Reporter's Diary

Press, 16 April 1980, Page 2

Reporter's Diary

Knock-out THE WIZARD has a new toy. In the last few days, he has been in his usual spot in Cathedral Square but his black garb has been brightened by a flash of bright orange. He has acquired an outsized, orange, ' plastic hammer which he brandishes at friend and foe alike. When he wants to make a point, he brings it down on the top of his ladder with what ought to be a resounding crash — but instead, it tinkles. When' “The Press” photographer approached yesterday to take the above picture, the Wizard searched about for someone to hit on the head. “What an ideal opportunity,” he said. “I could be photogranhed hammering the Bible Lady.” But she was nowhere to be seen. He hit himself on the head instead. Last wards AN APPEAL in the “Diary” recently for wartime songs to be used in "Collections of a Magpie,” a Robert McDougall Art Gallery Outreach Programme. resulted in Plenty, of suitable songs. Jill Wil-

cox, the magpie whose various collections are presented to people in old people’s homes and other institutions, says she was inundated with songs, giving her a good, selection for her performance at the Ranperdale war veterans’ home last week. Several of the veterans, she says, were able to furnish further songs, including some “soldiers’ versions.” Another subject of "Collections of a Magpie” which, she says, is always well received, has been a selection of humorous epitaphs, which she has collected mainly from English country churchyards, where wry comments were often engraved on tombstones. Rut Jill Wilcox says she only has one from Scotland and very few from other countries.. If readers have collected any in their travels, she would appreciate them being sent ot her, care of the Outreach programme at the McDougall Art Gallery, P.O. Box 237, Christchurch,

JFVwtf else? WHILE listening to the “Tonight Show” last Thursday, a reader says, she was amused at some of the remarks made by a young woman complaining about the present cost of toilet paper. "It is just a rip-off,” she complained. “Naturally, how else would you expect to find it,”' our reader comments. Then, calling for a boycott of toilet paper, the young woman went on to come up with another gem. "We’ve got to start at the bottom,” she said. Battle for bags A ST ALBANS ratepayer says he wants to organise a bout between two Christchurch City Council computers. At the beginning of this month, he explained, he expected a delivery of his. blue council rubbish bags. The truck came along, but after the team had consulted its computer list, hone were left kt his flat in Qpslow Street The block o| own-

ership flats, he was told, was not on the list. Since then, he has telephoned the council office, put his complaint in writing as instructed, and telephoned a councillor, who consulted another councillor, and called him back. All along the line there, have been assurances that the bags will come, but three times now, he says, the rubbish collection truck has trundled past and no bags are available for him to use. He says the big council rates computer has him on its list, but the little blue bag computer does not. He would very much like the two computers to sort out their differences, If the little one wins, he says, he will not have to pay rates any more. If the rates computer wins, he proposes to take his rubbish to the council office —gift-wrapped. Mounting up WITH its refuse problem now at crisis point, the Greater London Council is trying to get rid of its responsibility to dispose of London’s rubbish, which it is finding an increasingly expensive burden, reports the April issue of the New Zealand “Local Government” magazine. Most of the refuse is at present disposed of in huge holes in the ground outside the Greater London area, but the council is having to search further and further afield for new sites. The further out of London the rubbish has to be taken, the greater the cost of disposal. Last year, the bill was $55 million. More than' 11,000 tonnes of rubbish is collected in London every day. If it were all dumped in Trafalgar Square, all that would be visible of Lord Nelson on his 50m column after a week would be his hat. Finis SOME parents come up with w’eird and wonderful names for their children, particularly American parents, a reader noted recently. She had heard of a well known statistician in California whose Christian name was Finis. It turned out that he had been a thirteenth child, and on his birth, his father had cried, “That’s it, Finis.” And Finis he hgs been ever since.