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aro = a rs Th CIE ------------EEEL aA Si All-Year Rush At' Royal Post Office As soon as it was announced that the Queen is to have a baby early in the New Year, the Qourt. Post Office at Bucking- bam Palace (and at Balmoral) was flooded with telegrams and cablegrams. The tiny coloured lights on the telephone switchboard flick- ered and flashed as innumer- able calls were put through. The post next morning brought many sacks of mail containing good wishes and greetings. Ever since then the Court Post Office has been working at full pressure and so it will continue, getting busier every day right up to the time when the baby is christened. Some idea of the likely amount of extra work can be gleaned from past records. When George V died some 15,000 telegrams were received 12,000 were dealt with at the Silver Jubilee and more than 10,000 at the Coronation of tne late King George VI. The Court Post Office is al- ways on the move. Normally it is part of Buckingham Palace with a staff of thirteen men. No women are employed. Even on the telephone switchboards o "hello girls" operate. If ever you are outside Buck- ingham Palace you can see the Court Post Office next to the guard room, behind the pillars at the extreme left-hand corner of the Palace. The Court never moves with- out the Court Post Office, for the post office services must be maintained whether the Court is at Balmoral, Windsor, Sandring- ham, Holyrood, Ascot, Cowes or on the royal yacht. Throughout the day and night there is contact with every part of the United Kingdom, and with the whole of the Common- wealth, It is necessary that the Queen should never be out of touch with her ministers. At any moment it might be necessary This Saves Money! by Cowra Wher Thrifty! Easy! So satisfactory! Make your own slip-covers by following our illustrated step- by-step method. You'll turn out a most professional-looking job! Slip-cover a chair or sofa! Step-by-step Instructions 841 for a basle cover; six other types. Send THIRTY-FIVE CENTS (stamps cannot be accepted, use postal note for safety) for this pattern to Laura Wheeler, Box 1, 123 Eighteenth St., New Toronto, Ont. Print plainly PATTERN NUMBER, your NAME and AD- DRESS. New! New! New! Our 1960 Laura Wheeler Needlecraft Book is ready NOW! Crammed with exciting, unusual, popular de- signs to crochet, knit, sew, em- broider, quilt, weave--fashions, home furnishings, toys, gifts, bazaar hits. In the book FREE -- 3 quilt patterns, Hurry, send 25 cents for your copy. for her to have a telephone con- versation or telegraphic com- munication, In its main essentials, the Buckingham Palace Post Olfice is like any other post office, At a long counter clerks transact ordinary post office business with the Palace staff who want postage stamps, postal and money orders, stamped station- ery, parcels and letters register- ed, and to send telegrams. Apart from the Palace staff, the only members of the public permitted to use this post office are the soldiers from the adjoin- ing guard room, and they can only buy stamps and postal orders, and post their letters in the Palace post box when on a tour of duty. If you happen to be outside Buckingham Palace at about six o'clock any week -day morning you will see the familiar red Post Office vans drive in to the unloading point. From here the bags of letters and parcels are taken to the sorting office. By eight o'clock the mail will have been distributed to all parts of the Palace. Naturally, the largest pile of letters goes to the Queen's pri- vate secretary, and- the size of the mail varies considerably, es- pecially on Her Majesty's birth- day, when it is enormous. An outsize stack is always placed on the desk of the private se- crotary to the Duke of Edin- burgh. The Press Secretary, Commander Richard Colville, receives a heavy mail, and so does the Master of the Royal Houschold. Letters are always delivered on time. The machine-like pre- cision of the postal arrange- ments is frequently praised by resident visitors, particularly guests from abroad. As fast as: the mail comes in, just as fast does it go out. Correspondence is handled rapidly, and an en- deavour is made to reply by return if possible. Messengers frem the various departments in the Palace are bringing sacks of letters from morning until night: there is no question of saving up letters for the last collection. "Post Early and Post Citen" is the practice. Members of the Royal Fam- ily and officials of the Court make considerable use of the telephone, telegraph and wire- less because they save time. Telephone lines radiate from the Palace in all directions, and there are one hundred and eighty extensions in the build- ing. Although the Palace is con- neoted to the public telephone system, scores of private lines link it with all