Innholdsfortegnelse for V. 1354 i The Week

What happened At a special session of Parliament on Monday, MPs from all parties suspended normal business to pay tribute to Sir David Amess. The 69-year-old Conservative MP for Southend West was stabbed to death last Friday during a constituency surgery he was holding at a Methodist church in the town of Leigh-on-Sea. A suspect arrested at the scene was named as 25-year-old Ali Harbi Ali – a British-born Muslim man of Somali descent. The killing has been declared a terrorist incident. It appears that as a schoolboy, Ali had been referred to Prevent, the Government’s counter-extremism programme, but that MI5 had not seen him as a “subject of interest”. His father has been identified as a former adviser to the government of Somalia who fled to Britain with his…

“Last week, a receptionist saved a patient’s life,” said Dr Berenice Langdon in The Independent. She gave him an immediate face-to-face appointment at my surgery: “I saw him and sent him to A&E urgently (any doctor would have done the same).” He was operated on later that day and survived. The story makes an obvious point: “proper doctoring involves an examination”. Telephone consultations “are not as good”. Doctors know it; patients know it. Before the pandemic, about 80% of GP appointments were face-to-face. During lockdown, demand dropped radically, which was a relief for “some very stressed and overworked GPs”. But now, the proportion is still somewhere below 60%. This needs to change if we’re going to do our jobs properly. So it’s great news, said the Daily Mail, that the…

Half of British adults think there will be another lockdown this year, and 74% are concerned about a new virus wave this winter, with fears highest among over-55s. More than half believe the worst of Covid is behind us, but 19% think the worst is yet to come. ComRes/The DailyTelegraph Asked to choose between the two men, more voters would rather have a drink with Boris Johnson than Keir Starmer (47% to 26%), and more would rather go on holiday with him too (36% to 25%). 38% think Johnson was right to take his recent holiday in Spain; 35% disagree. 80% of voters are worried about inflation; 79% are worried about the NHS being under strain. Deltapoll/The Mail onSunday…

Reflections on Diana Dr Richard Shepherd has seen enough trauma to last several lifetimes, says James Rampton in The Independent. As one of Britain’s most distinguished forensic pathologists, he has presided over more than 23,000 autopsies since qualifying as a doctor in 1977. It’s a career that has involved him in some of the most tragic events of the past 40 years – ranging from 9/11 to the murder of Stephen Lawrence. He also played a key role in the aftermath of Princess Diana’s death in Paris in 1997: he carried out her autopsy and re-examined the evidence for the 2004 inquiry into the crash that killed her. The review found the collision was caused by her driver, Henri Paul, being drunk. But Shepherd says that Diana and Dodi Fayed…

A woman has been banned from driving for a year, after claiming she was too fat to take a breath test. Deborah Owens, from Worcestershire, was reported to the police by her partner for drink-driving in July, but failed to blow hard enough into a breath-alyser for it to work. This, she later explained, was because she is an “overweight smoker”. “As far I’m concerned, I’ve been fat shamed,” she said after the trial. “It’s not my fault I wasn’t able to blow enough air into the breathalyser.” Apub landlady in Bradford loves Yorkshire puddings “so much”, she’s had a portrait of herself made out of them. “I just had to have a symbol of my Yorkshire pudding passion hanging proudly in Heathfield Farm,” said Jamie Wilson. The 1m x…

GERMANY Now Merkel is out, will they let cannabis in? Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (Essen) A surprise outcome of last month’s German elections could be the legalisation of cannabis, says Philipp Luther. Use of the drug has been steadily increasing; four million Germans now use it regularly. And while ending the ban was never a prospect under Angela Merkel’s CDU, the three parties likely to form the next coalition see the benefits. Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), the election winners, aren’t exactly enthusiastic, but they recognise that enforcing the ban is a costly waste of resources for the police and judiciary. Their junior partners, meanwhile, agree on almost nothing except decriminalising cannabis. The centre-right Free Democrats (FDP) want to end government interference in commerce and people’s private lives, while the left-wing…

As Britain aims for its net-zero carbon target, offshore wind farms are set to proliferate. One species that may suffer as a consequence are brown crabs. According to a study at a marine station in the Scottish Borders, the crabs are irresistibly drawn to the electromagnetic field given off by the miles of undersea power cables required by the wind farms – and this changes their blood cells, causing them to “just sit still”. Crabs’ attraction to cables is not dangerous in itself, says study leader Dr Alastair Lyndon – but it could come with an opportunity cost: “If they’re not moving, they’re not foraging for food or seeking a mate.” Crabs are the UK’s second-most valuable crustacean catch; should their attraction to cables prove “too difficult to resist”, the…

Daniel Craig has revealed that he started going to gay bars years ago, because he got so “sick” of getting into punch-ups in straight ones. But the actor admitted that initially, the more relaxed vibe wasn’t his only motive. “Everybody was chill. You didn’t really have to sort of state your sexuality… And I could meet girls there, ‘cause there are a lot of girls there for exactly the same reason I was.” One of David Amess’s best anecdotes concerned the origins of what he called the “holy sweet”, recalled the MP James Duddridge this week. A devout Catholic, Amess often visited the Vatican, and once joined a receiving line as the Pope was dispensing blessings. Amess had a sore throat that day, and reached into his pocket for a…

