Kerry Prendergast answers our questions
Thanks to Kerry for sending in her answers to our questions. As you can see, we were serious about only publishing 25 word answers.
1. You have 30 seconds to convince someone to come to Wellington. What’s your pitch?
We have it all – great food, great recreation and art, and great nightlife. It’s the cultural hub of New Zealand. 93% of Wellingtonians rate our…
2. How do you think traffic flow to the hospital and airport could be improved?
We need to complete our planning for and implement a rapid transport system on dedicated lanes from the Railway station to the Airport and the…
3. Where do you stand on the issue of opening up government data?
It’s important to understand it isn’t the Council’s job to deal with Government data. I have always taken the view that the majority of local…
4. What plans have do you have to improve recycling/composting facilities?
We recently announced a new recycling contract which will see Wellingtonians continuing to use their current green bins (used by 85% of residents) but with improved…
5. What is your policy on street alcoholics?
We need to provide care and shelter for these people and I support the Night Shelter. I drove a Mayoral Taskforce on this issue which…
6. Do you support pedestrianisation of the Golden Mile Why/Why not?
This is and should remain the pre-eminent public transport artery, along with service vehicles and taxis. It is a narrow portion of Wellington CBD and…
7. What’s the last local market you went to? What did you buy?
Chaffers market last weekend. I tend to buy the fresh veges, cheese, oil, bread, and fresh fish from Yellow Brick Road Distributors. No matter how…
Al Mansell answers our questions
Thanks to mayoral candidate Al Mansell for taking the time to answer our questions too.
1. You have 30 seconds to convince someone to come to Wellington. What’s your pitch?
If they don’t know how grouse Wellington, is, maybe they’re not the sort of people we want. Pay more attention.
2. How do you think traffic flow to the hospital and airport could be improved?
Make the buses and trains free. Extend the Johnsonville line through Newtown to the Airport.
3. Where do you stand on the issue of opening up government data?
Government communication, and legislation, needs to be in plain english. That’s the biggest obstacle to openness.
4. What plans have do you have to improve recycling/composting facilities?
Introduce composting scheme for inner-city businesses. Promote communal resources, to reduce resource use.
5. What is your policy on street alcoholics?
Support a wet house in the city. We don’t need liquor bans; police already have powers to arrest people if they are being offensive/violent.
6. Do you support pedestrianisation of the Golden Mile? Why/Why not?
Yes. Move the buses to Jervois Quay. Use human/electric three-wheelers to link to the bus routes and to car parks.
7. What’s the last local market you went to? What did you buy?
Willis st market- peanut brittle. It’s my one weakness. Well, that, and methamphetamine.
8. Describe your bicycle, or your favourite bus route?
A red giant. Stolen from Wakefield st while I was dangling off the supreme court. I will find it, and I will have my revenge.
Celia Wade-Brown answers the questions
Yay, we have our first response! Thanks to Celia Wade-Brown for her answers to our questions.
1. You have 30 seconds to convince someone to come to Wellington. What’s your pitch?
Wild nature close to cosmopolitan centre! Kayak with dolphins, buy eco-fashion, eat fresh seafood, drink Fairtrade coffee and see brilliant exhibitions and inspiring theatre.
2. How do you think traffic flow to the hospital and airport could be improved?
Light rail (modern trams), flexible office hours, travel plan for hospital day shift, safer cycling, bus priority lanes, tradespeople parking permits, downtown airport check-in.
3. Where do you stand on the issue of opening up government data?
Share GIS layers between Councils, DoC, NIWA and make public. Most Council decisions and data must be open while also respecting individual privacy.
4. What plans have do you have to improve recycling/composting facilities?
Recycling wheeli-bins for plastic, paper and tins. Green bins for glass. More NZ recycling. Home compost bins, Bokashi for apartments and Kai2Compost for cafes.
5. What is your policy on street alcoholics?
Support wet house, DHB investment in treatment facilities. Look at root causes for people feeling despair, violence and alienation. Limited liquor ban not city-wide.
6. Do you support pedestrianisation of the Golden Mile? Why/Why not?
Public transport essential for workers and shoppers. Car-free peak hour bus priority then light rail. Bikes, pedestrians, street trees coexisting with good public transport.
We will ask the questions!
Now that we have a definitive list of mayoral candidates, we thought it was time we send them some of the questions we’d crowdsourced over Twitter ages ago. So I just sent out this list of questions. We’ll print replies verbatim, cutting off answers at 25 words for the sake of brevity as they come in.
