Chris Carter
Well, if we could start with the hospital radio, Prime Minister, beginning with radio Redhill which broadcasts to patients in two general hospitals in Surrey. That's the new East Surrey and Redhill general, now it's obviously no fun being in hospital where you don't want to be at any time especially at Christmastime, what message would you like to give to those listening?
Mrs. Thatcher
Well, I know that everyone at the new East Surrey and Redhill general hospitals would really far rather be at home with their families at Christmas, we all want that, but they're just not able to be this Christmas and we all know that everyone connected with the hospital will be trying to give you as wonderful a time as possible and you will be a part of the hospital family, so have as happy a time as you can and there's so much more to look forward to in the new year.
C. Carter
What is the importance of Christmas to you personally, Prime Minister? People nowadays tend to look into … as a commercialised business, what's special for it … whatever your circumstances?
Mrs. Thatcher
Well, to me we always sang the carols, not only at school but at home and at church, all the ones that are so familiar, some of them not so familiar but which have a marvellous message, you know. The love came down at Christmas, love oh lovely love divine. Love was born at Christmas. Star and angels gave the sign. It is always to me the warmth of the family, the friendship, the time when we got together, the time when we thought of others, we always used to listen on radio long before there was television, to the programme which BBC did of Christmas round the world and we felt very much at one with all other peoples who were enjoying Christmas, then of course we always listened, as we still do, to the broadcast then of the king, now of the queen. But it's the warmth, the friendliness, the family and the true Christmas spirit.
Chris Carter
… the next message is a slightly … St. Francis hospital in Haywards Heath, which is served by (Colwell) radio. The difference here is that it's a psychiatric neurosurgical hospital where most of the patients have admitted themselves voluntarily. Now what would you say to those patients at Christmastime?
Mrs. Thatcher
I think that Christmas in the St. Francis psychiatric hospital will be really rather wonderful. Everyone will be trying to do their best for you and give you lovely Christmas things and it will be quite a new depth of experience and I think in life part of the secret is to try to enjoy what you have and try to give something to life because if you expect to have friends you've got to be friends, and that after all is the Christmas spirit. [end p1]
C. Carter
Well, bearing in mind the nature of the hospital one question that listeners might be keen to know the answer to is how you personally manage to cope with the stress of your job as Prime Minister?
Mrs. Thatcher
Isn't it strange, I don't really quite know, I just carry on doing one job after another, in our family from the earliest times we've always had to work hard, we always did, first we had to and secondly we enjoyed it. My father and mother always worked hard and therefore if you're working hard, whether it's in the home or in voluntary work or at your actual job, you get much more out of life. It's just that you get more out of life when you put more into life and it's a lesson which I was taught and for which I've been eternally grateful and so I just can stand the stress and strain. You have to remember life only comes one day at a time.
C. Carter
One particular point, what about the aggravation that you might from time to time get from the press, how do you deal with that?
Mrs. Thatcher
Well, you just put it aside, you don't spend too much of your day reading the press and then you have to remember that if you occasionally look through all of the papers, very few other people look through all of them and they don't take anything about oneself to heart nearly as much as I do, and I have to remember that.
C. Carter
Well. The next hospital is one that's often been in the news, it's Stoke Mandeville hospital in Aylesbury, and as you know they've recently opened a new spinal injuries unit extension, almost entirely on the basis of private donations. What are your views on the success they've achieved and the voluntary work there generally?
Mrs. Thatcher
Well, Stoke Mandeville is not far away from Chequers and I think the effort to have that new hospital, that new spinal unit, was a fantastic example, both of the British spirit and of the Christmas spirit, when Jimmy Savile told me that he was going to set out to raise £10 million, I didn't think he could possibly do it but his enthusiasm, his determination, the enthusiasm and determination of all who helped him, all who contributed, make it a very very special hospital. This was a gift from the heart and a gift from people who said we've got quite a lot out of life, we must give something back.
C. Carter
Well, listeners here are very keen to know a few personal details about your own Christmas, how do you normally spend the holiday and what will you be doing this year?
Mrs. Thatcher
We try to have a few people in on Christmas eve because you know that's just the eve of Christmas and one wants to have friends in to talk. On Christmas day we always have a few people to Christmas lunch, mainly those who would … are not for one reason or another with their families, and one or two who are families, it's just a lovely Christmas tree—the traditional Christmas fare, we go to church on Christmas morning, we listen to the queen's broadcast in the afternoon. It is just the warmth of Christmas and the joy of talking to friends. I don't have a great deal of time normally just to sit back and relax and talk and this is just a rather wonderful occasion. [end p2]
C. Carter
To slightly broaden it, how do you relax generally, do you have hobbies as such—reading?
Mrs. Thatcher
I do quite a lot of reading, but usually, you know, there's not a lot of actual relaxing time because one has somehow to try to run the house and frequently there are just things to be tidied up and things to be put back in the place where they ought to be because no-one will ever find them again if they're not, and there is quite a lot of that ordinary sort of housework to do at weekends. But everything at the weekend has to be got back in place for the next week, and whether it's in the kitchen or whether it's in one's clothes or whether it's in plans for next week, and really I rather enjoy that.
C. Carter
What about music, I think that's a particular interest … .
Mrs. Thatcher
I love it, I love it, and we now have got the most beautiful record player, a stereophonic one, which gives us enormous pleasure, the sound is lovely and somehow it just transports you into a completely different world and a completely different atmosphere. Some classical, some popular, I'm afraid we don't go in for the highly rhythmic stuff very much but sometimes some of those which get into the top of the pops are very good, there's that one at the moment which is all people in harmony and … . unaccompanied, a different kind of singing, what are they called? The Flying Pickets. Now you wouldn't expect me to refer to anything like the Flying Pickets, would you? But those particular ones they sing rather well, I heard them on radio the other morning and I thought the harmony was marvellous.
