Full Show Podcast: 14 July 2024

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News Talks EDB. Welcome to the Sunday Session with
Francesca Rudkin and wiggles for the best selection of great
reads used Talks EDB.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
Welcome to the Sunday Session. I'm Franchesca Rudkin, with you
until midday. Good to have you with us. How about
that Rugby last night? Thank goodness for Voden Barrett. Justin
Marshall will be with us shortly with his thoughts on
the game and this hour we're also going to meet
the young Farmer of the Year. Now. Our first feature
guest this morning is Ossie actress Rachel Griffiths. She has
been on our big and small screens for decades and

(00:50):
some truly memorable films such as Muriel's Wedding and TV
shows such as Six Feet Under and Brothers and Sisters. Well,
now she's taking on another unique character, a middle class
mum who decides to open an ethical brothel in small
town New Zealand. The show is called Madam, It'sblus. The
cast is amazing and Rachel joins us for a chat

(01:10):
after the ten o'clock News after eleven, we're joined by
Bill Edgar, the coffin Confessor. Now, Bill has an unusual job.
He works for the dead or soon to be deceased,
making sure they're dying wishes are fulfilled by family members who,
once they're gone might have other ideas. It's an interesting job,
right well, Bill is with us after eleven to talk

(01:31):
us through it and how his funeral creation job has
expanded over the years. And of course you're most welcome
to text me anytime throughout the morning. On ninety two ninety.

Speaker 3 (01:41):
Two for Sunday Session.

Speaker 2 (01:45):
Okay, ever, had one of those weeks when things go
from bad to worse. We all have, right so we
can appreciate how bad things got for Key we Rail
this week. It was like watching an episode of Utopia
or The Office as more details about the Ratary fairy came,
grounding came to light. Then to top it off, the
Transport Minister refused to confirm or deny whether in a

(02:06):
advisory group had suggested Key we Rail no longer run
the cook straight Fairies. The Maritime Union says it looks
that way. So a couple of weeks ago we spoke
to Duncan Roy, our General manager of Into Islander. After
the fairy was successfully refloated, we celebrated the good news
and the lack of damage to the ferry, but Roy
was hesitant to comment on the government pointing the finger

(02:27):
very directly at the company for their standard of asset management.
He diplomatically referred to a formal investigation. And you have
to wonder if that's because Into Islander knew what was up.
That human error caused the ferry to slide on into
the beach at this stage, Look, who knows why an
autopilot was turned on and then this execute button was pushed.

(02:49):
But knowing that's what happened makes you think differently about
the photos of the beached ferry. For all of us
who weren't passengers, all businesses directly impacted, it suddenly looks comical,
like say, taking bolts out of a powert tower and
then what it fall over. None of us are perfect.

(03:09):
We are human. We all do silly things at times.
For a while, I had a habit of driving off
with a cup of tea on the roof of my car.
Hence my children gave me a plastic keep cup. But
some mistakes have a greater impact than others, so I'm
not surprised the question has been asked where the key
we rail should continue running the fairies, But if not them,
who and how we're going to deal with the replacement

(03:31):
of the fairies and the land side infrastructure. A big
picture plan needs to be in place before we start
making other changes like creating a new entity to run
the fairies. It is clearly a complex business with specific challenges,
and maybe those who know it best should hold the
reins for a little longer until we know where the

(03:52):
business is heading. The government received a report from the
Independent Ferry Advisory Group a few weeks ago. Decisions are
yet to be made about the recommendations it contains. Once
that's done, it will have to go to Cabinet, so
it may take some time. But the government scrap the
previous plan, so the onus is on them to get moving.
In the meantime, though, I suggest Into Ireland to just

(04:13):
step up, own up, do themselves a favor, move on
from the grounding.

Speaker 3 (04:19):
The Sunday Session can do your thoughts.

Speaker 2 (04:21):
Ninety two ninety two would you like to see somebody
else step in immediately and take over the fairies? Now?
A win is a win so it was a good
night for the All Blacks. But just how good was
the team on their second outing under Scott Robinson. Justin
Marshall is going to be with us very shortly with
his thoughts on the game. It is twelve past nine.

(04:41):
You with news Talks EDB.

Speaker 3 (04:42):
Relax, it's still the weekend.

Speaker 1 (04:44):
It's the Sunday session with Francesca Rudgin and Whig Girls
for the best selection of great reeds used talks EDB.

Speaker 2 (04:52):
Yes, good to have you with us now around the country,
we're losing some of our favorite and most iconic hospitality
venues this week. Auckland's SPQR announced liquidation and have closed
their doors after twenty seven years of business. They are
just one in a long line of closures as businesses
battle rise and costs and cash strapped consumers stay at home.

(05:12):
But why is the hospitality industry still struggling so much?
Restaurant Association CEO Marissa Bidoir is with me now. Good morning,
Marissa more Anna, Hey, why are restaurants and hospitals struggling
so much? Is it COVID? Was that where the damage
was done? Or is it the cost of living crisis
we're dealing with now and people staying at home.

Speaker 4 (05:34):
Look, to be honest, it is a combination of all
of those things you've mentioned. The last three years have
been particularly challenging for the hospitality industry, and to be frank,
we're still in a recovery position. You think about the
impacts that COVID had on hospitality, and then shortly after
that many of our businesses face weather events, and then

(05:57):
we've we've battled with the cost of living crisis and
a downturn of customers. So it really has been a
perfect storm as far as impacts on our sector go.

Speaker 2 (06:06):
Recession hits no matter what industry you're in. We kind
of feel that, you know, if you're in a good,
solid position, you can ride it out. Isn't that simple
for hospitality?

Speaker 4 (06:16):
Look, I think because many of our businesses did take
out loans during COVID to survive some of those more
difficult times, many have carried that debt through into these
challenging sort of economic times now, So that has had
an impact on our businesses as well.

Speaker 2 (06:34):
So many places around the country are being affected. But
when institutions like SPQR in Auckland go into liquidation, it
really hits home. How bad. The situation is, so what
does our hospow future look like?

Speaker 4 (06:47):
Well, that's a great question, you know, and as you said,
it is absolutely tragic to see some of our iconic
businesses closing. Places like SPQR have had such a huge impact,
you know, within within our sector. Many of our leaders
within the industry right now, you know, had jobs at SPQR.
So it really is it really does affect the psyche

(07:07):
of our industry, I think when we see those, yeah,
iconic businesses close, but what does the future hold for hospitality? Look,
I think there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Our businesses. Many of our businesses are resilient, they're innovative,
and they are working hard right now to you know,
attract customers, to review the way they're doing their business,

(07:31):
keeping eye on costs. So you know, there are a
lot of things that that businesses are doing right now
to weather the storm.

Speaker 2 (07:38):
Does working from home have an impact do you think?

Speaker 4 (07:40):
Mersa, Absolutely, that's that's had a big impact on our industry,
just that that customer behavioral shift has really impacted businesses,
particularly in our CBDs. For example, businesses that would rely
on maybe a lunch trade from people grabbing you know,
a bite to eat during their break. A lot of

(08:00):
that has has really fallen away, so the afterwork strength
thing as well on a Friday. Many businesses have reported that,
you know, they were busier on Fridays, and many, especially
in our city centers, have reported that that's changed, and
that really is due to that sort of that behavior
shift and the working from home phenomenon that we've seen

(08:21):
happen over the last few years.

Speaker 2 (08:23):
It might depend on where you are, but is this
all sort of having an effect on New Zealand's tourism brand?
Is it affecting tourism?

Speaker 4 (08:30):
Look, it's interesting that you say that because we have seen,
you know, our visitor arrivals have flattened. So this is
sort of a challenge coming at our industry and the
wider tourism industry as well. Is basically dealing with lower
than usual visitors coming into the country and this absolutely

(08:52):
has an impact on our businesses.

Speaker 2 (08:56):
Any good news stories business is coming up with ways
to deal with the challenges of winter and the cost
of living.

Speaker 3 (09:02):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (09:02):
Absolutely, Look, honestly, hospitality business owners are some of the
most innovative and committed people I've ever met, and they
are coming up with all sorts of different ways to
weather the storms. I think some of the things that
are going on right now, like I said, people are
reviewing their marketing plans, They're reaching out to their local

(09:23):
communities in some instances, and in fact, I was speaking
to a member the other day. He said he'd been
in hospitality for forty four years and this is some
of the toughest times that he'd ever faced. And he
can posed this email out to his loyal customers saying,
you know, I'd love it if you could support me
during these times. And he had this influx of people
coming into his into his store just to buy a coffee,

(09:45):
say hello. And those are the sorts of relationships, you know,
that keep our businesses alive and hopeful for the future.

Speaker 2 (09:51):
MERSSA just very quickly, I see the Ministry for Primary
Industries is putting a new leaving on food outlets, the
food safety compliance. How helpful is that right now?

Speaker 4 (10:00):
Look, we certainly put in a submission on this, and
we didn't think the timing was great. These submissions were
called for. You know, all of these things add up
on the compliance costs are another pressure on our businesses.
So the timing isn't great.

Speaker 2 (10:17):
Marissa, thanks so much for your time this morning, very
much appreciated. That was Restaurant Association CEO Marissa Boudoir, and
I would be keen to hear from you if you
are in the hospitality industry as well. You can text
on ninety two ninety.

Speaker 3 (10:30):
Two the Sunday session.

Speaker 2 (10:34):
Well, it was a hell of a Test match against
England last night, but All Blacks held on to win
twenty four seventeen.

Speaker 5 (10:42):
Jamie McKenzie picks and a touts and the All Blacks
when twenty four seventeen, a dramatic finish had eight in
hot but the records safe and the All Blacks when
the series to nol and another drama film test match
between these two sides.

Speaker 2 (11:02):
Former All Black and Sky TV rugby commentator Justin Marshall
called the game and he joins me, now, good morning Justin.

Speaker 6 (11:08):
Yeah, good morning, Crancesca. It nice to be on your
show the morning after an All Black test match in
Eden Park and I'm looking at the window of my
hotel and the city is quiet, But no doubt people
were out celebrating last night after a pretty dramatic game.

Speaker 2 (11:21):
I'm pretty sure they were. How would you describe that
All Blacks performance.

Speaker 6 (11:26):
Well, look, obviously winning is winning, and I think I've
always been beating this drum now over the last I
don't know decade that we tend to nowadays focus so
much on Rugby World Cups. It's all about winning Rugby
World Cups. But New Zealand has formulated such an incredible
amount of history in our over one hundred years of
playing this game that we lose sight of that looking

(11:48):
too far ahead at Rugby World Cups. What we've got
to do is make sure that we maintain that incredible history.
We focus on every Test match of beating every nation
that's in front of us. So look, you can review it.
We're again to debate it, and you're going to ask
me some questions about the test match. I know that.
But at the end of the day, the All Blacks
still managed somehow to get a win, and that's the
most important thing. And when they wake up and get

(12:10):
out of the abds this morning and go and do
their review and their recovery, they will do it in
a winning way rather than thinking about a loss that
they now have to contemplate.

Speaker 2 (12:19):
Did the Old Lags have a strategic solution? To deal
with England and their rush defense which shut us down
last week.

Speaker 6 (12:26):
Look, I think they knew that it was coming. It's
not rocket science at Northern Hemisphere teams and to a
degree South Africa, a Southern Hemisphere team that defends like
Northern Hemacre teams with umbrella rush defense. It was coming,
So I think they were prepared for that for sure.
Have we quite figured it out yet? No, I don't
think so. I think we're starting to work our way

(12:48):
through it. But at the moment, we still are getting
frustrated a little bit by it, and you could see
at times that it was causing problems with the game plan. So, look,
have we actually found the answer right now? My answer
to that would be no. Is it still frustrating us
to a degree, yes it is. Is it enabling us

(13:09):
to play the way that we want to play? No,
it's not. So. Look, there is certainly some work on
you know what, Francisco, I think probably digesting this series.
You know, Scott Robertson could have gone into this and
with the greatest respect and played some of the lesser
teen nations and sort of tried to gather some momentum

(13:30):
and probably won more comfortably but what he have got
the answers early enough that when it comes to the
crunch times in the year, which is late August September
when they're in South Africa for two tests and then
in the Northern Hemisphere where you play three of the
top four teams in the world, and then you all
of a sudden find out that you haven't got those answers.

(13:51):
While I think probably this was the perfect start for
him to say, Okay, we're there, we're not there yet
and we've got work to do, so it's probably been
the ideal series.

Speaker 2 (14:01):
I mean, after five minutes it was clear that we
had a game on our hands, right, I mean, both
teams came out with serious intent to play fast, entertaining
rugby and fifteen minutes later it's seven all. But then
it just sort of felt like we struggled to get
any set pieces in play. The scrum was good, but
the lineout was a bit of an issue for the
All Blacks.

Speaker 6 (14:19):
Yeah, which is unusual. New Zealand's lineout is usually really fluid.
I played with Steve Forthwick who's the England coach at Saracens,
and I can tell you his speciality was lineout that's
all he did. He thought slept executed lineouts for US
at Saracen, So obviously he's very good in that regard.
So him along with Murrow a Tooji, who is obviously

(14:42):
world class. You know, they did their homework on the
All Blacks, and I think the All Blacks will conceide
that they got probably out thought in that regard. They
got picked off quite a few teams in there, and
the All Black ball got disrupted and that doesn't usually happen.
So that's a big win to England and a work
on for the All Blacks. You're right. Look, it was
free flying, free flying, probably the first sort of fifteen

(15:04):
minutes in particular end to end stuff US attack, counter attack,
and then there's this real huge period of combativeness where
they just both went at each other. There was a
lot of contact, there's the odd turnover and the game
went into this real physical battle. And then again at
the end of the day, end of the game, I
should say, in the last quarter, it loosened up a
little bit. So it was a It was kind of

(15:25):
a game that went through different periods in terms of
the way it was played, and the Orbit had to
work their way through that and did they win that
mental battle all the way through there? Absolutely not, because
England got ahead on the scoreboard, But then equally they
also worked themselves back into the game and then into
the lead on the scoreboard and managed to hold that.

