He knew little about Wanganui when he applied for his new job, but Stephen Lighton hasn't taken long to warm to the place.
The new manager of the St John's Club in Glasgow St hails from Dunedin, where he was night manager of the Mercure Dunedin, part of the French hotel
group Accor.
"I'd heard a bit about Michael Laws, but I really didn't know much about the city. I hadn't been here before, but after a week in the job I like it a lot."
What exactly?
Apart from his long involvement in the hospitality trade, Mr Lighton's other passions are fishing and theatre.
Mr Lighton - yes, he gets a bit of ribbing about the name - has quickly discovered Wanganui offers plenty on both fronts.
"I've done a bit of acting in the children's repertory productions in Dunedin, but I wouldn't call myself an actor," he says modestly.
Then there are the people. Warm and friendly, he says. "Wanganui's ticking all the boxes for me."
In his younger days, Mr Lighton, now 56, was a linotype operator with the Otago Daily Times.
But when that trade died off, he had to find a new career path. Up popped hospitality and the two have been inseparable for the past 20 years.
He has plans for St John's, but he's not letting on what they are.
"It's going to take me a while to see how things work here," he says.
Mr Lighton replaces the retiring Mel Ackroyd.
