Somewhere in the deep, dark depths of Loch Ness, there lurks a creature. Of that we can be almost certain. But whether it looks remotely like the humped beast etched on the mind of every impressionable coach party that passes through the Loch Ness Exhibition Centre is another matter entirely.

It is nothing short of heresy, but an inspection of the runners in today's Free Handicap at Newmarket makes you ponder whether it might not be better all round if Celtic Swing does not quite live up to expectations.

Baby in lake

SEVERAL years ago the South Bank ran a festival devoted to "late works" which raised the interesting question of what, if anything, identified a late work - other than its nearness to the author's death. A sharper sense of focus? Heightened wisdom? Sometimes it seems so - and then composers like Michael Tippett fool everyone by living so long that their late works turn out not to be late after all. It follows that you have to be careful what you read into Tippett's The Rose Lake, which has just had its world premire from the LSO and Colin Davis at the Barbican. But it is almost certainly his last work, the final statement in a long and sometimes great creative life. And you'd be hard pushed not to hear in it a note of valediction.

The body of an angler was recovered from Loch Lomond last night but his companion was still missing, feared drowned.

From Mr Roger Lake, JP Sir: In the understandable furore over the sentences on the four thugs in the Parachute Regiment, has too little attention been paid to the Compensation Orders? Compensation is now regarded as a penalty in its own right, and takes precedence over fines and costs. Since the criminals are to remain in employment, the victim will actually get the £13,000 compensation ordered. Had they been imprisoned, how much would he have received from the Government through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board? Much less, I think.

rain Kirsty Gunn Faber & Faber £5.99

'A RRIGHT, cool] Yeah]' Ricki Lake is standing in front of her studio audience clutching her microphone, and today - like every day - she is grinning from ear to ear. The topic of her eponymously titled talk show is 'I'm About To Tell My Best Friend . . . Surprise] I'm In Love With You]' Sweet, homely Tara is sitting onstage beside her best friend, Chucker, a cute surfer who thinks he's been invited to the show to discuss the joys of platonic friendships between men and women.

A BIG breakthrough for the Research Association for Queer Animals. Now, don't be like that - it's a perfectly reputable organisation set up by Chinese scientists to investigate reports of a Loch Ness-type creature said to live in Lake Tianchi, the Heavenly Lake, in northern China. They say the monster has been spotted 'moving as fast as a walking man and churning up large waves'.

The trout caught by the England team in the international fly-fishing competition on the Lake of Menteith, Scotland. England's winning total weighed 123lb 8oz. Scotland were second with 108 fish.

Nigel Mansell bettered the previous track record in the first qualifying session for today's Road America 200 at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. However, he was still beaten into provisional pole position by Al Unser Jnr. Unser Jnr produced a top lap speed of 134.948mph while Mansell recorded 134.630mph.

Sir: Roger Lake's response (letter, 27 July) to my letter on abolishing the Home Secretary's right to overrule sentences in criminal matters (25 July) misunderstands my point. It is perfectly true, and proper, that in a democracy the law, including sentences in criminal matters, reflects popular sentiment. The point is that it should do so uniformly and without discrimination. The problem arises when public feelings can determine the result in any particular case, so that the fundamental principle of equality before the law is imperilled, as is plainly the case under the present arrangements.

COLOGNE - Police hunting Sammy the fugitive alligator roaming a German lake, decided yesterday to bow to public pressure and stop trying to shoot it. The three-foot long cayman has gained a fan club since it slipped its leash on Sunday and dived into the lake at an open-air bathing resort near Neuss. Reuter

This year's Benson and Hedges Fly Fishing Championship for teams, inaugurated in 1982, began in April with the first of the qualifying heats and an entry of more than 30,000 competitors. The English National final, which continues today and tomorrow at Chew Valley Lake, south of Bristol, is the last stop before the grand finale, the International final at Rutland Water in September. Six places at Rutland make up the prize at Chew Valley and the 27 competing teams include Russell Owen and Dave Grove, the world and European champions respectively.