— Portrait of the Week— 'BUTLERS OUGHT TO KNOW THEIR PLACE
and not to play the Old Retainer night and day': but Mr. Butler was claiming squatter's rights to No. 10, a claim disputed by 569 viewers who complained at having to watch Mr. Butler chasing the Tory leadership instead of seeing Whistling Fool win- ning the 2.30 race at Kempton Park. One Lon- don bookmaker reported bets 'running into thousands' and offered 5-4 Butler, 7-4 Hail- sham, 5-1 Home, 8-1 Maudling. Marples was 1,000-1. At the Conservative Conference at Black- pool, the reluctant. commoner, Lord Hailsham, hogged attention amid electioneering that made the Labour election seem a Vatican conclave. The return of Lord Avon was expected hourly, and lobbyers forecast that the party could only be saved by the stately homes of Scotland. 'It Must Be Scobie Breasley,' commented one press headline, but it was a reference to a more sport- ing type of jockeying LORD SIONITAM 1 UREA TENED to test the validity of British Railways' evidence on condemned routes-in the courts, and the National Coal Board threatened to sue 150 one-day strikers, as the walk-out cost it £30,000. The NCB's 'Bronowski briquettes,' on which it has spent more than £8m., have once again been referred back. The ETU won its case when sued on grounds of distress caused by the power cuts last winter, and further good news for the trade union world was the out- standing success of its own unit trust, even with- out any investments in steel shares. Motor Show week, with the car industry booming, and • the careless opening of car doors to be made an offence:Sugar prices rose, but were held in check, a London bus dispute raised the prospect of a strike, and the much-heralded 'gentleman's agreement among supermarket owners not to introduce trading stamps collapsed. Army re- cruiting is down yet again, holiday resorts on the Clyde have labelled themselves the Costa Clyde, and one million Roman nails found in Scotland have been sold at five shillings each A WEEK OF DISAS1ERS : hurricane Flora killing 1,000 'in Cuba and five times as many in Haiti, and the Vaiont dam disaster killing 3,000 in Italy. Skirmishes again outside Berlin, with a US convoy delayed for thirty-three hours, and the East German Government accused the West of stealing flags from public buildings. A week of tension for Algeria : offered £18m. aid by China, fighting Kabylia rebels and preparing for a more serious fracas with Morocco. The test ban officially came into operation, While the French Government claimed its air force was being equipped with A-weapons. Dr. Adenauer left office, and Mr. Menzies dissolved the Australian Parliament. Dr. Pauling was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, and Edith Piaf and Jean Cocteau died within hours of each other.
THE ( HI( KEN WAR was averted, but the Common Market is now facing a rice war. The Dominican consul-general in New York barricaded himself inside his consulate, for no obvious reason. Two US airlines refrained from ordering supersonic Concordes, but placed orders for the American rival, when at present there are no planes, no plans and no designs. Plus ca change: an Indonesian diplomat was named in a Danish vice scandal. Britain's own Fair Lady ends her record- break ing run in Drury Lane this Saturday, after the 2,281st show, while in the sporting world Britain suffered her usual heavy defeat in the Ryder Cup golf tournament, but to maintain Britain's standards of fair play a National Asso- ciation of Bingo Clubs Is to be formed.
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