The Seaforth News, 1958-12-25, Page 3Staged Her Own
"Command Show"
• Setting the Edinburgh night
aglow with flame, the trappings
of drapery and tinsel prepared
for the first royal variety coin-
^mand performance blazed to, the
sky. On a stage set in jewelled
splendour as an eastern harem,
variety artists and stage hands
fought the flames, their one way
.of escape blocked by a fear -
maddened lion.
Lafayette, the conjurer, died
that night and his body was
found close to the charred re-
mains of the beast he had tried
to save. The entire back of the
theatre was burned out; and with
it Went the scenery and stage
,properties stored in readiness for
the command performance a few
nights later.
The royal show was cancelled.
It was a strange beginning for a
series destined to blaze with
.glory through the years. A sec-
ond postponement, was caused by
court mourning on the sudden
death of the King of Denmark.
But in July, 1912, at the Palace
Theatre, London, the curtain
eventually rose on the first royal
command variety performance.
Twenty-five of the greatest
artists of the day were honoured
to appear by royal command.
'They included dancer Pavlova
and comedians Harry Lauder,
George Robey and Little Tich.
Yet officials banned the greatest
star of all, beloved Marie Lloyd,
because they feared she would
betoo vulgar for the great oc-
casion.
Fully equal to the situation,
Marie Lloyd appeared at a near-
by theatre on the royal route and
put up placards: "Every puler -
mance by Marie Lloyd is a Com-
mand Performance by the Brit-
ish public."
Gracie Fields inadvertently
disturbed Queen Mary, who
thought it wrong that a trained
coloratura singer should risk her
voice with "The Biggest Aspi-
distra in the World."
Then there was the storm that
broke out when "Pogo, the Per-
forming Horse" was announced
for the programme. Although
the Queen attends the ,circus,
performing animals at the royal
music hall invariably evoke pro-
tests from anti -cruelty societies
and they Immediately attacked
the Pogo proposition in full
force.
Faces were red when it was
subsequently announced that the
Griffiths Brothers, brilliant ex-
ponents in that line, were to be
Pogo's fore and back legs.
To avoid delay, bouquet pres-
entations to royal performers
are always strictly forbidden. As
part of his act, however, Noni,
the clown used to advance to the
footlights and murmur, plain-
tively; "What, no flowers?" This
resulted in a charming royal ges-
lure when Queen Mary, touched
by his pathos, sent him flowers
from her own bouquet.
Another year the bottom fell
out of a huge box of chocolates
which had just been presented to
the royal party, and Princess
Margaret and the present Queen
began picking up chocolates scat-
tered all over the floor. But to
lessen this awful moment for the
theatre manager, the Queen
Mother asked, "May I have one?"
"Your Majesty, I should con-
sider it a great honour," said the
'manager: "It would soften the
blow." And promptly the Queen
Mother accepted a chocolate from
his cupped •hands and popped it
into her mouth -- regardless of
carpet dust.
With such a big show, things
inevitably go wrong on occasion.
George Black once planned to
illumine a red, white and blue
finale with a blaze of 300,000
watts, stage lighting more bril-
liant than had ever been seen.
At the great moment thefuse
blew but critics next morning
said that the dimming of the
stage while the royal box was
in radiance had been "superbly
staged!"
More recently the Queen un-
expectedly entered the foyer by
a left-hand 'door instead of a
right and found hersif at the
wrong end of a presentation line.
"This must be harder work for
you than television," Vic Oliver
heard a soft voice saying.
"You're telling met" said Vic,
thinking he was replying to an-
other performerthen found he
was talking to the Queen,
Then there was the occasion
when Flo Desmond heard she
had been chosen for the show -
only to find her name omitted
from the final List. In bitter dis-
appointment Flo wrote to the
present Queen Mother. "There
are people who will believe I
have incurred your Majesty's
displeasure . . I humbly beg
that your Majesty will interest
yourself on my behalf:, ..."
As a result, the theatre mana-
ger heard from Buckingham
Palace and Flo Desmond became
one of the few modern artists to
appear by royal request, In reali-
ty, the Royal Variety Show
hasn't been a "command per-
formance" since the inaugural
performance in 1912. It is now
an "annual performance in aid
of the Variety Artists Benevo-
lent Fund," which the Queen and
Prince Philip attend. To date over
$800,000 has been raised for
charity.
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PATTERNS OF POWER - Newschart above shows how various
representative nations employ their work forces in different
categories. Highly developed nations are contrasted with those
still undergoing transformation from an agrarian to an indus-
trial economy. Black bars graphically tell the story of how man-
power is released for other jobs as agriculture becomes mech-
anized and requires fewer and fewer workers. Data from
United Nations statistical office.
