Yours without Price.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 145, 20 June 1931, Page 8

Yours without Price.

It Occurs to Me.

SOFT English landscapes of spring and autumn attract many visitors to Hagley Park in those seasons, but it is doubtful if enough people realise the beauty that dwells there in the winter.

Hagley Park offers the visitor just now the beauty of the delicate tracery of the twiggy branches of leafless oak and birch, the dark masses of the firs piled blackly beside the lake, and the white swans dipping with effortless motion into the reflection of their own mirrored loveliness.

Even on grey days there are one or two white sails on the lake, one or two old men with the hearts of boys, gossiping at the water’s edge as they watch their toy boats critically. As evening settles down and the ducks return to their nesting a benevolent stranger with crumbs and crusts draws long lines of hungry birds to him, as if he were some modern St Francis. The sight of a bright patch of colour where gentle golfing enthusiasts stroll across the fairway, the sheep clustered near the track, the far-off snowy mountains and the earthy smell of rotting leaves that gardeners love, should add to the enjoyment of the walk, and after half an hour with winter’s quiet delights for entertainment, unhappy thoughts and depression worries will slink away ashamed. Try it to-day or to-morrow and see. B.E.S.