Speaker 2 (15:43):
Lead justin the ball handling errors. Is that a matter
of settling down into the game or is it a
matter of the players coming together as a team.

Speaker 6 (15:55):
I think it's a combination of both, But it is
a concern. I think, you know, handling errors are an
individual thing. You know that obviously they've got a game plan.
The game plans never ever going to always work. Things
will get thrown in front of you from the defense
that all of a sudden areas you're supposed to be
and when you're carrying or not caring and running the decoy,

(16:16):
we'll all of a sudden become compromised. So you've got
to adjust and be instinctive. That doesn't mean that you
drop the ball, will knock the ball on in contact
or get it ripped away. That's just a okay reset.
And I think that's probably the one concerning thing that
yes it might not completely fit in the structure, and yes,
the game plan and the rhythm's being disrupted, but there

(16:36):
is no real excuse at that level for that caliber
of player to be losing the ball. That'll be a
concern for Scott Robinson because the All Blacks are better
than that. They really pride themselves on their handling and
their ability to maintain possession, and we lost possession way
too much in that test match last night.

Speaker 2 (16:52):
From my very amateur point of view, justin I would
have said, if there was a strategy last night with
the game, it was to bring on Bode and Barrett.
I thought they'd bring him on at the fifty minute mark,
to be honest with you, and I was sitting there
saying to my partner he should be on now, he
should be on now, and then he wasn't far off.
But didn't he make an impact?

Speaker 3 (17:08):
Right?

Speaker 6 (17:08):
Yeah? He did? First and foremost, I say the questions
you've been asked to me, you certainly are not an amateur.
You've really analyzed the game. Well, so I'm well done
on that regard. But yeah, look, I think I mentioned
it in commentary last night with sky TV that I've
said players now aren't reserved, but in the day, reserves
were players that came on when other players were injured
and they had to come home because the other player

(17:29):
couldn't continue. Then, all of a sudden, as professional came in.
These players were called impact players, where they come in
and they influenced the game. Now that doesn't always happen,
but the introduction last night of Boden Barrett completely changed
the dynamic of the game. I think equally, it took
a little bit of pressure off some players who were
struggling a little bit, who couldn't probably see the entire

(17:49):
field because of the way that the England team were
blitzing us on defense. So all of a sudden, Damien
McKenzie was able to get into a second receiver role,
drop back a little bit into the backfield and launched
a bit of a counter attack. And Boden Barret stepped
up and took responsibility as first receiver, got a couple
of really nice caxtaway and then obviously a cut two
or three scintillating line breaks. He made an impact like

(18:12):
impact players should and changed the dynamic and the way
that the game was flowing, and ultimately his influence probably
one of the all blacks of Test Match.

Speaker 2 (18:22):
Finally, it's only two games, but what difference do you
see in this team under Scott Robertson.

Speaker 6 (18:30):
Yeah, Look, I feel that there's always there's always when
you put a new team together under new management and
a new coach. And yes, the debate you know, was
quite healthy last week. But yeah, that was the case,
but there was no debuns in the game in Dunedin,
you know, So there's there's that They aren't mugs out there,
they aren't green. They are players that have played test
match rugby before, but they're playing it under total different

(18:54):
coaching structure and they're obviously getting new information coming at them,
so that that'll provide a little bit of clunkiness. You know,
Historically the first test match, second test match to a
degree is always a little out of rhythm. But look,
if you ask me, how have I seen it? Look,
I feel that there is a lot of progress to

(19:14):
be made. I would still be slightly concerned that we
are struggling a little bit against that rush defense, because
that's all we're going to get coming at us. All
teams do it now because they know that it frustrates us.
So look, it's a tick because it's a past mark
because we've won the series. But I would say massive
work still to do.

Speaker 2 (19:34):
Justin Marshall, thanks so much of your time this morning.

Speaker 7 (19:37):
Absolute pleasure anytime, and don't.

Speaker 2 (19:39):
Forget the next weekend the All Blacks play Fiji, then
it's Argentina and finally South Africa at the end of August.
It is twenty nine past ninety. Keen to hear your
thoughts on the game. If you thought it was a
good performance. I'm a bit like justin the win's a win,
going to take that. Ninety two ninety two of course
is the text number. It is nine thirty News Dogs eb.

Speaker 1 (20:01):
It's the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin on Newstalks.

Speaker 2 (20:05):
Ab I thank you very much for your feedback. Somebody
else tech to say, imagine if Bone and Barritt came
on ten minutes earlier. I know I was sitting there
going the fifty minute mark, going yeah, now, now, now
would be good. But look, as I say, we got
the win. As regards to hospitality, we're in napier. In hospitality,
a text reads for twenty seven years and has never

(20:28):
been hard. A cost of living and the site tone
has really made it difficult for everyone in the hospitality
industry in general. In our area. We will get through
this perfect storm in our area. And another hair Francisca.
It's just too expensive to eat out. It's usually over
one hundred dollars per person for a meal and a
couple of drinks and that's just crazy money. So thank
you very much for your text to politics now, and

(20:49):
I'm joined by New Zealand Herald political reporter Adam Pears.

Speaker 3 (20:52):
Morning, Adam, good morning.

Speaker 2 (20:55):
Prime Minister has been in the US, of course, at
the NATO summit and in California. We knew that we
weren't going to get any tangible outcomes from the trip
to the NATO summit, like a trade deal. But how
important was that New Zealand had a seat at the table?

Speaker 3 (21:11):
Oh?

Speaker 7 (21:11):
I mean, it's always good to be there and like
you say, have a seat at the table. It's just
been a little bit unfortunate that it's been a bit
distracted by the scrutiny placed on President Joe Biden over
in the US, however, but you know, there were some
important conversations obviously around the Ukrainian War. We've committed more
support there and Luckson has certainly left the door open

(21:32):
for more financial aid with refuct to humanitarian aid and
also military funding as well, so important to have those discussions.
And obviously this is kind of his first major summers
as well, so really interesting to see how he's gone.
There some pretty big meetings with that let us from
France and Spain and Esley and obviously having some FaceTime

(21:53):
with Joe Biden. However, it just didn't go very well
as many as many of your listeners would have seen
the photo. It didn't exactly paint a great picture of
the US president, did it.

Speaker 2 (22:04):
How fascinated are you by this election?

Speaker 3 (22:05):
Adam?

Speaker 2 (22:06):
And I've always quite enjoyed American politics, but I'm just
obsessed with the selection now. It's like the longest steering competition,
this Joe Biden against the Democratic Party, isn't it?

Speaker 7 (22:16):
Well exactly, It's just it's fascinating to see how long
he's going to stick to it. I mean, he keeps
commissing to running in the election, and I think there
are just so many voices now who are calling for
him to stand down or stand aside, for someone else
to take it. I mean, I can see both sides, right,
I mean, if he goes for it, at least he
can give it as much as he can and then

(22:38):
and then can presumably looking at how things are going,
Trump potentially may may succeed there and then someone else
gets a fresh run afterwards, or you know that. The
other thing is maybe it's not too late. Maybe there's
room for someone like a Gavin Newsom or or Kamala
Harris to have a go. So yeah, like you say,
very fascinating. I think there'll be a lot of people
in his yond after Luxeon's interaction with him, who will

(23:01):
be taking a keen interest in what happens with Biden's
future and seeing how it impacts the global theater as
it would.

Speaker 2 (23:09):
Yeah, no risks on both sides. However, it turns out
it's not a simple pros and cons list, is it,
Adam tell me? Looking ahead at this week, it's the
third week of recess, so things have slowed down a
little bit.

Speaker 7 (23:24):
Yeah, they're getting prety slow at the moment. To be
honest with you, I don't think anyone should be expecting
much in the way of big government announcements, as I
understand that this third week of recess, which is when
all of our MP's are back in their own electorates,
has been kind of considered as the true recess week,
so we've got a lot of government MP's and ministers

(23:45):
who are on holiday. It's been pretty busy time, you know,
obviously going letting up to the budget and then afterwards,
so a lot of them taking some time off, including
the Prime Minister, so he'll be in Hawaii on a
bit of a break. Winston Peters will be in Japan
and Korea for some bilateral meetings which will be interesting.
They'll tell us a little bit about how Lux and

(24:07):
was I suppose how he came across at the NATO summits,
So that'll be interesting to see, however, with both Peter's
and Lux in a way that I mean, David Simol
will be our acting acting PM. That's not the first
time he's done that, but I think it might be
actually the second, and it'll be interesting to see how
he acts in that role and whether he follows the

(24:27):
example set by Peters last week, who caused quite a
bit of strife speculating about what happened with the artety
fairy grounding. It was fortunate that Peters was largely right
about what had happened. There came out in that safety
bulletin that was leaked, but it did cause quite a
few issues, and it meant that Luxe and while he
was over in the US, was answering all these questions

(24:48):
about what Peters was doing back home, which is definitely
not what you want your acting PM to be doing,
taking the focus away from what you were doing on
the international stage. He Luxon is obviously on holiday, so
he won't be answering questions like that unless there's something
massive that happens. But yet interesting to see how Seymour
takes that role. I'd imagine here quite I.

Speaker 2 (25:07):
Think he will. Adam, thanks so much for the catch up.
The Grand Final of the Young Farmer of the Year
took place last night in Hamilton and we are going
to meet the winner, George Dodson next here on News Talks.
He'd be twenty two to.

Speaker 1 (25:20):
Ten Sunday with Style the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin
and Windles for the best selection of great Reads News talksb.

Speaker 2 (25:30):
New Zealand's best young farmers left it all on the
table this week at the FMG Young Farmer of the
Year Grand Final in Waikato. The competition is in its
fifty sixth year and seven grand finalists battled it out
over the past three days, racing against the clock and
each other in a series of high pressure challenges to design,
to test them on their quick thinking, practical know how

(25:53):
and farming skills. All is to take out the title
in over ninety thousand dollars in prizes, and last night
bringing home the bacon for the Tessman region was twenty
two year old George Dodson. Really nice to talk to you, George.
How are you doing?

Speaker 8 (26:06):
Yere?

Speaker 9 (26:06):
Pretty good? How are you?

Speaker 2 (26:07):
How does it feel? Congratulations? How does it feel? What
does it mean to win?

Speaker 9 (26:12):
I'm finding it still sinking in, I think slowly, but
finding it pretty hard to find words to describe what
the feeling's like. It's such an incredible competition with such
deeply rooted history. So yeah, just grateful.

Speaker 2 (26:25):
I think what kind of tasks did you have to
compete complete in the final?

Speaker 9 (26:31):
Yeah? So we had a few different sections. There was
like Agribusiness, a business presentation that we had to do
before we came here, and then we had agri Skills
which is a farmer and some modules, and then the
Agri Knowledge We had speech and it quiz an hr module,
and then some agri sports which is like some race

(26:53):
or arena style sort of competition building and that sort
of stuff.

Speaker 2 (26:57):
So how much did you brush up on ahead of this?
Were you able to sort of do you know what
you were going into and prepare.

Speaker 9 (27:05):
You know, some things are probably going to be there,
but some things pop out that you've got no idea about,
and I guess it's sort of how you stay calm
and take them on.

Speaker 2 (27:15):
Was there anything unexpected thrown at you?

Speaker 9 (27:20):
Yeah, there was a butchery head to head of cutting
a few or cutting half the lamb up into a
few roasts and some chops, which was done. A little
bit of that, but not a heck of a lot,
So that was it was really cool on top of
the truck and in front of the crowd.

Speaker 2 (27:36):
They really put you through your paces right three days.
Did you have a bit of an inkling how well
you were doing as those three days were you know,
going on, George.

Speaker 9 (27:48):
Not really, because you don't ever see the scores until
the end. You're sort of happy with something. For somethings
you think you could have done a bit better, I suppose,
but you just got to kind of wait until the
end and see how you did compared to one else who.

Speaker 2 (28:02):
Did you have with you for support at the competition.

Speaker 9 (28:05):
Yeah, my family, my parents, sisters, my partner, grandparents, some
extended family and that sort of thing, and also the
guys from the region.

Speaker 2 (28:16):
So yep, that's been quite it's been a family weekend.

Speaker 9 (28:20):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 2 (28:21):
Do you have any particular areas of interest within farming.

Speaker 9 (28:26):
Yeah, I'm a dairy farmer, so really passionate about the
dairy industry.

Speaker 2 (28:31):
What about the way you want to farm in the
future and things like that. What do you sort of
got ideas about that a new generation farmer?

Speaker 9 (28:40):
Yeah, I think like sustainability, it's got to be at
the forefront of what we want to achieve. And that's
not just the environment, you know, that's in terms of
being profitable, but looking after all aspects of our farming
system to be in it for the long term.

Speaker 2 (28:54):
How are you going to.

Speaker 3 (28:54):
Celebrate I don't know yet.

Speaker 9 (28:57):
Me and my partner are off chief from Tonga, so
we're going to Tonga for a week to have a holiday.
It'll be real nice.

