bout de papier, Vol. 4, No. 4 (1986) — Winter 1986 // Hiver 1986, p. 27
Recently the British made a change of ambassadors in Washington, moving as usual from one knight to another, to occupy the palatial residence on Massachusetts Avenue designed by the famous Sir Edwin Lutyens. The new man, Sir Antony Acland, is reported as seeking advice from his predecessor, Sir Oliver Wright, and being told: “Always make sure the shower curtain is inside the bath”. (The Manchester Guardian Weekly, September 7, 1986).
This reminds one of the older story of the young British diplomat being posted abroad and visiting Lord Vansittart, who had been made a peer for his distinguished service at the Foreign Office. The main advice given was; when you get an opportunity to visit the ‘gents’, seize it.
In preparing to take up my first ambassadorial post in Peru in 1958 I decided to consult a predecessor, Emile Vaillancourt, for any advice or counsel he might have to offer.
He had retired to the Haddon Hall on Sherbrooke St. in Montreal, a somewhat lonely man whose wife had died a few years earlier and whose children were elsewhere. On a bright summer morning he greeted me expansively in his crowded apartment. It was filled to overflowing with Peruvian artifacts, wall hangings, wood carvings and a vast collection of pots — the famous Incan huacos. Objects covered all surfaces including the dining room table where obviously no dinner parties were held.
I pressed for his fatherly advice several times, but little was forthcoming. When I finally made a break to go-clearly this was an occasion in his quiet life — he said: “Do not forget the Granja Azul.” In answer to my query he explained that it meant the Blue Barn or Farm House, a restaurant out of town known for its chicken dinners.
On arrival in Lima I soon learned that “Don Emilio” had been something of a colourful character. He was known to all the art dealers, pedlars and the notorious traffickers in Archaelogical relics (the huaqueros) who found him to be a ready market for articles old and new, true and false. (I understand the best are now in the hands of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts).
He was a well-known figure at the Granja Azul, a large casual fried-chicken house where we sometimes took the children on Sundays. Its main feature was the menu fixe and the prix fixe — all you could eat for a modest flat sum. There was much discussion as to how many chickens the big Don Emilio had eaten at one sitting … I understand the Granja Azul is still a thriving business.
I suggest, Mr. Editor, that you invite readers to submit other examples of advice given to ambassadors, or lesser diplomats on going aboard. You could perhaps even be persuaded to offer small prizes. My story, for instance, would seem to be worthy of a meal ticket to a Scott’s Chicken Villa or a Rotisserie St-Hubert.
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Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 4, No. 4 (1986) — Winter 1986 // Hiver 1986, p. 27. Read the rest of this issue →
