Spy Surfaces for a Broadcast From Russia With Love

--In 1966, George Blake made headlines by escaping from the Wormwood Scrubs Prison in London. Sentenced to a 42-year term for espionage, Blake, a Dutch-born British subject who served in British intelligence, eventually turned up in the Soviet Union. Now, in his first television interview, Blake, 65, tells of being smuggled into East Berlin in a postal van and of his “amazingly good” life in the Soviet Union. The interview was monitored over the weekend by the British Broadcasting Corp. in London. “Gradually, I got to make some friends, I met my wife, I found a very interesting job with interesting and pleasant colleagues. Then my son was born, and my life took a very happy course,” said Blake, who holds the Orders of Lenin and the Combat Red Banner. As to whether he thinks much about London, Blake said: “No, I don’t. But sometimes I have a great wish to take a look at my mother’s apartment in Rotterdam (Netherlands).”

--There’s at least one registered Republican who is up in arms over Sen. Bob Packwood (R-Ore.). Raymond E. James took offense at Packwood’s public comments about Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III. Packwood recently called for Meese’s resignation, arguing that to say the attorney general, who is being investigated by an independent counsel, should not resign because he has not been indicted is, in effect, using “the standard for a bank robber.” Enter bank robber James of the federal penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pa., who wrote the following in a letter to the senator: “Sir, I happen to be a registered Republican in Washington County (Hillsboro), Ore., and I also happen to be an inveterate bank robber of certain Oregon financial institutions. . . . I want you to know that I take personal umbrage at your comments. . . . We, too, have certain standards. . . . Your apology is assumed.”

--The auction of pop artist Andy Warhol’s collection of jewelry, furniture, decorations, paintings--and cookie jars--is surpassing anybody’s wildest imagination. Sunday’s action at Sotheby’s in New York--day two of a 10-day auction--brought in $907,995, three times what had been expected, Sotheby’s spokeswoman Diana Leavitt said. Among the surprises was the sale of a pair of pottery cookie jars for $23,100, 200 times the estimated price, to Jim Judelson, a New York executive, and Maria Olivia, a pianist. And, a Beverly Hills, Calif., collector paid $77,000--highest bid of the day--for Warhol’s Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. It had been expected to bring in about $15,000. Proceeds will aid the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Warhol died last year at age 58.