1960-12-16 — Page 6

Gami P

Page B

MRX

vo got a busy week ahead of me; I'm getting Morited on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday!"

ffor

Christmas...

NESTLÉ

THEE (CHINA MBAL, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1960.

A NIGHT

WITH

AN

ADDICT

The one man

in a thousand compelled to gamble

WHEN it's not quite night time and the streets are in a

state of limbo under the mauve skies of middle even- ing, solitary men, close inside their raincoats and trilbies, single-trickle through the turnstiles into a private world for greyhound stubborn dreamers, an optimistic paradise, stadium.

Noiselessly they move into the sprawling intricacies of the stadium compartments, which stretch outwards from the deep, thick green of the centre field.

They pause a moment, then travel, like busy grey mice, along the echo chamber or stone corridors behind the vast swoop of grandstands, exploring the secret network of exits and entrances.

Thin white lights wake tip: blink tentatively; #retch; ex- pand; absorb the darkness of the track,

The tote-board.

Huge faleground pin table, twinkles high up. brighter and more held than the ADTS. And the dreamers lay their deep ples. with programmes

and

Probably only one In # thousand is u real gambler - deep-etched, undeviating, com- pullve gambler, addlet - An gambles as an alcoholic drinks, who needs to bet as a diabetic needs to take insulin.

man

!

cigarette smoker-five-nights-a- week compulsive gambler.

He is not a rich man. And,

always who though he

vaguely expects to be, winning a lot of money is not really what is most Important.

Whatever he gambles with -- or pounds, or shillings,

ol pounds he fembles for one reason only. Because he is compelled to.

thousands

Furtive

Solid impassive, engrossed, ол the edge of ♫ Broup - racing oditions and serupu- decidedly not a part of its n lous calculations,

These men ire hardly gamblers. The bookies call them "mug punters," They Just like a flutter; or they think They're lucky Chape ' or 'they simply ilke watching dogs running.

The money he plays with is simply an entrance fee to his The need to win dream world. would never be so strong that he would

last put his very pound on race. He would keep that for always tomorrow when there are different sare and he can gamble again.

men with while coals,

There is a fanfare, and on the small mon, comfortably dressed, truck square faced, totally undis bowler hats and dignity, parade tinguished. In his hands he the crouch-backed greyhounds holds several crumpled papers under the while lights. and a notebook.

This is George Miller, 63 years old, mazuled, no chikire, build Ing foreman, betr drinker.

A gift that

always pleases

Finest Swiss Chocolate's

Up on their little boxes, the bookies go about their frenetic business like a line of penny-in- the slot men.

This is where George Miller schemes and waits, hoping the bookies' boards won't catch up with his calculations."

He intercepts the mysteries of the tic-tac-man's silent language, Five bookles away, the price of his dog has dropped.

His papers disappear into a pocket One nicotined

hand passes fluidly inside his roat and discovers brown wallet.

'Dreamer

George Miljer, moving fast,

is about to lay his first bet.

From eight pound notes, hic selects two. Swiftly. ptmost furtively, oblivious of the punters, he appronches a bookle. "Glen Qude," he dogs, secretive, confiding, unassertive, for the bookle alone to hear. He takes the thrust ticket: "Eight pounertwo' Glen Queen,"

and backs away to the stand,

The parade is over, now and the greyhounds are pressed and bundled into their böxes, where they lurk, complaining.

·

.

PICTURE BY EXPRESS CAMERAMAN ALBERT MOGABE

by SALLY VINCENT

clear

The

To say he ludios" form is He does. The odds against and George Miller is satisfed. exaggeration. A dogs "the two "dog" are 6-2, and 'Germinating in the soft rain. printed pedigree, time last time George Miller puts half his there is a modest, apologetic. out, habits at the bends all winnings on it. Four pounds to mither marvellous optimism. reduced in the programme to a win tẹn.

The five dog brenits well and. sinccato code—rather bore him The hare awoopsipas!, there is from his outside position, planis really

a sharp thud ns the traps are at once the first bend. He "Stands to reason, If you sprung, and the dogs are a leads there and is still could work it out you wouldn't bright swift blur, scattering along the back skaight. be here. would you? You'd be small kicks of dirt. round the next curve seems to come as a In Easy-street, wouldn't you?" first two benda and along the slight surprise; the dog falters- be says.

back straight.

six and one edge Inside him, They bunch into the third hold their ground. bend and then begin to separate.

George Miller's faney George Miller Alands *for a beaten a length and half a moment on tip-toe 40 -assess length.

"I don't mean I take the number on my bus ticket or my mother's birthday, and back that," he says.

"Plenty of people do, but they're noting for trouble.

"Gambling's not just form

Just stupid pin- and it's not

EL'S.... Well, It's sticking. Just something you have to find out for yourself,

A loser

"See that fellow over there? He knows what it's about. Been gambling since he was a boy, like me.

them, then relaxes and takes out ble ticket.

Quielly

Lifter

"It's two, he says acon!- cally; bousling, hoping, crowd-

he and formally, ing his look just a little beenuse - drops his ticket-into the litter he has me for an audience.

round his feet. Six or seven securids later, number two wins.

The

lucky

COM- punters gratulate themselves and each

other.

But George Miller, who has known what it is to win or lose ten thousand times before, Al- ways has to keep the pleasure or "He's lost everything. He's pain intact inside himself. One lost his money; he's lost his careless demonstration of the job; and he's lost his wife, She magic world he's living in and the whole lot might disappear. left him. i mean.

"He's loser. by your standards. And he knows it. But as long as he can take up four bob for a tote ticket he's counting his blessings."

There is another fanfare and George Miller goes back to the track.

No show

So there is nothing to show that George Miller has won except tus dispassionate business, quickly done, with his book maker,

Now he is £18 up.. He doesn't bet again until the fifth race, when he prepares for

The bowler hat men are out

dogs in again with the lean their bright coats; the silent, flashing tote-board begins add things up; the deaf and dumb tic tac.people Butter. their briefly, then takes all his money.

ritual meu RES.

to

George Miller chooses "the two dog."

Why?

"I think it will oblige! -It's a nice dog, that, Done me a turn before. SUIL so has that six dog....Oh, I don't know. I've

go to back something."

1 coup.

He looks

doesn't shrug, he doesit frown. Losing is no different from winning: If a man has got to gambie, he knows he has not to enjoy bath and share neither, The only reference George Miller makes to that eatin- trophie mace th

"Pay, day tomorrow."

It is also Harringay 1pmorrow. Away from the stadium, out in the anticlimax darkness, the rolni stops George Milter. though content with his evening, is suddenly tired and he hud- dies a lie us he walks to ha bus stop. "Oh,

305, IVA D Jeinis; gambling's a fanny business all right. Sometimes I think 'I'll break in half," he says.

Just for once, just for a change, he would like to talk about himself.

at his notebook TOMORROW:

-£20-out of his wallet,

It's to be the five doc. price is 100-30,

The

'A wife who "I Loney it, think it'll do," understands- is all he will say.

Twenty-six pounds seems a lot and takes of money for a man in a stained something raincoat to give to a bookmaker.

It goes easily enough though, of a pride

U.S. 'copy-cat' jet

lures big orders

The fake hare is released. IT'S THE TWIN

An uncanny, worthless lure. 11 streaks precisely round the track, passus the boxc of whimpers and six greyhounds leap.

For the 30 seconds it takes six greyhounds to TROC beautifully over 525 yards there is a con- trolled, staccato excitement.

"It's the six dog. The six dog'i do it. Come on the two dog. Go on then, two, go on. It's six. It's the four dog. El's | four. It's the black: I' four.

Glen Queen has won.

George Miller strolls slowly to

his bookmaker, his doctor, his

partner, confessar and bitter enemy. Tho bookic flashily

counts out 10 one-pound notes, George Miller goes for a gin. And for a talk with me.

OF BRITAIN'S

TRIDENT

AIRLINER

By PETER WOON

MERICA'S Boeing

aircraft company

announced the other "Yes. I like the dogs," he say night that it had brought

"I go ove nights a week, ve

been going five nights a week off £125 million deal for for the last thirty years, bar the 80 "copy-cat” jetliners,

wartline,

"I bet on horses, too, and cords. Boxing matches, some times. Mostly the dogs, though it'a quick. You low, Soon lover. You know where you are

and no messing about.

The planes-Boeing 727′- Bre almost the identical twinu ot the 121 Tridents which Boeing's rivals, de Havilland, are produc- ing for British European Air

wayn.

DE HAVILLAND 181 twoENT AND

But now the Jetliner they are The pools? Yes, I do the The 727, still on the drawing to built in the Trident's double pools, ho says deprecatingly.board, is being sold to United ond Eastern Airlines, both

Then

smiles at his own he

foolish naively. "Of course, American companies. the pools are just a formality,

like having

television set."

Even dreamer Miller · draws the line at dreaming about

| million-to-one changes,

'Bigger

It in aizalicant that

the

THE BOEING 77 mm TWIN **

De Havilland advantage. Is that its first Tridents are well ahead in manufacture and are -though a lille bigger.

thie to alart dying next autumn. In 'relago length there is Deliveries can start in late 1959. Only Bin, difference between the Boeing has set the same target

dote, two rivals; And

fuselage diemeter just 21⁄2 in. Boelog will carry 14 moro passengers than Trident's

Battle

.

Total world sales of these jeta could reach up to 1,000 planes, So milliona are there to be won. --and lost.

• Britain's new vertical take* of fighter, the single-engine Hawker P 1127, has-a-powerful American rival,

"Gamblingo.nourly always D American "twin" has the same the 000-mile-an-hour mige game, naturally," he says, number of jets as the Tellent 199, "Anything is it it geta hold of | (three) arranged in the sume you. I mean, take anything | way in the same place-ihe tall ........horses, dogs, cards, women, Before de Havillande scitied drink. Well, you'll end up skinton Dicir revolutionary lay-out. won't you? Unless you're lucky. Boeings were first in favour of | Sparked off by the American

"I different if you're lucky. wing-mounted power plants announcement is a tremendous Bell Aerosystems has And it's different again if you're hung like those on their big 707, sales baltic. Joinlog it is the 'duced a full-scale model of an clever and lucky.

and then, when they switched to French Caravelle, and expreted eight-engined --- VDO: And, to prove that he is both,"| tho' tall,.played-mruund initially into the ring toon la andther, bomber at a cost of £0,000,000, hetatudioal form //for the next | with designs for two or "Your though slightly larger, British most of it paid for by the U.B.

engines.

---contender, thu-Vinters-V©»11. -Quvenzioni.

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