Cricket At The Hnry

Wellington’s stadium has gone through several iterations as name sponsors have changed. It started out as Westpac Stadium, then changed to Sky. The latest sponsor is Hnry, a New Zealand tax accounting company. So we now have the Hnry Stadium. Pronounced Hnry.

Whilst international test cricket is played at the Basin Reserve, Twenty20 and ODIs are increasing played at the Hnry, as they have floodlighting for day/night matches. This was the third match in a five match T20 series against South Africa. Both men’s and women’s teams are playing, leading to an eight-hour festival of cricket. 

This match is included in our Gold membership of Cricket Wellington, so we could access the member’s lounge. This is right under the scoreboard, which makes tracking what’s going on a little harder for us, as the screen at the other end of the ground is used largely for advertising, and only rarely do they update the scores there. Indoors, however, they also have several tv screens so we can keep up with the match. Also handy for the action replays!

The White Ferns were up first, starting at 2:45. We’d got there in plenty of time, and ensconced ourselves by the window. The Ferns are 2-1 up in the series, with a WLW record behind them. South Africa won the toss, decided to bat, and amassed a reasonable score of 159, setting the Ferns their highest chase total at home. Losing opener Gaze in the second over didn’t help, and then Plimmer fell for 29 after keeping captain Melie Kerr company for a bit. It was the partnerships of Kerr/Devine and Devine/Halliday that really sealed the deal, and by the time Devine was out for 64 they needed just another 11 runs from 17 balls, which they achieved with nine balls to spare. This sealed the series win 3-1, with one more match to play in Christchurch.

There was a bit of a wait for the men’s game, as it is timed to be shown after the TV News has finished at 7:00pm. We availed ourselves of dinner from the member’s lounge catering…not brilliant.

The Black Caps are also 2-1 up on the series, having lost the first game but absolutely pantsing the Proteas with bat and ball in the next two games – bowling them out for 107 after setting a target of 175 in the second match, and then restricting them to 139/9 in the third – a total they saw off in less than 17 overs. There were line-up changes for this match, bringing in some newer players, and also losing Tom Latham to injury. South Africa won the toss and decided to bat, setting a target of an achievable 165 for the Black Caps.

Unfortunately, the Black Caps failed to dazzle with the bat. No-one really got going and every time they seemed to get settled, another wicket fell. Neesham, in particular, who should have held the lower order together, was found wanting. Having skied the ball twice and been dropped twice in succession, what does he do? Hits it up again, and third time was a charm…caught for 6. Too much was being asked of the rest of the lower order, and South Africa eventually wrapped it up for 145, winning by 19 runs.

This leaves the men’s series tied at 2-2, with the final match on Wednesday in Christchurch. Should be a nailbiter!

 

The Rocky Horror Show

As the nights are starting to cool down and close in, the indoor entertainment scene in Wellington starts to liven up. Now showing at St James Theatre is a new production of The Rocky Horror Show. Nicola claims never to have seen the film all the way through, so this was a no-brainer.

First though…dinner, and time for another visit to perennial faves, Loggy B’s (Logan Brown to you). Last time we were there we had the leisurely Taste Of Logan Brown degustation menu, but this time we needed a quicker meal so were on the standard 3-course deal – still a snip at $95 each.  

It’s a short walk down the road and round the corner to St James Theatre, and we were ensconced in plenty of time for the show to begin. You know how it goes, right? Brad and Janet get stranded on the road and go to the local castle (!?) for help – there to be enmeshed in the goings-on at the castle, orchestrated by Frank N Furter, a transvestite from Transylvania, in the galaxy Transexual; ably assisted by RiffRaff, Magenta and Columbia. They did The Time Warp, Sweet Transexual, Dammit Janet and all the other songs. A lot of people had made the effort to dress up for the occasion, but I think we were channelling our inner Janet and Brad. All jolly good fun, catch it if you can!

 

Hutt Sounds 2026

Where does the time go?

Yes, well, I’ve been busy, and haven’t had time to blog for a while. I’ll try to fill in the gaps as best I can.

