Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

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.

Not everything can be recycled ... We’ve talked about things you can recycle, here are the things to keep out: Plastic bags, food and garden waste, hazardous waste and chemicals, polystyrene trays and packaging, coffee cups, batteries, nappies, clothing window glass, mirrors or light bulbs, cookware, electrical items, building waste and medical waste. But even things that can be recycled will go straight in landfill if you’ve put it into plastic bags, because no one wants to puts their hands into these. Washing containers is important. Make sure they’re empty of liquid or residue. They need to be rinsed out but not spotless. Clean enough for optical sorters so they know which type of plastic it is. ...but these things can be! At the moment, manufactures are getting off scot-free. When the new plastic and packaging started coming out, business managed to talk local government in thinking it was their problem, so there was no economic reason for brands to make it easy to recycle. But some brands are starting to make it easier to get rid of trickier packaging. * Terracycle’s website has details on how you can recycle Gilette Razors, schwarzkopf products, alt and vape products, colgate, Gillette colgate, sealed pouches … to name just a few. What happens to them? Things like the Sealord pouches are shredded, cleaned and melted into hard plastic that can be remolded to make new recycled products. Razors are broken down and separated by material. Plastics are cleaned and pelletised to be recycled into new products, and metal materials are sent for smelting and conversion to new alloys. If you go onto their website, you can find your local collection point or create your own. * Expol collects polystyrene, collection points on their website. They collect over 300 cubic metre per month. * Nespresso takes back coffee pods - although it’s better to just use a reusable one in the first place. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An unexpected side effect of COVID is lots of people have been hoarding cash. Around $600m more cash seems to be in circulation. enable.me's Hannah McQueen has been talking to Jack Tame about why we want to have cash on hand - and whether it poses any major issues.LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Underground Railway: a 10 part adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a young woman named Cora who escapes a Georgia plantation and boards a train on a harrowing trip as she seeks true freedom while being hunted by a notorious slave catcher (Amazon Prime Video)Halston: Ewan McGregor stars in this drama based on the life of American designer Halston, as he leverages his single, invented name into a worldwide fashion empire synonymous with luxury, sex, status and fame. (Netflix) Secret Bridesmaids Business: An Australian drama about a woman's perfect wedding that takes a dark turn when one of her bridesmaids inadvertently brings a malevolent stranger into their lives, opening the door to the hidden world of their intimate secrets (TVNZ OnDemand). LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Love is in the air this spring in the eastern United States, where billions of cicadas will soon appear in the biggest emergence event since 2004.The insects are part of a group called Brood X — also known as the Great Eastern Brood — which is expected in a geographical range stretching from Tennessee to New York.These cicadas have been subterranean for 17 years, tunneling and feeding beneath the soil. When they are back above ground, finding a mate will be, understandably, a top priority. The loud, buzzing drone cicadas make is actually a mating song emitted by male insects, flexing a drumlike organ called a tymbal."It's all boys calling girls," said entomologist Eric Day of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University extension. "First you get a few here and there, then what happens is they start chorusing — there's so many of them that the cicada calls all combine in this huge chorus."While cicadas can be a nuisance for some orchardists and farmers, witnessing them is also an awe-inspiring experience, Day said."This is a real treat. This is an unusual biological phenomenon. Periodical cicadas only occur in the eastern United States; they don't occur anywhere else in the world," he said. "It's just going to be an amazingly big, big show."When and where will the cicadas emerge this year?That show doesn't kick off until the ground warms up. Cicadas, which are not harmful to humans or animals, begin to emerge when the soil reaches 64 degrees Fahrenheit, Day said.A few individuals will probably come out in mid-to-late April, Day said, stragglers that the entomologist nicknames "lonesome Bobs," who call and call to no avail. The true, large-scale emergence might happen in the first or second week of May, depending on location.Scientists differ about the precise range of Brood X cicadas, but entomologist Gene Kritsky, dean of behavioral and natural