TOUR ABROAD

Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 June 1939, Page 8

TOUR ABROAD

ENGLAND DURING CRITICAL DAYS MANY PLACES Or INTEREST VISITED. ADDRESS AT ROTARY CLUB BY MR I. I. McGREGOR. Impressions of a tour abroad, in which a visit was paid to many parts of the British Isles and the Continent, were given at today’s luncheon of the Masterton Rotary Club by Mr I. I. McGregor, who, with Mrs McGregor, returned to Masterton comparatively recently from a twelve months’ holiday overseas. The only break in the 21-days’ journey from Wellington to Panama, said Mr McGregor, was a brief stop of three hours at Pitcairn Island. The way m which men, women and children handled the boats in a rough sea spoke well for their physique. Five miles beyond Pitcairn was Henderson or Rat Island, where the islanders grew most of their fruit and also collected driftwood from- which they made curios, which were sold to the passengers of visiting liners. As Balboa was approached more ships were sighted. Balboa proved an interesting place, , said Mr McGregor, who was able to view it both by day and by night. The American administration buildings, from which the affairs of the Canal Zone were controlled, was a very fine structure. The old Panama City, which had a population largely of natives, though almost every nationality under the sun could be found there, was also visited at night. Two days were, spent in Jamaica, where the ship coaled at Port Royal, of historical interest, across the harbour from Kingston. Ten days after leaving Port Royal he arrived at Southampton and after six weeks of sea voyaging it was very pleasant to get ashore. The train journey from Southampton to London was his first experience of English trains and he found them, on account of the wider gauge, to be much smoother running than New Zealand trains. On approaching London itself, the roar of its traffic became very pronounced. Waterloo Station, with its 34 platforms and steam and electric trains constantly running in and out, was quite confusing to say the least. LONDON’S TRAFFIC. Mr McGregor paid a tribute to the efficiency and helpfulness of London policemen. Referring to the tremendous volume of traffic in London streets, he said, it was not uncommon to see a blockage extending for over a mile. He had often been on a London bus which had remained stationary for half an hour before being able to move on. The underground railways system provided an excellent means of transporting an immense number of people. Mi - McGregor made reference to the ease with which the huge crowds of London were handled and to the constant good nature of these crowds. He was fortunate enough to be standing on the steps of No. 11 bowning Street on the night that Mr Chamberlain returned from Munich. The demonstration was spontaneous and he said he could not but be impressed by the fact that the crowd approved Mr Chamberlain’s efforts for peace. From observations and inquiries he had made, he was satisfied that England, at that time, was not prepared for war and after all, it was through Mr Chamberlain’s efforts that peace was gained.

DEFENCE PREPARATIONS. Before leaving Britain and following on these events, Mr McGregor said it was obvious that no time was being lost in making every effort to prepare for a war emergency. On the roof of the hotel in which he was living were sandbags seven feet high, public parks were being dug for shelters and preparations made generally to counter ail- raid attacks. The time that had been gained by Mr Chamberlain had been turned to good account and if his efforts had not been successful any aerial attacks on London would have been frightful. Mr McGregor said a medical friend had told him, after having attended a conference, that medical and nursing attention would have to be provided for a quarter of a million casualties every day for fourteen days. Mr McGregor said he was nearly placed under arrest for taking a photograph of an anti-aircraft-battery in Hyde Park, but he managed to retain his camera, and film. The most impressive ceremony which he attended in London was that held on Armistice Day, when a million people took part in Whitehall. During the three minutes’ silence he could have heard a pin drop. Following that service a large number of people visited the grave of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey and poppies and wreaths six feet deep were piled over the tomb. The Lord Mayor’s procession was also very spectacular. Mr McGregor said he was in London at the time of the visit of King Carol and Prince Michael of Rumania.

GREAT CITY’S ATTRACTIONS. Stating that he was always very interested to get back to London, Mr McGregor said he was never tired of seeing the succession of ever-changing scenes there. The shops he found most attractive and visits were paid to theatres and cinemas. The old customs still in evidence were a feature of its life, the roasting of chestnuts, street singers, blind beggars and othere all added colour to the scene. He found much of interest at Covent Garden, Smithfield and Billingsgate. After visiting these markets, he was able to realise the immense organisation that was needed to feed London’s population of eleven millions. He found that flats were being constructed in cities in many parts of the world but he | was most impressed with those' in Holland, where the buildings were painted in bright colours and were built to get maximum sunshine. The municipal authorities in Dublin, Aberdeen and Glasgow favoured the separate unit house. He liked those in Aberdeen the best, as they were most attractive. There the authorities had adopted the American practice of having no fences in front of the houses and of growing flower borders to enhance the general beauty of the surroundings. The municipal authorities assisted with the maintenance of the plots and beds. TOURING IN BRITISH ISLES. Mr McGregor said he spent over three weeks in Ireland, where he visited Killarney, Glcndalough, Dublifi, Belfast, Port Rush and the Giant’s Causeway. He also toured extensively in Scotland, including visits to many of the lochs. He asked a man he met if the Loch Ness monster actually existed. “You have to have over eightwhiskies before you can hope to see it,” was the reply. In Aberdeen, Mr

McGregor said he was interested in the fish markets, stated to be the largest in the United Kingdom. On the morning he was there 135 trawlers, fully - laden, came into port. The fish was distributed to all parts of England by fast trains and motor lorries. One of the features of Edinburgh was the fine soldiers’ memorial in the precincts of the Castle. It was the best he had seen anywhere. Cambridge was most interesting, especially King’s College Chapel, erected in memory of students killed in the Great War. Birmingham he considered the busiest city outside of London. It had very fine public buildings. Shakespeare’s country was found to be most attractive and picturesque. A big : electrical factory at Rugby, which had 9000 employees, was inspected. Mr McGregor tried his hand at golf on the well-known St Andrew’s links.. On the way there he passed over the famous Forth Bridge and at Rosyth saw a number of British warships. The immense granaries at Liverpool and Glasgow and the Mersey Tunnel at Liverpool were of special interest. The Mersey Tunnel, which connected Liverpool and Birkenhead, was brilliantly lit and had provision for motors, vehicles and pedestrians. No matter what part of the country he visited, even in towns smaller than Masterton, there were excellent rest rooms for both men and women. Practically all were owned and maintained by local authorities but in some cases motor coach companies were responsible for them. Mr McGregor touched on other incidents of his tour in the British Isles and on'the Continent, already reported in the “Times-Age” and exhibited a number of photographs taken during his tour. On his return journey, which was made via Suez and Colombo. a native shop proprietor hailed him at Port Said, while he was looking in his window: “Hey Mr McGregor of Aberdeen, come in and see my goods'” Mr McGregor was accorded a hearty vote of thanks for his informative address.