An overview of my 1979 trip to Mauritius, courtesy of the wonderfully hospitable Biltoo family, can be found by clicking here or below:
Here is an extract from my “Remaining Journal”, which is in effect my diary entry for 12 August 1979.
Sunday 12th of August 1979
Stayed at Marraz’s last night, went to Garçon’s in morning for lunch and went on to the races with Shan (sports editor of Le Mauricien) who took us (Anil and I) into the press box. We didn’t do very well at the races, but anyway, we went back to Marraz’s for dinner and the night.
Shan Ip Ting Wah was still hanging around the Mauritius Turf Club as recently as 2016 (interview in French/Creole):
Am I getting confused or was it Shan who cooked our hare for us?:
One thing I do recall very clearly was a difference of opinion between Marraz and Garçon in the matter of introducing me and Anil to the “joys” of horse racing. Garçon was a real fan of the racing, as evidenced by much of his letter to me a couple of months later:
Marraz was not keen on racing…or at least not keen to initiate a couple of 16/17 year old lads into the scene. I recall Marraz being pleased when he learned that we had not done well that day and that he issued a stark warning about gambling.
In my case, the Marraz line of argument won. I had been a little uneasy about gambling on both of our visits to the racecourse in Mauritius and never really got the bug for it. But I can see it as a fun day out and we have several times organised days at the races for our staff – e.g. this one: