N.Z. BANDSMEN

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 86, Issue 111, 15 May 1942, Page 6

N.Z. BANDSMEN

POPULAR IX SYRIA (Official War Correspondent. N.Z.E.FJ Beirut, Max 2. The most enthusiastic among the audiences New Zealand Infantry Brigade Band has yet had are the Lebanese. In the surrounding villages, church helis are rung in Christian communities to announce the band's arrival, household tasks are dropped, and from the fields farmers come to! squat Entranced in front of the band, listening to music utterly foreign lo| them. Marches, with plent x noise from the drums, appeal more than the clas-l sics, but a tt ombone solo brings dow n the house. After the show there is a rush to take the New Zealanders home. These villagers are the poorest of ihe pool. but t heir hospitality unbounds. Tea. coffee, and cherry brandy are offered, and sometimes a meal. Usuali. the husis entertain with song and dance. On. e Bedouins encamp’ed nearoy sat the New Zealanders on the floor and brought in a troop of dancing girls. f The visit ends ( with the toast by the villager.': "Max; you kill all your enemies and win the war.” Mohammedan villages have weleom-. ed the New Zealanders with equal 1 warmth but with more traditional andi hospitality. The band also visited larger towns, where the traffic was' stopped, streets lined, and balconies; crowded. The populace, especially the Gret!. communities, clapped anas c heered. To-morrow the band is giving a programme for Radio Levant 1 from Beirut under the baton of Lieut-! enan: J. B. Gotlin. Wellington.