NEWS OF THE DAY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 163, 12 July 1945, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Unsuitable Game Bird When a suggestion was made at a meeting of the council of the Auckland Acclimatisation Society that guinea fowl should he acquired as sporting birds for breeding and liberation, the president, Mr. F. E. McKenzie, stated that he had shot guinea fowl in Africa. They were good eating but slow in flight and soon settled after being flushed. By following up a covey a sportsman could shoot every bird. For that reason the bird had no chance of survival. Disillusion "For twelve months I have lived a very quiet and secluded life and now know the real meaning of boredom/' writes Signalman B. D. Blair, son of Mrs. A. Blair, Marine Parade, Heme Bay. "When most people hear the word India they immediately think of dancing girls, diamond studded palaces, the rope trick, and snake charmers, but really India is just the opposite. The only things that I can mention in favour of the country are the Chinese restaurants. There is .little what you can write about here, except the usual grievances, which actually mean nothing at all. I found the mysteries of the East so few and far between as to be practically non-existent." Crowded Express Travel by the restricted Main Trunk service is always a problem these days, entailing long waits in queues, frequently with disappointment at the end, and it is aggravated whenever there is a race meeting at either Atickland or Wellington. At Wellington last Sunday afternoon the number of wishful travellers without reservations was so great that the aid of the police was invoked to clear a way for those holding reserved seat tickets. Even when the gates were slammed in their faces, some intending travellers would not be denied, and duly travelled by the train, much tj the discomfiture of others. These were the not inconsiderable number who made a wild dash for taxis, and instructed the drivers to beat the train to "Paekak," no matter what the cost. As a result standing space in some carriages was at a premium.

"Not Getting Service" "We have to pay for tfte grounds but we are not getting the service." remarked Mr. F. Greeri at a meeting of the control hoard of the Auckland Football Association last night in referring to complaints by referees that some city council grounds were not properly marked out .Special mention was made of the Western Springs ground, it being siated that complaints regarding the marking of the ground had been made from time to _time over the past two seasons. There was further reference to the condition of the St. Heliers ground and Eastern Suburbs Club offered to supply both drainage pipes and the labour required, provided the city council supplied the transport. The secretary, Mr. W. Harrison, was asked to write to the council on the question of parks generally. Rude Awakening The occupants of a house in Mt. Eden Road were rudely awakened late on Tuesday night when a motor car crashed into the side of the house, demolishing portion of the concrete foundations. The driver had a lucky escape form injury. Swerving sharply across the tram tracks, the car mounted the footpath, demolished a long section of a paling fence y crossed a right-of-way and careered through another fence to come to a standstill against the side of the house. The crash brought a number of nearby residents outdoors. In the morning it was found that firewood hunters" had taken away most of the broken palings from the fence. Impatient Motorists The impatience shown by some motorists when delayed for a few moments was demonstrated on the Great South Road yesterday when a horse, drawing a cart, slipped and fell, causing congestion of traffic. Several motorists and truck drivers stopped to assist the owner of the horse to get it onto its feet* but the driver of.one car openly expressed his annoyance at the holdup and became abusive to the men endeavouring to help the horse. A soldier who had served in the last war gave this motorist "a piece of his mind," and did hot appear unduly upset at the driver's threat to report him'to I the military authorities.