Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

Returning to the industry after four years, Grammy nominee Laura Marling has released her eighth studio album ‘Patterns in Repeat’. 

The album comes after the birth of Marling’s daughter, an 11 track work exploring motherhood and the circle of life. 

Estelle Clifford joined Jack Tame to give her thoughts on this new release from the celebrated folk musician. 

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Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey  

John Grisham is known worldwide for his bestselling novels, but it’s his real-life passion for justice that led to his work with Jim McCloskey of Centurion Ministries, the first organization dedicated to exonerating innocent people who have been wrongly convicted. Together they offer an inside look at the many injustices in our criminal justice system. 
 
A fundamental principle of our legal system is a presumption of innocence, but once someone has been found guilty, there is very little room to prove doubt. These ten true stories shed light on Americans who were innocent but found guilty and forced to sacrifice friends, families, and decades of their lives to prison while the guilty parties remained free. In each of the stories, John Grisham and Jim McCloskey recount the dramatic hard-fought battles for exoneration. They take a close look at what leads to wrongful convictions in the first place and the racism, misconduct, flawed testimony, and corruption in the court system that can make them so hard to reverse. 
 
Impeccably researched and told with page-turning suspense as only John Grisham can deliver, Framed is the story of winning freedom when the battle already seems lost and the deck is stacked against you. 

The Elements of Marie Curie by Dava Sobel  

For decades Marie Curie was the only woman in the room at international scientific gatherings, and despite constant illness she travelled far and wide to share the secrets of radioactivity, a term she coined. She is still the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two scientific fields. 
 
Her ingenuity extended far beyond the laboratory walls; grieving the death of her husband, Pierre, she took his place as professor of physics at the Sorbonne, devotedly raised two daughters, drove a van she outfitted with x-ray equipment to the front lines of World War I, befriended Albert Einstein and inspired generations of young women to pursue science as a way of life. 
 
Approaching Marie Curie from a unique angle, Sobel navigates her remarkable discoveries and fame alongside the women who became her legacy – from Norway’s Ellen Gleditsch and France’s Marguerite Perry, who discovered the element francium, to her own daughter, Irene, a Nobel Prize winner in her own right. The Elements of Marie Curie deftly illuminates the trailblazing life and enduring influence of one of the most consequential figures of our time. 

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The US Presidential Election is coming in hot, with Election Day set to arrive on November 5th. 

Jack Tame is over in New York at the moment, and this week, instead of sharing his own thoughts, Kevin Milne decided to pick Jack’s brain about the race and the current state of US politics. 

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2024 has been a tricky year for many organisations and businesses – whether it be through having to make significant changes or being affected by the current economic environment. Now is a good time to stop and take stock of how the year has impacted on your people. One great way to do this is through a psychosocial risk assessment.  

What’s a psychosocial risk assessment? It looks at all the psychological and social hazards in a workplace that can potentially cause mental or physical harm to your people.  

Some easy examples are:  

Psychosocial hazards are a leading cause of mental health problems at work (e.g., stress, depression, anxiety) and also physical health problems (e.g., musculoskeletal problems, high blood pressure, heart problems). Now is a good opportunity to look at what hazards are at your place to set your people and organisation up to perform at their best in 2025.  

First steps you should take:  

Lastly, you might need to call in the external experts, which is where organisations like ours can help out. 

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"Beyond the undeniable dazzle of Disneyland, the Orange County city of Anaheim rewards the explorer with a slew of surprising experiences and eye-opening cultural encounters. With the 2024 White House race top of mind, get your fill of presidential prestige, by taking a jaunt through the Richard Nixon Presidential Library."

"The historic heart of the city is known as Anaheim Colony, in deference to the original German settlement that took root in 1867, developing Anaheim as a wine production settlement. Anaheim takes its name from the Santa Ana river and the German word for home, ‘heim.”"

Read Mike's full article here.

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On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 2nd November 2024, Kiwi music legend Ladyhawke reflects on her career as she prepares to circle back in time and perform her debut album at Auckland's Others Way festival. 

Jack considers the qualities that define the US presidential race. And, Kevin Milne quizzes Jack in an open conversation about his take on the election. 

Can AI create an app tracking presidential race calls across networks in real-time? Tech expert Paul Stenhouse put AI to the test and shares his learnings. 

Sporto Andrew Saville spills all on the packed weekend of sport and Estelle Clifford gushes about the brand-new album from indie darling Laura Marling. 

Get the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast every Saturday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

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BOB’S BEST BUYS 

Taylors Jaraman 2022 Shiraz $26

Why I chose it:  

I needed a big rich Aussie red to match my braised lamb shanks. Taylors is my “go to” wine producer when I’m looking for a classic Barossa-style red (this is made from a blend of Clare Valley and McLaren Vale grapes).  

What does it taste like?  

An intense wine with rich, ripe berry-fruit, vanilla, black pepper and chocolate/mocha flavours.  

Why it’s a bargain:  

It delivers more bang for the buck than just about any other red wine I can think of. I don’t know how they can make a wine of this quality at such a modest price.  

Where can you buy it?  

The Good Wine Co., Auckland $25.99 

Whiskeyonline, Auckland $25.99 

Winesale.co.nz, Lower Hutt $25.99  

Food match?  

Braised lamb shanks or similar hearty roast lamb dishes  

Will it keep?  

It is delicious now but should become even mellower and more complex in a few years.   

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Seeing as Jack’s in the US (and we are home in NZ) it might be nice to just grab a few plants, structures, and colours that belong in our hearts and minds.

If I remember well, America has some stunning trees, shrubs, and plants that knock the eyeballs out of your head. What I remember well are the dogwoods, known here by their Genus name of Cornus.  

This is a brilliant tree from Athens (Georgia):  

Just so you know: we can grow these here too – flowering in spring and often deep autumn colours too. Easy in full sun and part shade with fertile, well-drained soils  

Julie would also go with “white” and “America”.  

Some years ago, she took some cuttings from an ancient plant that grew around a very ancient building, here in the Halswell Quarry – that building is now history, but the cuttings are not!  

The Philadelphus (also known as a Mock Orange) hails from the American New World, is easy to grow and known for its magnificent, sweet scent.  

Juuls grows it on a fence – you can also grow it as a shrub or even a wobbly hedge.  

It loves sunlight and well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter. Don’t let it dry out too much – water every now and then but don’t make it too wet.  

Mulch is useful, as is some general fertiliser every now and then plus some potash before it flowers in spring. Take cuttings in Autumn… Easy!  

I am a fan of spectacular colours.  

And you simply can’t get past dense blues. A Meconopsis was “born” in South-East Asia and there are many, many species. Unfortunately, they have quite a few negative ‘habits’. 

They are tricky to grow and often short-lived. Very difficult to successfully sow as seeds (sow them in late summer) and are very sensitive when you want to split them up by diversion to plant them in early spring.  

Part shade, and no full sun, and a nice mulch of rotten manure or compost – it feels like spoilt brat.  

Despite all this, it’s a plant known as “Blue Poppy” and belongs to the Papaver Family  

We’ve managed a couple of successes, and it makes me go down the garden when they flower.  

This is what I call “Spectacular”. 

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Can AI build an app? Tech expert Paul Stenhouse puts it to the test.

I had an idea. ‘All The Calls’ - an app that tracks presidential race calls across networks in real-time. It absolutely is possible, however it's not without its headaches and frustrations. But wow – it is absolutely impressive.   

You need to be very, very good at describing things. I have never thought about my words so much. 

Things I learned:  

Over the course of the week, I found my rhythm on how to interact with it. What context it needs, what words to use.   
  
The takeaway: it actually showed me the power of communication, and the need for the skill to communicate.   

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The Diplomat  

A second season of the excellent American thriller starring Keri Russell, who plays a career diplomat who must juggle her new high-profile job as ambassador to the United Kingdom and her turbulent marriage to a political star (Netflix).  

  
A Remarkable Place to Die 

Detective Anais Mallory returns to hometown Queenstown, New Zealand and faces startling homicides. She cracks cases while confronting personal ghosts from her past (TVNZ+, from Sunday). 

Special Ops: Lioness 

A new season of the American CIA thriller starring Zoe Saldana as an undercover agent fighting against the war on terror.  

Joe attempts to balance her personal and professional life as the tip of the CIA's spear in the war on terror. The Lioness Program enlists Cruz to operate undercover alongside Joe among the power brokers of State terrorism (Prime Video). 

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Here   

A generational story about families and the special place they inhabit, sharing in love, loss, laughter, and life. 

A Different Man  

An aspiring actor undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance. However, his new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare as he becomes obsessed with reclaiming what was lost. 

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I’ve found a whole new way to make pizza – on the BBQ! All you need is one of those hooded BBQ's and a loaf of Turkish pide, ciabatta, or another flatbread, and you’re away.   

Fungi pizza bread

Ingredients 

Method 

Heat BBQ or oven to 200 C.   Use a serrated knife to remove the top crust off your bread.   In a bowl mix the crème fraiche and half the grated cheese and spread over the cut side of the bread. Scatter over remaining grated cheese, mushrooms and herbs.  Season with salt and pepper. Finish with a decent drizzle of oil and bake on the top rack of the BBQ (or upper level in the oven) for 10-15 minutes until bubbling and golden. Add the crumbled blue cheese as soon as it comes off the heat and scatter with parsley.     Slice, eat and enjoy!  

Other toppings in place of the mushrooms:   

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Who’s gonna win?  

How I wish I could tell you. But from here in the heart of Washington DC I’m happy to be humble. I think anyone who says with supreme confidence or with certainty that they know who the next President of the United States is gonna be, is just blagging.   

I’ve spent the week on the road. I’ve been through parts of Arizona, Georgia, New York, and DC. From a Donald Trump rally in Atlanta to Kamala Harris’ Closing Argument in front of the White House.   

I’ve spoken with African American voters backing Donald Trump, new migrants voting for the first time, abortion rights advocates, business owners, a cryptocurrency organiser, and a professor of constitutional law.   

One of the consistent qualities is how exhausted people are by the whole thing. They’re so ready for this race to be over. Here’s what I think could be the qualities that ultimately define the race: 

1) The gender divide. There is a 16-17 point difference between male and female preferences in this election. More than 60 million votes have already been cast and, given we still have a weekend before election day, it seems highly likely that more than half of voters will cast ballots before Wednesday.   

Here’s why that’s notable: of the votes cast so far, women are voting at much high levels than men. It’s about 55% vs 45%.   

A married couple who are really good friends of mine experience this first hand. He loves Trump. She loathes him. They just agree to mostly avoid talking politics at home. Something similar must be playing out in tens of thousands of American households.   

Donald Trump’s strategy relies on turning out a lot of young men – hence the bro podcasts, the UFC, the embracing of crypto and Elon Musk. This is risky, in that young men belong to the demographic most likely not to vote. But I’ve been doing this long enough to know that Donald Trump has made a real habit of bucking conventional wisdom in politics.   

2) The economy always factors in people’s choices, but aside from that and aside from Donald Trump’s character... there are two highly motivating issues in this election. One is the border security and immigration, the other is abortion access. If you go to the rallies or hear the candidates speak, Trump absolutely hammers the border issue and Kamala Harris hammers reproductive rights.  

3) The polls. I told myself in 2016 I wouldn’t trust the polls again. I told myself in 2020 I wouldn’t trust the polls again. The problem is the pollsters don’t release their modelling. How do they account for Donald Trump’s support among young men if young men don’t usually vote in the same numbers as other demographics? If people misled pollsters by telling them they were supporting Hillary when they were really supporting Trump, will they do that again? Or has Trump shame passed as a notable phenomenon? Right now, Kamala Harris is doing worse in the polls than Hillary Clinton and worse than Joe Biden, but is there a chance the pollsters have overcorrected?   

The election is Wednesday. I think it’s pretty unlikely we’ll have a result that day and it’ll take time before either Harris or Trump is officially the President-elect. Regardless of who wins, I think, sadly, the American electorate is going to remain bitterly divided.   

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The Wiggles have been going strong for over three decades, and their lineup has changed a bit along the way. 

Going from four to eight, the current lineup includes the original Blue Wiggle, Anthony Field, alongside a cast of newer faces: Tsehay Hawkins, Lachy Gillespie, Simon Pryce, Evie Ferris, John Pearce, Caterina Mete, and Lucia Field. 

Tsehay Hawkins joined the Wiggles at age 15, taking over from Emma Watkins as the Yellow Wiggle in 2021. 

"That was a pretty, pretty surreal moment,” she told Jack Tame.  

The Wiggles team is a pretty close-knit group, Hawkins revealed. 

“Everyone’s friends, we’re all actually mates, so that makes it so much easier.” 

“It doesn’t feel like work.” 

The Wiggles are coming to New Zealand this summer, bringing their Sound System Dance Party to Christchurch and Mount Maunganui. 

It’s our first-ever dedicated dance festival for toddlers, featuring reimagined dance versions of the classic hits, and Dorothy the Dinosaur on the turntables. 

