Local and General

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 222, 7 October 1940, Page 4

Local and General

New Library Books. At the monthly meeting of the Whakatane Public Library Committee the following books were selected The Forbidden Ground, Neil Swanson; She Did Fall? Thorne Smith; The Cross of Peace, P. Gibbs; Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier; That Which Hath Wings, Richard Dehan; The Gracie Allen Murder Case, S. S. Van Dine; Thrice a Stranger, Vera Brittain; Tale of Three Cities, D. L. Murray; The Yellow Poppy, D. K. Broster. "What I Mean Is. . . The chairman of a war council which had met in the Strand, and which had conducted a lengthy review of the international situation and the progress of the war, was in particularly good form and his hearty approval of the feats of the Royal Air Force was endorsed unanimously by his fellow, councillors in a discussion which had lasted for nearly an hour. Then, in an address not untinged by profanity, the chair man launched into a whole-hearted condemnation of the Nazis. "1 consider," he said, "that the bucking of Bombingham Palace was, one of the most dastardly So far lie got when his remarks were interrupted by a sihout of laughter, and it was not until he conducted a hasty mental review of what he had said that he realised he had perpetrated a spoonerism of the first magnitude.

Inspection. An inspection w T as recently made by the Harbour Board Chairman and the Consulting Engineer of all harbour works, and the latter, reporting, to the bi-monthly meeting of the board on Friday, said that the groyne and stop-bank work recently carried out by the board was standing up well and required rio immediate maintenance. Awful Liars. "The other day the Italians broadcast that they had killed 80 per cent of the New Zealanders with bombs. They are awful liars. No-, body was hurt." So writes Lieuten-ant-Colonel F.. S. Varnham, M.G., officer commanding the 19th (Wellington) Battalion of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in Egypt, under date August 31, in a letter to a relative in New Zealand.

Two White Herons. Two white herons are reported to have settled on a pond in Kerepeehi and appear to be quite, at homji. The birds were first noticed on Thursday, and have evidently not been long in the pond. White herons are particularly rare and are protected. Narcissus Novelty. A Wanganui resident succeeded in growing a three-headed yellow trumpet narcissus. For three seasons the bulbs from a double-headed variety have remained constant in producing two heads, and this year one bulb has produced three perfect specimens. lit is hoped that these will also remain constant. A careful watch will be maintained on these bulbs. Petition re Petro-l Increase. Spccial attention is drawn by the Allied Motor Traders to the fact that the petition going forward to the Government urging the increase of petrol rationing, closes on Wednesday next October 9. All who as yet have not signed the petition and who desire to do so are urged to call at any service station and sign, giving full name.and number of car. It is hoped to make the petition one hundred "per cent representative throughout the Dominion. Advt, Tlie Alternative. A resident of Wliakatane has hand ed in a letter received by a relative from a friend, a prisoner of war in Germany. The letter is couched in the strain expected. Everything in Germany is wonderful —and normal! Traffic runs as usual; food is plentiful and there is no rationing. The Germans are a remarkably happy people and so kind ! ! ! No air raids; no bombing. He loves the place and concludes: "There is only one place I would rather be than here and that lis Waikumete! The censor, of ! course, could not be expected to recognise the name of the well known Auckland cemetery. A Line on a 'Local.' With reference to the item in this 'column on Friday dealing with the inconvenience experienced by a visiting motorist, we nave been asked to point out that the service station ■proprietors, due to circumstances beyond their control, have agreed on a schedule of hours and this schedule provides that there will always be a servicc to motorists until 8 p.m on every night of the week ing Friday and Sunday. On Friday the closing hour is 9 p.m. and on Sunday it is ll p.m. On Thursday evening the motorist' quoted as being unable to obtain assistance with a punctured tyre could have had the help of at least one service station, and, in fact, one proprietor, hearing of the visitor's predicament, des T patched his own car, complete with repair outfit. When the assistance arrived there was "no.sign' of the motorist, although; the car was on the side of the road. It would.-seem that the inconvenience reported ■-was of some self-making.