Her home, her castle: Q&A with Dot Smith
As a child, she dreamed of living in her very own castle. Some fifty plus years later, after decades of hard toil, Dot Smith, Queen of Riverstone Castle in Oamaru, finally realised that dream. When did you decide to fulfil your childhood dream of having your own castle? The day I turned […]
Going Dutch
If you’re all about comfort and cosiness, then congratulations, for your beautiful compulsion has a name – Gezellig. Pronounced heh-SELL-ick, gezellig is a Dutch word that, though nearly impossible to translate literally into English, best expresses the very quintessence of Dutch culture. Nobody does warm and welcoming, cosy and inviting quite like the […]
Jody Direen Our Country Queen
Shania Twain might have been her idol, but it was all down to her grandmother that New Zealand’s reigning Queen of Country, Jody Direen, is where she is today. “Grandma was very musical. She’d bring her guitar whenever she came to visit; I’d try to wrap my hands around it to strum a […]
A fabulous fundraiser!
What ho, ladies and gentlemen! One of the most prestigious events of the year is but two days away – A Day at the Polo! Presented by Ronald McDonald House South Island and the Port Hills Polo Club, partnered with Lion, Continental Event Hire and Lincoln University, A Day at the Polo features […]
Consummate in his Craft: Joe Bennett
Metropol catches up with one of New Zealand’s most prolific and successful writers about putting pen to paper. It was in a cricket pavilion in Cheltenham that Joe Bennett wrote a letter in brown ink on pink notepaper to a school in New Zealand. Fed up with his teaching job and having just suffered […]
Promenade in Pink! 2018 Breast Cancer Foundation NZ Pink Star Walk
Should you see a sea of pink moving through North Hagley Park the evening of 10 November, you’re not hallucinating; you’re witnessing the wonderful walkers of the 2018 Breast Cancer Foundation NZ Pink Star Walk. The annual Breast Cancer Foundation NZ (BCFNZ) fundraiser is a walk for everybody (no age restriction); it’s non-competitive, […]
Walk with me: Mental Health Awareness Week
Jessica Finnigan is an awesome woman preparing to embark on an awesome journey. On 1 October, Jessica and her two sons commence their 12 day walk from Christchurch to Wellington in memory of lives lost to mental illness and those still struggling today with mental health issues. The walk coincides with Mental Health […]
Gardens for Tomorrow: Win with Metropol
Gardeners are endearing optimists. Frosts herald blue skies and sunny days, and there’s no such thing as a depressing winter garden when, already, jonquils are scenting the air and daphne buds are soon to flower. Gardeners don’t live for today; they’re too busy dreaming of tomorrow, and the tomorrow after that. One event that […]
Making Dreams Happen
Never tell huge-hearted philanthropist Scott Gilmour that disadvantaged kids can’t dream, for he has a beautiful story; it goes something like this: Southland-raised Scott was working for Intel in Portland, Oregon when he spied a newspaper article one morning that changed his life. It was about New York’s I Have A Dream Foundation and its […]
‘Dcypher-ing’ Lyttelton’s story: murals that speaks for the community
Locals and visitors to Lyttelton’s Oxford Street Reserve have plenty to feast their eyes upon as they take in the stunning and spectacular murals at the revamped skate park and playground. Completed last month, the murals, which took around two weeks of labour intensive painting, are by Los Angeles-based Christchurch artist Dcypher, also known as […]