Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-09-30
Ez47ORE Rcz
jim BISHOP:
REPORTER
A kaleidoscope of London

4 LONDON. England. - The
n train came up to London from
4 the docks. 1t was small train
3 with a small locomotive and
Q squeaky whistle. The seats
Nefe old wing chairs and each
had q small table in front. On
tae table was an electric lamp.
Iea was served. This was q
drst-class train.
An old man from Philadel-
phia poured tea for his wife.
He was content. Nowhere in
the world" he said. would
anyone offer you a warm cup
Of tea except in jolly England"
The train creaked and groaned
through the Southampton
yards. Pal" the old man said
TO the steward. IF you ever
come to Philadelphia. well give
you a cup Of tea too" The train
moved faster through the ex-
quisite hills. scoops of mint ice
cream with chips of chocolate
COWS.
The roads were full Of eye
lists. Men and women, coming
home from work, pedalled up
hill and down like coveys of
dignifled swans, heads erect.
legs scissoring rhythmically.
Automobiles Rugged the left
side of the road. They were
small cars. So were the bikes,
the trains, and even the
shipped and clipped words of
the people. They speak as
though their tongues are being
tapped. On the train, an Ameri-
can lady talked to an English
man until her skin turned
lavendar. When she finished,
he said: "Of cuhss."
Thanks for q Mickey
The train was coming into
Waterloo Station, inching
across the leaden Thames, when
the steward presented a bill
for 3 shillings to the old Phila-
delphian. What's that for?"
the old man said. Tea" the
steward said. The old man
looked older. He gave the
steward a dollar. when you
come to Philadelphia" the old
man said, well give you a
mickey"
oh" the steward said hap
PLY. thank you. sir"
The terminal was big and
dirty and busy. Outside, it was
raining. The clouds we're low
over the city and they moved
fast from west to east. In an
hour, there were two showers
ana two periods of Sunshine.
London is neat to the point
Of impeccability. The bright
young men dart along the
Sidewalk at double speed wear
ing black bowlers, black suits.
carrying black furled UNI
brellas. The shops are shiny.
inside and out. Every house
seems to have a small garden:
The grass and shrubs are
trimmed as closely as q colo
nel's mustache.
In the evening. the tenn
perature drops to so. The hotel
room is large. but there is no
central heating. A small elec-
tric heater has been built into
q wall. It has all the power Of
Q 50 electric iron.
Family Home at Palace
Along the curb, signs say:
"No Waiting" They mean mo
Parking" This morning there
was a knot of Englishmen in
front Of Buckingham Palace.
A flag few on the roof staff.
Her Majesty and family had
arrived from Balmoral. Scot
land, a half hour before. The
guards, in red tunics and black
busbys, stood like Christmas
toys in front Of the sentry
boxes.
The taxicabs are small and
N|hck. They bound down the
narrow twisting streets at 20
miles per hour. One took me
b a night club called Pigalle.
The fare was 2 shillings. A
shilling is IA cents. The club
was in a cellar. It was full
and dark. The popular drinks
seem to be Scotch and soda.
and gin and Schweppes.
The English women are fat.
Not all of them. They range
from a size AZ up. These wear
two-piece tweed suits. They
look like something which has
been squeezed two ways from
. tube Of toothpaste.
British vaudeville was what
! came to see. What l got
was a big production number
Of boys and girls called Away
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