Reporter’s diary

Press, 16 December 1981, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

Nuclear movement MOST of Balgay Street and parts of Milnebank Street in Riccarton were-/declared “nuclear .weapons free zones” on Monday evening. About 30 residents of those streets met at the home of Mr K. G. Heslin and solemnly vowed to ban the development of all nuclear weapons on their properties. Mr Heslin said the declaration , was a symbolic gesture and: was designed to raise. people’s awareness of the nuclear threat. Residents who made the declaration' were given certificates to display in their homes and stickers for their letterboxes.;Mr Heslin said it'was planned to spread the zone., to cover Christchurch and perhaps the whole of New Zealand. Asked V i t

if he- thought it likely that nuclear weapons would be deployed in Belgay Street, he said: “You never know. Mind you, I suppose if they were carting nuclear weapons around .they would use the main roads.” Wu who? SOME INTRIGUING messages come into the office through the Telex wire. Senior editorial staff justcould not’ resist answering one that arrived on Monday. Someone in the United States was offering to send the latest information on currency exchange rates, stock market _ averages, sports scores, deliberations in Congress and you name it — all free except for the cost of the Telex call. That kind of

service could sometimes be useful to a newspaper, so out went a request for further details to ITT World Communications at a United States number. Back came a very strange three-word reply: “Wu Fyi Mawa.” Recalling elicited the same response. Consulting the Telex directory service drew a blank. It had never heard of the number, ITT World Communications, or Wu Fyi Mawa. Had we uncovered a secret intelligence gathering agency in the very heart of the free world? Who is Wu Fyi Mawa? For the answers to these and other questions, we are afraid you will have to look beyond this coluumn’s boundaries. No give-away

THE MAYOR of Rangiora

(Mrs D. M. Harris) and Cr C. G. Hayward both had twinges of conscience at a recent meeting of the borough council’s finance committee. They admitted taking copies of the Canterbury Promotion Council’s booklet of picnic spots from the public counter of the borough council’s office. They had assumed it was a give-away, and were rather embarrassed to find the booklet sold for ?1.50 per copy. The Mayor was the first to come clean, and then Cr Hayward admitted he had done the same thing “but we have not met at Jhe same picnic spot yet.” Big employer TWO ADDITIONS have been made to the committee of

the Westland Community Arts Council, according to its latest newsletter. One of the new members is described as “the second largest employer on the Coast. He is currently using approximately 1.5 million worker bees.” Kitten found

THE KITTEN reported lost in unusual circumstances in last Friday’s diary has been found. It was safe in the custodial care of a group of Selwyn House School pupils. Its owner is hoping their dog will not try the same stunt again — carting the kitten off and hiding it in bushes — and she is still looking for a good dog psychiatrist. We suspect she will have to keep a weather-eye bn the dog until puss gets too big to carry.