THIS WEEK
The thing about the global pandemic is, notwithstanding those weeks/months Kiwis spent trapped largely indoors with only our household bubble mates for company, it has been actually rather good for the social life.
People with grand plans to seek their fortunes overseas swiftly cancelled their flights or turned around and came straight back home. Friends who for years were reduced to names in my Messenger list are suddenly 3D and IRL down the pub on Friday afternoons. Being in the same timezone and sometimes even postcode has heralded whole new chapters of a number of my relationships, and I am selfishly totally stoked about that.
The mass influx has been sprinkled pretty liberally with some vaguely famous faces and one of them appears in this week’s issue. Actor Jonno Roberts is holed up with his family on his mate Rhys Darby’s lifestyle block north of Auckland and has taken to life back in Aotearoa like a whio to water. Read about his idyllic setup on page 16.