The Muster- Michelle Watt: Country Crossover

Michelle Watt looks at the A&P show season which is about to hit full stride.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
It has time for the country crossover. Michelle Watts, executive
producer of the Country, joins us out of Dunedin. Good afternoon, Michelle, afternoon.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
And it feels like it's been a long time since
we've had a chat on the show. I don't know why.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Well, I've had a couple of fridays off. You spoke
to Chuckle Wilson a couple of weeks ago, and yeah,
just taking up a bit of lever, I suppose over
the past couple of weeks as you do.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
Yeah, and Jamie took my spot last week, didn't he
He did?

Speaker 1 (00:35):
Of course he's up to the AMP Show, the Agricultural
and Pastoral Show, the Royal Show, if you will. That
honor was given upon the Cannerby Show this year.

Speaker 2 (00:45):
It was reinstated after more than ten years. I think
as that, which is fantastic. Of course, yesterday's weather not
to flash up there. It was pretty rainy. I blame that.
I was listening to an article about the races and
stuff and I said, it never rains, It never rains
on race d rains on the Trot's Day and that's
exactly what it did. So I think they kind of
jinxed it a little bit maybe saying that it never

(01:07):
rains on race day, but hopefully it's nicer up there today.
It does look like it's going to be, so if
you're heading along to the show, hopefully you're enjoying the day.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
And of course the launch of Ma Kaiser twenty twenty five.

Speaker 2 (01:18):
Yes, which I have not tasted a drop off yet
because I am of course not in christ which I've
been down in Dunedin for the last two days, so
I haven't even got to try it yet. Eddie.

Speaker 1 (01:27):
We talk about this so the season of the AMP Show,
and it's a massive thing as part of the Southern calendar.
It's all kicking off in the next week or so
down here in the Deep South. But it's something that everybody,
especially if you're older than thirty, you can understand what
the AMP Show was like.

Speaker 2 (01:43):
Oh I don't know about you, Andy, but back when
I was younger, the South of Tigo Amp Show was
our local show in Balclusa and it was a big event.
You would go along, you'd get dressed up, you'd enjoy
the events, go and watch everything. There was pet competitions,
there was sand sous competitions. I think cooking competitions, there
was all sorts of stuff going on, and it was

(02:05):
just a really great day out and kind of a
nice precursor to Christmas. It always sort of signified that
Christmas sort of time, I think going to the show
and yeah, just really time to enjoy it. Although COVID
kind of killed it a little bit for a lot
of areas around New Zealand, I think with the AMP shows,
but they're slowly coming back. And it's when a city
comes to the country, country comes to town. Country gets

(02:27):
to show the city and the townfolk exactly what they do,
what their animals arel like, what goes on, and it's
just a fantastic day.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
And you had the esteemed honor of being what were
you mis Friendship South of Tago? What year was that?

Speaker 2 (02:40):
Oh, I knew you were going to ask me that.
I think it might have been two thousand and one
or two thousand and two. I think it was two
thousand and two actually, because I was one of the
youngest show queens there and I think they still do
show Queen. It's a great event. You learn a lot,
you get to put it on your CV. I think
it's still on my CV that I was voted miss Friendship.
I don't know if that means anything. Maybe we should
start wearing the sashes to work. Andy.

Speaker 1 (03:01):
So what happened for the afternoon. Did you sit on
the back of a land cruiser and a couple of
little idiot breck bales and just cruise around waving or
what did you do?

Speaker 2 (03:09):
I can't actually remember. I know they put ustuff on
a big truck and we had to do speeches and
then they announced who was the winner, and then I think, yeah,
maybe we would have been in the Grand Parade. Of
parading around the Grand parade' always a good watch, isn't it,
going around the animals, the horses. Some horses don't cope
with it too well, it's always reasonably entertaining.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
And you won the sheep riding competition as well. That's fantastic,
well done.

Speaker 2 (03:32):
Oh yeah that was back and I was very young
when that happened. But I don't think they do things
like that now.

Speaker 1 (03:38):
I think they still do. Absolutely me. What's wrong of
riding on the back of a sheep? I mean radios
are still legal.

