Skip to main content
Read page text
page 4
AUSTRALIAN CONTENT i Leading articles Roll up Rising seas iv Dis-con notes Two revolutionary ideas John Stone v Covid ’science’, lockdowns and flat-earthers Experts have destroyed their own credibility Ramesh Thakur vi Australian notes What would happen after a loss? James Allan vii Insufficient intent Glasgow Grand Final Judith Sloan viii Business/Robbery etc. A better way to spend the BCA’s $50 billion Michael Baume ix Once were revolutionaries Left is what it despised Kerry Wakefield x The Covid hunt Woke elites declare war on the unvaccinated Rebecca Weisser xi A different Afghanistan ISKP and the Taliban Qanta Ahmed xii Xi’s battle for absolute contro Politics is local. Even in China Kevin Andrews Follow us on Twitter:@SpectatorOz Spectator Australia letters to the editor and enquiries:editor@spectator.com.au Ain’t easy being green, p12 THE WEEK 3 Leading article 4 Portrait of the Week 5 Diary Would your party pass the ‘Gove Test’? Andrew Roberts 6 Politics The dangers of a Covid state of mind James Forsyth 7 Rod Liddle Israel has been spared Sally Rooney 11 Douglas Murray The pandemic has made cynics of us all 12 Barometer ‘Problematic’ villages, greenhouse gases and Covid measures 15 Ancient and modern Aristotle and transphobia 19 Julie Burchill The sultans of sulk 20 Letters The looming energy crisis, bungalows and in praise of Irn Bru 21 Any other business Why we should all start hoarding cash and loo rolls Martin Vander Weyer Charles Moore is away. Basic witch, p26 8 Baby doomers The generation putting the planet before parenthood Madeleine Kearns 9 N.S. Thompson ‘Latchkey Kids’: a poem 10 You must be kidding There’s no way I could bring children into this world Tom Woodman 12 Pass judgment Italy’s anti-Green Pass movement has a new figurehead Manfred Manera 14 Right turn Boris is returning conservatism to its roots Tim Stanley 16 Goodbye to Beirut What has happened to Lebanon is a tragedy Paul Wood 17 Letter from Gozo The problem with fish eyes Prue Leith 18 Whatnots to like The joy of a cluttered museum Laura Freeman Cover by Sarah Dudley, illustration by Ben Davis. Drawings by Michael Heath, Castro, Russel Herneman, Dredge, Grizelda, Nick Newman, Bernie, Percival, Wilbur, K.J. Lamb, Simon Collins. www.spectator.co.uk Rates for a basic annual subscription in the UK: £111; Europe: £185; Australia: A$319.99; New Zealand: NZ$389.99; and £195 in all other countries. To order, go to www.spectator.co.uk/A151A or call 0330 3330 050 and quote A151A. Editorial and advertising The Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP, Tel: 020 7961 0200, Fax: 020 7681 3773, Email: editor@spectator.com.au (editorial); letters@spectator.co.uk (for publication); advertising@spectator.co.uk (advertising); Advertising enquiries: 020 7961 0222 Subscription and delivery queries IPG Media P O Box 393, Belmont, WA 6984, Australia. Tel: 1800 809 233. From NZ: +6189 362 4134. Email: spectator@ipgmedia.com.au Spectator Australia advertising Tel: +44 (0)20 7961 0222, advertising@pressholdings.com Spectator Australia marketing William Delmont, Tel: +44 (0)20 7961 0004. Email: wdelmont@spectator.co.uk. Spectator Australia Distribution enquiries Tel +61 (0)8 9362 4134. Vol 347; no 10,077 © The Spectator (1828) Ltd. ISSN 0038-6952 The Spectator is published weekly by The Spectator (1828) Ltd at 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP Editor: Fraser Nelson. Spectator Australia Editor: Rowan Dean editor@spectator.com.au ii the spectator australia | 16 october 2021 | www.spectator.com.au
page 5
The eyes have it, p17 Love and Waugh, p30 BOOKS & ARTS Why so serious? p36 LIFE BOOKS 22 Philip Hensher The Booker shortlist reviewed 24 Clinton Heylin Musics Lost and Found, by Michael Church 26 Katrina Gulliver What Is History Now?, edited by Helen Carr and Suzannah Lipscomb Nigel Jones The Last Witches of England, by John Callow 27 Andrew Lycett Love and Deception, by James Hanning 28 Susie Mesure Will She Do?, by Eileen Atkins ARTS 30 Mark McGinness The genius of Granada’s Brideshead Revisited 32 Opera Jenufa; Carmen Richard Bratby Podcasts Dark House;American Hauntings Jessa Crispin 34 Theatre Hamlet;What If If Only Lloyd Evans 35 Cinema The Last Duel Deborah Ross 36 Exhibitions Poussin and the Dance Laura Gascoigne 37 Pop Rick Astley and Blossoms Perform Songs of the Smiths; Billy Nomates Oh William!, by Elizabeth Strout Lindsay Johns Harlem Shuffle, by Colson Whitehead 29 Michael Arditti Michael Hann 38 Television Squid Game James Delingpole 39 Arts Maggie Smith Peter Craven CONTRIBUTORS LIFE 41 High life Taki Low life Jeremy Clarke 42 Real life Melissa Kite 43 The turf Robin Oakley Bridge Susanna Gross 44 Aussie Life / Language Michael Sexton & Kel Richards 45 The vintage chef Olivia Potts AND FINALLY . . . 40 Notes on… Conkers St.John Burkett 46 Chess Luke McShane Competition Lucy Vickery 47 Crossword Mr Magoo 48 No sacred cows Toby Young Battle for Britain Michael Heath 49 Sport Roger Alton Your problems solved Mary Killen 50 Food Tanya Gold Mind your language Dot Wordsworth 51 Aux bien pensants Net zero only the beginning David Flint Andrew Roberts is a British historian and author of George III: The Life and Reign of Britain’s Most Misunderstood Monarch. He writes about how David Starkey hates his new ‘piratical’ beard on p5. Madeleine Kearns is a former teacher and opera singer who interned at The Spectator. She now writes for the National Review. On p8, she talks about those putting the planet before parenthood. Tom Woodman, who explains why he doesn’t want children on p10, is a comedian and literary editor. His graphic novel Future is out now. Clinton Heylin, who writes about the history of folk music on p24, is the author of The Double Life of Bob Dylan: A Restless, Hungry Feeling 1941-1966. Lindsay Johns, who reviews the new Colson Whitehead novel on p28, is a writer, broadcaster and a Fellow at the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard. the spectator australia | 16 october 2021 | www.spectator.com.au iii

