Issue 11: Spring 2022
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Frozen fish
Freezing the day at the New Zealand National Ice Swimming Pool Championships. THE FIRST TIME YOU FACED REALLY COLD WATER WAS IN AN ALPINE LAKE. IT WAS SUMMER, BUT THERE WERE STILL POCKETS OF SNOW COWERING FROM THE SUN IN SHADY GULLIES. THE INSTANT YOUR TOE TOUCHED THE WATER IT BUZZED. YOU EASED YOURSELF IN…
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Waste not, want
IT ALL STARTED WITH A FIELD FULL OF RUBBISH. IT WAS NEW YEAR’S DAY 2020, AND RUBY URQUHART WAS HELPING WITH THE CLEAN-UP AFTER THE RHYTHM & ALPS MUSIC FESTIVAL, IN THE CARDRONA VALLEY. Scattered amongst the usual post-party detritus (beer cans, vape cartridges, flickering smart phones with shattered screens), there were a heck of…
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![Great Grandmother’s stories [fiction]](https://1964.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Gulls-page-FINAL-1-scaled.jpg)
Great Grandmother’s stories [fiction]
Cromwell, Aotearoa New Zealand, 2219 Once upon a time, Great Grandmother told you stories. Stories about a world – she said it was this world, only different – where the gulls would snatch children’s food, but not their hands. Where humans were the top of the food chain and did whatever they wanted. Where they…
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The wheels of history
How the quest for a nicely fitting knicker suit changed the world. IN MAY OF 1894, THE NEW ZEALAND RATIONAL DRESS ASSOCIATION (NZRDA) LAUNCHED IN CHRISTCHURCH. The aim was to “bring about that change in women’s dress which her wider life and increased activity seem to demand”. Basically, it was about the right to wear…
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Those dam Italians
Are Te Anau and the “alternative media” caught in a bad Rome-ance? THERE ARE A LOT OF STRANGE THEORIES CIRCULATING THESE DAYS. STANDOUTS INCLUDE THE RUMOUR THAT NEW ZEALAND IS A NASA HOAX POPULATED BY PAID ACTORS; THAT KEITH RICHARDS IS, IN FACT, JFK; AND THAT REPTILES ARE SECRETLY RUNNING THE WORLD. THE LAST ONE…
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The satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt
“HAVE YOU EVER BEEN BUSH-BASHING WITH AN IRONING BOARD? IT’S AWFUL, IT’S REALLY AWFUL. BUT WE DID IT EVERY WEEKEND,” REMEMBERS SACHA KNIGHT. SACHA IS THE FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE AUCKLAND UNIVERSITY TRAMPING CLUB AND, CRUCIALLY, ONE OF THE FOUNDING MEMBERS OF ITS EXTREME IRONING DIVISION (EID). HIS NICKNAME IS TRAIN TRACKS. MORE ON THAT…
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In the moment
Can the At the World’s Edge Festival get us hooked on classical? I’VE SEEN CHAMBER MUSIC DESCRIBED AS “A DELICATE, BUT INTENSE, WORLD IN MINIATURE.” I like that, because it not only sums up what this niche of classical music is, but what makes good art. Good art takes big stuff and serves it up…
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The 1964 guide to the small town cinemas of the South Island
Where going to the movies is as it should be. WAS A TIME, MOVIEGOING WAS AN EVENT. GOING TO THE CINEMA WAS AN EXPERIENCE, ONE YOU MIGHT DRESS UP FOR, SAVE FOR, BOOK IN ADVANCE. THOSE WERE THE DAYS. WHICH SOUNDS CURMUDGEONLY, BUT ALSO, MULTIPLEXES ARE TRASH. Fortunately, despite industry turbulence caused first by the…
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The backcountry, my body
All about accessibility and ambling. A BACKCOUNTRY TRAMP TAKES CAREFUL PLANNING. EVEN MORESO IF, LIKE ME, YOU ARE DISABLED. I HAVE AN ACQUIRED BRAIN INJURY, SUSTAINED IN MY LATE 20S. It’s not just the headaches, or the brain fog, the memory loss, or the fatigue; it’s the way I feel like I have to justify…