TAFF - pg 34 What did they speak about? Who knows, and for the matter of that, who cares anyway? The speakers were the only ones taking themselves seriously, everybody else was simply having a darn good time listen- ing to a few words from one while they were still laughing at another. Nobody knows the meaning of the word "toleration" till they've seen a British crowd at Speakers Corner, Hovering in the background some- where were one or two London Bobbies with their customary inscrutable expressions. Theoretically, these police are provided by the Metro- polis to deal with any riot or disturbance the speakers may incite. Practically they seem to be a waste of tax-money, and they probably compete with each other for such an easy spell of duty. Listening to some of the speakers, makes one wonder why there isn't a riot. A neatly dressed elderly man is explaining why the Pope is the main evil of the world. Another makes remarks about the ruling government that would swell the Siberian population by one elsewhere, Either nobody cares, or else its all too funny to bother about. One woman was having a private war on every speaker. As soon as one got going in the middle of a fair crowd of maybe a couple of hundred, she worked her way to the front and sang at the top of her voice to drown every word he said, (No loud speakers permitted). She had a dog with her on a lead, and as soon as she could find the room, she and the dog did quite a little show and step-dance. There is no denying she certainly had a voice of considerable quanity, and once she got really going, not even the most stentorian speaker could compete with her. After all, if they were free to speak, she was free to sing in the very same place. One by one, she invaded every cluster, and disorganized it. We never found out why, but it was certainly good clean democracy to watch. About the only character this speech-buster didn't quell, was a Burglar Bill type with a completely bald head, tattooed all over in- cluding his face. He was keeping bis audience in convulsions of laughter with the quick-fire humour for which Cockneys are famous. As we passed him, he was saying; "Wot I wants to tell you ladies and Gents, is that I ave ad the Honour of bein' at Hoxford College." He waited a second or two for this to sink in, and then follwed it rap- idly with; "0' course I adn't bin in the blinkin place five minntes than the bloomin' burglar alarm went orf !!!!" ....... Yes, that was a sample of Speakers Corner. It goes on all the time. Unspoiled and non-stop Variety. Don't miss it folks, its too cheap to pass up. People from all nations come to see it on their way through London. They photograph it, write about it, tell incred- ulous countrymen back home about it, but one gets the feeling that most of all, they envy it. No Englishman can see the need for envy, there's no copyright on the idea, but somehow, it remains like the police who guard it, indubitably and traditionally - "Made in England". Bill Gray We got back to the hotel in time to hear Kettering voted as the site for next year's con. Ina Shorrock was voted in as BSFA Chair- man, Brian Aldis as Assoc. Pres, Archie Mercer as Treas & definately for the last year he says and Jom Groves as publisher.