own babies, then I can imagine few more pressing matters on the agenda of any government than to establish the truth and act on it. Please, somebody listen. ************ I don??t mind James Bond plugging beer or watches. What I do object to, in Skyfall, is the creepy message, delivered by Judi Dench, that we need spooks to protect us from unknown dangers. Actually, now the Cold War is over, SIS is almost completely pointless and its main job seems to be doing Saudi Arabia??s dirty work in the Middle East. ************ My parents watched the Coronation of  our present Queen from a window in Admiralty Arch. It was a great privilege given to them because they had both seen hard service in the Second World War, my father on the Russian convoys and my mother in the Wrens in  Blitz-stricken Liverpool. So I have always liked the Arch??s solid Edwardian ugliness, whispering the last enchantments of the lost years before 1914. As I passed beneath it, it made me think of the Navy, that confident, competent yet good-humoured institution that kept us safe, happy and prosperous for so many centuries. Not any more. The fact that it is now to be leased out as a hotel reminds me that the grandeur and splendour of London is a shell, concealing emptiness and decline. Share this article: Comments You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post. As a GP I have found that antidepressants can