Local and General

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 140, 29 March 1940, Page 4

Local and General

War's Lighter Side. He belonged to a great family of fighters, and was talking haughtily to a Scottish soldier. "My family/' he said, "has had the right to bear arms for 200 years." "Och," retorted the Scot, "mine's had a right to bare legs for 2000." Fire on Sand-hills. On Saturday morning a fire swept some distance along the sand-hills on the northern bank of the Whakatane River, opposite the Strand. Some damage was done to young trees and an area of pampas grass was destroyed. There is no evidence how the lire started. Freak Maize Cob. Freak cobs of maize are not uncommon tjhis season. While cobs were being stripped at the farm of Mr E. A. Vyle, of Otaika, recently, a large cob was found to be normal for more than half its length, but then it had split into 11 separate cobs, the central and larger one being surrounded by the others arranged symmetrically. Welcome Donations. Two further donations to the Maori Centennial Sub-Committee's funds were xeceived by the Secretary. These comprised cheques for £5 each from the Borough and County Councils. A further sum of £2 os 3d was also handed in from the proceeds of the subscription lists circulated prior to the Centennial.

Cricket Draw. The linal games in the Clarke Shield competition will be played at the Domain over the week-end. Paroa will play Hillcrest and P. and T, will oppose Whakatane. Display of Photographs. Messrs C. S. Armstrong have on display a pictorial record of the Centennial Celebrations held a fortnight ago. The photographs show all events of the day, from the gathering in the Domain to the conclusion of t'lie Heads Park ceremony, and copies are for sale at various prices. Meeting Postponed. The meeting which had been called for 8 o'clock by the Whakatane Patriotic Council, and Avhich was to have been addressed by Mr L. W T . Goldstein, Deputy Chairman of the Auckland Provincial Patriotic Council, Mr G. A. Hacken, Secretary of the National Council, and associates, has been postponed indefinitely. Cheering Them Up! In a catalogue of books reconw mended for soldiers at the front are these titles: Les Miserables, Green Hell, Under Fire, Doomsday, Death of a Hero, Cold Comfort Farm, Chaos is Come Again, Before the Bombardment, Hell Let Loose, Poor Gentleman, Soldiers of Misfortune, Thou Shell of Death, Valiant Dust, Gun Cotton, Bullets Bite Deep. Death in Ecstasy, The Avenger, The Way of All Flesh,, The End of the Chapter, and R.I. P.. Kitten Gets a Shock. A housewife was engaged as usual i.n operating a vacuum cleaner and the household kitten in its usual playful mood was springing after the flex that carries the electric current when suddenly the kitten was seen to turn a violent somer--sault. almost the length of the room, at the other end of whicih it stood with its back arched, looking very scared. Apparently one of its claws had pierced the insulation and touched the live wire. A Judge's Mathematics. "My mathematics are far from strong," Mr Justice Nortlicroft admitted when submitting some calculations to the jury in the Supreme Court at Christchurch. According to his figures, it would take, at the speeds given by the witness, 34ft for a motor car to pass a cyclist going the same w 7 ay. "I do not claim that this figure is accurate," said His Honour. "It is probably wrong, but no doubt you have among the jurymen someone with more mathematical skill than I pretend to have, who will correct it. The important point is that when vehicles are going in the same direction, the slower is not overtaken at any definite spot,, but over a distance."