NEWS FROM ALL QUARTERS

Hokitika Guardian, 10 January 1929, Page 7

NEWS FROM ALL QUARTERS

TANK SOLD LOR CIO. Cheered i>y thousands of people as iL went through the streets of M roxhnni a lew years ago under its own power, tlie tank presented to the town l>y the War OT.<-« has been sold as st rap iron tor fit). 'I In; site in the park *s wanted ior the tjneen Victoria statue, wi.icii is being removed from the Guildhal Squa re.

ATLANTIC HEATS NATURAL FLYER. A prince l of natural livers, a pore grille falcon, has been beaten b.v the Atlantic. In mid-ocean it came down upon the liner .Minnewaska in an es hausted condition, and was taken care of until the ship reached an Fnglisli port, when the officers presented the bird to the Zoo, where it is now one of most docile birds of its kind that lias ever - reached the menagerie.

CIOARETTE NOMENCLATUR IC. “Gaspers,” “'lags,” and “coffinnails” apparently, forming an insufficient vocabulary to express the common or garden cigarettes, writes a “Daily Chronicle” correspondent, I have been hearing a new word lately, chiefly from feminine lips. “ Pass the 1 sticks ”! ” is the latest way of asking for cigarettes, hut so far I have hoop unable to discover just how the term originates.

DEFENCE BY SIGNS. A domf and dumb youth ol 17, who could not write, had never been to school, and did not understand the deaf and dumb language, was charged with theft at Brighton. Mis lather conveyed the meaning of the charge to him by motions of the. hand, and the youth shook his head as a sign that lie pleaded not guilty. r l he niitgist rate ordered a week’s remand for the lad to he examined by a doctor.

LOCKED-IN HERMIT. The mystery of why Mr Wallace Nicklin, the 42-yoars-old hermit of Hartleburv, near Worcester, has locked himself in his own seven-roomed cottage remains unsolved. When Tie makes furtive excursions to a little shop for his groceries, he gets in and out of a scullery window and takes good care to fasten it. It is believed that he has also been living on apples and potatoes left at his door. ihe police, who have nailed a distress warrant dated September 18 on the front door showing that ho owes about R ll 14s for rates, have boon unable to catch him during his trips for lood.

1000-YEAR-OLD TAX. On behalf of the Duke of Buccleugli and Queensberry, official notice was issued that the “worth silver” due to lim from nineteen parishes and nine 'uvnlets of Warwickshire had to he paid at Knightlow Hill Cross “ before sun-rising ” on Monday, November 12. The amounts due ranged from Id to ,’s .'fid, sums which represented a vastly different value when the tax was first levied more than 1000 years ago. Originally it was a payment for the icpair of roads to which the public had iccss. Kn ightlow Hill is a conspicuous elevation on the Londoii-Birming-liiim highway, between Coventry and Diinehiiroh, on the summit ol which a Mock of stone has been hollowed out nto which representatives ol the respective parishes and hamlets have to ast the money as the various liaine;daces are called out. The ceremony vor, the company smoked tobacco in churchwarden pipes, and toasted the

•lake’s health in ho! milk and rum si a neighbouring hostelry, the cost hein borne by the Duke.

GIBL GOLFFB’S ClO'iO. I>a amounting to L'IOOU am cnst.s were awarded at Liverpool Assk-.es to .Miss Helen Tripler Pratt (‘2O) Plundell.su mis, ham-ash ire, against Messrs Joseph Foster and Sons, ironfoundors, of Preston, for injuries received in an accident last February. It was stated that Miss Pratt bad been educated as a poster designer. She was a keen goffer and a lacrosse and ■luckey player, and her career wa.-. ruined by the accident. Miss Pratt was driving throu;r,h Blackburn behind a steam wagon belonging to Messrs ’•’osier. The wagon was pulling two Mailers and carried a crane which overiiuiiir iiv about five feet, when tlm stisim wagon slopped in a thorough fare and the crane backed into M,is‘"••11. Messrs Foster declared that she ran info it. Mr d. C. Jackson. lot Miss Pratt, said that she would never again he able to raise her i'i"ht arm to her lips or twist the wrist. Disfigurement was also visible when she wore evening dress.

