d.ViolenceinSport.
Threepeoplearegivingtheiropinionsaboutboxing.
WhenIlookatapicturelikethisIfeel ... hmm ... Ifeel ... I'mnotreallysurehowIfeel.
Disgustedperhaps? Horrified?
No, no, Iwouldn'tsaythat.
Areyouexcited, perhaps?
Excited? No, no, notatall. What'stheretobeexcitedabout?
Well, alotofpeoplewhogotoboxingmatchesseemtobeexcited.
Yes, Iknow. ButIreallycan'tunderstandwhyanybodyshoulddothatsortofthingatall.
What? Gotoaboxingmatch? Orboxinone?
No, thefirst. I ... Ithink ... well... it'shardtounderstandwhypeopleshouldwanttoearntheirlivingbyfighting, butIthinkIcan. Imean, it'sthemoney, isn'tit? No, Imeantgoingtoathinglikethatandwatchingit. I ... Ijustcan'tunderstandit. That'sall.
Well, before ... Iusedtobedisgustedbytheideaofthissortofthing. Menfightingformoney. Blood. Allthatsortofthing.
Andnow?
Well, sinceI'vestartedgoingtoafewboxingmatcheswithmyboyfriend, IthinkIseesomething ... somethingelseinit.
What?
Well... perhapsyou'llbesurprisedwhenIsaythis ... butIthinkthere'sarealelementofskill. Yes. Skill.
Whatkindofskill?
Physicalskill. Thosemenarereally ... fit. Andifyouwatchtwogoodboxers ... boxerswhoknowwhatthey'redoing ... youcanseetheskill. Thewaythey ... they ... thewaytheywatcheachotherandwaitforanopening. Thatsortofthing. It'squiteexciting, really. Abitlike ... achessgame. Yes.
Tomeit'sjustdisgusting. Abrutal, disgustingspectacle. Itoughttobebanned. Itsickensme ... theverythoughtofitsickensme.
e.Films. Well, whatdidyouthinkofthefilm, Margaret?
Oh, Ienjoyeditactually. ButIdolikemusicalsandIthinkJulieAndrewsiswonderful.
Lovelyvoice. Oh, beautiful. Andalovelyface.
Oh, she'sveryveryattractive.
Ican'tthinkwhysomanypeoplecriticizeher.
Ohwell, alotofpeopledo, butIthinkit'sasnobthingwithalotofpeople.
I'vealwaysenjoyedherfilms. Verywellproduced, too.
Oh, excellent, yes.
ThoselovelyscenesintheAlps.
Yes, whereshewasdoingthatnumberwhereshewasdancingonthehills.
Mm, andthatsceneintheschool. Itbroughttearstomyeyes. Whataboutnextweekthen?
Yes, whatarewegoingtoseenextweek? Doyouknowwhat'son? Ihaven'tlookedatthelocalpapertoseewhat'sonnextweek.
Well, I'dbettergiveyouaringaboutit.
Allright. Ihopethere'sanothermusicalon.
Well, Ibelievethere'sGuysandDollson, ifIrememberwell.
Really? Aretheybringingthatbackagain?
Ibelieveso. Butit'sonattheOdeon, ontheothersideoftown, soitwouldinvolvequiteabitoftravelling.
Oh, yes, butI'dgoanywheretoseeFrankSinatra.
I'dforgottenhewasinit, soheis. Well, let'stryandseethatifwecan.
Ihaveseenitbefore, ofcourse, butthey'realwaysbringingitback.
Whatdoyousay, shallwemeetforteaandthentakeinamatinee?
Yes, that'sagoodidea. WhereshallImeetyou?
NowwhatabouttheOdeoncafe. Fouro'clock?
Fine. Whichday?
Tuesday?
No, Ican'tmakeitTuesday. HowaboutThursday?
Yes, Thursdayisallright. MyhusbandlikestogoofftohisclubonThursday.
SoThursday, fouro'clock, haveteaandthengoandseeGuysandDolls. Well, that'llbenicebecauseIdolikeFrankSinatra. SoI'llseeyouonThursday. Ihavetobeoffnow. Goodbye.
Bye.
Section 3 a.BoatTrip.
AngelaRogersisdescribingaboattripwhichshetookwithherhusbanddowntheNile.
Itwasthesummeroflastyearwhenwewent. ItwasaspecialpackageholidaywhichincludedthreedaysinCairo, andaweekcruisingdowntheNile. Itsoundedlovelyinthebrochure. Relaxing, luxurious, deliciousfood—alltheusualthings. Andtheboatlookedniceinthepicture. Infactwhenwegotthere, andontheboat, itwasexactlytheoppositeofluxurious. Itwaspositivelyuncomfortable.
Itwastoosmalltobecomfortable. Andtoohot. Theonlyair-conditioningwasfromthewind, andinside, inthecabins, itwastoohottosleep, andthediningroomwasstifling.
MyhusbandandIpaidthespecialrateforthebestcabin. I'mgladwedidn'thavetostayintheworstone. Thecabinswereverypoorlyequipped; therewasn'tevenamirror, orasocketforahairdrier, orevenapointfortheelectricrazor. Therewasashower, butthewaterpressurewasn'thighenoughtouseit. Thecabinwasbadlydesignedaswell. Therewasn'tenoughroomtomove. Thebedstookupthreequartersofthespace.
Thebrochurealsotalkedaboutthemouth-wateringFrenchcuisineavailableonboard, butyoucouldhardlycallitfood. Itwasboring, andpracticallyinedible. Therewasnothingtodo, really. Therewasatable-tennistable, butonebatwasbroken. Inthedaytimethedecksweresocrowded, therewasn'tevenenoughroomtosit. Wedidstopnowandthenforaswim, butwhowantstoswiminthatfilthyriver? Icertainlydidn't.