face masks
Diary
On Monday, I had a whinge-walk with Lizzie, my friend of 47 years. We met at breathing classes for our…
The tyranny of Boris Johnson’s mask mandate
Today the government has said that for the next three weeks it will be mandatory to wear masks in shops…
The Covid pantomime at my father’s memorial
This last weekend I attended the memorial service for my father, who died in July. This isn’t a bid for…
The Spectator’s Notes
In deciding whether or not to wear a mask after 19 July, I am sure Boris Johnson is right that…
Barometer
Mask crusader Who first wore a medical face mask? — The beaked outfits worn by plague doctors aside, the first…
The economic case for ditching mask mandates
After many months of hardship and sacrifice, freedom is finally within grasp. Boris Johnson has reclaimed his buccaneering, libertarian spirit…
We’re all in favour of lockdown, darling
I’ve just written an essay for the People’s Lockdown Inquiry, a new collaboration between Buckingham University, the Institute of Ideas…
Our great blanket of doubt
Now that the government has kindly allowed us to go out again, I wonder if anyone has discovered the same…
It’s time to face the truth about masks
However surreal and dystopian the pandemic landscape seemed at first, no enduring vista feels ‘surreal’ and ‘dystopian’ indefinitely. Citizenries uniformly…
Diary
What would happen to the Republicans after Donald Trump? That has been one of the pundits’ favourite themes in the…
Face masks in schools: a note on the evidence
Secondary-school children returning to school from 8 March will be required to wear masks in classrooms, at least for several…
My cure for the common cold
You really don’t want to know about my coughs and sneezes, particularly during the festive season, but bear with me…
‘We won’t have zero Covid’
A scientific debate about the virus
Criminal gangs are making billions from fake medical supplies during COVID
While it’s great news that Pfizer, BioNTech, AstraZeneca and other pharmaceutical companies are developing vaccines to prevent people from getting…
Landmark Danish study shows face masks have no significant effect
Do face masks work? Earlier this year, the UK government decided that masks could play a significant role in stopping…
The transatlantic mask divide
Should we wear our masks? The question has been on my mind as I have been battered that way and…
Dear Mary
Q. I am running out of suitable responses to a friend who now has the slightest possible connection to one…
Will the next U-turn be on face masks at work?
There’s a new trend emerging when it comes to Covid-19 policy: where Scotland leads, England follows. In recent weeks, decisions…
Certainty is overrated
I have decided to divorce my wife after 31 years on scientific grounds. Though perfectly happy, on reassessing my original…
Dear Mary
Q. On my way to Devon recently I stopped for lunch with an impeccably mannered friend. He produced first crab…
Letters
The future of offices Sir: I agree with much of Gerard Lyons’s article about the future of the capital (‘London…
Letters
Peer review Sir: A neat solution to the levels of inactivity of some members of the House of Lords (‘Peer…
Letters
Masking the truth Sir: Matthew Parris is right to laud the importance of embracing the scientific method (‘Why should opinion…
Seeing red
Why should I have to wear a mask to give blood?
Why should opinion matter more than science?
In 1846 Vienna, as across much of the world, a relatively new disease called puerperal (or ‘childbed’) fever had reached…