“Life is too short and Proust is too long.” Anatole France, quoted in the FT “Governments always respond to emergencies: the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, rather than a fence at the top.” John Bird in The Guardian “I used to believe that anything was better than nothing. Now I know that sometimes nothing is better.” Glenda Jackson, quoted on The Browser “Being president is like running a cemetery: you’ve got a lot of people under you and nobody’s listening.” Bill Clinton, quoted in the Seattle Weekly “Before you criticise someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticise them, you are a mile away from them and you have their shoes.” Jack Handey, quoted in Reader’s Digest “Economy is going without something…

Cricket Scotland beat Bangladesh by six runs in their T20 World Cup opening match. Ireland secured a seven-wicket win over the Netherlands, with seamer Curtis Campher taking four wickets in four balls – only the third time in T20 history. Football Chelsea maintained their lead in the Premier League with a 1-0 victory over Brentford. Second-place Liverpool beat Watford 5-0. Rugby union Brothers Mako and Billy Vunipola were among the big names omitted from England’s 34-man autumn squad.…

by Andrew Roberts Allen Lane 784pp £35 The Week Bookshop £27.99 (incl. p&p) Posterity hasn’t been kind to “poor” King George III, said Dominic Sandbrook in The Sunday Times. In Britain, he is remembered either as the “blundering oaf whose insensitivity lost the American colonies”, or as the “mad king” who once mistook an oak tree for the king of Prussia. In the US, he continues to be seen as the “cruel tyrant” whose tax demands drove the colonists to rebellion. Yet in this mammoth and meticulous biography, Andrew Roberts presents a compelling case for the defence. George, he insists, was not remotely tyrannical; he was “well-meaning, hard-working, decent, dutiful, moral, cultured and kind”. If anything, he was slightly boring – he had no obvious vices (he rarely drank and…

South African director Yaël Farber has won global acclaim for her dark and “sensuously atmospheric” stagings of works by the likes of Strindberg and Miller, said Dominic Cavendish in The Daily Telegraph. This eagerly anticipated new Macbeth bears many of her hallmarks: beautiful lighting, an unnerving soundscape, and luxuriously unhurried performances from its stars James McArdle and Saoirse Ronan – the latter making her “spellbinding” British stage debut. Yet overall, it is only a “qualified triumph”. The action feels swamped by the director’s painstaking approach. It’s as if the lighting, sound and music are being used to “conjure the play’s febrile momentum in lieu of the human drama”, said Arifa Akbar in The Guardian. The play’s “psychological terror” is too slow to materialise – though when it does arrive it…

After the year we have had, with its struggle, sickness and worry, it is peculiarly comforting to be reunited with “some of the worst and most narcissistic” characters ever written, said Philippa Snow in The Independent. Jesse Armstrong’s hit TV drama Succession has returned, and it’s as bitingly brilliant, elegant and funny as ever. For two seasons, the Roy siblings have been jostling for position in their Murdoch-style media empire, and for the love of their monstrous father, Logan Roy (Brian Cox). Now the tensions seem to be moving up a level. In the opening episode, still smarting from the betrayal of his middle son, former junkie Kendall (Jeremy Strong), the billionaire patriarch sets what promises to be the tone of season three. “It’s war,” he bellows, in the cabin…

Hurvin Anderson: Reverb at Thomas Dane Gallery The Turner Prize-nominated artist Hurvin Anderson specialises in painting mysterious evocations of the foliage, scenery and architecture of Jamaica. He was born in Birmingham in 1965 to parents of Jamaican origin, and his pictures often seem to represent dim, or perhaps even false, visual memories glimpsed in dreams. This latest show finds him on familiar ground, painting, photographing and drawing particular aspects of a hotel on the north of the island: an outcrop of scrubby bushes and flowers engulfing a concrete wall; modernist bungalows subsumed by tropical vegetation; the jungle gradually reclaiming a tarmac path. Every element – plants, fixtures, even the odd ghostly human figure – has been considered with analytical rigour, making for a series of works that teem with detail…

There are plenty of drinks that cut it with pizza, says Susy Atkins in The Daily Telegraph: a “hoppy IPA”, say, or a “juicy cider”. But which wines work? It largely depends, of course, on the toppings. Let’s start with a simple margherita. It feels instinctively like a job for a white, but with the rich cheese and sweet tomato sauce, it can’t be one that’s too light. That rules out some obvious Italians – Soave, gavi, pinot grigio – but I have found one Italian white that works well: the “riper-than-most, peachy” Pecorino Terre di Chieti 2020 (£8; Marks & Spencer and Ocado). “Overall, though, French sauvignon blanc is the style to pick; it has the lively citrus fruit to cut through all.” With meat-topped pizzas, reds generally win…

● Wayne Gerdes is a “hypermiler” who has set a series of fuel-economy records. His golden rule? Don’t go any faster than strictly necessary. “On a wide-open highway I rarely – if ever – pass somebody.” ● You can also waste a remarkable amount of fuel just by keeping the car in an unnecessarily low gear. Shift up at the lowest revs you can: 2,000rpm is a good guide. ● Don’t idle. Turn off your engine when at a stop for more than seven seconds (unless your car has a stop-start system). ● Drive as if you didn’t have brakes – keeping a good distance behind the car in front and looking three cars ahead. This will help you keep a steady speed. ● If possible, turn off your air…

