LONDON MORALE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20067, 13 October 1939, Page 5

LONDON MORALE

OUTFACING GRIM WAR BUSMAN AND BOADICEA “SHOWING HIS STUFF” KNUTS OF PICCADILLY | A witty American commentator j once said that the chief export of London is sentiment, , and : that the sound of Westminster's Big Ben chimes coming over the air to the Dominions is a more tangible tie than any political bond between the Mother Country and her family of young nations. To-day London is still exporting sentiment, and with it a morale which must stir a response wherever there are people who can claim blood ties with Britain. Almost every letter from Home brings some item that illuminates the cool courage of people living under threat of air raids and sudden death. A selection of these anecdotes and narratives provides a cross-section of public opinion and behaviour in London. A London street scene: Interested in alt that was going on about her, and especially in the movements of Army lorries and personnel, a young lady passenger in a sporty small car rolled back the sunshine hood and stood upright, leaning on the forepart of the hood.' A 'bus conductor leaned out over the top rail of his juggernaut and sweetly remarked: ■‘Come off it. Boadicea!’’ “Nowhere But in London” “Unemotional as the, English are, j one feels that deep down they are stirred by the sights they witness. Some of us would be nowhere but in London at the present time. We particularly, as colonials, are proud of the response that the Empire has made, far-spread as her drum-beat and certain as her morning gun. We knew, of course, that it would be so. None the less we welcome the enrolment at the New Zealand offices in the Strand, of those eager to give war service, and the echo from the Pacific of the Empire’s rallying cry.”— W.8.M., London. “A sense of stern justice, brings dignity to the days through which we arc passing. Jingoism is silent. There are not many rumours, and there is no hysteria. The tone of the press, and of the broadcasts is unexceptionable. Some of the cartoons reach a high level. Punch reproduced a drawing of the Cenotaph, towering above its plinth of protective sandbags, with the quotation below: "If i yc break faith witty, us who die we \ shall not sleep.’ Supreme among the j cartoonists, however, is the New Zea- j lander, David Low, who can strike | at will a note of profound significance ] or stir us to laughter with his irrepressible sense of the absurd. In his more serious mood, he may yet become the Raemaekers of this war. ’ —A New Zealand resident in London. Spirit of flic Times “No permission has been given yet for the opening of the theatres, but; I feel that it will come shortly. Mr. Charles B. Cochran tolcl me that he is producing, when Government orders permit, a musical revue that will reflect the spirit of the times. •There has been a greater change, in this country in 10 days than I should have thought possible in 10 years, said Mr. Cochran. I wish him well in his, new venture. He is a great showman.”—'WJß.M., London.|

“I learn in City circles that financially Britain and France are _ much stronger than in 1914. Britain has £600,000,000 in gold available, as against £40,000,000. France has over £500,000.000. On the other hand, Germany has no colonies, no merchant ships at sea. and less than £6,000,000 in gold.”—A Gisborne visitor to Britain.

Again from a London traffic puzzle: A huge and expensive supercharged car was being driven with some difficulty through the press,, coughing intermittently under the rigid limitation. Exercising the privilege ,of a fellow-driver, a busman glanced sympathetically over its powerful bulk, and asked the owner: “What’s the matter, mate? Muscle-bound?’' “\Vc Will Win by Blockade” "You will notice that Hitler is following the course I outlined to you when we last met, and that only the Russian barrier prevents him from completing it by absorbing Hungary, Rumania, and Yugoslavia. I offered my services lo the authorities at Home, but they said they did not require them yet. . .• My son lias been promoted to lieutenant, and is now in France. This will give him a chance to show the stuff he is made of. He is inclined to be a bit rash, and I have written to him advising him not to try to wipe out the German Army at the first effort. Britain and France will be fighting on the defensive this time, and not breaking their beads and hearts against concrete works. We cannot boat Germany except by the measures which won the last war—the blockade and propaganda; but we will win that wav. My family have deserted the London flat and have taken a small place in ihe country, since the boinbing of London by the,Germans might start at any time.”—Extracts from a London traveller’s letter to a Gisborne businessman.

“If one goes to a wedding, one takes a hat, slick, gloves, and gasmask. It is quite, as accessary to lake the last-named as any of the others, for whereas one might feel oul of place at a wedding without hat, stick, or gloves, it would, be much more embarrassing to attend a gasraid without a mask. It is possible to become accustomed to the little boxes and their straps in a day or two, and then one wears tticm as to the manner born. There are various ways of taking them along, of course, and some people complain that if carried in file normal way they spoil the hang of a perfectly-cut morning coat. But no one scoffs at these complaints fhese times, remembering that those who made the same kind, of growls in file last Great War were also arneng those who served most faithfully and risked their lives most gaily, in the trenches, on the sea, and in the air. We still have our ‘kinds,’ but we look upon them indulgently."—A British woman’s letter to a New Zealand friend.