A LONDON LETTER

Evening Star, Issue 22451, 23 September 1936, Page 15

A LONDON LETTER

[By M. S. Pimm rat.] September 1. Mainly for Men. Feeling that I ought to do my duty by the strong, silent sex as well as by the more frivolous half, i descended on the huge radio exhibition, now being held for five days. What a sort of magic-carpet affair is this Olympia Hall, the biggest under cover in Great Britain, if not, indeed, in the whole world. Anyhow, to give you an idea of its size i may mention that the last time J. went it was the scene, and a very exciting one, of the international Horse Show, with international jumping and hurdling, police horse-back manoeuvres, cum-motor bikes, and so on and so forth. And now it harbours melodious sounds in every corner, for the radio is nothing without music. What first struck me was the fact that the audience was almost strictly male, I should think not more than 10 per cent, women. And if those that were there knew as much “ science ” as 1 did, they were well advised to go out to lea with friends. Dozens and dozens of schoolboys, animated in. discussions on valves, receivers, rectifiers, pentodes, sensitive moving coil speakers; the list is endless. 1 now look on the 12-year-old with marked respect. Then, too, where did all the canned ■ music disappear? At each stall, or almost (and there were a hundred or two) you heard a different tune or voice, and, lo! it interfered nothing with its neighbour. It was wonderful! Now, what I did find within my brain’s power, and more interesting, was television. We started to queue up about an hour before the first “performance,” and then at last came the thrilling moment of doors open. It really is marvellous to see a librarian open a folio Shakespeare, turn the pages, and chat about various points ol

the English palate rejects “ crawfish ” and loves lobster) were poured into my receptive ears, the while a Cornish fisherman offered mo a “ halfpint,” which 1 accepted since the price was as low as 3d. It may be that some of yon will, in your journey “ home,' come to Cornwall, celebrated in song and ballad, quite justly too, as these people are really delightful, full of fun and friendliness, quaint turns of speech, and good looks. The haunt I would suggest is “ The Sloop Inn at St. Ives (you remember the riddle, “As 1 was going to St. Ives,” etc.). It is one of the oldest ‘ pubs,” perhaps the oldest, and has an unbroken license of about 600 years. So it knew the excitement of the Spanish Armada, and it is said that a good deal of timber from Spanish ships is still to be found incorporated in the local cottages, the little stone buildings that have their slate roofs cemented after they have been fixed in the ordinary way. Aly friend-of-the-moment told me that in winter the storms are sometimes so terrific that half a roof may be carried off, and cement helps to lessen that risk. That evening will stand out apart from all others. Let me recall the scene. One or two strayed in and looked terribly out of place with their full evening dress (no doubt they had come from the fashionable hotel to say they had seen the inn), but the rest of us tucked ourselves wherever wo found 12in of room. Near me was a Leeds lassie, broad Yorkshire dialect, enjoying as only northern people do, every second of her holiday. These millhands save laboriously for the whole year to have one glorious fortnight. She had done all the trips, and these are not cheap, and every evening she same to The Sloop to enjoy a one-sided chat and a drink. The only fly in her honey was her hostess, apparently a landlady of strictly religious principles, who took her P.G.s’ candles at the stroke of 9.45, saying that anything later must be ungodly. By her was the quietest old lady of 70 odd years, who laughed more and more with each glass—no bottle—of stout that was put in front of her. Her mirth was noiseless, but none the less infectious, and again I was regaled with a little local gossip. “See that old dear? She’s splendid. Knows life, she does, after years in London. Now she’s with us again in her cottage, and comes for her bottle winter and summer. It’ll be a sad day when she’s not in her corner, but she can’t last for ever. Going are you? Not till you've emptied your glass, or you’ll have bad luok. Good-night, and come again.”

Personal Items. The new High Commissioner and Mrs W. J. Jordan are settling down to their strenuous, and we hope, pleasant life here. Mr Jordan lost no time in seeing his old mother—B6 years of age—and then went on to other relatives for brief visits. Mrs Jordan and Mrs Berondsen meanwhile went fiat-hunting and soon managed to get what they wanted in the West End. Mr and Sirs Jordan have taken theirs on a short lease as they will soon be off to Geneva, after which they expect to take- a house in London. It is pleasant to see what a good “ Press ” Mr Jordan received on his arrival here, and, indeed, one way and another recently, New Zealand has figured well in the public eye, partly due, no doubt, to Lovelock’s wonderful achievement at the Olympic Games in Germany. Mr R. M'Keen, M.P. for Wellington South, has done anything but waste the shining hours during his visit here. He has burrowed into traffic control matters, broadcasting affairs, especially the fine new and, in short, will return to his constituency primed with all sorts of ideas and suggestions. He and Mrs M‘Keen leave these shores in about a fortnight, after having travelled over a lot of Scotland and Ireland. Miss Ethel Audrey, of Wellington, has been appointed secretary and assistant to the New Zealand Commissioner at the Empire Exhibition in Johannesburg. Miss Honor Pry, head prefect of Marsden College, Wellington, has just arrived, fortified with a three years’ scholarship to study at the Chelsea Training College. Mr and Mrs J. W. Fair, of Tirnaru, are here on a six months’ visit. Mr Hector Bolitho, a New Zealander established here with a good literary reputation, has been appointed to write a short biography of the King, in the official souvenir programme of* the Coronation. Many of you will remember Miss Rata D’Auvergue, who did such successful work in the kindergarten schools in Dunedin. Her last letter tells me that she is settled happily as secretary to the Speech Institute in London. Miss Dorothy Dean, who ran a school for dancing in Dunedin, is successfully doing the same sort of work here. She is now in partnership in the Janelli School of Dancing. We are looking forward to renewing old tics with the Rev. Dr J. Dickie when he comes over here; he is on his ' way now. Dr Dickie is to be highly congratulated on the honour of being appointed to the Gunning Jubilee Memorial Lectureship in Theology. This means that he will, during his short visit here, deliver some half-dozen

lectures on the general course of modern English theology and the philosophy of religion during the last 40 years.

Mr Alfred Katz, son of the Rabbi of Wellington, expects on his arrival to visit his brother in Sweden, and then to go on to New York, where he will enrol as a student at Yale University.

Commander Clanchy and Mrs Clanchy (formerly Miss Virginia Cane of Christchurch and daughter of the late Mr T. W. Cane, of Canterbury College) leave next month for Moscow. Commander Clanchy has been appointed a Naval Attache. >

The Rev. Father F. K. Terry, diocesan inspector of. Roman Catholic Schools, is on his way here to go to Ireland, where he will take a two-year course under the Very Rev. Dr Corcoran, S.J., at the National University of Ireland, Dublin. Mr C. O. Hutton, a graduate of Otago University in geology, has been awarded an external seholarshipat Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He goes into residence next month.

Mr C. P. M'Keekan, B.Agric.Sc., assistant lecturer in dairy farming at Massey Agricultural .College, is spending 18 months in Edinburgh for study.

Dr P. C. Carman, formerly of the Southland Boys’ High School, has been appointed lectureriu applied chemistry at Cape Town University.

Mr Johannes Andersen left London a week or so ago to attend the P.E.N. Conference at Buenos Aires. London looks like having a record “ house ” next year, for the Coronation. Already 2,100 New Zealand folk have hooked to come via Panama in February, March, and April. Mr L. J. Wild, of the Feilding 'Agricultural College, and a member of the Senate of the University of New Zealand, has been asked by the president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York to accept a traveller’s grant to study agricultural and post-primary education in America and Great Brtiain.