Reporter's Diary

Press, 12 November 1977, Page 2

Reporter's Diary

Five in one A GROUP of five Australian 18c stamps which together form a complete cricketing scene has been singled out by "Designscape.” the magazine of the New Zealand Industrial Design Council, for, attention as a "notable design." The five stamps, plus one 45c stamp, mark the centenary of the first test match between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1877. The stamps have no margin, and only the vertical perforations interrupt the scene. Kept it quiet THE NATIONAL Party is putting up a new headquarters building in Wellington. but it is keeping very quiet about it. A sign at the front of the new building in Victoria Street says that the block is being built for Angus Nominees. But the National Business Review has blown the whistle on that particular under-cover name, speculating into the bargain that the reason for the secrecy is the party's fear that trade unionists might “go slow” if they know who they are building for.

Train of events

ABOUT six weeks ago Tom Todd, a visitor from 3709 West Main, Kalamazoo, Michigan, found himself sitting across the aisle from a very attractive young woman on the train from Christchurch to Dunedin. He does not say whether he engaged her in conversation, but she must have made quite an impression because now that he is back in Kalamazoo he finds himself admiring her from afar, and is anxious to correspond with her. He remembers clearly that it was Wednesday, August 31, and that he was in the carriage directly ahead of the “buffet waggon,” near the back. He wants her to send him her name and address. He protested THOSE funny acronyms are handy for remembering which particular protest you are supporting at the moment, but they can be confusing. Mr Ken

Roberts, South Island manager for the Innes Schweppes soft-drink people, was at a conference of retailers at Queenstown recently and found his fellow delegates looking sideways at him and whispering about him to one another. It turned out that they thought his lapel sticker was promoting 0.A.5.1.5., the Organisation Against the Security Intelligence Service Amendment Blil, Mr Roberts had to ask the chairman to announce that his 0.A.5.1.5. was nothing to do with civil liberties — it was the name of the umbrella organisation covering several associated soft-drink companies. Persistent

BIRDS of peace and friendship released at the opening of Glendowie College in Auckland 15 years ago have taken a liking to the school. A small flock of pigeons was released as part of the opening celebrations. and ever since the school authorities have been doing their best

to get rid of them. The pigeons have made their nests in the eaves of the classroom blocks, and keep doing the arithmetic that pigeons do best — multiplying. “They are a real nuisance because of the mess they make,” said the acting principal, Mr Ralph Charlton. “Seats, walls, roofs, and the ground are all fouled by their droppings.” The school has even called in a pest destruction firm. Cages, nets, and devices to discourage the birds from landing on ledges — all have failed.- The pigeons and their numerous offspring clearly regard the school as theirs — and; the school does not dare resort to poisoning them for fear of the public outcry. Object lesson

PAINTING the roof is no job for the weak-kneed and faint-hearted. An experienced painter suggested tying a rope around the chimney and hanging on to that, but some folklore from the mountaineering Wilson family cancelled out that idea. Apparently the Wilson boys, including Jim who has just been up the Ganges with Sir Edmund Hillary, learned their

climbing on the roof of the family home in Christchurch, using ropes to help themselves over the more precipitous ridges. But the combined weight of the novice mountaineers proved too much for the old house, and their father came home one day to find his lassooed chimney lying on his front

Cash factor

NINETY-TWO nominations have been made for seats on the two Nelsonbased national parks — the Nelson Lakes National Park and the Abel Tasman. This was described by Mr L. H. Russell, chairman of both boards, as a surprisingly high number. The boards’ terms expire this year and for the first time the public has been asked to make nominations. Of these, 47 are nominated for the Lakes park, and 45 for the Abel Tasman. Mr Russell said that the Lakes park nominations were higher, and that that park seemed more popular than the Abel Tasman. One forthright board member, Mr Bill Gibbons, drily remarked that this was probably because the Lakes board got more money than Abel Tasman. Unbeatable

THE “IRON BUFFALO” is a versatile and economic cultivator, says the motoring writer of the “Fiji Times,” but there are still places where a pair of live bullocks is to be preferred. He lists the pros and cons of animal, and machine, then adds the real clincher: “Even the Japanese haven’t been able to accomplish, however, what a bullock and a cow can do together, and that is getting a baby one

Garry Arthur