9 DECEMBER 1972, Page 29

Plus ca change

Sir: I am surprised that no one seems to have noticed the precise conjunction of events now and those so often in the past, particularly in the reign of Richard Then (as usual) a rebellious Ireland, an inflexible King (though now we call him Prime Minister), unrest among the workers (the peasants actually revolted), rising prices, restless barons (now they abstain from the back benches as before they abstained from the king's company), and finally of course the ever-present diplomatic menace presented by France.

We all know what happened last. time of course. Plus ca change — I'm terribly sorry, sir, it's those old Norman phrases even in these Plantagenet times.

Gerald B. Page High View, 51 Glebelands Road, Prestwich, Manchester