RANDOM NOTES

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 106, 28 January 1939, Page 8

RANDOM NOTES

Sidelights On Current

Events

(By

Kickshaws)

A critic complains that people today are far more lawless than they were 50 years ago. Well, look at all the extra laws that 50 years has given us to be lawless with.

A speaker says that one should never take a woman for granted. That may be so; it is certainly true that she never goes without saying. ♦ » •

We note that legislation is being prepared to put fire brigades and life-sav-ing clubs on the same footing; and we are anxiously waiting to observe if the fire brigades will adopt the lifesavers’ step, or vice versa.

“A.M.” wants to know if any Aucklander can throw further light on the following:—“ln a neglected churchyard in Avondale, Auckland, there is a tombstone with this inscription‘Sacred to th 3 memory of Jessie Eva Hort Huxham, the Princess Torquil of Denmark, Baroness Macorquodale, of Loch Frimley, Chieftainess of the Clan Maeorquoclale, and wife of Read Alexander Mackenzie,M.A., B.D. Died 27th April, 1887. Aged 28 years.’ In the same plot (which is hard up against the rear of the unprepossessing church), are headstones naming her son, who died at 13 months, her husband, and his second wife It is said that she was either the sister or sister-in-law of the late Queen Alexandra, and that the Duke of Gloucester visited the grave on his recent visit. Can your readers throw any light on the relationship, and whether she was Danish or Scottish by birth. The contrast between her homes and associations in Denmark and Scotland, and Avondale as it must have been in the ’eighties, gives some food for thought.”

Joe Louis seems to be making a name tor himself in the ring for quick knockouts, judging by his recent effort. This, however, is no record, as Louis himself settled things with Germany’s muchvaunted Schmeling in a matter of 2 minutes 4 seconds. Even this nasty blow to Nazi vanity was itself no record. In 1935, at Manchester, Jimmy Stewart achieved a record when he knocked out Jack Lord in two seconds; with one punch. Stewart came out of his corner at the bell and landed a right-hander to the jaw. Lord collapsed, and took 15 minutes to recover. This has been claimed as a record. We are, however, down to a matter of split seconds, and > argument may rage indefinitely on the subject. AJ Foreman, for instance, knocked out üby Levine in li seconds at Montreal, in 1928. Battling Nelson beat Willie Rosner in two seconds, in 1902, at Harvey, U.S.A. Jack Dempsey’s record is 8 seconds, when he disposed of Fred Fulton, in 1918. In contrast, the longest fight appears to have been 7 hours 19 minutes, when Andy Brown and Jack Burke reached 110 'rounds before the match was declared a draw.

The secret of the British soldier, says Lord Gort, is his uncanny ability to make himself understood in any language. This may be so, but we are pleased that the time will never come when Tommy Atkins will have to fight on American or Canadian soil. Thbre are few pitfalls to the British soldier In languages, such as French, which are remote from the English tongue. “Vin .rouge,” after all, gets one. far enough in France. Little technicalities, such as cream-ice for ice-cream and gasoline for petrol are calculated to make Tommy Atkins take lessons in English; a thing he would never dream of doing in Malta, or Egypt, or even in Italy. Indeed, during the war ice-cream became a term that embraced almost everything that was Italian. One can well imagine the confusion of the British soldier if he asked in Canada for a flair of braces and received sock suspenders. There is nothing mdre confusing than things which are almost the same, but not quite.

The difficulties of foreign languages may be of little consequence to the average British soldier, but some folk from foreign parts who think they have a nicety for the right word that amounts almost to an art, find the English language full of trouble. We do not know how the French soldier would get on in England, but a certain woman from that place who went to the lost property office to claim her husband’s suitcase found things were not always what the dictionary suggested. The case was of calf leather, lined with pig-skin. Looking up her dictionary, the good woman described the lost property as “made of'veal and lined with bacon.” It is certain that not even the British Tommy would find himself nt home among the numerous dialects of his own countryside. The troubles of the English in Scotland are too involved for a real Scot to understand sympathetically the plight of a foreigner from the south. Even in Cumberland the language difficulty is intense. Here is a sample of Cumberland:— “T’lilyan gan t’ girt yen a renkin punce intil t’ loog.” This piece of Cumberland English has the curious virtue that not one word will be found in a standard English dictionary.

Recent events in Spain, it is stated, may result in a neutral zone in Andorra ’in an effort to solve the problem of refugees. It is. perhaps, just as eell that the State of Andorra decided some four years ago to increase its fighting forces one hundredfold. At the time this decision caused very little alarm, because the total strength of the army was then 11. It is possible today, as a result of this far-seeing piece of military foresight, to mobilize a militia 1000 strong. By this modification the State of,Andorra can mobilize in two hours. Andorra’s permanent army consists of six corporals and a commander appointed by plebiscite, and general staff officers. One of these drives a cart, two have been prince regents. Every Andorran must carry a gun as soon as he gets the vote. He guarantees to have ready for immediate use in an emergency 24 bullets, Ijlb. of black powder, and three flints. His uniform button declares “touch me if vou dare.” Yes-sir. Andorra looks like going into the thick of things.

“Please give me the answer to two diverse questions.” says "L.R.S.” "1. Which port handles the most cargo, Auckland or Wellington? 2.'What was the origin of the saying ’Dodging Pompey,’ Pompey being a Homan emperor, I understand.”

[A tive-vear average gives Wellington £11,47(1.887 and Auckland £11.248,027. Figures for 1936 give Wellington £lO 392 427 and Auckland £15,405.342. For the year ending September 30, 1935. the figures were: Wellington 2.354.744 tons. Auckland 2.317,452 tons. No definite origin of the saying “Dodging Pompey” can be found. This word has several meanings. In addition to the Roman family of that name it is used by Dickens to mean “pamper.” It was also used when referring to a black footman, once considered “the thing” in English social circles. Pompey is also a slang name for Portsmouth, England.]