Reporter's Diary

Press, 16 August 1978, Page 2

Reporter's Diary

IT arning signs MYSTERIOUS notices such as this have been appearing around Lyttelton in the last few days in answer to the recent discussion about the Lyttelton Harbour Board pilots’ car. Two weeks ago. the board expressed concern about a $2OOO monthly bill for rental cars. Staff members have apparently been hiring the cars while rhe pilots’ car was out of action. The pilots’ car is used not only by pilots, it seems, but by other staff, and it ha* been under repair after some unknown staff member damaged it. Pulling the plug TELEVISION One’s ’’Prime Time" current affairs team was left in the dark last week in the middle of a filming session. The team travelled from Wellington to Auckland to film one of three public lectures in the Auckland university recreation hall by Dr Ivan Illich. the social critic and philosopher. The technicians had set up the lights and equipment, and all was set for the cam-

eras to roll. Dr Illich appeared on stage, and he was barely into his introductory speech before he pushed aside the two television lights and then unplugged them. End of programme. Naval issue ADMIRAL “Bull” Halsey, who was mentioned in Monday’s “Diary” as being another proud owner of a Maori gift during his service in the South Pacific in World War 11, was commander of the third fleet in the Pacific when the war ended, one reader recalls. On August 15, 1945. which was celebrated as V J Day — the day after the Japanese officially surrendered — Admiral Halsey sent a signal to the three ships in the fleet to “Splice the mainbrace,” our reader says. And this, as every sailor worth his salt knows, means to issue the navy rum. However, there was an addition to the message — the two American ships in the fleet were “dry” and would be exempted from the issue, which left only the British ship eligible for rum rations. Our informant tells us that there was a lot of visiting that day from the American ships to the British. Protective skirt THE MAORI flax skirt that brought so much good fortune to the battle cruiser New Zealand when it was worn by Captain Green during the Battle of Jutland. mentioned in yesterday's Diary, proved to be a similar good-luck charm to another warship captain. Apparently, Captain Middleton, who commanded the battleship Ramillies in the D-Day landings and the South of

France operation, wore a similar Maori flax skirt during both actions, from which he and his crew emerged unscathed. Papal tuck RECORD sales have been reported in Italy’s Government lottery since the death of Pope Paul, betters favouring numbers they believe might be related to the Pope’s death. Tickets with the numbers 21 and 40 are popular, because the Pope died at 9.40 p.m. on Sunday. Other favourite numbers are six (the date of his death) and 85, which special books on lotteries say is the number related to the death of Popes. Papal tradition THE FUNERAL of Pope Paul VI on Saturday was governed by an elaborate series of customs and rules surrounding the death of ah Popes. First, the “Ring of the Fisherman” is taken from the Pope’s finger and broken up. The the body is dressed in white silk, a gold mitre and gloves. After lying in state in a triple coffin of lead and cypress in St Peter’s while the crowds file past, the Pope’s body is then taken to Bernini’s Papal altar, for the funeral service. Then, before the coffin is placed in the crypt, three velvet bags, each containing a gold, silver and copper coin for every year of his reign, are placed beside him, and his face is covered with a silk veil. Off the peg ONCE POPE Paul’s successor has been chosen, the new and still unknown Pope will have remarkably little time to ready himself for his new office. As the crowd waits outside for its first view of him in the Piazza San Pietro after the announcement is made, he will have to declare hurriedly the name he wishes to adopt and

quickly change into his Papal robes. With admirable foresight the Vatican will have three sets of dif-ferent-sized robes on hand for the occasion in the hope that one set, at least, will fit the new man properly. /V o im pediment THE SPEECH mannerisms of Sir Huw Wheldon, who presents and narrates the “Royal Heritage” series now showing on TVI, have not gone unnoticed in Britain. They say of him there: “To forgive is divine; to ‘er’ gets you a knighthood.” Right road, wrong place BY AND large, New Zealand’s roads are very well sign-posted by the various branches of the Automobile Association. But a visit to the hinterland of South Canterbury this week left one of our Farm Pages staff far from happy. Planning a visit to Orari Gorge Station, he scanned a map and allowed himself two hours for travelling. But he unwittingly headed into a trap for newcomers, because Orari Gorge Station is not on Orari Gorge Road. He and several other visitors for the same destination found themselves in a similar predicament. Orari Gorge Station, they duly found, was on Tripp Settlement Road. Nothing unusual to South Canterbury folk perhaps, but rather confusing to visitors. By contrast, many of the bigger properties in North Canterbury are named on the road signs, leaving no cause for confusion. Painful OVERHEARD in a conversation between two skiers in the lift queue at Mount Hutt ski-field at the weekend: “I’m tired. I think I’ll give my legs a break.” _ —Felicity Price