Sideswipe: August 30: Back to the future

Back to the future. Photo / Supplied

Back to the future

Photo / Supplied

A reader writes: "We discovered this back to the future insight to southern motorway travel in our bush block jungle in Drury ... Very appropriate for travellers entering Auckland from the south, not sure how many thousands of homes being built in the coming years south of the Drury interchange, but darn sure even the upgraded motorway won't cope. The sign on the front of the elderly Land Rover shows a winning time of 1.5 days Drury to Auckland mostly stopped in the year 2020.

Odd names

1. A reader recalls an immigrant couple enrolling their daughter at an
Auckland school. Formalities dealt with, the teacher discreetly suggested that a gentle change in the girl's first name might better suit "New Zealand conditions". The parents didn't agree — pointing out that the girl's name was short, easy to pronounce, and they saw no need to alter it. So Mr and Mrs Kann left, with their daughter Tin.
2. I had a very good friend named Doug Field, we often called him "ploughed paddock".
3. Years ago — maybe 30, I needed my wisdom teeth removed. The two surnames of the oral surgeons in the practice I went to were "Hookham" and "Pullam" couldn't be more appropriate.
4. My younger brother had a friend 70 years ago whose name was Doug Down. He had a brother named Stan Down and his father was Bob Down. Wish I could remember Mrs Down's first name.
5. I work with a Rose Thorne.

No trailer? No problem 2

No need for a trailer 2. Photo / Supplied

Personal letter warms Coldplay's hearts

Crazy Rich Asians director John M. Chu sent a personal letter to Coldplay asking to use their 2000 song Yellow over the closing scenes of his hit romantic comedy after the band initially refused. He wrote: "From being called the word in a derogatory way throughout grade school, to watching movies where they called cowardly people yellow, it's always had a negative connotation in my life. That is, until I heard your song," Chu wrote. "For the first time in my life, it described the colour in the most beautiful, magical ways I had ever heard: the colour of the stars, her skin, her love. It was an incredible image of attraction and aspiration that it made me rethink my own self image." Coldplay changed their minds soon after and Chu recorded a Chinese language cover of the song. (Via The Hollywood Reporter)

Video pick

These two videos show the most popular songs each year in the US from 1940 to 2017 and in the UK from 1952 - 2017 provides a pretty comprehensive evolution of pop music over the past 77 years.… (the number one song in the UK in the year 2000 was Bob The Builder, Can We Fix It?")

Got a Sideswipe? Send your pictures, links and anecdotes to Ana at ana.samways@nzherald.co.nz