Man with hornets' nest B ritish Airways made a surprise bid of £237 million for their arch-rival British Caledonian. The chairmen of the two airlines shook hands on the deal and...

DISARMING MR REAGAN othing is easier than to find grounds of disagreement with the Presi- dent and few things would be more unhelp- ful.' Thus wrote Winston Churchill to one of...

at the Spectator. Callers got a ringing tone when they dialled, but no answer. This was because there was no ring at our end. This fault has now been righted. Readers are...

The lions of Labour's Left lie down with the lambs of the Right FERDINAND MOUNT N ot for the first time, one can only say that politics is a peculiar business. There we all...

N othing more annoys journalists than the spectacle of ministers of the Crown flagrantly defying the dictates of justice, as defined in the leader columns, because of an...

Reasons for not wishing to visit the Soviet Union AUBERON WAUGH A bout 25 years ago, when we were all rather younger, Mr Ferdinand Mount shocked me very much by saying that he...

The Western powers are trying to assert themselves against Iran in the Gulf. But, as Patrick Bishop shows, they cannot stop its kidnapping and terrorism SHORTLY before he...

Anatol Lieven on the controversial joint command of a brigade Bonn A BRIGADE is no vast military force. But some commentators in West Germany seem anxious to boost the image...

Giles Mathews describes how his wedding to a Chinese girl caused problems ON Thursday we went to the Civil Affairs Office. Like most substantial buildings in Manchuria, this...

Anita Braakner explains how she was used by Blunt and Wright MY indictment — and it is only thanks to the editor of the Spectator that I have a voice at all in this...

Brian Inglis 'argues that Northern Ireland should be given a kind of independence THE 'talks about talks' which the Ulster Unionist leaders have agreed to have with Tom King...

YESTERDAY week, Dr Tanner in- sulted Mr Long in the lobby of the House of Commons. This is Mr Long's own account of the affair: — 'I had no intention whatever of offering the...

Alexander Norman fears that the decision to change defence policy has been left too late NUCLEAR weapons, like French letters, are a fact of life. And just as contraception...

Roy Kerridge on the last days of Dartington Hall IN THE 1950s, when I was at grammar school, I yearned to go to a free school where no lessons could be enforced and I would be...

E. W. Swanton looks forward to the settlement of a row which has divided cricket SINCE Alan Gibson drew the attention of Spectator readers some weeks ago to cer- tain...

Sunday Sports Bill — Wednesday, 15 July Lord Wyatt of Weeford: People are seldom more innocently occupied than in placing bets on horses. Those in- terested in the outcome of...

Lord King hangs a pretty label on a privatised franchise CHRISTOPHER FILDES B ritish Caledonian has a toehold on the London-Nice route, and this has stirred British Airways...

Sir: Recently I have been trying to get British Telecom to pull up its socks. Last August I received on a Monday morning a telegram that had been sent from Poland the previous...

Sir: In your leading article (4 July) you state clearly, `Dr Gilmour thinks that the [sexual] abuse itself is increasing'. Clearly you did not consult me before making such an...

Sir: A better candidate for the song that the Aborigines sing as they pace the outback (Diary, 18 July) might be the one popularised in England by Charlie Drake, the chorus of...

Sir: Could you explain Mr Horovitz's reference (Letters, 11 July) to the inno- cents for whom Mrs Thatcher failed to intercede in the Falklands? As the mother of a serving...

SUBSCRIBE TODAY - Save 15% on the Cover Price! Please enter a subscription to The Spectator I enclose my cheque for £ (Equivalent WS & Eurocheques accepted) RATES 12 Months...

Some of the mud sticks Colin Welch PASSCHENDAELE: THE STORY BEHIND THE TRAGIC VICTORY OF 1917 by Philip Warner I t might be possible, particularly for those more expert than...

Among the timeless stones what takes the eye Is a girl on a bicycle - Pink blouse, and black skirt riding up her thigh - Pedalling fast As if in danger in this place, Through...

