Reporter's Diary

Press, 29 September 1979, Page 2

Reporter's Diary

Hard sell?

TWO weeks ago we mentioned that a Dutch company had negotiated a sale of five tonnes of sand to Saudi Arabia. Desert sand, it seems, is not good enough for filtering the Srudis’ swimming pools. Now we hear that a British firm has negotiated a deal with the Arabs to sell them 50 British-built dhows. A small crowd gathered at the Brighton Marina recently to witness the handing over of the first dhow to a representative of the United Arab Emirates. An hour and a half elapsed and the manufacturers were beginning to think they might have been the victims of a practical joke: dhows to the Arabs indeed . . . But suddenly, with a rattle of gold, the Sheikh arrived, confirming the deal with handshakes all round. Classroom capers VIOLENCE in London schools is on the increase, according to an alarming report on disruptive pupils made by Thames Television called “School for Sinners.” The report says thr.t more than 1000 teachers were assaulted last year by children in the 185 secondary schools run by the Inner London Education Authority. The attacks ranged from minor brushes to stabbings. At any one time, the report says, 300 suspended schoolchildren are on the streets of London. The I.L.E.A. has spent more than S2M in the last year

on efforts to counter the increase in violence. It has set up 53 units for disruptive children which cater for 1000 pupils in London. The units have become popularly known as “sin bins.” Sparing the rod

THE reported increase of violence in London secondary schools is not likely to lead to harsher methods of punishment. From 1981, the I.L.E.A. has decided to ban the cane from secondary schools. The cane was banned in London primary schools in 1973. The decision to ban it in secondary schools is bitterly opposed by some London headmasters, who see it as the only way to keep unruly boys in line. Outside London, however, the threat of six of the best will still be very real for secondary school boys who misbehave. Dubious honour THE PRIME Minister (Mr Muldoon) would stand a good chance in the “ungenial fat man world championship,” according to Ferdinand Mount, writing in the latest issue of the authoritative conservative British magazine, the “Spectator.” Mr Muldoon is mentioned in passing in Mount’s article on Zimbabwe Rhodesia’s representatives at the London conference on the breakaway colony’s future. Writing of the co-leader of the Patriotic Front guerrillas, Mr Joshua Nkomo, Mount says, “At over 20 stone, sprawled sideways

in the back seat of his limousine, Mr Nkomo is well qualified to compete for the ungenial fat man world championship. Lord Goodman, Cyril Smith, Robert Muldoon, FranzJosef Strauss, and Leonid Brezhnev spring to mind as other qualifiers.” Choosy

THE PERSONAL column of a recent issue of the “New York Review of Books” contains the following advertisement: “Five attractive Bay Area women seek the following males for companionship: one mature humanist; one ambitious, organised Armenian gourmet jock; one Jewish Pynchon fan with good legs; one Swedish Christian intellectual; one s e 1 f-conscious, slightly neurotic, unsophisticated poor dancer desiring fulfilling relationship.” It should be easy. Time payment WILL Sir Albert Henry live to be 98? Unless he lives to that age he will be unable to pay his fines and costs, totalling $3OOO, imposed on him last month for his part in the Cook Islands electoral conspiracy. The chief probation officer of Rarotonga has directed Sir Albert to pay the $3OOO at the rate of $lO a month, which means it will take him about 25 years to pay. A dog’s life SOME dogs have all the luck. Among the “situations vacant” advertisements in yesterday’s “Press” was one for a dog-sitter to look after an “affectionate, housetrained, female dog” which needs company while her

owners are at work. The advertisement was placed by an Ham couple who have been getting many complaints from their neighbour about their dog barking all day while they are out. So, rather than ignore the complaints or get rid of the dog, they decided to get a dog-sitter: someone who would take the dog home with them, talk to her, take her for walks, and generally make her feel wanted for four hours every weekday. There were about 100 replies to the advertisement yesterday and the successful candidate for the pampered pet, which is a bitser. or an “S.P.C.A. special” as her owners call her, is a young housewife who has a dog of her own. They met yesterday and apparently the two dogs got on fine together. Occasional

WHEN Richard Hadlee, accompanied by three little children, went to pick up his tickets for last month’s Canterbury Children’s Theatre production of “Badjelly the Witch” a friendly bystander asked his family *.. . and what sport does your daddy play?” The eldest child said, “Golf.” The youngest child said, “Bowls.” The third one said, “He plays cricket sometimes.” The incident is recorded for the enjoyment of others in the Children’s Theatre newsletter, with the added comment, “Fortunately we were able to assure his family that we were very impressed with the way Richard Hadlee plays his occasional cricket!”