Reporter's Diary

Press, 26 August 1977, Page 2

Reporter's Diary

(.art track BULLER seems to have a very unfortunate effect on travel writers. The province had trouble with a touring American travel writer last year, and now it is smarting under misinformation about itself in the latest issue of the “Australasian Post.” The ’Tost” article starts off well, describing a drive through the Buller Gorge as a magnificent outdoor spectacle, wild and unspoilt. But then it wounds the local pride by asserting that while most of New Zealand’s early highways have been improved beyond recognition, the road through the Buller Gorge has remained “virtually unchanged for more than a century.” The writer says; “The gorge is just wild, and barely tolerates the intrusion of man. It has difficult terrain, an atrocious climate, and a river of incredible power and savagery. Annual rainfall here is a horrendous 250 inches, and on days when the rain really lets go, the water level in this narrow gorge rises with dramatic swiftness.” Locals date the accompanying picture of a bus travelling through the gorge about 1962. IT ell launched WHEN Bob Hawke, president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, launched a book about the Prime Minister (Mr Fraser) this week, he did it so thoroughly that press’s tape recorders ran out of tape, according to one Australian report. “I’d hate to hear Hawke launch an encyclopedia," groaned one guest. The

book, by political journalist John Edwards, is called "Life Wasn’t Meant to Be Easy." Mr Hawke said it portrayed Mr Fraser as a man not intellectually over-endowed, one who was constitutionally incapable of telling the truth, and who was entirely lacking in humour. Surely there is still time to persuade Sir Tom Skinner to launch “Muldoon?” Overlooked it DAVID CHARLTON forgot just one thing when he tried to steal a bicycle — he had only one leg. A court in York, England, heard that Charlton, aged 29, fell off the bicycle and was taken to hospital suffering from cuts and bruises. Charlton told the Court he had been drinking. Patterns enclosed PLAYWRIGHTS must have their own mental images of the characters they create, but usually they leave it to the producer and the wardrobe department to deck them out according to their own interpretation. But not in the case of “The Hare and the Tortoise.” the August holiday play being presented by Canterbury Children’s Theatre at the Repertory Theatre in Kilmore Street. Shirley Havenaar, the theatre’s wardrobe mistress, worked to extremely detailed instructions when making costumes for the animals in the play. It is an American script, and it came complete with designs and even photographs of the costumes. According to the firstnighters. thev came> out beautifully. <

Heer is best A BEER a day may keep heart attacks ' away, according to a new study called the Honolulu Heart. Study. It found that deaths from heart disease were almost twice as common among teetotallers as, among men who downed one or two beers a day. “This finding is consistent with a possible direct beneficial effect of alcohol intake on the risk of coronary heart disease,” the researchers wrote. Their findings are published in the New England “Journal of Medicine.” An accompanying editorial warns that while moderate drinking may be beneficial heavy use of alcohol has been shown to cause serious heart trouble. The researchers examined the drinking habits, over six years, of 7705 Japanese men living in Hawaii. Of these. 294 developed heart disease, and the report said the illness was far less common in those who drank up to four beers a day. Among the non-drink-ers, there were 6.8 deaths due to heart disease for every 1000 people. Among those . who drank the equivalent of one or two beers a day, there were only 4 deaths per 1000. The researchers speculated that drinking might alter the cholesterol level in the blood. About two-thirds of the drinkers in the study drank only beer and so the researchers were not able to determine the effects of wine and spirits on heart disease. The report also found no link between coffee-drinking and heart disease. Island coup WATTIES has managed to get its own ice-cream — Tip Top — into New Caledonia under a local licensing arrangement, while at the same time keeping its competitors out. An agreement has been signed for

Tip Top ice-cream to be manufactured under licence there, and under the agreement the firm expects the authorities to place a total embargo on all imports of ice-cream. They have been exporting to New Caledonia for the last 12 years, but have had continuing difficulties over access. The main problem has been a four months’ embargo on icecream imports from New Zealand and Australia every winter. This was designed to protect local manufacturers. Symptoms IF YOU have an earache, or a chronic sore throat, it may be a sign that you have a sexual problem. Constant shoulder pain may mean that you are depressed. Dr Frank Mansfield, a medical educator with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners family medicine programme, said yesterday that these pains could be symptoms of stress. Speaking to the Community and Child Health Services annual conference he said the problems of finance, status, work, politics, and education could all cause stress — even the problem of finding time for enjoyment. “Relaxation is important. We need to recharge our batteries,” he said. Let down gently “FACILIS descensus” says a label over the lift door at the top of Church House in Gloucester Street. “It means 'an easy way down’,’’ said Mr V. F. Wilkinson, a former Latin master at Christchurch Boys' High School, “but it is not very’ appropriate. It is a reference to the line from Virgil, ‘Facilis descensus Averno est’ which means ‘easy is the descent to the mouth of Hell’.” • —Garry Arthur