Reporter's Diary

Press, 2 August 1977, Page 2

Reporter's Diary

Painted ties

HUGE paintings of gaily patterned ties are included in an exhibition of paintings by John Coley which has just opened at the Canterbury Society of Arts Gallery in Gloucester Street. He explains that the idea came to him after dining and wining not wisely, but well, when he visited Italy on a recent study tour. Under the effects of the vino, he wandered into a nearby tie shop and made an impulsive purchase of half a dozen. “I call them my Eyetie-tiddly-Eyetie ties,’’ he said. The silk ones he added to his collection in Bangkok are his "Thai ties.” ‘Access' wanted JOHN BROWN, producer of the highly praised "Access” television programme about multiple sclerosis, was delighted to get a telephone call from Sydney yesterday inquiring about the possibility of borrowing the film. Australia’s National Multiple Sclerosis Society heard about the programme from a Canadian traveller. Miss Judith Greenberg, who was in New Zealand when it was screened. Nothing similar has ever been attempted in Australia, apparently, and the Australians want to borrow the New Zealand programme for screening during their national publicity week at the end of next month. Reg rag “IT WON’T be any of our friends,” said a Christchurch rugby follower when the telephone rang 15 minutes before the end

of the third test match on Saturday. His wife took the call. "No. No. No. Thank you,” went her end of the conversation and she quickly returned to watch the end of the game. It was the New Zealand Football Association which had interrupted their viewing. The soccer players wanted to know if the household could provide any rags for a rag drive. Encore

NEW ZEALAND and Australian children are getting the chance to rediscover the illustrated stories of D. H. Gilmore, whose "Cuthbert the Caterpillar” was a roaring success in the early 19405. The Australian publishers. Angus and Robertson, have gathered together three of his stories and will be republishing them this month. Dave Gilmore, now retired and living in Christchurch, has been invited to Sydney for the launchinr He wrote "Cuthbert” in .926 and says it became the most travelled insect in the world as he tried it out on one publisher after another, collecting a mountain of rejection slips. Then, in 1941, when he had given "Cuthbert” up for good, a publisher’s representative saw some of the illustrations quite by chance and the publisher asked permission to get them into print. “The book sold like hot cakes,” Mr Gilmore recalls. “The first print was 10,000, and there were four reprints in two years.” This month’s republication, under the title. “The Adventures of Catkin and Codiin,” gave the author •nd' illustrator “a terrific

CATKIN and CODLIN kick.” He says it was quite a revelation to find how many people remember the stories from their childhood. Mr Gilmore was a journalist with “The Press” until his retirement but has kept his hand in with children’s stories. He admits to having one or two new ones ready for publication. Beastly average THE EXTENT to which companies and public organisations are airing their financial state these days is probably a sign of the times. The Livestock Improvement Association’s annual meeting in Christchurch last week was no exception. The association was criticised for making a $31,000 profit on its herd-testing operations, although this followed a hefty loss of nearly $20,000 last year. As usual, the association treated delegates from all over the South Island to a good lunch. In case anyone felt that they were eating into the profits, one guest did a quick calculation and advised the association that its hospitality amounted to expenditure of 0.005 c per cow. The association tests about 62,500 cows. Safer in riot

IT IS not safe to relax your

vigilance anywhere these days. A former colleague Ron Vogt, reports at the end of a year’s overland journey to Britain that his belongings survived travel through Asia, Nepal, Pakistan’s riots, and Iran’s unfriendly attitude to foreigners without any losses at all. But the day after he arrived in London, thieves broke into his room and stole everything he owned except for the money and passport he still had around his waist in a traveller’s moneybelt. Pigeon count

IN THE best traditions of dedicated bird watchers, members' of the Ornithological Society were out in Saturday’s dismal weather seeing how many native pigeons they could count. It sounds like an • overoptimistic assignment in Christchurch’s asphalt jungle but the bird watchers spotted no fewer than 13 within the city areas. They had stationed themselves in the most likely spots—Deans Bush, Mona Vale, the Botanic Gardens, and the more leafy parts of Papanui and Fendalton. “Last year we counted only six or seven,” said Mr Rob Guest, the society’s secretary. He deduces from this that the number of native pigeons that shelter in the city during the winter must be increasing. Special delivery “IS THIS in time for Hong Kong?” a breathless customer shouted through the slot at the Chief Post Office yesterday. “Yeah, she’ll be right mate,” said a voice from the other side. “1’1! take it straight over.” How is that for service? — Garry Arthur