CHRISTMAS IN BRITAIN

Greymouth Evening Star, 24 December 1934, Page 7

CHRISTMAS IN BRITAIN

100 MILLIONS SPENT ——- 111 I > EFFECT OF TRADE RECOVERY [by CABLE —PRESS ASSN. —COPYRIGHT.] (Received December 24, 9 a.m.) LONDON, December 22. It is estimated that a hundred million sterling will be expended on Christmas shopping throughout Britain. The congestion in London streets last week, was unprecedented, all London’s famous shopping thoroughfares being packed. The magnitude of the shopping proves the revival of fcrade, and has increased employment by the temporary absorption of two hundred thousand workless. The weather belies the traditional idea, of a snowy Christmas, which indeed has pot been seen since the war. The tumultous streets of the last few .days will contrast with Christ-’ mas Day which in the centre of London will be more dead than on a Sunday, when it seems barely alive, Christmas being a home festival. Trains will maintain skeleton services, and buses and trams close down, allowing employees the only opportunity of general relaxation all the year. Even the burglar does not go a-burgling, preferring to enjoy Christmas in his own fashion, leaving Scotland Yard with an unwritten armistice with crooks, who so faithfully observe the truce, that there are only twenty-five police officers on duty, compared with the usual five hundred. Newspapers will not be publishing for two days.

TRANSPORT DISORGANISED. LONDON, December 22. A dense fog has impeded the Christmas shopping in London and in the provincial towns. The fog has brought to a standstill hundreds of lorries with Christmas goods on the main roads, also paralysing communications throughout the country. A lorry collided with an omnibus near Doncaster, and caught fire, the driver being burnt to death. A woman walking in Leicester stumbled over an obstacle, which, turned out to he a dead man. Apparently, he was the victom of a stroke. An Air Force plane lost its bearings, and was forced to land at the Isle of Sheppey. The plane overturned, but the occupants were unhurt. A steamer has been stranded on a mud bank in the Medway. The boats took off the pilot and two passengers. A ferry boat collided with a trawler •’in the Tyne. Both were damaged. Shipping is almost stationary in the Thames, the Tyne and the Humber.

HEAVY MAILS. LONDON, December 23. Britain’s Christmas mails made a record. Letters posted daily in London alone averaged 12,000,000, and parcels 350,000. Christmas airmails to India, Australia and Africa totalled 12,8071b5, compared with 7,491 last year. AT SANDRINGHAM LONDON, December 22. Their Majesties’ Christmas will be their jolliest for many years, owing to the presence of more young people than formerly, making an unusually large royal party at Sandringham, where Their Majesties went on Saturday, taking Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. The Queen, as usual, has almost daily visited numerous establishments and made 800 Christmas purchases, many of them being for children. The Duke and Duchess of York are arriving at Sandringham to-day. The Duke of Kent will arrive there during the week-end, and will show his bride the beauties of Their Majesties country home. The Prince of Wales is expected to arrive by air at Sandringham on Christmas Eve. Greetings are being exchanged by the Royal Family with Duke of Gloucester in New Zealand after the King’s broadcast from the library. A giant Christmas tree in the ballroom at Sandringham will be illuminated with thousands of fairy lights. Their Majesties will distribute presents from the crowded branches of the tree to the domestic staff and the estate workers and their families. KING’S MESSAGE (Rec. December 24, Noon) LONDON, December 23. Arrangements are concluded for recording the King’s Christmas message. Engineers tested the special lines connecting the Broadcasting Corporation’s studios at Saint John’s Wood, where six sets fo recording apparatus have been calibrated, and Broadcasting House. The records will be triplicated. The King’s voice will be telephoned from Sandringham to BroadcastingHouse, and thence to the studios, where the electrical impulse will be amplified ten milion times, actuating the sapphire needles engraving wavy lines three-thousandths of an inch deep on the wax recording discs. The records will be sold to the public after Royal approval and profits given to charities, nominated by His Majesty. GERMAN POLICE-GIFTS. BERLIN, December 22. “No child shall lack a Christmas gift,” is the slogan of the German police, who, despite their being poorly paid, have collected considerable funds for this purpose. FOOD FOR ALL LONDON, December 23. The Yorkshire Post’s Berlin correspondent says: There has been a general determination in Germany that nobody will go hungry a£ Christmas. Storm Troops will president the tables in the streets at which all coiners will be welcome to eat. Meanwhile, personal exuberance is checked by the warning to non-payers of income tax due in December, that they will have their names posted for all to see on New Year’s Day. IN FRANCE. LONDON, December 23. The “Guardian’s” Paris correspondent says: Christmas in France will be chiefly a children’s festival. Happily, in 1934, even the poorest has something to anticipate. The Government is organising a three-day

