WEEKEND IN LONDON

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 11 August 1942, Page 3

WEEKEND IN LONDON

NELSONIAN’S EXPERIENCES NEW ZEALANDERS WELL TREATED An example of the friendly and helpful manner in which New Zealanders are treated in Britain was given in a letter recently received by Mr and Mrs G. A. Day, Moncrieff avenue, Nelson, from their son. Ordinary Seaman William A. Day. Ordinary Seaman Day writes: “This little yarn shows the attitude of everybody to New Zealanders. One of our fellows, Russ Lloyd, left his bag on the bus, so he dashed over to the next one of the same number and told the conductor his sad little story. The conductor went to the driver and explained the position to him. Then the driver set out to catch the first bus. He didn’t worry about the rest of the passengers, for there was a New Zealander in a bit of a fix. They caught the other bus after going about two or three miles. We are being treated like that all the time.” Two more instances of hospitality received while on leave in London were given in the same letter. The writer says, “there was an English v. Scottish Services International Rugby match on at Wembley, so two of us decided to go and see it and also have a look at the famous Wembley Stadium. We arrived and decided to go in the stand, although the cheapest seats in the stand were five shillings each. While we were finding out just which queue we should be in an elderly gentleman came up and asked, or rather said, ‘New Zealand boys, eli, well you must be my guests this afternoon,’ and took us in with him to the very best seats. We didn t mind. Afterwards he arranged for an attendant to take us in the other parts of Wembley Stadium.” Seaman Day describes how, later that night, time on leave being too precious to go to bed, he wandered alone down one of the fashionable streets in the centre of London and saw several people in dress suits and evening dresses going into some dance. “Well, with a sailor’s suit on 1 1 ? lt S° od enough for anybody,” he writes, “so over I went and tried to to et in. As you can imagine they were going to give me the order of the bird when some big wig, seeing my New Zealand badges, asked me to join his parly and in I went. I enjoyed myself thoroughly there and. incidentally I am sure I surprised them with my dancing. J was able to take them through quite a few steps that they knew nothing about.” Ordinary Seaman Day certainly made good use of his time during the week-end to which he refers. All in one afternoon he became familiar wffh the location of the Marble Arch Hyde Park, Rotten Row, Wellington’s Memorial, Buckingham Palace St James’ Park, Westminster Abbey the n H “,» f Parliament, London Budge, Waterloo Bridge, the Strand, and St, Paul’s.