FROM THE WATCH TOWER

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 831, 27 November 1929, Page 8

FROM THE WATCH TOWER

By “THE LOOK-OUT MAN."

VISIONS 1 have often watched by the gleaming line Of the rail, where the long expresses whine, The empty wagons swinging back— The smoke strung out on the shining track, And, like those tracks, all dreams of mine Seem empties, coming back. The song of the wheels is a mournful theme— Its groan and lumbering echo seem Like dreams I’ve had of romance and fame, But every vision returns the same, Swinging along the gleaming track— Just empty, rolling back. RIKKO. THE DAY'S WORK Some guileless person at the theatre the other evening observed: "How wonderful it must be to be the orchestra and hear ail this beautiful music and these amusing jokes night after night.” That remark repeated in the presence of the first cello or second piccolo would just evoke a harsh and sardonic laugh. One keen glance is sufficient to show that no one enjoys the show less, after the first couple of nights, than the average unit in the orchestra. At the start he may have appreciated those jokes, and the languorous lilts may have stirred some responses deep down within him; hut now- they merely make him look pained, and a glance at the violist’s face when one is enjoying a hearty laugh is almost the equivalent of being doused with cold water during a sun bath. TINTED PILE Queen Street has been given a pleasant surprise in the past week or two as the Power Board building has been divested of its scaffolding, and even the man in the street, on whom gems of architecture normally make but little impression, is seen now to pause and gaze with some little admiration at the soaring columns of the beautifully tinted facade. The tower, of c.ourse, has yet to be completed, but at this stage the consensus among lay observers will be that this is one of the most brilliant efforts contributed to the city scheme. Possibly its effect will be far reaching. Architects may no longer be tied down to the extraordinary ideals of thAir principals. They may he given a free hand to design for beauty as well as for utility, and the results, like the Dilworth Building, the Power Board building, and some others, -will be in welcome contrast to some horrible monuments of the past few years of progress. AIR SENSE Growth of the flying sense is indicated in the summons received by an Auckland doctor yesterday to attend a case at Dargaville by airplane. At this rate city practitioners will soon be extending their good works far and wide. The airplane is coming into its own in New Zealand, but there is a lot to be done yet before flying can prove its full utility. Flying men .jvho buy airplanes of their own enjoy the novelty for a time, but unless airdromes are provided they are liable to tire of descending into farmer’s fields, climbing over hedges and ditches to the nearest road, and soliciting from passing motorists a lift in to the nearest petrol pump. Furthermore, it is discouraging on returning to the plane with the necessary spirit to find that a cow- has chewed the tail off the machine. These are minor discouragements faced cheerily by the pioneers of the air; hut the sooner each hamlet and townlet, has its airdrome, the better for the fullest development of the air sense and for realisation of the oftstated fact that a straight line i 3, after all, the shortest distance between two points. THE WATER BIRDS

The handicap of insufficient landing grounds does not trouble seaplanes; at least, not in a place like Auckland, where from the air a large portion of the scene spread out below- appears to be water. Some of it is very smooth water —too smooth, in fact, to be comfortable for a seaplane pilot. Sometimes when water is absolutely glassy, unruffled by a breeze, and glimmering in the morning or evening light, the surface is so deceptive from aloft that the pilot finds it difficult to make an accurate landing. A serious accident in Europe the other day was attributed to conditions like this. But given smooth water just ruffled into opacity by a whisper of summer breeze, then the pilot enjoys conditions that are ideal. There are bays and harbours w-ithin easy reach of Auckland which should prove the happiest playgrounds for a seaplane. Port Fitzroy, on the Great Barrier, would almost be good enough for Schneider Cup race. Seaplanes will no doubt in the fullness of time make the acquaintance of all these delightful and hitherto remote havens, and no holiday picture of a bay at Waiheke or Bon Acord Harbour at Kawau will be complete -without, its seaplane riding in the foreground.