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Soviet youth dig Tommy Sieele:

British rock ‘n’ roller a hit

MOSCOW — Russian young
People “dig” Tommy Steele,
titain’s answer to America’s
vis Presley,

Following a performance
here last week thousands of

Soviet youngsters cheered and
*Pplauded the young rock ’n’
Toll idol, and crowded around

to secure his autograph.

& ® %

Before leaving London to at-
'ehd the Moscow Film Festival,
°mmy Steele was interviewed
bythe London Daily Worker.
€ was very excited at the
Prospects of seeing Russia for
self and was bubbling over
th questions.

"Tl don’t fancy sight-seeing,”
© said, “I’d rather meet ordi-
ee people and find out what
Ney: think about things.

1 must admit I'd like to

meet -Khrushcheyv, though I
don’t suppose Tll have the
chance.

He wasn’t sure how the Rus-
sians would take to rock -’n’
roll, but he would like to sing
a few folk songs to them.

“Pye heard they’ve got very
good jazz over there,” he said,
“and I’d like to sit in with a
few jazz groups and maybe
play the jazz guitar. I'd also
like to see some more of that
Russian dancing. I’ve seen
some over here. I’ve-also seen
the Moscow State Circus. It’s

fantastic.”

Tommy had a lot of doubis
arising from things he had
heard and read about the So-
viet Union, but said: “I’m go-
ing with a completely open
mind to find out things for my-
self. Like I did in Africa.- TI

found out a lot about the race
question.”

He hoped most of all to be
able to talk to Soviet teenagers

and find out what they are in-
terested in and what their

| problems are.

“In fact,” he said, “you can
say that I’d like to help in any
way I can to foster good will
between young people of dif-
ferent countries.

“Anyway,” he concluded,
“Pm going to ask a lot of
questions and see as much as
I can in the few days I'll be
there.”

The Daily Worker reporter
summed up: “With his frank
and open manner, his unspoiled
approach and his bright, in-
quiring mind, my guess is the
boy from Bermondsey will
rock ’em around the clock in
Russia.”

N August 25, 1875, Cap-
tain Matthew Webb
swam from Dover, England to
Cape Gris Nez, France, about
19 miles, in 21 hours 45 min-
utes.

No one eise conquered the
English Channel for the next
86 years, until a doughty
Briton, Thomas Burgess, cov-
ered the same course in 22
hours 35 minutes, just miss-
ing Webb’s time.

There was another gap of
12 years, then suddenly, in
i923, swimming the ‘English
Channel became an_ interna-
tional craze which has con-
tinued to this day. :

First woman to succeed in
crossing the treacherous
stretch of water was Gertrude
Ederle (France to England) in

1926. Her time was 14 hours
31 minutes.

(‘ee

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SPORTLIGHT

(I tried to interview Miss
Ederle just before the first
Wrigley Marathon Swim at
Toronto later that year. Walk-
ed into her tent on the shore

and discovered Gertrude sans
bathing suit and clad only in

a coat of grease. No _ inter-
view.)
Although swimming the

English Channel is no longer

siderable attention.
land, everyone who can swim

local baths is tempted to in-
dulge. Few make it, but they

tried. :

“KA Channel swim is a mass
combined land, sea and air op-
eration with a touch of Dun-
kirk, a touch of the Armada
and a touch of the Mad Hat-
ters’ Tea Party about it,” wrilt-
es Bob Leeson of the London
Daily Worker, who covered
the 1958 race sponsored by
Billy Butlin.

can imagine, from steam
yachts and echo sounders to
bars of chocolate, grease, sea-
sick tablets and small bottles
of whiskey — and a number
of things you would not im-
agine as well.

ful arranging, some two weeks
of high-powered but not pans<
ic-stricken dashing about to
lay it on, some 20 hours ord-
ered confusion on the rolling
Channel waves to carry it out,
and several good nights sound
sleep to get over it.”

* * *

Man probably learned to
swim from watching animals
swim. Animals usually need
no lessons but go into a swim-
ming motion naturally when
they hit the water.

It has been said that very
young babies will also swim
by instinct if they are tossed
in the drink, but I can’t con-
firm this as the mothers I
know have been reluctant, for
some reason, to try the ex-<
periment.

At Vancouver beaches for
every swimmer in the water
you'll find a dozen sunbathers
on the beach. Some of them
are toasted a golden brown
and have never been in the
water in their lives. But they
look healthy.

Polluted beaches may have
something to do with the fact
that a majority of beach-go-
ers stay away from the briny.
Announcement that the water
is not contaminated failed to

reassure. many. people_ with
20-20 vision.

August 14, 1959—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 7.

a novelty, it still attracts con-’
In Eng--

several hundred lengths Of the °

can always boast that. they

“You need everything you

“You need months of care-