Reporter’s diary

Press, 9 March 1984, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

Aerial pumpkins THE-HANGING pumpkins of Craniner Square have attracted many curious passers-by in recent weeks. Mrs Amuri Markholm trained the . pumpkin vine along her clothesline as much to save ground space as anything else. “Last year they (pumpkins) travelled over the path and everywhere. I had to trip the light fantastic to get about,” said Mrs Markholm, who has lived at 32 Cranmer Square for 65 years. The pumpkins are thriving, but they had to be supported with netting to stop them from falling off. What was Mrs Markholm going to do with the ppmpkins? “Eat them. What else?” Max’s wait pays off MAX, the brindle dog which waited in vain for three days beside his master’s bicycle in the New Brighton Mall, is assured of a rosy future. Although Max’s owner had not yet come forward, a number of people had called the S.P.C.A. animal home at Hornby yesterday offering to take him, said Mrs Colleen Bates. “Either way, we will make sure he goes to a good home,” she said.

No art, thanks... GAIL WRIGHT is running into some rather stodgy firms and organisations in her efforts to put “art” (the word itself), back into the Christchurch Festival. Quite a- few of them have been happy to let the young artist, use bright colours to highlight the three letters in their names — as in Gov-

enunent DepAßTmental Buildings — but a lot have refused. “They say that it’s e directive from head office ♦not to let anyone touch their 'signs, dr something like that I don’t think they can think for themselves,’ 7 said

Ms Wright The letters will be removed by Ms Wright when the festival ends on March 18. The Ministry of Works and Development entered into the spirit of things by providing Ms Wright with a 12m extension ladder and having three men hold it while she clambere# up and put a little red plastic “art” on the imposing, if ponderous, facade of the old Govern-

ment Departmental Buildings in Worcester Street Fine line WE SHOULD not have referred to the Christchurch City Council officer who uplifted Max on Tuesday, for Max’s own. good, as a “dogcatcher,” according, to the council’s dog control supervisor, Mr R. M. W. Shaw. The dog ccctrol divi-

sion’s people are called either dog rangers, or dog control officers. “Uplifting dogs is only a minor part of their duties,” said Mr Shaw. No itch here

NEW ZEALANDERS need not fear an outbreak of the washing powder itch at present plaguing Britain. More than 700 women who complained of suffering from skin rashes after using New Persil Automatic washing powder have been referred to skin specialists hired by the manufacturers, Unilever. The corporation confirmed that it had received about 5000 letters of complaint from British consumers; The letters said that washed in the new powder had caused rashes, especially where collars, cuffs, and other parts of clothing rubbed against the skin. The offending powder was not sold in New Zealand, although a different automatic washing powder was available here, said a spokesman for Unilever, New Zealand, from Wellington yesterdav. “There have been no problems, and there won’t be,” he said. The problem in Britain is particularly embarrassing for Unilever because the original Persil Automatic powder, which the new powder was designed to replace, had been recommended to eczema sufferers by the National Eczema Society. Out of line

THE ENGLISH Tory Whips’ office is reported to be engaged in a small investigation to discover the identity of a Tory back-bencher who was recently asked by a magazine to fill in a questionnaire on his current political attitudes. To the question, “If Mrs Thatcher was run over by a bus today, who would you like to see succeed her?” He replied: “The bus driver.”