Bread Flung, Coal Flung

Down a new little street in the ancient village of Thorpe-le-Soken walked the Lady Byng, last week, with a silver key in her right hand.

Two little boys walked on either side, one bearing a basket of bread, the other a basket of coal. At each home in the little street, first on one side, next on the other, front doors opened at the click of the silver key. Then Lady Byng flung into the hallway of each house; first a loaf of fine white bread and next a large and sooty piece of coal.

This behavior, extraordinary on the part of the wife of Britain's greatest living War hero. Viscount Byng of Vimy and of Thorpe-le-Soken, showed how striking an effect has been wrought upon Lady Byng by the fact that she very recently inherited some -L-750,000 ($3,650,000) upon the death of a Greek uncle. (TIME, Oct. 1.)

Already she has had rushed to completion the new little street of four-room cottages in Thorpe-le-Soken. She proposes to rent them to needy and worthy tenants for only "four and six" a week (4 shillings, 6 pence = $1.09). The ceremony of throwing bread and coals revived an old Essex custom equivalent to "house warming." The flung loaves and chunks are supposed to bring luck and prevent occupants of the new house from ever being without food, warmth.

Purists rejoiced that Viscountess Byng of Vimy and of Thorpe-le-Soken possesses a silver pass key by means of which she may assure herself at any hour that the conduct of her tenants is still above reproach.