Our people today

From exhilarating to heart-wrenching, the Herald has covered some compelling stories and met some fascinating people this year - from the nationally famous and influential to the more off-beat characters. Some stories have moved on substantially since we ran them, and we update them here.

Jonah Lomu, Jonah Inc, August 25

Jonah Lomu's still doing the business. Before Christmas his new video, titled simply Jonah, was outselling Jamie Oliver in Britain.

Rugby beating risotto - it's got to be good for both the game and the big guy. But, sharp as ever, Lomu's manager Phil Kingsley-Jones is learning a lesson from the sales figures. Oliver may have whipped up a storm on a benchtop for a couple of years and set himself up for life, but now he's overexposed and the public is losing interest in him.

Kingsley-Jones doesn't want that for his boy, doesn't want Lomu retired before he's 30. He's playing the long game, limiting the projects, nurturing the brand, preparing for the years after rugby.

"I'm like a farmer with Jonah. I must always be prepared for the next crop," he says.

Above all, team Lomu is making sure Jonah's in form to be selected for the 2003 World Cup.

"I'm not going to overload him with projects. We're going to make sure he's focused and fit," Kingsley-Jones adds. The strategy is still for Lomu to do the business on the field so that Kingsley-Jones can do the business off it.

Part of that business is keeping Lomu's profile high in Britain, where he's feted. So after the end-of-season All Black tour he has been back there launching the video (which will be released here in February in time for a new season), promoting the Commonwealth Games and doing the circuit of television and radio talkshows. They even found time for four after-dinner speeches.

"People criticise the All Blacks these days, saying they just play golf and sit around watching videos," says Kingsley-Jones. "I never let Jonah Lomu do that. Jonah works."

The result: "This has probably been his best year yet in the commercial world."

No dollar figures are disclosed, but if the industry insiders' belief that he has been earning around $3.5 million a year are correct, then the dollars he pockets this year will be no small beer.

Not that Lomu promotes alcohol. Or gambling. Or cigarettes. Adidas, still his main business partner, is delighted with his performance on the field and in ad campaigns, says adidas' All Blacks brand manager, Andrew Gaze.

"There's a brand concept plan being presented at the moment, with a number of activities for him next year. But our primary concern is that he continues to perform on the field." - Tim Watkin

Maz and Jay Quinn, Brothers on Boards, October 13


It's been a "great year" for the Quinn brothers, according to Maz, with both native Gisbornites distinguishing themselves on the international surfing circuit.

As reported in Weekend Life this year, Maz became the first New Zealander to be ranked in the top tier of world surfers and for his efforts will get to compete in the Pipeline Masters in Hawaii next December.

After spending the summer in his hometown of Gisborne (where, he says, he'll be surfing as much as possible), he'll head over to the Quicksilver Pro on the Gold Coast in March, and odds are on a year of travelling after that.

His brother Jay (pictured right), who won the "World Grommet [under 18]" title in July, will also continue his push into the World Qualifying Series - the Holy Grail of surfing greatness - when he returns to Australia after spending Christmas with the family in Gisborne.

"It's been a really exciting year, but it's also good to be home," says Maz. - Dita De Boni

Brenda Couvee, Diary of an Egg Donor, August 11


In August we talked to Brenda Couvee, mother of two young children and egg donor.

Over a flat white in the cafe attached to the Ascot Hospital in Ellerslie, and across a table strewn with photos of a newborn baby surrounded by toys, balloons and a veritable thicket of flowers, Couvee shed a few tears of joy.

She had those photos - and a moving card of thanks - from the parents of the baby girl whose birth was the result of Couvee having become an altruistic egg donor back in July 2000. But what she wanted more than anything, she admitted, apologising for "being a bit of a wimp", was a phone call saying, "Would you like to come and see her?"

She was wondering then how she'd feel if she never got to see the baby we called Gloria (to protect her identity, and that of her parents).

"I don't know. I haven't thought about that. I've got photos. It might take until she's 18."

After our story Diary of an Egg Donor was published on August 11, she got the phone call she'd been hoping for.

The recipients of Couvee's egg donation, who had read the story, called to say, "Of course you can see her."

Gloria's parents were about to take her on a trip overseas to meet relatives. But on November 10 Couvee, her two children, Fane and Mercedes, and Couvee's mother travelled from Mt Maunganui to Auckland to meet the family.

