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The Seaforth News, 1960-04-07, Page 2Started Too Early— Channel Beat Him So i.zat„,r people nowadays save the boat or air rare between England and Fiance by crossing Under their own power that Channel swimming is no longer regarded as an outstanding feat of endurance. I suppose the reason is that the modern swimmer is better trained and therefore more ef- ficient than the old-timers.. Channel swimming is not exact. ly easy, but it has become quite a commonplace affair during the August and September "season.” Moreover, average times for the crossing have been brought down to roughly normal working hours. The swimmer who stays in the water for twenty-two hours or more is regarded as a slowcoach rather than the posses- sor of terrific stamina and will- power. So, far a- change, I suggest we salute one of the gallant failures of the Channel swim, T. W. Bur. gess, Strictly speaking, Burgess was anything but a Channel failure, for he did succeed in making the crossing, in Septem- ber, 1911. It was his sixteenth at- tempt. This story, however, is of one of his failures, or rather a week of failures, For this extraordin- ary powerful swimmer covered roughly 110 miles in two attempt- ed crossings in the space of three days in August, 1908, when he was already forty-two years old. Each time wheather conditions -were against him, yet each time he got close to the shore. All told he was in the water nearly forty-three hours. What is even more amazing far one who was so determined to swim the Channel, he scorn- ed the France to England route, which was already recognized as being the easier way, and deter- mined that if he was going to make the crossing, he would do • it from the English side, He had already made ten at • - tempts before our story opens. Yet he was in such a hurry to get to grips with his "old enemy" that he declared afterwards he had started off -half an hour too soon. He left the Kent coast at 9.30 a.m. and climbed out of the water on to his accompanying tug at 5.30 the next morning, when only half a mile from the French shore. For the twenty hours that he was in the water he was contending with a strong north-westerly wind. He swam or drifted over fifty miles. Also, he had been carried six miles off his course by a strong cross-euirent. He explained that had he started thirty minutes later he would have missed that cross -current and instead would have been carried along by a fol- lowing tide. "Had that happened I would have hit the French mast at Cap Gris Nez about midnight," he declared. That half-hour miscalculation was vital. for by the time Bur- gess had realized his mistake he was already in the grip of the current. Strong swimmer though he was he could not force his way through it, writes Jef- frey Wyndham in "Tit -Bits." At this distance of time, it seems that the sensible thing would have been to turn and swim beck towards England as soon as he found he was being ARS GRATIA ARTIS -- This messy lassy is Leslie Crane, a model who mingled with live pegs, dead fish, a motorcycle, 900 pounds of popcorn and gallons of chocolate syrup in New York, Surrealist Salvador Doli mixed the mess up in a bin and pressed a canvas over it during o Videotaping. The result> he called "Chaos and err i,n..y " carried off his course until he got clear of the eurreut. Then he should have waited for the fol- lowing tide. But Burgess's clogged spirit was not the type to consider turning back, even as a tactical manoeuvre He pressed on, using up his energy but making little or no progress, He reckoned that at the time he gave up he had strength left to continue the fight for an- other two hours, But his ad- visers told him that it would be six hours before the adverse current abated sufficiently for him to be able to close the gap between himself and land. Even Tom Burgess's Yorkshire stub- bornness saw no point, in con- tinuing a struggle that he now realized he could not win, But he was not one to accept defeat lying down. Six hours later when, had he possessed superhuman powers, he would have been treading ashore on the French coast, he had return- ed to England and was out in Dover Bay teaching a young lad to swim! Then, to prove that he was not really tired, he walked up the steep hill to Dover Castle! Three days later Burgess's mother and, sister, who were staying nearby, took a boat out in the Channel. The sea was any- thing but calm, and they had not been out long