COASTERS ABROAD

Greymouth Evening Star, 10 December 1927, Page 12

COASTERS ABROAD

INTERESTING EXPERIENCES

Writing from London on Nov. 3 last, to his brother, Mr. T. Wilson of Greymouth, Mr. AV. Wilson of Hokitika stated: —

“We are leaving London in about ten days and going to Paris and the South of France. We have got our passages booked to leave London on March 16, which ought to bring us back within the twelve months. We have pretty well seen all we could and it certainly has been a very interesting time. I only went to one race meeting and got deafened by bookies and couldn’t see the horses, so did not repeat the experiment. They do it better in New Zealand. I went the other day to see a 200 mile motor race at Brooklands. They had to go round the course 73 times and had to slow down every round for a hair pin bend and yet the winner averaged 76 miles an hour. One car turned turtle and another caught on fire so it was quite exciting. They have loud-speakers all over the ground and a man broadcasting the progress of the race. Thirty-one cars started and there were thousands of people there although it was 20 or 30 miles from London. We had the twenty-sixth anniversary of our wedding day on October 24, and celebrated it with a dinner at the Savoy. We had five people there who knew us before we were married. That wasn’t bad for London. We also went to the Motor Show at Olympia. That was a great place to see cars. There were 573 stands and it was so crowded that it took some seeing. They even line up in long rows here to get seats in church. I also went to see the Greyhound racing to see how it was done but would not care to go again although it was certainly interesting. It goes on every night and the place is filled with bookies. It is the gambling that attracts the crowds. The licensing laws seem very funny here. They are all closed up between half-past two and half-past five. I see that you have got daylight saving now. They changed over here on October 1, back again to mean time. I can’t see that it was very noticeable. It will be ail right for bowls in the summer-time. Parliament opens again here in a week. I heard Lloyd George speak at. the unveiling of a statue the other day and also went out to hear the Premier, Stanley Baldwin, speak at the opening of a new road the other day. I also went to see part of a billiard match between Inman and Davies, but it. gets rather monotonous seeing a man make a break of 300 and more. I note by the papers that one of them made over 1000 in a break one night. There are some very good shows on and it is very good fun at. a music hall. There are all sorts' of fine shows like changing the guard at the Palace and some of the museums and galleries are very fine. You certainly have to work hard and plan out to get anywhere or to get to a theatre except you pay for a reserved seat. I went out with Mr. Broad (of Nelson College) to see the New South Wales footballers play London at Rugby. It was a draw. The crowds that go are wonderful. Last Saturday I went to see a Soccer game which seems to be the most popular. The ground was full 20,000 there, just a sea of faces. They stand on steps on raised banks on the four sides. I did not properly understand tiie game but they were certainly very expert and the crowd seemed to appreciate all the fine points. This England is too crowded. No matter where you go the people seem to fill the streets. The principal streets in London seem to be crowded all the time and the traffic problem is a big one in spite of the excellent underground service. Yon see blocks of buses and cars for over a mile when the policemen stop them to let side street traffic through. The New Zealand people have very good advertisements in their windows in the Strand. One day it will be full of apples and another day honey and at present the window is full of sheep. All the other parts of the Empire advertise well and one can spend hours looking in the windows. The electric light signs at night are wonderful. Well, I wish you all a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year and hope to see you all soon within a few months.”