17 SEPTEMBER 1983, page 31

Postscript

Taff's caffs P. J. Kavanagh We were g iven a rare opportunitY to,S o ° c` for a day or two on our own, a 11 .,„, rather than a family, to one of our fa vourn," parts of Britain.......

Competition

No. 1287: Rats! Set by Jaspistos: Boswell tells us that James Grainger (1721?-66) in the first draft of his poem Sugar-Cane began a paragraph, 'Now, Muse, let's sing of rats '......

No. 1284: The Winners

Report by Jaspistos: Competitors were ask- ed for a piece of plausible and entertaining prose in which the names of 15 birds are hidden, as `coot' is in 'rococo ottoman'.......