GENERAL NEWS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXX, 8 October 1936, Page 6

GENERAL NEWS

To-day is the anniversary of the landing of Captain Cook at Poverty Bay in 1769.

The vital statistics for Nelson for September, with the figures for the corresponding month last year in parentheses. were: Births 26 (23), deaths 14 (ID,, marriages 11 (7). The figures for the quarter, July-September, were: Births 76 (66), deaths 60 (44), marriages 35 (29). The totals for the year to date are as follows: Births 228 (202), deaths 154 (133), marriages 126 (94).

As streamlined motor bodies offer no projections to the grasp of cyclists seeking power locomation, the pedaliers, it is stated, have evolved a kind of grappling iron, with which they attach their machines to the mudguards of cars to obtain a tow (states “The Post”). A report before the meeting of the Wellington Automobile Association this week said that on two occasions recently motorists using the road between Porirua and Paremata had been troubled by cyclists having their machines towed by wire hooks under the mudguards of their cars. The secretary, Mr W. A. Sutherland, said that one motorist had been travelling between forty-five and fifty miles an hour, not knowing that a boy on a bicycle was attached to his car by that itiethod. Had anything happened it would probably have been the end of the boy. As the law stood at present the motorist was liable to prosecution, even though he was unaware of the cyclist’s presence, but the new regulations would remove that anomaly. The roads committee of the association viewed the practice as one of the most dangerous that had come under its notice, and it proposed to approach the Main Highways Board to get its inspector to exercise supervision.

The official closing of the Motueka Golf Club’s links will take place next Saturday afternoon, when, included in the programme, will be a nine hole match, ladies versus men, competitions and the presentation of trophies won during the season. A special invitation is extended to members of sister clubs to visit the course, which is in particularly fine condition at the present time. A dance will be held by the City Pipe Band at Brightwater on Saturday evening. Orchestral music will continue to be a feature of all dances held by the band. Old time and modern dances will be on the programme and a good supper will be provided. Surplus proceeds are in aid of the Band’s Uniform Fund.

Sports Frocks in White Tennis Cord, Kabe Crepe and Fuji. Well cut shirt bodice with yoke back and inverted pleat, “action freedom” sleeve and smartly pleated skirt, S.S.W. to 0.5., 23/6 to 39/6. At McKay’s.*

A suggestion that the practice of drinking at dances could be overcome by the formation of an association of masters of ceremony, with authority to control the conduct of patrons, is made by the Rev. J. D. W. Raine, of Douglas, Taranaki, in an article in the current issue of the Waikato Diocesan Magazine. “We know that most of the liquor at dances is located in cars outside the halls,” writes Mr Raine, “but it is clear that once there is proper control within the hall no one would sit in a car all night, even though there was plenty of ‘free beer’ to drown the sorrow of non-admission to the hall. The Master of Ceremony Association would need to impose restrictions on hall committees to prevent them from supplying liquor for public functions, either for friends or for sale.” Mr Raine also suggests that competent women should be appointed to take charge of the ladies’ cloakrooms to check the consumption of liquor by women patrons of the dances. The custodians of the cloakrooms should also be members of the Master of Ceremony Association. As referees at football matches are ehos- : en and endowed with specific authority, so masters of ceremony could be I chosen and appointed, he adds. The i scheme would eliminate the scandals ! inside and outside the dance halls during the progress of any social function.

A question as to the functions of the District Cricket Association was asked by a delegate at the City Cricket Association meeting last evening, and the steps leading up to its formation as the governing body of provincial cricket was traced by the City Association’s president, Mr E. R. Neale. A member was at a loss to understand why cricket in Nelson district could not be run as in Wellington under the one City Association, but it was stated in Nelson the formation of the District Association had as much as anything been a policy matter as between town and country.

A delegate to the Nelson City Cricket Association last evening drew attention to the rule stating that cricketers should take the field correctly attired for the game; and expressed the hope that there would be no offenders in the lower grades this year. It was pointed out that while the association did not wish to debar any player for playing the game owing to lack of means, the chief offenders were those who obviously could afford the necessary gear.

Testifying to the encouragement of air-mindedness by the Western Federated Flying Club, 124 pupils trained by the instructor, Flying-Officer lan Keith, have been successful in gaining their pilot’s licenses (says the Taranaki “Daily News”). Prior to joining the club, Flying-Officer Keith was an instructor at Auckland, where he trained 12 pupils. Those he has trained in the Western Federated Club include 58 pupils at New Plymouth, 40 at Wanganui and 14 at Hawera. During his period in Taranaki there has been a great deal of night flying at the three airports, enabling many pupils to gain experience. The night flying has been done in all kinds of weather but on bright moonlight nights, the best time for dual instruction, many landings have been made without the aid of artificial lighting. No standard equipment for lighting the New Plymouth airport has been installed and on dull and cloudy nights an improvised system, similar to that used for flood-light buildings, has been employed. Frequently, motor-car headlights have also been used. The thrill of a loop and a roll in an illuminated plane has been experienced by many New Plymouth business men who have taken flights on moonlight nights.

Plum jam. or the plum and apple jam made notorious by war-time use, may feature largely in the diet of English children this winter (writes a London correspondent under date 9th September). Housewives are busily jam-making, and factories as busily canning plums to take advantage of the glut. The orchards of Worcestershire and Kent have produced one of the finest crops ever known, in some districts more than double the normal. In Kent the plums have been given away to customers at petrol stations, and road-side notices have offered free supplies from baskets stacked high with the ripe fruit. The grower’s gain is not proportionate to his crop. Those whose fruit survived the ruinous late frosts of last season got much better prices than they have this year. To the rapidly-growing British canning trade, however, the abundance of plums is welcome, for they are the most important British canning crop, followed in order of importance by raspberries, strawberries, cherries and gooseberries. No less than 75 British canning factories are l-.ow at the height of activity.

The surpassing beauty of the tulip bed at this time of year is exemplified in the Queen’s Garden where in an ideal setting the blooms unfailingly attract the passer-by’s attention with a nodding in the spring air. The colours are many and expensive in this long plot on the border of the rose garden and worth more than a moment’s pause. Other hues which catch the eye are those of the anemone and ranunculus in concentrated brilliance, and the cineraria brightening shady places. The dance 'held by the Loyal Howard Lodge social committee in the Oddfellows’ Hall was very enjoyable. Four prizes were given to the winners of the Early Bird competition, and four to the winners of the Monte Carlo. Mr Harold Williams supplied the music for the dances which were mostly old-time. Mr A. Gascoigne played the extra waltz after supper. During the supper interval the M.C. reminded patrons of the Combined Friendly Societies’ dance to be held on 15th October. A pleasant evening came to a close at midnight with the singing of “Auld Lang Syne” and the National Anthem. Bro. G. L. Housiaux carried out the duties of M.C.

Freight hauled through the Otira tunnel last week, from the West Coast to Canterbury, totalled 12,271 tons, as compared with 10,574 tons, in the corresponding week of last year, an increase of 1.697 tons. In 1934, the total for the corresponding week, was 11,100 tons. Just the thing to wear with your slacks or for general Sports Wear, Locknit Blouses in all the new season’s most attractive shades. Smart Stripes and Checks featured in neat styles. McKay’s, 5/11 to 11/6.* Summer Golf demands comfort and freedom. Lightweight Skirts, smartly tailored in soft check Woollens and Linens, attractive styles with buttons, pleats and pockets, S.W. to W„ 15/11 to 23/6. At McKay’s.*