Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

Apple's launched a brand new product: AirTag  If you lose things, or want some added peace of mind, then Apple's AirTag is for you.  It's a small tracking device you can attach to your things so if they get lost you can locate them. You can use the FindMy app to make it play a sound, or you can use your phone to direct you to the Tag. The Tag sends out a beacon via bluetooth and an arrow appears o...

Tara Ward's got some TV picks for your weekend. Mare of Easttown: Kate Winslet stars in this gritty drama about a detective from Pennsylvania who tries her best to prevent her life from falling apart while investigating a mysterious murder (Neon). Creamerie: A darkly funny dystopian New Zealand series set eight years after a plague has killed all men, and where three women who run a dairy farm acc...

Comedian Chris Parker spent 2020 getting famous in the most 2020 way possible: making vidoes about life in lockdown and posting them to instagram.   Specifically he learned to felt, made characters like Ashley Bloomfield, and pulled them together into a hat .. while tens of thousands of people watched along online.   The hat was later sold to the Auckland museum. But it wasn’t all felting and Covi...

GORGEOUS GREEK SWEET CHEESE PIES   This recipe is inspired by the Greek tradition of using soft, fresh cheeses in sweet pastries – in fact it was the way I started every morning when I travelled in Crete, along with a puddle of very strong coffee. Bliss. These are perfect for brunch, dessert or for party nibbles.   Makes 6 small pastries   3 sheets filo pastry  100g feta  50g cream cheese  3 Tb ca...

Movie reviewer Francesca Rudkin has been watching Eddie Izzard's war thriller Six Minutes to Midnight and Netflix movie Stowaway. LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kevin Milne's been watching coverage of Prince Philip's funeral, and he's unimpressed at the attempts to lip read Princes Harry and William's reunion. LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was the 81st minute. A dewy-looking night in the ‘Tron and the Chiefs were behind by one point. They had posession at about halfway. The Hurricanes defended desperately. Penalty Chiefs. One last play. One last kick. 45 metres. A game of Super Rugby to be decided by Damien McKenzie’s boot. If you were watching last night or listening to Nige... you’ll know what happened next. McKenzie did his tr...

Music reviewer Estelle Clifford has been listen to The Offspring’s first album in over a decade: Let the Bad times Roll. LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Getting rid of E-waste  Oh, we love our phone and laptops, our toasters, blenders, vacuums, hairdryers, smoke detectors and everything that plugs in. We couldn’t live life without them! They unfortunately aren’t necessarily made to last a long time, and at the end of their lives they are all e-waste - you can’t put any of these in your recycling and shouldn’t put them in your normal rubbish. This...

Book reviewer Catherine Raynes has been reading The Crocodile Hunter by Gerald Seymour and Sunflower Sisters by Martha Hall Kelly. LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Travel writer Mike Yardley has been playing tourist in Auckland. LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lawns and their problems  Autumn time is a great time to work on “lawns”. This is the best time to “sow” a new lawn, after totally spraying the old grasses and weeds, leaving nothing but a bare soil. Of course you can also get yourself a series of rolled-up turf mats (ready-lawn) or, as I noticed some school principals prefer, create an “all weather” playing field from artificial grass. Spare me! ...

Bob Campbell has a Sav recommendation for the weekend, the Stoneleigh 2020 Latitude Sauvignon Blanc $19.99.LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Microsoft's Edge browser is rolling out a kids edition  If you share your laptop or desktop with a younger family member, now you can force the browser into a kids mode so they can only visit approved sites. The Windows version locks the browser so it's the only thing the kid can access. It comes with an 'allowed' list of 70 popular kids sites which you can modify. If they try to visit a site not...

The Nevers: HBO’s new sci-fi fantasy series is an epic tale following a gang of Victorian women who find themselves with unusual abilities, relentless enemies, and a mission that might change the world (Neon).  Earth Moods: a new documentary/travel/nature series from National Geographic that promises a visual and soundscape experience. Five unique episodes capture a vast array of colorful and calm...

Covid has done nothing to slow comic Eddie Izzard down.   She - yes she does sometimes go by she - has just finished 31 remote marathons and performing 31 remote stand up gigs in 31 days for charity.   She's also co-written and produced a new war thriller, Six Minutes to Midnight, based on the true story of German schoolgirls living in Eddie’s hometown on the south-coast of England.   Eddie has be...

Quince and space cakeQuince fruit are a wonderful autumn gift. Making quince paste or jelly is one use for them but poaching them to use in this cake is another and it’s simply gorgeous!    2-3  medium-sized quince  ½ cup caster sugar  3 cups water   Cake batter  6 big tbsps golden syrup or maple syrup  125g butter  ½ cup brown sugar  1 ½ cups + 1 tbsp self-raising flour  1 tsp cinnamon   ½ each g...

Movie reviewer Francesca Rudkin has been watching biographical film The United States v Billie Holiday, and Thunder Force. LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kevin Milne has been putting his hand into the dog poo bin in at the dog park. He's been on the phone to Jack Tame, to explain why. LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwis should be angry about the lack of checks on border testingThis weekend marks a milestone of sorts. Australia, we’re coming at'cha! I’m excited to visit my family over there. My brother and I are really close and it’s been almost 18 months since I saw my grandma. She’s 94 as of last weekend. She’s vaccinated. From the way she’s been talking, she’s in a fearsome vein of gin-rummy form that I’m...

Our music reviewer Estelle Clifford has been listening to the new album by Demi Lovato. LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Catherine Raynes has been reading The Last Reunion by Kayte Nunn and A Million Things by Emily Spurr. LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our traveller Mike Yardley's pretty excited about the prospect of some international travel, with this week's announcement of a travel bubble with Australia. But in the meantime, he's been checking out some bites and brews in New Plymouth. LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guava Moth  It’s an Aussie moth which arrived in NZ 1997 – probably through wind-dispersal. In Australia its main host is a lillipilly – a member of the Myrtle Family, like Manuka, Pohutukawa/Rata as well as guava and feijoa. It’s not a big deal in Australia (kept in check by predators and parasites) but in NZ feijoa as well as citrus, nashi, macadamia, guavas (and plum, peach, loquats) are the ma...

Resident Doctor Bryan Betty has been giving Jack Tame some tips on how to deal with High Blood Pressure. LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.