sciences at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati — and the unofficial dean of Brood X cicadas — expects to see them in 14 states plus the District of Columbia.Brood X — the "X" is the Roman numeral for 10 — is the largest group of 17-year cicadas, said Kritsky, author of the new book "Periodical Cicadas: The Brood X Edition." (Other periodical cicada groups emerge on a 13-year cycle.)Scientists don't know the precise reasons behind the cicada schedules, or why both kinds of periodical cicadas have prime-numbered life spans. Emerging en masse, though, helps the bugs survive predation and mate successfully, as birds and small mammals only can pick off so many cicadas at once.When it comes to such reproduction strategies, this year's cicadas have a lot in common with other broods. What sets Brood X apart from other cicada emergences, however, is proximity to large metropolitan areas."About 35 million Americans will have the opportunity to interact with Brood X," Kritsky said, noting that they will likely be spotted in Philadelphia; Washington, DC; Baltimore; Cincinnati; and Indianapolis. In the past, Brood X cicadas have even emerged in New York City's Central Park.Early signs of cicadas include finger-size holes in the ground near the base of trees. You might also spot a chimneylike tunnel poking out of the soil.Subscribe to CNN's Wonder Theory newsletter: Explore the universe with weekly news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.When the insects do appear, they make an impressive amount of noise. Once, Kritsky said, he recorded a cicada chorus while sitting in a cemetery below the flight path for Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in Hebron, Kentucky.The insects clocked in at 96 decibels, drowning out the sound of passenger jets passing directly overhead. The chorus won't last long, however. Cicadas usually die just four to six weeks after emergence.Will cicadas harm your garden?When cicadas emerge, gardeners may see the...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ransomware attacks draw headlines when they take down major operations: hospitals, cities and most recently, a US fuel pipeline. Not only do cybercriminals scam businesses demanding large sums of money or they'll wreak havoc on their computer systems, this week's gas shortages showed how it can also have broader impacts.But ransomware against individuals — specifically, anyone who uses the internet — can also be very damaging. Hackers can lock computers and threaten to delete or expose sensitive information and photos in exchange for money.The concept predates the widespread adoption of the internet. In the late 1980s, the inventor of ransomware attacked the attendees of the World Health Organization's international AIDS conference with infected floppy disks, asking for $189 to decrypt files on their computers. Nearly three decades later, the US Justice Department recently said 2020 was "the worst year to date for ransomware attacks." Security experts believe attacks against both corporations and individuals will only continue to grow because they're easy enough to execute and people are paying.Here's what to do if you've fallen victim and how to protect yourself.How it happensCriminal organizations behind ransomware attacks don't care if the victim is an individual or a business — they just want to get paid. Ransomware is often obtained through social engineering — an act of someone stealing personal data by using information gleaned from their social media account — phishing emails or getting someone to click on a link on a website. It's especially prevalent on pornography and pirate websites that promise free viewing. Ransomware kits are also sold on the dark web, a part of the internet not detected by search engines where cybercriminals often sell and buy illicit materials.Older computers running operating systems that are no longer supported by the manufacturer, such as Microsoft's Windows 7, and don't offer security updates are more susceptible, as well.Once the ransomware has been clicked, a hacker can gain access to that computer and demand a ransom to relinquish control. Because the system locks as soon as it's infected, it's not possible to negotiate with the criminal. Many times, hackers will urge people to pay with cryptocurrency, such as bitcoin, which can be received anonymously and is harder to trace.The biggest motivating factor behind these incidents is money, and sometimes a criminal will use fear tactics, such as threatening to publicly expose sensitive photos, to entice people to pay. "When criminals attack individual users, they often ask for small amounts of money, as they know most individuals can't or won't pay thousands of dollars to get their data back," said Randall Magiera, cybersecurity expert and professor of information technology at Tulane University.What to do if you've fallen victimThe FBI's general guidance is that victims should not pay a ransom. "The FBI does not support paying a ransom in response to a ransomware attack," according to the FBI website. "Paying