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PORTRAIT OF THE WEEK
The SpectatorEuro-fission song contest T he Soviet government was condemned in the West for keeping information about the Chernobyl nuclear power station disas- ter to itself, when it had...
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KOCH AND BUTE
The SpectatorTHE English do not take kindly to black- Tall; English Heritage â the Historic Buildings & Monuments Commission â Should resist it as well. Mr Fred Koch has let it be known...
Sir Anthony Meyer
The SpectatorWE are sorry that Hugh Montgomery- Massingberd, in his cover article last week, said that Sir Anthony Meyer was retiring from Parliament at the next election. This is not the case.
THE SPECTATOR
The SpectatorWHEN THE DUST SETTLES A n old Soviet joke has a Russian asking the fictional Radio Yerevan: 'How many years must an American work before he can afford a car?' After a very long...
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POLITICS
The SpectatorMr Hurd and the Praetorian Guard Syndrome FERDINAND MOU NT F rom the start, Hurd shares were clear- ly a speculation, a bit of a punt. I was advised to get into them by a City...
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DIARY
The SpectatorA fter their initial silence and then their grudging admission of disaster at Cher- nobyl, the Russians have finally become more communicative. Spokesmen have appeared on...
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ANOTHER VOICE
The SpectatorTime for a Secret Society against all special interest groups AUBERON WAU GH One must admit that homosexual activ- ists do seem to invite misrepresentation of this sort. A...
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HOW CRICKET CAN BE SAVED
The SpectatorWilliam Deedes celebrates the survival of the game, but warns that new measures will be needed to ensure its preservation THERE is an agreeable tale told about the fourth Lord...
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CHERNOBYL REACTIONS
The SpectatorChristopher Hitchens finds the American press hot on the trail of atomic dangers in the West Washington AT TIMES of crisis and drama, Americans tend to turn to ABC's Nightline...
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LEAKING THE NUCLEAR NEWS
The SpectatorBohdan Nahaylo on how the Soviet press hinted at the risks of nuclear power THE Chernobyl disaster has revealed that although Soviet leaders may change, the system over which...
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A SUDDEN EVACUEE
The SpectatorSamuel Phipps, caught in Minsk when Chernobyl exploded, describes his experience Minsk 'YOU'LL be national heroes when you get back to England,' said one of our Russian...
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NO MORE PLACE FOR JOKING
The SpectatorEdward Theberton finds that Ethiopia under Marxist rule is like a prison Addis Ababa AS a student I had an Ethiopian contem- porary whose personal achievements by far...
One hundred years ago
The SpectatorOn Tuesday the Queen opened the Exhibition of all Colonial and Indian products at the Albert Hall. One strophe of 'God save the Queen' was sung in Sanscrit as the representative...
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BACH AND WAR IN EL SALVADOR
The SpectatorAmbrose Evans-Pritchard on the ability of civilised Salvadorans to remain oblivious to a cruel civil war San Salvador 'WE ARE about to listen to Bach's third Brandenberg...
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WAITING FOR THE BOMBS
The SpectatorDhiren Bhagat discovers that the Riviera no longer belongs to the British Cannes AT THE Colombe d'Or in St Paul-de- Vence my copy of Patrick Howarth's book caught the head...
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HOW MONETARISM WENT WRONG
The SpectatorRobin Marris defends Keynes against the champions of tight money THIS is an article about pure economics. On seeing that, She who shares my break- fasts will turn straight to...
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WEE TIMOROUS SALMON BILL
The SpectatorCharles Clover, who fishes for salmon but is not very rich, attacks a law which will not save his sport SALMON fishing, like foxhunting, brings out all the most primaeval...
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THE OBSERVER PAYS DANEGELD
The SpectatorThe press: Paul Johnson on a scandalous case of union censorship THE worst aspect of the tyranny exercised by the print unions on Old Fleet Street was their power to dictate...
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FORSYTE
The SpectatorThe perils which beset a private investor before the Big Bang JOHN HOWARTH In the first four months of 1986 the London market has moved ahead 20 per cent â most of it in the...
