A NEW LONDON.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 4, Issue 127, 31 December 1915, Page 2 (Supplement)

A NEW LONDON.

CHANGE IN SOCIAL HABITS. The new lighting regulations ana the fast shortening days, have made* London more tliau ever a city of gloom. it? glow can no longer be seen in the sky at nignt, anu the traditional

"lights o London' have'passed into the obscurity ot the ante oellum period, -i . . y Customs, ideas, beliefs, and conven tions hare been altered (says th« "aliily Chronicle) by the new precautionary measures uiKcn against air raids, and lor Londoners tins new experience has brought home many truths. So changed lias the City become by night tnat, stumbling along througn thoroughfare, gu ded only bjr the taint glow of subdued lamps, one can almost realise wiiat the niguts at the Kegency were like. Nothing is wanting but the Sedan chains, the Ham beaux held aloft, of tlic night watchman. First, there were arguments for tad. gainst restricted lighting, then carte omcal semi-darkness, and the debutes increased, and now the suburbs arc as dark as iirebus, and we are settling down to a new order of things- Wilt English philosophy, we are adapting ourselves to the changed condmoiJß and revising our business and social habits. NEW FORM OF SOCIABILITY. ] The pleasure providers have been fas the hardest. Instead of going to the bar or the supper room, tUc City man who used to iaie his time goes jack ts his suburb; the cafe habitue bos given up his late meals out, and the West Lnd man.i-jcis in general now re;jsnise that the really late diner at their tables has become merely a figure in social history. Those little recherche parties with which one associated the explosive note of the champagne cork are dead, and many people in consequence are healtmer, wealthier, ant wiser. £ ' Instead, there is the new f rm- of sociability—the mid-day luncheon. It B neither so expensive nor so'ene.vating, and the Londoners have found it quite as enjoyable. Then there is the increased use of the omnibus and the tube, the revived pleasures of home life, and the greater realisation of its diversity and interest, as against tlw weary monotony of unending " calls" in the pleasure quarters of the Metropolis.

We have begun to regard our theatre visits in a different perspective. Tn>. general consents us of managerial option is that there is no need for allot msr the liours, and they should know l> - *i what suite them and the public. There are more matinee performances, with a larger attendance of women and children. The family feature, so -onspicuous feature of the Drury Lane Christmas season, is more in evidence at night. . ; TONGUES OF COSMOPOLH SILENT. ; The churches, too, have-been much concerned by the darkened streets; They have been anxious to adapt their hours of service to the welfare of the congregation, and in some instances earlier evensongs have been arranged to suit their convenience. If anything, the war has increased the attendance at places of worship. Great changes have been in the poorer quarters of the community. No longer do the street markets' of Soho by night glow with light, and* the tongues of the Cosmopolis ai« silent. The new orders have changed this bright oasis of London into a dim network of streets across) the pavements of which faint shafts of light venture timidly through the side blinds of the shops. Even Jewry, which loves bright lights, is dulled, and most of ite vivid colouring is hidden nightly in the picture palaces along the Whitechapel Road. * 4.