Reporter’s diary

Press, 25 February 1988, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

Westward... IT was mentioned in yesterday’s “Dairy” that Westport, Kansas, is probably the largest settlement of that name. Representatives of the world’s Westports will hold a convention in Buller this week-end. A colleague asserts that there is no Westport in Kansas. He is supported by the United States Information Service. The Westport that the colleague visited, in 1985, is in Missouri. It is the oldest part of Kansas City, which straddles the states of Kansas and Missouri.

... ho! WESTPORT, Missouri, grew out of a settlement established in 1821 by the American Fur Company; it became Kansas Town, then Town of Kansas, City of Kansas and, finally, Kansas City. Westport Square, near the Country Club Plaza, has prestigious shops, galleries and outdoor cafes in a setting of historic structures. The plaza features fountains and art works amid Spanish architecture. Seville, Spain, the sister city of Kansas City, provided inspiration for the Giralda Tower and the Seville Light. Whether or not the United States Westport has connections with Westport, County Mayo, strong Irish traditions emerge on St Patrick’s Day. The festivities on March 17 are among the biggest in the United States outside the Eastern Seaboard. Far-reaching...

THIS year is likely to be a period of increased solar activity, reports the “Syd-

ney Morning Herald.” Dr Richard Thompson, of the IPS Radio and Space Services, Sydney, says that 60 sunspots have been counted already this year. The likelihood is that 1988 will encompass the most active solar cycle since records were begun, 300 years ago. The biggest peak of solar activity was in 1958; 200 sunspots were noted then. ~. solar effects ACTIVITY on the surface of the Sun, some 150 million kilometres away, affects an odd assortment of things. Homing pigeons can get lost during major magnetic storms on the Sun, because the storms disrupt the Earth’s magnetic field, on which the birds rely for navigation.

Solar violence can also disrupt high-frequency radio communications, on which many emergency services and defence forces rely. They also interfere with magnetic surveys for minerals, and affect power transmission and communication satellites. To look on the bright side, solar activity can create big auroras. So we might have something pretty to watch if television reception is lousy. Popularity pole

THE New Zealand tourist industry bemoans the lack of visitors here this summer. But Antarctica is earning a reputation as the fashionable travel destination. Not everyone is happy about that. Monitoring the flow of travel-

lers is the American National Science Foundation, which expects 7200 visitors in Antarctica this year. This is double the number of people normally resident on the continent. One of the outings offered is a day trip to the South Pole, the first such organised excursion. Sign of old age SIXTEEN of the Christchurch Transport Board’s Big Reds bought in 1963 are still in service. Someone on the route 9 bus to Fendalton this week had obviously become disenchanted with the 25-year-old transport of delight. On the back of a destination card, prominently displayed, was written: “On loan from Ferrymead.” — Jenny Feltham