Speeches, etc.

Margaret Thatcher

Remarks on playing the carillon ("much easier than pulling bellropes")

Document type: Speeches, interviews, etc.
Venue: Canberra, Australia
Source: BBC Radio News Report 0800 1 July 1979
Journalist: John Thorne, BBC, reporting
Editorial comments: Between 1040 and 1055 local time.
Importance ranking: Trivial
Word count: 214

Mrs Thatcher's two-day visit to Australia is drawing to a close. She's had a second round of talks in Canberra with the Prime Minister, Mr Fraser. Mrs. Thatcher had with her a permanent Under Secretary at the Department of Energy, and it's likely the discussions included a detailed examination of Britain's potential uranium and coal requirements. Earlier, Mrs Thatcher went to Church, and during the day she saw an unusual musical instrument. This report from John Thorne in Canberra: [end p1]

Mrs. Thatcher's daughter Carol, newspaper journalist working in Canberra, was with her mother at the Sunday morning service at the church of St. John the Baptist, the oldest church in what is in the main a modern and specially constructed capital city. After she laid a wreath on the Australian war memorial, Mrs. Thatcher was applauded by a small crowd there to follow her through the hall of memory.

Earlier, the Prime Minister had visited the carillon, a tall bell-tower structure given to Canberra by the British government. Mrs. Thatcher tried her hand at the strange musical instrument which is played by striking a wooden keyboard with the fist, to ring a set of fifty-three huge bells.

Mrs. Thatcher told her hosts, “It's lovely, much easier than pulling bellropes”.