Already a subscriber? Log in
Invoking Britishness
Sir: Matthew d’Ancona’s work on Britishness and identity has been both welcome and thought-provoking (‘We need our roots more than ever’, 28 March). However, I would like to add that Gordon Brown’s ‘Scottishness’ is not the problem with his premiership, but rather that he was elected north of the border and spends most his parliamentary time running English affairs which do not affect the constituents who elected him. Indeed, I would argue that invoking Britishness has, for Gordon Brown, been a means of throwing a veil over New Labour’s unwillingness to create a proper constitutional settlement for England. Of course, such a settlement would not be to his party’s advantage as it would exclude Scottish (and, for that matter, Welsh and Northern Irish) MPs from much of the day-to-day activity in the House of Commons.
Jeremy Dibble
Professor, Durham University, Durham
A Porsche is for life
Sir: I do understand that Alan Powers was only reporting Bill Dunster’s speech (Arts, 28 March), but since we look to The Spectator for the highest standards of political comment and cultural criticism, let’s aim for similar quality in technological awareness. Dunster may well disapprove of Porsche owners. Indeed, it’s a weird psychology to buy a fast, expensive car in the current climate. But calling Porsche owners ‘eco slobs’ is lazy and wrong. Current Porsches are very efficient and clean; the standards set by their designers require them to be so. They do not use toxic batteries which cause (as yet unanswered) disposal problems, nor are they shipped halfway across the world from a dirty factory in India. Most importantly, they last for ever: no one has ever scrapped a Porsche. All powered vehicles cause a form of environmental damage, but — if you aggregate the whole-life impact, as you must — Porsches less than most. I admire Dunster’s intelligent approach to architecture, but this comment was a lapse which needs not repetition, but correction.
Stephen Bayley
London SW8
Rebirth of Shakespeare
Sir: Adam Zamoyski was unintentionally misleading in his review of Charles Glass’s American in Paris (Books, 28 March). He states that Shakespeare & Company, the bookshop in Paris started by American Sylvia Beach in Rue de l’Odeon in 1919, closed in 1944 and never re-opened. As Glass records, a shop of the same name was opened 20 years later by George Whitman, another American, who had known Sylvia but had waited until her death to use the shop’s name. It is still going today, in Rue de la Bucherie — different premises from the original — and is run by George Whitman’s daughter, who was named after Sylvia. I have been a frequent visitor to the shop since the late 1960s.
Elisa Segrave
London W8
Knee to know
Sir: It must be sensible to retain scepticism over the accuracy of any monumental work of reference, and it is right therefore to challenge Wikipedia about its lack of rigour (Books, 28 March). Even Dr Johnson had to acknowledge the shortcomings of his dictionary: when challenged by a lady why he had defined (wrongly) a horse’s pastern as its ‘knee’, he replied ‘ignorance madam, pure ignorance’. Such candour nowadays would not go amiss.
Tom Blackett
West Byfleet, Surrey
A point of geography
Sir: Ross Clark asks (‘Cancel the G20 Summit’, 21 March) why we do not have ‘a G193 — the number of independent nations recognised by the United Nations? If we are going to create a new global economic order, the Cayman Islands has every right to a say.’ It may well be that the Cayman Islands should have a say, but it is odd that Mr Clark (who I believe is a geography graduate) is unaware that the Cayman Islands, far from having their independence recognised by the UN, remain a British Overseas Territory.
C.D.C. Armstrong
Belfast
Articulate incompetents
Sir: In his article (‘The real reason I had to join The Spectator’, 28 March), John Cleese refers to the existence in the world of management of the ‘articulate incompetent’. Perhaps unwittingly, in his characterisation of such an individual, he perfectly describes one Anthony C.L. Blair.
Graham Campbell
Weybridge, Surrey
Also in Society
Also by The Spectator
Latest
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in