The Correspondent, Vol 2 No.10 1977

qi

I

t@ The Officers: OUR President

Anthony paul First Vice President Frank Beatty Second Vice President Keith Jackson Treasurer

Derek Davìes Secretary Tony Scott

COVER

Despite the presence of His Eminence, this is not a martial arts class result. And

fl l'

ublished monrhlv as

an

organ of rhe Foréign Correspondents' Club of Hong Kong. Offices at l sth Floorl Sutherland House, 3 Chater

no, because Tim Rossi is there doesn,t mean he tried some other company,s service. Nor does the presence of Bert

Road, Hong Kong. Tel: 5-

Okuley indicate it s an old folks, home. lt,s just our recent long, three-legged line.

237734 and 5:233003.

Cables: CORCLUB HONG KONG. Address all corres-

I

pondence to: -Editor, Foreigh

Correspondents' CluO óf

I

The Staff: Editor Eert W. Okuley Photographer Hugh Van Es Eddie Martinez Advertising

Factory Building, Ground Floor, Block A, 14, Westlands Road, _Ouarry Bay, Hong Kong. Tel: 5-622271-1. -

Nida Cranbou¡ne Pasteup Artíst: Chan KwokWaì

y'rt zf r,r,rr,,

t/.a/ r

2/

',1

Sole Aænts: FRENCH FASHIONS LTD., Hong Kong.

¡ 2zt,,¡t/

.1

There are many amongst

us

chauvinisTic males who consider, and quite rightly so, that the finer nuances of the culinary art can only

truly be realised by a male chef.

Some of us, to name but one, are prepared to go to even further lengths to prove our catering superiority. There can be no finer form of masochism than hanging upside down in a bucking boat, tenuously supported by a canvas strap, with a motion that not only goes up and down but sideways, forwards and around all at the same

time, whilst casually frying eight eggs, 2 fbs of tomatoes, 1 lb of kippers and toasting 28 rounds of toast under the grill simultaneously with operating an oven with one's foot to ensure that the all sagés are

browned to exactly the, right /

degree.

One of the few saving g¡acês is the fact that the sea,lvater cóming through the hatch in buckèts acts as somewhat of a balm to the

burning fat spattering your legs.

Strangely, one's perspective is

by Chef Holbeche' impaired, for as the boat leais at an ever-increasing angle, the stove, as

if by some miracle, stands at

an

even keel as it is on gimbals. To the

this means that the undaunted chef, apart from having to cope with all of the foregoing uninitiated,

with the use of yet undiscovered muscles, must at the same time manipulate

a cooking instrument

that seems to have a mind body of its own and is at

and one moment hitting you under the chin 'whilst at the next you are at arms length and cannot reach the pan.

These are the easier elements in

the preparation of the And why do otherwise responsible men do it?

EEGIUSE

]ttEUt¡EtT?

crew's

breakfast. The next challenge in geometry and callisthenics is how

to climb up a perpendicular slope, open a cupboard door and obtain the plates on which to serve your gourmet repast without the entire contents of the cupboard falling on your head. To be quite frank, I didn't

come up with the answer to that one.

To add a touch of spice to what

you must by now realise is a most pleasurable past¡me, even if you manage to transfer food to plate, butter to toast (salted or unsalted by request); even if you can, by a triple-jointed twist, manage to pass

has character-forming gualities that you have to experience to believe. lt is like travelling.through the entire spectrum of Tom Brown's

the laden plate to the miserable crew member awaiting it in the cockpit, you have got to believe

You get to know the characteristics

schooldays in

ghastlY

of your fellow crewmen in a very short space of time. You develoP

that they have the most remarkable way of showing appreciation for your food and efforts. For the first

two nights out, the longest marriage between food and stomach was 2.5 minutes. Even our intrepid skipper was seen to turn slightly green at the gills, but then I suppose that is to be expected if you are attempting to steer a boat, smoke a cigar and eat kippers all at

the same time, in a indigestible motion. We

one

nightmare ("because we like it").

stories, both humorous and tragic, that stay with you for the rest of your life.

There was one unfortunate who travelled with us in the last South

China Sea Race to whom two stories are attributed; one for which I can vouch as I was on the journey

to Manila and the other that

my

wife relates as she, because of her

most

diligent devotion to my well-being, was given the dubious privilege of

asked

being chef from Manila back to

ourselves many times why we were going through this pleasurable exercise and we all agreed,

of 36-39"C the cook

was

sweltering below preparing meal after meal in absolutely intolerable circumstances whilst the entire crew sunbathed on deck for two days ("because we like it").

Two things stand out in my mind about that particular trip. One was being awakened at, 6' o'clock one morning to the sound of a heated

in the cockpit. - "lt's Land, Goddamn i1! l, éan seþ chimneys and smoke aôd people argument

walking on the beach" - fhe førrard hand. "lt's not land. We're at lease 50 miles from land. lt's plankton on the surface of the sea !" - navigator.

I

had booked, at great

kippers and all - over the feet of the helmsman in the cockpit who, to his

credit, restricted his outburst to a single "charming" - an admirable

expense, a very large and beautiful

Hong Kong. On the first night out

from Hong Kong this gentleman was seen to be lurking (if it is possible to lurk whilst revolving in a 360 degree arc and being bounced up and down all at the same time)

the

near the oilskin locker and was perceived by the boat sneak to be

circumstances, rather apposite.

Fortunately, or unfortunately,

putting on someone else's oilskins.