John Mortimer DICKENS' WORKING NOTES FOR HIS NOVELS edited, with an introduction, by Harry Stone University of Chicago Press, £47.95 E . M. Forster once said with more than a...

Francis King THE JADE PAVILION by Martin Booth Hutchinson, £10.95 I n 1960 Paul Scott published a novel called The Chinese Love Pavilion. It is to such a love pavilion that...

John Jolliffe THE MEMOIRS OF ETHEL SMYTH abridged and introduced by Ronald Crichton Viking, f14.95 R eaders of these skilfully edited ex- tracts from her ten books will find...

Andrew Robinson THE RAJPUT PALACES: THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ARCHITECTURAL STYLE 1450-1750 by G. H. R. Tillotson Yale, DO V isitors to India, as well as Indians themselves, are...

Euan Cameron PARIS: A LITERARY COMPANION by Ian Littlewood John Murray, £12.95 I threw myself on a bench,' wrote George Moore, recalling Paris during the 1870s in Memoirs of my...

What is this life, if full of care, We have no time to stand and stare? —W H Davies To take time, now, to stop to think (From schedules dreary, strict and tight, Like office,...

Dance Ashton's artistry Julie Kavanagh P eter Schaufuss is our most enterprising — and some might add, opportunistic — dance director. His coup this season was not only to...

That Summer (Hampstead) Public Enemy (Lyric, Hammersmith) Culture clash Christopher Edwards A lthough David Edgar is probably best known for his adaptation of Nicholas...

When words fail Peter Phillips T he 93rd season of Promenade con- certs was launched last Friday (17 July), with the Albert Hall looking more red and golden than ever. The...

The Domingo road-show Nicholas Vincent P lacido Domingo is renowned for his desire to take opera to the public. A series of popular recordings, and more recently his...

Into deep Waters Marcus Berkmann A nd now, as they say, back to the records. I've been listening to quite a few of these lately, often in an attempt to decode the album...

Andre Masson (Hayward, till 27 September) Eileen Agar: A Retrospective (Birch & Conran, till 7 August) Surrealist survivors Giles Auty In response to the word 'Surrealism'...

Kids' stuff Wendy Cope L ast weekend, hoping to find a new favourite programme to replace LA Law (ITV), I watched Miami Vice (BBC 1) for the first time. My hopes were pretty...

Something Wild (`18', selected cinemas) Taken for a ride Hilary Mantel F ilm credits never cease to amaze. We all know about Best Boys and Key Grips, but is a set dresser...

Well met in Tuscany Taki f this isn't the most beautiful spot in Europe, I'll not only announce my engage- ment to Andrea Dworkin, I'll even go through with it. (For any of...

Writer's block Jeffrey Bernard T his week has been rotten so far and it is only Tuesday today from where I am sitting. Yesterday, I saw Anthony Burgess in Old Compton Street,...

Pushing the boat out Alice Thomas Ellis I did it again. I went on about the weather and it changed. The bread bin got waterlogged, and many people found themselves unable to...

A first prize of £20 and two further prizes of. £10 (or, for UK solvers, a copy of Chambers Dictionary, value £13.95 — ring the words 'Chambers Dictionary' above) for the first...

Tidying down Jaspistos I N Competition No. 1481 you were invited to reduce some blank verse of Shakespeare to banal heroic couplets in the manner of the 18th century. A...

Fortune's favours Raymond Keene T he achievement by Nigel Short and Jon Speelman in jointly winning the Subotica Interzonal takes a while to sink in. After their flying start...

. .7 n...11 4 Lik..; ,:"LigaLAPLJ INVITATIONS to dinner should always be treated with special caution in the summer. If your prospective hosts have a garden and He does the...

English-speaking inhabitants of another planet, having announced the time and place of their arrival, land in Britain and are greeted by an official deputation. A newspaper...

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