Open Collections

 VOL. 7 NO. 2
U.B.C. LIBRARY STAFF NEWSLETTER  NOVEMBER 1970
It is that time of year again when thoughts are likely turning
towards the realization that Christmas is less than a month away.
Within these pages you will find some announcements of what the
Library staff can look forward to by way of celebrating the festive
season.
There are also reports, introductions, travelogues, and even a
letter from a parliamentary minister addressed to all who signed
the petition.  A mixed bag you might say.
In the December Biblos we promise you an interesting mixture of
Christmas goodies topped off with an unusual contest - with prize.
Don't forget to think about your donation for the staff smorgasbord
(see back page) and buy your ticket NOW for the pre-season bash!
UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA STAFF CHANGES
A Hearty Welcome To:
Marie Trubkova
Marza Shen
Rhonda Hanson
Diana Bacon
L.A.
L.A.
11
11
Clerk 11
L.A. Ill
Catalogue
Animal Resource
Ecology Library
Ci rculation
Biomedical Branch Library
We Say Farewell To:
Cherry Carter
Beverley Harcus
Terri Bergsma
Donna Hockin
L.A. 11
Clerk 11
L.A. Ill
Sr. Key Punch Operator
Catalogue
Ci rculation
Animal Resource
Ecology Library
Systems
V
OF
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— 1 ! —	 u	
THE FOLLOWING LETTER WAS RECEIVED IN RESPONSE TO THE PETITION CONCERNING THE FLOODING OF THE SKAGIT VALLEY WHICH WAS
FORWARDED TO JACK DAVIS, MINISTER OF FISHERIES AND FORESTRY.
rt
MINISTER OF FISHERIES AND FORESTRY
MINISTRE DES PECHES ET DES FORETS
November 12, 1970.
Mr. Lois J. Carrier,
2193 West 19th Avenue,
Vancouver 8, B.C.
Dear Mr. Carrier:
Thank you for your letter of November 9,
with which you enclosed a petition signed by people on the
University of British Columbia, about the flooding of the
Skagit Valley.  I am doing everything I can to block this
project.  However our lawyers here in Ottawa have yet to
come up with the magic formula.
You realize of course that the green light
was given by the International Joint Commission back in 1942.
The IJC is a supranational body set up by Treaty in order to
decide issues like this in a dispassionate way.  Both Canada
and the United States agreed long ago to turn these tricky
issues over to the IJC and its rulings therefore tend to be
3acred.  The Order of 1942 turned the Canadian section of the
Skagit over to the tender mercies of the Province of British
Columbia.  In 1967 Premier Bennett put his name on the dotted
line.  He decided that part of the Canadian section of the
Skagit should form a reservoir.  So now we are faced with the
challenge of trying to undo something which has been done
quite legally by a province using provincial resources of
land, timber etc.
I am sure that you don't regard these "legal
niceties" as important.  However I thought I would let you
know about the sort of thing which is holding us up here in
Ottawa.
Your» sincerely.
yO      «s	
9
.
s^fct
*>£&&&
/^X^Jack Davis.
■
. Pg.
4   U
——-— '        •
LOOKING BACKWARDS WITH PAT BOLTON
Remember November 1970? That's not too much to ask as it
was only this month.  Well, not much happened that made it
any different from November 1969.  We got the usual November
11th holiday, staff turnover was about the same as any
other November, and there still wasn't enough space to go
around.  But let's go back to the Novembers of the thirties
and forties and see how different things were then.
In 1935 the main problem was the mice who were nibbling
the newspaper collection.
1936 entered us into the "space age" or shall we say the
"lack of space age".  Even in 1936 when it only took one
typist to do al1 the cataloguing work plus al1 library typing with the exception of ordering books (which was done
by one other typist) there wasn't enough space.  If we had
only two typists in the library now, think Of all the space
we'd have!
In 1937 an additional "page" was appointed at the Circulation Desk, receiving the grand salary of $50.00 per month.
After all, a clerical assistant with a B.A. specializing
in reference work received only $100.00 per month.  Back
to space again and a terrible thing was happening - the
men's and women's cloak rooms" were being used as study
rooms and the "common rooms" were being used as reading
rooms.
Things were really beginning to boom in 1938 with Inter-
library Loans rising to ten per month and the total staff
was fifteen.  Eleanor Mercer was appointed as assistant to
the head of Circulation.
