The England First XI 1988 M r Denzil Davies resigned as Labour's defence spokesman, sharply criti- cising Mr Neil Kinnock's failure to consult him before speaking publicly on...

1706; Telex 27124; Fax 242 0603 HOSTAGES TO SILENCE I t would be even more convenient for the British Government if the hostages were dead: they have become an embar-...

WHEN Disraeli was told that his almost octogenarian Liberal rival, Lord Palmer- ston was conducting an affair, he is said to have replied 'Don't tell the public, or he will...

SUBSCRIBE TODAY - Save 15% on the Cover Price! RATES 12 Months 6 Months UK 0 £45.00 0 £23.00 Europe (airmail) 0 £55.00 0 £28.00 USA Airspeed CI US $90 0 US$45 Rest of Airmail...

Unilateralism and the first strike use of resignations NOEL MALCOLM `If you look at the manner, and the wording, of his resignation', said Mr Bryan Gould with a not very...

T he current rash of attempts by famous people to prove they have a sense of humour seems to have started in royal circles, but is at present sweeping through the Cabinet. (Sir...

The tube is traumatised by the King's Cross fire, but its troubles are deeper-seated. Dominic Lawson finds out what is wrong WHAT IS the point of London Under- ground Limited?...

Diana Geddes describes the joys of travelling on the metro `THE Paris metro? It's marvellous!' a British expatriate enthused. It's cheap and it's so easy to use. You can go...

Fears about aircraft safety reveal the fault-line between Eastern culture Tokyo JUST ABOUT everyone who flies recog- nises and trusts the name Boeing, and no one goes Boeing...

`Alcohol addiction in the Island [Isle of Wight] may be. . . more serious- . . . than figures widely quoted by the IW Council on alcoholism . . . it . . [is] claimed. Or...

Stephen Handelman reports on the dangerous Russian flirtation with democracy Moscow DEMOCRACY is exhausting. Irena and Andrei Krivov have been spending much of their time...

The Government's power urge will IT LOOKS as though the Government is shortly to attain its object and nationalise the universities. Vesting day may even coincide with the...

ON Monday, Bishop O'Dwyer addres- sed a synod of his clergy at Limerick in a speech of singular and masculine abil- ity; indeed, as a mere piece of English, we have hardly read...

Julia Neuberger defends moves to professionalise nursing IT IS extraordinary how the very idea of reforms in nursing education produces a rash of ill-informed, prejudiced...

Ian Samuel is annoyed by a new infection afflicting letter writers AS though there were not enough of them already, there is another new disease ab- out. Not absolutely brand...

The press: Paul Johnson argues that the Meacher verdict has changed little THE verdict in the case Meacher v The Observer was received with almost desper- ate sighs of relief...

A harmless agenda for Toronto JOCK BRUCE-GARDYNE K eeping our fingers firmly crossed, we might just find that summer has broken out at last, and not just at the Meteorological...

Sir: Christopher Sylvester's curious public complaint about his 'miserly' cheque for £25 for a 2,000-word-plus book review in the Literary Review (Letters, 30 April) is...

Sir: You state that 'legalising' drugs of addiction other than marijuana would be a bad thing so why not 'nationalise' them? Supplying one week's drug plus the syring- es and...

Sir: I was interested to read Charles Moore's comments on the Prime Minister's address to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (Diary, 28 May). I would remind him...

Sir: It is interesting to note that Robert Maxwell is doing his bit for Soviet prop- aganda in the English classroom. The Pocket Encyclopaedia of the World (pub- lished by...

Sir: I was interested in the article about the influence of Mr Thatcher on the Prime Minister (lust the one for Denis', 7 May). But it was not until I heard Martin Walker,...

Sir: Your leader (`Opium and the People', 11 June) was as usual, superb in its refusal to cringe before the received wisdom. There is just one point where I disagree. It would...

on the recondite topic of the Sunday Times's book reviewing policy was non- sense. Periodicals often review books days and even weeks before their official publication date,...

F or a woman plagued by writers all her life, it is sweet revenge to have a great big book written about her nearly 40 years after her death. Nora weighs in at an ounce or two...

