ContentsContentsContentsContents the week Leading article

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Portrait of the Week

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Diary Peregrine Worsthorne 9 Politics James Forsyth 10 The Spectator’s Notes 11 Dave Michael Heath 13 Mind your language 18 Letters 25 Another voice Matthew Parris 27 Any other business Martin Vander Weyer 28 Ancient & modern 54

Books Jane Ridley: Sisters of Fortune, by Jehanne Wake 29 Jonathan Beckman: C, by Tom McCarthy 30 Jonathan Sumption: GCHQ, by Richard J. Aldrich; The Secret Life of Bletchley Park, by Sinclair McKay 31 Sam Riviere: ‘Appraisal’: a poem 32 Richard Ormrod: Scribble, Scribble, Scribble, by Simon Schama 32 Raymond Carr: The Escorial, by Henry Kamen 33 James Morris: ‘The Conversion of Alec Guinness’: a poem 34 Montagu Curzon on the Battle of Britain 34 Lewis Jones: Andy Warhol, by Tony Scherman and David Dalton 35 Francis King: Pictures of Lily, by Matthew Yorke 36 Christopher Howse: The Road to Low Newton, by Adrian Clarke 37

Arts

Ben West investigates the growth in unusual exhibition venues 38

Welcome to the age of sleb politics Rod Liddle It’s a mad world when our pop stars become politicians 12

21st-century pilgrims Martin Gayford Most cultural tourists don’t care about art

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How Jewish are the Milibands? Venetia Thompson Will either Ed or David embrace their identity? 16

No one can take a joke any more Douglas Murray Tell a gag about Irishmen and they report you to the police 18

The Hitch comes home Matthew Adams A splendid Somerset lunch with Christopher Hitchens

The guns of August Max Hastings They call it the Glorious Twelfth for a reason

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Cover by Simon Farr. Drawings by Michael Heath, Castro, Paul Wood, Alexander, Dish, Cluff, Wilbur, Len, Geoff Thompson, Bernie, Holland, Adam Singleton.

Deborah Ross is away. Subscribe today from £123 a year in the UK (turn to page 36)

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Vol 313; no 9494 © 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

Exhibitions: Picasso: The Mediterranean Years (1945–61) Andrew Lambirth 39 Theatre: The Great British Country Fête; The Great Game Afghanistan (Part 1) Lloyd Evans 40 Opera: Francesca da Rimini; La forza del destino; Tristan and Isolde Act II Michael Tanner 41 Dance: Le Corsaire; Don Quixote Giannandrea Poesio 41 Pop Marcus Berkmann 42 Music Robin Holloway 43 Radio Kate Chisholm 43 Television Simon Hoggart 44

Life

Gardens

Ursula Buchan

High life

Taki

Low life Jeremy Clarke

Real life Melissa Kite

Bridge Janet de Botton

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And finALLy . . .

Chess Raymond Keene

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Competition; Crossword 50, 51 Status anxiety Toby Young 54 The Wiki Man Rory Sutherland 55 Your problems solved Mary Killen 55

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THE SPECTATOR 14 August 2010 5