It’s in the bag
‘Of course, I am obstinate in defending our liberties and our law — that is why I carry a big…
Letters
Veritas vincit Sir: Professor Dawkins eloquently and engagingly defines true truth for us (‘Matters of fact’, 19 December). It seems…
A dog is not just for lockdown
The Dogs Trust charity received 114 calls on 27 and 28 December from people wanting to offload their puppies. No,…
The Spectator’s Notes
Domenica Lawson, daughter of Rosa and Dominic, the former editor of this paper, has Down’s syndrome. She is classified as…
The age of de-enlightenment
Depictions of Thomas Carlyle and David Hume in the Scottish Portrait Gallery will be altered to make it clear they…
I know why Welby is so worn out
Justin Welby is having a holiday and people are unhappy about it. He plans, in May, to take a three-month…
Puzzle No. 635
Mastrovasilis–Marechal, Cappelle la Grande 2011. Black is a whole rook up, so his last move 34… Nd5-e7, angling for an…
The real Tory opposition leader
A few months ago, Tory aides spotted a suspicious pattern. If they agreed on a new Covid policy to be…
Barometer
A ferry tale Gerry Marsden, who died aged 78, was credited with making the ferry across the River Mersey world-famous.…
Hermits
At a time when so many of us are experiencing some measure of isolation, it is hard to fathom the…
Portrait of the Week
Home Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, announced harsher coronavirus restrictions in England, resembling those last March, except that bubbles continued.…
Minimalist’s dream
Love Letters by A.R. Gurney began life as an epistolary novella about two childhood friends, Andy and Melissa, whose on-off…
Communicating in code
When Martin Puchner was a child, tramps would turn up at his family home in Nuremberg to be fed by…
The Brexit deal has left the City to fight for its own future
‘This Article shall not apply with respect to financial services.’ That’s what it says on page 92 of the EU-UK…
History shouldn’t be used against us
Can you feel the fascism yet? You ought to by now, more than a week after Britain leaving the EU.…
Solution to 2486: Ghost Companions
Unclued lights are nicknames of works by Beethoven, born 250 years ago. The title referred to the Ghost piano trio,…
When history is bunk
In the 1930s curators at the British Museum, under orders from Lord Duveen, a generous donor, scoured and hacked at…
Cautionary tales
In Competition No. 3180 you were invited to submit a Belloc-esque cautionary tale featuring a high-profile public figure. Cautionary Tales…
