"ENGLAND

Radio Record, Volume V, Issue 19, 20 November 1931, Page 7

"ENGLAND,

with all thy faults, I love thee still"

In this talk from 3YA,. Dr. F. V. Bevan Brown, who has recently returned from a trip to the Mother Country, describes some aspects of England and English life as he saw it. He went abroad, spending five days in Holland, and continues to give his impressions of that country, which has been reclaimed from the sea and held only because of the tenacity and skill of its people -the Dutch. Doctor Bevan-Brown called his talk "Some Impressions of England and Holland," but on hearing it we felt constrained to sive it another title and say, with Cowper, Engand, with all thy faults, I love thee still."

‘ i N\. \ M°;: people who arrived in England in the early summer will probably agree that their first vivid impression is of the greenness of the countryside. This is often first perceived as one passes up Channel, when the rounded hills of Devonshire come into view, with further on the Isle of Wighi, and the broad, rich Kentish meadows. This greenness is pleasant ani grateful to the eye that has seen nothing but rolling seas for so long, but as-we sail past Southend and the shore lightship and enter the Thames, it is not long before green fields give place to factories. dockyards, and endless rows of chimney-pots. For your happiest early impression of England it is better to land at Plymouth or Southampton, and travel to London by train, rather than to land in the Port of London especially on a day that may be cold and wet and foggy. There is as much romance and history (and perhaps more real humanity) in the East End of London as there is in the West, but it is mostly ugly, monotonous streets-endless streets-that one drives through to reach a West End hotel or railway station, and your first impressions of the great city you have’

wasted all your life to see, may be dishppointing and depressing. London to the tourist is the West End with its parks and squares, its theatres and its shops. These are the things he has heard of and has come so far to see. And though he achieves so short and superficial an acquaintance with London, he feels under the spell that London casts on everyone -a spell that for those who really know the life of London, who live and work there-is a lasting and powerful one. . The fiery patriotism of the Scot does not excel the devotion of the Londoner to ‘his great city. London is a royal city and as such stands aloof and indifferent, one. feels, to the opinions of those who come to. visit her.

Cities such as Paris or Brussels rather look for compliments and praise of their beauty. London is so sure of herself, so fine and of such ancient glory and dignity that ordinary words of praise are inappropriate. But London is not England. Once you pass beyond its outer limits into the country and the country towns and the great industrial cities of the North, you realise that there is only one London and that everything else is-as one says-‘"different.’ So that to understand the real England, do not spend too long in London. Travel through the countryside, northward, westward and to the south. TP RERE is no countryside in the world with quite the same charm as England, the quiet, gentle charm of village and wood and stream and hedgerowand trees everywhere. The elm is the commonest tree seen, and is, I think, the least beautiful. In Devonshire are the oak woods, on the South Downs and North Downs are the beeches, in Sur-

rey and Hampshire the pine woods, They are fond of their trees in England and conserve them carefully. In New Zealand we burn and destroy with little compunction, though in recent years greater care has been taken; in England the art of forestry and tree surgery is understood and carefully practised. Some of the counties of England have a character of their own, Surrey, Sussex,’ Somerset, Devonshire, Cornwall, the Fen Country, and the North of England. Other counties, such as Warwickshire, are, so to speak, just England. The ancient cathedrals, abbeys and churches have grown up with the life of England, are are a part of her, because in them, as in all her ancient (Concluded on page 8.)

buildings, history is recorded. . The Alabaster tombs of Crusaders remind us of the reality of a period of English history that in a history book appeals to one merely as an amusing ‘story. Durham Cathedral is especially rich in history, as are the ancient Northumbrian castles and abbcys, all of which can record a tale of centuries of troublous times. Bamburgh Castle stands high on the cliffs overlooking the sea, and was first built in Saxon times as a military stronghold, in ‘association with the religious occupation of Holy Island, which lies close y. Incidentally,, and coming to much more recent times, it was from Bamburgh Lighthouse that Grace Darling set out single-handed to rescue a shipwrecked crew. Alnwick Castle, in the same vicinity, is the ancient stronghold of the Percies, and though it has been altered and modernised, there it stands, not as a ruin, but as a live and vigorous survival of ancient glories. ’ No other country is so endowed with these lasting witnesses in stone of the life and development of England from early times. The Universities. HE Universities of Oxford and Cambridge are another integral part of England and of the spirit of England. In them is embodied an ancient atmosphere and tradition which is permanent and unalterable, and which ean be felt and perceived very easily by the dullest observer. And yet these age-old institutions have a life and activity which gives a lead to the world in modern philosophical and scientific development. Moss grows on the walls of the college and chapels, but inside those buildings there is vigorous life. The hills .and valleys, villages, churches and country homes are that pleasant part of England which we like to think of and picture in our minds and yet to the majority of people in England these things play no part whatever in their lives, for the real life of England is in the great industrial towns where men and women are occupied in a struggle for existence -rather a grim struggle at the present time, with few of the pleasant things of life coming their way.

