LONDON, HEART OF THE EMPIRE

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 37, 6 November 1937, Page 7

LONDON, HEART OF THE EMPIRE

Remarkable Growth in Recent Years. TALK T0 R0TARIANS . j _ "London kas made tke mosfc remarkable growtk of anv city. m tke world, As a Londone'r-born I still f eel tkere is 'no otlier .pla'ce on tke eai'tk like Uondon, and really I would not regret if I was 'condeniued' to live tkere for tke remainder of my life," said Canon C. Mortimer-Jones in a talk - to fellowmembers of tke Hastings Eotary Club ■yesterdav, on kis - recent visit to London and tke Old Country. It is 18 years since Mr MortimerJones lasfc visited kis kome land and tkough ke anticipated tkat. tkere wonld be remarkable changes, ke was- amazed at - tke aetual -extent tkat. development aud growtk' kad tak.en place. Tkere kad .been enormous rebuilding and ke was particularly impressgd 'Witk tke .manner in whicli tke tremendous problems tkat confronfc .tke administrators kad beeii "met. Traffic, kousing' and lyater, for ex* aiqple, presented problems tkat Were aimost mconceivable but tke measuro of coiitrdl and tke efficiency attained was excelleut. "For instanee, tkey dOn't kave to ask tke people in London to tuni off their garden koses," ke Said Witk' a smile. Mr Mortimer-Jones attended tke Enipire ciiurch ' servico on Anzac Day in St. Paul'a Catkedral and found it wonderfully inspiring, even tkougk it vw not possible to kear all tkat was said. He attended many big functions, sucli as tke reception to tke delegates to the Imperial Conference, wkick he found most int'eresting, as it afforded kim an opportunity to meet many notable personalities. "It is not possible to describe adoquately tke Wofiderful kindness ano hospitality that was jusfc showered upon. overseas visitors, ' ' ke said. ' ' The hospitality of tke Government de'partments abd every possible association wife simply overwkelming and at New Zealand House, t^e Higk Ooinmissioner's office and staff could not do enough t'or us. 'Personally, I kad to make a request tkat a limit be placed upon tlieir 1 efforts fO entertain me and since returning to New Zealand,- 1 kavo written to tke Governmont expressing my keartteit tkanks for tke treatment accorded me." ' ' 'W

M'r Mortimer-Jones found motoring most enjoyable in tke Old Oountrv. Ac tually ke felt more nervous driving in Hastings tkan ke did in London, ke said, for tho control over tkere was so good, Tkere were no specd limits ou tke beantiful wide xoads except where there were trafiic ligkts and roundabouts. Motorists were forced to keep ciose to tke kerb except wken passing anotker vekicle. Tkere were occasions, such ag at. tke military tatoo at Alderskot, "wken the ' trafiic was so dense tkat it was tediouS driving, but tke trafiic moved steadily in a continuous stream. Muck fcra vellin'g was ddne in tke tube rallwiiys ^Utl bus services.*' . He. rtofed littlq >alffbr'§ifoe in tke tubes* butj.ffur-inl'-liwum "years absence, the>btffi.(gervices .kad- sprung up to a most remarkable degree: lt was uow possible to travel to 'practieally any part of England, Scotland" and Wales by buses, tke majority of wkick were beautifully upkolstered, providing accommodation for 40 or 50 people. . A keen" inferest in Itke B.B.O.j and particularly television, was skown by Mr Mortimer-Jones. • A televirion set cost about £80 and could be- used afiywhere witkin a radius df 20 to 25 miles of London.. The picture was- clear, being about 15 -inches square, and, the- effeet to - the audience was similar to that experienced in.a picture theatre. -The big problem of. television wap tke. enormous costj iuvolved, but ende.ayoura were being; made. to . '.'plug-i|i.". itke television cam'era to all tke important places of mterest in London. Mr Mortimer-Jones concludei km talk witk tke following quotation from a book, "Two Tkousand Years of London," writfen by kis brotker-in-law, Mr C. Wkitaker-Wilson: "London is yours ■ — yours and mine. She expects so little, yet gives so mnek. Her keart is generous. Ske kas boauty and dignity, peace and tranquilitv, to set' off against tke thunder of ker traffic, her dirt, ker grime. You may seek her in Springtime wken ker parks are ablaze witk daffodils; you may tread ker burning pavements at noon in kigh summer; you may watck tke last of ker leaves feeared in tke blast of an autumn storm; or you may sfeek ker in tke ligkt of a hundred tkousand lamps while ske hides ker proud kead in tke gloom of winter fog. She is London, wkickever way it is— England 's Old Sweetkeart, loved by ker sons for two tkousand years. 7 7