Christmas Day opened in true oli+ time style. Snow and wintry condi-Yions obtained practically through-cut the country but later a thaw set in the south bringing back damp and mugginess now usual associated with a holiday. In Lon+ don the day was mostly spent by] the fireside. The streets were esorted though there was a certain liveliness in the evening when gala danees began in most of the big} hotels.
Notwithstanding the cold, -hardy swimmers competed in the usual event on the Serpentine. One of the participants was a septuagenarian who admitted that the water was somewhat cold, Another} veteran aged 78 won Hampstead] Heath's event at the pond at Hampstead, Tue churches were crowded.
Locarno, as the herald of peace, furnished the keynote of many of the sermons.—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.