You're listening to the Marcus lush Night's podcast from News Talks.
That'd be.
This is Wednesday, and welcome here till twelve. I hope things are good, and if they're not good, I hope they're better by the time midnight rolls around. I hope we can do some good tonight. I don't know what they're good is. Maybe who knows? Oh eight hundred and eighty toighty is the number? Are nine to nine two text. There's a couple of things probably we should talk about tonight. Got three or four things, but this will change throughout
the course of the evening. There's other stuff that bounces up. Will bring that to your attention to We might even discuss it. We have quite a broad brief.
Do we.
Yes, we'll talk about anything basically, So if you want to be a part of it, get in touch. As I say, oh, eight hundred eighty thirty and nine two nine two to text. You'd have heard the news the news during the news also that Psmith and Cohe has
Smith and Coey's has closed. Now for those that don't know Smith and coy'serhaps it's a bit like Ballantine's or a bit like Caircaldi's or a bit like I don't know what that the need and equivalent would have been, there would have been one, but you're or a bit like an invert cargol. They had h and Jays and that's God left a gaping hole. H and Jays also to the whole blocks just did with nothing going on.
But anyway, so now it's turned for Smith and Curries were already about a year ago talked about their demise because it was going to go, but they decided to have another go with it. What was interesting I was an Auckland a bit over Christmas. Everyone was going to Smith and Curry's. They are the people that people go
to for Father Christmas photos. Yes as kind of naph as that sounds, it is the go to people book ahead and it's like this right of passage for people seems to be a rite of passage, mainly for people that have moved to Auckland from elsewhere. I don't want to sound jelish, but that seems to be what it is. I'm not quite sure why that is. They think that's something that you need to do in Auckland is but anyway, and they booked out. You couldn't get in, was booked
out for weeks and weeks in advance. So I don't quite know who now picks up that mental because who else would do that. I can't imagine what the answer that would be. And they be father Christmases that will be out of work, I suppose to, but who knows anyway. So if you want to talk quickly about Smith and Coey's, I've been there recently, recently in December. I think I had to buy something, and I had to buy a shirt for a child whose birthday was on the nineteenth
of December. It was a sure he looked at for five minutes and decided it wasn't for him, gave it to his brother, who was quite happy with it. But yes, it was in one of those desperate shopping things that was the last place to go to, and even then it seemed slightly well, it seems slightly abandoned. However, also I took myself and sat myself in the cafe there and that was quite pleasant for a length of times. The people will miss that too, anyway, if you do
want to. It's been there forever, but obviously to retail has gone. Department stores have gone. Queen Street's gone, and people blame it on COVID and the renovations, but it will be all manner of things and the fact they didn't pivot to online retail quick enough, and also too when it comes to big departments at stores. You might like to say too, perhaps with some of them that perhaps some of their brands, the choice of brands was perhaps in some cases too luxury and in other cases
not luxury enough. So yeah, if you want to comment on that quickly. The My name is Marcus Welcome, eight hundred and eighty ten eighty. I don't know what will happen with the building. It feels like it's about six stories. It's quite a big building, takes up a whole block of be a significant building. I can't imagine what would go in there. I can't imagine who is the rising stars of commercial real estate that they would put in there.
What's everyone clamoring to do? I know what it will be, probably bubble Tea put in the world's biggest bubble tea place that seems to not be falling out of favor with anyone, does it?
Oh?
Yes, so we had those yogurt places, you go those ice cream places you do, all the different topics they came and went. But bubble Tea, well it seems to work better in smaller shops. Bubble Tea you would want five floors a bit don't even know what the bubbles are. We tried the family once in Dneed and it was a disaster. The people we were with you, I've never known anyone who has so much trouble struggle with But I mean I loved it, but the kids were sort
of non play. There was a bit too sophisticated for them out from Bluff and the big city of Dunedin experimenting with the bubble Tea thing. Anyway, I think they thought it was going to be more excited than next you was, which is probably very much what I've always thought about bubble Tea. Anyway, who although I kind of thought I was there at the beginning of bubble Tea, when was at about two thousand. Anyway, do get in touch. My name as Marcus Welcome eight hundred and eighty ten
eighty nine two nine two to text. Winston's been a bit precious a with the guy. I don't know what he does it Tonkin and Taylor, I certainly hope he keeps his job. Otherwise I'd been feeling differently about Tonkin and Taylor. I could imagine going to work one day on a train and seeing Winston Peters there grandstanding and PEPs thinking I need to say something, and that's a that's a healthy kind of thing to want to do.
And we all have bad days sometimes think oh, well, you know, and someone cops what we have to say. I presume that dominated talk back today. Everywhere I've heard, there's been online polls what should you do? Should be able to say anything?
Like?
At work?
I mean I was sure, well, you know, should you be able to do that? I'm probably in a slightly different position because if I went out there and sort of started abusing someone, probably I would expect there'd be consequences because I am someone that works in that public realm. If you work at Tonkin and Taylor should be able say what you like when you're off the clock. That would be my take on that one also tonight. But look, no doubt that's been every time I've turned they ready
to I've heard people talking about that. So no doubt that dominated the discussion today. So there's that also too today, since I have to throw things through a few things at you to get your grabbing. Tonight, the guy from Chairs has died. Now, probably most of you. The first thing we thought was well, I didn't know he was still alive. It didn't look like he was going to hang around for if. I believe he spent some time in New Zealand filming a movie, and I think that
would be the late nineties. I remember working at a restaurant when he was a frequent visitor. I don't know what the movie he was filming was, but it was certainly filmed in New Zealand. He was here for some months. I will do some research. I remember what it was. But also the other thing I can tell you about George Went who was from Cheers, and there's a very funny song about that. And it's not often we can get a song about Norm from Cheers, but yes, we
might ever played that later tonight. I've just remembered the lyrics to that. Someone remind me what the song is called. Anyway, I'm putting the show together on the fly. I'm quite enjoying this. So Norm from Cheers, but the three I about Norm from Cheers? What was the song? Someone remembered? I can't. I can't even google it up. I'm not looking at the song from Cheers. I'm looking at the song that contains the Norm from Cheers lyrics. What's it
called Dan? Who's it by? Yeah, that's right, that's right. It's the welcome Matt from Cheers. What's the song called? Play me? Anyway? So the thing about Norm from Cheers is, once upon a time at christ Jewich Airport they had a bar called the Cheers Bar, and this was like thirty years ago, and in that bar they had animatronics people sitting at the bar, and one of them was Norm from Cheers, and one of them was one of the other guys from Cheers. I think it was the
poster and they talked to you when you drank. Now, how sad that a bar We've got to go and sit next to robots that will talk to you. But then they got sued by the Cheers people and they had to change them into just nondescript people at the bar. So that is the situation with the Cheers Bar, some of them. It was a big deal in christ Church at the time. We thought it was the future, but not as much of the future as AI. But it was pretty exciting at the time. Can you see me
as lyrics down? I couldn't find them. Was it called they'll play me the welcome matt uh? Is that what the song is called? It might be the one I'm exactly thinking of it. You seen those lyrics through and I'll tell people if that's the one I'm thinking of or not. Anyway, full board men will get going with the people. There's people there would like some more. Actually, factually, oh eight hundred and eighty sady and nine to nine two to text. Oh beautiful. I'll start drinking hot water
quite good. I don't know why I've switched, but it'll make sense sometime. So three things they are already free speech, Winston Peters, Smith and Cowe's and norm from Cheers you hit send? Oh you have found the lyrics yet? Now I've found them either just a song okay, dB Marcus welcome.
Where everybody knows your name? Anyway, Smith and Curry's. As a young child, and I'm talking six, maybe five, maybe seven, I Smiff and Curry's fascinated me because they had the lambsome tube system of doing the money.
Now is that the one that's that's not the one on cables. That's the one that's hydraulics.
No, this one's pneumatic.
Okay.
So you.
Would hand over your money with a receipt to the I don't know what they would call them. Anyway, they would put it into a little capsule where they'd go into a tube. Zum gone. Yeah, at about two maybe three, zook, come back with your change, your receipts for paying, and you could leave the shops. Fascinated me.
I wonder, I wonder why I phased that out. What was the point of all of that.
Well, the first the point of it was that way the.
I'd really like a.
Better word from the attendant. But the person telling you the goods didn't handle the money. It was taken to a central position and they had cashiers there that did the money transaction. There was no money in the shop. It was in a secure location to use an americanism, and that was that was quite common in the fifties and sixties. And I'm talking sixty five sixty six, So in that era that wasn't unusual because there were no point of sale pills, you know, a till was considered
a little bit yeah, not the high class. And also these people shopping at Stiff and Courage. They would have themselves a credit token that they could put in with what they're purchasing, and then they actually have to pay cash. It was they would have a running account that was kept again in the cashiers are they would check your
token against what, you know, your account. This was long before anything electronic, of course, and if you had a good credit rating with them, or even perhaps a positive credit balance, you could buy stuff without handling money, and that was considered. They was there for the.
Time because there are there are other shops that had things like cables that you could clip stuff on that was quite complicated as well. The other thing I need to use there, yes, and the other thing I probably need to tell you about. There is a burger bar in christ Gyge that's quite interesting and they deliver your food in the pneumatic tubes.
Hopefully it's not a MiG shake.
Now.
It comes to like a canister, an animinium canister canister that you kind of unroll and it works quite well well.
A lot of hospitals still used the them method for samples across vast distances, you know, and you could program the canister go different places. If we had to go to thematology. You push a different an exeit coator they had to go to I don't know, tissue something. It would go somewhere else. And they were very efficient. I could a bit of a sudding on damp and shoes there is. But the other thing that I remember, they
have conflated the memory. They had a lift caller, so the the elevator, the lift was manually operated and they had a list attendant and he would call the good on the floors as you arrived, very much like are you being served? You hear it in the background, I.
Think, because in those days the lift quite I think in those days the lift were quite complicated to operate.
Was that right handle that you went go up and go down? Yes, I don't know if they were necessarily complicated. I remember being allowed to operate a few I missed the floor being dead. Even that requires skill. But the mechanism itself was turn the handle one way, it go up, turn the handle the other way it goes down. Not unlike a train pushing forward, it go forward, push it backwards, did go backwards. The skill was stopping where people wanted to be.
