RANDOM NOTES

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 257, 28 July 1939, Page 8

RANDOM NOTES

Sidelights On Current Events (By Kickshaws). Terrorists in England, it is stated, are here today and gone tomorrow. The only clue is an occasional report. It is contended that people are not as frightened of hospitals as they used to be. Maybe one should exclude the ratepayers. * * * An American Senator is frightened that America may be left to hold the bags in the Far East. Judging by what has been going on at Tientsin the bags will require something special in braces. ♦ » » With reference to the claim made by Post Ofiiee messengers for an increase of their bicycle allowance from 2/6 to 5/- a week on the grounds that the wear and tear and running expenses of a bicycle are so'great, “M.E.” writes: “I have a bicycle which is 37 years old. Granted, it has had nothing like the wear that would come the way of a Post Office messenger’s machine; nevertheless It has had hard and continuous use by three generations of riders —and is still going strong. I have been attempting to estimate what it has cost and its running expenses over that period. Erring a little I think on the generous side, I have arrived at the following sum’:—Purchase price, £l2; tyres and tubes, £35; repairs and replacements, £l5; enamel, oil, etc., £5. Total £67. Assuming that the use of this machine for messenger purposes trebled the wear and tear (which I doubt, for some of the users of my machine have been Irresponsible young monkeys) the total disbursements to date would be £177. Had I been drawing 2/6 weekly my revenue would now be £240/10/- in the aggregate, leaving me a nice profit. Had I been drawing 5/-1 would have enough over to purchase a motor-car. Maybe, however, my figures err somewhere. Perhaps one of your accountant readers could put me right.” [Maybe cycling enthusiasts would give their opinions.] * Although the source of the alleged ghost in Karori Cemetery has been traced to the headstone of a grave, no explanation has been forthcoming why this tombstone should radiate a curious phosphorescent glow difficult to explain. Those who do not believe in ghosts are satisfied that the solution is prosaic enough. Those who believe in ghosts can still continue to talk about corpsie lights. Indeed, just at the moment we seem to have entered a ghost era around Wellington. What, will happen when the Bartons’ old house in the Hutt has been removed to supply material for the buildings at Trentham for the Boy Scouts, is a matter of conjecture. The old house, as is well-known, was haunted. Will the ghosts stay behind? Judging by an amusing film a year or so ago, the ghost goes west when the old castle is removed from Scotland to America. Nevertheless, when Dutton Hall, Runcorn, Cheshire, was dismantled and removed to East Grinstead, the Roman soldier who haunted the place prefererd to stay put. He is said to roam the place where once was Dutton Hall, a sadly-disillusioned ghost without a castle. * * * Mention of the fact that ghosts seem to prefer to stay put when their residence is moved elsewhere, is a reminder of the Oxford ghost and the rather awkward predicament in which this manifestation found itself. One of the most famous ghosts at Oxford, stated frequently to have been seen, is that of Archbishop Laud, who built the Canterbury Quadrangle of St. John’s College. Laud is said to appear in the library in the east wing, which contains his cope and other vestments to this day. Since those days,’ however, certain structural alterations have been made. The ceiling of the room beneath the library has been raised. This has had the curious effect of causing Laud, when lie appears walking on the old floor of the library, to manifest himself with his legs projecting through the ceiling into the room below, while the upper part of his body wades through the library above. It would seem, therefore, that ghosts display a remarkable conservatism and a persistent association with old places which cannot be diverted by subsequent changes. * * * It is by no means unlikely that 90 per cent, of ail ghost stories are explainable by quite material means. Nevertheless, there remains the 10 per cent, that have never been explained. The eerie wailings of Sydney Bridge, it. has now been proved, are not the ghosts of the workmen who were killed during construction, but are due to temperature variations causing the expansion joints of the steel trusses to move and groan. The ghost music of Ben Macdhui, moreover, has- now been declared to be no more than the wind blowing in the cracks and funnels in the rocks and crags. Indeed, a sidelight on how ghost stories start is obtained from an incident confirmed by the chief participator, Dean Wellesley. One cold night in Queen Victoria’s reign the dean was just going to bed at Windsor Castle, when he observed a soldier on duty in the dismal cloisters. In a moment of compassion he mixed the man a whisky, opened the window, and held the drink out to him. The soldier saw the white arm coming out of what appeared to be a stone wall, and lied. On that incident a ghost story was built up which thrived for many years. * ♦ * If 90 per cent, of ghost stories are based on material fact rather than the supernatural the other 10 per cent, still require consideration. Take the ease of Raynham Hall. On September 19, 1936, the Art Director of Indra Shira, Court Photographers, 49 Dover Street, London, was taking photographs at the Hall. The photography began at eight in the morning. A large number of photographs bad been taken, when at 4 p.m. a flashlight photograph was being taken of the oak staircase. The man who was operating the flashlight noticed suddenly an ethereal veiled form coming slowly down the staircase. The photograph was taken at this moment. The negative was developed in the usual manner, except that steps were taken to get an unbiased eyewitness to be present during the proceedings. The photograph of the oak staircase included the ghostly figure. There is no reason to believe that any faking was done.

"I noticed in your column recently reference concerning a. school badge, described as a bird with wings outstretched aud as I am a new arrival in Wei lington maybe it is my blazer that has caught tho eye ot an inquisitive reader,” writes “J.AV.M.” “The badge has not a bird but the ‘griffin’ (the winged horse) and is the Teachers Honour badge of the Caulfield Technical School, Melbourne, with the motto. ‘Fast and Sure.’ 1 iiad the honour of teaching at this college for a number of years and I reserve the right to wear this badge till my conduct, impeaches the school’s traditions.”