Barometer

Park the issue Gladstone Park in Brent may be renamed as a result of the former PM’s connections with slavery. Local children have suggested Multi-Faith Park or Diversity Fields. – Gladstone often used to stay as a guest of Lord Aberdeen at Dollis Hill House, which is in the park. Lord Rosebery was also a regular guest, as was Lord Randolph Churchill, father of Winston. Mark Twain also stayed. The park was named after Gladstone because when it was purchased for public use in 1899 he had recently died. Against the current How successful was Australia’s policy of processing asylum applications offshore for any migrant who arrives by boat?

Off duty How many non-doms are there in the UK? – In the year ending 2020, 75,700 people filled in a tax return in which they declared themselves to be non-domiciled – down from 78,600 the previous year and 137,000 in 2008. – Of the 75,700 in 2019/20, however, only 62,200 were actually resident in Britain. – In spite of their non-domiciled status, which does not oblige them to pay tax on foreign earnings, the 75,700 people still paid £7.85bn in income tax, capital gains tax and national insurance. – The highest number of non-doms in 2019 were resident in London (45,200), followed by the South East (10,400). The fewest were in Northern Ireland (300), Wales (500) and the North East (500).

Palm substitutes Palm Sunday was so-called because of the palm fronds thrown before Jesus on his entry into Jerusalem. But that caused problems for people trying to hold ceremonies to re-enact the occasion in countries where palm trees do not grow. Some other names by which the day is, or has been, called: In England: Yew Sunday; Branch Sunday; Blossom Sunday; Sallow Sunday; Sunday of Willow Boughs; Flowers Sunday; Flowering Sunday And elsewhere in the world: Pussy Willow Sunday (Latvia); Hosana (Egypt); Oshana (Syria) Eat up The National Farmers’ Union claimed the price of a pint of milk could rise by 50 per cent over the next few months. Which foods are rising in price the most at the moment? Price increase in year to February Oils and fats 6.

Common knowledge Tensions in the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to Jamaica led some to speculate that the Commonwealth might not long survive the present Queen’s reign. Who came up with the idea of naming the successor organisation to the British Empire after a term first used by Oliver Cromwell? – Lord Rosebery is recorded as referring to a ‘Commonwealth of nations’ in 1884, a decade before he became prime minister. – The term was first used officially in the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900, which established a federation of British colonies. – The idea of a British Commonwealth first surfaced at the 1926 Imperial Conference. – The word ‘British’ was dropped in 1949.

Time for a change A bill before the US Senate would abolish daylight saving time. Some countries which have previously practised daylight saving but no longer do so: – Algeria (last changed clocks in 1981); Brazil (1932); China (1991); Colombia (1993); Egypt (2015); Falkland Islands (2010); Hong Kong (1979); Iceland (1968); India (1945); Indonesia (1963); Iraq (2007); Pakistan (2009); Peru (1994); Philippines (1990); Russia (2014); South Africa (1944); South Korea (1988). Pumped up The price of unleaded petrol reached an average of 165.37p per litre. How does that compare with spikes in petrol prices in the past?

Thamesky Prospekt Who first coined the place name ‘Londongrad’? The name was used in a BBC sitcom called Comrade Dad, written by Ian Davidson and Peter Vincent, and first broadcast in 1984. It was set in a Britain of 1999 when the Soviet Union had annexed the country. However, the first use of the term has been traced to an obscure columnist, Senator Soaper, writing for the Montana Standard in 1931. Ridiculing George Bernard Shaw’s fondness for communism, he gave Shaw’s address as ‘Whitehall Courtsky, Londongrad’. Whitehall Court, on the Embankment, has become a favourite of Russian investors. Igor Shuvalov, deputy prime minister of Russia between 2008 and 2018, is believed to own two apartments in the building.

High commodity Nickel trading was suspended this week after prices rose to over $100,000 per tonne – double its previous peak of $50,000. How do other commodity prices compare with their peaks since the 2008 financial crisis? Previous peak Silver $43 Brent crude $140 Gold $1,853 Aluminium $3,124 Tin $33,015 This week Silver $26 Brent crude $139 Gold $2,050 Aluminium $3,849 Tin $50,025 Short squeeze The extraordinary rise in nickel prices was partly caused by a ‘short squeeze’, where investors try to exploit bets by other traders that prices would decrease.

