Sideswipe: Parking illegal-Lee

After turning right into Woodbine Ave (off Great South Rd), Greenlane, yesterday morning at 8:10, National's Mt Albert candidate, Melissa Lee, parked for about 20 minutes on a yellow line, leaving a passenger in the car.

Someone needs to point out to her that she hasn't been made a minister yet and needs to stick to the same rules as the rest of us until she is.

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Officers in Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire, found themselves contemplating an empty dance floor after their "Bluez'n' Zuz" disco failed to excite local youngsters. To make matters worse, a patrol not far from the Memorial Hall later caught several young people drinking illegally on the pavement. Sergeant Martin Alvis said he was very disappointed by the lack of attendance because it had been well publicised in local schools.

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A Danish journalist is to go on trial next week for killing 12 guppy fish with shampoo live on television. Lisbeth Kloester poured a "very diluted" amount of shampoo into a fish tank in an episode of the consumer affairs show she fronted to demonstrate the level of toxic material in a brand of anti-dandruff shampoo. "After four days all but one of the fish were dead," Ms Kloester said. But a vet who saw the show pressed charges for causing unnecessary suffering to animals, an offence under Danish law. (Source: News.com.au)

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Sophie writes: "I knew the housing market was declining in these tough economic times but I had no idea it had got this bad. This may be the only house I can afford a 20 per cent deposit for on my wage. Do I get a discount for paying cash?" (Spotted in the Hamilton East Lodge Real Estate shop window).

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Ida Haayema writes: "I live in Birkdale, on the North Shore, and a few years ago we had our sewers inspected, but no warning letter. My husband heard a strange noise coming from the toilet. I lifted the lid on the loo to have a look and yup ... She blew, all over me. My husband was rolling on the floor laughing. I ran outside; I had loo paper in my hair. I showered in hot water for days."

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See today's Herald cartoon

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