Reporter’s diary

Press, 27 January 1988, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

Part of life REMEMBER Monkey soap, Pepsodent toothpaste, and Crest homo-, genised baby food? These, and other classic parts of New Zealand life which have been produced by Unilever New Zealand, Ltd, in its 70-year history, will be among the thousands of riveting exhibits in a museum to be established by the firm soon. The museum will display photographs, household products, tools, equipment and memorabilia from the earliest days when Rinso washing powder, Sunlight soap and Lifebuoy soap were the first items to be produced by the firm, up to today. Mindful that people often hoard old tins and packets “just in case,” Unilever is asking for help to stock the museum. If anyone can offer relevant items of interest to the museum they should contact Rachael Hamilton-Williams, at Unilever, Private Bag, Petone.

Join the club AN influx of visitors to Australia for the bicentennial hooley simply means that there are more lost people than usual. The “Sydney Morning Herald” reports that a policeman at Darling Harbour was wearing a small cardboard badge on his chest which read, “Don’t ask us, we don’t know either.” Chess bored AN offer made by the Soviet Embassy in Wellington for readers of all New Zealand newspapers to send questions to the chess master, Garri Kasparov, met overwhelming apathy — from “The Press” readers at least. One of the two queries received through this column was “What games or recreation does Mr Kasparov enjoy when he is not playing chess?” The only other question was disregarded because the reader obviously thought that Mr Kasparov was the Soviet Premier.

Dental gloss FROM Wyoming comes news that an orthodontist had been called in to fit a gold crown into the second molar of a blackfooted ferret. The operation, sanctioned by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department at Cheyenne, was done successfully after a male ferret taking part in a captive breeding programme developed an abscess under a broken tooth. The ferret is one of only 25 known to exist, all of which are kept at the special centre in zCheyenne. On a loser RUMOUR has it that the latest epidemic in Christchurch is R.A.LD.S. — Recently Acquired Income Deficiency Syndrome. Getting pally HOT on the tail of nauseating microchipdriven wonder brats, comes a more acceptable line of dolls. Hal’s pals have been designed to

promote the understanding of disabled people, and to help children come to terms with disabilities. Party Pal comes with crutches, Ballerina Pal wears a hearing aid, Outdoor Pal has a guide dog, and Winning Pal, sporting a track suit, comes with his own wheelchair. All four are made in Britain by Nottingham Rehab, which specialises in aids for the disabled, and a percentage of all sales goes to charity.

Seeing is believing A young trainee teacher who was almost to the taxi-ordering stage of pregnancy, called at the Teachers’ College in Christchurch to apply for leave until she could resume her course parttime later. “Your reasons?” she was asked. “Well, pregnancy.” Pause. Looking straight at her on-schedule, eight-and-a-half month bulge, the interviewer nevertheless said: “We would need to have proof.”

—Jenny Feltham.