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The Glasgow Doctrine
The SpectatorI n an unexpected plot twist, David Cameron and Gordon Brown are fighting over a woman: not, we hasten to add, as suitors, but as public moralists. The Prime Minister has long...
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R arely in my life have I enjoyed running. A tubby
The Spectatorchild and then a sickly teen, I spent games lessons hiding behind a piano with a book. Odd then, that this week I completed (half of) one of the toughest marathons in the world....
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politics
The SpectatorFRASER NELSON Labour needs someone with the guts to tell the party what it must do to avoid disaster G ordon Brown is not used to being spoken back to in Cabinet, which made a...
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� s�ra�rs �arEs
The SpectatorCHARLES MOORE I t is probably just as well that the Ray Lewis fiasco happened to Boris Johnson as Mayor, because otherwise it might have happened to David Cameron as Prime...
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The Establishment paedophile: how a monster hid in high society
The SpectatorRoger Took was a pillar of academia, with an enviable Chelsea address. He was also a vicious paedophile. Charlotte Metcalf shows how the veneer of social respectability can...
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I feel for Ingrid Betancourt â I was kidnapped, too
The SpectatorTristan Garel-Jones I was once kidnapped and held hostage by political terrorists in South America. My ordeal only lasted about an hour â but it was rather frightening. Like...
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Shouting abuse at fat people is not just fun. Itâs socially useful
The SpectatorRod Liddle is impressed by David Cameronâs speech in Glasgow and the Tory leaderâs call for greater personal responsibility. Antisocial behaviour needs to be stigmatised,...
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I fell helplessly in love with Christine Hamilton
The SpectatorIn the second of an occasional series, Martin Rowson interviews Neil and Christine Hamilton. To his alarm, the arch-satirist finds himself warming to the disgraced couple S...
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The web is the most conservative force on Earth
The SpectatorDigital technology has made us a society of mass archivers, says Charles Leadbeater . Far from rotting our brains, the web enables us to preserve all our memories A rchiving is...
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Our survey shows British Muslims donât want sharia
The SpectatorDonât believe the Lord Chief Justice any more than the Archbishop of Canterbury, say Stephen Schwartz and Irfan Al-Alawi A senior establishment figure has once more raised the...
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A pariah writes
The SpectatorSir: I dealt for 30 years with hundreds of Muslims, at first in Mr Doyleâs organisation, so I am not âignorantâ of Islam (as he claims, Letters, 5 July), which seeks to...
Bad times
The SpectatorSir: Rod Liddleâs âHow to get stabbedâ (Liddle Britain, 5 July) was perceptive and spot on in all respects. The last three homicides I attended involved multiple stabbings...
Not mocked
The SpectatorSir: I would like to think that it did not occur to you for one moment that the front cover of your last issue would be deeply offensive to Russian, Greek or any other Orthodox...
Break point
The SpectatorSir: I am surprised that Roger Alton (Sport, 5 July) fell, like most of the media, for the obvious over Alla Kudryavtsevaâs claim that âI donât like her outfitâ,...
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If you had Jerusalem Syndrome, your Solomon hands would fear your Jesus hair
The SpectatorJerusalem A s ever, the great disappointment of Jerusalem is the lack of swivel-eyed loons wandering around believing themselves to be Jesus. Or Solomon or David or Mohammed. Or...
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And Another thing
The SpectatorPAUL JOHNSON The truth little Red Rum can teach those clever dons O ne of the most moving stories in the history of animal life is the racing career of Red Rum. This little...
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busiNess
The SpectatorGood news for the prudent: weâre heading for recession Richard Northedge says those who did not overspend during the boom years will soon be able to buy whatever they want at...
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School fees: a luxury you canât afford
The SpectatorMerryn Somerset Webb T he credit crunch is taking a terrible toll on the middle classes. Theyâve started to give up their organic boxes (sales are down 10 per cent at some...
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any other business Is it wrong to do business in Zimbabwe? Remember what Mandela said to Shell
The SpectatorS hell and Barclays were the two highest-profile British companies in South Africa during the apartheid era. Both pursued nonracial business practices as far as they could, but...
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BEEN SICK IN BED FOUR MONTHS AND WRITTEN AMONG OTHER
The SpectatorTHINGS TWO GOOD SHORT STORIES ONE 2300 WORDS AND 1800 BOTH TYPED AND READY FOR AIR MAIL STOP WOULD LIKE TO GIVE YOU FIRST LOOK AND AT SAME TIME TOUCH YOU FOR 100 WIRED TO BANK...
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A little goes a long way
The SpectatorAndro Linklater T HE i MPORTANCE OF B EiNG TRiviAL by Mark Mason Random House, £12.99, pp. 304, ISBN 9781847945174 â £10.39 (plus £2.45 p&p) 0870 429 6655 N o book can be...
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Cheap and deadly
The SpectatorJonathan Mirsky T HE C HINA P RICE : T HE T RUE C OST OF C HINESE C OMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE by Alexandra Harney Penguin, £15.99, pp. 336, ISBN 9781594201578 â £12.79 (plus...
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The sins of the son
The SpectatorRaymond Carr T HE A ssAssIN â s A CCOMPLICE by Kate Clifford Larson Perseus Group, £15.99, pp. 263, ISBN 9780465038152 I n the spring of 1865 Washington was celebrating...
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How many Russians does it take to change a lightbulb?
