Society

Three weeks ago, a journalist from Le Figaro asked France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs who would be attending the 200th anniversary ceremony at Waterloo. ‘When is it?’ was the reply. Two centuries on, the French are still in denial about Waterloo. To understand why, you have to bear in mind a quotation by the 19th-century historian Jules Michelet, who declared that: ‘The war of wars, the combats of combats, is England against France; all the rest are mere episodes.’ The defeat at Waterloo was the humiliation of humiliations, almost impossible to countenance. French chauvinists still refuse to accept that Napoleon really lost. (Napoleon himself had declared: ‘History is a series

When Alan Rusbridger stepped down as the editor of the Guardian last month, there were emotional scenes at Guardian HQ as he handed his crown to his successor Katharine Viner. In fact so emotional, that some bright spark thought the storyline was perfect for a film: The video – which Mr S titles ‘Alan Rusbridger and the Sword of the Truth‘ – runs through Rusbridger’s achievements while at the paper, and offers startling insight into the man behind the legend as he reveals what he eats for breakfast. ‘It’s true Guardian editors really do eat muesli,’ he tells the camera on the day of the Murdoch hearing. Other highlights include Rusbridger showing

Andy Burnham’s Labour leadership bid hit a rough patch at the GMB hustings today. When asked by the moderator Kevin Maguire if he supported the £23,000 a year benefits cap, unlike the other candidates, Burnham was unable to give a straight yes or no answer. As you can watch above, he attempted to explain his stance: ‘In principle, it’s not right that people on benefits get more than they are likely to earn in a lifetime,’ but the audience didn’t seem to care. Then later in the debate, the candidates were quizzed on the cost of everyday items, such as petrol. After hesitating, Burnham said it was £1.60 a litre — far

From ‘News of the Week’, The Spectator, 12 June 1915: A MAGNIFICENT feat of airmanship was performed at three o’clock on Monday morning by Flight-Sub-Lieutenant R. A. J. Warneford, R.N., who single-handed attacked a Zeppelin between Ghent and Brussels and destroyed it. He dropped six bombs on the Zeppelin, and had come so close to it that when the Zeppelin exploded his aeroplane was, so to speak, blown up. It turned completely over. According to some accounts, it turned over several times while falling, but Mr. Warneford regained control and landed safely, though of course within the German lines. The petrol had fallen out of his tank, and he had

From ‘Latent Creeds’, The Spectator, 5 June 1915: Has it not sometimes occurred to habitual church-goers to think how intensely interesting it would be if, when the congregation turned to the east, each man, instead of repeating after the choir, proclaimed aloud the creed of his soul? It would not perhaps be a bad spiritual exercise if each man made an effort to do so inwardly. We think many men might draw therefrom some measure of consolation, for the creed of the soul is not always the creed of the intellect; it is usually simpler and more satisfactory. The intellect is fearfully liable to the miasmatic influences of pessimism. It

From ‘Husbands, Sons and Brothers’, The Spectator, 5 June 1915: AT the beginning of the war it was proposed by a group of well-known Englishwomen that mourning should not be worn for those killed in battle. The motive was excellent—the spirit of the Roman mother who did not count lost a life given for the State. But the propriety of this minor symbolism has been swallowed up and forgotten in the reality of a civic valour at home which has become so conspicuous that it needs no deliberate professions. We most all have been astonished at the calmness and the beautiful resolution present in thousands of families which, without condemnation,

What makes for bad legislation? Sometimes it is a lack of scrutiny from a weak opposition and bored backbenchers. Sometimes it’s an attempt by ministers to make a political point and to hell with any real life damage. And sometimes it’s wishful thinking: an assumption that because a bill has identified an awful problem, it is automatically also presenting the perfect solution. Lord Saatchi’s Medical Innovation Bill is heading back to Parliament again, after the Lib Dems managed to block it in the last session. Saatchi was naturally furious that Nick Clegg’s party had refused to sign off on his legislation, and now that the Lib Dems are out of

Boris Gulko, celebrated both as a grandmaster and a former Soviet dissident, has recently completed his great trilogy of instructional volumes. They make exclusive use of the instructional value of Gulko’s own victories, which include probably more victories against Kasparov, when compared to losses, than any other major player. Lessons with a Grandmaster, Volume 3 (Everyman Chess) is the third in the series. Notes to the following game are based on those by Gulko.   Gulko-Kasparov: Linares 1990; King’s Indian Defence   1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 Bg7 4 e4 d6 5 f3 0-0 6 Be3 c6 7 Bd3 e5 8 d5 b5 9 cxb5 cxd5 10 exd5