Sideswipe

First the Warehouse moves into fruit and vege, now Kmart diversifies with therapy. (Source: A Kmart catalogue)

Were you driving down Ti Rakau Drive around 4pm Tuesday afternoon? Myra Nelson writes: "A friend saw up ahead of her, an old lady in the centre grass strip on the ground struggling to right herself from a fall. No one stopped to help. My friend stopped alongside of her and asked her if she was all right. She said she wasn't. My friend then did a u-turn and parked on the other side of the road blocking a driveway, made her way across the road and struggled herself to help the lady up. No one else stopped. My friend picked up her bags that had fallen on the ground and helped her across the road back to her car and took her home. This little old lady was visibly struggling and in full view of all who would've passed. This little old lady is 97 years old. Shame on all of you who passed by this lady and did nothing."

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Or do you work in a garage near Sierra Cafe at the bottom of Ladies Mile in Ellerslie? Norm Cobb was enjoying a coffee when he heard the sound of skidding tyres. "A young lady on her way to kindy with her 3-year-old daughter has lost the steering in her car and has ground to a halt in the middle of the road. About five or six patrons of the cafe are out in a moment. The car is immobile and thankfully the mother and daughter are fine. I went to a nearby garage to see if they can use their jack to pull the car to the side of the road, so the car is not obstructing traffic and the lady can shelter from the cold while she waits for the tow truck. I'm outraged that they tried to scalp her a large sum of money for a minute's work."

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Ian Young from the RNZAF base at Whenuapai was intrigued to read about the Spaniards who thought Team New Zealand had chosen a white feather for their logo. He writes: "For years after the second World War, RNZAF aircraft carried the same red, white and blue roundel as the British and other Commonwealth countries. When they were serving in the Far East in the late 50s to early 60s they superimposed a silver fern over the red centre of the roundel to make New Zealand aircraft more distinctive. Serviceman of allied countries, particularly the Americans, could not understand why we chose a white feather. I say particularly the Americans because a white feather is a symbol of cowardice to American Indians. Although it took them a few years, it was for that reason that our Defence chiefs decided to adopt the red kiwi as the centre of our roundel instead."

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Vanessa Wintle from the Egg Producers Federation of NZ explains the mystery of double-yolked eggs. "In the egg industry, double-yolked eggs are often a feature of birds coming into lay. They are certainly not a sign of genetic modification or genetic engineering in New Zealand layers, and your readers should have no concerns except an overload of good luck, if you are to believe old superstitions."