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S a l l'i t?
SMALLEST? - Mr. and Mrs. Victor Franzen, left, above, visit
the tiny, 4%2x7 -foot chapel at Wiscassei, Moine, called "the
smallest church in the world" by its builder, retired Baptist
minister Rev. Mr. Louis W. West, 73. At right, Ruth Drake sweeps
out the interior. The building contains seats 'or two, an altar
and a kneeling bench. It is decorated with two of the minister's
own paintings. Rev. Mr. West has topped its steeple with a
golf ball, because "there is no game in life that brings people
so close to God."
TIIE PA1ZM `; 'ONT
Science has come up with a
new protection for plants dur-
ing the growing season - a poly-
ethylene plastic mulch.
Use of straw and manure
mulches on plants during the
winter has long been an accept-
ed horticultural practice. These
mulches have also been used
during growing seasons to re-
duce soil compactness and evap-
oration of soil moisture, to im-
prove fertility and to control
weeds.
w w w
But using organic mulching
materials during the growing
season has meant applying
nitrogenous fertilizers to decom-
pose straw, the introduction of
weed seeds in straw and man-
ures, and the reduction of soil
temperatures when heavy rates
are used for weed control.
w w ri
Indications are these disadvan-
tages may be partially overcome
by use of polyethylene plastic
mulch, says Horticulturist W. E.
Torfason of the Lethbridge Ex-
perimental Farm.
Preliminary tests showed
early -season soil temperatures
were increased under the plas-
tic mulch. Later, when plant
foliage covered the soil, tem-
peratures were comparable to
those in unmulched soil.
w
* w
' Tomato plants grown on plas-
tic mulch were more vigorous
and produced - higher yields.
This is attributed to higher soil
temperatures and greater use
of water due to reduced evap-
oration.
Soil compactness was not in-
creased by mulching and weed
growth was not a problem
when black plastic mulch was
used. Under clear plastic, how-
ever, weeds grew rapidly and
the mulch was punctured and
lifted out of place.
w
* w
Mr. Torfason suggests that
gardeners, interested in using
plastic mulch, do so with the
object of controlling weeds and
conserving moisture. Benefit of
higher yield will be realized" in
most seasons, as a result of re-
duced plant competition and more
adequate moisture, rather than
as a direct result of the mulch.
Plastic mulches cannot replace
organic mulches for winter pro-
tection;
w w •
Like professional criminals,
Canadian winters destroy all pos-
sible clues after playing havoc
with perennial crops.
It has always been difficult
to pinpoint what it is about
winter that kills plants, since es-
timates of damage are made in
the spring after the evidence
has been wiped clean.
w w w
But tests are under way at
the Central Experimental Farm
that may lihrow some light on
the subject.
Canada Department of Agri-
culture field husbandry experts
are 'reviving sample plots of
field crops from winter dorm-
ancy by placing a small, bot-
tomless growth chamber over
them,
Heat and light are supplied
artificially. Snow and soil than*
and the plants begin to grow.
The regrowth and vigor are in-
"Y7
dicative of the amount of win-
ter -kill up to that time. By
placing the chamber on various
plots periodically through the
winter, damage to crops by vari-
ous weather factors can be evalu-
ated.
w w w
After two winters of research,
it is known that ice sheets are
disastrous to wintering alfalfa.
Plots covered by ice for four
weeks showed complete kill of
plants by Dec. 20, Plots kept bare
during .the 1950-57 winter result-
ed in complete kill by Feb. 1.
On the other hand, four inches
of snow over alfalfa caused 100
per cent survival of the crop.
0
* w
During mid - December last
year, a warin spell started alf-
alfa growing in the fields. A sub-
sequent cold snap caused 15 per
cent winter -kill. Nearly 10 inches
of snow followed and remained
all winter. Injury evaluations
in February showed no kill what-
ever.
* w w
It appeared the crop, set back
by the cold spell at the first of
this year, was able to fully re-
cover in 30 days under a pro-
tective layer of snow. Little
frost occurred in the soil with
this snow cover.
Tests spread dyer several win-
ters will be required before re-
sults are considered conclusive.
It is not too difficult to leap
cut of bed as soon as the first
day of sun touches your win-
dow - that is, if your window
faces west.
EASY DOES IT - With Christ.
mas mail rush in the offing,
San Francisco postman Fred
Bidwell breaks in his cart for
heavy duty to come. Carts were
recently issued to lighten loads.
Lovely Julie Newmar displays
the latest in timepieces, a jew-
eled garter watch, in New York.
Julie's a Broadway chorine.
Silent Popcorn
Noiseless popcorn - you chew
it without a crunch - has been
developed by science, It promises
to bring back the silent movies
in which you could actually hear
the sound track without masts-
catory interference.
