The Seaforth News, 1962-05-17, Page 6Stupid Rules That
Embarrass, The Queen
by IIELEIsl CATII0Allat
Author of 'Iler Majesty"—
a controversial blogi•aphY
of the Queen
Affectionate messages poured
into Beckingham Palace recently
when the Queen celebrated the
tenth year of her reign. Among
them were greetings from friends
and relatives whom the Queen is
officially forbidden to meet.
As Defender at the Faith, the
Queen must uphold the Church
of England's ancient principle
that marriege is indissoluble, The
Church dbes not recognize di -
Hence the acid fact that 24,000
people a year join the band who
are banned at Buckingham Pa-
lace.
Now one of Prince Philip's
nieces, Princess Christina of
Yugoslavia, faces the risk of ex-
clusion, following recent divorce
proceedings, as does Captain
Oliver Dawnay, the Queen Moth-
er's former secretary. And the
Earl of Onslow, former Captain
of the Yeomen of the Guard, fig-
ures in present divorce lists,
Divorce protocol, in fact, con-
stantly leads the Queen into a
series of public, private and •so-
cial embarrassments. Add to this
her position as Head of the Com-
inonwealth — and the situation
tilts into sheer craziness,
As Queen of Canada, Her Ma-
jesty can formally shake hands
with a man who beats up his
wife. But the Queen cannw in-
vite him aboard the royal yacht
Britannia — technically a royal
palace—if he's been found guilty
of adultery and divorced.
n England, however, t h e
Queen continually has to remem-
ber that handshakes with wife-
thrashers—or with women who
run away from their husbands—e
are out,
- For cruelty and desertion are
both grounds for divorce in Eng-
lish law. •
When the Queen dined with
the Shah of Persia, the compile
Cations were enough to give her
advisers diplomatic indigestion.
For the Shah's- two divorces,
though admittedly Moslem, have
been . among the world's most
public disentanglements,
When the King and Queen of
Sweden were given a state ban-
quet at Buileingham Palace, three
divorced Cabinet Ministers had
to be omitted from the list of
guests.
Yet they were considered elig-
ible for the coronorationl By a
glorious wangle of words, the
Queen meets them only in their
public capacity.
The Queen traditionally heads
the aristocracy. But a rollcall, of
at least fourteen broken marri-
ages among the twenty-seven
cluekdoms makes her task even
more invidious.
Officially, it's stressed, the
Queen cannot meet a divorcee.
Yet on political recommendation
she had to appoint Lord Listowel
her Governor-General in Ghana
—although he had been the guil-
ty party in a divorce suit.
The Queen could ;comfortably
sign his warrant of appointment.
He had not actually married an-
other woman while his first wife
was still living.
Imagine the Palace perplexity
when he suddenly married a
blues singer whose first marriage
had also ended in divorce! The
bombshell dropped just when
plans were being made for the
royal tour of Ghana in 1959. The
Queen's advisers faced a position
where she would be entertained
privately by a Governor-General
and his wife whom she couldn't
meet publicly,
Luckily, the expected birth of
Prince Andrew caused the tour
to be postponed and saved the
situation.
When Ghana became indepen-
dent in July 1960, this tricky
problem was resolved.
A divorce in the Armstrong -
Jones family was one reason why
Princess Margaret's wedding was
supposedly a private affair, not
a state wedding.
The innocent can, in fact, be
invited to certain functions ill
Buckingham Palace, They can
accept the Queen's private invi-
tations to the Ascot house -parties
at Windsor Castle.
But they -mustn't wander on
the emerald strip of the Queen's
Lawn ate -the racecourse, where
divorcees are barred, -
When a top-ranking R.A,F, of-
ficer retired recently—after win-
ning three wartime decorations
for valour—he discovered that he
was not qualified to go to a royal
garden -party. A letter from the
Air Ministry bluntly advised him
that guilty parties in divorce
cases were not eligible,
The flying ace pointed out that,
although he had indeed been a
"guilty party,". his ex -wile had
been dead for some years.
Back came the veto. It was
regretted that his name "could
not be submitted for the honour
of an invitation,"
Although he could be invited
to receive three decorations from
his Sovereign, the hero didn't
merit an invitation to strawber-
ries and cream with 5,000 other
guests,
The rule apparently isn't made
to be broken—but it's clearly
made to be bent.
When Mr, and Mrs, Douglas
Fairbanks strolled the Queen's
lawns, though both divorced
from earlier partners, it was
pointed out that they held U.S.•
diplomatic passes
When the Queen went to a
Fairbanks' dance on one occasion,
criticism flared — and officials -
delicately pointed out that an
American couple _were -not bound
by Church of England tenets on
divorce.