a ransom doesn't guarantee you or your organization will get any data back. It also encourages perpetrators to target more victims and offers an incentive for others to get involved in this type of illegal activity."If a hacker gets a credit card number and goes on a shopping spree, a bank can often reverse the charges, but the use of cryptocurrency makes funds nearly impossible to get back. Some common malware infections can be reversed with existing cybersecurity tools but many cannot."Ransomware groups evolve their tactics generally when they see that cybersecurity tools can counter them," said Michela Menting, research director at ABI Research. Some security researchers have tools to decrypt ransomware, but they're not always reliable because many ransomware versions exist.People who are hit with ransomware should treat their computer as though it's...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you’re new to bread making then making this simple Italian slab bread is a great place to start.2 ½ cups warm water2 tsps instead yeast2 tsps honey or sugar600g (just shy of 5 cups) high grade flour¼ cup olive oilFresh rosemary1 tbsp sea salt 1. In a large bowl gently stir together the water, yeast and honey. Let sit for 5-7 minutes until it’s foamy.2. Add flour and salt and mix until a scraggy dough forms and no dry flour remains.3. Add a decent splash of olive oil to another large clean bowl. Scrape the dough into this, turn to coat in oil, cover with a plastic bag and leave for at least 3 hours at room tempt or 8-12 hours in the fridge. Pull it out one hour before you want to cook it to allow it to un-chill.4. Generously oil a roasting dish or shallow sided tray. Keeping the dough in the bowl, imagine it’s a clock face and systematically gather the edges up and fold these into the centre, starting at 12 o/clock, then three o’clock, then six, then nine, then repeat this 2 times. Transfer dough ball to the well-oiled roasting dish. Let rise in a dry, warm spot until doubled in size – about 1 hour.5. Heat oven to 220 C. Lightly oil your hands. Gently stretch the dough to fill your tray/baking dish. Dimple it all over with your fingers, pressing your fingers all the way to the bottom of the pan. Drizzle with remaining more olive oil, sprinkle with rosemary and sea salt. Bake until puffed and golden brown all over, about 20–30 minutes.6. Brush with more oil when it’s out of the oven and serve!LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You know when you call a business, and they're experiencing 'higher than normal call volumes'? Kevin Milne doesn't believe them. Jack Tame's been asking him why. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Movie reviewer Francesca Rudkin has been watching new Angelina Jolie thriller Those Who Wish Me Dead, and Irish romcom Finding You. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When I was a kid, one of the greatest treats in my life was to be allowed to stay up and watch TV with my mum and dad. It didn’t happen all that often. It might surprise you, given I’ve spent half my life working in TV, to know that we weren’t really a big TV family.My parents liked what they liked and disliked pretty much everything else. And instead of trying new stuff, they would get a VHS and record their favourite programmes, then watch them over and over and over again. In the 1990s, that meant watching about three shows on repeat. Inspector Morse, Letter to Blanchy, and McPhail and Gadsby.One of my earliest TV memories is of sitting in our lounge and watching Letter to Blanchy. Specifically, I remember the gag with the jetboat and I remember how it made my parents laugh and laugh.Honestly, as a kid, nothing makes you feel safer than seeing your parents so happy that they are properly weeping with laughter. Dad used to rock back and forth on the couch watching David McPhail and Jon Gadsby. Mum would squint her eyes super tight. I was so young that I only understood some of the jokes but I understood that it was really funny, and I loved it.David McPhail comedies bookended my childhood.Just before I moved away from home, TVNZ produced Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby. It was a cult hit and although I don’t think it ever had massive mainstream success in New Zealand, it apparently did extremely well on ABC in Australia.It was a very non-PC satire poking fun at New Zealand and the education system that honestly probably wouldn’t and couldn’t be made today. It followed McPhail as an old-school teacher brought in to relieve a classroom of boys in the lowest stream of a state high school. The Māori teacher couldn’t actually speak Māori. Instead of his surname, the guidance counsellor insisted everyone call him Steve.And David McPhail was at his absolute best. He marched up and down the hallways, a baton under his arm, the perfect characterisation of a teaher transported directly from the fifties, except he always made the effort to correctly pronounce his students’ names.As a family, we’d hang out for new episodes. We watched both seasons through and through