Wesley Parish worked out how to mute his violin somewhat to avoid bothering his neighbours during lockdown. Others might find it useful since the music shops are closed at this moment and music practice during
Sideswipe: September 7: Subdued strings
![Ana Samways](https://s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/nzme/63c08bb6-77fe-46c1-831a-1f605b413cdd.png)
Ana Samways
Robert writes: "We had a young tabby named Basil (although a female) who used to follow us down the street quite often. One time we had walked to a friend's house a couple of streets away and had to shoo her back a couple of times. Later, sitting at the friend's dining table, we looked out onto the deck and saw Basil. I picked her up and took her home and went back to the friend's house. A while later, I had to duck home to get more supplies and while I was in the kitchen, looked towards the laundry and there was Basil peeking around the corner. I turned back to the bench and saw, out of the corner of my eye, Basil Two peeking around the corner of the other end of the kitchen. I picked them both up and could not tell them apart. I had to take a guess as to which one was the real Basil. We assume I had got it right, because another Basil never turned up at our house ... but who knows?"
Try before you buy
![Toilet paper samples in Korean supermarket.](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/S75QSVG7HCKK2BX3D4LZU5GR5I.jpg?auth=a1af689bdbc821812244fd031211de65edff2d679088e59307a2166a0297f223&width=16&height=12&quality=70&smart=true)
Mistaken identity: jet lag edition
After a long week and a bumpy overnight flight, Steve was in transit at Sydney airport, in zombie mode. "I saw a guy that I knew and we walked towards each other. I was about to greet him when I realised that it was a full-length mirror."