Sideswipe

Angela Griffen writes: "My dog Archie - who is very old, one-eyed and the agency pet at Whybin TBWA in Mayoral Drive - went walkabout and ended up on the corner of Queen St. He was picked up by an Italian man called Claudio who called the mobile number on Archie's tag. Through some broken English we connected and Archie was returned to work. Claudio was thanked profusely and we exchanged details. He then returned to Rome but asked that I send a picture of Archie because he wanted to give us a surprise. A couple of weeks later a parcel turned up with a painting of Archie done by an Italian artist who is a friend of Claudio. And - the coincidence is - the artist is an ex-art director for TBWA in Italy. We do live in a global village."

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According to a TV3 press release, Mike McRoberts and Hilary Barry "do more to get you the stories". Um, how? Mike's quote is: "Last year while reporting on the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza we went three days without food and had to sleep on a grass verge to get the story. It's amazing what adrenalin can compensate for!" Like, TV3 couldn't have shelled out for a few muesli bars? Is that "doing more" or just plain ill-prepared? By contrast, Hilary's example of going further was to go to the Melbourne Commonwealth Games with their new flash satellite equipment". Whoop-de-do.

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A reader who knows the super-cycling Worthington family writes: "Bless the Worthingtons, we love them and their active lifestyle. Good on Sue for getting the neighbourhood kids out and about. What she forgot to mention, however, is that after all this cycling activity she too hops in her Porsche Cayenne (top-end four-wheel-drive for those unfamiliar with the vehicle) to join the daily gas-guzzling grind across the bridge to work each day. Before we beat ourselves up on our lack of motivation to get out there in 'rain, hail and on the shoddy streets', one must also note that Mr Worthington was and is a top-class athlete who possesses a genetic physical ability that surpasses most and that he has a personal self-motivation which us mere mortals hugely admire, but in reality know we can never replicate. With a heavy heart and a longing look at my muddy mountain bike, I have to agree with Sideswipe's suggestion that cycling instead of driving is, for most, not a practical option."

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Monkeys and apes in Budapest Zoo drink their way through 55 litres of red wine each year, albeit in small quantities each day, to help boost their red blood cells. Zoo spokesman Zoltan Hanga says the 11 anthropoid apes drank most of the wine last year. "Obviously, they do not have it all at once and get drunk, but they get it in small amounts mixed in their tea," Hanga said. "And it's not Eger Bulls Blood or some expensive wine they are getting but simple table wine, as it's mainly good for their blood cells."