1938-04-26 — Page 18

THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH, TUKHDAY, APRIL 26, 1998,

FOR THE COCKTAIL HOUR

Watson's

LIME JUICE CORDIAL

A Product of the finest West Indies Limes.

Makes the perfect Gimlet

$1.20 PER

BOTTLE.

S. Watson

Co., Ltd.

AERATED WATER MANUFACTURERS.

NOW ON

ON SALE

The

APRIL "H.M.V"

RECORDS

Including eleven new dance records and an interesting selection of vocal & instrumental recordings.

Ask for a copy of the supplement.

S. MOUTRIE & CO., LTD.

York Building

Chater Road.

Music hath charms

Sunday Classical Concert,

at Repulse Bay Hotel

Under leadership of

Geo. Pio-Ulski

Programme for Sunday, May 1, 1938

1

p.m.

2.30 p.m. PROGRAMME

1. Alessandro Stradella. Ouverture. Flotow.

Mi Ricordo

.Narciso.

2.

3. Goldsmith's Daughter, Waltz .....Fetras.

4. Serenade Melancolique

5. Traviata

Selection

A Mazurka

7. Ballet Egyptien

also

'WEEKLY DINNER

DANCES EVERY

WEDNESDAY

9.00 p.m. to 1.00 a.m.

Tschaikowsky.

Verdi.

Glinka.

.Luigint.

HONG KONG Hotel garage

LUCAS C.A.V. ROTAX

LUCAS SERVICE Genuine Lucas Spare Parts

Electrical Equipment for REPAIRS & REPLACEMENTS ΤΟ AUTO. ELECTRIC t IGNITION SYSTEMS

Equipment for any nature of service

APPLY

The Films You GRIN AND BEAR IT

Like To See

By

The Man Who Picks Them ARTHUR W. JARRATT of Gaumont-British

Tis my job to find film entertainment-to pick "pictures for places." How do I set about it?

Golden Rule No. 1 is never to under-rate the intelligence of the public. If a picture is unpopular you can be sure it is bad.

Rule No. 2 is to remember al- ways that the public will not be lectured. If an entertaining film carries a moral that is all to the good. But no audience will accept a lecture for the lecture's sake.

As far as films are concerned, there is one West End for week-

Hongkong Hotel days and another for Sundays,

Stubbs Rd.

Garage

Phone 27778/9.

The

Hongkong Telegraph.

Tuesday, Arni. 28, 1038,

FOR THOSE WHO FORGET

and neither is the West End of the street maps.

On weekdays, audiences in West End cinemas come mainly from the districts west and north of Piccadilly and they ap- preciate most the fast, wise- cracking, crazy comedies.

They like any well-made comedy or melodrama, but they are not keen on ordinary Western dramas, dialect films, back-stage stories, and musical films. No Clue

ON Sundays the West

The subject of this article the East.

from an

End moves round to Audiences then come arca north of the

cannot be guaranteed as being Thames as far cast as Bow. either interesting or instructive,

And the strange characteris- yet it is something which touches tic of these Sunday filmgoers is to a lesser or greater degree that their reactions give no clue almost every one of Hongkong's to success or failure with other audiences-even weekly audi- residents; and more particularly eneca attending the same the European population. It is cinemas.

that ufliction known to many, North London likes fast-mov- admitted by a few, "Hongkong ing films, especially of the gang- Memory," It may

ster or G-Man type. But this be indi-

holds good only until we get genous to this Colony, so to north of Harringay, where we

| speak; or it may be that climatic strike the same sort of audience

same

as we find nearly everywhere south of the Thames.

In these outer suburban areas, the British type of film is most popular.

and other conditions combine to nourish it here and that it is no more than a manifestation of the mental inertia which occurs elsewhere, notably in the North London understands Spring. In any event, there is London does not like it, and does and likes American slang, South no denying its existence, and not wish to understand it. even its utility; for it has served

Now what about the Pro- before now as an excuse for alvinces? In the main we can say broken dinner date. As far, as south of Nottingham is like can be ascertained none of the South London, and the northern

great scientific minds of the age| counties like North London. But! has tackled this rather fascinat- there are notable exceptions.

York ing problem, although Freud and stance, follow South London's and Harrogate, for in- Jung

have made dilettante tastes. reference to similar complaints. It is therefore time the thing was examined.

