15 MAY 1964, Page 3

--Portrait of the Week

A WEEK LIKE OLD TIMES, with Western diplonAts claiming they had been drugged in Russia, with the public opinion polls as widely dissimilar as ever—a Daily Express Labour lead of 4 per cent became 8 per cent in the Daily Mail and 17 per cent in the Daily Telegraph—and with the Com- mons rousing itself to frenzy over accusations of collusion during Suez. Lord Esher described plans to extend the Houses of Parliament in Gothic style as an architectural Suez,' and Gothic traditionalists 'were given heart attacks by read- ing that 'Lord's is to be dug up'—but this referred to another game.

TORIES WERE GIVEN a bitter pill by the remainder of the local election results, with most London boroughs going Labour while six recounts were needed in a vote for a seat on Eston (North Riding) council. A bitter pill for Roman Catholics was Archbishop Heenan's further warning against contraceptives, in spite of continental theologians' more guarded statements. Road deaths were higher, the Commons returned to Mr. Heath's price-fixing Bill, with its thirty new government amendments, and railway union 'officials agreed that most shopmen should be called litters—and initiated the end of stay tappers, hosepipe repairers, dippers and farriers.

BRITAIN'S FEW NAZIS were faced with yet another split in allegiance, when Colin Jordan decided to sack his secondLin:command. Meanwhile twenty Arabs were tramping across Southern England —and their leader, Under-Sheik Sulaiman Daher, decided to urge his State.Of Ras7al-Khaima in the Persian Gulf to break off diplomatic relations With Britain, as his followers had been so badly treaied. But a civic reception at Epping changed his mind. In:Melbourne the town crier of Lam- beth was told to move on when shouting his greet- ings from the steps of the fown hall. A juror who said in Manchester that his jury service so inter- fered with his holidays' that he would give biased decisions was discharged, Mr. Bevins lost his battle to win Cabinet support for the banning of Radio Caroline, and f13 was collected from the Norwich- Castle museum wishing-well, together with seven live bullets.

WITII CHINA ASKING for a five-year delay before Sino-Soviet ideological talks begin, Mr. Khrush- chev was given a hero's welcome in Egypt, and Promptly criticised British policy in Aden. Britain dropped 1,000 lb. bombs and promised that more troops would also be sent. Meanwhile Mr. Sandys decided to visit South Arabia for himself, and Mr. McNamara is to go on yet another visit to South Vietnam for yet another personal inquiry. President Johnson still insisted on a Cuban boy- cott, while Havana officials hinted at another order for British buses. British troops in Cyprus were involved in café brawls, and an armed man was discovered aboard a plane oarrying Mr. But- ler—owning an airgun, he had misread the fire- arms rules. 'Aga Khan escapes' proclaimed one national newspaper, but the Aga Khan had in fact escaped injury in a car crash.

STEPTOE AND SON were transported to the US, when scripts of past series -were bought by American TV interests for £100,000. Meanwhile, a marine salvage claim is to be made to Lloyd's of London following the recovery of an eighteen foot by .six foot pie dish which sank on the Aire and Calder Canal. The pie dish was originally to be filled with pie to' celebrate the four royal births. In these circumstances, It was hardly surprising to learn that geese are replacing soldiers as guards of seven Army installations in Holland.