DAVE DOBBYN'S 'THIS TOWN' # Look how long it's taken you # to arrive in this town. # From the dawn into the dark, # I will hold you deep in my heart. # Look how long it's taken you to arrive in this town. # I start every morning, seven days a week, 365 days of the year at 5.30. I do the main-street rubbish bins, gutters and footpaths. Leave the town nice and tidy for the morning. Sweeping gutters, cleaning footpaths, picking up broken glass and picking up litter. I recycle around 2.7 tons a year of cans, glass, paper, out of the rubbish bins. I've always had a pride in my home town and like to see it tidy. I've spent a lot of time in Australia, travelling around, and in NZ, and you go through other towns and it's not a good image to drive into a town and see an untidy main street and untidy footpaths and long grass and weeds growing where they shouldn't be. When I finish my street-cleaning, I return home to indulge in my other passion. DOG BARKS The first model car would have been back about 1957 or '58. Um, my oldest aunt was working in South Africa and used to send gifts home at Christmas, and the first model I ever got was a beautiful little Dinky Toy mobile gas tanker which I've got to this day, and from that day on I was hooked, and I've never really stopped, and I'll have to admit it's still an obsession. This is a 1961 Ferrari Berlinetta made by CMC in Germany. It is my favourite model, cos I really appreciate the amount of work that has gone into the intricate detail of it. Very fine detail under the bonnet and underneath. The springs, suspension, torsion bars all work, and the steering works to the finest detail. My collection at the moment totals around 4000, 75% of which are on display in the gallery. I used to have my model collection housed in a little shed in the backyard. It rapidly outgrew the shed, and I ended up buying a building here in the main street of Waimate. The models in the collection range from round about 1935, '37, right through till pretty much 2010. The oldest model is probably a little 1937 first-issue Fordson tractor brought out by Dinky in England, and that's probably one of my most treasured models. The gallery attracts an unusual range of people. Older people tend to be more interested than` than the younger ones. We find that teenagers and children are not interested in it because it's not digital. When I was that age I would have spent many hours in there looking at the models, but unfortunately times have changed and people look at things differently. BRIGHT ACOUSTIC MUSIC Hi, how are you? A box? I'll just get the girls to put some more chips down just in case. Amy, could you get some more chips down, please? Yes, there is enough for a box. Most popular items are cheese rolls, custard square, and we are well known for our chunky chips. The cheese rolls are a South Island thing. Everyone has their own recipe. I think they're popular because they have plenty of filling in them and it's a very creamy cheese mixture that we make here, and very tasty. More cheese rolls, Tess, please. < Coming. Thank you. An authentic cheese roll must have evaporated milk, Maggi Onion Soup and cheese. They are the three basic ingredients, and also we have fresh chopped onions. Fresh onions are important, because they just give it that little bit extra flavour. Then you can add whatever you like. We have cream in ours and we add a little cornflour, and we have a secret ingredient that we add. You've got to be generous with the filling. You need to have it oozing out into your mouth. A thick layer of cheese and then rolled over, buttered and toasted. My name is Jane, and I'm the barber of Waimate. So, what else are you up to? Come on. 'I was born and grew up in Islington in London.' Have you got gardens around your little flat where you are then? MAN: I've got a garden, but I've got the garden at the farm too, you see. 'A people person, that's what I am ` a people person. 'That's why I think I've chosen this job, cos I love working with people.' How you going, hon? Ooh. Cold. 'I think it is quite an intimate job. I have to be caring, understanding and discreet, 'and, um, yeah, have to make people feel comfortable when they're here, 'and, um, we just ch` can chat about anything.' We've had a very mild winter. 'I am sometimes an ear for people to talk to me about the things 'that they certainly wouldn't talk to others about, 'and I like that, because somebody's got to have somebody to talk to, 'and` and if it's me, great. I'll listen.' Occasionally I get asked for, 'Please leave that long ratty bit at the back,' or someone will be wanting a mullet, but fortunately they're not as popular as they used to be. (LAUGHS) LAUGHS: Sorry, but I can't stand those haircuts. Oh God. 