Bank 7
‘Do you mind if some students watch while I rake in loads of money and refuse to lend you any?’
The Spectator
Thursday
Saving
‘Now all we need is some money.’
Oven
Planes 2
‘Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Donner and Blitzen!’
Wow
‘Wow! What’s your secret?’
Snowman 3
Good
‘And have you been good?’
Roaming
Easter 4
‘Ah, so this is the real Christmas Island.’
Mi5 2
‘Oh, him? That’s just Secret Santa.’
Kings 3
Cat 6
‘Hello, fire brigade? My cat is stuck up a tree…’
Newsagent
Igloo 3
‘We’ve put in a basement swimming pool.’
Barometer | 10 December 2015
Christmas birthday Next year has a claim to be the 400th birthday of Father Christmas. Ben Jonson wrote a short play for James I, called Christmas: his masque, performed at court in December 1616. The central character, named as ‘Old Christmas’ and ‘Captaine Christmas’, encouraged everyone to merriment. He had ten children, with names ranging
Letters | 10 December 2015
Just call them Daesh Sir: I was interested to read Sam Leith’s article in which he appears to argue that the language we use to describe those engaged in terrorism or the conflict in Syria doesn’t matter (‘Daesh? Sheesh!’, 28 November). I wholeheartedly believe that the words we use are important, and they are particularly
Portrait of the year | 10 December 2015
January David Cameron, the Prime Minister, said that only electing the Conservatives could ‘save Britain’s economic recovery’. Labour unveiled a poster saying: ‘The Tories want to cut spending on public services back to the levels of the 1930s,’ and Ed Miliband, the party leader, said he would ‘weaponise the NHS’. Two male ‘hedge witches’ were
State of the Union
Last year, the United Kingdom came within 384,000 votes of destruction. A referendum designed to crush the Scottish nationalists instead saw them win 45 per cent of the vote — and become stronger than ever. Since then, the SNP has taken almost every Scottish seat in the Commons and is preparing for another landslide in the Holyrood
