Sideswipe

It had to happen: Without realising it, news princess Kate Hawkesby referred to deputy mayor Bruce Hucker as Bruce Hubbard.

Opinion

Aaron Shaw has been fleeced by an Auckland taxi company: "Following a work Christmas party my partner and I got a ride home, taking great care to abide by New Zealand's strict drink driving laws. The meter read $52.60. We gave the driver $55 and he gave us our $2.40 change. We did not realise that this fare was meant to be charged back through my partner's company until the next morning when an $80 charge from the taxi company was received for our ride. When questioned the driver said he thought our cash 'was a tip'. Strange, since he gave us change from our 'tip' exactly matching the taxi meter. And these are the people whom we trust with our lives to get us home safely late at night after a few drinks ... I'd rather risk my licence, it's less dodgy."

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A reader writes: "I applied online for a job driving a Jafacab. I filled in the form and clicked 'no' for 'Do you have any driving convictions?' When I submitted the form it returned the error 'Convictions List is required.' Seems a reasonable requirement. You can't drive a Jafacab unless you are a Jafa."

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There hasn't been much comedy on the radio since the 1960s, but if you're in need of a good laugh, consider the vet advice programme on Kerre Woodham's Newstalk ZB show. On Sunday, December 19, readers were treated to the call from a woman complaining that one of her cats "squiddled" - which she helpfully explained meant "piddled" - all over the house and would it be okay to fit the cat with a nappy? Helpful vet, with what sounded like a straight face, suggested that while a nappy would be unlikely to cause any actual harm to the cat, he did not think too many would put up with wearing it for long.

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Graham Coppock would like to know what's going on with Foodtown/Woolworth's overnight price hike. "I have for some time now been purchasing 'Kelloggs Body Smart Wheetbran Flakes' for $3.65 a box, this was the standard price for the product and additional promotions and discounts were applied to this price. The standard price for this product recently changed to $6.69. This was an overnight increase of 82 per cent. Can you explain to me how you can justify such an increase?"

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Jude Dobson told listeners to Sunday night's Real Life religious programme on Newstalk ZB her secret for stopping the giggles when she's on television. Host John Cowan had taught her years ago to think of something sad, like drowned cats. So she thinks of "sexless nuns". It really makes her sad to think of nuns going without sex.