Reporter’s diary

Press, 26 September 1988, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

Hazards of ..... . SPORT is often far from just good, clean fun. It can be a killer, as the latest figures from the Accident Compensation Corporation show that in the year ended March 31, 1988, 77 New Zealanders were killed, 33 more than in 1986. Water recreation was the most lethal, with 15. swimming deaths, 10 fishing deaths, seven boating deaths and three diving deaths. Rugby was responsible for a quarter of the 20,280 injuries reported, and one death, 5272 players receiving compensation. Injuries cost the corporation $21.4 million in payments last year. ... hobbies WHILE the arts are generally less life-threatening and physically perilous, music has had its fair

share of bizarre accidents. One of the most celebrated cases concerns Jean-Baptiste Lully, the French composer, violinist and conductor. In 1687 he was conducting a Te Deum for the recovery of Louis XIV from an illness. Lully was beating time on the floor with a long baton when he struck his foot. The wound developed into an abscess and Lully rapidly died. Had the A.C.C. been around then, it might have found that story a little hard to swallow. Steaming ahead RAILWAYS chairman, Mr Ross Sayers, who will leave N.Z.R. to become chairman and chief executive of the New South Wales State Rail Authority next month, has the ideal record for the

job. When the appointment was announced by the N.S.W. Minister of Transport, Mr Bruce Baird, Mr Sayers was described as having a distinguished "track” record, both in the private sector and as a senior New Zealand Government adviser. One in a million AN Invercarill businessman in Hong Kong and about to go into China arranged to meet his guide at the airport. He had some misgivings because he had not met the guide, and he had spoken to him only by telephone. The guide had been helpful, "You’ll know me. I’m Chinese, I wear glasses and I’ll be carrying a briefcase.” Moggies return MORRIS Minor fans will

be pleased to know that the humble vehicle is making a comeback. Known affectionately as “moggies,” the Morris Minors have been around for 40 years and thousands are still driven in New Zealand. The last one foiled off the production line 17 years ago, but Charles Ware, of Bath, England, has set up a deal to make the car shells in Sri Lanka. Then they will be shipped to England where they will be reassembled. “Moggies are not like today’s tin cans on wheels. They’ve got character,” he said. Mintcondition veteran moggies are changing hands for $26,600 — nearly 20 times their original price. Mistranslation A NEW ZEALAND rare bird expert pottering in

David Fletcher

the Amazon rain forest sent home this story on a postcard. It seems he hired an Indian guide for a remote jungle walk, only to find they had no language in common. The bird lover became excited by a particularly beautiful specimen and asked the guide for the bird’s name. The Indian, very obliging, took aim with his rifle and fired. Country life THE “Gay parry” story in this column on Friday reminded a reader of her most embarrassing case of mistaken identity. Her city-dwelling daughter had befriended an American Mormon called Randy, and wrote to tell her mother to expect a visit from Randy since he would be calling at farms in the area soon. One day, as the women was having a bath, she heard a knock on the door. She hurriedly tossed a dressing-gown on and dripped towards the door. Through the mottled glass she could see the outline of a young, cleancut man dressed in a suit. Strangers rarely called in those isolated parts, so she knew immediately who it must be. Opening the door, she greeted him warmly. “Hello, are you Randy?” And it wasn’t —Jenny