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The Establishment's influence has not disappeared, of course, but much of the Establishment has joined the swinging London atmosphere, encouraged by the likes of Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones. Part of that atmosphere is the result of the simple friction of a young population on an old seasoned culture that has lost much of its drive. Youth is the word and the deed in London—and well it should be: nearly 30% of its population is in the 15-34 age bracket, far more than the rest of the country as a whole. This new generation has grown up with fewer class inhibitions and, equally important, amid rising affluence. Money is much of what makes London go, go, go. "When I was a kid," says Actor Terry Stamp, "I was indoctrinated with the idea of a job that would pay a pension at 55. Now the kids are prepared to spend what they've got. As a working-class boy, there's a real barrier in the mind. It's so strange to be able to do things. There has been a fantastic opening of horizons."
Dazzling Gems. To the lively Londoner, no explanations are really necessary. Talking the flip jargon that has become basic English for teenagers, jet setters and indeed any knowledgeable adult striving to maintain the illusion that he is at least young in heart, the switched-on London bird or beatle calls his urb "super," "fab," "groovy," "gear," "close" or "with it." "Ready, steady, go. There's a Whole Scene Going," chirps Cathy McGowan, 22, moderator on ITV's Ready, Steady Go show and London's favorite "dolly" of the moment, doing a deliberate "sendup" (takeoff) on the title of her own and the nation's other top pop TV show, There's a Whole Scene Going.
In fact, there is not one London scene, but dozens. Each one is a dazzling gem, a medley of checkered sunglasses and delightfully quaint pay phone boxes, a blend of "flash" American, polished Continental and robust old English influence that mixes and merges in London today. The result is a sparkling, slapdash comedy not unlike those directed for the screen by Britain's own Tony (Tom Jones) Richardson or Czech Emigre Karel (Morgan!) Reisz, and filmed by Director Richard (Help!) Lester, a fugitive from Philadelphia, who uses the sudden stills and the hurry-up time that he learned filming advertising commercials for U.S. TV.
If Lester were scripting the action that took place in London last week, five storyboards might look like this: