ContentsContentsContentsContents the week Leading article

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Portrait of the Week

Diary Joan Collins

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Politics James Forsyth 12 The Spectator’s Notes 13 Dave Michael Heath 15 Mind your language 18 Letters 24 You know it makes sense James Delingpole 25 Any other business Martin Vander Weyer 26 Shared opinion Hugo Rifkind 28 Ancient & modern 54

Can Britain and India be besties? Jo Johnson Cameron wants to form a new kind of special relationship 14

Rotten Apple Philip Delves Broughton The trendy computer company is as wicked as everyone else 16

Prison works — for us Theodore Dalrymple Crooks who are in jail are not nicking your stereo

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Tibet Notebook Brendan O’Neill

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Searching bins is a rubbish idea Rod Liddle Why can’t local councils do something useful? 22

The joys of daytime television Lloyd Evans Both addictive and dull — the perfect entertainment

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speCtAtor CArtoon speCiAL A round-up of some recent favourites, edited by Michael Heath

Arts

Charles Moore on renewing life in the deserted villages of rural Romania 38 Exhibitions: Alice Neel: Painted Truths; Paula Rego: Oratorio Andrew Lambirth 39 Opera: Salome; Die Meistersinger Michael Tanner 40 Theatre: The Prisoner of Second Avenue; Lingua Franca Lloyd Evans 41 Cinema: The Rebound Deborah Ross 42 Radio Kate Chisholm 43 Television James Delingpole 43

Books Margaret MacMillan: The Berlin-Baghdad Express, by Sean McMeekin 29 Dan Wyke: ‘Tortoise’: a poem 30 Peter Hoskin: Imperial Bedrooms, by Bret Easton Ellis 31 Cressida Connolly: I Curse the River of Time, by Per Petterson 32 Ian Birrell: Curfewed Night, by Basharat Peer 33 Marcus Berkmann: Listening to Van Morrison, by Griel Marcus 34 Andro Linklater: Young Mandela, by David James Smith 35 Matthew Parris: The Third Man, by Peter Mandelson 36 Gilbert Adair: Duchess of Death, by Richard Hack 37

‘Boris Johnson’s an offence to London and ought to be removed.’

Life

The turf

Robin Oakley

Gardens

Ursula Buchan

High life Taki

Low life Jeremy Clarke

Real life Melissa Kite

Bridge Susanna Gross

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Cover by Christian Adams. Drawings by Michael Heath, Castro, Len, Hawker, Bernie, Grizelda, Nick Downes, RGJ and Nick Newman.

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Vol 313; no 9491 © 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

And finALLy . . .

Chess Raymond Keene

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Competition; Crossword 48, 49 Status anxiety Toby Young 54 Sport Roger Alton 55 Your problems solved Mary Killen 55

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THE SPECTATOR 24 July 2010 7