Innholdsfortegnelse for V. 1177 i The Week

What happened The Royal wedding More than two billion people around the world watched Prince Harry marry Meghan Markle last weekend in a Royal wedding unlike any Britain has held before. In the UK, about 18 million people watched the ceremony; in the US, nearly 30 million did – more than watched this year’s Oscars or the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011. Harry and Meghan – now the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – were wed in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in front of a pantheon of royals and celebrities, including George and Amal Clooney, Elton John and Oprah Winfrey. Markle entered the chapel accompanied only by her bridesmaids and pageboys, but was walked down the final part of the aisle by Prince Charles,…

The long-awaited inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire that killed 72 people last June has begun in Kensington. The first two weeks will be spent commemorating the lives of each of the victims, with the words of their families and friends entered into evidence. The first day began with Marcio Gomes, an IT manager, paying moving tribute to his baby son, Logan, who was delivered stillborn on the night of the fire. “He was going to be my superstar,” he said. The lead counsel to the inquiry, Richard Millett, QC, said it had to focus on “human faces and human voices”.…

Amsterdam Venice of the north: The city government of Amsterdam has announced a range of measures aimed at easing the number of tourists and reversing what they see as the “Disneyfication” of the city. The numbers of tourists visiting the Dutch capital (population 800,000), has surged from 11 million in 2005 to a projected 18 million this year. Residents say the influx has changed Amsterdam’s character for the worse, and made everyday life difficult owing to the constant congestion and soaring rents. Reforms announced by the city government, a cross-party coalition, include banning Airbnb-type short-term rentals from the busiest neighbourhoods; halving the number of allowable letting days to 30 a year; banning cruise ships from docking in the city centre; and placing new limits on “fun rides” – tours on…

The death of a dream team Rio Ferdinand was thrilled when he was selected to play for England in 1997. But it wasn’t long before the public’s expectations started to get to him. “It weighs on your shoulders, the fear of losing, the repercussions of not being successful as a team or individual.” It was particularly intense because he was part of a golden generation of English players, says Ben Machell in The Times. They were a “dream team” – yet they didn’t deliver. It seemed mystifying at the time, but now Ferdinand, 39, can see why they failed. The players were on the same side, but they were bitter rivals. “I considered the Premier League to be my title,” he says. “So I was never going to walk into…

Brian Blessed launched an expletive-laden rant while hosting a dinner for a 200-strong group of farmers in Coventry last week. The actor, now 81, who was dressed as a Tudor king, was asked what laws he would bring in as a monarch. When he replied that he would ban farmers culling badgers, there was booing and one of the guests shouted and swore at him. In response, the Flash Gordon star bellowed: “You’re all c***s, I hope you all die of TB.” He then stormed out, yelling that it had been a “s*** idea” for him to host the pig and poultry farmers’ do. A Chinese family was shocked when the pet dog they had raised for two years turned out to be a black bear. The family bought what…

Good news: democracy still works in Iraq, said Daniel Steinvorth in Neue Zürcher Zeitung (Zurich). It’s one of the few nations in the Middle East where the electoral outcome isn’t known in advance. Last week’s result was a genuine surprise: the US-backed prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, had expected to be rewarded for overseeing the expulsion of Islamic State and crushing the Kurds’ bid for independence. Yet he limped in, in third place. Instead, victory went to an alliance headed by the radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, a “fierce” former militia leader whose death squads once hunted down Americans, Sunnis and secularists. Sadr didn’t run for office himself, so he can’t be PM, but he will be the key power broker. His unlikely coalition, which includes Iraq’s Communist Party and Sunni…

You may feel your bed, with its lovely white sheets, is nice and clean – but compare it to a chimpanzee’s and it starts to look pretty sordid. Scientists have discovered that the apes’ nests – made of branches and leaves that are changed daily – contain very few bodily bacteria; by contrast, ours teem with them. When researchers took swabs from beds, they found 35% of the microbes came from saliva, skin and faecal particles. In the chimp nests, there were “almost none”. Nor did they contain many arthropods, such as mites and ticks. Yet more surprising, there weren’t many ectoparasites (fleas, lice etc) either. “There were only four, across all 15 nests we looked at,” said lead author Megan Thoemmes of North Carolina State University. “And that’s four…

“The U-turn is a difficult manoeuvre to perform on rails,” said The Guardian. Yet last week, Chris Grayling managed it. The Transport Secretary, a “dogmatic free-marketeer” who is vehemently opposed to public control of the railways, did not look comfortable as he told MPs that the east coast main line would be renationalised. But he was bowing to the inevitable: the loss-making operator, Virgin Trains East Coast (run by Stagecoach and Richard Branson’s Virgin), could not meet the payments promised in its £3.3bn contract – and bailing it out would have looked like a reward for corporate failure. The London to Inverness service will return to public control on 24 June, rebranded as the London North Eastern Railway. The only question is why nationalisation didn’t happen earlier: the best service…

