Europe 2008 Part 37

Wednesday

We had seats on a plane out of Granada Airport very early in the morning, so we got up in the dark and put on the TV in our room while we packed and dressed for the journey.

Obama was on the screen making his victory speech - in America it was election night. So on a significant date we were moving on.

We walked along the street to the bus stop and before long were picked up by the Airport Shuttle. At the airport, which seemed a little bigger than New Plymouth, but not much, we found a welcome cafeteria and enjoyed breakfast while we were waiting for take-off around daybreak.

The airline was the Spanish equivalent of Ryanair, and the 737 took us an hour's flight along the Mediterranean coast to Barcelona by about 9 o'clock. We were on our way to Brussels to meet more friends from Taranaki, and our next flight did not leave till evening so we had some hours to kill in Barcelona.

On the way we had a great view northwards of the hills and coastal plain, with the line of wind turbines along the seaward edge of the hills.

 

We stowed our backpacks in a left luggage locker, and caught the bus to the centre of Barcelona.

 

This city is about the size of Milan or Rome, or Sydney or Melbourne.

 

We passed up the opportunity to have a look at the Gaudi cathedral, in favour of a metro trip to the historic part of Barcelona and a visit to the Picasso Museum, which is in an old palace in a narrow old street.

 

We were pleased with our choice, because the exhibits were from the early period of Picasso's life: early paintings, but also lots of drawings, drafts, sketches and preliminary work for some of his paintings. He was obviously an excellent draftsman; his sketches were beautiful.

 

After a very interesting hour or two there and a pleasant stroll back to the local underground station, we rode back to the middle of town and explored the plaza you can see in these photos.

 

The building in the background is a museum of Catalonian culture and history.

 

There was a major conference on, so the area was decorated with welcoming bunting as you can see.

 

We climbed the steps in front of the museum, and the photo below is taken from the top of the steps in  front of the building.

 

A little way behind this building is the Olympic Park where the Barcelona Games were held.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Europe 2008 Part 36

Flamenco

 

After a restful evening we were picked up at midnight and taken on a tour of the old part of the city.

 

From the top of the hill, at the Plaza San Nicolas, we looked back towards the buildings of the Alhambra, brightly lit.

 

Then we went to an underground concert venue, a small cave in which we were treated to a Flamenco performance of music and dancing and a sip of local wine.

 

The music was exciting, but after a while the noise of the clapping and stamping became too loud for us to hear the guitars, which was a bit disappointing.

 

 

 

Then the van took us back to our hostel in the Gran Via for a late morning sleep-in!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Europe 2008 Part 35

The Royal Apartments

 

 A view of the approach walk to the buildings of the Generalife.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking back from the Generalife towards the city.

The main part of the Alhambra is to the left.

In the foreground the Royal Apartments themselves and down the hill the city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The outdoor entertainment area, east of the buildings towards the northern tip of the main Alhambra complex.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Zealand At War

So New Zealand is going to war again.

After surviving two world wars, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, you would think we would have learned some lessons in the twentieth century.

No matter what the propagandists may say, this is not a decision based on morality.

1. Armed conflict is not an option for a civilised nation in the twenty-first century.

"Just because I can" is no justification for any actions except those of a bully.

And the only argument for war is just that: "Just because I can", because the point of war is to prove that one side's "Just because I can" is more powerful than the other side's "Just because I can".

2. Being dragged into a war, no matter how reluctantly, is an admission of failure.

Ethical behaviour means persuading the bully to admit that his actions cause collateral damage, and getting him to modify his actions to prevent the collateral damage.

Persuasion, education, philosophy, negotiation, argument, discussion - all the civilised arts of social discourse have proved useless, if the defending nation joins the aggressor and enters the war.

3. Experienced trainers know that training is more than just passing on motor skills.

If our men were teaching Iraqis to operate planes or machine-guns, there might be some point, but this exercise is surely about hearts and minds, for which our guys need to know their students' backgrounds and mind-sets, rather than just their physical capabilities.

Some day, perhaps, we may be able to insist on our governments putting their policies to a test of ethical quality, just as we do every day for medical research.

Europe 2008 Part 34

Surrounding area

 

 One of the approach walks which takes the visitor from the entrance in the north-east down the ridge to the main palaces.

