The Hobson September 2016

september 2016

fathers • friends • neighbours local news, views & informed opinions

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C O L L E C T I O N

The September Issue, No. 31 6

26

49

the editor’s letter

the local guy

the sound

8

Andrew Dickens and the sad, angry, sweet sounds of unrest

the columnists

Meet Guy Eady, the man behind the retirement development underway on Rawhiti Bowling Club site

10

33

the village

the portfolio

50 the check in

What the Unitary Plan has revealed for Parnell, Remuera and Orākei, school successes, new in town, and more

Locals open up their family photo albums in a special tribute for Father’s Day

A trip south for an art-filled weekend, northern luxury and Hogwarts too — Louise Richardson covers the map

20

38 the handsome

52

the reps News from local MPs David Seymour and Paul Goldsmith

21 the kaitiaki Precious Clark calls for more love and honouring of all our tamariki

22 the plan A holiday to Nashville turned up some conventional business for Hamish Firth

23 the investment

Fragrant and practical grooming choices for dads (or any lads)

53

the magpie

the cinema

She lays before you a trove of Father’s Day-inspired gift ideas

What’s screening this month, by Caitlin McKenna

44

54

the home

the district diary

The Hamilton family open their doors for St Cuthbert’s upcoming house tours

Special dates in September

46 the appetite

Warren Couillault on the wisdom of spreading your your asset investment wisely

24

the psyche

Sandy Burgham talks to money markets trader turned history lecturer Dr Lindsey Digglemann about his act of reinvention

Suggestions that may please dads, uncles and poppas, selected by Gail Woodward

40

Spring chicken is Sue Fleischl’s menu suggestion for September

the second act

the bookmark

56 the cryptic Our puzzle, by Māyā. Hint: some of the answers are local (if you’re really stuck, there’s blog help too)

48 Dr Amrit Kaur on the art of conversation with a reluctant teenager

Win! Good morning! Wake up to a great cup of coffee, courtesy of Kokako. From their first cafe and roastery in Parnell, Kokako were pioneers in the organic coffee market.

Their certified Fairtrade coffee comes in a range of blends and speciality single origin offerings, and is now available by subscription for home delivery.

To celebrate their 15 years producing and drinking excellent joe, Kokako are giving one lucky reader a year’s supply of coffee (beans or ground, your call), starting with limited release Purosa Estate, a true “relationship coffee” sourced by Kokako’s owners from a farm in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea.

To enter, email business@thehobson.co.nz with “Kokako” in the subject line by 5pm, Friday September 16, 2016. One winner will be selected at random.

The fine print: By entering, you agree that your name and contact details will be retained by THE HOBSON for our database purposes

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issue 31, september 2016 Editor & Publisher Kirsty Cameron editor@thehobson.co.nz Art Direction & Production Stephen Penny design@thehobson.co.nz Writers Kirsty Cameron, Penny Lewis, Louise Richardson, Wayne Thompson, Justine Williams Sub-editor Fiona Wilson Social Media Editor Sarah Lynch Columnists & Contributors This Issue Sandy Burgham, Precious Clark, Warren Couillault, Andrew Dickens, Hamish Firth, Sue Fleischl, Paul Goldsmith, Tommy Honey, Amrit Kaur, Māyā, Caitlin McKenna, David Seymour, Desley Simpson, Fiona Wilson, Gail Woodward Photographers Vanita Andrews, Stephen Penny, Dominique White

our years ago, I put my job on a redundancy list from one of NZ’s major magazine publishers. As we made the business leaner and leaner, my management role shrank with it — there was less to do, and no budget for anything new. Faced with finding yet more “savings” across a business where everyone was already producing silk purses from sow’s ear budgets, it seemed obvious to put my role up as “cost saving” on the balance sheet. I was looked after fairly, and kindly, by my employer, and left with a contractual period of gardening leave where I couldn’t do anything but think about what I wanted to do next. That turned out to be starting THE HOBSON. I thought we had a need for our own community magazine, one that connected and informed this part of town, that celebrated local people and achievements and kept us up with local issues and concerns. Once my gardening leave was up, I started some due diligence with businesses and people in the community, and did some rough planning (less a business plan, more a mud map).

Has it worked? This is our third anniversary issue, so I think I can say “yes”. While moving from national to hyper-local publishing isn’t the seachange reinvention that Sandy Burgham writes about this month (see The Second Act, page 24), there is much happiness in creating something new, and seeing it grow. We have much, much more to do, so many more stories to write and ideas to test, to make this magazine better as we evolve.

Thank you for reading and for all your feedback, and story suggestions.

And thank you especially for supporting the businesses that choose to support us. Without them, THE HOBSON would still be an idea, rather than what you’re holding now.

Cover Olympic bronze medallist Rod Dixon and his daughters, Emma and Kate. See page 33 THE HOBSON is published 10 times a year by The Hobson Limited, PO Box 37490 Parnell, Auckland 1151. www.thehobson.co.nz F: TheHobsonMagazine T: @thehobson

Kirsty Cameron editor@thehobson.co.nz 0275 326 424 Facebook: The Hobson magazine Instagram: TheHobson

Ideas, suggestions, advertising inquiries welcome. editor@thehobson.co.nz Or via Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheHobsonMagazine

THE HOBSON is Remuera, Parnell and Orākei’s community magazine. We deliver into letterboxes in these neighbourhoods, and copies are also at local libraries, cafes, and at businesses including the Vicky Ave and White Heron dairies, and Paper Plus Parnell.For more about us, visit www.thehobson.co.nz or TheHobsonMagazine on Facebook.

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

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This publication uses environmentally responsible papers

Have local magazine, will travel . . . Thanks to the Hart family of Remuera for sending us photos of their holiday in Venice. Can’t fault the location, or the reading material!

Z

Congratulations to the five lucky readers who each won deliveries of delicious J’aime les macarons treats in our July-August issue competition. They were: Rebecca Celebuski, Stephen Goodman, Warren Johns, Ashley Ruha, Armani Thomson Why am I getting THE HOBSON in my letterbox? We launched in September 2013 as your neighbourhood magazine — that’s our brief, to be local, inform and connect our community. We distribute to households in Remuera, Parnell and Orākei. We also put copies into the Remuera and Parnell libraries and dairies and cafes around the wider neighbourhood, including Newmarket. You can read back issues on our Facebook page, The Hobson Magazine.

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The Columnists

Left to right from top row:

Sandy Burgham (The Second Act) is a brand strategist and an executive coach with a special interest in midlife change and transformational behaviours. She runs a central Auckland practice. www.sandyburgham.com Precious Clark (The Kaitiaki) is a professional director who sits on several boards, and a young leader of Ngāti Whātua. A law graduate, she lives in Orākei.

Remuera resident Warren Couillault (The Investment) is an executive director and the major shareholder of Macquarie Equities NZ Ltd, a private wealth advisory group. He is a shareholder and director of Generate Investment Management Ltd; and manager of a registered Kiwisaver scheme.

Andrew Dickens (The Sound) is the host of Andrew Dickens’ Sunday Cafe on Sunday morning, from 9am, on Newstalk ZB. He is also the music reviewer on Jack Tame’s Saturday morning show on Newstalk ZB. He grew up in Remuera.

Hamish Firth (The Plan) lives and works in Parnell and is principal of the Mt Hobson Group, a specialist urban planning consultancy. www.mthobsonproperties.co.nz Sue Fleischl (The Appetite) is a caterer and passionate foodie. She heads up The Great Catering Company, and also manages the heritage Abbeville Estate function venue. www.greatcatering.co.nz, www.abbeville.co.nz Urban design critic Tommy Honey (The Suburbanist) is a former architect, Remuera resident and Dean of College at Parnell’s Whitecliffe College of Arts & Design.

Dr Amrit Kaur (The Psyche) lives in Meadowbank. She is a NZ-registered clinical psychologist specialising in helping children, families and young adults, and is part of the KidzTherapy practice. Her column appears bi-monthly, alternating with Judi Paape.

Caitlin McKenna (The Cinema) of Remuera is passionate about the cinema — she majored in film, sociology and marketing for her conjoint BCom/BA. Judi Paape (The Teacher) is a parent, grandparent and highly-experienced teacher and junior school principal.

A Parnell resident, her column appears bi-monthly, alternating with Amrit Kaur.

Justine Williams (The Magpie, The Pretty) is an interiors stylist, writer and fashion editor. The Remuera resident has been the editor of Simply You and Simply You Living.

Gail Woodward (The Bookmark) of Meadowbank is the senior book buyer for Paper Plus Newmarket.

She belongs to, and advises on selections for, a number of book clubs.

the hobson 8

the village

What's UP Locally The recommendations for Auckland’s Unitary Plan (UP) have been released by the Independent Hearings Panel.

The document of 700 pages, the result of more than 13,000 submissions, will shape the planning blueprint for Auckland’s future.

Auckland Council was due to announce its decisions on the IHP recommendations after this edition of THE HOBSON went to print. Ahead of that, Wayne Thompson canvassed a range of opinions on how the UP, as it is now, will impact Remuera, Orākei and Parnell, while Tommy Honey offers an overview of the plan’s key points.

H

igh-level recommendations for steering Auckland’s residential growth over the next 30 years will allow a radical upzoning of parts of the city’s eastern suburbs, while shedding some of the standards that influenced the living environment.

In its report to Auckland Council in July, the Unitary Plan Independent Hearings Panel (IHP) says proposed residential zone rules and development controls need changing in order to enable greater capacity and the flexibility to supply a choice.

It calls for a bold and innovative approach in the key urban growth areas of the isthmus.

However, the panel’s recommendations (see Tommy Honey’s plan takeouts on page 12) were hurtling towards a torrid debate and possibly a court challenge — judging by the reaction of some residents as this edition of THE HOBSON went to press ahead of Council’s decisions, due for release up until August 19.

The strongest comments expressed to THE HOBSON came from Don Stock, chair of the Mission Bay Kohimarama Residents’ Association, which drew 700 people to a meeting in February, and prompted Council’s change of heart about out-of-scope upzoning.

He says the proposed plan is a disappointment, because it focuses on a short-term solution for a major shortage of building land, instead of the long-term goal of growing the world’s most liveable city.

The Coalition for More Homes, which includes Generation Zero and the Salvation Army, is demanding that the IHP’s recommended version of the Unitary Plan be passed. It says a reason not enough homes are built is that council planning rules unduly restrict housing development and a mix of housing types in places where

F O R M AY O R

Authorised by Vic Crone, 905/86 The Strand, Parnell.

people want to live.

However, Stock predicts a surplus of land in the first years and developers preferring to start where the most money is – in the wealthy areas. “But it’s opposite to what we need — more cheaper houses.”

Orākei Local Board chair Desley Simpson says the IHP’s call is a significant upzoning on what was mooted, and then overturned in February, as missing a fair public consultation. Waitematā ward representative on the council, Councillor Mike Lee, says some localised upzoning in Parnell is causing concern for some residents.

Area by area, the main changes are: PARNELL The plan impacts fairly lightly on Parnell, unlike much of the eastern suburbs, says Mike Lee. There is an increase to the Terrace Housing Apartment Building (THAB) zone west of Parnell Rd, along St Stephens Ave. The Gladstone Rd - Taurarua Tce area is upzoned from Mixed House Suburban, and some Single House zone sites, to the higher-rise Mixed Housing Urban. Also, some single houses have been upzoned to Mixed Housing Suburban in lower Takutai St, Ayr St and Judges Bay. A Single House zone replaces a Mixed Use zone on the corner of Ruskin St and St Georges Bay Rd. To the west, behind The Strand in Augustus Tce, a light industrial area has been zoned to Mixed Use, and this zone’s height control increases to vary from 21m in parts of Parnell to 32.5m at Carlaw Park. Thankfully, says Mike Lee, Gladstone Park, which has been the subject of an ongoing and controversial Treaty of Waitangi cultural redress process, is no longer changed to Māori Purposes, as the

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Marutūahu federation of iwi wanted. The submissions of the Friends of Gladstone Park and the Parnell Community Committee keep the park zoned as active recreation and community purposes reserves.

Lee says he and Waitematā Local Board chair Shale Chambers advocated for the park, in particular, and to retain much of Parnell’s historic and special character areas.

In June, THE HOBSON reported on Housing New Zealand’s advocacy to the IHP for more intensive development in some city areas it did not own, as a way to improve housing choice and affordability. Its social housing site in Cracroft and Bedford streets was zoned the high-density Terrace Housing and Apartment Buildings (THAB) and the panel extends this zone to the pensioner flats sited on Avon and Stanwell streets. HNZ is waiting until the Council’s final decision before commenting on its plans for its 49 parcels of land in Parnell and Remuera.

Another zoning change which drew a challenge from residents was for the 2ha site of the former Queen Victoria School for Māori Girls, on Glanville Tce, bordered by Papahia St. The trust administering the land had initially sought a high-density (THAB) zone but changed its application to Mixed Housing Urban shortly before its hearing at the IHP. However, the IHP recommends a less intensive Mixed Housing Suburban zone, which allows up to two storeys and a softer profile to the surrounding area of single houses. As resident Evan Willams says, “several hundred Parnell residents will be delighted by that rather than the disastrous THAB zone.” The St Stephen’s and Queen Victoria Schools Trust Board declined comment on any plans.

Glanville Tce resident Stephen Goodman says his only disappointment is a lack of heritage protection for the area’s single houses, because the panel recommends deletion of the pre-1944 building demolition control overlay.

Parnell Heritage chair Mary Barry says this is a “setback for treasured gems” despite submissions of the city-wide Character Coalition and other groups. “There is not a lot of protection for our houses and trees’ heritage, and Parnell has already undergone a lot of intensification in the last 25 years.”

Mike Lee says he will fight to get back the pre-1944 demolition control overlay.