the other Royal residences, Government De- partments and, of course, to 10, owning Street. When the Queen is at Bal- moral the private line between there and the Palace is in use the greater part of the day. The men operators are about the slickest and most courteous in the world. i You might ask if operators hear anything when members of the Royal Family are on the line. The Post Office has in- stalled a special secrecy device which makes overhearing im- possible. This system is widely used between Government De- partments and by people hold- ing important positions. A Royal birth, death, marriage or coronation will make tremen- dous demands upon the facili- ties. To meet these, additional equipment has to be installed and the staff may be tempor- arily increased. Many of the State 'telegrams are in code, and these are first decoded by Post Office experts. Prince Charles and Princess Anne always enjoy a visit to the Court Post Office and like to watch the sorting of the letters, the dexterity of the telephone operators, the teleprinter at work and the work of the Post Office engineer who spends all his time on maintenance. But perhaps their greatest joy is when a new stamp is issued. When they see the gleaming coloured sheets of 240 -stamps, each bearing a picture of their mother, they naturally remark: "What a nice picture!" No one is more pleased with this than the Queen herself. PINAL CURTAIN FOR MISS SULLAVAN -- Marquee at the Shubert sheatre In New Haven, Conn., is dark in wake of the death of actress Margaret Sullavan, 48, who was starring in a pre- Mrogdway showi hotel room, she of a new play. Found unconscious in her died on route to hospital, Strip Tease Troubles French A woman recently asked for a divorce because her husband could not speak French. "Sweet nothings sound so commonplace when whispered in English," she complained to the judge. He refused the petition, "but suggested to the husband that he learn a few simple 'phrases such as Ma Chérie which his wife found so much more ro- mantic than "My darling." Unlike English, the French language seldom officially changes. It was established in its present form over a century ago by the Académie Francaise, New words are allowed only after careful consideration by a learn- ed body o! professors, who pre- pare the dictionary, Petit Lar- ousse. The latest edition carries for the first time the word "strip- tease." The dons decided that, since it appears in neon lights over every other club in Paris, it could hardly be omitted from the official book of words. Besides, stripperies were do- ing a roaring business there while our grandfathers were thrilled by the sight of an acci- dentally exposed feminine ankle, But how could they define the word when they had never seen a strip-show? To settle their problem they went along to a club famous for its: cconomy on showgirls' cos- tume:, and after lengthy consi. deration produced this defini. tion. "English, to strip, déshabiller (undress) to tease, agacer (to provoke). Suggestive undressing executed to a background of music cr dance." Which shows that even pro- fessors can learn a thing or lwo in the Latin Quarter nightspots. SHOOT ME -- Actress Julie New? mar looks dreamy after she was named possessor cf the "most photogenic physique." Honor was bestowed by student pho- tographers, Royal Saleswoman For years the Duchess of Kent, who was fifty-three last month, has ranked among the world's ten best-dressed women. Fashion experts say that this charming woman, who was christened Marina after the Greek - saint, is always sufficiently ahead of a new fashion to make her the fashion leader, not merely "in the fashion." Since the Duchess so tragic- ally lost her husband in an air crash in 1942, she has consist ently performed her full share of the public duties which fall to the Royal Family and has devoted herself not- only to bringing up her children, but to many causes associated with charitable work. Her wedding to the late Duke of Kent in 1934 was the social event of the year in Britain. Her bridal frock was of white and silver brocade with the "Rose of England" delicately in- terwoven in the soft material. Princess Elizabeth, now the Queen, was one ot her train- bearers. The Duchess is also an ex- tremely talented and clever artist, She has done a number of portrait sketches in crayons. Her poise, ~ elegance, ease of manner and knowledge of world affairs have won her many friends. When she made her tour as president of the Alex- andra Rose Day centres in Lon- don in 1950, she sold a rose to one man for a hundred guineas, "Do you love me for myself alone?" queried a girl of her fiance, "Yes," he replied. "And when we're married I don't want any of your family thrown in." SHE WILL NOT LEAVE -- The face of 74-year-old Mrs. Elizabeth Prettyjohn reflects the years that she has lived