Balmoral Hall School - Optima Anni Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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14 -T1-4 ' y BRAEMAR HOUSE-1. Huehn, Head LEFT, ROW-P. Riley, J. Hoare, M. Thornton, G. L. Cornell, P. Benham. G. Macdonald, A. Carroll. MIDDLE ROW-J. McDiarmid, O. Rudd, L. Paddon, D. Richardson, M. Dick, J. Savage, C. Nixon. RIGHT ROW-N. Eaton, H. Wilmot, S. Dick, F. Wilson, S. Blanchard, S. Hoyle, B. Hoare, G. Murray, J. Malaher, J. Adamson. ABSENT-R. Gonick, E. Protheroe, C. Cross, M. Stephenson. A. Connacher, M. Cooper. BRAEMAR HOUSE V In Braemar House this year, there has been enthusiastiospirit shown in sports and academic work. It has proved worth while because Brae- mar's thermometer has been pushed up steadily. ,Field day this year was a ,great success ,and brought top honours 'to our House. Outstanding entries in the lield day were, Joey Adamson, Mary Thornton, Greta Lynne Cornell and Hope Wil- mot. ,Also infthe first term we had a penny race for the Red Feather campaign. ,We placed third in the volleyball inter-house games this year and I would like to thank Gail Macdonald, our Sports Captain, and all. the team members for their help and support. 'When all the points were added at at the end of the first term Braemar had come out on top. I At the beginning of the next term there was the Ping Pong Tournament in which members of our house did well-Beryl Hoare winning the Junior Championship. The skating races proved to be exciting and invigorating. Although we did not do so well we all had fun. During this summer term we can look for- ward to a House Picnic and the Lilac-Mission Tea. There will be other events also during this term which will need the support of everyone. I would like to thank Mrs. McEwen and Miss Inglis for their ever willing advice and help dur- ing this year. I would also like to thank Joan Malaher and Pat Riley, our house prefects, for their help in all our projects and to Ann Carroll a special thanks for doing a wonderful job as secretary. A Although we cannot all come first in our 'class or come first in a race we can all do our bit for our House and you all have proved this so won- derfully with your support and enthusiasm. Good luck, Braemar in all you do next year. Ina Huehn.

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I3 for making use of words, and her style is quite enchanting. All in all, The Waves is a fascin- .tting book-a new and intriguing experience in modern literature. Ann Jennings, Grade XI. SABIN PIERRE tPrize-Winning storyj When Sabin Pierre Beaumont first came to our school he was the immediate centre of attraction. We had been hearing quite a bit about Mr. Beaumont and his grandson for the past few weeks. Mr. Beaumont had bought the old Haver House, a big, ramshackle barn of a house, about half a mile from our farm. Not many people move into our town, so the Beaumonts' arrival was quite an event. Ile rode into the school yard on a strawberry- coloured mare, that had a creamy mane and tail. She was taller than most horses that we rode to school, about fifteen and a half hands high. The mare, Faiz-Ullah, stood in the little clearing in front of the school champing on her bit and tossing her head, like a fiery Arabian steed in one of the stories in our reader. Sabin Pierre sat easily in his saddle, looking down on us all with a quiet, searching glance. He had a quiet air about him--very-dignified, almost, but his snapping black eyes showed a hidden recklessness. He wasn't different from the rest of us, a bit handsomer, perhaps, but he stood out. He swung out of the saddle and started towards the shed, all eyes upon him. He rubbed Faiz-Ullah down, then turned her loose in the little Held next to the school-house, and started back into school. All that time, with seventy piercing eyes upon him, he never made any move that betrayed his awareness of our presence. It was almost as if he were used to being the centre of attraction. In school, Sabin Pierre outshone us all. He soon headed the class, but he never got the nick- names Brain or Teacher's Pet. He held himself aloof from the rest of us, not above us, just apart. Summer, for me, started out pretty dull. There weren't many kids around our farm, so all I could see ahead was work. I was sitting on the fence behind the barn, listening to the crickets chirping in the long grass at my feet. A hot haze had settled over everything, making me feel lazy. I was surprised to hear hoof-beats on the west road behind me. In a moment Sabin Pierre reined Faiz-Ullah to a stop beside me. Hello, Kim. Are you doing anything much to-day? 'Lo, Sabin Pierre. I haven't much to do. Why? Because I'd like you to go swimming with me, down by the old covered bridge. Be with you in a sec. That swim started a friendship between the three of us, Sabin Pierre, Faiz-Ullah and myself. We were together most of the summer, and I grew to like them an awful lot. Sabin Pierre was a very good artist. He painted Faiz-Ullah, and gave the picture to me. There was a portrait of his grandfather he had done, which hung over the mantlecpiece in the Beaumonts' parlour. It was as goo as any I'd ever seen, and it was one of Grand'pere Beau- mont's prize possessions. Sabin Pierre was a musician, too. He played the violin. I heard him once, playing a gypsy melody, which thrilled me and made me listen. One day, towards the end of August, Sabin Pierre came running over to our place. Kim, Kim! What's up? Has the colt come? Faiz- Ullah was due to have a foal that month. Yes! He ran off and in two minutes I caught up with him. The foal came that afternoon, a little bay horse-colt. But Faiz-Ullah grew sick. Pneumonia. She was sick for two weeks, and during that time Sabin Pierre never left 'her side. He grew thin and weak and neither Grand'pere Beaumont nor I could persuade him to leave. When Faiz-Ullah died, Sabin Pierre left the stable for the first time. He ran down the path into the woods. I ran after him, trying to keep up. I kept him in sight until I came to the cross-roads. I was just wondering which path to take, when I heard a scream coming from the left, where the marsh began. When I reached the marsh, I looked around wildly for him. Then, near the middle of the marsh, I saw a ring of bubbles rising to the surface. Across the middle of the marsh, was a series of hillocks leading to the other side. I saw shoe prints on the first two, then the bubbles. You know the sort of devil-may-care feeling you get when you have been hurt. I knew Sabin Pierre had felt that way. On top of that, he was very reckless, always doing dangerous stunts, for fun. I have two remembrances of that summer. A picture of a strawberry coloured mare with a creamy mane and tail and a little bay horse-colt. I named him Sabin Pierre. Eirene Landon, Grade IX.

