You had me at cake: Deputy Editor Tamara Pitelen
You can feel it in the air, can’t you?
I don’t know about you but the arguably unseasonal snowfall we had recently had me digging electric blankets and merino wool jumpers out from the loft a little earlier than usual. It excited the skiers and snowboarders, though, and Hanmer Springs Ski Area wasted no time in being the first ski field to open in 2026 when it welcomed people to the slopes on 25 April, a good two months before local ski fields opened last year.
What does it all mean? I don’t know, but it allows me to make a clumsy segue into this issue of Metropol because you’ll find quite a lot about keeping warm and cosy with wool in these pages. Once the backbone of our economy and still our most sustainable and favourite fibre, wool is enjoying a resurgence of popularity. We reveal how you can wear it, walk on it, sleep on it, and more.
As well as wool, we are doubling down on Mother’s Day in this issue. For me, that’s about using my mum as an excuse for heading off to a posh high tea of scones warm from the oven, slathered in jam and cream and those triple-tiered towers of cake plates laden with exquisite bite-sized delights. ‘Another salted caramel macaron? Oh, I shouldn’t but go on then…’ If you’re really out to impress mum, though, see the recipes we’ve got for you on pages 32 and 33 for a classic sponge and a banana miso caramel cake. Don your apron, channel your inner Nadia Lim or Jo Seagar and get your baking on. Even though, around my house, I’m more known for my appreciation of cakes than their creation, I’ll be giving the mouthwatering sponge cake pictured on our cover my best try… if you do too, take a photo and share it with us on socials, tag us on Facebook @metropolmagazinecanterbury. I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.
Also in this issue, we have interviews with comedian David Correos and Move it Mama founder Lisa Fong. You might have seen David on the Burger King ads, Taskmaster New Zealand, and right now Celebrity Treasure Island, but did you know he grew up in Lyttelton and got his start from hanging out at the magic shop that used to be in the CBD?
As for Lisa Fong, whose online platform is about fitness for mothers, have the tissues handy. Hers is an incredible story of triumph and tragedy but mostly of resilience and love.
Kia mahana, kia atawhai ki te tangata, ā, kia kai i te keke (stay warm, be kind and eat cake).
