Reporter’s diary

Press, 22 June 1981, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

Blue Plumpers A FORMER resident of Newark, in England, called in at "The Press” on Friday to explain the origins of the mysterious Blue Plumpers, mentioned on the medallion found by a Rangiora reader. The Blue Plumpers, he said, were voters in Newark a century ago who block-voted for. Sir Thomas Wilde, thereby putting him into the House. Sir Thomas, also mentioned on the medallion, was the first Whig member from Newark, which had traditionally been' a Tory stonghold. The Whigs, in Newark, were associated with blue (the Tories with red), our reader explained. Hence the term. Blue Plumpers. The "Liberation” referred to on the medallion would be the liberation of Newark from the Tory stranglehold, as far as the Whigs were concerned, he said. Beyond belief

STUDENTS at the University of California were asked recently to-list their religious preferences; With the pre-

dictable answers, there were some that left the university administration wondering. Among the religious groups and associations listed were: Ronald Raygun's End of the World Party; the Evolutionary Church of Cosmic Petrodollars; the Holy Order of the Recombinant DNA Failures; the First Church of Appliantology; and. something called Frisbetarianism. One adherent of the latter explained that Frisbetarianism. is “the belief that when you. die, your soul goes up on the roof and no-one can get it down.” Repairs THE RAFT in Caroline Bay will be repaired for $BOO anil Timaru’s first lifeboat, Alexandra, which has a reputation for being an unseaworthy craft, will also be repaired. The shelter in which it is housed will be given a new roof, for about $3BOO. The lifeboat,'which has not been used since 1882, has been mothballed for many years. It was built-in 1865 arid was found to be prone to capsizing; - -- ----

Gobbledygook? PLAIN English could well be said to be an anthema to erudite pedants with a penchant for hyperbole and circumlocutory inclinations. This exampje on convoluted prose was taken from a newspaper report of a conference: "It was also recorded that regional cooperation was not intended or expected to be a substitute for bilateral and multilateral co-operation, but coifid complement both, and that this should not be inconsistent with bilateral and multilateral obligations of each country.” Students of a week-long conference on the English language were stumped when one of the lecturers began her speech with a 104-word sentence and another sprinkled his talk with these gems: "The priorities of the discipline,”, "replicability of analysis,” "retrievability of evidence for evaluation.” p ; Foaling time A RADIO-controlled alarm has been developed to/ warn

horsey people that their mares are about to foal, so that they don't have to stay up all night keeping watch. Called the GK Magic Breed alarm, it is made by Chubb's Australian Company, Ltd. A radio transmitter attached to the mare’s headstall sounds an alarm on a receiver up to 400 metres away to warn that the mare is about to foal. This means that breeders can get their normal sleep and yet be on hand to help with the birth if necessary. Horses normally sleep standing up, but mares lie down when they are about to give birth. Mixed bag A REAL mixed bag of personalities — from a fashion model to a cricketer, and from a noted courtroom advocate to a wildlife ranger — will join in a Save the Children Fund fund-raising venture on Tuesday evening at the Bealey Room of the Carlton Hotel. The occasion is a “Personality Soiree” to raise funds for the eradication of the. crippling disease polio. The guest personalities

will be Richard Hadlee, Paula Ryan. Brian McClelland, Q.C.. Maurice Till, and Jim Baggstrom. as well as people from radio and television. The guest speaker will be Dr Ward, a British doctor held responsible for the eradication of smallpox, and now campaigning to rid the world of polio. Tickets are available from Miss foppy Blathwayt, telephone 554-241. Down the road AN ITEM about 10 days ago tracing the history of Hopkin’s Emporium in Ferry Road ended up at the wrong address. The source of the information, Mr W. J. A. Brittenden, says that the emporium used to be at 636 Ferry Road, and he went there this week to check it again. He says the site is now occupied by Seymour’s fruit and vegetable market, although it would be hard to recognise the old emporium building now, as the front w'all has been knocked out to make a window.