Speaker 2 (29:04):
Puts your faked up in a little bit of warmth
a sleeping sounds like a good way to celebrate. So
what's next, George? What are your plans.

Speaker 9 (29:14):
Hopefully I can use this this when to sort of
propel myself a bit into more of the public eye,
I suppose, and great more opportunities for myself. Would like
to go share milking next season all the one after.
So that's definitely at the forefront of my mind in
terms of progressing business wise. And you just utilize all
the opportunities that winning this competition gives you.

Speaker 2 (29:36):
Ninety thousand prizes. What were those prizes? What kind of
things did you win?

Speaker 9 (29:41):
I couldn't tell you all off the top of my head.

Speaker 2 (29:44):
What struck you? What were you happy about?

Speaker 9 (29:46):
With cash in there? There's a really generous gift of
a quad bike from Fonda. There's the we boom attractors
that we use in that second head to head one
of them. And then got some five thousand dollars of
Milwaukee some Ravens Downstaff where it's a bush park. All
those guys that are support the competition.

Speaker 2 (30:08):
Well, that's fantastic. So you don't you don't just walk
away with this this meaningful title. Actually got some good stuff, George.

Speaker 9 (30:14):
Yeah, the prizes are absolutely incredible and that's all for
the generous sponsors.

Speaker 2 (30:18):
Tell me about your competition who you were up against.
Was there anyone in the particular that you were a
bit worried about?

Speaker 9 (30:26):
Probably not anyone in particular. Like, they're all incredible competitors
in their own right, and I was absolutely stoked to
take it out some really smart and high less killed
young people coming through the industry. So I don't think
you put your eye on a particular one sort of more.
Just worry about what you can control and yeah.

Speaker 2 (30:46):
Go for it. Hey, how old do you? How old
can you enter? How old? A? What's the cutoff age
wise for the Young Farmer competition?

Speaker 3 (30:54):
Do you know?

Speaker 9 (30:55):
Yeah, so thirty one is the cutoff for young farmers.

Speaker 2 (30:58):
Oh George, you could do this again.

Speaker 9 (31:01):
Oh actually, once you win it, you can't go again petitions.

Speaker 2 (31:07):
Well, good on you for nailing that at twenty two.
That is amazing. Thank you so much for your time
this morning. Have a lovely trip to Tongra. It sounds
like you very much deserve that break. That was George
Dobson there, who last night took out the FMG Young
Farmer of the Year Grand Final in Waikato. He is
just twenty two years old, so that's pretty cool. If

(31:29):
you went tell us what it was like. It does
sound like it's quite a full on competition. You have
to hold your nerve a little bit. It is thirteen
to tenure with news Talk there B.

Speaker 1 (31:39):
Putting the tough questions to the newspakers, the mic asking
breakfast a.

Speaker 10 (31:43):
ZEMPA is changing the world. Of course, leading international obesity expert,
doctor Ben Gonzalez is with us. What's your view on
this whole GLP revolution.

Speaker 11 (31:50):
I've been using this medication for over seven years, and
of course celebrity attention just kind of shoots up the attention.

Speaker 8 (31:56):
I think it's a very useful, powerful, safe.

Speaker 11 (31:58):
Drug, but it needs to be used appropriately with appropriate
doctor intervention.

Speaker 3 (32:03):
But the problem is it isn't is it no?

Speaker 11 (32:05):
And I've been on teen year and a half and
watching these pop up weight loss spars, these weight lissner
are just kind of selling the drug and doctors not
being fully trained on how to manage the medications, just
kind of writing the prescriptions.

Speaker 7 (32:16):
Will in Ellie.

Speaker 3 (32:17):
Then there you have it.

Speaker 10 (32:18):
Back tomorrow at six am the Mike Hosking Breakfast with
Jaguine News Talk ZIB.

Speaker 3 (32:23):
There's no better way to start your Sunday.

Speaker 1 (32:26):
It's a Sunday session with Francesca Rutkin and Wiggles for
the best selection of great breaths used talks.

Speaker 6 (32:33):
It be.

Speaker 2 (32:36):
What a great young guy good on him? Is the
nature of the text coming in after talking to George
Dodson there the Young Farmer of the Year mass text
to say, why don't they have young farmers on TV?
It would be better than any other rubbish that's on.
There would be a great competition, wouldn't it if they
could somehow film that and trim that down into sort
of a half hour special At the end of each

(32:57):
day we can follow each contestant and how they're going.
I agree with you, muz. We all love Country Calendar,
don't we? Is that one of the longest serving sort
of TV shows that we have on our screens. Thank
you for your feedback. There's been some feedback on the
Fairies Care we rail Fairies. Any new Fairies must have
rail and stall to allow trains to be run straight

(33:19):
on and off at each port. Road bridging is not
an option and time consuming. The government is hallbent on
productivity but does not support rail. That was from Dave
Doug just suggests that the South Island should be run
as a separate country where the container port no fairies,
new fairies will have no resale value. Same with the
North of Auckland. No tunnels or bridges contain a wharf
on the others. On the other side, people need to

(33:41):
live and work in the same side of the harbor
and take the pressure off the bridge, so no replacement
will ever need to happen. Different way of thinking about it,
Thank you, Doug. Take the firies off key we Rail.
If the Blue Bridge can make a twenty million dollar
profit off two fairies into island, I should be killing
it with three fairies, yet they're losing money, thank you, Ben.
A few on the rugby as well, Pauline text high

(34:03):
Franchisca and both of these games. I've had an underlying
nigger in regard to England's lineouts because we never really
get an absolute end on in view. So I wish
that would put a graphic line along the middle of
the screen because I get this sense it's always a
few centimeters in favor of the lines when they throw in,
so it would be good to see some graphics on
the screen like they do in tournaments tracking the ball.
You'll write, pauling, because we have the most incredible sophisticated,

(34:27):
incredibly sophisticated TV graphics. And I'm a bit with you.
How often do you see a throw one that really
does look like a straight line. It seems to me
like that would be very something, very simple to put
in place there, like you know we see on the
America's Cup and all those kinds of things as well.
So thank you very much for your feedback. This way,

(34:47):
you're most welcome to text anytime. On ninety two ninety two,
it is eight to ten News Talks VBP.

Speaker 1 (34:53):
It simple, It's Sunday, the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudcoat
and Wiggles for the best selection of the gratings News
Talk ZB.

Speaker 2 (35:02):
Earlier in the show, we were talking to Adam about
politics and he mentioned President Biden's bid for reelection. And
it is fascinating watching this process, but it's also serving
quite a good purpose. It is capturing voters attention like
never before. Numbers came out yesterday more than twenty three
million people watched his first live news conference post that

(35:23):
debate that was on Thursday evening. That's a bigger audience
than this year's Academy Awards, which is the way it
should be, because the Oscars are a wonderful celebration of film.
But we aren't talking about the potential leader of the
free world here. So it is good to see voters
are taking it an interest in the rate in the race,
because voter apathy is often a problem, and you know,
sometimes politicians do some pretty batty things to get attention.

(35:46):
But now we know what they need to do. Just
be a little vague and you can get one of
the most watched tallycasts of the year. Now have you
managed to catch an episode of the TV show Madam yet.
It is a fabulous series about a middle class mother
who decides to set up an ethical brothel in small
town New Zealand. It stars Ossie actor Rachel Griffiths, as

(36:07):
well as an incredible lineup of New Zealand talent. It's awesome.
I'm loving it and Rachel Griffiths is going to join
me just after the news and we're going to finish
on some Melparsons. This is her song Off and Down.
It's off her Sabotage album. She is Just She. She
has just announced she is going to tour twenty regional

(36:30):
shows around arturo and that is going to be kicking
off on September twelfth. If you're keen for tickets, you
can head to Plus one dot co dot nz and
you can listen to sabotage the album at Melparsons dot com.

Speaker 12 (36:45):
Now Lover.

Speaker 13 (36:53):
A lover, now working hard, getting knock back. Those bruises

(37:13):
are cannons playing off down the track. You been getting
turned down. Those closing up in your face, so you're
play choking and treating amating.

Speaker 14 (37:34):
And it's coming round.

Speaker 13 (37:36):
Chill, It's coming round your charming mass.

Speaker 15 (37:46):
There's an upper down upper around the table.

Speaker 3 (37:52):
There's an upper down.

Speaker 14 (37:55):
Chefble.

Speaker 13 (37:58):
There's a leffer down.

Speaker 2 (38:01):
Uffer around the table.

Speaker 12 (38:04):
There's a nuffer down, Come up, it's come.

Speaker 3 (38:34):
It's Sunday. You know what that means.

Speaker 1 (38:36):
It's the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin and Wickles for
the best selection of great reeds U s talk set me.

Speaker 2 (38:50):
Great to have you with us. I'm Francisco with you
until midday. This is the Sunday Session. Australian National treasure
Rachel Griffiths kicked off her career with the classic comedy
Muriel's Wedding in nineteen ninety four. She's known for her
roles and Six Feet Under and Brothers and Sisters, and
is the star and executive producer of a New Zealand
series that won two major international awards before a single

(39:13):
episode hit our screens. Madam is a bold, funny series
that follows Rachel's character mack Lee, as she discovers her
husband has been seeing a sex worker, and, instead of
being angry or upset about his infidelity, is inspired to
open her own brothel called Sweethearts, a feminist organization where
sex workers set their own terms. It's a ripe idea

(39:34):
for a comedy, and the Madam cast is a fool
of a who's who of New Zealand acting and Rachel
joins me, Now, good morning, thank you so much for
being with us.

Speaker 15 (39:43):
This is my pleasure.

Speaker 2 (39:44):
How good is this show?

Speaker 3 (39:47):
What good?

Speaker 15 (39:48):
Is this show?

Speaker 2 (39:49):
Really good? Yeah? It's so good. What swayed you to
head over and be part of it?

Speaker 16 (39:56):
It's funny, you know, because I first heard about this
project playing Madam, and it's a at least the fifth
time I've been offered a madam in my I was
probably I did play one sex worker actually in a
very very fine British film by Honey Kureshi, but since then,

(40:20):
just really trashy Madams and always to be honest, kind
of a little bit pervy, written by you know, written
from the kind of male perspective. I'd say so on
first glance, I've just never seen this done in a
way that is fresh, that.

Speaker 15 (40:42):
Is representative. I think of how sex workers think, talk, feel,
not that they're a mono group. So I kind of
read it and I was like a few minutes and
I was like, oh, oh, okay, okay, okay, we're going
to get real. Now, We're going to get.

Speaker 16 (41:01):
Real and funny, because people I've not who have worked
at sex workers do.

Speaker 15 (41:08):
Have that kind of gallows humor about just like.

Speaker 16 (41:12):
Nurses, very similar to nurses, about the way they talk
about what they do.

Speaker 15 (41:18):
And then I met the team, which was amazing.

Speaker 16 (41:21):
I think my biggest hesitation was Kiwi's are so funny,
and I don't think of myself as so funny, so
that was probably that, Oh, but do you really want
me like I'm not I'm not really funny. I'm certainly
not Kiwi funny. And there was just the sense.

Speaker 15 (41:42):
That I was, I guess more of the straight guy.

Speaker 16 (41:47):
Me and Marty kind of more the straight guys and
it's the situations that are finding and certainly be on
someone cast bring.

Speaker 2 (41:57):
They sure do. We'll talk about the cast in a moment.
But you're so right about it being a fresh perspective
on the industry because it highlights why women choose to
do it as opposed to prostitutes. It's been sort of
portrayed as victims or you know, it kind of broadened
our minds as to why they might decide that this
is what they want to do.

Speaker 15 (42:18):
Yeah, it's so true.

Speaker 16 (42:20):
Like I kind of was always talking about the feminomics
of this show, and I have like my own I
guess feminomic algorithm when I'm off at anything, and it's
how far, how long, how much? And my second just
life school. But until very recently, you know, I had

(42:40):
three children. Marriage that was important to me in terms of,
you know, friend says anything over three weeks you start
to kind of, you know, just not tune into each
other as much, but very much for the children.

Speaker 15 (42:56):
So it was how much, you know, how long is
it going.

Speaker 16 (43:01):
To take, how far away from my children family will
it take me? And how much money will it pay?
So you go, if it's really far, for not very long,
for a lot of money.

Speaker 15 (43:12):
You can do it. But if it's really far.

Speaker 16 (43:15):
For not a lot of money, you know, the economics
just don't add up. And I think women who work
in the sex industry are making really similar decisions. Do
I go work seventy hour week on a minimum wage
and not be there for breakfast and you know when
my kids come home from school? Or can I work

(43:35):
two days and be present provide for my family and
be present for the other.

Speaker 15 (43:42):
Five And I think it's very rational decision.

Speaker 2 (43:46):
It doesn't matter what you do in life, does it, Rachel.
Every mother has the same conversation.

Speaker 15 (43:52):
One hundred percent.

Speaker 16 (43:53):
And I think that's one of the gorgeous things about
the show is that there is a kind of an
unexpected relatability.

Speaker 15 (44:02):
I think for you.

Speaker 16 (44:04):
Know, working class and middle classroom to go, oh god,
I'm having the same conversation.

Speaker 15 (44:09):
I'm like, I am working two you know, two longer
hours for too.

