Sideswipe: December 19: Baby on board

Hurry with my paddling pool Santa! This bowl is kinda tight. (Pictured: Boh Light, 7 months old)

When chips are down racism rears its ugly head
A fast food worker writes: "Today at around 2pm a gentleman ordered large fries at the Manukau Mall McDonald's. He was upset that we took another order before handing out his fries and was saying that he wondered how it was ever possible that NZ would allow 'people like us' in the country (I am an Indian South African). After giving him a telling off for being racist, he was embarrassed and left without taking his change. So if he's reading this, I say come get your money sir and learn to live with others irrespective of their skin colour, race, culture and nationality. After all, the great Nelson Mandela said, we are the Rainbow Nation."

What smashing lipstick
The teeth brushing on the motorway this week reminds me of a distracted driver incident ... "When I was once the front vehicle in a nose to tail accident and upon getting out to inspect damage and swap insurance details I was confronted by an irate woman with lipstick mashed into the corner of her mouth and hot coffee spilled in her lap. Somehow it was my fault for slowing down for the pedestrian on the zebra crossing."

Parental advisory gone mad
Legal nonsense? "The Auckland Transport website says, 'if you are under the age of 18, you must only use the AT Public Transport Website or any Related Services with the consent of your parent or guardian, who must accept these terms and conditions on your behalf.' This means any kid under 18 trying to find bus times, without the permission of their parent or guardian, is not allowed to use the website. Can anyone explain?"

Christmas is ... cheap Christmas cracker jokes.

Berm trap for council

Final word on berm wars: "As the berm is owned by the council and they have no legal right to force you to mow the berm, you are working as a volunteer. Under the HSE Act volunteers are afforded all the rights to health and safety as an employee. This means the council must provide you with safety boots, earmuffs, eye protection, and possibly training. It would be interesting to see if the council would reimburse you for costs as they have to pay for any damages incurred while mowing your berm."

Precious bangle desperately sought
While Christmas shopping on Queen St on Friday Tammy lost a gold bangle her mother gave her before she passed away. An inscription on it reads: 'Tamara, Always with you. Mum'. "It is my most valued possession and has never come off before but I fear it has slipped off in one of the shops I visited and someone may have picked it up. It is my Christmas wish to find this item as it is extremely dear to me." Please contact Sideswipe with any information.

Picture this: In memory of his wife, young widower re-enacts wedding photos with his 3-year-old daughter. (Hanky please!)

Quick clip: Best baked beans ad ever. Shame it's not real ...

Revenge: Fired head chef hacks former restaurant's Twitter account on his way out.

Video: NZ filmmaker Jonathan King (Black Sheep, Under the Mountain) has made a brilliant trailer for Martin Scorsese's forthcoming film about John Key, The King of Wall Street.

• Got a Sideswipe? Send your pictures, links and anecdotes to Ana at ana.samways@nzherald.co.nz.