ABSTRACT
My first visit was with a tour group, when I was fifteen. No chance. Next time, I was on my own, twenty-four, and staying at the central London Youth Hostel. Naturally, most of the men staying there were young and foreign, and I admired several of them in the showers, but out on the streets during the day, it seemed impossible to break through to anyone. I was growing downright discouraged, when, two days before I was due to leave, I met Philip. He wasn't actually English, so he knew how to connect with Americans, but he'd lived there for fourteen years, so he knew how to manipulate the English, too. I instantly fell in love with his versatility.
