Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

Busting supermarket myths Most of us believe certain things about the cleaning products we buy, but they’ve actually been planted in our heads by years of advertising. So let’s bust some of those myths. Myth 1: The best shampoos, toothpastes and dish liquids foam well. In many cases scientists figure out how to do something, then make a feature out of it. Lots of research has gone into foam, and making it last as long as possible. It doesn’t make things any cleaner, we have just been taught to think so.Myth 2: My clothes need to smell clean to actually BE clean: No, you are just smelling the persistent synthetic perfume added to the laundry product. And for people with allergies perfumes are one of the worst offenders. Then, these chemicals in your laundry products don’t all rinse out and are up against your skin 24/7. Even if you sleep naked, they are in your sheets and pillow slips. Myth 3: Whiter than white. For many generations there was a competition about who had the whitest clothes. Early twentieth century there was an ingredient called Blueo, that you added to the final rinse to get this affect. Then in the fifties scientists came up with optical whiteners / brightners. These clever chemicals stick to your clothes. When invisible UV light hits these chemicals, they have the ability to change the waves length of the light into the visible spectrum. Suddenly, a lot more light comes off your clothes. Whiter and brighter. Especially new clothes in a store everyone is attracted to the brighter not dull garment. Make sure you wash these when you get hone as these chemicals will also stick to your skin. Myth 4: Super sized and low priced, what a bargain. At one stage, I managed to get the category manager for Woolworths Australia to right one of the these problems. Supersize and cheap is misleading because brands just water down the liquids and fluff up the powders. A one kg of laundry powder used to have only four washes in it when I started. We had 32 washes in one kg but people thought we were the expensive one. So I convinced him to demand the number of washes should be printed on the pack. He did this and it meant that everyone in Australasia changed as they didn’t want to print two different packs. That’s the power of the supermarket....if they do the right thing.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bob Campbell's wine pick for this week is the Church Road 2020 Chardonnay, Hawke’s Bay $14.99 (on special).LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apple's new features for 2021 have been announced at their developer conference.Apple is coming after ZoomLots of big changes to the Facetime app, including the ability to schedule FaceTime for meetings. You can share the link with folks using Windows PCs and Android devices too and they can join through their browser - which is a big deal for Apple. They're leaning into make FaceTime more friendly and more personal than Zoom with the ability to watch videos and listen to music with your friends and even text chat along at the same time. Apple is up-ending the Ad Tech industry Emails will no longer tell the sender if they've been read by blocking tracking pixels. The Safari internet browser will block trackers and make your browsing anonymous by running data through two proxy servers. They're also offering burner email addresses so you can keep your real email address private. Ad tech companies are going to find it harder to tie your different data together. You'll be able to add an ID to your digital wallet Apple is partnering with states to offer the ability to store a secure digital copy in the secure chip in your phone. They're working with the TSA to allow it to be used at airport security. You'll soon be able to add your car key, office keycard as well as hotel keys. Siri will no longer need the internet Siri will be able to do many phone functions without sending the data to the cloud for processing. It'll happen on your device which not only makes it super fast, it also is better for privacy. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time: Sean Bean and Stephen Graham star in this gritty British drama by Jimmy McGovern about a husband, teacher and father who is sentenced to four years in prison after accidentally killing a man. Consumed by guilt, Mark openly accepts his sentence but is quickly confronted with the harsh realities of life inside (Prime, Saturdays at 9.30pm). Domina: a new historical drama. In the wake of Julius Caesar's assassination, Livia Drusilla - the golden girl of the prominent Claudii family - is forced into exile. Ten years later, Livia returns, determined to avenge her father, secure power for her sons, and regain everything that was stolen from her (Neon). The Brokenwood Mysteries: New Zealands’s most successful international series, watched by millions of people around the world, has found a new home on TVNZ 1 (Sunday, TVNZ 1, 8.30pm). LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The latest Marvel installment isn't a mega-budget movie - this time it's a miniseries. If Marvel is your thing, this is charismatic villain Loki played by Tom Hiddleston, getting his very own series, and it's streaming on Disney Plus. The series is being directed by Kate Herron, who’s been one of Forbes’ 30 under 30, and described as a huge comedy voice in the years to come". She describes herself as ‘Your friendly neighbourhood dork’. She’s a relative newcomer to the diecting scene, breaking through for her directing in the first season of Sex Education, and Kate's been speaking to Jack Tame. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kevin Milne's been pondering what the best fit for Air New Zealand's in-flight snacks might be.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’m not a fortune teller. I don’t have a five-year plan. I can’t tell you what I’ll eat for dinner tonight, let alone anything I’ll be doing in two years’ time. But I can tell you right now with a very strong degree of confidence I will not be paying $21 to go to They Are Us, the film that apparently focuses on Jacinda Ardern’s response to the Christchurch massacre. I have nothing personal against the filmmaker. Andrew Niccol has actually written or directed two of my all-time favourite films. I think The Truman Show is genius. I love Gattaca. They Are Us, on the other hand, makes me squirm. It’s not that I’m fundamentally opposed to a film about the events in Christchurch. I actually saw it as an inevitability. After all, we have a film about Aramoana. There’s a Hollywood film about the Anders Breivik massacre in Norway. But if the production of this film had actually considered the meaning behind its title, They Are Us, we wouldn’t have seen so many people affected by the massacre respond in disgust. There is a more sensitive and tasteful way to go about these things. The filmmakers say they’ve sought scripting input from a few of those affected, but clearly many of those in what is a pretty small Muslim community here have been caught completely by surprise. It takes a lot of nerve to call a film ‘They Are Us’ when you clearly haven’t consulted sufficiently with the ‘They’ you’re talking about. There’s another thing. They Are Us. If the filmmakers believed those words, there’s no way Jacinda Ardern would be the central character. Here’s a terrible tragedy committed by a white supremacist. Instead of focusing on the authorities’ limited interest in white supremacy in the lead up to the massacre, instead of focusing on those who lost their lives, or the heroics of those in the mosque who tried to stop the gunman, we focus on Jacinda Ardern. She did a good job in the heat of the crisis. But I’m sorry, she isn’t the hero of this story. And as comforting as she might have been to the survivors and victims of the shootings and to the New Zealand public at large, her actions in those days could never have been enough to heal the pain of those who clearly had been let down grievously by the wider government she represents. You can just imagine the scene now: the actress Rose Byrne, standing alone, an exhausted and broken expression on her face, staring into a mirror. The music builds... orchestral strings. She looks down and picks up a simple scarf, wrapping it around her head. ‘What are you doing?’ asks one her advisors. ‘They are us.’ Says Jacinda Ardern. Eurgh. Honestly, that whole ‘They Are Us’ phrase really bothers me. I know many disagree with me and I’m not gonna’ fight the fight again, but if we really meant ‘They Are Us,’ the Crusaders would have changed their name. If we really meant ‘They Are Us,’ then we might not have planned massacre anniversary commemorations, knowing that most Muslims don’t mark anniversaries. If they were us then we wouldn’t us the word ‘They’ at all. But here’s an easy one. An opportunity to live up to those words in a small way. If the Muslim community in Christchurch, the survivors of the attacks and the families of those who died, don’t support this film, then They Are Us. I’ll save my $21. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is new music from Crowded House, from their seventh studio album Dreamers are Waiting. It sees them reuniting with producer Mitchell Froom for the first time since 1991. Estelle Clifford has been taking a listen and have Jack Tame her thoughts on the album.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline BublitzThis is not just another novel about a dead girl. When she arrived in New York on her 18th birthday carrying nothing but $600 cash and a stolen camera, Alice Lee was looking for a fresh start. Now, just one month later, she is the city's latest Jane Doe, an unidentified murder victim. Ruby Jones is also trying to start over; she travelled halfway around the world only to find herself lonelier than ever. Until she finds Alice's body by the Hudson River. From this first, devastating encounter, the two women form an unbreakable bond. Alice is sure that Ruby is the key to solving the mystery of her life - and death. And Ruby - struggling to forget what she saw that morning - finds herself unable to let Alice go. Not until she is given the ending she deserves. Before You Knew My Name doesn't ask whodunnit. Instead, this powerful, hopeful novel asks: Who was she? And what did she leave behind? The answers might surprise you. The Missing Sister by Lucinda Riley The six D’Aplièse sisters have each been on their own incredible journey to discover their heritage, but they still have one question left unanswered: who and where is the seventh sister? They only have one clue – an image of a star-shaped emerald ring. The search to find the missing sister will take them across the globe – from New Zealand to Canada, England, France and Ireland – uniting them all in their mission to complete their family at last. In doing so, they will slowly unearth a story of love, strength and sacrifice that began almost one hundred years ago, as other brave young women risk everything to change the world around them.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Steven Dromgool offers some advice for women on what to look out for when dating men.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Grass grub have always been a “problem” in NZ gardens and lawns. They are c-shaped grubs that live underground, feeding on roots of grasses and other plants/shrubs. There are a number of species in the Beetle Family Scarabeidae (scarab beetles), but the native grass grub, Costelytra zealandica has always been in NZ. It’s traditional habitat and host plants were native grasses, such as tussocks, and they occur at quite high altitudes. There is no doubt that these beetles considered the new, high-nutrient imported grasses as ice-cream, especially when we started planting whole paddocks full of that stuff! Tiny larvae emerge from eggs and slowly grow larger, shedding their skin as they grow. Each growth phase is an “instar”. Larvae creamy coloured and shaped like the letter C. Their damage pattern is grasses losing roots and becoming stunted and leaves yellowing – in bad situations these plants die en masse. If you can literally roll the dead grass mat up (as if it were a carpet), your problem is likely grass grub. The beetles emerge in spring and are attracted to bright lights; the beetles feed on foliage of many plants, shrubs and trees. Even succulents are on the menu. But they do love lawns. Some species (on pastures) are tolerant of grass grub infestations: tall fescue, cocksfoot, yorkshire fog, prairie grass, birdsfoot trefoil, phalaris and chicory. In the old days we used to spray lawns with soil insecticides, such as Diazinon, but apart from the fact this is tricky to obtain for garden use, the grass grubs have shown some resistance to that active ingredient (organo-phosphate). Since the 1990s some biological control mechanisms have been trialled and found to be quite useful: * The bacterium Serratia entomophila, causes amber disease in grass grub. When grubs are infected they stop feeding in a few days and die rapidly; the bacterium stays in the soil for prolonged periods of time (years!) to kill the next generations. * Bioshield is the name of the material https://biostart.co.nz/bioshield-grass-grub-liquid/. Spray this according to label recommendations in February, March and the first two weeks of April. That’s your window of opportunity, because the grassgrub larvae are in late second to mid-third instar and rather susceptible to infection. I realise this information is a bit too late for people’s lawn treatment; this year has been pretty bad in many places in New Zealan.especially Canterbury. The larvae are pretty fat right now (and beyond the third instar) but because of the downpours they have come to the surface of your lawn (to avoid drowning) Here’s a reasonably good idea: get an old, water-filled heavy roller and squash the living daylight out of them while the soil is still soft and squishy. Not recommended for steep Wellington sections on a distinct hill! Your insurance company will not be impressed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The programme will be rolling out across the country by the end of the year. The idea is to to detect the early signs of changes in the bowel which could indicate bowel cancer. Bryan Betty is a GP and medical director for the College of GPs, he’s also on the Covid-19 advisory committee and he talked Jack Tame through the ins and outs of the initiative. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Twitter's subscription service has launched The $3 a month service is starting in Australia and Canada. It comes with an "undo Tweet" feature (which really just delays the posting of your Tweet for 30 seconds), a more robust bookmarking feature for saving tweets and a "reader mode" to make threads of Tweets easier to read. These features feel more like evolutions of the core product, rather than being unique enough to build a subscription business around. Apple's updating the AirTags to address privacy concerns The tech is great at finding your keys, but it also makes it very easy to track a person without them knowing. At launch, the trackers would only make a sound if they were away from their owner for three days - which Apple has now recognized was too long. It'll now be between 8 & 12 hours. They're also working on an Android app to allow people to detect when an AirTag is traveling with them - something that's currently only available on iPhone. Facebook's u-turn on political speech Facebook is now going to treat world leaders the same way it treats regular citizens when it comes to their posts. They had previously operated under the assumption that their posts were newsworthy and part of the public debate, but that won't be the default. They still have the ability to use the newsworthiness carve out, but when they do, those posts will be clearly labelled. This is really in regards to the incitement or glorification of violence, because they won't be changing their policy when it comes to misinformation - they'll still be able to post whatever lies they choose, especially in campaign ads. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Too Close: Emily Watson stars as a forensic psychiatrist who has to assess a woman accused of a heinous crime, who claims she can't remember a thing (UKTV, Mondays). Bump: From the team behind Love My Way comes Bump. The series centres around Oly, an ambitious and high-achieving teenager who has a surprise baby; and the complications that ensue for two families (Monday on Vibe/Sky Go, Neon 13 June) Why Women Kill: A second season of the darkly humorous American series that details the lives of three women living in three different decades: a housewife in the '60s, a socialite in the '80s, and a lawyer in 2019, each dealing with infidelity in their marriages. The series examines how the roles of women have changed, but how their reaction to betrayal has not (TVNZ OnDemand). LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwi Emma Outteridge was born into a life a million miles away from Uganda. Growing up in an America’s Cup family, she spent her 20s running Louis Vuitton’s international sailing hospitality programme, totally comfortable in a world of celebrity athletes and billionaire sponsors. But a six month trip to Uganda to work at a school has led to a life switching between the glossy world of international sailing, both working there and supporting her sailor-spouse Nathan Outteridge, and time spent growing Kiwi support for the St Paul KAASO primary school for orphans. She’s written a book about her experience, aptly named “Between Two Worlds” and Emma Outteridge joined Jack Tame.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This dessert celebrates mandarins and will make you feel better about the weather getting cool! Instead of the usual biscuit base I use a circle of crisply-baked sweet short pastry – try it, you’ll like it! 1 sheet sweet short pastry 2 tsp caster sugar 500g cream cheese ¾ cup caster sugar 2 tbsps brown sugar 1 heaped tbsp plain flour (gluten free is fine) 3 large eggs ¼ cup cream 2 tbsps brandy Zest from 4 mandarins + juice from 2 ½ cup sultanas Topping 1-2 mandarins, peeled and thinly sliced to garnish Olive oil for brushing 1/3 cup sugar Juice from remaining 2 mandarins Preheat oven to 180 C. Grease and line a 20cm spring form tin. Lightly flour and roll pastry sheet to slightly larger than it comes. Sprinkle with first measure of caster sugar and sandwich between baking paper and 2 oven trays. Bake until crisp – about 15-20 minutes. Set aside to cool then cut into a circle to fit base of tin.Make the filling by beating cream cheese until smooth. Add sugars, flour and eggs and continue mixing until well combined. Pour in cream, brandy and mandarin juice and beat again until combined. Stir in zest and sultanas. Scrape into tin and smooth top. Reduce oven temperature to 150C and bake for 45 minutes or until it has a touch of colourand wobbles only in the very centre. This will firm on cooling. Leave to cool completely in the oven then chill for 2-3 hours or overnight. Make topping: brush mandarin slices with olive oil and brown each in a small pan. Remove and cool. Add sugar and juice to pan and simmer until sugar dissolves and becomes syrupy. Cool.Serve cheese cake with grilled mandarin and syrup. Nici’s note: To get pastry to remain so crispy and flat, cook it sandwiched between two oven trays. Weigh the top one down if you need to.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dream Horse The true story of Dream Alliance, an unlikely racehorse bred by small-town bartender Jan Vokes. With very little money and no experience, Jan convinces her neighbors to chip in their meager earnings to help raise Dream and compete with the racing elites. Their investment pays off as Dream rises through the ranks and becomes a beacon of hope for their struggling community. (Toni Collette and Damian Lewis) Lapsis In a parallel present, delivery man Ray Tincelli takes a job in the gig economy. He begins pulling cable to link together the new quantum trading market. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Black Caps debutant Devon Conway has continued to wow British media after breaking a slew of records on his way to a maiden double hundred at Lord's against England.Conway was the final wicket to fall in New Zealand's 378-run first innings, with dismissal by run out the only way England managed to find to end his score at a well-rounded 200.On Thursday, after posting a century on day one of the opening test of this two-match series, Conway's performance was lauded by local media with adjectives such as stunning, skilful and lovely. After converting that start into a double-century, the acclaim only continued.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Jack and Kevin talk about "life-hacks"...those little gems of advice you find online that make life so much easier.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘Paddy is a black sheep dog, but is no good for sheep. Daddy says we have spoilt him. We have a big bell near the kitchen; Paddy will jump up at it and ring it with his nose. The cook gets cross with him because the men often come for their meals before they are ready. We taught him to do it.’ My Dog Paddy was published in the Australian Correspondence School Magazine in 1935. It was written by an eight-year-old girl, living on a remote sheep station in the South Australia outback. The Magazine credited her as third-grader Barbara Kidman. I know her as Granny. I spent this week with her in Adelaide, the first time I’ve been able to visit Granny since the start of the pandemic. The 8-year-old author of My Dog Paddy is now 94. And on my last evening with her, she fetched a plastic folder with photos from those early years way out in the middle of nowhere, a child mucking about in the red and the dust. “I remember being scared when I heard rainfall on the roof,” Granny told me. “Just a normal rain shower. It was so rare. I didn’t know what it was.” The station was vast, but it was tough country. My Great-Grandad bought it when he returned from the Great War. In Granny’s photos, there were barely any trees. Just desert and scraggy little crops. A couple of farmhouses and a shearing shed with a crude wooden crane. Somehow, her Dad and his men managed seven thousand sheep. Once a week a train would come by with a few basic supplies. They called it the tea-and-sugar train. Granny rode a horse called Dumpling. Her brother, Pete, had a horse called Bluey. Their Dad taught them to ride with just their toes in the stirrups, in case a horse bolted and they got dragged along the ground. There were photos of the sheep. Photos of Paddy the naughty dog. My favourites were some of Granny’s oldest pictures: they showed massive bales of wool piled on a wagon-wheel cart, being hauled off for sale by a train of camels. “Oh yes,” said Granny. “Of course, they didn’t need to drink.” Granny’s Dad – my great grandad - eventually sold the station and moved closer to the coast. Granny was happy to go to bigger schools and read more books. In the 1940s she became the first woman to study physics at Adelaide University. She and my Grandad went to Oxford. They completed their respective doctorates and threw themselves into computer science.Over lunch this week, Granny told me how she taught herself to program punch card computers when a single machine still took up an entire room. I explained to her the mechanics of modern VPNs, IP addresses, and cloud systems. We talked about various applications for 5G. Granny kept up, no sweat. Maybe I’m just a sentimentalist but off the back of the pandemic, with a tenuous bubble, there was something particularly precious about deliberately taking time to share in Granny’s memories.At one point, the little girl born on an outback station, who once watched camels taking wool to market, used my iPad to video call her great-grandson, 92 years her junior. She’s still fit and sharp but any way you consider it, Granny has lived a rich life. I thanked her as we packed up the photos. I folded up the photocopy of My Dog Paddy, first published 86 years ago, and quietly decided that I might publish it again. ‘Thanks Granny.’ ‘You’re welcome, dear.’ She left me with advice for us all. ‘Remember... with your parents and your Grandad, too: Ask for their stories while you can.’See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week’s album is at the centre of yet another millenial vs Gen Z debate.It’s “Sour” by Eighteen-year-old Disney Channel alum Olivia Rodrigo. Estelle Clifford has been taking a listen.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Quiet Man - Tom WoodOne day a man arrives in town. Unassuming. Quiet. The assassin known as Victor is hiding out in a small motel in Canada after a job across the border. A few days laying low and he'll be gone and leave no trace behind. He doesn't count on getting to know a mother and her boy who reminds him of his own troubled childhood. When both vanish, only Victor seems to notice. Once he starts looking for them, he finds himself at odds with the criminals who own the town. They want him gone. Only Victor's going nowhere until he discovers the truth and to them he's just a quiet man asking the wrong questions. But that quiet man is a dangerous man. The Pact - Sharon BoltonA golden summer, and six talented friends are looking forward to the brightest of futures - until a daredevil game goes horribly wrong, and a woman and two children are killed. 18-year-old Megan takes the blame, leaving the others free to get on with their lives. In return, they each agree to a 'favour', payable on her release from prison. Twenty years later Megan is free. Let the games begin . . .See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Modern factory farming and processed food have bought the cost of some food right down. But the price we pay with our health, and loss of good soils, is far too much. It’s a bad deal and there are alternatives.Malcom Rands told Jack Tame how we can make small adjustments to improve our diet and wellbeing. We know they’re full of ‘bad’ stuff – but why else should we avoid processed foods? Processed foods are “hyper rewarding,” leading to overconsumptionMany people become addicted to junk foodThe majority of processed food products are low in nutrients and fibre Less time and energy is required to process these foods – again leading to overconsumptionIn the last 40 years, Earth has lost a third of its farmable land to human-caused industrial farming erosion and pollution. Soil is now blowing or washing away 100 times faster than it can form, and without that soil humans may not be able to feed their growing populationWhat can we do? Michael Pollen has some great advice Don't eat anything your great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food. "When you pick up that box of weird coloured stuff, or eat something with 15 ingredients you can't pronounce, ask yourself, "What are those things doing there?" Pollan says.Don’t eat anything with more than five ingredients, or ingredients you can't pronounce.Stay out of the middle of the supermarket; shop on the perimeter of the store. Real food tends to be on the outer edge of the store near the loading docks, where it can be replaced with fresh foods when it goes bad.Don't eat anything that won't eventually rot. "There are exceptions -- honey -- but as a rule, things like Coca Cola that never go bad aren't food," Pollan says.It is not just what you eat but how you eat. "Always leave the table a little hungry," Pollan says. "Many cultures have rules that you stop eating before you are full. In Japan, they say eat until you are four-fifths full. Islamic culture has a similar rule, and in German culture they say, 'Tie off the sack before it's full.'"Families traditionally ate together, around a table and not a TV, at regular meal times. It's a good tradition. Enjoy meals with the people you love. "Remember when eating between meals felt wrong?" Pollan asks.Don't buy food where you buy your petrol. A huge amount of food is eaten in the car.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In NZ, we have more than 200 described species of Earthworms, and we’re still finding new ones! Most of them, about 170 species, are NATIVE earthworms belonging to 3 families. They are more or less restricted to native habitats; forests and tussock-lands. We know relatively little about these species – some may be very rare. INTRODUCED species are in pasture and modified landscapes. They got here in plants and soil material from overseas. Some were deliberately introduced as they were found to improve pastures for farming. These introduced species are the ones you find in your garden. How do they move?Let’s go back to their Classification and we find a clue: class oligochaeta. From Greek "oligos", few, and "chaite" , hair. That means that these worms have “few hairs”. I tend to disagree with that: when you pick up an earthworm and stretch it a bit between your fingers, the skin often feels like an “un-shaven face”. There are many hairs per body segment to give it friction and “purchase” to move through the soil. Many worms are not that smooth and slippery at all! Worms have 2 different sets of muscles that help it to move forward. In each segment are circular muscles that, when contracted or released, can make a worm thinner or fatter (longer or shorter). They also have longitudinal muscles that allows the worm to become longer or shorter. The handiest features are those little “hairs” (chaetae) that can “anchor” themselves in the soil at the front of the worm, while the longitudinal muscles literally pull the rear part forward. Very handy indeed! Their jobBroadly speaking two different types. “Compost worms” that usually live in litter layers and the very tops of the soil profile. They assist with the decomposition of the fallen leaves and branches etc. Some of these species are the ones you put in your “worm farm”, and they are usually dark/red in colour, like “tiger worms”. Just be aware that if you have a “worm farm” there will often be other invertebrates there that are also doing some recycling job, but target a slightly different food source. No need to panic when you see tiny white “spring tails” in your worm farm. They simply complement the tiger worms’ ecosystem services. Earthworkers (usually lighter or pale in colour)are the ones that take organic matter deep into the soil profile. They move vertically and are quite sensitive to moisture gradients in the soil. They create tunnels by literally swallowing the mineral soils and organic matter and pooping out loose, friable material as “casts”. Some species actually grab dead old leaves and drag those into the soil. At this time of the year you often find earth-workers’ miniature “towers” of worm casts. Habitats Many of our native worms are small and live in litter layers. A few are large, up to 1.3 meters long, and live deep in the subsoil. Some worms are aquatic, some live under bark of dead trees and others live way up in epiphytes in trees or in the crooks of tree branches at considerable height. They simply climb up at night, with relative humidity preventing them from drying out.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hannah McQueen told Jack Tame it’s a great time to review not only your contributions, but your settings and provider.