Speaker 2 (03:44):
Yeah, it was an interesting event, but I rode. I
used to ride horses as well, and I had a
lot of very tough, unrideable horses growing up Andy, and
I think that probably popped me in good stead.

Speaker 1 (03:57):
What you're saying is you made your appearents slug around
the province with a horse float on their weekends.

Speaker 2 (04:02):
I did, indeed, Yes, I absolutely did, and I didn't
do very well because my horses were, let's just say,
not very obedient.

Speaker 1 (04:09):
Jacob Duffy as well, let's talk about a T twenty
crack at the Black Cats doing the business against the
West Indies, who are arguably underdone coming into this series,
although they did do pretty well in a few of
those games. But Jacob Duffy is a story that just
seems to keep on resonating with a lot of people.
And the great thing is he's from Lumston.

Speaker 2 (04:27):
Originally and he's had a great series so far, hasn't he.
I mean, yesterday's game indeed absolutely fantastic. Obviously, West Indies,
I think maybe they struggle with a cold a bit.
It was very cold down here, although I did hear
there was an amazing six hit by one of the
West Indies that we're way way over the top of
the building, which if you've ever been to university over
it does feel like it's quite a small boundary. It's

(04:48):
not really, but you don't see that many balls hit
way over the building that often, even in T twenty
down there. So that was pretty exciting stuff. Apparently I'm
sad that I missed it, but live I'd had to
watch here at work on my computer. But you know,
that is what.

Speaker 1 (05:03):
It is, not that you're bitter and twister about it.
But then you go to Eden Park and the slips
slip Cordon's pretty much two thirds of the way back
to the boundary. Eden Park is a stadium not designed
for international cricket.

Speaker 2 (05:16):
No, and I do have a bit of a I
guess it's like a bucket list of cricket grounds that
I do want to visit to Andy and some of
them obviously the Bay Oval, definitely want to go there.
I want to go to the one in New Plymouth
as well, and now since Saxon Oval looks absolutely amazing
as well, So I'd love to get out to some
of those crect grounds and of course Hagley Park. You
can't beat.

Speaker 1 (05:34):
Hagley Park or the Base in Reserve.

Speaker 2 (05:37):
Yeah. Absolutely, Yeah, I've got to get to them all,
don't I. Maybe I should make that my mission this summer.

Speaker 1 (05:41):
You could go to sky Stadium and dress up as
a yellow seat like everybody else. You think, well, no
one goes there for the game, zoon And the true
heart of cricket and Wellington is the base in Reserve
because I actually went to a Test match there a
few years ago and it was a hell of an occasion.
What was it there for three days? It was great fun.
So what's up for the weekend? Do you biking out

(06:02):
to Couprau or Queenstown or something as you're prone to
do for a bit of a jolt.

Speaker 2 (06:08):
I do have a big bike ride plan because I'm
training for a challenge wonicer at the moment, so doing
a fair bit of exercise around the place. But we'll
see what the weather does. Because the weather has not
been great, has it, Andy? I hear it's been reasonably
cold and not that great down south? What's the grass
growth looking like.

Speaker 1 (06:21):
Down grass growth isn't too bad. So all temagrees are
all double digits now and it's just a matter of
having a few hot days. The feed is coming on.
It's just been slower obviously due to three weeks ago.
So it's a correction in the growing season, but generally
covers seem to be improving as you'd expect to suppose.

Speaker 2 (06:39):
And speaking of this time of year, I know that
a lot of farmers, and relating back to exercise and
getting off farm, a lot of farmers are out there
in tracts twelve hours a day, you know, especially when
the sun shining, making bailage and milkings. Full on at
the moment, people are doing you know, ai mating, all
that sort of stuff, and it's pretty full on time
on the farm at the moment. Just remember if you
can get time to step off and do something for yourself,

(07:01):
just take a breather. If you like riding bikes, if
you like going for a walk, make sure you do
those kind of things. But it's good to give yourself
that little sort of mental break.

Speaker 1 (07:08):
One hundred percent. It's all about looking after the top
three inches. Michelle What, always appreciate your time. We'll chat again.
Thanks Andy, Michelle What and the Country Crossover next Andrew
Waterson