West Auckland Tour de France support vehicle.
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Never help friends shift house. A reader writes: "Years ago in England my husband helped our neighbour to move house. They carried the washing machine down three flights of stairs and into the van. On getting to the new flat,
on the second floor, the only way to get the machine inside was by attaching ropes to it and hoisting it up on to the balcony. This was duly done (with much muttering and mumbling) and it was installed in the kitchen. My husband and our friend collapsed in a heap, exclaiming how heavy the damn thing was. A phone call from our friend the next day revealed the reason: it was still full of water!"
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The story about the lost propeller on the Great Barrier Island Trislander reminds Hugh Ragg of a similar event in Fiji. "Some years ago, a pilot friend of mine was flying a Trislander from Savusavu to Suva when the propeller on the tail engine sheared off. There were two passengers on board, an elderly Rabi Islander and a Fijian woman. As he was over the sea, he headed back to Savusavu and told the passengers to put on their life jackets. A few minutes later, he felt a tap on his shoulder and the elderly gentleman asked, 'Shall I jump now?' The pilot managed to convince him it wasn't a parachute he was wearing, and the aircraft landed safely at Savusavu on two engines a few minutes later."
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Reading the whimsical stories about Jack Russells put me in mind of the charming wee number that used to live next door to me, writes a reader from Greenhithe. "It was an extremely well-trained individual. An example: one wet, cold winter's day it came through a gap in the hedge for its daily deposit. It proceeded to defecate delicately and with great precision on the mat of my mother-in-law's granny flat, much to my amusement, and horror. The only thing missing was the paper bag and the flames licking it. I still wonder how my neighbours managed to train it so brilliantly."
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Raynor Simich wonders if anyone else noticed that Telecom has dispensed with its prepaid envelope for phone payments. "Sure, we still get the reusable envelope, but there is now a little red icon in the top right corner that says 'stamp required'. Another way to keep the profits up."
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See today's Herald cartoon
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Today's Webpick: The Preggo Shuffle Rap is officially the most cringe-worthy video I have ever clapped eyes on. Watch it here.
These are the very best online videos from Ana's online magazine Spare Room.