The Observer from London, Greater London, England • 16

16 THE- OBSERVER, SUNDAY 20 NOVEMBER 1977 Buffered traveller -a- this does not apply to ently, publicly dependent officers such as librarians. May one I was sorry to see the Librarian of Dacorum College (Letters last week) perpetuating the myth that Public Lending Right would be useless' to lower-paid that the best corn- suggest serve jobs in pie who have promise is to re libraries for ped For the benefit of readers written 8 St Andrew's Hill London EC4V 5JA. 01-236 0202 books rather than learned how' to cata- who might be taken in by this mereW line, perhaps you will-let one logue lower-paid writer state that anything at all 'on the statute R. Moss, Librarian, Teesside Polytechnic; Phantom children Middlesbrough. book, 'including the present PLR scheme, would be -welcomed as a useful starting point by the great majority of writers.

If the estimated 200,000 library borrowers who read Your article last Sunday, on the defensive reaction of motorway caterers to any suggestion that their services might be inadequate, sprang to my mind when passing through Terminal Three at Heathrow last week. At the buffet I was charged 57p for a hamburger with onions in an unbuffered roll. I then asked for a cup of tea, but was I must join another queue for that: My. attention was disinterestedly drawn to the following notice: 'Only coffee or Cola are hot The same counter had cakes and doughnuts, but it was unclear whether or not other drinks could be purchased with cold snacks. This far from explicit to an Englishman, must be incomprehensible to the many foreigners whose first and last impressions are gained at this international gateway to our.

country. The notice was in ho other language. Later that day, in the; Charles de Gaulle Airport at Paris, I' sat at a counter for refreshments served by a girl who seemed interested that I should enjoy what I ate. It was not but it was good and wholesome, and I went on my way satisfied. Why should there have been such a contrast? Perhaps in other countries the serving of food is better regarded as a worthwhile and job when done properly.

To achieve this it may be that those employed in catering, at whatever level, should receive some training. Too often, in our country, this does not seem to be the case, and poor value is accepted uncomplainingly when the ordeal is transitory. Brian Cox -Midhurst, Sussex. Chateau Plonk cept as living wage' involved making, provision for 16 million phantom children. No one ever questioned her reasoning, but it seems we are still trying to do just that Moyra King North Berwick, East Lothian.

Off centre Following Professor Walz's blast at astrology (Letters last week), may I note that astrology began 2,000 years ago when the Earth was The widely observed convention that 'restaurateurs offer tie sealed bottle of wine for inspection and open it at the ta ile is a necessary pro-tection for the consumer, who in paying quite a high price for a dinner wine, perhaps 4 fo- a bottle, does, not expect.to be seryedcheap and indigestible 'plonk' dis-guiseq as the wine of his choice by having been poureil into an empty bottle Crack Wfllows in winter cuttings would replace missing trees: See below. The greening pt tnat vintage i To the Editor of The Observer SIR, They, all do it the BBC (' Nationwide 0, Money Which Mrs Thatcher in a recent broadcast, and, of course, the leaders of the power workers' and firemen's unions. When they want to illustrate how inflated prices have hit the man in the street, they choose as their criterion an average family consisting of husband bread- winner), dependent wife and two dependent children who, Peter Pan-like, never grow, up. How average is-this average family According to the 1971 census, there are more families with three wage-earners than with three dependants. Does it make tense to suggest overall wage increases to meet the very real difficulties.

of the family, man? 'Surely it would more logical to restore arid even increase the inconie-tax allowance for children and' give much more substantial Child Benefit. I Eleanor Rathbone pointed ine reluctance or oiners out to risk a scene by Your. Colour article-. (30, October) on the making any sort of complaint in public, and doubt of their my last book nad paid me humble penny for (I hope) the pleasure, I would have received enough reward for months' work: Under the present system' of exploitation by the public libraries, I received only 200. Librarians as a whole, unfortunately, are reluctant to acknowledge our rights in this matter, proposing instead to fob us off with some charitable-handout; I do believe -that, your averagie librarian is beginning to think- that authors exist solely in order to: provide him with a nice safe job plus the.

bonus of a pension at the end of it. Sir, what is a pension Colin Cooper N8. Mr Parfitt, a librarian, criticising Katharife Whitehorn, and arguing against PLR, says that librarians buy (his italics) books fusing ratepayers' money in quantities so large that some books would never be published at all if library purchases didn't It used to be said that it was wrong for rich men to argue that their purchases gave, employment to. others! Appar- wine disappearance our trees own judgment ot tne must surely explain why 'in rightly stressed tne serious believed to be. the centre of the Universe, an assumption that it still embodies.

