 Well, I think this party today, which we are met to look at and to think about. It was to see what this famous old town now looked like after being given a giant spring cleaning under the guidance of the civic trust. Windsor Castle looks much the same today as it did a hundred years ago. But outside the castle walls, the appearance of the town has been continuously changing. Happily, many of the old buildings still remain, including the fine guild hall designed by Christopher Redd. The little back streets and cobbled alleys have retained much of their former character. But modern life naturally brought with it many new things. And most of them did not exactly improve the appearance of the street scene. A forest of traffic signs telling the motorists what to do and what not to do. Garages and petrol pumps, advertisements of every kind, trying to outdo each other. Lamp posts, boxes of electric switch gear, rubbish baskets, public lavatories and public telephones. Most of these things are useful and necessary. But with a little thought and care, they can be made much less obtrusive. Some can be got rid of altogether, as we did with the stone wall between the castle and the town, which served no purpose and merely obstructed the view. When the queen agreed that the wall should be pulled down, I couldn't resist coming to Windsor myself to knock out the first stone. Since the money was not available from official sources to meet the cost of demolition, most of the work was done free by a team of volunteers. The wall was of course only one item. Wherever you looked, work of all kinds was going on. Thousands of separate jobs, but all of them part of a single coordinated plan. The scheme had been initiated by the borough council, with the whole hearted backing of the local chamber of trade. To his premises, it's not therefore surprising that it took many months of discussion and persuasion before general agreement was reached. With their intensive activity, everything was at last ready to welcome the queen to her hometown with its new face. Windsor sparkled and shone in its gay colors. With the wall gone, young and old enjoyed the new prospect of the castle. The whole town was excited, and everywhere people were discussing with each other what they thought about it all. Many who'd been quite indifferent before began to take a keen interest in the appearance of their surroundings. It was just for this purpose that I founded the civic trust a few years ago. My aim was to show that much of the drabness and ugliness around us is really quite unnecessary. And that if we care enough about it, we can make our own town a much pleasanter place to live and work in. And thus it was that over a thousand mayors and other civic representatives found themselves together in Windsor to see what had been done. Many hundreds of years, which stands so close to its walls, has always had a special place in their affections. I was therefore most interested to learn that Windsor had decided to embark upon a comprehensive scheme of redecoration in conjunction with the civic trust. It is quite right that the castle should also have a part in this. So I was very glad to agree to a removal of that wall. I believe that both town and castle have gained by this visual union. Supported as it is by all the corporations, the trades and townspeople have done in the giant spring keening of their homes, shops and streets. I would like to offer you, Mr Mayor and all your citizens, who have taken part in this scheme, my warmest congratulations on the success of your efforts. Many of you may have seen the results of the first civic trust scheme at Norwich and Stoke-on-Trent on film or television. Yes, it was at Norwich in Magdalen Street that we launched our original pilot scheme. And now the shopkeepers there will tell you that they have found that good appearance is also good business, for it attracts trade. Having got their street into shape, they are determined to keep it that way. After a couple of years, they are giving it a good wash down. And in another year or two, they will again be repainting the whole road together. Other parts of Norwich have been following Magdalen Street's lead. All over the town, buildings are being given a fresh look. People are everywhere taking a new pride in their city, as in Norwich, so throughout Norfolk. The county council planned to tidy up every town and village within four years. This is Holt, the first to spruce itself up. A few miles away, Ailsham. The idea has certainly caught on and has spread into all parts of Britain. There are now several hundred schemes of this kind in varying stages. Many are already completed and all the time fresh towns are being added to the list. But what does it all amount to? No doubt the first thing that catches your eye is the gay colours. But it's not just a matter of slapping on bright paint. The colours must be suited to the character of each individual building and it has to take account of the neighbours on either side. The scheme must be planned as a comprehensive operation for the whole area. Every building and every object in the street has to be separately scrutinized. Each scheme involves a mass of detailed problems. From the layout of roundabouts to the design of shop signs. Individually they may seem unimportant. But taken together they can make a real difference to the general scene. Look at these upper windows and see how much they are improved when the crossbars are put back. See how the unity of this building has been restored by painting it all in one colour and removing the posters. Too much advertising defeats its own purpose. Our streets and pavements are too often cluttered up with countless miscellaneous objects. Switch gear and transformer boxes. Traffic signs, lamp posts and all sorts of other things. But if care is taken these can be made much less noticeable. Some of these traffic signs can be moved onto walls or better still got rid of altogether like this. Lamp posts which obstruct the pavement are not always necessary. Street lights can often be mounted on the face of the buildings. Nothing is too small or unimportant to deserve attention. Everything we put in our streets should of course be of good quality and good design. It's not just a question of eliminating ugliness. Where there are features of beauty or interest we must make the most of them. Being every street has its own particular character and must be studied individually. A solution which is right in one place may be wrong in another. Towns in different parts of the country need different treatment. Fast improvement can be made just by tidying up and brightening up. But in some places more radical changes are needed. That was certainly the case at Burslam in Stoke-on-Trent about which our majesty spoke. The town centre there was a sort of wasteland with no shape or function. It was not enough to redecorate the buildings around it. The whole layout of the central square had to be entirely replant. Elsewhere the character of the place is often being destroyed by the congestion of traffic which chokes the narrow streets. The solution may be a ring road with car parks at intervals along it. In some cases it may be possible to make pedestrian areas where people can go about their business free from the noise and fumes of motor traffic. 150 years ago Windsor High Street was certainly a much more peaceful place. But no one wants to put the clock back. Our aim in all these schemes is to make the most of what there is both old and modern and to see that as new developments take place attention is paid to good design and good planning. Many cities and towns could benefit from this treatment. I believe that more than 400 places all over the country are considering such improvements. No doubt there will be differences of opinion and I expect mistakes will be made but the point is that people are taking a new look at their hometowns which are so easily taken for granted. For this we must be grateful to the civic trust and to those towns who have given such a strong lead. It was a memorable day. Her Majesty's words were an inspiration to us all. Towns are living things. The pattern of life is changing all the time and our surroundings must adapt themselves to new needs. Our aim must be to preserve what is beautiful from the past and to add to it something which future generations in their turn will think it worthwhile preserving.