Sideswipe: October 21: Not a great idea

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Possibly a poor choice for around any Christmas tree in the Bay of Plenty this year.

McWedding package

You may consider McDonald's as a venue for your child's birthday, but how about for a wedding? A McDonald's nuptial package in Hong Kong costs about HK$10,000 ($1600). According to the New York Times, a McWedding includes food and drinks for 50 people, a "cake" made of stacked apple pies, and gifts for the guests.

Soccer fallacy

A reader writes: "The assertion [in yesterday's Sideswipe] that the trumpet to restart play is copied from the Fifa Football World Cup is wrong. Trumpets, pop songs and other speaker sounds have never been used during football matches. Football is exciting enough, with a vocal crowd creating its own organic atmosphere."

Farmer has it off pat

Cambridge dairy farmer Marc Gascoigne writes: "This morning I was wearing an old France rugby jersey and was milking the cows. One of the cows lifted her tail and let rip all over the jersey. I should have expected it as the cow was all black!"

Sage advice from the past

Tony Day of Birkenhead with the last word: "I was restoring an old family photo and frame and discovered a 1923 English newspaper in the back. In a column such as this one was this message: 'How not to be beaten by the All Blacks - Don't play them!"'