LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 17 January 1942, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Greeting in Braille. Braille was recently used to transmit a greeting between the blind of America and those British men, women and children, who have been blinded during bombings. From the Lighthouse of the New York Association for the Blind, the message went by clipper to the American Lodge in Torquay, Devon, the newest centre for the warblinded, and the third of its type to be operated in Britain by the B.W.R.S. Some of the victims were blinded too recently to be able to read Braille. The message said: “We send you greetings and best wishes. May the new 8.W.R.S. American Lodge be of help to you, ’for we have long admired and been encouraged by the fortitude and bravery of the British people.” Action to be Taken.

The intention of the authorities to take action against the parties concerned in cases where sales of potatoes had been made at figures in excess of the stipulated prices was announced by the Price Tribunal ift a statement issued last night. It was stated that the Tribunal’s inspectors were at the moment very active throughout the Dominion in a general check-up on prices charged by retailers. Reference was made by the tribunal to the terms of the Price Order issued on December 23 putting a ceiling price on potatoes of £2O a ton to the grower, f.0.r., 5.1., grower’s station. Some growers were, ■ the tribunal stated, endeavouring to take advantage of the present short supply by asking prices in excess of that figure. A “Dud” Shell.

Consternation created among a New Zealand unit holding a base ridge before Tobruk by the arrival of a “dud” shell is described by Private L. S. Price, formerly of Oakura. “It bounded up the ridge, swooped over the ’top and headed straight for our truck, beside which we were lying. It hit the front wheel with a smack and rolled ’over. Then we had a good look at it. It was a six-inch naval shell more than 12 inches long. I didn't know whether to leap straight into the air. bolt for a hole, or stay and stare at it.. Someone said it might be a timeshell likely to go off at any moment, so we all hurried away. Then we thought it might blow the truck apart, so we rushed back, keeping an eye on the thing, climbed into the truck, slammed in the gears and —you would hardly believe it —drove right over the shell. As we went from that spot a voice from the scrub called out: “And you drive a truck. You shouldn’t be allowed to handle a horse.” N.Z. Nurse in Somaliland.

Surprise at the incredible amount of dirt half hidden by beautiful architecture and unnecessary arches and monuments is expressed by an Auckland nurse in a letter describing her new post at Mogadishu, Italian Somaliland, which is now occupied by the British. The nurse, Miss Joyce Oxenham, who was trained at the Auckland Hospital, left for Kenya Colony three'years ago. Her family now lives in Australia. Miss Oxenham recently flew from Nairobi to Mogadishu with other British nurses to take over, the hospital. The town is full of Italians, Momalis, and British occupying troops. The hospital, a set of white wards scattered over the sand near the sea and encircled by a wall, is half a mile away from the town. The nurses are the only British women in Mogadishu. Even their quarters and the wards at the hospital were so dirty that they had a hard job cleaning up when they arrived. The nurses’ main troubles are lack of green vegetables and the prevalence of flies and ants,