KEY POINTS:
While wandering the streets of Shanghai, Kirk MacGibbon was intrigued, but not quite brave enough to find out what "that" massage might actually entail.
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Hold on to your hat. Dave from Herne Bay is impressed with Auckland City Council: "We have had our current refuse bin for the best part of five years until, alas, the top hinge decided to part company with the body two weeks ago. True to form, a week later, after the collection, it disappeared altogether. This caused some grief in our very busy household with three young kids. Who to contact at the council? How to convince them that the aforesaid item was not used by yours truly to undertake wheelie-bin racing in my copious spare time? Imagine therefore our delight to find after the next collection that a brand new lid has been connected to the old bin with brand new fastenings. As someone who works for a services organisation I know how hard it is to make this sort of efficiency possible. Utterly outstanding and full marks to the council."
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Original fundraising. Two friends have dressed as a pantomime horse to climb the tallest mountain in Wales and England. The wind howled and the rain poured down as the 18-year-olds trotted up Snowdon's 1085m peak to raise money for a trip to help rebuild an area of north Morocco hit by an earthquake. The journey took several hours in the outfit hired from a pub, with the teens taking it in turns to be the back and front of the horse. (Source: BBC Online)
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The animal rights organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) will complain to the Hamas-run television channel Al Aqsa about a programme that showed cats and lions being mistreated at a zoo in the Gaza Strip. In the children's programme a person dressed in a bee costume swung cats by their tails and threw stones at lions. The images were followed by a warning from the show's host that children should never treat animals in such a cruel way. (Source: BBC Online)
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Jay Harper says beneficiaries, like anyone else, should be able to hire purchase goods: "I have been a beneficiary for many years and the only way I could possibly replace a fridge and washing machine was with HP. Happily, I've never been tempted to want a luxury item like a dishwasher. The two different firms I deal with have excellent credit reports for me. I'm extremely grateful for those firms which are prepared to offer this facility."
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On A similar topic, another reader says: "Please don't print my name ... however my partner used to work for Winz ... A TV is apparently a necessary item if you are on the DPB." Sideswipe responds: Come on lady, what world are you living in? A TV is a necessary item. It is a major source for news and information, without which people are oblivious to what's going on in the world around them. Any parent, on the DPB or not, would describe a TV as necessary for their own sanity.
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Today's Video Webpick: A Finnish version of the Village People hit 'YMCA', from the 70s. This is unbelievable! Watch it here. Scroll down. These are the very best online videos from Ana's online magazine Spare Room.
