Society

Monday

Igor Toronyi-Lalic

The best of Rik Mayall (1958 – 2014), master of the grotesque

Sad news reaches us at Culture House that Rik Mayall, one of the mainstays of my TV-addicted teenage years, has died at the age of 56. A virtuoso of all that was most grotesque and loathsome in man, Mayall made his name leading memorably in a number of game-changing sitcoms, including Channel 4’s the Comic Strip Presents…, ITV’s The New Statesman and BBC Two’s The Young Ones and Bottom. The delight with Mayall was that the more odious his characters became the more mesmerising he got. Here are some highlights: 1. Richie, Bottom A lot of people didn’t get Bottom. I loved it. It was like a cross between Beckett and Feydeau.

Ghaffar Hussain

Should we only tackle violent extremism? The rift at the heart of the counter-extremism debate

The spat between Theresa May and Michael Gove over the notorious ‘Trojan Horse’ plot in Birmingham has exposed a rift that’s been at the heart of the counter-extremism debate for years. At the heart of the matter is a debate over when is the best time to intervene in the radicalisation process. Some, like May, argue that extremism is only a problem when it becomes violent, and therefore we should only tackle its violent manifestations. Others, such as Gove, believe extremism should always be tackled, violent or not. Those who hold the former opinion tend to promote working with non-violent extremists in order to deter their more aggressive comrades. This

Rod Liddle Rod Liddle

Pesto’s got it: the BBC is too right-wing, obviously

At last, someone has put their finger on the problem, got right down to the real nub of the issue. In an interview, the BBC’s Economics Editor Robert Peston, in a flash of brilliance, defined exactly what is wrong with the corporation – it’s way too right wing. Yes, yes, I know, you’ve been saying the same thing for years and thought nobody was listening. Well, maybe Robert was. Here he is… “If we [the BBC] think the Mail and Telegraph will lead with this [a story], we should. It’s part of the culture.” Next week, David Cameron reveals: “The problem with the Conservative Party is that we have way

Saturday

Lucy Vickery

Spectator competition: redefine ‘oolite’ and ‘ampthill’ (plus: your meaningless proverbs)

The latest call, for proverbs that sound profound but have no meaning, attracted an enormous entry. It was a pleasure to judge, and cheering, too, to see lots of unfamiliar names in among the regulars. The best entries contain just the promise of a profound meaning — but frustrate the reader’s attempt to work out exactly what it is. I tried to weed out those submissions (some of them very amusing) that did express a clearly discernible deeper truth, but some may have slipped through the net. The following competitors deserve an honourable mention: ‘The shallow puddle floods no meadows’ (D.A. Prince); ‘A circular argument cannot be broken’ (Barry Baldwin);

Friday

Steerpike Steerpike

The key to a successful marriage…

Husbands and wives across London gathered last night to hear Tim Dowling’s informed advice on How to be a Husband. At last night’s launch of his book of that title, Dowling told Mr S that marriage isn’t dissimilar from flying in a police helicopter – a task he’d confronted earlier in the day. ‘You get on it, you don’t know where it’s going or why you’re in it,’ he started, before pointing out ‘the difference is that you can’t put children in the helicopter and you can’t get out when the person next to you is being sick.’ Industry friends were present, including publisher William Sieghart, columnists Janice Turner and

The Spectator

Cut your energy bills with The Spectator

Here’s something that you won’t read often in The Spectator: Ed Miliband is right. Britain’s energy market is broken, and a small number of big companies have the upper hand against consumers. But the solution, of course, isn’t state intervention – it’s more competition. That’s why The Spectator is making its own foray into the market. Under new rules put in place by Ofgem, energy companies are being told to simplify their tariffs. But you can also get a special rate negotiated by a collective of consumers, and our plan is to get enough Spectator readers (and anyone else who wants a good deal) together and then negotiate – something