When a new Speaker of the House of Commons is elected, tradition dictates that MPs drag them to the Chair, said Rob Wilson in The Daily Telegraph. But in the case of the current speaker, John Bercow, Tory MPs are desperate to drag him out of it. He has long faced complaints about his perceived political bias, imperious manner and excessive expenses, and has been accused recently of bullying staff. Last week, in a further mark against him, he allegedly insulted Andrea Leadsom, the Leader of the House of Commons, in the chamber, muttering under his breath that she was a “stupid woman” and “f***ing useless”. Amid calls for him to step down, Bercow admitted muttering the word “stupid” during a disagreement with Leadsom, but denied insulting her personally. Bercow…

“Truly historic sporting occasions don’t come around too often,” said Emmet Riordan in The Irish Times. But we saw one in Dublin last week, when Ireland played its first Test – becoming only the 11th nation in 141 years to compete in the format. All but one country have lost their inaugural Test, and the Irish did not buck the trend: Pakistan defeated them by five wickets. But this was a “respectable” performance nonetheless, said Gerard Hughes in The Irish Independent. The Irish gave Pakistan “a mighty scare”, succumbing with just a couple of hours to go. And the match was lifted by Kevin O’Brien, who scored 118 to become Ireland’s first Test centurion. Cricket has a long history in Ireland, said Tim Wigmore in The Daily Telegraph. It was…

To The Times The sermon delivered by the Most Rev Michael Curry was, I believe, seriously misjudged and distorted what was otherwise a delightful and moving occasion. A wedding sermon should be addressed primarily to the bride and bridegroom, who are themselves ministers of the marriage sacrament, and overheard by the congregation. It certainly should not seek to harangue the world at large. It should illuminate the significance of marriage, mention some of its joys and sorrows, and the opportunities and demands that it brings, and indicate the religious resources available to meet these lifelong guides to happiness. All of which can be achieved in five to seven minutes. This will not bring the preacher world fame, but it may well contribute something important to a marriage service, whether in…

The last time a new Rembrandt surfaced was in 1974. But last week, the Amsterdam art dealer Jan Six declared that he had found a previously undiscovered work by the Dutch master. In 2016, he had purchased at Christie’s – for £137,000 – a mid-17th century portrait of an unidentified young man, attributed to the “school of Rembrandt”. Six is an expert on the old masters – one of his ancestors was painted by Rembrandt himself – and the depiction of the lace on the man’s ruff struck him as “fantastic”. He then spent 18 months analysing the painting and showing it to Rembrandt experts, says Nina Siegal in The New York Times. These included Ernst van de Wetering, the world’s leading Rembrandt authority, who has endorsed it as genuine.…

Imagine... Orhan Pamuk: A Strange Mind The Nobel Prize-winning Turkish writer takes Alan Yentob on a tour of Istanbul, the city that has inspired much of his work. Sun 27 May, BBC1 22:30 (65mins). Jonathan Meades on Jargon The writer and broadcaster turns his attention to the use of jargon, as spouted by everyone from lawyers to football commentators in an effort to obfuscate and confuse. Sun 27 May, BBC4 22:30 (60mins). King Lear Anthony Hopkins plays the title role in Richard Eyre’s modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy. With Emma Thompson and Emily Watson. Mon 28 May, BBC2 21:30 (115mins). Africa’s Great Civilisations In this six-part series, Henry Louis Gates Jr recounts the history of Africa, from the birth of humankind to the dawn of the 20th century. Tue 29…

This is a light and delicious fried fish dish that is often seen on starter menus, says Dan Toombs, but works really well as a main too. It’s easy to make, and works nicely with haddock or cod, though I prefer halibut, for its meaty texture. You can use whole fillets of fish or cut them into bite-sized pieces. I like to serve the dish with either a spicy coriander, coconut and chilli chutney, or a tomato, onion and chilli one (see below). Masala machli with tomato, onion and chilli chutney Serves 4 or more as part of a main meal 700g halibut, cod or haddock 3 tbsps lemon juice 2 tbsps plain flour 4 tbsps cornflour 1 tbsp ground turmeric 3 tbsps garam masala 2 tbsps ajwain seeds 2…

