Wally's tales

I have always been close to and enjoyed the Movie World. We were lucky as a family as our parents owned and operated a Cinema dating right back to the days of silent movies. My father actually closed his first theatre which he ‘Moth Balled’ so he could volunteer for Military Service in World War One. After he returned from the War, he resumed his business and then he constructed a purpose built theatre. The movie business over the years changed greatly with innovations, yet many of its standards have remained constant to what had been set initially. These were still in use until recently. The frame speed of 24 frames per second, are still the same today. Also the Film stock that is still being used, is 35 Millimetres, although some electronic mediums are creeping in. Just take for instant what has happening to the families cameras, starting from the Box Brownie. The photographic technical leap forward into electronics is mind boggling.

In many theatres the light source was created by carbon arcs. This was always a worry as the early film stock was Nitrate film, this was also the reason for many of the regulations as this type of material was very dangerous, even more so when used close to the intense heat of the Arcs. Most of the early projectors were German precision machines, actually dating back to the ‘Silent Days’, but they were easily converted to ‘Sound’ when it arrived. In the ‘Silent days a film performance was enhanced by a pianist whose playing followed the action on the screen. My mother was one of these pianists. She was a very accomplished musician and had a large repertoire of ‘mood’ music. This ability carried over to later in her life, and we enjoyed listening to her at home before wireless sets arrived and everyone became fascinated with the new household toy.

The initial ‘Talkie’ set up was very similar to a gramophone except the disk employed was much larger. This was difficult to keep in synchronisation because there was nothing to tie the two mediums together, but it didn’t really matter as it was soon superseded by an optical strip down the side of the film.

Firemen were always in attendance for every performance and manned the doors. In our town, similar to many others we had a Volunteer Fire Service, although they didn’t get paid, we did give their brigade a donation and they saw all the movies for free. They were worth their weight in gold, and easily controlled any unruly element. Some patrons were regular attendees and in spite of some 600 seats being on offer, if they didn’t get their Special Seat they preferred to go home, or wait until we shifted out the claim jumper. For these people, and there were more than you would suspect, we kept permanent ‘reserved’ labels on their seats.

On Sundays we screened Chinese films which were supplied by the local Chinese community in Dunedin. These could be films sourced from China, Japan, India, in fact anywhere in Asia but to make it ‘watchable’ some enterprising chaps had dubbed Cantonese dialect onto them. Patrons too travelled long distances for the screenings. Some as far South as Gore, and Oamaru in the North. One very amusing episode happened once when I was screening a film for the Chinese Community. An Uncle and the Chinese official were talking in the Projection Box about the current film I was showing. I overheard the Chinese mention to my Uncle that this film was an old ‘Chinese classic’, many hundred years or so old. However after some time, I recognised that this was no Chinese Classic, but an adaptation of the English Classic ‘Little Women’ by Louisa May Alcott. It as too good a chance to give a leg pull to my guests in the projection box. Immediately proceeded to pre-empt everything that was being disclosed on the screen much to the astonishment of my captive audience. My Uncle went home and told everyone in the family what a wonderful grasp of the Chinese language I had obtained just by screening their films. It was good to put one over my uncle as he himself was an inveterate practical joker. He never stopped playing tricks on all his nieces and nephews during our growing years, but we all adored him. I have no idea what the Chinese fellow made of my ability to preview his Chinese Classic accurately as I never disclosed my secret.

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I opened a letter this week from the Canterbury Rugby Union. Straight to the point it said, ‘We haven’t forgotten you’. We have missed you, and we would like to welcome you back to future games. Further more, our Stadium rebuilding programs have now been completed and we would be delighted to see you back in our Stand again. To explain, we have been absent for some two years for a multitude of reasons. However there’s a fat chance getting us to change our minds and return. They treated us so badly over the last year or so when seats in the Stand were at an premium, that we now prefer to stay at home, further I have let our three seats lapse. In the future we will now watch any future matches in the comfort of our lounge on the wide screen TV.

At one time we had it so good, this also included our allotted parking right at the ground,. This facility meant a lot to us, as we were finding it difficult to trek for the mile or so to get to the game from the nearest available street parking. Large crowds were at this time were in attendance. Sure some patrons consumed large amounts of liquor which was being sold freely by the ‘Union’ from their ‘Official Vendors’. Dispensing beer freely from their large pack packs right at your seat. Some patrons were heavy drinkers and if you wished you could easily measure their consumption by counting the number of empties rolling around their feet. In spite of this heavy consumption they were still a good natured mob, Most of their displeasure was being directed in a very vocal fashion towards the referee. This of course is what is referred to as ‘Atmosphere’.

