Following from the story last week about Claire's near arrest and the police inability to effectively cordon off their own station; reminds me of an experience in my first week as a reporter for that bastion of journalism excellence, the old Thames Star.

It was a court case in which a chap was charged with trespass at the Police station. He'd gone to the assistance of a mate who'd been locked up for the night on another charge.
The police apparently told the chap that if he didn't go home and stop making a fuss, they'd arrest him for trespass.
Which of course, he didn't, so they did.
When the case got to court, the fellow, defending himself, told his story to the judge.
It all ended in uproar when the judge threw out the charges, after deciding that the police had failed to prove they owned the police station, therefore could not bring the trespass charge.
It was quite a sensational story for my first week on the job, and created a fair bit of disbelief back in the newsroom.
Presumably the legal loophole has since been closed, or the police have found a more convincing proof that as occupiers of the stations, they can charge trespass!
Also last week we marvelled over the tenacity of the fabric on the outfit of a certain 'Dancing with the Stars” performer. How, we pondered, did Rachel's appendages stay within the seemingly impossible confines of the catsuit? Well avid reader Kym reports the answer to the puzzle is ‘boob glue' ….
'My mum used to use it back in the 70s to hold her boobs into those fashion icons the ‘halter neck' before they invented bras that had a halter strap. I recall as a child disturbing images of my mother glueing her breasts into little foam shapes … quite hilarious now I think about it.”
We can't wait to meet Kym's mum.

Whiteware woes
When I was young lad, the family would save up for ages for a new appliance and deliberate for ever over the purchase.
The decision was not taken lightly, because a quality home appliance would last 20 or 30 or even 40 years and it would be important to get exactly the right sort. The washing machine or fridge or whatever would be around a long time, so it wasn't taken lightly.
If something went wrong, a helpful guy in overalls would fix it up, throw in another part and Bob's Your Whiteware Serviceman, it would be good for another decade.
Since then, technology has made huge leaps and you'd think that factors like reliability would be even better. Sadly, that's not the case.
You buy an appliance these days, and you're lucky to get as much as a two year warranty. You think, I'll be happy if I get ten years out of it. Ha.
This month, we've seen the worst run of appliance failures since the lid broke on Union Carbide's jar of methyl isocyanate. And the increasingly throw-away attitude is appalling.

The chuck-away concept has gone beyond ridiculous.
In recent weeks we've noted the passing of the dishwasher (ancient, apparently at 10 years) two television sets (aged nine and seven) the blender Rests In Pieces at two years, computer printers that are almost cheaper than the throw away toner cartridges that go in them… all a mockery of any attempts a household makes towards improved sustainability.
The ceramic cooker top is on the critical list and the icing on the cake – the failure of a four year old fridge.

Being a loving husband, I bought my wife the brand new beer fridge just a few years ago.
I know what you're thinking: What sort of bloke buys his wife a beer fridge? But it's okay, because I remembered the beer to go with it! Oh, so thoughtful.
Anyway, the groovy little fridge went fine for the first few years, until it was conveniently just out of warranty, then… boof. Warm beer. Unhappy wife.
Never mind, being nearly new it's probably a quick and easy repair job, right?
Wrong. 'It's a sealed unit and we don't stock them anymore.”
Not repairable. Chuck it away. No warranty. Goodbye eight hundred dollars.
I am flabbergasted that a fridge that's hardly out of its crate could be destined for the scrap heap. If it had been a cheap and nasty import from a cheap and nasty store, I could halfway understand it. But it wasn't.
What is this wastage doing to our planet?
What happened to the concept of fix 'er up again and make good use of resources?
Just like my grandad's brother Mandy used to do with washing machines all those decades ago in the old kauri warehouse at No.1 that is now our office?
Or the attitude of my great grandfather who built his own fishing reels out of milking machine parts?
I still have a few of the handmade, cleverly crafted and repaired gear that belonged to my grandparents and their fathers.
Those guys could fix anything. And if they couldn't get a part, they'd make one or adapt one... all without battery drills, duct tape, cable ties or a world of information at their fingertips on the web.
They made McGyver look like a complete bungling amateur.
These days, most appliances apparently aren't even worth opening up for a look – and a lot of places will charge you for the effort if they do.
Somewhere along the way, we've lost the ability, and the urge, to really recycle, reuse and adapt. It's not helped by the electronic trickery that is intrinsic in nearly everything we buy that is beyond the understanding or the ability of the average person to repair.
But I despair when I think what we will be handing down to our grandchildren. A landfill of new but useless home appliances and a mountain of irreparable beer fridges?

brian@thesun.co.nz