Sideswipe: March 9: Iron drapes

Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

Originally used literally as fire break installed in theatres to prevent flames from spreading from the stage to audience or vice-versa, the term Iron Curtain was also used figuratively meaning the end of a geopolitical arrangement. It was used metaphorically to describe the demarcation of Western and Eastern Europe and became more popular after Winston Churchill's "Sinews of Peace" speech, delivered soon after the end of World War II about the tensions and strained relationships that led to the Cold War ... the term found its way into print five days later in The Observer by correspondent George Orwell.

Executive wife training

Advert from the Herald, 1972.

Stark reality of petrol price climb

"The more you look at it the worse it gets," writes Dean as he shares his personal petrol hike on the Titirangi Facebook page. "I fill my car fortnightly. Jan 6: $119; Jan 13: $118; Jan 23: $107; Feb 5: $124; Feb 18: $137; March 6: $155 (which would've been $160 if I filled my car a day later). March 20? I would bet I'm looking at $170-$190. By April 3, I might text my boss asking for a pay rise to keep up with the fuel cost." Ian responds: "I assume you're doing, let's say, 500km per fortnight/fill-up. A second-hand Nissan Leaf or BMW i3 would use around 80kWhs to cover that distance. That would mean charging them twice a week overnight at a cost of $3-$4 per charge. So that's $15 per fortnight instead of $150. (Our secondhand electric car easily does 125km on $3.30 worth of electricity - do the math. Electric cars are CHEAP to run). Electric cars with their instant response and power are also great to drive on hilly roads like those in Titirangi."

Petrol hikes #2

Fiona from Hobsonville writes: "Thanks David Baker for confirming what we have long suspected (but been too lazy to follow up on!). On Saturday, AA Smartfuel was offering the increasingly frequent "10 cents a litre OFF at BP" – which still leaves it at 20c a litre more expensive! A lesson to shop around if you really want to save."