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Talleyrand's nonsense
The SpectatorSir: I disagree with Jennifer Paterson's recipe for Cockaleekie, the Scottish national dish (Food, 26 April). The boiling fowl should not be cut up and browned in butter as she...
Unperson
The SpectatorSir: I feel a bit like Trotsky. Although I was at Eton, Mr Montgomery- Massingberd (`Top and bottom of the Tory class', 3 May) has adjusted history and eliminated me from both...
LETTERS Tumanov defects
The SpectatorSir: Mr Lev Loseff (Letters, 12 April) does not mention the finding of Radio Liberty's Broadcast Analysis Division, that his broadcast was 'anti-semitic and the most Offensive...
Austrian resistance
The SpectatorSir: I have just read Paul Johnson's article about Austria (The press, 19 April). He lays stress on the high percentage of Nazis there: that is certainly a fair point, though...
Burns and rape
The SpectatorSir: I anticipate that the article in your Scottish Special Issue 'Drink and worship When we choose' by Richard West (26 April) will produce various complaints about its...
Penelope Betjeman
The SpectatorSir: Perhaps Gavin Stamp (19 April) would like to know that Penelope Betjeman was in fact meticulous about her appearance. She would often don a riding jacket and tie when the...
THE SPECTATOR
The SpectatorSUBSCRIBE TODAY! Please enter a subscription to The Spectator I enclose my cheque for f (Equivalent SUS & Eurocheques accepted) RATES: 12 Months 6 Months UK/Eire 0 £41.00 0...
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BOOKS
The SpectatorA t rare intervals, a historical work appears that is more than history. Hitler made the 20th century, perhaps in indirect reaction to Lenin, but at any rate in a catastrophic...
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Ten positions only, give or take a foot or an
The Spectatorelbow David Sexton A CONCISE HISTORY OF THE SEX MANUAL 1886-1986 by Alan Rusbridger Faber, £10.95, W hen Alan Rusbridger was a school- boy he was alarmed to read, in a book...
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Some excellent lesser-known Russians
The SpectatorJohn Jolliffe BAD COMPANY AND OTHER STORIES Translated and chosen by Antony Lambton Quartet, £10.95 T he greatest of pleasures for a reviewer is to have an opportunity to...
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Scoring a director's hits
The SpectatorPeter Eyre SUBSEQUENT PERFORMANCES by Jonathan Miller Faber, £15 R eading this enthralling book has been for me a pleasurable recherche du temps perdu, and the reader must...
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Baffled by blondes
The SpectatorByron Rogers BARDOT, DENEUVE AND FONDA by Roger Vadim Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £10.95 T here is something very sad about this book. Its subtitle (and in the 1960s sub- titles...
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Laxfield
The SpectatorPure winter and a barking dog Stands on the candied roadway is The only red brown patch in dawn's Powder blue and spider grey Until it stops and goes away Hard coal burns...
The clash of empires
The SpectatorBrian Martin AN INSULAR POSSESSION by Timothy Mo Chatto, £9.95 A first glance, it might appear that this novel has been structured by a booty- hunter on the American market:...
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Refusing to play the white man
The SpectatorMark Amory BWANA STOKESI AND HIS AFRICAN CONQUESTS by Nicholas Harman Jonathan Cape, £12.95 I n 1886, when the 14 important countries of the world, all white, decided at the...
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Laker's name outlives the man
The SpectatorJ.L. Carr CAPE SUMMER AND THE AUSTRALIANS IN ENGLAND by Alan Ross Constable, 00.95 T his is a republished account of the Australians' 1956 English cricket tour and of M.C.C's...
STUDENTS ARE TWICE AS LIKELY TO ENJOY THE SPECTATOR AT LESS THAN HALF PRICE* More stimulating than any lecture, funnier than the set books, The Spectator should be required...
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ARTS
The SpectatorS ometimes one would follow a record to the ends of the earth. What collector does not know that sudden fixation on a particu- lar disc which must be lying somewhere in a ⢠s...
