Gillian Swinton grew up watching her grandmother maintain a family farm in Northern Scotland - and used her experience to cultivate the rural lands of New Zealand.

Now based in Central Otago, Gillian and her partner Hamish live on a 2.7 hectare property - embracing their own journey of living a self-sufficient and more simple life.

Gillian has shared her own story of homesteading with tips and tricks in her new book The Good Life.

"All of a sudden, we've got two-and-a-half hectares and sheep and bees - and it snowballed."

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Epic thriller All the Colours of Dark was one of the must-read books of 2024 - but author Chris Whitaker's road to success was a long one.

Whitaker has suffered his share of trauma - childhood abuse, stabbing, and losing millions of pounds as a stockbroker.

He turned to writing - a move he credits with saving his life.

Ahead of his upcoming appearance at Auckland Writers Festival, Whitaker says it was a 'vulnerable' place putting his creative work out for audience approval.

"It felt like I didn't have anything else to offer - that was then, obviously, but now I've started writing a new book and I'm in love with that."

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1985: A Novel by Dominic Hoey. Set in Auckland in the mid 80’s as the title suggests, this is the story of a young man coming of age in a dysfunctional family in Grey Lynn before it became gentrified, when the area and many of the people who lived in it were rough, not necessarily law abiding and where there seemed sometimes to be no future. Obi and his best friend Al discover a map which they believe leads to treasure, and which they hope will turn their fortunes around. The book is extremely atmospheric of the era, and took me right back. Terrific local fiction.

High Heels and Gumboots by Rebecca Hayter. Rebecca is a sailor and a journalist, often combining the two things, who turned her back on Auckland and bought a property in Golden Bay, where she had grown up many years earlier. It’s a story about leaving the city and discovering independence and self sufficiency, a strong community to call her own, and finding ways to come to terms with the fractious relationship she had had with her mother, who was something of a legend in the area.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the perks of using credit cards is the Airpoints rewards - but there's benefits and pitfalls involved.

A Platinum AMEX, for instance, will give you points for every $70 spent - but it comes with a higher annual fee than the Airpoints Low Fee Visa card.

You can also earn Airpoints through New World's rewards programme, but it takes a bit of spending to make a significant impact.

BloggerAtLarge.com writer Megan Singleton explains further.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on The Sunday Panel, NZ Herald senior writer Simon Wilson and journalist and editor Jo McCarroll joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!

Should Kiwis have more say over the state of the health system? Can health ever become bi-partisan? Do we believe it is a matter of doing things differently with the money we have, rather than continually expecting more money to be the answer?

Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world came together to pay tribute to the Pope - but the amount of people taking selfies raised a few eyebrows. Does this cross the line?

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s a subject many would prefer not to think about, but there’s no avoiding the fact that people can struggle with issues with their pelvic floor.

A weak pelvic floor can lead to issues with getting proper exercise - as well as other complications.

Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara reveals the signs and symptoms of a weak pelvic floor - and how to best treat this condition.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cook time: 25 minutes

Prep time: 30 minutes

Serves: 6

6 large bone-in chicken thighs or legs

2 cups red wine

12 baby white onions, outer skin removed

2 tbsp sunflower oil

Flaky salt and white pepper

200gm button mushrooms

6 rashers streaky bacon

1 cube chicken stock dissolved in 1 cup water

¼ cup chopped Italian parsley + extra for garnish

6 serves mashed potatoes

Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper and marinate in red wine for at least two hours in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 180*C.

Place the baby onions and mushrooms into a large casserole dish, toss with oil, salt and pepper and roast until the onions are tender (about 10 minutes)

Next heat a large cast iron pan and saute bacon till coloured. Remove bacon and chop into large pieces.

Remove chicken thighs from marinade and brown in the pan with a touch of oil. Cook the chicken in batches to avoid stewing. Once coloured place the chicken into the casserole dish Cover with bacon, onions, mushrooms, red wine, stock and parsley. Cover with tinfoil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove tin foil and continue to cook for a further 25 minutes.

To serve: spread a generous amount of parsnip mash on each plate. Spoon over the coq au vin and garnish with chopped Italian parsley.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.