A moment of truth
Sometimes, Westminster unwittingly makes quite a good case for Scottish independence. Britain’s Covid emergency has ended, but the damage of…
to 2501: Delightful
The ‘Transport of Delight’, in the song by Flanders and Swann, was that ‘big six-wheeler, scarlet-painted, diesel-engined, London Transport, ninety-seven…
Out in the open
Over the past week, the country has started to spring back to life. Trains and buses are no longer running…
Letters
Zero possibility Sir: Katy Balls is right to conclude that the government is ‘not being upfront’ on the bill for…
Portrait of the week
Home Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, announced the hunt was on for two effective pills to treat Covid, to be…
Barometer
Falling from grace Six Premier League football clubs had announced their intention to join a European Super League, from which…
2500: 50 x 50
The solution grid includes the letter L fifty times (L x 50 = 2500). Coincidentally, Doc and his wife, Jean,…
Royal standard
Fourteen prime ministers; 18 general elections; seven changes of government. Even in a stable country like Britain it is remarkable…
Portrait of the week
Home The Duke of Edinburgh, who was married to the Queen for 73 years, died at Windsor Castle, aged 99.…
Barometer
D of E awards A few of the late Duke of Edinburgh’s lesser-known titles and honours: — Royal Chief of the Order…
Letters
Taking liberties Sir: I feel that Matthew Parris is absolutely wrong about liberty (‘The libertarian case for vaccine passports’, 10…
to 2499: Entitled trio
The theme was C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. 38A (of Scotland), 43A and 22D were all…
Letters
A leap of faith Sir: I live not far from the ‘London Temple’ of the Church of Jesus Christ of…
On the cards
‘The government would love to put issues such as these beyond the bounds of debate by creating an air of…
Portrait of the week
Home The government sketched a scheme for a coronavirus passport, or ‘Covid status certification’, to be tried out at the…
to 2498: Cross country
The unclued lights consist of the names of two countries overlapping by two or three letters: eg 25D ‘JAPANAMA’ gives…
Barometer
Positive thinking The government wants us to test ourselves for Covid-19 twice a week, using lateral flow kits which will…
Minority report
Almost 20 years ago, Michael Howard spoke about the ‘British dream’: that immigrant families like his could come to this…
Barometer
Mounting losses The England football team beat San Marino 5-0, taking to 56 the number of competitive games that the…
Letters
Ticket to freedom Sir: While I sympathise immensely with the spirit of last week’s lead article (‘Friends in need’, 27…
Portrait of the Week
Home More than 30 million had received their first dose vaccination. The government remained confident of supplying second doses and…
to 2497: Scramble
Six of the unclued lights are RAF stations of WW2. First prize Kathleen Durber, Stoke-on-Trent Runners-up Alison Gillam, Knotty Green,…
Letters
The word of God Sir: Douglas Murray complains that the C of E has embraced the ‘new religion’ of anti-racism…
Friends in need
During the referendum campaign five years ago, the pro-Brexit side argued that by freeing ourselves from the EU’s native protectionism…
Portrait of the Week
Home The nation was surprised to learn that from 29 March there would be a dearth of vaccine for a…
