Sideswipe: November 14: Sweet catch

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Doing comms for the police looks like fun: "Our Waitematā West Tactical Crime Unit got a sweet catch this week, when they caught and arrested two candy thieves! The pair allegedly stole hundreds of candy and chocolate bars from local retailers. But it's nothing to Snicker about — the two are allegedly prolific shoplifters in the area and planned to sell the stolen goods. Our officers weren't going to have a bar of that, and the alleged thieves were in for a choc when they were charged and told they will appear in court this month."

Your hotel stay on show in Japan

If you are looking for cheap accommodation in Japan, there is a hotel in Fukuoka City that offers a room for just 130 yen ($1.88) a night. The Business Ryokan Asahi hotel is about a 15-minute walk from the main shopping area, the room is a nice Japanese-style guest room, with tatami reed flooring, a folded futon sleeping mat, a TV and kettle. So what's the catch? To stay, you have to agree to let the hotel livestream your stay on YouTube. The livestream is video only, with no sound — to avoid copyright infringement complaints for music that could be heard from the in-room TV. (Via Soranews24.com)

More slow mail delivery noted

"I sympathise with the item about aquatic snail mail," writes Dale Gordon. "Last Tuesday November 5, I received a standard envelope posted from Onehunga. I live in Remuera. It was franked by NZ Post 23 Oct 19. Later, it was also date stamped 29 Oct 2019 Hunters Corner Delivery, taking 14 days to get from Onehunga via Hunters Corner to Remuera. I could have walked backwards several times to Onehunga in the two weeks it took for delivery. I talked with NZ Post on Wednesday, November 6 and it will be looked into. That was a week ago and I wonder where they are looking. Perhaps they are rowing from Onehunga Wharf to the Orakei Basin via Melbourne."

"Alien" died during rescue

A reader has more on the Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice in London: "I came across the park and had an interesting time reading the plaques dedicated to deeds of bravery. One was for a man who had drowned while rescuing another. The plaque recorded the deed with the final comment ' ... and he was an alien'. A note of wonder that someone, not just a stranger but a foreigner, showed such sacrifice. I am encouraged."