Hard Times. [t is difficult to estimate the true conditions when one is merely a visitor and a looker-on, but I was alle to form some impressions of the effect of bad times upon the people of England at the present time. In my hospital days in London I came in close contact with slum life, and I am convinced that in spite of the slump, conditions of living have greatly improved in the last ten years. The dole secures people from want and in many cases enables them to live more comfortably than when they were in work, especially when several members of the family are in receipt’ of help. Moreover, slum areas are grad: ually disappearing and the population is moving further out into the suburbs, into decent, well-built, healthy homes, These improved conditions have been secured only by the expenditure of vast amounts of State and municipal funds, and as we all. know, the burden has been too great for the country to bear. There is no doubt that dole funds have been lavishly expended, and that the dole itself is an evil, though a necessary one; but it is clear that the --

whole attitude of the State toward the poorer classes has become far more humanitarian in recent years; and it is now a recognised responsibility and duty of the Government to attend to the welfare of the masses; 50 years ago this could not be said. England’s .Greatness. "THE greatness of Hngland depends not on her parks and gardens and countryside, but on -her staple industries, on coal, iron, steel, wool, cotton, shipping: All these industries, are experiencing bad times, and people say that none of them can ever regain their former prosperity. But a wise man will not believe these prophecies. ‘The economic position is so vast and complicated that no one can say with nuthority what is going to happen. But in the case of wool at least, it would seem that.the English people have deliberately done their best to ‘hand over the industry to the foreigner. Bradford for:many years has taught the world its own perfected system of weaving, and has actually set up woollen- mills in all parts of the world, Which have enabled the foreigner to

weave his own cloth and become independent of Yorkshire. Strange are our business ways, and methods, and beyond the understanding © of our shrewd foreign rivals, but a comforting fact remains that the finest cloth is still produced in England, and the world must still depend on her for the best material. [The English tradition is well maintained in New Zealand, where we turn out certain types of cloth equal to any in the world.] English technical skill, thoroughness and honesty are the factors that will restore to Bngland her foreign trade. The greatness of England, however, is something. finer and deeper than mere commercial prosperity-it is made up of those things that are the character of England and of her people. In these troublous times one feels that England’s foundations are deep enough to weather storms that would destroy other nations. © There is a rock-like stability that has existed fromthe earliest days of her national life. There is a strength, .a courage, and a serenity written on her countenance that gives one confidence. that to-day, asin the past ages of her history, she will stand and unshaken through all her difficulties.

Holland and the Dutch A THOUSAND years ago Holland was little more than a collection of sandbanks and dunes that lay at the mercy of the sea, and that offered no hospitality and a very meagre means of subsistence to: human beings who were hardy enough to make such a place their home. By infinite ‘skill, patience and courage, the Dutch have ~ gradually converted a sea-swept. bar ren waste into. a rich country tha supports many millions of people. They boast of great cities and an industrial and artistic development that has spread its influence over Europe, and, in fact, all over the world. The Dutch had not only to create a country for themselves out of almost nothing, but they have lad to hold it and fight for it, particularly against Spain in the 16th century. The history of these times is a stirring one. Great men rose up to help the Dutch (Concluded on page 10.)

Impressions of England (Continued from page 8.) in their adversity, the greatest of all being William of Orange, who, by his genius, courage and devotion, kept the Spaniards at bay until he lost his life by an act of treachery. The history of their country shows the Dutch to be a robust, self-reliant, painstaking people, and their great country, rich in art, in architecture. and in engineering. and agricultural] achievements, has reached its present state because of those qualities. Further qualities that might be quoted uve wisdom and shrewdness, which were notably in evidence during the Great War, which the Dutch very wisely kept out of. Reclaiming From the Sea. OQ FE example might be quoted of their engineering ability and enterprise. Up till the year 1893 there existed near Amsterdam a large lake whose waters were deep enough to carry small ships, und rough enough in stormy weather fo wreck them. Three powerful pumps were installed on the she--: of the

lake and the water was" gradually pumped out. In three years the lake was dry, and the land so obtained is now 2 prosperous and richly-cnitivated district, Here is the centre of the bulb industry, and during the month of April. when I was there, the country on either side of the railway is ablaze with tulips, hyacinths and narcissi. The Dutchman, with his love of order, arranges his bulbs in squares, of mathematical correctness, and when the bulbs are in bloom the country al) round resembles an immense patchwork quilt of brilliant reds, pinks, yellows, and blues. The Picture Galleries. ¥ all the things to see, the picture galleries of Amsterdam and the Hague are .probably what people remember most clearly after a visit to Holland. I suppose the Dutch people themselves look upon these galleries as their most precious possession. But it is true of the Dutch, pictures as it is of great works. of art in other countries. The ordinary tourist does not often look at them with: any real pleasure, because he knows very, little about art. He is in a hurry and has to see all the pictures in the gallery in

~~ one afternoon. At the end of that time he is exhausted, bewildered, and dissatisfied, and has failed to carry away with him any clear or lasting impression of any one single picture, though he would never dream of admitting all this, even to himself. It is not necessary to be an artist to see the beauty in a masterpiece, but there must be some educated understanding, and there must be leisure and a calm, undistracted mind. The main cities of Holland are close together and in consequence are easily visited. Amsterdam abounds in interest, but is too big, too crowded, and too preoccupied with commerce to be able to retain its picturesqueness and beauty. The Royal Picture Gallery in Amsterdam is, of course, one of the most famous in the world. It is largely, but not entirely, confined to Dutch art, and in it are to, be found many gréat masterpieces. Dutch ‘art appeals to the English mind more readily, I think, than Italian art does. The landscapes and interiors are especially. beautiful. The artists whose pictures I recall most clearly are Rembrandt. Vermeer, Jan Steen and Ruysdael. A demented Dutch student had recently slashed Rembrandt’s famous picture, "fhe Anatomy Lesson," with. a knife. Consequently the attendants kept a very watchful eye on visitors to the gallery. Old Habits and Customs. For these things one must go to the Hague, to Leyden, and to Delft, and, still more, to the remote villages, where the habits and customs of old Holland still exist, though in some cases ‘ one is sadly aware that they exist / only in order to attract the tourist, the old Dutch dress is mostly worn for the same reason and in the large towns it has now entirely disappeared. A Remnant of Old Holland. IDDELBURG, in Zeeland, in the south, on market day is still a true remnant of old Holland, , Here you can see Dutch peasants living and working as they did before modern customs came along, bringing with them utility in exchange for beauty and simplicity.