'lIl'hein-e-Of This Yearis Program Will Be,i"I5lhe Good Neighbour”

it is twenty-two years since the mi, 330 Oirrietsnas nae DN- gramine linked (III WWII 05 u” commonwealth for the first rwal pnristnill Day me-use by the Quw,-. grandfather. King George V, Each year since then this Christ-

uriuslly thaiiging spirit in! each passing yumisanessentill part oftbs ghristrnaa ritual in the radio ago.

1,353 year, when for the first time ,the British Monarch spent Christ- was away from Britain. the W0-

amme made its first radical break with its tradition. The production was moved from London to Sydney ms was shared wth the Australian and New tzoaland broadcl-IND! authorities. The important principle was established that in broadcast- ms. as in other spheres of British 41-, the centre of the Common- wiiih changes and moves with the -signing Monarch. the Head of the oonimcnwealth.

This year the Queen is again in aritain, and will broadcast, her Christmas message from her home gt. sandrlngham. ,But again the programme leading up to the royal broadcast, while retaining in es- sentials its traditional character. is

the subject of experiment and change. The theme of the programme.

this year is 'i.he good . This idea is no longer a piece of wishful thinking, an ideal belong- ing to the better and higher side of mania nature. but a positiveand practical guide to living between man and man in any one society and between nation and nation in world society. Ten years titer the and of the second world war the world is poised. uneasily. danger- ously, on a point of decision: to find a way for individuals, for-nat- ions, for groups of nations. to co- exist as good neighbours, or to face the consequences of the alternative. The idea of 'the good.neighbour.' as befits the theme of a Christmas programme. is deeply rooted in the Christmas tradition. but it is not exclusively a Christian ideal: it is an ideal common to all the great religions of the world, and it is the principle that can be seen at work in the lives of men and women of all countries and all races

LIVING DEMONSTRATION

The community of the common- wealth, in itself a family of nations. is a living demonstration of the 'good-neighbour" idea as between independent states. Inside the dif-

"THE QUEEN HAS LEFT LONDON"...

Will Spend Christmas With Family At Sandringham

By Lady Pratt

Every year on the appropriate day in December the Court Cir- cular ainounces that "Tile Queen left London this afternoon for Bendtinghsm . . ." The Queen - as her parents. grandparents and great-grandparents did before her - has gone to her home In the country to spend Christmas with her family and enjoy for a short space the rare privilege of living as a private individual.

As the pompe and splendours of Buckingham Palace typify the of- ficial life of the Sovereign. with its never-ending round of public cares and duties. so Bandringham rep- resents her family life. and especi- ally from long association. the fam- ily festival of Christmas. Since i861.

when it was purchased, there have been few Christmases when sand- ringhsm and its little church have not been the setting for a royal Christmas.

The sandringham estate of Nor- folk was bought by the Prince con: sort for Edward VII, then Priiive of Wales. with a portion of the ac- cumulated-revenues of the Duchy of Cornwall. The house was small, but the heaths and woodlands of the then neglected estate abound- ed in game. and there were great possibilities for agricultural and garden development. The Prince of Wales threw himself with zest into planning the construction of roads, the planting of trees. the preserv- ing of an enormous head of game, the building of kennels. stables. cot- tages and farmeries and the lay- out of the benutifuligsrdcfis which now give so much pleasure to the public. No years later. on his mar- riage with Princess Alexandra oi Denmark. he began his long and famous career as country-house host

people joined their voices to the choir. This Christmas Day that musical lcome -rfrom the good neighbours of many lands will echo round the world.

sport.

forged by cricket between the Oeminenwealtlr countries grows Irons-r war! war. and it is hoped to hear this Ohristmas from the

football. another

force for understand' rations. will be represented. But perhaps the sport that ca - tured the imagination of the world past vividly in ms was athletics. The Spirit of the commonwealth Games and the great international contests on the track will be sum- med no in a Christmas message om Roger Bannistn-. the young 11511 doctor who was the first

the athlete that has been handed down like a torch from the ancient Web. as the apotheoais of the rdlvidual pitting-himself Igainst is fellows in friendly canbat. -

IANNEI 01' PIOGIISI

it is hoped to ilustvate. by at hit one example. the revolution In is being worked in the jungles. Wlmhe. and river-banks of Africa

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', e leg-gone Good and Merry Christmas!

DOUGLAS Bigos. or ; JONES A - ' LIMITED; i .

. at sandrlngham. and the ldward- fan period, whose full flowering was destined to be as short as it was glorious. cams there into pre- mature bloom. i

Inter!-ainod Friends

Early in the Prince's ownership Sandringhamilouse was rebuilt and enlarged and, with its estate, it became a witness to the spacious are which he personified. Even the architectural confusion of the house itself - a generous, hospitable, Vic- torlan-Tudor muddle of brick and atone. with sweet-scented shrubs and climbing plants covering the walls -speaks of warmth and spacious living.

It was the Prince's custom to in- vite large parties of relatives and friends to Ssndririgharn whenever he was in residence. especially for the Christmas celebration. The company was always varied and included. besides London friends and Bandringham neighbours. members of all ranks and professions - even artists and musicians, who in Vic- torian days were often regarded as being not quite respectable.