“She’s levelled up,” Hawkins said. 

“She still does all the Wiggle stuff, but now we've got remixes of the OG Wiggles songs, but we've made it like, club vibes. We’ve got full house, techno, and that’s what we’re doing in January next year.” 

“We're so stoked to be coming back.” 

For more information, visit kyaevents.co.nz.  

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Jack Tame isn’t the only one with fond memories of New York. 

Kevin Milne visited the city back in 1996, spending a week there filming a video for TVNZ’s travel programme.  

He joined Jack to reminisce about the experience and his memories of the city. 

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Buying property is an expensive and often difficult task, so how do you get the best deal? 

Ed McKnight of Opes Partners joined Jack Tame to offer up some tips and tricks to get the best deal when dealing with the property market. 

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"If you’re heading to the West Coast via Lewis Pass, make a date with the starring town of Reefton. From Springs Junction, the highway threads through the verdant beech forest finery of Victoria Forest Park, New Zealand’s largest conservation park of its type, spanning 180,000 hectares. There are gold mining and quartz mining relics in the area, with a variety of sublime hikes, from short strolls to epic, multi day tramps. But the hospitality beacon is Reefton, the Town of Light, where the glint of gold gave birth to its name courtesy of the vast quartz reef that spawned the 1870 gold rush."

Read Mike's full article here.

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Just over a week after its release, Kylie Minogue’s Tension II has netted her a landmark 10th Official Number 1 album in the UK. 

The 13 track album also debuted at Number 1 on the ARIA Chart, and in Minogue’s words, it’s a continuation of an era she’s delighted to explore.  

“I can’t possibly let it be over just yet! Welcome to Tension II.” 

Estelle Clifford joined Jack Tame to give her thoughts on the new release. 

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The Waiting by Michael Connelly  

In cold cases, it’s not the hope that kills you. It’s the waiting. 

Renée Ballard and the LAPD’s Open-Unsolved Unit get a hot shot DNA connection between a recently arrested man and a serial rapist and murderer who went quiet twenty years ago. The arrested man is only twenty-four, so the genetic link must be familial: His father was the Pillowcase Rapist, responsible for a five-year reign of terror in the city of angels. But when Ballard and her team move in on their suspect, they encounter a baffling web of secrets and legal hurdles. 

Meanwhile, Ballard’s badge, gun, and ID are stolen—a theft she can’t report without giving her enemies in the department ammunition to end her career as a detective. She works the burglary alone, but her mission draws her into unexpected danger. With no choice but to go outside the department for help, she knocks on the door of Harry Bosch. 

At the same time, Ballard takes on a new volunteer to the cold case unit: Bosch’s daughter Maddie, now a patrol officer. But Maddie has an ulterior motive for getting access to the city’s library of lost souls—a case that may be the most iconic in the city’s history. 

The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell  

When a tragedy breaks a family apart, what can bring it back together? 

The Birds seem to be the perfect family: mother, father, four children, a picture-book cottage in the country. 

But one Easter weekend, something happens - something so unexpected, so devastating, that no one can bring themselves to talk about it. 

The family shatters, seemingly for good. 

Until, years later, they are forced to return to the house they grew up in, and to confront what really broke the family apart... 

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On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 26th October 2024, Yellow Wiggle Tsehay Hawkins joins Jack to chat about the energy it takes to be a part of the iconic group, and her incredible passion for dance. 

Jack offers his thoughts on why New York is the best city in the world. 

Film reviewer Francesca Rudkin shares two movie picks, perfect for the long weekend.  

And, Australian icon Kylie Minogue dropped her new album, fresh off her Vegas residency and heading into a major world tour - how did the 80s nostalgia dance tracks stack up? 

Get the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast every Saturday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

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Warmer days are on their way, and sunny days bring with them increased risk of skin damage. 

There’s plenty of sunscreen brands and SPFs on the market, but not all of them will treat the planet as well as they’ll protect your skin. 

Kate “Ethically Kate” Hall joined Jack Tame for a chat about what to look for when hunting for sustainable sun protection, and what else you can do to protect your skin. 

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Guess what – last week I found my first gorgeous Tineola bisselliella moths of the season. 

A pretty yellow-brown, tiny moth with an orange hairdo. I remember this critter from the Netherlands all those years ago, and it has reached New Zealand not terribly long ago, as far as I can see.  

This cosmopolitan moth is becoming more and more common in the Christchurch region. Although it’s spreading to a few New Zealand Centres: Wellington, Napier and who knows where else. 

This attractive moth has a very descriptive vernacular name: Webbing Clothes Moth.  

Its larvae (also known as caterpillars) chew on woollen materials, as well as taxidermied skins and feathers.  

From now on they’ll be on the wing at my place, laying eggs in our woollen rugs and woollen carpets, chewing holes in all those natural products that keep us warm.  

It really hacks me off if I find them in my taxidermied pheasant or kiwi. They also destroy feathers!  

But when Julie finds evidence in her fancy clothes cupboard, I will be severely questioned “when is the last time you sprayed their favourite habitat?”  

“Do something!”  

And off I go to my mates at Safeworx, a company that stocks the most effective Pyrethroid insecticide aerosols on the planet – I should know, because in the days when I was a real entomologist (and working for the Ministry of Agriculture) we developed these insecticides for aircraft quarantine reasons, so that no nasty interlopers would enter Aotearoa: creatures such as Mosquitoes that transmit human diseases, Malaria, Dengue, Ross River Virus etc, etc.  

This was a long time ago: the nineteen eighties!  

Spraying the walls, ceiling and floor of Aircraft holds to measure the efficacy of the Synthetic pyrethroid on flies, mosquitoes, moths, and beetles…  

Those were the fun days!  

Ask the folks at Safeworx for a few aerosol cans of the residual aircraft hold spray – I’m sure they’ll find the right one.  

Spray the surfaces where the damage is found; aim at a distance of around 60 centimetres and move over the woollen materials in a brisk tempo. The spray dries relatively fast and will be killing insects for at least 8 weeks (and much longer if the treated areas are out of direct sunlight).   

This spray formulation works very well on most insect species and its residual activity is suitably long.  

If you have trouble with house borer (another cosmopolitan pest that causes damage in New Zealand), a quick spray over the timber, furniture and wooden antiques will knock the borer beetles out as they emerge from their timber “homes” where they developed over the past year or so.  

Timing is everything! The beetles usually emerge early December to mate and lay eggs, if you spray the infested timber in the last week of November the beetles will not survive this part of their life cycle.  

It’s worth a try. 

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Another week, more AI advancements.  

A crazy powerful AI is just months away 

Reporting from The Verge says OpenAI will release a new model, codenamed "Orion", in December. The report says the launch strategy is different - instead of making it available in ChatGPT first, it's going to be given to their paying partners via APIs.  

OpenAI's CEO says this is "fake news", but if the reporting is true, it's said to be potentially up to 100 times more powerful than the current GPT-4. They just closed a $6.6 billion funding round and are working to restructure themselves as a for-profit company. Maybe it'll be "ClosedAI"?  
  
  

Adobe says artists need to get on the AI bandwagon  

Their VP of Generative AI says they’re “not going to be successful in this new world without using it". It's all-in on the tech, and there won't be a product in its suite without it.  

"We’ve always innovated with conviction, and we believe in the conviction of what we’re doing here". The company says the AI features, such as their Firefly tool that extends and generates bits of images for you, are some of the most adopted products Adobe has ever released. But will it kill art? There's a growing backlash to the tech in the creative community, but the VP goes on to say that "human creativity will be a critical part of it" and there "will be a thirst for artists who do things by hand". 

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Territory 

When the world's largest livestock farm is left without a successor, the most powerful factions in the Australian outback: miners, landowners, cowboys and gangsters, start preparing their weapons(Netflix). 

Simone Biles Rising: Part 2 

The redemption arc for Simone Biles is complete, with the final instalment of this documentary series that follows the American gymnast as she competes in the Paris Olympics (Netflix).   

Line of Duty 

It’s an oldie, but a goodie. All six seasons of the brilliant British police drama about investigating corrupt officers has just dropped on Netflix. 

As a result of refusing to participate in a cover-up, DS Steve Arnott joins a special and controversial unit dedicated to rooting out corruption within the police. 

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Lee  

The story of photographer Elizabeth `Lee' Miller, a fashion model who became an acclaimed war correspondent for Vogue magazine during World War II.  

Venom: The Last Dance  

Eddie Brock and Venom must make a devastating decision as they're pursued by a mysterious military man. 

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It’s a good idea with a long weekend to make a big batch of some staples that can be eaten for lunch or dinner, dressed up of down. This rice salad is the perfect example; serve it with smoked salmon or a steak or teriyaki chicken or just on its own.   

Makes about 6 cups   

Ingredients 

4 cups cooked brown rice or sushi rice   

1 cup shelled edamame beans (avail in frozen section of supermarket)   

½-1 telegraph cucumber, sliced thinly   

3-4 radish, sliced thinly   

1 cup pickled mushrooms – see below   

Options to add – tuna, hot smoked salmon, shredded carrot   

¼ cup store-bought roasted sesame dressing   

Squeeze of lemon juice   

Black sesame seeds to serve  

Method 

Toss all of the ingredients together (hold some radish and the sesame seeds back, to garnish), tumble onto a serving plate and drizzle over sesame dressing, some of the mushroom pickling juices and the lemon juice.  

Scatter over remaining radish and sesame seeds to serve.   

Pickled mushrooms  

Makes one jar   

Ingredients 

200g brown button mushrooms, thinly sliced  

1 tbsp finely diced onion  

1 tsp grated ginger   

1 tsp brown sugar   

75mls rice wine vinegar   

1 tbsp soy sauce  

Boiling water  

Method 

Cram sliced mushrooms, onion, ginger and sugar into a jar. Pour over rice wine vinegar, soy sauce and then boiling water to cover. Leave for 2 hours or overnight.

Seal and keep in fridge until ready to use. 

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I’m writing this in Central Park. I’m right up in the North East corner, sitting on a bench by the Harlem Meer, 100m or so from the apartment where I lived for the second half of my twenties.

It’s so familiar. The warm evening air, people laid out with picnic mats, a guy with a big plastic bin of churros. Kids chasing each other, squealing, skylarking, the sound of traffic crawling down Fifth Avenue. Across the road, staring down the length of Central Park is my favourite obscure building in all of Manhattan. The views from this thing would cost enough to make an Oligarch’s gulp. But it took until a couple of years ago for the city to finally convert it from its previous use: a low-security prison.

I haven’t been in New York for two years. When I was last here, post-Covid, it felt a bit dark. Back in the day, I used to be so blasé about safety – I felt more threatened in central Christchurch late at night than I did in East Harlem. But Covid changed that. You could sense people were fearful and untrusting.

It’s better now. More like the New York I remember.

When I landed this week, I did my usual thing. I got a coffee and a pastry, I put in my headphones, and I walked. It took me a morning until I had the rhythm of the traffic, j-walking with confidence and checking the right way up the streets as I crossed.

I rode the subway everywhere. I mostly didn’t need the map. Amazing how you can feel nostalgic for the gentle resistance of a turnstile bar, for the lurching, screaming, and shuddering of a metal subway car, staring dead-eyed through the windows into the black.

Even when a city is familiar, taking time away and coming in with fresh eyes gives you a perspective you don’t have when you’re immersed in it, living it. I’m realistic enough to accept it probably means you look at things with rose-tinted glasses. But there’s a reason all of my friends here have moved out to the suburbs. The thing that has surprised me most is that I feel it too. It’s not that I’m tired of the city, it’s just that I’m not sure I have the energy and the patience for the hustle and the horns, the concrete and the studio apartments.

One thing doesn’t change though: New York is the best city in the world.

For two simple reasons. Number one: diversity. There cannot be a city with a greater spread of cultures, ethnicities, languages, and socio-economic extremes. The thing that everyone has in common is that everyone is different. And the result of that diversity is the greatest concentration of interesting food, music, and art on the planet.

And the other reason it’s the great city is public space. Because almost everyone lives in small spaces, everything public is always busy, and every public space is used. There’s a collective experience, whether people are conscious of it or not. It means the tiny little strip of land on the corner of Madison and 110th has been converted into a community garden. It means the benches alongside the triangle of green at Broadway and 72nd are always filled with people, just watching the World go by.

And it means here, tonight, on a random Autumn evening, as Central Park’s leaves turn gold, and the sun drops below the West Side, there are hundreds of people out enjoying the moment, socialising, playing, eating, relaxing. It feels vital, alive. Even a bit magical.

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Michael Morpurgo is a literary treasure. 

The author of War Horse and Private Peaceful, he’s written around 150 books, loved particularly among children and young people. 

He’s returned with yet another novel, Cobwebfollowing a little dog heading to London in the aftermath of Britain’s triumph at Waterloo. 