'Sometimes I do get people coming in and asking me for things, 'and I know that they're going to look absolutely hideous, 'and I absolutely refuse to do it, because I think when they walk out of there 'they're going to tell somebody that I did it, and I don't` so I don't do it. I just refuse.' Do you want the fringe ` the little top bit` shorter? Oh, yes, please. 'Most of them handle it really well, cos I'm very serious when I say I'm not doing that,' and that really is the truth. (LAUGHS) CLIPPERS BUZZ All right for you, darling? Very good. Cool. There you go. All done. You have a good day, won't ya? Yep, will do. See you again. See ya, mate. I love living in a small town in NZ, because I've come from a big city, and it's just that closeness that you have with people. You just seem like a number over there, whereas here being part of the community is quite special. LIGHT ACOUSTIC MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES Hop in the bucket. Here's Mum with the food. Bailey, hop in the bucket. Good boy. Hello. 'I've always been keen on animals, always, ever since I was a little kid ` 'anything that crept or walked or flew or whatever. Always had animals everywhere.' How would you like to hold Brandy Snap, Lavina, while I brush Muffin? And then I'll brush him. OK. All right? How about that? This little pony here has got spina bifida. Her problem is in her back ` just here. And she's got bent legs, and so her brush has got a little hollow in here so when you brush you don't hurt the sore bit of her back. 'I wanted to be a vet until I found out how much schooling you had to do, 'and that flew out the window. So I'm my own vet.' Don't you look good? Here we come. It's easier if there's two of you when it comes to gates. Better wash my hands, that way you don't get any spread of disease. This is our fancy hand basin. It's our bush basin. Pretty good. I first found out about wallabies when I was about 8. We came to Waimate on a hunting trip with my dad and my uncle, and that was when I first saw a wallaby. And then you read these stories about Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, and I thought, 'I want one of them.' But you have to have a licence to have wallabies. You just can't go and get one and have it as a pet. You've got to get a licence, so we went through the local lawyer here in the town at the time and I've now got a licence to hold 200 wallabies, but, oh, I'd never be able to afford to feed them, so I've got between 60 and 80 here at the moment, and that's enough. They keep me poor. It is an obsession. People used to ring up, you know, 'Would you look after this little wallaby? 'We've shot the mother.' Things like that. Now, this is what you do. You walk in and you look at the wallaby, and you go, 'Hello. Would you like something to eat?' They like you to talk to them like you talk to your cat or your dog. You put a few pellets in there, just two or three, put the bag at your foot. Now squat down like a frog. Right down, that's a good girl. Now, the wallabies sometimes hold your hand. They might hold your wrist and they go, 'Yum, yum, yum.' < Right, are we ready? ALL: Yes. People used to come and have a look at them, you know, like they'd have visitors in Waimate and they'd say, 'Oh, can we come and see your babies?' And one thing led to another, and in the end, I thought, 'Well, it's getting expensive to feed them, so if we opened it up to the public and charge them 'that will help to feed them and fence them and house them and all that, cos it costs a lot of money.' So, and vet bills ` they're not cheap, so that's why I put a charge on it, but I don't make it too dear, because the average family wouldn't be able to afford to come, and it's the joy of people looking at the wallabies that makes it all worthwhile. This is our oldest wallaby in here. His name is Copenias, and he's over 20 ` just over 20 ` so if he was a human he would be about 100 years old. And that one over there, he's old too. His name is Bojangles. A wee American boy named him. Right, will we go and have a look at some more up here now? Righto. I hope that the children today took away an experience that they've never had before, and the look on their face, and when I asked them, 'What did you think of the wallabies?' they all said the same thing ` 'Awesome.' And it's just to be able to get up close to touch a wallaby, to pat it, just to look at them, to cuddle one, hold one, just, you know, it just brings a little bit of joy in their life, a little bit of... What is it? Sunshine in amongst the darkness. Lots