 

 From here you get a magnificent view of the Sierra Nevada; when we were there covered with snow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

The hotel and accommodation building.

 

This was in older centuries the focus of the daily lives of the ordinary people in this complex.

 

Marketing, meeting and other community activities went on here every day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Through the defensive wall to view the ruins of the old military section of the complex in the south-west corner. 

 

This area is known as Alcazaba. It was obviously large enough to hold facilities for several hundred defenders. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

There were cats everywhere and here they are being fed by some of the visitors. 

 

 

 

 

 

Europe 2008 Part 33

Administrative Centre

This part of the complex took about half an hour to visit.

 

Each group has to complete the tour and move on to other areas so as to leave room for the next group, because there are so many visitors wanting to see the beauties of these buildings.

This is one of the open-air courtyards in the palace. Excuse the ladder - on-going maintenance!!Notice the similarities with the entrance to the Taj Mahal.

 Inside the buildings is the most intricate decorative carved work, as this shot shows. We both commented that we would have loved to have seen the artists at work all those years ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 And outside again, another formal garden area for the officials and members of the court and family to walk in the cool of the trees while they plotted and planned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

And here is my favourite, the old historic part of the city, the Albaycin, seen through the windows of the palace from the offices of that complex.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Europe 2008 Part 32

The Alhambra in detail

 

 The Alhambra is a combination of several areas.

To start with there is the palace complex which was the administrative hub of the Moorish Kingdom, where the kings met with their advisers, and consulted foreign dignitaries and other important visitors.

It is most admired for its design and beautiful decoration, a sample of which you can see in today's photos.

 

Secondly, the area between the administrative palaces and the walls nearest to Granada City Centre was a defensive area, for the garrison which defended the complex. This area has been ruined and never rebuilt, so it is just left open and in the ruined state.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Thirdly, northeast of both of these first two areas is the circular Palace of Charles V (Emperor), which is later than all the other buildings, and built in European rather than Moorish style.

Around the outside of all this, and further to the northeast again, is a service area, where all the normal activities of a town were carried on.

 

 

North of all of these, across a small valley lies the Generalife, where the royal family retired to be private.

 

It lies east and west, rather than south-west to north-east, and is separated from the rest of the complex.

 

In its modern form it is more unified than some of the other sections.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Europe 2008 Part 31

The Alhambra

Here is a map of the central part of the city of Granada to enable you to get your bearings for the sites we are talking of in the last and the next few posts. The map is from our Guide-book, Granada and the Alhambra, published by Ediciones Miguel Sanchez; beautiful pictures and stunning detail!

 

 

You will see the Alhambra in the top right of the map, and we will come back to that in a minute.

 

The area to the west of the Alhambra and north of Calle de Elvira is the Albaycin. Parallel to the Calle de Elvira is the Gran Via de Colon, where our hostel was situated (about where the "de" is printed).

 

Number 27 is the Cathedral I wrote about yesterday, and just south of it is the Plaza Bib-Rambla, the old centre of the city. Just to the east is the Puerta Real (Royal Gate), the centre of the modern business district.

 

The railway station is in the bottom left-hand corner.

 

 

This is the view of the wall of the Alhambra from the valley about where No 9 is shown on the map.

 

The Alhambra is one of the most visited sites in the world. We spent five hours there on a stunningly gorgeous day.

 

It is a series of palaces and fortifications built mostly during the last centuries of Moorish rule in that part of Spain and carefully restored during the last 150 years by the Spanish Government.

 

 

The only comparable site from our experience is the Taj Mahal.

 

If I had to choose one to be retained and the other lost, I would keep the Alhambra rather than the Taj.

 

The Taj represents one building, extensive though it may be, designed and built at one time by one ruler. The Alhambra is a series built over a longer period by Moorish and European rulers.

 

The Taj shows us one magnificent style, the Alhambra combines several.

 

The Taj is purely a memorial, the Alhambra was a living, humming fortress, palace, and seat of everyday government.

And the Alhambra is mostly several centuries older than the Taj.

 

Bridge-building

 Another Bridge

 

 

 

This is today's sketch. It shows the preparations for a new bridge at the end of our street. This is a historic bridge site.

