Sideswipe

Up the pole: That fellow Bill is obviously a very tall man.

Not everyone is so happy for Phillip getting one over on Shell Auckland Airport yesterday by paying $8 for a $40 tank of petrol due to a mistake in the price change. In response: "Instead of gloating over his windfall perhaps the person concerned should have done the 'right thing' by telling staff about the obvious error. Not only this, but the poor guy responsible for the error in the first place is probably going to get the boot, now that he's been dobbed in. Double thumbs up to you mate."

* * *

Speaking of dobbing people in ... Geordie R, Twickenham (working in Sydney), via email: "The missus arrives here at 0615 on Thursday and we get straight on a plane to Auckland. She thinks it's a romantic weekend in NZ. I haven't mentioned the Bay of Plenty tickets yet ... " (from a Lions blog site)

* * *

John from Auckland has a whine about whingeing. "They used to call Poms whingers, but you just have to hear the whining here from the media and their pundits. First they whined about the size of the tour party, then the fact that the players are going to sleep in, gasp, 'queen-size beds in their own rooms' and then, horror, stay in a 'luxury' hotel. But wait, worse was to come, the Lions have brought coaches. Blimey, what next, perhaps the players will have two arms and two legs each and try and win a test match. Jolly unsporting of them, of course, and don't forget they are from four countries and we're only one, blah blah blah. Will someone out there say they're pleased the Lions are here and feel flattered that they have to send half the UK to put up a show?"

* * *

Thanks to everyone who vented road rage via email about the self-confessed "cautious driver" who got a fine after she drove too slowly on the motorway. Indeed, she should not have been driving if she is not capable of maintaining a reasonable speed. Indeed, she shouldn't have ventured on to the motorway. And no, I don't have her name so you can burn past her and make your own point.

* * *

Auckland City is big on "sustainable living" at the moment. Is that why they've got the biggest bed of parsley in human history growing in the garden at the apex of the Town Hall ... Can you smoke it?