Strangely e n o u g h, divorces
have already occurred in the
heart of the Royal •FarnilY:itself;
Until her recent death no. Court
function seemed complete 'with,
out Princess Marie Louise..
Queen 'Victoria's grand -daugh-
ter was a :dignified ' representa-
tive .of the old regime, Yet her
husband complained that life
with her was intolerable and the
marriage was dissolved.
Queen Mary 'was one of the.
strictest of royal ladies. -On one,
occasion, nevertheless, she stout-
ly befriended a 'young, cousin,
who- fell in love with -a married
footinan'and had a baby by -'him.
Old Queen Victoria was not
above ordering a, divorce when
marriages among ' her. innumer-
able German- • -relatives went
astray.
Prince Philip, as the . husband
of the Defender of ,the Faith, 'is
less encumbered. Indeed, five of
his first cousins have- had :their
marriages dissolved, including
Helen, Queen Mother of Ruma-
nia, and Lady Iris Mountbatten.
Prince Philip, however, felt the
cold touch of the divorce - laws
when . his congenial secretary, .
Lieutenant -Commander Michael
Parker; had to resign from his
staff.
There are times when the
Duke of Windsor is invited to'
lunch at Buckingham Palace. But •
not the thrice -divorced. Duchess.
And only too often, the hypo-
crisy of divorce protocol. clashes
with the Queen's own integrity.
Thus vociferous minorities raised
a storm around Prince Philip for
hobnobbing ata charity function
with Frank Sinatra and Ava
Gardner at 'the height of their
divorce crisis.
Yet the Queen is expected to
attend an annual film "command
performance," shaking hands
with sultry film stars in low-cut
gowns, some of whom have been
involved in divorce actions as
guilty parties.
To get over this one, the pre-
sentations are made in the 'thea-
tre foyer—before or after the
performance!
The retiring Archbishop of
Canterbury recently indicated his
sympathy with the Queen in her
divorce perplexity. We can surely
do better for royalty than this
morass of excuses. From "Tit -
Bits"
The fire disaster that killed the
greatest number of persons in
the United States was the forest
blaze at reshtigo, Wis., on Oct.
9, 1871, in which 1,152 persons
perished.
SPRING BONNET — Them* of this wide -brim bonnet la chili
Chicks, It's worn by Stefanie PoWeta In Hollywood.
Seileeeieetereetee-reeeterele
, >4*,
SHE GOT HER CAKE AND SHINER, TOO — Ciementina
O'Day, 7 months, laughs off hep black eye iin Los Angeles,
When her grandfather told her not to touch a birthday cake
she showed her displeasure by banging her face on, the
highchair. She came up with the shiner and grandpa came
through with the coke,
RONICLES
ESEEA121
At this time of the,.year it is
light et five o'clock in -the morn-
ing and' dark .at seven o'clee.k
at night. All that good daylight
"being wasted — and it could so
easily be put to good 'use.• 'Ail
, that is necessary is for those who
set the date for daylight saving
time to give the Matter a little
more, consideratien. They might
then find 'it 'would be a better
policy to start D.S.T.• earlier in
the year and wind up gooner.in
the, fall. rFrom the first of :April
to. the end,of September Would,
I believea:.suit • everyone better_
Spring is a alatimalatime, for re-
juvenation—almost - everyone is
willing'eto get atip a little earlier
where the sun streams . through
the windows making one feel- it
is time to be up and doing. But
in the 'fall, 'when the 'days get
dull and dreary, who wants to
- get up -an hour earlier just for
the -sake of an extra' hour of
daylight after supper—light that
is mostly .wasted anyway. Of
' course: we can please ourselves
what ' time we get. up ''anclego •te
bed but it really doesn't'pay to
be too fax aut .of step with other
folk — especially at mealtimes.
There has to'be a certain amount
of conformity with the neigh-
bourhood to avoid domestic con-
fusion.
Maybe I am in a critical mood
because I have another "beef" to
air. And here it is- For the past
five years we have dealt almost
exclusively with one particular
bread company, whose delivery
truck 'has been calling Tuesdays
and Saturdays a • little before
noon, week in and week out. We
were always well satisfied with
both the products ' and the ser-
vice. So what happens? Sudden-
ly deliveries became very irreg-
ular -- any time after five o'clock
at night. I asked the driver the
reason. He explained that. his
company had taken'over part of a
route from another -company -so.
he had twice the number of tails
to make. Last ' Saturday it was
6.45 before the man called.
I watched him get out of the
cab, go to the back of the truck
for his basket and then walk
stiffly up the walk to our house.