 

There are in fact three bridges visible.

 

From the 1870s until 1907, the railway line ran across this gap over the Te Henui River. See the painting on the right, taken from "Taranaki's First Railway" by Brian Scanlan (2007 Edition). You are looking in the opposite direction.

 

But back to my sketch! To the right of the digger bucket, in the murk under the modern bridge, you can just see the old abutments of the railway bridge.

 

Then there is the modern dual-carriageway road bridge, adapted to carry the new State Highway 3 north out of New Plymouth in the 1980s.

 

In front of the bridge are the two pylons being installed to carry the extra dual-carriageway section to bring City-bound traffic as part of the fourlaning of this part of the highway, due to be finished next year. In the top righthand corner you can just see the tips of two cranes working on the foundations for the abutments on the eastern bank, in cleared ground which was previously part of the Girls High School.

 

To the left, well out of the picture, is the old cemetery, and the bottom of Lemon Street. Our house is half a kilometre to the west.

 

Earlier in the week I sketched the "new" railway line (1907) where it crosses the river at the beach.

 

And another day I stopped on the way home from the beach and sketched this old house on the corner of Brown Street and Gill Street.

 

Brown Street is named for Charles Brown, who lived nearby for a few months in 1841, before dying and being buried behind the Cathedral on the slopes of Marsland Hill.

 

He was a friend and "nursemaid" of John Keats, and later moved to Plymouth, where he became a friend of Tom Woolcombe, Secretary of the Plymouth Institution and of the Plymouth Company, which organised the settlement here. Charles Brown's son, also Charles, was first Superintendent of the Provincial Council.

 

Gill Street is named for Tom Gill, the former mayor of Plymouth, who was a member of the Plymouth Company Board with Woolcombe.

 

On Tuesday morning last week I climbed Marsland Hill again after breakfast and did this view to the west.

 

 

We have resumed our meetings of the Sketching Group for U3A.

 

Last week I did this view from the balcony of the Espresso Café overlooking the Huatoki Plaza and the Huatoki Stream. In the background you can see the parking building of Centre City Shopping Centre.

 

The building to the right is the Women's Rest Room, which is so historic it can't be moved away to open up the area.

 

 

Rethinking the System

An encounter with Niki and Leila Harre

You will probably recognise the lady on the left: Leila Harre. You may not know her sister so well. She is Niki, an academic from Auckland University.

 

In 1965, when Audrey and I returned from India, we rented a bach in Mairangi Bay, and the people next door were a Mr and Mrs Harre.

 

The other morning I had a chat over morning tea with Niki, and she told me those folk were her grandparents, and she could just remember their Mairangi Bay house, as she was three or four at the time.

 

Leila had not even been born then.

 

They are on a pilgrimage around the North Island for the month of February; they are travelling without any money and relying on lifts and offers of hospitality, and in return conducting a series of workshops on the theme of "Rethink the System".

 

I had been invited to the meeting here by my old colleague Vivian Hutchinson.

 

But I had also been invited to take a role in the proceedings by our friend Claire Hall. Claire had been Leila's Press Secretary when she was first appointed a Minister, and had arranged a welcome to the Harre sisters with a full Powhiri before the workshop got under way. She asked me to be the Kaumatua of the supporting party as they were welcomed to the venue: Tu Tama Wahine, which is a community and social work NGO with a strong Maori base and close connections with the community of Parihaka.

 

Fortunately I did not have to make a speech - my Maori would not have been adequate, but Claire's son, Felix, who had been a baby when Claire worked for Leila, her husband, Craig Ashworth, and Claire herself, were among the speakers for the manuhiri, all being fluent Maori speakers (Felix is a Year 9 student at the local Whare Kura.

 

After morning tea the workshop began with an explanation of an interesting idea by Niki: she talked about infinite and finite games. Infinite games are like Beach Cricket: the objective is not to win the game, but to include as many people as possible and keep the game going as long as possible. Finite games are like Test Matches, the idea is to win at all costs, the numbers playing are limited to experts, and there are set times and rules.

 

Niki suggested that democracy is an infinite game, not a finite one.

 

The purpose of our workshop was to suggest practical ideas that would serve the ends and values of the infinite game, rather than be confined to the finite games that are played all the time.