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What can we learn from the Waikato DHB hack? Ransomware is usually added to a system by an individual. There was a very good chance that someone either clicked on a bad link, or opened a bad file (it could even be a Word or Excel doc) which infected the network. It only takes one person to do this. It's crucial that people are on the lookout for phishing scams - you should be very careful about opening things sent to you by unknown senders. These actors will sometimes appear to be legitimate by emulating well-known brands, but you need to be on the lookout for that too. You can finally password protect your Google history Google has a rather transparent activity page which shows you all the things you've searched for, videos you've watched, places you've been, things you've said to your google assistant and more.. but it's always been quite easy to access which is obviously problematic for a vast range of reasons. Now though, you can be forced to re-login before you see that activity. That way you need to verify your identity before getting to see what could be very sensitive data. It's a setting you should turn on today. To do that, activity.google.com and you'll be prompted through it. Facebook is taking steps to stop misinformation spreading They're making two changes. First, they're going to limit the distribution of posts from people who regularly share things that FB's independent fact checkers have classed as misinformation - I'm surprised this wasn't something they would have been doing for some time. Secondly, they're going to put up a warning before someone follows a page that is known to share misinformation. The message explains why the warning is there, but you'll still be able to follow the page anyway.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tara Ward takes you through her top picks on the telly this week.The Me You Can’t See: Exec-produced by Oprah and Prince Harry, this docuseries explores mental health issues and emotional well-being with special guests (AppleTV+)In Treatment: Ten years after the last season of this Emmy award winning drama, In Treatment returns for a new season. Starring Uzo Aduba (Orange is the New Black), the series focuses on a therapist in session with various patients, and now the office is her home due to the pandemic and she’s in crisis herself (Neon). Start Up: this American drama series is currently sitting in Netflix’s top 10 and is about a desperate banker, a Haitian-American gang lord and a Cuban-American hacker who are forced to work together to unwittingly create their version of the American dream - organized crime 2.0 (Netflix). LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anyone who’s watched the movie Pursuit of Happiness will know the story of Chris Gardner. The movie is based on his best settling book and details his life sleeping rough with his young son while he was doing an internship as a stock broker. Chris eventually founded his own brokerage firm Gardner Rich & Co and has now written a new book, 'Permission to Dream.' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eggs are a wonderful source of protein and they’re often included in curries in countries where meat and poultry is more scarce, to add protein to the dish. This super simple curry is perfect for a quick dinner. Serves 2 4 free-range eggs, hard boiled & peeled ¼ cup cooking oil 1 onion, sliced thinly 2 tbsps red curry paste 1 cup crushed tomatoes, canned is fine 1 cup coconut milk Heat a pan and fry boiled eggs in hot oil until brown and crispy on all sides. Remove and set aside. Fry onions in oil until golden. Add curry paste and cook until fragrant. Pour in tomatoes and coconut milk and simmer for 10 minutes until thickened. Add eggs, some halved and stir gently. Serve curry with rice and roti or naan bread.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cruella A live-action feature film following the evil exploits of Cruella de Vil, the villain from the Disney film, "101 Dalmatians'. A Quiet Place 2 Following the deadly events at home, the Abbott family must now face the terrors of the outside world as they continue their fight for survival in silence. Forced to venture into the unknown, they quickly realize that the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats that lurk beyond the sand path.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Surprise, surprise. Another transtasman match, another blowout result.On a cold and dewy night in Napier the Hurricanes banked their third bonus point win from as many matches in this lopsided competition, improving New Zealand's dominance to 11-0, with Salesi Rayasi producing a standout performance from the left wing in a record victory over the Western Force.After two competitive outings in home defeats to the Chiefs and Highlanders, this was a reality check for the Force as the conceded seven-tries-to-none.With the Crusaders and Blues in New Zealand to round out the competition it sure doesn't get any easier for the men from Perth, either.As the tally moves to 11-0 in favour of the Kiwi sides over the Australian counterparts, questions are being raised as to whether the competition has value.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After the death of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, many were wondering how his large fortune would be divided up.The Duke, who passed away at 99, had amassed quite a large fortune throughout his lifetime, much like his wife and monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.Prince Philip left an estimated $58.5 million when he died last month, and it was reported on Friday that "three key men in his life" were left money from his will, according to a royal insider.While the majority of his estate is likely to have been left to the Queen, a source close to Buckingham Palace claimed the Duke also recognised his closest aides."Unlike some other royals, Prince Philip will be generous to the three men who looked after him," the insider told Fabulous."These include his private secretary Brigadier Archie Miller Bakewell, his page William Henderson and valet Stephen Niedojadlo."All three men were hugely supportive of the Duke in his final years with Mr Bakewell frequently standing in for Philip when he couldn't make an engagement.Before the Iron Duke became the Queen's husband, Philip was born into royalty as the Prince of Greece and Denmark.His parents, Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg, were in line for the Greek throne, before they were exiled when Philip was 18 months old.His parents, Philip, and his four eldest sisters Princesses Cecilie, Margarita, Sophie and Theodora fled to France.It was in France where Philip was educated (in Paris, and later in Germany and the United Kingdom too), before he joined the British Royal Navy in 1939 when he was 18-years-old.Prince Charles leads the royals at Philip's funeral. (Photo / AP)Come March 1939 and Philip was a British citizen, adopting the last name Mountbatten which came from his mother's family. He had abandoned his Greek and Danish royal titles.This was the significant year that Philip began exchanging letters with Queen Elizabeth II, whom he later married in 1947.By the eve of their wedding, Lieutenant Mountbatten was formally named Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron of Greenwich, also given the title of His Royal Highness.While he inherited these royal titles, Prince Philip gained a large amount of money and assets.Prince Philip left an estimated $58.5 million when he died last month. (Photo / Getty Images)Prince Philip was given a salary, a royal allowance from the Sovereign Grant which was an official expense account which was paid for by British taxpayers. This was around $686,000 per year.Prince Philip retired from his official royal duties in 2017, but it is unclear whether or not he continued to receive this allowance.The Duke maintained access funds which were earned by a private portfolio of properties and land, as well as assets set up by the Duchy of Lancaster in 1399.Prince Philip and The Queen are said to share a portfolio that includes stocks and land which was inherited by the Queen's family, including their Balmoral Castle in Scotland and Sandringham Estate in England.The insider claimed that Philip's grandchildren, including Prince Harry who has launched a number of scathing attacks on the royal family in recent months, will have been "sorted out quite a while ago" when it came to money.They said: "Philip was not the sort of character to punish a grandson [Harry] for misbehaving. He was a very fair, even-handed and lovely man. Never held a grudge."They added: "Philip had plenty of time to sort out all the legal stuff so it wouldn't attract inheritance tax. He was no more of a fan of leaving his cash to the Treasury than anyone else."The source added that the Duke's children – Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Edward and Prince Andrew – have been told they can "take what they want" from his collection of 13,000 books in his library at Buckingham Palace.