Black Sheep

It's podcast binging season.

Black Sheep is a programme for history buffs. Written and presented by Radio New Zealand's William Ray, each episode delves into the history of an infamous kiwi.

The accents, both natural and imitated, are an acquired taste but the stories are gripping and I found myself racing through both series in true binge-listening fashion. Who knew New Zealand had so many murderers, outlaws and unsavoury characters dotted throughout our history? Were their stories covered up or simply forgotten over time?

I think the episode that stood out most for me was the very first one. Broken Blossom tells the story of Alice Parkinson, a supposed woman scorned who took drastic actions and paid a hefty price for them. I wonder how different things might be if she were alive today? Maybe she would have been diagnosed with postnatal depression. Hopefully she would have received some support.

Black Sheep is back again soon with a new series, so there's plenty of time to catch up with the first two series if you haven't already.

#nzconfession

Every so often, a hashtag pops up on Twitter and goes crazy. (I won't say goes viral. I'd be happy to never hear that phrase again.) I found myself nodding a new one at lunch time today: #nzconfession. I just had to join in!

I am a proud kiwi, but there are some things that kiwi culture and I just don't agree on. It's not necessarily cultural cringe. I like pavlova (and I can make a pretty darn good one myself). I like kiwifruit, Vegemite (not Marmite) and Anzac biscuits. But there are some things that would make people gasp at my lack of kiwiness.

Thinking about it this afternoon and evening, I came up with some things to add to my #nzconfession list. I'm going to be brave and admit them here. I'm hoping to discover that I'm not alone in some of them.

• I don't like L&P.
• I don't like BBQs.
• I don't like cricket and I have gone off rugby and rugby league in recent years. I'm not a netball fan, either.
• I think most kiwiana is crass and embarrassing, especially the 'traditional' plastic fantastic hei-tiki.
• I have zero interest in The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings. Zip. Zilch. Nada.
• I sometimes find the New Zillund accent embarrassing, especially when listening to eye-witness accounts on the news.
• I don't find Rhys Darby even remotely amusing. He is irritating to the point that I will deliberately boycott anything he tries to promote. Ditto many other self-proclaimed 'famous' 'comedians'.

What's on your #nzconfession list?

Welcome to New Zillund

I saw this image on Blog on the Tracks today and had to steal it for myself. Priceless!

Zoom in closer and take a better look. For anyone who knows what the New Zealand accent sounds like, you'll know what I mean. Although I love New Zealand, I'm one of those cultural cringers; I find it embarrassing to listen to Prime Minister John Key speak, especially during overseas interviews.

While we laugh about fush n chups and other words on this list, I can assure you they are not made up. Apparently Wendy was one of the names my parents were throwing around when I was born. Dad liked it, Mum wasn't fussed, but my Italian grandmother had the final say: "Windy? How can you call a baby Windy?" Whew!

I remember learning about New Zealand English at school. Back then, rising intonations, diphthongs and a broad accent were just things we had to know about to pass exams but, sadly, they are very real. Just step outside the country for a moment or two and you'll notice it immediately. *shudder*

As a teacher, I have made audio recordings for my students for years, particularly for those living overseas. I'm conscious that I speak quite quickly and make a concerted effort to talk s l o w l y when recording or speaking publicly. I emailed off an audio file to a kiwi family living in China, feeling proud of my efforts. The next day, I received an email back from the children's mother. She and the kids were thrilled with my recording and said it reminded them how much they missed hearing the kiwi accent. I was mortified! Needless to say, I now record at my usual talking pace lest my attempts to slow down and enunciate carefully be misinterpreted.

What do you think of the kiwi accent?

Anzac biscuits

ANZAC Day is fast approaching. 25 April is the day that New Zealand and Australia commemorates those who died in the service of their country and to honour returned servicemen and women. 25 April is the anniversary of the landing of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps at Gallipoli in 1915. On the first anniversary of that landing services were held throughout the country in remembrance of the 2,721 New Zealand soldiers who died during the eight-month Gallipoli Campaign. Since 1916 ANZAC Day has evolved to the observance we know today.

Anzac biscuits

The baking of Anzac biscuits has evolved as one of the traditions associated with Anzac Day. One of the food items that women in New Zealand and Australia sent to soldiers during the First World War was a hard, long-keeping biscuit that could survive the journey by sea, and still remain edible. These were known as Soldiers' Biscuits, but after the Gallipoli landings in 1915, they became known as Anzac biscuits. Soldiers themselves may have made a similar form of biscuit from ingredients they had on hand: water, sugar, rolled oats and flour.

The traditional Anzac biscuit is hard and flat - ideal for dunking in tea and then eating. During the First World War, some soldiers used broken biscuits to make a form of porridge to add some variety to their diet.

To make my Anzac biscuits for this week's baking day, I used a traditional recipe. It is simple and great for kids to make - I've tried it with a few of my classes of 8-10 year olds.