Château Capitoul, Languedoc “Top-end” hospitality meets “first-class” wines at this new hotel, vineyard and villa complex near Narbonne in southwest France, says Anthony Peregrine in The Times. There are 44 villas to rent, but it is centred on a “smallish” 19th century château with eight “comfortable and contemporary” rooms, surrounded by vines, pines, olive trees and rocky hills (“the entirety of Languedoc landscapes in one panorama”). There is a big spa, hammams, a “vast” infinity pool, two restaurants, and a winery offering excellent tastings, walks and masterclasses. And the idyllic beach town of Gruissan is just a 15-minute bike ride away. Doubles cost from £265 b&b. chateaucapitoul.com…

Johnny Gold 1932-2021 Johnny Gold was the genial co-founder of Tramp – a “basement of bacchanalia” in London’s Jermyn Street, beloved for decades by pop stars, Hollywood actors, aristocrats and oligarchs. “It’s going to be fun,” he promised when the nightclub opened in 1969 – and he was true to his word, said The Times. Mick Jagger was a founding member, and a19-year-old Princess Anne was an early guest. Princess Margaret went there often, to let her hair down and flirt with Peter Sellers. Jackie Collins, whose husband was Gold’s business partner, claimed to have found more material at Tramp than she could handle for her “bonkbusters”. Her sister Joan had one of her wedding receptions there. It was at Tramp that Tara Palmer-Tomkinson celebrated her 27th birthday, wearing a…

A surprise tick-down in UK inflation in September failed to dampen speculation that the Bank of England is contemplating an imminent interest rate rise, possibly as soon as November. The ONS reported that the consumer price index fell to 3.1% in September, from 3.2% in August, but the measure doesn’t take into account the recent surge in petrol pump and household energy prices. The Resolution Foundation predicted that rising prices would deal a £1,000 blow to household finances next year, hitting real incomes by 2%. European and UK gas prices rose sharply again after Russia opted not to pump more into Europe – despite President Putin’s previous pledge to boost supplies. Goto Energy became the latest UK energy supplier to cease trading. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the…

● The Wild West The price of bitcoin has returned to near record highs of around $64,000 on news that the US Securities and Exchange Commission has given the green light to “the first widely available investment funds” to track the cryptocurrency, said Kellie Mejdrich on Politico. Three bitcoin futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are to go live this month, including one pitched by ProShares, which began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. This is “a landmark moment” for the booming crypto market: the new funds address growing demand from mainstream investors for exposure to an asset that has risen 440% in a year. But bitcoin’s entry into the investment establishment is fraught with controversy. SEC chair Gary Gensler, who once described the crypto market as the “Wild West”,…

Ranjit Singh Boparan Britons beware: your 20-year binge on cheap food is coming to an end, warns the “Chicken King”. And Ranjit Singh Boparan should know, said Reuters. Founded in 1993, his 2 Sisters Group has quietly grown to supply “around a third of all poultry products consumed in the UK”. The group processes 10.4 million birds a week and owns more than 700 farms. Outlining a “cost tsunami”, Boparan, 55, reckons food price inflation could hit double digits. “The days when you could feed a family of four with a £3 chicken are coming to an end… You’re looking at a different world from now on, where the shopper pays more.” But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, he argues. “How can it be right that a whole chicken…

THE WEEK CROSSWORD 1283 An Ettinger travel pass case and two Connell Guides will be given to the sender of the first correct solution to the crossword and the clue of the week opened on Monday 1 November. Email the answers as a scan of a completed grid or a list, with the subject line The Week crossword 1283, to crossword@theweek.co.uk. Tim Moorey (timmoorey.com) This week’s winner will receive an Ettinger (ettinger.co.uk) travel pass case (assorted colours), which retails at £105, and two Connell Guides (connellguides.com). ACROSS 7 Attempt to deceive in outfitters? (3,2,2) 8 They’ll be gripping in the theatre (7) 10 Refusal to admit mean machine for entertainment (8) 11 Conventional opera length (6) 12 Shorts for former rebellious Chinese nationalists? (6) 13 Treatment for injury in Mayo? (8)…

What happened The Government published its long-awaited climate strategy this week, outlining how it plans to reach its target of net-zero emissions by 2050. The 368-page document said the UK should be powered entirely by clean energy by 2035, and that homeowners would be offered £5,000 subsidies to switch from gas boilers to low-carbon heat pumps. It also contained plans to incentivise drivers to switch to electric cars by investing £620m in charging points and grants. Offshore wind farm capacity will be quadrupled, and two huge new carbon capture and storage projects were selected for a share of £1bn of public money, subject to value-for-money tests. Ministers said the plan, announced 12 days before leaders gather in Glasgow for the Cop26 climate summit, would create 440,000 jobs and “unlock” £90bn…

More babies were named Lucifer last year than Nigel, according to the Office for National Statistics. There were more Kings than Keiths, and no Maureens at all. But it was another bumper year for Oliver and Olivia, which retained their top spots for the fifth year, with 4,225 and 3,640 registrations respectively. Coldplay is to get its fans to generate energy for its concerts, as part of its efforts to make its 2022 world tour as “low carbon as possible”. Concert goers will dance on “kinetic flooring”, and may also be asked to pedal fixed bikes linked to batteries. However, frontman Chris Martin admitted that the band would still be flying by private jet – and said that it would rightly face a backlash for that.…

