SEEING LONDON

Evening Star, Issue 19330, 17 August 1926, Page 8

SEEING LONDON

■ K9SSENSE THAT ABEKSAHS SWALLOW FALSE GUIDES There are many ways of seeing London—most of them wrong. The American millionaire, who engages a (suite of rooms ai< a palatial hotel ami constantly travels about in d dosed limousine, sees almost as little of tho real London as dees (ho visitor who depends on tho underground railway for his transport. There is a good deal to bo said (writes the Melbourne ‘Ago’ correspondent) for seeing London from the top of a bus, but it is important to have at your side an intelligent mentor, or you are in danger of missing much of tho cxciiement of tho journey. The mentor business can, however, be gravely overdone. Only this week (Juno 1C) your correspondent found himself seated behind a young woman, obviously from tho country, who was in charge of a town-bred cousin, .who kept up a more or less accurate commentary on places of historic and public interest as they camo into view. Tho visitor, in her anxiety to keep a complete record of her experience, was so busy with pencil ami paper that she saw little or nothing of the places described, and her follow-travellers, at all events, wore inclined to regret that as she sped down Whitehall at twenty miles an hour she accepted, at her friend’s valuation, the Adams front of tho Admiralty, the impregnablelooking War (Mice, and the splendid Inigo Jones banqueting hail from which Charles !. slopped to his execution. Even tho Horse Guards, with the mounted Jure Guardsman changing guard, an unfailing source of interest to all, was seen only through tho eyes of her friend, and dingy Downing street and (ho Cenotaph secured but a fleeting glance. Tho visitor's copi-_ ous notes will- doubtless provide material" for a “paper” at some village “literary-” society during (lie coming winter, and none will bo any tho wiser if a guide book is judiciously consulted before the essay is prepared; so perhaps the journey was not wasted.

Happily, the pencil and paper typo of sudd seer is rarely met with. Most of tho visitors who at this time of tho year Hood tho London streets are content to record tlioir impressions in black and white after they have returned to their lodgings tired and hungry at the end of tho day, and arc dependent, upon chance acquaintances or a London hand-book to keep them informed as to their whereabouts during (heir perambulations. They are often grossly misled, for it is surprising how ignorant the majority of Londoners arc about their city. Not one in 10,000 could direct tho inquiring visitor to tho fine old Water Gate cf what was once York House, now high ami dry in the Embankment Gardens, but formerly washed each tide by the waters of tho Thames. So long as one's inquiries do Hot go beyond tho Bank, St. Paul’s, or Wostminler Abbey, plenty of willing assistance is forthcoming from tho passer-by; but it is only one Londoner in 20,000 who has, for instance, visited tho unique museum at the Bolls Office, where tho Doomsday Book is stored, or has any but the hardest notion of what is stored in tho Soane Museum or knows how to rohch the London Museum, with its interesting collection of objects associated with history of old London. It is not surprising, therefore, that tho visitor not infrequently finds himself in the hands of false guides. In these days there is a fair sprinkling of uniformed interpreters about tho streets who are abb to give trustworthy advice to inquirers in almost any language, including American; but visitors should accept with reserve the assistance of self-appointed guides who live on stray tips, for London is less well equipped than the average English caihe. first city with men and boys who are familiar with its history. The motor char-a-banc, which is rapidly growing in favor as a means of doing the a!Hits of London, is all too often equipped ■with a glib, but ill-informed conductor. Every day during tho season, which ia now in its third week, and indeed throughout the whole summer, these huge vehicles filled with inquisitive visitors are a considerable factor in increasing the London traffic problem, and it is no uncommon thing to find two or three dozen of them parked in tho open space outside the House of Lords, while their occupants are dashino, at brcak-nock speed through the mother

of Parliaments or Westminster Abbey, near by. Americans of more frugal means appear to have a particular affection for this method of transport, and almost invariably they attach to (heir parties a guide, who, speaking trumpet in Land, stands in tho forepart of the vehicle and holds forth for their edification. Mo doubt some of them know their subject, but more than not they talk a good deal of nonsense, which is greedily accepted ns gospel by sight-seers doing tho circular (our. They aro on safe ground when they descant about such landmarks as Trafalgar square, which is a common staking place for iheso journeys; hut tho further afield they go tho less reliable do their lectures become. Sir Alston Webb’s noble archway at (ho entrance io tho Mall become “Constitutional Arch,” which is, of course, tho best part of a mile further west; hut as the tourists never remain long enough to admire the cunning arrangement of arches by which from almost every angle of approach a view is given of the fine boulevards beyond it doesn't matter much whether (ho impressions of Marble Arch, Hyde Park Corner, Constitutional Arch, and Admiralty Arch aro telescoped into an architectural atrocity. And, anyway, it is the human touch that (ho American visitor wants. He would willingly sacrifice whole chapters on architecture for a few- saucy details about Charles I.’s favorites. And tho guides know his tastes and pander to them. There is not the smallest nulhorilv for one-boH cf tho things they tell the Yankees aboul tho haunts and habits of these and other frr.il court ladies of former limes, and, least of all, for the bland assertion that in (he Church of St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields, in Trafalgar square, Nell Gwymi lies buried, Tho guides, however, are hoard at their best when they are giving (be Americans tho . sort of details they yearn for about tho Royal House. It was worth looking twice at St. Martin's Church when they were told (hat the King and Queen attended service there regularly. The fact is that their Majesties have probably not been inside tho building more than half a dozen limes in their lives. But this is a harmless typo of lie, and it docs no particular disservice to the prestige of the Royal Family by allowing Americans to picture King George and Quern Mary strolling down the Mall to St. Martin's on Sunday evenings with prayer books under their anus, to take (heir places in the queue which not infrequently assembles outside one of tho most popular churches in the country. ROYAL FAMILY ANECDOTES. It also goes down well with the American visitor to learn how tho Royal household does its shopping, and tho guides tel! racy stories full of domestic circumstance of purchases made at grocers' and butchers’ shops and other establishments that wear the Royal arms over their doorways and cater for the needs of Buckingham Palace. The guides plunge («nro heavily when they fell of the immense sums which the R'r,al house receives from London ground rente. One of them was recently heard to tell a coach load that was passing down Regent street that tho smallest shop in that famous thoroughfare paid the fabulous rental of £250 a week; that it was tho highestpriced land value in the world, and belonged entirely to the Crown. “Does that moan that the King gets all tho rents?’ inquired one incredulous passenger. “ Yes, tho King gets the lot, and, of course, he has an allowance cf £1,000,003 a year from tho State; but he had to do a _lot for charity,”, replied this reckless _ cioorono. As a matter of simple truth, if that !S important, their Maejsty’s prwy purse benefits .to tho extent of only £IIO,OOO from

