KEY POINTS:
After reading on the Auckland City Council website that she could get a refund of the unused portion of the registration fee if her dog had died, Jan applied for one.
"I pointed out that though the dog had originally been registered in my maiden name, I now use my married name. I assumed the cheque would be made out in my married name. But no. Not only was the cheque not made out in my married name, it was not made out to me at all. The letter was addressed to my dead dog, Ben. Inside, the cheque was made out to Ben. Since he is now dead and never opened a cheque account, just what am I supposed to do with it?"
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Claire thought it was better to clear up the menu translation muddle once and for all. "Saliva Chicken" and "Husband and wife lung slices" are in fact word-for-word translations of the Chinese names. "Husband and wife lung slices" are made of thinly sliced beef, beef lung/stomach/tongue, and spices, made famous by a husband/wife team. "Saliva Chicken" is a cold dish consisting of chicken pieces and lots of spices said to stimulate saliva production. Both are famous dishes, so I guess Chinese people are used to the weird names, a bit like the equivalent of "toad in the hole" and "spotted dick".
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Over-ripe bananas such as those Sideswipe showed yesterday at an Ellerslie-Panmure Highway dairy are a common sight in South Auckland shops, writes a reader. "They make delicious Samoan desserts: Poi or Sua fa'i (Samoan sago banana porridge) and banana cakes and smoothies."
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Michael Stringer began his email to Sideswipe about the BNZ "Netguard" card with this: "I will temper my initial response because your name suggests you are female." At which point I stopped reading and felt sorry for Mr Stringer's daughter/wife/sister/mother/female work colleagues.
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Today's Webpicks: A Serbian newsreader faints...er, don't all rush to help her, now. Go here.
These are the very best online videos from Ana's online magazine Spare Room.
