The late Frank Zappa was attacked on stage by a deranged fan before he escaped to the

The late Frank Zappa was attacked on stage by a deranged fan before he escaped to the Isle of Wight festival in 1970. The Rainbow Theatre, one of London's most historic venues, has been sold to a mysterious Brazilian religious organisation for pounds 2.35m. The Rainbow, previously known as the Astoria, in Finsbury Park, north London, also used to be a cinema before it closed in 1981, but was best known as one of Britain's greatest pop music venues. It played host to The Beatles, David Bowie, Nat King Cole and The Clash, and was the venue where Rod Stewart kicked footballs into the crowd. It already owns North East Water and the BMI chain of British private hospitals.n Lyonnaise des Eaux also has a big holding in General Cable, one of the top five cable companies in Britain.n The transport subsidiary of Compagnie General des Eaux is tipped to take a large stake in South West Trains.n Onyx, a refuse collection service also owned by Compagnie General des Eaux, won a contract with Brent council in London in 1992.. It was therefore unthinkable that Dover should be privatised.Meanwhile in the town's pubs there was much talk of Winston Churchill, little talk of La Manche, and plenty of talk of Le Stink.The French are coming...n The French water company Lyonnaise des Eaux wants to buy Northumbrian Water. Mark Watts, MEP for Kent East, said Labour was united in its opposition to the proposal.

Rotterdam, Antwerp and Zeebrugge all remained committed to public ownership, he said. And I can understand why they would want to buy Dover to safeguard their own business."Mr Hood said Calais depended on tourism for 70 per cent of its income. "They live off the strength of their port."Back in the high street, the Labour team was working hard. As a politician all I can say is that I have known the mayor of Calais, Monsieur Jean Bartre for 20 years. After fielding inquiries from the local press, he found himself in demand from BBC South East and ITN, and then the French media in the prestigious form of Le Monde .Did he comment on Le Stink? "No.

The Queen Mother, in her capacity as Warden of the Cinque Ports, has been contacted. "You will know," wrote George Hood, the mayor, in his letter to Clarence House, "of the long and illustrious history of the port of Dover both in defence of the realm and in providing passage to the continent".He said yesterday: "We are hoping for a positive response from Her Majesty because as you know she is the Lord Warden and Admiral of the Cinque Ports and Constable of Dover Castle."It was a busy day for Mr Hood. Before there was time to mention King John in Dover kneeling before Pandulf to surrender England to Pope Innocent III, a Labour messenger arrived with startling news: "Dame Vera's on board, isn't that wonderful!"Dame Vera Lynn, whose solo battle charge had John Major running scared over his D-Day party plans, may now be the crucial combatant in the dark days of the privatisation battle.Dover's mayor and the speaker of the ancient Cinque Ports (of which Dover is one) has already resorted to heavy artillery in his opening volleys. If any opposition had been around, they could have said in their own leaflet: "Labour can't spell Napoleon."However, there is little opposition to those who want Dover to retain the trust status it has enjoyed since 1606."Hitler couldn't destroy it," said another Labour leaflet headline. Before the Sun newspaper had time to rewrite its famous "Hop off, you Frogs" headline, two Labour MPs were gathering petition signatures in the town centre and handing out leaflets."Napolean (sic) couldn't capture it," pronounced a Labour leaflet. Growing expectation that Calais is the most likely buyer has united the Kent town against the sell-off.Calais was last under English rule between 1347 and 1558, and its loss caused Mary Tudor to pledge that the word Calais would be found carved upon her heart.Yesterday, passions were running high again.

Now the port of Dover faces being bought up by Calais, its Channel counterpart, creating a conflict which may well become known as Le Stink. That a corner of England might turn French overnight is due to the Government's imminent privatisation plans, which could mean the port of Dover will be put on the open market. It is a moment for which the people of Calais have waited more than 400 years, since their port was last under English rule. The applicant [for divorce] will be required to file a neutral statement that they believe their marriage has broken down."He said the intention was that more marriages could be saved by the process, which encourages mediation, rather than encouraging both sides to appoint solicitors who would often turn the process into a confrontation."I do not believe a marriage is necessarily irretrievable, just because one of the parties has asked for divorce."In marriages where communication has been difficult between the couple, such a step may be a means of getting the marriage on the agenda, to make the other partner take the problems seriously."This is one of the main reasons underlying my wish to change the current divorce system, in particular, how the divorce starts.". "The law, no matter how cleverly and carefully drafted, cannot force couples to live together.

It cannot make people love and cherish each other, nor make them help, understand, respect and be tolerant of each other while they are husband and wife."Even if divorce were to be outlawed altogether, marriages would still break down and some partners would simply walk away."How much worse to leave the future arrangements for finance, property and especially for children unresolved, and for the new relationships into which those who walk away would be apt to enter."I am only too aware of the research in this area that indicates the damage to children caused by family conflict."He told his audience, which included Catholic MPs from both parties: "The new system will not involve allegations of fault, which can cause the couple to come into conflict at the outset. "In five years there will be 12 million people on the net in Britain", he says. "That's the size of the fax market now; and people will be doing everything they do with faxes - like sending junk mail to clog up your inbox.". Lord Mackay, the Lord Chancellor, yesterday defended his proposed Divorce Reform Bill against those who have said it would weaken the institution of marriage.