SLICE OF LIFE
From the South China Morning Post this week in 1953
There was a brisk trade in bride-buying according The Truth's Darwin correspondent, who reported Australian-born Chinese were paying A$200 for Hong Kong wives half their age.
They apparently preferred Hong Kong brides because they were 'more submissive' than Darwin girls, who were 'too fond of freedom'.
The exchange of prisoners of war following the Korean armistice continued to cause trouble. South Korean civilians threw rocks at passing truckloads of communist prisoners, injuring 160. This was in retaliation for the Reds throwing boots at them while being transported from Inchon to the POW transit camp at Yongbong Po.
A letter from S. Grove of the Hong Kong Telephone Company explained recent chaos in the phone service.
The blame was attributed to 3,000 disobedient subscribers failing to pick up their new phone directories and continuing to dial outdated numbers as a result.
The opening of the East and Quarry Bay exchanges had caused mayhem with 5,000 new numbers.
A large number of subscribers were using obsolete directories causing 'terrible grief to the operators', the letter read.
A driver was acquitted by Central Magistrate Thomas Tam, even though he admitted making an illegal U-turn at the junction of Pedder Street and Des Voeux Road. The magistrate agreed the 'No U-Turn' sign was visible only at the Queen's Road end of Pedder Street.
Mr Tam said that he, too, often wanted to make a U-turn in Pedder Street to grab a parking place on the other side, 'but since I can't, I go round by Chater Road, Wardley Street and Des Voeux Road but when I get back the space is usually gone'.
The prosecuting police officer said he was sure the motorist could be charged for a different offence if the magistrate wished. 'If you look at a car long enough, Your Worship, you can always find some heading under which to charge a driver.'
August 15th was Princess Anne's third birthday. Several days later a cute picture of Prince Charles and his sister, bedecked in their Coronation outfits, appeared in the Post. He wore a frill-trimmed cream silk suit with too-long sleeves and ankle-baring trousers, while his sister was resplendent in a cream ruffled above-the-knee frock, also ill-fitting.
It was high summer but Scotch Broth was being promoted as the ideal meal for youngsters. 'Children need extra nourishment all the year round, but especially in this humid summer when appetites become jaded. What then could be better and more enjoyable than a bowl of delicious Fray Bentos Scotch Broth, full of vitamins and nourishment.'
