We are immensely enjoying our stay in the lovely town of Richmond, Yorkshire - and purely by chance the Queen just happened to drop in.

As things stand, those hoping for a new national flag could be out of luck. Support for change has plummeted in the last year. The latest Herald-Digipoll shows just one in four people, or 25 per cent, would like to see a change.

What happens on tour stays on tour? Not in my case. These past two weeks on the West Coast of the United States have been an eye opener and what I've seen and learnt must be shared.

It's fascinating that a time we've been so focused on the notion of national identity many of us seem obsessed with the Royal Family, writes Kim Gillespie.

Paul Hickey is on holiday this week from my radio show on The Hits Rotorua. "Aloha" from the sunny sands of Waikiki Beach in Hawaii.

Yesterday we reported on Rotorua dad Hamuera Hodge's battle to see all psychoactive substances banned from Rotorua due to negative side effects. So why aren't they banned?