24 NOVEMBER 2001

Page 8

T he government pushed ahead with the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security

The Spectator

Bill, which does away with habeas corpus for detained foreigners suspected of terrorism and allows different government departments to send round confidential information about...

Page 9

SPECIAI E 'OR

The Spectator

The Spectator. 56 Doughty Street, London WC1N 21_,E Telephone: 020-7405 1706; Fax 020-7242 0603 WAR ON FREEDOM A trite phrase holds that the first casualty in war is truth. It...

Page 10

BERYL BAINBRIDGE

The Spectator

I n August I was fortunate enough to front an Arena documentary on the subject of Dr Johnson, dwelling in particular on his friendship with the Thrales of Streatham Park. Henry...

Page 12

Tony Blair's guru spells out his terrifying vision for the future of democracy

The Spectator

PETER OBORNE T he result of the Ipswich by-election was unknown when The Spectator went to press. One part of the result was, however, entirely predictable: disastrously low...

Page 13

Are you sitting comfortably?

The Spectator

You are not a child. If someone were to read you a bedtime story, we suspect you would prefer something more grown-up than Mother Goose. Perhaps a little pillow book, the uses...

Page 14

WHAT ENOCH WAS REALLY SAYING

The Spectator

Simon Heifer says that angry demonstrations by British Muslims against the war on terror suggest that the 'Rivers of Blood' speech should have been heeded: Powell's chief...

Page 16

BLIND EYE TO FRAUD

The Spectator

Frank Field exposes the government's failure to reform the welfare state 'THE Prime Minister believes you have solved welfare.' These were the words with which Sir Richard...

Page 18

LET WIN INTELLECTUAL

The Spectator

Peter °borne says that the shadow home secretag is a man to be reckoned with: he is clevel; charming and a friend of Charles Moore THE appointment of Oliver Letwin as shadow...

Page 19

Second opinion

The Spectator

BRITISH parents hate their children, and they are quite right to do so. Needless to say, their hatred is thoroughly reciprocated, with equal justification. One glance at British...

Page 20

Mind your language

The Spectator

WHILE looking for something else (as while looking for the corkscrew one finds a book of stamps that would have been very useful before the last post went), I came across this...

FOR CHRIST'S SAKE

The Spectator

Colin R. Nicho11 reveals that Christian broadcasting is being persecuted by a special-interest pressure group PREMIER Radio, London's Christian radio station, has been given a...

Page 22

DUTCH TREAT

The Spectator

They take 'stress' so seriously in Holland, says Fraser Bailey, that if you feel a bit unhappy you can get a year off work on full pay HAVING lived and worked in the...

Page 23

Banned wagon

The Spectator

A weekly swvey of the things our rulers want to prohibit THE government, it is asserted, has long since turned its back on the confiscation of private property. The Department...

Page 24

PRO-CHOICE, PRO-GAY, ANTI-GUN

The Spectator

The new Republican mayor of New York has some conservatives gagging, says Philip Delves Broughton New York AT the end of May, about a week before Mike Bloomberg declared he...

Page 26

Ancient & modern

The Spectator

GEOLOGISTS claim to have explained the frenzied rantings of the priestess (the Pythia) at the ancient Greek oracle at Delphi. They argue that ethane, methane and ethylene issued...

APOCALYPSE AGAIN

The Spectator

Francis Ford Coppola 's masterpiece has just been reissued. It is not an anti-war movie, says Matthew d'Ancona; it is an anti-lies movie CHARLIE don't surf — and neither does...

Page 28

THE PARTY OF YOBS AND SNOBS

The Spectator

Why do people hate the Tories? Bevis Hillier says the answer is simple: it is because they are hateful 'WHY do people still hate Tories?' The Spectator asked on its front...

Page 30

When literary types and politicians enjoyed a rousing singsong

The Spectator

PAUL JOHNSON g E 'eryone suddenly burst out singing.' But they don't, do they? What is wrong with the world (among many other things) is that people do not sing any more. I...

