Sideswipe: July 1: Refreshing honesty

Honesty in advertising?

Bach rules

"We sometimes let our bach," explains Lindsey. "We have never made an insurance claim there but recently the insurer tried hiking up the contents premium. I calculated that, if instead of paying it, we banked it, in five years we would have paid the total value of the cover. Then last year they tried adding that the property 'had to be inspected before and after the dwelling has been occupied by short-term guests.' That's a completely unrealistic addition — in our case a three-hour round trip per inspection. Either they didn't want our business or had never ventured out of their ivory towers. Our bach contents are now no longer insured."

Tall polite guy at a concert.

Coincidences: They happen all the time

1. "At the pub after a match at Wembley between Scotland and Wales I got talking to some Welsh lads. Hearing my Kiwi accent, one guy shared that he was in Milford Sound and bumped into the girlfriend who had dumped him just months before. Apparently neither had plans to travel to New Zealand, but after splitting up they had separate opportunities to travel here. He couldn't believe it. Apparently he'd come halfway round the world to try and get over her."

2. "In 1981, while travelling through US, we stopped overnight in Two Harbours, Minnesota, a small town along the shore of Lake Superior. The guys were putting up the tent in a storm so us girls very sensibly left them to it and went to the laundromat where it was warm and dry. We were the only two people in the laundromat apart from an older couple who noticed the New Zealand flags on our VW van. He said he was in the marines in 1944 during World War II and asked 'did we know of a place called Whangārei?'. We were from Whangārei! He was there for four months and remembered going to Maungatapere and Dargaville, plus King St and Mains Ave in Whangārei, where he had been looked after by local families. He hadn't forgotten the kind people. Amazing."

3. "Mum and Dad came over to the UK to visit me and we were doing a tiki tour with a stop at Holmfirth. We headed out to a country pub for dinner and got up to the bar to put in our order. Publican says 'Ah, you're a Kiwi, everyone knows everyone over there don't they?' I demur somewhat saying it's not quite like that. Then he says, 'I know a Kiwi I'm sure you'll know,' with a twinkle in his eye. 'Okay,' I sigh, 'who is it?' He replies 'Michael Hill' to which I say 'jeweller'. We both had a good laugh. Turns out he was his brother in-law."