NEWS OF THE DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27274, 28 December 1949, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Storm Damage The heavy storm of rain, and in places, hail, which swept over- Dunedin on Monday afternoon resulted in blocked drains and mud traps in s.ome places, and on unsealed roads where no provision had been made to carry large volumes of water, there was considerable scouring. On the stretch of roadway below Ashburn Hall from the point of widening down to the Wakari Hospital, where the flood water criss-crossed from one side of the road to the other, considerable damage was done. The road yesterday morning had the appearance of a dry river bed. Boose metal was piled in all directions, and when the Wingatui race > traffic commenced to pass over it, metal began to fly. Fasttravelling traffic and spinning wheels left behind a fair percentage of tyre rubber.

Election Odds Since the New Zealand and Australian elections a London firm of bookmakers has revised its prices on the British general election. The Labour Party, previously 7—4 on, is now 6 —4: the Conservatives, previously 6—4, are now 5 —4. Another bookmaker is laying Odds? of 6—4 against Mr Churchill. 5 —2 against Mr Attlee, s—l against Mr Eden, and 7—l against Mr Bevin "being the next Prime Minister.

Disposal Of Arahura Dredge An early decision is expected about the disposal of the Arahura gold dredge, which capsized and sank in its pond last March. It is not known what steps are to be taken, though it is now likely that the plant will be sold by tender or auction. It could be taken to pieces and sold or possibly restored to a gold-winning unit on the same area. The dredge' cost nearly £200,000, and its present-day replacement cost would be about twice that amount.

Air Services Supported All special air services from Dunedin to locations north and south were well patronised by the public during the holiday period, an official of the National Airways Corporation told the' Daily Times last night. Although reports from Invercargill indicated that the service from that end had not been given the support it deserved, he could not agree that the same position ruled for Dunedin. Five machines to Invercargill on Thursday had been fully booked as had the four on Friday and the five operating on Saturday. Party Trick The story has just reached us of the man who broke his false teeth on Christmas Eve—a minor disaster in view of an approaching Christmas dinner. He was at a party and surrounded by friends who were listening to his eulogies about the set of artificial teeth which had served him faithfully in many countries, in fact they were so good that they had survived sharp contact with substances such as concrete. Arriving at the climax of his story, the man produced his teeth with a flourish and tossed them against the wall of the room. The lower teeth fell to the carpet—in two pieces.

Remedies For Travel Sickness Holiday-makers who fear the journeys they make in the next few weeks may be marred by sea, air or car sickness need be afraid no longer. Remedies for travel sickness now being sold in chemists’ shops are on the whole effective and safe if used according to directions, an officer of the Health Department said. A satisfactory cure for sea sickness had been sought for years, the officer said. During the war it was thought that a formula developed for the use of commando troops fulfilled all expectations. Since then another discovery had been made and a new remedy was now on the market. This caused few unsatisfactory symptoms and was highly effective. Asked about the cause of travel sickness, the officer said it was probably caused by the motion of the semi-circular canals situated in the middle ear. The new remedies appeared to act on this part of the body.