Olave's diary for March 1921 Index
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March 1921
Our grateful thanks to Rosemary Healy for the transcription.
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OB-P diary March 1921
Wednesday 2 March 1921
Get up at 6.0 & go off to "S.S. Angora” lying alongside quay near Government House. Mrs Bear, Mrs Arthur, Miss Warren & a few Guides & Scout people to see us off. Anchored all morning opposite the Botanic Gardens waiting for the tide. Very jolly & restful going down the Hugli covered with the very quaintest boats imaginable.
Thursday 3 March 1921
On board “Angora”
Hardly know ourselves having this quiet peaceful time. Very hot, but lovely.
Wrote letters & read “ The Soul of a People”.[1 ]I am sorry to have left India. It is so lovely, so interesting & the people are so delicious. I simply can’t get over their ridiculous clothes & ways of living.
1[by H. Fielding - about his experience of living and working in Burma while providing readers with insight into the thoughts of the Burmese people and their culture]
Friday 4 March 1921
At sea all day. Sighted light house & coast of Burma [Myanmar]
Very hot indeed. Wrote letters & slept, & as usual the hours slip by much too quickly.
Saturday 5 March 1921
Ship's steering gear went wrong a bit & delayed us in the night. Anchor a few miles down the river &
Arrive Rangoon, fetched up by launch at about 8.0. Met by Scout officials & go to stay with Sir Reginald & Lady Craddock at Government House. Breakfast there. Boiling hot & lazed in our shuttered & palatial bedrooms till tea at 3.
Drive round by Shwe Dagon Pagoda [2]
& Lakes. Very lovely & the people here are too – quaint & delightful, so different from India in colouring etc.
[2most sacred Buddist Pagoda in Burma believed to contain relics of previous Buddhas]
Scout rally & good displays.
Lighted lantern procession.
Dance at Government House.
Sunday 6 March 1921
Motor early through the Bazaar & round Shwe Dagon. Nobody is now allowed to go in with shoes on, as there is nasty feeling against the British being brought over from India.
Tea with Mrs E Anderson, retiring District Comm. & meet all the Rangoon guides. Very nice talk with them all.
Dinner party at Government House.
Monday 7 March 1921
8.30 Attend meeting of Local Association & talk on extension of guiding etc. Mrs Fyffe new Prov. Comm. etc. there & Miss Dora Robotham, Miss Chapman, Walden etc.
Meals here consist of
Chota hazri [tea, biscuits and fruit] 7.0
Breakfast 10.0
Tea 3.0
Dinner 8.0
Drive out to see huge Palace belonging to wealthy Chinese Tsin Song.
Horrible waste of wealth. Had funny tea there. Then Thunderstorm Came to spoil Guide Rally of 10 Companies. Had it half indoors & half out & went off as well as possible. Catch night train [continues on next page Tues 8 March] & dined & slept en route for Martaban.[now called Mottama, once a railway terminus and important port on the historic Maritime Silk Road]
Tuesday 8 March 1921
Met there by Scout and Guide and other officials and go in a launch to Moulmein.
[first capital of British Burma, now called Mawlamyine]
Guard of Honour of Scouts & Guides & presented with an address. R. replies suitably!
Drive round Moulmein town & along ridge by Pagodas with jolly view. Stay with the Commissioner Stevenson in nice pretty but boiling hot bungalow.
Scout Rally & displays. Burmese, Indians, Karens, etc. Small dinner party.
Wednesday 9 March 1921
Early start to see lovely elephants pulling & piling teak logs. Most interesting & jolly. 8.30 to American Mission Girls School & see guides give good displays. They gave me a little ivory “pungi”, [Burmese monk] & talked. Then to see more elephants working in a saw mill, lifting & placing whole trees I position for cutting etc. Dear, splendid clever creatures.
Boiled all afternoon, lying on our beds with little on!
5.0 . Seen off by Scouts & go across river in launch to our train waiting at Martaban.
Thursday 10 March 1921
Rocky & hot night.
Met on arrival at Rangoon by Scout Comm. Guinness. Have Chota Hazri & then have mock departure from jetty where Scouts were lined up. Later returned to land, went shopping, had breakfast with Guinness & then boarded the “S.S. Warwickshire ”.
Steamed down river & then anchored to wait for tide. Very hot & clammy. About 90 passengers on board.
Friday 11 March 1921
Mr & Mrs Eric Anderson (ex-comm for Rangoon) on board, & also Mr Wood, Scout Secretary. Mr Mrs & Miss Haslam, M.P. for Newport (Mon.)
Very good little Captain called Petersen. These ships captains are wonderful men & always interesting.
Saturday 12 March 1921
[Whole page left blank]
Sunday 13 March 1921
Simply boiling.
Monday 14 March 1921
Steam along all day in sight of Ceylon. Very pretty. Boiling hot.
