Posts by Andre
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
F them... Either give us a government-funded Te Papa or not... Wellingtonitis strikes again. "Nah, just keep the sheds". I thought it was April Fools or something. We want a $500 million edifice right nb
-
Think back to the 1990 Commonwealth Games fans swamping the city while the Round the World yachts sailed in. The whole town was a huge party. We certainly didn't need a $100,000,000 suck-up to the business interests surrounding the tourism or local government ministers at the time to keep the international guests interested. The most popular move at the time was the arrival of tuk-tuk's and rickshaws. The tourism industry is getting hundreds of millions in returns from the RWC anyway - maybe the overseas-owned cruise ship operators should pay for their new cruise ship centre in partnership with NZ.
I went to the 40 Below party. I thought I'd check National out and had a constructive conversation with Tim Groser for about an hour before I got a bit too drunk and left. Their moves to take over Auckland's local government and then privatise our infrastructure are going well. The new "Party Central" will be for sale in a couple of years along with the rest of the Ports of Auckland. We should build Otahuhu residents the $22.1 million swimming pool and library complex they have been waiting decades for instead. It would do more to solve the city's problems than a "party central" designed by John Key's mates ever could. -
I used to hang out there far too much. I flatted with Jmmy Joy and that's how I met Simon in1987. Jimmy dragged me up to The Playground and then Berlin and then The Siren - it was like the scene just jumped clubs every six months. Then I shifted into a flat downstairs from Sasi who worked on the door at the Siren and we'd go there almost every night. We'd head to Roma a bit too, but the scene that ran the first big dance parties really revolved around High Street. De Bretts Corner Bar was the focal point. I went to Christchurch for 3 years and met up with Fish when he was setting up the Worcester Bar at Noahs and saw Greg Churchill play his first gigs there. He's still awesome. Then i came back in 1991 and hung out at The Box and Cause Celebre almost every night until 1996, when I emigrated to Wellington. Squid and The Dragon Bar were the other clubs that drew similar punters. De Bretts was asset stripped by Ken Chambers and turned into a back packers and it was like the guts being ripped out of the scene. The Escape Club and Galatos both arrived with the latter bringing the scene to K Rd mirrored by clubs like Staircase. I'd go dancing at The Box for 6 hours and then stand outside to cool down and have these drunken rambling conversations with Simon, Soane & Tim until closing. On other nights we'd play pool and drink Kevin's cocktails while listening to Nathan & Joel. We smoked a lot of weed and took acid but it was a much different scene to today's. We'd go out and get wasted sometimes but never got wasted to go out. I saw Kevin a couple of years ago and he was running functions on a boat from Princes Wharf and looked happy, dapper and much the same. I first met him at Le Bom. He was a touch of class - as where all of the crew that worked at The Box & Cause Celebre BITD...
-
"I once had Murray Crane measure me for a suit. It was a horrible experience."
Poor old Murray… much maligned I’m sure, Rickai. He used to hang out with us at Limbos in ChCh in 1990 (he dated the pretty young girl who worked at the pharmacy on Cashel St) and then shifted up to work selling ads at Bfm. I bought my first suit off him when he was at Zambesi Men. He was the most dapper guy out in either city and not much has changed. He can be fantastically nice to you or extremely condescending, depending on the conditions. Maybe that’s just when he’s around me though…
"Conveniently, they have a branch in the semi-industrial no-man's-land between Porirua and Tawa. Not quite as extensive as the main shop in town, but quite a bit closer to Waikanae. I was in there this morning. But the Fresh in town is heaps better, especially since they remodelled."
Hey Mark. I went to the Porirua Moore Wilsons a lot when I lived in Paremata but it’s just not the same destination shopping experience as the one in town. It’s ok – but just average in comparison.
For all of you feijoa fans, how about the decision by producers to dump 3.6 miliion kilo of kiwifruit in May & June: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10565992
Go see your local grower today... -
Hi Sacha! Rofflenui to you too..
-
Moore Wilson is the best. I used to live in Waikanae and would drive into Wgtn every weekend to spoil myself rotten at Moore Wilson. You could get the best of the local producers all under one roof. A coffee on arrival from Havana or L'Affare. Fresh fruit and veges, Clearview Meats. Aro St Bakery. Cook Strait Seafoods. A florist. Kapiti Cheese. And then you could go next door to Gilmours-style bulk everything, including alcohol and then pop upstairs for housewares and toys and books. And they have a cooking school and creche. It's definitely the best in NZ. If I was feeling really good I'd go for broke and have brunch at Caffe L'Affare over the road first. Divine!
-
I think Glengarry still have the best range in the most places and they are competing on price with the supermarkets a bit now too. I went in and spotted a La Strada Pinot for $10.25 down from over $20 last week for example. And they've just re-launched their website last week as well. I go there for great quality wines and whisky. I quite like the fact that they don't sell cigarettes or Woodstock and their staff are knowledgable. For our company Xmas party we did a tasting in their cellar at the Jervois Rd store - great value. No charge for the space, just the product we were drinking and great nibbles delivered from Didas next door.
I buy inexpensive but great quaffing wine by the case from Liquor Box Wines - 0800 call4wine (2255494) or greg@liquorboxwine.co.nz. Their website will be up soon. I just got a case of Waiheke red for $100. We got a case of Cable Bay last year for $140 for example (about half price) - it's re-labelled but the corks said "Cable Bay". It's $67 a bottle at a restaurant!