. woe . we . . . ae * _ . . are ‘y ’ “a, f, 7 -
C5 - Wednesday, January 25, 1984 - North Shore News

By flying ( Pteokigh Airlines

THE DAILY newspapers and wire services sure so
have a way of dulling our pleasure in foreign in-
trigue, don’t they? In a recent news item from Paris
(Reuter) comes the news that the average Fren-
chman uses less than two bars of soap a year. Better
stili, it found that 50 per cent of Frenchmen never

use a toothbrush.

if that doesn’t spoil your
appetite for dallying under
the Arc de Triomphe, 31 per
cent of Frenchmen (and 10
per cent of Frenchwomen)
wear the same underwear for
several days before changing.

Now, can you explain to
me why we’ve got a better
chance of picking up antibio-
tic-resistant. veneral disease
and herpes right Here in
North America? Obviously,
germs prefer our North

American scrubbed-every-
day bodies. Or, is it possible
that the French are oversold
as lovers, saving the romance
for .Saturday night when,
hopefully, they take their
weekly bath, change their
clothes and half of them use a
toothbrush?

Had a letter from an elder-
ly aunt-by-marriage. When I
say ‘“‘elderly’’, there is no
way this lady could be under
85 and my guess is that she’s
giving 90 a good push.

**My travels have been few
and brief. A friend and I
booked a week in Cuba.
Flight: Halifax to Havana
and back — a bargain and
convenience we could not
resist. A bargain it was; a
convenience it was not.’’

Dear friends, be warned:

Do not try to travel to/from

Halifax (or any other fog- ©
prone airport) by Cubana ||
older-style =<
machines cannot land during |

Airlines. Their

fog conditions — which

prevailed both coming and 7

going. So, on to Montreal

went our planes, and we lost . §

precious hours and sunny
tempers.

Our Cuban accommoda-
tion was a ‘spanking new
hotel with a beautiful beach
nearby. Today’s Cuba is in-
teresting to visit to see how
different it is from other
Caribbean Islands I know.
Not lush and lively, but
guarded, no-nonsense
austerity and RED TAPE.
We were treated very well;
Canadians are persona grata.

The letter went on to list
her “‘few and brief’’ travels
for the yéar — amazing!
She’s' been all over the
Maritimes for a- whole year
and, from her home in
Halifax is working on part of
the history of ..Wolfville,
travelling back and forth to
do research. .

Cuba is an island that I'd
like to visit. Not, probably,
for the good. All the reports
I’ve had recite menus heavy
on canned peaches and mash-
ed potatoes. Not for the at-
mosphere — ‘‘drab’’ is a
word often used. Perhaps for

TIME

of Day

FREE

Call 24 hours
669-2555

TORONTO $249

the ‘‘persona grata’’ that my
Aunt mentions. My feeling
about most of the islands I’ve
visited is that ‘‘non grata’’ is
more like it.

One of the best pieces of
news I’ve heard in a long time
is that Air Canada is getting
rid of a fot of the plastics and
synthetics that make up to
carpeting, upholstery and
cabin fittings of their air-
craft. Years ago I cited ex-
perts in the field of aviation
safety who were appalled at
the smoke potential of the in-
terior of aircraft.

If you’ve ever burned a
piece of plastic in your
fireplace, you'll have some
idea of the toxic fumes
generated by man-made
fabrics. The sooner all

travel-wise

by Barbara McCreadie

airlines get rid of the ‘‘junk’’
and get back to natural fibres
the better we ali will be in
case of trouble.

Now, I wish the airlines
would pay some attention to
the seating of children
(special strap-in seats, please)
and the virtual elimination of
cabin baggage. While they’re
at it, P'd like to see a study

WAIKIKI $379

Air only
WAIKIKI $479
8 Days. 7 Nights. Air & Hotel

LAS VEGAS $309

5 Days, 4 Nights, Au & Hotel

RENO $199

5 Days, 4 Mints. Air & Hotel |

MAPLE LEAF
TRAVEL

736-3555

Rag. Agent 157-3

done on the anchoring of
seats. As you know, any
plane can be adapted for
several seating configura-
tions. The seats slide on run-
ners and can be completely
removed in next to no time to
convert the aircraft to cargo.
In a pile-up, your seat may

. Zive way, crunching your legs”

between the seat and the back
of the one ahead. Good luck,

if you ‘have to abandon ship. .

It’s bad enough to try to scut-
tle out, tripping over
everyone’s bags of garbage
that clutter the floor.

Some airlines are better
than others when it comes to
keeping the overhead bins
free of heavy objects. I flatly
refuse to allow anyone to put
a camera case, a makeup case
or a tripod in any bin over my
head. Once, in heavy tur-
bulence, a bin just in front of
me sprung open. The con-
tents rained down on the
passengers. Luckily, it was
soft stuff. Had it been a
briefcase, someone would
have ended the flight in the
hospital.

Watch yourself, particular-
ly, on the Hawaiian inter-
island airlines — they'll jam
anything short of 4 surfboard
up there. Also bad are the
European inter-city jets.
There are more businessmen
with briefcases than I’d care
to get crowned with. And,
from my seat, nearest the
emergency exit, on the aisle
or window (should it be an
escape hatch) | hope you can
get out as fast as 1 can!

UNWANTED HAIR
Quickly « Permanently
Enjoy
“ Jeathor- Touch”

Comfort with the New

Qik DMO

Call tor private appointment
No Obtigation!

BELLISIMA
138 E. 14th
980-8701

New from France!
A 6 minute perm. *23°

Modern styling by professional stylists with
European training for men and women.

A CUT ABOVE. 984-9400

114 E. 15th --

Mon-Fri. 9-6
N. Vancouver

Sat-Sun. 10-5

fabric sale
ENDS SAT.
JAN. 28

cega fabrics
MON.SAT. 10-6

922-7412
1441 Marine Dr. West Vancouver

Need more time to shop? Park Royal has it!
An extra 30 minutes for your convenience. |

EFFECTIVE JANUARY 30th,
PARK ROYAL WILL BE OPEN UNTIL 6:00 PM

MONDAYS, TUESDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS

y WN i ARK ROYAL The Centre of Attention