Eye of the beholder: Are beauty pageants making a comeback?
9 Jan, 2021 03:08 AM
6 minutes to read
Lorraine Downes is crowned Miss Universe in 1983.
By: Aroha Awarau
COMMENT:
Beauty pageants have long been an anachronism, yet as they become more inclusive, it seems they are finding a new audience. By Aroha Awarau. I was 7 in 1983 when Lorraine Downes became the first New Zealand woman to be crowned Miss Universe. It was a huge deal. The TV news led with the victory and reported the moment as if the 18-year-old had won an Olympic gold medal.
Then-prime minister Robert Muldoon added to Downes status by comparing her win to the Kiwi league team beating the Kangaroos two days earlier. Congratulations, all New Zealanders are very proud of you, he wrote in a telegram after Downes was crowned. Beating the Australians at rugby league and now the world at beauty, poise and charm. Well done!
What s on TV: Friday, December 25 to Thursday, December 31
What s on TV: Friday, December 25 to Thursday, December 31
By Craig Mathieson and Debbie Enker
Updated
December 19, 2020 6.30pm
Normal text size
The inaugural
Royal Command Performance was held in 1912, with King George V and Queen Mary rocking up for a charitable benefit that was not without controversy: music-hall star Marie Lloyd was reportedly not invited because her act was considered risque and she d been married three times. This year s event, hosted by Jason Manford, had to contend with somewhat different issues. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Blackpool Opera House was full of television monitors, providing a virtual audience for the pre-recorded performances. Those facing the sea of screens include Take That s Gary Barlow, robotic pop act Steps, and West End star Samantha Barks, although the real showstopper may be centenarian Sir Thomas Moore, the World War II veteran whose lockdown garden walks for ch
Matthew Hooton: Call time on politicians four-year quest
17 Dec, 2020 04:00 PM
6 minutes to read
Polls suggest most voters would agree to a longer term. Photo / File
NZ Herald
Who s surprised the turkeys want us to vote to postpone their Christmas? In a touching display of parliamentary unity hitherto known only when voting to increase their own pay and superannuation benefits, the leaders of our four largest political parties have declared themselves in favour of extending the parliamentary term from three years to four, and thus their own terms of employment as MPs. Only the Māori Party is yet to express a view.
Opinion – Keith Rankin I recently watched Season Four of ‘The Crown’. Yes, it’s a drama, not a documentary. The two dominant characters outside of the Windsor bloodline were Princess Diana and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Both characters were probably overplayed, …
I recently watched Season Four of ‘The Crown’. Yes, it’s a drama, not a documentary. The two dominant characters – outside of the Windsor bloodline – were Princess Diana and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Both characters were probably overplayed, but only slightly. Diana was a social but shallow ‘girl’ (“younger than her biological age” according to Princess Anne in
The Crown), the diametric opposite to Prince Charles’ austere and detached persona. We know that, after the couple formally separated in 1992 – the Queen’s
Thursday, 17 December 2020, 4:07 pm
I recently watched Season Four of The Crown . Yes, it s
a drama, not a documentary. The two dominant characters –
outside of the Windsor bloodline – were Princess Diana and
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Both characters were
probably overplayed, but only slightly. Diana was a social
but shallow girl ( younger than her biological age
according to Princess Anne in
The Crown), the
diametric opposite to Prince Charles austere and detached
persona. We know that, after the couple formally separated
in 1992 – the Queen s
annus horribilis – Diana
aspired to be a Queen of people s hearts . Indeed, that s
very much what Diana was.