NOVEMBER 5 2016 http://www.listener.co.nz 7
their leisure with farming,
floundering and similar activi-
ties that I identified with.
There were other stories in
the book, but they weren’t
quite like my life. We didn’t
have horses, fishing (apart
from floundering) or firearms.
On the plus side, we were
allowed to read Noddy books,
though comics were frowned
on. Maybe that’s why I still
don’t really enjoy comics.
Carolyn Deverson
(Owaka)
CONSERVATION MATTERS
When Department of Con-
servation director-general Lou
Sanson writes of the need
to go back to court over the
proposed Ruataniwha Dam
land swap, he explains that the
action is necessary to find out
“whether broader conservation
purposes” can be taken into
account in making such deals.
I wonder if such “broader
conservation purposes” might
include saving his own job.
Neil Brown
(Little River)
HELMET PROS AND CONS
I like reading the Listener
editorials compared with the
daily paper ones, which seem
to struggle at times to find suit-
able topics.
But the comment “making
cycle helmets voluntary – in
the teeth of global evidence
about head injury” (Editorial,
October 22) is debatable.
Although it sounds sensible
to wear a cycle helmet, the evi-
dence of the benefits is mixed.
Most of us do not have time
to study the research fully, but
the Bicycle Helmet Research
Foundation (see cyclehelmets.
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many things. This is a good
reason not to have a written
constitution, which would
carve in stone the assump-
tions, attitudes, beliefs and
prejudices of a comparatively
small group of people living in
a particular period.
People change, constitu-
tions do not. If a constitution
were proposed, every political
group, religious sect and sin-
gle-issue lobby would demand
its views be enshrined in it.
Ian Hood
(Blenheim)
FOUND WANTING
A discussion about Brexit
that I heard on RNZ National
turned to the cost of Marmite.
The makers of this UK dietary
staple had decided to cease
production because of pre-
dicted rising costs on exiting
the European Union. First
consumers, then retailers,
emitted howls of protest and
the decision was reversed.
So, Britons get their
Marmite, but it will cost a little
more. This led to general dis-
cussion about more expensive
retail items post-Brexit.
As trade rules between the
UK and Europe are renegoti-
ated, Britons – and ultimately
us – may accept higher costs
in order to preserve our most
precious asset: autonomy.
Thus an effect of Brexit may
be the conversion of “wants”
into “needs”, thereby chang-
ing consumer mindsets. Could
this herald the slow death of
consumption for its own sake
(greed), and help build a fairer,
less-competitive society?
Jo Murphy
(Waikanae)
FOR THE RECORD
In the article “Centre of
controversy” (October 29),
we failed to attribute the
photographs of John Scott’s
Aniwaniwa Visitor Centre.
The pictures were taken by
David Straight. We regret the
omission.
org) has a good summary.
Geof Simons
(Dunedin)
The reference to cycle-helmet
wearing was no casual comment.
A recent study of bike helmet use
by 64,000 riders worldwide found
helmets reduce the risk of serious
head injury by nearly 70%. The
University of New South Wales
research drew together 40 sepa-
rate studies and found helmet
wearers had dramatically lower
head-injury odds. – Editor
CONSTITUTIONALLY UNSOUND
Some Asians are intolerant of
our society, says R Porteous
(Letters, October 1). True, but
quite a few New Zealanders
who are neither Asians nor
immigrants also disapprove of
- What was a term for
“clockwise” before clocks were
invented?
❑Ringwise
❑Sunwise
❑Pennywise
❑Wheelwise - What is made by Zildjian,
one of the oldest companies in
the world?
❑Paper
❑Candles
❑Brushes
❑Cymbals - In typography, what is a
small line attached to the end
of a letter called?
❑Macron
❑Serif
❑Circumlex
❑Pilcrow
4. Which of these means
“above the threshold of
perception”?
❑Supraliminal
❑Liminal
❑Subliminal
5. What is the main alcoholic
ingredient in a Manhattan?
❑Whiskey
❑Vodka
❑Gin
❑Rum
6. Which of these is not a play
by Shakespeare?
❑Doctor Faustus
❑Coriolanus
❑The Comedy of Errors
❑Cymbeline
7. In computing, what does
“GUI” stand for?
❑Graphical User Interface
❑Guest Unlimited Internet
❑Green Utility Ink
❑Grid Unied Integral
- Which TV show starred
Barbara Eden?
❑I Dream of Jeannie
❑Lost in Space
❑Get Smart
❑Bewitched - The Gilbert Islands form the
main part of which nation?
❑Fiji
❑Kiribati
❑Tuvalu
❑Vanuatu - True or false? Lemmings
sometimes engage in mass
suicidal clif dives.
❑True
❑False
Answers on
page 64.
(^10) by GABE ATKINSON
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