● Don’t bother with the Louvre: far too crowded. Head to the Palais de Tokyo, for amazing contemporary art and two of Paris’s most “buzzed-about” restaurants – Monsieur Bleu and Les Grands Verres. ● Bouillon Chartier is a brasserie classified as a historic monument, but Parisians say it’s “where tourists go”. Instead, they eat delicious affordable food at B.O.U.L.O.M. ● For shopping, avoid the Champs-Élysées, and hit Marais boutiques like The Frankie Shop and Gang of Earlybirds, or secondhand treasure troves like Chinemachine. ● If much of central Paris seems inauthentic, head to Belleville, for steep cobbled streets, street art, independent shops and cafés, and panoramic views from the Parc de Belleville. ● Belleville is home to La Cave de Belleville, an unpretentious wine bar where you can learn all…

Three Daggers, Edington, Wiltshire At the heart of the Three Daggers is a “very good” country pub with some “extremely comfortable” guest rooms. But there’s a lot more to it than that, says Tom Chesshyre in The Times. Its owner, an American property millionaire named Chad Pike, has his own microbrewery, producing popular (“and tasty”) craft ales. Near by, he has opened a “spa barn”, with three treatment rooms and Neal’s Yard products. And there’s also an outdoor hot tub, a sauna, a farm shop and café, and a wood-fired pizza oven. Interior design is slick, with a smattering of antiques, and the food is “good-quality modern British”. Doubles from £85 b&b. 01380-830940, www.threedaggers.co.uk .…

On Wednesday 27 June, the South of France comes to London as we team up with Yapp Brothers for a four course dinner matched with wines from the Languedoc-Roussillon region. Our wine editor Bruce Palling will be joined by Christine Campadieu from top Roussillon winery, La Tour Vieille, and Yapp Director Tom Ashworth. Together they will introduce the stunning wines from this exciting locale. Hosted in the atmospheric surroundings of the newly opened Authentique Epicerie & Bar, this is set to be another fantastic evening with The Week Wines, giving you the opportunity to enjoy delicious food and wine in an intimate setting. Tickets cost £99 and are strictly limited. You’ll be greeted with a sparkling wine reception on arrival, followed by a four course dinner paired with wines from…

“Vindication” at last for Tim Steiner, the former bond trader who quit Goldman Sachs with two colleagues in 2000 to start an online grocery business, said Jonathan Eley in the Financial Times. Shares in his baby, Ocado, rocketed by 44% last week after it sealed a “transformative” deal to sell its “smart” delivery platform to the US grocery chain Kroger, the world’s third largest retailer. Written off by many as “a middle-class indulgence”, Ocado has reinvented itself as an Amazon-slayer. Grocery chains taking defensive action in Canada, France and Sweden have already licensed its robotic nous. But securing a $122bn sales gorilla, with 8% of the US market, is judged to be a game changer. “Rarely has one day’s trading produced such big winners and losers in a single British…

“Would you lend your cash to help a stranger buy a car, take a holiday or start a business?” Plenty wouldn’t, but about 150,000 Britons have lent nearly £10bn through peer-to-peer (P2P) websites over the past decade, says Kate Palmer in The Sunday Times. Here are some pointers. Why do it? P2P lenders have earned an average of 4.5% interest on their loans over ten years. By contrast, the average interest rate on an easy-access savings account is just 0.51%. “Innovative finance” Isas, launched in 2016, allow you to invest £20,000 a year tax-free in P2P platforms. What are the risks? Big platforms like Zopa, Funding Circle and RateSetter have low borrower default rates, but the chance can’t be ruled out. Some platforms haven’t proved reliable either. Collateral UK, a…

The week’s best buys British Land The Times This property giant, which specialises in London offices, is bullish about the future. Big tenants continue to take up long leases with good visibility. The company is also pushing into the residential “build-to-rent” sector. Yields 4.6%. Buy. 693p. ITV Investors Chronicle The “high-quality” broadcaster has rising revenues, thanks to strong demand for online ad spots and growth in the studios business. Shares should respond. A potential takeover target. Buy. 171p. Paddy Power Betfair The Times Just days after the ban on sports betting in the US was lifted, the bookie is in talks with US fantasy sports operator FanDuel. A deal, which looks likely, would open up a database of six million users. Buy. £82.50. RWS Holdings The Daily Telegraph This patent…

Controversy of the week Boiling the Brexit frogs There was a time “when the Government’s ineptitude over Brexit was almost funny”, said The Guardian. “There is nothing funny about it now.” For 15 months, Theresa May has tried, and failed, to reconcile her party’s “Europe-loathers” with its “Europe-pragmatists”. Having reached an impasse between the members of her Cabinet who want a customs partnership – keeping Britain half inside the EU’s customs union – and those who want to be fully out, May has come up with a new wheeze: the so-called backstop or time-limited goods arrangement. Essentially, this means keeping the UK within the customs union after Brexit until it can come up with an effective technological alternative to a hard border with Ireland. Her Brexit “war cabinet” has apparently…

