Alf Hoyle of Rotorua shares this story: "After 53 years in real estate in Rotorua one incident has stuck in my mind. I listed a house for sale in Devon St owned by a Mr Fish. A gentleman came into my office looking to buy a house - his name was Mr Herring. I was almost too embarrassed to take him to the residence owned by Mr Fish but I did and he bought it. When I took the agreements to the solicitors - Sale of Fish to Herring, there were gales of laughter and a strong belief I was having them on."
Town lit way for WWII bomber in trouble
Malcolm writes: "My grandfather, Alexander Henderson, of Raetihi, wrote to the family in Dunedin during WWII and recounted the following story: 'One filthy night during WWII an American bomber appeared circling over Raetihi. People came out of their houses, read the situation and soon a cavalcade of vehicles surrounded a makeshift runway with headlights ablaze. A good landing was made, with the final stop attributed to a fence in darkness acting as arresting wires. The crew was unscathed, the aircraft not so. Repairs were made over time and the bomber took to the skies.' Is this a war secret?"
Memory playing tricks
"Now I'm really confused!" declares Renee. "I remember a charming couple that were friends of my mother and lived in Waikanae circa 1950s (it seems to fit the timeline) and as a child, I remember them fondly and called them Dr and Mrs Doctor! I have heard the Doctor/Nurse tale and always attributed it to them, but am now in doubt as to Mrs Doctor's true identity. Perhaps she was an imposter ... I am not aware of any children. But have you heard the one about Mr Tuffnail and Mrs Delicate?"
Siren sounds just part of life
Jeremy Hope writes. "Just to clarify [regarding] the alert siren noises in Tairua; a constant sustained siren is a tsunami warning, as the previous writer explained. But the normal siren is a regular occurrence and completely normal for anyone who has stayed in any Coromandel town. Tairua has a volunteer fire brigade, and the normal siren means there has been an accident in the hills, or a fire has broken out, and some amazing local volunteers are rising to the call of duty. The previous writer must be a relatively new bach owner, our family has had our property there since the 1950s. The siren is such a familiar sound now that we barely notice it!"
Picture this: Malaysian artist/architect Hong Yi (who often goes by the nickname Red) has created art works comprised entirely of food on a white plate.