Page 32

Lord Powell's links with Syria show that business and diplomacy should not be mixed

The Spectator

STEPHEN GLOVER O h dear. I am not sure I really want to do this. I don't think I have ever met Charles Powell but everyone says what an absolutely charming chap he is. Probity...

Page 34

Gallery Preview

The Spectator

Pip Todd Warmoth Timeless paintings that evoke the sacred atmosphere of India by Elizabeth Kenny Pip Todd Warmoth was born in Lincolnshire into an artistic family. His father...

Page 36

With enemies like these we need wicked friends

The Spectator

FRANK JOHNSON P lenty of interesting things are said about this war by both its supporters and its opponents, by both Right and Left. Not that all on the Right are its...

Page 38

No houris in heaven

The Spectator

From The Revd Anthony Symondson, Si Sir: Katie Grant writes with feeling about her Catholic recusant ancestors (Would you die for your faith?', 10 November), but there is a...

Pacifists in wartime

The Spectator

From Professor John Spencer Sir: Peter Mullen seems to know little about free speech or episcopal dissent during the second world war (`Holy fools', 10 November). Has he never...

The other Mr Mirsky

The Spectator

From Mr Joseph Askew Sir: I was interested to read Jonathan Mirsky's article On bed with the Reds', 10 November) on Rupert Murdoch and the Chinese communists. A long time ago I...

Fact check

The Spectator

From Mr Andrew Gilligan Sir: Stephen Glover's famously exhaustive fact-checking procedures have unfortunately failed him in my case. He claims (Media studies, 17 November) that...

From Dr Nigel Legg Sir: Stephen Glover (Media studies, 3

The Spectator

November) says the attack on the 11 September was the worst single act of terrorism ever committed, but he has forgotten an earlier and strangely similar event with even more...

Frozen Cafe

The Spectator

From Mr James Gladstone Sir: Conservatives Against a Federal Europe (Cafe) has not been suspended by the leadership of the Conservative party (Letters, 10 November). lain...

Forced marriages

The Spectator

From Mina Godi Sir: I am a British Iranian Muslim woman who is allowed to keep her own passport. I am also a college lecturer, and I feel a responsibility to write in response...

From Sandra Power Sir: Naeem Ali (Letters, 10 November) has

The Spectator

never come across a case of enforced marriage and therefore it doesn't exist. Gosh — proof of true assimilation into the chattering classes! As a social worker specialising in...

Page 40

An isle too far

The Spectator

From Mr James Young Sir: Pace Steve King (Books, 17 November) we cannot say for certain that the island(s) known to the ancients as Ultima Thule is/are today's Iceland. Indeed,...

'Empty' isn't 'dead'

The Spectator

From Natasha McEnroe Sir: I was surprised to read in Charles Saumarez Smith's review of 18 Folgate Street (Books, 10 November) that he considers Dr Johnson's house 'dead'...

Deep Waters

The Spectator

From Mr Rory Knight Bruce Sir: Charles Spencer should not be allowed to get away with serving up the old fish that Pink Floyd's Syd Barrett was a psychedelic genius and Roger...

Napoleon solo

The Spectator

From Major P. de V. Patey Sir: Napoleon did explain why he was against war councils (Shared opinion, 10 November). I quote three of his maxims: Nothing is so important in war...

Clarity of compression

The Spectator

From Godfrey Carey, QC Sir; Does not the succinct clarity of the article by Oxford's professor of classical literature (`East is East and West is West', 27 October) emphasise...

Period phrases

The Spectator

From Mr Tony Inglis Sir: Simon Hoggart, writing on television (Arts, 17 November), condemns Andrew Davies's 'weird habit of using modern phrases and slang' in his period...

Tailored insults

The Spectator

From Mr Frank Scott Sir: Jonathan Ray ('Measuring up', 10 November) described tailoring abbreviations. It reminded me of many years ago when I was one of several hundred...

Page 41

BOOKS OF THE YEAR A further selection of the best

The Spectator

and worst books of the year, chosen by some of our regular contributors Jane Gardam The most extraordinary and important biography I have read this year is Gaudi by Gijs van...