The Government last week announced that it will cut the maximum stake for fixed-odds betting terminals from £100 to £2, a major victory for anti-gambling campaigners. Bookmakers had warned of job losses, and the Gambling Commission had advised the stake only be cut to below £30, but Culture Secretary Matt Hancock said the terminals had been a “very serious social blight” (see page 54). Britons spend £1.8bn a year on the machines. The Government will make up the estimated £400m it loses in tax revenues by raising rates for online gambling providers.…

Washington DC Probe into FBI: President Trump this week asked the US Department of Justice (DoJ) to investigate whether the FBI “infiltrated or surveilled” his presidential campaign for political motives, and if it did, if it was at the behest of the Obama administration. The president’s order followed media reports that in 2016 the FBI had sent a “spy” into the Trump campaign team to gather information on its links with Russia. The alleged spy has since been named in the media as Stefan Halper, a US academic and Republican operative. He is believed to have often provided assistance to US intelligence, has ties with British intelligence and taught at the University of Cambridge for many years. In response to the president’s demand, the DoJ agreed to add scrutiny of…

This week’s edition of Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs featured computer scientist and social entrepreneur Sue Black 1 Casta diva by Vincenzo Bellini from Norma, performed by Tullio Serafin with Maria Callas and the Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala 2 Feeling Myself by Onika Maraj, Solána Rowe, Chauncey Hollis Jr and Beyoncé Knowles, performed by Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé 3 San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair) by John Phillips, performed by Scott McKenzie 4 Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve) by Pete Shelley, performed by Buzzcocks 5 Straight Outta Compton by MC Ren, Ice Cube, Eazy-E and The D.O.C., performed by N.W.A 6 Smells Like Teen Spirit, written and performed by Nirvana 7 Yellow…

Under the GDPR, you have to have a lawful basis for processing somebody else’s personal information. Consent is one basis, but there are five others, ranging from having a contract – if you order something online, the company will need your home address to deliver it – to “the provision of healthcare” and performing a “public task”. The latter allows local councils, police forces and so on to collect and hold extensive data. An organisation can also claim to be acting in its “legitimate interests”, which the ICO describes as the “most flexible” of the six lawful bases; indeed, it is so vague that it seems likely to be discussed in court at length in the years ahead. Where sensitive data is concerned – medical records, details of sexual or…

Liberals can be guilty of fake news, too Bret Stephens The New York Times So Donald Trump thinks illegal immigrants are “animals”. That, according to major media outlets, is how the president characterised them during a meeting with California officials at the White House – a truly foul thing to say, had he actually said it. Except he didn’t, says Bret Stephens. It turns out, as the Associated Press has admitted, that he was referring not to illegal immigrants as a whole, but to members of MS-13 – a Salvadorean gang notorious for such psychotic violence that the description is, if anything, unfair to animals. In short, this was a clear example of fake news. That didn’t stop Democratic politicians from making hay out of it. “When all our great-great-grandparents…

A respected Harvard biologist has co-founded a health start-up to bring age-defeating genetic treatments to market. Rejuvenate Bio has already conducted tests on mice and is now working on dogs – tweaking their genetic make-up to increase their lifespans. Professor George Church, a pioneer of gene editing, believes the pet healthcare market is so huge (Americans spend $20bn a year on vet bills) that this work will eventually pay for itself – and fund human trials. The direction of the company’s research is being kept secret, but it is thought to be working on modifying dog DNA to improve the lifespans of Dobermanns and cocker spaniels, both of which are prone to dying prematurely of heart disease. In mice, this kind of gene therapy has involved blocking a protein that…

“Frankly speaking, Europe should be grateful to President Trump.” That’s what Donald Tusk, the European Council president, said in Sofia last week. But he wasn’t extending the hand of friendship, said Gabriela Baczynska on Reuters. He was expressing the fury shared by the 28 EU leaders who’d gathered in the Bulgarian capital to work out how to react to Trump’s tearing up of the Iran nuclear deal, and to his threat to impose heavy sanctions on companies – including European ones – that carry on doing business with Iran. Trump’s “capricious assertiveness” has shown us, Tusk went on, that “with friends like that, who needs enemies?” We can’t rely on others: we must rely on ourselves. The EU leaders certainly talked tough, said Charlemagne in The Economist. “Do we want…

“A double negative is a complete no no.” Kathy Lette in The Times “Everything is an experiment until it has a deadline.” Brian Eno, quoted on The Browser “A woman drove me to drink and I never even wrote to thank her.” W.C. Fields, quoted in The Daily Star “Art, like morality, consists of drawing the line somewhere.” G.K. Chesterton, quoted in Forbes “Congratulations on the new library, because it isn’t just a library. It’s a spaceship that will take you to the farthest reaches of the universe, a time machine that will take you to the far past and the far future, a teacher that knows more than any human being, a friend that will amuse you and console you – and most of all, a gateway, to a…