With the outbreak of war in 1939, the customs authorities
refused clearance of any book of German origin, but Inter-
library loans rose to 14 anyway.  Approximately 60 - 70
students were using the stacks at the same time that year. Let's compare the forties to the present and see how things
have changed. Interlibrary loans were 63 per month in 1940
and right now they number approximately 183 - not including
xeroxed books.
The monthly circulation of books was about 20,000 in 1940
and jumped around between twenty and thirty thousand for
the next ten years.  Right now it is approximately 60,000.
Of course, the greatest increase is in staff which was 12
in 1940 and remained at 12 until 1943.  In 1944 it rose to
16 and doubled in 1945 to 32.  At the close of the decade
it was 55 and right now there are approximately 400 of us.
That means there has been a 728% increase in twenty years.
If we keep increasing staff and running out of room at the
present rate, we will be a LITTLE crowded in 1990 with 2912
staff members in the same working area.
Pat Bolton
SANGRIA
Makes a delicious drink for the festive season.  Here are two
recipes straight from Spain:  SANGRIA - SAVOY HOTEL - MADRID.
Pour over crushed ice in a highball glass.
4 oz claret ^
4 oz  pineapple juice "
dash  of  lemon
sugar to taste
fill glass with sparkling water
SANGRIA - HOTEL 0RIENTE - BARCELONA
1 bottle red wine
a little cognac
"   "  Cointreau
orange £■   lemon   slices
dash  of  sugar
small bitter club soda
serve in jug with ice and large wooden
spoon for sti rring.
! HANDMAIDS CORNER
■
On Monday, November 9th, the first collection of paintings
to be shown in the coffee lounge was opened and the response has been very positive.
The artist, Mr. Ihor Todoruk, is now living in Vancouver.
He is well known  in New York and San Francisco and has
had "One Man Shows" in both cities.  He is also well
known as a writer.  Several of his best known works are:
Poppin Magazine, Consider It Amongst Friends, 555~1212,
and his new Magazine - Gypsy.  We are sure that many
people are enjoying this show and look forward to ones
to fol1ow.
Unfortunately we have had little response to our request
for people within the library to come forward with their
own paintings, drawings, and craft work for display and
sale.  Please let us know if you do anyth i ng so that we
may include it in our display.  Also, if you know of
people who do anything in this line, please tell us about
them so that we may contact them.  (We promise not to
tell them how we got their name.)
We are hoping that this will be a success but it will not
work unless we have staff members willing to help with
this project so please contact either Rick Welch, or
myself and let us include your work.
David Mi 11er 8
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS 36th SESSION,
Moscow and Leningrad, August 23 - September 15.
An abstruse German paper remains an abstruse German paper even when
delivered with simultaneous translation into English, Russian, and
French.  I FLA, then, even more than most conferences had its greatest
value in the people it brought together and where it brought them
together.  Administrators, cataloguers, and reference librarians
hobnobbed with their counterparts from varying countries and cultures.
The old game is being played by a great variety of rules, but the
game remains recognizable.
At the Conference there was little which was new undertaken.  Work
continues on the Standard Bibliographic Description.  It was proposed
to develop a standard way of arranging cards within voluminous
entries, perhaps a standard list of conventional titles.
Meeting in Moscow on the centennial of Lenin's birth, and with a
general session devoted to Lenin and libraries, political overtones
were certainly present.  Israel's prospective representatives said
that they did not receive visas in time to attend.  The USSR said
that visas were issued.  Israel was not represented.  Jean-Pierre
Clavel, Swiss delegate and a speaker at the session devoted to Lenin,
used in his talk a comment of Lenin's concerning the better practices
prevailing in the libraries of Switzerland and "other free countries
of the West," and appealed for the admission that no country had yet
reached the level of library development sought by Lenin.  Rumour
held that he was at first in trouble with his own library association
for agreeing to speak at the session and then with the Soviets for
the content of his speech.  Certainly he was in tremendous contrast
to the political hyperbole of most other speakers.  The American
speaker used the same quotation, but managed to be totally noncommittal.  A third politically related incident was the confiscation
of 500 copies of Wilson Library Bulletin which were to have been
di stributed.
