Obituary: Sir Peter Platt, Musicologist
Sir Peter Platt was born in Sheffield but spent a lifetime merging the music of the edges in the antipodes: he regarded an understanding of the music of the regions as crucial and guided his students…
Tag Archives: Sunday Times
Te Rangi Hiroa/Sir Peter Buck Remembered
The Sunday Times remembers the birthday of Sir Peter Buck – a pioneering and internationally renowned anthropologist, the first Maori medical doctor, a politician, administrator, soldier, and leader of the Maori people. Born in…
The Dunedin Sound #2
On August 9th, the 34th annual MacCrimmon Piobaireachd recital took place, as always, in the drawing room of Dunvegan Castle in Skye, Scotland, the seat of the 29th Chief of Clan MacLeod. It featured…
Kiwi Cunning Conquers IQ Test
In a Sunday Times report noted science commentator Bryan Appleyard ponders the limits of DNA science and why ‘designer intelligence’ is not such a good thing, using the evidence of New Zealander James Flynn and his…
Sheep Shearer’s Delight Strolling the Paris Catwalks
Watch out Rod: “you wouldn’t want to mess with a girl like Rach. She is an Alp of a woman. Throw in the facial features of a young Judy Finnegan, a formidable Sports Illustrated…
Cate Blanchett Talks About Me, My Elf and I
Blanchett, Academy Award nominated for her performance in Elizabeth is in the final stages of filming another Queen, the role of elf Galadriel in Lord of the Rings. Blanchett explains why an attraction to…
Shipping Undesirables Off to the Colonies
New Zealander Sam Chisholm, deputy chairman of the New Millennium Experience Commission, operator of the beleaguered Millennium Dome, is supporting a proposal to ship contents of the Dome to the Sydney Olympic complex, including the giant pink…
“The Greatest Game Ever Played? This One’s the Winner”
A world record crowd at Stadium Australia witnessed what was acclaimed as one of the great test matches. A waltzing Jonah scored the winning try in injury time in a miraculous end to a thrilling match,…
Bean Says Boromir No Gamble in Lord of the Rings
Sean Bean has trodden the tightrope between Hollywood Bond villain and small budget independent movies enough times to know that the movie world has its ups and downs, but he says “it’s definitely worth…
Firmly at the Front of the Nu-skool Jazz and Beats Movement
On the verge in London, Mark de Clive-Lowe’s album Six Degrees continues to spread the vibe. ” has assembled a collection of spacy tracks ornamented by his elegant Rhodes commentary. Popular on the…
Human Gene in Kiwi Sheep
We get enough flak for our supposed close relationship with sheep, but this is ridiculous. Thousands of sheep are walking around with a gene inside them which, it turns out, came from a blood sample donated…
Frozen Tomb of Kiwi War Pilot Uncovered
The RAF has never forgotten a Kiwi pilot, flight officer Arthur Round, and his crew who died when their aircraft crashed in a glacier in northern Iceland during a World War Two mission. An…
“Absence of Cutting Edge” Proves Scots Undoing
The All Blacks proved the theory and continued with breathtaking conviction to erase uncomfortable memories when they trounced Scotland 48-14. As Andy Nicol, the Scotland captain remarked later, “that is as ruthless a team as I…
Simply the best: Dame Kiri: the Tina Turner of the opera world?