On being challenged by the owner

depending where you were standing at the time, in the next moment about one third of the South China Sea deposited itself into the cock-

of these invaluable if

not

pil and removed all traces of the

West Country drawl, "Well I didn't

navigator's breakfast and almost all traces of the navigator himself.

At this point, I must digress for

a

small piece of philosophy. Sailing for a period of a week or so in

conditions ranging from huge

waves, thunderstorms, and Pouring rain to mirror-like calm with burning sunshine and not a breath of wind,

I

personal

suite at one of Manila's leading hotels so that my wife and. I could enjoy some of the pleasures of

sacrifice.

Having partaken of the delicacies of

my early morning breakfast, he clapped his hand over his mouth, looked wildly from side to side in the cabin, leapt up the companion way and parted with his breakfast -

!

The other highlight was that

- -l,t/-

for an act of selfless

4

unfortunate crew members. Such was not the case - in temperatures

have extraordinary digestions

be

nameless for reasons which will later become apparent, endeared himself to me in those early days

understatement but, in

whilst smiling smugly at the energet¡c antics of the other

can only assume that whales must

it!"

Our navigator, who shall

be

warmly ensconced in his protected galley producing culinary creations

Having had a good look myself,

vociferously and in unison, that it was "because we like

havingr enrolled as chef (not cook

you notice), had expected to

aesthetically beautiful garments as

to why he was using them, the gentleman logically replied in his want to get mine wet, did l?" \lty'hilst touching briefly on the last South China Sea Race, (the one

before this one that is), it was, I believe, the slowest race on record and we were totally becalmed for 48 hours without a ripple on the surface of the sea. You can imagine

the chagrin of the writer

who,

Manila in comfort. I could only grin and bear it when, on arriving three days behind schedule, I was just in time to have a quick shower in the suite before catching the next plane to Australia for a conference.

Still, undaunted, I signed

on

again this year for the 9th South China Sea Race on the same vessel.

Perhaps it should have occurred to

me at the time that I was, in fact,

the only member of the previous crew to sign on for this voyage but then this might have been a coincidence! Before the race, we togged ourselves out in all of our training gear, prepared for spinnaker practice, sail changes, safety drill, catering under extreme duress, and motored sedately to Snake Bay for the weekend where we had cocktails with several other

hardy individuals who had braved the elements. We did in fact sail back under the auspices of a

GÌøilGlm PGlñì@rOñnA holldn¡s

-ÊT &ry\tr&ry88 w@w ry@ ü@&ry 8¿ru@ 8&G@@@,M W&&Dry e e t, TRAVEL WITH US TO YOUR OWN ISLAND OF C,OLDEN

SUN

AT ONE TIME DREAMT OF THEIR OWN TROPICAL ISLAND. WE BELIEVE WE HAVE FOUND THE ISLAND OF YOUR DREAMS AND WOULD LIKE THE CHANCE TO TAKE YOU THERE. PERHAPS EVERYONE HAS

SICOC'oN ISLAND LIES OFF THE EAST COAST OF THE MUCH LARGER ISLAND OF PANAY IN THE PHILIPPINES. SICOGON WEATHER IS PLEASANTLY WARM AND SO IS IT'S WELCOME! AND IT WELCOMES ANYONE WHO WOULD LIKE A BREATH OF PURE, FRESH AIR . . . . . ANYONE WHO WOULD LIKE TO LAZEONWHITE SANDS AND SWIM IN DELIGHTFULLY CLEAR WARM WATER . . . . ANYONE WHO WOULD LIKE TO CLIMB MOUNTAINS AND SPY OUT HIDDEN COVES AND INLETS . . . . .

ANYONE WHO ENJOYS BOATING, WATER-SKIING, SNORKLING AND SCUBA. DIVING . . . . IN FACT ANYONE WHO WOULD LIKE TO GET AWAY FROM IT ALL AND EXPLORE THE DELIGHTS OF SICOC.ON ISLAND.

For a two-week holiday in the Philippines including nine days on the island the costs are as

follows:-

HK$2,090.-

|,29O' I,590.450.195.-

per adult sharing a twin room per child sharing parent's room per child where 2 children share a separate room Single supplement per infant

This holiday includes your airfares both international and domestic, your transfers in the Philippines, accommodation, full breakfasts and a tour of Manila and Subu¡bs.

The Hotel we recommend in Manila is the ADMIRAL HOTEL and on the island you would stay at the sIcoGoN ISLAND RESORT CLUB. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT US FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

CRßOINRI, TRRYEI CON/UITßNI/ 1TO. 1204,-6 Tung Ming

Bldg.40 Dc¡ Vooux Rd., C. Hong Kong Te!. 5-262161-4

training officer who was going to teach us the rights and wrongs of spinnaker handling with the dual

At this point I will digress from food a little as somewhere in the middle of the South China Sea I did have one of the most exciting sails of my life. The wind was blowing

pole system.

I have described the Problems of

preparing breakfast in the earlY stages of this thesis, but I must admit that I did learn another

from aft of the beam at

lesson in those first two days of the race. lf the wind is blowing at something over 25 miles an hour

and maintaining any sort of footing

starts to resemble sitting on a bronco's þack at the Calgary Stampede, it is not absolutelY advisable to serve Pork Vindaloo for dinner. Apart from the gYmnastics of frying popadoms in burning olive oil, the gastronomic approval of the

recipients can be rather less than

enthusiastic.

