Reporter's Diary

Press, 30 August 1977, Page 2

Reporter 's Diary

Just zero THE KING Country town which American soldiers used to call “Oh Ten” or “Zero One Zero” has disappeared. The name Oio still figures on the maps but the town itself has been reduced to nothing. The only indication left of the once thriving sawmilling and railway town is the sign of Oio Farms, Ltd, on a bus shelter 30km south of Taumarunui. At one time, when two sawmills were eating into the native timber of the surrounding bushland, Oio had a population of around 200. The Auckland to Wellington trains stopped there to take on water. But once the timber was gone, the people went and the houses were burned down. Stock now fraze where “Zero One ero” used to stand. ‘Skipped’ beats ABOUT half of all people who died from heart attacks die suddenly without any warning that they have heart disease. Dr Harry Fozzard, a University of Chicago cardiologist, is seeking better ways of diagnosing heart disease by running electrocardiograms for a full 24 hours instead of the usual few minutes. He says that some heart abnormalities may occur infrequently during the day and he is giving patients a portable ECG device on a shoulder strap so that abnormal numbers of “skipped” heart beats can be detected. The tape is

fed into a computer programmed to recognise such abnormalities as too many heart “skips,” premature heart beats, and series of heart "skips.” Black heart SETTING new standards in kitsch is a mourning brooch being offered by someone in Onehunga as a symbol of grief for those affected by the death of Elvis Presley — or any other loved one. “Display a tangible expression of your emotions,” says the advertisement. The brooch is in the shape of a heart and is made of blackest ebony on which is mounted a gold cross. Secret tapes? IN THE wake of Elvis Presley’s unexpected demise, record sales have been booming. But that is not all. Those in the know say that another Presley revival (the music, not the man) can be expected before long. They say that secret tapes of hitherto unreleased songs by Elvis is locked inside a big safe at the Presley mansion in Memphis, Tennessee, and that it will be suddenly “discovered” among his possessions. Colonel Tom Parker, who managed Presley throughout his career, is expected to make another fortune from the Graceland tapes, as they are called, after the name of Elvis’s house. Medical author A FEW years ago. Dr Selwyn Carson, a Christ-

church general practitioner, put together a manual of technical procedures and routine care of patients for the guidance of medical -staff at the medical centre where he works. It proved so useful that Beecham Research Laboratories undertook to publish it and distribute it free of charge to general practitioners throughout the country. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners saw it and decided that an Australian edition would be a good idea. Dr Carson’s “Manual for General Practice” has been published in Australia this year, and other countries are showing interest in the book. “One major feature of the manual is that it is simple, outlining minimum desirable standards of safe health care,” says Dr J. R. H. Watson, president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, in the foreword. “Nearly all the procedures outlined in the manual can be performed by doctors or nurses working under the supervision of the general practitioner without any great extra cost.” The New Zealand edition is updated regularly by a committee of the N.Z. College of General Practitioners. Responsible drinking? WINE drinkers are being given a chance next month to help the St John Ambulance Association buy life-support equipment for use at the scene of road accidents — of which alcohol is one of the biggest causes. The 10 Christchurch Round Tables are organising a wine festival

at the Northland Mall on the evening of Saturday, September 24, and the proceeds — at $7.50 a head — will go to the St John Ambulance Association for that purpose. A full range of New Zealand wines is promised, together with supper (to act as blotting paper) and dancing to shake it all down. Members of the public who sign up for the festival (through P.O. Box 1491) will all get personal wine-tasting glasses attached to leather thongs, which they can keep as souvenirs. Multi-lingual A SIGN of the changes that have taken place in the workforce is the decision of the Ceramco pottery and building-materials group to publish its staff booklet in Samoan and Tongan as well as in English. The group has more than 2300 employees and the booklet is designed to let them all know what their fellow workers are doing. Tucked into a pocket at the back of the booklet is a copy of the Manufacturers’ Federation’s publication which sets out to show that profit is not a dirty word. Cermaco have had it translated into Samoan and Tongan as well. Zzzz SINGAPORE Airlines has introduced what it calls “snoozer seats” on its newest Boeing 747 jetliner. The reclining swivel seats are available to first-class passengers on a first come, first served basis on night flights between Britain, Europe, the Middle East, South East Asia, and Australia. -—Garry Arthur