(MUSIC BECOMES ELEGANT JAZZ) Captions by Jordan Waetford. Edited by Kristin Williams. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2021 (BELL TOLLS) (JAUNTY MUSIC) - Tonight is the battle of the branches. It is where our three branches get together ` Hill Street, Henderson branch and Princes Street ` and we're about to face off in tenpin bowling. - The theme is to come as your favourite character or superhero, and I've come as Batman. The first time ever I've ever had a six-pack, to be honest. (SIGHS) Yeah. - He was, you know, standing in front of the mirror before we came, (LAUGHS) you know, doing the whole side look. He's got a bit of muscle, you know? He's gonna bowl those balls all over the place, and he's gonna strike it. I'm a flapper lady. Ta-da! Yeah, well... It's all it tonight. - I decided to be different and dress up as a female version of myself. 'And today, ladies and gentlemen, I am Jayla.' - Actually, Jay's looking rather pretty in his dress. It's all I can say. (CHUCKLES) (JAUNTY MUSIC) - So, when it was time to put on the bowling shoes, I, ah... forgot that I had a dress on. Oh! Sorry. (LAUGHTER) - 'A few people were exposed to things.' I need to hide me bits. - Everything's hanging out everywhere ` things are falling out of bras, and things are loose and dangling. - They're looking a little bit out of proportion there, dear. - Hang on, I'm fixing my bra. (LAUGHTER) - But to be honest, I wasn't there for the competition. I was just there to, um... play up. - Currently, the reigning champs are Henderson. (CHEERING, LAUGHTER) - But there's a lot of competition tonight. - Look, like any superhero, I feel really confident, I feel great and look good. We'll come out on top with all the superhero power. - Oh, oh, oh! - Oh, damn it. - All right? - Your turn? - Yes. - We compete amongst ourselves. - You don't have to watch me. - She's looking at me; I'm looking at her. But it's important that I keep focus on the game. - I'm in Hill Street, and I'm feeling pretty confident that we're (SINGS) 'just gonna waste them.' (CHUCKLES) Pow! - Whoa, whoa, whoa! (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) - Thank you. (LAUGHTER) - Oh, my tane, he gets a bit of a strike. Go, Batman. Barbie is right into all of this. (CHATTER, LAUGHTER) - It's obvious she's the captain of Henderson. - Ready, Vanessa? - Jump. Jump! - Go, Vanessa! - So, when we were bowling, there were some males in the lane next to us. Fehi got a little bit upset with me because I was being so funny. They were watching me instead of looking at her. Sorry, girl. (CHUCKLES) It's anyone's game... until our team ` a lot of them went in the gutter. But I had a few manoeuvres up my sleeve. The 'squat and roll', so it was exercise in one. The aim was to distract the other players, and I think my plan worked. - The time has come to tally up all the points and announce the winner. - The branch that has taken it out, with 326 points, is Hill Street! (CHEERING) - So we-we-we came last, so... (LAUGHS) - But, you know, there's always next time, and my wife was with the Hill Street and all of them. And so, they're the winners for the night. So, yeah, bugger, but it's all good. It's about whanaungatanga. - I'll up my game next year; I'll wear a shorter skirt. (GENTLE MUSIC) (CURIOUS MUSIC) - Today in our care we have Mr Anzac Owen Vincent Fox who is 80-years-old and died of a cardiac arrest. This is the first time I've casketised with you. - No, it's not. - Oh, isn't it? - I think this is the first one cos it's mine. - Oh, that's what I mean. - Usually I'm assisting you. - Yes. Haere mai, matua Owen. Nice and gentle. Jay, who is normally our embalmer, is a funeral director today, and I'll be assisting him with the final touches of Owen. Oh, wow. And I'll just check your level because we don't want you to hongi the lid. Wow, look at that, eh? - Once we casketised Owen, Francis kind of just took over. I need to come towards you. - Are we able to come to me? Matua, we're just gonna come up this way a little bit. Jay will push your feet. That's it. - He's quite pedantic. I just know that Owen was in the good care of Francis during that part there, so I just let Frances go for it. And then I went on to place Owen's hands together ` just nice and natural. It's always good to do that when the boss is around cos he's always watching, cos he's, like, the