Victoria University graduate & self-professed Jacqueline of all trades, mistress of some. Amanda is a sartorial photographer & writer, seldom seen without a camera at her side. She's a fan of Asian horror, whole food, good coffee, and fights the good fight for fashion - every day.
As a recent Massey Communications graduate, Joe Coates has been delighted to learn that he can use his passion for shopping, gorging himself and writing to make himself useful... hopefully.
Being a student for the past four and a half years (it was three year course, but the lure of South East Asia proved irresistable) has given him a keen eye for those hidden gems that lurk in all opshops. He likes nothing better than spending his days trawling through vintage shops, finding bargains that he can actually afford, or gazing wistfully into the windows of the more trendy shops where he couldn't afford even if he were to sell a kidney.
He also loves popping into Wellington's little cafes and restaurants, trying out the coffee and snacks, and chatting inanely to staff and strangers.
It can be a hard life sometimes, but someone's got to do it.
Email: joe@wordonthestreet.co.nz
Jeremy Taylor has three great loves; food, music, and rugby. He is brilliant at eating, tolerable at singing, and terrible at rugby. None of these facts stop him from having very strong opinions about each of them... especially when it comes to burgers.
Jeremy has stepped up to the plate for Burger Wellington, the annual battle of the buns where over 60 of our finest eateries prove their creativity with the humble patty. He is... Absolutely Burgered.
Sarah is the General Manager, Marketing at Positively Wellington Tourism and also Festival Co-Director of Wellington's annual culinary celebration, Visa Wellington On a Plate. Sarah grew up in a 'hospo family' and as such, an interest in food is in her blood.
Digging around for one-off bargains is Bel's favourite kind of shopping, but with an interrogator's light shining in her eyes, she will admit, yes, she even enjoys supermarket shopping.
Nothing lifts her heart like that red SALE sign in a shop window, except perhaps the thrill of clicking "Add to Shopping Basket". Her nose for a bargain battles with her magpie-eye tendencies, which may explain the strange look on her face each pay day.
Bel blogs about shopping and style.
Email: Bel@Wordonthestreet.co.nz
Jarrod is one half of Billy T Award winning musical comedy act Mrs. Peacock and the sole member of non-award-winning and mostly non-musical comedy act Jarrod Baker. When not doing comedy he has been known to act, write, be on the radio, make webcomics, and tend to his menagerie of chickens and cats.
Jarrod blogs about comedy (obviously), theatre and film.
Email: jarrod@wordonthestreet.co.nz
Martyn Pepperell is a Wellington based music, arts and culture writer, radio host, DJ, copywriter and creative consultant.
Martyn is a contributing editor at Vanguard Red Magazine. He also writes a monthly music column for Fishhead Magazine, a weekly Wellington music blog for wordonthestreet.co.nz and curates the Who's Next and New Music Report sections for Rip It Up.
Martyn hosts two regular radio spots on Radio Active 88.6 FM, Unofficial Channels (8.15am-9am on Fridays) and The Hard Deck (every second Tuesday from 9-11pm). He also hosts a weekly new music segment called Pepperell's Pick Of Next Week on RDU 98.5 FM (Wednesday mornings at 9.15am) and a weekly fresh New Zealand artist showcase on Kiwi FM (4.30pm on Monday afternoon).
Outside of these engagements Martyn also freelances for North & South, Idealog, NZ Musician, Wellington Woman and undertheradar.co.nz. His work has also appeared in City Voice, Groove Guide, Pulp, UNO, ATM (UK), Red Bull Daily Notes (EU), socialmedia.nz, Critic, thecorner.co.nz, The Lumiere Reader, The Press, The Kiwi Diary and numerous other magazines, newspapers and websites.
In 2013 he penned the local music pages of the fifth edition of Bennett & Slater's Best Of Wellington guide book.
In the past Martyn has also provided music related commentary for Nightline (TV3), Radio New Zealand, Radio One, George FM, Base FM, and BFM.
Martyn blogs mainly about music, dance and art.
Email: martyn@wordonthestreet.co.nz
From his first ever job dishwashing at the Brer Fox café (now French fine diner Le Canard) at age 15, to reviewing restaurants and bars in The Dominion Post, Nick Churchouse has seen, sampled and served a fair wedge of Wellington fare. Battle-hardened at The Southern Cross in his uni holidays, raised on tales of rowdy dinners at the Green Parrot, and having worked in many an establishment since, he has been checking in and out of Wellington’s kitchens, dining rooms and drinking halls for 20 years. It's a hard job but ... actually no it's not.
