Where is your favourite destination and why?
It’s Samoa — but I don’t get there enough for obvious reasons. It’s where I was born. There’s something emotional that happens as soon as I touch down there. It takes my breath away, because of the memories. Where you come from, that’s something special. I grew up in New Zealand and I have now officially lived in London for longer but that’s where I will always belong and where I call home. It’s such an underrated place, and it’s changing a lot.
When was the last time you were there, and who were you with?
I am supposed to go this year, hopefully in December. I was meant to be there for the Commonwealth Tour this week but things with family have meant that I cannot go. It’s been 10 years since I was last home but I still have a lot of family there, and my dad retired there four years ago to a house he had built. So we now have a family home there which I haven’t even seen. The last time I was there, my mum was getting her Samoan title, she was becoming head of our family. It’s a very big thing, so it was a special trip. In every family there is a chief, who acts as representative of the family. There are certain levels of chiefdom within a family — the biggest chiefs, who are orators and only they can speak publicly, then the smaller ones. Imagine you have a village and five households. There would be a main chief, and the heads of those five households would answer to, and speak to them. My dad’s village is called Malie, my mother’s is called Fatoia. I’ll be going to both when I go back.
Where do you like to stay there?
I normally stay with family but there’s an amazing hotel called Le Lagoto. On the Upolu island, there’s a place where the King will be staying, called Sinalei Reef Resort.
What has been your favourite meal there?
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 24, 2024-Ausgabe von The London Standard.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 24, 2024-Ausgabe von The London Standard.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
England's Lionesses, The Next Gen
Why our Euros winners are now facing a fight for their futures
Check in for London's great hotel gold rush
Boom time for five-star establishments with a new wave of openings
A Kinder way of family hols - Forsthofgut, Austria
I first heard about Forsthofgut when having lunch with the impossibly glamorous Stéphanie Rist. As well as having worked closely with the doyenne of spas, Susanne Kaufmann, for over 10 years, she was also born and brought up in Austria's Vorarlberg.
Monica Galettion why home for her will always be the islands of Samoa
Immerse yourself in the clear waters, try a bowl of poke-and pack mosquito repellent, says the Masterchef judge
I don't care about the red carpet
Rejina Pyo dresses real women... and it's working
TfL Lost Property Office Stephenson Street, E16
SECRET SPOTS YOU SIMPLY HAVE TO DISCOVER
Will Labour help Londoners get on the ladder?
The young are hoping for a rabbit out of the hatin the Budget that will let them buy a home at last
'I feel so grateful that I knew a without world technology ...human connection was different back then'
Evgeny Lebedev speaks to DAME HELEN MIRREN about science, fashion and her faith in youth
Welcome to Arcosanti, the experimental desert city loved by Charli XCX
Forget Brat summer is this utopian citadel in Arizona the ultimate non-conformist destination?
Review Melania Trump - A glimpse into the world's most enigmatic woman
This unintentionally revealing memoir shows her political ambition matches her husband's