From the Islands Press

M riIHE cannibal steak on the I -I- menu at the Suva Travel- V V lodge got a grilling in the Legislative Council yesterday.

Mr. K. C. Ramrakha (Fed., Tailed, Rewa), who was speaking about propaganda, had complained that Fijians were portrayed as savages.

“In one hotel in this country, a hotel across the road, one item on the menu is cannibal steak,” he said.

There was laughter from the Gov ernment benches.

“I do not think this is a matter for laughter,” Mr. Ramrakha added.

“I consider this is a great slur on the people of this country.”

The beauty of British propaganda, he said, was that the people against

whom the propaganda was directed were brainwashed themselves.

After referring to jokes about cannibals, Mr. Ramrakha said: “I see no reason why we should keep harking back to the old days.”

The Vunivalu, Ratu George Cako bau, saw the humorous side of the criticism.

At the morning tea break he offered Mr. Ramrakha a sandwich.

“Have a cannibal steak, K.C.,” he said, with a twinkle in his eye.

Mr. Colin Thompson, Fiji manager of Travelodge, said later: “Before this item was included on the menu we asked the advice of senior mem bers of the Fijian community, who said they did not find it offensive.” —News item in “The Fiji Times”, Suva.

TONGA, as New Zealand has admitted, ships the best quality bananas in the Pacific. We may pack occasional bruised fruit, but it is the best bruised fruit in the region. A bruised Tongan banana will stand up to a bruised Fijian banana any day. —Comment by Sione Faingaa in “The Chronicle”, Nukualofa.

H CIJC . . , , .

ERE .s a story about a big shark. ... Some people at Narovorove, Maewo, killed a cow and skinned it and then they threw its skin in the sea. So the big shark came and ate the skin of the cow which they had thrown in the sea, but the shark had already eaten one whole mattress, some empty cases, one dog and one f° w l- When the people saw the shark they cut one piece of meat and put it on a hook and threw it in the sea.

Then the big shark came and ate the meat they put on the hook.

So they pulled up the shark in a <iry place and cut off its head with an axe. Its mouth was about one metre wide and the whole of the shark was 15 feet long. So that’s all the news, thank you very much and best love.— Letter from Francis Din in “British Newsletter”, Vila.

TT won’t be long now and there JL will be sounds of sweet, tuneful music issuing from many homes on Norfolk. We have had a letter from D. J. Simmons and Sons, the piano tuners, to say that Mr. S. A. Simmons will be coming over . . . “and will be prepared to attend to all appoint ments re tunings, etc.”. According to our list there are now 30 pianos requiring attention.— ltem in “ The T HAVE carried out some feeding experiments with three fai loi snakes which I keep in captivity, Here are their reactions to some toads being placed in their cages: The f WO sm aller snakes attacked the toad but apparently were not strong enough to suffocate it and gave up their attempts. They were hungry at the time because they ate lizards immediately afterwards, The large snake was more successf ul > , but af * e . r inspecting his victim ! ost interest * n ]t . anc * wc not eat although he also was hungry, I admit that a large hungry snake might go as far as getting a good bite on a toad and then have the toad jammed in his mouth when the toad swelled up . . . but I think that

many more snakes may be killed when they are babies by being eaten by large toads.

Considering the number of toads about, this could have quite an effect on the snake population. Letter from M. R. Shimmell in the “BSIP News Sheet”, Honiara.

IN the Colony Information Notes you carried a report about the de salination of seawater and mentioned that the Commissioner of Works had been presented with a sample conver sion unit. Could you, sir, persuade the Commissioner to bring the unit into immediate use to provide a supply, not of fresh water, of which we have an abundance at the moment but of another necessity of life, namely salt, which is at present unobtainable on South Tarawa. —Letter from Patricia Slatter in “Colony Information Notes”, Tarawa.

THE Headmaster of an Eastern District School has sent in a story about a 14-year-old pupil who recently landed a shark single-handed —by pulling it onto the beach by its tail.

According to Mr. Edward Vaea, Headmaster of the George Henry West School on Lorn Lorn, Reef Island, the pupil, Jospeh Bonie, received a bite on the ankle from the shark, which was then killed by Jospeh’s accompanying school friends. The shark was eight feet long.

The incident happened when the shark came into shallow water, at tracted by the catch of 20 boys on a fishing expedition. Some of the boys ran from the beach and chased the shark with spears, but Jospeh caught the fish’s tail and pulled it single handed ashore. The shark swung round and bit Jospeh when he stum bled in the soft sand.

Joseph’s friends , . . stopped the bleeding . . . and carried him to the hospital two miles away. He is now said to be recovering.

The shark was eaten by the other students.— ltem in the BSIP News Sheet, Honiara.

MRS. Margaret Clancy, of Mendi, seen accepting her prize as winner of the miniest mini-skirt at a recent dance at the Mendi Valley Club. Mr. Don Morgan presents the prize while Mr. Ron Neville looks on. Mr. Peter Sisley, who topped the bidding for the honour of officially measuring all the minis, was recovering from his experie~'' a nr »d is not pictured. Picture V ■ caption from the “South IV Pacific Posf’, Port Moresby, w &