European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 05, 1995, Darmstadt, Hesse                                By William Tuohy los Angeles times. In Britain sunday once was. Sacrosanct. There were restrictions on the operation of shops movie Heaters pubs restaurants and sports events. The rules narrowed the options of people there on sundays to churchgoing prayer Reading Long walks and dining on the traditional roast meat often with relatives. But Britain s Blue Laws Are going the Way of Bowler hats and winning Cricket teams much to the Delight of a Large majority of the populace. And if evidence was needed this Holiday season has provided it Many stores opened on Christmas and new year s Day both sundays. Stores throughout Britain now Bustle on sundays with the holy Day one of the busiest shopping Days of the week. Even never on sunday bastions such As harrods and Marks & Spencer have gone along with sunday openings during the holidays and have been surprised by the volume of their business. While churchgoing has dwindled markedly in Britain sunday shopping has become a family activity. Families March off together to main Street stores and suburban malls from Inverness in Scotland to Dover on the English Channel. Litls not necessity shopping says sue Sadler at Marks & Spencer Britain s leading Chain store. It s Leisure shopping. We have found that families tend to come along together which Means it is a Day for quite Large family  As for parliament in the past year it has liberalized sunday opening Laws in recognition that about 11 million people participate in the new shopping times. It is the busiest of the week in terms of sales per hours said a spokesman for Sainsbury a a supermarket Chain. In Britain Public holidays Are called Bank holidays to signify that commercial and financial activity ceases. But in the past month the largest banking Chain National Westminster has tried experimental sunday openings. Customers appreciated the service says Anthony Frost a Nat West Bank official who added that seven Day banking May happen in the  it has taken years for the British to junk their sunday Blue Laws which have been severe especially compared with More Liberal Continental countries. Curiously though hundreds of years ago sundays for most people in Britain were festive holidays for music dancing and drinking. But the puritans after winning the civil War in the 17th Century took an inflexible View of the fourth commandment remember the Sabbath Day to keep it  Puritan minded authorities decreed the lord s Day should be devoted to churchgoing Bible Reading and meditation they banned work Trade sports play and any other nonreligious pastimes. For generations British society suffered under the tension of How strictly to observe the Sabbath. What was actually allowed often depended on the liberality of the local minister and Justice of the peace. The victorians continued the tradition. Novelist Charles Dickens complained about the rigidity of strict Observance particularly for children. In recent years the move toward More sunday openings was led first by Small shopkeepers then larger retailers who ignored closing Laws revised in 1950 but left ambiguous. Traditionally Blue sundays were supported by clerics and unions the latter because they feared employees would be forced to work excessive hours. But both groups have become reconciled to changing circumstances. Thus As 1995 dawns the old fashioned British sunday is dead and a lamented. So much so that since the new year horse and greyhound racing Are Legal on sundays leading one wag to exclaim the British sunday is going to the  Britain Steps up inspection of ferries by the new York times the British government s regular inspection of ferries has become More rigorous after Marine safety experts examining the ships last fall found that about 35 ferries or one of every three operating from British ports had minor problems with their doors. The door checks were ordered after investigators from Estonia Finland and Sweden determined that locks on the huge front door of the ferry Estonia failed during a storm in the Baltic sea letting in a flood of water that  ship in late september killing More than 900 people aboard. British officials said the ships the government had inspected were fundamentally sound but Many were discovered to have minor problems such As Small leaks in rubber seals and fractured hinges. Only one passenger ferry the Winston Churchill operating out of Newcastle upon Tyne was ordered to Stop operating until repairs to its Stern doors were completed. British officials said their country was the first to introduce regular inspections which it did after the sinking of the Herald of free Enterprise in 1987, killing 193 people. The new inspections will be done As frequently As before three times a year but will be More rigorous said a spokesman for Britain s Marine safety Agency. In North America the society of naval architects and Marine engineers has assembled a panel of experts who have begun assessing the safety using computer models of the North american Fleet of ferries. About 20 Large passenger ferries operate in North american Waters according to the . Coast guard which inspects the vessels annually. But they Are less vulnerable to accidents like the one that sunk the Estonia because they Are smaller and have a lower Center of Gravity the coast guard said. 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