The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley. This is I think her 5th novel – she writes really intriguing books about people being caught in a time and place and what can go wrong. A few years ago, I loved The Hunting Party which was quite Agatha Christie-esque, set in a hunting lodge in Scotland during a huge snowfall when no one could arrive or leave, where a group of long-time friends are spending New Year. When one of the guests is murdered, they know that the perpetrator must be one of their own … it was fun. This new one is set in an apartment in Paris, not that you’d have guessed that from the title. Jess is an English woman who’s a bit down on her luck and asks her half-brother Ben if she can come and stay at his place – which turns out to be a much nicer apartment than she’d imagined he could afford, and strangely when she gets there, Ben’s missing and doesn’t come home. The neighbours are odd, some less than friendly, and as more time passes his absence becomes more and more mysterious – and suspicious. 
Letters to You by Jazz Thornton. Subtitled Words of Support and Inspiration for Difficult Times. Jazz was of course the 2021 Young New Zealander of the Year. The book is based on something that helped her on her own journey towards mental health. A good friend wrote her a set of letters each in a separate labelled envelope. Every letter was specifically designed to help fight a particular feeling or situation, and Jazz read them all many times. So, following this model, in this book, each chapter is in the form of a letter, and they cover a range of emotions and situations, including the following, and much more: Also includes practical tips from a practising psychologist, a list of places to get help, and a toolbox of handy skills to use when in distress.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley. This is I think her 5th novel – she writes really intriguing books about people being caught in a time and place and what can go wrong. A few years ago, I loved The Hunting Party which was quite Agatha Christie-esque, set in a hunting lodge in Scotland during a huge snowfall when no one could arrive or leave, where a group of long-time friends are spending New Year. When one of the guests is murdered, they know that the perpetrator must be one of their own … it was fun. This new one is set in an apartment in Paris, not that you’d have guessed that from the title. Jess is an English woman who’s a bit down on her luck and asks her half-brother Ben if she can come and stay at his place – which turns out to be a much nicer apartment than she’d imagined he could afford, and strangely when she gets there, Ben’s missing and doesn’t come home. The neighbours are odd, some less than friendly, and as more time passes his absence becomes more and more mysterious – and suspicious. 
Letters to You by Jazz Thornton. Subtitled Words of Support and Inspiration for Difficult Times. Jazz was of course the 2021 Young New Zealander of the Year. The book is based on something that helped her on her own journey towards mental health. A good friend wrote her a set of letters each in a separate labelled envelope. Every letter was specifically designed to help fight a particular feeling or situation, and Jazz read them all many times. So, following this model, in this book, each chapter is in the form of a letter, and they cover a range of emotions and situations, including the following, and much more: Also includes practical tips from a practising psychologist, a list of places to get help, and a toolbox of handy skills to use when in distress.

Let’s talk about staying in Abel Tasman National Park. 
I was initially set to take my tour to Awaroa Lodge, which I’d heard great things about. But a few days before we left, they had to unexpectedly close for the rest of the season as they had staff down with Covid. 
So, we were very lucky and managed to get into Wilson’s Abel Tasman, which owns two lodges and runs multi-day tours which – usually – includes walks, kayaking and boating. 
However, my group were after a little more of a relaxed stay and we had the most sublime experience. 
Take a boat from Kaiteriteri to Meadowbank Lodge in Awaroa. Some people hike all the next day to Torrent Bay Lodge, or you could do a couple of hours and the boat will pick you up on the way past. We chose to boat between lodges! 
You’d want to book it for a week – and the reality is, while they offer a program, they’re open to anything at the moment! 
Blogger at Large.com, Megan Singleton joined Francesca Rudkin. 
LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Let’s talk about staying in Abel Tasman National Park. 
I was initially set to take my tour to Awaroa Lodge, which I’d heard great things about. But a few days before we left, they had to unexpectedly close for the rest of the season as they had staff down with Covid. 
So, we were very lucky and managed to get into Wilson’s Abel Tasman, which owns two lodges and runs multi-day tours which – usually – includes walks, kayaking and boating. 
However, my group were after a little more of a relaxed stay and we had the most sublime experience. 
Take a boat from Kaiteriteri to Meadowbank Lodge in Awaroa. Some people hike all the next day to Torrent Bay Lodge, or you could do a couple of hours and the boat will pick you up on the way past. We chose to boat between lodges! 
You’d want to book it for a week – and the reality is, while they offer a program, they’re open to anything at the moment! 
Blogger at Large.com, Megan Singleton joined Francesca Rudkin. 
LISTEN ABOVE

The latest poll results; what is the way forward for Labour? Can Ardern’s popularity bounce back?   
The cost-of-living crisis; How has this impacted you? How concerned should we be? Will we start using cars less? 
NZ Herald senior writer, Simon Wilson and Lawyer, Liam Hehir joined Francesca Rudkin on the Panel. 
LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The latest poll results; what is the way forward for Labour? Can Ardern’s popularity bounce back?   
The cost-of-living crisis; How has this impacted you? How concerned should we be? Will we start using cars less? 
NZ Herald senior writer, Simon Wilson and Lawyer, Liam Hehir joined Francesca Rudkin on the Panel. 
LISTEN ABOVE

The story of Team Zimbabwe is one of the most uplifting and unlikely stories. 
It’s the journey of four refugees forced to flee their home country, not only do they make a new life for themselves in their adopted home of South Africa but they join forces to become top wine judges and Zimbabwe’s first-ever wine tasting team. 

(Photo / Supplied)
The documentary is called Blind Ambition. Joseph Dhafana is one of those featured. He is now a winemaker, sommelier and wine judge. 
Joseph joined Francesca Rudkin. 
LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The story of Team Zimbabwe is one of the most uplifting and unlikely stories. 
It’s the journey of four refugees forced to flee their home country, not only do they make a new life for themselves in their adopted home of South Africa but they join forces to become top wine judges and Zimbabwe’s first-ever wine tasting team. 

(Photo / Supplied)
The documentary is called Blind Ambition. Joseph Dhafana is one of those featured. He is now a winemaker, sommelier and wine judge. 
Joseph joined Francesca Rudkin. 
LISTEN ABOVE

Post-viral fatigue refers to lingering feelings of extreme tiredness after a viral illness.  
The British Medical Journal defines ‘long Covid’ as “illness in people who have either recovered from Covid-19 but are still reporting lasting effects of the infection or have had the usual symptoms for far longer than would be expected”. 
Erin O’Hara joined Francesca Rudkin on how to manage symptoms of post-viral fatigue and the expected recovery timeline. 
Erin is the co-founder, director, naturopath and yoga teacher at Golden Yogi. She holds a bachelor of science (physiology) and a bachelor of natural medicine. 
LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Post-viral fatigue refers to lingering feelings of extreme tiredness after a viral illness.  
The British Medical Journal defines ‘long Covid’ as “illness in people who have either recovered from Covid-19 but are still reporting lasting effects of the infection or have had the usual symptoms for far longer than would be expected”. 
Erin O’Hara joined Francesca Rudkin on how to manage symptoms of post-viral fatigue and the expected recovery timeline. 
Erin is the co-founder, director, naturopath and yoga teacher at Golden Yogi. She holds a bachelor of science (physiology) and a bachelor of natural medicine. 
LISTEN ABOVE