FROM THE WATCH TOWER

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 830, 26 November 1929, Page 8

FROM THE WATCH TOWER

By “THE LOOK-OUT MAN.”

OSCULATION UP TO DATE A beautiful European spy confesses that she lured her victims with sleep producing kisses, nibbling a wafer herself to keep awake. I’vq. tasted the bliss Of a carmine kiss With ounces of lipstick laden, And I’ve put in the nips - For a buss from the lips Of an innocent country maiden. But strange, I confess, Is the tingling caress Of the lady who nibbles a wafer, Because for the sake Of keeping awake She considers a wafer is saf^r. She works for her pay In a curious way With sinister kisses and biscuit; But such a device, Though naughty, is nice. Come brothers, who wouldn’t risk it.' PHIL ANDERER. * * * GESTURE “Leonardo”: Dear L.O.M. —Is the pulse of chivalry beating more slowly in our single men? Are our swains and squires losing their dash? I ask these questions because at a concert at which 12 single women and five married women sang or gave items, only one single girl received a bouquet, while four out of the five married women duly “landed the mustard.” pne must infer that in matters like this the husbands of the day are singularly punctilious. Perhaps they have learned that one of the secrets of domestic bliss is to say it, now and again, with flowers. * * * “HOW IS THE RIVER! ”

Flowing to the Bay of Plenty along a winding course through the moun-‘ tains, the Motu River is a dangerous and rapid stream, liable to sudden floods and changes of current. That is why, on journeys down the Bay of Plenty coast from Cape Runaway toward Opotiki, settlers halted at wayside camps to ask, “How is the river today?” It is a historic question that now, in its relation to that particular barrier across the path of progress along the eastern wing of the Bay of Plenty, will be asked no more. The Motu has been bridged—conquered at last —and was formally opened yesterday with much speechmaking and feasting, as befits an epoch in the history of a picturesque district. By the bridging of the Motu the questing motorist has been given the key to a new stretch of beautiful country. Hitherto much of the communication along the coast has been by launch, but little by little the road is coming into its own. CONQUEST OF THE CAPE

Beyond the Motu there are more streams, the Haparapara, Te Keru and Raukokore, some of them yet unbridged. It is a line of beautiful coast, with the track mounting high on the spurs of the rugged hills that slope from the high ranges to the sea. Few travellers visit this part of the North Island. It is too remote even for the holiday maker, and he who would traverse the coastal route must still do very many miles by horse. Away up there, on the most eastern extremity of New Zealand, some lonely homesteads look out across the sea, and the little townships of Te Araroa, Hicks Bay and Lottin Point go serenely along their sequestered way. But the metalled road has been slowly creeping up either coast to meet them. The bridging of the Motu follows the bridging of that other turbulent stream, the Waiapu, which twice swept the bridge works clean away. With a few more streams bridged, and a few more score of mountainous miles mastered, the East Cape, too, will lay bare >its charms to the fnotorist, and the conquest of one more historic, secluded domain will be complete. x THE JORDAN CUP Among the trophies won by the Manukau Rugby Football Club last season was the Jordan Cup, open for competition to all teams within the Manukau electorate. Mr. Jordan’s happy thought suggests that Mr. M. J. Savage may find it appropriate to give a cup for the ping pong championship of Auckland West, which includes the Great Barrier, while the Hon. J. B. Donald might institute a telegraphic draughts championship for Auckland East, which includes Waiheke. Competitions like these might result in the promotion of a real district loyalty, and electorate would be set against electorate with intense fervour. In Mr. Jordan’s case, his idea of showing his interest in the athletic tendencies of his constituents and their offspring was hampered by the fact the boundaries of Rugby Unions and electorates do not coincide. However, the competition has already proved a success. There is only one small difficulty—will it be by the electoral roll or a birth qualification that too eager teams will in future be prevented from bringing “foreigners” in from trans-Jordania?