WORLD ROAMER

Greymouth Evening Star, 2 October 1928, Page 3

WORLD ROAMER

PLEASURE-SEEKER RETURNS

For three years Mr Norman F. Perrier, of Melbourne, has roamed the earth from its most southern . town, Terra del Fuego, South America, to (bo far northern settlement in Spitzbergen, from Japan to New York, and seeking pleasure and knowledge throughout Europe, from Constantinople to Leningrad. He has sun-baked by the Black Sea, where neither men nor women wear any costumes, threaded . his way through thousands of destitute children and adults asleep on the pavements of Chinese cities, attended cock fights in Peru and Chile, bought a, ticket in Buenos Aires in the million peso lottery, been taken for a Turk in Constantinople, ordered out of Russia by Soviet police, has resisted all the efforts of “high pressure” land salesmen in Florida, has seen Niagara Palis in the United States and Victoria Falls in South Africa. He has watched the magic, shadow show of this world move in fascinating procession, and found it not all good, but absorbingly interesting—and now ruefully faces the task of getting back to work again in Melbourne.. Mr Perrier went, alone, making friends as he went. He travelled a lot in Europe with a chance-met American. and later visited him at his home in Los Angeles, and went acioss the Mexican ' border with him. He could speak no other language than English, but picked up phrases here and (here. It was the best fun of all he said, Io go into a now country, knowing nothing; of the language, ami order a meal in a restaurant. In Sofia, he found that our affirmative nod meant “No” to them, and our “No” meant. “Yes.” So whin the waiter pointed Io a meal on an adjoining; table, and Mr Perrier nodded agreement, the waiter did not bring it! So he went out into the kitchen, lifted the lids from the pots, ami picked his din-

ner. “Thev didn’t like it at first,” he says, “but a. tip soon fixed it.” Afterwards he often pursued that method. Much of the romance has gone from

Turkey and other Balkan States because of tin* standardisation of dress, and it is ditliciilt to toll people’s nationality. Mr Perrier says that, often he was asked to direct people, but could not help because of the language problem. Ho was taken for a. Tui-k in Constantinople, ti Serbian in Serbia, and a German, in Berlin, and in Palestine he was taken for a fool! Tlie guides showed him the “very manger in which Christ was born,” and bottles which they said contained th-e

wine made in the first miracle. He sojourned in Egypt, lingered a. while in Italy, passed on to Switzerland. Tie tells of the neatness of the Germans, who would not throw cigarette boxes, matches or other rubbish into tlie street imy more Hum mi to (lie floor ot their own living rooms. Their streets are in striking contrast to those of Melbourne, he says. He roamed for many weeks through Germany and idled in nearly every Balkan State.