1958-03-08 — Page 14

Pago-14

THE CHINA MAIL, SATURDAY, MARCH

'Humph and Lord Curzon sat

his starting decision

By JOHNNY DANKWORTH

the entertainment world the rule is: If you have a

Ithe optronium, stick to it. Most artists play ev

on whatever they get most applause-or money-for.

The comedian sticks to his catch-phrase, the film star appears year in year out in one type of part. Generally speaking it's the safest and most sensible thing to So most of them do it.

Not so bandleader Hum- phrey Lyttelton. In the last year or so Ilumph has turn- ed a Nelson-like blind eye to the fact that he was firmly established as a New Orleans jazz man.

transparently As soon us he found that his interess were extending to other Gelds of jazz. he quit the ranks of the tred-rounding traditional bands.

He has been honest with himself.

Ile picked his new musicians according to their ability rather fun by the camp they followed. Gradually the saxophones-- previously tabou crept in, the Prangements acquired a certain

harmonies slickness, the certain thickness.

There was

H

risk involved, an inevitably, he lost some of is more diehard supporters. I Imagine that he has found more then enough New ones to re- place them, and I admire his courage in following his own musical conscience rather than the dictates of his public.

real.

The band is a very very swinging unit, in which

on his sword

Tom do.

to take it easy at Court

By John Wingate. 253.

THE "OFFICE."

Connell. 367 pages. [HE Ofeo is the Foreign a building of confused architectural splendour in which men of membership and refused to join, ability, the products of our MU. member of 14 years' stand-best schools, pursue equally

The confused purposes, belag dealt

Pursue, but never

For it achieve.

Is essence of foreign policy that it is a journey without u torminus.

I think she was right. As an

ing object strongly to run "musician" with lightly,

ould

Cleo Laine, as it happens, has musical talents which anhatica our membership.

But how many present-day pop singers could lay claim to' being n musicion in even the broadest sense of the word?

The overwhelming majorliy ere musical iterates who are a disgrace to our profession. Even to Invite them to join would be santamount to an in- sult to thousands of musicians who have spent years studying

their instruments.

union evi- The strike? The

thoughts on dently, had accond the matter. There was no sign of an

M.U. offlelal at the

concert.

And all that the musicians interested in was the

were music.

His career

WHEN is n Jawyer not

everybody is obviously enjoying WHE

himself. And none then a leader,

morc so

FOOTNOTE: A few yours nga Humph stounded the diehards by employing a saxophone player. Now he has titree and sometimes four, Which bodes well for the fulure for the

Saxophonists!

Her card

1

WHEN is a musician not

came up last week,

WHE intelan? The question

The B.B.C. was warned that If singer Cleo Laine did not get herself a Musicians' Union card a strike would be called at the "Jazz Saturday" concert at the Albert Hall.

Cleo replied that she did not consider herself eligible for

now

મ

George Malcolm Thomson

the BOOK PAGE

Sally is so sophisticated

but in a very

innocent way

THE DUD AVOCADO. By

Elaine Dundy.

15s. 272 pages.

Gollancz.

FICTION SHELF

| IMPRESSIONS OF LONDON, playing oft his illegitimate By *Sorgol Obraxtiov. daughter by a half-mad peasant- woman against his own servilo Sidgwick and Jackson.

unlovely family, out to got the 10. 6d. 135 pages. oki man's money. As a picture of greed and egoilam it is power- GENIAL Russian ful but shallow and weak on

A visits England, uning mutives. Atmosphere of sleazy Henderson said genially! "Not Teennial comedy figure, away a picture of Flemish Baling-port well caught.

me. And not this Government. The

THE innocent abroad is a

the

Prime. Minister's and Miss Dundy's novel British which is sometimes Presbyterian and I'm

about a young American amusing and always good- Wesleyan."

AND PART-

girl in post-war Paris plays natured. If the Party Line Gollantz

and enter-is warmer to us at present. NERB. By Naomi Jacob. Hutokio- The religious principles of a scandalous

Obraztsov is non, 15. Yet another novel In Ernest Bevin were different. taining variation on this Comrade

toeing it with zeal, bon- the saga of the Gollantz fandly, theme,

Antique denters. Meandoring was brought up by my "I mother as a Ranter, the very

Sally Jay's Innocence extends homie and every sign of tale of young Mr Charles, come of Methodism, to everything except sex, and sincerity. He was plagued by a painful strictest kind

Now, when I am tired, I usually turn to Confucius,"

back. So he put a blunt ferrule on the point of his court sword and had the hilt re-designed ad

on

form- pro-

that it divided into

sext. Thus during quite loured attendances royal

the the personages

resplendent Foreign Secretary could un obtrusively take his age.