presentation king. We've always gotta be on our game. And I just wanted to get it right for the whanau. The emotions are really raw. It's the first time they're seeing their loved one again ` in a casket. So, usually when they last see them, they're in a bed, so they kind of know it's final. And, you know, he's nicely presented, he looked like he was asleep. But it always pulls, um` pulls the heartstrings. And it is hard. You can feel their pain, but we've just gotta act like the rock and help them through it all and get there all together. (WOMAN WAILS) - To hear the cry of a whanau, it always pierces your wairua and your soul, and you become one because you all tangi together. And so it was important for us just to be there with them as they prepared to take Matua Owen back to the marae. # Tama ngakau marie # Tama a te Atua # Tenei tonu matou # Arohaina mai. # - And we also organised the big Caddy. It's the biggest car we have in our fleet, and that's how we took him out to Silverdale. - # Wetekina mai. # Matua Owen has made it to his first marae ` Te Herenga Waka o Orewa ` and there he will lay for the next two days. (WOMAN PERFORMS KARANGA, MAN PERFORMS WAEREA) - One of the things I learnt at the marae was he was a very loved man. - ALL: # Nga whakamoemiti # Whakawhetai e Ihu e. # - One of the important things with Maoridom is sharing the knowledge, and that's what Owen did. He passed on his knowledge to all the other generations that were there. You could just see it in their eyes how much he meant to them. That's the end of the first part of Owen's journey. I'll see them again in two days as we take Owen to his final resting place at Te Kauwhata. (CURIOUS MUSIC) - When families walk into a funeral home, it's important that the funeral home is clean, is presented beautifully and also smells nice so that families don't have to worry about questioning, 'Is this our tupapaku,' 'you know, going off or smelling?' or 'Have they not done a good job?' Today I've had some really strong extraction fans installed in our wharepaku upstairs ` our lavatory up there. And it was important, of course, with odours and smells, and for those who care about, you know, their dignity. (TOILET FLUSHES) (PULLS HAND TOWELS FROM DISPENSER) - I've had the privilege of using this lavatory, this wharepaku, and quite proud of how well the extraction fans are, so I'm really excited to share the news and to tell someone about it. Nona? (SNIFFS) - Yeah? - Come here, dear. - Oh, no. What do I have to do? (CHUCKLES) - No, nothing. I just wanna show you something. - Do I have to put my mask on? - No. - Are you sure? - I'm sure. What can you smell? - (SNIFFS) Smells like roses. - Thank you. - No, not you, the toilet does. (LAUGHS) - I just wanted to show you because you and I, we go toilet quite often. - The fan? - Yeah, we've got a new fan. - Oh, thank goodness. Your smell was really bad. It was coming down from the walls. - I know, but not any more. - Mm. - It's a superstrong one, dear, so` - Super suction for your smelly bum. - Super suction for both of our bums. - LAUGHINGLY: Ew! - I think Nona really thinks the fans are for me. She tells me that I'm stink all the time, but, you know, kei te pai tera. And so she's, um` She probably doesn't really care but, you know, until she experiences what I've experienced, then she'll be like, 'Wow, it's quite good.' Come in, dear. Just have a ki'o. - Yeah, we need a fan cos your bum's always elo. - This is how strong it is. If you watch this paper` Watch this. Oh, my gosh. - Oh, wow. - She's a great sucker. You know, it doesn't leave anything behind. I mean, it almost sucked the paper into the vent. So, this goes to show how well it can suck out the odours, and just for everyone to go in there and let it rip and have not worry about any odours. - That's why you keep coming up here, eh? - That's right. So, any smell that if it thing, it just naturally... - LAUGHINGLY: Whoa. Woo! - ...see what I mean? Nga mea pihau o te wharemate nei, ko ahau... ko Fiona... Ae. Just us two, mainly, i te nuinga o te wa. Everyone else usually are quite conscious about it. I mean, yeah. It doesn't matter how sick or ill you feel, if you need to go to the loo, you come up here and no one will ever know you've been. - (LAUGHING) But you can hear it. - Oh, look at that, dear. - (CHUCKLES) That's why you spend most of your