The Observer - 30.08.2026.pdf

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杂志

THE OBSERVER（观察者报）

创立于 1791 年

一无所有

在一条长 60 英里的泥泞地带，至少 675 人死亡，3,000 人失踪。伊莎贝尔·科尔斯从尼泊尔比杜尔报道

10.000

辆电动汽车 且在持续增加。

今年，我们将把在欧洲用于配送的电动汽车数量增加到 10,000 辆以上。

亚马逊

“胡说八道的敌人” —— 乔治·奥威尔，《观察者报》

THE OBSERVER VIEW（观察者报观点）

我们早已收到警告

尼泊尔毁灭性的山洪暴发凸显了全球气候领导力的紧迫需求——同时也为英国提供了挺身而出的机会

周三发生在尼泊尔特里舒利河谷的山洪暴发，其速度与威力在一名幸存者看来是“无法想象的”。它在几秒钟内摧毁了一个六层的中国边境哨所，随后沿河咆哮而下，延伸了60英里。四天后，已有600多人被确认死亡，近3,000人失踪。

尼泊尔官员表示，他们希望河流水位上升的预警系统能给受害者争取更多时间。然而，另一种预警系统确实发挥了作用——一个由专家组成的“人为预警系统”。

根据加德满都一家研究机构最近的一项研究，兴都库什-喜马拉雅山脉的融化是一场“实时展开的危机”。这场危机正带来“每个夏天和季风季节的新灾难”。其中许多灾难与海拔5公里以上的快速萎缩的冰川有关，而这些现象表明，“我们不仅在失去冰川，还面临着风险的迅速升级”。

那是三月份的情况，而且类似的研究有很多。没有人能说尼泊尔、当地的非政府组织以及涌向那里的游客没有收到警告。关于这场洪水在多大程度上可归因于气候变化，争论将会持续下去，而且这不仅仅是因为那些“气候鸵鸟”喜欢争论。这场洪水似乎是由冰川崩塌和岩石崩塌同时发生引起的，而这些现象除了受气候变暖影响外，也可能由地震和自然冰流触发。

但我们确实知道这一点：喜马拉雅山脉的变暖速度比全球平均水平快约50%。其冰川在退缩的同时也在弱化，而冰川之下的岩石也在弱化：岩石布满裂缝，裂缝中填满了冰，而这些冰正在融化。

冰是山的“胶水”，但它正在失去粘合力。这是一个缓慢的过程，但可能会突然加速，因为冰融化所需的能量远高于仅仅是升温。结果就是，高山岩层可以维持数百年，然后突然整体崩塌。2005年，法国德鲁峰的西面就发生了这种情况，博纳蒂柱崩塌，留下了一道1,000米高的伤疤。周三早晨从朗唐利隆峰脱落的冰川下方似乎也发生了这种情况，而且这种情况随时可能在喜马拉雅山脉的任何地方再次发生。

这是气候变化不可避免的结果，而尼泊尔缺乏应对能力。虽然已有1.3万名士兵和警察被部署到灾区，但兴都库什-喜马拉雅山脉共有63,000座冰川。

尼泊尔政府评估特里舒利河谷洪水造成的直接损失为13亿美元。这个数字还会上升。它让美国提供的50万美元紧急援助、欧盟提供的200万欧元以及英国提供的500万英镑显得微不足道。但另一个值得铭记的数字是1,000亿美元——这是联合国成员国在Cop气候会议上商定的，主要由富裕国家每年筹集，以帮助贫困国家适应气候变化。

这个数字在五年前的格拉斯哥Cop26会议上被认真讨论过，尤其是时任英格兰银行行长的马克·卡尼（Mark Carney），他曾领导努力从私营部门筹集更大规模的资金。但这些努力已经停滞。1,000亿美元这个数字在Cop会议上甚至不再是一个讨论点，而这些会议现在更愿意听取关于油气在全球能源结构中扮演长期角色的论点。与此同时，作为亚洲最贫穷的国家之一，尼泊尔必须找到一种方法，将整个社区从未来不可避免的灾难路径上移走。

正如卡尼现在号召自由民主国家共同面对唐纳德·特朗普一样，英国现在有机会在国际上发挥领导作用。

在气候问题上。对于安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）而言，在凯米·巴德诺克（Kemi Badenoch）和奈杰尔·法拉奇（Nigel Farage）带领右翼走向反净零排放的死胡同之际，这将在国内成为一项明智的政治举措。这将有助于英国在世界舞台上定义自己的角色，在过去脱碳成就的基础上，把握清洁能源的未来机遇。而且这是必要的：Cop26 抛出的挑战至今仍无人接招。

人类在屏蔽海平面上升、沿海房产无法投保、热浪和山火等更广泛教训方面，展现出了惊人的能力。

但愿本周三这场可怕的洪水，能在多个层面上产生深远的影响。

Meta 和解协议未能驯服科技巨头

上周，Meta 同意支付近 180亿美元，以解决有关其向全美儿童强推成瘾性技术的指控，加利福尼亚州总检察长称其为“具有变革性的结果”。该协议将帮助各州为那些因社交媒体而陷入依赖和危险行为的青少年支付心理健康护理费用；此外，如果父母同意，儿童的屏幕使用时间将被限制在每天两小时。但有两个原因表明，这并不能完全实现总检察长的期望。

首先，对于一家市值 1.5 万亿美元的公司来说，这个头条数字几乎起不到惩戒作用。这笔款项将在 10 年内分批支付，且其中近三分之一取决于竞争对手是否加入和解。其次，也是更重要的一点，这一切都未触及 AI。在几乎不讨论 AI 的情况下，仅为 Meta 的社交媒体平台设置护栏，就像是在飞行时代黎明时分监管骑行一样。

比尔·盖茨对此感到担忧。随着他创立的公司在 AI 商业化竞赛中全力冲刺，盖茨写了一封真挚的恳求信，希望放缓其推广速度，以便人类有机会在面对“要么是史上最伟大的平等工具，要么是最糟糕的不公正之源”时，能够保留体面的工作和自尊。盖茨表示，我们还没有准备好。他对此应该心知肚明。

信任的背叛

萨莉-安妮·鲍文（Sally-Anne Bowen）声称，那些指控她在其青少年时期对其进行性虐待的前学生们是幻想家。但陪审团不这么认为。上周，她在审判后被裁定猥亵罪成立，检方在庭审中成功证明她利用教师身份满足其性欲。

大多数性虐待由男性实施，大多数受害者是女性和女孩。但无论施害者是谁，这都是一种摧毁生活的犯罪。在本案中，主要受害者随后曾三次尝试自杀。直到《观察者报》的所有者 Tortoise Media 发布了一系列关于其故事的播客后，警方才提起指控。而在此之前，鲍文已经执教数十年。背叛学生信任的成年人数尚不可知，但数量很高。

无关紧要

听到有人说“禁止携带午餐盒，因为你无法监管父母在里面放了什么” 普鲁·莱思（Prue Leith）呼吁将学校午餐设为强制性，以改善国民饮食

本周简讯

住在酒店的寻求庇护者人数减半

根据英国内政部（Home Office）的数据，住在酒店的寻求庇护者人数在一年内减半，约为 16,000 人。该人数在 2023 年达到峰值，约为 56,000 人。然而，最新数据显示，另有 69,038 人被安置在临时住所中，这反映了政府希望将难民更均匀地分布在全国各地的意愿。与此同时，被授予在英国永久居住权的移民人数上升至 16 年来的最高点，近 200,000 人，一年内增长了 24%。这在一定程度上得益于 2021 年向香港人士发放的签证数量。

£978.87

在安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）的临时北方总部打造一个唐宁街 10 号前门复制品的纳税人成本

悼念者聚集在奥斯陆的皇家宫殿广场，在周五去世的挪威国王哈拉尔五世（King Harald V）的临时纪念碑前哀悼。其子，现任国王哈康八世（King Haakon VIII），将于 9 月 1 日宣誓就职。Odd Anderson/AFP/Getty

黑客窃取英国机场客户数据

美国就国防开支向伯纳姆施压

近 900 万 人的个人数据被针对三座英格兰机场的犯罪黑客窃取。此次网络安全事件影响了曼彻斯特机场、东米德兰兹机场（East Midlands）和伦敦斯坦斯特德机场。机场当局表示，黑客获取了客户的联系方式、车辆登记信息和邮政编码，并要求支付一笔未公开的赎金。被访问的数据大部分与航站楼内的 wifi 注册或预订停车位的人员相关。客户被警告要警惕可疑电子邮件。

美国已向安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）发出最后通牒，威胁如果英国不增加国防开支，将撤回对英国在马尔维纳斯群岛（福克兰群岛）主权的支持。据了解，五角大楼官员正在审查北约盟友对其 5% 国防开支承诺的履行情况，而英国将被予以“特别关注”。特朗普政府认为英国 6 月份的国防投资计划力度不足，正寻求激励首相进一步投资。白宫正推动成员国进入条约的新时代，将其称为“北约 3.0”。这将要求欧洲国家承担欧洲常规防御的主要责任。

AI 首次辅助脑手术

一名英国男子成为全球首位在人工智能辅助下接受脑手术的人。来自贝德福德郡的里斯·希伯特（Rhys Hibbert）在伦敦大学学院医院（University College London Hospital）接受了一次手术。在手术中，一个基于大量既往手术训练的 AI 工具分析了垂体腺肿瘤手术的视频流，并就如何避开隐藏的血管和神经向外科医生提供建议。这使得医生能够尽可能多地切除生长组织，并保住了希伯特的视力。

许多新母亲的 PTSD 未被诊断

在英国，每年有数千名女性在分娩后患上未被诊断出的创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）。东英吉利大学医学院发表的研究称，每年至少有 15,000 名女性的该病症被漏诊，但《观察者报》的新闻矩阵显示，真实数字可能是其两倍。该数字不包括死产或流产。许多全科医生在六周检查时将 PTSD 误诊为抑郁症。研究发现，即使在分娩过程顺利的情况下，部分女性仍患有 PTSD。

因凡蒂诺可能面临刑事指控

欧足联（Uefa）正准备对世界足球管理机构主席吉安尼·因凡蒂诺（Gianni Infantino）提起法律诉讼，指控其企图出售世界杯，涉嫌刑事管理不善。该欧洲机构已结束因因凡蒂诺的行为而对全球赛事的抵制，但目前正针对一份泄露的报告追究这位国际足联（Fifa）主席的责任，报告称他计划出售世界杯中被低估的股份以谋私利。欧足联还宣布对这位瑞士-意大利裔人士失去信心，并试图号召成员在明年 3 月的主席选举中将其罢免。

俄罗斯袭击基辅武器部队导致 37 人死亡

在基辅郊区一个住宅区附近，俄罗斯的一次无人机袭击击中了乌克兰军队的武器仓库，导致至少 37 人死亡。乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基在声明中表示，周五晚上，位于米拉村（Myla）的一个仓库遭到袭击，“随后发生了爆炸”。他表示，已针对“那些将爆炸物存储在居民紧邻区域的人员所犯下的严重过失”启动调查。在 42 名受伤人员中包括四名儿童，另有 400 人被疏散。

“TS6区疯了”：A66车祸后犯罪浪潮传闻四起

警方在逮捕嫌疑人后调查可能的帮派关联——与此同时，社交媒体加剧了当地居民的恐惧。安德鲁·安东尼（Andrew Anthony）从米德尔斯堡报道

上周，七岁的瓦伦蒂娜·福斯特（Valentina Foster）和她34岁的姨妈娜塔莉·麦克唐纳（Natalie McDonald）在格兰格顿（Grangetown）的一栋房屋中丧生，现场弥漫着一股刺鼻的气味。那是木材被焚烧和家用材料被烧毁的味道，但许多当地人认为，媒体突然对该地区产生浓厚兴趣，这件事本身就令人反感。

“他们想被扔鸡蛋，”一名骑自行车的男子说道，他指向房子对面聚集的一群记者。“你们全是他妈的水蛭，”另一名赤脚且赤裸上身的男子在街角说道。

在米德尔斯堡东缘的格兰格顿，这里曾是钢铁工业高炉主导天际线的地方，如今失业率高且公共设施匮乏。这个地方给人一种被遗弃的感觉，仿佛被遗留在历史错误的一侧而日渐凋零。

但目前最令居民困扰的是社交媒体和一些早期新闻报道中的假设，即周三发生的涉嫌纵火袭击（两名男子因涉嫌谋杀被捕）与上周六上午附近A66公路发生的一起车祸有关，该车祸造成包括两名警察在内的七人死亡。麦克唐纳的哥哥乔什·基尔顿（Josh Kirton）表示，他的姐姐“没有参与任何与帮派或A66 [车祸] 相关的事情”。

“我从小就认识娜塔莉，这跟那次车祸没关系，”那名骑自行车的男子说。

周五，克利夫兰警方表示，认为此次火灾与A66车祸的调查没有关联。此前，警方表示不能“排除与更广泛的有组织犯罪之间的任何联系”。

就在我们交谈期间，在不远处的埃斯顿（Eston），一名39岁的人遭到警方称之为“利刃”的武器袭击。同一天早些时候，在2.5公里外的南岸（South Bank），一辆汽车撞倒了一处空置房产的围墙。

随后在周四晚些时候，南岸举行的一场纪念活动中出现了车辆被纵火的情况。此次活动是为了纪念迈克尔·卡希尔（Michael Cahill），他是五名死者之一；当时他们乘坐的一辆大众帕萨特（Volkswagen Passat）在A66公路上逆行，与一辆载有警员马修·布莱兹（Matthew Blades）和汤姆·克劳（Tom Clough）的警车相撞，两名警员均不幸殉职。两百名增援警察已被调派以支持调查。在调查A66车祸前后的事件过程中，该镇目前已有24人被捕。

米德尔斯堡似乎正在发生某些事情。一名居民告诉《约克郡邮报》：“TS6区疯了，太残暴了。”TS6是格兰格顿、埃斯顿和南岸的邮政编码区，这些社区在蒂赛德（Teesside）地区都曾有过更好的时光。然而，导致A66车祸的事件始于城镇另一侧阿克拉姆（Acklam）郊区的一条安静道路上。

前周的周四，一栋由39, 岁的盖·沃西（Gye Worthy）拥有的房屋遭到袭击，窗户被砸碎。次日深夜，即周六凌晨，一辆沃尔沃（Volvo）汽车多次猛烈地倒车撞向同一栋房子，力度之大，直接将凸窗下方的所有砖墙撞毁。

一名被骚乱惊醒的邻居表示，由于担心遭到报复，他一直拉着百叶窗。其他人的感受也与之相同，他们说这条街道平时很安静，住着友好的工人家庭和退休人员，他们不希望挑起进一步的暴力。

据了解，在过去六七年里，围绕同一栋房屋发生了一系列事件——包括撞墙抢劫、砸窗、泼漆以及多次警方到访——一些当地人向市议会及其当地工党议员安迪·麦克唐纳（Andy McDonald）提交了请愿书。

“每个人都有故事要讲，但没人愿意署名，”一名参与其中的男子说。“你的生命可能会受到威胁。”沃西本人在一次从屋内延伸到街上的冲突中被刺伤。

上方为格兰格顿（Grangetown）地区的一栋房屋残骸，一名妇女和一名儿童在该房屋中死亡。上方为上周六致命的A66公路车祸现场的警察。PA images / Alamy

“当他出院时，他表现得就像什么都没发生过一样，”另一位邻居说道。目前没有迹象表明沃西（Worthy）参与了任何犯罪活动。

无论这些事件的原因是什么，沃西17岁的儿子科尔（Cole）和四名朋友——Cahill, 23, 17岁的西奥·雷（Theo Rae）、23岁的雅各布·马图西亚克（Jacob Matusiak）以及18岁的马凯·萨丁顿（Makai Saddington）——似乎乘坐了一辆挂有克隆车牌的帕萨特（Passat）汽车去追击那辆沃尔沃（Volvo）。

他们自己的追逐引发了警方的追击，尽管当那辆帕萨特驶入A66公路的一个出口匝道，进入反方向行驶的交通流时，追击被叫停了。

克利夫兰警察局外的悼念之花，警员马修·布莱兹（Matthew Blades）和汤姆·克洛（Tom Clough）曾在此办公。

在道路的一个弯道处，那辆帕萨特与另一辆警车发生了正面碰撞。

今年早些时候，其中一名乘客的叔叔亚伦·萨丁顿（Aaron Saddington）因试图在同一条双车道公路上通过向对向车流超速行驶来甩掉警察而被判入狱。这一细节，加上帕萨特车内年轻人的犯罪记录——其中四人共有22项定罪，其中三项是袭击警察——表明这是一个共同蔑视权威的社会环境。

上周警方大搜捕后被起诉的三人中，有一名是来自雷德卡（Redcar）的19岁青年凯·比蒂（Kai Beattie）。他出现在蒂赛德（Teesside）治安法院，被指控持有枪支并意图危及生命。

每个城市都有犯罪和帮派，但在米德尔斯堡（Middlesbrough）一些较贫困的地区，有迹象表明这些年轻人得到了同龄人的显著支持。上周四晚上，数十人参加了为卡希尔举行的点亮气球守夜活动，期间有几辆汽车被纵火焚烧。

雷德卡和克利夫兰议会领导人亚历克·布朗（Alec Brown）对全国媒体与社交媒体的结合如何“导致人们在家里感到不安全”表示担忧。网络传闻四起。一些当地人声称，上周四涉及“利刃”的事件中，一名男子被砍断了手臂，但没有官方信息支持这一说法。

国家媒体与社交媒体的结合“导致人们在家里感到不安全”——议会领袖亚历克·布朗（Alec Brown）

“算法在不断运行，”格兰格顿（Grangetown）一名骑车男子说道。但仇杀也在继续。在蒂赛德（Teesside），汽车，以及在一次案例中，一台拖拉机被多次用于撞击房屋，以此作为恐吓手段。这种情况以及有时选错了房屋的事实，让人们在自己的家中感到不安全。

在阿克拉姆（Acklam），那条有被毁房屋的街道已经忍无可忍。“这什么时候才能结束？”一名当地人问道，“什么时候才有人能最终采取行动解决这个问题？”

“我奋斗的一切都消失了”：尼泊尔在毁灭性洪灾后陷入痛苦

冰川崩塌引发了由岩石、泥浆、冰块和碎片组成的洪流，吞噬了建筑物，导致数百人死亡，数千名失踪者让人们在绝望中寻找亲人。伊莎贝尔·科尔斯从比杜尔报道

尼泊尔边境口岸的海关负责人正在忙于处理文书工作，这时他感到了第一次震动。

“是地震吗？”拉杰德拉·杜加纳询问同事。他们说不太可能，可能只是一辆重型货车在前往中国的道路上缓慢行驶。

随后发生了第二次震动——这次的力度足以震动办公室的窗户，促使56岁的杜加纳走到室外。

望着山谷上方，他“听到了一声像火山爆发一样的爆炸声”。突然，一片尘土遮蔽了视线。

出于本能，他转身开始向高地奔跑，通过抓紧一簇簇草丛，在陡峭的山谷侧壁上艰难攀爬。“我甚至不敢回头看，”他说。

空气中弥漫着浓厚的灰尘，令杜加纳感到窒息。一度他考虑过停下来，但他的同事告诉他继续前进。当他最终停下时，他的制服上沾满了泥浆。在下方的山谷中，“什么都没剩下”。

一座冰川崩塌，撞击在山谷底部，引发了岩石和冰块的雪崩，进而释放出一场大洪水。洪流吞噬了沿途的建筑物、桥梁和人员。

尼泊尔官员最初将其归因于地震，但美国地质调查局随后表示，这次震动实际上是由冰川岩石和冰块崩塌产生的地震能，随后引发了碎片流。到目前为止，已寻获670多具尸体，失踪人数接近3,000人且仍在增加。

在山谷下游的一个村庄里，内马·多杰·塔芒在国外工作七年后很高兴能回到家中。这位50岁的人两周前回到了尼泊尔，终于可以享受他的劳动成果。

用他在巴格达一家酒店洗盘子赚来的钱，他的家人在特里舒利河的一个弯道处建了一栋四室房屋。像贝特拉瓦蒂的许多居民一样，他在2015年一场地震摧毁了高地上的家后，搬到了平原地区。

在吃完一份豆子饭（dal bhat）的早饭后，塔芒出去抽烟。天空晴朗，山谷平静——直到他接到一个电话

冰块和岩石坠入下方1,300米（2）的山谷中，其冲击力在里氏规模上记录为5.2。它将冰块粉碎，形成了两场……中的第一场

目前对这场灾难最好的解释是（1, 见上文），上周三清晨，数千吨冰川及其底部的基岩从朗唐利隆峰偏远的西面坠落。

电话来自他的姐姐，她从警方那里听说了洪水的情况。“快走！快走！”她大喊道。

塔芒没有时间拿钱包，也没有时间拿他在离开伊拉克前给自己买的手表。他大声呼喊妻子、女儿和两个儿子——然后奔跑。在他们身后，一面由混凝土和碎片混合而成的水墙正沿着山谷奔涌而下。

当水流到达贝特拉瓦蒂狭窄的瓶颈弯道时，它完全冲垮了河岸。

五分钟内，水位就达到了塔芒的膝盖。在奔跑过程中，他的人字拖脱落了，他赤脚继续奔跑，及时到达了高地。“我差之毫厘地幸存了下来，”他说。

这种宽慰是短暂的。他的直系亲属幸存了，但一名兄弟、他的长姐以及他们的配偶，以及许多侄子和侄女都消失了。塔芒认为报失没有意义，因为他确信他们已经死了。

“也许洪水把我一起冲走会更好，”他说。“我这些年奋斗的一切都消失了。”

在贝特拉瓦蒂的其他地方，希亚姆·巴哈杜尔·塔芒也收到了警告。他的儿媳在西藏边境的一家酒店工作，她打电话说一股巨大的洪流正向他们袭来。

这位42岁的男子骑上摩托车，妻子和三岁的孙女坐在后座。由于没有空间让长女桑莫（Sangmo）乘坐，这名22岁的女孩在他们加速离去时在后面奔跑。在途中，塔芒（Tamang）和妻子骑车经过女儿就读的学校，告诉正在上课的13岁小女儿也赶紧跑。

塔芒表示，以前也发生过洪水，但从未如此严重：“感觉就像是从天上掉下来的。”直到他们到达安全地带，才意识到桑莫失踪了。

上周三的洪水发生几天后，水位已经退去。洪水留下了一道破坏的痕迹，同时也给尼泊尔的新领导人巴伦德拉·沙（Balendra Shah）带来了一次关键考验。这位36岁的前说唱歌手被称为“巴伦”（Balen），在上一届政府被Z世代抗议者推翻后，于4月就任。

昨天清晨，在山谷的一座陆军基地外，数十人聚集在一起，在倾盆大雨中避雨并等待消息。云层低垂，直升机无法起飞。

尚布·劳特（Shambhu Raut）在与儿子纳瓦拉杰（Nawaraj）失去联系后，于周三匆忙赶到这里。他们最后一次通话是在当天早上 7. 45分——就在纳瓦拉杰开始在中国电建（SinoHydro）工厂值班之前。特里舒利河谷是一个主要的能源走廊，冰川湖随后（3）溢入吉隆口岸上方的陡峭山谷。在其他消融冰川水的汇集下，洪水向西南方向席卷，留下了60英里的破坏痕迹。

这里有几个大型水电项目。劳特面容憔悴地表示，这名32岁的男子在那里工作了四年，且最近刚结婚。

他设法与拉苏瓦（Rasuwa）地区的警察副监督员取得了联系，恳求对方发起救援行动。该官员表示此事正在处理中，但劳特并不相信。“这只是在糊弄我们，”他说。

尼泊尔国家灾害风险减轻与管理当局周五晚间表示，已有191名水电工被救出，但仍有933人未能取得联系。昨天，中国隧道专家抵达特里舒利上游3B水电站附近，协助救援工作。隧道入口已被碎片和泥浆堵塞并掩埋。

在基地外等待的人群中，一些人对救援工作表示不满。“太晚了，”一名试图寻找途径为河对岸的母亲送药的英语教师说道，“人们对政府很不满意。”

但拉杰德拉·什雷斯塔（Rajendra Shrestha）则认为，政府处理灾害的情况比前任政府要好。他对比杜尔（Bidur）地区在短短两天内就恢复供电感到印象深刻。当局表示，在被洪水损坏的198座电信塔中，已有145座得到修复。

尼泊尔外交部长希希尔·卡纳尔（Shisir Khanal）否认了政府拒绝外国援助的报道。该国已向邻国请求“具体且专业的援助”，包括协助开启隧道、用于在受灾地区追踪幸存者的技术、快速法医DNA分析以及停尸房。

随着山谷的云雾散去，旋翼的轰鸣声响起。到那时，尼泊尔军队的直升机已撤离了2,265人，其中包括163名外国人。

医学生阿希姆·尼泊尔（Ashim Nepali）希望救援人员能找到他的表亲——在所有桥梁被冲毁后，数千人被困在河对岸，他的表亲便是其中之一。至于他的弟弟和姐姐，他已经放弃寻找他们生还的希望，甚至对确认他们的遗骸也逐渐绝望。周五，他检查了从洪水区寻获的15具尸体——它们全部破碎不堪。

警方拘留了29人，这些人试图撬开一个被冲向下游的银行保险柜。一名当地人表示，在一家位于洪水路径上的养老院里，一楼的所有人都死去了，而住在上面两层的人幸存了下来。目前尚不清楚当地监狱的情况，有人说囚犯全部逃脱了，也有人说他们都死了。

在靠近河流的地方，索斯塔夫·巴塔赖（Saustav Bhattarai）起飞了一架 Mavic 无人机，

他通过屏幕观察无人机飞过特里舒利河决堤后留下的泥泞荒原。为了节省电量，他缓慢地操纵无人机飞过一座部分淹没在淤泥中的太阳能电站，并放大拍摄了一处曾经的家禽养殖场。他注意到泥地里有脚印，这表明业主曾去查看受损情况。

作为水电行业的损失评估师，巴塔赖过去经常在季风季节调查受损情况，但他从未见过如此惨状——并且他担心这种情况会再次发生。

在尼泊尔与中国边境，堆积的碎片形成了一个新湖泊，如果再下雨，该湖泊面临溢出的风险。由于担心进一步发生洪水，救援工作在周五曾短暂暂停。专家表示，随着全球气温升高，所谓的冰川湖溃决将变得更加普遍。

尼泊尔外交部长表示：“我们的系统正处于高度警戒状态，以应对任何额外的洪水风险。”

目前有计划使用载重在 85kg 到 100kg 之间的大型无人机，向被困在河对岸的人们运送物资。然而，目前的当务之急是救援。时间正在流逝。

在艰难爬上山谷后，海关负责人东加纳（Dhungana）将大约 100 名幸存者聚集在一起，以便救援直升机更容易发现他们。几小时内，他被接走并飞往安全地带，但在当天值班的 36 名海关同事中，仅有 16 人幸存。

无助但心怀希望：亲属等待失踪英国公民的消息

大卫·康内特 (David Connett) 与 詹姆斯·塔珀 (James Tapper)

在尼泊尔和西藏失踪的 33 名英国游客和朝圣者的亲属面临着一个艰难的选择：是飞往加德满都参与搜救，还是留在家里等待希望。在尼泊尔首都，除了核对获救人员名单外，能做的事情并不多，但有些人还是去了。其他人，包括迪佩什·帕特尔 (Deepesh Patel) 及其兄长阿南特 (Anant)，则在焦虑地观看新闻节目，希望能获得最新进展。

帕特尔的父亲比平 (Bipin，66岁) 和母亲马拉 (Mala，60岁) 在洪水袭击时正前往西藏冈仁波齐峰朝圣。他表示，这对经营补习业务的夫妇参加了一个组织旅游团，于上周三跨越边境进入中国控制的西藏地区。

尼泊尔仍有 2,400 多人失踪，死亡人数已上升至至少 675 人。周五，尼泊尔当局公布了失踪人员名单中 573 名游客的姓名。

帕特尔的父母是至少 10 名参加 Alpine Eco Trek 旅游公司前往西藏冈仁波齐峰朝圣且目前仍处于失踪状态的英国人之一。该团体包括一名 13 岁的女孩和一名 15 岁的男孩。

这座山对印度教徒、佛教徒、耆那教徒以及西藏苯教信徒来说都是神圣的。朝圣者通常会在山峰的低坡周围进行为期三天的徒步，而要到达那里，他们需要穿越几个山谷。

“我们相信他们已经进入了西藏，因为我们看到了该团体的过境记录，但之后就再也没有收到他们的任何消息，”帕特尔说。“我们与旅游公司和外交部联系过，但没有任何消息。完全是无线电静默状态。这非常令人沮丧。我们考虑过前往那里，但考虑到前往受灾地区的困难，这似乎并不明智。”

周六，英国向尼泊尔派遣了快速部署团队，以支持受洪水影响的英国国民及其家属。官员们抵达加德满都，接到的指令是与大使馆工作人员及尼泊尔当局协作，提供额外的领事支持与援助。

一名男子在尼泊尔中部的德维加特 (Devighat) 地区视察被毁的建筑。 Atul Loke / Eyevine

外交部表示，此次部署是英国应对洪水更广泛响应的一部分，其中包括 500 万英镑m 的援助金。

在东萨塞克斯郡经营一家尼泊尔街头美食公司的普拉莫德·波德尔 (Pramod Poudel) 表示，他计划飞往尼泊尔寻找妻子苏米特拉·波德尔 (Sumitra Poudel)，她此前在探亲后正从尼泊尔回家的途中。这对夫妇最近刚结婚。“洪水袭来，夺走了一切，包括房子，”他说。他的母亲、兄弟和叔叔也失踪了。

普拉杰瓦尔·哈尔迪亚 (Prajval Haldia) 表示，他的父母帕万·哈尔迪亚 (Pavan Haldia) 和卡维塔·哈尔迪亚 (Kavita Haldia) 参加了由伦敦南部 Sanatan Mandir 和社区中心组织的一个朝圣团。这位 22 岁的青年告诉天空新闻 (Sky News)，他想告诉父母“他们意味着全世界。我觉得当你面对父母时，这句话说得还不够多，”他说。他谈到了那种无助感：“坐在家里，你能做的事情不多。”

这个伦敦旅游团由一名印度教祭司纳比·南丹·达斯 (Nabhi Nandan Das，64岁) 带领。成员中包括来自萨里郡科巴姆 (Cobham) 的萨胡 (Sahu) 一家。最年轻的成员是他们的女儿西娜·库马尔 (Syna Kumar)，她 13 岁，与哥哥斯潘丹 (Spandan，18岁)、母亲苏拉比 (Surabhi，44岁) 和父亲桑托什 (Santosh，46岁) 一同旅行。萨胡一家在伦敦经营一家技术公司，上周从印度开始旅程，计划在学年开始前返回。

其他失踪人员包括参加 Alpine Eco Trek 旅游团的赫曼吉尼·帕特尔 (Hemangini Patel，65岁)；肯特郡达伦特谷医院 (Darent Valley hospital) 的高级护士萨拉达·西姆卡达 (Sarada Simkhada)；54 岁的 NHS 精神病学顾问普拉文·阿特马库尔 (Pravin Atmakur)；尼图·戈亚尔·蒂瓦里 (Neetu Goyal Tiwari，51岁)；以及来自伦敦的吉塔·雷迪 (Geetha Reddy)，她有两个女儿，分别为 12 岁和 14 岁。

外交大臣埃德·米利班德（Ed Miliband）周五表示：“英国国民的安全与福祉是我们的首要任务。我们将继续竭尽全力，为受此次悲剧影响的英国国民提供支持。”

“我们可以让英国重新开始相信”。伯纳姆将向全国阐明其使命

瑞秋·西尔维斯特（Rachel Sylvester）报道，在夏季休假结束并逐步进入状态后，关于司法和国防开支的决定将成为首相面对现实的一次考验。

安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）本周首次以首相身份向国会议员发表讲话时，将宣布他希望为英国“找回希望”，但问题已经开始堆积。

在成为工党领袖后的首次下议院声明中，伯纳姆将承诺将生活成本作为他的首要任务。唐宁街内部人士表示，包括取消电费增值税（VAT）和在英格兰全境设定巴士票价上限在内的早期公告，是一项旨在让人们在生活成本飙升中获得“喘息空间”的预付款，而首相决心提供进一步的支持。

在夏季期间，伯纳姆走访了英国各地，听取了家庭和企业主关于他们所关注事项的意见。

一名来自10号唐宁街的消息人士表示：“首相不认为政府的角色应该是袖手旁观，看着每一项账单不断上涨，将生活的乐趣挤压殆尽。他将向全国承诺，只要能让生活变得更实惠，我们就会去做。”

在周二议员们结束议会休会返回下议院的声明中，伯纳姆还将重申他解决那些“被忽视太久”的问题（如社会护理）的决心。

“我们可以让这一刻成为英国重新开始相信的时刻

秋季时间表

1 September 议会复会，安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）作为首相在下议院发表首次声明。

2 September 伯纳姆面临其首次首相问答环节。他希望强调“解决问题”而非“得分竞争”，但保守党领袖凯米·巴德诺克（Kemi Badenoch）可能会采取强硬态度。首相将接见法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙（Emmanuel Macron），后者将前往伦敦出席巴约挂毯展览的正式开幕式。 22 September 伯纳姆出席其首次联合国大会，预计将与唐纳德·特朗普（Donald Trump）会面。 29 September 伯纳姆在利物浦发表其首次党代会领导人演讲。

28 October 财政大臣约翰·希利（John Healey）提交首份伯纳姆预算案。October / November 前内阁大臣艾伦·米尔本（Alan Milburn）发布关于未在教育、就业或培训中的青少年的审查最终报告。社会保障与残疾事务大臣斯蒂芬·蒂姆斯（Stephen Timms）就残疾人福利提出建议。

November 伯纳姆公布其针对英国的 10 年计划。

14-15 December 伯纳姆出席在迈阿密举行的G20领导人峰会。

“并且我们带回希望，”唐宁街消息人士表示。

首相乐观的基调似乎在选民中取得了一些进展。为《观察者报》（The Observer）进行的最新 Opinium 民调发现，伯纳姆的净支持率在过去两周内上升了3个百分点。

调查显示，37%的选民认为他工作出色，而仅有23%的人认为他工作糟糕。在谁能成为最佳首相的问题上，他相对于凯米·巴德诺克和奈杰尔·法拉奇（Nigel Farage）仍保持明显领先。劳工党在民调中同样领先，支持率为27%，领先改革英国党（Reform UK）2个百分点（后者为25%），领先保守党8个百分点（后者为19%）。

然而，首相的收件箱中积压着许多艰难的决定。周二，司法大臣亚历克斯·诺里斯（Alex Norris）将宣布政府提前释放计划的变更，旨在防止2019年在伯克郡杀害警察安德鲁·哈珀（Andrew Harper）的两名凶手被释放。

据信，政府正准备将任何被判定为“非法行为过失致死”的人排除在计划之外。但其他谋杀案受害者的家属呼吁，应将任何形式的过失致死定罪者排除在外。他们致信大法官警告称，“目前正在考虑为一组丧亲家庭提供的保护，不应在无意中排除其他亲人被杀害的家庭”。

在财政大臣约翰·希利表示，关于何时达到国内生产总值 3% 目标的决定将推迟到支出审查期间，而非在 28 October 的预算案中做出之后，伯纳姆在国防开支方面也面临压力。

曾在基尔·斯塔默（Keir Starmer）领导下与希利共事的前内阁大臣们对此感到愤怒，认为财政大臣现在拒绝履行他辞任国防大臣时提出的要求。其中一人表示，财政大臣的立场“要么是不可持续的，要么他将在职业生涯的余下时间里深陷伪善之中”。

唐宁街正在淡化

从上方起顺时针方向：安迪·伯纳姆在基辅的一个移动工作室中、在康沃尔的一个农场中、在布拉德福德的一个非法垃圾场中，以及在贝尔法斯特的街道上。 WPA / Getty Images

选举制度改革是劳工党的使命。伯纳姆应当率先垂范

评论

尼尔·金诺克 (Neil Kinnock)

威斯敏斯特已经落后于时代。这种情况已经持续了数十年，而在此期间，两党垄断的局面一直在崩溃。但现在，变革的条件已经成熟。

在经历了 40 多年的去工业化、紧缩政策以及一种被“遗忘”的感觉之后，公众对我们的民主政治比以往任何时候都更加不信任。仅有 12% 的人相信政党会将国家利益放在首位。简单多数制（FPTP）投票系统是导致这种疏离感的主要原因之一。它必须被取代，这不是出于某种轻率的“现代化”理由，而是一次深刻的民主化行动。推进民主是劳工党的使命，必须予以追求。

目前人们已达成共识，即简单多数制是不可持续的。今年 2 月，50 多位英国顶尖的宪法和政治学者致信政府，警告称威斯敏斯特的选举制度正成为一种累赘。政治学家弗农·博格丹诺（Vernon Bogdanor）将简单多数制描述为一种“不稳定机制”。政府研究所（Institute for Government）的汉娜·怀特（Hannah White）将其比作“一场彩票”，而《经济学人》则将英国的投票系统描述为“老虎机政治”。

对选举制度改革的支持将绝大多数劳工党成员团结在一起，并得到了其他中左翼政党的认可。四分之三的劳工党附属工会呼吁改革，大多数劳工党议员也对此表示支持。在一个公众并不总是对“宪法”事务感兴趣的国家，约有半数的人支持这种变革。数十位商业领袖致信政府，指出不稳定的简单多数制投票系统与商业信心下降之间的联系。

本周三，劳工党议员亚历克斯·索贝尔（Alex Sobel）将向下议院提交一项关于《人民代表法案》的修正案，呼吁成立国家选举制度改革委员会。该修正案签署的议员人数多于本届议会中任何其他旨在修改拟议立法的提案。近 90 名劳工党议员在上面签了名。

比例代表制是发达民主国家的常态，而少数那些公众对民主满意度高且在上升的国家，全部采用了比例代表制（PR）。经济不平等程度的基尼系数显示，采用比例代表制的国家平均比采用简单多数制风格的民主国家高出 9 个点，贫困水平较低，拥有更强大的社会福利体系和持续的公共投资。

在许多政治稳定性的衡量指标上，这些国家也常规性地优于威斯敏斯特，其政府的平均任期比我们长 4 年，部长在职时间也更长。与此同时，我们在 10 年内经历了 7 位首相和 8 位财政大臣。

我们现在生活在一个多党选民时代，选民们采取“策略性”投票，更多是为了表明他们不想要谁，而非表达真实的偏好。议会对此作出的回应将影响国家几代人的命运。首相带来了一种新的清晰视角，这种视角产生于从内部审视整个问题，并且——至关重要地——是以大曼彻斯特市市长的身份在一定的操作距离之外进行审视。

更多的比例代表制——且必须是以一种能维持威斯敏斯特单名议员与其选区之间联系的形式——将稳定英国的民主。安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）已经明确表示，他是一位专注且务实的改革者。现在成立一个国家选举制度改革委员会，将把这一开明的目标付诸实践。

尼尔·金诺克在 1983 年至 1992 年期间担任劳工党党魁。

预算的重要性。一名内部人士坚称，这不会是一个“重大事件”，而伯纳姆（Burnham）在今年晚些时候提出的 10 年计划将更具意义。

公共财政正面临严峻压力，许多经济学家认为，由于伊朗战争以及借贷成本上升，前财政大臣瑞秋·里夫斯（Rachel Reeves）留下的 240亿英镑 财政空间可能已经缩减了一半。

跨党派议员吉姆·奥尼尔（Jim O'Neill）曾任高盛（Goldman Sachs）首席经济学家，并一直为伯纳姆提供建议，他昨日警告称，未来将面临“艰难的选择”。他告诉《泰晤士报》，增加财富税将是“愚蠢的”，并敦促首相将资源集中在少数几个能够带动增长的地区——伦敦、大曼彻斯特、西米德兰兹和西约克郡——而不是寻求“在每个邮政编码区都实现增长”。

首相还面临着几个政治困境。前工党领袖尼尔·基诺克（Neil Kinnock）已全力支持成立国家选举改革委员会的呼吁。在为《观察者报》（The Observer）撰写的一篇文章中，他表示，必须取代“领先者当选制”（first past the post）的投票系统，将其作为一次“深刻的民主化行动”。

包括近 100 名工党政治人物在内的近 200 名国会议员，已对一项将于周三提交至下议院的《人民代表法案》修正案表示支持。该修正案不太可能获得投票，因为人们认为它超出了法案的范围，但工党议员表示，这显示了对选举改革的支持程度，且伯纳姆正被敦促提前推出自己的计划。

一名工党消息人士表示，首相“仍然坚定地致力于选举改革，并表示这将是未来竞选宣言中的一项议题”。

其他页面

安德鲁·劳恩斯利：给伯纳姆先生的备忘录——不要指望你的部长们每周都像表演海豹一样为你鼓掌 论坛版，第 29 页

克莱弗利将竞选伦敦市长

瑞秋·西尔维斯特 政治编辑

保守党国会议员詹姆斯·克莱弗利（James Cleverly）昨日辞去影子内阁职务，以竞选伦敦市长。

他告诉保守党党魁凯米·巴德诺克（Kemi Badenoch），他决定卸任影子住房大臣，以便能够“全力集中”于赢得这场竞选。他说：“伦敦需要的不仅仅是一名行政管理人员，它需要一位捍卫者，一个了解其潜力并准备为它的未来而战的人。这就是为什么我要竞选保守党的伦敦市长候选人。”

作为布雷恩特里（Braintree）的国会议员，克莱弗利被视为保守党内一名务实的中间派。他曾投票支持英国脱欧，但在社会议题上持自由主义立场。昨晚，助手们表示，巴德诺克正在考虑是简单地替换他的位置，还是对其团队进行更大规模的调整。

一位接近保守党党魁的消息人士表示：“凯米真的不希望詹姆斯离开影子内阁，但她相信他将在伦敦成为一项重大资产。她想要一个能够挑战萨迪克·汗（Sadiq Khan）的人，她认为萨迪克·汗正在摧毁她年轻时所热爱的那个伦敦。”

伦敦市长选举直到 2028 年 5 月才会举行。现任的劳工党市长萨迪克·汗尚未确认是否将寻求第四个任期。

在 2015 年当选国会议员之前，克莱弗利曾在伦敦议会代表保守党。他曾在三任首相任内担任部长职务，包括担任外交大臣、内政大臣和教育大臣。

2019 年波士顿“直男骄傲”游行上的米洛·扬诺普洛斯（Milo Yiannopoulos）。Getty

支持美国移民海关执法局的英国人因签证到期被美国驱逐

极右翼活动人士 米洛·扬诺普洛斯（Milo Yiannopoulos） 被他曾呼吁驱逐 “数以百万计”人的 移民机构逮捕。一段视频流出，他在其中表示一些13岁的人已经足够成熟，可以同意发生性行为。他随后道歉并否认自己在纵容恋童癖，但继续制造争议。

他在网上发帖称，民团应该枪击记者，并对寄给特朗普批评者的管状炸弹没有爆炸表示遗憾。

帕特里克·基德（Patrick Kidd）

一名挑衅性的英国极右翼评论员因签证逾期而被美国驱逐出境。他曾为唐纳德·特朗普竞选总统而奔走，并呼吁美国采取激进的移民执法措施。

去年夏天，米洛·扬诺普洛斯在X上发帖称，对于美国政府来说，驱逐“数以百万计、百万计、百万计的人”应该比减少国家债务具有更高的优先级。他还呼吁美国移民海关执法局（ICE）对“任何无法证明其在美国合法居留的人员实施现场驱逐”。

扬诺普洛斯上周四在纽奥良被ICE特工逮捕。一天后，美国国土安全部发表声明称，他于2019年5月合法进入美国，但在签证到期后成为了“非法外籍人士”。

声明称：“他选择违反我国法律，在欢迎期结束后继续逗留。”在扬诺普洛斯未能出席移民听证会后，一名移民法官于22 July发布了最终的驱逐令。

现年41,岁的扬诺普洛斯出生于肯特郡，曾从曼彻斯特大学和剑桥大学辍学。2014年，他成为美国保守派网站布赖特巴特新闻（Breitbart News）的技术编辑，在那里他被指控向极右翼（alt-right）和新纳粹运动的人士征集文章。

他还在社交媒体上频繁发布攻击女权主义、伊斯兰教和自由主义者的内容。他将自己描述为“互联网上最迷人的超级反派”。

2017年，在一段视频后，他从布赖特巴特辞职并失去了一份图书出版合同。

他在美国大学的演讲巡演期间也引发了抗议。在加州大学伯克利分校的一次活动中，由于示威活动演变为暴力冲突，导致$100,000的损失，活动被迫取消。2016,年，他因煽动辱骂和骚扰被Twitter（现为X）封禁，他在该平台上自称“尼禄”（Nero），但在埃隆·马斯克收购该公司后，他的账号得到了恢复。

在特朗普2016年首次竞选总统时，扬诺普洛斯曾是其热情的支持者，但后来转而反对他，称特朗普背叛了那些将他送入白宫的人。在坎耶·韦斯特（Kanye West）短暂的2024年总统竞选活动中，他与这位备受争议的说唱歌手合作。他还创办了一家名为Tarantula的人才管理公司，专门服务于有争议的客户。

劳拉·卢默（Laura Loomer）是一名具有影响力的右翼政治活动人士，她与特朗普关系密切，并将自己描述为总统的“忠诚执行者”。她在X上写道，在扬诺普洛斯似乎呼吁暗杀她之后，她向当局举报了他的移民身份。她说，他在X上发布了她的照片，并配文“射击练习”。目前尚不清楚他的被捕是否与她的投诉有关。

卢默还攻击扬诺普洛斯为“马乔里·叛徒·格林”（Marjorie Traitor Greene）工作，这是在指代马乔里·泰勒·格林（Marjorie Taylor Greene），这位来自佐治亚州的前国会议员曾是“使美国再次伟大”（Maga）运动的领军人物，但在特朗普的第二个任期内对他持批评态度。

卢默写道：“他为她撰写演讲稿，并帮助协调她在国会大厅内的叛国活动。”

《观察家报》已联系扬诺普洛斯和美国驻华盛顿的英国大使馆寻求评论。

马修·洛克（Matthew Lock，左），这张自拍拍摄于2023.年9月他去世当天。他患有自闭症，并在11个月前被诊断出患有ADHD（注意缺陷多动障碍），但该病症未得到治疗。

克里斯汀和理查德·洛克（右）与他们儿子马修的肖像合影。如今，他们在利物浦附近的马格尔（Maghull）的一家中心提供建议和免费的 ADHD 测试。 加里·卡尔顿 为《观察者报》报道

“妈妈，你不知道我的脑子里是什么样子”：ADHD文化之争危及生命

医生和家庭正紧张等待一项新审查结果的出炉，他们担心这将收窄治疗路径

Karl Mathiesen

人们有时说，了解政府最恐惧什么的最佳方式，就是查看正在进行的独立审查清单。以此衡量，ADHD（注意缺陷多动障碍）让白厅感到不安。

在12个月内，该病症已成为两份重大官方报告的主题。其中第二份报告将在几周内提交给卫生大臣伊薇特·库珀（Yvette Cooper），这将成为安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）新政府面临的一场不可避免的考验。

每个人都承认存在危机，但对于危机的性质看法不一。根据最近的统计，被转诊至专科护理的积压人数已增加到730,000人以上，等待两年并不罕见；在某些地区，等待时间甚至长达十年或更久。然而，对于改革的诉求，得到的回应除了对预算紧张的扼腕叹息外，并无实质进展。

很少有事情能像ADHD那样激起公众辩论的热情。在政治右翼看来，它已成为社会过度共情导致自我毁灭的象征。一些从业者甚至质疑定义本身，认为诊断范围已变得如此宽泛，以至于将正常行为医疗化。ADHD患者及其家属和医生正准备迎接这项最新审查可能带来的失望。该审查由库珀的前任韦斯·斯特里廷（Wes Streeting）委托开展，旨在调查精神健康诊断激增的情况。

从事ADHD护理的专家认为，这项审查从一开始就错了。英国皇家精神科医师学会神经发育精神病学特别兴趣小组主席杰西卡·埃克尔斯（Jessica Eccles）认为，上届政府将重点放在转诊人数的增长上，是一种方便的误导，使其能够推迟解决真正的问题：大量未接受治疗的人群。她说：“通过试图假装ADHD和自闭症并不那么普遍，假装它们不需要投资或统一的路径，我们正在辜负社会中的广大群体。”

斯特里廷的一位发言人表示：“韦斯在个人家庭经历中直接感受到了自闭症和ADHD患者面临的挑战。正因为他严肃对待这些问题，他才委托开展一项重大工作计划，以获得对我们的精神健康系统、自闭症和ADHD服务的循证理解。”

内部人士表示，该审查忽略了专家和患者的担忧，并且可能正在准备一些会收窄大量人群就医路径的建议。他们还担心这会加剧关于ADHD是否存在本身的争论。参与该审查的慈善机构ADHD UK主席亨利·谢尔福德（Henry Shelford）表示：“这面临着将这种偏见制度化的风险。”

这绝非一场新的斗争。“注意力所遭受的病态改变”最早由苏格兰医生亚历山大·克里奇顿（Alexander Crichton）在1798年描述。从那时起，那些表现出我们现在所称的注意缺陷多动障碍的人，一直被判定为并非患有医疗疾病，而是在某种程度上缺乏道德操守。

ADHD通常是一种遗传性疾病，它会改变“执行功能”。这个词让人联想到一个内部主管，负责规划、时间管理以及抑制冲动和情绪。这意味着ADHD与创造性思维和原创性相关。有些人发展出了强大的应对机制，从而未被察觉。但这种病症会导致功能衰退。患有此病的人通常用“噪音”来描述他们大脑的运作方式。

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

治疗可以非常有效——包括刺激性药物、生活方式的改变以及谈话疗法。埃克尔斯（Eccles）表示，在需要药物治疗的情况下，药物“通常非常安全且耐受性良好”。我采访了 20 多名 ADHD 患者。有些人说药片不适合他们，或者他们仅在需要时才使用；另一些人则描述了一个改变生活的时刻，那时他们脑海中那只烦人的苍蝇终于安静了下来。

根据英国国家医疗服务卓越研究所（Nice）的数据，约 5% 的儿童和 3-4% 的成年人患有 ADHD。但《柳叶刀》8 月的一项研究发现，英格兰仅有 1.19% 的人被诊断出患病。 UK 表示，这意味着该国有 200 万人在没有专业支持的情况下面对 。如果不及时治疗，它与学业失败、长期失业、入狱、自杀以及其他社会和健康成本相关，每年总计造成 170亿英镑 的损失。

在利物浦北郊小镇马格尔（Maghull）的一个议会咨询中心，马修·洛克 慈善基金会（Matthew Lock Charity）每周两次提供咨询和免费的 初步筛查。该基金会由克里斯汀·洛克（Christine Lock）和理查德·洛克（Richard Lock）运营，他们的儿子马修在 2023 年 9 月自杀身亡时，患有未经治疗的 。

那天在中心里，21 岁的奥利弗·坎利夫（Oliver Cunliffe）身材瘦削，坐在办公椅上前后地晃动着膝盖。坎利夫在 15. 岁时被诊断出患有 。他曾短暂服用药物，但后来停止了。现在他陷入了挣扎。他的财务状况被强迫性消费吞噬。“酒精、女孩、毒品、衣服、游戏……任何能分散注意力的东西。”前一天，他开始哭泣，无法控制，且找不到能理解的原因。

坎利夫被一个荒谬的官僚怪癖所困：在童年时期停止用药的患者，成年后必须重新寻求诊断才能获得新的处方。他的全科医生（GP）说他必须等待两年。（上周他说，他最终支付了 £600 进行了私人诊断。他从上周六开始用药。他的家人说，他们已经看到了一个“截然不同的人”。）

“这个该死的系统崩溃了，”克里斯汀说道。坎利夫比她的儿子如果活着能达到的年龄仅小几个月。“我不能撒谎。我试图通过接触这些孩子来再次‘拯救’马修。我看着他们，心想，他们的脑子里在想什么？愿上帝保佑他们。”

国民医疗服务体系（NHS）运行着一套“选择权”系统。人们可以通过私人诊所进行诊断，费用由 NHS 承担。上周，代表医疗系统管理者的 联盟（ Alliance）警告称，他们难以控制评估和后续护理的质量。他们表示，纳税人承担的成本因供应商而异，其中一个地方卫生委员会警告称，其支出在一年内增长了高达 10 倍。一些 地区由于预算压力限制了访问权限。

UK 的谢尔福德（Shelford）表示，坎利夫的故事很典型。他说，只要搬离你所在的 区域，你就可能被取消处方；甚至仅仅是更改剂量，都可能意味着需要专家会诊并等待一年之久。“这是一个国家级的丑闻，”他说。

在一些政治人物看来，真正的丑闻是过度溺爱和福利诈骗的流行。奈杰尔·法拉奇（Nigel Farage）在 3 月谈到患有 的儿童时说：“他们没有真正的问题。”这种论点源于一种观点，即社会正遭受“自杀式共情”的困扰——这是埃隆·马斯克（Elon Musk）推广的一个词，用来描述错位的善良如何破坏理性的政策制定。8 月，改革英国党（Reform UK）的财政发言人罗伯特·詹里克（Robert Jenrick）在概述一项削减数百万精神健康状况（包括 ）患者残疾福利的计划时，使用了这个词。

“通过假装 ADHD 和自闭症并不那么普遍，我们正在辜负社会中的广大群体”——精神科医生杰西卡·埃克尔斯（Jessica Eccles）

ADHD（注意缺陷多动障碍）得到了全球所有主要卫生机构的认可，但一些研究人员认为，该病症被过于轻易地诊断，或者它并非一种真正的神经发育状况。

“ 的行为当然是存在的，但 作为一个概念仅仅是一个未经证实的假设，”英国精神科医生萨米·蒂米米（Sami Timimi）表示。他指出，由于没有已知的生物标志物或客观测试，诊断门槛已被大幅降低，导致没有障碍的人也被贴上了终身标签。

这些质疑是由诊断人数的增加而引发的，在 2021 年至 2024 年之间，诊断人数增长了近两倍半。私人诊所填补了 NHS（英国国家医疗服务体系）留下的空白，其中一些诊所被发现提供的诊断质量低下。自我诊断为 的成年人比例约为 5.8%——是预期真实人数的两倍。TikTok 上排名前 100 的 # 视频播放量接近 5 亿次，但其中许多包含错误信息。大多数 临床医生认为，尽管存在这些动态因素，但整体增长反映了公众意识的积极提升——尤其是关于该病症在女性和女孩身上的表现，而这一群体是目前新诊断人数增长最快的群体。

谢尔福德（Shelford）表示，重点不在于讨论增长背后的原因是否错误，而是在此基础上以牺牲数百万未接受治疗的人为代价——甚至可能是故意地——这就失去了重点。“人们没有为人们获得所需帮助而感到高兴，反而摊手说：‘哪里出错了？’”

很少有人比安妮塔·塔帕尔（Anita Thapar）觉得这场辩论更令人恼火，她是一位儿童精神科医生，也是威尔士卡迪夫大学心理医学与临床神经科学研究所的儿童与青少年精神病学教授。去年 11 月，她向斯特里廷（Streeting）提交了由她领导的为期 20 个月的 NHS 英格兰 任务组的结果。该结果得出结论：“有持续的证据表明， 存在识别不足、诊断不足和治疗不足（包括药物治疗）的情况。”该报告建议将诊断和护理范围从专家扩展到家长、学校、全科医生（GP）和心理健康服务机构。虽然报告认为可以通过更高效的数字化系统来交付结果，但它并未回避对更多资源的需要。

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随着工作的推进，塔帕尔感觉到自己提供的是政府不愿听取的、令人不安的答案。一位有影响力的精神科医生将她拉到一边说：“韦斯会讨厌你的报告的，”他告诉她，并敦促她重新考虑关于诊断不足的调查结果。

去年，斯特里廷同意某些疾病被过度诊断，这一观点令患者团体感到震惊。他告诉 BBC：“有太多人被草率地定论了。”

塔帕尔表示，在两人任职重叠的 16 个月里，她与斯特里廷从未见过面。当时担任卫生部长的斯蒂芬·金诺克最初表示支持，但后来在过度诊断的问题上向她施压。

数据概览

730,000

等待 ADHD（注意缺陷多动障碍）专科治疗的积压人数。

5%

根据英国国家医疗服务卓越研究所（NICE）的数据，5% 的儿童患有 ADHD。成年人的这一比例为 3-4%。

170亿英镑

据信，未治疗的 每年给经济造成的损失。

2

过去一年中关于该病症的主要官方报告数量。第二份报告将很快提交给卫生大臣伊薇特·库珀。

当塔帕尔的报告发布时，政府仅给予了敷衍的认可。一个月后，斯特里廷宣布将进行进一步审查。这一次，他表示将调查 、自闭症和其他精神健康状况的诊断数量为何“急剧上升”。他在《卫报》撰文承认，他关于过度诊断的言论引发了争议，但坚持认为，“我们必须查明诊断率上升的原因”，因为“服务无法跟上步伐”。

塔帕尔认为，这一公告是对许多向她的工作组分享经验的人员的一种“侮辱”。4 月，她再次致信部长，请求对该报告给予支持。卫生部的一名“通信官员”回信称，卫生和社会护理部正在“仔细考虑”她的调查结果。斯特里廷的发言人表示，审查的职权范围“明确规定了将如何与具有 和自闭症生活经验的人员密切合作，并将参考其他审查结果，包括独立 工作组”。

卫生部拒绝回答关于塔帕尔工作组和此次审查的详细问题。其发言人提到，将对特殊教育需求进行改革，由学校负责 儿童的支持工作。政府认为，这将使 能被更早地发现并得到更有效的管理。

在审查计划公布后，埃克尔斯代表她所在的英国皇家精神科医师学会委员会致信主席、心理学家彼得·福纳吉，警告称，如果狭隘地关注患病率的增加，可能会忽略 和自闭症之间重叠的方式——她写道，这一发现对政策制定具有“至关重要的”意义。她提出由她的委员会提供帮助，但未收到回复。

6 月发布的审查中期报告谨慎地同意，确诊为 的人数仍然落后于实际人数。但最令患者团体担忧的是该审查的政策建议。两名参与人员表示，专家组预料到了政府不愿花钱，因此收敛了其目标。

这两名人员以及另一位了解审查过程的人士表示，一种将人群筛分为高、中、低三个等级的三级系统得到了审查组高级成员的热烈响应。政府不确认此类系统是否在考虑之中。但中期审查已为此埋下伏笔，主张采取“一种更具差异化和分层的方法”。

谢尔福德表示，他要求增加服务的请求遭到了拒绝。“他们似乎专注于削减而非优化，”他说。

克里斯汀和理查德·洛克于5月悄然退出了这项审查。他们表示，他们对广泛系统性变革的希望未能实现。他们一直致力于推动“马修法案”（Matthew's Law），该法案将赋予每位在校学生接受数字化ADHD（注意缺陷多动障碍）筛查的权利。他们估计这将每年花费7.24 亿英镑m，但他们认为，早期检测带来的益处将超过这一成本。相反，他们担心审查结果可能会得出理查德所说的“会让我的儿子被排除在治疗之外的建议，而治疗是唯一真正能救他的东西”。

马修·洛克去世时年仅19岁，但他此前已被选为马格尔（Maghull）的劳工党议员。他对吸尘器的热爱让他曾在ITV的《今晨》（This Morning）节目中获得一个半定期的出镜时段。“如果这不算一件美事，那我不知道什么才算，”15岁的马修曾拿着一台戴森V11无线吸尘器，对听得入神的菲利普·斯科菲尔德和霍莉·威洛比说道。

但马修当时正陷入挣扎。“妈妈，你不知道我的内心世界是什么样的，”他在2023.年去世前几天说道。他在14,岁时被诊断出患有自闭症，在去世前11个月被诊断出患有ADHD。这两种情况经常同时出现，自闭症产生对可预测性的渴望，而ADHD则引发混乱。与许多ADHD患者一样，他似乎使用了药物和酒精来平静心绪。他的父母当时并不了解物质滥用与ADHD之间的联系，也不了解拒绝敏感性焦虑（rejection-sensitive dysphoria）——这是部分ADHD和自闭症患者对真实或感知到的批评所产生的一种极端情绪反应。他的父母认为这是他去世当晚的一个促成因素。

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自杀很少被认为是由单一原因造成的。但自闭症和 ADHD（注意缺陷多动障碍）都是主要的风险因素。一项加拿大研究发现，在患有 ADHD 的男性或男孩中，每 10 人中就有 1 人曾尝试自杀。对于女性和女孩，这一数字是四分之一。2024 年 4 月，理查德·洛克致信默西赛德郡高级验尸官朱莉·古尔丁，列举了一系列他认为“本可以显著改变马修结局”的国家体制失效问题。

尽管从入学班开始就多次被转介至心理健康服务机构，但马修的 直到他去世前一年才被诊断出来。“虽然这些失效无法让马修回来，但向验尸官指出这些问题可以防止这种情况发生在其他人身上，”理查德写道。

古尔丁鼓励他们继续抗争，但由于死因研讯已经结束，她无法对他们的担忧做出回应。她补充说，她已处于“functus officio”[职责已履行完毕]状态。

塔帕尔表示，像洛克一家这样的家庭，正是新政府需要抓住机会改变关于 讨论的原因。她在卡迪夫偶遇伯纳姆，并敦促他对 采取强硬立场。

塔帕尔说，首相看起来“愿意倾听且富有同情心”。这场争论的一方认为，政策制定需要这种同情心；而另一方则认为，目前的同情心已经过多了。与此同时，那个持异议的挑衅者依然在坚持。

青少年自杀慈善机构 Papyrus 的联系电话为 0800 068 4141，或发送邮件至 pat@papyrus-uk.org。

“多莉所做的一切都是为了照顾他人”

多莉的数据概览

阿巴拉契亚地区的人们 在哀悼上周去世的这位超级巨星， 她是一位深谙他们 日常生活艰辛的 当地英雄

埃德·赫尔莫尔（Ed Helmore） 田纳西州，塞维尔

查德·布鲁斯（Chad Burrows）和克里斯汀·布鲁斯（Kristin Burrows）带着他们六个月大的双胞胎——莱拉（Lila）和德鲁（Drew），站在田纳西州诺克斯维尔的多莉·帕顿儿童医院门前。这对夫妇表示，对于孩子们的医疗需求，这家私立、独立、非营利且拥有 152 张床位的儿科医院是“更被推荐”的选择。他们补充说，这位乡村音乐之星创办的“想象力图书馆”（Imagination Library）每月都会给这对双胞胎寄送新的儿童书籍。

多莉·帕顿对这家设施做出了前东田纳西儿童医院所称的“世代性的和变革性的承诺”，该设施于今年 2 月以她的名字重新命名。

“我一直相信每个孩子都应该在健康、充满希望且被爱包围的环境中长大，”帕顿在一段视频声明中说道。“自从我有能力尽自己的一份力并帮助他人以来，我一直尝试这样做，尤其是当孩子们和家庭最需要的时候。”

医院首席执行官马特·谢弗（Matt Schaefer）表示，与帕顿见面是一个“超现实的时刻”，她的捐赠将创造出一种“她一生所代表的一切的晕染效应，包括她对孩子们的爱”。

帕顿的身影遍布医院：设施的名字出现在走廊上方的霓虹灯招牌上；墙上挂着一张她穿着那件“多彩外套”的照片。游戏室和病房都被装饰得明亮活泼，以体现这位歌手对生活的热爱。

这里约 $60\%$ 的患者接受免费治疗。“我们非常依赖捐款，”医院营销总监纳塔莉亚·哈瓦西（Natalia Havasy）说道。“我们觉得镇上的儿童医院应该是她的。多莉的晕染效应……那是无可比拟的。” 18亿美元 annual economic boost to Tennessee, attributed to Dollywood

2022 年，杰夫·贝佐斯（Jeff Bezos）和劳伦·贝佐斯（Lauren Bezos）向帕顿捐赠了 1亿美元 用于慈善事业，称这位歌手是“用心”领导，并且会将这笔钱“极好地用于帮助许多人”。

利亚·海因茨（Leah Heintz）和她的孩子们——14 岁的索菲亚（Sophia）和 11 岁的丹尼尔（Daniel），来自塞维尔。这里距离帕顿的出生地洛克斯里奇（Locust Ridge） 12 英里（19 公里），距离多莉坞（Dollywood）主题公园约 5 英里。该公园去年吸引了近 400 万游客，并在 2024 年成为 Tripadvisor 上的美国顶级主题公园。“我喜欢过山车，”最近曾出现过头晕症状的索菲亚乐观地说道。

帕顿留下的遗产是巨大的：她留下了 3,000 多首歌曲，以及一路闪烁的水钻、鞋子和假发。自她去世以来，一种类似于“封圣”的氛围正在形成，政治两派都试图将她据为己有：右翼赞扬她是一位相信信仰需要行动的基督徒女性；左翼则强调她在 LGBTQ 权利和疫苗接种方面的立场。

唐纳德·特朗普（Donald Trump）习惯于对公众人物的去世发表不宽容的评论，包括亚利桑那州参议员约翰·麦凯恩（John McCain）和好莱坞导演罗布·赖纳（Rob Reiner），但这次他采取了不同的态度。在上周这位歌手以 80 岁高龄去世后，他下令旗帜降半旗直到 9 月 1 日，并在他的 Truth Social 平台上写道，她是“有史以来最伟大的乡村歌手之一，甚至远不止于此”。他补充说，她的去世是“数百万人的真正损失”。

但她最伟大的礼物可能是她给识字率和阿巴拉契亚地区留下的遗产。

诺克斯维尔多莉·帕顿儿童医院展出的一幅肖像画。

自 1995 年起，通过她的“想象力图书馆”计划向全球儿童捐赠的图书数量：3.05亿 本

帕顿筹集并捐赠给慈善机构的金额（至少）：1.24亿美元

多莉坞在田纳西州塞维尔县创造的就业岗位：23,000 个

14,200

在已发表的学术文章和学术期刊中的提及次数

3,000

在其七十年的职业生涯中创作的歌曲数量

1,021

在全球范围内举办的演唱会场次

350

拥有的假发数量

45

电影和电视节目的参演记录

27

成功的商业投资项目，涵盖从酒店到宠物服装等领域

医疗保健。2020, 帕顿向纳什维尔的范德比尔特大学医学中心捐赠了 100万美元。这笔捐款支持了与Moderna公司mRNA-1273新冠疫苗相关的研究。她后来表示：“我为能成为那笔启动资金的一部分而感到非常自豪。”

她还帮助为一个项目筹集了 100万美元，该项目最终在她的“田纳西山地故乡”塞维尔维尔建立了多莉·帕顿妇女服务中心。该中心靠近一座歌手的雕像，这里已成为粉丝们的圣地。一块手写标牌上写着：“多莉，我们将永远爱你。”

当地花店老板达斯汀·曼宁表示，他收到了来自德国和韩国等遥远国家的订花订单——数量之多，以至于在

“尽管世界上充满障碍，但多莉对生活依然保持乐观”——粉丝特蕾丝·托利，犹他州

更多的花朵送达了。“最好的礼物被赠予了两次，”他引用帕顿的话说道。

许多人记得帕顿在2016年烟雾山火后提供的帮助。她的多莉伍德基金会（Dollywood Foundation）向900个家庭每月提供$1,000，持续六个月，最后一笔款项为$5,000。“她在联邦紧急事务管理局（Fema）之前就到了这里，”一名受益者、27岁的迈克尔·吉布森说道。

吉布森在附近的一家儿童之家长大，帕顿每年两次向那里发送多莉伍德主题公园的门票。在2024, 飓风海伦袭击该地区后，她再次捐款，并表示她热爱她的“山里人们”。

祝愿者们表示，帕顿关注阿巴拉契亚山脉地区的人们，该地区传统上深受贫困、服务匮乏以及高糖尿病率和成瘾率的困扰。26, 岁的布里特·赫斯勒说，由于她同样在这些山丘的“艰苦背景”中长大，因此对帕顿产生了认同感。她说，她的家人是煤矿工和钢铁工，许多人死于她称之为“阿巴拉契亚恶魔”的成瘾问题。“在山谷（holler [hollow]）深处，生活很艰难，”赫斯勒补充道，她指的是阿巴拉契亚地区那些与世隔绝的山谷。

这位超级巨星还公开谈论过她对酗酒者的看法。她曾说过：“我见过很多悲剧，因为酗酒在我的家族两边都很普遍。”

帕顿是12个孩子中的第四个，赫斯勒说她的家庭也像帕顿一样，“学会了互相照顾”。她补充道：“重要的是我们要超越政治和宗教。她所做的一切都是为了照顾他人。”认同自己为酷儿（queer）的赫斯勒说，帕顿是她的初恋，她还学习制作受这位歌手著名外套启发而设计的拼布被。“她很美丽，但她从未让美貌掩盖她的智慧，或削弱她争取目标以及给予他人的坚韧，”赫斯勒说，“她让我能够做我自己。”

帕顿通过她的“想象力图书馆”（Imagination Library）致力于提高识字率——该图书馆在去年11月发放了第300 millionth本书——这项工作与她的医疗保健工作并行。

“我相信想象力图书馆是她的核心事业，因为她的父亲不识字，”从北卡罗来纳州开车前来吊唁的凯伦·菲茨杰拉德-冈萨雷斯说道。她说她会带孩子们去多莉伍德公园拜访圣诞老人。“孩子们会告诉他自己的愿望，随后会收到一封来自帕顿的信，信中写道：‘我听说你一直是个乖孩子，希望你得到了你想要的礼物。’”

帕顿支撑其慈善捐赠的阿巴拉契亚帝国，当然源于音乐。她在2970年代与歌手波特·瓦格纳合作，并凭借《Jolene》及其他1970s热门歌曲取得了成功。但随后她的事业陷入低谷，于是她决定突破乡村音乐的限制，走向主流。

她与桑迪·加林合作，后者曾管理过迈克尔·杰克逊和雪儿等人的事业。帕顿与公开出柜的加林互称“女朋友”，正是他劝说她录制了《Here You Come Again》。这首跨界流行金曲为她打开了通往主流市场和电影之星的大门。在出演电影 9 to 5 和《钢铁木兰》之后，她又与肯尼·罗杰斯、琳达·朗斯塔特和艾米露·哈里斯展开合作。

随后，帕顿在1973年向瓦格纳致敬的歌曲《I Will Always Love You》在1992, 年成为惠特尼·休斯顿的代表作，并作为电影《保镖》的主题曲。

田纳西州塞维尔维尔，帕顿雕像旁留下的鲜花和气球。

该原声带售出45m copies，在美国专辑榜上非连续地占据了20周的 No 1 位置。帕顿曾拒绝将这首歌的版权卖给埃尔维斯·普雷斯利，并保留了所有的词曲创作和出版版税。

在塞维尔维尔，很难找到一家没有以某种方式向这座城镇 5ft-tall 的“首席梦想家”致敬的商店。

站在帕顿的雕像旁，从犹他州飞抵此地的特蕾莎·托利（Terese Tolley）表示：“她有一颗宽广的心。她充满关怀与爱。尽管世界上充满障碍，但她对生活如此乐观。”托利怀疑是否有任何单一团体能成功地将她据为己有。她说，帕顿“向所有人敞开心扉”。

其他页面

威尔·哈顿（Will Hutton）：我的资本主义英雄多莉与凯恩斯，见论坛页，第 31 页

赏析：“在她的光芒笼罩下，每个人都感到惬意”，见新评论页，第 14–15 页

我生命中的每一个阶段都伴随着一段与多莉·帕顿相关的记忆

查理·康纳 (Charlie Connor)

当我 10 岁的时候，我想在万圣节扮成多莉的样子。我和妈妈去了纽约的梅西百货公司，想找一件胸罩来实现我的构想。我们在内衣区花了很多时间，一件件试穿，看它们是否“足够像多莉”。我们找到了一件覆盖着蕾丝的紫红色胸罩，杯罩是最大的，而底围是能找到的最小号，尽管如此，为了穿得合适，还是得在我的背后系起来。后来，我拖着我的保姆跑遍了布鲁克林各处的美容用品店，只为寻找一个完美的、大卷的、过氧化氢漂白金色的假发。

万圣节那天，我在胸罩里塞满了纸巾和袜子，穿上一件方巾印花衬衫和蓝色紧身牛仔裤，然后在假发顶上顶了一顶粉色牛仔帽。直到今天，那依然是我最喜欢的万圣节装扮，并非因为它最精致或最古怪——而是因为在那一天，我成为了我的英雄。

当我听到多莉·帕顿去世的消息时，我痛哭流涕。在我看来，她似乎是永恒的，也许是因为从我还是个小孩子起，她就一直存在于我的生活中。在布鲁克林长大，其他孩子是在卡通人物的陪伴下长大的，而我是在多莉的陪伴下长大的。不仅仅是她的音乐，我一直被她那超越常人的个性、她的自我意识，以及最重要的是她对他人的关怀所吸引。她像一个闪亮的提醒，告诉我地要忠于自我。

我现在 20 岁了，我生命中的几乎每一个阶段都伴随着一段与多莉·帕顿相关的记忆：从在车里和母亲一起跟着《Jolene》唱歌，到在周末的早晨醒来，听到母亲在打扫卫生或工作时播放的多莉·帕顿的歌曲。如果有人问我最喜欢的歌手是谁，无论我当时几岁，无论收音机里在播什么，我都会说多莉。我的脖子上戴着一个刻有她肖像的小吊坠。

一个春假，我和母亲以及两名同好粉丝一起，从纽约开车前往田纳西州的鸽子锻炉，去参观

超级粉丝查理·康纳，10, 岁时装扮成她的英雄多莉·帕顿。

多莉乐园（Dollywood），那是她创建的主题公园。我们挤进朋友的车里，在窗户上贴了一张写着“目标多莉乐园，不达目的誓不罢休！”的标语，然后出发了。多莉乐园是我去过的最神奇的地方之一，那里到处是美丽的花园，以及旧时代商店和建筑的复制品，而且多莉的音乐似乎时刻在回荡。

那里有一座博物馆，展出了一些著名的镶钻服装，我在那里待了很久，脸紧贴着保护玻璃，

我被她那超越常人的个性、她的自我意识，以及最重要的是她对他人的关怀所吸引

观察着每一颗宝石和每一道缝线。

在多莉乐园，我参观了她童年故居的复制品，从而了解了她的成长故事。七岁时，我震惊地发现，我以为自己了解的那个多莉·帕顿——那位浑身镶钻的乡村音乐女王——竟然是在那样一个小小的单间房子里长大的。

这些年来，我了解了更多关于她生活的事迹：她如何凭借决心摆脱贫困，如何在残酷的音乐产业中坚持不懈，以及她如何捐赠了数百万加元。

对我来说，多莉·帕顿是有史以来最伟大的美国人之一。她留下了令人难以置信的遗产，不仅作为乡村音乐的现象级人物和慈善家，而且作为我和我这一代许多人的榜样。她的歌曲将在我的心中继续回响。

节日参与者在阴雨连绵中尽情狂欢

大雨和风暴 导致雷丁和利兹音乐节 陷入混乱

戴维·康内特 (David Connett)

在经历了数周的阳光明媚之后，由于大雨和雷暴袭击了银行假期期间的音乐节，许多音乐迷在本周末面临着糟糕的天气。

英国气象局（Met Office）发布了周末黄色天气预警，雷丁、利兹以及其他现场音乐活动的参与者在周六准备迎接大雨，气象学家将其归咎于一个向东推进的低压系统。

该预警覆盖了从英格兰西南部、威尔士部分地区、中英格兰到英格兰东部和东北部部分地区的强降雨，有效期为九小时。环境署（Environment Agency）还向七个地区发布了洪水预警。

雷丁音乐节的组织者表示，周六晚上的领衔演出者是英国创作歌手 Raye，许多粉丝一直在与强风作斗争，并试图在演出间隙寻找遮蔽处。其他人则接受了不利条件，拒绝让糟糕的天气影响心情。

在切希尔郡戴雷斯伯里的 Creamfields 音乐节上，卡尔文·哈里斯 (Calvin Harris) 和 DJ Amelie Lens 是领衔嘉宾，大雨和严重的雷暴导致音乐节场地部分区域积水——它们在社交媒体上被戏称为“泥地节”（Mudfields）。

在周末到来之前，极端天气已经导致了一些停电和舞台关闭。周五晚上，YouTuber 团体 Sidemen 的成员 Vikkstar 透露，他的演出因大雨而被“关闭”。

暴雨也影响了利兹音乐节，Florence + the Machine 在周五进行了演出。

在最新的这场暴雨中，英国最大的基督教音乐节组织者在强风导致一块巨大的标牌坍塌并砸中下方人群后，取消了庆祝活动。

萨塞克斯郡警方表示，他们于周五下午接到报案，前往西萨塞克斯郡斯泰宁附近的 Big Church 音乐节现场。随后确认，一名来自东本恩的 41 岁男子在现场死亡，另有六人被送往医院，其中部分人头部受重伤。

音乐节组织者表示，他们对此次事件感到“心碎”，坎特伯雷大主教莎拉·穆拉利 (Sarah Mullally) 表示“悲痛和震惊”。她说道：“我为他的家人、朋友和亲人祈祷，愿他们在悲痛中获得慰藉。我为那些接受治疗的人以及照顾他们的医护人员祈祷。

我也为其他音乐节参与者、工作人员和活动组织者祈祷，愿他们能面对这些悲剧性事件。”

在利兹音乐节上，Florence + the Machine 领衔演出，狂欢者们在雨中遮蔽身体。盖蒂图片社 (Getty)

被描述为英国最大基督教音乐节的 Big Church 原定运行至周日。一名发言人表示，健康与安全执行局（Health and Safety Executive）正在调查该事件的相关情况。

独立音乐节协会（AIF）的约翰·罗斯特伦 (John Rostron) 表示，除了该基督教音乐节外，尽管天气恶劣，其没有任何成员取消活动。“我们的成员报告称，观众的反应不一。许多人在经历了如此惬意的夏天后，对下雨感到沮丧；但在经历了高温天气后对下雨的初步失望之后，许多人开始坚强起来，基本上在说：‘让我们克服它吧。这就是英国：天气随时会变。’然后他们就继续参与其中。”

“奇怪的是，糟糕的天气实际上能带来更好的音乐节体验，因为人们意识到大家同在其中，并决心共度美好时光，从而在现场产生更强的纽带感。”

Meta称TikTok和YouTube也必须实施儿童保护措施

他表示，AIF会就成员应投保哪些保险提供建议，以帮助他们应对因洗刷（washout）而带来的财务挑战。

帕特里夏·克拉克 (Patricia Clarke) 技术编辑

Meta上周在《纽约时报》、《华盛顿邮报》和《洛杉矶时报》上刊登了整页印刷广告，敦促其竞争对手采用针对青少年的新安全标准。

这一不同寻常的呼吁是在这家运营Instagram和Facebook的科技公司与美国47个州达成一项价值高达$17.1bn的结算协议之后提出的。此前有指控称，该公司故意设计平台以让儿童上瘾。Meta在加利福尼亚州的听证会上并未承认有错。

Meta去年的营业利润超过830亿美元，这笔罚款将分十年支付。Meta表示，如果遭遇法律败诉，可能会给公司带来高达$1.74tn的损失，这大约相当于其全部市值。

在一些美国州，青少年在Facebook和Instagram上的每日使用时间将被限制在两小时内，并被禁止在午夜至凌晨6点之间使用这些应用。默认情况下，“点赞”数将被隐藏，且青少年将获得一个“非算法”馈送流，该流不会由Meta的推荐系统进行个性化定制。

Meta上周三告诉记者，青少年贡献的收入不足其总营收的1%，但暗示如果竞争对手不需要面对同样的规则，该公司将在财务上处于不利地位。

“Meta案向我们证明了自我监管是行不通的，”非营利组织反数字仇恨中心（CCDH）的创始人兼首席执行官伊姆兰·艾哈迈德（Imran Ahmed）表示。“我们需要的是法律的实施，以及有勇气对大型平台提起诉讼的监管机构或检察官。”

早先起诉社交媒体公司的尝试因触犯了Section 230, 该美国法律保护互联网平台无需为其用户发布的内容承担责任。但在Meta案中，原告主张平台的设计选择（如无限滚动）是公司的产品——因此，当这些功能造成伤害时，Meta应承担责任。在加利福尼亚州，还有超过3,000起针对Meta及其竞争对手的案件在等待审理。

关于安全设计选择的同样问题也开始被应用于AI聊天机器人。OpenAI已经面临数十起诉讼，指控ChatGPT的设计导致了自杀、自残和妄想发作，其中包括一名16岁少年的死亡。

就在Meta达成结算协议的一周多前，OpenAI推出了“青少年版ChatGPT”，这是一个为13至17.岁用户提供额外安全保障的版本。任何申报年龄在18,岁以下，或被OpenAI系统预测为青少年的用户，都会自动获得该受限版本。

OpenAI表示，其指南是在一个外部福祉与AI专家委员会、内部临床医生以及一个测试模型响应的医生网络的协助下制定的。该公司表示，它支持对这类保护措施进行独立审计。

英国政府计划禁止18岁以下未成年人使用主要旨在提供性关系的聊天机器人，限制其他聊天机器人中的性角色扮演，并要求强制休息。不过，这些措施仍在制定中。

维珍航空 假期

萨莉-安·鲍文最终如何为其侵害学生的罪行接受审判

加雷斯在老师开始与他发生性关系时年仅14岁。克洛伊·哈吉马塞乌（Chloe Hadjimatheou）报道了他为了获得信任而进行的长期斗争

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加雷斯（Gareth）对他童年中的某一天记忆犹新，清晰得如同水晶一般。那时他 14 岁，

正值 1988 年的春天。在学校的午休时间，他与朋友们一起前往一家咖啡馆。但他们对食物并不感兴趣，而是想炫耀他们的战利品：从一家便利店偷来的成人杂志。当他们簇拥而入时，加雷斯注意到一名顾客独自坐着。那是莎莉-安·鲍文（Sally-Anne Bowen），一名年轻的化学老师，芬奇利基督学院（Christ's College Finchley）的所有男孩都倾慕她。

在咖啡馆里，一名学生开始对着她挥舞一本色情杂志。这只是一次短暂的挑衅，虽然不恰当，但最终并无大碍，加雷斯的朋友们很快就溜回了学校。

但加雷斯（这不是他的真名）留了下来。这个 14 岁的少年滑进座位，坐在他认作鲍文小姐的女人对面，她当时 27 岁。在之前的几周里，他们一直一起乘坐往返学校的巴士。对于家庭生活处于动荡之中的这个青少年来说，这让他觉得自己很特别。“在那时，她是我的朋友，”他说。或者说，他当时是这么认为的。

鲍文要求加雷斯把手中的色情杂志交给她。他以为她会没收它。相反，她开始翻阅页面。“她翻到一页，指着那里说：‘我的长那样。’”他不明白，于是她进一步解释道：“我的阴部长那样。”

对于现在 53 岁的加雷斯来说，这一刻标志着他与老师的友谊演变成了长达数月且激烈的性关系，他声称这在学校里是一个“公开的秘密”。放学后的大多数下午，他们都在她的家里发生性关系。“我就像进了一家糖果店的孩子，”他说。

在随后的多年里，他向女朋友们吹嘘自己的第一次性经历是与学校里最漂亮的老师在一起的。直到很久以后，他才开始将那段关系定义为虐待。

大约六个月后，加雷斯与老师的私情突然结束，他的行为开始恶化。学校要求他离开，不久之后，他的母亲要求他搬出去。到 16 岁时，他成了无家可归者。他开始自残。到 23 岁时，他曾三次尝试自杀。

2014 年，当时已在 40 岁出头的加雷斯开始寻求正义。

这花费了十多年时间，但就在上周四，经过哈罗刑事法院（Harrow Crown Court）为期 14 天的审理，鲍文被裁定在加雷斯 14 岁时对其犯有六项猥亵袭击罪。她还被裁定对另一名 14 岁男孩犯有一项相关罪行。她将被列入性犯罪者登记册，法官告知她可能会被判处监禁。

作为审判的一部分，加雷斯拥有（且继续主张）任何性犯罪指控受害者所享有的法律匿名权。《观察家报》使用了我们在之前报道中使用的化名。

在判决下达后，加雷斯感到欣喜若狂。但他表示，需要几天时间才能接受陪审团相信了他的这一事实。

当他在 2014 年开始请求同龄人担任警方证人时，有些人否认对这段关系有任何记忆。另一些人则说他是个幸运的男孩，不应该抱怨。在法庭上，鲍文的辩护团队试图将此案描绘成一名学童对老师的痴迷导致了“失控”。

判决结果是对他的证明。“重要的事情并不多，但在生活中说实话很重要。而我说了实话，”他说。

自《幸运男孩》（Lucky Boy）于2025年2月首次发布以来，已有20多名女教师因与学生发生不当性行为或因儿童虐待罪被定罪而被吊销教师资格。

在美国一项针对媒体报道的350起校园性虐待案件的2019年研究发现，29%的加害者为女性。

“这就是这些人所做的事。而幸存者则终其一生都要承受这一切。” 加雷斯（Gareth）

当加雷斯的母亲在1988年发现这段关系时，她给学校打了电话。科学系主任兼鲍文（Bowen）的主管理查德·卢克（Richard Luker）记得当时在等待加雷斯母亲的电话——他说，她告诉他们，她担心儿子计划离家出走去国外与鲍文会面。

加雷斯说，在夏季学期快结束时，鲍文告诉他，她受到了高级职员的质询，对方称他们已知晓这段关系，且她的合同将不再续签。加雷斯的母亲说，学校向她保证鲍文再也不会从事教学工作。

在被要求离开学校后的最后一次反抗行为中，加雷斯说，鲍文带他参加了年终教职工聚饮。“她坚持要我去。我并不想进去，”他回忆道。他们像一对情侣一样坐在其他教师面前。“对我来说很尴尬，对他们来说也尴尬，对每个人都尴尬，”加雷斯说。但依然没有教师介入。

这对情侣在假期期间继续维持关系。1988, 8月底，鲍文告诉加雷斯她要去旅行。

加雷斯在情感上还没有能力应对这段关系及其突然的结束。他崩溃了，但与鲍文的关系使他陷入孤立，他仍然觉得必须通过否认这件事发生来保护她。直到他自己的养子达到14岁时，他才开始质疑这段关系并在网上搜索鲍文。她并没有停止教学。基督学院（Christ's College）为她提供了一份推荐信，让她能够继续执教数十年。

《幸运男孩》播客揭露了什么

2024, 春季的一次午餐期间，一位老朋友告诉我关于他一名旧校友的事。

“加雷斯”说他在14岁时曾被一名教师虐待。这在学校里是一个公开的秘密，但他发现根本找不到任何人愿意为发生的事情作证。他的指控遭到了否认和愤慨的抵制，法律诉讼也未能取得进展。加雷斯同意让我调查发生在自己身上的事情。结果就是《幸运男孩》——这是一个由Tortoise Media（现拥有《观察家报》）于2025年春季发布的四集播客。

调查发现：

• 加雷斯并非唯一的受害者。有广泛传闻称，萨莉-安·鲍文（Sally-Anne Bowen）至少与另外三名男孩有过性关系——其中一人确认他在就读六年级时与她发生过性行为。
• 另一名男子表示，在他14, 岁时，鲍文允许他和他的朋友们亲吻她并触摸她的乳房。这名男子的经历以及加雷斯的经历，构成了播客发布后对其发起的刑事诉讼的一部分。上周，鲍文被裁定七项猥亵罪名成立。
• 加雷斯就读学校的前职员认为，高级职员掩盖了真相，要求鲍文悄悄离开，而没有向当局举报她。
• 该校的一名前学生回忆起曾看到另一个男孩触摸鲍文的乳房。这名学生在审判期间是控方的关键证人。

克洛伊·哈吉马特乌（Chloe Hadjimatheou）

萨莉-安·鲍文在审判期间抵达哈罗刑事法院。上周，陪审团裁定她对两名前学生实施猥亵罪名成立。 PA Images / Alamy

2014年，加雷斯报了警。当警方将鲍文带回审讯时，她告诉警方他是个幻想家。随后警方启动了刑事调查，但由于缺乏证人，该调查于2016年被终止。

加雷斯不断申诉要求重启调查；他联系了教学监管局（TRA），该机构严肃对待了这些指控，并在2022年至2023年期间举行了一场听证会，加雷斯和鲍文均在会上提供了证词。

评审小组认为加雷斯的证词具有说服力，而鲍文对事件的描述则前后矛盾。TRA认定鲍文极有可能在自己家中与加雷斯发生了性关系，并禁止她从事教学工作。当这一禁令于2024年1月公开后，基督学院的前学生们开始转发此消息，试图猜测该学生的身份。一些可能的姓名被分享出来，由此可见，加雷斯并非唯一一个与老师发生性关系的受害者。

就在2024年的这个时间点，我开始报道这个故事。在接下来的几个月里，我采访了基督学院的前教职员工和学生，并证实了加雷斯的说法，即他与老师的私情在当时是一个公开的秘密。我的报道发现了至少另外两名声称与鲍文有过性关系的学生，以及认为学校掩盖了其行为的前员工。

2025年初，我发布了《幸运男孩》（Lucky Boy）——这是一个关于针对鲍文指控的调查类播客，同时也探讨了学校在保护加雷斯及其他学生方面的责任，以及社会未能严肃对待女性加害者侵害男性受害者的现象。

在播客发布几周后，警方对鲍文提起诉讼。她被指控违反了涉嫌犯罪发生时的1988年法律：共八项指控，涉及她与加雷斯及另一名前学生的关系，被指对16岁以下男孩实施猥亵袭击。

审判于今年8月10日在哈罗刑事法院（Harrow Crown Court）开始，有两名原告——加雷斯和另一名前学生（《观察者报》将其称为桑杰）。桑杰表示，鲍文曾在一家咖啡馆与他及其朋友见面，在那里她亲吻他们，并允许他们触摸她的乳房以及将手放在她的私处附近。

在为控方开庭时，玛德琳·沃尔夫承认，原告在参与性活动时可能表现得十分自愿。然而，鲍文是他们的老师：一个处于信任地位的成年人。沃尔夫表示：“通过将与他们的关系性化，并鼓励他们与她进行性行为，她利用该地位来满足自己的性快感。”

加雷斯在屏风后亲自出庭作证，告诉法庭，有人向他“灌输”绝对不能告诉任何人。他说他之所以顺从，是因为他觉得必须保护鲍文——正如他几十年来一直做的那样。沃尔夫告诉陪审员，这次虐待对他产生的持久影响是“毫无疑问”的。

另一名前学生托比亚斯·奥利弗表示，在一次课上，这名老师描述了性爱姿势，并谈到了给男朋友做“口交”。他还说，在其他场合，鲍文坐在一个高台上，抚摸自己的乳房，并张开或交叉双腿。

鲍文否认所有指控，辩方则主张加雷斯是一个痴迷于鲍文的幻想家。她表示，她认为有人针对她策划了阴谋，其中涉及《幸运男孩》系列，该系列的部分内容被提交作为证据。周四，陪审团裁定鲍文在八项指控中的七项成立。法官曾告诉

“她利用自己的职权来满足个人的性欲”——律师 玛德琳·沃尔夫（Madeleine Wolfe）

陪审团判定她在第八项指控（涉及第二名受害者）中无罪，因为该指控未达到猥亵袭击的认定门槛。

加雷斯对裁决表示满意。“但令人悲哀的是，随后反思会随之而来，”他告诉我，“她仍然是我第一个发生性关系的人。我无法改变这一点……我也没法重新来过，重新接受我的教育。”

他说，鲍文的虐待还影响了他的孩子的生活。“这就是这些人所做的事。而幸存下来的人必须在余生中承受这一切。”

对于辩方称他为“骗子和幻想家”的说法，他认为这是不可容忍的。

此次审判引发了人们对克赖斯特学院（Christ's College）保护机制的质疑。尽管我多次尝试与该学院沟通，但他们拒绝参与我的调查。他们既没有向加雷斯道歉，也没有就鲍文被禁职或被定罪发表任何声明。

在去年被联系时，鲍文表示，她认为加雷斯以及其他对她提出指控的男性需要精神病治疗。

《幸运男孩》（Lucky Boy）现已在所有播客平台上线。新剧集即将发布。

在与瑞秋·西尔维斯特（Rachel Sylvester）漫步于伦敦的一个社会开发项目时，重新就任的住房大臣表示，她贫困的童年赋予了她韧性和同理心，这正驱动着她去交付 100亿英镑 的新住房。

《观察者报》漫步 安杰拉·雷纳（Angela Rayner）

地图绘制：艾莉·温图尔（ELLIE WINTOUR）

布莱克希斯（Blackheath） 埃尔瑟姆宫（Eltham Palace）

“我拥有了超出我所有梦想的东西，但贫穷的感觉从未离开”

安吉拉·雷纳（Angela Rayner）拥有一种独特的政治超能力。“我在混乱中成长，”她说，“我不介意改变，我已经习惯了不稳定。”当大多数国会议员仍对脱欧年间的分裂感到创伤，被党魁的频繁更迭搞得晕头转向，并对社交媒体上的辱骂感到痛苦时，这位住房大臣却沉溺于不可预测性，并且发现接受赞美比接受侮辱更让她感到困难。

“我不习惯人们说：‘你太棒了，’因为这在我的童年时期根本不存在，所以对我来说这很不自然。这感觉有点自我陶醉，”她说。

她的生活曾异常艰辛。她在大曼彻斯特郡斯托克波特的一个市政住宅区长大，从10岁起就开始照顾患有双相情感障碍的母亲。雷纳在15岁时怀孕，16岁离开学校，没有任何学历证明。在她的孩子瑞安（Ryan）出生后，她那在情感上虐待她的父亲将她赶出了家门。她说，那是一个充满恐惧的童年。

但她讨厌那种“可怜的小安吉”的叙事，并拒绝成为一名受害者。她认为早年的艰辛让她变得更强大，成为一名更好的政治家。“这给了我一定程度的韧性和一些实际的生活技能。这随后让我能够拥有不同的视角，”她说，“我喜欢在移动、创造或做某些事情。我喜欢构建和做实实在在的事情。”

我们的步行将带我们参观伦敦东南部基德布鲁克（Kidbrooke）正在建设的一个社会住房项目。雷纳去年曾因印花税缴纳不足而辞职，在结清了一笔 4 万英镑 税单后，她现在回到了内阁。上周，她宣布其部门计划在社会住房和可负担住房上投入近 100亿英镑。对她而言，这一政治承诺具有深刻的个人意义。“我在贫困中长大，但我的市政住房一直都在，”她说，“从来没有被驱逐的问题。而现在，这么多人没有一个安全的家。我们迫切需要社会住房，并希望地方议会能参与其中。”

大多数专家认为，政府承诺在2029, 之前建设 1.5m 套新房是不可能实现的，但雷纳坚持认为她一生都在超越预期。“我认为（这个目标）很有挑战性，但我绝对决心要实现它。”

当我们走在基德布鲁克塔楼之间的街道上时，建筑工人仍在工作，尽管首批居民已经入住。许多工党部长都经历了从市政住宅区到内阁的跨越。但雷纳不同。国防大臣韦斯·斯特里廷（Wes Streeting）在剑桥大学毕业后进入政坛，而妇女与平等事务大臣布里奇特·菲利普森（Bridget Phillipson）则是通过牛津大学进入的。两人都拥有充满爱且有抱负的父母。

这位住房大臣在孩提时代被忽视且备受折磨。在住宅区的社会等级中，她的家庭属于底层阶级。她那不识字的母亲曾带回一罐狗粮，因为她以为那是炖牛肉。另一次，她给孩子们用脱毛膏当牙膏。那里没有拥抱，也没有睡前故事。

“我认为情感上的匮乏留下的伤疤更持久，”她说，“我的GCSE（英国中考）成绩不好，但这并不是因为我没能力通过考试。而是因为我当时面临太多其他挑战，所以我没觉得考试有意义。那是给别人准备的，不是给我准备的。”

当她听说北部城镇那些成为诱拐团伙受害者的少女时，雷纳认为那原本可能是她。“我在所有错误的地方寻找情感支持。这就是为什么我最终成了青少年母亲。我想被爱，而我当时认为的爱并不是爱。我随时都在街上游荡，让自己处于非常危险的境地。我是一个脆弱的青少年，在世界上寻找认同感，但我很倔强。”

[...OMITTED...]

