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The nominees were judged on
personality and speech and they had to wear formal dress,
including gloves and hats.
Natalie came out on top, and having won the competition, she
was invested at a ceremony on 30 May on College Green.
Present at her big day were the city's great and good including
Lord Mayor Kenneth Brown and the Lady Mayoress and Sheriff
of Bristol Alan Wills and his wife.
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| Natalie posed
for an official photograph |
Natalie
was accompanied by her 'maids of honour', runners up in the
contest Shirley Boyer and Audrey McMurdo.
The Lord Mayor
presented her with her badge of office - a silver gilt medallion
with Bristol's coat of arms on one side and an engraving on
the other.
More importantly for a 21-year-old,
Natalie was given clothing grant of 20 guineas. She used it
to splash out on a specially-tailored lime dress.
Abundance of flowers
Natalie's duties during her
seven-month reign involved visiting many street parties in
the city, and attending formal functions.
"Almost everywhere I went I
was presented with a bouquet of flowers," Natalie told BBC
Bristol.
"I also handed out a large number of bouquets myself."
Most events required
a speech to be made and occasionally Natalie was given background
information so she could say a "meaningful few words".
"Otherwise I had to do a little homework by asking a
few questions about the organisation before visiting,"
she says.
"But generally everything was fairly spontaneous."
Giant tomato
"I remember attending a rally at Bristol Zoo Gardens for the
National Savings movement," natalie recalls.
"With me was 'Mr Thrifty' who was a large tomato!"
Flowers were definitely the order of the day at one official
engagement:
"I remember a very swish luncheon on the Downs at the horticultural
show," said Natalie.
"I sat posing beside some of the lovely flower arrangements".
The festive season brought another enduring, if noisy, memory
for Miss Bristol:
"I was invited to meet Father Christmas at Montpellier Railway
Station.
"The platform was absolutely lined with children - they
were hanging from the bridge, screaming and yelling."
Read more about Natalie's reign
as Miss Bristol
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