RANDOM REMINDER

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31339, 8 April 1967, Page 40

RANDOM REMINDER

BEST LAID SCHEMES

If attendances at a recent carnival in Christchurch were not what they might have been, the blame could not be laid to any lack of organisation. There was, if anything, too much of that. The fatal flaw was that of every organisation: failure to communicate. The carnival was a big one, it had a worthy objective and plenty of willing workers. In addition to advertising, distributing pamphlets and seeking press and radio publicity, the committee decided to distribute poeters far and wide and a sub-committee of two undertook thia aspect of tiie campaign. They took the problem to a deoigner and he produced a striking poster. They went to a printer and ordered 1000 to be run off.

And to smooth the way they went to the City Council and sought permission to display the posters. The Council

people agreed, but they had certain rules, one being that the posters must be removed eight days after being placed in situ.

The subcommittee felt this was eminently satisfactory and got its two heads together to plan the campaign. The plan that emerged provided for posters to be placed eight feet above the footpath on lamp poets along principal thoroughfares. They divided the city into two sections, with Colombo street a* the dividing line, and off they went. It was a long tedious job. It meant carrying step ladder, posters, twine and a knife and shinning up and down

lamp posts for eight nights in fair weather and foul. On the final night, half th e

sub-committee had coir, pleted its task and tb« other conscientious half was working its way up Colombo street with it? final 50 posters. He stop ped the car, took out tb step ladder, one poster twine and knife, climbed the ladder, tied the poster on, cut the twine, descended the ladder, put it back in the car and drove on. It was noble work. It was •Iso futile. Only • few minutes behind him was an equally conscientious colleague determined to meet the official injunction. He stopped his car, took out the step ladder and knife, climbed the ladder, cut the twine, descended with the poster, put the ladder back in the car and drove on to the next lamp peat