Metro NZ

Working for Warwick Roger at Metro gave many of us the jobs of our lives, a lucky break, a career start and the opportunity at what had to be the best journalism gig in town. Sadly, three of the brightest, shiniest young stars to whom he gave a

My nan turned 100 this year. She is the youngest of her siblings, as is my mother, as am I. When you are the youngest, you get to enjoy your older siblings looking out for and after you. If you live long enough, as I observed with my nan, you will on

“Not that I’d ruled it out,” says Jennifer Ward-Lealand, “but to be honest, I kind of thought I wouldn’t be doing any more films. I had this whole other life. Maybe 75 per cent, maybe 80 per cent of my career has been on the stage.” That’s largely b

Bella Kalolo lets off the latest in a long line of volcanic chuckles. I’ve just told her that my four-year-old’s verdict is that “she sings funny”. We both agree the child needs to be rescued from the evil clutches of Frozen fandom and given a cr

While we certainly don’t discourage forking out a few hundy on a beautifully made New Zealand designer piece, when it’s basics you’re after, thank god for H&M. The Swedish fast-fashion giant opened its first New Zealand store at Sylvia Park in 2016,

The old wrestler clambers out of his dinghy, drags it on to shore. It’s not much of a beach, 30 metres wide at the most, and it’s stony, slippery as hell. He looks up the valley, dark and damp this winter’s morning, and breaks into a grin. “This is a

Part of an eastern suburbs retail complex that opened last year, Ampersand seems to hum at all times of the day, and it’s not hard to see why. While the large space can feel a tad cold and cavernous at night, the veranda overlooking Hobson Bay is har

My nana is a really big knitter. She knits all of my jerseys. I’ll send her a pattern — she lives on the Gold Coast — and she’ll just knit one up. I’ve always got her working. We use mostly 1940s patterns; I really like the shape of them, and becaus

For a busy dad-of-two, Saturdays and Sundays are typically spent finding the best swings and slides, heading to kids’ soccer, hitting the scooter park, plus the essential pit-stops for fluffies and ice cream. A punchy 5-seat vehicle that’s as comfor

Mark Zuckerberg’s appearance in April before the United States Congress, to explain Facebook’s role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, was a watershed moment in the internet age — the first time one of contemporary tech’s titans was forced to defend

REVIEWS - DAVID LARSEN Opens November 8 Talk to people who have made films in New Zealand, and one thing you’ll tend to hear is that the development process can be very drawn out. If you want Film Commission funding — which you do, because you can

Oh dear. This is hard to write, because Anika Moa is so ubiquitous right now that she feels like a de facto friend, but her self-titled album isn’t really much chop. Then again, I was clearly wrong about her last album, Queen at the Table, which I r

Every two years, the Walters Prize asks New Zealanders to take a leap into the contemporary art unknown. The safety harness comes in the form of four jurors, who select the finalists under near-academic conditions of confidentiality and rigour, as a

Hippie is best-selling Brazilian author Paulo Coelho’s contribution to a small avalanche of books marking the 50th anniversary of 1968. That momentous year, it will be remembered, followed on from 1967’s Summer of Love and saw, among other events,

American Express Openair Cinemas are coming back to Auckland, bringing back food, fun and films to Western Springs Park from January 17 to February 17. Visit openaircinemas.co.nz and sign up to receive the full program as soon as it’s announced. Auc

The historic town of Thames (Hauraki), near the mouth of the Waihou River, is the southernmost point of beachy Coromandel. Built in the 1860s, during the gold rush, Thames’ rich history is worth investigating – a visit to the local museum and The Sch

Housed in a narrow century-old miner’s cottage amid a cute clutch of Te Aro Valley shops, this delightful little restaurant is the sort of place you’re welcomed like the regular you’re soon wishing you were. The set menu, which changes several times