FEWER PERSONS OUT AT NIGHT

Southland Times, Issue 24484, 11 July 1941, Page 2

FEWER PERSONS OUT AT NIGHT

BLACKOUT EFFECTS IN AUCKLAND

(Special) AUCKLAND, July 10. Tests of public opinion in Britain show that the blackout was still placed first in the list of wartime inconveniences last year, coming above even air raids and food rationing. Whether or not Aucklanders would place the reduced lighting scheme first of their present worries, it is certain that it has caused many changes in their everyday habits.

Many women insist that in no circumstances will they go out at night unaccompanied in the blackout. Among men and women alike the electric torch has become an accepted item of evening equipment. MEETING TIMES ALTERED Social gatherings, informal evening calls and the like have lost much of their attractiveness -since it became necessary to leave the cheerfulness of a well-lighted house and grope through the dark. Several women’s organizations have changed their meeting times from evening to afternoon. While short days and bad weather have contributed, there has been a marked falling off in evening attendances at many theatres. The manager of one chain said that suburban theatres especially had suffered. Women who previously often spent an evening at the local theatre now preferred to attend an afternoon showing at a city theatre. A consequent improvement in morning and afternoon attendances in the ctiy had somewhat offset smaller evening audiences. Even Saturday night showings were not always crowded as in the past, he said. The manager of another chain, however. considered that the decrease was not substantial and could largely be accounted for by bad weather. FULL MOON FIXTURE Attendances have been noticeably higher when the moon is full. At least one repertory society has taken advantage of this tendency by fixing its next production for full moon period. The falling off in evening travel is stated not to have been felt to any extent by the trams. But new difficulties have been created for evening tram travellers. Conductors have been instructed to call the main stops, but even when this is done many people have seen with a start unfamiliar fences sailing past outside and jumped up abruptly under the impression that they have gone past their stop. Things take on a very different appearance in the gloom beyond the reaqh of the tram lights.