Saturday Morning With Jack Tame

Kevin Milne's worried about the damage done with 'Crate Day' every year - a day when young people get together to drink an entire crate of beer to mark the beginning of sumer. LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’ll take the vaccine. I’ll do it live on telly or live on the radio, if you like. I don’t care if I’m first or last in line. If the health authorities here deem it safe, I will gladly be vaccinated against Covid-19 at the first available opportunity.And you know what? I think most Kiwis will, too.I get it – there is a sense of anxiety in some quarters and in some countries about the safety of the vaccine. Not just with the usual anti-vaxxing crowds, either, but people who are all good with MMR but feel a little nervous about just how quickly the Covid-19 vaccines have been developed. Even Dr. Anthony Fauci managed to contribute to some of the anxieties around the vaccine by undermining the British health regulators who have approved it for distribution.But I feel comfortable. I feel confident. I trust that the incredibly speedy process of development and approval for the Pfizer vaccine in the UK is a product of the unprecedented urgent global demand, rather than shortcuts in the process. I might not be quite

Neem Oil Neem oil has become a popular insecticide and fungicide that is used by many gardeners. It is natural, organic, and relatively safe. It can be used to control or kill a wide range of pests, and it’s available on the NZ market.  There are a few different types of Neem Oil and - surprise surprise! – they have different modes of activity and control different organisms in different ways.  Neem comes from the neem tree (Azadirachta indica), (India, Sri Lanka, Burma, etc). The tree produces nuts which are ground and cold-pressed to extract their oil. The active ingredient in neem that harms insects is called azadirachtin and the cold press process ensures that it does not degrade. Further processing removes the azadirachtin from the rest of the oil. The remaining oil is called “clarified hydrophobic neem oil”.  How does Neem Oil work when sprayed on a plant? Well it may disappoint you, but when the leaves are coated, insects are not killed by the deposit, but it makes the leaves taste bad, so the damage i

Relationship expert Steven Dromgool has some tips on managing pre-Christmas stress. LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Music reviewer Estelle Clifford has been listening to Sam Smith's new album, LoveGoes. LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Catherine Raynes has been reading Stephen Fry's new book Troy, and David Baldacci's Daylight. LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Yardley has been on some adventures in Te Anau. FOR TRAVEL TIPS - LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're getting some very positive news around new vaccines for COVID, but the question everyone's asking is when will we get our hands on it? Bryan Betty is Saturday morning's resident GP, as well as Medical Director for the College of GPs and he’s also on the Covid-19 advisory committee. He's been talking to Jack Tame. LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apple's self-designed processor is blazing fast This really is the next chapter of Apple's computers. The iPhone and iPad have been made possible thanks to Apple's self-made chips, and now they're coming to their computer lineup.  It's impressing the tech community. The new chip delivers better processing performance than a fully tricked out $6,000 MacBook Pro using an old chip. It also runs cooler and uses less battery. The challenge is that all the software that currently runs on Macs but won't work natively on this new laptop until its been redeveloped, so it may pay to be a second or third adopter, rather than a first. It also means that iOS and Mac apps will be able to run cross-platform which will make app development more efficient. Elon Musk’s wealth continues to grow The SpaceX and Tesla founder has now surpassed Bill Gates, the former Microsoft founder, to be the second richest person on the planet. He’s worth $128 billion - increasing $100 billion this year alone. That’s largely thanks to Tesla’s $

