The Spectator

Thursday

The Spectator

The Spectator at war: Feet first

From The Spectator, 26 September 1914: There is nothing that a soldier needs more than good footwear; he can fight if need be on an empty stomach, but he cannot march on bare feet. Still, the means of supplying his needs are circumscribed. A commanding officer can make arrangements for accepting cartloads of goods at

The Spectator

Podcast: Cameron the radical, animal welfare and student sex

How will Cameron be remembered in years to come? As a steady-as-she-goes pragmatist or a radical reformer? In actual fact, he’s both. No modern Tory leader has been so good at looking calm under fire, yet there is a more radical Cameron. The insouciance is partly an act. In this week’s podcast, Freddy Gray, Fraser Nelson

Wednesday

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The Spectator at war: A treat from a German private

From The Spectator, 26 September 1914: Excellent use is made of captured documents, and we are treated to excerpts from a letter by a German private which deals with the fighting capacity of the British soldier:— “With the English troops we have great difficulties. They have a queer way of causing losses to the enemy.

Tuesday

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The Spectator at war: Aerial warfare

From The Spectator, 26 September 1914: The early afternoon papers of Friday publish a Reuter telegram to the effect that a Zeppelin flew over Ostend at eleven o’clock on Thursday evening, dropped three bombs, and flew away again. The damage was one office wrecked and one dog killed. If that is the bag of one Zeppelin

Monday

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The Spectator at war: A costly experiment

From The Spectator, 26 September 1914: On Thursday the Press Bureau issued a very striking descriptive account of the situation at the front, written by “an eyewitness present with General Headquarters.” It supplements the spirited narrative issued in the earlier part of the week, and shows that under pressure the War Office has discovered a very efficient

Sunday

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The Spectator at war: Letters from the front

From The Spectator, 19 September 1914: WE have no war correspondents present with the forces, to our great loss; and we are now in the quaintly topsy-turvy position of reading accounts of battles and of fighting in the letters sent home by individual officers and men—letters which might just as well have been written by

Saturday

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The Spectator at war: Servants of the nation

From The Spectator, 19 September 1914: Friday’s Times contains a letter from Lord Cromer on “Germany and Ourselves” which will give a double pleasure to thousands of readers. Its wise and vigorous terms are most useful and most timely in themselves, and they show how completely he is now restored to health :— “Let me add

Friday

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Podcast special: Alex Salmond’s resignation

Was Alex Salmond’s resignation a surprise? And what should the SNP do now that it has lost the referendum that it fought for over so many years? In a View from 22 Spectator podcast special, James Forsyth and Hamish Macdonell analyse the First Minister’s decision, and who might replace him. listen to ‘Hamish Macdonell and

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David Cameron’s statement to the nation on devolution

Here’s the full text of the Prime Minister’s speech this morning in reaction to the ‘No’ vote in the Scottish independence referendum.  listen to ‘David Cameron’s statement on devolution’ on Audioboo The people of Scotland have spoken. It is a clear result. They have kept our country of four nations together. Like millions of other

The Spectator

The aftermath of Scotland’s ‘no’ vote

We’re drawing this live blog to a close, but we’ll keep you updated on the day’s events in fresh posts on Coffee House. 09:52 The Union is saved – but at what cost? James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson ask what’s coming next in a new Spectator special.   09:49 Paddy Ashdown, the former Lib Dem leader, has come out against a rushed

Thursday