Dave Gee: Life from Right Field

Life's been pretty busy lately... been travelling around a lot doing stories for 3 News, as well as getting a new set and things ready for the new look 9 Local News.

We started back with the nightly news at Channel 9 on Monday, and everything went pretty smoothly for the first day back, especially considering we were still wallpapering and screwing together the flats for the set on Monday morning ;-)

I'll post a few shots of our new look in day or two, but for now here's a few shots that I've been meaning to get up from a story we did the weekend before last on flash flooding in the lower South Island.

It's been the most bizzare summer here in NZ, and these pics are from a little town called Heriot which suffered quite badly in the flash flooding. One farmer had thirty two fences down, lots of stock killed, and really soggy paddocks...

It's times like this when it's good to have a solid 4WD vehicle...

Only room for one lane traffic now! ;-)

The disappearing road, with a random farmer's bridge in the foreground that floated down from the hills!

Shay at work, filming the aftermath of the flash flood...

No play at the Heriot Golf Club, after half the road washes up on the fourth hole ;-) (Apparently the water washing through the course was up to 2m deep at its peak)

Just back from doing a stint working at the 3 News office in Christchurch. Now I'll hopefully have a few days break before I'm back on chasing stories around Otago/Southland until Channel 9 gets back in motion for the year.

Have been spending a lot of time in recent weeks getting engrossed in a range of Reality TV shows, from the biggies here, through to some less known ones which the networks here have buried in daytime telly. It is interesting tho the mix of people they have on these shows, and just many of these characters are in fact, phsychotic luntatics!

In honour of these strange characters, I have compiled a little list of recent Reality TV Psychos...

* Maria (Blinky) - The Apprentice 2 - Officially listed as a 'Marketing Executive', this woman was a prize psycho. Incredibly thick, incredibly lazy, highly incompetent in any task, and had this bizarre habit of blinking really quickly when she was under pressure or being criticised. (Honorable mention to freaky scary Stacie "I see dead people" J).

* Jonathan - The Amazing Race 6 - The supposedly male half of the husband/wife team Jon & Victoria. A majorly hot-headed psycho, who screams like a baby when the slightest thing doesn't go his way. Thinks everyone is against them (well, they probably are now ;-) Must have been a spoilt only child, surely?! Constantly screams and harasses his wife Victoria, who tends to burst into tears, before later announcing on camera "He loves me really".

* Aunt Donna - The Family - (The reality show where an Italian family live in a mansion in Palm Springs, and each episode one member gets 'denied access to the family fortune' by the secret board of trustees - actually their staff). Aunt Donna ruthlessly controls her extended family, along with husband Uncle Michael. Spits venom at anyone who dares oppose her, or fails to tow the family line. Might have a heart of gold somewhere, but it's buried in five feet of pure lead.

* Natalie "Stay home and eat cat food" - My Restaurant Rules - Partner of not-quite-so-psycho-chef-Simon in the Restaurant Mylk (My Little Kitchen). Acts like a snobby brat, with no people skills. Decided halfway through the series she didn't like the cameras, and that the result was pre-conceived. Couldn't believe that Australia didn't love her and Simon, and might try to take their restaurant off them. (Lady, it's called A Game... You signed up for it!)