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When was the last time you went to the opera?No, here’s a better trivia question: what two shows are being staged by New Zealand Opera this year? Can you tell me? I’ll give you a hint. One of them’s among the best-known operas of all time. The other is the name of a character from The Matrix. Tough? Hmm. The answer is The Marriage of Figaro and (M)orpheus. If you didn’t get it, don’t beat yourself up. I didn’t either. And I’m gonna hazard a guess and suggest... most of us don’t know what operas are being shown by New Zealand Opera this year, just as most of us didn’t know what operas were being shown by New Zealand Opera last year, or the year before, or the year before that. This is the whole reason the head of New Zealand Opera is taking some risks. This is the whole reason he’s decided to shake things up and try to bring in some new audiences. This is the whole reason New Zealand Opera has commissioned a work on the tragi-comedy that was the Unruly Tourists. Now.. I have to admit to a conflict of interest. It just so happens that one of the writers of Unruly Tourists the Opera is one of my oldest and dearest friends. I’ve known about the project for ages. And the very first time he told me about it, I lit up.‘Out. Standing.’ I said. That is a piece of commissioning genius. Forget stuffy 17th and 18th Century pieces in foreign languages, I want something fresh! And I should say... I’m probably a good gauge of a fairweather opera fan. I’ve attended and enjoyed various operas at various venues. I watched Wagner’s Ring Cycle performed by some of the best in the World at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. I loved it! And I don’t want to be a dick, but I’d gently suggest that simply knowing who Wagner is and being remotely familiar with the Ring Cycle probably puts me in a minority of New Zealanders. And yet... for all that. I haven’t been to see a New Zealand Opera production in yeeeears. For whatever reason, it just hasn’t been a priority in my life. Apparently, getting more of us to the opera is not a huge priority for a fair whack of the the New Zealand Opera Board, who’ve resigned in protest of the Unruly Tourists opera and New Zealand Opera’s new direction. Except that - of course - the resignations have only underscored the director’s point. Get this: one of the opera crowd quoted in news stories moaning about the Unruly Tourist opera said teasing the tourists was “middle-class snobbery.’Middle-Class Snobbery. If he’s concerned about middle-class snobbery just wait until he hears about... OPERA: that art form so famously accessible and popular amoungst the lower-classes. Middle-class snobbery?! The temerity! Give me a break. NZ Opera receives grants from Creative New Zealand and various councils worth millions of dollars a year. One of the complaints from the old opera crowd is that the new direction will be a waste of taxpayer money. I would have thought producing art that very few people see, for an small section of generally elite and very wealthy New Zealanders, was a much more egregious use of taxpayer dollars than trying something new. Nowhere have I seen a suggestion that New Zealand Opera will never again stage the classics. These resignations have been submitted before anyone has even seen the show! And what is the purpose of art but to reflect our society? To tickle us, and challenge us? The resignations from New Zealand Opera have only served to prove how out-of-touch the organisation is. I bet the director is rubbing his hands with glee and crying “Good Riddance” in his richest baritone. There has already been more hype and interest in the Unruly Tourists than anything New Zealand Opera has done in years. That has to be a good thing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Catherine Raynes has been reading China by Edward Rutherford and Northern Spy by Flynn Berry.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Music reviewer Estelle Clifford has been listening to the new album from Twenty One Pilots, Scaled and Icy. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's garlic planting time - you can be earlier than “that shortest day” myth! Usually people say: plant on shortest day and harvest on the longest day. That gives a bit of an indication of how garlic “likes it”. But over the past decade I noticed a few problems with garlic that are difficult to control and the most important one is rust disease. It’s a fungal disorder that hammers the bulb-forming members of alliums (onion genus group of the family amaryllidaceae). The fungus enters the long, soft leaves of shallots, onions and garlic and causes yellowing of the leaves, ill-thrift and sick-looking plants towards the end of the growing season, when temperatures rise in spring. The most significant diagnostic sign are the bright yellow “pustules” that form on the leaves – these pustules are easily rubbed off by your finger.So I have been trialling a much earlier planting regime: This year I started planting my first row on 2 May, second row on 15 May; third one goes in on 22 May...today! I can monitor their health and how fast they grow towards maturity. In early May we still had warm soil temperatures and plants sprouted quickly. With a bit of luck they will mature a month or 7 weeks earlier than normal, hopefully escaping a significant period of rust infection. Which variety should I plant? Printanor is the common old garlic variety you buy at “New World”. Often it is imported from China and treated to stop it sprouting, that means no good for planting! Buy some planting cloves that are either organic or simply not treated. At farmers markets you can sometimes purchase interesting varieties: Californian Red Turban: Can grow into huge bulbs (15 cm diameter bulbs) Macedonian: Strong flavour and somewhat oily West Coast Miners: Rather good, large cloves too Hard-neck garlic: Lets little flowers/bulblets up the stem, edible as soft green salad component, in mid-spring Elephant garlic: This is actually a leek, with a swollen stem. Has a very mild flavour Shallots can also be planted now! Use well-drained soil, shallow planting (tip, just above the ground) and 15 cm spacing. Cover with ground sheep dags (KINPACK) or fine, rich compost. Keep moist, but not overly moist, because that encourages rotting. Harvest when the foliage dies down (Mid-November or December if my timing works out!).LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Relationship expert Steven Dromgool has been looking at more platonic relationships this morning, with some tips on how men can build male friendships.MenzShed https://menzshed.org.nz/Mankind Projecthttps://www.mkp.org.nz/Men Being Real Weekendhttps://www.essentiallymen.net/menbeingrealSteven Dromgool020 4735283Book Steven online hereCheck out our amazing online resource for couples - Love in a Time of Covid Learn how to improve communication, de-escalate conflict and deepen your connection LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It had long been on my wish list to grasp a flavour of one of our most evocative rivers, carving its way through the heart of the North Island. The mighty Whanganui, New Zealand's longest navigable river, stretching for 290km from its genesis as an alpine stream on the slopes of Mount Tongariro. My first foray with the awa began by following its lower reaches, from Whanganui to Pīpīriki on the winding