1961-12-20 — Page 5

Roderick Mann

I

HAD been on Tahiti not more

than half a minute when

I

got my first shock. As I stagger- ed from the aircraft, weighted down with overnight bags and books, a gorgeous young Poly- nesian girl came forward and, placing a garland of frangipani around my neck, kissed me shyly on the cheek and whispered "Iaorana. Welcome."

Well, this was something like it. Suddenly the massive jet haul from Tokyo via Honolulu seemed worth while. Suddenly everything seemed worth while.

She ww wearing a native paren Bort of wrap-around costume of flowered cloin--her dark r was down lo ber waist and she Was really beautiful.

No wonder Brando spent so much time down here.

Rected. The old dog.

Then 500 smiled and recolied about five feel.

She had no iveth.

Peered closer

Perhaps it was a trick

Į

of

She

had had

A top

columnist lands

on Tahiti on his trip round

the world-and

makes a few disconcerting

discoveries about

that South Seas paradise

PLEASE TELL ME

This is Tarita, 19... the sort of Tahitian beauty who appears in every tourist's daydream

$2

ABOUT TV, SAID THE TAHITIAN GIRL

And what a shock to discover all those

barefoot beauties dancing with their shoes on

the ilght. I thought. and peered closer. But no, not been mistaken. not tooth in her head.

Considerably shaken by this lush, encounter, I clunked through my hotel, Customs and made for the bar. Something bracing was needed. I felt: Tahition,

perhaps a Zomble one of those famous exotle Polynesian drinks The drinks they say will bring you a breath of Tahiti, isle of romance and passion.

A

A second shock was in slove fm me "A what?" demanded

the girl behind the bar.

A Tahitian,"

You

know

juice. Bacardi

Į repealed. passion fruit SUTUP,

said

line, crushed ice?"

"Never heard of it."

smiled the girl. She

horror. getically.

To teeth

Oh,

she

ران

፡፡፡

Fl

I said. "None of them has got tropical countryside

wy teeth.

"It is a bit of a shock told me Why had nobody

saw first," he agreed rather cheer- Those gorgeous girls you

"But one Eels used 10 on the posters, beckoning you fully.

South it. I have been here over out to the seductively

year now and I hardly notice Seas, were they toothless? In deed they were ποι Had it. it's something to do with Maugham said anything about the absence of minernis in the

I understand. the need for dentistry in The drinking water, Moon and Sixpence?

"Their teeth go very quickly If you meet a girl you realf like, the best present you ran give her is a dental plate."

[Later 1

Oli, no.

Had Gauguin panted Tooth – Tess beauties?

He had not.

”པར

discover

11 was an obvious ronspiracy that when M-G-M were here Muthuy On of silence.

this year making

iney The Bounty

organised false terth for the girl extras. To make sure the

Again Bit of a shock

"A Zombie, them," I croaked.

I had not fully recovered "Never heard of that, either.

from the shock when a young "Then what hour you got?"

French official. Godfrey Ov Hinano

said. beer,"

Nouillat, came round to the drink hotel and bid me welcome.

Muodis, I stared out at the sank my

seu creaming on the coral reef. my

Teeth "They have got the

down here."

"That's what

We

Sunk to givom.

Hi

bags, and

wove through

beer. gathered

110

the famous painter. I had been paradise was doomed. It was and lobsters off the reef. That's told I would find him lurking only a matter of time before it the food problem taken care of. about in the Rur Jeanne d'Arc, became just like Hawaii, vulgar Then they can get down to the and sure enough, there he was and commercial.

serious business of life-singing, The charm of Tahiti, they dancing, drinking, and making He turned out to be a huge, pointed out, had always been love." "Never heard of them." he gross man with a pendulous its inaccessibility. Now, with seid "People down here ali stomach like a jovial Buddha. the jets American tourists could drink Hinano

10

for! it's the only thing a Tahitian works for--to nake Chough money to get toaded on Hinano beer at the wokends.

beer

"Mind you, it's not what it was. I used to be the mos potent beer in the world

and you were Three of them

thy reduced Last year away. the alcohol content, however."

Jovial Buddha

we

Monsieur Vadim, of course, is aa Frenchman. He was lying on a heap of descend upon the island in

matter of hours. There was no one corner of

"At night," according to the sacking in

making the

fishing hope Ruruge,

But the local people are less brochure found in my room. tackle which he sells to сагл

"the pessimistic. a living.

Tahitian Hut. Here visitors from all over the world dance side

He said nothing at all until 1 produced a dollar

"Poppo," he said, "buried on Marquesa Islands, near here.

