28 JANUARY 1955, page 46

Spectator Competition No. 259 Set By Anthony Hyde

In the first Elizabethan era, popular bal- lad s often fulfilled the function of present- day newspapers—e.g., a ballad on the Queen's speech at Tilbury (when the Armada was on......

On Not Going Abroad'

SPECTATOR COMPETITION No. 256 Report by Allan M. Laing A prize of £5 was offered for a Ballade (three stanzas and an envoi) designed. sincerely or satirically, for the Holidays......

Spectator Crossword No. 819

ACROSS 1 Nothing sinister in the marsh to alarm (8). 5 Pig in a soak? (6). 9 Its occupants are a wooden lot (5, 3). 10 General Matador? (6). 12 Early space-traveller (6). 13......