of kids don't have the same opportunities as others, and it's an opportunity; it's something that they'll hold in their mind for the rest of their life ` well, I'm hoping. The looks on their faces ` that makes it worthwhile. It's got to be a passion, cos you wouldn't do it otherwise. You wouldn't do it just for the money. How did you enjoy it? ALL: Awesome. Is that the popular vote, is it? ALL: Yes. Right. Now I'll show you something else that's awesome. What do you think of this? ALL: Aw! Isn't she cute? Now, this is Charm, and she's totally blind. She can't see at all. Who wants to have a cuddle? ALL: Me. I've progressed, because they land on your door and you don't have the heart to turn them away. You look at them and they look at you with those pleading eyes and say, 'Help me,' so you help them. When the earlier settlers come here, when they brought the wallabies over here, they were brought here for sport, for hunting. And people eat them. And you can eat wallaby meat. It's quite nice. You eat the back legs, and the skin makes good leather, so if you were to skin them and tan them, they'd make good boot leather, like, you know, shoelaces, bootlaces, things like that. When people ring me up and ask me will I take on a little orphan baby, I say to them, 'Bring them to me as soon as you can. Don't feed them anything, 'just boiled water if you have to give it a drink. Keep it warm and get it here as soon as possible.' I feed them every three hours night and day, and I've got to keep them at 80 degrees Fahrenheit. That's warm, and you mustn't let them get a chill. Very time-consuming and very tiring, but you've got to be dedicated. You're in there for the long haul. Oh, they're so loving and trusting, these little fellows. I've got to look after them. Come on, kid, time for tea. (SIGHS) Time for a drink. I'm more connected to animals than I am to people, I think, because when I was a child I had an accident at primary school. I was very good at sports, and I was high-jumping, and I landed on hard ground and I dislocated my hip. Well, of course, I was laying for months and months, and kids can be cruel at school, and they used to call me, because I hobbled, they used to call me a cripple, and I had a nice pet possum called Josephine, and I used to go home at night, get Josephine, and go way down the bank behind the trees and cuddle Josephine and tell her all my woes and problems. Cry all over her, and she loved me no matter what. Animals always give you unconditional love. I think why I identify with disabled people and disabled animals is because I've been there, I've done that, and I know how much it hurts. LIGHT MUSIC ROOSTER CROWS Come on, George. Hop down. I can't reach you up there. Hop on. Good girl. Good girl. Sit on. There you go. Now we go and get Blackie? Come on, Blackie, your turn. MIMICS: Come on, Blackie. 'I'm a Christian. I believe in God. God made animals. 'He put them on this earth for people to enjoy, and that's it.' Get on there and I'll give you a scratch. Hop on. Good boy. Yes. Ratbag! A ratbag. 'I do enjoy them. It's like that hymn, you know, "All things bright and beautiful, "all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all,"' and he made wallabies, so I thank Him for that. Mm. TRANQUIL MUSIC We moved to Temuka 40 years ago. I like the people. Uh, I like the town. I like the type of place that it is. I suppose I like to get involved in things. RADIO: Welcome to the Blind Foundation's telephone information service. TIS is Telephone Information Service, and it's a service from the Blind Foundation, because they can't read the paper themselves. Hello, TIS listener. Tuesday, August the 19th, and this is Colin with some bits and pieces of news from the Timaru Herald. There's a big photo on the front page of the general manager of the Timaru RSA. 'If I look in deep enough, I think it's because I can't think of anything worse than being blind. I would hate to be blind. You've only got to close your eyes and you can realize what it would be like.' I'd hate to be blind. READS: 'Discharge for ex-officer who cuffed a boy. Judge Jane Farish said that as a police officer 'Timothy Phillip Hartenol had had issues with people riding bikes on the pavement in Pleasant Point.' He's not the only one who's got issues on 'em. I got issues with them doing it here in Temuka too ` riding on the pavement and these skateboards. Anyway... No! (LAUGHS) Behave. My greatest achievement in life is being fortunate enough to marry Janet and have four great children. Our relationship sort of started off as a favour to her brother, who was a cobber of mine. He was going out with a girl who wasn't allowed to go unless she had a friend with her, so he said to me, 'Would you take Janet?' And I said, 'Oh, bloody Janet. 