There was the predictable noise of offence being taken on the Conservative

There was the predictable noise of offence being taken on the Conservative side of the House. A week later, on Easter Sunday, he joined Nelson Mandela, F W de Klerk and a million-strong crowd at a religious meeting in Zion City, 200 miles north of Johannesburg. If it ever came back, I'd be standing outside the prison gates with a candle, or whatever. These blue shorts are supposed to make bus drivers look smart during the steamy summer months. The city centre office faxes material to the more dangerous Snipers' Alley location on phone lines that usually still work. He may have pulled the trigger; he may have helped plan the attack; or he may have had no part in the affair.In the tense, anxious atmosphere of that part of Northern Ireland, it hardly matters. People seem to take the view that not much talent is required to make soup, though the contrary is true.'There are young apprentices in hotel and catering colleges now, he says, who don't know how to make soup.

And it was in the theatre that he achieved the unique distinction of Dido and Aeneas, the only genuine, successful English-language opera before this century. He and his fellow all-rounder Ian Botham have the same effect on the spectators even at this late stage of their careers. But in a couple of years' time you will definitely see that Ireland have enough good young players to be a force, I would expect by the World Cup.'Murphy's comparison with Davies would be more exact if he were in a position to make the demands Davies did as a precondition for becoming Wales coach. Whether MPs are swayed by logical arguments or the emotional backwash of an earlier, more homophobic era, will be a measure of their own maturity..

The contrasting misfortune of the once- infallible Thierry Lacroix, who had almost as bleak a day with the boot as in the defeat by Wales, sufficed to ensure England's victory.Lacroix finished with three penalties, missed two fairly easy ones and never got to take the conversion of Abdel Benazzi's blind-side try because the ball fell over as he ran up and he did not react smartly enough to pick it up and try a drop-shot It was that sort of day, for Lacroix and for France. Even the customers sang.' When the Weisfelds finally bowed out, the chain's 37 branches competed in a singing contest, with the winners getting a free holiday in Florida at the couple's expense.But did the Weisfelds not sometimes disagree strongly over business matters? 'We do disagree, but we respect each other,' says Vera. Once again, they are appointed by the DG, in consultation with the Secretary of State, and are funded by Ofwat. One day he is out at the Camberwell Club or Market Sports in Spitalfields perfecting customers' volleys for pounds 15 per hour, the next he is shooting a TV advert for the Daily Mail - 'yes, fifty thousand pounds could be yours]'He survived eight months in Brookside playing a 'laddish Southern jessie' and has just returned from Hawaii where he was filming an advert for a Swiss bank. DETECTIVES hunting the killer of a homosexual man in Suffolk are visiting gay 'pick-up' areas in an attempt to contact potential witnesses. Output was static and there was clear evidence of considerable spare capacity. But simply being there seemed the limit of their aspirations.

He talks of the LSE providing a focus for information about London, particularly to an international audience It certainly could. I am happy to be featured until I receive the distinct impression that the plan is to illustrate the article with a photograph of me with a big teddy bear or a bunch of flowers on my desk.For some reason there is a popular belief that a man in a 'woman's' job is likely to be effeminate: everyone asks when I am going to wear a skirt.Perhaps I should add a sort of military suffix to my title, and become, say, Secretary-General, like Boutros Boutros-Ghali.Monday 9.15am. IN JULY 1983 Greg Hutchings struck out from his job at from Hanson Trust, borrowed pounds 1m and bought F H Tomkins, an industrial fasteners company valued at pounds 5m, writes Terence Wilkinson. LAWYERS were yesterday told that their offer to volunteer for a pay freeze had been accepted by the Government, but that they would get nothing in return. England have not reached 50 for the first wicket since the first innings at Headingley in July and Fletcher picked out the poor starts as a key factor in the team's inadequate batting.The two main reasons for this have been the freezing out of Atherton and the unexpectedly poor form of Graham Gooch, who Fletcher said 'was never fit from the first two weeks of the tour'.Paul Jarvis, Chris Lewis and probably Phil Tufnell will take three bowling places but the other two are wide open, although Phillip DeFreitas's chances of playing are only marginally ahead of the physio and occasional net bowler, Dave Roberts. With electronic aid, the quality of rowing on Olympias has visibly and audibly made great strides in the four seasons of trials, and this has been reflected in the significant increase in the speeds which can be achieved and maintained under oar; soon it will be possible to throw the speakers overboard.

Peugeot and Toyota traded blows and places and the likelihood is they will continue to do so until 4pm this afternoon. THE CARTOONIST Gary Larson has made at least two memorable contributions to the scientific debate about the extinction of the dinosaurs. But first the director has to be introduced to the show.The song marks the end of Act 1. But I am troubled by exactly how the 'news' that she and her boyfriend Geoff Knights were cavorting in their car travelled from the police to the Sun Neither was charged. If they feel that a client is becoming too dependent they should turn to a senior counsellor for support and an objective opinion. The Faure and Poulenc were bronzy, cool, beautifully clear and continuous: the mysterious, wide- flung, Prokofiev-style octave episode in Faure's Theme and Variations Op 73 was bewitching.