Portrait of the week
TEERE was another abortive attempt by U Thant to make peace in Vietnam, an uprising in Sierra Leone with farcical aspects, a great spy scandal in Italy, more bloodshed in Aden and a worsen- ing of the famine in India—but in Britain, the public attention was held by the incoming tide of a sea of crude oil, escaping from the wrecked tanker on the Seven Stones reef and fouling mile upon mile of beaches. The Government seemed uncertain what to do about it, first relying on masses of detergent, and finally resorting to bombs and napalm; it spoiled Mr Wilson's holiday .00 the Scillies, where he had hoped for a quiet Easter with his favourite dog; and it produced increasing criti- cism of the Government, with the headlines then veering from 'Wilson directs battle to save beaches' to 'Jenkins takes charge: CND marchers and other assorted demonstrators trudged across the land; meanwhile, another com- mitted minority honoured the older tradition of the Christian festival of Easter. Ninety-six people were killed in weekend road accidents. The Rolling Stones were searched for drugs on arriving in Sweden, and Miss Jayne Mansfield's escort was searched for two chihuahua dogs on arriving in London. It was reported that a new company to develop synthetic tobacco had been formed, Oxford won the Boat Race, and the Grand National course was badly damaged by vandals. 'Lae ruc demanded the abolition of public schools, and weekend conferences yielded the customary de- mands for higher pay, plus, this year, an offer of a free haircut to the Prime Minister.
A GREAT to-do developed over the Bristol Siddeley company's reluctant repayment of £3.9 million excess profit, and the muddled announcements made thereon. The editor of The Times predicted that the Guardian would soon be forced to return to Manchester. A temporary holiday lull prevailed at the London School of Economics, and the rail- way line between Oxford and Cambridge was re- prieved because of the inadequacy of the bus services. Snow fell briefly over much of England, and the lowest tide since 1900 was observed in northern France, where enterprising local boys sold tickets to tourists 'authorising' them to witness the spectacle.
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