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, JE THE CONSERVATIVES ARE IN fClass Essayl In British post-war elections, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his Conservative Party were defeated with a large majority, by Mr. Attlee's Labour Party. Grateful for victory but nursing prewar grievances against the Tories and the upper classes, the majority of the British turned away from Churchill to the brave new world of Socialism. But that world, hopefully launched, gradually became water-logged and hopelessly bogged down in economic and social problems. The Labour Party found it increasingly difficult to solve these problems. For one thing they were becoming more complex each day, and for another, Labour was losing its best leaders, such as Ernest Bevin who died, and 'Sir Stafford Cripps, who wore himself out. Prime Minister Attlee, himself, was badgered by Tories in front of him, by crises and muddle around him, and by Aneurin Bevan on his flank. Churchill, trying to oust Labour during the national mix-up, last year, was narrowly defeated. Two weeks ago he was nar- rowly victorious. Within twenty-four hours of his return to power, Mr. Churchill had chosen the key men in his cabinet. As he had done during World War II, he kept for himselt the portfolio belonging to the Minister of Defence. To his trusted deputy -Sir Anthony Eden, he gave the office of For- eign Secretary. Sir Anthony Eden was also created deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the House of Commons. Richard Butler was made Chan- cellor of the Exchequer, Lord Ismay,--Secretary for Commonwealth Relations, Oliver Lyttleton,- Colonial Secretary. Sir Walter Monckton was made Minister of Labour, and to Sir David Max- well-Fyfe, a Scot, Churchill assigned the post of Home Secretary and also Minister for Welsh Affairs. Such hard-headed competent Conserva- tive administration as Churchill deputies now offer Britain, should bolster her tottering finances at home and strengthen her relations abroad. Tory policy has long stressed the necessity of a sound economy, It has been announced that once more, drastic measures must be taken in order to meet Britainis economic crisis. It is believed that Churchill intends to decrease the value of the pound one more degree. However, no changes in economic policy are expected as yet, because Churchill is planning a meeting with United States Officials in which he will probably try to work out some trade arrangement more permanent and constructive than just a straight loan. It is also said' that when 'Churchill meets President Truman in january, they will discuss possibilities of Chur- chill's arranging a talk with joseph Stalin, also Churchill wants the United States to play some part in the Middle East crisis. It is hoped that these Anglo-American conferences will promote more harmony between the two countries. What the Conservative Government really wants is an examination of the whole world picture, in order to give Britain a chance to get back on her own feet. Thus we see that the Conservatives have not only to better their position in England, but more important still, to get Britain on a strong economic basis, and to iron out 'mer many problems having to do with foreign relations. Whether Prime Mini- ster Churchill and his Tory Government will succeed in the great task that lies before them, remains to be seen. Perhaps we can feel somewhat optimistic about the matter after reading what Churchill told a group of Britons in Abbey House two weeks ago. He said, There lies before us now a difficult time, a hard time. I have no hesitation in saying that I've seen worse and had to face worse. But I do not doubt we shall come through, because we shall use not only our party forces, but a growing sense of the need to put Britain back in her place-a need which burns in 'the hearts of men far beyond these shores. Cathy Young, Grade XI. MM N0 LABOUR, N0 BREAD The deep red sun sank below the horizon. A caravan moved slowly across the sandy desert. It carried many rich things from the markets of the Far East. The silence of the twilight was dis- turbed only by the moaning of the rusty wheels. Suddenly the dense atmosphere was pierced by loud blood-curdling cries. Horses' hooves thundered across the plain. Dark sinister forms shot out of the shadows with their long swords raised. It was all over in a minute. The merchants had been spared their lives but their caravan had been looted and every costly thing stolen. i The robbers rode away defiantly. Their leader, Mourfir, a bold bedouin, rode on his fiery little desert mare Keshia. She too was pleased with their escapade. Her large eyes glowed with satis- faction and she proudly tossed her black mane in the breeze. The same night the thieves divided their loot. Tomorrow they would go to Bagdad. In Bagdad they would sell their riches. But now they must sleep. Allah, the merciful, had been very good to them that day. Dorothy Richardson, Grade VIII.