KEY POINTS:
The Laloli family of Patumahoe would have been naysayers had they not seen it for themselves - snapped while driving from Papakura to Karaka on Sunday.
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For $112 you can now buy a perfume that smells like ... nothing. The "perfume", which has virtually no
scent, is to go on sale at Selfridges this month priced at £40 ($112) a bottle. The creation by trendy label Dadadandy contains 100ml of liquid made from an alcohol base which, when sprayed, has only a slight smell of alcohol which soon evaporates. The "non-perfume", called Choix, goes on sale as part of the store's surrealist-themed event.
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How to make more taxpayers: Germany saw a birth boom during the first days of the new year, because of the Government's child-bearing incentives (bonuses of up to the equivalent of $33,000, leading mothers to attempt to delay December delivery until the law kicked in on January 1). Meanwhile, in the United States, an estimated 6 per cent of the annual 70,000 babies scheduled to be born in the first week of January were once again induced early, for late December delivery, to take advantage of tax breaks worth at least $4000 per child. (Source: News of the Weird)
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A reader writes: "Patrons of that well-known hairdressing establishment Marilyns on Shore Rd in leafy Remuera are finding they are getting a little more than their normal comb and curl these days. The premises are being dramatically remodelled and instead of the normal graceful surroundings facing Shore Rd, the matrons of Remuera now find themselves in a makeshift area at the back where an old storeroom has been converted into a temporary salon. There are portable canvas covers, outdoor seating - all in all it's a bit like having one's hairdo in a Beirut bombsite. The clients are finding themselves parked outside while their blue rinses set and so far the good weather has prevailed and the clientele is coping. Probably the most excitement that part of town has seen in a while."
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A reader writes in sympathy with recent Samoan and Indian correspondents, who've been mistaken for staff at petrol stations and restaurants. "I have the privilege to fly commercial jets up and down the country and, clearly, when on the job am attired in a very distinctive uniform that provides a fairly substantial clue as to my occupation; additionally, I am usually in the company of a colleague in the same uniform. I have been misidentified variously as a police officer, a security guard and a prison officer. My colleagues don't share this problem, but neither do they sport a ponytail. However, I feel my "yes" (uttered through gritted teeth) in reply to a recent exchange should have won me some form of commendation for restraint: uniformed, and about to reseat myself on the flight deck after a nature break on a through flight, a passenger said: "I told my husband we had a lady pilot - you are, aren't you?"
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Many readers chose to ignore the fact that yesterday's featured cyclist was wearing a cobalt blue thong, preferring instead to scold the lack of helmet, the wearing of jandals and dark clothing. "Who cares about his undies," says one reader. "If he's in an accident without a helmet, flamboyant underwear will be the least of his worries."