When I first met Salim he was shouting at me out of his car window. I was interviewing exhibitors in the Cattle Pavilions when I heard a car pull up behind me and a deep voice yell ‘Hey!’. I didn’t turn around at first – he probably wasn’t talking to me – but another ‘Hey you!’ and ‘You from Show Radio?!’ confirmed that – mic out, proudly sporting my standard issue black ‘Show Radio’ T-Shirt – it was indeed my attention he was trying to attract.
I turned around and approached the car, hunched over so I could see the driver. A jolly looking man with a moustache beamed back at me ‘I got a scoop for you’ he said ‘there’s a place down the road that sells nothing on a stick. Nothing at all on a stick!’
A confused exchange followed where I tried to wrap my head around what he was telling me. ‘The place- like down there? They sell what?’
‘Nothing on a stick’
Eventually, bemused, I said what he clearly wanted me to say ‘Nothing on a stick at the Easter Show – Scandalous! Thanks for the tip’ and he drove off.
About an hour later I walked past the ‘Wood Fired Pizza’ stand on Orana Parade and as I glanced up I saw the same jolly man – then it clicked!
‘This is your place! You sell nothing on a stick!’ He disappeared for a second and reappeared out front, gesturing proudly to a sign I hadn’t noticed at first – sure enough it was emblazoned with his favourite slogan. Here is the conversation that followed:
And it turns out I am not the only member of the Show Radio team to have encountered Salim – here is a story Keegan ran on his show yesterday:
