Captions by Pippa Jefferies. www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2014 UPBEAT MUSIC Put your hands together for the Lily Harper Show! PEOPLE CLAP, CHEER PEOPLE CHEER Hi. My name is Lily Sarah Harper. I live in Palmerston North, NZ. Yeah, that's the clock tower, just to let you know. I am flatting with Jessica and Alec. I'll put these down, OK? I'll put these down, OK? Yeah. I can't wait for my, um, swimming for Special Olympics, and I wanna do something for my country. I'm also into, um, acting, singing, dancing. I watch TV all the time, and I love watching the Ellen DeGeneres Show. I'm a huge fan of Ellen DeGeneres, so I made this scrapbook of her. This is my main favourite picture of her and Portia. Um, my mum made this one for my birthday ` a picture of me but also of Ellen. So it's really neat. I write my name down with Ellen because she's wicked and cool. Yes! She's on. Let's dance. FUNKY MUSIC I like her dance moves. I like her personality; that she's kind and generous. (HUMS) What I'm into, she's into. She's into dancing; I'm into dancing. Her favourite colour is blue; my favourite colour is blue. If you think about famous people, you can do anything. PEOPLE CHEER, CLAP OK, OK, enough. Please have a seat. OK, anyway, I hope you enjoy the show, because I'm interviewing someone special. Her name is Lily Harper, and here she is! It's good to be here today. Please have a seat. OK, um, can you please tell us about your disability and tell me how would you feel? I have Down's syndrome. I was adopted. Um, I had a mum called Vicki. She couldn't look after me. I just feel sad, like they didn't want me and that I always need hugs all the time to make me happy. UPBEAT GUITAR MUSIC I'm just walking to my parents' house for dinner. And I usually visit my family every couple of weeks. How many brothers and sisters do you have? Four brothers... and three sisters. Beth, my sister, she's a lawyer. I've got Joe, the oldest brother. He's down in Auckland. He works for the same company as my father. And then there's Noah and Isaac. They have Down's syndrome, just like me. Come here and give me a hug. Isaac! Want a hug? Come here. Hey? Oh. Hi. Hello. I love you both. ALL TALK TOGETHER I think I was a cute baby, but my birth mum gave me up. My parents already had three children, but they really wanted to adopt me. I suppose we were both more idealistic then, and it was kind of this is the way we get our hands dirty and change the world and change attitudes to disability. REFLECTIVE MUSIC At the time, we thought, 'Well, if we bring up this girl, she'll do fine.' Mm. And she has, actually. (LAUGHS) And she has, actually. (LAUGHS) Yes, I think` Yeah, yeah, and having had the two boys now, I'm much more aware of the whole spectrum there is for people with Down's syndrome; that you can't lump them in together as, you know, happy people or musical people or, um... But Lily is sunny. # La, la, la, la. # They're singing. They're getting married. Oh, I love you... 'When I was 10, my mum had Noah. I was really pleased that he was born with Down's syndrome. 'Sometimes Noah is really hard to handle, because he's also born with brain damage and he forgets things.' Noah, let it go. No, do not. No, do not. Let it go. Let it go. Let it go. That's` Look at the kid. Look at the kid. Ooh, ooh, ooh. 'Then they adopted Isaac.' Play with the bead. 'He was a sick boy. I think he had four holes in his heart.' It's fun. (CLICKS) Need help, Father? Yeah, you could turn my sausages. Do you wanna turn the sausages over? Yeah, you could turn my sausages. Do you wanna turn the sausages over? Make it quick, then I'll sit down. I have to say, my dad and mum are the coolest people in the entire world. And they did a good job looking after me, because I love them with all my heart, and that they made me do things more better and they raised me up to do the right thing and that, um... Hey, guess what? Lily is now living in a flat. She's being independent. She's working now at Farmers. And my birth parents have no clue about that. But if I had a kid with Down's syndrome, I wouldn't give them up for adoption, because I don't want the baby to have the same things that I did before. I'll let them cook for a while. I'll let them cook for a while. OK, thanks for that. I'll let them cook for a while. OK, thanks for that. And I'll just go. (SIGHS) I like your haircut, Lil. I like your haircut, Lil. Oh, thanks. > I took one of the Ellen DeGeneres photos when I had a haircut. You took the whole folder to the hairdresser? Of Ellen DeGeneres, and I showed her one haircut that I liked ` that was short, looked like... And you said to them, 'I want to look like Ellen?' Yeah, I did. Well, it does suit you. Well, it does suit you. It's shorter. It suits you very much, but it's nice just to be Lily. I know, but I always get an Ellen DeGeneres haircut. She has a short one. JAUNTY GUITAR MUSIC Yeah, well, that's right. You've got the haircut, all right, don't you? Halfway there. PEOPLE CHEER, CLAP CHEERING CONTINUES I understand that you are a good singer and awesome actor. Right, guys? PEOPLE CHEER Can you dance for us? I think I hear applause. I think I hear applause. PEOPLE CLAP, CHEER FUNKY MUSIC PLAYS PEOPLE CHEER How is your life going so far? My mum and dad wanted me to be independently. They wanted me to go flatting. I wasn't sure about it at first, cos I was wondering when they'd grow older and they can't move around and who would help Isaac and Noah. I was concerned about that before I left, actually, and then I realised that I can't stay in this house, cos it's hectic and I want to do my own thing. Let's go. I am flatting with my friends Alec and Jessica. So, what's up, Jess? I'm fine. Good. How was your day? It was fine. Brilliant. Brilliant. Actually, I had a boring day, actually. Why would it be boring? It's a lovely day. I know, but I did bingo, the game. I know, but I did bingo, the game. Oh, bingo. I love that game. JAUNTY GUITAR MUSIC Come on, guys. Let's get a trolley and get this over with. Ooh. What a big one. OK. This is where we do groceries every Thursday so we can prepare our dinner menus and all of that jazz. We just grab stuff on the list. Yeah, what's on the list? Yeah, what's on the list? Potatoes. Oh, potatoes. They are` Oh, potatoes. They are` Potatoes. Where are they? Branton is our carer. He helps us with the shopping. Do we need any meat or anything? We don't need much help. We need to get luncheon. We need to get... some pasta; hamburgers. Mm, we might` Oh, carrots. Oh, yeah, do we need to get carrots? Oh, yeah, do we need to get carrots? Yes, we do, and bananas. OK, you get the bananas, then. Sweet. (WHOOSHES) We` Over there. I can get the luncheon. Tonight I am cooking chicken wraps by myself ` no help ` and... with salads in it as well, cucumber, salad, carrots, cheese, sort of wrap. Um, Jessica usually has sour cream or, what do you call it, um, salsa. But usually I'll have it. So that's what I'm doing. We have a budget of 150 a week. This machine tells us how much we're spending. What do we get`? What do we get`? The scanner tells us. What do we get`? The scanner tells us. It says... 70... 70... $70. Oh yeah, $70. 19 there. Don't know how to do it. We're getting the luncheon and we're scanning it, and we're having a problem with that... sign thing that keeps blueing out. sign thing that keeps blueing out. < It's creased. There we go. Oi, hold on. No... No... Six. No... Six. Six. JAUNTY GUITAR MUSIC We'll go outside and do it. (BLOWS RASPBERRY) There's our car. That's good. Turning, turning, turning, turning, turn. Simple turn. MUSIC CONTINUES Good. Now... Good. Now... How are you? We're good. Yourself? We're good. Yourself? Very good. MUSIC CONTINUES And... in we go. Flatting is way fun, cos I have to be independent and do my own thing, instead of living underneath my mum's rules. Hey, Jess, can you do that one? Hey, Jess, can you do that one? Yeah. But if I'm living by myself, it means I have to cook by myself, do my own washing. 'We have a carer who helps us cook.' Is that cooked? 'I'm good at cooking.' How do you tell when the chicken's cooked? How do you tell when the chicken's cooked? When... you don't see that colour; you see all white. I know. I'll just put these down, OK? I'll just put these down, OK? Yeah. It's cooked? Yep. I am no cook. Yeah. Yeah, be quiet and eat your food. Yeah, be quiet and eat your food. I'll have a bit. Our Alec ` he is a mysterious guy. He likes girls. (LAUGHS) And he likes making hot drinks for people. And he's sort of a daredevil. And... he's got good muscles. (LAUGHS) OK, Jessica. Jessica is a kind person. She likes her family. She hangs out with us. She's a good singer. Wonderful actress, I must say, on Shortland Street. She's a great person to be with. She makes you happy. She makes you smile. There's no sad times. But she hopes for the best and she just keeps smiling instead of crying. Thank you, Lily. Thank you, Lily. You're welcome. JAUNTY GUITAR MUSIC All right, let's get it over with, shall we? All right, let's get it over with, shall we? Where do I start? Go anywhere. I say you're doing. No, I'm not. No, I'm not. Go on out, girl. Grab this up and go inside. MUSIC CONTINUES (CLICKS TONGUE) MUSIC CONTINUES Usually I like living famously, not boringly. That's why I look up to Ellen or other movie stars, and I usually stay up late and wake up very early. (WHOOSHES) JAUNTY GUITAR MUSIC UPBEAT MUSIC PEOPLE CHEER MUSIC ENDS We have another special guest in the audience, and this person's gonna dance with me to this wonderful song. And today we want to get Angelo. Please come down. PEOPLE CHEER, CLAP It is a show. Congratulations for being here. Very good. Very good. That's the way. Come on, dance with me. In my dream, I will be not in Palmerston North. I would be in America. I am thinking of being a director or being on` being on a movie and be famous. GENTLE MUSIC I also want to be on Shortland Street and be on other TV programmes, and then sometimes you have the fans screaming your name and you sign autographs. That is sort of my life. GENTLE MUSIC Please take a bow. JAUNTY GUITAR MUSIC I hate being late for work, so that's why I go with Alec. He is fantastic at telling the time. Well, me and Alec catch the bus every day, because I go to work; he goes to work. Tell them where you work. Tell them where you work. I work at Stewarts Electrical. Yeah, Stewarts Electrical, and I work at Farmers. OK. I'm going after you. MUSIC CONTINUES What are you laughing at? If you walk, you get tired. If you catch the bus, you won't be. MUSIC CONTINUES Thank you. The time is 8.54. And I need to be at my work by 9 o'clock, cos if I don't, I might be told off by Catherine, and I don't want that. Hi, Marge. Hi, Marge. How are you? I'm good. I've been working here for five years... Hi. Hi. How you going? Hi. How you going? I'm good. ...on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Hi. PEOPLE CHATTER What are you doing there, Lily? What are you doing there, Lily? Clocking in. Why do you do that? Why do you do that? So they know I'm here. Cool. Punched in. My first time I worked at Farmers, I was probably a bit tired, bothered, um, confused. I didn't know. It was going so fast. And a bit nervous. But I got used to it. I'm pretty fast. Hi, Lily. How are you today? Hi, Lily. How are you today? I'm good. Yourself? Hi, Lily. How are you today? I'm good. Yourself? Good, thank you. I have to unpack lingerie. I get them out of the boxes, I get the rubbish, I chuck them out, then when I've finished the boxes, when I go for my morning tea when I get back, I usually chuck them out. If you think about famous people, you can do anything. When I be Ellen DeGeneres, I... usually go more faster than this. I just go in the mood and just go with it. Hi, Lily. Hi, Lily. Hi. Hi, Lily. Hi. Morning. Morning. Thank you. You're welcome. How's your training going, Lily? Good. Good. Yeah? Good. Yeah? Yeah. When do you` When do you go to Aussie? Not far now. Um,... the end of November. It's more people from NZ, and more from other places too. Good. Hopefully there's a few medals. I hope so. I hope so. LAUGHTER CHEERING, APPLAUSE OK. Awesome. Tell us about Special Olympics, please. Tell my audience. OK. I like to swim fast so I can win and get medals. I'm on my way to swimming. Can't wait. I bet I'll win heaps of medals when I go to Newcastle. My, um, coach, Carla, she trains me really, really, really hard. She makes me swim fast so I can win. Uh, I have to go. She's much more focused. When I first started two years ago, she would wander down with her mates, they'd get in the water and do half a length and stop for a chat. Um, now, since she's been picked to go to Asia Pacific, she just comes in, puts the goggles on, gets the programme out and off she goes. I love swimming, because... I started swimming when I was a little girl. And I'm a water baby. I swim underwater all the time. And it's really, really, really, really fun. All right. Good girl. I think you need` I think you need to start... Your breathing ` I think you need to do it a little bit more often, OK? You were going four strokes on one side, four strokes on the other. Try and get them down to three, OK? When you're tumbling... Good tumble, but come off with both arms out the front, not one down by the side. Kick! Good girl. On the day, and on the time, my aim for them ` and their aim ` should be just to get a best time first. And if a medal comes, it's a bonus. I am a Kiwi, and I was born in England. And I've never done this before, and I want to do something for my country. So that's why I'm doing it. Go! CHEERING Ladies and gentlemen, it is now with joy and exhilaration that I declare open the Special Olympics Asia Pacific Games. So, athletes, bring it on! CHEERING, APPLAUSE It was amazing. It had fireworks. And I was next to Lyn Ryan. Lily was dancing on the stairway. (LAUGHS) Weren't you, Lily? Weren't you, Lily? I was dancing too. Weren't you, Lily? I was dancing too. Yeah, I was. And remember what we're doing in the relays ` going hard, OK? And each person's only got one length to swim. And we're doing it for the team. Let's go. Tim, don't look at the camera. Move on, please. Well, today I'm doing a relay. And I'm gonna think in my head, 'How am I gonna do it, make it better and make it stronger?' And push forward. In Australia, they... like The Lord of the Rings, just like me. IMITATING GOLLUM: 'My... precious! They stole it from us!' I just think, when I am here, I'll live like a movie star ` like, for example, Ellen DeGeneres or Felicity Huffman. Cheers. Morning. Morning. Hello. How are you? Morning. Hello. How are you? Yo. How are you? Good. I'm good. Hi. Nice to meet you. Hi. Nice to meet you. How are you today? Hi. Nice to meet you. How are you today? Yeah, I'm fine. CHEERING, APPLAUSE This is my team for Special Olympics swimming. This is Amanda, the cool one. Then we have Rachel and Becky, the coolest person ever; Paula, the mother; Dave, the father; and Richard, the bro. BOTH LAUGH Who are, who are, who are we? Who are, who are, who are we? ALL: Kiwi! Kiwi! STARTING SIGNAL BEEPS STARTING SIGNAL BEEPS Go, Rachel! Rachel! Rachel! Rachel! Rachel! All right, we all know what we're doing? OK? We're swimming for each other, for ourselves, for the team. You all know your team positions. You know what to do. I want to get out of the water today feeling sick cos you've put everything into it. Hands in the middle. One, two, three... ALL: Kiwi! OK. This is us. Our relay is next. I don't get nervous. I love performing for the crowd. So, the key is I'll just go... further than a shark would do. So you need to think what happens in your mind when you get in the water. It's like... a shark come at you, or something coming at you, and you have to go really fast to get away from it. TENSE MUSIC If you don't go faster, if you keep changing its image ` like, one minute it's a shark, one minute it's a person... it's a famous person coming at you... You just gotta stay away from it. STARTING SIGNAL BEEPS Deborah goes first. Richard's next. This is it! I'm swimming for my country! I go faster and faster. TEAMMATES CHEER WILDLY TEAMMATES CHEER WILDLY Go, go, go! Whooo! And guess what? We came second! I'm so proud. PA: In second place, NZ! LOUD CHEERING, APPLAUSE I have more races ` STARTING SIGNAL BEEPS butterfly, then my freestyle race. I did... butterfly, one length, and I came third place. I also did... freestyle, two lengths, came third place. NZ! Yeah! Oh yeah! Whoo-hoo! Whoo-hoo! (CHEERS) Whoo-hoo! (CHEERS) You want to rock? Special Olympics was cool and really awesome. I felt like a star. CHEERING, APPLAUSE CHEERING, APPLAUSE (LAUGHS) UPBEAT MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES If I didn't have Down's syndrome, I wouldn't be Lily, because Lily is Down's syndrome. And she has to be Down's syndrome, because she was born that way. It's crazy... (CHUCKLES) being Lily. Seriously. One minute she's an actress, one minute she's dancing, one minute she's doing a performance somewhere, or one minute she's doing the Special Olympics, one minute she's doing such and such, or one time she's on TV. You can't keep up with Lily. Be kind to one another and have a good day. Be kind to one another and have a good day. CHEERING, APPLAUSE (CHUCKLES) And that's it. Captions by Pippa Jefferies. www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2014