Page Text

View plaintext

AUSTRALIAN CONTENT

i Leading articles

Roll up Rising seas iv Dis-con notes

Two revolutionary ideas John Stone v Covid ’science’, lockdowns and flat-earthers Experts have destroyed their own credibility Ramesh Thakur vi Australian notes

What would happen after a loss? James Allan vii Insufficient intent

Glasgow Grand Final Judith Sloan viii Business/Robbery etc.

A better way to spend the BCA’s $50 billion Michael Baume ix Once were revolutionaries

Left is what it despised Kerry Wakefield x The Covid hunt

Woke elites declare war on the unvaccinated Rebecca Weisser xi A different Afghanistan

ISKP and the Taliban Qanta Ahmed xii Xi’s battle for absolute contro

Politics is local. Even in China Kevin Andrews

Follow us on Twitter:@SpectatorOz

Spectator Australia letters to the editor and enquiries:editor@spectator.com.au

Ain’t easy being green, p12

THE WEEK

3 Leading article 4 Portrait of the Week 5 Diary Would your party pass the ‘Gove Test’? Andrew Roberts 6 Politics The dangers of a Covid state of mind James Forsyth 7 Rod Liddle

Israel has been spared Sally Rooney 11 Douglas Murray The pandemic has made cynics of us all 12 Barometer ‘Problematic’ villages,

greenhouse gases and Covid measures 15 Ancient and modern

Aristotle and transphobia 19 Julie Burchill The sultans of sulk 20 Letters The looming energy crisis,

bungalows and in praise of Irn Bru 21 Any other business

Why we should all start hoarding cash and loo rolls Martin Vander Weyer

Charles Moore is away.

Basic witch, p26

8 Baby doomers

The generation putting the planet before parenthood Madeleine Kearns 9 N.S. Thompson

‘Latchkey Kids’: a poem 10 You must be kidding

There’s no way I could bring children into this world Tom Woodman 12 Pass judgment

Italy’s anti-Green Pass movement has a new figurehead Manfred Manera 14 Right turn

Boris is returning conservatism to its roots Tim Stanley 16 Goodbye to Beirut

What has happened to Lebanon is a tragedy Paul Wood 17 Letter from Gozo

The problem with fish eyes Prue Leith 18 Whatnots to like

The joy of a cluttered museum Laura Freeman

Cover by Sarah Dudley, illustration by Ben Davis. Drawings by Michael Heath, Castro, Russel Herneman, Dredge, Grizelda, Nick Newman, Bernie, Percival, Wilbur, K.J. Lamb, Simon Collins. www.spectator.co.uk Rates for a basic annual subscription in the UK: £111; Europe: £185; Australia: A$319.99; New Zealand: NZ$389.99; and £195 in all other countries. To order, go to www.spectator.co.uk/A151A or call 0330 3330 050 and quote A151A. Editorial and advertising The Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP, Tel: 020 7961 0200, Fax: 020 7681 3773, Email: editor@spectator.com.au (editorial); letters@spectator.co.uk (for publication); advertising@spectator.co.uk (advertising); Advertising enquiries: 020 7961 0222 Subscription and delivery queries IPG Media P O Box 393, Belmont, WA 6984, Australia. Tel: 1800 809 233. From NZ: +6189 362 4134. Email: spectator@ipgmedia.com.au Spectator Australia advertising Tel: +44 (0)20 7961 0222, advertising@pressholdings.com Spectator Australia marketing William Delmont, Tel: +44 (0)20 7961 0004. Email: wdelmont@spectator.co.uk. Spectator Australia Distribution enquiries Tel +61 (0)8 9362 4134. Vol 347; no 10,077 © The Spectator (1828) Ltd. ISSN 0038-6952 The Spectator is published weekly by The Spectator (1828) Ltd at 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP Editor: Fraser Nelson. Spectator Australia Editor: Rowan Dean editor@spectator.com.au ii the spectator australia | 16 october 2021 | www.spectator.com.au

read next page

My Bookmarks

Buy this Book
Skip to main content