To his credit,

the

skipper did at least manage to smell his without any unfortunate results,

which is rather more than can be said for the rest of the crew. lt is indeed a blessing, for which I thank

the powers that be, that

mY

stomach, as well as being a little larger than normal, is absolutelY

Itisntt I

lnstead of hugging the coast

ironclad.

approximatelY 1 5 to 20 knots and we had hoisted our light wind tri-

radial spinnaker. For an unbelievable 99 miles on our log we had the most tremendous reaching run that I have ever had, at speeds ranging lrcm7 to 8.5 knots - truly an exPerience to make all of

the ordeals of such a worthwhile. I even gave uP mY

race

sleep that night to take the helm for

a period to the audible mutterings of, "What does a bloodY cook know about sailing anYwaY?" ln fact, despite suggestions to

the contrary that have

been

bandied about since mY return, we had an extremelY good sail across the South China Sea, arriving four

hours

off

morning started.

-

Manila BaY on FridaY and this is where it all

as

practice, we had BaY directlY from the approached

is cofr'ton

the sea and, for some extraordinary

reason, Manila BaY aPParently, looks quite different from this angle,

so much so in fact that it

was definitely identified as Subic! From

then on our race became Popeye.

lnstead

Pure

of turning left

and

arriving at a respectable time in the middle of the Fleet at our finishing line at Corregidor, we turned right -

searching for the elusive Luzon point. To my absolute knowledge and from what I was able to glean from a team of naviEaiors that hað grown to seven, we Passed no less than four positively identifiêd Luzon.

points, although, whils,t'r looking after my chores, I maY hÇve missed a couple. After about a daY'9 dearch in a southerlY directign Tor the miniscule Manila, BaY, wb arrived, at dawn, at a weird rock formation jutting into the sea which one of our

sturdy crew, whom we nicknamed

(Continued on Page l8)'

s

the 'don

the There is a common oPinion that all oins are the same.

"

lt maybe true of some. But not of Gordons. For the way we use juniper.

coriander and other botanical ingredients in ourdistilling recþe. makes subtle differences to the taste of our gin.

The actual details are of course a secret. But the results are not' Gordon's is the best selling gin in theworld. Needwe saY more?

GORDOI\'S The in drink

for generations

@trICttrtvltELL

Despite chef

Holbeche's

sympathetic horror story, quite a few other FCC members made it to

Manila under sail in the classic event, which this year attracted a record 42 entries, including the

legenday American maxi-yachts Kialoa and Windward Passage. fhe race was won by senior Hong Kong civil servant Hector Ross in Uin-namara lll, which means "bird of the sea" in Gaelic, or as the SCM Post

once had it, "bird of the sea"

in

He took his own

1

1O-foot

cruiser, Van Triumph (upon which the Governor seems to sip occasional martinis these days in Mirs Bay) down to Manila with the

fleet to watch the

action.

Remarkable chap. Now he is talking about spear-heading Hong Kong's

next Admiral's Cup challenge

in

England in 1979.

A member of the Board of Governors, Tony Scott, was on the

Garlic.

Contention three-quarter tonner,

Aboard Uin-na-mara was watch captain Chet Tschetter (that means

Red Baron, making his

he can order some of the others around). Chet is an FCC member

(in fact the original Uin-na-mara ll is now in the hands of FCC member Barry Byrne, who sells hospital and

Oueen's Road Central.

second China Sea Race. The yacht finishe.d third in its class.

Bruce Maxwell, a former Board

.

medical equipment around the

region. The yacht,

renamed

Drogheda, had FCC man John Mallen aboard on its second China

Sea outing in 1978,

although

another regular crew, Udo Nesch, could not make it for the race. lra Kaye, owner of the beautiful Morgan Out-lslander 49, Malarky, had to withdraw at the last minute due to a crew misunderstanding, but the one-ton Heritage racing sloop Pak Ling, which he also owns, came an impressive second overall, and is currently the subject of several separate sales negotiations.

by 0ur Yachting

Correspondent

Well-known stockbroker anù, 14th floor denizen, Neville White, brewed back on Pak Ling from

Manilá.

t

Gerry Simmel's son Mark seiled

on Cathay Pacific,

pilot , Mike Dearden's black-hulled ¿l€l-footer

Lady Jim, coming a

very

respectable second in Class One (ahead of Kialoa and Wíndward

Passage), and a quite creditable 13th overall.

And then, Sheila Dennis supplied the lranian caviar for one or two of

FCC MEMBERS

the better

provisioned yachts,

Alistair Sutherland was sorting out pictures for Dunhill's popular yacht

racing service, photographer whose oftice equipment shop in the Sutherland House lobby most will doubtless have seen. Uin-na-mara

member, and whose company

"tactics meetings" were also held

AsÍacover publishes the Hong Kong Yachting Association's monthly magazine Boating Monthly, was on

at the Club prior to departure.

Cariad

Conversely, perhaps one of the least-known FCC members taking part was David Lieu. He didn't

year). The yacht finished ninth

actually sail, but he owns Vanguard, one of Hong Kong's star

- it was Vanguard's Lieuowned forerunner that featured

yachts

pictorially on the front page on the London Løes during the Admiral's Cup Series in England last year, in which Hong Kong came third out of the 19 nations and territories taking part, behihd Britain and the United States. David, among other things, owns Van Shipping and Supercraft, which have just moved from the 1 1 floor of Sutherland House around to

for his fourth

China Sea Race (they are held every even

overall and third in its class, Holbeche's skipper

-

unnamed in

the article - was of course

the amiable Canadian Bob Miller, who

was raised originally at

Chefu

Missionary School, and who is a long-time FCC member, as is his '76-race mate, Capt Charles Stark, who was unable to make the trip this time.

