In which James Borrowdale visits Sylvia Park, meets Santa Claus, and decides that Christmas might not be so bad after all. I should admit, at the outset of this piece, that, as an adult, I have always been largely agnostic to the Christmas spirit – that intangible embodiment of a season that, to this mind, … Read more
James Borrowdale learns the stories behind the images nominated for the New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year. The room is crowded, cramped with the memories and resonances of a life. “A simple life lived, and a hard life lived,” photographer Nathan Secker said of his entry, a finalist in the Lumix Society category of … Read more
An extract from the splendid new book Weed: A New Zealand Story, by James Borrowdale. Books editor Catherine Woulfe writes: Weed is a masterclass in longform feature writing, a clever hopscotch through history, statistics, law, chemistry and neuroscience. Plus it’s packed with people and their yarns. Not many writers could keep their footing for all … Read more
On March 23 prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced that in 48 hours the country would go into lockdown. New Zealanders had a primal reaction: they called their loved ones. The moment New Zealand was faced with lockdown, adversity did what it always does: acted as a catalyst on some base element of the human psyche, … Read more
James Borrowdale spent the last cricket season examining Neil Wagner and his unique approach to bowling. Today, in the first test of the Black Caps’ summer, Wagner returns. Neil Wagner has a wicket. He freezes mid-pitch, fists clenched at his side, knees slightly bent, a roar on his lips. His brows are knitted into a … Read more
Two years ago Augusta Grayson was working in advertising, now she’s running her own dog training business. James Borrowdale met Augusta (and Frank the dachshund) to learn about Unitec’s Certificate in Animal Management. Frank surveyed the park, narrow face framed by red-gold locks, his eyes following the active-wear-adorned man strolling through the gully on this overcast … Read more
No one likes the tax man. Not even his mum. But Dany Miller-Kareko is the modern face of the IRD, who’s out to convince Kiwis she’s here to help. James Borrowdale followed her around Auckland while she tried. If there was one place to prove that old adage wrong – the one about about the … Read more