Latest news with #KateEvans
Wales Online
17-05-2025
- Health
- Wales Online
21 images capture Paddle-Out protests in Wales and across the UK to demand sewage pollution action
Thousands of passionate water users gathered at beaches, rivers, and lakes across the UK to take a stand against sewage pollution today (Saturday, May 17) The nationwide Paddle-Out protests, organised by environmental charity Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), was a powerful visual demonstration of public frustration — with people of all ages, from surfers to swimmers, kayakers to bathers, uniting to demand urgent action on one of the UK's most pressing environmental crises. Over 40 locations, from the sunny shores of Bournemouth to the windswept sands of Broad Haven Beach, saw crowds paddle out into the water, their voices raised against the pollution that is choking the life out of the nation's blue spaces. The protests come at the start of the official bathing season in Wales and England — a time when the UK's waters should be a safe haven for those seeking summer fun, not a source of worry about their health. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here Ahead of the protests, WalesOnline spoke with several Welsh protesters who are taking part in the movement. For Alun Moseley, a lifelong surfer and surf instructor from Baglan, the issue of sewage pollution is personal. "I've been lucky enough to surf all over the Welsh coastline and beyond," Alun shared. "But there's always this nagging feeling that the water is polluted. Having spent so much time in the sea, I've experienced sickness and skin irritation myself. And as an instructor, I've had to cancel so many classes for kids who are eager to surf, just because the water isn't safe." For Alun and countless others, the fight against sewage pollution is not just about cleaner waters — it's about reclaiming a space that should be safe, healing, and enjoyable for everyone. Yet, it's not just surfers and swimmers feeling the effects. Across the country, concern is growing over the impact of sewage pollution on local communities, wildlife, and the economy. Kate Evans, one of the protest organisers, expressed her deep concern: "What horrified me was the fact that the orcas of Scotland can no longer reproduce — and that's because of the sewage going into the sea," she said. "If the orcas can't reproduce, it won't be long before other creatures can't reproduce either. The worrying part is if we're going off statistics, it's not going to take very long." In Pembrokeshire, where the issue hits especially close to home, organisers Ella Staden, Kate Beardsmore, Lloyd Nelmes, Kate J, and Kate Evans are calling for urgent action to protect the region's fragile ecosystems, coastal way of life, and the tourism industry so vital to the area. "People here have had enough," said Ella Staden, SAS's regional rep. "This coastline is our pride and joy — it's where we live, work, and play. But between cancelled beach days, illnesses, and the damage to wildlife, we're seeing the effects of pollution first-hand. And we're not staying silent about it anymore." Andy Drumm, who grew up in Broad Haven and now lives in the village once again, spoke emotionally about the long-term damage to the area's rich coastal life. "What started me on the path to becoming an environmentalist was a school trip to explore the rock pools on Broad Haven beach," he said. "They were teeming with life — sea potatoes, molluscs, sea hares — an entire universe of creatures I'd never imagined." Now, he says, that biodiversity has all but vanished. "The diversity of species in those rock pools has been dramatically reduced. It breaks my heart. I've seen the change with my own eyes over decades, and I truly believe it's down to the declining water quality flowing into the sea around Broad Haven." Lucy Jones, who is leading the protests in Newton Bay, Porthcawl, also shared that her connection to the sea goes back to childhood. "I try to go by the sea every day," she said. "I try to go there when I can, sometimes after work. I'm an avid swimmer, and I've learned to paddleboard. I work quite a stressful job, and the sea has become an outlet for me — it's like the fountain of youth." However, Lucy's passion for the water has also made her acutely aware of the growing concerns surrounding its safety. She's encountered many who've had negative experiences that have left them hesitant to return to the sea. "I know people who have gone swimming and then in the evening have felt unwell — gastroenteritis-type symptoms, even though they haven't eaten anything bad or done anything differently other than going into the sea. We can't definitively say it was that, but we can't say it wasn't either." While there are some precautions, like bringing a bottle of water or showering after swimming, Lucy stresses that these shouldn't be necessary. "We shouldn't have to do that. The sea should be a place of enjoyment and health, not a source of worry," she added. Below are some images from today's display at Porthcawl's Newton Bay.
