Hush!

Every year Varsity sports clubs gather together to elect strong silent men and women to positions on committees. Maybe they are not always strong, but their silence no one can doubt. These furtive bonds slink round gathering information apparently for the purpose of concealing it from the inquisitive. Requests that their glorious achievements be paraded before a goggle-eyed public through the columns of "Salient" fill them with superstitious horror. Of course such notoriously vulgar people as the Trampers and Harriers, being either ignorant or contemptuous of this fine old tradition, consistently blossom into print to prate of their exploits. For this they suffer the penalty of increased numbers of the common herd being attracted to their ranks by their blatant vulgarity; deceived into thinking these to be the only live clubs in the College.

Mind you, we must not be unfair to these conspirators of silence. We must admit that they have never objected to "Salient" sending one of their large and brilliant sports staff to report their matches; as a matter of fact, several of them have suggested that we try it. However, when the suggestion was put to the large and brilliant sports staff he regretfully declined owing to his advancing years and the fact that he wasn't the Lord God from Whom nothing is hid. This mysterious remark, it appears, is somehow connected with there being altogether about twenty sports teams at Varsity which have an inconsiderate habit of playing not only on different grounds but also of all doing so at the same hour.

Baulked in this direction we have to fall back on the old method of pleading with club secretaries to submit regular brief reports to "Salient," not only to keep fellow students informed of their doings, but also in order to save our large and brilliant sports staff perjuring himself every fortnight concocting colourful lies such as even Hitler might envy.

If, being a science student, you cannot write English, don't let it worry you, for there is no one on "Salient" staff capable of recognising the fact.

Basketball

This year the University teams have not yet won a game in the Wellington Association matches. In the first games of the season, the Senior A team was defeated by Aspro, and the Senior B team lost to Wellington East Old Girls. The other Saturday the A team was defeated by Kia Ora, and the B team by Y.W.C.A.

In the first half of the match against Kia Ora, the A team played well, and the two teams seemed evenly matched. Unfortunately one of our girls had to go off at half time, and she was replaced by Thea Muir in the forwards. This left only two girls. Moira Wicks and Joyce Strange, in the centre. Although these girls put up a fine show, Kia Ora now had it much their own way, and the final score was 25-10 to Kia Ora. Slight faults, such as stepping with the ball and over defence, were noticeable throughout the game, and these must be corrected.

The Senior B team also unfortunately played one short. If it had not been for this handicap, the score would have been much more even. Avis Reed, nobly assisted by Norma Henderson, scored the majority of goals, and the final result was 21-6 to Y.W.C.A. The B team is shaping well, and they deserve better luck in their next matches.

Woodman—Spare That Tree

It is some time since the tramping club has made a worthwhile contribution to the maintenance of the Tararua highways and byways, but a few week-ends back saw eleven en thusiasts go to town on the Mitre Flats track, and some excellent work was done.

All Saturday the climbers slashed their way through the dripping second growth, the axes rose and fell, and the chips flew, while the crosscut saw played great havoc with a couple of windfalls until it stopped work, hours before time.

Wet and weary in the gathering darkness, the party arrived at Mitre Flats and there, my word! Someone else had been working. Saturday afternoon had seen the re-erection of those two wires across the Waingawa River—those two wires which had enabled many crossings to be made of flooded, and otherwise impassable, muddy torrent.

But, boy oh boy, did we make up for all those calories expended? The tramping club sure has some great eaters among its members, and notwithstanding that berlel outline, food was consumed as we have never seen it consumed before.

The committee would, like to thank those who contributed to this stout effort—it was a great success.