A NEW LONDON.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 16098, 11 December 1915, Page 2 (Supplement)

A NEW LONDON.

CHANGE IN SOCIAL HABITS.

The new lighting regulations and the fast shortening days have made London more than ever a city of gloom. Its glow can no longer be seen in the sky at night, and the traditional " lights o* London " have passed into the obscurity of the ante bellum period.

Customs, ideas, beliefs, and conventions have been altered (says the Daily Chronicle) by the new precautionary measures taken against air raids, and for Londoners this new experience has brought home many truths. So changed has the city become by night that, stumbling alojig through .thoroughfares, guided only by" the faint glow of subdued lamps, one can almost realise what--the nights of the Regency were like. Nothing is wanting, but the sedan chairs, the flambeaux held aloft, and the " bell of the night watchman.

First, there were arguments for and against restricted lighting, then came official semi-darkness and the debates increased, and now the suburbs are as dark as Erebus, and we are settling down to a new order of things. With English philosophy, we are adapting ourselves to the changed conditions and revising our business and social habits. New Forms of Sociability. The pleasure providers have been hit the hardest. Instead of going to the bar or the supper room, the city man who used to idle his time goes back to his suburb; the cafe habitue has given up bis late meals out, and the West End managers in general now recognise that the really late diner at their tables has become merely a figure in social history. Those little recherche parties with which' one associated the explosive note of the champagne cork are dead, and manv people in consequence are healthier wealthier, and wiser. Instead, there is the new form of sociability— mid-day luncheon. It is neither so expensive nor so enervating, and the Londoners have found it quite as enjoyable. Then there is the increased use of the omnibus and the tube, the revived pleasures of home life, and the greater realisation of its diversity and interest, as against the weary monotony of unending "calls" in the pleasure- quarters of the metropolis. We have begun to regard our theatre visits in a different perspective. The general consensus of managerial opinion is that there is no need for altering the hours, and they should know best what suits them and the public. There are more matinee, performance!, with a larger attendance of women and children. The family feature, so conspicuous a trait of the Drury Lane Christmas season is more in evidence at night. ' Tongues of Oosmopolis Silent. The churches, too, have been much concerned by the darkened streets. Thev have been anxious to adapt their hours of service to the welfare of the congregation and in some instances earlier evensongs have been arranged to suit their convenionce. hlf anything, the war has increased the attendance at places of worship Great changes have been experienced in the poorer quarters of the community No longer do the street markets of Soho by night glow with light, and the tongue* of Cosmopolis are silent. The new orders have changed tins bright oa ß i s of London life into a dim network of streets across the pavements of which faint shafts of light venture timidly through the side blinds of the shops. Even JewTv, which loves bright lights, is dulled, and most of its vivid colouring is hidden nightly in the Picture palaces along the Whitechapel Road.