SHOWMEN OF ENGLAND

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume LVI, Issue 41, 24 May 1935, Page 5

SHOWMEN OF ENGLAND

NEW TYPE EVOLVED.

KEEPING UP-TO-DATE WITH

TUNES.

(From the Guardian's Special Corres-

pondent—By Air Mail)

LONDON, April 27

Hampstead Heath at Easter— '"Appy 'Ampstead" of old —has revealed the great change which has come over the showmen of England. Superficially the showman, bronzed, muscular, and picturesquely tattered, is the same. But the sharp-witted, carefree nomad of yesterday has given place to the showman who is an organiser, a psychologist, and a business man, a member of the Showmen's Guild, and a man of reputation and substance.

Seated on a comfortable green leather divan in a luxury-caravan of the latest type, glittering with cut glass and chromium-plated fittings, the changing times were discussed by Mr Ernest Hall.

"People don't realise the amount of organisation behind the show business," he said. "Every inch of space available on Hampstead Heath has to be tendered for to the London County Council beforehand. On Tuesday night I shall be at Lincoln for an engagement on Wednesday. After that w*_ go to Boston for the Jubilee, and I have dates from then onwards until November 18.

"I could tell you of a scenic railway here which cost £20,000 shortly after the War. What is it worth now? Nobody can say. Depreciation of stock is a heavy item of expense with us, and the scenic railway is not so thrilling as it was. There have been changes in the music during the past few years, too. The steam organ, with its tunes on perforated paper rolls, is going, and the loud-speaker record is taking its place. We have to keep up-to-date with the tunes, and we have to pay royalties through the Performing Right Society for those we use."