Gray, who turned a sprightly 50 this year, played his part, but was a little miffed he wasn't invited to participate in the follow-up. Said bride-to-be stretched herself out on a table and invited the young men present to sup a tequila shooter from her navel. After Mrs Gray stopped laughing, she took the 'elderly gentleman' off to the formal celebration of their wedding anniversary.

Operators play pass the customer

How many relationships have the telecom providers sundered this Christmas? Some text and voice messages, through both Telecom New Zealand Ltd. and Vodafone Group plc, are currently arriving hours late ' sometimes the next day ' and the aggrieved better halves are not buying the companies' lame excuses.

One industry identity tells us he rang Vodafone to complain and was told it was Telecom's fault. Telecom, in turn, pointed the finger at Vodafone. It seems the worst delays occur when one party is a Telecom customer and the other a customer of Vodafone. Interconnection remains a contentious issue, it appears.

Grid your teeth