THE CHINA MAIL, JANUARY 21, 1989.
ST. GEORGE'S BALL OUTSTANDING SUCCESS
Mr. Stanley Dodwell's Witty Speech
Hong Kong society gathered at the Peninsula Hotel last night in large numbers on the occasion of St. George's Ball which was, as usual, an out- standing success.
All the ceremonial of tradition
was observed, the party of eight Beefeaters which preceded the official procession into the Rose Room to mark the opening of the Ball, being particularly col- ourful and striking.
The President, the Hon. Mr. Stanley H. Dodwell, in proposing the toast "England," said :-
have the
upon
lities democracies are heir to. It has grave responsibilities imposed always been a mystory to me why overy one of us by the difficulties of that great democratic nation, the the times we live in. United States of America, has never all the dragons of to-day are outside Unhappily, not yet discovered her Patron Saint, our own domains. She is, of all nations, the one
Far too many of that them are within it, and perhaps the needs a Patron Saint. She loves two most subtle and everything that is old, and indeed them all are apathy and drift.
.dangerous of almost everything that is old has al- George cannot slay those beasts for St. ready found its way to. her hospitable.us. shores
That is our job, and it is a job Sometimes I even suspect we must faithfully perform before we cannot possibly part with him, and her of coveting St. George, but as we can satisfy our consciences that we as it is rumoured that she is likely to become the standard-bearer for de-
mocracy, it is quite time she did something about a Patron Saint.
Curiously enough, on New Year's raised my hopes that at last she was Eve, a little incident occurred which beginning to recognise her responsi-
bilities in this matter.
are contributing our bit to the cause of Freedom and Justice, and so ear- ning for ourselves the right to thut Peace the Prime Minister is so earnest- ly working for. It is in a spirit of determination to accept those respon- sibilities and fulfil them that we will
all now drink to the Toast of our Homeland-England.
The President held a dinner-party at the Hotel prior to the commencement of the official proceedings.
I had just arrived at the Peak Club Fancy Dress Dance, disguised as a In addition to the modern ball-1 Almighty had distributed it
Turkish Diplomat, complete with equally harem.
The following attended:-His Excel- room variety, the dance-programme amongst all nations, we should have amidst all the merriment, over what His Honour Sir Atholl MacGregor and (laughter) I was pondering, lency the Governor and Lady Northcote, included several old-fashioned
been spared much of the trouble in 1939 might have in store for us, when Lady MacGregor, Mr. and Mrs. A. E. dances among them being the Sir relationship, called the
the world to-day, and that Utopian to my astonishment my hand was Southard, Commodore and Mrs. E. B. Roger de Coverley.
Brotherhood warmly shaken by a figure represent C. Dicken, Hon. Mr. N. L. Smith, Mrs. of Nations, would have emerged longing the very embodiment of my idea Smith and Miss R. Smith, Brigadier Both the ballroom and the out- ago from the land of make-believe of what America's Patron Saint and Mrs. A. B. Thomson, Sir Vandeleur side of the Hotel were specially de-into the realms of reality.
should look like. We English of course
It turned out to be Grayburn and Miss Grayburn, Col. and corated for the occasion a huge "St. faculty developed to a very high de- America's
none other than Addison Southard, Mrs. N. M. S. Irwin, Capt. C. B. Barry, George for Merry England," spread gree, but not by any means to the who modestly protested that he was Eldon Potter,
popular Consul-General, R.N., and Mrs. Barry, Mr. and Mrs. across the entire front of the build- same extent as our Scottish neigh- merely Friar Tuck.
