Innholdsfortegnelse for 1732 i New Zealand Woman's Weekly

After a lifetime as a British national treasure, Dame Maggie Smith has opened up about her life in the spotlight – but has admitted the hit TV series Downton Abbey has destroyed her privacy. As the show’s matriarch Violet Crawley, the actress wowed fans around the world with her pithy put-downs and catty one-liners. But in a rare interview, Maggie says she has grown to resent her success in the series written by the renowned Lord Julian Fellowes. “I led a perfectly normal life until Downton Abbey,” says Maggie (82). “I used to go to galleries on my own but now I can’t. It’s awful. I had been working a long time before Downtown. Nobody knew who I was.” Maggie starred in every episode of the series but, in her…

JOHN HEARD 1946 - 2017 Tributes flowed last week for Home Alone actor John Heard who passed away in his hotel room, aged 71, in California. The star, who was best known for playing Macaulay Culkin’s dad in the hit family movies, died just days after minor back surgery. At press time, a cause of death hadn’t been established, though authorities say there’s no evidence of foul play. Former co-stars such as Jeff Bridges (67), Bette Midler (71), Elijah Wood (36) and Rob Lowe (53) were quick to pay tribute to the star on social media, with Jeff dubbing him a “wonderful actor”, while Bette expressed her sadness. “John Heard, with whom I worked on Beaches, has died, too soon,” wrote Bette. “I am so sorry. Without a doubt, one…

Fight off the cold and the bad weather with one of these style-conscious winter warmers. Whether you’re looking for something to wear to work or while out and about, these are the hottest solutions out there. Keep warm and chic. Weather beaters! RAINY-DAY STYLING • Protect yourself from the elements in this water and windproof jacket from EziBuy. It has an inner drawstring at the waist, snap domes and hood, and the ice-blue shade will brighten any day! • Wear with a pair of funky patterned Number One Shoes gumboots and this sequin penguin-embellished sweatshirt from French Connection. ISOBAR COAT $129.99 from EZIBUY. SWEATSHIRT $119.90 from FRENCH CONNECTION. LEGGINGS $89.99 from JACQUI E. EARRINGS $2.99 from LOVISA. GUMBOOTS $39.99 from NUMBER ONE SHOES. URBAN MILITARY • The problem with most…

This week’s model Cindy shares her beauty tips with us... Beauty-wise, do you feel more or less confident now than you did in your twenties? I feel more confident as a woman – you learn to focus on what really matters in life. What do you wish you could do more of in your beauty routine? More facials and learn to relax more. What’s your best anti-ageing tip? Eat a clean diet and exercise regularly. What do you think the secret is to ageing gracefully? Sleep is important, as is staying out of the sun. Which celebrity beauty do you most admire and why? Cindy Crawford. She is happy and healthy, and still looks amazing! Pretty in pink Thanks to the addition of frozen Italian mandarin, frosted cassis leaves and…

Getting a pet is not a decision to be made lightly. They can be noisy, smelly and disruptive, and leave hair all over the house. They can cost a small fortune in vet’s fees and restrict how often you can go away. But the benefits of having a pet outweigh the downsides. Here’s why: THEY’RE GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH A Cambridge University study found that owning a pet can lead to improvements in general health that can be seen in just one month. Pet owners suffer from fewer ailments such as headaches, colds and hayfever. Another study showed that people with pets have a better chance of avoiding a heart attack. They tend to have lower levels of cholesterol, triglycerides and blood pressure, which all play a part in heart…

Washing that has dried outside is lovely. But the sun really takes its toll on dark clothes. Here are some tips to keep your favourite items losing their colour. Back in black! You are tired of your washing fading when you hang it out in your sunny backyard, especially the dark colours. Is there anything that can be done about it? The most practical solution is to set up an alternative outside line out of the sun, or a clotheshorse or extra line in the basement or garage. Use it just for dark clothes you particularly don’t want to fade. Don’t forget the other drying hints for New Zealand UV conditions. Hang clothes inside out. Hang white items like sheets in between dark clothes and the sun. And don’t leave…

