Birthdays

Mr Basil Bean, former Chief Executive, National House-building Council, 68; Dr Hans Bethe, physicist, 93; Mr Kenneth Clarke MP, former government minister, 59; Lady Crawshay, former Chairman, Local Government Boundary Commission, Wales, 72; Mr Nicholas Elam, ambassador to Luxembourg, 60; Mr Alan Goulty, ambassador to the Sudan, 52; Miss Jerry Hall, model, 43; Mr Ian Irvine, former chairman, Reed Elsevier, 63; Lord Mackay of Clashfern, former Lord Chancellor, 72; Mr Ferdinand Mount, Editor, Times Literary Supplement, 60; Lord Owen, former MP, 61; Lord Sieff of Brimpton, honorary president, Marks and Spencer, 86; Lord Simpson of Dunkeld, managing director, General Electric Co, 57; Mrs Ann Taylor MP, President of the Council and Leader of the House, 52; Mrs Elspeth Thomas, chairman, British Red Cross, 62; Mr John Timpson, broadcaster, 71; Mr Jon Trickett MP, 49.

Gazette: Anniversaries

Births: Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1489. Deaths: Ernest Miller Hemingway, novelist, committed suicide 1961. Today is the Feast Day of St Monegundis, St Otto of Bamberg and Saints Processus and Martinian.

Dinners

Westminster Hall

A banquet was held yesterday evening at Westminster Hall, London SW1, to mark the 900th anniversary of the building of the hall. The Duke of Gloucester, the Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine of Lairg, with Lady Irvine, and the Speaker, Miss Betty Boothroyd, were the principal guests. Sir Patrick Cormack MP, Chairman, All Party Arts and Heritage Group, presided and Lord Renton QC, President, also spoke.

Synagogue services

Details of synagogue services to be held tomorrow may be obtained by telephoning the following. Sabbath begins in London at 9.07pm.

United Synagogues: 0181-343 8989. Federation of Synagogues: 0181-202 2263. Union of Liberal and Progressive Synagogues: 0171-580 1663. Reform Synagogues of Great Britain: 0181-349 4731. Spanish and Portuguese Jews Congregation: 0171-289 2573. New London Synagogue (Masorti): 0171-328 1026.