50 / CHRONICLESngroups to do a lot of “sharing” (thendeathless liberal shibboleth, perhapsnbecause of its socialist implications —nalthough, come to think of it, peoplenwho use it a lot love to “share” theirnfeelings and opinions but rarely offernme any of their money).nI’m a slow learner. I should havencaught on, but the more evasive theynwere, the more interested I became.nThen, when we were poised to sign onnthe dotted line, the subject of sleepingnbags came up.nHere was the deal: We’d sleep onnthe floor in the school gym for twonnights, the men separated from thenwomen. We were unusually lucky innthat, if we wanted, we could take gangnshowers (with the men separated fromnthe women, alas) on Saturday andnSunday mornings. Some renewalngroups don’t have that luxury.nNow, I loved Girl Scout camp in mynyouth, but I gave all that up 20 yearsnago. I don’t ask for much in this life,nbut I do think I’ve earned the right tonsleep in my own bed, next to my ownnhusband, and take a nice brisk privatenmorning shower in my own bathroom.nI assured the man who was runningnthe show that I’d be capable of muchngreater spirituality if he’d let me do itnmy way, and asked if we could participatenbut sleep at home.nNeed I relate his answer? Thesenweekends, no matter what they’rencalled or where they’re set, are asnprecisely and sternly choreographed asnthe June Taylor dancers. Remembernthe overhead camera shot of themnflinging their legs in a circle on thenfloor? That must be what a Cursillongroup looks like round about 2:00nA.M. Anyway, being undermotivated,nspoiled, and slightly standofiish, mynhusband and I declined to attend.nSome renewals aren’t finished in anweekend but involve whole congregationsnor parishes and take a year ornmore. (No, God is gracious, and thosenyear-long cheerleading marathonsndon’t involve floor-sleeping or gangnshowers until the very end.) In onenNorth Dakota town, no marriednwoman may participate until her husbandnhas; the priest in that littie Gatholicnchurch knows that if he doesn’tnmake such a ruling, only women willngo through the ordeal. Who wants tonsit on a tractor all day and then sleepnwith a bunch of snoring men on thenchurch basement floor?nAll of this is like nothing so much asna carnival sideshow: gimmicky, dishonest,nand frenzied with desperation. Parishionersnknow it, priests and ministersnknow it, but the urge to do somethingnis stronger these days than the wisdomnto be still and watch for daily signs andnmetaphors pointing to the truth. So Inoffer here a verse from a medievalnChristmas carol that in 21 short wordsnputs it all within reach: Christ’s birthnand passion, our redemption, two millennianof simple faith, and the peacenthat passeth all understanding:nThe holly bears a berrynas red as any bloodnand Mary bore sweetnJesus Christnto do poor sinners good.nSay it to yourself if you ever can’t sleep.nJane Greer edits Plains Poetry Journalnin Bismarck, North Dakota.nLetter From Albionnby Andrei NavrozovnOrder and Justice? Cowardice andnFolly!nIn April 1986, Nikolai Tolstoy’s ThenMinister and the Massacres was publishednin Britain. Like his earlier Victimsnof Yalta (1978) and Stalin’s SecretnWar (1981), the book was uncompromisingnin its indictment of PrimenMinister Harold Macmillan personallynand of British foreign policy generallynat the end of the war. “In the secondnweek of May 1945,” Count Tolstoynsummed up recently in an appeal fornhis Forced Repatriation Defense Fund,n”British military authorities in Austrianaccepted the surrender of tens of thousandsnof Cossacks, White Russians,nSlovenes, Croats, Montenegrins, andnSerbs. They comprised prisoners ofnwar and pohtical refugees, and werenaccompanied by large numbers ofnwomen and children. At the end of thenmonth and the beginning of June thenmajority were handed over to Stalinnand Tito, the operations being effectednby a combination of brutal force andntreacherous deception. Many werenmassacred at the point of handovernwithin sight or sound of their Britishnnnescorts. The overwhelming majority ofnthe remainder either died a lingeringndeath in Soviet forced labour camps, ornwere slaughtered in circumstances ofnappalling brutality. . . . No one hasnaccepted responsibility, no one hasnsuffered retribution, displayed repentance,nor attempted recompense. It isntoo late for punishment, which is innany case precluded by legal considerations.n. . . Nevertheless, the factnthat this dreadful crime remains unrecognized,nand the memory of its victimsnofficially consigned to oblivion, is anninsult to the dead and a woundingnaffront to survivors, relatives, and compatriotsnof those who suffered.”nIn the spring of 1986, Count Tolstoy’sncrusade in behalf of the victimsnof peace suffered a setback as thenBritish Broadcasting Corporation abruptlyncanceled a planned series ofnbroadcasts on the controversy precipitatednby The Minister and the Massacres.nIn August, Count Tolstoy’s interviewnwith a student magazine caused itnto be closed down. According to ThenTimes, on November 12, 1986, NormannTebbit, the Conservative Partynchairman, decidednto sever the party’s links withnthe right-wing 14,000-strongnFederation of ConservativenStudents because of itsnpolitically embarrassingnbehaviour. It will lose its annualn£30,000 grant and be banishednfrom offices at ConservativenCentral Office. … A new bodynknown as the ConservativenCollegiate Forum will be set upnto enable students andnacademics to have a voice innparty circles. Unlike the FCS,nmembership will be vetted tonkeep out those whose views arennot considered part of the Toryntradition. . . . Mr. Tebbit’sncrackdown was prompted bynthe storm over the last issue ofnNew Agenda in which Mr.nHarry Phibbs, its editor,npublished an interview withnCount Nikolai Tolstoy, thenhistorian, in which he accusednLord Stockton, the then HaroldnMacmillan, of being responsiblenfor returning 40,000 Cossacksnto the Soviet Union in 1945 tondie at the hands ofn