How many years was it since you've been dismissing Coe's dB.
Ah.
Oh that's a great question. Maybe thirty years.
Okay, Well hasn't changed much, but now it's going. Able to move on, d bit nice to talk interesting sown. I feel I threw too much at you, but that's fine. I was excited to be here. Welcome anyway. I didn't find that song. It's called the Welcome Mad. It's from probably about nineteen ninety two. Was big an alternative radio at its day. Happy International Tea Day, Marcus, how do you like your tea? What's your predictions on the budget tomorrow?
Budgets these days are of no interest. Really, little will happen to be a little that we talk about, much debated figures and much talk about tightening the belt. Thank you Marcus for that. If I saw Winston private, I'd say, can we have the six September the sixth Test live? Please? Three TV?
Thank you.
Very good, Marcus. If you're out, if you were to shouted a supplier or customers and advertise of news talks, there'd be whilst wearing the news talks, he'd be lanyard or cap. Do you think that is okay? I don't, Peter, I don't think what the person had done was illegal. I think you can say stuff that's free speech, but certainly they've made that into a big deal. I guess
because there are reporters there. Someone said that the Tonkin and Taylor are also a client of Well ended Rails, a client of Tonkin and Taylor, but that becomes complicated. I think it looked bad on Tonkin and Tailor if they did dismissed the guy or took action against them. But you might differ. I see also the run it or run it straight. They've run into some of those campaigns. They have run into trouble. It looks like some of those ones might be going ahead, but it appears to
be about three of them trying to go ahead. Anyway, You're going to need to retype that text, Brink, because I can hardly understand the writing. You're just gonna have to edit it because I've read it and I can't read that out just yet. Could it didn't make much sense, but just spell check it that. I think it would be good. Smith and Coey's Winston Peters, remember how Cheers? How good Cheers was? I think you'd put that in
your top five American sitcoms. Wouldn't you. It was one of those great ones that very really did they leave it. It was always in the bar, which I think is a great thing. I think a sitcom is great when they don't kind of when you know what you're up against, you know, it's just them around the bar. I think once or twice they might have left. And then of course Frasier steamed off from that too. Very well done in its day, and every time I've seen an episode
recently it's kind of aged pretty well. Oh by the way, if also anyone remembers that bar at the christ Jewish Airport where it was a cheers bar and you'd sit next to a drink next to the robot that was based on him until they sued for their likeness. I don't know who's going to pick up the mantle for the Santa Claus because it was an extremely big deal for Smith and Goey's. I mean, if you could actually manage to get that going, get that ip or whatever
it's called. I mean, it's not much to it. It's just a winter wonderland and a guy in a bed, but you can do kind of an upmarket Santa Clause could be of every exciting thing, hold your horse's lease away with you. So the number, as I say, is oh, by the way, nineteen eighty two chairs started. It went
for eleven seasons. But yes, skid amongst. If your doing a talk, miname as Marcus welcome, Oh eight hundred and eighty ten eighty nine two nine two detect of his breaking news, and of course the Smith and Coen news only came out with in the last hour also, so just breaking or readjusting that it's closing for good. I don't know what will happen to the building. You'd be a fitty bold person to take that on. But now that you've got the rail loop opening, it's quite handy
to every thing. In fact, with the rail loop, I think that becomes an extremely attractive proposition. Maybe there's a giant bubble tea seems to you what everyone wants. It's what everyone goes into town for. Oh, eight hundred and eighty ten with gelato, Oh eight hundred eighty good evening, sir, it's Marcus welcome.
Hi.
Can you hear me?
Or eight speak unclear sounding very crisp, So thank you for that, Lisa.
Oh that's good. So I was just listening to the other guy talking about Smith and Cowie, and it reminded me of my very early years. That would have been about the mid seventies, I think, going to George Courts and k Road with my mum and we'd we'd part in the back somewhere and we'd go across this bridge.
That's right. There was that sort of that bridge, wasn't there like an eb what would you call that, like a flyer over?
Yeah, which was quite modern in those days. Yes, And so we'd park in the car park and go across there and and then we're geting a lift and it was this very manual lift where where there would be assistance like the other guy was talking about where.
And it was it was like a cage.
You should. You'd bring the grid across first and then you'd close the door and hook it in, wouldn't you.
Yeah, there there were like two doors and that were manually closed by this person that did it for us. It wasn't left left for the public to do. And he would ask you where you want to go, and he would push the button for the correct store at the correct level.
And yes, there was the George Court and there was there was Rendell's just down as well, there was two big departments.
Yeah, it might have been either. Now you mentioned that it might have even been that we win the same lift. I can't remember. And yeah, I don't know how how we went to either Rendall's or the other one, George Courts, but I remember particularly George Courts is very classical building, and they's now converted to a partner.
That's right, And I think probably for most people, I think George Courts and Rendall's were a more sort of a accessible situation, and what happened at Smith and Coey's it probably was more designed to be affordable, would be my take. I would think. Nice to hear from Elsa, Thank you, Nicotts s Marcus.
Good evening.
Yeah, it's Nick here.
How are you good?
Thank you?
Yeah.
Just regarding Smith and Coey, it's said that I'm one of the professional tenders.
Oh hang on, you one of there?
What professional?
Oh?
Okay, for how long have you done that?
I've been there, I'll be doing for a number of years. I did, will be there for about eight, eight or nine years.
Oh well, condolences for losing your job.
Yeah, I did seventy dig here last year.
You did what six seventy.
Gigs seventy so seventy different shifts.
Yeah there last year.
And what and sorry? How long was a shift?
Nick?
Three? Three hours? And yeah, we started early November.
And people booked into like five minutes slots, did they?
You know, we could only spend five minutes with a family. And it's pretty pretty continuous over there over the seventy gigs, four thousand children on my knee?
Wow, and what would happen if the if the five minutes would I wouldn't else come and get them?
Well?
Well, no, we we sort of were just conscious of the time and we tried and I mean five minutes with the screening pread is far too long, but five minutes with a couple of teenage kids and stuff, it's nowhere near enough. But it's yeah, we sort of get a feeling and we we we that they let us know after a while, how are we tracking?
Yeah?
Yeah, and it's mainly for then. It was manly a photo opportunity too, was it.
Yeah? Yeah, well they get the photo. Yeah, it's but the whole experience, the whole center experience is world renowned. They got the enchanted forest with all the center of reindeer workshops and stuff and and and they're going to a you know, so in the room. I mean, I've done malls. I've done heat and malls and you know smith and Cory's the census. Every center's favorite place.
Oh, more than one place? You more than one place is center.
Yeah, I've done most of them all, and i'd have you know, my first choice is when you get our rosters, which is usually around about September October, and I wait for the center for the Smithy Coey's roster, and then all the other mauls will work around that.
So is this some is this some business that runs all the centers?
Yeah?
Well yeah, these with there's twenty six centers there and the six on the floor at any one moment.
But you you hold hang on, hang on. Are you booked to go to other malls as well?
Yeah? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, by the.
Same by the same age, from the same agent.
No, no, no, I work for about three different recruitment companies.
Oh okay, I understand, Okay, I appreciate terrible line bred, but I appreciate that. Thank you. I appreciate you coming through next. Sorry. By the way, of course, for the young people listening, there are Probably these are just representative centers until the real one can come through. I guess we've got to tall you that, don't we this time of the year. So that's what there's just it's just for the photo chants because so you can actually yeah,
I think you get that whole drift. Anyway, some extremely good texts. The good texts are back, and that's an exciting thing. Someone's texture that said, what are people texting? Actually we just bring those ones up. Any kid listening throughout this time of the night should be on the NAISI list anyway, exactly. George Courts and John Courts were on opposite corners Renders further down the k Road opposites and Keevintac not familiar with the John Courts, but I'm
sure someone will know about that. Marcus is Nick ringing from the North Pole, noisy and weird that his name is Nick. You're really weird. He's sounded young for a father. Christmas Marcus. I've just had a left of meeting at Trust Stadium and we're stalkland run it straight going on to the own absolutely huge crowd. That was always going to happen with that sort of publish I think it's the heat tonight? Is it?
Is it?
The heat? Is the heat? Marcus? Can they stop mentioning? Running it straight on the news? Now it's gone, Tony destroyed. No, I think that was just one of them. But is it trust stadium tonight? If that's what you mean. Good evening, Brent.
Welcome, Hi Marcus? How are you good?
Brent?
That's the story? Hey, I sent you that text.
You couldn't be that's right to say.
It's a book called Machines Like Me written by a guy called em McEwan.
Oh, yelled mckuwen YEA, yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's related to AI. This can gets left three hundred and fifty thousand pounds and he buys a robot that is so low lifelike people can't differentiate whether it is human or whether it's a robot. And he introduces it to his girlfriend and it copulates with her wow, which is kind of bizarre. And he takes it to parties. He is the scary, but he takes it to parties and introduces it to people, and the robot sets on the side no, and can tell that he's not human.
It says to him, I don't trust him, and he'll say, but you don't have that capacity, and the robot says, don't I. Well, no, that's that's a scary tale.
What takes you? Has he got a kill switch?
Well, it's it runs out of power. Here, it runs out of power, but then it learns how to actually recharge power. You know, it click power on before it knows it's going to run out of power. So he has to do away with its lead. But the whole thing is very scary when something like that that can talk says don't I have that capacity? Because he read them annual about what it could do, but he didn't think it could do that with his girlfriend.
And what did the girl? What did the girlfriend think about that?
She was quite It just happens to be very attractive.
Was she none the wiser?
She was none the wiser?
Wow?
Crazy, good book to read. And another good book he wrote, it's called Saturday. That's a very good book.
I've read that book.
Have you?
They will read read machines like about very good.
Tell me about Saturday. Is there a balloonist or something?
No, Saturday is about a guy who.
Is a.
He's a brain surgeon or whatever. And he goes down, goes down and gets some preissants and he has an accident and it wasn't his fault in the people he hit weren't the most likable people, so they home invade him and it all turns a bit nasty.
