NZ Mould

Given NZ's size, it's extraordinary that Steve Goble was allowed back on the radiowaves again tonight.

Hope City FM plays "good-time Christian rock'n'roll", and is inspiringly broadcast from the station-manager's house in New Windsor. In a Wayne Campbell-esque way, everything is actually broadcast from a studio under the staircase. I was supposed to be presenting the first edition of Goble On Friday in the 7-10pm slot, however I had to wait for the guy to get home from work to let me in, so it became the 10-10:30 slot. Most of the rest of the schedule is covered by 2x 10-hour DVDs which put in alot of time.

On the bus going there, inevitably my mind drifted back to the good old days of Radio Cracker. What had happened to the rest of my team? Why weren't they here with me?


Well, Brian the weatherman couldn't make it due to bad weather. And Elvis didn't record anything after 1977. Tim Harrison was represented in the studio by his microphone - the same one we'd broadcast the very first show on way back in my day on Dec 1st 1991.

And as for that no-good coffee-guzzling lackie Hosko, I never even asked. For crying out loud, I'd swear that his coffee was just everyone else's dregs collected up and slopped into my mug. It's almost as if he was protesting about his working hours...

Still, at least Gary loyally flew over to join me for it. Really – he even took this photo:

All the same, as it was Guy Fawkes night, which, yes, they do celebrate here, I couldn't help listening in my head to how it all perhaps should have been...

Steve: "And it's time to go over to that action man among action men, Richard, who even as I speak is about to set the Auckland Firework Display in motion."

Richard: "Hi Steve! Well I'm just about to light the long fuse now, but in this light I'm having trouble distinguishing between the fuse and the microphone lead. Oh I know, I'll just light both of them..."

(Actual clip of tonight's show here)