Ministers need to defy the instinct to lockdown
One of the many ironies of the past few months is that young people, while least affected by the virus,…
Portrait of the week: banned gatherings, stopped presses, and Frogmore’s refurbishment
Home Gatherings of more than six people from more than one household were made a crime in England from 14…
How important is coffee to Britain?
Lyrical errors ‘Rule, Britannia!’ begins with the lines: ‘When Britain first, at heaven’s command/Arose from out the azure main.’ —…
2471: Inky solution
The unclued lights can be preceded by BLACK. First prize Stephanie Reeve, Papworth Everard, CambridgeRunners-up Hilda Ball, Belfast; Peter Chapman,…
How Boris can get Britain back to work
This week was built up by the Prime Minister to be the moment that would mark the return of economic…
Letters: The growing cladding crisis
Cladding fear Sir: Emma Byrne’s report on the cladding scandal (‘Ill clad’, 29 August) will have given many of those…
2470: Express route solution
The unclued lights are places served by the Norwegian HURTIGRUTEN ferries from Bergen to Kirkenes. Tromsø (at 4D) overruns into…
Portrait of the week: Case takes over civil service, Zoom profits rocket and Ocado adopts M&S
Home Simon Case, aged 41, the private secretary to the Duke of Cambridge 2018-20, was appointed Cabinet Secretary and Head…
From the archive: With the Benedictines
From 18 October 1946: Their whole aim and object is to exemplify in their lives and corporate activity their sense…
Who first committed ‘cultural appropriation’?
Culture clashes The pop star Adele was accused of ‘cultural appropriation’ for adopting a Jamaican hairstyle for the online Notting…
Letters: Why do we need beavers?
It’s not about money Sir: Professor Tombs criticises Alex Massie (Letters, 22 August) for ignoring evidence when the latter claims…
2469: Breadth solution
The unclued lights were: 12 CORNI, anagram of Corin (As You Like It); 23 MANDIRA, Miranda (The Tempest); 27 LARDOON,…
Tanking the tanks could be a big mistake
That an abundance of tanks is no guarantee of a happy and secure nation was evident from the Soviet Union’s…
The BBC tradition of trying to remove patriotic songs from Last Night
About Last Night It was suggested that the BBC might ‘decolonise’ the Last Night of the Proms by removing ‘Rule,…
Portrait of the week: BBC drops songs, museum drops Sloane, and KFC and John Lewis drop slogans
Home Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland, made pupils wear face-coverings in school corridors. It didn’t take long for…
Letters: why do we put up with bats?
Scottish hearts and heads Sir: Alex Massie ignores the evidence when he espouses the assumption that economic concerns no longer…
2468: noah entry? solution
The puzzle’s number 2468 was printed above the grid, hence ‘The theme is confirmed by the information provided.’ Letters deficient…
Joe Biden should not take victory for granted
There is a great mystery lying behind the 2020 US presidential election: how come a country of 350 million, which…
Portrait of the week: A-level chaos, quarantine confusion and revolution
Home The government seemed to be taken strangely unaware by the frenzy of recrimination that came its way when results…
Why Turkey Twizzlers are back on the menu
Pink and twisted Bernard Matthews, which stopped making Turkey Twizzlers in 2005 after criticism about unhealthy school dinners from Jamie…
Inflated exam grades let the government ignore its own failures
It was obvious that closing schools would hit the poorest hardest, inflicting permanent damage and deepening inequality. While many private…
Portrait of the week: Employment falls, exam failures and a roundabout rigmarole
Home In fine weather with calm seas, 565 migrants in four days crossed the Channel in small craft. French officials…
How hot does a ‘heatwave’ have to be?
Some like it hot Are heatwaves becoming a devalued currency? Last year the Met Office defined a heatwave as three…
2467: Girl Talk solution
The unclued lights, 3/34, 12/31, 26/1A/33, 35/9, 39 and 18 PEAKE (an anagram of the red highlighted letters), are six…
Letters: Will office workers ever want to return?
The future of offices Sir: I agree with much of Gerard Lyons’s article about the future of the capital (‘London…
