Asked on television how little people could believe and still justly call themselves Christians the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Michael Ramsey, replied, "They must believe in...

Some new stability and some new form of mutual understanding between the Atlantic Powers is now very necessary. In spite of their once vehement support for Britain's membership...

There are few more beautiful artifacts than a sleek racing yacht. I chanced to see on television the launching of the Prime Minister's third Morning Cloud, and the open delight...

From the grass roots Patrick Cosgrave There are three facts highly consequential to any analysis of the significance for the future Of the local election results. The first is...

A. L. Rowse We can now be certain who the Dark Lady, Shakespeare's mistress, was — Emilia Bassano, the musical and proud Italian girl, the discarded mistress of Lord...

Bending with the Remover Thomas W. Gadd A number of changes have come about in the Catholic Church over the last decade or so. The general idea has been to make certain...

Have you cares, and would be quit 'em? Yearn ye for security? Heat your pallid cheeks with claret In Jack Barrel's company. But out with ninnies that deny, And shrivelled men...

'Incompetence and incivility' Yvonne Brock After the publication of my article on the National Trust last November, in which I revealed hold Viscount Head, the chairman of the...

Death of a poet Martin Short On their raid into Beirut last week the Israelis stopped to fire ten or twelve shots into the mouth and jaw of one of their victims. This was more...

PEOPLE ARE WONDERING why Mr Anthony Barber, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, voted for capital punishment the other day. Ah, but haven't they heard that he used to be a director...

Why Watergate? Al Capp The Watergate case (no longer lightly referred to as a "caper") provides new revelations every day, not only of the squalid behaviour of the convicted...

Calling all oleophobes Oliver Stewart Many people regret that almost all cruising yachts and cruiser-racers now incorporate completely self-sufficient power propulsion...

I would not have thought it possible to be moved almost to tears by a biography of Kingsley Martin, but such was the condition to which C. H. Rolph's account* of the man who...

colonies Auberon Waugh Saint Jack, Paul Theroux (Bodley Head £2.25) 'he Chip-Chip Gatherers Shiva Naipaul (Deutsch £2.95) Two first-class novels in a single week, both falling...

John . Keegan Alex: The Life of Field-Marshal Earl Al e xander of Tunis Nigel Nicolson (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 0.95) Nigel Nicolson, who proposes on page 173 of this subtle...

Christopher Sykes The Macaroni Parson Gerald Howson (Hutchinson 0.00) All readers of Boswell's life of Johnson will have some acquaintance with the subject of this excellent...

and art Roger Scruton The Aesthetics of Freud Jack J. Spector (Allen Lane £3.95) As the founder of psychoanalysis Freud has hsd a great influence on the appreciation and...

1848: The Romantic and Democratic Revolutions in Europe Jean Sigmann (Allen & Unwin £5.50) The Great Revolutions Series has some interesting, even distinguished volumes. This...

B ookbuyer Booksellers' Conferences — those annual seaside attempts to sort out the trade's problems — have always carried an air of cloud-cuckooland. Publishers are censured,...

Though I have never thought of myself as being among the "small earthquake in Chile" or " no Britons were killed" sort of newspaper readers, I have to confess that the bombing...

Nose gay Rodney Eines Just how literally relevant phallic symbolism is to Gogol's short story, 'The Nose,' and to Shostakovich's rather long opera based upon it is perhaps a...

Weather beaten Clive Gammon I am very interested in the weather, to the point of keeping a small, tckw a t ct; s ized brass-hound ro t teronybedsidetble, Slid I've had to keep...

Copy cat Evan Anthony We used to have an au pair the children called (at her own in stigation — perhaps she needed some identity) 'Harriet the hippie.' She laid claim to this...

Waspe Sir Alec Guinness, I hear, is immensely displeased by the Ang4oItalian film. Hitler, the Last Ten Days, in which he plays the Filhrer and to which he devoted more even...

Vintage Chabrol Mark Le Fanu Claude Chabrol is a prolific enough filmmaker at the best of times. The release in London over the last year of four of his films should have...

Benny Green It has been most enjoyable watching Mr Frank Kermode giving us a show on the theme of what he considers good for those of us literate enough to enjoy Mr Kermode...

Nicholas Davenport Fashion in the investment world changes almost as quickly as it does in the King's Road, Chelsea. At the beginning of the year every broker had a long face...

The Government is to be congratulated on maintaining the float , of the pound in the face of Euro pean pressure, even if their motives for doing so are unclear, and may well be...

A quick spin with Dunlop John Bull By early next month I expect that Easter eggs should have been fully digested and the stockmarket will have shaken off any post-holiday...

Promising Perkins Nephew Wilde's A very relaxing pastime that I have recently discovered is attending. antique auctions. In a way prices are quite a good barometer to the...

Anthony W. Clare Psychology, declares the title of Hans Eysenck's latest book, is about people. It is indeed and a cursory glance at the contents of his book reveals a wide...

Break with tradition John Rowan Wilson We live so the cliche goes, in a world of rising expectations. This 'is a way of saying that the common man everywhere feels he has a...

Sir. The first of the local elections are now over and the Jeremiahs are comPlaining as could have been foretold. If they really believe in democracy they should look to their...

Sir, Even if, according to Nicholas Davenport (April 14), the "irrepressible " Charles Stahl can claim the two-tier Old market instituted in March 1968 as " his brain child " —...

Sir, I do not support all the contentions made by David Holbrook (April 7). Nevertheless I consider it deplorable that your journal should allow him to be insulted by publishing...

definitive critique of Last Tango is that by Pamela Vandyke (April 7). Eric T. Speer Northern Counties Club, Bishop Street, Londonderry, Northern Ireland

Sir, On my return from a three months' stay in Africa, I read Mr Jack Eiannon's article, In Amin's Footsteps, in your issue of March 31. It puzzles me that anyone could see such...

Sir, I must rise to the defence of Her Majesty's Government's spelling in the White Paper of one of The two words cited in ' A Spectator's Notebook' (March 24). Combatting must...

Sir, On March 17 your readers enjoyed the benefit of Skinflint's opinion of the Bovis fee system. Our opinion of it must already be known to them. More important than both are...

II it's any consolation to devotees of this column, Saturday was as disastrous for my private pocket as my public one, and it was just as well the car received a large drink of...

Sir, We all know that Picasso was a joker as well as a genius but surely it would be carrying a joke too far to. work for several years in close collaboration with Braque — an...

Sir, The case of Professor MacDougall who cured his multiple sclerosis after twenty years, with a gluten-free diet excluding refined carbohydrates, has given hope to thousands...

the tremendous harm caused by excess sugar consumption to the health of the community. Professor John Yudkin's book Sweet, White, and Deadly should be compulsory reading...

Sir, No doubt your offices have already been bombarded by telephone calls and letters from members of the Hohenstocknitz, Brimblecombe and such clans. May 1 as someone bearing...

Sir, I cannot enter into the controversy over the relative merits of BBC versus ITV since I do not own a television set. I do however find much advertising distasteful and...

nothing to watch while one has to buy a licence to watch BBC TV. Your correspondent! Audrey Wheeler even refers to the BBC existing on "a compulsory levy on all owners of TV...

Sir, The education of Mike, in Douglas Curtis's article (April 7), has not imparted much logic. If you condemn materialism in society, neither have contributed nor propose to...

Sir, As a school counsellor involved in recommending minority group students (admittedly Mexican-American, not Black) for university admission here in the United States, I feel...