He emphasised Britain's dependence on "Industry and Commerce", and listed the non-technical posts, which his firm offered, together with the qualities he looked for in a person applying for a job. The form of this talk was more or less repeated by each speaker as it applied to his own particular field of business. Mr. Dodds of Lloyd's Bank spoke about the many aspects of a career in banking, and Mr. Cooper of the Electricity Board, in a very informative discourse on "Electricity and Nuclear Energy", gave some shrewd advice to prospective personnel managers. Mr. Fisher of the National Coal Board addressed us on the subject of relations between "Education and Business", explaining the change in business methods and working conditions, which have taken place since the beginning of this century. Mr. Williams of Harrod's, talking about "The Retailing Trade", painted a very colourful picture of life in independent shops, multiple and department stores. The last address was given by Mr. Stobo, the director of an advertising agency, on "The World of Advertising". He pointed out the exacting nature of the advertiser's work, and some of the difficulties of entering his exclusive profession. To conclude what was for me a highly informative and worthwhile visit, we put questions about the talks we had had to a Brains Trust, consisting of the organisers of the conference, whose hard work and attention was much appreciated by those who attended. C.D.I.
CONTINENTAL TOUR, 1959 This year the Easter holiday School tour was to Brunate, a partly tourist, partly workaday, village eight minutes by funicular from Como. It proved a happy choice, for the village itself commands extensive views, and, especially by night, the view of Como, 1,650 feet below, was particularly impressive. From the hotel windows could be seen a panorama of the Alps, including the Monte Rosa massif, nearly 16,000 feet high and 50 miles away. The hotel itself was the most pretentious that our parties have stayed in, and we found it both friendly and efficient. The main fault of the stay at Brunate was that it was too short. This was partly fact, for we lost half-a-day at each end, but also partly an impression, for by flying to Basle from Southend we cut the best part of a complete day's travelling on each journey. A compensating advantage was that we were fresh enough to enjoy the rail journey from Basle to Como via Lucerne, the St. Gotthard Tunnel, and Lugano : it must be, scenically, one of the most beautiful railway journeys in Europe. Como itself is an attractive town, catering for the tourist but not dominated by him. It is excellent for window-shopping, the one amusement enjoyed equally by every member of a school party, but there are plenty of other amusements, such as boating, and places to 34
