‘I love the pumping station,’ said my husband, waving a copy of the Docklands and East London Advertiser which reported the architectural listing of the Isle of Dogs storm water pumping station. ‘I’d been looking for that,’ I said patiently (I thought). ‘The listing is not the point.’ A reader had sent the paper to
The pre-commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales is already in full swing. She is a subject on which it is hard to get the balance right. Her impact was remarkable and her death tragic. On the other hand, the picture of the loving, giving saint which has been
Home Theresa May, the Prime Minister, invited the media to take a photograph of her beginning a holiday with her husband Philip at Lake Garda before pressing on to Switzerland for some walking. David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, resisted demands by Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament Brexit negotiator, that the European Court of Justice should
Besides being important in themselves, the trade talks between Britain and the United States which began this week are symbolic of the opportunities that should become available as we leave the European Union. For years we have dealt with the US, our biggest single customer, under burdensome tariffs and other regulation — but we had
As pictures go, it could be career death. An amazing young talent caught in a compromising position with two older men. And it’s on my computer. The talent in question is Jack Whitehall, the brilliant actor/comedian, star of Decline and Fall and Bad Education, who was appearing at the Hammersmith Apollo last week. I went
The unclued Across lights become thematic when a suffix is appended. The individual unclued Down lights (one a proper noun) also become thematic when a different suffix is appended; 1 Down consists of three further words which individually become thematic in the same way as the unclued Down ones do. The unchecked letters of all
I’ve had it with the Conservatives. For me, and I know I’m not the only one, the final straw was the announcement at the weekend that the Equalities Minister Justine Greening wants to change the law so that people are free to specify their gender on their birth certificate regardless of medical opinion. What were
Much to the ire of many a financial institution, I am self-employed. Those two dirty words which mean it is near impossible to get a mortgage, earn a regular income, and save for retirement. On the upside, I have four private pensions accrued by working for various companies over the past 20 years. What is she
The answer to the subtraction sum in the title is 1947. So all the unclued lights are celebrities who celebrate their 70th birthday this year. The first letter of each clue, read in order, announce Doc’s 70th birthday. First prize Emma Wood, Loscoe, Heanor, Derbyshire Runners-up Tom Richards, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire; George D. Logan, Columbia, Maryland,
Another day, another mixed message from the government over its position on Brexit. This time it’s immigration that has become the source of confusion after the Home Secretary and her minister appeared to come up with conflicting lines this morning. In an article for the Financial Times, Amber Rudd said she wanted to reassure businesses
Don’t electric cars sound exciting? No exhaust emissions creating a toxic soup for children to breathe in as they go to school and charging at home before whizzing about in a quiet, clean car. Ministers are so excited by them that this week they announced they want to ban all new petrol and diesel cars
What with yet another warning from the Bank of England this week about rising consumer debt, and my own prediction that we’re heading for an economic trough within 18 months, this doesn’t feel like a good time to be paying top dollar for luxury brands. When Jimmy Choo, the maker of super-expensive strappy stilettos, was
This week’s Books Podcast is all about love. Can we have too much of it? How long does it last? And is the hot new thing, polyamory, the solution to al our problems? I’m joined by the writer and comedian Rosie Wilby — author of the new book Is Monogamy Dead? — to discuss the future of
Since Theresa May lost her Tory majority in the snap election, few of her MPs have been more critical of the Prime Minister than Heidi Allen. The MP for South Cambridgeshire has predicted that May will be gone within six months – and said in a speech in the Commons that she could ‘barely put into
When Tony Blair was selling out the Labour Party by introducing a minimum wage, paid holiday leave and free nursery education, the hard left reckoned it had his measure. Semi-Trots and leftover Bennites, since decamped to one of the many exciting acronyms British Leninism has to offer, filled monochrome magazines and academish journals with tracts
On this week’s episode we discuss whether Macron is losing his gloss, ask if the Brexit talks are heading in the right direction, and recommend how to get the best out of the Edinburgh festival. First, it’s been just over two months since Emmanuel Macron became President of France, and already cracks are starting to show.
After the Tories went on the attack this week over student debt, Momentum – the grassroots pro-Corbyn group – has hit back with an attack on… middle-aged middle class voters. Yes, rather than aim their ire at the Tories, the video sees the group make fun of those voters who ‘just don’t get it’ –
This year’s Man Booker longlist is a good one, I think. Lots of variety; big names and small ones; and an impressive geographical spread. Leans towards the experimental – and no harm in that. I’m pleased/relieved to say that The Spectator reviewed all but three of these books when they came out (Kamila Shamsie is forthcoming)
The row over chlorine-washed chicken should be a wake-up call to British free traders. It is a sign of the opposition that any new trade deals will face. The producer interests keen to oppose the extra competition that free trade brings are organised and ready to go. But the consumers who’d benefit from greater choice