Astrology takes no account of the fact that the planets are now known to vary in, distance from the Earth as they orbit the Sun, nor of the fact1 that the astrological signs' no longer line up with the relevant constellations because of a wobble of the Earth's axis termed precession. If celestial objects really affected life on Earth, these effects would be important. Colin Wilson, an occultist but not an astronomer, failed to mention these facts in his Colour Magazine article on astrology'. Ian Ridpath Ilf ord, Essex. The Editor reserves the right 4n tit fottorc anrt mnlrn extracts five years, we' had a National Tree-planting Holiday When every able bodied' man, woman and child planted cuttings or seeds.

Parish councils, guided by TV- instruction, and could.be responsible for the organisation. A. D. Glover Westonzoyland, Somerset. No sweat I was interested in Christopher Brasher's article (Breath of Air, 6 November), about the surgeon who finds the bicycle is the answer to getting around London, but is bothered by the' problem of sweating.

How come he never mentions' motor-cycling This solves the traffic problem with a far greater saving of- dine than is possible on a push-bike and without sweating. I daresay it costs a rather greater -expehditure of energy fuel, but at 120 miles per gallon for my 75 cc vehicle it is not such 'a great amount. Another advantage is that in our wet climate cycling can be unpleasant, whereas on' a motor-bike you can wear protective clothing which keep's you absolutely dry. If you tried to cycle with all that gear on, the -sweat would be prodigious. As to exercise, I have been able to use some of the time saved -by running through Regent's Park for half an hour each morning and have never felt fitter in my life.

I should add that I am now 60 and started this regime two years ago. Before then I had never three I different restaurants ree'enffly in Northamptonshire and Kent I have lobserved the waiter proprietor continue bringing bottle ready opened from the kitchen to other tables even' after my insisting, on the prbper procedure with my own o'-der. I wonder- whether some energetic salesman of cheap bulk wine has i been increasing bis commission by reminding less scrupulous of this ancient trick Albion F. Watkinson Lydd, Kent ness of the situatip'n. if we really caredhoweyer, the country's arboreal beauty could be restored more quickly than is-y generally supposed, by using cuttings.

Branches of several species such as poplar' and willow, 12 or 15 feet, long, 'rapidly large trees if planted' three or four feet deep. Staking against wind etwist can be a vee' split at the Cuttings: of this-size are rarely 'damaged by animals so cost is minimal. Imagine the result if, for always realised that Jordan itself constitutes' 78 per cent of what was mandated Palestine and that Israel and, the West Bank constitute' only 22 per cent and that 80 per cent of the population of Jordan is Palestinian. Jordan is the Palestinian homeland. However, even possession of Jordan and the West Bank would npt satisfy Palestinian'.

Arab irredentism. lt has been frequently admitted that the desire tor a minirState is only the first stage towards occupying the remaining 17.5 per' cent of Palestine (i.e., Israel), most recently in London by' Farouk Kaddoumi, the PLO 'foreign affairs Interviewed on Radio 4's The World 23 September he replied, when asked whether by a homeland he meant the West Bank and Gaza, 'No, the homeland is not West Bank and Gaza because West Bank and Gaza have their own Palestinians there. It is in the territor-ies called Let me conclude by quoting an authoritative admission about the Palestinian homeland' propaganda lie by Zuhair Mohsin. a member of Ridgeway traffic I was very sorry to see the emotional and misleading letter on the Ridgeway last week. The Ridgeway is not 'now in In fact, when the definitive maps have been ratified and is classified as' a Byway open to all traffic' there will be no real change in its status.

