HOME FROM ABROAD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23370, 9 December 1937, Page 18

HOME FROM ABROAD

Mrs Edgar Hazlelt, who, after four and a-half months, returned from abroad on Tuesday, went Home via America. In the United States she and her husband visited the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, and Santa Fe in New Mexico, and then travelled across the Atlantic from New York to London in the Queen Mary, which. Mrs Hazlett says, is literally a floating palace. They toured England and Scotland, and flew to Paris in one of the Imperial Airways aeroplanes, arriving in the French capital at night and having the experience of seeing the illuminated city from the air. On their return flight to England they had no sooner arrived at Croydon and were motoring up to London when a thick blanket of fog enveloped them, though the air had been quite clear while they were up.

Mrs J. Bernard Dawson, who returned to Dunedin on Tuesday from abroad, went Home primarily to see her people and settle her daughter. Miss Lorraine Dawson, in the St. James’s Secretarial College. She was, therefore, nearly all the time in or near London.

Her return trip on the Orcades. however, provided unusual interest in that the vessel was given an Admiralty escort along the north coast of Spain. A man-of-war travelled parallel with the Orcades and between it and the land until Portugal was reached after which it dropped behind. At Gibraltar, where it is usual to see warships, there was this lime an unusual number of them in the harbour. The passengers drove around the town until they reached (he barrier dividing Spain from Portugal, and found it covered with barb-wire and more closely guarded than on previous occasions. Outside Gibraltar, warships were engaged in target practice, and long after the Orcades had left the scene the passengers could see the flash of the guns and hear the booming. The course this time lav to the south instead of to the north of the Balearic Islands, on account of the fact—as was later suggested by wireless —that several Italian vessels were patrolling the route along the northern side and firing on passing shipping. The next port of call was Naples. The departure from this port was made very suddenly and at top speed in a heavy storm. Everything that was not fixed to the floor was tossed about — pictures. dressing-table equipment, plates and dishes in (lie dining saloon, etc. —and yet a high speed was retained. The passengers spent a very unpleasant and wretched time, but were reassured when (he next port was reached and the news was spread that the Orcades had been ordered to get out of the area as quickly as possible, which accounted for the captain’s having had to go full speed despite the storm and the knowledge that his passengers were nearly all ill or frightened.

At Port Said there were several French warships in evidence, one looking particularly imposing, with its smartly-uniformed men standing at attention on the decks. There was no time spent there; and after two hours the Orcades left on her way through the canal, which, as usual, Mrs Dawson found very interesting. She did not go ashore at Aden, but at Colombo spent an enjoyable time at the zoo.

where the lions, tigers, and panthers all happened to have cubs six months old-charming little cats which the native boys played with through the bars of the cage—and where a sagacious elephant afforded much entertainment with its tricks. At Fremantle Mrs Dawson called on Dr and Mrs A. G. B. Fisher just before they left for London for Dr Fisher to take up a new appointment. She had time to make the acquaintance of the new five-weeks-old daughter of the house, and also saw Mrs Reynolds, the wife of Professor J. H. Reynolds, before going on to Adelaide, where she left the Orcades and spent two weeks with her daughter, Mrs L. T. Evans, and her twin daughters—now one year and nine months old. Mr and Mrs Evans have built a new house, very modern and comfortable in design, and are to move into it next week. Mrs Dawson then proceeded by the Orana to Sydney, via Melbourne and Tasmania, and. embarking on the Awatea, rejoined some of her fellow passengers from the Orcades and proceeded to Wellington, where she was met by Dr Dawson and escorted down to Dunedin.