Reporter’s diary

Press, 11 January 1986, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

Ducted tools A CHRISTCHURCH man watching the progress of Post Office work in Papanui Road was bemused by tools standing on the backs of the trucks. They were lined up on the truck beds, supported by sections of duct — brooms, shovels and other tools. What were they, a memorial to fallen comrades? Not quite. The trucks are usually used by cablelaying crews, and the tools are stored that way so the foreman can tell at a glance if he has all the gear he is supposed to have. The tools are not needed in the present job of sub-ducting an existing underground pipeline, or placing three smalldiameter cable pipes in a large pipe. A fibre optic cable is being laid along Papanui Road as part of a Post Office project between the Ashley Forest and Oamaru. That, in turn, is part of a new trunk communications system between Wellington and Dunedin, designed to relieve pressure on toll circuits. Lacking

HOW ARE you going to keep them oown on the farm? Steve Edge, who has a stud near Little River, had trouble recently keeping two young people who were living in to learn how to work around stables and horses. A young man from Oamaru had been hired through the New Zealand Trotting Conference cadet scheme, and a young woman was from Southland. They came to the farm just after Christmas, and both had left after four days. The reason? There is no TV2 reception in the district. Wrong numbers A CHRISTCHURCH marketing firm that has an electronic mini telephone exchange needed two consecutive telephone numbers, which were allocated by the Post Office and have been used since early in December. This week, for gome

reason, things have begun to go wrong. The numbers used to be used by others, and people wanting the earlier subscribers have been ringing. Some have been asking about wool sales (the number used to belong to Pyne, Gould, Guinness). Others have been looking for company (the other number used to belong to an escort agency). Someone was even looking for a plumber, a service seemingly unconnected to either former subscriber.

Ladders down LADY JANE Beach in Sydney, at the South Head of the harbour, is a gathering place for nude sunbathers. It lies at the bottom of a cliff five metres high, and the only safe access is down two ladders. The other night, after the nudists were gone, a few people were down on the beach for a warm evening walk. A Vietnamese family with babies was fishing off the rocks. Without warning, a strange sound came from the clifftop. It was the sound of a saw being used by a man. He was sawing up one of the ladders, which went crashing to the beach. He told the people below that he was repairing an unsafe railing along the cliff edge. There were too many people around to do it during the day. Before he sawed the second ladder, he allowed everyone still on the beach to get up. Then he finished what he had set out to do. By midday the next day, the determined nude sunbathers had replaced one ladder. Rates raffle

THE North Sydney Council has come up with a way that could encourage more people to pay their rates on time, according to a “Sydney Morning Herald” report. The Ratepayers’ Incentive Scheme is a raffle. Those who pay before the deadline are eligible to win a nineday Hong Kong holiday for two. If the scheme works, it could be expanded.

Boundaries MEMBERS of the Rajneesh sect have shifted out of the Suffolk village manor that had become their British headquarters. They have left for a new commune in the Netherlands. When they arrived in the village of Herringswell, they brought the usual fears for local residents. The village population was only 150, and there was no local council. Because the population took a leap when the Rajneeshis arrived, a local authority had to be set up under law. A way was found to keep the sect from taking over the way it had in a small American town. The community was split into three wards, with the manor tenants entitled to four council seats and the minority villagers entitled to five.

Now that the Bhagwan’s followers have left, the village may return to life without a local council. Spree A PRISON rehabilitation programme in Norway inadvertently led to a wild spending spree by two inmates who escaped while on a short parole. One prisoner formed a private company in prison and qualified for a credit card. He named his fellow escaper as the firm’s managing director. Then the two men left on a world trip, spending up large at resorts in Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore. They sent prison officials friendly postcards from Central America and Trinidad. —Stan Darling