Vaughan Smith and Urzila Carlson for Have You Been Paying Attention? Photo / Supplied
My first job was ... For my first paid employment, I had two jobs at the same time; one was at Shell (before it was Z) working on the forecourt, and the other was relief-milking cows.
It taught me … what "two-stroke fuel mix" means ... after a feeeeew mistakes.
If you had a lawnmower or chainsaw in Morrinsville in the last half of 1999 and it mysteriously stopped working, my bad. I now know that. But you should see me pour a 40:1 mix - like a fine cocktail. And milking cows taught me that there are some smells that get into your hands that won't leave for days, regardless of the amount of scrubbing.
The last job I quit was … my job at Shell, after I worked out that getting paid $40 (before tax) for an 8-hour shift starting at 6am, wasn't the greatest hourly rate - and they wouldn't let us take the pies for free until they had been in the warmer for two days. I could just milk the cows twice a day and earn more than that and Mum always had pies I could eat for free, straight out of the oven.
The most famous person I've ever met is … I met three of the four Wiggles in Dunedin recently. They were my most recent high-end celeb meeting. Celebrity-wise, they're up there for our family. Many hours have been spent with The Wiggles over the last seven years, so it was quite surreal seeing them in person and not on the TV.
They were … an absolute pure delight. Emma was so lovely and friendly. Lachy was also super-accommodating as I accosted them early morning in a hotel car park. Simon, I'd met the night before. Also a true gentleman.
