OLD COUNTRY GOSSIP.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16539, 5 January 1928, Page 10

OLD COUNTRY GOSSIP.

: FIRST’ TOUCH OF WINTER LONDON, Nov. 17. pur early touch of winter has boon sharp. Seldom have London and the whole country experienced days so cold in early November; but no doubt •they were felt the more keenly after • the exceptional warmth which camo just before them. There wero several falls .of snow in Scotland and the v North of England, and though London ;• has nothing to complatu of in this particular, the night frosts made bigfires' very welcome. On some of the colder days, however, the sun shone brightly, and with evening came boautifuL moonlight. Fog might have wrapped us around but for north-east winds: When it conquers and subdues, ' we remember with pleasure the clearer •• -jveather,.in spite_of its chilly accomfepaniment. INDUSTRY -MOVING NORTH TO SOUTH. "We are in the midst of a new industrial revolution,” says the Co-Operative News, “not less revolutionary or widespread than that which marked .the beginning of modern capitalism and t|io | factory system. “Before our eyes the face .of England ■ is changing fast, and co-operators will indeed be foolish if they do not take note of what is taking place and prepare to meet the demands that the future will 'surely make upon our movement. “To-day, as five generations ago. great industries are finding new- homes, and population is moving after trade. Then the industries moved from the South to the North, and the manufacturing town* of Lancashire and Yorkshire grew as coal and cotton, iron and steel created employment for whole armies of busy workers. Now coal has lost its power : to provide employment. “The mills of* Lancashire and Yorkshire are less busy than they were. Mines and workshops no longer call workers to the North, for war and misgovemment have ruined the exporting trades. ■‘Tie new industries are travelling South. < All around London and throughout the neighboring counties great factories are rising, the villages and towns are growing, the countryside is dotted by tall chimneys that witness to the coming change. The I great roads that have neen driven through the once quiet lands, the vast increase in mptor traffic, the new systems of distributing electric power, the ill-built bouses that eneirclo every market town, all tell their startling story. The industries are .settling ifh the South, Population is moving with : the tjradeS. Even if the day of Northern supremacy is not yet done, the South is boing revolutionised, and from now om ward the South will be the -centre .of British industry, the province in which millions of manual workers will earn Iheii' bread. I# --- . REVIVAL IN AMATEUR THEATRICALS There is a big revival all over the country in amateur theatricals, and this I applies,also to the operatic side qt tho movement. The Manchester Guardian, in a leader on this significant movement alter alluding to some of its aspects, asserts: — “There is a larger value in the entire change df spirit ip amateur theatricals. I {Societies, ho longer amuse themeelves by occasional revivals of old Wfts.t End trifles; they are continually experimenting with work .of -which the eommerical theatre is shy ; they are writing and . producing .new plays of their own ; here, there, and everywhere they are endeavoring to fill the gap made by the commercial difficulties of tfie professional theatre and by the frequent inability of ; the touring system to -withstand the invasion of the icinema. “The* amateur movement ‘has been largely moved to action by the failure ; of the professional .theatre to satisfy a discriminating audience, and, while doing its own work of. production, is creating A public for the professional companies who reach.beyond the routine. There is no reason whatever for jealousy Between amateur and professional. ” A GOLDEN WEDDING Op Tuesday the Marquess and Marchioness of Aberdeen celebrated their golden wedding, and the happy event Mlts'been widely noted and recorded by the press of the world. Lord and Lady Aberdeen’s social, philanthropic and religions works through the years are universally acknowledged, and the congratulations from admirers the world over have been sincere and touched with a. friendliness rarely equalled.. i “As for this couple, loving and dutiful, they emerge from the clapaor nud mists of life , B . ‘Lovely, as a Lapland night.* “They have not failed in any relation of life. They do not love less because they have suffered much, and they go true lovers, and greatly beloved, hand-in-hand down the vale of the years.”— Catherine Tynan, in the -Evening, Mmdard. -;■ . ( LORD IVEAGH’S PICTURES. fhc more details become known the deeper in the .public understanding of the value of the late Lord Tveagh’s bequest td the nation. It is to form the nucleus of an art gallery at Ken ; Wood,, which lie has also endowed with •the sum of £50,000. The rneye list,, of pictures is sufficient to indicate to those familiar -with loan exhibitions of pictures the priceless character of Ae bequest, the most munificent of its kind during the present century. Lord Iveagh ’s pictures are nearly all : “ pedigree * * works. Apart from two dozen examples of Sir Joshua Ecymolds and his great rival George Romney, there is a fine work by one of the rarest and most sought-after Dutch -masters of the 17th century. Vermeer of Delft, and a l , pair by Rembrant, ■ generally regarded as the greatest of all that 'school. These arc his portrait of himself, painted about 1663, which has a history taking it back to tho middle of the 18th century, and tho ' Picture of a young woman signed and dated 1642. For many years Lord Iveagh had been forming his collection pot only in competition with the greatest at the American millionaires, but very much on the same 'lines-’-the best was always good enough for him, and price was a minor consideration.

