Sideswipe: House of cards

Judy says the crassness of this billboard appealed to her husband on a recent trip to Brisbane.

Martin writes: "As in any democracy, the planning process for the new Queens Wharf building will call for public submissions ... won't it? Pictured above is my suggestion."

* * *

A man in Britain has been told to remove his daughter's trampoline from a communal garden because neighbours fear burglars will use it to leap in through their windows. Matthew Nice says representatives from his landlord ordered him to get rid of his daughter Yasmin's trampoline. Mr Nice, of Wickford, Essex, is refusing to move it. He says: "It would be one dumb burglar who would try to use a trampoline to jump into a window. If it was a giant 20ft [6m] trampoline that would be one thing, but this is only 3ft wide and 12 inches high." (Source: Basildonrecorder.co.uk)

* * *

Katie writes: "My 16-year-old is keen to start learning how to drive, so I rang a qualified instructor. I was astounded to learn that he didn't teach kids in manual cars any more - having them learn in automatics gave them better co-ordination and faster success, he said, and they could learn how to drive a manual car later on. Is this a general rule out there in driving schools now?"

* * *

To the person who doesn't like TVNZ referring to its presenters as Jimmy or Sav, Sean Sullivan writes: "You can either push the mute button or watch the boring sods on TV3. And Jimmy, please bring back 'Dunners' too."

* * *

Another reader writes: "I loathe the TV3 sports show after the news where the presenter starts out each night with: 'Hi, I'm Dobbo.' No, you're not 14 and at school. Your name is Howard."

* * *

And another: "I object to the casual 'news' readers on ZM who, reporting a fatal crash, referred to it as occurring in 'Gizzy'."

* * *

Leonie bought a bottle of Nature's Own Men's Multi for her husband. "The label says they are 'designed to meet the specific physiological needs of men'. Then 'if you are pregnant, or considering becoming pregnant, do not take vitamin supplements without consulting your doctor'."

* * *

Regular reader Lou Girardin thinks Rhys McPherson's memory is a bit rose-tinted. "In his day, tests were carried out by MOT traffic cops. These guys practically did a WOF inspection of your car before a test and were likely to write a ticket for faults and fail you as well. Quite different from the namby-pamby testers who lose their bonus if they fail too many people that we have today."

* * *

See today's Herald cartoon