What's the one with the balloon?
Not read that, but you must see that when you spoke about I'm in christ Church, about the christ judge bar with those tears characters, I thought, well, I wonder how life right they would have been. I never went there.
But so Enduring Lover is when the people witness a ballooning accent. That's the other in me cure and one ballooning Enduring Love, which is a good read.
Yeah good, he's a good author.
One of the greats, one of the greats. Hey, but tell me something. I don't know about you, but I'm a big fan of robots having a kill switch. Have you got strong feelings about that?
I think that is a necessity when you read what Ian McEwan thinks might happen, because.
Now they're doing backflip. Now they're doing backflips and all sorts of stuff.
Yeah, hey, I think you've got to have a kill switch. I don't think i'd like one taking off as my girlfriend.
No, I've been more concerned about well, yeah, okay, I was also. I was also slightly concerned that when they had that prowler at Margo mar Lago Trump's place before he took over power. The second time the prowler was caught by robotic dogs that were that were monitoring the boundary fence.
Hey, well, I'm I'm sure they'd probably make a mess with somebody because.
They sound terrifying, don't they do. Yeah, it's bad enough normal dogs, but once robotic dogs come at you, jeep, is it? Brent? Thank you. I appreciate your text now that I understand what that was about. But no one's yet rung up and talking about the bar at the Christchiech Airport with Norm from Cheers and also talk about Smith and I know people love nostalgia, but yeah, I don't even know what to say about Smith and Coey's huge number of staff. Yes, a very successful I didn't
really experience the grotto or the workshop. I guess we're more of a farmer's family with their free bus up that would go in mckew and gosh, today was the anniversary of amiliar Earhart's flight. Thank you for that. Never to be seen again. Every five years there's someone found there wreckage, haven't they. I've read some fairly good reportage on that about just what happens. This is a text markets. Can they stop mentioning running it straight in the news
now it's gone totally destroyed. No, I think it's still going badline for the North Pole need and back in decemberfore his stories. Please so now there's probably the only apartment department store that has left I would think in the whole of the country would be Ballantine's, and that's always looking lightly hollowed out these days. You might want to mention that, Marcus. Lots of public sympathy for Smith and Koey, but reality is consumers aren't shopping their hence
the closure. Well, there's only sympathy in the terms of nostalgia, but people lamenting the end of Smith and Kowey as they're filling out their order formers for Timu or whatever they're doing online. I mean that's the reality. People have changed, haven't they. They've gone about the roadworks in the parking, but people want to buy stuff online. Our mess. You's
put Mesh in your top five comedies. Fair enough to remember we all tune in for the last episode of mass and there was no laugh line or that was telling them that they were wow. Look at that no laughs and that no fun in war, Clinger in the dress Radar with his thick glasses difficult to work with. They reckon hot lips. Hulahan, It's all coming back, Marcus. Funny thing about robot dogs. One of the main dogs made advantages. They can spell you out, kind of robots
spell you hiding in a bush? Still remember that terrible voice? What what someone's referring to on that Someone said, I would say that few American comedies are funny. Well, I think most would disagree with you. Actually, I think we're sort of beyond that. Only the Brits can do humor type thing from the fifties. But oh well that's you do you, you do you, and welcome you. Oh, by the way, we know what was the movie that George
went filmed in New Zealand? And It was a big deal at the time, but not a very good film. Never Say Die with Tim with a Morrison. It was a big deal. Never Say Die Jeff Murvie movie, The Great Tony Barry. John Clark was a car salesman It was kind of a police chase around the country with a house in Grayland that blew up. You remember it, nineteen eighty eight, Well you might remember it. It was a good watch. Actually, I might rewatch it on the
back of that five to nine here till midnight. Good evening, John, welcome.
Him, Marcus. How are you using this?
Good?
Thank you John.
Good.
Now I'll start at the bottom in the things. Yes, yes, Arthur Banet's was that that even top shop?
What the cargel?
No, No, I'm starting at Arthur Bannette.
Do you said you're starting at the bottom.
Well, no, I haven't got a bottom. That part with the big guys, the big guy.
The big H and J's was one of the great department stores in the country.
So Arthur Barnets was too.
Yeah, but I think in the end H and J's board Arthur Barnett. Okay, Ancient Jays, then Arthur Barnet and Duneda.
Yes, then Valentine's. In christ Church. Beasts were also in christ Church.
Pattern Beasts how's that spelled.
B E A t HS, Beasts, Beasts and Armstrongs. They were the top three in christ Church. I used to work for such of these people.
Were you are ripped?
No.
I used to be a footwear buyer lady the Ladies.
Yes, I realized that I had.
Eighteen staff and then Valentine's in christ chirts eighteen staff.
Then Wellington, no christ Church? Are you moving up the country.
A Wellington you had Cocordias Stains, James Smith and d C.
Yes. And where else.
No they there main ones No. And then you went to Paris North you had Joice's Joyces.
Right yep.
And then you went to Auckland and there's nothing in Hamilton, no big stores in Hamilton. Then you went to walk near Spit and Curries which was a beautiful shop, beautiful shop and farmers. So they were the two big ones in Auckland. And I used to sell all that or predict what woman was going to be wearing in the ladies foot where six months or nine months ahead?
Goodness? Do you still follow the trends?
No? I don't because I've eighty four now. Mean I'm you know, but I hear you talking about and I thought you couldn't get the one Undernead and I thought Arthur Bannets.
Thank you very much, John, I appreciate that. Just so you know, I'm not saying this to drive talk back, traffic chatter or conversation, but I think it's undignant. And this is going to sound weird for me because it's going to sound pious and slightly righteous, and that's fine. I think it lacks. I think it's undignified for our finance minister to call it the no b S budget. I know she's probably trying to sound tough and no nonsense, but yeah, yeah, it just kind of sits wrong with me.
Not a big deal in the scheme of things. I mean, why not call it the no bullshit budget? You wouldn't say that, would you, So I abbreviate it. But yeah, I kind of think she's miss a trick with that one, and already by that's put her on the back foot of it. But that's just my comment. It might be one of the most compelling and exciting documents, but she could have framed in a slightly more less confrontational, more kind of growing up way. It's beneath the office she holds.
I think there you go. Any we are a good text coming through. We are talking about the death of the apartment store, and that very much has happened by the way, this is an international thing. I think you find that your David Jones in your minds and Australia aren't quite what they used to be. I don't know what's happened internationally. Herod's is still the thing. Of course, that guy that owned it appeared to be fairly grubby, didn't he now as he did now? I think Dodie's dad.
But yeah, it's sort of what's happening around the world. I think as retail falls and will not retail falls, but people buy online and go to the malls. So someone has said that Hamilton did have a mall, so you might want to ring about that. So I did not have a mall at it did have an apartment store at an apartment store with the DIC and a
lift attendant in Chandler House, very exclusive for Cowtown. By the way, someone's texted me the entire copy of Never Say Die, of the movie with George went in it, and there's a scene with we'd a Morrison and a car and another guy who I think is I can't quite work out the actor doing that, but anyway, the line that this guy uses three times a week, and you might remember this from the movie never say die, I'm looking for Prognini strog Nostrovitch. Yeah, it's quite a
fun rob that one. At ten past nine summon Texters. Agree with you about the budget title, just be genuine. People really respond well to people that are genuine in themselves, not full of bluster and pretense. Get in touch people. My name is Marcus. Welcome Heedal midnight tonight. We are discussing department stores. Smith and Coe's finally gone. There had
a second go of it. I bet they wish they hadn't. Actually, there's probably good gesture of closed the store down when they did, like a year or so ago, but that's what did. They gave another another go. It didn't work, But there's going to be a huge hole for a winter wonderland or a center's workshop. I don't know where they'd put one of those now, Marcus, I agree the government talk about standards and call the new budget no bs really, Susie, Yeah, it's just wrong. It's just the optics.
Well what's the sound version of optics? But it's all wrong. Marcus. I agree with you about the name of the budget. No nonsense budget would have been much more prepped, exactly absolutely exactly. I mean that might be the fun talk in the belt, whey you'll talk like that, but I think people expect something a bit better, especially with old Winston going on about that guy, sort of profaning him.
But yes, and you know, I might be prone to colorful language off here, but it's a time and place that I would indulge it on here because it's the wrong kind of thing for it. When you start getting involved with the language like that, it's always a race to the bottom lines free if you want to talk eight hundred and eighty ten eighty Marcus, I agree, it's an odd thing to say for a finance person. Also, balance sheet can be shortened to b S and finance to speak. Thank you for that. Maybe it's a no
balance sheet budget. That's probably what she'll be criticized about tomorrow, she said byes, But she might have been balance sheet. The juniors would be picking that up. By the way, discovered something today, the battery save mode on your cell phone. You go into set trees, you go into battery. Is there any downside to that? Marcus? Pressly, I'm not bothered too much with Nicholas no Bs where I do find issue, whether it's the PEM and others across the media saying
furking or is it fricking? Which you want as a placement for the F word? Just saying cheers Terry. Yeah, well they try and get down with the people, don't They just come across looking like Gidiat's that's my take on that. John, it's Marcus. Good evening and welcome.
Is that you talking to Steward to John?
Yes, I'm talking to John.
Oh, okay, I didn't expect you to come up that correct. But on the subject of AI, I heard that somebody had been defending their position of their security in the workplace because because they had so much experience, and I immediately sawt a'll ring in and I thought it was your program, But maybe it wasn't, and it doesn't matter.
The thing is I immediately saw it. This is where AI can actually help people that have got a huge amount of knowledge to spread that knowledge more widely and more accurately than they can as an individual.
Yeah, do you agree with that?
Yeah, maybe tell me more about this. Well, who was saying they weren't going to get replaced by AI? I'm interested in that.
Ah.
He was a guy that works in.
Detecting leaky buildings, yes, and he considered himself to be quite an expert at it, and he didn't feel threatened by the concept of AI because he was pretty onto it. But the thing is he could be miles more onto it if he used AI to be able to be more places at the same time.
More accurately, exactly.
Right.
