SPECIAL GUESTS: 

Javier Pena and Steve Murphy
Undercover US DEA agents responsible for capture of druglord Pablo Escobar

Capturing Pablo: An evening with Javier Pena & Steve Murphy

Q Theatre, Auckland - Saturday July 15 and Sunday July 16th, 7:30pm

Tickets now on sale for complete tour and ticket information, visit: www.livenation.co.nz            

Francesca Rudkin: Movies

Beauty and the Beast starring Emma Watson, Luke Evans, Dan Stevens

Francesca’s verdict: 4 out of 5!

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11826988

CHiPS – based on the 70s tv show!  Starring Michael Pena and Dax Shepard

Francesca’s verdict: 2 out of 5

NICI WICKES: Food

Tis the season for Quince.  You can find audio and tips on our page and for more inspiration visit  http://www.niciwickes.com/  or her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/#!/niciwickes

LYNDA HALLINAN: Gardening

Yesterday on our bus ride here from Jaipur we went from city to country, across the cropping plains of Uttar Pradesh. It looks a look like Canterbury in summer, aside from the fact that it was 38 degrees outside, the cattle has camel-sized bumps and the fields were full of wheat but there wasn't a tractor to be seen. 

Agriculture still accounts for 50 per cent of the jobs in India, and it's still very much like what we learned about in high school social studies lessons, with small family farms (1 acre) growing two or three crops per year - wheat, followed by mustard, for instance. Crop rotation and succession planting is essential as you can't afford to get your whole year's income wiped out by the monsoon, for instance. 

Lessons for our gardens at home? 

Waste not, want not. Everything is recycled. The cow dung, particularly, is used as both fertiliser for the fields and fuel for cooking fires. I was quite taken by the sight of all these enormous poo piles along the roadside (I've attached some photos). Quite arty they are. Something to try at home instead of just stringing bags of cow, chook or sheep manure in barrels of water to make liquid fertiliser! 

Buy fresh from local farmers: the fruit and vegetable markets are amazing, with almost everything locally grown in the regions it is sold. It's quite wonderful to see all the traders, and realise how many small businesses still exist here, unlike the big chains at home.

Also, if you're going to be a cow, far better to be one in India than on one of Fonterra's farms. Because cows are sacred, they don't get eaten - so there are old cows wandering the streets, eating rubbish, entering the shops and moseying across the roads at their leisure. It's hilarious. 

BOB CAMPBELL: Wine

Wine of the Week:

My wine of the week is Cloudy Bay 2016 Sauvignon Blanc. It’s not cheap at around $34 (best price I could find is $32.99 at Caro’s in Auckland) but it has contributed, more than any other Sauvignon Blanc label, toward putting NZ on the world wine map. It’s also very, very good. We should all drink a glass of Cloudy Bay on International Sauvignon Blanc day – Friday May 6th!

Visit Bob's website with over  22,000 wine reviews!  http://bobcampbell.nz/

MIKE YARDLEY: Travel

Australia's most talked about Museum - Hobart's Mona.

For more tips on exploring the provocative works of Mona, check out Mike's article on the website - www.newstalkzb.co.nz/lifestyle

CATHERINE RAYNES: Books

He Said/ She Said by Erin Kelly, Hachette $35

My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella, Bantam Press $37

ANDREW DICKENS: Music

Zara Larsson 'So Good' - Andrew's verdict: 7/10.

Zara's got a great voice that cuts through all the production but that’s the problem.  The production is derivative and copies other people’s sound.  There are copies of Rihanna in there and some relatively anodyne r n b and the album finishes with some dull ballads.  But when the voice takes off the songs take off.  It would be good if she could find a producer with a singular sound to match her singular voice.