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REMUERA and EAST Desley Simpson says a main change in the Orākei ward is lessening of the Single House zone in favour of Mixed Housing Suburban, mainly around Stoneyroyd Gardens, and on the Glendowie coast where sites are no longer subject to the special character overlay. In St Johns and Meadowbank, there is Mixed Housing Urban on Tahapa Cres and the railway station and pockets of Mixed Housing Suburban replacing single house sites. Mixed Housing Urban replaces single house sites in Greenlane East and Mixed Housing Suburban replaces single house sites north of Peach Pde. ORAKEI Mixed Housing Suburban replaces single house sites around Tuhaere St and Paritai Dr, and then Mixed Housing Urban replaces Mixed Housing Suburban around the suburb of Orākei and all streets off Coates Ave and on Kupe St.

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the village

Tommy's Top Notes

Sites of Value to Mana Whenua

•

H

ere, THE HOBSON's The Suburbanist columnist, Tommy Honey, offers a precis of the Unitary Plan. A former architect with a passion for good urban design, Honey is a regular media commentator on liveable cities.

1. Support for the plan is surprisingly good – perhaps the last few months of housing crises, people living in cars and the rampant property market, has refocused attention onto the need to create supply.

2. The plan provisions move away from a ‘rules-led’ approach to an ‘outcome-led’ approach relying on the application of development standards (during the consenting process) to achieve quality.

3. Existing density controls that limited the number of dwellings on properties created a perverse economic effect where it incentivized the construction of large (and unaffordable) houses on sections of a certain size.

4. Removing density controls will allow more, smaller (and affordable) dwellings to be built as of right.

5. A number of complicated development standards have been deleted (about minimum sizes and other things) as they reflected the ‘rules-driven’ approach and stifle innovation.

The following are notes taken directly from the recommendations of the report about a number of topics. I have italicised those which may be of particular interest to readers.

Enabling Growth

• A “move to a quality compact urban form” (Auckland Plan) • Centres and corridors strategy • Remove or moderate parking rules • Expand the rural land boundary to include 30 per cent more

land area for future urbanisation

Residential Demand and Supply

• • • •

2.5 million people by 2041 400,000 additional dwellings needed The Proposed Unitary Plan only allowed for 213,000 dwellings most increase proposed in residential zones (not in greenfields areas) • the implications for individuals and the community from an under-supply are much more severe than those of an over- supply • the proposal therefore errs toward over-enabling capacity Affordable Housing

•

best able to promote affordable housing by ensuring there is adequate feasible enabled residential capacity relative to demand • the Plan on its own is not able to deliver affordable housing Key recommendations Built Heritage and Character

•

Policies protecting unidentified historic heritage including pre- 1944 building demolition are deleted • Some ambiguity existed between ‘special character’ and ‘historic heritage’ • The panel was left with the impression that the [pre-1944 demolition] control was a response to anecdotal incidents

The panel was concerned that the 3600 sites identified were simply those on the NZ Archeological Assoc. database of sites, rather than comprehensive identification of mana whenua values

Residential Development

•

Greater development as of right, provided they comply with development standards • Single House zone remains as it is with density controls • No density provisions for: Mixed Housing Suburban Mixed Housing Urban Terrace Housing and Apartment Buildings zone • Up to 4 dwellings as of right on Mixed Housing Suburban Mixed Housing Urban • 5 or more dwellings in these zones require a restricted discretionary activity consent • In the Terrace Housing and Apartment Buildings zone, all dwellings require a restricted discretionary activity consent [this is more restrictive and allows better oversight; if the dwelling complies with core standards, it will not be publicly notified] • The following standards have been deleted: separation between buildings on the site dwellings fronting the street maximum building length front fence requirements (side and rear retained) garages (percentage of front façade and setbacks) minimum dwelling size servicing and waste storage universal access minimum dimensions of principal living rooms and principal bedrooms dwelling mix minimum frontage and site width • Remaining development standards and the resource consenting process will determine the appropriate level of development • It was acknowledged that good quality residential and urban design outcomes need to be achieved

Removal of Density

•

The density provisions can lead to an inefficient use of land as only the prescribed number can be placed on the land • Limiting the number of dwellings encourages the maximisation of the site development by building larger units. This leads to fewer smaller dwellings being built and has an impact on affordability as the larger units tend to be more expensive • no density limits would enable considerably greater housing capacity and housing choice as this would likely result in a range of dwelling sizes rather than only larger units being built; • along with a number of development standards and consenting processes these would ensure good living environments and good environmental outcomes

Outcome-led Development

• •

plan provisions should be more ‘outcome-led’ than ‘rules-led’ provisions that are too ‘rules-driven’ stifle innovative outcomes and add cost with little benefit • the panel proposes a combination of a rule-based approach with a more enabling approach p

the hobson 12

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the village

Town & Around

ST CUTH’S BUILDS FOR GOOD

MAYORAL CANDIDATES MEET THE PEOPLE IN PARNELL

A group of St Cuthbert’s College students spent their most recent holiday giving a practical helping hand to a family in Fiji. The group of 14 students and two staff members spent a week in the Loqi settlement, about an hour’s drive into the sugarcane fields from Nadi, as part of a Habitat for Humanity Global Village building project.

The student team helped construct a full transitional shelter for a local family in housing need after Cyclone Winston swept through in February, destroying more than 30,000 homes across the island group.

H4H has developed a model to build cyclone-proof houses, and many structures built by the organisation in Fiji previously survived Winston.

As part of their mission, the St Cuth’s team raised funds for building materials, as well as tools, clothing and three laptops.

St Cuthbert’s has had a relationship with Habitat for Humanity for the past 12 years and students have built in Fiji several times before.

Students will also be building a house for a family in need closer to home through the Helping Hands Build, an initiative that has the College partnering with H4H and the Rotary Club of Newmarket. In that build, scheduled to start next April, a threebedroom house will be constructed in Newmarket before being transported to Northland. p

It was full house in the Hobson room when Parnell Inc and the Parnell Community Committee hosted a “Meet the Candidates” evening last month at the Jubilee Building. Local business people and residents turned out to hear Vic Crone, Phil Goff, John Palino and Mark Thomas say why they should be mayor when isthmus residents cast their votes in October. Facilitated

by THE HOBSON’s The Plan contributor, consultant planner Hamish Firth, each of the four were given 10 minutes to present their platform — all identified Auckland’s growth and housing as key issues. They then answered the same three questions put to them by Hamish Firth. The questions were: i) what would they do to get the long-stalled Parnell station

moving (it was to have been opened in July, see our story on this saga in the next issue) ii) should the port be moved from downtown Auckland iii) their position on tolls on motorways to manage congestion In short, their answers: Vic Crone: i) she’d investigate and action; ii) Absolutely; iii) No, because there’s no alternative route in most cases Phil Goff: i) couldn’t answer as “I don’t have all the facts”;

the hobson 14

ii) would push for national port strategy; iii) possibly, as “there’s no such thing as something for nothing” John Palino: i) will investigate, suspects the CRL “has sucked all the money”; ii) work with government to close it/relocation in 10 years; iii) No Mark Thomas: i) AT is underperforming, would look at transport reorganisation; ii) no more reclamation is needed, just more efficiency; iii) “Not saying no” but “people are fooling themselves if they say never”. p

PAINT THE TOWN RED Congratulations to local business PBF Paint and Plasterboard Finishing (pbf.co.nz), winners of the nationwide Residential Master Painter of the Year, 2016. Judged by the industry representative body, Master Painters New Zealand, the award was icing on the cake for business owner Arjen Bloem, who was also a finalist in this year’s Westpac Business Awards in the customer service category.

Bloem, who’s had nearly 30 years in the painting trade, is professionally and personally chuffed with the Master Painters recognition (PBF won the “Residential Character Rework Exterior” category as well as the overall award). With about 70 per cent of the company’s work carried out between Remuera and St Heliers, he says it’s personal recommendations from homeowners to neighbours, friends and colleagues which have seen his crew become fixtures around the community.

“We tend to work our way around a street,” he told THE HOBSON. “We did a lot of work in Eastbourne Rd, starting with one renovation, and we’ve now done six homes. That led to a string of homes on Portland Rd and a beautiful home on Seaview Rd, where we ended up painting another five!” p

LE WINNER And félicitations to Jenefer Bilkey and the crew at Browns Café Eatery & Store, winners of the retailers’ window competition during Remuera’s “French in July” festival. Participants were challenged to create a window display incorporating this year’s special touch: a very Gallic moustache (Browns’ baguettes, above, photographed by Ivan Tarlton). The judges were Orākei Local Board chair, Desley Simpson, and Orākei councillor, Cameron Brewer. p

the village

RUNNING TO SICILY Athletes from Baradene College of the Sacred Heart brought home the gold recently with nine medals and three titles at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Orienteering Championships.

Held in Cambridge over the school holidays, a squad team of 17 Baradene girls (pictured, right) competed as part of the 429-strong field representing 65 schools.

Overall, Baradene’s Junior Girls were the top team based on performance and points over the three days of events — a sprint, a long run across farmland, and team relays. The win entitles them to represent NZ at the World Schools Orienteering Champs in Sicily in 2017. Junior champions included team relay winners Lucy Burrell, Petra Buyck and Anna Duston (whose mum, Marianne, trains the St Cuthbert’s distance squads). The Intermediate Girls team of Honor Browne, Charlotte Carter and Chelsea Oliver placed third in the relay. p SPEAK UP FOR REMUERA SCHOOL OF ART Parnell District School will cap off its annual Arts Focus with a community visual arts day.

The school will open its doors (for a gold coin donation) to all on Sunday September 11, when adults and children are invited to participate in arts workshops to create works to keep.

This year’s Arts Focus — which the school has been running for two decades — has the theme of native birds. Artists working with students during the fortnight-long event include Doug Ford, Gary Roberts, Wei Lun Ha, Karava Gullatz and Fiona Rennie Schwieters. p

The Remuera Residents Association will hold their AGM and host an open discussion on Tuesday August 30, at 7.30pm in the St Paul’s Church Hall, 12 St Vincent Ave. All welcome to attend. On the agenda: the future of the Citizens Advice Bureau (and Plunket) building at 4 Vicky Ave, and resource consent applications around the Post Office. For further information, see remueraresidents.org.nz p

NEW PLACES TO GO Pasture has opened to an enthusiastic response from diners. Tucked down the laneway at 235 Parnell Rd, chef Ed Verner offers innovative, seasonal dishes served as a set, sixcourse menu (available with matched wines) between Wednesday and Saturdays. From early September, a more casual Sunday dinner will be added. Seating only 25 diners around an open kitchen, bookings are already essential: pastureakl.com

the hobson 16

Good news for locals too with Remuera’s The Villager having a new lease on life.

The pub-restaurant has been taken over by Lucien Law (adman turned hospo creative — Seafarers, Ebisu, Ostro) and Patrick Kean, who has a food and events marketing background.

“We’re still working on the name, it’s still on the whiteboard,” Patrick told THE HOBSON. What has been signed off are interiors by Paul Izzard to create a welcoming “modern local” feel. The aim is to be open and hosting drinkers and diners in mid-October. p

MOVING HOUSE Several of Parnell Rd’s empty shops have new tenants hanging out the shingle. New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty is moving into the building on the corner of Parnell Rd and Gibraltar Cres, having outgrown its blue bungalow opposite Ayr St. NZ Sotheby’s are taking over both the former pharmacy space at street level, as well as the offices above. Further up the street, City Realty Group has opened a new Ray White Parnell office at 413 Parnell Rd, combining two smaller retail spaces. p

SING PROUD The Auckland Girls’ Choir has returned triumphantly with a silver award from the World Projects South Pacific Australian International Music Festival in Sydney. The 50-strong choir, pictured on Bondi Beach, is directed by Remuera’s Leonie Lawson.

The week-long event included workshops and individual and massed choral works from choirs from the region, as well as the US and China. Auckland Girls’ received a standing ovation after their performance at the Sydney Opera House. p

CRYPTIC CROSSWORD ANSWERS (page 56) Across: 1/11 Windsor Castle, 5 Poppies, 9 Old master, 10 Gismo, 12 Polygyny, 14 Upset, 16 Heffalump, 18 Kedgerees, 20 Koala, 22 Riffraff, 23 Moomin, 26 Union, 27 Laid aside, 28 Earthly, 29 Shyness. Down: 1 Woodchuck, 2 Nudists, 3 Snail, 4 Rate, 5 Parrotfish, 6 Piggyback, 7 I ask you, 8 Story, 13 Cheerfully, 15 The Grinch, 17 Plainness, 19 Daffier, 21 Armoire, 22 Rouse, 24 Ovary, 25 Kids.

the hobson 17

A sound foundation for life.

We welcome children aged from two until starting school.

For all enquiries phone us on: (09) 524 5839 Or scan the code to visit our website: www.uplandskindergarten.co.nz

PAUL GOLDSMITH NATIONAL LIST MP BASED IN EPSOM

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¯ Local Board Orakei

N

ew artwork by local primary school children has been the focus of work in and around Hobson Bay. Budding artists from St Joseph’s School, Orākei School and King’s School have contributed glorious artworks, which we have weatherproofed and mounted on the eastern side of the wooden Hobson Bay walkway, alongside Orakei Rd. It’s a wonderful way of acknowledging young creative talent within our ward and brightening up that particular section of walkway, used by so many.

And it’s not just pictures . . . Saint Kentigern Boys’ School have worked hard to create wonderful poppy sculptures, which have been placed in amongst the mangroves on the western section of the walkway. It’s their way of brightening up the “miles of mangroves” (their words). Our grateful thanks must go to Saint Kentigern Boys’ School and their teacher, Tom Barter, for their support. Tom’s vision and leadership working with the boys to create these wonderful blooms has been exemplary.

