Overheard over the fence
A North Shore reader writes: "I'm sitting outside having a cup of tea, and the gardener over the fence (an older, unshaven, Swanndri kinda chap) is on his phone having an argument. He signs off with an F-bomb. Five minutes later he starts up singing: 'The haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate ... I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake ...' I shake it off."
Village of the bouncers
For years, the men of the Indian village of Asola-Fatehpur Beri have held two-hour workouts every morning and evening. Their aim: to become nightclub bouncers in nearby Delhi. The all-male group exercises outside wearing just loincloths. They wrestle in mud, climb ropes and perform a few hundred sit-ups and push-ups. (Via Reddit/CNN)
Lights out for goodwill
"In 1965 my new wife and I rented a back-section house in Cliff Rd, Green Bay," writes Adrian Muller of Papamoa Beach. "Green Bay was about to be connected to the sewerage system. Residents could dig their own deep trench for the pipes from the toilet outlet to the front gate and save the considerable cost of contractors doing it. I spent a couple of sweltering cloudless January days hand-digging this trench from the back section, as well as one for the landlady's front house. An act of goodwill, and no payment even thought of. A month after we moved out, she rode her motor-scooter all the way to our new home and, over a nice cup of tea we gave her, presented us with an invoice for the cost of a bulb from the front porch light which she said we had burned out during our renting time."
"Venturing into a pub in Staffordshire with friends, I found this New Zealand Pale Ale," writes Derrick Bunn. "Flattery for the World Champions? Or is the brewery doing some stealth marketing for the World Cup? Either way the beer is bloody awful!"?
Cars unhealthy
"A guy in the next office to mine cleverly negotiated use of a company car," writes Jim. "I helped him find a house - in the same suburb as mine - so every day he drove past where I lived while I went to get the train ... Well, he died some years ago and I am still here."
Heroic mini man:
A
where his super-coolness stops two rival gangs from killing each other and where everyone is on a first name basis with him, including the cops...Hey and isn't that Rangitoto in that panel?
Picture this: [shakes wife awake] [whispers] "Karen. Karen! Don't make any sudden moves...he's back again..."
Get this: Have the Pope appear in your toast every morning!
Video: Around 250 ventriloquist dummies are going up for auction...
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Got a Sideswipe? Send your pictures, links and anecdotes to Ana at ana.samways@nzherald.co.nz