1 Pato
WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT?
THE CHINA MAIL, - SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 10682
Two Kings Pulled Down London Bridge
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And down came company of soldiers with it
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OST of London's 14 road bridges over the Thames have an interesting story. The old Southwark Bridge, for example, was opened at inidnight in 1819, by candlelight,
In the 18th century, Black- frairs Bridge had a half penny toll, but when the charge was raised to a penny on Sundays, Londoners riot- ed and burned down the toll- house. This bridge was a memorial to William Pitt.
The finest
Inrichte in Europe was thought to be London's former Waterloo Bridge. One of its grace, fully curved arches, how ever, became weakened and in 1924 it was closed to traf- fle. Eleven years passed bo fore it was decided to de. molish the bridge and build a new one.
A former Westminster Bridgs, built in 1933-50, was Ananced
by lotteries. Thit was the bridge from which Wordsworth gazed and wrote his famous Hormet which begins, "Porth has not anything to show more fair".
Danes. Supported by King Olaf such force that five arches gays of Norway, Ethelred sailed into way, This may have been the the Thames with his fleet. The incident which gave rise to the
Danes had
castle in the City, fomous song, "London Bridge is Be in "Suthvirto", now South- broken down, my fair lady". wark, they had erected a stone and timber bulwark fortified by A strong army,
Lo
If you travel by
TO the clanging of bells, the shrieks of children, and the wailing of farewells, the "Poona Express" pulled out of 'Bombay,
This is one of the most famous trains of Indin. It clangs and whistics over 120 miles of glistening, hot steel-steel so hot that it burns The feat of the trackmen who cross it.
Station,
As soon as we had loft Victoria Bombay, an inspector, dressed in white dannels and singlet, and wearing topec, came into the compart- ment.
Ho examined each ficket several times, both sides, and from various angles, as if ho had never seen one before. This In the way of small offelais in India,
:
which of
The word "slarings" dkt not mean birds in the 17th ctn
Starlings thent Wert tury. Between the cantlo and South-
wooden platforms vark, over the Thimet, was a protected
plers brond
raised London bridge wil
Bridge and forced on piles the water info narrow, fust Parrientes and built
ven into the river bed. The towing channels. So dangerous Norwegian ships lay alongside wore three sindinga thad an the bridge and were covered by old
proverb used 10 say great wooden platforms to London Bridge was made for thrown wise men to go over and fools withstand the miniles
bo go under." On one day in down by the Danes.
November 1893, 15 people were drowned in the swirling waters under the bridge.
fast 10 were
Then Ehelred ordered enhles to be put round the bridge piles. The cables were emdo the boats, and the boats rowed away. Down osme the bridge, and with it the Danish company monning it.
'A Monster"
Between 1756 and 1762, the and shops plcturesque houses on London Bridge wene re moved by Act of Parliament. Alternative accommodation ap- found for pears to have been the evicted shopkeepers but not ak of them were happy in their A centiny later, iz 135, new homes. Mr Baldwin, a 71- haberdasher, cam- London Bridge was down..agun. year-old
not ret of the plained that he could Gilded "pineapples" form part this Ume cr a we
Chislehumi, Kent, of the decoration of the present Peker of Colecard decided to to sleep Lambeth Bridge opened In ruild mother bridge in 1178, but He missed the found oi 1932. It believed that they he died in 1205 before it could Thames tider his home.
had A chapel are a tribute by the areblies be completed.
erveted on been
the In succeeding Brst already
the old Lambeth Bridge.
and was
yoor.
the
the
to John Trandescant, the man to import pineapples in bridge, however, and Poler was bridge was patched up many not until England. He was buried under buried in the undercroft. This Amnes
at the must be 1421 that a committee burlal
on a bridge
House of Commons reported in unique.
entirely deyour of building an By 1358, the bridge had be- new bakige. The fine pile won 15, 1824. come a busy trading conter driven in on Merch with 138 shops, and the chupe! about 100 feet west of the old
them, it bridge, wisich wMAN Londoni molished until 1831.
talked August of that year
Built Again
But none of these bridges can
claim the great history London Bridge.
ot remained. EUTH posible thut
of WTS
no! dk- It was in that the
new granite bridge the one that stands today was opened IV nough by William SWDITI
and Queen Adelaide,
It is poble Bridge shoppers that there was a bridge not far about the occasion in 1240_when east of the present one, us longa whale. "a monster of mo- ogo as A.D. 43. When Aulus digious Gize", Plaullus pirmied the Britons one of the brches of the bridge. across the Thames during the It was desed by sailors arened Roman Conque, it is recorded with slings and bows. und that some of the troops swum killed at Mertlake after a long across the river whilst
others fight. "got over the bridge a little way upstream".
