Caterers

100 years ago

Wisely, much attention has been paid of late years to the purity of water supply. The literature devoted to the various branches of this subject is extensive. One of the most interesting contributions is from Surgeon-Major H H Johnston. The learned doctor carried out a series of elaborate experiments in the Public Health Laboratory of Edinburgh University. He experimented with various filters, and in the result, found the Pasteur-Chamberland filter to be the only one on which reliance could be placed for permanently sterilising water.

50 years ago

The custom of leaving a tip under the plate after a meal at popular dining establishments has come to life again in many much larger and more expensive dining places.

But instead of the old-time 6d at least 1s is expected. This appears to have come about on the suggestion of the service, with the excuse that it will save time. The coins are made to disappear from under the plates with the adroitness of a professional conjurer.

10 years ago

The former St George's Hospital at Hyde Park Corner, London, is unlikely to be converted into a hotel, despite approaches from several major international chains, unless council planners have a change of heart.

The hospital, which was closed in 1980, is owned by the Grosvenor Estate. A spokesman for the Estate said that an agreement with the Location of Industry Bureau restricted the future of the main part of the building to non-commercial, institutional use. Its rear, in Knightsbridge, was earmarked for office development.

‘It is unlikely that Westminster City Council would contemplate any use inconsistent with semi-public use,' the spokesman said, ‘although planners have been known to change their minds'.