Screentime Queen Tara Ward has some good tele for your weekend:Taranaki Hard: a new documentary series. In the heat of the beautiful Taranaki summer, a diverse group of characters all hope 2020 will be their year. Growing up in Waitara comes with as many blessings as there are challenges, and although the young people who live here may be on their own paths, they all share the same spirit of 'going hard' no matter what curveballs may come their way. (Three, Tuesday nights).  Industry: A group of young graduates compete for permanent positions at a top investment bank in London, but the boundaries between colleague, friend, lover, and enemy soon blur as they immerse themselves in their new world (Neon, from 2 December). Dash & Lily: A whirlwind Christmas romance builds as cynical Dash and optimistic Lily trade dares, dreams and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations around New York City (Netflix) LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you like a sweet treat like Jack, or got into a bit of baking over lockdown, you might have heard of Kiwi baking legend Bernadette Gee.  She was a teenage mother with no formal training. But thanks to a huge online presence and plenty of determination she’s now a caking-making entrepreneur.  Bets is the owner of café, cake business, and north auckland destination Magnolia Kitchen. She’s already produced one record-breaking cookbook, and her new book Magnolia Kitchen Design is out now.  WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Francesca Rudkin has been watching Six60 documentary Till The Lights Go Out and Liam Neeson's new movie Made In Italy. LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Homecoming Ginger Crunch  Here’s a treat for Jack as he’s out of MIQ! Ginger sesame crunch  Makes 16-20 squares 135g butter, softened ½ cup sugar  2 tbsps brown sugar  1 ½ cups plain flour  1 tsp baking powder 4 tbsps sesame seeds 1 tsp ground ginger  Icing  75g butter  1 tbsps golden sugar  1 cup icing sugar, sifted   5 tsps ground ginger Heat oven to 190 C. Line a swiss roll tin with baking paper.  To make the base, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add dry ingredients and mix to a stiff dough. Press dough into prepared tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Make icing by melting butter and golden syrup together. Stir in icing sugar and ground ginger and stir to combine.  Pour icing over hot slice and encourage it to spread evenly.  Slice when cool and eat!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The dress code for men in the parliamentary chamber is being reconsidered. The current rules say that men should dress in a businesslike way. But what is "businesslike" in 2020?Kevin Milne has been discussing with Jack Tame. LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One person from my plane tested positive for Covid-19. We knew pretty soon thereafter. The day three test results came back and everyone in our MIQ facility got a phone call telling them to stay in their rooms until further notice. No walks in the car park. No trips to the nurse. The poor soul who tested positive was picked up and taken to JetPark in Auckland. The staff called us a couple of hours later and said we were good to resume our normal schedule. I can’t say how typical my experience of MIQ was. People in different facilities in different cities have different experiences.I was at The Distinction hotel in Hamilton, and my experience throughout the two weeks was that the system in that facility was extremely well-organised. Despite the fact everyone when I was there was from the same flight… the hotel divided us into different groups, just as it does when people from different flights have to be separated. Every day, our dinner bag had a little piece of paper with the next day’s schedule. It would tel

Stella Rose Bennett, better known as Benee, was once again the darling of this year’s Aotearoa Music Awards. She once again won all four categories she was nominated in, including the Single of the Year Tui for her song Superlonely.   Estelle Clifford's been listening to her new album "Hey u x" which features collaborations with Lily Allen and Grimes.  LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Book reviewer Catherine Raynes has been reading No Time Like the Future by Michael J Fox and A Promised Land by Barack Obama.LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vinegar  To make wine, the sugar has to be converted to alcohol in a process known as fermentation. After the sealed bottle has been opened, there’s a second kind of fermentation that happens. During this process, the alcohol is turned into acetic acid, the main compound in vinegar.  Acetic acid isn’t the only compound in vinegar, but it’s the one that makes vinegar acidic. In fact, with a pH of 2.4, distilled white vinegar is a pretty strong acid, more acidic than coffee or orange juice, but still less acidic than your stomach juices or, say, the liquid inside batteries (luckily).  Vinegar’s acidity is what makes it such a good cleaner. Because vinegar is so acidic, it can counteract some icky buildups. It can dissolve away soap scum, brines left by hard water, and glue left behind by stickers.  Vinegar is great for giving windows and mirrors (use a combination of vinegar and water and wipe with a newspaper instead of a paper towel to avoid streaks), no-wax floors, and wood paneling or cabinets an extra-clea

Mike Yardley's been celebrating The Best of the Buller region on this week's show. LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Let’s plant some Beans  A typical summer crop from the vegetable garden, it's always good to get ultra-fresh beans on the menu. They can be grown right around the country, although in cooler areas the growing season may be somewhat reduced.  Beans originate from Central and South America. I remember seeing them grown on tepee-like wooden structures in the Amazon jungle by the local tribes, in open patches where the dwellings received some sunlight. That suggested that the original varieties produced their beans in dappled sunlight. Our modern varieties require almost full sun to be prolific.  “French Beans” are my favourites. They require nice, well-drained soils with some fertility added. I often mulch the plants to stop competition from weeds. There are many different varieties, see Kings Seeds catalogue and pick the one that you like.Sow them about 12 cm apart in rows, and sow the seeds 3 cm deep in that friable soil. Sow them in their spot, they don’t really like transplanting a lot. Keep watering when we