My favourite sites of the month

I haven’t blogged in a while, but to be honest, I haven’t really been up to much worth noting.  So instead of keeping you waiting until the New Year for exciting news, I thought I’d make you aware of some of the notable sites I’ve recently come across.

As I’m sure you’re all aware, Christmas is here! Well, almost, and of course that means, the dreaded Christmas shopping! 

Many of my family members are into horses, whether it’s racing, dressage or eventing. So luckily for me, I sorted many of my presents all in one place – Old Dairy Saddlery! It’s a definite recommendation if you need ANYTHING for a horse or horse lover.

  

I’m very involved in a number of drama schools for children and the likes, and as we all know, children work better when there’s a reward at the end, no matter how small it is. At Badges Plus, there are hundreds of bespoke badges you can customise and personalise for your own specific needs. You can buy badges in bulk to help out charities, messages badges, well done badges, almost anything you can think of – they have a badge for it. Teachers – it’s a must!

 And finally, JA Seals! It’s winter, its cold, and nobody likes being cold. There was a significant draught entering my house from underneath a number of the doors in my house. Although the gaps were tiny, it really is noticeable, especially when there are young children in the house. I was able to buy some Brush Strips to attach to the bottom of all my doors to stop that draught and you can really feel the difference! 

The heat is remaining in the house and we’re all nice and toasty again the Christmas.

 

What to get him for his Birthday

It was my brother’s 20^th birthday last weekend and as you can imagine I was struggling to pick a gift for him.  What can I get a 20 year old? It used to be much easier when he was young as all he wanted was the latest games console game.

   

Recently he has started dating and has been on a few dinner dates. So I thought why not get him something to go with all the outfits he wears when he goes out on these dates.  Now what could give his outfit an elegant edge…. some Cufflinks! I decided to get him some cufflinks with his initials engraved on them.  After carrying out some initial research I came across Kraft Originals. They do some amazing bespoke cufflinks that can be customised.  Needless to say I bought them at once, and after giving them to my brother he has been so impressed that he has started adding to them, and he now has 5 pairs. 

Within Temptation - Frozen (Theatre)

Beautiful Acoustic live version from Eindhoven, Netherlands.

7 things I’ve found out my first month in New Zealand

1. New Zealanders are definitely the most friendly individuals in the entire world
Before I got myself a one-way flight to Auckland, I had heard mysterious rumors of the friendliness of the kiwi folks. And over the years when I had been backpacking around the world, I often met individuals from Nz, and I was struck by how kind they were. With that being said, I was not ready for just how warm and friendly as well as sweet Everybody is in New Zealand.
And I mean EVERYONE! Not really exaggerating.

From the shopkeepers to the bartenders to the typical person going for walks down the road, if there is one thing you are able to depend on in New Zealand is just how lovely and friendly everyone is.Going abroad is scary. Going abroad to an alternative country without knowing a single person is completely scary. Nonetheless, selecting a place with seriously warm and friendly men and women has made a huge difference.
If I don’t leave Nz in a year a completely transformed individual, I don’t even know myself.

2. Just what Kiwi truly means
Kiwi is the title of people from New Zealand in addition to New Zealand’s flightless bird. Kiwis as we know them in the united states are known as kiwi fruit. This is an important difference, as I’m sure you can imagine, especially if kiwis are your favorite fruit.

3. Driving a car on the left is exciting, up until you arrive at a roundabout, after that it’s terrifying
If I perish in a road accident whilst residing in New Zealand, there is a 80% possibility that this occurred in a roundabout. While in general I do think there's a more sensible way of directing traffic, it doesn’t make going through them in the wrong direction less terrifying. I pretty much scream each and every time I go through one here, particularly the ones with double lanes.

4. The greater number of sheep than folks rumor is not incorrect
So the rumor there are more sheep when compared with individuals in Nz is not exactly incorrect, as I quickly discovered. Following leaving sprawling urban Auckland, the overall scarcity of people took me by surprise. Driving down to Wellington, I would drive for a long time and quite often not see other cars.When you are not in the cities in Wellington, you quickly realize that there are just not lots of people about. New Zealand really is the end of the world. And yes, there are a lot of sheep. Almost everywhere.The good news is that spring is here now, all the lambs have been born which suggests adorable, fluffy, baby sheep Almost everywhere!

5. New Zealand is costly, but not as expensive as AustraliaWhen I was packing for New Zealand, I made an executive decision to leave my hiking boots at home. I was thinking because New Zealand is certainly an outdoorsy location, I can pick-up a nice set when I got here. My old ones had to be thrown and I didn’t need to waste the luggage space.Such a foolish judgement, I went to go buy hiking boots in Wellington, and the set I wanted was 450 NZD - that’s approximately 375 USD which is around twice as much as back home.