Tuesday 15 March 1921
Arrive Colombo very early.
Fetched off the ship by A.D.C. De La Cour, & go to Government House for day, though Governor away.
Lunch there & sit & boil all afternoon.
Drive out to Mount Lavinia & see delicious boats sailing & people bathing. Contesse de Chabannes (who came out on Narkunda with us in Jan) here also.
R. seedy with head. The Andersons, Major[?] Touk[?] & his sister dinner[?] and afterwards we take to a train once more!
Wednesday 16 March 1921
Didn’t sleep very well but perfectly lovely views looking out early as we climb up amongst the miles & miles of tea gardens. Change at Nanoya into wee train & arrive Nuwara Elija [Highest town in Ceylon, favoured by English for its cooler climate] to stay with H.E. Sir William Manning.
Nice new very young but sensible wife. R. quite heady & fevery & seedy from the heat at Columbo & the change to the cold.
Walk across golf links & shop at Hotel.
Sir Hesketh Bell, Governor of Mauritius [continues on next page Thurs 17 March]
also staying here – such a nice clever man.
Thursday 17 March 1921
R. & I drove early to see lovely Hackdalla gardens. [Now Hakgala Botanical Gardens] Beautiful view & really it is a heavenly island to look at & live in. Much better kept & managed than India!
Visited Trout Farm & also tea factory on Scrubbs’ Estate run by an ex-Scout Patterson.
Call on Mrs Rbt Trefusis & she & her husband came to dinner.[possibly Violet Keppel, author, 1894-1972 married to Denys Robert Trefusis]
Friday 18 March 1921
Left early in car & ran down winding road to Nanu Oya station. Train from there to Kandy – glorious views all the way.
Met by Mr Kindersley (Government Agent) our host. Scout Rally & tea party & then drove up “Lady Haton's drive for lovely view. Robin better but still a bit fever-y. Col. Tommy Wright to dine.
Saturday 19 March 1921
Guide Rally in King’s Pavillion Gardens. Two nice little companies. Drive to Perudiniya[sic] Gardens. Quite lovely. Lunch at Kandy & then motor on to Columbo. Such a beautiful drive. Arrive to stay with Sir Graeme Thomson at Temple Trees. [Chief Secretary of Ceylon 1919-22]
Scout Rally on the Rose Course. Quite nice. Met Guide people there too.
Sunday 20 March 1921
Drive out to Mount Lavinia & sit & Robin sketches. Very restful if hot.
Speak at meeting in the Museum library.
We all dine with Mrs Southam Guide Island Commr & a good sort.
Lady Thomson (our hostess) very nice.
Monday 21 March 1921
Go shopping in motor & rickshaws.
[Pencil note:]
Sail from Colombo in Narkunda
[Continues in ink:]
R. speaks at public meeting on Scouts. I do Guide Rally of 4 companies. Quite nice. Small guides' meeting in Temple Trees garden afterwards.
Tuesday 22 March 1921
Board Narkunda & sail at 4.0.
Ralegh Hancock on board, who I “knew” in 1910. Looks so different with a small beard. Strange to be on this nice old ship with all strangers after having known everybody on the voyage out.
Wednesday 23 March 1921
In the morning [written in pencil then continues in ink]
Talk over old times with Ralegh. Write letters & type report for Robin all afternoon.
So hot couldn’t get to sleep till 12.0
Thursday 24 March 1921
Type all day almost.
Steaming day in sight of coast of India & Goa.
Talk with Ralegh after tea about Cannes & our meeting there.
Friday 25 March 1921
Arrive Bombay. To Isle of Elephants to see wonderful caves & gods.
Mrs & Mr Gibson from Sydney sit at Captain Evans' table with us.
Talk with Mr MacArthur from Cambridge & Mr Murray Walker, who travelled out with us.
Saturday 26 March 1921
Talk with the Gaekwrar [3 ]of Baroda about Scouts & Guides & India.
[3ruling Hindu Prince]
[Continues in pencil]
Leave Bombay in late afternoon.
Sunday 27 March 1921
Talk with Sir Geoffrey Fielding, &
Mr & Mrs Cassie. She is G.G. Commr.
in Calcutta.
Monday 28 March 1921
[Page left blank]
Tuesday 29 March 1921
Talk with Mrs Ismay, former G.G.Commr. for Railway Guides on Bengal & Nagpur railway. Also chat with Mrs Stewart Black from Melbourne
& Mrs Ronaldson.
Robin gave lecture on Scouts & how it came to be started & made appeal for funds.
Wednesday 30 March 1921
[Pencil note:]Nice C.S. book called “Lessons in Truth “ by H. Emilie Cady
[Continues in ink]
Find Mrs Pinsent and Mrs Hammet are Scientists & have talks with them.
Thursday 31 March 1921
[Page left blank]