LEO Jul 24 – Aug 23 As much as you value your friends, it is important to open yourself up and make some new ones. There is something you are interested in, even though it means networking with a different group of people, but everyone is welcoming and helpful. This doesn’t mean you have to abandon your pals, but make time for new friendships. VIRGO Aug 24 – Sep 23 The people around you respect what you stand for. There will be a conversation where your thoughts and opinions will be listened to, valued and taken on board. It may surprise you how strongly people align with you, but it opens a way for you to be more expressive in the future. LIBRA Sep 24 – Oct 23 There is…

It may have taken place around 800 years ago but the love story of Heloise and Abelard has continued to fascinate ever since. I remember learning about them in medieval history lessons and so it was fascinating to read New Zealand writer Mandy Hager’s take on events in this fictionalised version of the lives of the legendary lovers. There is no doubt that she is Team Heloise. The story begins with her as a motherless girl living in rural France and being mistreated by the pig farmer’s wife who has been paid to care for her. Fortunately, Heloise’s brother Fulbert rides to her rescue and takes her to live in safety with the nuns at the great abbey of Argenteuil. There, finding a library and a teacher, she embarks on…

Every year it gets to be the end of the New Zealand International Film Festival and I have the same big regret: not buying more tickets. Yes, it’s due to that fear I’ve missed something gr eat, but if I’m totally honest I’m disappointed that I’ve missed another opportunity to visit the grand old Civic Theatre. Every time I walk up those winding stair cases, I’m taken back to my childhood, all dressed up to go to a play with Mum, while I listen to her tell me what it was like to visit the theatre back when she was just a child herself. And if the play or the movie is rubbish, I can happily spend the time just looking around at the panthers, all those intricate turrets and…

According to the man who was once one of Diana’s closest confidants, William and Harry are to be applauded for speaking out about their mum. Paul Burrell, who was Diana’s butler and good friend, says he was moved by the documentary because it was so “candid, honest and raw. I want to say well done to the boys, they are a credit to their mother.” The princes haven’t spoken to Paul since he released a memoir about his time working for their mother, but the butler, who can be seen in the background is some of the clips from the film, says he’s proud of William and Harry, who learned important lessons from Diana. “She instilled in them her ideals, hopes and dreams. That’s what this programme is about. She…

 “ I was dux of Rotorua Girls’ High School in 1971 and then went on to study at the University of Auckland. No-one in my family had been to university, which was a blessing because it meant there were no expectations about what was possible or reasonable to do! ‘The belief that you need less sleep as you get older is not true’ I became interested in chronobiology, which is about rhythms in the body, at a very early stage when I was doing a second year zoology paper. I remember one of the senior professors, when I decided to do my Masters in it, calling it a ‘lunatic fringe discipline’ and that it was the waste of a good student. It was considered a very niche field 30 years…

Floral fling It’s technically still winter but spring collections are arriving in stores and they’ll have you dreaming of the warmer weather. Try Madly Sweetly’s Dime a 12 bomber jacket with a denim chambray backing and gorgeous floral panels, or Max’s moodier floral print Freya flared dress – simply wear it with tights and boots until the weather breaks. Alternatively, Ketz-ke’s La Vita top with its botanical print and ruffle details makes it the ideal piece for dressing up or down. Mood adjusters One of these trans-seasonal scarves will lighten your mood and your wardrobe, and carry you through the next couple of months. Shine bright Patents and metallics are a perfect textural foil to add sheen to your ensemble. From Ziera’s patent Mary-Jane style shoe, this funky silver bag…

How to stop using plastic shopping bags, whip up a soothing winter lip balm to prevent chapped lips and using essential oils to deter ants. Change your habits! REUSE AND RECYCLE A new study has found that two-thirds of Kiwis support a plastic bag levy and the government is now being pressed to take action. Industry-led recycling initiatives, such as the Soft Plastic Packaging Recycling Scheme, collected only 2% of the 1.6 billion plastic bags coming into the country each year. I am as guilty as anyone of turning up at the shops without my reusable bags, so here are some tips: 1 Keep a store of reusable bags in the boot of your car at all times. 2 Set aside part of your boot permanently for your shopping by…

