Raymond Chandler, hellraiser, p32

Additions to Titian, p42

The key to better contracts, p3

3 Leading article 7 Portrait of the Week 9 Diary Virginia Ironside 11 The Spectator’s Notes 17 Rod Liddle 18 Barometer 20 Ancient and modern 24 Hugo Rifkind 25 Letters 27 Any other business Martin Vander Weyer

Life 53 High life Taki Low life Jeremy Clarke 55 Real life Melissa Kite 56 The Turf Robin Oakley

Bridge Janet de Botton And Finaly… 58 Chess Raymond Keene 59 Competition;Crossword 60 Status anxiety Toby Young Dave Michael Heath 61 The Wiki Man Rory Sutherland Your problems solved Mary Killen 62 Drink Bruce Anderson Mind your language

12 No he can’t Obama’s America is ripe for a takeover artist. Why not Romney? Jacob Heilbrunn 13 Anthony Howell ‘Baelo Claudia’: a poem 14 Children’s hour The infantilisation of Britain

Douglas Murray 16 Big is beautiful

Ex-Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy talks James Forsyth 18 Berlusconi bounces back

No one else can run Italy Nicholas Farrell 20 This sheltered isle

In praise of British weather Harry Mount 22 Easing made easy

How to talk about QE Quentin Letts Boks 32 Sam Leith A Mysterious Something in the Light, by Tom Williams 34 Jonathan Bate Saints, Sacrilege and Sedition, by Eamon Duffy 35 William Leith Among the Hoods,

by Harriet Sergeant 36 Philip Hancock ‘Guest Star’: a poem

Ben Hamilton If This is Home, by Stuart Evers Justin Cartwright The Yips,

by Nicola Barker

37 Andrew Gimson Enoch at 100,

edited by Lord Howard of Rising 38 Lloyd Evans The Prime Ministers

Who Never Were, edited by Francis Beckett 39 Zenga Longmore Habits of the

House, by Fay Weldon Bookends Penelope Lively Arts 41 Cosmo Landesman Is the boom in documentary gloom coming to an end? 42 Exhibitions Metamorphosis: Titian 2012

Andrew Lambirth 44 Opera Otello

Michael Tanner 46 Cinema Ping Pong; Tortoise in Love

Deborah Ross Theatre

Timon of Athens; The Trojan Horse Lloyd Evans 47 Television James Delingpole 49 Radio Kate Chisholm Culture notes Peter Phillips

Cover by Anton Emdin. Drawings by Michael Heath, Castro, Stephen Collins, Phil Disley, Geoff Thompson, Nick Newman, Blot, Bernie, Adam Singleton, RGJ, Steve Way, Paul Wood, Alex Fine, Robert Thompson, Mazurke, Len and Robert Thompson. www.spectator.co.uk To subscribe to The Spectator for £104 a year, turn to page 25 Editorial and advertising The Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP, Tel: 020 7961 0200, Fax: 020 7681 3773, 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 7681 3773 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 Newsagent queries Spectator Circulation Dept, 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP, Tel: 020 7961 0200, Fax: 020 7681 3773, Email: dstam@spectator.co.uk Distributor COMAG Specialist, Tavistock Works, Tavistock Road, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QX Vol 319; no 9595 © 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 the spectator | 21 july 2012 | www.spectator.co.uk

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