KEY POINTS:
Courtney writes: "My cousin is currently on her OE in Peru. The place is a huge culture shock but mainly verrrry dirty ... perhaps this sign (above) is the reason?"
* * *
A reader writes: "My husband was returning from the tip with an empty trailer - apart from a small string cargo net which had been used to secure the load. En route the cargo net slipped off the back of the trailer and landed on the side of the motorway. Returning to pick it up, my husband was intercepted by a traffic cop who had also stopped to pick up the net. Owning up to the indiscretion, my husband was advised that he would be fined for an insecure load. Three days later we got a fine for $600. The net is only worth $20."
* * *
Yet again the petrol stations in Thames are hitting the pockets of the motorist and shopper, writes a reader named Eric. "We have queried several times why petrol prices are higher in Thames (normally about 4c) than Paeroa, Ngatea and even Whitianga. So, if you are travelling through Thames on your way to the Coromandel this holiday period, buy your petrol elsewhere, even the Mobil Station at Maramarua is only 1c more than the Auckland prices."
* * *
Strangest Coincidences: The British actor Anthony Hopkins was delighted to hear that he had landed a leading role in a film based on the book The Girl From Petrovka by George Feifer. A few days after signing the contract, Hopkins travelled to London to buy a copy of the book. He tried several booksellers, but there wasn't one to be had. Waiting at Leicester Square Underground for his train home, he noticed a book apparently discarded on a bench. Incredibly, it was The Girl From Petrovka. That in itself would have been coincidence enough but in fact it was merely the beginning of an extraordinary chain of events. Two years later, in the middle of filming in Vienna, Hopkins was visited by George Feifer, the author. Feifer mentioned that he did not have a copy of his own book. He had lent the last one - containing his own annotations - to a friend who had lost it somewhere in London. With mounting astonishment, Hopkins handed Feifer the book he had found. "Is this the one?" he asked, "with the notes scribbled in the margins?" It was the same book. (Source: www.2spare.com)
* * *
Car groups say the proposal would boost fuel use. Motorcyclists say it could endanger them because they would no longer stand out on the road. But the British tabloid the Sun reports that new European Union rules will require automobiles to have their lights on whenever they are on the road, even during daylight. The newspaper reports that bureaucrats claim the rule will reduce accidents by making vehicles more visible. (Source: Reason.com)