‘When I was a kid, tamarillos were called tree tomatoes’ When you live with a partner who works as a landscaper, plants are sometimes forced upon you. Read griselinia, ligularia, cannas, renga renga... But the Partner cannot be blamed for the latest addition to our garden, which is an interloper that simply arrived under its own steam. Sort of admirable! There’s been this rather triffid-like plant growing in the Partner’s favourite garden for a while now and we’ve both been rather tempted to yank it out. It has massive gnarly leaves, it looks quite subtropical, and we can both imagine it growing as big as a eucalyptus and becoming the Partner’s worst nightmare. I’ve not had time to conduct a serious investigation into its lineage, but an old friend who…

A hot, steamy bath is great for congestion. Add bath salts and essential oils, and you have a wonderful home remedy for colds and flu this winter. Breathe deeply! You will need • Large bowl and whisk • 500g Epsom salts • 500g rock salt • 250g baking soda • Few drops of food colouring • 20 drops each of eucalyptus and peppermint essential oils 1 Place Epsom salts, rock salt and baking soda in the bowl and mix well. 2 Add a few drops of food colouring and mix well. There may be a few small bits of darker colour, but these will slowly disappear as you mix. 3 Sprinkle the essential oils over the top and mix well. Store in an airtight container. Add ¼-½ a cup to…

Hedda the editor The reprint of a 1948 editorial by Hedda Dyson (03.07.17) was a fascinating report on the unequal pay situation back then, which still prevails almost 70 years on. This early editor of the Weeklywas a feisty lady! I applaud her comments regarding gender equality, which “certainly does not mean that the only solution is a career... Rather, it means finding a way to contribute something to the community personally, instead of through her husband.“ However, these days it is often an economic necessity for women to work – and the work should be paid at a fair rate. I’m not so sure about Hedda’s other theory, according to her great-nephew Tim Shadbolt, who says, “She decided that childbirth was sort of a misogynist plot.” No, Hedda, the…

Wine writer Yvonne Lorkin is the host of TV3’s Thirsty Work and the co-founder of delivery service WineFriend. My favourite book ever is… That’s tough because I can’t decide whether to choose the entire Footrot Flats collection or The Ascent of Man by Jacob Bronowski because I spent my whole childhood poring over them. My book of the moment is… Room by Emma Donoghue. It was released seven years ago but I resisted the hype because I wanted to read it when things were less electric. It is probably the most powerful depiction of a mother’s love and sheer determination to survive that I have experienced in modern literature.…

I’m thinking of writing a script for a movie I’m calling Finding Kay. It’s about a columnist in a popular women’s magazine who loses his longtime hairdresser when he moves to another city. Then, when he moves back to his old city and goes looking for her, the hairdresser isn’t where she used to be. He can’t find her. He’s distressed. His hair hasn’t been the same since he lost her. He writes a column about it and one of his readers replies and, even though the only clue he’d given was that the lost hairdresser’s name was Kay, the marvellous reader has a phone number and a name for the salon Kay’s working at now. The columnist rings the salon, Kay answers, sounding like she was expecting to hear…

She’s been single since her high-profile romance with Australian cricketer Shane Warne ended in 2015, but it seems Elizabeth Hurley (52) has found a new man! The actress was spotted boarding a private jet in Italy with music producer David Foster (67), following a loved-up holiday on a superyacht off the coast of Sardinia. While there’s been no confirmation of a new romance, the pair shared strikingly similar photos on their Instagram accounts of their luxurious vacation, which certainly appear to be taken on the same boat. David, a Canadian famous for producing artists such as Andrea Bocelli, Michael Buble, Celine Dion and Rod Stewart, among others, is the ex-husband of Dutch-American reality television personality Yolanda Hadid (53), who is the mother of supermodels Gigi Hadid (22) and her sister…

