'Reach out': reader singing from same songbook

Many around Dunedin will sympathise with this telling piece of roadworks rage on a sign in Moray Pl. Photo: Peter Dowden
Many around Dunedin will sympathise with this telling piece of roadworks rage on a sign in Moray Pl. Photo: Peter Dowden
First a word about the ridiculous language we are forced to put up with each day.

Barry, of Ravensbourne, clearly has the same views as me about these platitudes which I quoted yesterday.

''Your column today uses the term 'reaching out'.

''Please be advised that, to my knowledge at least, as you are neither Gloria Gaynor (1975), nor a member of the Four Tops (1966), you should not use the term 'reach out''.

''Pedantically yours, Barry.''

September 2010 earthquake

Bruce Thompson, of Weston, is keen to add his experiences of the first Canterbury earthquake to those of other readers.

''We were staying in Prebbleton, just south of Christchurch, for our eldest granddaughter's ninth birthday and, at 4.36am, went from deep sleep to full 'red alert' with the house booming and shaking.

''The adults hit the ground running, spreading out to our granddaughters' bedrooms and staying with them while the world went mad and the power went out.

''The shaking stopped, the power came back on and then the second shock struck. This time the power stayed out and, when we went to the pantry for candles and matches, we saw that the shaking had been aligned north-south.

''Everything on the east and west pantry shelves had been shaken but not stirred, while items from the north wall were lying on the floor. The neighbours across the road had a now-empty bookcase on the south wall of their lounge.

''Later, we went for a walk around Prebbleton and saw that a lot of headstones on the churchyard graves that are aligned north-south had been either knocked over or snapped off.

''Being a brand new house on solid ground, the only damage to our people's home was the bedroom TV, which had done a terminal face plant on the floor, and a broken picture frame in another bedroom.

''However, that was sleep done and dusted for the day, so we cooked up some breakfast - good thing the range was gas-powered or it would have been cornflakes and cold milk.

''Aftershocks kept up throughout the day and the family dog stayed very close to us and required constant up-close-and-personal contact. Our youngest granddaughter (19 months) got into the 'taking cover' routine very quickly, being the first under a doorway each time. By the end of the day she was sick of the whole thing - 'me room wobbles!'

Rabbit skins being dried in the sun outside the Lake Pukaki Hotel, in a frame from a silent movie made for J.K. Mooney & Co Ltd in the early 1930s. Photo: Joe Enright
Rabbit skins being dried in the sun outside the Lake Pukaki Hotel, in a frame from a silent movie made for J.K. Mooney & Co Ltd in the early 1930s. Photo: Joe Enright
''Despite the constant distractions, our birthday girl's weekend was a success and the next day, when we left, we thanked her for a party that we were never going to forget.''

Julian Faigan, of Roslyn, relates a quake story from Japan.

''On Friday November 5, 2010, I was in the Sonic City Concert Hall, Saitama, just north of Tokyo for a concert of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra. The hall is huge - easily as big as the Sydney Opera House.

''The first item played was the famous Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No 1, which I had heard many times before.

''A few minutes into the first movement, I detected a deep rumbling, like the timpani being struck - but I knew there was no timpani at that point in the music.

''Suddenly, the enormous ground floor, where I was sitting, twisted and lifted in a wave-like motion, causing huge alarm, and screams from the audience. I was happy at that point I was seated on an aisle.

''I saw in the next day's Japan Times (in English) it was a magnitude 4.9 quake directly under the concert hall. But the remarkable thing was the orchestra kept playing throughout, as well as the piano soloist, Michie Koyama. They didn't miss a beat! There was huge applause from the audience after the work finished.''

Sam McClelland about to leave Millers Flat with a full wagonload of dead rabbits for the railhead at Edievale in West Otago. Notice how the rabbits are hung up in the wagon for full ventilation. Photo: Teviot District Museum
Sam McClelland about to leave Millers Flat with a full wagonload of dead rabbits for the railhead at Edievale in West Otago. Notice how the rabbits are hung up in the wagon for full ventilation. Photo: Teviot District Museum
Rabbit farming

Allan Johnston, of Alexandra, recalls a rabbit truck that was also a school bus.

''Your mention of rabbit farming prior to rabbit boards reminded me of it being common knowledge that rabbiters did continue to trap during nesting.

''Pregnant does (referred to as milky does) were released to continue breeding, while the remainder and the bucks were taken for their skins, or dispatched for processing.

''Trucks collected rabbits from various parts of Central Otago and carried them to the canning factory in Alexandra. One well-known character's truck tray had a framed canvas cover (I think they were known as 'tilts').

''This vehicle was also used as a school bus. After the morning school bus run, the owner would remove the long seating forms and complete his rabbit collection runs until it was time for the afternoon school run. Seating forms were then replaced and the school run commenced.

''This vehicle was also used to take rugby teams to various locations, and met its demise when it crashed while carrying passengers to a rural dance.''

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Remonstrative Parthian Signs

WORKS END
"STEADY!"