PERSONALITIES ..ON THE AIR..

Radio Record, Volume XII, Issue 32, 20 January 1939, Page 10

PERSONALITIES ..ON THE AIR..

Re Zt ADK of the heart, liver, lights, ete., of a sheep or lamb, mineed with suet, onions, oatmeal, highly seasoned and boiled in the stomach of the same animal, is roughly the eulinary description of the haggis, which Robert Burns immortalised in his ‘‘Address’? and ealled "chieftain o’ the puddin’ race.’’? Burns was once asked to say grace where a haggis was on the board, and the applause with which his eulogy was received indueed him to work his prose impromptu into the poem the world now knows. ‘Mr. J. B. Thomson, one of the Dominion’s finest recitalists of Seottish and other poetry, is a native of the Lanarkshire town of Shotts, and for three years he studied with John Clyde, of Glasgow, and then understudied him. He toured with the ‘‘Rob Roy’’ company, and on one occasion J. B. Thomson played John Clyde’s part.

SPAIN’S GRIP ON MASEFIELD

At the ‘St. Andrew’s Burns Club Anniversary Dinner = on Wednesday, January 25, Mr. J. B. Thomson will deliver Burns’s "Address to a Haggis." This "Nicht Wi Burns" will be relayed by 2YA.

Asked why he wrote his poetic drama, "Philip, the King," John Masefield once

told an interviewer: "The power and wealth of Spain, all those vast territorial possessions had always attracted me. ... I had planned to do the three Philips, Second, Third and Fourth, but the war altered all that. Just think of that great man toiling away for 20 years at the destruction of England, and

then . letting all his cdsoas’ slip! When at last his Armada’ was built and ready for England he wasted _ all his captains and gave. the com‘mand to the wrong man... He in‘sisted on thrusting it on the Duke of ‘Medina Sidonia, . who.told him again and again that he didn’t like the sea. and didn’t want to go. But Philip was obdurate. He "put" all ‘his good men in subordinate’ posiwRnoder -tions,. and put ‘the wrong man at the top!" : John. Masefield’s poetic drama, | "Philip. the King," an’ NBS pro- ' duction, will.be heard at 2YA on Sunday, January ees hs TELS Hes ae ; veord eat Vestue asva Fe 7 yt bet ghee pd Sega oberg oslo Lee &

THEY MEAN A LOT OF MONEY

lf you are ever asked "What Thorough breds Mean to New Zealand,"

the answer is £1,000,000. This is the estimate of New Zealand money sunk in the entire ramifica~ tions of horse breeding, properf "ail

ties, racecourses and thoroughbred stock. Well known as one of New Zealand’s leading experts on the turf; Mr. S. V. McEwen has studied the intricacies of breeding ever since he came to have a love of horses in his youth. In his job as Editor of "Sporting Life" and the "Record’s" sports page, he travels extensively, seeing New Zealand’s breeding. establishments every year, knows most that there is to be known about this tricky problem of breeding. His reputation goes beyond the Dominion, as representative of ‘overseas. publications devoted exclusively to thoroughbreds and ‘contributor of the New Zealand section of -the annual British Bloodstock Breeders Review pablished -in’ London. .

WHAT H. G. WELLS IS LIKE

2YA listeners will) hear’ Mr. McEwen: in a talk on the national yearling sales on Wednesday,. Jaruary -18, at 7.25 p.m., and in a talk: on "What Thoroughbreds Mean to New Zealand". on.Friday, January 20, at 8.40 p.m.

The voice of H. G. Wells is now familiar to radio listeners, but what is he

inke: Odette ‘Keuns answers the question. She says: "If -you. were afflicted with the romantic vision of genius, his appearance at first sight is. bound to be painfully disappointing. You ‘would. have thought -you were looking at a. well-to-do ‘ undistinguished English business man-and if there is anything ‘on this planet more undistinguished than a well-to-do English. business man, I haye yet to .discover’ it; Short in size, burly. in ‘the: chest~.and: shoulders, obvious: signs of a. paunch,. a thick, log neck, 4,7atner, flat ne ta the Bo 2V ta gesyuelé gar‘ .domsaee ps ogde tmode fathead oo Byam "Sieeapes

back of his head, blue eyes under bristling brows, a small, straight nose, a mondescript mouth beneath a greying moustache, scanty hair, a florid expression, apt to deepen into a tomato red, a slanting side tooth that gives his smile a bit of a twist, a laugh that never sounded full-blooded, and a thin, high voice that frequently went squeaky. Small, square hands, small neat feet, good, correct clothe. that he wore trimly; such a ‘+ck of originality in expression, and figure that if you didn’t know who he was, you could hardly remember his face." H. G. Wells, speaking on "The Way to World Unity," will be heard through all NBS stations on relay from Australia, on Sunday, January 22.

ROYAL LINE OF THE STAGE

The Lupinos have been called the "Royal Family of Greasepaint," and a

distinguished piesent-day member of this stage dynasty (which goes back to the time of Samuel Pepys) is Lupino Lane. An uncle of Lupino Lane, for a bet, once broke the world record by turning 210 successive pirouettes on a pocket handkerchief, at the Theatre Royal, Birmingham (each tenth being a double) to the tune, "Let ’Em All Come." Not to be outdone, Lupino Lane did 300 traps in four minutes, just because they said he couldn’t. But Lupino Lane was marked out for fame from the night he flashed into stardom at the London Pavilion with his original song, "Walking Out With Angeline." In those days he was known as "Nipper Lane."

LARRY ADLER WAS SELF-TAUGHT

4A listeners will hear Lupino Lane, comedian, in the Music, Mirth and Melody session on Thursday, January 26.

Ten years ago Larry Adler had never handled a mouth-organ. He was 14 when he

casually picked up one belonging to a friend and tried "fiddling round with it." Self-taught from

the start to this day, he always plays from ear. He tries for effects which he hears in recordings, and he has been going to classical concerts since. he was six. Larry’s objective in. perfection is somewhere between Duke Ellington and Rachmaninoff. The mouth-organist always carries yith him on_ his travels a library. of 20U records of favourite classical works. He asbires to the same effects "by worrying the harmonica until they come out." Larry’s favourite musical instrument is the’ piano. ‘Larry Adler, mouth-organ virtuoso, will be- heard from: 1YA . on Friday, Janyary 2R, . . , ses Ee © ota lba wer meyb gs ~« beauary 4 P t ¢ Bho Met gee ahh i