It

And John Connell's book? seems to be infected a little by the confusion that dwells in s subject. From its title, it ought to be an account of the inside of the "Omce," the atmosphere, The men who spend their ives there; the way the place works; the manner in which British policy is spun out of the deileate fibres of illusion and fact, calcu- lation and prejudice,

Idiosyncrasias

In a graver mood, Connell describes how Sir Thomas Horder told Beaverbrook that Bonar Law, whom they had just cancer. dying of lett, WA

addressed himself Beaverbrook to a task calling for all his humanity and skill-to hide the truth from Bonar Law.

It was all the more difficult in that

Beaverbrook had been

pressing Bonar Law to go on in the premiership, and must now reverse his arguments without arousing the suspicion of his friend.

emerges from

Puzzled men

even there she is only techni-

cally unvirtuous-and those who

an

LAST CONTINENT. By Douglas Livarsidge. Jarrolds. 27. 248. pagos..

to join the Old Flem, and his wicked half-brother, Max, who is not above a little hurst doping. Romantic, very pure and full of old-world courtesies. In fact, the mixture as before.

do not allow such distinctions | THE had better not try this novel; they will only be shocked. Wide- eyed, chattering like a starling. The Confucian was the out- carelessly scattering hor betong-THE last continent is the best- standing Socialist politician of ings wherever she goes, the has his time but not the best of pitched herself into the left- Foreign Secretaries. He had a bank world, avid for experience. quick-moving mind-hence the We find her first at the finish Marshall Plan and a

with Italian vein of of an affair obtuse stubbornness hence his diplomat, whose main attraction mishandling of the Middle East.

was that he already had a wife and a mistress. What could be At the end of his book more sophisticated than that7 Connell turns from the suc-

From there she falls headlong of puzzled cession

men who into the arms of the handsome bove sat in the Foreign crooked Larry, who is just Secretary's chair and deals more starting up an American reper- specifically with the "Office." tory theatre. Sally joins it and THE ADOPTED CHILD. By bitious tale.

makes quite a hit. But not with LOTTY,

Two members of the "Office" onc a bright, particular star, betrayed It Burgess and Maclean. Full justice is done to the shocking ineldent-the scars of which remain,

After a grandee ke Curzon, Whatever may have been his the Foreign Office adjusted itself With the fight of the sorry original motive, Connell swiftly with

The spy remarkable case to a pair, on era ended: and agreeably settles for some- Socialist like Arthur Henderson, end the traiter had made each thing a good deal less dimcult He

Connell's man, in that closely-knit society. for himself and his readers: un

study 08

of the best n spy on his brothers and a Zalth in anecdotal account of Foreign recent Foreign Secretaries, a traitor to his own Secretaries during the last 30 man of character and conviction, them... The old days were

better, far beter.” years. They are a varied lot and Connell does justleo to their idiosyncrasies.

Curzon, an odd mixture of Lawyer? Thirty-four-year-

great nobleman and clown, is old planist Pat Smyth,

his must

pre- playing the jazz haunts in Lon-exhibited at

posterous. clan with Britain's top jazzmen, has long been known as a top class musician-among musí- cians.

But his law studies have up to now stopped him from be- coming a professional.

Now Pat has passed his final exams. And he has

thrown up career for the moment- give himself a six-month trial

as a jazzman in London,

he Ukes it, and satisfies himself that he can make the grade, he'll stay there.

If not, back to the office settle legal wrangles.

TO

I hope he decides to stay. There are thousands of lawyers in Britain, but very few juzz planists as good as Pat Smyth.

If

you hear him you'll probably be hoping the same.

1

NOV 24

FUCKS LEFT SNADALETON BASE

DEC 3

TOTAN ADING- MEAR DILASTER WHEN FUCKE'S SLEDGETM FALLE ISTO CREVASSE

ono

When it was suggested to him that he should congratulate the

Pope on the conclusion of the Lateran Treaty, which ended

long quarrel

between the

Church and State Italy,

in

JAN 3

DEC 26 LEFT SOUTH KÍ HILLARY REACHED ICE DEPOT-POLE AFTER THRIE 330 MILES MONTH TREK FROM BENIND THEM SCOTT DABE S

Connell explains the full tragedy of the affair to the "Office." Thus his readable book closes on a sombre note.

