MONTE CARLO IS PLANNING

Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 5305, 18 January 1947, Page 2

MONTE CARLO IS PLANNING

HOPES TO REGAIN LOST GLAMOUR. 1 > " , Monte Carlo, f amous Mediterranean haunt of pleasure, picturesque scene of a thouskhd a'dventure novels and glamorous motion pictures, ii dCtermined to tecovor a measure of its "pre-war prOspCrity and resume its rigthfid place as the meeca of pleasure-seeking British and American tourists. ff Astute business interests of the gay Riviera resoft addressed a cheery and optimistic invitation to all Australiaris capable of securing air or sea passages to -hook their next holidays in the south of^France. . They offer luxurious hotel comfort, therapeutic sea baths,. a £60,000 golf eourse, opera, 'ballet and concerts, blue skies, gaudy gardens and the farfamed ru/bber beach, all on a munificent pre-war scale, as well as the customary fling at the gamblirig tables in the Casino and Sporting Club. For a town whcrse only souree of income is the tourist trade, Monte Carlo has suffered lean times since 1940. iRich foods are scarce, the famous Sea Baths were partly demolished by dive-bombers, and the enforced absence of well-sbod American and English playboys was .poorly conpensated for during the war by a few handfuls of parsimonious Nazi officers, dutifully uspicious of the "decadent" carryings-on in the sophisti3ated Riviera resort. To make up for lost time (and lost revenue) the business follc of Monte Carlo have drawn up an amibitious programme. The organisation which controls the f amous Casino, and which quaintly calls intself the Anonymous Society of Sea Water Baths and StrangerS', proudly announces "the construction of a luxurious establishment Ayhere physicians and beauty specialists with the most up to date equipjnent and apparatus at their command will exercise their skill to improve the health and figure .of patrons."

As the towrf's latest information bulletin puts it: "The Sea Baths are equipped with the most cunning devices, which, when required, will pull, shake and pummel the human body into proper shape. This particular treatment is considered by many«=to be invaluable after a late session at the Casino or Sporting Club." Famous Golf Centre. After six years of German occupation, the famous golf links at Mont Agel, 2700 feet above the blue waters' of the Mediterranean, wereinasorry state 'of disrepair, ibut much work has been carried out to get t'he fairways back into playing trim, and uftder the aegis of no- less- an expert than Henry Cotton,' the ; Monte Carlo Golf Club stands a fair.-ehance to recover its pre-war prestige as the greatest golf centre on the 4 Continent of E'urope. With a keen eye to business, the resoilrceful Mr. Cotton has added a new magnet to Monte Carlo's many attractions — a sumptuous golf school, wiht ' two 18-hole putting greens, situated just below the Casino terrace on the side of what used to be the Tir aux Pageons. So that, as he says in a friendly letter address.ed to the world's golfers, "on the side where thousands of 'birdies' were shot annually in pre-war days I hope to teach thousands of golfers to shoot 'birdies' of another sort" "I can think of nothing more exciting," Mr. Cotton adds enthusiastically, "than to hit ball after ball into the sea below, aiming at a target in the dingy-lined fairway," there to be retrieved by caddies rowing aboujt in small boats. As Mr. Cotton says: "Put Monte Carlo on top of your list for a" holiday — and bring your golf clu'bs."