Miller, a competitor since 1970

in the Hong Kong-Manila

event,

was probably an FCC founder of the race. His last boat, Blue Phoeníx I

Cranbourne

Ray

was having

an

exhibition at the other end (Century Park Sheraton, Manila), which just happened to feature a few of his

better yacht racing pictures, Mel Tobias was liaising San Miguel's role in the affair, and Michael Laloe chose jet-setting to get to poolside of the Manila Polo Club where several race debriefings occurred, so to speak.

Capt David Cauvin, FCC man and

another race veteran, was too busy getting ready his entry for the

upcoming Hong

Kong-London

China sea Race in 1980 (a vessel

at Peng Chau). Boating Centre Managing Director Frank Hydes was at the Tokyo Boat Show, and Arthur Hacker said he building

would have gone had he been able to take his amah to pull the ropes and things.

I 7

CHICAGO

- lt is a

strange

sensation to read that now that we are on the endangered species list

of journalism, Alderman Roman Pucinski of this city ¡s going to

launch a crusade to save us.

He wants to somehow marshall all the forces of commerce, industry and politics to find ways to keep us going - "us" being the Chicago

Daily News, whose management

population as some of us working in this field like to flatter ourselves that there is.

This paper is in danger of going under simply because not enough people want to buy and read it each

day to make it economically realistic. l've heard all sorts of reasons for this shortage of

readership: changing leisure habits; the decline in mass transportation riders who used to buy afternoon

papers; the movement of the population away from the city to where it becomes harder and more costly to distribute a paper; the

For twice as much, you can buy a dried-up doughnut

rising popularity of W news, and so on. There is something to all of the reasons.

publication.

Well, good luck, Alderman, you to be a newspaperman once yourself, so that, as well as any other reason, probably makes the used

folding of a newspaper abhorrent to you.

But don't get your hopes up, Nor anyone else's, lt's a nice thought,

that there could suddenly be

a

miraculous surge of community support to keep a 1o2-year-old newspaper on the stands. But doubt that it can happen because

I I

don't think nearly as much concern

exists among the 8

general

difference.

lf I were a sensitive soul, my feelings would be hurt that there are 6,67 1,00O people who could buy this paper but don't. But l'm not. f simply tell myself that there are 329,000 people around heie with good sense and a lot of others l'm not sure about.

Some of them prefer the rílental nourishment of TV. Some don't

metropolitan daily newspaper is a good buy. Some are better than others. Some are bad, A few are cease

people. that is really a lot of people and an awesome amount of in-

News, I accept ¡t. As with any other product, we're tossed out there in the marketplace with a price tag. lf people want to buy, whoopie - if

not, that's the way the cookie crumbles, and the newspaper folds.

I happen to think almost any

to

politan Chicago. And when you consider the spread between 329,OO0 people and 7 million

Many of them ' are, 'i childreh.

Others aren't but might ps well be.

before the paper's demi¡e.

has announced plans

ago, or a few decades ago. But that's still a lot of people.

On the other hand, there are 7 million people in greater metro-

Whatever causes people to not want to read the chicago Daily

The Chicago Daily News, one of America'¡ oldect and most prostigiour newapapers, clo¡ed last month becau¡e of financial con¡ideration¡. Thi¡ column wa! written rhortly

by Mike Royko

as a féw months ago, or a few years

great - or try to be, For a rneasly 15 cents, in fact, I can't think of a better bargain.

Check out your company vending machines. A dried-up old doughnut costs you 30 cents, We're worth at least half as much as a dried-up old doughnut. Or a cup of bad coffee. lf

nothing else, we're something, to disagree with and swear at on a particularly trying day, Yet, while people continue to

have 15 cents to,spare. But most, I assume, just don't think this paper is worth their time and coins.

That being the case,

I

don't

know what Pucinski thinks can be

done.

I

doubt

if City

Hall would

command its precinct captains to go out and hustle their constituents to buy this paper. I do not rhink that

the

presidents

of this

city's

corporations are going to send a memo around to their employes, urging that they all pick this paper up at the newsstand. I can't even imagine the city's TV news shows urging the viewers to take us to their hearts, or eyes - not when they've been having so much fun trying to push us into our grave, And calling upon the city's great financial brains to find a solution isn't going to lead anywhere. Many of those great financial brains are already on the board of directors of the company that owns this paper,

and they haven't figured out

a

and bad cups of coffee at a record pace,

solution yet.

So I really don't know what else Pucinski can have in mind. All that's left would be some sort of charity drive, which some kind people have

they go on not wanting to buy this

already suggested.

buy dried-up old doughnuts

paper at an equally record pace, Oh, we sell papers, There are 329,000 people who buy this paper €v€ry day, That's not as many

lf that's what you're thinking, Alderman, please forget it. We may not be worth 1 5 cents, but we do have some pride,

A two-station th?O,OOO neYv, has

FOR

been

little used, but needs

SAtE

$S,OOO

"Advent" video color

sell for

in repairs. Will $15,OOO,

oÌ

AIPHONE

intercom, almost ner¿. Originally $1 50, now selling for S7O or neaÍeat offer. Gontact Liz in Glub office o¡ call 5-237734.

a Manager Mike Winslow Liz would like to borrow any

near offer. Apply to projector and 6O inch at the FcG office: 5screen. This unit cost 237734.

photographs or otHer momorabilia dating back to the days of the FGG Conduit Road Glub.