Morpurgo told Jack Tame that much like many of his stories, Cobwebwas inspired by a friend of his who walked 250 miles from the West Coast of Wales to London on a drovers’ road.  

Drovers’ roads are the paths farmers would use to bring their livestock from their farms to the market, as back before vehicles and public transport became common, walking was the only way to reach the big cities.  

While researching drovers’ roads, Morpurgo realised that their stories, and the stories of drovers’ dogs in particular, aren’t well known. 

“And I thought, that's a story that mostly no one knows, so why don't you tell it? Tell that tale? So that's what I did.” 

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A painful form of arthritis, gout is the second most common form affecting New Zealanders.  

A major international study involving around 2.6 million people, has revealed that genetics are a major cause, not lifestyle choices.  

Dr Bryan Betty joined Jack Tame to run through the study, what gout looks like, and how it impacts people. 

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Kiwi musical icon Kimbra is back with another album.  

Idols & Vices (Vol. 1) is a collaborative album, featuring the likes of BANKS, Dawn Richard, DRAM, Skrillex, and Sahtyre, and while Kimbra doesn’t stray too far from her experimental pop sound, there is more R&B and hiphop influences in this work. 

Music Reviewer Estelle Clifford joined Jack Tame to give her thoughts on the release. 

“It grows on me day by day, this album.” 

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"Savouring Sri Lanka’s Central Highlands is an adventure to relish. Swathed in lush jungle greens, pepper-potted with shapely hills and anchored by a gloriously soothing lake at its heart, the seduction is fast and sweet in the gateway city of Kandy. The very name Kandy conjures visions of splendour and mystique. It’s a city that proudly keeps its legends, traditions and folklore alive."

"Another huge highlight was visiting the storied Geragama Tea Factory. Located close to Kandy, this is one of your classic old-school tea factories, specialising in long leaf tea for over 120 years. They do a great job in chronicling the rise of Ceylon Tea and how the nation remains one of the world’s top five tea producers."

Read Mike's full article here.

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Kingmaker: Pamela Harriman's Astonishing Life of Power, Seduction, and Intrigue by Sonia Purnell  

When Pamela Churchill Harriman died in 1997, the obituaries that followed were predictably scathing – and many were downright sexist. Written off as a mere courtesan and social climber, her true legacy was overshadowed by a glamorous social life and her infamous erotic adventures. Much of what she did behind the scenes – on both sides of the Atlantic – remained invisible and secret. That is, until now: with a wealth of fresh research, interviews and newly discovered sources, Sonia Purnell unveils for the first time the full, spectacular story of how she left an indelible mark on the world today. 
 
At age 20 Churchill’s beloved daughter-in-law became a “secret weapon” during World War II, strategically wining, dining, and seducing diplomats and generals to help win over American sentiment (and secrets) to the British cause against Hitler. After the war, she helped to transform Fiat heir Gianni Agnelli into Italy’s ‘uncrowned king’ on the international stage and after moving to the US brought a struggling Democratic party back to life, hand-picking Bill Clinton from obscurity and vaulting him to the presidency. 
 
Picked as Ambassador to France, she deployed her legendary subtle powers to charm world leaders and help efforts to bring peace to Bosnia, playing her part in what was arguably the high-water mark of American global supremacy. 
 
There are few at any time who have operated as close to the center of power over five decades and two continents, and there is practically no one in 20th Century politics, culture, and fashion whose lives she did not touch, including the Kennedys, Truman Capote, Aly Khan, Kay Graham, Gloria Steinem, Ed Murrow, and Frank Sinatra. Written with the novelistic richness and investigative rigor that only Sonia Purnell could bring to this story full of sex, politics, yachts, palaces and fabulous clothes, KINGMAKER re-asserts Harriman’s rightful place at the heart of history. 

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The Valley by Chris Hammer  

Nell Buchanan and Ivan Lucic are back – and Nell is thrown into her most emotionally fraught investigation yet. 
 
A controversial entrepreneur is murdered in a remote mountain valley, but this is no ordinary case. Ivan and Nell are soon contending with cowboy lawyers, conmen, bullion thieves and grave robbers. 
 
But it's when Nell discovers the victim is a close blood relative that the past begins to take on a looming significance. 
 
What did take place in The Valley all those years ago? What was Nell's mother doing there, and what was her connection to troubled young police officer Simmons Burnside? And why do the police hierarchy insist Ivan and Nell stay with the case despite an obvious conflict of interest? 

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Have you ever been so anxious that your stomach started hurting? In addition to its well-known impacts on mental health, stress can also make people feel physically ill—and a new study could help explain why.  

Although it’s fairly common knowledge that the gut “talks” to the brain by releasing hormones into the bloodstream, this recent study showed the relationship going back the other way: from the brain to the gut to the immune system.  

Researchers have found that removing key glands (called Brunner’s glands) in mice, which line the walls of the small intestine, triggered inflammation and increase the chance of infection. Similar thing happens in humans who’ve had tumours removed in their gut.  

It seems that removal of these glands leads to a reduction in gut bacteria which triggers inflammation and subsequent pain.  

When the researchers took a closer look at these glands, they discovered a connection to the vagus nerve that goes from the base of the brain to the internal organs, influencing digestion, blood pressure, and even memory and mood. Fibers that connect to Brunner’s gland lead directly to a region of the brain known as the amygdala, which plays a key role in emotion and the stress response.  

Researchers found that when mice are under chronic stress their glands shut down—causing gut bacteria to dwindle and intensifying inflammation.  

The take home message: being under mental stress can lead to a painful stomach! It highlights the importance of monitoring your stress levels and keeping good gut bacteria.  

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Passionvine Hoppers came up in conversation a week or so ago: a nuisance for gardeners, especially in the warmer north (but more and more a pain-in-the-South as well!). 

I also remember that Aucklanders often called them lacy-winged moths. Shows you that entomological knowledge has always been slow to sink in up there in the North Island.  

They are certainly not moths, these critters belong to a totally different insect order: the Homoptera, or sap-sucking bugs. Yes, these are some of the insects you can legitimately call “bugs” in entomological parlance.  

LIFE CYCLE:  

Eggs hatch in October – the timing relates to warmth in spring.  

The tiny fluffy bums (“nymphs”) suck sap from a wide variety of host plants and slowly grow bigger and bigger. They also become nimbler and can hop greater distances as they grow larger in spring.  

Late in spring (December onwards) the Fluffy Bums will moult their last moult and turn into a winged adult Passionvine Hopper.   

One nymph of passion vine hopper (fluffy bum) and three winged adults in summer. 

They will still suck sap from your favourite plants – they will also continue excreting sticky honeydew all over the plants and leaves below.  

(And as we all know, honeydew is a perfect place for sooty mould to grow – black, ugly fungal material that looks as if a miniature fire has burnt your plants). 

This is also the time for mating and female Passionvine Bugs will lay eggs in the autumn. They prefer to insert the eggs in thin branches, leaving a patterned oviposition site, which keeps the eggs in good nick during the winter months  

CONTROL and PREVENTION:  

Keep an eye on the new fluffy bums hatching in your garden right now! Those tiny nymphs often congregate in large flocks at the ends of new growth; they are still very feeble in their movement and won’t be able to escape a cloud of fly-spray aimed at them on a wind-still morning. 

Small, young nymphs 

Spray these young passionvine hoppers in October with a good dose of fly-spray. 

In autumn there is a second chance for control: spot the new egg-sites on thin twigs and tendrils, cut these off and burn them in the fireplace (Fried Eggs!). 

Eggs laid in thin twigs and curly tendrils 

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On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 19 October 2024, uniquely talented author Michael Morpurgo joins Jack to discuss his love for fact within fiction, a memorable discussion with Roald Dahl, and the intriguing inspiration behind his new children's novel Cobweb. 

Jack discusses team loyalty and his pride in wearing blue to Auckland FC's first match. 

Chef Nici Wickes shares a quirky tip to ensure the icing of your Hummingbird cake stays light and fluffy. 

And, in her new album, Kiwi musician Kimbra is circling back to her collaborative ways. Music reviewer Estelle Clifford delivers her verdict on the resulting sound. 

Get the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast every Saturday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

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Amazon is joining other top tech firms with a foray into nuclear power  

This deal is to explore the development of small modular nuclear reactors. AI needs massive amounts of computing power, and that requires electricity. Virginia's power demand is already growing 5% YOY and is expected to be double 2024’s level in 15 years.  

In addition to that, Amazon is part of a $500 million financing round in a private company opening four small nuclear plants in the West.  

The WSJ called it a "renaissance" of nuclear power. The approach seems to be a little different this time though - with smaller plants rather than large sites. The larger sites run billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule. These companies want to make sure they have the power when they need it.  

  
And, Amazon will now also be delivering election night news  

Their Amazon Prime Video Service will host a live broadcast of the results hosted by former NBC broadcaster Brian Williams. It's the first time the streamer has got into the news game. It says coverage will be an “informative, accessible and non-partisan presentation", which will reference third-party news sources across all political affiliations. Maybe the idea is for Brian Williams will be our guide to all the information being presented? 

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Rivals 

David Tennant and Aidan Turner star in the small-screen version of Jilly Cooper’s novel set in 1980's England about a rivalry between two powerful men that takes over their lives (Disney+).  

The Diplomat  

British consul Laura Simmonds and her Barcelona colleague Alba Ortiz fight to protect British nationals in trouble in the Catalan city. Their diplomatic skills are stretched to the limit by the cases that walk through the Consul's doors (Neon).

The Office Australia  

Hannah Howard is the managing director of packaging company Flinley Craddick. When she gets news from Head Office that they will be shutting down her branch and making everyone work from home, she goes into survival mode, making promises she can’t keep in order to keep her “work family” together. The staff of Flinley Craddick indulge her and must endure Hannah’s outlandish plots as they work toward the impossible targets that have been set for them (Prime Video). 

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The Return  

After 20 years away, Odysseus washes up on the shores of Ithaca, haggard and unrecognizable. The king finds much has changed since he left to fight in the Trojan War. His beloved wife, Penelope, is a prisoner in her own home and hounded to choose a new husband. Their son faces death at the hands of suitors who see him as an obstacle in their pursuit of Penelope and the kingdom. Odysseus is no longer the mighty warrior his people remember, but he must face his past to save his family.  

Merchant Ivory  

Archival footage and interviews provide insight into the partnership, both professional and personal, between director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant. 

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I make a few versions of the mighty hummingbird cake but this is an easy, light, manageable version. I like to describe this cake as a banana cake that goes on a Jamaican holiday.  

Serves 8-10   

Ingredients   

Brown butter cream cheese icing   

Method 

Heat oven 180 C. Grease and line a 23cm cake tin.    Take two bowls. In one put all the dry ingredients – flour, sugar, coconut, spices and raising agents. Whisk together.    In the second bowl, beat together eggs, oil and bananas. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients, add the crushed pineapple and the juice and stir to combine.    Scrape batter into the tin and bake for 45-55 mins or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Rest for 10 mins then turn out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.   

Make the icing 

Melt butter in a small pot until it splutters. Keep cooking until the spluttering subsides – 4-6 minutes – then it will begin to foam and brown. Cook, watching carefully, until it is browned and gives off a wonderful nutty aroma. Cool completely.    Beat cream cheese and browned butter and add the icing sugar gradually. Beat until smooth.   

Split the cake through the middle and fill with half the frosting, using the remaining for the top of the cake. Serve and eat!   

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A rare celestial object has made an appearance in the skies over New Zealand. 

Comet C/2023 A3 hasn’t been seen in our skies in for 80,000 years, and with the length of its orbital period, it’s not going to be seen again by anyone alive today. 

Kevin Milne caught sight of A3 passing by on Wednesday, and it got him thinking about the last time it passed by, and the next time it’ll show up. 

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I never thought I would support Auckland in anything.   

I mean —duh— I’m from Christchurch. When I was a kid, it was a given that Aucklanders were nothing more than latte-swilling, overpriced-haircut-donning, ostentatious-sports-car-driving primadonnas.  

My parochialism isn’t the only force working against Auckland City FC. When the brand-new club kicks off in its very first A-League match this evening, it faces the unique challenge that comes from trying to launch a new team and a new club in a competition which is already well-established.    

Think about it. Most of the teams we support in sporting competitions have either been around since the competition’s inception or have built up a fan base over many decades.  

I support the Crusaders because I was born and raised in Christchurch and when Super Rugby was established, they were everyone-in-my-life’s team.  

I support Liverpool because when I was 6 or 7 and watched football highlights on the news, I asked Dad what English club we supported and stuck with that.   

The Warriors inspire my loyalty because for all the highs and the lows —so many lows— they have endured for thirty years and never really shaken that underdog status. And they’re the New Zealand Warriors. Not the Auckland Warriors. So we’re good.   

Theoretically at least, it’s a bit harder to inspire loyalty in a team that arrives late to the party. Especially when that team is the third Auckland-based professional football club to compete in the Australian top league. RIP the Auckland Kingz and the New Zealand Knights.   

