QUEER GLASSES, MUSICAL UPLIFT, NEGRO HUMOUR

New Zealand Listener, Volume 13, Issue 314, 29 June 1945, Page 7

QUEER GLASSES, MUSICAL UPLIFT, NEGRO HUMOUR

E are not giving away any secret when we tell our readers that the Australian bass-baritone Raymond Beatty, whom they heard from 2YA the other evening, carries a spare pair of eyes in his coat pocket. He keeps them, when not in use, in a small box like a jewel casket and wears them mostly on the stage or concert platform where his ordinary thick lenses might not be suitable. "Care tq see them? Here they are," he said, during an interview with The Listener. He produced the spares, explaining that they enabled him to do away with the ordinary framed spectacles when he wanted to. A medical friend in Sydney made them for him, and they go under the name of "contact lenses," for they are in direct contact with the eye, fitting right over it. He slips them under the lids. They are not noticed even by a person talking to him, "These things are remarkably ‘comfortable, but they take a lot of fitting. I ‘have worn them while diving, and swimming and ¢an open my eyes under water with them," he added. "I should say that in 10 or 20 years they will be used extensively." And then we talked about other things. Thegast time Mr. Beatty visited New Zealand was in 1940 for the Centenary Celebrations and this is his seventh trip. He has been out of the Army only two months. On June 30, 1941, he joined the A.I.F, and sailed for the Middle East on July 14, serving two and a-half years on the hospital ship Manunda. While in uniform he let his voice go, he says, apart from singing occasionally at ship concerts and giving broadcasts for the’ ABC while on leave.

A Different Type of Theatre For a man whose career is singing, he did an unusual job. He was a ward orderly and stretcher-bearer and also worked in the operating theatre. He had had no previous experience, but was given training and soon picked up the work. When he left the Army he was assistant to the Red Cross representative on the Manunda: Part of his work was lumping bales and carrying cases of stores, which cost him a loss of weight of two stone on the first Middle East trip. He was in the big Darwin raid on February 19, 1942. when his ship received a direct hit and two near misses, he recalled. "There were more than 50 casualties and- 12 killed, including a sister. The ship struggled to Perth with a full complement of wounded men picked up out of the water and from the shore. I did 15 trips to Port Moresby and 12 to Milne Bay." Coloured Humour During his Army life Mr. Beatty picked up some good negro stories which, he says, are perfectly true. Here is one he told us. "While nursing on the ship, I was talking to two wounded negroes whom we had taken on board at Milne Bay

where they had been injured in the previous night’s bombardment by a Japanese cruiser. I asked one whether he was frightened. "*Yes,’ he said, ‘but not real frightened.’ "I said that I had been scared and J didn’t mind admitting it. "He said: ‘Oh yes, I was scared, but not real scared.’ "So I said: ‘I’ll bet you were running when those shells started to fall,’ "He replied. ‘No, boss, I won't have you say I was runnin’, but now you mention it, I do recollect passin’ a couple of guys that were runnin’.’ "The other negro in the next bed spoke up. ‘Jose,’ he said, ‘you was runnin’ all right and you was prayin’ too. I heard you prayin’ to de Lawd and you was shoutin’ out "Oh Lawdy, you help me pick up ma feet; I kin put ’em down." ," e Influence of Cardus We mentioned Neville Cardus, formerly music critic of the Manchester Guardian and notable cricket writer, and asked if his influence was being felt through his work in Australia. "Cardus," said Mr. Beatty, "is doing as much as anyone to raise the standard of music in Australia. He has made a lot of enemies, but that is bound to happen to any critic who tries to assist and improve art, It is all very good for music. His column is. widely read and Cardus has reached the stage where he has become a subject for Australian cartoonists. When that happens to a man he has made his presence felt."

Mrs.. Beatty (Heather Kinnaird, the Australian contralto) is singing ‘extensively in Australia. Recently she sang "Carmen" for the A.B.C. and, among other things in Brisbane, the title role of Eleanor, a new opera by Clive Douglas. Their two boys, one five and a-half and the other three years younger, are living in Sydney. "I don’t know anything about their becoming singers; they have loud voices at the moment, but nothing else," said Mr, Beatty. "Peter Dawson is the same, jovial, happy chap as ever and is going strong. I am a great admirer of old Peter. ; "By the way," he added, "may I say before I go that I was fortunate in having Miss Bessie Pollard to play ‘my accompaniments while broadcasting ‘in Wellington."