The. Ridgeway is a very ancient road, at present largely classed as a RUPP (Road used as a public path), which means it is open to all vehicular traffic now. This has not meant the introduc-, tion of a metalled surface so far why should it do so in tlie future At the rime of the passing of the 1949 National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act the, Ridgeway was cited by the Government as one of the best examples of a RUPP. In 1976 a four-day public inquiry was held in Oxfordshire into the county coun-' cil's desire to close its section of the Ridgeway to vehicular out 50 years ago in Tne Dis- inherited Family' that to from mem, unless readers for the nation's, specify that their correspond- million real children by ence must be published in full means of such a shadowy con-, or not at all. either run or driven a motor bike.

Wl. Jack Fitzgerald Poltergeist in Enf ield As the investigator charge of the Enfield polter the PLO executive committee traffic. Atter this, the inspec tor concluded in his report head of ts Military De geist case, I was pleased to see it reported (6 Noveinher) in an objective and straight- that' it should remain open rorwara manner, but I would like to correct some Doints of It is not true that, the' epi centre has moved or has appeared to move from one girl to the other. What I did say was that we could not be to all traffic. He said that -it-is especially suitable for those' who are trail-riders? and that continued use by cars and motor cycles 'will not affect the.

road's existing The numbers involved in this form of recreation are so small that their impact cannot be great. Mrs J. Louise Beesley Nottingham. Israel and partment There are no differences between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. are one people.

Only for political reasons do We carefully'uhderline our Palestinian' identity. The. existence of a. separate Palestinian identity is there only for tactical reasons. The establishment of a Palestinian State is a new expedient to continue the fight against Zionism and for.

Arab (James quoting Mohsin in the Dutch daily, Troitw: 31 March 1977.) London. Richard' Rennie sure tnat janet was the only epicentre involved. Further more, i not say, and 1 auote. At first I thoueht- it a rate to won might be a family looking for a new cquncu. truth is that in this case I was convinced on the first day of the my arrival 'on' the scene tht this was a Genuine case, as it CND had-all the classic hallmarks quiz of poltergeist activity.

row article also states that some significance is attached by the investigators to the'- fact thafthere have see you been traces of -maladjustment in the and then goes Colin Legum's fascinating article 'Begin the lighting Jew (last week) appears to accept that the AWest Bank is the central issue Arab-Israel conflict. The the problem, though, is, as it has. Sahvays'-been, the Arab opposition to Israel's, existence (thus; as a concession to the Arabs, the recent US-Soviet declaration on the Middle East avoided any. reference to peace However, because' this to on to mention that tne son-is I am working-on a book 'On the British Disarmament Movement, a section of which is concerned with the: subsequent activities of CND and Committee 'of 100 supporters. I would be'very interested to hear from activists from' -the 19581965 period who' would be willing to complete a questionnaire.

R. K. S. Taylor St Andrew's Avenue, Leeds 27. Wine winner in a remeaiai scnoou i -Der-t sonally attach ao; significance wnatsoever to tms tact so1 tar as the manifestation of the phenomena is concerned.

miMi as to tne allusion to myself being'a I think it is only falr' to both myself and' the society I represent tir Israel's existences was not acceptable to the civilised- We were disappointed to see West, the propaganda lie that point out tnat aitnougn i am mat our wine, Erdelega .1976, a cpmparatiyely new the Palestinians are. a people Was' 'not included, by Derek I have ''been actively' involved in need of land was invented Cooper (Up -Front, Colour Magazine last week) as one of L3 the. studyof paransvcho-- and after Israel logy- for neary 40' years. the the six winners of -the 1977 Gore- Browne Trophy Competition. To N10.

Maurice Grosse Six Day War: Jf a homeland in fact, heeded, why was the' West Bank not "turned into- one before 1967 when it. was occupied by Jordan It is hot complete ins. us our nrst vintage: of Erdelega was judged fifth and is. priced at 24 per John and Anne Blackman Essex. uiteitest Don't mock McGondgdll I read with interest: Spike Advertisement Maofowave Milligaii's feature on William McGonagall, "The world's worst poet' (Colour Magazine, .6 November): There have been' many bad poets, who are either long-forgotten IIU or never recognised in the first It is very easy to Loomn (facts) mock McGonagall, but at least he is remembered.

