I don't know how many of you Londoners know the Regent Palace Hotel, just off Piccadilly Circus and on the edge of Soho.
It was built for J Lyons and Co Ltd and opened on May 16, 1915. At that time, it was the largest hotel in Europe with 1028 bedrooms.
Over the years the hotel became rundown and shabby and suffered from the fact that very few of the rooms had ensuite bathroom facilities. A trek down the long corridor was required.
It also had a reputation for being used by 'ladies of the street'.
In recent years it was rated with only 2 stars and accommodation was available from £25 per night.
The Regent Palace closed on the 31st of December 2006, as it had become increasingly uneconomic to operate to the standards required by a 21st century clientele.
At the moment the building is boarded up and bears notices stating that it is permanently closd. It is obviously a valuable redevelopment site.
However, in Betjeman's day the hotel was very busy and popular with tourists who were looking for a cheap stay in the capital.
Such a person was Lilian, who has come down from Bootle in Lancashire (now Merseyside), with her friend Alice, for a little excitement!
THE FLIGHT FROM BOOTLE
Lonely in the Regent Palace,
Sipping her 'Banana Blush',
Lilian lost sight of Alice
In the honey-coloured rush.
Settled down at last from Bootle,
Alice whispered, "Just a min,
While I pop upstairs and rootle
For another safety pin."
Dreamy from the band pavilion
Drops of the 'Immortal Hour'
Fell around the lonely Lilian
Like an ineffectual shower.
Half an hour she sat and waited
In the honey-coloured lounge
Till she with herself debated,
"Time for me to go and scrounge!"
Time enough! or not enough time!
Lilian, you wait in vain;
Alice will not have a rough time,
Nor be quite the same again.
John Betjeman
09/09/07 @ 16:58