Paris Plastic ban: The French government has unveiled plans to ban the use of plastic packaging for most fruit and vegetables from January 2022. The ban will apply first to harder fruit and veg, such as leeks, peppers and apples. It will then be rolled out to cherry tomatoes, green beans and other more delicate items by June 2023, and eventually to salads and berries. Retailers who fail to comply will face hefty fines. About a third of fruit and veg sold in France is wrapped in plastic. In a further effort to reduce plastic waste, more water fountains will be opened in public areas, and fast-food chains will no longer be able to give away plastic toys. Berlin Coalition takes shape: Olaf Scholz moved a large step closer to becoming…

1 Ride a White Swan by Marc Bolan, performed by T. Rex 2 The Bottle, written and performed by Gil Scott-Heron 3 Mercy Mercy Me, written and performed by Marvin Gaye 4 Don’t Push It, Don’t Force It, written and performed by Leon Haywood 5 Money’s Too Tight (To Mention), written and performed by The Valentine Brothers 6 El Cóndor Pasa by Daniel Alomía Robles, performed by Simon and Garfunkel 7 Jupiter from The Planets by Gustav Holst, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent 8* Be Thankful For What You’ve Got, written and performed by William DeVaughn Book: A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor Luxury: a sketchbook and pencil * Choice if allowed only one record…

The Christmas bulge in food, toy and gift purchases is trying at the best of times: supply-chain managers describe it as “pushing the pig through the python”. But this year business leaders and shipping companies have been warning for months that the festive surge in demand will not be satisfied at a time when the UK is grappling with shipping logjams, a fuel crisis, and shortages of both HGV drivers and abattoir workers. “I don’t want to sound like a Grinch”, one shipping boss told The Times, “but there are going to be gaps on the shelves this Christmas.” The National Farmers’ Union has warned of trouble in the meat industry. Ministers have been anxious to play down fears of problems facing consumers this Christmas. “I’m confident there will be…

Flu also kills… so let’s reduce the death toll Jacob Stern The Atlantic America’s battle with Covid last winter had one silver lining, says Jacob Stern: we accidentally solved influenza. In an average year, about 30 million Americans contract the flu, and more than 30,000 of them die of it. But during the 2020-21 flu season, the US recorded just 2,000 cases. Social-distancing measures tamped down the spread of Covid, but they obliterated the flu, “a less transmissible foe to which the population has considerable pre-existing immunity”. This raises a question: do we now go back to accepting 30,000-plus flu deaths a year, or use what we’ve learnt to lower that toll? Obviously, we can’t go into lockdown every year, or stop large gatherings, but even modest behavioural changes could…

Men in the wealthiest areas of the UK, in the South, now live ten years longer on average than those in the most deprived regions in the North. This difference in life expectancy is twice what it was 20 years ago. “The North-South divide in life expectancy has amplified. Reducing the gross health inequalities has never been a steeper mountain to climb,” said Veena Raleigh, a fellow at The King’s Fund think tank, and the author of the report. Her findings suggest that while life expectancy has continued to grow in wealthy areas, it has largely stalled elsewhere. In Westminster in central London, male life expectancy rose from 77.3 to 84.7 years between 2001-03 and 2018-20. By contrast, the life expectancy of men in Blackpool – which contains eight of…

“Sally Rooney is a literary phenomenon,” said The Times. Her last novel, Normal People, was made into a hit BBC series, and was translated into 46 languages; one of them was Hebrew. But last week Rooney announced that she does not wish her latest book, Beautiful World, Where Are You, to be sold to “an Israeli-based publishing house”, owing to her stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict. People are, of course, entitled to their views on Israel, said Zoe Strimpel in The Sunday Telegraph. But Rooney is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, which takes a pretty extreme position: it argues that Israel runs “a system of racial domination and segregation against Palestinians” amounting to apartheid. BDS advocates boycotting Israel not just economically, but also culturally and academically.…

Tennis: the unassuming new star of British tennis What a year this is proving for British tennis, said Mike Dickson in the Daily Mail. Five weeks after Emma Raducanu’s triumph in New York, Cameron Norrie produced “another glorious tale of the unexpected” to become the first British winner of the tournament widely regarded as tennis’s “fifth Grand Slam”. In the final of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, the 26-year-old left-hander prevailed 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 against the world No. 36 Nikoloz Basilashvili. The slow conditions in the Californian desert produced an intriguing match of “contrasting styles”, said Tumaini Carayol in The Guardian. Whereas Norrie thrives in attritional rallies, the Georgian is one of the game’s “most destructive shotmakers” – the only player on tour who averages over 80mph off…

Sturgeon’s game plan To the Financial Times Robert Shrimsley (see page 15) misses two points about Nicola Sturgeon’s referendum rhetoric. First, Scotland’s First Minister doesn’t actually want a referendum soon. Losing by a narrow margin, as polls suggest, would be fatal to her cause and career. Winning by one would be even worse: a deeply divided country would face economic and other questions to which she knows she has no answer. Second, is the matter of principle. If referendums are to settle questions as visceral as independence, losers must consent. We know they did not consent in 2014; independence campaigning barely paused. Five years on we still see the effects of withheld consent to the Brexit vote. Most Scottish voters don’t want an independence referendum soon. A substantial proportion sees…

by Bernardine Evaristo Hamish Hamilton 208pp £14.99 The Week Bookshop £11.99 Bernardine Evaristo’s first foray into non-fiction has a slightly misleading title, said Tomiwa Owolade in The Sunday Times: it’s less a manifesto, “more of a memoir”. In it, the novelist and poet good-humouredly details the barriers she overcame to become, in 2019, the first black woman to win the Booker Prize (for Girl, Woman, Other). Born in southeast London in 1959, to a Nigerian father and a white British mother, Evaristo started out as an actor – in her early 20s she co-founded a theatre company for black women – before making the “transition to print” a decade later. Writing was a struggle at first: “no one in mainstream publishing cared about a fledgling black female poet”. Where she…

