With the recent success of the All Whites in South Africa, there is a renewed interest in the beautiful game. Many New Zealand children learn to play soccer from a young age, giving them invaluable ball skills and improving their co-ordination.

Our youngest son spent a number of years playing for North Shore United and we really enjoyed travelling to different parts of the North Shore and greater Auckland to watch him play each weekend. We got to know the other parents, got to enjoy the bracing winter weather and encouraged our son in something he absolutely loved to do. As an adult, he still plays club soccer on the Shore.

You can watch a local club match, from teeny tots to First Grade senior level, usually free of charge. You may choose to support your local club, or find a game that promises to be particularly exciting. Winston Reid was a pupil at Milford Primary school until the age of 10 when his family moved to Denmark. Who knows what future football stars you might watch this weekend at your local sports field?

Click here to see the schedule of games for Glenfield Rovers

View the fixtures for North Shore United AFC

View Albany United fixtures here

View Birkenhead United fixtures here

View East Coast Bays fixtures here

View Forrest Hill / Milford fixtures here

View Takapuna AFC fixtures here

Visit the Shore’s Heritage Performing Arts Venue, right on the edge of the beautiful Lake Pupuke. See the latest exhibition in the art gallery, go to a live show in the theatre, or simply enjoy a coffee and a bite to eat in this historic venue.Watch the windsurfers and rowers, feed the ducks and swans, or take a walk around the lake edge. There’s plenty to see and do here, and it’s only a short walk from the Takapuna shopping precinct.

Originally built in 1905 to provide water for the North Shore (bricks and timber supplied by local businesses), the Pumphouse was in action until 1944, when the odd eel started to find its way into residents’ bathtubs. Neglected and almost derelict, the building was just saved from demolition by the casting vote of  Mayor Fred Thomas in the 1960s.  In 1971, the North Shore Theatre and Arts Trust was formed, funds were raised and the Theatre was opened in 1977. The gallery is a later addition.

The intimate theatre seats 192 people and has been used to host some exciting local productions such as Ship Songs, Pear Shaped and 1953. It’s a popular spot for music recitals, and children’s plays and musicals are also staged at The Pumphouse – Badjelly The Witch, The Greedy Cat and The Man Whose Mother Was A Pirate are some recent productions.

The amphitheatre is an additional space for live shows and is well used in the summer months with productions such as “Shakespeare in the Park” .

Go to the Pumphouse website to see what’s on and what’s coming up. If you’re keen to help, sign up to become a Pumphouse Theatre supporter.

Architecturally stunning, full of natural light, with inviting, open spaces – the new Library and Civic Centre in Hinemoa Street, Birkenhead is an exciting taonga for the local community and the whole of the North Shore. After 4 years of debate on where, why and how the new building was to be, the final result was well worth the wait.

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Taking anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes to walk, the coastal pathway from Milford Beach to the boat ramp at Takapuna is well worth the time. Taking in Black Rock, Thorne Bay and NZ’s only example of a fossil forest, the walk is a fascinating geological landscape.

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What better place to start this endeavour than a trip to an excellent North Shore cafe for a satisfying flat white and a bite to eat. While I’m particular about not becoming addicted to coffee, I have a passion for well executed roasting and extraction and I’m constantly on the lookout for the good stuff. Call me a snob, but when it comes to food and drink, it’s good to be fresh, tasty and produced by people who have respect for their product.

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Here’s a fantastic new way to promote your home for sale on the North Shore. Adwrap is a simple, cost effective way to increase the exposure your property gets while you’re on the market. As long as my car is out and about on the North Shore -- and I get around -- your property is on display. Take a look at the video we made of the adwrap process. To find out more, click here to go to the adwrap website.

Adwrap for 100a Aberdeen Road Campbells Bay

Harcourts Milford is challenging for top spot as one of New Zealand’s top real estate offices in Harcourts International, the largest real estate company in New Zealand.

For the second year running, Harcourts Milford has been named No 1 office in the Harcourts Northern Region.

Harcourts Milford is part of Martin Cooper’s Cooper and Co Real Estate Ltd franchise on the North Shore of Auckland – a chain of 8 offices dominating real estate sales in the region. A multi-award winning office, this latest accolade bodes well for the National Awards to be held in Christchurch next week.

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