Bridge In
London 1014, figured prominently in a battle between King Ethelred and the
COIN-
It has guly five arches, pared with the 20 marrow anes of the
old
London Bridge, through which the tide had formed such dangerous rapids fright in 1281,
ik mus? winter, that
kave taken brought down great blocks of ureater toll of human life than
the bridge within uther bridge in history. ico against
There was another
when
Fevere
A back across a room
The chatter of the gayest party
An occasion that deserves the
finest Scotch
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Bobbed up
When the offßeiol had gone, the head of a small boy bobbed up outside the window. He had joined us at Bombay, and now, İlke several others, was having u free ride to the next stop. elinging on for dear lite as the train thundered alone,
His hair blew out straight in the wind. We entered a funnel and thundered through. At the other end, as the light returned, he was, to my surprise, atili clinging on and smiling toothily. He left us at the next station, atli) smiling and nithy.
Stations in India are noisy. smelly, and confused. They are the perfect example of order Not emerging from choas.
skirt
Women in bright-coloured saria and imen in off-white shir's and a kind of Wrapped round the legs, called a dhoti, rush about in panic. Porters, all in crimson tur- bank, carry enormous loads on their heads-some balance as many as three large boxes with A massive bundle on top. (Few people have suitcases)
Many travellers carry mat-
them, for tresses with
soma train journeys take three days.
Mixing with these are numerous officials, all carrying flags, whistles, nole-books
and pencils: all dressed in spotless white trousers and wearing important-looking white topees.
The bells
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con-
Suddenly one of the officials rings a bell hanging from the platform awning. The fusion now becomes immense
at everyone Everyono shouls else. Everyone waves his arms in desperation, or in anger. No one Ilsteris.
Nothing happens,
This continues for a minute or two. Then the bell is rung again.
Pandemonium is let loose, Even the beggars who throng all alations in India get knocked
side.
The vendors of cold drinks,
fruit follow sweets, and potential customers inside train,
All
tho
platforms on Indian stations are crowded with these soft-drink characters. Most of them have about half a dozen bottles of lemonode, which they
train
almost
anything
can
happen
INSIDE NEHRU'S INDIA
SECOND REPORT
route is known as one of tha "They are all in Kashmir," I mest picturenque in India Wo was fold, "It is like
o buse left the constal plokits for the military zóne up. there.” inner plafcou Slowly wo. The business man took me to climbed the sleep gradients, his thome for a soft drink. He while the fans whirred and the lived near the centre of the * passengers snored.
Not so good
The business: mari opened the door, I thought ha' had had onough and was going to jump out into the depifts below. A ferent gunt of hot of swirled about in the comperiment,
"That's cooler," sald the busincs man. I had not noticed it. The wind in India is so hot. It wag ng if a giant, oven door had just been opened.
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town in a white, bungalow with Vérandalts. A boy wha throwing water on to - thờ matting on the outside walls ki an attempt to keep the trouss cool.
The boy served us out fuko- warm noft drinks, which two drank out of the bottle,
“My wife found him in the streets," he said. "We have riven him a home."
There was no fan, and tha boy wayed a largo picco at dardboard in our faces.
Courteous
carry around in buckets of We had no interesting com At the next station. We had a water. Every other man in India versation about trains. The longer hold-up than usual. A "We used to have a fan, but i trying to sell soft drinks. student would not speak Engibh, cow bha decided to lie flat on times are not so good here in Water is brought round in a Ho curried a home-spun bog, and the sleepers, its herd faking the soft drinks trede - as when bucket free-to dip your hands was clearly on andent nationalist, the engine. Cows are extra the British troops were hono,”- in, drink, or pour down your Now and again he spoke in a ordmarily well thought of in 1 mt in the only chair in the neck,
loud voice to the badness man India-in fact, they are sacred, room. My host and his wife But still the train has not left. --romething which I suspected **Express" in India
"India merely concerned
for tho mcons that a train does not Indions” much to the erbor- stop at every possible station, rosament of the business man. It just stopa nt nearly every possible station-usually for five minutes; sometimes for half on hour.
Flashed by
At Inst we moved off. Outside, the parched, scorched country- side of Irath' flosited past the window. From the roof two fany whirred and shook in their sockets with dangavus-looking case.
"If a train ia lato to India we all get out and alt on the Jine as a protest. The police have to come and move us," sald the business man. "Doesn't this make the train later still?"
"Of course," he said. Indian newspapers aro full of such incidents nearly every day, Indian tening are often jote.
ung in mind
by BRIAN GARDNER
WEY."
It took
of sprawled on the matting carpet. a good clai respectful wheeding to get this extins prefer
frame the right
of he exploded
He showed to move.
me round the town.
