C)11 an April weekend, 13 years ago, Mr Enoch Powell, a m i ember of Edward Heath's Shadow Cabinet, said n B irmingham: 'As I look ahead, I am filled with foreboding. Likeke the...

Drink and thrive A uberon Waugh Not a day passed last week without some h eW and preposterous claim by the antidrink campaigners — most of them as Insulting to the...

Xan Smiley Before I confess to reservations that may seem churlish, let it be said that Zim babwe's first year of independence has overall been a triumph for the seven million...

Henry Fairlie Washington An apocryphal but delightful remark is being attributed to Mr James Brady, the press secretary to President Reagan, who is making an astonishing...

Tim Garton Ash Berlin Let us consider Tass. The telegraphic agency of the Soviet Union claims to be a ti ews agency. On 29 March, it reports the r ` nilu wing news from Poland:...

Roy Kerridge Some years ago I noticed that all was not well with some of the teenage children of L l ny West Indian friends. After reluctantly being pushed out of their schools...

as my Just as my train was leaving the station a man jumped in as it was gathering speed. 'I su PPose I ought not to have done that,' he Said to a ca man sitting opposite to him...

On Tuesday the state of Lord Beaconsfield excited the greatest possible alarm, but since that day there has been a decided improvement, which amounted on Friday to reasonable...

The Polish risk Tony Rudd A great deal has been written about the Political implications of the Polish crisis. Less attention has been concentrated upon the economic...

Sir: In response to Mr Hans Keller's 'genuinely puzzled question' (Letters, 11 April), may I attempt a reply? By the very nature of his profession, a journalist must include a...

I am happy to admit to being deeply amused by Mr Ingrams's monumental wit. Though a man of no great age, your television critic possesses a rare wisdom, which enables him to...

Sir: I believe the Secretary of State for Wales's loyalty to his bureaucracies is utterly misplaced (Letters, 28 March). A hundred jobs and 20 businesses are now in Hay through...

Sir: It is a little ingenuous of Sir Horace Cutler to suggest (Letters, 4 April) that the fuss about The Romans in Britain did not influence the GLC's decision not to increase...

Sir: The last time a Prince of Wales was married (Edward VII to Princess Alexandra of Denmark in 1863), a National Hymn was written for the occasion. Is it possible that a...

Sir: Mr Ferdinand Mount is correct i n finding me an enemy of opinon polls (.1.A April) yet no sooner does he mention il?Y name than he puts 'the pollster' beside it. How is it...

Sir: During the last two years, at about this time, you have been good enough to publi,sh letters from me asking for suggestions f or my anthologies on Railway Journeys Wi l t...

Silver Bullets Graham Greene Las t Week Graham Greene was awarded the biennial Jerusalem Prize. The following is an extract from the speech he made at the prize-giving. What...

Mark Amory Like it Was Malcolm Muggeridge Ed. John Bright Holmes (Collins pp. 560, £9.95) Malcolm Muggeridge has been revered and reviled as, among other things, a satirical...

James Lasdun English Subtitles Peter Porter (Oxford pp. 56, £3.50). -Looking into the Deep End David Sweetman (Faber pp. 47, £3.00) Unplayed Music Carol Rumens (Seeker az....

Worldly-wise in childhood Paul Ableman The Magic Glass Anne Smith (Michael Joseph pp. 174, £6.50) What is a novel? The word covers a multitude of literary productions. The...

Bel Mooney The Sirian Experiments Doris Lessing ( Cape pp. 288, £6.95) the preface to her latest 'archive' Davis Lessing seems amused, not irritated, at the Confusion caused by...

Harriet Waugh 'OD Len Deighton (Hutchinson pp. 397, £6.95). Off Duty Andrew Coburn (Seeker & Warburg pp. 255, £6.95). More Deadly than the Male James Hadley Chase (Robert...

Polanski's 'classic' film Peter Ackroyd Tess ('A', Empire, Leicester Square) The cinema is full of noises; the sound of bees humming as a parson talks about the soul; of °cut...

Revelation Rodney Milnes Der Tod Jesu (Queen Elizabeth Hall) In the fairly confident hope that ignorance as finely honed and carefully nurtured as mine is not unique, I will...

Novel lines John McEwen Carl Van Vechten — Vintage Photographs signals the opening of the inauguration of the 12 Duke Street Gallery at 12 Duke Street, SW1 (throughout April)....

Facts of life Richard Ingrams Mr Hans Keller's letter in the latest issue of the Spectator accused me of trying to be funny when I said I didn't like Bartok. I have always...

Femail Takt New York I have been getting more hate mail than the police are getting rocks thrown at them in Brixton. And, like the police, I certainly don't deserve it. About...

Down-payment Jeffrey Bernard Thursday. Bryce McNab's funeral went off as well as a funeral can. I arrived at Gold ers Green a little early so was lucky enough to have time for...

Raymond Keene One of the most attractive features of Kasparov's style is his willingness to defend against OP openings with the sharp King's Indian Defence. This is a defence...