NEWS OF THE DAY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 307, 29 December 1942, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

"Playing Soldiers" A four-year-old girl, watching some airmen drill at a station "somewhere in the Auckland district, unconsciously put on the same act as Princess Elizabeth when she discovered the Joy of having the sentries salute her. After seeing the men drill, she passed an officer, and said, "Hello. Are you playing at soldiers, too?" The officer swung round, surprised, at the small voice, beamed, .and gave her a salute all to herself. The child's thrill of pride can be Imagined! Increasing Costs An illustration of the heavy increases in manufacturing costs since the outbreak of war was given at a meeting of the Timaru Borough Council, when the council was considering tenders for the building of a 33-seater bodv for a motor-bus chassis. ' Vo-day we are paying £1000, including sales tax. for a 33-seater body/' said Mr. J. S. Satterthwaite, chairman of the council's omnibus committee. "On the last occasion when we purchased a bus—in 1939—we paid only £675 for a 29-seater body. That represents an Increase of about 80 per cent." "That comes out of the stabilisation fund, remarked another member of the council. Flag of the Netherlands

Some doubt about the propriety of flying the Orange pennant above the flag of the Netherlands in the absence of Queen Wilhelmina was expressed by some Christchurch citizens when the flag was flown on the occasion of the visit of the Netherlands delegation recently. The same point was raised on United Nations Day on June 13 when the pennant was flown above the flag, and Mr. J. G. Thielen, Redcliffs, a Dutchman by birth, wrote to Queen Wilhelmina inquiring the correct procedure. He has received a reply expressing her thanks and explaining the use of the pennant. Actually the flag of the Netherlands is not complete unless flown with the Orange Pennant, though it may be flown without it. The restriction applies to the Royal Standard, which is an Orange flag with a silver-col-oured lion in the midst of the flagfield. Hospital Ward Wedding

Though the bride did not wear the conventional wedding veil and gown and was not able to go to church, the atmosphere that surrounded the wedding in a sideward of the New Plymouth hospital was celebrated with all the solemnity of one performed in a traditional setting. The bride, who has been a patient in the hospital for several months, was wheeled from her verandah into the ward, which was gay with gladioli blooms. She wore a pale blue bed-jacket with a spray of orange blossom and maidenhair fern and was attended by a bridesmaid. The bridegroom was a returned soldier and a former patient of the hospital. Eleven wedding guests added to the air of subdued excitement ass-iclated with the occasion. Novel settings did not hamper the celebration of the wedding breakfast, and the wedding cake was cut with all due ceremony.

Importer's Misfortune Misfortune has dogged the path of a New Plymouth business man, who many months ago ordered from a case of crochet silk conl boxes, each the size of a 21b chocolate box. The order, valued at £130, was sunk en route j? w Zealand, was then repeated and in due course arrived at New Plymouth. Relieved that the silk had at last arrived safely, the business man opened one box, only to find that it was empty. He opened several more with the same result and then discovered that every box in the case was empty. The goods apparently had been pillaged at some stage on their long journey. Embarrassments of Abr Reads A Wellington girl had written to a friend in England, describing the recent earthquakes, and how she had leapt out of the bath into a dressing gown and fur coat. "But how would you like to be shot out into the street in your bath?" her friend wrote in reply. "That actually happened in London in an air raid. As one side of a building crumbled and collapsed, a woman was catapulted into the street, sitting bolt upright in her bath. She suffered only a few bruises and a broken arm, but her embarrassment at being thus exposed to the public gaze was acute." Fatal Transfer One of the victims of the aircraft fatality on the West Coast, when an aeroplane of Air Travel (N.Z.), Ltd,, came down in the sea last week, secured accommodation on the plane through another passenger giving up his seat to oblige him. The gesture was made through Mr. Geoffrey Colin Mcßride being anxious to visit his father, Mr. J. E. Mcßride, who was injured in an accident at the Auckland Trotting Club's meeting. Mr. Geoffrey Mcßride, who was 29 years of age, was a former Buller Rugby representative and was a miner. He was also a trainer of trotters. Misplaced Charity A Christchurch resident has cause to lament the spirit of Christmas charity that impelled him to listen to a "hard luck" tale. He was aroused by a knock late at night and found at his door a man who inquired where he could sleep. To the advice: "Go home," the caller replied that he had no home. He was then advised where he might apply to procure a bed for the night, but said he had no money. The charitable citizen gave him five shillings to pay for a bed, and returned to his slumbers in the belief that the incident was at an end. Next morning he found that his nocturnal caller had helped himself to his bicycle. Chinese Substitute for Petrol China is not lagging in working out new ways of using ner resources for war purposes. Cut off from outside supplies of petroleum, and having no local supplies, a method has been worked out for making gasoline from tung oil. A car was driven 3000 miles in China on fuel made from locally produced oil from the nuts of the tung tree. This oil was exported in great quantities, but the export business disappeared with the war, leaving the Chinese with great quantities of the oil on hand and extensive facilities for producing more. It can be converted now to the war-essential fuel which no longer can be brought In over the Burm Road.