Random reminder

Press, 7 December 1976, Page 34

Random reminder

LIGHTFOOT STRIKES AGAIN

One of the most famous ladies, apart from Eskimo Nell, whose adventures used to be recorded with relish in armed services' messes the world over was Elizabeth Porter. She, many will recall, was the Bishop of Rochester’s daughter, and she was one of three elderly unmarried ladies whose unhappy fate it was to be incarcerated within the close precincts of a lavatory for the whole of a working week. It is unlikely that many Christchurch lady golfers of the present vintage are aware of Miss Porter and her story; but she was certainly recalled by events at one of Christchurch’s leading clubs the other day.

The ladies there have three little cubicles for their convenience, and as lady golfers often take a considerable time to get round the course it is a wise and usual practice for them to make use of the amenities before departure. But in this busy match morning, the first to head for the cubicles found that all three were locked. From the inside. Yet it was clear that there was no occupant in any one of them. The ladies, milling about anxiously, were clearly puzzled. But it was not so much the mystery as its solution which, concerned them. No-one was physically capable of scaling a wall Commando-fashion ir bunting down a door. So

assistance was asked of a male member of the club’s staff. The ladies’ predicament wqs explained to him,. And he came up with the right answer very promptly, and without any of the dramatics or gimmickry and a treak-and-enter by the “Mission: Impossible” team. Turning a dull red with irritation, he set back his head and bellowed out a name. He had an immediate response, from bis son, aged nine or so. A small lad, for his age. Small enough to crawl, under instruction, through the few inches of opening between a cubicle door and the floor and release the bolts he had firmly shut about au Hour .before.