On the Adventures of the Coffee Bar Kid this week - Christine Hunt Daniell - "Just an Orange for Christmas" Harper Collins $34.95

This week we explore the territory and history of one of Dean's Favourite tramping grounds - the Wairarapa.  We talk to Author/Historian Christine Hunt Daniell.

When Christine Hunt Daniell sat down with pen and paper and talked with the ‘old- timers’ for this book, her motivation was to preserve more than the bland surface details of regional history. The stories are from the Wairarapa, but their core is essential New Zealand experience, exposing something universally human. They describe how it felt to live over the last century, how it feels to be near the end of life, how today’s world measures up. Each character is a survivor, recalling often raw or touching personal details. To Stan’s insistence , “I’m amazed you keep wanting to come back and get information from an ordinary old fellow like me,” this book is an extraordinary testament. These stories reflect our spirit. Our heritage. A carefully unravelled web of facts and feelings, earthy yarns, shrewd perceptions, tomfoolery, fantasy and faith. Our folk history. Who we are. Our backbone.

After graduating, Christine Hunt Daniell spent three years in Europe, working in isolated rural communities. While absorbing the distinct flavour and spirit of each culture, she became determined to capture New Zealand’s equivalent - a heritage or folk history we still tend to deny we have. She produced three books: Something In The Hills, Speaking A Silence and I’m Ninety Five - Any Objection? Christine and her husband farm in the hills north of Masterton and on the White Rock coast.

See you at 7.30PM This Thursday only on www.groovefm.co.nz