On the mangroves, our Hobson Bay Action Plan — created with strong local input in 2013 — identified a need for a -review of the spread of mangroves around Hobson Bay, and to determine their appropriate management. We are currently working with Council’s Parks and Coastal Management teams to identify appropriate mangrove removal in Hobson Bay. Mangroves have their place in some ecosystems, including

Hobson Bay, however our records show that they have multiplied significantly and if we do nothing, will eventually creep out almost to the rail line. Mangrove removal isn’t cheap, but we hope with our limited funds we can remove the pictured orange and red sections in this financial year.

The ecological makup of Hobson Bay hasn’t been ignored either. A pilot project has been started by local resident Anton Lush. A professional geotechnical engineer, Anton is installing some test boxes near Palmers to investigate whether salt marsh ecosystems could be developed to enhance both landscape and ecological richness, as well as potentially preventing the mangroves from recolonising. Anton is being supported by Robyn Simcock, a specialist in soil science and ecology from Landcare Research, who grew up near Hobson Bay. Finally, the long awaited Unitary Plan has been released by the Independent Hearings Panel. It has significant upzoning for our ward from the notified version. On August 19 the mayor and councillors will decide whether to accept or reject the panel’s recommendations. Then there is an appeals period of 20 working days. This is only for aspects of the IHP recommendations that the Council rejects. To view what the proposal looks like for you and your neighbourhood, please visit http://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt — Desley Simpson, chair, Orākei Local Board

the hobson 19

the reps

DAVID SEYMOUR

PAUL GOLDSMITH

T

he challenge of improving living standards quite rightly takes up a lot of our attention in government.

Delivering a stable and fiscally sustainable government creates an environment where people feel more confident to invest, and it’s investment that leads to jobs, economic growth and the ability to pay for quality health, education, super, and the many other things that improve our lives.

Our Business Growth Agenda encompasses a long list of projects designed to build a more productive and competitive economy that can deliver more and higher paying jobs and better prices for consumers. Tackling long-standing deficits in house building and transport infrastructure are an important part of that story.

And yet improving our living standards is not the limit of our horizons. We also think a lot about how to preserve what is special about New Zealand. We’re not perfect, but compared with much of the world Auckland does ethnic diversity very well, and we enjoy relative social harmony. We also enjoy a high-trust, low-corruption environment. These things are very precious and must be preserved.

And, of course, the quality of our natural environment is central to who we are. The most entertaining community event I’ve attended recently saw a few dozen Remuera locals donning their gumboots and bringing their spades to Waiata Reserve. We were planting native trees above the little stream that runs through the valley. A few decades hence some of those little puriri, kauri, manuka and flax will look great.

It was the same long-term view that lay behind the Prime Minister’s adoption of the ambitious goal to rid NZ of the worst introduced predators by 2050.

New Zealand’s native birds and plants are a treasured part of our nation’s identity. However, many of our most threatened native animals come under constant attack from introduced predators such as rats, stoats and possums, which kill around 25 million native birds a year and are the most significant cause of the decline of threatened species.

Predators also wreak havoc for our agricultural sector by spreading disease, and destroying pasture, crops and forestry, and have been destroying our natural environment for more than a century. The government’s predator-free plan is a comprehensive, long-term approach to the problem and relies on the support of communities and organisations.

A new company will be launched, which will match Government resources with local government, community groups, iwi and philanthropists to develop predator eradication programmes. Not only will the initiative help restore our native birds and boost our agricultural industry, it’s also set to improve the health of our forests.

The target builds on work already being done. Achieving a predator-free NZ is the next step in our conservation journey. The project will require massive effort, but just imagine what this place would be like if we could do it.

Paul Goldsmith is a list MP based in Epsom and Minister for Commerce and Consumer Affairs

T

he small precinct stretching from Parnell Rise to Broadway hosts some of New Zealand’s most successful start-ups. Online accounting firm Xero, cloud-based sale system Vend, and start-up incubator Icehouse are fantastic examples of what can be achieved when entrepreneurs are let loose to innovate as they see fit.

Almost without exception, these kinds of entrepreneurs move smarter and faster than bureaucrats. When innovation and technology are leapfrogging lawmakers, red tape can be pointless at best, and harmful at worst.

We’ve recently seen this as the government grapples with Uber. Traditional taxi companies, threatened by competition, had complained about how Uber seemed to play by its own rules.

While taxi companies forked out for regulation-standard camera systems and costly registration processes, Uber denied it was a taxi company, and used its own systems.

Uber’s safety features involve GPS tracking, automatic recording of driver and passenger information, and a two-way rating system – features unimaginable when taxi regulations were last reformed (in 1989).

Eventually, headlines emerged about police interrogating Uber passengers, and so this April the embarrassed Government hurriedly passed reforms allowing Uber to compete openly and legally. By that time, Uber had been operating here for almost two years.

But even now, obtaining a special licence costs Uber drivers up to $1000 in paperwork and takes months, when Uber could simply conduct a criminal background and driving history check for less than $50. So even when government moves in the right direction, it fails to keep up with the innovators.

A similar problem looms with Airbnb, which lets people rent out rooms or homes short-term, but operates in legal grey areas. If the taxi industry is anything to go by, it won’t be long before hoteliers begin lobbying against Airbnb.

It’s not just this government – regulators across the world seem to be reacting to technological innovation with either belated tinkering or panicked crackdowns.

Whether or not you have sympathy for Uber, or Airbnb, or Kiwi companies dealing with similar regulations, the point is that we could have avoided all this clumsy tinkering if we’d never passed such prescriptive regulations in the first place. Reform in retrospect is too slow, too messy. Rules need to be flexible, simple, and non-prescriptive from the outset.

Politicians like me don’t have crystal balls. We can’t envisage the kinds of ideas already forming in the minds of the next generation of entrepreneurs. What we can do is get out of the way, so that innovators can freely test their mettle in the laboratory of the competitive marketplace.

If we can resist the temptation to over-regulate, then who’s to say the start-ups of Parnell and Newmarket can’t achieve the same success as those in Silicon Valley?

David Seymour is the MP for Epsom.

the kaitiaki

Once Were Tender

M

y grandfather died when I was seven, but there are a few things that I distinctly remember about him. I remember that his cracked heels resembled ravines, showing that his feet had spent more time out of shoes than in them. The other is that I felt safe with him. I knew he loved me and as far as I was concerned, I was his favourite. I suspect my cousins thought they were too, such was his capacity to see each of us as unique little people worthy of his time.

Growing up as the eldest girl in a large family, Mum has fond memories of the tenderness afforded to her by her dad. His form of discipline was to talk until his kids got bored. I’ve heard a number of my uncles say that if they had a choice, they would have opted to take a beating to get the discipline over and done with.

So the recent statistics that show many of our Māori children dying at the hands of their parents, and in particular at the hands of our Māori men, is foreign to me. This abhorrent behaviour would have been completely foreign to my ancestors as well.

Early European visitors to Aotearoa wrote at length about how engaged Māori fathers were with their children. In 1814, the missionary Samuel Marsden noted, “I saw no quarrelling while I was there. They are kind to their women and children. I neither observed either with a mark of violence upon them, nor did I ever see a child struck.”

A countless number of other early visitors observed the same, like the English artist Augustus Earle, who wrote that Māori men were “excessively fond of their children. On a journey, it is more usual to see a father carrying his infant than the mother; and all the little offices of a nurse are performed by him with the tenderest care and good humour.”

Children were considered taonga — gifts to be treasured — as they are the living representation of one’s ancestors. They were nurtured and invested in accordingly. Oriori (lullabys) were written and recited to children as they were born, imbuing them with an understanding of their place of significance in this world. Indeed, in pockets of Māori society, oriori are still written for and recited to our children. My daughter has her own oriori which leaves her in little doubt as to the love that surrounds her.

But we can’t ignore that in other pockets of Māori society our kids are not loved, are suffering and are dying. But children are dying at the hands of their parents in pockets of Pakeha society too, at alarming rates, although not reported as vigorously in the media. What this tells us is it’s not just a Māori issue, it’s also a Pakeha issue, which means it’s New Zealand’s issue. And because it’s a New Zealand issue, blaming Māori culture or on the flip side, the impacts of colonisation, doesn’t present a solution.

A necessary part of the solution is role-modelling behavior that demonstrates that children are the centre of the family.

This needs to occur at a state level as well as in the community, neighbourhood, marae and home. CYF’s name change next year to the Ministry for Vulnerable Children hardly leaves me inspired about the value the state places on our kids.

So how do we do this at a community level? Hug your babies daily and take a minute to express your love for them, and take responsibility for the safety of the kids in your neighbourhood like they were your own. Forget privacy, bring back the busy-body aunties and uncles who give a damn! And salute all the parents raising our next generation of leaders, and next generation of parents.

— Precious Clark

HAVE YOU SPOKEN TO JOE YET? Joe Telford 501 Parnell Road, Parnell M +64 21 191 7769 joe.telford@sothebysrealty.com

nzsothebysrealty.com Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated. Browns Real Estate Limited (licensed under the REAA 2008) MREINZ.

the plan

A Conventional Success

I

have just had the pleasure of visiting Nashville, Tennessee, the home of country music and the “Nashville sound”. A place where Johnny Cash lived and Elvis recorded. The obligatory tour of the Country Music Hall of Fame — which was amazing — was topped off by a visit to RCA Studio B, where Elvis, Roy Orbison and Dolly Parton all recorded. From that, I randomly stumbled across a convention, and a convention centre. After taking advantage of the free Wifi, Google told me the National Association of Music Merchants convention was spread over four days, with 13,000 people expected to visit and participate in what seemed a fairly everyday event in a city of 650,000 people.

And it was busy. Everywhere you went there were people eating, walking and talking. Hotels were fully booked, and hailing a cab was next to impossible (thank goodness for Uber). I had a quiet lunch in a nondescript restaurant on the Monday, and it was packed. The staff were running to keep up. I asked the waitress why it was so busy and she pointed streetward and spoke at the same time — “The convention.” Talking to her, I learned that there was at least a convention of this size each week in Nashville, with other events dotted

between. The people attending come from all over the US, and the world, and often stay on beyond their specific event to visit the city and hinterland.

You may think this is an advertorial for the wonders of Nashville. (It isn’t, but please go if you have any love of music. Air New Zealand flies direct to Houston and then it’s a hop-skip to music heaven). No, this piece is a reminder that after much politicking, SkyCity’s International Convention Centre is rising out of the ground in central Auckland.

Fletcher Construction is nearly a third of the way through building what will be a 32,000m2 convention centre, with a 5-star, 300-room hotel on Hobson St, a retail laneway linking Nelson and Hobson streets, and 1327 basement carparks. The 38-month construction timeframe is estimated to generate 1000 jobs, with about 1140 jobs being created once the centre and hotel open for business. The convention centre will contribute $700m to the Auckland economy. When completed, the convention centre will be the largest of its kind in the country, capable of hosting about 3000 delegates, or oneoff events of up to 4000 guests. The New Zealand International Convention Centre exhibition hall will be five times

larger than SkyCity’s current hall, which is the largest in NZ. Auckland is already the gateway to New Zealand for tourists, and the country is in the top five places to visit in most guidebooks, so the convention centre is not a panacea for a lagging industry. After seeing the power of the convention centre in Nashville, to me it is the icing on the cake — bringing in people who arrive first in business mode, and then convert to being a happy tourist.

What this convention centre will also have is a lack of competition. It’s an issue in North America that there are really not enough conventions to go around, based on the number of cities with large-scale convention centres.

While there will be similar-sized centres in Australia, New Zealand offers something unique that may sway a convention organiser to book Auckland, rather than say, Sydney. While Auckland may be a 12-hour flight from Asia and the US, more and more international airlines are making Auckland a port of call.

So as you drive up Nelson St and curse about the traffic, know that in two years we will have an International Convention Centre to be proud of.

— Hamish Firth

B U Y O N L IN E & S A V E E A R LY B IR D T IC K E T $ 2 0 2 7 3 0 O C T O B E R 2 0 1 6 n o r th c a n te r b ur y

the hobson 22

the investment

Allocating Assets

G

lobal financial markets have been somewhat volatile over the first half of 2016. Our NZSE 50 fell in January, surged through to June, fell sharply over the few following weeks, but rebounded strongly to reach an all-time high by the end of July, mainly because of uncertainty over the global economic outlook.

Globally, inflation remains low while the prices for a range of commodities, particularly oil, have fallen. Oil price weakness is not only caused by excess supply, but also because of concerns over global demand, especially out of China. Although it is expected that volatility will continue for the foreseeable future, the best way to manage volatility and investment risk is through asset allocation.

But what is asset allocation?

One of the key considerations facing every investor is how to best apportion their portfolio to the different assets available. This is known as asset allocation – how much of the portfolio should one invest in each available asset class. In times of uncertainty, diversification through wide asset allocation is vital. You’ll recall the old saying, “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”.

In New Zealand, most asset allocation approaches consider a reasonably narrow range of growth assets (equities or stocks and listed property) and defensive assets (fixed interest and cash) as the investment universe. And the asset-allocation decision is how much to allocate to each of these. An investor’s optimal portfolio should provide the lowest level of risk for a stated target return or, put another way, the highest return for a stated level of risk with which the investor is comfortable.

Getting the right mix of assets will be based on the level of risk that you are prepared to take as an investor. The higher your risk tolerance, the larger your allocation might be towards growth assets, and the lower your allocation to defensive assets and vice versa. However, risk tolerance is only one of many factors used to determine asset allocation and it is a personal decision, which should be discussed with your financial adviser before investing.

Generally, different types of asset classes are not perfectly correlated. For example, returns in equities might be positive for a period of time, while returns from bonds might be negative.

