Get your togs on: LifeStyles Hanmer

It’s swimwear season, and one bathing suit just isn’t going to be enough. Just like other types of clothing, different swimsuits are needed for different situations. For example, if you do a lot of active swimming for exercise, then you need chlorine-resistant swimwear specifically for that. After all, you wouldn’t wear a party […]

Homegrown fashion

Christchurch’s inaugural Spring Fashion Festival just wrapped. It wouldn’t be a fashion week without a trend report, writes Metropol editor Nina Tucker. In its three days of glory, the festival uplevelled our city’s sartorial spirit. If not for the energised street style I witnessed on the ground, it left inspiration for the art […]

Sir Dave Dobbyn: Selected Songs

Sir Dave Dobbyn – Selected Songs At the Christchurch Town Hall Auditorium, 9 November 2025 Reviewed by Ian Knott. Photo credit: George Thomson / Live Nation Aotearoa – @Georgetommo / @livenationaotearoa When it comes to New Zealand music legends, few come bigger than the somewhat ironically diminutive Sir Dave Dobbyn. With a career […]

Matilda’s mental health movement

On 29 November at Rolleston’s Foster Park, Matilda Green will be one of thousands attempting to break the world record for the largest high intensity interval training (HIIT) class ever – raising awareness and funds for mental health. The media personality talks to Metropol editor Nina Tucker about HIIT for Hope, motherhood, and […]

Afterlife hotline. Inside the life of a Kiwi psychic medium.

With a two-year waiting list, Rangiora-based Jacqueline Mitchell is one of New Zealand’s most in-demand psychic mediums. She talks to deputy editor Tamara Pitelen about life with dead people. I have a ghost in my house. This didn’t come as a big shock, to be honest. Weird things have been happening since we […]

Magic slice

An easy and delicious slice from the gorgeous new Beautiful Baking book by Sue Heazlewood. INGREDIENTS Makes 16 pieces 250g plain biscuits, blitzed 170g butter, melted 1 cup chocolate chips 1 cup dessicated coconut 1 cup dried cranberries 3/4 cup slivered almonds 395g can sweetened condensed milk METHOD Preheat the oven to 190°C […]