Lancashire and Yorkshire in general are magnificently loyal to their own stars. If you send them what you think the finest flm in the world on

a week when they can

see a Gracie Fields or a George Formby you discase, exactly. It may. very will be asking for trouble. well be a symptom of some phy-

It is not suggested "Hongkong Memory is

that

sical disability, however, and On Danger List perhaps can help the medical

man

to arrive at

#

correct

I

FIND that those en- gaged in heavy or diagnosis. It is sometimes arduous work incline to follow North London in its liking for (Continued on Page 5.)

chronic and apparently is one of the results of excessive use of alcohol, though it is not a proof responsible advisers around our of over-indulgence. It may be Emperor'"

(loud cries

of

a result of physical fatigue or 'Irresponsible!)-to speak of worry, or it may be due to irresponsible advisers. Pardon] unconscious repression. In a the lapsus linguac. "This con- form well-known to journalists fused utterance was naturally and public speakers, it frequent- Bulow's hearers. It may be

followed by hillarity ly results in inability to remem- that the mind of such a speaker, ber a word

And like the mind of a writer, runs

name.

among

since, at this stage of treat-on before his words; that he 稳 Bort of

ment the subject approaches the speaks, actually, in realm of psychopathology, it recitation, having instantly might not be amiss to consider memorised a sentence framed in the relationship between "Hong" speaking his brain is racing on the mind, and that while he is kong Memory" and the mental to find new words and arrange and physical states which induce them in proper order. Even so, lapsus linguae, or in every-day the error is a sign of mental language, slips of the tongue. weariness, and of the same That there is a close relation-category as that of the Hong- ship seems certain. It was the kong man who droopingly mur- former German

murs to the bar-boy: "I think Chancellor, I shall have a shishkey-woda I Prince Bulow, who fell into one mean a whishkyoh, a high- of the most embarrassing tongue ball." traps when defending his Em This information is not likely peror in 1907. "Concerning the to do anyone very much good. present, the new epoch of The whole article is typical of Emperor Wilhelm II, I can only the products of minds afflicted THE HONGKONG & SHANGHAI HOTELS, LTD: that it would be unfair and un- decrepit mental state is rest and with the subject of discussion... repeat what I said a year ago, The best remedy for this just to speak of a colerle of quiet.

For Reservations plaaso

*phone 27775

Repulse Bay Hotel

By Lichty

Dupe, ikim ky kaibed Frature Bimkiente, lie,

"Every night this week it's deen dinners, banquets, dances, sing parties when will we spend a quiet evening at home?"

QUOTATION FOR TODAY

ONE of the greatest lessons of life is to learn not to do what one likes, but to like what

one does.-BLACK.

THE EVERY IDEA”

BRINGING UP THE PROBLEM CHILD

By Eddie "Pop" Kelly THE amah's rot measles and

the headache is rick in bed with the dog (the animal occupies the bed with her)

and we've been so busy' her) and we've been so buny lately minding the baby that we haven't had time to giva you those swimming lessÖNE we promised you.

WE, find that minding the

baby is the most difficult part of our job. Washing the dishes is easy, for we re- ceived so many for wedding presents that we have suf- ficient reinforcements for those already in the kitchen sink to avoid unnecessary menial tasks until the amah is well again.

We don't really know who that kid takes after. It must be his mother. We're sure it's not us. Mind you, ho's a dear Bitle thing. but the temptation to wring his. neck does prove terrific at times..

And the muck he lives on. Warmed up milk and soggy bis- cuits.

Gruci, and stuff like that. That was his official menu, but when he found out how to open the refrigerator, he was able to vary it a life.

A bit of raw chop, followed by half n pound of butter, and the contents of the milk bottle poured over himself was just a sort of snock.

The headache used to call us into the bedroom and say in n weak, suffering voice (all put on, of course): "Is Willie alright? What's he doing now? He's very quiet."

That's the sort of kid he is. If he isn't quiet, JOD im- mediately suspect he's dead. Oh, well. Being married' calls for a little celibation,

Goodbye

Gretna Green!

The Government will shortly introduce a Bill in the Commons to end "irregular marriages" at Gretna Green and elsewhere in Scotland.

Mr. Walter Elliot, Secretary for Scotland, announced this answering a question by Mr. David Kirkwood,

The Bill is not yet finally drafted, but it will end all forms of marriage in Scotland except-

in recognised Christian or Jewish places of worship after

the ordinary calling of banns;

by a new form of civil wedding before, officials to be instituted by the Bill. It will resemble English Register Office marriage. Marriage of minors without consent of their parents, and marriage - by declaration before witnesses will be" ended. All unauthorised people who profess to conduct marriages-such as Mr. Rennison, the Gretna "Blacksmith," will be penalised and put out of practice by the Bill. RETNA GREEN. From St. Pancras or Euston 3171 miles. Map square 44. See Carlisie.. About G weck-day, 1 Sunday service. Monthly return 77/3 a, 51/6 c. Ordinary single 64/2 a, 38/6 c. Early closing Wednesday.

