Back Home, Duchess Gets Poor Marks in Deportment

--The Duchess of York’s behavior during a visit to Southern California with her husband, Prince Andrew, has drawn criticism from two British weeklies, which accused the former Sarah Ferguson of being brash and vulgar. The Observer, a liberal weekly, in a profile of the 28-year-old duchess, said: “Even in this day and age it is easily possible for noblesse to be too obliging. . . . The sweet smell of success seems to be being replaced by one of excess.” The Observer and the Sunday Times were particularly critical of the duchess’s quip, “I’ll see you later,” to a man who yelled out, “I love you.” She also drew criticism for what the newspapers saw as generally failed attempts at humor. The Sunday Times, in an article by sketch writer Craig Brown, criticized British daily newspapers for using headlines such as “Hollywood Bows to a Touch of British Class” and said the reality was different. Of a black-tie dinner at which the duchess wore a flamboyant red and black gown, Brown wrote: “While the stars of Hollywood dressed in discreet black and stayed in the shadows, down the stairs walloped someone who looked as if she’d just won third prize for her Carmen Miranda impersonation in an end of pier show at some forgotten resort.”

--Japanese fans will finally get a chance to see Mick Jagger, who was barred from Japan for more than a decade. In 1976, Japanese authorities prohibited the Rolling Stones from entering the country for a concert tour after reports of drug offenses by band members. “We were very, very disappointed, and a bit angry too,” the Rolling Stones’ lead singer told a news conference after arriving in Tokyo for a six-concert solo tour. “I’m very pleased that I myself could eventually come here today.” All 160,000 tickets for the tour were sold within an hour after the box offices opened, concert organizers said. Fellow Rolling Stone Ron Wood is now performing in Japan with veteran rock ‘n’ roller Bo Diddley.

--Three of the first quintuplets born in the United States after being conceived through in-vitro fertilization went home to Clarkston, Mich. Raymond Jr., Danielle and Erica L’Esperance and their parents, Raymond and Michele L’Esperance, rode away from William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich., in a white limousine decorated with silver balloons as hospital workers and reporters watched. In-vitro fertilization involves fertilizing ova in the laboratory and implanting the embryos in the womb. The other two babies born Jan. 11, Veronica and Alexandria, are expected to be released soon.