Played On!

And The Band

From Gabrielle Lawson, in Honiara It was 12.15 a.m. in Mendana Avenue, the main street of Honiara.

Most good people had gone to bed, and to ensure their safety the usual Solomon Islands police constable was doing his rounds.

HE quickened his measured beat when the sound of loud singing and the notes of a ukelele came upon the midnight air. Hurrying forward, he found a lone Solomon Islander serenading the hidden moon.

Instead of becoming a rapt listener, he forthwith told the happy soul to be gone. The law said it was for bidden to play a musical instrument and sing on a public road, he said.

But the alleged offender was apparently very fond of music, as well as being the owner of a radio set, which kept him up to date with the news.

Anyway, he promptly told the con stable he did not know he could not sing or play when and wherever he liked, and, besides, he had never heard anything to the contrary on the broadcast news.

However, the constable insisted on his view of the law and continued on his beat.

Two hours later, his duty took him to the Chinatown area, and to his astonishment a familiar sound again smote his ears.

It was the same happy soul sing ing and playing his ukelele.

The outcome was that the one-man band found himself in the Central District Magistrate’s Court charged with wilfully and wantonly singing and playing upon a musical instru ment in Mendana Avenue to the annoyance of the public.

The man pleaded not guilty, and to show he wasn’t dim witted, he cross examined the policeman. Had he actually disturbed the public? he asked.

As no one came forward to say that he had, the magistrate held that the police had failed to establish a case, as there was no evidence before the court that the public had been annoyed or disturbed. The accused was therefore discharged.