I wonder if the honours should be kept for those who voluntarily do good and those in paid work who have shown extraordinary courage?
Why should handsomely recompensed politicians, businesspeople and sportspeople get honoured as well? Sure, they have a positive effect on other people, but it is more important we recognise those who support and advocate for free.
What do you think?
Rhyming couplets
As an avid follower of literature and the arts (stop that chortling right now) I’m keen to encourage some poetic contributions. Specifically, I’m talking about rhyming couplets.
Tim says he was inspired by the "In Memoriam" poems often printed in the ODT — "so I have quickly written one":
Our Jeff passed on a year ago
We remember him today
Our memories of that great man
Will send our tears away
He didn’t covet wealth
Nor stand above his peers
He didn’t lose his friendships
He gave his all for years
He didn’t argue black and blue
He didn’t laugh at others’ loss
He never put a person down
He was a well-respected boss
He didn’t see the bad in people
He didn’t make a fuss
He didn’t see the red light
And he didn’t see the bus.
That’s a cracker, Tim. Get your thinking caps on out there.
Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips’ wedding on November 14, 1973, which some readers recall seeing on colour televisions here and in the United Kingdom. Photo: Getty Images
TV memories
Jane Thomsen remembers November 1973 as a significant date in her encounters with television.
"My first look at colour TV was in a Gisborne hotel in, I think, the foyer, where they were broadcasting Princess Anne’s wedding.
"I was fascinated by Sarah Armstrong-Jones, who was the same age as me. Much more so than with the colour."
Lou McConnell says one of her all-time favourite programmes was The Planemakers, which starred Patrick Wymark. Three series of this programme were made in Britain between 1963 and 1965 and, according to Wikipedia, it focused on the "power struggles between the trades union and the management on the shop floor of a fictional aircraft factory". It was followed by the even more successful The Power Game.
"If you had asked our kids though," says Lou, "they would have gone for H.R. PufnStuf, accompanied by fish and chips for tea."
Linzy Forbes, of St Clair Park, recalls the excitement of the arrival of their first television set.
"It was about 1962-63. I was at Rosedale Intermediate School (in Invercargill) and it was lunchtime and I’m playing outside on the concrete and saw my father’s car go past with a trailer behind. In it was a big TV set tied down.
"I was 10 or 11 at the time and it was one of the first I saw — a huge thing with four legs on it.
"I can’t remember exactly what the first programme I saw on it was, but think it was probably some Western."
Thanks for those memories. More to come tomorrow.
Old uniforms
Otago Girls’ High School archivist and library manager Jane Smallfield needs your help.
"In April 1963, the school announced the introduction of a summer uniform of a pale blue pinafore frock with a blue-and-white striped blouse, along with a white panama hat. This uniform was modified slightly over the years until a new uniform was gradually introduced in the early 1980s.
"The school has samples of the summer uniform from the 1970s, as shown in the photograph, but we don’t have any samples of the original summer uniform worn in the 1960s.
"Is there a reader out there that still has that original uniform or clear photographs of it that we could borrow?
"We are also happy to accept any OGHS gym frocks/summer uniforms (from the 1960s to 1970s) or school hat/glove donations, particularly as we build up to our school 150th celebrations on Waitangi Day 2021.
"Also near the top of my uniform wish list is an original pair of the red shoes that were worn with this first summer uniform for a number of years.
"I hope some ex-girls may be able to help me out and they can email me on jane.smallfield@otagogirls.school.nz."
Happy to help Jane. Let us know how you get on.