This Way Up for Saturday 3 September 2011
Ballantynes bus
We join Deb, Vincy and the rest of the Ballantynes crew on a coach trip south from Christchurch to its Timaru store. Its flagship store on City Mall has been shut since the February earthquake, so twice a week a convoy of coaches full of loyal customers does the 350km round trip.
Beer yeast
Chris Todd Hittinger of the University of Wisconsin has made a discovery that solves a mystery that's been vexing brewers for ages. It's the secret of a special hybridised lager yeast that strangely appeared in Bavaria sometime in the 15th century allowing beer to be brewed at colder temperatures.
Billsticking
The Christchurch quakes have reduced the amount of display space on offer. This is making life tougher for Jamie Holloway of Phantom Billstickers.
Barter Village
John House is an American GP who got fed up with people not being able to pay their medical bills. So he's starting up a whole community called Barter Village based around the idea of producing things and swapping them for stuff you need.
Bacterial beginnings
The Naked Scientist aka Dr Chris Smith beams in with the latest science news. This week, he looks at the origins of antibiotic resistance and the discovery of cooking.
Bargain Hunting
Why pay retail? Todd Alexander shares his tips on how to save you thousands of dollars at the shops.