Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954), Tuesday 16 January 1951, page 4


Oat Among The bu vox People

J AM looking at a picture postcard of Lisbon. Portugal, rich in architectural granrtpur

It was sent to me by Mr. worie Claxton who wrote that he nd Mr. and Mrs. Bill Clarke is d just arrived there (December 3) after ssme 400 mi.es hrough Spain where they tayed several days at Madrid. 'Spain was very dry, not havng had a good rain for more har. a couple of years.' he writes in his usual racy, obserant way. 'Electricity is raioned and indiiitiy only wcrkng on a terribly reduced scale. 'Lisbon is busy and looks difereiit. as the people appear I nore happy, conteated' and1 irosperous.' First Plan Of The Oval YESTERDAY in a rough me-morandum book I saw a pen and ink sketch of the plan and measurements of the Ade-laide Oval, first ever made, in 1871. It was done by Mr. John Pickering, who was not only an influential supporter of the Adelaide Oval scheme, but also assisted the surveyor (Mr. H. W. Addison) to fixe the boundaries. The plan shown me by Mr. Pickering's daughter. Mrs. H. Whillas. of Dover street. Mal-vern, reveals that the playing arena is six acres, the enclosed oval nearly 12 acres. Mr. Pickering was widely known as Controller of Ac-counts in the SA Railways from 1883 to 1919. He was an origin-nal member of Croydon cricket Club before he joined Norwood. Early advocate of the formation of the Cricketing Association, he, while secretary of Norwood club. induced other leading clubs to create the governing body. Mr. Pickering was honorary secretary of it from 1871 to 1873 (and made a life member), succeeded by H. Y. Sparkes. F. R. Burton, C. S. Leader, John Cres-well, J. A. Riley, W. H. Jeanes. Mr. Pickering and Mr. John Hill (Clem's father) were cou-sins. Will Remain |n Adelaide ROY Mellish. who came back to Adelaide last year after leng residence in London, has decided to stay here permanently His wife (Clara Setena the singer) is coming out Roy told me yesterday he looks' forward to meeting Sii John Barbirolli. a fellow member of London's Savage Club ?'I spoke to him in the club twe -5avs before I left.' he said. ? M\ wife has sung in op-ra under his baton.'

Our fiie~d showed me a charming Christmas card he bad received from Sir Ernest Pisk, of nliereas ianie — 'greet-ir,gs from an Australian citizen and a British subject.' It is artistic ar.d original, contains p.ctures of the Houses oi Parliament at Westminster, House of Commons, Ottawa; Parliament House, Ca .berra; Parliament Buildings at Wellington (NZ) and Stormont, Belfast, accompanied by apt extracts from a speech by Lord Beaverbrook at the opening of ? the Royal Winter Agricultural Pair in Toronto, Canada, on November 14. 1950. Sir Ernest Fisk was a passenger out with Roy in the Strathaird !ast year. His first choice from the speech is impressive: — 'What shall I say, then, to men cf the outer Empire? Put your faith in Britain and trust in that leadership. The people are sound and the heart is strong.' Fox In Sitting Room IJEYNARD does not seemto mind where he ' gatecrashes, judged by what Cecil Ramsey, stationed at Ardrossan. tells me. On a recent Sundav night, a friend of his, Horace Smith, retired far-, mer living in Maitland, was awakened, together with his wife and son. by a clatter of glass and the savage bark of lil.s ? -sheepdog Garry. Having visions of a burglar, Mr. Smith, armed with his wife's croquet mallet, dived into the room onlv to be confronted by a snarling fox crouched behind the settee. Recently the Smiths ? and neighbors had been losing chickens and said neighbors' eyes were cast toward Garry as the culprit. Garry, however, had caught the fox red-handed, and in the fashion of his breed had rounded it up. driven it along the side verandah, where, no j doubt, seeina a class door as a : means of escape, dived through lit. I Horace Smith played a won-, jderful stick with his wife's mal- . j let en that fox. Plaved Historic Orsan

\TAX Helmboid (165 Payne' ham road. Payneham- harks back to his bovhood when at 11 years he was taught the oran and was privileged to nlay iSat least twice even- Sunday in a. church about 1.000 years old. which, amone others, contained the baptismal font, said to have been used at the baptism of Charlemagne the Great -742-814 ADV King of the Franks (800-814). The organ, a one-manual pipe or?an. was located oaposite the altar, on the second floor of the church. Net to make any mistake relative to the service was Mr. Helmbold's main anxiety.*' The church was situated in a little villase. Ohrum. in Germany, not far from a gentle river Oker. Once during the Sunday school service Pastor Fiedler asked the children. 'Can any of you tell me the name of the_ river in which King Pharaoh's daughter found Moses in a bas-' ket?' PromDtly a child replied. 'The Oker.' In this church M-ax Helmbold learned to ring- the two big be'ls hansina-high up in the steeple.