她认为自己在某些方面很幸运，因为照顾母亲意味着她不会完全走上歧途。“我明白这不仅仅关乎我自己。我承担着其他孩子没有的责任负担。后来，当我怀孕时，我拥有了属于我自己的东西。我不再是毫无价值的，我正在孕育一个我将去爱护和养育的人类。”

当我们走进社区住宅区的中央庭院，孩子们正在秋千旁玩耍时，她描述了自己如何努力成为一名完美的母亲。“我会逛遍慈善商店，给他买最好的衣服。他每晚都洗澡，而我每周只能在奶奶家洗一次澡。”

有一天，她去了一家 Sure Start 中心参加育儿课程。“那个女人在谈论如何给孩子正向激励。我记得当时在想：‘我的天呐。’我一直以为做一个好家长的标准就是确保瑞安（Ryan）有最好的尿布、最好的食物和规律的就寝时间。我从未陪他玩过，

因为没有人陪我玩过。我从未说过：‘你做的太棒了。’这并不是因为我不想做一个好妈妈——而是我家族几代人延续下来的模式。”

雷纳（Rayner）表示，她的故事证明了政治家能够对人们的生活产生持久的影响。“我不希望这听起来像蒙提·派森（Monty Python）的那个小品——‘我的贫穷比你的贫穷更糟糕’。我不会用里氏规模来衡量自己。我尝试做的是思考，在我最需要帮助的时候，甚至在我还是个孩子、还不知道自己需要什么的时候，是什么帮助了我？是什么鼓励了我，又是什么阻碍了我？我将关于我自己、我的朋友、我的童年以及我作为青少年母亲的那些年岁中的经历带入政府，并询问：我们如何赋能并支持人们？”

她希望年轻人明白，通往成功的道路有很多条。“我不是那种学术型学习者。我是职业技能型学习者，我认为这就是为什么我在政治领域能取得成功，因为你可以上大学，但政治关乎的是人，”她说。“你可以阅读数据，可以学习某些知识，但与人打交道的职业天分与一个 PPE（哲学、政治和经济学）学位同样宝贵。我的教育来自生活。”

“感觉我现在真正有机会看到我所开启的事业得以交付。”在伦敦东南部，安杰拉·雷纳（Angela Rayner）在从后座议员回归后表示。

“你不会希望下议院里全是安杰拉·雷纳这样的人，那将很糟糕；但同样，你也不希望下议院里全是雅各布·里斯-莫格（Jacob Rees-Mogg）这样的人。”

雷纳在学校时曾被欺负，因为她的头发总是乱糟糟的，而且穿着奶奶买的丑陋的钢头靴，因为那种鞋耐穿。“我真的感觉到我的贫穷非常显眼，”她说。现在，她的头发总是整洁无瑕，她已经数不清自己有多少双鞋了。在我们的散步中，她穿着一双小猫跟高跟鞋，与她的红色丝绸连衣裙完美搭配。

“我对自己的外表感到自豪，”她说。“我认为，如果你经历过贫困，然后突然能够供养自己和家人，这就是你会尝试去做的事情。我的工人阶级朋友们拥有最大的电视机——而我一些出身高贵的朋友甚至没有电视。”

她认为自己属于中产阶级吗？她仍然渴望超市自有品牌的火腿和罐装鸡肉酱。她的孩子们认为这“令人作呕”，但这让她想起了童年。“我知道我拥有的特权，”她说。“但我明白当你努力工作，然后冰箱坏了，而你又没有任何信用手段去购买时是什么感觉。我知道不得不忍饥挨饿时的挑战。”

“那么我是中产阶级吗？我知道我现在拥有的比我年轻时梦寐以求的要多，但贫困的感觉永远不会离开你。

你知道这种事可能会发生，而这给了那些出身贫寒的人一种动力和一种程度的恐惧。”

至于情感匮乏，雷纳表示，她现在比年轻时“更能接受”爱。“我训练自己对自己更温柔，”她说。“一个人是可以成长的。我算是一个完成品吗？我可能不像某些人那样感性，但我肯定有所进步。”她尽量不去理会那些网络喷子。“我不需要人们说我很出色来获得满足感，也不需要人们告诉我我很糟糕、很愚蠢、不该出现在这里，因为我知道我不愚蠢。我知道我有自我价值，我知道我尽了最大努力，我也知道自己并不完美。”

在她被拍到在充气橡皮艇上抽电子烟后，攻击接踵而至。“那张照片拍得不是很好，但有大量的人表示：‘我从未觉得有哪个政治家能如此代表我，’”雷纳说。“我认为政治领域拥有不同背景的人是一件好事……你不会希望下议院全都是安吉拉·雷纳这样的人——那将很糟糕——但同样，你也不希望下议院全都是雅各布·里斯-莫格这样的人。”

当我们继续沿着精心打理的花坛小径前行时，雷纳说她自己才是最严厉的批评者。“当我觉得自己的表现低于标准时，我会感到格外难受。我对自己的要求很高，而对其他人的要求则较低。”

去年9月，在被曝出她在霍夫的一套公寓印花税缴纳不足后，她辞去了工党副党魁和副首相的职务。今年5月，英国税务海关总署（HMRC）认定她并非故意避税，但她对自己犯下了一个她坚称是真正的“错误”而感到愤怒。

“那次经历让我非常谦卑。我在反对党中度过了近10年，在政府中工作了14个月，然后突然之间，我得休息了。那种挫败感来自于我觉得自己辜负了自己。我必须原谅自己。我没有想‘是谁这么做的’，我想的是‘我让我的孩子们上了新闻’。但你知道吗？我的孩子们看到我并不完美，这是一件好事。我的孩子们为我感到自豪。他们对我比我自己对我还要温柔。我不希望人们觉得我虚伪，或者是个伪君子。”

在……之后重返内阁

摄影：汤姆·皮尔斯顿 (Tom Pilston)

在后座议员席上的这段时间给了她一个新的视角。“我有时间思考政府的表现如何。我们取得了压倒性的胜利，但随后情况并不太理想。现在我们有了新首相。我觉得我真正有机会看到我所启动的事项得以落实。我们必须证明，我们理解人们正感受到压力。”

自从基尔·斯塔默离开唐宁街 10 号后，她还没有和他交谈，但她给他发了一条信息。“我不认为基尔会为自己感到遗憾。我认为他会对自己的成就感到自豪，同时他也会意识到自己犯了一些错误，”她说。“我分享过多，而基尔分享不足。我认为挑战在于人们感觉变化不够快，而且出现了一些错误，比如[删减至]冬季燃料补贴。这不符合我们的价值观。”

安迪·伯纳姆是一个更好的沟通者。“我认为展现真实的自我很重要。如果人们能感觉到某种连接，他们会对一个人产生好感。”新首相的团队也比斯塔默的顾问更具包容性。“与政治家合作，认可内阁能带来的贡献，是一种非常重要的治理方式，”雷纳说。“安迪的风格就是这样做——确保每个人都被赋能并感到被重视。我认为，有时基尔身边的人会对政治家感到沮丧。”

当伯纳姆将社会护理列为优先事项时，她感到一种“自豪感的激荡”。她第一次见到他时，他还是个年轻的国会议员，而她则是一名护理工作者，作为 Unison 工会的车间主管为改善工作条件而奋斗。“然后，几周前，我坐在观众席中，听安迪·伯纳姆发表了一场充满激情的演讲，基本上是在对那个护理工作者说话。我对他说：‘我的天，这真是圆满地画了一个圈。’”

她不会透露任何变革应如何筹资。“相关的讨论正在进行中，显然届时会发布公告。但这不仅仅是如何支付资金的问题，因为目前我们是通过让人们住院来支付代价的。”

她也不会在税收是否会增加、市政税是否重新估值、印花税是否改革或财富是否重新分配的问题上表态。“我不会对税收进行推测。我们必须拥有一个平衡的经济，确保我们照顾好人们。”

当我们绕完庄园时，雷纳说她从童年中学到的教训是，国家可以带来改变。她最动情的时刻之一是看到瑞安拥抱他自己的女儿。看到他如此自然地将女儿抱起并告诉她他爱她，这让她流下了眼泪，因为她曾在 Sure Start 中心学习如何这样做。她的家庭世世代代陷入功能失调的循环之中。“我想：‘你打破了那个环节。’”

请在今天帮助支持我们的医疗团队

一名男子将一名受伤的孩子抱进位于加沙南部拉法印度尼西亚野战医院由无国界医生组织（MSF）运行的诊所。摄影 © MSF

伯森·加斯凯尔博士（DR BIRSEN GASKELL）是一位曾在加沙工作的麻醉师。

“我们抵达加沙时，立即面对的是挤满街道的庞大人群。你能听到轰炸声，能看到人们脸上的恐惧。

我们立即在医院投入工作。我们治疗了大量烧伤和创伤患者，其中大多数是爆炸受伤的人。其中有很多孩子。我从未见过这么多烧伤患者聚集在一个地方。

有些孩子营养不良，很明显许多人没有正常进食。在术后护理中，患者拥有良好的饮食以辅助组织愈合至关重要，但由于食物短缺，这根本无法实现。

我们每天接诊大约 180 名患者。我们没有能力将所有人送入手术室——有些手术必须在病房内进行。

作为一名麻醉师，我的职责之一是改善疼痛管理。由于医疗物资短缺，在这场冲突期间发生了许多在没有麻醉的情况下进行手术的事件。这种事情竟然发生了，简直不可思议，但事实确实如此。

有些患者让你难以忘怀。有一个九岁的女孩，在家里被炸时受伤，失去了部分下颌。她和她的母亲是家中唯一的幸存者。我每隔几天为她更换一次敷料，并给她进行抗生素治疗。有一天，她给了我一个拥抱，问她是否还能恢复正常的样子。我无法给她答案。重建手术确实能帮到她，但在加沙根本没有这类医疗服务。

加沙的情况正在恶化，人们的医疗需求在增加。那里有人不得不接受无麻醉的医疗手术，这简直是野蛮的。这是一个非人的局面。

然而，尽管有如此惨烈的杀戮和恐怖，无国界医生（MSF）的医院却是一片平静的绿洲。加沙工作人员的韧性给我留下了深刻印象。许多人失去了家人，住在帐篷里，但他们每天依然坚守在那里，帮助人们。

无国界医生在加沙所做的工作，现在比以往任何时候都更被需要。”

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每年，无国界医生的团队会进行数万次手术。从治疗战争创伤到紧急剖腹产和重建手术，我们的外科医生处于救命护理的最前线。

每年，全球的无国界医生团队共进行 134,000 次大手术。在我们工作的地区，对外科服务的需求从未如此之高。我们现在比以往任何时候都更需要您的支持，以便为人们提供救命的医疗护理。

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根除之战：在英国新的安全前线对抗细菌与真菌

构建英国抵御外来植物疾病防御体系的女性即将退休，但检测工作将继续进行

艺术家丹尼尔·麦克唐纳 (Daniel MacDonald) 描绘的 1845 年爱尔兰马铃薯饥荒，是由致病疫霉 (Phytophthora infestans) 真菌引起的。Fine Art Images / Getty

詹姆斯·塔珀 (James Tapper)

薰衣草本应能助眠，但它却让尼古拉·斯彭斯 (Nicola Spence) 夜不能寐。这是因为在令这位英格兰首席植物健康官担忧的众多病虫害中，包括快速传播的叶缘焦枯病菌 (Xylella fastidiosa)，而薰衣草正是这种细菌理想的宿主。

叶缘焦枯病尚未进入英国，但它已摧毁了意大利的橄榄林并向北蔓延。它将对英国的水果种植者以及本土的橡树和榆树构成严重威胁，因此皇家园艺学会 (RHS) 已禁止切尔西花展 (Chelsea Flower Show) 进口包括薰衣草在内的多种植物。

“如果在切尔西花展发现叶缘焦枯病，我们将不得不关闭整个展会，”斯彭斯说。“在筹备期间，我们有两名检查员在现场驻守两周，与 RHS 的生物安全团队一起检查所有物品。去年我们在一个推车的底部发现了一些薰衣草，是有人忘记了。”这些植物经过检测未携带疾病，但这一事件凸显了英国生物安全的脆弱性。

我们在英国生物安全的前线——肯特郡的普罗文德苗圃 (Provender Nurseries) 会面。这里是向园艺中心和景观设计师提供植物和树木的主要种植商和分销商，同时也是动物与植物健康局 (Apha) 的一个检查点。货车直接从英吉利海峡港口驶向这里，在安全的仓库内卸下植物——甚至地面都经过特殊密封——以便官员检查。

植物健康和环境现在被认为是英国国家安全不可或缺的一部分。这不仅是为了确保叶缘焦枯病不会渗透进英国的花园，也是为了确保病虫害和真菌不会摧毁农作物，就像 1845 年导致爱尔兰马铃薯饥荒的致病疫霉 (Phytophthora infestans) 那样。

威胁的种类极其繁多。一个走丢的薰衣草托盘看似微不足道，但在美国，一种由洞穴探险者靴子带入的疾病正在摧毁农业。大约 20 年前，从乌克兰返回的洞穴探险者意外引入了破坏性假真菌 (Pseudogymnoascus destructans)。它导致北美几种蝙蝠患上白鼻综合征，导致部分种群至少 90% 的个体死亡。通常被蝙蝠捕食的甲虫、毛虫和其他农作物害虫因此大量繁殖，导致美国农民将杀虫剂的使用量增加了 30% 以上——这一因素可能与婴儿死亡率上升有关。

更令英国安全部门担忧的是病原体被蓄意引入的可能性。去年，一对中国夫妇在美国被捕，据称他们走私了一种摧毁小麦的真菌，当地律师杰罗姆·戈贡 (Jerome Gorgon) 将其描述为“潜在的农业恐怖主义武器”。1989 年，据报道巴西巴伊亚州南部的一种可可植物疾病是被蓄意引入以攻击种植园主的。

“反恐和国土安全网络担心植物产品可能构成风险，”斯彭斯说。“我们还没有看到植物病虫害被用于蓄意释放，但这显然是我们关注的事情。”

去年，一些英国住户在邮寄中收到了来自中国的神秘种子包。斯彭斯在 Apha 的团队发现这些种子是无害的——显然是“刷单诈骗”的一部分，卖家利用配送记录作为销售证据，以便在网上发布虚假评论——但她说，“这类事情可能会凭空出现”，“如果你有意传播某种东西，这就是一条路径。”

像叶缘焦枯病这样的自然威胁更为紧迫，且其类型和多样性在不断增加。斯彭斯是首任首席植物健康官，该职位是在应对白蜡树枯死病（一种将杀死英国多达 80% 白蜡树的真菌疾病）后于 2014 年设立并任命的。

她将于周五退休，她离开的这个机构已从 100 名检查员增长到约 400 名，分布在英格兰各地的边境管制点。她十年前启动的风险登记册已从 600 种增加到 1,400 种害虫和疾病，且每月评估多达 10 种新威胁。她的继任者尚未公布。

“在过去的 30 年里，影响植物和树木的害虫和疾病数量确实有所增加，”斯彭斯说。“这是由气候变化驱动的，因为一些害虫和疾病现在一旦到达这里就能生存下来。”更温和或更潮湿的冬季让一些原本会死亡的害虫得以幸存。

未经请求的种子包和进口病染植物是两种途径，但除此之外还有其他途径。

尼古拉·斯彭斯是英国首任首席植物健康官，于 2014 年被任命。

斯彭斯列举了木质包装——尤其是木质运输托盘——搭便车的昆虫、从法国随风飘来的真菌孢子，甚至包括进口家具。

斯彭斯说，这其中包括“来自信誉良好的家具零售商的床头板”。“你把它拆开，就会发现里面到处都是天牛，它们可能会侵入我们的本土树木。”

将疾病拒之门外似乎是一项不可能的任务，但斯彭斯表示，在林业委员会的帮助下，边境检查和环境监测降低了风险。

“我们甚至在使用探测犬，以及依靠公众的留意，”她说。“我们有直升机、无人机——我们每年在数英里的森林上空飞行并拍摄林冠照片。我们使用带有光谱过滤器的卫星，它可以识别出病染的植物或树木、其物种以及是否处于压力状态。然后我们派遣人员或探测犬[去检查]。”

“我们更希望林地能得到管理，因为这样我们就能尽早发现害虫和疾病的预警，”斯彭斯说。“我们在一些被忽视的、野化（wilded）的区域发现了某些害虫和疾病。”在英格兰东南部，Apha 的直升机发现了树木受损的情况，这证明了八齿云杉皮蠹的存在，这种昆虫钻入树木并最终将其杀死，在再野化（rewilded）区域造成破坏。

前提是检查员或探测犬能够接触到那棵树。她说，一个新兴的问题就是再野化。

“[但]那些地方无法进入。所以我们知道它们在哪里，但却无法到达。”

在本周离职后，身为英国皇家园艺学会（RHS）信托人的斯彭斯将“花更多时间陪伴植物、树木”以及照顾它们的人。在明年的切尔西花展上，她将成为一名无忧无虑的参观者——而另一个人则会为了薰衣草而彻夜难眠。

天生的杀手

白蜡树枯死病 一种真菌疾病， 2012年正式在 英国被检测到，将导致 英国多达80%的 白蜡树死亡

Xylella fastidiosa 这种细菌摧毁了意大利的橄榄林，目前尚未在英国出现，但 Apha 正采取预防措施

白鼻综合征 真菌 Pseudogymnoascus destructans 杀死了北美的蝙蝠种群，导致破坏农作物的昆虫数量大幅增加

爱丁堡喜剧奖得主称其归功于《周六夜现场》

克里斯·坎特里尔在第四次获得提名后获胜，现在感觉自己像下一代表演者的“父亲”

约翰·辛普森

今年爱丁堡边缘艺术节最高奖项的得主将此次获胜归功于他在《周六夜现场》（Saturday Night Live）英国版的工作。

42岁的克里斯·坎特里尔（Chris Cantrill）凭借其作品《再野化》（Rewilding）获得了Audible最佳喜剧表演奖。这是一部模仿侦探推理剧的作品，大致基于坎特里尔在诺森伯兰郡农村的生活以及西考莫峡谷树（Sycamore Gap tree）被砍伐的事件。这是他第四次获得该最高奖项的提名。

该奖项已举办45年，被誉为“喜剧界的奥斯卡”，往届得主包括弗兰克·斯金纳（Frank Skinner）、史蒂夫·库根（Steve Coogan）、珍妮·埃克莱尔（Jenny Eclair）和罗斯·马塔费奥（Rose Matafeo）。

坎特里尔在昨天登台前七分钟得知自己获奖，他表示为《周六夜现场》英国版撰写剧本是一项新挑战，这不仅对该剧有帮助，也提升了他在今年边缘艺术节上的表演。

“（《周六夜现场》）是我做过最紧张的事情之一。这是一次真正精彩的经历，但它绝对像一台机器。”

“这份工作的伟大之处在于它让你不断思考、发展和学习。而《周六夜现场》正是如此。我注意到，它让‘傻气’回归，人们真的在尝试新东西。”

今年，该电视节目在边缘艺术节上具有显著且受欢迎的影响力，包括帕迪·杨（Paddy Young）、安妮亚·马利亚诺（Ania Magliano）和拉里·迪恩（Larry Dean）在内的明星都带来了演出。另一位编剧奥马尔·巴达维（Omar Badawy）也获得了最佳喜剧表演奖的提名，而另一位编剧洛娜·罗斯·特林（Lorna Rose Treen）则是获得Audible评审团奖的团队成员，该奖项授予最能代表“边缘艺术节精神”的表演者或组织。特林领导了一个由60名喜剧演员组成的阵容参加名为“One Joke”的慈善活动，旨在让这些喜剧演员讲述尽可能

令人抓狂的观众

上图：克里斯·坎特里尔（Chris Cantrill）凭借《再野化》（Rewilding）获得 Audible 最佳喜剧表演奖，该剧是对悉卡莫峡谷树被砍伐事件的推理讽刺剧。右上图：《周六夜现场》英国版中对巴德诺克（Badenoch）和法拉奇（Farage）的恶搞。 Rebecca Need-Menear, Sky UK Ltd

今年爱丁堡边缘艺术节的表演者表示，观众的行为比以往任何时候都更具挑战性。

单口喜剧演员亚历山大·本内特（Alexander Bennett）表示，场馆工作人员给他看了一段视频，“视频中一名男子在小型演出第二排，在演出中途[似乎在]吸食可卡因。”美国喜剧演员迈克尔·约翰·西谢夫斯基（Michael John Ciszewski）表示，一名坐在前排的观众在他表演的情绪高潮处接听了 FaceTime 电话，另一名观众则因为醉得太厉害而干扰演出。一名观众表示，这是她在参加 20 年边缘艺术节以来见过的最糟糕的行为。

佐伊·沃尔费尔德（Zoe Wohlfeld）的个人喜剧名为《狗之葬礼》（Dog Funeral），她说道：“前排的一位女士拿出了几根针。我问：‘你在织毛衣吗？’她回答：‘我在钩编。’”

在的一小时内尽可能多地讲笑话。她的长期表演搭档乔纳森·奥尔德菲尔德（Jonathan Oldfield）主持了当晚的活动。

“因为与 SNL 的联系，这次艺术节对我来说非常不同，”坎特里尔说。“突然之间，我在整个艺术节期间有了这么多‘不听话的孩子’，我完全投入到他们的生活中，希望他们不惜一切代价取得成功。在整个边缘艺术节期间，我感觉自己像个父亲。而其中一些人才刚刚起步。”

来自西约克郡布拉德福德的坎特里尔曾作为“愉悦香肠”（Delightful Sausage）组合的一员（搭档为艾米·格莱德希尔 Amy Gledhill）两次获得该奖项提名。来自赫尔的格莱德希尔在 2024. 年获得了最佳喜剧表演奖。坎特里尔表示，之前的提名让他从一份办公室工作转变为全职从事喜剧事业，并补充说，获奖的感觉还没有完全真实起来，在昨天的演出结束后他流泪了。

“我一直撑住了，”他在谈到表演时说，“但在最后我只是说：‘真的很抱歉，我忘了感谢我的父母，’然后我就崩溃了，所有人都哭了。”

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“别给他画个美国式脑袋”：伊恩·弗莱明对漫画版邦德的指令

大卫·巴内特 (David Barnett)

随着寻找新任詹姆斯·邦德的竞争日益激烈，导演丹尼斯·维伦纽瓦 (Denis Villeneuve) 最好留意这位超级间谍创作者在近期重新面世的信件中给出的建议：不要选一个拥有“美国式”脑袋的演员。

在收购米高梅 (MGM) 制片厂后，亚马逊 (Amazon) 现在成为了 007 电影系列的拥有者，关于谁将接替丹尼尔·克雷格 (Daniel Craig) 担任这位获准杀人的英国特工的公告预计即将发布。但在肖恩·康纳利 (Sean Connery) 于 1962, 登上大银幕之前，原著作者伊恩·弗莱明 (Ian Fleming) 就批准了一套以邦德为主角的报纸连环漫画。

格拉斯哥出生的艺术家约翰·麦克拉斯基 (John McLusky) 在 1958 和 1966, 之间为《每日快报》(Daily Express) 的连环画改编了弗莱明的故事，为这位在 1953. 《皇家赌场》(Casino Royale) 中首次亮相的特工提供了首次视觉呈现。在弗莱明的许可下，他随后将所有 12 部邦德小说中的每个场景逐字逐句地绘制了出来。麦克拉斯基于 2006 年去世，享年 83 岁。

最终，麦克拉斯基笔下的邦德形象与康纳利惊人地相似——据称这帮助该演员获得了他在七部电影中饰演的角色。但在第一部连环画印刷之前，弗莱明对角色的呈现方式有一些想法。

在整理父亲的遗物时，麦克拉斯基的儿子肖恩 (Sean) 发现了一组艺术家、弗莱明以及当时负责改编故事的《每日快报》文学编辑安东尼·赫恩 (Anthony Hern) 之间的信件。

在看到改编的第一稿后，弗莱明写信给赫恩，认为“你的艺术家在简化邦德形象方面有了一个极好的开始”，但他有几点想法。

最值得注意的是，弗莱明写道：“总的来说，我认为艺术家应该避免给邦德画一个美国式脑袋和鸭子般的发型。”他甚至请另一位艺术家画了一张草图，展示他设想中邦德的样子。

弗莱明还对连环画中小说其他形象的呈现进行了细致的指导，建议邦德的上司 M “不应佩戴印章戒指”，且 007, 本人 “不应看起来如此垂头丧气”。

他认为“S [邪恶间谍组织 SMERSH] 的头目看起来像个傻瓜”，并希望首席反派勒希弗 (Le Chiffre) 看起来 “更像个恶棍。也许如果你给他画一对圆圆的、瞪大的眼睛，并把嘴角向下压一点，会有所帮助。”

这些信件和草图将在伦敦的 A Gallery 展出，该画廊一直展出并交易麦克拉斯基的连环画艺术作品。画廊所有者弗雷泽·斯科特 (Fraser Scott) 表示：“麦克拉斯基的插画在视觉上讲述了弗莱明笔下的邦德故事，这与电影中的故事大相径庭，因为它更侧重于人物塑造。这些信件让我们洞察到约翰·麦克拉斯基与伊恩·弗莱明之间为期八年的合作是如何开始的，以及弗莱明在故事视觉呈现方面最关注的是什么。”

“约翰·麦克拉斯基的画作促成了肖恩·康纳利的选角。我们希望目前正在为邦德选角的人能审视这些信件和画作，因为如果有人应该对邦德的外貌拥有发言权，那一定是他的作者，以及他授权为邦德赋予面孔的插画师。”

Ladbrokes 赔率显示，卡勒姆·特纳 (Callum Turner) 以 2 / 1 领先竞争者，随后是哈里斯·迪金森 (Harris Dickinson) 的 12 / 1 和雅各布·埃洛迪 (Jacob Elordi) 的 15 / 1。他们的脑袋是否具有“美国味”尚待确定。

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“这就像一种疾病”：德国祖母们准备与极右翼 AfD 展开战斗

一个由“祖母们”（Omas）组成的活动团体决心通过抗议和咖啡聊天策略来争取人心，以阻止这个民粹主义政党在下周夺取其在德国首个联邦州的控制权。鲁斯·迈克尔森（Ruth Michaelson）从奎德林堡报道

“我们就是未来，”德国极右翼的明日之星向数千名痴迷的群众宣布。一位父亲将年幼的女儿举在肩上。其他人挥舞着德国国旗——其中一面与俄罗斯三色旗缝在一起。附近站着纹有新纳粹图案、皮革背心上饰有铁十字勋章的摩托车手，以及穿着印有“民族自豪感”和“自由是我的天赋权利”字样 T 恤的年轻人。

一些人远道而来，参加在德国东部风景如画的小镇奎德林堡举行的竞选集会。他们 all 都是为了见 35 岁的乌尔里希·西格蒙德（Ulrich Siegmund），他是竞选萨克森-安哈尔特州州长的极右翼候选人，最近被《镜报》（Der Spiegel）描述为“德国最危险的人”。

西格蒙德宣称历史性的胜利近在咫尺。民调证实了这一点：他所代表的德国选择党（AfD）被预测将在 9 月 6 日的萨克森-安哈尔特州议会选举中赢得绝对多数，这意味着自第二次世界大战结束以来，一个极右翼政党即将首次控制一个德国联邦州。该党在萨克森-安哈尔特州的竞选纲领包括：驱逐移民、仅向被视为爱国主义的组织提供国家资金、对任何诽谤德国历史或文化的人处以监禁、放宽枪支法律以及限制展示 LGBTQ 旗帜。

“在这里，没有人是极右翼——每个人都完全正确，”西格蒙德对人群说道，引发了欢呼。

该党的受欢迎程度并不局限于萨克森-安哈尔特州：在 9 月 20 日于东部梅克伦堡-前波美拉尼亚州举行的另一场地方选举前，该党在民调中排名第一。民调还显示 AfD 在全国范围内领先。

“西格蒙德知道如何操纵人们。他是一个伟大的推销员，而他的产品就是 AfD，”活动人士英格丽德·普芬尼格（Ingrid Pfennig）表示，该党拥有近三分之一的得票份额，这意味着如果明天举行选举，它将成为组建政府的首选。

这一切都给总理弗里德里希·梅尔茨（Friedrich Merz）及其中右翼的基督教民主联盟（CDU）带来了麻烦，因为德国阻止主流政党与 AfD 进行任何形式合作的“防火墙”似乎正处于崩溃边缘。

总理的一位关键盟友、萨克森州州长迈克尔·克雷奇默（Michael Kretschmer）最近表示，那些仍在谈论防火墙的人“没有认清时代的迹象”。萨克森-安哈尔特州的一位 CDU 市长宣布向 AfD 捐款 €10,000，并补充说他将投票给该党。几年前，这两起事件都会被视为丑闻——但现在不再如此。

西格蒙德及其忠实追随者体现了该党的激增。在奎德林堡，许多参加者穿着印有他微笑面孔或仅有其签名的 T 恤。一名 22 岁的学生拿着一本《镜报》请求西格蒙德签名；这位政治家在网上以每本 €1,000 的价格出售签名本。

“他就像个流行明星，”支持者贝尔恩德·斯齐斯卡（Bernd Szyska）说。他对任何人认为西格蒙德危险的想法嗤之以鼻。斯齐斯卡反而将他视为一张新鲜、有魅力的面孔——一个能够激发更多支持的人。西格蒙德在奎德林堡告诉群众，无论投票箱中发生什么，胜利都将属于他们。“蓝色浪潮无法被阻止，”他说道，指的是 AfD 的标志性水蓝色。

然而，一些人正拼命想要遏制这股浪潮。

在萨克森-安哈尔特州首府马格德堡的一家咖啡馆里，英格丽德·普芬尼格（Ingrid Pfennig）对即将到来的 AfD（德国选择党）统治感到恐惧。她说，西格蒙德（Siegmund）“看起来可能像每个母亲梦寐以求的女婿，但对我来说，这个男人真的很危险。他学习过商业心理学，所以他知道如何操纵人们……他是一个出色的推销员，而他的产品就是 AfD。”

普芬尼格的几个家人非常渴望购买西格蒙德所推销的东西，这造成了隔阂。她对他们对 AfD 的忠诚感到震惊，而他们则对她参加“反对极右翼奶奶会”（Omas gegen Rechts）的活动嗤之以鼻。该组织大约有 50,000 名成员，其中许多人是示威活动的常客，并进入学校警告人们

德国极右翼的历史。

这些“奶奶们”还领导了要求当局调查该党是否违反宪法并旨在将其禁绝的努力：法律专家在发现该党反对民主基础、针对政治对手且不尊重其所蔑视的人（尤其是移民）的人格尊严后，支持政府进行审查。

普芬尼格长期以来将她 86 岁的姨妈视为姐姐。现在两人几乎不再说话。普芬尼格说，她的姨妈随口宣布将在德国 2025 年大选中投票给 AfD，“立刻让我内心某些东西破碎了”。她们曾经亲密的关系现在被简化为在生日和节日时的简短电话；普芬尼格厌倦了听她的姨妈说希望将外国医生从萨克森-安哈尔特州驱逐出去（而医疗系统正迫切需要他们），或者听她建议普芬尼格关注健康而非社会活动。

普芬尼格、她的儿子安德烈亚斯（Andreas）和儿媳斯特菲（Steffi）也因为观点问题与斯特菲的父母日益疏远：普芬尼格说，在本月早些时候的一个儿童生日派对上，“没有一个人提到政治——这成了房间里的大象（心照不宣的禁忌）”。

普芬尼格对西格蒙德的魅力、该党对移民的仇恨以及对过去的怀旧感到厌恶，尤其是对 1949 年至 1990 年作为国家存在的原德意志民主共和国（GDR）——即东德——的怀旧。AfD 成员在集会上唱过其国歌，而像希斯卡（Szyska）这样的人则希望与莫斯科建立更深层的联系。

1989 年柏林墙倒塌时，普芬尼格已经 30 多岁了，她最初对统一的承诺持怀疑态度。但尽管随着工厂和企业的崩溃，大规模失业席卷了前东德，她还是找到了工作。对她来说，认为过去更好的想法是一种虚构——认为驱逐移民能让这段光辉的过去回归的想法同样如此。

她担心在萨克森-安哈尔特州生活和工作的估计 193,000 人（主要来自乌克兰和叙利亚）：其中一些人在上周举行罢工，以证明他们对劳动力市场至关重要。对于普芬尼格来说，这是个人经历；她的父母在第二次世界大战期间为了逃避推进的俄罗斯军队，“仅穿着身上的衣服”，逃离东欧来到马格德堡郊外的一个村庄。尽管两人都是德国人，但普芬尼格看到了难民的污名是如何挥之不去的。

2013 年，这促使她开始在当地的难民办公室工作，以帮助新到来者更好地融入。

右图为 AfD 政治人物乌尔里希·西格蒙德（Ulrich Siegmund）本月早些时候在奎德林堡进行竞选活动。 Jan Woitas / dpa Picture Alliance / Avalon

佩戴“反对极右翼奶奶会”（Omas gegen Rechts）徽章并持有标语的抗议者。 Joe Klamar, Ronny Hartmann / 最初的一份日间工作变成了她的生活，她现在成了许多人的首选求助对象，无论是见证新生儿出生还是帮助防止自杀企图。在她说话时，她的手机不断亮起，收到请求她帮助的信息流。“我成了所有人的英格丽德奶奶，”她说。

德国选择党（AfD）成立于2013年，随着对移民的敌意上升而兴起，并受到诸如2024年马格德堡圣诞市场袭击事件（导致6人死亡）等事件的推动，尽管当地当局表示袭击者是一名极右翼的伊斯兰恐惧症患者。该党的反移民言论对普芬尼没有起作用——因为正是这些人称呼她为“奶奶”。

她开始摆脱一生以来对政治的厌恶。2023年，当AfD在马格德堡举行党代会时，她在一次反抗议活动中看到了一个“奶奶们”（Grannies）的标牌，随即向其跑去。六个月后，她自豪地发短信告诉安德烈亚斯她加入了该组织。“终于加入了！”他回复道。

虽然“奶奶们”是AfD的No 1敌人，但其中许多人认为，梅尔茨领导的执政党基民盟（CDU）最终应承担责任。在她们看来，基民盟自去年上台以来就背弃了她们及其事业。总理主张进行大规模驱逐，试图以此吸引AfD的选票，但未能成功；同时，总理还阻挠了“奶奶们”推动政府开展调查的要求，以审查该极右翼政党是否因违反宪法而应被禁止。

去年，在针对其移民政策的抗议活动之后，基民盟反而屈服于AfD的压力，对“奶奶们”的资金来源发起议会调查，尽管她们从未获得过国家资助。但许多其他倡导民主的团体却被削减了国家资助——这一举动令极右翼势力欣喜若狂。

这使得萨克森-安哈尔特州的“奶奶们”在选举前陷入了尴尬的境地。活动人士表示，对基民盟进行策略性投票是阻止AfD的唯一方法。普芬尼的邮寄选票一直静静地躺在她的餐厅

“这些人被负面信息轰炸。他们脱离了现实” 抗议者卡琳·埃克斯纳（Karin Exner）

桌子旁，她正准备采取必要行动。而另一些人则无法忍受对梅尔茨（Merz）所属政党的厌恶。另一位来自马格德堡的“奶奶”马蒂娜·赫拉德斯基（Martina Hradsky）表示，她宁愿“砍掉一根手指”，也不愿投票给基民盟（CDU）。

随着选举日的临近，萨克森-安哈尔特州的“奶奶们”加强了外展活动。在一个阴沉的下午，在马格德堡市中心，一群奶奶在铺着花纹桌布的桌子上摆放起精致的瓷器、咖啡和纸杯蛋糕，希望以此吸引潜在的极右翼选民并说服他们改变主意。

一名轻声细语的女性坐在桌边，对面是卡琳·埃克斯纳，后者正熟练地剖析着德国选择党（AfD）的承诺。埃克斯纳无视了一个看到她们的桌子便开始辱骂的男人。另一位穿着抓绒衣、看起来垂头丧气的潜在 AfD 选民坐了很久，几乎没说话。“这些人被负面信息轰炸，”埃克斯纳说，“他们脱离了现实。他们很孤独——这就像一种疾病。”

普芬尼（Pfennig）解释了她们在咖啡聊天中的策略。“你得把环境布置得漂亮，用漂亮的杯子，”她说，“我们说咖啡免费，但我们需要听听您的意见：大多数人声称没时间，但最后你往往会和他们聊上半小时。”这些交流让普芬尼和“奶奶们”能够近距离观察公众对萨克森-安哈尔特州生活的不满，同时她们试图促使人们重新考虑，不要将 AfD 视为解决问题的唯一方案。

并非所有人都能被触动。在奎德林堡（Quedlinburg）西格蒙德（Siegmund）演讲的田野里，希斯卡（Szyska）表示，自从德意志民主共和国（GDR）结束以来，他已经几十年没有投票，也不关心政治。然而去年，他与妻子一起参加了一场 AfD 的集会，两人随后都成为了该党的支持者。这位身穿齐柏林飞船（Led Zeppelin）T恤的 74 岁老人尽管已退休但仍有一份兼职工作，对此他心存感激，但他对物价上涨和国家医疗服务的崩溃感到焦虑。

在柏林墙倒塌后的几十年里，希斯卡觉得政治家们忽视了像他这样偏远小镇的人。他不再阅读报纸，而是通过网络获取新闻：这加剧了一种狂热但并不准确的信念，即移民获得了他被拒绝获得的支持，并对他国向乌克兰提供军事援助产生不满。希斯卡补充说，AfD 可能和所有他所鄙视的政治家一样糟糕，但现在是时候看看这个政党在掌权后能做些什么了。

“人们说 AfD 是法西斯分子、纳粹，但在他们的集会上我从未听过类似的话——他们只是在说我想的事情，”他说，“无论如何，那是我们父母、祖父母那一辈的事——我们与此无关。”

林赛·克兰西的审判：关于母职，亦关于她三个孩子的死亡

随笔

一名“慈爱”的女性杀害了她的儿子和女儿，这起美国法院审理的案件引发了全国的分歧。她声称产后精神病导致了这场悲剧。梅根·诺兰（Megan Nolan）写道，陪审团目前正在决定是否认同这一说法。

一个家庭的噩梦是如何变成一个国家的公众议题的？在马萨诸塞州的普利茅斯，

林赛·克兰西（Lindsay Clancy）因在2023年1月谋杀其三个孩子的审判已经结束。她承认夺走了孩子们的生命，但以精神失常为由请求不被判定有罪，声称自己在产后精神病、药物过量以及所谓的医疗过失导致的精神病发作期间勒死了他们。

在1月的那天，当她的三个孩子死亡或濒死时，她企图自杀，导致其胸部以下永久性瘫痪。她当时的丈夫，也是三个孩子的父亲帕特里克·克兰西（Patrick Clancy），此后与她离婚并再婚，但他坚定地支持林赛对事件的描述。

在法庭上，她面色苍白，瞪大眼睛，在杀人细节被大声朗读时，她的表情在茫然与痛苦之间转换。现在，陪审团将决定她是以谋杀犯的身份在监狱中度过余生，还是作为一名被可怕疾病摧毁并失去一切的母亲，在州立精神病院中生活。

林赛·克兰西是受审者，但母职本身似乎也随她一同站在被告席上，接受所有人的审判。公众的审视、评论和投射如火山般爆发，对立的派系利用此案的细节来强化他们对母职普遍认知的信念。一方是克兰西的热情支持者，他们将她的悲惨故事视为社会对女性痛苦（尤其是产后痛苦）漠不关心的象征。另一方则是保守派激进分子，他们对任何向一名被他们视为冷血杀婴犯的女性表达的同情感到愤怒。对他们而言，对克兰西的支持是另一个标志，表明这个失去信仰的文化已经走上了歧路。

林赛和帕特里克·克兰西（上图），与道森、科拉和卡兰。上方为他们马萨诸塞州家外的纪念碑。Media News Group / Boston Herald / Getty

美国在利用极度脆弱的个体来演绎文化战争方面并不具有垄断地位，正如我们在英国媒体处理杰森·阿尔代（Jason Arday）案时所见。美国人在疯狂讨论那些具有争议的审判（尤其是涉及相貌出众的年轻女性的审判）方面也并非独一无二，正如我们在露西·莱特比（Lucy Letby）的审判中所见。

不过，美国是一个不寻常的国家，因为它允许审判过程被电视转播。这种时刻累积的细节——这种在外界看来可能近乎淫秽的过度透明度——

——始终让平民的痴迷关注呈现出一种不同的基调。O.J.辛普森的审判曾让这个国家陷入痴迷，并演变成某种超越单纯猎奇的事物，它代表并推动了

关于种族、名声和厌女症的对话。现在，在2026年的三伏天里，我们有了林赛·克兰西的审判，来激活我们对母职最深层的恐惧和感受。

我每天都被这个名字的无处不在所震撼：在咖啡店员工的交谈中，从我的出租车司机口中，以及在爱尔兰偏远地区那些平时根本不在意美国司法系统发生什么的家人的 Instagram 动态里。最近，我也听到了自己的声音。在随口讨论这件事时，我发现自己漫不经心地重复着一段很快被证实仅仅是传闻的消息——即帕特里克·克兰西（Patrick Clancy）与他的新妻子有了个孩子。需要说明的是，我并非在进行任何形式的批评。我当时是在和我的男朋友聊天，他是一名鳏夫，有两个年幼的孩子。我们都清楚，在决定丧亲者必须在多久之后才能被允许重新回归生活时，外界的评判和说教可以多么刻薄。

如果帕特里克·克兰西真的有了新宝宝，我会为他感到高兴。但当我核实时，我发现我所说的是不真实的，自从他的孩子去世后，他并没有生过任何孩子。我的这个小谎言，只是在审判过程中扩散并恶化的众多不实之词中的一个。

克兰西被普遍描述为一位慈爱的母亲，在她做出那些可怕的行为之后，一直享有强有力的支持。在 1 月 24 日的事件之后，帕特里克·克兰西在 GoFundMe 上发起了一项筹款，用于支付孩子们的葬礼费用，很快筹集到 100 万美元。在随附的呼吁信中，他这样写道他的妻子：“真实的林赛（Lindsay）是慷慨、充满爱心且体贴的。我现在对她唯一的愿望就是她能

林赛·克兰西（Lindsay Clancy），上图，在马萨诸塞州普利茅斯的审判现场。陪审团正在考虑其裁决。 Josh Reynolds / AP, Pool 下图，克兰西的支持者在审判期间聚集在普利茅斯高等法院外。 John Thlumacki / Boston Globe / Getty

我惊讶地发现，无论是在咖啡馆、出租车司机口中，还是在 Instagram 的帖子中，我如此频繁地听到林赛的名字

“以某种方式获得平静。”不仅是她的丈夫急于为她辩护，护理界的同事和身为母亲的同伴们也纷纷发声。

随着此案获得更多国家级媒体的报道，那些来自她真实生活和社区的人们所表达的共情关怀——这种相对局部且私人化的情感——演变成了一种广泛且抽象的支持，由 TikTok、Threads 等平台上的帖子和讨论所驱动。通常，那些对起诉克兰西感到最愤怒的女性，往往是自身也经历过产后精神障碍的人，她们觉得就像克兰西一样，自己曾寻求帮助却被轻视和贬低。

支持克兰西的女性们所遭受的痛苦，在她们看来与克兰西的痛苦相当。无论她们是否真的处于像克兰西那样做出极端行为的危险之中，但显而易见的是，有比我们愿意承认的更多的女性，曾在某个时刻感到自己已经彻底耗尽了

维持自己或孩子生存的能力。我一直知道自己不会拥有孩子的原因之一，就是我作为一个无法照顾自己的精神疾病患者的经历；我无法想象随后还要对另一个生命负责。

不久之后，一些支持帖子的基调从人道地关怀克兰西转向了一些奇怪的方向。阴谋论开始盛行，指责帕特里克应对这些杀戮负责，理由是他涉嫌忽视她的病情且育儿不力。或者，尽管克兰西已经做出了无可争议的供述，他们甚至开始暗示他才是实际的凶手，然后陷害他患有精神疾病的妻子。毕竟，他已经再婚了，不是吗？而且，顺便问一下，他是不是已经有了个新宝宝？

这些理论是由一种在案件面前仿佛无所不知的可能性所推动的，这是一种不体面的幸灾乐祸。一名评论者向另一名评论者夸耀，他们知道真相，因为他们听完了审判的每一秒钟。《真实主妇》明星丽莎·琳娜（Lisa Rinna）通过直播发表了她的裁决：“是帕特里克干的……不是林赛。是帕特里克干的。因为[我]听说，通常女性不会用掐脖子的方式杀人。”

克兰西至少有一次向丈夫透露过她的自杀倾向以及伤害孩子的想法。然而，当她迅速否认这些想法，告诉他她能够照顾好孩子时，他接受了这一点。当然，他会希望不相信她能做出如此恐怖的事，而她自己在那些没有被疾病完全吞噬的时刻，自然也不希望那是真的。在急性精神痛苦时期——即使是对像克兰西这样拥有特权且能清晰表达的患者来说——沟通中会出现一种裂痕，在这种状态下，直视另一个成年人的眼睛并承认自己无能为力这种平凡的尴尬感，就变得过于艰难。

大声说出你想要自杀、你正考虑伤害他人、你无法控制自己，在那个时刻变得不可能。毕竟，这并不是一天 24 小时每秒钟都在发生，对吧？那么，这真的算事实吗？内心会产生排斥。尴尬这种表面上如此微不足道的情绪，竟然能对抗生死之交的具体戏剧和浓烈的疯狂，这似乎很荒谬，但我们深受社会耻辱感的塑造，即使这会让我们付出生命的代价。有多少人因为这种微小的瞬间、错失的紧急机会而死去或人生脱轨？一篇《连线》（Wired）杂志的文章开头写道：“对于许多关注林赛·克兰西谋杀案的人来说，最主要的感触是，她的三个年幼孩子——5 岁的科拉、3 岁的道森和 8 个月大的卡兰——的死亡本可以被悲剧性地预防。”

正如在这次审判期间经常发生的那样。这些杀戮确实可能是可以预防的，但同样极有可能，在任何有意义的层面上，它们都是不可预防的。极有可能的是，如果它们没有在那天发生，也会在另一天发生。即便克兰西留在她的临时住院诊所里，只要她离开，悲剧依然会发生；无论采取多少种药物组合或禁药，最终都会导向这个同样可怕的结果。

看到这种观点被当作既定结论，让我感到不安，

并非因为她是个坏人，并非因为她的丈夫在她独自陪伴孩子时去吃了早午餐，也并非因为某种医生未能识别出的、能解决所有问题的神奇药物组合。而是因为一种恐怖且无法解释的疾病，其表现形式在事实发生之前无法、且不可能被准确预测。

要绝对避免这些死亡，唯一的方法就是违背克兰西的意愿将其无限期拘留，并且不允许她与孩子单独相处。虽然我们所有人——尤其是克兰西本人——会更希望发生这种情况，而不是最终发生的悲剧，但很难自信地断言，克兰西与医生之间的互动足以证明采取如此激进的措施是合理的。

当然，可怕的是，对这类激进措施的恐惧，正是为什么处于克兰西这种境地的女性不敢完全坦诚地表达她们想法之极端的原因；她们不希望孩子被夺走。克兰西离开住院诊所，是因为她必须为女儿的生日派对做准备。

陪审团现在将决定克兰西的罪责。未来，针对其医疗服务提供者指控其过失的民事索赔也将得到判定。一些支持者被对所发生之事的极度痛苦以及将个人痛苦投射到该情境中而蒙蔽，以至于他们无法接受一个他们同情且尊重的人，竟然能做出她承认所做出的行为。他们无法将一个爱孩子的女性形象与一个杀死孩子的女性形象统一起来。他们被迫创造出更整洁的虚假现实，在那些世界里，一个母亲必须在生命的每一刻都保持善良和健康，才被判定为值得拯救。

还有一些人对那种无法理解的恐怖之事的反应，是坚持认为只有邪恶的女人，而非病态的女人，才能做出这种事。他们的思维同样无法接受现实，必须将克兰西塑造为一个更容易被理解的恶棍。还有一些人则死守医疗记录，将其作为证明在某个地方一定有人该负责的证据。这三种方式都在挣扎着去适应那个最终无法忍受的真相，即某些事情，某些最糟糕的事情，永远无法被预防或解释。

在英国和爱尔兰，可以通过免费电话 116 123 联系撒玛利亚会（Samaritans）

意义构建者（The sensemaker）

中情局局长访问莫斯科揭示的东西方关系

唐纳德·特朗普上周三告诉一位保守派脱口秀主持人，他的中情局（CIA）局长前一天前往莫斯科的行程是“半常规性”的。

那么又怎样？这次访问绝非如此。约翰·拉特克利夫很少出国旅行。当他出国时，通常是为了传达一个信息，即美国在威慑潜在威胁方面是认真的，以防对手从其三军统帅的宣泄、国防部长皮特·海格塞斯的戏剧化表现，或是贾里德·库什纳和史蒂夫·威特科夫的软化措辞中产生了错误的印象。

这次行程的最后一程是从拉脱维亚乘坐 C-17 军用飞机抵达的，这引发了数日的猜测，并向记者提供了两种看似合理的简报。匿名的美国情报官员称，此次访问的目的在于：

警告弗拉基米尔·普京不要攻击北约，以及

敦促他面对入侵乌克兰失败的惨淡现实，转而寻求和平。

为何是现在？拉特克利夫及其工作人员担心，普京没有听到关于战争真相的汇报——这场战争已造成大规模军事伤亡，并给公民带来了通货膨胀和物资短缺——因此他更有可能在遭遇挫折时采取激进反击。他们具体担心他可能会试探北约的防御，以：

- 缓解因乌克兰僵局而面临的国内压力

- 惩罚支持基辅的西方盟友，以及

- 利用因伊朗长期冲突而导致的武器库存短缺。

关于这些武器。官员们表示，风险最高的弹药供应包括远程

弗拉基米尔·普京在俄罗斯海军导弹巡洋舰上。Gavriil Grigorov / 精准打击导弹和陆军战术导弹系统，以及短程“刺针”地对空导弹和如“爱国者”拦截弹之类的防空系统。战略与国际研究中心的一份报告称，美国在伊朗战争中使用了 1,060-1,430 枚“爱国者”导弹，导致军械库中仅剩 870 枚。

关于此次行程。美国已告知乌克兰，一个高级代表团将飞往莫斯科，并要求基辅在代表团离开前暂停对该市的袭击。据报道，拉特克利夫告诉俄罗斯同行，美国仍然致力于履行《北约条约》第五条，即如果其中一个成员国遭到攻击，要求所有成员国做出统一回应。

反应方面。克里姆林宫发言人德米特里·佩斯科夫告诉记者，拉特克利夫会见了俄罗斯情报官员，但没有会见普京，不过总统已收到汇报。他将关于袭击的担忧斥为“恐吓故事”，但表示俄罗斯正遭遇来自欧洲国家的“非常激进的政策”。

任务完成？特朗普在拉特克利夫返回后表示，普京“不会攻击北约领土”。

据称，欧洲官员更担心几年后发生俄罗斯袭击的风险，也许是针对其某个邻国发起一次闪电突袭，以回应人为制造的抗议活动，就像在克里米亚发生的那样。普京已经在通过疑似网络攻击和破坏海底电缆来测试欧洲的防御。

但德国马歇尔基金会的美国前高级情报官员 JC Lintzenich 告诉《华尔街日报》：“普京……不太可能在可能威胁到俄罗斯国家生存的行为上赌博”。

巡航控制。在上周英国宣布向乌克兰提供技术方案，以便其开始生产“风暴之影”远程巡航导弹后，俄罗斯外交部的一位发言人表示安迪·伯纳姆正在“玩火”。首相在基辅告诉记者，其回应是：“是谁点燃的火？”

克里姆林宫顾问安德烈·费多罗夫告诉 BBC，为乌克兰制造无人机的英国工厂可能会成为“未知来源”的目标。近期，位于意大利、保加利亚和爱沙尼亚的无人机及弹药生产工厂相继遭到原因不明的火灾和爆炸袭击。

另外，英国皇家海军负责人警告称，由于英国无法遏制俄罗斯的水下能力，不可避免地将发生“灾难性事件”。格温·詹金斯（Gwyn Jenkins）将军表示，俄罗斯的水下军事系统对保护水下基础设施构成了“真正的担忧”。

值得注意的是，最后一位已知访问莫斯科的美国中央情报局（CIA）局长是威廉·伯恩斯（William Burns），他于2021年11月访问莫斯科，敦促普京不要攻击乌克兰。俄罗斯在三个月后发动了入侵。 帕特里克·基德（Patrick Kidd）

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给伯纳姆先生的备忘录：不要指望你的部长们每周都像表演海豹一样鼓掌 安德鲁·劳恩斯利 (Andrew Rawnsley)

首相那套“能干”的说辞在公众中产生了反响，但随着下议院本周复会，他将面临一些严峻的考验。

人们经常说，而且几乎总是带着轻蔑的语气说，安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）是一个讨好者。一名首相的朋友反驳道：“好吧，总比相反要好。”他们说得有道理。政治家想要让选民开心并不是什么罪过。在民主国家，那些不讨好大众的人在高级职位上待不了多久。

自从他掌权以来，公众对政府的态度似乎变得更加愉快。近 18 个月以来，工党的典型民调支持率首次超过了改革英国党（Reform）。这并不能告诉我们关于下次选举将发生什么的特别有用的信息，但对于工党人士来说，这无疑是极大的鼓舞。我们今天发布的 Opinium 民调显示，自从他搬进唐宁街 10, 号以来，他的个人支持率有所上升，这在通常被视为“诅咒”的在任期内是一项罕见的成就。他是自新冠疫情初期以来得分最高的首相，并且在公众心目中作为国家领导人的首选方面领先于所有竞争对手。这是“鼓掌计分器”对他首相任期充满活力的开局所给予的奖励，这一开局以乐观的“能干”精神和夏季密集地发布旨在寻求掌声的政策公告为特点。

因此，这是一个积极的早期阶段，但正如他那些更冷静的盟友所承认的那样，这在某种程度上也是虚假的。内阁仅开过一次会，就在他任职之初，当时部长们以掌声欢迎他就任。给伯纳姆先生的备忘录：不要指望你的部长们每周都像表演海豹一样鼓掌。议会此前一直处于休会状态，而威斯敏斯特新闻界那些像剑齿虎一样凶猛的记者们一直在休八月假，这降低了对政府的审查程度。

随着下议院的复会，这一切在本周都将改变。现在，情况变得严肃得多。那些充满希望的谈话和愉悦的氛围将面对艰难的选择和危险的困境。伯纳姆先生将于周二向国会议员发表一份“国家现状”声明，这是他自 16 年前担任卫生大臣以来，首次在政府发言席上发言。次日将是他首次参加首相问答环节（PMQs）。这将考验他“以不同方式进行政治活动”的承诺。我们将看到这一愿景在接触到凯米·巴德诺克（Kemi Badenoch）后能维持多久，后者是议会口舌之战这一卑劣艺术中的一名激进主角。在保守党看来，伯纳姆先生对“更具协作性的政治”的渴望，不过是为了让自己日子好过一点的手段。首相可能渴望“解决问题，而非刷分”，但对于反对党领袖来说，首相问答环节的目的就是刷分和利用问题。

伯纳姆先生的愉悦氛围将面对艰难的选择。

首相必须应对几项严峻的挑战，这些挑战将考验他作为决策者的胆识。从移民改革到是否批准在北海增加天然气和石油产量，他待办事项中的任何一项都无法以让所有人满意的方式解决。首当其冲的是关于囚犯提前释放计划的决定。他已将其执行时间从9月推迟到10月，但在这一极具争议的问题上已没有进一步推迟的空间，自从他搬进唐宁街 10 号以来，该问题就占据了他大量的精力。如果允许那些令公众极其厌恶的罪犯提前释放——例如诱拐团伙成员，或杀害警察安德鲁·哈珀（PC Andrew Harper，他在被拖在逃逸车后行驶后死亡）的两名凶手——首相将引发一场愤怒的雪崩。而如果不能在监狱中腾出足够的空间，他将面临监狱长的警告，称目前入驻率已达容量约 98% 的监狱系统正处于崩溃边缘。这一决定让人想起约翰·加尔布雷斯（John Galbraith）的名言：政治往往是“在灾难性的和令人难以接受的之间做出选择”的艺术。

另一个挑战来自水务公司，它们因制造“污水社会”而广受鄙视。“他在水务问题上的做法将是对他是否真正具有激进精神的一次考验，”一位长期支持者表示。将水务公司重新收归公有将赢得大众喝彩，因为超过 8 成的选民支持重新国有化。这也与伯纳姆先生此前关于加强国家对“生活必需品”控制的所有言论一致，以确保它们是“为了公共利益而非私人利益”而运行。对于一名政治家来说，当自己的坚定信念与极高的人气相契合时，本应是极乐世界。但问题在于，官员们警告称，将泰晤士水务公司（Thames Water）置于特别管理体制下将花费纳税人 20亿英镑，而仅对这一家水务公司实施永久接管的费用可能是前者的 10 倍。对于一位已经在努力平衡账目的财政大臣来说，这绝不会让民众高兴。

首相表示，他希望定于10月底公布的预算案重点放在缓解生活成本上。这里的一个风险是过度抬高预期。作为夏季“甜头”方案的一部分，降低家庭电费增值税（VAT）带来的收益，已被能源价格上限的上涨所抵消。

公共财政压力另一个指标是，约翰·希利（John Healey）在回避那个关于政府将如何以及何时实现国防开支占 GDP 3% 目标的 100亿英镑 问题，而这正是他在辞去国防大臣职务时提到的问题之一。尽管他对此闪躲，但财政大臣仍需寻找资金来弥补国防装备资金的缺口。在筹集资金以实现首相提出的从解决青年失业到修复社会护理等诸多变革性雄心的同时，他将如何做到这一点？如果财政大臣对首相坦诚相待，他会告诉这位邻居，除非他准备好考虑大幅增税，否则他无法兑现所有承诺。

政治家想要被喜爱并非罪过，但这不足以让领导者获得成功。领导力要求能够处理艰难的权衡，并向公众解释为何必须做出令人不快决定。托尼·布莱尔爵士在他研究所的夏季派对上的发言道出了这一点。这位三次赢得大选的领导人在泰晤士河畔的集会上告诉众人：“你可能认为自己会被爱戴，但事实并非如此。试着赢得尊重就好。”这是一个关于讨好大众之危险性的睿智警告。

社会运作基于承认公民平等。改革英国党则想要一个两级制度 Kenan Malik

在这个国家出生的英国公民是否应该比在国外出生的人享有特权？改革英国党（Reform UK）最新的住房政策包括一项承诺：

一个在东伦敦住房区的一户移民家庭。首都社会住房中近 $82\%$ 的主承租人为英国国民。Gideon Mendel / Corbis, Getty Images

在分配社会住房时，优先考虑在英国出生的工人。这项政策的核心在于两个重要问题：我们应该如何分配稀缺资源？以及公民身份意味着什么？

政策制定者在思考需求大于供应的必需资源时，有两种方式。一种是减少稀缺性，另一种是进行配额管理。在经济适用房问题上，半个世纪以来，政治家们一直在谈论前者，但执行的却是后者。

配额管理要求政策制定者决定如何最好地分配资源。最显而易见的衡量标准是需求。但定义谁最需要并非易事，而且未必受欢迎。许多有需求的人可能面临社会污名——失业者、单亲父母、寻求庇护者。他们之所以如此，很大程度上是因为政治家经常将一个群体与另一个群体对立起来，将一方的匮乏归咎于另一方。

近年来，政治家和评论员们制造了关于移民占用社会住房的道德愤怒。改革英国党领导人奈杰尔·法拉奇在一篇题为《英国是一个两级国家——针对白人》的文章中声称，历届政府一直试图“将国家的社会住房存量从英国白人群体中重新分配出去”。他写道，一个由改革英国党领导的政府

将驱逐，并可能遣返居住在社会住房中的外国国民。改革英国党的齐亚·尤苏夫（Zia Yusuf）告诉 BBC Newsnight，“伦敦的大部分社会住房都给了外国国民”，而保守党的克里斯·菲尔普（Chris Philp）则声称“伦敦 48% 的社会住房由外国人占用”。

这些说法是错误的：78% 的社会住房租赁由白人家庭持有，而 2024-2025 年所有新租赁合同中，89% 是租给英国公民的，77% 是租给白人的。在伦敦，社会住房的主承租人中有 81.6% 是英国国民。

尽管如此，关于外国人将英国人排除在社会住房之外的坚持已深深植根于国民对话之中。关于住房的讨论已转化为关于移民的讨论，外国人——以及现在包括在国外出生的英国公民——被指为造成稀缺的责任方。

另一种方法是通过减少稀缺资源的稀缺性来直接解决问题。社会住房的缺乏是刻意政策的结果。在 20 世纪 50 年代，地方议会每年建造近 200,000 套新房。在 2025-26 年，他们仅建造了 2,850 套——而出售的数量则是其六倍。玛格丽特·撒切尔在 20 世纪 80 年代引入并由随后的政府强化的政策，包括购买议会住房的权利、对地方当局借款的限制以及削减政府资金，确保了议会住房的建设量断崖式下跌，导致如今有超过 400 万 人需要经济适用房。

任何严肃的社会住房建设规划都需要大量的

国家投入。城市中心（Centre for Cities）估计，为了达到 1956 和 1979, 之间的建设速度，政府的经济适用房计划（Affordable Homes Programme）每年必须提供 166亿英镑。目前，该计划承诺在 10 年内提供 390亿英镑，其中第一批资金于本周发布。披露显示，初始 100亿英镑 支出中仅有 60% 将分配给社会住房，这引发了批评，认为安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）背弃了将其全部“用于议会住房”的承诺。改革英国党承诺建造 50,000

定义谁最需要并非易事，也未必受欢迎

每年建造经济适用房，就像是承诺建造前廊却不建房屋其余部分一样。

为必要的住房建设提供资金，要求政府在加税和增加借贷方面做出艰难决定。这就是为什么许多政治家发现，简单地指责外国人要容易得多。

然而，一个无法为公民提供住房等最基本需求，且在过去半个世纪里刻意选择不这样做，这究竟是一个什么样的社会？而一个通过将边缘群体当作替罪羊来掩盖这种失败的社会，又是一个什么样的社会？

Reform的政策引发的第二个问题是，什么才是公民。自由公民权的根本原则是承认所有公民在形式上平等。如果基于

在没有丈夫的世界中寻找意义

寡妇时光是对被留下的一方的终身监禁。梅兰妮·里德（Melanie Reid）正在寻找填补这段时光的方法。

三年前，一项研究揭示了一个长期谜题的答案：为什么丧偶女性在失去伴侣后，其心理健康和生活满意度会出现如此剧烈的下降，且在五年期间仅能缓慢地部分恢复？研究人员首次确定了此前数据集从未能揭示的关键因素：导致寡妇福祉下降的核心因素是独处时间的增加。

通过分析几个欧洲国家和美国寡妇记录的时间日记，《独处：寡妇的福祉与时间》（Home Alone: Widows' Well-Being and Time）显示，一个关键因素是她们曾经与丈夫共处的时长，现在变成了没有陪伴的时间。

研究人员承认孤独感（loneliness）与独处（being alone）并非同一回事，但发现丧偶与这两者都强相关。在英国，近 70% 的已婚老年女性在一天中大部分时间与伴侣共度。然而，寡妇的独处时间则增加了多达 60%。

与已婚女性相比，寡妇从事烹饪和家务的时间更少，而睡眠、个人活动以及看电视和休闲的时间更多。在最初与他人共处的时间有所增加后，寡妇在外部社交上花费的时间与此前相比并没有增加多少。

与 35% 的已婚女性相比，寡妇仍报告在过去一个月中流过泪。

她们哭泣的次数也更多：在去世两年后，约 60% 出生地，并基于此不平等地对待英国人，这将是对这种公民身份概念的摧毁。

这些结果引发了一个严肃的问题：为了提高福祉，我们该如何看待“寡妇时光”这一概念？在富裕国家，大多数生存至 70 岁以上的已婚女性都将面临丧偶——这一数字在过去十年中迅速增长。英格兰和威尔士有超过 200 万 名这样的女性，人数是鳏夫的三倍。

如果这听起来不可思议，请想想 20 年前，即使是对保守派来说，英国应该采取大规模驱逐政策（包括驱逐那些合法定居于此的人），或者英国公民应根据出生地而被不平等对待，这听起来会有多么不可思议。

令人心酸的是，谷歌 Gemini 上经常被问到的问题之一是“寡妇可以做些什么好事？”（平淡的回答是：加入支持小组，进行温和的自我护理，开始一项低压力的爱好，

我被不安所困扰，需要一个目标来填补空虚

组织日常活动，与信任的朋友谈论你的丈夫。）

这些对我都没有吸引力。我被不安所困扰，需要一个目标来填补空虚。我想做点什么，但我不知道做什么。作为丈夫的主要护理者，我没有休息时间。现在，我可以轻而易举地盯着窗外看一小时。

令人痛苦的是，那种熟悉的陪伴与交谈——尽管日益被失智症所损害——这种默认状态已被空虚和缺乏刺激所取代。就好像多年的情谊、欢笑、共同的回忆以及无数次顽皮且充满趣味的眼神交流，都被从空气中抽走了。

配偶是一位同住的评论员。电影、电视、日落、旅程、活动、派对——当你没有一个人可以分享“你怎么看？”这个问题时，这些都变得空洞。那些讨论本身就是生活。

这是一个本质上危险的步骤。在社会住房之后，可能会出现这样的论点：出生在国外的英国公民应该被剥夺某些福利，或者应该像外国国民一样为使用国民医疗服务体系（NHS）付费。一些评论员已经主张，公民身份被过于慷慨地授予了错误的人，而且在许多情况下可能必须被撤销。此类主张利用了右翼关于英国身份的种族愿景日益激烈的争论，以及试图煽动关于白人衰落的焦虑。

去年，保守党议员凯蒂·拉姆（Katie Lam）声称，太多“合法来到这里的人……本不应该能够这样做”，并且“需要回家”，以帮助建立一个在“文化上更统一”的国家。拉姆当时指的并非英国公民，且受到了凯米·巴德诺克（Kemi Badenoch）的轻微指责。但考虑到政治风向，不难想象从“驱逐那些不应被赋予合法身份的合法移民”到“剥夺那些不应被授予公民身份的人的公民权”这一跳跃。

继续写作是一种很好的转移注意力疗法，更重要的是，我认为任何人都不应该停止工作——如果你停止了，你就会让衰老接管生活。但我渴望一个新的目标。读书会会让人心烦。邮轮旅行会比待在家里更孤独。一个开放大学（Open University）的科学模块会让人恐惧（因此这正是尝试的理由）。

最近，我开始浏览兼职硕士学位的列表，幻想深入研究粮食安全、现代历史或考古学，尽管我怀疑自己是否能再次忍受学术语言中那些令人绝望的冗长。

一个人类与动物互动专业的理学硕士学位？这个想法不错——写一篇关于那些把宠物称为“毛孩子”的人的尖刻论文。我想，寡妇生活的优点和缺点都在于，没有人关心你在做什么。

我的资本主义英雄——多莉与凯恩斯

威尔·哈顿 (Will Hutton)

右翼势力掌控国家叙事所带来的有害后果之一，便是对公众美德定义的重新校准。如今，福利被等同于欺诈；惩罚凌驾于康复之上；税收永远是负担；移民被视为毒药；公共支出被认为是浪费；气候行动被认为毫无意义，因为单一国家无法取得任何成就。如此类推。

慷慨、宽厚、共情、开放、做正确的事、互惠、共同行动以及尊重人性，这些价值如今只能在私下追求，即便能追求也仅限于此。将这些视为应当公开表达并努力实现的美德，则会招来嘲笑。慷慨地向弱势群体伸出援手？暗示经济停滞的根源可能在于私营部门的功能失调，而不仅仅是公共政策不力？集体行动以提供公共产品？对未来表达乐观？支持欧洲一体化？你是在与右翼的强劲潮流疯狂逆行。

然而，上周人们对多莉·帕顿 (Dolly Parton) 去世的非凡反应表明，人们几乎普遍渴望降低、甚至彻底抛弃那种叙事。当然，帕顿是一位惊人的创作歌手，拥有一个从贫民窟到富豪的励志背景——但这并不是引发如此大规模悲痛、钦佩和爱意的触发点。真正的诱因是那些能引起所有人共鸣的歌曲中所蕴含的纯粹人性，以及她向世界奉献自我的慷慨。

正是多莉的这一面让她进入了另一个境界。那个确保她的巡演工作人员和音乐家能获得工会标准薪酬的多莉；那个创办“想象力图书馆”以推广儿童阅读的多莉；那个在新冠疫情期间为 LGBTQ+ 权利和疫苗接种奔走的多莉。她可能刻意避开了公开的政治，但不需要天才也能意识到，这个在简陋小屋中长大的女人认为谁是她的同路人，谁不是——即便她在管理职业生涯时极其强硬，足以与任何一心逐利的资本家相媲美。然而，她的人性、宽容，尤其是她的慷慨，始终熠熠生辉。

在 2026 年，这些美德已寥寥无几。我从事经济领域的写作和广播时间越长，就越认为主导的价值体系不仅决定了哪些被视为可行的经济政策选项，还决定了经济本身的表现，以及随之而来的社会活力。是的，我钦佩伟大的经济学家约翰·梅纳德·凯恩斯 (John Maynard Keynes)，因为他深刻分析了资本主义经济为何本质上是不稳定的，且具有退化为垄断和造成严重不平等的内在倾向。但最重要的是，我被他思考和写作时所秉持的慷慨精神所吸引。他并不想废除或将资本主义社会化，而是希望利用公共权力及其倡议来引导资本主义的创造力，从而产生造福公众的结果。他会理解驱动帕顿的动力——将对个人自我提升的承诺与促进他人同样提升相结合。

与她一样，他也意识到了我们的脆弱。人类在动物本能上会过度夸大想象中的乐观或悲观未来——在热情与绝望之间交替。除非存在一些内置的制衡机制和开明的公共干预，否则资本主义将会脱轨。但要创建这些制衡机制并支持公共行动，需要一个更广泛的支撑性价值体系，而这正是第二次世界大战后支撑国家和国际凯恩斯主义协议的基础。这也是为什么在过去的 40 年里，新自由主义如此专注于试图将这些价值从我们的公共语言中抹除。

然而，一项针对 34 个国家 36,000 人的调查（为戈登·布朗即将出版的著作《The

《未来始于我们》（Future Starts with Us）证明了人们对新自由主义企图所持有的顽强底层抵制。在调查中，80%的受访者表示，他们希望政府促进和平、稳定以及旨在提升人类尊严的全面行动；70%的人支持采取类似的公共行动来维护人权和法治，并应对气候变化。而且，至关重要的一点是，55%的人将支持通过国际协作来实现这些目标，即使这意味着要在一定程度上妥协本国的国家利益。这些正是支撑战后协议的价值观，而这30

对她之死的反应表明人们渴望结束右翼叙事

随之而来的数十年持续繁荣。正如布朗所主张的，它们现在可以支撑起当下的并行行动，并由欧洲和亚洲的“中等强国”牵头。

这不仅在作为制衡美国和中国的力量方面至关重要，而且能为新兴的复杂多极世界提供锚点，从而不仅提供更好的和平前景，而且提供一种作为经济增长之助的稳定国际秩序。这并非白日之梦。当你读到这篇文章时，

此前厌恶欧盟的冰岛可能已经投票决定开始就加入欧盟进行谈判。加拿大总理马克·卡尼（Mark Carney）将出席 9 月的欧盟现状活动并在欧洲议会发表讲话：法国外交部长和芬兰总统都曾游说加拿大加入欧盟，而在加拿大国内，支持加入的人数几乎达到两倍于反对人数的多数。这可能极不可能发生——但更紧密的整合是必然的。地壳板块正在移动。

安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）政府必须全力支持这一新兴秩序——为加拿大的国家地位权利、作为集体向善力量的欧盟，以及作为时代之错且应稳步扭转的英国脱欧发声。这不仅仅是因为它在地理政治和经济上具有合理性——它也是重新确立慷慨精神和集体行动的重要性作为至关重要的公共美德的最佳手段。国家间的往来应基于互惠、相互尊重和法治，而非特朗普式的“强权即公理”。公共领域与私人领域之间存在相互依赖关系。在国际上巩固这些价值观，然后将其引入国内。凯恩斯一定会为此鼓掌。谁知道呢？多莉·帕顿（Dolly Parton）或许还会为此创作一首歌。

读者来信

电休克治疗并非完美，但它确实有助于治疗严重精神疾病

电休克治疗（ECT）确实是当前精神医学实践中最具争议的治疗方法，而媒体在确保公众对其看法准确方面发挥着重要作用。你们的文章（《轶事的战争：ECT的问题》，见上周新闻版）包含了三篇反对 ECT 者的详细叙述，但关于受益者的描述仅有两行。

后的记忆问题很常见——临床医生会与患者讨论这些问题，且患者信息单中也有相关描述。然而，文中一名当事人所描述的困难是非常罕见的。在 25 年治疗 450 多名患者的经验中，我从未见过有人因为 而无法计数或阅读，或者忘记孩子的名字。相反，我见过一些人在接受 之前，由于严重的精神疾病而无法想起孩子的名字或出生日期，但在康复后重新获得了这项能力。

这类故事会吓跑那些需要 的人。根据全英国的数据，在接受 的人群中，有三分之二的人被评为“显著改善”或“非常显著改善”。许多患者实现了功能的完全恢复；考虑到该疗法通常被用作针对最严重患者的最后手段，这是一个令人惊讶的结果。

文中包含了一些常见的反 论点，我将简要回应。

“40 多年以来没有进行过安慰剂对照试验。”事实是，在几十年前 的有效性被确立后，研究人员开始进行许多其他类型的试验。结果表明，它比抗抑郁药和任何其他脑刺激治疗都更有效。高剂量 比低剂量更有效；右侧单侧 比双侧效果差（除非使用更高的电荷）；短脉冲比标准脉冲效果差。所有这些数据都指向了它的有效性。

“女性在 受治者中始终比例过高”，这暗示她们的痛苦被误读了。事实是，女性患抑郁症的概率几乎是男性的两倍（在世界任何地方），而在其他将抑郁症作为最常见治疗指征的欧洲国家， 患者的 2:1 比例也是相同的。

“邮编处方（地区性处方差异）”。该数据基于对英格兰部分信托机构的不完整调查，且未对服务覆盖区域的大小进行修正，作者还提到有三个信托机构未使用该疗法。关于英格兰 71 家诊所使用 的数据表明，上述三个信托机构在 2024 年分别将其应用于 14、23 和 24 名患者。英格兰的每位患者都可以被转诊接受 。不同地区的人均 治疗率确实存在差异，其原因在于各信托机构提供的资源水平不同（如每周诊所数量、人员数量）。

这个问题的根源在于与 相关的污名化，而负面故事加剧了这种现象。反 团体对使用 发起激烈的抗议，这些声音在媒体中被放大。对于那些深知治疗有效且受益的患者（及其家属），以及深知治疗证据充分的临床医生来说，这些言论具有破坏性且令人困扰。

乔治·基罗夫教授（Prof George Kirov）

爱丁堡大学

“它既不是灵丹妙药，也不是野蛮行径”

我是一名顾问精神科医生，曾因双相情感障碍和难治性抑郁症接受过多次电休克疗法（ECT）。ECT 对我有效，但也对我自传体记忆造成了长期损害。这可能比另一种选择要好——双相情感障碍的死亡率很高——但这确实非常艰难。

引起了强烈的情绪反应，无论是在支持者还是反对者之中，但与许多治疗方法一样，它有其利弊。在我居住的苏格兰， 的质量改进标准由苏格兰 认证网络（SEAN）制定，目前由苏格兰公共卫生局（Public Health Scotland）协调。在英国其他地区，维持标准的类似职责由英国皇家精神科医师学会的 认证服务（ECTAS）领导。

按邮编划分的处方差异是由于资源匮乏造成的。这给精神疾病患者带来了许多问题，但主要是漫长的等待，或者普遍缺乏所有类型的治疗——包括心理治疗、药物治疗和 。

总会有一些人谴责 ，也会有人说它救了他们的命。还有像我这样的人，觉得经历过程很艰难，但意识到它可能确实有所帮助，并感激照顾他们的临床医生。然而，记忆问题的长期影响应该得到更明确的承认，并且在治疗后获得更好的支持。它既不是灵丹妙药，也不是野蛮行径，而是一种针对严重精神疾病的治疗方法。 丽贝卡·劳伦斯博士（Dr Rebecca Lawrence） 《一位不寻常的精神科医生》（An Improbable Psychiatrist）作者，爱丁堡

公平地评改 GCSE 论文非常困难

GCSE 英语成绩看起来像是一场抽奖，这很糟糕（上周新闻报道：“由于‘不公平的考试制度’，39,000 名学生可能不得不重考 GCSE 英语”）。文章指出，资深阅卷员平均会给 39,000 名学生打出更高分，从而让他们在世界上有更好的发展机会。但文章没有说的是，平均而言，另外 39,000 名学生将会得到较低的分数。换句话说，一些学生从评分的波动中获益了。你可以说，这些学生在不应该成功的情况下获得了成功。

显然，论文类题目的评分非常主观，这意味着无论谁来评分，该考试在区分学生能力方面都不是特别有用。问题不在于阅卷员。解决方案是降低考试的主观性，例如不再出论文类题目。 大卫·史蒂文森教授（Prof David Stevenson） 爱丁堡大学

一项拯救世界的税收

您说得对，英国需要投资于可再生能源、电气化和能源存储，以降低能源成本，提高能源安全并应对气候变化（上周新闻报道：《观察者报》观点：积极能源）。

然而，我们仅排放全球温室气体排放的一小部分，因此如果我们想要防止气候灾难，仅削减自身的排放永远是不够的。

我们还必须寻求其他策略。我们应该接触其他主要经济体，尝试就一项国际金融交易税达成一致，以便研究并投资于碳捕集和太阳辐射管理等技术解决方案，并向贫困国家支付资金以保护其森林。 理查德·蒙特福德（Richard Mountford） 肯特郡，希尔登伯勒

保持 BBC 的公共属性

受众的多元化和内容的丰富性是公共服务广播的核心（见上周《新评论》之“BBC 对阵算法”）。欧洲广播联盟已经记录了针对公共服务广播（PSB）及其生存现状的持续攻击。

硅谷巨头和流媒体平台是反对监管的激烈游说者。至于任命马特·布里廷（Matt Brittin）为总干事是否意味着“狐狸进了鸡舍”，目前尚无定论，但 BBC 管理层长期以来未能有效捍卫其预算以抵御政府的掠夺，也未能抵制编辑干预。

此外，《2024年媒体法案》向竞争者开放了公共服务供应，但缺乏充分的定义，英国通信管理局（Ofcom）也缺乏执行合规检查的资源。

16 至 24 岁年轻人流向 YouTube 的现象经常被用来证明整个机构已失去意义。诚然，这个群体很重要，但他们占受众比例不足 10%——而且他们会长大。

我们所拥有的文化权利，应当是一个对用户负责、独立于政府、且在保证其未来的永久宪章保护下的 BBC。 霍莉·艾莱特（Holly Aylett），英国文化多样性联盟总监 伦敦 N4

注意羽毛球

尼尔·斯奎尔斯（Neil Squires）在 8 月 16 日的体育版中写道（“我不会想和艾玛·拉杜卡努交换位置”）：“羽毛球给人一种在后花园、在晾衣绳上打球的印象……因此无法获得太多的播出时间或版面。”但我记得在 20 世纪 80 年代初，《观察者报》曾给这项运动以及像吉莉安·吉尔克斯（Gillian Gilks）这样的球员相当大的版面，她本身就是一位谦逊的明星。 迈克·戴利（Mike Daly） 达勒姆郡，乌肖穆尔

欢迎来到任何地方

詹姆斯·诺顿（James Naughton）一针见血地指出（见上周《新评论》之“我们已经生活在‘克隆城镇’中——AI 让情况变得更糟”），但或许这种趋同是预料之中的。我在 20 世纪 80 年代首次意识到美国城镇正悄然变得统一，此前经历了多年灾难性的城市更新以及大型仓储店的出现。 马利斯·德·阿尔巴（Marlys de Alba）

对死者的承诺

梅西·考威尔

啊，英伯（Imber）（见上周《新评论》之“失落的村庄”）！1967 年，我的丈夫成为了距离英伯约 9 英里的一组村庄的牧师。我们接手了一名园丁，他告诉我们，他和妻子一直住在英伯，直到战争期间被驱逐。这让他省去了长距离且寒冷的骑车上班路，但他的妻子就没那么宽容了。她的慰藉是，军队承诺在她（以及所有曾住在英伯的人）葬礼当天停止村庄内的所有活动。 格莱娜·查德威克（Glena Chadwick） 牛津郡，奇平诺顿

一个没有多莉的世界

更正记录

• 在“本周简讯”（8 月 23 日新闻版第 4 页）中，我们称在米德尔斯堡附近 A66 公路上遇害的两名警察当时正在追捕一辆可疑车辆。虽然当时确实发生了一次被中止的对大众 Passat 车辆的警察追捕，但这两名警察并未直接参与其中。
• 一篇关于电休克疗法的文章（8 月 23 日第 14-15 页）提到了一项 2021 年发布的英国心理学会审计。事实上，该审计是由独立研究人员完成并发表在英国心理学会的一本期刊上的。

征集观察者

写信给我们

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讣告

草间弥生

这位日本艺术家凭借反映其心理健康挣扎的沉浸式作品，在晚年获得了成功

2012年，草间弥生站在她的其中一幅画作前。Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP

在草间弥生（Yayoi Kusama）的装置艺术中，艺术爱好者们没有太多时间去沉思永恒。2021年，当这位日本艺术家的作品展出在泰特现代美术馆（Tate Modern）时，由于参观需求巨大，美术馆将每人参观其中一个“无限镜屋”（Infinity Mirror Rooms）的时间限制在仅两分钟。

这已经算慷慨了。当华盛顿特区的赫希霍恩博物馆（Hirshhorn Museum）展出其中一些装置时——在这些作品中，镜墙反射出阵列般的灯光、圆点和色彩斑斓的南瓜，仿佛延伸至无穷远——参观者排队两小时，却只能获得30秒的参观时间。这时间仅够快步进入并为Instagram拍一张照片。

对于一位90多岁的艺术家来说，草间弥生似乎天生就适合社交媒体时代。她的超现实、卡通式的创作不仅吸引了那些喜欢拍照分享的人，而且她坦诚地表示，她的艺术是由严重的抑郁症驱动的，同时也是一种治疗手段，这在心理健康问题不再是禁忌的今天引起了共鸣。

“她给人一种非常现代的感觉，”艺术评论家威尔·贡佩茨（Will Gompertz）表示。“在她创作大量艺术作品的那个时期，她正在处理内在的创伤，面对、探索并应对它，当时她一定看起来像个古怪的人。随着几十年的过去，排队的人越来越多，她所做的事情似乎与现在的文化产生了关联。而且，尽管经历了所有创伤，她始终保持乐观。”

草间弥生创造了互动空间。在同样曾在泰特美术馆展出的“消融屋”（Obliteration Room）中，参观者在进入一个纯白房间时会被发给一张贴纸，并被要求用颜色将其覆盖。贡佩茨说：“你进入了草间世界，并成为了艺术的一部分。”

她将生命中的后半段在东京的一家精神病院中度过，那是她在绝望中逃离纽约后自行入住的地方。该医院专注于艺术治疗，她每天都会前往工作室创作新作品。她的名声在1993年的威尼斯双年展上得到了刷新，并在千禧年之后爆发。她为“无限网”（Infinity Nets）系列创作的大幅单色画作以数百万加元的价格售出。No 2, 她在1962年以 $75 售出，而在2008年于佳士得拍卖行拍得 510万美元，创下当时在世女性艺术家的最高纪录。

六年之后，该拍卖行以 710万美元 的价格售出了同一系列中的 White No 28, 该系列由在画布上形成格栅的弧线和卷曲组成。2023年，她的作品在拍卖会上共拍得 8090万美元，超过了大卫·霍克尼（David Hockney）。其中包括 830万美元 为 A Flower，一件2014年创作的在橙色背景上绘制紫色大丽花的画作。时尚品牌路易威登（Louis Vuitton）与她合作推出了一系列产品，并在门店外放置她标志性红色波波头假发的大型雕塑进行营销。

她的职业生涯也曾引发争议。她在2002年的自传《无限网》（Infinity Net）以及一些早期的文字作品中，对黑人的描述在后来引发了她的道歉。

她出生在日本松本，是在一段包办且不幸的婚姻中最小的四个孩子之一。她的父亲是个惯于出轨的人，草间弥生的母亲会派她去监视父亲的私情。这使她厌恶男性，后来这种情绪体现在一系列充满了数百个瘫软布制阴茎的装置作品中。

她从10岁起开始出现幻觉，这激发了她的艺术创作。后来她写道，桌布上的花卉图案是如何蔓延并淹没整个房间的，南瓜如何

“她一直画到生命最后一刻，从未放下画笔”

在农场里曾对她说话，以及她的《无限网》（Infinity Nets）是如何受到家后溪流中数百万颗白色鹅卵石的启发——每一颗都是独立的，却又相互连接。

在接受了日本传统绘画风格“日本画”（nihonga）的训练后，她被抽象印象主义所吸引，并写信给美国艺术家乔治亚·欧姬芙（Georgia O'Keeffe）寻求灵感。在欧姬芙的鼓励下，她于1957年移居美国；在西雅图举行个人展后，她定居纽约并参与到波普艺术圈中。除了装置艺术，她还组织名为“偶发艺术”（Happenings）的活动，在公共场所用鲜艳的波点在裸体志愿者身上涂抹。

她工作极其狂热，在没有休息的情况下连续工作40小时直到精疲力竭，但她觉得缺乏认可。克拉斯·奥尔登堡（Claes Oldenburg）和安迪·沃霍尔（Andy Warhol）被指责抄袭她的作品；而当卢卡斯·萨马拉斯（Lucas Samaras）在她的第一个《无限镜屋》（Infinity Room）于1965年建成几个月后展出一个镜像装置时，她从公寓窗户跳了下去。一辆自行车缓冲了她的坠落。次年，草间在威尼斯双年展的意大利馆外展出了她的《纳西索花园》（Narcissus Garden），这是一个由1,500个镜像球组成的“动力地毯”，但她因兜售这些球而得罪了组织者。

她与综合艺术艺术家约瑟夫·康内尔（Joseph Cornell）保持着亲密但纯洁的关系——她说：“我讨厌性，而他阳痿，所以我们非常合适”——但当他在1972年去世时，她的健康再次恶化。在进一步的自杀尝试后，她回到了日本，却因在美国期间的惊世行为遭到家人和评论家的排斥。1977年，她入住成和精神病院（Seiwa Hospital for the Mentally Ill），这救了她的命。

在那里，她不遗余力地从事艺术创作，后期配备了一支助手团队。她公司的一份声明称：“她一直画到生命最后一刻，从未放下画笔，并继续探索永恒的爱与永恒的灵魂。”随着她最终获得名声，绘画缓解了她的内心动荡。她说：“如果不是因为艺术，我很久以前就自杀了。” 帕特里克·基德（Patrick Kidd）

艺术家草间弥生，出生于1929年3月22日，逝世于2026年8月14日，享年97岁。

我的这一周

印度鳞蝰

我是世界上最致命的蛇类之一，但不要责怪我。责怪人类吧。然而我们这伙大约5,000吨

我每年杀死大约5,000个两足动物，没有其他蛇能与之匹敌。但这不是我的错，对吧？如果我这辈子再也不见任何一个人类，我会很高兴。

周一

我的一生都在努力避开人类，但印度这里的人实在太多了。他们无处不在。我更愿意把我的毒液留给蜥蜴和青蛙，但我随时准备咬任何冒失的人类。只需要几滴毒液就能破坏血液凝固系统，引起出血并导致肾衰竭——而我的毒液绰绰有余。

周二

我长2英尺，并不起眼，我不想被踩到或被干扰。所以我发出公正的警告——你们最好听从。今天就发生了这种情况：一个人类踉踉跄跄地走得太近，于是我开始了常规操作。我形成一个不断变化的S形，并摩擦我那边缘锋利的鳞片。你曾在电炉上洒过水吗？声音就那样，意思是“滚蛋”。

周三

当然，我是用最客气的方式表达的。这条蛇非常危险：当你攻击它时，它竟然厚颜无耻地进行防御。但我认为我应该补充一点，我对什么构成“攻击”的看法相当广泛。我并没有像人类经常说的那样脾气暴躁：我只是对个人空间有着高度发达的概念。

周四

有时我厌倦了谈论毒液。难道这是我身上唯一有趣的地方吗？看看我在松软地面上行进的方式，比大多数人类奔跑的速度还要快，看起来就像魔法一样。这被称为“侧行”：在任何一个瞬间，只有我身体的一小部分与地面接触。这是一种连续的跳跃，会留下的一系列 J 形足迹。忘掉毒液吧，去欣赏这个奇迹。

我更愿意把毒液留给青蛙，但我随时准备咬任何冒失的人类。

周五

我热爱半明半暗的光线和极致的黑暗。我像往常一样在借来的洞穴里睡掉了一整天，然后在黄昏时分现身：渴望改变，因为蛇类的食欲反应迟缓。一只蝎子填补了空缺。虽然不是我的最爱，但足以让我维持生命。蝎子觉得自己很凶猛，这让我觉得很有趣——直到它们遇到更强大的力量。但我想，这对我们所有人来说都是真理，我一边这样想着，一边在天空出现第一抹微光时侧行回家。

周六

我想起本周早些时候那个危险的时刻：我的全身都在运动，制造出“嘶嘶”的摩擦声，除了头部和颈部，它们保持静止，以防我的警告被忽视。可以称之为“压缩弹簧”姿态。我的出击速度极快——那么，想再看一次吗？一声惊叫，匆忙的脚步声，然后我就退回黑暗之中，以防他带着武器回来。有一件事可以肯定：这个世界容不下我们两个。

印度锯鳞蝰简历

寿命：十二年 饮食习惯：青蛙、蜥蜴、蝎子、蜈蚣 爱好：侧行 择偶偏好：有毒的女士

口述人：西蒙·巴恩斯（Simon Barnes）

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商业经济、工作与金钱

英伟达（Nvidia）的业绩结果使其日益大胆且新颖的财务活动受到了更严密的审查 $\rightarrow$ 马修·毕晓普（Matthew Bishop），第 37 页

凯文·沃什（Kevin Warsh，中）周五与英格兰银行行长安德鲁·贝利（Andrew Bailey，右）以及加拿大银行行长蒂夫·麦克莱姆（Tiff Macklem）一同在怀俄明州的雨中前行。 Natalie Behring / Getty

美联储主席在杰克逊霍尔安抚投资者情绪

本·扎兰科（Ben Zaranko）报道：凯文·沃什在年度全球央行行长会议的首次重要演讲中，誓言将降低通货膨胀

全球最具影响力的央行行长们在怀俄明州杰克逊霍尔的集会，是金融日历中最重要的日期之一。在一个没有窗户、无法看到大提顿国家公园壮丽山峰的房间里，美联储新任主席凯文·沃什（Kevin Warsh）在一场高风险的演讲中试图安抚投资者的紧张情绪，这是他就任以来的首次演讲。对于许多听众来说，他的话语犹如一阵清新的山间空气。

这次演讲受到了比平时更严苛的审视。部分原因是他在上任前100天经历的波折，投资者抱怨他极简的沟通风格让他们只能靠猜测。此外，这次演讲还发生在动荡的两周之后，期间美国的借贷成本飙升至数十年来的高点，且美国经济政策的两大权力机构似乎在朝着不同的方向发力。

美国通货膨胀率已连续65个月高于2%的目标，但沃什向听众保证，他致力于将其降低。他表示，价格应成为美联储的“首要关注点”，重新承诺维持现有的2%目标，并表示如果通胀不能尽快开始下降，他及其同事将有“工作要做”。

投资者一直恳请美联储主席解释其思考方式以及他对最新经济数据的解读，沃什对此予以了回应。值得注意的是，他表示很难将当前的金融状况描述为在经济上具有限制性，且潜在的通胀趋势改善速度不够快。市场对于利率设定委员会在几周后下次会议时加息的预期立即跳升。

沃什拒绝被诱导做出任何形式的行动承诺，重申了他对“前瞻性指引”（央行用于提前发出利率计划信号的手段）的反感，并强调拥有改变方向的自由之价值。

演讲中还包含一段似乎是对财政部长斯科特·贝森特（Scott Bessent）的微妙指责。沃什谈到了市场价格在提供全球信息方面的价值，称“美联储需要清晰的市场信号，且尽可能不经过滤”。众所周知，他并不看好政府干预金融市场，并此前曾评论称，债券收益率上升是有益的，因为它们在无需美联储改变政策的情况下就能收紧金融条件。

贝森特上周告诉金融市场，长期债券收益率的上升“不能反映潜在的基本面”（实际上是在告诉市场它是错误的），并采取了多次干预措施旨在降低这些收益率。这包括支撑日元采取的行动，以及出人意料地宣布计划加大长期国债的“回购”力度。

“他提供了更多的清晰度，但没有做出承诺。这有助于提升他的公信力” 迈克尔·皮尔斯（Michael Pearce），牛津经济研究院

本周初，备受推崇的基金经理、曾担任沃什和贝森特导师的斯坦利·德鲁肯米勒（Stanley Druckenmiller）批评了财政部长近期在债券市场的尝试。他在《华尔街日报》撰文警告称，“政府违背基本面去捍卫价格总是会失败的。唯一的变量是他们在认输前会花费多少。”

到目前为止，贝森特一直态度强硬，导致美国最高两名经济政策制定者之间出现了显著的分歧。一人在强调自由确定的债券市场价格的价值；另一人则试图运用其“庞大的工具箱”来改变这些价格。一人暗示金融条件可能需要变得更具限制性以遏制通胀；另一人则在刻意尝试在期中选举前放宽这些条件。

撇开美国经济决策机构内部的不一致，沃什（Warsh）的演讲受到了广泛好评。“他提供了更多的清晰度，但没有做出坚定的承诺。我认为这有助于提升他的公信力，”牛津经济研究院（Oxford Economics）首席美国经济学家迈克尔·皮尔斯（Michael Pearce）表示。凯投宏观（Capital Economics）北美高级经济学家托马斯·瑞安（Thomas Ryan）认为，他的表现“几乎完美”，并表示沃什的“鹰派基调挽回了他在七月份那场含糊其辞的新闻发布会上可能失去的公信力”。

沃什暂时让他的批评者们安静了下来。到了九月的会议，人们关注的将不仅是他的言论，还有他的行动。

约翰·希利在国防开支占GDP 3%的目标上停滞不前

本·扎兰科 (Ben Zaranko)

约翰·希利 (John Healey) 在准备今天飞往北卡罗来纳州，以财政大臣身份首次与G20财长会晤之际，强调了他对“财政纪律”的承诺。

希利将于28 October提交他的首份预算案。据上周报道，该预算案将不会设定一条将国防开支提高至GDP 3%的路径，尽管希利此前曾因这一问题从基尔·斯塔默 (Keir Starmer) 的政府中辞职。在辞职信中，希利告诉斯塔默，他“确信英国必须设定一个在2030年实现国防开支占GDP 3%的目标日期”。到2030年将开支提高至GDP 3%每年将耗资约100亿英镑。

相反，预算案预计将重点资助6月份的国防投资计划，该计划包括每年约£1.2bn的未落实资金开支承诺。关于3%承诺的时间表可能会在明年的支出审查中出台，届时将设定本届议会剩余任期内所有部门的计划。预计财政大臣将与G20同行讨论国防融资，他此前一直支持多边融资机制，例如由加拿大领导的国防、安全与韧性银行。

希利在国防问题上的停滞，正值英国财政阴云密布之际。今年上半年，英国经济表现好于预期，实现了G7国家中最快的增长，但伊朗战争的后果、能源价格上涨以及借贷成本上升，预计将使公共财政预测恶化。瑞秋·里夫斯 (Rachel Reeves) 给她的继任者留下了£24bn的财政规则余地，而这个数字很可能已经减半。

为了将财政缓冲恢复到之前的水平，可能需要削减开支或提高税收。Pantheon Macroeconomics的经济学家罗伯特·伍德 (Robert Wood) 和埃利奥特·乔丹-多克 (Elliott Jordan-Doak) 表示，他们认为希利将被迫再次推出一份“增税并支出”的预算案，其中至少需要£15bn的税收增长来覆盖更高的利息成本和生活成本支出。为国防、社会护理或市政住房建设提供额外资金可能需要进一步的增收措施，但迹象表明，此类决定将被推迟到明年。

简报

交易与收益

英伟达掌门人宣布AI进入“黄金时代”

英伟达 (Nvidia) 首席执行官黄仁勋表示，AI行业已进入其“黄金时代”。与此同时，这家芯片制造商宣布其季度营收在过去一年中翻了一番，达到近1000亿美元。本季度的营收指引略高于分析师的预测（$108bn对比1050亿美元），公司管理层表示，预计2027年营收将进一步增长70%。“如此规模的公司不应该这样增长，”AvaTrade首席市场分析师凯特·利曼 (Kate Leaman) 表示。黄仁勋将英伟达的成功描述为该行业的蓝图。他说：“AI已经达到了它的拐点。现在，算力就是营收。”投资者似乎也认同他的乐观态度：在财报电话会议后，英伟达的股价上涨了超过4%。

RedBird出手收购Puck

数字媒体公司Puck即将被投资公司RedBird Capital Partners收购，交易估值约为2.5亿美元 (1.84 亿英镑m)。Puck的一位发言人在一份声明中表示：“Puck正在就一项战略资本重组进行深入讨论，以加速增长，这将使RedBird成为我们的领先投资者。”Puck由前《纽约时报》记者于2021年创立，旨在将消息灵通的记者转化为影响力品牌。其基调刻意营造出一种圈内人的氛围，涵盖华盛顿、华尔街、好莱坞、硅谷、媒体、时尚和艺术。它已吸引了50,000名订阅者，并于近期收购了前《名利场》编辑格雷登·卡特 (Graydon Carter) 的时事通讯AirMail，又增加了50,000名订阅者。据接近该交易的人士透露，该公司将寻求收购中小型媒体资产，包括其他时事通讯。

《观察者报》商业矩阵

不重要

治理

伦敦无人驾驶出租车竞赛遭遇波折

据报道，有超过 100,000 名伦敦人已在 Wayve 和 Uber 无人驾驶出租车的候补名单上，但他们现在必须耐心等待。此前预计行程将于今年夏天开始，明年春天全面向公众开放。然而，尽管英国交通大臣渴望加快进度，且 Uber 和 Wayve 已获得其自动驾驶服务的出租车执照，但由于缺乏伦敦交通局（TfL）的指导方针，启动时间预计将推迟。伦敦交通局（TfL）表示，在“一段时间”内将无法准备好批准交通管理部门的申请。撇开延迟不谈，Uber 和 Wayve 将渴望击败竞争对手——谷歌旗下的 Waymo 以及同样在伦敦竞相推出无人驾驶出租车的 Apollo Go。

冷却设备销售额激增

Wayve 和 Uber 将不得不等待“一段时间”，直到伦敦交通局（TfL）将其试驾许可转化为正式批准。 蒂姆·阿诺德（Tim Arnold）

下周预告...