when waves began breaking over the bows of their craft. Wisely, they re- turned to harbour, and were amazed to hear newsboys call- ing out: "Burgess off on new Channel swim." It was true. Defying the wea- ther Burgess's indomitable spirit had driven him into the water again. He was heading for France. Once more, as we now know, he was doomed to failure — but what a gallant failure it was. This time he had macre more careful calculations as to the hour at which to start, and for a long time it seemed that he had overcome the troubles that had beset him on his previous at- tempts. He had also decided on a new plan for this attack on the Channel. As soon as he saw Calais lightship he was to swim straight for it, and then go in towards the. shore. He saw the lightship all right, and made for it, according to the plan. It was at this precise moment that the weather turned against him. The wind changed, the sea became even more choppy, and once again he was forced off his course. Twenty hours had passed since he last touched solid ground. Still he struggled grimly on, Again, we now know that his stubbornness was a major cause of his failure this time, He had set a course, and he was deter- mined to stick it out, but at what cost of strength and achievement we cannot know. He had been going for nearly twenty-three hours when there came another dramatic develop- ment. So strong was the wind and tide that not even his ac- companying tug could keep to its course. Though it had been sheltering him from the worst of the gale, the skipper now ran the terrible risk of being blown into him and running him down. Even Burgess agreed that it would be madness to continue in these circumstances. Land was still two miles off, and there was no telling how much longer the gale would last. Reluctantly, he agreed to concede victory to the Channel once more, Despite his long ordeal, he was able to strike a defiant gesture by climb- ing aboard the tug unaided, He reckoned he had covered sixty miles, and a total of 110 in the three days. In that time, he had made roughly seventy thousand arm and leg move- ments, and his only physical re- action was slight stiffness in the muscles of his left calf. Eventually he did achieve his ambition, He swam from Dover to Gris Net in September, 1911, when forty-five years of age, The successful crossing took him over twenty-two hours. World's Most Precious Button The struggling Pacific mother- of-pearl industry received velu- able aid recently—from a Paris fashion house. In one of his collections, fa- nnous designer Pierre Balmain introduced the South Seas shell into several of his creations, of which the critics wrote: "The colours, line, fabrics and acces- sories were inspired by the perle Deanne." One of his Suits was reported to have been decorated by the "most precious button in all the world," It was of gold -lip shell, set with one of Australia's first cultured pearls. "This was just the boost that we needed," said the spokesman for a leading Australian shell exporter. "Fashion houses all over the world are likely to fol- low M. Balmain's lead—and that will bring prosperity beck to our silvers," SHE CARES — Care of pets is part of the Camp Fire Girls' pro- gram. This year's slogan isc "She Cares — Do You?" ;TABLE TALKS 6aMA DATE PUDDING 1 c. pitted dates cut 1 e. boiling water C. sugar z c. brown sugar 1 egg 2 tbsps. butter 11.5 c. flour sifted ee tsp. baking powder ie tsp. salt 1 c. chopped walnuts 1 recipe brown sugar sauce Combine dates and water. Blend sugars, egg, butter. Sift dry ingredients and add to sugar mixture. Stir in nuts and cooled date mixture. Pour into oblong haking dish 11 by 7 by 13 inches. Top with following sauce; 11/2 c. brown sugar 1 tbsp. butter 11's c. boling water Combine brown sugar, butter and polling water. Bake pudding at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. Cut in squares, invert on plate. Serve warm with whipped cream. Serves nine. , FRUIT PUDDING 3 cups fruit, canned, fresh or frozen 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour s.1 tsp. salt 2 tbsps. baking powder 2 tbsps. sugar 16 cup butter 1 cup evaporated milk Drain any juice from fruit and save for sauce. Sift dry ingredi- dients. Cut in butter. Mix in milk. Knead on floured board i/z minute. Divide in half. Roll one piece % inch thick. Fit in bot- tom of buttered 9 by 5 inch pan. Spread with fruit. Roll remain- ing half to fif on top of fruit, Bake in a hot oven (400 degrees F) 50 to 