KEY POINTS:
A novel way to beat the economic downturn, spotted by a reader in a West Auckland Placemakers store - selling really big boxes as toys for kids! The young salesperson said: "It's in really good nick. Imagine cutting some windows and a door in THAT for your kids?"
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Flicking through the flyer from ECC Lighting, Sheena was reminded that retailers are struggling. "My eye was taken by one particular bargain: The Superarchimoon Floor Lamp is now reduced to a trifling $13,500, from the original $28,875. Sure it was designed by Philippe Starck, but does that mean it is worth more than a lot of families have to live off for a year? If companies are buying such items I can totally understand the economic predicament we are all in."
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The top 10 misquoted phrases in Britain:
1) A damp squid (a damp squib)
2) On tender hooks (on tenter hooks)
3) Nip it in the butt (nip it in the bud)
4) Champing at the bit (chomping at the bit)
5) A mute point (a moot point)
6) One foul swoop (one fell swoop)
7) All that glitters is not gold (all that glisters is not gold)
8) Adverse to (averse to)
9) Batting down the hatches (batten down the hatches)
10) Find a penny pick it up (find a pin pick it up)
(Source: The Telegraph.co.uk)
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British publican Martin Talbot asked barman Luke Woolston, 19, to cash up and put 1000 ($2830) takings in a "safe" place. But he was horrified when Luke texted to say he had shoved the till drawer in the cooker - and then smelt burning. The Bank of England has told him some of the badly burned notes may be useable if their serial numbers are legible. (Source: The Sun)
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A reader writes: "I HAVE had several experiences trying to fill up at prepay-only petrol stations. The most memorable was at a Mobil in Hamilton a few years back. They refused to let me fill up and then pay so I left and filled up elsewhere. I emailed Mobil NZ the next day about the poor service and suggested they employ forecourt attendants (remember them?). Two weeks later the Mobil Asia regional office in Thailand wrote to say prepay was introduced because of high petrol prices."
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See today's cartoon
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Today's Webpick: The very latest footage of Mum's sheets getting an outing as Otago University freshers drunkenly rampage through George Street for an Orientation Week Toga Parade. View here.
These are the very best online videos from Ana's online magazine Spare Room.