Nick blogs about the good things in life - eating and drinking.
Email: nick@wordonthestreet.co.nz
A long-time Wellingtonian, Sarah is a travel writer & publisher whose first restaurant reviews appeared in Lonely Planet's Out to Eat London in 1999. Since 2003 she has reviewed Wellington's restaurants and bars in her guidebook, The Best of Wellington (independent & advert-free; 5th edition forthcoming). Sarah and her husband Lee Slater are co-authors of several Lonely Planet guides including New Zealand; and also Let's Go Camping, a guide to Aotearoa's best campsites; and The New Zealand Tramper's Handbook. As well as having a weekly travel advice column in The New Zealand Herald, they write travel features for the likes of BBC Travel, Lonelyplanet.com, and Wilderness. Sarah is also Associate Publisher at Awa Press.
Email: sarah@wordonthestreet.co.nz
Twitter: @BennettnSlater
www.bennettandslater.co.nz
Occasionally we'll have a Wellington personality blogging about their insider tips and the things they love about the capital of cool.
Antonia is a born and bred Wellingtonian. An actor, writer and producer and passionate food lover she helped put together Visa Wellington On a Plate. She guest blogged for us in 2010, sharing her crazy adventure to create a Wellington Pop Up restaurant in Sydney for 2 weeks –it’s a Welly assault!
Megan is a California transplant who’s happy to try everything twice… or more. Except oysters because it turns out she’s allergic. On other shores, she was a social justice attorney. On these, she plays drums and writes. Megan blogs about anything that makes Wellington her new, favorite home, and that might include food, beer, music, bike-riding and art. It won’t include oysters. That would be messy. She also blogs for Cycle Wellington because she appreciates a good journey as much as a destination.
Spending her formative years in Dunedin turned Renee into a lifelong lover of live music. Calling Wellington home for the past three years, she spends her days as a faceless bureaucrat, and in her spare time likes to make noise and friends. A natural roamer, she's explored many corners of the world indulging her weird taste for foreign pop music. But she’s happiest in Wellington in the front row of a live gig. Renee is one of our guest bloggers.
Kate spends most of her spare time training and playing for Richter City Roller Derby. Aside from Roller Derby, she loves eating, cooking, drinking, fashion and photography and dreams of one day owning a pug dog that she can park outside of Wellington cafes.
Steph was our first ever shopping/fashion blogger and has now left us for new things.
A sucker for all things quirky, luxurious, beautiful and just damn cool, Steph works at BATS Theatre during the day so she has pocket money for pretty things and swanky places. She mixes her labels with her vintage so expect the same from her blogs. When she isn’t working or shopping she’s hunting down the newest music, nesting, sewing up a storm, or seeing the best shows Wellington has to offer.
A love of Wellington, music, art, theatre and all things creative motivated this young wannabe-hipster to write for Texture (the old Word on the Street) for over a year.
But alas, Karyn has broken the shackles of her bureaucratic nine-to-fiver and relocated to Auckland to kick around in a different neighbourhood with her audacious dachshund Wolfgang.
We've still kept some of her awesome blogs though.
Darren used to write for Texture (the old Word on the Street) being the man about town. From break-dancing Euro-Cubans to High Tea at Martha’s Pantry, if it was in the least bit interesting, he was there to write about it.
He has now moved into other areas of the media but we've still got some of his great blogs and he'll be around doing the odd review from time to time.
Kiran used to be a writer for Texture (the old Word on the Street) but has now moved on - but we've still got some of her awesome blogs and she also reviews gigs and films from time to time.
Tina is a know-it-all about Wellington and works at Positively Wellington Tourism doing a bunch of things including looking after Word on the Street. Some of the blogs are her own and some of them - especially the reviews have been written by one-off reviewers.
Email: tina@wordonthestreet.co.nz
New Zealand is a pretty versatile country, cinematically speaking. It’s stood in for Japan, Middle Earth and wherever the hell Hercules and Xena Warrior Princess were supposed...
As a recent Massey Communications graduate, Joe has been delighted to learn that he can use his passion for shopping, gorging himself and writing to make himself useful... hopefully.
One half of musical comedy act Mrs. Peacock and sole member of mostly non-musical comedy act Jarrod Baker.
