Sideswipe: August 17: A short drive from golf course

Cemetery a short drive from golf course. Photo / Supplied

Sparks fly over rude electrician

"We booked this sparky to sort out a job at home," writes a reader. "I dropped off our little man at school and on my way back, this van cut me off and I had to brake to avoid a collision. I tooted just to let him know that I was there and instead of saying sorry, the male driver gave me the middle finger, swore at me, called me an overstayer and to go back to the Islands.

We both went in different directions but as I approached my house, this same van pulled into my driveway. I drove in parked next to his van and told him, 'you have one minute to remove you van from my driveway while I go and release my dog from out the back'. He took off in a flash. Guess we are looking for another sparky."

An expensive mistake

"There was a leak from my bathroom upstairs. My kitchen was right underneath. Every time someone would shower, water would slowly begin to drip into the kitchen. I thought there was a leak somewhere in the drain pipe and I took the kitchen ceiling down looking for it. And this was an old home, so there was this cement type of plaster with metal latticework through it on top of wood slats. It took forever to expose the drain pipe ... only to find out that the little knob thing on the shower faucet that you pull up to turn on the shower had broken and I just needed to replace that. That piece cost me $7. Then I had to completely replace my kitchen ceiling."

"This guy wouldn't look so happy if he knew what was coming," say Ella and Sam Yaxley.

Loo with a view — but some are peed off

An open-air urinal has been set up in the middle of Paris, but not everybody thinks it a great idea. The bright red no-flush, allegedly odourless urinal has been set up so that the men relieving themselves have a view of tourist boats cruising the Seine river.

Three other similar urinals were set up in Paris months ago, but this one, on the Ile Saint-Louis, "has met with a more robust response," according to CBS. But some residents have complained that the bright red boxes are a blight on the picturesque streets of the city.

Others say there is something more than a little distasteful about encouraging men to urinate right on the street, even if it's into a box. The biggest complaint is that it discriminates against women, because it caters only to men.