Reporter’s diary

Press, 5 November 1984, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

Swallows? A KAIAPOI family is curious about some birds which have nested on a lampshade on the front lawn of their home. Mrs Margaret Wales thinks the birds, which now have some chicks, are swallows because they are orange with navy wings and swallow-like tails. She would like to get in touch with someone who can tell her what the birds are. The family has lived in their house since last December, so Mrs Wales is not sure if this is the first time the birds have nested in their unusual sports. Skiing luck THE RECENTLY ended ski season was not the most memorable but it did have its moments. Some colleagues left for one of their few excursions to the snow late one rainy Friday night for Methven, which was to be their base for the weekend. With the cassette player blasting a bump just before Darfield went all but unnoticed. The bump was in fact a pair of skis falling off the roof rack, a loss not discovered until Methven. A return trip to Darfield did not find the skis and there was at least one very depressed skier on the slopes of Mount Hutt that week-

end. Back in Christchurch the skier thought he had little chance of seeing his skis again but as a token gesture to his insurance company he advertised for them in the lost and found column of “The Press.” He was surprised to get a reply almost immediately and it proved that his luck had indeed turned. A group of people in a Volkswagen Combie van found the skis. At its first stop in Christchurch the- skis were taken from the van and left in a flat Two' blocks On down the road the Combie burst into flames and all its contents were destroyed. The skis will be treated with a bit more respect from now on. Glenmark coach NEXT DOOR to the Waipara Hall is a display room which houses a brougham coach used in the late nineteenth century by Mr G. H. Moore, the owner of the Glenmark Estate. A garden club 4rom mid-Canterbury was visiting the district recently, a Waipara reader reports. The tour leader was pointing out items of interest and remarked: “If you look at the corner of the hall £ou will see the Glenmark'coach.” A voice from

the rear of the group responded excitedly: “Is Alex Wyllie here?” Workers’ inarch THE COURT Theatre’s latest play, “Wednesday to Come,” is set in the 19305. During the play a big event in New Zealand’s history takes place — the 1934 Gisborne workers’ march to Wellington. This was a dramatic and traumatic era, and the events of the march left scars that ran deep. To gain further insight into the event the Court wants to hear from anyone who was involved.in the march. Its promotions department, which can be reached by telephoning 795-264, thinks personal experiences about the police riots and the march itself will add to the cast’s awareness. Fire below FIREMEN responded with their customary zeal to a call to the maternity annex at Hutt Hospital on Friday. The crews of three appliances were ready for anything ... well, not quite. A hand extinguisher proved adequate for the task at hand — putting out a fire in a bedpan. Two of the disposable toilet pans had caught fire in the machine gyhich disposes of them. !