Sharing his life between Paris, where he was a renowned composer of comic operas, and London, where he was hailed as one of the greatest phenomena of the age for his ability to play three games of chess at the same time while blindfolded, Philidor wa...

However, many Protestants remain understandably sceptical. There have been at least two paramilitary murders (one admitted, the other not), scores of arson attacks, more than 100 petrol bomb incidents, a number of riots and hundreds of paramilitary b...

Sir: Your editorial ("A dunces' debate", 30 August) is correct - the possession of A-levels need not prevent one from gaining a university degree. Possessing only seven O-levels, I applied to the respectable "old" university of Kent where I gained a ...

I was glad to see John Major in his interview last Thursday return again to the principles for proceeding which were laid down in the Downing Street Declaration. His commitment to inclusive talks to find a comprehensive political settlement and to th...

The Transport Secretary, Sir George Young (distinctly leporid in appearance, down to the ears), explained it all yesterday. He showed how the combination of heavy traffic and high speeds leads eventually to "bunching" and paradoxically longer journey...

The ceasefire created new conditions. There was the sheer surprise that people experienced when they allowed themselves to believe that change for the better was possible. This minimal hope represented an immense psychic, if not political, shift and ...

A letter from Yorkshire Water to industrial users in its drought-hit areas, recommending a series of methods of reducing water consumption, has excited a great deal of comment - with good cause. The great city of Bradford has for many generations tra...

Sir: It is sad that David Aaronovitch is still propagating some tired old myths about gifted children (Magazine; "IQ", 26 August). The literature is absolutely not, as he claims, "full of case studies of gifted children who have been let down by the ...

Sir: Richard Giordano (Letters, 26 August), commenting on Sheila Johnston's review ("Does Edward Hopper really epitomise American culture?", 22 August) of the Edward Hopper exhibition in New York, draws an interesting distinction between loneliness a...

Sir: On holiday on the Isle of Skye (600 miles from home) my wife and I became friendly with a couple from Carlisle who were also on holiday. Thereafter, we exchanged a brief greeting each Christmas but knew nothing of each other's lives - until, on ...

Post offices, like banks and churches, used to be shrines to the Seriousness of Life. The main post office in any town was always a solidly built structure, with a long sweep of counters, plenty of room for filling in forms, writing telegrams or stan...

Sir: Your leading article of 14 August exhorted the world to exact "full punishment" for the slaughters of Srebenica, "one of the most hideous atrocities of the Yugoslav conflict". The opening lines of that essay, The speed at which news is reported,...

Sir: So the Rev Francis Bown feels orthodox Christians should be warned against the "Charismatic folly" of personal commitment, healing miracles, baptism in the Holy Spirit, individual salvation and the reality of a lost eternity for those outside of...

The matter was so unusual that it restored a degree of innocence to an audience very practised in the genre of the adversity documentary, an audience which broadly thought it had seen everything. Well, it hadn't seen this... and besides, the film was...

The long, hot summer is over but this is the calm bef-ore the storm, and unless we get an Indian summer it will soon be raining cats and dogs, and memories of this hot spell will be lost in the mists of time. Still, there's something about this time ...

Sir: The recent coverage of the death of Jill Phipps reminds us how regrettable the trade of animals to the Continent has become, and how much the animals suffer. But where are the brave Jill Phippses to protest against the slaughter of thousands of ...

Now Klein has withdrawn a series of advertisements for his clothes, under pressure from organisations such as the Catholic League and the American Family Association. The ads showed very young teenagers in very provocative poses and were attacked as ...

The Royal Family especially was idealised by the press: lovely granny, hard-working mummy, handsome daddy with medals on his chest, kiddies with sleeked-down hair and velvet-collared coats. Such intrusions on their privacy as took place took the form...

Sir: I noted your report on the speech made by Janet Street-Porter (26 August). As a cable subscriber, I am able to view her station, Live TV. Having done so, and viewed the content of her programmes, may I be the first to offer my life subscription ...

With its known aversion to free speech - with thousands in its jails - and the infamous treatment of unwanted girl babies, China is hardly the obvious place for a conference on women. But then trade is fast becoming the main criterion for action and ...

Sir: Adrian Bridge ("Romania set for new row with Hungary", 26 August) is right to draw attention to the provocative distribution by the Romanian government of Romanians Hunted Down in Their Own Country. The book repeats allegations, originally made ...