But don't expect too much of
that promise - yet.
The new, silent popcorn is ac-
tually a sorghum, not a corn.
While it makes no racket under
bicuspid compression, its ker-
nels expand when popped to
only 11 times their original vol-
ume,
You call this inflation? Not
when some modern hybrid pop-
corns expand as much as 35
times. Since popcorn is sold by
bulk, they'll have to make pop
sorghum more expansive to lend
it commercial appeal.
Lots of research is going on to
improve popcorn. The Depart-
ment of Agriculture, Cornell
University (no pun intended),
Purdue University and other in-
stitutions are working on it be-
cause of the great increase in
popcorn consumption the last 20
y.ears.
Like other maize types, the
movie corn is native to the Am-
ericas. Indians ate it long before
there were white men or theatre
lobbies on this side of the At-
lantic.
They popped it on a hot, flat
stone laid over a fire pit. White
settlers took 'it up, but the stuff
didn't really become commer-
cially important until around
1890.
Now, as an outgrowth of the
sweets scarcity in World War II
and the introduction of popcorn
stands in theatres, it's the basis
of an industry grossing many
millions yearly. Growers in the
midwest corn states harvested
251 million pounds of it last
year.
In the interest of prosperity
for all, we have a suggestion
which should get this crunchless
munch project off' the ground.
Why not capitalize on the nat-
ural sweetness of sorghum, and
peddle the hot buttered pop
sorghum as a sweet (as well as
quiet) alternate to the popcorn?
We make this suggestion free of
charge. You can have it fur the
perfecting. Well don't just stand
there. -The Denv r Post
Small boy's definition of con-
science: "Something that makes
you tell your mother before
your sister does."
Upsidedown to Prevent Peeking
SCOOT
JJSSON
iiy 6tev it. R. Warren, B.A. B.D.
The Significance of
The Savior's Birth
Luke 1:46-55; 2:1-7.
Memory Selection: My soul doth
magnify the Lord, and my spirit
hath rejoiced in God my Saviour:
Luke 1:46-47.
Last year I attended the Christ-
mas program at a Teachers'
College. The Choir .Processional
composed of seventy young peo-
ple entered singing The First
Noel. A narrator read the Christ-
mas Story and a series of tab-
leaux interspersed by carols by
the Choir or the Choir assisted
by the audience was presented.
The tableaux showed The Wise
Men and Herod, The Shepherds
and The Angel. The Manger
Scene, and the Adoration of the
Magi. Then the audience stood
and repeated the Lord's Prayer.
All joined in singing 0 Come
All Ye Faithful for the Reces-
sional. The principal commented
on the beauty, dignity and a sac-
redness of the program. The em-
phasis had been on the birth
of Jesus rather than on, "What
gifts will Santa bring to me?"
Let us keep the story of Je-
sus' birth central in our thoughts
at Christmas in the rush and
buying and figures of Santa
Claus on every hand, let us not
miss the great wonder of Christ-
mas, the Lord Jesus Himself.
Mary has the next most import-
ant place in the Christmas story.
She was blessed above all women
in conceiving a child by the Holy
Ghost. There is a renewed effort
to shake our faith in the fact
of the Virgin Birth. Some clergy
are saying that it is scientifical-
ly impossible and argue that
Jesus and Paul never mention
it. We grant that it is scientifi-
cally impossible but with God
all things are passible. Those
who will not believe the ac-
counts by Matthew and Luke
would not believe it if Jesus and
Paul had given detailed accounts.
Jesus said, ."I and my Father
are one." (John 10:301 Paul said,
"Gad was manifest in the flesh."
(1 Timothy 3:16). These anal
many other sayings of Jesus and
Paul can only be fully under-
stood in the light of the Virgin
Birth.
Let us keep Jesus Christ cen-
tral in our thoughts. Remember
it was Jesus whom the Wise Men
worshipped, (Matthew 2:11) not
Mary or Joseph. We will only
fully appreciate Christmas as we
realize that Jesus Christ was the
Son of God and He carne to rec-
oncile us to God by bearing our
sins and triumphing over death.
Let us worship and adore Him.
An M.P. flung down several
typewritten sheets before his
new secretary.
"Don't use such long words
in my speeches," he said. "1
want to know what I'm talking
about,"
SCOURGE OF GRASS - Johnson Grass, a parasitic weed un-
known to Midwest farmers a decade ago, threatens to spread
its deadly growth over a wide area of the b-eadbasket, Farmer
Charles Cassoutt examines the sword -like grass growing more
than 10 feet high. The American Form Bureau and Soil Exten-
sion Services are battling to get rid of it.
1
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