"Look," I said to the fellow,
"I'm not blaming you but I don't
like these late deliveries. How
can I be sure you haven't forgot-
ten me? The stores are closed
and I've got visitors coming to-
morrow — I was beginning to
wonder if I would have enough
bread to Beed thern, Besides that,
you're so tired you're just 'about
dead on your feet I
"You can say that again — I've
been going since 6.30 this morn -
'1 can believe it. Well, you can
tell your company that some of
your customers have been com-
plaining and that either they re-
sume normal deliveries or I
change ray baker"
I was really annoyed. Here we
are with all kinds of men out of
work and yet those who have a
job are being made to work all
hours — and afraid to complain
in case they should be fired, I
am not M a position to know who
is really at fault, labour or man-
agement. But I am sure there is
a nigger in the woodpile some-
where The reset is chaos and
very unsatisfactory to the aver-
age housewite — to say nothing
of the wives of deliverymen,
atiXiettely waiting at home, Won-
dering if their husbands have had
ttn accident on the road.
Wello last week we had a vis-
itor overnight. We hadn't. seen.
each other for nearly a year se
you: can imagine we had plentY
to talk about. This visitor came
from a snowbelt area and was:
ainazed at our bare streets .and
' roads. For which we are thank-
ful. Imagine having to, shovel
' snow in the middle of Aprll!! Any
snow we have now the- sun soon
takes care of. Among the high -
Fights of last week Were theetwo)
first, games in the hockey finals.:
lAndebefore this column is mail-
edathere will have been. a -gems:
in Chicago, -which. I have a feel-
ing the Hawks Will win.): Also
in the middle of last week L had
a birthday.. So what ... e.very-
- one has birthdays„ says, you!: IL
know,. but / have a different feel-
ing, now about birthdays — that
.-is insofar. as Partner and 0 are
concerned. I feel that aitee. a
certain age. every birthday, is, an.
• important event; a. time fine, re-
joicing and .thanksgiving, espe-
cially if wee has, a, fair percentage
of one's mental faculties and
physical ,abilities_ Possibly IL feel
this more strongly since my stay'
in hospital where I saw quite a.
few patients with very little
-hope of ever enoying, really
good health again. And yet the
ones I am thinking of were quite
young„ with -Several small chll.-.
dren at home. They were still in
the hospital last weekw.herr 11
event back for a cheek -up. So
considering everything why
shouldn't I feel that our birth-
days Partner'S and manna— are'
now occaskins for rejeicing?' Jusl
so long as our family feel that
way to. And up to the present
they seem quite satisfied to have
vs around.
Well, that's all for now. My
two youngest grandsons are
watching me type, and 1 caret say,
they are particularly helpful!
Modern EfiCaUette
By Anne Ashley
Q. lily parents are planning. an
engagement party for me.
Should my fiance present ma'
ring to me at this party, or be-
forehand?
_A. This is 'a personal matter,
and your fiance should present
you with your ring before the
party.
Q. Is it necessary that all the
men stand at a dinner table until
all the women have been seated?
A. Yea,
An Alternative
To Fluoridation.
Utah communities which voted'
on fluoridation Nov. 7 turned
down use of fluorine in) water
supplies, as a tooth decay pre-
ventila
We doubt very much 11 the. lei -
sounding defeat ef fluoridation:
in Utah allies can be interpreted
as opposition, In a degree pro-
portionate to the vote, to the.
actual! use of fluorine in water
as a decay preventitive. Many
people, we feel, would" like the
peoteetiom this ingredient pro-
vides but oppose putting 11 10 the
water' supply for various reasons.
Some of these:masons, cited. by
opponents, of freoridation,. have
included: the cost involved; the
uneven di'stribullon of fluorine
inasmuch as some persons dainit
two or three times the volume
of water which others in the
same family might drink; the
fact tint thenels 'muse fin fluor-
ine in the lhrge quantities: of
water that areused tear sprinkl-
ing and fax industrial users; and
the "compulsory" aspects of
fluoridation, b which people who
don't want it must have it any-
way,
One Provpphysician has point-
ed out that lain:nine tablets ean
be purchased for $4,50 per
thousand, a three-year supple.
This gives rise' to the. questionn
Wouldn't the meditel and deri-
talaassociation and public health
services be tendering at eine pub..
lie service if they were to dissem-
inates information, ant how,, other
than, through fleteritratiene flbtor-
fides: can be' usetl ter example
in tablets and' tooth paste? The
people simplY allonftwant flinamt-
alatave.i-atdging by their response
alt the pall's,.
It there are. other w.ays, to gpb
tie fluorides, iir correct aoncen,-
tratibm fon the aptirrallvaltie. ten
the then itt seems; to,
xis- the' professional' people in the
field' of health might welll nee-
ommexrd alternative Methcale tox
flineriiiktrom fon getting the com-
ponent it' the: indiereduall ieunilav
d'esi'res 010.
