Local body election campaigning is in full swing and one mayoral candidate is getting creative about reaching voters. Invercargill mayoral hopeful Marcus Lush is opening his Bluff home up on Sunday, inviting local voters to come over for a chat. Lush, who is one of ten mayoral contenders including incumbent Sir Tim Shadbolt, spoke to Karyn about the novel campaign tactic.

Thousands of mourners continue the slow shuffle towards Westminster Hall to pay their respects to the Queen. Even overnight rain didn't put the crowds off. The queue stretches more than four kilometres along the River Thames - there's even a handy tracker for people to find the start of the line and estimate the waiting time. Karyn spoke to RNZ's Corin Dann who joined the crowds.

This week: a look at the continuing coverage of the Queen's death as her funeral approaches, the emotional documentary about a journalist's te reo journey, reactions to the plan for more Māori content across our media, and a sketchy opinion poll that caused controversy in the capital.

A Facebook page which has become a Wellington institution is up for sale. Vic Deals is the biggest online local community in New Zealand - pushing 200,000 members. Owner Grant Burley talks to Karyn about how it's morphed from an online trading forum for uni students to a go-to site for missing cats, phones and cars, recommendations and daily slices of life in the capital.

Large queues of mourners have formed outside Westminster Hall in London, where Queen Elizabeth will lie in state for the next four days. On her casket is expected to be a funeral wreath with her favourite flower lily of the valley. Karyn speaks to Paul Thomas who has been a florist to the Queen and royal family for more than 20 years. She also plays a poem written in tribute to the Queen from the UK's Poet Laureate Simon Armitage.

When local harakeke weavers noticed how the Kapiti Coast District Council parks staff and contractors were chopping back flax bushes they decided to step in and share some of the tikanga principles around the harvesting of what's regarded as a taonga. Brenda Tuuta - iwi representative in the Kapiti community joins Karyn to explain.

Do you have any old piece of royal memorabilia tucked away in an old chest or a box somewhere in the garage - or maybe you've got a few items proudly on display? Tarin Brettell owns Auckland antique store Antique Alley and speaks to Karyn about the surge in demand for royal collectibles.

For most people news of an additional holiday is cause for celebration but in South Canterbury it's causing more than a few headaches. The region's anniversary holiday clashes with the date set for Queen Elizabeth Memorial Day - Monday September 26th. Timaru mayor Nigel Bowen speaks to Karyn and tells her changing things around isn't as easy as it might seem.

Pete Ross joins Lately with the latest from the BBC World newsroom

Dr Robert Pouwhare played a pivotal role in getting the Māori language petition to parliament 50 years ago.