Seasonal flux but still excited about vintage The recently completed 2013 Central Otago harvest was a generally good but varied one.  Being the widely spread out region that it is with lakes and mountains separating distinct sub-regions, quality, quantity and opinions vary widely on how the vintage fared and what we can expect in the »» 0 comments 16 May 2013 Smaller slices but bigger cake When times are harder New Zealanders naturally tend to be a bit inward looking.  When there are question marks over pay rises or keeping a job, it concentrates the mind on the here and now.  Less pay or no job is more important than anything else. When that happens across the whole »» 0 comments 09 May 2013 These dead trees are killing me I hate the look of dead trees.  In my eyes they are a blot on the landscape which is why I sometimes question the tactics involved in our battle against wilding pines.  These pines spread, invading productive farm and conservation land. It is great organisations such as the Wakatipu »» 0 comments 02 May 2013 A Kiwi in France - RIP Uncle Bryan Growing up, we had a spooky wall of old family photos my father often referred to as the “gallery of rogues”.  Stern-looking people sitting in gardens wearing suits and big dresses, staring frostily at the camera. There were lots of photos of old relatives that should have »» 0 comments 24 Apr 2013 Honouring lost ones I spend a great deal of my time making speeches.  Most often I’m addressing conferences filled with hundreds of people from overseas, or local volunteers and service groups marking some milestone or achievement – everything from school prize-givings to citizenship ceremonies »» 0 comments 18 Apr 2013 New Content Queenstown, we’ve done it again. Top of the Lake is a triumph. The global critics who actually matter (The New Yorker, the Guardian) are so far enthralled.  The true test will be the reaction of the sniffy BBC audience later in the year but so far reaction from smaller cable TV »» 0 comments 11 Apr 2013 Seizing a summer of opportunities With the end of daylight savings, it feels appropriate to reflect on the recent summer.  Arriving in Queenstown from England in May, 2010, summer was the last thing on my mind.  However, this one just gone has been something of a revelation – an experience which has made me fall »» 0 comments 04 Apr 2013 Where’s a builder when you need one, these days? I was chatting to my impossibly cute six-year-old son Jack the other day about what he might like to get up to on the weekend with his old man.  Camping maybe, play some ball, perhaps hit the hydroslide together? I was up for any activity really that would advance the father/son bonding »» 0 comments 27 Mar 2013 Who’s the genius doing convention centre equations? There is a saying, if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.  That’s the category I’d put most of the talk about the proposed Queenstown Convention Centre.  The spin doctors at City Hall are at it again.  Chief executive Adam Feeley leads by suggesting »» 1 comments 21 Mar 2013 Top spot – pity about dress code What a great spot to compile a column – I’m on the 26th floor of an inner-city Vancouver hotel overlooking the harbour, rolling out boomer country music from The Highwaymen while tapping away on my keyboard.  The grandeur in every direction from my window nearly makes up for the »» 0 comments 07 Mar 2013

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