Taking an idle look at 'Orientations' (reference 1), my copy of which includes a very small sticker from Exeter Rare Books, of whom I have no present memory at all, I came across a clipping from a broadsheet newspaper, possibly 'The Times', of the author's obituary - the first sentence of which includes the phrase 'brilliant and unusual man' - which seemed to fit him well. From 1917-1926, Governor of Jerusalem; from 1926-1932, Governor of Cyprus - troublesome remnants of the Ottoman empire both. Beyond observing that he seems to come from another age, I leave him for the present to notice the obverse, probably not legible here even if you click to enlarge.
The left hand column is about rugby, on which I make two observations. First, serious rugby was played at Waterloo in those days. Did the Oval used to be called Waterloo? Can't think of any other likely candidate. But then, Bing comes to the rescue and Waterloo-on-sea turns out to be the former home of a rugby football club a little to the north of Liverpool, nothing to do with the railway station at all. Second, 27 Group RAF played at county level. Presumably reflecting an RAF that was much larger in numbers than it is now.
The right hand column is about tennis, from which I learn that back in the 1950's the Palace Hotel at Torquay hosted a serious tennis tournament, serious enough for their to be talk of seeds. And in the snap above, it certainly looks as if it might well have hosted tournaments. Sadly, I read that just over a year ago: 'The demolition of Torquay's iconic Palace Hotel is well under way to make way for a five-star luxury spa and hotel development as part of the Fragrance Group's massive £140 million investment programme in Torbay'. I don't suppose running a tennis tournament is on Fragrance's to-do list.
I then turned up reference 2, from which I learn that the hotel, an RAF hospital during the second world war, did indeed host an important indoor tennis tournament, at the top of its game (as it were) in the 1960's. The site is now owned by the Singapore property and hotel company at reference 3, so a small part of balancing our deplorable balance of payments. Perhaps they can be persuaded to work a tennis-themed bar into the promised exclusive mix.
PS: along the way, someone saw fit to show me two identical advertisements - albeit quite small - for the package called Corel Draw. A package which was big at the end of the last century and may still be big. The company with a yellow glass headquarters in Carling Avenue, Ottawa, last noticed, in a similar context, at reference 4. The package which I once owned - a gift from a grateful salesman - but which I never used. Or at least, never used enough for me to remember now.
The colour of the building seems to depend on conditions, so perhaps I saw it yellow at sunset. Bing certainly offers a picture of a yellow building, not including the word 'Corel', a picture which suggests that some at least of the building is available to rent.
No idea yet what poked the advertisements into life.
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