They spent six hours getting to know each other. They had lunch, drank champagne, celebrated.

"People had said to me, 'Are you sure you want to go?"' says Couvee. "They said, 'You might feel like taking her home with you.'

"It was nice to hold her and see her, but I didn't feel that maternal instinct. I didn't feel that she was mine.

"It was more like it was really neat to see her and it enforced the fact that I'd done the right thing, seeing how happy they were and she was.

"I'm really lucky that they are so nice. I could just have easily have had someone who didn't want me to see the baby."

Couvee says her two children are keen to see Gloria again, especially "when she's a bit older so they can play with her. That's probably going to happen. I guess we'll get together again."

Even if that doesn't happen, Couvee is more than happy with the entire experience. "If I never see her again - I'd like to, obviously - I had that once and it's closed it for me."

There has been one other unexpected bonus for Couvee. After the Weekend Herald story, a magazine called That's Life!, contacted her to ask if she'd like to tell her story again - for a payment of $400. Altruistic donor means what it says: by law donors may not be paid. They are reimbursed for travel and expenses. So the money is a windfall for Couvee who will, she says, pay off some of her rent arrears.

Would she donate again?

"I think so. There are so few people who do it - I'll give it one more shot." - Michele Hewitson

Sara Wiseman, Quality of Mercy, August 18

Sara Wiseman wound up shooting the second series of Mercy Peak last month and headed off for a well-earned break. She had, after all, appeared as Dr Nicky Somerville in almost every scene of the 20 episodes shot this year.

That second series is due to run on TV One towards the end of the summer.

Wiseman hasn't confirmed her 2002 schedule yet, but the word is that another two series are likely, keeping her busy for some months.

Mercy Peak was TV One's winning leg of the local television trifecta, which had each channel - TV2 had Street Legal and TV3 had Being Eve - achieve significant local success. When TV One actually backed a local drama in primetime, it regularly won its slot against the likes of Ally McBeal.

"They had faith in it and it worked," says a South Pacific Pictures spokeswoman. "It showed it's better to put on a real Kiwi woman than some skinny American chick." - Tim Watkin

Roz Burkitt, Suddenly Single, September 15

It's perhaps both a good and bad thing that Roz Burkitt's business, The Ex Factor, is growing.

Burkitt, who specialises in supporting people after the sudden ending of relationships, says her services have been in hot demand since she appeared on the cover of Weekend Life in September - but whether more long-term relationships are ending badly, or people are more inclined to seek help, is not entirely clear.

Certainly Burkitt's bright and plucky take on life is in stark contrast to the devastating tale she tells of her own meltdown when 27 years of marriage ended suddenly two years ago. Her husband simply left one day, leaving Burkitt with a mortgage, no job, no money - and a daughter and jack russell terrier to raise alone.

Telling of her own experience was definitely instrumental in getting people along to The Ex Factor's regular Circle of Friends workshops, she says.

"You only have to look at the feedback to know that talking about the fears and struggles we all face is a huge part of the healing process ... the relief we all feel when we realise we're not the only ones struggling to restart our lives, and that other people do understand and care."

Indeed, the testimonials from (mainly) women who have gone through Burkitt's workshops appear to show she has a winning formula.

She aims to get her clients through the "five stages of grief" (as identified by psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler Ross), offering both self-help tools and practical assistance. Her underlying theme is that the broken-hearted take responsibility for their own happiness and live "beyond the ex".

Burkitt says Christmas can be an especially lonely time for the suddenly single. "It's important to have contact with family and friends and stay positive. It can be a time of memories and this can be sad, but families grow up and leave whether you're married or not, and I believe it is a choice issue.

"I choose to be responsible for my own happiness, even if I will be walking on the beach alone on Christmas Day."

And is Burkitt still single herself? Yes, and a believer that the appropriate healing time is needed before plunging into new relationships, in which old patterns can be repeated. When it happens, she says, she might act like a "blushing teenager entering her first romance!"

"I look forward to life with anticipation and confidence. Part of my mission statement is, 'To learn to face the future without fear, to find the person I once was, the person I will be again, and to gain independence and freedom'." - Dita De Boni

For Whom the Bells Toll, October 27

Now a tribute to the young woman behind the most important story we covered this year - a tale of everyday courage and bravery of a couple who picked up the jagged pieces of a family broken by tragedy and built a worthwhile life for them.

