Sideswipe: April 12: Tree looks like a stag

This tree that looks like a stag was snapped last year in the Bay of Islands. Photo / Supplied

Scrounging leftovers

A reader writes: "My husband was eating at a Chinese food place in the Downtown Shopping Centre in Auckland. He noticed a group of people staring at his food while he was eating. They sat down and waited until some people left and rushed to their table and ate the leftovers. Are these people so poor that they have to scrounge other people's leftovers?"

Siren confusion

"If you live in Auckland, and have a holiday home in Tairua, make sure you don't get confused with the tsunami warning sirens," writes Amanda. According to the Thames Coromandel District Council website, in Tairua and Pauanui a siren warning a tsunami is heading our way will "sound and continue for an extended period". According to a media release by Auckland Council, there the all-clear signal is described as a "continuous tone for five minutes". So during the week in Auckland a continuous siren will signal "all clear", but when relaxing at the Tairua bach in the weekends, a continuous siren means run?

Tale of Doctor Doctor and Nurse Nurse

Regarding Wednesday's item about a doctor named Doctor marrying a nurse called Nurse, Gareth Winter, district archivist for the Wairarapa Archive, writes: "This is a well-known Wairarapa story, as Doctor Doctor was a GP in Featherston before moving on to higher things. Unfortunately for the story, he married Catherine Wishart Gibson in the UK ... There was a funny incident which made the papers though, and may have been the genesis of this story. This is from the Thames Star in 1920: 'A coincidence in names! The Wairarapa Hospital Board now has on its medical staff at Featherston Dr Doctor, and one of the applicants for the position of matron at Masterton is Nurse Nurse."

Watch speed around schools

Andrew writes: "My wife recently got a speed camera ticket for doing 56km/h in a 50km/h zone. I thought this a little odd, as it was just a normal weekday and not within any 4km/h restriction time, so I wrote and asked why the much publicised 10km/h tolerance had not applied in this case. I received a prompt reply explaining that between 7.30am and 6.00pm Monday to Friday, there is a 4km/h tolerance within 260m of any school. I did not know this and thought it would be useful to remind drivers to watch their speeds around schools ... "

Enjoy cruise with pet

If you find cruises relaxing, chances are your pet will too. A Singapore-based company launched last year, Pet Cruise, offers pets boat rides on a 7.8m motor catamaran, and includes a swimming deck, has a fully-stocked cleaning station and life jackets for dogs. A basic cruise lasting two hours costs $38 per guest - human or pet. (Source: Neatorama.com)