trail of the Whanganui River Road. It’s an intimate, authentic and picturesque 64km-long riverside romp that feels charmingly removed, aloof – even defiant to the bustle of modern life, where small river communities steadfastly beat to their own pace, while honouring their natural and cultural heritage. With the visual panorama of the Whanganui National Park enrobing you, there’s no other riverside scenic driving route in New Zealand quite like it. It took 30 years to construct and finally opened in 1934.An early frisson is driving over the crest of the hill from Upokongaro to be greeted by the Aramoana Viewpoint, serving up ravishing views of the grandeur of the river valley, the fiord-like march of the river, and Mt. Ruapehu, gleaming on the eastern horizon. You’ll pass by a multitude of Whanganui River marae starting at cute-as-a-button Pungarehu, where the whare tupuna was built in 1905 and houses one of the last historical waka used on the river. I shimmied by Oyster Cliffs, an aptly captivating name for the sheer cliffs that dramatically rise up from the road. They are layers of fossilised oyster shells, as the region was once seabed that’s been uplifted. Before long, I arrived at my riverside roost for the night, the Flying Fox Retreat. No accommodation experience that I’m aware of cuts such a striking first impression, quite like this place. After entering the driveway to park the car on the eastern banks of the river, your means of access to the retreat is by suspended cable car, strung across the river. Sound the gong and the cable car soon whisks across to meet you. Being hoisted across the moody waters, with my luggage in toe, is quite the opening act! Exceptionally hosted by Jane and Kelly, they took over the retreat five years ago, after it was originally established as an accommodation venture by the former Whanganui Mayor, Annette Main. Quirky, eccentric and rustic, there’s also a touch of the storybook to this whimsical retreat, wrapped in such a splendidly primeval setting. Gnarly chimneyed cottages are perched high on the riverbank, nestled by a mini-forest of fruit trees, groaning with avocados, figs and apples. Perky hens free-range the orchard, while Jane’s magnificent home-baking wafts on the breeze. I half expected to spot some forest goblins on the curving paths through the bush to the river.There are some venerable old buildings on-site, including the century-old Koroniti post office and the grand old homestead, where Jane and Kelly served up a hearty home-cooked dinner of wild venison. My fellow guests for the night were a vivacious group of women who were undertaking the Mountains to Sea Cycle Trail. The retreat is also popular with canoeists, whether it’s to drop in for the day or overnight. Jane and Kelly offer a variety of packages to incorporate those outdoorsy pursuits. There’s also a handy on-site shop selling food, treats, preserves, produce and the couple's artwork; Kelly paints, sculpts and carves while Jane felts and is a photographer. Do they ever rest in their oasis? The Flying Fox offers a variety of accommodation options, but it’s the three self-contained cottages that are prize draws, hand-built from reclaimed materials and comfortably furnished with carefully restored and upcycled items.I stayed in the Riverboat Cottage, which was originally conceived by the previous owner as a place to brew manuka beer. The cottage has now been recast to honour the venerable river boats that previously plied these waters, as a lifeline to the river valley. The cottage...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bob Campbell's wine pick this is La Multa 2018 Garnacha at $19.99.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Move over Tesla: Ford's hitting the electric scene Not just with any car, but America's best selling vehicle the F-150. It's a massive ute - known over here as a "pickup truck" - which has the same shape people love and is less than $40,000 USD brand new. There's hope that this model will be the magic that pulls the masses over to electric.. so much so it's being compared to Ford's Model T which did the same thing with petrol automobiles in 1908. Electric cars are much cheaper to maintain, so now that the up front cost has lowered it's making it much more attractive. It can drive around 370km on a single charge, gets from 0 to 100 km/hr in around 4.5 seconds, has 11 power outlets for devices/appliances and with no large gas motor it's got even more storage under the 'hood' aka the "frunk". Here's the coolest thing - when it's on the high power charger hooked up to your house, and your house loses power due to a storm or heatwave - your car starts powering your house. Pfizer's covid vaccine doesn't require ultra cool temperatures One of the biggest challenges with these new high-tech mRNA vaccines are that they require ultra cold storage but Pfizer now says that's only needed for the long term storage. For up to two weeks they can now be stored at regular freezer temperatures of between -25°C to -15°C. This is amazing news because it will make distribution to remote areas much easier now they can use more conventional storage. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

May 22, 2021. Mark Robinson, CEO NZ Rugby. 100 Molesworth Street, Wellington. Dear Mark, I get it. I know it’s been an ugly few weeks. I know that every Tom, Dick, and Harriet has been texting and ringing you at all hours of the day, pleading this way and that, for you to make a final call on the Silver Lake deal. I know you’ve needed one of those special battery packs that you carry around to charge up your phone when the battery gets low, and you’ve been in so many meetings that you accidentally used your wife’s name when you were talking to Brent Impey the other day. I know it grinds that everyone has an opinion. Honestly, there can only be a handful of people in this country who are sufficiently-informed about the business side of your sport, who understand the implications of a private equity deal with Silver Lake versus an alternative with Forsyth Barr, as well as the cultural and social elements that are unique to rugby in New Zealand. It doesn’t stop them from charging around the place making bold statements and calling up The Herald, does it? Everyone’s an expert. But here’s the thing, Mark. I’m worried you’ve been led astray. You’ve been distracted. You are running the risk of being blinded by all of this fancy private equity Wolf of Wall Street smack, nd missing out on inking the single-most important deal in New Zealand Rugby today. Mark. You really, really, really need to re-sign Scott Robertson. I know I might seem biased. I’m a Canterbury man through and through. And it’s easy for everyone outside of Crusaders country to roll their eyes every time we win a competition. It’s become one of those inevitabilities in life, eh? The Crusaders winning another title. Scott Robertson breakdancing. It’s as predictable as taxes or Hosking moaning about a Labour government. But just because we’ve become normalised to Scott Robertson lunging and whirling, spinning and worming in celebration across the steaming Canterbury turf, doesn’t mean he’ll be here forever. He’s not a spiteful guy. Yes, he’s a bit unusual. He might not be cut from that slick, polished, and dare-I-say DULL template New Zealand Rugby appears to value. But sometimes different is good. Weird is good. And though I really don’t expect Razor’s big on grudges, he's off contract. And we all know he was disappointed not to get the All Blacks job. So, then; this is my plea to you. Re-sign Razor. Pay whatever it costs. See if Silverlake can chuck in an extra few million if that’s what you need to get him over the line. Because as painful as these last few weeks might have been for everyone with an interest in New Zealand rugby... can you just imagine how it might feel in a few years' time watching Razor doing the worm having just defeated the All Blacks?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Screentime Queen Tara Ward has some picks for your weekend watching. Whitstable Pearl: A light British drama about single mum Pearl (Kerry Godliman, After Life) who starts a private detective agency, which she runs from her family restaurant in the coastal town of Whitstable. Drawn by her caring nature, locals soon flock to her with all kinds of cases. But when a friend dies suspiciously, Pearl finds herself in conflict with gruff new cop in town DCI Mike McGuire (Acorn TV, 24 May). Solos: An anthology science-fiction series about a group of characters who set off on a thrilling adventure in an uncertain future, and realise that during our most isolated moments, we are all connected through the human experience. The impressive cast includes Dame Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman and Anne Hathaway. (Amazon Prime Video). Friends: The Reunion: The beloved show is back for one more episode. Known as "The One Where They Get Back Together”, the cast of Friends reunite in an unscripted special of the American sitcom. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwi muscian Teeks' incredible soul voice has taken the world by storm.He released his album “Something to Feel” earlier this year, and he’s about to tour the new music. Teeks has been speaking to Jack Tame. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Francesca Rudkin has been watching drama The Artist’s Wife and thriller The Woman in the Window. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When thinking about food waste the focus is often on how we’re wasting money and vital resources but there’s another element to it; Wasted food ends up in landfill which has adverse effects on our environment. So, here’s a recipe for banana bread that’s not only 100% delicious but it also uses the WHOLE banana, skin and all! Makes 8-10 slices ¾ cup sultanas ¼ cup boiling water 125g butter, softened ½ cup brown sugar 2 large eggs 2 large very ripe bananas, rinsed in water ½ cup walnut pieces (optional) 1 ½ cups self-raising flour ½ tsp baking soda ¼ cup milk Preheat oven to 170 C and line loaf tin with baking paper. Soak sultanas in boiling water, to plump up. Peel bananas and chop skins roughly before putting in a food processor to reduce to a chunky pulp. Mash banana flesh separately with a fork. Beat butter and sugar until light and creamy, then add the eggs and continue to beat for 2-3 minutes. Sift in dry ingredients (flour, baking soda), add drained raisins, banana skin pulp and mashed bananas and stir to combine. Mix in enough milk to get to a stiff dropping consistency. Scrape batter into tin and smooth top. Bake in middle of oven for 50-60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Leave to cool for 10 minutes before turning out of tin to cool completelyLISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealanders need to have more babies. This week, we've learned the average family size needs to rise from 2.1 to 2.4. Kevin Milne's been talking to Jack Tame about a family he knows with 17 kids - and what we could learn from them. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aussie musician, comedian, actor and composer Tim Minchin is defying Covid by planning a tour of New Zealand - and even more bravely, the UK. His tour will include work from his first studio album “Apart Together”, which, while being perfectly named for 2020, was written before Covid really hit. It's a return of 2019’s sell-out visit to our shores and it’s called “BACK”, billed as “Old Songs, New Songs, F*** You Songs”. Minchin, who is also known for writing the musical Matilda and the TVNZ On Demand show Upright, joined Jack Tame to discuss his return to live shows. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

By any measure it’s a heritage-heavyweight, a blockbuster trail and a star specimen of Upper Hutt’s sparkling outdoorsy credentials. The Remutaka Cycle Trail is one of New Zealand’s Great Rides and the flagship section of this riveting circuit is indisputably the Remutaka Rail Trail, for the intimate experience with the Remutaka Incline. Built in 1878, this historic inter-provincial rail route between the Hutt Valley and Cross Creek, Featherston is now a politely graded 18 km walking and cycling track. Easily conquered by bike within two to three hours, I made my way to Kaitoke Summit Road in Upper Hutt, which is the official start point of the Remutaka Incline section.Under a bright blue sky and bathed in soft autumn sunshine, there were hordes of weekend cyclists and walkers striking out on this storied track, which many locals consider as their glorified open-air gym. After parking up the car, I hired a bike from Wildfinder, who operate a Kaitoke base adjacent to the trailhead, open from 10am- 6pm, weekends and public holidays. They’ve got a great range of mountain bikes and e-Bikes for hire, plus a shuttle service back from the Wairarapa to their Kaitoke base. As much as I’ve become immensely infatuated with e-Bikes, the Remutaka Incline’s oh-so-gradual gradient impelled me to go old-school and plump for a “manual” mountain bike, a super comfortable Trek mountain bike, with gel saddles, front suspension and ergonomic grips. www.wildfinder.co.nzPlus, Wildfinder kitted me out with a trusty helmet and a handlebar-mounted torch that you’ll definitely be switching on when traversing the pitch-black old railway tunnels. The first stretch of the trail ever so gradually hoists you up to the Summit of the Remutaka Ranges, blazing through the verdant grandeur of the Pakuratahi Forest, as the glistening Pakuratahi River burbles to your side. There are some idyllic picnic spots sprinkled along the way. The ascent from the Kaitoke side is so gradual, you’ll barely even notice the gradient, unlike the hellfire ride uphill from the Wairarapa side, where the 1 in 15 gradient is an unrelenting gut-busting ordeal – vividly reinforcing the prowess of those Fell engines, back in the day.From Kaitoke, the ride to the Summit is pepper-potted with a series of information panels, showcasing the revered railway heritage of this line. I learnt how the rail route was established in 1878 between the Hutt Valley and Featherston, hauling passengers up and down the steep incline between the Remutaka summit and Featherston for 77 years, until the opening of the Remutaka rail tunnel in 1955. The innovative Fell mountain railway system pulled trains up the formidably steep slope of the Incline. A tunnel was always the preferred option but couldn’t be afforded initially, so the 77 year 'temporary' solution was this steep mountain railway, to link the agricultural hinterlands with Wellington. In 1863, the English engineer John Fell had patented the first drive friction system, and it had worked on Mt Cenis in the European Alps.New Zealand chose Fell's system to traverse the 4.8 km Remutaka Incline – the third and last Fell system to be built. (You can visit Featherston's Fell Museum which houses the rebuilt H 199 - the only remaining Fell engine from the six that serviced the line.) From the late 1870s’, the railway captivated the attention of the community as a scenic mountain journey – until sparks from the locomotives caused fires and burnt off all the bush. Over time, traffic steadily grew and the incline operation, once a marvel, became a slow and expensive bottleneck. The trip up the incline was so gobsmackingly slow, passengers would regularly clamber on and off the moving trains.Today, the incline is regarded as a special part of New Zealand's history and is recognised as one of the significant railway heritage sites in the world. Highlights along the...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Music reviewer Estelle Clifford has been listening to new music from The Black Keys: the new album Delta Kream. She joined Jack Tame to share her thoughts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Catherine Raynes has been reading Duchess, Countess by Catherine Ostler and The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.