Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: PM makes no new regional fuel taxes pledge on the fly, dream of merger over for media companies, and Hager speaks out on JLR saga. Jacinda Ardern has made what could become something of a defining pledge for her career – no new regional fuel taxes … Read more
Charlotte Grimshaw endures a novel full of ‘knowing and coy references to real people’ in New Zealand literature. I have a friend who refers to a certain weekly newspaper column as “the Seventh Form essay.” I recalled this description recently while reading Anne Kennedy’s new novel, The Ice Shelf. “Seventh Form essay” not only implies writing … Read more
Wellington resident-cum-vandal Hunter Macdonald claims he was bored out of his mind when he came across Len Lye’s Water Whirler sculpture and broke it. Madeleine Chapman and Sam Brooks discuss. Madeleine Chapman Hunter Macdonald had a day off yesterday. So like all 28 year old adults, he decided to climb a piece of art in public. That … Read more
Logan Brown and Harrington’s Small Goods invited Emily Writes to eat at their fancy as place. When the invitation landed in my inbox, as soon as I saw “Logan Brown” I RSVPed faster than a very fast thing. I called my husband immediately and said “We’re going to Logan Brown”. He immediately said we can’t … Read more
Has our nation’s capital been hijacked by an obsession with buns and patties? Samuel Flynn Scott investigates. Visa Wellington On A Plate (WOAP) erupted into controversy this week as some chefs spoke out about the audacity of hamburgers being more popular than fine dining. It’s true that this year’s event, the biggest in its 10-year … Read more
Reflecting on the highs and lows of multiple circumnavigations of a beery concrete concourse. At the weekend, The Spinoff’s most enthusiastic consumer of beer made a pilgrimage to our nation’s capital to attend Beervana. For the uninitiated, Beervana is a big craft beer festival held over two days every August in the cosy concrete concourse … Read more
Sandra Ivanov and her family left Serbia in the 1990s to escape the wars that tore the region apart. She ended up in New Zealand, and this year went back to Serbia to volunteer to help the continuing wave of refugees passing through her birthplace. Here is her account of the continuing crisis. Thousands of … Read more
What’s that sound? It’s the rumbling of every bus user in Wellington moaning. But Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes is trying to look on the bright side. A few months back I got a letter encouraging me to give my feedback on some ideas for a new bus system being put in place in Wellington. … Read more
We have heard from a lot of adults about the new Wellington buses. But what do kids think? Five-year-old Eddie gives his honest opinion. My name is Eddie. I went on the double decker bus today. I was doing a review about the double decker bus that I went on today and my baby brother … Read more
Nothing goes better with cheap food than cheaper wine drunk quickly. Here are the 10 best BYO spots in New Zealand, as submitted by you. Ah, the BYO, most depraved of dining methods! Sinking seven standards with the fam and boofing a bit of Thai – it’s the degustation for the modern lad. What better … Read more
This school holiday Danyl Mclauchlan caught the bus to Wellington Zoo. It was not fun. Update 19/07: This post has been amended to include a response from Greater Wellington Regional Council, which oversees Wellington’s bus network. “Please,” I pleaded, standing in the door of a bus at Wellington’s Railway Station, my six-year old daughter’s tiny … Read more
In the best drinking cities in the world, sharing a punch bowl with your mates at a bar makes for a splendid evening. To have a similar experience here, you’ll have to stay home. “Red fruit, Raro.” “Very drunk 21-year-old Christians.” “Red wine, Sprite Zero, half-sugar Just Juice, vodka.” “Berocca, white wine, vodka, pineapple juice … Read more
The burghers of Wellington have been lashed by storms, almost certainly because the whale is angry about something. How might they seek absolution? Danyl Mclauchlan with this dispatch from the watery part of the capital A crowd of policy analysts and government communications advisers numbering in the tens of thousands marched along the Wellington foreshore … Read more
A new addition to Wellington’s cafe scene is giving former female prisoners the chance to hone their barista skills — and build better lives in the process. As any barista will tell you, making coffee is not an easy job. You’re on your feet all day, your hands turn to sandpaper and every inch of … Read more
In response to the arrival of a southern whale in Wellington harbour, a special emergency meeting of the city’s leading agencies and communications contractors was held in the early hours of this morning. Minutes from the meeting were promptly leaked to noted whale expert Emily Writes. In attendance: Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters, Mayor of … Read more
