Reporter’s diary

Press, 14 March 1987, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

Putting the windup IT WOULD be nice to think that the solution to pollution, rising fuel prices, and downright mess, had been found in the form of a wind-up car; i but it hasn’t. The “toy 1 replica” — really an I ordinary Fiat Bambina — i which convinced some 1 people that they were hal- I lucinating when they saw 1 it trundling through s Christchurch yesterday, is i a jolly piece of zany gim- i mickry which delights 1 passers-by. Lorraine and s Tony Petrie, of Waiau, t who put the motorised < wind-up key in the back of the little yellow beetle, enjoy reactions of other - motorists. The most un- i usual, said Lorraine, hap- ] pened as she was driving 1 to Kaikoura. The driver l behind her leaned out of t his window, still driving, i trying to take a photo, i The crowning touch: with < a flick of a switch, the i key rotates. 1 Croaked croc. j COINS FOUND in the c

Napier Aquarium’s dead crocodile, Davey, will help fund his replacement, says the Press Association. Davey, aged 21, died last December from a kidney infection. A post-mortem turned up 70 small coins that people had thrown into his rock pool home. The aquarium needs $lOOO to buy a croc, from Australia and more to fly it over. So far $9OO has been raised, but the search for suitable crocs is difficult — Australian restrictions on wildlife exports mean only the offspring of second-genera-tion crocodiles bred in captivity can be exported. Numbers game A CHRISTCHURCH man parked his car in the Fendalton Mall car-park, and found he was next to a car with a consecutive number plate. What, he wonders, would be the odds against that happening, given that there are 172,042 privately owned cars in Christchurch, and 1,412,937 in the whole country.

Happy ending FIN, THE sea-faring dog reported missing, has been recovered. True to his breed, he had spent last Saturday afternoon happily helping a duck shooter by retrieving his bagged ducks. Fin was loath to leave this wonderful version of water play, so the man assumed he was lost, and kindly took Fin back home with him. Arms packed WITH A merciful lack of wars in this part of the world, the New Zealand Army is trying to find things to do. Which is part of the reason that soldiers from Waiouru Military Camp are trying to break the world record for piling soldiers on a Land Rover during Waiouru’s annual desert fair today. The record, held by the British Army, stands at 153, but the organiser for today’s attempt says his team is aiming for 180. If everyone does squeeze on board, the over-all weight

will be about 12 tonnes. The vehicle is an old one, and the windows have been removed for safety. Proceeds from Waiouru’s desert fair will go to organisations involved in child safety products. Big dams A CONTENDER for the “where have you been all my life?” award has just popped up in the form of the New Zealand Society on Large Dams. Notice of a symposium, when the New Zealand group will be joined by the Australian Society on Large Dams, to be held in Rotorua in November, appeared in the latest issue of “New Zealand Engineering.” Organisers may have to fight to hold back the flood of applications, judging by the programme, which includes visits to problem dams, sessions on hazard assessment and procedures for new and old dams. Sounds exciting. —Jenny Feltham