"Tahitian momnia--she dead 100. I not

remember them

[Gauguin died Dead long time. in 1903].

"But I have friend who Te member Poppa. You like incel him?"

1 said I would and he go loped away to his feet and reappearing after a while with a withered, ageing man.

"Yes," the

She pointed out that she was Tahitian and didn't give a rap what it meant in Italian, We were off to a good start-bul at least she had a few teeth, which made a pleasant change.

"Why are nil the barefoot Tahitian beauties dancing with shoes on?" I asked.

"Well," she said, "there is n visiting Argentine cruiser in port. How would you like to dance barefoot with un Argen- tine sailor?"

"You mean they step You?"

On

"That's what I mean," she

place to go is Quinn's said rather sharply.

No TV, no papers beauties, while drums and steel

to

an

"France has always had help support us." said official of the Syndicat d'Inilla- tive, the island's tourist deve- lopment organisation. Now de Gaulle says the island must pay its own way and the only way to do that tourists

I bought Si Sa Hinano beer by side with barefoot Tahitian and after a while the became mare friendly and put a flower guitars beat out the fascinating over my ear and told me I was

word simpatico--a

she had Tahitian hula,"

an apparently learned when Italian cruiser was in port.

·

A motley group Not chosen

dioner

cream

was a great

Well that sounded promising, ste got here jus "f can

And in time." I said moodily.

of roasted is by encouraging 50 after a

Her greatest regret, she con- happy-go-

on that note

whole pig said good

red aded, along with

was that she had not "lucky girls reported for work night, and retired, defented

bananas, taro, and breadfruit, been chosen as an extra for the each day, Towever they mude and dejected, to my room.

Five years ago we had 700 and a divinely favoured des- Alm Mutiny On The Bounty not them 1 in the teeth each

tourists here. This year it was sort called por-made of cooked only because she night before leaving the set j

The next day it was rain- ing. Great clouds hung low

But nearer 4,000.

we do not papaya, pineapple, banana, fan of Marlon Brando but also "There's another thing." over the island. So I rented

to be vanilla, coconut intend allowing Tahiti

and because

she wanted to earn a car and set oul for nearby

for the come another Hawaii. We are thickening-I set uut said. Jaan

enough money to get away from the Papeete,

capital,

in knew

together Ko Re. The older constantly turning down Amer waterfront. search of the one local

can speculators who want eele Tahitian found it very difficult

to motley group Emile Gal

build "Zop-brity, 60-year-old

move in and

luxury found the his name.] He to pronounCV the legitimate son of guin.

very ill at end, and

help hotels," hini. When he die I have twu "What would

you say 100A "I am told." I volunteered paintings. I sell to American the main attraction of Tähti?" unwisely, "that if a girl is lady for few franes. Not know I asked.

looking for a sweetheart she worth money later."

wears a flower beltind" her vest

said Where are alt these carotic Polynesian drinks?" "Like what?" he said. *Tahitians. said

f

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I

Gloomy warning

"Haven't

you

cald.

rooms.

who brochure

with had

Tahili.

also

New

in their

то

Paris, London, York. Anywhere.

"But this is paradise," I said. "All the guide books say so. No neon, no traffic lights, no tele- vision..

J

"Oh, please," she breathed huskily, "tell me about

Her eyes it up. And it had noterd?

be ear. If it is behind her right nothing to do with the beer. "We have no neon, no

ear it means she is already traffic lights, no television, Du married." newspapers, no malaria, no tip- ping, no soda fountains, no golf, and no bingo. What more can you ask?"

He kept watching my hand - he spoke. I thought oi the notice I had seen at the airport when I arrived; "PLEASE DO NOT TIP. HELP PRESERVE THE OLD-TIME SPIRIT OF he said, rather crossly. THE ISLAND BY NOT INTRO- DUCING SUCH PRACTICES."

Oh, well, so much for the old-

time spirit. I gave him a dollar

100, and the two of them sloped

"Teeth." I ventured. "You can't have everything,

Perhaps not.

'God's sweetest

-{London Express Service).

Shouts and cheers greeted television." this, and we poured out of the car into the waterfront bar to inspect the revelry. And revelry it was. It looked more like Omaha Beach on D-Day than a dance hall.

"I must say you were a great help," one of our group said. "All the girls here are wearing flowers in the middle of their hair. I suppose that means they

away toward the waterfront. Robert Louis Stevenson, one can't make up their minds."

earliest publicists, Tahilians "God's

came.

