fBUSINESS MAN TELLS ■ ROTARIANS OF TOUR OF BRI LAIN AND U.S.

Wanganui Chronicle, 31 October 1950, Page 6

fBUSINESS MAN TELLS ■ ROTARIANS OF TOUR OF BRI LAIN AND U.S.

A brief survey of impressions gained during a business lour of the United Kingdom and the United States was given members of the Wanganui Rotary Club yesterday by Mr A. Hoi-r-jyd. Managing director of the Wanganui Woollen Mills. Mr. Holroyd recently visited those countries with the manager of the Onehunga Woollen i Mills. Mr. J. Lyon, to study new de-1 signs in processing machinery and to' see that New Zealand requirements i were catered for in machinery on older for the mills. Although in tin- seven weeks he had been in England there had been only three completely fine days, he had seen beautiful scenery in the south, such as was never seen in New Zealand. One of the differences in the English scenery, he had found, was there was no b.-ck-drop of hills as was usually the case in New Zealand. Even the ' backbone of England,” the Pennine Range, was only a gently rolling slope, said Mr. Holroyd, remarking that for a time he had driven over it several times a day On the other hand, Mr. Holroyd stated that the industrial areas of the north of England were beyond description. Hundreds of mill chimneys caused a pall of smoke to hang over the cities and the accumulation of years’ deposits of ash, grime and soot blackened the buildings. Even recently built houses were turning grey under the deposits, which, in the case of Huddersfield, had been estimated at 248 tons a square mile a year. Adding to the drabness of the cities were the long rows of box-like buildings, divided into small identical homes, each about 15 feet by 20 feet and two stories high, with no gardens or ground space about them. He would not like to say how the working man in England fared, said Mr. Holroyd, but he had found that meat and sugar or sweets were very short and that tea, sugar and cheese were still rationed. His advice to anyone sending food parcels to Britain was to concentrate on solid meats and sweets or sugary products. So far as buildings were concerned, hotels in England were generally the same as in New Zealand, but there the similarity ended, Mr. Holroyd considered. Despite the difficulties of rationing, the variety of food provided in the hotels was much greater than in New Zealand. In the course of considerable motoring 11, the north of England he had found that the surface of the roads was good, but their formation poor. Fast cornering was practically impossible as most loads fell away on the corners instead of being banked up. City roads were generally narrow and driving was made hazardous by the Confusion caused by drivers parking their cars on whicheve) side of the road suited them.

When travelling in the United States, he and his companion had frequently been mistaken for Englishmen, said Mr. Holroyd. When explanations were made, he found, to his surprise, that most Americans apologised profusely for their mistake. Mast of them had some idea of where New Zealand was, but their impressions were generally erratic, he said. Mr. Holroyd was thanked for his address by Mr. J. Timbs.