Sideswipe: I think Alyssa's following me

Alyssa Milano. Photo / Supplied

Actress Alyssa Milano is raising money for an orphanage in Haiti by offering to follow on Twitter the highest bidder in an auction. "Alyssa Milano will follow you on Twitter for a minimum of 90 days, will retweet one of your tweets and will send out a tweet including your Twitter name. It will be at the celebrity's discretion to continue following the winner beyond 90 days. Current bid is US$3550 ($4872)."

Something fishy about that cook

The Great Tauranga Whitebait Massacre Mystery: At the start of whitebait season a local whitebaiter wanted to share their good luck with a local hospice, says a reader. The evening meal arrived but with no whitebait patties, so questions were asked, he says.

The cook said she had never cooked whitebait before and was too proud to ask anyone - she had found removing the heads and tails too much work, so chucked the whitebait in a food processor then mixed it with the batter. The concoction did not smell or look the best so she decided to bake the mix as a pie, says our reader. The pie was a failure, so the the cook consigned it to the pig bucket. Later that night, curious staff could find no trace of the pie ...

Mayoral hopeful mettle detector

You'd think sleeping rough for one night in the Auckland CBD, as part of the Lifewise Big Sleepout fundraiser, would be a political equivalent to kissing thousands of babies for local politicians trying to score votes.

So where are all those mayoral candidates? And how about the celebrities, who usually attract the publicity prancing around in frocks or running off at the mouth, doing something with some guts for a change? Let's put together a wish list of high-profile Aucklanders you'd like to see joining the mass sleepover on October 14. Email in your suggestions.

U2 tickets being kept in safe place

Helen from Parnell writes: "Regarding the delay in the receipt of U2 tickets. I believe they are being withheld until much closer to the concert to avoid ticket scalping." [Ticketek website for the U2 360 tour says all tickets will be mailed out on October 4, okay?]