ON PLEASURE BENT.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 303, 23 December 1929, Page 11

ON PLEASURE BENT.

GREAT HOLIDAY CROWDS. AUCKLAND NEVER SO FULL. AMUSEMENTS GALOKE. Auckland lias never been so full of holiday makers as it is tins Christmas. During the past fortnight the shopping streets have been just as crowded as they used to be during the actual Christmas week of a few years back. "Christmas week" and "New Year week" used to bo well defined terms and seasons, when everyone was admittedly rather slack about business, most keen about enjoying himself, and wishing everyone else good hick. Of late years, howcvci, Christinas and Xew Year have gradually got closer to one another, until today there are many people who lump the two seasons together and let business look after itself. Probably in no other part of the Empire are people so fortunately situated that they can thus help themselves so liberally to holidays. When yesterday's thunderstorm was r.t its height people who spend this time of the year out-of-doors thought ruefully of'last Christmas, and feared vo were to have a repetition this year, but having wept so copiously so early, the weather may have a chance of behaving more as it should in mid-summer. All Auckland except those who are unfortunately unable to do so through physical infirmities will be as much as possible in the open air during the holidays. mid every beach and holiday resort will ba crowded providing the weather turns cut as it should. The most popular individual events will undoubtedly be the races at Ellerslio and the trotting at Epsom. Men who have toiled all the year in what is left of the back country dearly love to come to town with a bundle of notes and argue with the totalisator as to what is going to win. AtEUerslie the A.TJ.C. summer meeting opens on Boxing Day (Auckland Cup Day), will be pom.inued on the following Monday and on January 1 and 2. At Alexandra Park, Epsom", the Auckland Trotting Club'j summer meeting will ppread over tlr ee days—next Friday and Saturday and the following Tuesday. Of the non-Gambling outings the most important, v- ill be the two Plunket Shield cricket matches on Eden Park. The first between Otago and Auckland, begins tomorrow, and lasts four days. The second will l>v the meeting of Canterbury and Auckland on January 3, and three following days. The Auckland Lawn Tennis Association begins a week's tournament at the Stanley Street courts on Boxing Day. In the"yachting world the usual holiday cruises up or down the coast will 1-0 the'feature of the Christmas and New Year, but combined with this pleasant way of spending a fortnight will be the ocean races to Russell and Tauranga, and the regattas at those ports as well ar, at Wliangarei and Cowes Bay (Waihekc). The ocean races start to-morrow evening ut 7.15 and 7.30 off King's wharf for Tauran<m and Russell respectively. The bowlers will be holding their usual pniiual tournament, managed by the Auckland Centre. Fifty-eight rinks will take part. Hoiiday-makei'R after they have had tlinlr surfeit of the joys of the open-air will have plenty of distraction, as all the i!"ople who cater for indoor amusements f dvertipd special programmes, and Auckland has never been so generously provided with places where the evening can lie spent. Shopping Arrangements. Owing to the way the holidays fall this year some rearrangement of the late shopping nights has been necessary. The shops will be open to-morrow night (Christmas Eve) until 10 p.m. instead of the customary Friday night. Christmas Day and Boxing Day will be kept as holidays, and the shops will have the Saturday half-holiday as usual. The trams will not run in Queen Street to-morrow between 7.30 and 0 p.m., and other vchi- < nlnr traffic will be excluded from 7 until 10 p.m.