"HOME THOUGHTS"

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23647, 3 November 1938, Page 17

"HOME THOUGHTS"

IMPRESSIONS OF ENGLAND NEW ZEALAND "THE FORTUNATE ISLES" "Despite the emotional appeal that a tour of England and the Continent must have for a colonial, and although there is a wealth of cultural interest, I found myself wondering from time to time why so many people continue to live on the other side of the world, instead of out here," remarked Mr J. L. Mclndoe to a Daily Times reporter last evening. Mr Mclndoe. accompanied by Mrs Mclndoe, returned to Dunedin yesterday afternoon from a nine months' tour abroad, during which he travelled extensively in the British Isles and on the Continent, covering in all between 30,000 and 35.000 miles by land and water. " Over there," he continued, "one had to go without so much of the freedom which is regarded by us as our birthright." He had particularly noticed this in sporting activities. Fishing and shooting were the privileges of the rich man, and the exorbitant rents for fishing or shooting areas were something to which the New Zealander found it hard to adjust himself. There a man might easily pay £IOO for the rent of a two-mile stretch of fishing water. The New Zealand fisherman, who was free to go practically where he willed on the payment of a small licence fee, was hardly aware how fortunate he was. In many other ways too Mr Mclndoe had been impressed by the greater freedom and wider opportunities offered in the dominions, and so, despite a highly enjoyable time, he had no regrets in returning to New Zealand. Arriving in England, via Panama, in the month of April. Mr Mclndoe saw England in all the freshness of the spring, when the park-like beauty of the countryside was seen at its best.. The orderliness of the landscapes, even in the wilder Lake District, was remarkable —even the villages and farm houses seeming to be part-of the uniformity. In the course of a long motor tour round England. Mr Mclndoe wps on several occasions especially fortunate, as when he visited Stonehenge on the one day in the year when the sun rises directly behind the Hele Stone, and again when he visited Weymouth on the occasion of a royal naval review. Signs of international unrest manifested themselves at peculiar times and places. The huge factories in Bristol were working at high pressure, and another feature was the conversion of old mine workings in this area into food stores. It was stated that much of the huge quantity of wheat which was dramatically purchased by England some months ago was stored in such places. Again, away out in the country, near Carlisle, the traveller had been struck by the massive steel framework of a building which was being erected under the "shadow factory " scheme. • • The volume of traffic and the difficulties of control were other matters that greatly interested Mr Mclndoe. London was said to be a noisy city, but to his mind its roar was mild in comparison with the incessant din of Paris and Marseilles. The French buses burnt crude oil which left appalling fumes, and buses and taxis alike travelled at what was, to the uninitiated traveller, a nerve-racking speed through involved traffic, with shrieks of sirens and blasting of horns at every intersection. Everywhere in England the road surfaces were in excellent order, but the narrowness of the roads and the congestion on the great arterial highways offered many difficulties. In Germany, the problem had been tackled by the construction of broad double track highways which cut through the country, bridging by viaducts all the obstacles in their path. These roads had given a mobility which would be of orime importance in war time. Work along similar lines had been commenced in England, but the magnitude of the task was such that it would take a long time. Just 10 days before Mr Chamberlain's dramatic first flight to Germany, the travellers had left Paris, and at that time tension was very marked. There seemed to be a strain in the very atmosphere, but the people were quiet, orderly and determined. The return voyage through the Mediterranean when the crisis was still unabated had also given some unforgettable memories.