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup plain flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup dessicated coconut
• 125 g butter
• 1 tablespoon golden syrup
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons boiling water

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Grease a biscuit tray.
3. Mix oats, flour, sugar and coconut together.
4. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the syrup and butter together. Mix the baking soda and the boiling water and add to the melted butter and syrup.
5. Add butter mixture to the dry ingredients. Roll the mixture into small balls (about a dessertspoon in size) and place on greased biscuit tray, flattening slightly.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Makes approximately 30 biscuits.
   

My kiwi music favourites

While I was searching YouTube for a version of Gutter Black by Hello Sailor for yesterday's post, I came across some other kiwi songs. I got to thinking about which New Zealand songs made it to the top of my 'favourite' playlist on my iPod. Here's a selection, and a trip down the New Zealand music charts of yesteryear.

Tears - Jenny Morris
I love the bass, piano, and endless key changes in this 1990 remake of Jenny's band's original version (by The Crocodiles, from Wellington).



Victoria - The Exponents
Takes forever to build up and simply prolongs the perfection.



Sitting Inside My Head - Supergroove
Saw them live last year on their reunion tour. Whooooaaahhhhhh - HOT!

Honorable Supergroove mentions:
Can't Get Enough
You Gotta Know

I Hope I Never - Split Enz
Brilliant songwriting and piano playing here.



Don't Dream It's Over - Crowded House
Quite simply, a perfect song. Was really disappointed when they screwed around with the organ solo during their concert last year.



Slipping Away - Max Merritt and the Meteors
Some great old-time stuff. I remember this being on a compilation tape(!) my dad made years ago.



The Bridge - Deane Waretini
This is one for pure nostalgia. My grandparents wanted it played at their 60th wedding anniversary, and we hunted high and low for a copy of the song. Sooooo glad we did, as it now reminds all the grandchildren (18 of us) of that special occasion in the years since they both died.



You Oughta Be In Love - Dave Dobbyn
My favourite solo Dave Dobbyn offering.



Magic What She Do - DD Smash
Even though DD Smash wasn't Dave Dobbyn's best-known band, for me this is one of the ultimate 'feel good' songs.



Sensitive To A Smile - Herbs
Ohhh ... for some reason, every musician I've ever played with loves this one, yet doesn't want to tackle playing it with their own bands. Beautiful. A shame it was butchered for a series of TV ads.



So what do you think? Any of your favourites here? Or songs you haven't heard before?

Six degrees of separation

Apparently there are six degrees of separation in the world. That means that, in theory, anyone on the planet can be connected to any other person on the planet through a chain of acquaintances that has no more than five intermediaries. There is a Facebook application dedicated to it although, to be honest, I've never really figured out how it works.

Microsoft studied more than 30 billion electronic conversations among 180 million people and found that on average 6.6 "hops" were needed to link two apparently unconnected people. A commentator said that people in New Zealand were often said to have only two degrees of separation. Well, it's frequently said that Wellington is a village, and everyone knows everyone here (practically). Again, I'm not entirely sure how that's possible but it seems to be true.

A couple of years ago, friends held a six degrees of separation party. They were worried that their guests, who came from very different interest/work groups would not find anything in common at their party and stick to themselves, so they engineered a little experiment to get people to mix and match. I ended up meeting up with a former neighbour, who now lived in their neighbourhood, and a couple of others who knew my father through musical circles. I think they worked out that everyone at their party were separated by four degrees.

But here's my two degrees of separation ... this morning, New Zealand woke to the news that Jemaine Clement, Wellington's own celebrity from Flight of the Conchords fame, has married his long-time girlfriend, Miranda Manasiadis. Miranda and I used to go to school (primary and secondary) together. We'd sit together on the bus into town each morning and, through sleep-encrusted eyes, talk about trivial teenage stuff. I remember when she first started acting (we were Iris and Ceres, mythical gods in the school production of The Tempest, wearing the most ridiculous costumes you've ever seen). I was really pleased to see that she pursued a career in theatre, and now she has bagged one of Wellington's most eligible bachelors.

The Whale Rider - Witi Ihimaera

I read The Whale Rider (1987), by Witi Ihimaera, the other week. Most people would be more familiar with the Whale Rider (2002), for which Keisha Castle-Hughes was nomiated for a best actress Oscar, but the novel is also quite charming.

I was lucky enough to win tickets for a friend and I to see the premier of the Whale Rider movie when it was first released. Witi Ihimaera introduced the story and told us a bit about how he first came to write the novel for his two young daughters, Jessica and Olivia, while they were living in New York in the 1980s and a long way from home. Then, in 2004, friends and I saw the premier of the stage show in Auckland's newly refurbished Civic Theatre.

The differences between the stage show and the movie were immediately obvious, and it's difficult to not make comparisons. In both productions, the lead character of Koro was played by the same actor, Rawiri Paratene. However, the stage show portrayed a more mystical mood and made the whales and ocean an integral part of the story. Upon reading the novel, I see these are the flashbacks to ancient times which characterised novel and forged the links between past and present. Also, the novel was narrated by Uncle Rawiri, but he was a less central character in the movie and stage productions.

Regardless of the interpretation, Whale Rider is a delightful fantasy story and I am glad I finally found a copy of the novel to read. It helped me to fill in the 'gaps' between the three different versions of the tale that I have now experienced.