Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 48, 2021 i New Zealand Woman's Weekly

Her on-screen character Carla Connor has been married five times – including twice to the same guy – but Coronation Street star Alison King has never made it down the aisle herself. And now it looks like it will be a while before she gets to the altar, with her plans to wed fiancé David Stuckey on hold due to Covid-19. Alison, 48, is gutted she’s had to postpone the Greek wedding she and David had organised, but is hopeful she’ll finally get to say “I do” next year. It has taken her a long time to be ready to make the commitment to marriage – two previous engagements were called off – and Alison says when they met in 2018, she and IT salesman David were on the same…

There are class photos and report cards, time-out areas and different school houses based on temperament. The “kids” are of the four-legged variety, however, and their school, Barkley Manor, isn’t run by some strict headmistress, but rather the vivacious Krista Strong, who considers herself “their mad surrogate mum slash teacher”. The English ex-pat moved to New Zealand 20 years ago and set up the luxury doggy daycare in central Auckland. She’s now starring in new local series Barkley Manor, which chronicles the life and times of the hundreds of dogs – and their adoring owners – in her care. It’s a huge career change for Krista, 52, who in a previous life worked in commercial media and once launched an internet business with British What Not to Wear presenters Trinny…

Do you want to write a short story or novel but don’t know how to go about it? Here are some pointers: Your inspiration could come from your family, pets, a piece of history or a newspaper article. When you have your idea, write the first draft and don’t look back. Just get it down! Yes, it will have mistakes, but you need tto make sure the sstructure works before proceeding. It’s like building a house and eensuring you have good foundations and a solid framework before decorating. On your second draft, consider plot, character, theme, style and setting. Redraft as many times as necessary before proofreading carefully. Ready to publish? Go to https://publishers.org. nz/members/ to see who publishes what in New Zealand. If they look a good fit for your…

Tray bake Greek-style chicken PREPARATION TIME 10 MINS COOKING TIME 45 MINS SERVES 4-6 4 chicken thigh cutlets, skin on 4 chicken drumsticks 2 red onions, cut into thin wedges 1 garlic bulb, halved 1 lemon, cut into wedges 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp oregano leaves 2 tbsp rosemary leaves 1 tsp fennel seeds Sea-salt flakes, freshly ground black pepper, to season ½ cup mixed whole olives Greek salad, to serve 1 Preheat oven to 200°C. Put chicken, onion, garlic and lemon in a large roasting tray. Drizzle with oil and scatter herbs and fennel seeds over the top. Use your hands to toss well to coat in oil and herbs. Season. 2 Bake for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and scatter olives over the top. Cook…

Consistent, restful sleep is one of the most effective tools we have to maintain good health, reduce stress, and boost memory and productivity. They don’t call it “beauty sleep” for nothing either! Skin certainly loves being pampered overnight. When you’re rested, you look bright-eyed and feel ready to face the world. The bottom line is the quality of sleep is more important than the quantity, so doing all you can to maximise the benefits of your time between the sheets is worth the effort.…

Between work, family and home, lots of energy is needed, and the good news is that with a few strategic changes, it’s possible to keep your batteries fully charged. Follow our expert tips and you’ll never do the bobblehead nod through a meeting, social gathering or dinner date again. QUICKIE ENERGISERS Here are four easy ways to put a spring in your step, based on how much time you have, from 30 seconds to 20 minutes: 30 SECONDS Chew mint or citrus sugarless gum. It will make you more alert and these scents stimulate the area of the brain responsible for focus. 1 MINUTE Sit or stand up straight and stretch. When you hunch, your breathing is shallower. Good posture opens the lungs, so you can breathe more deeply and…

1 Clean Use a deck-cleaning product to remove existing mould or dirt and improve the look of grey or weathered timber. Dilute the deck cleaner with water in the ratio of 1:4, then scrub the decking with a stiff broom. TIP If you’re cleaning near painted surfaces, protect them from splashes as the cleaner will discolour them. 2 Rinse Leave deck cleaner for 20 minutes to work its magic, then wash off the solution with a pressure washer. Leave the deck to dry completely before attempting to coat it. TIP High-pressure water can lift the grain of the timber and make it “furry”, especially on treated pine decking. Try it out on a less visible area first. 3 Coat Use a brush to cut in around the edges of the…

