SPECTATOR COMPETITION No. 148
Report by N. Hodgson Readers were invited to move a tact/id vote of thanks to the distin- guished but absent-minded gentleman who has just addressed a chapel- bazaar under the impression that he was assisting at a function in aid of the Field Sports Protection Society.
In some ways this competition has proved easy. One had, per- haps, not realised how many people are past masters in this par- ticular branch of insincere speech with all its subtle variations. Most of the entries, however, ran upon the same somewhat mono- tonous lines, pressing fairly obvious analogies (both the chase and the bazaar have their hunters, their pursuit and their quarry) and not infrequently using the same phrases," in the pink,"" mens sana in corpore sano," etc.
The desperate efforts of others to find some common ground produced some pleasing results e.g. Frances Collingwood's " I am sure we should all be at one with him in his dislike of shooting foxes. Kindness to animals we know to be a fundamental of the Christian way of life," and Nancy Gunter's "Since many children are present On This happy occasion I am convinced that the Colonel's tematks on the rearing of young pheasants, and his description of the care and kindness lavished on these helpless little creatures, will not have missed their mark."
I decided in the end to award prizes to those who were most successful in conveying by their speeches one meaning to the subject of the vote of thanks and a quite different one to the audience. There were three entries in which the result was achieved in almost every sentence. I therefore award £2 to the inevitable R. Kennard Davis, and 30s. each to H. R. F. and the Rev. R. Y. Holmes.
(H. R. F.)
"Surely, Mr. Chairman, we have rarely heard such an original and provocative address as that given us today by Sit Edward. While I find myself in disagreement with some of his points of view, I am bound to say that I have been greatly impressed by tne warmth with which he regards our nobler traditions ; and I assure him that we who honour worthy men of the past are ourselves equally eager to set toe best possible example for the future, We, too, know what is expected Of us in these difficult times when men without knowledge or understanding intrude anbangst us to instruct us in our lights and duties. And if, as Sir Edwatd has implied, 'fair liberty is all our cry,' he can be certain that we whose fathers so often strove for liberty will follow that cry over any field against all the powers that seek to:thwart us. In thanking him for the quite unique support he has given us today, I may add that his presence with us is a sharp reminder that we must serve with redoubled energy the cause to which we here are so devoted."
(R. Y. HoutEs)
"I should like to thank our distinguished visitor for coming amongst us today and for the felicitous remarks that he has made. As he has told you, our-efforts today are for a very good cause and it is gratifying to know that he has at heart the same ideals that we all have. We all,
I know, Will echo his hope that the objects for which our funds are intended will never cease to arouse interest and support, and I can assure him that we all agree with him in believing that it will be a sad day when activities such as those we are promoting today cease to be prac- tised. We are glad to have shown him that here in this corner of England men and women are striving to carry on our great traditions and to hand down to posterity a love of all that has helped to make us a great people. We shall continue to do so, and we thank him for his wish that success may crown our efforts today." PRIZES
(R. KENNARD DAVIS)
"Ladies and Gentlemen-
We always expect something exceptional in an address from Colonel Pinkshott, but you will agree with me that today he has surpassed all our expectations. When he spoke to us of the joys of shooting, and told of all the birds and animals that he has brought down, and of the love of Nature that field sports induce-well, I was so moved that, I assure you, I wished I had a gun in my hands ; I-wouldn't have missed him for worlds ! I was immensely struck too by what he said about hunting- how the victim really enjoys being pursued. Now you all know as well as Colonel Pinkshott why we are met here today, so I shall not say anything about our great cause ; but I warn our visitor that we mean to hunt him relentlessly, and not let him go till we have seemed his brush, in the form of a handsome subscription to our funds ; and we hope that he will enjoy the chase every bit as much as we have enjoyed listening to his speech ! "
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