The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley: a bunch of long time friends get together in Dorset to celebrate the imminent opening of a new resort, a heritage home which has been completely refurbished with no expense spared. It’s all very nice – champagne, great food, all dressed for the occasion – but the locals aren’t at all happy about this new development in their area and things take a sinister turn very quickly. In recent years Lucy Foley has made a name for herself writing “locked room” mysteries – where a lot happens in a small space and they’re good fun.

Camino Ghosts by John Grisham: the third book in his Camino Island series where much of the action is set around the local bookseller – who in this case comes across a story which he recommends to a local author who starts investigating. An uninhabited island called Dark Isle, off the coast between Florida and Georgia has been identified by some property developers as the next great place to make a quick buck and they have big plans for it. Dark Isle was for many years home to a group of runaway slaves and an elderly woman who lived there until she was 15 years old and was the last inhabitant is claiming ownership to it and getting in the way of their plans.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As winter marches on, many Kiwis will be nostalgic for the warmer months and considering an island holiday.

Waiheke Island could be the next best thing - it's only 35 minutes away from Auckland by ferry, and it includes beaches, fine dining and wineries.

BloggerAtLarge writer Megan Singleton says 47 local businesses have even come together to create the Waiheke Island Winter Passport, offering several limited-time deals.

Read more about Megan's experience with Waiheke here.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on the Sunday Panel,Gold FM and Newstalk ZB host Andrew Dickens and podcaster and broadcaster Brodie Kane joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the week - and more!

The Interislander ferry Aratere ran aground on Friday night after suffering a steering failure - it was successfully refloated last night. Is this a bad look? Do we need to replace the ferries?

King Charles has opted to skip visiting New Zealand on his upcoming tour Down Under, amid increased concerns about his health. Is this the right call? Do New Zealanders care?

How disappointed are we with last night's Warriors loss. Can the team bounce back?

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A healthy metabolism is important to maintaining overall well-being - but how can we keep it in shape?

The metabolism helps with digestion, and keeping it in shape can reduce blood sugar spikes and bring down the risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara explains the benefits of checking in on your metabolism.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The countdown is on, with the 2024 Paris Olympics set to begin next month.

This will be the first Olympic Games hosted in Paris in 100 years, and the organisers are promising a unique visual experience for viewers.

NZ Chef de Mission Nigel Avery says the committee had to work within a 'complex' environment - but he's confident they'll put on a good show.

"They're going to put on a great show. The overlay is just beautiful, you would have seen the images of the Olympic rings strung beneath the Eiffel Tower."

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin Full Show Podcast for Sunday 23rd June 2024:

Below Deck star Captain Sandy Yawn pulled into New Zealand shores to promote the ninth season of the reality series. She joined Francesca to discuss meshing her passion with TV stardom.

This weekend marks 60 years since The Beatles made their first and only tour stop in New Zealand. Author and rock historian Andy Neill explained how the band took the nation by storm.

The Blues have been deemed the 2024 Super Rugby champions after last nights final, with ZB's Elliott Smith recapping the win.

Francesca weighs in on the 'PR nightmare' that was grounding of Interislander's Aratere ferry.

Plus, the countdown to the Paris Olympics is on! NZ Chef de Mission Nigel Avery shares everything we need to know ahead of the event.

Get the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin Full Show Podcast every Sunday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yesterday, it looked like it was going to be impossible to get someone from KiwRail, the Interislander or the Government to agree to our requests for an interview this morning about the grounding of the Aratere, the Interislander ferry that ran aground on the South Island Coast line about 2.8 km north of Picton on Friday night.

Not hugely surprising. Understandably the consequences of this steering failure are complicated, potential vast, and keeping them busy – from ensuring the safety and then removal of those on board, the technical challenges of re-floating the ferry, monitoring the potential environmental damage, and no doubt fielding unhelpful calls from those you’re accountable to.

Last night Interislander General Manager Duncan Roy agreed to talk to us this morning, which we appreciate.

But let’s speak plainly. Pictures of the Aratere sitting nestled under the cliffs of Tītoki Bay is a PR nightmare for all involved. There are no winners in this situation, and it tops off a pretty crappy week when it comes to asset maintenance. We can’t fly our Prime Minister to a meeting in Japan either, and all it took was one power tower to tumble to knock the power out in Northland. Honestly, what next?

The Government scrapped the mega ferries plan due to a blow out in landside infrastructure costs, the pressure has been on the government to offer another solution. A Ministerial Advisory Group was put in place in February to consider the future of the Cook Strait service. The Government is assuring us they’re committed to new ships, but they will be kicking themselves that a plan hadn’t been settled before this incident.

In a press conference yesterday afternoon, the buck was passed pretty quickly, with Transport Minister Simeon Brown making it very clear the onus was on KiwiRail to make sure they’re maintaining their ships, and on Martine New Zealand’s to make sure they do so.

And he is right. Regardless of what plan was or will be in place to replace the current ferries – the Aratere would have been sailing on Friday, and for many more Friday’s to come. Keeping the fleet operational is imperative until replacements have been delivered.

But there’s no doubt this will bring renewed pressure back on the Government to get new vessels and new port infrastructure underway. The number of incidents tells us all we need to know. SH1 over the Cook Strait is unreliable, it’s disruptive to businesses and freight service, and it feels we’re just one more incident away from a disaster with a much more serious outcome.

In the meantime, well done to everyone involved in re-floating the Aratere last night without incident. Job well done – let’s hope you don’t have to do it again.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

300g plain flour, sifted

100g brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla paste

Pinch of salt

150g butter

1 egg, beaten

Plain four for rolling.

Combine flour, sugar, vanilla and salt. Cut butter into small cubes and add to flour mix. Rub together until the mix starts to resemble fine breadcrumbs. Add beaten egg and continue to mix. Once dough is formed, remove from bowl and knead by hand to form a ball. Warp in cling film and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Farm lime tart

Cook time: 40 minutes

Prep time: 25 minutes

Serves: makes 2 tarts

1 x sweet shortcrust pastry

1 egg, lightly beaten

Filling

Zest and juice of 7 limes

1 cup + 1tbsp caster sugar 500ml cream

3 eggs

3 egg yolks

Roll your pastry out onto a lightly floured work surface, then use this to line your tart casings. Trim to line the tin neatly.

Preheat the oven to 180*c. Line your pastry case with a cartouche (baking paper) and top with baking beans. Bake for 18 minutes, until pale golden. Remove from the oven, take out the greaseproof and beans then return to the oven for 5 minutes. Remove, brush with the beaten egg and then return for another 5 minutes.

*Reduce the oven temperature to 110*c.

To make the filling, put the lime juice and caster sugar into a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, stir through the lime zest and leave to infuse for a couple minutes before straining. Place the cream into a new, small saucepan and heat to just before boiling, remove from heat. Place the eggs and yolks into a medium mixing bowl and whisk. Whilst whisking pour over the lime juice mixture onto the eggs.

Once incorporated repeat with the cream. Then pass through a sieve. Spoon off any bubbles before pouring the mix into tart case until full bake for 40 mins

Ready when it has a light jiggle. Allow to cool.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.