(In English, however.) I can only say that sailing on the Aegean where Odysseus sailed, with small waves slapping against the sides of the boat and the shapes of the same coastline and islands that he visited darkening after sunset, the Odyssey was perfect.Our nightly readings and the vivid images conjured up of a Bronze Age world, prompted one of our group (a teacher) to comment that the memories of today's young extend backwards for less than a generation: a decade would be more like it.Nonsense] I said, indignantly. They have grandparents, older relatives or teachers; they must know about the two world wars, and the Holocaust, and, well, Kennedy and No, he said, they do not. According to a recent survey only 8 per cent of teenagers have even heard of Winston Churchill, let alone know who he was or what he did. We all gasped in disbelief; and then began to ponder the implications of a generation with a 10-year memory span.They must be unfamiliar with the Bible, and thus cannot understand the ethical foundations of Christianity, nor criticise the various cheapskate, pick 'n' mix religions that beckon them. If they don't know their own nation's history, however dimly, they cannot understand Shakespeare or any other writer not strictly contemporary. Right, he said, grimly: they can't.What do they know? They know about film and video and computers, especially computer games.

They know about big news stories, especially bloody spectaculars such as the OJ Simpson case, and will argue as passionately as all of us were arguing: for example, about whether, if he is found guilty of murder, OJ should get the death penalty.They are not without opinions or a moral code. They have strongly held views on rape, on family life and parental break-ups, on single mothers, feminism, political correctness, animal rights or vegetarianism They are by no means unthinking or uncaring. But all the things they care about are directly related to their immediate experience. They cannot adduce the past, or think in the abstract, or ahead. They don't, for example, care about euthanasia (another topic that raged around our dinner table one evening) or surrogate motherhood, presumably because they still believe they are immortal and in perfect working order. They cannot conceive of physical failure, let alone death.Does this me-centred view of reality matter? Yes] I protested; it must] It means they do not know who they are, where they come from, what have been the gains and losses of this century, how their forefathers lived.

They do not know that they are lucky (in terms of health and hygiene, the absence of war, the wealth of leisure), but also unlucky (junk food, tawdriness, lack of skills, lack of work, loss of respect for work and countryside; and for most, the lack of challenges and consequent boredom).The discussion lasted half the night We went to bed with minds racing. Of all our conversations, this is the one that stays with me. Is it possible, can it be true, that most young people - I exclude, of course, the thoughtful and the diligent: which means, those who are either clever or solitary - have no notion of the world they were born into just two decades ago? Apparently, yes.. BULLETINS with codewords were among the more absurd secrecy measures used by managers of Epsom racecourse as it concluded negotiations with a new sponsor for the Derby, but as Lester Piggott pressed a big green button at the Savoy yesterday to reveal that Vodafone will support the finest Classic for the next three years, there were no gasps of astonishment. Still less surprising was the fact that, while the tail remained motionless, the dog was wagging furiously.

The mobile phone company will make an investment of pounds 3.5m over the next three years to ensure every race at the three-day Derby meeting - recently rescheduled to run from Friday to Sunday - will carry a name of its choosing. The Oaks will be run next year on Friday, 9 June, with a supporting card including the Diomed Stakes, while both the Derby and Coronation Cup will take place the following day. The significant word in all this is investment, since the attitude of the Epsom executives yesterday might have implied that Vodafone's money is more of a donation. Though barely a decade old, Vodafone is already one of the top 25 companies in the FT- SE 100 Index, a position which has not been achieved by casually throwing money at needy sporting events.The firm is currently developing important new markets in major racing countries including Australia and South Africa, where association with such a historic and respected name as the Derby will prove immeasurably valuable.The figures seem impressive - the Derby will have a guaranteed value of pounds 850,000 of which more than pounds 500,000 will be received by the winning owner - but while Vodafone's money is certainly very welcome, it will probably buy rather more than it should. How long will it be before someone becomes carried away and claims that Diomed won the first Vodafone Derby in 1780, or that Lester Piggott has won nine Vodafone Derbys?The task now facing the management of Epsom racecourse is to build wisely around the new investment - added prize money for 1995's Derby meeting will be pounds 1,055,000, a 23 per cent increase on this year - and in particular to restore some of the sense of occasion and heritage which has been evaporating from Derby day for at least a decade.The view from Epsom appears to be that moving the Derby to Saturday from its traditional position on the first Wednesday in June is a vital step towards that target, but whether or not the managers are correct will become apparent only on 10 June, 1995. Though the advance sales of badges for the sumptuous Queen's Stand may be impressive, the old-time strength and excitement of Derby day derived from its role as a meeting for the masses. The numbers passing through the turnstiles to the central course enclosure will be much more significant.But the grandchildren of the racegoers who once occupied the Downs in hundreds of thousands have grown up in a more discerning world, and heritage alone will not tempt them back if the present regime of exorbitant ticket prices and primeval facilities is allowed to continue.