Speaker 16 (44:13):
Little money and not seeing my I'm not able to
be there when my children need me, and that makes
me not, you know, feel like I'm thriving or the
families thriving. So to take just the judgment out of
it is I think so so great. And then of course,

(44:34):
just the just the really this this happened at work today,
elemental because I think, you know, we we often are
used to on our screen seeing sex be sexy, and
there's part of a reason that that has always been
since you know, the French New Ace cinema was a
kind of legitimate porn, and you know Bridgeston, we want

(44:59):
those things to be sexy because we're kind of aspiring
to marry Bridgington and we want that moment of surrender.

Speaker 15 (45:06):
But you know, sex between two it was also pretty
just funny, you know, where we're.

Speaker 16 (45:12):
Just mammals doing mammally weird things to each other, you know,
in the bushes, and I think this show kind of
allows us to laugh at people's kinks and what they
want to do. We're not trying to turn the audience
onto sex. Hopefully we don't turn them off.

Speaker 2 (45:31):
I think you're absolutely right though with your character. It
is the character that the audience is going to immediate
relate to you. It's a strong character, a very strong
central character, a lot of depth that people will relate
to that character, and then we throw you into these
scenarios as you mentioned, where there is just some pretty
hilarious things going on around you. I mean, this must

(45:51):
have been so much fun to make. Were there times
and you were just sort of standing there, going I
can't believe we're doing this, or I can't believe I'm
standing in the middle of the scene.

Speaker 16 (46:02):
There there were some really mental scenes, but I think
it's just the comedy chops in the ensemble, you know,
from actors, you know, like like Rema is just I mean,
you know her over there is just next level quirky
unexpected that the younger girls too, you know, the stand

(46:26):
up comedy comedians and writers, and they would just always
bring up, you know, the unexpected note that no matter
how much I knew the script and had imagined the scene,
I could never imagine.

Speaker 15 (46:39):
What some of the other actors choices would be.

Speaker 16 (46:44):
And then people that I think you associate maybe with
more serious notes, like Martin.

Speaker 15 (46:52):
And Danielle and.

Speaker 16 (46:55):
Even Rob, I think you're not expecting the very funny
kind of take from them.

Speaker 15 (47:03):
But Rob just had me and Stitches as Marty.

Speaker 16 (47:06):
I think Marty was a bit like me, like, I'm
not really funny, I don't get cast for funny.

Speaker 15 (47:12):
Well he just finds this kind of justin Bateman Lane of.

Speaker 16 (47:19):
The guy you want to punch, but you don't want
to kill because he's kind of cute. But oh my god,
you grow up and he's just got this really cool
wheelhouse and he gets it. Was like the end of
his first day. He said to me, he goes.

Speaker 15 (47:33):
Oh, this comedy it's quite fun, isn't it.

Speaker 16 (47:35):
So you're not as tired at the end of the day.
He's kind of had a good laugh. But there were
days where Martin would do with these big, kind of
crazy takes and.

Speaker 15 (47:46):
I can't and he kind of like look look to
the director to see if that was going.

Speaker 16 (47:50):
The whole crew is just falling apart laughing.

Speaker 15 (47:54):
It was new for him to.

Speaker 2 (47:56):
Yeah, I mean it is the most extraordinary cast. It's
kind of like a who's who are New Zealand acting? Plus,
as you mentioned, a whole lot of really talented up
and coming actors as well. Do you see the series.
I know that the series has kind of been overseas
and in one awards and things. Do you see the
series resonating with Aussie's.

Speaker 15 (48:16):
Oh I do, I really do?

Speaker 16 (48:18):
I think you know, both Australia and New Zealand, you know,
were built on kind of the colonizing female spirit as
much as the invading male one. But I think that
women's ingenuity and get done and can do and you know,

(48:40):
make Lemons out of lemonade is as much Australian as
it is Kiwi. And I think I think we find
sex pretty funny too.

Speaker 2 (48:52):
You were so busy these days?

Speaker 3 (48:54):
How good's that?

Speaker 16 (48:56):
I don't jinx it the moment the moment I start
telling myself how you know, how peaking my career is
with the.

Speaker 15 (49:05):
Moment the phone go absolutely dead.

Speaker 16 (49:09):
Look, I've been really really fortunate, particularly over the.

Speaker 15 (49:14):
Last couple of years, to kind of make my own content.

Speaker 16 (49:17):
And you know, executive produce on shows like this where
I get to, you know, bring bring some ideas and
thoughts to the table and and just work with really
amazing people on shows that I think I just I
don't know, they just feel I don't know if I

(49:38):
if I'm getting luckier or it's the content that's out
there just is getting more interesting in the in the
female stories that it tells, and and you know, having
fascinations kind of lenses on it as well, working with
like black Fellow films over here. Just really the last

(49:59):
five years have been the best for me, the best,
the best five years of my career from that, from
who I'm getting to collaborate with and the position I am.

Speaker 15 (50:11):
I guess in that collaboration, it's not like shut up
and see your loans, Rachel, you're getting Peter shit, go
to your trailer and don't be a diva just a lot.

Speaker 2 (50:20):
Yeah, it's interesting. Conversation is because we've been having conversations
about women in film and television for a long time,
and over the last couple of decades we've certainly seen
that conversation change, and we are seeing a lot more
middle aged women really and older in really great roles,
especially in television, which I think has stepped up and

(50:41):
is presenting some of the best work around. But I
wonder sometimes whether it's the same group of women getting roles.
It's not necessarily for all actors. There's more opportunity, it's
just for a smaller group.

Speaker 16 (50:55):
I don't think that is true. And I will say
that I went into television, you know, in two thousand
and the reason I did so is I had been
just working all around the world and every six weeks
kind of packing up my suitcase or eight weeks and
turning up to another part of the world alone, meeting

(51:16):
a whole bunch of new people, and I did kind
of have the language to tell myself, you know, this
isn't great. But I had made a commitment to myself
when I was I think I was I was twenty
when I decided to become an actor, and I said,
at thirty, I'm going I'll review it to see how

(51:38):
it's going.

Speaker 15 (51:39):
Because you know, I'm a smart person.

Speaker 16 (51:41):
I come from a very hard working, make yourself useful family.
And I thought, if I'm just flopping about not growing,
you know, I'm going to pull the plug and change
gears or change vehicles and do something else, or if
it's you know, not working. And I found myself at thirty,
you know, with an Oscar nomination, but incredibly unhappy and

(52:06):
it just is not It was really unhealthy for me
to just be living out of the suitcase. And I met,
you know, my manager at the time, and I said,
I think I might be done with this acting thing,
or I might just go back to Australian just to theater.

(52:28):
And he said to me, he said, I think you
should do television.

Speaker 15 (52:32):
And I was like, television, what's this television?

Speaker 16 (52:35):
You talk of and he said, well, going back to
you know, Lucille Ball, it's been the place for women
to go when they're at a point of their career,
often having been a huge stage actress or a film actress,
where they want to be in one place and race
a family.

Speaker 15 (52:51):
That's television has always done with women.

Speaker 16 (52:55):
So I got really, really lucky, but you are right
that representation in television has become perhaps more complicated, very
long answer to your question.

Speaker 2 (53:06):
So grateful that you didn't quit it thirty and so
grateful that you came back over to New Zealand to
film Madam. It's just a delight. It's exactly what you
need in the middle of winter. Just a good laugh,
great character is loving it.

Speaker 15 (53:21):
Thank you so much. Well, it's such a pleasure to
work there.

Speaker 16 (53:24):
Your cruise are just next level professional and respectful.

Speaker 15 (53:30):
And yeah anytime.

Speaker 2 (53:34):
That was Rachel Griffiths. And you can watch Madam on
TV three and three now. Don't forget that. Bill Edgar,
the coffin Confessor is with me. After eleven. Bill works
on behalf of the dying or deceased to share secrets
or cover up secrets, or make sure funerals go like
the deceased would like them too, and many many other

(53:56):
quite unusual things. He's written a couple of books about it,
So Bill's going to talk us through that. After eleven
It's twenty two past ten News Talks the'bra we.

Speaker 1 (54:05):
Cover It's the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin and wit
Calls for the best selection of great readings used talks.

Speaker 3 (54:12):
I'd be.

Speaker 2 (54:13):
With school holidays in full swing, what could be a
better thing for the kids to do than read. Wit
Calls has a great selection of books with something for
every taste and age group, and their friendly staff are
always more than happy to help with recommendations. The whit
Calls Kids Top fifty is a great place to go
to find the next great book to read, and as
an added bonus, kids can now vote for the new

(54:34):
twenty twenty four list, which will be announced in September.
Votion closes at the end of the school holidays to
get the kids in store or online this week and
let them tell wit Calls about their three favorite books.
Plus these school holidays, wit Calls also have thirty percent
of matel and Hasbro games, twenty percent of toys, and
twenty percent off all Kids books with box games, puzzles, toys,

(54:56):
gorgeous stationary, fabulous gifts and the Kid's Top fifty to
vote for. There really is something for everyone. At WIT calls.

Speaker 3 (55:04):
The Sunday Session.

Speaker 2 (55:14):
Entertainment time now, and Steve Neil, editor at flicks dot
co dot Nz, joins me.

Speaker 17 (55:19):
Good morning, Good morning.

Speaker 2 (55:21):
The New Zealand International Film Festival program is out, that wonderful, big,
glorious program which I just love getting a cup of
tea and sinking into. And of course the festival is
going to kick off in a couple of weeks. Of
people are going to be keen to book their tickets.
Give us some recommendations.

Speaker 17 (55:37):
Yeah, we'll trying to stell one hundred and five odd
films down for just a few recommendations. Tickets are on
South of Wellington now, So I think, get paying attention,
get a program to start, start making a schedule. But
a few things to look out for. I haven't seen
this yet, but New Zealand film We Were Dangerous is
the opening night film and all centers except christ Church.
Christ Church is a film called Head South, which is

(55:58):
a kind of memoir set in the city's post punk
scene of the late seventies, but everywhere else that's not
reminist about their own cities past. We'll get this film
by Joseph N. Stewart, To Fear, and it stars Rema
Tebiata and a trio of young actors. Some young woman
sent to an isolated island that's an institution for delinquents

(56:21):
in the nineteen fifties. Needless to say, they don't really
like going there.

Speaker 2 (56:25):
No, they don't.

Speaker 3 (56:26):
I've seen it.

Speaker 2 (56:27):
I think it's going to be a beautiful way to
start the festival. It is really moving, it's a powerful story,
but it's also dealt with with a little bit of
likeness as well, so there's some lovely humor in their life. Fabulous,
really great performance, especially by the young talent.

Speaker 17 (56:43):
From It's from its subject matter and that comment about
the talent that doesn't feel a million miles away from
Heavenly Creatures, which is also getting some anniversary screenings as
the festivals, So it'll be great to see Peter Jackson's.

Speaker 2 (56:53):
Okay, I've toned it off my screen next please, I saw.

Speaker 17 (56:56):
The TV glow. This is probably going to be the
be the sort of more alternative leaning hit of the festival.
It's a film about two youngsters brought together by their
shared love of a late night cult TV show. Then
when one of them disappears from this small town life,
it creates a really interesting and sort of tragic spiral

(57:17):
for the friend that's left behind. There's there's lots of
metaphors here, meditations on gender identity, on on roads not taken,
great soundtrack. It's an a twenty four film. It's a
real indie day.

Speaker 18 (57:30):
I like that.

Speaker 17 (57:30):
This is going to be a.

Speaker 6 (57:33):
Yep.

Speaker 17 (57:34):
If you've ever had trouble sleeping, or more to the point,
I if you ever shared a bedroom of someone that does.
There's a Korean film called Sleep that is going to
scare the living daylights out of here. It follows a
pregnant pregnant wife who's starting to get a bit uneasy
about her husband's sleeping habits and a little bit of
like mumbling, a little bit of sleepwalking. I run, this

(57:56):
is getting way worse. Yeah, that's that's gonna be a
real treat. I love the idea that you can go
home and then like that night, go oh yeah, I
hate this. What's that noise you just made? Also in
the kind of slightly more offbeat territory, The Substance, starring
Tom Moore and Margaret Qually.

Speaker 2 (58:15):
Oh, yes, here a lot about this.

Speaker 17 (58:17):
Yes, so this is a kind of body horror in
the vein of maybe like a David Cronenberg flick, but
more from a female perspective, about a TV fitness instructor
who combating aging starts a mysterious new treatment called the substance.

Speaker 2 (58:31):
This caused quite a stird candon't it.

Speaker 17 (58:33):
Yeah, it's a bit of a bit of a gross one,
I reckon, okay.

Speaker 2 (58:36):
And then of course this is really good to get
some of the sort of the hidden gems because a
lot of the names as people flick through the guy
and a lot of people will recognize some of the
films which have been spoken about recently that maybe been
doing very well at the film festival.

Speaker 17 (58:48):
It will take a few passes to get to the
bottom of I think one last off throw in because
this is such a film festival thing. Please excuse my
poor pronunciation. Menu place les TOI Gros. This is a
four hour long documentary about a three Michelin star restaurant
in France, just in the zone observing observing patient. It's

(59:11):
from director Frederick Wiseman, who's got a history of making
these sorts of films. Really New Zealand International Film Festival
the only place you're likely.

Speaker 2 (59:18):
To'll go and watch a four hour documentary about Ariisma film.
There are food heads out there who just love sitting
and watching films with food, And you don't talk to me,
just let me watch this kind.

Speaker 17 (59:29):
And within the context of an event like this. It
really is one of the few times I'd even consider
carving that much time out to sit in a movie theater.
I'm really looking forward to it.

Speaker 2 (59:37):
Hey, thirty seconds, long legs.

Speaker 17 (59:39):
Long Legs, and cinemas today Classified R sixteen bloody violence,
horror and defensive language.