again. Dad would rock back and forth on the couch as he laughed. Mum would squint her eyes super tight. We constantly had to shush each other so we wouldn’t miss the next joke.David McPhail gave us those moments.He will be missed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amy Shark is an Aussie indie pop singer-songwriter, but don’t let that make her sound small-time. She’s just released her new album ‘Cry Forever' which features collaborations with Travis Barker and Ed Sheeran. Estelle Clifford has been taking a listen for Jack Tame. LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you’re crafting plans for some fresh and sublime adventures this spring and summer, sun-splashed Tasman Bay, at the top of the South, is a spell-binding proposition. Tickle your toes in the golden sand, savour drool-worthy food, feast your eyes on the burgeoning arts trail, graze from the vineyards and famed craft beer scene or try your hand at some enthralling soft adventure. Cable Bay Adventure Park certainly ticks all the boxes for thrilling outdoorsy adventures. Champion multi-sporters Richard and Elina Ussher took over the 400-hectare site three years ago – and it’s continuing to charge ahead in leaps and bounds. Their vision is driven by an abiding desire to be great custodians of the land. Their nursery is pumping out over 50,000 native seedlings a year, powering the afforestation programme, complementing the remaining ancient native forest which enrobes much of the property, boasting some seriously impressive old-growth podocarp specimens.Totara was previously felled extensively on the site. I stopped to admire a magnificent carving of Tane Mahuta, carved out of a totara that was felled on the property 50 years ago. One of the best ways to appreciate the verdant splendour at Cable Bay is to enjoy a fling with the park’s signature attraction, the Skywire. The tour starts with a 4km ride in one of their 4-wheel drive vehicles, passing through pristine native forest. The Skywire is set 300m above the base café, serving up delirious views of Cable and Delaware Bays, the western ranges and north towards D’Urville Island. Billed as the world’s longest flying fox experience, this 3.2km ride hoists you across the canopy, 150 metres above the forest’s wondrous mosaic of green.The Skywire seats up to four “flyers” at a time, not dissimilar to a chairlift, with around 1000m of gravity assisted free-wheeling, reaching speeds of up to 100km, before the ride beats to a more sedate pace allowing you to drool over the scenery, while filling your Insta-feed. Then you do it all again – backwards. I adored it. There’s no other ride in New Zealand quite like it. The park also boasts its own dedicated paintball area, Argo amphibious vehicle rides, quad bikes tours and bike trails – which are constantly expanding. Remarkably, access to the park’s MTB trails is free, so you either bring your own bike for a blast, or hire a bike from their full fleet of suspension trail capable e-bikes, mountain bikes and kids’ bikes.There’s even a shuttle service to whisk you to the top of the trails. All of the trail networks are built by a small and passionate group of volunteers with a real focus on minimising the environmental impact on the areas they’re traversing through. Just 15 minutes from Nelson, Cable Bay Adventure Park is an escapist destination in its own right. https://www.cablebayadventurepark.com/Eager to hit the pedals around the shoreline of Tasman Bay, I hooked up with Andrew Schwass and the team at Kiwi Journeys. This locally owned and operated family business is the region’s trusted local cycle tour operator, specialising in self-guided and supported tours on Nelson’s Great Taste Trail and the West Coast Wilderness Trail. They have handily located bases strung across the region, at Nelson, Mapua Wharf and Kaiteriteri. They are the go-to for everything you need to enjoy these rides - including the region’s biggest range of quality bikes, including new e-Bikes, trail bikes, mountain bikes and family equipment. Andrew kitted me out with an Avanti e-Bike for my fabulous foray on the Great Taste Trail from Richmond to Mapua Wharf. The entire trail is a whopping 174km-long circuit, bit it’s tastily arranged into manageable sections, including my romp which was an easy 20km ride.After fortifying myself with a delicious Tahuna Light Pilsner and pizza at Eddyline Brewery, I struck out on this splendidly designed trail, traversing the languid...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Book reviewer Catherine Raynes has been reading The Beauty of Living Twice by Sharon Stone and Tall Bones by Anna Bailey.