ST. ANDREW'S DAY.

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 95, 1 December 1939, Page 4

ST. ANDREW'S DAY.

Backstage. The audience at the Red Cross concert in the King Street Hall on Wednesday night saw each item executed without fault. One followed the other and the audience was not kept waiting. But the people in thi body of the hall could not see behind the curtains. There the artists gathered, presenting a study in contrasts. Red Cross nurses and halfnaked Maori boys; small girl dancers and men in kilts; a clown and a 'Grannie.' From this view of a seeming confusion it was appreciated that the items were presented without delay. j

St. Andrew, Patron saint of Scotland, was honoured throughout the world yesterday in every Scottish community. In these days of hard commercial realities, the Saints Days are observed by few, other than banks, and one or two business institutions. But where Caledonia has her hold either by local group or society the day and its significance will never die. In the Union Jack which fluttered from the Wha katane post office mast yesterday local Scots had an eye for only the Blue Cross of St. Andrew, in the composite emblem of Empire.

j Embedded in Cement. An interesting relic in the solid cement blocks which for 38 years composed the strong room of the old Union Bank, was exposed when Mr Cairns of Victoria Avenue, who had procured a quantity for breaking up to form a pathway. When one of the larger blocks was cracked open a pocket-knife which had evidently been dropped into the mixture during the construction of the bank in 1907, fell out. Mr Cairns has removed the cement shell and the knife, with a strong spring still in the blade and with cutting edge still keen is in every day use.