Sideswipe

Strike stress is hitting Air New Zealand staff: Barbara Matthews writes: "I returned to New Zealand at the weekend on an Air NZ flight from Singapore to Auckland. I was astonished and amused by the purser's final remarks pre-landing. Not the usual calming 'thank you for travelling with us' ... No, he asked that passengers remain seated because he didn't want them hitting the tarmac before the plane landed. Then he suggested that removing articles from the overhead lockers required caution as the stowed objects could kill you and finally he reminded passengers to remove all personal items from the plane, for if they didn't they would never see them again!"

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Jamie Oliver's attempt to inject healthy food into British children's diets in Jamie's School Dinners on TV One could really do with a local copycat. While big brand fast food gets sneered at, the iconic kiwi pie is adored, and endorsed with cutesy news stories about pie competitions that crow about our increased consumption, when really, for children needing a cheap breakfast it's type 2 diabetes in a tasty pastry parcel.

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I could've sworn I heard Susan Wood, in a promo for Close Up at 7, describe a 100-year-old man as a "centurion" - a Roman one, presumably.

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Former American Marine Steve Vaught decided he wanted to lose a few of his 180kg, so in April he decided to walk across the United States. Since then he has lost three toenails, developed a rash, got the stomach flu and had to recuperate in a motel for three days ... The frame on his backpack has snapped twice, kids have shot paintballs at him and he has been threatened with arrest for walking on freeways. Says Vaught, "If I'm out here and I break my leg, I'll walk on crutches. But I'm not going home."