Sideswipe

What every camper needs - a cow-themed tent. (Source: matejewski.com)

Cantabrians might need more than Andrew Mehrtens to establish a friendly reputation after their behaviour at last week's Rod Stewart concert in Christchurch. Stewart, after singing his first few songs, thanked the audience for the great reception, saying that he'd heard a lot of people had even come all the way from Auckland for the show. So how does this crowd of hospitable, warm-hearted Mainlanders respond? Say thanks for spending all that money in their hotels, taxis, bars and restaurants and shout us a beer? No - they booed. Merhts might want to start close to home by giving that provincial chip on the shoulder a good kicking.

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Mother of 10-year-old XBox fan William returns from America with new XBox game The Simpsons, only to find it cannot play on New Zealand console. Much disappointment. Boyfriend enlisted to find replacement copy without incurring additional expense. He calls the 0900 XBox helpline, and explains the problem to annoyingly nice Damon on a helpdesk somewhere in Ohio. After spending much time on hold, boyfriend is given two suggestions by the ever-so-helpful Damon, who is well aware that the call is coming from "Ackland, Noo Zealand". "Okayyyyyy, the first one is to contact the store you purchased it from in California and see if you can get a cash refund which they should be able to FedEx you overnight. Orrrrrr, and I think this is your best bet, go to your nearest United States Air Force Base because they have every XBox game for every region on base, and see if you can doooooo a swap". But, after further enquiries, big ups to Electronic Arts in Auckland, who hand-delivered a new Xbox game - much to William's delight.

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Chris Lindsay & Skye Smith write: "We have been phoning and emailing the wonderful people at the Auckland City Council for over three weeks about rubbish bins parked on the footpath outside our office. They are overflowing with smelly rubbish and have been there cooking in the recent heat wave. We notified the council of the odour and the potential health risks, but to no avail. I was wondering if we planted them up on One Tree Hill would we get a quicker response?" They're at the SENZ Training and Employment Centre, 52 Rosebank Road, Avondale, in case anyone official is interested.