The economy of tanks
That an abundance of tanks is no guarantee of a happy and secure nation was evident from the Soviet Union’s…
Barometer
About Last Night It was suggested that the BBC might ‘decolonise’ the Last Night of the Proms by removing ‘Rule,…
Portrait of the Week
Home Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland, made pupils wear face-coverings in school corridors. It didn’t take long for…
Letters
Scottish hearts and heads Sir: Alex Massie ignores the evidence when he espouses the assumption that economic concerns no longer…
Solution to 2468: noah entry?
The puzzle’s number 2468 was printed above the grid, hence ‘The theme is confirmed by the information provided.’ Letters deficient…
Biden’s complacency
There is a great mystery lying behind the 2020 US presidential election: how come a country of 350 million, which…
Portrait of the Week
Home The government seemed to be taken strangely unaware by the frenzy of recrimination that came its way when results…
Barometer
Pink and twisted Bernard Matthews, which stopped making Turkey Twizzlers in 2005 after criticism about unhealthy school dinners from Jamie…
Exam failures
It was obvious that closing schools would hit the poorest hardest, inflicting permanent damage and deepening inequality. While many private…
Portrait of the week
Home In fine weather with calm seas, 565 migrants in four days crossed the Channel in small craft. French officials…
Barometer
Some like it hot Are heatwaves becoming a devalued currency? Last year the Met Office defined a heatwave as three…
Solution to 2467: Girl Talk
The unclued lights, 3/34, 12/31, 26/1A/33, 35/9, 39 and 18 PEAKE (an anagram of the red highlighted letters), are six…
Letters
The future of offices Sir: I agree with much of Gerard Lyons’s article about the future of the capital (‘London…
Mood shift
Throughout the past few months the government has appeared to face an unenviable choice between saving lives and saving livelihoods.…
Portrait of the week
Home Some 2.7 million people in Greater Manchester and parts of Lancashire and West Yorkshire, where many Muslims live, were…
Letters
Peer review Sir: A neat solution to the levels of inactivity of some members of the House of Lords (‘Peer…
Barometer
The other Argos The Argos catalogue, known as the ‘Book of Dreams’, is no longer to appear in printed form.…
To 2466: Gender bender
The author was GEORGE SAND (19/26), whose original name was AMANTINE LUCILE AURORE DUPIN (25/40/5/16). The perimetric works are INDIANA,…
Peer pressure
It is no credit to British democracy that we have the second largest legislative chamber in the world. The only…
Letters
Masking the truth Sir: Matthew Parris is right to laud the importance of embracing the scientific method (‘Why should opinion…
Barometer
The first nanny state The Prime Minister’s strategy on obesity has been labelled a work of the ‘nanny state’ —…
Portrait of the week
Home At a few hours’ notice, the government removed Spain from the list of countries from which it was possible…
Solution to 2465: Definitely amusing
Unclued lights are Brewer’s ‘Chambersisms’ — words from that dictionary with quirky definitions. First prize Maureen Quarmby, Oldham Runners-up M.…
Letters
Left-behind boys Sir: Christopher Snowdon’s perceptive and informative article (‘The lost boys’, 18 July) reflects perfectly my own experiences in…
The EU’s new fault lines
Anyone who imagined that the departure of Britain would make for more harmonious EU summits in future will have been…
