Tour Of Europe By Artists

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32126, 23 October 1969, Page 2

Tour Of Europe By Artists

Nelson artists, Rex and Helen Marple, consider camping the best way to travel round Europe, “as long as you are prepared to rough it.”

The couple spent their honeymoon touring in a converted van which was their home on wheels for five months. Whenever a scene captured their imagination they parked by the roadside and set up their easels. “Often the camps have no hot water and are not as well equipped as in New Zealand, but we found it very free and easy to travel," said Marple, who is part Dutch and part Swiss. She came to New Zealand tn 1931 as a widow with her 12-year-old son, Paul Hottet, who later graduated in engineering from the University of Canterbury and is now working in Canada. Art Qasses Before their marriage Mrs Marple attended art classes given by Mr Marple, and during their trip both did sketches and paintings. Invariably they collected a crowd of spectators. Reactions varied in different countries “In France they are not curious but want to see if you have talent.” said Mr Marple “In Greece, they are very friendly. They want to know everything about you,” said Mrs Marple. Greek children were pan tieularly curious. Sometimes they formed such a gathering that the couple’s view was obscured. Mrs Marple often resorted to throwing sweets in the opposite direction to scat ter the crowd.

For part of the journey Mr Hottet travelled with them Mrs Marples had fond memories of visits to her grandmother in Switzerland and she was surprised at her husband’s reaction to the country. “We entered from Italy, which is quite spectacular. My son and I said how lucky my husband was to have this his first view of Switzerland. But

he is a true New Zealander—so used to cold mountains he was not a bit impressed,” said Mrs Marple. Favourite Country Greece was Mr Marple’s favourite country. Even the ants in their Athens camp treated them kindly. “The ground was crawling

with ants but they left us alone. I loved Greece, there Is such animation in the streets. Everyone speaks to everyone else. They even got us dancing,” said Mr Marple. “Which was something for us, at our age,’’ added his wife.

Altogether they stayed at 33 camps, and had numerous encounters with locals. They also developed a technique for dealing with traffic officers. “When they were just about to fine us we would say: ‘By the way, can we do your picture?’ and that fixed that up,” said Mrs Marple. Both share an interest in

Plaster Marks.—When sticking plaster is removed from the skin a dark outline usually remains. This may be removed easily if wiped with cotton wool which has been soaked in nail varnish remover.

theatre and classical mfesic i and experienced two menaor- ’ able history presentations. In Italy they attended an outdoor “sound and light” production at Hadrian’s Villa, the remains of an ancient Roman ’ estate. The setting was floodlit and the cast told tike story of the local history. Four stages of French his- > tory were enacted by local villagers in a setting complete with castle and canal. “This sort of presentation Is very popular in Europe now, and we found it very effective,” said Mrs Marples. On one of the few occasions they deviated from camping sites they stayed at a weekend cottage on a Dutch canal. Both were fascinated by the dense flow of barge traffic passing by and were amused at the method of communication by tooting. An exhibition of water colours and sketches by Mr and Mrs Marple will open at the Tasman Gallery, 72 Gloucester Street, on October 24.