Page 44

Writing beyond his means

The Spectator

Philip Hensher THE CORRECTIONS by Jonathan Franzen Fourth Estate, £17 99, pp. 566, ISBN 1841156728 J onathan Franzen, if you haven't heard by now, is the new big thing in...

Page 45

Cracking the mosquito code

The Spectator

Andrew Barrow THE FEVER TRAIL: THE HUNT FOR THE CURE FOR MALARIA by Mark Honigsbaum Macmillan, £18.99, pp. 338, ISBN 0333901851 T his strange, dark forest of a book, the...

Page 46

Fifteen who didn't fit in

The Spectator

John Michell ECCENTRICS by John Jolliffe Duckworth, £18, pp. 184, ISBN 0715630504 F ifteen main characters are exhibited in this gallery of eccentrics. Two of them (Lady...

Migration

The Spectator

High on my windswept hill I live beneath a flight path. Each year I thrill to hear the whispering wings and haunting fog-horn cry before I see ship's anchors tossed across the...

Page 47

Rekindling lost memories of national tradition

The Spectator

Douglas Johnson RETHINKING FRANCE: LES LIEUX DE MEMOIRE: VOLUME I. THE STATE under the direction of Pierre Nora, translated by Mary Trouille, translation directed by David P....

Page 48

Pilgrim's lurching progress

The Spectator

Paul Routledge INNOCENT IN THE HOUSE by Andy McSmith Verso, £13, pp. 311, ISBN 1859846932 T here used to be only one way to achieve fame in political journalism: provide your...

Page 49

They don't like it up 'em

The Spectator

Roger Lewis DAD'S ARMY: THE COMPLETE SCRIPTS OF SERIES 1-4 by Jimmy Perry and David Croft Orion, 120, pp. 456, ISBN 075284153X DAD'S ARMY: THE STORY OF A CLASSIC TELEVISION...

Page 51

Made famous by soppiness

The Spectator

David Hughes THE REAL MRS MINIVER by Ysenda Maxtone Graham John Murray, £17.99, pp, 314, ISBN 0719555418 Y senda is the clever and capable grand-daughter of the woman who wrote...

Page 52

Landscape of the heart

The Spectator

Philip Manse' JOURNEY INTO THE MIND'S EYE by Lesley Blanch Sickle Moon Books, £9.99, pp. 340, ISBN 1900209128 O ne of the finest English hooks about Russia is Lesley Blanch's...

A publishing terrorist

The Spectator

Joseph Farrell SENIOR SERVICE by Carlo Feltrinelli, translated by Alistair McEwan Granta. 120, pp 464, ISBN 1862074569 T he names employed in this book are themselves a...

Page 53

Pauses and silences

The Spectator

William Feaver INTERVIEWS WITH AMERICAN ARTISTS by David Sylvester Chano,125, pp. 387. ISBN 070116266X T he first rule when conducting recorded interviews is to say as little...

Glimpses of a happy life

The Spectator

Jonathan Keates PERSONAL TERMS: NOTEBOOKS, 1951-1969 by Frederic Raphael Carcanet, £16.95. pp. 219, ISBN 1857545354 O ught writers to publish their notebooks? From one aspect...

Page 54

Mad, moving, mythical Minnesota

The Spectator

Jonathan Mirsky LAKE WOBEGON SUMMER 1956 by Garrison Keillor Faber, £16.99, pp. 291, ISBN 0.571 210147 V isitors to America who tune to National Public Radio sometimes stumble...

Page 55

Having fun with the famous

The Spectator

Brian Masters SACRED MONSTERS, SACRED MASTERS by John Richardson Cape, £20, pp. 363, ISBN 0224062557 H ere is a book which gloriously deserves its title, for I do not remember...

Page 56

A fortunate man

The Spectator

P. J. Kavanagh GOODBYE, TWENTIETH CENTURY by Dannie Abse Pimlico, £12.50, pp. 323, ISBN 0712668292 A t a poetry reading in South Wales the author of this charming autobiography...