'All right, I'll take Janet, OK.' And that's how it started. I would never have thought of Colin as a lifetime partner in those early years. (LAUGHS) JAUNTY MUSIC We went to a lot of dances and balls and had a great social life. You always had the supper waltz with your partner, cos then you could` you're beetling off outside and having a drink every now and again, so somebody else was dancing with your girl, which was fine, but he wouldn't dare grab her for the last dance, or there could have been trouble. They were good days. Mm. We had the best of days. We did. With a relationship that starts like that... You know, they talk about love at first sight and all that sort of thing, but it sort of grows. You just get... I used to get to a stage where I'd ring her every single night, and I suppose that's falling in love, isn't it? It's what it's all about. (LAUGHS) SERENE MUSIC Our wedding day, I was late. Were you? Yes. I don't remember. Oh, well, there you go. SERENE MUSIC CONTINUES . Things that stick in your mind. I can` I can still see my dad just as we got in the car to leave, and he said to me, I can still remember his words, and he said, 'You take good care of that girl. 'She's the daughter I always wanted. The easiest thing in 50 years of marriage is because he's my best friend. You've got to really love one another, otherwise you wouldn't... (LAUGHS) last long. I hope that when we cut the cake this time, we have better success than we did 50 years ago when we tried to cut through the stand instead of cutting the cake, so here goes. OK now, one, two... Which way, dear? Here. Down. GUESTS CHUCKLE APPLAUSE # For they are jolly good fellows. # For they are jolly good fellows, # and so say all of us. # Hip hooray! Hip hooray! The Foleys have been here for four generations, so it's always been into my blood. We're all hard workers. For me, farming is... There's always something different going on, and to watch something grow or watch an animal fill out and get big is just watching this incredible seasonal journey. For me, I just love farming, I love being outdoors, and my dad was the same. I wanted to do something different in South Canterbury. I'm really scared right now. I've been to a few maize mazes up in the North Island, and I loved them, and I love that adrenalin fix of` of being scared in a field. What way do we go? So one day I just woke up and said, 'Right. I'm going to plant a row of maize and go for it.' (SCREAMS) The dark side of Rory was obviously somewhere there, but I just never let it out. I just don't know where this` this darkness comes from. I think it's the whole evil Rory that just loves to see people cry and... (LAUGHS) I love watching really good horror movies. I love being scared. It's that adrenalin that you get. The Maize Maze was a huge success in the summer and then we felt that we needed to do something in the winter indoors, so we created the asylum. Tonight we are raising money for Centennial School, uh, for a playground. We've got over 200 people coming tonight. That's probably the highest for this Fright Night that we've done. What could go wrong is we get the odd dope smoker that comes through or someone that's been drinking. If there's any drinking or any silly behaviour, we just, um, break character immediately and just put them out the nearest exit. I'm very good at organising, I've discovered. I-I never knew that I had this talent, but a lot of people are shocked. Like, within 10 minutes of the maize starting, all of a sudden it's five, four, three, two, one and every actor's in their spots and the music's on and we're all good to go. Is it your first time? Yep. Yep. Exciting. You've got a newbie. I know. Newbie, don't smile. 'I'm always kind of trying to develop it to make it so everyone has a good time.' I think it's different. Instead of going out to a movie or just going to drink, they're turning up to, really, the unknown. They don't know what lays behind those doors. KNOCK ON DOOR Are you ready? EERIE MUSIC It's that whole, 'Oh my God, I don't know what's going to happen. Am I going to handle this?' Clowns are a big one. WOMAN SCREAMS 'Will I be able to handle clowns?' MAN YELLS Man: Whoa. A lot of people don't realise there's a lot that goes on behind the scenes, so I'm in the centre of the whole operation. There's a lot of causes to give to, and it's just nice to give locally, and I'm` I'm more than happy... Anyone that would turn up with a cause, I'm, 'Let's try and make something for you. Let's help you out.' I'm usually quite