J.S. Bach: Ich habe genug (Dunedin Consort/Butt) Linn £13.99 Several “top-notch” recordings of Bach cantatas have been released recently, but this disc, from Edinburgh’s Dunedin Consort, stands out as especially fine, said Erica Jeal in The Guardian. It consists of BWV 82 (Ich habe genug), 32 (Liebster Jesu) and 106 (Actus Tragicus). Together, they trace a vivid emotional trajectory from despair to hope, darkness to light, that would be affecting at any time, but which resonates “especially strongly” now, as we emerge from the trials of the pandemic. “It’s a seriously uplifting recording.” All three are “tethered to Christian texts and beliefs” about death and the afterlife, but they’ll transport listeners “well beyond matters of faith and doctrine”, said Geoff Brown in The Times. Director John Butt’s “intimate forces” –…

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A statue by the Jamaican sculptor Basil Watson will be erected at Waterloo station in London as a tribute to the Windrush generation of migrants. The 12ft statue, chosen from a shortlist of four designs, will be of “a man, woman and child dressed in their Sunday best and climbing a mountain of suitcases hand-in-hand”, says Eleni Courea in The Times. It will be unveiled on Windrush Day, 22 June, next year. It is the first public artwork in the UK by Watson, whose parents emigrated to England in the early 1950s, but returned to Jamaica after independence in 1962. “I feel privileged that I have this opportunity to express the aspirations, vision and courage of my parents,” he said. “I look forward to bringing my design to life, because…

Jazzer decides to sell his motorbike to deter Chelsea; Alan says he’ll buy it. Alistair and Jazzer are impressed by Blake’s DIY at Greenacres and find more work for him, convincing him to take payment. Stella has a run-in with Pip about Brookfield sheep grazing on Home Farm; she later tells Brian that she thinks the cosy relationship between the two farms needs to be more professional. At Lily’s urging, Johnny offers to help fellow dyslexic Chelsea with an essay. Chelsea gets Jazzer to drop her over on the bike. When Johnny expresses distaste for biker girls, Chelsea claims to have gone off bikes, but then storms out when he jokes about her helmet hair. After Chelsea’s U-turn, Jazzer tells Alan he’s no longer selling the bike. Lilian and Shula…

Tofu Vegan 105 Upper Street, London N1 (020-7916 3304) This new Chinese restaurant in Islington, north London, is by the people behind the much-admired Xi’an Impression in nearby Highbury, says Jay Rayner in The Observer. “Its name gives you the basics. Meat and fish are out; tofu and various other bean curd preparations are in.” I’m a little bit put off by the restaurant’s “cheerleading” – pro-vegan slogans adorn the walls, a chalkboard menu compares the nutritional value of eggs and tofu – but the kitchen certainly knows what it’s doing, especially when it comes to deploying big-hitting flavours. A salad of “slippery and crunchy” cloud ear mushroom – with chilli, coriander and salty and sour dressing – “is the edible equivalent of cold-water swimming”. Taut-skinned wontons in a spicy…

Seat Arona Price from: £19,600 The Daily Telegraph Few contenders in the closely fought small SUV/crossover class are hugely desirable vehicles. But the mildly refreshed Seat Arona, with its new grille, LED headlights, and colour options, comes as close as any. Pleasingly unpretentious, with a decent-sized (but not exceptional) 400-litre boot, it certainly won’t excite any of the senses, but it is good value, and “well-designed for its job”. What Car? The changes to the 2021 model are mostly to the interior, and include softer materials, a new infotainment system and, in higher-trim versions, a 10.25in digital cockpit. Is this enough to entice buyers away from the Arona’s rivals? It is certainly one of the “more enjoyable cars” in this class to drive, but the Ford Puma is better on…

In the New Forest, Exbury Gardens’ 450 cultivars of acer make for a particularly spectacular display this time of year (£12; exbury.co.uk; until 14 November). As well as the riot of autumnal colours in its woodlands, Felbrigg Hall, Gardens and Estate in Norfolk has a plentiful harvest in its walled garden, including pumpkins, gourds and squashes (£11; nationaltrust.org.uk/felbrigg-hall-gardens-and-estate; open daily). The garden at Hollytree Lodge, Muckhart, close to both Edinburgh and Perth, is petite but very pretty, and it includes some unusual trees and shrubs which are breathtaking at this time of year (visit by appointment, scotlandsgardens.org/hollytree-lodge/; until 12 November). The recently opened RHS Garden Bridgewater, Salford, has 70 acres of mature woodland to explore, as well as formal gardens and a lake (£11; rhs.org.uk/gardens/bridgewater; open daily). SOURCE: METRO…