ABC News
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
On stage at Melbourne Writers' Festival with Hannah Kent and Beejay Silcox
A live recording from Melbourne Writers' Festival as Hannah Kent and Beejay Silcox sit down with Kate Evans and Jonathan Green to discuss the latest fiction releases they're enjoying, loving and being challenged by. BOOKS - Hannah Kent, Always Home, Always Homesick, Picador - Eimear McBride, The City Changes its Face, Faber - Susan Choi, Flashlight, Jonathan Cape - Edward St Aubyn, Parallel Lines, Jonathan Cape - Caryl Phillips, Another Man in the Street, Bloomsbury GUESTS Hannah Kent, novelist whose books are Burial Rites, The Good People and Devotion – and whose memoir, Always Home, Always Homesick – has just been published. Beejay Silcox, critic and writer. Festival director, literary interviewer and one of the inaugural recipients of the Frank Moorhouse Reading Room writing residency OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED Jeffrey Eugenides, Middlesex Michael Chabon, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay Eric Puchner, Dream State Rebecca Makkai, The Great Believers Emily Maguire, Rapture Mariana Enríquez, A Sunny Place for Shady People Susan Hampton, Anything Can Happen
CTV News
14-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
New Zealand's unofficial fruit is the feijoa, not the kiwi. And part of the fun is in giving it away
Someone leaves a box outside a house offering free feijoas in Wellington, New Zealand on May 11, 2025. (Charlotte Graham-McLay / AP Photo) WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The unofficial national fruit of New Zealand isn't native to the country – it's South American. It isn't exclusively found in New Zealand. And it's not, perhaps surprisingly, the kiwi. It's the feijoa. Known as pineapple guava elsewhere, the fruit — a green perfumed oval with a polarizing taste — can be purchased in California or Canberra. Yet no country has embraced the feijoa with quite the fervour or the fixation of New Zealanders. Due to its short shelf life, New Zealand — a nation of thriving fruit exports — has never been able to spin the feijoa (pronounced fee-jo-ah) into a global brand, as growers have done with apples and kiwi. But during the brief span of weeks each year when the fruit is ripe, the country goes feijoa wild. A backyard boom The feijoa's allure comes partly from how it's acquired. In autumn, fallen fruit forms fragrant carpets beneath backyard trees and is swept into boxes, bags and buckets to be offered for free outside homes, in office breakrooms and on neighbourhood Facebook groups. There's such abundance that some feijoa lovers take pride in never having paid for one. 'It's sort of non-commercialized. We turn up our noses at the idea of buying them in the shop,' said Kate Evans, author of the book Feijoa: A Story of Obsession and Belonging. 'You just sort of expect to get them for free.' In suburban Wellington, Diana Ward-Pickering said she had given away 'thousands' of feijoas from her five backyard trees this season: in a box on the sidewalk, to neighbours, to coworkers, to her daughter's eyelash technician — in short, to any friend or stranger who wanted some. On a recent Sunday, Ward-Pickering selected a feijoa from dozens on the ground, halved it with a spoon, and scooped the pale, creamy flesh into her mouth. 'Delicious,' she said. But while she could eat a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of the fruit in a sitting, she said, even her appetite couldn't keep up with the sudden and generous bounty that arrives each April. 'There are people who can't afford to pay for them,' Ward-Pickering said. 'We happily give them away.' Love it or hate it Not everyone's an enthusiast, and every New Zealander has an opinion. What devotees of the fruit savour as a distinctive texture, flavour and smell, is gritty, soapy or sour to others. Diana Ward-Pickering's daughter, Lizzy, gingerly slurped a piece of feijoa into her mouth and grimaced. 'It's giving snot,' she said. 'My mind has not changed.' But for New Zealanders abroad who love the fruit, feijoas are a nostalgic taste evocative of a kiwi childhood. Evans, who admitted to once paying 3 Australian dollars (US$1.90) for a single feijoa at a market in Australia, said that in 12 years living overseas she often saw expatriates asking the same question online: Where can I find feijoas? A strange history How a fruit that hails from the Brazilian highlands, Uruguay and a corner of Argentina first came to New Zealand remains something of a mystery, Evans said. But what's known is that feijoas have been in New Zealand for just over 100 years, probably originating from California, via Australia. The trees grow 'extremely well' in New Zealand, growers say, due to the soil, subtropical climate and relative lack of destructive insect species. In spite of New Zealand's booming backyard feijoa economy there's still demand for them in stores, where they are currently sold for about 9 to 10 New Zealand dollars (US$5 to US$6) per kilogram. There are about 100 commercial feijoa growers in New Zealand almost solely supplying the domestic market, including for popular beverages such as feijoa cider, kombucha and juice. But exporting the fruit is 'tricky,' said Brent Fuller, spokesperson for the New Zealand Feijoa Growers Association. 