since Christmas and my mouth watered so. And this lady kept on talking, talking—gobbling like a turkey. At last they went into the sitting room and we gobbled up the food. They stayed with us for two days. They picked up our names one by one. The lady fell in love with Natana. She thought it was a pity he was always sent outside to blow his nose. She liked my little sister too. She said, “Marino has such lovely eyes—just like almonds.” My brothers thought she was carrying her compliments too far. She taught my mother a lot of things … how to make mats out of old scraps of material … how to arrange flowers and leaves on an old cake plate … how to grow daffodils very quickly … My mother looked refreshed and relaxed. She looked as though she were on a holiday. It was such a refreshing change for her from the tiring job of cooking. My father argued with the man about the importance of the Maori language. He looked so pleased when he mentioned the word ‘verb’ or ‘noun’. It sounded so learned. Then they would talk about politics and education in general and the days passed suddenly. My brothers and I sighed. It had been a pleasant visit. We never got told off except at the tea table. And really that was all right, for we had such nice things to eat. They departed early on the third day. My mother was very sad to lose such charming visitors. My father was very happy. He puffed on his pipe with pride while Mr Mills made speeches about the generosity of our hospitality. The car disappeared down the dusty road. We walked into the house very slowly. My mother reached for the old cake plate with its symmetry of leaves, and her eyes sparkled at the thought of the things she would show her relations … how to arrange flowers on an old cake plate … how to make mats out of old material. “Did you notice what Mrs Mills said about the house, dad?” my mother asked happily. But my father did not reply. He too was dreaming—perhaps of what he could contribute to the field of education … things he had picked up from his learned friend. I crept into the sitting room to look at my ancestor with his arrogant face. Ah! Mr Mills liked him. I sat on the faded congoleum square. Did the lady mean what she said? Did she really like the floors? Silly questions. They were so happy they couldn't have cared at all. “Come and wash the dishes!” shouted my mother. “I've got a lot of things to do.” ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ Miss Ruia Morrison, of Auckland, four times New Zealand's women's tennis champion and the most successful New Zealand woman player in recent years, has announced her engagement to Mr K. Davey, a chef in an Auckland hotel. Miss Morrison is a hotel receptionist.

First Maori Jaycee President Mr Monty Searancke has been elected New Zealand President of the Jaycee organization for this year. This group has 6,000 members in New Zealand, only a handful of them Maori. As President, he will be leading the New Zealand delegation to the J.C. International Conference in Melbourne this month, and in November he will lead the delegation to the J.C. World Congress in Hongkong. At both conferences there will be hundreds of delegates from the seventy-eight countries in which th J.C. movement is established. As part of his duties Mr Searancke will be visiting J.C. groups in more than thirty New Zealand towns, and will address members on the ideals of service and co-operation which the movement exists to uphold. Monty Searancke was born at Te Awamutu, the son of Pareumuroa and Graham Searancke of Otorohonga. He was educated at the Otorohonga District High School. He served for three years with the Maori Battalion during the last war, attaining the rank of Captain Adjutant. He also served for two years with the British Occupation Forces in Japan and during this period held the rank of Major commanding the Maori Squadron in Japan. He now works in the Maori Affairs Department in Gisborne. He has served with distinction in many other community organizations in Gisborne.