Helping hand come date night

Fancy a Bachelor-style date but without the prying eyes of the nation?

Inspired by her hubby’s lack of romance, Marlborough woman Natasha McLauchlan has decided to take matters of the heart into her own hands and help other men woo their women.

’’I just got married in December and my partner is not exactly the most romantic of men. So it kind of dawned on me that there’s probably other men out there that are exactly the same that could need some help,’’ she said.

Two weeks ago, McLauchlan took the bull by the horns and started up her own business, Vintage Fairytale, offering a range of Bachelor-style packages, including the option of a candle-lit picnic on the beach, with a glass of wine in one hand and a paint brush in the other.

‘‘My friend last week had her five-year wedding anniversary and I thought why not kick it off with something like that so I created a little thing for them ... It worked out perfectly. He absolutely loved it,’’ McLauchlan said.

People could have a picnic set up anywhere they wanted, she said.

‘‘If it’s a private location at their house, they take their partner away for the early evening and we’ll set everything up on their lawn. Or it can be a little bit more of a public space, so we can do it down at Rarangi Beach or Monkey Bay or Whites Bay, anywhere really,’’ she said.

One option included a giant game of Jenga, while another had an outdoor brazier, marshmallows and biscuits for making smores.

A ‘ getting-to-know’ box gave people who had just started dating some questions to ask each other, while the creative types could try painting portraits.

The packages ranged from $120 to $280 and could be hired for up to three hours.

McLauchlan said she had already had quite a bit of interest.

For more information and offers, check out Vintage Fairytales on Facebook.

Other businesses providing picnic packages and hampers in Marlborough include Windhawk Helicopters, Precision Helicopters, Marlborough Helicopters, BV Gourmet and Chateau Marlborough.

Murder-accused

A woman charged with murder will undergo further psychiatric treatment before experts decide if she is fit to stand trial. Police claim the 59-year-old, who cannot be named, stabbed her 58-year-old partner to death in a campervan at the Kaiko¯ura Top 10 Holiday Park on January 27. The Southland woman has been in custody since, appearing by audio visual link at the High Court in Blenheim on Tuesday. She has not entered a plea. Justice Simon France said assuming the woman was found fit to stand trial, it was unlikely the case would go to trial until next year at the earliest. He remanded her in custody to June 15, and ordered for her interim name suppression to continue.

Crash on SH1

Amotorcyclist has been seriously injured after hitting a truck in Marlborough. The crash happened on State Highway 1 near Lake Grassmere, south of Blenheim, about 6.40am on Tuesday. The motorcyclist was being treated at Wairau Hospital, in Blenheim, while the condition of the truck driver was not known, a police spokesperson said. The road was closed while emergency services were at the scene but reopened shortly before 8.30am. Police were investigating the cause of the crash.

Census counts for health

Nelson Marlborough Health Chief Executive Peter Bramley urges all Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough residents to complete the census survey as the results directly influence funding for health services in the region. ‘‘Census results are used by Statistics NZ, who collect and analyse the results to help determine health service for our communities. We need every resident to complete the survey, telling Statistics NZ that they live in the Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough region so that they can be counted towards health funding for our region.’’

"They take their partner away for the early evening and we'll set everything up on their lawn." Natasha McLauchlan

Drink-driver

Aman has been caught drink-driving at four times the legal limit. Cole Bradley Moore, 31, a spray painter of Fairhall, was driving a Holden west on Alabama Rd about 1am on February 2. He saw a police car coming the other way, and pulled over suddenly, got out of the car and walked away, a police summary said. Police stopped Moore and he gave a breath test result of 1033 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath. The legal limit is 250mcg. Moore admitted a charge of drink-driving at the Blenheim District Court on Monday. Judge David Ruth convicted Moore, ordered a drug and alcohol report and remanded Moore on bail to sentencing on April 23.

Volunteers needed