Diary George Loughlin Blore - May - October 1940 - Part 1

NAZARETH
PRELUDE NO 8 BACH

find out how to post money home 
& articles of value etc.

CHRISTIES    LONDON
CAR
WELLS           TOWN

From

Blare 28 Lorrington square W.C.I.
Museum 5060
Hear me, oh yea winds & waves.
Handel
When foodstuffs or parcels arrive
from Aust. give out to
Sybil & the Farrars.
record of Handels water music suite
for Sybil.
MUSIC FOR
SUB PARK
GUNMET

A. L. Milgrew         C/O NZ insurance 

22nd Batt.             ✓Auckland

- 2nd N.Z.

R.B. Gordon          64 Cordelia St 

22nd Batt              Stratford N.Z.

Dan Kenna

Prowse
(Letter No 1 gone to JEAN ^2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
(8 7 6 5 4 3 2 " " MUM. 1 10
(also put NO on letters as written)

1
TUES 

28th May 1940
Anchored at Capetown, then pulled
in to the wharf early in the 
morning. A more marvellous
& impressive view it would 
be hard to get, with the morning
sun just touching parts of
the "Table Mountain" & the
town nestling at the foot.
The top of the mountain is
hidden by clouds during the
morning, but lifts later on
& allows one a grand view
from the sea & also the town.
Jack & myself went ashore
together for the day, determined
to enjoy to the full the
time at our disposal.
about 7 hours. One of our first
thoughts was to buy postcards
tot send home, most of the

2
boys seemed to have the same
idea too, judging by the 
crowds round the newsagents
& stationery shops.
We managed to obtain a fair
quantity of cards, our next
stop being a cafe.
Funny how one gets a craving
for certain things
unobtainable to most of the
boys on board ship, ours was
a craving for ice cream
& jelly. & didn't we go for it
in a big way.
The memory of the ice cream
we consumed will go
down in the annals of history
time. it will be dreamt
about & ^its praises sung abroad
unto all nations. amen.
3
here endeth the episode of the
ice cream fiends.
Later after lunch we took
a ride in a trolley bus
round about the city.
Parliament house a very
interesting building.
calling to mind the 
rivalry between Smuts 

& Hertzog.
One could not help
comparing everything with 
what one sees at home.
I suppose it is only natural
though, for instance, the
streets are narrower &
more verandas jutting out
from about the first or second
floors. It was funny to see
the boys let loose on the

4

town, poor unsuspecting
town, what had it 
done to deserve such a fate,
wagons taken charge of
by soldiers, mules
being driven round,
traffic directed, &
the whole town dislocated,
someone told us afterwards
that Monday was a rather
quiet day in Capetown.
Lets hope for their sake
it remains so in the
future.
Cafes here are, as a rule,
much cleaner than
Melbournes, one hates to 
admit it, but these
Dutch people keep them
extra clean.
5
Altogether we visited
three during the morning
alone. Waldorfs, I forget 
the other two.
Anyway, it was always,
the same "Ice cream please"
There seems to be a large
colored population here.
They inhabit a portion
of the town entirely
separate from the whites
& do most, if not all, the
manual labor there is 
to be done.
It was laughable while
the boat was berthing
how the cl colored wharf
laborers fought for the pennies
& threepences the boys
threw overboard.

6
They certainly did fight
for them all right.
After lunch we paid
a visit to St Georges
cathedral. ie."The church of
the provinces" it is called.
The main part of it having
just been put up & the
old part built 100 years
ago is to be pulled down.
They are appealing for
£ 25,000 to complete this
a cathedral, it does
seem such a waste though
when so many are in 
need & missions have to
scrape along without that
needed help so necessary.
"The poor you have always
with you" is true
7

enough when help is withheld
like this.
I was wishing it was
Thursday as on that day
organ recitals are held
every week, just imagine
to be starved of music
for 3 weeks & then to have
it so near & yet, (by time,)
so far. How I look forward
to England (if we go
there) & her ancient
cathedrals, how I shall
seize every opportunity to
hear the organ again.
After visiting this cathedral
here, we decided to
 have a ride in one of
their trolley buses,
double-decker, going round

