The Spectator: September 3, 2011
Robert Thompson
‘It’s OK to stab someone in self-defence, son.’ ‘It’s OK to stab someone in self-defence, son.’
Evans
‘You’re right, it is a mole – looks benign… but you can never tell.’ ‘You’re right, it is a mole – looks benign… but you can never tell.’
Gredge
‘I understand your client has expressed some sign of remorse.’ ‘I understand your client has expressed some sign of remorse.’
Mazurke
‘I’m afraid you’ve got medal fatigue.’ ‘I’m afraid you’ve got medal fatigue.’
Tony H
‘I tell you, Velcro has been a godsend.’ ‘I tell you, Velcro has been a godsend.’
Bernie
‘Do you get the feeling we’re heading for another crash?’ ‘Do you get the feeling we’re heading for another crash?’
New York Notebook
When the earth began to move, I was on lying on my bed with my cats in my lap. My son was in his room across the hall. The bed… Read more
Who are the ‘undeserving rich’?
Westminster isn’t sure. But it’s suddenly obsessed with them Recently, one Tory cabinet member went for dinner at a top London hotel with some of the most famous members of… Read more
RGJ
‘The hotel operates a pay-per-view system in all rooms.’ ‘The hotel operates a pay-per-view system in all rooms.’
Music, moonlight and dahlias
The words that echoed constantly in the back of my mind as I read this book were from Paul Simon’s song ‘Train in the Distance’: ‘the thought that life could… Read more
Danger zone
If you ever experienced the adrenalin of a Quasar or Alien War birthday party as a child, part of you is going to love Our Days of Rage, a play… Read more
Blackpool’s ups and downs
The town’s first visitors were daytripping mill workers; now it’s a place for hen and stag parties. William Cook charts its changing fortunes, as a photographic exhibition reveals Think of… Read more
Victim’s victory
On this Friday 50 years ago, at 1.30 p.m., the house lights at the Odeon Leicester Square dimmed for the first public screening of a British movie called Victim. It… Read more
3 September 2011
‘Up for Grabs’ shouted a notice at the ticket office at Sissinghurst. It was not easy to buy a ticket without signing the National Trust’s petition which the slogan advertised:… Read more
Competition: Marriage guidance
In Competition No. 2711 you were invited to cook up a recipe for marital bliss on behalf of a poet of your choice. It was agony to whittle an especially… Read more
Mico
‘He hasn’t dropped his pizza, he’s just finished it.’ ‘He hasn’t dropped his pizza, he’s just finished it.’
Little lists for word lovers
In his Modern English Usage, Henry Fowler used the term Wardour Street for ‘a selection of oddments calculated to establish (in the eyes of some readers) their claim to be… Read more
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