Bridget Cole

/

Bow Belle

My interest in this charming locality (said the man behind the glass of whisky) is that of a visitor agog to probe into its historical associations and to find out whether such associations have any influence on certain of its inhabitants today.

Well, seeing you been and bought me a pint (said the geezer behind the glass of bitter), I ain't going to be abductive.

I think you mean obstructive. Naturally, any co-operation you can give me I shall be excessively grateful for. Perhaps, for instance, you could tell me when the bells ring out?

Eh?

The bells of Bow. It is my desire to listen to them and define the limits of the sound. In that way I shall discover the exact area relevant to my further investigations on Cockneys.

Eh?

The bells of Bow. I want

This ain't Bow, me lord, this is the Elephant and Castle. Still, seeing you done me a favour with this pint, I'II do you one. Here's a picture of a corking bow belle. Only she wears hers in her hair. Name's BRIDGET COLE. Lives at Crawley in Sussex. Rides a lovely gee-gee. What's your name, guv?

Cedric. What's yours?

Mine's a pint. Same again, your highness.

Beautiful Britons No 153 - August 1968

Bridget Cole

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We Didn't Find Any Scilla Nonscripta

It wasn’t the time of the year as it happened. If we hadn’t been dead ignorant, we’d have known, but being dead ignorant we went off with a pair of scissors and a trog and began a blissful, optimistic hunt for the stuff.

Scilla nonscripta is mostly found in woodlands, so we got that part right. For your information, that’s the Latin name for bluebells, and we don’t mean those in fishnet tights and 5' 8 tall.

It was late summer. They’d been and gone months before.

Nobody told us.

But we did find Persona Bella, which being translated from Peruvian means a bloom of great charm, which lights up when the Beatles are on. The one we found was quite delightful and of the Cole variety.

BRIDGET COLE is eighteen, comes from Horley, and has a great affection for horses, which she rides with great verve and aplomb, and if we only had a little of each we wouldn’t fall off so often.

She works in a Crawley office and is thinking about the prospects of becoming a model.

We think she’s much more decorative than a vase full of scilla nonscripta.