DOWN WITH DOWNS

Once again Lennox Grant proves his prowess with the pen (or keyboard) in his weekly Guardian column, where he's extolling the virtues of those forgotten fruits of his childhood: "Downs. Stemmed globules of gold and crimson and green had been left in the dust, or mashed by indifferent shoe heels, or had rolled unnoticed, untouched, and untouchable, into the gutter."