Local & General

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 15, 23 January 1948, Page 4

Local & General

Early Mushrooms Following Tuesday night’s heavy rain, mushrooms made their appearance in some profusion on the paddocks that lie between the end of the Ohope settlement and the Ohiwa Harbour. “Early birds” on Wednesday morning reported a fair haul. Borough Building Permits Building permits issued in the Borough during the month reviewed in the engineer’s report dated January 16 totalled 18, to a value of £13,023 13s 6d. They were for 6 new residences, 5 additions to residences, 6 sheds and one wash house. New Post Office Public Works officers,. with plans for the new Post Officq, which is to be erected on the vacant corner opposite the Rock, have been in Whakatane this week. Their presence, and the fact that the plans are now complete, seem hopeful signs for the early commencement of the work. New Telephone Exchange Backing on to Quay Street, the building to provide temporary housing for Whakatane’s new telephone exchange is well under way, and it is hoped that the construction work will be finished by the beginning of March. The installation should be completed by the end of June or early in July. It. is confidently anticipated that the increased facilities thus provided will give the district a considerably improved telephone service. • Aerial Noah’s Ark

So many requests have been made to send animals across the Atlantic that American Overseas Airliners have begun a special “Noah’s Ark” airliner service between London and New York. All kinds of animals and birds, from lizards to pet dogs, have been sent. Some of the planes are fitted with horseboxes into which the horses are lifted by means of- mechanical hoists. “We can even accommodate an elephant,” says one of the airline officials.

Beer Boycott Move An unexpected development in the West Coast beer boycott occurred today, when at a meeting of the Licensed Victuallers’ Association in Greymouth, seven country hotelkeepers were given permission to revert to sixpenny beers. This brings the number of West Coast hotels selling beer for sixpence to 11. The latest hotels to revert are all in minting townships. It was freely stated in Greymouth that the drift of trade to near-by country hotels would compel local publicans to reconsider their position.

Cure For Bo^ls How members of a ship’s crew were cured of boils within 10 days by eating stewed plums is described by the master of a vessel at present in Lyttelton. He was once several weeks at sea, during which time the crew had nothing but tinned rations. The result was that practically all of them suffered from boils. A medical officer later gave orders that the men were to refrain from eating meat and that they were to have boiled plums, cooked with very little sugar, three times a day with their other food, and also the juice of plums. Ten days later the members of the crew were rid of their complaint.