 

One suggestion from our small group was to expand the school curriculum to include daily chunks of time spent on practical work experience during adolescence. Another was from the person who prepares the news from one district for the local giveaway newspaper: she only writes positive items. I suggested Universal Basic Income would be just such an idea.

 

I found the idea of the infinite game a real breath of fresh air, re-invigorating my ideas about political activity for this year.

 

In the evening our monthly Labour Party meeting was well-attended and upbeat! The infinite game continues.

 

Meantime, look up the Harre sisters' website for more information:http://www.rethinkthesystem.org/ 

 

 

A crucial meeting

A Citizen Presents a Petition to his Mayor

 

 

On Thursday last I attended a small ceremony in the foyer of the District Council Chamber in New Plymouth. This is the press photo of that occasion.

 

Hugh Johnson (left) has just presented the mayor, Andrew Judd (right), with a petition containing enough signatures to force a referendum; the Council will have to ask the citizens to vote on whether or not to establish a Maori Ward, so that Maori voters can elect their own councillor. General opinion is that the vote will go against the proposal.

 

In the centre is Rangi Rukuwai, whose whakapapa reaches back to the Parihaka leaders in 1881, when the village was attacked by pakeha militia, who were not resisted, but welcomed with songs and food.

 

Rangi had blessed the meeting and the Mayor presented Hugh with a kowhai seedling as a gift from the Maori delegation who had come to support him (the Mayor).  There were Pakeha in the support group as well, including me and several friends.

 

The idea was to demonstrate goodwill and acceptance to the citizens supporting the petition, just as the Parihaka people did in 1881.

 

The Council has tried from its side to establish a workable means of negotiating with Maori iwi for several years.  According to the law, Councils must do one of three things: either establish a Maori Advisory Committee, or appoint Maori representative to its own committees, or establish a Maori Ward to enable Maori to elect their own councillor.

 

The Council here has now tried all three methods. Presumably the community will need to devise some other way of ensuring Maori interests are safeguarded in accordance with the Treaty.

 

Some Maori feel that none of these alternatives gives them the status that they understand the Treaty requires, and many Pakeha, especially those who do not care about the Treaty, do not see a need for a special arrangement, although most would apparently be happy to see a Maori person elected to the Council in the normal way; we have had Howie Tamati as a councillor for many years

 

Andrew Judd has staked his political future on this proposal, and he admits he is likely to lose the next election because of his stance, which is a result of his eye-opening experience of reading about the Treaty and the history of Maori iwi in Taranaki since 1840. As he says: "What has anyone got to lose?"

 

How could anyone not stand to support him?

 

 

 

Europe 2008 Part 30

At last to Granada

Monday morning we had our first look at Granada by daylight. and here are some of the shots we took:

 

 

This is the cathedral, built by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, who were the royals who united the crowns of Spain, sent Columbus to find America, and conquered Granada from the Moorish rulers, the last part of Spain to be conquered.

 

They added a Chapel Royal to the cathedral, which contains the tombs of these two still.

 

Behind the cathedral is the central square of Granada, the old town centre. And all this was just a few steps from the hostel where we were staying.

 

Granada (population 500,000) is in a valley north of the Sierra Nevada mountains, which you can see in this photo topped by snow. ("Nevada" means "snowy").

 

South of the mountains is the Costa del Sol on the Mediterranean coast down to Gibraltar. 

   

In the opposite direction is the oldest part of Granada, the Albaycin, where the Moorish section of the population has traditionally lived for centuries.

 

 

You can see from this shot of one of the local schools how proud the people are of their style of architecture and of the beauty of the developed landscape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Europe 2008 Part 29

A Fascinating Journey

On Sunday 2 November we booked seats on the train from Valencia to Granada.

 

Standing at the platform at the main station in Valencia, the train looked like a modern European express, streamlined and sleek. We climbed into our carriage, the first on the train, with its label at the door telling us this was the car for Granada. Just before midday we pulled out.

 

You can follow our route on this map.

 

 

A few kilometres out of Valencia along the coastal plain beside the Mediterranean, the train reversed direction, so that we were now the last car. At Xativa, our first stop, we started to climb into the hills that lie behind the plain, up to La Encina, where the line of hills parallel with the coast was topped with dozens of wind turbines, much like the wind farm to the east of Palmerston North.

