Sideswipe: July 29: Restaurant gives you that sinking feeling

Right royal wedding hitches

Thirty-eight years ago, Prince Charles married Lady Diana at St Paul's Cathedral in London in front of 3500 guests. Diana accidentally changed the order of Charles' names during her vows, saying "Philip Charles Arthur George" instead of the correct "Charles Philip Arthur George". She did not promise to "obey" him as part of the traditional vows. That word was eliminated at the couple's request, which caused a sensation at the time. The wedding gift included an "all-wool broadloom carpet" from New Zealand. Charles also made an error. He said he would offer her "thy goods" instead of "my worldly goods. Their 1981 marriage was widely billed as a "fairytale wedding" and the "wedding of the century". It was watched by an estimated global TV audience of 750 million people. The couple separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996 after 15 years of marriage.

It's no cruise being clown

The BBC reports that a "mass brawl" broke out on the cruise ship Britannia as it returned to Southampton from the Norwegian fjords, after a "patriotic" party and an encounter with a clown. Several were injured and a man and a woman in their 40s, both from Essex, were arrested. One witness, part of a group involved in the trouble, explained to staff that things kicked off when another passenger appeared dressed as a clown. This upset one of their party because they'd specifically booked a cruise with no fancy dress.

Looking for Jacinta

"In about 1997 while working as a teacher's aide at Putauaki School in Kawerau, with parental permission I took photos of some children with a view to painting them," writes Sylvia. "This is Jacinta in her new dress. I would like her to have the painting but have not been able to locate her. Jacinta would be about 27 now."

Spending pennies in telephone boxes

"I always had trouble with Telephone Box Syndrome back in the 60s and 70s," writes Denise. "I put the urge to pee down to entering a room of a similar size to a toilet. I know other friends also had this problem ... no urge to use a toilet until you entered the red telephone box!"