Books and Arts – 2 March 2017
Thursday
to 2296: Men of note
The unclued lights are seven COMPOSERS whose surnames begin with A to G, along with the eighth beginning with H, which is B natural in German notation. First prize Oliver Miles, Oxford Runners-up Miriam Moran, Pangbourne, Berks Tom Eadon, Melton Mowbray, Leicsa
The Left’s great Russian conspiracy theory
The chattering classes have officially lost it. On both sides of the Atlantic. Of course they’d been teetering on the cliff edge of sanity for a while, following the bruising of their beloved EU by 17m angry Brits and Hillary’s loss to that orange muppet they thought no one except rednecks would vote for. But
There’s a simple way of dealing with the BBC’s TV licence bullies
Congratulations to the Daily Mail for exposing the unpleasant methods by which TV Licensing’s staff make people pay their television licence fees. Capita, the company that does the dirty work for the BBC, encourages its employees to use ‘ruthless and underhand tactics’ to collect the money, says the Mail. The paper offers painful examples of
Can John McDonnell’s ‘tea offensive’ finally bring Labour together?
What is Labour’s priority at the moment? Normally the sensible answer for an Opposition party would be that it needs to focus on policy, and particularly on talking about next week’s Budget. But it is very difficult for a party polling so far behind the one in government and that is so divided to have
The hypocrisy of pro-Union Brexiteers
There’s something quite romantic about the idea of a real border between Scotland and England, which a government minister warns will be the result of Scottish independence. Maybe we could have an India-Pakistan style daily face-off, but with soldiers dressed as The Jocks and the Geordies. Or an old-fashioned war over the ‘debatable lands’, which
In defence of compulsory sex education
There are two ways to protect children from the damaging and misleading depictions of sex they get from online pornography. One is to give them comprehensive age-appropriate sex education, so that they understand porn is not a guide to real life and have the information to process what they see. The other is to ban
Car insurance costs to soar
It’s been a painful week for drivers – and it’s only going to get worse. Insurance costs are set to soar and tough new penalties have been introduced for common motoring offences. Together these could cost drivers hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds. Here’s a look at what’s changed and how you could be affected.
The Spectator podcast: Sturgeon’s second stab
On this week’s episode we question whether Nicola Sturgeon might be tempted by a second independence referendum, consider the increasingly frosty relations between the USA and Russia, and ask whether city dogs are a menace to sheep. First, Theresa May was in Scotland this week for meetings with Nicola Sturgeon ahead of Scottish Tory conference. Thanks to Brexit,
PPI, incomes, new homes and spending
The Financial Conduct Authority has finally announced a deadline for people seeking compensation over mis-sold payment protection insurance. The City regulator has said that people will have to make their claims before 29 August 2019. In one of the industry’s biggest scandals, banks have set aside more than £40 billion to meet the payouts. Although millions
Where is the evidence that Donald Trump is an anti-Semite?
Several months ago, after his election victory, I asked for any proof that Donald Trump is – as some of his most mainstream critics were claiming – a vile homophobe. I thought it a perfectly reasonable question to ask, and the only evidence I was given in reply was one gay man in America who
Books podcast: The story of pain
My guest in this week’s books podcast is the scholar Joanna Bourke, who’s talking about her new book on something we all have in common: suffering. In The Story of Pain: From Prayer to Painkillers she turns much of what we think we know about pain on its head. Here’s an experience that’s common to
What the papers say: The Lords’ ‘insidious plot to thwart democracy’
When the House of Lords voted against the Government’s Brexit bill last night, peers won’t have been expecting much in the way of thanks in today’s newspapers. But the ferocity of the attacks on the Lords could still come as something of a surprise: it’s time for the Lords to go, says the Sun in its
Corbyn spinner’s disastrous trip to the pub
On your first day as a spin doctor for the opposition there are a few things that you probably shouldn’t do. Near the top of that list is going to the pub and asking a Muslim journalist if they are an Al Qaeda supporter. But that’s what Steve Howell did on Monday after starting his job
Nigel Farage’s stock rises – as Ukip’s falls
Today’s figures from the electoral commission show that between 1 October and 31 December 2016, Ukip raised only £33,228 in donations — just £3,228 more than the Women’s Equality Party. However, as the party struggle to attract capital post referendum, Mr S is pleased to report that it’s another story for former leader Nigel Farage. Although Farage
Emma Watson’s ‘have your cake and eat it’ feminism is hard to swallow
There’s a real whiff of hypocrisy about Emma Watson’s latest shoot for Vanity Fair, in which she poses semi-nude. Women’s magazines will tell you it’s stunning, artistic, so feminist, and the rest, but the lady doth pose too much, methinks. This is, after all, the gal who’s spent the last three years lecturing others about breaking away from the limitations
Back into battle
On 24 June last year, in the Georgian splendour of her official residence in Edinburgh’s Charlotte Square, Scotland’s First Minister offered her reaction to Britain’s decision to leave the European Union. Since Scottish voters endorsed Remain, it was now, Nicola Sturgeon said, ‘highly likely’ there would be another referendum on Scottish independence. Since then that
Trump’s show of strength to Moscow
Donald Trump has not lost his capacity to surprise: few would have bet on him starting his address to Congress with praise for Black History Month. Tuesday night’s speech was the nearest Trump has come to acting like a traditional president. But one thing conspicuous by its absence was any mention of Russia. To Europeans,
Three cheers for rugby’s Italian loophole
A friend was at Twickenham on Sunday sitting not far from the Italian coaching top brass, Conor O’Shea and Mike Catt. After an early tackle, and no ruck being formed, the Italian players ran to take up space in front of the England backs, blocking their attacking options. ‘That’s offside,’ shouted my friend. Catt, who
Wine Club 4 March
I adore the wines of New Zealand. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if I had to drink the wines of just one country — taking France out of the equation, of course — then New Zealand would do it for me. There are spectacular aromatic whites from Marlborough, Gisborne
