Calling
‘I’m calling to find out if you got my text about the email I sent regarding the letter I wrote...’
The Spectator
Thursday
Vicar 8
‘Today’s text comes from…’
Spectator letters: Why rural churches are so important, and the best use for them
The presence of a church Sir: The challenge for the Church of England and the wider community is to ensure that our village churches are a blessing and not a burden (‘It takes a village’, 21 February). The Church of England has approximately 16,000 churches, three-quarters of which are listed by English Heritage. Most of
Five more MPs making Malcolm Rifkind’s day rate
Golden league Some MPs who earn Sir Malcolm Rifkind’s rate of £5,000 a day: — Sir Tony Baldry (Banbury): £3,333 for four hours work as deputy chairman of Woburn Energy. — Greg Barker (Bexhill and Battle): £20,000 for 30 hours providing advice to Ras Al Khaimah Development LLC. — Henry Bellingham (NW Norfolk): £7,500 for
Portrait of the week | 26 February 2015
Home Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the former Conservative foreign secretary, resigned as chairman of Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee and promised not to stand for Parliament in May after he and Jack Straw, the former Labour foreign secretary, were suspended from their parties. This followed their being separately secretly filmed apparently offering their services for payment
The real problem with our MPs: they’re obsessed with the super-rich
Had the public been asked, before Monday morning, to identify two MPs who stood for honesty and decency, the names Jack Straw and Sir Malcolm Rifkind would have been prominent among their replies. Both have served as foreign secretary, Straw also as home secretary and justice secretary. Neither seemed unduly driven by personal ambition, nor
Books and arts – 26 February 2015
The Spectator at war: Animal sentries
From ‘Animal Sentries’, The Spectator, 27 February 1915: OBSERVERS of birds have been much interested by the evidence, which seems to be fairly satisfactory, that pheasants in as remote a part of England as Westmorland were disturbed by the firing in the North Sea on the day of Sir David Beatty’s action and showed many
From the archives | 26 February 2015
From The Spectator, 27 February 1915: Observers of birds have been much interested by the evidence, which seems to be fairly satisfactory, that pheasants in as remote a part of England as Westmorland were disturbed by the firing in the North Sea on the day of Sir David Beatty’s action and showed many signs of excitement.
Wednesday
MPs hang out with the wealthy so is it any wonder their worldview is warped?
Had the public been asked, before Monday morning, to identify two MPs who stood for honesty and decency, the names Jack Straw and Sir Malcolm Rifkind would have been prominent among their replies. Both have served as foreign secretary, Straw also as home secretary and justice secretary. Neither seemed unduly driven by personal ambition, nor
The Spectator at war: The price of failure
From ‘The Attack on the Dardanelles’, The Spectator, 27 February 1915: THE British public have recognized the importance of the attack on the Dardanelles. They have seen instinctively that it means a great deal more than the mere bombardment of the vulnerable points offered by the enemy’s forts on the European and Asiatic sides of
Tuesday
The Spectator at war: Romantic bombardment
From ‘News of the Week’, The Spectator, 27 February 1915: A MOVEMENT which will appeal to many people as the most significant and romantic in the war was begun on Friday week, when an Anglo-French fleet appeared off the Dardanelles and bombarded the forts. Early in the morning Cape Relies and Kum Kaleh were bombarded
Saturday
The Spectator at war: Compulsory purchase
From ‘Pitfalls in Bookland’, The Spectator, 20 February 1915: EVERY bookman knows that the taste for buying books inevitably outruns the capacity for reading them. At first a man buys a book only when he wants it vehemently—when he is so anxious to enjoy it that he despatches the preface while he is waiting for
Friday
The Spectator at war: Marching orders
From ‘The Psychology of Drill’, The Spectator, 20 February 1915: One is tempted to divide all men under drill into two classes—the precipitate and the tardy. Every one who has listened to a drill instructor’s words knows that the first part of a command is cautionary. For instance, in “Right—turn” there is a pause between
Thursday
Stick
Pooh stick
Isis
‘It’s a lovely day. Surely someone wants to come outside to fight?’
Pirates
‘The coast is clear, Cap’n, I think we’re safe to board her.’
Clowns 3
‘It’s wonderful to see them behaving naturally in the wild rather than being forced to perform in captivity.’
Statin
‘Before I begin, has everyone taken their statin?’