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 – Dec 22 A week to pay attention to your physical self. Shut the doors and get out all the beauty products, even make some natural ones from what you have in the cupboard. It does not matter if it the most expensive day spa or your front room, pampering and grooming is necessary. You need to look and feel a million dollars as there is a very special event coming up and you don’t want a mad dash the day before. A new outfit would be nice, but you are creative and can create something new from old. CAPRICORN Dec 23 – Jan 20 There is creativity and whimsy around you – getting lost in crafts, a good book, some fabulous music. But you do need…

One of my personality traits is that of the stubborn must-fix guy. When I encounter a problem, particularly a technical one, I just can’t rest until it is solved. It drives me mad, my family mad and I simply can’t control it. I can’t admit defeat to a lump of electronics. Ipads have stolen hours from me, wifi likewise, and don’t get me started on TV streaming services. I love technology. Sometimes I feel like I’m living in the future! Phones without cords! Photos without film! Films at the touch of a button, which isn’t even a button! The problem is that these time-saving devices have saved us so much time, the God of Time Management has had to introduce something to use it up again. They have set in…

All My Mothers is achingly beautiful and sometimes unbearably sad. It is filled with longing and tenderness. If you don’t have tears flowing down your cheeks at some point while reading it, then you’re a tougher person than me. As the title suggests, this is a story about mothers. Growing up in London, Eva Martinez-Green never bonds with her mother. She looks and feels nothing like her. Eva becomes convinced that there is some mystery in her past. Why are there no baby pictures of her? And why are her parents so sketchy with details of her early life in Spain? It seems obvious to Eva that somehow she has ended up with the wrong mother. The thought shocks her but also brings her hope. It means her real mother…

I just love babies and this week, Matt Chisholm and his wife Ellen introduce their precious daughter Bree. I first interviewed the pair a couple of years ago and at the time, Matt was recovering from depression and they were both feeling very raw. They made the decision to move south and since then, their lives have been transformed by their rural location. Now they have welcomed their adorable baby girl to share their world and I’m so happy for them! You can read all the details from page six. While they are busy with three young children, in my house there were whoops of delight this week for a very different reason. My two youngest, Madeline and Malachy, have just finished their first and third year of university respectively.…

She’s famous for her gun-laden murder mysteries, but author Patricia Cornwell had a childhood to rival any of her own plotlines. At the age of five, Patricia’s dad walked out on the family and, says the US-born writer, “everything went to hell in a handbasket”. Her mother Marilyn became obsessed with evangelist Billy Graham and one day she burned all the family’s belongings, marched Patricia and her two brothers to the churchman’s house and told him, “Please raise my children.” Marilyn had become psychotic and the Grahams looked after the siblings until they could be placed in care. One of Patricia’s foster parents was an abusive bully. Then, as a teenager, she became depressed and anorexic – but she survived. Now one of the world’s top-selling authors, she says her…

It was a poignant line that hit hard. “None of us can slow the passage of time,” wrote the Queen in a speech she was meant to deliver last week, but had to pull out of due to health issues. In the address to the Church of England’s national assembly, delivered by her son Prince Edward in her absence, she was referring to the fact it’s been over 50 years since she attended the first meeting of the General Synod. But her words had a powerful double meaning, given that of late, the 95-year-old monarch’s age seems to be catching up with her. Last month, there were concerns when she spent a night in hospital having tests for an undisclosed illness, and her doctors then ordered her to rest at…

Most contestants on The Great Kiwi Bake Off can’t wait for the day they finally get to share the news they are competing on the country’s favourite baking show. But Wendy Banks, who is competing in the current season, would have happily kept the secret to herself. “I was hoping that people might miss that I’ve been on the show and not watch it,” Wendy laughs. “Most of my family are in Scotland, so they are all just beside themselves because The Great British Bake Off is massive. I’ve had people from high school saying, ‘Oh, we need to find out how to watch.’” Though she doesn’t love the attention, Wendy wishes she knew how much support she had going into the competition. “I really wish I could have told…

Are the owners often more challenging than their dogs? Oh, I have to be careful answering this! What I’ve noticed is that some dogs we find challenging, their owners are parallel challenging. But for the most part, it’s kind of the opposite. Can you share a funny work story? A woman came in who said she was an “animal medium” and wanted to volunteer. She was put with a dog who was a voracious poo eater (we call them fecal feasters) who we have to keep from going outside. But he’d managed to get out and have “breakfast” and he was looking unwell. I told her, “This dog has eaten a bit of poo and he’s going to be sick.” She said, “No, I can see in his depths that…

