Magyar Hírek, 1986 (39. évfolyam, 1-26. szám)

1986-07-17 / 14. szám

Records

There is an article in the Hungarian section of this issue by Gerd Bíró, Director of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce, on efforts to improve the external economic situation. This is an extremely timely subject. He mentions in his introduction that due to the openness of her economy Hungary had undertaken a pioneering role in the popularisation of up-to-date methods of East-West economic cooperation as early as in the sixties. In the sixties and seventies this was limited to direct cooperation between Hungarian and Western firms but since then it extended also to the activities of trading houses and to joint companies registered and operating in Hungary.

In the first half of the eighties the Hungarian economy succeeded in recording a five-year surplus of $ 2,200 million in the balance of convertible accounted payments. This helped maintain the international liquidity of the country. In 1985 and in the first months of the current year, however, Hungary failed to exploit the growing boom in the world economy for the expansion of exports.

Dr Gerd Bíró considers that the reason for adverse developments lies in the depressed world-market prices of agricultural products, in the fact that the international competitiveness of Hungarian industry is insufficient due to the scarcity of capital in Hungary—and the consequent high rates of interests. High energy prices are also responsible. The latter are a result of the scheme agreed to some years ago which was designed to counteract the cyclical fluctuation of prices within the CMEA. Prices are calculated on the average prices, of the past five years thus following world-market price fluctuations only gradually. This arrangement benefited Hungary, as a net importer of energy during the price explosions of the seventies. Currently it adversely effects the international competitiveness of the country.

The article describes measures introduced to improve the competitiveness of Hungarian industry such as tax preferences, loans granted for export development purposes and financial subsidies given to enterprises to make them more interested in increasing exports for convertible currency. The enterprises can get soft loans to finance feasible exportincreasing investment projects. On the basis of projects approved so far, enterprises are planning exports worth S US 3,800 million by the end of the eighties of which realized projects will hopefully provide goods worth $ 880 million.

The improvement of the country’s balance of payments is expected solely from export expansion, and no import restrictions are planned.

István Balázs visited the United Kingdom. where the Hungarian association of Manchester and its district recently celebrated the twentieth anniversary of its establishment. The story of the event reveals that the association exerts useful activity in many fields of social and cultural life. The attractiveness of the association is evident in the fact that, among others. Miss Lynns an active English member of the folk-dance group of the association and also a student of Hungarian folklore, was awarded the gold

medal of the World Federation of Hungarians during the celebrations.

An article of this issue is about Arthur Görgey, the military leader of the 1848/49 Revolution. The article was written to commemorate the seventieth anniversary of the death of the ‘recluse of Visegrád’—as he was called in his old age at the end of an almost a century long life. The debate concerning his role never ceased. Some regarded him as a military genius, the great strategist of the winter campaign, who extricated the hard-pressed army from the threat of encirclement. Leading them across the hills of Northern Hungary he reorganized his forces on the Great Plains for the successful spring campaign of 1849. Others, however, accused him of striving for supreme power, thus provoking ultimate defeat. The assessment of Görgey changed a number of times—with changes of political eras and ideas. Contemporary Hungarian historians soberly place the great commander in his deserved place, on the evidence of documents, and authoritative historic sources. The fact that they acknowledge the merits of Görgey throws no shadow on Kossuth—writes the author.

Historians held a symposium at Görgey’s home in Visegrád, and his memoirs originally published in 1911, five years before his death, will be reissued.

Dancers of the Hungarian association of Manchester

In the Hungarian section of a previous issue Magyar Hírek published a letter by one of our readers, in which she commended The Hungarian Scene for its English style and asked for the name of its translator. I gladly comply with her wish: the Hungarian text of the articles is translated by Sándor Eszenyi, his translations are then revised by Rudolf Fischer and finishing editorial touches are added by the undersigned:

ZOLTÁN HALÁSZ

The last tiny horseshoe-nail pierced the eggshell—and deafening applause flooded the studio! Lajos Kurts, the Szob blacksmith nailed fifty six tiny horseshoes on a single egg, first drilling about 500 holes no bigger than the point of a needle into the egg for the nails.