They’re making a film about Josh Warrington, the 27-year-old boxer from Leeds, said Ron Lewis in The Times. And at Elland Road last Saturday night, the directors “got their Hollywood ending”. Warrington went into the fight, against IBF featherweight world champion Lee Selby, as a “big outsider”: his opponent was a well-respected boxer who had lost just one previous professional bout, nine years ago. But Warrington fought “the fight of his career” to defeat Selby on points and take the IBF title. He was “tactically perfect, landing with fast combinations when opportunities presented themselves, finding an open target for his left hook and overhand right”; he weathered whatever Selby threw at him. This was the night Warrington went from being “merely a popular fighter to one who proved that he…

Attempted murder, homosexuality, blackmail, conspiracy – the Jeremy Thorpe trial of 1979 had everything the tabloids could desire, said Jeff Robinson in the I newspaper. And the BBC’s new three-part drama, A Very English Scandal, starring Hugh Grant as the Liberal Party leader, is a tremendously enjoyable re-enactment of the events leading up to it – a “blackly comic dissection” of a repressed world and its ruling class. Attempted murder is no laughing matter, said Jasper Rees in The Daily Telegraph, but Russell T. Davies’s script makes it “hideously” entertaining. Grant is superb as Thorpe, his charm masking a ruthless predator: the moment when he resolves to have his troublesome erstwhile lover, Norman Scott, murdered, is truly chilling. Ben Whishaw, as Scott, is also excellent – “a frightened fawn” mixing…

Best books… Esther Freud The novelist Esther Freud picks her five favourite books. Her play Stitchers, about the prison charity Fine Cell Work, opens at the Jermyn Street Theatre, London SW1 on 30 May (www.jermynstreettheatre.co.uk) Falconer by John Cheever, 1977 (Vintage £9.99). I’ve been in a book club for 22 years and when I think of all the novels we’ve read, this is the one that stands out most vividly. It tells the story of a college professor in prison for killing his brother and, not surprisingly for this Pulitzer Prize-winning author, it is as brutal as it is elegant. A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh, 1934 (Penguin £9.99). This may be my favourite of Waugh’s novels. The light touch and hilarity of the first chapters seamlessly descend into…

The age of the super-SUV: a new Lamborghini “monster” I’m not sure when the world’s richest people decided they wanted “four-wheel-drive monsters”, but they did, said Jeremy Clarkson in The Sunday Times. So in the next 18 months, we’ll see Aston Martin, Ferrari and Rolls-Royce launch super-SUVs to rival the “leviathans” by Bentley, Porsche and Maserati that are already on the market. The Urus, made by “the most exciting carmaker in the world”, is sleeker, lower and more powerful than the others. But with lots of its hardware borrowed from parent company Audi, it doesn’t really feel “mad” enough to be a Lamborghini. The maker’s first turbo-charged engine, a 4-litre V8, is impressive, said Adam Towler in Auto Express. It comes in at a “massive” 641 bhp, and despite its…

Submitted by readers of The Guardian. From the 557-metre summit of Pendle Hill in Lancashire, you can see as far as the coast on a clear day. In 1652, George Fox had a vision here that led him to found the Quaker movement. The circular walk from Barley village is about five miles long. Sgurr na Stri on the Isle of Skye isn’t high (494 metres), but affords astonishing views over mountains and turquoise waters. It’s well worth the 16-mile round trip from the village of Sligachan. For a more accessible stroll, try Bangor’s Grade II Garth Pier on the Menai Strait. The views of Anglesey and the Welsh mainland are “magnificent”, but you’ll need to brace yourself for the winds. The view from Richmond Hill, as painted by J.M.W.…

7 nights in south Germany Stay at the family-run Hotel Barbarossa, in the heart of the old town of Constance, from £959pp half board (two sharing). Manchester flights incl. 01483-345752, www.inghams.co.uk. Depart 14 July. Summer break in Bulgaria Spend 7 nights b&b at the 5-star beachfront Sunset Resort in Pomorie. From £655pp, Edinburgh flights included. 020-3897 1185, www.loveholidays.com.Depart 3 July. Idyllic Slovenia stay Hotel Jelovica is located below Lake Bled’s clifftop medieval castle. 7 nights half board is from £479pp, incl. flights from Birmingham. 0114-250 4090, www.voyagertraveldirect.co.uk. Depart 14 July. Highlights of Costa Rica Visit the cloud forests in Monteverde and tour the Selvatura Park on this 10-day trip, from £1,499pp b&b, incl. London flights. 020-300 62722, www.lumle.com.Depart 4 September.…

