Reporter’s diary

Press, 27 May 1981, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

Safe roads, but.

GORBAN’S. Wines’ United States representative, Bob Campbell, told this amusing tale in a recent newsletter sent back home. "There is now" a greater chance- that Los . Angeles residents will die by car accident. Over 1000 citizens were murdered last year, less than half the figure that perished on the roads. I mentioned this fact to a Los Angeles-born friend who optimistically replied — "You see what we have done to reduce automobile fatalities’?” Wanted

CAN YOU help the Court Theatre? This time, some props, are required for'their production of Roger Hall's play, "Fifty-Fifty?' which begins on June 6. A brass barometer, two suitcases for men and two for women are needed. A theatre spokesman said that the men's suitcases should be "good quality, but obviously used.” while the preferred feminine models should be "elegant, but again, used.” The theatre will be pleased to hear from you, if you , have . either that you would be willing to lend.'

Infectious spelling

GRATEFUL thanks ■ to. the reader who sent us this one — an example of mis-spell-ing that we enjoyed hugely. Seen on the wall of the Springfield railway station's refreshment rooms,, along- • side advertisements for railway T-shirts,, souvenirs and other paraphernalia was "railway, plagues, $3.20.” Collective flush WRITTEN on the reverse of an envelope received by a collector in the Crippled Children Society’s annual appeal was, "The enclosed cheque is proceeds front a Crippled Children collection box -which is positioned oh our . toilet cistern in the toilet, and with an instruction printed on same; ‘please pay as you pee’.” It could be worse ALTHOUGH he is a former nuclear submarine commander, the former President of the United States, Mr Jimmy Carter, recently had trouble with a mechanism of a sim- ; pier nature, the keyboard on: his. electronic visual-display

typewriter. He completed the first few thousand words of his two volumes of memoirs on the machine, and then pushed the wrong button — the destruct button — which wiped everything he had written. At least he didn’t do it while still in office. Earthlings beaten AS we said in Saturday's paper, Space Invaders’ Part V is not ; scheduled to be introduced to New Zealand, and just as well, because it stumped the Australian champions. That country’s record holder/, -an unemployed teacher, aged 21, from Adelaide’, refused to participate in the ■ recent national championships in Parramatta, because Part V was to be used. He can score 500,000 on the others, but said that he probably would not reach 3000 in the former, which is naturally more difficult than Parts I, -11, 111, or IV. The only competitor to have-previously used the machine was the eventual winner, Frank Faraone, aged 13, from Perth. The winning score was • 82.190, 20,000 ahead of the next best. /