From the S&S archives: World leaders take time for not-so-serious business

BONN — British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher spoke of the problems of maintaining British manor houses, President Reagan called out his lunch plans to reporters arid Italian Premier Bettino Craxi almost missed the "Family photo" of summit leaders.

These were some of the informal moments outside the official meetings of the three-day economic summit that went into its second day on Friday.

"Lunch for one hour," Reagan yelled out to a herd of nearly 200 journalists after the leaders of the seven nations had posed for a picture on the rain-soaked grounds of the chancellor's official reception building.

Among them was Italian Premier Bettino Craxi, who found himself 10 feet behind the other national leaders and their foreign ministers as they huddled together for the traditional picture. Craxi rushed up and found a spot on the outside corner, after photographers had already begun firing away.

Reagan refers to the British leader as "my good friend, Margaret Thatcher," and the two often stroll together when the summit leaders are seen in public.

On Thursday night they spent more than 15 minutes admiring the Augustusburg Palace, an ornate building outside Bonn used as a residence for German princes until the 18th century.

Thatcher noted that, in Britain, many large manor houses and castles must have outside support to maintain them:

German Chancellor Helmut Kohl escorted Reagan around the party for most of the evening, hardly waiting for the official interpreter to catch up with his rapid-fire German.

"Go ahead and have some," Kohl boomed out in German as Reagan was handed a glass of champagne.

Reagan's lectures on the old days of Hollywood — "when actors still kept their clothes on" — even drew a smile From staid French President Francois Mitterrand.