From The Watch Tower

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 727, 29 July 1929, Page 8

From The Watch Tower

By

“THE LOOK-OUT MAN.”

WAITING AT TilK GATE Five- of the All Blacks were late for the match in Sydney, until they told the gatekeeper that if they were not admitted there would be no match. Bitch jovial songs as sportsmen trill They carolled' as they neared the wicket, Alas, their short-lived joy to hill, The lcecpcr said. “Produce your ticket." And, they, sans tickets, said: “IPs hard That we, the ptayers, should he barred." They paused, with faces grimly set, Excluded by that fatal portal. And, might have been there, waiting yet. Kicking their heels till some immortal Nuncio showed, the lads the way On pale Elysian fields to play. Their natural impatience grew. They cursed, the, man, and, all his kidney. Then said: “If yon don't let v.s through . There’ll by no match today in Sydney." He let them through., and yet I toot He might as well have barred the lot. PDNTBE. IN THE ARENA. Political exchanges have lately been hectic, and last week's debate is considered. to have been tinged with a bitterness not known in politics for some years. Certainly the Kirikopuni “balloon,” the Vaile letter, and the unfortunate failure of the morning papers to give the Minister of Education his due, have given fruitful cause for querulous argument. It is particularly unfortunate for the Leader of the Opposition that the crowd which gathered to welcome him oil Saturday morning unwittingly facilitated the escape of a prisoner who had come North on the express. Mr. Coates had better be very, very careful, or this, too, will be held against him. GLOOMY As many men in similar positions are impelled to do, Mr. J. McLeod, the gifted manager of the New Zealand Rugby team now in Sydney, may feel the urge to write a hook on the team’s experiences. The title should undoubtedly be “All Black on the Sydney Front.” IN NEW STREET Among the changes that might well be considered by the City Council,.. next time it feels the impulse to alter a few street-names, is the renaming of New Street. This is urged less from any material dissatisfaction with the name of New Street, than from a general grouch against things that are permitted to retain names like “new” for long after the original novelty has departed. It is rather typical of local government and the reforms It introduces that the bequests tendered by romantic usage may be scattered to the four winds and oblivion, while an unimaginative name like New Street survives for years without end. Nearly every borough council in New Zealand has been faced with the problem of a Lovers' Lane somewhere out around the town belt, and has sanctimoniously altered it to Boundary Road or Kitchener Terrace. The Lovers’ Lanes go, but the New Streets live on, and so we have our Newmarkets and Newcastles, and even our New North Road, in spite of all efforts to the contrary. Incidentally, New Street, College Hill, possesses the oldest school in New Zealand. St. Mary's School opened ill 1542, and from that association New Street is old in its very newness. Perhaps, after all, the name should stay. THE MASTER WATCH One of the joys of life is its infinite variety. You never know who waits round the corner to lighten the gloom of the daily round. But let us introduce “the captain.” It was never possible to ascertain exactly what he was a captain of; he made cheerful claim to an intimate and distinguished executive association with every known institution except the Salvation Army, and it is therefore possible that his rank was either naval or military, or, again, that he was one of the captains of industry one sometimes hears about. Besides being all things to ail men—that is, if he were conversing with a lawyer the captain became, ipso facto, an authority on law—besides being this, the captain had an engaging habit of carrying at least five watches. Usually there were two on one wrist, one on the other, and two in the vest pockets. If anyone showed mild curiosity, the captain gravely explained that each watch had a definite purpose, one of them being the master watch by which the others were kept accurate. Another little pleasantry of the captain’s was a tendency to speculate profoundly on the origin of the name of Auckland. Efforts to impress on him that it was named after a noble lord were quite unavailing. The Captain remained convinced fhat the city was originally the home of the Great Auk.