Dame Kiri talks about her Maori heritage, playing to an audience of 600 million people, her forthcoming concert with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and how long she can keep performing. Interviewing the world-renowned soprano,…
Hollywood Hobbit Brings Trouble to Middle Earth
Literary fans who are devoted to the purity of Tolkien’s Middle Earth ouevre are angry at rumours that Frodo Baggins is ready to flirt. The introduction of glamorous Hollywood stars such as Liv Tyler…
Cruising New Zealand: Come Aboard We’re Expecting You …
Cruising is the ideal way to see New Zealand, in nine days The Times correspondent saw things exciting and new: the spectacular Marlborough Sounds, dazzlingly beautiful Picton Harbour, Wellington, “a city impossible to absorb in a day”,…
Give them a taste of Kiwi
“Sometimes expats crave a taste of the familiar – and now they can find it on the net.” A New Zealand writer yearns for Tim Tams and ponders the number of dotcoms, such as…
Coach Bracewell Has Opponents in a Spin with the All Black Way
Former New Zealand spinner John Bracewell, now in a coaching role, has turned the fortunes of underachieving Gloucestershire a full circle through preaching ‘the All Black way’. They are looking to complete a hatrick of one…
Home and Away: Taking the Edge to London
“If you are passionate about where you come from, working abroad can provide the ideal opportunity to promote your native country.” The Times profiles Anna Kensington who promotes NZ Tourism in London. Anna considers…
New Zealand No.8 Legend Farewelled
He changed the rugby ball in the same crazy way that Kiwi farmers altered fencing wire. “The career of Zinzan Brooke, a singular player in a uniform age, ended at Twickenham yesterday amid a sea of points…
Jonah the Barbarian: Tackled by Media Frenzy
“Images of him snarling, smiling and sneering as he tore through defenses like a crazy cartoon character were the most memorable of the tournament and his performance has gone down as one of the the most almighty…
Food unites through Kiwi chef’s fusion menu
Tainted by the bad press of football violence and last August’s earthquake, Times writer Cath Urquhart found Istanbul to instead be beautiful and friendly, helped in no small way by the diverse fusion menu…
Tomlinson, Richard Tomlinson, MI6
Richard Tomlinson, New Zealand born Cambridge educated British spy, faces prosecution under the Official Secrets Act for revelations about his past work for M16. Tomlinson, claiming wrongful dismissal and already sentenced to prison for…
Ten Million Leap over the Edge
Bungee jumping, inspired by a South Pacific rite, was commercialised world-wide by New Zealander A.J. Hackett, who established the Kawarau river bridge site near Queenstown in 1988. This year the 10 millionth person across the world took the…
Australian Fashion Week: “The All Blacks Are Well Ahead of The Wallabies”
Karen Walker and Collette Dinnigan’s shows at Fashion Week gain the highest praise. Among those gushing were eminent Sunday Times fashion historian Colin McDowell, and fashion director of Vogue Nippon Kim Stringer.
Record Breaking Brit Uses Kiwi Know-how
Brit Ellen Macarthur, 22, the youngest winner of the Europe 1 New Man Star transatlantic yacht race, is attempting the Vendée Globe around the world solo yacht race, its youngest competitor ever. As well as training…
Kea Aura: Cool Queenstown is a Hot Destination
Tipped to be the hottest destination for trendsetters travelling Down Under this summer – not just because of its Winter Ice festival, when the whole community goes crazy with street parties, jazz parades and night skiing, but…
Talk the walk: From a Maori grave in Crete to dithering dons at Oxford
Times review: “CK Stead’s eigth novel Talking about O’Dwyer is an inticate interrogation of the past … The sweep of Stead’s narrative pays dividends: there’s almost a wistful nostalgia, a sense that hanging onto…
Kiwi Miss Marple Uncovers Cult
Repairing the premises, handing out leaflets on city streets, fundraising – not your usual college curriculum. But as some sleuthing students told Michael Durham, Winestead Hall is not your usual college, but an outpost…
Popeye Favourite from down-under
Kiwi spinach gets green thumbs up, “It is the most delicious and abundant spinach – although it is slow to germinate – and it can withstand drought”.
Thrills and Spills in Testosterone City
“Fly is the epitome of the New Kiwi, chattier than the chattiest Aussie, more fashionable than the most fashionable Aspenite”. Minty Church gets a personal introduction to the daredevil sports Mecca of Testosterone City, aka Queenstown,…
Crowe does the hard yards to re-visit grandeur of Rome
“I broke a bone in my foot, I fractured a hip-bone, I had both bicep tendons pop out of their shoulder sockets – fortunately for me at different times so I could still use…
5000 Mourn ANZAC Deaths at Gallipoli
“We shared the calamity of war,” Helen Clark, the New Zealand Prime Minister, told the crowd. “Things that happened here tied us together for ever. We share the grief of our losses.” She was joined on the…
The truth about bed: Fleur Adcock: Poems 1960-2000
“This very welcome collection of her verse confirms her status as arguably the most distinctive writer to have come out of New Zealand since Katherine Mansfield.”
Wisden Cricketer of the Century/Cricketer of the Century announced
Hadlee 10th equal (with Imran Khan); Cairns – Wisden Cricketer of the Year and tops the Price-Waterhouse all-rounder rankings.
Fat-Pig New Zealand Speedsters Bring Home the Bacon
Pig racing has taken off in Groombridge, near Tunbridge Wells. Pig trainer Mike Foley’s favourite pigs are the Kune Kune (pronounced Koonie Koonie) from New Zealand.
Looks Wonderful
“It’s not always easy to flow the tortuous intrigues, passions and deceits, but it looks wonderful, with photography by the gifted New Zealand cinematographer and director Chris Doyle”. BBC2 film preview of Temptress Moon…
Magicians Who Turned the Test Tide
“Two outstanding bowlers proved once again that in almost any conditions a top-class slow bowler who truly gives the ball a tweak is a precious asset”.