BLONDES DBEFEBBED. Miss Anita Loos has proved to the satisfaction of the world that blondes Imve a more captivating way with men t|,„n have brunettes. Although she revealed them rather unkindly as gold

diggers,” the famous writer of

•Gentlemen. Prefer .Blondes” yet gave them the prize when it comes t entertaining men in their leistir iiotus. Now blondes are further chain pinned as workers, according to viewof Chicago business men. That enter prising city has been tabulating the opinions of business houses on the!' experience with dark and fair girls as office workers, if the statement is.su ed is true, many heads of firms dolili eratelv choose blondes because of theii capacity to work hard and smartly Brunettes apparently arc wanted'onl ifor routine work, which makes less de maud on the imagination. One presi dent of a famous New York company writes :—1 u our olfiee we have 75 girls, of whom (58 are blondes. They wor* harder and are quicker, hut we keep .. few brunettes because they are careful plodders.

ART OF BEING HAPPY. Mr F. J. Roxborough, headmaster of Stowe School, gave the 'following five rules for life to the girls of St..Monica’s School, • Tadworth, Surrey :—l. Practice liking 'other people. They really are rather nice, most ol them, he said. “Hatred and contempt are the enemies of lile. 2. Practice the art oif thinking for yourselves. 1 would suggest that one of the ways ol living a useful and helpful sort ol life and having a good time is to practice the art of disagreeing with other people—politely, of course. 3. Practice getting your scale of values right. The reason why some people smoke fifty cigarettes a day is because they value the pleasure of cigarettes rather than a healthy and l°)>g lifePractice looking if or happiness instead of pleasure. Pleasure is like a sprained ankle, you have it all to yourself; but happiness is like measles, you can’t have it without giving it to someone else. 5. Practice enthusiasm. Get enthusiastic over at. least one sub ject, but not over every subject, because you will duly bore people.”

THE HIGH KICK CURE. The latest “cure” for nevres is stage dancing! High kicking, pirou etting, and all that, sort of tiling. One woman has stated that she finds life a different thing altogether since she took this up. Several up-to-date doctors recommend. Of course, it isn’t exactly the course that ballet danceis go through, but it is based oil that, and it is said to make the whole body most agreeably supple and firm.

5100 BOTTLES AN HOUR. Labour saving machinery is the outstanding feature of the Brewers’ Exhibition held in London. Weird and wonderful machines capable of bottling and labbelling ninety bottle a minute are on view. They are to take the place of the old-fashioned hand-label-ling system. Another machine can wash and dry perfectly the extraordinary number of 5.400 bottles an hour. An export stated that there had been an enormous increase in the populaiity of cider, which is becoming a serious rival to light ales and beer.

OW HOLDS UP TRAIN. As the driver of the Southern Railway 1.53 p.m. train from Teddington, .Middlesex, to Waterloo station approached Fairfax Crossing, between Teddington and Hampton Wick lie found the signal against him and saw a cow standing on the line. A signalman had seen the animal wandering at the crossing. The train came to a standstill and <efforts were made to “shoo” the cow away. These had no effect. The train officials used every device they could think of to entice the animal oli the line.- Aftei a delay of 20 minutes it moved peacefully away into the field from which it had strayed. The train then continued its journey.

POSTMAN WAS TOO TIB ED. A voiing auxiliary postman who was too wet and tired to complete his delivery, and threw a batch ot lottei.i into a rubbish dump, was sent to prison for eight days with hard labour at .Jersey Police Court. Mr Alexander Mncnnb Kay, of the Investigation Department of the General Post Office, was sent from London to inquire into the mystery of the missing letters, and his investigations resulted in John Francis Le Mnuviot, the postinnn, being arrested. When charged Mauviol admitted that lie had dumped the letters and packets, and said 11 They were wet. and I was wet and tired, so I threw them away.”

COMPOSERS GENEROUS LIVERS. Some great composers have aliuos starved for lack c.f means to feethemselves properly. Other great com posers have been famous gourmands Rossini is said to have presented he portrait to a provision merchant with these words written on it—“To m stomach’s best friend.” Dussek wa so huge an eater that he sometime was provided by his patron with three seats at table, llandel, too, was ; man of appetite. He is said to liav* ordered at an inn dinner for three After waiting a while, he asked why i was not brought. The waiter answered: “ We are waiting sir, till the com pany arrives.” And Handel replied: “ Bring up de dinner prestissimo, am de company.”

