Cold Comfort

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 72, 13 January 1947, Page 5

Cold Comfort

A bottle of what passed for whisky figured in a minor drama in Invercargill the other day. A well-known business man connected with one of the social services received through the post a bot'tle of whisky for Christmas—or at least it appeared to be whisky. It had the label of an approved brand, the cork was well- wired, and there was the usual attractive gold foil round the neck. It looked really tempting, so much so that he did not wait until his guests arrived for Christmas, but sampled it then and there. The first sip brought him to the sad realisation that he had been presented with a bottle of cold tea. He suspected that the “donor” was a woman colleague, and he watched her closely when he remarked causually that he had received a gift of a bottle of whisky. But the lady did not bat an eye. A day or two later the police telephoned him at Riverton to report that his house had been broken into, but all that was stolen was a pound note and a bottle of whisky—the gift bottle.