● 公司财报 英国企业本周较为平静；下月将有所回升。

以及存储，这些对于人工智能的部署至关重要。批评者对数据中心相关的能源和水资源使用表示担忧，但政府已将其列为关键国家基础设施，并强调在英国本土建设产能的重要性。根据英国国家统计局（ONS）的数据，35% 的英国企业报告称他们正在使用 AI，其中信息和通信行业的企业占比为 58%。

● 经济数据 / 报告 周二：英国制造业采购经理人指数（PMI）。周三：英国服务业 PMI。周五：英格兰银行决策小组；美国非农就业数据

目前，街道上的自动驾驶汽车仅在进行试驾，尚未获得英国驾驶员和车辆标准局（DVSA）的批准。

热点商品

英国数据中心驱动投资热潮

根据英国国家统计局的新估算，英国在数字基础设施（包括数据中心）方面的商业投资正处于繁荣期。投资在 2025 年增长至 112亿英镑，几乎是十年前记录的 58亿英镑 的两倍。统计局最近修订了其计算方法，以更好地捕捉在数据中心上的支出，这些中心提供了计算能力

根据巴克莱银行账户数据的新分析，空调供应商是英国气温上升的明确赢家。今年第二季度，空调企业的现金流入较去年同期增长了 4.3%。鉴于此后的热浪进一步加剧，它们很可能获得了丰厚利润。巴克莱银行还发现，37% 的受访企业增加了对散热相关设备的投资，如通风和空调。其他企业则采取了增加员工休息时间（28% 的企业）、提供更多远程办公（23%）或调整工作时间（21%）等措施。总体零售额似乎受到了高温的影响，7 月份下降了 0.5%，因为更多购物者选择留在家里，而不是前往商业街。

企业家

对英国商业银行贷款的担忧

在过去四年中，小企业通过英国商业银行（British Business Bank）获得了 40亿英镑 的贷款。这一旗舰贷款计划的增长被视为一项成功，但人们对贷款监管的担忧正在增加。根据英国商业银行的最新数据，由纳税人出资的违约赔付已达到 9000 万英镑m。到目前为止，参与贷款机构支付的年费（按未偿还贷款价值的 1.5% 收取）似乎抵消了违约成本。作为一家由纳税人出资的公共金融机构（PuFin），英国商业银行受到更高水平的审查。一些学术批评者质疑，该银行发放的贷款是否真正刺激了经济活动，或者无论如何这些活动都会发生。英国商业银行的年度报告显示，其高管的总薪酬增长了超过三分之一，其中包括巨额奖金。

关键统计数据

180亿美元

Meta 预计为解决其社交媒体成瘾诉讼而支付的最高金额。在这起被描述为社交媒体“烟草时刻”的里程碑式案件中，数十个美国州指控这家科技巨头利用危险且令人成瘾的产品伤害儿童。该和解协议终止了在加利福尼亚州进行的一场重大审判，其条款包括美国首次针对青少年实施的使用限制。

$1.4tn

Meta 的市值——约相当于 £1tn。Instagram、WhatsApp 和 Facebook 的所有者在为期四天的法律程序中否认了所有关于成瘾和伤害的指控。

10

180亿美元 和解金的支付期限为 10 年，尚需法院批准。加利福尼亚州在此期间可获得最高 21亿美元，科罗拉多州约 6.15亿美元。纽约州预计将收到约 8.19亿美元，并表示这笔资金将分配到心理健康和教育服务中，以“修复并减少不健康的社交媒体使用给年轻人带来的伤害”。

6.3

根据 Datareportal 的数据，用户一生中在社交媒体上花费的平均年数为 6.3 年。共有 29 个州对 Meta 提起诉讼，理由是社交媒体对年轻用户造成了伤害。加利福尼亚州总检察长罗布·邦塔（Rob Bonta）宣布，审判结果将带来“巨大的变革，从而降低 [Meta] 平台的伤害风险——且将在数月内实现”。

英伟达称霸“AI中央银行”，但批评者担忧其王冠失落后的后果

分析 马修·比肖普 (Matthew Bishop)

这家美国半导体巨头宣布营收创纪录，但其财务活动引发了人们的担忧，认为它正在助力吹大一个脆弱的债务市场泡沫。

黄仁勋，英伟达首席执行官，上个月在东京。 Akio Kon / 彭博社 / 盖蒂图片社

“它已经变得有用，”英伟达首席执行官黄仁勋在上周三表示，以此来解释这家半导体公司刚刚公布的 962亿美元 季度创纪录营收（是去年同期的两倍）。同一天，Information 网站报道称，英伟达正以 129亿美元 收购开源人工智能平台 Hugging Face，这将为其带来关键的知识产权，进一步巩固其作为“AI之王”的地位。

然而，在 AI 信徒们的庆祝之余，上周的业绩结果也加剧了外界对该公司日益大胆且新颖的财务活动的审查。这些活动对于芯片及其数据中心前所未有的投资激增而言，可以说至关重要，以至于该公司在“之王”之外又获得了一个称号：“AI中央银行”。但在批评者看来，这绝非一家谨慎的中央银行，其活动可能正在助力吹大一个最终可能成为史上最大金融泡沫的局面。

它购买了部分芯片大买家公司的重要股份，包括上周公司报告的，向 OpenAI 和 Anthropic 等前沿实验室投资超过 500亿美元。该公司还在 SpaceX 以及数据中心提供商 Nebius 和 CoreWeave，以及其复苏中的芯片制造竞争对手英特尔（Intel）中持有大量股份。

英伟达还一直在提供规模日益增长的各种形式的信贷，以使其客户能够购买其芯片。换句话说，英伟达销售芯片，同时提供投资和担保以确保订单持续到来。在周三的财报电话会议上，英伟达首席财务官科莱特·克雷斯（Colette Kress）为公司辩护，反驳了关于这种“循环金融”可能会推高其芯片需求的指控，坚持认为公司正在进行风险“有限”且“卓越”的投资。我们将拭目以待。

税收和监管，并以降低透明度的方式让风险在不被察觉的情况下积聚

一年前，金融市场对 AI 的主要担忧是它正在制造一个股市泡沫。现在，更大的担忧是债务市场的泡沫，因为债务市场一旦破裂，对整个经济造成的后果往往比股价暴跌要严重得多。

借款金额惊人。高盛计算出，今年全球已发行了近 5000亿美元 的 AI 相关企业债务，是 2025 年创纪录总额的两倍多。其中约 40% 由“超大规模云服务商”（hyper-scalers）贡献，他们通过借贷来覆盖至少三分之一的资本支出。

英伟达销售芯片，同时提供投资和担保以确保订单持续到来。

8 月 10 日，英伟达宣布了其向芯片买家提供信贷的最新计划，承诺将加速这一进程——通过与包括阿波罗（Apollo）、贝莱德（BlackRock）、黑石（Blackstone）、布鲁克菲尔德（Brookfield）、高盛（Goldman Sachs）和 KKR 在内的各大金融机构建立一系列合作伙伴关系，动员超过 5000亿美元 用于建设 AI 基础设施。

贝莱德（BlackRock）掌门人拉里·芬克（Larry Fink）在今年早些时候曾预测，计算能力将成为一种新型金融资产类别。他表示，与英伟达的合作伙伴关系标志着“金融工程之下一个未来”的开始——这些话并不完全令人安心。虽然金融工程通常通过让人们更好地管理风险来帮助改善财务决策，但它也被用来规避风险，且有时会导致灾难性的后果。金融工程在对冲基金长期资本管理公司（Long-Term Capital Management）、安然公司（Enron）的兴衰以及2008年金融危机中都扮演了至关重要的角色。

去年11月，克雷斯（Kress）向金融分析师发送了一份私人备忘录（随后被泄露），解释了英伟达使用表外工具的方式与安然公司截然不同，且不会带来类似的风险，这在一定程度上令人宽心。

具有影响力的匿名时事通讯《开创者》（Groundbreaker）在近期的一篇简报中，将2008年危机前抵押贷款相关风险的快速增长与当前的AI基础设施建设进行了直接类比。在21世纪初，极少有人注意到抵押贷款市场中潜伏的危险，因为大多数借款人使用的是低利率的诱饵协议：只有当这些诱饵利率到期时，人们才意识到许多人无法负担还款。《开创者》认为，同样地，由于许多数据中心租赁合同在计算能力交付开始之前不需要支付费用，因此在任何问题出现之前可能还需要一年或两年的时间。

根据《开创者》的观点，2027-28, 年将出现支付需求的激增，这将对这些合同以及支持它们的日益增加的信贷额度是否合理构成一次严峻考验。如果黄仁勋的观点正确，即由于AI现在具有实用性而导致收入激增，且它将持续保持这种实用性，以至于用户愿意为此支付越来越大数额的资金，那么可能没什么好担心的。

更多学生选择高薪潜力专业

本·扎兰科 (Ben Zaranko) 经济编辑

根据《观察者报》的分析，学生们越来越多地选择那些最有可能带来更高经济回报的学科。

自2019年以来，与高薪职业相关的课程——如经济学、数学、工程学和法律——的大学申请人数增长最快。相比之下，平均经济回报较低的课程（包括英语、现代语言和表演艺术）的申请人数则有所下降。

该分析基于 Ucas 的数据（其中包含按学科细分的申请情况）以及财政研究学会 (IFS) 对不同学位经济回报的估算。IFS 发现，虽然平均而言，大学毕业生在终身收益上预计会比不上大学的人多出 10 万英镑，但有四分之一的毕业生在经济上反而会更糟糕。

经济回报在不同学科之间存在巨大差异。例如，经济学毕业生在终身收益上比学校成绩相似的非毕业生多赚约 46 万英镑。但就读表演艺术的平均学生预计会损失约 6 万英镑。学生们似乎已经考虑到了这一点，并用实际行动（选择专业）表达了他们的意愿。

此外有迹象表明，青少年正在将他们的 A-level 课程选择转向那些能够开启高薪学位之门的学科。数学、商业研究、法律和经济学的报考人数有所增加，而选择英语、历史和现代语言的人数则有所下降。

申请人数变化百分比 vs 中位数回报 2019–2025年，按学科划分的申请人数百分比变化 vs 终身经济回报中位数

注：终身回报是指 IFS 对各学科毕业生在终身收益上，相对于不上大学的情况预计能多赚多少钱的估算。详情请参阅 Britton, Ogden, Ornadel 和 Waltmann (2026) 的《本科学位对终身收入影响的新估算》，财政研究学会 (Institute for Fiscal Studies)。 来源：UCAS，IFS 对本科学位终身回报的分析

其他事项

企业在GDP中占比上升，美国工人利益受损

美国经济的增长速度可能低于在没有关税和伊朗战争成本情况下的增长速度。然而，根据美国经济分析局上周发布的数据，美国企业在今年第二季度赚取了创纪录的利润——年化金额达 $4.8万亿。

企业利润目前占 GDP 的 14.9%，安永（EY）的经济学家称这是一个“新的历史最高点”。最新衡量指标显示，分配给员工的工资和福利在国民收入中所占的份额下滑至 54.1%，为 1947 年以来最低；而仅工资部分的占比为 43%，为 1929 年以来最低。

经济回报从劳动力向资本转移的这种失衡，在这些百分比中可能被稍微夸大了。计算利润时所采用定义的变更可能解释了部分增长。而且，如果工人持有股票或养老金计划（许多人确实持有，尽管通常不是最低薪者），部分高额利润最终会进入工人的口袋。但这种转移是真实的，主要归因于降低企业税率、放宽反垄断执法以及削弱工会权利和其他工人保护措施等政策。无论是由共和党还是表面上更支持工人的民主党执政，这种情况几乎一直在持续。

利润的最低点出现在 20 世纪 80 年代，约为 GDP 的 8%。劳动力份额在 1970 年左右达到顶峰，占 GDP 的 65%。几年前，兰德公司（Rand Corporation）的一项研究发现，如果分配给劳动力和利润的 GDP 份额大致维持在二战后 30 年的水平，那么绝大多数美国工人（排除最高薪的 10%）在 2018 年的年度总收入将增加 $2.5万亿。

将兰德公司的研究方法推演至现在，这一数字将超过 $3.6万亿。难怪普通美国人正在失去对资本主义的信心。

作者：马修·毕晓普（Matthew Bishop）

这款拥有 200 年历史的调味品在联合利华（Unilever）和麦考密克（McCormick）决定在合并中将其剔除后，需要寻找新家。Alamy

盖茨再次呼吁征收机器人税

比尔·盖茨在上周发表的一篇关于 AI 对就业和关键社会机构构成威胁的警示文章中预测，这一转型将是“人类历史上最动荡的时期之一”。

为了限制损害并确保 AI 最终成为让每个人生活得更好的力量，他建议制定法规为人类保留某些工作，并对 令牌（tokens）和机器人征收新税。

他认为，这种税收将“稍微减缓抛弃人力劳动的速度，并为重新培训和加强社会安全网筹集资金”。

正如他所承认的，这并非他第一次提出机器人税——他说，在 2017 年，当时“大多数反应认为这是一个奇怪的想法”。这并不完全准确：经济学家的典型反应是，尽管该想法具有吸引力，但由于难以就什么是“机器人”达成一致以便征税，因此几乎不可能实施。对 令牌征税似乎解决了这个问题，因为使用量已经经过计量和计费。但一旦附加税收，它们是否仍将是 的主导货币还远未确定。

对数据中心或其能源使用情况征税可能会更有效。但如果目标是促进人力而非自动化（无论是机器人还是算法），最好的策略可能更简单：降低人类的工资税，并停止给予机器税收优势。

联合利华将 Colman's 芥末品牌转手

一个深受英国人喜爱的品牌正在寻找新主人。上周四，消费品巨头联合利华（Unilever）与总部位于马里兰州的香料及风味集团 McCormick 宣布，拥有 212 年历史、生产诺里奇最优质英式芥末的 Colman's 品牌最终将不会被纳入两家公司共同创建的价值 448亿美元 的合并食品业务中，而是将被出售。

对于 Marmite 来说，现在可能已经太晚了，这个同样由联合利华拥有的品牌正通过此次交易落入美国之手，但或许能为 's 找到一位英国买家。

这一决定源于对反垄断监管机构可能提出异议的担忧。's 在英国芥末市场拥有 $50\%$ 的份额，而 McCormick 拥有 French's 芥末，如果一家公司同时拥有这两个品牌，可能会推迟交易的完成。

's 与 French's 曾有渊源：1926. 年，'s 与另一家英国食品企业 Reckitt 联手收购了这家美国同行。1995. 年联合利华收购 's 后，双方分道扬镳。2017 年，McCormick 在收购当时的利洁时（Reckitt Benckiser）食品业务时获得了 French's。

联合利华与 McCormick 进行此次交易是为了退出食品业务，并加倍投入利润率更高的家用产品、个人护理和肥皂品牌。联合利华在推动 's 在国内外的增长方面做得不错，但尽管 's 赞助了当地的“金丝雀”足球队（诺里奇城足球俱乐部），该公司仍于 2019 年将其主要生产运营从诺里奇迁至特伦特河畔伯顿和德国，仅保留了一小部分运营规模以维持与该市的历史联系。

在伯纳姆政府可能会倡导地方经济发展的时刻，诺里奇肯定会有一位富有的公民对此充满热情，渴望将这家公司带回故乡吧？

经济现实将与首相的雄心发生碰撞

威廉·基根 (William Keegan)

我们现在听到的关于安迪·伯纳姆 (Andy Burnham) 在剑桥大学学习英国文学的消息，似乎和之前听到基尔·斯塔默 (Keir Starmer) 的父亲是一名工具制造工一样多。

我们的新首相无疑读过安东尼·特罗洛普 (Anthony Trollope) 的《首相》，托尔斯泰认为这是他读过的最伟大的小说。在特罗洛普列出的首相要求中包括：“他应当聪明，但不必是天才。他应当尽职尽责……谨慎但绝不胆怯，大胆但绝不鲁莽。最重要的是，他应当脸皮厚。”

伯纳姆的蜜月期通常被认为进展顺利。但他的胆识尚未经受考验。他推出了一些受欢迎的微观措施，但他面临的宏观经济问题却是巨大的。

几乎找不到一个严肃的经济学家不认为，面对日益增长的预算压力，他应该提高税收。但他感到受限于 2024 年竞选宣言的红线——正是这份宣言让工党赢得了选举——其中排除了提高所得税率、增值税 (VAT) 和雇员国民保险金的可能性。

解决这一困境的一种方法是通过宣布大选来寻求新的授权。但尽管他最初拥有很高的人气，用特罗洛普的话来说，伯纳姆冒风险宣布大选将过于“鲁莽”。

避免加税的一条路径是屈从于那些敦促大幅削减福利的声音。然而，这将是一把大锤，会伤害到许多真正的困难群体，而不仅仅是右翼告诉我们的那些“钻制度漏洞”的人。这也将是分裂工党的一个好方法。

在我看来，整体经济前景——尤其是由于特朗普给世界经济带来的损害——比 2024 年竞选宣言撰写时要令人不安得多，因此伯纳姆采取特罗洛普式的大胆行动，即修订并更新竞选宣言，将是合理的。

现在，虽然我对伯纳姆早期的行动总体上印象深刻，但我仍想表达一点失望。在这一点上，我是在效仿我在公共生活中最钦佩的人之一——诺贝尔奖得主保罗·纳斯 (Paul Nurse)，他目前正担任英国皇家学会的第二任会长。

经济前景比 2024 年工党竞选宣言撰写时要令人不安得多

人们广泛认同科学对生产力和更快的经济增长至关重要，而英国科学具有巨大的潜力。然而，伯纳姆的首批行动之一就是拆分科学、创新和技术部，并将其职能分散到新成立的商业、创新、科学和贸易部中。

纳斯在最近的一份报告中写道：“科学应当为所有政府活动提供参考，而不仅仅是商业。由一个负责所有科学并支持所有其他部门的单一部门来执行这将是最好的。因此，我们将不得不努力工作，使这个新部门在商业之外也能为内阁的其他成员服务。”

祝他成功！

天气

英国与爱尔兰

今日 周一 最低最高 天气 最低最高 天气

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今日欧洲

高潮位

< / td>< colspan="3">今天< / >< colspan="3">周一< / >< colspan="3">周二< / >< / tr><><>阿伯丁< / ><>03:12< / ><>4.4m 15:45< / ><>4.2m< / ><>03:45< / ><>4.4m 16:18< / ><>4.1m< / ><>04:21< / ><>4.4m 16:54< / ><>4.1m< / >< / ><><>贝尔法斯特< / ><>00:38< / ><>3.5m 13:04< / ><>3.3m< / ><>01:13< / ><>3.5m 13:39< / ><>3.3m< / ><>01:53< / ><>3.6m 14:20< / ><>3.3m< / >< / ><><>多佛< / ><>00:54< / ><>6.5m 13:10< / ><>6.7m< / ><>01:23< / ><>6.6m 13:41< / ><>6.8m< / ><>01:55< / ><>6.6m 14:15< / ><>6.8m< / >< / ><><>戈尔韦< / ><>07:19< / ><>4.9m 19:26< / ><>5.1m< / ><>07:49< / ><>4.9m 20:00< / ><>5.1m< / ><>08:23< / ><>4.9m 20:39< / ><>4.9m< / >< / ><><>哈罗维奇< / ><>01:51< / ><>3.9m 13:56< / ><>3.9m< / ><>02:23< / ><>3.9m 14:25< / ><>3.9m< / ><>02:56< / ><>3.9m

14:56< / ><>4.0m< / >< / ><><>霍利黑德< / ><>00:08< / ><>5.7m 12:30< / ><>5.4m< / ><>00:42< / ><>5.8m 13:03< / ><>5.4m< / ><>01:17< / ><>5.7m 13:38< / ><>5.3m< / >< / ><><>赫尔< / ><>08:18< / ><>7.6m 20:49< / ><>7.3m< / ><>08:54< / ><>7.6m 21:22< / ><>7.3m< / ><>09:30< / ><>7.6m 21:56< / ><>7.1m< / >< / ><><>利斯< / ><>04:33< / ><>5.6m 17:02< / ><>5.5m< / ><>05:06< / ><>5.6m 17:37< / ><>5.4m< / ><>05:42< / ><>5.6m 18:14< / ><>5.3m< / >< / ><><>利物浦< / ><>00:57< / ><>9.5m 13:18< / ><>9.2m< / ><>01:30< / ><>9.6m 13:50< / ><>9.2m< / ><>02:04< / ><>9.5m 14:24< / ><>9.1m< / >< / ><><>伦敦< / ><>03:58< / ><>6.9m 16:13< / ><>7.0m< / ><>04:31< / ><>6.9m 16:45< / ><>7.0m< / ><>05:05< / ><>6.8m 17:18< / ><>7.0m< / >< / ><><>北希尔兹< / ><>05:17< / ><>5.2m

17:49< / ><>5.0m< / ><>05:50< / ><>5.3m 18:22< / ><>4.9m< / ><>06:25< / ><>5.2m 18:58< / ><>4.8m< / >< / ><><>彭赞斯< / ><>06:44< / ><>5.4m 19:01< / ><>5.6m< / ><>07:17< / ><>5.4m 19:36< / ><>5.6m< / ><>07:51< / ><>5.3m 20:10< / ><>5.4m< / >< / ><><>普利茅斯< / ><>08:04< / ><>5.2m 20:15< / ><>5.4m< / ><>08:37< / ><>5.2m 20:48< / ><>5.4m< / ><>09:09< / ><>5.2m 21:21< / ><>5.3m< / >< / ><><>朴次茅斯< / ><>01:16< / ><>4.6m 13:46< / ><>4.7m< / ><>01:47< / ><>4.6m 14:19< / ><>4.7m< / ><>02:21< / ><>4.6m 14:52< / ><>4.6m< / >< / ><><>南港< / ><>00:38< / ><>9.2m 12:52< / ><>8.9m< / ><>01:04< / ><>9.3m 13:24< / ><>8.9m< / ><>01:31< / ><>9.2m 13:51< / ><>8.8m< / >< / ><><>韦茅斯< / ><>09:18< / ><>2.0m 21:32< / ><>2.1m< / ><>09:42< / ><>2.0m

21:52< / ><>2.1m< / ><>09:58< / ><>1.9m 22:12< / ><>2.0m< / >< / ><><>威克< / ><>01:09< / ><>3.6m 13:41< / ><>3.3m< / ><>01:44< / ><>3.6m 14:14< / ><>3.3m< / ><>02:19< / ><>3.5m 14:49< / ><>3.2m< / >< / table>

全球概览

	今日		周一
	最低	最高 天气	最低	最高 天气
阿姆斯特丹	17	22 阵雨	15	20 阵雨
雅典	23	31 晴	24	33 晴
奥克兰	12	17 雨	13	16 雨
巴格达	31	44 霾	26	39 晴
北京	17	33 晴	17	31 晴
贝尔格莱德	19	33 晴	20	36 风暴
柏林	18	26 晴朗	15	25 阵雨
布鲁塞尔	16	22 阵雨	15	20 阵雨
布达佩斯	16	32 晴	16	34 晴
布宜诺斯艾利斯	8	21 晴	11	20 晴朗
开罗	24	35 霾	24	34 霾
开普敦	10	18 晴朗	9	18 晴
哥本哈根	16	20 阵雨	14	19 阵雨
都柏林	12	19 阵雨	11	18 晴朗
日内瓦	14	28 晴	17	27 晴
直布罗陀	18	27 晴	19	26 晴朗

快速填字游戏 No. 1,612

横向 1 令人愉悦的简短 (5,3,5) 8 讨价还价 (4) 9 健身操 (5-3) 10 战后即时一代的成员 (4,6) 12 喜剧演员的笑柄 (6) 14 恶意 (6) 15 两件套保暖运动装 (10) 19 套鞋 (8) 20 遮盖 / 保护 (4) 21 道路安全措施 (5,8)

阵雨

风暴

雨

小雪

雪

冰

	今日	周一
贝尔法斯特	2022 to 0630	2019 to 0632
伯明翰	2000 to 0616	1957 to 0618
布里斯托	2002 to 0622	1959 to 0624
多佛	1945 to 0606	1943 to 0608
爱丁堡	2013 to 0616	2010 to 0618
格拉斯哥	2017 to 0620	2015 to 0622
因弗内斯	2020 to 0615	2017 to 0617
利兹	2001 to 0613	1959 to 0615
伦敦	1953 to 0613	1950 to 0614
曼彻斯特	2003 to 0617	2001 to 0618
纽卡斯尔	2005 to 0611	2002 to 0613
普利茅斯	2005 to 0629	2003 to 0631
斯旺西	2007 to 0627	2005 to 0629

智力挑战

赫尔辛基< / td><>15< / ><>20 雨< / ><>15< / ><>19 阵雨< / >< / tr><><>香港< / ><>27< / ><>31 雨< / ><>27< / ><>31 阵雨< / >< / ><><>伊斯坦布尔< / ><>20< / ><>29 晴< / ><>21< / ><>29 晴< / >< / ><><>耶路撒冷< / ><>21< / ><>28 晴< / ><>20< / ><>29 晴< / >< / ><><>金斯敦< / ><>27< / ><>34 晴朗< / ><>27< / ><>34 风暴< / >< / ><><>加尔各答< / ><>27< / ><>32 雨< / ><>26< / ><>31 雨< / >< / ><><>基辅< / ><>17< / ><>24 阵雨< / ><>16< / ><>28 风暴< / >< / ><><>洛杉矶< / ><>22< / ><>32 晴< / ><>20< / ><>30 晴< / >< / ><><>马德里< / ><>14< / ><>34 晴< / ><>16< / ><>34 晴< / >< / ><><>墨尔本< / ><>8< / ><>15 多云< / ><>9< / ><>15 晴朗< / >< / ><><>墨西哥城< / ><>13< / ><>24 雨< / ><>14< / ><>25 阵雨< / >< / ><><>迈阿密< / ><>27< / ><>33 风暴< / ><>27< / ><>33 风暴< / >< / ><><>莫斯科< / ><>11< / ><>22 雨< / ><>14< / ><>23 多云< / >< / ><><>内罗比< / ><>14< / ><>24 晴朗< / ><>14< / ><>23 阵雨< / >< / ><><>拿骚< / ><>28< / ><>33 晴朗< / ><>27< / ><>33 风暴< / >< / ><><>纽约市< / ><>19< / ><>28 晴朗< / ><>21< / ><>26 阵雨< / >< / table>

向下 2 全女性婚前庆祝活动 (3,5) 3 回应 (5) 4 正式批准 (7) 5 珍视的抱负 (5) 6 一个废物 (7) 7 瞥见 (4) 11 苏格兰的 (8) 13 在户外 (7) 14 在资源有限的情况下勉强维持 (5,2) 16 为特定目的而创建的（委员会） (2,3) 17 强烈的冲动 (5) 18 命运 (4)

<><>< / >< colspan="2">最低最高 天气< / >< / ><><>奥斯陆< / ><>15< / ><>20 阵雨< / ><>14< / ><>21 阵雨< / >< / ><><>渥太华< / ><>16< / ><>22 风暴< / ><>14< / ><>24 多云< / >< / ><><>巴黎< / ><>16< / ><>24 多云< / ><>16< / ><>23 雨< / >< / ><><>布拉格< / ><>16< / ><>26 晴朗< / ><>15< / ><>24 晴朗< / >< / ><><>里加< / ><>14< / ><>23 阵雨< / ><>15< / ><>23 多云< / >< / ><><>里约热内卢< / ><>24< / ><>27 晴< / ><>22< / ><>29 晴朗< / >< / ><><>罗马< / ><>23< / ><>33 晴< / ><>21< / ><>33 晴< / >< / ><><>首尔< / ><>23< / ><>28 雨< / ><>22< / ><>25 阵雨< / >< / ><><>新加坡< / ><>27< / ><>32 风暴< / ><>27< / ><>33 晴朗< / >< / ><><>悉尼< / ><>10< / ><>21 霾< / ><>11< / ><>22 霾< / >< / ><><>东京< / ><>21< / ><>28 多云< / ><>24< / ><>29 风暴< / >< / ><><>多伦多< / ><>18< / ><>23 风暴< / ><>19< / ><>23 阵雨< / >< / ><><>温哥华< / ><>13< / ><>19 多云< / ><>13< / ><>21 阵雨< / >< / ><><>维也纳< / ><>16< / ><>31 晴< / ><>17< / ><>28 阵雨< / >< / ><><>华沙< / ><>13< / ><>27 晴朗< / ><>16< / ><>26 多云< / >< / ><><>华盛顿< / ><>21< / ><>32 晴朗< / ><>24< / ><>33 晴< / >< / table>

答案 第 1,611 期

如果你的银行还没有提高储蓄利率，并不是因为他们忘记了。

他们只是希望 你也忘记了。

不要容忍不作为的银行 搜索 >> 活跃储蓄

哈格里夫斯 兰斯当 (HARGREAVES LANSDOWN)

全家共享的趣味游戏 需要观察者 提示：单词可以放入 E I

单词搜索

1. Magic
2. Vortex
3. Spiral
4. Roundabout
5. Hypnosis
6. Corkscrew
7. Dizzy
8. Spin
9. Coil
10. Rotate

答案见封底

□ 香蕉皮 □ 呼啦圈 □ 青苹果 □ 求婚 □ 牛 □ 一袋薯片 □ 鼓 □ 雨伞帽 □ 棉花糖 □ 蓝色发型？

Godefridus 的 Obliks 谜题

第 133 号

< / td><>2< / ><>< / ><>1< / ><>< / ><>1< / >< / tr><><>3< / ><>< / ><>3< / ><>< / >< / ><><>< / ><>3< / ><>< / ><>2< / ><>< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>< / ><>< / ><>2< / ><>< / >< / ><><>< / ><>< / ><>2< / ><>< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>< / ><>< / ><>1< / ><>< / >< / ><><>1< / ><>< / ><>3< / ><>< / ><>1< / ><>< / >< / table>

<><>1< / ><>2< / ><>3< / ><>< / >< / ><><>< / ><>< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>< / >< / ><><>1< / ><>2< / ><>< / >< / ><><>< / ><>< / ><>2< / ><>< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>< / ><>< / ><>3< / ><>< / >< / ><><>3< / ><>< / ><>1< / >< / table>

快速示例 这是一个 6×6 的小网格，用于演示玩法。 目标是通过绘制对角斜线，将每组相同数字分隔到不同的区域中。

顶部的两个 3 不能在同一个区域内，因此你需要在它们之间画一条斜线。斜线必须始终贯穿整个方格——即从顶点到顶点。

第 134 号

左侧的 1 和 2 也需要处于不同的区域。添加更多斜线以确保它们被隔离在各自的区域内。

继续逻辑性地添加斜线，在将相同数字分开的同时，保持所有数字在其各自区域内相连。

上述谜题的答案，以及填字游戏、数独、电影连接（Cinema Connect）和猜图游戏的答案，可在 New Review 的第 30-32 页找到。发现 Bug 了？有最喜欢的谜题？有建议？我们很想听听你的想法，请发送电子邮件至 puzzles@observer.co.uk

Etruscan 的 Mindset 谜题

撰稿人

Olivia Ovenden （Erdem，p22） Olivia 是《观察者报》的高级撰稿人，曾为马拉拉、基里安·墨菲和诺亚·鲍姆巴赫撰写人物特写。她此前曾在 GQ 担任撰稿人和编辑。小时候你长大后想成为什么？“一只大麦町犬。”

Alixe Lay （Homes，p30） Alixe 是一位出生于马来西亚、现居伦敦的摄影师，她对世界充满着迷，并始终在寻找一个地方的精神内核。

你的隐藏天赋是什么？“一种不可思议的雷达，能让我通过一次随机的左转，在混乱的城市中心找到绝对的宁静。”

Freya 是《观察者报》杂志的风格与编辑助理，近期毕业于中央圣马丁学院，此前曾在 Wonderland 和 10 Magazine 工作。如果你能一夜之间掌握任何一项技能，那会是什么？“刀工——这样我的餐点看起来会专业得多，而且在切洋葱后我不会哭得那么惨！”

George Simms（加里·莱因克尔，p12） George 是《观察者报》的一名体育记者，报道范围涵盖从飞镖到壁球的所有项目。自加入以来，他报道了分布在四大洲的 17 项运动，以及在内陆地区举办的一场埃尔维斯节。

如果不考虑金钱因素，你会选择什么职业？“现在这个？或者动物保护。不挑动物，也许是狐猴。”

John Simpson（喜剧时机，p18） John 在报纸、播客和纪录片领域担任犯罪记者已有 15 年。他最近辞职去接受小丑培训。对于任何考虑职业转型的人，你会说什么？“你并不等同于你的工作。在死去之前，去做你热爱的事。”

封面图片：Brian Daly。《观察者报》杂志 • 22 Berners Street, London W1T 3LP • magazine@observer.co.uk 印刷于 Walstead Bicester Ltd, Chaucer Business Park, Launton Road, Bicester, OX26 4QZ

所以 ASA 监管英国的广告，包括在线广告？没错。®

ASAW

合法、得体、诚实且真实

Churchill、“Churchie” the dog 以及 OH YES 是 Aviva Brands Limited 的注册商标，经许可使用。

RESERVATIONS

丰饶之岛

爱沙尼亚希乌马岛上的一个疗愈度假村，将该国独特的五个季节融入其中

在被波罗的海环绕的爱沙尼亚希乌马岛（Hiiumaa）有一句话说，“在这里，连时间都会休息”。正是这种生活节奏启发了 Eha 的诞生。这家拥有 11 间客房的健康疗养度假村将于 10 月 5 日在岛上被联合国教科文组织列入名录的生物圈保护区开业。“希乌马岛自然而然地要求你慢下来，”联合创始人伊娃·马兰（Eva Maran）说道，“你会开始注意到光线、空气和不断变化的景观。”

Eha 并非全年提供相同的项目，而是由爱沙尼亚的五个季节塑造。秋季旨在鼓励反思，而“春升”（Springrise）——该国转瞬即逝的第五个季节，即自然开始苏醒之时——则侧重于新生。这里的健康服务远不止于酒店的面部护理。客人们可以在气功、引导式桑拿仪式、森林漫步和采蘑菇之间切换，最后使用来自希乌马岛矿物质丰富湿地的泥炭和淤泥进行矿物质身体包裹以放松身心——这是对当地数百年传统的一种现代演绎。

与地域的联系还延伸到了建筑上：屋顶由当地匠人编织的芦苇覆盖，室内则将橡木、石灰岩、亚麻和羊毛与爱沙尼亚制作者定制的陶瓷和家具相结合。“这里的奢华关乎空间、光线、工艺和宁静，而非过剩，”马兰说道。

在夜晚，主厨彼得·皮赫尔（Peeter Pihel）使用从岛上的渔民、谷物种植者和草药师那里采购的食材，以及来自 Eha 厨房花园的农产品进行烹饪。随后，引导式的声音旅程将帮助客人们进入深沉的睡眠。“我们意识到，季节不仅仅是一个背景，”马兰说，“它们是我们能提供的最丰富、最真实的东西。” ● TABITHA JOYCE 欲了解更多信息，请访问 eharetreat.com

走红趋势 打造“蜂巢头”

最初被认为发明于 60 年代，建议“头发与脸部的理想比例应该是 2:1”。 ● 弗雷亚·古德查尔德-布里奇 (FREYA GOODCHILD-BRIDGE)

借鉴前人的倒梳技巧，明星们正让“蜂巢头”再次引发热议。创作歌手西耶娜·斯皮罗 (Sienna Spiro) 精通这种垫高发髻的艺术，她在最近的一次采访中谈到了她对 60 年代摇摆时期的女子团体（包括 Ronettes 和 Shangri-Las）风格的致敬。莉莉·艾伦 (Lily Allen) 在今年的“西区女孩” (West End Girl) 巡演期间，在舞台上尝试了多种高耸的蜂巢头，而赞达亚 (Zendaya) 在最近的一次红毯活动中，则为她的蜂巢头增添了现代感的微刘海。已故的美国发型师玛格丽特·赫尔特 (Margaret Heldt)

我的父亲非常崇拜恩雅 (Enya) 以及她的家族乐队——爱尔兰传统超级组合 Clannad。两者都是融合了凯尔特元素的流行艺人，但恩雅的风格则完全更加超凡脱俗。她那天使般的合唱人声、琶音合成器和浓厚的混响墙在爱尔兰音乐中独树一帜——那是巴洛克大键琴、新纪元神秘主义和氛围科技舞曲的一种奇特融合。尽管这些难以言表的装饰使其成为了一个独立的流派，但到我青少年时期，恩雅的名声已完全掩盖了她的兄弟姐妹。在千禧之交，她曾连续几年成为全球最畅销的录音艺术家。她似乎只穿天鹅绒。她搬进了一座城堡。

作为 Aphex Twin、Boards of Canada 和 Brian Eno 的年轻追随者，我被恩雅那种迷人且疯狂的空灵隐居者形象所吸引，但很少有朋友有同样的感受。在他们看来，她的音乐是给那些迷信水晶的母亲们听的平庸废话。他们没有看到她作品的广度和范围：如《Caribbean Blue》中圆润的合成器音色，《Orinoco Flow》中棱角分明的切分音，以及像《Aldebaran》这类曲目中翱翔且涓涓流淌的宇宙观（这是一部她在 24 岁时创作的无词氛围科技舞曲，基于古代凯尔特人穿越星系的构想）。

时间带来了智慧，或者至少剔除了那些时尚的刻板印象。即便我这一代人可能曾将她视为一个愚蠢的笑话，但 Spotify 和流媒体极大地提升了她在年轻人中的知名度。我希望他们能随时随地向他们的千禧一代和 X 世代父母播放她那抚慰人心的音乐。我也希望在她的城堡里，披着最精美的天鹅绒，恩雅现在能知道这一点。• 肖马斯·奥赖利 (SÉAMAS O'REILLY)

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描述你完美的一个小时

在清凉透明的海水中游泳，大概是在爱尔兰，和深爱的人在一起。阳光灿烂，海水冰凉沁心，所以之后会有一种兴奋感。然后我们会去酒吧，坐在舒适的私密小间里，喝着几杯吉尼斯黑啤，开心地大笑。

你想经历历史上的哪个时代？

我会选择一个我确实经历过的时代，那就是 90 年代末。世纪之交恰逢我成年并进入大学，在那里我的世界被打开了。我第一次获得了独立，在算法时代到来之前，探索自我并发现了舞曲音乐。

你最常白日梦地回想起人生中的哪个阶段？

我 20 岁出头的时候，那时我搬到英格兰去闯荡。我和我哥哥的乐队住在一起，做过各种疯狂的工作，赚得很少，睡眠也极少。那时总有一种感觉，觉得自己可能会灰溜溜地回家，但这一切都对我产生了深远的影响。

你最后一次查看社交媒体是什么时候？ 就在这次采访之前。不幸的是，因为工作原因我必须查看——然后我就陷进去了。我使用一种被称为“砖头机”的设备，这意味着它不会主宰我的生活。

如果你有充足的时间，你会追求什么爱好？ 有些事情我决定推迟到年长后再做，其中一项就是学习如何成为一名园丁。我期待成为那种会歪着头说“噢，那是一只鹪鹩！”的人。

安妮·麦克 (ANNIE MAC)

这位 48 岁的爱尔兰 DJ 兼作家在 BBC Radio 1 主持节目长达 17 年，并写了两本小说，第三本将于 2027 年出版。她还是 Before Midnight 的创始人，这是一个无手机的俱乐部体验项目。她将于 9 月 12 日在伦敦亚历山德拉宫（Alexandra Palace）举行下一场演出的门票现已发售。

如果你能与任何名人（无论生死）共处五分钟，你会选择谁？ Thin Lizzy 乐队的主唱菲尔·莱诺特 (Phil Lynott)。他出生在英格兰，母亲是爱尔兰人，父亲是圭亚那人，随后在都柏林长大。在那里，他因为是黑人，也因为是英国人而感到被排挤。我想问问他关于身份认同的问题，以及处于这两个国家之间是什么感觉。

你最后一次用 Shazam 识别的歌曲是什么？

Sylvester 的《Take Me To Heaven》。贝丝·迪托 (Beth Ditto) 在她的 BBC6 Music 节目中播放了这首歌，但我当时没听出是什么曲目。

你最后一次哭是什么时候？

在爱尔兰度假时，在海里。我沿着海滩走到一个美丽的小海湾，那里的水像玻璃一样清澈，我走进去，因为感激而流泪。我一直很擅长表达情感。我的朋友们以前叫我“漏水者”。

如果你能对 18 岁的自己说话，你会给她什么建议？

没能进入戏剧课程也没关系。我当时非常难过，以至于剪掉了头发以示抗议，但我会告诉自己“你会找到出路的”。

如果你能活到 100 岁，原因会是什么？ 足球。两个赛季前我加入了一支当地球队，简直太热爱它了。前几次我不得不借我大儿子的球鞋，但现在我会一直踢下去，直到我再也踢不动为止。 ●

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“如今那些令人心痒的新电影，是对这一代人‘无性状态’的一次辉煌反击”

在2026年的夏天，接吻被宣告死亡。双唇紧闭，双眼睁开。纪念活动已在筹划。接吻的消亡，当然与Z世代的“性衰退”有关。虽然过去过多的性行为曾被视为一个时代的定义性危机，但数据表明，现在的年轻人性行为如此之少，以至于有些人认为这成了一种新型问题。这场衰退是由一整袋杂乱的因素推动的，例如技术、#MeToo 运动、政治气候、对柏拉图式关系的重心转移、疫情、焦虑、抗焦虑药物、“异性悲观主义”，以及与手机建立的承诺关系及其带来的所有异化。

四分之一的Z世代成年人表示他们从未有过性行为，而表示至少一年没有性行为的年轻人数量在2010年至2024年间翻了一番，从12%增加到24%。在性行为下降的同时，接吻也在减少，而这正是我感兴趣的地方。在最近的一项 YouGov 调查中，超过三分之一的英国成年人报告说，他们进行浪漫接吻的频率比五年前有所下降。

18-24岁的人群表示，他们担心接吻的“正确时机”，以及自己是否不擅长接吻；27%的人认为接吻正变得越来越少见，而近五分之一的人表示他们一年多没有被接吻了。

正是在这种背景下，当我坐在昏暗的电影院里，看着吉莉安·安德森以一种色情且如天鹅绒般慵懒的神情将炸鸡蘸入烧烤酱时，我想到了这些。针对这场性衰退，出现了一系列似乎旨在抵消观众“无性状态”的电影。《仅限一夜》（One Night Only）想象了一个除了每年一个特定夜晚外，婚前性行为被禁止的世界。《邀请》（The Invite）讲述了一对一年没有性生活的夫妇邀请他们的邻居（他们每晚都能通过地板听到对方的性爱声）共进晚餐，结果反被邀请交换伴侣。在《我要你的性》（I Want Your Sex）中，一个天真的Z世代青年成为了一个性挑逗艺术家的助手，随后两人各自反抗被赋予的角色。

安德森最新的电影《米亚斯玛营地的青少年性与死》（Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma，由独立电影作者简·舍恩布伦执导的女同性恋杀手片）简直太合我的口味了，除非它就住在16号且名叫 Paula。剧情是这样的：克里斯（由汉娜·艾因宾德饰演）是一名电影制作人，被雇佣来重启20世纪80年代的《米亚斯玛营地》杀手电影系列，而该系列曾激发了她自己的“酷儿觉醒”。克里斯前往会见该电影最初的“最终女孩”比利（安德森饰），比利现在60多岁，是个隐居者，风情万种，说话慢条斯理，正在吃鸡。《米亚斯玛营地》只关乎两件事，她告诉那个倾向于将事物理智化的年轻女性，“肉体与体液。”

在这里，当身为长期恐怖片粉丝且自认“保守”的克里斯试图诱导比利签署她的新项目合同时，她也被诱惑了，最终在比利的引导下意识到，无论是寻找艺术还是寻找高潮（我们这部湖边杀手片的杀手名字叫“小死”，是法语中对高潮的字面翻译），她都需要放弃控制。在那栋阴暗的房子里，快感与欲望以软糖和肯德基桶的形式散落在地毯上，克里斯告诉比利，就像她这一代人的其他人一样，性对她来说一直是一种投射。性

“对很多人来说似乎如此简单，但除非我的意识真的飘得很远，否则我从未能与他人一起达到那个境界。”在《米亚斯玛营地》中，性就是恐怖。而恐怖某种程度上又是喜剧，喜剧又是浪漫，浪漫同时也是痛苦——当你扭曲自己以适应性别和性的二元论，并远离身体，从而在过程中与肉体和体液断开连接，重新回到脑海中的电影时，那种退缩出人类连接的痛苦。我离开电影院时感到欣快，面带微笑，饥肠辘辘。

如今电影中的性爱戏与我年轻时那种涂了凡士林的柔光浪漫风格截然不同，它更倾向于一种锐利的视角，以此反映并直面这一自愿禁欲世代的态度。或许，它是否也在提醒那些关掉手机坐着的观众，他们是血肉之躯，拥有神经，在黑暗中感受着某种东西？上周再次在电影院时，我回头看到

一对年轻情侣在热烈地接吻。我在心中欣慰地决定取消那场葬礼，同时在想，激发接吻的或许是电影院本身而非电影。我们当时在看《蜘蛛侠》。不过，你知道的，只要管用就行。 ● 艾娃·怀斯曼（Eva Wiseman）是《观察者报》的撰稿人

值得穿戴之物...

如何聪明地打包10kg行李？这里有装载指南...

在抢到一张最后一刻的阳光短途度假机票后，你的下一个任务就是应对廉价航空的随身行李挑战。你的行李能符合那些变幻莫测的标准吗？你分得清英寸和厘米吗？这一切将在登机口揭晓。幸运的是，援助就在身边。新秀丽（Samsonite）的 Proxis 55cm 款极其轻便，拥有耐用的硬壳和四个顺滑的万向轮，并包含10年全球保修。最棒的是？它符合包括瑞安航空（Ryanair）和易捷航空（EasyJet）在内的38家航空公司的手提行李尺寸要求。

说到打包，匆忙只会导致遗漏必需品。为了避免手忙脚乱，请提前拿出行李箱，有计划地装载。我通常提前一周开始收集衣物和配饰，以免不小心穿了最喜欢的衣服，导致不得不考虑紧急洗涤周期。

压缩收纳袋对于托运行李很棒，但在随身行李中可能过于臃肿。相反，可以将内衣放入可降解的食品袋中，这种袋子极其薄且轻（多带几个，用于装湿泳衣或脏衣服）。将这些小包裹塞进你的运动鞋或凉鞋中，以最大限度地利用每一毫米的空间。

多功能胶囊衣橱是关键。从一套时髦的套装（co-ord set）开始，这种设计既可以成套穿着，也可以拆分成多种搭配。带两套泳衣：一套在晾干时，另一套可以作为连体衣搭配百慕大短裤。一条围裙（sarong）可以毫不费力地在沙滩巾、裙子或连衣裙之间切换。

为了应对机场安检不断变化的液体限制，可以携带 Rehab 创新的洗发水、护发素和沐浴露洗涤片，它们在流动水下即可重新溶解。这为便携式扬声器和相机腾出了宝贵的空间。最后，投资一个手持行李秤以避免意外费用。在航空公司的规则游戏中胜出，是开启一次应得假期的完美开始。 ● JO JONES

围裙易于携带，干燥极快，且可以用作毛巾

1 1) 泳衣，£99, Whistles 2 2) 套衫，£140, With Nothing Underneath 3 3) 手链，£95, Tilly Sveaas 4 4) 吊带背心，£32, Free People 5 5) 牛仔短裤，£284, Mother Denim 6 6) 围裙，£29, John Lewis 7 7) 拉菲草包，£28, Next 8 8) X-T30 III 数码相机，£999, Fujifilm 9 9) 凉鞋，£110, Loeffler Randall 10 10) 半身裙，£65, Arket 11 11) 系腰上衣，£78, Free People 12 12) 泳衣，£30, M&S 13 13) 背心，£65, Cos 14 14) 连衣裙，£54.99, H&M 15 15) 包，£160, Farm Rio 16 16) 长裤，£28, M&S 17 17) 太阳镜，£485, Cutler and Gross 18 18) 短裤，£30, Topshop 19 19) 连衣裙，£160, Sézane 20 20) 凉鞋，£75, Teva 21 21) 耳机，£119.95, Bose 22 22) 套装衬衫，£99, Whistles 23 23) 洗涤片，£19.20 for 25, Rehab 24 24) 扬声器，£149.95, Bose 25 25) 运动鞋，£49.99, Nike 26 26) Proxis 行李箱，£359, Samsonite 27 27) 套装短裤，£69, Whistles

30.08.26 THE OBSERVER MAGAZINE

“一直以来都是双赢”

By GEORGE SIMMS

足球或许是一场由上下半场组成的比赛，但加里·莱因克尔（Gary Lineker）非凡的一生则是三个职业阶段的故事：进球传奇、电视主持人，以及现在的播客之神。随着这位国民宠儿开启第三篇章，他坦诚地谈到了运气、死亡以及政治挑衅。

如果说世界上存在某种“英式梦想”，那么加里·莱因克尔就将其过成了现实。你可以将他的成年生活整齐地分为三个阶段，其中任何一个阶段都足以让他成为英国最伟大的成功故事之一：他曾是来自莱斯特的集市商人之子，担任过英格兰队队长并效力于巴塞罗那……

这位“薯片大王”相对无缝地转型为电视荧屏上的巨擘。如今，他作为 Goalhanger 的共同所有者，承担起了“播客之神”的角色。Goalhanger 被《星期日泰晤士报》评为英国增长最快的企业，目前在 Spotify 前九名播客中占据四席。他甚至正通过 Netflix 的一项协议进军美国市场，该协议将他的《足球之余》（The Rest is Football）播客视频版在世界杯期间进行流媒体播放，目前该协议已延长至英超赛季。他的生活一直处于不断的进步之中，就像是生活中的“肯德尔·罗伊生日派对”：全程高能，毫无冗余。

我们在八月中旬见了两次面，酷热的天气让莱因克尔对气候变化的愤怒进一步升级。第一次是在道尔斯顿的一间混凝土工作室里，第二次则是挤在伦敦市中心一家空洞的体育酒吧的卡拉OK包厢里。他的说话声音很轻，这是在所有人时刻倾听你，且在过去三十年大部分时间里都佩戴麦克风的情况下，唯一能养成的说话方式。他精准地掌握了那种无需刻意尝试便能穿出高级感的风格，而今天他完美呈现了“晚期莱因克尔”的造型：厚重的古驰眼镜和格子衬衫，标志性的飞机头虽然比以前更白了，但依然挺立。

如今 65 岁的莱因克尔在被 BBC “抛出窗外”一年多之后，他的第三幕人生已正式拉开帷幕。“我享受这个阶段就像享受之前任何一个阶段一样，甚至更多，”他说，“当你是一名足球运动员，或者即便只是在谈论足球时，总会有不同意你的人，你会遭到辱骂。但有了播客，走在街上到处都有人对我说：‘我爱《娱乐之余》（The Rest is Entertainment）。汤姆（Holland）和多米尼克（Sandbrook）在《历史之余》（The Rest is History）里太棒了。我爱你们聊足球的内容。’完全没有负面评价。从工作角度来看，这可能是最令人愉悦且耳目一新的部分。”

如今，Goalhanger 声称拥有超过 250,000 名付费订阅者，并雇佣了 80 多人——今年早些时候，他们向一名美国投资者出售了少数股权，公司估值约为 1 亿英镑m。他们预计仅在 2026 年就将拥有 10 亿听众，而南岸中心将在九月举办

“之余节”（The Rest is Fest），这是一个包含现场播客录制和观众活动的周末活动。“这完全是一个双赢的过程，”莱因克尔说，“我和托尼（Pastor，前 ITV 体育主管及 Goalhanger 共同所有者）坐在一起，我们就在想，‘这他妈是怎么发生的？’”

由前曼联后卫加里·内维尔部分持有的播客公司 The Overlap 最近与迪士尼+（Disney+）达成了一项协议，类似于《足球之余》与 Netflix 的 1400 万英镑m 交易。“我认为他试图模仿我们是一个巨大的赞美，”莱因克尔笑着说，“显然，《之余》系列被加里和皮尔斯·摩根模仿了，虽然没那么成功，但他们都在尽力而为。”

但由于仍不愿或无法完全放弃传统电视，我们的第二次会面是在《盒子》（The Box）的发布会上。这是他主持的 ITV 新周六晚间游戏节目，源自一个挪威概念，融合了《任务大师》（Taskmaster）和《叛徒》（Traitors）的元素。这场活动展现了一个冷幽默的加里、斜眼看向他人的加里，以及一个自鸣得意地认为“我已经足够出名，不需要在电视直播中跳进河里，但格雷姆·苏内斯（Graeme Souness）得跳”的加里。“我已经让自己处于一个可以随心所欲的位置，”他咧嘴笑道，“我并不一定非得做《盒子》，但我真的很喜欢这个创意，而且我以前从未做过类似的东西。当你处于 60 多岁时，能做一些有趣且不同的事情并不常见。”而他与 ITV 在此过程中一起在 BBC 面前赢了一局，则纯粹是额外的奖赏。

很少有人比莱因克尔老得更优雅。在我发现自己忍不住告诉他看起来“简直太棒了”之后，我问他把灵魂许给了哪个魔鬼。他笑着打岔，但事实确实如此，他那像费里斯·布勒（Ferris Bueller）一样的青春气息，已然融合成了一种或许是最完美的“银狐”风范。他比我大将近 40 岁，但身材比我一直以来都更好。他每周见三次私人教练，并进行一次普拉提训练，这让他的前臂像船绳一样结实。他不享受训练——从来都不——但这比“另一种选择”要好。他的私人教练比他大两岁，同时也训练他的两个儿子，但他们在健身房里的状态“远不如我”。“[秘诀就是]健身。随着年龄增长，力量非常重要，此外还有良好的基因。”他最近发现自己母亲一方的家族有西班牙和法国血统，因此拥有橄榄色皮肤，这在 20 世纪 70 年代的莱斯特足以引发偶尔的种族辱骂。

最近，他越来越多地思考死亡。“自从我年满 65 岁以来，我确实察觉到了衰老，”他说。“膝盖有点咯吱作响，髋关节也有点咯吱作响。我一直认为，如果我能活到大概 80 岁，且处于相对健康、强健的状态——没有失智——然后就在一夜之间离世，我会接受这种方式。我不担心死亡，我担心的是沿途的痛苦。尤其是对于足球运动员来说，我们都担心可能会出现痴呆症或阿尔茨海默症。但如果情况变得那么糟糕，就直接把我送到瑞士吧。我对那样变老毫无兴趣。”

他的第二次离婚——对方是比他小 19 岁的演员丹妮尔·巴克斯（Danielle Bux）——发生在十年前，尽管有过“偶尔的约会和几次短暂的关系”，但此后他一直单身。“我已经非常习惯于不需要向任何人交代。如果你愿意，可以称之为自私，但我并不觉得生活中需要有人陪伴。我有许多关系非常好的女性朋友，这让我很满足，因为我喜欢女性的陪伴。但随之而来的另一部分，”他像个顽皮的小学生一样咯咯笑了起来，“我很乐意摆脱那部分。”

2019 年，他称自己“难以置信地挑剔”且“对性没有极大兴趣”。他认为此后自己的睾酮水平有所下降，兴趣进一步减退。他不预见会有另一段长期关系，但对“电光火石般的邂逅”持开放态度。他担心在自己能够负担费用的时候，会让伴侣或孩子承担照顾他的负担。

莱因克尔的次子哈里（Harry）和妻子安娜贝尔（Annabelle）将在今年晚些时候，大约在 11 月下旬加里的生日前后迎来一个女儿。他以前常告诉他的四个儿子——全部来自他与演员米歇尔·考凯恩（Michelle Cockayne）的第一段婚姻，两人初识时，米歇尔的祖母就住在莱因克尔隔壁——谁先让他当爷爷，谁就从遗嘱中除名，但在 65 岁时，他准备好迎接这个角色了。

哈里和安娜贝尔住在离他巴恩斯（Barnes）家中仅 10 分钟路程的地方，虽然他不想成为一名全职祖父，但他意识到自己将成为“一段时间内的驻点保姆”。“我非常期待，”他说。“但我确实有顾虑，在想：‘现在真是把孩子带到这个世界上来的好时机。’我们该担心什么？担心 AI？担心气候？还是担心我们在某种战争中把自己炸飞？”

莱因克尔生活中一个持久的关注点是他的弟弟韦恩（Wayne），或许他是典型的“裙带关系兄弟”。加里在学校读到 16 岁，而韦恩在 14 岁时就辍学在莱斯特市场的家族果蔬摊帮忙，随后在 1988 年开了一家名为 Lineker's 的特内里费体育酒吧，由其兄长资助。他曾在 2006 年因税务欺诈被判入狱两年半，但现在在南欧和迪拜拥有多家俱乐部，并在 Instagram 上拥有 120 万粉丝，仅落后其兄长 200,000 人。

他们是遗传学和社会环境影响的一个极具吸引力的研究案例——加里曾表示，他更像他们的母亲，而韦恩则更像父亲，并称弟弟在足球天赋上远胜于他。虽然他们在40岁之前关系密切——1996年加里曾说“除了妻子和孩子，我与韦恩的关系比任何人都亲近”——但直到去年为止，他们实际上已有近二十年没有真正交谈。韦恩曾表示，这是因为他与加里的前妻丹妮尔·巴克斯（Danielle Bux）合不来，因此他没有参加他们2009年的婚礼。在去年夏天经历了一场为期60天的药物和酒精沉溺后，韦恩进入了康复中心并从此保持清醒，不过在康复期间，他的免疫系统崩溃并患上了肺炎，几乎导致他丧命。

兄弟俩在去年夏天加里儿子和韦恩女儿的婚礼上进行了交谈，并拍到了自2000年代后期以来首次的合影。“我们只是生活在不同的世界里，真的，”加里解释道。“你会有争执，然后你会审视更重大的问题。我偶尔会见到他。韦恩自己也承认，他和我是一个完全不同的人。仅仅因为我们是兄弟，并不意味着必须永远保持亲密。我年轻时我们很亲近，后来我们就渐行渐远了。但我们现在关系还行。我认为他已经让自己回到了正轨，这很有帮助。”韦恩在今年早些时候告诉斯宾塞·马修斯（Spencer Matthews），“我们的友谊已经恢复到以前的样子了”，但加里的态度则更为谨慎。

莱因克尔表示，他从未在心理健康方面挣扎过，也不认为自己经历过临床抑郁症。不过，他曾接受过几次心理治疗，并对此表示推荐。通过倾诉，他得以度过人生中几次明确的低谷——他的长子乔治在两个月大时被诊断出患有骨髓性白血病，随后莱因克尔在七个月的时间里多次被告知孩子可能无法撑过当晚，导致他梦见一个个白色的小棺材；他的父母玛格丽特和巴里分别于2015年和2017年去世（尽管他说几年前失去爱犬让他感到更加痛苦）；以及他的两次离婚。“在公众关注下经历离婚真的很难，因为他们让你觉得你像犯了罪一样，而你实际上只是在整理自己的生活。”

1986年世界杯金靴奖得主。他打入了六个进球

2022年在曼城对阵利物浦的足总杯半决赛后，以《今日比赛》（Match of the Day）主持人的身份退休

在伦敦波特兰广场BBC大楼外参加反对种族主义游行的抗议者

在所属俱乐部赢得联赛冠军后，穿着莱斯特城短裤主持《今日比赛》

他还声称自己极少（如果说有的话）发脾气，且不会感到紧张。他搬到了巴塞罗那，在两年内就掌握了足以解说西甲比赛的西班牙语。他不会宿醉，尽管他说在纽约度过世界杯后，他的肝脏需要休息。

在 18, 他跑完房间用时 10.5 秒，比世界纪录慢一秒。如果他不是一名足球运动员，他会去打板球，在 11 到 16 岁期间担任莱斯特郡学校队的队长。我问他有什么不擅长的，显然是“跳舞、唱歌，任何与音乐相关的，任何与艺术相关的，不会画画，也不会素描。也许你可以说我不太擅长维持婚姻，但我认为这两段婚姻都算成功。”然而，他似乎甚至擅长离婚——他称丹妮尔为他的“最好的朋友”，甚至与她的现任丈夫关系良好。也许他只是擅长告诉世界人们想听的话，但在过去的四十年里，他很大程度上一直保持着惊人的前后一致。他说自己不是控制狂，但“喜欢掌控自己”，并且“我倾向于专注于我的优势，而不是去处理我的弱点”。

在这个追求高性能的世界里，莱因克尔似乎成了一个日益罕见的践行者，他信奉这样一个观点：“你可以拥有野心，渴望在某件事上做到极致，而不需要变成一个该死的疯子。”只有高尔夫球能让他彻底崩溃，所以他放弃了。“我不喜欢自己在高尔夫球场上的样子。那曾让我非常恼火，是我唯一会变得斤斤计较的时候。有时我回到家会想：‘我的天，你今天表现得像个混蛋。’”他在人群中会感到害羞，意识到每个人都认得他，并担心记不起某些人。我指出这种情况是普遍的，他可能是在强行寻找某种艰辛。

“我有时会想，为什么我在生活中如此幸运，”他说，你能感觉到他是真这么想的。“我总在想，是不是在某个其他星球上，有个玩PlayStation游戏且水平相当高的人在操控我，而我恰好被那个顶尖玩家操控着。”

我们交谈的时间，恰好是莱因克尔穿着莱斯特城品牌内裤主持《每日比赛》（Match of the Day）的10周年纪念日。那是“BBC加里”的巅峰时期，但也是某种终结，标志着他从“国民瑰宝”转变为“国民议题”。在过去的十年里，无论好坏，他被重新定义为或许是英国左翼最重要的一位非政治政治人物，这主要源于他公开反对以色列在加沙的战争。7月下旬，他参加了一个由两名居住在英国的巴勒斯坦人主持的播客，对方告诉他，因为他的支持，他在加沙深受爱戴。“这感觉相当令人触动，因为公开表态已经变得非常 $\rightarrow$

GROOMING BY KRYSTLE GOHEL USING ARMANI BEAUTY

'I have a lot of female friends who I get on really well with, so that's satisfying because I love female company' 困难。这让一些人失去了工作，关于这一点，我可以结合个人经验来说明。”

2025年，莱因克尔转发了一段关于犹太复国主义的Instagram视频，其中包含一张老鼠的插图，这是一个被广泛认知的反犹太主义隐喻。他随后删除了该帖子并道歉，解释称他没有看到那张插图。虽然他原定于2024-25赛季结束时离开《每日比赛》，但这意味着他退出了原计划的世界杯和足总杯报道。

在脱欧投票期间，他支持留在欧盟的阵营，这是他在BBC工作20年后首次公开支持的政治事业。2016年10月，他在推特上写道，英国对待难民的方式是“极其种族主义且完全冷酷无情的”，《太阳报》试图让他被《每日比赛》解雇，并且在接下来的十年里，针对他被认为违反了其在技术上并不受约束的公正性规则的行为，该报一直试图将其除名。到2016年12月，《Vice》将他封为“英国左翼最响亮的声音”，但在2017年大选后，他将自己定义为“政治上的无家可归者”，写道：“一切似乎要么是极右，要么是极左。某种理性的中间路线或许会有吸引力？”

十年后，他进一步远离了中间地带的舒适区。“对很多人来说，同理心会随着年龄增长而消失，他们可能会更倾向于极右翼。而我恰恰相反。”尽管如此，BBC公正性的某些惯性依然存在——他在措辞上非常谨慎，勤于添加限定词并保持平衡，仍在摸索脱离束缚后的生活界限，但他很喜欢这种状态。“我不需要一直小心翼翼，”他说。“我现在有权拥有自己的观点。总的来说，生活变得轻松了一些。我并不想念BBC。我对它充满敬意，但它迷失了方向。他们谈论公正，但在高层，他们绝对是有偏见的。我们需要在政治政党决定董事会成员人选之外寻找出路。”

在世界杯期间，他邀请了纽约市市长佐兰·马姆达尼（Zohran Mamdani）参加自己的播客，并表示与他见面是一次“快感”，称他“极具魅力，惊人地有吸引力，而且极其聪明且能言善辩”。他说：“他已经在纽约带来了一些改变，几乎证明了左翼政策是可以奏效的。显然，现在还处于早期阶段，但极右翼总是会说，‘哦，我们不能搞这些左翼的东西，已经证明[行不通]了……（在英国）我们从未真正尝试过真正的左翼政策！’”

莱因克尔不知道自己会投票给谁，但他去年年底接受了绿党领导人扎克·波兰斯基（Zack Polanski）的采访，并在安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）就任首相后不久采访了他。“波兰斯基带来的影响与马姆达尼类似。我发现自己倾向于同意很多（绿党的）政策，尤其是在环境方面，”他说。“我们现在依然在这样的酷暑中生活，而我们的政府却在讨论在北海钻探石油。为了什么？根本没有任何实际好处。也许又是那些把我们推入这种困境的化石燃料商在游说。我只是好奇，那些我们投票选出以试图带来改变的政治家们怎么就看不见这一点，或者如果他们看见了，为什么允许自己被游说。”

上个月，莱因克尔与理查德·柯蒂斯（Richard Curtis）和布赖恩·伊诺（Brian Eno）一起，成为了120名签署信函要求“向我们征税”的英国百万富翁之一，信中写道：“我们知道，财富和权力在极少数群体中集中得太久了，而代价则是我们的国家、人民、民主和环境。”这项由（包括加里·“加里经济学”·史蒂文森在内的）“英国爱国百万富翁”（Patriotic Millionaires UK）发起的运动，建议对超过1000 万英镑m的财富征收2%的税，并使资本利得税率与所得税率一致。莱因克尔不会选择这个名字——“爱国主义有点像部落主义，我都不太喜欢”——但他完全支持这个想法。

标准的反驳是，如果他如此渴望多缴税，英国税务海关总署（HMRC）接受直接银行转账。“也许我确实想，”他面对这种批评时说道。“如果我想，我也绝不会承认。但如果只有你一个人这样做，绝对没有任何区别。我们真正要求的是，不仅是那些愿意这样做的人，而且每一个有能力这样做的人都应该在一定程度上为社会做出贡献。人们在谈论（千万富翁们）逃离这个国家。为了他们超级财富中极小的一小部分，他们真的会这么做吗？”

他也日益痴迷于人工智能（AI），甚至到了阴谋论的程度。“（数据中心）用水量和能耗水平在此时如此之高，而我们本该做完全相反的事情，而且是为了什么？为了让人们失业吗？”他说。“我认为这些亿万富翁科技寡头认为AI将给超级富豪带来永生，”他补充道，随后沉思道“年轻人可能需要一场全球革命”。他建议由我来领导，这是一个我仍在考虑的亲切提议，但格蕾塔·通贝里（Greta Thunberg）才是他的首选。“她能吸引很多人支持。显然我不认为这会发生，但这是前进的方向。”

莱因克尔的“第三幕”才刚刚开始，那是他暮年时光的黎明。未来还会有更多的播客，有关于他涉足烹饪节目的报道，可能会有更多的孙辈，以及重返周六晚间的屏幕。尽管如此，他对英格兰、世界和人类依然保持乐观。“我仍然认为我们可以做正确的事，”他停顿了一下，“我们有能力做到这一点。”随后，公关团队像狼一样等在门前，这位英国最不像革命者的男人被匆匆带走了。 ●

作者：约翰·辛普森（JOHN SIMPSON）

喜剧时机

为什么我放弃资深犯罪记者的生活去成为一名小丑

照片

马蒂尔达·希尔-詹金斯 (MATILDA HILL-JENKINS)

一项困难调查中的复杂法律问题需要紧急回应。我拿起电话，给律师和编辑写了一封电子邮件，深知报社层级中的每一个人都会仔细研读这封信。我认真地在信中写道：“这些是我非常严肃对待的问题。”这是事实。同样也是事实的是，就在那一刻，我正穿着一件狮子装——而这仅仅是一系列导致我采取果断行动的事件中的最新一环。

我必须在我的两种生活之间做出选择，而我知道会选哪一个。我放弃了犯罪记者的职业生涯，去接受小丑培训。这就是主线，这就是故事。

具体来说，我离开了一份多年来被许多人视为梦想的工作。我曾是《观察者报》的内政编辑。现在我失业了，在做自由职业，并学习如何成为一名小丑。不是那种扔派的马戏团小丑。我只在训练时偶尔戴红鼻子。我的专业被宽泛地称为“剧场小丑”，这是一种另类喜剧和肢体剧的形式。可以把它想象成比巴斯特·基顿 (Buster Keaton) 少一点闹剧，或者像憨豆先生 (Mr Bean) 但带有一种超凡脱俗的感觉。想想所有你曾经嘲笑过的人，因为你知道他们所做的蠢事反映了你自身的一点愚蠢，反映了人类自身的一种荒诞。

这就是我希望成为的那种白痴。如果你注定要经历中年危机，那就让它变得精彩，对吧？

我从未指望成为新闻界最著名的约翰·辛普森 (John Simpson)，但最终我获得了“资深”这个头衔，比如“资深犯罪记者”。我曾伪装成足球流氓潜伏，曾渗透进恐怖组织网络，还曾破获过一起谋杀案。

但在我在《观察者报》工作的末期，事情开始变得滑稽起来。三年来，只要有机会，我一直在接受小丑培训。我研究过小丑艺术，参加过小丑课程和工作坊。我还创办了一家公司，为其他小丑提供训练空间。这些事情不可避免地开始重叠。

在我想象中被称为“狮子门”事件之前不久，我曾被皇家法院 (Royal Courts of Justice) 的安保人员没收了一个黄铜小丑喇叭。那是一次极其尴尬的经历，仅仅是因为当我的包在X光机检查后被拉到一边时，我表现得相当像那种“你知道我是谁吗”的人。为了缓和气氛，我演示了喇叭发出的“哈-嘿”声，随后一名安保人员给了我一张纸条，让我离开时来领取。

不久之后，我登录参加苏格兰场 (Scotland Yard) 的一次反恐简报会，收到一条消息说会议主持人很快会让我进入。我坐在《观察者报》办公室的一个小隔间里，处理其他一些工作。然后，我的思绪飘到了我一直在创作的一段小丑喜剧上——一个“笑话大师”的角色。入场部分需要改进。我想尝试发出一些响亮且带有喘息感的笑声。类似于“嘿，呼，哈”的声音。于是我练习了一会儿。

接着，我的 WhatsApp 炸锅了。

“伙计。你的麦克风，”来自《泰晤士报》的戴维·伍德 (David Woode) 发来消息。

“伙计，你的麦克风，”来自《纽约时报》的利齐·迪尔登 (Lizzie Dearden) 发来消息。

会议主持人已经让我进去了。我那响亮且带有喘息感的笑声被广播给了整个犯罪记者协会、一名高级警官以及伦敦警察厅新闻办公室的多名成员，他们当时都正静静地等待着英国反恐警察局局长的到来。总共五十个人，这大概是我迄今为止最大的观众群。我没有感到羞愧，这或许成了我决定离职的决定性因素。不久之后，我告诉报社老板我不会续约。他们问我是否想要另一个职位。我说我会考虑一下。然后，报社编辑詹姆斯·哈丁 (James Harding) 给了我一个出其不意的提问。“约翰，”他说，“如果钱不是问题，你会做什么？”

我毫不犹豫地回答道：“小丑学校”。在这种情况下，报社编辑能帮上忙的已经不多了。

那么，我这样一个极其严肃的新闻记者，是如何误打误撞进入小丑世界的，又为什么一直沉溺其中？与一份职业分手，就像失去一段伟大的爱情。它经历了悲伤与指责、愤怒、挫败和幻灭的阶段。最重要的是，我感到失望。在我报业生涯的大部分时间里，我一直被新闻业的伟大梦想所支撑。我痴迷于调查过程，痴迷于在不被欢迎的地方挖掘真相。尽管每天目睹人们对待彼此最糟糕的一面，但我依然能从那些遭受深重苦难却致力于帮助他人的人的强大故事中获得力量。十五年后，我看着我们人员削减的新闻编辑室，看着报摊上那些尖叫式的头条新闻，没有一点感觉像《总统的所有男人》。

每天读报变得令人厌倦。道德恐慌和惊惶失措的愤怒在循环往复，既乏味且往往虚伪。这些内容能卖掉报纸，尽管回报在递减。这里有一种习惯：发现一个问题，将其放大，然后指责某人——接着如此循环。我发现自己经常深入挖掘恐怖之事，并思考其结果是否仅仅是对一个残酷且不宽容的世界所描绘的恐惧且不准确的画像。这些故事是真的，但它们被包装在其他不间断的苦难之中，这与我所看到的真实世界无法协调。

我也改变了。在为《泰晤士报》报道犯罪新闻的11年接近尾声时，我白日里是一个大脑、一个屏幕、双手和一个键盘，夜晚则是一团模糊的酒瓶、酒吧和糟糕的决定。我将自己的碎片精心修剪成成功的形象。我穿着西装打着领带。但碎片依然在不断脱落。

2017年，英国发生了五起恐怖袭击，包括曼彻斯特体育场爆炸案，以及格伦费尔火灾的惨剧。那一年，我内心深处的某些东西变得脆弱并崩断了。我的酗酒变得失控，我的感情生活爆炸，而工作成了我愿意赋予自己的最后一点价值象征。我像旧电影里那种酗酒犯罪记者的漫画形象一样生活着，但我依然完成了一些我最优秀的作品。我凭借一个播客系列获奖，至今仍为此感到自豪。

约翰·辛普森在其中一个表演中装扮成一部人类电话

在去年加入《观察者报》之前，我戒了酒，环游世界，并在一家社交媒体新闻公司工作了两年。这让我处于人类在摧毁自己大脑这一混乱局面的前线。短视频和单图帖子用狂躁且不可预测的片段充斥大脑，触发各种情绪。讽刺的是，我们试图利用手机和社交媒体推送来自我安抚。我们凝视着瀑布般倾泻而下的生活片段，那些生活看起来比我们自己的好得多，或者糟糕得令人绝望。我们经营着在线身份。我们逃避并否定自我。我们消失了。

我日益发现，在这个人工智能和肤浅幸福的时代，我们真实的愚蠢和不完美的人性，可以成为一颗出人意料的北极星。

于是，小丑登场了。

有一天喝咖啡时，一位朋友兼导师在桌对面投来一个眼神。“你应该去上个小丑课程，”他说。凯利·金汉（Kelly Kingham）是一位退休的单口喜剧演员，是我在戒酒康复期间结识的朋友，他是一个富有诗意且能给人启发的人。我没有问任何问题，直接预订了一个为期一天的研讨会。有趣的是，凯利当时是在跟我朋友说话——我只是截获了他的目光。大约一个月后，我正和一个陌生人玩捉迷藏。

我的第一次工作坊引发了接二连三的尝试。在过去的三年里，我参加了大约 25 位老师的短期课程和工作坊，从一位名叫安吉拉·德·卡斯特罗（Angela de Castro）的娇小巴西小丑，到一位名叫艾托尔·巴萨里（Aitor Basauri）的留着胡须、古怪的西班牙小丑，以及一位名叫米克·巴恩法瑟（Mick Barnfather）的像叔叔一样亲切的英国小丑，后者是 Complicité 剧团的成员。接下来，我将在 11 月飞往意大利，与一位名叫乔瓦尼·富塞蒂（Giovanni Fusetti）的老师进行为期一个月地培训，他曾在著名的雅克·勒考学校（École Jacques Lecoq）任教。这次培训既令人捧腹，又残酷且具有冲击力。有时，这感觉就像是在逆转一次额叶切除术，或者是在进行一场考古挖掘以揭示最真实的自我，每一次发现都让位给另一座坟墓或埋葬地，就像矿工的镐头击中了另一条更富矿的矿脉。

在早期，我发现自己参加了一个有《天线宝宝》中的丁丁（Tinky Winky）在场的工作坊。那天我的老师是戴夫·汤普森（Dave Thompson），他是一名小丑和喜剧演员，也是扮演那个紫色天线宝宝的演员之一。我记得最清楚的一项任务在业内通常被称为“发现观众”。小丑进入房间。没有计划，没有聪明、古怪或令人厌烦的垃圾，没有那些你可能会预设在被诟病的“小丑”标签下自带的胡闹。身体保持静止，眼神开放，没有固定的表情，小丑去发现这个房间，发现观众，发现世界。神奇的事情发生了。我们看到了他们，他们看到了我们——仿佛是第一次。从那时起，一切皆有可能。

这项任务揭示了一个人在紧张时会表现出的面具、抽搐和习惯。我们看到他们趾高气昂，或者抱歉地微笑。他们遮掩自己的身体器官。他们害怕被看见，担心自己不够优秀。人们在虚拟形象背后运作，这些形象经过精心策划并投射到世界上；比如一套西装和一条领带。它们保护我们免受审判，但却让我们远离了彼此紧密相连的人性，以及生存这一令人捧腹的困境。

扮演小丑很难。它具有暴露性。我曾不止一次地流泪。有一次我陷入了愤怒的咒骂之中，无法说服自己的双脚带我走出舞台幕布。小时候，我讨厌被嘲笑。这是一种奇怪的训练选择。有些训练会让小丑反复接触我们所谓的“砸场”（the flop）——即失败。你试图让观众笑，但你失败了。“砸场”就像一场噩梦，你在满屋子的同事面前赤身裸体地做演示。但我也被多次告知，这正是小丑最好的朋友。老师们说，正是在这里，在灾难的边缘，真正的创造力才会产生。最顶尖的小丑就在那里表演，在灾难的边缘摇摇欲坠，偶尔陷入其中，但总能被他们的乐观、天真或纯粹的愚蠢所救。

好几个月来，我一直欺骗自己，认为扮演小丑只是一个爱好，是对我一直在做的个人成长工作的补充。我说过我永远不会表演。但我参加了所有能参加的演出。我看到了像朱莉娅·马斯利（Julia Masli）、保琳娜·勒努瓦（Paulina Lenoir）、露西·霍普金斯（Lucy Hopkins）和杰米·伍德（Jamie Wood）这样空灵的生物。他们似乎不需要移动就能引发笑声。他们牵动着空气中的紧张感，就像牵动风筝线一样，而观众则被三比一地牵引着。如今，英国公众的大部分似乎已被一种激进的白人民族主义叙事所说服。我无法摆脱这样一种感觉：这一切就发生在我们的眼皮底下。

离开是痛苦的，不再热爱新闻报道是痛苦的，意识到在依然需要优秀新闻业的时候我却在弃岗是痛苦的。但我从小丑艺术中发现的诗意，始于与优秀新闻业或科学探索相同的谦卑。它始于“我不知道”。它构建起好奇、喜悦和笑声。在我的生命中，现在是时候致力于构建线下空间，让人们建立联系并寻找共同点。我也感到幸运，能找到一种目前还无法被机器复制的艺术。

我曾经用于在办公室熬夜的精力

“真正的创造力发生在灾难的边缘。最顶尖的小丑就在这里表演，在灾难的边缘精彩地摇摇欲坠”

风，以及他们共同让某种东西飞了起来。

在纽约跟随一位名叫克里斯托弗·拜斯（Christopher Bayes）的老师训练后，我坦承我想登上舞台。我开始以一个游戏节目主持人的角色参加开放麦表演，这个角色的目标是让观众同意嫁给他。毫无疑问，这是我的潜意识在编造，以此来嘲笑我多年前失败的订婚。其他表演也接踵而至。例如《电话》，在其中我扮演一部与观众互动的手机，这是一部关于在屏幕使用时间和“末日刷屏”（doomscrolling）中挣扎的半忏悔式作品。还有一个什么都不怕的记者小丑（随你怎么理解），以及前文提到的“笑话大师”，这是一个嘲笑我的男性气概、深层精神世界和信仰的机会。

去年，我第一次“炸场”了（bombed）。“炸场”意味着在舞台上彻底失败。我尝试了那个订婚游戏节目的片段，结果看起来极其诡异。我缺乏几乎所有小丑老师所要求的东西：在那里的愉悦感和玩心。精神缺失了，我看起来只是在渴求关注。我崩溃了。于是我退回到训练中，并在《观察者报》继续工作。起初，这份工作以及我们由才华横溢的记者组成的小团队让我恢复了活力，让我感到投入且充满能量。但随着在犯罪报道领域的深耕，旧有的怀疑再次悄然袭来。

我记得去年在怀特霍尔（Whitehall）的一次汤米·罗宾逊（Tommy Robinson）集会上，当我穿行在超过100,000人的人群中时，感到一种职业上的失败感。埃隆·马斯克出现在大屏幕上，呼吁推翻政府。我想起2011年我作为一名初级记者在《泰晤士报》的第一份工作，就是报道一场吸引了500名英国国防联盟（English Defence League）暴徒的罗宾逊集会；当时反种族主义者的人数比他们多。而我对小丑表演那无边无际的热情似乎在不断增长。我曾说服报社派我前往巴黎，报道伟大的小丑大师菲利普·高利耶（Philippe Gaulier）的葬礼，他的学生包括萨莎·拜伦·科恩（Sacha Baron Cohen）和海伦娜·波汉姆·卡特（Helena Bonham Carter）。

我每周主持两次工作坊，并建立了一个分享我对这门古怪工艺热情的小丑社区。我晚上在开放麦表演，经常在下班后冲回家打个盹，然后赶紧跑去酒吧进行五分钟的表演。

每个记者都害怕自己成为新闻。因此，就在我离职日期前不久，当我收到一条来自《私家眼》（Private Eye）杂志记者的 WhatsApp 消息时，我下意识地退缩了。“如果我被误导了，这将会非常尴尬，”消息写道。接着，他询问我是否离职是为了重新培训成为一名“专业小丑”。

那一周，我在伦敦的一个喜剧之夜获得了首次领衔表演的机会。突然之间，这种前进的势头似乎不可逆转。我恳求《私家眼》的记者推迟发布，至少等到我离职之后。他照做了。上个月发表的那篇文章以这句话结尾：“他要填补的鞋子（角色）非常大。”

随后，在一次巅峰体验中，我被要求写这篇文章。我的编辑想拍摄我的“笑话大师”表演，但我说小丑需要观众。于是我发现自己陷入了类似我之前描述的噩梦中：在教堂大厅里向四位前同事表演，虽然没有完全赤裸，但被剥离了所有精心构建的犯罪记者保护色。没有西装，没有领带。曾经我最大的恐惧是他们都会嘲笑我，而现在我担心他们不会。不过这一次，至少他们笑了。 ●

作者：奥利维亚·欧文登（OLIVIA OVENDEN）

从泰勒·斯威夫特（Taylor Swift）到米歇尔·奥巴马（Michelle Obama）和赞达亚（Zendaya），Erdem 深受各界喜爱，他一直追随自己的内心。在他庆祝品牌成立 20 年之际，这位伟大的局外人表示，他将继续“按自己的鼓点行进”。

每周有一天，时装设计师埃尔登·莫拉利奥卢（Erdem Moralioğlu）会前往伦敦图书馆，将手机存入木制储物柜，然后花一整天时间绘画。每一幅草图都从女性的颈部开始，接着是面部和头部其余部分，且每次他都使用 Bic 0.5 铅笔在无印良品（Muji）的写生本上绘制。就在这座位于圣詹姆斯广场（St James's Square）且已屹立近 200 年的建筑里，埃尔登陷入了一个又一个奇特的“兔子洞”。在创作 2026 春夏系列时，他对 19 世纪末的法国灵媒海伦·史密斯（Hélène Smith）产生了兴趣。“她会有一些奇怪的幻象，陷入出神状态，并认为自己是玛丽·安托瓦内特宫廷的一员，”他说。在其他时候，她则相信自己是一位印度公主，或是穿梭在火星天空中的太空旅行者。

最终的系列作品呈现出迷幻且具有错觉的细节：手袋上一双眼睛中生长出的线条，像纸链一样串在一起的漂浮钩编圆盘，以及一件高领连衣裙，配有灯罩裙摆，蕾丝缎带从裙边下方逸出，仿佛在挣脱束缚。

“我深信图书馆的力量，”埃尔登说。“那里有一位非常出色的图书管理员与我合作。我可以告诉她：‘我对这些想法中的一些感兴趣。你在馆藏中是否见过能将人带往另一个世界的任何东西？’”

泰勒·斯威夫特在六月穿着一件由埃尔登设计的雕塑感迷你裙

我们正处于埃尔登位于东伦敦的工作室中，正值今年夏天的一场热浪期间，具体是在他的办公室里，书架沿墙而立，书籍在地面上堆成小叠。

这里有像铺路石一样大的时尚摄影集，从欧洲各地搜集而来的诗集，各种咒语书，以及 E.M. 福斯特（EM Forster）、克里斯托弗·伊舍伍德（Christopher Isherwood）和詹姆斯·鲍德温（James Baldwin）的旧版著作。对于像我这样怀孕 32 周且大汗淋漓的人来说，这里显得过于雅致，但他礼貌地忙着为我倒水，并为我拖来一张白色皮革办公椅。

埃尔登 48 岁，但拥有像比他年轻 20 岁的人那样像惠比特犬般精干的骨架和清新的面孔。今天他穿着卡其裤，搭配加州冲浪品牌 Dekka 的蓝色 T 恤和毛绒款 Birkenstocks 一脚蹬鞋。在他圆框眼镜后面是一双深褐色的眼睛，似乎不怎么眨眼。他身上有一种强度，但这种强度被一种近乎共谋般的友好所中和。他迎接我时，以如此热情且笃定的态度坚持说我们之前见过面，以至于尽管我知道他绝对错了，但仍让我开始怀疑他是否是对的。

“我想人们可能认为我非常克制，但其实我不是，”我们在坐下后他说道。“我喜欢粗糙的边缘。”

安娜·温图尔（Anna Wintour）将埃尔登描述为“伦敦最卓越的讲述者”。他经常在历史上那些较少被讲述的女性故事中寻找系列的灵感，例如英国诗人兼作家拉德克利夫·霍尔（Radclyffe Hall），或是米特福德姐妹中最年幼的德博拉·卡文迪什（Deborah Cavendish），德文郡公爵夫人。正如温图尔所言，这些女性拥有“勇气、个性、信念和极高的格调”。通过一个他将其描述为

“由 Erdem 为我设计服装太美妙了，因为他对女性形体有着惊人的尊重”

“过滤”，他最初的灵感火花照亮了前行的道路。“当有人在店里试穿一件连衣裙时，他们会想到 20 世纪 20 年代一部具有开创性的女同性恋小说，还是会觉得：‘这件裙子有口袋，而且让我看起来很美？’”他笑着说，“我想大概是后者。”

尽管如此，支撑这些服装的幻想与想象层级赋予了它们一种戏剧感，使其深受广泛时尚界及其高知名度客户的喜爱。“由 Erdem 为我设计服装的过程太美妙了，因为他对女性形体有着如此惊人的认知和尊重，”演员尼古拉·考夫兰（Nicola Coughlan）说道，她多次穿着该品牌的服装，包括在《布里杰顿》第三季首映式上穿着的一套定制造型。“他能为任何人设计服装，并让他们觉得自己成为了最好的版本。”

该设计师的 AW26 系列将 Erdem 过去的灵感缪斯们带入了一场“想象中的对话”，近几个月来，艾米莉·布朗特（Emily Blunt）、安雅·泰勒-乔伊（Anya Taylor-Joy）、赞达亚（Zendaya，两次）和泰勒·斯威夫特（Taylor Swift）都穿着过该系列。在斯威夫特穿着一件带有紧身胸衣上身和裙摆花卉贴片的迷你裙的照片下方，一条 Instagram 评论写道：“这件裙子简直太壮丽了，让我喜极而泣。无论谁设计了它，都应该被巧克力簇拥着，并在梵蒂冈被封圣。”

Erdem 尚未在梵蒂冈被封圣，但他确实在 2020 年因对时尚产业的贡献而获得了 MBE（大英帝国勋章）。AW26 标志着他创立品牌 20 年，期间 Erdem 始终保持完全独立，并于去年在伦敦开设了第二家店，此次选址在斯隆街（Sloane Street）。在我们见面那天早晨，他刚刚签署协议接管他在纽约上东区的第一个美国店址，明天他将飞往韩国视察那里的两家门店。

当他谈到同时准备即将到来的 SS27 系列以及早秋系列时，我说这听起来太没完没了了，但他更喜欢将这些截止日期视为令人愉悦且严格的学校学期。“空白页总能提供探索未知的机会，”他说，“你总是在试图弄清楚她将走向何方。”

关于一个神秘且永恒的“她”的想法，自 Erdem 小时候起就令他着迷。在蒙特利尔长大期间，他只画女性，经常参考像《绿山墙的安妮》这样的书籍。“我想我的父母当时觉得，这孩子很古怪，”他笑着说，“我有一个双胞胎姐妹，她画树和云。而我只画女人，尤其是带有泡泡袖的。所以那时我就在想，‘给我一个历史感的袖口轮廓’。”

Erdem 的父亲是一位来自土耳其的化学工程师，他在日内瓦杜邦公司担任秘书的母亲那里结识了她，后者来自伯明翰。他的母亲热爱艺术和历史，经常带他和姐姐去美术馆，邀请他们进入她的热情世界，而不是让他们保持距离。

这家人定居在加拿大，但 Erdem 认为与父母原籍国保持的联系有助于形成

他看待世界的方式。“我在这种奇怪的无根感中长大：你的口音听起来不像你的家人，而其他任何人的声音听起来也不像你的父母，”他说，他的口音在英国和加拿大之间摆动，两者兼有却又都不是。他在这种无根感中发现了一种优势。“你的眼睛始终睁开着：无论是去伊斯坦布尔的托普卡帕宫还是伦敦塔，世界如此之大且有趣，”他说，“保持好奇心是最基本的事情，但同时也可以是最具挑战性的。”

这种无根感在2000年他也得到了发挥，当时他搬到伦敦在皇家艺术学院学习女装设计，感觉“离家如此之远，但却以一种最绝妙的方式存在着”。他到达后发现，他的同学们在夏天都去香奈儿（Chanel）或克里斯蒂安·拉克鲁瓦（Christian Lacroix）工作；而他为了赚钱，在加拿大的一档房屋翻新节目中找了份工作。他的绘画水平被评定为不够精准，无法被委以布置场景的重任，因此他被分配去给墙壁刷底漆。

在皇家艺术学院学习期间，埃尔登（Erdem）听过沃尔夫冈·蒂尔曼斯（Wolfgang Tillmans）和侯赛因·查拉扬（Hussein Chalayan）的讲座。他与学生朋友黛西（Daisy）和克雷西达（Cressida）住在一起，回忆起那时“周三会去Nag Nag Nag俱乐部，跳舞直到脚痛，而且奇怪的是从未宿醉”。他就是在那里遇到了他现在的丈夫、建筑师菲利普·约瑟夫（Phillip Joseph），以及直到今天仍在合作的制帽师和刺绣师。

在他第一学年结束时，埃尔登的父亲死于癌症，母亲在四年后死于血管炎。他将这段痛苦的时期视为塑造自己的过程。“没有什么经历能让你在同一时间感到如此年轻又如此苍老，”他说，“在内心深处，你只是想要你的父母。我认为在年轻时失去他们，要么沉沦，要么奋起。”

记者克劳迪娅·克罗夫特（Claudia Croft）记得2005年她在为《星期日泰晤士报》采访一群年轻设计师时，埃尔登走进房间的那一刻。“他看起来像个年轻的伊夫·圣罗兰（Yves Saint Laurent），有点书呆子气，戴着一副大大的重框眼镜，他讲述作品背后理念的方式如此优美，”现任 10 Magazine 编辑的克罗夫特说道，“当你是一名设计师时，怀疑是最具破坏性的情绪。关键在于将一个非常清晰的愿景呈现在世人面前，而他从一开始就做到了这一点。”

这组人是Fashion Fringe的决赛入围者，这是一个由记者科林·麦克道尔（Colin McDowell）创立的奖金基金，旨在帮助新锐设计师建立自己的事业。或许是因为埃尔登留下的印象太深，又或许是因为他最终赢得了该奖项，克罗夫特说她不记得其他任何参赛者了。

次年，埃尔登的首个完整系列被纽约奢侈品百货公司巴尼（Barneys）买下，且没有与其他新兴设计师放在一起，而是 $\rightarrow$ 在另一层楼与更知名的人物并列。在讲述这段往事时，埃尔登打断了自己。“这是一个值得讲的故事吗？也许我在闲扯……”他说，在得到鼓励后继续道，“当时我想，‘为什么我不在所有年轻设计师中间？’但现在回想起来，我觉得他们愿意在我身上冒险是多么非凡。我想我们中的任何一个人在身处那个位置时，都意识不到自己在那儿。”

一件来自埃尔登2026年秋冬系列的刺绣缎面连衣裙

在突破后的二十年里，埃尔登

成为了英国时尚界最伟大的成功故事之一。他的衣服被各阶层女性穿着：从剑桥公爵夫人到梅根·马克尔（Meghan Markle）的皇室成员，从米歇尔·奥巴马（Michelle Obama）到萨曼莎·卡梅伦（Samantha Cameron）的政客妻子，以及从海伦·米伦（Dame Helen Mirren）到Charli XCX的名人。今年2月，《时尚商业》（Business of Fashion）报道称，该品牌在该财年的销售额有望达到 2366 万英镑m，高于2024年的 1763 万英镑m。

“在一个由不断变化驱动的行业中，他始终坚定地持有自己的创意愿景，在不妥协自身身份的情况下，建立了英国最受尊敬的独立时装屋之一，”劳拉·韦尔（Laura Weir）表示，

美在细节之中，无论是在埃尔登的设计中，还是在他的工作室里

英国时尚协会（British Fashion Council）的首席执行官告诉我：“通过他的系列作品以及他建立的商业帝国，他不断证明，英国独立时尚可以兼具创意雄心、商业韧性和国际影响力。”

Erdem在零售商Barneys和Matches Fashion相继关闭的冲击下幸存了下来。在他的首个客户、且为其供货15年的Barneys破产后，新冠疫情封锁开始。在这次停摆期间，他深知必须继续创作系列作品以维持品牌的运转。样品包裹在住在船屋的打版师和产品开发人员之间传递，试装则通过视频通话进行。“我们共同努力前行，”他说，“我所取得的成功，归功于我合作的这支优秀的团队。”

但让该品牌拥有比许多同期设计师更强生命力的原因，似乎是其独特的个人特质。《英国版Vogue》编辑内容主管Chioma Nnadi告诉我：“他天生就懂得穿着他衣服的女性在寻找什么：那种浪漫的、略带历史韵味的着装方式。我认为保持独立也帮助他守护了这团火焰。”

Erdem的风格——修身、女性化且经常采用花卉元素——如同艺术品，让穿着它们的女性也感受到同样的特质。我去见他之前刚见过我母亲，当我告诉她我要采访谁时，她说：“噢，那些裙子真漂亮。”那天晚上晚些时候，我见了一位比她小30岁的女性朋友，对方说了几乎完全一样的话。随着时尚变得被趋势所束缚，随着“静奢风”（quiet luxury）和“Ozempic穿衣法”（Ozempic dressing）将我们拖入其中，Erdem继续为女性提供一种由她们自己定义女性特质的版本。演员克莱尔·福伊（Claire Foy）说：“Erdem非常体贴。他倾听女性的渴望，而不是告诉她们需要什么。他是一个真正的创意工作者，一名艺术家，而且很有趣。”

克罗夫特（Croft）将Erdem描述为女性的盔甲：在需要“集结所有信心”的大场合穿着的套装。对于Erdem来说，赋予信心是他工作的最真实体现。“对我而言，最重要的一刻是面对镜子的那一刻，”他说，“当你拉上拉链，看着镜中的自己，你会觉得：‘我看起来像是一个更好的自己。’”

Erdem走出办公室，拿来最近一个系列的运行顺序板，将其靠在墙上。他后退一步，陷入了短暂的怀旧之中。“想到20年后，这一切实际上仍处于某种开端，我觉得非常激动，”他说，“这种情感来自在场的人，也来自那些不在场的人。”

AW26系列从Erdem 20年的档案中提取了作品，但他并没有将它们视为珍贵的遗物，而是将它们撕碎。一件带有花卉珠饰、肩部打着红色蝴蝶结的棉花糖粉色连衣裙被剪成了短款上衣，并搭配牛仔裤。这一造型，以及由Barbour格子布协作拼接而成的超大号外套，是该系列中最受欢迎的预订单品之一。

“该系列提取了Erdem的档案作品，但由于他没有将它们视为珍贵的遗物，而是将它们撕碎”

当他在2005年崭露头角时，他那些深受英国历史影响的、极具女性特质的传统女装，使他在一个崇尚朋克时代的时尚圈中显得像个局外人。但现在，对深度女性化晚装的渴望无处不在——从西蒙·罗莎（Simone Rocha）的哥特蕾丝裙到莫莉·戈达德（Molly Goddard）的蓬松薄纱。Nnadi说：“我认为许多人都受到了他对待服装制作这种更传统承诺的影响。在他20年前刚进入伦敦时尚圈时，这与当时的情况相当格格不入。”

Erdem 始终觉得自己像个局外人。“我一直按照自己的节奏行事，坚持我认为正确的事情，”他说。“语言始终存在，无论你是否想要逃避它，你都做不到。它就像你的笔迹一样。”

听到敲门声后，他立刻起身准备拍照，将他那双毛茸茸的 Birkenstocks 鞋放在一堆书籍旁。当然，他已经做好了研究。“为了保持连贯性，我拍照时会穿一件套头衫，”他说。“我想营造一种九月返校的感觉。虽然我会热得像被烤一样，但这是值得的。”

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英国演员 JAIME WINSTONE

在伊比萨岛上 找到了家庭、乐趣与专注 之间的极致平衡

这座岛对我来说承载着许多回忆。从婴儿时期起，我就和家人在这里度假，我也在这里参加过派对，而现在这里成了我的避风港。我们住在我的朋友、室内设计师 Brigitta Spinocchia Freund 那里，她的房子坐落在山顶，非常漂亮，且完全脱离电网。周围环绕着数英亩郁郁葱葱的花园，树木和植物之多，足以形成一个独立的小气候。

屋内温馨、迷人且古灵精怪——就像伊比萨岛本身一样。整个地方都充满了魔力。—— 伊比萨岛能满足每个人的需求。我们喜欢在船上度过一天，在镇上享用轻松的家庭晚餐，或者逛逛商店。如果你想跳舞，当然到处都有音乐。不过，我们不再年轻了，我们的夜店体验也发生了变化。我的丈夫现在滴酒不沾，但他像我一样热爱外出，所以我们会尽情享受，但会在一个体面的时间回家。—— 伊比萨岛有享乐的一面，但在我目前的人生阶段，其疗愈和精神层面的特质对我更有吸引力。这里是我远离伦敦喧嚣的地方，也是我在演出前带着剧本学习台词的地方。岛上的生活让我能够专注于手头的工作。没有比这里更适合沉浸在自然之中的地方了。在这里，我感到最自由。Jaime Winstone 将加入新一季的《舞动奇迹》（Strictly Come Dancing），该节目将于今年九月在 BBC One 和 BBC iPlayer 播出。

[...OMITTED...]