Because the relationship is virtually shipped in to New Zealand, things are costly. For example, I normally drop around $80 on my once a week groceries.But then I went to Australia and realized NZ was low cost in comparison.

6. Rent is each week not every month
Completely random but for those curious-minded people, apartments are generally listed with rent costs a week not necessarily every month. It’s a baffling but interesting phenomenon which somehow makes the elevated living costs a lot more palatable.
And speaking of apartments, they can be referred to as flats similar to the UK and the deposit is known as a bond. Speaking English is difficult.

For more information on International shipping click here

7. Getting the bill within a restaurantThe 1st time I went out for a meal at a sit-down restaurant in Nz, I had been surprised by a number of things. To begin with, your meals are remarkable. Seriously, there are some damn great restaurants found in this part of the world. And don’t even get me started on brunch.However, at the end of the mealtime I'd been baffled. When were they going to provide the bill? We all sat and anxiously waited and waited and waited prior to getting the attention of an individual to bring the check. Immediately they outlined that you simply pay at the register not at the table. Soon I figured out this was common around New Zealand.

Meet The Team - Liz Kirkman

 Liz and I go way back, well almost as way back as I've been an actor in Wellington. But it feels like longer. We have played sisters once before, the very first time we met actually, at a workshop. Liz was awesome then but just wait until you see her in Life. After.

Actress - Liz Kirkman

Liz Kirkman graduated with Honours in Theatre from VUW in 2002 and has been solidly performing and teaching since. For the last three years she has been tutoring Movement, Shakespeare and Acting for Camera on the UCOL Diploma in Performing Arts. You might remember her from such shows as, Educating Rita, the touring 2 person, 50 minute versions of King Lear, Macbeth and Othello, A Bright Room Called Day (Bats) and as Kathryn Beattie in newly released NZ feature film, Eternity.

Liz says, 'Life.After attracted me for many reasons. Getting the chance to work with Anita - who I've loved working with in screen acting classes - was a great coup, but I also couldn't help but be affected by Adam's striking poster image. It was a great visual container for the work to grow inside. I was excited about working on something distinctly female and exploring that relationship, in contrast to the work being created in a male dominated industry. This has been an enlightening process exploring the universal issues of grief and loss, which interest me not only personally and as a performer, but in my other occupation as a Craniosacral Therapist.'

Check out some of Liz's screen work here:

 

What can I say, Liz? I AM SO EXCITED! 

Meet The Team - Alan Curreri

I first met Al Curreri when we worked on a show together towards the end of last year. I was the front of house person and Al had designed a wonderful set on an absolute shoestring budget - the perfect fit for Life. After.

Set Designer - Alan Curreri

Alan Curreri is a set designer, sculptor and scenic painter, originally from Dunedin. Alan lived and worked in San Francisco for many years and his work there included designing sets for many local theatres producing new, experimental and avant-garde works. Alan has also done a considerable amount of work in movies as a scenic painter, was a model and props builder, worked in print advertising, television commercials and in the trade show business. Since his return to New Zealand in 2011 he has worked for Weta Workshop’s paint department and designed sets for Wellington theatre productions.

Thank you for setting us up, Al! 

Meet The Team - Tane Upjohn-Beatson

So here's the deal, a real scoop in fact: Life. After. scored - 'scuse the pun - the incredibly talented and hot-in-demand Tane Upjohn-Beatson as our sound designer/composer. Just check out some of his previous work!

Sound Designer/Composer - Tane Upjohn-Beatson

Tane is a Wellington based composer and sound designer working in theater and film. He also performs regularly as a live accompanist for improvised theater. He has worked on over forty NZ plays and films, receiving Chapman Tripp nominations for the Constance Scott Kircaldie Outstanding Composer of Music Award in both 2009 (A Most Outrageous Humbug) and 2010 (Katydid), and the Park Road Post Production Sound Designer Of The Year Award in 2011 (The Engine Room), and a Chapman Tripp win of the Critics Choice Award for improvised musical 'Vance Fontaine: Command Performance' in 2012.

Tane says, 'Life.After is gearing up to be an exciting and innovative show. I was initially attracted to the script's gestural and surreal nature, immediately conjuring a soundscape in my head of barely heard voices, distant bells, and lullabies on the wind. At times poignant, menacing and playful and all with a heavy handed dose of lynch-esque magic realism, I'm really looking forward to scoring and sound designing this piece of theatre!'

Thank you, Tane, for coming on board! I can't wait to hear what the show sounds like!