Anna van Riel is an award winning, independent singer/songwriter from New Zealand. Having played at the world highests music festival in the Himilayas, performed the NZ national anthem for 50,000 punters at the Four Nations Grand Final and sung her original works for Prince Albert of Monaco, Anna's favourite and most recent success is winning album of the year in her home town of Invercargill. "New Zealand has so much incredible talent", says van Riel. "Southland seems to be oozing with it, so I felt pretty honoured to take home the cake".

{image_1}Anna van Riel was born a singer-storyteller, her …

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I couldn't believe it when I logged into my website and realised the last time I'd paid a visit was almost a year ago. It's certainly been one hell of a year and as my baby daughter Matilda turns one I ponder the epic events of the past 12 months right up to the very last minute.

On April 5th baby Moo celebrated her first birthday. A momentous occasion considering that she was engaged in a struggle between life and death on the day she was born and then some. For those who didn't know it Matilda was born with a rare condition called a giant exomphalos. Her liver, stomach and intestines formed in a sac outside of her wee body and just before she arrived the sac ruptured. Our baby was just the 2nd in New Zealand to receive a pig skin graft on her belly after having her organs reduced back into her tummy. It was terrifying to say the least. Her tiny body hadn't grown to accommodate the organs that formed outside so everything on the inside was compromised while an ambitious medical team tried to squish them in. Yet squish them in they did. Her lungs were forced up while her little belly stretched out and out till she looked fit to burst and my husband Locky and I watched on in horrified anticipation. I journalled the whole emotional adventure of Matilda's first six months and photographed her wound day-by-day so that in years to come she would be able to understand what happened. Last week the NICU medical team sent a gift in the mail for Matilda thanking her for the photos we took and the journey we allowed them to share at an International conference that allowed others to learn from Matilda's experience. She's …

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