A Word With:
Mel Homer
from Three’s The Cafe.
When Three’s The Cafe returns for its fourth year (screening weekday mornings), host Mel Homer promises there will be a few changes. Homer, who works alongside Mike Puru, teases that there will be more banter, a new look and a good selection of guests, food and information. Homer, who also hosts an afternoon radio show on Coast NZ while juggling looking after her three boys, talks to Cass Marrett about family life and the best ways to unwind.
How did you end up on The Cafe? I came to be on The Cafe because I did a show – with Cocksy (the late John Cocks who died on February 6) – called My Dream Room Kids’ Edition. I didn’t audition for that because I knew the producer and she rang me up and said, ‘Can you do this?’ Then a little while later she said, ‘We’ve got this thing coming up, could you come in and do an audition?’ I didn’t really know what it was – it was all pretty vague. Mike (Puru) was there and she got Mike and I to do an audition together where we had to ‘fake interview’ Adele or something and they said afterwards that once they saw us, that was it. It was just the rapport, everything just worked so they wanted both of us to do it.
What’s your favourite thing about your co-host Mike Puru?
I love Mike. He’s just a really genuine, really nice guy and he’s really caring. He’s actually really caring and we rip each other all the time and I know he’s always got my back and I’ve got his too. He better say something nice about me now.
Who would hold up best under interrogation – you or Mike?
Me. I don’t even have to pause on that one. Mike would cave quickly.
What do your kids think about you being on TV?
I asked them this and they said, ‘It’s good’ and that was it. I went, ‘Can you give me a bit more?’ They said, ‘Oh no, it’s good’.
And how would they describe you as a mum?
I asked them that too. The first word that came out of the youngest one’s mouth was ‘quirky’. I was like, ‘Quirky? Really?’ Cool, funny, kind, loves family photos – because I always make them be in photos – and I buy
good presents. They’re boys. That’s about as much as you get.
Who is the most interesting person you’ve met on The Cafe? Engelbert Humperdinck was surprisingly amazing. He is an old-timey singer. Your nana would know who he was. He was such a nice guy and was really genuine and I think he’s kind of a big deal but he was just so lovely. He was cool. But the ones that really resonate aren’t the famous people. They’re just the ones that are doing really cool stuff or charities that are really helping people – they’re amazing. I really like talking to them. I really like helping promote them.
You’re mad about sailing. What do you like about it? I’ve been doing it since I was a baby. My dad was a sailor and my great uncle was Sir Tom Clark who was Peter Blake’s mentor and stuff, so we’ve had it in the family. There’s just something about it that when you jump on the boat on a Friday afternoon – as soon as you’re on it and you’re motoring out of the harbour, you just feel relaxed. You can’t not be relaxed on a boat even when things go wrong and it’s really windy, you’re dragging anchor or whatever, it’s just such a great lifestyle and it’s a lifestyle that I grew up with and so now my kids are doing it as well and it’s just so cool. You know, getting up out of bed, jumping in the water, having a swim. It’s just really nice.
You’ve taken up surfing. How did you get into that? I wish I’d done it earlier, but I went to Bali in January for a bit of a reset for a week and did a retreat and it was like a surfing retreat essentially, so I went with a whole lot of cool women who I didn’t know ... I was surfing on reefs and loved it. Something just clicked and I went, ‘This is amazing. All I want to do is do this at the moment’. One of the instructors said, ‘It’s like meditation because all you’re thinking about is paddling out, waiting for waves and catching waves. You’re not thinking about anything else.’
What is your favourite childhood memory?
My favourite childhood memory would probably be being on the boat with Mum and Dad and my sister. Also, Mum would kill me for telling you this but when we were little and lived in Australia, Mum and Dad used to have amazing parties and I remember one of their friends getting me up one night – I was probably five or six – and woke me up to go and dive in the pool and have a midnight swim. They’d have these great parties and the next morning my sister and I would have to dive in and get all the plates out that people had thrown in.