Articles about New Zealand

My homeland.

The Lake — Anna Coddington

The Lake by Anna CoddingtonHere’s a set of simple, affecting songs, beautifully sung and sympathetically arranged. The overall theme is Love Gone Wrong, the traditional singer-songwriter preoccupation. But Anna Coddington turns it into something that sounds great — “beauty exploding from despair”, to use one of her own lines.

I was looking forward to buying this CD, since I enjoyed Anna Coddington’s performance a few months ago. Even though it’s been quite a long time since then, I still remember quite a few of the songs. The songs worked really well live, with Anna accompanying herself on guitar; the fuller production on the album adds another dimension without ever overwhelming the basic voice and guitar structure.

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Ben Kemp & Uminari / Anna Coddington

Ben Kemp looks like a rugby player, but he has the most delicate falsetto voice and a rather poetic songwriting touch. His band, Uminari, are tight and very cool in a quirky Japanese way, especially the drummer who is so cool he doesn’t need drumsticks. We saw these guys at the Classic Comedy Bar and they put on a great show. But they were supported by local singer-songwriter Anna Coddington, and I liked her set even more.

Ben Kemp is a very nice Kiwi musician who has lived in Japan for some time now. He has gotten together with a group of Japanese musicians to form his band. The music works really well live — they go for extended soundscapes built around each song, with Kemp’s voice sometimes acting as another instrument. The mood ranges from gentle and contemplative to a bit more noisy and experimental on some tracks, where they might try to evoke the sound of the sea or a storm. It’s hypnotic stuff.

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Mother & Baby Yoga

Yoga is such a pleasant and healthy way to pass an hour or so. (If only pleasant and healthy went together more often.) It’s good for everyone — especially busy people, such as mothers of small babies. But what can mothers do with their babies when going to yoga? Well, they can take them along! Yoga is good for everyone, and that includes even tiny babies.

I’ve put up a web page for a Mother and Baby Yoga class near me because I think it’s such a great idea and I’d like it to catch on. It helps the baby to socialise as well as learn to use its body, and it’s also good for the mothers to have a fun play with their babies and have some relaxing exercise for themselves. I’m hoping that one day I will be able to go…

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Auckland Sky Tower

Auckland Sky Tower

Now that’s what I call a mirror.

I took this snapshot at breakfast-time on a Monday.

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Kiwiberries

I found these tasty treats in the supermarket a while ago. I never really enjoyed the larger kiwifruit (known as the “kiwi” in some parts of the world, which amuses us New Zealanders no end), but these little ones are great.

Kiwiberries

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Auckland — New Zealand

A rainbow in Auckland

We spent Christmas in Auckland. The weather in Auckland is often a bit variable, even in the middle of summer. But even when it rained, our view remained quite lovely.

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Holding Hands, Feeding Ducks — The Brunettes

1960s bubblegum pop meets modern retro stylings with a New Zealand indie vibe. And if you understand that sentence then you’ll enjoy this album. I did.

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Auckland

Still green, beautiful and mad-keen on sailing, just as I remembered it.

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New Zealand

Such a nice place. Wellington was strange though — I’d never been there over new year before, when the university and the parliament are both empty. It was like a ghost town (albeit a very pleasant, if windy, ghost town).

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