The microwave cooker is a truly revolutionary product If McGonaeall was such a AmotintborrowsdV which is now available to the U.K. housewife. In many countries bad poet, why does Mr Milli-( equal monthly -3equalm6nthly-amouotS amount each month AWO It is firmly established as a major housenoia appliance ana is even more popular than the deep freeze. gan bother to mock ui course, one can criticise-his versification, but he was the only one around at the time who wrote about trivia Simply to operate fine tune 33.83 33.83 3383 1730 :1730 1730 1730. 1730 1730 of this part of the country which are now so interesting, He may have been no actor.

but while his so-called. bet 15.00 12.00 11.00 9.00 8.00 700 6.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 3.78 Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .8 9 10 11 14 ters made fun of him, he was timer 'Pushbutton defrostsimmer facility Large, easily cleaned stainless steel oven cavity. Comprehensive cookbook and recipes Sharp microwave cookers are built to the latest British Safety Standard, carry a full guarantee with an extended ablo to quote Shakespeare. while they couldn't- utter a -123 fsb syllable of it. McGonagall means far more than the article by Spike would sug gest, from its rather deroga TOTAL tory tone.

He was a simple 107.78 7.78 10350 30 L49 PAID INTBRBST man with noble aspirations, 'Mm my i riwir -J guarantee on the magnetron and ate backed by nation wide service. eccentric maybe, but Honest. EFKI BCTIVE 13.7H 92 16.0 ANNUAL RATE If his existence has given Spike Milligari something to write about, and increasedhis wealth a little by doing so, Fast Cooking In approximately a quarter of the time taken by a conventional oven jacket potatoes cooked to perfection in Ies than 10 minutes -31b chicken defrosted, cooked and ready to carve in less than an hour -beefburger only 2 minutes. FcwtthFlavour-Because thefastcopkingfitneretains the original shape, flavour and nutrient value of the food. Smaller Fuel BUI No preheating is required, and because it only uses a small amount of electricity for snorter cooking times, a microwave oven can save up to 75 of the fuel used when cooking the same Hems in a conventional oven.

Thawing A microwave cooker brings real convenience to the Housewife by reducing thawing time to Just minutes insteadothours. Sharp one of the largest manufacturers of microwave cookers in the world, present the R6460E with the extra features you -should look for: then I feel McGonagall is If no allowance were made for the worth more than mockery. James Hall Thomson Dundee. free credit period, which can vary from mum Answers to most questions are to be found ina new book wave The Cooking' Revolution" written by Jenny Webb a well-known Home Economist. This is available at the special price of 1.90 Ind saving of 60p) only trom Sharp.

Our rate of interest is to be reduced from 1.75 a month to 1.50 amontL The new rate willbe reflected in interest charges shown on cardholder statements dated 21st November 1977and until farther notice. Clause 5 of the current Conditions of Use is varied accordingly. Yon decide how much you pay. For example, if you used your Barclaycard to buy a.100 tumble dryer and made your first payment one month later your repayments could look like this: 25 to 56 days, the annual percentage rate would bel9.Sbut,m very unlfeely to at this rate. The result of this reduction makes us svenmore competitive with other similar forms of credit.

For further information, call at any branch of Barclays, or in Scotland, any branch of the Bank of Scotland. Or write to Barclaycard, Department f.Noithairipton NN1 1SG. Cheques and P.O.'s(wIth your name and address) should be made payable tot B.C.M.B. Ltd and sent to Microwave Advisory Bureaa Automatic turntable which slowly rotates the food for more even heating ShsraBectroiios(UK)Ucl MODEL 121. Easily iitted-steel bolt locks open or shut.

Prevents liftingoff track. One of the great Copydex HouseGuard range from Hardware and DIY stores, Cojiydex', Torquay St, London, W2. 107HulnMHaULana MancheaterMlO 8HL. Powerful 600 watt output.