THIS ENGLAND STILL

by MONITOR
DESPITE frequent changes of proprietor and editor and declining circulation, there is one thing that never changes at the weekly left-wing magazine New Statesman and Nation - its long-standing feature This England to which readers are invited to submit press items which get to the heart of what really makes England tick. This week the magazine is likely to have been swamped with the same submission - the report of the plea made to the Torquay magistrates by the Countess of Arran that her butler, one Gary Lindley, should not be subject to a curfew and electronic tag imposed on him for assault. The Countess did not attend the court in person but arranged for it to be told that the curfew and tag would make it impossible for Lindley to sleep overnight at the Palladian mansion, Castle Hill, where she lives with her husband, and prepare breakfast for her. “He cooks the best breakfast every day and the best scrambled eggs,“ the Countess told reporters after the court had agreed that Lindley could remove his tag and continue to spend his nights at Castle Hill but must wear it at other times. Mr Lindley, a former servant at Buckingham Palace, was given a fine reference by the Countess: “He has worked for us for ten years. He is the most wonderful butler and these things can happen to anyone. We will support him through thick and thin.” What a very “This England” story.