走进一位巴比肯设计师的现代主义愿景之居

30.08.26 《观察家报》杂志

米里亚姆·豪伊特（Miriam Howitt）位于伦敦西南部的家中，这座房子是她与丈夫在 20 世纪 60 年代共同设计并建造的。

20 世纪 50 年代末，米里亚姆·豪伊特在伟大的现代主义建筑师休·卡森（Hugh Casson）手下工作，当时她正处于怀孕晚期。当她询问何时可以休产假时，卡森回答道：“当你再也够不到绘图板的时候。”由于她当时设计的是火车——这种物体长而窄，不需要在绘图板上伸手够很高的地方，结果她一直工作到了最后一刻。“我在医院里收到了所有的图纸，”她说，“我在一个开放式女病房里审核它们。”

数百万人曾在不知不觉中体验过豪伊特的设计。她漫长且多元的职业生涯包括设计首批开放式铁路车厢、巴士、酒店室内空间、私人住宅、希思罗机场休息室，以及 $\rightarrow$

这座房子将宁静的简约与对色彩、图案和纹理的无限热爱结合在一起

伯克郡一座大宅的室内空间，其厨房规模足以服务 100 人。她的设计方法涉及细致的规划，但她的生活也充满了冒险和不可预见性。

现年 97 岁的豪伊特正坐在她与已故丈夫、同样是建筑师的大卫·豪伊特（David Howitt）在 20 世纪 60 年代设计的伦敦西南部住宅中。“我们总是共同构建想法，”她说，“从未有过冲突。”在这里，她一边经营自己的事务所，一边抚养四个孩子。“他们来得很快——这是我唯一没有计划的事情，”她说。现在，这里成了她、她的孙辈和曾孙辈举行家庭聚会的地方。

这座房子将简约与对图案和纹理的无限热爱相结合——带有大圆圈图案的 Heal's 窗帘；印有植物或V形图案的瓷砖；表面粗糙到几乎像雕塑一样的织物壁纸，刷漆的砖墙，深色硬木贴面以及每一块都独一无二的软木地板砖。家具种类多样——一件继承而来的写字柜，类似伊姆斯（Eames）风格的旋转椅，一位著名建筑师创作的抽象风景画，以及一些她在路边发现的高背椅。

其理念是在“房子的不同部分创造完全不同的氛围”。当被问及在现代主义鼎盛时期作为一名建筑系学生，是否受到过包括勒·柯布西耶（Le Corbusier）在内的设计师启发时，她说：“嗯，这些东西我都见过，但对我来说，每个问题都有其自身的解决方案。你不能抄袭。你要做正确的事，这就是为什么我的房子和我之前做过的任何东西都完全不同。”

如果说她的生活在过去六十年里一直很安稳，那么前二十年则完全相反。她原名米里亚姆·库珀（Miriam Cooper），出生在南大西洋的圣赫勒拿岛。“我们住在山上，所以我没有婴儿车，我有一头驴，”她说。跟随在电缆无线电公司（Cable & Wireless）担任车站经理的父亲，她的家人曾在塞舌尔、亚丁、马耳他、直布罗陀和埃及的不同住所，有时甚至是酒店中生活。

在第二次世界大战期间，豪伊特移居英国，在一次空袭期间乘船抵达利物浦，随后住在兰开夏郡农村的亲戚家。她曾为卡森工作，并在伦敦建筑协会（Architectural Association）学习。最终，她成立了自己的事务所，后来她的丈夫也加入了进来。一个令人难忘的委托是设计五套样板房，以帮助推广伦敦新的巴比肯庄园（Barbican Estate）：“我总是必须为人们而设计，所以我会想象住在里面的是谁，”她说，“是一个家庭，一位母亲和婴儿，还是单身人士？”

在每套样板房预算仅为 £10 的情况下，她成功说服设计师和制造商免费提供产品，并正确地指出这将是极佳的宣传机会。每套样板房都配有一本内部物品目录，让人们能够拓展想象力并提升审美。正如在她自己的家中一样，简洁的线条和白墙与强烈的图案以及多样化的家具相结合。样板房中的一块地毯——红绿相间，带有巨大的、近乎纹章式的图案——至今仍装饰着她的用餐区。

这座房子坐落在罗汉普顿（Roehampton）绿树成荫地区的一片宽敞花园中，他们选择这里是因为这里是“一个抚养孩子的理想之地”。它位于 →

餐厅中那块引人注目的地毯也曾出现在 Howitt 为伦敦巴比肯庄园（Barbican Estate）设计的样板房中。

家与远方

“这座房子温馨且实用。感觉很放松，很恰当”

一个大卫在 1965. 年透过围栏瞥见的地块上。这里靠近奥尔顿庄园（Alton Estate），这是一项先驱性的、现已列入保护名单的现代主义住宅作品，其设计遵循勒·柯布西耶（Le Corbusier）将垂直建筑块置于起伏景观中的原则。Howitt 在那里还在建设时曾随学生实地考察团前往。“我从未想过我会搬到附近居住，”她说，“它现在感觉依然设计得非常好。”

Howitt 的房子侧对着街道，置于绿植之中，她深情地回忆道，这或许呼应了她童年漂泊时期在埃及亚历山大港的一处居所。“那里周围有一座极好的花园，”她说。受限于预算，砖砌的外墙十分简朴，而比例协调的窗户在分布和尺寸上经过精心设计，以尽可能地照亮室内。窗户一直延伸到地面，并设有考虑到儿童安全的宽水平横杆。

室内布局没有走廊，而是采用了宽敞的大厅和平台，以便于走动，入口也足够宽敞，方便人们出入时迎接。空间的每一寸都经过精确思考，并最大限度地挤出了储物空间。Howitt 对细节的关注还包括声学，那些粗糙的织物壁纸有助于软化声音。正如她所说，这座房子“温馨且实用”，同时也富有创意，带有戏剧性的点缀。

后外墙设计有延伸至地面的窗户。

“我现在比以往任何时候都受到更多关注，”Howitt 说。她最初设计的样板房为一套全新的 23 件套 Made x Barbican 家具系列提供了灵感，该系列将在今年的伦敦设计节（12-20 September）期间，作为一项装置艺术在著名的粗野主义庄园中展出，同时还将展出 Howitt 20 世纪 60 年代设计的档案图像。坐在面向花园的客厅里，她继续享受着自己家中设计的成果，说道：“感觉很放松，很恰当。”

LE DRAGON SAVANT

深受茹尔丹（Jourdain）年轻读者的喜爱，书架上摆满了绘本、图形小说、漫画和游戏。这里的团队非常熟悉书架上的藏书，能够提供恰到好处的推荐。对于想要寻找常规纪念品之外之物的家庭来说，这是一个不错的停靠点。

L'ESCARGOT BAR

这里既是社区酒吧，也是一个时间胶囊。这家饱经风霜的当地机构拥有巴黎曾经闻名的那种不羁个性。它坐落在一座可追溯至1864年的前小酒馆中，充满了褪色的魅力和古怪的点缀，其菜单拒绝追随时尚。在这里，你可以期待在朗姆酒鸡尾酒 alongside 蜗牛和青蛙腿。

MARDI

一家深受当地人欢迎的街角咖啡面包店，手工陶瓷杯注入了舒缓的斯堪的纳维亚风情，这种氛围也延伸到了咖啡中——其咖啡豆来自哥本哈根的 April 烘焙坊。菜单可能包括配有孔泰奶酪（comté）和溏心蛋的荞麦面包，或是日式年糕。

社区指南

茹尔丹 (JOURDAIN)

巴黎

茹尔丹位于巴黎东部比尤特-肖蒙公园（Buttes-Chaumont Park）下方的缓坡上，感觉更像是一个村庄而非一个行政区的一部分。它以一座新哥特式教堂和同名的地铁站为中心，在19世纪被并入市区之前，这里曾是城墙外的一个葡萄种植村落，随后成为了一个工人阶级区。虽然巴黎市中心的大部分地区已让位于奢侈品牌旗舰店和知名地址，但茹尔丹仍为新旧创意留有空间。在这里，独立咖啡馆和充满低调野心的餐厅占据了旧的街角小店和社区小酒馆。 ● ROOKSANA HOSSENALLY

SOCES

Soces 坐落在据称是巴黎最古老的建筑之一之中，它对海鲜进行了现代化的诠释。凭借古老石墙、欢快音乐以及随潮汐变化的菜单，它捕捉到了贯穿这个社区的活力。

POLLEN

这家精心策划的品牌精品店汇集了制作精美的包袋、剪裁宽松的服装以及低调的衣橱必备单品。对于那些寻求替代巴黎知名购物街、追求更个性化体验的人来说，这里是理想之选。

LE JOURDAIN

在这家充满生活气息的小酒馆享用午餐是该地区性价比最高的用餐选择之一。晚餐则更为精致，提供来自塔恩省（Tarn）的黑猪冷盘、配塔塔酱的鳕鱼天妇罗以及鸡肉酥皮馅饼，并配以精选的自然葡萄酒。必须提前预约，这几乎完全是因为一群让这里始终繁忙的当地常客。

比尤特-肖蒙公园与 ROSA BONHEUR

这座浪漫的公园由蜿蜒的小径和隐藏的观景点交织而成。最佳访问时间是傍晚，此时公园里深受喜爱的露天酒馆（guinguette）Rosa Bonheur 挤满了喝着冰镇葡萄酒和啤酒的朋友团体。请在下午6点的人潮到来之前抵达以抢占位置。

使用康沃尔海盐干式熟成 25 天，使其味道

正宗 绝赞

英国牛肉

亚伯丁安格斯肋眼牛排，8盎司

£6.79

特选

ALDI

特选 100% 英国牛肉亚伯丁安格斯肋眼牛排 8盎司，£6.79，每公斤 £29.91。视供应情况而定。产品和价格在门店、苏格兰、威尔士、Aldi Local 及在线商店可能有所不同。照片仅为建议食用方式。

渴望 (Cravings)

正值烘焙时节

厨房日记 奈杰尔·斯莱特

在盛夏时节，我经常做杏仁蛋糕，表面覆盖着一层烤杏仁，其间点缀着若隐若现的李子或杏子。这样的蛋糕在一天中的任何时间都受欢迎——我有时甚至会在早餐时吃一片——但在我看来，这是最完美的夏末下午茶蛋糕，适合赤脚在花园里享用，同时还得赶走盘子边的黄蜂。

较小的李子，如 Czar 或 Opal 品种，可以对半切开并去核。较大的品种，例如用途广泛的 Victoria，则需要切成瓣状。如果切得太大，烘焙出的蛋糕会散架。当然，这其实并不是坏事，但有些人更喜欢盘子里有一块整齐的蛋糕。

和烤饼干一样，我发现将蛋糕放在预热过的烤盘上烘烤，能让底部形成漂亮的金黄色酥皮，且蛋糕受热更均匀。在开启烤箱时，顺便放一个烤盘进去加热。我主要使用杏仁粉，但烤过并磨细的榛子粉在这里也效果极佳，尤其是搭配颜色较深的李子时。我经常在混合物中加入少量切碎的香草（主要是柠檬百里香或普通百里香和迷迭香），而随着季节向秋天过渡，还会撒上一些研磨好的香料，如肉桂或小豆蔻。

宝石色的李子随处可见，但此时也是西葫芦的盛产期。今年夏天到目前为止，它们在我的厨房里以各种形式出现：切片裹面糊炸成酥脆的圆片，或者与罗勒和柠檬一起擦成丝。另一个夜晚，它们与最好的伙伴——大蒜和番茄一起慢炖，像是一种没有茄子的普罗旺斯炖菜。

我已经很久没种西葫芦了。让我停止种植的不仅是那些巨大的叶子所占据的空间，更是那些长长的绿色果实出现时那种令人难以招架的频率。我最喜欢它们在体积较小、呈鱼雷状、皮薄且甜到可以直接生吃的时候。当它们长到像 marrow（大西葫芦）那样粗且颜色变深时，我就没那么感兴趣了。我很幸运，周围的商店都出售淡色的黎巴嫩品种，具有细腻的白色和淡绿色表皮。皮薄到你必须像搬鸡蛋盒一样把它们带回家，因为表皮很容易被刮花。它们很适合填馅（经典的中东 kousa mahshi），或者像我那样，填入大米、马苏里拉奶酪、薄荷和大蒜，然后烘烤至奶酪融化。其他厨师会填入羊肉末，我对这种做法不那么热衷，他们会将填好馅的西葫芦放在番茄酱盘中烘烤。

在热浪袭来、几乎没有任何事情能让我愿意开启烤箱的时候，我擦了一批嫩西葫芦丝，拌入切碎的莳萝叶和酸豆，然后堆在烤吐司上。生吃时，它们有一种我相当喜欢的脆感。没有柠檬，西葫芦就失去了灵魂，所以这次我在将吐司端上桌前的最后一秒，给它们喷了些柠檬汁。

一种缓慢的变化正降临在我们身上。在仲夏的樱桃和醋栗之后，宝石色的李子和暗紫色的 the damsons（小李子）出现，对于我们这些喜欢按季节饮食的人来说，这是一种标志。在商店里会出现榛子（filberts）的时刻，那只有短短几周，稍不留神就会错过；那时年轻的坚果甜美且带有奶香，能为成熟无花果的沙拉增添一份轻盈的脆感。这是夏天我们需要密切留意它们，以及留意 damsons 和麝香葡萄的时刻，因为这样的美味转瞬即逝。

李子百里香杏仁蛋糕

我有时会用迷迭香代替百里香；如果运气好能买到绿李子，我也会用它来代替红李子。这款蛋糕很耐存放，如果放在阴凉处并密封在金属盒中，可以保存一两天。

10 人份。准备时间 2 小时 黄油 150g，另需少量用于涂抹模具 细砂糖 150g，另需少量 李子 300-400g 茂盛的百里香枝 6 根 中号鸡蛋 3 个 自发粉 110g 杏仁粉 75g 杏仁片 2 汤匙

将烤箱预热至 180℃ / 燃气档 4。你需要一个 20cm 的深圆底弹簧模具——在模具内壁涂抹黄油，然后在底部铺上烘焙纸。

将李子对半切开，确保取出并丢弃所有果核。将一半百里香的叶子摘下并切碎。

使用电动搅拌机，将黄油和 150g 糖搅拌至轻盈蓬松。将鸡蛋打入一个小碗中，用叉子搅拌至蛋黄和蛋白融合，然后分次将其加入黄油和糖的混合物中，并持续搅拌。如果混合物出现分层或变得有颗粒感，请加入一两勺面粉。

加入切碎的百里香叶和面粉（每次加入几汤匙），然后拌入杏仁粉。将混合物舀入蛋糕模具中，在顶部摆上对半切开的李子——在烘烤过程中，李子会部分陷入蛋糕中。撒上杏仁片和剩余的整根百里香枝。

放入预热好的烤箱中烘烤约一小时，直到触感轻微坚实且呈金黄色。通过在蛋糕中心插入金属签（避开李子）来检查是否烤熟。如果金属签上粘有湿润的蛋糕糊，则需继续烘烤。

将蛋糕从烤箱中取出，静置 20-25 分钟。用调色刀沿边缘划一圈，然后将蛋糕从模具中滑出。食用时，去掉表面的百里香枝。

葱香莳萝西葫芦吐司

生西葫芦有一种令人愉悦的轻微脆感，尤其是那些皮色浅淡且带有斑点的较小果实。而那些粗糙且深绿色的成熟西葫芦偶尔会带有一丝苦味。这种抹酱在冰箱中可保存一两天。

3 人份。准备时间 30 分钟 西葫芦 450g 春葱 2 根 莳萝 5g，另需少量用于装饰（可选） 酸豆 2 茶匙 浓稠酸奶 200ml 橄榄油 2 汤匙 佛卡夏面包或酸种面包 6 片 柠檬 1 个

使用擦丝器的粗孔面将西葫芦擦成丝，然后放入滤网或筛网中。撒上少许盐，静置（放在水槽中或放在碗上） 20 分钟。

将春葱切成薄圆片，丢弃根部和粗绿的叶尖。将莳萝切碎，与春葱、酸豆以及少许黑胡椒碎混合。

将擦好的西葫芦在手掌中用力挤干多余的水分，然后拌入春葱中。加入酸奶、橄榄油，放入冰箱冷藏至使用。将面包烤至酥脆，在上面慷慨地舀上西葫芦奶油酱，根据个人喜好点缀少许莳萝并挤上柠檬汁。 ●

自由主厨 乔治亚·莱维

当一道菜的酱汁分量恰到好处时，我会感到不悦。我喜欢看到我的食物在酱汁中“游泳”。在我看来，最完美的盘中餐应该是那种让你盯着看并心想：“等等，这道菜我真的需要用勺子吗？我的面包在哪儿？”

衡量一顿美餐的通用标志就是盘子被舔得干干净净。作为一名厨师，看到盘子以这种状态回到厨房是一件令人兴奋的事。虽然在得体的社交场合中，直接舔盘子很难实现，但意大利人有一种在社交上更被接受的版本：fare la scarpetta——字面意思是“穿小鞋”；即用一块面包在盘中拖动，以吸干最后一滴酱汁的行为。没有什么比使出你的“小鞋”更能表达对菜肴和厨师的赞赏了。这是一种快乐且热情的姿态，恰到好处地展现了贪婪以及对餐桌礼仪的无视。如果我在餐盘前遇到一个在其他人动手之前就试图进行 la scarpetta 的人，我知道我会喜欢对方。

意面酱显然是使出“小鞋”的最佳时机，但我最喜欢用于此目的的酱汁永远是橄榄油含量高的那种：这种酱汁能迅速且高效地被面包吸收。我那道滋滋作响的 chicken piccata 酱汁在设计之初就是为了方便蘸食。它显然是这道菜的主角；其强烈的咸鲜味、酸辣感以及令人满足的口感——所有那些切碎的橄榄和酸豆——掩盖了酥脆鸡肉的光芒。（坦白说，要抢走一块金黄诱人的鸡肉的风头并非易事。）如果你不想完全按照这个食谱来，你可以省掉鸡肉，直接把它当作一种美味的橄榄-酸豆-辣椒腌渍蘸酱来食用。

那道鳕鱼料理则采用了不同的方式，利用慢炖辣椒的魔力，创造出一种让人无法抗拒、极具“舀食感”的口感。虽然处理辣椒需要一点耐心，但结果是一道浓郁、甜美的酱汁，让你在拿起餐具之前就忍不住伸手去拿面包。事实上，如果不先吃酱汁，简直就显得没礼貌。

鳕鱼配酸甜椒酱（peperonata）

制作美味辣椒的关键在于持续烹饪，直到它们萎缩，完全失去那种生涩的青草味，转化为一种丝滑、极甜的酱汁，并由番茄轻轻调和。只需要加入少许醋来提升风味，它就成了简单鱼肉的完美配角——以及对面包最极致的邀请。

尽情品尝酱汁

4人份。准备时间：1小时 洋葱 2个 大蒜 3瓣 红或黄灯笼椒 4个 小番茄 300克

特级初榨橄榄油 6汤匙（另需少量用于最后淋面） 红酒醋 2汤匙 鳕鱼或黑线鳕鱼柳（带皮或去皮）4块 x 150克 欧芹 一把，切碎 薄荷 一把，切碎 盐和黑胡椒

将洋葱和大蒜切片。去掉灯笼椒的籽，切成1厘米宽的条状。将小番茄对半切开。

在宽底锅中用中火加热一半的橄榄油，加入洋葱。翻炒10分钟，直到洋葱变软并开始上色，然后加入大蒜，继续煎一分钟左右直到出香味。加入灯笼椒，撒入适量的盐和黑胡椒。稍微调低火力，盖上锅盖焖煮10分钟，期间偶尔搅拌，并刮起锅底粘附的食材。揭开锅盖继续煮5分钟，或直到灯笼椒开始塌陷并变软。

加入小番茄、剩余的橄榄油和150毫升水。小火慢炖20分钟，直到所有食材都变软、呈果酱状且完全塌陷，在番茄分解时用勺子将其压碎。拌入红酒醋并检查调味——酱汁的味道应该是甜美且酸爽，但整体平衡。

给鱼柳充分调味，然后将其放入彩椒酱（peperonata）中，皮朝上。慢炖5分钟，然后小心翻面，根据鱼柳的厚度再煮3-5分钟，直到鱼肉呈不透明状且易于剥离。

将鱼柳移至盘中，舀上大量的彩椒酱，撒上香草，最后再淋上少许橄榄油。搭配大量面包（用于蘸酱）、土豆和绿色沙拉一起食用。

橄榄辣椒柠檬鸡 (Chicken piccata)

在这道菜中，香料在热油中被快速煎炸。这种快炒能使香料“绽放”，从而释放出美味的咸鲜味。而且这个过程非常有趣。我特意让这道菜的酱汁多一些——你希望盘子里有一大滩浓郁的酱汁。通常这种酱汁会加入黄油，但这里我仅使用橄榄油，以保持风味的清爽。

Serves 2. Ready in 30 minutes 特级初榨橄榄油 6-7 汤匙，另需少量用于最后淋面 去皮鸡胸肉 2 块（小） 普通面粉 2 汤匙 帕玛森芝士 2 汤匙，细碎 蒜 2 瓣，磨碎 non pareille 小酸豆 1½ 汤匙（沥干），另加 1 汤匙酸豆汁 去核绿橄榄 60g，切小块 腌制绿辣椒 2-3 个，切小块 柠檬 1 个，取汁 白葡萄酒（或更多高汤） 75ml 鸡高汤 75ml

将鸡胸肉放在砧板上的 2 张烘焙纸之间，用擀面杖拍打至 $\frac{1}{2}$ -1cm 厚。在盘中将面粉、帕玛森芝士以及大量的盐和胡椒混合，然后轻轻地在鸡肉表面裹上一层，将混合物压入鸡肉中，使其形成一层薄壳。

将大蒜、酸豆、橄榄和腌辣椒放入一个小耐热碗中。在大煎锅中加热 4 汤匙橄榄油，直到油温升高并闪烁（但不要冒烟），然后小心地将热油倒入碗中。油应立即发出滋滋声。搅拌均匀，静置 3-5 分钟，然后倒入酸豆汁和柠檬汁。备用。

在同一个锅中用中火加热剩余的 1 汤匙橄榄油，放入鸡肉。每面煎 4-5 分钟，根据需要添加更多油，直到金黄且熟透。根据锅的大小，你可能需要分批进行。取出并静置。

将葡萄酒倒入锅中，用勺子刮起锅底粘着的美味焦香部分，让其沸腾 30-60 秒，或直到液体减少一半。倒入鸡高汤，继续炖 3 分钟，或直到略微浓缩。

将之前煎炸过的食材加入锅中，让所有食材一起短暂沸腾。将火力调至低火，淋入另外 1 到 2 汤匙橄榄油，摇动锅子直到酱汁看起来光亮。将鸡肉放回锅中，将酱汁舀在鸡肉上，让所有食材共同静置 30-60 秒。

立即上桌，再淋上少许橄榄油，配上用于蘸酱的面包、一些新土豆和一份绿叶沙拉。 ●

'这款 piccata 酱汁凭借其咸鲜的风味和令人满足的口感，成为了这道菜的主角'

我热爱那些位于格格不入之地的绝佳餐厅。就像 Celentano's 刚在格拉斯哥开业时那样。那是一家酷到极致的意式风格餐厅，坐落在一家古怪的小型塔楼式苏格兰男爵建筑的两层楼内，这里曾是一家女性囚犯的中转站，后来成为了这座城市最著名的闹鬼酒店……

餐厅评论 CHITRA RAMASWAMY

Celentano's Arthouse, 129 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 2SZ (celentanosglasgow.com)。小吃 £4.50-£12，意面 £14-£24，主菜 £22-29，甜点 £6-£13，葡萄酒 £5 / £29 起

格拉斯哥这类餐厅的数量至少和意大利餐厅一样多。位于大教堂大厦（Cathedral House）的 Celentano's 就在内克罗波利斯（Necropolis）入口的正对面，那是一座沿着山坡铺展开来的奢华维多利亚时代墓地。这意味着你可以花一个古怪的早晨，在格拉斯哥自己的“拉雪兹神父公墓”中穿行于那些崩塌的石制陵墓之间，然后穿过马路，享用一杯用自制苦艾酒调制、口感无可挑剔的阿尼奥洛蒂（agnolotti）以及你生命中吃过最绝妙的牛脂土豆。完美。

当 Celentano's 去年关闭，且其店主迪恩·帕克（Dean Parker）和安娜·帕克（Anna Parker）宣布搬迁时，这一切都戛然而止。令人担忧。现在 Celentano's 在一家截然不同的酒店中重新开业。Arthouse 同样坐落在一栋极具戏剧感的 19 世纪建筑中，位于市中心；到处是装饰艺术风格（Art Deco）的点缀和高耸的檐口天花板。这是一个雄心勃勃的举动，但也是危险的。Celentano's 能在这种精致且现代的环境中保持其古灵精怪的特质吗？

当我进入餐厅享用周日午餐时，答案显而易见。能！大卫·拜恩（David Byrne）正在演奏，欢迎程度达到了格拉斯哥式的热情。很快，我手里就拿着一杯带有香气的草莓酒；这是一种注入了草莓的起泡酒，与一种创建于 1902 年的法国开胃酒混合，并点缀着油滴。房间宽敞、时髦，但又不失随性——回收木材地板和锤制锌桌，釉面瓷砖以及开放式架子上的生物动力葡萄酒。菜单与在大教堂大厦时几乎一样。虽然整体变得高端了一些，但这里依然感觉像 Celentano's。

我的好友珍（Jen）到达并点了一杯口感强烈、酸爽且完美的辣椒玛格丽特。接下来是小吃：Celentano's 招牌的酸面包，呈栗棕色且酸度恰到好处，抹上了一层轻盈的烟熏发酵黄油；口感最奇特的炸意面（lasagne fritte），流淌着融化的牛肝菌片和酸甜适口的母羊奶酪；以及一对蓬松的甜甜圈，里面填入了烟熏鳕鱼，顶端点缀着辛辣的韩式泡菜。泡菜掩盖了鱼肉细腻的烟熏味，但即便如此……这简直是一场味蕾的盛宴。

主厨迪恩的许多执念都体现在这里：发酵、烟熏、保存、零浪费理念以及对油炸食物的热爱。他曾在汤姆·艾肯（Tom Aiken）门下训练，2013 年与罗宾·吉尔（Robin Gill）共同开设了 The Dairy，并合伙创办了 Sorella 和 Darby's，在那里他结识了安娜，安娜现任 Celentano's 的总经理并领导

葡萄酒 大卫·威廉姆斯

前厅团队。这对年轻夫妇回到了安娜的家乡格拉斯哥，并在 2021. 开了他们的第一家餐厅。在六个月内，Celentano's 就获得了米其林必比登推介。

除了周日，每天都提供一套主厨套餐——包括前菜、第一道主菜、第二道主菜、甜点和一个可丽露，每人 £59。单点菜单篇幅较短且深受大众喜爱，充满了有趣的创意，同时也体现了意大利人对简约的推崇。每日店内自制的意面（提供小份或大份）简直是神级美味。高地牛肉肉酱面搭配质感极佳的宽面（pappardelle），肉质在艾尔郡牛奶的润色下变得柔软丰盈，最后撒上点点酸爽的 Corra Linn 母羊奶酪。细面（Linguine）像一堆纤细的丝带般堆起，将“意式灵感”中的“灵感”二字发挥到了极致：其中包含肉质丰厚的鳕鱼脸颊肉、软化的西葫芦圆片、南瓜籽、一种贝贝（berber）辣椒混合调料，以及在我看来像是腌柠檬的味道。这道面食一只脚踏在意大利的土地上，另一只脚则跨过地中海，迈向非洲和黎凡特地区。这是一盘无可复制的意面，尤其是搭配一杯 £5 的矿物皮诺白葡萄酒（mineral pinot bianco），这种酒由桶装运至 Celentano's，在供应前分装入瓶。

罗伯特·塞缪尔·汉森

第二道主菜必须选择当日捕捞的鳀鱼（monkfish），厚切的鱼肉闪烁着光泽，像复古珍珠一样，只有这种肉质丰厚的鱼类才能呈现出这种效果。它搭配着萎蔫的 Swiss chard（甜菜），柠檬以及一种加入鱼籽后口感浓郁的黄油。配菜呢？Celentano's 标志性的 strati（即前文提到的土豆）：像金锭一样薄薄地层叠在一起，刷上牛肉油脂，达到了格拉斯哥土豆所能达到的极致诱惑。为了中和这些浓郁的滋味，一份由羽衣甘蓝、芝麻菜、黄瓜和胡萝卜组成的轻盈沙拉起到了平衡作用，橄榄油和柠檬使其色泽明亮。

甜点展现了帕克最独特且精致的一面。一个玉米面包，外层可敲击且裹满糖晶，内部填充了平滑的蒲公英色玉米卡仕达酱、乳香纯净的牛奶冰淇淋和炖红醋栗。上面的那些绒毛状的小芽是什么？那是最近在 Celentano's 举办的一场英联邦运动会期间晚餐上使用的薄荷花，当时主厨安迪·奥利弗（Andi Oliver）和来自 Inver 餐厅的帕姆·布伦顿（Pam Brunton）加入了帕克的厨房。布伦顿从她位于法恩湖（Loch Fyne）岸边那家具有颠覆性的餐厅里带来了一些采集的草本植物，很高兴地，它们出现在了我们的甜点中。多么棒的主意——在一次独特且绝妙的周日午餐结束时，又抛出了一个出人意料的小惊喜。 ●

原产地名称的吸引力

即便你拥有某种不寻常的习惯，喜欢标记那些晦涩的农业官僚机构历史里程碑，法国葡萄酒原产地命名系统的 90 周年纪念似乎仍是一个奇怪的庆祝选择。毕竟，这套通过原产地来监管法国葡萄酒的系统——自 1936 年首批六个 AOC（原产地控制命名）获得官方盖章正式生效以来——从未像现在这样不受欢迎。

但这并非新鲜事：在法国葡萄酒界极高比例的“反抗者”中，AOC 系统一直饱受诟病。这类独立思考的农民永远不会乐于听从官僚的指令，更不用说遵守当地 规则手册中那些迂腐的禁令了。

法国拥有 300 多个葡萄酒 ，每一个都有一套具体的指令：葡萄种植者可以在哪里种植哪些葡萄品种、每平方米种植多少株、植物应如何修剪和采收、允许的产量、最低和最高酒精含量，以及酿酒技术和葡萄酒风格。难怪法国许多最具创造力的葡萄酒生产商选择将他们的酒移出 系统，转而采用全国性的“法国葡萄酒”（Vin de France）类别中更宽松的规则，在那里他们可以自由地尝试所有葡萄品种和酿酒技术。

但持有异议的不止是那些天性自由的人。该系统因决策过程僵化、规则死板以及根深蒂固的保守主义而享有（尽管是辛苦赢得的）恶名，而这些特质似乎无法适应全球变暖给葡萄种植者带来的紧迫需求。倾向于商业运作的葡萄种植者则指责 增加了生产者与消费者之间不必要且令人疏远的复杂性，导致葡萄酒无法吸引新的年轻饮用者。

尽管有诸多缺陷，但我禁不住对 ，或者说它所代表的“产地优先”的葡萄酒探索方式产生一种好感。虽然 并不总是质量的保证（生产商的名字要重要得多），但它在引导葡萄酒爱好者探索法国葡萄酒的感官和风格地图方面，依然发挥了不错的作用。

对我而言， 的 90 周年是一个庆祝法国葡萄酒多样性的时刻，我将通过一次微型之旅来介绍一些我最喜欢但较少为人知的原产地。我会从汝拉（Jura）的山丘开始，品尝最初六个 之一：Domaine Daniel Dugois Arbois Savagnin Sous Voile 2021，一款来自 Arbois 、带有浓烈酵母味且类似雪莉酒的干白（£32.15 起，SipWines; Les Caves de Pyrene）。接着，是一款来自博若莱（Beaujolais）12 个 之一的流畅、丝滑的轻盈红酒，Elisa Guérin Chiroubles 2024（£23.75，Wayward Wines），以及一款来自罗讷河谷骑行圣地旺通山（Mont Ventoux）山坡的性价比极高的辛辣红酒，Famille Perrin L’Oustalet Ventoux 2024（£10，Tesco）。从西部来看，一款来自南特附近卢瓦尔河口 Muscadet 地区 Côtes de Grandlieu 的柠檬酸且带有咸味的干白，是当地牡蛎的绝佳拍档：Fief Guérin, Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu Sur Lie 2025（£8，Waitrose）；最后以一款带有芒果和果酱酸甜味的加斯科涅（Gascon）西南部甜酒收尾：Producteurs Plaimont Saint Albert Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh 2022（£20.95，Corney & Barrow）。最后举杯祝愿：多样性万岁！

本周之选 Elisa Guérin Chiroubles 2024, £23.75, Wayward Wines

热狗与希望：本之辣椒碗 (Ben's Chili Bowl)

华盛顿特区这家标志性餐厅在装修后重新开业，庆祝其作为民权与社区中心的传承

餐厅专栏 埃里卡·瓦格纳 (ERICA WAGNER)

当“本之辣椒碗”在经过九个月的装修后重新开业时，其热闹程度与这家历史悠久且深受喜爱的华盛顿特区机构相称。斯派克·李 (Spike Lee) 到场了；市长穆里尔·鲍泽 (Muriel Bowser) 也在，随行的还有

马里兰州第一夫人道恩·摩尔 (Dawn Moore)，以及华盛顿特区驻美国众议院代表、民权运动的坚定支持者埃莉诺·霍姆斯·诺顿 (Eleanor Holmes Norton)，后者曾在 20 世纪 60 年代参与学生非暴力协调委员会 (SNCC) 的组织工作。“辣椒碗”长期以来一直是人们朝圣之地：巴拉克·奥巴马在 2009 年就职前几天曾在此停留；从塞雷娜·威廉姆斯到波诺 (Bono)、亚瑟 (Usher) 和戴夫·查普尔 (Dave Chappelle)，没有人去华盛顿特区而不在这里停靠。

但庆祝活动的女主角是弗吉尼亚·阿里 (Virginia Ali)，被亲切地称为“妈妈”，这位 92 岁的女性是这家社区餐厅的家长，该餐厅过去是、现在依然是美国民权斗争的标志。自 1958 年起，这里就开始供应“半烟肠 (half-smokes)”——本质上是一种更好的热狗——搭配其招牌辣椒酱，此外还有你吃过最好的洋葱圈、浓稠的奶昔和绝佳的香蕉布丁。当我们通过 Zoom 交流时，我问弗吉尼亚庆祝活动中最让她难忘的时刻是什么。“看到这么多的人出来支持我，我感到很惊讶。然后我和市长一起走进门，看到我的‘辣椒碗’看起来格外漂亮，依然保留着‘辣椒碗’的感觉，但又崭新、清新且美丽。”

很难夸大“本之辣椒碗”在国家首都历史以及民权运动历史中的重要性，而民权运动所取得的成果如今正面临惊人的威胁。这家店是由弗吉尼亚已故的丈夫本·阿里 (Ben Ali) 创立的，他是一名来自特立尼达的美国移民。20 世纪 50 年代初，弗吉尼亚从弗吉尼亚州的农村搬到华盛顿特区，在 U 街的一家银行工作——那里被称为“黑人百老汇”。“那是一个种族隔离的社区，但我们的社区如此自豪、高雅且体面。我们步行即可到达霍华德大学 (Howard University)”——美国历史上的黑人大学之一——“霍华德大学成立于 1867 年。所以我们有一大群受过教育的黑人，有我们自己的医院、自己的银行、自己的酒店，拥有属于我们自己的所有一切，”她说。

本追求她，并说服她进入餐饮业。当时有很多汉堡店，但没有哪里真正供应热狗：他看到了机会。那款著名辣椒酱的配方依然是个秘密：弗吉尼亚承认加入了一些特立尼达咖喱，但还有一个主要成分。“那就是里面注入了很多爱。”

在最艰难的时期，这种爱是一种必要的品质，而“本之辣椒碗”成为了民权活动的一个焦点。“当金博士进来时，能接待他真是太棒了，”弗吉尼亚说。“我和他进行了很多次交谈，本和我参加了华盛顿大游行，他在 1963 年 8 月 28 日带领 250,000 人来到这里。”“本之辣椒碗”为游行者提供了食物。“但五年后，有人跑进来告诉我金博士被枪杀了。”在马丁·路德·金博士被

饮品专栏 汉娜·克罗斯比 (HANNAH CROSBIE)

弗吉尼亚·阿里在“本之辣椒碗”与食客聊天，她自 1958 年起经营这家店

暗杀后的骚乱中，斯托克利·卡迈克尔 (Stokely Carmichael) 获得了许可，让“辣椒碗”在宵禁后继续营业，为那些致力于恢复城市秩序的人提供食物和庇护。此外还有其他艰难时期：骚乱之后，该社区开始衰落，但“本之辣椒碗”屹立不倒：“我们的社区一直知道我们就在这里支持他们，”弗吉尼亚说。她的丈夫于 2009 年去世，《华盛顿邮报》发表了一篇长篇讣告纪念他；弗吉尼亚和她的儿子们，以及她充满活力的儿媳维达 (Vida) 继续经营这家店。

今年早些时候，我和儿子在路过时停下来买了一些半烟肠（half-smokes），那时餐厅在进行最后的维修，临时搬到了一个弹出式店面。我们立刻被维达以及这个地方深深吸引——这里既有浓厚的历史感，又有真正的社区氛围。员工们在这里工作了数十年。我想你可以把它称作“快餐”，但它其实并非如此：这是美式文化的精华——而且我提到过这里的洋葱圈了吗？

在重新开业时，人们为了吃到辣椒热狗而耐心等待了数小时，店内一直拥挤到凌晨4点的打烊时间。Chili Bowl 现在在华盛顿特区周边有多个分店，但 U 街店才是其核心。这种地方能让人感到希望：这份希望就像一盏已经燃烧了近七个年代的灯。维根尼亚说：“我一直认为，你应该用你希望被对待的方式去对待他人。在过去的 67 年里，我对此有亲身体会。我们所要求的仅仅是一点点友善。如果每个人都能展现出一点点友善，我们都会过得很好。” ● benschilibowl.com

Stella 表演者

作为一个品牌，你一直在不断地讲述和重述故事。饮品品牌世界里的一个经典故事是：某个地方的一位老人 / 妇女 / 社区在不经意间偶然发现或倾心酿造出了一种永恒的淡色艾尔 / 开胃酒 / 葡萄酒 / 烈酒。这种调制饮品随时间及其饮用者而演变，并受两者共同塑造。配方和饮品内在的精神保持不变，但其他一切都在改变。实际操作层面——例如酿造地点和品牌塑造——会随时间而改变（当传统品牌这样做时，我深感悲哀），以满足现代受众的需求并适应市场需求。

但一个品牌如何被享用，以及由谁享用，则是完全不同的、更为模糊的事情，而且在很大程度上是品牌无法产生太多影响的。你几乎可以控制其他所有事情，但无法控制它如何被饮用以及谁在饮用。而且这在不同地方会有所不同。在某个地方被认为高雅且美味的东西，在另一个地方可能被认为是平庸或不出色的。

在这方面，Stella Artois 是一个相当奇特的品牌。600年前，它在 Den Hoorn 酿酒厂开始作为一种对深色酸啤酒的实验性偏离，如今已成为家喻户晓的名字。当时的想法是创造一种类似于德国或捷克皮尔森啤酒的产品。萨兹啤酒花被用来为啤酒带来明亮的 floral 花香调，直到今天，标志性的郁金香形玻璃杯仍被用于在狭窄的杯缘捕捉芳香化合物——其方式与葡萄酒杯非常相似。

由于这种对饮用方式的深思熟虑， 曾被认为是一款高端啤酒——直到 20 世纪 90 年代和 21 世纪初，媒体对 Artois 消费与暴力行为的关注使其获得了一些糟糕的绰号。英国的超市也助长了 的过度消费及其作为酗酒啤酒的名声，饮品通道采取“大量堆砌”的理念，并提供鼓励过量饮用的优惠。以至于在 21 世纪 00 年代后期，百威英博（Anheuser-Busch InBev，拥有 的酿酒公司）试图“专注于传统”，以重建品牌的声誉。

如今，它与温布尔登等高知名度体育赛事建立了关联——顺便一提，该赛事有严格的酒精政策，场内消费上限为两罐 500ml 的啤酒。就在几周前，该公司推出了一款酒精度为 3.4% 的腮红粉色啤酒，灵感来自草莓奶油，旨在加强与温网的合作伙伴关系，并或许试图吸引更多女性饮用者。

最近，Camille 餐厅购买了大量其标志性的玻璃杯，现在在提供以内脏为主的菜单时，同时供应 Artois（如果你要求的话，可以加一点沙特尔酒）。

这并不是说一瓶——或一罐——啤酒在某些时刻不合适。 是我伴侣最喜欢的啤酒，“因为它管用，”他说。确实如此。有时天气炎热，香肠在烧烤架上滋滋作响，喝一款易饮的拉格啤酒确实很有意义。

当你拥有卓越的传统时，你只需依托于它。这类东西是买不来的。故事不需要重新设计——把那件事留给新人们吧。 ●

伊莎贝尔·阿连德 (ISABEL ALLENDE)

这位创作了《精灵之屋》、《命运之女》及许多其他著作的智利裔美国作家，分享了她全部的思绪——那是家务琐事、全球忧虑，以及在狗狗和音乐剧中寻找慰藉的交织体。

我心中在想什么？100%

我注意到本专栏里的普通人们会将他们的想法分成整齐的百分比。这简直太聪明了。我也希望自己能这么做，但我对数学简直没救。我有双重人格：像杰基尔医生和海德先生一样。当我写作时，所有的思绪都投入到创作过程中；我成了一个快乐、平静、专注、沉默且几乎隐形的女人，每天花很多小时待在关着的门后，不打扰任何人：完美的配偶。在我的写作期间，我们的家是一个静谧的避风港，但是

当书写完时，这种田园诗般的情况会戏剧性地反转。上帝保佑这种情况不要发生在远离8 January（我所有书籍神圣的开篇之日）的时候，否则我会发现自己有一段时间处于无所事事的状态。

接着，我的多动倾向就会占据主导，我的大脑变得像一碗意大利面：纠缠在一起且软烂不堪。我的想法永无止境地盘旋：清理花园里的狗屎。死亡在我的颈后喘息。晚餐吃什么？黑色衣服太多了；我看起来像个寡妇。痴呆症和阿尔茨海默症有什么区别？我母亲是对的：after 80, 每个人看起来都像一只鬣蜥。这是一个持续不断的白日梦，心中总在酝酿着一个故事。我的丈夫会感到恐慌，因为我会重新装修房子，把墙壁刷成弗里达·卡罗（Frida Kahlo）风格的颜色，扔掉他一半的衣服，并买一些注定会在我的照顾下枯死植物。（对他来说幸运的是，我对性的兴趣不如以前那么浓了）。

每天，即使在写作期间，我也会花一些时间处理邮件；否则，它们会堆积起来，甚至在梦中纠缠我，但我很擅长处理这些；通常不到一小时就能完成。一半的信件来自处于困境中寻求帮助或建议的人，如果我不回答，他们的问题会在我的脑海中盘踞数周。

面对那些希望共同丈夫死掉的原教旨主义摩门教姐妹妻子，我能说什么？我的本能会是建议处理尸体的方法——我是专家，我写过一部犯罪小说——但我的经纪人警告我要注意法律责任。美国是一个诉讼非常频繁的国家。

剩下的邮件大多是请求。任何心肠更软的人都会屈服于这种压力，但我的心像花岗岩一样坚硬。我已经学会了拒绝绝大多数请求，这样它们在我的脑海中停留的时间不会超过几分钟。拒绝图书巡演、推荐语、序言、文学活动、讲座以及阅读他人的手稿，尤其是关于母性的诗歌和青少年的回忆录。拒绝访问戒毒诊所、在盲校演讲、收养一窝孤儿猫，或者为老年内衣系列担任模特。没开玩笑，某个营销主管真的认为，在我这个高龄且肉体松弛的年纪，我可以穿着透明蕾丝内衣和乳头上缀着绒球的胸罩走秀。

在我的大脑中盘旋的是这个世界的糟糕状态，尤其是特朗普之后的美国。这是我朋友和亲戚之间谈论的主要话题，所以我无法轻易将其撇开。有时这会变得如此令人不安，以至于我必须看《玛丽·波平斯》（Mary Poppins）来清空大脑。我对那部该死的电影烂熟于心。但我也无法停止担心我基金会的资助对象——弱势妇女和儿童、难民以及移民。坏消息经常让我陷入绝望和阴郁的漩涡。然而，到上午10点，在喝完咖啡和健身之后，我会恢复我那不切实际的乐观，这种状态会持续到第二天早晨，除非我正处于两本书之间那些可怕的无所事事期。在这种情况下，我需要采取极端措施，那就是看《音乐之声》。

日常琐事像背景音乐一样在我的思绪中运行：理发、染发和美甲、给草坪施肥、去干洗店、年度体检、给狗打狂犬疫苗、买口红、更换鲜花。我吃药了吗？尽管如此，故事依然占据主导，因为即使在我没有像疯子一样写作的时候，文学之灵也会敲击我的大脑，要求关注。我生命中的大部分时间都在与这些灵感打交道：规划下一本书，写作，删除，继续写作，研究并编辑。我已经写了 32 本书，而且——令我丈夫满意的是——我近期没有停止的打算。

我的出版商们讨厌我；他们跟不上我的速度。

然而，罗杰和那些狗始终在我的心中。他们开启我的心扉，让我欢笑；他们让我变得温柔，激发我身上最好的一面（虽然其实没多少）。我内心拥有能够感知他们在场或缺席的触角。当他们在身边时，生活便有了生机。当他们离开时，我只是在等待。 ●

《故事讲述：故事创作大师课》（Story Telling: A Master Class in Crafting Stories，Bloomsbury 出版，9 月 15 日发行，£16.99）。在 observershop.co.uk 购买可享受 10% 的折扣。

THE OBSERVER

文化俱乐部 (Culture Club)

价值超过 £800 的专为文化爱好者量身定制的福利

订阅《观察家报》即可免费加入我们的文化俱乐部

展览

摄影师画廊 (Photographers' Gallery) 的“日本女性摄影师展” / 门票 50% 折扣，节省 £5

康普顿·弗尼 (Compton Verney) 的“生命之纹：埃尼德·马克斯与现代英国设计展” / 门票 2 for 1，节省 £17

达尔维奇美术馆 (Dulwich Picture Gallery) 的“城市肖像展” / 门票 2 for 1，节省 £14

节日

HowTheLightGetsIn 艺术节 / 门票 20% 折扣，节省 £32

心理学节 (Psych Fest) / 门票 20% 折扣，节省 £20

旅行与体验

i-escape / 精选隐世度假地立减 £100

地标信托 (The Landmark Trust) / 英国和意大利境内的度假住宿 20% 折扣

历史房屋协会 (Historic Houses) / 年费 15% 折扣，节省 £11

伪都铎式 (Mock Tudor)

建筑师用这个词来形容那些装扮成古旧风格的现代房屋。装饰性的横梁。复古的附加装饰。一种借来的历史感。我们的新款 Trident Biscay Automatic 腕表或许借鉴了 20 世纪 60 年代伟大潜水员的风格，但它绝非仅仅为了装饰。其纤细的比例、极高可读性的表盘以及复古的暖色调，全部根植于塑造原版腕表的实用主义思维。我们只是应用了制表业此后学到的一切：经过天文台认证的机芯、表面硬化表圈、现代夜光材料、航海级合金以及无需工具即可调节的表带。这不是一只穿着华丽服装的当代潜水表。这是一只 1960 年代的潜水表，但在 60 年的智慧积淀后重新打造。

请自行调研。

Christopher Ward

《观察家报》体育

WSL 新赛季 4 页特别报道

买家懊悔

热刺在输给纽卡斯尔后依然毫无起色

本周

记者：杰西·帕克·汉弗莱斯 (Jessy Parker Humphreys)

本周简讯

新将穆尼奥斯在对阵森林队的平局中救主利物浦

连续第二个周末，利物浦在 2-2 的平局中化险为夷，维克多·穆尼奥斯 (Victor Muñoz) 通过一次精彩的转身打入其在利物浦的首球，为球队在对阵诺丁汉森林队的比赛中赢得一分。丹·恩多耶 (Dan Ndoye) 最初让其球队领先，随后亚历山大·伊萨克 (Aleksander Isak) 扳平比分，但由于利亚姆·德拉普 (Liam Delap) 机敏的掷球导致阿里松 (Alisson) 击倒了内科·威廉姆斯 (Neco Williams)，摩根·吉布斯-怀特 (Morgan Gibbs-White) 通过点球再次让森林队领先。安多尼·伊拉奥拉 (Andoni Iraola) 的前东家伯恩茅斯再次在领先时丢分，詹姆斯·塔科夫斯基 (James Tarkowski) 在第 91 分钟为埃弗顿扳平比分。此前亚历克斯·斯科特 (Alex Scott) 曾让这支南海岸球队领先。

新西兰人的黑色之日：哈卡舞未能帮助新西兰击败南非，后者在系列赛首场失利后，在开普敦以 33-26 获胜。四场测试赛中的下一场将于周六举行。Gianluigi Guercia / AFP via Getty

在周五乔·克拉克 (Joe Clarke) 成为今年赛事中首位达到 1,000 分的击球手之后。克拉克将从 146 分开始继续比赛，诺丁汉郡队目前为 299-7。萨默塞特队在与萨塞克斯队的比赛中也受到了类似影响，其周五的领先优势维持在 119 分。在第二组中，布赖登·卡斯 (Brydon Carse) 回到赛场，再次淘汰了两名格洛斯特郡队的击球手，达勒姆队在当日结束时距离胜利仅差 4 分，但因光线不足导致比赛停止。

NFL 取消职业碗比赛，观众流失

NFL 已取消其职业碗 (Pro Bowl) 比赛，结束了自 1938 年以来延续的传统。这场全明星赛多年来采用了多种形式，但观看人数显著下降，且球员不愿在比赛中进行竞争性对抗。

3000 万英镑m

据报道，麦克拉伦车队的兰多·诺里斯 (Lando Norris) 在签署新合同后的年薪

浪子Grant回归助查尔顿登顶

在卡兰·格兰特（Karlan Grant）离开童年俱乐部七年后回归并打入首球后，查尔顿成为英冠联赛中唯一一支保持100%胜率的球队。米尔沃尔未能跟上其南伦敦死敌的步伐，以5-1负于南安普顿，后者在因“间谍门”被扣分后，此次获胜使其积分转正。西汉姆联在1-1战平沃特福德后依然未尝胜绩，而伯恩利在被诺维奇城4-1大败后积分更低，后者在21分钟内就取得了3-0的领先。威尔·兰克希尔（Will Lankshear）在米德尔斯堡的强劲状态得以延续，他在3-1击败西布罗姆维奇阿尔比恩的比赛中梅开二度，将本赛季5场比赛的总进球数提升至6球。

利物浦就边锋巴尔科拉达成1.23 亿英镑m转会费协议

阿斯顿维拉以4700 万英镑.5 million从切尔西签下了尼古拉斯·杰克逊（Nicolas Jackson），潜在的附加条款可使交易总额达到6500 万英镑m。预计将与他一同加盟的是才华横溢的18岁边锋伊布拉希姆·姆巴耶（Ibrahim Mbaye），他将以£47m从巴黎圣日耳曼加盟。巴黎圣日耳曼还与利物浦就布拉德利·巴尔科拉（Bradley Barcola）的转会达成协议，预计转会费为1.23 亿英镑m，这将创下法甲球员的转会费纪录。阿森纳仍在追求胡利安·阿尔瓦雷斯（Julián Alvarez），尽管据报道他已告诉米克尔·阿尔特塔（Mikel Arteta）他不希望加盟枪手队。预计曼城将为切尔西的恩佐·费尔南德斯（Enzo Fernández）开出报价。切尔西则准备以750 万英镑m从维拉签下埃米利亚诺·马丁内斯（Emiliano Martínez）。

统治级选手波加查在武埃尔塔赛中意外出局

塔代伊·波加查（Tadej Pogačar）在第八赛段还剩33公里时在主车群中发生摔车，随后退出了西班牙自行车赛（Vuelta a España）。这位27岁的选手此前一直领先

随闻

“这是我不愿意闻到的味道。我并不太喜欢它。”

凯蒂·博尔特（Katie Boulter）谈论美国网球公开赛赛场上飘来的大麻味

“全程双赢”

在接受《观察者报》体育记者乔治·西姆斯（George Simms）的一次深度采访中，前英格兰前锋加里·莱因克尔讨论了他远离赛场的生活，以及他如何成为播客巨头。见杂志第12页

比赛，并在摔车受伤（左肩受伤）前被视为夺冠的大热门。他曾5次赢得环法赛，但从未赢得武埃尔塔赛。

奥德雷·韦罗冲击800米世界纪录

在周四晚上的苏黎世钻石联赛分站赛中，奥德雷·韦罗（Audrey Werro）进一步刷新了她在800米项目上的个人最好成绩。在主场比赛中，韦罗以1:53.70的成绩击败了费姆克·布罗德斯-博尔（Femke Broeders-Bol）和乔治亚·亨特·贝尔（Georgia Hunter Bell）。这位瑞士跑者目前距离雅米拉·克拉托赫维洛娃（Jarmila Kratochvílová）自1983.起保持的世界纪录仅差0.42秒。布罗德斯-博尔在早期取得了领先，但韦罗在最后180米时将其追上并加速冲线。不过，布罗德斯-博尔也创造了个人新纪录，成绩为1:54.71。

郡冠军赛领头羊遭遇雨战停赛

在受雨天影响的郡冠军赛周六，沃里克郡与诺丁汉郡在埃奇巴斯顿的比赛完全未能进行。

目录

女子超级联赛（WSL）强势回归：四页特辑 第9-12页

随着英国自行车赛的到来，皮德科克成为海报男孩 第14页

比利·波士顿：从未入选威尔士队的伟大球员 第15页

今日封面

陷入沉思的罗伯托·德泽尔比目睹其率领的热刺队以2-0负于纽卡斯尔。 Nigel French/ Sportsphoto/ Allstar via Getty

安德鲁·巴特勒的“言行录”

步入三十岁，第一部分 曼联在开赛首日意外负于赫尔城的同时，还出现了一个小失误。英超联赛规则规定，如果俱乐部没有袖口赞助商，则双臂均应佩戴官方联赛徽章。曼联目前没有袖口赞助商，但其穿着的球衣仅在单侧佩戴了徽章。

步入三十岁，第二部分

莱顿东方队（Leyton Orient）指责雷克瑟姆队（Wrexham）抄袭其俱乐部徽章。雷克瑟姆的新徽章与这家东伦敦俱乐部的徽章略有相似，但值得注意的是，前者描绘的是巨龙，而东方的徽章则是双足飞龙（wyverns）。巨龙有四条腿和两只翅膀，而双足飞龙只有两条腿，翅膀充当前肢。显而易见。

权利持有者，杰米·瓦尔迪

在与德国足球甲级联赛达成协议后，杰米·瓦尔迪（Jamie Vardy）的 YouTube 频道将在本赛季直播七场德甲比赛。该频道名为“杰米·瓦尔迪在开派对”（Jamie Vardy's Having A Party），拥有超过 14,000 名订阅者。此次协议是德甲联赛旨在通过非线性电视服务触达不同受众计划的一部分。

认错罗尼

一名艺术家声称，他设计的一幅罗尼·奥沙利文（Ronnie O'Sullivan）壁画仍未完工，而当地人将其描述为“令人震惊”且“像僵尸一样”。克里斯·阿什莫尔（Chris Ashmore）为谢菲尔德的 Spot On 斯诺克俱乐部创作了这件作品。根据目前的样貌（左图），我们只能希望艺术家确实能将其完成……

保罗·海沃德（Paul Hayward）

如果英格兰板球运动员不能尊重自己的职业，就必须面对真实的后果

布赖登·卡斯（Brydon Carse）成为一年内卷入酒精相关事件的第八名球员——英国午夜后的享乐文化显然比英格兰和威尔士板球委员会（ECB）的威慑力影响更大

位于德比市中心的 Molly Malone 酒吧就像无数其他将“狂欢之夜”工业化的饮酒场所一样。营业时间就足以说明问题：周六晚上中午 12 点到凌晨 4 点。这里并不适合在结束一天的郡级板球赛后安静地喝一杯西拉红酒。

周六晚上，一名英格兰板球运动员被拍到戴着手铐，他周围的人行道呈现出一种由洒掉的啤酒、掉落的烤肉以及偶尔因冲突而溅出的血迹所组成的肮脏且黏稠的外观。直到上周末，这里还是一个人们在周日凌晨 4 点前追随青年浪潮的平凡之地。也就是说，直到一名 31 岁的球员——他本应在五天后于勋爵板球场代表英格兰对阵巴基斯坦的阵容中——登上了体育新闻议程的头条。

本周在向南的长途驾驶中，好奇心引导我进入德比考察那里的环境，去探究为什么一名英格兰投球手——布赖登·卡斯——会对新任测试赛队长乔·鲁特（Joe Root）要求球员停止参与“深夜事件”的命令充耳不闻。站在一个较为安静的周中夜晚，我感觉自己可能在英国的任何地方，因为午夜后的享乐主义市中心景象已深深根植于我们的文化之中，以至于几乎每个城镇和市中心在凌晨 2 点看起来都一样。而维持秩序则是警察和夜总会“安保人员”一项令人不快的工作。

没有人能否认，英格兰的板球运动员们正在增加这些工作量，而关注焦点通常在酒精上。板球运动是否存在饮酒问题？英格兰队的更衣室里是否存在饮酒文化？也许吧。但人们对文化本身的关注较少——如果你愿意，可以将其称为“Molly Malone 磁场”——这种文化似乎将英格兰板球运动员吸引到他们认为正常的情况下，因为据称这就是他们这一代人的生活方式。

他们想融入人群。这是一种令人震惊的脱节，因为对他们而言，匿名只是一种幻象

在每一张被拍到的陷入麻烦的英格兰板球运动员照片中，你都会注意到他们的穿着：也就是说，和那天晚上出去玩的所有人都一样。他们想成为人群的一部分，想要保持匿名。自去年秋天以来，这支球队已有八名球员卷入纪律事件，而他们竟然看不出匿名对他们而言不过是幻象，这简直是一种令人震惊的脱节。

在卡斯（Carse）因涉嫌醉酒及扰乱秩序被逮捕，随后又被德比郡警方“撤销逮捕”的前几天，鲁特（Root）制定了一项关于饮酒和狂欢的政策。相比于他的前任本·斯托克斯（Ben Stokes）在洛德板球场对阵新西兰的测试赛后被禁足的规定，鲁特的政策更为现实。

在卡斯被戴上手铐的视频片段中，看到斯托克斯从 Molly Malone's 酒吧走出，然后像荷马·辛普森那样后退并消失在树篱中一样渐渐淡出视线，场面显得诡异。德比郡警方随后对一起涉嫌袭击事件展开了调查，但他们尚未说明该事件是否与卡斯的短暂被捕有关。

斯托克斯在对英格兰及威尔士板球委员会（ECB）处理他在伦敦国王路一家俱乐部违反禁足令的方式感到愤慨后，退出了国际板球赛。三周后，他在特伦特桥球场出场时的样子就像一个砸吉他、踢音箱的摇滚明星。

随后鲁特接手，实施了一套更“成熟”的规则，并试图唤起英格兰板球运动员们似乎无法理解的东西，我们可以将其总结为个人责任感以及对球队的体谅。鲁特曾说：“让我们像成年人一样行动。照顾好自己，照顾好彼此，创造一种良好且强大的文化，让你们知道什么时候该庆祝并享受胜利，或者适度喝杯啤酒之类的。并且记住，你们是在为英格兰队效力。”

在切尔西一名 ECB 安保人员被殴打，以及斯托克斯和古斯·阿特金森（Gus Atkinson）被禁赛参加椭圆球场测试赛之后，此前哈里·布鲁克（Harry Brook）在惠灵顿被一名保安殴打，本·达克特（Ben Duckett）在努萨（Noosa）出洋相。正如 BBC 所指出的：“目前有 30 名球员持有英格兰队的中央合同。在过去的 10 个月里，其中超过

接棒者：上周末在德比的一家夜总会，卡斯加入了卷入酒精相关事件的英格兰球员日益增长的名单。 Jason McCawley / CA / Cricket Australia / Getty

熟悉的面孔：当卡斯在 Molly Malone's 门外被戴上手铐时（见下图），他的达勒姆队队友（前英格兰队长）斯托克斯潜伏在背景中。

四分之一的人陷入了麻烦。”

卡斯在 2025 年 11 月获得了一份为期两年的 ECB 中央合同。据报道，他的年薪约为 25 万英镑。虽然他在德比时并非在执行英格兰队的任务，但他仍是 ECB 的雇员。他在离开 Molly Malone's 48 小时后就应报到执行英格兰队的任务。显然，一场郡冠军赛的胜利（达勒姆队以 338 分的优势击败了德比郡队）仍然能够引发长时间的庆祝。

镜头再次切回到第二场对阵巴基斯坦的测试赛前的鲁特。“如果我坦白地说，我真的很愤怒，我真的很失望，”他说。他痛苦地谈到了那些“愚蠢的错误”。那些对社交场合中智能手机的普及感到震惊的知名退役球员会说，唯一的办法是在球队酒店找个私人房间放松。这样一来，英格兰板球运动员能喝到啤酒，但却失去了外出寻找周六夜晚核心地带的快感。矛盾的是，他们在寻求释放的过程中反而陷入了陷阱。

“周末到了。现在存在的一切只有吉尼斯黑啤、音乐和著名的爱尔兰狂欢（craic），”Molly Malone's 如此承诺。或者对于卡斯来说，是手铐戴上和摘下的咔哒声。对于英格兰队来说，最终的核选项无疑是那些中央合同——如果球员不能以更多的尊重对待这份工作以及承受后果的球队，那么这些合同的价值需要降低，甚至应该被撤销。

[⚠ 低质量翻译，建议复核] 普伦布：奥利·罗宾逊在周五将巴基斯坦队的索迪·沙基尔（Saudi Shakeel）判定为腿前球（LBW）后庆祝。Glyn Kirk / AFP via Getty

加入其中：乔什·汤格（Josh Tongue）以及下方的古斯·阿特金森（Gus Atkinson）是英格兰队强大快球进攻线的其他成员。Gareth Copley / Getty Images / AP Photo / Dave Shopland

尽管外交风波与酗酒闹剧频发，“恐怖四人组”仍助力英格兰队走向胜利

卡梅隆·庞森比（Cameron Ponsonby） 勋爵板球场

“他们甚至不再采取任何形式的策略了，”卡西姆·汗（Kasim Khan）说道。他是前巴基斯坦队长兼总理伊姆兰·汗（Imran Khan）的儿子，后者在故乡已被监禁三年，其中相当长一段时间处于单独监禁状态。

“他们到底在做什么并不明确，”卡西姆继续说道，“只是在里面明目张胆地想要杀死他。”

在第二场测试赛开始前，卡西姆与他的兄弟苏莱曼（Sulaiman）在勋爵板球场的亭阁中接受了迈克尔·阿瑟顿（Michael Atherton）的采访。当这段采访在天空体育（Sky Sports）播出，正值第一天午餐休息期间，巴基斯坦队曾考虑拒绝返回赛场以示抗议——这一行动将导致他们被判定弃赛。

原因是巴基斯坦板球委员会主席莫辛·纳奎（Mohsin Naqvi）同时兼任巴基斯坦政府内政部长，被广泛认为是巴基斯坦政坛第二重要的人物。

当卡西姆·汗在勋爵板球场亭阁的一个房间里说巴基斯坦政府在“明目张胆地试图杀死”他的父亲时，他实际上是在隔墙指向更衣室。而人们总说政治与体育不相容。

这一插曲在整个测试赛期间一直像一个无法言说的主旋律般挥之不去。对于媒体中的巴基斯坦人来说，公开评论此事具有不必要的风险，这意味着关于该问题最重要且最知情的发声被抹杀了。在第一天的一段时间里，巴基斯坦板球委员会曾考虑就该采访向英国外交、联邦和发展事务部提出正式投诉。这促使英格兰和威尔士板球委员会（ECB）首席执行官理查德·古尔德（Richard Gould）与外交部举行会谈，试图解决局面。与此同时，在巴基斯坦，负责转播该系列赛的PTV电视台并未播出这段采访。

回到勋爵板球场，巴基斯坦主教练萨法拉兹·艾哈迈德（Sarfaraz Ahmed）否认知情。在第二天结束时，当被问及在过去24小时内主导所有对话的情况时，他回答道：“你在说那个采访吗？我们不知道那个采访……那时我们正在吃午餐。”

在结束对伊姆兰·汗儿子的采访时，阿瑟顿询问他们本周在勋爵板球场会支持谁。 “必须是巴基斯坦，”苏莱曼回答道。“当然，”卡西姆赞同道，“我们永远支持巴基斯坦。”

虽然巴基斯坦板球委员会可能代表该国政府，但球队代表的是国家本身。

相比之下，英格兰队的场外问题则是其中一名球员再次喝醉了。布赖登·卡斯（Brydon Carse）上周末在德比的一家夜总会外被捕，随后被“解除逮捕”（de-arrest，这周还有其他人发现这是一个词吗？），使他成为过去九个月内涉及酗酒丑闻的第八名拥有中央合同的英格兰板球运动员。

在场上，勋爵板球场的讨论——再次——集中在球道上。埃米利奥·盖伊（Emilio Gay）在周五艰难地拿到了30分，周六上午回归时，却被一个低得无法击球的球导致腿前截击（LBW）出局。他在本系列赛中表现低迷，将渴望在埃奇巴斯顿球场取得得分，以确保能获得前往南非的机票。

在整场比赛中，球的接缝偏移非常剧烈，而到了第三天，不稳定的弹跳被加入到方程式中，使得击球变得极其困难。只有丹·劳伦斯（Dan Lawrence）在重返球队后的两场测试赛中拿到了他的第二个半世纪（50分未出局），他是唯一一个得分超过40分的人，但其击球过程绝非游刃有余。

今年早些时候，英格兰对阵新西兰的测试赛在少于1,000次投球的情况下结束，成为历史上最短的比赛之一。球场工作人员正陷入一场艰苦的战斗，由于

勋爵板球场画廊

英格兰开局击球手埃米利奥（Emilio）的哥哥西蒙·盖伊（Simeon Gay）在勋爵板球场举行的第二场测试赛期间，有机会展示他的绘画才华。西蒙今年夏天毕业于中央圣马丁学院，获得了纯艺术学位，他也曾代表家乡贝德福德郡参加板球比赛。他在自己的 Instagram 账号上发布了一段从勋爵板球场绝佳视角拍摄的视频，配文道：“多么难得的机会！”——BBC测试赛特别报道

比分板

第二场测试赛

英格兰 对阵 巴基斯坦 （5天赛之第3天） 勋爵板球场：英格兰队领先巴基斯坦队 357 分，第二局仍有三个出局名额（wickets） 英格兰：第一局 290 分 （Smith 61, Cox 55, Abbas 4-73） 巴基斯坦：第一局 110 分（Robinson 4-11） 英格兰：第二局 （过夜比分 81-3）

E Gay lbw Abbas .... 31 H Brook c Rizwan b .... 34 D Lawrence 未出局.... 50 J Smith c Masood b .... 7 G Atkinson lbw Ali .... 7 O Robinson 未出局.... 2 Lb2 w5 nb3.... 10 总分（7人出局，46.5 轮）.... 177 出局顺序：1, 13, 60, 83, 128, 149, 162. 投球： 18-2-48-3, Shahzad 14-3-56-2, Ali 12.5-1-54-2, Usman 2-0-17-0. 裁判：A Paleker & P Reiffel.

在勋爵板球场进行的板球赛远超国内任何其他球场。格拉斯顿伯里音乐节每五年会有一个休耕年，以给土地恢复的机会。也许板球运动也该考虑这样做。

庆幸的是，英格兰的首选投球手们确保了尽管鲁特（Root）本周在场外不得不浪费精神能量，但在场上他无需过多思考。巴基斯坦疲软的击球阵容，加上英格兰强有力的快速投球攻击，使英格兰在勋爵板球场有望获得一场轻松的胜利，并取得自 2024 年底以来的首场测试赛系列赛胜利。

此前人们担心，从本·斯托克斯（Ben Stokes）的世界切换到鲁特的世界，会让英格兰板球的一切变得没那么亮眼。斯托克斯的球队或许不够理智，但很有趣，其主打戏码是一个不稳定但极具票房吸引力的击球阵容。而现在，他们拥有了一个同样具有票房吸引力且可靠的快速投球单位。

由乔弗拉·阿彻（Jofra Archer）、古斯·阿特金森（Gus Atkinson）、奥利·罗宾逊（Ollie Robinson）和乔什·汤格（Josh Tongue）组成的四人攻击线在本次系列赛之前从未共同出战。虽然必须考虑到巴基斯坦相对较弱这一前提，但只要英格兰能让这四个人保持在一起，拿下 20 个出局名额就指日可待。

31 岁的阿彻本周表示，他觉得自己在 40 岁之前都能继续比赛，他记录了职业生涯中速度第二快的单轮投球，平均时速接近 93 英里。罗宾逊取得了 4-11 的成绩，而汤格则将巴基斯坦队长巴巴尔·阿赞（Babar Azam）击得狼狈不堪。客队全军覆没，仅得 110 分，这是他们在本次系列赛中连续三局得分低于 200 分。

英格兰曾经是一支人们为了看击球而观看的球队。现在，他们是一支人们为了看投球而观看的球队。

巴基斯坦开局击球手的糟糕纪录在延续（而且可能还会一直延续下去）

周日统计：周五在勋爵板球场，巴基斯坦成为第三支在英格兰进行的一场测试赛的前三局中，全部被击出且局数均少于 50 局的球队。另外两支是 2005 年的孟加拉国和 2016 年的斯里兰卡。

在本系列赛的前三局中，英格兰队的投球手集体每 25.4 次投球夺得一个三击门（wicket）——这一数据在测试赛系列赛中排名第六，且是自 1896. 以来排名第三的球队击球率。他们投了 122 局的快速球，以及 6 个慢速旋转球，因为有利的球场条件和摆动缝线（wobble seam）的有效性，使得慢速投球的技巧在日益令人失望地变得无关紧要。去年夏天对阵印度时，英格兰投球手每 71.7 个球夺得一个三击门，回想起来，那场系列赛简直像是一项完全不同的运动。

奥利·罗宾逊的一次违例投球（no-ball），几乎是他对巴基斯坦极度脆弱的击球线进行又一次严密审讯中唯一的失误，这至少让客队获得了本系列赛首次开局得分。首个三击门组合以 5 分的史诗级得分结束，使巴基斯坦在英格兰对阵英格兰队时，连续开局得分未达到 50 分的纪录延长至打破纪录的 41 次。（他们上一次在客场对阵英格兰的测试赛中以 0 失分达到 50 分是在 30 年前，即 1996, 在椭圆球场的第一局，当时手腕灵活的赛义德·安瓦尔在获得 176, 分的途中，与阿米尔·索海尔共同贡献了 106 分。）

没有其他任何球队在特定对手、特定东道国的情况下，开局得分出现如此连续序列且超过 28 局。考虑到双方可利用的资源，如果到本系列赛结束时该纪录没有延长到 44 次，那将令人惊讶。巴基斯坦自 1996 年以来尚未在英格兰赢得系列赛，但总体上具有竞争力——在 2001, 2014 和 2016 年的系列赛中战平。

迄今为止，测试赛千禧年以来最令人惊讶的统计数据之一是，他们在该国对阵英格兰的 21 场测试赛中，首个三击门的平均得分（15.4）低于他们任何其他三击门的平均得分，甚至低于第 10 个三击门的平均得分（16.3）。

令人畏惧的单位：统计学上讲，乔弗拉·阿彻是英格兰自 1981. 以来最强的四人测试赛投球攻击线的一员。Glyn Kirk / 巴基斯坦在本系列赛中迄今为止的击球表现非常拙劣，但他们的挣扎有其背景和减轻因素。他们是在又一个勋爵板球场球场上比赛，该球场表面产生了过度的侧向移动——在球迹追踪 era, 以来英格兰测试赛中记录到的侧向移动次数最多之一，

这可以追溯到 20 年前。他们还面对着顶级的攻击线。罗宾逊、乔弗拉·阿彻、乔什·汤格和古斯·阿特金森构成了英格兰第一支包含（基于比赛开始时的数字）四名每人至少获得 50 个测试赛三击门且平均分低于 29 的投球手攻击线，这种情况自 1981, 12 月以来首次出现，当时伊恩·波瑟姆、鲍勃·威利斯、约翰·利弗和德里克·安德伍德在德里对阵印度。

当乔·鲁特难以得分时——在过去五个英格兰测试赛夏季的总计 31 场测试赛中，他的平均分为 64.8, 包含 13 个百分分（hundreds）——一个在亚洲以外经验极少、且包含多名处于长期状态低迷球员的击球阵容，其产生一些 19 世纪风格的统计数据是可以被原谅的。

鲁特这个夏天的平均分为 29.4，这是他在主场测试赛夏季的最低数值。到周五比赛结束时，英格兰击球手集体平均分为 24.7（这是自 2000 年以来的第二低数值），仅有一个百分分。去年夏天，他们在六场比赛中获得了 12 个百分分，平均分为 41。

鲁特（Root）的护腿（pads）已成为本赛季讨论最激烈的话题之一。他在九个击球局中被判了七次腿前球（LBW）出局——另外两次出局分别是：在夏季首场比赛中，在极具挑战性的勋爵板球场（Lord's）球道上被新西兰队的威尔·奥鲁克（Will O'Rourke）诱导击球被门后接球出局；以及在那场标志着“巴兹球”（Bazball）混乱终结的该系列赛第三场测试赛中被跑出局。

因此，这位英格兰队的前任兼现任队长追平了单赛季国际赛中腿前球出局次数最多的纪录。在英格兰测试赛夏季中，唯一一名在单赛季中被判七次腿前球出局的球员是澳大利亚队长金·休斯（Kim Hughes），他是在1981年灰烬杯（Ashes）六场测试赛的12个击球局中达成此记录的。

自墨尔本板球场（MCG）的节礼日测试赛以来，鲁特在七场比赛中被缝线球投手判腿前球出局九次。而在之前的39场测试赛中，他仅遭遇过三次此类出局；在墨尔本之战前的161场测试赛中，总计出局次数为25次。同样，语境至关重要——近期几场测试赛的球道状况在“极具挑战”到“近乎不可能”之间波动。击球信心被逐渐削弱，脚步也变得僵硬。

在第三天下午茶时间之前的比赛中，面对不稳定的弹跳和剧烈的侧向移动，英格兰队的击球展现出了相当高的技巧、判断力、耐心和决心。尽管如此，他们仍以81分的代价失去了三个击球位。

如果巴基斯坦队能够避免成为自19世纪以来第三支在连续四场测试赛击球局中均在50个回合内被全部出局的球队，或者能够实现自约翰·梅杰（John Major）担任首相以来，在英格兰境内对阵英格兰队时首次达成开局合伙得分50分（half-century opening partnership），那么在目前这个对他们而言极其惨淡的系列赛中，他们至少能取得一些有意义的成就。

“神级”切尔基在马雷斯卡体系中的角色仍不确定

这位法国人的进球能力和“无球”意识为曼城带来了转机，但他能否继续首发仍有待观察

曼彻斯特城 E. 哈兰德 (17', 84') R. 切尔基 (54', 59')

水晶宫 G. 多纳鲁马 (乌龙球, 56')

场馆：塞尔赫斯特公园球场 观众人数：25,149

杰西·帕克·汉弗莱斯

就好像他决定不再忍受这种沉闷的局面。拉扬·切尔基在禁区内接球，三名水晶宫防守球员迅速将他包围，但这种磁石般的吸引力还不足以干扰他的脚与球之间的连接。他轻盈地绕过了所有人，身体左右倾斜却从未失去平衡；像是一个化身为敦实 23 岁法国青年的陀螺。当他将球滚过迪恩·亨德森身边时，他已经将时间放慢到足以让人感到被羞辱的程度。

如果不是因为切尔基，恩佐·马雷斯卡在曼城的执教开局可能会截然不同。在对阵伯恩茅斯的赛季揭幕战中，他在第 63 分钟替补登场时，球队正以 1-0 落后。正是他的角球击中了无人看管的马克·格希的头部，在第 84 分钟扳平比分；而他在第 91 分钟的扭转、转身和精准传球，让约什科·格瓦迪奥尔摆脱了伯恩茅斯的防线，制造了曼城自 2012 年对阵女王公园巡游者那场比赛以来最新的逆转。

面对水晶宫，曼城一直领先——通过埃尔林·哈兰德的头球 1-0 领先，这对萨姆森来说像是一个中指——但他们看起来并不轻松。直到切尔基施展魔力。当耶雷米·皮诺几乎立即通过直接任意球扳回一球时，切尔基似乎感到了个人受辱，他猛冲回球场再次得分，这一次是在禁区边缘外。

皮埃尔·萨日作为水晶宫主教练的首场主场比赛在场边，

双重威胁：拉扬·切尔基在塞尔赫斯特公园球场对阵水晶宫时打入两球中的首球。理查德·希思科特 / 盖蒂图片社

切尔西 vs 布莱顿 天空体育，今日，下午 2 点 曼联 vs 伊普斯维奇镇 天空体育，今日，下午 4.30 点，他不会对切尔基的表现感到惊讶。由于曾在里昂青训营和一线队与他共事，他在赛前将他描述为“一个比天才更高阶的词……也许是神”。

“当他持球时，他能做出我们无法想象的事情。”

正是这种想象力的不可能，让切尔基与马雷斯卡产生了紧张关系，后者在对阵伯恩茅斯的赛季揭幕战中没有让他首发。本周早些时候，在接受天空体育采访时，科尔·帕尔默表示，去年他不会做出那个对阵富勒姆时的进球跑位，因为那不在“安全区域”内。

帕尔默没有具体说明是马雷斯卡还是利亚姆·罗森尼尔向球队引入了这类想法，但基于对其比赛风格的评估，大多数切尔西球迷将其解读为前者，这一点耐人寻味。在莱斯特城赢得冠军联赛赛季后，那里也很少有人对他离开感到失望。

在“位置游戏”占据主导地位的战术格局中——部分是由于马雷斯卡的前任佩普·瓜迪奥拉的影响——结构与自由被呈现为互不相容的。情况未必如此，但球员所拥有的创造性自由可能会在教练的自我意识之礁上触礁。

马雷斯卡一直是一个热衷于将自己的想法强加给球队的人，在他试图接替瓜迪奥拉的位置时，这一点变得尤为重要。在曼城的季前巡回赛中，他透露自己接管的是佩普·利因德斯的办公室，而不是瓜迪奥拉的，这样球员在来找他时就不会去同一个地方。这是一种自觉的区分努力，毫无疑问，这看起来也将像是一种控制的尝试。

此外，还需要考虑对恩佐·费尔南德斯的持续追求。今年夏天，他们已经在埃利奥特·安德森和阿尤布·布阿迪这两名中场球员身上花费了2 亿英镑m，后者在对阵水晶宫的比赛后期完成了首秀。目前看来，球队对于能够签下费尔南德斯充满信心，预计转会费在1.2 亿英镑m左右；而费尔南德斯在周四切尔西2-0战胜卢顿镇的联赛杯比赛中未进入大名单。

一支球队真的能证明在三名球员身上花费超过3 亿英镑m，而他们却不能全部成为首发是合理的吗？目前看来，马雷斯卡并不显然地将谢尔基视为其首选中场三人组的一员。

马雷斯卡还表示，他正等待在转会窗口关闭后才公布完整的领导小组。费尔南德斯当然曾是他在切尔西——或者用马雷斯卡的话说，他的“前俱乐部”——的副队长。很难不将这两番话联系起来并得出某种结论。

谢尔基在赛后暗示，马雷斯卡曾考虑在半场时将他换下。

“我（上半场）踢得太烂了，”他告诉天空体育，“当我看到恩佐想换掉我时，我不喜欢那样，我需要向他们证明我想踢球，我想进球。”

马雷斯卡在新闻发布会上否认了曾考虑换下谢尔基，并重申他对其表现感到“满意”，即便他在上半场没有“发挥出应有水平”。

但谢尔基在接受法国广播公司Canal+采访时发表了类似的评论，称他告诉教练给自己五分钟时间，他会证明自己不需要被换下。

马雷斯卡在赛后重点关注的谢尔基表现元素并非那两个进球，而完全在于他如何进行“无球跑动”。正是由于比赛中的这一元素，导致瓜迪奥拉去年在联赛中仅让他首发19次。然而，当他在球场上找到能够打破僵局的空间时，他是令人着迷的，几乎无法被防守，并让这支曼城队看起来比没有他触球时要好得多。马雷斯卡掌控着联赛中最具创造力的球员。他是否足够谦卑，能够继续使用他？

考文垂忠实拥趸历经25年艰辛等待，最终迎来残酷现实打击

天蓝色军团在期待已久的顶级联赛回归后，遭遇主场首场英超失利

考文垂 赫尔 L. 米勒 (82')

场馆：考文垂建筑协会竞技场 观众人数：31,239

泽维尔·格林伍德

没有什么事情在任何地方发生，或者说，有些事情在某些地方发生了。这就是诗人菲利普·拉金在回忆他在考文垂平淡的童年时得出的结论。但即使是最受打击、伤痕累累的狂热球迷也无法说，成为这座城市唯一一家主要足球俱乐部的粉丝是枯燥的。

自2001年从英超联赛降级以来，考文垂城队在三个地点拥有过四个主场；他们换过15位不同的主教练；他们曾距离破产仅剩20分钟。与此同时，他们不知怎么地五次闯入温布利球场，赢得过英格兰足球联赛奖杯，并差一点就进入足总杯决赛。

正如一名戴着鸭舌帽的72岁老人保罗·吉莱特在周六比赛前的酒吧里所说：“跌宕起伏，跌宕起伏，跌宕起伏。”这种情绪很简单，甚至陈词滥调。但还有更好的表达方式吗？

因此，很难去责怪考文垂对重返顶级联赛的长期渴望。本赛季他们对阵赫尔的首场英超主场比赛拥有那种会让中立观众产生身份认同危机的氛围。而这并非必然。

球场坐落在考文垂北部的突出地带，其仓库式球迷区像实验室一样单调，对比赛氛围的贡献不大。开球前45分钟，体育场播报员几乎是在恳求球迷们回到座位上感受——也就是说，去创造——赛前的热闹气氛。但他不必如此心急，因为当球员们走出来，30,000名考文垂球迷齐声高唱他们的非官方赞歌，由The Enemy乐队演唱的《We'll Live and Die in These Towns》时，巨大的声浪震动了房梁。

尽管有如此嘹亮的号角，但上半场的表现却典型地符合比赛当天那种细雨蒙蒙、下午3点就得开泛光灯的午后氛围。

考文垂掌控了球权但创造的机会寥寥；赫尔则被压制，创造的机会更少。泰沃·阿沃尼伊是考文垂最大的威胁，他是唯一两次射正球门的球员，但这位新援未能破门。

天空阴沉，雨水沉甸甸的，仿佛随时会崩塌并就此收场。但球场内的能量依然在持续。半场休息时。

比赛快报

这是法兰克·兰帕德作为教练或球员第15次面对赫尔城队，也是他的首次败北。

在英超历史上，仅有三支球队在赢下开局两场比赛后仍被降级。2016-17赛季的赫尔城便是其中之一。

赫尔城在上半场的预期进球数（Expected Goals）仅为0.02，是本赛季所有英超球队中最低的。

欢迎回归：科文特里球迷昨日在科文特里建筑协会竞技场见证了首场失利。汤姆·皮尔斯顿为《观察家报》报道

比分是0-0，科文特里的球迷们正陷入狂热之中。

这种氛围是有原因的。这是科文特里在科文特里建筑协会竞技场进行的首场英超比赛，这座球场已成为该俱乐部现代史的核心。20世纪90年代过于雄心勃勃的体育场计划，加上2001年的顶级联赛降级，使俱乐部陷入债务危机，并引发了一系列涉及对冲基金、租金和法律纠纷的事件，甚至一度短暂跌入英甲（League Two）。

简而言之，科文特里在2005年拥有了这座当时名为理光竞技场的新球场，但由于财务困境被迫出售了50%的股份，从而沦为租客。更糟糕的是，他们在2013-14赛季被迫在北安普顿比赛，并在2019年至2021年期间在伯明翰比赛，承受了这种屈辱。

许多球迷在这两个阶段选择了抵制，其中一部分人甚至在球场附近的一座小山上观看北安普顿的比赛。但回到科文特里后情况也并未好转。在拥有32,000个座位的先进球场——科文特里建筑协会竞技场——踢英甲比赛，让人感到相当尴尬。主场对阵森林格林流浪者队时感觉像是在踢杯赛，而科文特里依然输了。

现在，这座球场终于可以成为某种不同的存在。它是雄心的象征，而非傲慢的产物。

在跌入英甲八年后，法兰克·兰帕德率领的科文特里再次成为了一支英超球队。如今他们甚至拥有自己的球场。他们有机会在保级战中生存下来。

就像这座城市一样，球队阵容也是新老交替的混合体。像卡莱布·伊伦基这样的球员代表了潜力，而伊桑·皮诺克则代表了经验。即便在这个资金雄厚的 era，夏季签下价值1.27 亿英镑m的球员也不应被轻视。

但对阵赫尔城的下半场给人们上了一课：你不能仅靠赛前烟火的余温来支撑比赛。尽管掌控了局面，科文特里却在第82分钟被对方反击得正着。在错过一个绝佳机会后不久，利亚姆·米拉接莫哈末·贝卢米传球冷静破门，让赫尔城领先。科文特里未能组织起反击，比赛就此定格。

赫尔城两战全胜，尽管有人质疑，但他们在身体素质和组织能力上看起来已经具备了英超水准。在塞尔盖·雅基罗维奇的带领下，他们拥有一位能让球员们感到敬畏的教练。而科文特里两场比赛积0分，看起来可能会走上上赛季伯恩利的道路：表现尚可，但太少能将优势转化为胜利。这种屈服伴随着兰帕德式的叹息。

决定科文特里本赛季命运的，可能是他们能否唤回此前在顶级联赛时期的“胡迪尼精神”。那段时光持续了34年，从1967年到2001年，仅次于阿森纳、利物浦和埃弗顿，期间包括10次在赛季最后一天惊险保级。

但拉金那个阴郁的家伙是对的：任何地方都不会发生任何事。现在就看科文特里如何确保在付出了所有努力、将自己的房子变成家之后，这里能有所发生。

热刺豪掷千金，生命迹象却让位于熟悉的绝望

只要给时间，德泽尔比的球队或许能找到凝聚力，但纽卡斯尔证明了旧习难改

热刺 纽卡斯尔 A. 埃兰加 (62') Y. 维萨 (72')

观众人数：61,025

金元人物：萨维奥是罗伯托·德泽尔比为热刺签下的八名新援中较为昂贵的一员。Marc Atkins / Getty Images

本·科尔斯

托特纳姆热刺球场

上周你可能注意到了一个愤怒的热刺球迷的画面——此时请克制住回答“哪一个？”的冲动——他站在布伦特福德的看台上，双臂张开，脸上疲惫的表情传达出一种极度的困惑。

在开局首周末 3-0 惨败之后，其实并不需要言语，但即使你在此处插入任何你选择的脏话，也都能完美契合。

这并非热刺今夏大规模投入所承诺的大胆新 era。他们由桑德罗·托纳利和马特乌斯·费尔南德斯组成的高价中场——合计花费了整整 1.85 亿英镑m ——表现糟糕，完全无法建立起像对方布伦特福德球员马马杜·桑加雷（签约费用低得多）那样的掌控力。

像热刺上赛季通过击败埃弗顿在赛季最后一天勉强保级那样地挣扎求生，只能赢得有限的好感。而他们的引援——无论是昂贵的（在扬·保罗·范赫克和萨维奥身上也投入了巨额费用）还是通过精明的自由转会（安德鲁·罗伯逊、马科斯·塞内西）——都设定了一个预期，即热刺不会再次陷入类似的困境。现在是时候大胆梦想一下了。

因此，在客场被一个资源较少但似乎运作正确的伦敦对手痛击，开局之战的味道必然是苦涩的。如果不是伊戈尔·蒂亚戈还浪费了一个点球，热刺的情况可能会更糟。

罗伯托·德泽尔比在经历了上赛季的保级之战后获得了这些充足的资金，并成为了热刺在不到一年内更换的第四任主教练，他承认热刺根本没有准备好“去进行对抗”。

他们在布伦特福德的比赛中，无论在身体还是战术上都没有准备充分。挥霍式消费和激进的人员大洗牌所带来的连锁反应是，让每个人适应环境需要时间和耐心。

现在，在经历了一个让球迷焦虑到极点（ran out of fingernails）的赛季后，建议热刺支持者可能需要更多一点这两项品质，这确实有点太直接了。但八月，在转会窗口依然开启、球队处于变动之中的月份，正是会出现误导性结果的时候。

就在一年多前，热刺前往曼彻斯特城客场，受益于曼城门将詹姆斯·特拉福在首秀中的多次失误，最终 2-0 获胜。理论上，这是一场开启托马斯·弗兰克时代的里程碑式胜利。然而他在次年二月被解雇。那天为热刺进球的布伦南·约翰逊和若昂·帕利尼亚也早已离队。

除非你是弗兰克·德博尔的

比赛快讯

萨维奥是以 8500 万英镑m 从曼城引进的新援，因伤缺席了热刺阵容，但预计将在对阵诺丁汉森林的比赛中回归。

热刺在上半场在纽卡斯尔禁区内有 7 次射门，其中 4 次射正。

卢卡斯·霍尔尼切克是纽卡斯尔以相对低廉的 2500 万英镑m 从布拉加签下的门将，他凭借三次高质量的扑救脱颖而出。

英超联赛

< / td><>P< / ><>W< / ><>D< / ><>L< / ><>F< / ><>A< / ><>Gd< / ><>Pts< / >< / tr><><>曼城< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>6< / ><>2< / ><>4< / ><>6< / >< / ><><>赫尔< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>3< / ><>6< / >< / ><><>纽卡斯尔< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>4< / ><>2< / ><>4< / >< / ><><>埃弗顿< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>4< / >< / ><><>布莱顿< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>4< / ><>0< / ><>4< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>阿森纳< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>布伦特福德< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>切尔西< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>伊普斯维奇< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>利兹< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>利物浦< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>4< / ><>0< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>伯恩茅斯< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>3< / ><>-1< / ><>1< / >< / ><><>诺丁汉森林< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>3< / ><>-1< / ><>1< / >< / ><><>富勒姆< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>3< / ><>-1< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>桑德兰< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>-1< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>曼联< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>-2< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>阿斯顿维拉< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>4< / ><>-4< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>考文垂< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>4< / ><>-4< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>水晶宫< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>6< / ><>-5< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>托特纳姆< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>5< / ><>-5< / ><>0< / >< / table>

臭名昭著的水晶宫，且显然正走向灾难，在叶子还没变色之前就对一支球队定论，感觉是有风险的。

不过，究竟什么时候才应该真正开始恐慌？像热刺现在这样，前两场开局比赛全部输掉且没有进球，一定会让人感到极其焦虑。

花钱越多，期望就越高。或者你也可以像纽卡斯尔那样，看着自己的球队被拆解，结果表现却出奇地好，这一定是体育界最令人愉快的惊喜之一。马蒂亚斯·贾斯莱（Matthias Jaissle）的球队在上周日与利物浦战平非常不幸，因为表现出色的刘易斯·霍尔（Lewis Hall）在比赛末段造成了一个点球。

如果说在这个夏天圣詹姆斯公园球场众多高调的离队球员中——安东尼·戈登（Anthony Gordon）加盟巴塞罗那，布鲁诺·吉马良斯（Bruno Guimarães）加盟阿森纳，以及执教五年的主教练埃迪·豪（Eddie Howe）离职——在托纳利（Tonali）以 1 亿英镑 转会托特纳姆的消息公布时，人们流的泪最少，这似乎并不夸张。

在禁赛期结束后，托纳利在圣詹姆斯公园球场出场时有时表现得非常出色。此前有报道称他的经纪人在1月份就在为其寻找下家，这也暗示他早已准备好前往他处。

当状态进入正轨时，托纳利凭借那些强有力的前插跑位，能够有效地支持托特纳姆不断演变的进攻阵容，而最近的增强是租借自曼城（他在此起步）的奥马尔·马尔穆什（Omar Marmoush）的加盟。

随着比赛的进行，这种前插变得更加频繁，有一次他与费尔南德斯（Fernandes）和佩德罗·波罗（Pedro Porro）配合得很好。如果不是因为表现极其出色的霍尔的一次果断拦截，热刺在半场时理应领先。

当然，热刺的中场依然留有巨大的空档，导致全场发出的集体叹息声如此之大，几乎能与客队看台在托纳利每次触球时发出的嘘声相媲美。布伦特福德队的惨败，加上如此迅速地面对旧主，这两者的结合本可能让托纳利那1 亿英镑m的身价变成一块沉重的磨盘。然而，随着比赛的进行，他的表现似乎变得更加自由。

虽然德泽尔比和热刺在引入八名新援后无疑已经完成了交易，但纽卡斯尔的重组感觉尚未完成。但对于像雅斯莱这样从阿赫利队加盟且并未受到广泛期待的教练来说，这是一个非常有希望的开局。如果能再增加几名进攻球员来加强纽卡斯尔的前场，包括在状态回升的约安·维萨身后配置一名更自然的10号位球员，那么这个原本不被看好的赛季很可能会迅速交出一份超出预期的成绩单。

那位来自布伦特福德的热刺球迷会对这一切作何感想？也许在周六晚上，他的手臂垂得低了一些，面部表情也更加放松了。

起初，这里有更多令人满意的地方。直到安东尼·埃兰加的射门击中立柱后弹入纽卡斯尔队门内，随着恐慌信号再次闪烁，他的夜晚被毁了。这也给了随队出征的纽卡斯尔球迷一个机会，让他们喊出一直蓄势待发的口号：“桑德罗，桑德罗，比分是多少？”

特别版

从受挫的切尔西到金·克莱斯特：女超联赛规模更大、水平更高

杰西·帕克·汉弗莱斯（Jessy Parker Humphreys）写道，新赛季已经到来，参赛球队增加，出现了大胆的颠覆者，且一场惊心动魄的冠军争夺战在望。

在上赛季末流传的一段播客片段中，查尔顿竞技（Charlton Athletic）的前首席执行官查理·梅文（Charlie Methven）在谈到女足时说：“在人们告诉我们这是一个蓬勃增长的故事之时，你看到的却是观众人数两位数的下降。”

“我之前一直有点顾虑是否要谈论这件事，”梅文在 his Business of Sport 播客开始时说道，随后他认为女足的增长被严重夸大了。他将观众人数的下降称为潜伏在女足背后的一个令人震惊的秘密，且出于某种原因被掩盖了。

这段片段被分享了数千次，引发了忧心忡忡的女足球迷的反应，也被网络喷子用来证明女足是一场心理战（psyop）。

这段片段之所以流行，是因为它触及了女超联赛（WSL）最核心的主导性问题之一，而这个问题在新赛季开始之际显得前所未有的两极分化：一支球队应该投入多少资金？

足球财务的很大一部分与经济现实脱节，但这并未能阻止人们将那种用于证明政府紧缩政策合理性的家庭经济理论，经常性地应用于女足球队，无论这些球队是否隶属于英超联赛那样的巨额支出机器。

一些球队现在的亏损高达八位数。一些球队则创造了八位数的收入。一些球队在基础设施上投入巨资。一些球队则决定现在是平衡账目的时机。WSL 中经济模型的多样性正是其迷人之所在，尽管这种多样性往往被归结为令人焦虑的担忧。

伦敦城市狮女队（London City Lionesses）和曼联（Manchester United）的情况最好地证明了这一点。一方面，正如保罗·海沃德（Paul Hayward）在第 12 页所写，米歇尔·康（Michele Kang）的球队在快速且挥霍的支出方面，正上演着足球界的“经典之作”。与此同时，曼联似乎已经认输，认定自己永远无法追上曼城、切尔西和阿森纳这前三强，转而开始使用更年轻（即：更便宜）的球员。

从吉姆·拉特克利夫（Jim Ratcliffe）的表态来看，他似乎对女足或女性体育没什么兴趣。由于两项变化，本赛季的争论将出现新的转折：联赛扩军至 14 支球队，以及财务可持续性法规的引入。

这次扩军标志着伯明翰城（Birmingham City）和查尔顿（Charlton）重返顶级联赛，这两支球队与水晶宫（Crystal Palace）一起在上赛季末升级。在女足俱乐部足球的起步阶段，伯明翰和查尔顿曾是先驱，看到与英冠男队相关的女足俱乐部依然在顶端竞争，令人欣慰。

在男队从英超降级的那一天，查尔顿女队被解散了，而那天恰好是女队参加 2007 年足总杯决赛的日子。随后，她们以同样戏剧性的方式重返顶级联赛——在首届 WSL 附加赛中通过点球大战击败莱斯特城（Leicester City），在那场比赛中，WSL2 的第三名与 WSL 的垫底球队对阵。

与此同时，伯明翰在 2021-22 赛季降级，此前经历了一段漫长的衰落，期间球员们被迫写信给俱乐部，投诉她们被要求在其中竞争的环境条件。自从 Knighthead Capital Management 以 Shelby Companies Ltd 的名义接管俱乐部以来，投资重新流入，最终由该队最著名的校友凯伦·卡尼（Karen Carney）和前网球世界 No 1 金·克莱斯特（Kim Clijsters）专门持有女队的股份。

新面孔：伯明翰城的莉莉·克罗斯斯韦特（Lily Crosthwaite）在遮挡查尔顿队的艾莉·梅森（Ellie Mason）的球。在本赛季扩军至14支球队的女子超级联赛（WSL）中，这两支球队均为新升级球队。Leila Coker / Getty

财务可持续性规定还应改变球队选择投资的方式，因为这些规定对母公司的流动资金注资设定了上限——尽管这个上限相当宽松。这类投资在近年来对切尔西和阿森纳至关重要，而现在则应鼓励各球队寻找提升女队价值的不同途径。

值得注意的是，联赛中两个处于上升期的中游球队——布莱顿和托特纳姆，都在致力于开展旨在造福其女队的重大基础设施项目。就布莱顿而言，是在美国快递体育场（American Express Stadium）隔壁开发自己的球场，预计成本为8000 万英镑m。

托特纳姆的方案则陷入僵局，因为他们为专门的女子和女孩训练中心申请的规划许可在上个月被一名高等法院法官撤销。

至于顶端，联赛中最好的三支球队在纸面上如此显而易见，但在实际区分时却如此困难。曼城在上赛季结束了切尔西对冠军奖杯长达六年的垄断，但可能难以在兼顾国内赛事与欧冠联赛的需求之间取得平衡。

与此同时，切尔西正显示出被挫败的迹象。他们的中场球员埃琳·库斯伯特（Erin Cuthbert）在谈到球队长期的成功时，将球队描述为被“宠坏了”。这种动力，加上凯蒂·麦凯布（Katie McCabe）和梅尔文·马拉德（Melvine Malard）这两名令人兴奋的新援，应该让他们再次成为冠军的竞争者。

阿森纳是三大强队中最神秘的一支。作为两个赛季前的欧冠冠军，他们证明了自己能够经常击败世界上最顶尖的球队，并且在每个赛季开始时都被视为显而易见的夺冠热门。然而，尽管投入巨大且拥有女足界最大的球迷群体，他们距离上一次夺冠已经过去了七年。

他们在转会窗口期间的表现就像你那位在汽车后备箱集市上逛街的叔叔一样缺乏活力，寄希望于像乔治亚·斯坦韦（Georgia Stanway）和奥娜·巴特耶（Ona Batlle）这样经验丰富的前WSL自由球员能让他们在联赛中成为一支更可靠的力量。

希望这些担忧不要掩盖掉围绕着一个每年都在进步的联赛而应有的喜悦感，无论其中是否存在挥霍无度的支出。

关于支出的争论将继续激烈，尤其是在不同球队的支持者之间。女足领域中有些人如此关注财务问题，单纯是因为担心这个在过去十年中获得极速提升、并展示了全球最高水平女足运动的联赛，可能会因为俱乐部经营者的心血来潮而一夜之间消失。

各球队指南

由 Jessy Parker Humphreys 预测的 2026-27 赛季女子超级联赛

1 切尔西

上赛季获得第三名对索尼娅·邦帕斯托（Sonia Bompastor）的球队来说是一个巨大的失望。他们希望今年能强力反弹，我相信他们能做到。关键球员：劳伦·詹姆斯（Lauren James）

2 阿森纳

在今年夏天进行了大规模的阵容调整后，开局面对曼联、切尔西和曼城的比赛将对其构成严峻考验。关键球员：马里奥娜·卡尔登特（Mariona Caldentey）

3 曼城

对于上赛季的冠军来说，留住金靴奖得主邦尼·肖（Bunny Shaw）至关重要，但本赛季重返欧冠将给球队阵容带来额外压力。关键球员：邦尼·肖（Bunny Shaw）

4 伦敦城

这支由“英格兰狮女”组成的球队在转会窗口的表现引人注目，签下了亚历克西亚·普特亚斯（Alexia Putellas）、马皮·莱昂（Mapi León）和卡迪迪亚图·迪亚尼（Kadidiatou Diani）。预计他们将打破平静并制造冷门。 关键球员：亚历克西亚·普特亚斯（Alexia Putellas）

5 热刺

8 利物浦

上赛季在主教练马丁·何（Martin Ho）的高压逼抢战术下表现惊艳，今年应该会进一步提升，但可能再次无缘前四。关键球员：古贺桃子（Toko Koga）

长期执教的主教练马克·斯金纳（Marc Skinner）在 8 月初离职，俱乐部正寻求转向一种基于培养本土新人的冒险策略。 关键球员：杰斯·帕克（Jess Park）

6 曼联

他们去年在圣诞节前未能赢得一场比赛，随后随着赛季推进状态有所回升。在前曼城主教练加雷斯·泰勒（Gareth Taylor）的带领下，预计将保持稳定。 关键球员：板村真央（Mao Itamura）

9 西汉姆联

10 阿斯顿维拉

在之前的几个赛季中，西汉姆联看起来像是一支迷失方向的球队，但像凯利·加戈（Kelly Gago）和莱亚·科迪纳（Laia Codina）这样的签约显示出了比平时更强的意图，并带来了一些乐观情绪。关键球员：凯利·加戈（Kelly Gago）

维拉在新赛季投入重金引进斯堪的纳维亚人才，这可能会取得成效，但头号得分手克斯蒂·汉森（Kirsty Hanson）转会至热刺是一个沉重的打击。关键球员：露西亚·肯德尔（Lucia Kendall）

在离开顶级联赛四个赛季后重返，伯明翰城一段时间以来一直在稳步投资其女足方面，应该足以避免降级。关键球员：莉莉·克罗斯斯韦特（Lily Crosthwaite）

11 伯明翰

12 埃弗顿

上赛季排名第八，随后离奇地招募了大量降级球队莱斯特城的人员。前锋霍莉·麦克纳马拉（Holly McNamara）从墨尔本城加盟是一次成功的抢购。关键球员：霍莉·麦克纳马拉（Holly McNamara）

