Just ahead of Part Twenty-Five of our vernal diversion, The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie, a quick thank you for all your kind words on this seventh birthday of The Mark Steyn Club, and especially about Tales for Our Time. We always like to hear what you appreciate and what you don't - and, if you've a particular favourite you think would suit this series, by all means pass it along.
Listeners' fascination with Bradshaw's Railway Guide to Great Britain and Ireland rumbles on. Mike Cliffson, a Steyn Clubber in Spain, writes:
I can't find on internet which politician (chancellor of the exchequer or PM? it was late fifties or early sixties) that the uniparty intents to control/fine-tune/influence/overtax the UK economy were "like trying to run the railways with last year's Bradshaw" and I was at a complete loss until enlightened. Voters probably understood and it doubtless resonated.
That would be no less, Mike, than Harold Macmillan, who observed, as Prime Minister, that planning the economy was like trying to catch a train with last year's Bradshaw. According to Hansard, the fifth Earl Russell quoted the line in the House of Lords as recently as 2001 - and without feeling any need to explain the reference.
So, with our trusty Bradshaw tucked under our arm, on to our date with Mrs Christie. In tonight's episode, the action moves to one of the grandest hotels in Mayfair, where the man who's really behind the Soviet revolution is in residence:
In his suite at Claridge's, Kramenin reclined on a couch and dictated to his secretary in sibilant Russian.
Presently the telephone at the secretary's elbow purred, and he took up the receiver, spoke for a minute or two, then turned to his employer."Some one below is asking for you."
"Who is it?"
"He gives the name of Mr. Julius P. Hersheimmer."
What could Julius want with the Bolshevik mastermind? Members of The Mark Steyn Club can hear Part Twenty-Five of our adventure simply by clicking here and logging-in. Earlier episodes of The Secret Adversary can be found here, and over sixty other Tales for Our Time here.
For more on The Mark Steyn Club, please see here. And, if you've a chum who enjoys classic fiction, we've introduced a special Mark Steyn Gift Membership.
See you for Part Twenty-Six of The Secret Adversary tomorrow.