 

At 1 30 we stopped at our first major junction, Albacete. From here we went on across virtually flat plateau, the La Mancha region, expecting to see Don Quixote riding beside us at any minute! We stopped at a couple of smaller centres: Villarrobbledo and Socuellamos, before reaching the major junction of Alcazar de San Juan. By this time we were little more than 100k from Madrid - certainly much nearer the capital than we were to either Valencia or Granada.

 

At Alcazar de San Juan, the train again reversed direction, so that we were immediately behind the locomotive, and now heading not Northwest, as we had been, but due south, across the same type of plateau as before.

 

By 3 15 we had reached Manzanares, and not long after that Valdepenas, where the plateau came to an end and we started travelling through hilly country. From here on, towns were few and far between, people were scarce, and once it got dark there were few lights to be seen.

 

We stopped at Vilches, and then at a station which served both Linares and Baeza. From here on we were pulled by a diesel engine rather than electricity, and there was only our one car behind the loco.

 

We were stopping only to let other traffic pass us in the opposite direction now, at country stopping places like Cabra de Sante Cristo, and then, later still, Iznadoz. For the last section of this 7 hour journey, olive trees covered the hills - so picturesque.

 

At just on 7 pm, right at the scheduled time, we pulled in to the main station at Granada.

 

We had not booked accommodation at this famous city. Across the square in front of the station was a bar, so we went in and asked the few diners if anyone spoke English. A young British guy called Jules, obliged and in response to our enquiry pointed us to the main street (Gran Via), just around the corner, where he assured us we would find any amount of accommodation.

 

So we took our back packs half a kilometre along the street and sure enough there were hotels and hostels everywhere. We found a suitable one at a reasonable price and settled in. We had already felt a drop in temperature - not quite as balmy and warm as Valencia, but very exciting.

 

Then we set out to explore the town, finding a tapas bar in the Plaza Nueva (New Square).

 

 

Europe 2008 Part 28

Valencia

We were booked on a Ryanair flight from Rome to Valencia in the evening. Ryanair uses the second airport, some kilometres south of Rome. To get there we had to go to the end of the underground line and then catch a bus the last few kms to the airport.

 

Like all the flights we made on "cheapie" airlines, the plane, a 737, was full. It was a 2-hour flight, straight across the Mediterranean past Sardinia to Valencia.

 

The Valencia airport at that time was brand-new, having been upgraded for the America's Cup races. And it was served by a modern underground train unit, which took us to the edge of the city and then came above ground and turned into a tram! At the end of the tramline we caught a bus the few stops to our friends, who lived at a beach to the north of the city.

 

From their apartment you could see across the bay to where the America's Cup headquarters had been (see the marquee in this photo).

 

 

 Next morning after a breakfast at the neighbourhood café we caught the bus into the centre of the city.

 

The buildings were all modern in the centre, even futuristic, as you can see. Some of them were designed by Jorn Utzon, who also designed the Sydney Opera House.

 

We presume this is all because the old centre was badly damaged during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s and has been rebuilt since.

 

The city is full of trees, and the shopping displays were especially beautiful. Later we walked around to the modern shopping centre of Mercato de Colon, in the building in the photo on the right.

 

Valencia is roughly the size of Auckland in population, and struck us as a very pleasant place to live; certainly our friends Murray and Nicky like living there well enough. Murray is a New Plymouth boy and Nicky comes from the UK.

 

They had an apartment in a block right next to the beach; there are dozens built to the same style lining the shore, all with a magnificent view of the sea and the harbour area, and close access to sand, children's playgrounds, swimming, and other seaside sports.

 

The only negative experience we had was being pickpocketed near the central square in front of the railway station. My shoulder bag was open on my shoulder and without my feeling anything my old wallet was removed, and the two women involved were seen hopping into a taxi which then sped away. A passerby who had seen the incident told us about it so we examined the bag for loss.

 

Fortunately it was my older wallet that had gone (I did not keep the new one anywhere handy). All it contained was loyalty cards from every café in New Plymouth, so I think the pickpockets must have been a bit disappointed.

 

When we got to Paris we bought a new wallet in a leathergoods shop in L'Avenue de l'Opera.

