Dot looks it up, p70

Frock vs frock, p53

THE WEEK

3 Leading article 7 Portrait of the Week 9 Diary A.N. Wilson 10 Politics James Forsyth 11 The Spectator’s Notes 13 Barometer 17 Rod Liddle 20 Ancient and modern 26 Matthew Parris 28 James Delingpole 31 Letters 34 Any other business Martin Vander Weyer

Going to the coolest places, p42

12 The most dangerous game The three-way stand-off over

Iran’s nuclear ambitions Jeffrey Goldberg 14 International treasures

The case for letting great works of art go abroad Owen Matthews 18 Buck up, Boris! The mayoral election is his to lose.

Right now, he’s losing it Andrew Gilligan 20 What a performance!

Folk no longer know how to behave at the theatre and the concert hall Stephen Pollard 22 Zambia goes colour-blind Meeting the new vice president,

who happens to be white Lucy Bannerman 25 Borders notebook On breathtaking views and beautiful dialects J.R.H. McEwen

BOOKS & ARTS

Books 38 David Gilmour The Spanish

Holocaust, by Paul Preston 40 Andrew Taylor Uncommon

Enemy, by Alan Judd Rhian Edwards ‘Alison’: a poem 41 Robert Stewart Robespierre, by Peter McPhee 42 Hunter Davies Underdogs,by Keith Dewhurst ara Wheeler Antarctica, by Gabrielle Walker 44 Anthony Cummins Capital, by John Lanchester Alexander Larman The Land of Decoration, by

Grace McCleen 45 Lewis Jones Secrets and Lies, by Christine Keeler Philip Mansel Journey to the Abyss, by

Count Harry Kessler 46 Mark Mason Bookends

Cover by Morten Morland. Drawings by Michael Heath, Castro, Christian Adams, Ian Tovey, Holland, Grizelda, Geoff Thompson, Titian, Adam Singleton, Nick Newman, RGJ, Bernie, Rob Murray, Dish, K.J. Lamb, Evans and Mazurke. www.spectator.co.uk To subscribe to The Spectator for £104 a year, turn to page 31. Editorial and advertising The Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP, Tel: 020 7961 0200, Fax: 020 7961 0250, Email: editor@spectator.co.uk (editorial); letters@spectator.co.uk (for publication); advertising@spectator.co.uk (advertising); Advertising enquiries: 020 7961 0219 Advertising fax: 020 7961 0020 Subscription and delivery queries Spectator Subscriptions Dept., 800 Guillat Avenue, Kent Science Park, Sittingbourne ME9 8GU; Tel: 01795 592886 Fax: 0870 220 0290; Email: spectator@servicehelpline.co.uk. The Spectator Guide to Independent Schools If you are an overseas reader and would like a copy of the Spectator Guide to Independent Schools, please email spectator@servicehelpline.co.uk with your name and address and subscriber reference if appropriate Newsagent queries Spectator Circulation Dept, 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP, Tel: 020 7961 0200, Fax: 020 7961 0057, Email: dstam@spectator.co.uk Distributor COMAG Specialist, Tavistock Works, Tavistock Road, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QX Vol 318; no 9576 © The Spectator (1828) Ltd. ISSN 0038-6952 The Spectator is published weekly by The Spectator (1828) Ltd at 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP Editor: Fraser Nelson

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the spectator | 10 march 2012 | www.spectator.co.uk How terribly Twombly, p50

The gathering storm, p31 and p64

Arts 47 William Cook At home with Peter Paul Rubens 48 Music Peter Phillips 50 Exhibitions Spring round-up

Andrew Lambirth 51 Opera The Death of Klinghoffer;

Rusalka Michael Tanner 52 Theatre Jackie Mason: Fearless; Snookered

Lloyd Evans 53 Cinema Bel ami

Deborah Ross 56 Television Simon Hoggart 57 Radio Kate Chisholm Culture notes Liz Anderson

Getting closer to Rubens, p47

LIFE

Life 61 High life Taki Low life Jeremy Clarke 63 Real life Melissa Kite 64 Long life Alexander Chancellor Bridge Janet de Botton

And finaly . . . 66 Chess Raymond Keene 67 Competition; Crossword 68Status anxiety Toby Young Dave Michael Heath 69 Sport Roger Alton Your problems solved Mary Killen 70 Food Tanya Gold Mind your language Dot Wordsworth

I was born here, but I find myself saying: ‘I am not a real Borderer because my family only moved here in 1912.’ This is not taken as a joke J.R.H. McEwen, p25

The entire crew began hollering. But our helmsman ordered us to shut up. ‘I have chosen my course,’ he said, ‘and I intend to hold it’ Martin Vander Weyer, p34

Ambridge is beginning to resemble Holby City. More ambulance call‑outs in a year than all the other villages in Borsetshire put together Kate Chisholm, p57

Contributors

Alexander Chancellor edited The Spectator from 1975 to 1984. This week, he begins a new fortnightly column for the magazine: see p. 64. Stephen Pollard edits the Jewish Chronicle. He writes about modern manners on p. 20.

the spectator | 10 march 2012 | www.spectator.co.uk

Lucy Bannerman writes for the Times. On p. 22, she rides in the motorcade of Zambia’s new vice president.

David Gilmour’s books include Cities of Spain and The Transformation of Spain: From Franco’s Dictatorship to the Constitutional Monarchy. He reviews The Spanish Holocaust on p. 38.

Hunter Davies is the author of The Glory Game: A Year in the Life of Tottenham Hotspur. On p. 42, he reviews the story of Darwen FC, the heroes of the 1879 FA Cup.

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