Diary

ONE ARM WRESTLES WITH T'OTHER

The bizarre tussle over the staging of the world championship chess game between Nigel Short and Garry Kasparov may soon reach a conclusion: Florencio Campomanes, the president of Federation Internationale des Echecs (Fide) was in Spain last night negotiating with Kasparov in an attempt to get both players back in the fold and ready to play the championship in September in Manchester. Meanwhile, strange tales emerge about one of the dark knights in this game - Mark McCormack's sports promotion organisation, International Management Group. IMG was very chummy with Manchester until a couple of weeks ago: it has been working for some time with the City Council and the airport on Manchester's initiatives to get major sporting and cultural events there. And so IMG was, naturally, closely involved with the Mancunian bid for the chess game. Thus it was with some surprise that Manchester heard, just on Fide's deadline, that IMG and Channel 4 had not only bid against Manchester, but outbid its pounds 1,169,585 offer by pounds 36,000. The Manchester organisers were reportedly furious. They had been working with IMG for a month on the bid and felt that the group was their partner. IMG knew how the Manchester bid was constructed and how much it would be. In the event, Fide disqualified the C4/IMG bid because it had no bank guarantee attached. Channel 4 said yesterday: 'We were aware that IMG had been in contact with Manchester, and aware that they had no contract with Manchester'. Yesterday IMG refused to comment on any of this - but it is understood that it was IMG's broadcasting arm, TWI, a part of the business unrelated to those who were working with Manchester, that dealt with Channel 4, that neither side was aware of the other's involvement and therefore TWI possessed none of the relevant information.

HOW TO GREET an old colleague rejoining a paper after several years' absence: Paul Foot to David Seymour, as the new political supremo at the Daily Mirror, erstwhile colleague and lapsed union member, strides, full of good cheer, into Foot's office, 'You are a scab.'

RED NOSE, NO JOB

As the BBC turns, it is alleged, an unfriendly eye on the broadcasting unions, here's a story of the last days of Thames TV, from Tony Lennon, president of Bectu. A union activist due to appear before an appraisal panel selecting staff for redundancy heard that one of the things that could keep you in a job was having a sense of humour. So he nipped down to wardrobe, found a clown's costume complete with red nose, put it on, and went and demanded: 'Is this funny enough for you?' The answer was no.

ALAN CLARK won't be facing any charges over the arms-to- Iraq affair, but he has, magnanimously, agreed to give evidence to the Scott inquiry on the subject. This should be seen in context. Only eight weeks ago the former defence minister said in an interview: 'The moment you announce an inquiry, the thing's dead. Who gives a toss about the findings? They are not yesterday's fish and chips, but last February's fish and chips]'

SPICE OF LIFE

Ebullience is a word not normally associated with Hull, but at least the city has a wacky Director of Public Health. In his latest monthly newsletter Dr James Dunlop gives a shocking account of a new drug epidemic ripping through our inner cities: nutmeg. 'Two teaspoons of the grated spice are sufficient for a mind-altering experience,' he writes. But before you dash to the spice rack, be warned. Nutmeg abuse, he says, can induce palpitations and 'feelings of impending doom'. Dr Dunlop also tells of a man who consumed so much beer and chicken on holiday that he developed breasts, a condition technically known as: 'Eat, drink and be Mary'.

POOR old Classic FM. It just couldn't get those foreign musical names right when it launched - ('Carmina by Burana') - and now it's trying too hard. It announced the death of the inventor of oral polio vaccine, Albert Sabin, with full French pronunciation. Sabin was born in Poland, but he went to the United States in 1920 and his name is universally pronounced Albert (as in 'square') Say-bin.

A DAY LIKE THIS

5 March 1974 Cecil King writes in his diary after the first general election of that year had produced a hung parliament: 'Yesterday all attempts by Heath to do a deal with the Liberals broke down, so he resigned and Wilson reigns in his stead. It seems that Thorpe and Grimond were offered Cabinet posts but the party was only offered a Speaker's Conference on proportional representation. This satisfied no one - how could it? Wilson, as seen on television, has deteriorated sadly since 1964. The City is pleased and prices are up - as is the pound. It is presumably a relief that we now have a government, even if only a Labour one. If I were a Tory MP I couldn't wait to replace Ted as leader. An election may come at any time and to confront Wilson with Ted again would surely not be the way to win.'