Barclays: so long, SFO? Has the Barclays eagle finally landed on better times? For shareholders keen to see an end to the bank’s legal difficulties, there was good news this week, said Oliver Gill in City AM. Barclays “celebrated a significant victory” over the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) after the Crown Court threw out fraud charges relating to an £11.8bn emergency cash call, which was largely bankrolled by Qatar, made at the height of the 2008 financial crisis. The SFO had alleged that the deal, which saved Barclays from a government bailout, had been oiled by a £2.2bn loan made to Qatari investors: that it was essentially lending to buy shares in itself, which is unlawful. The case was seen by many City analysts as the bank’s “most challenging legacy…

The limits of getting tough with Moscow George Hay Reuters Breakingviews The billionaire Roman Abramovich’s UK visa has not been renewed – symptomatic, complains the Kremlin, of the “unfair and unfriendly treatment” doled out to its nationals by the British government. But the UK’s “tough-guy act” only goes so far, says George Hay. True, a review of some 700 visas “issued to rich Russians in return for million-pound investments” between 2008 and 2015 is under way. But the EU sanctions programme, to which Britain is signed up, is “full of holes”. Where US sanctions prevent any business being done with certain Russian entities, Brussels “merely limits investors from buying equity and debt issued by Russian companies in specific sectors”. The loopholes were “thrown into embarrassing relief” when UK-based investors bought…

Competition for grammar school places has become so intense that some parents now ferry their children around the country so that they can practise the exam at schools they have no intention of going to. A private mock eleven-plus costs at least £40, but the exams are free – and better preparation for the real test. Teachers say it puts a strain on the schools and councils that fund the tests. The owner of a horse-trekking business on Dartmoor says it is closing down partly because so many customers are now too big for the animals. “It isn’t fair on the horses,” said Dee Dee Wilkinson of Babeny Farm. Wilkinson said she recently turned away a 16st adult and a 12st child, fearing for the safety of horse and rider.…

31% of Britons have seen or met the Queen in real life. The next most visible royals are Prince Philip at 22%, Princess Anne at 17% and Prince Charles at 16%. William and Harry are on 5% and 4% respectively. And it seems Anne’s hard work pays off: her popularity rating (among supporters of the monarchy) is higher than that of any of her three brothers: 69% say they like her and 24% say she is OK. YouGov 16% of UK adults say they have moved house because of noise pollution. Everest/Mail on Sunday In a new EU referendum, 69% of people in Northern Ireland would now vote to Remain and 31% to Leave. In 2016, the vote was 56% and 44% respectively. Queen’s Belfast/Guardian…

Bujumbura, Burundi Power grab: Voters in Burundi have approved constitutional reforms that could allow their current president to remain in office until 2034. Pierre Nkurunziza has already been president for 12 years; after his present term ends in 2020 he can seek two more seven-year terms. Officials said that 73% of people had voted Yes in last week’s referendum, which had a turnout of 96%. However, the president’s opponents (most of whom have left the country) said that government forces had threatened to kill anyone who voted No. Burundi has been racked by political violence since 2015, when Nkurunziza announced that he would seek a controversial third term and survived an attempted coup. Hundreds of people have been executed, thousands detained and more than 400,000 have fled the country. Tehran…

“Meghan and Harry’s wedding list – at the retail wing of the ‘exclusive members’ club’ Soho House – is an example of flashy modern wedding culture. Gone are the days when a wedding list was a way for parents and their friends to help a newly married couple set up home. Nowadays, many couples already own most of the things found on old-fashioned lists. So they often resemble a letter written to Father Christmas by a greedy child. Popular items include GoPro cameras, outdoor pizza ovens, Sonos speakers, even drones. The wedding list is aimed at the couple’s peer group, as a way of signalling what brands best represent their new life together.” Lara Prendergast in The Spectator…

Running away from the crisis in social care Polly Toynbee The Guardian “Dementia tax by roll of the dice.” That’s what families pay today, says Polly Toynbee. If you’re lucky, your elderly relatives just drop dead; unlucky and they suffer a long decline as you pay a fortune for their care. Geriatric care is in crisis. Demand is soaring, yet many homes are closing down; others refuse to take state-funded residents. A “devastating” new report says there are now 400,000 people frail enough to qualify for social care who receive none at all. The obvious solution is a tax on property – which is mightily undertaxed in Britain. Yet so devoted are voters to the idea that taxing people’s homes is “unfair”, it’s politically unacceptable – even to non-homeowners. So…

