1958-02-01 — Page 13

THE CHINA MAIL, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY

1959

"Page 13

MY HOE HAS YET TO UNEARTH A FAINY BUT

There are parsnips at

SI walked out of my front

door a bird sang in the pear tree and I saw the soft, green shoot of an early crocus struggling bravely out of the ground,

"Blast!" I said. "The confounded garden has started to grow again."

Under the ground I could visualise

a tangle of roots and tiny seeds nestling ready to spring into blount — nettles, bindweed, dock, and a million other weeds, I almost wept.

ת!

The green blades of grass waved in the moming breeze. They were anying to each other 11 soll whisper: "In a month's time we'll jam, his mower and break his nchit back." kicked the gate post on the way out.

FASCINATING

BUT I love my garden. It has given me great pleasure. The most fascinating vision I have ever seen in it was my neigh- bour's face the day he put his spade through a wasps' nest Strictly speaking his face shʊukl not have been in any garden. It should have been in his own. But when the wasps rose in a cloud to eat him he burst through the hedge and did not

stop until he ran slap into wheelbarrow.

the bottom of

my garden...

We gathered round him with From now on, everybody in this house cuts porasip." various curés. My wife Have

bim half an onion to rub on his

forehead.

by WILFRED FIENBURGH

Hours

"Things with weld in them are what we need," I sajd learnedly. "I am told that seld is the antidote to wasp polson." When the boy from across the road

came running up with

Throughout the bottle of sulphurie neid from his chemistry set the victim broke

winter daylight slaved away I drew diagrams away from

cowered lentically, $14 and behind a rose bush. "Leave me and plus around the edges ci alone," he pleaded, "while newspapers. I studied a garden all have a face left."

book to And the best kind of shave to buy, Several times read through a short article ou how to mix waterproof cement, And I stood for hours looking

BLAZING....

cat of the sitting-room window working out the best position 1. the high-diving board.

After four months I did not acem to be making much pro- gress, to I pucked In the whole idea and bought a bird bath.

E then decided to burn out the wasp nest, which was in a corner of the compost heap. But we could not get near enough because the wasps were still in conferenco all around it. We managed, though. First we hung a pall of petral from the end of a garden hoe and tilted it into

the nest. Next we 1 and belter luck with the dropped a blazing rag on to it fruit and vegetable garden. I with another hoo.

Next we bought many packets of seed. dropped the hoes and ran like parsnip. turnip, kohlrabi, the devil because they had feltuce, beetroot, passion fruit enught Ore and so had a stretch just an experiment) and carret, The trouble was I could not of wooden fence and a line of washing.

bear waste any of the seed, So by the time I had planted 62 rows of parsnip I had no room for the turnip, kohlrabi, loiture, beetroot, passion frult

I once decided to dig myself a swimming pool in my garden, working on the principle that water, at least, did not need wedding.

and entrat.

-M.P.

Soon we had a quarter of an were of parsnip. One day I dug one out andi, to surprise my wife, I cooked it myself, garn- shed it with a pound of butter, and put it on the table in sliver dish.

"What." asked my wife, that?"

That," I said modestly,

*

our first parship. I grew it. We have many more where that Two and a half

came from.

tone roughly.

One day we decided to have Cine window boxes. We built them ensily enough and then we tried to get earth for them. It was not easy. Earth is seldom offered for sale in the shops of Chelsea.

cn

So one night we put sweaters and stacks, slung the coal shovel in the car and drove to Clapham Common. In no Time at all we had dug ourselves near-boot full of what wa zardeners cull soft friable loam, and other people call dirt. Coming back over the Albert Bridge at 1.30 in the morning we were stopped by a police-

san.

"What is that?" he asked, pointing to the shovel.

"A shovel," sald the viscouni, The policeman nodded DS though his suspicions had been confirmed.

"And what," he asked, "have you got in the boot?"

"Earth," said the viscount. The policeman blinked twice and reached for his notebook.

"Don't try to be funny. What is your nume and address?"

"My, name," said the viscount, third Viscount is Jocelyn. Blunk of Blankton in the County of Blankshiro, and I always find

he House of Lords to be convenient address."

THE RESULTS

UST Just said the policeman impassively, "and you'll be Vis- cent 094321 and you'll find Wormwood

1 Scrubs mort convenient address."

one more crack Uke

"But In this house," said my wife, "no one cais parsnip."

have now expanded beyovi I thought of my aching back,

the window-box, My present my hours of labour, and my

garden is equal to 3,000 window- packets of seeds.

"From now on," I shouted, boxes, one soccer pitch and a For the eight months next "EVERYBODY IN THIS siter of public park.

