More Odds and Ends
The way of life I knew as a kid in Cairo, Egypt, is now quite dead, though traces may still remain in parts of India. For instance, the Sporting Club, where our family were members, had the following facilities: three swimming pools; one good restaurant and two places where you could get snacks; about ten tennis courts, six squash courts, four or five playing fields (for soccer, cricket, hockey, and whatever); an eighteen-hole golf course, where world championships were sometimes held; a horse racing track with races, mostly on weekends; and kennels to keep members’ dogs out of mischief. There was even a playground for kids, a place for croquet, as well as rooms for cards. If I have missed anything, blame my memory. Annual membership for the whole family was ₤12 a year—a little less than $50 at the time. The Club was broken up many years ago. I think the racetrack and golf course have gone.
Cairo has always been very cosmopolitan, but during the Second World War, it was more so. Troops from all over the world were there—Australians, New Zealanders, Indians, South Africans, Rhodesians, Canadians, Americans, as well as nationals from many of the countries overrun by the Germans. It was a true melting pot. Cairo was never bombed during the war, though there were many siren warnings.
My father always tried to get me interested in his gold coin collection. He expounded learnedly on the Roman emperors—their intrigues, machinations, military victories, and often, their wicked ways. I would sit silently, bored. “Aren’t you interested in these things?” he would ask, and I wouldn’t answer. Then he would let me go. At the time, I collected stamps and enjoyed learning about countries—where they were, their capitals, about the people, their activities, what they produced (exports and imports), etc. I enjoyed the hunt for both the stamps and what they revealed. Stamps, I thought, were colorful and informative, and I had an obsession for them being well centered. Alas, the interest in stamps has plummeted and so have their values. Not so for coins, which, in many cases, have appreciated.
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