IN WELLINGTON.

Feilding Star, Volume VI, Issue 1676, 21 December 1911, Page 1

IN WELLINGTON.

ON THE POETRY OF REPORTING

"George from London" writes: as follows in the N.Z. Journalist: Don't you think there is a too strong tendency amongst our young newspaper men to regret tlio time spent in doing routine reporting? I do. Yet there can: be found pure joy in such channels. Take the shipping man's daily rounds, for instance. If ho lots hie mind dwell upon the poetry of the sea and the romance of its ships (outside the printed columns," of course), rather than upon the meretricious delights of the deep-sea captain's schnapps bottle, or upon the cabbagelike aroma, of tlio fo'c sle cigars, what sweet delights may be his? Which mention of cabbage throws me oir at a itangent to "my" routine resort in Allen street. Dear old Allen street, set at right angles to Wellington's big destructor, and vicing with that bricky pile in the primeness of its omatrucfeed dog residuum wanders unchained, unnumbered, and unknown amongst , the too altogetherislily sloshy cases late Janded from the overdue orange boat) —even liere site poesy on her throne of imagery 1 Joyously and with truth 1 now set down thajt 1 1, middle aged, yet young of heart, still find pleasure in the brighter side lof my reporting duties at the market. What though twice weekly I must apply tho stomach pump to Bill Blackbeard as to why eggs have α-isen a penny per dozen, to the end that ' Post" readers may pay out uncomplainingly ! And, further, what of it that two other ciolts must bo crossexamined .concerning the variations in "pines" and "passions" and hothouse tomatoes, and thirty-seven other garden stuffs! Herein "is" the prosody of reporting! But what of tho joys for him who will seek them ? Does not the sight of an empty crate marked (say) "Yunan," and now come worn the Eastern steamer, swirl wo over the leagues of sea to the hot and happy Shanghai office where the leisurely Chinese compositors aforetimo set up the English they could noit read, and cheerfully killed a cousin to make a funeral whenever any one of them desired a holiday from his compositorial duties! Or, again, when Angular Angus enquires, about tho "gripes," .and exclaims "Blimey, boss, 'arf a thick mi's too stiff for a case of them sort!" is it not natural that I should outspced Puck, place a ' girdle round the earth in thirty seconds, and stand once again in the scenes of Covent Garden, hard by my native town and street, amidst 'the thousand cries of tho costers in tho early morn, and amongst the arriving fresh-faced farmers from Kent' or thereabouts, rolling in with their russet green apples and their beans ami lettuce for,.the costers' barrows, Why,, my friends, there is romance W us all an' we will but -woo her; bi-io-K scenes and swift- travel, old faces and dear fnoncls Allen street to London, Wellington to Shanghai; South weird extravaganzas. Reporting prosaic ! Go to, young man, go Mo ! 1