Livery faux pas: A reader writes: "A friend of mine works for Telecom. Her department had a conference and then a pub crawl to wind down. They ordered a double-decker from an Auckland bus company, and to the amazement of the Telecom staff the bus company sent the Vodafone Live-sponsored
double-decker."
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A reader writes: "The following from a birthday party invitation (alcohol not provided) my 15-year-old grandson received. 'Those who have driven and plan to drink will hand their keys in on arrival and will not get them back unless they do not drink. If you plan to drink then you will talk to me about staying over, catch a taxi home, or contact a parent to come and retrieve you from the party. This may sound harsh but your safety comes first. I would prefer not to lose any friends that night'. I truly wish more parents were that concerned."
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Ian Johnson writes: "I note with interest a doctor trying to charge for a missed appointment, with threats of Baycorp. I suffered a similar fate with a dentist. After waiting a total of three hours over four appointments, I forgot the fifth and final one. He sent me a bill for a missed appointment. I refused to pay it. The debt collection agency eventually called to collect the $50 plus their charges. I said no service had been rendered so there was no debt. The debt collection company contacted the dentist to ascertain the nature of my debt and found it was a missed appointment. They phoned me back to say they couldn't collect any money for services not rendered."
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A reader from Ponsonby writes: "Your Latin dictionary story reminds me I went to buy my partner a ring one Christmas and asked the youngish male shop assistant how I could surreptitiously find out what size ring I should buy her. His suggestion? Just bring her in."
