Reporter's Diary

Press, 26 February 1980, Page 2

Reporter's Diary

Poster from past

WHILE removing an old pencil drawing, dated 1884 from its original, mother-of-pearl inlaid frame so that the artwork could be .restored, Mr Colin Ritchie, of the Tasman Gallery, discovered ' an unusual backing paper hidden underneath. When he', unfolded it, it proved to be a faded, red, white and blue poster, advertising trios to London on the S.S. lonic. Printed' by “The Press” nearly 100 years ago, the poster could well be a valuable- collector’s- item, Mr Ritchie said yesterday. “The frame hasn’t been opened up before, so the poster must have been in there-all-that time.”,Concidentally, he said, a client had recently brought in for restoring an original •watercolour of the lonic - steaming out of a New Zealand harbour, painted bv C. A. Dunn about the same time that the poster would have been printed. The pencil drawing was .etched by Miss Lydia Lewis, of Lyttelton, when she was a pupil at' Christchurch Girls’ High School. It was discovered by her daughter-in-law, Mrs J. Hutchinson, who retrieved it from a cupboard where it had been stored for manv years, and who decided to have it restored. Early steamship THE S.S. Tonic was a White Star liner, chartered in 1883 bv the New Zealand Shipping Company to maintain its monthly passenger and cargo direct service to Britain. Although she was essentially a steamer, she. like many other ships of her time, also carried saiL when the. winds were prevailing to speed her on her way. Between the lines A FEATURE story in Saturday’s edition of “The Press" about the revival

of the old “Saturday Evening' Post” in the United States reminded a reader of an amusing incident that appeared in the ’ “Post” several years ago. ■ “It was a very straight-laced publication, as I recall,” he said yesterday. “So it came as something of a. surprise when, in one edition, there was a fictional story about an unmarried couple who, at the end of one chapter were having supper in the woman’s apartment and, at the. beginning of the next chapter, were having breakfast there.” He said there were numerous letters of protest from scandalised readers to the “Post” about this hint of indiscretion in a hitherto morally upright publication. In response to these, the next edition of the “Post.” carried the following reioinder: “We cannot be held responsible for the behaviour of our story characters in between chapters.” A’p/c newsletter THE FIRST issue of the Beneficiaries’ Union newsletter has been published, outlining the aims of the union and putting forward ideas and comments on topics of concern. The authors of the newsletter are running a competition to find a name for it. The prize may not be all that ausD’cious, but to many beneficiaries, the union would argue, it could be worth its naperweight in gold. The prize is a vear’s free membership of the union.

wavelength? AFTER "jogging along the shorter distance of the second annual women’s

“fun run” at Hagley Park on Sunday morning, “The Press” reporter was obviously overcome by the heat of the moment. Because the radio reporter on the “fun run,” who was wearing a 3ZB T-shirt, was Pauline Turnbull, from Radio New Zealand, and not Radio Avon, as our report said.

. / real holiday RESIDENTS of Cressy House, in Lyttelton, • a home for the elderly, leave today on the annual, holiday jaunt to Akaroa. Eleven of the residents, aged.between 69 and 86, will stay in Akaroa motels in the next 10 days for what the matron of Cressy House (Mrs June Collett) calls “a real holiday away from it all.” She will keep her charges company during the holiday break and the Lyttelton Rotary Club will provide transport.

Spokesperson ? A SMALL ripple of mirth went round the room when a delegate to the Canterbury and Westland branch of the Labour Party got up on stage at the regional conference at Greymouth at the weekend.’ It was the Labour member for Yaldhurst, Mr M. A. Connelly, who announced himself as being the delegate representing the Upoer Riccarton women’s branch. One of the remits Mr Connelly put forward on behalf of the women’s branch was that the party, should encourage an .active campaign to promote the growth of Labour youth. It was carried.