Reporter's Diary

Press, 29 November 1976, Page 2

Reporter's Diary

City flag DOES anyone know what the Christchurch city flag is meant to look like? Cr W. J. A. Brittenden says the City Council is considering the introduction of a civic flag, and he’d like to know more about the design of the one carried by the ‘foreman of city works” in the 1863 procession which marked the wedding of the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VID. It was mentioned in a description of the procession on a broadsheet published on the day of the procession, and sold at auction in Christchurch last Thursday. Cr Brittenden is particularly keen to know the flag’s background colour. Ao weed

AT A champagne reception in a London hotel, Clive Bell, a teacher, celebrated digging up a weed which made him £BOOO richer. While cleaning the crazy paving of his grandmother's garden, he picked up a clump of weeds, shook it and found a tiny gold coin at his feet. The coin, sold to a dealer, turned out to be a Carausius Aureus.

a unique gold coin minted by Emperor Carausius, who declared independence from Rome and ruled Britain from 286 to 293 A.D., when he was murdered. Misleading? A PROPERTY developer's description of sections in Bowenvale Avenue as “overlooking the Landsdowne Valley” has moved Mr J. R. Allison, secretary of the Christchurch branch of the Historic Places Trust, to ask the Heathcote County Council to have the name of Landsdowne Terrace changed. He thinks the description in R.B.L. Property Management’s brochure is “ruddy misleading,” because the sections are in Bowen Vale Valley and Lansdowne Valley—slightly different spelling—is iniles away, around near Baisweil. But Mr Brian Wright, a director of R. 8.1... said yesterday that the description was a mistake by the firm's publicity agent, who had evidently been misled by the name of Landsdowne Terrace, which runs up Bowenvale Valley.

Civic forum A BEDSPREAD toga and a symbolic leaf of peace were worn by Mr C. Bidois when he stood to speak at Manukau City Council’s first meeting in its new council chamber at Wiri last week. It was appropriate garb for a chamber which has been described as a twentieth-century Roman colosseum. Councillors sit in a circular pit facing the mayor, the city manager and the deputy mayor, with the public looking on from a surrounding gallery’. It is the first stage of the council’s new 84.5 M administration building, which is to be officially opened by the Governor - General (Sir Denis Blundell) on February 19. ‘Green finger

A CERTAIN English immigrant living at Darfield has earned local fame as a horticulturist. He built himself a glasshouse and started to make the most of the supposedly superior antipodean climate. A few days ago he proudly ushered a friend into the greenhouse to show him the pepper plants which he had grown in a box and then potted. Thev were vigorous, healthy plants which would have gladdened the heart of

any commercial grower — if they had been pepper plants. But the visitor, whose job it is to visit farms and make sure that crops of grain are in good order, recognised them at once as one of the graingrower’s enemies — some of the most flourishing fathen plants he had ever seen. It was not surprising they had done well; the owner — now known as “Greenfinger” — had lavished attention on them, while the real pepper plants were still struggling away in the fathens’ shade. Heartfelt THE INSURANCE man must have thought he was on to a soft touch when he made one of his random telephone calls last week. “An insurance agent?” said the woman who answered the telephone, making no effort to conceal her delight. “Please come and insure my husband — he’s had two heart attacks.” Immediate backtracking at the other end of the line. He wouldn’t even tell her the name of the company he represented. 25 th year AGATHA Christie’s play “The Mousetrap,” started its twenty-fifth year in London last week. The uninterrupted run has con-

tinued despite the author's I death this year. The play ' was being performed on ■ Thursday for the 9975th time in St Martin’s Theatre. Since the premiere, 332 different actors have interpreted the eight I roles in “The Moustrap.” : The only parts of the original setting still in use are one chair and a clock. ; Agatha Christie hardly be- I lieved her play would be I a success. She first in- I tended it for the radio. She j gave the copyright to her grandson Matthew as a twelfth birthday present, a gift that made him a millionaire. Contract restrictions forbid a film version until six months after the last stage performance. Eire too AN INTERESTING account | on the Friday farming page I of a colony of feral sheep on Arapawa Island in the Marlborough Sounds raised a difficult question at one citv breakfast table. The article said the wild sheep i were found in family : groups of up to 10 — usually a ram. several ewes and their lambs. “How does the ram choose his flock?” asked one member I of the family. “He calls for i volunteers,” explained an- ' other. “Ewe, ewe and ; ewe.”

—Garry Arthur |