All Black dolls seen in Prague by Helen Fletcher. Names on the back indicated they are: Carter, Evans, Howlett, Rokocoko and Sivivatu.
* * *
A reader writes: "The story of the flat car battery and the locksmith reminded me of a dear neighbour who was in her 70s at the time of this story. After she bought the supplies for our regular weekly happy hour, the young man at the liquor store carried everything out and put them in and closed the boot. She then realised her bag with the car keys was in the boot. After a panicked call to the AA the mechanic arrived, opened the unlocked driver's door, reached down, pulled the lever and popped the boot. I think that was around the time she started drinking lemonade."
* * *
Madeline Hernon writes: "We were having a lovely evening at the Parnell Baths a couple of weeks ago - three families merrily chomping into fish and chips as we sat at our picnic table. Suddenly the children, with their mouths full of chips, cried out, "look at the rats". Our party leapt as one quickly on to the tabletop in horror as we watched rats emerge to scurry around sunbathers and feast on the remnants of others' picnics. Needless to say we beat a hasty retreat and will not be returning."
* * *
There was little sympathy for the mother who stopped on a yellow line outside her son's high school to pick him up for a doctor's appointment. Many Sideswipe readers berated the lawbreaker with the full force of their indignation. Ross reckons she should pay up and stop whingeing, claiming the throngs of parental parkers are a pain in the neck for anybody else caught driving past a school around 3pm. "I hope the parking warden is going to pay a visit to St Kentigern in Shore Rd at school closing-time to continue his/her good work."
* * *
A reasonable-minded reader writes: "Fully empathise with Lawbreaker's gripe about being nailed by a Auckland City parking warden for parking on a broken yellow line outside AGS for all of 19 seconds. Sadly, the errant driver has no recourse other than to cough up the $60. It seems Auckland City has issued instructions for parking wardens to be extra-zealous when dispensing infringement notices - there is the matter of the Beckham budget blowout."
* * *
But the definitive word on how to behave around kerbside broken yellow lines goes to the Waitakere City Council website: "Road Code Rule 16. Broken yellow lines closer than 1 metre to the kerb or edge of the road mean you cannot stop, wait, or park there at any time. They are placed where the safety of pedestrians or other road users may be compromised by parking."
* * *
Odd names: "We always thought if you had a surname of Banks you could call a daughter Robyn," writes Lois. And John McNeil of Christchurch recalls many years ago in Blenheim, a Mr Wratt became engaged to a Miss Bate. So their engagement notice began "Wratt-Bate".
* * *
Motorist Colin Gant from Suffolk has been forced to seek counselling to help cure a bizarre phobia of speed cameras. Gant has suffered from the problem for four years, despite never being caught by one. He drives 800km a week and takes huge detours to avoid camera sites. If he sees a speed camera he suffers a panic attack and has to pull over. Gant, 41, said: "Every time I drove past one I started worrying about what would happen if I was caught speeding: would I lose my job? How would it affect my family? ... I realised I could allow it to control me and had to something about it."
(Source: telegraph.co.uk)
* * *
See today's Herald cartoon
* * *
Today's Webpick: The latest instalment of the literal music video meme (if a songs lyrics reflected what was happening in the music video) is Billy Idol’s “White Wedding”. View here.
These are the very best online videos from Ana's online magazine Spare Room.