shocked when it all comes together. It's all about scaring people. Th-that scare they love, yet it's actually helping someone else. SCREAMING 5 My name is Mandy, and I run Amanda's Bridal Services in Waimate. I need to be able to look at somebody and think what's going to suit them, how it's going to suit them. Is it going to work? Can it work in their budget? And most of all, you've just got to be able to work with them, and you've got to try and keep it calm but also give the bride what they need, and sometimes it's not what the mother or mother in-law want. I worry right up until after the wedding, because I think if the dress isn't right... I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself and I know I've done it right, but you still like to think, at the end of the day, you see the photos and it is right. It's usually those dresses that are brought to you ` 'Can you fix this?' And it's an internet dress, and there's a lot of things wrong with it before you even start, but you're the last one to touch it, so it's your name that's on it, so you try and get it just perfect. I don't do very many white weddings these days. People now actually go with what suits their skin tone and what looks good on them. They don't go with the tradition. There's not many ladies that can actually wear white. It's not an easy colour to wear. WHIRRING You can get a dress from 500. You can get a dress from $50. It just depends on the person, but it can also go right up to $3000 or $4000 just for a dress, but that's a house deposit. (CHUCKLES) My name is Bill Scott. I live in Waimate by choice. I think Waimate community is typical of a lot of smaller towns. It is based around the logic that people know each other and care for each other, you know? It's that personal level you don't find in a city, I don't think. I think a city can be very impersonal, and that mistrust you get with strangers and all of the other evils in the modern world, it's` you can kind of eliminate a lot of that, because you know the people personally. Being an engineer by trade, there's just been a natural instinct to make things and build things, and the farming background was more by necessity. The old, sort of, Kiwi logic, you know. Number-eight wires and do what you can with what you've got. And eventually I figured out that engineering was something that I liked to do and spent my life doing. My father came and settled here after the Korean war, early '50s. Our family was born and raised across the Hunter Hills, which is sort of an anchoring bit of landscape, if you like, around here. I've seen it forever on, from both sides. It's just like the backbone of my little community is that big chunk of land, and, you know, it's sort of a backdrop to almost everything that you look at. Art is just a marvellous way of expressing yourself. I've doodled since I was a child and probably always will. This is a commission for a local farmer who just converted to dairy, and they just wanted to recognise the transition from, you know, the original land. The land's been in the family for several generations, and, um, just recently the` you know, the dairy's taken over to a large degree, and a lot of this land that would have never been typically deemed dairying country for whatever reason, they've converted. Basically, left the farm because I'd realised that the farming wasn't me, and so while I was on the farm I taught myself to sign-write. When I came to Waimate originally, it was to sign-write full-time, and so that ultimately has led to the murals, and, of course, there's a few around town now, and I think they're all quite well received. HAMMERING DRILL WHIRRS Can't hear much oohing and aahing. There's a lot of oohing, guys. Come on, people! Man: Fantastic! APPLAUSE I shouldn't have had to do that, Bill, you know? They should have been spontaneous, you know? I would say that Waimate 51 would be my favourite. The Waimate 50 mural is quite special for anyone that lives in Waimate, really, particularly my age. I mean, we were children when this thing was at its full flight. The Waimate 50 is an event based on a 50-mile race, effectively, around the streets of Waimate. I think it started in '59 and through to the mid-'60s. Bruce McLaren was one of the original winners, who's a rather iconic name in the whole motorsport industry, so, yeah, that's a nice touch. And it was an exciting, amazing event. The mural really just recognises those iconic cars and the characters of those days. Chev Corvettes and the Mark II Zephyrs and those cars, and to see them all around the streets with great big V8s in them and exhaust pipes sticking out the bonnet, and