time up here, eh? - No, I just wanna show you that I do things for the pleasure of... well, my smells. And why am I so conscious? It's because cleanliness is next to godliness. (GENTLE MUSIC) (CURIOUS MUSIC) - Nona's on a low-carb diet. I mean, if she can eat all these, you know, greens and no bread, cut out a whole lot of fizzies, a whole lot of sugar, if she can do it, I can do it. Well, you're doing really well, eating your healthy foods, you know, you're giving me some encouragement to eat... - Oh, wow. - ...healthy and feel good with you. - Oh, wow. - So, I've got you a surprise. - Is he good-looking? Is that my blow up doll? (LAUGHS) I'm really excited cos I think I know what it is. Yaass! - Activewear. I know, right? - Yeehoo! - Have a look. Hang on, wait. There's a few` Come. Come. There's a few in here. - Hey, hey, I'm not size` Never mind, gosh. - Gonna take you in here. - Bring you over here. - All right. - I feel that, well, one, I need motivation to go do something physical. Nona's always encouraging me to go for walks with her. She's actually doing really well herself. - My goal to work out with Kai was basically just to give us a better habit of exercising daily, making ourselves feel better, you know, and probably having time out for ourselves to just chat about things, not about work, you know, just have, maybe, me time. You gotta stretch it, cos the input is to actually get it in there. - OK, right, let's do this. - See? - I'm gonna join you on this. - Yeah. See? Yayuh. - Oh. (CHUCKLES) - Stretch-a-litus. (LAUGHS) - OK. - See? - Are you sure I'm a small? - There. - Thank you. - Wow. - Oh, I feel great now. Hang on, wait. - We should walk around like this at funerals. - Oh, all right. That's all right, then. - Nice. - Thank you. - I feel like, wow, I'm a model. (LAUGHS) So, today me and Kaiora are gonna go for a walk around the block. I'll take it slowly on you, you know, I won't hurt you. - Just don't run, please. - There's no running in this body, mate. - Actually, I feel Nona is fitter than me, and I feel like I do need to keep up with her. She's actually looking really good. Are you even working out in the morning? - Of course I am. Always. Cos when I come in I do my washing at work. (LAUGHS) So, at the moment I'm on an eight-week challenge with my family. We're part of a group called Aunties, and they're basically trying to help women improve their everyday living. - Very proud of you. - Oh, thank you. I'm very proud of you too. My journey is being able to activate every day for at least 2� hours in the morning with my family at the pools and at the gym, and it's been awesome. I love it. The emphasis is about ourselves and being able to make ourselves change our eating patterns, which is really hard for us Islanders because, you know, we like to go to the carbs and stuff. But I've learnt in probably the last year how to adjust without carbs and just eat what needs to be eaten, and taking time out for myself, which is really odd cos usually I'm at work all the time, so... And it's been good cos I feel better, and I can actually fit clothes better as well. (GIGGLES) So, yeah, it's a win-win situation. - Hello. How are you, brother? - Not too bad, not too bad. - Malo soifua. - Hi. - Hey. - Nona, she's eyeing up a few men. - Ooh, nasty. - (CHUCKLES) Look at you. OMG. - Yeah, well, look at his body. He has a good frame, you know? Mmm. - (INHALES SHARPLY) I just hope we can finish the walk without any more... looks around. (LAUGHS) It was quite full on, that walk. Thank you for that. (CURIOUS MUSIC) - Kia ora, everyone. Thank you for coming to our little staff meeting here. I just want to firstly start off by welcoming Mary, who will be working with Jay as an embalmer in our Onehunga mortuary. Dear, welcome to the family. You're the only pakeha that we've had in this company, and that's so beautiful. It's a blessing for us, although we were wondering, are we able to call you 'Mere'? Oh, let's welcome Mere! (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) - Francis has decided to demonstrate how to close a casket when a family is doing karakia or doing prayers in our facility to help the admin staff understand what needs to be done, because sometimes we're out at funerals and he only has the admin staff there to assist him. - You want to make it wonderful. It's a show ` a show we don't get