Geoffrey Wheatcroft AND THE BAND PLAYED ON: POLITICS, PEOPLE AND THE AIDS EPIDEMIC by Randy Shills Viking, £15.95, pp. 630 CRISIS: HETEROSEXUAL BEHAVIOUR IN THE AGE OF AIDS...

Alastair Forbes THE PASSION OF JOHN ASPINALL by Brian Masters Cape, £12.95, pp. 360 M r Masters is a prolific writer with 15 books to his credit over the past 20 years, the...

Andrei Navrozov PENCIL LETTER by Irina Ratushinskaya Bloodaxe, £10.95/14.95, pp.89 GREY IS THE COLOUR OF HOPE by Irina Ratushinskaya Hodder & Stoughton/New English Library,...

Nicholas Lezard QUINN'S BOOKS by William Kennedy Cape, f11.95, pp. 289 a A great deal of fuss is being made in America these days about William Ken- nedy. Neglected until...

Anthony Smith DG — THE MEMOIRS OF A BRITISH BROADCASTER by Alasdair Milne Hodder & Stoughton, £12.95, pp. 236 A lasdair Milne disappeared from the BBC in circumstances which...

Ian Dunlop DEGAS: THE NUDES by Richard Thomson Thames & Hudson, £28, pp.240 T he bathroom may not be the best place to see one's own or the loved one's naked body, at least ....

Photography The emperor unclothed Francis Hodgson Behold the Man: the Male Nude in Photography (Stills, Edinburgh, till 25 June and touring) T he female nude we know. But...

Big bad auction man S tomping around the antiques fairs these last two weeks, drifting down Park Lane from Grosvenor House to the cera - mics show at the Dorchester and then...

Finding the right words Peter Phillips F orgathered in the Mitre, close by the church in Greenwich where Tallis is buried, the conversation turned to Edward Cowie. In fact...

Driving Miss Daisy (Apollo) Aristocrats (Hampstead) Southern comfort Christopher Edwards H ay fever (the ailment not the play) prevented me from writing a column last week....

Cecil Collins (Anthony d'Offay, till 23 June) Country roots Giles Auty W hen I was a small boy living in the country, rural lads thought themselves superior to town boys in...

Overboard (PG', selected cinemas) Sentimental education Hilary Mantel S ometimes it seems necessary to apolo- gise in advance for one's choice of film. The releases of 10...

Nelson's birthday Wendy Cope T en hours of live coverage,' enthused the announcer at the opening of the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Concert (BBC 2). With sinking heart and...

Blazing inferno Taki Take for example the theatre district, once known for its charming restaurants, and still among the best policed areas of the city. (We can't have the fat...

The joy of nursing Jeffrey Bernard he hospital I am in is unique. In the middle of the sticks and in the Avon area, it was originally built as an American army/air force base....

A sparrow falls Alice Thomas Ellis T he other day the fifth son was hit on the head by a bird. He was sitting on the top of a bus — not on the outside, you understand — on the...

do John Armit Wines Ltd., 190 Kensington Park Road, London W11 2ES. Telephone: 01-727 6846 TOTAL (Cheque enclosed) Please make cheques payable to Spectator Wine Club. Price...

However, Armit has found some which don't, including the fabulous Gaby '82 (5) which could hold its own, in my judgment, against most classified St Emilions apart from the four...

I n 1985 The Spectator was much exer- cised by a Unesco-orchestrated attempt to introduce the so-called 'New World In- formation Order,' an initiative designed to impose...

Perverse verse Tom Castro I n Competition No. 1527 you were asked to supply a short poem perversely con- tinuing from some famous line. In 1955, Competition No. 285 asked...

Much has been made lately of the laun- derette. Please provide celebratory verse (maximum 16 lines) for this or another convenience shop. Entries to 'Competition No. 1530' by 1...

A first prize of £20 and two further prizes of £10 (or, for UK solvers, a copy of Chambers Dictionary, value £13.95 — ring the words 'Chambers Dictionary' above) for the first...

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