any young man is drawn to the smell of rubber and fuel. The mural is something that I am quite proud of. Must sign it one day, actually. I haven't quite got round to that yet. LAID-BACK ACOUSTIC MUSIC ENGINE RUMBLES It's an iconic street race. We're trying to keep it alive, because it's the only street race in NZ. Bit of a handful around these tight streets. (LAUGHS) It brings Waimate into the spotlight. It's all volunteers, all the local contractors. I mean, the hours and the time that they spend, I mean, if you had to pay them, we just couldn't afford to do it. They're tremendous to go out of their way to make things happen, and it's people like that that make a community what it is ` real community spirit. I got my licence about two days after my 15th birthday. It couldn't come soon enough. Out on the farm and in the country and that sort of thing, you start driving pretty early. It's just a matter of having to, really. I was a pretty good driver, but, uh, yeah. Well, you used to think you were in those days like every young person, I guess. We'd get doing skids around paddocks and things that Dad doesn't see ` hopefully not see. He probably seen the marks. (LAUGHS) ENGINE REVS JAUNTY MUSIC MOTOR RUMBLES It's not the speed, just, uh,... Every race driver will pretty much tell you the same thing ` they haven't got a clue what speed they're doing. CAR ZOOMS It's the fact that you can beat similar cars, uh, with driving and car preparation, as I do all of my own ` always have done and still do. CROWD EXCLAIMS I had a bit of a hiccup, um, just getting ready for the Waimate 50, and I end up with a partially blocked artery, and they've allowed me to race Waimate, um, so that was quite good. That's all I was concerned about. I much prefer to be behind the wheel as opposed to being a spectator or a passenger. ENGINE REVS ZOOMING JAUNTY MUSIC COMMENTATOR SPEAKS OVER LOUDSPEAKER It's probably going to come to the stage where, um, either something to do with my health will pack up. I'll keep racing cars as long as I can ` as long as I can open the door and get in and out, as long as I can see where I'm going, I'll be still there. JAUNTY MUSIC MUSIC ENDS BAGPIPE MUSIC My dad encouraged me as a young fella learning the pipes. He didn't push me at all, but he was with me at everything that I did ` solo competitions, pipe-band competitions. Once I could play, he actually handed me over to a different tutor who he thought that could get the most out of my playing. I began learning in 1963, and I joined the Temuka band and started playing in 1964 and played there for quite a while, and it progressed from there. Pipe bands have been a feature of South Canterbury for a long time, and Temuka has always had a pipe band, and it's been important to the town. BAGPIPE MUSIC FADES WARM ACOUSTIC MUSIC I work at the family business, Gannaway NZ. We not only do pipe bags, but we do everything to do with bagpipes and drums. There are only a handful of people in the world that actually do make bags for bagpipes, and we are the only makers in NZ. The bulk of our product is all sourced from NZ, and we m-make it here in NZ as well as anyone else in the world. Here you go, guys. It's quite unique, because I work here with my mum and my dad. I'm very very lucky; not all family members can work together, but my dad is my best mate, and Mum keeps us both in line. We make our own leather bags, which nobody else can do, so we've got a good, solid base for our business. The one thing that is important to me is to make a good product, that` that our pipe bags are top-notch and that we have a reputation for producing something that works. Top players, world-champion pipers in Glasgow play our bags. What more could you ask for than to have some of the best players in the world playing your pipe bags? So, we've started to sell bags into Scotland. We've started to sell fridges to those Eskimos, and that's probably the most satisfying of all the markets to crack. Sam, you gonna play the base drum tonight? Oh, yeah, that would be cool. Righto. That'll be... Yeah. ...good` good stuff. I run round in the van on Monday nights, picking up juniors, taking them to practice, so that they can get there, so that they can get their rehearsal out of the way in time to get home and do their homework or go to bed so they're not too late. I don't have to do it, but then, I'm going to be there anyway, so I may as well pick up people on the way. Those that love it will stay, and those that don't love it will drift off. BAGPIPE MUSIC One of the most important aspects of building a sustainable pipe band is teaching ` and teaching lots. We have 30-plus learner