Evening star., 1943-03-23

cheers" instead
1sS'lsl Of bottoms up"
Henry McLemore. and II take
dim view of this business" instead Of
Il think it's lousy" have helped
keep the delicacies abundant.
1t is gratifying to an American in
London to discover that the United
States has no monopoly on wartime
crackpots. There are plenty OF them
here. There is now an investigation
going on Of an Army colonel who
issued orders that he would greet
the troops with the cry Hi de hi"
and that they must respond by
swapping to attention and answer
ing, "Ho de no."
There also is fuss being raised
over an Army order that no soldier,
no matter what his rank, will be
allowed to walk arm in arm with
his wife, sweetheart or sister even on
leave. Just what this has to do with
defeating the Nazis probably only
Children Play in Trenches.
Wartime vignette: A lovely after
noon in Kensington Gardens and
the war seems miles away as the
children sail boats on the lake, doss
romp. and perambulators crowd the
sidewalks. Soldiers and civilians
laugh as they lounge in the sun.
But the war is brought close to a
newcomer by the sight of fair
haired youngsters, S and years OF
age, frolicking in the slit trenches
that are cut all over the park in
case of an air attack. and the bob
bies watch out to fine any one
caught feeding precious crumbs to
swans or ducks.
Another wartime viRnette. Quiet
Berkeley Square in late twilight just
before the blackout. The harsh
voice of what could only be tough
top sergeant barking commands At
his troops, company of home
guards carrying full equipment and
rifles and not man in the COM
pany under so years of age. Some
with stiff knees, nearly all with
heavy glasses but drilling for hours
IN the cold and dark after a full
days work in factories and Offices.
These men have a great example
n L,N fNr
revealed that for quite a while the
king has been doing a stint on a
precision tool machine in A factory
some miles outside of London. He
works at night and was paid this
compliment by his foreman: His
Majesty has useful hands"
Saluted by Palace Guard.
The ultimate in embarrassment:
Suffered by war correspondent in
uniform who, when walking in front
of Buckingham Palace for the first
time was given full salute by one
of the ramrod-backed guards who
pace back and forth just inside the
heavy iron fence. The correspond
ent, who had not saluted since he
was tenderfoot Boy Scout, return
ed the courtesy with salute that
must have made George Washington
and Lighthouse Harry Lee roll over
in their graves 1t combined the
worst features of combing the hair,
scratching the cheek and waving at
a departing friend
We correspondents are known to
the soldiers as The Piccadilly Com
mandos.' 1t has quite ring to it,
eh? Almost as good as the Cold
stream Guards or Her Majestys
Own Umphtyumph Rihemen.
If you come to London don't make
the mistake of promising to send
flowers to any one. They are the
most expensive Of all luxuries. with
a single violet costing as much as
an orchid in normal times. II you
want to 60 on the water wagon
London is the place to do it. There
is no such thing as buying a bottle
Of the horrid stuff, which delights
us temperance workers, but outrages
those who are accustomed to taking
1t incidentally IS or 20 times a day.
Dogs Still Frisky.
American dog owners need not
worry about their pets suffering
from the want Of meat. London has
more dogs than New York and.
while they haven's seen a bit OF
meat in years. they bark just as
brightly and bite just as briskly as
ever.
Don't fuss the next time your
laundry Is a day late or your dry
cleaning doesn't get back on time.
Laundry requires anywhere from
week to 10 days and dry cleaning
anywhere from a decade to a CEN
tury. Some Londoners swear the
only dry cleaning plant operating
in the empire is In Capetown and
all the stuff is shipped there. All
know s sent out a pair Of pants
to be cleaned five weeks ago and I
haven't even had so much as .
postcard from them since.
American soldiers playing base
ball in Hyde and Green Parks are
watched by curious but bewildered
Londoners, one Of whom said, SILLY
game, amt it? Just like the game
Of FOUNDERS my wife said she used
to play in the convent"
distributed BY McNausht Syndicate, Incl