Also, I really love the Wellington Phoenix fan culture. And the club has been playing so well! Maybe I’m wrong, but there’s a risk that any rivalry in a Kiwi derby could feel a little forced, at least early on.   

But, for all of that, Auckland FC has one massive dynamic working in its favour. People in the 09 are so ready for a proper football team. You see it every time the Phoenix play at Eden Park. You see it at All Whites games. You see it on the sidelines of how many thousand junior football games on Saturday mornings. Sure, it may take a few seasons to deepen the well of loyalty, but you would be hard-pressed to find a city or a market on Earth that isn’t hungrier for a team to support.   

And so tonight, I’ll be there. One of more than 20,000 at a sold-out Go Media stadium. I must have a dozen friends attending. Some have already bought season passes.   

You can hold the fancy haircut. Hold the latte. But I’ll be proudly crossing the Rubicon and dressed in blue. And if in years to come anyone should question my loyalty to AFC, well, at least I can say I was there from day one.   

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One of the most famous foodies in the Southern Hemisphere, Donna Hay is one of the Queens of Cooking.  

She’s known for her minimalistic approach to food styling, fresh and vibrant ingredient choices, and grounded recipes for busy people still interested in eating well. 

Her latest book ‘Too Easy’ offers an array of delicious dishes like one-pan undone lasagna, crunchy chipotle chicken traybake, and sticky pork belly that won’t leave you slaving away over a stove for hours. 

When it comes to her recipes, Hay seeks a quicker path from A to B. 

“The one-pan undone lasanga, I realised I hadn’t cooked my children lasagna in a very, very long time, because even on the weekend, Jack, I’m not coming home and layering up all of that deliciousness and taking two hours out of my life for it to be consumed by two very hungry boys in a matter of minutes.” 

“I guess it's just life that kind of dictates what, what I'm gonna try and twist and turn into a great recipe.” 

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Donna Hay’s One-pan Undone Lasagne  

If you love everything about lasagne except the time it takes to make it, then this is for you. This is not a traditional recipe for lasagne – it’s more for those wanting all the comforting gooey yumminess of lasagne but in an instant. Try it – you’ll love it!   

Ingredients 

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 

1 brown onion, finely chopped 

3 cloves garlic, crushed 

600g (1 lb 5 oz) beef mince 

1 litre (34 fl oz) good-quality beef stock 

3 x 400g (14 oz) cans crushed tomatoes 

2 tablespoons chopped oregano leaves 

sea salt and cracked black pepper 

250g (9 oz) fresh lasagne sheets, cut into 5cm x 21cm (2 in x 8½ in) strips 

¼ cup (5g/⅛ oz) chopped basil leaves, plus extra leaves to serve 

mascarpone cheese topping 

350g (12½ oz) mascarpone 

1 cup (80g/2¾ oz) finely grated parmesan, plus extra to serve 

1 x 125g (4½ oz) fresh mozzarella, drained and sliced 

Method 

Heat a large deep ovenproof frying pan over medium–high heat.    Add the oil and onion and cook for 5 minutes or until soft and golden. Add the garlic and beef and cook for 6 minutes, stirring, until the beef is well browned. Add the stock, tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper and bring to the boil.   Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 35–40 minutes or until the mixture has reduced by roughly one-third. The mixture should still be quite saucy.   Add the lasagne sheets, a few at a time, and gently stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes or until the pasta softens. Remove from the heat and stir through the basil.    Preheat oven grill (broiler) to high.    To make the mascarpone cheese topping, combine the mascarpone, parmesan and pepper. Top the lasagne with small spoonfuls of mascarpone mixture and mozzarella. Grill for 10–12 minutes or until the lasagne is golden and bubbly.   Finish with extra basil and parmesan to serve. Serves 6    

Cook’s note: If you have dried lasagne sheets, pop them into boiling water for 30 seconds or until pliable, drain and use as you would fresh sheets. 

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Dubbed the “most ‘Coldplay’ Coldplay album,” Moon Music is the band’s 10th album, and potentially one of their final ones. Chris Martin has confirmed that there’s a concrete plan for two more albums after this, before the band shuts up shop. 

Estelle Clifford joined Jack Tame to give her thoughts on the band’s latest release.  

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The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins  

An isolated Scottish island, accessible to the mainland only twelve hours a day. A famous (some might say infamous) artist whose notoriously unfaithful husband disappeared after visiting her twenty years ago. A present-day discovery that intimately connects three people and unveils a web of secrets and lies. 
 
Welcome to Eris: an island with only one house, one inhabitant, one way out. Unreachable from the Scottish mainland for twelve hours each day. 
 
Once home to Vanessa: A famous artist whose notoriously unfaithful husband disappeared twenty years ago. 
 
Now home to Grace: A solitary creature of the tides, content in her own isolation. 
 
But when a shocking discovery is made in an art gallery far away in London, a visitor comes calling. 
 
And the secrets of Eris threaten to emerge.... 

Unfiltered: My Incredible Decade in Formula 1 by Guenther Steiner  

Formula 1 sensation Guenther Steiner, author of the number one bestseller Surviving to Drive, takes readers into the heart of his ten years running Team Haas, packed with hilarious stories and unprecedented insight into the world of elite motorsport. 

Fasten your seatbelts as Formula 1's favourite underdog, Guenther Steiner, takes you on a wild ride through his ten years at Team Haas. 

From the first seeds of his idea to establish a new F1 team to the challenges of funding and building that team from the ground up, Guenther shares the real story of the origins of Team Haas, immerses readers in the high and lows of its first decade on the grid, and opens up about his departure from the team at the end of 2023. 

As Guenther recalls his proudest achievements and the many, many disasters he has faced, he takes readers behind the scenes, into the pit lanes and garages, and out on to the circuits of the world's greatest race tracks. We spend time with drivers, mechanics, executives, sponsors, commentators and fans, and take in many personal moments too, all the while grappling with the big challenges and small details that keep the wheels of a Formula 1 team turning. 

Told in his inimitable style, packed with hugely entertaining stories, outspoken opinions and unvarnished truths, this is Guenther at his very best – insightful, opinionated and completely unfiltered. 

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"After savouring Sri Lanka’s western coast, the nation’s famed cultural triangle serves up a bevy of World Heritage ancient treasures in the heart of the island. Travelling with On the Go Tours, we farewelled the city buzz of Colombo and drove east for several hours to Dambulla, home to the spectacular Dambulla Rock Temple. Sri Lanka has a long history of the presence and practice of Buddhism and this sprawling cave complex is quite the treasure-chest. The Dambulla temple is not only one of the oldest sites for Buddhist monasticism, but it has served as a pilgrimage site for twenty-two centuries. The massive cave temple complex is unique in Southeast Asia because monks carved the caves out from rock, towering 160 metres above the surrounding plains. There’s more than 80 caves across the site, but the major attractions are spread over five caves which contain statues and paintings of Buddha and his life."

Read Mike's full article here.

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Our oceans are filled with a variety of things: sea creatures, plants, algae, coral, rubbish. Some things belong there, and some don’t. 

Since ‘Litter Intelligence’ began back in 2018, citizen scientists have picked up, counted, and weighed over 621,000 individual pieces of litter from coastal survey areas across Aotearoa, more than 75% of which is plastic.  

Sustainable Coastlines has launched their ‘Trash Species of Aotearoa New Zealand’ campaign, and Kate ‘Ethically Kate’ Hall joined Jack Tame to discuss the most common species, and chat about the ways we can keep them from filling our oceans. 

Key Litter Species facts: 

For more information visit the Sustainable Coastlines site here. 

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On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for 12 October 2024, culinary legend Donna Hay joins Jack to discuss what inspires her these days compared to ten years ago, and shares tips on cooking for a house full of hungry teenage boys. 

Jack examines the difficulty of learning a new language at middle age. 

Film reviewer Francesca Rudkin considers how small-budget kiwi film ‘A Mistake’ somehow landed A-List Hollywood star Elizabeth Banks. 

Elon Musk hosted his robo-event, complete with new products and designs. Tech expert Paul Stenhouse dishes on the new taxis, vans and... humanoids. 

And Kevin Milne and Jack celebrate how kiwi music legends Crowded House can sell out London's O2 arena, but still return to our smaller home-grown venues for their kiwi audiences. 

Get the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast every Saturday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

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There are three reactions to the concept of “feeding your plants”:  

1) Plants feed themselves through Photosynthesis (you don’t need to feed your plants!) 

2) They’ll pick up elements in the soil that they need for growth and development, nobody feeds the plants in a native forest. 

3) What’s scientifically needed for our gardens is a soil test that indicates which chemical elements are lacking in soil. 

This is about the Science of Fertilisers. 

This is the time of the year when soil temperatures are great for plant growth. Roots work over-time to extract minerals, dissolve them in water and transport them through the phloem bundles to the leaves of plants, where photosynthesis puts it all together and creates carbohydrates and chemicals that allow cell-elongation (growth).  

Plants use three main elements for bulk growth “food”: Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and potassium (K), which are generally known as NPK (their chemical symbols).  

N is used to make the green stuff: leaves and chlorophyll (LAWNS, LETTUCE, SPINACH, HEDGES). 

P is good for rootdevelopment and plant health (CARROTS, PARSNIPS, POTATOES, etc). 

K (potash) is for sex: flowers and fruits(TOMATOES, APPLES, STRAWBERRIES, FLOWERING PLANTS). 

Other elements needed for plant functioning are needed in much smaller quantities:  

Mg (Magnesium), S (Sulphur), Ca (Calcium), Cu (Copper), Fe (Iron), Zn (Zinc), Mn (Manganese), and a heap more of those minor “trace elements”. 

There are a few different types of fertilisers:  

1) “General” Fertiliser – for general growth: usually something like N-P-K 7-3-6 or 12-4-13 (note how Phosphorus is usually less than the N and K). 

2) Potato fertiliser: N-P-K 3-9-6, also good for carrots and parsnips. 

3) Tomatoor rose fertiliser - usually higher in potash (K): N-P-K 3-4-9. This helps to stimulate flower and fruit growth. 

Of course, you can always use the general fertiliser (which tends to be highest in Nitrogen) and simply add a few handfuls of Superphosphate (P) if you grow root crops, or handfuls of Sulphate of Potash (K) if you want to up the dose of K (potash) for flowers and fruit.  

Organic fertilisers usually have lower concentrations of elements, and they are often less prone to fertiliser run-off into water courses. Chicken poo (a “Natural” organic fertiliser) has a high content of Nitrogen which can burn plants – I would always send it through a cycle of composting before use. 

These are very general comments on how to use fertilisers; some plants require a bit more detailed knowledge or would benefit from changing fertiliser regimes in different times of the year (Cymbidium orchids have a green-growth phase to make leaves in spring and summer – followed by a flower bud initiation in autumn and flowering in winter).  

I use General fertiliser on my young tomatoes to get them growing up and create a strong climbing vine, before the flower buds are formed.  

Once they start flowering, I assist the plants with more potash to keep on making fruit – I just switch to a higher potash fertiliser such as Wet&Forget’s Seaweed Tea.  

Dog Pee fertiliser  

Most homeowners let their dogs use the backyard as their own personal toilet. Urine is very high in Nitrogen. Too much nitrogen will burn the grass and create yellow patches after sensational, dark green growth (a dog will usually come back to the same patch – territorial “marking”).  

The concentration of nitrogen in the dog’s urine depends on the type of dog, its sex, and what the animal eats. Larger dogs will pee more and cause more damage. Female dogs also tend to cause more damage than males because they squat and urinate in one concentrated patch whereas the males spray their urine over a larger area and in much smaller doses each time. Finally, diets high in protein can increase the concentration of nitrogen in the urine since protein breaks down to release nitrogen compounds. 

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Villa Maria Cellar Selection Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon  

Why I chose it:  

What does it taste like?   

A fresh and fruity red with dark berry and plum flavours and a seasoning of spicy oak. Moderately intense. A delicious wine that makes me reach for a second glass.  

Why it’s a bargain:           

Punches well above its weight  

Where can you buy it?         

What’s a good food match?  

Barbecued steak. 

Drink now or later?  

Now if you like bright, fresh and fruity flavours, in five years if you prefer more mellow and slightly savoury reds. 

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Elon Musk's “We, Robot” event saw taxis, vans, and humanoids 

Elon says it will be "the biggest product ever" calling them an “autonomous assistant, humanoid friend".   

He gave us a glimpse into a future. At the party robots danced, served cocktails, and chatted with guests with a voice that sounded like a human. It's cadence and tone were offputtingly normal. When an event attendee told Optimus he was doing a good job, the robot looked up in acknowledgement, then said “You wanna get a photo?” and made a peace sign with its hand. 

In a video they were watering plants, collecting packages, cleaning the kitchen after dinner, unloading groceries and unwinding with a board game with the family’s kids. 

The marketing materials said they're designed to take on the dangerous and boring tasks in your life. The lofty goal is to have them ready to sell by the end of 2025, with a price-tag of somewhere around USD$30,000.   
 
