SANDWICH DE LUXE SIR,—I am interested in the paragraph, 'Railway
Sandwich-de-luxe' by your columnist John Betjeman, September 7.
By what reasoning does he consider 7s. 6d. expensive for two rounds of tongue sand- wiches and a pot of coffee (this being the fair way to express the bill)?
In simple cafés and teashops, the price of a tongue sandwich (one round) is Is. 6d. to 2s.; coffee 9d. to 10d. per cup. Incidentally, a survey of sandwich price lists will show that 75 per cent. do not quote tongue sandwiches, it being an expensive commodity.
It is therefore unfair to stress 'Railway' prices; any hotel of comparable size today would charge 2s. 6d. per round, coffee 2s. per pot (at least two cups), and, with 10 per cent. service, you have your 7s. 6d.
Although he does not approve of the hotel decor, I dare guess he went there for the comfort and quietness it afforded, as against the platform buffet or 'cheek-by-jowl' Expresso, where the cost might have been 2s.
less.—Yours faithfully, R. LUSH De V ere Hotel, Kensington, W8 Manager
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