Scythe
‘This is one of the most interesting scythes I’ve ever seen…’
The Spectator
Thursday
Cannabis 3
‘I found this hidden in your marijuana.’
Spectator letters: Mindfulness, addiction, and dinner with Richard Nixon
Mind games Sir: I hope that people are not unduly put off by Melanie McDonagh’s misrepresentation of mindfulness as a cop-out for navel-gazers who lack the moral fibre to engage in ‘proper’ religion (‘The cult of mindfulness’, 1 November). She describes it as a ‘practice of self-obsession’, but it is the opposite: it creates a
You can still book your flight to Mars
Space to dream Richard Branson’s dream of commercial space flights has suffered a setback after a prototype craft crashed. But others are still offering opportunities for adventure… — Golden Spike is an American company planning to send a couple of passengers to the Moon from 2020 onwards. Each will pay an estimated return fare of
Portrait of the week | 6 November 2014
Home Fiona Woolf, the Lord Mayor of London, resigned as the head of an inquiry into historical child sex abuse three months after Baroness Butler-Sloss, the former president of the family division of the High Court, resigned from the same appointment. Both had been criticised for having establishment links. ‘It is really going to be
Say no to devolution without democracy
Imagine if, in one of her first acts as First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon announced that, in spite of the result of September’s independence vote, Scotland was to declare independence anyway, on the basis that opinion polls now showed a majority of people in favour of independence and therefore there was no need for
Books and arts – 6 November 2014
Podcast: Refugees, Ed Miliband and the Thames
Britain’s appalling record on refugees is a moral failure, and a national disgrace, says Justin Marozzi in this week’s issue of the Spectator. We are now witnessing a global crisis on a scale not seen for 20 years, and our only response is throw money at international development, while letting in far too few refugees.
The Spectator at war: Standing on ceremony
From The Spectator, 7 November 1914: On Wednesday next the King will open Parliament in state, the only alteration in the prescribed ceremonial being the temporary disuse of the glass coach. This alteration is due to a cause which, it is interesting to note, is reflected in every large household in the kingdom. So many
From the archives | 6 November 2014
From ‘News of the Week’, The Spectator, 7 November 1914: On Wednesday next the King will open Parliament in state, the only alteration in the prescribed ceremonial being the temporary disuse of the glass coach. This alteration is due to a cause which, it is interesting to note, is reflected in every large household in
Wednesday
The Spectator’s portrait of the week
Home Fiona Woolf, the Lord Mayor of London, resigned as the head of an inquiry into historical child sex abuse three months after Baroness Butler-Sloss, the former president of the family division of the High Court, resigned from the same appointment. Both had been criticised for having establishment links. ‘It is really going to be
The Spectator at war: Keeping the Holy Places holy
From The Spectator, 7 November 1914: We are glad to note that the Indian Government has issued a reassuring proclamation as regards the Holy Places. We trust, however, that before long France, Russia, and Britain, all of whom are Powers with large numbers of Mohammedan subjects, will join in a common declaration to the Moham-
Tuesday
The Spectator at war: The war on Surrey
From The Spectator, 7 November 1914: By far the largest addition to or alteration in the scenery of Surrey and its commons has been the building of the hutments which are to form the winter quarters of the new Army. This is a change which is visible near and far. Go up Hindhead on a
Monday
The Spectator at war: News of the week
From The Spectator, 7 November 1914: THE most important event of the week has been the declaration of war on Turkey by Britain. In the words of the London Gazette of Thursday: “Owing to hostile acts committed by Turkish forces under German officers, a state of war exists between Great Britain and Turkey as from
Saturday
The Spectator at war: A probationer’s diary
From The Spectator, 31 October 1914: THE following are extracts from the diary kept by a Red Cross probationer this autumn: Tuesday—A rumour has gone about that we are to have wounded here one day this week. I wonder! Instead of dusting, I polished all the twenty electric-light switches all round the ward this morning,
Friday
The Spectator at war: An accent of prejudice
From The Spectator, 31 October 1914: We regret to record that a gallant and patriotic sailor, Prince Louis of Battenberg, has fallen a victim to the foolish prejudice that people with foreign names and of foreign birth cannot be loyal British subjects. It was announced on Friday that Prince Louis of Battenberg had resigned the
Thursday
Medusa
‘Medusa made sure the shampoo hadn’t been tested on animals.’
Parents Evening
Computer
That problem with the computer — solved it.’