The Prince's'guests found that. on the whole. life was simple, though uable to be strenuous. One of his friends thus describes Christ- mas week at Beodringham:

"Wednesday we went out hunt- ' g: it poured in torrents from ten 0 four in the afternoon. yet we remained out the whole day. My agonies that day would be difficult to describe . . . not having ridden for so long. Thursday there was

night; and no man before the Prince. who went to bed about 1.30 am. unless he was playing baccarat. when he might sit up until 4 or I am

Dinner was the only formal meal of the day, with tiaras and decora- tions worn. and guests sitting in order of precedence. A Sandring- ham dinner menu of those days bears witness to the Prince's er- celleni. appetite in an age not- able for heavy eating. The card began with turtle soup and goes on to turbot, quail, venison. saddle of mutton and roast pheasant be- fore rounding off with petitl saver- ins a l'orange, fruit salad and tutti frutti ices - a gastronomic en- duranoe-test to match the rigours of huntins. rhaotlns I-nd belns entertained as described.

”l0UNDLI88LY HAPPY"

B'ut with King Edward that way of life ended. Queen Alexandra continued to occupy sandringham House while his successor. King George V. resided at York Cottage, a small house in the grounds built originally to accommodate the over- flow of guests from Sandringliani House. "This most undesirable residence" was the favourite home of George V. for 33 years and the centre of his devoted family circle.

Here he spent his honeymoon: here five of his six children were born and here. in quarters far too small and incredibly inconvenient, his family spent a large part" of their childhood. the Court resided.

the King himself was hi!!!)Y-

Life at York Cottage was in no sense spacious. For his secretaries, the carrying on of State business, which the Sovereign cannot avoid. wherever he goes, was a matter of extreme difficulty, while, in con- trast with the gargantuan meals of King Edward's day. such strict rationing was observed at York Cottage during the Great war that "at breakfast. those who were late got nothing."

FIRST BROADCAST

boundlessly

King George V came to the throne in anxious times. and he and Queen Mary rose nobly to their great task and gave of themselves ungrudgingly in the service of their peoples through 26 of the most critical years in the nation's history. The King's labours during the First Great War took a toll of the King's health from which he never recovered. He took up resid- ence at Sandringham House after the death of Queen Alexandra, and but for the relaxation afforded him by "dear old Sandringham" he might not have lived to see his life work crowned by theirejoicings of his Jubilee. Life at Sandringham under his rule was like that of any English country house, and it was there. following that way of life that he died a few months after his Jubilee on January 20th, 1936.

On Christmas Day in 1932. speak- ing from his study at Sandrlng- ham House, King George iiiaugur-

State business was carried on. and

ated the Christmas

sroiiaay. Dec. 20. 191-54 The Guardian age 5 mm-'r" ' - l I

sty Will Broadcast On Christmas Day

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the Commonwealth that has now become a yearly custom. In that address which established him as a "natural" broadcaster. he re- called the long yeiirs during which he and his peoples had striven to- gether in the cause of peace and prosperity. "My life's aim has been to serve as I might towards these ends" he said. "Your loyalty, your confidence in me, has been my abundant reward...'ro all, to each. I wish a happy Christmas. God bless you." Little did he imagine that on the twentieth anniversary of this first Christmas broadcast the little grand-daughter. whose joyous company was one of the de- lights of his last years, would be sitting at this same desk addressing her peoples as their Queen.

And so the wrought-iron gates bearing. the entwined emblems of the Rose, the Thistle and the Sham- rock close behind the young chatel- airic of Sandrlngham House as she returns once more to celebrate Christmas with her family in the home of her forbears, and to kneel as they did before ilie Altar of Peace (a dedication chosen by Queen Alexandra) in the little church full of memories. As Mother of her family and Sovereign of her far-flung peoples. the thoughts of us all go with her.

(Copyright: N. F. L.)

More history was written on

,Chrlstmas Day 1941 - for Hong 1Kong surrendered. after 17 days of isiege: one of the saddest Christ- brosdcast toimases of the war.

Christmas Rose Has Real Significance

crying, she waved her wand, and instantly the ground was carpeted with glittering white roses. cred these blooms. When she pre- sented her gift, the Christ Child smiled, and as his fingers touched the white flowers the petals became tinged with pink.

is servs.nts' bah when we danced reels and jigs till five in the morn-. lrig . . . Friday was the ohristmas'

me the most lovely presents. after- wards we had the Loving Cup and the mistletoe which occasioned many Jokes and laughter."

When shooting was the order of the day. everyone had to join the shooting-party for luncheon and. no matter what they might have

"carriages were ordered and we all had to have luncheon in a damn tent."

SIMPLEB. LIFE

These rigours are nowadays soft- ziied, for during at recent Christ-

oetli the Queen Mother, Margaret and Princess Alexandra of Kent, had lunch in the Royal waiting-room at Wollerton tation. where they Joined the shooting- party from Sandringham l-louse

After a shooting-party. in King Edward's day. tea would be "a full- dress meal with all the women in tea-gowns and the men in short black Jackets and black ties. Got- tlieb's band played like a bee in a bottle for an hour. Then every- one was mobilized for games. but those who know the routine tiptoed off to the library and read or talk- ed” -- a' wise precaution, for the ensuing evening was likely D be a long one.

No lady could so to bed beforrl the Princess retired. at about mid.

tree. the Prince and Princess gave,

been doing during the morning,-

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The Spirit of Christmas belongs to everyone - its sacred trust of friendship and good-will know no boundaries of race or C;'OOd..iI1i is with this if mind, we say to all - May you and yours And this Christmas bright with cheer and the blessings of warmth and benevolence! . . . To you - our

loyal customers and friends - We wish a Happy Holiday!

The ROGERS HARDWARE co; LTD.

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