PEOPLE AND THINGS
By HAROLD NICOLSON
T ASK my German friends when they come to London to tell me how many of their compatriots listen in to our broadcasts in the German language. The replies which I receive are contradictory. I have seen seven Germans in the last three weeks. Two asserted that they had never heard that any such service existed. The other five assured me that the British news bulletin was the great event of the day. One of them (a young engineer whom I had known in Munich) was more explicit. He told me that he had a friend who lived in the fiat opposite. They took turns to listen in to London. In the tram next morning the one who had listened would inform the one whose night off it was ,-)f what had been said. They had evolved a formula under the cover of which this information could be exchanged. "Did you hear," the listener would begin, "those filthy lies which they put out from London last night ? " "No," the other would answer, "I was attending a group meeting." "Well," his friend would continue, "they had the impudence to say.. . ." And the colloquy would end with a joint chorus of "Lies, lies, lies." The other occupants of the tram would be entranced by this dialogue. A few furtive winks would be exchanged.
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