Lenin's centenary was much in the air.  A Russian I met on the subway
told me this one:  Because of the centenary there are many contests;
one for who can paint the best new portrait of Lenin; one for who can
tell the best new joke about Lenin; the first prize for the latter
being twenty-five years in Siberia. I -
 '
Russian librarians, like most Russians I encountered, are delightful
people despite the suffocating bureaucracy in which they have their
being.  A Russian library division head would be making about $165
per month, of which $12 would go for a small apartment.  Other prices
would be about on par with Canadian, except that luxury items would
be much higher (a bar of chocolate is $1.80).  The quality of clothing and most other consumer items is quite low.  Many items are
simply not available at all.
I know of no other delegate who managed to get into Russian homes.
(Being a natural born nut helps.)  In their own homes Russians are
a warm people as are  all people.  They frequently limit their number
of children because of crowded living quarters.  While almost free,
apartments are   in limited supply, small, poorly built, and in poor
repair.  Old things are beautifully maintained, but new art, architecture, furniture, or whatever, tends to be bland and lacking in verve.
Leningrad has a more active intellectual
life than Moscow, with an intel1igensia
passing around typed manuscripts of
unpublished writers among themselves.
Standardization has not arrived in
Russian libraries.  Card sizes vary as
much as a centimeter and card stock
weight varies within one catalogue.
The only card catalogue cabinet with
standard, interchangeable drawers I
saw had been imported from Finland -
other cabinets were about of the qual'
ity of UBC's 1925 shelf list cabinets.,
The abacus is used rather than the   ""//"
adding machine, and pen or pencil     \; ~*^y" .^'T.,. , ....j-
11        .    r \s. |i»i(»Tv^ VJ»U_ YOU 0>Mt
rather than typewriter for most ap-   V •J^J,^ »R J^CHT?
plications.  Some cards are typed but     ' *^     •
most are printed with call numbers written.  Most major libraries
have their own local classification.  Title entry exists in the
catalogue alphabetique only when it is a title main entry.  The
subject catalogue is a catalogue systematique much like those of
northern Europe, but with less well developed indexes and with less
frequent and numerous multiple entry.  Judging from the size of the
catalogue systematique in most libraries, the collection is only about
one fourth that which is reported.  This is perhaps explained by the
fact that a quarterly is counted as four bibliographic items added 10
to the collection for the year.  The English collection in major
Russian libraries seems inferior to the Slavonic collections in major
Canadian libraries.  Those materials which are listed tend to represent a limited range of political opinion.  (These last comments are
based upon examining the Korea segments of the catalogue systematique
i n several 1ibraries.)
On the positive side, Russian academic libraries as well as public
libraries have a real service orientation.  Academic libraries as
well as public libraries have a new book room in which new acquisitions
are displayed before going to the stacks.  Descriptive cataloguing
is of a high quality, and there is a functioning cataloguing with
publication program.
The more exciting developments are elsewhere.  Sweden has achieved
the egalitarian affluence Russia claims; the Netherlands are experimenting with the machine readable catalogue which the Germans talk
about.
Despite our cramped building with its heterogeneous furniture and
flaking paint, the UBC library compares well with most of its contemporaries.  Compared to European counterparts, its staff is well
trained, well paid, and highly motivated.  Its administration is
enlightened and foresighted.  Its collection, while late starting
and not so rich in early materials, is growing more rapidly and in a
more balanced way.  Compared with North American libraries growing
at the same rate, our 13,000 backlog looks good in view of the 200,000
volume backlog which is not uncommon elsewhere.  Nothing is so good
for the apparent colour of our grass as seeing the parched condition
of some other pastures.
J. McRee Elrod
>.    T '    '    '.      ' ■'           ' 11
We must thank George Piternick of the School of Librarianship for these
Further notes on Dr. William Harvey, quoted from John Aubrey's
Brief Lives:
"He was very communicative, and willing to instruct any that were modest
and respectful to him.  ... he bid me toe to the Fountain head, and
read Aristotle, Cicero, Avicenna, and did call the Neoteriques shitt-
breeches."
"He write a very bad hand, which (with use) I could pretty well read.
He understood Greek and Latin pretty well, but was no Critique, and he
wrote very bad Latin.  The Circuitis Sanguinis (Circulation of the
Blood) was, as I take it, donne into Latin by Sir George Ent."
"He was wont to say that man was but a great, mischievous Baboon."
