Weekend

St Arnaud's money-free revolutionary

TRACY NEAL - © Fairfax NZ News

They're the people we all encounter in our day-to-day lives, but who are they really? In an occasional series on the stories behind everyday people, Tracy Neal talks to a farmer whose colourful past has given rise to a new way of thinking.

Op-shops are the new cool

NAOMI ARNOLD - © Fairfax NZ News

Charity stores are enjoying a boomtime as more people latch on to the feel-good factor of buying second-hand. Naomi Arnold takes a closer look at Nelson's thriving op shop industry.

A marriage of convenience

BILL MOORE - © Fairfax NZ News

Nelson city and Tasman district voters are to choose whether to retain their two councils, or see them merge into a single entity with authority over the whole of the Nelson region and its 93,000 residents. The Local Government Commission's final decision on the union proposal makes it look like a no-brainer, Bill Moore reports.

Loving Chambers' music

NAOMI ARNOLD - © Fairfax NZ News

Internet sensation Ben Chambers on singing, theatre and the weird world of YouTube.

Fishing, fossicking and family at French Pass

ZANE MIRFIN - © Fairfax NZ News

The cool, clear and fertile waters of lower D'Urville Island contain some remarkable fishing opportunities.

Emotional rescue

Futile battle to save stranded pod

NAOMI ARNOLD - © Fairfax NZ News

Whale strandings do something to the human soul, seasoned rescuers say. Naomi Arnold and photographer Virginia Woolf joined an agonising effort last week as a fresh graveyard of pilot whales formed on the treacherous shore of Farewell Spit.

Hokum or healing?

NAOMI ARNOLD - © Fairfax NZ News

Apipuncture, resonance therapy, neural-spinal scans ... Nelson has long been a haven for those seeking a different sort of medical treatment. So is it all abit kooky, or something we should be celebrating? Naomi Arnold reports.

Solace among the mountains

TRACY NEAL - © Fairfax NZ News

Tracy Neal talks to a Ruby Bay woman who has forged connections with her "Shangri-la".

After the heartache

TRACY NEAL - © Fairfax NZ News

Nelson is proving to be a haven for a Christchurch couple who lost their son in an air accident, and then their home in last February's earthquake. Tracy Neal reports.

On the first rung

Melissa Corlett and Matt Duncan with daughter Lola in front of their first home in Murphy St, Nelson.

NAOMI ARNOLD - © Fairfax NZ News

The property boom may have long since fizzled, but is it any easier for young people to get their foot on the home ownership ladder?

Living on a slippery slope

It's some of Nelson's most prized real estate, but also among its most vulnerable.

Nature's havoc and rugby's hour

Another year is about to go the way of all the others and become the stuff of memories.

Worst and best Christmas

The most memorable Christmases are those which don't always go to the traditional script.

Tattoo you

Matt Lloyd left Nelson as a teenager with a budding fascination for tattoos.

Fixing the pongy ponds

Alec Louverdis with the clarifier at the Nelson Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The stench from Nelson's broken sewage ponds at Wakapuaka hangs heavily over the city.

Lean machines

Lynette Chambers competing in a recent bodybuilding contest.

The cruel diet, the relentless exercise, the skimpy bikini, the fake tan ... Naomi Arnold finds out why some women throw themselves into bodybuilding.

Have kids, will travel

MATT WATSON - © Fairfax NZ News

Travelling with three young children through Turkey proves a great icebreaker with the locals, as Nelson's Matt Watson found out.

The Jester's holding court

NAOMI ARNOLD - © Fairfax NZ News

They pioneered the idea of a country cafe in Nelson, and 20 years later the couple behind Jester House still hold firm to the ideals that have cemented their place firmly in the heart of Tasman.

Love bytes

NAOMI ARNOLD - © Fairfax NZ News

Thousands of Nelsonians are looking for love on dating websites but the ease of hooking up online doesn't necessarily make the age-old rituals any simpler.

Tasman election race: the minor parties

Head to head: How the minor parties see the race for the West Coast-Tasman electorate.

Tasman election race: the major candidates

Head to head: How the two major party candidates see the race for the West Coast-Tasman electorate.

Nelson election race: the minor parties

Head to head: How the minor party candidates see the race for the Nelson electorate.

Nelson election race: the major candidates

Head to head: How the two major party candidates see the race for the Nelson electorate.

Voters focus on paydirt

ADAM ROBERTS - © Fairfax NZ News

Adam Roberts takes a look at how the last three years have treated the diverse and sprawling West Coast-Tasman electorate.