The wild one Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said that Vladimir Putin had gone ‘full tonto’. The word tonto is used in Spanish for ‘stupid’ or ‘foolish’, but one of its suggested origins has a meaning which would perhaps go down better with Putin himself. Tonto was used by Apache Indians as a term for the Western Apaches – mean ‘wild ones’. It went on to become the name of a native-American character in the 1930s radio show The Lone Ranger – later a TV series. The colour of money What will sanctions on the Russian economy mean?

Blow by blow Did Storm Eunice really set a new record for wind speed in England? A 122 mph gust measured at the Needles on the Isle of Wight is, according to the Met Office, provisionally the fastest ever recorded in England. Greater speeds have been measured in Scotland: 173 mph on Cairngorm summit on 20 March 1986 and 142 mph at Fraserburgh on 13 February 1989. Northern Ireland, too, has recorded a faster gust, of 124 mph at Kilkeel, County Down on 12 January 1974. Last week’s record is only provisional. One suspect detail is that it is more than 30 mph faster than any gusts recorded elsewhere.

Facing the music Police in New Zealand played Barry Manilow records to truck drivers in an attempt to persuade them to break up their protests. One of the first uses of music as a weapon was by US forces attempting to force Panamanian military leader and drug dealer General Manuel Noriega to leave the Vatican embassy, where he had sought sanctuary in December 1989. For three days over Christmas they played an eclectic mixture of music including ‘Too Old to Rock’n’Roll, Too Young to Die’ by Jethro Tull, ‘Judgment Day’ by Van Halen, ‘Born to Run’ by Bruce Springsteen, ‘Give It Up’ by KC and the Sunshine Band, ‘We Gotta Get Out Of This Place’ by the Animals and ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ by Rick Astley.

No snow The pistes are covered with artificial snow and the hillsides are bare. Are the Winter Olympics a victim of climate change? — Skiing events at the games are at Yanqing and Zhangjiakou, north-west of central Beijing. Both have arid climates where a remarkable proportion of rain falls in the summer. Yanqing averages just 10mm of rain between December and February, Zhangjiakou just 11mm. London averages 160mm in the same months. Temperatures in the Chinese resorts have been well below freezing this week. The real snow has not melted — it never fell in the first place. Source: meteoblue.com Jab done What was your risk of dying of Covid, vaccinated or unvaccinated, between July and December last year?

Borderland Few countries can have passed through as many kingdoms and empires as Ukraine — the ‘borderlands’. These are just a few of the political entities which have controlled parts or all of modern-day Ukraine before it became an independent nation in 1991: Scythian Kingdom; Roman Empire; Ostrogothic Kingdom; Bulgar Kingdom; Khazar Kingdom; Kievan Rus; Mongolia; Galicia-Volhynia; Poland; Lithuania; Ottoman Empire; Cossack Hetmanate; Austro-Hungarian Empire; Russia; Free Territory of Ukraine; Soviet Union. Schemes and scams The government hopes to raise £12 billion through the 1.25% rise in National Insurance contributions from April. How does this compare with money wrongfully claimed under Covid relief schemes? According to HMRC estimates: 8.

Prime numbers As of 29 January Boris Johnson will have been Prime Minister for two years and 190 days. Currently he is 38th out of 55th in the list of longest-serving PMs, sandwiched between Henry Campbell-Bannerman, whom he overtook on 22 November, and Spencer Perceval, the only PM to have been assassinated. Johnson will have to survive in office until 1 March to overtake Perceval. If he is still in Downing Street on 6 June, he will have overtaken Gordon Brown. He would overtake Theresa May on 5 August and Jim Callaghan on 23 August. Men overboard A new exhibition challenges the idea that women and children aboard the Titanic were saved first. Who survived the disaster?