Therefore, combining multiple investment types in a portfolio can help manage the variability of returns, or market risk as the aggregate returns are smoothed. The importance of diversification is highlighted when we look at the returns of different indices during June. The NZX 50 Portfolio Gross Index fell 2.1 per cent over the month. This fall compared to the NZX Corporate A Grade Bond Index, which returned +0.7 per cent (source: Bloomberg).

Having an allocation to both asset classes would have helped limit losses during the month, compared to a portfolio which was solely invested in New Zealand equities.

Over the past few years, really since the start of the first round of quantitative easing in the USA (massive monetary stimulation), both equities and bond returns have been largely correlated and positive, and a close focus on asset allocation may not have been as essential as usual. But, this doesn’t always happen and will not likely continue – interest rates cannot really go any lower and at some stage will lift, thereby undermining bond valuations – and closer focused attention to asset allocation will be important.

Although asset allocation has the potential to increase investment results, at times, the correlation of financial markets means portfolios will still be exposed to volatility. However, risks are reduced over the long-term if portfolios are diversified using an efficient asset allocation framework which invests in multiple different asset classes, tailored to an investor’s risk appetite.

— Warren Couillault

ASK KAREN

Every month local real estate expert Karen Moore answers your questions, so if you are looking for enlightenment, clarity or some simple advice, then email Karen at the Mike Pero Real Estate Remuera office.

American Invasion Imminent?

The upcoming USA election is triggering record google searches by Americans considering deserting their country, yes it happens every election but the smart money says this time it may be for real.

New Zealand is trending in the top 5 most desirable destinations, right up there with Canada and this interest is showing up already in recent sales. Cute apartments like our recent $1m sale of 4/32 Coates Ave attracted phone bidders from California and Texas and are proving just as attractive as spacious Remuera & Parnell stately homes.

It is easy for us Auckland residents to take our great city for granted. Be warned this interest from the west has happened before with the likes of the Rothschild’s purchasing property on Waiheke during the cold war era as they and many others looked to escape the Cuban missile crisis, nuclear testing and Vietnam issues – This time it is Donald Trump they all fear!

So the answer is: YES. Don’t expect demand for quality dwellings to drop off anytime soon.

Thinking of selling, call for a no obligation in depth market review.

Karen Moore

2.95% to $390,000

thereafter

1.95%

+gst & admin

All opinions expressed by Karen Moore in this article are solely Karen’s opinions and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Mike Pero Real Estate. You should consider seeking advice from your own financial or investment adviser.

karen.moore@mikepero.com • 027 279 5983 279 Remuera Road • 09 524 4393 www.remuera.mikepero.com

Mike Pero Real Estate Ltd Licensed REAA (2008)

the second act

How to Reinvent

W

hen I was asked recently in a media interview to give examples of men who had left executive careers to reinvent, I drew a blank. For men of the baby boomer generation particularly, lives and careers intermingle and progression tends to linear, rather than lateral. Exchanging one commercial role for another is not reinvention, it’s a job change. Reinvention is a total life overhaul that requires courage, and time, to notice what it really is that you love to do.

After my callout to THE HOBSON readers for reinvention stories, it was with much interest that I discovered Dr Lindsay Digglemann’s journey. The Newmarket resident — and one of my university lecturers — had not always been the perennial bookish history swot, devouring dusty volumes in dimly-lit libraries, as I had him pegged. His first career, to which he devoted 12 champagne-laden, high-flying years, sounded more like a scene out of The Wolf of Wall Street.

Ex-Grammar boy Lindsay graduated in the mid-80s from the University of Auckland with a Masters in English Literature, and not a clue what he wanted to do. (A familiar story?).

I spoke to him about his reinvention tale from the money market to finding his passion in academia.

my own. I never bought the BMW, I still drove an old beat-up Mitsubishi. So at 34, I was really financially comfortable.

“It was pre-crash and my peer group who were getting jobs in banking were flourishing,” he told me. “As you didn’t even need a commerce degree back then, I thought I’d give it a go and soon became a graduate trainee at Citibank. I was on the vast starting salary of $20k! I quite liked it, I felt rich, and soon was living off the adrenaline rush of being a Forex trader in the dealing room and going to global conferences in financial capitals around the world.

What of your other male colleagues from finance in the 80s — have they reinvented too?

Mainly they are still there in the same sort of role. I know of one who runs a café, but usually they are now doing lofty things like running the ANZ Bank in Australia. One hotshot from those days who had the same job as me, but in a different bank, is our Prime Minister. But I’m glad of all the choices that I made along the way.”

That sounds like a hedonistic dream for a lot of young 20-somethings.

Yes. I was in the money game and it was an exciting world to be in — expense accounts and a lot of champagne. I cringe looking back now on how we would get live crayfish sent up from Wellington; one night we had crayfish races on the floor.

We were making a lot of money.

I love Lindsay’s story, as it includes all the learnings for successful reinvention. If you are thinking of reinventing, I think there are eight key points to take onboard.

But did you have a plan?

I realised my main interests were academic, so I decided to go back and be a student for two years to see what happened.

I just took papers that interested me. One minute I was in a room of grey men in grey suits, and the next I was surrounded by young women learning French and Italian. I felt I was home!

Earlier, during the 90s, I decided to take bus tours following the All Blacks around Europe. I used it as an opportunity to explore those places of real interest to me in France and Italy. I realised that all through those intense years in finance, I loved to read history books, and somewhere there was an unfulfilled ambition to do a PhD. So I found a supervisor and started on my PhD, on medieval political marriages.

And has your rise in academia been meteoric?

Not at all, as there are never any guarantees of teaching work after a PhD, and I’ve never had the ambition to climb the ranks for the sake of it. In fact for the last 12 years I’ve only worked part-time as a lecturer, which is pretty low down in the academic pecking order, but I’ve loved it.

•

Big money can be addictive. How did you kick the habit?

The downside was that it was cutthroat. The pressure was enormous in the dealing room — everyone loses, but you made your gains more than losses. While it was a live hard, play hard, testosterone-fuelled environment, you were always looking over your shoulder in case you were in the firing line. I lost on a deal when the ‘93 election did not go the way I predicted. I didn’t get fired due to a good track record, but it was a huge loss of other people’s money, and it was unsettling. Eventually I moved into a funds management role in the company. While it was far more stable, it lacked the excitement of the dealing room. Ultimately I got caught up in restructuring, and found myself out of a job.

Save 10 per cent of your salary. It’s not a retirement plan; it’s an escape fund • Notice the kind of books and movies you are drawn to. Your interests will be in there somewhere • See life as a lattice, not a ladder. Sideways, and even down, is ok • Reframe redundancy as an opportunity • Retrain and study. If you had all the money and all the time, what would you learn?

• Recognise small moments of glory. What sideline projects have given you a lot of joy during your life and career?

• Have space to be, versus space to think. Don’t try and think yourself into a new career or life. Let things come to you out of the white space • Have courage. Notice if what holds you back is a fear of what other people think. Practice making your courage greater than your fear

Did you panic?

To be honest, I had been planning my escape. I was paid well to take risks with other people’s money, but I was cautious with

And remember, reinvention is not necessarily about radical change. Often it’s simply about remembering who you really are. — Sandy Burgham

the hobson 24

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the local guy

The Retiring Type Local man Guy Eady is the force behind the development of Remuera’s newest retirement complex.

By Penny Lewis.

T

he Eady name is synonymous with music in Auckland, but ask Portland Rd’s Guy Eady if he’s musical and the answer is “not at all, I’m tone deaf”. Guy is a second cousin to the current generation involved with the Lewis Eady music business, so he’s related to them, but not close enough to be able to hold a tune.

Rather than music, Guy’s song sheet is about retirement villages and aged care. He is managing director of retirement village developer, BeGroup. The company has purchased and developed The Falls at Whangarei, but its latest enterprise is much closer to home.

BeGroup is building Rawhiti Estate on the site of the former Rawhiti Bowling Club. It’s the company’s first-design-and-build facility and will include 27 luxury independent living apartments, and 68 premium resthome, dementia and hospital-level care rooms.

The bowling clubrooms were due to be demolished recently and the early stages of construction are underway, with completion scheduled for June 2018. Expressions of interest have been received

for a third of the accommodation so far, and these are expected to be formalised shortly.

Two years ago, BeGroup paid $8.1 million for the 5954m2 site (about one and a half acres). The north-facing corner block bordered

by Rangitoto Ave, Rakau St and Ara St was put on the market by the bowling club, struggling with falling numbers after a century of operation. The proceeds were paid to Auckland Bowls, which distributed funds to benefit other bowling clubs in the region.

Guy Eady grew up in Ranui Rd, 100m away from Rawhiti Bowling Club. None of his family played bowls, but as a youngster Guy used to skateboard on surrounding streets. He recalls queues of cars parked in Ranui Rd and Rangitoto Ave as their owners enjoyed the club and its greens.

In 1990 Guy bought his first rest home and in 2000 he established NZ Lifecare Ltd, which grew to 15 homes throughout the country.

During that time, he was also chair of the Auckland branch of the Resthome Association.

the hobson 26

In 2005 he sold his business to what is now Oceania and joined Macquarie Group, where he served as an asset manager and was on the board of both Oceania and Metlifecare. He was also on the board of the NZ Aged Care Association and the Retirement Villages Association.

More recently, Guy spent two and a half years as chairman and CEO of Oceania, which is one the largest aged-care providers in New Zealand, employs more than 3000 staff and cares for more than 4000 elderly people.

What changes has Guy seen in the industry in the past 25 years?

For one thing, retirement villages are much more popular and it’s not just to do with Baby Boomers turning 70. He explains there are two parts to the industry – government funded or subsidised agedcare council flats and rest homes – and retirement villages, which are privately funded.

What has changed is the acuity level, how unwell someone has to be before they’re entitled to publicly funded care. “The acuity level has risen,” says Guy. “In the early days someone would be able to drive themselves to their rest home, but now people are frailer and sicker before they qualify. I believe that’s had an effect on occupancy and there’s more demand now for retirement villages.”

There’s also been a progressive change in attitude towards retirement villages and the lifestyle they offer. “They’re more accepted now as a product and service,” Guy says. When he started in the industry, elderly people tended to stay on in their own homes. If

they didn’t want to move into government-funded rest homes, they would pay for private care at home when they needed it.

An old boy of King’s School and King’s College, Guy attended Waikato University. He’s married to Melanie and they have children Oliver, 21, Toby, 19 and Anabella, 14. With such strong roots in Remuera, does he feel added pressure building a retirement village here, as he‘s bound to know some of the residents? Guy says his intention is to build a place where people “want to have family come and visit – a smart place to be proud of, not a dowdy old resthome”.

BeGroup commissioned Anthony Flannery from re-Imagine Architects to design the village and Ministry of Architecture + Interiors to manage the project. Looking at the mood boards for the look and feel BeGroup wants to achieve for the village interiors, the overall impression is boutique and stylish, with no beige in sight.

There are concepts for a market centre, a rooftop garden, day spa, theatre and a hub that transforms from a coffee lounge to a bar at cocktail hour.

Guy is a few years away from retirement age, but would he move in when the time’s right? “I would be happy to live at Rawhiti Estate,” he says. You can tell he means it. p BeGroup MD Guy Eady, inset, and the site of the future Rawhiti Estate retirement community. Photographed by Stephen Penny

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Simply Matching Pe

www.remuerareale

quick note This is just a our house.

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selling

space was om and living ro d e b e th re u e sold vice to reconfig bed, our hom d m a u le cc b a su lu lly va a fin tion Your in ce! No negotia oice. Once we ri p ch t g h in g ri sk e a th e definitely the door, at th rson through e p an that. xt e n e th to sk for better th a ’t n ca u o Y . n and even required recise executio p r u yo ith w d your ry impresse and I were ve ft everything in le lly a tu n ve e Both Richard e have been art to finish. W We could not . st ly m se o n fr e g m in n im n pla warded s and were re capable hand happier. area. And if friends in the r u o to ts n le numbers. r ta on our phone commend you ss re a ly p re se a su le ill p w , We ference es a verbal re anyone requir finding us forward to you g n ki o lo re a we th again, and Thank you bo a new home! e

rd Thod Kate & Richa 7 Ara Street July 2016

Terry King 021 484 332 terry.king@remueraregister.co.nz

Telephone: 0

Remuera Real Estate Register

eople with Property

estateregister.co.nz

Proving to be the best way to buy and sell local property Remuera’s only “specialists”

We are Remuera’s only specialist real estate company - we KNOW Remuera. More and more people who wish to buy homes in Remuera come to us first. We take a brief of their requirements, and enter them onto our Register.

Our Register of Remuera buyers

Our Register of Remuera buyers, and their needs, means that we can directly match them to properties that we list. The result is quite often an almost immediate sale.

Little need for expensive marketing campaigns

We sell the majority of properties within the first week of listing. This is often the result of having the ‘right’ buyer already on our Register - so there is little need for open homes or marketing campaigns, or public exposure except to our Register. The majority of sales have been to local buyers; the majority of sales have been for record prices in their respective areas and across the spectrum of price categories.

We prefer to sell by price

We take responsibility for setting a property’s value - we agree values and selling prices with our vendors, and price properties accordingly. This makes it easier for buyers. They know from the beginning whether a house is within their budget. The majority of our sales have been for the agreed asking price, or close to it.

We form real relationships

We form real relationships with our buyers and sellers, and this makes a tremendous difference in understanding needs and negotiating end selling prices. Have a look at the testimonials on our website - they say it all.

Our fees are highly competitive

We own the business. For this reason our fees are remarkably competitive.

New properties urgently required!

We have cash buyers waiting.

