Sideswipe

A Maori Face Tattoo Kit being sold as part of a Halloween costume. Kapa O Pango haka instructions not included

Why live in Auckland? Malcolm, who lives in Ruawai, two hours north of the bridge, writes: "I have to smile at the consternation of Auckland residents over their rates bills. We pay the outlandish price of $1100 a year. We have town water, which we pay separately for, rubbish collection, a rush hour that is barely noticeable and a journey to work that takes two minutes. You know everyone you pass in the street and can walk to the CBD in 12 minutes. There's a doctor in town and a hospital just 20 minutes' drive away. I am very pleased to have vacated Auckland for all this and would suggest that this option is available to a large number of Aucklander residents given the technology available. Oh, and did I mention that we live on 17 acres?"

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Ian James says wearing a wedding ring can be genuinely hazardous. "As a newlywed, some years ago now, my wife demanded that I wear my wedding ring while at work - work being with the RNZAF at Whenuapai on 40 Squadron. One day, while jumping down from an aircraft doorway, my wedding ring caught on a piece of metal. I felt like I was suspended for ages, then the ring slipped off ripping the skin on either side of the finger. It's hard to describe the amount of pain that resulted. Thereafter I was then allowed to take off the ring during work hours."

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A reader stumbled across The Fresh Flower Company's website (www.freshflowerco.co.nz). The home page asks, "How can we help you with flowers today?" and provides a handy form to fill out. The third question down asks, "What's the occasion?" and provides options including "In the dogbox" and "A big love thing". It also asks "Who's it 4?" and offers "Her indoors" and "A nice bit of trouser" as potential recipients.

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Eating certain curry dishes may improve the cognitive performance of elderly people, report scientists from the National University of Singapore. Apparently, the curcumin in tumeric, often used in curry, may prevent the plaque build-up in the brain that's associated with Alzheimer's. From New Scientist: "What is remarkable is that apparently one needs only to consume curry once in a while for the better cognitive performance to be evidenced," one of the scientists says. He wants to confirm the results, possibly in a controlled clinical trial comparing curcumin and a placebo.

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One reader admitted to being quite taken with the Prime billboard for its new series Weeds, pictured in Sideswipe on Thursday. "When I first saw it I thought it quite clever to get those large ziplock bags up on the billboard, and I mistakenly (in my naivety) thought the words "solo mum coping with life's problems" meant they were sandwiches made for her family becoming successively more mould-ridden! How green am I?"