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Podcast: Table Talk with Kate Young
Kate Young is a food writer and chef, whose cookbooks take recipe inspiration from literary classics, recreating favourite dishes of Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes, and more
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Style sourcebook: how to recreate Virginia Woolf's Monk's House
Capture Virginia Woolf's Bloomsbury group aesthetic with bold prints and painted furniture
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How to train a fruit tree
‘Trained fruit has gone beserk!’. Christopher Smith who runs inspirational edible plant nursery, Pennard Plants in Somerset, is relishing the...
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Ready, set, go: Aesop Departure Kit, £45.00
If you're planning a jet-set year, Aesop have put together this little pick me up travel kit to help you and your skin remain refreshed and rejuvenated en route
Word of the week: cancelled
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[ kan-suhl-d ]
To make void; revoke; annul
Historically, events could be ‘cancelled’, in response to ‘unforeseen circumstances’. People who had bought tickets may have been disappointed, but they usually received a refund. Nowadays, people are being cancelled if they say something that is considered to be beyond the pale or they express the wrong political opinions. No refunds are issued, and the cancelled person often loses their livelihood.
When a public figure such as a comedian, celebrity or politician transgresses, Twitter storms of outrage are generated, often supported by respectable newspapers and broadcasters. Erasing them from the public sphere helps to educate the public on what is now acceptable and the devastating consequences of saying the wrong thing. In this way, liberally minded people are protecting the public space from the dangers of spontaneous expression. Destroying individuals for their views is the best way to make society free.
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“I’ve scrolled though 20,000 of your tweets and in 2008, you used hate speech. CANCELLED!”
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Word of the week: White Privilege
Spectator Life’s satirist Andy Shaw brings you a dictionary of era defining words.
Word of the week: veganuary
Veganuary builds on previous campaigns to curtail the high spirits of the festive period by adding self-denial to the natural gloom and misery of January.
A handy guide to the Labour leadership contest
Spectator Life’s satirical writer Andy Shaw gives you his take on big names bidding for victory.