Diving with seals in the Hebrides It requires training and is “not everyone’s cup of tea”, but cold-water diving offers rich rewards for nature lovers – and Coll is a great place to try it, says Jenni Doggett in The Sunday Times. This small Hebridean island is well known for its empty white beaches, and its waters rich in flora and fauna. To explore them with marine biologists, take one of the wildlife tour operator Basking Shark Scotland’s boat trips out to the Cairns of Coll, rocky outcrops surrounded by turquoise water of “incredible clarity”. You might spot dolphins, orcas, basking sharks (the world’s second-largest fish) and – most likely – seals, which sometimes approach divers. “Inquisitive and mischievous”, whirling and “pirouetting” around you and perhaps having a curious nibble…

Rick Jones, who has died aged 84, was known to a generation of children as Yoffy – the shaggy-bearded, warm-voiced narrator of Fingerbobs. Featuring the adventures of a puppet mouse and its animal friends, including Gulliver the seagull, Flash the tortoise and Scampi the scampi, the series, first broadcast in 1972, was themed around crafts and “found objects” such as twigs: it had a distinctly home-made feel. But Jones vividly brought the finger puppets to life, said The Times, and also sang the show’s theme song: “Yoffy lifts a finger, and a mouse is there/Puts his hands together, and a seagull takes the air/Yoffy lifts a finger, and a scampi darts about…” For years Fingerbobs featured in lists of the best children’s TV shows ever made. But any sense that…

The Food and Drink Federation has warned of an intensifying “battle for labour” in the run-up to Christmas. Amazon is taking no chances, said The Observer. The online giant is offering generous “signing-up bonuses” of up to £3,000 in its effort to recruit 20,000 temporary staff. The move has been slammed by business groups as “a knockout blow” for smaller outfits. But the incentives are controversial in-house, too. “It leaves workers who have been there for years feeling rather undervalued and underappreciated,” one warehouse worker told the BBC. “They are training people who are making more money than them.” The problem of Britain’s “missing workers” – the ONS reported a record 1.2 million vacancies last month – is biting hard across sectors, said Tim Wallace and Tom Rees in The…

Gen Z Zoomers, aged up to 24, “could be among the losers of a rates rise”. They’re likely to be affected if landlords raise rents to keep pace with higher buy-to-let repayments, or if wages fail to keep pace with inflation. On the plus side, rate rises may “throw some cold water” on unaffordable property prices. Millennials Now approaching 40, this group has long complained of being “left behind” after entering the workplace during the banking crisis and the great recession. “A rate rise might be yet another piece of bad luck” for those who have finally clawed their way onto the property ladder. Gen X Many in this group, aged up to 55, are still in the throes of paying off mortgages – and could also be hard hit…

Advance Energy The Mail on Sunday Founded in 2020 and run by an industry veteran, this energy firm uses modern technology to unlock the full potential of underdeveloped or underfunded oil fields. Worth a punt. Buy. 3.3p. Antofagasta The Daily Telegraph Renewable energy can consume five times more copper than conventional systems, and electric-vehicle batteries consume around 60kg more than an internal combustion vehicle. Bodes well for this copper miner. Buy. £14.20. Ashtead Group The Times Higher rental rates and an undersupply of equipment is good news for the tool-hire group. Opening more US stores and expanding into new markets, including film and television, with bolt-on acquisitions. Buy. £55.44. Asos The Sunday Telegraph Before being hammered by supply-chain turmoil, the online fashion retailer was improving efficiency and diversifying via Topshop…

The world’s oldest surviving “map of stars” will go on display at the British Museum next year. Known as the Nebra Sky Disk, it was found by illegal treasure-hunters in Nebra, Germany in 1999, and later recovered by police, along with swords, axes and other Bronze Age artefacts. Believed to be 3,600 years old, the 30cm-wide bronze disc has a blue-green patina and is adorned with gold symbols representing the Sun, the Moon, solstices and other celestial bodies. Deadly floods brought misery and chaos to large parts of India this week (see page 9), but in the southern state of Kerala, one couple was determined not to let the disaster ruin their special day: rather than abandon their wedding celebrations, when local roads were inundated, Akash Kunjumon, 26, and his…

An NHS leader has warned that to avoid a winter crisis in the NHS, the Government should bring back mandatory mask-wearing and ask people to return to home-working where possible. Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said that, with Covid cases rising, it was time for the Government to enforce its “Plan B” for England. On Monday, the UK recorded 49,018 cases, the highest daily figure since mid-July, and on Tuesday, 223 Covid deaths were recorded, the highest number for seven months (though numbers on Tuesday are often elevated). England is driving the UK surge: in Scotland, infection levels have fallen slightly in the past month. The Government has ruled out the possibility of a winter lockdown in England. Ministers say they are not “complacent”, but that no…

Washington DC Powell dies: Colin Powell, the former four-star general who became America’s first black secretary of state, has died of complications from Covid-19, aged 84. His family said that he had been fully vaccinated, but was suffering from multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that weakens the immune system. Raised in a poor family in the South Bronx, Powell saw combat duty in Vietnam. He served as Ronald Reagan’s national security adviser and was chair of the joint chiefs of staff under George H.W. Bush during the first Gulf War. For a period in the mid-1990s, he was so popular that he was predicted to become America’s first black president. However, his reputation was later tainted when, as George W. Bush’s secretary of state, he presented to the UN Security…