The secret of the Leaning Tower The Leaning Tower of Pisa leans for the same reason that it has remained upright for 800 years: it sits in a soft, pliable stratum of clay and sand. This caused the subsidence that gave the monument its 5.5-degree tilt (closer to 4 degrees now, thanks to conservation work): it also absorbed the energy from the many earthquakes that have struck the region since 1173, when construction began. International researchers found that the 183ft height of the marble tower, and its stiffness and weight, in conjunction with the flexibility of the ground in which its shallow foundations sit, has “dampened” its “vibrational characteristics”, so that it doesn’t much resonate with ground motion – a phenomenon known as dynamic soil-structure interaction. “Ironically, the very soil…

Whenever David Haig appears in a play, a large crowd waits to catch a glimpse of him at the stage door. But they’re not admirers of his theatre work, nor fans of Four Weddings and a Funeral (in which he played the hypersexed Bernard). “It happens in everything I do [and] it’s always the same people,” he told The Times. “And it’s all because I played a character called Pangol in Doctor Who in 1980.” Sandra Bullock has revealed the secret of her still-youthful complexion. The 53-year-old actress has been having stem cells taken from the discarded foreskins of circumcised babies in South Korea pumped into her skin through microneedles. Bullock is convinced it works. “I think when you see how good it is for your face, you will run…

One of the terrible mistakes the Royal Family made with Princess Diana was to expect a newcomer to do everything exactly their way, said Sam Leith in the London Evening Standard. If last week’s Royal wedding showed one thing, it is that the Firm is not going to make that mistake again. This extraordinary event managed to fuse the traditional elements of a British Royal wedding with a celebration of the bride’s identity and heritage. There was the mass of black talent in the congregation, the Kingdom Choir singing Stand by Me and – at the centre of proceedings – the Most Rev Michael Curry’s impassioned address. Some in the congregation seemed discomfited, and no wonder: here was a sermon that belonged in a church in North Carolina being delivered…

If the FA Cup final turns out to be Antonio Conte’s last match as Chelsea manager, “at least he has gone out on a high”, said Daniel Taylor in The Observer. Last Saturday at Wembley, the Blues beat Manchester United 1-0 to win the trophy for the eighth time. For a tie with two of England’s biggest clubs – and “some of the more celebrated” Premier League players – this was an underwhelming match. But it was an effective performance by Chelsea, and by the Belgian forward Eden Hazard in particular. Conte’s FA Cup now goes with the previous season’s Premier League title; “only at Chelsea, perhaps, could a manager with that return now be cut loose”. It’s surprising Conte even lasted this long, said Dominic Fifield in The Guardian.…

Balanced immigration To The Observer Nick Cohen is right that those who oppose a hard Brexit need to say what they would do about immigration. Central to this has to be the acceptance of the crashingly obvious – that most people want stricter controls over immigration. This could be achieved in a progressive manner if the goal were one of minimising “new, large-scale, permanent migration”. What makes this approach progressive is that “new” makes it clear that curbing immigration involves no changes for those already legally resident, such as the Windrush generation and those from the EU. “Permanent” has the caveat that foreign students are welcome to study here and that workers fill vacancies here, but only for a specified period. Crucially, the recipient countries must rapidly train enough doctors…

Theatre Hamlet and As You Like It Playwright: William Shakespeare Directors: Federay Holmes and Elle While Shakespeare’s Globe, London SE1 (020-7401 9919). Until 26 August Running times: Hamlet: 2hrs 45mins (incl. interval) ★★ As You Like It: 2hrs 45mins (incl. interval) ★★★ It’s all change at the Globe, said Dominic Cavendish in The Daily Telegraph. The new artistic director is Michelle Terry, whose first two productions are a mix of “the good, the bad and the plain cuckoo”. A gender-balanced ensemble of actors have been rehearsing for three months in a spirit of democratic egalitarianism, with two directors guiding proceedings. The results are most notable for the plethora of cross-gender casting. “As You Like It? It’s as they damn well please.” We get a male Rosalind, far taller than her…

“Of all cultural institutions in Britain, the Royal Academy is one of the strangest,” said Jonathan Morrison in The Times. Founded in 1768 as an organisation dedicated to promoting the arts through education and exhibition, it now exists as a “bizarre” hybrid that is “part private members’ club, part museum, part school”. Indeed, the two adjacent buildings that form the academy – Burlington House and 6 Burlington Gardens – were until recently entirely separate, unconnected structures. But now, just in time for its 250th birthday, the institution has completed a £56m programme of renovations that has transformed it into “a beautiful unitary palace of the arts”. Masterminded by the architect David Chipperfield, the makeover has for the first time joined the two halves of the RA into “an articulate whole”,…

