THE "GOOD ENDEAVOUR" LEAGUE.

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 95, 5 July 1946, Page 6

THE "GOOD ENDEAVOUR" LEAGUE.

What ho, what ho, ma hearties. Whew, what an exciting time. I’ve had this week. Do you know that I was nearly blown out of existence on Sunday morning by an atomic bomb? Shiver my timbers, but it was certainly a close go. I’ll tell you all about it. On Sunday morning, Butinsky, Peterkin, Butch and I were having a quiet nap by the fire after breakfast. The time was just about 9.30 a.m. Suddenly we heard a droning sound. We all rushed outside to have a look at the aeroplane (we always do) and there it was, away pp high, and' circling round. Suddenly we noticed a small object Istart to drop. None of us knew what it could be.-Dittle did we guess that it was an atomic bomb, and strangely enough, as it turned out later, the one which was dropped the next day in the atom bomb test in the Marshall Islands, in the Pacific. 'Suddenly the plane started doing all sorts of crazy stunts. It dived down after the little object that it dropped, and then swooped up, and dived down again and the next minute the bomb was nowhere to be seen. We all thought that was very strange and could not puzzle it out at all. Then we noticed that the plane was coming down lower and lower, until in the end, it was circling round and round the top of Whale Island. The pext moment the pilot came in to make a perfect landing on the water down at the foot of the track leading up to my cave. (I forgot to say that the plane was an amphibian, ithat is to say, it had both wheels and floats on it so that it could land on either water or land). We all ambled down the track, and when we reached the bottom were just in time to meet the pilot of the plane stepping ashore.

“Well,” he said. “You are the luckiest people alive today. You just escaped getting blown to bits by an 'atom bomb!” (Butch muttered a few nasty things about careless pilots). “Weren’t you taken off the island with the others?” continued the pilot. “Don’t you know we are carrying out an atom bomb test here today?”

That was the first I’d heard of it and it fairly made my hair stand on end. “By Neptune’s toenails,” I replied, “I think you’ve come to the wrong place. The atom bomb test is ‘to be carried out at Bikini atoll tomorrow. This is Whale Island, hundreds of miles away, and, anyway, you’re a day too early.”

“Well, chew my rudder,” said the pilot. “Who would have thought that. They told me in America to just keep on flying the way the plane was facing, and when I was over a funny looking hump-backed island, to drop the bomb. It’s lucky /for you that I happened to be watching through field glasses, or I might never have seen you, and wouldn’t have been able to catch the bomb before it exploded.”

When he had finished his story, we all mopped our brows (Butch heaved a sigh- of relief too) and went into the cave for a glass of milk to steady our nerves. Half an hour later the pilot set off again in the direction of the Marshall Islands, and from the newspaper reports, it appears he arrived there satisfactorily, and dropped the bomb at the right time in the right place. Well, I must carry on with the rest of the column. Cheerio for this week. P.T.W. A RADIO LETTER Dear “Inspector Hornby,” I wonder if you would help me catch the .Phantom Drummer” who is in “North of Moscow.” I tried to get Drummond,” but he is in “East Lynn” chasing “The 89 Men.” Yours faithfully, “Inspector Scott.” (Three points to Valerie Linwood for this original contribution. P.T.W)

FOR YOUNG READERS ONLY

: PETER THE WHALER c/WHALE .ISLAND

Aboard for the Goodwill Cruise

BIDDLES If a bat pays cricket what does a frog play?—Croaky. What is it that a winner of a race always loses?—His breath. What house at the seaside would be easy to lift?—A lighthouse. How do you write to a fish?—Just drop a line. (Ngaire Elliot scores three points with these riddles. Well done Ngaire P.T.W.) SKIING Skiing is such fun, Said Robert to Ron, Up hill and dale, To collect our mail, And home again we speed, As fast as any steed. Original—Patricia Wells. (Two points go to you for this small poem Patricia. P.T.W.) Waiter (putting down plate of soup): It looks like rain, Sir. Diner: Yes, take it away. I ordered soup. (Four points go to Henry Ross for these jokes. P.T.W.) LAST WEEK’S COMPETITION Scuttle my dinghy, the True or False quiz was certainly a popular one. I received a whole host of entries which quite bowled me over, and I can tell you, they took some sorting out. One question which only one sailor actually answered properly was the last one, which is both True and False. It conceims deserts being very hot in the day and very cold at night. All deserts are very cold at night, but not all are very hot in the day. The great wastes of ice and snow at the north and south poles are actually deserts; i.e. they are barren and useless as regards agriculture or extensive settlement, but they are certainly not very hot during the day. This week’s tickets go to:— Janet Hill Beverley Murray Charlie Peters Ann Roberts. Congratulations sailors. By the way, I received two entries without names. See that you always attach your name to your entry.-P.T.W. NEXT WEEK’S COMPETITION MAKE UP A LIMERICK Now, although this competition may seem at first glance to be one for the poets only, actually it isn’t. Anybody can make up a limerick if they really try, and some of, them turn out to be really funny. Here’s how one goes:— “There was an old man with a beard, Who said: It is just as I feared— Two owls and a hen, Four larks and a wren, Have all built their nests in my beard.” Now go ahead and see what you ■Can do. Send your efforts in to P.T.W. c/o Beacon Office, and the usual tickets will be awarded.