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In all my years of travelling and flatting, I thought I had seen a fair share of the dramas that come with having to share a living space with people you probably haven't met before. I've experienced the creepy guy with no social skills, the chronic note-writer, the compulsive cleaner, those that never cleaned at all, the never-ending partier, the sly food-pincher, and the all-time classic, the vocal nymphomaniac. From all of this I thought I had come out the other side with a vast amount of patience and a greater understanding of how to manage flat ordeals.

1. Pull a gun on him
2. Just mention cockroaches
3. Volunteer him for a climb to the top of the harbour bridge

As people who know we will attest to, I am not exactly the most adventurous person in the world; I won’t even go skiing. So when President Jan told me he, me and Events guru Dave would be spending a Friday scaling the bad boy that links the city to the shore, I was torn.

As I type this, unleaded 91 octane is selling at $2.10.9 a litre. If you consider yourself a bit fancy you can pay $2.15.9 for 95 octane and diesel guzzlers are forking out $1.83.9 per litre. And the Government reckon they’re going to put forward an inquiry to scrutinise the pricing structure by the big oil companies too. What a load of shite! Who the fuck are they kidding?! Oh so NOW you’re beginning to understand the strain on New Zealander’s pockets, NOW you’re thinking that the over the $2 mark is a bit too much and you honestly think an inquiry is going to knock the price right back down? What a gyp.

Today I am meeting with a couple of young actors fresh out of Toi Whakaari: The New Zealand Drama School in Wellington, who are about to unleash their ambitious double-header upon our fair city. Meet Dan Musgrove and Natalie Medlock. Their show, A Horse Story: Blinkers and Spurs, consists of two one hour two handers (theatre speak for a show with two actors). The first is Blinkers, an odd love story between the fastidious, horse obsessed Monty and his upstairs neighbour Amy, a Patti Smith loving punk-rocker. In its companion piece, Spurs, the setting changes from urban apartments to the vast Wild West landscapes where an outlaw on the run encounters a mysterious Indian.