In 1973, when she married broadcasting colleague and talented singer Les Andrews, the event must have been quite the scene. "They married at Trillos and it was packed with TV stars of the day," says Judy.
It was the start of the dynamic duo, culminating in their Town Hall concerts to raise scholarship funds for the Les and Sonia Andrews Cultural Foundation, supporting rising singers like Teddy Tahu Rhodes. Les' daughter, Jenny Birrell, recalls years of touring before that.
"I was Dad's 16-year-old accompanist," says Jenny, "but some places we played he'd tell me to block my ears from the blokes' banter."
Extending the family encouraged another burst of activity on Sonia's cottage. The front was extended and a garage built on the street, creating a double-wide living space with room for Les' grand piano opposite the original bay window. "They held musical soirees for years," says Judy, "or practised with their accompanist Gladys for their concerts."
Sonia sourced elaborate carved timber posts and brackets for the extension and painted the original ceilings herself.
Jenny remembers it as a very sociable house, with a massive hangi for dozens of people on their first Christmas together. "Sonia was a cordon bleu cook, even cooking on TV," says Judy, "so she was very definite about what she wanted in the kitchen."
The mosaic tiles and timber cabinets are a time capsule, with a sliding window to the living room so Sonia could stay in the conversation.
The original two-bedroom cottage gained a timber-lined upstairs, reached by spiral staircase. In addition to the sunny bedroom and office overlooking the street, they included a small en suite and large outdoor space for that 70s essential, the hot tub. Judy and Jenny were among the revolving cast of family and friends who stayed in the sunny downstairs bedroom, bathing in the original clawfoot tub, or in "the flat" - a self-contained unit at the rear of the house.
Both recall Sonia painting, making pottery or prints in her separate studio, with its timber pitched ceilings and recycled French doors to a sunny porch. "Les was nearly self-sufficient with his massive vege garden," says Judy. The deep, sunny garden backs on to Ayr Reserve and a path almost to the nearby village.
Now in their 80s and 90s, Sonia and Les still sing for their supper, but their beloved house needs new owners to bring it into the next century.
