Julie Burchill I’ve never really been on a date – I got with my first husband as a teenager, then married two further men one after the other. But in the very early days of courting my husband Dan (who is thirteen years younger than me) I was very keen to appear the worldly 35-year-old
From ‘The Great Improvisation’, The Spectator, 2 January 1915: Though we fully recognize that praise is dangerous, we must at Christmastide indulge ourselves with a little praise of the British people, or rather of the British Army, for that part of the British nation which really deserves praise is in the Army. Once again, what
From The Spectator, 26 December 1914: Egypt, as the Royal Proclamation in effect, if not in word, shows, has passed into the British Empire. She is as much a part of it as any of the Feudatory States of India. Technically we have not annexed Egypt, nor do we desire to do so, since we
From ‘An Inquest Upon German Outrages’, The Spectator, 26 December 1914: It has already been announced in the Press that English. barristers have for some time past, under instructions from the Home Office, been investigating specific state- ments with regard to alleged atrocities. The witnesses have been subjected to a careful examination, and their evidence
From The Spectator, 26 December 1914: We notice in criticisms of Sir James Barrie’s new play Der Tag, that the author represents the German Emperor as hesitating till the last moment about consenting to the violation of Belgian territory. The assumption that the German Emperor wanted peace up to the end is not perhaps capable
Dear Brothers and Sisters: Happy Christmas! Jesus, the Son of God, the Savior of the world, is born for us, born in Bethlehem of a Virgin, fulfilling the ancient prophecies. The Virgin’s name is Mary, the wife of Joseph. Humble people, full of hope in the goodness of God, are those who welcome Jesus and
From The Spectator, 26 December 1914: WE are not going to write a Christmas article on palm boughs and olive branches and the Angel of Peace. Not only is there no peace in sight for the world at the moment, but any talk of peace before our enemies are beaten, or even half beaten, and
From The Spectator, 26 December 1914: Under the heading ” Success of Recruiting Canvass,” the Times of Tuesday declares that the canvass conducted by the Parliamentary Recruiting Committee is “progressing most satisfactorily.” We most sincerely trust that this roseate view is correct. As yet only two of the nine military commands—the Eastern and Southern—have been
From The Spectator, 26 December 1914: [TO THE EDITOR OF THE “SPECTATOR”] SIR,—Two correspondents in your issue of December 12th, writing on recruiting, say: “Compel all bachelors.” There was the same feeling in my son’s Territorial battalion on the first request for volunteers—the married men excused themselves (they afterwards volunteered). But why should they be
From ‘News of the Week’, The Spectator, 26 December 1914: It is true that the British lost several trenches to the enemy at the beginning of the week, but the greater part of them had been recaptured “at this of writing.” It is quite possible that before our next issue—that is, in the present case,
From ‘A Proud Moment for Unionists’, The Spectator, 19 December 1914: The plight of Belgium was none the less only one of the causes which made it imperative for Britain to take up arms. It is always agreeable when stating a case for oneself to emphasize one’s most chivalrous motives. It is for this reason
From ‘Dreams of a Warless World’, The Spectator, 19 December 1914: In truth, there is only one way to stop war, and that is for some one Great Power first to disarm the whole world, and then to see to it that no one shall again take up arms. Universal tyranny may create universal peace.
From A Scandinavian League, The Spectator, 19 December 1914: THE meeting of the three Scandinavian Kings at Malmo is an event of more than momentary importance. According to the official statement, this meeting was arranged in order that the three Kings might confer upon the neutrality of their respective countries, especially in connexion with the
From News of the Week, The Spectator, 19 December 1914: A SMALL squadron of German cruisers made an attack on Hartlepool, Whitby, and Scarborough on Wednesday morning. It seems that the squadron consisted of at least three battle cruisers and two armoured cruisers. Hartlepool and Scarborough were shelled simultaneously for about half an hour shortly
A.L. Kennedy Novelist I dislike dates. It’s either a yes, or a no. Why date? Sadly, I am both bad at reading the signals which indicate the outbreak of a date and attractive to people who are bad at signals. This means that I end up — often in coffee shops — with a variety
From The Spare Bedroom, The Spectator, 12 December 1914: OUR national individuality has been threatened, with the result that all English institutions are at this moment specially dear to the Englishman. We are prepared to defend them from first to last—from the system of government to the spare bedroom. Indeed, though we may jestingly call
Matthew Parris Spectator and Times columnist One evening in 1995 some friends brought a friend to dinner at my flat. His name was Julian, and he seemed rather bright. As it happened, the Nigerian ecological campaigner and fighter for rights of the Ogoni people, Ken Saro-Wiwa, was in prison having been convicted on trumped-up charges
Celia Walden Journalist and novelist It was supposed to be an interview, not a date. But Piers seemed to have other ideas. The Ivy dinner crowd was particularly amusing that day: Baroness Thatcher to our left, Louis Walsh with a group of X Factor ingénues to our right. In the corner, Salman Rushdie was seducing
From The New German Artillery, The Spectator, 12 December 1914: We shall have to wait a long time, we surmise, till the merits or demerits of the various new weapons are proved.Perhaps before judgment is delivered other new weapons will be introduced. The data are still very imperfect. We cannot say yet, for instance, whether
From The Crowning Proof, The Spectator, 12 December 1914: THE crowning proof that German intrigue and cynicism caused the war was provided in the remarkable statement which Signor Giolitti, the ex-Prime Minister, made in the Italian Chamber last Saturday. He said:- “On August 9th, 1913, the Marquis Di San Giuliano, then Foreign Minister, sent me