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The Spinoff
4 days ago
- Health
- The Spinoff
The Weekend: Might I suggest a walk?
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. There's something about a long weekend that somehow makes the week preceding it feel unfathomably long also. For that reason, and because we are entering into the darkest days of the year ahead of winter solstice, I am keeping this short and suggesting one simple tip. Go for a walk. This is not a revolutionary idea, in fact it might just be oldest idea in human history. But as each winter arrives, I understand more and more why my mum would drag me along on her daily walks when I was little. For those who are able to, a walk is the first step (ha) to solving every problem. Part of it is the walking, the movement, the forced breathing. The other part is the air, the space, the sun. Everyone goes through the same cycle when it comes to basic, trite advice such as 'go for a walk'. First, it seems fine and reasonable to try. Then it feels patronising, as if all of my very complex and unique problems could be solved with child's play. And then, after extensive and expensive therapy, the realisation that yes, going for a walk and eating a vegetable is in fact very important and useful in order to survive the dark, dreary days of June. So this long weekend, go for a walk. And while you're walking, listen to the first episode of Fury of the Small, our new narrative Dungeons & Dragons podcast. It's the perfect accompaniment to looking at trees and grass and even if you're unfamiliar with the game, you'll have the joy of listening to people do something they absolutely love and be really good at it. And if you really aren't convinced to walk, read some of our best essayists wax lyrical about their own relationships with walking (and swimming). If ever there was a time to reconnect with ourselves and nature, it's now. In her late 50s, Anna Sophia I discovered long-distance hiking – and woke up to a new life infused with the rhythms of nature. A mental health battle in 2020 led Shona Riddell to embark on an eye-opening journey of wild swimming – the kind that doesn't cease when the weather turns cold. Walking in isolation Dougal Rillstone wrote about walking while In MIQ, and how 'a good walk can save a person, now more than ever'. The art of the plod Anna Rawhiti-Connell finds freedom in being really shit at something, but doing it anyway. In praise of swimming I found peace by taking the plunge with Hinemoana, writes Leonie Hayden. The stories Spinoff readers spent the most time with this week A certain blue British dress inspires Anna Rawhiti-Connell to argue that it's twee to pretend that fashion and politics aren't intertwined Hayden Donnell braves an Auckland Council debate on upzoning to discover councillors trying to sabotage the City Rail Link An even grumpier Hayden Donnell threatens to emit a supersonic howl of despair if the superannuation eligibility age goes up Why is a proposed change to glyphosate (or Roundup) residue levels so controversial? Shanti Mathias explains A 45-year-old tech worker fights 'lifestyle creep' in this week's cost of being Feedback of the week 'On February the 6th I observe Bob Marley's Birthday' 'Super validating response, so undefensive, about the emotional unavailability of kiwis. The culture is emotionally repressed and shame-based, locking people into the most superficial and distancing ways of communicating. The evidence for this is the culture's alcoholism and high suicide rate (according to UNICEF recently the highest teen suicide rate in the OECD). Get thee to a psychotherapist Kiwis! Free yourselves from shame and fear of intimacy.' 'Your friendly festival driver here. My name's spelled with a J, but that's ok. That drive to stage door may have been one of the most thrilling adventures of my career – I won't be forgetting it anytime soon. – Jillian.'
The Spinoff
21-05-2025
- The Spinoff
Travel Diary: A foodie trip to Italy and the test of a new relationship
Anna Rawhiti-Connell recalls a 'very short, late-bloomers OE'. In August and September of 2016, I went to Europe to see and travel with my brother. By the time the trip came around, me and Troy, the man I ended up marrying, had been seeing each other for a few months. He'd just been made redundant, so he threw caution to the wind and joined me for 11 days. It was the perfect combination of solo travel, travelling with someone who's known you most of your life and the bracing and romantic experience of working out whether you and a new partner can travel together. If you can accommodate each other's anxieties and neuroses away from home and develop a mutual understanding of the value of having your own passions while finding the things you both love, travel is an ideal test of a new relationship. Italy and Spain were perfect destinations for this. We arrived with preconceived ideas and had them shattered. We kissed under the Bridge of Sighs in Venice and fought, yelling at each other, vowels flat and inflections rising, on La Concha beach. Where did you go? I went to Europe, spending the most time in Italy. My brother lived in London, so we organised to go to Brussels, Rome and the Amalfi Coast. I did Paris on my own, and Troy and I spent 11 days in Florence, Venice, Barcelona and San Sebastian. It was a very short, late-bloomers OE. I'd worked in a corporate job long enough to erase the money mistakes of my 20s. I had savings and just enough confidence to override my risk adverse disposition to travel solo. Roughly how much did you spend getting there? Auckland-London return was $2,997, economy all the way baby. This was in 2016. I just checked the same route for the exact dates and was very surprised to find that it's $300 cheaper. Trains and flights to and from various destinations are lost to annals of time. I just remember thinking any amount of money was worth it to be able to sit on a train, drink giant, cheap cans of beer and eat cheese pizza bread with pesto. What was the highlight? The first day in Rome stands out. We arrived to 32-degree heat in time to be uninvited guests at the canonisation