Diana King 021 613 884 diana.king@remueraregister.co.nz

09 520 6624

Limited licensed REAA 2008

the hobson + remuera live life local

The Green Grocer New World Remuera’s Adrian Barkla aligns business with his personal values

A

drian Barkla, owner-operator of New World Remuera, is not a greengrocer in the traditional sense. However he is the greenest grocer you may ever meet.

How does being a greenie translate into everyday life for you?

I like simple, natural, green, organic. I try to only eat wholefoods, no sauces, salts or sugars. Lots of salads! I haven’t used shampoo for 20 years. Can you tell? Feel it. (I did, and it was as soft as baby’s hair!).

You’ve also been very progressive with stocking organic, and you’re the first supermarket in Auckland to stock only cage-free eggs. Do you think this is the way of the future?

Definitely – however I believe we have a way to go here in New Zealand, we’re way behind the US and even Australia with organics. Unfortunately NZ suppliers can’t currently support a back-to-basics organic initiative – most of it is exported.

Then we’re restricted by health and safety regulations. But hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Believe it can be done, and it will!

What led you to buy a supermarket?

I owned and ran a café/pub in Whakatane for eight years – incidentally the first smokefree café in NZ. During that time I became mates with the local PAK’nSAVE owner. The idea grew from there, and it’s proven to be a great vehicle to promote clean, healthy, organic living.

Do you think people come to New World Remuera because of your organic products?

They definitely appreciate it. Our grocery sales make up only

39 per cent of total sales, whereas in other stores it’s up to 60 per cent. So we definitely sell less processed foods. But the other reason is our staff. Some of them have been here since I took over 16 years ago.

Wow – that’s some loyal staff!

I believe in treating people as you wish to be treated yourself.

We all look out for each other; I like the atmosphere here and I am sure the staff do as well. And our customers! I had five of my checkout girls come to me because they felt a caregiver was ripping off the person they were shopping for. The girls were totally stressed out about it, but they were determined to do the right thing. And they did. It’s all about being part of our community and valuing the people around us.

Do you live here in Remuera?

Yes, for about six or seven years now. We love it here. We eat, drink, shop local.

What do you like to do outside of work?

Ski! I love skiing, I find it exhilarating. There’s a lot of stuff I can’t do because of knee damage though. I also enjoy a bit of fishing, travel.

Who inspires you?

At the moment it is Warren Buffett. For the last four years I’ve been to his AGM in Omaha, Nebraska, with Chris Swasbrook from Elevation Capital. I’m actually taking a couple of my staff next year. I think it’ll be a really important stepping stone for them . . . it’ll give them a grounding for owning their own business one day. I just want to give them the opportunity to see things I’ve seen.

Adrian Barkla, photographed in his Clonbern Rd supermarket. Interviews by Fiona Wilson, photos by Vanita Andrews the hobson 30

live life local

Designs on You The Davies' family business, Gracious Living, has been keeping homes well dressed for generations

L

iving and working in Remuera, Tom Davies loves being part of the local community, and admits that not having to go through a single set of traffic lights to get to work is a definite plus too!

How long has Gracious Living been in the family?

My parents started the company 35 years ago. Dad — Trevor — originally worked in Christchurch, then in the late ’70s he was transferred to Auckland to manage Sheraton House and Hurdleys. My parents started Gracious Living in 1981, and my wife Sue and I purchased the business in 2004.

And did you work in the business growing up?

No, I started working for a textile company, before heading to England to work for the Liberty design and fashion company.

When I came back to New Zealand, I worked in the travel industry before deciding that Gracious Living was what I wanted to do.

Are you here every day?

Very much so, and if I’m not in the showroom, I’ll be out at appointments. My parents gave me some very valuable advice, in that if you want to own a company like Gracious Living, where everything is custom-made, then you need to literally live and breathe the company.

Can you define Gracious Living’s point of difference?

As well as qualified, highly-trained interior designers, we have a long, sound track record, and a showroom that comprises of more than 60 different NZ-made furniture designs; from sofas, chairs and hard furniture, through to a range of over 50,000 different fabrics. We are also

a manufacturer of window treatments, so we do have everything covered from the initial discussion and design, through to manufacturing and installation.

What are the latest trends that you’re seeing?

Definitely more use of colour — layering textures and colours is being seen more and more. Also the desire for New Zealand-made furniture is becoming more evident.

Is there a style of home where your furnishings work best?

Well, by default we work mostly in family homes. But we’ve been doing a lot of work in modern homes and apartments.

So you do out-of-towners?

Most of our work is here in Auckland, but a lot of our customers have houses in Waiheke, Coromandel, Omaha, and we’ve recently done work in the Hawkes Bay, Lake Rotoiti, Christchurch, Wanaka, Ashburton and as far north as Doubtless Bay. We will travel wherever we are asked to go!

Do you see your kids continuing the business?

Hmm, we’ll have to see. Polly is very creative, and being a teenager has some very definite opinions on what we do design-wise at home! Toby’s also quite creative, but is more interested in a career at somewhere like Weta Workshop.

They’re still at school though, so time will tell.

SPECIAL READER OFFER for september SIGN UP to the GRACIOUS LIVING NEWSLETTER AND be in to win $500 WORTH OF CUSHIONS from their extensive stock range

Tom Davies at Gracious Living, 384 -386 Remuera Rd. For more about these local businesses, see www.remuera.org.nz the hobson 31

“At Auckland Obstetric Centre we understand that pregnancy and childbirth is the most important time of your life and that you and baby should have the highest standard of care.�

Jane Patten, Clinic Manager

Auckland Obstetric Centre is a unique practice in Parnell made up of six leading specialist obstetricians and support staff. Together we have many years of experience and feel privileged to be able to share in the care of women during their pregnancy.

To find out more about how we can care for you and your baby call our team on 09 3671200 or visit our website www.obstetrics.co.nz.

Lynda Batcheler | Astrid Budden | Eva Hochstein | Katherine McKenzie | Kirstie Peake | Martin Sowter

the portfolio

Dear

Dads In honour of Fathers' Day on Sunday, September 4, we asked locals to share special photos from the family album

“These are my late parents, my dad Chung Hui, and my mum, Joyce Choi Ching Chow. I witnessed my dad leaving every morning at 3am for the fish markets, and he worked until late evening, when he slept on a couch because we lived in small flat, in Hong Kong, with seven children and two adults. He was a poor fishmonger, but we were never short of food or love because he was a dedicated and responsible daddy — we were always rich and happy in our hearts. Thank you, my beloved dad. You are always in my mind.” — Jackie Hui, candidate for Waitematā Local Board, CBD resident

“This is my father on the left, Commander Lewis King, DSC, VRD, RNZNR, on Anzac Day 1985, with Rear Admiral Laurie Carr, CB, DSC. Having been a gunnery officer on both the HMS Onslow and Archilles, you could say our early family life was somewhat regimented.” — Terry King, director, Remuera Real Estate Register, Remuera resident

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the portfolio

“This was taken at Fortaleza do Monte in Macau, the country of my birth. I think I was around two years old, so in 1984. This photo means a lot to me because it’s one of the few with just me and my old man, Pak Peng Cheang. I went back to the same location a few years ago by myself, and wished he had been able to come too, so I could recreate that photo.” — Chang Hung, candidate for Waitematā Local Board, Parnell resident

“I just love this photo — it’s from 1977 and my dad,

Bernard, is running the Round the Bays. Dad passed away about eight years ago, but I still often remember how he would quit drinking for a month before Round the Bays each year, and then have a BIG party to celebrate afterwards! I miss him every day.” — Sarah Clark, Parnell resident, owner of Hedgerow, Remuera

“Motorsport is unique — in the early years especially, your number one mechanic, sponsor, and essentially your only team-mate, is your father. It provides an environment to truly bond and share sporting and life experiences, something few other young sportspeople get to experience.”

— Richard Moore, motorsport driver and enthusiast, a passion shared with father Graeme (pictured with Richard). The family live in Remuera.

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“In September 2009, we celebrated my father Peter’s 80th birthday by chartering a yacht in Croatia.

My father teaches boating safety courses in Vancouver, loves sailing and still has his own yacht. He is happiest onboard a sailboat, and as we don’t see each other every year, spending this week together in Croatia was very memorable.”

— Laura Carr, manager Remuera Business Association, Parnell resident

“My father Emmett “Ted” Lee was a shipwright on the Wellington waterfront. He served as a merchant seaman in WWII. There were five children in the family — I was the middle one. He was a great dad. I still dream about him.” — Mike Lee, Councillor for the Waitematā and Gulf ward, Orākei resident

“Fathers are always their daughter’s first hero. They carry us, lift us onto impossibly strong shoulders, and are always there when we need them.” — Blerta Rakovica (pictured with father, Burim), co-owner Remuera Local Cafe Bistro and Artusi, Meadowbank resident

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the portfolio

“Dad taught me you had two ears and one mouth for a reason. He also taught me the importance of standing up for what you think is right, and living the saying, “if you can help somebody as you pass along, your living will not be in vain”. I’m only sorry he didn't live long enough to see me put my hand up and enter politics as the fourth generation of our family to do so.” — Desley Simpson, chair, Orākei Local Board, Orākei resident, pictured at a family wedding with father Stanley Lawson and mother Leonie.

“This photo of my dad, Murray, and I was taken on Kohi Beach on Guy Fawkes night in 1969. I remember it well. We spent most summer weekends at Kohimarama, sailing P Classes off the beach at Kohi Yacht Club.” — Ross Hawkins, NZ Sotheby's International Realty, Parnell resident

“My father, Robin, and my mother, Jean, at his granddaughter’s wedding, a time when a son and a father can reflect on the impact they have had in bringing up their children, and the significant influence this has had. Special family events connect the values which are passed on from generation to generation.” — Tony Sissons, headmaster, King’s School, Remuera resident

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“This was taken sometime during 1990 when I refused, point-blank, to go to sleep.

Dad’s solution to the problem was to show me how to go to sleep, by attempting to climb into my cot, which I’m sure I found hilarious, and stimulating and not at all sleep-inducing! This picture never ceases to make me laugh. I feel very lucky to have a dad with such a great sense of humour.”

— Lizzie Marvelly, singer, writer, Parnell resident (with father, Brett)

“We have always adored and looked up to our dad, a true hero in our eyes. The tables have turned now, and he’s our number one supporter. He’s a fabulous friend, a great listener and advisor. He has always encouraged us to be the best we can be, and to chase our dreams.” — Emma Main (left), and sister Kate Boyden (owners, Maman boutique, Remuera residents), photographed in Pennsylvania in 1981 with their father, Olympian Rod Dixon. The family were based in the US while Rod competed on the USA road-racing circuit

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the handsome

The Groom With Father’s Day in mind, Justine Williams reviews skin and body care for the boys For the man that wants to go the extra mile, Kiehl’s Age Defender Power Serum, $85, is an ultra-light, highly effective formula that absorbs easily into the skin. The serum ingredients (which include cypress and hydrolyzed proteins) are designed to help firm loosening skin, and reduce the appearance of wrinkles. From Kiehl’s counters

One of the best daily shampoos and conditioners available for menfolk is Redken For Men Go Clean Shampoo and Finish Up Conditioner, $33 each. Great for removing yesterday’s hair product or dirt buildup, they’re easy on both locks and scalp. From Redken salons and Shampoo ‘n’ Things

The Clinique For Men Essentials Kit, $69, is the ideal way to make a man fall in love with skincare. There’s a daily face wash, moisturiser and eye cream, along with a scrub designed for weekly use. It’s also a handy travel pack. From Clinique counters

As spirited as it is beautiful, Jo Malone’s Wood Sage & Sea Salt Cologne is a masculine maritime scent for deskbound seadogs. $228 for 100ml, from Jo Malone, Britomart

Matrix Style Link Over Achiever, $23.50, is a bit of a hybrid. It’s a cream, paste and wax blend with a hold factor of four, which is around medium in styling speak. Great for getting hair to comply, without looking like you spent any time on it. From Matrix stockist salons and Shampoo ‘n’ Things

Described as “intense and vibrant”, Code Profumo is the newest fragrance for men by Giorgio Armani. The makers use words and phrases like warm, seductive, sensual and “irresistible magnetic attraction”. We say it’s the classic Armani Code base of tonka bean, amplified with woody amber and it is quite delicious – without all the creepysexy talk. $128 for 60ml, from Life Pharmacies

The Kérastase Densifique Homme collection, shampoo from $46, is designed to stimulate hair growth where you’re starting to sense a loss of hair density. Daily serums and daily care shampoos launch a multi-pronged attack to make the hair appear denser, and strengthen the hair’s longevity.

From Kérastase stockist salons Manicare’s body loofah and bath brush, $19.99, will slough away dry and dead skin cells to improve the skin’s clarity and appearance. Made from 100 per cent natural fibres and available at pharmacies

Ideal for absolute beginners to the man-care genre, L’Oreal Paris Men Expert Hydra Power Ultra-Cooling Face Wash, $12.99, is a great product for those who want to get in and give their faces a good morning wakeup wash. From Farmers and local pharmacies

Intense and crisp, Nuit d’Issey by Issey Miyake, $129 (75ml) blends suede leather and vanilla notes with the rich and textured blends of tonka bean absolute, and patchouli.

Japanese mastery of simplicity – perfect as usual.

From Smith and Caughey’s

Treat Dad to a little luxury every day, with Dermalogica’s Conditioning Body Wash.

I’ve voted it the greatest soap-free and acid-balanced cleanser I’ve had the pleasure of testing. It thoroughly cleanses without stripping moisture from the skin. $54 for 237ml, from dermalogica.co.nz

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Advertisement

Fathers’ Day puts my year in

Focus

By Cathy Roselli, local Ray White real estate salesperson

Father’s Day is celebrated all over the world, and has been for thousands of years. Historians have recorded that 4,000 years ago in Babylon a son called Elmesu carved a Father’s Day message on a clay card. In his message, Elmesu wished his father a long and healthy life.

