Parliament rose this week for the Christmas recess, which is to last for rather more than four weeks. The length of the recess has aroused Conservative protests. It has been...

Manifestos do matter Ferdinand Mount The last visitor to Guadeloupe to make a memorable stir was the French Revolutionary terrorist, Victor Hugues. The selfstyled 'Robespierre...

In a 'century which has already ‘suPP'd full With horrors', there is still possibly one crime which may come to light, of such Fantastic proportions as to nudge even monsters...

Rupert's godfather Auberon Waugh Minehead, Somerset Sad to say, the atmosphere among those following the committal proceedings became one of frivolity towards the end. Nobody...

Hugh Thomas The first thing to say about the new Spanish C onstitution is that it is astonishing, at first Sight, that it has been achieved at all. To see Posters from the old...

Richard West Salisbury — Fort Victoria Beitbridge — Pretoria This weekend I joined the two or three thousand, perhaps even four thousand Rhodesians who this month are 'taking...

Nicholas von Hoffman Washington The c ommercial aftermath of the Guyana Ma ss - suicides has been almost as tasteless as the act itself was horrifying. Two instant P a perbacks...

The distress, touching the point of starvation, in some of our great manuacturing towns is becoming widespread, and in Manchester we are happy to see that strenuous efforts are...

Edward Mortimer Panorama this week presented a nightmarish picture of life in West Germany, with ex-Nazis busily clamping down on freedom of speech and hounding inoffensive...

Patrick Marn ham With his final Reith lecture Dr Edward Norman has triumphantly answered those critics who immediately objected to his views on the grounds that although he was...

John Thorn You will hear it said, wherever long-serving Public school masters gather: the boys are much 'easier' than they were a few years back. They now do what you say, most...

Cautionary tale Piers Paul Read This is a cautionary tale for journalists. In the middle of February last I received a letter from Julian Browne, assistant to the features...

After the storm Nicholas Davenport It was an extraordinary week. How any Mtelligent stockbroker could have imagined that a new, highly complex, h__EU-roPean Monetary System...

Sir: I am most reluctant to voice any criticism whatsoever of Christopher Booker's fine and perceptive article 'Upstairs, Downstairs at The Times' (2 December). So much of what...

Sir: Among several misleading impressions conveyed in Michael Cockerell's article about The Times in your issue of 9 December, three call for immediate correction. Mr Cockerell...

Sir: I am puzzled by Richard Ingrams' last but one bit of Burton-bashing (11 November). He complains that almost all our televised concerts are American although the programme...

Sir: One is more than tempteh another four-letter word `da f t e df - a of describe Alec Bristow of the Pet; oil' Literature and the Arts Society , tni e t. lar of the...

we shall soon all be documented all;ssy keted by way of identity cards. Thi a , th „,, t o ei will help with the control of illegal l'A i cti ration. This is surely a fanciful...

Kenneth 0. Morgan The Discipline of Popular Government: lord S alisbury's Domestic Statecraft 1 1, 81 - 1 90 2 Peter Marsh (Harvester Press: -urnanities Press £15.50) From the...

Richard Ingrams Boswell: Laird of Auchinieck 1 7781782 Ed. Joseph W. Reed and Frederick A. Pottle (McGraw Hill £16.45) On 12 October 1780 James Boswell, then aged forty, was...

Hans Keller The Sporting Year 2: A Selection of th e m Best Sports Writing Rodda and Clifford Makins (Collins 0.95) of 1977-78 Ed. Jr al No, please don't run away. I have, Oil...

Francis King The Mark of St Crispin Virginia Moriconi (Duckworth £4.95) Asylum and Other Stories Aidan Higgins (Calder £5.95) Although she published a novel with Random House...

Paradoxes Mary Kenny The business of choosing a book for Yo ung children really is a serious one. I h av f learned a little by trial and error. 00e's t always astonished by...

Benny Green My past being what it is, my interest in a new book is redoubled when the hero turns out to be a musician. When he is a musician who plays songs like 'There's a...

A new master Rodney Milnes The Red Line; Men's Rib; Die Csardastarstin (National Opera, Helsinki) Opera is a growth industry in Finland, as it is here, but whereas in Britain...

Realities Peter Jenkins Richard ii (BBC-2) Richard II is such a good play that I soon became used to the shortcomings of the production, some of which, I fear, may be inherent...

No more ado Richard Ingrams The BBC has had stick from some quarters for 'playing/ safe' with its Shakespeare series. One or two critics are dissatisfied with the way in which...

Portraitist John McEwen Can you recommend a good portr a v i e t painter?' Many distinguished people ha. b . come to the same conclusion on this su , iect: Derek Hill. A...

Bad goodies? Ted Whitehead Dog Soldiers (London Pavilion) The First Great Train Robbery (Leicester Square Theatre) Karel Reisz's new film, Dog Soldiers (X), echoes Huston's...

Geoffrey Wheat ft As one of the few people in London who were not invited to meet Mr Nixon when he came her recently I can only hypothetically Ponder the dilemmas presented by...