Don't unsettle the Settl menta*.. the withdrawal by Mr Norman Hogg, Labour MP for Ounbartonshire East, of his Bill to change the Act of Settlement of 1701 is welcome. It would...

Another voice The case for Reagan Auberon Waugh Sixteen years ago, I was a passionate supporter of Senator Barry Goldwater for the presidency of the United States. He seemed...

Notebook is Only the English who speak of Persia. e Word is derived from Fars, the province " the south of which Shiraz is the capital, and should strictly be applied only to...

The failed despot Denis Wright Muhammad Reza Shah's tragedy was that he lived too long. Had he died earlier, in 1972 or 1973. he would have gone down in history as one of the...

Carter's greatest asset Henry Fairlie Washington '3Y that evening Mossadeq and his ministers were in hiding, and General Zahedi was able to invite the Shah to return to an...

The prosperous islands Richard West Nassau. Bahamas The notorious Blackbeard and two lady pirate persons lived here in the 18th century; the Duke of Windsor was Governor in...

No summer for Giscard Sam White Paris There are a few matters which wvill be keeping politicians awake while the rest of the country sinks into its customary August slumber....

Not the year of the whale Jack Waterman Brighton This seaside resort was not the best of places last week for recharging one's faith in the finer aspects of mankind. The...

The boom in the slump Tony Rudd Industry is in the middle of the worst depreSsi0n that it has known since the Thirties. The City markets are in the middle of a boom. It is not...

The black spokesman industry Roy Kerridge A few weeks after the riots at St Paul's in Bristol, I picked up a copy of the Jamaican Weekl/ Gleaner (a paper comparable to our...

Sir: In abridging my recent letter (12 July) about new liturgy theSpectator left out what I most wanted to say which is that while I love and value '1662' and would never wish...

Letters - - The nature of worship Sir: May I congratulate the Spectator for so successfully abrogating its qualifications for commenting upon the worship of the Church by...

An odd lot Sir: I was surprised to find in the Spectator (5 July) an unpleasant little article poking fun at the harmless Hare Krishnas. We read of 'thugs'; we hear that their...

Old Auk Sir: I have been commissioned to write o full biography of Field-Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck, to replace that of the late John Connell which is now out of print. Much...

Europe, past and present Sir: 'There's something to-be said for being dead', as G.K. Chesterton once wrote: and anyone who reads your Strasbourg corres pondent's praise for...

The wonderful West Sir: Daniel Farson's article about holidays in the West Country (12 July) was very much to the point and we, who live there, must not just sit back and...

Sheepish Sir: I was amused by your Notebook paragraph of 19 July about your experiences when returning from Heathrow Airport. The taxi driver was obviously making an illegal...

Books Queen Mother and Duchess Alastair Forbes Queen Elisabeth the Queen Mother: A Celebration of Eighty Glorious Years UOuglas Keay (IPC £2.25) I 1e Duchess of Windsor:...

Blast it! Jonathan Keates t"? Enemy: A Biography of Wyndham "WiS Jeffrey Meyers (Routledge £1 5) 11eine once remarked of Berlioz that he had 'lSufficient talent to serve...

Spectatorial Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd On the Edge of Paradise David Newsome (Murray £17. 50) It' es r there Nt as a hbook suitable to be noticed in the patges ot( the...

Olivia Manning 1915-1980 Francis King Like a rabid animal, a life has a way of turning back on itself to bite its own tail. It Was on the Isle of Wight that the sister and...

Cinema High voltage Peter Ackroyd Fame ('AA' selected cinemas) Fame, like fame itself, is an arc light that burns as well as brightens, a vivid spectacle that is best seen...

Arts Hockney: at a crossroads John McEwen David Hockney, Travels with Pen, Pencil and Ink (Tate Gallery till 25 August) is a small retrospective of some of the artist's most...

Television Memorable man Richard Ingrams A great many people I imagine were, like me, saddened by the death of Peter Sellers last week. I myself had been brought up on his...

Kenneth Tynan Ronald Duncan I am fortunate in writing about him. I would not have got off as lightly had the boot been on the other foot. Mutual animosity joins people as...

Low life Jamboree Jeffrey Bernard For a while in there I didn't know whether I was in a Chinese theatre or restaurant, but what I did know was that, after a break of ten...

Postscript Sources Patrick Marnham One thing to be said in favour of conspiracy theories is that they do infuriate the pundits. Surely nothing is more irritating to a man who...