Reporter’s diary

Press, 26 May 1984, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

New generation DO CLOTHES make the man, the woman, and the child? Two punk rockers were in Cathedral Square the other day: he had spiky hair worn rooster-style; hers was orange. Both had the punk rocker’s regulation skinny frame and sullen expressions, topped off with studded black leather jackets and boots. As they stalked, glaring about them, they carefully wheeled a new stroller containing a baby girl swaddled in the

most traditional of baby clothes and blankets, the hood of her pink, homeknitted jump-suit framing a chubby, innocent face. Perhaps other shoppers expected the baby to be a gaunt, disgruntled infant dressed in black leather. As it was, she attracted many an admiring glance. Unannounced A SYDNEYSIDER. Mr Vernon Luckman, has something to add to last Wednesday's "Diary” item about one of Christchurch’s finest architectural assets, the Chief Post Office building in Cathedral Square, which is being floodlit from this week. “It certainly is a beautiful building, but there is nothing on it anywhere to say that it is a Post Office,” said Mr Luckman, who describes himself as a “world traveller.” Although the Post Office flies its logo from the flagpole. Mr Luckman believes that this would mean nothing to most foreigners. He should know, having travelled about 120,000 kilometres through Europe, Canada, the United States, and various other

parts of the world since his retirement. The only other “incognito” post office Mr Luckman has found was in Denver, Colorado — not that he makes a hobby of seeking them out. “Don’t get me wrong. I am not knocking Christchurch,” said Mr Luckman. “It is by far the nicest city in New Zealand.” For this compliment, he is forgiven. Well named? THE OWNERS of the three-year-old filly, Oops, will be hoping that she does not live up to her name again at the Franklin Trotting Club's meeting in Auckland today. Oops fell over at her previous start. To be fair, she won the one before that. Caterers’ night MORE THAN 250 past and present employees of the old Christchurch firm of Burke's Caterers, Ltd, will relive the joys and sorrows of the catering business at a cabaret-style reunion at Addington Raceway this evening. For the older caterers, some of whom are in their eighties, there will be a nostalgic display of old

uniforms and catering equipment — corkscrews, glasses, cutlery, and the barrels and milk cans which had to be manhandled to the venues for each engagement. “We thought it was about time that instead of always catering for someone else, we catered for ourselves,” said one of the organisers, Mrs Sue Rattray. four generations of whose family have worked for Burke’s. The firm first did the catering for a trotting meeting at Addington in 1899. People interested in attending this evening’s reunion may telephone 229004. Quick greetings ONE OF the Post Office’s reasons that toll operators should not greet callers with “kia ora, tolls here,” was that it took too long to say. To test this theory, Radio 3ZM in Christchurch invited listeners to try their hand at saying "kia ora. tolls here,”" at speed but clearly. After several attempts, the time was whittled down to 0.64 of a second, which should be fast enough for anybody. —Peter Comer