That was the very first record specially created for a series started by Hungarian Television in 1983.

The story really started more than a year earlier in the garden of my best friend. Péter Gárdos, the youg film director who made Uramisten (Oh, my Lord!) which won prizes at the Chicago and Montreal filmfestivals last year, and I were getting our breath back in grass after about of ping pong. We remembered that since we had been in short pants we had always competed in ping pong, or football, or in something else. It was not the game that counted, but victory. Coming out on top. And then came the divine spark: a television series was born for those who were ready to prove in front of the cameras that there was something that they were better at than anyone else in the country.

We hoped that many would answer our call and we were not disappointed. Since thet first show some 4-500 offers cBme in every month giving details of a great variety of thing, in which excellence is claimed. Some 150 records have already appeared on the small screen as part of the one-hour programmes.

All are and remain amateurs, for only reward they receive is the LEG (Most) medal.

Some of our record holders have not only established Hungarian records but have a good chance of making it into the Guinness' Book of Records. Mihály Fejér of Pápa has far exceeded the reigning German champion collector of fourleaf clovers. The previous record consisted of 850 pieces, while Mihály Fejér’s totals 2,846. Or there is István Jónás, a glassblower of the Párád Glass Works, who blew a giant glass ballon of 194 centimetre circumference right in front of the cameras. The biggest glass-balloon blown before according to Guinness’ Book of Records— was 70 cm in diameter, but that was blown by seven master glass-blowers in relay.

If I had not been present I would not have believed that Julianna Szabó, a cleaner, 34 years old and weighing 64 kilogrammes just over 10 stone, singlehandedly moved a railway truck of

galore

24,280 kilogrammes out of its stationary position on a perfectly level track and pushed it 100 meters.

Gábor Szegedi’s sensational and unique display has, after it appeared on our programme, been seen by tens of thousands in London and other in the British Isles. Ten horses are harnessed together the driver accoutred in the traditional horsherd manner, stands on the two rear horses, holds whip, in one hand and the reins in the other. The horses take off slowly, start to canter, and finally break into a gallop. Generally only five, or at the most six horses are harnessed in such demonstrations, Gábor Szegedi alone on Earth can drive ten.

The world record of writing anagrams was held in the last century by Gábor Sebestyén, a Hungarian, who devised 5,068 anagrams from the letters in the name of Béla Bartakovics, bishop of Eger. In one of our programmes Zoltán Litkó, presented his stupendous record, controlled by the Institute of Linguistry: he devised just 10,000 anagrams using the letters of Erzsébet Váradi, the maiden name of his wife.

Imre Kertész’s record created the greatest sensation so far. He ate fortynine hard-boiled eggs and their shells in the sixty-minutes of the show, without salt or any other additive indeed, he did not even drink any water.

László Papp, a retired gentleman, who improved his 20 years old record at the age of 63 was greatly admired. Wearing a diving suit and equipment, starting from the Tihany shore, he swam across Lake Balaton under water in 31 minutes and 32 seconds, keeping close to the bottom 9-10 meters below the surface.

I deliberately left some of my favourite records to the end:

— the longest-lasting marriage in Hungary is that between Mr and Mrs János Szabó. He is a retired head-master of a secondary school;

— the letter, that strayed the longest was returned to the sender, Antal Petiik, sewingmachine retailer, after 18 years, marked “addressee unknown";

— the largest hand-folded paper boat of the world was made by a team of 8 out of a special 8 m2 piece of paper. Its length is 7.72 meter;

— 19 normal-size adults crowded into a small car—a G.D.R. made Trabant— from which no equipment (seats, steering-wheel etc.) had been removed.

GYÖRGY RÓZSA

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