David Blackburn

D-Day 70: Tribute to Bill Millin, Lord Lovat’s piper

Bill Millin landed on Sword Beach as part of 1st Special Service Brigade in the second wave. He exited the landing craft, and found himself in three feet of water. Shells and mortar fire broke around him, and several machine guns traversed the water’s edge. The man next to him was shot in the face and slipped beneath the surface of the sea. Millin continued to wade towards the shore, taking care to lift his weapon above his head. His weapon was his set of bagpipes. Millin’s commander, Lord Lovat, who was commonly regarded as a ‘mad bastard’, ordered him to strike up a tune to rouse the troops. Millin inquired if he

Jamie Bartlett

Will Artificial Intelligence put my job at risk? | 6 June 2014

Ever since the onset of artificial intelligence – simulating human reasoning, problem solving – there has been worry about the machines taking over. Taking our jobs, rendering us unnecessary, perhaps even developing sentience and turning on us, like Skynet in Terminator 2. Some of those fears have been wildly exaggerated, partly based on a misconception of what artificial intelligence actually is (which, on the whole, still remains using examples to train computer programmes to mimic human behaviour under certain quite limited conditions). But they aren’t completely foolish worries. The speed of improvement in artificial intelligence, as in much modern technology, is dazzling and quickening. According to Google’s Ray Kurzweil, in

Thursday

The Spectator

Spectator letters: Ken Loach defended, and the music of Pepys

We need religion Sir: Roger Scruton (‘Sacred hunger’, 31 May) describes a reason, dare I say a ‘purpose’, for religion in society. Evolutionary biologists such as the evangelical atheist Richard Dawkins should accept the concept of evolution in the social behaviour of Homo sapiens. Archaeological and anthropological evidence suggest that some form of religion played a part in the earliest of primitive societies, going back tens of thousands of years. If religion is so toxic to society, how could it have developed into so many complex and varied forms around the world unless it had powerful social ‘survival’ value? Indeed in countries where religion was outlawed, such as the USSR and

Raymond Keene

On the brink | 5 June 2014

The last great tournament to have been completed before the outbreak of war in 1914 was St Petersburg, which saw a sensational triumph by the world champion Emanuel Lasker, ahead of Capablanca, Alekhine, Tarrasch and Marshall. It is a testament to the political naivety of both players and organisers that an event was set for Mannheim in Germany in August 1914, organised by the German Chess Federation and open to many foreign luminaries. When war broke out the tournament had to be abandoned, and various foreign dignitaries were interned in Germany. After 11 rounds of the 17 envisaged, Alekhine was in the lead, ahead of Vidmar, Spielmann, Breyer, Marshall, Reti,

Raymond Keene

No. 317

Black to play. This position is from Mieses-Alekhine, Mannheim 1914. Can you spot Black’s subtle winning move in this endgame? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 10 June or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk or by fax on 020 7681 3773. The winner will be the first correct answer out of a hat, and each week I shall be offering a prize of £20. Please include a postal address and allow six weeks for prize delivery.   Last week’s solution 1 … Rxe2 Last week’s winner Richard Wyld, Wedmore

Taki

The EU is the greatest danger since Uncle Joe

Last week in the Bagel, and then London here I come. As I write, hundreds of thousands of Jews are marching up 5th Avenue in ‘Salute to Israel Day’. They have been marching for close to six hours and come close to the Puerto Ricans in terms of noise and provocation. Looking out from my window I see only blue and white Israeli flags, no stars and stripes whatsoever, and the chants I hear are those of the aggrieved. They want Palestine back!  Why waste time with the truth when there’s an angle to promote and a grievance to air? Palestinians should leave the West Bank because these late arrivals

Susanna Gross

Bridge | 5 June 2014

Have you ever been told by an expert that a bid you’ve made is foolish, badly judged or plain wrong? And although you may not agree, you tell yourself that you really ought to submit to their superior judgment? Before you do, my advice is: get a second opinion, and maybe even a third. When it comes to tricky bids, you’d be amazed how much disagreement there is among pros — and amazed, too, at how stubbornly each insists that their decision alone is the right one. If you want to see bridge egos clashing in this way, you need only turn to the regular section in the excellent online

