Tidbits From the Late Great John Clarke
Photographing birds and tinkering with words were two of the late John Clarke’s favourite pastimes. In a Guardian article, they come together in excerpts from a new book showcasing the New Zealander’s body of…
Tag Archives: Guardian (The)
Harvard’s Richard Thomas Charts Bob Dylan’s Odyssey
He mentions Dylan in the same breath as Ovid, Virgil and Dante. The Guardian’s Zoe Williams meets New Zealander Richard Thomas, the classics professor who has spent half a century decoding Bob Dylan’s imagery,…
Chocolate Factory Saved by the Community
New Zealanders have pledged $2m in just over 24 hours to keep the century-old tradition of chocolate-making alive in Dunedin, after Mondelez International announced in February it planned to close its 80-year-old Dunedin Cadbury…
Margot Henderson’s Art for Eats’ Sake
Resolving to treat art lovers to their particular take on simple British fare, east London’s Rochelle Canteen, co-owned by New Zealander Margot Henderson, has just opened its second outlet at the Institute of Contemporary…
NZ’s Winter Shorter by a Month over 100 Years
Studies by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) show that winter has contracted equally at its beginning and end. Winter has gotten shorter by a month over the last 100 years,…
When Clarke Gayford’s Partner Became PM
Clarke Gayford, host of televisions series Fish of the Day and partner of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, describes life with bodyguards, a state mansion and a call from Donald Trump in an…
Jason Lei Howden’s Deathgasm Celebrates Metalheads
Since Mario Bava’s 1963 film Black Sabbath inspired the Brummie band, metalheads and moviemakers have shared a deal with the devil. The Guardian summons the filthy lyrics, moral panics and nostalgia of a genre…
Wales Coach Warren Gatland Talks Safety
Taking the Lions to New Zealand should have been Warren Gatland’s proudest moment but now back with Wales the coach believes the welfare of rugby’s elite players is a more pressing concern. “I’ve been on…
Chills and Thrills in the Top of the South
From alpine lakes to sunken valleys, the South Island serves up seven days of astounding scenery, adrenaline adventures and great food; the Guardian’s Nikki Marshall and her boyfriend takes the
Kea Soars to Bird of the Year Victory
The kea, the world’s only alpine parrot, has been crowned New Zealand Bird of the Year, beating the kereru and the kakapo with thousands more votes cast for the species than there are surviving…
Time Travel with Aldous Harding
New Zealander Aldous Harding, who is currently promoting her album Party in Europe, has released a new single from the LP. Elation is The Guardian’s ‘Track of the Week’. Hannah Davies writes for the newspaper: “With her…
Kim Chambers Swims with Sharks in New Doco
New Zealand-born Kim Chambers started swimming after a life-changing accident. Just a few years later, she became the first woman to take on a notorious stretch of shark-inhabited waters – a solo swim from…
How to Win the Man Booker Prize
The upstairs room of an indie bookstore. A book launch for a local author. Crisps and wine are being handed out, a buzz is in the air, congratulations are showered upon the young writer….
Why Golriz Ghahraman Entered NZ Politics
New member of parliament Golriz Ghahraman is having her Twitter feed documented by the national archive as a testimony of New Zealand’s 2017 election. “It will be interesting for others to see what happens when…
New Zealand Wasp Named After Harry Potter Villain
Auckland University entomologist and Harry Potter fan Tom Saunders has named a parasitoid wasp after “redeemed” character Lucius Malfoy in the hope of showing not all wasps are bad. Saunders named and described the wasp…
Author Lynley Dodd on the Secret Lives of Pets
On the release of her new picture book, Scarface Claw, Hold Tight! acclaimed New Zealand writer and illustrator Lynley Dodd talks animal antics and her favourite children’s books. Many cat owners would be familiar with…
Drilling Reveals Secrets of Sunken Lost Continent
The mostly submerged South Pacific landmass Zealandia may have been closer to land level than once thought, providing pathways for animals and plants to cross continents from 80 million years ago, an expedition has…
Charles Piutau: “I Felt Invincible As An All Black”
Former All Black Charles Piutau speaks to The Guardian’s Donald McRae about abandoning his Test career with the All Blacks to play for Ulster and, from next season, Bristol. When…
Mt Doom, Ski Fields and Bike Redemption
A scenic North Island train journey takes in the dramatic landscape, the Whakapapa ski fields – and an unexpected two-wheeled catharsis for Guardian journalist Lucy Clark. “When you haven’t been on a bicycle for four…
