AROUND THE TOWN

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14092, 25 March 1939, Page 4

AROUND THE TOWN

JOTTINGS OF THE WEEK (BY “QUERY ). This business of prov.ding a suitable Centennial Memorial (and incidentally of hndms the necessary cash) is becoming a matter for serious thought, t ha rumour that the gigantic and very wooden pcwer-pcic was recently erected in tnc Square as | a preliminary experiment is believed to be without foundation. It seems api tv they can rind anywhere to put the clock. Oi course, there are plenty oi momin. i-. dagpoles (mot to mention the new power pole) in the Square to hang the tli.ug ou as a temporary measure, ju*t to see how it would look, a definite site being left until later. Or perhaps a moveable foundation enabling it to be moved up and down the Alain Street so that shopkeepers can each have a week in turn o! being able tc> see the time without going to tho effort of looking at their wristlet watches. One feels, somehow, that they should buy the clock in the meantime just to show that something is Being Done, and perhaps mount it temporarily on \ .l a plinth composed of back files of orrespoudence oil the subject which one supposes, would be just about high enough. Aunt Daisy has started the Puzzle Problem*craze c-n its way; so our weights and measures Wallah has submitted the following interesting little teaser.- If you go round the world from west to east, you gain a lay, i.e. 24 hours. What happens if, taking advantage of the blessings of modern travel, you tro rom '1 the world in (a) 24 In its, and (b) les s than 24 hours. Should the answer to (b) suggest that you get back before you started, speculate upon tho bearing this lias on the reality of time. It is very encouraging t 0 learn that the perennial Parking problem (successor to Mangakao Scheme) is going to be settled at last by some system of white iines. It will detract considerably from the interest ot Friday evenings in town with all their joyful, happy-go-iuckv ton fusion of traffic, but perhaps it will be worth it in the saving on tempers and nerves. The long-awaited pedestrian crossings will be a joy to the people of Pahiatua and it will be unite a treat to see them crossing and recrossing the streets just to see what it feels like to be able to do it in safety. And if they have any paint left over—there is still the King’s Theatre. THEATRICAL RHAPSODY. (Allegro) We haa dreamed of a building, Brave, handsome and tall, With “Municipal Theatre” _ Graved on the wall. We had counted the cost And dec ded tc pay, And in innocence thought They would start right away. (Andante) Alas! The road is barred again And loud the fateful plaint is heard— The license cannot be transferred Until they cleanse that ancient stain But still, although men’s best-laid schemes Gang atf agiey, we have our dreams. The marching of the Arm\ (on pneumatic tyres) into Pahiatua the other day was dreadfully realistic, rnd must have brought home to many the full effect of tin* recent European peaceful penetration*. Especially when most ot the invaders parked ominously outside the main administrative seat*, of the town, in the shape of the Borough Council ( nambers and the Public Library. But beyond half-expressed fears that the things being towed behind go off. the people of Pahiatua kept their hearts up and there were Kw signs ot panic. A movement among the military to spend the night n Pahiatua came to nothing, the bright j!gilts of Alasteiton apparently offering a superior attrac t ion.

And talking of bright light*, it is very encouraging to uot’Y«* that our small efforts towards speeding up the illumination of the Post Office sign kav< some effect. No pretty light just yet, but they have at least got the bulb on and taken awa\ the. sacking. The only snag is that the thing i s going to look just like another jietrol pump when the pretty light does go on It is to be hoped, however, that this brightening-up process will go on. We suggest another illuminated sign outside the Borough Council" Chambers with “Civic Buildings, 1050“ prominently painted in red. They till of a motor-cyclist who vuas coming in ovci the Kaifawa lull the other morning when the frost wjis glistening on the grass and all the rest of it. With his blood thinned by the blazing sun of a Pnhlatua summer he begat, to feel th' cold rather keenly on his mitteiNtl hands. Not being able to dap them round hi s shoulders, cabby-lash ion. no was driven to other methods of restoring circulation and warmth. He thought of the exhaust pipe and realising that this would be fairly hot-. snuggled his hand eosilv against its smooth roundness. TherA a singeing sort of noise, and ho snatched it away with some ha*te and a. burned thumb, as ho realised just too late that the mittens ho was wearing were of the type that leave the thumb free foi us, and (if desirable) for scorching