"DISAPPOINTING."

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 272, 16 November 1936, Page 8

"DISAPPOINTING."

MODERN ENGLAND.

OVERCROWDING, OVERBUILT.

OLD BEAUTY LOST.

From his first visit to England since 1914, Mr. A. T. Bothamlev, former Clerk of Parliaments and at present Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, brought back feelings of disappointment, he admitted, when he landed from the Awatea this morning. "England is becoming so built over that there is no breathing space left," he remarked. "As I remembered it, there were, within a few miles of London, beautiful old manor houses, each set in a little park of its own. Now they are either pulled down or surrounded and hidden from sight by mod- ' era villas erected 011 the surrounding estates. The picturesque old villages are now hard to find. One enters them through rows of modern bungalows. Even the Lake District has been invaded by the Jerry-builder, and away down at Lands' End there is a big hotel in the fiambuoyant modern style and hundreds of summer villas." London itselt was, said Mr. Bothamley, far different from the idealised picture that lingered in the mind of one who had not seen it for many years. The first thing that struck the newcomer was its grime. The buildings all looked as if they needed cleaning. What struck the emigrant returning after many years was the way it had spread its grimy tentacles into the country. As he remembered it, from Blackheath onward there were rows of fine old houses set in spacious grounds. This area had all been built over for six miles beyond Blackheath, and the housebuilders were pushing out still further. One of Mr. Bothamley's most pleasant experiences was his visit to Temple Grove School, at which he was a pupil in 1854. As the oldest living old boy of the school he received a most enthusiastic welcome, "though fortunately," he remarks, "it was during the holidays, so that 1 did not have to make a speech." 111 the years since Mr. Botliamley was a pupil the old records of the school have been lost. He wa<? able to set them right regarding the words of the school holiday song, a composition in dog Latin of which, since the original version had been lost, several rival versions had sprung up, and was also able to recount various ancient traditions of the school which the headmaster, himself one of oldest old boys, though over 20 years younger than Mr. Botliamley, was anxious to preserve. Several of these concerned the famous Dean Swift, author of "Gulliver's Travels," who found a liispitable roof there when he was penniless. "Although I was born in England, I was glad to return to New Zealand," remarks Mr. Botliamley. England is so grimy, so over-crowded, so over-built, that it lias lost all its beauty."