And so that I just kind of sort all of ring in because I think you've opened it up to a bit of general topic rather than something and the thing for.
Me and talk back. I don't know with AI if the AI will replace the callers or the host or both.
So I've got a really.
Good friend at a very successful winemaker in the Hawk's Bay, and I was through going to his sieve India's birthday party. I meet a person from AI who's based in New Zealand that's Worldwide board and he's very good about AI. And so I said to my friend, very close friend.
I said to him, you know, like, if you're coming up to retirement, you possibly need to look at AI because you need to be in several places at once and you really want to be spending more time with your loved ones and not working so hard and he said, well, how would that work? And I said, well, I think AI probably presents the opportunity because you can people can get access to your knowledge and without you actually being there.
Yeah.
Were you saying that to the winemaker or to the AI guy?
No, to the wine maker. Okay, that's one night I was talking to the AI guy who is one of his closest friends. And the next night I talked to him and said, well, you know, this is possibly the way that you can retire and your your expertise and your future aspirations actually carry on with greater access to the people without overloading you and your retirement years.
That's quite powerful.
Oh powerful, all right? Be the end of civilization? Probably?
Oh well, I just you know what is going to be the end of civilization when you look at what's going on around the.
World, Probably probably AI when they become well be what's what's the word, when they become sentient?
Yeah?
I mean.
And then there was somebody in the in the discussion somewhere along the line talking about about no idea in the same subject was people are saying AI isn't a bit of a threat because but you know.
It sounds like a pretty dry party if this is a party and a wine or eat cheapers.
No, no, I just said that I was at that party.
Oh yeah, but it sounds like quite a serious topic.
Oh No, it wasn't at the party itself. It was the next day the party summer lunch event, where I just kind of got closer to this guy that's involved with AI and he said, well, at the end of the day, don't be scared of it instead of what it is if you're not using it, because if you if you're really successful at something and truly successful, not a cono, then you really do want to share that knowledge of your expertise in that. They'll say, like wine making,
that's what a winemaker is. A winemaker is a person that's involved in the storyline in a marketing line and it's got enough experience to be winning all the awards.
Live at the Stuart. But nice to talk to you. Thank you for that news from the New South Wales Mid Coast. In Australia, Mid mid Coast chaos as cows washed up on beaches. Where did the cows come from? They're walking jeeves, Lola, Yes, you.
Were asking about that departmental store in Devon Street.
Yes, thank you.
Yes, I can hardly hear you.
I wonder what it is. Oh was it really?
Yeah?
Well you can't hear me. Can you hear me now?
Adam?
I can hear you better now, okay?
Cool?
Where did it close down?
I don't know because I wasn't in the Taranaki district at the time.
Okay, but it did have the police system. Is that right?
Yes, they put the receipts and the thing paul a lever and away it went to the office.
Okay. Why did they not trust the workers with money or was just was it just simpler that way?
You'd put the money in there and they and they'd send the change back in it.
It seems like a complicated way to do it, doesn't it.
Well that's how they did it. I don't know any other store that operated that system.
No, Well, find and it was it was on basket. Was it on bulldog clips?
No, it was a little round tin sort of thing, and and it just oh, you just pulled the lever and it went was into the office.
Okay, maybe we might find something that worked in the office and know what they actually did there. Thank you for that, good evening, grace. This is Marcus welcome, good evening, Marcus.
I've lived in Auckland all my life except when I came from My parents came from Gisbon when i was five years old, so I've got eighty years of memories of Smith and CEY's. Wow, I've tried to think what that the payment procedure was at Smith and Colly's. That the lady has just been trying to describe about a cylinder on a line that was sent upstairs to the offices, So the money was actually had handled upstairs. So that
was the money part of it. But the other things I've thought about since I heard you talking about Smith and CEY's is all the stuff that will especially I remember the female staff were all always dressed very smartly in black uniforms. The toilets were penny in the slot, which was I can imagine that these days. And they had a very nice ladies' restroom where mums could feed their babies and change their babies, which was part of
the toilet complex area. The counters were old fashion. Behind the counters were old fashion drawers that held gloves in one one drawer and scarves in another, and that sort of thing. The old fashion type of holding, you know, the products that they had. Some of the Coe's was has always been a high end retailer. There was, of course. The others were, and I've grown up with all of them. Was the Farmers, George and John Courts and Randolph's, which you could class those as sort of more of a
working person's department store. And I know about George and John Courts because I grew up just along the road from where George Courts used to be, on the corner of Front Street and Crangapi Road.
Oh yes, yeah.
John Court's, for memory, was halfway down Queen Street. I think eventually it became whit Calls.
Oh yes.
There should be quite a lot of people round about my age in the eighties and nineties that have lovely memories of those places. A closer memory of George and John Courts is there's a Court Crescent in Pamua and the original Court Home is actually on Court Crescent.
Okay, how do you know, so, Elia, are you a historian? Because you know a lot, don't you.
Yeah.
Up until ten or plus, I belonged to the local Historical Society.
In which area this is Pamua.
I actually live in Court Present. I actually live in Court present and right opposite me is the Court what I've always called it the Court Homestead. It would originally been surrounded by acres of farmland, and because it's near the foot of Mount Wellington, and because that's where you know, the horse breeding and a hunt club was and all those sort of things in the market gardens. So I've really got some wonderful memories of Smith and Coey's.
It was lovely.
It was a treat when I got older and when I was working to go to Smith and Coey's for a cup of tea.
Yes, I've very good. Nice to hear from you, Grace, Thank you for those meenories. Twenty six to ten. There is a big website you can go to about have all the different shops and the different systems they had. A lot of them had something called a cash railway, which we think different from the pumatic system. It's a remarkable website. But a lot of them had the kesh railway, a lot of them had a wire system, a lot of them had a cable system, and some had the
pneumatic system. All extremely interesting. Actually, good evening, Billet's Marcus, welcome, Yeah.
Good evening. Sorry, I'm just telling you, going to explain. The pulling system was made by a company from the East end of London called Lambson Paragon. Yes, they made that system in all the department stores around the world actually, and that was the later That was.
The Pulley system, not the pneumatic system.
No, the pneumatic system came later, and that was with air and tubes.
Okay, so the same couple did it, did they?
I believe so I'm not sure on that. But the original what was Lambson Paragon, and they were called Lemson Paragon and they're.
Called cash railways. That was a general name for them.
Was it.
I wouldn't know what they called it. It's just a wire system and they pulled it like it sprung away back to the cashier.
Yeah, okay, that's fascinating. I appreciate that, Thank you, Bill. Some of them seem to have balls that would roll down too. The cash ball system manufactured in the thirties. The cash is conveyed in the hollow wooden balls running along a pair of inclined tracks. The top one slopes down from sales point to kesha and the bottom slopes the other way. They were literally kind of railways gravity fed Railways. Hello, Willie, it's Marcus welcome.
Hey, did I buddy? Here you go? Mate?
Good?
Thanks, Willy, Hey, just.
One of those pictures here. I run a restaurant and towering on the waterfront, and the name of the restaurant was called Lemson's.
Oh yes.
And in the day, the Lensns they were on why are police? And the lady down below she would put the money in the Lensen thing and she'd send it up to the teller up top.
Wow.
And they are actually called Lensen's. Yeah, and.
You go.
Believe it or not. Like this restaurant under I took over very upmarket restaurant. They still had all them in there, and sometimes people are a bit naughty with them, you know, put a bit of undergarment on and send it right across the obston at the restaurant.
So when was this that it was still going, Willie?
I know it was closed down, but they still were. They still had the lenses working, but it was just a feature in the restaurant. And it's called land Jair.
But whenabouts was this, Willy, pardon, when was this restaurant open?
Oh?
You're going back to nineties, early nineties, Okay, but it had always been there as it always been there on the waterfront. Hey, can I ask you something else?
Mate?
Can I just stick with us for a Secah? The question, so would this place? Was it a new medic tuber? Was it right at Whys and Pulleys? Yes, yep it was Wyse and Pulleys.
Correct Roger that yes, yep, definitely mate, Yes.
And before it was a restaurant was it a department store?
Yes? It was yes.
Okay, what's your question?
You know?
And rug me, okay, this is going off the chart, and rugged me like if a rugby will come down HiT's one of the planes square in the head and whatever would they would they go take love for?
You know that?
He and look at the reader masking this is my daughter. She knows a friend that's a good one. With players in the Penwich soccer and higgetspan headaches and all if she said was how can they hit up balls all the time? But any rugby players get one knock and they get tacking off your checked.
I think there is concerns about head knocks with the ball and football. And I don't think they practice hitting at practice. They just do it at matches because they've realized they could get repercussions from it. It is something that's recognized and they are looking about for that, Willie. But thank you, Vicki. It's Marcus. Good evening, Good evening, Marcus.
I'm wondering up to say that my first job after leaving school was operating the wire cash railway system in a department store.
Fantastic.
We worked in the office of.
The office junior receptionist and all the money came in on the wire system is actually called a Lemsen rapid wire cash railway system.
Is it lents and with two ends or.
Now l A M S O N.
So it was called a lamps on.
Red rapid wire cash railway system.
So whereabouts were you what's what building?
I was in Thames and in tims coramanal Manicola, and I worked in a shop called a Court and Son, and it was it had four or five different departments means where ladies wear material, habitashery, and they all had that. They all had that little thing. You screw it up, fulled canister and it screwed up and then you pulled the cord and it went into the office where I sat.
And they had a docket that came with the money, and you made sure that they'd added the docket up correctly, and then you put the change in the folded it all up in the docket and put it back in the canister and screwed it up and pulled the wire and it shot off to the department that came from.
And just to clarify, was it on a pulley or was it a eumatic system?
No?
Police, it was on a police put the scud down and off it went like a rocket.
And yet how was the canister?
Hell?
Was it clipped onto the system?
No, it's screwed on and you unscrewed it.
Okay, And how many different how many different tracks would be because each track had the same there in return one did it?
Yeah, it had its own separate returns. So okay, they all came into the one. Only one could go at one time.
But if you had a sale day, that's okay.
They were going pretty fast.