'They'll keep in the chiller for two or three weeks, but that's about it.' Research is underway to increase the shelf life of the fruit. But with the name feijoa still unknown abroad, it remains for now an institution of New Zealand's autumn. 'It's something that kind of bonds us and gives us an excuse to talk to people around us,' Evans said. The kiwi, she added, has been a lucrative export for New Zealand. 'But we don't love it the way that we love feijoas.' Article written by Charlotte Graham-mclay, The Associated Press
The Independent
14-05-2025
- General
- The Independent
New Zealand's unofficial fruit is the feijoa, not the kiwi. And part of the fun is in giving it away
The unofficial national fruit of New Zealand isn't native to the country – it's South American. It isn't exclusively found in New Zealand. And it's not, perhaps surprisingly, the kiwi. It's the feijoa. Known as pineapple guava elsewhere, the fruit — a green perfumed oval with a polarizing taste — can be purchased in California or Canberra. Yet no country has embraced the feijoa with quite the fervor or the fixation of New Zealanders. Due to its short shelf life, New Zealand — a nation of thriving fruit exports — has never been able to spin the feijoa into a global brand, as growers have done with apples and kiwi. But during the brief span of weeks each year when the fruit is ripe, the country goes feijoa wild. A backyard boom The feijoa's allure comes partly from how it's acquired. In autumn, fallen fruit forms fragrant carpets beneath backyard trees and is swept into boxes, bags and buckets to be offered for free outside homes, in office breakrooms and on neighborhood Facebook groups. There's such abundance that some feijoa lovers take pride in never having paid for one. 'It's sort of non-commercialized. We turn up our noses at the idea of buying them in the shop,' said Kate Evans, author of the book Feijoa: A Story of Obsession and Belonging. 'You just sort of expect to get them for free.' In suburban Wellington, Diana Ward-Pickering said she had given away 'thousands' of feijoas from her five backyard trees this season: in a box on the sidewalk, to neighbors, to coworkers, to her daughter's eyelash technician — in short, to any friend or stranger who wanted some. On a recent Sunday, Ward-Pickering selected a feijoa from dozens on the ground, halved it with a spoon, and scooped the pale, creamy flesh into her mouth. 'Delicious,' she said. But while she could eat a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of the fruit in a sitting, she said, even her appetite couldn't keep up with the sudden and generous bounty that arrives each April. 'There are people who can't afford to pay for them,' Ward-Pickering said. 'We happily give them away.' Love it or hate it Not everyone's an enthusiast, and every New Zealander has an opinion. What devotees of the fruit savor as a distinctive texture, flavor and smell, is gritty, soapy or sour to others. Diana Ward-Pickering's daughter, Lizzy, gingerly slurped a piece of feijoa into her mouth and grimaced. 'It's giving snot,' she said. 'My mind has not changed.' But for New Zealanders abroad who love the fruit, feijoas are a nostalgic taste evocative of a kiwi childhood. Evans, who admitted to once paying 3 Australian dollars ($1.90) for a single feijoa at a market in Australia, said that in 12 years living overseas she often saw expatriates asking the same question online: Where can I find feijoas? A strange history How a fruit that hails from the Brazilian highlands, Uruguay and a corner of Argentina first came to New Zealand remains something of a mystery, Evans said. But what's known is that feijoas have been in New Zealand for just over 100 years, probably originating from California, via Australia. The trees grow 'extremely well' in New Zealand, growers say, due to the soil, subtropical climate and relative lack of destructive insect species. In spite of New Zealand's booming backyard feijoa economy there's still demand for them in stores, where they are currently sold for about 9 to 10 New Zealand dollars ($5-6) per kilogram. There are about 100 commercial feijoa growers in New Zealand almost solely supplying the domestic market, including for popular beverages such as feijoa cider, kombucha and juice. But exporting the fruit is 'tricky,' said Brent Fuller, spokesperson for the New Zealand Feijoa Growers Association. 'They'll keep in the chiller for two or three weeks, but that's about it.' Research is underway to increase the shelf life of the fruit. But with the name feijoa still unknown abroad, it remains for now an institution of New Zealand's autumn. 'It's something that kind of bonds us and gives us an excuse to talk to people around us,' Evans said. The kiwi, she added, has been a lucrative export for New Zealand. 'But we don't love it the way that we love feijoas.'
