T he turn of the year is usually a time when those who do not have to take decisions recommend broad general strategies to those that do. Commentators ask that this be the year...

Death wishes for 1984 Charles Moore H ere we are in 1984 all writing articles about George Orwell, so the worst has not happened. We are still Britain (though Mr Enoch Powell...

T he Managing Director of Reuters, Mr Glen Renfrew, has reproached those journalists in the company who have sought to interest Members of Parliament in the future of the news...

UK Eire Surface Mail Air Iliad 1,'11011111s: £0.25 1Rf17.25 £20.50 £26.50 One yea': • L34.50 1R1.34,50 £41.00 £53,00 Cheques to be made payable to the Spectator and sent to...

Hang them all Auberon Waugh A the year 1983 drew to its close in the House of Commons a new Conser- vative member called Mr Philip (sic) Oppenheim demanded a ban on the impor-...

Nicholas von Hoffman Washington W e are living a violent hour here, an hour of force. The smell of human flesh in the electric chair is there for those with the noses to sniff...

Robert Silver I nternational law is fashionable again, arousing passions over Britain's imperial legacy. The Falklands conflict has reawak- ened interest. Debate over the...

Timothy Garton Ash et us consider the advantages of socialism. la By 'socialism' I mean the socialism which exists — what critical leftists call 'real existing socialism', to...

D. L. B. Hartley I have a list: Roy Mason, Sir Michael Hordern, George Melly, Roy Plomley and Stewart Tendler are on it. Good men they would seem to be, outstanding even. But...

Rochester, Kent , H ere's a sorrowful affliction . . . it makes a vessel's heart bleed . . . all taps is wanitys . . . I despise them all. If . . there is any of them less...

Roy Kerridge O ur mediaeval churches were often built upon shrines to pagan gods. The inten- tion may have been to banish the old, often cruel, earthy magic, but in fact a...

A time for courage Paul Johnson ? There are signs that 1983 may prove a watershed year for industrial relations in this country, like 1926. Without lifting a finger, or...

The presents they didn't get Jock Bruce-Gardyne T he week between Christmas and the New Year is a time for reflection and digestion; an opportunity to enjoy the Christmas...

Sunday was brilliant with one of those wonderful sunset skies, — Sunday's was golden, with a gold such as Cuyp himself never painted, — which have been the glory of the late...

Sir: A major issue of principle has arisen on the Thames. A small firm of private barge operators. T. & D. Murrell, have been prevented from operating by the massive National...

Greek descendant of the ancient Greeks, I am uniquely qualified to judge how right is his argument concerning the Elgin Marbles, and how wrong are the modern Greek cry-babies to...

Byzantium Sir: Gavin Stamp's penetrating article on Greece (`Keeping our Marbles', 10 December) understates the significance of the connecting link between ancient and modern...

Sir: Mr Powell (Books, 26 November) has got it wrong. There is nothing inappro- priate about the use of the word 'reunifica- tion' to describe the creation of the German Empire...

Sir: Kindly employ a television critic whose television set works. Alternatively, engage a humorist to write your TV column. A. E. Salmon 9 Eldon Road, Cheltenham

Sir: Anecdotes about writers and artists in general give a unique insight into the life of any historical period, and are often funny in a special way too. In an age like ours,...

Sir: Had I said that an increased weight given to the interview at Oxford and Cambridge might result in (say) pretty girls having a better chance than plain ones, then Visiting...

A different Europe Colin Welch T defended recently as best I could the 1 Metropolitan Police against their niggl- ing detractors. With grief and pride, though, alas, without...

Death of a scholar Peter Levi Collected Essays Colin Macleod (Clarendon Press £20) C olin Macleod died by suicide in a bliz- zard just before Christmas in 1981. He was only...

Patrick Skene Catling Piper's Places Betjeman Country Frank Delaney (Hodder £8.95) The theme of Richard Ingrams's respect- fully affectionate biography of John Piper, Companion...

John Keegan Monty, Master of the Battlefield 1942-44 Nigel Hamilton (Hamish Hamilton £12.95) he second volume of the offi c i a l 1 biography of Field-Marshal Mont- gomery...

A. N. Wilson The Other Side of the Fire Alice Thomas Ellis (Duckworth £7.95) R ice Thomas Ellis's last novel, The 27th Kingdom, was a brittle, anarchic theological fantasy set...

Geoffrey Wheatcroft An Enquiry into the Nature of Certain Nineteenth Century Pamphlets John Carter and Graham Pollard: Second Edition with an Epilogue by the Authors, and new...

Panto-time Giles Gordon N ew lamps and old here, pantos cheap and expensive, vulgar and staid, hand- some and hideous. The five I've seen run the gamut, really, of the...

Favoured John McEwen Drawings by Raphael (British Museum till 5 January 1984) wG W ith wonderful indulgence and generosity heaven sometimes showers upon a single person...

The awards Peter Ackroyd H ere are the Spectator film awards for 1983. After months of fevered argu- ment, the judges emerged from the Starlight Room, Hammersmith Palais, with...

Private thoughts Richard Ingrams I 'm glad to see that my idea of 'privatising' the BBC is being more and more talked about. Maybe one or two BBC executives are even beginning...

Fellow feeling Taki New York Might comes early in winter, and the bejewelled city looked in a festive mood as millions of lights glittered atop sky-scrapers and in thousands...

Back and forth Jeffrey Bernard t's a strange year which ends with what 1 seems to be the kidnapping of 1,000 Irish soldiers by four gunmen. It's also odd that your judge says...

Minimalism P. J. Kavanagh I n today's Times — possibly it will be last year's Times by the time this appears but never mind, no one who saw it will have forgotten the item, so...

Please send your entries (accompanied hr the 8 Answer Forms) to Game for a Daimler, The Spectator, 56 Doughty St, London WC I N 2LL. The closing date will he 7 January 1984....

No. 1301: Rum punch-up Set by Jaspistos: At some time in the future Iceland and a by now independent Tasmania are involved in a mini-war. An extract, please (maximum 150...

Jaspistos reports: Competitors were asked for a sonnet (the rhyme-scheme was given) in the manner of a tired poet of the end of the last century. Congratulations to the two of...

Round-up Raymond Keene T he outcome of the two Acorn Com- puter semi-finals has resulted in an amusing irony — the youngest player, Gary Kasparov (20), has qualified to meet...

A prize of ten pounds will be awarded for the first correct solution opened on 16 January. Entries to: Crossword 638, The Spectator, 56 Doughty Street, London WC1N 1 Tr 13 2...

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Volume 251 July December 1983 141 AM f .11 f ag f f 41 f f It At f 111 Indiana University MAY 1 61984 Library .** # • • • • * f f • 4. • 11 • • I Published by The Spectator,...

INDEX FOR JULY-DECEMBER 1983 SUBJECTS AND TITLES AR ARTICLE l x ) P) AV) ANOTHER VOICE PC) C) IN THE. CITY PS) CO) COMPETITION PW) I) ILLUSTRATION LA) LEADING ARTICLE RI L)...