Society

Thursday

Charles Moore Charles Moore

The Spectator’s Notes | 21 February 2013

People are quite often pilloried for saying the opposite of what they actually said. I have read Hilary Mantel’s London Review of Books lecture, and she is quite clearly not attacking the Duchess of Cambridge, but criticising what it is that people try to turn royal women into. When she speaks of the Duchess as ‘a jointed doll on which certain rags were hung’, or ‘the spindles of her limbs’ being ‘hand-turned and gloss-varnished’, she is talking about what the media and public opinion want of her. She discusses appearance, and offers no opinion about the young woman’s reality. She is sympathising with a female predicament, and she does the

Alexander Chancellor

Long life | 21 February 2013

I am pleased to report that my eight ducks have survived the great chill, when their pond was frozen over; for during all that time no fox ever ventured across the ice to kill them. And now that the ice has melted they are looking much more frolicsome and less forlorn. But strange things have been going on among my chickens. All eight of them, too, are alive and well (maybe all foxes now live in towns), but their laying habits have become very eccentric. Finding eggs never ceases to be exciting, even for someone of my advanced age, but I got a nasty shock the other day when I

Toby Young Toby Young

The treasure house of knowledge

I can’t quite believe the number of professional historians who have denounced Michael Gove’s new history curriculum. Richard Evans, for instance, the Regius Professor of Modern History at Cambridge. Scarcely a day passes without him launching an attack on the Education Secretary. He has denounced the new curriculum as ‘a mindless regression to the patriotic myths of the Edwardian era’. What he objects to is not just the facts that children will be expected to learn, but the manner in which they’ll be taught. He believes that children should spend their time learning ‘analytical skills’ rather than mere facts. Asking them to memorise facts is ‘rote learning’ and only suitable

Mary Killen

Dear Mary | 21 February 2013

Q. A friend, well known for having a dusty wallet, brought a bottle of champagne to our house. We were pleasantly surprised but, though it looked exactly like a real bottle of Oudinot Epernay, it did not feel quite heavy enough. On closer inspection, we saw that our friend had somehow picked up an empty display bottle and, because the label had a barcode, had paid the full amount, £24. He showed us the receipt. He said he would return it to the Marks & Spencer on the motorway near his home (rather than ours) and so we did not have a bottle of champagne after all, but we thought

Tanya Gold Tanya Gold

Tanya Gold reviews Planet Hollywood

It’s Oscar time! I know this because the British media, usually so prudent, has transformed itself into naked advertorial for films that usually — not always — tell America the lies about itself it most wants to hear. This is why Argo will win Best Picture. Bad Muslims want to kill us! (If I am wrong, feel free to write to me to tell me I am wrong. I will ignore you; but I promise I’ll be hurt.) So, where to go on the night of America’s mass (and failed) psychotherapeutic experiment? This glittering night when we worship the most self-hating people we can dig up — that is, actors.

Dot Wordsworth

Release

The centenary of George Barker’s birth was mentioned in the Times Literary Supplement recently. His ‘first two books — one of verse, the other prose — were released in 1933’. Released? Isn’t that what happens to films and Engelbert Humperdinck? Released suddenly seems to have replaced published. Certainly Amazon is reinforcing the trend, because if you order a book that has not yet been published, a message pops up with the date on which ‘this item will be released’. Until then it is available ‘for pre-order’ or, as we used to say ‘to order’. I’ve even seen reference recently to Pride and Prejudice being released 200 years ago, even though

The Spectator

Portrait of the week | 21 February 2013

Home Unemployment fell by 14,000 between August and November to 2.5 million, with the number in work rising by 154,000 to 29.7 million, meaning that 580,000 more people were in work than a year before. David Cameron toured India with an entourage of trade delegates. ‘Britain wants to be your partner of choice,’ he said. His visit came days after India suspended a £480 million contract to buy 12 Westland helicopters, following the arrest in Italy over bribery allegations of the chief executive of Finmeccanica, an Italian firm that makes AgustaWestland helicopters in Britain. The government auction of a spectrum for 4G mobile phones raised £2.34 billion; the Office for Budget

The Spectator

Barometer | 21 February 2013

Dyeing and dying A teacher in Harrow complained to his MP that he had been banned from marking pupils’ work in red ink in case it upset them. Some origins of ink: Black Made from burned bones, tar and pitch in India by the 4th century BC. Made from soot in China by the 3rd century BC. Red Blood was used in medieval England (red ink from blood is said to have been used by poor monasteries; hence its association with debt). Made with brazilwood from the 16th century in Europe. Blue Made from various vitreous pigments added to black ink in 11th-century Europe. Purple Made in ancient Tyre, in

Justin Webb

Diary – 21 February 2013

Waiting for a match to begin at the gloriously situated Recreation Ground — home of Bath Rugby — I take a moment from shouting ‘Come on you Bath’ at the top of my voice, to consider wider issues. Rugby Union, for instance: the game is a civilising influence like literacy or clean drinking water. When it is played and appreciated, so is toughness of body and spirit, generosity and camaraderie. Some ugliness has accompanied its transition into the world of professional sport — that was unavoidable I suppose — but in the city of Bath the game is still played with a smile. It is also a better game than