00 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or sauce made from juice. PEACH SUPREME 1 pkg. strawberry -flavored gelatin 1 c. hot water 1/2 tsp. grated lemon rind 1/ tbsps. lemon juice 1 c. peach juice and water 1 c. sweetened sliced fresh peaches or 1 pkg. quick- frozen sliced peaches, thaw- ed and drained, or 1 0. drained, canned sliced peaches Dissolve gelatin in hot water. .Add lemon rind, lemon juice, and peach juice and water, Chill until slightly thickened. Fold in peaches. Pour into 11/2 pint -mold. Chill until firm. Unmold, Gar- riish with whipped cream and additional sliced peaches. Makes 4 or 5 servings, CHERRY COBBLER > e 5. sugar 2 tbsps. cornstarch 21/2 c. (No. 2 can ) red pie cherries is tsp. almond flavoring 1 c, pancake ready -mix I;z c. sugar ' 1 c. shortening 1 egg beaten 2 tbsps. milk Blend together the sugar and cornstarch. Mix with the cher- ries and almond flavoring, Put cherry mixture in six individual casseroles or custard cups. For the topping mix together pancake ready -mix and sugar. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add beaten egg and milk, mixing lightly only until mixture is dampened. (Add another table- spoon of milk if mixture seems too dry,) Roll out on lightly floured board to about le inch thickness. Cut with tiny biscuit cutter (or centre of doughnut cutter) into thirty rounds. Ar- range five of the rounds on cher- ries in each casserole, Bake in a hot oven (400 dgerees F.) 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm or cold with plain or whipped cream. e o COCONUT CREAM 1 pkg. orange -flavored gelatin 1 c. hot canned pineapple juice i c. milk s/a c. whipping cream s!f c. flaked coconut Dissolve gelatin in hot pine- apple juice. Chill until slight- ly thickened. Add milk and chill again until slightly thickened. Whip cream. Fold cream and coconut into gelatin mixture. Spoon into individual molds or large mold. Chill until firm. Un - mold. Garnish with canned pine- apple halves and fluffs of coco- nut. Makes 8 servings. 6 BAKED BANANAS 4 firm bananas 112 tbsps. melted butter salt Cut off tips of both ends of each banana. Remove a length- wise section of the peel, about one inch wide, extending from end to end. Brush exposed por- tion df the pulp with butter and sprinkle lightly with salt. Place in baking dish and bake in moderate oven for 20 minutes at 375 degrees or until peels are dark and bananas are tender and easily pierced with a fork, Serve hot as a vege- table. STATUE STAND-IN Goldie, a golden retriever, seems 10 be saying; "Anything you can do, I can do better," Out for a sFrall, Goldie came across this canine statue erected io solicit funds for animals an a London, England, sidewalk. Pay Television In Toronto Sugarplums danced through the heads of pay-TV advocates last week—danced to the cheer- ful Blink-elink of silver. The coins were pouring into slots in more than 1,000 homes In a mid. dle-class suburb of Toronto call- ed Etobicoke (pronounced ee- TO'H-bili-Iso). The coins summoned up such recently released movies as "The Mating Game" (Debbie Reyn- olds, Glenn Ford) and "The Al Capone Story" (Rod Steiger). There wasn't a commercial in sight. It was just like going to a local movie 'house, without having to park the car or un- earth a baby-sitter. What was more, each film cost just $1, and, of course, the whole family could watch. This was Telemeter, the fourth venture into fee -TV and the first that looked as though it might succeed. "The degree of reac- tion so far is beyond anything Human Alarm Clock Finally Retires When a still active North of England eighty -four-year-old an- nounced his retirement recently it was revealed that for sixty years—believed to be a record— he had earned fees as a "human alarm clock," He was a knocker - up. Carrying a long stick, to the top of which thin wires were at- tached, this man tapped in the early morning on the bedroom windows of people who had ask- ed him to wake them so that they could get to their factory jobs punctually. The knocker -up hiinself was always punctual. With the aid of an alarm clock, he was usu- ally up at 3.30 am. He began tapping at his "clients' " win- dows at about 4,30 a,m, And it's his proud boast that he never broke a window, however heavy a sleeper proved to he. Nor did he ever disturb neighbours who didn't want to rise early. What will this knocker -up do during his retirement? "Lie in bed every morning until 5 a.m. at least," he says with a grin, "On Sundays I