Gilt edged

goodies

Without comment we have pleasure in reproducing a letter from Mrs Margaret Keevil of Mendana International Travel, Honiara, who recently bought “London for you” packages for a holiday for herself and two daughters.

“Don’t you think that in these days the public strongly tends to view the word bargain’ with an extremely cynical, if not downright hostile at titude? It’s as if the poor little tired and tattered word has been flogged so hard by desperate advertising that it has practically lost its respectabi lity.

Well I hope to restore something of its past glory because I have just experienced the very best value for money I have ever heard of any where. A real, live, genuine old fashioned bargain is still alive and well.

My two daughters and I have just returned from one of BOAC’s “London for you” holidays and everything it said in the unpretentious little brochure was (can you believe it) absolutely true! We paid SUSIOO per person for the holiday and there were so many items included in the price I defy anyone, through sheer exhaustion, to sample them all. I’m also speaking for two extremely lively teenagers by the way, and I am not exactly in my dotage either.

Vouchers for transport from London airport to Victoria terminal

and back are forwarded when the whole package is paid for before leaving overseas (the Solomon Islands in my case) and a whole fistful of tickets are collected at an agency in London. We had been told before hand that we were to be accom modated for 13 nights bed and breakfast at the London Ryan Hotel in King’s Cross Road.

The first voucher was for three days free Avis car rental which we didn’t use. Maybe there are supremely confident visitors who could drive blithely off into London traffic with out a qualm but I wanted to end my holiday with all the faculties with which I began.

Another free voucher which we decided to forfeit was the one for Madame Tussauds which we had all seen before. 1 think everyone should go—the waxen features of famous and notorious people are interesting, but only once. Politicians change, of course, but as they all look and sound alike anyway we didn’t think they warranted a special visit.

In our opinion the biggest gilt edged goody in the package were the tickets for really excellent seats at five West End theatres. A poorly produced show would not be in the West End anyway, so we were really looking forward to them all. We were told rather sadly by the London agent that they would do their best to change them if we preferred others but I think we rather stunned him by taking what we were given.

Besides, I rather wanted to see the selection which BOAC considered best for this type of package holiday and I really must congratulate the person who did the choosing. I was perhaps doubly fortunate in having the com pany of two young people who were having their first experience of West End theatre but even the most blase theatregoer couldn’t fail to get a thrill from seeing “Gone with the Wind” played superbly on the same stage from which Nell Gwynn bewitched her Charles.

A few nights later and we were watching Sadlers Wells Opera Com

Mrs Keevil and daughters.

pany play ‘The Merry Widow”, then a murder mystery, “Private Lives” (all with famous casts of course), to be topped off with Sir Ralph Richard son’s portrayal of a retired general in a play which was hilarious. A great deal of thought has been given to the choice I thought.

The selection of five shows which gave two generations so much pleasure (and not a single four letter word between them) deserves the strongest congratulations in my opinion! “The movies will never be the same again”, lamented my com panions as we discussed it all after wards!

Now for the half day bus tours, of which there were sadly only two.

The B.T.A. demand extremely high standards from the official London guides and this is very obvious after about two minutes of their company.

Both tours, one in the City, one in the West End. had very cleverly planned stops at all the most famous sights

and the extremely knowledgable guides not only kept up a most fascinating commentary but answered the most obscure questions with equal ease.

These bus tours should be com pulsory for any London visitor—in three hours one is comfortably transported round sights which other wise would take about three days, given all the information one could possibly wish for and they’re so cheap!

We would have been more than willing to forfeit the delights of an evening at Mr Fogg’s (including a dinner, mark you!) for a third bus tour. As it was we didn’t avail our selves of Mr Fogg’s hospitality in any case nor the evening pub tour for which we had vouchers. Not because we didn’t want to I hasten to add. We sampled the wares of very many pubs, but after full days of shopping and sightseeing one’s feet begin to make their presence very much felt!

Which all brings me back to the beginning—you only have to look up the rates of a good London hotel, and a good West End show, to see what I mean about BOACs idea of value for money. Three people (with breakfast included) for 13 nights, plus all the rest cost 5A247.00. They even give you a record to bring it all back when the holiday is over— the Guard’s military bands playing their own regimental marches, in a beautifully illustrated cover.

Our particular holiday bargain was only available up to the end of March, 1973, but I notice that the BOAC bargain shelves for 1973 are still very much open for business. Three day’s holiday in Hong Kong for SA 18.00 is very tempting, or three nights in Los Angeles for 5U525.00 would be a welcome break in a journey to London don’t you think? Anyway it’s BOAC for my holiday shopping in future.”