Sideswipe: November 18: Australian invasion

Seen at a Countdown store in Hamilton. Where are the Christmas Kiwis?

"When shopping at my local Countdown in Hamilton I could have mistaken myself for being in Australia," writes Glenn. "Where are the Christmas Kiwis? I understand that Progressive Enterprises is an Australian-owned company operating in New Zealand but maybe they should be a little more culturally inclusive?"

Aussie banks cashing in

"I have a grandson in Australia," writes a generous granddad. "Sent him A$500 as a present through the ASB to his account at Commonwealth Bank in Aussie. As we all know the CBA owns our ASB. The Pukekohe Branch charged me $25 for doing the transaction - then to really rub salt into the wound, the Aussie Branch charges another A$40 to process at their end. When I told the bank girl at my end that I thought this to be a bit of a rip-off she replied 'I know'. Does anyone know how to get funds to Aussie without being ripped off? I can see now why these Aussie banks love being in our country."

Terribly sari

Even the New York Times makes mistakes. Here is one of their recent corrections: "An article last Sunday about Bradley Cooper, who is starring in a Broadway revival of The Elephant Man, referred incorrectly to the London address where Joseph Carey Merrick - the real Elephant Man - exhibited himself. The address is now a sari store - it is not, our sincerest apologies, "a sorry store."

Going for bust

In response to the picture of Debbie's 7ft stolen garden statue in yesterday's Sideswipe, regular commenter William chose to critique the garden space: "There should be a statute outlawing it. You have a rustic garden, complete with trellis, sawn-off post and rough treated retaining timber for a border, the statue was at odds with the big picture. Be thankful, someone has saved you the jarring juxtaposition. Feel free to contact me for design and style advice."

Oh, cone on ...

"Parking was at a premium at the NZ Open bowls at Henderson," writes Kevin. "Obviously this driver didn't think that two cones meant no parking! Perhaps it was a blind bowler?"

90s Trivia: This image shows how Gorbachev made HW Bush try and get director David Lynch to admit who killed Laura Palmer.

Picture this: There are deliberate photobombs and then there are accidental ones.

Art: A wondrous kilometre-long path lined with thousands of painted stones which light up at night to symbolise Vincent Van Gogh's work Starry Night runs through the province where the artist grew up.

Video: After straying from his mother, a 1-year-old elephant survived an attack by 14 lions at the Norman Carr Safaris Chinzombo Camp in Zambia. Which is all good, but as one commenter said: "Hooray, the elephant survived! Boo, 14 lions died of starvation."

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• Got a Sideswipe? Send your pictures, links and anecdotes to Ana at ana.samways@nzherald.co.nz.