Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1961-08-16
jim BISHOP:
:, REPORTER

r@ GONOO4Nt L 1C N4by 40
: cool and green and busy.
London, to me. is a furled
umbrella, a derby hat, a BIZ
cycle, trimmed shrubs, tradi-
ton, and the aloof attitude
of an old maid who has wan
dered into a Turkish bath on
mems night. 1t is. monuments
land parks too and beeping
little automobiles on the
wrong side of the road.
This is my third time here;
it is Kelly's first. She loves
it, all except their cigarettes,
which sell for SIS, about rs
cents a package. The govern
wants the people to
stop smoking, and they have
found the way. If it is true
that no one has lived until
he has seen Paris, then it is
equally true that you haven't
died until you've puffed en- a
British cigarette.
WE HAVE DONE all the
tourist attractions. Late yes
terday afternoon, we were
staring through the bars in
front of buckingham Palace
when the people around us
started cheering. A small
cleaning Daimler went
through the gates and across
the cobbles and around to
the back. What was that?"
I said to a Briton. He
snorted, Her Majesty, of
course"
We didn't see her. We
were too busy watching the
guards stomp their feet
around their sentry boxes.
At Grosvenor Square, we
studied the fat bronze statue
of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and
saw the new American En-
basSy, which looks, by no &C
cident, like Fort Knox. One
of my favorite places is ST..
Paul's Cathedral. There is
dark solemn majeStey inside
and we saw the spot where a
German bomb hit the church
in the early days of the war.
Kelly loves flowers more
than anything in life except
her two daughters. In one
day, the British became dear,
delightful people in her eyes
because she saw gardens
everywhere. Even in the
tenement districts, flowers
grow tall and colorful in tiny
plots, no bigger than a table
cloth. They are in the pub
lie parks, in boxes on bank
windows, beside doorways,
even on the facades Of
theaterS.
She walked at my side,
up one lane and down the
other, mewing to herself.
The little shops, with their
rounded bay windows and
shiny brass trimmings. en-
tranced her. At the Savoy,
she spent a solid five min
utes just looking at our
room because the Grapes we're
in lavender flowers and the
chaise lounge and chairs
were done in lavender velvet.
This morning, we visited
the home of good and noble
dead Englishmen, WeStmin-
ster Abbey. I was surprised
to find that although Robert
Browning is buried there, his
beloved Elizabeth Barrett
Browning lies in Italy.
Scotland Yard has new
building facing the Thames.
At S pm. all the office work.
erS in London seem to run
toward the nearest under
ground" station or to Char
ing Cross to catch commuter
trains. The city appears to
be much buster than New
York.
We went to the Colony for
dinner. 1t is a so-called smart
restaurant in Berkeley
Square. We arrived at 8
pm. and we're the only
people in the whole dining
room. At one time, we had
three walters and a head
waiter taking our order for
coffee. The theater crowd
had dined and departed be-
cause curtain time is very
early in London; the supper
crowd had not arrived. We
looked like two explorers in
a regiment of penguins.
Earlier, when the light was
good. we strolled Piccadilly
Circus and looked at the
theaters. At Trafalgar Square,
we looked up at the tall
single column which sup
ports Lord Nelson and hoped
he is not afraid of height.
The pigeons perch beside his
lordship, and they swoop
down to the fountains be-
low when they see a bag OF
peanuts.
NOTHING, I'M SURE, is
as unromantic as watching
a stout British woman, in
helmet and goggles, riding a
skinny motorcycle. Especially
If she is going away from
you.
(copyright. 1861. King Features
Syndicate, Inc)