Carols By Candlelight On Banks Of A von

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30943, 27 December 1965, Page 10

Carols By Candlelight On Banks Of A von

The traditional carols-by-candlelight festival organised bv the Y.M.C.A was held on the banks of the Avon opposite the Y.M.C.A. on Friday night. The attendance was not as largo as in some previous years, although there was little seating room left on the banks on both sides of the Avon.

. By 9 p.m., when the singing began, a crowd had gathered under the trees on the western bank of the river, and persons continued to arrive until about 9.30 p.m. When the crowd was at its largest, the western bank of the river was almost fully occupied, and a line of singers extended along the western side of Oxford terrace and on both the Hereford street and Cashel street bridges. All the popular carols were sung by the crowd, but for most of the evening the amplified voice of the general secretary of the Y.M.C.A. (Mr R. J. O'Kane), who led the sing-

ing. and others close to the microphone, dominated the otherwise rather thin singing. There were many children at the festival, and some of these found that waving the tapers around, and throwing them into the river, was more enjoyable than singing.

The flickering tapers I among the trees, and the re-1 flections in the river, were| striking as viewed from Oxford terrace,, and traffic generally moved slowly, allowing occupants of cars to watch. The weather was warm for most of the festival, but sections of the crowd began to move off about 9.45 p.m. when a cool wind sprang up. A demonstrator carrying a I placard protesting against the war in Vietnam and concluding with the slogan. “Sleep Well, Christians." moved among the crowd throughout the evening. Music was played by the Salvation Army Citadel Band