N.Z. pipe band in record book

Press, 22 June 1989, Page 38

N.Z. pipe band in record book

NZPA-PA London A New Zealand pipe band, a Scottish restaurateur, an Indian rice writer and a West Yorkshire pie are the latest additions to the weird and wonderful “Guinness Book of Records.” Their feats will be among nearly. 15,000 recorded in the latest encyclopaedia of the bizarre due to be published in October. The City of Wellington Pipe Band has its name into the book as the most successful band after winning 26 Grade 1 New Zealand Championship titles since 1955. Their place in history is assured, along with Surendra Apharya, who man-' aged to write 241 characters — the names of countries and regions — on a grain of rice using a single camel hair brush in India in February this year. Heading the newcomers of British record holders to the thirty-sixth edition is a Scottish restaurateur, Phil Artingstall, who tossed a pancake 262 times in one minute — an average of 4.36666 every

second. Mr Artingstall performed his feat of frying pan dexterity at Fordyce Primary School, Banffshire in Scotland in April this year after losing a previous record as pancake racer. Tony Power, an American, is also included after memorising 13 decks of cards with only one mistake after a single sighting during a session at a casino in Ramsgate. The biggest meat pie of all, baked in Denby Dale, West Yorkshire, has assured itself a slice of the action too. The "Guinness Book of Records” said: “We have had the usual number of funny entrants and there seems to be no stopping them. But it just shows what people can do.” More record attempts are planned. A radio disc jockey, Simon Bates, hopes to make the fastest surface circumnavigation of the world for Oxfam later this month, and Chris Bonington and Per Lindstrand are planning to make the first ascent of Mount Everest by hot air balloon in October.