“For the sake of the young – bring back the teaching of rhetoric. I have seen enough meetings, interviews, broadcast slots and panel events to know which habits of speech harm another person’s standing with others. They include the filler words ‘like’ and ‘sort of’; or starting a sentence with ‘I guess’, and ending it with ‘Does that make sense?’. They include, above all, using the interrogative tone in non-interrogative statements. I wish I had had, when young, someone to tell me that nothing conveys confidence like a mid-sentence pause. Or that a flat, declarative tone in room full of upspeakers is such an advantage as to be tantamount to cheating.” Janan Ganesh in the Financial Times…

Scotland’s leader has right on her side Robert Shrimsley Financial Times There’s no point accusing Nicola Sturgeon of playing nationalist games, says Robert Shrimsley. What else can she do? Although her SNP and other pro-independence parties won a majority at the Scottish elections, Westminster is refusing to grant them a referendum. “So her only tactic is to foment anger” and stir up constitutional grievances. That’s why she introduced two bills that were outside the competence of Scotland’s parliament, well aware the UK Supreme Court would strike them down. It duly did so earlier this month, and is likely to do the same with her imminent legislation for a new referendum. But Sturgeon has time, not just right, on her side. Polls may show a recent decline in support for independence,…

Tobacco was used in the Ice Age In the 1930s, archaeologists in Alabama discovered a limestone pipe containing traces of nicotine that was estimated to be 3,300 years old. It was the earliest evidence of tobacco use ever documented – but now a team has found evidence that humans were using tobacco 9,000 years before that. Remnants of a fire preserved in the mud flats of the Great Salt Lake Desert in Utah were recently carbon-dated to a period around 12,300 years ago, towards the end of the Ice Age, when the area was a vast (and chilly) marshland; and among the debris were four charred tobacco seeds. In a paper in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, the researchers speculate that Native American hunter-gatherers may have smoked tobacco, or chewed…

God help the National Trust, said The Guardian. Ever since it published a “sober” academic report last year, detailing its properties’ links to slavery and colonialism, it has become a battleground in a vicious “culture war”. The Trust’s critics believe it has become too “woke”, and should stick to looking after Britain’s historic homes and gardens. Restore Trust, a rebel alliance of 6,000 current and former National Trust members, has been formed, and is seeking to take six vacant seats on the charity’s council at its annual general meeting next week. The group, backed by right-wing Tory MPs and including one fundamentalist Christian lobbyist, claims that it wants to return the Trust to its founding principles. It is vital to see this for what it is: a small group of…

McIlroy’s imperfect victory Three weeks after the turbulence of the Ryder Cup – when Europe dropped him from a session for the first time in his career – Rory McIlroy returned to form with a victory in the CJ Cup in Las Vegas, said Rick Broadbent in The Times. Back-to-back rounds of 62 and 66 saw the Northern Irish star finish 25-under, one ahead of US player Collin Morikawa. It was his 20th career win on the PGA Tour – and it “hoisted him back into the world’s top ten”. Afterwards, McIlroy “admitted the raw psychodrama of the Ryder Cup had forced him to stop craving perfection” – and suggested that this was behind his upswing in form. “In the last couple of weeks,” confessed the four-time major winner, “I’ve…

To The Daily Telegraph If assisted suicide becomes legal, everyone in their lifetime would be presented with the option of whether to kill themselves. “Have you thought about assisted suicide?” This includes those who are vulnerable and distraught. “Is your life worth living?” It includes many who have misconceptions and are unaware of alternatives. “Isn’t dying painful?” It includes many who are afraid, and it includes some who are coerced. “Am I just in the way?” This legislation will create a burden on many, which has the risk of becoming a duty. It is a flattering lie that our choices are independent of our culture and relationships. Laws aren’t just rules – they send social messages and dictate conduct. What is worse: not to kill someone who wants to die,…

by Lauren Groff William Heinemann 272pp £16.99 The Week Bookshop £13.99 Lauren Groff’s celebrated 2015 novel, Fates and Furies, was a sharp portrait of a modern marriage, said Alex Preston in The Observer. Her latest work is “very different indeed”, being a “fictional biography” of the 12th century mystical poet Marie de France. Little is known about the historical Marie, but Groff “fills her with glorious, corporeal life”. She imagines her being banished from the court of Eleanor of Aquitaine aged 17, and sent to a down-at-heel nunnery in England. After becoming its abbess, she gradually transforms the place into a thriving “island” from which men are banned. Matrix is a “beautiful, unclassifiable book”. Whether describing Marie’s mystical visions, or the “earthy business of abbey pigs”, Groff writes with “purpose…

The Last Duel 2hrs 33mins (18) A brutal, feminist revenge drama All hail Ridley Scott, said Kevin Maher in The Times. The 83-year-old has become “fiercely productive” in the autumn of his career, and his latest epic is arguably “his most modern film” yet. Set in France during the Hundred Years’ War, and based on a true story, it follows Jacques (Adam Driver), a “swaggering squire” who is challenged to a duel by a self-important nobleman (Matt Damon, sporting a “hideous mullet”), whose wife Marguerite (Jodie Comer) has accused him of rape. The Rashomon-like “trick” is that the screenplay – co-written by Damon, Ben Affleck (who also stars) and Nicole Holofcener – delivers the drama three times, each recounting events from a different perspective. Scott “delights” in this device, repeating…

