My Trips

Random Observations

In comparing London in 2019 to London in the 1960’s, there are of course many differences. It’s more than just the big things, like changes in the skyline. There are also of smaller things I noticed along the way.

School boys in short pants. As a 10 year old, I went to school everyday in my English school boy uniform of blazer, tie, little beanie, strange sandals or leather shoes and short pants. Rain or shine, warm or cold. This time I don’t think I saw any school kid wearing shorts. Very few beanies either.

The great English comb over. You used to see them everywhere. Balding men who would grow their hair long on the side and then comb it over the top of their barren dome. Often it was just a sad few dozen strands of hair trying to do the job. I’m not sure if I saw a traditional comb during the entire duration of our visit. You might see one on a few older Royals, clinging to the traditions of the past. But most of those have either died out or they just don’t have enough hair to even accomplish a comb over any more. Even Prince Philip seems to have given up on it. The only thing he’s flipping over these days is his Range Rover. (Ta Dum)

You don’t think I heard a single person call someone else “luv”. No one said “ta” for thank you. I did hear the word loo used a few time though.

Conductors on buses. You used to get on and off London buses at the rear. You’d take your seat and a conductor would come around with his little hand-cranked ticket machine. You’d tell him (I don’t remember a single female conductor) how much your fare was or tell him your destination and he’d know the fare. If you were under a certain age you could get a half fare. (I remember being laughed at by a conductor for pronouncing half with an American accent.) The conductor would punch in the amount, turn the crank on the machine and trade you a ticket for your cash. When the bus approached your stop, you would yank once on the signalling cord to let the driver know to stop. Once all passengers were off, the conductor would yank twice on the cord to let the driver know he could go. Now you get on at the front, tap your card on the card reader and have a seat. All fares are the same. Reader boards around the bus tell you what stop is upcoming and whether someone has already pressed the button for the driver to stop. Video monitors allow the driver to see if all passengers are done boarding or exiting. No more conductors, but riding on the top deck is still fun.

Bowler hats. The standard issue hat of the banker, lawyer or politician was pretty much MIA. Likewise, carrying an umbrella constantly is a thing of the past. For the bowler hat crowd there was of course a prescribed way in which to walk with the umbrella. Bowler and top coat on, brief case or London Times in left hand and umbrella held by the handle in the right hand. As one walked, the umbrella would be used like a cane as follows: As one steps with the left foot also place the tip of the umbrella against the ground and let your right arm naturally pull back as part of the stride. Swing the umbrella forward as the right foot stepped forward, and this time, as one stepped with the left foot, bend the right wrist so the umbrella is parallel to the ground and swing the arm back in a natural motion. Bring the umbrella forward again and touch it against the ground again as one steps with the left foot. Chin up, head forward, confident stride, stiff upper lip. Think John Cleese.

I miss the old currency. Pounds (20 shillings). Shillings (12 pence). Pence. Guineas (1 pound 1 shilling). Crowns (5 shillings). Half Crowns (2 shillings 6 pence). Ha’pennies (half a penny). You had to use your brain everyday to have a clue what to pay or if you got the right change.

If you look closely you can still see unmarked, largely unnoticed remnants of World War II. You easily notice the big things, like the aforementioned Churchill War Cabinet rooms, the HMS Belfast moored in the Thames or countless monuments dedicated to the war effort and its effects. But it’s the little things I found equally interesting. Walking along the road between the Victoria & Albert and Natural History Museums, I noticed pockmarks in the side of V&A. A stone railing and wall had several chunks missing. The damage looked old. There didn’t appear to be any effort to repair it. My suspicions were confirmed when I looked it up later that evening. This was bomb damage left over from the London blitz. I liked that fact that it was purposely left un-repaired, but I really liked the fact that no special attention was drawn to it. It was just left there for the passer by to happen upon should they notice.

The demeanor of the people seems different. The English always seemed to me rather cold and distant. For certain, that appearance is still there. Sit on the tube. Put in your earphones. Look at your mobile phone or newspaper. Don’t make eye contact. Don’t even think about starting a conversation. But I was very surprised at the times we did have interactions. People were friendly and willing to talk. Ticket takers at attractions appeared genuinely happy to greet you and that you had come. The guards at Parliament were friendly and welcoming. Servers in restaurants and pubs went out of their way to be helpful. Watching museum staff conducting tours with school children they just seemed more tolerant, more engaging, and more passionate about their subject matter than I ever remember. Conversations with fellow tourists and city residents were pleasant surprises. Everywhere people seemed to be happy to answer questions and there was a real desire to be of help. The English reserve still exists, but it seems to have softened. Maybe because it was the off-season. The crush of tourists isn’t as overwhelming this time of year and maybe people are feeling a little more hospitable.

Fish and chips wrapped in actual newspaper appear to be a thing of the past.

MG’s, Triumphs, Vauxhalls and tiny tiny Minis are gone. They are replaced with Mercedes, VW’s, Renaults, Japanese cars and less tiny Minis.

Children in boarding schools and dogs in restaurants. That’s what I remember about English society. Certainly everyone didn’t send their kids to boarding school, but from the perspective of a 12 year old, it felt that anyone who had the ability to do that would. Children weren’t easily tolerated and normally treated as non-entities. As a child, I remember waiting in line at a tube station to buy a ticket at the window. A man came rushing up, pushed in front of me and bought his ticket. When I pointed out that I was there first and had waited my turn, I was scolded both by the man AND the ticket seller for being impertinent. Today, kids seem to be much more tolerated, and families do more together than I remember. While this appears to be a good thing, after experiencing the crush of children at the Natural History Museum, I did wonder if maybe the English in the 1960’s might have had a good thing going. There are still plenty of dogs around. As a whole the city dogs seemed very well behaved and trained. They often run free in parks without causing problems. I don’t think the English love of the dog has diminished in any way. But I did not see a single dog in a restaurant.

As with any accent, the English one has its peculiarities. One of my favorites is the letter H. I always loved when reciting the alphabet, the English would pronounce the letter as “haitch”. I think it’s funny that the h sound is pronounced when saying the letter, but is often silent when used in a word, especially in the “lower class” accents. ‘Enery for Henry, ‘Ere for Here, etc. So I thought it was funny during a tour of Hampton Court (or is that ‘Ampton Court?), our tour guide who had a fairly middle class accent was saying something where she mentioned the letter H. Sure enough, she pronounced it “haitch”. I looked at her closely, wondering if she was pronouncing it ironically, maybe imitating someone from history, but I could see that no irony was involved. This was her normal speech. It took me by surprise. I had forgotten this little anomaly of English speech. It was a nice little jolt, kind of a hello from my memories.

I’ve had people tell me that when they went to this or that city, that everyone seemed to be from somewhere else.  It seems especially true of European cities.  However, I don’t think I’ve ever been to a city in an English-speaking country where foreign languages predominated to the degree that they do here. We could walk along the streets around our flat in Notting Hill, and go from Point A to Point B without hearing English spoken once.  It seemed like every clerk in every store, from pharmacies to grocery stores to restaurants, spoke English as their second language.  We would hear languages on the street or behind shop counters that we just couldn’t identify.  Maybe a Middle Eastern dialect?  African?  Certainly some Slavic languages.  In the 60’s, England was a very homogeneous society.  A few Indian, Polish or Caribbean immigrants were about as exotic as it got.  In our visits to London over the years there definitely have been changes, but not nearly as dramatically different as the city is today.  Walking down the street today is a much more dynamic and interesting experience than it ever was in the past.