Stumped again Were England always so hopeless playing Australia at cricket? Since the first match in 1877 there have been 72 series between England and Australia. Australia have a narrow advantage of 34 series wins against 32 to England, with six draws. But measured on individual matches, Australia have a far bigger lead, with 150 victories against England’s 110, with 96 draws. Licence to bill How many households have TV licences? 2011/12 25,226,070 2012/13 25,338,330 2013/14 25,419,300 2014/15 25,507,730 2015/16 25,558,190 2016/17 25,826,120 2017/18 25,836,500 2018/19 25,752,560 2019/20 25,527,840 2020/21 24,837,260 Source: TV Licensing Lethal wave Are tsunamis becoming more deadly?

No vax There is nothing new about the anti-vax crowds supporting Novak Djokovic. Organised protest in Britain began with the formation of the Leicester Anti-Vaccination League in 1869. Vaccination of children against smallpox had been compulsory since 1853, but faith in the vaccine plummeted with an epidemic which erupted in the city in spite of vaccination — 314 died from the disease in 1871/72. There was also increasing anger at the jailing of vaccine refuseniks, 61 of whom were imprisoned between 1869 and 1884. Thousands gathered on 23 March 1885 for an anti-vaccination march from the Temperance Hall to the Market Place. In 1898 the law was revised to allow conscientious objection.

Waiting for the gong Tony Blair was knighted, 14 years after leaving Downing Street. How long have other ex-PMs had to wait to be honoured? Edward Heath knighted in 1992, 18 years after leaving office. Harold Wilson awarded peerage on leaving Commons in 1983, 7 years after resigning as PM. Jim Callaghan awarded peerage on leaving House of Commons in 1987, 8 years after leaving office. Margaret Thatcher awarded peerage in 1992 on leaving House of Commons. John Major knighted in 2005, 8 years after leaving office. Said to have rejected peerage on leaving Commons in 2001. Gordon Brown, David Cameron, and Theresa May are still waiting. Unjabbed nations How have the world’s least-vaccinated countries fared in terms of Covid deaths?

Centenaries 2022 will see the 100th anniversary of: the BBC; Reader’s Digest; Ulysses by James Joyce; insulin treatment for diabetes; canned baby food; Fascist government (Mussolini’s arrival as Italian prime minister); the first female barrister; ski slalom race; Test matches between England and New Zealand; water skiing; football pools; discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb; … but not, interestingly, the 1922 Committee, which wasn’t set up until April 1923. Talking shop How much Christmas shopping did we manage to do before last year’s ‘cancelled’ Christmas? Volume of sales in December 2020 relative to December 2019: Department stores –5.

Thirsty work Sixty-one pub-goers on a night out in the Tan Hill Inn, 1,500 feet up in the Pennines in West Yorkshire, were snowed in for three nights with an Oasis tribute band. Manager Nicola Townsend said everyone was in good spirits and that some people did not want to leave. Some other pubs with a tricky journey home: — Berney Arms in Norfolk is inaccessible by public road and can only be visited by boot, by boat, or, bizarrely, by train, as it has one of the country’s least-used railway stations. The pub has been closed since 2015, although there have been attempts to reopen it.

Red Peppa? In a rambling speech to the CBI, Boris Johnson praised Peppa Pig. Has she changed political sides? Peppa featured in advertising for New Labour’s Sure Start centres, and was booked to appear at the launch of Labour’s manifesto on families for the 2010 general election. However, her makers, E1 Entertainment, withdrew her at the last moment so as not to appear partisan. Lord Mandelson accused the BBC of being behind the move, suggesting the corporation was acting out of spite because Peppa was a star on rival Channel 5. Back on track Regular train services returned to Okehampton in Devon 49 years after the route was closed in the cuts proposed by British Rail chairman Richard Beeching.

Shell out Royal Dutch Shell announced that it is to move its HQ to London and become a fully British company. What’s its history? — The company has its origins with a London antiques dealer, Marcus Samuel, who in 1833 diversified to import oriental shells as fashionable decorations. After his death in 1870, his sons Marcus Jr and Samuel diverted their interests to oil, building a fleet of tankers to import it from Dutch Borneo. The business merged with the Royal Dutch Company in 1907. Take the tram The government is to abandon the eastern leg of HS2 and offer Leeds a tram system instead. Which does Leeds need more? Leeds to London trains cover the 170 miles in 136 minutes — an average speed of 75 mph. HS2 trains would take 81 minutes at an average speed of 126 mph.