But how many different lines were coming in? Like half a dozen different lines coming in? Were there?
Yeah?
Four?
Four okay, came in from each parts.
Well, there was four departments from memory, and they came in a line coming from each the par artment they had a little little hole. The office sat up high and the little hole had a little cut out in the wall.
And where it came for.
It came in from that department.
How was it powered?
Yes, spring powered?
Okay, okay, so it's just okay, So it was spring power. There's a pull that go ah okay.
So it was pulled down and went like a rocket.
Yeah, straight down to the to the department. And then that person unscrewed it and got the money out. Yeah, yes, yeah.
Why why would they a thing? Was that because there were no cash registers in those days.
Yeah, there was no cash register at each counter. No, that's how they operated it. The cash just came up.
To the office.
And yeah, you were responsible for giving back the correct change and making sure they had added the docket up in the first place correctly, and then you and it's that the money just went to that one department all day.
Was the document handwritten, the docket.
A carbon copied yep?
Okay.
And how many of you in that little box up the.
Top, A senior receptionist and me the junior wow.
And times it would be quiet and times it would be flat out, I suppose.
Yes, if you had a sale day it was flat out, but when it was quiet because the juniors would all be play up a bit and they'd seen spied as an awfut wrepped.
Up in those of course they did. Vicky, are we talking Are we talking the nineteen sixties?
No, yeah, very late sixties. I were there, but they had been operating for quite a while. There was another store in Teams at the time called Heatherington's and they also had the same system.
Wow, fantastic, VICKI thank you so much. I've loved that more than you can imagine. I've got to bring those back. Thank you so much for that. By the way. By the way, of course, a Ted West from Outrageous Fortune. They robbed Smith and Coey's well, they robbed the Juwel and next doraor of the Cougar ends remember, and Ted West wit inside for three years. John Marcus good evening, Hi, Hi John.
Yeah.
I worked for a company called I N. L and Lower Heart, and we had one of those vacuum tube things to send the corrections and bruce to the proof readers. We could an a plastic tube that had suck it up and you could hear it rattling away above your head. Then you could hear coming back deliver it to the who made the Friday flesh.
Oh okay, So you're you're a printing publisher, were you?
I did the what it's called cold type yep, okay, yeah, And that was in nineteen eighty five and I left in eighty nine.
Was it quite a complicated system with there a number of different routes?
I think it was only maybe one maybe one more okay, the editor, but it was on a different floor and where's a fair walk?
So all this, I guess is replaced by computer, so that all you're doing is saving you going back, because you'd be making a lot of trips each day, would you.
We didn't make the ships ourselves, but I'm.
Talking about if it wasn't, there'd be walking back and forward?
Right? Yeah?
Was it reliable system that breakdown?
Much?
As far as I know, it seemed to be okay. But it was just funny to he hear them rattling, see him coming along when they hit a joint.
It's a shame. Well, of course there is that one preserved in that cafe and Christ judge, but it seems that we should be doing more to preserve them. There needs to be a museum for them. Thank you for that. Seven from ten Good Evening Gaiale. Hello, it's Marcus, Welcome, Hi, no.
Curse, how are you jing? I remained of the the system that you're talking about. They used to have one at a department store Core George and George in Newtown and Wellington.
Oh, tell me more about that.
Well, I was a young child at the time living in Newtown and that was the largest department store that we had, and it was right in a Newtown's school, primary school, and we used to go on there and they used to as one lady said, there were no such a as credit cards, so you think it had
to be cash. So whenever you bought, the lady behind the counter would put the cash into the sort of trolley thing and then it would whizz off above your head really fast, which was quite frightening at times, because it just whizz that went from from where you would purchase your your goods to somewhere which is an office which is above your head, and and then they would put the change back of it and you'll come back again. So it was quite an interesting thing to watch as a child growing up.
Yeah, because I'm amazed. They didn't just have cash registers.
No, nothing like that either, not that I can remember.
That mustn't have been. I can't quite work out why not, but that seems to you what they've done.
Yeah, well, I was quite surprised that they had one. After listening to you tonight, I thought, I remember that a new Town of all places, and it was a department store called.
George and George.
What sort of stuff would they say? All sorts of.
Goods, all sorts of things? I say, any any typical department.
Store, you know.
Look and looking at that, there's a there's a list of all the places they had that system. It's quite a long list of them. So thank you for that. I enjoyed that call. I appreciate that. And New Town get in touch. My name is Marcus. Welcome. We'll talk more about this after the news If you had to come through eight hundred and eighty ten eighty, I can tell you too that I have got some information through here that Frank Gibson Junior has died, extremely well known
and acclaimed drummer. His wife has contacted the newsroom to say that it's with great sadness I let you know that my husband, the legendary drummer Frank Gibson Junior, has passed away today, so no doubt on audio culture and some of those other music websites there will be fairly deep dives into his career of probably seventy five years. I'd think I think luded his father's knee quite young there.
So that's news that's through also too. So you might want to mention that the next hour we're here until midnight tonight, we are talking about the end of Smith and coey Zah and the aerial railways that were in some of those places. Someone said, Marcus Smister start this convo, but crazy to think that drive through banking in America is still done at this today with vacuum canisters sent to the tellers inside the bank. Marcu's got to bring the conversation back to Costco. Costco in the US, some
of them still use the tube system. I've been at one in Los Angeles where they had the tube outlet at every register. I believe they would load the cash into the register begin of a person shift, and then close out the register there, fill up the tube and send it back from Tony. We are spending much time tonight looking and talking about cash railways. There seems to be five different systems ball, cable lifts, wire, anumatic tube.
There's good websites. It's obviously obsessives that kind of follow them all and look for photos. It's quite fascinating. I haven't quite yet really understand understood the point of all of them, but I presume it was because they couldn't have tills. Well, they didn't trust their staff. I'm not quite sure which is which. I don't know. Someone might know more about this, Someone might work the benefits of a centralized cashste whether it could be more closely supervised
by management. There was less opportunity for pilfering, and it freed up their assistant to attend to the customer, perhaps make further or better sales. There we go, just like that. Good evening, David Marcus, welcome.
Yeah, Hi Marcus, good evening.
Yeah.
I worked for the company that in fact invented, manufactured and installed those wire systems and the tube systems. The wire system was called rapid wire, and that was in the old department stores, as you were talking about, and
then when that became sort of supersededs. If you like the tube system come in and they were manufactured by a company called Lampson Paragon, which was an English company and had branches in different parts of the world, and in New Zealand of Australia, the company was called Lampson Paragon and the tube systems were installed by part of
that company called Mamson Engineering. And there were many many tube systems throughout New Zealand, but one of the more recent developments of that tube system was at twy point and what they used to do there in the smelter, they would put samples of the smeltered aluminium into a tube and shoot it across the road to the laboratory to be tested. And that was the best and most efficient way to get it from a very hot environment
to a laboratory type environment. And they used the choose system to do that, and that was probably one of the more it's going way back many years, but it was probably one of the last systems that were installed.
IDA should reach there because at t y today, so did that require a special cannister to put the hot sample in.
Yes, they're DIAD, but the system was the same in terms of instiding it into the tube system itself and then the system that then superseded dat was one called tele lift, and the telelift was a more electronically controlled
and it used to go up inside building. So the mail would all come into the bottom of a high rise building and the mail would be sorted in the mail room and put into these telelift systems, and then you'd hit the button and I'd go on a railway system up inside the infrastructure of the building and pop out on the fifth floor, the tenth boor the thirtieth or whatever and deliver the mail to whatever that company was on that floor. So that was the development after the Tude system.
So tell me a bit more about that.
What was that?
Was that wired driven or how was that powered?
I think that not one hundred percent said that. It was only like a little railway line gripped.
They gripped under the right understand.
It would go up. It would go up vertically up inside the building, if you like. And then they have a like a gimbal type system like they have on ships yep, so that the Telly lift would remain equal. And they used it also in hospitals for delivering blood samples and things like that between floors and high roads hospital setups.
So did any places. Did any places have that system in New Zealand?
That?
Yes? Is that what you're saying?
Oh, yes, yes, yes, lots of them. Yeah, it was. It was a big It was a big operation. I mean I eventually did at a time as CEO of what was then Lambson Paragon English company sold out to an American company called More and it was called More Business Systems and they changed their name that it was and More took over the English company Lambson Paragon. But it's a really old old company.
Could you tell me some of the name of the could you tell me some of the name of the buildings that had that later system? No, I can't because I remember when I remember my mother was at UCLAM Hostel, that main big tall building overlooking the domain. There was a lance and tube system and that that they used to send samples around. So that must have that looked like it was a building that was built in the sixties or the seventies. That very much ad that.
Yes, yeah, and the Lambs and the Telly rift was more for not for cash or anything like that. It was more for mail delivery inside high rise building. So that was that's why that was Belding and it would come out through the wall through a fire fire doors would open and the tellylypt system would pop out of the wall, if you like. Quite quite fascinating.
And that would have been a suit by emails, I presume, would that be right? So that would have gone right into the nineties. I presume.
Yes, it would have, Yes, yep, right through to then yep.
And and David with the wire system you talk about that was lampsun as well.
Was that was that?
That was that was electric? That wasn't just spring operated or was it spring operated?
Spring operated? They pulled the cord, they'd reach up above them, clip the docket in a little pouch, clip it to the wire, and then pull the cord and it would shoot across at great speed up to the cashier's office, and then they'd deal with it there, put the change in and then put it back up again, pulled the cord and shoot it back to the cashier that it came from, to give back to the customer of their change.
And because that someone had mentioned of on the emails, I'm sorry on the text before that that was just a security thing really in terms of that way you only had one or two people handing the cash in what can be quite a big store, or you'd have more than two.
And would that would that have wheels vertically on top of the wire? Is that how they ran along the wire?
No, the wire moved so or not one hundred percent certain about that, actually, Marcus. And just remember that was a bit before my time.
I can't understand it.
In terms of the ticklar. I was more involved in the tube system.
Just a big was it just a big compressed guess tank that would fire it all?
