The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-02-03
means fireworks, and is therefor quite comprehensive.
 TOO COLD TO DODGE

This is just a 'foreword" to make the following quotation clear to those who do not understand our queer Lon- don argot;
 "A Brooks benefit started on Tues day at 6:30 D. m. I Just managed to get home before the fireworks began. As the temperature was somewhere near zero, however, I refused to leave the flat and go down Into the bomb proof basement, where 1t Is colder than the nethermost milestone. h. stead I stayed by the fire and ate my dinner while the entertainment in the air went on uninterruptedly for about an hour. It is strange how &C., customed one gets to this sort oi thing. Even the cat, which you will remember used to be terrified when the guns thundered around and about us, takes now very little interest in the proceedings. Her ears go up and her hair bristles bit but bye and bye she stretches and yawnS and lies down in bored sort of way as near to the grate as possible"
 "Glad as we could be-" the letter from this little English girl continues, Ito see you once more. Unless things. by some miracle. change for the better. we hope you will stay where you are until the summer. Food Is really going to be a luxury in some of its forms over here. and unless something is done to abolish the shopping queues and to insist on shop people saying no civ lily some one is going to get hurt.
 "As early as and g in the morning long lines of frozen looking women and children in the poor districts are to be seen waiting their turn to be served at provision shops or butchers stores am not saying this to worry you con- corning us.
 People, such as we are, can afford to buy substitutes for tho bread and butter and beef and milk, such as are the simple necessities of the working classes. Everyone with brains and hearts arrange their tables so that this can be done and thus leave moro for the poor. But the whole atmosphere is uncomfortable and feel really mean when I come back from my war work in the evening knowing that am go- ing to have a good meal, and see the crowds of shivering fellow crcatures standing outside shops trying to buy food that they really need.
 FOOD MAIN TOPIC
 -"Tea is one of my chief difficulties, and it took the best part of an hour the other day before I could find a grocer who would or could sell me half pound! Another trying part of the business is that shopkeepers are getting very rude these days and some times feel as if I would rather drink cold water for the rest of my days than go into shop and enquire if they will sell me some tea! This Is a very 'foody' epistle am afraid. But. really 1t is the one topic of conversation over here just now. If you meet friend in the street you don't say. how are you? or 'how's your father? or any thing like that; your greeting is. have you had any butter latelyT And if the reply is quarter of pound last week. you try to hide your jealousy and con- graduate the lucky gourmand!
 "Of course it has its funny side, for one sees hundreds of business meh ar irving by the morning trains from country and suburbs, each carrying bags which they take out during the lunch hour and try to fill with such purchases of butter. meat, margarine. matches and soap as they can accumu- late. But 1t Is really surprising. in spite of all these difficulties. how lIt- tie we have actually been inconven- fenced by all these worries.
 T was talking to very wealthy and famous financier the other day and he said that much of the present stress and strain was the result of bad man. agemcnt People will not use their braina about these matters, at the proper time