ESCAPADES OF A BOY. Ine escapades of Andrew Philip Foot (1(5), a lift-hoy, were recounted ai London Sessions when lie was sent to Borstal for three years on a charge o-' being on enclosed "cotnises. Detectiv* Barnes said that Foot was sent to tin training ship Exinoiith in 1923 for non attendance at school. Afterwards lie was found work at a tobacconist’s ii Burlington Arcade, hut was dismissed for smoking cigars. Early this year Pistole some jewellery his father’shouse suid pawned it. He went to Maidstone, where he broke into two houses and stole jewellery, for which he was hound over. A situation was found for him at Cobham, Surrey, but he was lazy and was told to go. He went away on a hicycle belonging to another employee and abandoned it at Walworth.

A CURIOUS TOMB. Amongst the many curiosities to be found in Wimborne Minster, in Dorset, is the quaint tomb of Anthony Etricke the first Recorder of Poole, and the magistrate who committed Monniounth alter Sedgemoor. He was tor some reason offended by the Wimborne people, and so made a vow that lie would not lie buried in their church or out, under the ground or over. To carry this out he cut a niche in the wall and placed there his coffin" with the date 1003 inscribed thereon, believing he should die in that year. He did not die, however, until 1703, when lie was buried in the chosen spot in such a way that his body was neither above the ground or below, in .the church or out. The date Is 03 was then written' over the other in gold. He left £1 a year for the tomb’s upkeep, which is still paid.

DANCE ON THREEPENNY BIT. A description of bow the Charleston was invented by a Scottish lassie was told at a Rotary Club luncheon •at Melbourne by Air G. E. Emery, the manager of the State Savings Bank. “Well, gentlemen,” he said, “speaking' of thrift, I’m going to tell you the one about a Scotch girl who was doing the Charleston and—” Mr Emery was interrupted by a frantic “ Sh-h-sh ” from the chairman. “ You’re speaking into a microphone,” he whispered, Mr Emery looked at the microphone in front of him and said aloud, “ Oh, that’s all right. There’s nothing wrong with this story.” (Laughter.) He told how a Scotch girl with a “ thrifty mind ” sighted n threepenny piece on the floor while dancing, and putting her foot on it, worked it oil the floor and quickly picked it up.

MUCH ANISED HA It VESTS. Canada shifted her enormous crop of wheat—wliicli for the first time passed the hal'f-liillion mark— with the swift efficiency of a nation which has learned by experience the technicalities of every phase of its chief activity. The handling, of the 550,000,000 bushels indeed provided a remarkable instance of the advance made even during the past year in methods of harvesting and transport and in the adaptation of machinery to multifarious operations of garnering. It is reported from Aleri.a, for instance - , that never has • hi're |y.im a more sneedy harvest, thanks to the introduction ol new equipment. At Magrath one j’oun* .i.i.i' rul and stooked one thousand .teres of wheat in eight clays. Some

- of wlmt. is being done m:tj be gathered from the l'ac-t that in Sas ,n ,ic\\*tit ititiiw, where most of the British harvesters were profitably at work, 4000 combine reaper-threshers and 7000 motor trucks were brought into service.

SI I.?E PI NCI IN DRAIN-PIPE. A sixty-five-year-old woman, Elizabeth < ..‘reswell, who was charged, at York, with being without visible means of subsistence, was said to have been found m the early morning sleeping in a drain pipe. The constable who l ouiul her said 'Unit she was continually sleeping out, and expressed the opinion (liar, if she was not stopped she would be found dead from exposure. When the chairman asked her whether she would go to the Infirmary, (he worn; n said: “N«, gentlemen, I won’t. I’ve had seven months of it and I ni determined to work for the money to tumble me to summon niv husband to get my homo hack. It’s my home, and I don’t see why another woman should liavc it. I worked for it in a Lord Mayor’s family.” The chairman told her that she needed treatment and would have to go either to the Institution or to prison; and Creswell agreed to go into the Institution fo- a month. "But,” she said, “I shall come out and try to get the money to summon my husband, because I’m determined to have my home.”