
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?
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 24, 2024 من The London Standard.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 24, 2024 من The London Standard.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول

The race is on: just 40 days to beat the stamp duty deadline
First-time buyers in London face a huge hike, thanks to Reeves's Budget bombshell

How the AI boom and dark data are eating up our energy supply
RICHARD GODWIN investigates the environmental costs of the dizzying rise of artificial intelligence

Londoner's Diary
Baftas date night for Adrien Brody as Camila Cabello finds unlikely heroesin Wallace & Gromit

Paper Dress Vintage
If you walk along Mare Street in Hackney on a Saturday night, you are greeted by the odd sight of a queue snaking out of a vintage clothing store.

The tips and tricks everyone should know, by fashion's favourite make-up artist
Isamaya Ffrench counts Rihanna, Bella Hadid and Madonna among her clients. Here's her advice on modernising your look

Charismatic, sexy and funny...good things really do come in threes
In terms of watchability, a cast made up of Nicola Walker, Stephen Mangan and Erin Doherty is pretty hard to beat. The trio's relatable charisma, and the residual associations of their TV roles in The Split and The Crown (where Doherty played the young Princess Anne) add mightily to the enjoyment of Mike Bartlett's play, in which a loving but romantically stultified middle-aged couple decide to invite a younger woman into their bed and their lives.

Very exclusive all-inclusive Rixos Premium Belek, Turkey
I've just ordered a tenderloin steak and the waiter is pouring a large glass of local merlot.

Fashion's bloody secret
Despite the bans and the rise of faux fur, we are falling in love with the real thing again

At the table Shake off those nerves, Shakara ...then show off
Restaurants are puzzles of many parts; there is always something to fumble.

The style set's favourite pubs
MANNIONS IS VERY MUCH THE HANGOUT DU JOUR, FOR A QUIET PINT MIDWEEK OR THE BEST KARAOKE ON A FRIDAY