Partridges, Turtle Doves And Leaping Lords

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31861, 13 December 1968, Page 20

Partridges, Turtle Doves And Leaping Lords

(From DAVID LANCASHIRE, of the Associated Press> LONDON, Dec. 12. In Christmas shopping for the man or woman who has everything, how about taking a tip from the carol about the part- ! ridge in a pear tree? According to "The 12 Days of Christmas.” the old song dealing with the time between Christmas and Epiphany, the true love successively provided the partridge, the tree and other oddities: two turtle doves, three French hens, four coUy birds, five gold rings, six geese, seven swans, eight milkmaids, nine drummers, 10 pipers. 11 dancing ladies and 12 lords (a-leaping). By investment or inveiglement you can get all this stuff in London today. Partridges, albeit dead, can be had for 84 a brace.

f You can give one to your ■ love and eat the other. A pear tree will set you i back $5.50 to 811.50, dependI ing on size. Depends on Age 1 Turtle doves are priced according to age, but two ’ mature ones cost three (guineas, or $6.75. French hens, born and raised in England, go for $4.50 and up. i! Colly birds? In England ;; common blackbirds, protec>jted by law. No store can sell .I them, but any lover worth his (salt could get hold of four ’lin Hyde Park while the - keeper is off for his afterr noon tea. , Next on the list are five ’ gold rings. At one store they c range from $l4 to $lO5 each, t Pink-foot geese are $l4 , each, or you can get the > common white variety at half that. j Black pr White ; Swans come a little higher. , i To keep up with the song . you need seven, and they’ll

cost $l2O a pair for black ones, or $35 each for white, f The British buy them to swim in the moats of s country mansions. Milkmaids are not available at such emporiums as ; Harrods, but the National Farmers’ Union reports that a few still work in Britain.

The average wage for farm workers is 65c an hour, including adjustment for overtime

Let’s see now: Drummers drumming and pipers piping. The Musicians’ Union says you can hire a concert musician for Sl2 for three hours.

You might get a non-union drummer for less, and kilted bagpipers may soon be cheap, since the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders regiment is being disbanded. No Trouble The ladies dancing you should be able to get from any discotheque—-free, if you are persuasive enough. The Lords a-leaping might present a problem. Lords aren’t for sale, but some of them will tackle the odd assignment if the price is right. The House of Lords has more than 1000 and pays them $ll a day when they appear for sessions of Parliament. Most of them are too old to leap. That leaves you with a bill for $6OO dollars or so if (you take the cheaper grade : of geese, hire the milkmaids I for one hour’s work—and can (find a dozen Lords willing to jump at Parliamentary rates.