David Carter (for BFBS)
Well, we cross now to London where the Prime Minister has been celebrating the first part of Christmas day. Prime Minister, how's the Christmas day morning gone for you?
Mrs. Thatcher
Well, very traditional as we always have, we don't open our Christmas presents on Christmas morning any more, we wait a little bit later to … till the evening of the day, we go to church, to our little local church on Christmas morning and they very kindly asked me to read the lesson. Christmas day, the church is packed, absolutely full and we have to have extra chairs in the aisles and we have all the wonderful Christmas hymns, and all families come and it's marvellous tobetherness occasion and then we have our Christmas lunch which I think everyone does, again a very traditional one, but it's marvellous to look forward to. I think we all eat a little bit more than we should but, you know, that too is Christmas. [end p1]
D. Carter
… .
Mrs. Thatcher
Not a lot on Christmas day but you're always on standby. Just as the armed forces are because in fact you never know what might happen I remember soon after Christmas Afghanistan happened one year and always particularly with armed forces, doing very very tricky peace-keeping jobs we might suddenly get in a message. Wherever I am all the communications are with me and we can dash and get … . link into almost any country, or to the Ministry of Defence very very quickly, so we too are always on duty, there are always secretaries with me, there are always telephonists with me, there are always security people, so we're just like the armed forces and I'm glad we are.
D. Carter
Sometimes when people go abroad in serving with the armed forces, they'll go to what appears to be a rather quiet location Berlin for example, you have been to Berlin, what was your feeling when you went there?
Mrs. Thatcher
Oh, quite extraordinary, because I had never really seen that wall before and … literally to see a wall which stops people getting out and look over it and see the lengths they go to to stop people making a dash for freedom, and that the people behind it all want what we take for granted, but the unfortunates don't take it for granted and somehow I don't think the people of our country take it for granted, they know we have to defend it. Christmas is a time of peace and goodwill but unfortunately everyone in the world they're not people of goodwill. So one has to be very careful that we never let our guard down and we always defend our peace and our security and our freedom and justice.
D. Carter
Our forces are in Beirut which is a troublesome place, they're in the Falklands, they're in Berlin, they're all over the world doing their duty.
Mrs. Thatcher
Cyprus, Hong Kong, yes, and lend-service personnel in so many places and Belize—… oh yes, we girdle the world.
D. Carter
What would you like to say to their parents, to the families that they've left behind in the UK who are celebrating Christmas?
Mrs. Thatcher
Just this—I have been nearly the whole world over and seen our armed forces in many many places, they are doing a marvellous job and you know wherever they are, the people welcome them, they admire their professionalism, they admire their restraint, their ordinary fairness and kindliness, everything that is British and it's … they're honoured and renowned, so be very very proud of them, I know full well, because I've been with them so often, that they too are having as good a time as they possibly can commensurate with their guard duties today. The armed forces are a marvellous organisation to belong to, you get the feeling of belonging to something and knowing you're doing a really important job, we think they're wonderful and we think their families are wonderful too.
D. Carter
Prime Minister, a merry Christmas to you and thank you very much indeed.
Mrs. Thatcher
A very happy Christmas and a good new year and a heartfelt ‘thank you’ for everything you're doing.