Sideswipe: Forget about the dog

Snapped outside a farm near Waihi Beach by Eamonn.

How about getting readers to write in the stupidest question they've ever been asked in a job interview, suggests Phil. "I recently got this, when applying for a PR/media job in a large organisation: 'Communications people work in an unstructured way, so how would you go about interacting with someone from other disciplines who work in a far more structured way?' Um ... I think they wanted to know if I could get on with other people at work ... though I'm still not sure."

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Like Keisha, I also would like an audience with John Key, writes a reader. "I am a climate scientist [not] and would like to speak to him about acting."

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Feedback about the Manurewa Cosmopolitan Club banning a Muslim woman for wearing a headscarf has been huge. Here are four samples:

Response No 1: A Manurewa old boy writes that if his wife went to a mosque she would be expected to cover her head with a scarf. If she did not cover her head, then she would not be made welcome. "When in Rome do as the Romans do."

Response No 2: "A few years back my cousin, her husband and two grown-up sons came here on holiday from Scotland," writes a reader. "As they were here for the New Year the men wore their full traditional kilts ... We went to the cosmopolitan club for a few drinks ... You can imagine our dismay at the men being turned away at the door and told to change out of their kilts because they weren't part of the club's dress code for men!"

Response No 3: "I think the test to distinguish bigotry from reasonable rules to eliminate bad manners in the club would be to see what would happen if a couple of nuns tried to enter wearing their traditional headgear," suggests Peter. "For what it's worth, I think the burqa is a disgusting control mechanism, but it is not up to me to impose my views on those who choose to wear it."

Response No 4: Adrian Leathar says the NZ Pocket Oxford Dictionary definition of cosmopolitan is: "1a. of, from or knowing many parts of the world. b. consisting of people from many or all parts (Auckland is a very cosmopolitan city) ... 2. free from national limitations or prejudices."

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View today's Herald cartoon

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Today's webpick - Jetpack flying gear being tested in the Auckland Domain. Now that's how to get to work... Watch it here

Follow Ana Samways on Twitter here.