Local & General

Chronicle (Levin), 12 January 1949, Page 4

Local & General

British Way Of Life "The principal- subject of eonversation between housewives in a queue, or between men. in ,a pub, is not about the trouble in Berlin, or the meeting of the United Nations in Paris, but about 'the .price of food and beer, and the ' shortages of both."— A B.B.C. commeri'tator. Smart Postal Work An airmail -letter addressed "Mr. and Mrs. ,E. T. Scott, 36 Ngaio Street, New Zealand," sent from England 'during -the preChristmas rush, has been delivered within 10 days of its dispatch. Tne sorters \yaded thr'ough all the Ngaio Street s in the Dominion, found one with the right surname at No. 36, t and sent it - dlf -hopefully to New Plymouth. They were right first time,. ' Several "Monsters" "I drdn't see the Loch Ness monster, but I met lots of people who said they had — including several monks from the nearby Fort Augustus monastery," said Dr. S. M. Russell, of Auckland on his return from Britain. "Some people said there were several monsters, but "most of them agreed that there was only one and that it had a small • head, covered in fur, and a huge hump on its back." Wanganui Wool Sale The average price per bale for wool sold . at the first Wanganui sale of the current season, held on December 3, was £35 3s 8d, compared with £33 5s lld at the first Wanganui sale of the 1947-48 season, and £37 10s per bale when the market reached its> peak ,in February, 1948. TheSe figures were released by the Wanganui Woolbrokers' Association and refer only to wool sold on behalf of growers. U.K. To Janan With the extension of the B.O.A.C. weekly flying-boat service .between the - United Kingdom and Japan, passengers are now saved a 21-'hour train trip from Iwakuni, the previous - terminal, to Tokyo. The service came into operation when the R.A.F. was withdrawn from Japan. It used the. same terminal, which was at headquarters of the British Commonwealth Air Forces. The flight from the United Kingdom to Japan takes just over a week, and overnight stops are made at Augusta, Alexandra, Karachi, Calcutta, Bangjkok, Hongkong and Iwakuni. On the previous schedule the flying boats arrived at Iwakuni in the late afternoon. Live Shell Amoner Refuse A boy -riding a bicycle on the footpath in front of the Palmerston North Police Station' was reprimanded by a constable but the latter quickly changed his tune when the lad presente-d him with a 2-inch mortar shell which was subsequently discovered to be alive." The boy, aged 11 years, and a companion aged 6 years, had found the shell in a box of rubbish on the footpath near their home and were in the process of unscrewing the cap • when they were stopped by a High School boy who recognise'd the potential danger of the missile. On .the advice of the High School b,oy the 11 years old lad took the shell to.the police. It- is not known how the shell came to be among the rubbish but it is thought to have been a war souvenir.

New Bridge In North The new concrete bridge over the Northern Wairoa River at Tangiteroria has been completed and is being used by traffic: It is expected that -the Mini^ter of Works, Mr. Semple, will conduct an official iopening ceremony later. Builf at a : cost of about £60,0.00, the structure ;is 610 feet in length. It replaces Ithe old wooden suspensioh bridge, jwhich has been in use since 1904. t Ihakara Hall Improved Work on the new school room attached to the Ihakara Hall has now been compieted and the robm previously used for school has been taken into the hall. Extensive alterations have also been made, -including a new dance floor, and to celebrate the opening of the new (building a dance will be held there 'this evening. Excellent arrangements have been made and . the function should be a most successful one. t Five Records Broken • "During the past twelve months, British aircr^aft, with British engines and British pilots, have broken five official • international air reGords, all of them of great tecnnical importance. The aeroplane "altitude record was broken; the helicopter speed record was broken, and the one hundred kilometres closed circuit speed record was broken three times." — Major Oliver Stewart, M.C., a former test pilot, telling B.B.C. overseas Iisteners about British air achievements. r ; Smoke Hid Volcano i One of the world's biggest volcanoes — Mauna Loa, in Hawaii — was in eruption when passengers from „Vancouver who arrived at Whenuapai yesterday were overhead, but cloud and smoke blotted out all view of the 13,690 ft. 'high ; peak, although the Skymaster lcircled it for about an hour. The i eruption began on Thursday, and in the first 24 hours is thought to have claimed two sight-seeing aircraft, which disappeared. Some passengers in the Skymaster saw a colour newsreel of the eruption | while in Honolulu. ; Fever Victim's Boner NurseS at an Auckland maternity hospital were not unnaturally amused when a young man walked in and asked for treatment. The man* was a recent arrival from Scotland, sO the name "St. Heljens" meant nothing to him. A I'Victim of chronic malaria, he had suffered an attack and had wandjered into what appeared to him a general hospital for a dose of quinine. Actually his choice of hospital proved a lucky one, for as he was about to leave a doctor arrived and produced from his bag jthe quinine that the hospital was mnable to supply. ■. Theft From Moored VesseL 1 Warning of the serious view 'taken of thefts from moored vessels was given an 18-year-old labourer when charged with the theft of a yacht mast and fittings valued at £5 in the - Wanganui Magistrate's Court thiff week. "Under the Crimes Act, thefts from vessels are punishablb up to 1 14 years' imprisonment," said Mr. J. H. Salmon, S.M. "I still regard i this as serious and, were it not for the fact that you are only 18 and iof good character, I would impose a tgrm of imprisonment." In addition to the fine, defendant was given 14 days to make restitution of the mast and fittings.