Notebook
Next door to the TUC conference in Brighton last week the Provisional world Parliament was holding its annual meeting. Only three members were in evidence — an African in a white suit, an old Indian practising passive resistance at the bar, and a silver-haired American in a Greek smock. But the American told jour- nalists in the Grand Hotel that the three of them constituted only one third of the Parliament's full membership. 'We repre- sent five billion people,' he said, 'and now we have a quorum of nine. I say we are ridiculising ourselves.' This is very possibly What the trade union leaders are also doing Brighton last week the Provisional world Parliament was holding its annual meeting. Only three members were in evidence — an African in a white suit, an old Indian practising passive resistance at the bar, and a silver-haired American in a Greek smock. But the American told jour- nalists in the Grand Hotel that the three of them constituted only one third of the Parliament's full membership. 'We repre- sent five billion people,' he said, 'and now we have a quorum of nine. I say we are ridiculising ourselves.' This is very possibly What the trade union leaders are also doing ridiculising themselves. With their mix- ture of bureaucratese and outdated Marxist rhetoric ('at this moment in time Finance Capital is exploiting....'), they sound Pathetically out of touch with the millions they are supposed to represent. Congress resolutions slither to the left, while the opi- nion polls indicate that ordinary trade union members are moving to the right. It is not surprising, therefore, that membership of the TUC is shrinking. How willing are union members now to follow their leaders? we will see on 22 September.
ike Richard West (page 14) I was is recently in Wells and marvelled at the tuienutY of the cathedral and, more par- "cularly, of the moated Bishop's Palace, one of the most romantic private houses in England. When I was young my father once suggested that I might like to take Holy Orders in the Church of England for the specific purpose of becoming Bishop of 'lath and Wells and living there. He seemed to take rather a dim view of the quality of the clergy and thought that the prospects for rapid promotion might be good. It was ba telnpting idea, but what if I had ended up -,„_uislloP of Bradford or Liverpool instead? The risk seemed too great, so I went into Journalism. If I had become the Bishop of 'lath and Wells, however, I would never have allowed the sort of things I found there the other day — a blackmailing invita- tion to pay to enter the cathedral, an exhibi- tion of hideous modern sculptures dotted among the graves in the cloister, and fur- ,ier modern works of art desecrating the Wonderful Chapter House. Last weekend I was back in what might have been my diocese, staying at Combe Florey with the gentleman whose column adorns the next ,D.age. Mr Waugh, who was of course bap- tised a Roman Catholic, has written before In the Spectator of an urge to join the Church of England. For all I know, he may already be a member. He certainly enjoys ",'llging Anglican hymns and he had in his 'louse a copy of the Bath and Wells Diocesan News. In this dispiriting journal the present incumbent of the See, the Right Reverend John Bickersteth, advocates membership of different churches at the same time in order to 'widen horizons'. He appears to believe that if ordinary Chris- tians join more than one Church they will undermine the resistance of Church leaders to union. Perhaps that is what Mr Waugh has already done. After all, membership of the Church of England involves little more than a certain state of mind. You might even have it without knowing it. If I were him, however, I would look for a different bishop. Bickersteth is photographed talking to a barefooted, bearded man in a smock about 'peace', the subject of an address he gave to the Glastonbury CND Festival. The journal also includes a prayer for actors and the following mysterious item in its editor's diary: 'After the recent incident at Buck- ingham Palace I received a postcard from a churchwarden asking, "What I want to know is — why wasn't the Clerk of the Closet doing his stuff?" ' What can that mean?
T n the long and miserable history of British 'Leyland there has been nothing more damaging to the company's standing than this week's announcement by the Palace in Monaco that the death of Princess Grace was caused by a brake failure in her Rover. Let us hope that this allegation is false. Three BL experts have been in the south of France this week finding out. But if it is true, one can be certain that exports of British cars will suffer. To be held respon- sible for the death of such a beautiful film star is something which BL's export divi- sion must find altogether too terrible to contemplate. I prefer even now to think of her as a film star than as a princess. It is one thing to be coolly regal on the screen, another to attempt it in real life. When, after her marriage to Prince Rainier, she decided she would not return to the screen, Gary Cooper — her co-star in High Noon — said: 'Why should she? She moved from an artificial stage to a real one.' I think it was the other way round.
T cannot understand why the Australian 1 police sent a baby's jumpsuit to London to discover whether or not it had been bit- ten by a dingo. Do they not have forensic scientists in Australia? Do not Australians know more about dingos than we do? These are questions I cannot answer. I only know that Australia is a strange place. The latest evidence of its strangeness is the news that in the state of Western Australia learner drivers will be forbidden to drink for 12 months after they receive their licences. It is not just that they will be forbidden to drink when they are diving. They will be forbid- den to drink at all, at any time, in any place. If they are caught doing so, their licences will be removed. The Australians seem far too ready to accept ridiculous limitations on their freedoms. Because they enjoy bossing other people around, they don't mind being bossed around themselves.
n Ile of the best bits of news of the week V is that British Airways is to change its advertising agency. Its 'Fly the flag' adver- tising campaign has become a major embar- rassment. The company has sold itself to the public not on the grounds that it is in any repect a better airline than any other, but that if you are British you will feel more comfortable travelling with your kith and kin. A recent series of television advertise- ments featured exhausted British business- men who, after being fussed and conned by excitable strangers in some unfamiliar climate, settled into their British Airways seats for the journey home with expressions of hideous complacency, knowing that they would enjoy a closer rapport with the equally complacent stewardesses than any of the miserable foreigners who had misguidedly taken the same flight. No wonder the Government is trying to sell British Airways to the public. No wonder, also, that nobody wants it. I hope that Saatchi and Saatchi will do a better job than their predecessors, Foote, Cone and Belding.
What is the reason for all this feminism on Channel Four, the new television station that begins broadcasting in November? Its programmes are to include 'The Body Show', a keep-fit series made by an all-woman company, 'The Raving Beauties in the Pink', an all-woman review, and a feminist documentary film from America to go on the air at the same time as 'Miss World'. The Daily Telegraph explains that Channel Four is trying to create for itself an image 'of being strongly concerned with feminist and minority issues'. If that is really what it is trying to do, it is clearly doomed. It is good news, however, that 'I love Lucy' is to return to the screen.
Alexander Chancellor
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