While it might be customary these days for women over a certain age to dread becoming invisible in a youth-obsessed society, Julia Hartley Moore isn’t having a bar of it. At 67 – and one of the country’s top private investigators – the glamorous great-grandmother-of-four is challenging the notion that older women pass directly from middle age into decrepitude. When she turned 65, a professional man asked if she had thought about retiring yet. “I looked at him and said, ‘Don’t old people retire?’” she laughs. “Instead, I went out and bought myself a brand new car, a huge thing. People probably thought I should have bought a little nana car because I’m getting old. But it doesn’t even dawn on me to act my age.” Once labelled by celebrity…

Grilled vine tomatoes with herbed white beans SERVES 4 FOR THE BEANS 2 x 400g cans white cannellini or haricot beans, drained 2 cloves garlic, peeled, crushed to a paste with ½ tsp salt 3 tbsp white wine vinegar 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 3 large handfuls of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, plus extra to garnish FOR THE TOMATOES 2 trusses vine tomatoes (about 12 tomatoes) 2 tbsp olive oil 1 Rinse the beans under a cold tap and set aside to drain while you make the dressing. Whisk together the garlic paste and vinegar, then whisk in the oil until emulsified. Stir through the parsley and beans. Transfer to a flat serving dish and set aside to marinate while you prepare the tomatoes. (This can also be done…

EVERYONE CAN WEAR RED If you’ve lived your life avoiding the colour red at all costs, you have been doing so unnecessarily. Red is the centre of colour. Every o other colour has slightly more yellow or slightly m more blue in it, so a true primary red works on everybody. KNOW YOU R NEUTRALS One of the most important things to discover is learning which white and neutrals are your best friend. Think about how chic some people look in beige and how draining it can be on others. Once you learn this, then you can amplify your neutral palette with colour. GOT THE BLUES Blue is most men’s go-to colour, but women have been more hesitant with introducing it into their wardrobes. But there are shades for everybody,…

1 If I’m being honest, my mood can often be described as…  A Sad B Short-tempered C Anxious D None of the above If you answered A, B or C, poor sleep may be worsening your mood. The brain regions that are tied to mood – the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex – are adversely affected by poor sleep. The prefrontal cortex is like the CEO of the brain and it controls the amygdala. With less than ideal rest, the CEO can’t control the amygdala, so negative thoughts are more likely to occur. The result? A moodier you. 2 How often do you snack? A Mainly after dinner B Throughout the day – I crave sugary stuff C When I do snack, it’s usually something healthy If you answered A…

Like in the movies, a cameo appearance may be brief but it is dramatic and has an impact that lingers forever. And in the garden, such is the power of peonies. Their blooms are theatrical, generating awe and adoration. Most varieties in New Zealand flower from late October to early December, so catch them now with their fulsome shapes, sweet, spicy fragrances and soft elegance. Types of peonies HERBACEOUS This is the most common in New Zealand gardens. A perennial, it is slow-growing, but eventually forms a substantial bush about 90cm high and 50cm wide. The stems retreat in winter. Cut back those that linger and it will bounce back in spring. TREE PEONY More of a shrub than a tree because of its multiple stems, it grows to more…

I recently found a rock in my wife Linda’s desk drawer. I asked her why it was there. “It’s a fossil. I’ve told you about it loads of times. I found it on the beach at Southend-on-Sea when growing up in London.” And yes, I remembered that. But why was it sitting in her top drawer half a century later? “I’m going to send a photo of it to a geologist. Maybe find out what it’s a fossil of.” Good idea, but intuition told me she’d get back an email from some “comms” type thanking her for the photo and including a list of fees for identification work. “Somewhere in an office down town is a woman so passionate about her work, she replied to a public enquiry with such…

Letters to the Editor MAKING HIS MARK • Winning letter Thanks for your article about Mark Richardson. I have been a fan of The AM Show for about five years. Mark is a very witty person with a dry sense of humour. He was also a steadfast cricketer for the Black Caps! All the best to him and his family in the future. Jill Good medicine Wow! What a story! I am completely blown away and gobsmacked with awe and amazement on reading Dr Tawa Hunter’s story and, yes, Junior Doctor of the Year, too. What an inspirational woman and I admit on my several absorbing re-reads, I was moved to tears. Especially when I read Dr Tawa’s words: “Empathy is what makes a good doctor,” and, “It’s how you…

