Reporter’s diary

Press, 13 July 1985, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

All the best MEMBERS of a Christchurch family have wondered about the meaning of a word on a double-heart brooch given to Sarah Faragher, who came to New Zealand from the Isle of Man in 1880 at the age of 26. In the left-hand heart, in large letters, is the word “Mizpah.” In the right-hand heart is this inscription: “The Lord watch between me and thee when we are absent from one another.” A similar brooch is owned by another Christchurch woman who has assumed that the word “Mizpah” is Hebrew, and translates into the English inscription. A rabbi said that the word is not actually Hebrew. He has never been able to find a trace of it, although he knows it has been used as a word to denote good luck or something similar. It has appeared on the tops of doorways. He said that good luck charms are not found in the Old Testament. The word may be derived from an old Aramaic word. If

may be used as a word of greeting, but academically that is not correct. Solved THE MYSTERY object that has puzzled a Blackball publican for so many years is a mystery no longer. A retired Christchurch locksmith said yesterday that he had a tool just like it. It is a coil wire maker, used to make a long coil spring. The star is turned round to produce different spacings in the coil. The Christchurch man used the tool to produce varying sizes of compression springs for padlocks. He said that old-time blacksmiths would have been familiar with the tool. Commuters WHAT began as a community project in Cromwell and Queenstown has grown into a success few had foreseen. “Mountain Scene,” the weekly newspaper based in Queenstown, and a Cromwell work trust decided to test the Queenstown market for workers from Cromwell. If workers could come from out of town and not require local accommodation, that would ease the chronic and worsening staff housing problem in the tourist resort. A bus was laid on to carry job-seekers from Cromwell to Queenstown one day this month for interviews. Of 34 on the bus, 30 gained jobs or are about to start. Since the interview day, more than 50 jobs have been registered from Queenstown with the Cromwell trust. The Mount Cook Line will run a permanent bus service between the towns which can accommodate day trippers as well as workers. The return trip will cost $5 a day.

Whoopee! A PRINTER who imagined himself working for the Post Office yesterday had this to say about Air New Zealand’s largesse to its workers, assuming that other Government workers might get similar treatment: “I am excited about the $5OO pay-out. By ratio, the Post Office will pay me $2000.1 envy my friend, who works for the Inland Revenue Department. He will be rich.” Grounded LADYBIRD, ladybird, don’t fly away home just yet. Researchers in England are looking for effective ways to use ladybirds as a biological control for aphids which harass cereal growers. The fourth larval stage of the ladybird’s life cycle produces the most voracious aphid eaters, although adults also eat them. But the ladybirds have a tendency to fly away to new feeding grounds. The Cambridge University department of genetics is trying to find a way to combine wingless and winged ladybird species to produce a wingless, spotted variety that can breed in large numbers. Spiritual help SEVERAL YEARS ago, a well known Christchurch couple were on a flight from overseas that was coming in to Darwin. Before reaching Australia, the airliner passed through a lightning storm. The woman was very nervous; she clutched her husband and trembled. Suddenly, she seemed to become quite calm. The storm did no harm, and the husband later asked her

why she had lost her fear. She told him that she had seen two priests in the seats in front of them, with their collars on and sleeves rolled up. She knew they would be praying for everyone, and that things would be all right. At the airport, she approached the priests to tell them the storm had been terribly frightening, but she knew they would be praying. Not us, lady, they said. We’re on holiday. Bird-scram device A BIRD scarer is now available in New Zealand that makes gunshot sounds between death shrieks. According to the manufacturer of the Deva Electro-Bang, it is effective because the noises come at random. A photo-electric cell switches the machine on at dawn and off at dusk. With all that random noise, the device is likely to startle a few neighbours as well as the birds. Love that water A SHIRLEY woman said yesterday that her family had used an artesian well for 40 years. The well on their large section had to be sunk because the.property was in Waimairi County at the time, and city water was not available. City water can now be used, but the family has never tapped into the system. There has been little need, since the well and tank system provides all the water they need. When the pump is turned on, the family can have five hoses going at' once without worrying about water restrictions. The family includes five

children, who have used the water without additives. Their mother said they all have beautiful teeth. Sometimes the family takes the sweet water straight from the well, without having it come through the pipes, so that they can drink it as cold and pure as possible from a jug on the table.