CHANGE IN LONDON

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23504, 15 November 1939, Page 12

CHANGE IN LONDON

VEGETABLE PLOTS IN PARKS BLACK-OUTS* HEAVY TOLL The dramatic change in London, particularly in the West End, where shops have closed since the war began and sale and rent signs adorn palatial flats, was described by Mr. Emery Smith, of Melbourne, who left England last month, and who is now visiting. Auckland. He said parks and suburban flower gardens were being cultivated for vegetables, and the scars mado by trenches and air raid shelters were now covered with turf. Referring to the nightly black-outs, Mr. Smith said they were responsible for 1138 deaths last month, which was a greater number than the British war casualties. Policemen wore white coats, women luminous flowers and men luminous discs. Private cars were mainly responsible for 30 deaths daily in the West End, but taxi drivers, who still travelled at fair speeds, seemed to have developed cat's eyes. "There is a quiet and real determination to see the war through to its bitter end." said Mr. Smith. "Londoners do not cheer marching columns of troops as they did 25 years ago, and the only Union Jack I saw was flying from a department store. There is extraordinary unity among all sections of the people."