16 FEBRUARY 1951, Page 16

Bletchley Station

SIR,—Janus is wrong in supposing that a railway journey from Oxford to Cambridge need involve a tong wait at Bletchley. A through train (no corridor) leaves at a reasonable hour in the morning. It stops at Bletchley ; it can hardly be said to wait there. So people frequently get left behind, and, because they feel foolish, they hate Bletchley station, and go whining to journalists about it. This bad reputation is a myth to soothe vanity and absorb spite. It Is useful, and also comical in its concern for beauty, of which it is no concern.

Bletchley station also is useful, and its usefulness is of a more solid character than that of the myth. Even if everybody grew up, it would remain useful. An adult passenger travelling, say, to Oxford from the North enjoys its amenities and particularities. There is a good fire in the refreshment room, and the tone there is amiable and jocose. The " gentleman's dressing-room "' is. I believe, now unique. Anyone of normal curiosity and akrtness will be continuously amused and instructed as he dawdles about the platforms, and he can read undis- turbed in the old church which is within easy walking distance. Turn right, away from the town, after leaving the station approach.—Yours, ANTHONY DE H0GI1TON.

12 Chester Square, S.W.1.