Associated Press
14-05-2025
- General
- Associated Press
New Zealand's unofficial fruit is the feijoa, not the kiwi. And part of the fun is in giving it away
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The unofficial national fruit of New Zealand isn't native to the country – it's South American. It isn't exclusively found in New Zealand. And it's not, perhaps surprisingly, the kiwi. It's the feijoa. Known as pineapple guava elsewhere, the fruit — a green perfumed oval with a polarizing taste — can be purchased in California or Canberra. Yet no country has embraced the feijoa with quite the fervor or the fixation of New Zealanders. Due to its short shelf life, New Zealand — a nation of thriving fruit exports — has never been able to spin the feijoa into a global brand, as growers have done with apples and kiwi. But during the brief span of weeks each year when the fruit is ripe, the country goes feijoa wild. A backyard boom The feijoa's allure comes partly from how it's acquired. In autumn, fallen fruit forms fragrant carpets beneath backyard trees and is swept into boxes, bags and buckets to be offered for free outside homes, in office breakrooms and on neighborhood Facebook groups. There's such abundance that some feijoa lovers take pride in never having paid for one. 'It's sort of non-commercialized. We turn up our noses at the idea of buying them in the shop,' said Kate Evans, author of the book Feijoa: A Story of Obsession and Belonging. 'You just sort of expect to get them for free.' In suburban Wellington, Diana Ward-Pickering said she had given away 'thousands' of feijoas from her five backyard trees this season: in a box on the sidewalk, to neighbors, to coworkers, to her daughter's eyelash technician — in short, to any friend or stranger who wanted some. On a recent Sunday, Ward-Pickering selected a feijoa from dozens on the ground, halved it with a spoon, and scooped the pale, creamy flesh into her mouth. 'Delicious,' she said. But while she could eat a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of the fruit in a sitting, she said, even her appetite couldn't keep up with the sudden and generous bounty that arrives each April. 'There are people who can't afford to pay for them,' Ward-Pickering said. 'We happily give them away.' Love it or hate it Not everyone's an enthusiast, and every New Zealander has an opinion. What devotees of the fruit savor as a distinctive texture, flavor and smell, is gritty, soapy or sour to others. Diana Ward-Pickering's daughter, Lizzy, gingerly slurped a piece of feijoa into her mouth and grimaced. 'It's giving snot,' she said. 'My mind has not changed.' But for New Zealanders abroad who love the fruit, feijoas are a nostalgic taste evocative of a kiwi childhood. Evans, who admitted to once paying 3 Australian dollars ($1.90) for a single feijoa at a market in Australia, said that in 12 years living overseas she often saw expatriates asking the same question online: Where can I find feijoas? A strange history How a fruit that hails from the Brazilian highlands, Uruguay and a corner of Argentina first came to New Zealand remains something of a mystery, Evans said. But what's known is that feijoas have been in New Zealand for just over 100 years, probably originating from California, via Australia. The trees grow 'extremely well' in New Zealand, growers say, due to the soil, subtropical climate and relative lack of destructive insect species. In spite of New Zealand's booming backyard feijoa economy there's still demand for them in stores, where they are currently sold for about 9 to 10 New Zealand dollars ($5-6) per kilogram. There are about 100 commercial feijoa growers in New Zealand almost solely supplying the domestic market, including for popular beverages such as feijoa cider, kombucha and juice. But exporting the fruit is 'tricky,' said Brent Fuller, spokesperson for the New Zealand Feijoa Growers Association. 'They'll keep in the chiller for two or three weeks, but that's about it.' Research is underway to increase the shelf life of the fruit. But with the name feijoa still unknown abroad, it remains for now an institution of New Zealand's autumn. 'It's something that kind of bonds us and gives us an excuse to talk to people around us,' Evans said. The kiwi, she added, has been a lucrative export for New Zealand. 'But we don't love it the way that we love feijoas.'