"I remember he kept a pretty young wench to wayte on him, which I guesse
he made use of for warmeth-sake as King David did, and tooke care of
her in his Will, as also of his man servant."
"He was much and often troubled with the Gowte, and his way of cure
was thus; he would then sitt with his Legges bare, if it were a Frost,
on the leads of Cockaine -house, putt them into a payle of water, till
he was almost dead with cold, and betake himselfe to his Stove, and
so 'twas gone."
"I have heard him say, that after his Booke of the Circulation of the
Blood came-out, that he fell mightily in his Practize, and that 'twas
beleeved by the vulgar that he was crack-brained; and all the Physitians
were against his Opinion, and envyed him; many wrote against him.  With
much adoe at last, in about 20 or 30 yeares time, it was received in
all the Universities in the world; and, as Mr. Hobbes sayes in his book
De Corpore, he is the only man, perhaps, that ever 1 ived to see his
owne Doctrine established in his life-time." 12
It started with the gold rush. — It happened on August 17, 1896
when George Carmack and his Indian companions Skookum Jim and
Tagish Charlie unearthed gold nuggets on Bonanza Creek.  It took
a year for the news to reach the "outside world" but when it did
it started the greatest gold rush in history.
Today Whitehorse boasts a population of 10,000 and has been
cited by many eminent writers as the "swingingest town, in Canada"
But — according to the Whitehorse Star—"the same term has also
been applied to Dawson city 330 miles north and Edmonton for
gawd's sake,1000 miles south, so one can only conclude that it
depends on which bar the writers got holed up in during their
brief stay."1
Whitehorse's architecture might best be described as mid-century
matchbox, but what the heck it's symmetrical, neat and practical
to heat.
As I travelled around Whitehorse I became fascinated and curious
about the origin of the unusual names of the towns, lakes and
rivers of the Yukon.  A number of inquiries revealed that the
majority of the names were conceived by a man named Fredrick
Schwatka.  Unlike thousands of unimaginative people who merely
floated down the Yukon River in everything from rafts to oil
drums, Schwatka went one step further!  He named or renamed 13
every damn thing he saw, and with some of the silliest names."
(Whitehorse Star, p. 2 August 24, 1970)
Schwatka "goofed" on one name though Lake Labarge.  For some
unknown reason he decided to "permit" the lake to be known by
its Indian name "Klubtassi" instead of its other name.  It's a
good thing history ignored him on that one Can you imagine
Robert Service some twenty-eight years later, trying to rhyme
"and there on the marge of Lake Kluktassi I cremated Sam McGee"?
Forty-two miles south of
Whitehorse, situated on the
north shore of Lake Bennett,
is Carcross, a mountain
surrounded, quiet haven from
the bustling big city life.
There you've got to line up
the people with a stump to
find out if they're moving.
rmcgR.
Five miles out of Carcross
is a gorgeous little lake,
saw it). Despite the fact
since time immemorial, the
of a silent but active war
known as Emerald Lake (Schwatka never
that it has been known by this name
name has nevertheless been the cause
between Yukoners and officialdom.
Ottawa decided that its true name was "Blue Lake" and ordered
a sign to say just that.  Then they had to order another and
another and another because the sign kept mysteriously
disappearing.  The indignant natives felt that it was an insult
to the intelligence—anyone could see that the lake was green
no>; blue.  The message must have come across because the sign
nc'w reads Emerald Lake!
And then there's Annie Lake.  Habitually barring the entrance
of the road leading to this scenic spot is a sign bearing the
words:  ROAD CLOSED.  Maybe it is and maybe it isn't!  This
is what's known as the "my lake syndrome" in the Yukon.  Yukoners,
oft^-ffl feeling their privacy impinged upon by the tourists,
like to keep some of the choice lakes to themselves.  So they
are not above dragging a road closed sign across the entrance
to their favourite lake.  Those in the know will simply drive
around it.  For those less familiar with the terrain, this kind 14
of behavior could lead to disaster.  Sometimes the sign means
business, in which case, there's a good chance you'll fall through
a bridge.  "You gotta play it by ear."
For the sports minded, a couple
of miles further is the Annie
Lake Golf Club, situated in
a clearing in a park-like area.
It's known locally as the
"Golf and Gopher Club" for
obvious reasons.
