Page
What's best in
Kowloon ?
THE CHINA MAIL, TUESDAY,· · JUNE - 11, · 1957:
TRAVEL TOURIST
☆The story of
an ordinary sightseer's
TO
by Anne Sharpley
RUSSIA
PARIS
樱洒郁
aura
EXCELLENT
CANTONESE CUISINE
Music by LOBING
featuring RAYMOND & CORRINË (vocalists)
SHAW'S BUILDING, NATHAN ROAD, KOWLOON, (opp. Broadway Theatre)
Tel. 55700
AMERICAN SECRETARIAL
SERVICE
201 PRINCESS THEATRE BUILDING, NATHAN ROAD, KOWLOON.
TELEPHONE 63244
ALL WORK STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL
LUNCH
DINNER
Excellent Cantonese Dishes
Champaque
BESTAURA
NIGHT
Reservation
CLUB
BAR
Finest wings & liquors DANCE MUSIC NIGHTLY 8.30 p.m.-2.00 a.m.
extraordinary trip behind the Iron Curtain
I AWOK on the
over-
night train from Lenin- grad to Moscow and found that two of the three men with whom I was assigned. a share of a sleeping com- partment were absent. They were tuning up the old wood-stove at the end of |the corridor to make tea,
They were Australians, and Australians can pro- duce tea where thero is no water, fire, or even n tea leaf for miles. Thank goodness.
But the third male, Vladimír, interpreter to the group, was still asleep.
Vladimir
becomes
my friend
Vladimir Was IL good but strangely old-fashioned looking friendly boy with skyscrapers came over the hair standing up on his head horizon. They all seemed to like tough, blond moorland have something like the Al- grass, and Asiatic blue eyes bert Memorial stuck on top that looked as though he of them. were wearing diamond- shaped contact lenses.
The astonishing thing about Vladimir was his ac- cent,
CAN-BO
Stalin? Nowhere
Moscow WAS covered โด blood-red Angs and slogans for the
May Day parade next
It was faultless Ameri- day. Women were slobbing with much
on rullings brown paint that S0
mops and the grey political Americans take him to be faces on hoardings icoked down one of them. But he had everywhere ilke Д colossal never been to America. He stamp collection. learned the language from tape recordings.
Sense of humour
Valdimir could also sing more George Formby songs than I have
Stalin, however, was nowhere to be sten except at our holel where there were two pictures, of him..
The May Day parade in the Red Square is not the jolly free-show-for-all I had sup- posed. Unless you have all the ever heard right documents to get you a
place, you have to make right through, and with an with the noise. It is strictly equally convincing Lan- for The Filte and cerinin cashire accent.
foreigners,
do
Tough cordons surrounded the prea and even adjoining squares and streets were kept
the photograph the military bondsmen insisted should be allowed to take
the window must be kept closed for the millary part," Vladimir told me.
At once
u large millteman pounced on my comera.
The band roared in protest, What they said to bim must have been so effective that I -wag allowed to take their When I pictures, und later, actually took a shot of a tracked troop carrier, the militiamas did not make a murmur.
When the tanks and equip- ment roared up the hill into Red Square through a cloud of blue exhaust, I forebore to take pictures fur decency's sake, although there were several old familiar types of equipment that I recognised from my viall Inst year to the Middle East trouble spots. Now they seemed almost like old friends,
VLADIMIR — Als American accent was perfect.
that depressed me
Next day he took me for a walk round Moscow but we were almost unbearably brittle with one another. He steered
The swan-necked fet bombers of it all roared over, splashing us with deeply. their shadown. Then a flow. Vladimir who had joined us morost-looking shuffle of people, by then Saw this in my mo only through the best awkwardly holding gaudy paper expression as we walked down alrects. When I wanted to go flowers, balloons, and banners, the hotel corridor together. We inside a magnificently decaying began to work their way into suddenly stopped and began to old church in which people Red Square.
wild with appeared to be living, he grew
querulous,
folk, both words.
1 leaned
These were the peace demon- strators-delegates from unions, factories and so on. It was while we claimed that there were well over a million of them. For three hours they went on and
on,
at
Altogether Vladimir was quite a character. He had a splendid sense of humour as clear swept of the proletariat to smell of Stockholm tar, Jaded galety.
