THE STRANGE CASE OF THE SLOW BOAT TO CHINA
In 1924 a band of courageous roustabouts made their way to the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley Park, and initiated a bold plan for their escape from poverty and servitude.
The group of working class scoundrels were all local and had marvelled as the former gracious park lands of the White House, the Manor House situated in the sumptuous rolling parkland of Wembley Park, had been transformed in to the monstrous stone and reinforced concrete edifice that now stood before and about them.
The local scenery had started its miraculous transformation during the 1850's when the London Metropolitan Railway had thrust is serpentine way directly through the Wembley Park Estate on its bold way from Baker Street in London, to Harrow On the Hill and onward to the bountiful countryside of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire beyond.
Indeed, as a precursor to the Exhibition now spread across the former open green fields, The Director and principle shareholder of the company responsible for constructing the railroad that dissected the parkland, had made a promise to construct a Tower greater than that constructed by Monsieur Gustaf Eiffel in gay Paris.
This Tower was indeed started but failed after the first stage due to the marshy sate of the ground under the great four legged structure, and a lack of funding for the project. The Tower being eventually abandoned and known throughout the area as "Watkins Folly" after the name of its proposer.
Returning to our protagonists, all were either in the service of one of the remaining great houses of Wembley Sudbury or Neasden, and were convinced that the only way to escape their tedious existence was to travel to the fabled eastern land of Cathay, otherwise known as China.
The group had had little or no schooling between them and although each could write their name, only David Thrump was able to read, mainly due to collecting and distributing the bibles at the local chapel, and picking out familiar phrases that he heard the vicar or rector preach to his then large flock.
The hapless group had heard from older farm hands that there was a wondrous Chinese Temple within the Exhibition grounds, forged in the fashion of a Hong Kong pagoda . Furthermore, this pagoda was on the banks of a azure lake that had wonderful Junks and other vessels floating and bobbing about its surface.
To the imagination of the man servants and farm hands assembled at the entrance to the British Exhibition, the thought of expatriating one of the fabulous boats and transferring the vessel to the seas for the journey to China was overwhelming.
A plan was soon put together and that evening they climbed over the perimeter fence and manhandled a large rowing boat, that also had additional foot pedals for assisted propulsion, and lifted it gently in to the adjacent wealstone Brook, that would eventually flow in to the the River Brent, and after many miles emerge in to the tidal Thames and then the awaiting sea beyond.
As the night turned to day out entrepid adveturers were passing the teeming London docks and then the Isle Of Dogs, and by night fall were in the North Sea. The only form of navigation was by the stars and an old copy of "Punch" that had a map of the world within its tattered covers.
Amazingly, although never confirmed, it has been reported throughout the the world, in such divers locations as Lisbon Portugal, Cape Town South Africa, Colombo Sri Lanka and Djakarta Sumatra, that a strange small vessel with naked pink fleshed sailors had made port at the various locations , and that after refilling with water and bread, they would slip back in to the dark seas heading on an eastern trajectory shouting that China cant be far by now !
Further more, tradition on Causeway Bay, Honk Kong, is that a small band of western sailors disembarked after a journey taking some 20 years and proceeded to make a living by waiting on the wealthy mandarins that held back their wealth from the colonial British and felt safe displaying their wealthy amongst the peasant like sunburnt "ghost eyed" "western devils" that had crawled ashore whispering China, China China are we there yet.
These stories have never been proven, but if you go to Hong Kong today , and loiter around the Causeway Bay area, you will often catch a glimpse of a "round eyed" tramps who stare back at your western countenance with a wistful sigh about their mouths, and a quite whistle emitting from their crooked mouths, to the tune of god save the King.....................
In 1924 a band of courageous roustabouts made their way to the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley Park, and initiated a bold plan for their escape from poverty and servitude.
The group of working class scoundrels were all local and had marvelled as the former gracious park lands of the White House, the Manor House situated in the sumptuous rolling parkland of Wembley Park, had been transformed in to the monstrous stone and reinforced concrete edifice that now stood before and about them.
The local scenery had started its miraculous transformation during the 1850's when the London Metropolitan Railway had thrust is serpentine way directly through the Wembley Park Estate on its bold way from Baker Street in London, to Harrow On the Hill and onward to the bountiful countryside of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire beyond.
Indeed, as a precursor to the Exhibition now spread across the former open green fields, The Director and principle shareholder of the company responsible for constructing the railroad that dissected the parkland, had made a promise to construct a Tower greater than that constructed by Monsieur Gustaf Eiffel in gay Paris.
This Tower was indeed started but failed after the first stage due to the marshy sate of the ground under the great four legged structure, and a lack of funding for the project. The Tower being eventually abandoned and known throughout the area as "Watkins Folly" after the name of its proposer.
Returning to our protagonists, all were either in the service of one of the remaining great houses of Wembley Sudbury or Neasden, and were convinced that the only way to escape their tedious existence was to travel to the fabled eastern land of Cathay, otherwise known as China.
The group had had little or no schooling between them and although each could write their name, only David Thrump was able to read, mainly due to collecting and distributing the bibles at the local chapel, and picking out familiar phrases that he heard the vicar or rector preach to his then large flock.
To the imagination of the man servants and farm hands assembled at the entrance to the British Exhibition, the thought of expatriating one of the fabulous boats and transferring the vessel to the seas for the journey to China was overwhelming.
A plan was soon put together and that evening they climbed over the perimeter fence and manhandled a large rowing boat, that also had additional foot pedals for assisted propulsion, and lifted it gently in to the adjacent wealstone Brook, that would eventually flow in to the the River Brent, and after many miles emerge in to the tidal Thames and then the awaiting sea beyond.
As the night turned to day out entrepid adveturers were passing the teeming London docks and then the Isle Of Dogs, and by night fall were in the North Sea. The only form of navigation was by the stars and an old copy of "Punch" that had a map of the world within its tattered covers.
Further more, tradition on Causeway Bay, Honk Kong, is that a small band of western sailors disembarked after a journey taking some 20 years and proceeded to make a living by waiting on the wealthy mandarins that held back their wealth from the colonial British and felt safe displaying their wealthy amongst the peasant like sunburnt "ghost eyed" "western devils" that had crawled ashore whispering China, China China are we there yet.
These stories have never been proven, but if you go to Hong Kong today , and loiter around the Causeway Bay area, you will often catch a glimpse of a "round eyed" tramps who stare back at your western countenance with a wistful sigh about their mouths, and a quite whistle emitting from their crooked mouths, to the tune of god save the King.....................
No comments:
Post a Comment