Sideswipe: August 31: Tuna scream

An evil plot to inconvenience Aucklanders

"I'm increasingly convinced there is a subversive genius working at Auckland Transport," write a reader. "AT has become expert at taking away stuff that worked well and adding stuff we don't need. Removing the free turn from Mt Albert Village to put in a park bench was the last straw. And then, driving down Richmond Rd today I passed the signalled pedestrian crossing that was installed fairly recently in-between Parawai Crescent and Westmoreland St ... Wouldn't it have made more sense to put it either on Parawai Cres or Westmoreland St? Or even at the entrance to Countdown? All three are very busy and it would seem logical to have traffic lights to assist turning onto Richmond Road. Another example is removing all the parallel parks from outside Huckleberry in Westmere ... what's next are they going to convert the North Western into a park?"

The greatest thing you got away with:

1.

When I was in primary, I wanted to go home early from school so I filled my mouth with soup at the end of lunch. When the next class started I dramatically went up to the front and "threw up" the soup in the trash can. My mum picked me up and I stayed home the next day, too. I told her like 15 years later and in hindsight she found it hilarious.

2.

When I was 16, I bought some new jeans and paid for them with cash. They were $34, and I paid with a $100 bill. The girl gave me $116 back, giving me the $100 bill back instead of a $50. I didn't even notice until I got home.

Always read the small print

"It pays to read the small print," says Robyn. "I received an $85 parking ticket at Sylvia Park. Reading the small print, it stated I got an 80 per cent discount if I paid within 14 days. Traffic Monitoring Services are honouring the refund but say the ticket print was in error. There is no discount."