UFO Home for Sale in Warrington
A rare spaceship-shaped home located in Warrington and designed by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen in 1968, is for sale, attracting international interest as sci-fi and architecture nerds scramble to secure a UFO abode by…
Neil Finn’s New Solo LP Contemplative and Tender
Neil Finn, the multi-talented Crowded House frontman, can make the most sophisticated pop music sound like the easiest thing in the world, according to freelance journalist Andrew Stafford, who reviews Finn’s fourth solo album,…
Paul Cowan Sorts London Transport’s Lost Property
As many as 1200 items arrive at Transport for London’s lost property office on Baker Street each day, revealing what the city’s inhabitants value enough to recover – and what they’re happy to let…
Silver Scrolls Music Industry First
For the first time in its 52-year history, New Zealand’s Silver Scroll Awards feature an exclusively all-female shortlist, made up of Lorde, Bic Runga, Aldous Harding, Chelsea Jade and Nadia Reid, the Guardian reports. The…
Comedian Trygve Wakenshaw Puts His Baby to Work
This year, Edinburgh Festival Fringe’s “best-loved mime act” New Zealander Trygve Wakenshaw has teamed up with his one-year-old son on stage in Trygve vs a Baby. “The publicity asks: who’s more entertaining? And the answer,…
All Blacks Great Colin Meads Leaves Mighty Memories
Colin Meads, the famously tough All Blacks captain hailed as New Zealand’s greatest rugby player of the 20th century, has died. He was 81. Cambridge-born Meads played 55 tests among 133 games for New…
Rose Matafeo’s New Show Effervescently Entertaining
New Zealand comedian Rose Matafeo, 25, “keeps things upbeat as she lightly interrogates Hollywood cliché and the role models on offer to young women” in her new show Sassy Best Friend, on now at…
Small Screen Gives Jane Campion New Space to Shine
In a review of Jane Campion’s Top of the Lake: China Girl, which is currently screening on BBC2 in the UK, the Guardian’s Sam Wollaston says that not only is lead Elisabeth Moss “mesmerising,…
Katherine Mansfield’s Garden Party Puffs Puffed
Katherine Mansfield’s 1922 short story The Garden Party, set around the wealthy Sheridan family’s shindig, inspires Guardian columnist Kate Young to make a dessert from their elegant spread. That meant the cream puffs had come….
Jacinda Ardern Shames TV Dinosaurs
Hours after taking office, Labour leader Jacinda Ardern, 37, faced down pundits asking if she planned on starting a family, a question rarely asked of men in politics. The Guardian takes a look at…
New Zealand Mourns Death of Sir John Graham
Sir John Graham, widely known as DJ, has died at the age of 82. Graham was a former All Blacks captain, a respected educator and staunch opponent of apartheid. Graham represented New Zealand 53 times,…
Joshua Wood Shortlisted for Astronomy Photography Award
New Zealander Joshua Wood has been shortlisted for the Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year award – the world’s biggest international astrophotography competition. The Guardian introduces the shortlisted photographers. His shot…
Peter Gordon Likes Shelves Stocked With Memories
New Zealand chef Peter Gordon tells the Guardian’s Anna Wilkins about the characteristics of his home kitchen for the newspaper’s regular column, A Cook’s Kitchen. “I used to come to Broadway Market on Saturdays and…
Jane Campion is a Clever Person Doing TV
From Sweetie to The Piano, New Zealander Jane Campion has made some of cinema’s strangest, strongest films. So why has she switched to the small screen? The Guardian investigates. It is eight years since Campion,…
Standing up for Mince on Toast
After American food website Eater published a recipe for good old-fashioned mince on toast, claiming it was a quintessentially British comfort food, Britons cried foul, that it had nothing to…
Chef Anna Hansen at Home in Her Own Kitchen
New Zealand-born chef Anna Hansen, of London’s The Modern Pantry, finally got to design her own kitchen. The result? She tells the Guardian she likes everything but the kitchen sink. “We didn’t have to do…
Jane Campion on Inspiration Behind New TOTL Series
Fans of the critically acclaimed crime drama Top of the Lake will be eagerly awaiting its return at the end of this month – but writer New Zealand-born Jane Campion admits to the Observer…
Fans From Both Sides Celebrate All Blacks Lions Draw
A draw. A dead heat. 15-15. And the series too, after the epic twists and turns of the last three weeks, is therefore a tie: one win for New Zealand, one win for the…
Team New Zealand One Point From Glory After Win Over Oracle
