EDITOR: What's the best part of Auckland? The road home

During the week I had to attend a meeting in Auckland, one of the occasional "pleasures" of my job.
One of the beauties of this meeting was that it was held in Albert St, just a handful of blocks away from one of my favourite parts of Auckland - the southbound lanes of the Southern Motorway.
Every time I fight my way into Auckland, I am always carried through the experience by the knowledge that I will soon be able to put it behind me on the motorway.
As I head down the on-ramp heading south, I know salvation, green pastures and eventually the waters of the Bay of Plenty won't be far away.
I guess Auckland does have some good points, particularly for flying visits.
I headed up a few weeks back with my son for the Australia v New Zealand rugby league test at Mt Smart Stadium and my wife and I are headed back there in a few weeks to relive our younger days at one of U2's concerts.
I also enjoy going to Auckland if I am headed for the airport as that means there are fun times ahead in a sunny, balmy overseas place.
As the saying goes, it's a great place to visit but you wouldn't want to live there.
It is visits to cities like Auckland that remind you that whatever our problems are, we are still better off where we are than Aucklanders.
Sure, there are many events big and small in Auckland. But fortunately we are close enough that we can slip up there for the day or the night and escape before we go mad. Just don't tell too many of your Auckland friends how good it is down here.
I think we are quite happy with our region as it is right now and we have enough growth problems to deal with already.
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Thank you to those readers who are sending me their thoughts on the changes we have made to the paper.
Overwhelmingly the changes have been received well but I am always wanting to hear ways we can make our product even better.
So keep your thoughts coming in to editor@bopp.co.nz.
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I am still getting the occasional note from readers inquiring why we have ditched our daily joke.
You can rest assured that is one part of the paper I wouldn't dare remove.
A number of people over the years have commented how the joke was the first thing they turned to every day in the paper.
The joke usually gave them a smile and a chuckle, they said.
All we have done with the joke is move it into Bay Buzz on page 4 to accommodate the 10 Minute Times column on page 2.
So relax, it is still there and you only have to turn one extra page to find it.
10 Minute Times has also seen the need to move the Suduko puzzle some days.
When we do have to move the popular puzzle, we will always tell you where to find it in the index box at the bottom of page one.
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I had a call the other day from an elderly woman questioning one of the jokes we had run on page 4.
She said she had found it offensive to elderly people and held them up to ridicule.
I can honestly say that finding jokes that are funny and don't offend anyone is incredibly difficult.
To ensure a constant standard is applied to jokes, I see and approve all jokes that are published. I have set what I consider an appropriate standard and I try to keep to it.
Readers are quite happy to tell me when I get it wrong and there are occasions when they are correct.
But I can assure you that there are many jokes that don't see the light of day in the paper.
While I might find them funny, I know they will offend many people due to their content or due to taste issues.
What I endeavour to do is find something that will give you a smile without offending you.
But as with many things, it is incredibly hard to find a jokes that 60,000 people find funny and inoffensive. It is virtually impossible but we do try.