The resilience of nations Mr Peter Walker must now feel like Psmith, P. C. Wodehouse's earliest major character, who offered his services in the Morning Globe. 'PSMITH WILL DO...

Political commentary The old Tony Colin Welch It was either Kenneth Horne or Dickie Murdoch - wasn't it? - who, declaring that he was never happier than when lying curled up...

Notebook A s if the Christmas and New Year celebrations were not enough, my birthday seems to come round every year immediately afterwards. I have just become 43, which is a...

Another voice Bubbling with new ideas Auberon Waugh New Years Honours generally cast a blight but under Mrs Thatcher the list has come to resemble more and more the window...

A rude awakening I Robert Haupt Melbourne On Australian beaches this summer the topless women have become bolder, and far more numerous. A Sydney newspaper recently found it...

The mistress of St Moritz James Hughes-Onslow F or active feminists, bored of trying to get a drink in El Vino's and looking for more exciting fields to conquer, can I suggest...

Breaking the rules Ian Waller The Mosleys - Oswald ('Tom') and Diana - have intrigued me since I first met them for lunch at the Ritz some years ago. I was struck by the...

The press Outlook gloomy Paul Johnson Both the television and the newspaper industries enter 1983 in a mood of great uncertainty, indeed of some alarm, as too many outlets...

Ordinary womenfolk Sir: I am writing to complain about Paul Johnson's article (1 January) on the women's demonstrations at Greenham Common - not about his characteristic...

Letters Andropov and the Pope Sir: It was generous of you to recall (Notebook, I January) that it was the Guardian which first broke the news of the alleged KGB connection...

Portentous voice Sir: Richard Ingrams wrote (18 December): 'As for Amery, I was rather amazed to see this toothy old relic of the Macmillan era still being treated by the...

Wise owl Sir: Mr Grimond's 'Does Parliament matter?' (18 December): I simply do not believe that anybody so handsome and eloquent ever gained a nil audience in his constituency...

Graham Greene Sir: In response to the reference in the Notebook (27 November) to my interview with Graham Greene, in which Alexander Chancellor suggests that Mr Greene did not...

Dura Mater Sir: Peter Paterson's orphanage in south London (18 December) rekindled memories of the Irish convent which gave me shelter in wartime. Our meals of porridge, bread...

Books Faith of our fathers A. N. Wilson Twenty Years at St Hilary Bernard Walke (The Cornish Library/ Anthony Mott Ltd £3.95) Hi ostoievsky believed that it was only...

Dev and devolution J. Enoch Powell De Valera and the Ulster Question John Bowman (Oxford University Press £17.50) The rule of practice for serious politicians is 'Read, read,...

Catchwords Patrick Skene Catling The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs Edited by J. A. Simpson (Oxford University Press £795) Familiarity breeds consent. As George...

Raining cats and dogs Francis Huxley Living Wonders John Michell and Robert J. M. Rickard (Thames & Hudson £8.95) J was up and down the Great Glen often enough when I was...

The Sphinx Christopher Hawtree The Little Ottleys Ada Leverson (Virago Modern Classics £3.95) I f you come across anything really funny read it to me,' says Colonel Blount to...

Freethinker Duncan McGuffie Yves de Vallone: The Making of an Esprit-Fort James O'Higgins, S.J. (Martinus Nijhoff £18) In Yves de Va//one a Jesuit ensures that a gifted and...

Detective work H. R. F. Keating The Quest for Sherlock Holmes: A Biographical Study of Arthur Conan Doyle Owen Dudley Edwards (Mainstream Publishing £12.50) Another biography...

The old order Patrick Marnham A Time to Keep Silence Patrick Leigh Fermor (John Murray £6.50) I n 1957, for reasons which are never explained, Patrick Leigh Fermor decided to...

Music Child-worship A. S. Henry Everyone loves an infant prodigy, especially at Christmas time. Perhaps a youth with abundant curls sitting at an organ, his hands raised...

Art Award winner John McEwen The exhibition of Chris Baker's paintings and drawings 1975-1982, arranged by Bryan Robertson at the Warwick Arts Trust, 33 Warwick Square, SW]...

Radio Celebration Maureen Owen The BB3C has had much to celebrate during its 60th anniversary; not least, that by the end of 1982, listening to the radio became the mark of...

High life In principle Taki New York New Year's Eve is an edgy time for everyone, but much more so for anyone caught on this side of the Atlantic. As 31 December approaches,...

Postscript Moving downmarket Patrick Marnham Moving house is a very bad idea. There M are 57 wine boxes, taped up, numbered, their contents listed, and immensely heavy. There...

Low life Knickers Jeffrey Bernard Thank God that's all over. There are far too many holidays in this country and there's far too little work done. Just who are the working...