13 水晶宫

7 布莱顿

保级附加赛 凭借莫莉·巴特里普（Molly Bartrip）、贝瑟尼·英格兰（Bethany England）和莱克西·劳埃德-史密斯（Lexi Lloyd-Smith）的加盟，应该能够保级。 关键球员：艾希莉·维登（Ashleigh Weerden）

在赛季开始前一周，主教练达里奥·维多西奇（Dario Vidosic）的离职对于一支希望在去年进入足总杯决赛基础上进一步发展的球队来说是一个巨大的打击。关键球员：莉亚·沃尔蒂（Lia Wälti）

14 查尔顿

自动降级 首次亮相 WSL（女子超级联赛）应当获得掌声，但他们的投入不足以支撑竞争。 关键球员 索菲·怀特豪斯 (Sophie Whitehouse)

烧烤、历史与旗帜——揭秘阿森纳的夏季大改造

在这家曾经称霸一方的俱乐部签下大量新球员以期重现昔日辉煌之际，文化建设至关重要

杰西·帕克·汉弗莱斯 (Jessy Parker Humphreys)

下周日，阿森纳队将迎来女超联赛（Women's Super League）赛季的首场比赛，对阵布莱顿，届时踏上球场的阵容将大不相同。近十年来，球队将首次缺少贝丝·米德（Beth Mead），她在为阿森纳出场超过 260 次后加盟了曼彻斯特城。凯蒂·麦凯布（Katie McCabe）也将离队，她已转投伦敦的蓝色阵营切尔西，结束了与该俱乐部长达 10 年的缘分。

米德和麦凯布是今年夏天离队的 12 人中的两员，而球队则引入了七名新球员。周五，这些球员首次在酋长球场亮相，在几乎空无一人的体育场内，伴随着通过音响播放的观众欢呼声进行训练。

鉴于人员变动幅度相当之大，阿森纳将重点放在如何将新球员融入俱乐部的整体文化中。对于女足负责人克莱尔·惠特利（Clare Wheatley）而言，这首先要考虑的是球员在球场之外与阿森纳的契合度。

“你无法对新加入的球员进行心理测验，”她说，“所以你必须观察肢体语言，与人们交谈，通过沟通来了解一个人的性格。”

“在他们入职的那一刻起，我们就希望让他们感受到俱乐部的精神内核。我们希望他们了解我们的历史，因为我们认为这是我们试图构建的拼图中至关重要的一块。”

“我们看到球队在接纳新球员方面有所进步，并尝试给他们提供支持，因为女性球员在转会时通常没有随行团队，她们是独自前行的。让他们感受到新家是什么样子非常重要，在这个过程中，我们希望他们能感受到与俱乐部的这种连接。”

惠特利举例说，俱乐部队长金·利特尔（Kim Little）在自己家中为全队举办的烧烤派对，就是球队欢迎新球员的一个例子。主教练勒内·斯莱格斯（Renée Slegers）甚至因此不得不重新调整自己的计划——她原打算在同一天邀请球队去她家。

此外还有像这样的活动：阿森纳球员在酋长球场旁的社区中心（Community Hub）会见俱乐部的一些社区项目成员，并通过“Block by Block”计划与球迷交流。这是一个由支持者主导的项目，旨在酋长球场打造一种独特的女性文化。

乐观的理由：本周，当阵容焕新的阿森纳队在酋长球场训练时，音响中播放着观众的欢呼声。 《观察家报》记者 索菲亚·埃文斯 (Sophia Evans) 摄

建立联系：阿森纳还邀请支持者团体参与，试图为俱乐部的女足方面创造一个独特的身份标识。 《观察家报》记者 索菲亚·埃文斯 (Sophia Evans) 摄

球队的所有七名新成员都与阿森纳球迷社区的创意人士配对，为每位球员设计一面旗帜。

“这是一个非常温暖的欢迎，”今年夏天从霍芬海姆加盟且本身就是阿森纳球迷的塞琳娜·切尔奇（Selina Cerci）说道，她从小观看丹尼斯·博格坎普（Dennis Bergkamp）的剪辑视频后便爱上了这支球队。

“当我想象自己为阿森纳踢第一场比赛时，我将拥有自己的旗帜，这表明很多人希望你在球场上拥有极佳的感受。他们希望你一切顺利，让你感到受欢迎。每个人都希望你表现出色。”

投入到球队中，这使他们在国内赛事中占据主导地位，并在 2007 年赢得了欧冠冠军。

得益于早期的投资和关注，阿森纳在女足俱乐部领域拥有深厚的历史底蕴。

“在整个季前训练期间，我们进行了一些能够体现阿森纳文化，以及我们作为俱乐部和女足团队精神的活动，”即将开启在俱乐部第七个赛季的斯蒂芬·卡特利（Steph Catley）说道。

其中一项活动是与瑞秋·扬基（Rachel Yankey）共进午餐，她是阿森纳传奇的前球员之一，曾分两次在俱乐部效力 15 个赛季。

“正是这类事情真正将新球员与过去、与我们所取得的成就联系在一起，让她们了解像那样球员们为俱乐部做了什么，以及他们现在对俱乐部的感情，”卡特利说道。

“这真的能让你产生归属感，让你在更深层次上对代表球队出战感到兴奋。你会真正接纳这些价值观，并对事物有更宏大的思考。我接触足球很久了，但从未像在阿森纳这样感受到如此深厚的连接。我热爱参与这类活动，因为你能看到俱乐部在社区建设以及照顾那些支持他们的人方面投入了多少心血。”

对于女足队来说，主要挑战之一是如何在依托于围绕男足队构建的更广泛的俱乐部体系的同时，发展出一种独特的文化。就阿森纳而言，他们做出的一项改变是为女队选择了不同的出场曲。

然而，当文化以更负面的方式产生分歧时，可能会带来棘手的后果。2023年，俱乐部在发布球队合照时，由于整支球队和教练员均为白人，受到了相当大的批评。

团队建设：新赛季的希望寄托在包括下左图的资深球员斯蒂芬·卡特利以及新签球员塞琳娜·塞尔奇在内的球员身上。索菲亚·埃文斯为《观察家报》拍摄。

考虑到阿森纳与黑人社区长期以来的深厚情谊——男队中的伊恩·赖特和戴维·罗卡斯尔，以及女队中的利安·桑德森、亚历克斯·斯科特和安妮塔·阿桑特便是代表——这一情况令人感到震惊，俱乐部已尝试做出回应。

“我们的青训学院拥有全国最高的多样性率之一，为此我们感到非常自豪，”惠特利说。“但我们知道，这并没有完全体现在我们的一线队中。”

阿森纳面临的一个问题是，其青训学院最初设在赫特福德郡大学，这使得市中心地区的女孩较难接触到。

他们将其迁至巴内特的 The Hive，目前正考虑在市中心区域建立一个中心网络。

“我们正在回归初心，重新与市中心建立联系，以便我们能够敞开大门，有机地增加项目内部的多样性。我们将能够消除障碍，无论是经济障碍还是交通障碍。”

尽管阿森纳在建立充满活力且积极参与的球迷群体方面做了大量出色工作，但这在获得赞誉的同时也伴随着批评。在前任主教练乔纳斯·埃代瓦尔执教末期，酋长球场的氛围变得极其糟糕。他最终辞职，但在他离开之前，酋长球场的一面墙上已被喷上了“埃代瓦尔下课”的字样。

考虑到其投入，阿森纳的战绩，尤其是国内赛事的战绩，确实值得质疑。2025年惊人的欧冠夺冠是该队一个出人意料的高光时刻，而在此之前，他们已有10年没赢得足总杯，7年没赢得联赛冠军。

“我们希望提高基准线，”惠特利在反思如何赢得更多胜利时说道。“无论是韧性、尊重还是谦逊。有一些核心目标是我们要求球员绝对不能低于此标准的。我们希望将低谷期维持在尽可能高的水平。”

“关键在于你如何处理低谷，而不是低谷时刻本身。关键在于你的反应。我认为在过去，这就是我们的弱点，无法在场内场外保持真正的强韧。”

这种强韧将在女超联赛（WSL）赛季初期受到严峻考验，因为他们在前五场比赛中将面对曼联、切尔西和曼城。这使得新球员的快速融入变得更加至关重要。

赛程分布旨在扩大电视覆盖率——但下午3点禁播令维持不变

本赛季标志着天空体育（Sky Sports）与女子超级联赛（WSL）五年协议的第二年。该广播机构每赛季支付的版权费约为 1300 万英镑，几乎是此前协议的两倍，并将播出 163 场共 182 场 WSL 赛事——其余赛事由 BBC 播出。

随着周日晚间开球时段的回归，天空体育在今年的影响力日益凸显。该时段去年因球迷投诉和上座率低而被取消，但对天空体育而言却曾极其成功，因为观众在观看“超级周日”节目后，往往会继续观看随后的 WSL 比赛。目前该时段已确定回归，尽管在 9 月的初步赛程安排中仅被选用了一次——阿斯顿维拉对阵曼彻斯特城的比赛将于 9 月 13 日周日下午 6.30 开球。

上赛季，周日中午播出多场比赛的决定引起了相当大的不满，因为球迷很难在整个周末持续观看比赛。本赛季的目标是让开球时间分布更广泛，周五晚间的时段将成为常规配置。本赛季将由伦敦城市狮女队（London City Lionesses）于本周五晚上 7 点对阵曼彻斯特联队揭幕。

WSL 一直在努力寻找现场观众与电视观众之间的正确平衡，尤其是考虑到女足观众群体的多样性，其中包含大量家庭观众。凯伦·卡尼（Karen Carney）对女足比赛的审查建议取消女足比赛在下午 3 点的禁播令，以开辟一个固定的观看时段，但这并非 WSL 目前追求的方向。

在 WSL 广播方式的另一项重大变化中，BBC 取消了其《女足节目》（Women's Football Show）。这部效仿《今日比赛》（Match of the Day）模式、自 2013 年起播出的每周集锦节目，经常在周日深夜播出，收视率较低。BBC 转而探索一种不同的形式，集锦仍将在 iPlayer 和 YouTube 上提供观看。

南北对决：曼彻斯特联队的杰斯·帕克（Jess Park，最右）与伦敦城市队的哈娜·费尔南德斯（Jana Fernández）将于周五再次交锋。Annabel Lee-Ellis/WSL Football via Getty

伦敦城市 vs 曼联 周五，天空体育，晚上 7 点

特别报道

“银河战舰”降临布罗姆利……但他们真的能推翻旧势力吗？

保罗·海沃德（Paul Hayward）写道，尽管投入巨资，伦敦城市女足（London City Lionesses）可能仍需数十年时间才能将切尔西和阿森纳赶下王座。

将硅谷模式套用在布罗姆利的一家足球俱乐部身上似乎是个轻率的概念，但伦敦城市女足以 100 万英镑m 的底薪签下亚历克西亚·普特利亚斯（Alexia Putellas），这可能会被人们铭记为俱乐部所有者米歇尔·康（Michele Kang）将女子超级联赛（WSL）变成一场军备竞赛的时刻。

在整个俱乐部足球历史上，无数次出现个体所有者通过在顶级球星身上挥金如土，从而实现从“有野心”到“统治地位”的跨越。

在布罗姆利海耶斯巷（Hayes Lane）的基地里，这支“狮女队”是个异类：她们不隶属于任何男子球队，而是全球投资领域如今已成常规的“颠覆者”原则的体现。

不过，有大量迹象表明，在英格兰最高级别的女足联赛中，引入“银河战舰”模式不会迅速见效。在这里，切尔西和阿森纳两家俱乐部创造的收入比联赛中其他 12 支球队的总和还要多。

康上个月在华尔街日报的一次商业会议上表示：“我最不想做的事情就是将女足维持在慈善事业的状态——就像人们一直以来看待它那样，将其视为一个 DEI（多样性、公平和包容性）项目。在我看来，从创造价值的机会来看，这是一个硅谷式的机会。而我没看到有其他人这么做。”

女足的惊人增长伴随着一场关于如何管理这种增长的持续争论：是将其作为一个自下而上的、基于基础设施和大众参与的项目，还是一个自上而下的、由商业和精英驱动的闪击战。英足总刚刚宣布，四支 WSL 学院球队将参加第三级别联赛。

在自上而下与自下而上的光谱中还存在其他观点，但康向普特利亚斯支付七位数的薪水，被许多人视为女足进入财富集中新阶段的证据。

“首要重点是产品，”康说，“要确保你的产品是尽可能最好的产品。”她多次谈到人们注意力的竞争——电影、流行音乐演唱会，竞争对手球队以及其他体育项目。

她的三俱乐部帝国（美国国家女子足球联赛的冠军竞争者华盛顿精神队，以及法国冠军里昂女足，与伦敦城市女足同属一个体系）的两个组成部分正在专门为女足构建一个生态系统，以便球员不再被训练和对待成“缩小版的男人”——并为她收购的俱乐部增加价值。

分析师曾认为她在 2022 年花 3500万美元 (2570 万英镑m) 收购华盛顿精神队是痴人说梦，但该球队现在的价值已超过 2亿美元。

然而，华盛顿和伦敦的球队目前仍处于亏损状态。康表示，华盛顿队将在 18 个月内实现收支平衡：“在营销、品牌建设和球迷参与方面的投资让我们实现了这一目标。”

尽管有 72 家处于金字塔底层的俱乐部中有 52 家称该计划“在道德上是错误的”，并指责其对球员和工作人员“完全缺乏尊重”，但从 2027-28, 赛季起，这些球队将进入国家联赛。

2019 年至 2025 年间，薪资翻了四倍，经纪人费用增长了 75%。该联赛目前旨在将工资单限制在俱乐部收入的 80% 加上所有者贡献的 400 万英镑m 之内。

在 2024-25, 赛季的升级赛季中，狮女队亏损了 100 万英镑0.6m，是其 90.2 万英镑 收入的 10 倍多。这与康关于“短期痛苦换取长期收益”的理念一致：这种初创企业心态驱动了如此之多的私募股权投资。她声称，自 2021 年以来，美国女足的价值——主要是俱乐部的标价——上涨了“一百倍”。

然而，康在收购普特利亚斯和其他球星后似乎预见到了在 WSL 中获得成功的保证，但这比该公式所暗示的要复杂得多。

即便康也承认，根据她在美国进行的对话：“许多私募股权家族企业告诉我：‘我们非常感兴趣，但这对我们来说规模有点太小了。’”

正如汤姆·加里（Tom Garry）最近在《卫报》中报道的那样，自2017年以来，女子超级联赛（WSL）俱乐部在税后的亏损额已超过1.11 亿英镑m。WSL的工资

这一切并非为了质疑女足巨大的长期价值，这一点已经显而易见。问题在于这将如何推进，以及普特利亚斯（Putellas）是否真的是“银河战舰”式转型的先遣部队，或者伦敦城市狮女队（London City Lionesses）是否需要数十年而非数年时间，才能发展到足以与切尔西和阿森纳相匹敌的程度。

32岁的普特利亚斯在14年间一直是巴塞罗那队的领军人物，并帮助球队赢得了38座奖杯。她是两届金球奖得主，由于合同到期，因此在职业生涯末期追求一份巨额合同时处于有利地位。值得注意的是，在拒绝波士顿遗产队（Boston Legacy）并选择上赛季排名WSL第六的俱乐部后，她的亮相仪式是在纽约时髦的W酒店举行，而非在布罗姆利（Bromley）。

“这不仅仅是一次签约，更是关于这项运动未来的大胆宣言，”康（Kang）说道。

普特利亚斯并非唯一一名踏上前往康的伦敦分部这条镀金之路的人。前英格兰门将玛丽·厄普斯（Mary Earps）、丹麦中场詹妮·汤姆森（Janni Thomsen）和德国球员妮可·安约米（Nicole Anyomi）也将加入她的行列。拥有50多次西班牙国家队出场记录的马皮·莱昂（Mapi León）上个月从巴塞罗那队签约加盟。

康的转会交易是对2024年构思的一项政策的显著升级，当时该俱乐部签下了瑞典队长科索瓦雷·阿斯拉尼（Kosovare Asllani），并聘请巴黎圣日耳曼的约瑟林·普雷舍尔（Jocelyn Précheur）担任主教练。后者在1月份被埃德尔·马埃斯特雷（Eder Maestre）取代。

“颠覆式”投资的拥趸们将质疑“四大”垄断WSL的权利。其他人则会说，尤其是阿森纳和切尔西，即便有母俱乐部的资金支持，在提升知名度和比赛上座率方面也理应获得赞赏。

康现在正通过签约那些她希望新球迷会蜂拥而至观看、且商业合作伙伴会争相挂钩的球员，来寻求商业可行性的快速通道。至少，她增加了话题性。

英格兰女足在推广年收入损失10倍：短期阵痛以换取长期收益

明星效应：普特利亚斯（Putellas）是两届金球奖得主，也是英格兰女足（Lionesses）今夏最具声明意义的签约球员，旨在尝试快速通往英格兰女超联赛（WSL）之巅。Catherine Ivill / Getty

罗里·史密斯（Rory Smith）

切尔西与曼城如何成为敲诈英超对手的价格操纵专家

顶尖的销售者能将失败转化为利润，而且由于几乎没有国外俱乐部买得起，那些地理位置更近（字面意义上）的俱乐部只能为此买单。

尼古拉斯·杰克逊（Nicolas Jackson）就是一个很好的例子，但他绝非唯一一个。现效力于诺丁汉森林的利亚姆·德拉普（Liam Delap）同样合适。周三在热刺首秀中进球的萨维奥（Sávio）也是如此。而这些仅仅是本周的例子。在过去的几周里，类似的情况已经出现过很多次；毫无疑问，在接下来的两天里还会有更多。

但杰克逊的例子最具代表性。按照任何标准、实际且理性的定义，今年夏天的尼古拉斯·杰克逊市场都是买方市场。这位塞内加尔前锋在切尔西的三年里被定性为一名“水货”，尽管这种解读略显不公。他在65场英超比赛中打入24球：虽非惊艳，但绝非耻辱。他的表现一直还不错。

但即便如此：在夏天开始时，没有人怀疑他已不再被需要。他去年在拜仁慕尼黑租借效力。同样，表现尚可。他是哈里·凯恩一个完全合格的替补。教练文森特·孔帕尼（Vincent Kompany）表示他很喜欢与杰克逊共事。但还不足以让俱乐部支付5600 万英镑m的费用将其永久签下。

这一切让杰克逊陷入了尴尬的境地，而切尔西阵容中相当一部分球员对此并不陌生。在过去的几周里，他一直是在哈比·阿隆索（Xabi Alonso）的一线队旁边，而非其中进行训练，与一群要么在恢复体能、要么在准备离队的杂牌球员在一起。俱乐部明确表示，虽然这听起来、看起来且感觉非常像一个“炸弹处理小组”，但绝对、肯定不是。

在足球传统的经济学理解中，杰克逊本应是一个机会。切尔西应该急于摆脱他的薪水，并尽可能回收他们在2023.从比利亚雷亚尔签下他时支付的3200 万英镑m中的一部分。随之而来的必然亏损，实际上将成为一种因果报应的提醒：正确投资资金至关重要。这就是

杰克逊作为球员可能没有成功，但切尔西仍能在他身上赚到双倍的钱

这类情况的运作方式。它们一直以来都是这样运作的。

除非现在情况变了，不再如此。阿斯顿维拉已同意向切尔西支付4750 万英镑m购买杰克逊，另有1750 万英镑m的各种与表现挂钩的附加费。再加上去年从拜仁收到的1400 万英镑m租借费，杰克逊已被证明是切尔西老板的一次胜利。他作为一名球员可能没有成功，但他们仍能在他身上赚到双倍的钱，而且这还没提到“摊销”这个词。

按照同样的衡量标准，德拉普的交易也非常成功：去年以3000 万英镑m从伊普斯维奇买入，本周以5000 万英镑卖给森林队。期间他一共在英超打入了一个球。

曼城无疑也同样为萨维奥感到自豪，他在2024花费了3100 万英镑m，但现在，凭借在史上最强进攻球队之一中两年打入两球的“魔力”，他的身价起步价可达7500 万英镑m，且可能更高。

这两个例子在某种程度上都受到了他们加盟时略显奇特的情况影响。切尔西凭借一项使其性价比极高的解约金条款从伊普斯维奇挖掘了德拉普；他可能一直被定位为用于转卖的资产。与此同时，曼城从特鲁瓦买下了萨维奥。他当时刚刚在吉罗纳的租借赛季中表现出色。这两家俱乐部都由城市足球集团（City Football Group）所有。谈判想必并不困难。

即便如此，人们很难理解

行业秘诀：上图的杰克逊和下图的萨维奥，尽管未能让联赛感到震撼，但都被高价转卖并获得了丰厚利润。 Getty Images

这些球员——以及安德烈·桑托斯、尼科·冈萨雷斯和另外几个人——之所以能吸引如此高昂的溢价，其背后的机制在于：是的，热刺和维拉的急切心理使谈判天平向出售方倾斜。是的，切尔西拥有让杰克逊和德拉普签署极其漫长合同的优势。而且，英超联赛正陷入一个日益自我毁灭的通货膨胀螺旋中，在这个螺旋里，唯一重要的是会计记录的“真相”——所有购买支出都可以分摊到数年之中，但所有销售收入则立即入账——而且每个人似乎都忘记了，这些是真实的资金，而不仅仅是屏幕上的数字。

在这种疯狂环境下，最能适应的球队是像切尔西和曼城那样，即使是对他们并不真正需要的球员也能强硬地讨价还价，且擅长在没有底牌的情况下虚张声势的球队。由于各种形式的财务监管，为了保持资金流动，那些擅长出售球员的球队将获得回报。

这并非唯一的影响。切尔西今夏最大的出售项目，也是其夏季转会市场的巅峰之作尚未到来：在现在到周二转会窗关闭之间，恩佐·费尔南德斯应该会转会至曼城。这将又是另一笔巨大的、某种程度上模糊的费用，大约 1.2 亿英镑（1.2亿英镑），而这名球员在 2022 年世界杯后立即被签下时花费了高达 1.07 亿英镑（1.07亿英镑）的巨额支出，却从未完全证明其价值。

这并非费尔南德斯预想的职业生涯走向。早在三月份，他就明确表示自己一直想住在马德里。这次向皇家马德里的示好如此露骨，以至于这家西班牙俱乐部发表声明，明确表示他们对签下他没有兴趣，以维护与切尔西的机构关系。

此外，现实情况是，在如此高昂的转会费水平下——尤其是结合他的薪水水平——英超俱乐部越来越意识到，他们的市场就在国内。只有四家欧洲球队能处于相近的经济高度；而且并非每个球员都愿意被打发到沙特阿拉伯。

从体育角度来看，切尔西愿意将费尔南德斯卖给潜在的冠军竞争对手很奇怪，就像利物浦考虑对科迪·加克波采取同样行动，或者曼城对萨维奥这样做一样奇怪。但现在的价格已经高到没有其他选择。为了维持高价，为了延缓崩盘，除了互相宰客，已经没有其他可以榨取的人了。

皮德科克成为骑行运动争取国家关注的门面人物

强力阵容集结 参加英国巡回赛 背景是近期发生的悲剧 以及争取公众 认可的长期艰苦斗争

杰里米·惠特尔（Jeremy Whittle）

汤姆·皮德科克（Tom Pidcock）在环法自行车赛中表现出了迄今为止最稳定的状态，他将成为周三在林肯郡开赛的英国男子巡回赛的主要看点。这位双届奥运金牌得主在7月的巴黎总成绩中排名第九，他将带领其 Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling 车队参加这场为期 5 天的比赛。

继极具成功的女子巡回赛（由环法女子赛分站冠军金·勒库特（Kim Le Court）夺冠）之后，英国男子巡回赛将经过林肯、斯凯格内斯、贝弗利和莱伯恩，最后进入苏格兰边境的厄尔斯顿进行最后一赛段。

这场比赛起伏剧烈的路线图看起来是皮德科克的理想地形。他在 2026 赛季以高光表现开局，在米兰-圣雷莫赛中与塔代伊·波加查（Tadej Pogačar）展开对决。他将旨在利用这场为期 5 天的英国赛事，在9月的蒙特利尔世界公路自行车锦标赛前磨练状态。

本周，波加查在环西赛中征服了西班牙的大部分地区，直到昨天一场车祸迫使他在持有绝对领先优势的情况下弃赛。相比之下，强度较低的英国巡回赛为那些厌倦了看着这位五届环法冠军消失在地平线上的车手们提供了喘息之机。

虽然英国赛事可能缺乏某些欧洲分站赛的声望，但它依然吸引了强力阵容。此外，还有一个背景，即 2027 年环法自行车赛将于明年7月在爱丁堡举行大起点（Grand Départ）。车队中许多人都渴望在明年于苏格兰、英格兰和威尔士比赛之前，先感受一下英国“抓地力强”的道路。

在目标是分站冠军而非总冠军的车手中，包括 Decathlon CMA CGM 车队的环法分站赛冠军奥拉夫·库伊（Olav Kooij），以及 Soudal Quick-Step 车队的蒂姆·默利尔（Tim Merlier）。两人被公认为该运动顶尖的冲刺手，并在今年7月的法国赛中展开过正面交锋。

库伊在仅两次参加英国赛中就赢得了七个分站冠军，他希望效仿同胞洛雷娜·维贝斯（Lorena Wiebes），后者是英国女子巡回赛的多站冠军。就在上周末，维贝斯以第 11 次获胜打破了马克·卡文迪什（Mark Cavendish）的分站获胜纪录。但首次参赛的默利尔很可能是他最大的障碍。

波加查的 UAE Team Emirates-XRG 将与由盖兰特·托马斯（Geraint Thomas）管理的 Netcompany Ineos 车队一同出赛——后者在经历了一场惨淡的环法赛后，非常需要一些成功——此外还包括法国车队 Decathlon CMA CGM、NSN Cycling 以及比利时劲旅 Soudal-QuickStep。

另外 12 支车队以及英国国家队也将出现在起跑线上。其中包括总部位于美国的 Modern Adventure，由前兰斯·阿姆斯特朗（Lance Armstrong）追随者乔治·欣卡皮（George Hincapie）管理，其公开的长期目标是让自己的车队获得环法赛的参赛资格。

但对于 NSN Cycling 车队来说，这将是一次令人心酸的经历。这是自其发展梯队车手芬·塔林（Fin Tarling）在 8 月 14 日的葡萄牙巡回赛（Volta a Portugal）中被一辆失控车辆撞死以来，该车队首次访问英国。虽然警方对塔林死亡事件的调查仍在继续，但人们对此次碰撞情况的愤怒之情并未消减。

在这一批英国年轻天才中，包括在 2024 年奥运会上获得团体追逐银牌的伊森·弗农（Ethan Vernon），他是塔林在车手群体中最亲密的朋友之一。车队尚未宣布任何纪念塔林的具体计划，但预计赛事组织方将进行致敬。

英国队将包括23岁以下国家计时赛冠军本·威金斯（Ben Wiggins），他是布拉德利的儿子，也是那些为世界锦标赛积蓄状态的选手之一；此外，他的进步据信一直受到Netcompany Ineos赛车总监、且曾是他父亲队友的托马斯的密切关注。

这一切都发生在明年夏天男女环法自行车赛前所未有的英国大起点（Grands Départs）背景之下，这将使英国成为法国以外第一个承办两场赛事开幕周末的国家。不可避免地，这引发了关于在英国本土举办这两场赛事所投入的数百万英镑投资将带来何种遗产的讨论。

在过去的几天里，一个被描述为“自行车运动领导者”的联盟致信安迪·伯纳姆，呼吁政府投资3000 万英镑m，通过在全国范围内创建安全、便捷的骑行场所，使大起点赛事留下持久的遗产。

核心担忧在于——在英国道路上骑行在根本上仍然是不安全的——这与改善公共健康、减少不平等以及创建更强大、更紧密社区的既定遗产目标相冲突。塔林可能是在职业赛事的保护圈内去世的，但英国的骑行群体在公开道路上骑行时依然感到不安。

英国自行车协会临时首席执行官李·吉本斯将2027年的大起点描述为“一次激励数百万人并将英国展示给世界的世代机遇”，他表示：“对安全且便捷的骑行场所进行投资，将帮助更多人享受骑行带来的身体、心理和社会益处。”

尽管在不到20年的时间里举办了三次大起点，且英国车手多次赢得欧洲三大环赛的冠军，但自行车运动尚未赢得英国公众的心。无论2026年英国环赛的结果如何，人们都将透过明年环法自行车赛到访期间所投入的巨额资金和文化投资这一视角来看待它。

主场希望：汤姆·皮德考克（上图）将旨在利用英国适宜的地形，对抗像环法赛段冠军蒂姆·默利尔（右图）这样的对手。Luc Claessen / Getty

密码破解者：卡迪夫湾的雕像，描绘了比利·波士顿（中）以及古斯·里斯曼（左）和克莱夫·沙利文。Emily Marie Wilson / Alamy

联赛传奇：温布利球场的雕像，波士顿与里斯曼、亚历克斯·默菲、马丁·奥菲亚和埃里克·阿什顿一同被永恒定格。Tartezy / Alamy

从未入选威尔士队的伟大球员

本·科尔斯（Ben Coles）写道，比利·波士顿（Billy Boston）是一个奇迹，但种族主义剥夺了他的梦想

要回顾联盟式橄榄球（rugby league）首位获封爵士的人所留下的遗产，还有谁比今年成为该项运动第二位获封爵士的人更合适呢？

“他是联盟式橄榄球真正的传奇；一位打破障碍、激励一代又一代人，并留下了永不被遗忘的遗产的先驱，”凯文·辛菲尔德爵士（Sir Kevin Sinfield）在接受《观察家报》采访时这样评价周一去世、享年 92 岁的比利·波士顿爵士（Sir Billy Boston）。

“他在赛场上展现了伟大，是我们所有人的灵感来源。愿比利爵士安息。”

几乎不可能在看到波士顿去年授勋时的照片而不禁微笑：照片中，波士顿面带灿烂笑容，两侧是他的妻子琼（Joan）和五个孩子中的三个，他正与查尔斯国王一同欢笑。

但那个时刻也染上了悲伤的色彩。当时的波士顿 90, 岁，患有血管性痴呆症。

正如他的儿子斯蒂芬（Stephen）后来告诉 BBC 的那样，如果这份认可能来得更早一些，也许波士顿能明白发生了什么。他因其非凡的职业生涯和人生而获得认可——他在 562 场顶级赛事中惊人地砍下了 571 次达阵（tries）。在 20 世纪 50 年代，当他心中最爱的运动——为威尔士队打联合式橄榄球（rugby union）的大门被粗鲁地关在面前后，他才在联盟式橄榄球中找到了自己的位置。

当这位超级巨星在 18, 岁时为威根队（Wigan）出赛，并在仅参加六场俱乐部比赛后就随英国队出访时，当时卡迪夫 RFC 和威尔士橄榄球协会的人在想什么？据称，他们是以种族为由忽视了波士顿的潜力。

这是对那个 era 威尔士种族主义的深刻控诉。这位出生于卡迪夫的天才——在虎湾（Tiger Bay）长大，是 11 个孩子中的第六个，母亲来自爱尔兰，父亲是来自塞拉利昂的海商——在签署价值 3,000 英镑（相当于今天的 7.5 万英镑）的威根队合同时流下了眼泪。他深知当时的规定：任何参加联盟式橄榄球的人将被禁止参加联合式橄榄球。一个自豪的威尔士人就这样被剥夺了代表国家出战的机会。

“卡迪夫根本不想理会，”

波士顿在 2023 年一部名为《破码者》（Codebreakers）的 ITV 纪录片中说道。该片聚焦于威尔士的黑人和混血球员，他们在别无选择的情况下离开联合式橄榄球去打联盟式橄榄球。“我全心全意地想为威尔士队效力，但命中注定不能实现。”

2023. 年，一座名为《破码者》的雕像在卡迪夫湾揭幕，雕像人物包括波士顿、克莱夫·沙利文（Clive Sullivan）和古斯·里斯曼（Gus Risman）。这是三座以波士顿为原型的雕像之一，另外两座分别位于温布利球场和威根。在威根队，他在 488 场比赛中创下了俱乐部纪录的 478 次达阵。

如果假设威尔士的联合式橄榄球界当时接纳了波士顿，那么现在人们在提到加雷斯·爱德华兹爵士（Sir Gareth Edwards）和 JPR·威廉姆斯（JPR Williams）时，也会同时提到他的名字，这似乎并不夸张。相反，波士顿成了一个异数。他是威尔士体育界的伟大人物之一，却从未代表过自己的国家。直到 20 世纪 80 年代，才出现了第一位为威尔士队效力的黑人球员马克·布朗（Mark Brown）。

“只要能穿一次威尔士队的红色球衣，我愿意放弃所有在联盟赛中获得的荣耀，”波士顿曾这样说过。

这是威尔士的损失，却是联盟式橄榄球的收获。要选出一个最喜欢的波士顿达阵球是个漫长的过程，但 1954 年澳大利亚之行在布里斯班进行的第二场测试赛中有一个经典瞬间：他甩开第一个拦截者，随后在加速冲刺时将第二个拦截者直接撞翻在地。第三个拦截者的飞身扑救显然徒劳无功。在那次出访中，波士顿在 18 场比赛中完成了 36 次达阵，当时他年仅 20. 岁。他的速度和力量让防守方几乎无计可施。

不可阻挡：1959 年在温布利举行的挑战杯决赛中，比利·波士顿在威根队 30-13 获胜期间突破拦截（下图为他在威根市中心的雕像）。PA Images / Alamy

威根队的东看台是以这位曾助力球队三次赢得挑战杯以及一次联赛冠军的男人命名的。周四晚上，威根队主场迎战赫尔金红军（Hull KR）。当波士顿的儿子斯蒂芬将一件威根队球衣披在波士顿去年获封爵士后坐过的那个宝座上时，观众们纷纷起立，拭去泪水，报以掌声。

另一位威根名宿、现任首席执行官克里斯·拉德林斯基（Kris Radlinski）表示：“对于一个取得如此成就的人来说，[波士顿]表现得非常淡然。安静、谦逊、温柔。”在半小时的致敬仪式之后，威根队以 46-0 痛击对手。他们的教练马特·皮特（Matt Peet）说：“这是为了比利爵士。”

去年，在获封爵士后，波士顿与妻子琼（Joan）一同坐在看台上，面对观众的掌声，脸上带着同样富有感染力的微笑。琼的葬礼就在她丈夫去世前几天举行。

斯蒂芬形容父亲获封爵士的延迟是“令人愤慨的”。但波士顿一生中最大的悲剧将永远是，20世纪50年代的种族主义剥夺了他为卡迪夫队和威尔士队效力的梦想。他在联盟橄榄球赛场上证明了自己拥有巨大的天赋，而现在——尤其是在威根——人们将深切地怀念他。

机会就在眼前：萨巴伦卡在过去三场赛事中均未能进入四强，而下方的阿尔卡拉斯则在治疗手腕伤势。盖蒂图片社

美国网球公开赛 今日，天空体育 下午3点

辛纳缺席，萨巴伦卡状态低迷——纽约赛局大开

男子世界第 1 缺席美网，女子排名榜首状态糟糕。再加上阿尔卡拉斯的手腕伤势，任何结果都有可能发生。

西蒙·坎伯斯（Simon Cambers）

美网公开赛于今日开幕，奖金创历史新高，并伴随着纽约特有的喧嚣氛围，令所有其他大满贯赛事都心生羡慕。塞雷娜·威廉姆斯在远离赛场四年后回归（即便仅参加双打）令观众兴奋不已；而罗杰·费德勒再次现身球场（尽管是一场表演赛）则让座无虚席的亚瑟·阿什体育场陷入狂热，进一步吊起了人们的胃口。

但尽管有威廉姆斯和费德勒这样的巨星光环，今年美网的赛前筹备阶段，谁不在场与谁在场同样令人关注。世界第 1 扬尼克·辛纳、英国组合杰克·德雷珀和艾玛·拉杜卡努，以及包括年轻球星霍尔格·鲁内和若昂·丰塞卡在内的众多选手，均因伤缺席。这项运动日益增强的身体对抗以及拥挤且延长的赛程正在产生负面影响。

卫冕冠军卡洛斯·阿尔卡拉斯的回归为男子组带来了一些希望，但这位西班牙人依然存在严重疑问。由于严重的手腕伤势，他早前与威廉姆斯搭档的混双比赛是他自四月以来首次登上正式比赛球场。他右臂上覆盖手腕的长袖护具看起来不妙，而且手腕伤势通常需要很长时间才能完全恢复力量。在五盘三胜制的比赛中打满七场并获胜是一个极高的要求，这意味着今年的赛事可以说是有史以来最不确定的一次。

辛纳的缺席对赛事是一个打击。这位意大利人本将成为在纽约第二次夺冠的头号热门，他此前曾赢得了

尽管威廉姆斯和费德勒拥有巨大的星光，但值得关注的是谁不在场

他在7月赢得了第二个温网冠军。他赢得了今年的前五项大师赛1000赛冠军，甚至有人讨论他可能会赢得全部九项，而此前从未有人接近实现这一目标。

他的膝伤为其他选手打开了大门，其中最主要的是亚历山大·兹维列夫（他在今年的法网赢得了首个大满贯冠军），以及诺瓦克·德约科维奇（即便在39岁的高龄，他依然是大满贯赛事中的巨大威胁，并且仍在努力争取创纪录的第25个大满贯冠军）。

然而，对于德雷珀和拉杜卡努来说，又一个大满贯赛事与他们擦肩而过。

德雷珀带着手臂伤势抵达纽约已有一年，该伤势此前已让他离开了巡回赛近两个月。他在美网期间伤势复发，错过了该年剩余的所有比赛。这位24岁的选手在2026年仅参加了八场赛事，而他退出美网意味着他错过了今年的全部四个大满贯赛事。这位2024年法拉盛公园半决赛选手目前的排名为141位，且排名还将进一步下滑。

在很多方面，德雷珀是自己欲望的牺牲品。因为他一直断断续续地带伤参赛，这意味着他没有资格享受那些长期缺赛选手可以享有的受保护排名。如果他缺赛至少六个月，他可以使用受保护排名进入回归后的前九场锦标赛，而无需参加资格赛。如果他缺赛一年或更久，保护期将持续12场赛事。

相反，当他再次恢复健康时，由于排名低迷，他将不得不尝试通过资格赛，或依赖外卡进入正赛，甚至可能得降级到挑战赛（Challenger Tour）级别。

拉杜卡努今年夏天进入了女王俱乐部赛的决赛，但随后因右腿压力性骨折错过了温网。在今年早些时候她已努力将排名提升至世界前30名，但现在她是第68位，除非她能尽快参赛并赢得一些比赛，否则到年底她可能会发现自己掉出前100名。从排名的角度来看，如果她等到缺赛满六个月再回归，以避免陷入与德雷珀相同的境地，或许反而更好。

纽约的女子赛事与男子赛事一样开放，这在很大程度上归功于世界第一阿里娜·萨巴伦卡状态的诡异下滑。在罗兰·加洛斯公开赛四分之一决赛中，她失去了巨大的领先优势并输给了戴安娜·施耐德，这显然对她造成了打击，且她在过去三场赛事中均在16强赛出局，这与将她推向顶峰的稳定性相去甚远。

另外三位女性在美网后有可能成为世界第一，埃琳娜·里巴金娜、高芙和杰西·佩古拉都处于可以威胁到萨巴伦卡的距离，而萨巴伦卡必须赢得冠军才能维持顶尖地位。随着伊加·斯瓦泰克在今年夏天也找回状态，冠军之争将异常激烈。

下周

截止日：这份礼物最终不再令人惊喜

夏季转会窗的关闭能否重新变回过去那种充满紧张感的电视马拉松式报道？

吉尔斯·史密斯（Giles Smith）

有人会对九月某个阴雨绵绵的周二夜晚的“截止日”（Deadline Day）感兴趣吗？我想，我们即将见分晓。至少今年的关闭时间推迟了，这算是一个进步。在过去的两个赛季里，足球夏季转会窗总是在晚上7点这个毫无光彩的时间点关闭——这个时段显然更适合作为孩子的就寝时间，而不是让斯托克城在最后一刻签下奇多齐·奥格本（Chiedozie Ogbene）或任何其他人的戏剧性时刻。

但今年我们回到了过去，回到了更理想的晚上11点。然而，仅仅是时间的变动就足以吸引人们奔赴，带回那些美好时光，并将“截止日”恢复到曾经令全国痴迷的辉煌之中吗？

“截止日”：曾经是天空体育新闻（Sky Sports News）能毫无掩饰地将其描述为“全球足球迷在日历上圈出的日子”的唯一时刻。

“截止日”：那个穿着西装的新闻主播能对着镜头极其严肃地评论道：“格雷厄姆·多兰斯（Graham Dorrans）的未来在何方？请不要走开”的时刻。

“截止日”：这份最终不再令人惊喜的礼物。

回溯到2008年，托特纳姆热刺的迪米塔尔·贝尔巴托夫（Dimitar Berbatov）的身影被瞥见在老特拉福德的一道窗帘后。就这样，一项基础的行政工作变成了一场长达17小时、紧张气氛不断升级的电视马拉松，其每一个细节都被从全国各地传输到我们的家中。

这种情况甚至发展到了这样一个地步：天空体育新闻不仅在追踪主持人吉姆·怀特（Jim White）抵达演播室主持这场“阴谋盛宴”最后几小时的动态，将其描述得仿佛利昂内尔·梅西在诺坎普球场地下通道下车一样，甚至在前一天还播了一段关于怀特为“截止日”职责做准备的专题报道，其中还展示了他确保剃须刀已插在充电器上。

回想起来，当怀特在走向演播室的路上对着空气挥拳时，这一切可能已经结束了。但究竟是什么杀死了“截止日”？

看来，生活成本危机并非原因：在一个曼城依然能为埃利奥特·安德森（Elliot Anderson）出资1.16 亿英镑m的世界里，这不可能是原因。也不是国际足联（Fifa）的财务公平竞争规则：在一个曼城依然能为埃利奥特·安德森出资1.16 亿英镑m的世界里，这也不可能是原因。甚至不是讽刺：在一个曼城依然能为埃利奥特·安德森出资1.16 亿英镑m的世界里，这也不可能是原因。

不，也许仅仅是时机问题。正如马克·休斯（Mark Hughes）在执教女王公园巡游者（QPR）时那句令人难忘的话：“理想情况下，你希望在转会窗期间没有干扰。”那是2012.年1月。干扰是什么？是足球。准确地说，是五场顶级联赛的赛事，导致天空体育做出了那个永恒的断言：那一年的“截止日”将“在英超联赛繁忙之夜的背景下展开”。

即便如此，人们脑海中也会生动地浮现出“本末倒置”的画面。但在2018,年，同样规模的冲突再次发生，到那时，即使是最敬业的记者，即便驻守在看似荒废的训练设施外的路灯下，也不可能假装分不清在这个安排中，什么是背景，什么是主戏。

或许可以尝试一种恢复方法：在赛季开始前关闭夏季转会窗。这对所有相关方来说显然更整洁：一个每个人都能毫无干扰面对的窗口。一个没有足球赛事的窗口。

然后，加强戏剧冲突。因为仔细想想，晚上11点也太保守了。最后的敲门声应该在午夜响起，不是吗？那才是真正产生共鸣的时间——在这些语境下真正能触动我们的时间。威尔逊·皮克特（Wilson Pickett）没有唱“我要等到晚上11点”，他也没有唱“我要等到晚上11点，也就是欧洲大陆的午夜”。“截止日”需要开始尊重它自己，停止妥协。

仪式主持人： 吉姆·怀特在天空体育的“截止日”报道处于巅峰时期时，是其标志性人物。 天空体育

而且那些最后的敲定应该真正地成为最终结果。这要求过分吗？目前，“截止日”（Deadline Day）即便在名义上结束了，实际上也并未结束。

围绕提交那些听起来古怪且带有模拟时代气息的“交易单”的模糊规则，经常导致转会交易在截止日期后仍未申报而悄悄完成。显然，这不仅仅是比赛本身的问题，现在的比赛在补时方面的处理方式显然过于慷慨了。

直接吹哨吧。拉下帷幕。想办法结束它。否则，它肯定会走向终结。

世界顶尖高尔夫球手争夺$10m奖金，“斯托克顿火箭”在西班牙赛场大放异彩

英国选手布伦南在首次参加大环赛中取得了飞跃式的开局，而阿斯顿维拉面临的挑战则愈发艰巨。作者：帕特里克·基德

在2024年和2025, 包揽了全部八项男子大满贯冠军（每人各获四个）后，卡洛斯·阿尔卡拉斯与扬尼克·辛纳的竞争格局被打破。这位西班牙选手因手腕受伤缺席了法网和温网，如今阿尔卡拉斯回归以卫冕其美网冠军，而意大利选手则因膝盖问题退出。

这意味着亚历山大·兹维列夫将成为头号种子，而泰勒·弗里茨和本·谢尔顿则希望成为自2003. 以来首位夺冠的本土冠军。在女子赛事中，阿里娜·萨巴伦卡力求成为自2014年塞雷娜·威廉姆斯以来首位在纽约完成三连冠的选手，并且是自1978年克里斯·埃弗特以来仅次于第二位的三连冠获得者（今日开始，Sky Sports Tennis，4pm）。

今年西班牙自行车赛（Vuelta a España）前五个完赛赛段由塔代伊·波加查和马修·布伦南共同瓜分。这位在2023年世界青年锦标赛上与布拉德利之子本·威金斯共同夺冠的“斯托克顿火箭”，正处于他的大环赛首秀。

这位冲刺选手的下一次获胜机会出现在周三经过穆尔西亚的平坦第11赛段（TNT Sports 3, 1.30pm），而波加查在昨日的一次摔车事故后被迫退出比赛，这终结了他成为自1994年托尼·罗明格以来首位从始至终领跑西班牙赛的男选手的愿望。

与此同时，第85届英国自行车赛将于周三在林肯开赛（ITV4, 10.20am）。

长期以来在奥运会上稳操胜券的英国赛艇队，在阿姆斯特丹世界锦标赛上的表现参差不齐，不过男子双人单桨赛首次进入自2019年以来的决赛，四届奥运冠军劳伦·亨利在单人赛预赛中轻松获胜。最后一天将决定单人赛和八人赛的冠军，荷兰与英国男子队的对决值得关注（今日，Eurovisionsport.com，正午）。

六名英国高尔夫球手入围了巡回赛冠军赛（Tour Championship）的30人决赛圈。菲茨帕特里克兄弟、罗里·麦克罗伊、汤米·弗利特伍德、鲍勃·麦金泰尔和贾斯汀·罗斯正在亚特兰大争夺$10 million的首奖（今日，Sky Sports Golf，5pm）。与此同时，来自英国、爱尔兰和美国的顶尖业余选手正在克莱尔郡参加第51届沃克杯。来自唐卡斯特的杰克·惠利近期赢得了美国业余赛冠军，而卢克·波尔特则希望在赖德杯中效仿其父亲伊恩。然而，美国队拥有世界前10名中的七席，且已取得五场连胜（周六，Sky Sports Golf，8.30am）。

在英超首场比赛 4-0 负于布莱顿后，阿斯顿维拉或许希望在银行假期能遇到一个比阿森纳更简单的对手，而阿森纳则以 3-0 战胜考文垂城开局（明日，Sky Sports Main Event，8pm）。

全场比分

英超联赛 英超联赛

< / td><>场次< / ><>胜< / ><>平< / ><>负< / ><>进球< / ><>失球< / ><>净胜球< / ><>积分< / >< / tr><><>曼城< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>6< / ><>2< / ><>4< / ><>6< / >< / ><><>赫尔< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>3< / ><>6< / >< / ><><>纽卡斯尔< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>4< / ><>2< / ><>4< / >< / ><><>埃弗顿< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>4< / >< / ><><>布莱顿< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>4< / ><>0< / ><>4< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>阿森纳< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>布伦特福德< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>切尔西< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>伊普斯维奇< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>利兹< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>利物浦< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>4< / ><>0< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>伯恩茅斯< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>3< / ><>-1< / ><>1< / >< / ><><>诺丁汉森林< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>3< / ><>-1< / ><>1< / >< / ><><>富勒姆< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>3< / ><>-1< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>桑德兰< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>-1< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>曼联< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>-2< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>阿斯顿维拉< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>4< / ><>-4< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>考文垂< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>4< / ><>-4< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>水晶宫< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>6< / ><>-5< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>托特纳姆< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>5< / ><>-5< / ><>0< / >< / table>

1 埃弗顿 (0) 1 塔科夫斯基 90 0 赫尔 (0) 1 米勒 82 2 诺丁汉森林 (1) 2 恩多耶 24 吉布斯-怀特 70 (点球) 0 纽卡斯尔 (0) 2 埃兰加 62 维萨 72

Sky Bet 冠军联赛

<><>< / ><>P< / ><>W< / ><>D< / ><>L< / ><>F< / ><>A< / ><>Gd< / ><>Pts< / >< / ><><>查尔顿< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>5< / ><>2< / ><>3< / ><>9< / >< / ><><>伍尔弗汉普顿< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>9< / ><>4< / ><>5< / ><>7< / >< / ><><>斯旺西< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>5< / ><>1< / ><>4< / ><>7< / >< / ><><>QPR< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>5< / ><>2< / ><>3< / ><>7< / >< / ><><>米德尔斯堡< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>6< / ><>4< / ><>2< / ><>6< / >< / ><><>米尔沃尔< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>6< / ><>5< / ><>1< / ><>6< / >< / ><><>西布罗姆< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>6< / ><>5< / ><>1< / ><>6< / >< / ><><>伯明翰< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>4< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>5< / >< / ><><>沃特福德< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>4< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>5< / >< / ><><>布莱克本< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>5< / ><>0< / ><>4< / >< / ><><>博尔顿< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>4< / >< / ><><>布里斯托尔城< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>4< / ><>5< / ><>-1< / ><>4< / >< / ><><>卡迪夫< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>5< / ><>0< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>谢菲

Utd< / td> 3< / ><>0< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>3< / >< / tr> <>Portsmouth< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>5< / ><>6< / ><>-1< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>Norwich< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>5< / ><>6< / ><>-1< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>Lincoln City< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>3< / ><>5< / ><>-2< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>Southampton< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>9< / ><>4< / ><>5< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>West

Ham< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>4< / ><>5< / ><>-1< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>Wrexham< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>3< / ><>4< / ><>-1< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>Derby< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>3< / ><>7< / ><>-4< / ><>1< / >< / ><><>Burnley< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>4< / ><>9< / ><>-5< / ><>1< / >< / ><><>Preston< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>6< / ><>-4< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>Stoke< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>3< / ><>9< / ><>-6< / ><>0< / >< / table>

天空投注冠军联赛 (THE SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP)

<><>Blackburn< / ><>1< / ><>QPR< / >< / ><><>Bolton< / ><>0< / ><>Lincoln City< / >< / ><><>Bristol City< / ><>2< / ><>Portsmouth< / >< / ><><>Cardiff< / ><>2< / ><>Sheff Utd< / >< / ><><>Charlton< / ><>1< / ><>Preston< / >< / ><><>Derby< / ><>0< / ><>Swansea< / >< / ><><>Middlesbrough< / ><>3< / ><>West Brom< / >< / ><><>Norwich< / ><>4< / ><>Burnley< / >< / ><><>Southampton< / ><>5< / ><>Millwall< / >< / ><><>Watford< / ><>1< / ><>West Ham< / >< / ><><>Wolverhampton< / ><>4< / ><>Stoke< / >< / table>

天空投注甲级联赛 (Sky Bet League One)

<><>< / ><>P< / ><>W< / ><>D< / ><>L< / ><>F< / ><>A< / ><>Gd< / ><>Pts< / >< / ><><>Blackpool< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>7< / ><>2< / ><>5< / ><>7< / >< / ><><>Huddersfield< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>6< / ><>2< / ><>4< / ><>7< / >< / ><><>Stockport Cty< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>9< / ><>4< / ><>5< / ><>6< / >< / ><><>Sheff Wed< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>9< / ><>4< / ><>5< / ><>6< / >< / ><><>Bradford< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>6< / >< / ><><>Notts County< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>5< / ><>4< / ><>1< / ><>5< / >< / ><><>Luton< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>6< / ><>5< / ><>1< / ><>4< / >< / ><><>Oxford

Utd< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>4< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>4< / >< / ><><>Barnsley< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>4< / >< / ><><>Cambridge Utd< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>5< / ><>0< / ><>4< / >< / ><><>Burton Albion< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>4< / ><>0< / ><>4< / >< / ><><>Plymouth< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>4< / ><>0< / ><>4< / >< / ><><>Bromley< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>4< / ><>8< / ><>-4< / ><>4< / >< / ><><>Mansfield< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>MK Dons< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>Leyton

Orient< / td> 3< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>4< / ><>5< / ><>-1< / ><>3< / >< / tr> <>Peterborough< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>7< / ><>-5< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>Stevenage< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>4< / ><>5< / ><>-1< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>Doncaster< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>3< / ><>4< / ><>-1< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>Leicester< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>3< / ><>-1< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>Wycombe< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>3< / ><>7< / ><>-4< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>Reading< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>3< / ><>4< / ><>-1< / ><>1< / >< / ><><>AFC

Wimbledon< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>3< / ><>-3< / ><>1< / >< / ><><>Wigan< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>5< / ><>-3< / ><>0< / >< / table>

SKY BET LEAGUE ONE（天空投注英甲联赛）

<><>Blackpool< / ><>4< / ><>Peterborough< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>Cambridge Utd< / ><>1< / ><>Huddersfield< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>Leyton Orient< / ><>1< / ><>Barnsley< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>MK Dons< / ><>0< / ><>Leicester< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>Notts County< / ><>2< / ><>Burton Albion< / ><>1< / >< / ><><>Plymouth< / ><>2< / ><>Bradford< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>Sheff Wed< / ><>7< / ><>Bromley< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>Stevenage< / ><>2< / ><>Doncaster< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>Stockport County< / ><>5< / ><>Wycombe< / ><>1< / >< / table>

Sky Bet League Two（天空投注英乙联赛）

<><>< / ><>P< / ><>W< / ><>D< / ><>L< / ><>F< / ><>A< / ><>Gd< / ><>Pts< / >< / ><><>Barnet< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>8< / ><>4< / ><>7< / >< / ><><>Walsall< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>6< / ><>2< / ><>4< / ><>7< / >< / ><><>York< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>6< / ><>4< / ><>2< / ><>7< / >< / ><><>Colchester< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>5< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>7< / >< / ><><>Crewe< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>7< / >< / ><><>Oldham< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>6< / ><>2< / ><>4< / ><>6< / >< / ><><>Bristol

Rovers< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>9< / ><>6< / ><>3< / ><>6< / >< / ><><>Tranmere< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>5< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>5< / >< / ><><>Fleetwood Town< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>5< / >< / ><><>Grimsby< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>5< / >< / ><><>Newport County< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>8< / ><>7< / ><>1< / ><>4< / >< / ><><>Cheltenham< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>5< / ><>0< / ><>4< / >< / ><><>Rotherham< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>4< / ><>0< / ><>4< / >< / ><><>Swindon< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>4< / ><>-2< / ><>4< / >< / ><><>Exeter< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>0< / >

2< / td><>3< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>3< / >< / tr> <>切斯特菲尔德< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>3< / ><>-1< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>克劳利镇< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>4< / ><>-2< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>什鲁斯伯里< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>5< / ><>-3< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>北安普顿< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>-1< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>波特韦尔< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>3< / ><>-2< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>吉林厄姆< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>4< / ><>-3< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>阿克灵顿< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>4< / ><>7< / ><>-3< / ><>1< / >< / ><><>索尔福德市< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>5< / ><>-4< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>罗奇代尔< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>6< / ><>-5< / ><>0< / >< / table>

SKY BET 第二联赛

<><>巴尼特< / ><>2< / ><>切尔滕纳姆< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>科尔切斯特< / ><>1< / ><>罗奇代尔< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>克劳利镇< / ><>0< / ><>布里斯托尔流浪者< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>吉林厄姆< / ><>1< / ><>北安普顿< / ><>1< / >< / ><><>格里姆斯比< / ><>2< / ><>弗利特伍德镇< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>纽波特郡< / ><>2< / ><>特兰米尔< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>奥尔德姆< / ><>3< / ><>斯温登< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>波特韦尔< / ><>0< / ><>克鲁< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>罗瑟勒姆< / ><>2< / ><>切斯特菲尔德< / ><>1< / >< / ><><>什鲁斯伯里< / ><>1< / ><>索尔福德市< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>沃尔索尔< / ><>3< / ><>阿克灵顿< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>约克< / ><>2< / ><>埃克塞特< / ><>1< / >< / table>

苏格兰超级联赛

<>< colspan="4">威廉希尔苏格兰超级联赛< / >< / ><><>凯尔特人< / ><>2< / ><>法尔基克< / ><>1< / >< / ><><>之心< / ><>2< / ><>圣约翰斯通< / ><>1< / >< / ><><>基尔马诺克< / ><>0< / ><>邓迪联< / ><>4< / >< / ><>< colspan="4">威廉希尔苏格兰冠军联赛< / >< / ><><>阿布罗斯< / ><>1< / ><>利文斯顿< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>艾尔< / ><>1< / ><>莫顿< / ><>1< / >< / ><><>帕特里克< / ><>0< / ><>女王公园< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>斯坦豪斯缪尔< / ><>3< / ><>因弗内斯CT< / ><>1< / >< / ><>< colspan="4">威廉希尔苏格兰甲级联赛< / >< / ><><>艾尔德里昂< / ><>0< / ><>东法夫< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>阿洛亚< / ><>1< / ><>彼得黑德< / ><>1< / >< / ><><>汉密尔顿< / ><>1< / ><>科夫流浪者< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>蒙罗斯< / ><>2< / ><>南女王< / ><>1< / >< / ><><>罗斯郡< / ><>4< / ><>东基尔布赖德< / ><>0< / >< / ><>< colspan="4">威廉希尔苏格兰乙级联赛< / >< / ><><>安南竞技< / ><>2< / ><>邓巴顿< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>埃尔金< / ><>4< / ><>斯特灵< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>斯巴坦人< / ><>3< / ><>克莱德< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>斯特兰雷尔< / ><>2< / ><>凯尔蒂之心< / ><>0< / >< / table>

< / td><>P< / ><>W< / ><>D< / ><>L< / ><>F< / ><>A< / ><>Gd< / ><>Pts< / >< / tr><><>Celtic< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>8< / ><>2< / ><>6< / ><>9< / >< / ><><>Hearts< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>7< / ><>3< / ><>4< / ><>6< / >< / ><><>Dundee< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>4< / ><>1< / ><>3< / ><>6< / >< / ><><>St Mirren< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>3< / ><>6< / >< / ><><>Motherwell< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>4< / >< / ><><>Dundee Utd< / ><>4< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>5< / ><>7< / ><>-2< / ><>4< / >< / ><><>Hibernian< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>St Johnstone< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>2< / ><>5< / ><>6< / ><>-1< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>Aberdeen< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>3< / ><>-1< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>Rangers< / ><>2< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>3< / ><>-1< / ><>1< / >< / ><><>Falkirk< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>4< / ><>-3< / ><>1< / >< / ><><>Kilmarnock< / ><>3< / ><>0< / ><>3< / ><>4< / ><>13< / ><>-9< / ><>0< / >< / table>

威廉希尔苏格兰超级联赛

VANARAMA 国家联赛南部赛区

<><>AFC Totton< / ><>0< / ><>Chesham Utd< / ><>4< / >< / ><><>Billericay< / ><>2< / ><>Tonbridge Angels< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>Chelmsford< / ><>1< / ><>Maidenhead Utd< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>Dover< / ><>3< / ><>Braintree Town< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>Hemel Hempstead< / ><>1< / ><>Weston-S-Mare< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>Horsham< / ><>1< / ><>Farnham Town< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>Maidstone Utd< / ><>2< / ><>Salisbury FC< / ><>1< / >< / ><><>Slough< / ><>0< / ><>Folkestone Invicta< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>Torquay< / ><>1< / ><>Hampton & Richmnd< / ><>1< / >< / ><><>Truro City< / ><>3< / ><>Dag & Red< / ><>0< / >< / ><><>Walton & Hersham< / ><>1< / ><>Dorking Wanderers< / ><>4< / >< / table>

《今日比赛》主持人凯茨：“耐心是最难教的东西”

米凯拉·马库沙 (Michaela Makusha)

凯莉·凯茨 (Kelly Cates) 刚刚结束了一次急需的休息。在赛季重新开始之前，她利用整个夏天调整状态，包括一次“真正的两周假期，什么都不做”。

这位《今日比赛》(Match of the Day) 的主持人工作繁忙。除了主持这档 BBC 的旗舰节目，本赛季她还参与了 Radio 5 Live 和天空体育 (Sky Sports) 的工作，但她说她对这份工作的热情随每个赛季的到来而增长。

“很有意思，因为我经常在做那个周末无论如何我都会做的事——看比赛，”她说。“所以从未感到疲倦。”天空电视台本赛季将直播 1,500 场以上的英超联赛、英格兰足球联赛、女子超级联赛和苏格兰超级联赛的比赛，而凯茨将参与其中许多场次。

现年 50, 岁的凯茨于 1998, 年加入天空体育新闻，当时女性在体育广播领域仍然非常罕见。

然而，她自己闯入该行业的经历，并非人们通常认为的那种 era. 的孤独感。她的视角有所不同，因为她并非直接进入一个纯男性的环境。她进入时周围都是女性，其中两人后来成为了她女儿们的教母。

“那是一个非常紧密的群体，”她说。“我的经历并不典型。”

这并不是说当时（甚至现在）整个行业对女性来说就很轻松。她提到了在她之前就已经在体育领域工作的广播员。她在其他岗位上的朋友们遇到了人们与体育运动联系在一起的那种“非常大男子主义”的文化。凯茨没有遇到，很大程度上是因为她周围的人，但她小心地没有夸大当时情况有多好：“那时依然不完美。”

凯茨经常与想要进入体育广播和报道领域的年轻女性交流。“外界有很多警告，虽然是出于好意，”她说。“我们希望让女孩们为障碍做好准备，但我们没有谈论这件事有多有趣。”

她的实用建议相当直白：“耐心是最难教的东西。”体育广播的机会如此之少，你必须等待机会出现。凯茨分享了一个直到她 40 多岁才听到的建议：在运气降临时做好准备。“你必须时刻准备着，因为一旦机会出现，就去抓住它，即使你不确定自己是否准备好了，”她说。

如果你担心自己不能掌握工作的每一个环节怎么办？“在需要做的四五件事中，我可以完成两三件，”凯茨说。“剩下的总能学会。”

她的建议源于在过程中承担了许多不光彩的任务：“通过完成所谓的‘小任务’，你能学到很多。没有什么事情是低到不屑于做的。”

肯尼·达格利什 (Kenny Dalglish)，在卫星电视使之成为可能后，会观看欧洲多个联赛，追踪所有能找到的片段。这让她对观众是谁以及他们的心理状态产生了直觉。

凯茨成长在一个痴迷足球的家庭。她的父亲，前凯尔特人和利物浦球员

上赛季的伯恩茅斯和曼彻斯特城。比赛以 1-1 平局结束（即 1 比 1），这意味着阿森纳赢得了英超冠军。你如何为三个不同的球迷群体制作广播节目？“曼城球迷和伯恩茅斯球迷还会观看吗？伯恩茅斯当时正在争取

“这不仅仅是指一个刚从比赛现场回来、心绪混乱的人，”她说。“而是一个吃完周日午餐、看完比赛，想在准备下周工作之前聊聊比赛的人。”

凯茨（见下图）发现，在

伯恩茅斯与曼彻斯特城的比赛期间，她照顾全体观众的能力受到了考验。

欧联杯。城迷们在试图思考这个赛季哪里出了问题——或者现在是我们聚在一起庆祝获胜的阿森纳的时候？有太多的线索需要整合在一起。”

她思考了足球转播的演变，尤其是现在需要与 TikTok 和 YouTube 频道竞争：“对话式的方法并不会冲淡内容，反而让对话变得更自然，这样你就能深入探讨细节。”根据采访对象的不同，这种方式的表现也不同——新晋的评论员需要自己的舒适区，而像伊恩·赖特、加里·内维尔或杰米·卡拉格这样经验丰富的声音则可以被问到一些“更尖锐的问题”，因为他们热爱这种挑战。

凯茨坚称自己不是预测专家，但她知道自己想要关注哪些球员。她正在关注 20 岁的加纳中场球员卡莱布·伊伦基（Caleb Yirenkyi），他

赛程

足球比赛除非另有说明，均为 7.45 开球

今日

英超

英超 切尔西 v 布莱顿 (2.00)，利兹 v 布伦特福德 (2.00)，曼联 v 伊普斯维奇 (4.30)，桑德兰 v 富勒姆 (2.00)。 天空投注联赛第一组 (SKY BET ONE) AFC温布尔登 v 维冈 (2.00)，曼斯菲尔德 v 卢顿 (3.00)。 威廉希尔苏超 (WILLIAM HILL SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP) 阿伯丁 v 流浪者 (12.00)，邓迪 v 希伯尼安 (3.00)，圣米伦 v 马瑟韦尔 (3.00)。

网球

美国网球公开赛（纽约，法拉盛公园，全周）。

明日

英超 阿斯顿维拉 v 阿森纳 (8.00)。

9月 1 日，星期二，天空投注冠军赛 (SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP)

伯明翰 v 南安普顿 (8.00)，林肯城 v 布莱克本，朴茨茅斯 v 德比，普雷斯顿北端 v 布里斯托尔城，谢菲尔德联 v 博尔顿，斯托克 v 诺维奇 (8.00)，斯旺西 v 沃特福德，西汉姆 v 伍尔弗汉普顿。

布拉德福德 v 剑桥联，布罗姆利 v 莱顿东方，唐卡斯特 v 诺丁汉郡，哈德斯菲尔德 v 牛津联，莱斯特 v 普利茅斯，彼得堡 v 斯蒂夫尼奇，威科姆 v 谢菲尔德星期三。

天空投注联赛第二组 (SKY BET TWO)

阿克灵顿斯坦利 v 格里姆斯比，布里斯托尔流浪者 v 考尔切斯特，切尔滕纳姆 v 约克，切斯特菲尔德 v 吉林厄姆，克鲁 v 沃尔索尔，埃克塞特 v 巴尼特，弗利特伍德镇 v 奥尔德姆，北安普顿 v 克劳利镇，罗奇代尔 v 什鲁斯伯里，索尔福德城 v 纽波特郡，斯温登 v 普特维尔，特兰米尔 v 罗瑟勒姆。

9月 2 日，星期三

天空投注冠军赛 (SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP)

伯恩利 v 米德尔斯堡 (8.00)，米尔沃尔 v 雷克斯汉姆，女王公园巡游者 v 加的夫，西布罗姆 v 查尔顿。 天空投注联赛第一组 (SKY BET ONE) 巴恩斯利 v 布莱克浦，伯顿阿尔比恩 v AFC温布尔登，卢顿 v 斯托克波特郡，雷丁 v 曼斯菲尔德 (8.00)，维冈 v 米尔顿凯恩斯唐斯。 威廉希尔苏超 (WILLIAM HILL SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP) 凯尔特人 v 阿伯丁，邓迪 v 圣约翰斯通，法尔基克 v 流浪者 (8.00)，基尔马诺克 v 圣米伦，马瑟韦尔 v 邓迪联。

板球

郡冠军赛 (10.30am) - 第一组：埃塞克斯 v 萨塞克斯（切尔姆斯福德），汉普郡 v 华威郡（玫瑰碗球场），诺丁汉郡 v 莱斯特郡（特伦特桥球场），萨默塞特 v 格拉摩根（汤顿），萨里 v 约克郡（基亚椭圆球场）。郡冠军赛 - 第二组：格洛斯特郡 v 德比郡（布里斯托尔），肯特 v 伍斯特郡（坎特伯雷），米德尔塞克斯 v 兰开夏（北伍德），北安普顿郡 v 达勒姆（北安普顿）。

9月 3 日，星期四 希伯尼安 v 心脏。

橄榄球

Betfred超级联赛：布拉德福德 v 卡斯尔福德 (8.00)。

9月 4 日，星期五

英超 伊普斯维奇 v 利物浦 (8.00)。女子超级联赛 伦敦城 v 曼联 (7.00)。

橄榄球

Betfred超级联赛：赫尔K R v 哈德斯菲尔德 (8.00)，利 v 圣海伦斯 (8.00)，图卢兹 v 赫尔 (6.00)。

足球比赛除非另有说明，均为 3.00 开球

9月 5 日，星期六 英超

布伦特福德 v 桑德兰，布莱顿 v 利兹，富勒姆 v 水晶宫，赫尔 v 阿斯顿维拉 (5.30)，曼城 v 考文垂，纽卡斯尔 v AFC伯恩茅斯 (12.30)，诺丁汉森林 v 托特纳姆热刺。

天空投注冠军赛 (SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP)

伯恩利 v 布里斯托尔城，林肯城 v 南安普顿 (12.30)，米尔沃尔 v 博尔顿，朴茨茅斯 v 加的夫，普雷斯顿北端 v 布莱克本 (12.30)，女王公园巡游者 v 米德尔斯堡，谢菲尔德联 v 诺维奇，斯托克 v 查尔顿 (12.30)，斯旺西 v 雷克斯汉姆 (8.00)，西布罗姆 v 沃特福德，西汉姆 v 德比。

天空投注联赛第一组 (SKY BET ONE)

巴恩斯利 v 斯蒂夫尼奇，布拉德福德 v 曼斯菲尔德，伯顿阿尔比恩 v 剑桥联，唐卡斯特 v 普利茅斯，哈德斯菲尔德 v 诺丁汉郡，莱斯特 v 牛津联，卢顿 v 莱顿东方，彼得堡 v 谢菲尔德星期三 (12.30)，雷丁 v 布莱克浦，维冈 v 斯托克波特郡 (12.30)，威科姆 v MK唐斯。

天空投注联赛第二组 (SKY BET TWO)

阿克灵顿斯坦利 v 克劳利镇，布里斯托尔流浪者 v 罗瑟勒姆，切尔滕纳姆 v 格里姆斯比，切斯特菲尔德 v 巴尼特，克鲁 v 约克，埃克塞特 v 沃尔索尔，弗利特伍德镇 v 什鲁斯伯里 (12.30)，北安普顿 v 纽波特郡，罗奇代尔 v 吉林厄姆，索尔福德城 v 普特维尔 (12.30)，斯温登 v 考尔切斯特，特兰米尔 v 奥尔德姆。 阿伯丁 v 基尔马诺克，邓迪联 v 法尔基克，流浪者 v 马瑟韦尔，圣米伦 v 凯尔特人 (8.00)。

女子超级联赛

切尔西 v 阿斯顿维拉 (12.30)。

联盟式橄榄球

Betfred超级联赛：卡塔兰巨龙队 v 约克队 (5.00)，利兹队 v 威根队 (8.00)，韦克菲尔德队 v 沃灵顿队 (3.00)。

联合式橄榄球

国际赛事：南非 v 新西兰 (4.05)，阿根廷 v 澳大利亚 (10.00)。英超橄榄球杯 A组：布里斯托队 v 格洛斯特队 (3.00)。B组：萨拉森队 v 诺丁汉队 (3.00)，哈利昆队 v 莱斯特队 (3.00)。

9月 6 日，星期日

英超联赛

埃弗顿 v 曼联 (2.00)，阿森纳 v 切尔西 (4.30)。 SKY BET 冠军联赛 伯明翰 v 伍尔弗汉普顿 (12.00)。 WILLIAM HILL 苏格兰超级联赛 圣约翰斯通 v 希伯尼安，哈茨 v 邓迪。 女子超级联赛 布莱顿 v 阿森纳 (12.00)，托特纳姆 v 西汉姆 (12.00)， 查尔顿 v 利物浦女足 (2.00)，水晶宫 v 埃弗顿 (2.00)，曼城 v 伯明翰城 (2.30)。

赛车

FIA一级方程式赛车意大利大奖赛（蒙扎，蒙扎赛道）。

联合式橄榄球

英超橄榄球杯 A组：索尔福德 v 巴斯 (3.00)。

自行车

西班牙环赛 (VUELTA A ESPANA)——第 8 赛段（普科尔 - 塞拉科，171. 0km）：1 B Coquard (法) Cofidis 3h 47m 6s, 2 M Pedersen (丹) Lidl-Trek, 3 J Meeus (比) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, 4 B Turner (英) Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team, 5 J Labrosse (法) Decathlon CMA CGM Team，以上选手时间相同。总成绩：1 E Mas (西) Movistar 23h 24m 00s, 2 F Gall (奥) Decathlon CMA CGM +1m 11s, 3 P Roglic (斯洛文尼亚) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe +1:33, 4 S Kuss (美国) Visma / Lease a Bike +2:15, 5 O Onley (英) Netcompany INEOS Cycling +2:16。

高尔夫

DP世界巡回赛 赫斯奎瓦纳英国大师赛（萨顿科尔德菲尔德，贝尔弗里酒店及度假村）——第二轮（除非另有说明，均为英国和爱尔兰选手，标准杆 72）：134 M Penge 69 65, 135 D Hillier (Nzl) 69 66, 136 I Elvira (Spa) 65 71, S Norris (Rsa) 67 69, T McKibbin 68 68, 137 M Jordan 66 71, 138 E Ferguson 67 71, T Olesen (Den) 71 67, F Zanotti (Pry) 69 69, 139 N Noergaard (Den) 71 68, J Skov Olesen (Den) 67 72, T Vaillant (Fra) 70 69, R Fisher 70 69, M Steinlechner (Aut) 69 70, D Bryant (USA) 66 73, 140 Y Premlall (Rsa) 68 72, B Wiesberger (Aut) 70 70, A Hidalgo (Spa) 70 70, F Lacroix (Fra) 72 68, H Hall 71 69, Y Katsuragawa (Jpn) 71 69, J Dean 67 73, M Helligkilde (Den) 71 69, M Pavon (Fra) 70 70, O Guillamoundeguy (Fra) 71 69, S Sharma (Ind) 69 71, 141 J Schaper (Rsa) 70 71, E Lopez-Chacarra (Spa) 69 72, M Wallace 71 70, A Rozner (Fra) 68 73, J Lagergren (Swe) 72 69, J Luiten (Ned) 67 74, O Lindell (Fin) 69 72, K Kobori (Nzl) 70 71, J. C. Ritchie (Rsa) 72 69, A Bergstroem (Swe) 70 71, A Arnaus (Spa) 69 72, 142 T Hatton 69 73, J Guerrier (Fra) 73 69, D van Driel (Ned) 69 73, R Hoshino (Jpn) 72 70, P Larrazabal (Spa) 71 71, D Naidoo (Rsa) 68 74, A Ayora (Spa) 68 74, J Campillo (Spa) 70 72, S Crocker (USA) 70 72, B Stone (Rsa) 71 71, E van Rooyen (Rsa) 73 69, T Rosenmueller (Ger) 71 71, E Pepperell 72 70, G Fernandez-Castano (Spa) 68 74, D Rodrigues (Por) 69 73, A Halvorsen (Nor) 72 70, M Toorop (Ned) 74 68, 143 P Reed (USA) 71 72, T Lawrence (Rsa) 72 71, H Li (Chn) 71 72, A Del Rey (Spa) 71 72, G Migliozzi (Ita) 70 73, A Meronk (Pol) 72 71, D Gavins 70 73, M Schneider (Ger) 70 73, U Coussaud (Fra) 75 68, S Bairstow 71 72, L de Jager (Rsa) 72 71, D Willett 69 74, L List (USA) 71 72, R Paratore (Ita) 68 75, D Law 69 74, G De Leo (Ita) 72 71, J Buchanan (Rsa) 71 72.

女子欧洲巡回赛 KPMG女子爱尔兰公开赛（都柏林）——第三轮（除非另有说明，均为英国和爱尔兰选手，标准杆 72）：198 C Alexander (Rsa) 63 66 69, 201 S Kouskova (Cze) 68 66 67, 203 K Arwefjaell (Swe) 69 71 63, 204 C Viden (Swe) 70 65 69, L Rydqvist (Swe) 68 67 69, 205 N Komulainen (Fin) 73 66 66, L Maguire 71 71 63, 206 B Navarroso (USA) 69 65 72, A Fanali (Ita) 67 72 67, D Forbrigd (Nor) 70 70 66, L Pettersson (Swe) 71 65 70, A Foersterling (Ger) 70 67 69, 207 B Fernandez (Spa) 72 68 67, 208 A Dawson Isle of Man 67 74 67, 209 A Garvey (Nzl) 73 71 65, E Spitz (Aut) 74 68 67, M Folke (Swe) 70 71 68, A Foster 72 71 66, P Urs (Ind) 69 70 70, P Schmidt (Ger) 77 67 65, G Oboh (Ngr) 74 68 67, 210 S Tan (Sgp) 72 72 66, J Melichova (Cze) 67 75 68, 211 T Cheenglab (Tha) 71 71 69, L Walsh 74 70 67, H Screen 71 71 69, A Morgan (USA) 72 71 68, A Donegan 69 73 69, L May Humphreys 67 73 71, K Napoleaova (Cze) 74 68 69, 212 C Herbin-Marshall (Fra) 72 68 72, C Williams 75 68 69, A Pelaez (Spa) 73 68 71, U Wikstrom (Fin) 74 68 70, M Skarpnord (Nor) 71 71 70, S Schober (Aut) 72 70 70, 213 L Harm (Ger) 70 72 71, A Hewson 71 69 73, L Hall 72 69 72, R Liti (Ita) 71 72 70, C MacNab (Rsa) 71 71 71, 214 W Hillier (Aus) 76 67 71, A Fuller 68 74 72, V Knecht (Swi) 72 71 71, A Grimberg Lignell (Swe) 73 69 72, H Darling 74 67 73, L Lau (Fra) 72 71 71.

USPGA 巡回赛冠军赛 THE ALLY CHALLENGE

（密歇根州）——第1轮（除非另有说明，均为美国选手，标准杆 72）：63 V Taylor, 64 J Rollins, 65 P Harrington (爱尔兰), 66 M Block, R Gonzalez (阿根廷), P Goydos, 67 G Chalmers (澳大利亚), S Cink, S Hend (澳大利亚), B Jobe, M Wright (澳大利亚), 68 S Alker (新西兰), C Campbell, K. J. Choi (韩国), Z Johnson, T Petrovic, H Stenson (瑞典), M Weir (加拿大), Yong-Eun Yang (韩国), A Cabrera (阿根廷), 69 S Allan (澳大利亚), S Ames (加拿大), J Caron, S Flesch, M Hensby (澳大利亚), S Kjeldsen (丹麦), S Parel, B Quigley, B Van Pelt, C Devlin (北爱尔兰), 70 R Armour, K Duke, J Durant, B Estes, J. J. Henry, J Maggert, T Ridings, 71 S Bertsch, R Goosen (南非), T Jaidee (泰国), G McNeill, T Pernice Jr, H Slocum, M Wilson, H Frazar, J Bohn, D Bransdon (澳大利亚), 72 S Appleby (澳大利亚), B Gay, R Green (澳大利亚), R Mediate, T O'Neal, R Pampling (澳大利亚), C Pavin, B Weekley, M Tiziani, 73 B Crane, C DiMarco, D Duval, F Funk, R Labritz, S Verplank, J B. Hicks, 74 M Calcavecchia, J Daly, B Langer (德国), B Mayfair, P Stankowski, S Stricker, K Tanigawa, 75 W Austin, R Karlsson (瑞典), J Senden (澳大利亚), V Singh (斐济), 76 T Gainey, 77 O Browne, 79 D Rooney, A Atwal, 结束

LPGA FM 锦标赛（马萨诸塞州）——第2轮（除非另有说明，均为美国选手，标准杆 72）：135 M Yamashita (日本) 65 70, Hyo-Joo Kim (韩国) 68 67, A Corpuz 68 67, 136 R Yin (中国) 71 65, J Bae 68 68, M Metraux (瑞士) 71 65, 137 N Guseva (俄罗斯) 69 68, E Kristine Pedersen (丹麦) 65 72, 138 Sei-Young Kim (韩国) 64 74, Hye-Jin Choi (韩国) 72 66, So-Mi Lee (韩国) 66 72, Hae-Ran Ryu (韩国) 68 70, S Vinijchaitham (泰国) 73 65, 139 L Duncan 70 69, L Coughlin 68 71, P Tavatanakit (泰国) 71 68, A Doherty 70 69, A Huang (加拿大) 69 70, 140 A Thitikul (泰国) 72 68, A Iwai (日本) 74 66, Jin-Hee Im (韩国) 70 70, G Lopez (墨西哥) 68 72, R Zhang 72 68, L Stroem (瑞典) 73 67, N Nadaud (法国) 72 68, H Cooper 72 68, 141 N Hataoka (日本) 71 70, C Hull (英格兰) 71 70, L Woad (英格兰) 68 73, H Green (澳大利亚) 74 67, B Matthews 72 69, A Buhai (南非) 70 71, 142 M Saigo (日本) 72 70, A Jutanugarn (泰国) 75 67, M Khang 73 69, C Choi (韩国) 70 72, A Ashok (印度) 71 71, A Nordqvist (瑞典) 74 68, R O'Toole 75 67, S Schubert 70 72, Dong-Eun Lee (韩国) 71 71, I Gabsa (德国) 73 69.

斯诺克

WST 武汉公开赛——决赛：B Chang (中国) 10-7 击败 X Zhao (中国)。

网球

WTA ABIERTO GNP SEGUROS（墨西哥，蒙特雷）——半决赛：E Mertens (比利时) 1-6 6-4 6-2 击败 N Bartunkova (捷克)；D Parry (法国) 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 击败 A Li (美国)。

ATP 温斯顿-塞勒姆公开赛——半决赛：A Fery (英国) 6-4 1-2 (对方退赛) 击败 J Duckworth (澳大利亚)；L Buse (秘鲁) 6-2 4-6 6-1 击败 B Bonzi (法国)。

联盟式橄榄球

BETFRED 超级联赛——赫尔 战 沃灵顿，图卢兹 负，布拉德福德 负，韦克菲尔德 战 约克。

BETFRED 锦标赛——杜斯伯里 6 纽卡斯尔 56，古尔维京人 14 唐卡斯特 36。

BETFRED 女子超级联赛——威根勇士女队 26 利兹犀牛女队 20。

联合式橄榄球

国际赛——阿根廷 负 澳大利亚 负，南非 33 新西兰 26。

新角旗谜题 (New Corner Flag)

在线解答以争夺前10名的席位。结果将于下周日在 The Puzzle Edit 通讯中公布。

请识别这些球员的姓氏：

横向

1 为伊普斯维奇效力；在早餐时滔滔不绝 (5)

3 刚刚完成国际俱乐部转会的英格兰国脚 (5)

纵向

1 英格兰队主教练们认为选择这位特立独行的人是一场赌博 (5)

2 为维拉 1977 年联赛杯的胜利做出了不小的贡献 (5)

已在弗兰克·兰帕德麾下签约考文垂。“尽管加纳队的比赛结果不理想，但他在世界杯期间表现得非常好。我很期待看到他在这样的教练指导下作为一名中场球员成长。”

在女子方面，切尔西的克洛伊·萨威（Chloe Sarwie）是一个值得关注的人。这位 17 岁的后卫，效力于英格兰 under-23 队，上赛季完成了她的欧冠首秀。“她是一个令人印象深刻的年轻女性，”凯茨（Cates）说，“她正在学习工程学，而且她是一个非常出色且有趣的人。这对他来说可能是一个不错的赛季。”

至于英超联赛，她勉强预测阿森纳可能会再次夺冠。“连续两次夺冠真的很难，”她说。

凯茨指出，卫冕冠军通常会在夏天签下一名重量级球员，向所有人表明他们认真对待卫冕。阿森纳是否已经找到了这样的人仍有待观察。“我认为他们的稳定性就是他们的优势。这是我的感觉，但我讨厌预测，”她笑着说，“预测会让咱们看起来像傻瓜。”

从事这份工作三十年后，凯茨对这项运动依然充满热情。永远不知道接下来会发生什么让这项运动保持新鲜感。

桑德兰 对阵 富勒姆，

今日，下午 2pm，英超联赛

富勒姆已经在球队中轴线上能够派出由贝尔格-金（Berge-King）组成的“快餐组合”（中场桑德·贝尔格和 No10 乔什·金），现在在今年夏天从南安普顿签下中场球员谢亚·查尔斯（Shea Charles，见下图右）后，他们又可以推出一个“金-查尔斯”双人组。这家伦敦俱乐部希望后者不要在比赛中失去理智（这是查尔斯国王猎犬的特质），重复他在青少年时期代表北爱尔兰队出战时被红牌罚下的经历。

曼联 对阵 伊普斯威奇，今日，下午 4.30pm，英超联赛

伊普斯威奇访问老特拉福德，让人想起他们在 1984, 年五一银行假期下午在那里的比赛，当时曼联半场 1-0 领先，结果却以 2-1 告负。大约 42 年后，这仍然是曼联在任何赛事中，在半场领先的情况下输掉主场比赛的最后一例。在那段时间里，他们在半场领先的 549 次机会中，取得了 497 场胜利和 52 场平局。这场比赛能否带来第 550 场？在 1984 年的那场比赛中，马克·休斯为曼联首开纪录，随后米克·达夫雷（Mich D'Avray）和艾伦·桑德兰（Alan Sunderland）在半场休息后反超。

阿斯顿维拉 对阵 阿森纳，明日，晚上 8pm，英超联赛

统计数据由比尔·埃德加（Bill Edgar）汇总

阿森纳在赛季首场比赛中以 3-0 击败了身着天蓝色球衣的曼城，对此他们感到非常满意，以至于在第二场比赛中他们完全重复了同样的操作，像在社区盾杯中击败曼城那样将考文垂送回老家（两场比赛半场均以 2-0 领先，并在重启后五分钟内打入第三球）。在这里，他们面对的是一支缺少了被禁赛的若昂·戈梅斯（João Gomes，见右图）的阿斯顿维拉队。戈梅斯本就以“红黄牌磁铁”著称，而自从今年夏天加盟维拉后，他更是刷新了自己的记录：在场上出战的 119 分钟里，他领到了两张黄牌和一张直接红牌。

西汉姆联 对阵 伍尔弗汉普顿，周二，7.45pm，英冠联赛

西汉姆联花了一些时间来适应英冠联赛，但他们正朝着一个打破门票销售记录的赛季迈进。在目前唯一一场主场联赛（对阵查尔顿竞技）中，62,264人的满场观众数，远超纽卡斯尔联在1947-48赛季创下的第二级别联赛单赛季最高场均观众数56,283人。按照这个速度，西汉姆联的场均观众数将大约是英冠联赛中其他观众人数最高俱乐部（米德尔斯堡、卡迪夫和伍尔弗汉普顿）的两倍。但由于伦敦体育场的容量，第二级别联赛单场最高观众纪录仍将保持不变：1950年2月，有70,302人观看托特纳姆热刺主场对阵南安普顿的比赛。

TUDOR

PELAGOS FXD CHRONO

是什么驱动一个人走向伟大？是挑战未知，涉足未见，并敢于面对一切？这就是诞生图铎（TUDOR）的精神，也是每一位佩戴这款腕表的人所承袭的精神。这种精神同样驱动着图铎职业自行车队（TUDOR Pro Cycling Team）。他们腕上佩戴的是 TUDOR Pelagos FXD Chrono，一款直径43毫米的运动计时码表，大胆地将碳纤维与钛金属相结合。轻盈，正如他们的单车一样。有些人天生随众，而图铎职业自行车队天生敢于挑战。

THE OBSERVER 30 / 08 / 26

我们的作者们共同纪念那位持续奉献的巨星

河畔之景

罗文·摩尔（Rowan Moore） 论泰晤士河畔 不羁的建筑

闭上的书

埃里卡·瓦格纳（Erica Wagner）：我们是否正在失去阅读的艺术？

恐怖的刺绣

瓦妮莎·索普（Vanessa Thorpe）讲述那些将自身创伤织入拜约挂毯的女性生活

Agenda

每周日最犀利的艺术、科学、书籍与思想评论

Agenda 4-7

Xavier Greenwood 讲述一位拥有200年历史的糖果制造商；John Simpson 讲述无政府主义卡巴莱表演；Nancy Durrant 讲述一个先锋舞蹈剧场；Libs Driscoll 讲述什罗普郡最响亮的声音

- 喜剧演员兼《Loose Women》评委 Judi Love

Critics 16-23

- Jonathan Romney 论那些重新审视法国战争遗产的导演浪潮

- 罗文·摩尔（Rowan Moore）在一次穿梭于首都的乘船之旅中，沉思泰晤士河的变迁 - Kitty Empire 观看杰克·怀特（Jack White）现场演出

Features 8-15

瓦妮莎·索普（Vanessa Thorpe）讲述缝制拜约挂毯的女性

- 1988年关于流浪与酗酒回忆录《The Grass Arena》的作者 John Healy 与 Sean O'Hagan 对谈，探讨在近40年后撰写续作

埃里卡·瓦格纳（Erica Wagner）、Kitty Empire 和 Frank Cottrell-Boyce 向于上周去世的乡村巨星多莉·帕顿（Dolly Parton）致敬

John Naughton：AI 正在驱动一个监控反乌托邦

Books 24-29

Laura Cumming 评论 Hermione Lee 为作家 Anita Brookner 撰写的关于其“波澜壮阔的一生”的传记

- 埃里卡·瓦格纳（Erica Wagner）论《新黑暗时代》与后阅读社会 - Catherine Taylor 评论 Marie Darrieussecq 最新的女性主义小说

John Ironmonger 谈论保护工作与《The Angel of St Pirran》

益智游戏与电视 30-40

• 普通人填字游戏、数独、Gemelo、国际象棋、猜图、电影连连看、Lexipedia 问答以及金发姑娘填字游戏

本周电视与广播亮点

芭芭拉·艾伦评述一部将 9 / 11 生还者及其救援人员聚集在一起的强有力纪录片系列

在 Instagram 上关注我们 @ObsNewReview；发送电子邮件至 review@observer.co.uk

撰稿人

瓦妮莎·索普（第 8 页）为《观察者报》撰写艺术与媒体报道已有 30 年。她目前担任《新评论》（New Review）的艺术编辑。

劳拉·卡明（第 24 页）是《观察者报》的艺术评论家。她的著作包括《在教堂沙滩上》（On Chapel Sands）以及关于艺术与生活的回忆录《雷鸣》（Thunderclap）。

肖恩·奥哈根（第 11 页）是《信仰、希望与杀戮》（Faith, Hope and Carnage）的作者，该书基于与尼克·凯夫在封锁期间进行的 40 多个小时的对话。

科林·格兰特（第 27 页）是《新评论》的常驻撰稿人。他关于移民的书籍《我们留下的，我们携带的》（What We Leave, We Carry）于 6 月出版。

弗兰克·科特雷尔-博伊斯（第 15 页）在 2024 年至 2026 年期间担任儿童文学桂冠诗人。他记录这段经历的书籍《英国童年》（A British Childhood）现已出版。

大图赏析

Ivan McClellan 捕捉了一位 17 岁少女的精神与决心，她梦想成为首位黑人女性桶装赛马冠军。

桶装赛马选手 Kortnee Solomon。 摄影：Ivan McClellan

“天气酷热且潮湿，在相机后面，我正大汗淋漓，”Ivan McClellan 回忆起去年 8 月在德克萨斯州亨普斯特拍摄这张照片时的情景。他的拍摄对象是 17 岁的 Kortnee Solomon，一名才华横溢的桶装赛马选手——这是一种在牛仔竞技场中进行的短程马赛。“她习惯了这种高温，”McClellan 指出，“你可以看到她与马群相处得非常自在——她绝对与这群动物融为一体。”从 Kortnee 冷静的目光，以及她那匹带有白面马（blazed horse）略带轻蔑的凝视来看，McClellan 在这里似乎像个局外人。

在某种意义上，他确实如此。十一年前，他还是波特兰（俄勒冈州）的一名街头摄影师，除了在电视上看到的，对牛仔一无所知。后来，一次偶然的相遇让他接触到了黑人牛仔竞技的世界。“我飞往俄克拉荷马州，爱上了那里的环境和人们。这成了我摄影的唯一焦点。”现在，他经营自己的牛仔竞技赛事，并刚刚出版了关于该主题的第二本书。

美国黑人牛仔竞技文化可追溯至几代之前，Solomon 家族也不例外。“Kortnee 的母亲是桶装赛马选手，她的祖母和曾祖母也是，所以骑马在她的血液里，”McClellan 说道，他认为她的职业前景光明。“我认为她想实现任何黑人女性都未曾做到的事情，那就是赢得桶装赛马冠军——至今还没有黑人女性获得过决赛资格。”McClellan 表示，一个重要原因是经济问题。“她负担不起一匹冠军级别的马，这类马的价格可能高达 $200,000.”