They unveiled a robocab with two seats, no steering wheel, and is controlled through a large touchscreen mounted on the dashboard. And then there's the robovan, which looks like a futuristic Airstream caravan who's worst enemy may be a speedbump.        

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When an intriguing novel appears at the bedside of a journalist whose career has been built on revealing transgressions, she is horrified to realise she's a key character in a long-buried story, one that exposes her darkest secret (Apple TV+).

Sweetpea  

Rhiannon Lewis doesn't make much of an impression - people walk past her in the street without a second glance. That is until she is pushed over the edge and loses control, and Rhiannon's life transforms (Neon).

The Restaurant That Makes Mistakes 

A second season of the local series about a group of volunteers with young onset dementia as they navigate the highs and lows of running a fine-dining restaurant under the guidance of renowned chef Ben Bayly (TVNZ+ from Monday 14 October).  

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A Mistake  

A talented surgeon's life unravels when a new public reporting system for surgeons' performance is introduced. Her colleagues distance themselves, and even her partner, a hospital nurse, abandons her. 

The Outrun  

After living life on the edge in London, Rona attempts to come to terms with her troubled past. She returns to the wild beauty of Scotland's Orkney Islands where she grew up, hoping to heal. 

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Bored of making the same old recipes? Is cooking becoming more of a chore? You might be stuck in a rut. Fortunately, Nici Wickes has some advice on how to pull yourself out and get back into the swing of things. 

She recommends checking out cookbooks or magazines for some new recipes, eating out or trying new restaurants for some inspiration, and of course, taking a look to see what interesting things may be tucked away in your cupboards.  

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Supermarket collectable schemes are a dime a dozen these days, with most franchises running a collectable promotion every year. Most buy into the scheme, collecting the stickers or cards and trading them in for a free product, but there are some out there who pass on them. 

To Kevin Milne it feels like these people are just throwing away money, and wonders why people would pass on a free container or two. 

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As someone who considers themself at least semi-literate, with the benefit of a reasonable education and at least a passing interest in the world, I can confirm there is nothing quite so humbling in middle-age as learning a new language.   

At short notice, I’m hoping to briefly visit a Latin American country for my work in a few weeks’ time, and in preparation this week I downloaded a few apps and subscribed to podcasts to try and re-up my Spanish.  

My history with Spanish is one of big surges and even bigger retreats.   

I studied it until seventh form at high school. I wasn’t very good but at least I learnt a few nouns and could ask some basic questions.   

But when I moved to New York as a 24-year-old I decided to learn Spanish in a way I never had when I was a teenager. I moved to a Latin neighbourhood. I did thrice-weekly lessons on Skype, just speaking with a tutor friend in Mexico’s south.   

After a few months of studying, I decided to visit her.    

“Estoy excitado,” I said, trying to express my excitement at the impending trip. My tutor laughed and explained that’d just informed a conservative Catholic mother that I was horny.   

“Gaah... estoy tan embarazada!” I blushed.   

She bent over in laughter again. Turns out embarazada is not embarassed. Embarazada is pregnant.    

It’s amazing what immersion will do though. When I visited Chiapas, I’d collapse in bed, exhausted at the end of every day from 12-hours of speaking. But after just a few weeks, I could swear I was just starting to dream in Spanish. That’s when you know it’s sticking.  

Then, though. Oof. An almighty retreat. I fell out of lessons and Spanish fell out of my head. I eventually moved home and studied Māori, which I absolutely loved, but which has a similar vowel sound to Spanish. Often over the years when I’ve reached for the word, I’ve pulled a noun from the wrong language. And now, I’m embarrassed to admit that although my wife is Persian, in Farsi I can’t even say hello.  

There are some people though, for whom language comes easier than others. I’m good with sound and speaking with false confidence but very poor with grammar. My brother is much more studious, but I swear he also just gets grammatical structure. It’s like he sees the matrix when he’s studying language.   

I’m fascinated by people who can speak many languages. There’s a New Zealander named Harold Williams, who basically no one has ever heard of, who is considered one of the greatest polyglots in history. He was the foreign editor for The Times in London and spoke as many as 58 languages. As a lad in Christchurch in the late 1800s, he described having a ‘brain explosion’ when he was about seven-years-old. He bought himself the New Testament in every language his bookshop could order and taught himself that way.   

Our historic comfort in our majority monolingualism is one of the great faults of New Zealand culture. It’s sloppy. Insular. It’s embarrassing to visit poor neighbourhoods in poor countries and realise that despite the relative lack of educational opportunities, kids can speak more languages than many or most of us can. It’s wonderful to see the revitalisation of te reo Māori, but New Zealand must still be one of the most monolingual developed countries on Earth.   

So, here we go again. Like trying to start a lawnmower that’s been sitting in the shed for fifteen years, I’m pulling at the starter cord and pleading the engine to fire.   

“The cat likes to sleep.”  

“I would like to buy a ticket for the train.”  

It’s so humbling to go so far back. Embarazada, even. And yet still so rewarding when you feel something stick. Excitado!  

That’s the thing about language. More than vowels and consonants, it is the front door to culture, a gate to a whole new World.    

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Rena Owen has cemented herself in New Zealand’s pantheon of film and television greats. 

The award-winning actress has a packed acting career, with roles in everything from Once Were Warriors, to Star Wars, to Whina, to Shortland Street.  

She stars in productions that create lasting legacies, conveying stories from the culture and history of New Zealand, and her latest work follows suit. 

Taki Rua Theatre – Breaking Barriers tells the story of what became the unofficial Māori theatre company, an ensemble of artists breaking barriers, shattering cultural norms, and pioneering a bicultural partnership. 

Owen joined Jack Tame to discuss the significance of the theatre, her acting career, and her upcoming film roles. 

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Kiwi soul musician Louis Baker has released his third EP, Medicine his first work as sole producer.  

The EP reflects the bond Baker has with his craft, allowing him to connect with himself and communicate with the world.  

Estelle Clifford joined Jack Tame to give her thoughts on this new release. 

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"Sri Lanka has loomed large on my bucket-list for quite some time. Nicknamed the Pearl of the Indian Ocean, I’ve just ventured to the teardrop-shaped island nation for the first time and it smashed my expectations. Over the course of a week, I savoured Sri Lanka’s colourful cities, vibrant cuisine, ravishing landscapes, astonishing World Heritage treasures and glorious wildlife, which were all seamlessly stitched together by On the Go Tours and their Colombo, Caves and Kandy group tour."

Read Mike's full article here.

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Intermezzo by Sally Rooney  

Aside from the fact that they are brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek seem to have little in common. 
 
Peter is a Dublin lawyer in his thirties—successful, competent, and apparently unassailable. But in the wake of their father’s death, he’s medicating himself to sleep and struggling to manage his relationships with two very different women—his enduring first love, Sylvia, and Naomi, a college student for whom life is one long joke. 
 
Ivan is a twenty-two-year-old competitive chess player. He has always seen himself as socially awkward, a loner, the antithesis of his glib elder brother. Now, in the early weeks of his bereavement, Ivan meets Margaret, an older woman emerging from her own turbulent past, and their lives become rapidly and intensely intertwined. 
 
For two grieving brothers and the people they love, this is a new interlude—a period of desire, despair, and possibility; a chance to find out how much one life might hold inside itself without breaking. 
  
For two grieving brothers and the people they love, this is a new interlude – a period of desire, despair and possibility – a chance to find out how much one life might hold inside itself without breaking.  

The Siege by Ben Macintyre  

Britain’s best-selling historian writes the first definitive account of the famous televised SAS storming of the Iranian embassy in London in 1980. 

On April 30, 1980, six heavily armed gunmen burst into the Iranian embassy on Princes Gate, overlooking Hyde Park in London. There they took 26 hostages, including embassy staff, visitors, and three British citizens. A tense six-day siege ensued as millions gathered around screens across the country to witness the longest news flash in British television history, in which police negotiators and psychiatrists sought a bloodless end to the standoff, while the SAS – hitherto an organisation shrouded in secrecy – laid plans for a daring rescue mission: Operation Nimrod. 

Drawing on unpublished source material, exclusive interviews with the SAS, and testimony from witnesses including hostages, negotiators, intelligence officers and the on-site psychiatrist, bestselling historian Ben Macintyre takes readers on a gripping journey from the years and weeks of build-up on both sides, to the minute-by-minute account of the siege and rescue. 

Recreating the dramatic conversations between negotiators and hostages, the cutting-edge intelligence work happening behind-the-scenes, and the media frenzy around this moment of international significance, The Siege is the remarkable story of what really happened on those fateful six days, and the first full account of a moment that forever changed the way the nation thought about the SAS – and itself. 

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Stats NZ has released the latest data from the Census, giving fresh insights into the lives of people across the country. 

Kevin Milne has been taking a look at the latest numbers and there’s a couple things he found interesting, and some he wasn’t surprised by at all. 

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 Although Working from Home might have been new for many of us under Covid, research in the area has been going on for decades. This international research, combined with studies carried out in New Zealand over the past 4 years, notably by Prof Jarrod Harr at Massey Uni, is pretty clear that from a wellbeing and productivity perspective the hybrid model of working is better than working in the office 100% or working from home 100%. Hybrid working gives the best of both worlds – 2 or 3 days in the office and 2 or 3 days at home. 

Advantages of hybrid working include:  

Working from Home 100% of the time isn’t ideal – people report higher rates of low mood and loneliness. Also, higher rates of burnout, possibly due to not having clear stop/start times. Working from the office 100% of the time reduces autonomy and has poorer work-life balance. 

The disadvantage of the hybrid model is not everyone’s job allows them to work from home for 2-3 days per week and these people see others as getting a perk they don’t have. 

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On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 5 October 2024, award-winning actress Rena Owen joins Jack to discuss the 30-year anniversary of Once Were Warriors, gearing up for the live action Moana, and the role of Māori theatre throughout her career. 

Jack shares his love for maps and the remote, extreme, curious places he's drawn to when studying them. He considers the chances of a visit to Diego Garcia following the news that sovereignty of the island will be passed to Mauritius. 

Sally Rooney's highly anticipated fourth novel is Booktok’s latest obsession – with influencers vying for advance copies and the book becoming something of a commodity. Book reviewer Catherine Raynes shares her thoughts on Intermezzo's literary merit. 

How does Joker: Folie à Deux match up to the critical and commercial juggernaut of the first Joker film? Film reviewer Francesca Rudkin delivers her verdict. 

And man-in-the-garden Ruud Kleinpaste joins Jack in studio to chat planting before the dry season sets in - plus, brings a special guest. 

Get the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast every Saturday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

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It’s already getting dry in Canterbury, and I still need to do a lot of planting in order to save us from starvation.

Juuls has planted Christmas spuds. Seed potatoes: “chitted” (meaning the “eyes” have started to run out) and the plants are doing well – shooting up in their large tubs on the deck. Every week or so we carefully add some soil on top of the stuff that’s already there, so that the main stem will produce more and more potatoes.  

This is Julie’s “spud race” for the spring challenge at her work.  

Potato fertiliser always has a bit more “P” (Phosphate) in it to encourage root growth and tuber growth. Jersey Bennes and such early varieties are probably the best to use before Christmas.  

Potato-Tomato Psyllid  

I don’t want to play Russian Roulette with this pest: it damages potatoes and tomatoes, so I prefer to keep potatoes well away from my tomato tunnelhouse. 

It’s called Biosecurity! 

Tomatoes  

Should have been sown now in seed-raising mix and transplanted outside when the frost danger is over; in the tunnelhouse I don’t have that problem, so can bang them in as soon as they are 20cm tall with good roots.   

I’ve got my favourite line up: Tigerella, Sweet 100, Black Krim, Artisan Blush, etc, plus some new stuff I uplifted from the Kings Seed Catalogue. 

Initially feed them with general fertiliser and start using tomato/Rose fertiliser when flowers develop the new fruit – Seaweed Tea (Wet&Forget) 

Broad beans are another must in our garden – I was lucky to have them survive the winter and self-seeded in the coldest months of the year  

The related French beans need to be sown too – do a row every month or so, so keep the supply coming during summer and into autumn!  

If you’ve never tried growing Witlof (endive) try sowing it now.   

During spring and summer, you grow the root system sturdy and large. In late autumn harvest the roots and bury them in a tub with sandy soil in a dark spot (under the house). The roots will sprout these white and delicious chicons which taste wonderful and bitter; recipes everywhere! Even the French like them. 

I usually keep up with my lettuce (COS!) and spring onions but will need to plonk in the peasand beansASAP before the summer sun creates havoc.  

These crops have a habit to grow in just about any soil condition. As long as they have good light and are not kept too dry.  

Liquid fertiliser seems to be the best way to keep ’em happy, and when I chuck Seafood Soup and Seaweed Tea on them they shoot up with vapour trails  

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People often fanaticise about sudden wealth – a windfall of money large enough to solve any problem.  

