Portrait of the week: The death of Queen Elizabeth II – and the accession of King Charles III
Home The body of Queen Elizabeth lay in state at Westminster Hall, in a coffin draped in the royal standard…
How The Spectator reported the Queen’s life
How The Spectator reported the Queen’s life
2570: Short story - solution
Arthur C. Clarke (31/45) said that Ernest Hemingway (35/12) won a bet from fellow writers for the shortest story: FOR…
The Queen’s act of Union
In death, as in life, Elizabeth II has been a unifying force for her country. For all the political rancour…
Liz Truss can’t ignore the issue of NHS reform
It’s hard to think of any Prime Minister who has entered office surrounded by such low expectations. Liz Truss was…
How much can Boris Johnson earn on the speaker circuit?
In they come, out they go Liz Truss is the 15th prime minister to have served under Queen Elizabeth II,…
Portrait of the week: Truss in, Johnson out and Nord Stream 1 off
Home Liz Truss, the new Prime Minister, said in a speech outside 10 Downing Street: ‘Boris Johnson delivered Brexit, the…
Letters: Why we obeyed lockdown
Why we allowed it Sir: In her article ‘Why didn’t more people resist lockdown?’ (3 September), Lionel Shriver partially answers…
2569: Anadad - solution
The quotation was ‘I WAS BORN TO SPEAK ALL MIRTH AND NO MATTER’ from Much Ado About Nothing (II.i.321) by…
Letters: Lockdown saved lives
Lockdown saved lives Sir: Rishi Sunak presents an alarming picture of what happened during lockdown (‘The lockdown files’, 27 August)…
Portrait of the week: Gorbachev dies, Gibraltar becomes a city (again) and Meghan’s Mandela moment
Home Liz Truss, the contender for the Conservative party leadership who is expected to become prime minister next Tuesday, resisted…
What did Nasa achieve last time it visited the Moon?
Of mice and Moon What did Nasa achieve last time it visited the Moon? Apollo 17, in December 1972, involved…
2568: Next door... - solution
The unclued lights were characters in Neighbours, paired at 12/19, 14/20, 16/19 and 32/20. First prize Peter Taylor-Mansfield, Worcester Runners-up…
Russia, Ukraine and the legacy of Gorbachev
In her memoirs, Raisa Gorbacheva recalls the moment when her husband turned from bureaucrat into reformer. ‘I’m in my seventh…
What the Tory leadership rivals haven’t discussed
In just over a week, Britain will have a new prime minister. No one can say that the 160,000 or…
What’s Helsinki’s nightlife like?
Finnish lines Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said she had taken a test for illegal drugs after being filmed at…
Letters: How to reform the GMC
Overhaul the GMC Sir: Max Pemberton’s cogent criticism of the GMC (‘Unfit for purpose’, 20 August). is one of the…
Portrait of the week: Drought in Europe, property crisis in China and barristers and binmen strike
Home Inflation would reach 18.6 per cent by January and the energy price cap £5,816 in April, according to a…
2567: Stop! - solution
The unclued lights (including the pairs at 2/14 and 12/36) are names of organ stops which Brewer calls ‘music in…
Portrait of the week: Inflation soars as Boris moves out of No. 10
Home The annual rate of inflation rose to 10.1 per cent, its highest since 1982. Average wages rose by 4.7…
Letters: Blame the regulators, not the water companies
No competition Sir: Ross Clark’s compelling critique of the water companies comes to the wrong conclusion (‘Water isn’t working’, 13…
Somewhere XII – Solution
30 July is Independence Day in Vanuatu in MELANESIA (23D). Its capital city is PORT VILA (39/16), one of its…
Do Brits take as many holidays as Boris?
Testing, testing When were A levels first sat? They can be traced back to the Oxford Local, an external examination…
Don’t blame Brexit for our lack of workers
It has become received wisdom that Brexit has condemned Britain to chronic labour shortages. Many of the migrant workers who…
It’s time to repair the damage caused by lockdown grade inflation
When A-level results are published next week, we will find out if the government has made any progress in stemming…