No? No, it was you see it today in internal vacuum cleaning systems inside houses and buildings, you know when you might plug your vacuum cleaner into a little hole in the wall. Yes, that that was also installed by in later years, installed by Lamps and Paragon which became more Paragon, same technology. So you'd have a just like a gigantic section. It's like a vacuum cleaner.
So that wouldn't that would have Yeah, that makes that makes sense. Okay, that makes perfect sense of to suck it through. And they'd be quite tight in the tube, wouldn't they.
Yes, they would. It had a sort of a tube with say maybe three hundred million long, and when you put it into the tube. It was quite a snug fit. Yes, so that it would, you know, the vacuum would suck it through the tube system.
Is there's still one working, and there's still a Cafeine Christ that has a lens and system work that does Spencer's food and it's quite successful.
Yes. Yes. And the other one they used to have, of course, was the I'm just trying to think of the name now, the dumb waiter.
Oh, yep, you know that was also.
I don't I don't think that that would have been invented by by Lambsons, but they certainly installed them.
When did this? When did they stop using it at t Y? Was that during your time?
I don't know that they've ever stopped. I can't answer that. It wouldn't surprise me if it's still operating.
Okay, I've got mates that work there. I'll find out, David.
Yeah, yeah, that was yeah, and just see if if it's still if it still works, I think from memory, I never saw it operate. I don't know whether it went under the road or on a tube going across the road.
If you like, I'll report back, David. Look, thank you. That was more than I could hopeful with your as a call, I mean a city with a fondable knowledge with the GMS. I appreciate that greatly. Thank you. Ten nineteen Good evening, Daniel.
Could I Matt, I'll tell you a friend, good Daniel, you know trip down Memory Lane? Because she is I used to watch it a wood On and it was probably Born. It was Matte before born. I'm five years from fifty. But there's some characters in me and where she's very tame with people. But what he Harrison, he was a Kno, there were a few in the phraser crane he and then he went on to make his own show. Remember, so he made his own show doctor phrases,
phrases Grant they were in me is tousey Ellen. She was in there for w O. But then did Danton headed out a given? I think her name was Hilly Long's.
Yeah, yeah, because he was Whatdy Harrelson wasn't and originally was he. There was another guy there that was the seecond in command.
Yeah, I think you come along later on.
What was normOn?
What was Norm's job?
What was normal?
Mate?
Next time? Well he was the post poster.
Yeah, but we never know what Norm did? Would we.
No, no, never, you seed what his gob was. But he always sitting in the bar and sit at the mate the posty, and you know, and I remember that it was over they had the fire and the bar got burnt to christ and a lot well and they all come and said, no, we're going to help the rebullet.
Okay, we'll talk more about that tonight, Daniel. But thank you for that, Susan. It's Marcus. Good evening, Oh, good evening, Marcus.
I was prompted to call by the lady who grew up in Newtown and was talking about Newtown and Wellington, and she remembers the George and George store next door to the Newtown School. Well I grew up in Colburnie, which is just next suburb over after after Newtown, heading towards the airport, and we had a George and George in the little village of shops in Kilburnie. Oh, and
I remember exactly what you're talking about. I was fascinated as a child watching these people take they'd unscrew a little barrel it's like only about the size of your hand, it seemed like an adult hand, and they'd unscrew it off the wire above them and they'd clip the money and the account whatever you'd bought, and clip it back up and then pull the cord above them, which was attached to the wire, I think, and it zoomed off
at great speed, and the office was upstairs. You could see the office because it was semi open, and so there was a whole network of wires all over the store. And as a child, I was fascinated that there weren't any crashes.
On the line.
I think you're conveying it, well, then, am I that's my sentiments exactly? Chaosity Roof didn't that it was chaos.
And then I think there was a bell or something that went bing like this, and you know, you'd think, oh, yes, another one's gone off or something like that, and then you'd be waiting down there by the counter, waiting or winds that come to come back. And if it was a busy time, of course there'd be quite a delay. I don't know how many people were working up in the office, but it only looked like two or three
people up there. But this is a memory from when I was about four, because I would walk up to Kilburnie with my mother and we would go there to buy our underwear, our blouses. Mother would buy the sewing, habdasherie, cottons and things like that. They'd be women's clothes with their men's clothes, boys clothes, hats and gloves and that kind of thing. It was not two story, it was just one level. Now that store, I don't know what it became after. It was George and George I cannot
quite remember. But now it's a funeral home called part of the Harbor City chain, and a very nice funeral home now too. But the funny thing I find quite amusing. It's right opposite a retirement home called Rita Angus, and on beside it, this is in Colbernie, Wellington, there is the Westpac Bank, a very big branch of the Westpac Bank.
So you're sitting, if you're sitting on that side of the retirement home, you just look out the window to the place that's going to take your money, the bank, and then the other place you're going to deposit the money into when you go is the funeral home. Of course, behind it is a little chimney spire. You can see
within with somebody's cremated. You can see little puff of smoke go up every so often, I think that's right in opposite on the corner, because this goes to the end of the street, and on the corner of the next street there is the chapel. I think if I went to that home, I'd rather be on the other side looking out at some people's houses in a place where I'm going next kind of thing. But I do
remember the store very very well. It has lovely window displays, and I remembered going there to get my college uniform. And I went to Wellington News Girls College and mother made my uniform because the parents were given a pattern if they were a sewer.
Wow, that's gone, hasn't You couldn't get a patent anymore, could? That's amazing to hear.
Oh well, my mother was a dress maker dress designer, so she could draft her own patterns. But the thing was that you had to buy your raincoat there. And I'm quite short, while my mother was short, didn't make five foot and unfortunately never did I for eleven and three w inches. And of course when I was I was growing quite normally as a child, just slightly below average maybe or average some years. And of course mother looked at this raincoat wall Garbadine. We had to have
a great, big, heavy thing. I hated heavy clothes. I just couldn't stand heavy clothes or heavy shoes. And the regulation school shoes were great, heavy clumping things, and I just hated getting into them. And so mother thinks, oh, well, children do have a gross spurt in teenage life. So she bought me an extra long raincoat.
It should be hopeing than her spring up.
Yeah.
My father was about five foot eleven and tall and broad. He was from the Shetland, so good Viking and Scottish stock, And of course she assumed I would, you know, grow some more. My seat kept growing, kept going up as shoe size, and I was ever hopeful as a teenager, and I'd say to my mother, well, I'm definitely going to grow because my body's getting the base a little bit longer to deal with the upright, you know, the
shooting upright and going a few more inches. But no, I never made the great achievement I wanted to make was to be over five foot. But the sunny thing is everybody thinks I'm about five foot three because I.
Had all I do.
Well, I don't think I'm sure you sound. I think I'm me just a normal height.
Now, hang, are we stuck wearing that John Gavitten coat your whole time? Yes?
And it was so heavy, and Mum put in a hem probably about ten inches, you know, because she was a dressmaker, she could take it up. So of course it was a coat with this big hem, and I just felt like I was sinking into the ground with the clumping shoes and then this heavy raincoat. I just hated it when it rained. And because when I was a child at primary school, mother made me beautiful little plastic raincoats. I had a white one with red and gold spots on it.
You know.
I was always dressed like a little model because she would see fashions overseas and she could draft her own patterns. So I went from that to the heavy raincoat and the heavy walk And was she restrained?
Was she restrained with the Wellington Girl's uniform? Did she follow the patent or did she put her own flourishes into it?
It was very meticulous and she and she made that fine. I didn't have a great big hem on that because she knew she could make it the next year if I grew But of course I just had the same uniform all the way through because I never woman will grew.
But never mind.
I've enjoyed life. But I do vaguely remember that when we went to get the school uniform there the raincoat, I vaguely remember. I don't know if my memory serves me correctly, but I thought they had those big silver embossed tools. I see that image. I know when I went to Diic downtown in Wellington on Lampton Key, I remember the big silver embossed tools there. But I think the IC when we were children, I think that had
the wire system as well. So, but great memories of walking up to Colbernie on a Friday night with Dad or Mum and watching the Salvation Army playing their songs and the ladies with their bonnets and the tambourines with the colored ribbons on, and Dad would meet his Shetland mates. Then we'd be all standing around, and I'd be standing there listening to adult conversation. It was all good and
excuse me clean. And of course all these men had a Shetland accent, so I was quite used to listening to their bro their Shetland accents, and I could understand what they were saying because my dad had the same accent. And they were always very jolly men. And a lot of the Shetlanders settled in Island Bay where the Italians settled,
and the Shetlanders and the Italians they fished together. And I was told by an Italian lady that the Shetlanders taught the Italians the long line of fishing system.
That was okay, I'm just going to cover with It's been absolutely fascinating. What a pleasure has been to talk to. I'm right on headlines, but wow, gosh, you've got some great things to say. And thank you so very much for that good evening, Zeta, welcome, Thank.
You, Marcus. I'd like to talk about my first memory of Smith and Coe great That was in nineteen thirty two and I was four and my mother took me to buy brown leather gloves for the winter. Quite a procedure. I was on a high stool with a backing, my elbow was put on a velvet cushion. All the gloves was kept in long narrow drawers the wedding gloves. The gloves were going to the races and so on, and
each pair was wrapped in white tissue. So my brown mather gloves were brought out and the lady stretched each finger was some sort of stretch of thing, and first of all the thumb was put on. Then each finger was smoothed down lovingly by the sales person. And all the time I was watching the money flying over my head going up to the glass office where I could
see the girls on the next floor. But getting back to the gloves, each finger, as I said, was smoothed on and finally buttoned with a little glass brown button at the wrist. And my mother bought the gloves. And that is my first memory of Smith and che.
Wow and it all. Did children have gloves in those days? I suppose they did?
Oh, of course, dressed up to go to town. And then I'd like to talk about Gibson. Frank Gibson, the drummer, Yes, thank you. I don't know if it was Frank or Don Gibson who played at the Peter Pan in Ruhlm Street in my heyday when we went almost every Saturday night, Nancy Harry on piano, Don or Frank Gibson on drums, and Tommy Andle on bass, and sometimes Mavis Rivers sang. And those were great days.
