The place I like calling home
What do you like best about Grey Lynn?
A community. People talking to each other, people making a positive move into the new century, plenty of trees, a place where real gardens can still be found, the new wave of children, generally affable grandparents and lots of places for coffee.
How long have you lived here and where are you originally from?
I have been in the area 35 years or more. Originally from Taranaki and that was a long time ago. I left the surf and sun for the faster life in Auckland and found that the surf wasn’t that far away. I fell in love with yacht racing and never looked back.
What do you like least and how can we fix it?
The lack of dedicated play spaces and playgrounds for the very young and places that are user-friendly for both grandparents and the young. A good fix would be more play equipment and small dedicated spaces. We don’t need large reserves, rather small local patches.
Where’s the best place to buy dinner in Grey Lynn?
Cafe Viet on Surrey Cres. Still working through the menu.
And who does the best fish ‘n chips?
Happy Takeaways on Garnet Rd. It never fails and there are always extra menu options.
Who is a Kiwi that you admire – and why?
Sir Dove Meyer Robinson – someone who had a vision for Auckland.
If I was Auckland’s mayor I’d . . .
Probably have a brain freeze. The ideal would be to move on getting public transport options linked and co-ordinated, and work on cross-city flow rather than a centralised in-and-out system.
When I’ve got a free few hours I like to . . .
Meet a friend, go for a swim, go for a sail, find a place to sit down and just generally chatter and, most likely, have a coffee.
The spot in Grey Lynn I’d recommend to tourists is . . .
Look at how older houses have been taken into this century, walk through the trees and find a great place to sit down and have coffee.