Portrait of the week
Home Pfizer and BioNTech announced a vaccine against Covid-19 of 90 per cent efficacy from two injections three weeks apart.…
Books of the year II
David Crane If nothing else, this has been a good time for catch-up. Theodor Fontane’s Effi Briest (translated by Walter…
Solution to 2479: Shielded
The unclued lights are heraldic terms. First prize J.P. Carrington, Denchworth, OxfordshireRunners-up David Shields, Merthyr Vale M.E. Bosence, Bournemouth Got…
Letters
Woeful Wales Sir: Allison Pearson succinctly points out the absurdity of the so-called Welsh government and its assembly, now trying…
Portrait of the Week
Home The government imposed a lockdown on England to last until 2 December. On television, Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister,…
A lockdown too far
The benefit of having a lockdown announced some days in advance is the ability to savour what is about to…
Barometer
The start of lockdown The earliest known use of ‘lockdown’ in its current sense was in a 1973 story in…
Books of the year I
Reviewers choose the books they have most enjoyed in 2020 – and a few that have disappointed them
Solution to 2478: Namesakes
The lyrics of the perimetric I’M POPEYE THE SAILOR MAN and FALLING IN LOVE AGAIN were written by Sammy Lerner,…
Barometer
The Moon under water Nasa scientists using spectrometers claim to have found good evidence of water on the surface of…
Portrait of the week
Home Wales, entering a 17-day ‘firebreak’, closed most shops by law but then tried to stop supermarkets selling ‘non-essential’ items…
What America needs
It is remarkably uncommon for a US president to fail to be re-elected. It has happened just twice in the…
Letters
Ask the English Sir: Toby Young rightly criticises the juvenile posturing of the devolved governments of the Union over Covid-19…
Why is the Republican party symbol an elephant and the Democratic symbol a donkey?
Political animals Why is the Republican party symbol an elephant and the Democratic symbol a donkey? Both go back to…
Solution to 2477: Rendezvous
The unclued lights take an extra letter to make BRAMBLING (1A), BUDGIE (12A), STARLING (14A), REDSTART (23A), BRANCHER (27A), TURACO…
Barometer
Special Offa A regulation passed by the Welsh government to prevent people travelling from Covid hotspots in England has brought…
End the Sage secrecy
At the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis it was easy to see why the Prime Minister was so keen to…
Portrait of the Week
Home After ten days spent trying to persuade Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, to accede to the city…
Letters
State of the Union Sir: Writing in a week that an opinion poll shows 58 per cent support for independence…
The final 2020 presidential debate — live blog
8:30 p.m. ET — Matt McDonald: Hello and welcome to The Spectator’s live blog for the second and final debate between…
Portrait of the week
Home ‘The weeks and months ahead will continue to be difficult and will test the mettle of this country,’ Boris…
Barometer
Red light, green light The three tiers of Covid restrictions have been described as a ‘traffic light’ system. — The…
A united kingdom
When the Black Lives Matter protests struck London in the same week that Public Health England published a report into…
Letters
Wind worries Sir: You are right to side with the 2013 version of Boris Johnson, when he claimed that wind…
Solution to 2476: Playtime
The unclued lights form pairs of famous soloists and the instruments they play; 1A/19, 5/34, 23/8, 31/39, 43/16A. First prize…
