Reporter’s diary

Press, 2 December 1985, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

Vroom WHEN A Christchurch man was in Australia recently he saw an unusual souvenir of the Formula One Grand Prix race run in Adelaide, one of our sister cities. The cap, with its rear aerofoil that sits up when the head is inserted, is claimed to give its wearer a turbocharge. It has been given to one of the man’s sons, but there is no guarantee that he will not ask for it back from time to time. He does some competitive running and cycling, and observers have suggested that the swept-back cap could reduce his wind resistance. Whether such an aid would be legal is open to question. Recipe sought PUTTING out a call for a recipe will not become a habit here, but a Christchurch woman with fond memories of a childhood treat in North Auckland wants to know if anyone knows the ingredients of the drink. Her mother used to make lemon beer from fresh lemons, yeast, sugar, and some other ingredient The woman remembers shaking the bottles to make them pop. She has promised her nephew that she will try to make some. Priorities NOW THAT newspaper readers are getting news along with-their advertisements agaijja former ship-

ping reporter of "The Press” recalls one customer of the late Scotty Turnbull, a popular news agent for the newspaper at Lyttelton more than a decade ago. John Leslie says that the regular customer paid for his copy each day. Early each morning, he tore out the racing page and the shipping movements (he was a waterfront worker), then went his way after handing back the bulk of the paper to Mr Turnbull. .'

Conference

A CHRISTCHURCH man was sought to participate-in an academic conference; in California, but the organisers were working under the assumption that he still taught at a Michigan university. They wondered whether it would be economic to bring him from New Zealand. Their wondering was over when they found that the $BOO round-trip economy air fare from De-

troit to Los Angeles was more than it would cost in American dollars — about $750 — to pay for the SNZI344 round-trip ticket from Christchurch to Los Angeles on the new Air New Zealand service. Loser sought

THREE cartons of biscuits — two Arnotts and one Aulsebrooks — are in the possession of a Christchurch man and looking for a home. The man saw them among other cartons scattered in Fendalton Road on Thursday. Other people were picking up cartons near the Clyde Road intersection in the late afternoon, and the man joined them. When he got home, he decided to try to return them to their owner. If the loser gets in touch with us, we can put him in touch with the man. Free transport EVEN THOUGH the buses were off the streets on a recent Friday, many elderly people were able to get to the Police Band concert through the efforts of the Canterbury People’s Welfare Council and a radio station. People who could provide rides for concertgoers were matched with people seeking transport — and the job was done. Woops twice DOING . IT yourself can get tricky, es-

pecially if you let your mind wander. A Christchurch man had put down a new carpet in a room of his new house, then set about painting the ceiling with a roller. Suddenly, the roller leapt off the handle and disappeared behind the painter. He was so amazed that he bent down to see where it had gone. Unfortunately, he bent too far and forgot his can of paint, which spilled over the carpet, ruining it. Fill her up

KURT VONNEGUT, the American writer (“Slaughterhouse Five”), was in London recently to help publicise a new novel, another look at a possible way the world ends. He told an interviewer that he had found “a good swindle” by accident on his way across the Atlantic. He had booked on the 10 a.m. British Airways flight from New York City, but had shown up at the airport at 8 a.m. He had been put on the Concorde flight instead of the regularly one so that the supersonic airliner would not arrive half-empty. Mother Teresa had gone aboard the Concorde in the same circumstances. The interviewer speculated on the interest there -would have been in a conversation between Vonnegut, the sceptic, and the famous nun from Calcutta, but not a word passed between them. ~ —Stan