Speaker 2 (59:45):
Sums it up.

Speaker 17 (59:46):
Yeah, it's like a more occult version of silence than Lambs. Perhaps.
It follows a youngish FBI agent Micah Monroe. She's on
the hunt in the nineties for a bizarre serial killer
who leaves kind of Zodiac killer style notes. Nicholas Cage
is absolutely terrifying in this film. They've withheld his appearance
from the trailers and photos for reason. This is really awesome,

(01:00:08):
super creepy out this week, Possibly not enough people talking
about it, so check out Long Way.

Speaker 2 (01:00:14):
Oh he is so good I'm loving Nicholas Cage in
this sort of this career revival he is having. Thank
you so much, Steve for more information. If you want
to have a look at the program, Ziff dot co
dot nz is where you can go twenty eight to
eleven News Talks ATB.

Speaker 1 (01:00:30):
It's the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin on Newstalks ATB.

Speaker 3 (01:00:38):
This is News Talks EDB. Breaking news.

Speaker 2 (01:00:42):
So Donald Trump has been giving a speech in Pennsylvania
and he has he appears to have fallen to the ground,
at which point he was surrounded by armed security staff.
Gunshots have reportedly been fired at Donald Trump's rally in Pennsylvania.
The former president was rushed off the stage by security staff.
He appeared to fall to the ground he was giving

(01:01:04):
the speech. He was quickly surrounded by the security. He
stayed down for around a minute. He then rose to
his feet put his fist in the air before being
escorted off stage and into a vehicle and driven away
from the scene. Video appears to show blood on his
ear as he was taken away, and the former president
appeared to be clutching the side of his head as

(01:01:25):
he fell to the ground. We will of course, have
more on this in the news at eleven.

Speaker 3 (01:01:31):
The Sunday session.

Speaker 2 (01:01:34):
Joining me now, doctor Michelle Dickinson, nano girl, Good morning,
Good morning. Who would have thought that there would be
a connection between dinosaurs going extinct and grete wine?

Speaker 19 (01:01:45):
Yeah, pretty crazy.

Speaker 20 (01:01:46):
Heir make some wine after that.

Speaker 2 (01:01:48):
A breaking news story.

Speaker 20 (01:01:50):
Its just got a little bit crazy.

Speaker 3 (01:01:52):
But yeah.

Speaker 20 (01:01:52):
So this new research study at its open source, it's
in the journal Nature Plants, basically has looked at the
history of grape plants and grape veins and you know,
I find iNTS. I hadn't thought about this, but when
we think about dinosaurs and go, oh, there's these fossils,
you find their fossilized bones. But what do you do
with plants that have soft flesh, soft skin, you don't

(01:02:15):
have that fossilization. Well, there are people who go on
hunts for grape seed fossils. Now, as if you didn't
think a grape seed was small enough, the fossil of
a grape seed isl But it.

Speaker 2 (01:02:26):
Is really interesting how seeds have have traveled around the
world over years.

Speaker 20 (01:02:32):
So these amazing scientists who have more patients than I do,
so the oldest grape seed fossil we've ever found was
found in India sixty six million years ago, but they've
never found any in South America where they thought they
would be. So there's a group of scientists went, what
we're just going to go looking and why not? Yeah,
looking for what I think is the tiniest fossil ever,
and they found them. They found nine new species of

(01:02:52):
great seed fossil across Columbia and Peru and Panama, and
one of the ones that they found was a special
type of seed called the Sussman's stone grape, which is
related to the grapevine that we know drink cool wine
from today. And the seeds they found were somewhere between
nineteen and sixty million years old, coinciding with when dinosaurs

(01:03:16):
went extinct. So why is this all connecting? Well, what
they say is when dinosaurs were roaming the planet, they
had big, boisterous bodies, and the forests that we know
today were not as dense because dinosaurs would just knock
everything down and we had much less dense forests, which
meant that if you were a plant, it was easy
to grow. As soon as the dinosaurs went extinct, all

(01:03:37):
of the trees grew really really well, meaning that the
forest floor canopy was dark, and so all the plants
that are on the ground are struggling for sunlight and nutrients,
and the ones that had the advantage were the vines,
i e. The grape vines. So now that the vines
succeeding because they can climb up the trees and get
the sunlight, they actually thrived. And when the dinosaurs went extinct,

(01:03:58):
some of the other mammals and birds were able to
survive and they eat grapes and they take the seed
somewhere else poop them out, and now we've got grape
vines all over the place. So the only way that
actually these grape vines were able to succeed and move
around the world was thanks to the dinosaurs going extinct,
and then the grapevines moving to places where they could thrive,

(01:04:21):
and then all of these different generations of grape vines
giving us what we need today, which is nice fresh
grapes out of the fridge, good old raisins for your toddlers,
and a nice glass of wine. This is so next
time you raise a glass of wine.

Speaker 2 (01:04:33):
Just a little cheers to the end of it's always
good to have a silver lining that isn't a Michelle.
Where can people read about the study in nature plants?

Speaker 20 (01:04:44):
It's opens us. It's a lovely little study and off
they weren't looking for the tiniest little fussle and they
found it.

Speaker 2 (01:04:49):
Thank you so much, Michelle. Mike is getting sophisticated and
a little bit old school for us this morning. He's
got a classic relate for us that is next here
on news Towards he'd be twenty one to eleven.

Speaker 3 (01:05:01):
There's a little bit way to start your Sunday.

Speaker 1 (01:05:04):
It's the Sunday session with in Chessca, Rutgin and Wiggles
for the best selection of Greg reads news talk, said
the resident chief.

Speaker 2 (01:05:12):
Mike Vandalsen joins us now on the Sunday session.

Speaker 3 (01:05:14):
Good morning, Mike, good morning.

Speaker 2 (01:05:17):
I like the way you're going about old school today.
I don't think I've ever made a relette.

Speaker 21 (01:05:24):
They are things like that. Relettes and paths and terreenes
and that sort of small goods seems to be coming
back into into trend. It's quite a few go to
a restaurant now and previously you've never see a parthay
on the menu. Andre Now it's like the duckliver parfact
the menu delicious?

Speaker 2 (01:05:46):
Why do you love them?

Speaker 21 (01:05:49):
They are old, they are rich, They require time, They
require a little bit of school. You know, things like
Pathay's rich because you know you had a fair amount
of cream. The livers and themselves are already quite rich.

Speaker 6 (01:06:04):
But they got a heart.

Speaker 21 (01:06:05):
Back to my to my days working at London. Yeah,
and the little end, but that was the chef's treat,
you know, when you cut off a tree and you
cut the ended off and make it nice and square.
That was generally our breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Speaker 2 (01:06:22):
Right, I can see where this is going, all right,
take us through this.

Speaker 21 (01:06:28):
Little number your it's so relent from sos. They do
harp back many generations. And so the idea of relet
is to prevent. It's a preservation met it. So back
in the day they've packed, for instance, a whole peg
or a whole animal, and they would cover it in
a duck fat or a goose fat, put it into

(01:06:50):
a big tub and like a big tub like I measured,
like a big steel bathtub, covered it in the fat,
and then the light flive underneath, and they're slowly cooking
over a period of hours, like several several hours. Once
it was cooked, they would basically let it cool down
and then take this big bathtub and put it down
cellar and the fat that it's cooked and would set hard,
preserving the animal inside the fat off in any oxygen

(01:07:13):
getting to it. And then don't leave it down there
for a couple of years, and when the one that's
pulled the batu back up, reheat it and bengo people
who got meat. So this recipe is a lot simpler
than that. They'll worry about getting your bathtub out. All
you need is some lamb neck. Just go to your
butcher us for a lamb neck. Think of it like oxdale.
You might get a little chopped. So I've got a
kin of lamb neck, and I'm using a pressure cooker

(01:07:35):
for this because it takes it from something that requires
five hours to cook down to thirty five minutes.

Speaker 6 (01:07:41):
So I put a.

Speaker 21 (01:07:41):
Killer lamb neck into a fresh cooker along with half
a million that's been cut in half, and some fresh thyme,
some fennel seeds, peppercorns, chili flakes, a small lemon that's
been cut in half, a cup of water, and then
maybe a vegetable stock. Put your lid on, bring it
up to the pressure. If it starts to has that
you turn it down and that's that's take thirty five minutes.

(01:08:03):
After much you can release the pressure. Allowed to down.
It's tremendously hot and a preshure cooker, so allowed to
cool down, remove your lamb neck. And then the time
comes now is you're just basically picking the meat off
the phone, put the meat into a bowl. Reserve the liquor,
so just straight out for the vegetables, keep hold of

(01:08:24):
that liquor, and then just pour a little bit of
that liquor over the top of the shredded meat, along
with some chopped pass and some chopped papers. Take an
observing jar or or some sort of vessel like ramikin,
press that rolet meat into that ramikin and then just
allow it to set. And if you want to go
old school, just get a bit of clarified butter. Pour
some clarified butter over the top of it. That sets

(01:08:45):
heart in the fridge, and that preserves it but also
gives you that little crack on top.

Speaker 2 (01:08:51):
You're right, it does sound like a guilty pleasure.

Speaker 21 (01:08:55):
It's it's super rich, you know, because you've got all
that glacknous property in the neck when you're eating it.

Speaker 6 (01:09:01):
It's like bubble gum of a slavory sort.

Speaker 2 (01:09:05):
I like that. Thank you so much, Mike. Appreciate that.
You can get the recipe from Good from Scratch dot
co dot nz, or of course you can head to
Newstalks hedb dot co dot nz. Forward Slash Sunday. All
our interviews, recipes, stories of the day will be up
there throughout the day. We'll get that up there for you.
Right there seemed to be plenty of cuffs and colds

(01:09:25):
are floating around at the moment. We haven't all had
a cold on our house. It is so boring, isn't it.
While Erin is with us next with some tips to
deal with those winter bugs. It is a fourteen to eleven.

Speaker 1 (01:09:38):
Sunday with Style the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin and
Winkles for the best selection of great reads, Please talk.

Speaker 2 (01:09:48):
If you missed the breaking news just before former President
Donald Trump was rushed off stage after loud bangs were
heard he'd fallen to the ground. This was at the
start of a rally in Pennsylvania. It's not immediately clear
what has occurred, but Trump was swarmed by Secret Service
agents and was rushed away from the scene and blood
could be seen on Trump's face. He did raise a

(01:10:09):
fist to the crowd though, as he was rushed away,
so hopefully he is okay. But we will have an
update for you on this in the eleven o'clock news.
Joining me now to talk wellness, naturopath Aeron O'Hara, Good morning,
Good morning, Well. I am fed up with the winter
bugs and colds and coughs and things. We've all had
a cold in our house. Nothing serious, not even IRISV

(01:10:30):
or COVID or anything like that, just a good old
fashioned cold. There are a lot of the same linger
and then I just feel like it's just doing this
sort of circular pattern in the house. Oh dear, does
a little bit of that.

Speaker 22 (01:10:42):
They're sneezing, the coughing, the running nose, the sore throats,
a coughing at night. There seems to be all of
that going around, and a lot of people it is
just a common cold at the moment. There is a
little bit of influenza flowing around and a little bit
of COVID still there. And I think the biggest thing
with these respiratory illnesses is that people quite often want
to run to the doctor and hits some antibiotics, but

(01:11:04):
with these viruses, actually and botics is for back to
her infections and that's not the right thing. So unless
you do have a back to infection, then also do
check out with your doctor. But if you do have
just a common virus, there's definitely things you can be
doing at home. And I think we quite often want
to just lay around and feel sorry for ourselves, which

(01:11:25):
resting is very helpful. But keeping out some hydration, even
if you don't even feel very thirsty, it really really
does help.

Speaker 2 (01:11:33):
With an infection.

Speaker 22 (01:11:34):
Also, lemon honey drinks the good old old fashioned remedy
super good a specially if you've got a sore throat,
some bone broth, some lots of fluid warm drinks really
great for soothing throats, making you feel really good.

Speaker 2 (01:11:50):
But just making sure.

Speaker 22 (01:11:51):
You've got some sort of home care going on because
it will help you with the recovery. Also, if you've
got a sore throat, nothing like a salt gargle will
help with soothing a sore throat. Also, spoonful of manoca
honey great for calming and soothing a sore throat. But
I think really taking care of yourself with so many
infections going on out there, if you're are six, trying

(01:12:14):
to stay home so you don't make everyone else sick.

Speaker 2 (01:12:15):
We don't know what your bugs.

Speaker 22 (01:12:17):
And then the other thing that people quite often go
and do is grab supplements, whether they've gone to their
supermarket or the chem and squarehouse or wherever they've gone
to grab some supplements. And the thing that I noticed
when people come into the cutter is sometimes it's not
what they've chosen, it's more how they're taking it. So
they'll have vitamin C and instead of like spreading out

(01:12:39):
the dough setting, they'll take you know, five tablets at once,
thinking that they're going to get rid of the infection faster.
But actually when you do that vitamin C is a
water soluble vitamin, you're actually just gonna weir it all out.
So I think it's just been having a little bit
of knowledge how to use those vitamins.

Speaker 2 (01:12:55):
So how do you get rid of the tail end
of a cold? That's the bit that really annoys me,
Like you feel pretty, you get the sore throat, then
you get the stuffed up here and maybe the cold
and the is not and all that kind of thing,
but then it kind of drags. You know, you just
don't feel like you could kick the end of it.