Working on NewsTalk ZB, I’ve heard a lot of sad stories over the past 20 months of this pandemic. Families unable to be at the side of a loved one as they’re dying. Fathers prevented from being at the side of their partners as they give birth. Couples who have been together for more than 50 years unable to see one another because of the rules around rest home visits. Families separated because of the cruel lottery that is the MIQ system. You will have your own story, I’m sure. Or know of someone who has been deeply affected by these lockdowns. Radio’s a great way for people to share their pain. They can ring in, and they can give voice to the frustration, anger and sorrow that they are…

She lives in Brighton, England, and used to work as a teacher of English and Spanish, and a school principal. Her debut novel The Other Half of Augusta Hope was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award. This is her second book. This novel was inspired by… The beguiling city of Córdoba, which entranced me as a student in the late 1980s. It was also inspired by a feeling – a deep yearning for something that may or may not ever have existed. Saudade, the Portuguese call it. I think a lot of us experience it. The novel attempts to articulate the challenges we face on the way to finding the things we long for: love and friendship, beauty and laughter, self-understanding and purpose and fulfillment. The most challenging thing…

Ace frock Serena Williams, 40, gets glam for a day of press promoting the soon-to-be-released biopic about her father Richard Williams and his commitment to making his daughters the greatest tennis stars in the world. Step right up! Elizabeth Hurley, 56, gets in the festive spirit as she celebrates the release of her new Netflix movie Father Christmas is Back at a screening in Nevis, in the Caribbean Islands. Rolling on Mick Jagger, 78, and the Rolling Stones are back on the road! The legendary rockers wowed fans in Atlanta as part of their US tour. Hot pants! Juliette Lewis, 48, rocks a daring leather look while celebrating the premiere of her new TV show Yellowjackets, where she stars alongside Kiwi actress Melanie Lynskey. PARIS WEDS Wearing a stunning Oscar…

They called it puppy love! Sophie, Countess of Wessex had a playful outing last week visiting Guide Dogs National Centre in Warwickshire and meeting the cheerful young pups who are training to become guide dogs. The 56-year-old took over as patron of Guide Dogs from the Queen’s cousin Princess Alexandra earlier this year, and it is a cause close to Sophie’s heart after her daughter Lady Louise, 18, suffered from esotropia, a type of eye misalignment, and had to undergo eye surgery to correct it. The adorable puppies were just as excited to meet the royal as their human trainers, with one even attempting to take a nibble of Sophie’s hair.…

‘I’m looking forward to seeing Matt raising a girl and doing braids!’ For a family with a new baby, things seem pretty relaxed at Matt and Ellen Chisholm’s house in Omakau in Central Otago. TV presenter and journalist Matt, 45, sits on the couch grinning as Ellen turns on our Zoom call with one hand while the other holds five-week-old baby daughter Bree, who is busy breastfeeding. “We’re doing really well,” says Ellen, 37, with a huge smile. “We’re good mates, Bree and I. She has slept through twice now, so that makes a big difference. Mum’s well rested and has her sanity.” Ellen holds Bree up to the camera and shows a chubby, contented little dark-haired girl, happily fed and satisfied. It is a dream come true for the…

There are two types of people in the world: those who love Ted Lasso – Apple TV+’s unashamedly feel-good comedy about an American football coach transplanted to the UK to work with a flailing Premier League team – and those who just haven’t watched it yet. The show launched at the tail end of the first Covid lock-down, delivering desperately necessary bolts of good-natured, hope-infused jolliness that simultaneously managed to be unpredictable, non-trite, genuinely funny and – bonus! – introduced an isolated world to characters who demanded you feel connected to every one of them. By the time season two arrived this year, Ted Lasso’s signature sweetness and optimism took on new significance, operating as a promise of how decent humanity can be when it tries. ‘It appals me that…

Author Karen McMillan loves books so much, she read 300 of them during her year-long recovery from aggressive breast cancer. Books helped her heal – and they continue to inspire her, a decade on. “Recovering from cancer was the catalyst to turn to a freelance lifestyle and really follow my dreams of being a published writer,” Karen says. She’s now written 18 books, published in nine countries, including a six-part children’s series, Elastic Island Adventures, which is being optioned to be made into movies. Her days are a chaotic juggle of writing, working as a book publicist, speaking at events, reviewing books and helping other budding Kiwi novelists. ‘Ten years on... Wahoo! Life feels like a fabulous adventure’ “I’ve always believed stories enrich people’s lives because they educate, entertain and…

