Sideswipe: Better hoof it for a pair of these

If you wanted to trot out in something a bit different this winter, how about a pair of hoof shoes? These £1300 ($2800) clod hoppers feature synthetic hooves, but are made from 5000 horse hairs each. The shoes were commissioned to celebrate 100 years of the National Hunt festival in Cheltenham. Three pairs will be sold with proceeds going to the Prostate Cancer Charity. (Source: Born Rich.com)

Cricket plague #1

Mike from Morrinsville writes: "When I was a boy we lived on a farm on an unsealed road at Kerepehi on the Hauraki Plains. The road had two ruts for vehicles to travel on. One year there were so many crickets I used to amuse myself by riding my sister's bike down one of the ruts seeing how many crickets I could run over. Crickets inside the house were just par for the course."

Cricket plague #2

"I do recall as a 10-year-old boy in Dargaville, a particularly long, dry, hot summer in 1975. We had a plague of those large black crickets," writes a reader. "I was employed by my older sisters to retrieve them as they flew in the open windows at night. I charged an extortionate fee of $1 per cricket for bedrooms and $2 for the bathroom."

Supermarkets should adapt

"It is great to see people using public transport to do shopping," says Matt. "Maybe the supermarket should install a trolley bay at the bus stop. Why make it hard for people who have a smaller carbon footprint?"

Police deserve praise

"It didn't take long for the pathetic, petty-minded grinches to emerge when some small praise was given to our constantly maligned police officers," writes a reader. "You might like to mention the North Shore Community cop who, in his own time, arranged a classic car show to raise funds for a prosthetic leg for a little girl. Perhaps your reader would rather he spent this time looking at the gaps where their goods disappeared from. Ever heard of home security?"

Cops saving toys doing their job

The person complaining about police attending slowly to his burglary is confused about the different areas of the police. A Motorway Support Officer, like the dolphin saver, is a non-sworn officer who only does exactly what his or her title suggests - supports the motorway network. They can't issue fines or arrest people, nor help with burglary inquiries. They are distinguishable by their snazzy white caps.