The Spectator

Thursday

May 1, 2014

Spectator letters: Julie Burchill’s faith, Belgravia’s basements, and the real cost of rail commuting

From our UK edition

Burchill’s flimsy faith Sir: It is funny that it now falls to the Julie Burchills of this world, the old rebels of the cultural left, to speak up for Christianity in Britain (‘For God’s Sake’, 26 April). Good for her, I say, especially since she identifies Protestantism as the greatest force for liberty in this country — her argument is all the more convincing for being so unfashionable these days. The trouble, however, is that to stand up for Christian values in a time of relativism and multi-faith confusion, it helps to at least have some faith in what you are saying.

The Spectator

Are pigeons braver than dogs?

From our UK edition

Animal spirit A labrador blown up with her handler while sniffing for bombs in Afghanistan in 2008 became the 64th animal to be awarded the PDSA's Dickin medal for 'gallantry' during wartime work. — Among the total are 29 dogs, yet they are outnumbered by the 32 pigeons who have won the medal, such as Gustav, for bringing home the first message from the Normandy beach landings in 1944. — Only three horses have been given the medal, and none of them were working in a war zone. Olga, for example, was given the award after bolting 100 yards from a flying bomb, before returning to the scene and helping police direct traffic and rescue operations. — One ship's cat has been given the medal, but there have been none for the cattle who have provided the bully beef.

The Spectator

A shameful U-turn at the National Trust

From our UK edition

What has happened to Dame Helen Ghosh? Last October the director-general of the National Trust seemed prepared to stand against the green orthodoxy which exists in the public and voluntary sectors. She declared that she had an ‘open mind’ on fracking, while she rejected the case for wind farms on the Trust’s land. Her approach was entirely logical. The Trust’s job is to guard the aesthetic integrity of the landscapes which it has bought with its donors’ money, or been gifted, in order to preserve. Not to deface this land with 300 ft-high wind turbines that generate pitifully little electricity. This week, however, Dame Helen and the National Trust appear to have done a double backflip.

The Spectator

Portrait of the week | 1 May 2014

From our UK edition

Home The British economy grew by 0.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2014, disappointing hotheads who’d expected 1 per cent. It was 3.1 per cent bigger than a year earlier, but 0.6 per cent smaller than in 2008. Pfizer, the American pharmaceutical company, said it wanted to take over AstraZeneca, with a £60 billion bid that would make it the biggest ever foreign takeover of a British-based company. The Labour party said it was leaving the Co-op Bank and taking its £1.2 million overdraft elsewhere. UK Financial Investments, which manages the Treasury’s 81 per cent stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland, blocked a plan for 200 per cent bonuses.