HERE UNO THERE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16569, 31 October 1921, Page 6

HERE UNO THERE.

SHEARERS IN FORD CARS. If appearances are any criterion, th# shearers are now the aristocracy or rural labour (says an Australian paper). With shearing in full swing it is not an infrequent sight to see parties of shearers waltzing Alatilda from shed to shed on motor-cycles. In other cases parties are said to club together and sport a Ford. At the same time A.W.U. leaders are said to be occasionally fiiiding difficulty in collecting the 10s levy for the proposed Labour daily. A-W.U. members now contribute 25s a year membership and 2s 6d for the existing Labour weekly, and sorca declare that this is a sufficient charge on tlie workers Others are suspicious that the Labour daily may only b© a jumping off ground for the €t intellectual elite to scale into Parliament.” BULGARS’ HOPE OF A BRITISH QUEEN. King Boris has become as popular throughout the country as his father, tho deposed Ferdinand, is unpopular, says the Sofia correspondent of the “ Daily Mail.” The present King has nothing of his father’ 8 pompous and fatuous manner, and has endeared himself by his simple, democratic air to the sturdy Bulgarian peasant class. One of the questions which is most occupying the attention of the Bulgarians is ivhere.tbey will find a consort for King Boris. It ig hoped that when things become more settled he may bring homo a British bride. King Boris of Bulgaria, ex-Ozar Ferdinand’s elder son, who is twenty-seven, is one of the several Royal bachelors in Europe whose eventual marriage is awaited with great interest by their subjects- Hi 3 neighbour, King Alexander, who has just become ruler of South Slavia, is unmarried. Like the Prince of Wales, the Crown Prince of Denmark, who is twenty-two, is a bachelor. The Prince of Piedmont, heir to the throne of Italy, ia not yet seventeen. YOUTH BURNED ALIVE. How infuriated French villagers mutilated and burned alive a youth of eighteen, accused of arson. is the burden of allegations made V to the judicial authorities at Compeigne. The story told is that on September 5, 1914, a barn belonging to the Mayor of Vandelicourt, M. Bullot, wag set on fire. The villagers accused a young man named Caron of the crime. He had been dismissed from the service of the mayor three months previously, and was alleged to have threatened to burn his house down. After being shut up in- the fire station while his fate was decided by a meeting of villagers, Caron is stated to have been dragged out and beaten almost to death. The mob then tied him ou a harrow, as his arms hung over the edge they cut them off. The remains of the barn were still burning. The villagers threw Caron, still tied to the harrow, into the flames, forming a ring round the fire until he was entirely burned. THAT “ BIGGEST ” CRAZE. The American weaknefs for having “the biggest ever” of everything has spread to the musical world- “ The biggest ever ” xylophone has now appeared, and this is how a New York daily describes it :— 4 * What is said to be the ‘ biggest xylophone ever made,* has been delivered to George Carey* xylophone soloist of Sousa’s Band, the device being the result of a iiong cherished plan ‘to produce impact melody of a quality and degree never before derived from this style of instrument.* ” *** A MOCK FUNERAL. There was a mock funeral at Cambridge University for two Cambridge men who had been “ sent down.” The banished men were naval officers sent to Cambridge for a short course under the Government interrupted education scheme- The mourners arrived at the station first—a choir of ten, wrapped in white sheets, with whitened faces on which violet green shamrock had been painted: then more students with robes and turbans of towels, and in the rear a few score of men on motorcycles. On the way an “ unemployed band ’* was picked up. It wa 8 bundled into a cab, and played wailing music all the May down to the station, conducted by a youth in fantastic white wrappings, who climbed on to the roof of the caband swung his arms about in weird style. V hen the naval officers stepped out of the official cab they were captured by the mourners, and swept on to the platform, where they were feted, until the train went off, by cheers and the strains of ** Omahu.” SINGING ISLAND. Those who come to Douglas (Isle of Man) usually leave convention behind in the steamer. W hether bathing ati 1 ort Jack and Port Skillion, dancing at Derby Castle, or roaming over Douglas Head, the Douglas girl is seized m ith a sort of island fever cs infectious as measles, only much more romantic. The chief symptom of tho island fever i$ a strong desire to raise the voice in song. For six days m the week the Douglas girl has a merry time bathing, sailing, dancing. and r it must be said, flirting. There are more holiday engagements in Douglas in a week, it is said, than in any other seaside place in a month. The Douglas girl sings songs of love and rosea and sends soft sighs across the moonlit bay, but on Sundays happiness is banished. After half-past ten in the morning it is impossible for the visitor t-o buy food or drink, and even innocent children are prohibited from eating oranges “off the premises.*’ Compared with the Isle of Alan, the English Sunday is an exhilarating festival.