Dave from Waiheke Island was driving on busy Kirkbride Rd, one of the big feeder roads to Auckland Airport, in the rain on Sunday. He saw a shuttle van towing a trailer with its back door wide open. A bag fell out. Dave stopped, picked up the bag, turned around and followed the shuttle. Another motorist had stopped the shuttle and told the driver about the bag. Dave pulled up and found the driver was Les from Waiheke Island. "Gidday, mate, you lost this," said Dave. "Thanks, better put it back in, eh?" said Les. "Gee, what are the odds?" said Dave. "Dunno, but I better buy a Lotto," said Les.
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BBC'S Web Monitor reports that celebrity twitterers are becoming political conduits. "If you are one of Ashton Kutcher's 2.5 million followers on Twitter, then you might have noticed that the White House is now using him as its messenger on Twitter. On Sunday, Kutcher said: 'I've been asked by the White House to tweet this', then linked to a White House blog post urging people to get tested for HIV, saying, 'If our President and First Lady can get tested - you can too'."
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In his day, says Rhys McPherson, you were allowed to take a driving test in any car, as long as it ran. "When I got my licence I was a part of a high school group. One of the guys - let's call him Rodney - was always the butt of many jokes because of his inadequate driving skills. The only car he could afford was an Austin Allegro, better known as the land crab, so he was the last person anyone picked as the sober driver. Rodney was the first person up at the test and we all knew about the Austin's lack of brakes and working clutch ... After two stalls, Rodney gunned the little Austin and it went flying backwards out of the carpark, straight into a parked car. Needless to say, Rodney failed the driving test. And failed the next three times as well. Oh, and the car he hit was a brand-new police car."
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Anthony Mercer can't believe that yesterday's "insanely irritated" complainant doesn't like presenters to be called "Jimmy" and "Sav" on One News. "Come on, what do they want? James? Mr Hickey? Mr Saville? This is NZ, not yer Auntie BBC."
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However, many readers agreed with "insanely irritated". One writes: "I too am heartily sick of the drooling palsy-walsy, fuzzy-wuzzy, feel-good familiarity among the news and weather presenters. On the continuum of viewer reaction, it lies somewhere between puerile and stomach churning. It just reeks of conceit."
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Footy fan and singer Rod Stewart has been dropkicking autographed footballs into concert crowds for more than 30 years, but a Dublin concertgoer claimed she suffered whiplash when one of Rod's footballs struck her at a concert in 2005. Promoters were slapped with a damages bill of €15,000 ($32,600) by Sally Price, who was duly awarded the sum in court. Usually during his performance of Hot Legs, Stewart kicks up to 30 footballs, but on the night in question he miskicked one into the rigging above the stage. The ball struck Price on the crown of her head and knocked her off her feet. (Source: Irish Independent)
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View today's Herald cartoon
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Today's Webpick: How to conduct a strip search... Watch it here.
These are the very best online videos from Ana's online magazine Spare Room.
