Local & General

Chronicle (Levin), 31 March 1948, Page 4

Local & General

Fire in Belt of Trees Smoul'dering on the edge of the Tiro Tiro Road. rubbish pit for the last three days, a de'posit ;of dry . turf and • grass .clippings , burst into flame and ignited a macrocarpa shelter belt in its vicipity at 1.20 p.m. today. The prompt arrival of the brigade, following a call from the earetaker, prevented the flames ' from spreading and only a few tress in the belt were 'damaged. The "No" Cpmplpx . ■ "I have iioticed "in dealing with the general publte in tnese difficult times that ' a (no' complex ha's developed," said -the retiring chief postmaster in Dunedin, Mr. J.. P. Hanratty, at a ; funetion in , his honour. "I do not think such an attitude should continue. I do not thiiik we will overcome our difhcu.ltyis on. the , road to normal times by encquraging this 'no' eomplex. Your duty ^s pfppers. i4s,fo find an alternative and i;n fnpst i cases you will find that you ean | nieet the r.sqhest :of a. client and ; still serve the Department . that t employs you." . i

Freak Tree A tree which to" all app'earances is a maple is producing apples on a section at .Otatara, "near Invercargill. The owner of the section was walking through his property during the weekend, when he saw an apple lying on the ground, He knew there were no apple trees on the section. Looking about he diseovered several smaller apples not far from the first one, and he noticed they were all lying near the foot of ca maple tree. Looking up at the maple " tr.ee itself he was p.mazed to discover there were clusters of apples- on the branches.

Praise for Young People "People say that young .persons are not as good as they used to be," said the Rev. E. T. pids, p/esident of the Methodjst Conference of New Zealand, speakrng in Timaru. "That is incorrect. Young persons are more courageous and prepared to work today than they were in the past. The Christian Church is not failing, as some wo'uld claim. If .ig 1 not-o'n its last legs, for a greatei' proportion of young persons come to church today genuinely to worship God than ever before. The world is jn a desperate state, and people are turning to God for consolation and inspiration,". he said. £10,900 Prjze to Dunedin Somewhere in Dunedin, presumrably in Maori Hill, a syndicate holds a ticket in an Australian cons.ultaticn entitling it to the first prize of £10,000. Air mail notification of the results of the-" consultation were reeeived by some agents but city representatives approached could not identify the "Hpusey Syndicate^ Maori Hill." if member^ of the syndicate bought their tickets from an agent not on the air mail serviee it is possible that they will not know of their good fortune for perhaps another week, as "Housey" has become a popular nom de plume - with Dunedin supporters ofthe consolation. Second' prize of £2000 went to Wellington and the fifth prize of £750 to Auckland. Wants to be Alone One criticism .of New Zealand was that there .se.em.ed to be a general conspiracy in t.he hotels to waxe up all visitors at 7 a.m. with a morning eup of. -tea, said Sir Ben Lockspeiser, chie^ .scientist to the British Mmi§try";bf Bupply, i» an address to the Canterbury br.anch of the New Zealand Institufe of Engineers, "F-m.one of those visitors who afe not fit to be spoken to before 10. a.m.,. .and thi^-7 o'clock business is not so ea^y," he said. "However, I have just \discovered a notiee in one hotel which reads, •'Please do not disfurb this visitpr.' 1 I placed that "eutside ",my •bedroom last night with-remarkable euccess, so I am going -to steal that notiee.It will be the most. precious piece : of luggage in my-possession'.-" M