Fleddie the Bartender's representation of "Sammy."

A mandatory gratuity, FCC Board says The figures below are self-explanatory, par"4" and "8" categories.

Put another way, they say that if ALL members had paid only the $100 staff Chinese New Year

ticularly in the

gratuity asked of them, the Club would have received $91,8OO, or $3,791 less than it did. The extra money came from the most generous members in categories "E,""F," "G" and "H" who paid $8,825 more than was expebted of them and picked up the short-fall of $5,034 which category "4" and "B" members should have paid.

The Board of Governors, after looking at the figures, felt that all members should be obliged to contribute a minimum staff gratuity of $100 per annum, in appreciation of the excellent service provided by the staff and in awareness that prices charged in the FCC are reasonable enough to make the effect of contributing slightly more than $8 per month hardly noticeable.

A motion making the annual contribution obligatory was passed at a recent Board of Governors meeting, DONATIONS FOR CHINESE NEW YEAR GRATUITY 1978

@

!

-

m

f) T I

o

z I

o a)

Þ

C U)

m

f

æ

T

o

No. of Members

z

Amount Paid

c)

O

A. Nothing B Under$50

c $51-$ 1 00 D $100 (Automatic Billing) E

$101-$200

F

$201 -$300

Z

25

45 133 629 68

12 3 3

G $301-$400 H $500

C)

$1,966 $

13,300

91

I

m

i4$

RNI <4(D 33.E

gEE

$11,525

g*E

$s,zso $1,1 50 $

1,500

$95,591

o g

U'OU,

$62,900

TOTAL:

Members/Donations

1

ä9il ¡l D.O

8gõ

= E'

I+ II

õ'

On the occasion of hìs departure from Hong Kong for a New York assignment, our bes.t wíshes to Frank Beatty of lJPl and his lovely wife Marv (who lingers on while the chÍldren

finish schòol). Above, Frank, Charlie Smíth' Bob Hamel and His Eminence "graduate," and a few Martinez shots of Frank' To the right is

Mike Winstow, Liz and Míkes lovely Theddíe.

wÍfe

A

distinguished youthful

Old

China Hand lunched with friends in

the

month: David Chipp,

FCC last

Editor-in-Chief of the Reuter Press Association, who in 1956 (at the

presides as a typewriter-squire at

weekend

retreat

Buckinghamshire,

where

a

in lucky

first

friends are invited to lunch with him on Sundays and may be fortunate enough to meet his charming 89-

Western, non-Communist journalist

year-old mother. Estate agents

age of 281 became the

he still prefers being an editor rather than administrator, but contrives to combine the two roles.

Pressed by his lady ¡nterrogator, Linda Christmas, he said that the reason he had remained a bachelor is "simply because the right

available woman has not come along . . .

Reuters' gregarlous

"We are an independent family and I am a solitary person in some ways. I like to describe myself as a gregarious hermit. I love parties and

hermit

also quite happy speaking to no one from the time I finish my shopping on Saturday morning until I return to the office on Monday morning . .

entertaining my friends, but

I

am

to be based in Peking.

A

Cambridge graduate

-

and who is still remembered name in the local bars when makes re-visits

-

by he

he first worked for

Reuters, correctly enough, as a sports reporter, and then, after service in Southeast Asia, was accepted by Chairman Mao as Reuter resident rep. on the eve of the "Dance of A Hundred Flowers" and "The Great Leap Forward."

ln those

exciting and exacting

days, David and his AFP mate, Jacques Locquain (now retired), who lived in a Peking hutung opposite the original famous Three welcomed, helped and advised generously and unselfishly all transient barefoot

Tables Restaurant,

reporters

always

an

infernal

nuisance,

David's China

stint ended

in

1958. Last month, he was making his second return trip, via Hong Kong.

He still reckons, under tough cross-examination, that "the greatest compliment" he ever received was when Chou En-lai, in

1957, described him as "a very

serious correspondent."

David is a vulnerable target and immediate host for visiting barefoot reporters from the Far East. He has

a small flat only a

"l decided at Cambrjdge tlrat I was the wrong shape to becqme an actor."

who

therefore has the right to walk across the University lawns, which are, alas, barred to humble visitors,

couple of

minutes' walk from his PA office at R'euters in Fleet street, but also

describe his weekend home as "secluded but not isolated" and it has the proud status symbol of "a

deer-proof fence."

His

housekeeper, appropriately, named Mrs Paris.

ln a

is

recent interview in The Guardìan, David made it clear that

As they parted in the streeç he to LinQa Chfjstmas:

pointed out

"H ere's another diffeience bbtween

me and a married man. I must leave you here because l've got to go and

buy

a

birthday card

for

an ex-

girlfriend."

His Emine4ce RH.

tAttØø6ø

o0Joooq)LLL

u>thØØ6Ø 'È¡EEEE

oo0Jooo,

E!õ!Þ! (oo(Eocúo gLgLLL

oooooo ËÈËËËË oooooo o.o,o.o-o_o_ o.o.o.o.o,o, fJffJf

u) Ø Ø (t)

(.D

în

The Srnoothen Mover lets yot-r en¡oy your tr¡ove.

U'V'ttttt6ø L!L

oooooJq) th tJ, tt) vt th LLLLLL oJoqJooc) !!!!!! o(o(o(oo(o

tt,

We know from 32 years of experience that mov¡ng doeBn't have to be a cl-raotic bueinegg.

