SPRING BRINGS TO BRITAIN A NEW CHEERFULNESS

Evening Star, Issue 26103, 17 May 1947, Page 8

SPRING BRINGS TO BRITAIN A NEW CHEERFULNESS

{N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent.) LONDON, May 15. No doubt it is chiefly due to the weather and the season of the year, but there is a much more cheerful atmosphere abroad in Britain at the moment. Those with minds heavily weighted down with coal and dollar shortages, relations with Russia, the position in Palestine, Egypt, and India, and so forth, may tell you that it is just a passing phase. Perhaps it is, but so much has been written and said from time to time about the gloom, bitterness, and cynicism in Britain to-day that it would be a notable omission not to comment on" it. ' ■ Britain to-day is looking at its loveliest The scars of winter have been wiped away. All the traditional beauty of the English spring is here. Go anywhere, in countryside or city parks, and you will see patches of brilliant colour against a background of soft emerald green—the lilac is out, apple orchards are in full blossom, the candles on chestnuts are powdering these bushy trees with snow-like effect, may is blooming both pink and white, and wisteria, laburnum, and tulips are a delight. Perhaps it is due to the rigours of the recent winter, but the average person is commenting more than is usual on the appearance of these sights this spring. And, to add a finishing touch to the picture, Britain is basking in an unusual spell of May sunshine. RECORD TEMPERATURES. This week has seen thermometers registering 82deg, which is-, quite something when it is realised that this is 18deg above the average and that in only 13 of the last 77 years lias 80deg been recorded in May, and - then mostly later in the month. The effect of the weather and the spring-time scenery is to provide that tonic and fillip to spirits that the people of Britain have been requiring for so long. It makes standing in queues a less tiresome business, it brings people outdoors to bask and refresh themselves, and it seems to blunt, at least temporarily, the sharp edge of political and economic affairs. It may be a thin veneer. to the national troubles, but it is putting a grin on the national face. Perhaps it may he just a passing phase and only a temporary escape from national troubles, but it .is certainly worth experiencing. And, anyway, even the Jonahs are taking some comfort from the fact that, in spite of a slightly-limping start, the miners’ five-day week looks like giving Britain the coal she so desperatelv needs.