‘The two of us were bouncing between the two. We probably never saw our mother enough, or our father enough’ Among the personal details William and Harry shared about their mum was the heartbreaking revelation that they rushed a phone call with Diana on the day she died, not realising it would be the last time they would ever speak to her. The pair were at Balmoral with the rest of the royal family when Diana rang them from Paris, where she was on holiday with Dodi Fayed. “Harry and I were running around, playing with our cousins and having a very good time,” William recalls in the documentary. He cut the conversation short because he wanted to get back to the games. “If I’d known what would happen, I…

For Charlize Theron, life has always been a balance of living without regrets, while taking as many risks as she can. The stunning South African actress has adopted two children, Jackson (6) and two-year-old August, as a single mum and has taken on roles other actresses would baulk at – who can forget her turn as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster? Now, fed up with the lack of action-based lead parts for women in Hollywood, she has started producing them herself. Her latest project, playing a Cold War-era MI6 agent named Lorraine in Atomic Blonde, is a case in point. It took more than five years to get off the ground and it’s perhaps her boldest role yet. “We women are more capable than we are portrayed to be…

I love a sweet slice! In these variations, I’ve combined flavours I adore – raspberry and chocolate, and banana and caramel. I’ve also thought about texture – these all have just the right amount of gooeyness, crispiness and chewiness. Made the cut! Chocolate & raspberry slice MAKES 20-24 pieces This slice is so simple! I love the pop of flavour and texture the raspberries give each piece. In the middle of winter, you can still get a taste of the summer berry season! BASE 180g butter 2 tbsp golden syrup 150g brown sugar (about 1 cup, loosely packed) 2 cups oats 1 cup wholemeal flour (plain can be used) 1 cup desiccated coconut 3 heaped tbsp cocoa 2 tsp baking powder TOPPING 3 tbsp butter 1½ cups icing sugar 1…

Natural health in a jar T’he Collective has increased its artisanal yoghurt range by two new flavours, Mango and Passionfruit. To make its silky, thick yoghurt, The Collective adds active cultures to freshly warmed milk and leaves it to work its magic. The fruit compote at the bottom of each pot makes it a real treat. Available nationwide, RRP $5.99 for a 450g tub. MUSHROOM MAGIC Meadow Mushrooms’ winter warmers is a range of packaged mushrooms, labelled so you know the best way to use them: Soup is sliced white buttons, Casserole is baby Portobellos, and Pie is white buttons. Try sautéing in butter for 10 minutes, season and add chopped parsley, chervil, dill marjoram, basil or tarragon. Serve on toast. For creamy mushrooms, add a few tablespoons of crème…

From cleanser and face cream to body moisturiser and hand cream, this week we selected some winter essentials to boost our head-to-toe winter routine without blowing the budget. Supermarket steals! EYES Natural Instinct Dark Circle + Wrinkle Correction Eye Creme, $22.99 They say: Hydrates and plumps the delicate layers of skin around the eyes, and helps promote skin renewal. We say: Has a beautiful, silky consistency that has the perfect balance of feeling richly hydrating without feeling heavy and greasy. Sits really well under make-up. CLEANSER Goodness Break-up Make-up Balm, $19.99 They say: Removes all sorts of make-up (even waterproof) with the goodness of chia seed, coconut and avocado oils. Your skin will be oh-so clean and super-soft. We say: Massage it over dry skin and remove with a warm…

Birthmarks are very common and come in all shapes and sizes. The good news is they are not usually dangerous and seldom need treatment. But if they change shape or cause concern, see your doctor. On your mark! Birthmarks can in some cases be unsightly, but are they bad for you? WHAT ARE THEY? They are coloured skin spots that are present at birth or can develop later on. There are two main types. Vascular birthmarks are associated with blood vessels and tend to be pink, purple or red coloured. They may also be raised above the skin’s surface. Pigmented birthmarks are on the surface of the skin and usually brown, black or bluish-gray in colour. WHAT CAUSES THEM? Nobody knows. It is thought that they result from an overgrowth…

