Birthday Honours Writing in the Spectator just a year ago
under his old pen name Strix, Mr. Peter Fleming re- vealed that last year The Times had dropped him from their short list of 'Birthdays Today.' Strix proceeded to write a short and mock- melancholy piece on this event. The following week, Randolph Churchill, writing in the 'Press' column, pointed out that The Times had printed his birthday two years in a row, but had also blackballed him in 1964. The following week Terence Rattigan wrote to the Spectator that he. too, had been blackballed; but be was not certain if he had ever been whiteballed. He announced*that he intended to take action. 'On tune 10, 1965, you will read in The Times agony column the following item: 'To a dramatist, on his birthday, "To me, dear friend, you never can be old."
Mr. (now Sir) W. H.'
The following week. Churchill commented that Rattigan's strategem might not succeed. since The Times advertising columns were as much ex- posed to Sir William Haley's censorship as were his news columns.
This year The Times reincluded Mr. Churchill (May 28) and Mr. Fleming (May 30) in Sir William's honours list. We will have to wait and see whether Sir William prints Mr. Rattigan's advertisement or capitulates and puts him in the Birthday Honours.
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