issue 76, march 2021 Editor & Publisher Kirsty Cameron editor@thehobson.co.nz Art Direction & Production Stephen Penny design@thehobson.co.nz Writers this Issue Peter Bale, Kirsty Cameron, Hélène Ravlich, Wayne Thompson, Justine Williams Sub-editor Dawn Adams Columnists Camilla Belich, Warren Couillault, Andrew Dickens, Hamish Firth, Paul Goldsmith, Colin Hogg, Tommy Honey, Lauraine Jacobs, David Seymour, Desley Simpson Photographer Stephen Penny Cover Tony Astle, eponymous chef and owner of Antoine's Parnell. Illustration by Danyel Simich for The Hobson. © Danyel Simich 2021. See The Icon, page 29. THE HOBSON is published 11 times a year by The Hobson Limited, PO Box 37490 Parnell, Auckland 1151. www.thehobson.co.nz F: The Hobson Magazine I: @The Hobson
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his issue has quite a few wanders into your memory bank. There is both our good-bye to the Parnell institution that was Antoine’s, and an extract from a new biography about the eminent plastic surgeon, the late Sir William Manchester. Both have brought up happy, and also slightly mortifying, memories for me. My first experience of Antoine’s was when a new boyfriend took me there on an official first date in the early ‘80s. I can’t remember what we ate or what we talked about, but I do remember he paid with a crumpled pile of notes, confessing later that he’d spent the afternoon rushing around the various places of his casual student work, begging for an advance on his pay so he could splash out at Antoine’s. It was obviously way beyond both our budgets but the gesture was magnanimous. The fine portrait of Tony Astle on our cover is another personal connection. It was drawn especially for The Hobson by my very old friend, Danyel Simich. Danyel was an Antoine’s aficianado, often leaving after dinner with a special doggy bag prepared by Tony so she could continue her feast the next day. That story begins on page 29. On page 32, we have an extract from Perfection: The life and times of Sir William Manchester, a tribute to the pioneering surgeon by two other local surgeons, Earle Brown and Michael Klaassen. When Mr Brown got in touch to tell me about the upcoming book, my first thought was “po-lice!” My first job out of journalism training was as a reporter in the Auckland newsroom of Radio New Zealand, around 1985. Six months in, I was given the added role of covering health, which meant going to the meetings of the then-Auckland District Health Board at its Wellesley St HQ (“known as the Kremlin,” says Earle, drily). Sir William was on the board, always dapper with a rosebud in his lapel. After one meeting, he sought me out in the press benches. He said he often heard me on the radio and thought that generally, I was doing a pretty good job. But please, could I stop saying “pleece” in my reports. “The word is po-lice, and you let yourself down with sloppy pronunciation.” I have said po-lice ever since.
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THE HOBSON is Remuera, Parnell and Ōrākei’s community magazine. We deliver into letterboxes in these neighbourhoods, and copies are also at local libraries, cafés, and at businesses including the Vicky Ave and White Heron dairies, and Paper Plus Parnell and Remuera. Find us on Facebook (The Hobson Magazine) and Instagram: @thehobson www.thehobson.co.nz The content of THE HOBSON is copyright. Our words, our pictures. Don’t steal, and don’t borrow without checking with us first. We aim for accuracy but cannot be held liable for any inaccuracies that do occur. The views of our contributors are their own and not necessarily those of THE HOBSON. We don’t favour unsolicited contributions but do welcome you getting in touch via editor@thehobson.co.nz to discuss ideas. The Hobson Ltd is a member of the Magazine Publishers Association This publication uses environmentally responsible papers.
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This issue we welcome to our pages Camilla Belich. Camilla was elected to Parliament last year as the Labour list MP based in Epsom. Now that we have three local MPs, it seems only fair to include her voice. Her maiden column is on page 20.