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Bryan Ferry
The SpectatorRecording technology has improved consider- ably in the past few years, especially in the field of electronic/electric music, with an ever- increasing use of new digital...
Stanley Sadie
The SpectatorTo anyone who once found a thrill in cautiously lowering an arm onto a fragile, revolving black surface, and marvelling at the attenuated evoca- tions of musical experience that...
Rodney Mines
The SpectatorMy initial enthusiasm has not waned. The interference-free sound continues to delight and so does the way that favourite old recordings come up as if freshly minted in the new...
Peter Katin
The SpectatorI am of course very impressed with what is clearly a great achievement â gone are the crackles and pops of the LP, and gone (in a digital recording) is the tape hiss. CDs are...
Compact discs
The SpectatorPoints of view Richard Baker I derive enormous pleasure from my compact disc player, in particular it is good for chamber music and solo instruments. However, I do find the...
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Musick
The SpectatorAddison's admonitions Peter Phillips A s everyone must know, the first manifestation of a journal entitled The Spectator commenced publication on 1 March 1711 (NS). It...
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Opera Aida; The Midsummer Marriage (Opera North, Wiesbaden)
The SpectatorA lot of it about Rodney Mdnes hatever one may think about 0 . pera, it is one of the few growth industries In this country along with institutionalised violence and...
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Anti-opera
The SpectatorA certain bias Noel Malcolm A friend of mine met a retired major at his club, who asked what the score was in the Test Match. 'I've no idea,' replied mY, friend. 'Are you not...
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Cinema
The SpectatorIn the shadows Peter Ackroyd L ong, long ago, in the early Twenties, Caravaggio was described by Roger Fry as 'the first Hollywood painter', or words to that effect â no...
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Exhibitions
The SpectatorAlbert Wainwright (Michael Parkin till 30 May) Francis Le Marchant (Sally Hunter & Patrick Seale till 23 May) . _ Town and Country II (Christopher Wood till 18 May) Et in...
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High life
The SpectatorFighting fit Taki was on my way to Somerset last week, and Princess Nicholas von Preussen's dance, but I changed my mind at the last minute and remained glued to my typewri-...
Television
The SpectatorStar qualities Alexander Chancellor W hen the bombing started, I leapt out of bed and went onto the balcony in time to see the first after-burners of the jets. Then I went...
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Low life
The SpectatorIron rations Jeffrey Bernard S he who would iron 14 shirts at one standing has been described by her daugh- ter as being too compliant. I think this means obedient and it just...
Home life
The SpectatorRinging tones Alice Thomas Ellis lfie was in his sister Marion's house t he other day when the telephone raug.; Ooh,' she cried, jumping a foot in the and dropping a plate....
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Imperative cooking: British fats
The Spectatorn..)01 ,....*JoRtLe serifk.â),ft WHAT to do when persons speak up for 'British food'? It is best to do nothing. The problems only start when they threaten to serve it, then...
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D avid Levy, one of the world's fore- most chess computer
The Spectatorexperts, tells me that a unique chess match will take place on 17 and 18 June in London. One of the players, Dr Jana Miles, is an International Woman Grandmaster and the...
COMPETITION I n Competition No. 1419 you were in- vited to
The Spectatorsupply a poem such as A. E. Housman might have written had his favourite scene been not Shropshire, but modern suburbia or the inner cities. Toxteth and Tottenham, Brixton and...
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CROSSWORD 757: For Doc by Ascot
The SpectatorA first prize of £20 and two further prizes of £10 (or a copy of Chambers Dictionary, value £12.95 -- ring the words 'Chambers Dictionary above) will be awarded for the first...
No. 1422: Mini-story
The SpectatorYou are invited to write a story (maximum 175 words) beginning, 'The parrot swore . . .' and ending, 'It would have been all right if only it had been raining.' Entries to...
Solution to 754: Booked
The SpectatorPartly clued radial lights and un- clued outer encircling lights are characters in the works of Edward George Bulwer-Lytton (referred to at centre), the latter being also the...