‘Our job is to help—not judge’ says M.P.

Beacon Lodge fete raises £325

“It is our job to help and not sit in judgment” , Mrs. Margaret Thatcher, M.P. for Finchley and Friern Barnet, told the visitors to the fete at Beacon Lodge, East Finchley, the home for unmarried mothers and babies, which is run by the Hornsey Deanery Trust for Moral Welfare.

Mrs. Thatcher opened the fete which was held on Saturday in the grounds of the house and which raised nearly £325 towards Wel-Care and the home.

She told the guests that there was never any point in saying, “if only things had been different.”

“We must try to look forward and give people as much help as possible” , she said.

Mrs. Thatcher spoke about the advantages of being brought up in a happy home and said this could act as a stabiliser. She condemned parents who gave their children no Christian upbringing when they were young and left it for the children to choose when they were older.

“These are most impressionable years of a child's life when the seeds of goodness are being sown. I teach my children all the best things in life,” she said, “because then I know they will remember the best things when they are older. Those of us who have happy homes have a duty to teach our children the best.”

She did not however want to give the impression that Christian values should be taught just because they were a good thing.

‘Job to help’

Turning to her work with the National Assistance Board as joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Pensions, Mrs. Thatcher said they had many people come to them with problems and they did not stop to ask the colour of their skin or their background. “They need help and we give it.”

“People frequently pass judgment before the baby is born,” said Mrs. Thatcher, “but after the birth the family is often reconciled.”

“It is our job to help these mothers and babies with kindness and firmness,” she said and paid tribute to the moral welfare officers commenting that they had to be “with it” to carry out their job in the modern-day world.

Mrs. Thatcher was welcomed by the Rev. S. H. Jarrett, of Holy Trinity Church, Stroud Green, chairman of the Beacon Lodge committee, who also welcomed the Mayor and Mayoress of Hornsey Cr. and Mrs. P. P. Rigby, on their first official engagement.

A vote of thanks was proposed by the Rev Harry Edwards, Rural Dean, and seconded by the Rev. G. A. C. Dunbar, of St. John's, Whetstone, and chaplain at the home.

A bouquet was presented to Mrs. Thatcher and Mrs. Rigby, by Clive Horsey and Peter Enter.

Also present was the Rector of Hornsey, the Rev. W. S. Kemble.

Stallholders were: Mrs. Hawes, cakes; Miss Mose, groceries; Mrs. Haines, baby clothes and toys; Mrs. Ackridge, household linen; Mr and Mrs. Hammond, tombola; Hornsey Soroptimists, parcels; Mother's Union, sweets; Finchley Y.W.C.A., home made preserves; Crouch End Townswomen's Guild, white elephant; Hornsey Inner Wheel, raffle; Islington Round Table, side shows.