Portrait of the Week
Home The Commons voted by 291 votes to 78 for new coronavirus regulations putting 55 million people in England into…
High and dry
Does it matter that Debenhams and the Arcadia group have gone under this week, taking 25,000 jobs with them and…
2486: Ghost companions
In this anniversary year, unclued lights (one of two words) are of a kind. Ignore four accents. Across 1 Regularly…
Cricket tea
Cricket is not renowned for embracing change. The introduction of the middle stump, overarm bowling and Kevin Pietersen were all…
Puzzle no. 633
White to play. A position taken from Chess Improvement (perhaps from Luchowski–Gridnew, Moscow 1992.) Black’s menacing pieces make the situation…
High life
New York I received a letter from a long-time Spectatorreader, James Hackett, enquiring about books I am reading. It is…
In the same boat
‘We should be living in a brave country and on a brave planet that bravely distributes its occupants,’ thinks Rose…
Of human bondage
Wrestling with the history of the British Empire is the unfinished and unfinishable project of our history. Time’s Monster takes…
Rugby must try harder
Remember those lazy, hazy, crazy days of last year’s rugby World Cup, when as perfect a performance by England as…
The greater glory of Roy
Stephen Bayley recalls his (mainly enjoyable) encounters with the flamboyant former museum director
Barometer
Dangerous games Sage scientists advised against playing board games at Christmas. Some games to consider if you are feeling subversive:Pandemic…
What does the different Covid data tell us?
In spite of the approval of one vaccine and the likely approval of at least two others, the government seems…
Brexit negotiations paused ahead of crunch talks
Those hoping for white smoke in the Brexit negotiations tonight will be left disappointed. After a week of intense negotiations,…
A Sudan-Israel peace deal could be Trump’s crowning achievement
Twitter is not always kind to the Jewish state. But the peace accord between Israel, UAE and Bahrain that was…
France would be foolish to veto a Brexit deal
Britain and France are heading for an almighty bust-up over Brexit. This morning the French junior minister for European affairs,…
Nike Japan’s lecturing was bound to backfire
David Ogilvy once said that ‘a good advertisement is one that sells the product without drawing attention to itself’. If…
Brexit talks go down to the wire
After the past few years, it is hard to take Brexit deadlines seriously; they have a tendency to always slide…
Russians are wary of Putin’s vaccine
Never one to let a bandwagon pass by, Vladimir Putin launched his own national vaccine programme the moment Britain said…
