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

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an .-Z.l- The Good Spirit of the Christmas Village It was born last year, the Spirit of the Village. It was at one of those dining-room meetings, behind the curtained doors, that it began to grow. Our mothers recognized it, They encouraged it, and nourished it, and it became more real and more alive. It began to show. Needles and scis- sors moved under its guidance. Mothers wove and fathers hammered. In the heat of july the spirit flourished. The material side of its charac- ter was revealed as puddings and aprons, breads and toy boxes, shortbreads and dolls were pre- pared and set aside for the village . The Spirit invaded the school but did not interrupt our work. It was called Unselfishness and Cooperation in the senior school. Its head- quarters was in the school corridor, where the

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22- rr- . Never the Twain Shall Meet Then a number of things happened in rapid succession. The tree shuddered. The mirrors flashed alarmingly. The bells cried out as with fear. The brightly coloured lights flashed danger signals, then went out. The majestic evergreen made a last valiant effort to stay upright, then slowly began a descent which ended with a crash and a chorus of tinkles. Silence ensued as we viewed the chaos. The once stately angel now appeared slightly inebriated, with dilapidated halo and wings askew. The round balls had been reduced, in a few seconds, to jagged ruins. Horror was replaced by indignation and everyone began to talk at once. What? Who? How? . . . The cat! some experienced person exclaimed. All heads turned to the corner by the fallen tree, where sat the culprit, sleek and smug, licking her paws with satisfaction. Over one ear was perched a jaunty sprig of greenery. Quickly she shook it off as if to dispose of the evidence, then, assured of herself once more, blandly winked at us with both eyes. Try and prove it was I, her manner suggested. Several hands grabbed for her, but, too swift for us, she darted away, tail in air, to seek peace until this disturbance subsided. Since then, in our house, there is an unwritten law which maintains that Christmas trees and mischievous pussies do not mix and ne'er again the twain shall meet. Lyn Stephen, Grade X. A Trip to Earth by Two Neptunes Sign On. All set Oubla? All set and ready to go Goublaf' All right then, five, four, three, two, one, fire! A mighty lurch gave us knowledge that our flying saucer was in flight. My name is Goubla and I live on the planet Neptune, far off in the solar system. My friend, Oubla and I are off to explore a distant planet called earth. We have heard that a race of people live there and we are off 'to see what we can see. Soon our planet was a blur in the distance and we set ourselves down for a short trip in our deluxe flying saucer. As we whizzed past Saturn, I saw my friend Sacais hanging up his scales to dry in the moonlight after his yearly bath and I waved to him but he did not seem to notice me because I did not hear his big roar which meant l-li! Soon a green dot appeared on our radar screen and a shout arose from Oubla and me. Earth was in sight! As it grew bigger and bigger I became frightened! What would this new world be like? What would the people be like? It was too late to wonder now, for we were coming in for a landing. Thump! We were on ground! I opened the door and looked around. A sigh of relief arose from our throats. The new world was the same as Neptune. Big, tall, brown and green trees were all around us, and vines wound themselves through the branches. We crawled out and started to explore. Tall green and brown grass tickled our feet, and a sort of flower, which I thought smelled very nice, started to close around me. I quickly whip- ped out my ray gun and froze the flower solid. Then we ran across another strange thing, which had no color, or smell and we could see right through it. There was nothing like this on Nep- tune, so Oubla put a jar full of it in his pocket to take back and show. We found nothing of any one living in this area so we went back to our air-ship and started to climb in. Then to my surprise and horror, the trees seemed to come alive and chase after us! I whipped out my ray gun and turned them into frozen things. I do not like this Goublaf' Oh, Oubla, if you call this magic I will take you to a head man, when we are home, and ask him what you have up there, I replied. This is not magic, he said. This is Black Magic. I shut the door and started the motor. We were off! e We next landed on a spot that we thought should have some people living near by. We crawled out and the first thing I saw was a tall thing and it looked as if it were about to fall on us, so I shot my ray gun on it and it was frozen. Then a loud screech arose, followed by many more horrible sounds. They've landed! was the cry. The men from Mars have landed! Oubla and I took one look at each other and jumped into our flying saucer, not for a moment thinking that we could have seen the people of the new planet. But, men from Mars were dread enemies of we Neptuners and we didn't want to meet up with them so far away from home. It was some time later, out in space, thatll collected my thoughts and figured that they might have meant that we were men from Mars. But how could they? We Neptuners are the most handsome people with long thin, green bodies with six arms and twelve legs, six eyes, and a long suction mouth. I wonder? Oubla and I are going back to Earth some day, but now we just cannot wait to get bafck to the safety of Good Old Neptune. Sign Off. Shirley Martin, Grade VII.

