Diary

Imagine the horror on the faces of the stewardesses and passengers on the SAS flight from Heathrow to Oslo on 25 July to discover that they had not one but two Premier League football clubs on board - and only one had been upgraded to Club class.

It was, as one passenger described, 'an endurance test'. No sooner had Arsenal (seated in Economy) spotted south London rivals Wimbledon, who include the newly-wed Vinny Jones, seated in Club, than the banter began. Taunts and chants made their way back and forth in boisterous fashion for the duration of the two-hour flight. Creditably, however, there were no food fights, aka Animal House, although so far as I am aware, none of the Wimbledon boys was so generous as to proffer Arsenal some of their free champagne.

The irony of the situation was not lost on the Arsenal bunch, neatly attired in blue blazers, red ties and grey flannels when they realised that the Wimbledon

brigade, donned in shell-suits, had been upgraded to the better seats only because they had arrived earlier. 'It was a complete coincidence,' says a spokeswoman for Arsenal manager George Graham, 'we did not know they'd be there. But there were no bad feelings. It was all in good fun.'

No appointment could be more suitable than that of the new editor of Perspectives, the architectural magazine funded, initially, by the Prince of Wales's charity, the Prince's Institute of Architecture, than Dr Giles Worsely, 33. For in addition to Worsley's strong academic record - Oxford, the Courtauld Institute and Country Life - he is the prince's cousin. (For all thumbers of Debretts, his aunt is the Duchess of Kent). Fortunately the debonair Worsley is so refreshingly unconcerned about his familial connections, as to actually appear ignorant of them. 'Am I?' he asked when I mentioned his royal connection, 'it must be very distant.'

Stunning the world of pop music is one of the credits on Bryan Ferry's new album, Mamouna. It is Brian Eno. The two famously split up in 1973 after Eno, who had something of a penchant for adorning himself in pink boas,

diagreed with Ferry, then lead singer with Roxy Music, about the band's direction. Eno went on to collaborate with David Bowie and produce albums for Talking Heads and U2 while Ferry pursued a solo career. For 20 years, I'm told, they did not speak - until in true Walt Disney style they met by chance two years ago on a Caribbean island. 'They just bumped into each other and found they got on quite well. They got chatting,' explains Ferry's spokesman. Appropriately, the title of the song they have made together is Wild Cat Days.

Guaranteed to rouse the Olympian gods was a motion tabled at the Professional Association of Teachers' conference in Cheltenham the other day. It read: 'This conference believes that mens sana in corpore sano - Juvenal's dictum about a healthy mind in a healthy body - should in 1994 read men's and women's sana in corpore sano. 'It was tabled by members of the independent sector,' explains general secretary John Andrews. 'I would hope they knew what the original phrase meant . . . but I'm not quite sure.' Thankfully the motion was withdrawn.

The talk at Tuesday night's concert at South Africa House, in Trafalgar Square, where Lesley Rae Dowling, arguably South Africa's most famous singer, made her British debut, was of the bizarre reception tactics at the door.

Before guests were let through, they were subjected to a grilling from a woman flanked by two burly security guards.

'What is your nationality?' she barked each time - not always grasping the answer straight away. SA House explains the policy as an insurance against having (rather ironically) too many South Africans . . . apparently the government would refuse to fund the event if there were a risk of it being seen as in-house. . .

(Photograph omitted)