A bankrupt businessman's collection of more than 230 cars is to be auctioned in October. Billed as The Elkhart Collection, the line-up includes some of the most iconic cars in history. The offering includes a restored 1964 Aston Martin DB5, for all the James Bond fans; a 1963Jaguar E-Type Lightweight Continuation built to original specs in 2016 — a model Enzo Ferrari called "the most beautiful car ever made"; a 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S, like the one in the original Italian Job, a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing, worth well over $1 million, and, as our our tipster Wendy noticed, a 1970 Subaru 360 police car with Ministry of Transport badging, and what looks like an old New Zealand number plate. Any readers know more?
Making hay in the haystack
When Warren Johns heard the Prime Minister use the words "needle in a haystack" not once but twice in a press conference about Covid-19 the other day it reminded him of that time he actually found a needle in a haystack. "In 1954, as a 9-year-old, I went to an agricultural show in Levin. There were rides on a flat wagon pulled by a draught horse team of eight, weight-guessing games (pig and lamb), nail driving, decorated prams, bicycles and tricycles; tractor and trailer backward driving; greasy pig chase (boys); rooster chase (girls); and a baby show. And a needle-in-the haystack competition was held. A lorry dumped a load of hay in the arena and all the children were invited to find the needle. After a bit of wandering about my eye caught a red piece of wool with a needle at the end. My prize, which I still have today, was a clockwork Hornby train."
"I'm a private pilot and I keep my Cessna 72 at North Shore Aero Club," writes Martin. "I was the person that drew the 'Heart over Puhoi for Covid-19' that appeared in Sideswipe. As you may know Civil Aviation has given permission to light aircraft operators to have a one-hour maintenance flight every 30 days, as this is a requirement to keep most light aircraft airworthy. A lot of operators and North Shore Aero Club have been using this opportunity to draw symbols of encouragement and hope with their flight plans."
