Sideswipe

Ho Hummer: Hip-hop radio station Flava's $160,000 promo Hummer vehicle gets a jumpstart at the lights thanks to a kindly passerby's cheap-and-cheerful Ford Telstra. Nice work.

A holidaying reader in search of icecream at Cooks Beach writes: "Our children, along with our friends' children, heard Mr Whippy coming along the road with his unforgettable jingle. All seven of them lined up along the fenceline with money in hand, waiting with excitement. Mr Whippy pulled up on the verge, got out of his van and disappeared into the local dairy, returning to his van with an icecream and drove off. The kids were amazed and the adults could not stop laughing. What does that tell you about his own icecream?"

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Because I lived in Britain for more than two years I had to relinquish my New Zealand licence and pay the princely sum of £15 [$40] for a British one, which is valid until I turn 72. On my return to New Zealand I was able to use the British licence for two years then paid the price of the time for a local one. I was not obliged to relinquish my British licence and use it regularly as a second form of ID. It is accepted at all banks, by the police and traffic departments and for countless other uses. So if it's good enough for these organisations, why not a liquor or supermarket situation?

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Waihetian: A resident of Waiheke Island. Did some hippie make up this word or is it a legitimate new word we should slot into the next print run of the dictionary?

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Chris writes: "I am only 2 months from my 30th birthday and I always take it as a compliment that I'm still asked for ID occasionally while purchasing alcohol. However, I was asked for ID by a barely 18-year-old checkout operator at the Dominion Rd Foodtown last year. I didn't see how that was necessary, but the operator frowned and said sternly that he was required to ask for ID from anyone who looked under 25. I simply stood quietly and looked significantly from him, to my purchase, and back again until he glanced down. He then turned red and apologised profusely for trying to ID me for a six-pack of ginger beer."

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US cable channel FX is planning a military drama about the war in Iraq, according to the New York Times. The much-maligned Fox network, not to be outdone by its sibling company, is working on a sitcom set in Baghdad. (Source: laconfidential.com).

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A reader named Sally was amused to see that the advisory chef at the New Zealand Beef and Lamb Marketing Bureau is a bloke called Greg Heffernan, but perhaps even more suited to her job is bureau PR staffer Chantelle Lamb.