tho civil list, and revenue from' ground rents of Crown lands is all carefully collected and apportioned by tho State, Bub if tbo cock and bull stories about the Royal Family , represent the most picturesque efforts ol these guides, who do not hesitate to toll their hearers that iiioauo square belongs to the Prince of Wales, whereas in fact his nearest property is a mile or so away, they can stretch a pretty long how in discussing (he affairs of other notable people. Squares which have long since been passe arc pointed out ag fashionable quarters. Noblemen whore peerages are only a hundred or two years old are almost invariably described as having fought at Agincourt, if not at Railings, and houses which they have never seen are pointed nut as being their London residences. Indeed, tho average unofficial guide has acquired such an amazing collection of misinformation nbo’.u, London (hat one of these clays the ohar-a-bano drivers will revolt against their inaccuracies. There is precedent for it in the hoary old sfory of (ho genial horse bus driver who, having heard every landmark from Marble Arch lo Pt. Paul s misdescribed, decided to take a share in (ho game. The informant being stumped when asked who was renresentod in the stai.no of Queen Anno at (ho enl ranee of the Cathedral, the driver turned round and said “ Stick it, guvVor: tell her it’s Mario Lloyd.” REWARD TO FOOT-SLOfiGKR. Whilo it is, of course, impossible adequately to sec Loudon without resorting to some such means ot Irau.qiort as the bus or other motor vehicle oters, tho rewards go ultimately to the foot-slogger. It _is. perhaps, important to get a general improssion of the town from the top ol a bus; but those who fail to pry around the courts and alleys and quiet squares that, are never visited by public vehicles miss most of the fun. 'there is room in London for a more intelligently-directed bureau for tho guidance of visitors who desire to know something mere of London than is gained by hastily rushing through the orthodox show places. Visitors waste quite a lot of lime in ploughing their way through certain public institutions lo which organisations such as Australia House supplies them with a permit. There is the General Post. Office, for example. Apart from the fact that the one in Lt. Martin's-Ic-Grand deals with a larger bulk of correspondence than its counterpart in Melbourne, tho London G.P.O. possesses no special interest. it is all very well ’ to learn as a result of a visit that 45,000,0001 parcels were despatched from London post offices last year, but the acquisition of such knowledge certainly does not justify the expenditure of the best part of half a. day upon it. If the visitor were allowed to see in working tho Post Office’s complete service of underground transport, with its small-scale automatic trains by which tons of hags of mail arc carried from postal

centres in tho outer suburbs through the bowds of tiio earth to the General Post Office, ho would, of course, see something that is at once unique and interesting; cut a hook of statistics is all that is needed to realise that letters are dealt with on a hi" scale in London. The visitor’s time would really be much better spent in the old Norman Church of .Saint .Bartholomew the Great nearby than in its immense sorting room. Buckingham Palace Mews is another dudi lino in show places upon -which visitors waste valuable time. It is perhaps worth while seeing the Stale coach; but it ia better to so it in a State pageant than in a State coach house; and, for tho rest, there are racing stables around Melbourne which are much more deserving of a visit. Again, to roc tho London Fire Brigade, or even one of its minor branches, turn out and solve tho Ira flic problem at tho sound of a pong is undoubtedly a thrilling sight, hut, save for those who have a special interest, in such matter?, an afternoon is illspent in making a conducted tour of & station merely to learn that 3,845 fires occurred in London in 1924, of which 1,2 M aro put down to carelessness, or that on the average 8 out of 19 fire alarm calls are false. But, however useless such information may be. it is reliable and more worthwhile accnmulatimr than the pictuersq 10 tar a diddles that arc put over by guides m char-a-bancs. Prospective visitors to London who r.sfl the char-a-bancs for getting about London would bo well advised to tee London from such vehicles and disregard much of what they hear about it from those who put themselves in charge of tho parties.