Reporter’s diary

Press, 2 July 1983, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

Flashy outfit

BANDS studded with small lights (pictured) that can be worn on the head or around the waist will soon be on the market in New Zealand. The battery-operated units with blinking red, green and yellow lights have been very popular overseas with disco followers and joggers. Many people running at night wear the belts around their waists as a warning to

motorists and cyclists. The belts carry a scm by 3cm battery and will be available in toy shops and many jean stores soon. The Taiwanese-made headbands will sell for $12.95 and the waist bands for $14.95. Mr John Carbines, one of the distributors, is looking at the possibility of selling frisbees with flashing lights.

Manuscript given MARGARET MAHY will give the original manuscript of her award-winning story, “The Haunting,” to the Canterbury Public Library. Mrs Mahy was named on Monday as the winner of the Carnegie Medal, the most prestigious British award for children’s literature. She is only the second nonBritish writer to receive the award since 1935. The City Librarian, Mr J. E. D. Stringleman, said that the gift would be greatly appreciated and would be put on display in the library. Caught with her... THERE WAS a scarlet woman at a Christchurch church service last Sunday, but she was quite free from sin. She organised her young son to go with her to church. Some time before they were due to leave, he said that his pullover was not quite ready for wear, so she put it in the automatic dryer for a while. At the church, she left her son in a front pew while she went to A

join the church choir. When she came back at the end of the service, she was horrified to find a pair of her panties on the seat beside her son. He explained that he had extracted them from his pullover. It was a terrible moment for her, and her frame of mind was Jiot improved by a telephone call on Monday. She did not recognise the voice. The caller purported to represent a well-known Christchurch lingerie firm. He asked if she would be interested in modelling underwear for his firm “on the church scene” in view of her experience in this field. It all went to show that husbands cannot keep secrets. Change of tack

A CIRCULAR plan of Canterbury being built in the City Mall and showing the attractions of the province, originally started out as a proposal for a fountain. The Christchurch Beautifying Society decided several years ago to build a fountain in Cathedral Square and, after gaining City Council permission, it started to raise money. However, this permission was rescinded when the ruling party was ousted at the next local body elections. The society then decided to build the map and it will be handed over to the Mayor, Sir Hamish Hay, on July 30. Formed in 1897, the society has been responsible for much of the beauty of the Garden City. It helped con-

fine the meandering Avon River to its present neatly defined banks, lined its path with trees and helped with the building of the floral clock. Pantyhose snag OLD RUGBY league players would turn in their graves if they realised what were the under-garments worn by some of the participants today. In the latest issue of “Rugby League Week,” a South Sydney footballer Gary Hambly, aged 27, confesses to wearing cutoff pantyhose on the field to prevent chafing and that he goes through many pairs a year. Wearing them is one thing but buying a pair in the shop is definitely out. “That’s mum’s job — I take the size for larger women or mothers-to-be and that would be a bit embarrassing,” he says. Gas safe HELIUM GAS is perfectly safe to put into balloons because it is inert and not flammable. Several inquiries were made after supplied information in “The Press” referred to a helium-filled balloon “burning” in Mexico City. This was an error. Helium is colourless, odourless and lighter than air and these, coupled with its inert properties, make it ideal for balloons and blimps. Helium is manufactured mainly in the United States and is imported into New Zealand principally to fill diving tanks and balloons. Cancer cure?

SCIENTISTS at the Arizona State University Cancer Research Institute have developed a new cancer-fight-ing substance common in small sea animals, reports the American Chemical Society. The discovery results from a 14-year study of bryozoa, tiny moss-like marine creatures called sea mats or false corals. The new drug, “bryostatin 1,” has been found effective against leukaemia in mice, doubling their lifespan at dosages as small as 10millionths of a gram. Scientists will make further laboratory tests with the drug before prescribing it for human cancer patients.