Reporter's Diary

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33783, 4 March 1975, Page 3

Reporter's Diary

Shorter run THE Christchurch Transport Board does not seem to have caught the spirit of the Government’s “Come Alive” campaign. Instead of making those farthest-flung Rockinghorse Road residents run a bit further to catch the bus to work, the board is making it easier for them. Yesterday it decided to

extend the South Brighton route by about 400 yards. Now only the people living south of Penguin Street will have to get up any sort of speed in the morning. It used to be everyone south of Heron Street. Still, for the mad dashers who live at the Spit, there is still the thrill of traversing the potholes, pitfalls and puddles — no mean feat when you are running (literally) late. Price of prejudice WHII. E ' Christchurch housewives appear to be prejudiced against darkskinned pigs (as reported yesterday), they are not prepared to go as far as their British cousins who actually pay more for eggs of their favourite colour. In their case, it is brown eggs that they prefer — to the extent that they will pay a few more pence per dozen over the price of white eggs. Experts say that it is just the shell colour they are paying for — the contents of brown and white eggs are no different. Mr F. M. Gracie, factory manager of the Combined Co-operative Distributors. says that even the colour of the yolk is not affected by the shell colour; what the bird eats is the only thing that affects that. JFrong bird THAT was a bird in borrowed plumage on the feature page of “The Press” on Saturday. The handsome bird illustrating the Canterbury Museum article about “Colour Variation in Birds” was described as “A kea of normal plumage” — but it was really a kakapo. as many readers no doubt noticed. The museum changed its mind about which picture to send, but forgot to change the caption. Ao. 1 citizen THE first resident of the new town at Rolleston is being sought by the Ministry of Works and Development. He (or she) will be the community development officer — “A link between the planning team and public” — and will be required to live at Rolleston from the moment development starts. Whoever is appointed will assist with the growth of community groups, liaise with Government and

other social agencies, and “generally foster the growth of community awareness.” Summer joggers SIX little blue penguins captured in Akaroa harbour spent part of the summer getting nowhere. They were treading a treadmill at Canterbury University instead of larking about in the sea. Two American graduate students trained them to do it so that they could study their “metabolic cost of locomotion’.’ — how exhausted they got by pounding the treadmill. The results will be compared with similar information obtained in the Antarctic from Emperor and Adelie penguins. According to the American “Antarctic Journal,” the experiment is designed to “help clarify the role of body size and geometry in the analysis of bipedal, terrestrial locomotion” — the effect of size and shape on your ability to walk on two feet. Getting it right WHEN the curtain goes down on the last night of Shaw’s “Man and Superman” on March 22, it will be the end of almost three months’ solid rehearsal and performance for the amateur actors and actresses. The rehearsal period for the play — to ,be presented by the combined amateur clubs — began before Christmas, a most unusually long period of rehearsal attention for a straight play. But Nigel Williams, who will plat' rhe part of John Tanner, will no doubt be glad of ail the practice he Can get; his is said to be probably the largest stage role ever written. Publicity with teeth A DENTAL repair firm in Oxford Terrace has broken new ground in advertising. For some time it has displayed an apparently home-made poster showing a congregation of artificial teeth sitting in church listening to a minister tell the two parts of a broken denture: “With all the craft and skill invested within me I will join you together.” Now a piece of eye-catching sculpture has been added to the display window — a hanging mobile of gleaming new' choppers.