22 NOVEMBER 1963, Page 7

Travelling Venus

General de Gaulle is becoming less intran- sigent these days. At the time of his earlier nuclear arguments with the Americans, he was most reluctant to allow the Mona Lisa to visit the United States. I am glad, therefore, that he has now aimed to the Venus de Milo making the long journey to Tokyo. This formidable lady— she is 6 feet 81 inches tall with vital statistics 52-39-51--has been invited by the Japanese Government to display European beauty. All ,the same, I personally preferred Miss France and several of the other girls who appeared in the re-

cent Miss World competition. Any one of them would make a better ambassadress of European beauty than the laconic smile of Mona Lisa or the marble exterior and chunky figure of • the Greek.