CONTENTS CONTENTS
THE WEEK Leading article 5 Diary Barry Humphries 9 Politics Matthew d’Ancona 10 The Spectator’s Notes 11 Diary of a Notting Hill Nobody 13 The Blairs 15 Mind your language 18 Medicine and letters 24 Letters 26 Shared opinion Frank Johnson 28 And another thing Paul Johnson 30
BUSINESS
Keeping the oil flowing Rupert Steiner talks to Lord Browne 32 Investment Matthew Vincent 33 Jumping on the low-fat bandwagon Simon Nixon 34 City life James Kynge 35
BOOKS
Bevis Hillier:12 Books that Changed the World, by Melvyn Bragg 36
Douglas Hurd:1956, by Peter Unwin 38
Allan Mallinson:Cobra II, by Michael Gordon 40
Eric Anderson:Wicked!, by Jilly Cooper 42
Sebastian Smee:Black Swan Green, by David Mitchell 43
Judith Flanders:Visiting Picasso, by Elizabeth Cowling 44
Alexander Waughon the Gospel of Judas 44
Richard Ollard:The Letters of Samuel Pepys, edited by Guy de la Bedoyère 45
Lesley Quayle:‘Flying’, apoem 45
Change inevitably upsets people Fraser Nelson David Cameron’s first full interview since the local elections 14
We need boring government Geoff Mulgan The future lies in cool rhetoric and strong accountability 16
Brown does not understand gold Allister Heath The Chinese continue to exploit the rise in the metal’s price 18
Where have all the UFOs gone? Rod Liddle The demise of a great conspiracy theory 20
‘It seemed to me that Tony was suffering’ Tim Walker Sir Cliff Richard on houses and house-guests 22
New in this week’s issue
This week, The Spectator is introducing two new features —a business section and a style and travel section titled ‘You’ve earned it’. In addition to all the magazine’s usual features, columnists, arts and books reviews, we are now offering weekly insights into the financial world and wry observation of life’s luxuries great and small. The additional sections will have the wit and probing style that are the magazine’s hallmark, providing inside-track advice, information and City gossip. Today’s business pages lead with an exclusive interview with Britain’s most revered businessman, BP chief executive Lord Browne, while ‘You’ve earned it’ boasts articles by William Boyd and Frances Osborne. I hope you enjoy these developments in the evolution of The Spectator . Please let me know what you think.
Matthew d’Ancona, editor@spectator.co.uk
Cover by www.phildisley.com. Drawings by Michael Heath, Castro, Caz, Meyrick Jones, Ken Pyne, Mike Williams, Robert Thompson, Geoff Thompson, Hunter, Ivor, K.J. Lamb, Adam Singleton, Grizelda, Bernie, Nick Newman and Holland.
Website: www.spectator.co.uk To subscribe to The Spectator, turn to page 61.
Editorial and advertising The Spectator, 56 Doughty Street, London WC1N 2LL Tel: 020 7405 1706 Fax: 020 7242 0603 Email: editor@spectator.co.uk (editorial); letters@spectator.co.uk (letters for publication); advertising@spectator.co.uk (advertising)
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Vol 301; no 9275 ©The Spectator (1828) Ltd. ISSN 0038-6952
The Spectator is published weekly by The Spectator (1828) Ltd at 56 Doughty Street, London WC1N 2LL.
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ARTS Stephen Pettitt on Finnish music’s complicated relationship with Sibelius 46 Exhibitions:Albers and Moholy-Nagy: From the Bauhaus to the New World Andrew Lambirth 47 Gardens Ursula Buchan 48
Theatre 1: Othello; Hamlet Patrick Carnegy 48 Theatre 2: Donkeys’ Years; Footloose; Crooked Toby Young 50 Opera:Don Giovanni Michael Tanner 52 Pop Marcus Berkmann 53 Cinema:Brick Olivia Glazebrook 53 Radio Michael Vestey 54 Television James Delingpole 55
LIFE Motoring AlanJudd
High life Taki
Low life Jeremy Clarke
Bridge Susanna Gross
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YOU’VE EARNED IT Farmers’ markets Frances Osborne 59
Dare to wear white Oscar Humphries
Buenos Aires William Boyd
Restaurant Deborah Ross
Chess; Competition; Crossword
Sport Frank Keating
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Your problems solved Mary Killen 71
THE SPECTATOR13 May 2006 7
