Bouncy 2
The Spectator
Thursday
Train 4
‘It’s a bit old-fashioned, but this is Network Rail.’
Health Safety
‘And he went down on bended knee-protector — and proposed.’
Migrant
‘Actually, I’m not “another bloody migrant”, I was born here.’
Telly 2
‘I don’t know how he is, we haven’t talked since the wraparound telly arrived.’
Lifeguard
Relationships
‘Relationship issues… family issues… sexual issues… financial issues… alcohol issues… personality issues… There! Now you know everyone.’
Relate 6
Diary
Letters | 2 July 2015
How to fix Detroit Sir: When I last flew over my native Detroit five years ago, vast tracts of it still resembled Machu Picchu. From the ground, it was little better; in what had been a prosperous Italian-American neighbourhood when I lived there in 1964, there were only five houses left standing. Stephen Bayley (Arts,
Barometer | 2 July 2015
Bank job Should we buy shares in companies which print banknotes in expectation of one getting to print millions of drachma notes? — In May, according to the ECB, there were a total of 17.6bn euro notes in circulation. Given that Greece accounts for approximately 2.5% of the GDP of the eurozone, 441m of these
Fracking Lancashire
That democracy is a superior form of government to any other goes without saying. But in order to function, it has to be conducted in such a way and on such a scale as to ensure that the people or their elected representatives are making decisions based on genuine alternatives. With this week’s decision by
Portrait of the week | 2 July 2015
Home At least 30 British people were among 38 shot dead at a beach resort at Sousse in Tunisia by Seifeddine Rezgui, aged 23, a Tunisian acting for the Islamic State and said to have been trained in Libya. Soldiers, emergency services and 1,000 police took part in a two-day exercise in London simulating a
Books and arts opener – 2 July 2015
The Spectator at war: Masters of the field
From ‘Bogy-Mongering’, The Spectator, 3 July 1915: Of late there have been all sorts of dark hints and rumours as to wonderful new German devices by air, land, and water. No doubt such devices will be tried, and no doubt they will give us some anxious moments, just as did the poison-gas. It is not,
Secret weapons
From ‘Bogy-Mongering’, The Spectator, 3 July 1915: Of late there have been all sorts of dark hints and rumours as to wonderful new German devices by air, land, and water. No doubt such devices will be tried, and no doubt they will give us some anxious moments, just as did the poison-gas. It is not, however,
Wednesday
Podcast special: The case for Heathrow expansion
After three years and £20m, Sir Howard Davies’ Airports Commission has made its recommendation: Heathrow should have a third runway, and Gatwick expansion should not be ruled out either. But that doesn’t mean shovels will soon be tearing up the ground in West London: David Cameron needs to face up to making a decision, and face
The Spectator at war: Registering against conscription
From ‘Arraying the Nation’, The Spectator, 3 July 1915: The voluntary system has no doubt certain advantages, but under a great strain it becomes the refuge of the slacker—of the lazy man, the selfish man, and the cowardly man, It is a system which reserves all the blows for the willing horse, and allows the
Tuesday
The Spectator at war: The value of thrift
From ‘Thrift and the War Loan’, The Spectator, 3 July 1915: There can be little doubt that tens of thousands of people who would never think about the War Loan merely as an investment can readily be persuaded to put their money into it on the ground that it is a patriotic duty so to
Monday
The Spectator at war: The privilege of an Englishman
From ‘The Privilege of an Englishman’, The Spectator, 3 July 1915: [TO THE EDITOR OF THE SPECTATOR] Sir,—There is one privilege which an Englishman has which is not shared by any other European nation. That privilege is neither asked for nor desired by other nations in Europe, for they are more democratic than we are.