Reporter’s diary

Press, 1 September 1982, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

Boots A PAIR of black riding boots are needed for Jonathan Elsom, who plays Herr Zangler in the Tom Stoppard play “On the Razzle.” The play will op'en a month-long season at the Court Theatre on September 25. The size required is BV2 or 9. Anyone with a pair of black riding boots, but no horse, is asked to help. Telephone the Court Theatre wardrobe department, 795-264 during business hours. Cricket on ice . . . WHEN the Transglobe expedition reached Greenwich at the week-end, Prince Charles met the principals in their ship. He said the members were the first to play cricket at the South Pole. He should have known better. The first cricket at the Pole was played by three notable New Zealanders, and an American. The former New Zealand captain, John Reid, took some cricket gear with him when he was on the ice in January, 1970. The other two New Zealanders were Jonathan Hunt, at present

the Chief Opposition Whip, and Les Gandar, who recently retired from the post of High Commissioner in London. The South Pole was the wicket. At lunch, the mysteries of cricket were explained to Rear-Admiral “Kelly” Welch, commander of the United States Naval Support Force, and he agreed, to take part. Reid, naturally, batted first. Hunt made two claims: that Reid was out first ball, and that he (Hunt) was the first man to bowl a leg-break at the South Pole. . . and other sports THE GAME ended when Reid hit the ball into the snow and it vanished. No-one now can vouchsafe which side of the world it went. But he found another ball and .that was hit across the world. New Zealanders have some other firsts at the South Pole. Peter Snell ran across the world. No time was kept. The former All Black captain, Brian Lo- . chore, has agreed that it was not he, but Sir Richard Wild, the former Chief Justice, who kicked the-first rugby ball at the South Pole.

Facts of life HE IS a very pleasant young Australian — a son of a New Zealander who is living and working in Melbourne to boost Australia’s lagging economy. Unfortunately the young man has been indoctrinated with the belief — it happens across the Tasman —.that Australia is, and has, the- biggest and the best of everything, and especially sports records. New Zealand, on the other hand, he has been taught, is an inferior Tasmania. “How dare New Zealand face up to a C.E.R. debate with Big Brother?” he ' said, in effect. “Why, you’ve only got 3 million people; we’ve got that number in Melbourne!" He was, of course, wildly excited over the Wallabies’ win on Saturday. But it did not occur to him that there was little merit in a populous, powerful, plutocratic country thumping a poor, Insignificant little, penniless waif. It was not fair to ask him, but he had no answer when, on Monday morning, his loving aunt inquired if the Aussie crew had lost its way on Lake Lucerne — or sunk. Sad there was no news on the air about the eight. Still no word

about that soccer team which has not yet reached Spain. Aunt Margaret is a kindly soul and she did point out that, with C.E.R. in operation, it will be easier for his friends to buy horses with which to win the Melbourne Cup. She felt constrained to warn him, in the nicest way, however, that she doubted they would be able to acquire the Waikato stallion for which, recently, an ■American bid of $l6 million was turned down. One Phar Lap is enough. Aunt had the decency not to refer to some aspects of a game called cricket and she avoided spilling the beans by announcing that Split Enz is one of halL a-dozen born-and-bred Kiwi top pop groups, drawing them in on the Island Continent. One thing about Darren: he may not have a high opinion of Ao-tea-roa, but he does have a sense of humour. One has to — to be an Aussie.

Thanks

CRYSTAL A. Phillips of Glentunnel writes to thank the policeman who took charge of her cane basket in Cathedral Square on Thursday, August 19. She went

from a seat to get on a bus and forgot to pick up the basket from under the seat. Her home address was tied to the basket, so the Police Department wrote to her. Now she has the basket and its contents. The police have her gratitude. Quackery

IT HAD to come from a man. A diary item on Monday dealt with female emancipation in ducks. This correspondent notes that “the characteristic raucous quacking noise of ducks is made only by the female of the species.” Switched on

YET KIWI ingenuity is supposed to be the property of the New Zealand male. How about the elderly lady in Papatoetoe who was anxious to be up at the crack of dawn for a journey to Christchurch? She was dismayed to discover that her alarm clock was not working. So she got out her vacuum cleaner, plugged it in to her electric stove, and set the automatic dial to the required time, then took 9 the cleaner into her bedroom. She woke on time.