When the All Blacks met the King

London, December 14: The New Zealanders continued their successful tour yesterday by defeating the Combined Services comfortably by 25 points to 3. The game was played in the presence of his Majesty the King, who was introduced to each New Zealand player and non-player before the game commenced. After the game was over he expressed himself highly delighted with the play. Rugby is, in his opinion, one of the best games played. The King showed his appreciation by remaining until the final whistle. Rugby enthusiasts in New Zealand as well as in this country cannot fail to be aware that the King has a more than a fairly intimate knowledge of the game of which he makes no secret of being so fond. I was especially glad, therefore, that when he saw the New Zealanders play for the first time he saw them at their best, for at their best they were on that occasion. — by Col Philip Trevor for ODT

France’s defeat a perfect end

London, January 18: The All Blacks played their last game and their last international match against France at Toulouse, and wound up a triumphal tour by defeating their opponents by 30 points to 6.

If the cap fits

Don’t throw away your old rubber bathing cap. You will find it ever so useful when you cream your face and give yourself other beauty treatments. The reason so many people grow grey at the temples long before the rest of the hair becomes streaked with white is due to the action of the soap and water which constantly reaches that part of the hair when the face is washed and the creams and bleaching lotions which are used to beautify the complexion. If the old rubber bathing cap is kept handy and slipped on before the beauty treatments are started, and the hair all tucked away under it, the chances of growing grey at the temples early in life will be reduced to a minimum.

Marine mammals make spectacle

An unusual sight was witnessed by a party on the large pleasure launch Norana while the craft was cruising outside Otago Heads on Saturday afternoon. When off Long Beach, about halfway between Warrington and the Heads, the attention of the Norana’s party was drawn to a whale, which was diving and spouting at close quarters. The whale was estimated to be fully 30 feet in length, and had a very broad tail. At the same time as the whale was sighted the Norana was practically surrounded by large schools of porpoises. It was estimated that there were several hundred of these fish "sporting" within a range of a quarter of a mile. The presence of the whale so close to the shore was probably due to the large quantities of whale feed now to be seen floating off the coast.

Hosiery taken from pool

Those who patronise the St Clair baths should take steps to safeguard their belongings before they go into the water. Some ladies who went to the baths during the week had an unfortunate experience. On going to the cubicles after their swim they found that a thief, or thieves, had stolen most of their underwear. All their silk stockings were taken. It was apparent that the thieves had centred their attention on clothing which could not be identified by their rightful owners.

Traffic census

The following tally of motor vehicles travelling north on the Main North road shows convincingly the amount of heavy traffic using the roads: Motor cars 242, motor lorries and buses 17, motor cycles 20. — ODT, 20.1.1925

Compiled by Peter Dowden