Reporter’s diary

Press, 14 May 1981, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

Who’s the ass? WHETHER IT was the news writer’s punctuation or the news’ readers’ punctuation, but two different readers gave differing versions of the Prime Minister’s remarks about the Human Rights Commission and the Eric Sides case. “The law,” says Mr Muldoon, “is an ass,” reads one. "The law says Mr ■Muldoon is an ass,” reads the other. Wrong-footed IT WAS a case of not letting the left foot know what the right foot was doing for a man who was found by the police in the Shortland Street factory of Vinnell Shoes, Ltd, one night this week. The man had apparently been trying on a pair of expensive fashion boots in the darkened store when the police burst in. He tried to flee, but quickly found that it is hard to run fast when your boots — or somebody else’s, in this

case — are on the wrong feet. His plight was a source of no little amusement to the police who also nabbed four other men. The five have appeared in court charged with burglary. Small is costly LITTLE LETTERS are more expensive than big ones, one reader has found to the detriment of his wallet. He received a letter in an envelope measuring 75mm by 115 mm, a size commonly used for invitation cards. The letter had been sent with a 20-cent postage stamp, but the Post Office marked that it was “too small,” and charged an extra 5c plus a 20c surcharge for the deficient postage. The little letter, therefore, cost a total of 45c to send. Reference to the current postage rate chart shows that “standard” letters, which cost 20c to send by inland surface mail, must be at least 90mm by

140 mm, up to a maximum size of 120 mm by 235 mm. It depends . . . THE PROBLEM of children riding bicycles at night without lights was discussed at a meeting of the Greymouth Borough Council earlier this week. The Mayor (Dr B. M. Dallas) wondered whether cycles could be taken away from youngsters who committed such offences, in the same way that drivers lost their licences. Another quick-thinking councillor remarked: “That would depend on how big the child's father is.” Tyre driller A PHANTOM tyre driller has been at work in Hastings over the last month. Since April 18, the unknown person has drilled holes in more than 130 car tyres. In spite of a close watch by the police no sign of the mysterious driller has been seen. Under-

standably, some people are getting a little annoyed at his or her continued activity. Victims so far include policemen, local residents and car sales firms. Some have even been struck twice. Repairs cost an average of $l7 or anything over $BO for a new tyre, but many victims have found it is not worth claiming on their insurance for the damage because of the policy excess or the loss of their no-claims bonus. Rafting EARLY IN April we reported on a two-day rafting trip on the Hurunui River, which was believed to be the first such trip. The story has prompted a letter from Mr Norman Bruce of Christchurch, who writes that he has owned a fourman inflatable rubber raft for about six years. In that time he has made raft trips on most Canterbury rivers and on the Upper Buller

River on the West Coast. He says the top reaches of the Hurunui are the most exciting of all the rivers, narrowing down to only two-boat widths in parts and being fairly deep. One of the best times to do the trip is in spring and early summer, he says. 23 years on DOCTORS OFTEN receive letters of thanks from grateful patients, but seldom do the letters refer to a patient who was treated 23 years earlier. However, the Auckland Hospital Board recently heard of a letter sent to one of its doctors. It was written by a Wellington woman, whose son was about to graduate with an honours degree in engineering. She said that her son was premature and that at birth his long-term outlook was not good. “Because of the early dedicated care he received he has been able to achieve so much,” she wrote.