Speaker 22 (01:13:09):
And that's always the hardest bits when you've still got
a little bit of congestion left and maybe a cough
that's really really stubborn. Now my go to is herbal remedies,
so you can get some over the counter kind of
things like keyw herb do great coughs, thatt of syrups,
also hark As herbals or if you do see a
nature path they make even more potent herbs. But they

(01:13:31):
are actually the magic to get rid of a cough
and all that lingering congestion because you want something that
has an expectoring action that's going to really help to
lift it and clear it out of the chest, out
of the sinuses. Also, sinus rinses are great if you've
got like really congested sinuses and keeping up with your
regular dosing of your vitamin C and also zinc. And

(01:13:53):
that's where taking little and often is the way to
go to get rid of those infections rather than mega
dosing in think about splitting the dosing up. So if
you've got a vitamin sea powder, I'd say like a
little half teaspoon every three or four hours, and they're
same with those sort of herbal remedies for coughs and
for also clearing congestion. You're better at a dose to

(01:14:14):
every three to four hours than trying to take mega
doses because it will work a lot better if you
dose little and often.

Speaker 2 (01:14:21):
Thank you so much, Erin, and it's okay you're allowed
to feel a bit sorry for yourself to way.

Speaker 22 (01:14:25):
Absolutely, Yeah, a little bit of Netflix, nice cozy blanket,
fireron and now hopefully you can recover a little bit quicker.

Speaker 2 (01:14:33):
Thank you for taking care of us.

Speaker 3 (01:14:34):
Erin.

Speaker 2 (01:14:35):
It is seven to eleven News Talks VV Grab Recover.

Speaker 1 (01:14:39):
It's the Sunday session with Francesca Rudgin and Wiggles for
the best selection of graens used talks.

Speaker 3 (01:14:45):
Edb Right.

Speaker 2 (01:14:46):
Bill Edgar had a miserable childhood. He was abused, he
was homeless, he ended up in jail. That He's had
numerous jobs over the decades, including becoming a private investigator.
It's been a very interesting life and now he's become
world famous thanks to his latest job as the Coffin Confessor.
He's a spokesperson for the Daily departed for filling and
protecting their final wishes. This may include interrupting a funeral

(01:15:08):
to share a few home troops. But the job has
very very much extended. So Bill Edgar, the funeral crasher,
is with me next here on News Talks EDB. We're
gonna end our with a little bit of Troy Sevann,
the pop Sensation. He has announced he is gonna light
up Auckland Spark Arena this December. It's the final stop
of his Something to Give each Other World tour. So

(01:15:31):
here's a little bit of Troy got me started. We'll
be back shortly after the news You're with News Talks B.
So w.

Speaker 12 (01:15:41):
F snighter vy. Then do.

Speaker 8 (01:16:09):
I see don't want to do?

Speaker 12 (01:16:12):
Then? Why anything? BOYD I real honest.

Speaker 18 (01:16:22):
Boy, I honestly, I just have the siding and I

(01:16:46):
think I'm deciding and I'll.

Speaker 23 (01:16:49):
No all acount of wait I've anything, I don't have
any arts and I'm sous you by its why kids anything?

Speaker 1 (01:17:15):
Welcome to the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin and Wiggles
for the best selection of great reads used talks.

Speaker 2 (01:17:29):
Good to have you with us on the Sunday Session
this morning. Here on news talks, he'd be coming up
this hour. We will head to the States to get
the latest on what has happened with Trump, how to
take great holiday photos, and Joan has a fascinating story
about how the Kennedy men treated the women and their lives.
But now Bill Edgar's job is far from your average
nine to five. He made worldwide headlines a few years

(01:17:52):
back as the coffin Confessor. He's paid by the dying
to gate crash their funerals once they're gone, and to
carry out their dying wishes. The fame has now extended
Bill's job and the services he offers. It's even brought
Hollywood knocking on his door. Bill has detailed his job
and also what he has learned from the dying in
a new book called The Afterlife Confessional. And Bill Edgar

(01:18:14):
joins me now from Australia.

Speaker 3 (01:18:15):
How are you doing, Bill, I'm great, Thank you for
having me. How are you really good?

Speaker 2 (01:18:20):
Thank you? Now I see that the job has kind
of extended somewhat in recent years. You now call yourself
really a concierge to the dying. Explain that role to me.

Speaker 24 (01:18:32):
Yeah, so it went from crashing funerals to crashing wakes
and then going to viewings and placing items in coffins,
and then you know, it became a service that I
didn't realize who was going to happen. But I do
home switees for removing sensitive items. Now I'm delivering gifts
from the afterlife. And that's a beautiful thing to do.

Speaker 6 (01:18:53):
It's great.

Speaker 2 (01:18:54):
Are you surprised how the role of crashing funerals has
led to so many opportunities.

Speaker 3 (01:19:00):
It's incredible, it really is.

Speaker 24 (01:19:02):
And you know, for the only coffin confessor on the
planet to be done this, it's just a joy to
do and I'm excited and it's.

Speaker 3 (01:19:12):
The people I meet are just incredible people.

Speaker 24 (01:19:14):
And I hold their secrets and you know, their desires,
their fantasies and everything, and I, you know, I crush
the funeral. I do it face to face and I
let the other people know exactly what they are, what
they wanted to said.

Speaker 3 (01:19:27):
Yeah, it's amazing, Bill, Do you sort of see.

Speaker 2 (01:19:31):
I suppose peace within people if they know that things
are going to be done or said or dealt with
the way they want them to do. Does it bring
a sense of peace near the end?

Speaker 3 (01:19:43):
Oh, for sure.

Speaker 24 (01:19:44):
A lot of solace and a lot of happy faces
to at the end because it's you know, I never
realized that so many people don't actually get their last wishes.
And it was incredible how many people have reached out
and said they've done their own eulogy, but the families
viewed it and said they won't play it at the funeral.
Or you know, there's people that they thought loved and

(01:20:05):
cared for, but they turn into vultures and they just
can't wait for them to pass.

Speaker 3 (01:20:09):
It's it's incredible.

Speaker 2 (01:20:11):
So in a way, the dying or decease very appreciative
for your work. But what about sort of the family
and other people you acounter along the way as you
do your job. How well do they respond to you.

Speaker 3 (01:20:27):
Yeah, it's a bit of a mix.

Speaker 24 (01:20:28):
So you know, when I crash a funeral, I try
to get everybody on my side as fast as I
can by telling them that this is their loved one
in the casket coffin.

Speaker 3 (01:20:36):
It's it's not me saying this, it's them.

Speaker 24 (01:20:39):
They've wrote it down.

Speaker 15 (01:20:40):
I've got a video.

Speaker 24 (01:20:42):
It's them, it's their message. How about we sit down
and we just listen to what they have to say. Besides,
it's their funeral, not yours.

Speaker 2 (01:20:49):
Does the job come with risks? Do you have to
have a bit of a thick skin and a certain
amount of bravery to do this job.

Speaker 24 (01:20:57):
It's not for the faint of heart, that's for sure.
But it's I guess it's my upbringing is you know,
it made me who I am today to be able
to do this job. And I've got to say that
across the planet, people have reached out and sent resumes
and they want to start their own business up. But
I'm fearful of it being turned into something that people
could take advantage of the deceased and those dying, because

(01:21:20):
it's so easy to not fulfill their wishes and just
take the.

Speaker 3 (01:21:23):
Money and run.

Speaker 2 (01:21:24):
Because a lot of times you are preventing the family
from taking advantage of the dying, aren't you.

Speaker 18 (01:21:31):
Oh? Absolutely.

Speaker 24 (01:21:32):
I mean the vultures in the family are just incredible
and they give me the strength to do what I do.
So you know, some of those people will be going
through the homes of those laying on their deathbed before
they're even in the ground, and they're either throwing stuff
out or selling stuff, or finding their personal belongings and
taking them.

Speaker 3 (01:21:52):
It's just yeah, it's vile.

Speaker 2 (01:21:53):
I think at one point you were actually hired to
guard somebody who was dying and be in the room
with them to make sure that the family didn't take
their jewelry off before they'd passed away.

Speaker 21 (01:22:02):
Is that right? Yeah, that was very sad.

Speaker 24 (01:22:05):
The lady was trified and hospital staff as well. And
the sun was caught in the act of trying to
take his mother's rings off her hand before she'd even died,
and it was It's horrific.

Speaker 18 (01:22:17):
You know.

Speaker 24 (01:22:18):
Things like that really encouraged me to be able to
do what I do. But then there's the other side
where I'll attend a funeral or a gathering and that's
something either funny. It could be good, bad, funny, or sad. Really,
it's quite arrange nowadays and.

Speaker 2 (01:22:33):
Your experience does everyone die with a secret.

Speaker 24 (01:22:37):
Every person on the planet's got a skeleton in the closet.

Speaker 3 (01:22:40):
It's just a matter if they want to let it
out or not.

Speaker 2 (01:22:43):
You're also talk in the book about walking a fine
legal line. Talk me through that. Have you run into
any trouble with the police.

Speaker 15 (01:22:51):
When I go to a.

Speaker 24 (01:22:52):
Home sweep and I remove sensitive bi itom some of
the family members might get up set and call the police.
But I have video, and I've got the rights, and
I have the keys, so I don't do a break
in there now I'm actually there on behalf of the
person who's hired me. The other thing is that the
police would like me to divulge crimes. And if I'm
told a crime, obviously you know you best divulge it. However,

(01:23:14):
what I've done is of us those people not to
tell me the crime. They write it down and it's
posted to me, and I don't open that until the
day of their funeral, so I have no idea of
the crime, so therefore I can't report it until I know.

Speaker 2 (01:23:28):
Interesting what's a home sweep?

Speaker 24 (01:23:31):
A home sweep is where And this is something I
found very fascinating and interesting, and it's very heartbreaking too,
because a person can have a fall at home, get
taken to hospital and placed in hospite and told they're
never going to go home again. Now, those people have
certain items that they don't want their family and friends
to find at home, and it could be of a
sexual nature. It could be even their laptop or phone,

(01:23:53):
it could be anything. And that's a home sweep. So
I'm engaged to go to their home remove sensitive items,
either bring them back to my client, or I destroy them.

Speaker 2 (01:24:03):
And as you say, at one point you were having
to mental six dungeon.

Speaker 24 (01:24:09):
Yes, an eighty eight year old gentleman i'd met. He
was fearful that his three sons were about to go
to his house and discover what the father was real
ely into, you know, and it's sad that we can't
live the way we are. But I mean, I can
understand how embarrassing and mortified he'd feel. So yeah, I
entered his home and I got to say, a sex

(01:24:31):
dungeon sort of describes it as a dirty old man's
place with the hooks and all the stuff like that,
But it's not. This was very elegant. It was very
well maintained. He was eighty eight and he had a
great sex life. He was married for thirty five years,
his wife had passed away, and he just he went
into that world, and hey.

Speaker 3 (01:24:49):
Why not We only live once.

Speaker 2 (01:24:51):
And as you say, you're not there to judge, Hey,
what impact does this kind of job have on your life?
What impact has a head on you?

Speaker 24 (01:25:01):
Yeah, I've changed he since I started this job. I
think more so that I prepared myself for death and
you know a close friend or loved one as well.
But doesn't mean I'm not going to mourn or anything.
It just means that I'm more prepared and being more
prepared and knowing that, you know, we're all going to die.
No one's going to escape. But if you come to
terms with that and you're prepared by you know, getting

(01:25:23):
rid of the clutter the people in your life that
just keep you backwards or drag you down, you know,
and just just remove all that crap out of your
life and move forward.

Speaker 3 (01:25:31):
And I'm no longer living and then dying.

Speaker 24 (01:25:34):
I'm actually going to die living.

Speaker 2 (01:25:36):
Have you turned any requests down?

Speaker 3 (01:25:41):
I came very close.

Speaker 24 (01:25:42):
A lady asked me to be her suicide note, and
I found that very confronting, and all the help that
we try to get her and everything was, you know,
was in vain. She ended up doing what she said
she was going to do. And I did take the
job because I thought, well, I am the coughing confess
I do, you know, deliver the messages from beyond. And yes,

(01:26:06):
so it was confronting, but at the same time, you know,
I did what she wanted.

Speaker 2 (01:26:12):
What I was quite intrigued with in the book reading
about the stories and the situations that you dealt with,
is you kind of do treat them a little bit
like a private investigator woulds. You document, you film so
much stuff. You make sure that you're you know that
you're going You're making it very clear to your client
what you've done and how you're going about it. And
I suppose that sort of protects you a certain amount

(01:26:36):
but also provides that reassurance to the client that you're
doing what they asked.

Speaker 3 (01:26:44):
Absolutely.

Speaker 24 (01:26:45):
I mean, there'd be nothing more vile than you're stealing
off the dead. So yeah, it's back up for me
as well, you know, so I can't get litigated. But
it's also one of those things that I've always done them.
You know, I truly believe that you've got to document
everything and keep it safe. I'm very old school. I'll
write a lot of things down and I don't keep

(01:27:05):
a lot on the can because I do know as
a private investigator how easily they can be hacked. So
you know a lot of my stuff is written and diarized,
and that's how I like to work. But yeah, I
think the safety aspect for myself and litigation. I have
to make sure that I'm fully covered and I'm doing
the right thing. And again, I don't work on behalf

(01:27:26):
of the third party, so no one can engage me
to go crash their mother's brother's aunt's funeral. I don't
do that by any crush of funerals of those that
have engaged me directly.

Speaker 2 (01:27:36):
Well, interesting, and of course Hollywood's after you now, because
why wouldn't they, Baby, because it's such an incredible story
and an incredible life that you've had.