Jeremy Clarke

Sharon took to the madness of Pamplona like a duck to water

Then there was the time I took Sharon to the Pamplona bull run. She looked very fetching in the traditional St Fermín costume of white T-shirt, white cut-off jeans, red sash tied around the waist and the red neckerchief symbolising the saint’s martyrdom by beheading. She wore her neckerchief in a big rumpled V at the front, like a cowgirl. The Sanfermines last a week. Hundreds of thousands of young revellers cram into the old fortress town’s narrow streets and cane it. As well as the famous bull runs each morning, and the evening bullfights, there are fairs and parades and marching bands and pop concerts and a nightly firework

Melissa Kite

Estate agents just don’t get it – I want a house, not a building site

‘What is this, please?’ I said to the estate agent, as he showed me into the building site he was calling a house. ‘This,’ he said beaming, ‘is the kitchen and breakfast room area.’ I picked my way over the rubble and stood in the dark, pokey room with its walls of hideous grey breezeblock. ‘I thought I asked you not to show me anything without a second fix, Sedrick.’ ‘Well, yes, but,’ said Sedrick, one of those perky young estate agents you can’t keep down, ‘you just need to use a bit of imagination. If you stand over here you can really get a feel for it. The space,

Alexander Chancellor

I wouldn’t have accepted Lord Rennard’s apology – but then he shouldn’t have made it

Shirley Williams has a point when she says that Lord Rennard’s alleged harassment of four female Lib Dem colleagues was very small beer compared with the sexual abuse attributed to so many other prominent people nowadays. Indeed, when the charges were made public early last year, I was underwhelmed by the account given by one of these women of Lord Rennard’s behaviour towards her during a Lib Dem conference in a Peterborough hotel. His knee had brushed hers on a sofa in the bar; and when she had shifted her knee, his had followed and brushed it again. She had fled to the bathroom, only to find him waiting outside

Irvine Welsh

Irvine Welsh’s diary: ‘Remember to get the Jesus aliens in, Irv!’

I’ve been heading east in a circle around the world from Chicago, taking in New York, London, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Bristol, Brighton, Paris, Geneva, Barcelona, Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne and LA. Now I’m killing time in Barcelona. I’d forgotten what a wonderful town it is, and also reminded of how Mediterranean culture really is right at the apex of civilised society. By comparison, US mall life seems consumer capitalism’s ultimate declaration of vacuous failure. I’m sitting drinking wine in a café with three wonderful women (Italian, Spanish and English) from my publishers, and the next thing I know it’s 3 a.m. A long layover at Heathrow to get the connecting flight to New

Mary Killen

Dear Mary: Is there a polite way to ask for the return of a handbag full of cash?

Q. A friend regularly hires a stall at a general neighbourhood market in order to sell surplus second-hand clothes and women’s accessories. She recently sold one of her handbags to a regular customer whom she knows quite well. Subsequently she realised that she had left her day’s takings in the handbag (quite a sum of cash). The customer has since been back a number of times but never mentioned the contents of the bag. My friend is now too embarrassed to ask outright, partly because she is only 99 per cent sure that she left the cash in the handbag. What should she do? — J.W., Sydney A. Why not

Dot Wordsworth

Square meals didn’t start in Nelson’s navy – but you could get one in a gold-rush town

I never dare go with my husband to any restaurant that uses square plates or he will play up the horrors of these ceramic items, huffing and puffing and pretending that he can’t stow his knife and fork without their falling off. When the subject attracted the attention of readers of the Daily Telegraph recently, one of them wrote in to say that square wooden plates were ‘standard issue in ships of the line in Nelson’s day’. Sailors were fed a hot meat meal every day, he pointed out, and ‘the practice led to the expression “a square meal”, meaning a good one’. This is a nice idea, but there is

Toby Young Toby Young

I used to think I was a Nietzschean superman. Now I know I’m just a dad

In The Wolf of Wall Street, there’s a poignant shot towards the end in which we see an FBI agent going home on the subway. This law enforcement officer — Agent Patrick Denham — will eventually bring about the downfall of Jordan Belfort, the film’s main character, and the fact that he uses public transport is supposed to be evidence of his integrity. He’s an honest, hard-working tax-payer who plays by the rules. I’m not quite sure how it happened, but in the past 25 years I’ve gone from being an international party boy to a kind of FBI agent. Admittedly, I’ve never plumbed the depths of debauchery that Jordan