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Douglas Murray on Britain's riots, the Democrats' downfall & Europe's 'far right' – 2024 archives

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Spectator Life

An intelligent mix of culture, food, style and property, plus where to go and what to see.

The curious history of the Christmas cracker

From Spectator Life

Those who still make a habit of the Sunday roast are faced with a challenge come Christmas: how to make sure the big meal doesn’t disappoint. What if the turkey is a let-down given everyone so loves the topside of beef? It would take a real Grinch to sniff at the festive spread – we

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Ameer Kotecha

The curious history of the Christmas cracker

From Spectator Life

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Javier Milei • Cate Blanchett • Ayaan Hirsi Ali • Rick Rubin • Tom Holland ... and more

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Carols are much weirder than we think

From the magazine

Why, my sharp-minded colleague Tom Utley once asked after a Telegraph Christmas Carol service, should anyone think God would abhor the Virgin’s womb? He was talking about the line in ‘O come, all ye faithful’ that goes: ‘Lo, he abhors not the Virgin’s womb.’ Wasn’t it a bit weird? At last I found the answer

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John Sturgis

Were Boney M the weirdest pop act of all time?

From Spectator Life