TS-HE SPEGIAFOR The Spectator. 56 Doughty Street, London WCIN 2LL Telephone: 0 171-405 1706: Telex 27124: Fax 0(171-242 0603 RENDERING UNTO BLAIR One of thc traditional signs...

POLI TICS A post-optimistic peace protest in Ulster but the alternatives would be worse B RUCE ANDERSON On Monday. Gcrrv Adams is going to trv his hand at street theatre. He...

Second opinion I SHiU(J 9I hte alLhovc aIll things to add to the sumn Ot ofmankind's ainxictics ahout its hlattl. especlilily in thcsc dark times wkhcn nothing seems saft to...

CITY AND SUBURBAN A slight case of over-stimulation it's all in the air of Hong Kong CHRISTOPHER FILDES I should like to make clear, in response to repeated inquiries, that...

German measles IT MAKES a change to come home and find the Spiegel asking: 'What is the matter with German industry?' Apparently the banks are. They lend to it and own large...

The test for Camelot CAMELOT is the company that was given the contract to manage the National Lottery, and got it going on time, without hitches and with a distribution system...

What happened last time THANKS to Camelot. we can all splash out on celebrating the millennium, with predictably bizarre results. My Law of the Banking Cycle provides that...

[ Sir: It is (arnton Tclcvision s most imprcs- s sive aichicvcnicnt that the very mention of its namc. during a television conference in Edinburgh, induced one of the last...

LE TTERS Sharpe practice Sir: Carlton Tclcvision's chairman, Mr NMichael Green (Letters. I June). does not care at all for James Dclingpole's review of Shaipe (Tclcvision. 18...

Sir: I ani amiazcd at the breathtaking arro- gance of the reasons advanced by Mr Michael Green ftr his protest at a critical rcvicw hy Mr Delinngpolc of Carlton's film Shaqw7'....

Institutional cynicism Sir: James Hanson's piece 'The age of cynicism' (18 May) confirmed oncc again that our corporate and political leaders arc victims of a wilful blindness...

Prague's seamy side Sir: Paul Johnson says Prague is now 'a thriving citadel of free enterprise with no fuss or vulgarity' (And another thing. 25 May). Did he not visit...

Pun corner Sir: With regard to puns and to the Castro cartoon, of which you write (Leading article, I June), is my memory of 50 years ago correct? Was it not Nancy Astor MP who...

Independently correct Sir: Stephen Glover is right to praise Andrew Marr for his 'back to basics' attempt to recreate the Independent as it was in the beginning - when it was...

Variety show Sir: As it appears that devotees both of Mozart and Beethoven read The Spectator (Letters, 25 May and I June), may I use your columns to protest at the...

Woof Sir: 'It's a dog's law' (25 May) is a disgrace! What a vile way to take David Hockney in vain - you will lose all pet-related ads. Boo! Caroline Graham New Yorker, 5900...

F UR THE R M O R E Some words of advice about Germany from beyond the grave PETRONELLA WYATT W here is the Eyre Crowe to tell us what to do about Germany'? You might well...

B O OKS True lies, false confessions Philip Hensher 1, FELLINI by Charlotte Chandler Bloonzsbuiy, £C20, pp. 419 Tlinc Italian film dircetor Federico Fellini *sas alwayss...

Her family and other animals Teresa Waugh FAMILY LIFE: BIRTH, DEATH AND THE WHOLE DAMN THING by Elisabeth Luard Bantam, £16.99, pp. 310 E lisabeth Luard's new book-, Family,...

His life seen steadily and seen whole William Buchan THE LIFE OF MATTHEW ARNOLD by Nicholas Murray Hodder, £20, pp. 399 It is time bor a new approach to Matthew Arnold. and...

The Sound of silence Michael Carlson THE SILENCE by Charles Maclean Viking, £16, pp. 308 The Silence is a striking psychological thriller set on Long Island's 'Gold Coast',...

Both polished and natural Alexander Chancellor GENTILITY RECALLED edited by Digby Anderson The Social Affairs Unit, Morley House, 314-322 Regent Street, London WIR SAB, tel....

We are relations one of another Rosalind Miles IN THE BLOOD: GODS, GENES AND DESTINY by Steve Jones HarperCollins, £C20, pp. 240 Protessor Steve Jones of University College...

Land, quite often, of my fathers Andro Linklater WHO OWNS SCOTLAND by Andy Wightman Canongate, £25, pp. 237 Property is theft. It is best to start with the certainty of...

Opera Salome (English National Opera) Cosi fan tutte (Glyndebourne) Pelleas et Melisande (Het Muziekthcater, Amsterdam) Where's the eroticism? Rupert Christiansen One...

Cinema Up Close and Personal ( P1G, sclcctcdf cinlcrnas) Now and Then (PG. sclccted cincmais) Lighten up, Mark Mark Steyn MN rs Thatcher isnt ticlonlly Oec who gcts...

Radio The good old days Michael Vestey S itting in a traffic jam on the M6 at Birmninsgliarn last week. I took to wondering where everyone was going. I knew where I was...

Not motoring Railway glamour Gavin Stamp S trange, forward-looking gremlins attackcd the final sentcnce in my last piece and converted the ancient cathedral city of Ehoracum...

The turf Derby drama Robin Oakley W hichever horse does triumph in the Derby this year. it would probably be appropriate to have the winner led in by a pair of nurses and a...

Low life Hospital shuffle Jeffrey Bernard I only had time for a gernm-free intake of breath before, at my GP's insistence, I was taken back to the Middlesex Hospital in an...

SPECTATOR SPORT Intellectual football Simon Barnes AS a footballer, he makes me think of the nude statue of David. But then I think about that all the time. Not my words, but...