Disapproving chorus

Derbyshire’s Chief Constable told the all-male Derbyshire Constabulary Choir to sever all police ties unless it takes women. How strong is the male choir tradition?
— A directory compiled by the Cotswold Male Voice choir lists 238 active in England and one on the Costa Blanca. There are other police male choirs in Avon and Somerset, West Mids, South Yorks, the Met, Kent, Hants, Gloucs, Torbay and Durham.
— Cornwall has the most, with 39 male voice choirs. London and Brighton both have gay male voice choirs.
— The Welsh Association of male voice choirs lists 91 members, up from a founding 26 in the early 1960s. Northern Ireland’s association lists 26 and the National Association of Choirs lists six in Scotland.

Travelling banned

The government said it would tackle illegal traveller sites after 4,000 caravans were found encamped in this way. How many travellers are there in Britain?
The 2011 census counted 58,000 people identifying as gypsy/travellers.
39% were under 20 compared with 24% for the whole population.
8% were born in other EU nations.
64% identified as Christian.
60% had no formal qualifications.
47% were economically active against 63% for the whole population.
Only 24% lived in caravans, with 61% occupying houses or bungalows.

Monet spinner

The National Gallery was criticised for charging £22 for an exhibition of Monet’s work, although the rest of the gallery is free. How much do you have to pay for art?

Uffizi, Florence
€20.75 (£18)
New York Metropolitan
$25 (£17.75)

Louvre, Paris
€15 (£13)

Hermitage, St Petersburg
$25 (£17.75)
Museum del Prado, Madrid
Free

Lingua Franca

President Macron began a campaign to make French a world language — then used the phrase ‘bottom up’. How big is his task?

Native plus ‘level 2’ speakers
English
1.39 bn
Mandarin
1.16 bn

Spanish
661 m

Hindustani
544 m

Arabian
422 m

Malay
281 m

Russian
267 m

Bengali
261 m

French
229 m

Portuguese
229 m

Source: SIL