wrong. Watch Logan and I. We should look at each other, and we'll give each other a nod when we're gonna flip and then slide on. OK, so, one, two, three and then nod. (SOFT MUSIC) - It is important to know when to place the lid on, how to do that. - Fehi, me and you will do it together, yeah. # Amazing Grace # How sweet the sound # That saved a wretch like me. # - Kai, can I get you to give me a hand? - # I once` # How beautiful. Now, we'll just stop there. When you ask a family to help you with the lid, what an honour, don't you think? It's like pallbearing. - It's a privilege. - It's a privilege. So, invite them. Help them. But you just don't give them the lid and say, 'Yep, go put it on.' They might come over here, put it upside, turn it around. You guide them. - You'll find they tend to get emotional too... - They get emotional. - ...because it's their moment that they can awhi and be part of that final part. Yeah. - Yes. # Amazing Grace # How sweet the sound # That saved a wretch like me. # Now if there's someone crying, 'No, no,' cos that happens, you're gonna bring the lid up to here. Ready? Go. (IMITATES WAILING) No! Don't put the lid on. - I feel that he is trying out for an acting career. I mean, he's got his, you know, water taps on, his tangi going with his eyes, and he's got the tangi going with, you know, the aunties, how they express themselves, so he's doing really well. - And they're gonna cry and they'll cry, and someone in the family will come and awhi them. 'Come on, it's time to go.' Then you just slide the lid up, Look at this. That was so ceremonial. - Does the length of the song make a difference? - Yes, it does. I do like us to sing at least the first verse together, but by the time you're to the car, I like the song to be finished. - Right. - So, we time it so it's like a perfect show in terms of the countdown and timing. But if you take too long, I'll just do another verse. - You know, like, don't cut him off too short. (SNORTS SOFTLY) Yeah, hm, it's once again all about his singing, hm. - It's not just closing a casket and sending a family off and then ka kite, they're going. It's important. It's leaving either a good taste or a bad taste of our whare mate with this family, whether we just look like a shambles and didn't know what we're doing. OK, we need to follow the ceremony right through to the end. - This lesson is for all of us today. These simple reminders are important, and getting them to try and be in the moment with grieving families or having that final moment before closing the lid... And I` Well, look, that's why he's put the tap on, to get them in that mood. (LIGHT CHATTER AND APPLAUSE) - The leg is, the leg is... - Ka pai, very good. Very good. Very good. (GENTLE MUSIC) (CURIOUS MUSIC) - So, I arrived at the marae at 4.30 in the morning. The family have already closed Owen's casket prior to me getting there, and then we hit the road about 5 o'clock to make our way down south. - It's about 7.30am and Matua Owen and his whanau have arrived down in Te Kauwhata. And the plan was to have a drive-by past his marae of Waikare before he was taken for burial. But as emotions take hold of you, the family and the tangata whenua there ended up calling him into the wharenui of Ngati Hine to lay there for one last time. It was one of the kuia that said, 'You can't go past the house without knocking on the door first.' - Haere mai ra, te whare o ou tupuna e, Ngati Hine o Waikare e, haere mai ra. (MAN DELIVERS WHAIKORERO) (CURIOUS MUSIC) - The acknowledgements and the accolades for Matua Owen were continuous in the wharenui and these were the ripples and the currents that were provided for Matua's spiritual vessel to journey to Hawaiki ` the final heaven. - Kua rite a tinana, kua rite a wairua. Kua whakaae mai te iwi nei kia nohotahi tenei ki a ratou ake tonu atu. No matou te whiwhinga. No matou te koa. Whano, whano, haramai te toki. Haumi e, hui e, - ALL: taiki e. - In some tikanga around the motu, cameras are not permitted into urupa ` or cemetery. And the reason being that sometimes the footage taken, takes away the sacredness of the area. And so, to acknowledge Matua Owen, we film his final convoy to his resting place. No reira, e te ihorei, kare he mana i tu atu i te tuku matauranga. Ko koe tena. Haere, haere, whakaoti atu. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air.