Page 6 I wanted to see a five and ten cent store, so in the morning Pat took me to one nearby. I wandered up and dovrn tbe countera mentally changing the prices into sterling, and was agroeably surprised: Many items are much cheaper than in Britain. There are porsistant stories in this country of how exrpensive everything ia in the USA; this amazes me in the light of what I saw there. The variety offered in each range of goods is also much greater and I am sll in favour of having six or seven to choose from - rather than two or three. I love to shop, and st the sight of all these bargains, had to remind myself sternly that I was at the beginning, not the end, of my trip. Later Dickini, Pat, and I, went to the Planetarium. It was again a sunny day, and to be suddenly plunged from that to the darkness of the Plenatarium was too much for me - I have never felt so sleepy in all my life: Good as the show was, I had to fight to keep my eyes open. I was very glad that the darkness hid from my companions the fact that I was snoozing my way through the show. A coffee in the cafeteria helped to revive me, but I gave away my tourist status on leaving. I had been smoking a cigarette and forgot to extinguish it. One step out of the cafoteria - and a guard was shouting at me. Neither Pat, Dick, or Dickini smoked (nor had the Wollheims and I had begun to despair of ever finding a fan who shared my vice. We entered the underground: and I found it was just as horrible as had been reported to me. Uncushioned seats, dingy and dirty, and the smell was horrible! About its only virtue was a much more efficient method of payment. Tokens were used which could be bought in bulk; I noticed that everyone carried around little gadgets in whicb tbey kept tbeir supply of tokens. Bowever the underground tools us swiftly across town to the Empire State Building. Pat hnd erranged for us to meet Chris Steinbrunner, he was, she explained, a member of the Fantasy Film Society. Following his instructions we headed up to his work-place; the home of WOR TG, which was half-way up this tremendous building. Chris, I saw, was of stocky build and had lately lost an enormous amount of weight, so that his clothes seemed to hang limply upon him. He was a quick, laconic, speaker; seemingly filled with nervous energy, and-at last- a definite chain smoker. He was wbat I had expected a New Yorker to be, I felt he was always thinking of at least three things at once. He seemed to take it quite for granted that he should down tools and show us round. He showed us round the various departments- a room of control panels, another filled by men busily cutting and splicing film. He explained that almost the whole programme consisted of films; and indeed we saw cans and cans of them. We went to an express elevator and shot to the top. There were masses of people, but still plenty room to gaze down on New York. Due to my previous day's sightseeing, I was able to excitedly pick out some of the buildings-the spire-pointed Chrysler, the United Nations - and trace out the margins of Central Park. As it was a lovely clear day I could see for miles. Dikini was toting around an enormous pair of binoculars which he kindly lent me; it took me all my time to lift it: After darting from one vantage spot to another; I then headed for tha postcard display, whilst the