Brian tries to win Jennifer over by accompanying her to St Stephen’s. Justin’s taken aback to see Brian looking so defeated. He suggests he do some DIY to help his marriage – it works with Lilian. Susan’s concerned for Will after Mia comes into the shop to buy essentials without enough money. Later, Susan presents Will with a rota of people to help with childcare, and is upset when he rejects it. Eddie takes Will aside and points out that this would give Clarrie a break. Will apologises to Susan and takes the rota. Brian’s attempt at DIY is a disaster. He tries to fix a tap that isn’t broken and ruins Jennifer’s elderflower cordial. Shula worries when she can’t reach Alistair on the phone. When he returns to The…

Fellpack 19 Lake Road, Keswick, Cumbria (01768-771177) This “bright-spirited, welcoming” bistro leaps straight onto my list of Lakes favourites, says Grace Dent in The Guardian. It’s run by a “bunch of youthful, mountain-fixated friends”, and boasts a confident, clever menu that “skips cheerily” between hearty fell-running fuel – chilli beef, pork belly – and “Londoner-appeasing, quinoa-munching dippiness, without breaking a sweat”. It is also unafraid of heat, spice, bold combinations and veg-centric dishes. We shared a nicely gooey Camembert, some rich tahini and “feisty” chipotle hummus with warm flatbreads. A spicy “fellpot” (served in pretty local pottery) of lentil and mixed bean chilli with jalapeño and chives was another hit. Slow-cooked Texan beef came with mac and cheese, a rough stew of spiced mixed pulses and some charred corn.…

My First Mind Blowing Science This set teaches children aged six and above the basics of chemical reactions – but with safe “chemicals” like red cabbage powder, citric acid and baking powder (£23; www.amazon.co.uk). Snap Circuits Jr 100-in-1 Experiments Kit Snap circuits give kids a hands-on, safe education in electricals so they can better understand the devices they use every day, from light switches to voice control (£21.50; www.robotshop.com). Think & Learn Teach ‘n Tag Movi For children aged three to six, Movi from Fisher Price is a rolling robot that activates young minds and bodies with both questions and physical games (£33; www.argos.co.uk). Raspberry Pi 3 B+ Single-board computers like this help older children learn about coding and how computers work. This has Wi-Fi, HDMI and USB ports, and…

New Journalism pioneer who wrote Bonfire of the Vanities Tom Wolfe 1930-2018 A pioneer of the New Journalism movement, as famous for his dapper dress sense as his wild, lavishly punctuated prose, Tom Wolfe showed America how it lives, said The Times: he introduced the world to the hippy counterculture in the 1960s and was a shrewd observer of the cultural trends of the 1970s – the “me decade”, as he called it. His aim, he said, was to create a nonfiction form that would be so captivating, it would render novels obsolete – and yet in the 1980s, he turned his hand to fiction. The result was The Bonfire of the Vanities, a sweeping satire about New York’s social and racial divide in that excessive decade. Recounting…

The FTSE 100 broke successive records to hit an all-time high, buoyed by the falling pound, which touched its weakest level of 2018, and the rising oil price. The price of crude hit $80/barrel for the first time since 2014, on the back of supply disruptions in Venezuela and ongoing political tensions in the Middle East. Markets globally were heartened by the apparent breakthrough of a deal between the US and China, averting the immediate threat of a trade war. There were signs of trouble in Italy, where shares and bonds came under pressure, and also in Turkey, where the sell-off of the lira accelerated, threatening chaos ahead of next month’s election. The EU opened trade talks with Australia and New Zealand, jumping the gun on Britain by gaining a…

Watch gold… Investors in the FTSE 100, which has been notching up record highs all week – topping 7,877 on Tuesday – have been enjoying a “double bubble”, said Russell Lynch in the London Evening Standard. Higher oil prices (Brent crude is now at $80/barrel) and a falling pound are always a fillip for an energy-intensive index whose constituents make most of their earnings in dollars. The lengthy bull run in stock markets, dating back to 2009, has been dubbed “the most unloved, mistrusted rally in history” – and, according to analysts at BNY Mellon, there are “warning signs for cautious investors” that it may be ending. As they point out, when the oil price rises, gold usually follows “broadly in lockstep”. But gold has been dipping of late. A…

Rory McIlroy “Tiger Woods may be making a comeback, but he will have a difficult task bettering Rory McIlroy, the man who took his place as golf’s biggest name,” says Luke Christou on Verdict.co.uk. And that goes for financial reward too. The 29-year-old prodigy from County Down in Northern Ireland is now “the sixth-highest earner in sport”, sitting well ahead of all his fellow golfers, according to Forbes’ World’s Highest-Paid Athletes list. McIlroy, who in 2011 became the youngest US Open winner since 1923, has been earning upwards of $30m a year since 2015, thanks to sponsorship deals with the likes of Nike and EA Sports. The Sunday Times puts his net worth at £110m, but according to documents filed by his management company, “the McIlroy brand” is worth $422.1m.…