The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin Newstalk ZB

Long Island by Colm Toibin. It’s a sequel to the book Brooklyn which came out a few years ago and was made into a terrific movie – though this can easily be read on its own. Eilis moved to NYC from Ireland and married an Italian guy in Brooklyn. Twenty years later she’s living claustrophobically with her husband Tony’s family deeply embedded in her life. A stranger arrives to say that Tony has fathered a child with his wife and when the baby comes he intends to dump it on their doorstep. She retreats home to Ireland and while there, reconnects with a man she’d loved and left behind. The nuance of relationships and the sense of place are really powerful – Colm Toibin is a master of both and this book is a joy to read.

Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan, author of Crazy Rich Asians. This is similar, in that he writes about very, very rich people – and others masquerading a wealthy when in fact they’re hiding behind a pile of debt. Rufus Leung Gresham is the future Duke of Greshamsbury and has a lifestyle to maintain – but in fact he’s desperate for financial help and his mother decides the best way out of the mess is for him to attend his sister’s wedding at a luxury eco-resort and find a rich woman there to marry – what could possibly go wrong? If you liked Crazy Rich Asians – and who didn’t – you’ll love this. Full of big brand names (most of which I’d never heard of and had to keep googling) and the lifestyles of the fabulously wealthy (or those who just wish they were).

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If you're travelling through the US, travel expert Megan Singleton recommends Tupelo as a day trip spot.

The small American town is best known as the birthplace of Elvis, with his original home and church and the store where he got his first guitar visible for tourists to explore.

BloggerAtLarge's Megan Singleton explains why this town is worth adding to your itinerary for an American road trip.

Read more about Megan's experience here.

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This week on the Sunday Panel, Coast day host Lorna Riley and Capital director, Ben Thomas joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the week - and more!

We're less than a week from Budget 2024- what can we expect? What areas does it need to focus on? What problems do we expect it to address?

Are children and teens becoming more violent? A 13-year-old has been charged with stabbing and killing a 16-year-old, a 14 and 17-year-old have been convicted of murdering someone in Beach Haven and one school principal has expressed concern about kids becoming more aggressive. How can we prevent this?

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The perils of ultra-processed food have been receiving more coverage and exposure.

Ultra-processed foods are manufactured food products loaded with saturated fat, salt, sugar, and calories.

Naturopath and wellness expert says these chemical-laded food have been linked to increased risk of diabetes, cancer, stroke and heart disease.

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Mince and cheese pies

Cook time: 55 minutes

Prep time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4 small pies

1 small white onion

1 small carrot

1/2 stick of celery

1 small fennel bulb

250g of beef mince

1/2 tbsp plain flour

1/2 cup beef stock

1 bay leaves

1 sprig of thyme, stripped

1 cloves of garlic

2 fresh tomatoes, diced

1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce

50g frozen peas

Tasty cheese

Your short crust pastry

1 egg

Finely dice your onion, carrots, fennel and celery and mince your garlic. Over a medium heat, fry your veggies (not the garlic) with a little oil until soft and the onions translucent. Then add your mince and fry until all the liquid has evaporated and mince is browned.

Add in your bay leaf, thyme leaves, garlic and a touch of salt and pepper and flour, mix to combine and fry for another minute. Now goes in your diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, beef stock and frozen peas. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the liquid has reduced to a gravy like consistency, remove the bayleaf and allow to cool.

Whilst the filling cools roll out your pastry base and lid to fit your tin, allowing the pastry to hang over the edges of the tin. Roll out another small amount of pastry for the top and grate your cheese. Once your tin is lined, add in your cooled mince filling and top with cheese. Brush the edges with a beaten egg and add your lid, squeeze together the edges to seal shut.

Top with a design of your liking, making sure to add a hole for the steam to escape from, and brush with egg wash.

Bake for 25 minutes on 220*c.

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For the first time, an artificial limb has been fitter with sensors on the fingertip which enable a standard prosthetic hand to sense and respond to temperature.

The new tech device provides the wearer with thermal information to the areas on the amputee's limb that have working nerve areas. The brain then believes that the arm is still connected to the missing hand and provides the user with a real sense of hot and cold.

The research published in the journal Med is more impressive, as it was built only using affordable electronics that can be bought off the shelf, and it’s simple design means it can be built and fitted in only a few hours.

In the initial testing, simple experiments were carried out where volunteers fitted with the sensors were asked to pick up and sort identical bottles or identical metal cubes that were at different temperatures.

The ability to pass this test is significant for amputees, as it helps them to stay safe by determining if something they are picking up is dangerously hot, for example if they were cooking.

When this first test was found to be easy, the researchers blindfolded the volunteers and asked them to guess if their prosthetic hand was touching another prosthetic hand or a real human hand. The volunteers were able to detect the warmth of the human hand, and identify it every time. This ability to sense the warmth of the hand of another person is a huge step forward for the world of prosthetics and helps a wearer to see their prosthetic as part of them rather than an external device.

The researchers are now working on a texture sensor system to add to the temperature equipment which could bring even more functionality to the world of prosthetics and help millions of amputees to ‘feel’ things again.

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