Little England 
Patrick Wright
- Great British Bus Journeys: Travels through Unfamous Places by David McKie
In 2000 the Royal Institute of British Architects hosted a public meeting at which various contenders for the new office of London mayor were invited to argue their case for election. If the event remains memorable, it’s thanks largely to the Conservative candidate, Lord Archer, who betrayed no inkling of the perjury charges that would soon ditch his campaign and carry him off to jail. Instead, the irrepressible huckster proposed to take advantage of London’s recently introduced system of ‘red routes’ by establishing a new super-fast bus service tailored to the needs of his busy friends in the City. He envisioned a fleet of sleek new vehicles, equipped with modem-ports and work stations, which would enable the nation’s champions to sail back and forth without being fouled by the lesser movements of their fellow citizens.
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Patrick Wright’s Iron Curtain: From Stage to Cold War, will be published in October by Oxford. The sequel, which will appear next year, is concerned with Rex Warner, Barbara Castle, Stanley Spencer, Clement Attlee, A.J. Ayer and the other British delegates who visited China in 1954, the fifth anniversary of the proclamation of the People’s Republic.
Other articles by this contributor:
Cubist Slugs · The Art of Camouflage
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