Minstrel
‘You appear to have a bladder infection.’
The Spectator
Thursday
Fracking 2
‘So you’re very keen on this fracking business?’
Morgue
Battle 2
‘This Twitter feud is getting out of hand.’
Scandal
‘Who’s available to decline to comment?’
Letters: David Gower defends bats
In defence of bats Sir: I am saddened by the ‘us versus them’ stance taken by Melissa Kite (‘Bats vs people’, 3 August) when referring to bats. I might be better known for wielding a different sort of bat, but I am a strong supporter of the winged variety. These amazing creatures have lived alongside
Barometer: Spain’s own version of Gibraltar
Other people’s rocks Spain threatened to introduce a €40 border-crossing charge and find other ways of making life difficult for people of Gibraltar. A reminder of some Spanish colonial possessions: Ceuta North African city captured by the Portuguese in 1415. Sided with Spain when Portugal became an independent country again in 1640. Despite claims by
Portrait of the week | 8 August 2013
Home Retail sales enjoyed their fastest July growth in seven years, thanks to demand for beer, sun cream, swimwear and barbecue food. Manufacturing output rose by 1.9 per cent in June, following declines in both April and May. Lloyds Banking Group announced profits of £2.1 billion for the first half of the year and António Horta-Osório,
Causes and effects
When spending money is declared to be a good in itself, it is certain that much of it will be wasted. If that was not obvious already, it was proven by experiment when Gordon Brown announced 13 years ago that he wished to increase healthcare spending in Britain to the European average without much of
Books and Arts – 8 August 2013
Tuesday
Spectator event: An evening with Simon Schama on the history of the Jews
There was a row earlier today when a leading figure in the EDL linked (inadvertently, he says) to a website of anti-Semitic sympathies. It is dispiriting that, more often than not, Judaism and Jewish people only receive mainstream media coverage when there is a public spat about anti-Semitism, for there is so much more to
Monday
When bats trump people
The grey long-eared bat is threatened by extinctions, according to various news reports this morning. Scientists at the University of Bristol, who made the discovery, have called for more protection of ‘foraging’ habitat in marshland and lowland meadow in southern England, where the climate is ideal for the grey long-eared bat. The scientists will probably
Friday
The man who built Russia’s empire in America
Did you know that the Russians once had an empire (of sorts) in the Pacific North West of America? No, neither did Sam Leith. He has reviewed ‘a blindly good story extremely well told’ about this forgotten history (Glorious Misadventures: Nikolai Rezanov and the Dream of Russian America by Owen Matthews) in this week’s edition
Some brilliant book reviews | 2 August 2013
As ever, there are some absolutely scintillating book reviews in this week’s issue of the magazine. Here is a selection: Sam Leith revels in ‘a blindly good story extremely well told’: Glorious Misadventures: Nikolai Rezanov and the Dream of Russian America by Owen Matthews. ‘Like most if not all imperial adventures, the civilising mission (ho
Rod Liddle on the cant of the Great Porn Act
Several articles in this week’s issue of the Spectator are worth the cover price alone. We’ll be flagging them up on Coffee House over the weekend. To start with, here is Rod Liddle on the row over pornography: ‘The Co-operative stores, with all the high-handed self-righteousness of the political movement to which it is paying
Thursday
Hell
‘I didn’t pay back my Church of England credit union loan.’
Frack
‘The countryside would be quite nice if it weren’t for the fracking protestors.’
Death 2
