12 JULY 1946, Page 15

Two Years Ago

Yet only two years ago the doodle-bombs were hurling over that cricket-field at ten-minute intervals, chased by our fighters. I saw a battle waged while a match was in progress. The boys dived for the hedges, and the wicket stood empty for a few minutes, after which the game was resumed at exactly the normal tempo. Or was the normality then an illusion similar to that into which I wandered this week on a country grammar-school speech day, under the hypnosis of the timeless voice of the red-tabbed orator?