... Mitzi oi the Golden Spark Freds* Bruce Lockhnrt MORE than half the filmgoing population would feel cheated by a film programme which lasted less than three hours or offered fewer than two feature films for the price of one. Normal double-feature bills provoke my mingled nausea and resentment: nausea such as would be caused by roly-poly after beefsteak pudding, or Scotch bun and wedding- cake; ...

... with i. Bickerstaffe THE year that has just left us is doomed to a big black mark all round on the wine lists of to-morrow. Champagnes especially, but burgundies and clarets, too, have been treated unkindly by the weather of 1951. Although, as some cynical shippers point out, in about three years' time there will be no lack of vintners who will discover that all the time they had a little ...

... f^riscilla in raris Immortals whose names no one ever remembers I HAVE often been asked whether it is difficult to write about Christmas in July, which is the time when Christmas annuals are planned. The answer is No. Thoughts of snow, holly and mistletoe during the dog days conjure up nothing but alluring visions. It is in mid-Decem ber that one finds it more difficult to enthuse, when one ...

... BRIGGS. by Graham ...

... D!ARV OFA LADY OF LIMITED LEISURE AWAKE this morning to dagger of sunlight piercing through gap between curtains, and forgotten pandemonium of birds screaming enthusiasm for spring, the while wolfing up new buds on the wallflowers. Having dispatched the family to its destinations, I decide that this is no day to remain even metaphorically hunched over a sink, and plan expedition in search of ...

... Sabretache Pictures in The Fire) scfiwmS'' N THE somewhat ferocious attack upon the family doctor, commonly called the G.P., is nothing new, for the same thing happened shortly before World War I., and it may be recalled by those with reten tive memories, that it was suggested that the patient's eiderdown, or goosedown, should be plentifully besprinkled with drawing-pins to cure young doctors ...

... A GUIDE TO LONDON'S CLUBS TO CLUB SECRETARIES: This complimentary service is designed for the convenience of readers who may not always be in town. Club notices will be inserted regularly, provided that they do not exceed three lines and that copy is received by the Editor fourteen days before publication Allied Circle 46 Green Street Park Lane W.l; Phone: MAY 5446; Chairman: Mr. Douglas I ...

... SOME PORTRAITS IN PRINT Beino the lucubrations ol your most obedient scribe, Mr. Gordon Beckles IF anything be certain in this New Year of ours (which it is not) at least the end of 1951 should leave us better informed on the wisdom and folly of fairs. Down in the Waterloo Bridge Road, only a stroll from the Festivalof Britain site, they are giving us a taste of what fairs meant to London in ...

... G Kl'Ut'V hftflillll ft FANTASY and fairy-lale are die film indus try's fumbling concessions to the Christmas spirit; followed of course by pantomime. Connections with Christmas may be vague enough, but the convention does make for that nice change synonymous with a holiday. Nobody is likely to question the suitability of Disney's Cinderella (Prince of Wales); especially when coupled with Seal ...

... Motoring: Oliver Stewart IT is said-- and I confess that my own experience of making calls in the City of London bears this out-- that when the car is parked, the best place to leave it is under a No Waiting sign. It is argued that this is so for two reasons: first, that there will probably be room there, and, second, that the police are less likely to object. For similar reasons, it is ...

... When the Pathaiis Came E. V. Ano.v THE difficulty of presenting a scene of carnage in the idiom of a modern novel is immense; and I should have thought that the emotions of fear and pity were more easily evoked if the whole tragedy were seen through the eyes of a single participator, or, if through the eyes of more, that their accounts should be taken separately. No writer can bring the Indian ...

... GJb TuxL i 7 ic 1 The F ol-de-llols (St. Martini) THE FOL-DE-ROLS, a concert party well known at Scarborough and Hastings, come to town with a pleasant little revue. Pleasant is a mild critical epithet, but sophisticated readers will not, I hope, read into it a wish to damn with faint praise. The daisy is not a lesser orchid: it has a pleasantness of its own. The sketches and lyrics ...