Should your future plans
include a trip to Canada's
north, here are a few helpful hints to consider.  Don't
ever trust the weather, even
in the summer it's going
to get worse.  Always take a
parka or heavy jacket.  Always have a life jacket with you in
boats.  And don't plan on spending much time in the water...
the shock of the cold alone will kill you.)  If you're travelling to out of the way places, let the RCMP know.  P.S.  don't
forget your mosquito repel 1 ant.
Dee Norris
HOW COULD WE REFUSE?...  This  delightful letter was  received from
the  INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL Oil SOCIAL WELFARE.       Bombay.     India.
Dear Subscriber*
Vol.  XIII No.   4 will  soon,be  in the mail  bag -
destination:  YOU.     With most,   it will  see  the  day-light
in three months'   time.     Hopefully*    Have the Middle-
East  political  situation to  blame  for  it.     These days,
the planes are not safe  either J
Trust you  will  continue   in  our midst  for another
year and another.    And two anothers  entitle you to a
rebate  of U.S.   $  1.50.     I 5.00 for one year;' % 8.50
for two years.     Easy on the  pocket.     Ultimately.
So  say  so  for 1971   and onwardsk     We  expect your
response with baited breath.,.. u i :—_:——. —
15
INTRODUCING WITH PLEASURE  . . .
There is a new face atop the eighty five steps leading to the Library
School. It belongs to Mr. Roy Stokes, the new director of the UBC
School of Librarianship. Mr. Stokes' appointment began officially
July 1st. Accordingly, he and his wife and two teenaged daughters
arrived from Loughborough, England to take up residency in Vancouver.
According to Mr. Stokes, they are all fairly well settled now, although things have been a little easier for him, as he has visited
Vancouver before to speak to Library School students.
Mr. Stokes is a long-standing friend of Dr. Rothstein, who he met
at the University of Illinois, when he was teaching summer school
and Dr. Rothstein was working on his PhD.  Mr. Stokes is well acquainted
with the States, after teaching summer school for two summers at
Illinois, one at Syracruse, one at UCLA, two at Boston and one at
Pittsburgh.
Since 1939, he has been director of the Loughborough Library School
in Loughborough, England, a school which he started, and enlarged
from one faculty member to today's twenty-six (and 280 students).
While speaking with Mr. Stokes, one gets the very clear impression
that, although he is an administrator, he is first and most importantly
a teacher.  Good administration to him is simply a way to provide
good teaching, which, after all, is the objective of a university.
When asked about the differences between the UBC Library School and
the School at Loughborough, Mr. Stokes' answer was that there are
actually very few differences.  Students seem to worry about the
same things at the same time every year (this should reassure all
you future library school students!) and the knowledge which is
taught is basically the same.
However, one major difference does exist in that all library work
done on this continent is post-graduate work.  Mr. Stokes thinks
this is much better than a library program which begins immediately
following Sec. School and continues through University, for it
gives librarians a basic, general undergraduate education.  He
believes that librarians today need the curiosity and general awareness that a separate, general education can bring.
In the course of the conversation, Mr. Stokes expressed an interesting point of view concerning the mobility of librarians throughout 16
the world.  He thinks all librarians should be able to move easily
from one appointment to another in the U.S., Canada, England,
Australia, etc.  (basically the predominantly English-speaking
countries).  There are few cultural problems in adapting oneself to
these countries and the librarianship is basically the same around
the world; it makes sense that mobility should be easier than it is
and involve fewer administrative hang-ups.
Although Mr. Stokes arrived late in the summer, he has jumped right
in and is lecturing one or two times a week in all the classes.  He
began this schedule immediately, partly to get to know the students
and find out what is happening, and partly so that the students
would have the benefit of hearing different opinions in the same
class.  Mr. Stokes believes this is especially important in Librarian-
ship, where there are no clear-cut answers to most things.
Mr. Stokes' interests in library work range from childrens' work to
bibliography.  He thinks if one is interested in the best current
writing, some of the best work is being done for children, at least
in England.  He shares a common view that children's work is basic
to librarianship and education in general; if one starts off correctly, there should be few problems later.
Although he is interested in childrens' work, Mr. Stokes' major areas
of interest are in critical, historical and descriptive bibliography
and these are the classes he usually teaches.
It is clear that Mr. Stokes is an accomplished librarian and teacher.
He is also a very charming and honest human being, and it is obvious
that people in general and his students, in particular, mean a great
deal to him.
