Magyar Hírek, 1988 (41. évfolyam, 1-22. szám)
1988-05-06 / 9. szám
jnce Service The English trifle and its Hungarian variant SIR PETER ABELES when a child is only retarded. And those, who are only handicapped obtain therapy in the world-famous Pető Institution.” “But what about the multiplyhandicapped children? Remembering the telephone calls of desperate mothers, I felt there was a gap here. Here, in Hungary things are overly institution-centred. If there is no suitable institution noone hears of the problem as if it did not exist. Life, however, refuses to adjust to the laws. Children, definitely handicapped, yet not fitting into the existing framework of government institutions, still get bom and someone must care for them.” “When I was thinking this over fate, more precisely a common friend of ours, stepped in and I met Erzsébet Tugonyi, who worked out a therapeutical course for such children. I do not intend to go into the professional details of the problem, but the essence of the idea is that the damaged nerve circuits may be corrected in the first years of life, or their work may be taken over by other circuits — provided that the treatment of the children begins as early as in their third week of life.” “Well, we had a long discussion with Erzsébet Tugonyi. At the end of it she said that if I did not want merely a child care centre, she would be ready to start. So we set up a kindergarden at Csillaghegy. This sounds rather simple, but believe me, things were not at all easy.” “We decided to set up this kindergarten, but who would finance it? No family, or no more than a very few could afford to pay 6-7,000 forints a month. I went to call on the Soros Foundation. We submitted the programme of the five-year therapy and we received a grant. 800,000 forint last year so the Foundation covers about 80 per cent of the costs. The parents pay three thousand forint a month for which the children receive therapy from 7.30 a. m. to 4.30 p. m. given by trained physiotherapists, speech therapists, and other specialists.” “The first child judged to have recovered will enter an ordinary kindergarten this year. His mental level is now approximate to his age. Naturally, there are some, who leave the kindergarden because they cannot be rehabilitated.” “The fact that we offer this service to about a dozen children is in itself worthwhile. But we can say that we did something useful for society only if we will be able to carry through for five years and the success of the therapy, of the principles worked out, will be backed by the practice of five years and the method will develop into one that can be used elsewhere too for the rehabilitation of these children.” ISTVÁN POKORNY ' Nicholas (Miklós) Kürti, the eminent physicist, C. B. E, Fellow of the Royal Society, Professor Emeritus of Oxford University, is also a great connoisseur of the culinary arts. He created a number of new dishes and suggested new culinary technologies. His Budapest lecture on "The physicist in the kitchen ” was a memorable success a few years ago. We are publishing here one of his recipes with a personal note by Professor Kürti. The Ed. The sherry trifle is one of the glories of the English Dinner Table. I give here the recipe of this pudding; Ingredients: Sponge cake (piskótatészta) 20 cmx20 cm or 22,5 cm diameter, made with 3 eggs; 300 ml dry sherry Custard made with 5 eggs, 100 g sugar. 1/2 1 milk, vanilla (pod or essence). Strawberry or raspberry jam about 300 g, blanched almonds about 75 g, macaroons or ratafias (made with almonds but NOT with coconuts) 75 g. 1/4 1 whipping cream, candided fruit, grated rind of a lemon. Pour sherry over the sponge cake, spread jam on it then sprinkle 50 g chopped almonds, crushed macaroons and grated lemon rind. Make a custard by bringing the milk, sugar and vanilla (pod, if possible) to the boil and then pour it over the whisked whole eggs. Place it over boiling water and stir continuously until it has reached the consistency of thick cream. Let it cool and then pour it over the cake. All this should be done 6-24 hours before serving. Then cover it with whipped cream and decorate with candied fruit and sliced almonds. In the Hungarian variant the sherry is replaced by a mixture of equal parts of apricot brandy (barack) and unsweetened or only slightly jam is spread over the cake and the mixed candied fruit is replaced by candied or preserved apricots. Omit grated lemon rind. The Hungarian Barack Trifle was first made in December 1984 when