The Xtra Diary - Illtyd Harrington gets letter from Prince Philip

Published: 25 June, 2010

SAY what you will about the views of Prince Charles on conservation but they seem to run in the family.

Our colleague Illtyd Harrington, literary editor, received a letter the other day from the prince’s father, Prince Philip with whom he has been exchanging corres­pondence since the 1970s.

“Thank you very much for writing on my birthday,” wrote Prince Philip.

“It seems to come round a bit quicker every year.

“It’s strange that so many people cannot see the connection between the problems of this world and its constantly growing human population.”

Illtyd tells me that in his days of leadership in the Greater London Council in the 1970s he had several discussions with Prince Philip about the rainforests, population growth and the ruthless exploitation of raw materials.

Once Prince Philip encouraged him to save a Jacobean house in west London and supported his committee that planted 100,000 trees in Buckinghamshire.

“Prince Philip was very supportive and spent a few days encouraging local people,” Illtyd tells Diary.

Both of them had served in the forces in Malta – Prince Philip as a naval commander and Illtyd as a conscript in the Royal Air Force.

Once, at a dinner at Buckingham Palace in the mid-1970s, a remark by Illtyd made headlines.

Discussing the problems of inner-cities Illtyd clashed with the chief constable of Manchester, pointing out that where he lived lies outside the city while the only two people at the table who lived in the inner-city were himself, a council tenant, and His Royal Highness who lived in a royal palace.

Diary understands that Prince Philip smiled broadly at this.

Globe-trotting Murad’s up for the World Cup

BLOATED expectations, dashed dreams and penalty shoot-outs… in addition to these World Cup certainties comes another – GLA member Murad Qureshi.

Never one to knowingly miss a big sporting fixture (or be trumped by big-screen in the park killjoy Boris), Murad will be jetting off to South Africa next week (we should stress, using his own money) for a taste of the action.

Not so long ago, Diary brought you his dispatches from Beijing, where the die-hard Manchester Utd fan and MCC member was strictly on “unofficial business” at the Olympics.

And it would be no surprise if our top source from the home of English cricket, joined the Barmy Army in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh for next year’s Cricket World Cup.

The big-ticket globetrotter has never been to South Africa before and has bagged tickets to the Argentina quarter final (potentially against England).

He said: “I’m only going out when it gets serious.

I’m a big fan of the knockout format and will be there from the quarter finals onwards.

I’ve heard there are tickets available, so hopefully I’ll be able to get one for the final as well.

I’ll see what the scene is when I get there.

Maybe I’ll be able to have some meetings as well.

The first thing I’ll be doing is asking Boris what he learnt and feeding back what I saw.”

Victoria’s Centre Court

YOU may not have noticed with the blanket World Cup coverage, but the time of year for strawberries and cream, Murray meltdowns and questions over where Sue Barker gets her age-defying moisturiser is also upon us.

If you can’t get to SW19 or feel uncomfortable in the surroundings of the Tonbridge Wells Conservative Party fete atmosphere, daily screenings of the action are showing in Cardinal Place, Victoria, to recreate the Centre Court mania.

Deckchairs are provided and if, for whatever reason, you might want to bring a vuvuzela nobody will clap you in irons.

Screenings run
until July 4.
For more information visit www.greatbritishsummer10.com

Volunteers beating the weeds

HAS weeding ever been so much fun?

A SWAT team of gardeners tackled some of the more unruly green foreign agents taking over the flowerbeds on the Mozart estate.

The garden makeover came courtesy of CityWest Homes, the Harrow Road Gardening Club, Continental Landscapes and Linbrooks.

CityWest Homes’ chief executive Mark Hoyland said, “For some people it’s not always possible to maintain their gardens as much as they would like.

“And when they become overgrown, tackling them can be quite daunting.

“So this project by the local estate team shows that with some hard work and great contacts, we can help our residents enjoy their gardens with their neighbours, family and friends.”