Many people who have talked with him agree that the Library School
is in good hands, and that he is a great addition to The Group on
the North Wing of the 8th floor.
Shelley F. Criddle
■ '-    ' : .        . .   . .. l""'"" i i ; —l.
ST WIBBY REPORTS.
17
FRIDAY 13th November proved to
be anything but unlucky for
Marilyn Dutton of Social Sciences
as that was the official date
of publication for her book
GUIDE TO REFERENCE MATERIALS
IN ECONOMY (Ref.Pub.No.32)
BINDERY tells us that their
Margaret Black who left on
September 1st is now in the
Simon Fraser bindery.
BIBLOS SALUTES
Civic-minded Dr. Bill Gibson,
Head and Professor of the Dept.
of History of Medicine (and
husband of Barbara of Cataloguing).  Dr. Gibson, with
TEAM backing, is doing what
they say can't be done - that
is, fighting City Hall.  This
might be one time when the experts were wrong and we wish
him success in his Mayoralty
campai gn.
WE HAVE quite a bit of news
from the Woodward Library this
month.
Anna Leith visited the prairies
to attend the Associate Committee
on Medical School Libraries of
the Association of Canadian
Medical Col 1eges.
Carol Freeman has returned from
a holiday in the east.  Although
she was in Montreal the weekend
of Laporte's death, she saw few
troops and no political excitement to report to our readers.
WHO WOULD believe that pottery
classes could
be dangerous?
Heather Lacel1e,
secretary-on-
crutches wi 1 1
vouch for the
fact.
FINALLY, holidaying in Mexicc
is our Biblos
col 1eague from
"over there"
Adrienne Clark.
RELAXING IN THE
Hawaiin sun is Les Karpinski of
the Humanities Division.  We hear
that the staff of Humanities is
about to celebrate~the publication
of vol. 2, which completes Maria
Horvath's "Doukhabor Bibliography",
with a dinner at the Goulash House.
WE UNDERSTAND from Circulation that
the old cage elevator in the Main
Library is no longer available as
a study area.  The after hours
table and chair has been removed
to be replaced by a "no loitering"
sign.
ERRATUM:  The last issue of Biblos,
Article "A Physician for all
Seasons" 2nd paragraph, last word:
for Play Bills read Plague Tracts.
DON'T FORGET December 10th the date
of the Library's Pre-Christmas
Party.  For the unbelievably low
price of $2, you can eat and drink
your fill and dance until you drop.
GET YOUR TICKET NOW, BEFORE YOU
FORGET, FROM THE FRONT OFFICE.  See
you there!!	 18
"THE BEST OF SPAIN AND PORTUGAL IN 15 DAYS!  is what the ad  said
in the Global Tourist Magazine and here we were, my husband Gerry
and myself, at London's Gatwick airport all eager to test the
truth of the statement.
The Airport teamed with many strangers and many strangers and ourselves boarded the Caledonian Jet where we committed our first
major faux pas of the tour when asked what we would like to drink
Rye and ginger ale - on a Scottish airline!  We had Scotch and
1 i ked i t.
We arrived in Barcelona, Spain at approximately 7:30 in the evening, temperature still in the 80's, and received our first shock
when we saw armed guards on the roof, a sight, I must add, which
one quickly gets used to.  At  the terminal the plane load of
strangers divided into two groups, those who were to continue to
the Costa Brava for two weeks of sunshine in the new Spain of
the highrise hotels, room with bath and white crowded sands, and
the others, the group of 38 including us, who climbed into the
nonrairconditioned bus, clutching coats that would be absolutely
useless for the next 15 days and uttering the first tentative
"hullos" to the emerging faces.  A very handsome young Spaniard
shepherded us aboard and then proceeded to roll call and identify
us whilst another happy looking fellow counted the luggage.  How
many times we were to see the luggage counted in the next two
weeks.  The 39 suitcases in the compartment under the bus never
changed, but how the pile in the small railed off section in the
back of the bus grew as the days went by.  That section was the
responsibility of the passengers though.
Everyone and everything aboard, the young Spaniard introduced
himself as Juan, our official courier, and the happy fellow was
identified as Icidro our driver.  With a "vamos" we were on our
way, from the Airport, through the flag bedecked streets of
Barcelona, crowded with traffic and people, to the Hotel Oriente
situated on one of the most famous thoroughfares in Europe, the
beautiful flowerdecked Ramblas where we were to spend our first
n i ght in Spai n.
At the Oriente the precedent for arrival was set and not too hard
to take.  Whilst we sat in the cool lounge sipping iced cuba
libres, price 12 pesetas or approximately 20 cents, Juan looked
':  1	 ■   "'  ■■■■■■ ; ;—
19
after all the bothersome details of checking in, rooms, unloading
of luggage and dinner arrangements.  Almost at the end of that
cool drink Gerry was handed our key and we were departing up the
open elevator shaft by cage to our room.  One refreshing shower
later our luggage was outside the door and a short time after
that we were outside our first four course Spanish dinner, (l
gained 8 pounds on the trip) and we were already trading first
names with several travelling companions.  Boomer from Australia,
Len & Elsie from Barbados, Mara from South Africa, Alec from
New Zealand - actually the meeting with Alec and his wife Gladys
was quite inevitable -we shared the same bathroom.  It could
have become quite chummy in fact, if one of us had forgotten to
push the bolt on the other door when using that accommodation.
However the night passed without incident.
We were awakened by the strange sounds of cocks crowing in the
middle of a city at some ungodly hour of the morning.  It was
worth getting up though for the pleasure of walking in the early
sun along the Ramblas on the wide centre promenade.  As it was
Sunday the stalls were mostly barred but nevertheless the masses
of flowers, small animals and multi-coloured birds that are
usually being sold, were clearly visible and the newsprint kiosks
were already busy.  The church bells pealed and the people in
their Sunday finery were on their way to Mass with the children.
The children of Spain are beautiful.  They are the centre of the
family group.  The whole group from Grandmother and Grandfather
to the tiniest babe in arms "walk" together to church or to the
park or just to sit on the boulevarde and watch the people go
by.  The family is the unit, one hopes it will never change.
Back at the hotel we put our luggage out in the hall as instructed
and went down to eat a leisurely breakfast.  Nine a.m. all luggage stowed, 38 passengers aboard, Juan and Icidro at the ready,
the order in chorus "vamos" and we were on our way.
First through the flag and picture draped streets where we learned
that the Generalissimo Franco and his cabinet were in the city
for a week.  Under traditional law this made Barcelona the official
capital of the country for the week that they were in residence
and cause for celebration - the Spanish never miss a chance for
fest ivity. 20
Incongruous note just outside of the city, a full size American
Frontier town complete with saloon, jail and wagons and we discovered that most of the "adult westerns" and many other filmed
epics are now being shot in Spain.  John Wayne, Yul Bryner,
Charlton Heston etc. are familiar figures around these parts.
We saw the Monastery of Montserrat up on the hill where the
people make pilgrimages to the Black Virgin and where the honey-
mooners make pilgrimages to "mecca".  We travelled through the
sun baked lands where the terraced olive tress hold the loose
earth together with their roots and where the hazel nut trees
shimmer silver in the sunlight and the curious, stunted pine
trees look like inverted wine glasses.
The heat on this first day was, to say the least, uncomfortable-
we were to get used to it as time progressed but now already the
veneer of gentility was beginning to droop.  To heck with the
varicose veins, the stockings came off.  The little lady from
South Africa, who was to become affectionately known as Mary
Poppins, did not seem such a funny sight after the third stop,
when she again unfurled her sun shade against the fierce sun,
indeed at this point we had been strongly advised by Juan to
buy one of the wide brimmed straw hats which are on sale everywhere.  I had acquired a large fan.  The sun is hot in Spain, or
as Icidro would say "mucho color".
We lunched at a very pleasant Inn at Lerida, a town on the Segre,
a potentially large river judging from the size of the bridge
but which at that time was just a small muddy trickle.  The
buildings already showed the influence of the Moors 700 year.'s
occupation of Spain.  It was startling to realise that the Moors
had been there that long and more incredulous that they had still
been considered interlopers, but then one gets the feeling that
in this country time is non-existant.  Day, night, first crop,
second crop, religion, festival, preparing for death, wine,
laughter, friends and family, these are the boundaries of existence - certainly not hours and minutes.
It was late Sunday afternoon when we arrived in Zaragoza the
ancient capital of the Kings of Aragon.  We checked into our
hotel and then went to visit the Cathedral and mingle with the
crowd on the plaza.  Standing in the cool, dim interior lit by
——^^