Such a program, aouirl acconep-
Ifieh unteld nubilegoodl andl prove
an excellent put:dilr neihtlens; gpse
tare on; the pant of its sponsors:.
—The. Slind'ay, Herallr (lProsece.
Utah).
How The, ihdians
Dried Their Food
Mien various: fonds; wene• Mitje,
tete people dried' theme They.
also steamed' things: tarad'ergrounde
They. harvested a rot of eerie and
earried 11 home. on then- barks.
When, 0 was a) little girl our fama
flee wan lenge. If was the yOUnr-
est and' 1 had' three old'er brothers;
and ewe older sisters. Ahroth.er
older sister and I were the
younger ones: When; they has:v-
ested the. gardens they learvested
a great amount They- see:eared
the corn. Ix the evening eliey dug
a: pit and' heated stones: there in
a big fire.. They put the stones; ire
the pit and when the stones- be-
came red' hot they took out all
the weed and embers, and put in
the fully ripe corn and covered*
with corn husks. Finally they,
covered it with earth that had
been dug out They covered the
pit but they left four holes in
which they poured w-ater, We
used to hear the red hot stones.
make a rumbling sound.
Then, very early in the morn-
ing they opened the pit with
great care. They removed the
earth very carefully and finally
when they reached the husks
they tools them out. Eventually
they reached the -corn and it was
thoroughly cooked. It was really
ISSUE 18 — 1962
hot! They took 'the corn out and
put it on the husks.
Sometimes. other people heard
about it and worked with may
family. The helpers came and
spread out ox big piece of canvas
on which they put the corn. Then
they used metal teaspoons or
• clam shells to scrape the corn off
the cobs They used to dry it and
after it was dried you could see
sackfuls of corn standing here
and there. They dried the corn
in the sun and put it hr white
flour sacks. Some' corn was al -
Dewed toremain on the stalks,
alter it was:ripe: This they saved.
for seed. In addition to savin'
seed they made hominy of the,
dried corn, They mixed it with
hasotietanya, ire PoPirect it to- make
Squash was also dried:. The,
women pared the. squash, aut 01
M two ant-Vela:Kra to form rings.
They cut clown, fo rk e d trees.
peeled them, and strung the'
tshcleuafsohrkotis. Apoleslbt toilfeysatlitisaacross
the alciunsgs
on this framework, The Indians
generally dlieer squash in. thi's'
way and saved' it fon winter:
They used to dry blueberries,
too, berriesthey did not) sell..
They dried' the blueberries and:
cooked them he the winter time:.
The blueberries were hoiledi with
dried corn and' I used to think;
this wasdelthibus.—From "Moun-
etaire Wblf Woman," The. Autebii-
ography of a Winnebago Ihdiam.
edite-d' by. Haney. Oestreich Lurie.
Court Says it Wasn't
An "Act' Of God"'
In Marche 1658; a; snoaaladen
telephone, pole fail' om Pennsy
venial • motbriSt•a; autbmoliilke
When' tile driVer sued; thee COIL
umbia Telephone Cb,. countered!
that the pole. fell! because of am:
"fret of Goer."'
Recently, iii what+. was, believedi
ten be' an unprecedented' ruling:,
tie Eennsyl Verde) Supreme, Cettet.
ordered the. utility, ten pay Reda
ney, M Bowmain $10).830) fon. pare
sonaninjureemni property damage.
and Justice Mitheell A.. Mime -
manna wrote In the. majority
epiniien
"There is: something shot/king:
in attributing any,' tragedje or
holbcaust, etb-, Gecti. The ways' off
the Deity, so') sunpass the under—
standing &einem that:It:la:riot' the.
province:. of men to, passe jintke-
ment. upon. what may, ties lleyandl
human coannediensibin .
any. even-4no) person) called, into.
aourt to, answear fon al teat may,
11101' exoneraliter Blom the. actl of
negligence aliergedt tin lithe bey
asserting, trrat ilk was not hi. butt
the Simeerne Being whibh, HAM,
ted: the wounds and? the huntte off
which tie: plaintiff aomerlains:"'
Ilus effeate the high count up-
held' a: luring by a Lama:din
ecnierty COnTt thattlit phonewerria
panyewas;nt &at fisr met inspect,
iing the pole. in 05 yens:, — The
arationar Observer TViVasliiiegtona
Iltontlt ever queattoni y,oun. wire
jird'gnreirtAltlexx' aill slice nantriedi
you..
SALLY'S. SAWS
7 really don't know nowwhat
rm knitting—I've lost the in-
structions"
GREAT GERMAN city — V ew of Hamburg's C ty Center, show ng c ty hal at the left
and the -commercial harbor in the background, The well known ' Alster' River with Lom-
bard's Bridge is in the foreground. Photo Courtesy ealierliell$A German Airlines