Page 57

Warm and tender obsessions

The Spectator

Andrew Wordsworth on the themes that characterise Monet's and Balthus's work I n the summer of 1903 Monet closed the door of his studio on the outside world and began the long...

Page 58

Modern Chinese Art: The Khoan and Michael Sullivan Collection (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, till early spring 2002)

The Spectator

The Paintings of Tong Yang - tze (Goedhuis Contemporary, Mount Street, London Wl, till 30 November) Reborn in a purer form John Spurling T he Khoan and Michael Sullivan...

Page 60

Paintings and Drawings from the Studio Collection of Sir Matthew Smith (Guildhall Art Gallery, till 27 January 2002)

The Spectator

Seductive world Laura Gascoigne T he pomp and circumstance of the City of London are not normally associated with Mediterranean colour, exotic fruit and reclining nudes in the...

Page 62

Shifting emphasis

The Spectator

Robin Holloway B enjamin Britten has been much in concert and on the air this month, to coincide with what would have been his 88th birthday (shared with the nameday of...

Page 63

Rambert Dance Company (Sadler's Wells)

The Spectator

Hypnotic qualities Giannandrea Poesio Few modern dance companies can boast Rambert Dance Company's artistic and stylistic eclecticism. And there is little doubt that Rambert's...

Page 64

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (PG, selected cinemas)

The Spectator

Fantastically English Mark Steyn I m writing this at three in the morning. The nearest movie theatre prepared even to concede the possibility of an unsold ticket told me my...

Page 65

Cosi fan tulle (Royal Opera) Figaro (English National Opera)

The Spectator

Savour the moment Michael Tanner T he Royal Opera's Cosi fan tutte, originally directed by Jonathan Miller, now revived under Daniel Dooner, must count as one of its most...

Page 66

The Play What I Wrote (Wyndham's)

The Spectator

Brilliantly original Toby Young I didn't know what to expect when I sat down to watch The Play What I Wrote. On one level, that was the state of mind I was supposed to be in...

Girls just don't get it

The Spectator

James Delingpole 0 ne of the big mistakes many of us have been making since the Sixties — obviously there are exceptions, e.g. the Taleban — is to take chicks as seriously as...

Page 67

Symbols of the unknown

The Spectator

Michael Vestey T here is something about a whale that makes even hard-headed people pause for thought. Few seem to mind the prospect of sharks being killed but the whale is a...

Page 68

Groans and grins

The Spectator

Robin Oakley L ucky, lucky Cheltenham. By the time I reached the course on Saturday I was fuming and promising myself 'never again', at least not without the offer of a seat in...

Page 69

Class warfare

The Spectator

Taki A New York . Alfred Taubman, or Big Al, as his buddies call him, is among the very few very rich men who also happen to be very, very nice, Big Al, former chairman of...

Page 70

Missing: eccentrics

The Spectator

Petronella Wyatt A bright old thing called Lady Dorothy Heber Percy died last week. The Daily Telegraph ran her obituary. Born in 1912, Lady Dorothy, known to her friends as...

Page 71

Brave new world in Cheshire

The Spectator

Catherine Coley IF you happen to have made a large pile of cash. and, like a 19th-century industrialist, want to set yourself up in style by creating a vast country house in a...

Page 79

Sour smell of success

The Spectator

Simon Barnes IT seems now like a dispatch from the Dark Ages of sport, but in fact it was only six years ago that Will Carling, the England rugby union captain, was a fag-paper...

Q. My husband has become very curmudgeonly in his late

The Spectator

middle age. I still go out, but he usually says he can't face coming out to dinner, and behaves grumpily if I have people to dinner at home, Since I have my own money, I have...

Q. I live opposite a well-known media personality. Several times

The Spectator

a week, when I am in my kitchen, I see her having a shower in her bathroom, which appears to be without curtains. Since her window is only a few feet away from mine, directly...

Q. I have begun a relationship with a man who

The Spectator

is very well known in certain sectors of society. We want to go away together for a short holiday but, at this stage, want to keep our relationship private without too many...