What is the most popular gift given to fathers all over the world for Fathers’ Day? Whiskey? Socks? A book?

Slippers? A day thrashing supercars around a racetrack? No, it’s none of them.

A quick Google search reveals that the world has asked itself this question, and come to the conclusion that the single best way of honouring and celebrating fathers and their contributions to families, after much scratching of heads and nipping down to the shops, is...

A tie. Yes, a tie. Google it.

Really? A tie?

Today, the day is celebrated all over the world, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe and over seventy countries in between. Hopefully not all by giving fathers ties!

For me, Fathers’ Day is all about family, focus, and giving before you get. To me, this is really what a great father does.

My own dad invested in giving to his children, his family. He was making an investment, a gift that is protected from an expectation of return exchange.

My dad also gave to the community. His business as the local accountant, JP and Coroner involved the process of investing and giving – and he has always been very active in the community, on endless number of boards, a district Rotary governor, the Deputy Mayor; and the list goes on. In 1977, he even received a Queen’s Service Order for this work. Then, In November last year, he was de-

lighted to meet fellow QSO-recipient Prince Charles when he came to our home town of Westport to meet him. To see him recognised in this way makes me so proud.

For some people, it is a risk to give before you get – to invest in others. I believe that families – and business – are all about the process of investing. As my father did, I am willing to make the investment of giving before I get – for my daughters, and for my clients.

By investing, I give to my clients, I invest in them, much as I do in my own daughters. There is so much talk in the world about ‘serving the customer’, but, for me, being willing to give is true customer service.

So, as September 4th rolls around, I will be on the phone to my Dad, wishing him my love and raising a glass with him down the line: Happy Father’s Day, dad. Or, as they say: ‘Bon Fete Des Peres,’ or ‘Buon Día del Padre’ and, as we say in the Roselli family: “Buona festa del papà.”

I love my family, I love what I do, I am committed and it gives me joy to give and create something extraordinary.

Let’s celebrate giving this Fathers’ Day. And go easy on the ties.

Please.

the magpie

The Deuce McQueen leather tan mid-top boots, $189.90, are designed here in New Zealand. Inspired by the classic 1950s basketball boots, but taken to a whole new level with a waxed full-grain upper and contrast leather toe, The Magpie is sure all the cool dads will want these. From deucesneakers.co.nz

Well hello, Daddy. Louis Vuitton Attraction Pilot men’s sunglasses, $940, are the ultimate finishing touch. The light frame and flex hinges add to the comfort level, while the leather-wrapped pilot frame and mirrored lenses take care of aesthetics. Go you. From Louis Vuitton, Queen St

Montblanc are the masters of understated style. A brand that sticks to its core vision, and consistently produces beautiful, timeless products. This 1858 Small Second watch, $5805, caught The Magpie’s eye for all these reasons and more. Quiet and perfect. At 87 Queen St or montblanc.com

Father's Play

The Magpie’s nest overflows with love this September 4

The Magpie can only imagine the DIY Pops will get into with this little baby. The Hitachi Impact Drill 18v Li-ion 6.0ah, $739, is a beauty, with all sorts of super tough specs that mean nothing to a Magpie, but we’re told are really, really important. It’s also got a LED light to illuminate the job to be done. From Mitre 10 Mega, Lunn Ave, Mt Wellington, mitre10.co.nz

Don’t let Coco Chanel appropriating Breton stripes for the girls blur your vision.

Boys always look great in a simple striped long-sleeve tee. The Magpie rates this particular one from NEUW as a must-have wardrobe staple for any man. $89 from Service, 30 Osborne St

Deadly Ponies is looking after the menfolk this season.

The Zorro-Brief-Croc, $795, is stylishly perfect for all of Dad’s important stuff, from laptops to lunches. Made of durable embossed leather (no crocs involved, despite the name) with either a smooth or pebbled finish, Zorro gives the option of a detachable shoulder strap or dual carry handles.

At Deadly Ponies, 16 Osborne St, or deadlyponies.co.nz

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Keep Harvey Specter threads in top condition with Working Style’s luxury wooden suit hangers, $69. Designed to protect and extend the life of a suit, the hanger boasts a shoulder flare to ensure jackets maintain their shape, while the felted trouser bar lowers the risk of unnecessary creasing. For the man who has everything, and likes to take care of it all.

From 523 Parnell Rd or workingstyle.co.nz

What’s yours is mine, said a wise old Magpie. To that end, dad will love this easy-wear, street-smart military inspired shirt, also from NEUW. The Military Casing Shirt, $139, nails smart casual and casual dress codes, and works through the four seasons effortlessly. (And other members of the family could borrow it, as required.) At Service, 30 Osborne St In anticipation of your new iPhone 7 not having a headphone jack, and because cords are so 2008, sound and look smart with Sennheiser MOMENTUM M2 wireless headphones, $899, the hippest, super tricked-up cans in town. Stylish stainless steel construction and luxurious leather padding, uber-comfortable to wear, foldable for storage, noise cancellation technology, amazing clarity, they’re the complete package. From AV World, 237a Dominion Rd, or avworld.co.nz

Don’t ever get between a man and his morning coffee.

With one of these Vibiemme Domobar Super espresso machines in the kitchen, the family may never need to leave the house again. Italian-made and featuring the original E61 group head, this is as good as it gets in coffeeland without going full commercial.

From $3495 (Domobar Junior model from $2695) from Altezano Brothers, 0800 302 1800, or altezanobrothers.co.nz

Hit cruise control on the waves on this Wilde Admiral 9'2" surfboard. The top dog of the Wilde fleet, its generous dimensions make for a long, smooth ride. The Magpie thinks it sounds well cruisy enough for the old man. $1395, from The Board Shop, 49 Barrys Point Rd, Takapuna, or theboardshop.co.nz

the hobson 41

the neighbourhood

Our home in

PARNELL

A

s Anthony Creswell describes it, he and his wife Leah are enjoying a “mid-life OE”. More about opportunity than geography (they haven’t moved overseas), the Creswells are enjoying a different pace of life after moving from rural Gisborne to central Auckland nearly two years ago.

They have four sons – twins aged 28 and younger sons 25 and 22. The 25-year-old is heading overseas, but with the three other boys living in the upper North Island, and not likely to settle in Gisborne any time soon, Leah and Anthony decided on a “change of experience”.

Anthony secured a new job in Otahuhu and the couple bought an apartment in the heart of Parnell through Cheryl Burgess at Barfoot & Thompson Parnell. The older-style apartment has incredible views out over the slope of the neighbourhood, harbour and over to Devonport’s North Head and Mt Victoria. “The farmer in me likes the hills and having some contour,” Anthony says.

As Anthony explains it, they chose Parnell because they wanted to “move to Auckland for the good things, not the bad things”. It’s an easy commute to work – “we didn’t want to battle the traffic” — and they weren’t keen on the suburbs. They love being close to the central city, galleries, bars, cafes and restaurants.

“We saw a window of opportunity to do something different,” Leah says. “We wanted to experience what a city has to offer, the things you can’t get in provincial New Zealand.” They reckon they’ve dined out more in the last 24 months than they have in the past 20 years. Heading out for a local brunch is a favourite activity – Mink is Anthony’s choice and Leah is partial to Notting Hill. They enjoy pizza at NSP and family catch-ups at Woodpecker Hill when their boys are in town. “We drink whiskey when we’re there,” Anthony says. “None of us really drink whiskey, but when we’re there, we feel like we should!”

Leah enjoys walking in The Domain and Cornwall Park. “I can walk anywhere I want to go now, it’s such a change.” Being in Parnell also allows for spur-of-the-moment decisions. “Before, if there was a show we wanted to see, we would have to sort it all in advance and organise accommodation.”

After starting married life on a farm and then moving to a lifestyle block, this couple is thrilled with Parnell. “We are really happy we made the move,” Anthony says. “It’s such a great place to be.”

This is the second of an exclusive series of features brought to you

by Barfoot & Thompson’s Parnell and Remuera branches.

For more information about how Barfoot & Thompson Parnell can work with you to find your dream neighbourhood home, call (09) 366 0015, or visit www.barfoot.co.nz/parnell

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the hobson 43

Welcome In The St Cuthbert’s College House Tour will see private homes welcoming guests for a good cause

the home

know it’s here, but it’s a house that’s better with people in it,” says Kim. “It’s not a show home, it’s totally a family home and we don’t mind sharing it.”

Kim and her husband, Rob, whose daughter Emma, 15, attends St Cuth’s, have opened up parts of their property for kindy and school fundraising events in the past — they also have three sons, Matt, 19, Ben, 17 and Josh, 16, who are Grammar boys, past and present. But this is the first time both the house and gardens will be all on show. pring is the perfect time for The Hamiltons bought their an infusion of house and home in 2000. Before moving Event details garden style, as thoughts in, they commissioned Lindley turn to summer living and Naismith of Scarlet Architects Buy tickets at perhaps a refresh of your to renovate and extend the www.stcuthbertshousetour.co.nz surroundings. With that 1926 home in sympathy with Date: Friday, November 18, 2016 in mind, the St Cuthbert’s House Tour renowned architects Gummer day on Friday, November 18, is perfectly Time: 10.00am – 4.00pm & Ford’s original design. Kim’s timed. Organised by the school’s Old favourite room, the master (last entry 3.45pm) Girls’ Association, the tour proceeds bedroom, is an upstairs Cost: $75 per person will go to fund the Old Girls’ Kathleen addition to an original single (includes a goodie bag) Goulding scholarships, which annually storey, and the garage and guest gift a St Cuth’s education to five girls who quarters is a seamless addition. would not normally be able to attend the It’s been a busy, happy college. household since the Hamiltons Ticket-holders will be able to glean design inspiration moved in when third son Josh was only six-weeks-old. from nine outstanding architectural, landmark and Having four children in just over four years meant that heritage private homes in Remuera, Parnell, Orākei, St Kim had to be on her toes in the six-bedroom house. “I Heliers and Mt Eden. never used to be able to find them. They needed tracking The Remuera home of old girl Kim Hamilton is part of devices,” she recalls with a laugh. the tour, and will also host a café selling picnic-style food Tour guests will see how Kim has displayed treasured (including Kim’s own scones, made to the recipe artwork family mementoes and kept kids’ gear in order (think in the kitchen). individual lockers). There are plenty of clever ideas Private from the road down a long driveway edged and picture-perfect rooms to savour in this home and in towering hedges, the house is set amongst an acre of throughout the day. p garden, with a pool and tennis court. “People don’t even — Penny Lewis

S

The towering hedges leading to the Hamilton's home, left. Above, Kim Hamilton in her garden and kitchen.

Photographed by Stephen Penny

the hobson 45

the appetite

Nothing Paltry Sue Fleischl greets spring with two decidedly delicious chicken dishes

Chicken, Bacon and Mushroom Pie It is important to make the filling and the sauce the day before you want to eat the pie. This way the pastry will crisp up nicely.

Serves 6 Place a whole free-range chicken in a large pot of water with 1 tbsp of salt. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and leave the chicken to cool in the liquid.

Refrigerate overnight.

6 rashers streaky bacon 100g butter 1 leek, white part thinly sliced 400g mushrooms (any of your favourites) 300ml cream 1 tbsp of thyme or tarragon, stalks removed and leaves chopped Place the bacon under the grill and cook till crispy. Drain on paper towels and leave to cool.

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the leeks and cook for five minutes, until soft. Add the mushrooms and cook for a further 10

minutes. Add the cream and cook for 20 minutes, stirring often. The sauce should have reduced and be nice and thick. Keep cooking a bit longer if it needs it. Stir in the herbs, chop and add the cooled bacon and check the seasoning. Cool, and chill overnight.

The next day, remove all the skin from the chicken and discard. Rip the flesh off the bones into chunks. Mix together the sauce and the chicken meat.

To Assemble

whisked egg and milk, and gently place the lid on top. Cut off the excess pastry, and fold the edges over to seal the sides. Roll out any scraps of pastry and cut out decorative leaves, or any other shapes.

Egg wash the top of the pie, place the leaves or shapes if you’ve made them, and egg wash again. With the tip of a sharp knife, pierce a hole in the middle of the pastry lid to allow steam to escape while cooking.

Place into the oven and bake for one hour, until golden brown.

1 packet of Paneton Flaky Puff Pastry, defrosted Flour for dusting 1 egg, whisked with 1 tbsp milk

Rebecca’s Baby Chicken on White Bean and Chorizo Ragout

Preheat oven to 180C. Butter the inside of a 27cm x 20cm (approx) pie dish and sprinkle with plain flour. Tap the dish to leave a light coating of flour, tap the excess out and discard.

Cut off two-thirds of the pastry — this will make the base. The remaining pastry will be the lid. Roll out both pieces of pastry until about 2mm thick. Line the base of the tin and let the pastry overhang the edges.

Evenly distribute the chicken mix over the pastry. Brush the edges with the wash of

Rebecca has been at The Great Catering Company for over four years. She lives out west with her mother, sister, niece and a menagerie of animals. Here is one of her creations — enjoy!

the hobson 46

Serves 2 2 baby chickens or poussin For the marinade: 2 tbsp canola oil ¼ teaspoon salt

AUC AN KLA THA ND WO T RKS

MARK THOMAS A NEW MAYOR E

VOT Freshly ground black pepper ¼ teaspoon of sweet paprika 1 clove garlic, crushed 1 small red chilli, deseeded and chopped 1 tbsp chopped oregano or thyme 1 tbsp rice bran oil for frying Preheat oven to 180C. Mix all the marinade ingredients together, and rub over the chickens. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours, or overnight.

