KEY POINTS:
Mark thought he was in India when he saw this - but no, he was in our own Parnell.
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Barry has a yarn about an underhand real estate agent. "A family member recently purchased a house in Glendowie, Auckland. Prior to purchase the house was visited a number of times by the real estate agent, who spread his paperwork out on the bench in exactly the same place on each visit. It was noticed after eventual purchase that the place where the real estate agent had spread his paperwork had a great scorch-mark on the Formica about the size of a dinner plate. How low can you go?"
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Gayle Johnson had a right old laugh at yesterday's "literal" cake message interpretation, which reminded her of similar experiences: "A frazzled morning getting everyone ready for work and school, I realised I didn't have the basics for school lunches," she says. "So, quick early I head to the local dairy on the way to school for filled rolls. Alas, the cabinet was empty so I asked the woman behind the counter how long the filled rolls would be. She indicated, using arm and hand actions, and said 'around about six inches'." On another occasion Gayle was on the phone to a friend wanting her address. "I told her that the first line of the address was "47/B Smith* Drive". The letter duly arrived addressed to '47 Slash B Smith Drive'. Well I guess the letter did actually arrive. Well done, NZ Post!" (* It's not really Smith Drive, in case you were wondering.)
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Thousands of Belgian parents camped in cold, wet weather this week to enrol their children in French-speaking schools under a new first-come, first-served registration system. "I am doing this for my daughter," said Thierry Colin, a naval officer drinking soup at the end of a queue of tents and improvised shacks in front of the St Michel secondary school in Brussels. The new system is designed to promote transparency and social diversity but has angered many parents. Previously, schools could decide which children to take based on criteria such as academic achievement. (Source: Reuters)
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Peter Kiddell feels conned: "Whitcoulls' advert says spend $40 and receive a $5 voucher. Great. But on the voucher is a note explaining that the voucher can only be redeemed when you spend another $20. From my reckoning that means you have to spend $60 to save $5. Some promotion."