Professor J. Szentágothai visited England as the guest of the Royal Society of which he is a Foreign Member. At a luncheon given in our home in Oxford in honour of Professor and Mrs. Szentágothai I served both the English Trifle (recipe Isabella Beeton 1861) and the Hungarian Trifle (recipe Nicholas Kürti 1984). I propose that the Hungarian Barack Trifle should be known as ALICE TRIFLE in honour of Mrs Szentágothai. NICHOLAS KÜRTI Sir Peter Abeles’s is a household name where business is done in Australia: he controls the TNT transport company and has an interest in Ansett Airways. The latter also owns a chain of hotels. A few months ago the Sydney Morning Herald printed an illustrated storey on “Who are closest to the ear of Prime Minister Hawke?”. There are even some Hungarians in Australia who are astonished to hear that Sir Peter is Hungarian. “In fact I was nine years old when I learnt Hungarian. My father was an ironmonger in Vienna and he also had a shop in Budapest, at Váci út 88. I was born in Vienna and we moved to Hungary only in 1933.1 attended the Szemere utca Primary School in Budapest, then I studied for eight years at the Fasor Lutheran gimnázium. It was a wonderful, almost unbelievable school. I wanted to study medicine but the restricted admission for Jews made that impossible. It is also a part of the truth that I did not exactly shine at school. I liked school but I was not fond of studying. On the other hand I played tennis, I swam a lot and I also boxed. Running after girls also took up some of my time. I was thinking about going abroad to study, but my father asked me not to force the issue and rather start working. Thus I spent two years in the business learning many things, including how to weld from a tradesman named Mihály Tompa. Then came the 19th of March 1944, the German occupation of Hungary. I was drafted into the forced labour service and was taken to the Diósgyőr steel-works. I spent only a few weeks there. I took French leave, went back to Budapest and in August I went to Bucharest with my family — using forged documents. We returned to Budapest in April 1945 and got our business back. I left Hungary legally in November 1947, when I first went to Prague and then to Rome. In Rome I bought a truck and carried people from the Via Veneto to Tevere. That was my first independent enterprise. I adored Rome and thought I would stay there to the end of my life. I could not do that, however. They did not extend my permit to work. f applied for entry permits to two countries: the United States and Australia. I had an uncle in Australia, a wool merchant. I received approval from both countries almost simultaneously. Then I made up my mind and came out here. First I was selling pullovers for a knitting-shop, then in partnership with György Rochenstein, a friend of mine, we bought two used trucks. The idea was mine, while poor Gyuri—he died a few years ago—knew about the business. At least we thought he did. We set up business in December 1950 and we went broke in two years. The business was growing too fast, that was the trouble. Then we started again. Today TNT employs sixty thousand people and its annual turnover is $5,000 million. Ours is the biggest international company in this business. with branches in more than eighty countries. I was knighted in 1972 for service to the community. What does being a Hungarian mean to me? I lived in Hungary for thirteen years. My life did not start there, but I spent the most important years in Budapest. Those years can never be forgotten unless one wants to forget. And if one wants to do so one has a sick mind, and I have not. When I went back to Budapest for the first time I stayed at the Hotel Forum. It was a queer feeling. I felt as if I had never left. My friends in Budapest kept asking me: “Don’t you find it peculiar that everybody speaks Hungarian here?” Why should I? I am lucky and can live in Sydney surrounded by old friends. I have new friends also, Australians, but the old ones, the Hungarians, are also here. For instance, many people know here that the TNT building was designed by a Canadian architect, but I also know that his name is György Éber, an old class-mate of mine. János Gyárfás, who owns the Cosmopolitan restaurant in Sydney, is also and old friend and a classmate of mine. And here is Pal Riomfalvy, the president of the Australian Film Commission. We often meet, talk, tell jokes. It is just like at home. In other words I did not give up my old life. GYÖRGY HALÁSZ