may get up as late as seven!" ?ea -Shooter Brigade Knocking -up is a dying occu- pation in Britain nowadays, but there are still several hundred men and women who follow it. A Lancashire woman of eighty acted as knocker -up for work - people of the district for twenty- two years. Even on Sundays she woke as usual at 4 a.m. and, not having to go her rounds, went for a walk instead! Besides her knocking -up, she did all her own work, keeping her little house spotless. She recalled many hard winters when rain and snow fell so heavily that she sometimes had to return home two or three times to change her clothes and get a hot drink. Yet she was always cheerful, Years ago, a Limehouse, Lon- don, family went through the streets in the early morning with pea -shooters, firing peas which rattled on the window -panes to wake dock workers. ISSUE 14 — 1960 we anticipated," reported Tele.. meter president Lou Novins. Unpackaged only two and es half weeks ago in 1,000 guinea., pig homes, the system now hat some 2,000 panting subscriberd on its waiting list, Originally, the plan was to limit the trial to 13,000 "subscribers, but now there is talk of expanding Mtn 40,000 living rooms, The deinanctli was so great that employes or- iginally trained as coin box col,. lectors were being drafted to in- stall new units instead. How did it all worts? First, the operators of Telemeter in Etobicoke-Famous Players Cana- dian Corp., a movie chain with 370 houses—arranged to tap lines into some 93 miles of cable laid by Canadian Bell, The tap tines are now being strung into the homes of subscribers (who pay a $5 installation charge and then 25 cents to $1 for each show they watch) and hooked into TV sets. 'A box about the size of a table radio, affixed atop the TV set, contains a coin slot (the box gives future credits if viewers overpay) and, a dialing gadget. The dialer splits the local Channel 5—hitherto un- used in the area—into three channels. On two of these chan- nels—A and B—subscribers ran bring in movies which begin at 7 p.m. The third channel, C, Is a kind of co mbination huckster - entertainer; During the day, at no cost, it announces the attrac- tions for the evening, and inter- laces this' with music. Channel C also is being used for public- service programing—such things as Canadian Red Cross reports to the community and religious shows. To vary the movie fare, channels A and B also are beam- ing out weekend children's shows far 25 cents. Telemeter is already hatching plans to expand its programing with full-length operas, full- length ballets, and perhaps a current Broadway show. One in- triguing possibility: Pre -Broad- way plays which might be fi- nanced by viewers' coins during their tryouts. Sports projects also are a - cooking. Right now, Telemeter is showing some away -from - home games of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team. Base- ball, football, and basketball games may follow in season. One secret—until now: There is a chance the Ingemar Johans- son -Floyd Patterson heavyweight title fight in June will be shown On Etobicoke TV, Why Etobicoke? It was pick- ed, say the Telemeter people, because it is in an area where the competition of commercial TV is strong. Viewers in the suburb can receive five chan- nels—three from Buffalo, N.Y., and one each from Toronto and nearby Hamilton, Ont. If pay- TV works in Etobicoke, the theory is, it can work anywhere. It is too early to tell yet just how much has been racked up toward paying the bills for the $1.3 million installation. But, even as with commercial TV, the Etobicoke operation has al- ready faced occasional com- plaints. One came from a sub- scriber who squawked: "I'm get- ting my pay-TV picture for no- thing." It seems he had sub- scribed in order to control the viewing of his kids. But with the movies coming on free, he couldn't keep them away from the set. The magic box atop his set was promptly fixed. —From NEWSWEEK PAY -AS -YOU -SEE •- All eyes ,are on Toronto these cit;% .0 see how a recently begun experiment in pay television works out, Sponsored by a movie firm, "Telemeter" provides three chan- nels For its 2,000 subscribers, Two carry public service movies and news at no cost, The third shows movies currently playing at theatres — with no commercials or interruptlo,ts. Cost varies from 50 cents to $2, depending upon the event. The home viewer just deposits the money in the coin box attached to his set. The box then unscrambles the picture. `i