There will be no surnames told here. Just Vanessa's story. As the third anniversary of her nephew's death is approaching, the young woman wants to move her family out of the public gaze. She is tired of being used as a window into the awful after-effects of child abuse.

We, in respecting her wishes, would like to draw your attention to the fact that despite the media attention, even this obviously at-risk, obviously stretched young woman came perilously close to being sunk.

In October, just before National Children's Day, things did not look good. The five children and two adults were squeezed in with their in-laws after their house had burned to the ground, leaving them nowhere to live.

Although the accident was caused by faulty wiring, no welfare help was immediately forthcoming. The family car had broken down and there was no money to get it fixed. Money was depressingly scarce. But still the young woman remained calm and optimistic.

Weeks later, after the family's plight was revealed in Weekend Life, things started to happen. Donations taken at the National Children's Day service at St Matthew-in-the-City, which totalled $614.45 ($300 of it from two people) got the car back on the road. The young woman was offered - and accepted - budgeting advice. And the Housing Corporation finally came through with a house that is big enough, safe and on the school bus route.

Now Vanessa wants to thank "all the people who gave money to help us with all my heart" and disappear from the media spotlight.

"The kids will be going back to school soon, two are starting intermediate. We're so grateful, but now, nearly three years on, we just want to move on."

In light of this case, and that of the 6-year-old who died in Starship Hospital last week, we ask you to remember these unsung heroes, never forget, always be vigilant. - Carroll du Chateau

Michelle Boag, Rattling Cages, September 1

As our headline pointed out, when Michelle Boag was elected president of the National Party, the Nats' grass roots rumblers wanted cages rattled and political under-performers kicked into the real world.

As an opposition, National was performing abysmally. The election of Boag, a feisty terrier of a woman who will front up to anyone and anything, showed the party wanted change.

First to go was Jenny Shipley, who resigned - unusually gracefully for a politician - on October 8.

And although no others on the Boag list (which she refuses to put her name to) have dropped off yet, it is obvious that several have had a quiet word with new leader Bill English.

As Boag says, "Bill's got the support of the party and caucus - there are only a few members who don't feel so good about him, and they're the ones he's told don't have a place in the future."

Despite National's lacklustre public profile, Boag insists she is "very comfortable" with the party's position as we head towards next year's general election.

"Five months after my election our staff, systems and funding re in good shape. Membership is up 25 per cent on last year ... "

Another area where Boag has shown up is in, of all places, mental health law.

In Dunedin a few weeks ago she said we should have another look at the 1992 Compulsory Assessment and Treatment Act for mentally ill people, which has been behind so many tragedies, including that of schizophrenic Mark Burton who killed his mother in March.

"When something's not working in the interest of the community after nine years, we clearly have to take another look at it," she says.

"It's not National policy position, but I know that from the work being done there's a lot of interest along these lines." - Carroll du Chateau

Naila Hassan, Chuting for Gold, September 22

If attitude could win races down an icy chute on the sharp end of a hurtling bobsleigh, Naila Hassan would be home and happy. As it is, she is now in Utah, still training, still hoping to compete in the Winter Olympic bobsleigh competition in Salt Lake City in February.

Despite her efforts, Hassan and her team are sitting at 17 in the world rankings - which is right on the International Olympic Committee cutoff point - and dangerously close to missing out.

But Hassan won't give up, arguing for inclusion at every level, both political and physical. What is more, this is a dangerous sport. A lot can change in six weeks.

Despite the fuzzy future, Hassan, a police detective, has achieved mighty things since she burst into Weekend Life, biceps rippling, back in September. At that stage she did not even have a bobsleigh to compete in.

But Hassan did not allow such detail to stand between her and her goals. First, a friend lent her the money to buy a bobsleigh. Next, she and her team were picked up by Quicksilver, the United States-based surf and ski-wear company, which poured a pile of sponsorship money into their bid, and Hassan and her two brakemen, Toni Carroll and Toinette Stoddard, left for Calgary and then Germany, Austria and Europe on the women's world bobsleigh circuit.

As she said in her last e-mail, "I've completed what I set out to do this season - race consistently for all eight World Cups. I am now back at Park City training on the 2002 Olympic track.

"No one but us Kiwi bobsledders and the US teams are allowed to slide on this track. What a huge advantage for the Games! I'm improving every day." - Carroll du Chateau

2001 – The year in review