About this time when the Union commenced work on the wing of the old remaining stand, at same time they instituted the controversial policy of ‘Bring a Child’ to Rugby. I can’t think of any place worse to bring a child except perhaps on a Aircraft where they proceed to kick the back of your seat for whole of the journey. They ran wild in the stadium, waved promotional swords in your face, hooted plastic trumpets. They had no interest in the game except for constant trips out for more chips and soft drinks. Further, when the Rugby Union actually commenced their building programme, they took away our allotted parking. We were then told we wouldn’t be getting it back either as it had now been transferred over to the patrons occupying the ‘Corporate Boxes’, which were to be included in the new stand. Another gripe was when the Test came around, our three permanent seats were taken from us to be sold to the ‘English visitors’. To keep us happy we were then given three of the worst seats in the house all located in the top corner of the base line. Later, when they found they couldn’t sell our seats I received a telephone call to say with the greeting. Hello. ‘We have ‘Good news for you’, we can now have our seats back for the small sum of $600. I replied, ‘I have bad news for you’. I have spent the money on a couple of top line ‘Cortex Jackets’ for Laura and myself, further, we would now be watching this particular match in the comfort of our home.

As well as our family, many more must have also voted with their feet as the latest news letter said the new price was only $3-65 a seat per week, which is dramatically cheaper than it has ever been. Maybe the new large flat screen TV’s are playing their part

On the credit side they have been wonderfully helpful to wheel chair patrons. They have ripped out rows of seats to make room for these people. I was fascinated by watching one fellow who controlled his chair and its movements by only blowing into a pipe in his mouth. He was dropped off at the gate by the handicapped taxi, and he did the rest without assistance. Some people don’t regard a wheelchair as a handicap.

The union does have a current problem with attendances to its events. Patrons could be upset by all of what I have mentioned in the about list of personal gripes. Or perhaps it’s their policy of grabbing all the ‘Star’ players for he ‘All Blacks’. Taking our good players is one thing, but parking them on extended rests is another while they decide whether to give them an outing or not. We loyally trek along week after week to watch other teams play our depleted team, then take home all the Silver. We may be one eyed, but every one likes to be a winner.

Dame Margaret Bazley really put the cat among the canaries when she tabled her report concerning the rorting of some of the Northern lawyers from our ‘Legal Aid system’. ( If you don’t know what this system is, it’s a large pot of money provided by our Government to finance the defence and appeals by our criminals. As well it also supports a large group of legal people who would have difficulty in getting by without its financial support). Even if only some of the bad behaviour reported by these lawyers is true, one has to wonder how is it that they have gotten away with so much bad behaviour for so long. Some of these legal people it would seem, don’t even have an office or an address, but are working out of their car boots with only their cell phones. The time has now arrived to put aside all the pussy footing around this problem, as well ignore all their bleating and cries of unfair, discriminatory, from some who are only trying to deflect attention. As well the other ploys they will immediately bring into effect. This is something they are past masters at being lawyers. Just because they are members of the Bar, they are not above the Law and shouldn’t be afforded any protection from prosecution. No other section of the community expects it. Even when they were students this group have been handed out lenient treatment, because a prosecution would effect their future.

The whole judicial system over time has descended and evolved into a bad joke. Many of the trials today are no longer about justice, but a spectacle in which many involved in would do well on the stage with some the performances they put on in the court. It takes now three to four months to hear some Murder trials. No wonder some of our juries doze off. This prolonged procedure is after many preliminary events. Surely if a little common sense was applied, some of these time wasting procedures could be reduced. Some trials of today are a joke, and a expensive ones at that. Recently in one particular trial the defendant never even bothered to take the stand. He sat in court day after day impassively in the dock through the many weeks of arguments, taking no part in the matter on hand. At no time was he called on even to say a word, except for his preliminary ‘Not Guilty’. He may as well never even bothered to attend the daily event, which was all about him. In this particular trial which I followed closely there was another annoying fact, it was that some very pertinent evidence was also denied from the Jury hearing as it was considered in someone’s opinion, ‘That it wasn’t in the interests of a fair trial’. If I had been on the Jury I would have been very annoyed about this, and I wonder how can you possibly come to any fair verdict when large lumps of evidence is being filtered out.

