Sideswipe: So that's a neigh to fries?

Shirley from Ohaupo writes: "At 8 on Sunday morning in Gisborne, this unknown man rode his horse through McDonald's drive-thru. He told the staff he lived 30km away and was on his way home."

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According to supermarkets in Britain, sales of premium lavatory paper increase substantially in December as families try to impress their in-laws, parents and other guests they will welcome into their home at Christmas. Sales of filter coffee and Earl Grey tea also jump, as consumers hide the lesser brands at the back of the cupboard, to try and impress their guests with their refined taste. (Source: The Telegraph)

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Brian Kent-Smith recently purchased a packet of self-igniting barbecue charcoal. "Fortunately I read the warning on the package prior to use. It says, 'To avoid danger of suffocation, keep away from babies and children. Do not use in cribs, beds, prams or play pens. This bag is not a toy.' And there was me about to leave it in my daughter's bedroom with a box of matches ..."

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Chinese police got into an hour-long stand-off with a suspected suicide bomber, only to find the man was armed with sausages. Police believed the straps and bulky items around Sing He's waist were dynamite and detonators. The 23-year-old threatened to blow up a restaurant and its customers in Benxi, northern China, unless the staff handed over the contents of the till. But a specialist bomb unit called to the scene quickly determined that the device was assembled with pork products. "When we saw what he had round his waist we couldn't help laughing. Some of the sausages still had the wrappers on them," said one bomb squad officer. "It must have been terrifying for the customers but those things would only have gone off if you'd kept them past their sell by date." (Source: The Telegraph)

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A reader writes: "On Sunday morning, we came across to Auckland CBD from Waiheke and used a locker on Pier 2 to store Christmas presents before continuing our Christmas shopping. We returned to collect them at 12.30 so we could take them across to Devonport to deliver to family travelling south for Christmas. We entered the allocated pin number and the screen informed us the pin number was invalid and to contact the office. We rang the office number 294-7109 and the after-hours message advised us to call Stuart on his mobile or Miriam on hers. We rang both mobiles and left voice messages with our return mobile number. It is now nearly Christmas Eve and we have not had a return call." Can anyone help?

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