TEACHER’S TOUR

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 May 1925, Page 3

TEACHER’S TOUR

INTERESTING EXPERIENCES / 7 T~ Miss Maude Ryan, formerly teaching at Westport and other schools in the Buller' and Murchison writes the following interesting let/ ter from Carrasilla, Carrtck-on-Suir; Co. Tipperary, Ireland, on April 3, 1925:— Once more I seem to have a while ta spare, so thought I would send along a page or two of chatter. I have so many things to say that I really do not know where to start. However, I’ll just let my pen please itself, and if the letter appears a bit mixed up, just remember that I am writing in the Emerald Isle, the land where you expect things to be out of the ordinary run. Well, I have had many wonderful experiences since I last wrote to you. I had that delightful tour on the Continent With eighty members of the League of the British Empire. ,It seems like a dream to me now, but tangible souvenirs remind me that it was a reality. It would take pages to describe all the wonderful sights. Rome appealed to me the most. We were”there for the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s on Christmas Eve ihorning. Our secretary managed to get admission tickets through the British Ambassador there. We were very lucky to be admitted in a body. A student from' one of the ecclesiastical colleges told us that they got twenty tickets and they had two hundred So they drew lots to see who would be the lucky ones. There were thousands inside the Cathedral and thousands more outside. It was an awful struggle trying to get in. Our party was separated in the attempt, but we all got in without broken ribs and -managed to get well'in the foreground. This was about 9130 a.m. and the ceremony was not due till 10.45. There were no seats, but if one did ggt faint from standing, one could novfall —we were packed so closely. The magnificence of the interior overwhelmed us, and the glorious singing' by the famous Sistine Choir was a treat well worth the trip from Scotland. We visited many famous Cathedrals and places of historical interest in most cases guides lecturing on the various items of importance. I was foolish enough to forget my passport when I left Mind you, I had had it endorsed in November in preparation for this tour, and, behold, I left it. It didn’t give me a thought until I handed in my railway ticket at Victoria Station, London, when the man said: “You have a British passport?” Imagine how I felt. My high spirits crept out the toes of my shoes, and I replied. “Good Lord! I’ve left it in Edinburgh!” He said, “Well, its no use going on. They wouldn’t let you>off at Newhaven.” I asked him if 1 I t-kl O PIVI tall

he d let me on to the platform to ten the party. He did so, and when\ I explained to our secretary, the organisers told me to get aboard and they would get me through. So I managed to get to France and Italy without my passport, but it caught me up at Florence, where I told my friends to forward it. I have had it handy ever since. One lesson like that is enough. Of course, we all had a good laugh when I returned from the tour. The eighty members of the tour were all overseas teachers—about 30 from Canada, 30 from Australia, a few from South Africa, a few from India and five New Zealanders. I learned more their respective lands during the three weeks’ tour than I could pick up in a year at mome—especially the pronunciation of various places. I received invitations to many of their lands, but I’m sure I could never visit them all. Of course I was plied with innumerable questions, too, about New Zealand, and answered them to the best of my ability. We were fortunate in both crossings of the English Channel —like a pond each time, although storms were in the air almost every other day in England. We also had glorious weather during the three weeks — I think we had only one wet morning and that was not dreary enough to keep us indoors. We visited Paris, Genoa, Rome, Florence, Milan, Venice, Montreux, and finished in London on January 7. The Art Galleries in Florence were a treat. We all said we could do the trip again only have more time. Other interesting things were the Cathedral in Milan, the cemetery in Genoa, the gondolas in Venice, the scenery in Montreux, and last, but by no means least the shops of Paris. We welcomed in the New Year in gondolas on the Grand Canal in Venice. I must mention that we were all impressed by the use of the English language on the Continent. In each hotel or shop, there seemed to be some employee who could talk it. Needless to add, that we had many amusing moments trying to make, ourselves understood. But we were always in groups of a dozen or so, and the citizens of the various places regarded us as a novelty. They were very kind to us. I attended a wedding in Scotland (the bride was a sister to Mr. Sneddon, schoolmaster, at Waimangaroa) and enjoyed the event immensely. It was a night wedding and kept up in a hall till 4.30 next morning. It was a Scotch programme of dancing, many of which I had not heard of. One name that took my fancy was, “Drops of Brandy!” We made the most of every minute and finished tired but happy at the time stated. I crossed over to Ireland on January 19, after spending the week-end in Glasgow. The Saturday happened to be “Students’ Day” and the city was packed. The students collected £7,000 in coppers—B tons, or ten lorry loads. I forget how many hours it took to count it, but it is a record for the city. I spent three weeks in Belfast, three weeks up in County Derry and came south to my own people about a month ago. They live in County Carlow, but at present I am visiting relations of the Rev. Father Sweeney. It is a perfect day and I am writing out in a garden enjoying the sunshine and lungsful of mountain air. I am returning to County Carlow for Easter. They have a stage at the crossroads where I was staying, and they are opening it with a dance on Easter Sunday. I pro-

mised to be there for it, so I must not disappoint them. You may be sure that I intend to visit Killarney in the summer. I am returning to Belfast and Scotland about July and hope to spend a month in London before I set out on my return to New Zealand at the end of the year. My relatives tell me that I must stay here for next Christmas as I disappointed them for the last, so I am really not decided what to do. There is a lot of unemployment in Ireland. It is a very beautiful country, but I tell all I meet that I prefer New Zealand with its wild gran-

deur. I could enjoy a couple of years over here, but I would not stay permanently for £lOOO a year! There is still too much unrest in it for me. I heard the famous Eamonn De Valera speaking at Bagenalstown for b over an hour. He has a wonderful 7 voice—one that can ,1> fijeard far off f without shouting. !■ expected to see • blood and hair flying but there wasn’t ’ one heckler. Perhaps the large number of civic guards (policemen) pre5 sent kept would-be hoodlums quiet. 1 As I write, there are two robin ; redbreasts hopping about at my feet. L They are beautiful little dears. The • hedges and woods are thick -just 2 now with wild primroses and violets. - I must tell'you tMt I have had many 1 rides on jaunting- cars. On St. Pat2 rick’s Day I watched a fox hunt. 5 Foxes and rabbits' abound in County Carlow. 1 Like thousands of others over here, • I have ,the crossword and picture-* " puzzle craze. I do some every week 2 but so far have won none of the big ' prizes offered, viz., £lOOO, or better - still, a choice of £5OOO cash or £lO a week 1 for life. Being optimistic, ’ though, I do not give up hopes. It is • an amusing pastime too. 2 Although I gave up school-teaching 2 in New Zealand to make this tour, I 5 still give lessons on this side—a 1 different nature, though, namely, how 2 to cook New Zealand dishes, and, 2 more in my line, how to play many ■ games of cards. Before I crossed, from ’ Scotland, the only game about these - parts was 25’s, so I have introduced • Newmarket, nap, .coon-can, bridge, ' drib, 500, euchre and poker 1 . They • helped to pass the long evenings at 2 country places. ,