The ODD ANGLE

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 303, 22 December 1943, Page 4

The ODD ANGLE

(By JIacCLURE)

® GREETINGS To the many readers and friends who have sent greetings to the writer he sends his thanks and kindliest greetings. To the officers, n.c.o.'s and men of the 12th Field Ambulance (and A.S.C. attached) who sent me, as they expressed it, "A hearty grasp of the hand from a friend and heartfelt wish of Godspeed to our cause," I say thank you, the same to you all, and— Amen. And. to the thousand and one old Diggers of 1914-18 (as well as to the young Diggers of 1939-?) I send this wish—may this Christmas bring to you all you deserve, all you have ever longed for, everything of the best. And to everyone else a happy Christmas and—all the best. @ WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE— UNBOI LED In many ways this has been a truly momentous year. If the prophets are within coo-ee of the truth 1944 will see the world turned inside out, upside down, and, generally speaking, in a hell of a mess. Peace moves may result in the war with Hitler having been concluded before the next year is out, but— only a very foolish person would gamble on that. Even if it is this Pacific war is going to take a lot of settling, a lot of winning. Having sold my armchair, 1 am unable to plan oiit a suitable strategy even to suit myself. And I don't think that, even if I did. any of our headmen would embark upon it just to suit me. so, hoping that their ideas are sound and their plans work out right, and that Mr. Nash has a good time over there in Washington, 1 think I will leave it at that, hoping. Meanwhile, seeing how things are with the gas men 1 must finish here and scour up some burning, for, strike or no strike, a man must have a cuppa tea.

© HEADACHES And now, to end this bulletin, here again are the main headaches coming for those who, up to now, have managed to get along without any worries, financial shortages, overwork or noticeable sacrifices, and you can take it lrom me their number is legion. First, there are those gaps to be filled in in our second and Third Divisions. Only a born lunatic would be so optimistic as to believe that this will be our last war Christmas. And only a fool would reckon on our two overseas Divisions being brought back. AH of which is another way of saying that a nasty jolt is surely coming to many a man who believes that he is really indispensable—that production will cease if he is called into the Army. To him, MacClure extends his best wishes for a very happy Christmas at home here—his fifth, by the way. And, should next Christmas find him doing his bit in the front line I do hope he will let the other fellows (who will be doing their sixth Christmas in action) know what a glorious time we are all have here, with double and treble pay, high overtime rates, paid holidays, beer parties, night clubs, etc. etc. The knowledge of all this will cheer our lads up— raise their morale, and all that sort of thing. I said "headaches." We'll leave it in there. One big headache like that is enough, surely. It certainly ought to take a lot to drink away the memory of it.

® ROBERT ItTiATCHFOKD On Sunday the 8.8.C. announced to the world the passing of one man, a great Englishman, Robert Blatchford. In a mad world in which countless thousands pass on unheeded every hour, the first thought that must have struck the thoughtful was surely, "What manner of man was this that the world must be told of his passing?" To many, Robert Blatchford's name has been bandied as that of "an atheist," "an infidel," "radical"—and worse, in his day. To many others his name will live on as that of a visionary—"out-dated by events"—"a stirrer-up of the workers," "a trouble-maker," "a revolutionary" a (nowadays one is free to use the title, even to proclaim Blatchford's message) "Socialist." Times have certainly changed and the (one-time) "dangerous" and "revolutionary" doctrines preached by Blatchford are nowadays—with a little brushing-up, polishing, and manipulating—used by our Truly Great Ones in their messages to Congress, to the Mother of Parliaments and to —The Free Peoples of the Earth—whoever these latter be. And on Sunday last Robert Blatchford, pioneer Socialist and Labour "leader" —aetat 92—almost had a halo granted him by that august corporation which—or so we are led to believe—"speaks for the common man of Britain." Amongst other folk. For the long hard years he had fought for that in which he whole-heartedly believed — a better, a nobler England —'he was paid, not in cash certainly, but in self-satis-faction, for he lived to see England— his England—brought nearer to that state he had advocated.