by the sea. It's too many years to leave, though her home, battered by the waves repeatedly, is the sole remaining building of the village of Hallsands, England, which was washed away in a 1917 storm, The rugged individualist has lived alone since the death of her brother six years ago. Well, you would never guess what happened here on Christ- mas. Christmas, of all days! We woke up to a cold house, that's what. Sometime during the night our furnace gave up the 'ghost. We thought it had blown a fuse but it hadn't, and yet the re-set button wouldn't work. So, Christ- mas Day though it was, we had to put in an emergency call for repairs. The man was here with in an hour, managed somehow to start the furnace again but sald if it stopped it would not start of its own accord as there was a defective switch, He showed Partner what to do and said if he could get hold of a new motor he would be back. But of course he didn't manage it -- that would be too much to expect at Christ- mas. However, the weather wasn't cold and as we had all planned a family gathering at Daughter's place in Toronto we took a chance and went. We came back to a cold house all right. Bob managed to get the furnace going once again but it stopped permanently during the night. However, the man arrived with a new motor by the middle of the morning and so everything was fine within the hour. We could only think how lucky we were it happened when it did and not at a time when it might have been ten below zero. 1 suppose that kind of thing happens in plenty of homes but what made it unusual here was it happened on Christmas Day. We were glad we were not 'hold- ing Christmas here. That would have been a little awkward to say the least. At Daughter's we had a won- derful time on Christmas Day. All five grandsons were good but noisy. Dee's boys looked like little cherubs with their white shirts and bow ties. Naturally, the illusion was soon dispelled! Cedric, our youngest grandson, sort of stole the show he was so good and friendly with every- one. The rest of us were sad- dened to hear that a well-liked - nephew had suffered a ruptured appendix Just after arriving with his wife and children at his par- ents' home to' spend the holidays. On our way home Christmas night we came through the Exhibition grounds and saw the i. BALLY'S SALLIES YA oi "You roll your own. Now ici'a ace where you put the filter , tip," HRONICLES INGER FARM Gwendoline P Clarke marvellous decorations, Ross was so thrilled his eyes were almost popping. As if that were not .enough when we got home he found Santa Claus had left him the working model of a power shovel, That was just what the doctor ordered. Of course Santa had been very generous all round and -- shades of summer -- one of our presents was a pair of garden chairs! Perhaps the greatest excitement concerned a small parcel that David had put on the tree for Grandma. "Look, Grandma, that's for you. I did it all my own self, Open it, Grandma -- see what's inside." Well, when the time came to un- wrap the parcels I found it was a candle in a painted plasticine holder that he had made at school. He got more pleasure out of doing that for me than from all the presents he received for himself. Nephew Kleml was in Toron- to and had to return by bus to Peterborough in that awful ice- storm. We have not yet heard if he arrived all right. We Are naturally anxious. Conditions here at that time were wet but not dangerous. I tried to talk him into staying In Toronto over- night but oh no, he had to get back and to return by train would be too late. Well, now it is Monday morn- ing and it is a pretty grim look- ing world outside. Wet and icy but "apparently nothing here to what some districts further north are experiencing, This district seems to be a regular little Shangri-la during any kind of stormy weather, May it so con- tinue. Isn't it strange, almost every year we 'get a stormy period in between Christmas and New Year. Years ago it didn't make too much difference but now peo- ple travel the highways no mat- ter what the road and weather" conditions and the loss of life is often staggering, Partner is out- side at this moment opening up ditches to let the water away. I mean cracking the ice. He says keep the ditches open .and you have flooding problems -licked béfore they start. I hoge he will be right again. I wonder , . . until we'get bet- ter organized, may 1 be forgiven if I use this column to thank those of you who were so kind to send us Christmas greetings. Your good wishes were much ap- preciated and in return I cer- tainly wish you all the very best of everything during the com- ing year, We know we can't have good luck all the time but here's hoping the gobd far out- - weighs the bad, now and throughout the year, "This roof leaks so badly that the rain comes through," com- plained a