John
Hello I’m John Sweetman, born and bred here in Auckland, the greatest little city in the Southern hemisphere. When my wife Susan and I lived up the road in the historic Corner Courtville apartments we fell in love with this house. When it came up for auction we pooled everything we had to save it from the circling developers and turn it into the elegant bed & breakfast Braemar on Parliament Street. The house was given its name by Scotsman John Russell Gray who had it built for his family in 1901. It’s taken ten years to restore the house to its former grandeur but now that it’s done it is a real joy to share it with travelers. I became a renovator, peeling off the unsympathetic additions the house had attracted when it was flats for over eighty years. Now in its second century of residential occupation Braemar has a new life as an elegant inner city haven.
Aside from all that my real love is the ancient art of storytelling, utilizing modern media. I’ve spent over twenty-five years studying my craft and with expert coaching and studio experience I provide voice services in a number of media. My commercial voice-over services are contracted to Canwest’s TV Works for their television network “3” and to TRN for their “Classic Hits” radio network. I really enjoy being the invisible TV star, telling people about the shows on 3. Also it’s great to hear the radio station liners and promos floating out radios tuned in to my station Auckland’s Classic Hits 97.4FM. Some times when phoning businesses I get placed on hold and hear my own voice expounding on the “various additional services” the firm can provide. These “on hold” messages are another way of engaging with others and sharing stories. I love people and it’s an absolute joy helping visitors feel at home here at Braemar. Some of my other interests are collecting stamps and postal material, keeping my classic Alfa Romeo sports car in top condition and caring for our two toy poodles Eve and Paddlefoot. They are such fun.
Susan
Hello, I’m Susan Sweetman, born in North Canterbury in the South Island of New Zealand, educated and raised mainly in Auckland, where I live with my husband John. As John says, we fell in love with this old house, so saving it from imminent demolition and continuing its useful life has been our mission for the past 10 years. Now we get to share it with people from all over the world, which is great fun, and they get to sample life in inner city Auckland in a late Victorian/early Edwardian townhouse.
The bit I enjoyed about renovating was the decorating; dressing the house with carpets, curtains, furniture and fittings that created the atmosphere of elegance and comfort. Because we also wanted to use old china and linen, trawling through antique and second hand shops became a past-time for a couple of years, just to find those special pieces. Friends and family also helped, my sister from Australia spending hours washing and ironing old linen napkins and tablecloths for me. We’re really happy with the way the house feels. Its not a museum, after all everyone who comes here needs to feel at home and not afraid to touch things, yet it has a definite period feel and I am really pleased when people say it reminds them of their grandparents’ place.
My passion is singing. I love to sing. I belong to a couple of choirs and enjoy being part of the group dynamic where we get to learn and rehearse together and then perform the music in public. I’ve made many good friends through singing and learned some wonderful music. Guests tell me I even hum while I cook breakfast! I also really love books, and I have a rather good collection of books on New Zealand history, and in particular Auckland history and architecture, that I like to share with guests. I’m also one of those people who enjoys researching stuff - family history, local history, any history – and I enjoy doing puzzles and playing scrabble. Both John and I enjoy movies and we have a collection of New Zealand films (Kiwi movies) on DVD that we like to play for guests.
Before opening our B&B for business, I had spent many years working as an Accountant and then in software Project Management. Now I get to apply those skills working here at Braemar, and learning new skills along the way. I drive an Audi A3, love walks in the park with John and the dogs, and visits with friends. Long may it continue.
