A Jonah Delayed Choir’s Departure

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30900, 5 November 1965, Page 2

A Jonah Delayed Choir’s Departure

A Jonah made trouble before the last party of the Christchurch Harmonic Society’s choir left Christchurch to attend the Commonwealth Arts Festival in London, the conductor, Mr W. R. Hawkey, told a meeting of the Canterbury Travel Club yesterday.

The party was dogged by delays at almost every stop on its way to London, said Mr Hawkey. A Jonah made his presence felt by delaying the departure from Christchurch Airport by about seven hours.

"We finally took off at 3.30 l.m. At least we were spared having to face the family at breakfast after the previous evening’s fond farewells,” said Mr Hawkey. The party was met at Hong Kong by “a most untidy cus-

toms official who did not have the nicest of natures.” However, he was persuaded to rummage through the baggage of only three of the party. The two-day stay at Hong Kong was extended by a fur-

ther day because of the clash between India and Pakistan, and the party was diverted to Colombo, which was reached without incident. “Colombo is an interesting place, but I would not like to go back mainly because of the Indian pedlars who persisted in trying to sell strings of shells and bamboo pipes. After we had bought three of each, we had had enough but the pedlars did not think so.” The party attended Evensong at the Anglican Church of St. Francis of Assissi and afterwards took part in a “singsong.” “The pedlars were waiting as we came out of the church, so we linked arms and sang ‘Onward Christian Soldiers.’ This scattered them and we made it back to the hotel without buying a thing,” said Mr Hawkey. By 4.30 a.m. the next day, the party was on its way to the airport only to find that the plane could not take off until 9.30 a.m. “It was the last plane to leave. They ran out of fuel,” said Mr Hawkey. “We had not had any breakfast before leaving the hotel, but the crew thought we had. so there was nothing except sandwiches and water biscuits.” Mechanical Defect The plane stopped at Cairo for refuelling, which was to take 45 minutes. A mechanical defect was found in the wheels so the party had to sit on the tarmac for two hours in 90 degree heat because the airport authorities would not allow them into the air-conditioned terminal. At Rome, it was discovered that the crew had completed their working hours and the party had to wait for three hours untl another crew arrived.

Finally, they reached London Airport and prepared to disembark only to find that because of the density of air traffic there were no gangways available for 15 minutes.

On the return journey everything went according to schedule until the plane landed at Auckland. “There were no connecting planes around and we eventually got back to Christchurch four hours late,” said Mr Hawkey.

Catholic Women’s League. —The place of women in the modern world was discussed by Father J. Coleman at a recent meeting of the Riccarton branch of the Catholic Women’s League. He emphasised the importance of women’s being well informed and of education. A short film was shown on the work of Mother Terese among the destitute in India.