LgLLLg

oooooo oooooo o-o.o.o.o.o.

LLLLLL

o. o. o. o.

o_ o.

u)Øç)Øuru) ththtttâØU,

L!! ooooq)c) .9. .9. .2 tËËËtË o0rooo0J

.g .2 .2

!1¡E!!! oorE(ooo LLLLÈL JJ¡>ãJ

oooooo ËtËtrÈË oooooo oo.o.o-o.o. o,oo.o.o.o =ÞJtff ØtnØØØ<n

We'll come to your home and giwe you a realiaÈic quoÈation, and if you're satisf¡ed w¡Èh that we'll expertly pack and conta¡neriae your poseessione and ineure them if you wistt.

We'll prowide you w¡tfì experienced door-ùo-door service,.-anywl-rere in the world.

Call John Moore at 5-714?37 catcfr him at the FCC... for bhat BmooÈl1er move,

or

with

I don't know what's wrongshow To tn" i't-"tU"" of this club' of the welfare the ä;;nä" for

the bar and restaurant besan Puttins the tables a rew "";;";;ì1i"" on cards ä;i;i;, what do the And tnt' -'."inl ',Ï;moã"-o;? rheY rilr uP the cards that *ii'iãtJ;'nts! As if the fact Your *". ,n" sub-committee'isn't.have enoush' heart

à"åî.itn,o,

ffi, ""ï^ ""t'u

we read ';;"ä; realize thateverY sub-

.'t;; out loud at its "";; meetins' and discuss ;;;n;." we ;;;*t'(ir anY)? Do You realize

do something

about

i

card which merits an answer every'tn" malcontent who ri.iãt,-'i [ remembered to sign his or

;.*

tr", naa"Z Do

our You realize that

winslow' ;;* ;ir; manaser' Mike timq valuable his taki;g O" *tU ** ";;.*"r. complaints tr'" ;;' realize that

personaltY? Do You and because of all these complaints

we've had ::,-TÎ:: Do You think we w( "åäT-.htnges? tã" t"i ,r'ã Board because

ñäil',

wanted to work? Aarrgh'

"ïãil,--i,;t too late for You tt

dc¡tY

crowd

this month' est aPPreciaüon'

::"$q tï

I:,ff3, ï i,'ff J:i ï:carPing has been'

Yo" tãtrli"t.ìl 'Ïi;t,

what w of ail, as a result of

can only assume to be a wellorganized and lavishly financed

we might

as

well tell you right away

that the answer is also "no"

on

campaign of harassment, we're forced to return three dishes to the

special orders. The kitchen is simply too busy turning out dishes that are

regular menu. When the new menu comes out around the first week of May, it will include eggs benedict,

on the menu, to be bothered with dishes that aren't. The staff have

shrimp cocktail, and moussaka.

Actually, we were going to put those dishes back on the menu even if you hadn't complained. We

only took them off to see

if

you

didn't want to do it, but what with

A

maximum of 50 cents per drink. We

We've also been hounded to

inflation and all that, we had to

death about curry. A small but vocal

make some adjustments in order to

having curry on the regular menu.

\

li1â^',:""

we've had to raise the prices of

Sunday brunch.

extremists insists on

FASH IONS WHERE CLOÍHES

to make rude noises and cast d¡sparaging glances at anyone who tries to order something that isn't on the menu.

To continue with the bad news,

certain drinks. Not much.

of

LEWIS

been instructed

were paying attention. Meanwhile, you can get eggs benedict at the

minority

JENNY

meet the Club's overhead, Put something away for the Club's future, and still have enough left over for small chow at the Board meetings. lf you don't like the new bar prices, go see Tony Scott. I had nothing to do with it.

Despite the fact that all we get is criticism, however, we have made some changes you're going to like.

You can now get beef from the wagon every evening, Monday-

I

l I I

through-Saturday (Lunchtime beef from the wagon, and the evening

steak and salad bar, ate still restricted to Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.) We've started serving late snacks, from 11.30 p.m. to 1 a.m., on the 14th

+i___

and 18th floors. Mike Winslow is putting together a new, separate desert menu. And as

a

result of

repeated, time-consuming wine-

CBS Food Corespondent We used to have curry every day, and look what happened. lt was almost as bland and tasteless as

tastings by certain selfless persons in the Club, our new wine list is

English food. We just can't seem to maintain the curry at our normal high standards if we serve it every day. So, after much soul-searching and consultations with the clubfs fung shui advisor, we've decided to continue serving curry as a daily special only. We have, at the same

people would be satisfied, wouldn't you? But no, For example, people

time, told the chef to stop flavoring the curry with Chef Boy-Ar-Dee Italian Salad Dressing Mix, and we

(garlic with bread on the bottom), and we're trying different supplfers

anticipate an

immediate

improvement in the flavor, Since You're already pouting because we said "No" on the curry,

now functional.

You'd think after all that, that keep complaining about the bread.

Don't they realize this is southern China? What's wrong with cåow fan? Anyway, in order to appease the die-hards, we've introduced a

n€w dish called "garlic

bread"

for our French bread,

And while we're on the subject of bread, you may have noticed that we're experimenting with different blends of coffee, to go with our new

coffee-maker. We're trying ¡ochajava right now, and we're going to try others before making a final decision.