Fermat’s Last Theorem by Simon Singh, 1997 (Fourth Estate £9.99). This is the book that inspired me as a teenager. I’ve read it at least six times and it has never disappointed. On the surface it’s about solving an equation, but in reality it’s a beautifully crafted love story spanning centuries. A heartfelt tribute to human ability and the unimaginable endurance of those in pursuit of an ultimate goal. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, 2014 (Fourth Estate £8.99). This novel tells a fascinating story about a blind teenage girl in Occupied France, but it is also about a radio and the power of transmitting speech. At its heart is some genuine science, and I love the way it motivates the reader to an understanding of complex…

Programmes The Lancaster Bomber at 80 with David Jason The actor narrates this documentary about the aircraft’s creation and its role in defeating the Nazis, with contributions from military historians, authors and Lancaster crew members. Sat 23 Oct, C4 19:00 (60mins). The 80s – Music’s Greatest Decade? Dylan Jones makes the case for the decade that gave us hip-hop, dance music and indie. Sat 23 Oct, BBC2 20:55 (60mins). The Outlaws New comedy-drama from Stephen Merchant. Seven offenders are brought together on community service to renovate a derelict building in Bristol. Christopher Walken stars as a small-time crook. Mon 25 Oct, BBC1 21:00 (60mins). Stath Lets Flats Return of the Bafta-winning comedy series about a Greek-Cypriot letting agent in North London. Tue 26 Oct, C4 22:15 (35mins). Universe In this new…

Pasta and chickpeas is a popular dish all over Italy, says Gennaro Contaldo. The tang of lemon combines so well with earthy chickpeas, I often find myself squeezing extra juice over my portion. Make sure you start by softening the chickpeas the night before. Pasta and chickpeas with fennel and lemon Serves 4 200g dried chickpeas ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 small carrots, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, left whole and squashed 100g fennel bulb, finely chopped 20g wild fennel fronds, roughly chopped (optional) thinly pared rind of 1 unwaxed lemon 1.8 litres water 200g tagliatelle, broken into little pieces sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to serve: parmesan cheese, grated 1 unwaxed lemon, zested then quartered • Place the chickpeas in plenty of…

Snug kids’ flask Snug’s insulated thermos-style water bottle keeps drinks hot or cold. The lid flips opens at the push of a button to reveal a straw; it comes in a range of colourful designs; and being made from stainless steel, it will withstand hard knocks (£13; amazon.co.uk). Tinc Tonkin blue drinks bottle The Tinc Tonkin holds half a litre, making it on the larger side of kids’ bottles. It has a sturdy clip-and-lock mechanism that keeps it leak-proof, and comes with a useful carry loop (£10; johnlewis.com). CamelBak Eddy+ kids’ water bottle This attractive bottle is lightweight and holds up to 400ml; it has a simple flip mechanism with a straw, and is pretty durable. Resistant to stains and odours, it can also go in the dishwasher (£15; camelbak.co.uk). Ion8 leak-proof kids’…

London superyacht stay Enjoy an unforgettable stay aboard a gleaming superyacht docked near Canary Wharf. 2 nights from £129pp room-only with river view (two sharing). 020-3608 0135, secretescapes.com. Arrive 20 November. At the heart of Athens Enjoy 4 nights at the Royal Olympic Hotel in Athens, near the Temple of Olympian Zeus, from £406pp half-board, excluding flights. 0871-474 3000, onthebeach.co.uk. Arrive 5 November. Discover the Cinque Terre A guided walking holiday in Italy, exploring villages such as Monterosso and Corniglia. 7 nights from £849pp half-board, excluding flights 020-3974 8865, hfholidays.co.uk. Arrive 30 April 2022. Ski fun in Austria Spend 5 nights at the authentic Hotel Hochfilzer, in the village of Ellmau. From £549pp, on a half-board basis, including Birmingham flights. 01483-791122, inghams.co.uk. Depart 3 January 2022. Covid-19 travel restrictions: please…

Shipping: cartel allegations The history of the shipping industry is littered with booms and busts. But with demand for containers now vastly outstripping supply, there’s rarely been abetter time to hoist the mainsail, said Alan Tovey in The Sunday Telegraph. Consultants at Drewry forecast that container-shipping companies will between them make “surreal” profits of $150bn this year – “as much as the previous 20 years combined”. Some are crying foul. Make UK, which represents Britain’s industrial base, has teamed up with the British Chambers of Commerce to call for an urgent investigation into the industry’s alleged “cartel-like” behaviour. They want the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to probe “whether charges are being coordinated or inflated by shipping companies”. The watchdog has the power to impose a fine of up…

Kwarteng has sounded the sirens Alex Brummer Daily Mail As an “archdeacon of free market capitalism”, Kwasi Kwarteng might have been expected to nod through the sale of defence champion Meggitt to a US competitor. Instead, the Business Secretary has sounded “the air-raid siren”, says Alex Brummer. Amid concerns that the sale, to Parker Hannifin, could harm national security, he has referred the £6.3bn takeover to the competition regulator – with the option of blocking the deal if the watchdog decides there’s a risk. Bravo! Kwarteng’s intervention, while doubtless galling for Meggitt’s chairman, “Sir Sell-off” Nigel Rudd, is a welcome contrast to the nonchalance of his predecessors – on whose watch “the assault on British engineering and aerospace has been relentless”. Meggitt, which began as a hot air balloon instrument-maker…