A displaced Wellingtonian yearns for the coffee culture she once derided. “It’s coffee, but not as you know it.” It made a greater impression on me than any advertising slogan on the side of a bus should. The fact, the bitter reality, was that a new kind of cold Nescafe in a can was besides … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Gang violence decreasing across the country, government ends public servant cap, and the country’s largest private education provider could be about to sell up. Gang violence is decreasing across the country, in some areas dramatically, according to new figures released to Newshub. Incidents of gang related violence are … Read more
To celebrate Wellington on a Plate’s 10th birthday the capital’s party experts have shared their tips on how to nail your next blowout. Throwing a party, whether for four people around the dinner table at home or for 40,000 people at a festival, is a complicated chess game. All the different pieces have to move … Read more
Ash Peters is passing on her love of mountain biking to hundreds of families around the Wellington region. She spoke to Thalia Kehoe Rowden about what draws her to the hills, and how her charity is reaching all sorts of families who haven’t been on the trails before. The WORD youth mountain biking holiday programmes … Read more
Samuel Flynn Scott explores the buzzy flavours of the natural wineries of downtown Wellington. I’m in the Garage Project Taproom with my long term comrade in music Lukasz Buda. We’re entertaining Marlon Williams and his lovely band The Yarra Benders. We find ourselves here because it’s close to the gig, and we’re trying to impress … Read more
It appears the two biggest pizza nerds in the world are both from Wellington. Samuel Flynn Scott spoke to the capital’s pizza guru, Tommy Millions, about the perfect slice, learning his craft, and his alternative social media style. Tommy Millions started life as a little woodfired pizza trailer that would pop up at farmers’ markets … Read more
This month legendary Wellington food emporium Moore Wilson’s turned 100. Samuel Flynn Scott meets Julie Moore, the most important and influential person in Wellington food. Sean Clouston, executive chef and co-owner of Logan Brown, was bustling through Moore Wilsons in his cheffy regalia. “Sammy! You come here on Fridays too? Best time mate. All the … Read more
Claire Mabey gave birth to a 34-week-old golden-haired boy in Wellington last week. She also found the time to review a heartbreaking novel about the death of a baby. The writing of this review of Kate Duignan’s novel The New Ships got hijacked half-way by early onset pre-term labour and the arrival of my first born. A … Read more
You never realise how good you have it until it’s too late. In the first part of a series on Wellington’s flourishing food scene, former resident Samuel Flynn Scott yearns for the capital’s $7 menu. So long and thanks for all the roti, I don’t miss you at all. When I think of Wellington, until … Read more
Gone are the days of wholesome messages on cakes, we are now living in a rude cake world. Alex Casey visits Tomboy to sample some delicious truths. Baker Kate Marinkovich from Tomboy cakery doesn’t want to tell me the rudest thing she has ever had to ice onto a cake. “It’s just so rude” she winced. … Read more
Nicky Elliott loves her daily commute from Wairarapa to Wellington. It’s the heart of her social life, and she’s already on to her second train husband. My train journeys started about nine years ago when my husband was offered a job in the Wairarapa. I didn’t even know where that was; I had married a … Read more
Martyn Pepperell talks to Alexander Green of Wellington electronica act Groeni about their new album, Nihx, and new sandwich and coffee shop, Good Boy. At the end of March, Groeni, the vocal electronica project of Wellington musicians Alexander Green, James Paul, and Mike Isaacs, released their debut album Nihx. Around the same time, Groeni members Green … Read more
A new Victoria University survey of Wellington employers reveals the importance of work experience – of any kind – when choosing from similarly qualified job candidates. It was a public sector manager who said it most starkly, summarising the views from many other fellow employers: “If I get a CV from somebody who hasn’t got … Read more
On Friday 20 April the doors to the Karori Plunket Creche will close to the last child, the last family, for the very last time. Angela Cuming spoke to Liz Taylor whose son Allan attends the creche. In March, Plunket announced Karori Plunket Creche’s closure, and took the $50,000 the community had fundraised and earmarked for renovations. … Read more