There is one thing I must declare - I am a dog person.  As an avid ambassador for my canine companions one of my most favourite parts of Palmy is the ‘dogs off leash’ area of the Manawatu river at the end of Ruahine Street.

The space is large, flat, slightly unruly, and runs along the edge of the river. My family and our two dogs Ralfie and Riley have made many visits, during which the dogs bound around non-stop and we try desperately, and more often than not fail, to keep up with them.

This place is a dog, and a dog lover's, dream. One where you get to meet an amazing array of dogs; toy dogs, standard dogs, and the ones that may in fact be bears incognito.

So whether your dog can fit in a purse, or couldn’t fit into a seat at Cinema Gold this place is a playground for like minded people and their furry companions.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve hopped aboard the Esplanade’s miniature train - my knees getting progressively closer to my ears as I’ve done so over the years.

When you hear the word ‘eminems’ a Turkish restaurant on Broadway Palmerston North is probably not the first thing that springs to mind - it’s more likely that you’re visualising the highly accomplished rapper or the delightful chocolate treat, or possibly both.

But the eminems that sits at the front of my ‘eminem queue’ is Palmerston North’s Cafe Eminem Pizza Kebab Plaza - our very own slice of Turkey.

I really love this place, so much so that I take my friends there, I’ve been there on dates, I frequently go with my family and my extended family (quite an undertaking)!

It’s hard to put my finger on what it is about this place that makes it one of my favourite places in Palmerston North, but here are a few of the things that go into the mix; the people there are are lovely, the food is well priced, quickly prepared and I can honestly say that I’ve never met another person who hasn’t found the food delicious.

So whilst the dates may have come and gone, Cafe Eminems has never failed me, and won’t see the back of me for a long time to come - dating or dateless!

Perhaps you haven’t considered it your game, but a session at Palmerston North’s Squash Gym may make you reconsider.

Having walked past the squash courts many a time I decided to take the plunge, it was all pretty easy to organise - I rang and booked a court, turned up, hired a racquet and I was off.

There was something blissfully calming about whacking the ball against the wall in my pre-game warm up.

The arrival of my opposition, however, led to a whole different experience. An experience  far from calming, especially when the opposition was my thirteen year old sister! I was incredibly out skilled and out played, my body stretched to what must be its outer limits, and forty minutes after starting retired with a sense of exhilaration, feeling like a champion,and having lost every game.

This sport is for everyone, the fit, the unfit, old, young, male or female, anyone can play and everyone can enjoy.

Right next door to the SquashGym is the Palmerston North Bowling Club, somewhere else I’ve wandered past a number of times - maybe it’s also worth a further look?