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By the way, Liddle is right on a couple of things. The Guardian is ‘our best written morning newspaper’ and the style guide is ‘sensible and written with a cheering amount of wit and chutzpah’. So, in the main, is The Spectator.
J.E. Fisher
Hertfordshire
Sir: Rod Liddle in his otherwise excellent piece appears to have made the same mistake as Napoleon and Adolf Hitler. He asks, ‘In what possible sense is Poland central?’
You could try the geographical one, Rod. Europe ends at the Urals, about 60˚E, and the western extremity of Portugal doesn’t quite make it to 10˚W, a total span of 70˚ longitude. The central longitude is therefore 25˚E. All of Poland is west of that, and Minsk is at 28˚E.
That sounds pretty central to me.
Both the above invaders neglected to note that Moscow (which they both reached) is only about halfway between Warsaw and the Urals, and after that Russia really gets going.
J.J.C. Monk
Via email
A firm line on Medjugorje
Sir: It is good that the Vatican is finally taking a firmer line against the Medjugorje cult (‘Sex, lies and apparitions’, 4 October). Too many of my fellow Catholics have been throwing their money away to support this fraud, despite the definitive ruling in 1998 by Bishop Peric of Mostar that ‘the non-supernaturality of these events has been proved’.
I have in the past attended Masses where alleged ‘messages’ have been read out, implying that they have some kind of divine status, and where the non-existent ‘Our Lady of Medjugorje’ has been invoked. If Pope Benedict can stamp out this particular cult once and for all, he will have done the Church a great service.
Alan Pavelin
Chislehurst, Kent
A place of miracles?
Sir: In your article focused on Medjugorje the overdue action by the Vatican against the known activities of Fr Vlasic is of course a defence of the Medjugorjian phenomenon rather than a ‘blow against it’. The priest in question has not been in Medjugorje for the last 20 years and was never the spiritual leader of the six visionaries.
It is well known that Fr Jozo Zovko, the parish priest, was imprisoned for his defence of them by the communists, but Fr Vlasic did not take over from him. It is also not accurate to say that Fr Vlasic made Medjugorje’s global reputation. It was Our Lady, the Virgin Mary, and the reputation of the six children following their publicised medical investigations that are responsible for its fame and the incredible good fruits that the spirit has released from it.
I know personally that as recently as 18 months ago three out of the four bishops of Bosnia Herzegovina, including the Archbishop of Sarajevo, were in favour of all that Medjugorje stands for and has produced. I go by their discernment rather than the jilted friend of Fr Vlasic.
I am sad that I have to disagree with Simon Caldwell, but the reputation of The Spectator for constructive criticism is also at stake.
Peter Hutley, MBE KSG
Bramley, Surrey
Bullets in the bottom
Sir: Peter B. Martin’s letter (Letters, 4 October) took me back to a rain-swept moor near Catterick Camp in September, 1954. National service recruits from the 65th Training Regiment, RAC, were acting as beaters for a senior officers’ shoot. During an afternoon drive, with the light already fading, a furious shout rang out across the moor: ‘You f—–ing stupid old bastard, you’ve shot me!’ In the confusion which followed, an elderly gentleman — we were told later that he was a retired, half-blind admiral — was spirited away by his fellow guns, while we recruits were bundled into a three-tonner and driven back to Menin Lines.
Later a quantity of lead pellets were extracted from the wounded man’s backside by the MO; a welcome change from treating crab lice. No disciplinary action was taken on either side and the affair was hushed up. At that time the Army High Command was sensitive about alleged abuses of serviceman being aired in the national press. This story, a change from today’s reports of suicide at Catterick, would have been catmint to the Daily Mirror.
Anthony Mott
London W4
On Charles V and the Pope
Sir: As Paul Johnson should know (And another thing, 4 October), there never was an Emperor Charles V of Spain. Karl V of Austria (technically a Duchy) was also King Carlos Primero in Hispanidad, and elected Holy Roman Emperor in the German world. Charles I and V actually did retire, to a monastery.
I have sometimes thought he inspired the abdicating Duke of Vienna in Measure for Measure, while the Viennese still ascribe some of their peculiarities to the influence of his Spanish courtiers. He claimed to speak Spanish to God, French to men, Italian to women and German to his horse.
P.G. Urben
Kenilworth, Warwickshire
Sir: Paul Johnson has modestly admitted to not having met the current Pope. But since his latest piece shows God divulging to him His plans for the universe, he can probably take that apparent snub with equanimity.
Tim Hudson (Dr)
Chichester, West Sussex
‘Market’: a dirty word?
Sir: Charles Moore (The Spectator’s Notes, 4 October) touches on an issue which has been the occasional subject of my thoughts since the Conservatives coined their slogan ‘Of course there’s such a thing as society — it’s just not the same thing as the state.’ He says, ‘Mr Cameron did not use the word “market” [in his conference speech]. He referred instead to our “free enterprise system”. One can see why. But it would be a great pity if the word “market” became a negative in political discourse…’
My impression is that the word ‘market’ is already a ‘negative’ to much of the electorate. Mr Cameron seems to share this impression. The word’s negative connotations appear to derive in large part from the common elision of two separate but related concepts: markets and capitalism. This elision seems to me reinforced by the normal division of human activity into the ‘private’, ‘public’ and ‘charitable’ sectors. But isn’t ‘charitable’ activity simply the operation of markets without the involvement of capitalism? And why do we allow the ‘private’ sector to be described as ‘private’ when it offers its services to the public? If the Tories want to convince the country that the private sector serves the public better than the public sector — with or without the direct involvement of capitalism — they might want to combat the negative associations that such categorisations and confusions generate. Running away from those associations seems to hand an unearned advantage to the Left. If the word ‘market’ were commonly understood as the free association of individuals, it might generate in the electorate the same beautiful associations Mr Moore finds in it.
Perhaps Mr Moore should encourage Policy Exchange or the Conservative party to consider ways of ‘decontaminating’ the concepts which underlie Conservative thought, as well as the brand itself. But then, he is probably doing that already. Indeed, it may be that Mr Cameron — well ahead of me — was finding a euphemism for capitalism, not markets, after all.
Richard Samuel
London W10
Pride and infamy
Sir: Your new acquisition Giles Coren (‘I’m proud to be famous for being rude’, 4 October) says he is proud to be famous for being rude. I wonder what Dot Wordsworth thinks of that. If the English language still means anything, surely the word should be infamous.
Francis Bennion
Budleigh Salterton, Devon
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