The Spectator
Wednesday
to 2436: The Devil’s Own
The unclued lights are all words derived from names in the work of Charles Dickens. First prize David Brewis, Windsor, Berks Runners-up F.A. Scott, Enfield, Middlesex; John Murray, Compton Chamberlayne, Wilts
Eggs and hard liquor: Spectator writers on their favourite examples of meals in literature
P.J. O’Rourke I love poems but hate poetasters, love wine but detest oenophiles, love food but can’t stand foodies. Therefore my favourite passage about food in fiction is Lionel Shriver’s entire book Big Brother. In her tale of obese totalitarianism and comestible fascists Shriver destroys every pretention and abstract conception about food — starves it
What have you changed your mind about? A Spectator Christmas survey
Grayson Perry In 1992 I created a graphic novel called Cycle of Violence. Reading it now, the initially striking thing is that it predicts the rise of cycling culture in the UK and a working-class boy called Bradley winning the Tour de France. But it mainly reflected the state of my mind at the time
Quiz Answers | 18 December 2019
They said it 1. Greta Thunberg (to the UN) 2. The Duke of York 3. Dawn Butler, as the shadow secretary for women and equalities 4. Donald Tusk, as the President of the European Council 5. Sir Lindsay Hoyle, as his first words as the newly elected Speaker 6. Boris Johnson, of applying for delay to
Books and Arts | 18 December 2019
A coalowner on coal
From 16 June 1866: Mr Stanley Jevons, Mr Mill, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer are all agreed that there is imminent danger of exhausting the British store of coal, are almost willing to legislate upon that annoying datum… The philosopher may of course argue that it is all a question of time, that the coal must
Friday
‘Victory for Boris’: Today’s front pages react to the Tory landslide
The nation’s newspapers reflect what is the largest political revolution in a generation. Boris Johnson has been able to turn the tide and return a majority of 76 seats after an election in which he promised to ‘Get Brexit Done’. The Telegraph The Sun The Daily Mail The Guardian The Daily Express The Financial Times
‘A huge great stonking mandate’: Boris’s Tory HQ victory speech
Boris Johnson has just addressed Tory HQ following the Tories’s huge election win. Here is the full text of what he had to say: Well this is the most incredible…It is a day that many of us have dreamed of, a day when the Conservative party genuinely speaks for every part of the country. We
Watch: Jeremy Corbyn’s resignation speech
Jeremy Corbyn has been re-elected in Islington North. But after leading his party to a second election loss, the Labour leader also announced that he would stand down before the next campaign. Watch Corbyn’s resignation speech here:
Election live blog: Boris Johnson leads Tories to huge victory
Election headlines (all 650 seats now declared) The Tories have secured a majority of 80, with a vote share of 44% – higher than achieved by any party in any election since 1970 Labour’s ‘red wall’ demolished as Tories take 28 seats from Labour across the north of England, including Blackpool South, Darlington, Blyth Valley, Grimsby
Thursday
Letters: Why have the Conservatives decided Chesterfield is a lost cause?
Given up on Chesterfield? Sir: Matthew Parris makes some interesting and accurate points about growing Tory support in the north and Midlands (‘The Tory push north will end in failure’, 7 December). He did not mention Chesterfield in his article, but it is a good example of what he talks about. It seems to me that
How common are volcanic eruptions?
Volcanic eruptions At least six people were killed when White Island, a volcano off New Zealand’s North Island, erupted. How common are volcanic eruptions? — According to the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Programme, there are 45 volcanoes around the world in an active state of eruption. — Yasur, on the South Pacific island of Vanuatu,
Politics has fractured along new fault lines – those elected must repair the cracks
Boris Johnson stood for party leader as a One Nation Tory, he fought the campaign as a One Nation Tory and this is the agenda that has given him the largest Tory majority since 1987. Much is being made of the collapse of the Labour party’s vote, but something more profound is under way. The
Portrait of the week: Trains stop, a volcano erupts and the nation goes to the polls
Home The nation went to the polls. Engineering works compounded the misery of passengers on the South Western Railway where the RMT union is holding a strike until the end of the year. Leatherhead was utterly cut off. Hundreds of Greater Anglia services were cancelled when a signals failure turned into problems with rolling stock.
to 2435: A Little Puzzle
Unclued lights are DWARFS. First prize Bill Stewart, Leicester Runners-up Mark Roberts, Luxembourg;John Bartlett, Solihull
Friday
Live blog: Boris vs Corbyn’s BBC clash
Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn clashed in a head-to-head in tonight’s live BBC debate. The two leaders faced off in front of a studio audience for their final clash before election day. Here is all the action as it unfolded:
Thursday
What weather records were broken in 2019?
Keeping it in the family A study by the Middle East Technical University claimed to prove that the pronounced chin of Charles II of Spain and many of his Habsburg relatives was the result of marriage between cousins. Some royals who went even further: — Tutankhamun’s wife Ankhesenamun is believed to have been his half-sister.
Letters: Governments should be promoting marriage, not discouraging it for the sake of equality
Look closer to home Sir: In your interview with Boris Johnson (‘Austerity was not the way forward’, 30 November) he attributes the EU referendum result to ‘regional inequality… parts of the UK were simply being ignored… leaving people behind’. Yet he says his remedy for this is ‘infrastructure and education and technology’. In other words,
This is the most important election in modern history – so vote, and vote Tory
Next week, voters will decide the future of the government, of Brexit, and perhaps of the Union. Jeremy Corbyn has been admirably clear on what he offers: a radical experiment in far-left economics, going after the wealthy to fund the biggest expansion of government ever attempted in this country. Boris Johnson proposes to complete Brexit