Kortnee 的专注在照片中可见一斑，她引人注目的风格亦然。当 McClellan 到达休斯顿郊外的家族牧场时，“她穿着一件印满 $100 钞票的多色衬衫走出来。我们走进牧场，我拍了一些她骑马的照片。之后，我们就在田野里站着聊天，突然间，她的马全部围拢过来。我说，‘再拍一张吧。’然后她直视镜头，表情非常坚毅，穿着这件充满活力的衬衫，身后跟着整个马群，我当时就在想，哇，多么特别的时刻。”——Killian Fox

Ivan McClellan 的著作《八秒：运动中的传承》（Eight Seconds: Legacy in Motion）将于 29 September 由 Damiani 出版社出版。

现实生活

手机屏幕之外的世界观察与场景

职场生活：大糖业

要找到这家工厂得试几次才行。位于达德利的 Teddy Grays 拥有 200 年历史，其系列硬糖仍采用传统方式制作，使用铜锅并经过高温加热。室外 30 度的气温会让机房温度升至 43 度，因此这个夏天经历了多次停工，梨形糖（pear drops）也纷纷融化。当我沿着一条安静的住宅街道走向工厂时，空气中弥漫着茴香籽的味道。马路对面是一家牙科诊所。

“我的软糖塌了，”销售经理大卫·希利（David Healy）在带我参观厂区时说道，“什么都凝固不了。”就像《黑道家族》中的卡梅拉·索普拉诺或《继承之战》中的汤姆·万布斯甘斯一样，希利是通过婚姻进入家族企业的。他与妻子朱莉·希利（Julie Healy，原姓 Gray）相识时，她还是一个在市场卖糖的 15 岁少女，而他在当地的肉铺工作。“我认识她的时候还没听说过 Teddy Grays，”希利说，“所以我不是为了钱才娶她的。”他在公司工作了四个十年，现在每周依然工作 80 小时，多次自嘲为“傻瓜”。“我没有假期，”他说，“我被困在这个地方了。”

约翰·格雷（John Gray）于 1826 年创立了这家公司，当时他用马车向零售商出售糖果。企业在家族中代代相传，直到朱莉的祖父泰迪（Teddy）接管，那是一个几乎已不在人们记忆中的时代。“以前工厂里的人戴头巾，冰淇淋房的角落里还有一只猴子，”希利说道，他引用了一位 93 岁女性的回忆，这位女性在青少年时期曾在这里工作。“一只非常淘气的猴子。那一定是泰迪的。”

那时，Teddy Grays 经营着十几家店铺，雇佣了 100 多人。达德利动物园曾是一个特别的赚钱项目。“他们以前在那里每天能卖出 200,000 颗糖，”希利说。泰迪开着一辆劳斯莱斯——这在达德利是很罕见的景象——并且饲养名犬，曾凭借一只刚毛福克斯梗在克鲁夫茨犬展（Crufts）上获得冠军。劳莱与哈代（Laurel and Hardy）也曾顺道在工厂停留一晚。“老泰迪·格雷在那个年代是个大名人，”希利说。

现在的 Teddy Grays 在线贸易十分兴旺。卫生检查员在近年来要求进行多项更改，包括禁止路人随意走进工厂买一罐糖。由于滚动字母并仔细组装不同图层需要耗费大量时间和人力，公司不再生产岩糖（rock）。目前有七名员工在 Teddy Grays 工作了 30 多年。糖锅工马克·博登（Mark Boden）则在这里工作了 46 年。

两世纪以来，所使用的技术和生产的产品几乎没有变化。希利偏爱朗姆葡萄干软糖，但最畅销的产品是草药片。工厂每月生产 4 吨这种糖果，这是一种由茴香和薄荷组成的复杂且令人上瘾的混合物，被宣传为“寒冷夜晚与早晨的朋友”。确切的配方是由创始人约翰·格雷的母亲创造的，目前仅由朱莉和她的哥哥约翰知晓；市场上偶尔会出现仿制药片。

糖果的制作过程始于一群糖锅工，他们早上 6 点到达工厂，与沉重的铜锅搏斗，不断翻折和搅拌，直到混合物准备好倒入平板上冷却。而“姑娘们”在 7 点到岗，负责将最终产品结晶并定型。当我从远处观察这个过程时，热浪在工厂中波动。“工人们戴着手套和护腕，因为如果糖沾到皮肤上，会直接穿透进去，”希利说，“那是熔岩。是邪恶的东西。”但当糖被煮沸、混合、切片并装箱时，脑海中浮现的词并非“邪恶”。我眼前所见的是一种催眠般的景象；一场色彩与工艺的舞蹈。

希利抵制怀旧之情。“你必须比自己领先六个月，”他说，“你必须不断前行。”汽油价格飞涨，糖的价格亦然。对于一家每周消耗超过100袋糖的工厂来说，这是一个重大问题。“糖会腐蚀混凝土，会腐蚀鞋子，”希利说。它同样在侵蚀营收。

远离工厂的喧嚣，在开车前往车站的路上，希利陷入了沉思。“我们不可能永远经营下去，”他说，“现在只剩下我和朱莉以及约翰。没有其他人可以接手Teddy Grays了……这40年过得很不错。是的，有过起伏，但人生不都是如此吗？自从我妻子患癌后，我总说总有人比你更不幸。”他递给我一盒草药片，向我告别，语气中听起来带着一丝无奈。“在未来的很多年之后，有一天你可以说你来过这里。” Xavier Greenwood

舞台之上 极端小丑表演

扎克（Zucker）快速地进行了一遍安全简报，然后告诉 Stamptown 团队，一名记者——也就是我——在后台，并要求他们表现得体。一名杂耍艺人随即露出了乳房。

这场演出已成为爱丁堡边缘艺术节（Edinburgh fringe）的狂热热门；作为制作人和主持人，扎克将该节目的某种版本带到这个艺术节已有 10 年之久。Stamptown 还在全球巡演，并且本周有一场 Netflix 特辑播出。

今年的剧团成员包括一名想要拿回睾丸的非二元性别太监，一名找不到标志性黑色圆圈中心从而无法开枪的白痴詹姆斯·邦德，以及一个从疯狂漫画书中逃出来的“纸板先生”。在后台，受过训练的小丑乔尼·伍利（Jonny Woolley）坐在技术控制室里，触发不可预测的音效——枪声响起，电视原声带改变基调——演员们则对此做出反应。

这些小丑不断地干扰进程，但当他们足够长时间地收敛时，其他节目才得以登场。演出中有一位吞剑者、两场单口喜剧、那名杂耍艺人（已穿好衣服）以及一名空中钢管舞者。

“我想向观众展示一系列一生一次的定格画面，”扎克说。Stamptown 的观众群体已经产生了一种暴民心理，要求他为他们跳舞、说唱或扮演角色。“我记得在边缘艺术节早期的几场演出中，观众第一次真正地掌控了局面。我当时觉得‘噢，我现在就像是大海里的一块破布娃娃……’这其中有某种迷人且美丽的东西。当你与一个房间、一群人建立连接时，你们可以共同完成惊人的事情。”

不断变化的阵容包括从情景剧演员兼单口喜剧演员艾斯林·比（Aisling Bea）到扎克的前表演伙伴维戈·文（Viggo Venn）——他在 2023 年赢得了《英国达人秀》（Britain's Got Talent）——以及好莱坞演员

Stamptown 是一场融合了马戏表演、脱衣舞和单口喜剧的卡巴莱表演。一群现代小丑驱动着整场演出。他们入侵舞台，无视指令，使得扎克扮演的那个古怪角色杰克·塔克（Jack Tucker）看起来像是唯一理智的人。

尼尔·帕特里克·哈里斯（Neil Patrick Harris），由于与扎克的友谊，他今年夏天在法国就读于小丑学校。 哈里斯与双性恋者扎克通常在场景结束时以一个热情的吻收场。

Stamptown 起源于巴黎南部的埃坦普（Étampes）小镇，已故的小丑大师菲利普·高利耶（Philippe Gaulier）在那里经营他的戏剧学校。扎克在 2013 年在那里学习期间结识了文和伍利，该公司的名称取自单词 étampe，意为“印章”。

工人必须戴手套，因为如果皮肤上沾了糖，它会渗透进去。那是熔岩。是邪恶的东西。

“菲利普告诉我，需要 10 年时间才能找到我的方向，事实也确实如此，”扎克说。Netflix 特辑结尾的字幕卡是对高利耶的致敬，他于 2 月去世，享年 82 岁。在演职员表滚动结束后，可以听到这位老师说“谢谢，再见”。如今，扎克和伍利在 80 分钟的表演过程中玩弄着不断发展的叙事。在爱丁堡，其中一条线索是一个邪恶的亿万富翁，他通过买断小丑和表演者来威胁 Stamptown 的未来。

伍利确保情节线不会限制舞台上的混乱，他指导表演者去与叙事互动，而不是死板地遵循它。“如果人们离开时感到充满能量，脸上带着巨大的笑容，或者他们离开时感到极其亢奋——我会觉得‘太棒了，我让你感受到了一些东西’。”约翰·辛普森（John Simpson）

海外笔记 步步高升

在玻璃与钢铁构成的琼·威尔舞蹈中心（Joan Weill Center for Dance）六楼的排练室里——这里自 2005 年起便是阿尔文·艾利美国舞蹈剧场（Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater）的所在地——一面镜墙映照着八扇从地板延伸至天花板的窗户，窗外可以俯瞰地狱厨房（Hell's Kitchen）。这个曼哈顿社区曾一度破旧，如今已高度绅士化，紧邻百老汇，这里的路人中，每隔一个人就可能是一名表演者，或者渴望成为表演者的人。

舞者康斯坦斯·斯塔马蒂乌（Constance Stamatiou）正与两名同事共同排练的作品名为《哭泣》（Cry），这是艾利最具代表性的独舞作品之一。她在磨损的灰色油漆地板上地移动，精准而优雅，令人着迷。艾利在 1958 年创立该剧场时的宗旨是提升非裔美国人的体验；他在 1971 年创作了《哭泣》作为送给母亲的礼物，并将其献给“各地所有的黑人女性，尤其是我们的母亲”。

副艺术总监马修·拉辛（Matthew Rushing）穿着牛仔裤和一件蓝色的阿尔文·艾利连帽衫主持排练，他查阅笔记本，称赞斯塔马蒂乌的“造型很美”，同时提醒她手臂要与地面保持平行，不要在“发脾气”的动作上进场过早。她 ruefully 地点头，歪着头，轻微地移动手臂以思考并内化这些指令。

这包括他广受欢迎的 1960 年杰作《启示录》（Revelations），该作品以灵歌、福音音乐和蓝调为配乐，灵感源自他在种族隔离的南部地区接受的基督教教育。

格拉夫·马克（Graf Mack）坐在艾利那张巨大且沉重的弧形青铜办公桌后面，像所有舞者一样自然地挺直腰背，灰色的卷发披散着。她身着剪裁利落的黑色服装，显得优雅端庄，但指甲上却贴了一整套色彩绚丽的创意美甲——这是在女儿莱拉（Laila）的怂恿下，光顾了纽约时髦的贴片美甲店 Kettykiss 的结果。

格拉夫·马克在谈到她的前任，尤其是艾利及其缪斯朱迪思·詹米森（Judith Jamison）时，带着一种在英国人听来颇为古朴的敬意。于 1989 年去世的“艾利先生”从未被称作“阿尔文”；格拉夫·马克在这一充满阳光的转角办公室就职一年了，但她仍将其称为“詹米森女士的办公室”——由詹米森定制的长沙发依然留在原处，尽管覆盖物已略显破旧。目前，格拉夫·马克到任后留下的简朴痕迹是墙上挂着的家人照片（他们仍住在圣路易斯附近），以及由莱拉制作的一个放在电脑显示器上的纸板独角兽。

但这里同样有着刚强的一面。当我建议特朗普政府压制多样性和包容性的努力可能会给她的组织带来问题时，格拉夫·马克予以否认，尽管她承认“如今我们害怕说某些词汇。但如果你的价值观已根植于你的身份和实践之中，你所要做的就是让帷幕升起，以你的美丽之姿伫立在那里，这就是你定义自己是谁的方式。而这正是我们一直在做的事情。”对此，我深表赞同。

南希·杜兰特（Nancy Durrant）

乡村生活 声音的生意

……圣诞礼物的；伍德需要使用美国航天局（Nasa）设计的高跷才能达到他的高度。

伍德自己编写喊话词，通常采用押韵形式，但也会即兴发挥。他的卷轴是用自己的书法书写的，尽管他承认偶尔会使用打印机。他对着树木和石墙练习发声。曾经，他的妻子会坐在几个田野之外，拿着一份打印好的剧本，检查自己是否能听到每一个字。他曾偶然地喊过多次炸弹惊恐警告。有一次在白金汉宫外，马丁就在现场，当时警察要求人们离开的喊叫声淹没在游客们多语言的嘈杂声中。于是他使用了自己的声音：“女士们先生们，请移步至格林公园，”他喊道，即便在回忆中，他依然给“请”这个词赋予了足够的分量。

在比赛日，评委对清晰度、措辞和语调进行评分。参赛者们互相交换关于评委隐藏在人群中哪个位置的传闻。有一年，一名评委站在钟楼里，这样参赛者就无法利用声学环境。竞技性城镇喊话似乎出奇地具有同僚情谊。他们有一个Facebook页面。他们在彼此的葬礼上哭泣（且大声喊泣）。

部分魔力在于那口钟。马丁的钟是一家他曾为其喊话的酿酒厂赠送的。当对方忽略了他的发票时，他做好了最坏的打算。他模仿卷起袖子的动作：“我把伙计们叫出来……”结果他发现公司做得更体面，为了表示感谢，委托了东伦敦的前白教堂钟铸造厂（Whitechapel Bell Foundry）制作了一口钟；铸造厂给马丁打了电话，提出了两个要求。第一个是实际的：他寄去了前臂的尺寸。他的钟重约5.5kg (12.5lb)，是该国最大的手持型号，需要符合他的体型。第二个是他的声音录音。钟的音调被调整到与他的音高一致，因此当他参赛时，在开始前敲响一次钟，意味着评委已经适应了他的音色。参赛者仅被允许使用120 words：马丁让每一个词都发挥作用。

《Cry》是公司新任艺术总监艾丽西亚·格拉夫·马克（Alicia Graf Mack）通过VHS录像带看到的的第一部艾利（Ailey）作品。尽管当时八岁的她渴望成为一名古典芭蕾舞演员，但《Cry》“深深打动了我。我从未见过一个看起来像我、肤色和我一样的人，而且这个女人的技术造诣和技巧——我当时心想：‘我的天呐’。”

在录像带中表演的资深艾利舞者唐娜·伍德（Donna Wood）“拥有如此犀利的目光和气场。对于一个非常害羞、害怕说话的年轻人来说，看到一个人能通过舞蹈如此大声地表达，简直不可思议。当我看到那个视频时，我想：‘这就是我想要的。’ ”

《Cry》出现在格拉夫·马克，47, 为公司自一年前接手后的首次国际巡演准备的两场节目之一中，该巡演将于9月来到萨德勒之井剧院（Sadler's Wells）。《Legacy》旨在庆祝艾利的编舞，

插画：奥斯卡·英厄姆（Oscar Ingham）

今年10月，马丁·伍德将参加全国城镇喊话员锦标赛。在连续45年始终名列前 5. 之后，他完全有理由对自己的机会充满信心。然而，他很少谈论获胜。

我在什鲁斯伯里长大，听过关于伍德的事：那个身高7英尺2英寸、声音如雷的巨人。当我们最近见面时，他驾驶着电动代步车穿过咖啡馆，在人们挪动椅子时轻声说着抱歉。即使穿着便装，人们也能认出他。他不喊叫，他温柔地纠正我：他是在“发声”（projects）。而且他绝对不会说“Hear ye”（听着），他说，“那是美国人的说法。”

他在与演员爱德华·伍德（Edward Woodward）合作拍摄 1984 年的《圣诞颂歌》（A Christmas Carol）时学会了发声。伍德当时担任幽灵的替身

直到这场安静的对话接近尾声，我才意识到他的声音有多大。他说，在1.5英里外都能听到他的声音。在某些城镇，他会刻意避开附近的山丘方向发声，以防止产生回声。他从未尝试过挑战世界纪录，但相信自己能够打破它。今年6月，一名澳大利亚呐喊员创下了122.4分贝（db）的现行纪录，测量时分贝计距离其口部15厘米（6英寸）以内。这大约相当于喷气式飞机起飞时的噪音水平。马丁告诉我，在距离约2.5米（8英尺）处测得他的声音达到了167.分贝。这完全足以震破耳膜。

我提出可以帮他联系吉尼斯世界纪录团队，但他摇了摇头。他希望在最终打破纪录时处于最佳状态——也许就在他退休之前。“最后的辉煌，”我这样称呼它，直到他轻笑一声，我才意识到这句话中的讽刺意味。 莉布斯·德里斯科尔（Libs Driscoll）

仍在展映 / 播出

《观察者报》评论员为您推荐不容错过的活动

艺术

“即便在孩提时代，她就懂得如何像猫一样倾斜、转身、款款而行或舒展身体，懂得如何将一只手臂挥向空中，将头部倾斜成一个充满疑问、神秘或迷人的角度。”《玛丽莲·梦露：肖像展》（Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait）在伦敦国家肖像馆展出，直至 9 月 6 日。——劳拉·卡明（Laura Cumming）

电视

“正如其演技无懈可击（古古·姆巴塔-罗、贝尔·波利和乔尼·李·米勒都贡献了职业生涯最佳表演）一样，剧本也充满了大胆的张力。”种植园恐怖片《占有》（Possession）仍在 Now 平台播出。——芭芭拉·艾伦（Barbara Ellen）

古典音乐

菲利普·格拉斯（Philip Glass）和费利姆·麦克德莫特（Phelim McDermott）的歌剧《玻璃之道》（Tao of Glass）在伦敦索霍广场（Soho Place）以圆形舞台形式演出，直至 9 月 12 日。“杂耍、木偶戏、挥手、撕扯、粘贴纸片，这些听起来像是在演闹剧。但事实绝非如此。” ——菲奥娜·马多克斯（Fiona Maddocks）

现正预订

戏剧

大卫·斯雷尔福尔（David Threlfall）回归曼彻斯特皇家交易所剧院，在马修·邓斯特（Matthew Dunster）执导的一部令人兴奋的新作中饰演《李尔王》的主角。音乐由乔迪音乐家纳丁·沙（Nadine Shah）作曲，她还将饰演冈内鲁（Goneril）。10 月 2 日至 11 月 15 日的演出门票现已发售。

书籍

伊尔克利文学节（Ilkley literature festival）门票现已发售。这是英格兰北部历史最悠久的图书节，将于 10 月 2 日至 18 日在风景优美的西约克郡小镇的多个场馆举行。亮点嘉宾包括西蒙·阿米蒂奇（Simon Armitage）、萨米拉·艾哈迈德（Samira Ahmed）、凯特·阿特金森（Kate Atkinson）、丽塔·查克拉巴蒂（Reeta Chakrabarti）、安德鲁·戴维斯（Andrew Davies）和杰奎琳·威尔逊（Jacqueline Wilson）。

城市网格

美国摄影师 本·马辛（Ben Marcin）记录了 在不断变化的巴尔的摩 那些在某种程度上 幸免于拆除球的房屋

技术上来说，美国摄影师本·马辛的处女作《坚守者》（The Holdouts）中所拍摄的任何地方都不符合其书名的定义。在房地产术语中，“坚守者”（holdout）是指拒绝向开发商出售房产，随后往往被强制驱逐，或为了某个大型项目的推进而被建筑包围的业主。马辛在他深爱的家乡巴尔的摩所关注的“坚守者”并非阻碍了购物中心或高速公路的建设，正如他在书中所写：“他们体现了一个更直接的‘坚守者’定义，即抵抗某事或拒绝接受所提供之物的行为。”

2009年，马辛开始拍摄三个独立的系列：市中心那些在某种程度上幸免于拆除球、孤傲挺立的排屋；东海岸那些曾经美丽、如今被遗弃、破败且被杂草包围的大房子；以及那些转瞬即逝、杂乱无章的无家可归者营地。“直到最近我才意识到，它们可以组合成一个宏大的概念，”他解释道，“事实上，它们之间联系非常紧密；我只是没有立刻发现。”

其结果是一系列幽灵般、充满谜团的照片，建筑立面体现了巴尔的摩不断变化的故事。“没有人物的图像。这是我在最开始就做出的决定，”马辛解释说，“我想让建筑来讲故事：为什么那栋三层排屋独自矗立在空地上？为什么那个人在灌木丛中建了一座巨大的房子？这里到底发生了什么？”——塔拉·乔希（Tara Joshi）

本·马辛的《坚守者》（The Holdouts）由 GOST 出版；gostbooks.com

朱迪·洛夫（Judi Love） 喜剧演员，46岁

这位喜剧演员 兼《宽松女性》（Loose Women） 讨论嘉宾带来了她的全新 单人秀， 以及关于乌比·戈德堡（Whoopi Goldberg） 和身体正向性的探讨

朱迪·洛夫是一位喜剧演员、电视名人兼演员。她原名朱迪·维罗妮卡·托马斯（Judy Veronica Thomas），出生于伦敦哈克尼，在投身喜剧事业之前曾是一名社会工作者，并获得了社会工作硕士学位。作为两个儿子的单身母亲，洛夫是 ITV 聊天节目《宽松女性》（Loose Women）的嘉宾，并出演了许多其他电视节目，包括《任务大师》（Taskmaster）、《最后一个人在笑》（Last One Laughing）和《舞动奇迹》（Strictly Come Dancing）。即将出演的电影角色包括蕾贝尔·威尔逊（Rebel Wilson）的电影《女子组合》（Girl Group）。目前，她正带着她的单人秀《全关于爱》（All About the Love）在英国巡演。

你的上一次巡演《像朱迪·洛夫一样》（The One Like Judi Love）让你成为了首位在伦敦帕拉第姆剧院（London Palladium）担任主秀并售罄所有门票的英国黑人女性喜剧演员。你的新节目关于什么？

总得有人在某些事情上成为第一个。只要我不是最后一个就行！《全 ABOUT the Love》是关于 40 岁时回顾人生，意识到我曾经是个多么“乖女孩”，以及社会如何将女性禁锢在条条框框之中。不身处这些框框之中是可以的，比如一个 40 岁的女性认为“我想做喜剧”或者“那段关系不适合我”。它是关于对他人的爱与共情，同时也是关于对自己。我正处于“就做我自己”的阶段！我希望自己在十几岁和二十多岁时不要那么缺乏安全感。那样的话，我一定会成为一个酷毙了的女人。

伍皮·戈德堡对你产生了巨大的影响。她哪里吸引了你？

作为一个五六岁的小女孩，我曾认为，要出现在那个屏幕上，得有天空中的特殊人物把你选中，而且你必须长成某种样子。然后我看到了伍皮：幽默、古灵精怪、爆炸头、美丽的深色皮肤……我想，天呐！我觉得我能从中看到自己的影子。戈尔蒂·霍恩是个白人女性，但我能在我家族的女性身上看到她的个性。这就是关键所在：去掉那些曾经将我们分开的东西，然后看到你自己，或者看到某个人。而她们是掌控全局的女性，年长，出演大电影，且处于巅峰状态。

在参加像《任务大师》（Taskmaster）和《最后一个人在笑》（Last One Laughing）这类节目与喜剧演员合作时，氛围是怎样的？

太棒了！当你和其他喜剧演员在一起时，你们能互相理解。我们都是怪人！就实话实说吧！当你和其他怪人们在一起时，就像一个小村庄。你可以对同行说：“我正在琢磨这个笑话，其中有一部分……”他们会说：“让我听听。”这不是为了寻求娱乐，而是为了看这个笑话如何传达。他们明白其中的重要性。能与你钦佩、尊重且关注了这么久的另一位喜剧演员一起这样做，这种感觉很美好。

你在 2020 年参加了获奖的《宽松女性》（Loose Women）全黑人特别版 [与查琳·怀特、布伦达·爱德华兹和凯莱·布莱恩一起]……我认为英国电视之前从未有过这样的尝试。想到英国主流电视频道从未出现过四位黑人女性同时在场，这简直太疯狂了。

为了庆祝英联邦离散群体，你前往白金汉宫会见了当时的查尔斯王子。这对你意味着什么？那是那种时刻：我怎么会来到这里？[英国]帝国有其复杂的一面，但我很荣幸能代表英联邦。像我父母那样的人是通过“风信子号”（Windrush）来到这里的。那一代人很自豪，非常勤奋。他们希望为英国做出贡献。

你母亲在你年幼时病了。这对你产生了什么影响？在我九岁时，她患了

“我希望自己在 20 多岁时没那么缺乏安全感。那样的话我一定会成为一个酷毙了的女人”

动脉瘤，然后大概又中风了四次，并患上痴呆症。那很艰难。随着年龄增长，我想：是的，社会工作。很多来自西印度群岛以及亚洲和非洲的人都有照顾他人的背景。照顾长辈和邻居是常态。我在社会工作中看到了一些悲伤的事情。这是一个冲击力很强的领域。我热爱它，而且我肯定会攻读心理治疗的博士学位——关于笑与创伤方面的内容。但当我进入娱乐行业时，我想的是：我还能用什么方式带来快乐？于是就有了喜剧。

你小时候真的是班上的开心果吗？

你是不是在跟我的老师聊天？我一直是个快乐的孩子。有时扮演班上的开心果是为了转移注意力，因为直到 23 岁左右我才意识到自己患有阅读障碍。阅读障碍仅仅意味着我的学习方式不同。我的两个学位都拿到了 2:1（二等一）荣誉学位，所以阅读障碍不会阻碍你。我想说，阅读障碍是我的超能力。我看事情的角度不同，我永远不会想要摆脱它。

你在节目中坦率地谈论爱情和性。你说你考虑在 40 岁中期成为一个“超级荡妇”（massive ho），这是什么意思？作为女性，在关于自身满足感的问题上，人们会给我们贴上负面标签。当我写道“我要当个荡妇！”时，也许这个词需要被解构。是说“荡妇”意味着我要和无数的人上床且不顾自己？还是在说：我现在要追求高质量的性生活？“我已经和你交往六个月了。事实上你不能让我满足，我要离开了。”这是一个很有冲击力的词。

您一直公开倡导身体正向（body positivity）。

在我的文化中，加勒比文化，尤其是牙买加文化，身体的价值远不止于外表。如果你大腿丰满，那是美。如果你有肚子，那是你生过孩子，或者你天生适合生孩子。无论什么被认为是不美、不可接受的——尤其是在西方社会中——但在西印度群岛，这些永远不会妨碍你找到男人。女孩，这些永远不会妨碍你穿短裤！

一个人表演整场秀，所有责任都落在你一个人身上，这种感觉如何？

绝对是一种恩赐。我可能精疲力竭，但当我登上那个舞台……你不知道观众席里是谁，也不知道他们为何而来。只要在那两个小时里，我能让他们感受到情感上的喜悦、笑声和共鸣，让他们觉得自己的心声被听到了。这就是我的工作，如果这就是一份工作，那我简直太幸运了。——采访者：芭芭拉·艾伦

朱迪·洛夫（Judi Love）将于 5 September 至 19 November 在英国巡演她的《All About the Love》演出

“那些吠叫的修女们在玩一场战略游戏……她们是在为生存而缝纫”

随着拜邑挂毯在 950 年后首次抵达英国，专家表示，我们应当将其视为恐怖的见证——并且创造它的女性是为了生存而这样做。瓦内莎·索普（Vanessa Thorpe）报道

坐在门边的一把椅子上，门被留了一道缝以让日光照进来，你可以想象一名女性从缝纫工作中抬起头，望向大海。透过十月的薄雾，她或许能分辨出法国的海岸线。在更近的地方，一群阴森、威胁的人物变得清晰可见，他们正穿过肯特郡的沼泽向罗姆尼（Romney）进发。在那一刻，这名女缝纫工意识到，她的家人和所有邻居只剩下极短的时间来逃离正准备发起进攻的诺曼士兵。

我们知道，在 1066 年那个秋日，那伙袭击者的目的是为了报复该镇对法国水手的残酷对待。一个月前，那些水手被风吹离航线，漂流到了那片海岸，距离威廉征服者在佩文西（Pevensey）的大规模入侵部队还有数英里之遥。在随后的诺曼洗劫罗姆尼期间，盎格鲁-撒克逊男女被屠杀，肢体被砍断，儿童被斩首。只有极少数幸运的人得以逃脱。

一些逃亡的女性后来在英格兰南部的修道院中找到了庇护所，与同样来自入侵灾难的难民生活在一起。在坎特伯雷或伦敦郊外的石墙之内，该国许多最才华横溢的刺绣师和织工继续工作；她们处于不安且不被察觉的状态，为神职人员和残酷的新政权制作服装和艺术品。

大约六年之后，在诺曼入侵者夺取了 95% 的盎格鲁-撒克逊土地后，正是这样一群流离失所的女性制作了拜邑挂毯。我们被教导将其视为一面独特的胜利旗帜，但在其创作过程中，它同样是一份关于创伤与生存的记录。据估计，仅在黑斯廷斯战役中就有 4,000 名盎格鲁-撒克逊人死亡，而在接下来的十年里，诺曼人的饥饿与破坏政策——“北方劫掠”（the Harrying of the North）——被认为导致了至少 100,000 人死亡，占人口的极大比例。

中世纪艺术专家贾尼娜·拉米雷斯（Janina Ramirez）教授决心改变我们对那个时期的认知。“关于整个 1066 年的事情，我真正想要推到最前沿的是，我们讨论的是一场种族灭绝，”她说。“诺曼人来到这里，毁灭了英国文化、英国社会和英国人。那是极其恐怖的。而现在我们将其粉饰为征服与荣耀。”

对于入侵部队来说，挂毯中接连出现的暴力场景被解读为武力权力的编年史。而对于那些一帧一帧缝制这些图像的人来说，这部作品无疑是痛苦的见证；其程度可与毕加索《格尔尼卡》中所展现的现代破坏相媲美。

“当时有大量女性涌入宗教团体，因为太多人失去了丈夫。她们渴望修道院的安全感，否则她们会被违背意愿地[嫁给入侵者]，以换取她们的土地和财富。但与此同时，诺曼人也在关闭这些修道院，并夺走那些土地和财富。”

这些女性创作的挂毯——从下周起将在英国首次公开展出，这是其创作 950 年来的首次——旨在长久保存：它是由穿过亚麻布的羊毛线制成的。即便如此，其中一个谜团便是它是如何如此之久地保存下来的。“它最初能被制作出来就是一个奇迹，而它能幸存下来更是奇迹，”牛津大学哈里斯曼彻斯特学院的研究员拉米雷斯（Ramirez）说道，“几乎所有同类作品都已被摧毁或丢失。”

几乎没有其他物品可以与这 70 米长的叙事作品相媲美。在达勒姆大教堂展出的盎格鲁-撒克逊丝绸与黄金刺绣（被俏皮地称为“圣库斯伯特祭衣”）是在早近 100 年前缝制的。但那些是珍贵的宗教服装，在设计和用途上截然不同。

“拜邑挂毯能从第二次世界大战中幸存下来就已经足够惊人了，更不用说之前的那些世纪了，”拉米雷斯说，“希姆莱想把它放在自己的城堡里，如果不是因为布莱切利园解码的一条信息，称它即将被从卢浮宫抢走，它那时就已经被抢走了。”

这幅挂毯此前为了安全被移至巴黎，在布莱切利向法国抵抗运动发出警报后，才免于成为纳粹的掠夺品。

事实上，这幅挂毯从未离开过黑斯廷斯 200 英里以外的地方。有说服力的证据表明，它最初是由拜邑的奥多主教为当地的罗马式大教堂委托制作的。为了支持这一观点，约克大学的艺术史学家克里斯托弗·诺顿（Christopher Norton）最近计算出，它的尺寸正好可以分布在缝在中心的十字架两侧，而该十字架原本应放置在祭坛上。“诺顿认为它会沿着中殿的一侧向上延伸，然后从另一侧向下延伸，”拉米雷斯解释道，“这样一来，整个作品就更有意义了——像是一种动态的叙事。”

尽管大教堂的库存清单已明确证实该挂毯在 15 世纪末已在拜邑，但历史记录中仍存在空白。另一种竞争理论认为，它可能一直被储存在坎特伯雷直到 1420 年代，然后被提供给法国以偿还一项修道院债务。无论它是如何到达那里的，它对一般的法国公众来说意义不大。“它并不真正属于他们的国家故事，”拉米雷斯说，“所以一度被捆起来塞在地下室里。如果当时它更出名一点，可能早就被偷了。”

大英博物馆负责伦敦借展项目的刺绣专家米莉·霍顿-因施（Millie Horton-Insch）博士同意，这幅挂毯对于英国历史学家来说一直具有更大的影响力，尽管它对拜邑镇的重要性随着游客数量的增加而增长：“不仅是英国游客，还有很多美国人，他们来到这里参观附近的 D-day 登陆海滩。因此，这幅挂毯现在也与那次入侵联系在了一起。”

“诺曼人摧毁了英国文化、英国社会和英国人”

一年前在戛纳电影节期间，在戛纳的一处海滩上，时任英国艺术部部长的克里斯·布莱恩特（Chris Bryant）被听到低声透露，借用这幅挂毯的协议已接近达成。在这里得知这个消息十分恰当。首先，因为这件作品经常被视为一种电影分镜脚本——“它长而窄，像一条电影胶片，而且极具戏剧性，”拉米雷斯（Ramirez）说道——其次，因为它的制作过程已经成为一部计划中的英国电影《挂毯》（The Tapestry）的主题，该片由丽贝卡·伦基维茨（Rebecca Lenkiewicz）撰写剧本，她最著名的作品是备受赞誉的电影《她说》（She Said）和《伊达》（Ida）。“我们将场景设定在坎特伯雷的圣奥古斯丁修道院，”伦基维茨告诉我，“我们的故事是一个关于权力的阴暗故事。令我着迷的是，这面旗帜——一件宣传品——的背后是由一群匿名的女性集体完成的，但她们却几乎没有获得任何认可。”

霍顿-因施（Horton-Insch）认为，尽管在中心面板中实际上只有三名女性出现，但女性的历史深深地交织在挂毯之中：“在出现女性描绘的地方，她们正处于真正的痛苦和悲剧时刻。其中一人是一名匿名女性，她带着孩子逃离一座正被入侵的诺曼士兵纵火焚烧的房屋。”

刺绣者过去所经历的苦难不仅体现在那幅图像中，而且在当时神职人员之间往来的书信中也有明确记载，其中讨论了幸存者逃往女修道院的情况。在1070年代后期，权势显赫的坎特伯雷大主教兰弗朗（Lanfranc）寄给一位匿名“G主教”的一封信中提到

（）

一些女性“逃往修道院并非因为热爱宗教生活，而是出于对法国人的恐惧”，而编年史作者、僧侣奥德里克·维塔利斯（Orderic Vitalis）也写道，盎格鲁-撒克逊人寻求在修道院围墙内的保护。

“诺曼征服后，许多女性处于岌岌可危的境地，”霍顿-因施说，“她们害怕现在的生活会变成什么样子，不想经历暴力或强迫婚姻。”拉米雷斯也将那个用线精心勾勒出的母亲带着孩子奔跑的场景，视为理解整件艺术作品意义的关键。“这幅挂毯捕捉到了战争的恐惧，并提醒观众，妇女和儿童是受害者，”她说。

11世纪的修道院是截然不同的地方，因此霍顿-因施敦促人们应当摒弃现代大众对职业宗教生活的想象。“它们本质上就像寄宿学校。地位较高的女性在结婚前会被送到那里，寡妇们则在那里共度余生。”刺绣工作会在白天进行，可能在户外，将亚麻面板绷在框架上，准备进行“极其耗时且耗力”的“刺孔与撒粉”（pricking and pouncing）过程，即在布料上穿孔形成图案，然后在缝纫前用粉末标记孔洞，最后使用骨针缝制。“从背面你可以看到不同刺绣者的接缝处以及方向的改变，”霍顿-因施说，“关于亚麻和羊毛需要记住的一点是，由于线较粗，工作速度可以快得多。”

一些学者怀疑，这部史诗之作可能并非由奥多主教（Bishop Odo）委托，而是由一位权势显赫的英国女性委托，最可能是威塞克斯的伊迪丝（Edith of Wessex），她是哈罗德·戈德温森（Harold Godwinson）的妹妹，也是爱德华的遗孀

他们在对新政权说：“请不要毁灭我们。我们拥有惊人的技艺”

忏悔者。根据这种思路——可以被描述为“威尔特郡学派”的观点——整件艺术品是一次宏大的绥靖外交之作。

另一部即将推出的关于这幅挂毯制作过程的戏剧化作品，是由乔纳森·迈尔森（Jonathan Myerson）创作的广播剧《伊迪丝·斯万-内克与拜邑挂毯》（Edith Swan-Neck and the Bayeux Tapestry），该剧将刺绣修女安置在坎特伯雷，并突出了另一位伊迪丝的战争经历，她是哈罗德·戈德温森（Harold Godwinson）孩子们的丧子之母。

就拉米雷斯（Ramirez）而言，她仍然相当确信伦敦东部的巴金修道院（Barking Abbey）是更可能的基地。“考古工作表明，那里是一个地位极高的场所，与教会和国家都有着紧密的联系。”她认为这使其成为了获取所需材料的绝佳地点。“巴金的修女们在进行一场谨慎的战略博弈。她们在对新政权说：‘请不要毁灭我们。我们拥有这些惊人的技艺。’我总是说，她们是在为生存而刺绣，而刺绣的内容却是她们的伴侣和父亲被毁灭的故事。这件作品在讲述胜利的同时，同样是一件悲剧之作。”

霍顿-因施（Horton-Insch）对具体位置则更为谨慎，她指出缺乏对织物的化学分析来帮助确定来源。

可以说，我们是在通过钥匙孔窥视11世纪，而我们知道的太少了。”但她承认，该地区的高质量羊毛在当时是一项主要出口产品。“我相当自信地说，它是产自英格兰东南部，尤其是法国的资料以如此赞赏的措辞描述英格兰的针线活。”

来自英格兰的奢侈刺绣服装和家居用品后来被称为“英格兰作品”（Opus Anglicanum），霍顿-因施将拜邑挂毯视为这种令人向往的、可出口文物的先驱。它还遵循了坎特伯雷风格的惯例，即面部保持空白，而非刺绣。

关于材料或日期的分析，“基于有限的证据，很容易将一个又一个假设堆砌在一起。我们正处于……”

无论是在巴金还是坎特伯雷制作，与罗姆尼（Romney）的联系仍然很有可能。

奥多主教（Bishop Odo）——目前仍是该挂毯委托人的首选候选人——是征服者威廉的异母兄弟，且作为肯特郡伯爵，他熟悉那片沼泽地带，并在那里建造了英格兰第一座诺曼教堂，因此深知当地女针线工的技艺。后来被隔离在修道院中的肯特郡女缝纫工在缝制时，很可能回想起了罗姆尼被暴力洗劫的场景。

1885年，一组在先驱刺绣师伊丽莎白·沃德尔（Elizabeth Wardle）指导下工作的女性开始制作一个全尺寸的复制品。这项任务由维多利亚与阿尔伯特博物馆（V&A Museum）指派，这一次她们将自己置于画面之中，刺绣上了自己的名字。这个精确的副本自1993年起一直在雷丁博物馆（Reading Museum）永久展出；拉米雷斯建议，如果大英博物馆的门票难以获取，这里非常值得一访。不过，原件中许多较为大胆的内容——包括四组人类生殖器——已被删减；并非由沃德尔的女士们删减，而是由V&A的绘图员在裸体男子身上画上了裤子。

左图：被认为展示了克努特国王（King Cnut）第一任妻子阿尔夫吉芙（Alfgifu）的细节。下图：米娅·汉森（Mia Hansson）与她的拜邑复制品，至今已制作10年。 世界历史百科全书；Adrian Dennis / 现代女性也被激发去创作自己的版本。新罗姆尼（New Romney）的女性们执行了一项尚未完成的巨型致敬之作，描绘了公元700年以来沼泽地带的变迁。而来自剑桥郡威斯比奇（Wisbech）的米娅·汉森在过去十年中一直在缝制，伦敦的借展再次激励了她。

学者们告诉我们，我们之前对这幅挂毯的许多认知都是错误的。首先，它其实并不是一件挂毯，而是一件刺绣壁挂，而且并非产自巴约。此外，画面中眼睛被箭射中的人也不是哈罗德。目前人们普遍认为，由于一段具有误导性的拉丁文字，一名随机的士兵被误认为英格兰国王，而真正的国王被认为就躺在附近的地面上垂死。然而，最强烈地显现出来的一点是——无论我们将这幅挂毯称为“巴金刺绣”还是“坎特伯雷壁画”——战争的恐怖正由战败者亲口向我们讲述。

“我觉得这极其令人动容，”霍顿-因施（Horton-Insch）说道，“所有那些英格兰村庄被摧毁的场景，或是人们在战场上被砍掉头颅的画面；想到经历过这些事件的人亲手缝制了这一切，简直不可思议。它让你以一种没有任何其他物品能实现的方式，近距离接触历史上的那个时刻。”

至于是否应该将其永久归还给那些如此细心地记录自身损失的女性的故土，霍顿-因施的观点坚定不移。她很高兴能接待巴约挂毯，但并不在意所有权问题。“我认为它是一件英诺曼（Anglo-Norman）器物——这正是它的初衷，”她说，“对我来说，不可思议的是，1,000年后，这次借展以英法合作的方式促成，它依然在履行其最初的使命，即阐述一个混合的英诺曼故事。我们的历史是交织在一起的。”

巴约挂毯将于 10 September 至 11 July 2027 在伦敦大英博物馆展出。

一件纯手工复制品

米娅·汉森（Mia Hansson），52岁，她说自己一边看着犯罪剧，一边在沙发的角落里制作拜约挂毯的复制品，并且是凭手感自由刺绣。到目前为止，这项工作已经进行了10年。“我这周量了一下，大约有59.4米，如果拉直的话可能更长一点。”

她开始这项工作是为了填补空闲时间，因为她制作并销售的维京复古服装的需求开始下降。“我最初是为某人制作挂毯的一部分作为礼物，但花了我六个月才完成。我发现自己非常喜欢这种风格，于是又做了一件。”

作为儿子汤姆（Tom）的照顾者，汉森经常待在家里，而这幅挂毯成了完美的长期项目。

汉森说，起初她倾向于认为原件是在坎特伯雷刺绣而成的，但自从在Facebook上被一名粉丝联系后，她的观点改变了。该粉丝相信自己是中世纪刺绣女工的转世。“她告诉我，她曾作为征服者威廉的配偶玛蒂尔达王后的侍女从法国来到温彻斯特，然后与英国刺绣工一起制作这幅挂毯。”

制作自己挂毯的过程让汉森确信，原件是在被迫的情况下完成的：“这太艰辛了。这绝不是刺绣工们心甘情愿刺绣的作品——这是一项压力巨大的工作。我能看出有些地方是被催促完成的，比如边缘那些半成品状态的树木。如果你是自然地停止工作，绝不会在没有完成填充的情况下就那样停下来。”

她的努力得到了回报，获得了两张大英博物馆展览的免费门票，她将带着儿子一起前往。“如果没有他，我永远无法抽出时间来完成它，”她说。

汉森希望在明年秋天完成她的这项巨型任务，然后将其拍卖。VT

约翰·希利，

文学

建制派

他1988年关于流浪和酗酒的回忆录《草地竞技场》（The Grass Arena）曾在一瞬间受到赞誉，随后又在瞬间被销毁。近40年后，现年83岁的约翰·希利（John Healy）正准备澄清事实。他与肖恩·奥哈根（Sean O'Hagan）探讨了关于监狱、出版以及他作为冠军棋手的那些年。

试图抹除

我在北伦敦肯特什镇（Kentish Town）地铁站入口处见到了约翰·希利（John Healy），这里靠近他所谓的卡姆登镇（Camden Town）和尤斯顿（Euston）的“旧地盘”。在他广受赞誉、于1988年首次出版的回忆录《草地竞技场》（The Grass Arena）中，希利毫不避讳地详细描述了他在那里度过的15年漂泊生活：无家可归，在公园和废弃房屋中露宿，执拗地酗酒直到意识模糊，直到他在因流浪罪服刑期间找到了一种救赎。

“我把它称作《草地竞技场》，是因为在那些酒鬼聚集的公园里，你绝不能表现出任何弱点，”当我们在一间附近的咖啡馆坐下时，他告诉我，“那里充斥着随意的暴力，很多时候纯粹是为了好玩，即使是那些性格并不暴力的人，为了生存也必须变得那样。”

希利现年83岁，穿着一件褪色的牛仔裤和一件衬托出他苍白肤色的洁白衬衫，虽然身体虚弱，但精神敏锐，表达清晰。在户外，他戴着墨镜以保护受损的眼睛免受阳光直射。由于2012年进行了一次喉癌手术，他的声音现在变成了沙哑的低语。“我到了那个倒霉的年纪，”他提到自己的年龄时说道，“我最害怕的是意识的丧失。一旦那样发生，你每天都在死去。”

不时地，他的谈吐与他的散文相呼应，他以一种随意的、实事求是的语气讲述自己经历过的暴力与堕落。当我提到国王十字车站（King's Cross station）周围曾经肮脏的街道近期经历了绅士化时，他摇了摇头，笑了。

“在我流浪街头的时候，国王十字车站是禁区，因为那里属于苏格兰人。那里极其粗鲁——有一个复活节，他们用两块大木头把一个人钉在了那里。我不知道那是为了什么。”

自出版以来的这些年里，《草地竞技场》在2008年被列入企鹅现代经典（Penguin Modern Classic），在追随者心中已获得了一种近乎神话的地位。其中包括演员丹尼尔·戴-刘易斯（Daniel Day-Lewis），他称赞希利是“讲故事的大师……一个轻快愉悦的导游，一个来自地狱的信使”。更近地，在2017年，Fat White Family乐队的主唱利亚斯·萨乌迪（Lias Saoudi）在为《观察家报》选择文化亮点时选中了希利的书，将其描述为“去掉了浪漫主义的让·热内（Jean Genet）”。

希利在20多岁后期戒酒并找回某种常态后，花了一年时间撰写并修改这本书。他是如何形成那种精简但描述极其冷峻的散文风格的？

“我写作是为了解释一个此前从未被描述过的世界。之前有一些关于流浪汉和酒鬼的优秀书籍，但它们往往倾向于通过浪漫化来掩盖堕落。而我想以一种令人反感但仍能吸引读者继续阅读的方式来描述堕落。这就是为什么我总是用现在时写作。我想要被描述之物的即时感。”

现在，在《草地竞技场》问世近40年后，

约翰·希利 拍摄于 北伦敦 肯特什镇 1992年3月 摄影：利奥·里根（Leo Regan）

在多次尝试联系法伯出版社（Faber）当时的总监马修·埃文斯（Matthew Evans）未果后，希利（Healy）的挫败感转变成了愤怒。“我感到一种可怕的狂怒，”他写道。这种情绪在一次电话通话中达到了顶峰，他告诉一名法伯出版社的女员工——他坚持说这是在开玩笑——他想去布鲁姆斯伯里（Bloomsbury）的出版社办公室，“用斧头砍掉他们的脑袋”。

法伯出版社的反应极其迅速：警察被派到了他的家门口，用他的话来说，就好像“我是一个刚从街上走进来，用斧头威胁总监及其高级编辑的破坏者”一样。

在出版不到三年后，他的回忆录——该书曾于1989年获得阿克利自传奖（Ackerley prize），且当时正被改编成一部由年轻的马克·赖兰斯（Mark Rylance）主演的备受赞誉的BBC剧集——从英国书店的货架上消失了。

法伯出版社的这次事件被媒体幸灾乐祸地报道。希利突然发现自己成了文学界不受欢迎的人。“前一周还是天才，”他后来说道，“突然之间我就成了精神病患者。”他的流放状态一直持续到2008年，直到企鹅现代经典系列（Penguin Modern Classic）出版了《草地竞技场》（The Grass Arena），但他的名誉从未真正得到修复。

现在他对此怎么看？

他摇了摇头，似乎仍然感到困惑。“我的意思是，拜托，我怎么可能真的出去买把斧头！”他笑着说，“委婉地说，他们的反应过度了。他们可能认为，这家伙是个社会底层，他实际上是在侮辱我们。但从我的角度来看，是法伯出版社制造了问题。他们

这里有疯狂的人物， 也有精神病患者，但他们 都为酒精而活，如果你 试图夺走它，他们会反击 没有像宣传其他作者那样宣传我的书。”

他认为他们当时真的害怕他吗？

“也许吧，是的。而且在某种程度上，我也害怕他们——害怕他们的教育背景和特权感。”

在随后一篇关于希利的人物报道中，已故的德博拉·奥尔（Deborah Orr）在《卫报》上对法伯出版社的反应进行了严厉批评。“约翰被文学界排斥，”她总结道，“完全是因为阶级问题。”爱尔兰电影制作人保罗·杜安（Paul Duane）也持有相同观点，他在2011年拍摄了《野蛮的天才》（Barbaric Genius），这是一部关于希利的启发性纪录片，探讨了他被放逐后的长期影响，并包含了与前员工之间令人心碎且具有揭露性的采访。

“与约翰的合作从根本上改变了我对英国阶级制度的理解，”杜安在从都柏林打来的电话中告诉我。“约翰可能很难相处，有点尖锐，但我发现一家受人尊敬的出版社竟然能将一名工人阶级作者备受赞誉的回忆录停止发行，并销毁所有剩余副本，这简直令人难以置信。实际上，他们禁声了一位来自不同背景、拥有不同声音的天才作家。”

我问希利，这次放逐是否打击了他的自信心。“嗯，”他说，“我从未觉得自己是个冒牌货，但我确实觉得自己更像个局外人了。”

正如他的两部回忆录所证明的那样，这种疏离感从很小的时候起就成了希利生活的核心。《草地竞技场》以一个看似随意地句子开篇：“我的父亲看起来不像会伤害任何人。”简短但引人入胜的第一章，是对一个被随机、爆发性暴力所扭曲的童年的浓缩。

在描写父亲时，他写道：“当他发脾气时，他的眼睛似乎在头颅中向后翻，变成一种

暗淡、浑浊的颜色，然后他会用拳头或脚猛烈攻击。直到我流血，或者我母亲介入我们之间，他才肯停止……”

希利从未与已故的父亲达成和解，但对他似乎格外宽容。“我的父母是爱尔兰移民，尤其是我的父亲，他基本上是他自身经历的产物，”他告诉我。

“他是家里的第四个儿子：老大继承了土地；老二成了牧师；老三成了船长。我父亲是最后一个，因为他没受过教育，只能从事修路的工作。那是种艰苦的谋生方式，而且他承受了当时爱尔兰人所遭受的所有种族主义。”

他沉默了片刻，仿佛陷入了沉思。“你必须清除脑海中的一些东西，”他最终说道，“但那确实很艰难。我经常在想为什么只有我这样。我的弟弟在成长过程中从未受到过那种对待。他是个不同物种的人——非常随和，从不担心任何事。他过着不错的生活。”

希利在 16 岁时开始喝酒，他本就困苦的生活迅速变得极度混乱，并陷入执拗的自我毁灭之中。他不止一次在重要的拳击比赛中醉酒出现，毁掉了在拳击场上大有可为的职业生涯。在逃离家庭后，他过上了流浪生活，通过偷窃来维持饮酒，并与任何冒犯他的人打架。“我从不主动找麻烦，但我能应付，”他说，“我知道怎么出拳，更重要的是，我知道怎么击中目标。那些大块头会被打得踉踉跄跄，然后直接瘫倒。”

在绝望中，他加入了皇家燧发枪团（Royal Fusiliers），但在塞浦路斯参加演习一段时间后，他选择逃兵，逃往他在爱尔兰的一位叔叔的农场，那里是他小时候度过许多个夏天的地方。他醉酒后的胡作非为耗尽了爱尔兰亲戚们的耐心，于是他被送往都柏林，并被给了回英国的船票。不久后，在一次探望母亲期间，他被宪兵逮捕，被拘留了几周，随后被开除军籍。刚进入 20 岁，他就一头扎进了无家可归的酗酒者的流浪生活。

“起初，我试图保持干净，睡在只有光秃秃的木板和冷水的空房子里，”他告诉我，“一段时间后，我意识到我必须开始做一些更危险的事情才能弄到酒喝。这就是我最终进入‘草地竞技场’（The Grass Arena）的原因。他们所有人最终都是那样进去的。”

阅读《草地竞技场》时，很难相信他在那里生存了 12 年，因为他对生存的日常艰辛和自我毁灭的描述如此露骨。在一段近乎幻觉般的散文中，他描述了自己在公园近距离目击的一起谋杀案：一个疯狂的酒鬼用碎玻璃瓶致命地刺伤了另一个人。“哦，至少发生过一次，”他说，“但你不能把所有事情都写出来。那是我的选择示例，而且非常残暴。”

他再次停顿，仿佛陷入了回忆。“那时候，如果你在街头，就像是在一个平行宇宙。那里有疯子，也有精神病患者，但事实是，在那里的每个人都为了喝酒而活，如果你试图抢走他们的酒，他们就会打你。”

考虑到这一切，希利在 30 岁时选择戒酒是突然且幸运的。由于流浪罪被投入监狱，他发现自己与一名来自布赖顿、绰号“狐狸哈里”的资深入室窃贼共用一个牢房。哈里对希利在街头漫无目的的生活感到震惊，于是开始教他国际象棋的基础知识，棋子是用纸折成的，棋盘则画在监狱的长凳上。希利以一种重生者的狂热投入到这项游戏中。“我吃[国际象棋]，喝它，梦见它，”他在《草地竞技场》中写道，“它取代了我脑海中的一切。”

他对这门游戏的天赋极高，以至于在出狱后，他在竞技国际象棋界成了某种名人，经常一次面对多达 30 个对手，有时还进行盲棋比赛，一度还与记者多米尼克·劳森（Dominic Lawson）展开对决。（他们的对局以平局告终。“他很出色，”希利告诉我，“有策略，而且非常谦逊。”）

随后，在赢得了 10 场重大赛事后，希利放弃了竞技国际象棋，就像他放弃酒精那样突然。“我接触它太晚了，”他告诉我，“年轻人三岁就开始学习，并由特级大师指导：而我学习第一步棋时已经 30 岁了。”

特级大师；我学习第一步棋时已经 30 岁了。”他现在还下棋吗？

希利与一名朋友下棋。 courtesy of John Healy

“不多了。可能每隔几个月会有人来和我下盘棋，仅此而已。我现在过着孤独的生活，非常安静。我不怎么见过去的人，因为他们都死了。”

死者在《玻璃笼》（The Glass Cage）的篇页中出没，像来自他另一段生活的幽灵，遥远却无法逃避。他照顾临终的母亲，在哈里·狐狸（Harry the Fox）去世前去探望他，并且不时与像“蘸取者”（the Dipper）这样的角色擦肩而过，

后者是一个出色的扒手，希利曾与他在“草地竞技场”一起喝酒。“有时在黑暗的夜晚，我听到他们用可怜的哭声在坟场呼唤我，”他这样写道关于他的旧相识，“那是从酗酒深渊中传出的绝望之声。”

我问他，写作是否最终让他们得以安息？

他长久地沉默了一会儿。“嗯，你无法忘记，但你会继续前行。从作家的角度来看，我想听他们的故事。除此之外，他们对我没有任何吸引力。你改变了，就将那段生活抛在脑后。”

《玻璃笼》还丰富地展现了另一段截然不同的、被抛在脑后的生活：他从戒酒到短暂成名的旅程。整本书具有流浪汉小说的特质，一次次出人意料的邂逅接踵而至——在服刑期满后，他先后担任过医学院的搬运工、汉普斯特德荒野（Hampstead Heath）的除草工，以及一对从事疗愈按摩夫妇的园丁。他结识了一位名叫克里斯汀（Christine）的女性，她教授瑜伽和冥想，在她的指导下，他开始追求超脱。

书中还散布着关于他与几位心怀好意的年轻女性纠葛的生动描述：她们全部美丽，全部出身中产，且全部转瞬即逝。当《草地竞技场》（The Grass Arena）在 1989 年获得阿克利奖（Ackerley prize）时，他必须在两个女友艾玛（Emma）和阿德莱德（Adelaide）之间选择邀请谁参加颁奖典礼。“比起艾玛的曲线，我更被阿德莱德细微的温柔所吸引，”他写道，“但曲线最终胜出了。”当我提到她们的名字时，他笑了。“她们的照片在书的末尾，”他告诉我，“这样人们就能看到她们的美丽。”

他最重要——也最麻烦的——关系是与已故的女性主义摄影师乔·斯彭斯（Jo Spence），她是第一个阅读《草地竞技场》手稿的人。“乔是个惊人的天才，现在她已成为一个偶像，”他说，“她给了我很大帮助。”

在他的叙述中，斯彭斯秘密地迷恋他，并对他没有同样强烈的情感而感到恼怒。他说她曾毁掉了一张电脑磁盘，上面存着他请她阅读的一部已完稿小说的唯一副本。

“乔把我们看作一对情侣，但我对此比较随意，”他说，“在她看来，我对她有点不忠。她非常不喜欢我与中产阶级女性交往。对她来说，那是禁忌。而对我来说，她们身上有一种令人恐惧的神秘感。”

当斯彭斯在1992年死于癌症时，希利陷入了漫长的抑郁期。“我无法强迫自己写作，”他在书中回忆道，“我坐了几天，几个月，几十年，听着岁月流逝，盯着墙壁……逃离这种状态、逃离彻底被抹除的唯一方法，就是通过写作走出困境。”

从本质上讲，这就是他所做的一切，尽管付出了巨大的个人代价。在晚年，希利依然是一个流亡者和一个局外人，尽管他现在说话轻柔，且拥有禅宗般的平静。在《玻璃笼》（The Glass Cage）的结尾处，他写道：“独自在这个小房间里，带着自从他们用刀割开我的喉咙后留下的沙哑、破碎的声音，我试图计算出我走过的距离。而抵达的地方并不总是更友好的国度，因为那里所使用的语言之真实含义，总让人感到一丝不安。”

这段文字似乎触及了希利作为一名作家的局外人生活的核心：他单纯地没有——或者说无法——融入一个虽然认可他在纸上的卓越才华，却在现实中排斥他的文化环境。面对这一切，那种紧凑且具描述性的文字依然存在：残酷地真实，且就像它所记录的生活一样，其极端程度令人难以置信。

约翰·希利（John Healy）的《玻璃笼》（The Glass Cage）由 Wilton Square Books 出版（售价 £16.99）。在 observershop.co.uk 购买可享受 10% 折扣。在线订单满 £25 免英国标准邮费。

多莉·帕顿：“在她的光芒笼罩下，每个人都感到愉悦”

这位田纳西州的超级巨星始终在捍卫他人的权利，正如她捍卫自己的权利一样。埃里卡·瓦格纳（Erica Wagner）写道，她拒绝在价值观上妥协，这是她留给我们最重要的教训。在对面，弗兰克·科特雷尔-博伊斯（Frank Cottrell-Boyce）和基蒂·帝国（Kitty Empire）赞美了她慷慨的才华。

“做你自己，”多莉对我说道，“你不需要像任何人一样。”这是几年前的事了；当时我们正在电话里讨论《缝隙背后：我的水钻人生》（Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones），这是一本庆祝她那些非凡服装档案的书。如今，当你远程采访人们时，Zoom 几乎成了标准配置；然而，多莉更喜欢用电话。她是否告诉我，这是因为在电话里她不需要精心打扮，不需要成为那个全世界都知道、全世界都喜爱的“可见的多莉”？也许她说过；或者也许是我想象的，因为谁不想哪怕只有一瞬间，也能进入多莉那闪耀的存在之中呢？

她的声音熟悉、温暖且亲切。她告诉我的没有什么秘密，甚至没有什么特别令人惊讶的地方。然而——该如何表达这一点？——她确实是在与我交谈。“我的意思是，有多少人能在杂志上看起来像超级名模？重要的是穿你觉得舒服的衣服，穿你喜欢的、让你快乐的、让你感觉良好的衣服，因为如果你对自己感觉良好，周围的每个人也会感到愉悦。”

她是正确的，就像她在大多数事情上一样：每个人在多莉身边时都会感到愉悦——而当我使用“身边”这个词时，我是用它最广泛、最像天体运行的含义。听她的音乐，看她的电影，仅仅是想到她，或许还会好奇：我怎样才能更像多莉一点？如果你让自己进入她的轨道，你会感到愉悦。

她于 1946 年出生在田纳西州大烟山地区极度贫困的家庭中；接生她的医生是用玉米面支付报酬的。她常说，她成长过程中居住的那栋两居室小木屋拥有“流动水，只要你愿意跑去接水”。她在 1959 年 13, 岁时首次录音。正如古典学者、《朝圣多莉伍德：田纳西乡村公路之旅》（Pilgrimage to Dollywood: A Country Road Trip Through Tennessee）的作者海伦·莫拉莱斯（Helen Morales）所观察到的，她的词曲创作勾勒出了 20 世纪下半叶女性生活的轨迹：从压抑到愤怒，再到解放。如今，随着全球范围内的女性自由再次受到限制，我们比以往任何时候都更需要多莉。

她捍卫他人的权利，是因为她始终捍卫自己的权利。她的伟大偶像埃尔维斯·普雷斯利（Elvis Presley）曾想录制《我将永远爱你》（I Will Always Love You）；多莉对此感到激动且受宠若惊——直到他的经纪人汤姆·帕克上校（Colonel Tom Parker）告诉她，他将拿走一半的出版权。在那之后，交易取消了。但多莉对自己的信念最终得到了回报，在惠特尼·休斯顿（Whitney Houston）在电影《保镖》中演绎的著名版本之后：“当惠特尼的版本问世时，我赚到了足够的钱可以买下格雷斯兰庄园，”多莉开玩笑说。但她没有买格雷斯兰。相反，她将从休斯顿翻唱曲中获得的版税投资到了纳什维尔的黑人社区，在一个主要是黑人居住的街区买下了一座办公综合体——这是一个聪明的商业决定，同时也改善了一个社区的命运。“我就是喜欢我把那笔钱花在综合体上的事实。”我想：在这个艺术家作品被挖掘成毫无价值的“内容”的世纪，我们应当记住多莉天赋中绝对的人文关怀。正如弗兰克·科特雷尔-博伊斯在对面所写，她的“想象力图书馆”（Imagination Library）向全世界的孩子们提供了数以亿计的书籍。

无论如何强调她的善行之广与之深都不为过：她为 LGBTQ+ 群体发声，支持公共卫生——在今年早些时候的一笔匿名捐款后，东田纳西儿童医院宣布将更名为多莉·帕顿儿童医院，而且不要忘记她捐赠的 100万美元 用于资助 Moderna 新冠疫苗的研究——她支持家乡田纳西州以及远在海外的人们。而且，她的音乐中也蕴含着疗愈的力量。

我从未真正认为有天堂——但即便如此，我坚信——我是真的相信——多莉就在那里

多莉的财富并非来自继承的家产或企业的剥削，而是源于她天生的才华和惊人的勤奋（有人说她每晚只睡大约三小时）。她说，才华在她的内心“燃烧”，她被这种力量驱动，但同时，她也始终致力于提升周围的人。在21世纪

她曾说：“那是惠特尼建造的房子。”在悼念她的人之中，有美国音乐家联合会（AFM）当地分会的会长戴夫·波梅罗伊，多莉在整个职业生涯中都是该工会的成员。他说：“她作为一名令人自豪的合格会员加入了58年。”他补充道，在这段时间里，“她在支持其乐队和同行音乐家方面树立了金标准。多莉和她的团队在演出、录音和巡演时始终提交AFM工会合同，确保与她一起工作的乐队、歌手和录音室音乐家能够获得工会会员的福利。”

我曾问多莉，对于现在刚起步的年轻艺术家，她会给出什么建议；当时，我的儿子正考虑是否要以音乐家的身份在世界上闯出一片天，所以我真的很想知道。同样，我知道这并非多莉第一次被问到这个问题，但她的回答深思熟虑且真实。“我只想说，如果你真的有才华并且相信自己，而且这就是你的梦想，那么你必须坚持下去，必须愿意做出牺牲，必须知道要走多远。你永远不要牺牲你的原则和价值观，但你必须尽早决定，这次旅程、这段人生经历是否值得。”

“很多时候，你可以从事另一份事业，同时把音乐作为业余爱好，但如果你是极其严肃地想将其作为你的生活方式，那么你就必须系好安全带，埋头苦干，认真对待，竭尽全力，并在这匹马上骑到它能走的最远地方。”

这是极好的建议，是最顶级的建议：这就是为什么我在这里分享它。

我从未真正认为有天堂——不，真的没有。但即便如此，我坚信——我是真的相信——多莉就在那里，因为她想去，并且她用她那颗伟大的心深信不疑。她相伴近60年的挚爱丈夫卡尔在去年3月去世，享年82岁，他一直不太喜欢出风头，现在他正与所有在她之前离世的伟大人物一起等待着她。这怎么可能不是真的呢？

多莉·帕顿在田纳西州纳什维尔，2014年8月。 David McClister / Redux / eyevine

“她拥有真正的坚毅与机智。她会将此称之为优雅”

当多莉·帕顿（Dolly Parton）去世时，我正从度假地返回。我打开手机，看到一系列短信请求我在电台里谈谈她。为什么人们会要求一名儿童文学作家去评价一个音乐现象级人物——她同时还是电影明星、同性恋偶像以及一名极其成功的女企业家？

因为她还创办了一家慈善机构，免费向从出生到五岁的儿童分发书籍。多莉·帕顿的“想象力图书馆”（Imagination Library）可能是自安德鲁·卡内基（Andrew Carnegie）创办图书馆以来，对识字率贡献最大的慈善项目。她在 30 多年前于家乡田纳西州塞维尔县（Sevier County）启动了该项目。去年 11 月，该项目分发出了第 3 亿本书。

几个圣诞节前，我有幸就此事采访了她，那次经历令我心潮澎湃。这个计划从未被当作一个宏大的、自上而下的项目来推行。地域的重要性，以及来自某个地方的归属感，是她的艺术和生活的关键。在谈到“想象力图书馆”时——其资金来源包括每块售价 35 美元的多莉·帕顿纪念车牌——她经常提到她的父亲。她说，父亲在她小时候几乎不识字，但他对这个项目的自豪感超过了其他任何事情。

讣告将她描述为分裂时代最后一位伟大的统一人物——但这不仅仅是因为她阳光的个性或出色的曲调。观看芭芭拉·沃尔特斯（Barbara Walters）在 1977 年对她的那次尖锐采访，你就会看到她如何利用机智——她是一位出色的喜剧演员——来化解矛盾，在忠于内心“山区穷人”本色与成为一名强大艺术家的身份之间达成平衡。真正的坚毅与真正的机智。她会将这种结合称之为优雅。

如果你曾看过她的现场演出，你会记得她在演出中某个时刻会停下来向大家“布道”。优雅就是她布道的内容；这也是她始终践行的神学基石，她用它来解释自己的天赋，并以此承担随之而来的重担。

如果你想理解她的艳丽，可以看看另一位伟大的、艳丽的南方艺术家弗兰纳里·奥康纳（Flannery O'Connor），她曾说：“当你可以假设你的观众持有与你相同的信仰时，你可以放松……但当你必须假设他们不持有相同信仰时，你就必须通过冲击力来使你的愿景变得清晰——对于耳聋的人，你要大声喊叫；对于近乎失明的人，你要画出巨大且惊人的形象。”

是否曾有比多莉·帕顿更巨大、更惊人的形象？——弗兰克·科特雷尔-博伊斯（Frank Cottrell-Boyce）

一位才华横溢、充满魅力与智慧的“山区芭比”

多莉·帕顿（Dolly Parton）从一开始就是一位坦率的艺术家。“不要因为我是金发就认为我愚蠢，因为这个金发傻瓜可不是谁都能糊弄的，”她在 1967 年的第一首成功单曲中这样唱道——这首歌并非帕顿亲笔创作，但却成为了她展现机智的跳板。帕顿后来打趣说，她知道自己既不愚蠢，也不是真正的金发；她自封为“山区芭比”（Backwoods Barbie），凭直觉意识到品牌塑造是音乐的一部分，且魅力并不排斥智慧。在乡村演艺圈所有女性化装扮的掩盖下，潜藏着一位意志坚强、精明的商业女性，一位天赋异禀的多乐器演奏者（她能演奏班卓琴、小提琴和萨克斯风），以及一位充满热情的艺术家。

帕顿自身经历的贫困、艰苦奋斗、心碎与生存，以及被欺骗后最终胜出的经历，构成了她长达七十年创作生涯的基础。乡村音乐由关于卑微出身、勤奋工作和失去的精妙故事驱动，而帕顿的最伟大作品正是深挖这些共鸣之井。她的早期歌曲《多彩外套》（Coat of Many Colours）散发出一种自豪感，讲述她的母亲用碎布拼凑出一件外套的故事。1974, 年的热门歌曲《肯塔基赌徒》（Kentucky Gambler）是一个简洁的寓言，讲述一名矿工抛弃家人，挥霍掉仅有的财产，其地理细节并不妨碍其普适性：“当你爱上绿色的美钞，悲伤注定随之而来，”帕顿写道，她同情这个男人的野心，但更同情被留在身后的妻子和孩子。

她 1978 年的乡村放克热门歌曲《隔两扇门》（Two Doors Down）——讲述擦干眼泪并寻找走廊尽头的派对——启发了简·方达（Jane Fonda）邀请帕顿出演电影 9 to 5. On set, Parton heard her acyclic fingernails as a typist's percussion, spawning the film's runaway hit, which, if you listen closely, shares DNA with Two Doors Down. 帕顿从未认同自己是女权主义者——围绕挥舞标语的阶级论述往往与农村劳动女性的实际情况不符——但她的作品强烈地以女性经验为中心。通过 9 to 5, 农村地区女性劳动力不被感激的现实被转化为城市语境，将帕顿的粉丝群扩展到了更广泛的受众，从闪耀的水钻延伸到了玻璃天花板的阴影。 基蒂·帝国（Kitty Empire）

社交达人

约翰·诺顿（John Naughton）

在摄取、交叉引用和分析异构数据源方面。第三，它们不知疲倦，正如 Hugging Face 团队在对该初创公司服务器被 OpenAI 的违规 AI 代理黑客攻击的事后分析中所观察到的那样。

AI 监控正将权力移交给窥视者

2013年，爱德华·斯诺登向震惊的世界揭露了美国大规模监控的范围和规模。他表明，国家安全局（NSA）正在收集其能够获取的一切，甚至包括德国总理安格拉·默克尔的电话通话记录。但尽管该机构能够像其时任局长基思·亚历山大所说的那样“全部收集”，但它却淹没在自己吸入的数据洪流之中。它发现很难将所有这些数据转化为有效信息，其触角虽广但掌控力不足。

在某种程度上，这种能力缺陷反而令人安心。但那是2013年的事，相当于91个“互联网年”之前。现在，NSA以及全球其他所有类似的机构似乎已经拥有了必要的能力。他们将其称为 AI，尽管它大多是像 Claude、Gemini、DeepSeek 或 GPT-5 这样的大语言模型。

这些机器在执行此类工作时具备几项关键能力。首先，它们的工作速度极快。一个典型的例子是扫描视网膜图像以寻找需要人工检查的病例。AI 处理每张图像的时间在 240 毫秒到 45 秒之间，而人类分级员审查一个完整的筛查病例可能需要花费多达 20 分钟。考虑到英国国家医疗服务体系（NHS）每年需要扫描 1200 万 张图像，你可以明白为什么使用这项技术是有意义的。其次，AI 擅长

关于全知全能的监控国家的反乌托邦恐惧已存在了无数岁月。但这次，曾参与报道斯诺登故事的英国著名记者詹姆斯·鲍尔（James Ball）写道，有一个关键的区别。他观察到：“实现这一目标的所有技术都已经存在，并且已经在广泛使用。”

鲍尔与现任和前任执法人员、多个国家的前情报特工、大型 AI 公司内部人士，以及学术界和公民社会人士进行了交流。他表示，在这些对话中，一个明确的信息浮现出来：“由于 AI，科幻小说花费数十年警告我们的监控反乌托邦已经到来。我们只是还没有注意到而已。”

不过在英国，看来一些机构一直在关注此事。例如，伦敦警察厅最近将来自 35 个来源的数据输入到由（不出所料！）Palantir 提供的 AI 系统中，以监控

我在读什么

约翰·诺顿（John Naughton）的推荐

毁灭前夜 即便是一场广岛规模的 AI 灾难，是否足以让人类开始自我保护？蒂莫西·加顿·艾什（Timothy Garton Ash）在《卫报》的一篇评论文章中担心答案是否定的。

书海拾贝 《如何阅读小说》（How to Read a Novel）是史蒂文·约翰逊（Steven Johnson）在 Substack 上发表的一篇优雅的随笔，探讨了阅读虚构文学对我们的意义。

阴谋之网 皮尤研究中心（Pew Research Center）的一项迷人研究名为《互联网中有多少内容是由 AI 编写的？》（How Much of the Internet Is Written With AI?）。

警员和工作人员的纪律违规或犯罪行为。结果是“对数百名警员展开调查，涉及的问题包括违反居家办公规定，以及少数被标记为涉嫌性犯罪等不当行为和犯罪行为的人员”。

这种深度的监视曾经是独裁者的白日之梦。而现在，他们可以直接在货架上买到。那么，自由民主国家将如何应对——或者利用——这种技术？预计会出现惯常的技术官僚式辩解：效率、降低犯罪率、公共部门的性价比等等。当然，还包括化解对公共秩序的威胁，例如针对那些现在被定义为“关键国家基础设施”的巨型数据中心的抗议活动。

如果这确实是我们正在走的路，那么弗朗西斯·福山（Francis Fukuyama）可能会露出苦笑。这位智者曾认为，在苏联崩溃后，自由民主国家将专注于“走向丹麦”——这是对一个稳定、繁荣且高信任社会的简写。他可能会意识到其中的讽刺：选择 AI 驱动监视的民主国家，实际上是在专注于“走向中国”，因为所有这些技术在那里已经投入运行。

曼彻斯特文学节 9 – 25 October 2026

文化

罗素·T·戴维斯（Russell T Davies）与伯纳丁·埃瓦里斯托（Bernardine Evaristo）、德博拉·弗朗西斯-怀特（Deborah Frances-White）、莎拉·霍尔（Sarah Hall）、保罗·梅森（Paul Mason）、帕特里克·拉登·基夫（Patrick Radden Keefe）、玛丽娜·海德（Marina Hyde）、弗兰克·科特雷尔-博伊斯（Frank Cottrell-Boyce）、欧文·琼斯（Owen Jones）、休·博内维尔（Hugh Bonneville）、娜塔莎·沃尔特（Natasha Walter）、海尔女士（Lady Hale）与拉拉·费格尔（Lara Feigel）、戴夫·哈斯兰（Dave Haslam）及特邀嘉宾

小说

玛吉·奥法雷尔（Maggie O'Farrell）、凯特·阿特金森（Kate Atkinson）、扬·马特尔（Yann Martel）、苏菲安·萨拉姆（Sufiyaan Salam）、威利·弗劳廷（Willy Vlautin）、M·约翰·哈里森（M. John Harrison）、李珉金（Min Jin Lee）、陈伊莉莎（Eliza Chan）、路易丝·肯尼迪（Louise Kennedy）与温迪·埃尔斯金（Wendy Erskine）、艾米莉·圣约翰·曼德尔（Emily St. John Mandel）、川上未映子（Mieko Kawakami）、埃尔南·迪亚斯（Hernan Diaz）、李·查尔德（Lee Child）、埃利夫·沙法克（Elif Shafak）

诗歌

曼彻斯特多语城市诗人（Manchester Multilingual City Poets）、棕糖说唱派对（The Brown Sugar RAP Party）、伊恩·麦克米伦（Ian McMillan）、卡罗琳·福舍（Carolyn Forché）、夸梅·道斯（Kwame Dawes）、西蒙·阿米蒂奇（Simon Armitage）、凯伦·索利（Karen Solie）、伊努亚·埃拉姆斯（Inua Ellams）、杰基·凯（Jackie Kay）等

manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk

评论家

电影

建筑 罗文·摩尔（Rowan Moore）的泰晤士快船见闻，page 22

法国的执念

随着一部新传记电影在夏尔·戴高乐这一人物身上找到了一个出人意料的英雄形象，乔纳森·罗姆尼（Jonathan Romney）探讨了为何大批电影制作人正重新审视法国的战争遗产。

一个幽灵正笼罩着法国电影。那是关于第二次世界大战的记忆；关于纳粹德国对法国的占领，

关于贝当元帅的维希协作政府，以及争取解放的斗争。这些主题在法国银幕上已经持续出现了约 80 年，但在 2026 年显得尤为突出。

今年 3 月，克萨维尔·吉安诺利（Xavier Giannoli）的《光芒与阴影》（Les Rayons et les Ombres）上映，这是一部关于报业出版商让·吕谢尔（Jean Luchaire）及其电影明星女儿科琳（Corinne）的虚构肖像，两人均为协作主义者。随后在 5 月，戛纳电影节首映了四部以战争为主题的长片：《戴高乐：抵抗》（De Gaulle: Résistance），这是一部关于这位政治家及自由法国领导人的壮丽传记电影的上半部分；由《索尔之子》导演拉斯洛·内梅斯（László Nemes）执导的关于抵抗运动英雄让·穆兰（Jean Moulin）的《穆兰》（Moulin）；丹尼尔·奥图伊（Daniel Auteuil）执导的占领题材剧作《第三夜》（La Troisième Nuit / When the Night Falls）；以及埃马纽埃尔·马雷（Emmanuel Marre）执导的对一名维希官员极具讽刺意味的刻画《我们的救赎》（Notre Salut / A Man of His Time）。

其中两部在法国取得了巨大的票房成功并引发了热议。《光芒与阴影》由让·杜贾丹（Jean Dujardin）主演，评价两极分化，一方面因其对协作主义角色的心理分析而受到赞赏，另一方面则因不恰当地对他们产生共情而受到抨击。

随后，人们的目光转向了安东宁·鲍德里（Antonin Baudry）的戴高乐双部曲，其第一部分现已在英国上映。该片基于英国历史学家朱利安·杰克逊（Julian Jackson）2018 年撰写的将军传记，将戴高乐描绘成一个坚韧不拔、表面上不被信任的局外人，他决心赢得温斯顿·丘吉尔（由西蒙·罗素·比尔饰演，其表演极其辛辣精彩）领导下的英国的支持。但鲍德里也展示了英国在必要时准备抛弃其盟友，而美国最初则选择维希海军上将弗朗索瓦·达兰（François Darlan）作为其在法国的选定领导人。

在赞颂戴高乐的同时，鲍德里也揭开了传奇的面纱。西蒙·阿布卡里安（Simon Abkarian）——此前在 2009 年的《罪恶之军》（L'Armée du Crime / Army of Crime）中饰演一名抵抗战士——在片中突出了这位将军个人的

“戴高乐抵制美国人——他也会抵制特朗普。人们在试图重新找回那份遗产”

“揭开传奇的面纱”：左侧为饰演“极其辛辣”的温斯顿·丘吉尔的西蒙·罗素·比尔，以及饰演夏尔·戴高乐的西蒙·阿布卡里安。摄影：Malgosia Abramowska

僵硬与笨拙。鲍德里在一次 Zoom 通话中告诉我：“人们认为他疯了。至关重要的一点是，不能淡化他作为一个人物是多么古怪。”

鲍德里表示，戴高乐代表了“世代更新”。“他是一位年轻的将军，而他周围的人或多或少都处于边缘地位。他们反对的是那些告诉他们要理智、要向更强大者低头的老一辈。”

鲍德里的叙述与戴高乐本人的回忆录背道而驰，后者

——为了国家统一——宣传了一种所有法国人都支持他努力的神话。“事实恰恰相反。他在伦敦完全是孤身一人。最初聚集在他身边的是低级军官。丘吉尔赌他能吸引主要政治人物，但这并没有发生。这就是我想捕捉的现实——展示戴高乐是如何成为戴高乐的。”

鲍德里的这部史诗巨作不仅吸引了年轻观众，还赢得了那些原本可能将其视为保守主义作品的评论家的青睐。

影评

本周电影

阿莫多瓦的忏悔

这位西班牙导演坦诚地探讨了自我怀疑、悲伤以及一位作者与其创作生涯的挣扎，其内容并没有标题中表现出的那种苦涩

瓦妮莎·索普 (Vanessa Thorpe)

《苦涩的圣诞节》(Bitter Christmas) （111分钟，15级）导演：佩德罗·阿莫多瓦；主演：芭芭拉·伦尼、莱昂纳多·斯巴拉格利亚、米莱娜·斯米特

原色的调色盘，配以复古的多层叙事，使得佩德罗·阿莫多瓦的最新作品成为其粉丝心中一道格外令人愉悦的佳肴。这就像是一次主厨式的精简，将这位西班牙导演标志性的元素浓缩到了极致。有时，它甚至在娱乐地游走于完全的自我戏仿边缘。这次呈现在餐桌上的有：升华的情感、自我发现、自我怀疑以及个人损失，而这一切都设定在时尚厨房的雅致公寓，以及加那利群岛别墅那奢华的景观花园背景之中。

不过，电影的标题具有误导性。是的，基调有时是“苦涩”的，但仅在它试图诚实面对贯穿于人际互动中的复杂动机这一意义上。而且，是的，它具有“圣诞气息”，但仅限于在角色们前往阳光地带共度假期之前，分发了一些季节性礼物。叙事真正的风味是

甜蜜的忧郁，毫无苦涩或辛辣之感，而这一切典型地源于一位作者在处理其创作生活，以及应对个人关系与其激发的艺术呈现之间模糊界限时的挣扎。

与阿莫多瓦那部大师级且同样俏皮的《平行母亲》，或是令人印象深刻的《疼痛与荣耀》（由安东尼奥·班德拉斯饰演一名作为阿莫多瓦化身的电影导演）相比，本片的剧本以更坚定的信念挖掘了自传体小说的矿脉。现在，这个角色落到了莱昂纳多·斯巴拉格利亚身上，他饰演的劳尔是一名电影制作人，不可避免地正在为一部电影自传编写剧本；这部电影就叫《苦涩的圣诞节》。

劳尔在打字机上构建的这个情节围绕着艾尔莎（芭芭拉·伦尼）以及她与一名年轻男子的关系展开。这名男子名叫博尼法西奥（帕特里克·克里亚多），身份是消防员兼脱衣舞男兼模特；艾尔莎在观看他的表演后，聘请他拍摄一组性感的广告，随后两人陷入了浪漫的情感纠葛。在电影的开篇场景中，艾尔莎深受神秘偏头痛的困扰，她意识到自己对博尼法西奥的情感是不确定的，因此开始将注意力转向她与娜塔莉亚的亲密友谊，后者在幼子近期去世后陷入了深深的悲痛之中。

艾尔莎还与她的姐姐重新取得了联系，由极具魅力的维多利亚·卢恩戈饰演，这是一个难以捉摸的人物。这位西班牙演员很快将在英国的《挚爱》(The Beloved) 中亮相。在这部由罗德里戈·索罗戈延执导、将于今年秋季由 Curzon 发行的引人入胜的电影中，哈维尔·巴登饰演卢恩戈那位好为人师的电影导演父亲，试图在兰萨罗特岛的熔岩流实地拍摄期间

进行弥补。这不禁让人好奇，为什么现在的西班牙有这么多导演在自己的电影中批判自己的专制习惯？而且这种对火山取景地的新兴趣又是怎么回事？大概是目前有某种税务优惠协议吧。

“机智且敏感”：芭芭拉·伦尼饰演艾尔莎，米莱娜·斯米特饰演娜塔莉亚。《苦涩的圣诞节》

随着阿莫多瓦的元叙事开始从电影虚构回归到劳尔的现实生活中，我们很快就能理解他对失去得力助手莫妮卡（艾塔娜·桑切斯-吉洪）的恐惧，并窥见他对与英俊伴侣桑蒂之间权力平衡的疑虑。

这部生动的情节剧的法语片名《Autofiction》（自传体小说）似乎相当直白。乍一看，虚构与现实之间的紧张关系确实似乎是核心主题，因为阿尔莫多瓦在探讨一位自命不凡的创意天才所感到的不安——这位天才意识到自己的故事反映的是他个人的片面投射，并且可能会伤害他人。然而事实上，这些主题最终稳固地围绕在其他更广泛的问题上。首先，它们沉淀为对深切悲痛这一普世体验的温柔体察；随后，就像在《平行母亲》中一样，它们汇聚成一份迟到且带有愧疚感的致敬，献给所有那些在阿尔莫多瓦看来，承担了大量照顾工作并为艺术家的生活提供便利，却从未真正站在聚光灯下的年长女性。

这是一次机智且敏感的自我反省（mea culpa），没有留下任何苦涩的余味。不要把它留到圣诞节才看。

温迪·艾德（Wendy Ide）休假中

好莱坞式的历史课。流行文化杂志《Les Inrockuptibles》在对第一章给出差评后，对 6 月在法国上映的第二部分态度发生了 180 度大转弯，将其赞誉为一次“坚决的反法西斯”号召。

作为法国总统，戴高乐在 1968 年的年轻激进分子眼中成了建制派父权制的化身。法国电影史学家吉内特·温森多（Ginette Vincendeau）教授解释说，现在他正被重新定义为一个维护国家政治和文化自主的人物。她说，他的时代“是法国最后一次作为一个强大且独立的国家存在。他抵制美国人——他也会抵制特朗普。人们有一种试图找回那份遗产的感觉。”

与鲍德里（Baudry）的双联画形成鲜明对比的是，马雷（Marre）那部风格化且低预算的《一个时代的人》（A Man of His Time）通过讲述一个投机分子如何诱骗进入维希政府的故事，展现了战争时期法国最糟糕的一面。导演将这部电影基于其曾祖父的经历，他表示：“我想拍一部关于威权体制如何让人们为其工作而无需强迫他们的电影。”

“法国存在着一种完整的幻影记忆”：埃马纽埃·马雷的《一个时代的人》；右图为吉尔·莱卢什在《穆兰》（Moulin）中饰演让·穆兰。

独裁政权不能仅靠用枪指着人们的头来运作。

“人们在放映结束后走过来跟我聊他们的曾祖父、他们的叔伯——法国存在着一种完整的幻影记忆。我的电影讲述的是那些被埋在橱柜里的家族故事。”

马雷认为，当时的法国希特勒同情者与如今的极右翼之间存在明显的平行关系，尤其是玛丽娜·勒庞（Marine Le Pen）和国民联盟党，后者威胁将成为明年法国总统大选中的有力竞争者。“当我研究档案时，我发现[维希政府]所使用的语言与今天的语言往往完全相同，这令我深感不安。”

自 20 世纪 40 年代以来，法国电影就一直在将占领与抵抗戏剧化，经典作品包括让-皮埃尔·梅尔维尔的《阴影军队》（Army of Shadows, 1969）、路易·马莱关于一名青少年协作者的《拉孔布，吕西安》（Lacombe, Lucien, 1974），以及马塞尔·奥普尔斯的纪录片《悲哀与怜悯》（The Sorrow and the Pity, 1969），后者让观众面对关于协作的苦涩真相。马雷说：“法国的学生看了这部片子，然后回家对父母说：‘你们从未告诉过我们这些。’现在几乎没有经历过战争的人留下来了，所以人们在说：‘战争的概念回来了——我们能在哪里找到帮助我们理解它的故事？’”

温森多表示，第二次世界大战的记忆“深深地植根于法国文化中，因为无论如何，它触及了全体民众。无论你的家族史或出身如何，总会有故事流传出来。”马雷所提到的“幻影记忆”远未被驱除。

《戴高乐：抵抗》（De Gaulle: Résistance）现已在英国上映。第二部分《戴高乐：自由》（De Gaulle: Liberté）将于 9 月 18 日上映。《光影》（The Rays and Shadows）和《第三个夜晚》（La Troisième Nuit）将于 11 月在伦敦法国电影节的卢米埃尔电影院（Ciné Lumière）放映。

戏剧

请给我一杯啤酒和伯里克利

一部充满冲击力的《泰尔王子》音乐剧，以及一个撅嘴的珀迪塔肖像，是这场年轻且极其有趣的艺术节的亮点之一。该艺术节旨在一家古老的酒吧剧院中，为莎士比亚作品带来颠覆。

苏珊娜·克拉普 (Susannah Clapp)

《伯里克利（大概吧）》；《珀迪塔》 伦敦 EC1，老红狮剧院 (Old Red Lion) 的莎翁节 (Shakefest)

莎翁节是卡姆登边缘艺术节 (Camden Fringe) 的“莎翁挑衅”：在八月期间，通过一系列短剧和侧面视角来审视莎士比亚。演出场地位于伦敦北部伊斯灵顿的老红狮剧院，该剧院于 1979 年作为酒吧剧院开业：凯西·伯克 (Kathy Burke) 曾在此演出，斯蒂芬·道尔德里 (Stephen Daldry) 在此导演了一场壮观的火车相撞戏，尼娜和摩西·雷恩 (Nina and Moses Raine) 在此上演了早期剧作。在莎翁节期间，这里提供了一种类似于爱丁堡边缘艺术节的体验：酒吧里的啤酒比美食多，通往剧院的台阶很陡，两旁贴满了以往热门剧目的海报（其中还包括一份“对恐怖艺术贡献”的证书）。演出风格多样，年轻，有时混乱，且往往带有尖锐的观点。上周黑板上用粉笔写着一部名为《我恨李尔王》的剧目广告。

《伯里克利（大概吧）》是一部充满冲击力的音乐剧，由 Nevermind 剧团演出。该剧团由布里斯托旧维克剧院学校 (Bristol Old Vic Theatre School) 的应届毕业生组成，此次是他们的伦敦首秀。这部剧不仅是颠覆，简直是粉碎了莎士比亚的原作，其前提是假设没有人知道这部碎片化的戏剧在讲什么——在近期该剧作为一部关于被海浪冲刷的难民故事而复兴之后，这种假设已不再那么站得住脚。

在剧情中心并不明确的剧本中，每个人都争抢中心位置：“我的名字就在标题里 / 我才是最关键的人物，”自命不凡的伯里克利大声宣布。没门。他不仅在人数上处于劣势，在歌唱上也输了——由一名舞台键盘手演奏的、节奏轻快且几乎不停歇的音乐，由一群穿着灯笼裤的女性演绎。她们先是扮演妓女，然后是海盗（增加了眼罩并发出“arrrs”的声音），最后变成了女权主义者。

所有人都赞美剧中通过歌唱和吟诵传达的理智教义：“不要用你的下半身思考，要用心思考。”海盗女王与伯里克利的未婚妻搞在了一起，而泰尔王子则致力于酿造自己的麦芽酒，并制造了当晚最冷的一个笑话：“啤酒里克利 (Beericles)”。

演出风格多样， 年轻， 有时混乱， 且往往带有尖锐的观点。 上周黑板上用粉笔 写着一部名为 《我恨李尔王》的广告。

剧本、音乐和歌词由霍莉·赫雷尔 (Hollie Hurrell)、詹姆斯·汉考克-埃文斯 (James Hancock-Evans) 和拉斐尔·索利梅诺-哈里斯 (Rafael Solimeno-Harris) 创作：当他们尽情发挥自己的搞怪天分，而不是过于明显地向《肉馅行动》(Operation Mincemeat) 眨眼示意时，效果最好。Nevermind 剧团的特别魅力在于成员们在歌曲中同步移动的方式，无论多么荒诞，都能让剧情流畅地推进。看看他们在《我们要比试》(We're Having a Joust) 中如何蹦跳，手腕上套着橡胶马头。绝无异议。

乔治三世认为莎士比亚的作品是“悲伤之物”。但他的

雷诺兹 (Reynolds) 在饰演珀迪塔时吸引了他的目光。珀迪塔是《冬天的故事》中那个据说能吸引未来国王的乡村姑娘。她的故事是索菲·托德 (Sophie Todd) 第一部剧作《珀迪塔》的基础，该剧同样在老红狮剧院上演。她的故事并不像年轻的表演团体 Classic Vagabonds 所认为的那样完全“湮没在时间中”——此前已有两部重要的传记。然而，她的成就一直被忽视，仿佛是对她曾经在舞台内外引起关注的一种反弹。

‘伯里克利在人数上 处于劣势， 在歌唱上也输给了 一群穿着灯笼裤的 女性’：安娜·麦考利 (Anna McAuley) 在 Nevermind 剧团的 《伯里克利（大概吧）》中饰演； 下方插图为索菲·托德 在她新剧中饰演珀迪塔。 菲奥娜·温宁 (Fiona Winning)

18 世纪的报刊让 21 世纪的小报显得既谦虚又简练，因为它们充斥着对这位“狡诈的女演员”及其“撅嘴的配对”、她丈夫“令人同情的闷闷不乐”以及她对竞争对手唾弃的观察。

尽管罗宾逊与未来的国王之间的私情为她带来了“珀迪塔”这个绰号——以及一份终身年金——但这段关系十分短暂，且并非唯一：她后来又与查尔斯·詹姆斯·福克斯在一起。她还写了大量的诗歌、散文，以及一篇关于精神从属之不公正的《致英格兰女性的信》。托德快节奏地讲述了罗宾逊在债务人监狱中的时光、她对法国大革命的支持、瘫痪的疾病以及丈夫的不忠：他被一名吸嗅烟的支配女（dominatrix）猛烈地抽打（“这都是婚姻的一部分”）。

饰演支配女的女演员还（请做好心理准备）饰演了罗宾逊的母亲。三名演员全部身兼多职（托德既是编剧也是主演），节奏轻快，表达清晰，

编剧兼主演），节奏轻快，表达清晰，

但对于如此狭小的空间来说，能量过于充沛：以至于没有给观众留下足够的空间，去产生剧作引导他们对罗宾逊所应有的钦佩与愤慨。尽管如此，《珀迪塔》促使我重新去查阅其原型，并让我羡慕那个剧院能引起如此多剧外波澜的时代。

罗宾逊曾有一套以她命名的装束：“一顶带有蝴蝶结且冠部围着粉色丝带的碎花帽。”她在舞台上公然与她的王子调情——并将观众席变成了与竞争对手交战的战场。她也引发了一些尖刻的批评：“非常端庄，但除了那种奇怪的、在脑子里打转的腔调，她现在把这种腔调带入了每一个角色。”我想在弄清楚那是什么意思之后，也尝试采用这种腔调。

本周艺术家

吉他宣泄

在英国巡演的首场演出中，杰克·怀特（Jack White）痛斥特朗普、马斯克以及AI洗脑——但他将最纯粹的情感留给了对多莉·帕顿（Dolly Parton）的一次激昂致敬。

基蒂·帝国（Kitty Empire）

杰克·怀特 伦敦 W6，Eventim Apollo 剧院

一切始于一个极简的舞台，伴随着一场万花筒般的即兴演奏。杰克的乐队成员全部身着黑衣，唯有他脚上那双引人注目的精灵靴格外抢眼；唯一的装饰是冰蓝色的灯光和一座巨大的希腊风格雕塑——这座雕塑就像是第五名成员，头部是一个卡通化的蓝色骷髅。这个形象是他上个月发行的最新专辑《Frozen Charlotte》中的主题，也让人想起这位音乐家今年早些时候在伦敦南部展出的艺术作品。

嘈杂的前奏、尾奏和间奏是杰克和他那顶尖的三人乐队在英国巡演首夜中，在歌曲之前、期间和之后反复回归的元素。有时，这些过渡音乐主要是反馈噪音、管风琴和弦，或是低沉的打击乐。经常会出现一些未经雕琢的吉他扫弦——就像等待从大理石中被凿出的形体。

今晚内容广泛的曲目单似乎是从这种带电的原始汤中自然生长出来，成形，然后退回并重新塑造；像是一种加速的音乐生命周期。歌曲之间无缝衔接，完全重组，然后回到原点。

如果有人好奇在多莉·帕顿去世的这一天杰克的心情如何，我们很快就得到了答案：波涛汹涌。除了变装皇后大会，在这样一个夜晚，没有什么地方比在杰克——一个帕顿超级粉丝——面前更能获得宣泄感了。

从1997年到2011年，杰克与鼓手梅格（Meg）共同组建的白条纹乐队（The Stripes）曾以一种充满情感的车库蓝调狂想方式，令人难忘地翻唱了帕顿的经典曲目《Jolene》。根据网络统计，自从梅格退出公众视野、白条纹乐队进入休整期后，杰克自2007年起就再未在现场表演过《Jolene》。今晚，他及其目前的乐队将《Jolene》揉进了白条纹乐队的旧作《Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground》之中。

杰克开始演奏一段尖锐、凄厉的独奏，最终演变为《Jolene》——被放大、戏剧化且充满本能。在一系列到演出结束时会变得熟悉的动作中，杰克用含糊的手势向乐队预告他的下一步动作，随后制造出另一道吉他噪音墙，转向他的摄像师，画十字，并指向天空。（杰克在天主教家庭长大，是10个孩子中最小的一个。）当天早些时候，他在社交媒体上发布了一张帕顿的照片，并配文“瞬间封圣”。

这段Instagram配文的简短，与他在网上痛斥对手时使用的长篇大论形成了鲜明对比。最近，杰克一直在与美国乡村歌手查理·克罗基特（Charley Crockett）互怼，起因是后者在发现哥特风格的洛杉矶嘟喔普（doo-wop）乐队 Twin Temple 对撒旦主义感兴趣后，将其从巡演

‘炽热的音高与滚动’：在多莉·帕顿去世当天，杰克在 Eventim Apollo 剧院演出。摄影：David James Swanson

支持嘉宾名单中剔除。（“今天不行，撒旦，”克罗基特评论道）。杰克则抢先邀请 Twin Temple 在九月为他在好莱坞的演出开场（“到我面前来，撒旦！”他打趣道，这是对他2005年专辑《Get Behind Me, Satan》标题的一个双关语），这导致克罗基特在网上痛斥杰克，而杰克则以一段刻薄的说唱予以回击。

这位艺术家还多次将矛头指向唐纳德·特朗普，因为2016年的特朗普竞选活动在未经许可的情况下使用了白条纹乐队的歌曲（后演变为足球助威歌）《Seven Nation Army》。（这也是本场演出的辉煌终曲。）在杰克最克制的时候，他称这位总统为“史上最糟糕的美国人”——简称 TWAAT。

今晚，怀特在舞台上快节奏的词句经常被乐队制造出的凶猛音量所掩盖。但在白条纹乐队（White Stripes）的《The Union Forever》——一首基于《公民凯恩》、讲述富有的工业巨头那毫无爱心的傲慢的曲目——中，他痛斥“AI洗脑”和埃隆·马斯克。（当然，今晚所有手机都被放在了法拉第屏蔽袋中。）

不过，今晚的大部分时间都留给了乐队那炽热的节奏与摇滚，以及从肮脏的电蓝调摇滚土壤中不断涌现的歌曲——这里有一点深紫乐队（Deep Purple）的味道，那里有一点蓝色欢呼乐队（Blue Cheer）的影子。这是一场超级混编演出，凸显了这个四人组合的默契，他们在进入录音室录制《Frozen Charlotte》之前，曾为怀特之前的专辑《No Name》（2024）进行过巡演。

尽管《Frozen Charlotte》的评价褒贬不一，但今晚选出的曲目听起来棒极了。以圣经故事为改编的《G.O.D and the Broken Ribs》用不神圣的吉他尖叫和键盘号叫，精准地击中了原罪发生的瞬间——“必须找到一种方法，去吃掉命运之树上的果实！”。而《Neighbors Blues》则是怀特众多颓废步态风格的最新演绎，让人想起《Ball and Biscuit》等往日辉煌，他的嗓音带有回声，而戴着墨镜的汉蒙德风琴手鲍比·埃米特（Bobby Emmett）则在旁制造着古怪的干扰。

今晚有两次，过度活跃的怀特坐了下来，仅仅是为了与埃米特进行即兴演奏的切磋。他们的呼应听起来就像一场心理蓝调版的温布尔登网球赛，彼此进攻与化解，埃米特有时会前后摇晃他的键盘，使其听起来更具律动感。一切在一次震耳欲聋的尖啸声中结束，怀特召集乐队成员鞠躬，他被弃置的吉他在监视器中产生反馈回授；这是他宇宙中神圣的“唵”（om），万物最终皆回归于此。

其他专辑

Gotta Get Out The Linda Lindas (Reprise)

这支来自洛杉矶的 DIY 乐队在第三张专辑中加入了大厂牌，调色盘更加丰富，制作也更精良——而朋克摇滚的理想依然完好无损。同名主打歌开篇的键盘轰鸣预示着一种新浪潮风味。在尖锐的《Nothing Left》中，The Linda Lindas 甚至让人想起了她们 20 世纪 80 年代加州朋克流行乐的前辈 Go-Go's。但尽管有悦耳的“na, na, nas”唱腔，她们笔下的加州却是热浪、山火和洪水的加州。

The Linda Lindas 的多位主唱年龄仅在 16 到 21 岁之间，她们为《Gotta Get Out》注入了各自标志性的活力。这张专辑偶尔会出现起伏不稳的情况，但绝不乏味。《Helado de Limón》是一首节奏轻快的流行朋克歌曲，由吉他手 Bela Salazar 用西班牙语演唱，探讨个人自主权；而 Hayley Williams 则客串了专辑中最无趣的曲目《Closer》。

该组合在五年前凭借由贝斯手 Eloise Wong 和鼓手 Mila de la Garza 合唱的《Racist, Sexist Boy》在网络走红。本专辑中与之同样无畏的作品是由 Wong 嘶吼的《Blood On Our Hands》，该曲猛烈抨击了“法西斯国家”以及我们每个人每天做出的有害微小决定。—— Kitty Empire

虽然 Beastie Boys 在三十年间如此不可分割——如此不可分割——在 MCA（又名 Adam Yauch）2012 年过早离世后不再重组似乎是理所当然的，但令人惊讶的是，在两名幸存成员发布任何新音乐之前竟然过去了 14 年。Mike D 的个人首张专辑是在家中与他的儿子 Skyler 和 Davis Diamond 共同录制的，尽管其难以归类的流派拼接令人钦佩（dub、drum’n’bass 和 krautrock 的元素都被扔进了搅拌机），但结果却不尽如人意。

在乐队时期，三人组的人声总是占据中心位置，而 Mike D 经过重度处理的人声却经常被埋在阴暗、低保真的混音中。在歌词方面，他也变得更加沉闷；他以往那种戏谑的自夸让位于更脆弱的反思——“我们都会害怕，但不会表现出来”——尽管这些内容有时近乎平庸，比如在近期的单曲《True Colors》中（顺便说一句，用“better”和“better”押韵，甚至比乐队 1992 年曲目《Pass the Mic》中用“commercial”和“commercial”押韵更懒惰）。最出彩的是那些更活跃的时刻，例如强有力的《Make It Stop》和真正令人兴奋的《Crypto》，但这张专辑与其说是启示，不如说只是中规中矩。—— Phil Mongredien

I Must Be Dreaming Alabama Shakes (Island)

当 2012 年的突破性单曲《Hold On》首次向世人介绍 Brittany Howard 超凡脱俗的才华时，这位 Alabama Shakes 歌手原始的嗓音力量成为了传达该曲关于青春坚毅与韧性主题的完美媒介。近 15 年过去了（距离乐队第二张专辑，即 2015 年获得多项格莱美奖的《Sound & Color》已过去 11 年），在《I Must Be Dreaming》中，Howard 将她依然令人惊叹的嗓音塑造出适应一个更具实验性 era 的新形态。

这是他们早在那张备受赞誉的第二张长篇专辑中就开始尝试的音色轨迹，但现在，在政治遭受重创的美国背景下，《I Feel Hope Coming》中深情的恳求和轻快的吉他声显得更加神圣。Zac Cockrell 潜行的贝斯线为《American Dream》提供了令人不安的骨架，这是一首关于从枪支管制到生育权利等方方面面的抗议歌曲，释放了一连串的愤怒。这是该唱片中最引人注目的战斗号角，但《I Must Be Dreaming》的幻象也延伸到了爱之失与得。唱片中较柔和的时刻，包括《Friends》的温暖或《Easy》中瑰丽、温柔的奉献，都是不应被忽视的亮点。—— Lisa Wright

Saul Williams

是一位文艺复兴式的人才。作为一名诗人、演员、作家和活动家，这位纽约人活跃在各个领域，从与精神爵士打击乐手卡洛斯·尼尼奥（Carlos Niño）合作，到主演瑞安·库格勒（Ryan Coogler）的电影《罪人》（Sinners），以及创作一部赛博朋克风格的图形小说。在《Leap Life》中，这种万花筒般的经历凝聚在一起，产生了迷人的效果。

威廉姆斯那慵懒的男中音演绎极具吸引力，他在关于战争、剥削和反抗的椭圆式歌词中漫游，然而，为其宣言提供支撑的音乐伴奏才具有持久的分量。他是一位巧妙的编曲者，在《Baobab Constellation》中将卡马西·华盛顿（Kamasi Washington）那凄厉的萨克斯管线条编织在自己的嗓音周围，并在《I Think I Get It Now》中利用诡异的合成器渐强效果，以及在《The Dagger》中使用失真的非洲浩室音乐（Afro house）。

威廉姆斯为他的歌词留出了回响的空间，在《13 Moons》那被拉长的开篇第一句“我在这里已经厌倦了你们教给我的一切”之下，合成器低音逐渐增强；而在另一首曲目中，他在哀婉的管风琴声中尖锐地重复着“并非一切皆可出售”。尽管这位艺术家拥有其他才华，但《Leap Life》巩固了他作为吟游诗人、传道者和神谕式讲述者的地位——一个仍有许多话要说的、令人着迷的主唱。阿马尔·卡利亚（Ammar Kalia）

