SEEING THE SIGHTS.

Mataura Ensign, 3 November 1911, Page 2

SEEING THE SIGHTS.

A VISIT TO LONDON.. COLONIAL'S IMPRESSIONS. In. a eomttflmication received by Mr A. N. MncGibbon, of Mataura, from his father, Mr Thomas Mac Gibbon, dated London, July 23, the latter gives an interesting account of the sights of London. He writes: The Pageant of Empirts, "Among the places we visited was the Crystal Palace where we saw a continuous exhibition and in the evening we saw the Pageant of Empire, a dramatic exhibition of English history, in character, from the times of the ancient Briton down to date. It is divided into sections and we saw the first part one night under powerful electric lights enacted on the grass water, representing the Thames before it was bridged, the Roman conquest, the" Saxon conquest, King Harold's defeat and death, the conquest by the Normans, the Danes' refeat by Alfred, Richard Cbeur de Lion, the return of Edward I, the first Prince of Wales and so on. Various j parts are given from day to day and the actors, who are mostly unpaid volunteers and who number about 14,000, act wonderfully. Then there are knights, horses, etc. showing in reality the names, customs and dress of the \ people of the periods dealt with. ' "Another day we visited tlie Crystal Palace on the occasion of & garden party. We had a ride on the "AllRed'' railway, along the route of which representations are given of the various possessions of Great Britain, together with graphic pictures of the salient features of the landscape and productions, etc., of these lands. The trip is very educative and gives the traveller a good idea of not only the various oversea British possessions but also the leading occupation of each. Days to be Remembered. t "We also spent a day at Deading viewing the extensive nurseries of Messrs Sutton and Sons, the King's seedsmen, and were received most courteously and treated very hospitably. Afterwards we lunched in the comfortable, quaint Caversham hotel, which overlooks the Thames river and from which a lawn runs down to the riverside, and the green grass, fine old trees, pleasure boats on the river all made up a scene to be remembered with pleasure. We visited the Doulton Pottery Works and .showrooms and were greatly pleased with all we saw, especially the clay being moulded into various kinds of vessels. One of the expert potters, after making several complete articles, moulded 1 a lump of clay into all manner of vessels for our edification, let us hope, and certainly to our entertainment.

• Dr Barnardo's Homes.. By invitation wo visited the Girls' Village Home in connection with the lats Dr Barnardo's philanthropies and greatly admired the provision made for London's girl waifs. The grounds are extensive, and beautifully laid out, and the cottages are two storeyed brick buildings, all detached,, with their garden plots. The cottages, which contain. 1300 girls and their attendant nurses and instructors are built in crescents and terraces, facing a centre lawn which has many garden seats around it. At the end there is a beautiful church which seats 1000 and we are informed that it is regularly filled with children worshippers. Then there are extensive schoolhouses, playgrounds and workshops where the girls are taught needlework, both plain and fancy; laundries, where the older ones wash the clothing for.the whole colony; and a consumptive hospital, where the beds are donated by towns in Australia and New Zealand. Here we found the patients being treated by the openair system; the beds, which contained about a dozen patients, being placed on a verandah or on the balcony upstairs with every window and door wide open and any amount of cheerful objects around. Needless to say, the patients looked cheerful and happy. After this inspection a visit was; paid to the new hospital, which is nearing completion, and which is supplied with every convenience, all tli9 doors being plain and varnished, with no mouldings or spaces where germs might lodge. The floors are made of asbestos so that they are both fire and germ proof. Our visit showed us that a vast and noble work is being done in rescuing waifs and strays from the filth and squalor of their original surroundings." i