Crude estimates Why is crude oil measured in barrels? — From medieval times onwards, all sorts of commodities were measured in barrels for convenience, from wine to eels to whale oil. However, standardisation only arrived in fits and starts. Since Richard III’s time, a barrel of wine was defined as 42 ‘wine gallons’, but this
Leave the US to it Sir: I was struck by the dichotomy of your 21 March issue. Christopher Caldwell describes President Donald Trump’s world-affecting miscalculation in attacking Iran (‘The end of Trumpism’), while the editorial exhorts us to climb aboard this runaway train to ‘finish the job’. The conflux of multinational involvement in this fiasco
Editorial errors, ideological bias and partisan presenters – what has happened to the BBC? Watch The Spectator’s Charles Moore, who was fined after refusing to pay his licence fee, and the Telegraph’s Allison Pearson go up against Spectator editor and former BBC journalist Michael Gove and former BBC America editor Jon Sopel to debate whether we should defund – or defend – this once
The unclued lights reveal ‘It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done,’ said by Sydney CARTON towards the end of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles DICKENS. First prize Jane Hudson, Eye, Suffolk Runners-up Gordon Hobbs, Woodford Green, Essex; D.P. Shenkin, London WC1
Donald Trump may be the volatile leader of an unstable coalition. America’s numerous interventions in the Middle East may have been marked by chaos, inconstancy and the erosion of western prestige. Nato, and even more so the European Union, may be militarily anaemic and economically sclerotic. And the war in Iran may well have intensified
Home Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, spoke to President Donald Trump of America about the importance of reopening the Strait of Hormuz, but resisted his call for Britain’s ships to be sent there. The government considered sending British-made Octopus drone-interceptors to the Middle East. Sir Keir said £53 million would help a million households
Churchill insurance There was outrage that Winston Churchill is to be dumped from the £5 note in favour of wildlife. But was Churchill actually a good example with money? Shortly after he became prime minister in May 1940, he was faced with two crises: the capitulation of France to the invading German forces and the
State of the nations Sir: My spirits were raised by your stirring defence of the forthcoming royal visit to America (‘Britain’s Trump card’, 14 March). Its contemporary importance can be viewed in the light of Charles Moore’s Note (same issue) that the remaining hereditary peers have just been removed from the House of Lords. The
In this week’s Spectator Schools supplement, the Revd Fergus Butler-Gallie writes about the undervalued beauty of school chapels. ‘They are so often architectural gems,’ he says, ‘masterpieces that stand alongside some of the nation’s finest buildings.’ You can judge a private school by how it cares for its chapel – those that still do should
Hurtwood House, Surrey Set in the Surrey Hills, Hurtwood House is England’s only independent boarding school exclusively for sixth-formers. Renowned for its performing arts, the school’s annual Christmas musical is no ordinary affair. The ten-night production is staged with a full West End orchestra and professional directors, choreographers and lighting designers. It is no surprise
As Reform chips away at the Tory vote, the Conservatives face a stark choice – join forces with Nigel Farage or fight alone. James Heale, The Spectator’s deputy political editor, will be joined by Conservative peer Daniel Hannan, journalist and politician Paul Goodman, shadow cabinet member Victoria Atkins and former Brexit secretary David Davis to discuss what a Conservative-Reform pact might look like
Home John Healey, the Defence Secretary, visited Cyprus after criticism of Britain’s response to drone attacks on the RAF base there. The Cyprus High Commissioner said: ‘The people are disappointed, the people are scared, the people could expect more.’ The destroyer HMS Dragon sailed for Cyprus from Portsmouth on 10 March. Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor
George III has not been well remembered on either side of the Atlantic. Despite reigning for almost 60 years, in Britain he is known, if at all, for losing the Thirteen Colonies and his madness in his later life. But in America, he is the villain of the national story; in Thomas Jefferson’s phrasing, the
The unclued lights are ‘Some less than objective definitions’, listed among the section at the rear of Chambers 13th edition. First prize E. and S. MacIntosh, Darlington Runners-up Alastair Aberdare, London SW13; Tim Hanks, Douglas, Isle of Man
Less near Where exactly is the Middle East? – The term was first popularised in an article by Alfred Thayer Mahan, a US academic on naval strategy, published in the National Review in 1902, proposing that western powers would need outposts like Gibraltar to serve their interests in the region, which he defined as the
The West’s track record Sir: I read with much sadness Matthew Parris’s reservations about western attempts at regime change in Iran (‘Is this Starmer’s finest hour?’, 7 March). Sadness because he is quite correct, given the West’s track record in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria. He rightly alludes to Benjamin Netanyahu’s ‘Greater Israel’ plans amid
Home Britain was not involved in the attack on Iran, Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, said, but a day later he gave America permission to use British bases (including Diego Garcia) ‘to prevent Iran firing missiles across the region’. He told the Commons, ‘This country does not believe in regime change from the skies,’
To be original would be to take The path that brought us back past the first song, The greenness of the buds out there along Near branches in the Springtime as they wake Up Springtime in ourselves and the ache Of seasons since so that we long To know the freshness in ourselves as strong
Economic forecasting was created, J.K. Galbraith said, to make astrology look respectable. It is not difficult to imagine what the great Keynesian economist would have thought of Rachel Reeves’s Spring Statement this week. It was pure -crystal balls. The statement was redundant on delivery – redundancy being one of the few areas of growth in
The eight unclued entries are the names of Verdi operas: FALSTAFF, AIDA, NABUCCO, ERNANI, IL TROVATORE, LA TRAVIATA, RIGOLETTO, OTELLO. The puzzle’s title suggests an anagram of the composer’s name, Verdi. First prize Zoe Hope, Cilgerran, Cardigan Runners-up Clive West, Old Windsor, Berkshire; Robert Teuton, Frampton Cotterell, Gloucestershire