As hotel rooms in Russia tend Some made Hittle efforts
One vodka-happy lad By his side as he slept was as a commlasar's desk of stock scent and perspiration, this idea dragged me into the procession, the book of American jokes cxchange lists.
was rather unappealing to me. But I got yanked out ageln 30 he had been reading (roar-
I dritted away with a The rest of our party had idea of coming back to wangle ing with laughter) the night tickets, so I thought I was going myself through the barrier,
vague yards farther on,
before. I was not quito too.
I was actually led across sure about Vladimir. He to the police barrier by Champagne Court, Kimberley Rd., Kowloon (opp. Hotel Miramar) seemed too good to be true. Vladimir, only to be told I could
gu no farther.
Tel.
60001
FOR
Lovely songs by well known vocaliste
"ZORIC DRYCLEANING"
CARPET SHAMPOOING
for à Russian.
Tactics failed
Even my best
tactics failed,
A Union Jack
at once,
The only dog
an
against a doorpost argued furiously all afternoon and into the evening, Vladimir, the special student
Suddenly I had become of America, had in his studies. Irritating Westerner agala, ask- become Inculcated with the ing silly and slightly Insulting West, whether he realised it or questions. Even the pleasure i not.
showed when 1 met dechshund called Dolly (the only dog I saw in all Moscow) was taken as a criticism, I felt
So much of what he sold showed a yearning for Western ideas, as did so many of the younger people I spoke to, and Sadly I was beginning to get yet he is a Communist patriot. the measure of the extraordinary
Russians scnsitivity of the so finally I had to settle for a
He described what happened where anything that reflects I returned to the hotel to find when, on bit of the pavement outside the some of my fellow
a holiday trip to the least discredit on them is tourbals Finland this hatet where a few pass-holders already back from Red Square privilege for a Russian, he went
year, # rare concerned, And he was equally sus
WCTD standing. Other gate They were in one of the rooms, to see James Dean in "East of picious of me. I was one
crashers (Russian) were being flying a Union Jack out of the Eden" of those phoney Western
sent back but I somehow got window. This got amazed stares women who could not do
into the my worked
landscape. from the crowd below. Finally "I ran to my friends and sald, Aller a few attempts by the it raised an odd cheer.
this is individualism. And they anything except giggle and application too late, they said.
police to get me into the hotel,
looked at me and sald: "We're wear too much make-up. Later I learned that I was they gave up trying.
As I looked out at that ever glad you told us, We don't want taken to the barrier so that I
Jasting stream of heads, their to see i could be pointed out lo the I stood next to a millary red banners streaked to flarne police as sem:conc positively band waiting to join the parade, by the sun and wind, I was Poor Vladimir had only done NOT to be allowed through! They all smiled at me. They reallsing at last the scale and what everyone else had done
flirted so charmingly that I sirength of Russlą, And there and gone overboard for Dean- "You! can sea some of the decided to take a picture of was something about the but this was the forbidden fruit new. parade from the hotel. But them.
massive dullness and slowness of individualism,
But we were to end liking and trusting one an- other.
Vladimir woke up and soon Moscow's seven
up
Cali
59195
for collection
Why? I
had made
Nevertheless I determined to try to get the other picture, of Russla-the side that tourists never see.
But while I was with Vladimir I liked him for too much to hurt him by lying.
London Express Service.
TOMORROW.
Travolling de-luxe to, Yalta
THE STEAM LAUNDRY CO.
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La
-Detachment did not rob him
of success.
SUCCCSS,
The
wil view any given situation was the obvious course. Bald- He also believed, after a long appear to be the secret of his win agreed, and then, at the last end careful Rssessment of moment, asked Halifax to delay Britain's war potential, that war the announcement. Halifax then would have been à disaster, When he became Viceroy of thought it was too late for delay The "phony war" cime and India in 1926 the altuation was and made his announcement. passed and Halifax was one of approaching desperation. A
those who recognised that a commission to look Into the
result was an almighty National Government Wn3 future of India was set up with- row in the House of Conuraons essential and that the Labour which Jargely undid the good Party could never join it under work. Halifax bad been able Chamberlain, Chamberlain sum- to foresee the objections which monca Halifax and Churchill 'would be mado and he had and told them that one of them primed Baldwin with all the up- must take over. Halifax did propriate arguments.
not doubt that it had To bo
LORD HALIFAX
by Les Armour
Who, for in- be made Ambassador
in trust
any Indians on it and nationalists and moderates alike had taken grave offence.
