It is, however, more a book to be mined for information about a particular place or a particular patron than read at a sitting. Her introductions to the three main sections, "Rome", "Venice" and "The Courts", promise real insights into the complex processes of 16th-century patronage. Thereafter a sometimes bewildering array of factual information takes over, with a merry-go-round of Clements, Leos, Cosimos, Giangaleazzos and Emanuele Filibertos. Perhaps she would have written a better book if she had limited herself to a more focused study of a handful of representative patrons. She might then have brought us closer to answering the delicate question of why powerful individuals and rich institutions spend money on art.Royal patronage on the grand scale: Charles Cameron, an architect described by Catherine the Great as 'a master who excites the imagination', arrived in St Petersburg in 1780, and negotiated the stormy Empress's whims so adroitly that his work at the lavish Tsarskoye Selo palace soon included Wedgewood medallions, British silver, a marble bridge copied from Wilton House, a pagoda modelled after one in Kew, a park landscaped by John Bush of Hackney, and so on.

The Schools Psychological Service in Launceston has mobilised half a dozen counsellors, who will be on duty at Caroline's school, Launceston College. Auxiliary members will be standing by. Mike Nicholls, county councillor for Launceston and chairman of the county's social services committee, said the programme of comfort and support could take six months."It depends on who needs counselling. So, to the fury of many locals, the much-loved old rink has gone and a new one has never materialised. Meanwhile, the site of the old rink has been sold and used for luxury housing.The Liberal Democrat leader, Paddy Ashdown, has written to Mr Major about the Observer's "deeply disturbing" report, demanding a Commons statement..

Friends of Caroline Dickinson, the 13-year-old girl from Launceston, Cornwall, who was raped and murdered in a hostel on a school trip to Brittany, go back to school today for guidance and comfort from counsellors, amid calls for tighter security on such trips. The deal struck between Richmond Council and the Beckwiths was that they could pull down the building, which was badly in need of repair, and use the plum site right by the Thames for their own development - provided they built a rink elsewhere in the borough.A clause in the contract said the new rink did not need to be built if property conditions went against the brothers In the event, that is what happened. David Clark, the shadow Defence Secretary, said: "This man should not be allowed to bid for public assets."John Beckwith is the younger of the Beckwith brothers, who made their fortune from the Eighties property boom with their stock market-quoted company, London and Edinburgh Trust.Like his brother, Peter, he was educated at Harrow School and Cambridge University. LET enjoyed one of the highest profiles of any property group, cropping up on some of the biggest deals, including the Spitalfields Market redevelopment in the City of London.The brothers both live in south-west London - John is a major benefactor of Harlequins Rugby Football Club - which, ironically is where they hit controversy with their plans for the Richmond Ice Rink, one of the area's best known landmarks. Peter trained as a solicitor, John as an accountant, before moving into big time property.