We Bask in Some Hours of Sunshine

Manawatu Times, Volume 62, Issue 24, 29 January 1937, Page 10

We Bask in Some Hours of Sunshine

WELCOMING A BELATED SUMMER. An astonishing change has come over the city now that “summer’* is icumen in and, revelling in a spell of warm sunshine the aged axe stepping it out with the best of them. No longer is it necessary to seek the sunny patches in the Square gardens but rather there has been a rush for the seats in th 9 shade. Even the flowers in tho garden beds have lifted up their heads as if to say “Who’s afraid of the big bad wind?’’ and are making a generous contribution to tho general brightness. There are gorgeous ice plants in the rockeries that might have been “born to blush unseen,’’ had the challenge not come to “look-up”; there are vivid begonias in a bed that is a sight to behold and the cannas in the Square approaching Broadway, seen in a leafy frame oi delicate greens, maice a wonderful foreground for the city’s smart new rest room. Even the new A.M.P. building has emerged from its spell to lend its colour to a dazzling summer scene and freshly painted signposts, electric alarms, street numbers, etc., all proclaim a new frame of mind. Women are early abroad walking briskly, with an intent look on their faces, determination written large, and perhaps awkward bundles under their arms, and we know they have found happy hunting grounds in the stores where sales are in full swing. Worried parents who have been hard put to it to know what to do with their children for ever under their feet, rejoice in being able to push them out-of-doors, pack baskets and carry them off to the Esplanade, or leave them absorbed in the antics of the ducks in the lakelets in the Square while they themselves play the bargain-hunting game undisturbed. And yesterday, too, “Maude,” the magpie, was let loose. Something glittering in tho yard next door attracted her. It was the first time she had seen anything shining for ages—the sun had remained hidden so long— and she squawked with delight. She cocked her head to one side. . . . “This is not summer, it is spring” she said, “The world is being born anew! ’ ’ And she became ducky with anticipation—at the thought of days of sun and of freedom. . . . And in the distance a brighter object attracted her eye She is gone on the wind into the freshening world. And below she sees old earth turning over, turning towards the sun. But what is the use of rhapsodising when there is always a mischievous imp at one’s elbow! “Yah!” says the office “Wet Blanket,” “the announcer says there’s a storm approaching ana there will be a deluge by the time that stuff comes out in print.” Still, we have had our perfect day, even if this is the end of it!!