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Relationships expert Steven Dromgool has been talking to Jack Tame about the best ways to care for kids post-separation. LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Planting fruit producing systems in small spaces Last week, we looked at saving space in the garden and still grow fruit trees. One of the topics was grafting fruit tree wood on a root stock that supressed growth. Some fruit trees are available as multiple-grafts: imagine a plum tree with two or three different varieties grafted on different sides of that one tree! You can add a pollinator and an extra variety for extended plum harvests. You can get triple-grafted apples, nectarines, you name it. Each variety tends to look slightly different in terms of leaves and branches. You can often pick exactly where the graft is – that is quite crucial for when it comes to pruning the tree (so you leave all varieties on the tree in roughly equal amounts of leaves and branches and fruiting spurs). For your balcony, you could get one of those multi-grafted trees and plant it in a large wine barrel on the 16th floor. Different ripening times stretch your harvesting season. Remember though: you can only graft apples on apples and nectarines on nectarines. You won’t be able to create a fruit-salad! The multi-tree hole trick works nicely too. Imagine you want to plant an apple tree somewhere, but can’t decide which of two or three varieties look like best. Well buy all three plants and chuck them in the same planting hole! Angle them slightly outwards, so that when they start growing they’ll each occupy their own - roughly one-third – space. You’ll find that these three trees tend to share their hole quite well (unless you have a super-dominant variety amongst them that out-performs the other two; in which case you’ll have to discipline that one through more vigorous pruning). Another way to save space with fruit trees is to plant them as a “Hedge”, close together and pruned carefully as a hedge. Take care to prune each plant right from the word “go”, so that the bottom branches are allowed to lengthen and fill up the base of the “hedge”. Imagine an apple hedge with different varieties, ripening at different times of Summer to late Autumn. A multi-varietal feijoa hedge is easy to keep going and it delivers fruit over a long time. A variant on the “hedge idea” is to have a few fruit trees espaliered on a pre-contructed set of posts and wires; this could be in front of a wooden fence, or as a structure that defines a long pathway, which will in future be lined with a fruit tree wall. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trump is forced to stay off Facebook & Instagram for nowThe basics of the ruling was that the board believes that Facebook did the right thing - suspending the account for enough time to protect against "imminent harm". Facebook has a pretty clear policy and approach to this. Here's something odd though.. there's a bit of a technicality. At the moment Trump's ability to post is turned off indefinitely, but he's not permanently suspended. THey have a policy which allows for a permanent suspension, but not the ability to prevent someone from posting indefinitely. So that has given the Board the ability to send this decision back to Facebook to basically re-sentence Trump within the rules of the policies - and to provide reasoning - within six months. Clubhouse is trying ShowsClubhouse started as an app to allow you to effectively be a talk back radio show host. It's only been around a year, and it's valued at $4 billion. The trouble with the app though is that when you open it up, you're at the mercy of the live content at that very moment. Something fantastic might have just happened, but since it was live you missed it. So now they're paying to create 50 'shows' - giving selected 'creators' on the platform $5k a month to create. I imagine they'll try and schedule these so there is always something they like when you open the app. Facebook & Twitter have already launched their clones, which aren't too bad. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Roald and Beatrix: Dawn French and Rob Brydon star in this heartwarming TV film inspired by the true events of Roald Dahl’s childhood meeting with Beatrix Potter (Neon). Utopia: An Australian satire set inside the offices of the "Nation Building Authority", a newly created government organization responsible for overseeing major infrastructure projects (Netflix). The Masked Singer NZ: based on the South Korean series King Of Mask Singer, The Masked Singer NZ is a reality singing competition where 12 celebrities compete against each other in song, masked head to toe in extravagant costumes that completely conceal their identities (Three, from Sunday). LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To celebrate Mother's Day, here is an incredible true story about an Australian mother, her adopted child from India Saroo, and his life-long search for his birth mother. Saroo became an orphan aged five, after accidentally boarding a train to a different city. He barely remembered anything about his family, but managed to find them after a search using Google Earth. His story is depicted in the book A Long Way Home, which was later made into the movie Lion. His Mum, Sue Brierley, was played by Nicole Kidman and has since written her own book about the experience, "Lioness", and she's been speaking to Jack Tame. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.