KEY POINTS:
Neil says his paperboy is determined this household will read the North Shore Times one day.
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During Friday's Campbell Live Olympic highlights item with the New Zealand athletes, a distinctly Australian song, 1981 by Perth post-grunge rock band Gyroscope, was heard. Surely it wasn't too hard to find a suitable patriotic Kiwi anthem?
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Overheard at a wine fair last week in Hong Kong. A reader writes: "The Western press has dragged China's environmental credentials through the mud but Hong Kong is very aware of the need to protect the environment. A leading wine merchant assured me that the locals are ready to pay a premium for organic wines. The subject of global warming came up during a packed-to-the-rafters presentation by New Zealand winemakers. When someone from the floor asked a winemaker from Domaine Jaquiery how he would cope with climate change, he replied, 'Sir, when you have to get up at 2 o'clock in the morning to fight frost in your vineyard, bring on global warming!"'
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Who needs a car alarm when you've got two pythons on your dash to deter thieves? Car owner Dr Mbuso Makhathini from Durban, South Africa, allows the giant reptiles to slither around inside his Audi TT while he visits patients. The African rock pythons named Tiny and Naughty are about 3m long. Dr Makhathini says: "They can sense if someone is unfriendly and they hiss and start coiling." (Source: The Daily Mail)
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John Ashton, owner-operator of the New World in Devonport, writes: "James Goodman was indeed correct to expect his wine at the advertised price and for this we apologise. On this occasion it was a case of the barcode not being updated in the Devonport store to reflect the special pricing, and trainee staff not handling the situation as we normally would have. We recognise that other shoppers have not been given the advertised discount and we take this very seriously. As a show of good faith to our valued customers, we are extending the special price of $13.99 on the Villa Maria Cellar Selection Range for a further two weeks (valid until Sunday, September 7) in the Devonport New World only."
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Today's Webpick: How do two keen Kiwi farm lads get their kicks? Why they build a dirt ramp, chop the doors off a Ford Telstar and drive it off a cliff. Watch their stunt here.
These are the very best online videos from Ana's online magazine Spare Room.
