Reporter’s diary

Press, 6 July 1983, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

Time off THE CLOCK in the tower at the Arts Centre has stopped, a fact which has not escaped the attention of at least one senior admirer of the old timepiece. Inquiries reveal that the clock, which was known to chime at odd times, has been out of action for some six months. Staff at the centre report that the clock is broken, and they do not know anybody who can fix it. They also point out that the task of

winding the clock was labour-intensive; at least three people were required to wind it, two or three times a week. Ward comforts PRINTS, paintings and pot plants might soon adorn the walls of Christchurch Hospital’s kidney ward. A St Albans woman, Mrs Madge Yeats, is one of the organisers of a fund-raising drive to provide patients with some home comforts. She hopes to raise $lOOO from a raffle to be drawn in October, and a garage sale to be held at 9 Berwick Street on July 23 and 24. Mrs Yeats, a kidney outpatient, is raising the funds to thank the hospital for what it has done for her over the last seven years. The response so far has been terrific,” especially from businesses, which had given paintings and plants. If more than $lOOO is raised, the extra money might go towards a pool table for the patients, or paintings for other wards. Anyone who can help is asked to telephone Mrs Yeats at 555-396. Off and on CHRISTCHURCH City Council officers take a dim

view of ladies putting knickers on in city car park buildings. On Monday a young lady was putting pink frilly knickers on the windscreen of cars as part of a promotion for the Court Theatre’s production. “Dirty Linen,” when she was stopped by a City Council staff member who insisted that she took them off. The young lady concluded that it is okay to take knickers off in city car parks, but not to put them on. Balance

A RECENT edition of P.P.T.A. news reported that a school “that better remain nameless” had half of its roll going to “Roadshow” on one day, and the other half the next day. The staff decided to show a movie at the school to those left behind each day. They chose “Battletruck.” Both incidentally are New Zealand productions. Herpes scare HONG KONG’S beaches almost emptied last month over a misunderstanding that genital herpes could be caught while swimming. Numerous letters were sent to the editors of newspapers

by people asserting that they had caught the herpes virus at some of the colony’s most popular beaches. Whether the water quality was responsible or not, swimmers responded by staying away. Subsequent statements by health officials noted that the herpes virus which people had picked up at the beaches was Type One, the relatively harmless cold sore — not the more virulent Type Two, which caused genital lesions. They added that the risk of contracting either virus while swimming was minimal. Tale of divorce

A CANADIAN divorce court heard that for two years a

couple did not speak to each other in their Toronto flat, according to an item in the latest edition of “The Pulse.” It said that the couple communicated by tying notes to the tail of their golden labrador, Bondy. The dog spent its evenings trotting from one bedroom to the other. Extra use IT WAS reported in Diary last month that Rail Tours plans a series of excursions to Arthur’s Pass later this year. The group points out that as well as promoting passenger trains, it sees the trips as fulfilling its objective of providing additional use for Railways passenger carriages.