Most Lans one extraordi erify courteous. Most of them. have plenty of time to be help-. ful to strangers,
Fascination
mess,
"In the Calcutta orcs,” Do The railways of Imkin ere one told me, "station masters are of the great engineering feats of frequently attacked, and otation the world. They have a strange Our engine was a diesel. Much staff have to lock themselves in fascination, and air of romISTICE, of the Indinn mil system is when a late train arrives. Pas despite their apparent listless clectric or diesel. But the huge, sencary there have even invaded clanking steam engines which and damaged a signals box." wo passed on the outskirts Bombay were all that one would expeel, with every conceivabla kind of knob and hissing pipa attached.
D
2
"You will find a very odd atmosphere here," he said the
of which BUN' Europect-style,
I dk. I dound deserted stools, an occasional lounging sentry baf- reading newspaper, starved looluing taxi-drivesd sdt="" Even to Indians who travel oa ting round walling for condi The papers. nre also full of them frequentar, à train Journey thing to happen, and empty
many the ugnies suffered by the is always an event. It entails no nimps,
in engine drivers and the remen and of planning and discussion, specialise who work, before the arrival of Seme hire servants especially to taflaring and food... the cooling monsoon, -in frightful look after them
jong
Refugees from Pakistan hove The steel carriages are brownditions. It is common to Jamey.
collected here with the (um) with large, long windown. There rend of them dying of heat-
army of kanÝNTS-ONL are three classes, and all notice, stroko. Recently thero have We passed a narrow," winding on the stations and inside the been many serious accidents, river, Leslie which long compartments are in English as and a Government commission colourful saris (usunily six yanis
had freets appointed.
bong) were Tad out to dry." well as indik
Wild dogs stood and panted My companions were a bust-
"Don't take any, police of at us as we tore by. From the nes mcp and student, both these pompous officials," at the open door, and the wide open dressed the inevitable off bushess man. "The passengers windows, the dry. misty white. Customs in. traia com run the always here." He Imgrance of India arched in portments vary
wriggled his toes comfortably. belween Britai and India He dealt in soft drinks, Even in first-class compartments.
60mewhat?
In India it is nonal to take The bunds dopped in the your shoes off (few people wear dreeze as the trio sped through socks in the summer) and curl the dark brown countryside, your feet up under you on the mottled with "green, and with seat, or, alternatively, stick them little cultivation. out towards your neighbour,
Ardent
· Sometines a village could be sect with and walls and grass roofs, carrying brass unita on
Mick
Deserted
The hovels in which they live on the outskirts of the town are waist-high steATIO”” enter tures, which you can' only by crawling in on, hands and knees.
Seven The whole town has an air-ör decay. The few troops one does seo are by no means smart Here are traces of white paint round free on a dangerous corner; there is what might once" Wo could tell med we were have been a tidy barrack block getting near Poona-once
roat Briush mbitory centre in quarters bang in the breeze. the Windows in emply "ufflects". India-by the deserted remnant
known 69 Mahatma Gandhi of camps by the countryside. On The famous Main Street is hong
There is very little
Brital passed this way.
Once a line of women, concrete slabs, Nissen huts once Read.
stood. In crumbling barrack blocks squatters have made their that the heads, made their stately way homes. across fields to
In a dimate like India's this
well. is comfortable, no doubt, but it Sometimes in the distance a The district of. Poon. L has its disadvantages as far as towb could be seen-a collection. Ike a ghostly Salisbury Plain. the neighbours are concerned. of pale red recla colted in the dropped in the middle of Intiin.
"Take your shoes and socks' off," the business man cdvised me.
MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN
SEARCHED
HELLO--
browny-green.
It is weirdly deserted. Not a Then we travelled along the soldier to be seen in mile rfler edge of n deep ravine. This mile of barracks.
CH--I YES, ANYBODY HOMASZ " FOPENED
--
I WAS LOOKING FOR YOU AND HEY-~?
IVE
THE HOUSE-NO SIGN OF NARDA
·SOMEONE IN THE FRONT HALL
|--MANDRAKES
AFRONT
WINDOW HAS
'OPEN~~~
By Lee Faik and Phil Dayle
QUICK--
DOWN ON YOUR HANDS AND KNEES!
to thoro Army once!
NEXT WEEK:
Pilgrimage to Benares
Here's the gift... Sheaffer's
SNORKEL
Grants
(HOUTCH,WHIRMY.
Grant's is a whisky, mudo by an old family concora
As a companion to the happiest moments
Bola De
FERDINAND
JOHNNY HAZARD
By Frank
SLANNING THE ELEVATOR, STICK KOME JOHNNY, FEELS THE LOPTER ROUSING-SLOWLYZE TOO SLOWLY!
HE'S GOING TO PLÒN
↑ INTO US,{
BY MIK
產
WORLD'S
ONLY PEN
WITH "NO-DUNK** FILLINGI
SWISSAIR
AUSTIN
formed
COMMERCE