tenant to his landlord. "How long is this going to con- tinue?" "1 don't know," was the reply "I'm not much good at Weather forecasting." - Or Robins 'Which To Save? Which would you you rather have, elms or robins? This may. like a rather frivolous sul tar a seventh grade debating' teal i, 'But in the a real choice; IL 1s: hot generally put in such" simplified terms. But a recent report of the Uni- versity of Wisconsin seems to indicate that Wisconsin cities - must make the choice: Elms or robins, Some 90 per cent of the trees along the streets in Milwaukee and its suburbs, as-well as in many other Wisconsin cities, are elms, Most of them are full grown trees, From the air, many parts of Milwaukee -- including some areas that look shabby and" rundown to a pedestrian traveling through them -- look like a park.' It cannot be dis- puted that the elms are among 'Milwaukee's finest natural as- sets. A few years ago, many vesi- dents here began to worry about those fine rows of elms. The Dutch elm blight was discovered here. Did this mean that the streets would soon become tree- less? Said the foresters, "We'll start spraying and the blight will go away." And 'they did start spraying with' DDT solutions of various strength and the elm blight, while not precisely van- ishing, has been kept at bay.' That made the tree enthu- - siasts happy, but the bird en: thusiasts were soon up in arms. The bird enthusiasts claimed the DDT was destroying the robins. Not so, said the tree enthusi- asts. Until recently, this difference of opinion between the two species of naturé enthusiasts was heated but inconclusive, chiefly because no one could prove anything. A bird enthu- siast would say that she hadn't seen a robin on her lawn all summer, A tree enthusiast would counter that he 'had a lawn full of birds, all of them making the dawn noisy with their songs, But then along came the uni- versity scientists. with some facts. The tree enthusiasts -- while not admitting for a mo- ment that the facts mean what they seem to mean -- now are on the defensive. What Professors Hickey and Hunt did was take a census ol songbirds in two Milwaukee suburbs, Wauwatosa and 'Shore- wood, and the city of Janesville, all of which have sprayed their elms. Then they took a similar count of feathered heads in un: sprayed areas of Madison, Stoughton, and Portage. The, re- sults were quite decisive, 'writes Robert W. Wells in The Chris- tian Science Monitor. The three unsprayed areas averaged 175 pairs of robins per 100 acres. Janesville had 31 per cent as many, Wauwatosa 30 per cent and Shorewood -- where the DDT has been applied most liberally -- only 2 per cent. Shorewood had only 11 per cent as many common grackles, 11 per cent as many house wrens, 12 per cent as many mourning doves, 35 per cent as many blue jays, 10 per cent as many Baltimore orioles, and 33 per cent as many starlings. Wau- watosa and Janesville had more of most varieties than Shore- wood, but far fewer than the test areas. On the average, the research- ers found 407 'pairs of all kinds yi ood university team conclud- ed that DDT sprayed areas were "a op i, thal migrate there to "in th trees' rant pr spare' migrants; bat never- es a heavy toll of bird life, +H said. The report has been attacked as incomplete for various rea- sons, including the fact that it does not take into. account the 'effect of the salt solution used on roads to melt winter ice, the lessening of insect life on which the birds' feed, the rise of shop- ping centers which reduce birds' feeding areas and even the habits of the angleworm. Still, most neutral observers are inclined to go along with the Janesville forester, James E. Harvey, who said there's no doubt that spraying has an ef- fect on songbirds. : "We have to make a choice between using it (the DDT) and losing our trees," he added, which brings us right back to where we began: elms. Week's Sew-thrifty © PRINTED | PATTERN WONDER blouses -- saw easy and so smart! They take so little fabric, you can whip up all three for practically pennies. Printed Pattern 4915: Misses' Sizes 12, 14, 16, 18, 20. Size 16 top style 1%" yards 35-inch] mid- dle 1% yards 39-inch; lower 2 yards 35-inch. " Printed directions on each pat- tern part. Easier, accurate. Send FORTY CENTS (stamps cannot be accepted, use postal note for safety) for this pattern. Please print plainly SIZE, NAME, ADDRESS, STYLE NUMBER. Send order to ANNE ADAMS, Box 1, 123 Eighteenth St., New - Toronto, Ont, Robins or ISSUE 4 -- 1960 CHARLEY'S EX -- long-haired Susan Magness, 24, holds hands with her daughter, Susan Maree, 7 months, in Hollywood. She was divorced from Charles Chaplin Jr, in November after a year and a half of marriage, Chaplins father, the comedian, "requested that Miss Magness bring the child to Swirzetland, 'whe.s ths elder Chaplin lives, for a visit, < 2