A VISIT TO CYPRUS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23097, 23 July 1938, Page 9 (Supplement)

A VISIT TO CYPRUS

IT was with something of the feeling of Columbus that a party of boys and masters from Bedford Modern School left Bedford, England, on a venture which was to take them across Europe and the Mediterranean. They wore destined for that small British possession not far from Palestine, tlio island of Cyprus, their ultimate goal being an athletic contest with the natives of the schools of the island. The route lay across France and Italy, and memories ol the long train journey are numerous and vivid, writes one of the party. Sights of stately Paris were followed by an exhausting night on the hard seats of a continental thirdclass carriage, and the exclamations at the impact of foot and face or head and elbow were numerous and vehement. Wonderful Awakening Dawn brought a wonderful awakening, however, and in the full glory ot a beautiful day we passed into Switzerland, a land of wooded chasms, wonderful green slopes, and mighty snowcapped mountains, with a gleaming background in the sunlight. In similar beauty we entered Italy, a land of impressive buildings and

many efficient officials, and before long we were enjoying our first voyage on the blue Mediterranean, having a taste of the infrequent but violent Mediterranean storm. We so far recovered, however, as to be able to land at Larnaca, and to the tune of an outrageous motor-horn we jolted and rattled the 25 miles to'the capital of the island, Nicosia. After the everlasting spaghetti and garlic of the Italian ship, words fail to express our appreciation of the English tea awaiting us at the English school. Sports Meeting Thus began a very enjoyable stay in Cyprus, offering opportunity not only for historical research but tor a study of the types of people, whose manners and lite can have changed little since Bible days. The Turk with his mule or ox, ploughing his debt-ridden patch of land with the primitive instrument of centuries ago, became a familiar sight, and we were able to sec other aspects of island life during one morning's session of the Nicosia Court of Justice. Our first aim, however, was to win the athletic contest with the five other native schools of the island, and this we accomplished on one long hot afternoon. The Gunnis trophy was presented

English Boys | Meet Strange | People 1 And See Many jj Interesting jj fj by the wife of the Governor, Lady fj Palmer, and with this and numerous il other happy memories we prepared to « leave this land of historical associations, j|| brilliant sunshine, luscious oranges, and |; raucous motor-horns. jj The return journey was uneventfully g pleasant as far as Trieste. After that jl a dav-and-a-half sojourn on an un- | heated Italian ship, the air polluted | with sickly oil fumes, hardly increased fj our admiration for Dictators,_ and it ;j was with real relief and satisfaction ft that we entered once again our own home of freedom after a trip of unforgettablo experience, which may have j-1 done something to lipnd one very inter- ft esting part of the Empire closer to the Motherland. ",|