Paper Jets

OPINION: Having quit ballet just days from opening night, I long dreamed of returning to the studio. It's been almost a year since my move to New Plymouth and I've been waiting to bump into the dance teachers of my youth as a sign it's time to return. Who am I kidding. I was making detours past the Val Deakin Dance School in an attempt to speed up the process. Ballet is one of those childhood hobbies almost every girl starts but few of us finish as prima ballerinas. Those of you who have ever had the gall to back-chat a ballet teacher will know exactly what I'm talking about. My first days of dancing were as a shy six year old with pigtails. It was adorable, we wore frilly dresses and played toy soldiers, spinning tops and teddy bears to music. My ballet teacher at the time was friendly enough to us, though she earned the nickname 'the dragon lady' among the mothers for her air of formidability. Ballet is a discipline but also an exquisite form ...

OPINION: I have to dig deep to show emotion when a friend's upset. Adult tears are mesmerising. It's not that I don't feel their sadness, oh I do. It's just that I had to cope with intense grief as a child. I was 11 and Dad was supposed to live forever. Losing a parent when you are young can make you resilient in many ways. Over time though, resilience can morph into hardness. It's taken years of watching the close bond between my husband and his dad to realise a father's role doesn't diminish at the end of childhood. That bond was what pulled my husband, and our young family with it, back from Auckland to New Plymouth last year. There were a number of reasons for this move, but most pressingly has been my husband's need to spend quality time with his father before age and ailing health rob them. Through seeing my husband snuggle up to his dad like a boy and ask him for advice, I've learned that the role of a father is one intended to guide ...

In my anxiety-filled, rule-breaking, soul-searching teenage years, I discovered the value in MOMS – ‘My Other Mothers’. One of the MOMs whose words of encouragement and love remain strongest in my memory would be a particular high school teacher from my Taranaki hometown. I have memories of her that date back to primary school, when my little sister and I would finish school and wander off to the next door college. There , Dad would be trying to quell a restless classroom while we drew smiley faces on the whiteboard. Later in the staffroom we stuffed our mouths with chips while Dad stuffed his satchel with paperwork and teachers smiled at us over their Arcoroc glass coffee cups. Memories from those days are precious. Dad died when I was 11 years old. My parents had separated when I was nine and old social connections were lost. So at college I was thrilled to be back in Dad’s domain. Looking back now, I can see this friend of his had , and very much still has, a heart of go...

"Lawyers, judges, prosecutors and police have all said, 'This is not a process I would want a member of my family to go through." In an effort to resolve sexual assault cases more quickly, reduce the trauma for complainants and encourage more victims to come forward, two new specialist sexual violence courts are to be opened in New Zealand. The courts will deal exclusively with serious sexual offences such as "rape, sexual violation, incest, sexual grooming, indecent assault, possession of child pornography and intimate visual recordings made without consent", according to a government statement. Starting December this year, the two-year pilot will also see 20 judges up-skilled on how to best deal with the complexities of sexual abuse cases. Research tells us that lengthy proceedings may delay recovery. "Timeliness is clearly an issue," Chief District Court Judge Jan-Marie Doogue said. "Research tells us that lengthy proceedings may...

Among the surfer chicks and the beach babes, the cow cockies and the horsey heads, a new breed of women is putting a fresh face on what it means to be Taranaki raised. They have researched, refined, colour-matched and Instagrammed their skills as far afield as New York. Now these young business women hailing from New Plymouth tell Michelle Robinson how they literally ‘made up’ their careers. SALLY JO HICKEY ~ Makeup and Lifestyle Vlogger, of New Plymouth (22) She may have been the quiet kid at school, but YouTube star Sally Jo Hickey is sure making up for that now. With more than 189,000 subscribers to her online beauty and lifestyle tips channel, she has one of New Zealand’s top rated YouTube channels. The communications graduate has proudly created a full-time job for herself – predominantly creating makeup tutorials. For the uninitiated, Sally Jo uploads two or more makeup or lifestyle videos a week, each with a differing theme. Her most popular clips are ‘how to’s’ on ...

ANNALEE MUGGERIDGE ~  Clinique Sales Adviser and Beauty Vlogger (25) Before we meet, I hope Annalee isn’t wearing makeup, while at the same time hoping that she is. Her transformation from fresh faced girl-next-door to Hollywood cover girl is something to behold. But to be honest, I’m a little intimidated by what I might find. Annalee answers the door dressed in a casual chic ensemble of black leggings, denim shirt and black choker. Her blonded hair is worn straight down and she’s wearing ... a beautiful full face of makeup. I’m grateful we’re starting our session with a makeover for me, my face is as bare as the day I was born and I might be intimidated if it wasn’t for Annalee’s friendly manner. I may be the journalist, but it’s Annalee who’s asking me a bunch of questions from the first application of makeup to post-interview tea and croissants around the kitchen table. She’s only been in the country two days when we meet and already she’s had two photoshoots and now...

It's been 12 years since I have heard the voice of anyone from my father's family. Now suddenly I have the cacophony of dozens of rolled 'r's and hearty, shrieking laughter in my ears. My cheeks are warm with pressed kisses, my limbs are wary from countless hugs and my soul is fulfilled with the love of a family I never knew I had missed. Four and a half decades on from when Dad left Cape Town's shores, I have returned without him, with the hope of meeting him. I was entering my awkward adolescent years when he left me behind in this world and his father, his brother, followed him out of my grasp. The freshest memories are of my oupa or Papa as I called him. It's his voice that lingers, his arms that last held me. I saw him, I heard him in my great-Aunty Alice as I embraced her tiny frame and in the sparkle in her eyes as she smiled at me. "I never thought I would meet you," she cried, clasping my hands in hers. I could tell this moment was as ...