It’s easy to get a rush of blood to the head and decide to take all your old garden junk to the dump. But don’t be too hasty. This ancient concrete cat, whose ears have long since gone missing, has been in my junk pile many a time and every time I’ve taken him out and found a new use for him. After a stint as an elegant, gold-sprayed cat in a shallow basin of blonde carex, he was relegated back to the junk pile, only to be reincarnated as the guardian of the herb garden, in classic silver. And this little chap has probably sat on every rock in the garden. As plants grow and he becomes overgrown, he’s simply moved to a new spot with a different outlook.…

WASH-DAY BLUES My three-year-old grandaughter was staying with me for the weekend. It was a beautiful sunny day, so I stripped my bed and washed the sheets. She came into the bedroom and asked what I was doing. When I told her I had taken the sheets off to wash them, she asked innocently, “Oh, did you wet the bed like me, Nana?“ DP, Te Aroha SPACE AGE On a bus one day, I overheard two 10-year-old boys arguing about how far India was from New Zealand. One said 2000 miles, the other said 3000. Then a little boy, obviously a younger brother of one of them, spoke up in a proud voice, “Can’t be very far away cos we have an Indian boy in our class and he goes…

What about Diana? I see that Camilla is now almost a saint in the public eye, according to the Weekly’s view (24.07.17), but I don’t think so. I really liked Diana and feel she didn’t deserve her treatment from Camilla, who should have stepped out of the picture and not continued her affair under Diana’s nose. During the honeymoon, Charles and Camilla were in constant contact and his wife even asked her to leave him alone. People forget Diana was a young girl and this older woman was intruding on her happiness. Neither Charles nor Camilla had any intention of ending their affair once he married. When I see photos of her and Charles, it makes me sad – it should still have been Diana beside him. Now, of course,…

Based on the Kapiti Coast, she’s best known for writing young adult fiction. She’s the sister of investigative writer Nicky Hager. I’m fascinated by the story of Heloise and Abelard because… ”Of Heloise. Her letters display such a bright and vibrant mind, so very modern for her day. I wanted to understand why she would continue to love Abelard despite all the terrible things that happened to her as a result of meeting him.” The biggest challenges of writing this book were… ”Trying to put aside my 21st century feminist opinions and dig into the mind of a woman from so long ago, with such different pressures and restraints on her. Also, the sheer volume of research. Lastly, trying to find a way of telling it that felt authentic to…

The 20th anniversary of Diana’s death is a month away and the tributes have already begun. Like most of you, I know exactly where I was when I heard the news. I was filming a cooking show for TV3 and we were in a demonstration kitchen in central Auckland. There was a break in filming so I rang to see how my daughter was – she and her dad were spending the day together. Kate sounded very chirpy when I spoke to her. She told me she’d been to the park and then she and her dad had gone to a pet shop and had bought a guinea pig she was going to call Max. “But I didn’t think Dad had any garden at his place,” I said. “He doesn’t,”…

It was easy to see Charlene, Princess of Monaco (39) was in her element on the sporting stage as she presented medals at the Diamond League series in the tiny principality. A former champion swimmer for South Africa, Charlene was getting stuck in with her husband Prince Albert II and the rest of the crowd, cheering for her fellow countryman Wayde van Niekerk (25), who won the 400m. She later took joy in presenting him with the gold medal. Prince Albert (59) spoke about the difficulty Charlene faced with media scrutiny early in the couple’s relationship, as he shared a few words of advice for Prince Harry (32) and actress girlfriend Meghan Markle (35). “It was difficult for Charlene to handle,” he admits. “I can’t imagine the difference now with…

When Mum’s away, it’s Dad’s turn to play! While Sarah Jessica Parker (52) filmed up a storm in New York shooting scenes for her new movie, Best Day of My Life, it was daddy daycare time for her husband Matthew Broderick (55). The Ferris Bueller’s Day Off star was spotted enjoying some quality time with his seven-year-old twin daughters Tabitha and Marion in The Hamptons. The trio, who who were also without older brother James (14), were seen leaving a gourmet supermarket. And aren’t they growing up fast! Almost two hours away, Sarah Jessica, who was sporting a new short, blonde hairdo, filmed her part for the upcoming romantic drama, which also stars Renée Zellweger (48) and Isabella Rossellini (65).…