“Helmsman Peter Burling and his underdog Emirates Team New Zealand won two races on Sunday to reach match point in the America’s Cup against Jimmy Spithill and two-time defending champion Oracle Team USA,” as…
New Zealand Run Away with First Test Against Lions
“The British & Irish Lions must now win both remaining Tests to deny New Zealand a series victory after a sobering loss to the All Blacks in Auckland. The Lions defended heroically at times…
Taika Waititi Tackles Tiny Racists
New Zealand has hauled in its biggest stars in an effort to crack down on rising levels of racism in our famously peaceful South Pacific nation. Hollywood director and New Zealander of the year…
Helen Clark Hit Her First Glass Ceiling at the UN
Former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark says the rejection of her bid to become the next UN secretary general was a blow for women, but the security council weren’t looking for an “independent-minded…
All Blacks Thrash Samoa 78-0
“The All Blacks were at their sublime best in a 78-0 drubbing of Samoa that will have the Lions hoping the losers had an off night. Otherwise the tourists face a daunting task here…
Local Fundraising Hopes to Save Chocolate Factory
A crowdfunding campaign to save Dunedin Cadbury chocolate factory has raised $3.3 million in less than two days, prompting hopes that locals can continue the tradition of chocolate-making – and eating. Mondalez International announced in…
Susan Te Kahurangi King’s First UK Exhibition Opens
New Zealand artist Susan Te Kahurangi King stopped speaking aged four, and has since communicated only through her acutely detailed drawings. As her first UK exhibition opens at Marlborough Contemporary, London, her sister and…
Jane Campion Says Cannes Needs All-Female Juries
New Zealander Jane Campion, 63, has just shown the full six hours of her new series, Top Of The Lake: China Girl to audiences at Cannes. At the festival, Campion bemoaned that, just three…
NZ Launches Into Space Race With 3D-Printed Rocket
Rocket Lab, a Silicon Valley-funded space launch company, has just launched the maiden flight of its battery-powered, 3D-printed rocket Electron from New Zealand’s remote Mahia Peninsula. “Made it to space. Team delighted,” Rocket Lab said…
Aldous Harding’s Songs Won’t Be Pinned Down
Aldous Harding, 26, shies away from explaining the quiet, cryptic, utterly arresting songs on Party, her second album and first American release. Harding, who is from New Zealand, was in New York at the…
New Zealand Wants the World to Love Feijoas
At this time of year, New Zealanders in the diaspora will do just about anything to get their hands on ‘green gold’. Now exporters have their eye on a wider market. Guardian Australia journalist…
Lorde Makes Sophisticated Return at Coachella
“Lorde used her late-evening (Coachella) slot to showcase material from her forthcoming album, Melodrama. Starting off with a portion of her lead single, Green Light, she performed staring straight down…
Shoelace Specialist Ian Fieggen Knots The Secure
A new study explains why shoelaces keep coming undone – but it can’t explain why we’re stuck with a centuries-old fudge to fasten our trainers, according to the Guardian’s Gavin Hayes who talks to…
NZ Devises Manuka Honey Test to Fight Fakes
The New Zealand Government has tested 800 samples of honey from around the world to establish a scientific definition of genuine manuka honey and crackdown on alleged fakes, Eleanor Ainge…
MI5 File Lays Bare Case of KGB Spy Paddy Costello
A controversy that has spanned more than seven decades over whether Auckland-born Paddy Costello, a Cambridge-educated diplomat and academic, was a top Soviet spy has been fuelled by the release of his MI5 file. Desmond…
NZ Post Begins Delivering KFC To Beat Mail Slump
“The New Zealand postal service has begun delivering Kentucky Fried Chicken in a bid to stem major revenue losses as the number of people using the postal service continue to plummet,” writes Eleanor Ainge…
First Thor: Ragnarok Trailer Released
The first trailer for Thor: Ragnarok, which was directed by Taika Waititi, has been released, as reported in an article in The Guardian. “Following on from the events of Avengers: Age…
That Wanaka Tree a Social Media Sensation
A crack willow tree, believed to have grown from an old fence post, has been photographed tens of thousands of times, with queues of photographers routinely forming on the lake’s shore to capture its…
Alluring Role for Paris Ballet’s Hannah O’Neill
Hannah O’Neill, 24, a New Zealander who joined the Paris Opéra Ballet company in 2011, is “a beguiling” Titania, Paul Jennings writes in an Observer review of the Opéra Bastille performance of A Midsummer…
