AUNT HILDAS LETTER

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19268, 3 January 1931, Page 18 (Supplement)

AUNT HILDAS LETTER

WORKING TO WIRELESS.

VOICES FROM THE CABBAGE PATCH. J)EAR LITTLE PEOPLE,— Did you usher in the little New Year with a host of good resolutions, and with also perhaps a few regrets that the past had to be let pass? Well, to-night, we’ll take all that for granted for I suppose your good resolutions wall share the fate of all their New Year predecessors! Now I am going to- tell you of a quaint little incident that happened on one of the chief holidays last week. You remember I told you I’d be enjoying a rest alone with nature? This was a very, very hot, sultry afternoon; and it was my g**eat good fortune to be invited to a dear old-world homestead out in the green freshness of the country. I wish you’d seen the garden, where the flowers grew because they loved to grow; honeysuckle in full flower trailed over an old tree stump; red, red roses made the air beautiful with their rich perfume; orange poppies lured the humble-bees into their dusky depths and larch and sycamore trees gave a cool green setting to the scene. Gulls flapped lazily overhead, and Aunt Hilda chatted first energetically about the big problems of the day; then the talk drifted to mere chatter, and finally ceased as we all grew drowsy. Suddenly a deep, low voice seemed to come from the very middle of a large field of drumhead cabbages! A voice in a cabbage patch! And it was telling a funny Scotch story! For quite a while it puzzled me to know where the man was hiding, and who on earth he was talking to. Surely anyone who would talk to an acre of cabbages was in dire need of an audience. Just then my host solved the puzzle by remarking, “ That’s my neighbour’s loud speaker! ” The neighbour is a very industrious market gardener, and he relieves the tedium of arduous and dusty work by enjoying the broadcast programmes as he works! But the effect of hearing a Scotch story emanating from a bed of very sober cabbages was for a moment quite startling. * *• * * * Early in February Aunt Hilda will launch some new and very delightful ideas for the entertainment of her large family, so please watch the pages very carefully and be on the spot when the new ideas arrive. Love to each one of you— \