Finally, there's

the matter

of

service. Everybody complains about the service, but nobody does

anything about it. So we've passed

the buck to Mike Winslow, who says he hopes things will gradually improve as he gets more familiar

with the workings of the club

and

can begin making changes.

So there, you see? You thought

the complaint cards were there to

distract you while the waiters slipped a few extra charges onto your drink chits. The fact is, your

bar and restaurant sub-committee actually pays attention to your nitpicking, and works endless hours to

see that valid suggestions are implemented, But do we get any recognition for our efforts? Does anyone ever come up and pat us on

the back and say: "A drink for my friend, the bar and restaurant sub-

committee here?" Do

we

get

priority at the pool tableT Don't be T silly, 13

CANOIDS

The Correspondent would like to add its congratulat¡ons to those already received by FCC member Szeto Che-yan, recently named an Assistant Commissioner of Police.

Mr Szeto, as District

Police

Commander, Marine, has initiated

a

number

of changes in

marine

operations over the past two years,

including government acceptance

of his proposals for new launto

ches

replace vessels

in

oper-

ation since World War ll days.

Mr Szeto is the first

Chlnese

member of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force to obtain Assistant Commissioner rank.

Ken Gott, who parted company

with

B

usiñess lnternational

in

New York, is back home in Australia

-

Ken

at least temporarily.

is

residing

at 65

Chapel

Street, St Kilda, Victoria. He sends best wishes to all.

14

Sammy Cheung (left) and Chef Lo Tin are just two of the staff providing the service and food that has gone a long way toward makìng the HKFCC the envy of clubs Ín Hong Kong. Manager Mike Wìnslow is workìng with the duo for even more ímprovements.

Les "Chromepate",

Mayhem on tt¡e 18th

Leston

f--E: \-

"Knockyneese"

AndY Sloan

Maitland can't resist a story The Membership Committee Foreign Correspondents Club of Hong Kong

April 14, 1978 Dear Sirs (or Madams, if indeed there are any left in this godforsaken colony):

ln

engaging in this, my third correspondence with your good

Eddie Tseng in a Twinkeltoes pose.

Charlìe Smìth and Paulus Lee Man.

selves, I am reminded of the famous story of the spider and Robert Bruce (or was it Bruce Robert), the impoverished opal miner who sat one day in his diggings in Cooper Pedy wondering where his next tucker was going to come from. As he stared blankly at the blank, pick-marked wall, he saw a spider attempting to swing on ¡ts silken thread from one ledge to

another, obviously intent

on

anchoring a web. lt swung the first

time, missed and ended

up

dangling in mid-air.

"Ave another go, yer

mug," Bruce exhorted it, popping his last can of Fostars.

The spider tried again, swinging out on its line, but again it missed the ledge and ended up swinging like a dag on a sheep's hairy kyber.

"Get in there, yer gutless

wonder," Bruce

exclaimed

encouragingly. "Ave another go."

The spider tried a third time, leaping into mid-air. And this time it made it - landing four-square on

the ledge, there to fasten

the

linchpin of its web.

"You bloody beauty!"

Bruce

cried. "You little ripper! You tfied, tried, and tried again - andtyou done it!" He then squashep the spider with his beer can and werlt on digging. ,; ' I sincerely hope thd pointbt this story is not lost upon' your esteemed selves as, once again, I apply for expedient reclassification

from Associate to Correspondent status within our Club - pointing

out that I am now a full-tinle nongovernment independent writer and have gained a position as Far East Correspondent for a wireless

network

in

Australia known

as

Radio 2UE.

Should you see fit to restore me

to my former rank, I would

remain

your most obedient servant. Should you not, I shall say screw the spider and remind you that I am not without powerful representation in Hong Kong, referring as I do to those well-known solicitors at law, Messrs Sue, Grabbit & Scarper.

Yours sincerely, Derek Maitland COFFEE?

We've recently introduced a new coffee with new machines brewing it nearly fresh to order.

It's much beûter than our otd

blend. Another new great is our bottomles¡ cup for only $2.OO. That's right! You can drink all the coffee you like for only

lz.oo.

15

"But, l'm Richard Hughes!"

Nancy Nash relaxes in Cairo with Tony Clifton.

IJO

ahead, grow up like Daddy!"

Hey, Mike, this is what they used to send the Board 1 5 September 1977 Board of Governors Foreign Correspondents' Club Sutherland House, 14lF

Hong Kong Dear Sirs:

I would like to express a few personal opinions about the quality of goods and services presently available in our club:

-

The Steak and Salad Bar is a winner. I was sorry to

it cut back to only two nights a week, but realize that it wasn't patronized enough to keep it see

I

going five nights a week. Too bad. ls there any way, however, to make available a similar salad (only) bar during the lunch hour, for those of us who have an aversion to the avoirdupois?

- The recent renovation and redecoration is a great improvement.

- The first issue of the club magazine under the new

editor was quite good - very funny.

- The quality of food served in the club these days is generally high and the prices are reasonable.

- The house white wine is dreadful stuff and the carafe price is too high. (l think - although I haverr't

it out - that the cheapest bottle of white wine costs less per equal volume and is greatly superior to the house wine.) figured

The average cup of FCC coffee is swill, usually served cold and tasting as though it were made from last week's grounds. (For reference, I regard the coffee served at Maxim's as the best in HK. Any chance of gettยกng their formulaT) - I would like to see pizza on the menu. for those times when I'm not wrestling with the calorie chart.

There. They say that if you don't made your opinions known, you deserve the government you get,

-

So at least you know what one member likes and doesn't like about the club.

