NEWS OF THE DAY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 260, 3 November 1941, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

Rides and All An Aucklander indulging in a prewar custom which has largely gone out of date, that of a Sunday motor car run of 20 miles or so out from the city, was really much impressed yesterday with Home Guard activity lie observed in the northern coastal area. Young and old, men of all sorts, sizes and conditions were met at every turn of the road, engaged in military observation and exercises. Most of them, too, were out with rifles, and it appeared that the daylight coastal patrol was vigilant and efficient. Watoaru Mountain Cold Bej<tod the ambiguous statement that he "did not like seeing young men put in cold storage," the Hon. W. E. Parry was unwilling to discuss the reported rigours of life in Waiouru military camp, when interviewed at Rotorua. Asked if he did not think that men from sedentary occupations should be sent to one of the valley camps before proceeding to the altitude of Waiouru, the Minister of Internal Affairs said he had discussed with the army chiefs the matters affecting the welfare and physical fitness of the men. Soldier Now a Sailor

Prevented by a disability contracted while serving with the New Zealand forces in the Middle East from continuing his duties as a soldier, Mr. K. V. Morrish, of Whangarej, determined to serve the cause in another way. Invalided out of the army and granted a small disability pension, he took up a position in Wellington to await the chance of joining the mercantile marine. His ambition was achieved, and his parents recently received a cable from him in England. He is believed to be the first New Zealand soldier invalided home from the present war to be back again in the war zone. University Degree Exams. The annual degree examinations were commenced at the Auckland University College this morning. Although an accommodation problem has arisen owing to the demands on the university to provide for the needs of student teachers while the Training College at Epsom is being used as an emergency hospital, it was reported this morning that today was a quiet day, and there was no overcrowding. The peak days will be later in the week. Altogether 500 students will be sitting during the 11 days the examinations are in progress, the total being much smaller than in past years, as only those at Stage 11. and higher are now inclucV.d.

Watte Land Crops The first cut of the harvest has been made on two blocks of wheat, covering some 400 acres each, on the Sussex Downs. No other such great areas of wheat are to be found in the British Isles, states The Times, London. The land which has grown this corn had produced nothing useful since the last war; parts of it had been unproductive for centuries. Blue Kowhai Reported Discussion of the existence of a blue kowhai has been revived by the announcement of a well-known horticulturist of Wairoa, Hawke's Bay, that he has found a kowhai at Willow Flat with a blue flower. Mr. Coghlan says that, although the plants are not strong, they are making headway. Their colour is nearer to blue than any other colour, and, if transplanted to Wairoa and treated with iron or lime, there is no reason why they should not flourish. Three years ago a Maori boy reported that blue kowhai plants were to be found in Ruakituri Valley, on the East Coast.

Stood Six Hoars Like a Stork Having a name for taking up freak bets, Mr. W. Holmes, of Timaru, when at a party in Christchurch, took up a bet of £50 to £5 that he could not stand six hours on one leg, and at 1 a.m. assumed the stork--1 like attitude. He won his bet by standing on his left leg till 7 a.m. Toward the end Mr. Holmes endured much pain from cramped muscles. His foot swelled to such a degree that when the ordeal was over he could not put his shoe on again. When the supply of cigarettes ran out he kept going on tankards of beer and fingers of hot buttered toast.

Booking Up for the Holidays Presumably one of the result of petrol restriction, an abnormally early demand has set in for houses and camping grounds at seaside resorts handy to the city. A city resident who has been in the habit of going to one resort a few miles up the coast every Christmas for the past half-dozen years made his application for a camp section last year on December 1, and was among the last to get in at that place. Seeking a little more choice this year, he made application on Sunday, a month earlier than last, and was amazed to find that practically all the camping lots at the position he wanted were already taken up for Christmas. He met a visitor who was inquiring about board and lodgings at the resort for Christmas and had found that the boardinghouses were fully booked up. , (