Now, could you just remind me, because it's kind of beyond my days. The peter Pan was where Rutland Street. Okay, copy that, yep, and then it moves Rutland Street in the city.
Yeah, yeah, and this will be in the sixtieshow it's very sad about Smith and Kewey.
Yeah, and this is the fifties or the sixties for the peter Pan. Oh, late forties, Okay, I understand, yep.
Yes, I got married in fifty two, so we were going to the peter Pan regularly before that.
Yeah.
I'm looking at the line up there and I think that certainly was Frank Gibson that was there at that one. But I'll do some more research on that, Zeta. But look, that's a tremendous call, and thank you very much for that. It's unbelievable.
Julie.
Hello, in a very good evening, and what an interesting program is.
It's dangerously interesting tonight.
Well, extremely the previous previous lady so that she was extremely interesting. But I was raised in Martin and we had Martin, the farmers co op and Martin and they had the wire system and I used to be fascinated how they could put the little They were wooden, the little containers were wooden. And they would put the money in the containers and put the docket underneath and zips. She pulled her like a handle and it was spring
loaded and shot up to the office. But I don't know if they had to do it on the way back. It just came down naturally, I think. But Martin Farmer's co Op they had everything from men's clothes right out to the back where you could buy fencing wire and wheat for the chicks. And it was a really, really big, fascinating strat I used to love going there and get my gum boots. When I got my first pere gum boots there, Dad took me in there and with all
these just all you could name it. It was there, from hammers to saws to then out the front was all the ladies where and and the men's where was on the right hand side, I remember, and the ladies where it was on the left hand side. And many years later my friend Katie Island she worked in the women's there. But it was a fascinating store and a big store for a little place like Martin.
Well.
I guess Martin was a berg supply town for a big cultural area. I guess a.
Roundabout, Oh absolutely, And the Salvation Army always stood out there on a Friday night, and the man would stand out there and preach whether it was raining or snowing or whatever. And they played their organs, sing their songs.
And at Christmas time they used to bring a big tree, a big fir tree, pine tree, and stick it up in the middle of the road that was strapped to the post office and to the hotel on the corner and story, and we in New Year's New Year's Eve, everybody gathered around the tree to see the new year and fabulous town. You're still there, yes, yes, you can hear me.
He's still in Martin.
You're still am I still in Martin? No, I live now. I live across the river in the in the Range River Valley.
Okay, so you're not far from there.
Yeah, no, I can see the station lights at night.
I don't really know much about Martin. It's kind of not a town. It's not a town you actually end up and by excident, is it you did?
It have to be an accident, but you know, if.
You're going Auckland to Wellington, you do drive that. It appears to me. I mean it's on the railway line is it, but not on the railway.
The railway always went through it. You could catch the train to go to Wellington or to Auckland, however, and I can remember in those days trains were fascinating with all the different kinds of carriages. Now they're boring as heck, they're just all containers, yes.
Oh they are. That's I don't know if you could you would the train. Would the train stop at Martin anymore? Yes, the person I don't.
Think the passenger train does. But it was a huge, huge junction yard for all those years ago. There was cattle yards and sheep yards. And I've never heard of the train actually stopping there at all, but it just goes through. But if there is still some quite heavy industry in Martin, but nowhere near.
Life it used to be what would do you know what the popular? Is the population static increasing? Or would it be five thousand or two thousand?
Oh, she would be I just bought a house there, but it's probably about three and a half thousand, I think, yeah, but fascinating little place in a very friendly little town.
Can Set's friend Too far from the sea for me, Judy, I reckond but lovely to talk to. Thank you. Also talking about Norm from Cheers, Marcus Good Evening, Parmeston North Hospital used a system like you were talking about, a solinitude system where it put paperwork into descend towards approximately twenty fifteen. Oh Dan, do you know what Norm did for a living? Someone said Norm previously saved the United States Coast Guard, though and earlyerpretad his state he had
been in the Army. He loses his job in an accounting firm by defending Diane from his boss. After strugging for a few years an independent accountant, eventually becomes a house painter. His wife was Vera, but of course they pretty much lived apart because she was never there or she had never appeared on episode you heard his voice, you heard her voice, Vera's voice once voiced by Norm's real wife, but did also film the movie Never Say Die in New Zealand. That's also true. But that's a
situation with Norm from Cheers. I don't know if he had as sooner. I'll look at his Wikipedia page now, people, Norm Peterson, yes, a fictional character.
I don't know.
I for his typecast. I don't know if he did much work after that. Quite good Norm's entrance into the bar as a running gag on Cheers, typically beginning with a greeting by Norm, usually afternoon or evening. Everybody. This is followed by the car the bar crowd getting his name, except Diane, who would allowed them follow them with a more refined Norman. Afterwards, someone usually Sam, Coach or Woody, will ask how Norman is doing and what he'd like
to order. Norman's respond with what he remarked frequently about his life In Orders to Bear. Normans also greeted it on the customary Norms shout at other locations, looking a bowling Alley, the Hungry Heifer, Gary's, Old Town teven. When Sam asks why people at Gary's know him by the name, Norm replies that he goes there on Christmas when cheese is closed. A running gag in the series is following commercial for the bartender to ask Norm if he wants
the other bear. Normal replies one quick one, after which he inevitably stays a bit longer. Oh, it's it's a good Wikipedia page. That one. There we go. Norm's wife is offer mentioned, but her face is never seen. When she has finally showed her faces covered in a pie thrown by Diane, and the actress is uncredited. The only time she has seen viewers can see only her legs, and one time her waving from a car when she
drives past chairs on her fifteenth winning anniversary. Vera is the butt of many of Norman's jokes, but on many occasions Normous professed secretly an undying love for his wife or defended her honor. He also refused to cheat on her in the episode Normal's Book Ordered, when a female IRIS agent was prepared to overlook his text evasion. If he did, there we go. I don't know what he did after that, by the way, was on sound elsewhere, but didn't do much, I don't think, but did appear
in the movie Never Say Die. Thing was called, by the way the cultural reference. In the Simpsons episode Flaming Mo's, Barney Gamble walks into the news success from Popular Mos to be greeted with a friendly cry of Barney, which chatirizes Norm's entrance. When a bartender similar to Woody asks him how he is doing, he boops in response, we are talking about Smith and Coey's and also Norm from chairs.
Smith and Curry's is no longer a thing. Well, I mean, they've said today that they that's it, they're closing that down. So that's one of the things we are talking about. But mainly we're talking about the communication system in the department stores with the pneumatic pipes and the aerial railways, which is kind of kind of remarkable and I'm not quite sure what happened that everyone got rid of them.
There are ways to actually oversee staff and pilfering. But anyway, when the last one is still be running in New Zealand was someone probably will know. That's what we are talking about tonight. Keep those texts and coming through your contributions if there's been some sensational calls tonight, So thanks for everyone. There's been discussion about Frank Gibson Junior who has died today, and I will read what someone has sent through to me from Audio Culture, which is the
very good music Facebook page and website. It'll just take me a short time. No name in New Zealand is more synonymous with drumming than Frank Gibson. Frank Senior was one of our great band leaders and drumm edicatas, and from his earliest years Frank Junior followed in his footsteps. Today we lost Frank Gibson Junior, which leaves a huge
hole in our music community. One of the great images of our musical culture is nine year old Frank on stage at Auckland Town Hall in nineteen fifty four pounding out a rhythm with his dad. It's posted here. He was so proud of that. Frank was larger than live. Generations of drummers were taught and inspired by both father and son. It's hard to overstate the loss to us all as Frank Junior was and is both loved and respected. Our thoughts are with his family and so many friends.
Rest well, Frank, you were one of a kind. He's a good text. Marcus. I know you have some flexibility with topics on a Friday, but I won't be able to listen Friday night this week. Do you think MH three seventy, John Bono Ramsey, he was only at Keller and medline Ken will ever be sold? Love the show mate, Marcus. Remember the Wellington years ago and onedon years ago. Cocolian stains ds and James Smith had lamps and tube systems. Also ce one Cafe christ Church now olivers hamburgers By
lamps and tube system. That's what we have talked about that it's very good too. Kids love it. Marcus. I remember a book transport system when the National Library of New Zealand opening ninetety seven. Suitcases were on tracks, on ceilings and up walls around the building. But I can't remember anything about it. Can't for anything about it. Hey, list is timoth they remember it? Or am I going? Man?
This is the National Library of New Zealand. I worked at Valentine's in the mid sixties and the sanctioned department of the office, the countisate was received by the kasher and forwarded to me to approve that the buy had an accountant on a file system. The docket was stamped to prove returned via the cashier again to the department received from initially wouldn't trust Nikola wills not to means
test the pensioners. The contrition the contribution of finances from the boomers will be able to help us all plus can pay for the rising costs. Everyone should have to pay. Countdown New Brighton still post COVID had a vacuum tube that sent the till float end of the day report up to the office. Not sure if it's still there since the refurbishment. That's from Zane Marcus, HJJ Smith and Verkargill had the system in every department Magic to watch
what year would have it ended? Maggie, Maggie Marcus, thank you for your show every night. My mother had an accountant, George and George and Winnington and shop there regularly for numerous things. We kids loved watching the cannisters shoot along the wire. It's all very good now called the suction system. Marcus went to farmers in Bayfair Mountain Monganui today, the closest to the old department stores. Feber Service walked out
with lipstick and lipliner one forty dollars. Shouted to the woman that Serby wasn't intending to spend that much, but his service inspired me. Susie Marcus, Google aircom dot com. Are you they still specialize in EU medic tube delivery. I worked for PC common Beck in the seventies. We had the canisters and chew powered by air. We sent job cards for the money of the office and the days returned the change with the seats wong and we had London Town d C Mcgruers and Mackenzie's Harry.
Hello, Hello there, Marcus. How are you doing good?
Thanks Harry, Oh it's good.
This in college and in Cunningham's Farmers the North was mentioned before. Yes, sisters always joined the radio show. I went to work for Farmers who took over the Collinson in Cunningham's building and we renovate. They renovated the building and inside all the under all the tiles, the roof tiles, ceiling tiles and so on. There was a full vacuum tube system up to the office that they had in
the sixties. There was also there was also traces of much earlier which looked like it might have been a cable system that went through the building as well to the cash office. But definitely it had a vacuum system.