Speaker 6 (01:27:45):
Bill.

Speaker 2 (01:27:46):
What's going on there?

Speaker 24 (01:27:48):
Well, you know something that's really exciting, and it's to
do with New Zealand actually, is that we're hoping that
New Zealand, Australia and can come to an agreement in
combination where the Coffin Confess actually gets filmed in both countries.
And you know, it's really exciting to be able to
do that because I do have a strong connection with

(01:28:10):
New Zealand. I have two aunties that were married into
my toxic family and actually escape to New Zealand who
embrace them beautifully, and you know, I'm very grateful for that.
But at the same time, they're working on a drama
series and I'm really excited about that. And like I say,
if they can keep it any in this part of.

Speaker 3 (01:28:29):
The world, New Zealand and Australia, I'd.

Speaker 24 (01:28:31):
Be very very happy.

Speaker 2 (01:28:32):
Oh Bill, thank you so much for your time today.
It's been a delight to talk to you. The Afterlife
Confessional is in stores now. It is eighteen past eleven
year with NEWSTALKSZB.

Speaker 3 (01:28:43):
This Sunday session.

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Speaker 3 (01:30:00):
Keep it simple.

Speaker 1 (01:30:01):
It's Sunday, the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudcoat and Wiggles
for the the last selection of the Gregs News Talks.

Speaker 2 (01:30:08):
He'd be as you will have heard here this morning
on News Talks, he'd be. There has been an incident
at a Trump rally. Former President Donald Trump was rushed
off stage after loud bangs were heard at the start
of a rally in Pennsylvania. For the latest on this,
we are joined by Catherine Ferkin, our US correspondent. Good morning, Catherine,
Good morning.

Speaker 3 (01:30:29):
What do we know?

Speaker 25 (01:30:31):
Well, unfortunately, it does seem like this may have been
an assassination attempt. It is incredibly early in the investigation,
of course, because this was only just happened. But we
know that Trump was on stage, he was in the
middle of talking about Joe Biden. He was describing him
as the worst president in history. When a whole series
of pops rang out, which was since identified as possible gunfire.

(01:30:54):
Trump appeared to flinch. He grabbed the right side of
his head. He then dropped to the ground, and it
was just an extraordinary scene. Several Secret Service members can
be heard yelling dark, dark, duck. They piled on top
of him, the Crown started screaming, and when Trump stood
back up, there was very obvious blood on his face.

Speaker 2 (01:31:13):
So we can confirm Donald Trump is okay at the moment.

Speaker 25 (01:31:17):
Yes, he's already issued a statement saying he's fine. He's
being treated at a medical center. We're told that he
is safe. But if you have a look at the
footage that's now floating around, it is just such a
shocking thing to see in this day and age. Definitely,
his right ear is covered in blood. He's got blood
across the front of his face as well. Interesting though,
as his security tried to drag him off this stage,

(01:31:40):
he seemed to protest for a moment and instead took
a second to pump his fists victoriously to the sky.
So this certainly is already being turned around as a
victory for Donald Trump, but no question, a shocking incident
and just absolutely terrifying, particularly for the thousands of supporters
who were there standing behind him, who all of course

(01:32:00):
were caught up in this as well.

Speaker 2 (01:32:01):
I was just going to say, are there reports of
anyone else being hurt? There were a lot of people behind.

Speaker 25 (01:32:07):
There were a lot of people behind him, also a
lot of people frant where it appears that this possible
gun fire has come from. But at this stage it
doesn't seem like anyone else has been injured. There was,
as you would imagine, a mad scramble and rush as
it happened to people panicking. So I believe there are
minor incidents of injuries and people falling, etc. But no

(01:32:27):
other reports have actually been struck by the gun fire,
if that's what it needs, which is actually quite incredible.

Speaker 26 (01:32:34):
What we've already heard, though, is this.

Speaker 25 (01:32:36):
Wave of support for Trump across the political aisle, even
from people from the Democrat side. Chuck Schumer was one
of the first to issue a statement saying that he
is horrified by what happened and that political violence has
no place in the country. We've also heard from House
Democrat leader had Ken Jeffries. He said his thoughts and
prayers are with former President Trump. It's interesting to really

(01:33:00):
think about the I mean, I've attended a lot of
these rallies personally, I wasn't at the one today. Just
isn't the security you would imagine for events like this.
As you said, there are thousands of people that often attend.
You know, you have supposedly one of the most important
people in the world there, and they barely even check bags.
So I'm obviously shocked and disappointed this has happened. But

(01:33:24):
at the same time, it's probably not hard to believe
it's happened when the political situation here is just so divisive.

Speaker 2 (01:33:32):
And that's what I was wondering carefu and what this
means for further rallies.

Speaker 25 (01:33:36):
I can't imagine that they're not going to have to
change their protocols after this.

Speaker 15 (01:33:40):
I have just been shocked that when I've.

Speaker 25 (01:33:42):
Turned up to rallies myself, and yes I'm a member
of the media, but people just stream through. Often you
have to give your phone number, and you might have
a ticket on your phone to show, but that bitch
that you know, there's really very little security there might be.
There's obviously a lot of police and things walking around,
but you're not opening bags like you would do at
a concert. You're not getting padded down or anything like that.

(01:34:03):
So I'm obviously shocked that this is happened, but in
some ways I'm not surprised it's happened. You know, we're
in this incredibly divisive time at the moment where there's
just so much angle on both sides or obviously awful
to see it and like.

Speaker 2 (01:34:19):
This, and Catherine just finally to confirm. We haven't confirmed
its gunshots, so I'm presuming there is no one in
custody at this present time.

Speaker 25 (01:34:28):
That's right, as far as we know, there's no one
in custody at the moment. I mean, it is all
such a quickly developing scene. We don't actually know if
it was gunfire at this point. Certainly something appears to
keep the president. He could have also injured himself when
he dropped.

Speaker 15 (01:34:41):
To the ground.

Speaker 25 (01:34:42):
There's very audible pops sounding out though, so something has
struck form of President Trump. He's clearly suffered some kind
of injury. The whole right year is definitely bloodied, as
you can see from the footage and from still images,
so something has struck in. Someone has clearly targeted him.
You know, clearly people think it's gun fire at this point.

Speaker 2 (01:35:04):
Catherine Firkin, thank you so much for the app very
much appreciated. It is twenty seven past eleven News Talks EDB.

Speaker 1 (01:35:13):
It's the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin on News.

Speaker 3 (01:35:17):
Talks EDB.

Speaker 2 (01:35:19):
And it is time for the Sunday Session panel and
joining me today I have got Irene Gardner, tape producer
and journalists. Good morning, Irene, good morning and partner at
freebayn and her lawyers, Liam here.

Speaker 8 (01:35:32):
How are Liam, I'm good morning, I'm reasonably well.

Speaker 2 (01:35:35):
Thank you for asking so earlier today at the beginning
of the show. I was just talking about how fascinating
and how fascinated I am by the election, the presidential
election coming up in November at the end of the year.
But it just keeps getting crazier and crazier. Irene. Of course,
this morning with the news that it was possibly an
assassination attempt on Trump.

Speaker 26 (01:35:56):
Today, you know, I always say that it might be
the other way around. I mean, you know, without funding
to hash on the day when the seven, you know,
Trump and his people. That are the people who introduced
this very tribal, very device and very angry style of politics.
And I always feared it go the other way, that

(01:36:17):
you know, maybe someone would try and hurt the Demo,
someone from the Democrat side. So yeah, it's kind of
weird that it's gone this way. Although it's all kind
of unfolding and we don't exactly know what's going on
at the moment.

Speaker 2 (01:36:30):
It's going to be a long few months till November.

Speaker 8 (01:36:34):
Liam. Yeah, I mean I kind of I'm a lot
so surprised that I sort of reject the for the narrative.
I mean, it wasn't so long ago. In a couple
of years, there was that shooting free at the when
the Republicans to the baseball team together and the Bernie Sanders,
the border opened up fire on them. So I thought,
the first time that's happened. It's probably just the most

(01:36:55):
spectacular times that it's happened. Look, I think you always
want to try to read politics into this and to
make a political statement and to qualify your you know,
your condemnation or your criticism of a murder attempt by saying, well,
I don't support Donald Trump, but still this is all good. Actually, no,

(01:37:15):
I'm sorry. Murdering someone is wrong. It doesn't it doesn't
matter through the person is like, I just have low
tolerance for anyone trying to architectualize this at all.

Speaker 2 (01:37:27):
If you don't like someone, let me just don't vote
for them. You don't need to pick up a gun. Yeah, no, absolutely, Hey, President,
let's let's talk about President Joe Biden's bid for re election.
I feel like this is the longest staring competition that
we've ever seen, and it looks like nobody wants to blink.
Biden is standing firm. What do you reckon I ring?

(01:37:49):
Do you think then, how do you see this playing out?
Do you think he will blink and stand down? Or
do you think that by they he'll still be there
by the time we get to the Democratic Party national
convention at the end of August.

Speaker 26 (01:38:00):
I think you probably will still be there. I think
this is one of those ones where the media and
the pundits read it very wrong. And yes, it's true
that Joe is old. Yes it's true that he doesn't
control his stutter as well as he one stirred and
isn't a great on his feet, and you know, makes
the odd mad gaff where he gets the wrong name

(01:38:21):
and he was terrible in the debate, but you know,
to be fair, he didn't have a terrible head called.
But that doesn't take away that his track record as
a president is actually really really good. History will record
him as one of the best presidents legislat For me,
I think they've had really gets things happening now. Whether
that's him or whether it's his team doesn't really matter.

Speaker 8 (01:38:40):
In the end.

Speaker 26 (01:38:41):
It's happening, and I think that's what the public see,
and they'll see jobs, and they'll see the economy. And
while the people who support Donald Trump really really really
love him, I don't think it's a beginnough group of
people anymore to actually get him in. So I think
the Democrats will get in. I mean, I think if

(01:39:02):
Joe Biden himself decides to step aside for his deputy
Big because he feels it's becoming a distraction stuff at
by the age, then there maybe. But actually I feel
like he'll probably just weather this expert and will just
all keep going. And it was interesting watching with the
crowd the other day, and there were young people in
the crowd and they seem very very supportive of other
So I don't know, do they Maybe they see him

(01:39:23):
as sort of a grandfatherly figure or something and they
like that.

Speaker 15 (01:39:26):
I don't know.

Speaker 26 (01:39:27):
I definitely feel the media and the planets are a
bit off on the swim. They always tend to underestimate Biden,
you know, when you won the election, when they have
a good mid terms, it was never predicted. So I
could be wrong, but my faith still with Joe.

Speaker 3 (01:39:41):
Liam.

Speaker 8 (01:39:43):
Yeah, I think it's really noticeable how the media and
the democratic study has really turned against them and the
punditocracy really furiously, and it's striking heart has been the
turn to get has been so strong. I think that
partly that comes down to it, I guess the thoughts
of betrayal. I mean, like you know, all who have
I s to see? All right, Joe Biden has been

(01:40:04):
in the declining stake for you for years and every
time it's been pointed out, it's been the sort of
accusation that it's a conspiracy theory or a cheap fake
or something, until it was tested in a forum where
you can't you can't maintain the fiction anymore. Right there,
The debate is ninety minutes where he has not set
up to it, and so all of a sudden you've

(01:40:26):
got the overreaction from the media. Right, so the media,
having its credibility really sorely tested, has now come down very.

Speaker 21 (01:40:34):
Very hard on him.

Speaker 8 (01:40:35):
I think the problem is if you want to have
Biden to stand down and relinquish denomination, is that there's
no easy way he for him to do it now
without it being a humiliation, right, Like it's not his
call anymore. He would be looking, he would look like
he was bowing to outside pressures, and so there's not
there's not an easy way for him.

Speaker 3 (01:40:54):
To do it.

Speaker 2 (01:40:55):
But it's not It's not actually about him, though, is it.

Speaker 8 (01:40:58):
It is about It is about him to volunteer to
voluntarily do it.

Speaker 7 (01:41:02):
Yes, right, forced them to do it.

Speaker 2 (01:41:04):
But he should be thinking broader than just how it
would look for him, because I think he can still
absolutely walk away with his reputation intact, as as Irene says,
he has a good record.

Speaker 8 (01:41:15):
I think I think it was harder, the more of
a humiliation.

Speaker 26 (01:41:22):
I think he also believes that he's got the best chance,
and he may be right in that, strangely, despite the
age things. And also I think the thing that factors
in and I guess people would common sense would have
thought about this, even though the media never seemed to
mention it. You know, if he only does the first
year and Kamala Harris steps up, I mean, you know
that is that is still going to be better than

(01:41:44):
the damage that our second Trump presidents he could potentially
cause to America and the world.

Speaker 8 (01:41:51):
So yeah, that's our opinion of outside Americans might be
differently in Kmala Harris is not not popular either.

Speaker 26 (01:41:59):
Some Americas said, some Americans stent differently, But I don't think.
My theory is that that guse isn't big enough anymore
to actually get Trump, and that it's you know, the
real hardcore love them beyond reason and always will. But
initially when he got in the systemer and there were
other people as well giving him the benefit of the doubt,
and I think those people have fallen away. And even

(01:42:20):
though the lover is intense and the media pick up
on that, I don't think it's big enough. I think
I think ultimately Democrats and you know, whether yet, whether
it's Joe or whether he's side to step, So I mean,
it's not actually that straightforward for him to step upside
you know, people are making it sound like it's just like, oh,
I don't do this, but.

