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Home / New Zealand

Sideswipe: February 17: Taking the Mickey

Ana Samways
By Ana Samways
Sideswipe - ana.samways@nzherald.co.nz·NZ Herald·
16 Feb, 2012 04:30 PM3 mins to read

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Grammar check is what they need, not Jesus, says Christopher. Photo / Supplied

Grammar check is what they need, not Jesus, says Christopher. Photo / Supplied

Ana Samways
Opinion by Ana SamwaysLearn more

Oh Mickey, you're so fine! "Living a short walk from Eden Park, our house was immersed in World Cup fever last year," writes Jonathan. "You can imagine the excitement when one of the World Cup-winning All Blacks visited our daughter's school shortly after their famous victory. Our youngest, Stella, 5 years old, ran in the door from school yelling 'Guess what, I've just met Mills Micky Hyena!' Sorry Mils, you will forever be Micky Hyena in our house."

What we believed as kids
1. When my young nephew was about to visit I attached marbles to a shrub in the garden with some powerful double-sided tape. When he arrived I asked him if he wanted to see if there were any marbles on the marble tree. He was so excited at the prospect of picking a pocket full of marbles to take home. Every visit since he would ask, "are there any marbles on the marble tree?" I would say that I didn't know if they were in season as we wandered out to the garden to have a look. Somehow they always were, unless of course he visited unexpectedly.

2. I relocated one of our daughters to Sydney when she was about 19 years old. Out looking for a flat, we went past a park and saw a council employee in uniform. I told Julie he was a snake ranger and thought nothing more of it. Three years later, she rang me to report her boyfriend was rolling on the floor laughing after she'd made some comment on the presence of a snake ranger in the local park.

Rubbish efficiency
A reader writes: "I was shopping in Pak 'n Save Lincoln Rd (one of the busiest supermarkets out west) and saw this last night. Given we pay $2.15 for the 'convenience' of these bags, I applaud the author of this sign for telling it exactly how it is!"

Holy guacamole
Paul from Devonport writes: "A stray and tagless border collie turned up on our doorstep this week. By coincidence my daughter and friend were enjoying dips and on noticing that the dog's ears pricked up on the last syllable of guacamole, took to calling it 'Molly', which became her alias for the evening. Imagine our disbelief when a relieved owner greeted her pet as 'Molly' upon collection later in the evening!"

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Lost greenstone
A reader writes: "We found a beautiful pounamu in Central Auckland on February 15 and are very keen to reunite it with its owner. If any readers think it may be theirs, could they contact foundpounamu@gmail.com with the suburb they lost it in and a description of it?"

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