8
to a place called sea-view
it corresponds to our Toorak.
We seated ourselves up
on top with two N.Z.
chaps who were also
out to see as much as
possible while here.
very nice fellows two,
I hope to see them again
some time.
When we arrived at Sea-view
& were turning to come
back again a lady asked
us if we had had
lunch, if not to come along
with her, so she took
us in charge, piloted
 us to a hotel called 
Queens hotel, incidently
the best one in Capetown
9
a very posh place too.
The ladys name was
Braine, & she appeared to be
a very good & welcome
guest there, judging
by the way the attendants
hovered round her.
This is what followed.
Take these gentleman
to have a wash & brush of
& then into the dining room.
& what a dining room
the most spotless one
I think I have ever laid
eyes on & three attendants
to wait on us.
The head-waiter, who was
a Swiss, & two negro waiters
nothing was too much
trouble.

10
 It was "Would the gentlemen
like this or would they
prefer that all thru
the meal, the attention
was wonderful, also the
service almost like
Alladin & the lamp, & the
food appeared.

We had fish for the first
course, followed by fried
onions delicately done to
a turn, & steak, followed
 by the inevitable ice-cream
then coffee after lunch
out on the verandah
with the ladies, whom
Miss Braine in we were
introduced to.
Having souvenered a few
menu cards apiece
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which they were only
 too glad to let us
have & the lady having
ordered us each a 
box of cigarettes 20 a box
she then announced
that the car would
call for us at a quarter
to three. At the time
stated, a lovely buick
drove up & the driver
was given orders to take
us wherever we liked
to go & as far to be entirely 
at our disposal for
as long as we liked.
The lady even apologized
that the Rolls was 
not there to take us as
the chauffeur had had a

12
puncture earlier in the
morning & would we
mind taking the buick
instead. I know it
sounds balmy, one of
those things that
just doesn't happen
to ordinary people like
us, but every word
is true, even about the
rolls royce.
We were taken along a
round half way up
Table mountain & running
right along its length.
our first stop being
a massive memorial
to Cecil Rhodes with 
the following inscribed
beneath a statue of him.
13
"The immense & brooding 
spirit, still shall
quicken & control.
Living, he was the
land, & dead, his soul
shall be her soul."
Rhodes memory is
revered by all I am
told in South Africa.
His house, which we
passed on the way up
was given left by him
to the first Governor
of the Union, long before
the Union came into
being, what foresight 
Rhodes must have been
gifted with.

14
All the way along the
mountain side is
like the Dandenongs
only so much higher
& different foliage
fir trees predominate
though there are a 
number of gums, we
were told they grow
very well here too.
Oak trees grow very
poorly here, & so as
one would expect there
are few to be seen.
Rhodes gave his estate
here to the people of
S. Africa & it is now a
park with this memorial 
in the centre. It is
quite a sizeable place
15
too, there must be at least
20 square miles to it.
Then after leaving this 
wonderful place (incidently
there is a glorious view
obtained from the memorial)
we passed the University
quite a large place &
very dignified looking.
Then on past the zoo
with its various
inhabitants, along an 
almost perfect motor
road rou winding
in & out of the forests.
There wer are two
very interesting trees here.
One is the Camphor tree
& the other, the silver
leaf tree, beautiful to

16
look at & grown only in
So Capetown South Africa.
It will not grow 

anywhere else in the world
we were told.
The houses here fascinated
 me, typical dutch homes
with a style all 
their own. They look
neat & very inviting with
their thatch roofs
(most of them have thatch in
the hills) & climbing
plants along the walls.
We passed a w dutch
windmill, which had
been specially repaired
 & was in good working
 order just like the 
postcards or paintings 
17
one sees at home.
The places are so inviting
looking & not one
can imagine the weary
traveller, tired with
the days journey, resting
there as the evening
drew on, & of ^hot buttered 
scones & honey, & hot coffee.
There are quite a number
of vineyards here all
very trim & neat, also
a large portion of the 
mountain mostly near 
the foot of it, taken up
with orchards, it
made home seem nearer
to me & brought back
memories of Doncaster.