They just shut it off with the fall ceiling. Today.
Yeah, they shut it all off with the It was all covered over with the ceiling. And then Farmers in nineteen eighty seven eighty eight renovated the building and they tore opened and of course they couldn't do anything. Immediately, the guy stuck his head up under the tois. He came back down. He said, we won't be working this today. It was all asbestos. It was sprayed on there and so they had to shut there. We had to work in the conditions where they were dealing with the isbest
or in one half of the store. Well we worked and sold stuff on the other half. I was fairly new to the company at the time. But the history that send that was in the Collinson and Cunningham building was unbelievable history. And it had tracks all the way back to the early nineteen hundreds. And the fantastic Christmas cave that they had down underneath the building was Oh, it was just absolute magic. I watched people for eighteen years and go down there, old people come out in
tears after taking their grandchildren and great grandchildren down. Absolutely amazing. That can all be found at the Tea to Manawan Museum now, but it's all walked away. They bring it out in October or November for Christmas.
But it was a.
Fabulous They've got the grotto, have they.
Yeah, they've got part of They've got large parts of the grotto that they that they're rescued quite a bit of and they they set things up for Christmas at to Manua, And from what I understand, I haven't seen it. I've only seen I got to look in the door where they had an old stored about four years ago. But I haven't actually seen it because I live up in New Plymouth now. But I'm definitely going down there this Christmas, and I'm definitely going to go and set on the wee roundabout?
Think definitely what's the roundabout?
The little there's a.
Little round about, a pedal round about that they have and oh it's a it's a very very old one, very mcare.
Is that from the is that from the department store?
That's from the department store cave Christmas cave they had. They had a train set down there. They had area planes flying across.
That's a good thing. They've kept that. That's great they've kep. Yeah, tell me what happened? Did the tube system go to the dump?
I think it did, Yeah, I think it did. I think it just stripped it out.
It's pretty hard. It's useless for anyone, really, is it? Anis you're kind of a.
Unless you know what, unless you know how to operate it?
Yet, well, I kind of me, any, I kind of meagine any post any uses fraud Apart the restaurant that serves burgers and kids bills and it works quite well. Actually, yeah, christ.
Yeah, I'll tell you now that one of the other things that I know is all the electronic stuff we do know f pos and credit card and everything. It's the electronic version of it. Exactly no cash handling at all. It's just exactly the same thing, except for its electronic from your account to their account. It's just the same thing done electronically.
It's the only place where those tubes seem to have contemporary use, I think is in hospitals when you've got to see prescriptions and blood tests and samples to the labs and stuff. And I think it works quite well there.
That would work quite well. Yeah, but they stood there. I think you'll find that they've got order these running backwards and forwards much leason of fit. But some of those, many of them.
Harry, some of those hospitals do have the cash that tube system. So but look, nice to talk to you. Thank you, good evening, Dion. It to Marcus.
Welcome, Oh, thank you Marcus. And look, I've got to apologize I have not been able to listen for the last three hour because I've had phone calls to listen to basically even busy. Yeah, you've got to care for people sometimes.
But I did.
Towards the end of my time with you. Here Mash being mentioned as as a TV show from the US, and I rate that is number one. Ever, is a comedy I wanted to mention as a comedy, Yes, also I mean across the board, but I think the comedy the comedic writing I think was was wonderful, but also touched other areas of of of writing that were pretty clever. But I thought of four others that kind of go across the board. One of them is Mork and Mindy yep,
Happy Days yep, until the jumping of the Shark. Of course, The Simpsons. I'm not sure if that's been mentioned or not. Like I said, I haven't heard, but Simpsons I think changed the way that a lot of things have been looked at and also have seen what's going to come in the future. And one of my favorite most recent ones, which is kind of getting a bit aged, is Brooklyn nine nine.
Yeah, that's not one of them. That's not one I have seen. I would dispute Morganman there. I've always found Robin Williams in that role quite annoying, but that's just my opinion. Okay, but what's Brooklyn nine nine very funny?
Yes, it's it's very funny, but it's also very clever. It's not just funny. The thing I like about humor is if it's if it's clever, it adds to it. So the Simpsons are clever. Brooklyn nine line is very clever.
Until what the synopsis of Brooklyn nine nine.
It is about a New York PD Police Department team of mainly detectives, but other people as well, peripheral people, not many of them. It's also, like you spoke about chairs being centered in one place, it's kind of centered in one place.
It has.
A kind of.
Diverse cast, and.
It just looks at the way that people treat people. I guess sometimes a bit differently. But the comedic values are in the in the text and also the storylines which continue through and it runs through I think eight or nine series. I think eight series, and it's just it's very clever.
Was it was it screened Free to Wear in New Zealand or was it screened No.
It's on it's on TV one. In said, well, what if it's called one plus? I think pretty.
It's not what I've had a lot of people talk about, but doesn't mean I'm not going to give it a go.
I would recommend giving it a crack for maybe a couple of shows, and if you don't like it, walk away.
Is it binge watching.
It is?
I can sit there And I actually watched the entire series over a period of I think three days A few months ago. I did the same thing with Matsh as well.
So Mesh, had you seen Mesh before I saw.
Mash when I was I don't know what I would have been at about eight or nine or ten or something. And then I watched it again periodically I think in the UK when i'd been in my twenties, and then I binge watched the whole thing in one go with somebody and we watched the whole thing in about five days or something like that.
Well, it still steps up, absolutely.
It is the best show ever written ever. It's top, top, top notch. And as you said when I heard you saying about there, there's no last in that final show. There are a couple of lasts, but the truth of what they're actually pointing out it's pretty amazing, really.
Nice to hear from you, Dean. Thank you so much for that one whole night. Haven't mentioned Butter. No calls about Butter, but gosh, what great publicity for Costco. How good's that? I think the crossover from Happy Days to Walk and Minnie's a side of the brilliant he bought. Yeah, it didn't last long though Mork and Mindy did it. I thought they sort too much. It was too much
showcasing him. I'll tell you what's an underrated American sitcom? Alf, If you want that kind of extraterrestrial thing, that was a much funny. He was good. Alf. He only went for four seasons. That should tell you something. That's my take on it. Steady decline, people stopped watching it never rated if that was never successful, and they always try to change it to make it better. I'm talking about
Mark and Mindy. In the second season, the show's main focus was no longer on Mark's slapstick attempts with justin Knew World he was in, but on the relationship between Mark and Mindy on a romantic level. Some of the focus was on work, trying to find a steady job. Because the erupt changes to the show in times not ratings slipped dramatically, dropping to twenty seventh the show has quickly moved back to with the previous time starting. Efforts
were made to return it to the court of the series. However, rating did not recover. There you going to be listened from that because there was also a Lavoon and Shody, which was also a spinoff. I think of Happy Days, Good evening, Doug.
This is Marcus Welcome, Okay, matey's work years ago when I was a young fellow and John edmund on Tay Street and we had the old vacuum vacuum system and.
Yeah, it used to work at a real treat. Actually, it was quite novelty to start up doing that with your first cover shop assistant.
What was what was so Tay Street? We're talking in the cargol are we.
Yeah, John Edmondson on Tay Street just a long oppositeation days there. Yeah, it was a big hardware shop. Used to sell everything there and and we used to send them up to the used to put them in the in the put your money in the in the docket and the canister and close it up and then send it down the street. And then you would go up to the top, up to the ladies up the top and they'd sort out all the change and send it back down to you.
What shop is that now, Doug, I'm not sure.
There was the sports shop next door to there for a while. There's the ant Birds next door, and yeah, it was white opposite the arcade. I'm not sure what that arcade is now, going right through from Tay Street through to s Street. It was right opposite that, okay, yeah, yeah, so and one of them not one, well last young fellows have a bit of fun and used to be able to grab a little lever on the box and if one of the girls was a bit slow up there,
you'd give this thing a bloody rattle. And they made a hell of a dorn up there in their office and let you just stir them up at it and then mix these girls be coming down and giving you a rack up and there's just a lot of tunb. Yeah, that's what's what. And it was great system. It was about eight machines.
It was where it was where H and J Sports was for a while, wasn't It was a big shot there. I remember exactly where it was. Okay, had that high setting. It looked like there'd be something up there. Never realized that was there.
Yeah, okay, yeah, you just listening to your show and I was like, when I'm here listening to your shows and yeah, I remember meeting New years ago. You interviewed Barry Crump from my hotel and Headlock.
Oh yeah, that's right. What was it a hotel called.
It was?
Well, it was the Florer soon at that time.
Over the over the water or something, was it?
Yeah, just right in the middle of right in the middle of Headlock.
Yeah, so were you south were so where you were south Ender there that had become a publican and Havelock.
Is that right?
That's that was the story. Yes, yep, yeah, around of that.
I don't know why, because crub wasn't living in Heavlock, was he? I think we drive over from Nelson Will didn't.
He lived in Rock for oh probably probably six years and more.
And I subsequently met her that that wife he was with several times after that too, that she was he was with at that time too.
So yeah, they shifted up. They shifted up to the Hawk's Bay somewhere from Headlock.
Yeah.
So why did you end up there in Havelock?
Well, basically had a farm and Luis farm in Southland and they have a Fairfax there and and yeah, just sold that up and and be a publican and a little poor poor the beer in my life before that, So it was a lot of fun.
Hell did you last?
Probably we built up. We hit motels here as well, so yeah, about nine years in total.
That's a good stunt. I don't have a pub for that long. Yeah, it's always every time upstayed there, it always seems to be quite a lovey little town. I quite like it.
Yeah, yeah it is. Yeah, it's it's going a lot of the Marina's quite big there now.
Yeah. Yeah.
And getting back to your shows, you know, I've never routeen on American comedy. Always like the British comedy. I don't know why, but the one American show I really enjoyed was Texting. Yeah that was a real dry right.
Yeah. It had a great script, didn't it.
I really enjoyed that.
It was so fantastic, fantastic characters here. You're quite right.
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