RANDOM NOTES

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 188, 7 May 1931, Page 8

RANDOM NOTES

Sidelights on Current

Events

LOCAL AND GENERAL

(By

Kickshaws.)

A society has been formed to develop a tree sense in every citizen. Supporters of the Darwinian theories declare it ought to be a huge success.

The New Zealand cricketers in England have been presented with the first aid cabinet used by the Australians and South African teams. Coupled to a list of injuries caused by the fast bowlers of England in the last two seasons, it is considered that this thoughtful gesture will produce the psychological equivalent of at least a “follow on.”

Mlle. Suzanne Lenglen says that she has cut tennis entirely out of her life. She declares that she will never play again. If a man had made this remark it might have been final. But a woman’s “no” is never sb final as her “yes.” After her “awful temperament," as she called it. had made her personality nearly as famous as her tennis, Mlle. Lenglen admittedly gave up the game and turned dress-designer. Fabulous sums are asked for her frocks. They are to be bought in a quiet corner of Paris. The place in no way resembles a shop. The wealthy women of the world just drift in for tea and watch the mannequins- demonstrate Mlle. Lenglen’s frocks. This is where the ex-tennis champion will find it difficult, if not Impossible, to give up tennis. For her mannequins, and sometimes Mlle. Lenglen herself, demonstrate certain types of dresses by playing a game of tennis before the eyes of the purchaser. It Is stated that Mlle. Lenglen aims to hold tennis matches on this court so that all Paris will come to see the play—-and incidentally the frocks she has for sale. Tennis, we may take it, therefore is not absolutely out of her life.

Despite the fact that they were handcuffed together, two youths very nearly succeeded in escaping from the Auckland Supreme Court by turning to the left through another door when the warder, ahead of them, turned to the right to the cells. But for the fact that a waiting car failed to put in an appearance they would have . got clean away. If only the misdirected shrewdness of escaping criminals could be directed into profitable paths there cam be little doubt that the country as a whole would benefit considerably. Escaping Is no job for a fool, as many .a husband finds out when he makes some marvellous excuse why he must go out for the evening. The best that can be done is tq congratulate ourselves that the standard of New Zealand criminals is as high as the standard in most other countries.

If criminals must escape let them do the job cleverly. One never admires a bungler. We have had prisoners who have been willing to spend six hours In a dog box. We have had men who have been willing to take a risk of climbing over prison walls In the face of rifle Are. There have been instances In Sydney of men who have risked incineration in efforts to burn a way out There has been one Instance of a prisoner who merely lifted up the floor boards of the prison van and dropped to the street below. Considering the comparative short time we have had to breed a race of criminals in the Southern Hemisphere, theseefforts are commendable.

In Paris, Marcel Pouclitt escaped from prison by starving himself until he was able to squeeze between the bars of his cell. We have another Parisian instance of a prisoner who escaped in the linen basket. He Was cirried to a waiting lorry by his fellow prisoners assisted by warders. He was a little gentleman, for after he had escaped he sent a polite note to the chief warder saying, “I hope you will forgive me, sir, but I could not breathe in my cell. That compelled me to leave.” The palm for shrewdness, possibly, must be handed to ■ a prisoner employed in the tailor’s shop of a famous prison in England. He spent his time during the war making uniforms for naval officers. One day he put one on—and walked out with the staff of a highly important naval officer visiting the prison. "

A golf match over a course five miles long has taken place near Masterton as the result of a wager. One of the competitors in this Marathon game took only 75 strokes to hole out /on Lansdowne links, Masterton. The average length of his drives was 120 yards. The game of golf, unlike football, seems peculiarly adapted to freakish wagers. Some people take a curious delight in undertaking golf wagers. One feat that will take some beating was to play a golf ball in a series of drives through the heart of London. A slice would have meant breaking expensive plate-glass windows worth hundreds of pounds each. Unfortunately the name of the man who did this feat has not been passed down In history. Only the feat remains. In 1919 this unknown golfer started at Piccadilly Circus, played his ball through Trafalgar Square, The Strand and Fleet Street to the Royal Exchange. Anyone who has been to London will realis'e that this area constitutes one of the most congested portions of London.

The recent flve-mlle golf match at Masterton, however, must take second place to a 'game arranged between Paris and Berlin. This was the outcome of a wager between a Parisian doctor and a New York doctor. One may be certain America would be connected with it somehow. The distance between the two capitals is 764 miles. A prize of £4OO was given if the feat was done under 7000 strokes. At the outset the. odds would be against even a professional player. For the rules would necessitate an ‘average drive of 170 yards; some 50 yards longer than in the Masterton • case. ..One must not, however, call anything impossible where golfers are concerned. A major who lost his sight in the Boer War, for example, despite his handicap used to play golf regularly. lie felt the positiou of the ball with his hands before playing it. His caddie rang a bell nt the green to indicate direction. It is said that lie could put up quite a respectable score on calm days. Perhaps one does not require eyesight for golf. At any rate it has been shown on more than one occasion that it is possible to go round a course in the dark and return a score little worse than by day. Rufus Stewart, the South Australian professional, has done IS holes in the dark in 77. Other players have gone round St. Andrews by with commendable results. While 'in n match between a blindfolded player and one using his eyes the former was only beaten by a holo,