Different Nelson, similar vibes

Exploring Nelson's Canadian namesake

CHRISTOPHER REYNOLDS - © Fairfax NZ News

A pretty, laid-back refuge from the outside world, popular with those seeking a quieter, alternative, outdoorsy lifestyle – Christopher Reynolds visits another town called Nelson.

Not such pretty studies in actions and emotion

NAOMI ARNOLD - © Fairfax NZ News

Rachel Bush quite likes the pair of grubby pink jandals that feature on the front cover of her new book Nice Pretty Things. Their scumminess juxtaposes nicely with its title.

Man v fire: tales of flame, smoke and life

Al Brown has found a recipe for success with thousands of kai-loving Kiwis.

Slaving over a hot book ...

The hard graft of food writing

GEOFF COLLETT - © Fairfax NZ News

This weekend's get-together in Nelson sounds terribly glamorous: lunches at fine restaurants, mooching around the Saturday market, visits to artisan food producers and wineries, expert briefings on seafood, celebratory dinners; then going home to write about it. For a living.

Potton at large

NAOMI ARNOLD - © Fairfax NZ News

Craig Potton has ranged far and wide in his advocacy for the environment.

Seeking hearts, minds and votes

Election day is just four weeks away, and that can mean only one thing: a candidate near you is going to want your vote.

Grand Designs

NAOMI ARNOLD - © Fairfax NZ News

Nelson's highest-profile garden designer gives Naomi Arnold some tips of his trade.

Louie's battle

Nelson tot fights on after liver transplant

Deon and Nicola Charles see themselves as just another couple starting a family – but for the rare, lethal disease one of their babies was born with.

Digging through the stuff of life

GEOFF COLLETT - © Fairfax NZ News

Nobody could accuse Joe Bennett of not speaking his mind, and he's back in Nelson on Wednesday to share more of his thoughts on life's absurdities.

No time to waste in trip to the unknown

Beyond the frontline in Haiti

Mike McRoberts recalls his call-up to one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters – and his harrowing encounter with a Nelson family.

Brothers and sisters

NAOMI ARNOLD - © Fairfax NZ News

All over Nelson, dozens of young people and adults whose paths would normally never cross are forming firm friendships, thanks to a scheme sharing life's experiences between the generations.

Telling their own stories

Self-publishing might be seen as the poor cousin of the book trade, but a Stoke business has recognised it as a fruitful, even thriving, opportunity, writes Geoff Collett.

Documenting a disaster

SALLY KIDSON - © Fairfax NZ News

The Christchurch earthquake has been a major experience in Nelson policeman Chris Gladstone's life. He talks to Sally Kidson about helping to record scenes of tragedy and heroism.

Farewell to the chief

NAOMI ARNOLD - © Fairfax NZ News

Paul Wylie has served his last day as the Tasman District Council's chief executive, but, as Naomi Arnold finds, just what he made of his occasionally controversial time at the top remains something of a mystery.

Building a community with radio

A new home for Nelson's community radio station might open new horizons, but Fresh FM is determined to stay true to its roots. Naomi Arnold reports.

Time to match their noise with ours

Flatting in London means getting to know your neighbours, rather well.

Salve for sores

Is Mapua about to finally shed the stigma of being home to New Zealand's most contaminated site? Or will a pretty new waterfront park never disguise a blighted history? NAOMI ARNOLD reports.

Boots, knickerbockers and all

As Nelson prepares for a re-enactment of the first recognised game of rugby played in New Zealand, Alan Turley looks at how the game came to spread across the country after its introduction here.

Height of medicine

A Nelson couple loom large in the story of the Himalayan hospitals established by Sir Edmund Hillary. Naomi Arnold reports.

Who cares?

Nelson's health service is once again grappling with how to care – and pay for – some of its most vulnerable charges. Naomi Arnold reports.

This year's model

There is no limit to what Motueka's Brigette Thomas can achieve in her new career as New Zealand's newest top model. Tracy Neal reports.

Profit versus medicine

Sarah Young spoke with American investigative journalist Robert Whitaker while in Nelson about his views on why depression will be the second biggest burden of disease worldwide by 2020.

The many faces of cup fever

It's game on from this weekend, so what are you doing to celebrate the Rugby World Cup?

Oh, the liberation of computers: 101 ways to procrastinate

My computer is ill. Ill or evil – I haven't quite made up my mind yet. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with computers at the best of times. There's always been at least one threat comprised of the words computer, window and smash – but right now it's gone to a whole new level.