Sideswipe: October 18: Rugbydale team up for auction

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A passing Jafa was impressed with Benneydale's effort to celebrate the Rugby World Cup. The small Waikato town made 20 plywood players in the colours of each team with their flag and hung them 2.4m high from (almost every) power pole on their main drag. "Our wooden 'team' have experienced some rough weather also in the last five weeks," writes organiser Chris Poole. "Romania broke a leg but fortunately a local physio had him strapped ... Italy has been sidelined for the last three weeks and has spent his tournament inside the local hotel. (Perhaps it's our fault they went home early?)" Raising money for their school and community hall, Benneydale is auctioning its Rugbydale players at the end of the World Cup. Anyone wishing to make a bid can drop Chris an email at chris@pgftransport.co.nz.

Revenge misfires

Seattle waitress Victoria Liss collected a bill from a customer who wrote in "0" on the tip line and added, "P.S. You could stand to loose [sic] a few pounds." An outraged Liss uploaded a photo of the bill to her Facebook page and identified the man online from his credit card details as Andrew Meyers. internet revenge ensued, with strangers, friends, and bloggers calling out Andrew Meyers - except the wrong Andrew Meyers was publicly named and shamed. Now yet another Andrew Meyers has come forward to offer Liss a 100 per cent tip on the $29 bill, all in the name of clearing the Andrew Meyers name. (Source: Newser.com)

Campervan stink

"Freedom camping bill in action - or not," writes Rita. "Eighteen campervans parked in front of the old railway station building on Beach Rd [Auckland city] - six with toilet facilities. So where do the other 12 go when they have to go? The reserve? The street? Given the stink both options are being used liberally. Police say they can do something only if the person is 'caught in the act' and council says 'it's a privately owned carpark'."

Ticket gift deserves a toast

Mary writes: "On Sunday night we were standing on the balcony of our friend's house, about a minute from Eden Park, when two men approached us and gave us five free tickets to the game. We were so gobsmacked, we didn't get their details - all we know is one was wearing an England jersey and was called Mark. We would love to say thank you and buy them a drink or six - they gave us the night of our lives."

Call out for lost white bunny

"We lost a white bunny on Friday, October 7 in Papamoa, and looked for it but no luck," writes a desperate reader. "We heard that someone called NewsTalk ZB around that time saying they found a bunny in Papamoa ..." Does anyone know about this? Please text 021 373 163 with any information.