Fraser Street, Fearn

Northern Advocate, 17 January 1948, Page 2

Fraser Street, Fearn

While in the Easter Ross district, Mr Ross visited the village of Fearn, the birthplace of the Prime Minister (Mr Fraser).

“Fearn is near the town of Tayne. where the curfew is still rung at 8 p.m.;” he said. “The road running outside the cottage where Mr Fraser was born and brought up is now called Fraser Street,” he added. Of course, Mr Ross visited the great industry of Scotland—the making cl whisky, or “Scotch.” “Distilleries are located all over Scotland, as butter •factories are out here,” he remarked. “I went through two, which is enough for the ordinary chap. Scotland is the only place in the world where they make good whisky. It remains at the distillery for at least three years, and up to 10 years. “Right through the United Kingdom to the Outer Hebrides, New Zealand is very highly thought of indeed, the New Zealand troops being mostly responsible for this,” Mr Ross continued.

"An RAF officer in charge >of a camp containing airmen of many nationalities told me that, ‘All were excellent, but the New Zealand airman, by his conduct and demeanour, was the Perfect Knight! ’ “It was the same in Scotland. An old Scotsman who drove a bus in the Outer Hebrides, when he found out that I was a New Zealander, cleared his throat and said: ‘We have all a verra warrm spot in oor hairts for little New Zealand.’ ” Mr Ross flew to the United States in the American Airlines flagship Eire, which made the 15,6015 t Atlantic crossing. The plane left London airport at midnight, arrived at Shannon, Eire, at 2 a.m„ when the passengers had dinner .and departed for Gander (Newfoundland) one hour later.

While crossing the 2000 miles of Atlantic Ocean the passengers slept or

dozed in chairs which unfolded and formed a kind of bed. From time to time the stewardess distributed free cigarettes, cocktails or coffee, and breakfast was over before the plane reached Gander at 9 a.m.. local time. From Gander the big plane, with its 41 passengers, took off for La Guardia Field New York, arriving there just after the great snowstorm. “Everything was rather chaotic and it took me about three hours to get from the disembarkation side of the field to the place where my plane left for Texas,”, said Mr Ross. After a brief visit to Texas, Mr Ross spent a week at San Francisco, during which he made a tour of Chinatown in the centre of the city. Here 23,000 Chinese live and own their own phone system (of 2500 subscribers, talking in four dialects), theatres, and publish three daily newspapers in Chinese. As the type is set by hand, and because there are 49,000 characters in the Chinese language, a newspaper compositor on a Chinese paper walks about eight miles a day during working hours !

Another feature of Chinatown was the temple in which three different religious services were held, Buddhism, Taosm. and that of the followers of Confucius.

“People in San Francisco are very happy, courteous, and seem pleased to see you,” Mr Ross said. “It is a pleasure to do business with them.”

American people were “on top ol the world, with brightly-lit. full shops. We should follow the American diet more than we do—our climate is much the same as theirs,” he said. In San Francisco the English £1 was worth only two and a half dollars, compared with the £1 being worth four dollars in England. Mr Ross flew from San Francisco tc Whenuapai. arriving there on January 8, after a trip of under two days.