Maggie meets the people

Bright sunshine greeted Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on Friday as she toured her Finchley constituency.

Her first call was to Village Crafts in King Street, East Finchley, were she met proprietress Helenor Gibson.

Mrs Gibson started her business from home and later acquired the Old Coach House, which after renovation now houses her workshops and showrooms.

Mrs Thatcher was shown wax clay, dried and silk flowers, plants and trees which are used to produce distinctive promotional material for companies and organisations.

Village Crafts also sell direct to the public, and Mrs Thatcher browsed in the shop where handmade candles and ceramics as well as dried and silk flowers are for sale.

Security was as tight as usual, but one East Finchley youngster took the opportunity to engage the Premier in a question and answer session over the problems in South Africa.

The teenager asked Mrs Thatcher why she supported the apartheid system, and why she did not support sanctions.

Far from ignoring the outburst, Mrs Thatcher smiled and said she had never supported apartheid, but was opposed to sanctions as it would only mean more suffering and poverty to the South African poor.

As one onlooker pointed out, there are not many countries in the world where the head of State is so easily approached.

Mrs Thatcher ended her visit with a well-earned cup of tea with Mrs Gibson and her staff—unaware her bullet-proof Daimler had been driven off by one of her detectives, as it was leaking petrol.

More tea was on offer at Mrs Thatcher's constituency headquarters in Ballards Lane, where she met representatives of Barnet MENCAP as well as some mentally handicapped children and their parents.

One of the first people she met was Gary Jellon, from Woodside Park Road, Woodside Park, who asked her to sign his scrapbook.

Despite his handicap, Gary is a medal-winning weightlifter and has a book full of photographs and cuttings about his sport.

Mrs Thatcher “listened with interest and sympathy to everything that was said to her” , MENCAP worker Barry Bowie said.

During her “relaxed and informal” talks, she discussed with MENCAP chairman Rene Wheeler and president Clara Thubron the shortage of specialist resources for people with multiple handicaps.

The visit also enabled the PM to talk directly with people who care for the handicapped, and discuss their problems.

In the evening, Mrs Thatcher joined more than 250 guests for a Greek night organised by the Finchley conservative Anglo-Hellenic Society at Woodhouse College in North Finchley.

She was presented with an antique Greek urn and a portrait of herself, and was treated to traditional Greek food and wine.

Children from the Moss Hall Greek School, North Finchley, who performed Greek dances, also entertained the PM. [end p1]

Anglo-Hellenic Conservatives welcome Mrs T

Hearty applause and traditional Greek hospitality were extended to Mrs Thatcher when she visited Woodhouse Sixth Form College, North Finchley, to meet members of the Finchley Anglo-Hellenic Conservative Association.

During the evening she chatted to and met most of the 300 guests, some of whom had come over from Cyprus especially for the event, and discussed both major Home issues and the Cyprus problem.

She also met the head of the Greek Orthodox Church in Britain, the Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain, Dr Methodios, the chairman of the Central Education Committee, Costas Nicholiedes, and chairman of the World Federation of Greek Women, Loula Nicholiedes.

Mrs Thatcher was served up a typical Greek buffet with wine and was clearly delighted with a display of Greek and Cypriot dancing by youngsters in traditional Cypriot costume from the Moss Hall Greek School.

Association chairman George Antoniou said they were delighted and honoured to have Mrs Thatcher with them.

He recalled the visit of Cyprus' Democratic Rally party leader, Glafkos Clerides, before the general election last summer and wished him the best of luck for the Cypriot elections which took place at the weekend.

In a dramatic and heartfelt speech, Doctor Zacharias Costa, from Finchley, called for the return of refugees to their homes and an account of the people missing since the 1974 Turkish Invasion.

He said association members were honoured and privileged to be part of Mrs Thatcher's constituency.

Mrs Thatcher thanked the organisers for a memorable evening and everyone who had contributed to its success.

Turning her attention to the Cyprus problem she said:

“I had hoped that we who had been in Cyprus for a very long time had given a constitution that would have kept Cyprus as a united island.”

She condemned the partitioning of Cyprus into two as totally wrong and stressed the importance of Cyprus remaining a unitary island.

“I believe that Cyprus is one country. Yes, it has two different peoples—that is not unusual. We must restore to Cyprus the feeling of being one country which accommodates two different peoples under the banner of democracy.

“We must try to talk to get things right for the people of this island.”

She acknowledged the support given her by Mr. Clerides and said she would be watching the results of the Cypriot elections very closely. Mrs Thatcher also promised to continue to try to excercise influence in the rest of the world and to contribute to solving the problems of Cyprus when she visits Turkey next month.

She described the evening as one of deep thought and deep emotions, and an evening from which she hoped they could take inspiration. And she promised to visit Cyprus in the future.

After drawing the raffle Mrs Thatcher was presented with an amphora, a Cypriot urn dating back to about 850 BC, donated by the Cyprus Department of Antiquities and the Anglo-Hellenic Association as a token of friendship and gratitude and as a symbol of Greek heritage and culture.

She also received a portrait by Greek artist Thellos Petrides, to mark her second year as president of the Anglo-Hellenic Conservative Association.

Mr Antoniou was delighted with the success of the evening and said it was the first in a number of events planned for the forthcoming year.