Sideswipe: Dec 10: Car-park etiquette revealing

Hazel decided against this special breakfast on offer in Te Anau. Photo / Supplied

Jen from Hamilton writes: "Our supermarket has parent parking up front by the store, which I believe is for parents with young children, so they don't need to cross the busy car park. I saw two women getting into vehicles in these spots. One said it was rude to use these spaces if she didn't have children. The second said she did have children, but they were at home and she was entitled to use these spaces. A few more words were spoken about rudeness and they departed. The woman who began the conversation did have children with her - but they appeared to be in their teens."

Buy your tree in the morning
A reader writes: "We tromped off to get our Christmas tree around 11am on Saturday and bought a 6ft [1.8m] tree for $35. We were stoked. We decided to get one for friends and returned in the afternoon. Now the same-sized trees were $50. I wonder what's the cheapest (and most expensive) tree other readers have found."

A scent to savour?
In a marketing stunt, Pizza Hut in Canada has created perfume. Eau de Pizza Hut has "top notes of freshly baked, hand-tossed dough".

Handyman kidnapped
Police in San Jose have charged a couple with kidnapping a handyman to fix stuff around their house. Police say the couple beat up the man and threatened him with more if he didn't fix the dishwasher and a broken door. He did so, and as they were driving him to another house, he escaped at a petrol station. The handyman had a dispute over work he did for a relative of the couple, and police say they were exacting revenge. (Source: Gawker.com)

Scary sounding officers
Connie from Wattle Downs has just been reading the Bulletin online. "I noticed a report in it regarding two local police officers. Their names were listed as Deadman and Savage. Shades of sheriffs of the Wild West!"

Season of random kindness
"A big thank-you to the very kind man at the Milford Mall on Thursday who, when I scraped the side of his car with a trolley, refused to take down my details and wished me a Happy Christmas instead."

Picture this: Turning the silly season on it's head, this clever illustration by webcomic artist Rob Sheridan is nicely surreal...

Local: When Mount Tongariro erupted for the first time in 115 years last month, a new satellite equipped with low-light imaging technology captured the event in the dark of night, just an hour after it began. Here's the still image...

Art: A wonderful public art project - 12 Months of Neon Love - features classic love song lyrics which are made into giant neon signs and displayed on the roof of the artists work space for commuters to enjoy.

Video: Five-year-olds from Diocesan School for Girls retelling The Christmas Story. Too cute.

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