KEY POINTS:
Fans of Sky's Food channel will be familiar with British celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson, who has egg on his face after he recommended a little-known plant as a salad leaf. The plant turned out to contain a potentially fatal poison. Henbane, a close relative of deadly nightshade,
can cause hallucinations, convulsions, vomiting and death if consumed. Worrall Thompson, and Healthy & Organic Living, which published his culinary wisdom, have issued an apology, reminding readers that henbane "is a very toxic plant and should never be eaten". (Source: The Times Online)
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It's time the pothole at the top of the Bullock Track was fixed, says Tracey. "There was no signage and it was dark when I felt my car drop and heard a loud crunching sound. Then I realised I was driving on the rim of my tyre. My car limped down the hill and I pulled over to survey the damage. In a heavy downpour. I had an anxious 18-month-old toddler with me, so was relieved the AA man came to my rescue quickly. Later that evening Mr AA rang to tell me I was the first of six callouts for flat tyres from the same pothole. The next morning the guys at Tyre Worx replaced my tyre and told me they were open late the previous night repairing/replacing tyres wrecked on the same pothole - at least 10 others."
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Tuesday's advice from a reader on setting a Sky decoder for letterbox is helpful, but misses the greater picture, says this reader. "There are still plenty of TV shows which are broadcast in 4:3 on most channels, Sky or otherwise. Setting your Sky decoder to letterbox will fix the rugby score graphics, but every programme which is 4:3 gets letterboxed too, which means it ends up looking like a tiny postage stamp on screen with black bars around all four sides. Switching between 4:3 letterbox and 4:3 centre cut on the Sky decoder is not a practical option because of the numerous steps required. The real solution is for Sky to broadcast 4:3-safe graphics on their Sky Sport 1 rugby coverage. This is easy to do and they certainly have the capability to do so. The fact that they currently don't means Sky is extending the middle finger to subscribers who own fairly common 4:3 television sets."
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James responds to Karl's request for an All Blacks chant. "My first experience in NZ of 'supporters passion' was the opening game of the NZ Football Championship back in 2003. I went along to support my then-local Waitakere United with a Kiwi mate who spent a lot of time in the UK. When Waitakere opened the scoring, we jumped from our seats and started cheering, shouting and clapping. We turned around to find 2000 seated Kiwis quietly applauding. I've since experienced the same at league, netball and rugby games. My suggestion for a new Kiwi chant is, "Quiet. Quiet. Down in front!"
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Today's Webpick: It's 100 years this week since the railway line from Wellington to Auckland was completed. Here is a 6 minute documentary from 1958 about the line, including remarkable footage from the first trip in 1908. Watch it here.
These are the very best online videos from Ana's online magazine Spare Room.
