Sideswipe: October 11: Shopping trolley etiquette

An abandoned trolley.

It's not the worst crime, but not returning the supermarket trolley says something about a person. But what exactly? Shoppers avoid the cart return aisles for various reasons…It might be too far from where they parked, they might have a child to wrangle, bad weather, or they might have physical limitations. Or, they may simply believe it's the job of the supermarket employee to fetch their used cart.

Avid cart returnees might be motivated by social pressure—they fear a disapproving glance from others — or precedent. If no other carts have been tossed aside, they don't want to be first. Others aren't necessarily concerned with such factors. Their needs (to get home/remain with their child/stay dry) overrides societal guidelines.

Old school teachers

1. At grammar school in England in the 1950s, my physics teacher wrote on my report: "I would have a lot more confidence in David's ability to do physics if he had less confidence in himself." Some years later in revisiting my old school the same teacher asked me what I was doing in life. I suggested he sit down before replying: "Teaching physics!"
2. When David Michell was at high school in the late 1950s, he was in what was purported to be the top biology class. He writes: "Our teacher, who was English and looked and spoke like Winston Churchill, was clearly bitterly disappointed in the results of the exam from the so-called 'top' biology class. He went on to say, however, that the results confirmed his long-held theory that not only the cream came to the top, but also the SCUM!"
3. Amanda writes: "It was the night of my school ball in 1985, I was all dressed up and looking forward to a fun night. The school principal was greeting everyone at the door. He shook his finger at me and said, 'If you don't get an A bursary this year I will murder you'. I got a B bursary, thankfully he didn't carry out his threat."

Short history of the Christchurch Wizard

News broke that the Wizard's contract is up.

News broke on the weekend that the contract with The Wizard of Christchurch "to provide acts of wizardry and other wizard-like-services" is over after the bureaucrats decided he did not fit with the modern, diverse image of the city.

Ian Brackenbury Channell settled in Christchurch in the 1970s and began speaking while up a ladder in Cathedral Square. The council attempted to have him arrested but he became so popular that they made the square a public speaking area. He was a politician and a promoter. He confronted Telecom over the colour of public telephone boxes, evaded the Census, he chanted a spell for a major rugby game while skydiving and produced an upside-down world map which placed New Zealand and Australia top-centre.

In 1982, the New Zealand Art Gallery Directors Association declared him a living work of art; in 1988 he performed a rain dance in the town of Waimate to break a drought; and in 1990 Prime Minister Mike Moore invited him to become Wizard of New Zealand. He helped to promote local events and tourism and welcome dignitaries and delegations to the city. In 2009 he received the Queen's Service Medal. After the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes, he played a prominent role in the wave of protest that greeted the demolition of hundreds of heritage buildings.

Long eggs

Jill Mandeno writes: "In the 70s I had a good friend in the East End of London whose family made these tubular eggs.  They were used to make pork and egg pies in a long rectangular shape for the pub and lunch trade. They were designed so whenever you cut a slice of pie, it had a perfect slice of egg in the middle. They considered their technique to be a trade secret!"