Reporter’s diary

Press, 30 May 1983, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

Animal crackers PROUD owners of talking birds, dancing dogs, or super-intelligent cats may have been provided with an avenue to lead their pets to fame. “Animal Talent” is an animal agency set up in Auckland by a Mr Graham Meadows, a veterinarian who is also a script-writer and a broadcaster. Animals can be registered with the agency at no cost, but the owners pay a commission if their pet is chosen to appear on television, or in a film, a stage show or a demonstration. As well as representing domestic, farm, wild or exotic animals, the agency will register photographs or illustrations of animals, stuffed animals, riding gear, horse-drawn vehicles, and similar items., A cut above AN archaeologist in hospital for surgery on a ruptured colon persuaded doctors in Omaha, Nebraska, to use a replica of a prehistoric knife on him instead of a scalpel. The replica was fashioned out of volcanic glass. The knife was used in ancient times for butchering animals. The surgeons reported afterwards that they were impressed with its performance. The blade showed under a scanning microscope to have a sharper edge than the steel of a modern scalpel.

'Tootsie' “TOOTSIE” herself has been strolling around the Westend theatre of late, but not in the form of the bespectacled woman potrayed by Dustin Hoffman in the award-winning film. In this case, Tootsie is a young tabby cat which moved into the theatre about the same time that the film first screened there. As well as looking out for mice, Tootsie has entertained theatre patrons and proved herself to be “quite a charmer,” according to a spokesman from the theatre. But he said the attention became too much for her during the school holidays. She fled each time the crowds of children arrived for matinee screenings. It seems Tootsie is not the only theatre cat in the city — she has colleagues in three other Christchurch theatres. Big business THE TOP 10 companies in New Zealand, according to “Management” magazine’s listing for 1983, based on turnover revenue are: Fletcher Challenge ($3.15 billion); Dalgety N.Z. ($946.2 million); BP N.Z. ($773.7M); L.D. Nathan ($750.3M); N.Z. Forest Products ($688.1M); Mobil Oil N.Z. ($662.7M); Air New Zealand ($659.5M); Shell N.Z. (S64IM); N.Z. Co-

op Dairy Company ($605.1M); and N.Z. South British ($560.5M). Based on tax-paid profit the line-up is:' Fletcher Challenge ($90.2M); N.Z. Forest Products ($61.3M); N.Z. South British ($40.9M); A.N.Z. Banking ($36.3M); B.N.Z. ($34.6M); National Bank of New Zealand ($34.3M); Shell Oil (S34M); BP N.Z. ($30.4M); Wattle Industries ($29.5M); and A.H.I. ($25.5M). Recoiled IT SEEMS that people are never short of bright ideas. A highly excited man came into the office of “The Press” with an idea for a cartoon about the price freeze. He said the best way to show the effects of the policy was to have a little man holding a spring down hard with his thumb, and a lot of people standing around wondering how high the spring would jump when he took his thumb off. Everybody knows what happens to a spring when you force it down, he said. When you release the pressure, it much higher than it normally would have. Black belt THIS tale of a successful bluff comes from Hereford, England. Two boys, one considerably larger than the other, were edging towards a quarrel in the school playground. The bigger lad said, “You watch it. I learn karate.”' To which the smaller lad replied: “So what? I learn origami.” Whereupon the bigger boy turned and ran.