HALCYON DAYS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 163, 13 July 1942, Page 2

HALCYON DAYS

QUEEN ST. GLITTER

A NOSTALGIC NOCTURNE

(By C.C.T.)

It was a lovely night. But the golden radiance of a harvest moon rising over Rangitoto was completely eclipsed by the glitter of Queen Street, the glow from thousands of coloured floodlight and Neon advertising signs. They had a new one somewhere down near the Chief Post Office, proclaiming in dancing flickering red letters the virtues of Pepit, or was it Curol?

Berthed at Queen's Wharf was the Niagara, just in from San Francisco with a big passenger list. And opposite lay the dazzling white bulk of the Mariposa, her upper decks a blaze of lights. She would be sailing at 8 a.m. to-morrow for Sydney.

Just near Wellesley Street East a couple of Territorials in uniform excited some attention. Rarely you saw young fellows bothering with voluntary military training those days, and anyway they looked so much smarter in dinner suits than khaki. Hitler had to be stopped some time? Well, Chamberlain could talk him out of it, couldn't he? As for the Japanese causing trouble, weren't they among our best customers, and we theirs? Benzine was Extensive Jenifer and I had difficulty in parking our new super straight-eight anywhere near Queen Street. There was certainly a big crowd up-town. We had bought the car only yesterday, with three or four extra tyres, and filled up the tank ready for a dash through to Rotorua for the day tomorrow. Benzine was getting a bit expensive. They'd raised it another id a gallon to 1/9, which was pretty thick considering you could buy it in California for 4d or something. "No doubt taxation is getting exorbitant," I muttered to Jenifer, while we were replenishing our tobacco supplies. I booked up my usual two boxes of Corona Coronas and she took an extra five tins of "fifties." "Taxation hovering around 2/4 in the pound and now this unemployment tax of 6d. Business simply won't stand it." We called in at Johnny's and ordered a case of Spanish wine, that rare stuff just imported, and since the old larder was getting low, I told Jenifer two bottles of Scotch and one each of gin and vermouth wouldn't go amiss. She said we'd better add a bottle of Chianti for good measure. | "Sorry, we're temporarily out of Chianti," apologised the man in the white jacket. Chianti Unprocurable! Jenifer's face fell. "Out of it?" she queried, dumbfounded. "Yes," replied the barman. "There was a strike on the wharf at Sydney and the ship has been delaved. But we'll have some next week." We gasped. I In 10 years' dealing at Johnny's he ! had never been out of Chianti. What was the world coming to?

Stocking up the car with half a dozen pairs of silk stockings for Jenifer, about 10/ worth of matches for the batch at Rotoiti, tinned salmon, peaches, and Californian oranges (Id each), plus a couple of 2-gallon tins of petrol in case of emergencies, we parked near the Town Hall and went in the see Clark Gable and Jeanette McDonald in "San Franciscco."

We were rather tired when we got home. I glanced at the Star and read that the Alcazar at Toledo had fallen. Chiang Kai-shek was still holding out against the Japanese. Mr. Chamberlain had promised peace in our tune. Hitler demanded Danzig. At Hamilton the farmers wanted a higher guaranteed price. And Auckland importers protested vigorously at the bugbear of import restrictions. I switched on the radio . . . "Indications are for fair to cloudv weather with light south-westerly winds . . . Good. Fine for Rotorua to-morrow.

Yes, there was something to be said for 1938, or thereabouts.