The SpectatorVictor Sebestyen H AMMER AND T ICKLE : A H ISTORY OF C OMMUNISM T OLD T HROUGH C OMMUNIST J OKES by Ben Lewis Weidenfeld, £14.99, pp. 354, ISBN 9780297853541 â £11.99 (plus...
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Gilding the lily
The SpectatorMolly Guinness WARRIOR by Allan Mallinson Bantam, £17.99, pp. 337, ISBN 9780593058145 â £14.39 (plus £2.45 p&p) 0870 429 6655 A llan Mallinsonâs hero, Lieutenant-Colonel...
Dancing through danger
The SpectatorOlivia Cole T HE R ETURN by Victoria Hislop Headline, £17.99, pp. 420, ISBN 9780755332939 â £14.39 (plus £2.45 p&p) 0870 429 6655 M arried to a permanently welllunched...
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Magic and laundry
The SpectatorS. E. G. Hopkin H OUSE OF M ANY W AYS by Diana Wynne Jones HarperCollins, £12.99, pp. 327, ISBN 9780007275663 â £10.39 (plus £2.45 p&p) 0870 429 6655 M agic and fantasy...
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âI am ashes where once I was fireâ
The SpectatorâI t was a pity,â Walter Scott wrote in his Journal (22 November 1825), âthat nothing save the total destruction of Byronâs Memoirs would satisfy his Executors â But...
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What a carry on
The SpectatorJames Walton suggests reading George Orwell in order to understand the appeal of Carry On films R ecently, weâve been hearing quite a lot about how the winds of revolutionary...
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Shifting combinations
The SpectatorAndrew Lambirth Margaret Mellis: A Life in Colour Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia, Norwich, until 31 August Constructed: 40 Years of the UEA...
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Passionate collector
The SpectatorMatthew Dennison Masterpiece Watercolours and Drawings Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight, until 9 November E ven passion has its limits. The first Lord Leverhulme â that...
Wanted!
The SpectatorLost portraits Martin Gayford C riminals can turn into detectives: consider the career of Eugène-François Vidocq, thief, convict and subsequently head of the Paris Sûreté....
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Entranced by Janacek
The SpectatorMichael Tanner The Cunning Little Vixen Royal College of Music Candide English National Opera J anacekâs wonderfully unsentimental and warm-hearted opera about animals and...
Uncool fun
The SpectatorCharles Spencer M y body aches, my bones creak and I have a nagging headache that paracetamol wonât shift. Itâs a bit like having a hangover again, but mercifully without...
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Take two couples
The SpectatorLloyd Evans On the Rocks Hampstead In My Name Trafalgar Studios All Nudity Shall Be Punished Union U h oh. Writers writing about writers writing. Amy Rosenthalâs new play is...
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Super trouper
The SpectatorDeborah Ross Mamma Mia PG, Nationwide M amma Mia has to be the most fun you can have with your clothes on. Or is it off? When you get to my age, itâs such a struggle to...
Lost in translation
The SpectatorPeter Phillips M y interest in ridiculous sacred words began with a Victorian edition of Verdiâs âRequiemâ, which I met at school. At the unbelievably splendid, and...
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No rude awakening
The SpectatorJames Delingpole M y favourite part of Banged Up (Channel 4, Monday) â the new reality show in which juvenile delinquents get to spend ten days in fake prison so theyâre...
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Head over heart
The SpectatorRobin Oakley I heard from a Nato general not long ago the story of two hot air balloonists in the US who got lost. They descended to check their bearings from visible landmarks...
People problem
The SpectatorTaki I âm afraid that Pugâs Club âTurd of the Yearâ award went unanimously to the ghastly Andy Murray, he of the centre court primal screams and primate fist pumping....
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In the thick of it
The SpectatorJeremy Clarke I âve not been to Pamplonaâs famous weeklong ârunning of the bullsâ and bullfighting fair of Saint Fermin since 2002; but every year since, on 6 July, at...
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Highland fling
The SpectatorAlex James I wasnât planning to take the family on holiday. We live on a farm and thereâs always something happening. It gets harder and harder to drag oneself away. Claire...
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SPECTATOR WINE CLUB
The SpectatorSIMON HOGGART T here is something wonderful about this time of year, when fairly often the sun is shining. We make British, mock-rueful remarks to each other: âYesterday was...
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STYLE AND TRAVEL
The SpectatorCocoa heaven Peter Grogan samples top of the range chocolates C hocaholism is one of the few âholismsâ that has left me unscathed â workaholism being another. Iâll...
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Cathedral city
The SpectatorJohn Torode seeks the best of Barcelona T he invitation to spend a few days at the swish, new, family-owned Grand Hotel Central included a âpartnerâ. My son the photographer...
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The nursery is the new Jerusalem: Marx and Engels have given way to Charlie and Lola
The SpectatorL ast Saturday, I was due to attend a garden party being hosted by one of my oldest friends, but I did not have time. After picking up four-year-old Sasha from swimming I had to...
Mind your language
The SpectatorLongfellow, in the middle of writing âHiawathaâ, complained to his diary one hot day of âChamber-maids chattering about â children crying â and everything sticky...
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A fortnightly column on technology and the web
The SpectatorA longside the vast fuel tank which powers the Space Shuttle into orbit are two spindly tubes known as Solid Rocket Boosters (or SRBs). Their shape is not ideal: their...
your problEMs solvEd
The SpectatorDear Mary Q. While staying in Gascony a local grandee, with a formidable brain and a château of great historical importance, was invited to dine. As dinner proceeded one of...