The Spectator

Home The government imposed a lockdown on England to last until 2 December. On television, Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, looking unhappy, said of Christmas: ‘It’s my sincere hope and belief that by taking tough action now we can allow families across the country to be together.’ People would have to stay at home except for work that couldn’t be done there. The furlough scheme, due to have expired at the end of October, was extended for the new lockdown period. Exercise and recreation outdoors were allowed. Households might not mix indoors or even meet one person in a private garden. Schools and universities were to stay open.

Home Wales, entering a 17-day ‘firebreak’, closed most shops by law but then tried to stop supermarkets selling ‘non-essential’ items such as bedding, kettles and smoke alarms. At the beginning of the week, Sunday 25 October, total deaths (within 28 days of testing positive for the coronavirus) had stood at 44,745, including 1,166 reported in the past week, compared with 819 the week before. In England, Nottingham entered the most severe restrictions,Tier 3, taking the number of people so restricted to 7.9 million (in Liverpool, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, South Yorkshire and Warrington).

The Moon under water Nasa scientists using spectrometers claim to have found good evidence of water on the surface of the Moon. Where else in the solar system could you potentially go for a dip? — Signs of hidden oceans have been detected on Jupiter’s moons Ganymede, Europa and Callisto and on Saturn’s moons Titan and Enceladus. The latter is also believed to have icy geysers. Water is also believed to exist in craters on Mercury. — There are signs of ample water having been on Mars in the past, although most is believed to have been stripped away along with its atmosphere. The planet may, however, still have water beneath its surface and locked in ice caps at its poles. Free school meals How many children qualify for free school meals? In January, 15.

Special Offa A regulation passed by the Welsh government to prevent people travelling from Covid hotspots in England has brought comparisons to Offa’s Dyke. — There is no firm evidence that the dyke, which takes its name from the king of Mercia between ad 727 and 796, even stretched along the entire English-Welsh border. Moreover, some of the sections which do survive have been dated as early as ad 430, 300 years before Offa’s reign. But whoever built it, its design seems to confirm that it was designed to keep the Welsh out of England rather than the other way round: the ditch is on the west, Welsh side and the dyke takes such a path as to ensure that there are uninterrupted distant views into Wales.

State of the Union Sir: Writing in a week that an opinion poll shows 58 per cent support for independence in Scotland, it seems bizarre for Professor Tombs to claim that commentators are ignoring ‘the death throes of separatism’ (‘Out together’, 17 October). He argues that nationalist supporters rely on the Brexit and Covid-19 crises to advance their cause, and that they will be in retreat once things return to normal. Then, once doubts begin to bubble up about the financial and economic uncertainties of independence, Scottish voters will return to the unionist cause. These arguments may give him some comfort, but here in Scotland they seem unreal.