NEWS OF THE DAY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 137, 12 June 1944, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY

Hatless

The present fashion for young women to go about hatless is not without its problems in • rainy weather, but a solution was found by one walking along High Street in a light snower about 8.30 this morning. With a newspaper held over her head she prevented the wave in her coiffure from being spoilt. Coupons, Please An instance of seeming partiality at a restaurant was remarked upon by a young Auckland woman over the week-end. She went to the restaurant with a New Zealand serviceman recently returned from the Islands. To her surprise, at the conclusion of the meal her friend was asked for his meat ration coupons. Her surprise was the greater because she had been to the restaurant with Allied servicemen and coupons had not been demanded of them. Fine Rainbow A rainbow in the western sky presented a magnificent spectacle shortly . after eight o'clock this morning. One end of the bow first appeared and, from the elevated ground of Mount Eden, seemed to be close at hand in the Dominion Road district. Within a few minutes the complete bow, brilliant in colouring, spanned the sky in a high arch due to the sun being low on the horizon. A few minutes later the prismatic colours faded away and drizzling rain set in. Youth Training and Education A commission of inquiry has been set up by the Government to examine apprenticeship legislation and educational facilities for the training and education of young people to fit them for trades.. The commission will make recommendations for reforms or changes deemed necessary to meet present and future needs of industry. All interested in this important subject are invited to attend to give evidence, and are requested to advise the secretary of the Apprenticeship Commission, Court of Arbitration, .Wellington, so that suitable arrangements may be made. Vocational Guidance "We have been brought into contact with many girls whose health has been poor and whose education in consequence has suffered, and who have felt either that they were totally unable to enter employment or that the employment they would have chosen is for ever barred to them," states a report by Miss W. A. McNaughton, of the Auckland Vocational Guidance Centre. The report says that the officers of the centre have done their utmost to help these girls, and in some cases they have had the satisfaction of knowing that the girls were considerably improved in their outlook on life and sometimes also in health. New Synthetic Drug Synthetic manufacture of quinicline has been announced at Cambridge, Massachusetts, by the Polaroid Company. Only two days after it had announced the development of synthetic quinine, the company disclosed that it also had produced quinidine synthetically. Quinidine is used in the treatment of heart diseasp and as an anti-malarial drug for patients who experience a toxic effect from quinine.

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New Tyres from Old The fact that one new tyre could be manufactured from three old ones and that the Dominion was in urgent ; need of pure rubber, 90 per cent of . which now came from these sources, ' was stressed by Mr. W. F. Harley in a brief talk to the provincial cont ference of. the Farmers' Union in : Greymouth. [ Lord Bledislce's Daffodils ■ During last Eastertide no fewer, than 65,000 daffodils, grown in the grounds of Lydney House, Gloucestershire, the home of Lord Bledisloe, former Governor-General of New Zealand, were sold for the benefit of the Duke of Gloucester's Red Cross and St. John Fund, and realised £322 9/6, a cheque for which sum was recently sent to Lord Iliffe, the London treasurer of the fund. The sum of £182 6/3 was raised for the same fund last year by identical means. More than 700,000 daffodils are now growing in the drive to Lydney House. "Alas! Those Chimes" It has happened at times that the sound of the chiming of the Town Hall clock has penetrated into the auditorium and clashed inharmoniously, perhaps, with the pianissimo passages of a pianoforte performance given by some visiting virtuoso. On such occasions those with sensitive ears might excusably have murmured, "Oh! Blast those chimes, so loudly pealing." During Saturday night's concert, however, by a happy coincidence the chiming at nine o'clock was followed immediately and most appropriately by Lazarillo's romance, "Alas! Those Chimes, So Softly Stealing." Staff Relationships The fact that one firm found a considerable improvement in discipline in its workroom after making arrangements for hostel accommodation for girls who needed it is referred to in a report to the Auckland Vocational Guidance Council. A great improvement resulted in the behaviour of the girls and in their attitude towards their work, and this improvement was reflected throughout the staff. The firm felt that it had achieved more from its interest, in the girls' living conditions than from any other effort for the betterment of the staff. A partial improvement In staff relations had been brought about as the result of providing recreation within the factory. Other efforts by the firm included assistance in buying foodstuffs more cheaply. A Boy's Catch A decidedly unorthodox catch of a fish was made by an Orakei schoolboy during the week-end. "While on the Mission Bay beach at half-tide - he noticed a fish cruising along in shallow water, its top fins just showing above water. Boy-like he commenced to "depth-charge" it with stones, and scored a lucky hit which presumably stunned the fish. Then ensued a battle to induce the fish to come closer inshore, stones being dropped just beyond it. When it nosed its way within a few feet of the shore the boy dashed into the water and pinned it with a stick, i Finally, courage overcoming his temerity, he grabbed the fish by the tail and hurled it on to the beach at the feet of his father who had been urging bold action long before the catch was made. The fish proved to be a grey mullet, weighing 3ilb and being 22in in length. It was carried home in triumph and made an unexpected and succulent tit-bit for the evening's meal.