But a large sum of money falling into your lap can be complicated and confusing to handle. 

Lisa Dudson joined Jack Tame for a chat about the best way to handle sudden wealth so you don’t wind up losing it all. 

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Joan 

Joan Hannington, a fiery and uncompromising woman in her 20s, is a devoted mother to her 6-year-old daughter, Kelly, but is trapped in a disastrous marriage with a violent criminal named Gary. When Gary goes on the run, Joan seizes the opportunity to create a new life for herself and her daughter. Adopting new identities and making new acquaintances along the way, Joan becomes a masterful jewel thief. She embarks on a thrilling, high-stakes journey that challenges her every limit, driven by her desire to create a secure home(Neon).  

  
Last Days of the Space Age   

In 1979, a power strike threatens to plunge the region into darkness in Western Australia, while the city hosts the Miss Universe pageant and the US space station, Skylab, crashes just beyond the city's suburbs(Disney+).  

  
Brilliant Minds 

Dr. Oliver Wolf is an eccentric but incredibly gifted neurologist who suffers from a rare condition that gives him a unique perspective on care, fueling his mission to change the way the world sees his patients. After his unusual methods result in his dismissal, he takes his unconventional approach to a new hospital: Bronx General, where he leads a team of bright young interns in tackling some of the world's most puzzling psychological cases. With their help, he must also challenge his own personal and social limitations by navigating all the expectations, politics and complicated relationships that come with the job (Neon). 

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A couple has been blocked from suing Uber for a car crash because they used Uber Eats  

When you use Uber Eats you agree to a new set of Terms which state that you must use private arbitration to settle matters, rather than going to court. So, when the NJ couple got into a bad crash while in an Uber ride, a court says the Uber Eats clauses applied. They say they never recalled seeing that box, and also say their daughter used the Uber Eats account to order a pizza. The court said the mother had given her daughter the authority to sign the agreement when she handed over her phone.   

Disney has done the same thing recently – initially arguing that a wrongful-death lawsuit because of an allergy at a theme park restaurant should be thrown out of court because of a Disney+ agreement the person had.  

What does that mean when you sign up for a fast food app? Or use a business' website to perform services?  
It’s a good reminder that the fine print is important.

CNN, the US's largest news website, started rolling out its paywall  

CNN's CEO was instrumental in rolling out the New York Times paywall - which is one of the most successful in the industry. Just like the NYT, only the most heavy users will initially be prompted to pay $3.99 a month for access. Those who just browse a few articles won't see any changes yet.

One of CNN's Anchors said in an interview there were 300 people at each convention - so covering those large scale events isn't cheap! They need to develop new digital revenue streams that can offset declines in legacy TV. 

CNN reached 117 million unique visitors in August across its website and apps. Its TV audiences' median age is 67 years old. The Times has roughly 10 million digital subscribers.     

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Joker: Folie à Deux

Struggling with his dual identity, failed comedian Arthur Fleck meets the love of his life, Harley Quinn, while incarcerated at Arkham State Hospital. 

Will and Harper  

When Will Ferrell finds out his close friend of 30 years is coming out as a trans woman, the two decide to embark on a cross-country road trip to process this new stage of their relationship in an intimate portrait of friendship and transition. 

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You’re going to love this avocado whip. Double the recipe so you can enjoy it as a dip for corn chips and/or crudités, on toast, or dolloped in tacos. Use whatever herbs you have on hand. We love using rocket and/or coriander. 

Margo Flanagan of Two Raw Sisters offers up a recipe for Eggplant and Avocado Whip from their new cookbook ‘More Salad’ - now available in stores. 

Ingredients  

2 eggplants, cut into bite-sized  

chunks  

3 tablespoons cooking oil  

1 teaspoon sea salt  

Avocado Whip  

1 avocado  

1 cup chopped fresh herbs  

1⁄4 cup extra virgin olive oil  

2 tablespoons hulled tahini  

2 garlic cloves, crushed  

juice of 1 lemon  

1⁄2 teaspoon sea salt  

100 g (3 1⁄2 oz) feta, crumbled  

1⁄4 cup chopped fresh herbs  

2 tablespoons dukkah  

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil  

Method 

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).   Toss the eggplant chunks on a baking tray with the cooking oil and salt. Roast for 25–30 minutes.   While the eggplant is cooking, make the avocado whip.   Process all the ingredients in a blender until smooth. (Alternatively you can use a stick blender.)   To assemble the salad, spoon all the avocado whip onto a flat, round plate. Use the back of a spoon to distribute it evenly around the plate. Arrange the eggplant chunks on top. Sprinkle over the feta, then the herbs and dukkah.  Drizzle the olive oil over just before serving.  

Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.  

Extracted from More Salad by the Two Raw Sisters. Photography © Food: Margo Flanagan andLifestyle: Susannah Blatchford. RRP$49.99. Out 10 September 2024. Published by Allen & Unwin NZ.

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You know my idea of fun?   

You’re expecting me to say sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll, wild parties, cocaine-fuelled late-night debauchery! Guilty as charged... that sounds like a bit of me.   

But no, my idea of fun is a map.   

I’ve got a huge, detailed one on my wall. Winkle triple projection, Pacific-centred, of course. I can wile away hours, whole afternoons, intercontinental flights, just staring at a map. 

And when you stare at a detailed map, you’re drawn to curiosities. To extremes. And naturally of course you’re drawn into imagining or fantasising what those places might be like in-person, rather than simple a coordinate on your wall.   

There are three remote, extreme, curious places on Earth I’ve always fantasised about seeing. One is La Rinconada, the highest permanently populated town in the World. It’s in the Peruvian Andes, a grim, freezing mining town with a violent crime problem and where a slab of the residents may or may not have mercury poisoning. It’s higher than Everest Base Camp. And if YouTube is anything to go by, it is about as far from a few nights at Denarau as it’s possible to be.   

The next are the Kerguelen Islands, aka the Desolation Islands, a vast 7000km2 archipelago in the sub-Antarctic. It’s home to amazing wildlife and a few dozen French scientists. And it’s huge! The main island is 150km long and 120km wide. Have you ever heard of it? It’s one of the most remote places on Earth.  

And my final isle of intrigue is Diego Garcia. My Dad first told me about it as a kid. Imagine a point in the middle of the Indian Ocean, below India and about halfway between Tanzania and Bali.   

For decades, Diego Garcia has been home to one of the most mysterious and secretive military bases on the planet. Its strategic location, its military runway, its fleet of long-range bombers and its ability to reload submarines with weapons make it hugely important to the U.S and the U.K.  

But that only came about by a brutal history.   

Although Diego Garcia had no indigenous population, enslaved people were brought there to work on coconut plantations, and over several centuries developed their own language and culture. In the 1960s, the Brits decided to kick them out. In order to develop the military base, they forcibly evicted all of the local population to Mauritius and the Seychelles.   

For decades since, Mauritius has fought for the island and its surrounding archipelago. Chaggosians, as people from the Chaggos Islands are known, have fought to return to their home.   

But I’ve always assumed I would never be able to go. The island is rumoured to be a CIA black site. According to a recent BBC report, only three journalists have ever visited. One pretended to have a boat problem and was only there for an hour and half. Another stopped to refuel in a Presidential plane. The most recent visitor had to agree to incredible restrictions on her reporting, was barred from numerous areas and accompanied by minders at all times.  

But yesterday came news from Diego Garcia. After years of terse negotiations and an ongoing legal dispute regarding a group of Tamil asylum seekers being detained on the island, the U.K and Mauritius announced sovereignty of Diego Garcia and the other Chaggos Islands will be passed to Mauritius.   

Will it mean the Chagossians can return? Probably not. Under the deal, the long-range bombers, submarines, and the base will remain for at least the next century.   

Its official status might have changed, but for those of us who trace the atoll across the World on our office wall, Diego Gacia will be no more accessible, and no less mysterious. 

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The World of Music, Arts and Dance Festival has all the ingredients for a good time – food, dancing, arts, and an incredible line-up of local and international artists.

English/Kiwi rock band The Veils were announced this week in the first line-up of acts to headline next year’s WOMAD festival.

The enigmatic indie band have a reputation for their intense live performances, and they’ll be teaming up with a few classical musicians for their performance at the festival.

Frontman Finn Andrews told Jack Tame that it’ll be a “pretty raucous affair”.

He said that working with classical musicians gives them the option to lean into the extremes. 

“It kinda just intensifies that even more. I think it's gonna be really full on and really quiet and intimate as well.” 

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Their first album release in six years, ‘The Forest is the Path’ is Snow Patrol’s eighth studio album, coming after 2018’s ‘Wilderness’. 

While promoting the album on X, vocalist Gary Lightbody described the work as a “new beginning”.  

“We honour the past, deeply. But while we honour the past we also want to cherish the present and look to the future. So this is the beginning of something, and we are so excited to share it with you all.” 

Music Reviewer Estelle Clifford joined Jack Tame to give her thoughts on the release. 

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We Solve Murders by Richard Osman  

Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits and routines: the pub quiz, his favourite bench, his cat waiting for him when he comes home. His days of adventure are over: adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy’s business now. 

Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. As a private security officer, she doesn’t stay still long enough for habits or routines. She’s currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive. Which was meant to be an easy job . . . 

Then a dead body, a bag of money and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending an SOS to the only person she trusts. A breakneck race around the world begins, but can Amy and Steve stay one step ahead of a deadly enemy? 

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty  

Aside from a delay, there will be no problems. The flight will be smooth, it will land safely. Everyone who gets on the plane will get off. But almost all of them will be forever changed. 
 
Because on this ordinary, short, domestic flight, something extraordinary happens. People learn how and when they are going to die. For some, their death is far in the future—age 103!—and they laugh. But for six passengers, their predicted deaths are not far away at all. 
 
How do they know this? There were ostensibly more interesting people on the flight (the bride and groom, the jittery, possibly famous woman, the giant Hemsworth-esque guy who looks like an off-duty superhero, the frazzled, gorgeous flight attendant) but none would become as famous as “The Death Lady.” 
 
Not a single passenger or crew member will later recall noticing her board the plane. She wasn’t exceptionally old or young, rude or polite. She wasn’t drunk or nervous or pregnant. Her appearance and demeanor were unremarkable. But what she did on that flight was truly remarkable. 
 
A few months later, one passenger dies exactly as she predicted. Then two more passengers die, again, as she said they would. Soon no one is thinking this is simply an entertaining story at a cocktail party. 
 
If you were told you only had a certain amount of time left to live, would you do things differently? Would you try to dodge your destiny? 

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Working from Home has been a topic of debate this week with the Government’s new directive on the subject. 

Kevin Milne is a bit split on the issue, but there is one thing he’s clear on: surely propping up other businesses isn’t a valid reason to force people back into the office? 

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"Singapore is so much more than just a steamy stopover between flights. It’s a sparkling melting pot of Southeast Asian culture, brimming with an ever-expanding arsenal of headline experiences. But alongside ticking off the likes of Gardens by the Bay and Marina Bay Sands, the Lion City’s biggest roar is reserved for the sizzling street food scene spilling forth in the hawker centre. Singapore’s harmonious multiculturalism and all its culinary influences positively sing on the plate. Come nightfall, Lau Pa Sat in downtown Singapore transforms into Satay Street, where a riot of meat on skewers and peanut sauce hold court."

Read Mike's full article here. 

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Sustainable living doesn’t just benefit the world around you, but it can also have benefits for mental health.  

Kate ‘Ethically Kate’ Hall joined Jack Tame to run through a few of the benefits that come with living more sustainably. 

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Planting from now on is becoming a much better idea. The chances of frost have diminished, but there will be still possibilities of “Spring Snow”, if you get my drift.  

If you’ve had a look at the plants in your local botanic Garden, you’ll find what will grow well at your place. In many frost-free areas I’m thinking of Ngutu Kaka (Kaka Beak). This is a native plant that will look red and just amazing. It’s one of those plants I have always wanted to grow, simply because it looks stunning with those flowers, and it attracts the nectivorous birds. 

As an old Trustee of “Project Crimson” (do you remember that organisation?) I am certainly a proponent of the Genus Metrosideros, which is the group of trees, shrubs and plants related to pohutukawa. Metrosideros carminea is one of those native gems that will wake you up in spring. Just look at that colour! 

Just inhale the smell, and look at the insects associated with this native gem.  

And then there are the not-so-native Vireya. They are Rhododendrons of tropical origin. They smell and love warm climates. My favourite one is Vireya tuba.   

Originally from the mountains of Papua New Guinea, it grows up to 2 meters high and needs protection from frosts (grew well for us in Auckland and will do fine on the frost-free port hills). And its smell is just divine!  

Winter flowerings. Bright and beautiful, but a native beetle has woken up too:  

Lemon Tree Borer (Oemona hirta) will be on the wing soon. Laying eggs on damaged citrus branches or on pruned wood of citrus and many other native shrubs and trees. 

