Reporter’s diary

Press, 23 October 1984, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

Fire engine freak? A BIZARRE mysteiy is puzzling the Fire Service in Christchurch. During the last six months, four packets of photographs of fire engines have been found in about the same spot in River Road, not far from Fire Service headquarters in Kilmore Street When the first packet of about 50 colour snapshots was handed to it six months ago, the Fire Service assumed that some unfortunate fire engine enthusiast had lost his or her photograph collection. Then, about two months later, a member of the public found another packet of photographs in almost the same place on the grass verge beside River Road. Two more packets have been found on separate occasions, but in the same place, in the last six weeks. The four packets

contained a total of about 450 postcard-sized snapshots of fire engines from Whataroa to New Brighton. “They (the snapshots) \vould have cost a lot,” said one fireman, but they are nothing striking. “There is a limited amount that you can do photographically with a stationary fire engine,” he said. Grocery prices HAVING endured a colleague’s constant railing about what he considers to be the skyrocketing cost of his weekly visit to the supermarket, in spite of the price freeze, we ran a quick check of the weekly shopping list in the grocery column of “The Press.” In October, 1982, three months after the price freeze was introduced, the 27 grocery items checked weekly cost $157. Two years later, the cost of the same “shopping

basket” has risen $23 to $lBO — quite an increase, considering the price freeze, but not nearly so great as our colleague had expected. Solicitious “ARE YOU all right?” asked the Crown counsel, Mr G. K. Panckhurst, of a defence witness whom he was cross-examining in the High Court at Greymouth last week. “I’m shaking,” replied the witness. “Are you affected by something?” inquired Mr Panckhurst. “Yes, you!” replied the witness, still shaking. Mr Panckhurst then sat down. “Pedelec” A NEW concept in cheap travel, an electrically assisted bicycle, has been unveiled in London. The “pedelec” is the brainchild of an engineer,. Mr Philip Campopiano. It is designed to assist rather than to

replace the energy of the cyclist, and, according to Mr Campopiano, will take all the effort out of riding up hills into the wind. The “pedelec” will be launched on to the market next February at an estimated cost of $790 each, including battery. However, it should compensate for its relatively high initial cost by being exempt from road tax and compulsory insurance. It should also be very cheap to run; the prototype will cover 160 km for $l. Marine disasters OUR “DIARY” item about the luckless Christchurch yachtsman who lost his new $189.95 spectacles overboard, and finished the race looking like a morepork owl caught in the noon-day sun, has prompted Mr Robin Allardyce, of Cashmere, to write: “Marine disasters of this dimension are not con-

fined to New Zealand. Some years ago, I had, the misfortune to go aground on a falling tide on the river Crouch in England. After 11 uncomfortable hours on her side, the boat righted herself and we applied our jaded faculties to cleaning up. First to be jettisoned was a mug full of cloudy water which revealed itself — too late, alas — to be denture cleanser complete with dentures. It is no hardship for a yachtsman to complete a trip on liquid sustenance alone; the real problem arose in deciding whether to claim on the National Health Insurance, marine risks insurance, or personal effects insurance. One of them, I forget which, came across, and in this respect I was more fortunate than “Reporter’s Diary’s myopic mariner.” —Peter Comer