IN TOWN AND OUT

Southland Times, Issue 20495, 25 May 1928, Page 8

IN TOWN AND OUT

NEWS OF THE DAY. Ten Thousand Pies. It is stated on good authority that 10,000 pies left the pie-cart on Saturday night for homes in Invercargill. The hens and ducks of the province have been laying overtime since May Fair trying to make up leeway. * Biplane Departs. Captain Buckley left for Sockburn al 12.25 p.m. yesterday. He flew from the aerodrome over the town and then set out in a north-easterly direction for his headquarters. Conditions were highly favourable for his trip. Perhaps Not. When a member of the Chamber of Commerce was reporting on the banquet of the Edendale Dairy Factory’s 25th anniversary, he remarked that it would be unnecesary to go into a detailed account of the function. A voice: "Perhaps he doesn’t remember the latter part.” Knight of the Pie-Cart. When a well-known Invercargill lawyer, who has recently been involved in a passage at-arms, figuratively, with the proprietors of the itinerant vendor of pies, coffee and oysters to the belated, arrived in the Court house yesterday morning, a stage whisper was heard: "Here conies straight from breakfast at the Pie-Cart.” * # * * Fertilizer Wcrks. An interesting clause in the report of the standing committee of the Bluff Har bour Board at its meeting yesterday stated: “Having authorized the chairman (Mr A. H. Aitken) and Mr E. Bowmar to offer that the board will provide a site at Bluff at a nominal rental to any company that would establish fertilizer works at Bluff.” Express Again Late. It seems well-niglff impossible with the restricted service for the express from Christchurch to arrive in Invercargill up to time. Practically every night it is due to arrive here the notice board which informs lhe public of a train being delayed has to be brought out, much to the annoyance of the hundreds who come to the station punctually at 9 p.m. Last night the express was again well behind time, it being 9.42 before she pulled into the station. Stewart Island Service. When the Theresa Ward was on the Stewart Island run berthing dues amounted to only 1/6 per trip at the Halfmoon Bay wharf. Now that lhe Southland has taken over the running the cost to lhe Bluff Harbour Board is £1 11/- per trip. The Theresa Ward was rated at 9 tons whereas the Southland is rated at 186 tons. At its meeting yesterday the board decided to approach the Stewart Island Harbour Board with a view to having the charges waived altogether. The Aftermath. “After the feast comes the reckoning,” and at present Invercargill is experiencing a quiet spell after the revels of May Fair. The popular chair-o-plane, which was once crowded with gay merrymakers is now deserted and most of the hotels and boarding-houses seem very quiet after the hurry and bustle of the week of fun. The return to the routine and prosiac existence of everyday life is proving a little hard for many, but there is always the consolation of next year. » * * * Bicycles Go Astray. During the last few days several bicycles have been lost, stolen or appropriated by mistake. Advertisements in the newspapers are used as a means of recovery and the aid of the police is usually sought in addition. In fact, scarcely a day passes on which the police are not informed of a missing cycle, and more often than not it is recovered abandoned in a suburb to which place it has been ridden by someone too tired to walk and too impecunious to own a bicycle. A Disappointment. Those who saw the Pie-Cart exhibit in the processions during May Fair must have felt quite hungry when they saw the huge pie brandished in the front of the lorry. One of the attendants also felt hungry for it and managed to get possession of it. The next morning he placed it in the oven at a reasonable hour and waited expectantly till dinner-time. When the oven was opened the pie looked even more inviting the crust had browned beautifully and was as flaky as any French chef could have made it. The knife was inserted, when, horrors! an unyielding substance was found and when the crust was lifted off all the interior was found to be composed of crumpled paper!

A Bluff Complaint. The unemployment position at Bluff hajust now been accentuated by the introduction of a certain amount of Invercargill labour. It is usual in the working oi boats that when the holds have been emptied of cargo preparations have to be made for the reception of produce such as cheese, meat, butter and so on. Rough carpentry work has to be done in laying down on the floors rough timber 3ft by 3ft. or 3ft. by 4ft. the only tools required being a saw and hammer. This class of work has been done for years past by Bluff lab our supervised by one or two professional carpenters. On the Hurunui, however, Bluff labour has been turned down, men from Invercargill having superseded them. Indignation has been expressed freely and the position is aggravated by the fact that work is scarce at the port.

May Fair Photographs. At last night’s meeting of the Southland League, Mr W. Alexander drew the attention of the meeting to the panoramic photograph of the opening of May Fair at the Rotunda last Monday week. “This photograph has a wonderful background,” he

said, “and Is one of the most magnificent pieces of work I have ever seen, taken, as it is, in three sections. I took Messrs Adam Hamilton and D. Jones, M.’s P., across to see it, and they were so taken with it that I could hardly tear them away. Both of them thought it would be suitable to hang in the Parliamentary Library in Wellington. We should get a copy ourselves and send one to Wellington as a perpetual reminder to North Islanders that there are a few people in Southland. I have pleasure in moving that the photographer respons ible for the panorama be asked to submit a price for half a dozen.” It was left in the hands of the chairman and secretary to go into the matter.

A Departmental Reply. The Railway Department yesterday handed to a Times reporter the following reply to recent criticism of the supply of trucks, tarpaulins and ropes for farmers who wished to rail stock:—“At no time during thv reason has there been a shortage of tarpaulins and all orders have been promptly supplied. In the case of ropes an occasional shortage occurs when heavy orders for chaff and other consignments requiring the use of lashings are received*. The Department is continually cutting up coils of rope to provide lashings and it is apparent from the shortages that these lashings are being stolen from time to time. A special effort is always made* to provide trucks for farm produce even when abnormal shipping traffic creates a shortage of empties throughout the district. In this connection trains conveying I passengers have frequently been shunted and run late as a consequence in order to supply the waggons as promptly as possible. The question of short supply of sheep trucks has already been raised and as previously explained was due to the very heavy stock season. The question of building additional sheep trucks for the next stock season is now under consideration.”