Reporter’s diary

Press, 2 September 1986, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

Meet punishment A RETIRED man had nary a blotch on his driving record. Until last Saturday, that is, when he and his wife were caught by a radar unit for excessive speed in a Christchurch suburb. The traffic officer listened while husband contritely recited his blameless past and promised not to be naughty again. The wife struggled to hide her laughter, having been the member of the family responsible for minor knocks and dents before. Here it comes, he thought, as the officer leaned forward to deliver sentence. “I’ll let you off just this one time sir,” he began benevolently,” if you PROMISE to take your wife out to dinner.” They both kept their sides of the bargain, but we are

wondering if it was meant as a punishment or reward.

Change of seat

A NINETEENTH century waterworks building ' will be a temporary home for the 520 members of the West German Bundestag (Lower House) while their parliament buildings are renovated. The old waterworks will still be drier than the usual parliament, which was a victim of frequent flooding by the Rhine. It was intended as a temporary measure only, when the Federal Republic was formed in 1949, but 37 years later the building is still being used — in spite of collapsing ceilings and general decay. To restore the old parliament buildings will take three years and about $2OO million.

Anxious about angst SEVERAL readers have asked what the German word “angst” means. The “Concise Oxford” defines it as anxiety; feeling of guilt or remorse. It is not, as some have suggested, a misprint for anger, a GST, or even amongst. It is what we often feel, come deadline time, and nothing interesting seems to have happened ... No-smoking zone TWO TICKETS for the Benson and Hedges Cup final at Lord’s was a most unfortunate choice of prize considering it was for a promotional competition run by the “General Practitioner” magazine. The British Medical Association was promptly battered by protests from people who wanted to know where the stand against smoking had got to. The editor blamed it on “an oversight,” and promised that there would be no association with tobacco sponsorship in future. Oriental record A JAPANESE professor who lectures on British sporting traditions at Kobe University may

have set a record while studying his subject. Professor Yamada Makoto was playing at Broadhalfpenny Down when he set what is thought to be the highest score made by a Japanese cricketer at the "cradle of cricket,” where organised games have been played for 230 years. He smote a most honourable 20, with “some samurai blows over mid-off,” said Cricket Society chairman, R. N. Haygarth. Well put A CAR HIRE office in Bangor, North Wales, displayed this sticker on its wall: "America has Reagan, Johnny Cash, Bob Hope and Stevie Wonder. Here we have Thatcher, no cash, no hope and no bloody wonder.” Jenny Clark