Share with us a favourite memory from working at Harrods? I’d just done my two weeks of training about how not to recognise a famous person, when Rod Stewart came through the doors towards me to ask where the children’s department was. I thought I was going to pass out. The only guy I had sneaked out to see in concert at Western Springs was standing in front of me. I leaned in to spray him with perfume and I was so close, I thought, “I could kiss you!” Best advice you’ve been given? Dame Susan Devoy once told me, “Fake it til you make it.” And it’s worked for me. Is it true you got kicked out of school? Yes and the reason why is classic. My older brother…

Choc-caramel mud brownies MAKES 32 PREP + COOK TIME 50 MINS 250g unsalted butter, chopped, plus extra melted, for greasing 1 cup dark chocolate pieces 1 ¼ cups white or wholemeal plain flour ¼ cup wheatgerm ½ tsp baking powder 1 ¼ cups sugar 4 eggs, lightly beaten 2 tsp vanilla extract 20 Jersey caramels 2 Tbsp thickened cream or milk ½ cup pecans, toasted, chopped, to serve (optional) 1 Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a 22cm x 32cm baking dish with foil, extending foil over the edges of pan. Lightly grease foil with melted butter. 2 In a medium saucepan, heat butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring, until melted and smooth. Cool for 5 minutes. In a small bowl, combine flour, wheatgerm and baking powder. 3 Stir sugar…

1 Practise deep, slow breathing If you wake and can’t get back to sleep, “belly breathing” can soothe and calm your nervous system. Put one hand on your belly and the other on your chest. Take a deep breath in through your nose for a count of four and let your belly push your hand out. Then, for a count of six, breathe out through your mouth and feel the hand on your belly contract and push out the air. Repeat slowly up to 10 times. 2 Load up on fibre Those who eat fibre tend to spend more time in the deeper stages of sleep when the body works hardest to restore and rejuvenate. Aim for 25-35g per day. Think, oats, legumes, fruit and vegetables, popcorn and almonds. 3…

‘It’s time to prepare your outdoor area for the good times ahead’ Now that the outdoor living season is upon us, it’s time to prepare your home and outdoor area for the good times ahead. A great starting point is your deck. In just a few hours on a weekend, you can spruce up the deck to make it the perfect backdrop for social-distance gatherings. Oil or stain? Your choice depends on the look you’re after. An oil is used to enhance the grain of the timber, while a stain is designed to alter the colour but still let the grain show through. Stains come in a wide range of colours, so you can use them to completely change the look of your deck. Both come in water or oil-based…

Don’t ask me what week it is or when something happened – I appear to have lost my grip on time. Christmas is apparently on its way, but I will need some kind of exploding advent calendar delivering an urgent daily warning before I feel like I can measure this as a real thing. I’m not alone in this – friends also report being unable to say whether something occurred last week or last month (or last year) and forward planning feels weirdly abstract. “Covid-brain” we’ve been calling it – the effect of living through something so extraordinary, it bends and frays our built-in sense of “how long until” and “how long ago”. I haven’t worn a watch since August, though we can’t blame it on that. There’s no need…

Put one’s foot in it The other day, Mum, who has bunions on her feet, said she would have to have a new pair of slippers. When I asked why, my small brother, aged eight, said, “Because her bungalows stick out the sides.” Just Jane Done with the dishes Daughter, aged 10, was feeling very good one night and suggested that she would do the dinner dishes all by herself. Washing up began to pall by the time she got to the pots and pans, and then the everlasting frying pan was put down beside her on the bench. “Oh, do I have to do that?” she said. “My hands will be getting like yours if I do any more work and I don’t want to get old before I…

I BECAME A WRITER BECAUSE… It gives me the same amount of job satisfaction that being a police offi cer did. Writing books leaves something positive in the world after I’ve gone. IF I COULD PASS ANY LAW, IT WOULD BE… Just one – outlaw gangs. MY COMFORT FOOD IS… Galaxy chocolate and French bread with French cheeses. MY FAVOURITE BOOK EVER IS… Wow, that’s hard. Today it’s New York by Edward Rutherfurd. THE BRAVEST THING I’VE EVER DONE IS… Deliberately throwing myself in front of a car to save my cousin. We were on my motorbike when a car turned right in front of us. I remember coming off and thinking, “I’ve got to get under and car side of Siobhan to protect her.” MY BIGGEST HERO IS… My…