Heat the rice bran oil in a heavy-bottom fry pan. Sear the chickens all over, then place in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, cover with foil and leave to rest for five minutes.

For the ragout: 1 tbsp olive oil 1 white onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed 1 can chopped tomatoes 2 tsp chopped thyme Salt and pepper 75g of cow or goat feta 2 tbsp olive oil for drizzling

FOR AUCKLAND markformayor.co.nz

Authorised by Mark Thomas, 28 Customs Street East, Auckland

Jackie HUI

Waitemata Local Board Independent Candidate Balanced Views

Heat the oil in a pot, add the onion and garlic. Cook for about five minutes, until soft. Add the beans, tomatoes and thyme. Cook gently for five minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour the mixture into an ovenproof dish, dot over the feta and drizzle with oil. Keep warm until you’re ready to serve — place the chickens on top.

The bean mix can be made a day or two ahead and reheated in the oven, covered with foil.

Leftover beans are great reheated the next day for breakfast, with a poached egg and crispy bacon. p Food photographed by Dominique White Photography

www.jackiehui.co.nz waitemata@jackie.co.nz Authorised by Jackie HUI 556/6 Princes Street, Auckland Central

the psyche

Just Keep Talking

T

eenagers are hard. It’s often so clear to parents how much they don’t know, and how massive their potential is for messing up important choices. Who they spend time with, how much they study, what course they do at university and what drugs they decide to experiment with — they all have consequences beyond what your teen can anticipate.

But anyone who has spent five minutes with a teen realises that simply talking to the teenager, let alone imparting your lifetime of hard-won wisdom, isn’t always an easy prospect. It’s important to get a conversation (any conversation) going right with them before you can fix what’s wrong in their thinking.

The following is some advice on relating to teens that seems to hit the mark as far as fostering the right communication climate is concerned.

1. Ask The Right Questions So many parents complain that their teenagers just don’t talk to them. All talk is valuable talk, and sometimes you just need to get them talking so you can understand and relate better when there are tougher conversations to be had. For example, “how’s life?” may just get a shrug or an “OK”. But I haven’t met anyone yet who doesn’t like talking about themselves (even if they say they don’t!), so use that to your advantage by keeping it light and specific, while tailoring to their interests. Try, “I saw you playing that game and it looked like it really tests co-ordination. What level are you at?

What’s the hardest part?". Keeping the conversation going is half the battle won, and you can do this by asking the right questions.

Once you’ve done enough of this sort of talking, it becomes easier to say something like, “I loved the way your date came to the door to say hello. What was he like on the date?”

2. Echoing You’ve got lucky and your usually room-enclosed teen is opening up hesitantly about a conflict with a friend. Resist all urge to provide advice. Use the therapist’s trick of listening quietly, but then paraphrasing or repeating the last couple of words of the child’s sentence. If your child says, “She never pays attention to what I say,” you say something to the effect of, “You feel she doesn’t listen to you”. If your child says, “I try so hard,” you nod and say “you put a lot of effort in”.

Simply repeating and paraphrasing provides validation that what they are saying is important, that you’re really listening, and that you get their point of view. If they consistently feel that they get a truly listening ear, it’s much more likely that they’ll come to you when things are hard.

But what do you do when it’s clear their thinking is flawed, or there is a mistake to be corrected?

3. Easy Does It Validate the heck out of their feelings first. If it comes out that your child yelled at a teacher, try: “Oh gosh it must be frustrating to have a teacher who’s so tough on homework. I can see why you felt like yelling at her today.”

After a moment or two of this, watch for a softening in your child.

You will see it in his or her face when she no longer has to prove to you how “unjust” the teacher was. Once you get your softening, you’re in the listening zone, and potential teaching zone. You might want to venture forth a little, “I wonder how you feel about having yelled at her. Did she react badly?” Be tentative but supportive.

You’ve raised your child right, and it’s likely that they’ll be able to

reflect on the wisdom of their actions, once they know you’re not judging them and starting a lecture.

If the teen’s back goes back up, go back to. “What a difficult teacher. I wonder why teachers act like that sometimes,” and leave it for another time. The conversation can be revisited in a day or two when the topic stings a little less.

4. Talk Without Looking If the above seems too hard, remember that many parents say that their best parenting moments happen in the car. There’s something about not having to look at each other that makes it easier to talk. Try asking your teen about his day, and how things are with his friends while in the car.

5. Man Up If you really want your teen to feel comfortable talking about difficult topics, use the above techniques, but also be sure to never crumble. Don’t look uncomfortable when your daughter tells you she got her period or she has feelings for a girlfriend, which means not changing the topic, not walking away, and not even shifting your weight in panic. Validate and reflect back their feelings. Teens are hyper-sensitive to body language, so practice the poker face if you have to. “Dad looked like he was going to die — he soooo didn’t know what to say!” is not the way you want your teenager to describe a conversation with you.

6. Don’t Point Out Every Inconsistency Teens are confused creatures. They think they know, but they clearly don’t always. “I don’t have a problem” very soon gives way to “I have all the problems and you just don’t understand”, and you’re left either scratching your head, or yelling at them. Sometimes not pointing out inconsistencies in their stories is a good idea, for no other reason than they probably don’t realise immediately, or before that point, that they are being inconsistent. Saying it aloud might be enough for them to realise it, without you having to confront the inconsistency. Sometimes it’s more respectful to keep mum, protect them from embarrassment and help your kid feel safe in communicating with you. It’s safety in talking that’s the most important when you are starting to re-establish contact. The correcting can come easier later once the relationship is strong.

When the mood has softened, it might be possible to say “You said the other day that you have all the problems. Which feels the worst right now?”

7. Resist The Urge To Preach If your teen daughter says, “everybody hates me/I hate everybody!”, Janet Edgette, an author of a book on teen parenting, advises that you “nibble at the edges of her way of thinking without preaching”.

While a frustrated parent might choose to correct the assertion, the teen is left thinking, “What's the point in expressing how you feel if someone's there to tell you you're wrong?” Try instead to say, “I think I have days when I hate everybody, too" or "What was your day like that you ended up feeling like you hate everybody?" These questions have the effect of normalising what she felt, instead of shutting down the conversation.

While these are good ways to keep the conversation flowing, the truth remains that no parent of a teen has ever had it easy!

I’d be interested to hear from you what you do to help them navigate difficult situations and big choices. Email me at amrit@ kidztherapy.co.nz — Amrit Kaur

the hobson 48

the sound

A Change is Gonna Come

S

o it's no secret that the United States is in a bit of a mess right now, epitomised by two flawed characters fighting dirty for the job of leader of the free world. And on the streets things are no better.

Throughout the world there’s a movement back to home bases, whether nationalistic or ethnic. Britons have voted for Britain, against Europe. In New Zealand the people wanting one nation, one people, one law, are mostly people wanting a people and law that was forged in the United Kingdom.

Meanwhile Trump’s America is hankering for the days when everyone was a WASP and the world was simple, and all theirs. Which is all very well, unless you have another religion and not at all pleasant if you happen to be black. African Americans have had enough, and they're standing up for their rights. Mostly not to be shot willy nilly. #blacklivesmatter is many things but at its core it’s a civil rights movement for a new century.

Which takes me back to halfway through last century, when the civil rights movement was at its peak and its soundtrack was songs from African Americans that were at once insistent, and in their honesty and passion have stood the test of time. It’s some of the best music ever.

When I was a kid, my house would echo plaintively on summer nights to the music of Billie Holiday. Lady Day was a drunk and drug addicted bruised soul with a limited voice. But that voice haunted in its hurt and plaintiveness. Classics like “What a Little Moonlight Can Do” and “God Bless the Child,” rang bittersweet. It was the sound of mum and dad canoodling on a Friday night, rum and coke in hand, after a long week.

One of my favourite Holiday songs as a kid was “Strange Fruit”. There was something otherworldly about it, as though it came out of a swamp.

I remember the shock I had as a kid, sometime in the 70s, when Dad finally explained to me that the “strange fruit” hanging from the southern trees were the bodies of black men, lynched and hung and left for the crows to pluck. It is a deeply graphic and disturbing song. It shows the power of music in protest.

It said things that if spoken, might have seen Billie swinging herself.

In the 60s, Rhythm and Blues was in its prime. Even though R&B’s roots were in gospel and soul, and often concerned with love and dancing, a new breed of performers used it to further a political and social agenda. It made the Anglo hippies’ protest songs sound insipid.

Aretha Franklin was the Queen of Soul, and for all the “I Never

Loved a Man (the way I love you)” and “Chain of Fools”, there's also “R.E.S.P.E.C.T”. Respect my gender. Respect my race. As all the white folks boogied away I wonder if they were listening. (Ironically the song was written by Otis Redding, and was initially aimed at women).

James Brown was even more direct — “Say it Loud (I’m Black and I’m Proud)”. Take that, whitey. And then there was perhaps the greatest social change song ever. Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come”. Unfortunately it seems that change will never truly arrive.

As the decade went on the work became even better. Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues”. Stevie Wonder’s “Livin’ For the City”. They were snapshots of urban American reality for all to hear. In the 80s I always used to get a special thrill playing “Livin’ For the City” on Wanganui 2ZW and Greymouth’s Radio Scenicland, wondering what the farmers in the milking shed were thinking.

The arrival of rap saw even more strident voices emerge. Grandmaster Flash’s “The Message” was “Livin’ for the City” for a new generation, and then there’s NWA. When their gangsta rap first hit, I was nonplussed. It seemed to celebrate a grim existence, rather than rebel against it. But with the recent release of the film of NWA’s rise, Straight Outta Compton, I finally got it. “Fuck Tha Police” has a depth to it I never initially comprehended. The film has got my 17-year-old hooked, and we’ve gone from being a house rocking to the Arctic Monkeys to a house banging with beats from South Central LA. And now, in this new era of civil unrest, new voices are emerging.

Obviously Beyonce’s Lemonade is leading the way. But this winter I’ve discovered Michael Kiwanuka and his Love & Hate album. A Londoner born to immigrant Ugandan parents, this album is an instant classic. His song, “Black Man in A White World” is strong, insistent and melodic and gives you no doubt at black dislocation in a white world. The whole album reminds me of classics like Gaye’s “What's Going On”. The opening track, “Cold Little Heart” is 10 minutes long with the vocals kicking in after five minutes. With backing voices moaning, his gravel kicks in and pleads for the end to pain and despair.

It’s a cruel world full of inequality, yet it often falls to the artists to ask for a better place. As Sam Cooke said, “a change is gonna come”. And it will, but until then it’s giving us some of the most powerful music recorded.

— Andrew Dickens

A new voice of unrest: artist Michael Kiwanuka, and his Love & Hate album. Images courtesy of Universal Music the hobson 49

the check in

From Art to Wizardry Short escapes, a luxury lodge, longer trips with the family — Louise Richardson picks destinations to suit your travelling style

ART AL FRESCO Laura Forbes grew up in Remuera and now farms beef and sheep with her husband, James (with Laura, above), and young family way south of Arney Rd, in Waipara, North Canterbury. But it’s not all agrarian pursuits — Laura is also the new owner of Art in a Garden, an annual event that's been held for the past 13 years at Flaxmere, one of New Zealand’s gardens of national significance, an hour’s drive from Christchurch.

Around 80 artists will be exhibiting more than 300 new works at this year’s event, which is held from October 27 30. Sculpture is set around the spectacular garden, while ceramics, glass, painting, photography and jewellery are presented in an historic, restored barn. Guests can enjoy picnic lunches, local wines, coffee and music as they browse.

New artists exhibiting this year include Rebecca Rose, Mia Hamilton, Simon Edwards, Michael Eaton, Tatyanna Meharry, Kate Fitzharris and Remuera local, sculptor David McCracken.

“One of the things that I love about Art in a Garden is that it’s an event for everyone, including art lovers, garden enthusiasts, families, visitors and the local community,” says Laura Forbes. “This is such a unique platform for

artists, to exhibit their work and for buyers; there is none of the intimidation that you sometimes feel in city galleries.

“The setting at Flaxmere is serene and the atmosphere is really relaxed. It’s the perfect place to consider each artwork and make the decision to invest if something really grabs you.”

The last weekend of October is an ideal time to visit the Hurunui area, with the Christmas Country Fête in Culverden, the Amberley A&P show also on, and awardwinning wineries in Waipara are just a short drive away. www.artinagarden.co.nz

SOARING NORTH Over the weather? Seeking sun and the cocooning embrace of a luxury retreat? Northland is a good bet at this time of year for temperatures warmer than much of the country will be experiencing. And if you’re after a deluxe escape, browse the offerings at Russell’s Eagles Nest.

The multi-award-winning 30ha retreat is one of New Zealand’s globally-renowned luxury lodges.

Comprising just five villas with views out over the glorious Bay of Islands, the self-contained retreats have varying configurations of up to four bedrooms — ideal for sharing the experience with family or friends — but all have contemporary furnishings and artworks, spa pools and home

the hobson 50

cinema systems. Four also have private, heated, infinity-edged lap pools.

You can choose not to lift a finger — resident chefs can cater for you in your villa kitchen and make wine selections — or dive into the area’s many attractions. Deep sea and big game fishing, sailing, diving, kayaking, swimming with the dolphins, golf are some of the easily accessed activities nearby.

Eagles Nest is also within strolling distance of historic Russell.

Check out seasonal offers at www.eaglesnest.co.nz

ABSOLUTELY EVERYBODY Park any thoughts of Club Med only being about sand and sun, and consider the company’s Sahoro offering, in Hokkaido, Japan. Club Med Sahoro features wonderful powder skiing, and many other sports, set against a spectacular mountainous backdrop.

