Sir Bill will celebrate with pizza
Pizza is on the menu for Bill English’s first night as Sir Bill.
It won’t be spaghetti pizza, nor will he be cooking – but it will be a version of the Italian classic which got people talking.
The Right Honourable Sir Simon William English, our 39th Prime Minister, yesterday at Government House in Wellington received a knighthood and the insignia of a Knight Companion of New Zealand for his services to the State.
His citation covered a wide range of accomplishments, from being elected as an MP in 1990, to becoming Finance Minister who oversaw ‘‘one of the fastest growing economies in the developed world [and] steering New Zealand through the global financial crisis’’.
There was also his management through the Christchurch earthquakes, leaving the Crown accounts in good shape, and being longtime Deputy Prime Minister before his brief stint in the top job.
Sir Bill has long been known as a family man and so it was that his family were there for the ceremony. There was his wife Mary English who laughed that she could now be referred to as ‘‘Lady Dr’’ English. Two of their sons, Bart and Xavier English, were there as was his sister Anne Seabrook and parents-in-law Jean and George Scanlon.
‘‘I have adapted very well with getting out of politics and moving on with another life,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s great being able to make my own decisions about how to use my time.’’
And after the formal ceremony the family would celebrate together.
‘‘We will have a bit of a family gathering-up with pizza and chips,’’ he said.
Then – perhaps in a nod to that famous spaghetti pizza he made and posted on social media – he added, ‘‘I’m not making the pizza’’. It is not clear if he will go for a walk-run afterwards.