The beetle grubs will create tunnels and cause a heap of damage! No more pruning and keep an eye on those grubs that will create havoc on citrus and other host plants.  

And then there is our codling moth (which arrived all the way from Europe, many, many years ago). Moths lay eggs after flowering of the apple trees (and crab apples, and walnuts!) Out of those eggs hatch very hungry codling moth caterpillars that will tunnel into the developing apple fruits, spoiling them. 

Control and prevention:  

There is a cool spray called Madex3, used by commercial apple growers that value organic treatments. This Madex3 is a virus that should be sprayed a week or so after apple flowering (in the next week or two!). The virus will only kill Codling moth – very targeted! And may need a second spray a month or so later.  

It’s available from some of the more switched-on suppliers in NZ:  

Farmlands, Horticentre Hawkes Bay and Richmond, GoodtoGrownz.co.nz, just look for Madex3.  

It’s not a cheap pest control material, but it will last for years in your freezer. And if you cleverly share a 100 ml bottle with your neighbour or friend it is the best and safest method of keeping the caterpillars out of your pip fruit. 

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On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 28 September 2024, frontman of legendary rock band The Veils, Finn Andrews joins Jack to chat new music, regrouping, and looking ahead to WOMAD 2025. 

Jack considers his take on working from home versus in the office. 

Film reviewer Francesca Rudkin offers her take on Brad Pitt and George Clooney's return to the big screen in Wolfs. 

Mike Yardley dishes on $5 Michelin-star offerings in Singapore. 

And Lianne Moriarty is back with a brand-new novel, Here One Moment, which book reviewer Catherine Raynes gives her thoughts on. 

Get the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast every Saturday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

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What exactly is an abdominal hernia?  

- It’s where an internal part of body pushes through weak part of your abdominal wall muscle, creating a lump that often you can feel.  
- It’s very common, more common in men but can occur in any age from babies to the elderly.  
- There’s several different types:  

- Inguinal: occurs in the groin and can sometimes cause lump in the scrotum.  
- Femoral: occurs where abdomen joins leg.  
- Umbilical: the front of the stomach often around the tummy button.  
- Hiatus: where stomach pushes up into the chest.  
- Incisional: over a surgery scar  

What causes hernias?  

- Lots of different things: being overweight, coughing or sneezing, constipation, pregnancy.  
- Some people have weaker abdominal walls, and hernias can occur more easily.  
- Occasionally caused by injury from lifting – in which case can be covered by ACC  

What should you look out for and are they serious?  

- Most people notice a bulging lump in their stomach or groin.  
- You may occasionally notice discomfort when bending over or lifting things.  
- Generally they are small, and if they pop out they can be easily pushed back in. 
- Over time they can become bigger and cause more discomfort and pain.  
- Occasionally the bowel can twist and not be able to be pushed back in and become strangulated. This is serious and requires urgent medical help.    

What do about them?  

- Your GP will take a history and examine you to diagnose a hernia, they may order a U/S if unsure.  
- If it’s minor and not causing problems, just watch and wait.  
- However, if it’s causing pain and discomfort, they may recommend surgery.  
- An operation to fix the abdominal wall with stitches or what is called mesh, it’s often a keyhole surgery.  
- You can try to avoid them by eating food with fibre so you don’t become constipated, not putting on weight, and careful lifting with your knees instead of your back. 

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Your next smartphone will be on your face  

Meta showcased their "Orion" glasses which they believe will be the smartphone of the future. They'll allow you to see 'holograms' of information or avatars of friends and colleagues, as well as have instant voice access to AI. This version of the glasses is the best we've seen when it comes to being an attractive pair of glasses that are light weight and have a high-quality projection screen that it's actually useful.  

There's a tonne of tech around these, including a wristband that can interpret your hand signals to interact with the holograms and take actions. These glasses are not ready for primetime - they're costing $10,000 to produce. Right now you can buy the Meta Ray-Ban sunglasses, which are getting an upgrade. You'll be able to ask the AI to tell you about things you can see, thanks to video recognition tools.  
  
Will a wildfire take out your dream home? A major real-estate site will give you a forecast  

Zillow is one of America's go-to real estate listing platforms. They were the leader in providing a "Zestimate" of what your home is worth and will now lead the way to educate buyers on the potential climate risks to be thinking about. By the end of the year there'll be a section on each listing to show a risk score for the potential for wildfires, flooding, extreme temperatures, high winds and poor air quality, as well as the potential cost of insurance over time. Of those new listings added in August - 16% were at major risk of a wildfire and 13% at major risk of flooding.   

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Nobody Wants This  

An agnostic sex podcaster and a newly single rabbi fall in love, but can their relationship survive their wildly different lives and meddling families? (Netflix) 
  
FROM  

From the producers of Lost comes this tale of a nightmarish town that traps all those who enter. As the unwilling residents search for a way out, they must try to protect themselves from the terrifying creatures that come out at night (TVNZ+). 
  
National Treasures  

Explore NZ’s recent history - the wonderful, the hidden and the controversial. Join Scotty and Stacey Morrison, as they showcase unique historical objects and their personal stories. Made with the support of NZ On Air and Te Māngai Pāho (TVNZ+). 

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Megalopolis 

A conflict between Cesar, a genius artist who seeks to leap into a utopian, idealistic future, and his opposition, Mayor Franklyn Cicero, who remains committed to a regressive status quo, perpetuating greed, special interests, and partisan warfare. 

Wolfs 

Hired to cover up a high-profile crime, a fixer soon finds his night spiralling out of control when he's forced to work with an unexpected counterpart. 

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Spring is a funny old time for fresh fruit. The apples and pears have been in cool store forever, rhubarb can be temperamental and scarce, and the berries and stone fruit are not nearly ready, so we’re left with the trusty banana.   

I love my banana cake studded with walnuts and sultanas but you can also leave them out if you prefer.  

Ingredients 

125g butter, softened  

½ cup sugar  

2 medium eggs  

2 large, ripe bananas, broken into pieces  

Drizzle of golden syrup or maple syrup  

70g walnut pieces  

½ cup sultanas   

2 cups self-raising flour   

½ tsp cinnamon   

¼ tsp baking soda  

2 tbsps plain Greek yoghurt  

Splash of milk if needed – see note  

Method 

Heat oven to 180 C. Grease and line a large loaf tin.  

In a standing mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  

Add a drizzle of golden/maple syrup, the banana pieces, walnuts and sultanas to the creamed mixture. Sift in the self-raising flour, baking soda and cinnamon and gently beat or stir to combine. Don’t over mix but make sure there are no remaining pockets of flour either. Stir in the yoghurt. If it’s too stiff a splash of milk might be useful too.  

Scrape the batter into the tin. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when placed in the centre. Leave to cool.  

Note 

Having made this loaf cake many times I can attest that sometimes the batter is a little stiff, other times not so. It’s likely due to the size of the eggs, the variance in the temperature of the butter or the thickness of whatever yoghurt I’m using. I aim for a dropping consistency so if it errs on the stiff side, stir in a splash of milk to make it more manageable. 

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My take on working from home versus working in the office is you can’t really say any one model is perfect for everyone in every business or workplace and every sector or industry. There are workplaces where working from home might be better than working from the office. There are workplaces where the traditional model holds true. And there are workplaces that’ll find themselves somewhere in between. 

I work six days a week, and typically do five in the office and one at home. Newsrooms are noisy, distracting, slightly chaotic, open-plan environments. That’s why I love them! But I have to read a lot, and I have to process detail. Once a week, it is so good to escape the office and bury myself in detail at home, without the risk of being distracted every two minutes. 

Maybe I’m giving the productivity argument too much credit. If the primary reason to get public servants to go into the office in-person is actually just to prop up Wellington businesses, it’s a pretty lousy reason. But I actually think the reaction to the government’s directive this week was a bit overblown. They didn’t say all public servants HAVE to work from the office every day. They just said working from home was not an automatic entitlement, and that arrangements would have to be agreed between employers and employees. Working from home arrangements should only be agreed when they don’t impact agency objectives. Am I missing something? That seems pretty reasonable to me. I don’t see anything about mandating. My read is it still allows for flexibility, so long as it doesn’t compromise the quality of an agency’s work.  

And actually, this government is making a bit of a habit of issuing directives that don’t cost it a thing, but will be met with a similar reaction from a big slab of the public. 

A prime example is the cellphone ban in schools. I’ve always supported it. I just think it’s common sense, and now even the opposition education spokesperson supports it, too.  

And teacher-only days! Unions and schools might rightly be frustrated at any implication they’re wasting time or doing something that isn’t worthwhile. Many schools time their teacher-only-days for long weekends, and regardless, schools still have to be open for a specific number of days a year. Also, I think it’s a bit rich to suggest that teacher-only-days have a major impact on truancy.  

But I for one was surprised to learn that under the current rules, teacher-only-days are only supposed to be held outside of term time. Is there really a compelling reason that shouldn’t be the case?  

It’ll be a blow to morale for many teachers and schools. But that directive was all about parents. And I can tell you now, a vast majority of them are not going to marching in the streets to demand a return of mid-term teacher-only days. 

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As the son of jazz legend Don Cherry, Eagle-Eye Cherry seemed destined for a life in the creative arts. His song Save Tonight is a boneafide classic, storming the charts upon its release. 

He leads a much more low-key life nowadays than he did back in the 90’s, but he’s still writing and performing live, and is set to visit New Zealand alongside the legendary UB40. 

It’ll be the first time Cherry has visited the country, and he told Newstalk ZB’s Jack Tame he’s very much looking forward to it. 

“It’s been on my bucket list for my entire life,” Cherry revealed. 

“So I’m really excited to come there and get to play for my fans, and to get to hear UB40 live, which I’ve never done.” 

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Should we be tipping in New Zealand? 

The question has arisen once more with a new proposal to encourage the practice in the hospo sector. 

Kevin Milne has been thinking about the proposal, and he’s not sure about the idea. 

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"Don’t you love it when you venture to new territory which knocks your expectations out of the park? I’ve just had such an experience when taking a cool change from North Queensland’s tropical coastline for a highlands escape. Just over an hour’s drive from Cairns, the Atherton Tablelands is a bucolic and woodsy delight, where elevated fertile farmland and ancient rainforests set the stage for rewarding outdoorsy exploration. As I made my way over the twists and turns of the Gillies Highway, a nonchalant Southern Cassowary briefly brought the road traffic to a grinding halt. These birds are not to messed with and I happily gave him the right of way as he intimately ambled past my gleaming rental car, casting an imperious glance my way, as if to say, “you’re in my territory, now”. After that brief brush with the birdlife – and thankfully no rental car damage, the warm embrace of Yungaburra soon shuffled into view, 750 metres above sea level."

Read Mike's full article here.

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Coming seven years after the release of her last album,‘7’ is the 7thstudio album by Nelly Furtado. 

When announcing the album in July of 2024, Furtado said she had written “400-500 pieces of music in 4 years", fourteen of which were chosen for the album. 

She likened the album to a collection, the songs being more like “random seashells that may be similar but not all alike”. 

Estelle Clifford joined Jack Tame to give her thoughts on the release. 

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Frankie by Graham Norton 

Frankie Howe has lived a long life, her small flat is crammed full of art, furniture - and memories. Damian, her young carer, listens as she gradually tells him parts of her story - a story that takes us into a progressive, daring world of New York artists on the brink of fame, aspiring writers and larger-than-life characters. 

Always just on the periphery, looking on, young Frankie is never quite sure enough of herself to take centre stage. But the outsider holds certain advantages, sees things others don't, can influence without drawing attention. And when the map has been lost, it's anyone's guess where you may end up, or the accidental choices you find you have made. Frankie discovers that life is not always the one we hope for, or the one others expect of us. 
 
Travelling from post-war Ireland to the dazzling art scene of 1960s New York by way of London, Frankie is an immersive, decade-sweeping novel about love, bravery and what it means to live a significant life. 

The Life Impossible by Matt Haig 

“What looks like magic is simply a part of life we don’t understand yet…” 

When retired math teacher Grace Winters is left a run-down house on a Mediterranean island by a long-lost friend, curiosity gets the better of her. She arrives in Ibiza with a one-way ticket, no guidebook and no plan. 
 
Among the rugged hills and golden beaches of the island, Grace searches for answers about her friend’s life, and how it ended. What she uncovers is stranger than she could have dreamed. But to dive into this impossible truth, Grace must first come to terms with her past. 
 
Filled with wonder and wild adventure, this is a story of hope and the life-changing power of a new beginning. 

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On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 21 September 2024, Eagle Eye Cherry joins Jack to discuss his bonafide classic track Save Tonight, his love for performing live, and what he's expecting for his first time ever touring in New Zealand.  

Jack talks about how stiffer competition from across the ditch will help New Zealand's rugby improve too.  

Chef Nici Wickes has the perfect recipe for new season asparagus, right as it is springing into stores. 

Man of many talents, Graham Norton has a brand-new book out and book reviewer Catherine Raynes delivers her verdict.  