Janet de Botton

Bridge | 21 February 2013

Professional bridge players should not need motivating, but the fact is that sometimes it would appear they are sleepwalking and need a veritable kick up the backside. Our latest Gold Cup match against my friend Jon Vos was a case in point. Jon had been less than compulsive/obsessive about informing his team of the arrangements with the result that one of the opponents was 90 minutes late, and we were awarded a 24 IMP head start. That was our high spot, and as the match wore on the IMPs drifted and drifted until, with one set to play, we found ourselves behind. A wake-up call was needed. Apparently it is

The Spectator

Taxes, taxes, everywhere

What have obesity, misbehaving banks, unaffordable London housing and farting cows all got in common? They are all problems which, according to various campaigners over the past week or so, can be cured through the imposition of new taxes. Those calling for fiscal therapy included the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, which suggested a 20 per cent levy on sugary drinks, the Liberal Democrats, who want wealthy home-owners to be subjected to a new mansion tax, and the Swedish Board of Agriculture, which wants a levy on meat to reduce methane production from livestock. All these, of course, come on top of the EU’s proposed tax on financial transactions, the

Dumpynose

2101: Hewn vaguely

Unclued across lights combine with down ones to form anagrams of four works (one of four words, one of three and two of two) from the same nd. Elsewhere, ignore an accent.   Across 7 Shaman’s inexpert (3) 11 Mary Jane hugs arriving amazon? (6) 13 Withdraw from dramatist, being cause of misery (7) 15 Merrymaking in bar after revolution (5) 18 Faintly excellent Scots knight impressed (5) 20 Twice heartless Joe Friday mistreated goddess (6) 22 Notice stunted serf cooking waffles (7) 27 Lass artless and pure moves in (7) 29 Sound bouquet contains a touch of iris (5) 30 Some poor anchorite in rude hut (6) 32 Sons

Dumpynose

2098: Song IX | 21 February 2013

The song was ‘MY HEART BELONGS TO DADDY’ (4D/18/13) (Cole Porter). A word for ‘father’ is the centre of four unclued lights: E[POP]T (1A), MIS[GOV]ERN (4A), SU[PERE]GO (22) and SKE[DAD]DLE (40). COLE (35) and PORTER (3) were to be shaded.   First prize Joan Kendall, Thundridge, Ware, Herts Runners-up Mrs Jane Smith, Beeston, King’s Lynn, Norfolk; Mrs K. Fowler, Whitefield, Lancashire

Rory Meakin

George Osborne needs to deliver serious tax reform

‘Isn’t there a case for looking at the whole system at some point?’ whispered Isabel on Tuesday when MPs criticised the taxman again. Well, yes, there is. Last May, the 2020 Tax Commission published its final report, setting out the moral, economic and practical case for lower, simpler taxes. The Commission deliberated for 18 months before coming to a fundamental rethink of the UK tax system. It proposed to sweep away a multitude of fiddly taxes that hit the same income on multiple occasions and replace them all with a reformed, simple Single Income Tax. Simpler taxes would mean fewer loopholes for clever accountants to exploit while freeing up HMRC

The Spectator

Britain can’t afford an International Health Service

Health tourism is raised every now again by politicians, but never has it been raised so forcefully by such a senior doctor. In this week’s Spectator, Professor J.Meirion Thomas, a consultant surgeon with the NHS and one of Britain’s leading cancer experts, speaks out about health tourism. He writes: I am frustrated at seeing the NHS targeted by patients who are ineligible for free care, but who usually get through the net. Specialist units may be especially vulnerable. Reluctantly, I have decided to share my concerns. The final trigger to write this article was a potentially ineligible patient who accused me of unethical behaviour because I would not promote his

Jonathan Jones

Deficit latest: Still £5 billion higher than last year

Today’s borrowing figures show that the government had a surplus of £11.4 billion in January. But before we get too excited, a bit of context is in order. There’s (almost) always a surplus in January, thanks mainly to self assessment and capital gains tax receipts. And today’s figure includes £3.8 billion transferred from the Bank of England’s Asset Purchase Facility to the Treasury. Stripping that out gives a £7.6 billion surplus — an improvement on the £6.4 billion surplus in January 2012, but not enough to make up for higher borrowing in the rest of the year. Total borrowing in the ten months of the year so far is £97.6

Charles Moore Charles Moore

Hilary Mantel’s misinterpreted Royal Bodies lecture was still unpleasant

People are quite often pilloried for saying the opposite of what they actually said. I have read Hilary Mantel’s London Review of Books lecture, and she is quite clearly not attacking the Duchess of Cambridge, but criticising what it is that people try to turn royal women into. When she speaks of the Duchess as ‘a jointed doll on which certain rags were hung’, or ‘the spindles of her limbs’ being ‘hand-turned and gloss-varnished’, she is talking about what the media and public opinion want of her. She discusses appearance, and offers no opinion about the young woman’s reality. She is sympathising with a female predicament, and she does the same about

Sebastian Payne

The View from 22 — the battle for Eastleigh and free riding the NHS

The Tories and Lib Dems are locking horns in Eastleigh but what is Labour’s strategy? In this week’s View from 22 podcast, James Forsyth debates with the Fabian Society’s Marcus Roberts on how Labour is working to regain long-lost voters in the South East, as well as their aims for this by-election. We also examine this week’s Spectator cover on what Eastleigh says about the health of the coalition. Mary Wakefield joins to discuss the next big NHS scandal — the abuse of access to treatment. Does anyone track access to NHS services? Do doctors care about who patients are and can anything be done about it? Freddy Gray also explains why we