Reporter’s Diary

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33912, 4 August 1975, Page 2

Reporter’s Diary

“T/i< ” CR W. J. A. BRITTENDEN used language which his fellow councillors could well understand when he rose to the defence of the definite article — “the” — at a recent cultural committee meeting. Planting his tongue firmly in his cheek, he borrowed the speech mannerisms of Parliamentary speechwriters to say: "Hopefully, at this point in time, the literary environment can and must be protected from semantic pollution, grammarwise. In the communication sector Government must see there is no way a shortfall across the board or over the length and breadth of the country’. Government will guarantee, that’s for sure, that the viable quality of life is not strained by Americanbred cliches ’regurgitated by the under-privileged and by under-achievers who. per medium of the media, spread their insidious disease of linguistic “with-it”-ness. Like, man. it’s a tragedy.” How pleasing to see the Council indulging in meaningful dialogue that is so free, frank and far-ranging. Last straw

THE UNKINDEST cut of all for a taxi-driver who had been on the go since

5 a.m. on Friday, through the worst part of the storm, was the complaint he received when he turned up at one job 30 minutes late. “This is no good,” said the irate customer. “I’ve been waiting here. . . ” He went on and on. “Well, what about those two cars up the drive,” said the exasperated driver, “why didn’t vou drive yourself?” Not likely, exploded the customer, he wouldn’t drive in that wind. Careless WILLIAM LINDLEY tried to rob a bank, in Lithia Springs, Georgia, but left his name and address behind. The police said Lindley, armed with a pistol, handed the cashier an envelope containing a note demanding money — and with his name on the outside. The cashier raised the alarm and Lindley fled, but he was quickly arrested. “He’ll never make it as a bank robber,” a police spokesman said. Rare tiles

ONE SPECIALIST tilemaker in Christchurch has a big job in front of him. Papanui High School’s mam block was built in the Depression years of the 1930 s and the kind of tiles used for its roof are

long out of production. Whenever a tile has fallen off and broken in the past the school has managed to get a tilemaker to produce a “one-off” job to replace it. On Friday lots of tiles were blown off the school and one entire eave was lifted. If too many tiles are broken it may be necessary to reroof the whole block. Water jump ONE OF the most colourful characters in the early days of Rugby league in New Zealand was Albert Asher, whose penchant for hurdling opponents earned him the nick-name Opai, after a prominent racehorse of the time. Maybe it was in the quest for another “Opai.” or perhaps it was be ause this is Grand National Week, that a lower grade coach on Thursday night had his squad jumping back and forward across the drain which runs through Bishopdale Park. The success of the exercise is probably proved by the fact that the team has leapt to a four-point lead in its division. Exodus AMERICAN Jews are being urged to flee to Israel by the millions to escape future persecution in the United States. A leader of the militant Jewish Defence League said in New York last week that economic difficulties in the United States, and in

New York in particular, could mean trouble for American Jews. “History shows us that during such : times of economic problems, minority groups suffer, and Jews suffer the greatest,” Cheri Feldman said. She announced that the league was preparing a campaign to persuade 6m Jewish Americans to emigrate to Israel. Some 2000 were already pre- ■ paring to leave at the league’s instigation, she said. Where was I? A CONTRIBUTOR to . the “New Statesman" seems to have had a longer lost week-end than most people. In a letter to the journal, Jeffrey Bernard says he has been commissioned bv the publisher, Michael Joseph, to write an autobiography, and would be grateful to any readers who could tell him what he was doing between 1960 and 1974. Snap :O-OPERATION and good will between two Wellington public utilities took a knock his week. Two fire engines were called to a house fire in a street which is a major jus route. In a full gale, ind pouring rain, firemen itted their hose and portable pump to a ground plug. No sooner had they done so than one of “the large red juses” so beloved of- Wellington commuters smashed into it. Fountains of water

shot up, to add' to the deluge, and remarks and looks passed were far from friendly. Holed out STORMS are unpredictable. Windwhistle, the area noted for powerful nor-west gales, apparently escaped Friday's devastating storm. A wellknown resident of Wind- • whistle arrived at the Hororata Golf Club’s links at Coalgate for a round of golf late on Friday morning, unaware of the blow that preceded him by a few hours—and was astonished , to find the way into the i car park blocked by fallen I trees. “We just had an ordinary nor’west blow.” ' he said. “I lost a couple of old poplar trees —but they i were due to go, anyway.” i Smashed OUR HORORATA correspondent also reports one of the hardest of hard-luck stories to come out of the storm — that of the man who had stocked up with beer before the price rise. He stacked the beer neatly along the cool wall of his garage, where the building was shaded by a 120-year-old walnut tree. But the storm blew over the tree, the rootball hoisted the side of the garage, and the beer : — dozens of bottles — slid i across the floor and smashed against the far I wall. Now he is wondering ■ whether his insurance com- : panv will replace it — at the new price.