I have this version of hell, in my head, where it is like this giant faceless corporation, where the souls of the damned serve out eternity in mindless bureaucratic servitude.

Tired of summer whites and rosé wines? Longing for a robust red even if you have to match it with fish and salad? Help is at hand ...

This season’s power clash throws all the rules out the window.

The Otago restaurant and its host are world famous — the seafood for its freshness and the host for her good humour.

My friend has a nailbar in her house, and I got a really bad toenail infection after going there but she says it has nothing to do with her.

Were the pushy parents of Brooke Shields, Judy Garland, Shirley Temple and other Hollywood stars really as bad as all that, asks Geoffrey Macnab.

The look is the big drawcard for The Garden Shed. As the name suggests there's a botanical, rustic theme throughout the establishment.

We love our All Blacks, but the new flag debate shows our obsession with the darkest hue may be fading, observes Lindsey Dawson.

She may have just won the best actress Oscar for her new film, Still Alice, about a professor diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s, but Julianne Moore is as down-to-earth as ever.

Known as an actor in TV satire The Thick Of It and as a comedy writer for Veep, Will Smith has written a mystery thriller set in the Channel Islands. It’s John le Carre meets Middlemarch, he tells Alice Jones.

S.J. Watson’s ambitious follow-up to his best-seller Before I Go To Sleep delves into the murky world of cybersex, he tells Stephen Jewell.

I write these few words to you, the people of free New Zealand, from the suburb formerly known as Grey Lynn.

A couple of close calls prove life is a series of tests, writes Steve Braunias.

Three New Zealand wines seeking points of difference while retaining those elements you expect to find in wines you particularly enjoy.

A flattering wardrobe staple beloved in the past makes a welcome comeback.

Succulent steak, beautifully cooked every time, is one of life’s simple pleasures — and a tradition for the patrons at Jervois Steak House.

Once, she was the undisputed queen of the toy cupboard. But today, sales of Barbie are in free-fall. Rachel Halliwell (and her 8-year-old daughter) explore her decline and ask how toy manufacturers can win over girls now.

My husband and his best friend had a punch-up and are not speaking, but his friend’s wife and I are really good friends. Now my husband does not want me to talk to her.

To begin a novel with a character who is dead from the very first page is a risk.

Roddy Doyle’s new novel, aimed at people with poor literacy, is inspired by a death in his own family, the Booker winner tells Arifa Akbar.

Thirty years after he fell in love with Japan, author Edmund de Waal returns to take his family on an intense tour of its urban and rural charms.

Guess you've heard the bad news by now that our friends holding the reins of power (yeah, right) won't be forking out over the table with the actual cash payout they reckoned they'd stump up with when we took them out for drinkies before the election.

New Zealand pinot noir continues to collect rave reviews from every corner. Many of the star performers come from Central Otago.

Marooned and without a captain, the evening is rescued by perfectly cooked grilled turbot and delectable buttery sauced flounder.

Left things too late? here are some fashionable last-minute Valentine’s Day gift ideas available in store today.

Up early and looking for a new spot to dine this weekend? Check out this week's brunch review.

Fashion designer Denise L’Estrange-Corbet and her daughter Pebbles answer your agonising questions.

Award-winning Auckland playwright Elisabeth Easther was once an erotic fiction writer. As Fifty Shades of Grey hits our screens, she reveals the highs and lows of her short-lived career in smut.

Debut novel combines writer’s love of music with her love of words, writes Rebecca Barry Hill.