A BEAstly Journey
SIR,—My son, Maurice Lippens, is on holiday in Yugoslavia. and so I have the opportunity of reading the SPECTATOR first.
I should be doing a lot of other things, but I feel so indignant at what some of the letters in your columns hint at, i.e. that BEA is not a nice line to travel on, that 1 feel 1 must write. 1 am just a plain or garden Belgian, so to speak, but have travelled around quite a bit, and if I can possibly do it, I always take either BOAC or BEA.
And why, pray, ask some of your irate correspon- dents, when you have Sabena which is as good as any? Why but because the two British lines are . . . British? and that, for me, means quiet efficiency, 'quiet politeness, no fuss, no flurry, excellent tea and an 'atmosphere' which is . . . British. It happens I love all things British; I am partial, no doubt. But, having been able to compare with many other and excellent lines, I prefer the British all the same . . . because they are British and you know where you are.
Yes, 1 know, there are mad anglophiles. Am I one of them? (And, by the way, isn't it funny that there is no name for a lover of, say Holland, or Ger- many, or America ... and I am not only thinking of their airlines.) Am I one of them? Maybe, but I have good reason for that. I have never been let down by anything British (except perhaps a small car
with a fine engine but a bad body). I feel safe and assured in your planes, and I even find your trains wonderful, viz the Bristol blue train, and the Dover- London ones.
What is wrong with you all complaining about everything British? You have come to a fine pass when you must have Belgians, tiny little Belgians, to carry your flag for you! I do it with joy and love, anyhow.
SUSIE LIPPENS
43 Boslaan, Le Zoute, Belgium
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