Innholdsfortegnelse for V. 1239 i The Week

What happened The Brexit standoff The prospect of a no-deal Brexit loomed larger this week as London and Brussels rejected each other’s positions and No. 10 signalled that it was prepared to push through such an outcome even in the teeth of a full-scale Remainer revolt. On Monday, EU negotiators briefed European officials that there was currently no basis for “meaningful discussions” owing to Boris Johnson’s insistence that the Irish backstop be removed from the withdrawal deal (see page 22). A senior EU diplomat reportedly said that a no-deal Brexit now appeared to be London’s “central scenario”. A UK Government source denied that this was the case, but insisted the EU had to understand that Johnson couldn’t resubmit to the Commons a deal that MPs have already rejected three times.…

Painted lady butterflies, tens of thousands of which have been sighted across the UK. The insects mostly live in Mediterranean regions, but thanks to warm weather and favourable wind conditions have staged a “once-in-a-decade migration”. Jack Allsop-Smith, the 11-year-old “Lewis Hamilton of hen racing”, who triumphed for the sixth year in a row at the world hen racing championships. His bird Cooked It beat 50 others to win the event at the Barley Mow pub in Bonsall, Derbyshire. El Salvador, which last Wednesday celebrated its first murder-free day in two years. The crime-ridden Central American nation appears to be making progress in its fight against gang violence. Netflix and YouTube, which are now the third and fourth most popular channels in the UK, after BBC1 and ITV. According to Ofcom,…

52% of Scots would vote to split from the UK in a fresh independence referendum, and 48% would vote not to (with the undecided and those who wouldn’t vote excluded). 47% of Scots say there should be a second referendum within the next two years; 45% disagree. Lord Ashcroft/The Times 53% of Britons believe it is necessary to limit the number of children you have for the sake of the planet. 29% say it isn’t. YouGov Only a third of Germans think the UK is a reliable ally – a drop of 17 percentage points since Boris Johnson became PM. In 2008, the figure was 85%, and it remained above 50% during Theresa May’s premiership. Deutschland Trend/ The Daily Telegraph…

The first magic academy Jill Murphy was only 14 when she wrote the first draft of her 1974 book The Worst Witch, says Helen Brown in The Daily Telegraph, and she didn’t look far for inspiration. “Mildred is me,” she says of her chaotic young heroine. “I was a misfit – I had the long dark hair in plaits, which were always half undone with bits sticking out, my shoelaces flapping behind me, my hat on back to front.” The idea of a school for magic had come to her one day when she and two friends arrived home, soaked by rain, and her mother told them they looked like a trio of witches. “It was the best idea I ever had, and so easily translatable,” she says. “The chemistry…

A diner who took a bottle of ketchup from a New Jersey restaurant has apologised and compensated the management – after the theft brought them “bad karma”. A brown bag was found at the door of Perkins Restaurant in Lacey Township, containing two unopened bottles of ketchup and an anonymous letter. “This is the worst thing I’ve ever done,” the thief wrote, explaining that the crime had been followed by a car crash within a matter of hours. “I’m sorry if I inconvenienced you the same way my life has been inconveniencing me.” The nave of Rochester Cathedral has been turned into a free crazy-golf course for the summer. The nine-hole course, which takes nearby bridges as its inspiration, is intended to attract a younger crowd to the 1,400-year-old building.…

COLOMBIA A nation built on the culture of violence El Tiempo (Bogotá) We Colombians are a bloodthirsty lot, says Carlos Castillo Cardona. In 2016, our government signed a peace deal with Farc, the guerrillas whose five-decade-long insurgency claimed some 220,000 lives. Yet the violence continues. A purge of left-wing activists and community leaders is now under way: more than 700 have been killed in the past three years, presumably by right-wing paramilitaries fighting for control of drug routes. And it’s our culture that fuels this slaughter. The inclination to “destroy by death and not by ideas is the basis of our history”, dating back to the 19th century and our fight for independence from Spain, and the numerous civil and guerrilla wars that followed. So rather than change a person’s…

After months of record temperatures, Greenland’s ice sheet is melting so fast that it shed 11 billion tonnes of surface ice in just one day last week. That’s enough to fill 4.4 million Olympic swimming pools. And over the course of July, it lost more than 180 billion tonnes, enough to raise global sea levels by 0.5mm, according to the Danish Meteorological Institute, and three times more than in an average July. Greenland’s ice sheet, the second-biggest in the world, usually melts in the summer months, but this year it started earlier than normal; and with the hot air that caused the heatwave in Europe last week now hovering over the Arctic, it has been estimated that half of the ice sheet that covers 80% of the country is melting.…

Oliver Stone asked Vladimir Putin to be his daughter’s godfather, according to a transcript of a conversation released last month. The film director was interviewing the Russian president when Putin mentioned the Russian Orthodox tradition that you can’t refuse a request to be a godparent. Stone responded by asking him to take on the role for his 22-year-old daughter. “Does she want to become an Orthodox Christian?” Putin asked, to which Stone replied, “We’ll make her that.” The conversation then moved on to “homosexual propaganda”. “By the time we got to Woodstock, we were half a million strong,” sang Joni Mitchell (pictured) in one of her most famous songs – but she didn’t actually show up at the festival. She was waiting for her flight at LaGuardia airport when her…

The British introduced croquet to Egypt, said The Economist. And today the Egyptians are world-beaters. They play golf croquet, a version of the game taken there by Egypt’s British occupiers in the early 20th century, which is simpler and faster than the traditional form, Association Croquet. You score points by passing through each hoop first, and you don’t get bonus shots for hitting the opponent’s ball or passing through a hoop. Fans of Association Croquet scoff that golf croquet is “like comparing chequers with chess”. But its proponents say that it’s more exciting. “The airborne Egyptian jump shot is particularly audacious.” These days, it’s the world’s most popular form of the game. And at the Golf Croquet World Championship, which concluded in Eastbourne, on Sunday, there were more Egyptian than…

To The Times It is incredible, shocking and sad that Rochester Cathedral has stooped to the point of decking out the nave with a crazy-golf course. Church representatives seem to have forgotten the outrage of the Lord at the money-changers and traders in the Temple, when Jesus said: “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations” (Mark 11:17). If cathedrals are not to be set apart for prayer and religious services then this must be the ultimate betrayal of Christian worship. Those who scrimped and saved to build a fitting place for the worship of God will be turning in their graves. Of course, disdain for the past is one of the central planks in the edifice of popular culture and political correctness. The Rev Joseph…

“High jinks in the dorm, moonlit midnight feasts and the fierce loyalty of female friendship”: the familiar exploits of Enid Blyton’s postwar boarding-school girls have been loved by generations of readers, said Sam Marlowe in The Times. If you have ever lost yourself in the pages of Malory Towers (or St Clare’s, or the Naughtiest Girl series) then you are “probably still harbouring a nostalgic pash” for Blyton’s “broadly drawn characters”, whose crises are always resolved by the end of term – lessons in kindness and cooperation duly learnt. For this exuberant stage adaption of Malory Towers, Emma Rice has deployed all of her considerable gifts for “wonderment and playfulness” – with artful contemporary rejigging. There’s notably diverse casting, lots of “metatheatrical winks” and a cheering celebration of the yarn’s…

Vivian Maier at Huxley-Parlour The street photographer Vivian Maier (1926-2009) was a professional nanny in Chicago’s wealthy suburbs who remained almost wholly ignored until her death. Many such amateurs are often rudely lumped together as “outsiders”, but Maier, who appears to have been particularly knowledgeable about the history of her art, documented her milieu with extraordinary acuity and a remarkably distinctive style. Her more abstract colour images of daily life in New York and Chicago are a particular highlight of this fascinating show. Maier captures middle-aged women in camel-hair coats greeting each other at street corners; gaudily decorated hair salons; shady saloons full of commuters wetting their whistles. What is particularly striking about her work is how modern it feels: like her more celebrated contemporary Garry Winogrand, Maier brings the…

Ed can’t admit to Emma he was sacked. He claims he was laid off because of restructuring at Home Farm. Emma storms off to confront Adam, who tells her about the pesticide. Emma’s furious with Ed for lying. She tells him to find another job by the end of the week, which is when they are due to exchange. She then makes it her mission to reduce the mortgage and asks various people for a loan – including Jim, Ruth and Peggy. Affronted, all three of them turn her down. Will, who feels guilty about Ed losing his job, offers to lend them £3,000. Neil gets a loan for £15,000 and Chris finds £1,900. It’s still not enough to reduce the mortgage. Jazzer informs Harrison that a friend was abused…

What the experts recommend Shibden Mill Inn Shibden, Halifax, West Yorkshire (01422-365840) Shibden Mill Inn, in a quiet valley outside Halifax, is billed as a pub and hotel, but is “actually a sort of spa for jaded food hacks”, says Tim Hayward in the FT. By that I don’t mean you’ll see restaurant critics wandering about in robes; I mean that this staggeringly lovely place is an antidote to the “fatuous, toxic, pretentious or simply joyless” aspects to the business. The vibe is friendly, the rooms “gorgeous” – and in the kitchen all the “lessons of posh cheffery have been learnt”, but are “delivered in a robust, happy, unpretentious way”. A pre-dinner snack of cod-skin crisps and smoked roe crème fraîche is so moreish it should be made our…

New cars: what the critics say What Car? The BMW 1 Series has finally “gone mainstream”. Previous models have been rear-wheel drive – a layout more commonly associated with sports and luxury cars – that made it an outlier among hatchbacks. But for the sake of simplicity and cost, BMW has now brought it in line with the market, freeing up some much-needed space in the rear. The result is a car that is “up there with the best premium family cars”. The Daily Telegraph From the outside, it looks out of proportion, with a long front end and “ugly” large grille, but in other respects, this is a well-designed car. The boot is now a practical 380 litres, and there’s more space for the rear passengers too. The materials…

Azerai Can Tho Vietnam Azerai is hotelier Adrian Zecha’s first foray into the “luxe for less” market, but has the same “understated” modern aesthetic as his swish Aman chain, says Condé Nast Traveller. So far, two hotels bearing the brand name have opened in Vietnam – a brand-new property in Hue, and this original one in Can Tho, the cultural capital of the Mekong Delta. It sits on a peaceful private island, a short boat hop from the town’s floating market, and consists of 60 “colonial-style villas” filled with warm wood and bamboo, scattered across “shady” gardens and around a “lotus-flecked” lake. There’s a spa and two restaurants serving Vietnamese, Japanese and Mediterranean food. Doubles from £180; azerai.com.…

Global stock markets continued to take a battering after China dramatically devalued its currency – the latest strike in its trade war with America. Amid deepening concerns about the health of the global economy, investors sought refuge in the comparative safe havens of government bonds, the yen and gold. Central banks in India, New Zealand and Thailand cut interest rates by more than expected. Meanwhile, President Trump renewed his call on the US Fed, which announced a quarter-point cut last week, to move “bigger and faster”. In Europe, concerns were centred on Germany, where a steep fall in industrial production has raised fears that the eurozone’s largest economy could be heading for its first recession in six years. There was, though, better economic news in Britain, where the services sector…

Millions of people who were mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI) still haven’t claimed their “dues”, says the FT. And time is running out ahead of the 29 August deadline. Here, Lindsay Cook, co-author of Money Fight Club, offers “last-minute tips” for claimants. Get on with it Lloyds Bank is getting 190,000 inquiries a week – so get your application in fast in case a “last-minute deluge” crashes bank systems. Bear in mind that while 80% of early applicants got compensation, that has now fallen back to around 50%. How do I know if I qualify? Look out for tell-tale phrases like “protection plan”, “payment cover” or “loan care” on your old statements. “PPI was highly likely to have been mis-sold if it was added without being mentioned to the borrower,…

Controversy of the week By-election blues It was a “gift for those who want to see Boris Johnson fall flat on his face”, said the Daily Mail. Brecon and Radnorshire – a rural seat that the Tories won just two years ago by a comfortable 8,038 votes – was lost last week in a by-election to the resurgent Liberal Democrats. The Lib Dem candidate Jane Dodds took 43.46% of the vote, giving them a majority of 1,425 over the Conservatives (on 38.98%), with the Brexit Party coming a distant third (on 10.47%) and Labour almost losing its deposit (on 5.28%) in fourth. The result casts a deep shadow over Johnson’s future, said Jessica Elgot in The Guardian. Tory defeat reduces the party’s working Commons majority to just one, posing a…

McDonald’s, with the news that its new cardboard straws cannot be recycled. Its old plastic straws were recyclable. George Freeman MP, the new transport minister, who took to Twitter to complain that he was kept off a train by a truculent guard. Freeman and others were seconds late for Greater Anglia’s Cambridge to Attleborough service on Tuesday, he said, but “the guard watched us running, closed the doors, waved off the train, leaving us stranded for an hour, then smirked and ignored us”. Severn View services, on the M48, which was named the worst in England by the Motorway Services User Survey. Its toilets were singled out for criticism as “grim” and “dismal”.…

Berlin Racial tensions: Germany’s interior minister, Horst Seehofer, called for restraint after the far-right AfD party sought to make political capital from a series of high-profile murders committed by foreigners. In a case that has horrified Germany, an eight-year-old boy was killed last week after he was pushed onto the tracks at Frankfurt railway station; the suspect is an Eritrean man, resident in Switzerland, with psychiatric problems. In Stuttgart last week, a man was killed with a sword by another recent arrival. “What else needs to happen?” tweeted the AfD’s Alice Weidel (pictured). “How many citizens have to be offered up on the altar of this boundless welcome culture?” Amsterdam Burqa ban: The Netherlands’ burqa ban appeared to have been undermined on the day it came into effect last week,…

This week’s edition of Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs featured founder of bookshop chain Waterstones, Sir Tim Waterstone 1 Piano Concerto No. 2 by Sergey Rachmaninov, performed by Cyril Smith with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra 2 Symphony No. 5 in E flat major by Sibelius, performed by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra with Leonard Bernstein 3* The Dream of Gerontius (chorus) by Edward Elgar, performed by Janet Baker with John Barbirolli and the Hallé Orchestra 4 Jesus Christ the Apple Tree by Elizabeth Poston, performed by the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge with Sir David Willcocks 5 Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor by Gustav Mahler, performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra with Klaus Tennstedt 6 Concerto No. 1 in A minor by Karl Goldmark, performed by Itzhak Perlman…

YES 1. Portugal’s policy shows that liberalising drug laws does not make drug use more prevalent; in fact, it can reduce it. 2. Treating drug users as criminals separates them from the rest of society, making them more vulnerable to violence and disease. 3. Drugs are a highly complex challenge to society: it is folly to pretend we can arrest and jail our way out of the problem. NO 1. Drugs are undeniably very harmful to society. We need strong deterrents to stop people using them, not greater leniency. 2. Decriminalisation will make it easier for the criminals of the global drugs trade to sell their product. 3. Decriminalisation is a red herring. The crucial thing is to invest in treatment and in reducing the harm done by drug use.…

“Smart cities” aren’t such a smart idea Shoshanna Saxe The New York Times A race is on around the world to develop “smart” cities, says Shoshanna Saxe. The ingenious use of sensors, data and algorithms is apparently going to transform our living spaces for the better. In Toronto, for instance, Sidewalk Labs, owned by Google’s parent company, released a plan to remake two neighbourhoods with features like snow-melting roads and an underground pneumatic refuse system. It all sounds very exciting; but as an infrastructure engineer, I’m dubious about this hi-tech vision. The thing about cutting-edge technology, as we all know from our personal lives, is that it is expensive, ages rapidly and tends to go wrong at the worst moment. That’s not something you want when it involves municipal services.…

Cases of Lyme disease – a tick-borne infection with flu-like symptoms that can lead to permanent nerve and joint damage if left untreated – have soared in the UK, a new study has found. Medical statisticians analysed GP records for around eight million people, and concluded that cases of Lyme disease rose almost eightfold between 2001 and 2012. In their report in BMJ Open, they estimate that in 2012, more than 7,700 people were infected. A quarter of the cases were in Scotland, but the disease was found all over the UK. GPs being more vigilant would help explain the rise, but climate change is also likely to be a factor. “Warmer, wetter climates are where ticks thrive,” said study author Dr Victoria Cairns. A telltale sign of infection is…

“The unfed mind devours itself.” Gore Vidal, quoted in the I newspaper “Frank and explicit: that is the right line to take when you wish to conceal your mind and confuse the minds of others.” Benjamin Disraeli, quoted in Forbes “If you’re calling Paddy Ashdown, please leave a message after the high moral tone.” Charles Kennedy, teasing one of his predecessors as Liberal Democrat leader, quoted in The Times “The main dangers in this life are the people who want to change everything – or nothing.” American-British politician Nancy Astor, quoted in Forbes “A little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.” Thomas Jefferson, quoted in the Portland Press Herald “Enemies are so stimulating.” Katharine Hepburn, quoted…

Formula One Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix after overtaking Max Verstappen with just three laps to go. He now has a 62-point lead in the world championship, ahead of Valtteri Bottas. In the Hungarian Formula Two race, Mick Schumacher – Michael’s son – took his maiden F2 win. Golf Playing in her first major, Japanese golfer Hinako Shibuno won the Women’s British Open by a single shot. Tennis Australia’s Nick Kyrgios beat Daniil Medvedev in straight sets to win the Washington Open.…

Animals Dir: Sophie Hyde 1hr 49mins (15) A female Withnail and I Animals is a “dark, comedic drama” about female friendship that “should delight anyone who watches it”, said Greer McNally in Time Out. It’s a kind of female version of Withnail and I, with a touch of Trainspotting. Holliday Grainger’s heroine aspires to be a novelist, but spends too much time getting wasted with her chaotic, charismatic best friend (Alia Shawkat) to ever write anything – and their 30th birthdays are looming. An adaptation of Emma Jane Unsworth’s “visceral” novel, the film moves the action, for no good reason, from Manchester to Dublin, said Kevin Maher in The Times. The book’s sensitive interior voice has gone, and instead “we are treated to endless scenes of our protagonists downing cheap…

A Belgian motorway has been confirmed as the site for what is being billed as the world’s tallest public artwork, says Daniel Boffey in The Guardian. The vast 250-tonne steel structure – now under construction ahead of its formal unveiling in October – will tower over a stretch of the busy E411 between the city of Namur and Luxembourg. At 60 metres high, the s2.5m Arc Majeur will be taller than the Statue of Liberty (not including her pedestal) and twice as tall as Rio de Janeiro’s statue of Christ the Redeemer. Bigger monuments do exist – the statue of the Indian independence hero Sardar Patel is 182 metres high – but the Arc’s creator, 78-year-old French artist Bernar Venet, claims that as a purely artistic sculpture, his new work…

Programmes Egypt’s Great Pyramid Uncovered The Great Pyramid of Giza is the last surviving wonder of the ancient world. Using new archaeological research, this documentary looks at how the Egyptians built the great tomb. Sat 11 Aug, C4 20:00 (60mins). The Queen’s Lost Family This three-part series uses unseen letters, diaries and photographs to tell the story of the Royal Family in the turbulent period between 1920 and 1950. Sun 11 Aug, C4 20:00 (60mins). When Bridges Collapse: The Genoa Disaster On 14 August last year, the Morandi Bridge in Genoa collapsed, killing 43 people. This film looks at what happened that day, and why. Mon 12 Aug, BBC2 21:00 (60mins). Deep Water Anna Friel stars in this six-part thriller set in the Lake District. Adapted from Paula Daly’s novels,…

This is the Iranian method for scrambled eggs, says John Whaite. Since enjoying this dish in a fabulous pop-up restaurant in London a few years ago, I have made it often for breakfast – and sometimes for dinner too. You can’t really go wrong, as long as you cook everything gently, and are careful not to overcook the eggs. Persian eggs on toast Serves 2-4 2 tbsps olive oil 200g feta, crumbled pinch of dried thyme 4 large eggs, beaten ½ tsp ground turmeric freshly ground black pepper to serve: 4 portions of Turkish flatbread 1 tbsp roughly chopped parsley 1 tbsp roughly chopped dill • Set a large, deep-sided frying or sauté pan over a medium-high heat and add the olive oil. • When the oil simmers, reduce the…

Broadway producer who directed Cabaret and Follies Hal Prince 1928-2019 Hal Prince, who has died aged 91, started his Broadway career in the glory days of Cole Porter and Rodgers and Hammerstein, and went on to produce and direct some of the most enduring musicals in theatre history, said The New York Times – from West Side Story and Sweeney Todd to Evita and Phantom of the Opera, the longest-running show in Broadway history. His most frequent collaborator was Stephen Sondheim; his most profitable partnership was with Andrew Lloyd Webber. He worked with the great choreographers Jerome Robbins and Bob Fosse, and in 1966 he made a star of Joel Grey, when he gave the then unknown nightclub performer his defining role as the…

In a shock move, the “famously conservative” HSBC has ousted its chief executive, John Flint, after just 18 months, said Michael Bow in the London Evening Standard. Chairman Mark Tucker – the “hard-hitting finance veteran” who originally selected the understated HSBC “lifer” for the top job – has apparently had second thoughts about his “pace”. Shares in the bank, which began life in Hong Kong in 1865, fell 2%. Flint’s premature departure “sparked fevered speculation” in the City, said Alex Brummer in the Daily Mail. According to one theory, he was pushed because he “found himself on the wrong side of the US dispute with China”. Beijing was reportedly furious when HSBC disclosures helped US prosecutors build the case for the arrest of Meng Wanzhuo, CFO of Huawei, the controversial…

Fiscal drag is a real drag on Britons Paul Johnson The Times Pretty much the first pledge that Boris Johnson made in his leadership campaign was to increase the threshold of the higher 40% rate of income tax – from £50,000 a year to £80,000. Given that it would cost £9bn annually, “and largely be a giveaway to the richest 10%”, his subsequent decision to pull back was probably “sensible”, says Paul Johnson. But at least this short-lived policy highlighted the role “fiscal drag” has played in pulling millions more into the higher-tax rate. In the early 1990s, around 1.5 million people qualified; now it’s well over four million – simply because “over time, the point at which the 40% rate kicks in has not risen as fast as prices…

The meanings of several words relating to nature, such as “tweet”, “web”, “stream” and “cloud”, have chiefly been replaced by technological ones in the last generation, linguistic researchers have found. While mentions of the word “tweet” all referred to birdsong in the 1990s, just one in 100 uses in the 2010s retain that meaning, with the rest referring to social media posts. Artists coming to the UK from abroad for the Edinburgh International Festival are refusing to be paid in sterling because of its current volatility. Fergus Linehan, the director of the 72-year-old festival, said arrangements now often had to be made in dollars or euros. “No one,” he said, “wants to do deals in sterling any more.”…

More than 1,500 people were evacuated from their homes in the town of Whaley Bridge in the Peak District last Thursday, owing to fears that the dam above the town would burst. Heavy rain had led to an excess of water pouring over the spillway – the overflow channel – which began to erode as concrete slabs were ripped off it. Firefighters, police and engineers raced to pump water out of the Toddbrook Reservoir, and an RAF Chinook helicopter dropped hundreds of bags of sand to shore up the spillway. This Wednesday, police gave the all clear for residents to return, but many questioned why the spillway came close to giving way when a full inspection in November had found that no “immediate repairs” to it were needed.…

Washington DC Treaty ends: President Trump has withdrawn the US from a critical 1987 nuclear arms-control treaty with Russia, after Moscow refused to destroy a new intermediate-range missile that the US says violates the agreement. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) was signed at the White House by President Reagan and the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. It banned nuclear and conventional missiles with a 500km-5,500km range, and paved the way for further arms-control pacts. However, the US has long argued that Russia is violating the treaty, and is worried that China – which is not a party to the INF – remains free to develop such weapons. The US warned Russia six months ago that failing to destroy its SSC-8 cruise missiles would lead to the collapse of the treaty.…

“No longer does a gag stay in the room where it was told. If it’s filmed and put online, it reaches an audience for which it was never intended. If it’s repeated on social media – removed from the atmosphere around it, ripped from the build-up created by the comedian and sent out to people who don’t even want to hear it – it travels further; and something is different. The words are the same, but it’s not the same joke. Is it possible to be a comedian when you don’t know who you’re making jokes for? When you’re unsure who is listening, and what mood they’re in? How can comedians tell the jokes they want in a world where the butt of those jokes can turn a community against…

The Brexit myth of the “left behind” Philip Collins The Times It has become a “truism” of Brexit journalism, says Philip Collins, that parts of the UK have been “left behind”, ignored by a political elite that doesn’t care about anyone outside the M25. The theory sounds plausible, but it’s a myth. Westminster has directed endless funds and initiatives towards former industrial towns over the past 20 years. In 1998, Labour began the New Deal for Communities and the National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal. It followed that with the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative. The Tories and Lib Dems have since launched lots of schemes of their own to regenerate struggling communities. These efforts have not been in vain: new nurseries and health centres have been created; 80% of social housing…

Kids don’t love rural life Climbing trees, building dens, hunting for tadpoles… the countryside is bliss for children. Or at least that’s what many parents think. But it seems their children aren’t as sold on rural life. When scientists showed 251 children and their parents images of natural and urban environments, and asked them to rate them for attractiveness, the grown-ups favoured the country scenes, but the children, who were all under 11, consistently preferred the city ones. “This was surprising to us,” said Marc G. Berman of the University of Chicago. He acknowledged that the study was lab-based and small, but if the findings are replicated, it would suggest that our love of nature is learned, and not hardwired. On the other hand, there is plenty of evidence that…

Kashmir: India turns the screw It was clear last weekend that “something extraordinary” was about to happen, said Catherine Philp in The Times. An “unprecedented lockdown” had put Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir’s 12 million residents on notice: as thousands of troops moved in, tourists and pilgrims were “abruptly evacuated”, schools closed, meetings banned and phone and internet services cut. Only on Monday did it become obvious just how extraordinary the unfurling events in the troubled Himalayan region would prove to be, said Adam Withnall in The Independent. The security crackdown was merely the preamble to the yet more “dramatic” announcement that India’s ruling party, the BJP, plans to revoke Article 370, the crucial law which for decades has guaranteed “special constitutional status” to the Hindu-dominated country’s only Muslim-majority state.…

The Ashes: another miserable England collapse They call Edgbaston “the Fortress”, said Paul Hayward in The Daily Telegraph – or at least they used to. Before the Ashes began last week, England hadn’t lost a Test there in 11 years. But that record came to a despondent end on Monday, when Australia won the first Test by a crushing 251 runs. Still nursing a hangover from their World Cup triumph, the hosts were woefully flat. “It had all started so well,” said Paul Newman in the Daily Mail. On the first day, England had Australia on 122 for eight. By the end of their first innings, they were 90 runs ahead. But things took a turn for the worse on the fourth day. Having lost James Anderson to injury, England’s…

A mediocre elite To the New Statesman Much has been made of the preponderance of those educated in private schools in the upper echelons of the political system. A far more important issue is their intellectual shortcomings. The ruling class tend to study soft subjects or that pseudoscience economics, predominantly under the flag of PPE. They lack scientific knowledge. Armed with a sense of superiority, they attend Oxbridge – which for many is just a finishing school prior to entering the City – largely through the old-boys’ network. The financial world suits them well as it is an environment where mediocrities can rapidly accumulate wealth grossly disproportionate to their talents or contribution to society. The complete lack of accountability in the financial sector helps as well. Now wealthy, they enter…

This entertaining musical adaptation of Jill Murphy’s much-loved Worst Witch books, detailing the misadventures of hapless, pigtailed apprentice Mildred Hubble, has landed in the West End following a UK tour – and offers well-honed “magical mischief and crowdpleasing mayhem”, said Alex Wood on What’s On Stage. Emma Reeves’s adaptation gets in plenty of “cheeky” references to the Harry Potter mega-show up the road. (“Which is the evil house?” Mildred asks as she’s being sorted. “We don’t have an evil house dear,” replies the headmistress Miss Cackle. “That would be silly.”) But the show is a “comedic caper” in its own right, offering a “cauldron of delights, perfect for a family summer show”. Rosie Abraham is very funny as the petulant Ethel, and Polly Lister “has an absolute hoot” playing both…

Best books… Nicky Haslam The celebrated interior designer, author and bon viveur picks seven of his favourite books. His latest book, The Impatient Pen – a collection of his writings from throughout his career – is published by Zuleika at £22.99 A Legacy by Sybille Bedford, 1956 (Penguin £10.99). I rarely read novels, but this is the novel as history, as opposed to a historical novel; it’s the first in a trio, which are all based on the author’s early life. Mrs Bedford was an always-contactable help to me when I was writing my memoir, Redeeming Features. Another World Than This ed. by Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West, 1945 (out of print). An anthology of prose and poetry arranged as a eulogy to each month, in which every line is…

The Rhône is famous for its gutsy reds, says Fiona Beckett in The Guardian. But the 10% of its output that is white includes Condrieu and the white incarnations of Hermitage and Châteauneuf du Pape. Although the region’s strength is the sheer variety of grapes it produces, it’s a reasonable generalisation to say that Rhône whites, being rich and full-bodied, are good “for people who like reds”. Here are four to start with: Les Dauphins Côtes du Rhône Blanc 2018 (£8; Asda, Tesco) is attractively smooth and peachy. Perfect with a roast tarragon chicken. Réserve du Boulas Laudun Côtes du Rhône Villages 2018 (£10; M&S) is a characterful white with the whole gamut of Rhône grape varieties. Try it with grilled pork. Côtes du Rhône Villages Sablet Domaine Saint Gayan…

Edinburgh b&b stay Spend 2 nights at the 4-star Ten Hill Place Hotel, with breakfast and a dinner on your first night, from £203pp (based on two sharing). 0131-662 2080, tenhillplace.com. Arrive 9 September. New York flights for two Head to the incomparable Big Apple for 7 nights with this special deal on return flights from Manchester, from £280pp. 01733-224330, thomascookairlines.com. Depart 11 September. Sri Lankan resort break Stay at the alluring Centara Ceysands Resort & Spa on a half-board basis, from £849pp, including Cardiff flights. 01204-874378, destinology.co.uk. Book by 15 August for 21 September departure. Pride of Panama cruise This 7-night all-inclusive cruise starts in Jamaica with stops in Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica. From £983pp, including London flights. 020-3636 1931, tui.co.uk. Depart 17 December.…

Tesco: targets claim 4,500 jobs Several years after CEO Dave Lewis arrived to sweep the aisles at Tesco, the supermarket’s muddled growth strategies are still causing havoc, said Elizabeth Burden in The Times. And now “Britain’s biggest private-sector employer” is taking the axe to 4,500 jobs, mostly from its town centre Tesco Metro shops, The 153 Metro stores, which date back to 1992, have become white elephants – “a legacy format” jammed unproductively between Tesco’s smaller Express convenience stores and its out-of-town superstores, said Jonathan Eley in the FT. Analysts cheered the move, saying it would help Lewis achieve his “promise” of getting operating margins up to 4% by 2020. But staff were dismayed at the prospect of more job losses in addition to the 9,000 announced in January.…

Mark Zuckerberg When NBC journalist Dylan Byers asked a group of Silicon Valley luminaries to recommend some summer reads, Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg “kindly agreed to participate”, said Inc.com. Big mistake. At first sight, Zuck’s preferred pick, The Last Days of Night – a novel by Graham Moore about the celebrated 19th century inventor Thomas Edison – seemed “innocent” enough. But critics were quick to seize upon disturbing parallels with Zuckerberg’s own operation. Edison, it seems, was an incorrigible monopolist who tried to protect his stranglehold of America’s electricity supply in the 1880s by “driving his main rival out of business” – even though his own technology had been superseded, said Mark Bridge in The Times. Sound at all familiar? “Graham is a great storyteller,” says Zuckerberg. He should know.…