AGED WOMAN AND THE PRINCE

Hokitika Guardian, 2 December 1927, Page 4

AGED WOMAN AND THE PRINCE

MADE HIS FIRST BABY CLOTHES. BOURNEMOUTH, Oct. 18. •• This has been my record flay,” said the Prince of Wales after lie had spent six strenuous hours in Bournemouth and Poole. The Prince paid no fewer than seventeen visits, cheered the lives of scores of people, and made local history at high pressure. Travelling from Waterloo in the ordinary 8.30 train, the Prince glimpsed something of the wonderful reception in the crowd that lined the railway embankment for twenty miles before Bournemouth, which is a blaze of flags and flowers. The entire population turned out to welcome the Prince, who was obviously touched with the remarkable entnusinsm.

All ilav the sun shone on stirring scenes—scenes of spectacular beauty and of warm human interest. THE JOLLY SPINSTER.

Out of the many .striking ceremonies perhaps the most interesting was the opening by the Prince at Boseombe Hospital of two sunshine wards through the glass walls ol‘ which poured the genial sunshine of a lingering summer day. In three weeks £30,000 had been raised by public subscription for the new wards, one of which is named after the Prince of Wales.

Through double ranks of cheering nurses the Prince, carrying a bunch of roses and violets presented to him by a woman who stopped his car, walked to the women’s ward and stopped at the first bed. He laid his hourpiet with a how bet ore -Miss Sarah Alter, a jolly spinster of fiS, who wore a coquettish blue tie in her shingled grey hair. You have turned out a bonny lad.” said old Sarah, bugging the flowers, "and to think that I made your first haliy clothes, little white flounces.” " 1 am sure 1 don’t remember.” laughed the Prince. "Of course you don’t,” chuckled Sarah. " How could you? You wen not born. I linvo always thought of you as my boy.” THE NEW BABY. " I am sure they were very nice clothes.” said the Prince, who next paid his respects to the youngest patient of the hospital, a baby boy, born an hour before Ids arrival. Next came the children’s ward, a jolly place decorated on the lines ol an ideal nursery lomplete with woolly dogs

and Teddy hears. I.iitle Sybil Day. who lisped delightfully, saiil : "Oh. yes, please,” as the Prince, stroking her hair, asked if she was going to get well. And all the children in the ward stood up in their little cots with wondering round eyes, watching Sybil Day talking to a real Prince. Afterwards Sybil Day was simply unapproachable. .M ItS POT JACK. Leaving the hospital, the smiling Prince visited the British Legion hall at liescombe, where he was immediately interested in .ilespot Jack, a wirehaired terrier wearing medals on its red, white and blue collar. It was in charge of its mistress. Miss Gtierior, whose brother was drowned while swimming in the Tigris under heavy lire, and his last act was to throw the dog into the rescue boat, breaking its leg but saving its life. Its master was drowned before a boat could reach him. Mespot Jack licked the Prince's hand. Then out of the ranks stepped old Piuldv Lane, aged 70, a veteran of the

wars of long ago. He pressed into the Prince’s hand an Afghanistan medal, saving: “ Would you mind accepting this, sir?” ”An old soldier. I love old soldiers. They are damned good sorts!” exclaimed the Prince, who delighted Paddy Lane by a promise to write to him, and the Prince kept the medal. With his wonderful memory for faces the Prince next recognised Corporal W. White, who was his chaufleur at Amiens for four days in PJIS. “Great days those.” said the Prince. “ They were,” agreed C orporal AY bite with a twinkle in Ins eyes. ” How your Royal Highness pul the wind up me' ” -10.000 CHILDREN IN PARK. Rut the big programme was waiting, and. although the Prime showed that ho would have liked to have stopped with the old soldiers, he had to work to a strenuous time-table, and the next we saw of bim lie was in beautiful Al.eyrick Park, where nearly 10.00.) children and 10,000 spectators witnessed the most impressive scene even seen in Bournemouth.

Against green pines on the hills the huge crowd was packed in a human mo:-ai( , while in the arena the colours e.ml costumes 4>l all tin l Dominions heightened by the brilliant sunshine made a dazzling colour effect. Great masses of gold and purple, green and scarlet, blended into a gorgeous garden of colour, and the voices of the loyal multitude merged into a great harmony ns they sang “ God Bless the Prim e of Wales.”

But the programme still waited, and the Prime, who had a ilonimd a grey overcoat over his grey suit, next visited Dr P.nrmirdo’s Nautical School, where 110 saw tlm striking physical drill of the boys. Here lie was presented with a toy policeman in the act of bolding up the truffie, a toy that amused him as much as it ilal the hoys. The Prince was still playing with the toy policeman when he was hurried away to Poole, where ho laid a wreath mi the war memorial.