This weekend in 1990 I was heading home from Auckland to Christchurch with a new mountain bike.
It was my second, a Scott Boulder, fully rigid, though still a big step up from my first one, a mid-eighties, Healing ten-speed. That was a heavy beast with beefy tubing. The Scott was much lighter and looked it in pearl white with lime green. I wish I'd kept it like most of the bikes I've owned. Even that Healing…
I'd been in Auckland to work on the Commonwealth Games and the overtime had paid for the Scott. It'd been 10 long days as one of the host broadcaster's field directors.
I was working at TVNZ in Christchurch at the time honing my skills directing What Now, live to air, every second Saturday morning since 1986. It is, without doubt, one of my favourite gigs over 35 years in the media with a brilliant team, from talented presenters to experienced and innovative crews.
The budget wasn't huge which meant our props and wardrobe crews really had to be smart with the available resources. We once did a skit based on the old black and white Flash Gordon movies. The skyscaper was black card with pin holes and a powerful studio light behind it to represent stars.