VIEWS OF THE DAY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 37, 13 February 1943, Page 4

VIEWS OF THE DAY

War Souvenirs Two interesting souvenirs of the present war, a Nazi flag and a parachute, were received recently by Mr. and Mrs. L. S. Collins, of Huntly. They had been taken during the big push at El Alamein and sent by their son,. Sapper W. H. Collins, The flag -is of a bright red colour, 15ft long by about 4ft wide, with a large black swastika in the centre on a circular white ground. The flag bears the marks of battle, having a few shrapnel holes and a bullet hole in it. The parachute is ' made of heavy white silk. Oatsizes in Onions A resident of Rotorua recently produced what might be called a horticulturist's dream. In a bag he had seven onions, of a total weight exceeding 81b. Brown Spanish onions, they were from four to five inches in diameter, and the largest, which weighed about lllb, was about 3|in deep. These specimens were grown in the pumice country, on the eastern outskirts of Rotorua, and were selected at random from 1000. There had been no special cultivation. Crops of large onions were quite common in Rotorua this season. Their size, however, made them unsuitable for commercial marketing. Rose-coloured Glasses A cartoon drawn by a United States soldier caused amusement when he showed it in the American Red Cross Club in Auckland. Entitled "Life in Noumea," it was a subtle illustration of the way circumstances will cast a spell over reality. The first drawing depicted the first month, and showed an American serviceman strolling nonchalantly past a native girl of large build and plain appearance, with a bone in her hair, another in her nose and anklets. The second month the bone in the girl's hair was beginning to look like a bow, her figure was becoming more shapely, and the American lad was eyeing her with interest. In the final drawing the native girl had blossomed into a 1 belle, with lipstick and eyelashes and a film star figure. Engagement Ring a "Novelty" The significance of an engagement ring was raised during the hearing of a divorce case in the Supreme Court. Petitioner admitted that the ring, once worn by the wife from whom he desired a divorce, was recently worn by a girl of 17 who was employed by him as housekeeper and was a niece of the wife and chief witness in the case as to the wife's alleged infidelity. In reply to Mr. Justice Callan, the petitioner said he had bought the ring as an engagement ring for his first wife, now deceased, and later it had come to be worn by the present wife. When she separated from him the ring was left behind, and the young girl had asked his permission to wear it as a novelty on an occasion or two. "Not as a mark of engagement, but just as a decoratioji," was his Honor's comment, to which the witness acquiesced.

Mutilation of Uniforms Attention is drawn in a recent army instruction to the mutilation of uniforms issued to soldiers. It is stated that some men are converting denim jackets into tunics on the battledress pattern, stitching creases into battledress trousers, and widening battledress trousers. These practices are now to be dealt with as cases of wilful damage. Saying it with Flowers Outside a Wellington theatre a young woman from Dunedin, wearing military uniform and in the capital for training, was surprised to notice an American advancing purposefully toward her and extending an armful of flowers. "Girlie," he said diffidently, "will you take these flowers?" She began to explain, the first shock over, that she could not possibly accept flowers in such unusual circumstances, but was cut short by an even more embarrassed plea: "Take them please, girlie. You see, it's like this. I had a date here with a girl—but she hasn't turned up!" U.S. Servicemen Impressed "When Uncle Sam releases me I'll come back to climb your mountain," declared a member of the United States Marine Corps when visiting servicemen were driven to North Egmont. Although he had not seen the mountain he could "tell the folks back home plenty'! about the beauties of New Zealand. Although the visitors did not get a glimpse of Mount Egmont because of heavy rain and mist, they were greatly interested in the native bush of the reserve, which was a refreshing contrast to the jungle that many" of them left as recently as December. The visitors were also full of praise for New Plymouth parks and gardens. Comments about the natural beauty of Pukekura Park were I many, and the men were visibly impressed by the fine begonia blooms at the fernery and at Parker's gardens. "Stooker" Soldiers "We stook to conquer" is the. motto of hundreds of soldiers in the South Island this autumn. For a few weeks, precious weeks to the farmer with his crops to harvest, a big proportion of the South Island's army personnel has temporarily transferred its attentions from Bren guns to binders, and from jeeps to tractors. The unit harvesting scheme has been devised as a practical means of reconciling the conflicting demands of the army and' the harvest on the manpower front. It does supply the labour needed if the Dominion is to meet its production requirements, and it avoids the illeffects of breaking up camp units at a time when, in the interests of training and morale generally, the unit should remain: as a whole. And so, states the Timaru Herald, for the next few weeks, when soldiers in South Canterbury are heard talking of "stookers," the public will realise that they do not mean dive bombers.