Reporter's Dairy

Press, 23 April 1980, Page 2

Reporter's Dairy

Neighbourly EVERY cloud has a silver lining, and the AvonsideWoodham Expressway Association is finding that, out of adversity, some good can happen. The association, formed to make a united objection of Avonside residents opposed to the planned expressway, has discovered that the common issue has brought people living in the same area together who have not met before. “New friendships have been formed and people seem to be developing a new sense of neighbourhood,” says the association’s first... newsletter this .week. Perhaps in the future this may form the basis of a neighbourhood committee, formally recognised by the Christchurch City Council, the. association suggests. In the meantime, members ate considering forming a small community centre where they can meet and keep in touch; Present *"•' ' A COPY of-, a framed, limited edition; print of a Rembrandt self-portrait was presented .to 9 meet-

ing of the Lincoln College Council yesterday. The drawing was a gift from the Dutch Foreign Minister (Dr van der Klaauw) who recently visited the college. The college’s principal (Professor J. D. Stewart) told the council that the next' important foreign visitor would be the Chinese Vice-Premier, who was due to arrive early next, month with an entourage of 51 people. No second chance ON A RECENT visit to Singapore, Professor Stewart, of Lincoln College and rugby fame, was “very impressed” with the place — its industry as well as the discipline and cleaniness of the inhabitants and of the island. “Of course,, there are no drugs there.” he'told yesterday’s meeting of the Lincoln Clolege Council. "Drug traffickers are hanged without appeal if they are caught. It is pretty harsh, but it seems to work.” To which another council member added: “No second offenders there.” Lucky man BUZZA March, of March

Construction, Ltd, the firm responsible for demolish* ing the old St Bede’s College building, often has cause to thank his lucky stars. He is the sort of man, his friends say, who finds the needle in .the haystack and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Some time ago, while retrieving his boat from the water and putting it back on a trailer, his watch strap broke arid the watch dropped into water several metres deep. But, on looking down, he noticed that it had fallen On to a ledge just below the surface and it was easily recoverable. The other day, while working on his firm’s latest project, demolishing Gladstone Pier, at Lyttelton, his watchstrap broke again, and this time he had to stand by helpless as the watch disappeared into the murky, depths off the pier. The next day, he thought he would try to get his watch back by using one of the firm’s mechanical diggers. As luck would have it, on the very first scoop of the bucket up came his ’ waterproof watch. Mixed foursome AN EXHIBITION of paintings at the Qantas gallery in Piccadilly was opened earlier, this month, bring-

ing together four artists of markedly different backgrounds.- Lady Russell, widow of Sir Ronald Russell, Tory member of Parliament for Wembley South for 24 years, has contributed paintings of various aspects of the House of Commons which, she says, may never have been painted before, because of her priviliged access as a member’s wife. Lady Wynne-Jones, whose husband is a Labour peer, has contributed several horse paintings, Caret Weight, the former professor of painting at the Royal College of Art, is the best known of the four exhibitors. The Antipodean connection with Qantas is provided by the fourth painter, Leonard Bennetts, a New Zealander, who describes his professional life as “landscapes in summer, nudes in winter.” Oops! AT FORT Lauderdale, Florida, the City Commission recently passed a strict law banning obscenity in books, magazines, and records. It was then discovered that, under that law, its own wording was obscene and could not be published.