Bosnia, How to lose friends and fail to influence people?

John Chilver

England's fault

Sir: 'What is Britain?' asks Tim Congdon (`Time for Britain to rediscover itself', 25 June), and then goes on 'England/Britain (the ambiguity is inevitable)'. Is it? No Scot would find it so; no Welshman, no Ulster- man. Instead of asking 'What is Britain?' ask 'What is England?' That may lead to a more straightforward conclusion in the search for the reasons behind what Cong- don calls 'the current awkwardness in the United Kingdom's relationship with the rest of Europe'. The main factor seems obvious — English Nationalism.

Andrew Nicoll

31 Camperdown Street, Broughty Ferry, Dundee

Open question

This is not to say that the power of molecules to embody life is not remark- able. In this new view, they seem much more interesting and complex than Descartes, or even Darwin, could ever have thought. Why molecules should be like this, and how matter could have come into exis- tence at all, still need to be explained.

This second idea is still open. While philosophers and nuclear physicists may have a somewhat unfair advantage, we are all enti- tled to contribute to the discussion. Dawkins, very properly, did not discuss it at all. WARM UP •

There's not much time left to prepare for The Daily Telegraph's Fantasy Cricket.

...eammoniiIMPIPM11111111111, OPEN FRIDAY'S TELEGRAPH

•

realise them have won the support of the Royal Opera House, the English National Opera and Glyndebourne itself and, in the Midlands, of the City of Birmingham Sym- phony Orchestra and the Birmingham Royal Ballet, among many other musical organisations, as well as strong support from the opera- and ballet-going public.

I hope this letter will reassure Mr Chris- tiansen of the quality and standards intend- ed by the opera and ballet project.

Willoughby de Broke

Chairman, The Compton Verney Opera Project, 4th Floor, 33 St James's Street, London SW1

Real symptoms

Sir: Your report on 18 June (`Show trial by television') wrongly describes Channel Four's Undercover Britain documentary `Preying on Hope' as a 'show trial by televi- sion'. Your writer Liz Hodgkinson branded all consumer affairs programmes as a 'men- ace to society'. Ms Hodgkinson should have checked her own facts before making care- less statements.

She complains that the programme, which questioned the practices of Dr Peter Nixon — a personal friend of hers — fea- tured an 'actor', Mark Hughes, posing as an Aids victim describing bogus symptoms. But Mr Hughes does have Aids — as he explained to Dr Nixon. His symptoms are real and Dr Nixon is seen on camera saying, despite his admitted lack of experience in treating Aids patients, that 'he (Mark) is exhausted by processes which don't have anything to do with the virus'.

We feel that 'Preying on Hope' was a responsible programme considering the dilemmas faced by Aids patients such as Mark Hughes, who are offered a bewilder- ing variety of advice and treatment. Chan- nel Four is defending the proceedings.

Peter Moore

Commissioning Editor, Documentaries, Channel Four Television, 124 Horseferry Road, London SW1

Two wrongs

Sir: Martyn Harris has got it wrong yet again — twice (Television, 25 June).

First, he states that I wrote to The Specta- tor that I 'had never worked with Miss Goldie' in BBC Television. I did not write anything of the kind.

My letter to The Spectator, 7 September, 1991, informed Mr Harris that I was not, as wrongly alleged by him, one of 'the sharp young men hired by Grace Wyndham Goldie for Panorama and Tonight' along with Baverstock, Milne and Peacock.