Kj Lamb 7
Interconnect
Saturday
Saturday
Meeting Marine Le Pen
The Front National leader is keen to sound off on the EU, immigration and capitalism – but not on her party’s Vichy links There’s no mistaking the Front National’s headquarters in the western Parisian suburb of Nanterre. Outside the entrance stands a martial statue of a Joan of Arc in full body armour. Inside there
Saturday
Titbits and Crumbs | 25 June 2011
Rising Star Austere times breed entrepreneurship. Artisan Ben Keane was made redundant before training as a patissier and starting up his own product range trading as Yeast Bakery in East London. The Yeast line is small but perfectly formed (limited to just plain, almond and chocolate croissants). Made with Shipton Mill flour and French AOC
How to be a beekeeper
by James Hamill Beekeeping isn’t rocket science. A lot of it is common sense and keeping the bees and hive spotlessly clean. You don’t need lots of space; a small garden is fine. I’ve been running weekend courses at my Surrey farm for would-be beekeepers for 20 years and my most basic advice is: don’t
Summer recipes
Scottish Lobster with mussels by Jeff Bland I’ve been lobster fishing off the Hebridean island of Tiree and it’s fantastic to see the creatures from the moment they come out of the water — they are incredibly beautiful, shiny and black. I truly believe that Scottish lobsters are the best in the world due to
Correction | 25 June 2011
The title of John Mole’s poem, printed in last week’s issue, should have been ‘The Whole Thing’, and the lines ‘But it was after dinner/ So I let it go’ should have been italicised (being an alleged quotation from Winston Churchill). We apologise for these errors. The title of John Mole’s poem, printed in last
Saturday
Bookends | 28 May 2011
In the summer of 2003, in a bar in Malta, George Best was approached by a man holding a paper napkin and a pen. ‘It’s been my childhood dream,’ said the man, ‘to have George Best ask me for my autograph.’ Best obliged. As so often, his fame was so great that it turned normality
Saturday
The Spectator’s over-80 power list
It is hard to think of a time when the over-80s have held such sway over British public life. Shirley Williams has the government at her mercy as she decides what to do about its NHS reform bill. If many are unaware that P.D. James is woman, then even fewer will know (or care) how
Saturday
Spring Recipes
Crispy Raw And Cooked Vegetable Tart by Alain Ducasse I spent my childhood days on a farm and so vegetables have always hugely influenced my cooking. I love to use seasonal vegetables and this dish on the menu at Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester celebrates the simple pleasures of combining raw and cooked vegetables. It
Scoff out
KOPAPA CAFÉ AND RESTAURANT 32-34 Monmouth Street Seven Dials WC2H 9HA 020 7240 6076 by Will Vaughan Covent Garden and Leicester Square has long been a restaurant-goer’s no-man’s land. That is, until now, because fusion supremo Peter Gordon has opened Kopapa, situated conveniently on Monmouth Street, moments from the Donmar and the Royal Opera House.
Saturday
A guide to scholarships and bursaries
We all know that private education can be terrifyingly expensive. Yet for parents not possessed of a vast fortune, there are ways of affording it. Scholarships and bursaries are more common than you might think, and your child doesn’t necessarily have to be a genius to get one. Here, we list some of the best
The best of the best
Top boys’ boarding schools by A-level results Rank % A/B School Day fees Board fees No. pupils 1 99.4 St Paul’s School, London £17,928 £26,562 1,291 2 98 Westminster School £20,364 £29,406 747 3 96.2 Eton College – £29,862 1,314 4 96.2 Tonbridge School, Kent £22,335 £29,913 764 5 93.3 Harrow School – £29,670 810
Saturday
Independent spirit
For many years, The Spectator has cheered on the Conservative party’s plans to reform Britain’s state education system. As our country hurtles down the international league tables, it is clear that something must be done to fix our schools. We can no longer compete with countries that once regarded us a role model. And what
Saturday
Dear Mary | 19 February 2011
Q. My new boyfriend holds his knife like a pencil. How can I gently correct this without him thinking I am starting to nag too early on in the relationship? My parents will be appalled. — Name withheld, Godalming, Surrey A. You may be unable to break the habit but you can explain its
Saturday
Diary: Ann Widdecombe
What is it that people do not understand about the concept of retirement for politicians? Those who think I should not have participated in Strictly Come Dancing seem to believe I am doing a job called ‘ex-politician’. I have no idea what it involves. I have left the House of Commons and have not been
Saturday
Treasure trove | 27 November 2010
One afternoon in the winter of 1992 I was on a bus traversing London’s Millbank when an extraordinary sight caught my eye. A bright red Triumph Spitfire had been driven up the imposing front steps of the Tate Gallery and abandoned there. Not for the first time in my life I wished I had a
Saturday
Competition | 6 November 2010
In Competition No. 2671 you were invited to submit a poem in which the rhymed ending of each line is a truncated word. This challenge invites you to follow in the footsteps of that master of light verse and lover of word-play Harry Graham, who, in his poem ‘Poetical Economy’, ‘found a simple plan/ Which