The activities on offer include fun for all ages with snowboarding, guided mountain biking, walking and hiking. Horse riding can also be arranged. Teens will enjoy having the opportunity to learn archery and trapeze skills and everyone will appreciate the indoor pool and spa facilities, which include traditional Japanese outdoor hot baths.

The beauty of Club Med holidays is the fact that almost everything is included, with an array of

food and beverages on offer and young enthusiastic “Genteel Organisers” (GCs) are committed to ensuring that all children enjoy their Sahoro experience regardless of age and capabilities. www.clubmed.co.nz/sahoro

VENICE, BUT CLOSER While Macau may have a reputation as a gamblers’ paradise it’s much more besides, and is proving an increasingly popular destination for families with children.

Tweens, teens, and even little ones will be fascinated by The Venetian Macau, which is not only an uber-casino, but also features accommodation and vast numbers of shops, restaurants, theatres and entertainment experiences. The complex features three canals, replete with gondolas and gondoliers, many of whom serenade the guests.

A Portuguese colony from the 1500s until 1999, Macau — also spelled Macao — is steeped in a fascinating mixture of European and Chinese history. The colonial architecture, some of which are listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites, is more than worthy of exploration, as are the exotic botanical gardens.

Several of Macau’s casino entertainments and performances are nothing less than spectacular; the “House of Dancing Water” at the City of Dreams resort is the world’s largest water-based show, costing US$250 million to develop and stage.

The food’s great in Macau too, a fusion of Asian and Portugese influences. Your hotel alone is likely to have almost all you’ll need for entertaining your tribe in this small but perfectly formed part of China. Macau is also possible as a day-trip via ferry across the Pearl River delta from neighbouring Hong Kong. macao@regencytourism.com

A TIME TO REMEMBER If you’re planning a family trip to Europe, consider visiting Flanders in Belgium, where peaceful villages and countryside turned into places of unimaginable carnage in the early 20th century. A series of commemorative highlights marking the centenaries of WWI battles is taking place between now and 2018.

Themed walking, driving and cycling tours offer a variety of ways to explore a land where the scars of war are still evident, and graveyards and poignant monuments dot the landscape (see the story by Gerard Murphy in the June issue about his visit

to this area — you can read our digital edition via THE HOBSON’s Facebook page). There are art exhibitions, remembrance ceremonies, museum exhibits and tree-planting planned to honour the fallen 100 years on and acknowledge the sacrifices made by Belgians and Allied soldiers, including New Zealanders, in the course of the Great War. www.flandersfields1418.com

SNAPSHOT Despite the names, the Krusty Burgers (right) served up on The Simpsons lot at Universal Studios Hollywood are palatable (on the theme park food scale), and can be matched with a Duff beer, if you’re 21+. Front of Line tickets booked via universalstudios.com will also give you early admission to the LA theme park’s newest attraction, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Beat the crowds to Hogsmeade for a magical ride (which includes Quidditch) through Hogwarts; a browse in Ollivander’s wand shop and an all-ages Butterbeer. p the hobson 51

the bookmark

Good Picks For The Father

MY OLD MAN Edited by Ted Kessler (Allen & Unwin) If you were asked to write about your father, what would you say? No two paternal relationships are the same. In this carefully curated collection, the contributors open up about their paternal experiences. From the heart-rending to the tragic, from joyful testaments of love to a quick snapshot of a life, these beautifully written pieces are deeply personal.

ZERO TO 60 Tony Quinn (Random House) From growing up in a caravan in Aberdeen, to building world-class racetracks, this is the nothing-to-riches story of Targa champion and Hampton Downs and Highlands Motorsport Park owner, Tony Quinn. After quitting struggling businesses in Perth, Quinn moved to NZ in 1994 and founded the Northland fat-rendering plant, Fatman. That led to his return to Australia and the establishment of VIP Petfoods, which he ran for 20 years before selling for

a tasty AU$410m. Full of his back-of-theenvelope ideas and observations about life, motorsport and business, Quinn’s straightup character makes this an engaging read.

THE DAD: HOW IT WORKS Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris (Penguin) The Dad is part of the highly popular Ladybirds for Grown-Ups series, updated satirical takes on the traditional early childhood readers (see also, The Shed).

Combining absurdist humour with the mores of modern life, the books use original Ladybird illustrations.

THE BLACK WIDOW Daniel Silva (Harper Collins) In this armchair thriller, spy and art restorer Gabriel Allon is poised to become the chief of Israel’s secret intelligence service. But on the eve of his promotion, events conspire to lure him into the field.

In an awfully prescient plot, ISIS has detonated a bomb in the Marais in Paris, and the French government wants Allon to

eliminate the man responsible, before he can strike again.

NOMAD James Swallow (Allen & Unwin) Another escape into espionage. Someone has betrayed your country and murdered your friends — and you’re the only suspect.

Marc Dane is an MI6 field agent, more comfortable behind a computer than in the thick of the action. But after the attack, Dane is forced into the front line. This one lives up to its hype of being “the most explosive thriller you’ll read all year!”

THE SECRET DIARY OF HENDRIK GROEN, 83 1/4 YEARS OLD Hendrik Groen (Penguin) Quite the funniest book I have read this year. Groen (the name is a pseudonym) may be old, but he isn’t planning to be buried any time soon. His exposé covers a year in his care home in Amsterdam, and his escapades with the anarchic Old-ButNot-Dead Club. — Gail Woodward

the cinema

The September Screen SULLY

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC

Director Clint Eastwood. Starring Tom Hanks, Anna Gunn, Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney On January 15, 2009, Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger became an international sensation when he glided his bird-strike disabled US Airways Airbus A320 onto New York’s Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 aboard. The event was quickly dubbed “Miracle on the Hudson”. But while the public and media were crowning him a hero, a side investigation unfolded that threatened to destroy his career — questioning his actions, and challenging his reputation as a first class pilot.

Director Matt Ross. Starring Viggo Mortensen, Kathryn Hahn, Frank Langella, Steve Zahn Living off the grid in the forest of America’s Pacific Northwest, Ben Cash raises his six children alone, after his wife is institutionalised. When she takes her own life, and at the insistence of his children, Ben brings his family out of the forest and into society. But not all is straightforward with their emergence into the modern world, making Ben re-evaluate the choices he’s made in the upbringing and educating of his kids.

THE HURT BUSINESS

BRIDGET JONES'S BABY Director Sharon Maguire. Starring Renée Zellweger, Patrick Dempsey, Colin Firth Bridget is now in her forties and single again, after breaking up with Mark Darcy.

She’s decided to focus on her career and her friends, forgoing men, but in typical Jones fashion, this doesn’t quite go to plan. Enter “The American”, played

by Dempsey, aka Grey’s Anatomy’s McDreamy. Romance ensues, there’s a brief reunion with Mr Darcy and then . . . a Bridget-sized problem. She’s got a baby on the way, but who’s the daddy?

THE FIRST MONDAY IN MAY Director Andrew Rossi.

New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute annual bash,

the Met Gala, is a multi-million dollar fundraiser with a guest list of fashion’s top movers and their celebrity muses. This documentary follows the development of the exhibition and the build-up to the gala to launch the Institute’s 2015 massively successful exhibition, “China: Through the Looking Glass”. Key oncamera personalities include the Costume Institute’s Andrew Bolton, designers John Galliano and Jean-Paul Gaultier, filmmakers Wong Kar-wai and Baz Luhrmann and of course the driver of the event, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.

Director Vlad Yudin.

MMA — Mixed Martial Arts — requires more than just skill, perseverance and true grit, so say those who partake in the full-contact combat sport, which blends elements from martial arts disciplines including boxing, kick-boxing, muay thai and judo. To the athletes, MMA is an art form, the canvas being their opponent’s moving body. The doco tracks the evolution of MMA through the fighters who have become legends to their global followers. Contributors include Kevin Costner, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz and Kenny Florian.

— Caitlin McKenna

Films listed are scheduled to screen at Rialto Cinemas Newmarket in September

Advance Screening Wednesday 28 September from 5:45pm Tickets: $33.50* each and include nibbles, a glass of wine & goodie bag.

Book online: www.rialto.co.nz *Plus, $1.20 online booking fee.

the district diary - september '16

Save The Date 3 Parnell Farmers’ Market, every Saturday from 8am, in the carpark at the Jubilee Building, 545 Parnell Rd Every Saturday from 10am5pm the kids can explore the Weird & Wonderful Discovery Trail at Auckland War Memorial Museum, free entry

Movies, 6.30pm at Remuera Library, entry $5 Orakei Market – gourmet, artisan, vintage, fresh. Every 2nd Saturday from 9am, Orakei Community Centre, 156 Kepa Rd. 14 Make and take home your own fabulously retro beaded

hilarious night with Edina and Patsy, bubbles, snacks and goodie bags. Lido Theatre, 427 Manukau Rd, Epsom. From 5.30pm, tickets $50 from kingscollege.school.nz 19 Set yer feet a dancin’! With mad Marian fiddling, Irish dancing, jokes and some great singalongs. When Irish Eyes

4 Happy Father’s Day! May your day be filled with well-behaved children who appreciate your paternal words of wisdom and dad jokes

Drama queens unite! Play on, dress up, act out; enjoy musical mayhem, games props and make-believe. Every Mon & Fri, 11am-12.15pm, Orakei Community Centre.

All ages welcome, $5 per family, dramaqueens.co.nz

Last day of Term 3 for all schools (except Saint Kentigern Boys’ and Girls’ schools, who finish Thursday 22) 24 Craft Harvest market, 4th Saturday of every month from 8am, alongside Parnell Farmers’ Market, 545 Parnell Rd

11 Explore creativity and create a work to keep by taking part in Parnell District School’s community visual arts day.

Gold coin donation, see parnell.school.nz

13 Novelist, short story writer, poet, memoirist Dame Fiona Kidman will speak about her new book All Day at the

22 The 2016 Orchid + Flower Show, featuring displays, workshops and talks, gardening essentials to buy, exhibits, art displays and more. 10am-4pm till 25th September, ASB Showgrounds. orchidplusflowershow.co.nz 23 Join legendary NZ performers Sharon O’Neill, Shona Laing, Debbie Harwood and Hammond Gamble for two nights of music and stunning acoustics at their 2016 Church Tour. 7.00pm (Fri/Sat), Holy Trinity Cathedral. Tickets from civicevents.co.nz

5 Meet much-loved cook Jo Seagar and hear about her new book Elbows Off the Table Please, 6.30pm at Remuera Library

12 An Evening with Justin Cronin, bestselling author of the epic fantasy fiction trilogy that started with The Twelve and ended with The City of Mirrors, 6.30pm at Remuera Library, $10 at door

and featuring an eclectic mix from “Whakaaria Mai” (“How Great Thou Art”) to “Made For You”, the Marvelly/P-Money collab from the film Born to Dance. At SkyCity Theatre, ticketek.co.nz

macramé hanger in this three hour workshop with leading designer Wendy Nannestad. $90pp, at Collected by LeeAnn Yare, 110 Carlton Gore Rd, www.collected.co.nz 15 Absolutely Fabulous movie fundraiser, brought to you by the Year 13 Sacristans. An

Are Smiling, 11am-1pm, Somervell Presbyterian Church, cnr Greenlane and Remuera Rd. $32, daytimeconcerts.co.nz 21 Lizzie Marvelly marks a decade in the music business with The 10 Years Tour.

Performing with her live band

the hobson 54

25 Festival Italiano, a celebration of all things Italian! Al fresco dining, 30 stalls, live music, entertainment, kids’ activities, tastings, spot prizes. Osborne St, 11am-4.00pm. Free entry

Got an entry for The District Diary? Community, school events welcome. Email hobsondiary@gmail.com

Your next Auckland Council needs

Greater Accountability.

Tighter Control on Spending.

Clear Thinking.

For more about what I have to offer visit www.ralston2016.co.nz or

fb.com/BillRalstonforWaitemata

Centre Right Independent for Waitemata & Gulf Councillor

Authorised by Bill Ralston, 5 Franklin Rd, Freemans Bay

the cryptic by mĀyĀ

ACROSS 1/11 The Queen's local residence? (7,6) 5 Father has ample lunch at bookshop (7) 9 Aged teacher no oil painting? On the contrary (3,6) 10 Device is found in mutant (5) 11 See 1 Across 12 Ploy used by gutless guy near New York state after hearing “I do, I do, I do, I do, I do” ? (8) 14 Agitated, as admirer may be to get married (5) 16 Creature not trapped in a 25 8 male, very loud - a bear? (9) 18 One who sidles in to hunt for returned fish dishes (9) 20 “Bear” is OK back in the French version (5) 22 Masses with repeating musical

phrase by 19th century composer (8) 23 “Vamoose!” - Dominic edges away from creature found in a 25 8 (6) 26 Remove charge for marriage? (5) 27 Held back out of consideration (4,5) 28 A tiny chance, unlike E.T. (7) 29 Being coy, toss head (7) DOWN 1 Creature of court and church found in dive (9) 2 They've nothing on detectives who infiltrate fanatics (7) 3 Type of mail for mobile home owner (5) 4 Grade grass blade, finally (4) 5 Creature may mimic angle (10) 6 Pork loin carried on shoulders? (9) 7 A TV channel in debt? For Pete's sake! (1,3,3)

8 Lie level in U.S. building (5) 13 Happily give total encouragement (10) 15 Cheshire Cat's final appearance in the church for a 25 8 sourpuss (3,6) 17 Father left in pub with female ending in an ordinary state (9) 19 Goofy's more like a duck? (7) 21 Māori crazy about cupboard (7) 22 “Rum-ours” over middle of “Finnegans Wake”? (5) 24 None differ on source of eggs (5) 25 Ribs from young creatures (4)

Answers on page 17 Set by Māyā https://thehobsoncrossword.wordpress.com/ the hobson 56

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