LONDON IS CITY MOST BEAUTIFUL IN THE WORLD.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18889, 12 October 1929, Page 22 (Supplement)

LONDON IS CITY MOST BEAUTIFUL IN THE WORLD.

DIGNITY AND MAJESTY PRONOUNCED, SAYS AN AMERICAN WOMAN.

*Tliis city fi the most Imperially beautiful in the world.**'l once said tt * French friend with whom I was seeinj. the Whitehall district for the first time “More beautiful than Paris?** she demanded, aghast at the idea.

“Yea, more majestic, more dignified fmer. Paris has known how to use th< art of perspective, and in that lies hei great beauty. London has achieved this possibly only in Buckingham Palact Square with the long vista to Admiralty jArch, but the whole city is tremendouslv Imposing and arresting and distinguished In its every detail.”

There is a beauty in Buckingham SPalace Square that defies verbal expres sion. If yon have never felt the sou. of it, then you are insensitive to the heights that God and man can attain Go there at dusk, or still later aftei the electric lights have been illuminated and see what it does to you. It is one of the experiences that will embroidei the tapestry of life for you. It is a something to dream on, and from which to obtain spiritual nourishment—for by the spirit is fed and nourished There is a perfection in the architectural line and detail there and in the natural setting that is entirely satisfying. The essence of London! In what does It lie? My first striking impressioi were the pastoral scenes that one sees in the very centre of this giant metropolis. Sheep lazily grazing in Green Park, while playing children frolic around them, and older and more tired bodies stretch out in an abandon of repose on the inviting lawns. It i 3 a picture that is unique in the world, and no paintable and charming that one won ders why the canvasses that are hung Bt the Royal Academy do not depict it.

Parks—Not Mere Showplaces. A rustic atmosphere imparted by the city’s many parks mingles with Lon don’s old world elegance and dignity. London has known how to bring the country into the city. I wonder if that is not her greatest charm. It is ai least a note that one would like to find in other cities but that is lacking in them. Here the parks are not showplaces. They are the playgrounds or the resting places of young and old — they are an essential element in the life of the people. How unlike Central Park in New York, where one is always on parade, never carefree, never at east and never allowed to put a foot on the lawns.

Rustic, pastoral London! Yes, the city achieves just that atmosphere, and it is most alluring, most enticing—gardens downtown, gardens in the midst of the •wheels of industry and commerce! Can (any other city boast of that? The gar (dens are the haV> of London, They give jthe feeling of spaciousness that almost snakes one forget this machine-ridden, traffic-congested age. The illusion of country in the midst pf the city is still more intensified by the

‘ many squares surrounded by their itely old houses. I wonder if Lon Loners are so accustomed to their iquares that they do not feel their beauty ind (harm. To a foreigner they are rery impressive. But London can very easily be a city sf gardens and green squares because of its climate. Ah, its climate! That reminds me. Anyone who can cavil at (London's climate must be dull, colour-

(ess, gloomy and without imagination. It has the temperament of a prima donna—most mobile, mutable, flashing lifferent degrees, showing a new facade hourly. Only people who love monotony can quarrel with this delightful climate. Never to know what it is going to do from hour to hour, like a naughty child getting into mischief. How delicious. Never to find it stodgy and tire■omely dependable. As for the fogs, they are the poetry of London, and a stimulus to the imagination. At noon that yellow green atmosphere, creating “a sadder light than tfarpng moon,” is full of mystery and mysticism. One is transported inward into a life remote land detached from the world. One in a dream world peopled by one's town imaginings. I love the fogs.

The only thing the matter with the felimate of London is the houses. One huddles over a small grate fire (most of whoso heat goes rollicking up the chimney) longing to be able to read or itu’v in comfort—longing for the 6un It is the discomfort of the non-heated h <u<es that has created the legend of London’s bad climate. Find some heat for your houses (it does not have to be central beating or steam heat) and London’s bad climate will be dissipated Think of what a joy the German stove is to the Bavarian Highlands and other parts of Germany, and it can be ver\ ornamental, too, and it does not ruin the complexion and render you abso lutely colourless as steam heat does Why do foreigners come to England remain a short time, and rush to the Continent ? Not because they do not love England, not because they would not like to stay here, but because oi the cold houses. They cannot be com fortable here, and so they go where they can find what they are accustomed to," that is, heat in the bouses. Tht “Come to Britain” movement cannot b< much of a success until the houses arc ynarlA comfortable. There is one thin*' to be remembered: Most of the world does not wear woollen underwear and does not want to be forced to it. Architecturally, London is inspiring ir Jts public buildings and private bouses Its house painters have more imagination than the painters of other cities. And have relieved the effect of severe facades by a very artful painting of ithe window-frames, flower boxes and entrance doors in contrasting lighT colours. Many grave, dignified and 010 jfacades present to the world an almost youthful front of gaiety because of their charming use of paint. In (Chelsea the painters have given full scope jto their art, and the result is delightful. There are four high lights in London —the Whitehall district, with its (Parliament buildings, one of the mos* splendid groups of edifices in the world, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace Square and St. James* Palace. The fortress-like atmosphere that St. James* still retains makes its position in ithe centre of town eo delightfully incongruous. In the precincts of this palace one feels haunted by the romance of the past, and the modern buildings surrounding it only enhance its unexpectedness and old world beauty. It still retains as its essence some of the bygone splendour, pomp and ceremony that attached itself to medievalism. One thrills here to the great glorious past. Trafalgar Square, with the Nelson

monument, is London’s great sentinel. The feverish activity of this square, its National Gallery, fountain and pigeons, give it an atmosphere unlike any other part of the city.