BRITAIN'S QUEUES A SEVEN-YEAR HABIT

Chronicle (Levin), 9 January 1947, Page 7

BRITAIN'S QUEUES A SEVEN--YEAR HABIT

THE HOUSEWIFE'S BUBBEH.

( Hiie.n'ml Lo N.Z.l'.A. From L. G. W ebberu

LONDUN, Jan. 7. Today is tlie seventh amuversary of tlie imposition of food ralioning, in Britain. It is an anniversary wliich is. uniilvely to be celebrated, or even re membered, by the Bfitisii liousewife, standing in iish, or nieat, or yegetabln queues in a temperature very litllo above' freezing point, or walking tlirough sludge or snow 011 just another of the innumerable missiohs rationing iinposes upon her. * Theoretieally food rationing eliniin-. ated queues at the family grocer shop, but, in praetice, it substituted a nuiltitude of suppiy missions, for -austerity, like eharity, begins at lionie. A cr}', very few grocer^ in Britain are in a position to liold a stock of points goods — extras like tinned nieats, jaius, iish, soups, coffee, niilk, and so on. They receive their suppl.ies from week to weelc, and usually 011 dilferent days of the week. The liousewife who is lucky enough to be in the shop when they are released gets theni — oue wlio urrives half an hour later Avill be met with the inevitable ' ' fcSorry, Aladam, " if sheus still on formal terms willi tlie grocer, or " Horry, dear," if it is .oue oi* those friendlv sliops where ihe ende.arment is used with comptete social imnarr.ialitv.

Close Surveillance. Tlie points aua ration system meam; that the zealous liousewife., Avho wanls lier share of wluitever .is available, uiust keep her grocer almosl. lilerally | under her eve. JShe musl call iu the mornings, perhaps again in Ihe nl'lor UQ011, and kee]> ou doing it. fslie may not havu to queue al the grucers, tml will certainlv ha\e lo lo so for lisli, j meab and vegetables, and auy intre- \ queiiL amusements aho may neek to en j joy. In tlie transient Engii:-h summer and spring the queue ia inelined to be a friendly place. All ita mcinbers fcel tlieni.ieh ea inipellt d by a ."ommun pur t pose and emluram-e, and Ihip linburn- ' tlie soi'iable sjiirit. Thriv is nothing1 aoeiable aboul the Lnqbsh fpu:ue 111 Ihe ; ulmost perinanent Lnglish r. inl ei'time. j Vestenlay uas Ihe (ohlcst ;.hiy Biitain j had experieneed for tlic p~mL tive yeai'--, ' aud today ihe snow, wh'di feii over U>r . greater part of the eounir; , is still jait . ma, or is bbing ehurned in'o a mad:! | sludge by the traffu' r' aly rMrru't s. , Hundreds oi' t!iou-.auds of i.enK-n and i children are stainling Iu t L 1. slulge"and j snow, waitiug fi.u' tlie dav's rations. .! Todav many of them will be dis- 1 aiJpomted because thne is another: strike by tlie uiarket deii.er.' men, but '• tlxat ia incidental. Ju th-e. v.oiking ^ elass iieighbourhooil— aud it ,3s a.s well lo remember that the-e g ica lly pie ,. domiuate — a very large uuinber oi* these ^ women and children still v. ear 110 stock- | ings, The reason is not alway , thn-' J tliev cainiot alford them, Ijnt that tlicc ■

eaunul get tlie 111. 1 Peram'bLtlaLois U.'.eiiil. ! At week-eiidi; mont p.icu.';. also rrm- j tain a surprising proportiou of children, 1 many between ihe aces of hve and 12 i yeai'rs. . Tlihy are ment, firnily clntching . mother's purse, with a noLe to the sliop- j keeper, and a large shopping luisket l>y parents vvlio cannot leave thq household j chofes. T1 is tp Ihe creilil of shop , keej/ers M(hat lnqsf tcliihlren are I'airly dealt Avilli ;'is il'.lhey wero in full pos- j kqssioji (o f bargaining pyivers. Inl'aulf; ! Sib pbratnbulat.Vjrs are auolher iue\ ilnble aecompauiiuent bf t lio (pieue. TJiey , accompany .tlie shb]ipiug hopsewii'e because they canuot be left al home. 1 Moreover, perauibulators in Britain ; carry a wide variety of conteuls bcside , babies. 'J'liev are tjie housewives'; auxiliarv transport. It would be unfair to the Bri'lish liusband to pretend that the full bunlen of queuing rests upon his wife. On j woi'king days he queues for Ihe luis, the 1 tram, the undergronnd train, hnich and J cigarettes, aiul, often at tlie week'uids, | he is to be seen with the family shop- j ping basket. Aftcr seven years, it is alleged, queuing has become a British habit, aud I that, if two or three bo galliereil lo- 1 gether, so long as they are in lilo. otliers 1 will inevitabl.y form uji behind lliemj 011 the general assumptiou that il in i belter to be in a queue tlian" out of it. j This, of course, is an exaggerat ion, for in a thic'kly populated couulry likel Britain, therc will alwavs be queues for 1 soniething. They are after all an indicatiou of the orderlv British sjiiril, whieh prefers to take things as they come, ratlier than clainour and slanipede ' for them. Nevertheless, no oue ])i i- 1 tends they really like (pieues. Those.1 who liave seen them wailing for Lau- j rence Olivier, or ihe latest: tilm, see only oue form of (pieue. They do not J see hundreds of thousands of patiem j women, who liave been standing in ; Hritain's suburban (pieues I'or seven j years, in all Ihe varief ies • of weather ; 1 Ii at Brit-ain can provide, and wlio, sincc Ihe batfle of anslerjfy rlill goes 011, liave no prospects of demoliilisa tion. They, better Ihan anyoue else, ('KU take to tlieniseK-es Ihe Mlllonian dietum, "They also serve who only stand and wait."