Item 44 - London Life

Typescript essay on the state of the city of London. Beaton writes that it has been a year since he was last in London and he has returned to find it looking very drab and forlorn in comparison to New York. Wartime London has been devasted by the effect of bomb blasts. He believes that, with time, he shall again acquire the national characteristics of stoicism, although at present, he still reacts violently to some of the inevitable restrictions and frustrations brought about by the war. In London, no-one is straving and food is shared equally, but it is hardly sufficient for the hard work people undertake. There are queues for fish of the vilest quality. People are irritable with one another and the abortive lifting of the black-out was particularly difficult to bear, as it raised had raised the hopes of those struggling in the unremitting darkness.