Barbie
The Spectator
Thursday
Spectator letters: VAT and sugar, Boris Johnson and cricket, whisky and bagpipes
Sugar added tax Sir: Julia Pickles (Letters, 14 June) suggests a sugar tax to combat the obesity epidemic and discourage food manufacturers from adding sugar to everything from bread to baked beans. A more realistic alternative might be to simply adjust the VAT rules: currently, VAT is levied on essentials such as loo paper, toothpaste
Greenpeace’s jetsetter isn’t the only environmentalist who loves to fly
Green wings It was revealed that Pascal Husting, Greenpeace’s international programme director, commutes 250 miles by air from his home in Luxembourg to his office in Amsterdam several times a month. Some other eco-warriors who are keen on air travel: — Al Gore has run up 1 million air miles, the equivalent of more than
Portrait of the week | 26 June 2014
Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, fought a last-ditch battle against the appointment of Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the European Union. Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, declared that to be ‘isolated’ could be the ‘right thing’. Attention was diverted by an opinion of Mr Cameron’s negotiating skills in Europe, given in a private conversation,
Phone hacking – the silence of the censors
We have not heard much from Hugh Grant this week. Nor from Max Mosley, Steve Coogan or any of the other bizarre array of celebrities and moguls who wanted to use the phone-acking scandal as an excuse to end British press freedom. For some time, they argued that the press had become a law unto
Wednesday
Convict the guilty. Keep the press free
We have not heard much from Hugh Grant this week. Nor from Max Mosley, Steve Coogan or any of the other bizarre array of celebrities and moguls who wanted to use the phonehacking scandal as an excuse to end British press freedom. For some time, they argued that the press had become a law unto
Thursday
Drone 5
‘It’s a drone strike.’
Anger 3
‘Come!’
Nelson
‘Very good, Admiral Nelson, sir. Now shall we try the good eye?’
Ironing
‘Is this performance art or are you actually ironing?’
Pin
‘Clive doesn’t like to take any chances with his pin security these days.’
Gratification
‘I always get it, the children love it.’
Snaps
‘Here’s me still in the queue at the passport office…’
School 5
Steamy
‘Gosh — it’s rather steamy.’
Parliament
‘Make your way straight to the front of the queue, Mr Piketty.’
Spiders
‘Are we still in the cup?’
Spectator letters: Islamophobia, breast-feeding and Bach
Rational fear Sir: An interesting contrast between the articles by Douglas Murray and Innes Bowen on Islamic influence in the UK (‘Save the children’, 14 June), and the one by Matthew Parris. Mr Parris sees no essential difference between faith schools. But Christians do not on the whole advocate holy wars against non-Christians, or demand