NEWS AND NOTES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 27 May 1938, Page 8

NEWS AND NOTES

Not Like England. “Apart from the Cathedral square and the river Avon that flows through the city, Christchurch, is not typical of the towns in England.” This was the opinion expressed by Mr C. C. Johns, of England, in an interview with the “Southland Times.” Accompanied by his wife, Mr Johns has been travelling through France, India, Australia, and New Zealand on a business visit. “The lay-out of Christchurch is too exact,” he continued, “and the streets are too straight to convey to any Englishman a similarity to his own towns. One of the chief charms of the English town is the 'twisty lane’ that grows up round the corner.” “As Others See Us.” During his recent tour of the South Island, giving displays of parachute jumping, Mr G. W. Sellars, had some amusing experiences not the least of which (says the “Christchurch StarSun”) was an encounter, at the breakfast table, with a woman who called him a fool and doomed him to an early death. She did not know to whom she was speaking when she looked up from reading the paper, and, addressing Mr Sellars, said: “I see this fool Sellars has been jumping out of an aeroplane with his parachute again. What a fool of a man he is. He ought to know that he will do it once too often and kill himself. You mark my words, he’s done it often enough now; he won’t get away with it much longer.’ Fortunately, Mr Sellars does not suffer unduly from nerves, and her gloomy prognostication did not interfere with his appreciation of the bacon and eggs. Helpful Elephant. The hero of the floods north of Gisborne is an elephant belonging to a touring circus. The road was rendered slippery by subsidences and slips, and the elephant was harnessed to lorries and waggons. He pulled them safely through a road which might easily have become a bog. Private motorists travelling down the coast were also aided by the elephant. Large Eel Trappe.d. An eel sft long, with a girth of 14 in, was caught in the 6in inlet pipe connecting the Western Springs lake, Auckland, and the swimming pool at the motor camp recently. Portion of the earthenware pipe had to be dug up before the restriction could be removed. The eel was observed swimming in the lake on Saturday morning and got behind the screens, but efforts to catch it were unsuccessful. The eel evidently travelled along the pipe until it reached a point a short distance from the pool, where the diameter was reduced to 3in, and there it became stuck. When removed the eel was weighed at the Auckland Zoo, and turned the scales at 241 b. Unusual Mascot. An unusual type of mascot attached to the bumper bar of a car of Continental make attracted a good deal of interest in Auckland. The mascot is a silver death’s head with the eyes, mouth and nose picked- out in flaming red. The teeth in the gaping jaws are delicately outlined in white. The jaws are sprung, and can be opened or closed at will. It is understood that the ornament was purchased in Naples.