Sideswipe: Monsters among us

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"A week or so back, some psychopaths set fire to a nest in an old pile at Bayswater wharf," write Russell and Marie. "It was occupied by a family of white-fronted terns (tara). We had been watching them and went to check last weekend and saw the devastation. One of the parents was hovering about so it had not long happened. The newly-hatched chicks had not fledged and the parent was probably staunchly defending the nest. Doubtless this was an irritation to the pricks who did this."

Don't talk, just listen

Overheard by Roy at the Blondie concert:

1st girl: What band's on next?
2nd girl: Dunno.
Bystander: It's the Pretenders.
1st girl: Don't know them. What did they sing?
2nd girl: I Would Walk 500 Miles. [made famous by the Proclaimers]
1st girl: Oh. I don't like them.

Oops ... not the B-word

Ballet is a naughty word: "My daughter was given a Ballerina Barbie for her birthday," writes Gill. "The Barbie packaging had a code which you enter online. You need to create a user name first before entering the code. I thought "ballet" would be appropriate as it was a Ballerina Barbie ... but when I did it came back: 'Oops. We don't use that kind of language on this site. Please select another name'. "

Tenor trap

"How bizarre is this?" says Heather. "DVD bought at Warehouse is The Irish Tenor Trio - Classical Christmas featuring John McDermott, Anthony Kearns and Ronan Tynan. Their details are expanded in the biography. Trouble is - the singers are three totally different men, never named. Should have got the hint when the song Red is the Rose is listed as "Red is the Nose". Has anybody else ever heard of such a scam?"