Holiday Breakfast

More than a year after seeing his dad, a seven-year-old is about to get a Christmas miracle today.
Trapped in France as Covid arrived, Dmitry Pelevin promised his son in New Zealand he would be home for Christmas.
He told Tim Dower after a solo sailing voyage of more than 7,000 nautical miles the two will be reunited in Auckland this afternoon.
"I started to sail in June, and so I spent two and a half months in the sea alone." 
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Housing outside of Auckland is what shows there's an issue with the market.
Amidst already high prices, the Real Estate Institute's annual review of the housing market shows Kiwis spent $12 billion more on domestic property this year than last.
OneRoof property commentator Ashley Church told Tim Dower there's a trend where Auckland's market stays flat for three years - which it somewhat did up to this year.
He says it then grows for seven.
"The rest of the country's about three years behind Auckland, so the rest of the country, as you've probably observed, has been pretty strong for the last six or seven years.
'You would have expected that to flatten off for 2019 or 2020 and gone flat for a while - it hasn't."
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New Zealanders are turning their unspent travel funds into Christmas shopping cash.
The rush of spending activity is expected to peak today -- after a stellar week of sales.
Chief Executive of Retail NZ Greg Harford says spending is up three to five percent, on average.
He says New Zealanders aren't travelling overseas and with housing prices up and borrowing rates low, customers have extra cash to spend.
"Right across the board, we're seeing that Kiwis are not travelling overseas, interest rates are low, housing prices are up, so people are feeling a bit wealthier."
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Gridlock at an English port kept thousands of truckers and travelers stranded Wednesday despite a deal with France to lift a two-day blockade imposed because of a new variant of the coronavirus that had isolated Britain and raised fears of food shortages.
While some goods and passengers began arriving on French shores in the morning, many still struggled to get through. With officials warning that the backlog would take days to clear, frustrated truckers scuffled with police at the port of Dover. Some have suggested the chaos was a precursor to what Britain may face if it doesn't come to a trade agreement with the European Union  before it leaves the bloc's economic embrace on Dec. 31.
"Looking around, it doesn't really seem that there's a lot of progress being made here," said Ben Richtzenhaim, a financial services worker who drove overnight from Scotland in hopes of getting home to Germany by car. "People are still not moving out of the way, and the authorities are not doing something either. So it's a real deadlock."
Nations around the world began barring people from Britain over the weekend after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that scientists said a new version of the virus whipping around London and England's southeast may be more contagious. The announcement added to anxieties at a time when Europe has been walloped by soaring new virus infections and deaths.
On Wednesday, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that another new variant — from South Africa — has turned up in Britain, and announced restrictions on travel from the African country.
Some European countries relaxed their travel limits on Britain on Wednesday, though many remain in place. Still, it was France's ban on freight that caused the most alarm and led to a feeling of intense isolation on the island nation, since the U.K. relies heavily on its cross-Channel commercial links to the continent for food at this time of year, especially fresh fruit and vegetables.
Fears of food shortages added to an already glum runup to Christmas  in Britain, where authorities have scaled back or canceled plans to relax restrictions for the holiday as daily virus infections soar and many hospitals are nearing capacity.
Britain reported another 744 deaths and a record 39,237 confirmed cases Wednesday, and the health secretary said that millions more people in England would come under the country's most severe restrictions from Dec. 26. The rules, which close all nonessential shops and ban households from mixing indoors, already cover London and surrounding areas.
Under a deal to lift France's ban, anyone arriving from Britain is required to have a virus test capable of detecting the new variant, and soldiers and contact-tracers were sent to the Dover port to administer the tests. But drivers said traffic chaos in the area was delaying that.
Rail operator Eurotunnel said some trains carrying freight and car passengers were allowed to cross to the continent beneath the English Channel on Wednesday. The director of France's Calais-Boulogne port, Jean-Marc Puissesseau, said two cargo vans had so far arrived by ferry, while some truckers simply loaded their goods directly onto ferries so a colleague could pick it up on the French side.
He said no freight trucks have made the journey yet because of testing troubles, and he didn't expect any until night time. The Calais port normally brings in up to 4,000 trucks a day.
British Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said it would take "a few days" to test all the drivers who are currently in the county of Kent.
By late afternoon Wednesday, more than 6,000 trucks were estimated to be trying to get across the Channel, with more than half — around 3,750 — scrunched up at Kent's disused Manston Airport awaiting their cue to leave. Testing facilities were in place at the airport.
The chaos came as many Britons were already bracing for travel and...

