27 SEPTEMBER 1963, Page 3

— Portrait of the Week— EARLY PUBLICATION of the Denning Report

was promised, so the Stationery Office 'opened half an hour after midnight to satisfy 'the crowds who wondered just how blue a blue book could be. But the long-awaited box of fireworks contained no thunderbolts of scandal. However little Den- ning gave the public what it wanted, he gave politicians even less of what they wanted, clues to a general election date. 'Mr. Wilson com- mented that the Prime Minister had not taken him into his confidence. A letter in the Daily Telegraph warned the Prime Minister against an October election, as there were five moons in the month, and the newest car stickers reply to the *Marples Must Go' brigade by asking 'Why Only Marples'?'

PRINCESS ANNE went to school, to the delight of the sentimental slush pumps in the popular press, who were enraptured by the sermon she heard on Sunday warning her against the rat-race of later life. Already in the race, higher civil ser- vants were granted a 16' per cent riie, and Mr. du Cann. MP, a junior Minister, complained that he could not make ends meet on £75 per week. His pound may be worth only ten shillings if a Proposal to get some common cents into Britain's coinage is accepted. Meanwhile. Australia de- cided to call its major decimal unit a dollar and not a robin as originally decided. Always un- willing to follow their leaders, the CND almost found itself without any leaders, when prominent sponsors dropped off the executive like autumn leaves. Nevertheless, Canon Collins decided to plough on as chairman, if re-elected. The Great Train Robbery trial begins this week, and 170 prbsecution witnesses are expected to appear: £2 million is not. Farmers found the harvest was not so bad after all, tourism has become the UK's fourth biggest industry, and a man in Sur- rey was convicted for being drunk in charge of a horse and cart.

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TIME IS RUNNING OUT for the US and Common Market countries to settle their tariff squabble before everybody gets hurt; for Dr. Adenaeur, who made a visit to President de Gaulle that went virtually unnoticed; for Czech Stalinists, following the dismissal of Prime Minister Siroky : and for Soviet-Chinese relations, with the Russians taking offence that Chinese tourists spat in the Lenin Museum in Moscow, Pope Paul announced a reform of the Papal Curia, and Archbishop Heenan was enthroned at West- minster with remarkable attention by the national press. Haiti and the Dominican Repub- lic came to blows again, President Bosch of Dominica was overthrown by the army, and a Labour Government returned in Norway after four weeks without power in twenty-eight years.

ALTHOUGH A CHANNEL TUNNEL was . officially favoured by an Anglo-French committee, re- lations between the two countries floundered as ever. Britain showed no interest in a French plan to share atomic secrets, was unimpressed . by French plans to send a cat into space, and could not make up its mind on the proposed multi- lateral force. While African delegations walked out of the UN Assembly, floods of African politicians came to London. While the long-range Weather forecasts promised stormy weather, Sir Roy Welensky announced an extended visit to Britain. Zanzibar is to be independent on Decem- ber 10, Mr. Kenyatta walked out of his London hotel, and Dr. Jagan of British Guiana asked for UN intervention. Meanwhile in Indonesia, Mr. Gilchrist, the British ambassador, continued his seemingly one-man defiance, saving the Embassy strongroom and whatever secrets it holds.