Sideswipe: Jan 17: Stage fright

Snapped at the Benmore Power Station in North Otago. Photo / Supplied

"Got stage fright and couldn't go," says Kingsley. (Snapped at the Benmore power station in North Otago.)

Potting a downtrou?

"Could your readers please offer some opinions on this dilemma?" asks Graeme. "We are playing 8 Ball pool. Our pairing has not sunk a ball. Our opponents have potted only one of their balls. My partner then inadvertently sinks the black ball. We therefore lose the game, as any foul on the black is "loss of game". Is this classed as a downtrou?"

Don't be an idiot, dad

Dubious parenting #1: "To the owner of the white Toyota four-wheel-drive who launched his boat at the Port Waikato wharf recently. I'm sure your wife would not be impressed if, like me, she overheard you saying to your 10-year-old son, 'We don't need to wear lifejackets, do we? We'll just tell Mum we put them on.' It was good, however, to see you bringing the sunscreen ..."

Putting the boot in

Dubious parenting #2: "Seen on Sunday morning in Kohimarama, Auckland ... A father, with heavy gumboots on, mowing the grass verge outside his house. Helping him push the rotary mower, positioned between him and the mower, is his tiny little girl in barefeet!"

Just a little off key

Christine writes: "I thought it would be interesting to hear from other readers about funny mistaken song lines. My nephews mistook the song lines from Violent by Stella - 'Making me violent' for 'Making me violins' - and another little girl thought the words 'Why'd they do what they taught ya' from the Rage Against the Machine song Killing in the Name Of were 'I got hit by a tow truck'. In both cases, the kids involved happily sang these mistaken words."

* Christine, the correct line seems to be: "And now you do what they told ya."

It's a dog's life

Gareth writes: "You would not take your dog to the cinema, into the supermarket, or into town drinking one Saturday night. You should not be taking your dog to a restaurant. It's not hard, you take your dog when you go to dog-appropriate places, and you leave your dog at home when you go to dog-inappropriate places. Your dog does not require your constant presence for its survival."