Reporter’s Diary (Press, 19 April 1989)

On 19 April 1989, a humorous incident unfolded involving the Doyle family and a second-hand stove they ordered for their holiday house in Moana, Lake Brunner. The stove was booked for installation through a Greymouth store, where arrangements were made for collecting the key to their house. However, upon the Doyles' arrival at their holiday home, they discovered that no stove was present. After contacting the store, they were reassured that the stove had indeed been installed. This led to a fruitless Easter spent seeking their missing appliance from neighbours. Eventually, they learned from those living next door that their home had been rented out to friends who had replaced the old stove with a new one, but preferred the old unit. The Doyles eventually reclaimed their stove, leaving one mystery unresolved: how did the key to one house open another? In another light-hearted anecdote, a secretary for a headmaster was noted for her golf-related misunderstanding of a caller's request, claiming her boss was “away on a course for handicapped teachers” instead of teeing off. The news also briefly mentioned design consultants tasked with refreshing the Natural History Museum in London, only to conclude that the existing name remained the best choice, raising questions about the cost of their findings. The report took an amusing turn with a mention of topless waiters at the Christchurch Town Hall planned for an International Secretaries’ Day breakfast celebration on 26 April. The event is set to include bubbly and a lucky secretary standing the chance to win a $1,000 shopping spree. Lastly, a quirky update from the National Union of Students in Scotland revealed a complex electoral arrangement for their National Women’s Committee, which invited a diverse representation, including places for lesbian, disabled, Jewish, black, Irish women, and more. A light-hearted personal anecdote from a resident named Helen reflected on her homesickness for Australia, mentioning her enjoyment of McCabe’s potato cakes. However, when she revealed this to her father, he quipped that those potato cakes were inferior as they were made from New Zealand-imported potatoes. The report concluded with a whimsical observation about a Suzuki Swift parked in Durham Street, noting its license plate, lENVYU, left a bit to be desired in colour.

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