1. You have 30 seconds to convince someone to come to Wellington. What’s your pitch?
2. How do you think traffic flow to the hospital and airport could be improved?
3. Where do you stand on the issue of opening up government data?
4. What plans have do you have to improve recycling/composting facilities?
5. What is your policy on street alcoholics?
6. Do you support pedestrianisation of the Golden Mile? Why/Why not?
7. What’s the last local market you went to? What did you buy?
8. Describe your bicycle, or your favourite bus route?
9. When did you last use the library, a community centre, or a council-run sports facility?
10. Would you welcome a central government driven "super-city" amalgamation of local authorities? If not, why not?
11. Do you think the council has a role in fostering community websites? If so, how?
12. Where do you stand on water privitisation, and why?
13. What city overseas inspires your vision for Wellington? How?
14. Is the concept of democratic representation important to you? How so?
15. What do you think about commuunity gardens on public land?
The Princess and the Sausage
Most "pop-up shops" emerge in vacant retail spaces, but The Princess’ Bedroom was different: the shop itself popped up, in the form of a brightly-painted caravan in a gravelly old Ghuznee St carpark. Now it has company, in the form of a "Sausage Sizzle" caravan in the adjacent parking space, serving an odd combination of Kiwiana sausage sarnies, tempura vegetables and hearty soups & stews.
Neither this caravan nor its girlier neighbour fit in with the emerging highbrow designer vibe across the street (Milk Crate, Quilters, Customs and Bowen Galleries), but it sure beats a puddle-ridden carpark. Perhaps we’ll see more of this caravan urbanism setting up temporary shop in vacant spaces until we crawl our way out of the recession, and it looks like a cheap and flexible way for small businesses to get up & running in the gaps and fringes of the city.
WOP Review: the $35 lunch at Foxglove
Sometime last week I took my sister to lunch at Foxglove. We both started with the caramelised onion soup in a cob bowl with gruyere cheese and white truffle, which was less liquid than we expected, but it was delicious. Just look at it:
It was pretty filling just by itself, so I was anticipating a small portion for my main. Instead, I got two glorious bits of beer battered market fish with green pea gribiche (which is pretty much just tartar sauce) AND then they brought out fries and salad to go with it. Yum!
My sister, meanwhile, had confit chicken leg with crayfish ravioli and mushroom cream.
What I tried of it was tasty, with a surprise citrus zing. Our Magrain Sav was delicious as well, full size portions served in full size glasses (take note, Finc!). Service was great, until we tried to pay, and were left floundering for about ten minutes while we were also waiting for our coffees to go, because lunch had taken about an hour and twenty minutes. Others have complained that the ferns by the door are smelly, but we were on the other side of the restaurant so we didn’t notice. Based on the quality of the food, and the generous servings of it, I would definitely return to Foxglove, as long as I had plenty of time to spare.
Capital Fetish Ball
Once again, we are leaving it waaaaaaay late to let you know about an upcoming event. In this case, it’s the Capital Fetish Ball:
Wellington’s very own fetish ball will be a feast of flesh and fantasy. Expect wild performances, sassy spectacles, and Las Vegas grade entertainment.
Costumes are a must, so we suggest checking out Wildilocks at 225 Cuba Street to get yourself a corset or something similar…
WOP: Cupcakes and Cocktails
On Monday night my sister and I went to our first Wellington on a Plate event – the way sold-out (they added a couple more sessions even) Cupcakes and Cocktails at Martha’s Pantry. Given that neither of us is a slouch in the kitchen or bar, we weren’t sure how much we’d actually learn from the event, but since cupcakes and cocktails are two of our favourite things, we thought we’d give it a go. And when we walked in the door and saw that the McKenzie brothers were doing the mixing, we knew we were in safe hands.
I figure I’ll do this post basically just a series of cupcake porn photos. You don’t mind, do you? Good.
This was what was waiting for each of us at the tables – sandwiches to nibble on, cupcakes, icing and the cupcake recipe. We were also given Winter Pimms Punch to drink.
We had a couple of demonstrations about different ways to pipe, and were let loose on our own cocktails.
You can see here that we had varying techniques and levels of success with that.
Then, before too much icing could accidently end up in our mouths, Justin McKenzie, wearing one blue glove that was kind of creepy let us in on the magic formula for cocktails: two parts strong, one part sweet, one part sour. It’s so simple, I wasted all that money in Hooch and Hawthorne and Cuckoo for nothing!
Soup & A Seat
Today’s soup is Minestrone and today’s film is Nude Zealand
Soup & a Seat for $8!
Need I say more?
Nude Zealand (New Zealand, 1999)
Ninox Films, Exempt, 45 minutesA series of frank interviews with various New Zealand naturists, exploring their many and varied motivations for following the clothes-free lifestyle.
Originally screened in Prime Time on TV3, Nude Zealand manages to avoid many of the clichés and much of the innuendo that so frequently goes hand-in-hand with documentaries on naturism.
Nude Zealand talks to members of Naturist clubs and the documentary crew is on hand when Christchurch firefighters pay a visit to a local club, some of whom are making tentative steps towards life ‘in the buck’.
Nude Zealand also looks back to the first NZ nudist club, established in 1933. Warning: (not surprisingly) CONTAINS NUDITY.
WOP Review: the $25 lunch at Finc
For my first Wellington on a Plate meal deal, I decided to go to Finc, with the delightful company of a friend I’d just seen killed twice on Saturday night. People have differing opinions about Finc, but for myself, I’ve always found it great in the evenings and very average at lunchtimes. For pork belly, I would take the plunge.