General News

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27443, 1 September 1954, Page 10

General News

Power Cuts This evening’s power cut in < the Municipal Electricity. Department’s district will be in area F—the central area. The cut tomorrow evening will be in area A—St. Albans. Merivlle and part of Shirley. Dutch Queen Mother’s Birthday The tricolour flag, of the Netherlands was flown in Christchurch yesterday to mark the seventy-fourth birthday of the Queen Mother, Queen Wilhelmina. The flag has three horizontal stripes of red, white and blue, and above it was flown an orange ribbon and tassel the pennant of the reigning House of Orange. Born on August 31, 1880, Queen Wilhelmina succeeded her father, King William 111, on November 23, 1890, and abdicated on September 4, 1948, in favour of her daughter, Queen Juliana. Reading the Classics As a schoolboy the Rev. Walter M. Hendrie became “sick and tired” of being exhorted by masters to read the works of the great classic writers— Scott, Thackeray and Dickens. He did not read them until later in his life when he found himself curious as to what claim to fame the writers had. “Often I put their books down and I was none the wiser,” he said. “These great classical writers wrote when people had plenty of time on their hands. At the pace you and I live a book needs to move pretty fast to hold our interest.” This anecdote was related by Mr Hendrie, who is youth director of the Presbyterian Church,

when he addressed a combined group at a home and society lecture organised by the Y.M.C.A. and the Y.W.C.A. yesterday. Popular Great Dane Moving to another district to which they cannot take their Great Dane dog Rollo, Mr and Mrs F. L. Browning, of Bell Block, expected some difficulty i in finding a new home for him. They 'were surprised' at the response to their advertisement. By 9 a.m. they had received 10 toll calls from all parts of Taranaki, as well as a large number of local calls from New Plymouth. Nine-months-old Rollo of Danebrough found a new home with a Stratford woman who telephoned before 7 a.m. and then took a taxi to Bell Block at a cost of “only about £3,” to collect the dog. “We did not know Great Danes were so popular,” said Mrs Browning. Experienced Diagnostician _Mr H. L. J. May (Opposition, Onslow) sniffed the air in the House of Representatives last evening and told his l«nchmate that there was a fire somewhere. His benchmate scoffed, but within a few moments Mr May’s opinion was vindicated, for the chamber of the House was smelling strongly of smoke. In some of the corridors of Parliament Buildings the smoke was thick. Sirens sounded, and several units of the Wellington Fire Brigade arrived opposite the Bowen street entrance of Parliament • Buildings to attend a fire in the nurses’ home of a private hospital. Among the spectators was Mr May who is a member of the Petone Volunteer Fire Brigade.— F.O.P.R. Bus Becomes Bank For an hour on Monday morning the Northcote receiving office of the Birkenhead branch of the Bank of New Zealand transacted its business in a bus outside the King’s Theatre, Northcote, and did brisk business. Each Monday morning, and part of Wednesday, the teller from Birkenhead uses the theatre ticket box for Northcote banking. On Monday, however, this was impossible, because of alterations being made to the front of the theatre. The Waimate Bus and Transport Company, which is next door, Agreed to -4end the theatre s a bus for the teller to use.

Russian Film Evening By formal printed cards, the Charge d’Affaires of the Soviet Legation in Wellington (Mr K. A. Efremov) and Mrs Efremov have issued invitations to attend a screening of a new Russian film “Stars of Russian Ballet,” at the legation on September 6. Typed slips, evidently issued after the printing of the invitations, but enclosed with them, state that the screening will be “in the distinguished presence of the Governor-General and Lady Norrie.”—F.O.P.R.*

Mine at Roa Idle The Paparoa State coalmine at Roa will be idle today as the mine’s age bins are full. The mines at Roa and Blackball have lost* many working days this year for the same reason. It was not known yesterday whether work would be started again tomorrow. —(F.0.0.R.)

Long Traffic List In two hours yesterday Mr Raymond Ferner, S.M., dealt with 171 undefended traffic cases and three first offenders charged with drunkenness. The court began its sitting at 10 a.m., and had finished these cases by noon. Three defended traffic cases, however, occupied the court until 3 p.m. This was one of the heaviest lists dealt with-for some considerable time. Borrowed Books Some people ’ borrow books from friends and never return them, often because the name of the owner is not inside the front cover, according to the youth director of the Presbyterian Church (the Rev. Walter M. Hendrie). Mr Hendrie advised listeners at -a

Y.M.C.A. home and society lecture yesterday to put their names in any books they possessed. “A book is part of your personality and no-one has a right to pinch your personality,” he said. Long Service Ended Above Warner’s Hotel yesterday an orange flag flew at half mast, a tribute to Mr Leonard St. Clair Thompson, a steward at the hotel for 28 years, who died suddenly in the Christchurch Public Hospital.