Speaker 2 (01:42:37):
You know there's a lot of there's also there's a
lot of risk on both sides whichever way go. As
I said earlier, it's not an easy pros and cons list.
Love a pros and cons list. It all comes together then,
doesn't it. But this is not easy. Look on a
on a slightly skimpier note G string public G string
bikinis in public Irene. I don't know how often you
wipon a G string, but a mother made a call

(01:42:59):
to ban G string bikini has been paraded at a
popular public pool in New Plymouth and now tourists have
been told to leave there skim piece when we're at home.
I head of trips to the Pacific. Do you have
an issue with the G string in public?

Speaker 26 (01:43:12):
Well, my G thing years are definitely well behind me,
if they ever indeed existed. I don't especially like seeing
them in public. And I do think this thing about
stuffic Islands is valid because I think that's a kind
of a cultural respect thing. In terms of local pools.
It's tritual one because half of you kind of going no, well,
women where whatever you like you know, but then I

(01:43:34):
also do slightly bring some mom sort of saying you,
but I've got my boys there and it's kind of
almost like they're looking at naked women. And I don't
still break uptall with it. So what's the man's you, Liam?

Speaker 8 (01:43:46):
Well, I think it depends exactly like you said, me
wearing a g string, brow don't someone else doing a
g string in terms of how somes across. So look know,
I'm with you, I mean me, there's a question of
you know, of freedom the way what you want this is,
and fringing on the on the froes on the rights

(01:44:08):
for the people to be there. I just think it's
a matter for individual judgments and I think just the
individual communities make up their own problem.

Speaker 2 (01:44:17):
And in a few years time, Liam, your teenagers will
be reciting that directly back to you. Thank you both
so much. Liam, here and Irene Gardner the Sunday session
and coming up at midday is Jason Pine.

Speaker 3 (01:44:31):
How are you good?

Speaker 27 (01:44:32):
Thank you friend?

Speaker 6 (01:44:33):
How are you?

Speaker 2 (01:44:34):
Reichy? What a week in sport, I mean sports everywhere.
We've got Euro twenty twenty four and more. We've got
Wimbledon and Paris is only two weeks away. We have
got rugby galore. How good was last night?

Speaker 6 (01:44:43):
Oh?

Speaker 27 (01:44:44):
I loved it.

Speaker 6 (01:44:44):
I loved it.

Speaker 2 (01:44:45):
I love being there.

Speaker 27 (01:44:47):
I'm trying to work out whether I enjoy test rugby
more when it's close. It's stressful, right, watching a test
when you don't actually know for sure that the All
Blacks are going to win.

Speaker 2 (01:44:57):
But when they do win tight test matches, it's fun.

Speaker 6 (01:44:59):
Yeah.

Speaker 27 (01:44:59):
Sense of satisfaction is really there, isn't it? And you
can tell it the players obviously, and.

Speaker 2 (01:45:03):
Obviously obviously you know, we have to thank you for
your contribution because you were sidelined last night yelling at
poor Boden Barrett as he ran up this, you know,
ran up the field near you. So thank you very
much for all that encouragement. I'm sure he really appreciated
it too well.

Speaker 27 (01:45:18):
He did look over and yeah, as he was running
down that left hand wing, you know, just about to
pass it to Mark t Lair. Yea, I was just
go body.

Speaker 2 (01:45:24):
He already got the front of his life. Oh dad's here. Hey,
what have you got coming up on the show today?

Speaker 27 (01:45:31):
Boden Barrett's dad is on the show.

Speaker 2 (01:45:32):
Are I'm not joking?

Speaker 14 (01:45:35):
I'm not choking.

Speaker 27 (01:45:36):
Smiley Barrett Kevin Barrett, just a fan like the rest
of us, but the father of three All Blacks and
that team last night, including Boden and Scott and Geordie. Obviously,
he and Robin go everywhere to watch the team play.
He's on the show after one. Frank Bunce after midday,
I want to take a lot of calls on this.
After two, Dame Valerie Adams is in studio. Our road
to Paris continues and the euro Year. We'll get to

(01:45:57):
the UK before we knock it on the head and
preview England v. Spain as it coming home. Who knows,
Oh God.

Speaker 2 (01:46:02):
You're going to need a light down at three. I
will thank you much. Jason Pines. Jason's going to be
with you at mid date with Weekend Sport, it is
eighteen to twelve. Up next we're going to learn how
to take that perfect holiday photo.

Speaker 1 (01:46:14):
Sunday with Style, the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin and
Winkles for the best selection of great reads. US talk
zb Travel with Wendy wo Tours unique fully inclusive tours
around the world and.

Speaker 2 (01:46:29):
Joining me now to talk travel and photography is Meghan
Singleton bloger at large dot com.

Speaker 14 (01:46:34):
Good morning, Good morning, franchise. Well they go hand in hand, don't.

Speaker 3 (01:46:38):
They really do?

Speaker 2 (01:46:39):
And do you know what I often say to you, Hey,
what camera were you using when you took that photo?
Because and you'll look at me and go my phone, Francesca,
because your photos on the website. Anyone who looks at
your website, Well, no, you take great photos. So talk
us through how to take some fabulous landscape photos.

Speaker 14 (01:46:54):
Yeah, well you can use your phone, so you don't
need a fancy camera. That's the great news. And it's
something that I learned years ago. It's all about just
getting your eye in, taking your time and and setting
up your shot. So I've done different photography tours and
courses and things like that. But what I just put
together or updated this post was for ten easy ps

(01:47:15):
tips for how to take a great photo. So one
of the cool things I like to do is look
for lines, lines that draw the eye to the object.
So that might be a pedestrian crossing, it might be
the ropes that are tying a ship to the dock
instead of you, you know, your typical I'm standing in
front of a cruise ship photo. So that's all a
bit of fun. Another thing I've loved doing, and I've

(01:47:38):
really only learned this tip in this last year, is reflections.
Taking photos in reflections. Now, normally, at first glance, people
would take a photo at a height of you know,
a cathedral or whatever it might be. But actually I'd
had a few occasions just this year when it had
been raining terribly, once in New Orleans and once over

(01:48:00):
Christmas when we were in Prague. And I've learned about
reflections and puddles. So you have to actually really walk
over to the puddle, because you won't just see it
doesn't just automatically look like an iconic reflection picture, you know,
and peeer it down into the puddle, and you know,
maybe turn around a little bit and suddenly you'll see
the spire of the cathedral or the full reflection of

(01:48:22):
that mural that you're standing in front of. And so
I crouch down, I turn my camera upside down so
that the lens is as close to the ground as
possible without getting it wet, and then I just click, click,
click away with my thumb. And so I've got an
old Lady fashion ring on the back of my phone.
Apparently it's old fashioned if you ask the nieces. But anyway,

(01:48:44):
what I can do is I can hook my phone
over my finger so that when it is upside down,
I can take these photos without dropping it.

Speaker 15 (01:48:53):
So I'm just loving that.

Speaker 14 (01:48:54):
So I've just put a whole lot more pictures up
on a post with all these tips. You can just
go out and practice it today if you want, just
taking a few of these ideas and having a bit
of a go.

Speaker 2 (01:49:05):
And move as well, get up close and crop them afterwards.

Speaker 14 (01:49:09):
Yes, cropping is key. Crop a lot to declutter now
sometimes you and also don't zoom in necessarily take the
photo first. It's wide and everything. When you crop it,
you're going to keep the definition. So it doesn't matter
if let's say I was taking pictures of our side
of the All blacks Hacker, it doesn't matter that I've
got all the rest of the stadium in because I
can crop that real tight and close without losing definition.

Speaker 2 (01:49:32):
So actually, that's not even a tip I put in there.
I'm going to go and write, Okay, there we go.
I love it, Thank you so much, Megan. So that
blog is at blogger at large dot com. If you
just want to brush up on taking your holiday photos.
It is twelve to twelve.

Speaker 3 (01:49:47):
Books with Wiggles for the best selection of great reads.

Speaker 2 (01:49:53):
Joan mackenzie joins me now to talk books. Good morning, Hello,
So what have you got for us today? First book
is a novel. It's a bit of a mystery called
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore.

Speaker 6 (01:50:04):
Now.

Speaker 19 (01:50:05):
A few years ago I read book she wrote called
Long Bright River, which I was immediately struck by. She
is a terrific writer and this is a completely different
kind of theme and environment, but she it's good. She's
just a great writer. So it's the story of a
wealthy family called the Van Lars and in the Adirondacks
in America. They have not only a large wealthy estate

(01:50:28):
on which they live, but the section of it is
a summer camp where kids come to stay over the summer,
and they have camp leaders and they do things, and
you know, it's where kids often go, as I understand it,
in American summertime. And the daughter of the estate, Barbara
Van Lah, is a young teenager and she's very excited
because she's going to go and move into the summer

(01:50:50):
camp and spend her summer there away from her mother.
Who really doesn't take that much interest in her because
some years ago her brother, who was I think he
was eighty years old at the time, disappeared and was
never seen again. Now she was born after that disappearance,
but off she goes to the summer camp as a
teenager and lo and behold, she also goes missing. So

(01:51:13):
the question is how on earth can one family lose
two children, And there's a concerted effort to try and
find her. There's a guy who's wandering around in the
vicinity who is known as a convicted serial killer, and
he was present at both the time her brother went
missing and she goes missing, and a lot of people

(01:51:33):
think that because he's in the area, it must be him.
But it slowly unwinds itself and tells this story about
a family in crisis. Ever since the boy went missing,
the dad's become a workaholic, he's hardly of a home.
The mother's become an alcoholic. She takes very little interest
in this daughter, Barbara, who then goes missing. And as
all the authorities come and work with them to try

(01:51:56):
and uncover exactly what's happened, they get the answers to
the question they've been waiting for for so long.

Speaker 2 (01:52:01):
Oh gosh, it sounds good. Okay, ask Not the Kennedys
and the women they destroy. A lot has been written
about the Kennedy's, but I'm not sure has anybody ever
taken this angle.

Speaker 19 (01:52:11):
No, not that I'm aware of. It's by Maureen Callahan,
who's a respected journalist in the States, and ask Not,
of course, comes from the ask not what you can
do for your country line that JFK became famous for.
So the premise of this book is that right from
the time of Joseph Kennedy, who was the patriarch from
whom the future generations have flowed, their treatment of women

(01:52:35):
has been simply appalling. And there's been this myth of
the Golden Age of Camelot, and the Kennedy men have
all been seen as great American people. But actually you
read this book and you just despair Joseph Kennedy. For starters,
his daughter Rosemary became something of a troubled teenager, so
he sent her off to a mental institution where he

(01:52:56):
organized a lobotomy for her. Then, of course he had JFK.
Well reading this book, I don't know how JFK ever
had time to govern because there was so much stuff
going on with the interns and with his staff that
reading it honestly, I know that he was considered to
be an amazing president for America, but or there was

(01:53:18):
a lot of other stuff that was happening. Then there's
people like Ted Kennedy who married Joan, who was an alcoholic.
Tried to get off the drink. They just kept giving
her booze so that she couldn't get off the wagon.
He drove Mary Joe Kopeckney into the river at Chapets
through which, if you recall, he got out of the car.
They say that she would have lived for at least

(01:53:39):
an hour after he disappeared. He didn't alert the police
for ten years. But it all became about poor Ted
in the difficult situation in which he found himself while
her family got no airtime at all. There was Robert
who's now running for president. He married Mary, He gas
lit her, He did dreadful things. She got to the
point where she had to go to other mothers on

(01:54:00):
the school run and say, please, can you give me
ten or twenty dollars because I've got nothing. She eventually
hanged herself. He tried to get her therapist to say
that she was mentally unwell. The therapist said, no, no, no,
she's just unhappy. John Juke goes on and on, John Jenny,
Carolyn Bessett, the plane crash for which he was entirely responsible.
Just extraordinary stuff. It is salacious, it is gossipy. It

(01:54:23):
has evidential information that makes you know and believe that
this stuff is true. And I loved it.

Speaker 2 (01:54:29):
Thank you so much. Joan the God of the Woods
by Liz Moore was the first book, and Ask Not
The Kennedy's and the Women They Destroyed by Maureen Callahan
was a second book. Took next week to see you then.

Speaker 3 (01:54:39):
Keep it simple.

Speaker 1 (01:54:40):
It's Sunday, the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudgat and Wiggles
for the best selection of the great brings news.

Speaker 8 (01:54:47):
Talk zed Be.

Speaker 2 (01:54:48):
Thank you so much for joining me on the show today.
Very much appreciated it and your feedback. Thank you very
much to Carrie and for Libby for producing today. Don't
forget Piny is up at midday with weekend Sport and
man Alive. It has been such a busy weekend, huge
amount of sports, so he's got great show lined up
for you.

Speaker 12 (01:55:08):
Join me.

Speaker 2 (01:55:08):
Next week on the show, David Wallams is joining me
to talk about his tour and how he ended up
in a Venice jail cell as you do as a
children's writer. And we're also going to talk to Lucia
Osborne Crowley. She's written a book, an explosive behind the
scenes account of the criminal trial of Galets Maxwell as well,

(01:55:29):
so it's a fascinating story there. Otherwise, enjoy the rest
of your Sunday afternoon. I'm going to leave you with
a little bit of Katie Perry new music from her
Women's World Talk Soon.

Speaker 12 (01:55:47):
It's a world.

Speaker 1 (01:56:01):
For more from the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudgin. Listen
live to News Talks from nine am Sunday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.

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