TAFF - pg 26 wanted to do. On those occasions he played the part of a 'dumb Swede'. Not having much conversation with him or seeing him too much, I did- n't have much impression of him one way or the other. He seemed to blend into the walls & since there was life and activity going on elsewhere, I didn't make the supreme effort of dragging conversation or replies out of him. Bennett, Jordan & Rispin were playing Brag in the center of the room & Ted Forsythe & I got active with our respective cameras. The evening seemed to pass quickly & I got ready to leave for my hotel. Bill Temple made sure I got on the right train & we said goodbye until convention time. The party was quite a blast & it made a pleas- ant thing to attend as a pre-convention warmup. Somewhere along the line somebody had given me a map of the London Tube System. I'm glad they did as it came in quite handy. With the aid of that I was soon able to find my way about London without using fans as seeing eye dogs. I rode to Tottenham Court station & then via. taxi to the hotel. The hotel was nice and my room had a private bath. The bellboy clued me in a bit on the monetary system and tipping customs. My trouble by this time was in being able to figure out if I was getting the right change or not. He'd seen me give the cab driver a pound note & made sure I got the right amount back. I don't think I ever did actually get cheated on my whole trip, but cab drivers I never trust in any city. Lou Tabakow was a cab driver in Cincinnati for two years & the stories he relates must be typical of the breed. By the time I unpacked, took a leisurely bath & jotted down some notes for my trip report, it was well after 2 AM. Ella Parker writes: I've heard it said that anticipation is the best part of any treat. Looking forward one is apt to over emphasis the pleasures to come so that when the Big Day arrives, events fall flat on their face and turn out something of an anti-climax. When I heard that Don Ford had won TAFF I'll admit to having lost some sleep through excitement. I'd plugged Don in my fnz but this was a public expression of a personal wish. I wanted to meet Don Ford. Now I knew I was to have my wish granted I began wondering what he'd be like. The best place to make an assessment of anybody is in your own home and among your friends. Also, too often one hears the complaint after a convention attended by a BNF that he - the BNF - had been monopolised by his friends and the newcomers didn't get a chance to meet him. This seemed a good oportunity to introduce some newcomers in fandom to Don before the con as well as meeting him for myself and judging whether I'd voted right or not. I planned a party for him with this in mind and so he wouldn't feel overwhelmed by a lot of strangers I invited Ron Bennett whom Don had already met. Some of the other guests arrived before Don and his escort- Bobbie Gray, nee Wild, Ron Bennett and Brian Jordan put in an appearance. I was in the middle of brewing tea and making coffee for them when the door opened and what seemed like a horde of