28 JUNE 1963, Page 7

Not With It

Front-page headlines become steadily larger, more eye-catching, more obtrusive, but I find that for practical purposes one hardly notices them, any more than one notices the socking great ugly new buildings sticking up all over London. In headlines on the back pages, on the other hand, I often find an obscure but powerful fascination, so much so that I tear them out, put them on one side and lose them. Three that have survived among the debris on my desk are:

GRIM OUTLOOK FOR BRITISH PILCHARDS FORMER MARINE BAKES WINNING SPONGE CAKE MOUSE-LOVER PEER DIES

Call me an escapist if you will, but I prefer the dream-like intimations conjured up by these items to most of the stuff on the front pages.

STRIX