NEWS OF THE DAY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 39, 16 February 1943, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY

Canny Dunedin Although the blackout coverings J over street lights in Christchurch: have been removed for some time, Dunedin citizens are still groping their way round dark streets. The Mavor, Mr. A. H. Allen, has stated that the City Council would be in no hurry to remove the shrouds because they might be needed again in the near future, and their reerection would entail further expenditure. ,x Loss of j4ir Travel Plane The board of inquiry appointed to investigate the loss of the twinengined de Havilland Dragonfly aircraft offshore from Westport on December 21 was to have resumed Its sitting in Wellington last Thursday*. Unfavourable weather conditions have prevented the comply tlon of the trawling operations which are being conducted in an endeavour to salvage the aircrait, and the inquiry has therefore been further adjourned to February 20. at Wellington. Christian Order Weeks Christian Order Weeks are to be held in a number of New Zealand cities and towns this year. "Special groups of speakers will be brought together and the churches of the community will Join forces in a simultaneous effort to bring home to every section of the people the nature of the Christian message in its relation to home life, education, industry, agriculture and community life," said the director of the Campaign for Christian Order, the Rev. F. 11. Robertson. Already a number of centres had asked that weeks should bo arranged. The possibility of having an outstanding leader of the Religion and Life Movement, in Britain visit New Zealand to take part was being investigated. Stockings Earn £100 A pair of ordinary silk stockings earned approximately JCKH) for the 194S All'purposes Patriotic Appeal in Dunedin, The stockings were taken along to the Otago Club by Mr. Arthur Harnett, who. more for; a joke than anything else, ottered them far auction, They were knocked down to one of the torty memheua present for £2 2/, but this hover turned them in for resale. Again they were bought for x' 2 2 and again turned in. and this state of attain continued until every member mwent had bought the stockMart mill put them up again, i-mallv ilWv Were gold for the sum ot Ho ()A Mi 1 . Harnett chose a goou night Kn' hip Mile "jeke" which bad such fniWaJKi repulis. tor the club was \vmi t id lended following an ewher Viaii. Yiy the ti over no va.lcnerai. :Mr I'.uil Newatl,

"A Good Boy" A large coloured photograph of "Generalfeldinarschall" Rommel, presumably once the property of a German soldier, has been received by Mr. and Mrs. T. Charters. New Plymouth, from their soil, Mr. Lloyd Charters, who is a Y.M.C.A. field secretary with the New Zealand Division in the Middle Hast. Attached is the cryptic comment, "In his line he's a good boy." A Case for Recognition Warm praise for the nursing sisters and V.A.D.'s on service in the Middle East is given by a New Zealand soldier in a letter to a friend in Wellington. "The sisters and V.A.D.'s seemed .to be unable to do enough for us," ho said. "They are mostly working long hours doing monotonous menial work, and doing it with a cheery grin. I don't know if anyone is intending to do anything' for them when they return to New Zealand, but they certainly deserve to have someone to see that they get a real break then." Stamps in Change There were a number of dubious faces in a well-known city department store yesterday as customers were handed halfpenny stamps in their change. The assistants were patient in explaining to uncertain recipients that owing to the large number of articles in the shop which had had an additional halfpenny added to tiie price the store had not sufficient halfpennies in its tills. Just to see that something was not being "put across" him. one customer walked farther down the shop to purchase another article, the price of which included a halfpenny. and handed the stamp to the assistant. But he was surprised it he thought he was going to cause a fuss, as the stamp was accepted. Lighter Coins Advocated An interesting point with respect to the relative values of United States and British coins is raised by a resident of Pittsburg in a letter to a friend in Dunedin. / What we call a penny in the United States." he says, -is the cent, which is supposed to equal the English halfpenny. but. according to actual weight, the halfpenny equals two cents, white the English penny exactly equals four cents in weight, though its relative value is two cents in exchange." Advocating a change in British coinage to the decimal system with lighter coins, the writer adds: "When I get about 20 British pennies in a pocket while on lour the lining feels like breaking. because that number of pennies equals 10 ounces. So long as .the standard value is established, the lesser weight can be adopted with- ' out. robbing the owner of the coin."