LATE SHOPPING NIGHT

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25995, 24 December 1949, Page 6

LATE SHOPPING NIGHT

BIG CROWD IN STREETS

CAROL SINGING POPULAR “Carols by Candlelight” was without doubt the outstanding feature of Christchurch’s celebration last evening of what amounted, for shoppers, to Christmas Eve. Long before the appointed time, 9.30 p.m., hundreds gatnered on the riverbank, between Hereford street and Cashel street, for the carol singing, which was organised by the Y.M.C.A. By the time the singing actually began, the crowd numbered several thousand, and the banks on both sides of the river were bright with the candles which were sold, with, the words of the carols, in aid of Y.M.C.A. funds. It was a memorable scene in an almost perfect setting. The Salvation Army Band was m attendance, and the singing, which was conducted by Mr Clifton Cook, was led by members of the combined musical societies, church and school choirs. The bandmaster was Mr Ken Bridge. In the shops, business was reported to be fully as brisk as last Christmas Eve. In some of the department stores, even a Springbok forward might have found it difficult at times to make progress. Officers of the traffic department of the City Council had an extremely busy day with the heavy traffic in the city, and in the main shopping areas even footway was at a premium. Hotels had a busy day, but instances of drunkenness were relatively few. Among the busiest people in the city were taxi-drivers, who were in great demand all day. In. the middle of the afternoon there were queues for taxis in Cathedral square. Last evening the streets were thronged, but it was an orderly crowd. Many parents brought their children with them for what was obviously a Christmas treat, and as the shops began to close, the streets resounded to shrill whistles, blowers, and other impedimenta, which could be dignified only with the title of an instrument for producing a noise. /