Christmas party for sixty thousand poor Paris children, who will receive clothes, food, and toys. Grown-ups, usually are content with restaurant Christmas Eve dinner, and the restaurants have considerably lowered prices owing to bad times. AUSTRIAN AMNESTY. ‘’■ ’■ < VIENNA, December 23. About 5000 political .prisoners will be affected by the Christmas amnesty. Some will be released; and others, will have their sentences reduced. BUSY DUNEDIN. DUNEDIN, December 23. The best Christmas since the start of the depression is the general verdict of the business community. An improvement which started twelve months ago with the first good wool sale has continued, despite the fall in certain classes of primary produce, and large retailers are of the opinion that a more confident tone is in evidence at the close of 1934 than for several years. Holiday railway traffic commenced in earnest yesterday, when approximately 6,000 passengers passed through Dunedin railway station. A very heavy booking is expected tomorrow. GREYMOUTH SCENES, EVERYBODY BUSY. The advantage of ‘having two. late shopping nights, on the eve of this Christmas, is appreciated by Greymouth business houses. Large crowds filled the main streets, and shops on Saturday, and business was transacted with a swing. Businessmen report good sales. The pleasant weather conditions contributed largely towards the feeling of good . fellowship, and shoppers were on the scene from an early hour this morning. The general opinion held is that the purse strings have been loosened in comparison with last Christmas, and better presents are being bought. With this afternoon, and another late night , ahead of them, the turnover for Christmas trade is expected by the business houses to exceed that of last year. “Exceedingly brisk in every .department,” said the Chief Postmaster (Mr A. M. Robertson), when asked by a “Star” reporter this morning, how business was progressing with the Post dflice. He added that the mails received and dispatched were much in excess of last year’s Christmas trade, and had extended over a longer period. People had “got in early,” with their postal business. The posting has finished, but the postmen had their heaviest loads to-day. Tho main work to-day was at the telegraph counter, where “greetings” telegrams were being handed in “by the handful.” “Every circuit has been worked to the utmost during the past week.” said the Chief Postmaster. “The officers have worked long hours without complaint.” As he said this an officer came in asking for an extra man, but the Chief Postmaster said he was like Napoleon at Waterloo, he had not enough men for the work that he wanted done. The continued spell of fine weather is appreciated by the host that will > seek enjoyment at rivers and beaches. These have been crowded during past weeks, and surf-bathing has become the popular pastime in the Grey district. Tennis courts will also be • popular, while cricket fields, and bowling and croquet greens will receive full support during the holidays. For the Sportsmen of another branch, the Westport Trotting Club’s meeting and the Westland Racing Club’s gathering offer attractions for Boxing Day. Hokitika will be celebrating its Jubilee this week, and Greymouth will not be lacking in its support.

HOLIDAY TRAFFIC. The passenger traffic from Christchurch during the past week, has been exceptionally heavy according to the Stationmaster, Mr V. R. J. Stanley, who said this morning that this traffic was approximately 25 per cent more than for the corresponding period last year. One of the features has been the great number travelling on the night goods trains. These trains have evidently proved suitable for the travelling public, and the fact that so many have travelled by them, has been eminently suitable for the Department, who have thus been able to manage with a minimum of rolling stock, cars arriving on the goods trains in the morning, going back to Christchurch on the expresses and vice versa. Traffic from Greymouth to Christchurch has been fairly light. Local traffic has also been very heavy, all country trains being unusually well patronised. Goods traffic has been heavy, a feature this year, being the quantity of perishable and urgent consignments. A special man had to be employed for four hours yesterday, to deal with perishables arriving from Christchurch by the goods train. The relief express, which left Greymouth at 9.10 a.m. to-day, carried 80 passengers, while the usual 10.18 a.m , express had about 150. The special express arriving at 3.10 p.m. to-day, has 243 passengers aboard, and the ordinary express will bring 230. There were 150 passengers on the goods train to Christchurch on Saturday night, while to-night’s goods train is expected to take about 250 passengers from Greymouth.