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New Zealand star Nick Ferretti has soared to fame overnight.
In Germany, he's just taken out their version of their "Got Talent", das Supertalent, in front of almost 3 million viewers.
Nick joined Tim Dower following his win. Hear more of his music here
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We're in Auckland for our Hidden Spot this morning.
And we head to the rolling country in the east of the city, where you will find Ayrlies Garden.
Head Gardener Ben Conway joins Tim Dower to talk about the attraction, and why it’s worth paying a visit.
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It's been a solid year of touring for Christchurch band The Butlers, all things considered.
Covid halted a tour in the U.S, but they've made the most of being back home by supporting the local music scene back here.
They opened for L.A.B, and they'll be playing at Rhythm and Vines this year.
The Butlers joined Tim Dower to talk about their music, along with a live performance!
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Community Law is calling on Government agencies to ensure emergency housing meets basic standards.
It says Government agencies need to ensure emergency housing providers meet basic standards, with some places reportedly unsafe or people evicted without good reason.
Chief executive Sue Moroney told Tim Dower the Social Development Ministry's advised the average stay has risen to 14 weeks.
She thinks that alone highlights the current housing issue in New Zealand.
“The Ministry has a duty of care to the clients - and also towards taxpayers, to ensure they're getting value for money.”
Moroney says sometimes people are evicted without good reason.
She says at this time of year, they particularly see motel owners kicking people out in favour of holidaymakers.
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The White House is considering requiring travellers from the United Kingdom to present proof of a negative coronavirus test before arriving in the United States, two administration officials tell CNN.
The discussions come amid the discovery of a new variant of coronavirus discovered in the UK and as a slew of countries have suspended travel. US public health officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, have said they do not believe the situation currently warrants suspending travel from the UK.
Officials discussed the possible requirement during a coronavirus task force meeting on Monday and officials are expected to present this option to President Donald Trump by Tuesday, the officials said.
Three airlines have already agreed to enforce a similar arrangement with New York for flights arriving in that state.
The requirement under discussion at the White House would require passengers travelling from the UK to the US to present proof of a negative coronavirus test administered within 48 or 72 hours of arrival in the US.
Devin O'Malley, a spokesman for Vice President Mike Pence, who heads the coronavirus task force, declined to comment on task force discussions.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday held an emergency meeting with ministers after fears about the new coronavirus variant prompted a chaotic border shutdown and saw British travelers shut out from dozens of countries in Europe and around the world.
Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and Delta Air Lines have agreed to test all passengers for Covid-19 before entering New York state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Monday evening.
Text by Jeremy Diamond, CNN

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Some clarity is expected today about how Christmas will look in New South Wales.
The state's tackling a new Covid-19 cluster, prompting other Australian states to shut their borders to anyone travelling from the Northern Beaches or Greater Sydney.
Australia correspondent Murray Olds told Tim Dower Premier Gladys Berejiklian held an emergency Cabinet meeting yesterday.
He says we'll learn more later today.
"At this stage, all the balls are in the air, but where they land we just don’t know at this point."
Queensland Police say 57 vehicles containing 115 people from Sydney have tried to illegally cross the border into the Sunshine State since it was locked down again after the Northern Beaches outbreak.
Police say one Sydney woman lied about her previous whereabouts as she tried to cross the border numerous times.
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