And tech expert Paul Stenhouse explains why the US government is looking to force cars to have AM radio. 

Get the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast every Saturday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

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A new phenomenon has emerged: dreamscrolling. 

The opposite of doomscrolling, dreamscrolling has people looking at dream purchases or things they’d one day like to own – houses being a common choice. 

It even seems to have some benefits when done in the workplace, both to those doing it, and the organisation. 

Dougal Sutherland reveals a couple of the key benefits it can have:

- Dreamscrolling gives us that little psychological “hit” of joy, even if it’s about something imaginary! When we fantasize about the “what-if” it’s like, for a moment, we’re living our best life in that dream house – and it feels good. 

- Overseas research has shown that dream scrolling can help some people with financial planning as it serves to motivate and inspire them to actively save for, or invest in, that thing they’re dreaming about. So it can help motivate us and change our behaviour for the future. 

- At a time when many of us might be feeling a bit down in the dumps, particularly if you live in Wellington or work for the government, it’s probably not surprising that a good chunk of dreamscrolling happens at work. That might not be a bad thing though as the boost in positive mood you get can flow through to how you engage with your work and people around you. And it’s certainly better than doomscrolling! 

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A week or so ago, a wonderful kids book couriered its way to my front door. It’s a book about our native bees in Aotearoa, written by Rachel Weston. It’s titled “Kiwi Bees have tiny knees”. 

How refreshing to finally read a book about ournativebees, not the introduced pollinator from Tropical Africa which migrated through Europe and all the way to Asia. Our native bees are from Aotearoa and there are 28 species in our land, most of which have not been studied well at all! 

After Spring has started this year (that will be from tomorrow morning 12:43 am onwards) I shall come back to this magnificent book in detail, simply because it deserves a lot more entomological attention. 

For now, I will alert you to page 21:Clever little bees: Pollinating Mistletoe. 

That simple line grabbed my attention immediately, and on the day I received the book I started a complete week of Mistletoe frenzy; and it is all to do with Gardening! 

Our tiny bees pollinate mistletoe? For Real? 

Rachel’s book has a QR Code on page 21 which allows you to see them at work, check out the video here. 

ALeioproctusnative bee (pretty small insect!) chews open the red mistletoe’s flower and harvests nectar and pollen. When it does the same trick with the next flower of the bunch, the pollen will fertilise that neighbouring flower. 

Bellbirds and tui are probably the main pollinators of these mistletoes, but those tiny bees also contribute to the reproductive system. That is just as well, seeing our native birds might be locally under pressure from predators etc – so if bees can take over some of that pollination job from the birds, the mistletoe might have better chances for survival. 

We have 8 species of Mistletoe in New Zealand (number 9 is presumed to be extinct), but browsing by possums and loss of habitat or host trees puts the species under pressure. Mistletoes are “parasitic” plants that live on their hosts and extract nutritious liquids from these host plants. This doesn’t seem to harm the host plants or trees in a major way. 

Once the mistletoe started flowering (some have very small flowers, other species have beautifully coloured flowers that stand out!) the pollinators will be attracted and do their job. That leads to the formation of fertile mistletoe fruit (seed inside the small, juicy berry) that will draw in the bird species that enjoy those fruits. 

As soon as they pick off their snacks, the birds may suddenly realise that the seed is surrounded by a seriously sticky glue. Some birds try to take the glue off their beaks by wiping the fruitand the seedover the branches of the host plant on which the mistletoe grew. 

Some birds will have a go at swallowing the fruit and seed regardless, ending up defecating a very sticky poo that the bird will wipe off its “bottom feathers”, usually on the same branches that grew the mistletoe. And that is how Nature distributes the mistletoe through the landscape. 

As gardeners, what can we learn from that? 

A few years ago, I managed to adhere some green mistletoe seeds on a native host plant: kowhai!  

It hasn’t flowered or seeded as yet but my neighbour is a few years ahead of the game and I got some seeds off him – now it’s all on! 

Ileostylus micranthus seeds in abundance. The tiny green bits of growth are the flowers on this species. 

I have stuck heaps of seeds all over the neighbourhood in an attempt to find out what kind of trees would work as hosts of this green mistletoe (Ileostylus micranthus). So far we know kowhai and divaricating Coprosmas (C. virescens), as well as apple, pear, peach, and plum!  

The way to attach the sticky seeds is no surprise: the sticky seeds are squeezed out of the fruit and positioned on the "collar" of the branch. Tag it with some colourful wool or something like that, to keep an eye on progress for the next few years. I reckon this is the way to spread our native mistletoes back into their original habitat. There’s quite a bit of info on these plants on our internet: hereand here.

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Bob's Best Buys: Rimapere Baron Edmond de Rothschild 2024 Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, $30 

Why I chose it:                     

- Top vintage 
- Best of Marlborough with a French accent 
- Sauvignon doesn’t get much better than this 
- Delicious now but no rush 
- It has great purity and power 
- Due to be released, but buy it while stocks last 

What does it taste like?  

A delicious sauvignon blanc with real finesse. Flavours are a medley of passion fruit, lime zest, guava, and a suggestion of feijoa. A vibrant and refreshing wine with appealing purity. It has a strong Marlborough signature with a subtle French accent.  

Why it’s a bargain:  

It’s not the cheapest sauvignon around, in fact as sauvignon goes it is moderately expensive, but is also very, very good. In my book it offers good value. 

Where can you buy it? 

It is just about to be released so check out your nearest fine wine retailer. When ordering in advance, don’t forget to enquire about a discount. 

What’s a good food match? 

The folk at Rimapere recommend pairing it with salads, white meats, or fish in sauce dishes. I can’t argue with that. 

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How do we power the rise of AI? 

The answer at the moment seems to be nuclear power. Microsoft has partnered with a shuttered nuclear power plant called Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania to bring back its Unit 1 facility. It was shut down in 2019 because of increased competition from cheaper sources such as natural gas, solar, and wind power. 

Microsoft says it'll purchase all the power from the plant for 20 years. So, Constellation says it'll spend $1.6 billion to get it back up and running by 2028 – as long as the regulators allow it. 

You may know the name Three Mile Island because of a nuclear meltdown at the "Unit 2" site, in 1979. 

The US Government could soon force cars to have AM radio 

With the rise of internet connected electric vehicles, AM radio has been phased out. Tesla, BMW and Volkswagen promised to remove AM radio saying the electric engines can interfere with the sound of AM radio.  

Plus, why do you need it if you can stream Spotify, Pandora, or iHeart? Well, what happens if you're out of a coverage area? What happens if there's an issue with the communications systems? How do you get emergency information? Well, US lawmakers believe the answer was, and is, AM radio. It's got a huge coverage area, even in rural areas, and is integrated with emergency alerting systems. The AM for Every Vehicle Act was overwhelmingly approved by a house committee and will now go before the house for a vote and, if successful, will go to President Biden to sign. 

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The Penguin  

Following the events of The Batman, Oz Cobb aka The Penguin seeks to fill the power vacuum left by Carmine Falcone’s death and finally give his mother the life he promised. But first, Oz must confront enemies new and old (Neon). 

A Very Royal Scandal  

Based on the real-life 2019 interview between Emily Maitlis and Prince Andrew over the scandalous accusations the Prince faced regarding his involvement with Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Giuffre. A Very Royal Scandal follows the action of Maitlis and Prince Andrew in the lead-up to the interview, the event itself and the many questions left in its wake that would change their lives forever (Prime Video). 

Nightsleeper 

The overnight train from Glasgow to London is hacked. Passengers are trapped on board, including police officer Joe. As the train hurtles towards disaster, Joe manages to make contact with Abby, the cyber security director (ThreeNow). 

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Thelma 

Thelma Post is a 93-year-old grandmother who loses $10,000 to a con artist on the phone. With help from a friend and his motorized scooter, she soon embarks on a treacherous journey across Los Angeles to reclaim what was taken from her. 

Marguerite’s Theorem 

When a brilliant mathematics student at France's top university presents her thesis, a mistake shakes the certainty of her planned-out life. She decides to quit everything and start over. 

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Off the top of your head, where do reckon the Wallabies currently sit in the World rankings?  

Sure, they’re behind us. They’re behind South Africa, of course. But they’re also languishing behind Scotland, behind Italy, would you believe. 

According to World Rugby, the Wallabies of September 2024 are the ninth best national team in men’s rugby today. They only just squeak in ahead of Fiji. 

When I was a kid, the Bledisloe felt like the biggest thing in rugby outside of a World Cup. It probably wasn’t, of course. Tests with South Africa were at least comparable, I guess, and Lions tours had their prestige. But I would get so worked up for Bledisloes because they always felt like anyone could win.  

I still remember epic Bledisloe clashes. The John Eales era. George Gregan and that tackle, Jeff Wilson spilling the ball as he dived for the line, the Wallabies just holding on for Bledisloe glory. 

But what happened? New Zealand Rugby’s had its issues, but arguably no country that plays rugby has experienced anything like the decline that Australia has experienced. Those epic Bledisloe clashes of the past are becoming ancient history. It’s 22 years since Australia last held the Bledisloe - we now have an elected Member of Parliament who has never seen the Wallabies win it.  

And get this: according to the Australian Sports Commission, rugby is the country’s ninth-most-popular sport by participation. Aussie Rules has four times as many kids who play. Basketball is five times more popular. Rugby loses out to rock climbing and badminton.  

There are a range of things that have likely contributed. The private school rugby culture in Australia has isolated the sport from a huge slab of the population. Concern over head knocks will have impacted participation. The domestic rugby competition was hollowed out and ultimately scrapped, which means the Super Rugby teams are the only real professional options for young players. The AFL has 18 teams. The NRL has 16 Australian teams. Super Rugby will now have just four. It’s telling that a city of five million couldn’t sustain a side. How many people in Melbourne didn’t even know the Rebels were a thing? And as a TV entertainment product, sorry, but the Brumbies vs the Force rarely compares to the thrill of the NRL. 

All of this is not to diminish this evening’s game. And I’m certainly not hoping for a Wallabies win. But ultimately, it’s in our interests for Australian rugby to somehow work its way back into something akin to the force of the past. New Zealand rugby needs better competition from across the ditch. We need the spectre of potentially losing the Bledisloe! Maybe I’ll eat my words, but as much as I’ll enjoy the game this evening, right now... it doesn’t feel like all that much of a contest. 

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A quiche is a fabulous vehicle for asparagus and it makes a fabulous lunch or dinner.  

Serves 4-6  

Ingredients 

1-2 sheets short crust pastry  

5 large eggs  

½ cup grated cheese  

½ cup cream (can use milk)  

½ cup chopped parsley  

½ tsp sea salt  

¼ tsp black pepper  

100g cold smoked salmon  

5 spears asparagus, cut into 4cm lengths  

Method 

1.Preheat oven to 190 C and place a tray in to heat on the middle (or a little bit higher) rack.  

2.Roll out the pastry to fit a 23cm loose-bottom tart tin. Press into tin, leaving any overhang as this will fall away when cooked. Prick all over with a fork. Chill for 15-30 minutes before baking for 15-18 minutes or until lightly golden.  Cool.  

3.Sprinkle cheese over pastry case. Whisk eggs with cream to mix. Add in parsley, salt and pepper. Pour into pastry case. Sprinkle over cut asparagus and salmon bake for 35-40 minutes or until a slight wobble in the middle. Remove and cool to warm to serve.  

Nici’s note 

You can get away with blind baking pastry without the beans/rice if it is pricked all over, well-rested and chilled so that it doesn’t shrink.  

Make it your own 

Use feta instead of salmon. 

Use drained tinned salmon or tuna in place of smoked salmon. 

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Troy Kingi is a man on a well-documented mission, creating ten albums in ten different genres, over the course of ten years for his 10:10:10 project. 

Through this project, Troy has carved a remarkable reputation for musical versatility. 

In August, he released album number 8 in the project,Leatherman & the Mojave Green, a rock album that has brought him back to his roots. 

Before getting to work on his final two albums, Kingi has found the time to squeeze in a tour of New Zealand. 

Leathermanwas recorded in Joshua Tree, a national park in California, and Kingi told Jack Tame that the choice to record there was him trying to rekindle the flame that got him into the industry in the first place. 

“I was at a point where I was questioning all my directions, and back in the beginning, I’d just write for the loving of writing and things would flow the way they’d flowed. And I felt like I kind of lost that,” he told Tame. 

“So actually going back to a genre of style that is probably the core of who I am, it was timely, it was like, perfect timing.” 

He’s been touring the album around New Zealand since its release, with more shows still to come in Christchurch, Hamilson, Tauranga, Napier, and Gisborne. 

More info on shows and tickets can be found here. 

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Kiwi music collective TOI has released their newest album ‘Waves’, showcasing their signature sound of modern soul, old school funk, and R&B, along with a new experimental approach. 

Estelle Clifford joined Jack Tame to give her thoughts on the new release. 

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