Former television personality Olly Ohlson keeps dry outside his new Otago Peninsula home yesterday. Photo / Gerard O'Brien ODT
Former television personality Olly Ohlson keeps dry outside his new Otago Peninsula home yesterday. Photo / Gerard O'Brien ODT
Former children's television presenter Olly Ohlson lost his cool over the Government's handling of his red-zoned house in Christchurch and moved to Dunedin.
Mr Ohlson, 69, said he and his wife moved from their Brooklands home to a cottage in Otakou, on the Otago Peninsula, at the beginning of theyear.
''The red zone beat us.''
The couple lost $63,000 in legal costs fighting an insurance company. In hindsight, they should have targeted the Government to pay people the value of their houses, he said.
Mr Ohlson was a longtime presenter on daily children's show After School and his catchphrase was ''keep cool 'til after school'' with accompanying sign language.
After the earthquake, he worked for the Government as a trauma counsellor and helped people under pressure to cope.
His fight, on behalf of the Brooklands community, had taken its own toll and he never realised the stress he was under until he moved to the Otago Peninsula and relaxed.
''I went 'holy mackerel', I was carrying a bit more than what I thought. It's so relaxing down here and the people are so fabulous.''
