A bonfire of Wilsonism Sir: Mr Skeffington-Lodge's letters to you
offer us, your bewildered readers, a positive blast of sweetness and light. Each week we are able to feast our eyes on another ever- fresh defence of Harold, Jim, Barbara, Roy and the hundred-plus others who constitute our Very Able Government. We feel, indeed, that had he not to devote so much time to helping the VAG, he might valuably be em- ployed in writing their speeches — perhaps even in forestalling their errors which he now so eloquently and extensively defends. (And he is Right About Swansea, too!) He accuses, you, sir, of inconsistency: a failing of which none of us can accuse him. For single-minded (pray ensure that this does not appear as 'simple-minded') support of the VAG, he surely stands supreme. Never mind his hero's economic and social muta- bilities; Mr Skeffington-Lodge will always be found in step, ready to defend him, gener- ously offering comfort and encouragement from an apparently bottomless pit of loyalty. (And, of course, being Right About Swansea!)
Perhaps the time has come—the more so as he has now decided to take out a sub- scription—for you to start a trendy pull-out supplement to accommodate with the space and impressiveness they deserve Mr Skeffing- ton-Lodge's future letters? This would at once satisfy two long-felt needs of your other readers. First, it would allow him room to deal with some of the Very Able
Government's actions he has not yet got round to—such as overseas debt, the allaire Biafra, the rapid breeding of semi-official bodies designed to interfere with corporate and private freedoms, and so on. Second, it would give all of us the chance to discard the other dull parts of the SPECTATOR, and to concentrate on a proper exposition of the VAG'S sterling (though devalued sterling) qualities.
So come on, sir! Mark the new decade with your first Skeffington-Lodge Supple. ment! Let 5 Powis Grove, Brighton not only be Right About Swansea but also gloriously, ecstatically, and vastly Left About Abso- lutely Everything Else! Then in his own splendid words will the SPECTATOR be even more 'good fun to read'.
William F. Pickard 172a Bramcote Lane, Wollaton, Nottingham
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