Brian Rogers Rogers Rabbits www.sunlive.co.nz

We've had enormous feedback from you with ideas for a Tauranga slogan. So many in fact, that we've decided the slogan for Tauranga should be: ‘Where everyone thinks up good slogans'.

Some were really clever and some were quite naff. But that's okay, it's only my opinion and you can all make up your own minds.
So rather than fill 27 Sun pages with your ideas, we've decided to publish them all on SunLive. That way, you can continue to comment, praise, ridicule or be cheeky about each other's slogans. Also, you can add more as your incredibly creative and nimble minds come up with them.
It's easy to login to SunLive if you haven't already. Next week we'll dish out a few prizes for you clever people; and even some of the naff ones just to show we're broad-minded and compassionate.
Winner of the grand prize goes jointly to Maureen Anderson and Captain James Cook. (The captain's prize is being awarded posthumously.)
Many thanks to Maureen for reminding that we live in the region of Plenty and really couldn't wish for a better title than that! The good captain knew what he was doing when he dubbed our place the Bay of Plenty. Here's what Maureen has to say:
'In 1998/99 when Tauranga spent a humongous amount of money importing a consultant from Auckland to do just that. As Mayor WBOPDC at that time I was invited to attend and to put my views forward.
To shortcut a long and tedious meeting that produced ‘jack ****' I respond to you with the same vision I had at that time. The Tauranga Mayor and councillors were only interested in trying to brand Tauranga. They were unsuccessful.
We, in this region consume large amounts of ratepayer dollars trying to dream up illusions that you can never get everybody to buy into. This results in repeating the past, doing nothing and wasting money much better spent on infrastructure that benefits all ratepayers.
When Captain Cook named this the ‘Bay of Plenty' he gave the future inhabitants a treasure worth more than money or gold.
We are not Hawke's Bay, Poverty Bay, The Bay of Fundy, The Bay of Pigs or any one of hundreds of other innocuous names – we are named forever the Bay of Plenty.
A name that conjures up a cornucopia of everything that is plentiful, beautiful, bountiful and good.
It has always been my heartfelt belief that to draw the world to our door to spend their dollars in our region we only need to brand the ‘Bay of Plenty'. Underneath that brand we get a songwriter to write a song that includes all of the region's communities and their biggest drawcards.
In my opinion, Tauranga is not something that is easy to promote effectively. Tauranga is nothing without its surrounding beauty, bounty and businesses.”
Well said, Maureen.
Meanwhile, check out the slogans received so far at www.sunlive.co.nz and add your thoughts. You MUST check out the ‘Short Sistars' song on video – it will take your breath away.
And tell us if you think Cook is still right, all these centuries later.

Bring back school milk
In other news, research suggests that a regular intake of school milk has made some of us healthier and happier.
It's reported that researchers at Otago University, comparing people who have bowel cancer with a non-cancer control group, have found an apparently protective effect in the school milk programme.
From 1937 to 1967, children were given a free half pint bottle of full cream milk (280ml) sponsored by the government.
Scientists report a 30 per cent reduced risk of bowel cancer for those who took part in school milk programmes. The more school milk, the lower their bowel cancer risk; with a 38 per cent reduction for the biggest milk gulpers.
The researchers suggest early intake of calcium may affect the growth of bowel adenomas, benign tumours that can become malignant.
Bring back the school milk for those who want it, I say. Maybe not the full cream, sitting in the sun for an hour before the Milk Monitors get around to dishing it out – but the low fat, high calcium PC sanitised version of milk.
While we're at it, dish out some fruit. Get kids started early on good eating habits and the cost will be recouped in years to come in lower health demands and happier citizens.

Upper cut
Meanwhile, the dark and seedy side of lawnmower racing has been exposed this week with a couple of competitors slugging it out at the end of the race.
Lawnmowing has never brought out the best in people. I know personally that aggression often coincides with the catcher overloading or the blade running over a stray dog bone or worse; animal by-products.
So it's not really surprising that a couple of lads ended up taking swings at each other on a particularly hot afternoon in the Lake Hayes sun.
The lawnmower racing officials are a bit horrified, but the show organisers can barely contain their excitement – it's the best promotion they've ever had.
There's potential here to develop a whole new contact sport – a sort of motorised bulrush. Imagine if they combined it with paintball or jousting – the possibilities for carnage are endless.
Ride-on Rodeo could become the hot new attraction on the track at Baypark.
Who knows, maybe we'll see some action at the A&P show in Tauranga this weekend.
Meanwhile, the feisty mower pilots have a bit of time to cool off.
They might have been better able to control their tempers if they'd had more school milk when they were younger. Or at least, had the strength to land a decent punch.