XN000022-1975-05-06 — Page 21

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The traditional Chinese touch extended to the typically Chinese

waxed paper parasol with which an escort shielded her from the drizzle

as the various members of the Organising Committee were presented to her

by the Committee Chairman, Mr. A. De 0. Sales.

When she was about to take her seat in the pavilion, the Governor

played Sir Walter Raleigh by laying his raincoat on her chair, inevitably

dampened by the weather.

The parade was led off by a representative contingent of the

armed forces, comprising the 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards, 'C' Squadron

Royal Tank Regiment, the Hong Kong Military Service Corps, the Royal

Hong Kong Regiment 'The Volunteers', the Royal Hampshire Regiment and

the 20th Light Regiment Royal Artillery.

The Southern Band of the Royal Air Force, which had entertained

guests before the arrival of the Royal party, gave way to the corps of

drums of the 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards and the band of the 1st Battalion

the Royal Hampshire Regiment, The military contingent was followed offsṭage

by the massed pipes and drums of the Brigade of Gurkhas.

Next came music of a very different order, quiet, restrained and

performed by the Lung Cheung Orchestra on traditional Chinese instruments.

The musicians themselves were dressed in traditional gowns, playing just

below and to the right of the Royal Box, as they would for an opera on

stage.

The atmosphere of the stage was reinforced from the very first

item, a complex dance depicting how lotus fairies are awakened by festive

maidens so that they join in the revelry. Presented by the Tung Wah Group

of Hospitals, the dance revolved around a giant lotus blossom pulled on

wheels.

/Next came .***