Reporter’s diary

Press, 6 August 1981, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

Vital Viol THE Court Theatre desperately needs, to borrow a viol. Viols were the fifteenth century equivalent of the modern violin, but they were quite different in shape, and they had six strings instead of four. The viol is needed for certain crucial scenes in Court's next production, “The Lady’s Not For Burning,” by Christopher Fry, which is due to open on August 22. An all-out attempt, has been made to make the play authentic in terms of costumes and props, so an ordinary violin will not do. The viol has to be played during the play, and. viols also sound “totally different” .to violins. Anyone who has a viol, or knows where to get hold of one, is asked to get in touch with Janine Hobbs at the Court . • •

Talking oven EVERY HOME should have one. The Japanese have found yet another bizarre use for micro-computer technology. It is the “Talking Oven,” and it will respond to voice commands, talk back to the cook, store recipes, tell you what you need to buy when you decide what you want to cook, and then help you cook it. An optional extra is a video camera which mounts above your front door and will cable an image of your arriving guests to a screen in the oven. Bon appetit! Immortalised

LADY DIANA, the Princess of Wales, has written herself into the Church of England prayer book by marrying Prince' Charles. From now’ on, the w’ords, “the Prince

and Princess of Wales,” are to replace the words, “Charles Prince of Wales,” in the prayers used for the Royal Family in the Church’s services. The change has been made by Royal Warrant under section one of the Church of England (Worship and Doctrine) Measure, 1974. His way

THE “TIMARU HERALD" gave Sir Basil Arthur, the Member of Parliament for Timaru, the opportunity to review the Prime Minister’s latest book, “My Way,” and we suppose he cannot be blamed, in an election year, for taking maximum advantage of it. The review appeared on August 1, and it began like this: “The Prime Minister has written yet another disjointed and rambling account of his life in politics.” Sir Basil started as he meant to continue. “His hatred of his opponents is amply demonstrated by savage, incorrect attacks on individuals ... I was most amused at his pathetic efforts to portray himself as a world leader ... I believe that this book should be reclassified to the fiction section."* Sir Basil ends the review by saying that Labour will win the next election, and that will leave Mr Muldoon more time to write fiction. Rat repulser

AN ELECTRONIC device for repulsing rodents has. just gone on sale in Sydney, and if you hate rats yet cannot bring yourself to kill them, it could be worth ordering. Called the Ecology Machine, it consists of a series of coils which emit high-frequency beeps. People and their pets cannot , hear them, but rats can. The distributors claim that rats are so upset by the sound they cannot eat or sleep. They either have to flee the premises or die. An unexpected spin-off has been that cockroaches seem to dislike’ the sound, too. It sells in Sydney for $475.