Queen’s speech — ‘just what Britain needed’

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33728, 28 December 1974, Page 6

Queen’s speech — ‘just what Britain needed’

The Queen’s Christmas speech would put heart back into the people of Britain, said Mrs John Gregory, who is revisiting Christchurch from England, yesterday.

Mrs Gregory, the former Miss .Margaret Selby, of Aylesbury, said that the Royal message was to the point and full of helpful common sense—just what Britain and the Commonwealth needed at the present time. “Basically, the message came through as ‘Where there’s a will there’s a way’ in the difficult times that must come,” Mrs Gregory said. Not that she has returned full of gloomy fears for Britain. Far from it. “Give an Englishman a challenge, and he rises against adversity,” she said. “The present conditions in ’Britain are undoubtedly {adverse to many, particularly (for those on unearned ini comes,” .she said. “The drop in the share market has made them very despondent. But people on wages are still keeping ahead of the cost of living, though further unemployment is inevitable.” 13 YEARS AWAY It is 13 years since Mrs Gregorv last visited New Zealand. She is amazed at) the high rise in the cost of essential commodities. “I was shattered to see the price of tomatoes, lettuces, carrots, and potatoes here on I Christmas Eve,” she said. “It' is in the seasonal foods that you notice the rise most. But beef and lamb here are still much cheaper than in England. So is petrol, which has recently gone up to the

g equivalent of $1.20 a gallon * with tax, in England, though 1 new cars are much cheaper < there than here.” - On the whole, Mrs Gregory t believes the cost of living in _ Christchurch and Banstead ’ I (Surrey), where she lives Uwith her husband and son, - evens out to be much the t same. Banstead is about 15 miles south of London, and so near e Epsom racecourse that it is e quicker to walk there to see ,>:the Derby than to drive a Jcar in the slow-moving trafUfic. "And, of course, you ' can’t find a parking place if j you do take a car,” she said. HAPPY IN ENGLAND (l Though she has not been linear an I.R.A. bomb blast iherself, Mrs Gregory feels a a (certain amount of concern . for her husband and son, who go to London every day. “My husband was in a tube station one day when it was 3 ;cleared for a bomb alert — ’fortunately a false alarm — j;and he knows what it is like fi to be frisked if he goes into _a London pub. Everyone is ’frisked for safety’s sake,” 'she said. But Mrs Gregory has no ; i deep wish to leave Britain at r| present for the comparative t; safety of New Zealand, or fibecause of the “gloom that feeds upon itself.” ■ “If we came back to live, , it would be for personal treasons; and at the moment J we have no plans to return,” ; she said.. Margaret Gregory left New I Zealand in 1946 to be mar- • ried in Calcutta. Her hus- ! band, a real estate and propi erty manager, had the only

n.European-owned business of; hi this kind in India when they’ r left to live in England in 1970. £ IN CALCUTTA While in Calcutta, she s’came to know Mother Teresa i, very well and was a foundae tion member of the Marian Society, a group of intersi national residents of Cal-j r cutta, who raised funds for' si Mother Teresa’s humanitar-; ejian work. a “I met Mother Teresa again a few months ago in; u London at a rally held for' fiber by the Co-Workers ofj 1.1 Mother Teresa, an interna-j ’tional organisation to which’ I belong,” she said. n; Mrs Gregory has noticed) 11 many changes in Christ-' a i church since her return.' n apart from the new layout ini i, Cathedral Square, where she; '. would like to see small e tables and facilities for re-1 s freshments so that people - could enjoy spending time - there in the sun. e She is delighted to see so, a many native trees and shrubs I s now featured in private gar-)

I;dens. “I saw them only in ' natural reserves, like Deans i Bush, when I was here before.” she said. But this does not mean that she has nor. set eyes on :;New Zealand flora for 13 i years. When on a tour of ■ the west coast of Scotland i last year, she found matipos, ■veronicas, flax, and other - New Zealand native trees and • I plants in private and public ■ gardens. , YOUNG PEOPLE i; More surprising to hear J were Mrs Gregory’s remarks r | about the “tidy appearance” • of young people in Christi church. “They are much better I dressed, cleaner, and less •i drab-looking here than they .•are in England; and .their II jeans are not nearly as tatty,” she said. “I think 11 Christchurch parents should ■lknow this, and be thankful.” ' Mrs Gregory, who has '; many relatives and friends in Canterbury, expects to return ij to England at the end of 'January or early in Febru- ■ I ary.