would Washington7 stance. have thought There are, of course, no
Answers that, at en ox-
these questions plosive moment except that Lord Halifax is a
ما
He saw, clearly enough, that everyone was already tigreed
Politic Withdrawal
What he had not reckoned Churchill. with was the simple and stub- born pride of possession which animated the back-bench M.P. and which the ordinary M.P. could not ace for what it was. A year later, Churchill per- suaded him to leave the Forelga Still, he loft India to the Office and go to Washington. cheers of the multitudes, and The reason for the choler seems,
those even
who hated the in retrospect, clear enough, British most were never able to muster any feeling of animosity towards him.
In those confused days, when
It was all too easy to be simply
leaving Britain to her fate,
* 1920, It was very special case, wise to send to
On his return, he rested im- angry with the Americans for It cannot be said-although he. That Independence was bound India os Viceroy was a success in India and o to come to India, and, indeed, probably, for a time in the Halifax was the one man who A MAKE who had resounding success in Washing that no one in Britain was pre- Ministry of Education, introduce could be relied upon to soo the to t-that he is or was a very pured to deny it, it was over ng useful if minor reforms American point of view, and lo India, who had good politician. It cannot even timing and forms that acrimoni- bringing order into a place of present, his
scnie choos and making himself requisite tact. felt in the Cabinet.
never
been
nover been
De guld that he n
wins friends ous differences existed. governor of any easily.
Furthermore, the territory
He is cold, almost frightening- and who had never ly detached, and logical almost government
actual
of the country
of tho who
His
Inner Calm
Utter Detachment
: *
. case...with ... the
He and Roosevelt immediately became close friends and almost working partners in Roosevelt's even met most to the point of being exasperat was working, from day to day, Under his ro soundly enough.
kng and sometimes stumbling Agures ing to ordinary men.
qficials often gime. British
For a time he was virtually campaign to get effective aid to dominated momoirs, just published, suggest worked in important areas of deputy Prime Minister Then Britain. He was a success from the political that he has always regarded the government under the direction came Eden's resignation in the his first day to his lust. scone?
Conservativo Parly, of which he of Indian ministers, and his tact bitter pre-Munich days and lius been a member for 50 years, prevented any special difcul- Hällfax took over the Foreign In 1948, he came home and Who, even us a bit of a bore.
fies from arising. would
Office in its darkest hour; '
Churchill wanted him to plunge morc,
back into the melee of party ORD HALIFAX is an have recommended for the for-
In these circumstances, the He is frank now, as he was politics. Halifax refiered on the important matter was clearly to then, over Munich He did not simple ground that, na Ambas rellove the emotional, tenalon, was Chamberlain tried so hard sador, he had been tho sorvant Twentieth Century-roving 1938 a man whose diplomatic ex- easily from one high office pertence was very close to non- His most passionate interests Talks with Indian leadery con- te do-regard Munich as a great for, more than a year of Bovin ; and.............the to another, usually, without latent? And why, two years appear to be good Port wine, vinced him that an unambiguous triumph. He saw it as a terrible Ernest
foxhunting, and exchanging ex- declaration that Dominion thing.
Labour Government. It later, when the fate of bla tremely academic witticisms in Blatua for India was an agreed. experience of anything recountry depended very largely the Senior Common Room at All goal, followed by a Round Table
- would not, in his view, İKVE motely like the duties his upon success
But from his position of jitter' been proper for him to emerge in winning over Souls, Oxford, But even, these, Conference to discuss proposals detachment it seemed a ruddenly as that government's various jobs have required, the United States should a man it seems, he regards mainly as for a workable federal form of necessary thing
critic. and somehow` avoiding the who had never been to the amiable, foibles.
government, would have the doxtrot effect. Remotenes, an whose lives follow the so- titled aristocrat widely suspected mner enim,
forfelt the support of much of time" in Oxford, where bu hadi and an ability to He convinced Baldwin that the Commonwealth and, perhaps been Chancelier, of that. Untirers copted course are prona to, of being a dishard Imperialist, see exactly how his opponents an announcement to this and of much of Birupe ka well,
sity since 1933,
great blunders that men President, and was, to boot, a country, had never met the
unshakablo
He believed that to go to was stand, he spent much of bin ja 1988 would · havo been to