(London Express Service).

JAN 20 [FUCHS ARRIVES

AT. SOUTH FOLE-STALL

1200 MILES

JAN 29 CEOFFREY PRATT

TAKER ILL-OXYGEN FLOWN IN

TO BO

DEPOT 70000

SOUTH POLE QUEEN MALD

He

is one

By

MENAGERIE. defended, Antarctica, six THE

Catherine Cookson. Macdonald. of ky million square miles waste. Or is it waste? Liversidge 1x. 6d. The loves and tragedies describes the continent se it is of a mining family in post-war Durham. Larry Broadhurst seeks arid Bs it probably was. The

of escape from the mine but cun- mage he leaves variety, wealth and potentiality not find It; drops his sweetheart the incredibly 10- for a girl with her, eye on the bencalli

of the severest money and Ands his own way back to his true love on the last bidding visage region in the world

page. Authentic atmosphere, at- tractive warm sentiment, good ★

sense of values add up to a good

Mary Ellison. 16s. 175 pages.

Gollanex.

@

She consoles herself with an Intense but sweet little abstract

• NO

ONE WILL EVER in England dealing KNOW. lished painter until she gets bored with HERE is the first book pub-

- Mottram. Br E. H. the simple life. All that cooking with a social and human prob- Hutchinson. 150. Painstaking If only he could afford the lem which grows mora Im- bright lights sometimes.

portant every day-the children quest for Gregory Wantage,

artist of integrity, Commercial could, as it turns out, for he is who, because they are unwant His home town is the author's

His life is slowly very rich. But what's the pointed, are adopted. Mies Ellison, a Norwich, of the rich, however sweet, if state registered nurse, writes

by Interviews pieced together warmly, wisely and comprehen- with those who knew him. But they don't spend?

alvely of a subject she knows.

the final picture is still ebadowy. Old-fashioned, reflective writ- Ing, marred by fitating asides and invocations to the "gentle reader."

Larry reappears and carries her off to make up a quartet in a villa near Biarritz, and there she nds out just how crooked her handsome Larry is. Her disillusion is complete. She has had "abroad",

RICHARD LISTER -London Express Service).

MARCH 2 ARRIVED AT SCOTT BABE

FEB 10 JOINED BY HILLARY TO GUIDE FUCHS FROM DEPOT 700

DEPOT 480;

DEPOX

SCOTT

BASE

2150 MILES IN 99 DAYS

BASE

•

OF LIES.

• HOUSE

Br Francoise Mallet-Jorls. W. H. Allen. 16. Careful credible por trait of ugelng possessive brewer.

IVAN YATES -(London Express Service).

COMMONWEALTH TRANSANTARCTIC EXPEDITION

THE team has teak to Scott Base

HE team has reached the Plateau Depot, last stage but

Now comes the perilous 100-mile journey down Skeleton glacier to the Ross ice shelf,

They drop 8,000 ft. to sea level. The rest should be If not, there is the easy, if the weather holds good. prospect for expedition members of a winter in Antarctica. In places the party had been hindered for days by difficult weather conditions. At times their vehicles were slowed to walking pace,

Supplies were laid down at the Plateau Depot by Sir Edmund Hillary, who covered the route in the opposits direction on his trek to the South Pole.

Now Hillary guides Dr Fuchs back over the same route.

Out from Scott Base on Sunday night went two little planes to meet the Fuchs team. Aboard were 13 steaks (one for each expedition member), 26 fresh eggs, savon tins of powdered cream, freshly-baked bread, cold sliced ham and beef, and seven tins of fruit, and the camera that took these pictures.

An aerial view of the US icebreaker... Clacier, left, and the New Zealand ship Endeavour. If the Expedition does not make Scott Base before the big freeze sets In (which means the-ships would have to leave), they will be stranded at the base until next November.

Dr. Vivian Fuchs giving a Press Conference at the South Pole. On left is Major Palle Mogensen, scientific chief at the US South Pole Station,

Flags flying one of Dr. Fuchs's Snócats is seen on the traif"

A Scott Base tractor tugs

a Beaver aeroplane free from the ice to fly. Sir Edmund Hillary out to Depot 700 to Join Fuchs. The plane, akla were frozen fast to snow and Ice and its engine was not powerful enough to break it

·loose,