Reporter’s diary

Press, 26 July 1986, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

Viscounterproductive

IN A BURST of generosity yesterday, we transferred Viscount Linley to Princess Anne’s family as her son in an article which described the afterwedding party. If that were so, she would have given birth to him when she was 11 years old. To set the family tree upright again, we are returning him to Princess Margaret and her former husband, Lord Snowdon. Close to the bone WHEN A JOKE comes true, it can be far from funny. The one about the Cockney nurse whose accent was so pronounced that patients could not tell the difference between “today” and “to die” (with predictable punchlines) happened in Brisbane recently. The “Courier Mail” reports that a migrant patient released from hospital had misheard the staff and thought she was going home "to die.” She was severely distressed and it was not until family members sought clarification of the woman’s condition that the confusion was sorted out. The co-ordina-tor of the Migrant Resource Centre, Ms Judith Carrey, said such language problems were common among Queensland’s migrants and it pointed to a need for better interpreting services in the state’s hospitals. Surplus sale NOW THAT the pupils of Christchurch Girls’ High School have left the old

buildings, parents and staff can explore the unknown recesses which were inaccessible to students before or mostly inaccessible, as they discovered when investigating the small balcony overlooking Cranmer Square. There they found the names of pupils scratched into the brick. Although some of the names from 40 years ago have almost disappeared, the newer ones read like a school roll. The door to the balcony had been locked for many years; and to add to the challenge, the headmistress’s study was directly below. People keen to buy a slice of the old Girls’. High School will get a chance at a sale of desks, bookcases, chairs and other pieces of old school equipment from 9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. today in the old school hall. Reserved seat? PROPOSED toilets for a new reserve were being

■ discussed at a meeting of the Paparua County Council reserves committee this week. Cr Jack Pethig, the County Chairman, said, “Well, if you think you could get by without toilets, it would relieve the situation as far as I am concerned.” Numbers game CAR OWNERS in Britain prepared to dig deep into their, hip-pockets can get the car registration number bf their choice. An advertisement in the London “Observer” this week listed some that are available for transfer, and quotes prices up to £16,725 for a number (in this case, WN 1). Not all drivers want their initials, since numbers such as CAD i, HEX 489, 243 > RAF, stand on their own. We thought some might have special applications: ANT 1 (for a Frenchman named Antoine). LOO 1 (a wee beauty), PEW 9R (for a vicar), either YEW 72 MOO for a

farmer, 1 UKE (a possibility for George Formby), 196 NOB (for nobs), PAX 203 (Greenpeace), 00 1419 (James Bond’s successor), RU 1, WET 1, 447 WOO (lovers only), or even 288 DOK, for someone wanting free hospital parking. Their jealousy JEALOUS FEMALES make formidable opponents, especially when they are elephants. At the Givskud Zoo in Denmark, Frederick was the heartthrob of the elephant enclosure, but he had eyes for only one. On Monday, seven of the jealous females ganged up and threw him into one of the zoo’s lakes. It took a crane to pull the threetonne, 16-year-old elephant out of the water. The Press Association reports that although he was put in isolation to save him from further harm, Frederick died on Thursday, from a heart attack. —Jenny Clark