I shall HOUSE BATS PARSNIP AND lavish care upen it, spraying, ENJOYS IT."

tilling, pruning, and weeding. The passion for gardening is inspired by a passionate devo- deeply rooted in me.

When I tion to all of

nature's tender lived in Sloane Square, Chelseu, le plants. & shared the house with And then I shall stand back

T shall call viscount whan Viscount Blank because he might ol like to see his real naine in the papers,

ta

survey the results.... BLISTERS, BACKACHE AND BROKEN FINGER NAILS,

Gyprus

JO

CABINET

00

**Courage, gentlemen! Another little local difficulty the Prime Minister loft Behind"

BANK RATE TRIBUNAL REPORT

"Of course I'm glad everyone has been. exonerated and all that-but I think they might have added an, Honours List."

"Astronomical Disturbance!

It's either the

Russian Satellite coming down of the American Budget going up!"

Londca Brpreta Satiks

STATE UNION

Pres

"As I see it, we need a grand strategy to combine action against Inflation, Deflation and Dulles."

GOVT.

VINIP

"You can't stay away just because you have

a shocking cold but you could

mingle with the Opposition."""

go and

THE DAYS WHEN

The tale of the end of an era

before

SHANGHAI DIED

be found in the relating final paragraph returns to of incidents known to Mr business, and here Mr Tairo Taire, and their value is speaks dogmatically. "No enhanced that the author one can do profitable relates them as he sees business with the Com- them without trying to munists. The final sentenco interpret the whys and contains Mr Taire's wherefores. Among the warning, "The world should most interesting of the realise what they are trying features discussed are the to cover up." Courts of Justice and the

influence of the Russian Let me try to esti- Advisers. There is a fur- mate this book in rela- -N Shanghai Episode" Mr Lucian Taire sets ther section that deals with tion to its value to the out to describe the years 1949 to 1955, which the treatment of religions reading public. As a per- cover the taking of that city by the and the religious, but Mr sonal account of a person Taire goes into few details. caught up in the avalanche Communist Army up to the time Mr Lucian left.

Part III of the work is of revolutionary forces, it Personally I rend the

the smallest, and is

is really excellent. It is ex- ad- book with immense interest. by dealing with a number dressed to such incidents as cellent for the same reason Unlike Mr Taire, I was of people, and telling their the

to the student of Political reception given to fairly recent in Shanghai experiences

those foreign delegations, and in Science in that the author when the city changed new forces, Mr Taire tries particular the visit made by makes no attempt hands, and also 1 lacked the to give the typical attitude the British Labour Party, analyse the very forces point of view that so many towards the Communist Only in the final two pages which overwhelmed him and Shanghai people had who Government.

docs My Taire permit him- many others placed in were either born there, or Part 1 of the book deals self the luxury of

similar position. There is had been residents

air of for with the death of the city. menting upon the situation about the book an

mystification which seems almost naive to any to whom the methods of the professional revolutionary forces of Communism are. known.

years.

The book is well written.. There is no over dramatisa- tion of events. Things are dòscribed just ns they occurred. Let us take that part which deals with the

In

by John Luff

com-

I

"The President has agreed to Heads of State talks provided the spadework is done by their assistants."

to

COST OF

#

Communist occupation. Mr Taire claims that this from a personal point of But had the author tried Lucian Taire dismisses it episode which occurred be view. In this be shows the to explain what was hap-

one line. There was tween the years 1951 and contradiction of an Alien paning, without the neces almost no fighting. Excel- 1958 wns due to two ex- Ideology upon the Chinese

Bary knowledge of the lent. Most people Imagine ternal causes, or was at people he describes

theories of the Communists, a bloody battle raged for least hastened by them a realliont, Individualistic the book would have been weeks and the ground was The neur completion of the people.

considerably weakened. As fought over. Not at all, Communists' land - reform Mr.Tairo points to the it is, it in a splendid docu- It was surrendered by a policy, and the Korean War rising in Budapest, and does mentary which the casun! demoralised force with Mr Thire refrains from not consider it impossible reader can dip into with in- scarcely a shot fired. in comment on the latter, say that the youth of China terest, and the more intense fact the night the Com- ing he knew little of it, of miglit tide against the readers can relate in the munist Army enterod, the latter he knew indirect- Shanghai was lit up almost ly insofar as the War present Govertiment. His light of political knowledge. as brightly as is Hongkong. Budget affected city From there on, the first economy,"

part of the book deals with The part that will ap the reduction of the city by meal to the student of Commuplat pressure. First Communist methods. will

·SHANGHAI › EPISODE by "Lucian. Tairs published by Rainbow Press, Hongkong

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Forzing

Rochdale Libergl Party

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about having Annigon't point his portrait ?“

can we afford to carry on in these dreadful wastes without helpi