美国大师

马林·阿尔索普将美国经典作品带到逍遥音乐会，展现了她对从科普兰、格什温到被忽视的琼·陶尔等大师作品无与伦比的掌控力

菲奥娜·马多克斯

爱乐乐团 / 阿尔索普 BBC逍遥音乐会，皇家阿尔伯特音乐厅， 伦敦 SW7 Grimeborn歌剧节 伦敦 E8 Arcola剧院；至周六

他们打响指，揉音，并集体大喊一声“曼波！”，直到整个皇家阿尔伯特音乐厅——仅限回归——在低调而欢快地律动。木管乐器拉伸着节奏。铜管乐器像疯了一样发出“哇哇”声。在周一的逍遥音乐会上，成立于1945年、根植于主导性的欧洲传统的爱乐乐团，将自己变成了一个光彩夺目、摇摆动感的美国风格大乐队。在该乐团历史早期，年迈的理查德·施特劳斯曾在同一音乐厅指挥该乐团，那是他的最后一次公开亮相，演奏的是他的《玫瑰骑士》圆舞曲。

而上周，舞曲变成了高能量的梅伦格或恰恰，是二拍或四拍，而非维也纳的三拍子；听觉景观不再是柏林或巴黎，而是通过好莱坞呈现的宾夕法尼亚州山丘、德克萨斯州的草原与沙漠，以及通过伦纳德·伯恩斯坦在《西区故事》中重现的曼哈顿街道与百老汇。

只有像该乐团首席客席指挥马林·阿尔索普这样具有音乐权威的人，才能实现这种彻底的转变。她出生于纽约，在上西区长大，职业生涯始于爵士小提琴手，并师从伯恩斯坦，这仅仅是原因的一部分。她在各种风格的音乐中都拥有罕见的多才多艺。她指挥的德沃夏克或勃拉姆斯交响曲系列与她对当代美国音乐（尤其是该领域）的录音一样广受赞誉。周一期间，阿尔索普在指挥台上几乎像在跳方形舞一样，热情洋溢但绝不奢侈，肢体动作始终简洁。没有一个动作是浪费的。

在我们疾速驶向21世纪的进程中，她经常对任何人仍被描述为“第一位……的女性”——无论在哪个领域，尤其是她自己的领域——表示沮丧。她的“第一”太多，难以一一列举。首先，她曾执掌巴尔的摩、圣保罗和维也纳的大型交响乐团。她还曾三次指挥“逍遥音乐会最后之夜”——是第一位这样做的人。女性最早在19世纪中期站在管弦乐团面前，且通常由她们自己出资。又过了一个世纪，安东尼娅·布里科（1930年）和纳迪亚·布朗热（1936年）分别指挥了柏林爱乐乐团和伦敦爱乐乐团：虽然是孤立事件，但禁忌已被打破。作为重要的催化剂，阿尔索普通过她的 Taki Alsop 指挥奖学金，在公开场合和幕后带来了改变。她并非孤身一人，但她极高的人气与理性的态度起到了推动作用。粗略计算，2026年的逍遥音乐会中有12位女性参与。

阿尔索普以一部献给她的有力作品开场：琼·陶尔的《非凡女性号角第 1 号》（1986）。陶尔现年80多岁，除了这次三分钟的爆发式演出外，一直被逍遥音乐会所忽视，而阿尔索普曾在2012年在此指挥过此曲。陶尔是美国领先的作曲家：她的缺席是一种遗漏。科普兰的《阿巴拉契亚之春》组曲最初为13件乐器而作，其管弦乐版本听起来几乎过于宽广：它不再像玛莎·格雷厄姆1944年芭蕾舞剧中的房子、门廊和摇椅，而像一座完整的小镇。不过，这取决于个人口味。爱乐乐团，尤其是弦乐部分，依然捕捉到了那种田园氛围。

同样的惆怅感也贯穿在威廉·格兰特·斯蒂尔（William Grant Still）1935年的短篇作品《三幅愿景——第2号：夏日之地》（Three Visions – No 2: Summerland）中（独奏者为乐团优秀的首席 Zsolt-Tihamér Visontay）。斯蒂尔是哈莱姆文艺复兴（1920-35）的一员。他创作了近200部作品，包括五部交响曲、四部芭蕾舞剧、九部歌剧以及30多部合唱作品。到目前为止，在逍遥音乐节（Proms）上仅演奏了两首作品——总时长九分钟。如果用学校成绩单的话，可能会写道：仍有进步空间。

不过，这是一个演绎大众化“经典”的夜晚。核心曲目是由马库斯·罗伯茨三重奏（Marcus Roberts Trio）演绎的格什温《蓝色狂想曲》改编版，罗伯茨担任钢琴师，他像格什温当年那样，运用从拉格泰姆（ragtime）、比波普（bebop）、布吉（boogie）到古典风格托卡塔（toccata）的所有技巧，对整个章节进行即兴演奏。这完全是合理的协作：毕竟，那段著名的开场滑音是首演时单簧管演奏者的创意。格什温很喜欢，于是将其保留了下来。而充满推进力的返场曲——詹姆斯·P·约翰逊（James P Johnson）的《胜利步法》（Victory Stride），则给了爱乐乐团的铜管和打击乐部分充足的机会来展现其光彩与气势。我可能会把它设为我的手机铃声。

此外，要向伦敦东区阿科拉剧院（Arcola theatre）的 Grimeborn 歌剧节致意，该节日已进入第19个赛季，是当地最亲切的活动之一。它承诺要打破常规，并且确实做到了。宏大的歌剧被“真空压缩”到了原规模的四分之一。古今作品享有同等地位：本季包括莫扎特的《女人皆如此？！》（Così fan Tutte?!，原文如此）和《魔笛》，亨德尔的《里纳尔多》和《尤利乌斯·凯撒》，以及由弗洛伦斯·卡鲁瑟斯·安德鲁斯（Florence Carruthers Andrews）创作的受宾根的希尔德加德（Hildegard of Bingen）启发而作的《苦涩愿景》（Bitter Visions），以及一部关于气候危机的双剧目。演出将持续到周六。

评论家建筑

罗文·摩尔（左）在乘坐泰晤士河快船时经过巴特西发电站。

下方是备受争议的 Montevetro 塔楼，它高耸在 1777 年建成的圣玛丽教堂之上。

“它们与新加坡和迪拜的联系，就像与当地腹地的联系一样深”：巴特西的伦巴德码头（Lombard Wharf）。

泰晤士快船见闻

一次沿着伦敦河流的乘船之旅，途经高耸的文化地标和迪拜风格的摩天大楼森林，揭示了一座由投机主义和冷漠塑造的城市景观。简而言之，罗文·摩尔（Rowan Moore）写道，这是一个庞大且被误解的混乱体。

泰晤士河一直是愿景与幻想的对象，建筑师们长期以来为其构思宏伟的桥梁、滨河大道、新岛屿以及漂浮游泳池，而它最终确实发生了深刻的转变。在千禧年筹备期间，建筑师理查德·罗杰斯（Richard Rogers）曾将其称为“伦敦最大的机遇”。这个机遇已被把握，尽管方式可能并非他所希望的那样，尤其是被那些豪华住宅塔楼的开发商所利用。

在河流穿过伦敦的大部分路段，你都能看到这些建筑群，它们越新就越大，且越发趋同。从绿意盎然的上游到旧码头周围的宽阔水域，房地产的全球金融逻辑催生了由全球咨询公司和承包商设计并建造的建筑，这些建筑抹去了早期泰晤士河畔开发项目中可见的个性和奇特性。它们与新加坡和迪拜的联系，就像与身后当地腹地的联系一样紧密。

现代的泰晤士河并非全部关于投机开发。其间点缀着文化与休闲的宫殿、零星的开放空间、小规模的创业项目、工业过去的遗存，以及由船屋组成的漂浮社区。整体呈现出一种杂乱但活跃的状态，从海外投资者到经纪人和博物馆馆长，每个人都在机会出现时将其攫取。伦敦眼就是个例子，它是两位建筑师的一次充满希望的尝试，最终成为了一个标志；另一个例子则是巨大的砖砌前发电站（现为泰特现代美术馆）与重建的环球剧场（橡木框架和茅草屋顶）之间奇特的并置。

为了理解这两座分布在两岸的线性城市，我与摄影师苏基·丹达（Suki Dhanda）一起沿着泰晤士快船（Thames Clipper）的路线旅行。这种河上巴士本身就是长期以来试图对这条水道采取某种行动的野心产物。我们从普特尼（Putney）出发，那里是牛津与剑桥赛船会的起点，但我们行驶的方向相反且无需费力，一直行驶到北格林威治（North Greenwich），刚刚经过 O2 场馆（原千禧穹顶），那里是国家野心与商业娱乐的融合体。

在短暂的瞬间，你会瞥见一个旧世界——石砌的教堂塔楼、维多利亚晚期试图从河景中获利的公寓楼、点缀着扩建部分和花园的房屋背面——随后，第一批投机者的“齐古拉特”（阶梯金字塔）出现，四座连排，带有 20 年前流行的尖锐悬臂和阶梯形状。接下来是旺德尔河（River Wandle）绿意盎然的河口，一段短暂的田园插曲，暗示其起源于北唐斯（North Downs）的白垩泉。随后是西部滨河废物与回收设施的红色龙门架和黄色集装箱。更多的“齐古拉特”随之而来，一些特立独行的瞬间不时出现，比如巴特西公园（Battersea Park）的伦敦和平佛塔。随后将出现公共艺术。

从这里开始，我们的旅程由一系列密集中心标志：巴特西发电站周围的塔楼群、沃克斯豪尔（Vauxhall）较新的美国大使馆、南岸（South Bank）和银行区（Bankside）的文化枢纽，以及北格林威治的娱乐盛宴。它们主要位于

泰晤士河北岸的议会大厦和大本钟。

伦敦眼，是“两位建筑师的一次充满希望的尝试，最终成为了一个标志”。

“国家野心与商业娱乐的融合体”：O2 场馆，原千禧穹顶。

向东，船屋在金丝雀码头（Canary Wharf）的仓库之间形成了河流社区。

南岸，由于过去开发强度较低，因此成为了这一侧的特点，除非是在伦敦城中密集向上激增的玻璃幕墙办公空间，以及金丝雀码头周围不断增长的摩天大楼森林。

在这些建筑之间，散布着一些建筑表达的爆发，那是开发商比现在更倾向于纵容此类设计的时代。这里有特里·法雷尔（Terry Farrell）设计的震撼地标，包括查令十字车站上方的一个巨大的半圆桶形建筑，以及位于沃克斯霍尔、像一台装饰艺术风格打字机的军情六处总部。在泰特现代美术馆附近有一个阶梯状的黄色圆柱体，而在塔桥下游，有中国码头（China Wharf）红色的表现主义立面，这两者均出自后现代主义建筑事务所 CZWG 之手。如果人们能遵循他们的引领，泰晤士河两岸现在会比目前更加令人愉悦。

他们那一辈的巨头，罗杰斯（Rogers）和诺曼·福斯特（Norman Foster），也留下了自己的印记，包括在巴特西（Battersea）的早期项目。在那里，后者的事务所设计了一个酷炫的玻璃长方形建筑，于 1990 年完工，至今仍是他们的工作室所在地。前者及其合伙人设计了 Montevetro，这是一个像巨大的滑雪坡一样的住宅楼，在当时极具争议，因为它高耸在 1777 年的圣玛丽教堂之上，但在 1997 年，罗杰斯成功地让即将上任的布莱尔政府为其提供了支持。

随着时间的推移，建筑师在河岸项目中的角色发生了变化。罗杰斯的早期理念是打造伟大的公共休闲场所，而非单个建筑，让市民和游客能够共同享受流经伦敦的、被部分驯服的自然奇观；但开发商更倾向于利用他和其他事务所为他们的建筑提供格调和声望，而这些名号在获得规划许可时也很有帮助。

由罗杰斯的前建筑合伙人伦佐·皮亚诺（Renzo Piano）设计的碎片大厦（The Shard）就是一个典型的例子。它是伦敦的标志，其时尚和令人印象深刻的程度是次要建筑师无法企及的，但它对于提升其地面周围环境的体验并没有太大作用。久而久之，房地产公司发现他们根本不需要高端事务所，并在很大程度上放弃了他们的服务。

然而，那些对公共空间的呼吁并非完全徒劳。得益于随新开发项目而来的步道和花园——例如在修复后的巴特西发电站前——泰晤士河现在比以往任何时候都更容易进入。在被称为泰晤士潮汐隧道（Thames Tideway Tunnel）的巨型下水道基础设施之上，出现了一些用于欣赏风景的新平台。其中一些新场所显得随意且缺乏诚意，只是在满足规划者要求的最低标准，但至少它们存在。

“密集向上激增的玻璃幕墙办公空间”：伦敦城中的“对讲机”大楼。

泰晤士河极易被误解

泰晤士河极易被误解。它看似处于中心，实则由边缘组成：正如伦敦政治经济学院的托尼·特拉弗斯（Tony Travers）教授喜欢指出的那样，它构成了几个行政区之间的边界，而地方当局往往更在意其核心地带而非边缘地带。它壮丽却浑浊，关于它的音乐和诗歌往往基调低沉：如（Kinks乐队的）“肮脏的老河”，（威廉·布莱克的）“被特许的泰晤士河”。奥斯卡·王尔德笔下的“起涟漪的翡翠之杆”已是其最美的描述。基于这些原因，试图将其改造为它并非的样子——比如像大运河或塞纳河那样宁静且人口稠密的水道——往往以失败告终。

面对现代的泰晤士河，“是谁订购了这个？”将是一个合理的反应。而答案会是：没有人。它更像是机会主义和某种漠不关心的结果。我们现在的这个版本当然可以做得更好。在最糟糕的情况下，它呈现出的是一种无情的榨取之吼：游客被所谓的“体验”和糟糕的食物宰割，房地产的融资方式则天晓。

这里有大量随手拼接的建筑，其间点缀着廉价的花岗岩铺路石和发育不良的树木。但这条河依然是自然与人类创造的奇迹，在某些方面比以前更甚。

最终，我们到达了北格林威治，那里的登陆区装饰着一座安东尼·戈姆雷（Antony Gormley）的人像和一件达米安·赫斯特（Damien Hirst）的怪诞作品。我们考虑等待一艘能带我们沿河进一步前往巴金（Barking）的船，但最终选择乘坐博里斯·约翰逊担任市长期间于2012年安装的缆车，这让我们能够俯瞰河流所在的全景。我们在伦敦政府最新的所在地附近登陆，那是一座此前被称为“水晶宫”（the Crystal）的棱角分明的建筑。此前，我们经过了它的前身：爱德华时代巴洛克风格的郡政厅（County Hall），以及由福斯特设计的“玻璃睾丸”（正如肯·利文斯通所称），后者目前正被大幅改造为一座综合用途的商业建筑。

最精彩的部分是什么？我可能会说是国家剧院，因为我一直热爱其单体平台与水景互动的方式，但从船上观察其被树木遮掩的形态并非体验它的最佳方式。因此，我会选择新冠纪念墙，在500米的石墙延伸段上绘制着245,000个及更多的爱心，这种自下而上且富有意义的即兴创作，最能体现这条河流的自由。

“是谁订购了这个？”面对现代的泰晤士河，这将是一个合理的反应。而答案会是：没有人。

人物传记

寻找安妮塔·布鲁克纳

赫敏·李揭开了这位作家兼艺术史学家错综复杂的人生之结——而她为布鲁克纳提供的最大帮助，便是让其所有的神秘感保持原封不动。作者：劳拉·卡明

安妮塔·布鲁克纳： 艺术与生活 赫敏·李 著 Chatto & Windus 出版， £28，544页

在赫敏·李为安妮塔·布鲁克纳撰写的这部宏大传记中，揭露了许多事实：这位作家曾谎报年龄，曾因抑郁症服用普罗扎（Prozac），且经常陷入爱河；她在切尔西拥有两套完全相同的公寓，其中一套被她不小心用烟头点燃了；她是菲利普·罗斯的“狂热粉丝”，且从未错过《弓箭手》（The Archers）或《比尔》（The Bill）这两档节目。而对我来说，最令人惊讶的，是她青少年时期那种毫无保留的欣喜。

1943年的夏天，布鲁克纳在威尔特郡担任一名农业女青年（land girl）。她将这段经历写在了校刊上：“我们周日下午的时间都花在玩一些放荡的游戏和收集一大笔火柴上……午夜的宿舍简直是毫无廉耻的纵欲之场，柠檬水像流水一样畅饮。”她热爱这份工作，所有事情都基于“真正的共产主义基础”完成。但她最怀念的是乡村的污垢：“我的宽松裤……读者们会很高兴听到……它们仍保持着肮脏的辉煌，为明年预留着——而且还卷着裤脚！”

这是坠落之前的布鲁克纳，那时天堂之门依然敞开，成年生活的平庸尚未到来。她还没有学到她小说中那些严酷的教训：美德永远不是其自身的奖赏，不配拥有的人反而继承了大地，而每一只乌龟都会被某只无忧无虑的野兔击败。

或许那篇校刊文章本身就是一部虚构作品。布鲁克纳曾告诉一名记者，她“厌恶”她的学生时代。李观察到，这可能与她在赫恩希尔（Herne Hill）的家庭生活密切相关。作为波兰犹太父母的独生女，她被要求满足他们所有的需求——正如她在父母多年健康状况恶化期间所做的那样照顾他们——而且人们理所当然地认为她显然会结婚。

在伦敦国王学院攻读历史学学位以及在考陶尔德艺术学院攻读博士学位期间，布鲁克纳一直住在家里。那些令人窒息的房间里挤满了祖父母、姑姨和一个极其刻薄的叔叔，这些场景出现在她的几部小说中，家里的家具被染成了深色，仿佛沾染了“马的血液”。当她离开家去巴黎学习艺术时，她的父母立即切断了所有经济支持，也没有去车站送行。

李本人也是波兰裔，她好奇为什么布鲁克纳从未想过访问波兰。但法国总是足够了。尽管布鲁克纳刻意掩盖了她在巴黎十年的细节，但李巧妙地将这一切重新拼凑起来：从一间间出租房到一家家咖啡馆，从一个又一个粗鲁的门房开始。在呼应传记副标题的同时，她将布鲁克纳的巴黎生活重新编织进小说中：她的纯情少女如何变成常客，关注法国女性在市场上购买的任何食物，吸收着自由与魅力，忍受着对他人的漠视。甚至卢森堡公园里的婴儿也带着那种“同样冷漠的法国式凝视”。

用李审慎的措辞来说，布鲁克纳极少“让她的角色回到巴黎并为自己开启新生活”。而这种情况在她自己身上从未发生。她回到了安东尼·布朗特领导的考陶尔德学院（当时位于波特曼广场），在经过长长后楼梯的房间里教学生。她最喜欢的学生包括未来的艺术史学家尼尔·麦格雷戈（他觉得“抽伍德拜恩烟”很有趣）和诺曼·布赖森（他认为布鲁克纳非常精明、敏捷且古灵精怪）。

一些学生在艰难地爬那些楼梯时，能提前很远就闻到布鲁克纳的香水味。那是兰文（Lanvin）奢华的“琶音”（Arpège）；还是伍尔沃斯（Woolworths）的“户外女孩”（Outdoor Girl）？回忆各异。当布鲁克纳坚持在口试前握住学生的手时，有些人感到宽慰，而另一些人则单纯地感到惊恐。

李在对待每一份相反的报道时都表现出特有的宽容。布鲁克纳是一位令人着迷的讲师，学生们在她身上感受到的紧张暗流日益增强而听得入神；或者她只是在读同一篇枯燥乏味的讲稿，即便该内容已被出版成书。她对心理剧的理解无人能及，或者她根本没有真正掌握当代社会（这也是对其小说常见的抱怨，小说中警察的突然出现偶尔会引发评论者的嘲笑）。

布鲁克纳在每一句话中都极其审慎，为她那无可比拟的传记作品而对浪漫主义画家的生活进行了严谨的研究。然而，她在自己的

她会挫败记者，看似揭露了许多关于自己的事情，却没透露任何一个事实

年龄上撒谎，在《谁是谁》（Who's Who）中减去了十岁。她在私下里充满爱心，尤其是对待像出版商卡门·卡利尔（Carmen Callil）这样伟大的朋友，李的传记正是献给她的。但在职业环境下，她却冷若冰霜。面对她给乔纳森·凯普（Jonathan Cape）的投诉信语气，谁能不感到敬畏？“我对《家庭罗曼史》（A Family Romance）粗劣的外观和质量感到无法言表的失望……你建议如何纠正这种情况？你能想象朱利安·巴恩斯（Julian Barnes）或马丁·艾米斯（Martin Amis）会容忍这种情况吗？显而易见的解决方案是将整个版本全部销毁并重新开始。也许你会考虑这一点。这肯定会影响我决定未来是否继续与凯普公司打交道。”

“她那双大眼睛投来的坚定目光”：安妮塔·布鲁克纳。Mike Abrahams / Alamy

然而，布鲁克纳也深受偏头痛、失眠和慢性牙痛的困扰，在讲课前感到焦虑，在书籍评论出炉前感到恐惧。一名美国后起之秀对她那部关于雅克-路易·大卫的巨著（有史以来最深刻的艺术书籍之一）提出了批评，这让她深受伤害，但她随后在面对对方未来的作品时，依然以一丝不苟的优雅予以回应。当马丁·艾米斯打电话责备她对他 1997 年小说《夜车》（Night Train）的负面评论时，她的心因恐惧而剧烈跳动。李告诉我们，布鲁克纳后来给委约编辑打电话，提出辞职，以防他也认为她写的是“没文化且二流的评论”。

从页面到屏幕 埃里卡·瓦格纳（Erica Wagner）评詹姆斯·马里奥特（James Marriott）对智能手机时代阅读衰落的哀叹

“她年轻时看起来很老——而当她老了，她变得超越了年龄。”李为我们描绘了布鲁克纳许多精彩的微缩像：她妆容无瑕，发型考究，姿态像披甲一样坚硬：“身体挺直，静止不动，经常头靠在手上，大眼睛投来坚定的目光，巧妙地避开刨根问底的问题，偶尔露出灿烂的微笑”。就这样，她会挫败那些被她迷住的记者，看似揭露了许多关于自己的事情——比如她如何选错了男人，因为没有孩子才写小说等等——却从未透露过任何一个事实。

“每个有关于布鲁克纳的故事要讲的人，”李提醒道，“也都读过她的小说。”很少有人能抵挡住从艺术推断生活的诱惑。与一名巴黎男子的（所谓的）情事注定失败，因为他不是犹太人。与英俊的艺术史学家迈克尔·贾菲（Michael Jaffé）的（传闻中的）情事注定失败，因为他结婚了；同样，与艺术史学家弗朗西斯·哈斯克尔（Francis Haskell）的（据称的）情事也是如此。李在对待克里斯托弗·麦克莱霍斯（Christopher MacLehose）时非常委婉，他是布鲁克纳杰作之一《探测》（Soundings）的富有魅力的出版商，以至于空气中只留下了一个若隐若现的问号。她对办公日记的侦查工作堪称卓越。

《回声》（Soundings）并非偶然地收录了布鲁克纳关于斯卡斯代尔减肥医生谋杀案的精彩论文，在该案中，珍·哈里斯因在1981.年杀害其心脏科医生前情人而被定罪。在珍妮特·马尔科姆和海伦·加纳之前，这部作品曾是且依然是真实犯罪写作的巅峰之作。

布鲁克纳销毁了如此之多的个人书面记录，以至于人们无法得知她在晚年是否与工业家马克斯·雷恩有过私情；是否后悔早期的那些采访；以及她在某种程度上是否在安东尼·布伦特作为苏联特工的工作中充当了无意间的助手——被派往米德尔塞克斯医院的精神病房拜访他的老同事（据称是信使）。李关于布伦特和布鲁克纳——间谍与小说家——的章节极其睿智，激发了读者进一步探究的欲望。

布鲁克纳在近乎相同数量的年限里出版了24部小说，而李对每一部都进行了极具吸引力的论述，说服我们立即重新阅读它们（对我而言，遗憾的是，我依然对其中的悲观主义感到沮丧，且对那些备受赞誉的喜剧元素充耳不闻）。在某些方面，李的传记与布鲁克纳的小说截然相反。它充满了生活乐趣、高级幽默，以及对人类精神日益增加的复杂性的充满活力的同情。很难想象还能有比这更好的传记作者来记录这位独特且矛盾的知识分子。

在一次与记者的交谈中，布鲁克纳曾说她希望有六个孩子。尽管这听起来不可思议，但没有办法验证这一说法，除非她的习惯被严重地打乱。每天从切尔西步行至波特曼

科林·格兰特评述一部关于已故哈里·贝拉丰特的最新传记，讲述他从卡利普索之王到民权活动家的转变

广场、国家美术馆或华莱士收藏馆，在那里，她的角色们听着自己在“闪亮地板”上孤独的脚步声。每年一部的小说，在完成上一部后的第二天便开始动笔。与挚友朱利安·巴恩斯在午餐时闲聊——“那么，你给我准备了什么？”——与卡利尔共进晚餐（半条多佛比目鱼，一份菠菜，且不逗留）。她在派对开始前刚到，五分钟后便离开。她每周两次预约理发师（她注意到，那是个死掉的好地方：“他们会知道该怎么做”），每天阅读所有报纸，并且逐渐对情节（而非情感）感到厌倦，以至于她的文字编辑被鼓励去修正任何关于时间或地点的乏味错误。

在一次扣人心弦的采访中——这部传记中有许多此类采访——布鲁克纳的楼下邻居回忆起凌晨5点BBC世界服务电台响起的声音，那是布鲁克纳关门出发去买报纸然后去Waitrose超市前的50分钟。这位能像没有任何其他作家那样理解籍里柯式绝望的女性，同样能够给出最犀利的毒舌评价。在被女演员安娜·马西邀请共进晚餐时（马西在布鲁克纳获得布克奖的1984年小说《湖畔酒店》的电影版中饰演伊迪丝·霍普），作者在第一道菜面前就退缩了。“哪怕只是看一眼虾，我都会死掉。”

晚年的小说因其对“未竟之人生”持久的关注而显得凄美。在80,岁时，布鲁克纳仍在描写那些相信浪漫高于一切的孤独女性。阅读这部传记，这似乎至少可能是布鲁克纳自己的信念。

即便像李这样卓越的传记作家，也会怀疑布鲁克纳是否会祝福这本书，这并不令人惊讶。布鲁克纳像苍鹭一样守口如瓶。引用狄更斯评价莎士比亚的话，作家的精妙之谜必须保持不被干扰。这显然是布鲁克纳在2016,年87岁去世时的希望，她将遗体捐献给医学科学，将大部分财产捐给无国界医生组织，并禁止举行葬礼。

那么，安妮塔·布鲁克纳在哪里？李在接近结尾时不禁自问。也许她存在于她的虚构小说、艺术评论或那些才气纵横的散文中；也许她活在朋友和前学生的记忆里。这里没有纪念碑，也没有铭牌，但这里有布鲁克纳博士——她身着高级定制服装，喷着 Arpège 香水，在去买法式小面包的路上，责备懈怠的学生，激励勤奋的学生，带着她所有纠结的焦虑和刻意的沉着，在虚构的世界中掌控着她生前从未能掌控的现实。她是最高明的才女，是最多产且最孤独的作家，获得了她应得的所有神秘感——就在这本书中，此时此刻，她依然鲜活。

请前往 observershop.co.uk 订购副本，价格为 £25.20（低于建议零售价 10%）

约翰·艾恩蒙格 这位从动物学家转型为小说家的作者讲述了在肯尼亚成长的经历如何让他对奖杯狩猎产生厌恶之情

周日诗篇

保温瓶

威尔·伊夫斯 (Will Eaves)

一个精灵从中现身，变幻出这样一个场景，角落里有一对戴着宽檐帽的老夫妇签了名

（他瘦得像船首斜桅； 她像她的椅子一样安稳—— 谢天谢地，那是她坚持要带的—— 而且位置不错）。

有一条淡水溪流。 我双膝紧扣， 透过反向拿的双筒望远镜被观察， 显得如此渺小。

潮水涨了一半，像个喉咙痛的人一样吞噬着岩石。我皱起眉头，在一条秃顶的毛巾下几乎挺直了身子。

人们躲在东西后面，没人喜欢番茄。在海上，想象那份恐慌，那次坠落。一个孤独的男人

给自己倒了一杯热饮，看向另一个方向。我知道盯着看是不礼貌的，但我只有三个愿望。

威尔·伊夫斯 (Will Eaves) 是一位小说家、诗人、教师和音乐家。他的著作包括小说《低语》(Murmur，Canongate出版) 和随笔集《破碎的伴奏》(Broken Consort，CB Editions出版)。

插画由克里斯·里德尔 (Chris Riddell) 绘制 observer.co.uk 30.08.26

书籍

读写能力

书籍的黄昏

詹姆斯·马里奥特（James Marriott） 这部真挚的论战之作 是对设备主导时代下 阅读行为的哀悼 与颂扬。然而， 对抗分心的战斗 并非新鲜事。 作者：埃里卡·瓦格纳（Erica Wagner）

《新黑暗时代：阅读的终结与后识字社会的黎明》 （The New Dark Ages: The End of Reading and the Dawn of a Post-Literate Society） 詹姆斯·马里奥特 著 Bodley Head 出版，£14.99，208页

一位教授为文学课布置了阅读任务。他认为自己选择的故事会吸引年轻的学生：它诡异、阴森，且略显夸张。但孩子们毫无反应。教授现在感到担忧，因为他曾希望这个怪诞的故事——华盛顿·欧文（Washington Irving）的《斯里皮山谷的传说》（The Legend of Sleepy Hollow）——能赢得他们的青睐，而相比之下，可怜的亨利·詹姆斯（Henry James）显然没能做到。当他要求学生深入研读这位大师 1891 年的故事《布鲁克斯史密斯》（Brooksmith）时，他回忆道：“我的学生们几乎拿不出能量来点个赞或点个踩……就好像某种气动泵抽干了他们精神中最后的残渣。”

这位不幸的教师有一种不安的感觉，认为这不仅仅是学期初的慵懒。他说，他感觉到“历史连续性的断裂……是对我多年来即将领悟之事的证实”。他的学生们“完全被詹姆斯的散文——其媒介本身——以及支撑其写作的假设给击败了”。

如果你一直关注关于“识字能力之死”的辩论，你就会开始听到很多类似的故事。《高等教育纪事》（Chronicle of Higher Education）上的《我的学生不会阅读》；《大西洋月刊》（The Atlantic）上的《那些读不了书的精英大学生》；《纽约时报》（New York Times）上的《大学生不再阅读的极好理由》：你大概明白我的意思了。然后，当然还有我们要评述的这本书，詹姆斯·马里奥特的《新黑暗时代：阅读的终结与后识字社会的黎明》。正是马里奥特讲述了那位忧郁教授的故事，并指出这位学者其实是著名的散文家和评论家斯文·比克茨（Sven Birkerts），而这段文字出自他的书《古腾堡挽歌》（The Gutenberg Elegies）——该书出版于三十多年前的 1994 年。

作为一名作者、前文学编辑，以及一个将生命奉献给文字的人，我对阅读能力的下降感到与任何人一样惊恐。但当我还是个女学生，在那个久远的固定电话时代，我们在英语课上将《圣经》作为文学作品来阅读，所以我可以这样问：“你为何看见落在弟兄眼里的刺，却不看见自己眼中的梁？”没错，这就是现在的我，在《观察者报》一线辛苦工作一天回家后，一边刷着 Bluesky 浏览特朗普最新的某种令人震惊的行为，一边斜眼看着床头柜上堆积的书籍。我在中学和大学期间一直在阅读，不停地阅读

本月诗歌书单

自然之力

两本新出版的选集有力地展示了不屈的女性作家，以及气候紧急状态中所有鲜活的恐怖景象。作者：Jade Cuttle

《女性，地图》（Woman, Mapped） 编者：Jennifer Wong Fly on the Wall Press 出版，£12.99，150页

《生态冲击：口袋余震》（Ecoshock: Pocket Aftershock） 编者：Glyn Edward Aftershock Review 出版，£8.99，48页

根据一份 Ledbury 诗歌评论家的报告，2024 年，英国和爱尔兰女性诗歌的出版量达到了历史最高水平。同年，女性在 Forward 奖的所有四个类别中全部获胜。但正如 2021 年 Keats-Shelley 奖得主 Katrina Naomi 在《女性，地图》中所暗示的，女性作家仍然觉得她们仿佛是“完全可以被忽略的”。

在这本由 Rebecca Swift 基金会推出的首部选集中，贡献者们以创新的方式共同反抗性压迫和言语压迫。来自坎布里亚郡的诗人兼兼职兽医 Ilse Pedler 在《给年轻女性的课程》（Lessons for Young Women）中探讨了性暴力的常态化。一名男子“将她的背部压在墙的坚硬之上，她感觉到另一种坚硬地压在她的身前”，而另一名男子“转瞬即逝的触碰”则“将一种不请自来的、如余烬般灼热的羞耻感烙印在她的乳头上，长达四十年”。她该如何发声？主人公就像是“一只在窗户内侧 / 嗡嗡作响的苍蝇”，在揭露这种虐待的需求与担心被视为麻烦的恐惧之间艰难前行。

在其他篇章中，定居约克的诗人兼小说家 Jade Mutyora 分享了在洗手间抽泣以及与问题学术导师打交道的动人自白；Katy Mack 则将分娩这一瑰丽而怪诞的奇观比作让昆虫“在我的皮肤下建立它们的王国”。我们遇到的不是可爱、令人发痒的瓢虫或蝴蝶，而是蠼螋和蚂蚁那“疾速爬行”的混乱。我很喜欢这部选集在传统关系与非传统关系之间建立的平行对比，例如 Katrina Naomi 为那个嫁给柏林墙的女人写的颂歌：“她将欲望深深刻入他的核心； / 深知在他被拆除之前他无法离开 [...] 她觉得她完全拥有了他。”

虽然许多选集仅浅尝辄止地选取每位诗人的作品，但《女性，地图》提供了一个令人满意的深入挖掘的机会。通过 10 篇左右的诗歌（以及散文），我们沉浸在每位女性脆弱的真相之中。Teddy Webb 将自己被纳入这部选集比作“把一只岩企鹅放进火烈鸟围栏里”。她解释说，她的“女性身份体验与社会所认定的女性成年常规标志相去甚远”，“我不是母亲，也不打算成为母亲；我从未有过丈夫，也从未离婚 [...] 我是个拉拉（dyke）”。她机智的反思强化了一个强有力的信息：正如 Hollie McNish 在前言中所指出的，女性是“极其多样化的生物”。没有一种模式适用于所有人。尽管这幅女性生活的快照如此多样，但一种共同的韧性在其中闪耀。

多样化的女性生活快照，一种共同的韧性在其中闪耀，并且阅读——但在那时，除了阅读没有别的事可做。我现在对此心存感激；我认为我最好小心地评价那些在智能手机普及前尚未成长的年轻一代，因为正如 Marriott 恰如其分地所言，这种设备“索要你的整个生命”。

Marriott 是《泰晤士报》的一位敏锐的专栏作家；这是他的第一本书，是一篇由衷的论战。他的父亲是一位英语教师，习惯用自制蛋糕庆祝莎士比亚的生日。少年时代，Marriott 在纽卡斯尔的摄政时期图书馆 Lit & Phil 找到了快乐的避风港。他将阅读的衰落称为“一场个人层面的，同时也是文化层面的悲剧”——如果你想知道这种衰落具体是什么样子，他提供了数据。目前，超过三分之一的英国成年人表示他们已经完全放弃了阅读；在 21 世纪的前二十年里，美国的兴趣阅读下降了 40%。国家识字信托基金会（National Literacy Trust）报告称，儿童的阅读量和阅读乐趣出现了“令人震惊且令人沮丧”的下降。

他承认自己欠早先研究该课题的思想家们一份情，不仅是比尔克茨（Birkets），或许最著名的还包括媒体理论家尼尔·波兹曼（Neil Postman），其著作《娱乐至死：表演时代公共话语》（Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Showbusiness）出版于1985年。在波兹曼看来，电视是窃取我们的注意力和专注力的屏幕，但现在我们进入了一个全新的世界。正如马里奥特（Marriott）所写：“在电视开启的房间里很难阅读（我觉得几乎完全不可能），但你总能走到另一个房间。而有了智能手机，就再也没有另一个房间了。”另一个影响因素是沃尔特·翁（Walter Ong），他“认为没有文字的社会是‘对抗性编程’的，也就是说，它们天生具有倾向于冲突的偏见”。简而言之，你更有可能对着一个人大吼大叫，而不是对着一本书大吼大叫；而现在，我们在社交媒体的强力驱动下，正回归到一种对抗性的口头文化。

在非阅读时代，我们不断被“要点总结”所淹没——不必觉得你必须实际阅读文章或书籍，这里有你需要知道的碎片化信息！马里奥特书中的读者可能会产生这样一个想法：他如此热忱地赞颂的印刷文化，实际上是非常短暂的。试想：在古腾堡之前根本没有印刷，随后又经历了几个世纪才出现大规模印刷和大规模识字。

艾伦·莱恩（Allen Lane）及其企鹅平装书在1935年改变了局面；在第二次世界大战期间，美国士兵获得了经典书籍的“军方版”（正是得益于这一计划，《了不起的盖茨比》等书才得以摆脱默默无闻的境地，进入神圣的经典之列）。但“阅读广泛普及并作为社会主要娱乐形式的历史窗口期其实很短。事实上，到20世纪40年代，它已经在衰落”——在电视出现之前，已经有了电影和无线电。噢，一个勇敢的新世界。

马里奥特没有为我们的困境提供解决方案；他也无法指望能做到这一点。他寻找的是“光点”，比如在学校禁用智能手机，以及摆脱对新技术的“盲目乐观”。他的书既是哀歌也是赞歌——他主张由人类创作的书籍是一项非凡的、无法改进的技术，能让读者获得独特的洞察力和理解深度，这一点并没有错。

但这一直以来都有些艰难。毕竟，约翰逊博士（Dr Johnson）本人就曾观察到：“人们通常如果能找到其他娱乐方式，是不愿意阅读的。”不，我们不会回到两百万人参加维克多·雨果葬礼的那个时代；但多亏了克里斯托弗·诺兰，《奥德赛》的副本正被抢购一空。能得到多少就多少吧。请继续阅读。

可在 observershop.co.uk 订购一本，价格为 £13.49（比建议零售价优惠 10%）

女性生活的快照中，一种共同的韧性在其中闪光。

Alain Boussac / Millennium Images, UK

凯蒂·麦克（Katy Mack）将分娩比作让昆虫“在我的皮肤下建立它们的王国”。Robert Norbury / Millennium Images, UK

他本人感到悲哀；然而，如果我懒散地讲述关于罕见气温飙升的轶事，我将与他的 Instagram 动态一样具有共犯之嫌。”正如帕斯卡尔·佩蒂（Pascale Petit）、伊姆蒂亚兹·达克（Imtiaz Dharker）、肖恩·博罗代尔（Sean Borodale）和哈丽特·塔洛（Harriet Tarlo）等诗人在此通过大胆且绝非说教的方式所证明的那样，愿意面对这些困难的问题是一个值得称赞的起点。

在米歇尔·彭（Michelle Penn）那被洪水摧毁的对抗绝望的诗作中，你几乎能感觉到“松散的木板和条板 / 针尖和数字”的碎片，而且很难忘记她关于“身体化作泡沫”的意象，在那里“你唯一能做的就是将时间平衡在背上”。如果这类危机让人感觉遥远，那么这部选集则有力地描述了一个气温升高——不仅仅是侧翼的一根刺——却近在咫尺的世界。

这种对简单分类和简单答案的抵制，也体现在《生态冲击》（Ecoshock）中，这是一部关于气候变化的感人诗集。编辑格林·爱德华兹（Glyn Edwards）坦言，他不知道该如何与正值青春期的儿子讨论当前的热浪：如果他“向他灌输数据直到把他吓坏，他可能会担心

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小说

法式离场

《如何塑造一名女性》（How to Make a Woman） 玛丽·达里厄塞克（Marie Darrieussecq）著，佩妮·休斯顿（Penny Hueston）译 Fitzcarraldo Editions 出版，£14.99，256页

玛丽·达里厄塞克在27岁时凭借其1996年的处女作小说《猪的故事》（Pig Tales）闯入国际文学舞台。这是一部反乌托邦的讽刺寓言，讲述了一名在巴黎一家剥削性按摩院工作的年轻女性，在变成一只猪后生活发生巨变的故事。

随后，她迅速创作出其他几部同样难以归类的小说，包括《我的幻影丈夫》（My Phantom Husband, 1998）、《水下呼吸》（Breathing Underwater, 1999）和《与生者短暂共处》（A Brief Stay With the Living, 2001）。2017年，她出版了《在此即是一切》（Being Here Is Everything），这是一部关于德国表现主义画家保拉·莫德索恩-贝克尔（Paula Modersohn-Becker）短暂一生的传记。达里厄塞克备受赞誉的关于失眠的回忆录《失眠》（Sleepless）于2023年出版英文译本。

普通女性复杂的生命历程、性意识与竞争关系是这位作者的标志；她的写作将尖锐的政治和文化评论与露骨的直白以及诗意的激情融合在一起。现在，我们迎来了她的新小说《如何塑造一名女性》，由佩妮·休斯顿进行了富有抒情色彩且环环相扣的翻译。这是一个双线叙事，讲述了罗丝（Rose）和索朗日（Solange）之间经常充满争议的友谊。两人都是来自法国西南部巴斯克地区虚构村庄克莱夫（Clèves）的十几岁少女——达里厄塞克本人就在那里长大——故事背景设定在20世纪80年代后期。

书的开头是15岁的罗丝在一次几乎没有监管的学校旅行中前往马德里，这次旅行就像所有这类初次涉足成年世界的尝试一样，既令人兴奋又令人沮丧。索朗日缺席了，因为她由于一个身份不明的父亲而意外怀孕生子。来自中产阶级家庭、行事稳重的罗丝才刚刚开始与男友克里斯蒂安（Christian）亲热，但她也被同学拉斐尔（Raphaël）所吸引。

罗丝的故事与她同龄人的故事一同推进。她在波尔多大学学习，后来成为一名心理学家，致力于帮助弱势青少年。她将回到克莱夫，与克里斯蒂安结婚并生育孩子，尽管她和村里许多其他女孩一样，也会成为卑劣的年长酒吧老板马科斯（Marcos）的猎物。掠夺性的男性和骚扰贯穿小说始终，但对生活的纯粹狂喜同样存在，而最终移居巴黎成为演员的索朗日在地下酷儿俱乐部跳舞时找到了这种感觉。

这两个女人的路径在短暂的访问和借来的时光中交汇又分离。整体风格让人想起埃莱娜·费兰特（Elena Ferrante）的“那不勒斯四部曲”，尤其是第三卷《离开的人与留下的人》。正是那个在开头如此卑微的索朗日，凭借其表演天赋和决心找到了永久的出口。她最终将前往好莱坞，而罗丝则坚守在熟悉的环境中。索朗日那个患有学习障碍的非意愿孩子将由索朗日的母亲抚养。

叙述视角是多变的：在罗丝的视角中，索朗日显得疏离且自私。然而，一旦索朗日接管故事，一名经历过创伤性分娩的青少年的痛苦与羞耻，就像一份战争目击报告一样被呈现出来：“她完全不知道该如何度过这一切。她不知道如何在这个身体里生活。她已经四处寻找一个可以把自己抛弃出去的出口。这里没有窗户。”同样，在艾滋病流行高峰期，索朗日当时仍是青少年的朋友们在巴黎的去世，以及后来她在伦敦肮脏的合作社公寓中的生活，都使用了疲惫不堪的战场意象，即便她和她的同伴们当时正与普林斯（Prince）和安妮·伦诺克斯（Annie Lennox）等人一起狂欢。

达里厄塞克的最后一部分效果稍逊，其中罗丝和她的家人在洛杉矶参加了索朗日最新电影的首映礼。两人此时已年过40，小说的这一部分及其程式化的结局显得有些刻意。然而，你会被书中早先出现的一个持久的意象所提醒：“两个女孩一起看向窗外；死亡就像小径上的一个小身影，向她们挥手，回头见，回头见。”

达里厄塞克交付了一部深刻的女性主义作品，其原始与敏感程度犹如皮肤上的晒伤。——凯瑟琳·泰勒

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关于鬼魂的三本书

由 Simon Wroe 挑选

Lafcadio Hearn 自 1994 年起由企鹅出版 部分日语 GHOSTS

《日本鬼故事》 作者：Lafcadio Hearn (1904) Lafcadio Hearn 的 日本妻子 小泉节（Koizumi Setsu），

会背诵民间传说并在黑暗中讲给丈夫听。一旦他从恐惧中恢复过来，他就会记录下来。他的作品集在广度和深度上令人惊叹：一部关于闹鬼的百科全书，其中包含了关于如何最好地避开这些幽灵的警告性建议，以及关于如何安抚它们的有用建议（专业技巧：坐在尸体背上直到黎明可能会阻止其鬼魂回归）。

Thérèse Raquin 作者：Émile Zola (1867) 一些最优秀的 鬼故事 并非出自

恐怖小说作家之手。Émile Zola（就像他的美国当代作家、同样热爱鬼故事的亨利·詹姆斯一样）主要是一位情感生活以及使其处于紧张状态的社会惯例的记录者。在《特蕾莎·拉金》（Thérèse Raquin）中，他通过对一段失败的婚姻和一段注定毁灭的恋情的社会现实主义刻画，构建了一个关于谋杀和背叛的恐怖故事。这个故事中的鬼魂并非随意出没：它是内疚和道德失败的代号，将阴险的情侣追逼至一个可怕且暴力的结局。

《你应该离开》（You Should Have Left），作者：Daniel Kehlmann (2016) 你可能会被

幽灵、观念和遗产所困扰——你也可能会被地点所困扰。Daniel Kehlmann 这本像小刀一样犀利的书就是后者类型的鬼故事。一名编剧与妻子和孩子租了一处乡村度假屋，随后开始经历可怕的噩梦和令人不安的现实偏移。许多经典的闹鬼房屋套路都出现了，但 Kehlmann 微妙地颠覆了它们，将其弯曲成无法识别的形状。读者一直认为自己可能处于熟悉的（尽管闹鬼的）地带，结果才意识到自己比预想的更加迷失。

Simon Wroe 的《鬼月》（Ghost Month）由 Faber 出版

observer.co.uk 30.08.26

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书籍

传记

有良知的艺人

歌手、演员兼活动家哈里·贝拉丰特（Harry Belafonte）致力于一场反对不平等的终身斗争，科林·格兰特（Colin Grant）撰文评述。

《曙光初现：哈里·贝拉丰特及其创造的世界》（Daylight Come: Harry Belafonte and the World He Made） 约书亚·杰利-沙皮罗（Joshua Jelly-Schapiro）著 企鹅出版社美国分社（Penguin Press USA），£26.99，384页

“你会让你的女儿嫁给一个黑人吗？”1954年，《画报》（Picture Post）在标题中向英国白人群体提出的这个问题，当时得到的回答必然是斩钉截铁的“不”。但如果在英国和美国（美国直到十年后才将跨种族婚姻合法化），新郎是哈里·贝拉丰特，或许会成为一个例外。他1956年的专辑《加勒比》（Calypso）成为了首张销量突破100万张的独唱艺人专辑。

正如约书亚·杰利-沙皮罗在《曙光初现》——这部关于这位歌手、演员兼活动家的赞美传记中所强调的那样，贝拉丰特（1927-2023）似乎即使在偏见者眼中也能超越种族。白人崇拜者没有看到那些显而易见却被忽视的事实：这个黑人男人对社会“边缘人群”怀有深情，他利用自己的名气和财富来改善非裔美国人的命运。

贝拉丰特出生于哈莱姆区，在关系恶劣的牙买加移民父母的抚养下度过了不快乐的童年。17岁时，在第二次世界大战期间，他加入了当时仍实行种族隔离的美国海军。杰利-沙皮罗认为，这段经历使贝拉丰特心中萌发了强烈的种族优先团结意识，在此期间，他还成为了一名自豪的自学者。

贝拉丰特对戏剧的兴趣最终在具有创新精神的美国黑人剧院（American Negro Theatre）被激发（在那里他与西德尼·波蒂埃结交），随后他在20世纪60年代的种族政治中发挥了至关重要的作用，支持马丁·路德·金及其家人，并为民权运动提供资金。

杰利-沙皮罗热情洋溢的刻画令人信服地将贝拉丰特塑造为一名有良心的艺人，他很早就精明地与马龙·白兰度和保罗·罗伯森等导师建立了关系。不过，贝拉丰特当时对自己能否作为演员获得成功并不确定，这位未来的白昼偶像在格林威治村开了一家名为“鼠尾草”（Sage）的咖啡馆，在那里他用即兴的海员号子款待食客。

贝拉丰特开始尝试将“他在戏剧工作坊学习的表演方法技巧应用于音乐”。

他发现自己能够在表演中“操纵情感”，其作品范围涵盖了从囚犯劳改队的劳动号子到犹太民谣。幸运的是，“鼠尾草”咖啡馆吸引了一群创意人士，贝拉丰特在那里建立的人脉帮助他在民谣复兴浪潮中开启了出人意料的职业生涯。

然而，尽管《加勒比》中的曲目灵感来自加勒比民谣，但它们与加勒比音乐发源地特立尼达岛上那种融合了粗俗笑话和社会评论的音乐风格大相径庭。但无论内容如何，贝拉丰特甜美的民谣诱惑了美国听众，触动了人们对这位英俊艺人的幻想。

好莱坞很快被贝拉丰特引发的热潮所吸引。电影高管们意识到，这位“加勒比绅士”所激发的幻想无法经受美国社会对跨种族关系敌意的现实考验，但他们选择忽略这一点。在1957年的电影《阳光之岛》（Island in the Sun）中，他与琼·方丹共同主演。一个黑人男人与白人女人之间“惊世骇俗”的银幕浪漫情缘让美国深南地区的观众无法接受，导致该片在当地被禁，尽管片中角色之间最亲密的时刻仅仅是共饮一个椰子。

他的女儿说，她只见过他哭过一次，是在马丁·路德·金被刺杀之后。

百万销量巨星：20世纪50年代在录音室中的贝拉丰特。Getty Images

不可避免地，全身心投入社会活动的生活带来了个人代价。贝拉方特的女儿吉娜回忆道，她只见过父亲哭过一次，那是在马丁·路德·金被刺杀之后，而贝拉方特与金的合作是他人生中最具影响力的协作。贝拉方特与金交往的一个特别益处是，他接纳了这位浸信会牧师所采取的非暴力哲学，这鼓励贝拉方特去“洗净我个人的愤怒”。这种愤怒被转化为一场勇敢、具有战略性且永无止境的反不平等之战。事实上，贝拉方特的勇气在几乎每一个章节中都有体现：他拒绝那些他认为有损人格的演艺角色；在吉姆·克劳法（Jim Crow）时期的美国南部进行竞选时，他无视死亡威胁；他指责像碧昂丝（Beyoncé）和 Jay-Z 这样有影响力的黑人艺人没有利用他们巨大的财政和社会资本来帮助被边缘化的同胞；以及他追随内心，迎娶了第二任妻子——白人女性朱莉·罗宾逊（Julie Robinson）。

“哈里·贝拉方特在‘激进’变得时髦之前就已经是激进分子，并且在它不再时髦之后很久依然如此，”亨利·路易斯·盖茨（Henry Louis Gates Jr.）说道。杰利-沙皮罗（Jelly-Schapiro）对此表示赞同，并认为贝拉方特的成功并非通过“掩盖他的种族身份和自豪感，而是将两者都变成了他魅力与优雅的核心”。无论肤色如何，粉丝们都能感受到这种优雅。无论是观看还是聆听他的表演，贝拉方特将每个人的欣赏都视为一种政治行为，并想象着对他们说：“你们正在与内心更好的天使建立联系，跨越种族分歧。无论是有意识还是无意识，你们都在为平等投票。”

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本周平装书推荐 作者：克里斯·鲍尔（Chris Power）

克里斯托弗·克拉克深入探讨了 1830年代普鲁士一个非正统 宗教团体涉及的“严重性行为不端” 这一奇怪且引人入胜的案例

《柯尼斯堡丑闻》（A Scandal in Königsberg） 克里斯托弗·克拉克（Christopher Clark） 企鹅出版社，£12.99，192页

在18世纪，伊曼努尔·康德的故乡——普鲁士城市柯尼斯堡，成为了启蒙思想的中心。在这位哲学家于 1804 年去世后，这里陷入了沉闷的省级主义。但正是由于康德知识遗产所带来的变革，这座城市（二战后成为俄罗斯领土，更名为加里宁格勒）在1830年代重新回到了公众视野，而克里斯托弗·克拉克在这本扣人心弦的书中剖析的正是那场丑闻。

简单来说，启蒙思想为革命创造了条件，其中最突出的是在法国。克拉克解释道，在那个 era，教会当局与宗教实践者之间出现了裂痕。这使得19世纪上半叶成为了一个“野蛮宗教复兴”的时代，大量对新教的奇特解读层出不穷，随后又迅速消亡。这些运动“在宗教信仰与实践的众多间隙中繁荣……它们是对规范的古怪变体，其中被认可的教条与民间信仰、推测性的自然哲学以及伪科学无缝融合”。

它们就像是“在官方宗教的铺路石之间不断生长出的顽强杂草”。

其中一株这样的“杂草”生长在柯尼斯堡旧城教堂教区，到1830年代，该教区由极具个人魅力的路德宗传教士约翰·威廉·埃贝尔（Johann Wilhelm Ebel）主持。早在1800年代，在他刚获得资格时，他就受到了一个名叫约翰·海因里希·舍恩赫尔（Johann Heinrich Schönherr）的“没读过书的精神追求者”的影响，后者认为圣经中的一切都应该从字面意思理解——而这甚至还不是他最离谱的观点。在一个夏日，舍恩赫尔凝视着池塘中的一些睡莲，突然产生了一种顿悟，从而构建了一整套宇宙起源系统。

埃贝尔与舍恩赫尔的关系在1809年左右首次受到质疑，但当这位传教士的诋毁者将此事提交至柏林时，他们却遭到了斥责。尽管埃贝尔被洗清了嫌疑，但某些人依然对他心怀敌意。到了19世纪30年代，当关于其信徒中存在“严重的性不端行为”、婚外怀孕以及两名年轻女性因“过度兴奋导致精疲力竭”而死亡的指控出现时，柯尼斯堡当局准备对此予以关注。

埃贝尔的指控者是其前追随者：医生路德维希·威廉·萨克斯（Ludwig Wilhelm Sachs）和地主芬克·冯·芬肯斯坦伯爵（Count Finck von Finckenstein）——这个名字无疑让克拉克向叙事之神献上了祭品。随后是长达四年的调查、审判、判决和上诉，由于围绕此案的喧嚣——报纸文章、戏剧，以及成群的学生涌入埃贝尔的教会礼拜并要求会众中的女性亲吻他们——真相几乎变得无法追溯。

克拉克巧妙地由外而内地讲述了这段迷人的插曲，从一份关于性崇拜的报告传到柏林教会事务部长开始，然后逐渐深入到故事核心的人物和事件中。在此过程中，他添加了大量的背景细节，不仅简洁高效，而且从未脱离故事主线。他所提出的观点——即吞没埃贝尔及其同僚的丑闻与其说是反动行为，不如说是自由主义冲动的一次不可预见的反转——令人惊讶且具有说服力。

虽然克拉克的书教导我们要警惕阴谋论思维，但我惊讶地发现，该书精装版获得的所有那些实至名归的赞誉中，没有一篇提到克拉克在其中两节中转向虚构创作的离题之笔。这两场戏——一场在旅店里的神学辩论，一场在书店里对该事件的反思——唯一证明的是，叙事天赋与创造可信角色及对话的能力绝非同一回事。尤其不幸的是，第二场戏充斥着大量生硬的交代，例如“记得吗，它到得太晚，没能包含在原始档案中，必须稍后添加……并邮寄到柏林”，而这恰恰应该是这部原本极其出色的书籍应当结束的地方。

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约翰·艾恩蒙格 (John Ironmonger)

“我对黑猩猩有着深沉的爱”

这位从动物学家转型为作家的作者，讲述了在肯尼亚成长的魔力与恐怖、追究奖杯猎人的责任，以及在德国走红的经历。作者：Jade Cuttle

约翰·艾恩蒙格，72岁，是一位出生于肯尼亚、现居切希尔的动物学家。当他的处女作《马克西米利安·庞德的卓越大脑》(The Notable Brain of Maximilian Ponder) 入围科斯塔首作奖短名单时，他58岁。他的第六部小说《圣皮兰的天使》(The Angel of St Piran) 是一部关于自然保护的惊悚小说，讲述了康沃尔体操运动员安吉尔前往坦桑尼亚研究野生黑猩猩，并发现了一种深层的共同语言，但这份宁静随后被非法奖杯猎人打破的故事。

您新小说的灵感来自哪里？

这本书像是在慢炖锅里慢慢酝酿出来的。我在大学学习动物学，我的妻子曾在切斯特动物园工作，我经常在那里花好几个小时观察他们的黑猩猩群体。真正的火花产生于观看一部关于一名年轻女性在加蓬研究黑猩猩的电视纪录片时。她站在一棵树下，抬头望着高高的树冠。我突然想到，如果她是一名能够爬上去的体操运动员会怎样？于是我立刻走到笔记本电脑前，写下了第一句话。

在肯尼亚长大是否塑造了您对动物学的兴趣？

绝对如此。我出生在内罗毕，并在那里上学，直到13岁搬到英格兰。那里是一个美妙且充满魔力的成长之地。有一个夏天，我在一个国家公园里为一名研究象群的动物学家工作。每天随研究人员一起走访，我意识到这正是我想要从事的工作。

约翰·艾恩蒙格 由 Chris Bethel 为 《观察家报》 在切希尔拍摄。

这种魔力是否曾像在《圣皮兰的天使》中那样被危险所玷污？是的。我没有经历茅茅起义，但在年轻时在乌干达见证了暴力。在伊迪·阿明发动军事政变夺权前后，我曾在姐夫那里做一份假期工作。那太可怕了；我们看到尸体在尼罗河中漂流，甚至被乌干达军队用枪指着头威胁。那是一个极其危险的时期，但当你16岁时，这些事情不会像理应那样让你感到畏惧。

为什么奖杯狩猎是这本书中如此强烈的主题？这源于我对奖杯猎人的厌恶以及我对黑猩猩深沉的爱。我们通常对奖杯狩猎的认知是网上的一张照片，照片里有人站在一只死狮子身边，然后我们就刷到了下一张图。我想将奖杯狩猎推到叙事的前台，让猎人成为真正的反派。在故事中，反派往往是扁平的人物——例如一个富有的企业农场主——但对我来说，奖杯猎人是现实世界中的反派。我想谴责这种残忍。

是什么点燃了您对大猎物狩猎的厌恶感？

美国名人会访问内罗毕，报纸上对此报道很多。20世纪60年代电视剧《逃犯》(The Fugitive) 的明星大卫·詹森来到了这座城市。我们都看过那部剧。但随后我看到一张他射杀狮子的照片。我记得当时我感到极大的震惊和

书籍访谈

恐惧。在我的心中，这感觉像是一次巨大的堕落。

您曾是一位水蛭专家，这涉及大量翻开石头观察的工作。您在文学创作中是否采用了类似的方法？我研究了三年的水蛭，这基本上意味着在湖中涉水，捡起石头并清点下面的水蛭。我们想到的是吸血水蛭，但除了少数几种寄生在牲畜身上或生活在鸟类鼻孔里的恶劣品种外，它们其实没做什么。我不知道目前水蛭中是否有一个伟大的故事

“我们看到尸体在尼罗河中漂流，并被乌干达军队用枪指着头威胁”

但就写小说而言，我确实在翻开不同的“石头”，以讲述那些尚未被讲述的故事。到目前为止，我还没有读过其他关于奖杯狩猎的小说。

您是如何进入一个通常关注年轻作家的行业的？

我一直热爱写作，但多年来这仅仅是一个爱好。直到我把一部小说给我的儿子看，他是一名 BBC 记者，才有人读过我的故事。他告诉我必须把它寄出去。我找到了一位优秀的经纪人，这本书进入了竞拍环节，并且我收到了一笔极高的预付款：22 万英镑。每个人都认为处女作作者应该是年轻人。我记得 [BBC Radio 4] 的《Front Row》节目在报道科斯塔奖（Costa awards）时提到“这些可怜的年轻作家”。我想，在我这个年纪还能被冠以年轻作家的名号，真是太棒了！人们有时会期待你充满青春活力、精力充沛且令人兴奋，所以当我出现在活动现场时，人们可能会想：“这个老家伙是谁？”但我发现年龄并不是一个巨大的障碍。

您从“五大”出版社之一转到了小型出版社。是什么促使了这一改变？

在与哈珀柯林斯（HarperCollins）出版了一本动物学指南后，奥赖恩（Orion）出版了我的前四部小说，但后来我遇到了一位并不太支持我的新编辑。在新冠肺炎疫情封锁期间，我出版了一部小说 [The Many Lives of Heloise Starchild] —— 我不喜欢他们给这本书起的标题，这让它听起来像科幻小说。这本书销量不佳，而大型出版社在很大程度上依赖算法运行，所以如果一本书没有达到数据指标，他们就会放弃。于是，我找到了 Fly on the Wall Press。他们虽然没有大出版社那样雄厚的资金，但他们会付出额外的努力。

您在德国是畅销书作家。这是怎么回事？

这是一个奇特的职业轨迹。德国公众非常喜爱我的书，尽管我一句德语都不会说。我的小说《世界尽头的鲸鱼》（The Whale at the End of the World）恰好是关于全球大流行的，并于 2020 年初在德国出版。它成为了圣诞节销量冠军，售出 50 万册。我成了一个意外的疫情获利者。

您现在在读哪些书？最近，我读了伊恩·莱斯利（Ian Leslie）的《约翰与保罗：歌曲中的爱情故事》（John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs）。我原本并不打算现在开始读，但读了之后我觉得：“噢，哇！”另一本我非常投入的书是本杰明·伍德（Benjamin Wood）的《海天楼》（Seascraper）。他是一位极具美感的作家，所以自从《风向标复兴》（The Bellwether Revivals）之后，他写的所有作品我都读过了。

《圣皮兰的天使》（The Angel of St Piran）由 Fly on the Wall Press 出版（£18.99）。可在 observershop.co.uk 订购，价格为 £17.09（低于建议零售价 10%）。

益智游戏

劳拉·卡明（Laura Cumming）的猜图游戏

本周问题：谁拿着什么？（上方）？答案将于下周日公布。

上周的细节展示了法国诗人保罗·魏尔伦（Paul Verlaine）的面孔，由弗雷德里克·巴齐勒（Frédéric Bazille）于 1868 年在巴黎绘制。魏尔伦与同行诗人阿尔图尔·兰波（Arthur Rimbaud）的私情（鲍勃·迪伦在专辑《血迹在轨道上》中曾提及）在魏尔伦用左轮手枪射击兰波并被判处两年监禁后结束。魏尔伦狂野且富有抒情性的感性使其在 1896 年去世后依然名声大噪，而这位绘制了这张深刻肖像画的画家的名字却几乎被遗忘。巴齐勒在世时没有卖出一幅画，并在普法战争的博讷拉-罗兰德战役中，于 28 岁时去世。直到 20 世纪，他的名声才再次开始回升。

电影连连看

每周我们展示三张剧照。请猜出相关的电影以及将它们联系在一起的历史人物。（如果能按时间顺序排列，可获得加分。）

由基利安·福克斯（Killian Fox）出题，答案在第 31 页。

Everyman 纵横字谜 No. 4,167

横向

1 间谍工作精准 (4-2)

4 布丁 - 焦虑 - 寄回 (8)

10 亨利必然不以专注的方式开始 (9)

11 翻转 Everyman 的最终吝啬：‘吝啬鬼’的代号 (5)

12 我建议比尔获得防晒保护 (7)

14 国王穿着t恤，也许，不是‘男发髻’风格的发型 (7)

15 想要自助餐的音乐家？ (13)

18 损坏的潜艇带有砂浆：听听谁在监督船只？ (13)

20 流行天后在娱乐，回归，完全是奶酪 (7)

22 提及的一种文章类型 (7)

23 《观察者报》的核心？ (5)

24 由斯诺克设备启发而来的娱乐车？那太出乎意料了 (9)

26 行为反社会且分娩 (8)

27 在古巴和美国，假装成一个可以长时间不喝水的 (6)

纵向

1 烈酒：醉汉被要求拍照 (8)

2 九个或三个床单在风中？ (3,4,3,5)

3 首先是迟钝的，愚蠢的笨蛋？ (3)

5 输入欢迎德国国家 (5)

6 拼写出的命令，并非完全公开 (4-7)

7 犹豫者，不明智地咬住 - 鱼的最后动作？ (6,2,3,4)

8 美国糕点被拒绝，不止一个等级 (6)

9 蛋糕燃烧者未完成一半的司康饼：像野餐一样？ (8)

13 几乎不是舞会的社交活动！ (6,5)

16 关于电子元件的重复记录 (2,6)

17 喃喃自语，飞溅地泼洒 (8)

19 使用手机寻找带有 50% 减价账单的自助式房间 (6)

21 搜集情报的任务给出了沉船的描述，你是这么说的吗？ (5)

25 定期记录的杯垫年龄 (3)

姓名 地址

邮编

解题者可以通过以下方式在线参加我们的填字游戏竞赛：www.observer.co.uk / puzzles 或发送电子邮件至：competitions@observer.co.uk

鼓励无纸化参赛；仍接受邮寄参赛。 随机选出的五个正确答案将各获得一张 £15 的图书代金券。

如需参加 Everyman 抽奖，请通过在线或邮寄方式将正确答案提交至：Everyman No. 4,167, The Observer, 22 Berners Street, London W1T 3LP

电子邮件参赛必须在主题栏中包含与印刷版一致的填字游戏名称和编号（例如 “Everyman No. 4,167”）。主题不正确的参赛作品将不被接受。仅限 18 岁及以上的英国居民。每人最多参赛一次。在线参赛的截止日期为出版后的周六，邮寄参赛必须不晚于出版后的周六盖戳，且必须在谜题出版后十天内送达（即出版后下周的周三）。获胜者将在出版两周后的周日公布。完整条款与条件请访问：

经典数独

< / td><>8< / ><>< / ><>7< / ><>1< / ><>< / >< / tr><><>< / ><>9< / ><>4< / ><>2< / ><>< / ><>5< / ><>< / ><>1< / ><>< / >< / ><><>< / ><>< / ><>9< / ><>5< / >< / ><><>< / ><>5< / ><>< / ><>2< / ><>9< / ><>< / >< / ><><>< / ><>3< / ><>9< / ><>4< / ><>< / ><>7< / ><>< / ><>8< / ><>< / >< / ><><>< / ><>< / ><>4< / ><>1< / >< / ><><>< / ><>1< / ><>< / ><>9< / ><>< / ><>8< / >< / ><><>7< / ><>< / ><>5< / ><>< / >< / ><><>< / ><>2< / ><>< / ><>8< / ><>< / ><>6< / >< / table>

使用数字 1 到 9 填充空白单元格。 每个数字在每行、每列和每个 3x3 方格中必须恰好出现一次。

答案 No. 4,166

Everyman No. 4,165 Frank Dippnall, Bury, Greater Manchester David Helliwell, Oxford Karen Hodder, York, North Yorks Mirko Junkovic, Cambridge Rick King, Woodsetts, Worksop, Notts

Gemelo No. 46 - 普通

1< / td><>< / ><>2< / ><>3< / ><>4< / ><>5< / ><>6< / ><>7< / ><>8< / ><>< / ><>9< / ><>10< / >< / tr><><>11< / ><>< / ><>12< / ><>< / >< / ><><>< / ><>13< / ><>< / ><>14< / ><>< / >< / ><><>15< / ><>< / ><> 16< / ><>< / >< / ><><>17< / ><>< / ><> < / ><>< / >< / ><><>18< / ><>< / ><>19< / ><>< / ><>20< / ><>< / >< / ><><>21< / ><>< / ><>22< / ><>< / ><>23< / ><>< / ><>24< / ><>< / >< / ><><>25< / ><>26< / ><>< / ><> < / ><>< / >< / ><><>27< / ><>< / ><>28< / ><>< / >< / ><><>29< / ><>< / ><>30< / ><>< / >< / ><><>< / ><>< / ><>31< / ><>< / ><>32< / ><>< / >< / ><><>33< / ><>< / ><> < / ><>< / >< / table>

适用普通数独规则，但灰色线条内的单元格数字之和等于角落中的数字。在灰色线条形成的每个形状内，数字不能重复。

Killer by Godefridus

<><>姓名< / >< / ><><>地址< / >< / ><><>< / >< / ><><>邮编< / >< / table>

电影连接答案 《杰基》(2016)、《肯尼迪》(1991) 和《金发女郎》(2022) 均通过模仿或档案片段呈现了约翰·F·肯尼迪。

横向

1 树木和灌木科，十年之久，且导致在没有任何死亡的情况下发生改变 (12)

11 向西飞，为了十分之一美元，大约 (5)

12 疟疾流行导致 P&L 完结 (4) 14 脱毛的地方，我曾在订婚期间在淋浴中经历 (9, 2 words)

15 不寻常的花卉背景 (6, 2 words) 16 传说中，人们可以完全准确地解开巨型填字游戏，仅花费几秒钟 (3)

17 对传感器的再次审视，当没有任何东西丢失时显得疯狂 (12)

18 不会飞的鸟，带着诱惑歌唱，极其迷人 (7)

20 谈论棕榈树的旧产品 (4)

21 穿过薯片的臭鼬 (4)

23 蚂蟥即将坚持下去 (7)

25 装饰小婴儿床时的首次涂刷，不再被其他婴儿床接受 (12, 2 )

27 旧羊毛织物，例如 (3)

28 摆脱国王的国家，为了一个将加入工会的人 (6)

29 冒犯性的装饰，并非真的打算驱逐独立苏格兰人？ (9, 2 )

31 如果口号能被定期遗忘——同样缓慢的广告 (4, 2 )

32 合唱作品在没有宗教文本的情况下结合在一起 (5)

33 屠夫感觉到销售的不盈利 (12)

向下

1 停止在尴尬的部分刮削 (12)

2 也许是慷慨的人，以某种方式获得了一年？ (9)

3 缺乏外壳的长针炸弹 (3) 4 在痛苦的争论中，最初关于膨胀的洛杉矶市民感到不安 (12)

5 谷物的第一部分好吗？ (4)

6 苏格兰高地人在无成效的起义期间接纳民族主义者 (7)

7 是什么导致了怀疑论的上升？它在获得经验主义信念 (12)

8 比如铜，在基于语言的分析中将两两结合 (6)

9 额外的现役任务进入其中 (5)

10 最终，接受成本的飞机乘客被扔出——在这些之中？ (12, 2 words)

13 什么主要采取血液？ (4)

16 很大程度上是反绿色的美国人，可能？ (9)

19 带着未开启合同的该死会计 (7)

22 峡谷，吃掉新的面糊 (6)

24 切割，以及类似的，开始疼痛 (4)

26 首席会计师在正式写作中掩盖狡猾的行为 (5)

28 带有瀑布的护城河 (4)

30 像祭司一样的门徒，忽略外围教区 (3)

推荐使用

《钱伯斯词典 (2016)》。

Gemelo No. 43 解答与注释

$^1$ P< / td><>U< / ><> $^2$ L< / ><> $^3$ P< / ><> $^4$ S< / ><> $^5$ W< / ><> $^6$ A< / ><> $^7$ D< / ><>E< / ><> $^8$ S< / ><> $^9$ H< / ><> $^{10}$ I< / >< / tr><><> $^{11}$ H< / ><>A< / ><>I< / ><>R< / ><> $^{12}$ E< / ><>E< / ><>L< / ><> $^{13}$ A< / ><>C< / ><>T< / ><>O< / ><>N< / >< / ><><>O< / ><> $^{14}$ I< / ><>N< / ><>E< / ><>X< / ><>P< / ><>L< / ><>I< / ><>C< / ><>I< / ><>T< / ><>C< / >< / ><><> $^{15}$ T< / ><>A< / ><>N< / ><>G< / ><>E< / ><>T< / ><>E< / ><> $^{16}$ K< / ><>E< / ><>N< / ><>T< / ><>E< / >< / ><><> $^{17}$ O< / ><>G< / ><>E< / ><>N< / ><>M< / ><>E< / ><>L< / ><>O< / ><> $^{18}$ N< / ><>T< / ><>I< / ><>N< / >< / ><><>G< / ><> $^{19}$ S< / ><>T< / ><>A< / ><> $^{20}$ P< / ><>R< / ><>E< / ><> $^{21}$ S< / ><>A< / ><>G< / ><>E< / ><>D< / >< / ><><> $^{22}$ R< / ><>O< / ><>E< / ><>N< / ><>T< / ><> $^{23}$ G< / ><>E< / ><>N< / ><>R< / ><> $^{24}$ V< / ><>S< / ><>I< / >< / ><><>A< / ><>D< / ><> $^{25}$ E< / ><> $^{26}$ T< / ><> $^{27}$ A< / ><>N< / ><>T< / ><>A< / ><>R< / ><>A< / ><>R< / ><>A< / >< / ><><> $^{28}$ V< / ><>A< / ><>L< / ><>O< / ><>R< / ><>E< / ><> $^{29}$ K< / ><>T< / ><> $^{30}$ A< / ><>G< / ><>A< / ><>R< / >< / ><><>U< / ><> $^{31}$ P< / ><>E< / ><>R< / ><>I< / ><>T< / ><>E< / ><>C< / ><>T< / ><>I< / ><>C< / ><>I< / >< / ><><> $^{32}$ R< / ><>O< / ><>M< / ><>P< / ><>S< / ><> $^{33}$ U< / ><>P< / ><>H< / ><>O< / ><>L< / ><>D< / ><>S< / >< / ><><> $^{34}$ E< / ><>P< / ><>I< / ><>D< / ><>E< / ><>M< / ><>I< / ><>C< / ><> $^{35}$ R< / ><>E< / ><>A< / ><>M< / >< / table>

• ARCH), 32 PROMS 将 P 移动, 33 PUSH* 围绕 OLD, 34 EPIC 围绕 IDEM, 35 RE AM.

答案解释的加密速记可在此查看：https: / observer.co.uk / puzzles / gemelo / article / gemelo-key

横向：1 PULPIT - IT, 4 (HAS WISED)*, 11 AIR 在 HEEL 中, 13 (NOT CA)<, 14 (EXP LICIT) 在 IN 之后, 15 dd, 16 KENT CAPE - CAP, 17 O GEMELO 围绕 N N, 20 PRESSED 用 AG 代替 S, 22 TORN* 围绕 E GEN, 26 ANTARA 在 TRA(d) 中, 28 VR 围绕 (A LO), 30 (v)AGAR(y), 31 IC(e) 在 (PER ARCHITECT 之后

纵向：1 (HR PRO GAVE OUT)*, 2 LET 围绕 INN, 3 dd, 5 (T PEW)<, 6 ((k) ELL(y) 在 ELA 中)<, 7 (KI(t) 在 OA D(rummer) 中)<, 8 dd, 9 TIES 在 (s)HOT(s) 之后, 10 (AND I SIN CRIME)*, 12 EXE (da)M PT, 18 ARRAN(t)< 至 R, 19 ADOS< POP, 21 S NATCH, 23 NUTMEG*, 24 V AGILE &lit, 25 (IE 围绕 MEL)<, 27 POLARISE - POL, 29 PIKE 循环。

规则与要求

如需参加 Gemelo 抽奖，请通过以下方式提交正确答案：在线提交至 https: / observer.co.uk / puzzles，发送电子邮件至 competitions@observer.co.uk，或邮寄至：Gemelo No. 46, The Observer, 22 Berners Street, London W1T 3LP

电子邮件参赛作品必须在主题栏中包含与印刷版一致的填字游戏名称和编号（例如“Gemelo No. 46”）。主题不正确的参赛作品将不被受理。鼓励无纸化参赛。仅限 18 岁及以上的英国居民。每人最多提交一份作品。在线提交的截止日期为出版后的周六；邮寄作品必须在出版后的周六或之前盖邮戳，且必须在谜题出版后十天内送达（即出版后下周的周三）。将随机抽取三个正确答案，每位获胜者将获得一张 £25 的图书代金券。Gemelo No. 46 的获胜者将于 2026 年 9 月 27 日周日公布。

完整条款与条件请访问：

https: / observer.co.uk / puzzles / everyman / article / crossword-prize-draws

Gemelo No. 43 中奖者

P Jennings, 牛津

SA Leckie, 爱丁堡

G McNaughton, 西约克郡, 奥特利

国际象棋（作者：Jonathan Speelman）

图表 1

你能猜出卡鲁阿纳及其硅基部下准备的绝妙主意是什么吗？（见对局。）

去年，大棋手巡回赛（Grand Chess Tour）恢复了 2019 年最后使用的一种形式，即在辛奎菲尔德杯（Sinquefield Cup）之后进行淘汰赛决赛。决赛在一个月后于圣保罗举行，法比亚诺·卡鲁阿纳在决赛中击败了马克西姆·瓦希埃-拉格拉夫。

今年他们将决赛留在内部，决赛依然在密苏里州圣路易斯举行，就在辛奎菲尔德杯结束几天之后。

常规巡回赛结束时，拉梅什巴布·普拉格纳南达排名第一，领先于卫斯理·索、卡鲁阿纳和文森特·凯默，因此半决赛由普拉格对阵凯默，另外两名美国选手在另一组对阵。

如今流行复杂的赛事形式，比赛由古典棋、快棋和超快棋组成，得分分别为 (6,3,0)（胜 / 平 / 负）、(4.2,0) 和 (2,1,0)。

普拉格轻松击败了凯默，卡鲁阿纳在对阵索的比赛中也占据优势，决赛以及第三 / 第四名之争一直持续到周四——我们将在下周回顾最终结果。

我认为半决赛中最有趣的对局是一场和棋。距离弗兰克·马歇尔在 1918 年纽约对阵何塞·劳尔·卡帕布兰卡时在鲁伊·洛佩兹开局中使出他的弃子已经一个多世纪了。根据传说，马歇尔将这个新招保存了八年，专门用于对付卡帕，而后者在心知肚明的情况下接受了弃子并最终获胜。尽管如此，这个弃子（1e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0–0 Be7 6 Re1 b5 7 Bb3 0–0 8℃3 d5!?）直到今天仍是主流线路之一。

如今，开局新招的寿命要短得多，而且通常只能使用一次，因为它们会在网上实时播出，并在几小时内被分析得体无完肤。卡鲁阿纳在人类助手和计算机的帮助下发现了一个绝妙的主意（见图表 1），即便我们的硅基主宰们对此并不太感冒。他获得了巨大的优势，且至少没有输掉，尽管最后结果化为乌有。

法比亚诺·卡鲁阿纳 v 卫斯理·索

2026 年 GCT 决赛（古典棋第 2 局） 鲁伊·洛佩兹

1e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 Nf6 4 0-0

与 Bxc6 和 dxe5 Nxb5 a4 相比，这种弃子相当罕见。6...exd4 6...e4 7 Ne5 Be7 8 Nc3 0–0 9 Re1 是主要替代方案。7℃3 Be7! 7...dxc3 8 Nxc3 损失太多时间。8 cxd4 0–0 9 Nc3 Nc4 10 d5 白方必须在黑方通过 d5 稳定局面之前采取行动。10...N6e5 11 Bc2 d6 12 Nxe5 Nxe5 13 f4 Nd7 见图 1。14 g4! 为了强调他已经抓住了索（So）的破绽，卡鲁阿纳（Caruana）立即走出了这一步。14...c6 电脑则淡定地继续走 14...Re8 15 Qd3 g6 16 f5 b6 并且对此非常满意，但白方是否拥有巨大的进攻机会这一点绝非显而易见。15 g5 Nb6 16 h4 f5?! 阻挡了对方兵的推进，但让自己陷入了极度局促的境地。16...

Nxd5 17 Nxd5 cxd5 18 f5 Qb6+ 19 Kg2 Bd8 20 f6 g6 21h5 Be6 22 hxg6 fxg6! 显然大致相等。17 a4 Bd7 18 Re1 Rc8 19 a5 Nxd5 20 Nxd5 cxd5 21 Be3

图 2

21...a6?! 这给了白方建立控制权的时间，并让他的象占据了一个极佳的格点。21...d4 22 Bxd4 d5 23 Bxa7 Be8 24 Bb3 Bf7 25 Qd4 是在可接受范围内的。22 Bb3 Bc6 23 Bxd5+ Kh8 24 Bb6 Qe8 25 Bxc6 Rxc6 26 Qe2 Rf7 27 Rac1 错失机会。27 h5 d5 28 Rad1 本可以建立起近乎完全的控制。也许他担心 27 h5Qc8 28 g6 Rc2，但 29 Qxc2 Qxc2 30 gxf7 是胜势，因为在 Qb3 31 Rxe7 Qg3+ 32 Kf1 之后，象准备回到 f2，不存在长久将军。27...d5 28 h5 Kg8 29 Kg2 Qd7 30 Rxc6 Qxc6 31 Qe6 Qxe6 32 Rxe6 Bb4

图 3

白方仍有压力，但凭借精准的防守，索（So）相当舒适地守住了局面。33 Re8+ Rf8 34 Re5 Kf7! 35 Rxd5 Ke6 36 Re5+ Kd7 37 Bc5 决定简化为车 endgame（车端局），但这很容易防守。37 Bxc5 38 Rxc5 Kd6 39 b4 g6 40 h6 Re8 41 Kf3 Kd7 42 Rd5+ Kc6 43 Rd3 Kc7 44 Re3 Rxe3+ 45 Kxe3 Kc6 46 Kd4 Kd6 47 Kc4 Kc6 48 Kd4 白方如果愿意也可以走 b5+，但这没有帮助 48...axb5+ 49 Kb4 Kd6 50 Kxb5 Kd7 51 Kc5 Kc7 等。

图 4

48...Kd6 49 Kc4 Kc6 50 Kd4 随后双方同意和棋。

卡鲁阿纳（执白） 对阵 卫斯理·索

2 法比亚诺·卡鲁阿纳 对阵 卫斯理·索（执白）

3 法比亚诺· 卡鲁阿纳（执白） 对阵 卫斯理·索

4 法比亚诺· 卡鲁阿纳 对阵 卫斯理· 索（执白）

谜题

Lexipedia 测验：关于桌面游戏（由 Joshua Blackburn 出题）

1. 哪个游戏是“gambit”（弃兵 / 开局弃子）这个词的来源？ A) 检棋 (Draughts) B) 国际象棋 (Chess) C) 多米诺骨牌 (Dominoes) D) 人生游戏 (The Game of Life)

2. 什么是 meeples？ A) 多米诺骨牌 B) 骰子侧面的点数 C) 小型的、人形的木制棋子 D) 弹指游戏 (tiddlywinks) 中使用的圆盘

3. 哪个文字游戏最初被称为 Lexiko？ A) Boggle B) Scrabble (拼字游戏) C) Bananagrams D) Wordle

4. 被认为是最古老的已知桌面游戏的是？ A) Mancala (播棋) B) 围棋 (Go) C) 双陆棋 (Backgammon) D) Senet (塞内特棋)

5. 国际象棋中的“Checkmate”（将死）源自一个阿拉伯词汇，其含义是？ A) 国王死了 B) 断剑 C) 最后一击 D) 胜利

6. 中国游戏“麻将”的名字是什么意思？ A) 宏伟的宫殿 B) 造屋顶的人 C) 全手 D) 麻雀

幸运抽奖加分题 7. “cliche”（陈词滥调）和“stereotype”（刻板印象）这两个词源自哪个行业？ A) 烘焙 B) 纺织 C) 印刷 D) 木工

聊聊……国际象棋俚语

国际象棋曾被称为“国王的游戏”，但现在它属于每一个人，尤其是在新冠疫情期间迎来爆发式增长之后。我自己是个糟糕的棋手，不过是个毫无灵气的“推木头者”（woodpusher），但我热爱伴随这项运动而生的俚语。

就开局而言：你可能听说过西班牙开局（Spanish Opening）或后翼弃兵（Queen's Gambit），但你听说过“煎肝攻击”（Fried Liver Attack）、“双鸭阵型”（Double Duck Formation）或“猪排开局”（Pork Chop）吗？我特别喜欢“云端棒球攻击”（Bongcloud Attack），在这种开局中，国王是第二个移动的棋子。这是一种故意为之的糟糕策略，只有那些想要炫耀自己水平之高的人才会尝试。

像我这样的“鱼”（fish，指水平低下的棋手）倾向于下“博特兹弃兵”（Botez Gambit）——这是网络俚语，指一个会导致丢后的愚蠢走法。而从“鱼”这个词衍生出了“炸鱼赛”（fish fry）——适合初学者的低级别赛事——以及“鱼线”（fishy line），指考虑不周的开局。事实上，形容糟糕棋手的词汇很多，比如“笨蛋”（duffer）、“兵之贪婪者”（pawn grubber）以及令人难忘的“业余棋手”（patzer）。一个你一直能赢的对手被称为“兔子”（rabbit），如果你赢了他们足够多次，人们会说你“收养”了他们。

形容高手的俚语较少，大概是因为嘲讽烂棋更有趣——而且即使是赞美也带着刺。“咖啡馆棋手”（Coffeehouse players）熟悉棋盘走法，但走法激进且冒险，充满了无法欺骗专业人士的廉价诡计。而“鲨鱼”（sharks）虽然水平高，但更感兴趣的是潜伏寻找弱小的猎物以轻松获胜。无论如何，他们知道如何布置一个“章鱼马”（octopus knight）——即占据中心位置并控制其可攻击的所有 8 个格子的马——以及如何运用“盲猪”（blind pigs）——即两只旨在对方兵阵造成杀戮的车——从而达成“盲猪将死”（blind swine mate），由两只车 delivering 致命一击。而到那时，我的朋友，游戏结束。

Joshua Blackburn 是《语言爱好者的词典》（The Language-Lover's Lexipedia, Bloomsbury, £14.99）的作者。可在 observershop.co.uk 以 £13.49 订购。可能产生配送费用。

金发姑娘谜题（Goldilocks）答案 No.39

$^1$ S< / td><> $^2$ L< / ><> $^3$ O< / ><> $^4$ G< / >< rowspan="3">< / ><> $^5$ U< / ><> $^6$ S< / ><> $^7$ E< / ><> $^8$ S< / >< / tr><><> $^9$ P< / ><>A< / ><>R< / ><> $^{10}$ T< / ><>O< / ><>G< / ><>A< / >< / ><><> $^{11}$ E< / ><>S< / ><>O< / ><> $^{12}$ I< / ><>D< / ><>O< / ><>L< / >< / ><>< colspan="3">< / ><> $^{13}$ C< / ><>H< / ><>O< / ><>C< / ><> $^{14}$ O< / ><>L< / ><>A< / ><>T< / ><>E< / >< / ><>< colspan="3">< / ><> $^{15}$ E< / ><>L< / ><>I< / >< colspan="3">< / >< / ><><> $^{16}$ S< / ><> $^{17}$ E< / ><> $^{18}$ C< / ><>R< / ><>E< / ><>T< / ><> $^{19}$ I< / ><> $^{20}$ V< / ><> $^{21}$ E< / >< / ><><> $^{22}$ H< / ><>A< / ><>R< / ><>I< / >< rowspan="3">< / ><> $^{23}$ I< / ><>D< / ><>E< / ><>A< / >< / ><><> $^{24}$ I< / ><>S< / ><>E< / ><> $^{25}$ E< / ><>L< / ><>I< / ><>S< / >< / ><><> $^{26}$ P< / ><>E< / ><>W< / ><>S< / ><> $^{27}$ S< / ><>E< / ><>N< / ><>T< / >< / table>

扫描订阅 The Puzzle Edit —— 由谜题编辑 Caitlin O'Kane 撰写的每周时事通讯

金发姑娘填字游戏 No.40

不过太难，不过太易，恰到好处。

金发姑娘线索不包含字数提示；在尺寸中等的填字游戏中，这只会让本就紧凑的谜题变得更加简单。乐趣在于发散思维、对网格的观察以及鲜明的现代英国口语。通过在 observer.co.uk 订阅，可在网上玩金发姑娘存档。

横向

1 犯错

6 文本传输协议（缩写）

9 Emma Mackey 在 Sex Education 中

10 许多 rap monikers 中的第一个词

11 例如，与党派步调一致地发言

13 Oasis 和 Blur 的流派

14 土地单位

16 VAR 中的 “A” 的缩写

17 它可能会帮你写论文并伪造来源

19 __monster（尤尔根·克洛普创造的新词）

24 _ Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

纵向

1 Funeral for a Friend 的流派

25 不平衡 / 古怪

23 马德里的牛奶

22 停止

2 逃离

3 以其名字命名的阿姆斯特丹博物馆的艺术家

8 在床上休息

7 Bad and Boujee 三人组

6 像某些喜剧一样

4 获得 BAFTA 提名的 Rupert

12 回形针的替代品

14 它们是顶端！

5 南亚风格的本土的

15 Karate Kid 2010 反派

18 例如化装舞会

20 定冠词

21 弓箭使用的木材

Godefridus 的大苹果数独

每一行、每一列和每个 $3 \times 3$ 方格必须包含数字 1-9，此外还有一个额外挑战——四个高亮的 $3 \times 3$ 蓝色方格共同组成了一组额外的方格，其中也必须包含 1-9 且不得重复

7. C. 印刷 “Claithie” 和 “stereotype” 两者都源自印刷贸易中使用的法语术语。事实上，stereotype 字面上就是一种过程本身。

8. A The King is Dead (Chicincts 源自阿拉伯语 sham met，最初源自波斯语，准确翻译为 “the king has been concourable”，根据 Iva fokik 的词源，这变成了 “the king is clear” 并通过法语 escetic meet 进入英语。6) Sporrows MLing 是 19 世纪在中国流行的一种类似标题的游戏。这个名字的意思是 “sporrows”，这要么是指游戏过程中发出的循环声音，让人想起鸟类的叽叽喳喳，要么是指 6) 的原始设计。Sporrows MLing 是 19 世纪在中国流行的一种类似标题的游戏。这个名字的意思是 “sporrows”，这要么是指游戏过程中发出的循环声音，让人想起鸟类的叽叽喳喳，要么是指 6) 的原始设计。

9. B. Scabable 由 Alfred Moher Butts 在 1938 年发明，最初称为 Lexiko。随后被改为 Crisis。 Crosworks，在 James Broutt 于 1948 年买下该游戏的制造权并将其重新命名为 Scarable 之前。

10. (D.) Sent 这被认为是已知最古老的棋盘游戏，随之埋葬的似乎有 sent 套件的碎片

11. Csi 小型人形木制人偶 Meeples 是某些棋盘游戏中用作棋子的小型木制人偶。Nobilissimo Gluco degli Scachli。 Nobilissimo Gluco degli Scachli。

12. (B.) Chess “Gambit” 最初是一个国际象棋术语，指为了获得优势而设计的计算好的走法序列。该词首次出现在 “The Royal Game of Chess-Play” 中，这是 Francis Brace 在 1656 年对 Gothic grocs, traciteo del 的英文翻译。Chinese “Gambit” 最初是一个国际象棋术语，指为了获得优势而设计的计算好的走法序列。该词首次出现在 “The Royal Game of Chess-Play” 中，这是 Francis Brace 在 1656 年对 Gothic grocs, traciteo del 的英文翻译。

Staying in Audio

生活不过是一场热病之梦

一项针对一名自称连环杀手专家的幻想狂的严谨调查，引发了人们对出版界事实核查机制的质疑。此外，本文还将介绍如何避免二维码诈骗。

米兰达·索耶 (Miranda Sawyer)

《猎杀心理》(The Mindhunter) BBC Studios 为 Audible 制作 《诈骗秘密》(Scam Secrets) BBC Radio 4 乔·怀利 (Jo Whiley) BBC Radio 2 / BBC Sounds

2019, 罗宾·佩里 (Robin Perrie) 的妻子为他买了一场演说的门票。演讲者是保罗·哈里森 (Paul Harrison)，他曾是英国警察局的犯罪画像师，也曾与 FBI 合作。哈里森当时正在推广他的关于连环杀手的著作《心理游戏》(Mind Games)。哈里森是一位极具魅力的演讲者，他向观众讲述了自己与约克郡开膛手、泰德·邦迪、杰弗里·达默和查尔斯·曼森（如图）的阴暗接触。每个人都对此赞不绝口。

除了佩里。作为一名《太阳报》记者，他察觉到了异样。他回家后进行了一些研究，发现了关于哈里森的一些非常奇怪的事实。其中最奇怪的一点是，哈里森已经死了。

很有趣，对吧？在《猎杀心理》中，执着且风趣的调查记者弗朗西斯科·加西亚 (Francisco Garcia)（他同时也是《观察家报》的作者）努力地让我们保持好奇。在六集节目中，他与制作人布伦娜·达尔多夫 (Brenna Daldorph) 对哈里森及其作品进行了深入挖掘——追踪线索、核实事实——并很快发现哈里森不仅活着（他为了逃避一起版权诉讼而伪造了自己的死亡），而且他并非如其自称的那样专业。渐渐地，他们将哈里森的多个不同版本联系了起来，此人曾声称在多个截然不同的领域拥有专业知识，从利兹联足球俱乐部到尼斯湖水怪。

加西亚和达尔多夫都是非常讨喜的陪伴者，他们做了大量基础工作，包括在奥克尼群岛附近的偏远岛屿桑代岛 (Sanday) 停留。尽管如此，在这部有趣的系列节目接近尾声时，有人提出了我一直以来在思考的问题：哈里森这个小规模的胡言乱语贩子，真的值得他们花这么多精力去揭穿吗？我还产生了一些其他疑问，例如，为什么出版业不为非虚构类书籍投资事实核查员？从《心理游戏》到《盐径》(The Salt Path)，现在似乎任何想象力丰富的投机者都能将一场热病之梦当作真实故事来出售。编辑应该问的第一个问题难道不应该是：这个故事站得住脚吗？

关于诈骗者被绳之以法——真实犯罪类节目中的“幸灾乐祸式欺诈”子类——这些节目教会了我们这些听众，要警惕任何具有强大魅力且试图推销某种东西的人。Radio 4, 的《诈骗秘密》便试图防止我们成为受害者。该节目由诈骗调查员莎莉·瓦尔 (Shari Vahl) 主持，犯罪学家伊丽莎白·卡特 (Dr Elisabeth Carter) 博士和前罪犯亚历克斯·伍德 (Alex Wood) 参与——我想说，主持人太多了。这个节目就像一个现代版的《你我与你》(You and Yours)，每期节目都穿插着被骗听众发来的电子邮件。

本周的主题是二维码。瓦尔好奇她的共同主持人是否知道 QR 代表什么。卡特和伍德都不知道（我也不知道）。显然是“快速响应”(Quick Response)：二维码是能让你直接跳转到所需位置的超快速条形码。或者，至少是直接跳转到卖家希望你到达的位置。最近，停车缴费表上出现了手动粘贴的二维码，看起来像是合法的支付方式，不少听众因此被骗。一名男子表示，尽管他在操作过程中途退出，但仍然发现自己被扣了 £60 的直接借记款项，而这并非由他设置。其他可疑的交易还包括人们使用二维码买书、打印照片，或点击电子邮件中的二维码。现代生活真是糟糕，不是吗？

周二，多莉·帕顿（Dolly Parton）去世，全世界都感到心碎。在这种时刻，音乐电台是最好的陪伴。乔·怀利（Jo Whiley）在上播前刚刚得知这个消息，她在当晚的 Radio 2 节目中用温暖与爱将多莉的音乐贯穿其中。听众的电子邮件讲述了多莉对他们生活的深远影响。“很多人提到他们在车里或厨房里听多莉的歌，”怀利说道。多莉虽然是一位事业女性，但始终保持着一种居家气息。她既是一位超级巨星，也是一位家庭女神。如果你想进一步了解她，BBC Sounds 上提供了许多值得欣赏的内容，包括她 2014 年在格拉斯顿伯里（Glastonbury）的演出；Greatest Hits Radio 在周三也表达了对多莉的深切怀念——尤其是肯·布鲁斯（Ken Bruce）；此外，如果还有人没听过那部堪称典范的 WNYC 系列节目《多莉·帕顿的美国》（Dolly Parton's America），那么请赶紧去听。你一定会爱上它的。

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电视

本周亮点

作者：Craig McLean, Kay Ribeiro 和 Stephen Armstrong 电影推荐：Jonathan Romney

今日

今日精选：《守夜人》（Vigil）

BBC One, 晚上 9 点

在经历了海军潜艇上的谋杀案，以及围绕被英国皇家空军（RAF）无人机杀死的士兵的阴谋之后，这部充满反转的警匪军事惊悚剧第三季将侦探 Suranne Jones 和 Rose Leslie 带到了一个北极研究基地。这对生活和工作伙伴调查一名在秘密任务中与俄罗斯人交火而死的一名英国特种部队士兵的死亡事件。一名失踪的中国科学家和格拉斯哥的武装环保活动人士进一步提升了这部地缘政治生态惊悚剧的高风险赌注。CMc

《哈姆扎：非洲猛禽》（Hamza: African Birds of Prey）

BBC One, 晚上 7 点

野生动物摄影师哈姆扎·亚辛（Hamza Yassin）在这部纪录片的大部分时间里都对猛禽赞不绝口，其原因显而易见。肯尼亚的每个地区都展现出不同的壮丽猛禽，从雄伟的年轻战雕和害羞且迷人的小鸮，到身姿挺拔、拥有迷人冠羽、恐龙般鸣叫声和致命踢击力的秘书鸟。KR

《触发点》（Trigger Point）

ITV1, 晚上 9 点

爆炸物处理专家拉娜·华盛顿（Lana Washington，Vicky McClure 饰）及其团队时间紧迫，他们必须阻止一辆装满简易爆炸装置（IED）的卡车到达其东伦敦目的地。随着一架不详的无人机追踪车辆动向，以及新指挥官尼亚·昆廷（Nia Quentin，干练的 Julie Graham 饰）下达指令，第四季迎来了一个惊心动魄的开端。KR

电影

《教父》（The Godfather）

（弗朗西斯·福特·科波拉，1972）

BBC Two, 晚上 10 点

一部经久不衰的美国经典，无论好坏。评论家大卫·汤姆森（David Thomson）在其新书《突然闪现的光芒》（A Sudden Flicker of Light）中写道：“这部电影在 50 年多以来一直有效，是因为其中的暴力和复仇似乎具有治愈和理解的作用；而且每一次处决的拍摄和剪辑都像一个完美的梦境任务。”他同时思考，我们对杀手科里昂家族的痴迷是否对我们的想象力产生了有害影响。在本周 BBC Two 播放整个三部曲时，请思考这个问题。第二部（1974）可以说是最丰富、最令人满意且最复杂的章节，将于明天晚上 10.30pm 播出；而 1990 年迟到的尾声——被广泛诟病但同样值得一看的第三部，将于周二晚上 11.05pm 播出。JR

周一

区域精选：《与朱迪·登奇共饮下午茶》（Tea With Judi Dench），嘉宾：伊恩·麦克莱伦爵士

Sky Arts, 晚上 9 点

在所有“金票”中，与朱迪·登奇（Judi Dench）女爵共饮下午茶绝对名列前茅。不过，只有演员朋友才有资格参加，而伊恩·麦克莱伦（Ian McKellen）爵士中奖了，他在登奇家中享受着回忆往事和一块帕金蛋糕（parkin）。这对深情的好友在让彼此发笑中获得乐趣，回忆起他们早期的演出和共同的趣事，并分享彼此的挣扎——登奇的失明和麦克莱伦持久的遗憾。目睹这一切是一件极其快乐的事；他们持久的友谊和对生活的激情激励着我们所有人。KR

