SEPTEMBER 7 2019 LISTENER 7
find out what would encour-
age or discourage them from
participating in reducing crop
wastage and growing our
economy in this way.
That means looking at
the opportunity from their
perspective and finding out
what would make the task
meaningful, appealing and
rewarding (in ways other than
financial), then being prepared
to change the job specs within
cost limits.
Andrea Barnett
(Wellington)
REVIVING RANGINUI WALKER
Moana Swan (Letters, August
- thinks Ranginui Walker
spoke for all of us, but he
certainly did not speak for me.
His “punch a Pākehā in the
mouth” and other utterances
border on hate speech. Her
story of the English gentleman
is a good one gladly unspoiled
by the truth. The fly whisk is a
giveaway.
Deadly enemies from the
1940s have been able to reach
peace and some forgiveness.
Why do Walker’s supporters
still harbour resentment from
the 1840s?
Don Boswell
(Eastbourne)
LUSH CRUSH
Greg Dixon and Michele
Hewitson’s adventures at Lush
Places (Good Life) have gripped
the nation for some time now
and I can’t wait for the TV
series. But I do worry at times.
Perhaps there’s something in
the water. Of late, we’ve had
Michele chatting to the irises,
harmless enough in itself, and
Greg’s crappy-jeans crisis.
● Letters must be under 300
words. Preference is given to
shorter letters. ● A writer’s
full residential address is
required on all letters, including
emails. A phone number canbe helpful. ● Pen names or
letters submitted elsewhere are
not acceptable. ● We reserve
the right to edit or decline
letters without explanation, or
to post them to our website.The Editor, Listener, Private Bag 92512, Wellesley St, Auckland 1141.Letters to the editor {[email protected]}
institution. In the 1930s, he
was a mechanic working for
civil engineering firm John
Mowlem in London. Its home
base was on the Thames
Embankment, near where the
Tate gallery stands and on
the site now occupied by the
Millbank Tower.
At some point, the firm had
a contract working on the
roadway outside Harrods, dig-
ging where major sewers ran.
Dad was assigned to pump
maintenance. As he told it,
the excavations disturbed a
sewer line, and from it came
the largest rat any witness had
ever seen.
It exited the hole and ran
across the pavement into Har-
rods via a revolving door. After
a few seconds, a stream of very
agitated customers, mainly
female, rapidly left the shop in
real and apparent distress (my
father’s description was more
vivid but less printable).
A search for the rat wasinstituted by brave staff and
some police officers and it
was isolated in part of the
premises. Meanwhile, one
of the Mowlem workers had
been dispatched to home base
where there was a rifle range (I
can vouch for the existence of
these facilities in the City as I
used one regularly in the Uni-
lever building in the 1960s) to
get a small-bore rifle to deal
with the massive rodent. This
execution duly took place, the
body was removed, and Har-
rods reopened for business.
The story ended with the
line that Harrods had tried to
sue Mowlem’s over the loss of
business due to carelessness
in allowing the miscreant to
escape and wreak havoc. The
action apparently failed.
I have never attempted to
verify the story, but every time
I went past Harrods, I couldn’t
resist a chuckle.
Dave Smissen
(Marton)Now (August 31), Michele
sees herself as the Pied Piper of
sheep in an unhealthy, touchy-
feely sort of way. Really,
Michele, just as everything
seemed to be settling down,
you go and spoil it all by
saying something sheepish like
I love ewe. I hate to think what
Wal, our Footrot Flats hero,
would have said.
Dean Donoghue
(Pāpāmoa Beach)RATS TO HARRODS
Andrew Anthony’s story about
his experience at Harrods
(Bulletin, August 31) brings
to mind one my father used
to tell involving that British- Which musician’s 1983 debut
solo album is titled She’s So
Unusual?
❑Cyndi Laup er
❑Joan Jett
❑Madonna
❑Patti Smith - True or false? It’s possible to
walk between Russia and the
United States.
❑True
❑False - Which of these toys or
games first went on sale?
❑Ouija board
❑Magic 8-Ball
❑Rubik’s Cube
❑Monopoly - True or false? The publishing
of blasphemous material is a
crime in New Zealand.
❑True
❑False
5. Which of these car models
features in the Harry Potter
series?
❑Vauxhall Viva
❑Ford Anglia
❑Hillman Hunter
❑Morris Oxford
6. Which of these words
describes a group of fish
swimming together in a
co-ordinated way?
❑School
❑Swirl
❑Shoal
❑Swarm
7. Which of these films starred
George Lazenby as James
Bond?
❑You Only Live Twice
❑On Her Majesty’s Secret
Service
❑The Spy Who Loved Me
❑For Your Eyes Only
8. The Scottish island of Lewis
and Harris is famous for
making what kind of product?
❑Puppets
❑Cheese
❑Tweed
❑Pottery
9. Which of these countries was
not formerly part of French
Indochina?
❑Cambodia
❑Laos
❑Vietnam
❑Myanmar
10. What feature of a shirt was
named after the British officer
Lord Raglan?
❑Sleeve
❑Collar
❑Pocket
❑Cuff
Answers on
page 62.(^10) by GABE ATKINSON
Quick
Questions