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22 R candle ends and shopping bags were counted, but its presence could be felt in every part of the school. In the Home-Ec. lab it was seen in the junior judges, who, thrilled at the unbelievable splendour of their task, voted for their favorite doll's party dress. In the dining room the Spirit lurked behind the door of Ye Olde Boar's Head Inn' and in the White House its presence was evidenced by pop corn, bread loaves, mince meat and puddings. The nineteenth, the Village day, arrived and the Good Spirit was its king. At three o'clock, crowned in a green balaclava QN.Y. versionj, it began its reign. The shoppers were held in its power and they sought to do it homage. They searched for it at the Village sign post and un-der the Village trees. They thought it shared a throne in Santa's sleigh. They believed it to be in the Tea Room. The children found it in the fairy queen. The shoppers read the Village paper, and searched the hill for the Good Spirit. They hailed it seated in the holly wreaths and running up the crimson cord to the mayor's office. Food con- n-oisseurs entered the red and white Checked inn and named it as the Spirit's residence. Others chose the Post Office and named the box as its home. Many visitors selected the Village square as the office of the Spirit. Surely, they argued, in this bustling square of colourful bazaars, fes- tively adorned, the Good Spirit must reside. But the diners declared that they had found its resi- dence-and you would agree, for in the Boar's Head Inn, candle-light and checkered cloths, vio- lin music, delicious food and friendly faces com- bined to make the dining-room the favorite. But the teeners chose Town Hall as the place of the Good Spirit. Did anyone really know? Could anyone actually locate it, identify it and say There is the Spirit? Yes, the Villagers, they could. They could show you where it was, and is . . . it is under the Stu- dents' crests, it is under the street cleaners' bibs and it is under the mothers' smocksg it is under the mayor's medallion. And what is it like? ? ? It is the G.S. from G.S. Balmoral Hall, without its sailor hat this time and with a sprig of holly in its mouth. Dawna Duncan Grade XII. Balmoral Hall's Fairyland Small boys and girls wearing red ribbon bows entered through a gaily decorated archway and climbed up a flight of stairs. They had excited looks on their faces. Where were they going? They were going to Balmoral Hall's Fairyland. A' Fairy Queen in a dress of white and gold welcomed them. She had a crown of gold on her head and a bright smile on her face. Beside her were two elf helpers. Oh! Look! said one little girl to another fair cherub as she pointed to the Fairy Queen's elf helpers giving away sweets. I shall have some too! she exclaimed. The girl, holding her sucker close to her, enter- ed the movie room and watched intently the films. She could see Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Goofy Pluto, and others. The little girl came out very happy, and she decided to buy something for her doll children at a booth right outside the movie door. What cute things she bought! As she clutched her wares she noticed that the puppet show was starting and so she hurried into the magical room before the curtain went up. What a funny show! The clock struck four-thirty and off the small girl went to fish out of Santa's pack. She had just enough money for it. What a lovely doll she got! At five o'clock the tiny girl, weary from her busy day at Fairyland, went home full of tales to tell her family. Everyone was full of adventure to relate who had visited Balmoral Hall's Fairy- land. Brenda Bodie and Joanne Wilson, Grade IX. The Christmas Village 'Tis of the Christmas Village this story I would tell, Of hustle and of bustle and of merri-ments as well. Students, teachers, mothers, friends of Balmoral Hall, Enthusiastic planners came in dozens one and all. Day in, day out from dawn till dark our clever -mothers worked, Hammers banged, needles twanged -- no tasks were ever shirked. Their transformation of the School into a Village Fair Was complete in every detail from the Market Place to Square. Booths galore, good food in store and Fairy Land so true Auctioneering, people cheering, carol singing too. an ik ak Imagine our amazement when the total was pro- claimed - Six thousand silver dollars was the figure we attained! Suzanne Holland, Grade XI.