LONDON AND THE CONTINENT

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIII, 5 August 1929, Page 5

LONDON AND THE CONTINENT

NEW ZEALANDER’S VISIT DR. R. E. BEVAN-BROWN’S IMPRESSIONS The spaciousness arid the extraordinarily orderly and efficient planning of the streets of Berlin, particularly in the west end, considerably impressed Dr. R. E. Bevan-Brown during, his visit to the ■German capital in the course .of .iris sojourn abroad. Dr. Bevan-Browm'-is attached to .the Pathology Department of the Auckland Hospital, and has just returned to New Zealand after . leave of absence in England for professional reasons., _ ilcc-j In an interview with a Christchurch “Press”' reporter, Dr. Bevan-Brown said that Berlin was--showing signs of a great era of prosperity, although he had been told that in the east end there was a certain amount of poverty. In the architectural construction, he added, many of the public buildings, monuments, and statues seemed to be conceived in a flamboyant style, and gave the impression, of desiring to achieve an effect that was rather in keeping with the spirit of Prussia before the war. The Englishman was very popular in Berlin, and was treated with extreme politeness. All the shops showed English fashions. While in Berlin he met Professor Warburg, of, the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute.

In London he had been impressed with the manifest extravagance in. the West End. Luxuries of all kinds were strongly in evidence, although there were large numbers of beggars, matchsellers, and men looking for,work. In fact, he saw more evidence of poverty in London than in Berlin or Paris.

Dr. Bevan-Brown spent a good'deal of his time in England visiting various hospitals there, particularly the Middlesex Hospital, in the Courtauld Institute of Bio-Ghemistry, under- Professor Dodds. In Cambridge he saw the work of the School of Pathology, and at Leeds he met his former commanding officer in the war, Professor J. W. MacLeod, Professor of Bacteriology. He also met Professor A. J. Grant, who was in New Zealand a year or twb.,»go, and who is now at Leeds> "Unfortunately, I missed seeing Professor Hugh Stewart, who was away at the time," he added. After seeing the laboratories in England, Dr. Bevan-Brown states that h e is very pleased to note that New Zealand is not very far behind the Old Countrv.

"Apart from these professional activities," he continued, "I took the opportunity of seeing as much of England as I could, and the beauty of the English spring struck me more forcibly than ever. The English springtime seems to be unrivalled in the world) and although the severe frosts delayed its approach, they enhanced its effects. We had a wonderful period of frost and a great deal of skating. I saw also the exhibition of Dutch pictures at Burlington House. It was the great event of the year, ami had been assembled from all parts of Europe and America. Indeed, it. was the most complete collection of Dutch pictures that has ever been assembled." There were mixed feelings in England regarding the "talkies," Dr. BeyanBrown said. The movies, he thought, wer e very bad, while the theatres struck him as holding their, own. '"Young Woodley" was considered one of the great successes, although "Journey's End" was the play of the -year. The Russian and German pictures—more particularly the Russian—were far better than the American productions from an artistic point of view. A great deal, of building was going on in the Old Country, and enormous blocks of fiats had been built in Baker Street, Park lane, and the West End and other residential parts. "To say that the English countryside is ruined by hoardings, petrol stations, etc., is quite ridiculous," he said. "'The arterial roads are certainly marred, but in the by-roads the countryside is as charming'as ever." While in London, Dr .Bevan-Brown stayed with his brother, Dr. C. M. Bevan-Brown, who is practising there. In the course of a visit to Geneva he stayed with Mr J. B. Wilson, of the secretariat of the League of Nations, and originally of the staff of the Christchurch Boys' High School.