RANDOM REMINDER

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34130, 17 April 1976, Page 23

RANDOM REMINDER

MAGIC EYE

Whatever his faults, i r.e average Australian is ■ r lacking in confidence.; j Take a peek at a craggy ' face beneath a green Aus- i tralian cricket cap, or at:’ the bronzed bikini bodies! < at Bondi. It all probably : started with Ned Kelly. ‘; We have a friend who < was travelling with his, wife on the delightful: train which runs from i Gisborne to Wellington < and the Christchurch' < couple struck up an < acquaintance with a pair, i nf charming young Aus-’i tralians. Our friends;! could not but notice how s swiftly the Australian: man had the train’s host- s esses under his spell. r They were extremely s solicitous; he was ex'-jt

t r e m e 1 y appreciative. After the hostesses had first paused to tender to his wants, he asked them if they would mind if he took a picture of them. They were delighted t> oblige. So he posed them, fiddled about with his expensive camera. and clicked. The girls were back! again before long, and this time he had his camera out as they served other travellers’ in the car. But they were clearly; conscious of his atten’-f; tions, and within minutes h they were at his elbow) i again. I] So it went on — the) service the Australians! 1 received was extremely!} solicitous; and he had;] them pose for several! <

more pictures at intervals during the journey. They were happy hostesses as the train drew in to the platform at Wellington; and they must have been happy Australians, for they had been treated like minor royalty ail the way down the line. As our Christchurch friend was retrieving his | luggage at the Wellington station, he found the) ; young Australian sim- ) ilarly occupied. The New! ' Zealander complimented! i the Australian on the effect he had had on the; hostesses. “Yes,” said the Austra-) lian, smiling gently. “Andi you don’t even have to) have any film in the cam-j era.”