The Spectator

Sunday

The Spectator

The Spectator at war: War and wildlife

From The Spectator, 17 October 1914: The siege of Antwerp has been a minor tragedy in a quarter to which few probably gave a thought. The authorities of the Antwerp Zoological Gardens, before the bombardment began, felt compelled to destroy all the dangerous animals in their cages. They could not contemplate the possibility of beasts of prey loose in the streets; a stray shell would break the bars of the strongest enclosure, and the Zoological Gardens are situated near one of the important railway stations, which would naturally attract the fire of cannon.

Saturday

The Spectator

The Spectator at war: Honour to Belgium!

From The Spectator, 17 October 1914: NEVER did a people and their Sovereign and his Consort deserve greater honour than the Belgians and their King and Queen. They have drunk the cup of misery and horror to the very dregs. "Their heads are bloody though unbowed." The invaders have used against them the strength of a giant and the baseness of a giant, but all attempts to terrorize them into submission have been in vain. They have disputed every inch of ground that they could dispute with heroism, yet not with the madness of despair or with mere blind courage, though there has been plenty of that.

Friday

The Spectator

The Spectator at war: The scale of neutrality

From The Spectator, 17 October 1914: King Carol of Roumania died suddenly at the Castle of Pelesh, Sinaia, on Saturday last, in his seventy-sixth year, and is succeeded by his nephew, Prince Ferdinand, born in 1865, who married in 1893 Princess Marie, daughter of the Duke of Edinburgh. King Carol, as a Hohenzollern, undoubtedly cast all his weight into the scale of neutrality; he was even credited with the remark that he would sooner abdicate than consent to his country's taking the field against Germany. And the weight of his authority was greatly enhanced by the gratitude of his subjects, who recognized in him the founder of the kingdom and one of the chief architects of its prosperity.

Thursday

The Spectator

Spectator letters: In defence of the GMC and Ukip members, and how Rachmaninov spelled Rachmaninov

Nothing to fear Sir: So long as we are not breaking any law, we have nothing to fear from the police being able to access our mobiles (‘Licence to snoop’, 11 October). They, however, would be committing a crime if they released any information so gleaned to anyone except to the judiciary if we are being accused of a crime. In these difficult times it is reassuring that the police should have every means at their disposal in pursuing those who would do us harm or commit criminal activity.

The Spectator

David Cameron’s not the only one in trouble over morris dancing

Dirty dancing David Cameron was accused of causing racial offence by posing with blacked-up Morris dancers, though it was pointed out that the tradition dates from 16th-century jobless labourers covering their faces with soot. Other Morris dancer controversies: — In 2011 the Slubbing Billys were thrown out of a pub in Durham for breaking a rule against music. They weren’t dancing, just drinking, but had bells on their trousers. — In 2013 officials from Lancashire County Council accused the Britannia Coconut Dancers of breaching health and safety rules when their dance strayed onto the road. Forget me, forget me not? Where have people been most successful at persuading Google to remove links they claim infringe their ‘right to be forgotten’?