of Mother Theresa. I hadn't slept the night before because I was afraid of missing my flight from Paris. By the time the day ended in Rome, I had been awake for 40 hours. My brother Pete, our friend Hasan and I dragged luggage to luggage lockers and did a four-hour walking food tour with a tour guide who looked like Chris O'Donnell. I got trapped in a tiny elevator, and we were all treated to an hour-long performance by the unofficial mayor of Roma, our wonderful AirBnB host. Highlights included explanations of our apartment's five-compartment rubbish bins and Rome's touristic tax. I love to cook, and my culinary soul is part Nigella, part Bourdain and part Italian. To be in Rome for the first time, sniffing truffles, ogling legs of Parma and sampling Roman street food was every dream I'd had come true. The food tour took us through Testaccio. We ate offal sandwiches, supplì and pizza. We ended the day at Bucotino, eating cheap and delicious pasta and drinking wine and Amaro. The day is memorable because the jokes have become entrenched lore between all of us. My aside to my brother during the ragú portion of the food tour, 'But have you tried my ragú?' is now the line we quote when anyone is being hubristic and self-aggrandising in the presence of genuine talent. Our photos of all of us sitting like disgusting rats in the gutter waiting for Paola get sent on birthdays. A digestive after dinner is a habit I still swear by. What was the lowlight? Tandem kayaking in San Sebastian. Troy and I rented a tandem kayak to go to Santa Clara Island. We fought in the middle of the bay of Donostia Sea as we went round and round. People on the shore laughed at us. We returned to the mainland after a brief détente on Santa Clara, not speaking. Troy sat mournfully on the beach while I fumed 100 metres away. We did not do tandem outdoor activities for years afterwards. See any great art? The Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice and Michelangelo's David in Florence were standouts. I visited the Tate, Musee d'Orsay, and Uffizzi on the trip but David stands out because of the contrast between his comparatively unassuming home in the Galleria dell'Accademia and the greatness within. It was before the days of carousel posts and stories on Instagram, and if you check my feed, it was obviously a highlight because there were four individual David posts. Front and back. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice is an expression of supreme taste and tenacious vision and is so intimately housed and personal. I still covet her Alexander Calder earrings. Did you visit any famous spots? What's your honest review? Many, but Ravello is worth taking your life into your hands during the bus trip to get there. It's where Villa Cimbroni is. Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan stayed there in The Trip. I am both a big fan of that film and wary of any spots cursed with becoming known to the unwashed masses (me) through cinema. Ravello is perched high on the cliffs overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. We found a small bar on the grounds of Villa Cimbrone that sold wine and served free olives. We stood on the Terrace of Infinity and took selfies with the marble busts. We bought three bottles of limoncello to take home. Drinking one before waiting two hours for a bus to never arrive was a great idea at the time. Taxis were called, and our carload cheered as we zoomed down towards sea level, free at last. Review of a food spot you stumbled across by accident. Pastificio Guerra in Rome. Tuna pasta in a takeaway, plastic container with a plastic fork. It cost four euros, and was eaten sitting on the Spanish Steps. I have spent nine years trying to recreate the oily, salty, flavourful perfection of that lunch. Their pasta is now five euros, which is still a bargain. What items did you pack that you really needed? And what did you pack that you definitely didn't? I'm a planner, performer and shopper. I'm also anxious, aspirational about fitting in, and driven to find the version of me that would live in Paris or Florence. I get a lot of stick for adopting style choices that don't make it home. I packed a whole wardrobe and then bought a whole wardrobe in London. If you're travelling to big cities and like to shop, axe half of what you were planning to pack. Forget about sandals or heels, and accept the sneaker. What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going? Do less. I think New Zealanders are naturally prone to cramming in so much when we travel because it's expensive to get there, and we assume it takes five minutes to get to another country because it's all 'just Europe'. I raced through the Vatican so quickly, crushed between tourists and nuns on iPhones, trying to jam it in before catching a train to Salerno, that I left unsure whether I had seen the Sistine Chapel. Would you go back? Tomorrow. I dream of finding a way to take a year or two off, move to Italy or Spain with the dogs, grow tomatoes and perfect pasta al tonno.
The Spinoff
23-04-2025
- Business
- The Spinoff
The Fold: Big job ahead for TVNZ's news and content chief
Glen Kyne joins Anna Rawhiti-Connell to discuss the enormity of the task ahead for TVNZ's new chief news and content officer, analyse the case laid out by Philip Crump on Monday for a Jim Grenon-led board at NZME and reflect on the recent anti-trust rulings against Google in the US. The job of chief news and content officer at TVNZ has been one of the most talked-about leadership roles in New Zealand media. Last week, it was announced that Nadia Tolich will leave her position as managing director of Stuff Digital to take up the role. This week on The Fold, Glen Kyne joins Anna Rawhiti-Connell to discuss the enormity of the task ahead for Tolich and why high profile exits mightn't be as scandalous as you think. They also analyse the case laid out by Philip Crump on Monday for a Jim Grenon-led board at NZME and reflect on the slivers of hope that recent anti-trust ruling in the US offer those wanting to see big tech reined in. Follow The Fold on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.