The judiciary today seem to think they only the ones capable of making decisions, especially when it comes to deciding right from wrong. Yet in these same proceedings hearsay evidence was allowed. To my mind nothing seemed to be fair or make sense. The whole system today has evolved into the state where the common man is being deliberately locked out when it comes to administering Justice. Over the years we seem to have been forgotten and trampled on by the, ‘We know best’, people .

You would think that should the defendant be found guilty, given a sentence of say ten years, that would be the end of the matter. Not so, there just happens to be another layer of Justice that comes into play. They can shave off a large slice of the term given without consulting anyone. Makes you wonder why we went through the charade of the trial in the first place, when someone can come in without any of, by your leave, and slice off a large portion of the sentence.

Another annoying practice and that is the suppression of names. This is granted in many cases depending who the accused is. Their position in the community. Need to advise relatives. Some of the family must live on another planet as today it doesn’t take weeks to contact anyone. More to the point the Family in question, probably already know that their family member who is in trouble has been a pain in the butt for years, been on the wrong side of the law many times before. I say this because of a recent trial of an offender who had in the past been convicted some sixteen time for the same offence, ‘Drunk in Charge of a vehicle’ He must have been a slow learner or the previous penalties too light. However I’m a believer in the Scandinavian of mandatory weekend Jail system. It works two ways it keeps them off the streets when they would usually active boozing and really this penalty really hurts as well as being effective.

Then we come to ‘Rights’. Every feral member of our society when arrested for some bad behaviour suddenly has at his disposal a bucket full of these. Should the police get any one of these wrong the whole case is tossed out of court on a technicality. Today with our education every one knows their, ‘rights’. A hard look at these and in the main tossed out so that charges being brought will stick

Today everyone it seems is obsessed with the need to be given an apology no matter what or when the hurt or slight took place. It doesn’t even matter how long ago the perceived offence took place, or whether it can be proved that anything in fact actually happened creating a need for an apology. Or if it’s even required after so many years have past. In some cases would you believe the offence took place greater that 150 years ago. Perhaps it’s only a desire to rub the noses of today’s people in the dirt.

The Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd has been very involved with the many Australian apologies. If anything, his activity has devalued the act of apology it’s self. Past behaviour of the many claimants if they all can be believed, they are many times worse than our list. Prime Minister Rudd has been a very busy budgie indeed, handing out apologies to all and sundry. To the Aborigines for the stolen generation. For their land grievances, their stolen Children. Perhaps with hindsight the children should have been left with their abusive, drunken, parents, I’m sure the authorities didn’t take this serious action just to be mean and vindictive.

Then we have apologies to the hundreds of Children shipped out from England during the War. And again children’s treatment by Religious Homes and Foster Parents to those in their care. It’s taken a long time to get around to some of these apologies. Never fear, we too have our own active apology industry over here in New Zealand, it’s being exploited to it’s full as well. Firstly we have the Maoris. They have a list as long as your arm of grievances, of all these perceived bad treatments that were perpetrated by the new settlers. However all this seems to be one way. The Maoris certainly are not paragons of virtue if their behaviour today is anything to go on. Our prisons today are full of scallywags and 80% of them are Maori. I have yet to hear even one single mumble of thanks for the largess we have heaped onto them in retribution. Also, it couldn’t have been all that bad, as so many have intermarried into the white Pakeha Race, so much so now it’s getting difficult now to find a ‘full blooded’ Maori. The lot of the Maori in the early days when we first found them their life certainly wasn’t idyllic. Life expectancy was under thirty five years. Nor were they all leaders, Chiefs, or warriors. As well nor were all their women folk, Princesses. Many unfortunately were just an under class of slaves, and their life was even more miserable. Ordinary folk also carried on life under constant threat of raids from their neighbouring tribes, some of these were very aggressive. Should any given situation degenerate into conflict, no quarter was expected or given. It was a case of winner take all. This was the treatment dished out to the Moriori Race on the Chatham’s, they were a peaceful tribe, for them and saddled with their idealistic principals it ended up as Genocide! It would seem that after the English settlers arrived the Maoris have thrived. I once heard a talk given by Rex Austin a Maori Politician. He said in the South Island back in 1840 there only 1500 Maoris total in the South. Today Ngai Tahu covering the same area have 59,000 registered members. For their grievances and recompense, this group have done very well indeed in the compensation stakes. Some six hundred million dollars in fishing assets. I saw in Queenstown alone where they never lived, they were given from the Land Bank, the Post Office, police Station and Fire Station and as well as prime waterfront. In Christchurch a prime site that was formally the Railway Workshops. Wonderful gifts totalling many millions. Politicians wanting to look good have no trouble doling out huge sums of money, it’s not theirs.

