Reporter’s diary

Press, 6 July 1988, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

Digging up...

CALLING descendants of Mrs E. Bradley, who lived at 123 Aikmans Road, Merivale, during World War 11. Mrs Bradley, who was 84 in 1942, went to dig a hole to bury her rubbish in — and just kept going until she had dug herself an air-raid shelter. This feat earned her a report and photograph in the “Star-Sun” of January 20,1942, although the newspaper says she was not over-excited about her achievement and could not see what all the fuss was about; other people, after all, were digging their shelters. The only difficulty Mrs Bradley met was that when she had dug to a sufficient depth she found she could not get out again. So she set to cutting steps in the side of her shelter — and clambered out. ... the past ALL that was 46 years ago, and both Mrs Bradley and the air-raid shelter are long gone. But one copy of the newspaper featuring her earthworks was discovered this week when carpet was lifted in a flat during renovations. Underneath the carpet thick layers of newspapers were laid for insulation as was a frequent custom, but most had perished beyond recognition. The one page was lifted by Mr Gerard Delis, who thought descendants of the redoubtable Mrs Bradley would be interested to have the newspaper. Anyone who recognises Mrs Bradley as an ancestor should get in touch with us. Timely FREEZING works lay-offs were a matter of grave concern . even 46 years ago when World War II took much of the news space. From the same edition of the “Star-Sun” of January 20, 1942, a letter to the editor from “A Pie-Man” demands action. “Some time ago two chain men were told that their services were no longer required. The manager could find no fault with their work, and one of the men was the

best man at his job in the works. What I would like to know,” he demands, “is why this particular freezing works can sack men, on the chain, who are married with families and with no show of going to

the war for a long time yet, and turn round and appeal for single men to keep them out of the Armed Forces, saying they are short of manpower?” Same old story, new twist.

Farming out AS a compulsive observer and counter of car occupants, a Christchurch man noted a curious fact recently: during a 10-day period of driving daily to the Ellesmere district to visit a friend he saw, on his return journey late in the afternoon, that at least 90 per cent of the cars he met had only one occupant — the driver, a woman. He was told the reason was because farmers’ wives have been forced to find work in the cities to supplement family income; those who were not travelling to the city for work often brought it in, with some sort of cottage industry, or by showing busloads of tourists through their homes. A spokesman for Federated Farmers confirmed that greater numbers of women were travelling to the city from rural areas to supplement farming income, although no surveys have been made to determine this increase precisely.

Keep your hair on HAIR loss during cancer treatment is a distressing side-effect. A scalp-cool-ing machine to change all that has won a top award for innovation from the London Institute of Electrical Engineering. The machine, which uses components from an ordinary refrigerator and runs on the lines of a hairdryerstyle helmet, cools the patient’s scalp to room temperature by circulating cold air. Hair loss happens because the drugs used to treat cancer attack the cells in the body that are dividing most quickly and working the hardest. Hair follicle cells come into this category, and anti-cancer drugs have a dramatic effect on them. But by cooling the scalp, less drug reaches the follicle, preventing or reducing hair loss. Tailpiece PUT on hold when telephoning the Inland Revenue Department in Christchurch, a caller was treated to the strains of “The Sting.” —Jenny Setchell