Sam Pollock Visits His Listeners

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32235, 2 March 1970, Page 1

Sam Pollock Visits His Listeners

A man who has been; accused, without malice, of disrupting Sunday breakfast and causing a , drop in church attendi ance is at present visiting New Zealand on what he calls “a working ! holiday” organised by ; Rotarv and the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation. Mr Sam Pollock, of “Weekly ! Newsletter" renown, who has been broadcasting his New , Zealand programme from London for the last 20 years, ‘ is now here for the first time ’ in person, but finding it difficult to account for his popularity among New Zealanders unfamiliar with the United ■ Kingdom scene. ' He did not think his Ulster ■ accent and at times eccentric; ! views were entirely the cause of this. . “I sometimes feel these • people must be talking about.

a different Sam Pollock,” he said in Christchurch last, evening. “Either that or my Irish gift of the gab must a-p-l peal to them.” During his brief visit to. New Zealand he hoped to ob-( tain a broad though superficial knowledge of the country and the people, and was looking forward with considerable interest to a Maori reception arranged for him in the North Island. He said that his visit would be of value in preparing broadcasts on his return to London. “I have found many things in New Zealand of which 1 have not been aware. This visit will help me make the odd analogy and comparison,” he said. He said he had also made the odd mistake from time Ito time and recalled the occasion he said Britain had, I the cheapest postal rate in (the world. He very s-oon was! told that the New Zealand: rate was cheaper. On another occasion he ■ mentioned a publican of l

Rochester who was selling a Morrison air raid shelter and went on to describe it for his New Zealand listeners. He received 20 letters from New I Zealand telling him he had described an Anderson shelter which was produced at an earlier dat.e. Mr Pollock began his broadcasting career in 1943 and joined the staff of the British Broadcasting Corporation in 1945. He resigned in 1950 in favour of freelance work and two weeks later was asked to do the New Zealand newsletter for a week or two and has been doing it ever since. “I now hope to be able to do a bit of broadcasting about New Zealand when I return,” he said. He said that he had no difficulty obtaining material for his broadcasts. The 8.8. C. had a splendid news service which included many local items (from smaller towns. He stud ; lied these each week for material to illustrate the British! way of life. 1 “I like broadcasting on mat-

ters which have historical associations, as you may guess, so that 1 can embelish them (with historical detail. 1 am I not a scholar in history but I am a keen student of history and one who has been leading and rereading history ror many years without making a systematic study of it,” (he said. Asked whether he was conscious of being satirical in his approach to his subjects, hej said that he was always garrulous and sometimes scepti-i cal about accepted values. “I have been urged to be critical of New Zealanders and if I see anything I have doubts about I shall certainly say so, but I don’t want to be ill-mannered about it when I have been entertained here; with such hospitality. It would be a great impertinence for, me to speak out on contro-, versial matters after such a (short visit," Mr Pollock said., j Mr Pollock will be the guest' ispga er tonight at a special! Christchurch R.S.A. Tin Hat Club tattoo. |