Darren Bevan: Movies

Out Boxing Day - Moana - Starring Auli'i Cravalho, Rachel House, Dwayne Johnson, Jemaine Clement, Temuera Morrison
Darren's verdict: Rush to see it!

http://bit.ly/moana-filmreview

 

 

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - Cast: Felicity Jones, Riz Ahmed, Forest Whitaker, Mads Mikkelsen, Ben Mendelsohn, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk
Darren's verdict: Wait for the DVD

http://bit.ly/rogue-one-a-star-wars-story-review

 

Out on Boxing Day and nominated for 7 Golden Globes - La La Land with Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling
Darren's verdict: Rush to see it!

http://bit.ly/lalaland-review

 

For all Darren's reviews and info go to Darren's blog  http://www.darrens-world-of-entertainment.blogspot.co.nz/

 

NICI WICKES: Food

We've covered mince pies, Christmas cake and the turkey.  This week we have a fabulous Christmas Rhubarb and Custard Pavlova!! Recipe is on our website but for more inspiration visit  http://www.niciwickes.com/  or her Facebook pagehttps://www.facebook.com/#!/niciwickes

 

LYNDA HALLINAN: Gardening

As one year winds down, the pundits wind up with all their trends predictions for the coming year... and in this respect, gardening is no different to fashion. So what will our gardens be wearing next year? According to the pundits at US Garden Design magazine:

 

1. More natural features and fewer hard lines. So replace your hard wooden garden furniture with comfy outdoor couches (or old op-shop numbers), use wooden stakes rather than plastic, and generally make things look more natural and less like a gardener has been at work.

 

2. Colour blocking. Yep, just as it's trendy to match your cushions to your kitchen cabinetry and bar stools in an open plan living area, colour blocking is growing more popular in gardens. So that might mean painting your outdoor furniture a bold shade of red, then painting every fifth picket on your front fence the same shade.

 

3. Hyperlocalism. This simply means sourcing your plants from your own neck of the woods (how boring!). It doesn't mean sourcing cuttings from public parks :) If you want to create a native bush garden, for instance, you need to find local sources of seeds and natural varieties from your area. 

 

4. No-mow lawns. Either because they're plastic, or because they're planted with groundcovers and dwarf ornamental grasses that don't need mowing.

 

5. Grow your own... natural fabric dyes. Yes, it's no longer considered enough of an eco-credential to grow your own food and brew your own booze... now you need to plant things specifically to use as dyes, from beetroot (red) to onion (brown) to woad and cornflowers (blue). Whatever next, cotton plantations?

 

6. Adult playgrounds with sand pits, petanque courts, rock walls etc. This is a natural progression from colouring in books, surely!

 

7. Houseplants. Mind you, they say this every year because most of us kill them so quickly that we have to buy more each year!

 

BOB CAMPBELL: Wine

BOB'S BEST OF 2016

White wine of the year

• Bell Hill 2012 Chardonnay, North Canterbury $100

Red wine of the year

• Ata Rangi 2014 Pinot Noir, Martinborough $75

Sparkling wine of the year

• Champagne Dumangin Cuvee Firmin Blanc de Chardonnay 1er Cru $145

More than 15 years old (NV) very refined, tight, mineral-laced wine with a brioche/nutty influence, ethereal texture and perfect balance.

Available from specialist stores contact [email protected]

Sweet wine of the year

• Framingham 2016 F-Series Trockenbeerenauslese Riesling, Marlborough (375ml) $70

Winemaker of the year

• Dr Andrew Hedley, chief winemaker at Framingham

Visit Bob's website with over  22,000 wine reviews!  http://bobcampbell.nz/

 

MIKE YARDLEY: Travel

Feature Topic - Great London Day-Trips . For tips and picks on great day-trips from London, check out Mike's article on the website. www.newstalkzb.co.nz/lifestyle

 

CATHERINE RAYNES: Books

Good summer reading

Holding – Graham Norton

Small Great Things – Jodi Picoult

Truly Madly Guilty – Leanne Moriaty

Commonwealth – Ann Patchett

 

Thrillers

Conclave – Robert Harris

The Whistler – John Grisham

Night School – Lee Child

 

Music

Working Class Boy - Jimmy Barnes

 

Sports

Declared - Brendon's McCallum

 

Biography

The Romanovs Simon Sebag Montifore​

 

ANDREW DICKENS: Music

Frankie Stevens and Gina Mills