A “MASS OBSERVER” IN ACTION

Press, Volume LXXV, Issue 22727, 3 June 1939, Page 19

A “MASS OBSERVER” IN ACTION

ioyou know that chap at the next table. Don’t look just 'now: lie's watching us." said (riot mine in a restaurant tine [taring I looked, of course, ndma de'.vu for a dropped lerc/ixi. and hissing out of the of Jus mouth, my friend rethat the chap was a local lerot the newly-formed "Mass nation" movement, recently k'tin Christchwch —a sort of KV ft service which is .iDiy dark. A curious merit this. It gamed, it seems. ! recognition in England as a is of social research, but in New uid it is ca led the "Group Obalion Fellowship,” as the word li; considered unsuitable for a try with a small population. I imy friend about it, and thereIdecided myse ; f to become an nr. A ; we were in a rostaujtthc:inv ■ I thought that there

.tin better bwinch ot mass obin? to begin on than the art of fc eating. My considered conbee were:- - hy can no one invent a form of stole eating? Why is it that Bmasticating present a nerveting sight? A child, I recollect, tasked how she knew a person hd met at dinner was used to tent, ”oh," she replied, "he “d to be juT talking and hav3?D(i tine. 1 , yet his plate was 'I? empty when they took it !'■’ Verv api, don't vou think, fcr.'t you'.’ “Curious Folk" toe dining. I noticed some curifoik. First, there was the ler ” Ho pursued the last drop ®P round the bowl with corn’d interest. Then there was the •“h’who seized a slice of bread. “?d a liberal coating of butter W. as if it were mortar, and ? forgot that a little dainty Walton nf the knife on a small W bread will pass unnoticed , fc s i much more satisfying, fcs always nr we. Not far away

(specially written foe the tress.) IBy ERIC BAKER.#

was the “knifer,” who used the forehand instead of the backhand grip, or vice versa. Still observing, cunningly, I noted the "spooner," who used the piece of E.P.N.S. as a drumstick, a xlyphone hammer, and a dredge. Then came the "pseudo-clergyman," who “prayed’' between courses, fastening his elbows on the table and alternately enlacing his hands and touching the fingertips delicately. Not far away was the “invisible washerman," who rubbed his palms together while gazing ecstatically at the ceiling. He was versatile. He changed into a “masseur,” pulling' each car in turn, stroking his neck, and massaging his cheeks. Last. I observed the “tabic dentist.” industrious to a degree; why did he not bring the chloroform? We then went to the pictures, still nb-erving. In (he foyer wc cncountered a lady who had forgotten to

reserve scats and who flatly refused to believe that the sign "House I* nil meant what it said. She left in a huff, vowing to the manager that she would not darken his doors again. Inside the theatre, my friend began to ’’observe' the lady on Ids right, while I assiduously studied the reactions of the girl on my left. This was interesting until the escorts of the twain, knowing nothing about the aims of “mass_ observation,'' murmured something like, ‘’'Ere, what’s the game 9 ” We then observed, the picture whole-heart-edly. Having got so far and filled a page or two of the notebook .surreptitiously, I concluded that observing was a sport that could make ludo look anaemic, and decided to pursue it next day. My big chance came late in the evening. Taking the bus home to the suburbs. 1 found, sitting next to me, a young man who looked elated —naturally happv. We chatted a bit. "How did you get on at the eompelitions?” I asked. "Oh, so, so, no said.

“I was never there, but I guarantee I can pick your turn,” I said. “You were a Frenchman in a character sketch, and you wore a rno n * ode for the first time in your life.” “How the do you know if you weren’t there 0 ” he asked. Having taken a leaf from a recent book, by a Christchurch authoress, which I had “observed,” I said: “You removed your make-up in a hurry. Spirit gum loaves it mark unless removed with care and alcohol. Your chin and upper lip show signs of having boon plucked, and there's a very remote trace of crepe hairiness. Only on the tip of your chin and not on your cheeks. A black Imperial, giving the foreign ambassadorial touch. There s a dint in your left eye which suggests a monocle fixed in place with spirit gum, and a red line across your forehead suggests an unaccustomed top-hat.” I can see his white lace and staring ('yes as he got oil the bus even now.