WANTED A LITTLE LEVITY

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 86, 11 April 1923, Page 4

WANTED A LITTLE LEVITY

Mr. A. E, Whyle, secretary of the Wellington Racing Club, deplores the fact that there is "nothing merry aud bright about the a-tmo sphere of Wellington." as a city He had been addressing the Central .Progress- League', which is trying to liven things up with a carnival, and had expressed himself as sympathetic with anything that would impart an air of levity, sadly needed in Wellington at times. It is to be feared that Mr. Whyte is correct in his opinion of Wellington's sombreness, for, notwithstanding the great natural beauty of its setting, there is remarkably little doing at holiday times to pro--vide amusements for the people on a scale similar to that usual in larger and much less favoured cities elsewhere. It is a question whether there is not less being done in this direction to-day than there was years ago in Wellington. In some of our bays we have splendid beaches; but at holiday times there is seldom anything but sand and sea to entertain the mass of the people.

Places like Blackpool and Coney Island undoubtedly meet a human need in the sort of entertainments they supply. There is always an air of gaiety, too, about the Australian beaches in summer, especially at St. Kilda and Manly, Coogee and Bondi, an'air that is wholly lacking at our own local beaches. Over there, joyous, well-conducted crowds, music, and light; over here, silence except for the waves, darkness, and lonely couples. Mr. Whyte can speak as an expert on the entertainment of race crowds, but he might not, perhaps, insist that all that is necessary to remove the- stigma of dullness from Wellington is more race meetings and athletic sports gatherings. Contemplation of the manifold beauties of Nature all about Wellington is all very well in its way, but as a corrective of mopishness in crowds it is a failure. It does, not meet the case of the young, who are full of life and.spirits and the exuberance of the sheer joy of living; nor that of older people, who are- all the better for a little relaxation, a little unbending, now and then. A trifle of harmless levity does even them no mischief. Effort and money can do something to dispel the gloom which Mr. Whyte has been told, and which he feels himself, hangs over Wellington at holiday times; but they cannot of themselves evoke the true spirit. An atmosphere of brightness must be generated by the people themselves. There is a call for it in Wellington, especially in the summer months.