Medicine and Hospitals haven’t escaped the apology saga either, people are now demanding huge sums for bad treatment received over the years, which at the time was the accepted as the norm. Of course a monetary gift is tacked on to the demanded apology.

We have too Apologies being demanded from Church orphanages as well as financial compensation. In spite of their ill treatment as a group they seem to have thrived too. However all our recent generation are a miserable lot. They are so busy looking after themselves they have no time for anyone else. I may have mentioned this before but at one time I used to audit the books of the local Red Cross. One fact that stood out and had nothing to do with their accounts, and that was that every member was over seventy years of age. These were the people who were carrying out all the duties they were usually involved in such as Meals on Wheels, Fund Collections. I thought, these were the people who should have been the recipients of these services. I inquired, ‘Where were all the young folk’? ‘Too busy’, was the answer. I have news for them, and it’s all bad. We all get old and require help sooner or later. Sorry our lot won’t be around to hear their call for help.

Some young folk recently inquired from me, just how did we entertain ourselves prior to the arrival of Electronic entertainments such as Radio, Cell Phones, Cinema, and television? Were we ever bored? The short answer is no, not even a little bit. Then, we were very adept at entertaining ourselves. For a start, we got out and about more, enjoyed outdoor picnics, visiting within short walking distances, say 5 kilometres. As well, there was an excellent Railway service. Later when older, Fishing and Hunting were alway possible. There was alway something to do. Some games at school came and went, such as knuckle bones, hop scotch, marbles, spinning tops. Then as now we enjoyed excellent Libraries, I must confess then I always had my nose in a book. As a result of this I scored very high in an University Intelligent Examination. I don’t think I was brighter than the other average students; just better read. As well in towns, even small villages there were many Clubs catering for every conceivable need, be it Sport or Entertainment. I remember back to when we arrived on transfer to Milton, there were some 200 clubs that you could join catering for every pleasure or interest. One difference with today that I have noted, when we wanted something to happen, we didn’t sit around waiting for someone to do it for us, we did it ourselves. Say, we decided that we would like to have a local dance. With another cousin Charlie Smith, we organised it ourselves. All we required was ten shillings for hall rental, and another ten shillings for a pianist. A quick run around town to nail posters to Lamp Posts, and we were in business. We weren’t interested in making a profit, as that wasn’t the object of the exercise, all we wanted to do was to break even.

Mainly in the winter the Returned Soldiers or similar Clubs, ran card evenings where they played ‘Euchre’, or ‘Five Hundred’, these were very popular. However of all the card games we played back then, only Bridge and Poker seem to have retained their popularity in the face of competition from Television. However ‘Solitaire’ card game has enjoyed a revival because of the fact it is one of the games provided by ‘Windows’ on their computer operation system. There were also Places in New Zealand where regional Card Games were played, especially on the West Coast. There the miners played a game called ‘Forty Five’, I came across the same game in New Caledonia, still being played in small settlements. Another card game that was very popular was Cribbage. Every home would have a cribbage counting board, or one made from a large bar of soap. Every home too of course had their large selection of board games. Ludo, Snakes and Ladders, Drafts, Chess, and Monopoly were the most popular. One thing I learnt from playing these games that the true ‘makeup’ of anyone quickly came to the surface. Bad losers quickly signalled that they would be difficult people to live with, you didn’t need to be a phycologist to work that out.

As young children we all played out on the road, should a motor car happen to come past, we would move onto the side until it passed and waited until the dust cleared, then carried on. My father about this time purchased a car, a new Model T Ford. The fact he couldn’t drive didn’t bother him, or the fact that he didn’t have a licence to drive it. He had owned a motor bike sometime in the past so had a good understanding of the principals of being in charge of a motor vehicle. After all, they did supply with the car, an instruction manual. This was frequently referred to on our initial outing, with the whole family on board we took off to Murdering beach. The car ran out of puff on ‘King’s Hill’ the steepest part of the trip. Out came the manual to read up on the instructions. I can remember another strange character-istic of this model. It went up very steep hills better in reverse. It seems that the car had a lower gear ratio backwards. Alas, it’s not the same today, there just isn’t the excitement and romance we had then on any journey.

Another form of entertainment that has passed us by, and that was a ‘Community Sing’. These were normally held in Movie theatres and the song sheet was projected onto the screen. They bored me to tears, but they were every popular with the public. On occasions as well, some of the ‘Shorts’ at the cinema during a film screening were also ‘sing along’ short films with a bouncing ball marking the place on the screen. I didn’t like these either.