Nick Clegg has failed to shine as Lib Dem leader, and it is the Tories who benefit. All eyes are now on the race for Gwyneth's old seat

His rough language should be an asset at closing time. Even so, the world of haute cuisine may be surprised to learn that Britain's most acclaimed chef is planning to become a publican.

I bet him anything that, before the night was out, he would say I was his girlfriend

Sir: There are many reasons why the funeral train carrying Churchill's body left from Waterloo (letter, 4 February). The station stands very close to the Thames, which was an integral part of the funeral day. The locomotive hauling the train, a Battle of Britain pacific, bore the name Winston Churchill, and this was operated by the Southern region of British Railways, which included Waterloo. The fact that there is a line from there giving access to Oxfordshire via Reading was surely a factor.

Sir: Churchill's funeral did not end with "a homely chuffer pulling out of Paddington" ("Churchill the hero", 29 January), even though Paddington is the natural station for travel to Bladon, where Churchill is buried. The cortege crossed the river from St Paul's to Waterloo and travelled the long way, via Richmond and Ascot, joining the western line at Reading. Why was this? The likely sounding legend is that Churchill had decided upon Paddington if de Gaulle predeceased him, but if he predeceased de Gaulle the funeral train was to leave from Waterloo.

Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, the architect who designed the Eden Project in Cornwall and the Eurostar terminal at Waterloo, was yesterday appointed the 25th president of the Royal Academy of Arts.

Tomorrow, the French President will be entertained at Windsor Castle in the Waterloo Chamber, diplomatically re-labelled the Music Room for the day. But what is the legacy of the historic battle? By John Lichfield

Ambitious plans for a dual rail link between London and the Continent have been abandoned in a controversial decision to close Waterloo International station to be announced today.

To prejudiced Parisians, Lille will always remain a dreary, rainy city somewhere near the Belgian border. Brits know better. With the coming of the Eurostar, and the resurgence of France's northern capital in the past two decades, a brand-new, 1,000-year-old continental city has materialised on Britain's doorstep.

Simon Calder The Man Who Pays His Way

PONTYPRIDD consolidated their position at the top of the Welsh/Scottish League Premier Division and underlined their excellent form with an emphatic 44-10 victory over Glasgow Caledonians at Sardis Road yesterday.

Sir: Bill Bryson's vision of corporate hypocrisy ("No service today, for your convenience", 15 November) may well be alive and well at Waterloo, which used to be a station but is now a shopping mall.