A TRIP ABROAD.

Manawatu Herald, Volume L, Issue 4004, 1 October 1929, Page 3

A TRIP ABROAD.

MR. ALSOP DESCRIBES HIS EXPERIENCES.

On Thursday evening last the members of the Foxton Chamber of Commerce spent a pleasant social hour in tPaitrey’s rooms when Mr. A. Alsop, one of its 1 members, who has recently returned from an extensive trip abroad, related some of his experiences. The Mayor (Mr. M. L. Perreau) presided over the ingMr. Alsop, said, that together witn his wife, he left New Zealand on the 18th March for England via the Panama. On the Saturday before Easter at 6 a.m. their vessel arrived at Panama Canal and that day they spent sight-seeing' round about Panama and Balboa. The site of the first Canal commenced by, the Flrench, but which was abandoned, was also seen. While in Panama on that Sunday Mr. Alsop witnessed the first game of baseball he had seen. It was a. match between the Army and Navy and was attended by some thousands of people. After leaving Panama the boat passed through the various canal lochs, the operation of which Mir. Alsop described. The vessel rose to a height of 80 feet at the highest lock and was hauled ,lhrough these narrow waterways (by means of small but powerful engines on the (banks. As the boat on which they were travelling was an

oil burner, no stop was made at 1 Colon, but a call was made at • Curacao for oil. 'Curacao is an Anglo-Dutch island lying off' the northern coast of South America,. The population, said Mr, Alsop, were typically* 'OfitffisT Th their ways. The island wo - very pretty and had a wonderful harbour, capable of giving safe anchorage to three fleets. After leaving Curacao a direct route was taken for Southampton at which port they arrived on the 26th April. No time was lost in disembarking and the boat train was caught to London and' they arrived in that metropolis after dinner. During the next five weeks Mr. and Mrs. Alsop spent a busy time sight-seeing in and about London. New Zealand House was visited and Mr. Alsop made the acquaintance of Sir James Parr. Furnished by New Zealand House with tickets for admission to the various places of interest, Mr. and Mrs. 'Alsop had no difficulty in gaining admission to , any place of note. , They also received an invitation to an afternoon tea for New' Zealanders in London. They attended, the function and there met a large number of their fellow countrymen, including 'Sir. .Joseph Ward, who happened to be_ in England at the time. New Zealand House also provided them with permits to visit Parliament and thus afforded them an opportunity of ■hearing the leading statesmen of the day including the then Premier Baldwin, Ramsay MacDonald, and ; Lloyd George. (Mr. Alsop was particularly impressed with the wonderful effigies which adorned many of the old buildings in London and the number of busts of-various notables of by-gone days which were to be seen about the city. The Unknown Soldier’s grave and Westminister Abbey were also visited, while Mr. Alsop found a horse show in Rfgent Park of particular interest. I have never • seen better horses in my life than I saw t-liere, said Mr. Alsop, and most of then! came from 'Scotland.. On the 30th May, Mr. and Mrs. Alsop ' left London on a tour of England and 'Scotland. Them fi(rst visit was . made by ’bus to Stratford on Avon .(where Ann Hathaway’s and Shakespeare’s residences were inspected. (Both these places were in a wonderful state of preservation and in Ann Hathaway’s house all but two of the panes of glass were' still the

same as the ones 'there when she

was in residence in the house. The 'fruit trees, gnarled and old were still growing there while the same old furniture adorned the houses. After spending a night in this delightful old village Mr. Alsop rfext visited .Liverpool. jHe was greatly impressed ‘by the dScks and the aerial railways of this great shipping centre and spent a good deal of time on the waterfront admiring the, huge liners which berthed there. Visits were made to the various beaches and suburbs, including New Brighton and Blackpool. The country around Liverpool appeared to be very good and between Liverpool and Blackpool the sightseer could sec nothing but potatoes for as far as the eye could The beaches of course teemed with people. After a week in Liverpool Mr. Alsop moved on to Glasgow passing Gretna Green en route. An excursion trip down the Clyde gave the speaker some insight into the magnitude of the ship building trade which is carried on at Glasgow 7, the river being bounded by yards on both sides practically from Glasgow to the sea. While there they were fortunate in seeing the new 7 battleship Canberra being put through her trials. The Nelson was also in port, during tlieir stay there. Harry Lauder’s home was inspected and a visit, paid to the monuments erected by Harry Lauder to his late W'ife and son. Mary of Argyle’s statue was also seen. After leaving Glasgorv, train was taken to Loch Lomond where a connection was made with the Loch boat. Mr. Alsop was_ particularly impressed with the wonderful scenery and the beauties of this famous loch. After leaving Loeh Lomond a visit was paid to the capital of the highlands, Inverness. The scenery of the Highlands was truly Wonderful and beyond description. Mr. Alsop’s arrival at Inverness coincided with that of the Australian delegation and he was made right royally welcome and placed on the §ame footing as the other overseas visitors.

It was very light at Inverness of a night. Although summer time laws were in operation si ill it was light enough to read a newspaper inside at li |un. without a light. ’A trip was made into the Western Highlands over rough roads and on all sides beautiful heather country stretched for miiles on which deer and mountain cattle, beautiful in their shaggy coats of long hair, roamed at will. The Island'of Skng was visited only 40 miles from John O’Groats where in summer time there is only 12 minutes difference between sunset and sunrise. Elgin and Aberdeen were also visited and here again Mr. Alsop was impressed by the beauties of the Granite City. Dundee and Edinburgh were also visited and much time spent in inspecting places of historic note. Over 400 tons of fish was sent daily from Edinburgh to London by special train. After leaving Edinburgh a ’bus was taken to Newcastle on Tyne in the coal mining district. Scarborough was visited where it inis still possible to see a great deal of the damage done by the Germans during the war when they carried cut their raid oni the English coast. At York the old Roman wall w inspected which still surrounds rf town while tlvev traversed the

the-famous .Diek Turpin wa* posed to ride between Doa-'-asr, ;and York and so back !n Loijßo?-. After a rest in London Mi/, and Mrs. Alsop visited the Aunt incut (spending u good dojtf of time in Par, and on -r 'daft-mug to England ,'Ui. A lsojj.-jo'firneycd to Portsmouth wbgrg; he witnessed the 'annual ' {ig-etta, at the same time visiting,the Isle of Wight. —The fireworks display which brought the /(‘gotta (to a close was a most, spectacular affair. The old .Victory was to be seen at Ports-., mouth, still in a wonderful state of preservation and many of the battleships which participated in the Jutland Battle were still in dock there. Nelson’s museum was very interesting. Leaving the great naval base Mr. Alsop journeyed back to London via the New Forest and Bournemouth. Further short trips, took Mr. and Mrs. Alsop to Southend on Sea, Chatham, Ramsgate, Canterbury, Tunbridge Wells, Dartford and tQrayford, Mr. Alsop’s birthplace. While there he was able to visit the church where he was christened, the second oldest .church in England. At Cambridge they heard their first cuckoo. On the 13th October Mr. and Mrs. Alsop embarked for New Zealand, making calls at Gibraltar, Toulon, Naples, Port Said, Suez, Aden, Colombo, Freemantle, and Perth. Mr. and Mrs. Alsop spent some time-in Australia, returning later to New Zealand.