The Henson Journals

[207]

Monday, October 18th, 1926

A brilliant but very cold day. The shortage of coal is being severely felt by the poor people, who cannot pay the exorbitant price. In Sunderland 5/– per cwt. was being charged last week. Meanwhile Cook is carrying a fiery cross through the country in order to perpetuate this idiotic stoppage. We shall learn this week the extent of his influence.

I went in to Newcastle, and had my hair cut. As we returned, I noticed a considerable number of birds flying high up. At first I thought that they were rooks, but, when the sun caught them, I saw the white plumage, & knew them to be plovers. I have not seen so many at once for a long time. The Times has a short paragraph headed "Birds at height of 6000 feet". It runs thus: –

"It is stated by Imperial Airways in their monthly bulletin that machines flying between Paris & Zurich have recently encountered large flocks of birds migrating to warmer countries. They have been heading directly south, flying in spearhead formation, sometimes several hundred yards in width, & when crossing the Alps have been met with at a height of 6000 feet. So intent are they on getting to their destination that they take little or no notice of the big air liners approaching them, & the pilots have sometimes found it advisable to alter their course to avoid them."

I spent some time in revising the Lock Memorial Lecture, which displeases me more on every re–reading! However it is too late for me to write anything else, & I have pledged myself to print it!! I wrote to Gerald Rainbow, who is now traversing his first term at Leatherhead.

Sir Hugh Bell sent me a copy of the Contemporary Review containing a[n] article which he had written on "The Dispute in the Coal Trade".

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