 

 

  

 

 

 

Europe 2008 Part 27

 Spanish Steps Demo

 

 

Here is a shot of the crowd at the Spanish Steps that day. As you can see it was well supported.

 

The Government had pulled millions of euros from the education budget, and the teachers were not happy. But it was all good-natured; they had a wind band with trombones and clarinets playing to entertain the crowd. And many of the demonstrators had brightly coloured clothing.

 

The next morning we did the tourist bus trip around the city, and eventually got off and wandered around the Colosseum area.

 

Victor Emmanuel II Memorial

 

 

 

There was a long queue, and the wait was around 2 hours to get in. So we decided to stroll around the outside again for a while and soak up the atmosphere, rather than being confined to the queue.

 

Later we visited the riverbank and found a little café for lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We walked along the street by the river for a while, admiring especially the little church across the river.

 

We felt comfortable in Rome; our hostel was very handy for transport and getting around the city was easy by underground and bus.

 

Next time, we'll plan a longer stay!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Family History NSG Memoir Postscript Part 3

1926 to 1976

Gaze Bond Carden and Munn, Barristers and Solicitors

Jubilee Brochure

In 1970 the firm lost another of its partners - but this time in happier circumstances - for Mr Turner was honoured by an appointment to Stipendiary Magistrate, This served to precipitate Mr David Carten's being made a partner in the firm a few months later. From this time on, the firm reached its present peak of expansion, with up to 21 people being employed.

Now, earlier in 1976, the firm has continued the pattern of change and progress with the inclusion of Mr David Munn into the partnership. Mr Munn has worked with the firm since 1972, first as a law clerk and then after he was admitted.

Nowadays there are six solicitors in the firm and each has a secretary. The firm employs a legal executive to assist the solicitors, and now needs to employ fulltime an Office Junior, a Search and Registration Clerk, a Receptionist, and a separate Accounts Department, consisting of an Accountant and a Burroughs Machine Operator.

Gaze, Bond, Carden and Munn looks back on the last fifty years as a time when, originating from the efforts of one man, it has taken its place in the ranks of Auckland's legal firms and, while this growth was not spectacular nor is its history flamboyant, by its quiet and steady pace of growth, Gaze, Bond, Carden and Munn is assured of its standing in Auckland law and looks forward to serving its clients for the next fifty years.

Family History NSG Memoir Postscript Part 2

1926 to 1976

Gaze Bond Carden and Munn

Jubilee Brochure

Mr Bond left the firm in 1949 to work for his father's law firm, Tuck and Bond. Mr Gordon Jones was employed as a law clerk in his place, but after a year, Mr Jones went to India and Mr Bond decided to establish his independence from his father, and returned to Mr Gaze's firm, this time as a partner. The firm's name changed to Gaze and Bond.

The staff increased: Miss Carole Saul joined as office junior/receptionist; Miss Judy Gallagher, Miss Gwen Barbour, Miss Nan Cox and Miss Pat Waterson were later employed as typists.

In 1957, Mr Glen Silvester joined the firm to help even the balance between the sexes. He worked as a law clerk for four years, became a partner in 1961 and the firm changed to Gaze, Bond and Silvester.

By then, the staff numbers were steadily increasing and the work within the firm became more specialised. For example, the firm needed the services of a full-time accountant, and Mr H G Taylor was employed.

 

At last the firm outgrew its premises and in 1964 moved to its present address. You will be astonished to learn that at that time the lift on the Queen Street side of the building was reputed to be the most modern lift in the city - this came about only because the old lift had broken down for the two preceding years and eventually was replaced. (Do you recognise the pattern emerging, from the lift's performance of today?)

 

In the following year, Mr N S Gaze died after an illness. It was most unfortunate that he did not live to see the rapid expansion of later years, beginning with the employment as a law clerk of Mr Gaze's son, Mr Stuart Gaze, who in 1968 became a partner. The name of the firm, of course, stayed the same. During this period there were up to 16 people on the staff at any one time.

 

(Gordon Jones did not go to India immediately after leaving; he spent several years in theological study first. I was employed on a very part-time basis in 1951 to write up the ledger accounts each month. Noel Gaze died in 1966. - FG)