The Henson Journals

[34]

Friday, June 24th, 1921.

The heat today has been great, and there is all promise of a continuation of the drought. "The economy of Heaven is dark" says the old song, and truly. A bountiful harvest this year might save civilization, & a failure of the crops might precipitate its downfall!

I started work on a sermon for the dedication Festival of the Church at Monkwearmouth, where some portions of Benedict Biscop's building still survive: but I was lured into reading through Gee's extremely interesting and informing chapter on the Ecclesiastical History of Durham, and thus spent my morning rather uselessly.

In the afternoon I spent an hour in clearing the weeds from "Butler's Walk", but found the heat rather incapacitating.

After dinner Ernest arrived from Jedburgh to spend the week–end. He had bicycled most of the way.

The "Times" reports that their Majesties on their return to London from Belfast were received with impressive demonstrations of loyalty by the citizens, which recalled the amazing enthusiasm of the first days of the Great War.

The Strike drags on, mainly because the one side has no interest in ending it, and the other has no ability. In the present state of industry the mine owners can better afford to have their pits closed than to have them working; and in the present juncture of domestic politics, the Labour "leaders" daren't acknowledge their utter & humiliating failure. So the country continues to lose.

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