NEWS OF THE DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26638, 8 December 1947, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Tribute to a Dancer

Nearly three years ago, when the Borovansky Ballet Company was in Dunedin, a member of the troup, Thadee Slavinsky, died suddenly. He was buried from St. Joseph’s Cathedral in the Anderson's Bay Cemetery. Yesterday, before they departed from Dunedin at the close of the ballet season at His Majesty’s Theatre, the members of the present company visited the cemetery, where flowers were laid on the grave of their late colleague and the friend of the great Vijinsky. United States Naval Visit

A part of the United States naval Pacific task force 38, which is en route to Australia, will pay an informal visit to Auckland from January 21 to 26 before proceeding to Sydney. Announcing this, the Minister of Defence, Mr Jones, said the task force consists of one fleet carrier, the U.S.S. Valley Foi'ge, flying the flag of the task force commander, Rear-admiral H. M. Martin, U.S.N., four destroyers, and one fleet tanker. No Sympathy

Often when a motorist passes a hedgehog lying dead at the side of the road one of his passengers will express sympathy with the “ poor beast,” but one Christchurch resident feels no sympathy for these animals. In eight or nine days hedgehogs have destroyed 150 pumpkin plants growing in his garden. Some were eaten right to the‘roots but'the leaves only on others were touched.

Shipment of Dogs A consignment of nine Border collie dogs and several pups will reach Auckland from England this week in the Federal Line steamer Kent. The dogs are consigned to Mr. R. Fortune, of Timaru, and are the largest shipment of the breed ever to be sent to the Dominion. Mr Fortune recently visited trials in Scotland, England and Wales and selected the dogs for New Zealand conditions.

Playing With Fire When an amateur mechanic in Duke street decided to clean some motor parts in petrol on Saturday he evidently forgot about the inflammability of the cleansing agent. He suffered a rude awakening when the petrol burst into flames. In response to a hasty summons at 10.20 a.m. a machine from the Central Fire Brigade hurried to the scene, but no damage resulted from the blaze. Yesterday a chimney fire in Cumberland street at 12.17 p.m. was extinguished by the brigade. Wife “ Half Price ” When evidence was being given in the Magistrate's Court at Westport regarding breaches of the licensing laws, the Magistrate, Mr A. A. McLachlan, asked whether a woman found in an hotel after hours was the wife of a man who was similarly charged. On being told that she was, the Magistrate said it might be a case in which a reduction should be made. He fined the husband 10/- and the wife 5/-. A constable giving evidence said that the husband dashed out when the police entered and left his wife to be questioned.

Any Excuse “In the Islands, any excuse for a feast and, some excitement is welcomed by‘ tbe natives, and the navy's toughest job is to cope with the feasts,” said Lieutenant-commander J. F. A. O’Neill, D.S.C., R.N.Z.N., commander of H.M.N.Z.S. Arbutus, when addressing the New Plymouth Rotary Club. Lieutenant-commander O’Neill recently made a tour of the Cook and Samoan Islands in Arbutus. On one occasion in the Cook Islands he had to attend three of these feasts in about two hours and a-half. “ I can tell you that they were real feasts,” he said. “What was more, we had to listen to a speech of welcome, and I had to make a reply to each of them.” First Impressions

“I have just landed in New Zealand for the first time and one of the things I really do appreciate is that I have not been plagued, as one usually is immediately on landing, to give impressions,” said Mr C. Wil-liams-Ellis, an English architect, in a broadcast talk last night. “I am doubly glad about that this time, because, quite apart from my present shocking ignorance, my views would be too hopelessly biased. I should be altogether too prejudiced; too apt, I suspect, to award ‘ first prizes ’ and ‘ highly commendeds ’ with uncritical enthusiasm, when perhaps you may not in fact quite deserve them, just because I have been so enchanted by the little I have seen of your country,” he added.

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