Sidelights on a World Tour

Northland Age, Volume IX, Issue 18, 5 December 1939, Page 2

Sidelights on a World Tour

Visiting Europe with the Rickards Mr. G. Rickard was the speaker at the monthly tea of the Kaitaia Business Men’s Association held in Foster’s rooms last night, and he gave a very interesting talk on the tour to Europe from which he and Mrs. Rickard have just returned. No dry travelogue, but a living, intimate account of how other countries live. Starting from New Zealand, Mr. Rickard took his audience to Tasmania and there watched the selling of live fish. Fishermen went out with an extra boat half-filled with salt water in tow. As fish were caught they were put into this water-boat and when the return to port was made this boat was tied up to the wharf and sellers picked the fish they wanted. As sales were made the fishermen lifted the fish from the boat with a net ; killed, cleaned and scaled them, and the buyer had a perfectly fresh fish. While talking of fish, Mr. Rickard mentioned the difficulty in practically all countries of getting good fish. In England the fish seemed to have been in the freezer for months, and some served on the boat going over had been in cold storage since the ship left England. They may like our frozen mutton and beef, said Mr. Rickard, “but I certainly do not like their frozen fish.” Unluckily the call at Colombo was spoiled by rain—-the first that place had seen for seven months. But this did not spoil the taste of the best tea in the world. Egypt and Aden received both praise and criticism, and the beauty of a night passing of Stromboli (an active volcano) was recounted. On Stromboli the active crater is not on the crest but to one side—on the other side of the crest is a large town. Monte Carlo, Nice, Gibraltar, then England. Scotland was a disappointment ; of a 14 days* stay, 13i days were wet. One of the things that struck Mr. Rickard in Germany was the healthy, tanned appearance of the youngsters. . The little boys attending school wore | no shirts or hats, just a pair of pants I (if was summer, of course) —and they ' certainly looked happy and fit. Hotels in Berlin were clean and comfortable, though tips, taxes and other extras increased the total of the bill, raising , it at least 25 percent and making hotel living very dear. Switzerland was described by Mr. Rickard as the most beautiful country in the world, though the trip through the Norwegian fiords includ--1 rd many scenes of breathtaking grandeur. While in Norway it seemed 1 to see the sun still shining

at 11 p.m.—sunrise was at about 3 a.m. A visit was made to the battlefields in Flanders, which presented a very different sight from when Mr. Rickard last saw them twenty odd years ago. Even now an average of three bodies a week were uncovered by farmers in that area. Mr. and Mrs. Rickard were in England when war was declared, and three times had to respond to air raid warning—once they were nearly three hours in the hotel cellar before the “all clear” signal was given. “We were very fortunate,” concluded Mr. Rickard, “in being able to complete our schedule and start on the homeward voyage before transport services were disrupted ” The Business Men thought they were very fortunate to have hao the opportunity to hear such an interesting and in- j structive talk on other lands.