World Notes

She describes herself as a healing therapist, but to her landlord Sara Dale is a pain in the neck. British Chancellor of the Exchequer Norman Lamont discovered via London's tabloids last week that he had rented his million- dollar home in Kensington to a tenant who the News of the World claimed conducted kinky sadomasochistic sessions in the basement. Dale denied she was a prostitute and explained that she helps people with a variety of problems, not all of them sexual. But she admitted that her techniques occasionally require that she use whips and chains on her clients -- a service for which she charges $100 an hour.

Lamont, who lives in the Chancellor's official residence, No. 11 Downing Street, has begun proceedings to have Dale evicted on the grounds that she broke a rental agreement by using the home for business. The 40-year-old mother of three says, "I have got to stand up for what I believe is right," and she is fighting to stay.