sizes, different shapes.

Some have oval metal decorative inspection plates that swing to the side, so the sewer can view the inner workings of the machine.

“With modern machines, we just take them to the

Rosalie Liddle Crawford

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