General News

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27569, 28 January 1955, Page 10

General News

Advertising Return A stack of letters nearly eight inches high is waiting in the advertising office of “The Press” to be collected by the person who on Wednesday advertised a two-bedroom house in Riccarton to let for £2 10s a week. The letters number 151 and have come from as far afield as Greymouth, Tiraaru, and Ashburton. Some of the envelopes bear the names of wellknown Christchurch firms, and one official-looking letter has the markings of the New Zealand Railways on it. One letter has been sent from the Royal New Zealand Air Force station at Wigram, another from Weedons, and others have come from Templeton and Lincoln. If the advertiser is satisfied with the reply of the first letter he opens it will pay him to shuffle through the pile before him—some of the letters put into “The Press” front door box carry uncancelled postage stamps. Parking Meters on the Way The 844' parking meters ordered by the Christchurch City Council from England for use in city streets are now on their way to New Zealand. The acting-superintendent of the council’s traffic department (Mr H. W. Birdling) said yesterday that he did not know yet when they would arrive, but the installation of the bases would begin within the next few weeks. New Churchill History Sir Winston Churchill is writing a new work, “The History of the Eng-lish-Speaking Peoples,” his publishers said today. They said that the first volume was nearly completed and might be published next autumn. The spokesman said that the work would consist of three or four volumes, but the publishers had not yet seen the manuscript, and it was not known when the whole work would be published. The Prime Minister has been working on it for a long time—and in many places,” he added. The sixth and last volume of Sir Winston Churchill's history of World War II was published m London last April.—London, Jan. 27. Price of Ice Although the price of ice in Christchurch will be increased by 60 per cent, next month the customer will still get a half-hundredweight block for 2s. The manager of the fish marketing firm which supplies the ice blocks said yesterday that although the rapid increase in refrigerator sales, particularly since the war, had narrowed market for ice blocks there was still a steady demand from domestic owners of ice chests and from some hotels and food shops for ice blocks. The old price—ls 3d a block—had been in force since 1914, he said; “but costs have gone up quite a lot since then.” Supreme Court Cases Only eight criminal cases have been set down for hearing at the session of the Supreme Court in Christchurch beginning on Tuesday. There is one charge of theft against each of two men; one of theft as a servant against a woman; two of false pretences against three men; one of unlawful conversion; one of attempted rape; and four of indecent assault. There are 15 appeals against convictions in the Magistrate’s Court and seven appeals against Magistrates’ judgments. There are 12 civil actions to be heard before a judge and jury. Thirty-eight civil actions are set down for hearing before the judge alone.and these do not include a numbeft of defended divorce cases. Electrifying Moments British scientists reported today that about one person in 20 produces blue electric sparks when kissing. A spokesman for the National Physical Research Laboratory at Teddington, hear London said: “If both the woman and man have very dry lips, the friction caused by kissing could generate blue sparks Combing dry hair can produce d(JO volts so a reasonable estimate for a kiss might be 500 volts.” The spokesman made it plain that kissing, couples need not fear electric shocks. “There will be no energy—well no electric energy—behind the sparks,” he said.— London, January 27. Repairs to Lyttelton Highway Repairs are being made to the Sum-ner-Lyttelton State highway near the port. Sections of the surface are being excavated and relaid. Lately the surface has become very uneven because of the heavy traffic on the road. N.Z. Teachers for Fiji Twenty-two New Zealand teachers will leave Auckland by Pan American airliner this morning for Fiji. The Fiji Government is seeking more teachers for its under-staffed schools, and a further group of New Zealanders will fly there later. Most of the teachers will serve for two years in Fiji. They are drawn from all parts of the Dominion.—(P,A.) Profit From Grand Prix

The recent Auckland International Grand Prix resulted in a profit of £7259, according to a provisional financial report presented last evening to the board of control. When a loss of £2492 for the 1954 meeting is absorbed, a net profit of £4767 will remain.— (P.A.) Tenders for Papanui High School Tenders, closing on February 22, in Wellington, have now been called for the construction of the new block at the Papanui High School. It will include four classrooms, a library, and cloak and toilet accommodation. The building has been resited in the plans to avoid spoiling the school frontage. Originally the block was to be in front of the main school, where it would also interfere with sports fields. It will now be behind houses on the Langoohs road frontage, preserving both the landscaping and the playing area.