We booked early for Hutt Sounds again this year…almost as soon as they announced who the line-up would be. Yes, it’s possible to buy “early bird” tickets blind, without knowing who you’re going to see, but I was cautious. When they announced the line-up for the related Selwyn Sounds I was a little disheartened, as their headliner was Ronan Keating, who I have no particular desire to see. In past years, Selwyn, Auckland and Hutt have all had the same line-up…but this year, they’ve varied it, and the headliner is Tony Hadley, formerly of Spandau Ballet. Not a Keating to be seen! I booked the tickets.

We drove up to Upper Hutt early, with a plan to secure parking and go and see an exhibition of Japanese art at Whirinaki Whare Taonga beforehand. There was lots to admire, but I particularly liked this piece:

We lunched at the adjoining Dough Bakery café, then walked the short walk to Brewtown. Drizzle had set in in the morning, but we had rain gear with us and the forecast was for the weather to clear in the afternoon.

We needn’t have worried. This year, they’ve changed the format. Whereas in previous years we’ve taken our chances and sat outside in an open field, this year they’ve scaled it down somewhat and the whole of the audience is in the covered area – which previously had housed the food trucks. I don’t know why this was – maybe residents complaining about congestion? They hold several events at Brewtown, and I can see why it might be annoying if you live there; it’s right in a residential area.

We found a good spot, and settled in for the first act: Jan Hellriegel, a kiwi singer of the late 80s/early 90s. Never heard of her. She sang some songs, some with guitar, some with piano. Nothing about them inspired me to go out and investigate any further.

Next act: someone I’ve heard of! And way down the order in terms of who I know, but there are reasons for this; Lloyd Cole, Commotionless (as he has been for some time) playing a guitar set of some of his better-known songs for half an hour or so.

The next band out of the box were Mi-Sex, another Kiwi ensemble of the 80s. Lead singer Steve Gilpin died in a car crash in 1992, but has been replaced by Steve Balbi, an Australian musician (formerly of Noiseworks) since the band reformed in 2011. They released four albums in the 80s, and it seems a lot of people knew their work – it being a kiwi crowd, and Mi-sex were originally from Wellington. They provided a lot more energy than the two opening acts, and the crowd really started to get going. I know one song – Computer Games, which is on a compilation CD (yes, I still have CDs!) from the 80s. It was, I think, their biggest hit, so they naturally saved it to the end. Anyway, I have been inspired to investigate further and am awaiting the arrival of a greatest hits CD in the post (yes, I still have post!)

They were followed by another hi-energy group, Fun Lovin’ Criminals. They’re of a slightly later era, 90s rap-rock. They’re known for two major hits, The Fun-Lovin’ Criminal, which they opened with, and Scooby Snacks, noted for its frequent sampling of Quentin Tarantino movie dialogue – so much so that he sued, and won, a share of the royalties. They have, apparently, been successful with some other songs as well, and they provided an entertaining 50 minute set, finishing up with the aforementioned Scooby Snacks.

The next band on were When The Cat's Away, a successful (in New Zealand) girl band, again from the late 80s/early 90s, who were known for their cover versions of relatively unknown songs. Included in their set was Prince’s Let’s Go Crazy, to which they failed to do justice. I hadn’t heard any of their other songs, so took the opportunity to visit the food trucks at this point. Apparently, though, some people were here specifically for them, as when they finished their set, quite a few packed up and left!

And now, the moment we’ve been waiting for, the headline act! Tony Hadley took to the stage, and opened with…a Nina Simone number, Feeling Good. Nice song, but we’re here for the Spandau Ballet stuff, Tony! Fortunately he got on with it, and took us into To Cut A Long Story Short and Highly Strung, then several more of his hits. He plugged a couple of new songs (mediocre) and also included a cover of Queen’s Somebody To Love, which he shouldn’t have, really. He finished up with classics Gold and True, as you might expect. Overall a polished performance, lots of crowd participation, and yes, we know the words! That set list in full can be found here.

As usual, the show finished on the dot of 9:00pm, presumably in accordance with local ordinances, and we were back home by 10.