BUFFET WORK IN LONDON

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2600, 23 October 1915, Page 11

BUFFET WORK IN LONDON

A NEW ZEALAND GIRL'S EXPERIENCE. Miss Marjory Nicholls, daughter of Mr. H. E. Nicholls, of Wellington, has teen having some interesting experiences in war work while in England. She has been, with a friend, doing her share by working in connects tiou with 0110 of the numerous buffets that have been established both in England and in France for tlio refreshment of travelling soldiers, her station being the Victoria Buffet. While on duty the workers wear the regulation uniform, overall and dark mushroom hat, with regulation ribbon. In the course of a recent letter in which she describes her operations she writes: "Wo began work the minute we arrived (sho set out at quarter past five in the morning), and one of the other helpers showed us the time-table. My friend did 'sink duty' for the first two hours, and I did 'buffot,' and began by cleaning down the counter with some stuff called 'vim' and much warm water. Then I piled up dishes of cakes and sandwiches and put clean paper in the cupboards and arranged the cups. There ivas a woman there who had been on night duty, and sho gavo some perfectly obvious advice about what to do.

"At about seven a stream of Tommies canio in for breakfast, and from then onwards till eight o'clock I was kept pretty busy. There were Belgians, too, in fair numbers, some Scots and some Canadians, and one or two Australians, but never, alas, a New Zealarider. They were a chatty lot, especially the sailors, but I was so busy that I couldn't stay more than a minute talking to any. The different accents one heard were very amusing. I would be asked one minute for 'Cafe, madanio,! and then' the next, 'Cup o' corfy, please, miss.' After the two hours at the buffet I went on to bread-cutting and sandwich-making. At nine there was a stop of about five minutes, and it was a truly blessed relief to sit down for a while.

"Then I had another hour at breadcutting, with a brief live minutes off whilo I rushed to a, place for some milk, b'causo all ours had gone sonr. From ten to twelve I was on 'sink duty,' and went hard at it washing cups by tho thousand and ham and cake plates, spoons and great tea and coffee urns, which last are very awkward things, as tho sink isn't large enough to hold them. At twelve tho next set of people arrived, and I was 'off duty,' but before that I had promised to come down again on a night shift from midnight till sis on Monday morning. "At eleven o'clock that night I again donned my uniform' and rushed off through the dark midnight streets to Notting Hill Gate. The last train to Victoria, had gone, but I managed to catch one at Gloucester Road, and then after a. five minutes' wait one came for Victoria Station, and I arrived there at just a minute to midnight. I began with cake-cutting, receiving advice how to do it, and went on at that for an hour, and then whacked in on breadcutting and sandwich-making, going as hard as possible till after half-past one. Then two folk piled up hundreds of cups and plates of food on trolleys and took it to the platform. The train from the front arrived at about ton to 2 (a.m.), and though the .platform workers attended to a good many men hundreds must have poured into us, just we three to cope with it all inside, one of whom had lost her head and kept saying, 'What shall we do? Thero. are hardly any sandwiches left! Do wash up some moro cups! Oh, tho urns are nearly empty!- I can't make tea, can you? Oh. gracious, what shall we do?' However I made the teaand filled the urns, and soon after half-past two the worst of tho rush was over and tho other woman came back from the platform. Then the awful washing-up began. There were just piles of plates and mountains of cups to do, so I turned up my sleeves and started. I think I washed up for nearly three liohts, and had just half an hour on tho buffet at tho end. Six came at last, and I went home to Notting Hill _by a workman's train, and went straight to bed. i

"In the afternoon I took a bus and went to Clieyne Walk, Chelsea, to see Carlyle's house. I went through pretty well every room in the house. It is very, well stocked with photos and drawings, MS., autographs, and other literary relics. .Carlyle's study, with its double walls to keep out stray noises and its elaborate system of skylights so that his eyes might not bo worried, was hung with photos and sketches of his literary friends, and was a quaint attic-looking place delightful to work in, I should think, though he did not find it so. I also penetrated into the kitchen belowstairs, cosy place with' a cheerfullyglowing lire, the room where Carlyle and Tennyson used to smoke in, so that the smell would not be a nuisance upstairs."