Through An Uncharted Minefield

Radio Record, Volume VII, Issue 14, 13 October 1933, Page 42

Through An Uncharted Minefield

A Pilot With "Local Knowledge"-Croquet Playing is a Science Needing Deep Study — Pictures and Statues Are Not the Only Forms of Art.

HE account given by Mr. F. M. Renner of the passage from Rotterdam to the Gulf of Finland in the famous old sailer Antiope was 2 very lively story. The Bolsheviks had been busy laying minefields in the Baltic, and the captain, prompted by the principle that safety precautions make the mariner bold, engaged a pilot accredited with an up-to-date local knowledge of the route. This official was a typical Dutch sailor (I wonder if he had red carpet slippers) and although he may have been familiar with the Baltic many years before it was soon evident his knowledge was rusty, and, said Mr. Renner, about equal to the typical sailor’s knowledge of horse-racing. x 2 [Ns the "Narrows" the crew went off regular watches in readiness for frequent all-hands manoeuvres, and under light canvas the Antiope bowled along at 10 knots, past minefields, submerged wrecks, and dangers well known to Baltic traders, but not included in the pilot’s fund of local knowledge. Rapidly overhauling a steamer information respecting the course was sought, but the usual courtesy of the sea was forgotten in thoughts of the indignity of being beaten by a windjammer, and the complement of the Antiope were invited to go to unmentionable destinations. At a Swedish port a tug-boat took charge of operations, and after proceeding about half the journey a halt was made for the tugboat to disappear for a couple of days. Upon return "cash up" was demanded, just as though the gallant sailer were in an unfriendly shopkeeper’s establishment, but the Antiope wasn’t a beggarly relic in the mechanised age and the loading-port was "fetched" in time to see the stumpy masts of a steamer shattered by a flash of lightning. s RRUSKEIN'sS life was devoted to beautifying the things in daily use said, Dr. A, D. Carberry, who protested against those inclined to think that pictures and statues were the only forms

in which art could be expressed. Art is not a thing alone, but a significant something useful in the daily mundane round and even a necessity. We know of the ancients by their arts and handicrafts and can read civilisations of 8000 years before the Deluge of Noah through emblems that portray an elevation from barbarism. The curved vase and embellished stopper reveal the de-

gree of perfection to which culture had yisen and temples prove an ordered life far removed from that of the nomads. 8s be 2 MANY books have been written expounding how wonderful art is, but none tell what it is. Some aver that art is the only thing worth living for, which the speaker asserted was a pernicious doctrine and palpably untrue. Others assert that the pursuit of art should be for art’s sake, and this was ashibboleth, too. Art is a concomitant of everyday existence, and as a re-

corder of human history has no equal, Cathedrals that symbolise hundreds of years of human endeavour are open pages to those who would read. The things in daily use of men are the eloquent expressions revealing the state of culture and civilisation of a people. Most of the talks in the evening sessions are contributed by males of the species and largely for the edification and delight of men, and in the reaim of sport and games this is particularly so. On Thursday, however, Mrs. W. H. Caldow was given the opportunity to extol the fascination of a game once thought to be the refuge of the portly and the middle-aged, but now generally known to require physical and psychological vitality in any yotary desiring to excel. The skill required for billiards and the qualities that make a successful chess player are endowments essential to a good croquet player. For blowing away the cobwebs nothing surpasses this relaxation associated with sunshine, green lawns, congenial company and a science

needing deep study. ‘Thai it can be exciting none will deny, and only those possessed of a flickering pulse could timorously claim that a game like . bowls holds greater fascination. 3 a a HD one-act comedy, "Dr. Abernethy," was a very enjoyable show that would not fail to raise a hearty laugh in Gabriel Grub or even one more gloomy. The play was first written for the stage under the title of Dr. "My Book," a soubriquet often applied to the great surgeon by contemporaries. It is very popular among amateur dramatic societies, and was twice repeated by the B.B.C. following an original performance. Entertainment of this type has been rare, and a large expansion in this direction would be greeted with approval by all. AU®HOUGH no country affords such opportunities for healthy outdoor recreation as New Zealand, no country needs the society more; 96 per cent. of our income from exports is derived from animals, and notwithstanding legislation designed for the elimination of practices that cause unnecessary suffering, much preventable pain is inflicted on our dumb creatures. The society advocates compulsory and early dehorning of cattle not required for show purposes, for both humane and economic reasons, and desires more drastic regulations shall control the callousness at present existing in the bobby-calf trade. A strong and urgent appeal was made to farm women to urge kind treatment to animals sacrificed for human existence, and a1] listeners were entreated to help to make this Dominion the most progressed in the world, so far as treatment of dumb animals is concerned.