C. Carter
So if you had to have a radio request for a particular record for you, which one … .
Mrs. Thatcher
Oh, at Christmas please, always some of the Christmas songs, some of the Christmas carols, perhaps sung by the great big Bach choirs. I do not mind which-but the traditional Christmas hymns and Christmas carols.
C. Carter
To sum up this section then, these were questions that people at Stoke Mandeville wanted to know the answer to. Should they become bored at Christmas in the hospital what advice would you give them?
Mrs. Thatcher
I don't think they'll become bored. There's always something going on at hospitals and it really is always the advice which I was given as a child. When my father and mother said to me—look, if you want to have a friend, you've got to be a friend, so if you want someone to talk to you, you've got to start to talk to them. If you want someone to be interested in you, you've got to start to be interested in them and it doesn't matter who you are or what you are, you always have something to give.
C. Carter
If we can now move from hospital radio and our attention to another invaluable form of assistance for people who are unwell, there are two organisations which have produced tape cassettes for the blind and the handicapped living at home. Overall, what's your opinion of a talking magazine of this nature and the job they do in the community? [end p3]
Mrs. Thatcher
They're absolutely marvellous. I know some people who have to use them the whole time and they're a great joy and those who produce these things do make a point of having the very best people to read books. I didn't realise fully until I had an eye operation and for two days after it I really had to … one couldn't read, one had to be very quiet, and I got them to send me some of these tapes and they sent me some of Maurice West 's books. I remember reading … listening to the one called ‘The Salamander’, absolutely marvellously read and I love Maurice West books, he is a marvellous writer and then I listened to some totally different, ‘The Trial of Charles Nirst’ by Veronnica Wedgwood and it … it's a wonderful way of reading a book, or listening to a book and they bring enormous pleasure to people and they enlarge their whole cultural life and interest and they do a fantastic job and I really would like to say a very big thank you and many congratulations to them.
C. Carter
You've just mentioned your recent eye operation, I suppose in a small way, made you temporarily disabled in a sense. But what did you learn at that time really about the sort of isolation that it's meant, the disability might give you … .
Mrs. Thatcher
Well, I really was never isolated and I'm not the kind of person that is naturally isolated because lots of people come to see you, and friends are the most important thing in life—the older you get the more you learn, the most important thing in life are family and friends, if you've got that you've got the greatest riches of all. What did I learn? For the first time I had to be quiet … quieter than usual, I did a certain amount of work, obviously because I would have been worried if there was anything going on and I didn't know, and anyway all … . always one's faculties were just as alert and just as complete but it was quite something for me to be much quieter and not working flat out the whole time but I learned that when you are ill and I'm not very often ill. But the reason I get better so very quickly is, first, I keep tremendously fit all the time, but I'm just lucky I'm naturally fit, but, you know, one makes a point of trying to eat some of the right things etc., and secondly if I'm ill, it very rarely happens, I do exactly what the doctor says and that's the fastest way to get better.
C. Carter
Let's be more individual about the … the organisations themselves. The first one of these is the Dorset Tapes for the Handicapped association and that started up in 1976 and since then one of their main objectives has actually been to receive a message from you to rebroadcast to their listeners, so what were the sentiments you'd like to get across to listeners in the Bournemouth area over Christmas? [end p4]
Mrs. Thatcher
In the Bournemouth area, I know it well, it's a lovely area, I think you're very very fortunate to live there and that's one great thing, you know, to live in a lovely place, it makes so much difference to your life. At Christmas, both it is tremendous renewal of this wonderful christian ceremony of love and peace and goodwill, but that's not just an abstract thing, one has to try very hard to practice it and it's also, again, on the eve of a new year, and I think it is just a chance to have a look and see what you've done with your life, to see how perhaps you can tackle the new year: as I indicated earlier, I think the most important thing is family and friends and if you cultivate those and do your best by those, then you have really a life which is full of the true kind of richness.
C. Carter
And the last one now, Prime Minister, is this one based in Blasgow in the Bishop … . Bishopbriggs area, it's run on similar lines but in this case it uses schoolchildren on a voluntary basis and much has often been said against youth, perhaps in the way they spend their time. So what are your reactions to their involvement … .?
Mrs. Thatcher
I do not say anything against youth, I see a fantastic number of young people doing this kind of work, helping older people, tremendously idealistic, fully realising the importance of peace, freedom, justice, all the things which make life worthwhile and wanting very much, being idealistic, to give something to society. I find most of them a wonderful generation.
C. Carter
Prime Minister, thank you very much indeed.
Mrs. Thatcher
Thank you. The following paragraph was placed after the concluding remarks of the interview: cut from broadcast version?
Mrs. Thatcher
I think the young people of the Bishopbriggs High School who are doing this job are doing a wonderful work and those who receive it will be very, very grateful to them and they will be looking forward, wondering what the future holds for them. It's difficult for us who now know what the future held for us to look back and think how we thought the same thing but I can only say to them you take life as it comes, you always do your level best to do the job next in hand, try to get the most out of each day, then if you take the opportunities as they come that really is the only thing you can do. Sometimes you have to try to make them, make your own initiative, but life is partly your surroundings, partly the conditions of your country but partly what you make it and it's not only what you find in your country, it is what you make your country to be and I think that the service that these young people are doing, augurs very well for Britain because it's a Britain where young people are prepared to give to their country as well as to take the benefits which their country gives to them.