G

Not very romantic, the way the time-table looks at it, is it? But Gretna Green is really a prosaic place. During the war £9,000,000 was spent on making it into a cordito-manufacturing centre where 24,700 people worked. The ruins remain in the Belds around.

It might have become more Important still if this munition factory hadn't been sold up in 1924. Labour M.P.s wanted to make it into a vast peace-time factory.

☆ ☆

:

☆

Now Gretna Green has come Into the news again-perhaps for the last time.

of

For 184 years Gretna Green has been the scene "romantic" marriages.

Romantic? Well. It was only an Act of Parliament in 1754 which changed the venue of these "romantic” marriages. It did so by making the marringo

of a minor Ulegal in England with- out consent of parents or guardian. Such marriages remained legal Scotland-and Aro still HO

In

to-day.

Before the Act of 1754 minors had contracted "hideaway" wed- dings with their lovers in the Fleet Prison of London.

Afterwards they started those long drives in post-chalses to the Scottish border, with furious parents in pursuit and the trim- mings of tawdry romance.

ropiaced "The

Gretna had

Flect

And so the English built up Gretna Green as the very marrow of romance for runaway lovers.

But Mr. Rennison doesn't worry. "My smithy will still be one of the most famous places in the country" he told the "Dally Herald" last night when told of the new Bill.

Mr. David Macintosh, the rival marriage practitioner at Gretna, says he will "carry on uniá thé "Alll 'Becomes law." "It is a pity," he added,

dings took place between run- aways from England. At Zamber- ton Toll, on the East const, just across the border from Berwick- on-Tweed, and at Coldstream nearby, the same thing happened for years.

In 1856 Lord Brougham's Act was passed and one party of the marriage was required to have three weeks' residential qualifica- tion in Scotland.

The other places went out of. business. Only Gretna had the staying power to survive the blow and the sense to turn the Scottish wedding into a racket.

The blacksmith's shop was the

'Muckle.

Gretna, you see, was the first village across the border into Beat idea of a Gretna farmer called land on the main posting-roai from London to clasgow, by way

Nearly fifty years ago he bought of Carlisle Aren- not the Grotna Musoum ung: tha" Black- the buildings, now known as the

--- Actually, Gretria

only place where irregular wed-smith's Bhop

The Blacksmith's Shop at that time was certainly occupied by a blacksmith, but he ran the Gretna Estate business.

-Mackie bought him out, turned the shop into a museum with room for marriages.

He filed his museum with relles, Twelve of these so-called relics are fakes, and since they were all bought after 1000 nobody thinks much of the rest either.

The

Blacksmith's Shop iden comes, It is believed, from IL Gretna public house which had an anvil as its sign and at which mar- riages had taken place formerly,

Macklë” made” about "£1,500 ́ ́ year performing marriages and selling souvenirs - worth more than £3,000 to-day, remember.

Mackie's successor at The Shop.. is Richard Ronnison. Before 1927 he had been a saddler in England. Since then, describing himself as "priest" on the so-called mar- riage certificates, Rennison, still not a blacksmith, has managed to make as much as £2,000 in one year,

Last year a Scottish Omice com- inittee reported against any more Gretna marriages. The now Gov- ernment Bull flows from this report.

The committee based its case on two main grounds.

One was that so much doubt and misery have been subsequently experienced by the foolish young' couples in their mistaken "roman- tle behaviour.

The other was that though the marriage ceremony itself is legal and binding in Scotland it is not legal unicas followed by registra- tion in a proper farm. Unless this registration is made it isn't easy to

prove or

or deny the marriage afterwards..

The Gretna anvil marriages are known as marriages de presenti, All any couple needs do is to say they wlil, have two witnesses there to hear them and that's enough."

They need offer no proof of resi-- dential qualification; "The "black- smith" asks if they are qualided and is bound to accept no more

their word for it.

than

If the residential qualification is in fact watertight, the marriageį is worthless unless immediately registered at Dumfries Sheriff's Court.

Only one in four Gretna mar ringes is thus registered..

And that's when the trouble starta: when work is found for magistrates, probation officers".. and blackmallera, gm.

Let Gratna Green be what?-it- ought to be to the rest of the world-s name in the time-table.. To-day's Thought

I MUST marry the girt ftrat,

and ask his consent toards.