LOUD SPEAKER.? FOR ‘ , passengers. iijv. ||f ' jKmrr.- * The Southern Railwfiy has installed at London Bridge Station, as an ex- | penmen i\ a number of loud speakers for the direction pf passengers. Great interest was taken in these •instruments at their first trial. The announcer, who was able to see each train before it entered the station, called out the platform from which the next, train would leave and the stations at which it would call. Ho \ generally finished each announcement with “Hurry along, please.’ * By means of a switching device he was • dde to control the loud speakers in■dled on the separate platforms. The, •criment. said to be the first of its 1 t held in London, was carried out I - I

between the H ours ,of 4 p,m, and 0.45 p.m. In addition to Southern Railway officials, pi number of officials from other raiilway companies attended 1 tho tc:i(t. Similar tests have been carried efut recently at Scarborough, York,' and Newcastle railway stations. - SHYLOCK’S; NEW SHACKLES One much-debated innovation in the Moneylenders .Act, -which comes into force on January 1, is tho substitution of an elaborate system of magistrates ’ certificates and excise licenses for the simple form of registration which the Act of 1900, established. THE LQfRD MAYOR'S SHOW. Against much precedent, the sun shone brightly from a clear sky for the Lord Mayor’s Show. The crowd was consequently larger even than usual. Dense lines of spectators gathered in every part of the longroute, the front line, of course, beingcomposed of the smallest children, who waved paper streamers with a frenzy only checked when a ship, a gun. or something equally fascinating arrested every energy but observation. No outgoing Lord Mayor can have received heartier thanks from the people than Sir Rowland Blades, and no incoming. Lord Mayor can have been sent on his way with louder encouragement than Sir Charles Bathe. The Show, with its 15 bands, its set-pieces, and its couple of thousand marching details, confirmed their popularity. -Sir Charles Bq,tho has the good fortune, from the point of view' of the pageant, to be connected with the shipping business. Therefore, directly or indirectly, the sea and sea-goers took a large share in the procession; and much of what was over went to the air. Tho Corporation of Trinity House sent a car representing lighthouses and light-vessels, with the keepers and crews; following which some generous specimens of pilots of the Port of London motored cheerfully dong. The Commonwealth of Australia and the Orient Line were responsible for a model of Captain Cook's Endeavour, in which he sailed the South Pacific 'and discovered a new continent, the exhibit including Capt. Cook himself. Another and more solid rider of tlic waves was the Robert and Catherine lifeboat, once stationed at Appledoj-o, in Devon, and for this occasion manned by a coxswain and men of the Lowestoft crew. Lowestoft is the native place of the Lady Mayoress, who ffurelv must have rejoiced to see such aturdy figures in the cork belts and such beaming faces und.or the scarlet caps. Tho Guards’ bands,, mounted and nn foot, supplied the salient color of the Show. Hussars in khaki rode at the beginning and end of the procession. A detachment of tho Royal Air Force, with, auxiliary forces from the City of London, marched behind its own band; tho City’s Bombing Squadrou carrying on the' lesson of defence given by the City’s Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade., In the middle was drawn a full-scale Wiociel of the saloon of an Imperial Airways liner, in which the passengers sat as comfortably as'in a motor car. BIG RAILWAY CHANGES The London, Underground Electric group of railway companies has decided to carry out a complete renewal of the old rolling-stock and equipment of the District and other underground railways under its control. This change will be begun immediately, and is expected to occupy about two years and cost £2,500,000. The work will not be allowed to interfere in any wav with the normal running of the railway services. Temporary works h’aye been built at Feltham, and the existing works at Acton have been enlarged. It is intended that the trains shall be taken out of .service one at » time, and either altered in accordance with modern requirements! or changed for new- rolling-stock before being put back. The Southern railway is about to embark on an expenditure of £150,000 on the installation of color light signals in substitution for existing semaphore signals. The new system has been installed during the last year or two at a cost of £IBO,OOO on the Holborn viaduct to Elephant and Castle and Charing Cross, Cannon street and Rom ugh Market, junction sections of the line. When the work is completed the Southern railway will have the most qxtensive installation of multiple Aspect color light signalling in if not in the world.