Sideswipe

This boot is hanging in Auckland's Domain.

This brand new boot (above) has been hanging under a tree in the Auckland Domain (George St side) for four weeks at least. I am sure it would like to be reunited with it's mate. So far it has stayed dry. For it's location call 021-404-560.

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This guy makes attention-seeking Lisa Lewis look like a wallflower: Cameron Brewer - former press secretary to former Auckland mayor John Banks, current general manager of the Newmarket Business Association and frequent emailer to the Herald - yesterday sent this spam: "You've got your hands full today but here's an interesting observation for you from Auckland's number one shopping precinct. It would be fair to say Dame Te Ata's burial has had a definite impact around Auckland today. Foot traffic numbers were down dramatically around midday Monday, and I suspect it was because people were at home watching Dame Te Ata's burial. Those who took a spot of shopping around midday could be seen engrossed in the moving coverage on shop TVs in the likes of Noel Leeming. I know for a fact that plenty of our commercial offices had their staffroom televisions on, and plenty of desktops were tuning in and out of the live coverage streamed through the TVNZ website. One could feel it in the air that this day was somehow special. I suspect many New Zealanders will always remember where they were at in their lives the day Dame Te Ata was buried."

Please remember this when he tries to run for mayor.

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Husband's generous birthday gift: Charles Ridley, a multi-millionaire British banker and rugby lover, has arranged for some of the world's greatest rugby players to join him for a game of touch rugby on a beach in Africa - and passed the whole thing off as a present to his wife, reports the Sunday Telegraph. Guests include Jason Leonard and Will Greenwood, two members of England's 2003 World Cup-winning squad, and former England players Jeremy Guscott, Rory Underwood and Victor Ubogu. Mr Ridley's invitation explained his inventive tribute to his wife Kino. It read: "While enjoying a beer after the regular meet of galloping touch rugby enthusiasts in Bahrain, and discussing how our team has improved with astounding momentum (maybe too many beers) the idea occurred to invite internationals to play the international among us in a fun tournament. So we have selected one player for each of the 25 years of our marriage."

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Oompa Loompa overboard: An American factory worker slipped and fell into a large vat of hot chocolate which began to harden around him. Darmin Garcia, a 21-year-old from Kenosha, Wisconsin, was pushing the blocked chocolate down into the vat when it suddenly came loose. "I just slid down the hopper into the chocolate," he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "It was in my hair, in my ears, my mouth, everywhere. I felt like I weighed 900 pounds. I couldn't move." Fellow workers loosened the 43C chocolate by mixing in cocoa butter while firefighters drained the vat. Garcia survived but lost his pants in the process.