Portrait of the week
Preparations for a war between Britain and Argentina continued at a gentle pace. The Royal Navy's battle fleet steamed
to the South Atlantic. President Reagan dispatched US Secretary of State Alexander Haig on a shuttle-mission between London and Buenos Aires in a search for a peaceful settlement to the Falkland Islands dispute. Mr Haig's departure from Washington was delayed by 14 hours in order to provide him with a more comfortable plane. He even- tually returned to Washington empty- handed. Russian 'spy' ships were said to be concentrating in Argentinian waters.
Britain declared a 200-mile Maritime Ex- clusion Zone around the Falklands and warned that any Argentinian naval vessel found within it would be sunk by sub- marine attack. There was a complication when it was suggested that British evacuees from the Falklands might be aboard such vessels. In the event the Argentinian Navy was said to have returned to port.
At home a television video game called `Obliterate', simulating a battle between British submarines and Argentinian bat- tleships, was withdrawn by British Telecom after complaints by Labour MPs that war should not be treated as a game.
Mr Edmund Carlisle, brother of a former Tory education secretary, left the Falklands in an Argentinian air force plane carrying a letter which suggested that the islanders preferred Argentinian rule, and the promise of colour television and video games, to a British invasion. The letter was said to be signed by 15 civic leaders. These later turn- ed out to be British staff recruited by the Foreign Office on short-term contracts. A dance held by the National Union of Teachers for 440 delegates to its annual conference broke up in disorder after the disc jockey played 'Land of Hope and Glory'. A spokesman said, 'Teachers couldn't have been more put out if he'd rounded off with "God Save the Queen" '.
Normal life continued. The Director of Public Prosecution was instructed by Lord Justice Templeman to investigate 'the grave possibility' that there had been a £15m tax fraud in arrangements made to dispose of the estate of the late Sir Charles Clore. The Institute of Jewish Affairs demanded that those who denied that the Nazis had exterminated the Jews in the Second World War should face criminal charges. It was concerned by the ap- pearance of pamphlets suggesting that the Nazi holocaust was a story fabricated by Jewish interests to justify the state of Israel
next week. Islands instead of Southend.'
and exact reparations from the Germans.
It was reported that Countess Spencer had abused a party of antique enthusiasts who had paid entrance fees of £104 to visit her husband's home, Althorp, because they had not booked in advance. When they pointed out that they had booked in ad- vance, she abused them again. From Nor- thumberland came an appeal for assistance in rebuilding Hadrian's Wall. After surviv- ing for 1,500 years it was incapable of resisting the 500,000 annual feet belonging to Ramblers and other visitors. It was estimated that it would take four years to repair one four-mile stretch of the Wall; as long as it had taken the Romans to build the entire 73 miles of it.
I n Jerusalem thousands of pilgrims celebrated Good Friday by retracing the Way of the Cross. On Easter Sunday an Israeli soldier opened fire with his M-16 automatic rifle in the Dome of the Rock mosque on Temple Mount. He killed two Palestinian Arabs and wounded many others before running out of ammunition. He later explained that he was avenging the deaths of various friends and relatives. Consequent rising tension made it less likely that Israel would return Sinai to Egypt on time.
Following reports by the Government's official adviser it seemed unlikely that a cross-Channel tunnel would be built, due to the increased efficiency of the cross- Channel ferries. At the Old Bailey a jury which had spent eight days, including Good Friday, considering its verdict in a murder trial was allowed out by the judge for a coach-excursion with packed lunch on Easter Sunday. In Strasbourg the congress of the International Gay Association asked the United Nations to designate 1983 as the International Year for the Recognition of Homosexuality. Sir Ranulph Twisleton- Wykeham-Fiennes and Mr Charles Burton became the first men to travel to the North and South Poles in a single journey, so cir- cumnavigating the globe along the Green- wich meridian. They were faced with a 600-mile dash back to their support ship across ice bearing polar bears. PHM
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