Five
T he throwing open of the grounds of Gossington Hall for the benefit of the St. John Ambulance Association wasattended by a quite unprecedented¹ number of people. Shilling admission fees mounted up in a highly satisfactoryfashion. For one thing, the weather was good, a clear sunny day. But the preponderant attraction was undoubtedly² theenormous local curiosity to know exactly what these “film people” had done to Gossington Hall. The most extravagantassumptions were entertained. The swimming pool in particular caused immense satisfaction. Most people’s ideas ofHollywood stars were of sunbathing³ by a pool in exotic surroundings and in exotic company. That the climate ofHollywood might be more suited to swimming pools than that of St. Mary Mead⁴ failed to be considered. After all,England always has one fine hot week in the summer and there is always one day that the Sunday papers publisharticles on How to Keep Cool, How to Have Cool Suppers and How to Make Cool Drinks. The pool was almostexactly what everyone had imagined it might be. It was large, its waters were blue, it had a kind of exotic pavilion forchanging and was surrounded with a highly artificial plantation⁵ of hedges and shrubs⁶. The reactions of the multitudewere exactly as might have been expected and hovered⁸ over a wide range of remarks.
“O-oh, isn’t it lovely!”
“Two penn’orth of splash here, all right!”
“Reminds me of that holiday camp I went to.”
“Wicked luxury I call it. It oughtn’t to be allowed.”
“Look at all that fancy marble. It must have cost the earth!”
“Don’t see why these people think they can come over here and spend all the money they like.”
“Perhaps this’ll be on the telly sometime. That’ll be fun.”
Even Mr. Sampson, the oldest man in St. Mary Mead, boasting proudly of being ninety-six though his relationsinsisted firmly that he was only eighty-six, had staggered along supporting his rheumatic legs with a stick, to see thisexcitement. He gave it his highest praise: “Ah, there’ll be a lot of wickedness here, I don’t doubt. Naked men andwomen drinking and smoking what they call in the papers them reefers. There’ll be all that, I expect. Ah yes,” said Mr.

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