Gamblers Take
p. 20 · Read in the full issue
A Gambol
Russell Lamb and Fred Bartu and a couple of their mates have enjoyed a lunch hour game of five hundred out the back of the Port Moresby Post Office for the past three and a half years. But on August 19 they played hop scotch and marbles.
The reason was Papua-New Guinea’s controversial new play ing card legislation, which came into force the previous day.
The law forbids the playing of cards without a police licence— and pipe-smoking, ginger-bearded Post Office technician Russell Lamb is hot about missing his daily game.
“This ban on cards is serious,” he said. “And the law is ridi culous.”
So Lamb organised his fellow office workers at the Department of Posts and Telegraphs into gay games of marbles and hopscotch to pass away the lunch hour.
It was a protest demonstration, and more than 100 townspeople turned out to watch.
“We want to make people laugh at this piece of legislation, and maybe if enough people laugh the parliamentarians wiV see how stupid their law is and repeal it,” said Russell.