to 2342: Decorative
The key terms are ART NOUVEAU (12) and JUGENDSTIL (19). One indicates 24 and 28D, and the other can be…
Donald Trump has a genius for damaging his own reputation
It’s easy to see why Donald Trump gets angry. He is presiding over a robust economy, growing at the fastest…
A Brexit transition period is ‘a new Norman Conquest’ says Jacob Rees-Mogg
Home The EU published its negotiating position on Britain’s period of transition, from 30 March 2019 until 31 December 2020.…
Ikea’s founder was a billionaire skinflint – but others were even worse
Tight money Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of Ikea, was worth an estimated £40 billion. Yet the eighth richest man in…
to 2341: Durum, durum
The unclued lights are varieties of PASTA. First prize J Cookson, Cheltenham, GloucestershireRunners-up Margaret Shiels, Edinburgh; D King, Leeds Got…
Open goal: Britain must embrace all Brexit’s freedoms
A decade ago, bankers were not merely the masters of Davos, but the ‘masters of the universe’. No one calls…
Boris Johnson slapped down after calling for more NHS funding
Home Boris Johnson went on manoeuvres again. The media were briefed that, in a meeting of the cabinet, he would…
What did Ukip do in five years that took Sinn Fein 66?
Redundant robots Fabio, a robot assistant in an Edinburgh grocery store, was retired after scaring customers. We worry about artificial…
We need a root-and-branch rethink on plastic packaging
Reasons to use less plastic Sir: Yes, packaging from petrochemicals is bad, but what if we set out to use…
to 2340: Booboos
Amongst the many ‘aphorisms’ of Yogi Berra, the New York Yankees baseball manager, were ‘The future ain’t what it used…
Jeremy Corbyn’s takeover is complete – and the Tories are terrified
For Jeremy Corbyn and his allies, there has been no far-left takeover of the Labour party or its governing National…
Carillion crashes owing £1.5 billion: directors’ conduct is probed
Home Carillion, the construction and service-provider with 20,000 employees and many contracts for the public sector, went into liquidation with…
The mischief of Bolshevism
From ‘The Bolshevik negotiations with Germany’, 19 January 1918: We think that the fact is fairly emerging from the negotiations…
Which UK employer pays men 80 per cent less than women?
Big losers Construction company Carillion collapsed with debts of £1.5 billion. How does that compare with other UK corporate failures?Overend…
solution
A beastly business The quote is 1A/92/18D from the poem ‘A Visit from St Nicholas’. The theme was the names…
Something’s gone badly right with the world economy
It is only a few months since gloomy economic commentators were confidently predicting that the world was about to plunge…
The Cabinet reshuffle that exploded in Theresa May’s face
Home Theresa May, the Prime Minister, tried to shuffle her cabinet, but Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, refused to become…
Are things really getting better? The numbers tell us so
Many people are gloomy about 2018. But some things are improving every year… Natural disasters These killed 9,066 people in…
to 2339: Interesting
Deployment of a GRABBING CRANE (1D) is required to complete entries at 11, 13, 21 and 23. 1A, 19 and…
His critics can’t admit it, but Trump’s crazy tactics are succeeding
Among the many new political maladies of our age, one has been left largely undiagnosed. This is Trump Derangement Syndrome,…
Death in the streets as anti-government unrest sweeps Iran
Home In a message for the New Year, as though it were an immemorial custom, Theresa May, the Prime Minister,…
How did psychic predictions for 2017 play out?
Did that happen? What psychics foresaw for 2017:— ‘Crash in euro, Denmark and Italy leaving the EU; North and South…
Don’t damn the ancients for failing to give women the vote
From The Spectator, 2 January 1847: The New Year opens for England with heavy clouds in the sky, but with…
Letters: No, the Church of England is not planning an evangelical takeover
A church for all people Sir: I enjoyed reading Ysenda Maxtone Graham’s account of debates in the Church of England…
to 2338: Fone
The unclued lights are former and current F1 teams. First prize Ronald Morton, Basingstoke, HantsRunners-up Revd J. Thackray, Ipswich, Suffolk;…