Yours truly,

Jim Shaw No. 201 1 't7

l fortunate in having on board a crew

lContinued from page 6).

Vasco da Gama,

member from the PhiliPPines who was delegated to the job of

PositivelY

identified as the CaPones, a rock formation that another of our crew, aptly named ChristoPher Columbus, had clearly identified two nights before about 200 miles to the

standing up forward in the PulPit

and waving

a large striped bath

towel in the direction of this fishing

boat whilst shouting "OIcl"

Unfortunately, possibly because we

north.

had been separated for so long from land and civilisation, he became tongue-tied and just

aimlessly waved his towel as we

wavingnur bath towel. This cat and mouse game went on for an hour or so before the fishermen finallY

recognised that we were basically peaceful people and stoPPed. We now expected our secret weapon, our Filipino crew member, to find out instantly in the local dialect where we were. This time he found

,

his voice and shouted would You believe in English, "Where are we!"

- Spanish being his onlY native

tongue! As this elicited nothing but a blank expression we all shouted

"Manila!" and raised our shoulders interrogatively. The fishermen then pointed in the directiori from which we had just come. At last we had found out where we were (or where we were not) and started our long

-------

haul back to Manila. We had travelled, at that tf me,, an

unbelievable 105 miles down the coast to the soulh of fulindoro (l think

!).

:

There was one event on the sail back to Manila which I found quite

amusing although, after so much water had gone under the bridge (so to speak), one does tend to become rather blase. I was fast asleep when I was awakened with shouting from above me. I glanced

out of the porthole. I saw a very large round pole a few feet awaY from me and thought, "Thank God, we've arrived at the dock." At that moment, the voices above me took

on a slightly hysterical note wÂĄth

the

As it was now Saturday and was becoming increasinglY aware that my wife had been frolicking

fishermen.

around for at least three daYs in mY exorbitant suite at the Mandarin Hotel, and not wishing to repeat the

the ship's foghorn and

I

swift visit for a shower that I

had enjoyed after the Previous race, as

chef of the vessel and as

a

colleague held in high rePute bY mY peers, I congratulated our various navigators on their excellent job of getting us to the Manila coast, but would it not be a good idea to ask that fisherman over there where we were?

This you had to see to believe.

On the horizon was a little barquero

with four native fishermen on board. We were extremely 18

approached

bewildered

"Hard-a-port,

hard-a-starboard,

another crew member withdrew to

hard-a-stern, full ahead, and reverse." As these comments did not seem consistent with a docking

started Put mYself in

deck and discovered that it was not

Swift with

imProvisation,

blowing it. I tried to the position of an illiterate group of native fishermen looking uP from their fishing lines at dawn to see a st.range, large blue vessel with great

white sails bearing down

uPon

them with a countryman waving a striped bath towel at them and loud

raucous honking noises coming from aboard. Not surprisingly' they started their engine and got the hell out of it, stopPing about 3OO Yards away. We swiftly went about and made lowards them again, still

making our strange noises

and

operation,

I

leaPt smartlY

to

the

a dock that we were Passing but the broken-off mast of a sunken fishing vessel which had ventured on to the reef over which we were now passing.

By thĂ­s time it had

become

apparent to all of us'that if we did not make some effort to get back to Manila fast we would cause alarm and undue concern to our . colleagues and the authorities, and

so we turned on our engine and motored back, arriving a little after midnight on

SaturdaY'

r

\A/hy in the world do so many travelers like the Reader's Digest?

I

Probably because we're so easy to read.

In light installments. An article or two at a time. We're lots of fun, too. Our pages are Deppered with humor. With many articles about the exciting cities and countries of the world. The Digest is an international magazine. That's why we appeal to international travelers.

Digest is also handy to carry. To read at airports, aboard jetliners, in hotel rooms. ,A,nd, at home.

If-you're looking for travelers, just look at who's reading the Reader's Digest.

Reader's Digest is the best-selling magazine at Asian newsstands (where travelers pick up their reading material).

Bought at Newsstands Reader's Digest

Asia

Edition Time

Philippines 27,576 7,333 gp$ 2,717 Malaysia Korea 9,612 4,478 lndonesia - 10,¿100 5,520 Pakistan 4,500 3,650 Singapore 4,560 2,392 Taiwan ZûO 965 Thailand 2,2æ 1,616 Japan 4,000 5,634 Hong Kong/Macau 2,0b0 2,291 Sri Lanka 1,600 SS8 TOTAL: 78,2 37,1il

Newsweek

6,800

2]æ 1,9¿18

5,000

2.9it5 2,2æ 1,1 16

1,700

7,æ1 1,951

2æ

Source: ABC Analysis of Paid Circulat¡on Reader's Digest, Dec 1976 issue Time, July 19, 1976 issue Nemweek, Ocr 25, 1976 issue

futz{t

is good for business. yours.

19

/

รง

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a

ancยกent communication form that still takes place on the pavements that front the towering offrce blocks where businessmen communicate wยกth the rest of the world through Cable and Wireless.

M ulti-national companies use telephone, telegraph, telex, leased circuits and television to keep in contact with their international offices.

The most distant office is now only a telephone number away. Efficient communication has made Hong Kong one of the

world's largest business centres and nucleus of the East.

The Cable and Wireless Group of Companรฌes know efficrent communication means efficient business That's what Cable and Wireless is all about.

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New Mercury House. 22 Fenwick Street, Hong Kong. Telephone: S-2831 11. Telex:73240