pipers, and I think really you need to have at least that if you want at the other end to have a handful of really really good ones. It's the old pyramid example, I suppose ` to make cream you must first make a lot of milk. DRUMS HISS BAGPIPES RUMBLE BAGPIPES SKIRL DRUMS CLATTER TUNEFULLY BAGPIPES CONTINUE SKIRLING I think probably because pipe bands are so visual and have a certain amount of volume, it moves people easily. We've all got a soul, and I guess it gets into us, so that's what we rely on ` the sound of it and the visual appeal, so not hard to motivate kids. BRIGHT MUSIC I love Timaru. Um, the biggest thing I love about Timaru is the people. Uh, the people make the town. It's my home. Good stuff. How far did you walk from today? Um, from my road. Oh, good stuff. Good man. So, currently I work as a health promoter. I work with` with schools, and I help them with their health programmes. I'm good. How are you? How far have you roller-skated from? Um, from at least off` in the middle of Otipua Rd. Awesome stuff. Do you do this every day? Yep. Congratulations. I do a lot of things in the community. My thanks to the community that supported me and my family 20 years` 21 years ago is doing the things I do now. 180. Awesome. Cool. Growing up, I was an average young boy out there having fun, getting dirty, climbing trees, you know, getting told off. I started losing weight, and when I say I was losing weight, I was losing a lot of weight. I lost about 15kg to 20kg. POIGNANT PIANO MUSIC Then the doctors told me I had cancer. I was 11 years old. I-I didn't know what cancer was. So, they` they then said that they have to amputate. Yeah, they chopped my leg off. And when` when the doctors said to me, 'You might not reach Christmastime,' you know, Mum and Dad, they were fearful. They even brought Christmas forward for me, um, so I could celebrate Christmas. Looking back now, that was bloody emotional, and the impact that that must have had on my mum and dad is huge, is absolutely huge. After I started back at school, I went to the hospital for a check-up, and, uh, they said to me that I had tumours on my lungs. I was angry at this stage, cos I` once again this is when I thought, 'Shit. My life's gone.' I thought, 'I am going to die,' you know? I just cried from Christchurch to Timaru, and I remember my dad, he didn't know what to do. And here's his 12-year-old boy just in hysterics, just crying and crying and crying, and we stopped on the side of the road and he bought me an ice cream, and I had an ice cream, and` and we just sat there and cried together, and` cos I-I thought I was going to die, you know? Jeez, I'm` I'm getting emotional now. Um, and it was` it was at this stage, um, again that he said to me, 'Look, Josh, we've got two choices ` 'you can either, um, live your life to the full, or you can, um, sit back and let this cancer beat you.' EVOCATIVE MUSIC The doctors always told me that one thing that'll never happen for me is I'd never be able to have kids. I accepted it, but I didn't really accept it. I was lucky enough to meet an awesome woman that already had two kids. I-I had a test, and the doctor come back to me and said, 'Look, Josh, you've got 0%. You got no swimmers.' And his words were` he goes, 'You've got more of a chance of your leg growing back than having kids.' It was th-then that I accepted it. It was a few months later my lovely wife, Tans, came up to me, and she said, 'I'm pregnant.' And that was the best news that I could ever have. When we were in the theatre when` when Layton was born, I just cried and cried, and I held him for the first time, and that was emotional. I thought back of everything that had happened in my life ` being told that I was going to die, being told that I wasn't going to survive Christmas, being told that I couldn't have kids, and here I am holding this miracle. BRIGHT ACOUSTIC MUSIC Don't ever give up hope, because miracles do happen. BRIGHT MUSIC CONTINUES UPBEAT MUSIC I know it's a silly sort of thing to have, but I wouldn't mind another 50 years with her. (CHUCKLES) We'd be old. I really wouldn't. Yeah, we'd be old, huckory old dog tuckers, I know. I don't know what will happen when I snuff it. Well, I won't know, will I? Just hope that there's somebody comes along one day that loves wallabies like I do, so that... Yeah, when the ti` when the time's right, someone will arrive. I'd like to engineer less and paint more, but other than that, perfectly happy with where I am, what I am. Don't want to be greedy. Don't dwell on the past, cos you can't change the past. Go out there and live your life to the max. Go out there and just live life.