KEY POINTS:
This is Terry Jones, a guest of Ann Woolliams at Ann's Volcanic Rotorua Motel who is looking for his three brothers. Ann writes: "He has four nights left to find his three long-lost brothers, before going back to England. Terry found out three years ago that he had brothers who lived in New Zealand, possibly in the Hamilton area. Their surname will be Lowe and they will probably be in their 60s. Their father, Geoffrey Lowe, is deceased. He was in the Navy and from Shrewsbury, England. They would have an Uncle Bill." Any information please email volcanic@xtra.co.nz. Sideswipe will update readers, hopefully with good news.
* * *
Dr Graeme Woodfield, of Kumeu, says it is good to see that Mark Stewart has also recognised the anomaly of absent nutritional and energy details on the labels of alcoholic products. "The alcohol industry is very resistant to any form of warning labels on alcohol, and opposes any such move that might conceivably affect their sales and exorbitant profits," he says. "It is time New Zealanders woke up to this and demanded safeguards. Even discussion of a possible warning about drinking during pregnancy has been deferred until next year by the Food Safety Authority of Australia and New Zealand so nutritional information panels on alcohol are still far off ... not so good for Mark's bulge."
* * *
A man has been arrested in California after he tried to hold up a petrol station shop with a tennis racquet. Police say Ernesto Martinez, 20, said he had an Uzi machine gun and threatened to burn the shop down. But the game was up when he was "disarmed" by a security guard.
* * *
Former National Party leader and kiwifruit grower Don Brash responds to the discovery that some kiwifruit in New Zealand shops comes from Italy. "This is not new," he says. "Italy has been the world's largest producer of kiwifruit for many years, and it is entirely natural for New Zealand to import kiwifruit from Italy during our off-season as it is for Italy to import kiwifruit from New Zealand during theirs. New Zealand kiwifruit is exported to Italy (and many other countries) after our crop is harvested around April/May each year, while Italian kiwifruit is imported after our April/May-harvested crop gets a bit tired in January. Consumers in both countries benefit."
* * *
A dog owner in China says his pet can buy himself sausages when he's hungry. Wu Qianhe, of Chengdu city, says his pooch, Lele, barks to let him know he's hungry. "I'll drop him one yuan, and he takes the money in his mouth and runs to the shops, which all know him well," says Wu. Lele will not release the money until he's been given the sausage. "He is smart enough to tell the difference between a piece of paper and money," added Wu. "You can never cheat him." (Source: Ananova.com)