Sideswipe

Oh dear: Spotted in West Auckland ... one less sleigh-puller.

A reader writes: "My boss was excited to have received a Christmas package from the Motherland. It was a small package and the boss was anticipating a quality product from a civilised country that couldn't have been found in the colonies. She ripped into it to discover her friend has bought her 50 trees in Bolivia for £16 via the Oxfam website. The boss grumped that it was hardly a 'gift' because the gift-giver got all the altruistic vibes. I reckon she's got a point."

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Ali Pharaoh was in a branch of the ASB Bank this week when the very pleasant male teller who was serving her commented on her unusual surname. She writes: "I was hardly able to contain myself. His card was on the counter and I figured there must be many families with the surname Pashupathinaathan in his country of origin."

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Matthew Ebrey replies to Mr van der Schaaf's letter regarding colour-blind gamblers and Sky City's murky red suits. "I feel compelled to suggest that he is more worried than he needs to be. Firstly, the only games in the casino where suits matter are poker (where you hold the cards, thus doing away with quick decision-making), and a few minor derivatives of blackjack. Secondly, the cards have shapes on them which satisfactorily denote the suit. Most convincing, perhaps, is that my red-green colour-blind self was a blackjack, baccarat and poker dealer at Sky City for five years with no problems. Stick to the good old 'grassy knoll' if one is after a conspiracy theory."

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A reader named Sam tries to offer customer service ...

Customer: Do you have a picture book of dinosaurs?

Me: Sure.

We walk to the dinosaur books and I show him many books with various sketches and paintings of dinosaurs.

Customer: No, not pictures, photographs. Photos of dinosaurs, please. Where are those books?

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Yesterday Hugh thought he'd found Auckland's cheapest petrol. After filling up his tank and going to the counter the attendant asked for "3.15 thanks". Confused, Hugh asked, "Did you say 3.15?" She nodded without realising she had in fact read the time.