Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
splattering the vicinity with oil. But despite this apparent
evidence of oil the Minbu field was far less productive than
Yenangyaung, and well No. 24 was the great white hope on
which everyone in the Yomah Oil Company pinned their dreams
- as they had done on the previous twenty-three. As many of the
wells were now penetrating to depths of up to three thousand
feet Holmes was frequently required to visit well No. 24 to
determine whether the drillers had found the oil bearing sands,
or whether they should continue drilling, but his main task as
Chief Geologist was to locate and evaluate the potential of new
fields. That required a great deal of travel from one place to
another on slow modes of transport such as the paddle steamer,
bullock carts or pony which made for long days in the field and
frequent frustrations.
While Arthur was away Maggie stayed behind in Yenan-
gyaung, enjoying the facilities o¬ered by the Yenangyaung Club,
while two-year-old Norman was largely cared for by the ser-
vants. O~ce hours when the men were out of the house were
6 to 10 a.m. and 2 to 4 p.m., but beyond organising the daily
meals a wife could not do any housework or shop in the bazaar
without losing the esteem of her servants. Wives would often
congregate in the morning at the Club for a game of bridge or
tennis, or a round of golf under the somewhat unusual condi-
tions - the fairway was bare gravel and the green was an oiled
patch of sand known as a 'brown'! Gardening however, was
allowed by the servants as long as the Memsahib did not actually
do any of the work herself, and thousands of gallons of water a
day, liberally poured over the borders, ensured a dramatic and
continued pageant of colour, the wives competing with each
other for the best display.
The only other social amenity was the Yenangyaung cinema,
located in Yenangyaung town, where silent films were shown to
the accompaniment of a piano. The expatriate communities
would often organise dinner parties that went on to the cinema,
taking with them their own liquid refreshments in an ice box,
 
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