Reporter’s diary

Press, 17 May 1986, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

Misplaced handle RENOVATIONS in a Cathedral Square office building were meant to improve life; but around a certain door, confusion reigns. The door, part of a bustling thoroughfare opens in only one direction. Someone with a flair for originality in office decor has screwed the one and only handle on to the “push” side, while the “pull” side has nothing more than the snib of a lock to grab it by. Perhaps it is just a tactful way of keeping people out? Grateful passengers LAST WEEK on . the Wairakei commuter bus, travelling to Square, the unheard of happened. Passengers smiled and

chatted to each other. A schedule change meant that their favourite busdriver, George, was to be taken off their route. Passing round a card to sign, and listening to an impromptu speech made by a fellow passenger about George’s virtues, they relaxed and dropped commuter - impassive masks. The Christchurch Transport Board received so many letters asking for George to be kept on the Wairakei route that it is considering returning him. No promises, but there is thought about it. Reluctant cigarettes LIT CIGARETTES when accidentally dropped, can cause furniture fires and deaths. The search for a self-extinguishing smoke,

therefore, is an important one for fire safety campaigners. Some former Royal Navy men believe that self-extinguishing cigarettes, known as "ticklers” were well-known about 40 years ago. The ticklers were made from tobacco which was sold at about 30c for half a pound and were hard to keep alight. Two or three matches were used to smoke one cigarette. Happy families WHEN THE youngest child in a family of three boys and three girls turned 60 this week, the children with their six spouses, met to celebrate a total of 760 years of family life. All offspring in the Weir family have enjoyed durable marriages, the longest of which is 47 years, through to the “babies” at a mere 37 years together. The Weirs, who have spread from Christchurch to Nelson, Wellington and Hamilton, say the recipe for such successful partnerships is: “Be prepared to give and take." Timely intervention LITTLE JOHN strikes again, and again, and again. The Kaiapoi town clock, known as “Little John,” and officially as a Gent’s tower clock, threw one of its periodic fits, and struck 47 last week. Why 47? because that is the time it takes for someone to hear the problem, sprint to the clock, grab the clanger and prevent it bonging. The normally punctual clock, which has bonged and whirred for a faithful 33 years, is now fit and well again. — Jenny Clark