Mr. and Mrs. A. W. ing, being very effective.
bours. They have reduced it to such refuse to believe him and continue to cock, Mr. and Mrs. T. E. Pearce, Mr. I shall always Hughes, Mr. and Mrs. H. R. B. Han- a fine art that the thousand-and one stories the
regard that coincidence as one of hap-and Mrs. J. F. Macgregor, Mr. themselves not only provide a fund
Aberdonians tell about piest omen. (Laughter)
and Mrs. W. Kay, Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Tag- of amusement for all of us, but are know whether this distinguished son Mr. and Mrs. F. B. Winter, Mrs. D. Of course, I do not presume to gart, Dr. and Mrs. J. W. Anderson, gradually eradicating the very trait in of America is really the Scottish character they so often drastic
seeking such Wardle, Mr. P. A, Cox, Miss R, Vic- of ridicule (laughter). At least, that is from
promotion, (laughter) but kers, The Misses Dodwell, Mr. R. K. my experience, having so many large- might search a long time and hot find vid Humphreys, Capt. S. H. Batty. our point of view, America Valentine, Mr. R. Macgregor, Mr. Da- hearted, broad-minded Scottish friends in the Colony.
worthy candidate. Admit- Smith, Lieut. J. P. Gunner, R.N., Mr. tedly, for our peculiar taste, he is G. Treverton and Mr. A. Sommerfelt. probably not quite dissolute enough, these
is undoubtedly of the adventurer type. sion formed at the West Lifts which (laughter) but on the other hand he
OFFICIAL PROCESSION Following dinner the official proces- Having served his country in so many are situated at the end of the corridor parts of the world, we could upon him not to bury himself awayp.m, and, headed by eight Beafonters, farthest front the Rose Room, at 9.80 in saintly isolation in some corner of the Middle West, sitting on
entered the Rose Room at 9.32 p.m. a fence waiting to see what happens to the rest of the world. (laughter).
for
PRESIDENT'S SPEECH When Kipling wrote those five ver- ses in his "Actions & Reactions" which he called "The Puzzler," he must have written them especially for the benefit of the Presidents of St. George's Societies occasions, to help them break the ice, and put our Scottish, our Welsh, and our Eire-ish guests, as well as our guests from Ulster, in a happy and contented frame of mind, Most of you will remember them.-
"The Celt in all his variants from Builth to Ballyhoo,
His mental processes are plain-one knows what he will do,
And can logically predicate his finish by his start;
ah, the English
their
But the English --they are quite a race apart. Their psychology is bovine, outlook crude and raw.
They abandon vital matters to be tickled with a straw,
with-
But the straw that they were tickled with the chaff that they were fed They convert into a weaver's beam to break their foeman's head with.
For undemocratic reasons and for motives not of State.
They arrive at their conclusions- largely inarticulate. Being void of self-expression they confide their views to none;
-
a more
count
remote
room, the Beefeaters halted and turned After proceeding half way down the inwards; this was the signal for the band to play the National Anthem.
At the conclusion of the National Anthem, the Governor and Lady Northcote were met by Mrs. Dodwel! and party.
Of all the stories emanating from Aberdeen, perhaps the best sequel to Sandy MacPherson's visit to is the London to see a specialist about his heart.
You all know, of course, how Sandy booked from station to station in case his heart gave out on the way up to London. When he arrived in London, Sandy was warned by a friend that the specialist's fee was 5 guineas for the first visit and 2 guineas for subsequent ones, with the
GRIPS WITH REALITIES result that Sandy entered the Our American friends might think specialist's consulting room in that over my suggestion of a Patron Saint. Jaunty debonair manner soʻ charac It's not so fantastic as it sounds, and teristic of the Aberdonian, and, bran of one thing at least they may be dishing two guineas, greeted the spe- sure. St. George would extend to him The following comprised the official cialist with Σ cheery "Here
we a cordial welcome into the ranks of supper-party: The President and are again Doc". The special the Calendar of Saints,
Lady Northcote, His Excellency the ist eyed him suspiciously, but In conclusion, let me make my peace Governor and Mrs. Dodwell, The Vice- nevertheless overhauled Sandy with with those more serious-minded mem-President and Lady MacGregor, His meticulous care, and then pocketing bers of our Society, who, expecting Honour Sir Atholl MacGregor, Kt., the 2 guineas, told him to carry on from their President an intelligent K.C. and Mrs. Bousfield. with the treatment he had recommend, and considered resume of world af- Monsieur H.. van der Straeten and ed on his first visit. The specialist fairs, have been so bitterly disappoint. Mrs. Wardle, Mr. A. E. Southard and also hailed from Aberdeen,
ed. I make them my apologies, but Mme. van der Straeten, Commodore E. Ever since the honour of the Presi- I'm afraid in no repentant mood. IB. C. Dicken, O.B.E., D.S.O., R.N. and dency was conferred upon me, I have would remind them that our sense of Mrs. Southard, Hon. Mr. N. L. Smith, spent many a long weary hour in the humour, our ability to maintain it and C.M.G. and Mrs. Dicken, Hon. Sir Ro- Club library (laughter) not, as keep smiling, no matter what the con- bert Kotewall, Kt., C.M.G., LL.D. and you surmise, in the armchairs but ditions, has always been our greatest Mrs. Smith, Col. Sir Richard Needham, in the archives, searching for some asset in times of trouble and always Kt.. C.I.E., D.S.O. and Mrs. Thomson, thing to the credit of our Patron Saint, will be.
