Reporter’s diary

Press, 9 November 1981, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

Free advice CONSERVATIVE tax reform groups are not the only ones trying to tell us how to vote. The Abortion Law Reform Association has put out a voting guide to the electorate, telling voters where the liberals on abortion can be found. At least this guide is leavened with humour in a few places. It recommends not voting at all in Mangere, hedging your bets in Yaldhurst and going to the Riccarton races for the day, and spending the day at Caroline Bay in Timaru. Wristwatch revenge LOCAL BODY meetings can sometimes be deadly for those who report them, but loud talk and laughter at the press bench are not considered polite no matter how far the boredom progresses, At a recent meeting, one reporter noticed the sunlight coming at an opportune angle through a window and decided to use it silently against his tormentors. He

angled his wristwatch to catch the light and throw it in their direction. He made several direct hits with the dot of light, but none of his victims seemed to be any the wiser about the source. Airport antlers NORTH POLE. South Pole. Finland, Greenland — where does Father Christmas, alias Santa Claus, really reside these days when not on his annual rounds? We carried an item recently about Rovaniemi, a Finnish town near the Arctic Circle, where children could write to the venerable gentleman. You are just confusing children and promoting the Finnish Tourist Board by doing that, someone complained. Everyone in New Zealand knew that Santa Claus really lived at the South Pole. Of course, most people in the Northern Hemisphere think he lives with his helpers somewhere near the North Pole. Lapland's Rovaniemi may have some claim on the address,

according to Miss Nora Finn, a Christchurch woman who recently visited Lapland and brought back a photograph of the airport terminal there, with the town's name written in reindeer- antlers. But it will take more than that to convince the doubters. Anyway, we all know where Santa really lives, don’t we? In our hearts. Still swinging THE FATHER of three matronly sisters will be 80 in January. The sisters spent months trying to decide what to get for his birthday. They finally broke through his insistence that he had everything he wanted. Well, he said, there was one thing — he had ordered a new club from the professional at the golf club, and if they really wanted to get him something, they could pick up the tab for that. Special friends THE TOY rabbit holds his carrot with an artificial arm,

the paralysed snake rides in a wheelchair, and the elephant has a hearing aid. These stuffed animals are called “special friends” of their creator, an American occupational therapist, who makes the toys in her spare time and thinks they could be good for crippled and able-bodied children alike. She got the idea after having a paralysed pet squirrel and making contraptions to help it get about. Able-bodied children could use the toys to learn how to deal with handicaps and disabled people. Holiday fare TRAVELLERS returning from Central Otago to Christchurch this spring stopped for dinner at the old Omarama Hotel. They were delighted by the huge roast dinner with all the trimmings. Just like the old days, the man said. But his wife remembered a story told by her grandfather from

Oamaru that put the old days into perspective. Her grandfather and some cronies had been hunting in the backcountry and stopped at the hotel for Sunday dinner. When it arrived, it was nothing more than cold mutton and one vegetable. The waitress looked none too kindly on their turning up their noses and asking if there wasn’t anything more to spice things up. No more vegetables, she said, standing in the doorway between the kitchen and dining room. Could she dig up some chutney, then? "Hey Mum,” she called into the kitchen. “These blokes are asking for pickles. They must think it's Christmas'” Historic building An AMERICAN conservation group is trying to save a building put up in 1966 but already considered part of the national heritage. A member of the New London Landmarks Trust in Connecticut says the building is “a classic example of cinderblock construction covered ■with red and white tile?. It has a shed roof and two gigantic steel-metal arches covered with yellow plastic containing fluorescent lights. It may be ugly, but it is our culture.” That part of the Yankee culture smells a bit greasy. It is a McDonalds Restaurant.