Dinner at Giddy-Up

The Wellingtonista got invited along to try out some of the dishes and have a beer at the Giddy-Up Mussel Bar, tucked away on Manners Street opposite Arty Bees bookshop. It sounded like a nice place to try out for a Friday evening dinner, so I took up the invitation and went there with my […]

Preview: Some shows on at BATS Theatre this week

PlatonicRomantic Featuring lead vocalist Moana Ete, and accompanied by the rhythm section of Slade Butler and Marcus Gurtner  A Girl Named Mo debuted ‘Mud & Stardust‘ during Fly my Pretties’ August shows. A cool mix of R&B + electronic and one of the prettiest songs I’ve listened to for a while. Each performance will be […]

Preview: New Zealand Improv Festival

The New Zealand Improv Festival is at BATS Theatre all this week. See some of the country’s best practitioners and companies in unscripted theatre that’s devised before your face. That’s right – no scripts, no set plays. Here’s how it works – each show will have a frame for the show the improvisers will create.  […]

Review: Vanilla Miraka

Performer Hayley Sproull tells her story of a “white wahine’s deeply disengaged bicultural heritage”. Recognising that her Nana’s death meant a loss of connection to her Māori heritage this is a “comedic exploration of her embarrassed ignorance.” (Quotes from the programme.) An elegant set in white pegboard – on one side a whare shape, on […]

Review: The grass is meaner

Alec and Mary McPherson run a little cafe in scenic New Zealand called House of Mince. Mary is a little tired of the monotony of their life but she’s happy enough. Then a man known as Donkey Boy visits London-based crime lord Vic Snow, and Alec and Mary’s lives won’t be the same. Written by […]

A room with a (typically Wellington) view.

A night at the Bolton Hotel

Back in August, our editor Jo attended the Bolton Hotel‘s Wellington on a Plate event and enjoyed it mightily. In the ensuing interplay on Twitter, the Hotel invited one of us to stay the night so that we could experience their hospitality more fully. I quickly took up the offer on the behalf of the […]

We hear from some of the 2016 candidates in the local body election

So, we asked some questions. And we hoped that candidates would get in touch with us. In previous years, we’d obtained a spreadsheet of every single candidate and emailed them, and frankly, working as a group, it was a bloody lot of work getting their answers back, trying to hunt them down, trying to make […]

Candidates 2016: Justin Lester for Mayor

1. What should the council’s role be in creating affordable housing? WCC is the country’s second largest landlord. We’ve got decades of experience in providing affordable housing. I firmly believe there’s a role for WCC to… 2. What one project for Wellington have you been most active on so far? Over the past 6 years […]

Candidates 2016: Diane Calvert for Onslow-Western Ward

1. What should the council’s role be in creating affordable housing? Streamline consenting process. Open up new land with available public transport links. Support public/private partnerships for new development. Support social housing 2. What one project for Wellington have you been most active on so far? I brought my local community together in 2015 so […]

Candidates 2016: Troy Mihaka for Lambton Ward

We asked the questions, they answered. 1. What should the council’s role be in creating affordable housing? Wellington City Council needs to work with developers to create more through a combination of intensification in our inner-city and opening land for development. 2. What one project for Wellington have you been most active on so far? […]