DEAR BOYS AND GIRLS,

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21888, 25 August 1934, Page 4 (Supplement)

DEAR BOYS AND GIRLS,

The' postman has been very busy this week bringing entries for our Spring Page, and also for our two painting competitions. Don t forget the closing date for the latter, next Saturday. I think wc will have our Spring Page the following Saturday—surely spring ought definitely to be here by that time. But Wednesday's downpour was very disheartening for gardeners; such a deluge was very hard on all the liny seedlings just planted out—and what a feast that night for all the wicked slugs and snails! I found ten snails and three slugs on one poor little delphinium that had just managed to put up two or three tender green stalks —how the wretched things do love delphiniums! 1 can foresee many nightprowls by torchlight, with the alum tin and lime tin strongly in evidence, as the warm weather brings out more and more snails. Among signs of spring noticed in my garden this week was a rather disconcerting one; 1 put my hand down last night to move a piece of earth on the lawn, and it suddenly wriggled and gave me a sharp prick! Naturally I' gave a small shriek and there in the light of the torch I saw a hedgehog with all its needles aticking out in angerl Skip then strolled up and sniffed it suspiciously, but before he could take further action Percy Hedgehog took. to his heels and dashed off through the forget-me-nots, snorting with annoyance. By the way, 1 was rather surprised that none of you hit on the spe'eial point of interest in connection with our page last week. Every item in it, ■with the exception of my own letter, Wireless Notes and Bib and Bub, was the original work of our girl members. The riearest guess came from Joyce Letford, who noticed the number of original contributions, but she did not notice that they were all the work of our girl members. I think it is greatly to the credit of our girls that such a page could be made up from their own orijpnal sketches, poem 3 and articles, don't you? No more for now—get busy with your paint brushes and pens, artists, and let us have some really beautiful entries for the competitions. Your friend,

P-§- —I received a very nice letter thi3 Week from the Ex-Service Women's Association, which appears below. You will be glad to know our efforts have been so greatly appreciated.

Dear Miss Morton, —On behalf of the members of the Auckland Ex-Service \\ omen 3 Association I wish to thank all those—from grandmothers to tiny responded so wonderfully to the " Lest We Forget" appeal for help for ex-servicemen and their wives and families. The money received was of great help in our work, enabling us to do much more than would otherwise have been possible. And the woollen o6t-covers, dresses, singlets, etc., sent 311 were all so beautifully maide that they must have given much pleasure to the recipients. It .certainly gave pleasure to members to nave so many attractive, as; well as serviceable things, to enclose in parcels Bent away.

. The. value of the wool alone contained iti the articles must have been considerable, and the kind thought and care put into the making of them added doubly to their worth. We are indeed very grateful to the directors of the New Zealand Herald for allowing this appeal to be made; and to you, Miss Morton, for making it, and giving our association the privilege of being the medium'for distribution. " Will you please convey our sincerest thanks to one and all for their efforts in making the campaign such an outstanding success.—Yours sincerely, Ethel M. Gould, President.