Boots, Boots

At a meeting last year, representatives of all the Wellington tramping clubs agreed that the best place in the Tararuas for a new hut was at the foot of the Block XVI track, nearly an hour up the Tauherenikau River from the Chalet, and 24 hours from the road.

Ted Bradstock, our delegate at this meeting, now heads an active subcommittee whose aim is to have the roof on the hut before the end of the term. Everyone connected with the Club is very pleased to see this much-needed job under way. Firstly, it is to be a memorial to Roy Dickson and Stan Allaway, who were killed in an accident last year. A suitable plaque has been ordered. With our own hut, we will be able to repay the hospitality other clubs have been extending us all these years. There won't be any tramps offering this term except working parties into the hut site. We hope to see you there. There will be plenty of jobs, all equally important, from bushwhacking to billy-boiling.

To make this a worthy memorial, funds will be required. You will hear more of this later—plenty more.

A bird's-eye view of the Finnish front in a blinding snowstorm. In the foreground are eighteen Finnish skiers in white parkas huddled behind a snowbank, ready to surround and annihilate a Russian division (their fourth this week). To their left is a column of Russian tanks destroyed by a Finnish schoolboy, the snow-covered mound to their right hides the bodies of five blind men, six workers' children, and a one-armed rheumatic old woman (sole support of a family of twelve), who were machine-gunned by a Red air fleet. Just beyond the woods the Red troops are retreating wildly from the Suo-mussalmi towards the Soviet border, without shoes, uniforms or underwear. Some are tearing the bark off trees to appease their mad hunger. (They haven't eaten since the Tsarist regime.) The eye-witness reporters in the snow-filled shell-hole nearby are Harold Denny, Webb Miller and Mr. X (the source of reliable reports). The huge Soviet bomber hanging from the tree was brought down by a member of the Helsinki Girls' Foils Club (a junior member). The camouflaged igloo on skis near the lake is the Finnish Army field headquarters, and the naked men near the igloo are Red deserters from Georgia, who report that the sun never shines in the Soviet Union. The fresh ski-tracks in the middle foreground were made by Colonel X and his adjutant, who are off to bomb the Murmansk railroad for the late city edition. The snow covered figure on the white horse leading the white-clad troops in the blinding snowstorm in the struggle for democracy is Baron Mannerheim.

P.B. & B.G. 27/6/40.

The next "Salient" will be a Tournament issue—at least we hope so. Copy is due a fortnight from today, and it is absolutely essential that it be in on time. Let us know your teams, their prospects, and any outstanding competitors you may have.

The Printer accepts only copy which is typed double space on half sheets of foolscap. This is important. Remember 12th March is the absolute deadline.

We also need a Sports Staff, and for a change some members of Sports Clubs would be welcome. If you are interested, the next meeting is on Wednesday, 10th March, at 7 p.m. in "Salient" Room.