Sideswipe: February 8: When you need a pie...

When you need a pie, you just need a pie. Snapped outside a shop in Gisborne.

Pakuranga highway delays

Robert from Howick writes: "Will someone own up to giving permission to close the three-lane eastbound carriageway of part of the Pakuranga highway and reducing city-bound traffic to two lanes at 8am on Tuesday on one of the busiest mornings of the year (first day at school), causing congestion and delay for thousands? Is this the measure of intelligence we can expect from Auckland Transport in the future?"

Waka paddlers need lifejackets

Peter watched the news of the sinking waka at Waitangi Day celebrations. "How does this fit into the water safety adverts about wearing lifejackets in boats? he asks. Are waka excluded? Understandably they wouldn't have been used historically, but in such a public event they should perhaps be used to advocate them?"

Coming to blows

Andrew writes: "Only a day after reports of sluggish ticket sales for SBW v Clarence Tillman III, the two have a shoving match at their weigh-in. Really guys, how gullible do you think we are? Boxing in this country seems only one step ahead of WWF wrestling. Pure pantomime."

Pitfalls for apprentices

Leg pulling No 1: "When I was an apprentice chef at the old Intercontinental Hotel the senior chefs would send us juniors on errands. I remember being sent to Inward Goods to get a "long weight"... I ended up waiting a very long time.

Leg pulling No 2: "When I was an apprentice somebody sent the owner's son, who was there for work experience, for a tin of red and white striped paint. He was gone all afternoon. Next morning he revealed he had gone to the pictures. The manager couldn't do a thing because he was in on the joke."