Eventually a young Tahitian girl came over to join us (The women of Tahiti have no false

Old Tahiti hands in France of Tahiti's had warned me gloomily that called the

Others-like new sweetest works," with the completion of s

Greene, who jet runway on the island a few Graham months ago-the famous last here to finish his last book, and modesty. If they like you they Olga Deterding (Schweitzer's dance). She looked as if she you to lale chum) who stayed here

HERMES

Media. 3

"Great" elephants! This typewriter, very good buy,

A BRITISH

and

ask

her

TARGET

NOT

VAT

RS

How many

words of four letter or more can yot akt from the letters in tbe square un the let: 7

In making the word. each letter may be used

once only. Each word must gen. tain the large letter, and there must be at least one ten-letter word in theist, No plurals; no foreign words ; no proper maineN TODAY'S TARGET #528 words, DOOR: good: 86 words, very

$4 words, excellent. Solution

on Tuesday.

YESTERDAY'S: BOLUTION?: Cali eleg coal coll colza cool. gali gallic fogle logical ollo eological ZOOLO- | GICAL

come over

had been

into poured for months and worked behind the bar of the hotel Les Trn Pareu and had said "When" at piques--apparently agreed with exactly the right time. him.

She had a stunning figure. Certainly French director Her name, it transpired, was Roger Vadim does. The Si Si, which I told her meant gai gill goal igloo tale Blac local locu Tahitians," allows Vadim, "are "Yes, Yes" in Italian. the most wonderful people I know. They are certainly inde pendent. They want for nothing they cannot get from nature. For breakfast they simply walk out and pick bananas, papaya, and grapefruit off the trees. For hinch and dinner they just go out in a canoe and shoop fish

2

1333

5

B

12:

W 14 CROSS

R

D PUZZLE

ACROSS

1 Quicker ways, 20 It's movet

(two words). significant

22 Do you hel

· Home.

9

19 Judge who •23 Leia foot hur

won't give up? heacti

12 N' D good. #4 Timis, not so 19.K marks the

15 Cives over 10 Water Pakwed. 10 New.

FROOD

A Not boanets

for cari

3 Regretted.

DOWN

4 Does it cleave:

Depodl

Reflectors)

JACOBY on BRIDGE

new method of selecting the Joho likes to bid every hand

team to

represent the to the limit and then some, so United States in the 1982 world after Jack showed that they bridge championships is being held all the aces in today's tried this year. Sixteen quali- hand, John went all the way to fed pairs

met in an eight- seven no-trump. session event at Houston, Tex., The hand illustrates an im-

recently, and the three top. pairs portant point of play that many will form the team.

people overlook. South needs to run the club sult, and he has no way to do it if East holds all the missing clubs. He can handle that four-zero break i West holds the four clubs, se Mr. Simon started the club suit with the play of the queen from his own hand,

WEST

4 10:42

J-1098

+32

J10 TG-

NORTH

AQ3 K2 64

AK0854

EAST 4765

Q7.43

G

♦ Q108753

None

SOUTH (D).

KJ9B

A05 AKO:

Q32

Both vulnerable

South West North

· East:

1N.T. Pass

PAR

3.

Pass

Pass

4 ♥ Pan 4.N.T.

Past

SN.T.

IN.T. P

Pak Opening lead

-Pass Par IME

11 Speaks:

Jogically the waves 16 Whip. a pell #'the heavenly": ·Jr. fogluberai

20 Noel's girðt o Cots

Me,,23 Cereal. with a broken

Stockbroker, John Simon Imbragen? Introduced.) 29 Comfort, St. Louis is the oldest man in YESTERDAY'S CROSSWORD Aertig; 1; Wife, 4 Arab, 6-Hail, 6 the group. His partner to „Tala. 11. Soker 13 Bettles, 14. Bar, 10% Døler, 15) Warpu,:21 Torch, 24 Zauty; bridge teacher, Jack Denny

14 Add,ougher, at Becky Go Bato, 21 Overs in Downy, sa Boiramawi Akron, Ohio, and, they qualified Repede Fall, D Rata in Tezelado Step By being decond in the open 17 Tongs, 12 BURE, DI BEREWIRE XORAS, 26 And, 30 Hasp; | pairs, at the Spring Nationals,

Then, when East showed out, he was able to lead twice to- ward dummy's ace and king. West could split his jack and. ten or not, but there was no way he could makes a trick with them..

♥÷CARD Senseķ☀

The bidding has been; South West North

You, South, hold:

MAQBE WAKEL:60DE5J 15,

What do you do?, Vdek would open with one

heart. This Miłowi my: parker. “to bid 3 spade with four of that. Fault. A prude, apmiling la Your

seoonil best welion, aged

TODAY'S QUESTION. You do open one heart and „your partner responds one trade,

What do you do?