Brigadier A. B. Thonison, M.B.E. and with which to refute the libellous I therefore echo His Excellency's Mrs. Peck, Group Captain A. H. Peck, statements made about him by some New Year message. Let us lift up D.S.O., M.C., R.A.F. and Mrs. Han- tion comes, On some step that they of my predecessors. Unhappy, my our hearts. Let us, if we want to, cock, Hon. Sir Shou-son Chow, Kt., have takeri, or some action they ap that St. Andrew, St. Patrick and St. time, provided always that we also T. H, King and Mra. Kày, Mr. H. R. B. search was unavailing. It disclosed go to the Gripps and have a good LL. and Mrs. King, M.B.E., Hon. Mr. David are all well established in come to that other kind of grips to Hancock and Mrs, Pearce, Mr. W. Kay mythology, if not in history, as godly grips with realities. For at this and Mrs. Cock, Mr. T. E. Pearce and men, but all the evidence points to St. period n our history no member of the Mrs. Hughes, Mr. E. Cock, M.B.E. and George having really been the some-Empire can afford to underrate the (Continued on Page 17) what dissolute. fellow of the adven- turer type that my predecessors des- cribed him. Nevertheless, with that innate contrariness of us astonishing English, we adopted him, and who shall say our judgment was at fault? And now of course you will all ex- He has slain our dragons for us pect the President, "being void of self- throughout the ages, and will continue expression," to sit down without fur- to slay them provided that we see to ther ado. Unfortunately for you all, it that his armour is the best we can years ago, in the dim and distant past, prvoide, up-to-date and fit in every my forebears were turfed out of way to cope with the dragons of to- Ireland (as it was then called) either day, For, strange as it may seem, for being too much for or too much in these enlightened, highly civilized against the Government which, days, with their much vaunted stan- has never been clear and I seem to dard of culture and education, have inherited a dash of Irish which world's dragons are a far more fear- has rendered me slightly less inarti- some breed than ever they were in culate than the average Englishman, the ignorant days of chivalry. particularly when surrounded by so many friendly Celts, all muzzled (laughter).
But sometimes in a smoking-room, one learns why things were done.
Yes, sometimes in a smoking-room, through clouds of "Ers" and "Ums,"
Obliquely and by inference illumina.
prove
Embellished with the argot of the Upper Fourth Remove."
In telegraphic sentences, half nodded to their friends,
They hint B matter's inwardness -and there the matter ends.
And while the Celt is talking from Valencia to Kirkwall,
The English ah, the English - don't say anything at all!"
securely
PRECIOUS GIFT Kipling realised, when he wrote those lines, that the beginning of all wisdom in people and in nations is to be able to laugh at themselves. It is a gift so precious that if only the
NATIONAL ASSET
the
But Patron Saints have other uses · than merely slaying dragons. A really popular Patron Saint is a great na- tional asset, especially to democracies, for often quite a lot of wise and far- sighted things can be done in the name of a popular Patron Saint that con- not be done under some of the disabi-
Here's Luck!
EWO
BEER
*