爱丁堡皇家军事纹章表演 (The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo) BBC One, 晚上8点

从爱丁堡城堡的高地据点出发，这场年度音乐与行军力量的展示凌驾于——字面意义上的——这座城市同期举办的边缘艺术节、书籍节和电影节之上。今年的主题是《集结的号角》(A Call to Gather)，由国际陆军乐队和空军仪仗队响应号角集结而成。由《雷波斯》(Rebus) 主演理查德·兰金 (Richard Rankin) 旁白。CMc

弗雷德的顶级酒店 (Fred's Ultimate Hotels)

Channel 4, 晚上8点

标题中的弗雷德是目光犀利的西里克斯先生 (Monsieur Sirieix)，他对酒店业颇有研究。在本系列节目中，弗雷德入住全球最壮观的酒店，让观众在无需支付昂贵账单的情况下，享受其奢华与辉煌。第一站是马拉喀什的曼苏尔皇家酒店 (Royal Mansour)，这座酒店足以匹配委托建造它的摩洛哥国王。KR

电影

《卡罗尔》(Carol)

(托德·海因斯 导演, 2015)

Film4, 11. 30pm

在创作了一系列具有实验性质的电影后，变幻莫测的美国作者导演托德·海因斯 (Todd Haynes) 通过改编帕特里夏·海史密斯 (Patricia Highsmith) 1952年的小说《盐之价》(The Price of Salt) 探索了更易被大众接受的领域，讲述了两个女人坠入爱河的故事。鲁妮·玛拉 (Rooney Mara) 饰演一名年轻摄影师，被一名年长已婚女性的丝滑魅力所吸引，后者由凯特·布兰切特 (Cate Blanchett) 饰演。这部电影像是海因斯《远离天堂》(Far from Heaven, 2002) 的续作——后者借鉴了情节剧大师道格拉斯·瑟克 (Douglas Sirk) 的风格——而《卡罗尔》则用克制的情感直率取代了讽刺的模仿。表演堪称绝佳，而爱德华·拉克曼 (Edward Lachman) 的摄影、朱迪·贝克 (Judy Becker) 的美术设计以及桑迪·鲍威尔 (Sandy Powell) 的服装完美地营造了 1950 年代的氛围。JR

周二

今日精选：《游戏》(The Game)

5, 9pm

就在他以为自己已经脱身，且猎物已被安全关进监狱时……故事在第一季一年后展开，我们看到杰森·沃特金斯 (Jason Watkins) 饰演的退休侦探在乡村疗养伤势，而罗布森·格林 (Robson Green) 饰演的连环杀手被终身监禁。但即便面对“陛下之意”(His Majesty's Pleasure) 的终身监禁，也无法阻止这个精神病患者玩弄游戏的快感。格林以反差极大的精彩演技出演，沃特金斯则一如既往地引人入胜，这是一部出色的猫鼠游戏惊悚剧。CMc

SCTV

Netflix

在加拿大电视播出八年后的五十年，这部以虚构电视台为背景的喜剧再次回归，令人欣喜。这群未来的超级巨星——约翰·坎迪 (John Candy)、尤金·莱维 (Eugene Levy)、里克·莫拉尼斯 (Rick Moranis)、马丁·肖特 (Martin Short) 以及（请敲响鼓点）凯瑟琳·奥哈拉 (Catherine O'Hara)——精准地创作并表演了那个时代的广告、肥皂剧和儿童节目。CMc

《陪审团：14 and on Trial for Murder》 Channel 4, 晚上9点

在这部重现两兄弟残忍杀害继父真实审判的剧中，陪审员们产生了分歧。少数坚决反对者拒绝接受男孩们关于失去控制和责任减轻的主张，而其他人则认为他们的年龄（最年轻者为 14）和被挑衅是减轻处罚的因素。随着紧张局势升级，局势突然发生了逆转。KR

电影

《哈姆内特》(Hamnet)

(赵婷 导演, 2025)

Sky Cinema Premiere, 12. 05pm & 11.40pm 去年最大的艺术电影热门之作，获得了多项奖项和提名，杰西·巴克利 (Jessie Buckley) 在奥斯卡和英国电影学院奖 (Baftas) 上赢得了最佳女主角。该片改编自玛吉·奥法雷尔 (Maggie O'Farrell) 的小说，是《游牧之歌》(Nomadland) 导演赵婷一次奇特的向传统经典主义的尝试。它通过莎士比亚妻子（片中名为艾格尼丝）的经历，讲述了《哈姆雷特》背后的秘密故事，在威尔 (Paul Mescal 饰) 追求戏剧抱负期间，她必须面对悲痛和家庭生活的压力。情感表达极其强烈，且不乏荒诞之处（例如那句“生存还是毁灭……”的时刻）。但凭借大胆的执行力和巴克利的表演，这部电影确实令人震撼。JR

周三

今日推荐

9 / 11：震惊世界的日子 (9 / 11: Days That Shocked the World) Channel 4, 10pm & 11pm 一部两集、不加修饰的纪录片——因为无需任何修饰。通过档案影像和访谈，美国人和英国人讲述了 25 年前那个早晨的第一手经历。当时，美国最黑暗的一天以及历史上最严重的恐怖袭击爆发了——正如一名南塔幸存者所言，袭击发生在“一片不可能的蓝天”之下。幸存者、丧亲者、平民和军人将我们带回了那个时刻。尤其令人不寒而栗的是，片中出现了劫机者简短且看似无意录下的音频。CMc

被偷走的婴儿 (Stolen Babies)

BBC Two, 9pm

“一台搜集弱势年轻女性并让我们心碎的机器。”“大规模的国家认可的人权侵害。”这些以及其他证词讲述了 250,000 名未婚母亲的创伤，在 1949 年至 1976, 年间，她们的婴儿被强行带走用于领养。她们或许终于发声，但许多人仍未找回孩子。CMc

机场牧师 (The Airport Chaplain)

Netflix

这部节奏轻快的八集澳大利亚喜剧由雨果·维文 (Hugo Weaving) 主演，他饰演一名跑道牧师，其牧养对象涵盖了走私者、遇难乘客、辅助犬和丢失的毛绒玩具。但新任航站楼经理米拉 (Mira, Shabana Azeez 饰) 对他的用处持短视看法。如果你觉得今年夏天在机场的经历压力很大，那得看看这部剧。CMc

电影

我的管家戈弗雷 (My Man Godfrey)

(Gregory La Cava, 1936)

Talking Pictures TV, 9am

一部客厅风格的 screwball 喜剧，时髦且具有社会良知。卡罗尔·隆巴德 (Carole Lombard) 饰演被宠坏的社交名媛康妮莉亚，她的朋友们组织了一场寻宝游戏。她的任务是寻找一个“被遗忘的人”，即大萧条时期被社会排斥的众多人群之一。某个名叫戈弗雷的人符合条件，并最终成为了家族的管家。这部电影与普雷斯顿·斯特吉斯的《萨利文的旅行》(Sullivan’s Travels, 1941) 一样，将苦涩的经济残渣酿成了喜剧香槟，但它在社会挑战性方面并不像最初看起来那么深刻——戈弗雷由威廉·鲍威尔 (William Powell) 饰演，他在 1934 年的《细身侦探》(The Thin Man) 中饰演的尼克·查尔斯 (Nick Charles) 已成为漫不经心且优雅的代名词。这是三十年代好莱坞最欢乐、最纯净的时刻。JR

周四

今日推荐 任务大师 (Taskmaster)

Channel 4, 9pm

到了第 22, 季，你可能会担心亚历克斯·霍恩 (Alex Horne) 那些有趣且古怪的任务库会枯竭，但幸好没有。这位不走寻常路的天才让新一批参赛者——理查德·阿约阿德 (Richard Ayoade)、马特·卢卡斯 (Matt Lucas)、伊西·萨蒂 (Isy Suttie)、克洛伊·佩茨 (Chloe Petts) 和尼娜·孔蒂 (Nina Conti)——在被铐在他身上时寻找金苹果，用单音节移动床铺，以及与自己合唱关于自己的二重唱。不过，霍恩和主持人格雷格·戴维斯 (Greg Davies) 没考虑到阿约阿德。他就像学校里那个爱找茬的聪明孩子，利用每一个漏洞。精彩绝伦。KR

绅士们 (The Gentlemen)

Netflix

还没有梅根·马克尔 (Meghan Markle)，至少现在还没有（也许永远没有）。但这位“非公爵夫人”会非常契合盖·里奇 (Guy Ritchie) 标志性的那种既轻快又残酷的冒险故事，讲述一名地主贵族 (Theo James 饰) 经营大麻种植帝国的故事。第二季引入了休·博内维尔 (Hugh Bonneville) 饰演的一位好色勋爵，以及玛雅·贾玛 (Maya Jama) 饰演的一位[查看笔记]中东特使。CMc

桑迪的爱尔兰：文学之旅 (Sandi's Ireland: A Literary Journey)

More4, 9pm

在这一部两集旅行纪录片的第一集中，并没有身材魁梧、圆润的巴克·马利根 (Buck Mulligan) 从楼梯口走出来。但桑迪·托克斯维格 (Sandi Toksvig) 在玛丽安·凯斯 (Marian Keyes) 的帮助下，出色地唤起了爱尔兰丰富的文学遗产。在爱尔兰岛的旅途中，她让乔纳森·斯威夫特 (Jonathan Swift)、W.B. 叶茨 (WB Yeats) 和“被遗忘的巨匠”玛丽亚·埃奇沃思 (Maria Edgeworth) 生动地活了起来。CMc

电影

意大利任务 (The Italian Job)

(彼得·科林森，1969)

BBC Four, 晚上8点

这是迈克尔·凯恩最受欢迎的电影之一，可以说也是最受喜爱的英国惊悚片。该片还由特洛伊·肯尼迪·马丁担任编剧，他以其具有划时代意义的电视作品（《Z-Cars》、《The Sweeney》、《Edge of Darkness》）而闻名。片中一些在性观念和爱国主义方面的态度在现在看来非常陈旧，但这反而使其成为了一个更具代表性的20世纪60年代类型片研究案例。凯恩饰演的查理·克罗克表现惊人，他刚出狱就将目标锁定在一车金条上。古怪的选角包括饰演计算机专家的本尼·希尔，曾极具时尚感的电视主持人西蒙·迪饰演男装店主，以及出人意料地由诺埃尔·考沃德饰演犯罪头目。至于那悬念十足的结局…… JR

周五

今日精选

《邪恶：爱泼斯坦档案》(Diabolical: The Epstein Files) Quest Red, 晚上9点

记者格蕾丝·托宾对杰弗里·爱泼斯坦的性贩卖活动及其垮台进行了深入调查。知名专家对这场涉及皇室、富豪和名流的全球丑闻提供了见解。该片之所以如此引人入胜，是因为其中包含了许多勇敢女性的证词，无论她们是幸存者，还是那些追究爱泼斯坦及其同伙责任的记者，以及那些违背党派和总统要求公开这些毁灭性文件的共和党人。 KR

Gogglebox

Channel 4, 晚上9点

演员和高管们都渴望自己的节目能出现在《Gogglebox》中——该节目现已进入第28季——可见这个国家最受喜爱的“扶手椅评论员”对我们的电视观看习惯具有如此之强的影响力。参与者们准备好精选的零食和饮料，对本周的电视节目发表令人捧腹的犀利点评和反应。 KR

Lycett Arms 直播 (Live from the Lycett Arms)

Channel 4, 晚上10点

乔·莱塞特进入了他的酒吧老板 era，尽管与阿尔·默里的酒馆老板截然不同，而且他运气极好，只需要在周五工作。每周，莱塞特会邀请一位不同的名人经理来经营他在东伦敦的快闪酒吧，并邀请一名喜剧演员来娱乐星光熠熠的顾客。该节目现场直播，注定将是有趣、无政府主义且令人心有遗憾的。 KR

电影

《收获》(Harvest)

(阿西娜·拉切尔·灿加里，2024) BBC Two, 晚上11.05点

阿西娜·拉切尔·灿加里作为希腊“怪诞浪潮”(Weird Wave) 的中坚力量而成名，她曾担任约格斯·兰斯莫斯的制片人，并执导了极具个人风格的长片《Attenberg》和《Chevalier》。在改编自吉姆·克雷斯 2013 年历史小说的这部电影中，她探索了完全不同的领域，讲述了一个被残酷地主摧毁的农村社区。虽然原著设定在 16 或 17 世纪的英国，但灿加里通过布景、服装和语言创造了一个非同步的世界，这个世界与其说根植于现实，不如说根植于神话和仪式。卡莱布·兰德里·琼斯、哈里·梅林、罗西·麦克尤恩和弗兰克·迪兰等人都被卷入了一场狂欢式的、原始的疯狂、暴力与毁灭之旋涡中。 JR

周六

今日精选《伤员》(Casualty)

BBC One, 晚上8点及8.50点

这部全球运行时间最长的医疗剧迎来了 40 周年，而这次双集特辑简直是一场大屠杀。字面意义上的。圣詹姆斯医院的一次重大爆炸导致霍比市陷入崩溃，大量危重病人、武装警察和随机抢劫者涌入。身陷困境且正面对个人悲剧的迪伦在努力应对，而弗林和斯蒂维则在死亡边缘徘徊。伴随着铃声、哨声和刺耳的警笛声，其规模、特技和表演都令人叹为观止。 KR

庆祝普罗姆斯音乐节的迪士尼：门肯的音乐 (Celebrating Disney at the Proms: The Music of Menken) BBC Two, 下午5.30点 这里指的是艾伦·门肯——这位 77 岁、八次获得奥斯卡奖的作曲家，曾为《小美人鱼》、《美女与野兽》、《阿拉丁》、《波卡洪塔斯》、《巴黎圣母院》、《大力士》、《魔法幻想》(Enchanted) 和《魔发奇缘》等电影创作配乐。这是一个恰到好处的早间播出时段，以便所有的小公主和小王子们都能向他的音乐之星许愿。 CMc

皇后之夜 (Queen Night)

BBC Two，晚上9点起

为了纪念弗雷迪·默丘里（Freddie Mercury）的80岁诞辰，今晚将呈献一场极其伟大的摇滚音乐之夜。在《BBC之皇后乐队》（Queen at the BBC）之后，将播出《传奇的1975 Concert》（The Legendary 1975 Concert，晚上10点）、2021年的告别纪录片《弗雷迪·默丘里：最后一幕》（Freddie Mercury: The Final Act，晚上11.05分），最后是为这位伟大表演者打造的《十幅画中的一生》（A Life in Ten Pictures，凌晨12.35分）。Bismillah！CMc

电影

恶并不存在 (Evil Does Not Exist)

（滨口龙介，2023） BBC Two，凌晨1.35分

这或许是日本新电影领军人物之一、曾执导《驾驶我的车》（Drive My Car）和《轮之幸运与幻想》（Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy）的滨口龙介最简单且最神秘的一部电影。这部作品既是文化冲突剧，也是风俗喜剧，同时是一部晦涩的生态政治谜题剧。故事设定在一个农村社区，两名代表来到这里推销一项豪华露营地的提案。面对质疑，他们招募了一名当地男子拓海（Takumi，大美久饰演）担任管理员，但拓海关于意识到自然的警告预示了事情将向奇怪的方向发展。该片起用非专业演员，剧情在任何时刻都不会走向你预期的方向。曾为《驾驶我的车》配乐并在去年发行了出色专辑《安提戈涅》（Antigone）的石桥英子（Eiko Ishibashi）提供了音乐。JR

电视流媒体

本周精选

《大巡游》（The Grand Tour，Prime Video，周五）面临着与当年杰里米·克拉克森（Jeremy Clarkson）、理查德·哈蒙德（Richard Hammond）和詹姆斯·梅（James May）离开《顶级跑车》（Top Gear）时BBC所挣扎的同样问题。任何新人必须在第一集的前20分钟内完成从0-60的加速冲刺，否则互联网很快就会判定他们是垃圾。克里斯·埃文斯（Chris Evans）和马特·勒布朗（Matt Le Blanc）根本无法胜任。亚马逊的选择——詹姆斯·恩格尔斯曼（James Engelsman）、托马斯·霍兰德（Thomas Holland）和弗朗西斯·布尔乔亚（Francis Bourgeois）——在某种程度上做到了。他们来自社交媒体：恩格尔斯曼和霍兰德来自YouTube汽车评论频道Throttle House；布尔乔亚则来自TikTok，他是一名火车迷。由于合作多年，他们的友谊是真实的。他们还拥有数百万粉丝作为掩护。至关重要的是，设计那些疯狂挑战的制片人安迪·威尔曼（Andy Wilman）依然掌舵。（第一季的内容包括驾驶三辆日本微型车在科罗拉多州潜行而不被发现。）霍兰德、恩格尔斯曼和布尔乔亚带来了一种新鲜的愉悦感，让人想起《顶级跑车》的早期剧集，当时拍摄过程经常演变成主持人面对愚蠢计划崩塌时无奈地大笑。第一集看到了克拉克森、哈蒙德和梅的交接，他们现在感觉像是过去式。而看着新人在赛道上笨拙地摸索，为某些壮观的扭矩而欢呼，并尝试组装一些没用的船，则感觉像是未来。希望他们能保持下去，避免发生任何严重的事故。

《灯笼》（Lanterns，HBO Max）的情况也差不多，尽管其中的“事故”要灾难得多。DC的超级英雄剧集一直比漫威的要阴暗一些，正如戴蒙·林德洛夫（Damon Lindelof）在2019. 证明的，那部以三K党为基础、风格前卫的《守望者》（Watchmen）。林德洛夫也是本剧的共同创作者，但目前的进展缓慢，讲述了处于崩溃边缘的资深冒险家哈尔·乔丹（Hal Jordan，凯尔·钱德勒饰演）培训新人约翰·斯图尔特（John Stewart，亚伦·皮埃尔饰演）作为备用绿灯侠的故事。由于两人之间存在一定的摩擦，乔丹将斯图尔特拖到内布拉斯加州，去调查一起他认为具有外星维度的谋杀案。第二集引入了反派——能够变形的猎人（Manhunter）。而在今晚的剧集中，我们开始接触背景故事——这向来是一招险棋。在播出三集后，感觉这仍然是一部不错但尚未完全找到方向的剧集。SA

绿叶新人：亚伦·皮埃尔在《灯笼》中饰演约翰·斯图尔特。华纳兄弟

今日电视节目

BBC Two

BBC One

6.0 早安节目 (T) 8.50 今日比赛 (T) (R) 10.0 祈祷与反思 (T) (R) 10.30 周日早晨直播 (T) 11.30 免费之钱 (T) (R) 12.15 淘宝猎人 (T) (R) 1.0 新闻 (T) 1.10 每周天气 (T) 1.15 赞美之歌 (T) 1.50 电影《克鲁德一家2：新时代》(2020) (T) 3.15 Zog (T) (R) 3.35 地球脉动 III：自然奇观 (T) (R) 4.35 房屋翻新 (T) (R) 5.35 新闻 (T) 6.0 乡村生活 (T) 7.0 哈姆扎：非洲猛禽 (T) 纪录片。

8.0 古董路演 (T) (R) 菲奥娜·布鲁斯在诺丁汉的沃拉顿大厅主持本节目。

9.0 警戒 (T) 新剧集。西尔瓦和朗埃克调查一名英国公民在北极的谋杀案，并陷入不断升级的政治局势中。

10.0 新闻 (T) 10.25 地区新闻 (T) 天气 10.30 今日比赛 (T) 11.40 Chase & Status @ 2026年雷丁音乐节 (T) 该组合将领衔最后一日的演出。 1.00 天气 (T) 1.05 新闻 (T)

6.30 电视园艺 A 到 Z (T) (R) 7.15 俯瞰绝美花园 (T) (R) 8.0 乡村生活 (T) (R) 9.0 气象员漫步精选 (T) 9.30 山毛榉园 (T) 10.0 周六厨房最佳美食 (T) 11.30 简单加勒比美食 (T) (R) 12.0 电影《宾虚》(威廉·怀勒, 1959) (T) 3.25 斯蒂芬·麦戈文主持的大交易 (T) (R) 4.25 真伪之辨：后续如何？(T) (R) 5.25 电影《意大利任务》(彼得·科林森, 1969) (T) 7.0 测试赛今日报道 (T)

8.0 朝圣：穿越阿尔卑斯之路 (T) (R) 名人们开启一段穿越奥地利和瑞士阿尔卑斯山的旅程。

9.0 罗布和赖兰的印度之旅 (T) (R) 罗布·林德和赖兰·克拉克开启一段环印之旅，探索其艺术。

10.0 电影《教父》(1972) (T) 史诗级犯罪剧。

12.50 海上救生 (T) (R) 1.50 手语区：谋杀审判：遛狗者之死 (R) 2.50 手语区：与迈克尔·辛恩共葬 (T) (R)

ITV1

6.0 英国之声 (T) (R) 7.0 詹姆斯·马丁的周六早晨 (T) (R) 9.25 新闻 (T) 9.30 与艾伦·蒂奇马什共度周末 (T) (R) 11.25 宠物之乐 (T) 12.30 加里·巴洛的美食与美酒之旅：新西兰 (T) 1.0 新闻 (T) 1.15 ITV赛马：古德伍德现场直播 (T) 4.0 名人语言 (T) (R) 4.30 电影《侏罗纪世界》(科林·特雷沃，2015) (T) 6.35 新闻 (T) 天气 6.45 地方新闻 (T) 天气 7.0 自然之力 (T) 系列最后一集。

8.0 艾默代尔 (T) 拉姆斯登警探心存怀疑。 8.30 街道冠冕 (T) 妮娜与朋友们深情告别。

9.0 触发点 (T) 惊悚剧回归，由薇琪·麦克卢尔和梅西·艾尔斯主演。拉娜和她的团队追踪一辆可疑货车。

10.0 新闻 (T) 天气 10.15 镜头捕捉：不可思议时刻 (T) (R)

11.10 触发点 (T) (R) 12.10 电视购物 3.0 播雨人 (T) (R) 3.50 在 ITV 放松 (T)

Channel 4

6.20 Cheers (T) (R) 7.15 Everybody Loves Raymond (T) (R) 8.30 Frasier (T) (R) 10.0 Sunday Brunch (T) 1.0 The Simpsons (T) (R) 2.25 Our Farm Next Door: Amanda, Clive and Kids (T) (R) 3.30 电影《桂河桥》(The Bridge on the River Kwai) (大卫·林，1957) (T) 由亚历克·吉尼斯主演的奥斯卡获奖第二次世界大战剧集。 6.35 新闻 (T) 7.0 Gogglebox (T) 第27,季精彩片段合集，Gogglebox的观众们将观看更多最热门且最优秀的电视节目。

8.0 理查德·E·格兰特的现代奥德赛 (Richard E Grant's Very Modern Odyssey) (T) 在科孚岛，理查德了解这座希腊岛屿的过去。本系列最后一集。 9.0 24 Hours in Police Custody: The Ambush (T) 两部分之第一部分。关于一名青少年在路边被导致重伤的案件。

10.15 Love Cheats (T) 新系列。 11.15 Gogglebox (T) (R) 12.15 电影《渴望三千年》(Three Thousand Years of Longing) (乔治·米勒，2022) (T) 2.0 地狱厨房美国版 (Kitchen Nightmares USA) (T) (R) 2.50 The Simpsons (T) (R)

5

6.0 Milkshake! 9.05 娱乐新闻 (T) 9.15 阳光下的英国砍价达人 (Bargain-Loving Brits in the Sun) (T) (R) 9.40 拥有非凡工作的超级犬 (Super Dogs with Extraordinary Jobs) (T) (R) 10.35 拥有非凡工作的超级犬 (Super Dogs with Extraordinary Jobs) (T) (R) 11.35 电影《大红狗克利福德》(Clifford the Big Red Dog) (2021) (T) 1.40 与简·麦克唐纳共游地中海岛屿 (Cruising the Islands of the Med with Jane McDonald) (T) (R) 3.30 1968年大洪水 (The Great Flood of 1968) (T) (R) 5.0 英国70与80年代最受欢迎广告 (Britain's Favourite Ads of the 70s & 80s) (T) (R) 6.50 新闻 (T) 7.0 自行车赛：2026年西班牙环赛 (Vuelta a España 2026) (T) 第九赛段赛事。

8.0 四季酒店内部纪实：帕克巷 (Inside the Four Seasons: Park Lane) (T) 客户要求在清晨参观酒店。本系列最后一集。

9.0 富屋贫屋 (Rich House, Poor House) (T) (R) 一对拥有庄园和婚礼场地的富裕夫妇，与一名住在小型市政公寓、有两个孩子的单身母亲互换生活。

《触发点》(Trigger Point), ITV1, 晚上9点 拉娜 (Vicky McClure) 必须化解一个 针对伦敦的恐怖袭击阴谋

10.0 最尴尬的电视时刻 (The Most Embarrassing TV Moments) (T) (R)

12.05 约翰·莱斯利的兴衰 (The Rise & Fall of John Leslie) (R) 1.0 邮轮电视 (Cruise TV) (R) 2.0 全科医生：闭门之后 (GPs: Behind Closed Doors) (T) (R) 2.50 朋友 (Friends) (R) 3.20 朋友 (Friends) (T) (R)

BBC Four

7.0 运河的黄金时代 (The Golden Age of Canals) (T) 纪录片，记录了第二次世界大战后英国运河面貌的变化，以及爱好者们为拯救内陆水道免遭破坏而进行的斗争。

8.0 逍遥音乐会上的现代经典 (Modern Classics at the Proms) (T) 汤姆·服务 (Tom Service) 在古典音乐节的一次特别合集演出中介绍未来的经典之作。包含大胆且勇敢的作品、卓越的管弦乐曲等。

10.0 莫琳·利普曼女爵士 回忆——荒诞的 单身人士 (Dame Maureen Lipman Remembers – Absurd Person Singular) (T) 10.15 荒诞的单身人士 (Absurd Person Singular) (T) 12.10 艾伦·艾克本： 莱文访谈 (Alan Ayckbourn: The Levin Interviews) (T) 与这位剧作家的对话。

周一 31日

BBC One

6.0 早安英国 (T) 9.30 早晨直播 (T) 10.45 英国坑人指南：骗子 (T) 11.30 房屋翻新 (T) (R) 12.15 淘宝猎人 (T) 1.0 新闻 (T) 天气 1.20 地区新闻 (T) 天气 1.30 免费之财 (T) 2.15 旅行拍卖师 (T) (R) 2.45 逃离城市 (T) (R) 3.45 花园救援 (T) 4.30 答案竞答 (T) (R) 5.15 无用之题 (T) 6.0 新闻 (T) 6.30 名人逃离城市 (T) (R) 7.30 东区东街 (T)

8.0 爱丁堡皇家军乐节 (T) 来自爱丁堡城堡的年度盛会。 9.0 警觉 (T) 在一名政府部长被绑架后，艾米在锁定绑架者的同时，开始将他的政策与被绑架事件联系起来。

BBC Two

6.20 山毛榉林花园 (T) (R) 6.50 手语区：名人厨神 (T) (R) 7.50 今日之战 (T) (R) 9.0 新闻 (T) 1.0 理查德·奥斯曼的游戏屋 (T) (R) 1.30 边缘 (T) (R) 2.15 气象员漫步 (T) (R) 2.45 动物公园之夏 (T) (R) 3.30 塞伦盖蒂 III (T) (R) 4.30 复古古董路演 (T) (R) 5.15 把它卖了！ (T) (R) 6.0 理查德·奥斯曼的游戏屋 (T) (R) 6.30 英国铁路之旅 (T) (R) 7.0 测试赛今日动态 (T)

8.0 唯有连接 (T) “爬行类”队对阵“冒险者”队。 8.30 大学挑战赛 (T) 问答节目。伯明翰队对阵莱斯特队。 9.0 幸存 9 / 11 (T) (R) 讲述 13 位卷入 2001 年 9 月 11 日事件的人的故事。

10.30 电影《教父 2》(弗朗西斯·福特·科波拉，1974) (T) 由阿尔·帕西诺主演的奥斯卡获奖剧情续作。 1.40 手语区：乡村生活 (T) (R) 2.35 手语区：24 / 7 急救 (T) (R)

ITV1

6.0 早安英国 (T) 10.0 此时此刻 (T) 1.45 新闻 (T) 天气 1.50 本地新闻 (T) 天气 2.0 迪金森的真实交易 (T) (R) 3.0 语言大挑战 (T) (R) 4.0 交易或不交易 (T) (R) 5.0 倾斜点 (T) (R) 由本·谢泼德主持的问答节目。 6.0 本地新闻 (T) 天气 6.10 新闻 (T) 天气 6.30 追击名人特辑 (T) (R) 嘉宾包括 Jayde Adams, Tony Cottee, Naughty Boy 和 the Vivienne。 7.30 百万富翁热座 (T) 新系列。问答节目回归。

8.0 艾默代尔 (T) 加比无法应对。

8.30 街道冠冕 (T) 托德在得知塞莱斯特去世后深受打击。 9.0 触发点 (T) 在之前的袭击之后，拉娜和她的团队立即采取行动，线索将他们引导至一个造船厂。

10.0 新闻 (T) 天气 10.20 电影《超人归来》 (布莱恩·辛格，2006) (T)。

12.50 电视购物 3.0 楼梯 (T) (R) 4.05 放松 (T) 5.10 德莫特的爱尔兰味道 (T) (R)

6.30 皇后之王 (T) (R) 7.45 每个人都爱雷蒙 (T) (R) 9.10 弗雷泽 (T) (R) 11.10 拉姆齐的 24 小时地狱往返 (T) (R) 12.05 寻找、修复、出售 (T) (R) 1.05 豪宅赠送 (T) (R) 2.10 倒计时 (T) 3.0 阳光下的居所 (T) (R) 4.0 伟大 B&B 挑战 (T) (R) 5.0 城堡 DIY (T) (R) 6.0 阳光下的新生活：他们现在如何？ (T) 新系列。 7.0 新闻 (T) 7.30 爱它还是列出它：绝妙建筑 (T) (R)

8.0 弗雷德的极致酒店 (T) 新系列。弗雷德·西里克斯会见全球最壮观酒店背后的操盘手。

9.0 24 小时 A&E (T) 纪录片。患者艾玛在打翻一壶沸水后，腿部严重烧伤。

10.0 恋爱骗局 (T) 11.05 谋杀侦探 (R) 12.05 谋杀侦探 (T) (R) 12.55 谋杀 侦探 (T) (R) 1.55 吉普赛妻子的秘密生活 (T) (R) 真人秀系列。

5

6.0 Milkshake! 9.0 娱乐新闻 (T) 9.15 杰里米·Vine (T) 11.30 Storm & Alexis (T) 12.30 斯诺克直播：2026 年英国公开赛 (T) 第一天下午场报道。 5.30 与 Merton & Webster 一起开房车旅行 (T) (R) 保罗·默顿和苏基·韦伯前往斯诺多尼亚。 6.25 新闻 (T) 6.30 英国最伟大的桥梁 (T) (R) 讲述不列颠尼亚桥的建造。 6.45 斯诺克直播：2026 年英国公开赛 (T) 第一天晚场报道。

8.0 《街头警察：抓捕混混》(T) 警员试图寻找与砍刀事件有关的青少年。本系列最后一集。 9.0 《逃票者：与法律的战争》(T) 调查员 Joey、Ela 和新招募的 Weronika 追踪一名被认为逃票金额超过 1,400 英镑 的嫌疑人。 10.0 《警察：头号嫌疑人》(T) (R) 11.05 《交通警察》(T) (R) 12.05 《高速公路警察：抓捕英国超速者》(T) (R) 1.30 《邮轮电视》(T) (R) 2.30 《全科医生：闭门之后》(T) (R) 纪录片系列。

Fred 的极致酒店， Channel 4, 8pm Fred Sirieix 访问 马拉喀什宫殿般的 皇家曼索尔酒店

BBC Four

7.0 《铁路建设的建筑》(T) Tim Dunn 访问斯诺登峰的顶端车站。 7.45 《飞行园丁》(T) Chris Beardshaw 乘坐直升机前往以果园闻名的肯特郡。 8.0 《考古学：一段秘密历史》(T) 讲述 18 和 19 世纪的发现如何颠覆了之前的认知。 9.0 《大师》(T) 1977 专业课题包括但丁·加布里埃尔·罗塞蒂。 9.30 《猜我的谎言》(T) 由 Anna Ford 和 Derek Jacobi 主持。 10.0 《接近维米尔》(T) 11.20 《图坦卡蒙：揭开真相》(T) 12.20 《自然与我们：通过艺术看历史》(T) 1.20 《飞行园丁》(T) 1.35 《接近维米尔》(T)

6.0 《早餐》(T) 9.30 《早晨直播》(T) 10.45 《英国宰客》(T) 11.30 《锤下之屋》(T) (R) 12.15 《淘宝猎人》(T) (R) 1.0 新闻 (T) 天气 1.35 地区新闻 (T) 天气 1.45 新闻 (T) 天气 2.0 《白捡钱》(T) 2.45 《逃往乡村》(T) (R) 3.45 《花园救援》(T) 4.30 《答案赛》(T) (R) 5.15 《毫无意义》(T) 由共同主持人 Susan Wokoma 主持。6.0 新闻 (T) 天气 6.30 地区新闻 (T) 天气 7.0 《One Show》(T) 7.30 《东区东区》(T)< / td><>6.30 《淘宝猎人》(T) (R) 7.15 《白捡钱》(T) (R) 8.0 《手语区》(T) (R) 9.0 新闻 (T) 11.15 《政治直播》(T) 1.0 《游戏之屋》(T) (R) 1.30 《边缘》(T) (R) 2.15 《气象员漫步》(T) (R) 2.45 《动物公园》(T) (R) 3.30 《野外之犬：遇见家人》(T) (R) 4.30 《复古古董路演》(T) (R) 5.15 《把它卖了！》(T) (R) 6.0 Richard Osman 的《游戏之屋》(T) (R) 6.30 《伟大的英国铁路之旅》(T) (R) 7.0 《名人古董路演》(T) (R)< / ><>6.0 《早安英国》(T) 10.0 《今晨》(T) 1.30 新闻 (T) 天气 1.55 当地新闻 (T) 天气 2.0 《Dickinson 的真实交易》(T) (R) 3.0 《交易或不交易》(T) (R) 4.0 《倾斜点》(T) (R) 5.0 《追击》(T) (R) Olly, Michelle, Carl 和 Laura 对阵一名冷酷的追击者。6.0 当地新闻 (T) 天气 6.30 新闻 (T) 天气 7.30 《百万富翁热座》(T) Jeremy Clarkson 主持该问答节目，六名希望者竞争赢得 £100 万 的机会。< / ><>6.30 《皇后之王》(T) (R) 7.45 《大家都爱雷蒙》(T) (R) 9.10 《弗雷泽》(T) (R) 11.10 《Ramsay 的 24 小时地狱往返》(T) (R) 12.05 新闻 (T) 12.10 《寻找、修复、出售》(T) (R) 1.10 《大宅赠与》(T) (R) 2.10 《倒计时》(T) 3.0 《阳光下的地方》(T) (R) 4.0 《伟大的 B&B 挑战》(T) (R) 5.0 《城堡 DIY》(T) (R) 6.0 《阳光下的新生活：他们现在如何？》(T) 阴雨天气威胁到 Caroline 和 Paul 的新创业项目。7.0 新闻 (T)< / ><>6.0 《Milkshake!》 9.05 《5 频道娱乐新闻》(T) 9.15 《Jeremy Vine》(T) 11.30 《Storm & Alexis》(T) 12.30 《现场斯诺克：2026 英国公开赛》(T) 第三天下午场次报道。5.30 新闻 (T) 6.25 《扣车场警察》(T) (R) 警员在巡逻中使用自动车牌识别系统。6.55 新闻 (T) 7.0 《自行车：2026 西班牙环赛》(T) Rebecca Charlton 主持比赛第 11 赛段的精彩回顾，这是一条从卡塔赫纳到洛尔卡的 151.3km 平路路线。7.55 新闻 (T)< / ><>< / >< / tr> <>8.0 《修复店：谷仓之外》(T) 新系列。专家们再次走访那些与珍贵纪念品重逢的人们。9.0 《名人名厨》(T) Sue Cleaver, Melvin Odoom, Una Healy, Lauren Steadman 和 Max Fosh 使用一种神秘食材。< / ><>8.0 《走进工厂》(T) (R) Paddy McGuinness 访问生产 Quavers 薯片的林肯工厂。9.0< / >< / tr>< / table>

《被偷走的婴儿》(T) 讲述强迫收养及其深远影响的故事，探讨了从 1949 年到 1976 年期间英国各政府部门所认可的一项惯例。< / td> 8.0 《艾默代尔》(T) 一位访客的到来震惊了村民。8.30 《加冕街》(T) 伊德里斯因罗尼偷了他的车而与罗尼对质。9.0 《T教授》(T) 迈雅正努力控制一连串的盗窃案，此时一名学校督学被发现死在家中。< / ><>8.0 《爱它还是列出出售：绝妙建筑》(T) 回顾汉密尔顿和米尔顿凯恩斯的家庭所面临的看似无法解决的房产问题。9.0 《陪审团：14岁被控谋杀》(T) 14 岁的被告丹尼尔出庭作证。< / ><>8.0 《呼叫执达员：还钱时间》(T) 代理人追讨一家公司欠款，该款项是从一名前员工的工资中扣除的。9.0 《游戏》(T) 当杰基闯入玛戈的公寓时，帕特里克加强了对休和玛戈的心理攻击。< / ><>8.0 《罗马：永恒之城的历史》(T) 西蒙·塞巴格·蒙蒂菲奥里记录了罗马自 14 世纪被遗弃后的崛起。本系列最后一集。9.0 《罗马的隐形之城》(T) 亚历山大·阿姆斯特朗探索这座城市的地下宝藏。< / >< / tr> <>10.0 新闻 (T) 10.30 地区新闻 (T) 天气 10.40 2026年雷丁音乐节亮点 (T) 11.40 《热门名单》(T) (R) 12.25 未来一周天气预报 (T) 12.30 新闻 (T)< / ><>10.30 《新闻之夜》(T) 天气 11.05 《伴侣治疗》(T) 12.05 《穿越时间的房子》(T) (R) 1.05 手语区：《名人主厨》(T) (R) 2.05 手语区：《史上最大骗局》(T) (R)< / ><>10.0 新闻 (T) 本地新闻 10.45 《WhatsApp痴迷》(R) 11.40 英国房车锦标赛 (T) (R) 12.55 《商店 3.0 自然之力》(T) (R) 3.55 《打破父亲》(T) (R) 4.15 《放松》(T)< / ><>10.0 9 / 11：震惊世界的日子 (T) 12.0 直升机医生 (T) (R) 1.0 《厨房噩梦美国版》(T) (R) 1.50 电影《米纳里》(李艾萨克·郑, 2020) 3.50 《周日早午餐》(T) (R)< / ><>10.0 《急诊室：事故现场紧急救援》(T) (R) 11 《救护车：红色代码》(R) 12.0 《急诊室之夜》(T) (R) 12.55 《扣车场警察》(R) 1.30 《邮轮电视》(T) (R) 2.30 《全科医生：闭门之后》< / ><>10.0 《我是克劳狄》(T) 11.45 《澳大利亚战争》(T) 12.45 《罗马的隐形之城》(T) 1.45 《弗雷德·迪本的英国建筑》(T) 2.15 《海边村庄》(T) 2.45 《罗马：永恒之城的历史》< / >< / tr>< / table>

周二 1

BBC One

BBC Two

ITV1

Channel 4

6.0 Breakfast (T) 9.30 Morning Live (T) 10.45 Rip Off Britain: Scams (T) 11.30 Homes Under the Hammer (T) (R) 12.15 Bargain Hunt (T) (R) 1.0 News (T) Weather 1.35 Regional News (T) Weather 1.45 (T) 2.0 Money for Nothing (T) 2.45 Escape to the Country (T) (R) 3.45 Garden Rescue (T) (R) 4.30 The Answer Run (T) (R) 5.15 Pointless (T) 6.0 (T) 6.30 Regional (T) 7.0 The One Show (T) 7.30 EastEnders (T)< / td><>6.30 Bargain Hunt (T) (R) 7.15 Money for Nothing (T) (R) 8.0 Sign Zone: The Great British Sewing Bee (T) (R) 9.0 (T) 12.15 Politics Live (T) 1.0 House of Games (T) (R) 1.30 The Edge (T) (R) 2.15 Weatherman Walking (T) (R) 2.45 Animal Park (T) (R) 3.30 Serengeti III (T) (R) 4.30 Vintage Antiques Roadshow (T) (R) 5.10 Flog It! (T) (R) 6.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R) 6.30 Great British Railway Journeys (T) (R) 7.0 Nigellissima (T) (R) 7.30 Race Against the Tide (T)< / ><>6.0 Good Morning Britain (T) 10.0 This Morning (T) 1.30 (T) 1.55 Local (T) 2.0 Dickinson's Real Deal (T) (R) 3.0 Deal or No Deal (T) (R) 4.0 Tipping Point (T) (R) 5.0 The Chase (T) (R) Bradley Walsh 主持，来自 Redditch 的 Ruth、Kettering 的 Alex、Shenfield 的 Lauren 和来自贝尔法斯特的 Edwin 将挑战一名冷酷的追击者。6.0 Local (T) 6.30 (T) 7.30 Millionaire Hot Seat (T) 由 Jeremy Clarkson 主持。< / ><>6.30 The King of Queens (T) (R) 7.45 Everybody Loves Raymond (T) (R) 9.10 Frasier (T) (R) 11.10 Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back (T) (R) 12.05 (T) 12.10 Find It, Fix It, Flog It (T) (R) 1.10 The Great House Giveaway (T) (R) 2.10 Countdown (T) 3.0 A Place in the Sun (T) (R) 4.0 The Great B&B Challenge (T) (R) 5.0 Chateau DIY (T) (R) 6.0 A New Life in the Sun: Where Are They Now? (T) Lesley-Ann 和 Paul 在他们的花园里尝试新事物。7.0 (T)< / ><>6.0 Milkshake! 9.10 Entertainment on 5 (T) 9.15 Jeremy Vine (T) 11.30 Storm & Alexis (T) 12.30 Live Snooker: British Open 2026 (T) 报道在切尔滕纳姆 Centaur 举行的第二天下午场次，包含第二轮比赛。5.30 (T) 6.25 Car Pound Cops (T) (R) 执行人员正在严厉打击蓝色徽章欺诈行为。6.55 (T) 7.0 Cycling: Vuelta a España 2026 (T) 第 10 赛段集锦。7.55 (T)< / ><>7.0 The Architecture the Railways Built (T) Tim Dunn 参观伦敦地铁的前总部。7.40 The Flying Gardener (T) Chris Beardshaw 前往德文郡，帮助开发一个春季林地花园。< / >< / tr> <>8.0 The Great British Sewing Bee (T) 缝纫者们制作以文学偶像夏洛克·福尔摩斯、玛蒂尔达和简·奥斯汀为灵感的服装。9.0 Celebrity MasterChef (T) Sue Cleaver, Melvin Odoom, Una Healy, Lauren Steadman 和 Max Fosh 进入厨房。< / ><>8.0 Saving Lives at Sea (T) Newbiggin 救援队紧急营救三名被小型充气艇冲入海中的儿童。9.0 Emergency 24 / 7 (T) 一名退休人员在棚屋爆炸后被送医，患有危及生命的烧伤。< / ><>8.0 Emmerdale (T) Nicola 取得了突破。8.30 Coronation Street (T) Todd 执行了 Celeste 的最后遗愿，Ronnie 找到了偿还债务的方法。9.0 The Sugar Daddy Murder: True Crime Presents (T) 回顾 2012 年 Peter McMahon 的谋杀案。< / ><>8.0 The Dog House (T) (R) 考卡普犬双胞胎 Milo 和 Mable 制造了双倍麻烦，而猎兔犬 Floyd 到达 Woodgreen，需要认真的细心照顾。9.0 The Jury: 14 and on Trial for Murder (T) 新剧集。对一起真实谋杀案审判的戏剧性重现。< / ><>8.0 Motorway Cops: Catching Britain's < / >< / tr>< / table>

Speeders (T) 警员克里斯·巴格诺尔（Chris Bagnall）追捕一辆挂有克隆车牌且与近期一起盗窃案有关的汽车。9.0 The Game (T) 惊悚剧新剧集，由杰森·沃特金斯（Jason Watkins）主演。休的女儿收到了来自被囚杀手帕特里克的信件。< / td> 8.0 To the Manor Born (T) DeVe 忘记邀请奥黛丽参加狩猎舞会。8.30 Keeping Up Appearances (T) 喜剧。海辛斯同意会见一位重要人物。9.0 How the Celts Saved Britain (T) 追溯爱尔兰最早传教士的足迹。< / >< / tr> <>10.0 新闻 (T)10.30 地区新闻 (T) 天气10.40 电影《奎迪》 (Ryan Coogler, 2015) (T) 由迈克尔·B·乔丹主演的拳击剧。12.45 未来一周天气预报 (T)12.50 新闻 (T)< / ><>10.0 Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing (T) (R)10.30 Newsnight (T) 天气11.05 电影《教父3》 (Francis Coppola, 1990) (T)1.30 Captive Audience (T) (R)2.20 名人主厨 (Celebrity MasterChef)< / ><>10.0 新闻 (T)

本地新闻10.45 电影《超人：钢铁之躯》 (Zack Snyder, 2013) (T)1.0 电视购物 3.0 The Staircase (T)4.10 Unwind (T)5.10 普鲁·莱思的科茨沃尔德厨房 (Prue Leith's Cotswold Kitchen) (T) (R)< / ><>10.0 9 / 11: 改变美国的102分钟 (T) (R)12.30 The Never Ending Murder (T) (R)4.05 Couples Come Dine with Me (T) (R)5.0 A Place in the Sun (T) (R)5.30 周日早午餐 (Sunday Brunch) (T) (R)< / ><>10.0 9 / 11: 未公开影像 (R)11.30 戴安娜逝世之日 (T) (R)1.05 Car Pound Cops (T) (R)1.30 Cruise TV with LoveitBookit (T) (R)2.30 GPs: Behind Closed Doors (T) (R)3.20 The Highland Vet (T) (R)< / ><>10.0 聚焦英国：摄影史 (T)11.0 我是马丁·帕尔 (I Am Martin Parr) (T)12.05 设计现代世界的英国人 (T)1.05 The Flying Gardener (T)1.20 聚焦英国 (T)< / >< / tr>< / table>

The Jury: 14 and on Trial for Murder, Channel 4, 9pm 对两兄弟被指控 杀害继父一案的 重新演绎

BBC Four

周三 2

BBC One

BBC Two

ITV1

《被偷走的婴儿》 BBC Two, 晚上 9 点 那些孩子被夺走的母亲们讲述她们的创伤

BBC Four

6.0 早安节目 (T) 9.30 早晨直播 (T) 10.45 英国坑人指南：假期篇 (T) 11.30 房屋改造 (T) (R) 12.15 淘宝猎人 (T) 1.0 新闻 (T) 1.35 地区新闻 (T) 1.45 新闻 (T) 2.0 邦尼法斯修女谜案 (T) 2.45 逃往乡村 (T) (R) 3.45 花园救援回顾 (T) (R) 4.30 答案竞答 (T) (R) 5.15 无用之题 (T) 6.0 新闻 (T) 6.30 地区新闻 (T) 天气 7.0 今日秀 (T) 7.30 巡回拍卖师 (T) (R)	7.15 免费得财 (T) (R) 8.0 房屋时光机 (T) (R) 9.0 新闻 (T) 12.15 政治直播 (T) 1.0 理查德·奥斯曼的游戏屋 (T) (R) 1.30 边缘 (T) (R) 2.15 气象员漫步 (T) (R) 2.45 动物公园 (T) (R) 3.30 野生犬类：遇见家人 (T) (R) 4.30 复古古董路演 (T) (R) 5.05 甩卖它！ (T) (R) 6.0 理查德·奥斯曼的游戏屋 (T) (R) 6.30 英国铁路之旅 (T) (R) 7.0 伊奥洛的安格尔西 (T) (R) 7.30 榉树园林 (T)	6.0 英国早安 (T) 10.0 今日早晨 (T) 1.30 新闻 (T) 天气 1.55 地方新闻 (T) 天气 2.0 迪金森的真实交易 (T) (R) 3.0 成交或不成交 (T) (R) 杰基尝试按正确顺序打开 22 个红盒子。 4.0 倾点 (T) (R) 由本·谢泼德主持的问答赛。 5.0 追击 (T) (R) 本、乔琳、阿尔菲和玛丽亚参加问答赛。 6.0 地方新闻 (T) 天气 6.30 新闻 (T) 天气 7.30 百万富翁热座 (T) 由杰里米·克拉克森主持的问答节目。	6.30 奎恩之王 (T) (R) 7.45 大家都爱雷蒙 (T) (R) 9.10 弗雷泽 (T) (R) 11.10 拉姆齐的 24 小时地狱改造 (T) (R) 12.05 新闻 (T) 12.10 寻找、修复、甩卖 (T) (R) 1.10 豪宅赠送 (T) (R) 2.10 倒计时 (T) 3.0 阳光之所 (T) (R) 4.0 顶级 B&B 挑战赛 (T) (R) 5.0 城堡 DIY (T) (R) 6.0 阳光下的新生活：他们现在如何？ (T) 西蒙和谢丽尔更新了他们的风筝进度。 7.0 新闻 (T) 更新。	6.0 Milkshake! 9.05 5频道娱乐新闻 (T) 9.15 杰里米·Vine (T) 11.30 Storm & Alexis (T) 12.45 斯诺克直播：2026 英国公开赛 (T) 四分之一决赛前两场报道。 4.0 车辆扣押警察 (T) (R) 4.30 Wetherspoons 对阵 Toby Carvery：哪个更好？ (T) (R) 菲莉帕·戴维斯评测 Wetherspoons 和 Toby 的餐点。 5.30 新闻 (T) 6.25 热爱自然 (T) (R) 专家克里斯·伦解释 1970 年代水獭如何险些灭绝。
8.0 名人厨神 (T) 名人们结对提供三道菜的晚餐。 9.0 我会骗你吗？ (T) (R) 嘉宾包括约翰·库珀·克拉克、露西亚·凯斯金、卡迪夫·基尔万和萨拉·帕斯科。 9.30 布朗太太的儿子们 (T) (R) 凯西竭尽全力地想给男朋友留下好印象。	8.0 园丁世界 (T) 蒙蒂·唐庆祝丰收的夏季水果，瑞秋·德·塔姆访问赫特福德郡的植物图书馆。 9.0 马洛谋杀俱乐部 (T) 2/2。朱迪斯、贝克斯和苏齐协助警方调查。	8.0 艾默代尔 (T) 莎拉深陷愧疚，而塞雷娜感到惊恐。 8.30 街道冠冕 (T) 肖娜把哈珀留在车里，而乔迪邀请基特到 8 号房进行再赛。 9.0 播雨者 (T) 鲁迪和德克与一名证人发生了紧张的接触。	8.0 吉米·多尔蒂的大熊救援 (T) (R) 当一群 12 只北极狼需要新家时，吉米和他的团队为它们建造了一个带有水池和林地的围栏供其探索。 9.0 电视评论家 (T) 新系列。各家庭对近期电视节目的看法。	6.30 斯诺克直播：2026 英国公开赛 (T) 第五天晚间场次报道，包括最后两场...

四分之一决赛。去年在这个阶段，路易斯·希思科特在对阵约翰·希金斯的比赛中赢得了前两局，但这位三届冠军随后奋起反击并最终获胜。< / td> 8.0 TOTP: 2000 特邀 Melanie C、B*Witched、Destiny's Child 等演出。8.30 TOTP: 2000 特邀 Steps 和 Bloodhound Gang 演出。9.0 TOTP: 1986 (T) 特邀 Bruce Hornsby and the Range 以及 Bon Jovi 演出。9.30 TOTP: 1989 (T) 特邀 Marillion、Alyson Williams 等演出。< / >< / tr> <>10.0 新闻 (T) 最新头条。10.30 地区新闻 (T) 天气10.40 RuPaul's Drag Race UK (T) (R) 新女王参赛。12.0 Alan Carr's Celebrity Picture Slam (T) (R) 12.50天气 (T) 12.55 新闻 (T)< / ><>10.25 空气炸锅：现代生活的秘密天才 (T)10.30 Newsnight (T) 天气11.05 电影《收获》（Athina Rachel Tsangari，2024）(T)1.10 Sign Zone: The Big Deal with Steph McGovern (T)< / ><>10.0 新闻 (T) 天气10.30 当地新闻 (T) 天气10.45

It'll Be Alright on the Night (T) (R) 精选集。11.40 Sorry, I Didn't Know (T) (R)12.10 电视购物 3.0 The Staircase (T) (R) 剧集。< / ><>10.0 Live from the Lycett Arms (T) 新剧集。11.05 Joe Lycett: More, More, More! How Do You Lycett? How Do You Lycett? (T) (R) 单口喜剧表演。12.10 Taskmaster (T) (R)< / ><>10.0 警察：夜班 999 (T) (R) 警员竞速抓捕现行窃贼。11.05 Piers Morgan: Uncensored (T) 辩论节目。12.55 扣车场警察：把我的车还给我！(T) (R)< / ><>10.0 Bee Gees at the BBC and Beyond (T) 经典片段。11.0 Barry Gibb: Glastonbury 2017 (T) 现场演出。12.10 TOTP2: Bee Gees 特辑 (T) 12.55 TOTP: 1986 (T) 1.30 TOTP: 1989 (T)< / >< / tr>< / table>

第四频道

周四 3

BBC One

BBC Two

ITV1

6.0 Breakfast (T) 9.30 Morning Live (T)10.45 Rip Off Britain (T)11.30 Homes Under the Hammer (T) (R)12.15 Bargain Hunt (T) (R)1.0 News (T) Weather1.35 Regional News (T) Weather1.45 (T) Weather2.0 Money for Nothing (T)2.45 Escape to the Country (T) (R)3.45 Garden Rescue (T) (R)4.30 The Answer Run (T) (R)5.15 Pointless (T)6.0 (T) Weather6.30 Regional (T) Weather7.0 The One Show (T) 由 Alex Jones 和 Clara Amfo 主持。7.30 EastEnders (T)< / td><>6.30 Garden Rescue (T) (R)7.15 Money for Nothing (T) (R)8.0 Gardeners' World (T) (R)9.0 (T)12.15 Politics Live (T)1.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R)1.30 The Edge (T) (R)2.15 Weatherman Walking (T) (R)2.45 Animal Park (T) (R)3.30 Dogs in the Wild: Meet the Family (T) (R)4.30 Vintage Antiques Roadshow (T) (R)5.15 Flog It! (T) (R)6.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R)6.30 Great British Railway Journeys (T) (R)7.0 Escape to the Country (T)< / ><>6.0 Good Morning Britain (T)10.0 This Morning (T)1.30 (T) Weather1.55 Local (T) Weather2.0 Dickinson's Real Deal (T) (R) 在诺丁汉的 Albert Hall。3.0 Deal or No Deal (T) (R) Jay 尝试按正确顺序打开 22 个红盒子。4.0 Tipping Point (T) (R) 问答节目，由 Ben Shephard 主持。5.0 The Chase (T) (R) Anna, Josh, Tom 和 Dawn 参与竞争。6.0 Local (T) Weather6.30 (T) Weather7.30 Millionaire Hot Seat (T) 由 Jeremy Clarkson 主持。< / ><>6.30 The King of Queens (T) (R)7.45 Everybody Loves Raymond (T) (R)9.10 Frasier (T) (R)11.10 Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back (T) (R)12.05 (T)12.10 Find It, Fix It, Flog It (T) (R)1.10 The Great House Giveaway (T) (R)2.10 Countdown (T)3.0 A Place in the Sun (T) (R)4.0 The Great B&B Challenge (T) (R)5.0 Chateau DIY (T) (R)6.0 A New Life in the Sun: Where Are They Now? (T) Abi 和 Darren 在西班牙创办了一家静默迪斯科公司。7.0 (T)< / ><>6.0 Milkshake! 9.05 Entertainment on 5 (T)9.15 Jeremy Vine (T)11.30 Storm & Alexis (T)12.30 Live Snooker: British Open 2026 (T) 第四天下午场次的报道。5.30 (T)6.25 Car Pound Cops (T) (R) Morar Motors 帮助一名小龙虾渔民搬运他的船。6.55 (T)7.0 Cycling: Vuelta a España 2026 (T) 大环赛第 12 赛段的精彩回顾，这是一条从 Vera 到 Calar Alto 的 166.6km 山地路线。7.55 (T)< / ><>< / >< / tr> <>8.0 Dragons' Den (T) 投资人们听取了关于无酒精葡萄酒、以社会企业为核心的音乐活动、一个零售场所以及全天然植物基冰激凌的提案。9.0 Ludwig (T) John 在为 Lucy 的采访收集情报时分心了。< / ><>8.0 The Big Deal with Steph McGovern (T) 参赛者面临一项跨越柏林和伦敦的挑战。9.0 A House Through Time (T) 以 Ruggs 家族为主角，他们见证了 1939. 10 月的一次德国袭击。本系列最后一集。< / ><>8.0 Emmerdale (T) Bear 与 Sarah 交谈，Nicola 感到尴尬，Kim 表示担忧。8.30 Coronation Street (T) Debbie 与过去产生了一次交集。9.0 Long Lost Family (T) 新系列。在家庭分离数十年后，Avril 和 Marie 寻求答案。< / ><>8.0 Renovation Rescue (T) 在诺丁汉郡，Sylvia 和 Dave 在他们的项目中投入了 25 万英镑，并希望将混乱变为平静。9.0 Taskmaster (T) 新系列。Richard Ayoade, Isy Suttie, Matt Lucas, Nina Conti 和 Chloe Petts 在一系列古怪的挑战中竞争。< / ><>8.0 The Yorkshire Vet (T) 团队为患有严重晒伤的公牛 Pedro 和一只眼睛有严重问题的 12 英尺缅甸蟒蛇提供治疗。9.0 Benidorm Is Murder < / >< / tr>< / table>

(T) 一场告别派对在停电期间演变成一场致命悲剧。本系列最后一集。< / td> 8.0 电影《意大利任务》(Peter Collinson, 1969) (T) 由迈克尔·凯恩、诺埃尔·考沃德、本尼·希尔和托尼·贝克利主演的犯罪喜剧。9.35 Talking Pictures：《教父》三部曲 (T) 探讨弗朗西斯·福特·科波拉备受赞誉的系列电影背后的故事。< / >< / tr> <>10.0 新闻 (T) 最新头条。10.30 地区新闻 (T) 天气10.40 电影《奎朵 II》(Steven Caple Jr, 2018) (T) 拳击续集。12.40 The Repair Shop: Beyond the Barn (T) (R)1.40 天气 (T)1.45 新闻 (T)< / ><>10.0 Red Dwarf (T) (R)10.30 Newsnight (T) 天气11.05 Emergency 24 / 7 (T) (R)12.05 电影《尊重》(Liesl Tommy, 2021) (T) 由詹妮弗·哈德逊主演的传记片。2.25 Sign Zone: Vigil (T) (R)< / ><>10.0 新闻 (T) 天气10.30 当地新闻 (T) 天气10.45 The Late Debate (T)11.15 Unbelievable Moments Caught on Camera (T) (R)12.10

Shop on TV 3.0 The Staircase (T) (R) 剧情片。< / ><>10.0 Celebrity Gogglebox (T) (R)11.0 24 Hours in Police Custody: The Ambush (T) (R)12.15 Crime Scene Cleaners (T) (R)1.10 Kitchen Nightmares USA (T) (R)2.0 电影《我们的朋友》(2021) (T)< / ><>10.0 Killer at the Crime Scene (T) (R) 纪录片。11.05 Killed by Our Daughter: The McCullough Murders (T) (R)12.20 Street Cops: Catching the Yobs (T) (R)1.20 娱乐新闻 (T)< / ><>10.20 电影《教父》(Francis Ford Coppola, 1972) (T) 马龙·白兰度主演。1.10 Talking Pictures：70年代传奇 第一部分 (T)2.0 Talking Pictures：《教父》三部曲 (T)< / >< / tr>< / table>

BBC Four

周五 4

BBC One

BBC Two

ITV1

Channel 4

Live from the Lycett Arms, Channel 4, 10pm Good for what ales you: Joe Lycett has comedy and chat on tap

Four

周六 5

Celebrating Disney at the Proms: The Music of Menken, Two, 5.30pm 这位获奖作曲家的歌曲与配乐

One

6.0 Breakfast (T) 10.0 Saturday Kitchen Live (T) 11.30 Anna Haugh's Big Irish Food Tour (T) (R) 12.0 News (T) 12.10 Weather (T) 12.15 The Football Interview (T) 12.25 MOTD Live: Women's Super League (T) 切尔西 v 阿斯顿维拉 (开球时间 12.30pm)。 2.45 Homes Under the Hammer (T) (R) 3.45 Final Score (T) 5.15 News (T) 5.25 Regional News (T) Weather 5.30 Weather (T) 5.35 The Hit List (T) 6.20 Alan Carr's Celebrity Picture Slam (T) 7.10 Pointless Celebrities (T) (R)

8.0 Casualty: 40th Anniversary (T) 为纪念这部医疗剧周年而制作的两部分特别节目之第一部分。 8.50 Casualty: 40th Anniversary (T) 团队在危难时刻寻求 Dylan 的帮助。 9.40 Ghosts (T) (R) Alison 陷入崩溃。

10.10 News (T) 10.25 Weather (T) 10.30 Match of the Day (T) 12.0 电影《Brighton Rock》(Rowan Joffe, 2010) (T) 1.45 Weather for the Week Ahead (T) 1.50 News (T)

Two

6.05 Children's TV (T) 8.50 Gardeners' World (T) (R) 9.50 This Wild Life (T) (R) 10.20 电影《GI Blues》(Norman Taurog, 1960) (T) 由埃尔维斯·普雷斯利主演的音乐剧。 12.0 The Great British Sewing Bee (T) (R) 1.0 Bargain Hunt (T) (R) 1.45 Race Against the Tide (T) (R) 2.15 Escape to the Country (T) (R) 2.45 Super League Live (T) 韦克菲尔德三一队 v 沃灵顿狼队。 5.0 Flog It! (T) (R) 5.30 Celebrating Disney at the Proms: The Music of Menken (T)

7.0 Athletics: Diamond League Brussels (T) 报道 AG Memorial Van Damme 第二天的赛事。

9.0 Queen at the (T) (R) 这支摇滚乐队在电视上的演出集锦，包括他们在蒙特勒流行音乐节期间的精彩片段。

10.0 Queen: The Legendary 1975 Concert (T) (R)

12.35 A Life in Ten Pictures (T) (R) 1.35 电影《Evil Does Not Exist》(2023)

ITV1

6.0 电影《Never Say Never Again》(Irvin Kershner, 1983) (T) 8.25 Prue Leith's Cotswold Kitchen (T) 9.25 News (T) 9.30 James Martin's Saturday Morning (T) 12.0 Gary Barlow's Food and Wine Tour: New Zealand (T) 12.30 James Martin's Great British Adventure (T) (R) 1.0 News 1.15 ITV Racing: Live from Haydock (T) 4.0 Celebrity Lingo (T) (R) 4.25 News (T) 4.40 Local News (T) 4.50 电影《Jurassic World》(Colin Trevorrow, 2015) (T) 冒险续集。

7.0 The Voice UK (T) 歌唱比赛，由 Emma Willis 主持。 8.15 The Box (T) 新剧集。名人游戏节目，由加里·莱因克尔主持。 9.15 Romesh Ranganathan's Parents' Evening (T) (R) 嘉宾包括 Gabby Logan, Pete Wicks 和 Krishnan Guru-Murthy。

10.15 News (T) Weather 10.30 电影《Lucy》(Luc Besson, 2014) (T) 科幻惊悚片。

12.10 English Football League Highlights (T) 1.30 Shop on TV 3.0 Dermot's Taste of Ireland (T) (R)

Channel 4

6.05 Cheers (T) (R) 7.55 Everybody Loves Raymond (T) (R) 9.20 Frasier (T) (R) 10.50 The Simpsons (T) (R) 1.20 Four in a Bed (T) (R) 3.55 George Clarke's Amazing Spaces (T) (R) George 探索更多具有启发性和独创性的空间。 4.55 Grand Designs (T) (R) Kevin McCloud 回到康沃尔，查看前跳伞运动员 Leigh 和 Richard 将一座废弃的 17 世纪面粉厂改造为三居室住宅的进展。 6.0 News (T)

6.30 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix Qualifying Highlights (T) 本赛季第 13 场比赛的排位赛争夺战。

8.0 电影《Captain Marvel》(Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, 2019) (T) 由 Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson 和 Ben Mendelsohn 出演的科幻冒险片。

10.20 电影《Nope》(Jordan Peele, 2022) (T) 由 Daniel Kaluuya 主演的科幻惊悚片。

12.45 电影《A Quiet Place Part II》(John Krasinski, 2020) (T) 2.20 Kitchen Nightmares USA (T) (R)

5

6.0 Milkshake! 9.05 英国最伟大的桥梁 (T) (R) 9.20 阳光下的省钱英国人 (T) (R) 9.50 电影 《大红狗克利福德》(Walt Becker, 2021) (T) 由杰克·怀特霍尔主演的冒险片。 11.45 王室：无删减 (T) 12.45 斯诺克现场直播：British Open 2026 (T) 首场半决赛报道。 4.30 亚历山大·阿姆斯特朗在印度 (T) (R) 5.25 索普庄园：戴安娜的家族之宅 (T) (R) 探访这座位于北安普敦郡的庄园。 6.25 新闻 (T) 头条新闻。

6.30 斯诺克现场直播：British Open 2026 (T) 报道锦标赛第六天在切尔滕纳 Centaur 举行的最后一场半决赛，比赛采用 11 局 6 胜制。由凯蒂·沙纳汉主持，斯蒂芬·亨德利进行分析。

10.30 70和80年代英国最受欢迎的广告 (T) (R)

12.25 逃票者：与法律的战争 (T) (R) 1.25 5频道娱乐新闻 (T) 1.30 LoveitBookit 邮轮电视 (T) (R)

BBC Four

7.0 自然世界：非洲狮王 (T) 重新审视学会捕食大象的非洲狮。 7.05 地球生命 (T) 大卫·爱登堡与一群大猩猩的著名邂逅。

8.0 伟大的铁路之旅：火车迷的自白 (T) 迈克尔·帕林从伦敦尤斯顿车站前往洛查尔凯尔。 9.0 Beck 一名牧师在五旬节运动的一个教区大厅的一场纵火袭击中丧生。

10.30 贵族生活 (T)

10.50 贵族生活 (T) 11.0 维持体面 11.30 时空转移：酒吧历史 (T) 12.10 史蒂夫·巴克沙尔的极限登山挑战 (T) 1.10 地球生命 (T)

广播节目

星期日

Radio 3

6.30am 早餐 9.0 星期日早晨 12.0 私人激情 1.30 音乐地图 3.0 声音中的色彩，由卡罗琳·肖主持 4.0 爵士乐点播 5.0 古乐节目 6.0 合唱晚祷 7.0 BBC Proms 2026 10.0 夜间曲目 11.30 未分类 12.30 彻夜

Radio 4

6.0am 新闻头条 6.05 心灵与灵魂 6.35 你的农场 7.0 新闻 7.0 星期日报纸 7.10 星期日 7.54 4 呼吁 8.0 新闻 8.0 星期日报纸 8.10 星期日礼拜 8.48 见证历史 8.58 今日推文 9.0 广播大楼 10.0 重聚 11.0 拱手农民 12.15 个人档案 12.30 仅一分钟 1.0 本周末的世界 1.30 独裁者生存指南 2.0 园艺问答时间 2.45 新讲故事的人 3.0 戏剧：午夜牛仔 4.0 选读四本书 4.30 英国之脑 5.0 见证历史 5.10 各类思维 5.54 航运预报 6.0 六点新闻 6.15 每周精选 7.0 拱手农民 7.15 墙壁反弹：监狱声景 7.45 迈克尔·莫斯利的一件事 8.0 口耳相传 8.30 最后之言 9.0 钱袋子 9.26 4 呼吁 9.30 来自我们自己的记者 10.0 威斯敏斯特小时 11.0 伟大人生 11.30 骗局 11.45 短篇作品 12.0 新闻与天气 12.15

跨越大陆 12.45 星期日之钟 12.48 航运预报 1.0 作为 BBC 世界服务 5.0 新闻摘要 5.04 最后之言 5.34 航运预报 5.43 今日祷告 5.45 今日农业

星期一

3

6.30am 早餐 9.30 3 逍遥音乐会马拉松星期一 11.0 3 逍遥音乐会马拉松星期一 3.45 3 逍遥音乐会马拉松星期一 5.15 3 逍遥音乐会马拉松星期一 7.0 BBC Proms 2026 9.30 古典混音带 10.0 夜间曲目 11.30 午夜时分 12.30 彻夜

Radio 4

上午6:00《今日》(Today) 9:00《伟大的犯罪之谜》(The Great Crime Mystery) 9:30《我们是如何走到这一步的：没有世界秩序》(How Did We Get Here: No World Order) 10:00《女性时间》(Woman's Hour) 11:00《各种各样的思想》(All Kinds of Minds) 11:45《你无需说任何话》(You Do Not Have to Say Anything) 12:00 新闻 12:04《你与你的生活》(You and Yours) 下午1:00《世界》(The World) 1:45《9/11故事》(A 9/11 Story) 2:00《弓箭手》(The Archers) 2:15《烟草、杂志与包袋》(Fags, Mags and Bags) 2:45《新故事讲述者》(New Storytellers) 3:00《伟大的生活》(Great Lives) 3:30《你对我而言已死》(You're Dead to Me) 4:00《独裁者生存指南》(The Dictators' Survival Guide) 4:30《灵魂音乐》(Soul Music) 5:00 PM节目 6:00 六点新闻 6:30《不可言说》(Unspeakable) 7:00《弓箭手》(The Archers) 7:15《前排》(Front Row) 8:00《简报室》(The Briefing Room) 8:30《BBC内部科学》(BBC Inside Science) 9:00《伟大的犯罪之谜》(The Great Crime Mystery) 9:30《我们是如何走到这一步的：没有世界秩序》(How Did We Get Here: No World Order) 10:00《今夜世界》(The World Tonight) 10:45《睡前书：一位职场母亲》(Book at Bedtime: A Working Mother) 11:00《有些事我想告诉你》(There's Something I Need to Tell You) 11:30《一切都是假的且无人关心》(Everything Is Fake and Nobody Cares) 12:00 新闻与天气 12:30《你无需说任何话》(You Do Not Have to Say Anything) 12:48 航运预报 下午1:00 接入BBC世界服务 5:00 新闻摘要 5:04《独裁者生存指南》(The Dictators' Survival Guide)

周二

Radio 3

上午6:30《早餐》(Breakfast) 9:30《经典精选》(Essential Classics) 下午1:00《古典现场》(Classical Live) 4:00《本周作曲家：伊丽莎白·雅克·德·拉·盖尔》(Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre) 5:00《协调》(In Tune) 7:00《古典混音带》(Classical Mixtape) 7:30 2026年BBC逍遥音乐会 (BBC Proms 2026) 10:00《深夜曲目》(Night Tracks) 11:30《午夜时分》(Round Midnight) 12:30《彻夜》(Through the Night)

Radio 4

上午6:00《今日》(Today) 9:00《隐形之手》(Invisible Hands) 9:30《迈克尔·辛进入角色》(Michael Sheen Gets into Character) 10:00《女性时间》(Woman's Hour) 11:00《添加到播放列表》(Add to Playlist) 11:45《你无需说任何话》(You Do Not Have to Say Anything) 12:00 新闻 12:04《呼叫你与你的生活》(Call You and Yours) 下午1:00《世界》(The World) 1:45《9/11故事》(A 9/11 Story) 2:00《弓箭手》(The Archers) 2:15 戏剧：《下游》(Downstream) 3:00《历史的秘密英雄》(History's Secret Heroes) 3:30《心灵与灵魂》(Heart and Soul) 4:00《贝丽尔·库克：艺术家还是演艺人员？》(Beryl Cook: Artist or Entertainer?) 4:30《纪录片怎么了？》(What's Up Docs?) 5:00 PM节目 6:00 六点新闻 6:30《保罗·辛哈的完美酒吧问答》(Paul Sinha's Perfect Pub Quiz) 7:00《弓箭手》(The Archers) 7:15《前排》(Front Row) 8:00《医疗紧急情况》(Medical Emergency) 8:40《保持联系》(In Touch) 9:00《跨越大陆》(Crossing Continents) 9:30《诈骗秘密》(Scam Secrets) 10:00《今夜世界》(The World Tonight) 10:45《睡前书：一位职场母亲》(Book at Bedtime: A Working Mother) 11:00《半衰期》(Half-Life) 11:30《今日议会》(Today in Parliament) 12:00 新闻与天气 12:30《你无需说任何话》(You Do Not Have to Say Anything) 12:48 航运预报 下午1:00 接入BBC世界服务 5:00 新闻摘要 5:04《昨日议会》(Yesterday in Parliament) 5:34 航运

周三

Radio 3

上午6:30《早餐》(Breakfast) 9:30《经典精选》(Essential Classics) 下午1:00《古典现场》(Classical Live) 3:00《合唱晚祷》(Choral Evensong) 4:00《本周作曲家：伊丽莎白·雅克·德·拉·盖尔》(Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre) 5:00《协调》(In Tune) 6:30 2026年BBC逍遥音乐会 (BBC Proms 2026) 8:30《新一代艺术家》(New Generation Artists) 10:15 2026年BBC逍遥音乐会 (BBC Proms 2026) 11:45《午夜时分》(Round Midnight) 12:30《彻夜》(Through the Night)

Radio 4

上午6:00《今日》(Today) 9:00《侧向》(Sideways) 9:30《打破循环》(Breakin' the Cycle) 10:00《女性时间》(Woman's Hour) 11:00《医疗紧急情况》(Medical Emergency) 11:40《本周历史》(This Week in History) 11:45《你无需说任何话》(You Do Not Have to Say Anything) 12:00 新闻 12:04《你与你的生活》(You and Yours) 下午1:00《世界》(The World) 1:45《9/11故事》(A 9/11 Story) 2:00《弓箭手》(The Archers) 2:15 戏剧：《破碎的色彩》(Broken Colours) 3:00《钱箱》(Money Box) 3:30《格拉斯哥：卫星城》(Glasgow: Satellite City) 4:00《自然爆炸》(NatureBang) 4:15《媒体秀》(The Media Show) 5:00 PM节目 6:00 六点新闻 6:30《最佳医疗》(Best Medicine) 7:00《弓箭手》(The Archers) 7:15《前排》(Front Row) 8:00《道德迷宫》(The Moral Maze) 9:00《隐形之手》(Invisible Hands) 9:30《迈克尔·辛进入角色》(Michael Sheen Gets into Character) 10:00《今夜世界》(The World Tonight) 10:45《睡前书：一位职场母亲》(Book at Bedtime: A Working Mother) 11:00《诺拉·米多斯的健康周》(Nora Meadows' Week of Wellness) 11:15《串刺》(The Skewer) 11:30《今日议会》(Today in Parliament) 12:00 新闻与天气 12:30《你无需说任何话》(You Do Not Have to Say Anything) 12:48 航运预报 下午1:00 接入BBC世界服务 5:00 新闻摘要 5:04《昨日议会》(Yesterday in Parliament) 5:34 航运预报 5:43《每日祷告》(Prayer for the Day) 5:45《今日农业》(Farming Today)

周四

Radio 3

上午6:30《早餐》(Breakfast) 9:30《经典精选》(Essential Classics) 下午1:00《古典现场》(Classical Live) 4:00《本周作曲家：伊丽莎白·雅克·德·拉·盖尔》(Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre) 5:00《协调》(In Tune) 7:00 2026年BBC逍遥音乐会 (BBC Proms 2026) 10:00《深夜曲目》(Night Tracks) 11:30《午夜时分》(Round Midnight) 12:30《彻夜》(Through the Night)

Radio 4

6.0am 今日 (Today) 9.0 诺曼人究竟为我们做了什么？ (What Did the Normans Ever Do For Us?) 10.0 女性时间 (Woman's Hour) 11.0 食品节目 (The Food Programme) 11.45 哈罗德国王回信 (King Harold Writes Back) 12.0 新闻 12.04 骗局秘密 (Scam Secrets) 12.32 面团 (Dough) 1.0 世界 (The World) 1.45 9/11 故事 (A 9/11 Story) 2.0 弓箭手 (The Archers) 2.15 戏剧：天鹅颈伊迪丝与拜约挂毯 (Drama: Edith Swan-Neck and The Bayeux Tapestry) 3.0 开放乡村 (Open Country) 3.27 Radio 4 呼吁 3.30 口耳相传 (Word of Mouth) 4.0 你对我而言已死 (You're Dead to Me) 4.30 拜约挂毯的力量 (The Power of the Bayeux Tapestry) 5.0 下午 (PM) 6.0 六点新闻 6.30 Icklewick FM 7.0 弓箭手 (The Archers) 7.15 前排 (Front Row) 8.0 自然爆炸 (NatureBang) 8.15 媒体秀 (The Media Show) 9.0 松散端 (Loose Ends) 9.45 牛疯了 (The Cows Are Mad) 10.0 今夜世界 (The World Tonight) 10.45 睡前书：职场母亲 (Book at Bedtime: A Working Mother) 11.0 激进 (Radical) 11.30 议会今日 (Today in Parliament) 12.0 新闻与天气 12.30 你不必说任何话 (You Do Not Have to Say Anything) 12.48 航运预报 (Shipping Forecast) 1.0 BBC 世界服务 (As BBC World Service) 5.0 新闻摘要 5.04 议会昨日 (Yesterday in Parliament) 5.34 航运预报 5.43 今日祷告 (Prayer for the Day) 5.45 今日农业 (Farming Today)

星期五

Radio 3

6.30am 早餐 (Breakfast) 9.30 经典精选 (Essential Classics) 1.0 古典现场 (Classical Live) 4.0 本周作曲家：伊丽莎白·雅克·德·拉·盖尔 (Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre) 5.0 协调 (In Tune) 7.0 2026年 BBC 逍遥音乐会 (BBC Proms 2026) 10.0 深夜交汇 (Late Junction) 11.30 午夜时分 ('Round Midnight) 12.30 彻夜 (Through the Night)

Radio 4

6.0am 今日 (Today) 9.0 重聚 (The Reunion) 10.0 女性时间 (Woman's Hour) 11.0 此时文化生活 (This Cultural Life) 11.45 你不必说任何话 (You Do Not Have to Say Anything) 12.0 新闻 12.04 稀土 (Rare Earth) 1.0 世界 (The World) 1.45 9/11 故事 (A 9/11 Story) 2.0 弓箭手 (The Archers) 2.15 戏剧：中央情报 (Drama: Central Intelligence) 2.45 边缘生活 (Living on the Edge) 3.0 园丁问答时间 (Gardeners' Question Time) 3.45 短篇作品 (Short Works) 4.0 最后一言 (Last Word) 4.30 侧向 (Sideways) 5.0 下午 (PM) 6.0 六点新闻 6.30 新闻问答 (The News Quiz) 7.0 弓箭手 (The Archers) 7.15 添加到播放列表 (Add to Playlist) 8.0 有任何问题吗？ (Any Questions?) 8.55 本周历史 (This Week in History) 9.0 娜塔莉·海恩斯捍卫古典学 (Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics) 9.30 打破循环 (Breakin' the Cycle) 10.0 今夜世界 (The World Tonight) 10.45 睡前书：职场母亲 (Book at Bedtime: A Working Mother) 11.0 美国播报 (Americast) 11.30 议会今日 (Today in Parliament) 12.0 新闻与天气 12.30 你不必说任何话 (You Do Not Have to Say Anything) 12.48 航运预报 (Shipping Forecast) 1.0 BBC 世界服务 (As BBC World Service) 5.30 新闻摘要 5.34 航运预报 5.43 今日祷告 (Prayer for the Day) 5.45 边缘生活 (Living on the Edge)

星期六

Radio 3

6.30am 早餐 (Breakfast) 9.0 周六早晨 (Saturday Morning) 12.0 早期...与朱尔斯·霍兰德 (Earlier... with Jools Holland) 1.0 关键变化：Radio 3 古典音乐精要史 (Key Changes: Radio 3's Essential History of Classical Music) 2.0 唱片评论 (Record Review) 4.0 电影之声 (Sound of Cinema) 5.0 此时古典生活 (This Classical Life) 6.0 音乐星球 (Music Planet) 7.0 2026年 BBC 逍遥音乐会 (BBC Proms 2026)。伊恩·斯凯利 (Ian Skelly) 主持现场，拉哈夫·沙尼 (Lahav Shani) 指挥钢琴家玛塔·阿尔格里奇 (Martha Argerich) 及慕尼黑爱乐乐团。 9.30 20世纪激进派 (20th Century Radicals) 10.30 新音乐秀 (New Music Show) 12.30 彻夜 (Through the Night)

Radio 4

6.0am 新闻与报纸 (News and Papers) 6.07 开放乡村 (Open Country) 6.30 本周今日农业 (Farming Today This Week) 7.0 今日 (Today) 9.0 周六现场 (Saturday Live) 10.0 你对我而言已死 (You're Dead to Me) 10.30 灵魂音乐 (Soul Music) 11.0 威斯敏斯特周报 (The Week in Westminster) 11.30 来自我们的特派员 (From Our Own Correspondent) 12.0 新闻 12.04 钱箱 (Money Box) 12.30 新闻问答 (The News Quiz) 1.0 新闻 1.10 有任何问题吗？ (Any Questions?) 2.05 有任何答案吗？ (Any Answers?) 2.45 弓箭手 (The Archers) 3.0 戏剧：里程焦虑 (Drama: Range Anxiety) 4.0 周末女性时间 (Weekend Woman's Hour) 5.0 周六下午 (Saturday PM) 5.30 面团 (Dough) 5.54 航运预报 (Shipping Forecast) 6.0 六点新闻 6.15 松散端 (Loose Ends) 7.0 概况 (Profile) 7.15 此时文化生活 (This Cultural Life) 8.0 Radio 4 档案：竞赛 (Archive on 4: Comps) 9.0 道德迷宫 (The Moral Maze) 10.0 新闻 10.15 食品节目 (The Food Programme) 11.0 你的母亲 (Your Mum) 11.30 英国之脑 (Brain of Britain) 12.0 午夜新闻 12.15 四本书 (Take Four Books) 12.48 航运预报 (Shipping Forecast) 1.0 BBC 世界服务 (As BBC World Service) 5.30 新闻摘要 5.34 航运预报 5.43 周日钟声 (Bells on Sunday) 5.45 保持联系 (In Touch)

电视

25年后，这场 9/11 重聚节目带来了震撼的视觉体验

芭芭拉·艾伦 (Barbara Ellen)

9 / 11 重聚 (9 / 11 Reunited) 国家地理频道 / Disney+ 《谋杀侦探》(The Murder Detective) Channel 4 《大交易》(The Big Deal) 主持人：斯蒂芬·麦戈文 (Steph McGovern) BBC Two

下方照片中，纽约消防员是 9 / 11 重聚 的受访者之一；上方插图为莱拉·麦基 (Lyra McKee) 的壁画，她于 2019. 年在德里郡被枪杀。照片由 Bill Spade / 提供。

2001 年 9 月 11 日，基地组织恐怖分子驾驶飞机撞击世界贸易中心的画面至今仍让人觉得不可思议——就像 21 世纪最令人震惊的灾难电影。随着袭击事件 25 周年的临近，我们可以预见会有大量关于这场夺走 2,977 条生命的暴行的评论与反思。率先推出的是 9 / 11 重聚，这是一部由国家地理频道与 9 / 11 纪念馆及博物馆联合制作的三集纪录片系列，目前也在 Disney+ 上播出。

人们日益认为，年轻人——尤其是 30 岁以下的人群——对 9 月 11 日的认知度较低，而这部纪录片旨在引起他们的情感共鸣。该片由 2021 年《9 / 11：美国的一天》(9 / 11: One Day in America) 的制片人朱利安·琼斯 (Julian Jones) 执导，重点讲述了对双子塔的两次撞击以及对五角大楼的袭击（第四架飞机在乘客反击劫机者后坠毁在宾夕法尼亚州的一片原野中）。这部剧的不同之处在于，它像《失散多年的家人》(Long Lost Family) 那样，让幸存者与救他们的人重聚，有时是袭击发生以来的首次会面。剧集按时区分段，将新闻报道和手机拍摄的片段与第一手叙述相结合。

约翰·帕茨科夫斯基 (John Paczkowski) 和乔治·菲尼克斯 (George Phoenix) 是被困在北塔电梯里的六个人之一，当时一名同行乘客、窗户清洁工扬·德姆丘尔 (Jan Demczur) 利用刮水器的部件刮开了一面干壁，使他们所有人能够在塔楼坍塌前五分钟逃脱。他们的重聚十分低调，只有谨慎的熊抱和坚定的握手，但帕茨科夫斯基和菲尼克斯显然在获得感谢谦逊的德姆丘尔的机会时深受触动。

另一位纽约幸存者黛比·圣约翰 (Debbie St John) 当时正在街上奔跑，飞机碎片击中了她的背部，导致其伤势极其严重，肠道外露。斯特凡·霍拉彻 (Stefan Horlacher) 确保她得到了救助。当他们见面时，这位两个孩子的母亲希望他看到，虽然她现在使用轮椅，但她还能走一点路并骑马，她说：“我只想让你为我感到自豪。”

故事仍在继续：一名陆军中校引导人们走向五角大楼的窗户，随后自己也被救出，跳入一名海军陆战队特种作战司令的怀中。一名受伤的消防员由一名急救员守护安全。一名警察在 22 小时后从废墟中被救出。（紧急服务部门共救出了 20,000 多人）。尽管画面已为人熟知，但依然令人震撼，尤其是两座塔楼坍塌后翻滚而起的灰色巨大尘暴。

重点虽然在幸存者身上，但甚至没有

30 岁以下的年轻人被认为对 9 月 11 日的认知度日益降低

一次简单的尝试去提供袭击事件的地缘政治背景，这剥离了节目的语境，而且可以说也剥离了其权威性。片中还不断出现“凄美”的提示，主要表现为当幸存者回忆事件或重聚时，背景中响起盘旋的情感音乐。这些人类故事本身就足够生动，观众不需要情感提示卡。

在 Channel 4 上，还有另一部令人心碎的三集纪录片《谋杀侦探》，这是詹姆斯·W·牛顿 (James W Newton) 对 29 岁的北爱尔兰记者兼作家莱拉·麦基 (Lyra McKee) 案件的研究，她在 2019 年 4 月观察德里郡的一场骚乱时被枪杀。

这件事发生在克雷根社区（Creggan estate），那里在“麻烦时期”被视为爱尔兰共和军（IRA）的据点，而现在据称是新爱尔兰共和军（New IRA）的总部。新爱尔兰共和军承认，在麦基与伴侣站在一辆警车旁时，由于其误射导致了她的死亡。

这是首次允许在北爱尔兰一起与恐怖主义相关的谋杀案调查过程中进行拍摄。该系列纪录片追踪了当时北爱尔兰警察局重大调查负责人、侦查总警司杰森·墨菲（Jason Murphy）。片中可以看到他为了给枪手及麦基之死其他关键参与者提起诉讼，在检查自己的汽车底部是否有炸弹。

该事件有大量目击者，当时甚至有一个由主持人雷吉·耶茨（Reggie Yates）率领的MTV摄制组在德里调查英国脱欧对社区的影响。摄制组在枪击发生前离开了，当地人在镜头前暗示，这场骚乱是为了给该摄制组而演的。

枪击过程并未以露骨的方式呈现（有人在哭喊：“有个孩子被射中了头部”）。麦基是一位著名的天主教作家，她凭借关于在贝尔法斯特作为同性恋者成长的博文《写给14岁自己的信》（Letter to My 14 Year Old Self）而崭露头角。她悲痛欲绝的家人由她的姐姐尼古拉（Nichola）代表，尼古拉在为妹妹寻求正义时表现得充满激情且口才流畅，但同时也心碎地表示：“我们再也无法让她回来了。”

片中显示墨菲在获取信息时陷入困境，主要是因为人们害怕遭到新爱尔兰共和军的报复。随后的审判过程极其漫长，直到上个月才结束。由于警察在程序上出现失误，该案最终未能就此次杀人行为定罪。总而言之，这是一部复杂且令人不安的纪录片。

BBC Two频道的《大交易》（The Big Deal with Steph McGovern）被宣传为面向有志于成为艺术交易商的《学徒》（The Apprentice）。参赛者两人一组，首席专家是艺术交易商科德莉亚·德·弗雷塔斯（Cordelia de Freitas），奖品是价值 5 万英镑 的艺术品。其更深层的宗旨是

将普通大众与艺术联系起来（主持人麦戈文的父亲是一位雕塑家）。

在这部六集系列剧过半时，剩余的参赛者来到了马盖特（Margate），这座海滨小镇已转变为繁华的艺术目的地（这要归功于特雷西·艾敏和特纳当代艺术馆）。客座专家是艺术家兼画廊主马戈·麦克戴德（Margo McDaid），业余参赛者们研究了具有巨大全球市场的限量版作品和版画，并在艺术博览会上进行销售。

如果这部剧旨在推广大众艺术，那么应该给艺术家更多空间来解释他们的作品。即便如此，它依然揭示了一个隐藏的世界，而且一个明显的加分项是，那些准交易商——其中包括一些投机之徒和处于中年危机且好胜的人——感觉更像是一群波洛小说里的嫌疑人，而非标准的真人秀参赛者。《大交易》有趣且不寻常——值得一看。

观看清单：芭芭拉·艾伦推荐的其他佳作

《恐怖》（The Terror）：银色之魔 (天空大西洋电视台) 《恐怖》的第一季……这部恐怖选集（关于一艘被诅咒的海军船只）曾是一部邪典杰作。在第三季中，《唐顿庄园》的丹·史蒂文斯（见下图）被困在一家精神病单位。其结果是一部带有超自然色彩的《飞越疯人院》，并对美国医疗体系有所影射。

《格斗之地》（Fightland） (天空大西洋电视台) 说唱歌手 50 Cent 共同制作了这部以伦敦为背景、讲述拳击与犯罪地下世界的剧集。由尼古拉斯·皮诺克和霍华德·查尔斯主演。

《书卷气》（Bookish） (U&Alibi) 马克·盖蒂斯创作、编写并主演了这部回归的战后温馨犯罪剧，讲述了一位深柜男同性恋侦探的故事。杰森·沃特金斯在剧中饰演一名阴险的灵媒。

Dolly's dollars

How the empress of Appalachia changed America

News + New Review

Player, pundit, pod-god

Gary Lineker on luck, singledom and mortality

Magazine

Cravings

Nigel Slater's plum cake and Georgia Levy's cod with peperonata

Magazine

THE OBSERVER

Established 1791

nothing left

At least 675 dead and 3,000 missing along a 60-mile ribbon of mud. Isabel Coles reports from Bidur, Nepal

10.000

electric vehicles and counting.

This year, we're increasing the electric vehicles used for deliveries across Europe to over 10,000.

amazon

'The enemy of nonsense' – George Orwell, The Observer

THE OBSERVER VIEW

We have been warned

The devastating flash flood in Nepal highlights the urgent need for global climate leadership – and presents an opportunity for Britain to step up

T

The speed and power of Wednesday's flash flood in the valley of Nepal's Trishuli River was, one survivor said, beyond comprehension. It destroyed a six-storey Chinese border post in seconds and then roared on for 60 miles. Four days on,

more than 600 people are confirmed dead and nearly 3,000 are missing.

Nepalese officials say they wish their early warning system for rising river levels had given victims more time. And yet a different sort of early warning system did function properly – a human one, comprised of experts.

The melting of the Hindu Kush Himalaya range is “a crisis unfolding in real time”, according to a recent study by a research institute in Kathmandu. This is a crisis bringing “new disasters every summer and monsoon”. Many of these disasters are linked to rapidly shrinking glaciers more than five vertical kilometres above sea level, and what they show is “we are not just losing ice; we are facing a rapid escalation of risks”.

That was in March, and there have been many studies like it. No one can say Nepal and the NGOs based there and the tourists who flock there weren't warned. Arguments will drag on about how directly this flood can be attributed to climate change, and not just because climate ostriches like to argue. It seems to have been caused by simultaneous glacial and rock avalanches and they can be released by earthquakes and natural ice flow as well as warming.

But we do know this: the Himalayas are warming about 50% faster than the global average. Its glaciers are weakening as well as retreating, and the rock beneath them is weakening too: it's full of cracks, which are full of ice, and it is melting.

Ice is mountain glue but it is losing its adhesion. This is a slow process but it can accelerate suddenly because it takes much more heat energy for ice to melt than merely to warm. As a result, high mountain rock formations can hold for centuries then give way all at once. It happened on the west face of the Aiguille du Dru in France in 2005, when the Bonatti Pillar collapsed leaving a scar 1,000 metres high. It appears to have happened under the glacier that broke off Langtang Lirung peak on Wednesday morning, and it could happen again almost anywhere in the Himalayas at any time.

This is an inexorable function of climate change, and Nepal is ill-equipped to cope. Thirteen thousand soldiers and police have been deployed to the disaster zone but there are 63,000 glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalaya.

Nepal's government has assessed the immediate cost of flood damage in the Trishuli valley at \$1.3bn. That will rise. It dwarfs the \$500,000 offered by the US for emergency assistance, the €2m from the EU and the £5m from the UK, but another number worth recalling is \$100bn

– the sum that UN member states at Cop climate conferences agreed should be collected mainly from rich countries every year to help poorer ones adapt

to climate change. This was a number discussed in earnest at Cop26 in Glasgow five years ago, not least by Mark Carney, then governor of the Bank of England, who led efforts to raise even larger sums from the private sector. Those efforts have stalled. The \$100bn number is no longer even a talking point at Cop meetings, which have become much more willing to listen to arguments for a long-term role for oil and gas in the global energy mix. Nepal, one of Asia's poorest countries, must meanwhile find a way to move whole communities out of the path of inevitable future disasters.

Just as Carney has now rallied liberal democracies to face down Donald Trump, there is an opening for the UK to lead internationally

on climate. It would be good politics domestically for Andy Burnham, as Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage lead the right down an anti-net zero dead end. It would help Britain define its role on the world stage, building on past success in decarbonisation to seize future opportunities in clean energy. And it is needed: Cop26 threw down a gauntlet that has yet to be picked up.

Humans have shown a remarkable capacity to shut out the broader lessons of rising sea levels, uninsurable coastal property, heatwaves and wildfires.

Here's hoping the terrible flood of 26 August 2026 cuts through in more ways than one.

Meta settlement leaves tech untamed

When Meta agreed last week to pay nearly \$18bn

to settle claims it was foisting addictive tech on children across America, California's attorney general called it a “transformative result”. The deal will help states pay for mental healthcare for young people drawn into dependent and dangerous behaviours by social media, and it will cap children's screen time at two hours

a day if parents agree. But there are two sets of reasons it won't be everything the attorney general hopes.

First, for a \$1.5tn company, the headline sum is hardly chastening. Paid out over 10 years, nearly a third of it is conditional on rival firms joining the settlement. Second, and more important, none of this touches on AI. To set guardrails round the use of Meta's social media platforms while scarcely addressing AI is

like regulating cycling at the dawn of flight.

Bill Gates is alarmed. As the company he built plunges ahead in the race to commercialise AI, Gates has written a heartfelt plea to slow down its rollout to give humans a chance of preserving good jobs and self-respect in the face of “what will either be the greatest equalizer ever invented, or the worst source of injustice”. We’re not ready, Gates says. He should know.

A betrayal of trust

Sally-Anne Bowen claimed the former pupils accusing her of sexually abusing them as teenagers were fantasists. A jury thought otherwise. Last week she was found guilty of indecent assault after a trial in which the prosecution argued successfully she had exploited her position as a teacher for her sexual gratification.

Most sexual abuse is by men. Most victims are women and girls. But whoever the perpetrator, it is a crime that destroys lives. In this case the principal victim went on to attempt suicide three times. It was only after the release of a podcast series on his story by Tortoise Media, owner of The Observer, that police pressed charges. By then Bowen had been teaching for decades. The number of grown-ups who betrayed the trust placed in them by her pupils is unknown – but high.

Unimportant

Overheard ‘Ban lunchboxes because you can’t police what parents put in’ Prue Leith calls for school lunches to be made compulsory to improve the nation’s diet

The week in brief

Asylum seekers in hotels down by half

The number of asylum seekers living in hotels has halved in a year to about 16,000, according to Home Office figures. The number peaked at about 56,000 in 2023. However, latest figures show another 69,038 were housed in temporary accommodation, reflecting the government's desire to spread refugees more evenly around the country. Meanwhile, the number of migrants granted the permanent right to live in the UK has risen to a 16-year high of almost 200,000, a $24\%$ rise in a year. It was boosted in part by the number of visas granted to people from Hong Kong in 2021.

£978.87

Cost to the taxpayer of creating a replica front door of 10 Downing Street at Andy Burnham's interim northern headquarters

Mourners gather in Royal Palace Square, Oslo, by a makeshift memorial to King Harald V of Norway who died on Friday. His son, now King Haakon VIII, will take the constitutional oath of office on 1 September. Odd Anderson/AFP/Getty

Hackers steal customer data from UK airports

US pressures Burnham over defence spending

The personal data of almost 9 million people was accessed by criminal hackers who targeted three English airports. The cybersecurity incident affected Manchester, East Midlands and London Stansted. Airport authorities said customers' contact details, vehicle registrations and postcodes had been obtained by hackers who demanded an undisclosed ransom. The majority of the data accessed was related to wifi sign-ups within the terminals or people booking parking spaces. Customers were warned to be vigilant about suspicious emails.

The US has issued an ultimatum to Andy Burnham, threatening to withdraw its support for Britain's sovereignty over the Falkland Islands if it does not increase defence spending. Pentagon officials are understood to be reviewing Nato allies' commitment to their 5% defence spending promise, with the UK set to get "special attention". Trump's administration believes the UK's defence investment plan in June did not go far enough and is looking to incentivise the prime minister to invest further. The White House is pushing members towards a new era of the treaty, calling it Nato 3.0. This will require European countries to take primary responsibility for the conventional defence of Europe.

AI aids brain surgery for the first time

A British man has become the first person in the world to have brain surgery with the assistance of artificial intelligence. Rhys Hibbert, from Bedfordshire, underwent an operation at University College London Hospital in which an AI tool, trained on many previous operations, analysed a video feed of the operation on a pituitary gland tumour and advised surgeons on how to avoid hidden vessels and

nerves. It allowed them to remove as much of the growth as possible and save Hibbert's sight.

PTSD undiagnosed in many new mothers

Thousands of women in the UK develop undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder after childbirth each year. Research published by the University of East Anglia's medical school said the condition is missed in at least 15,000 women a year but

The Observer news matrix that the true number could be twice as high. The figure does not include stillbirths or miscarriages. Many GPs misdiagnose PTSD as depression at the six-week checkup. Research found that some women are left with PTSD even after an uncomplicated birth.

Infantino could face criminal complaint

Uefa is preparing to launch a legal complaint against Gianni Infantino, the president of world football's governing body, alleging criminal mismanagement for attempting to sell the World Cup. The European body has ended its boycott of global tournaments over Infantino's behaviour but is now pursuing the Fifa president over a leaked report that he planned to sell an undervalued stake in the World Cup for his own benefit. Uefa has also declared a loss of confidence in the Swiss-Italian and is trying to rally members to unseat him in the presidential election next March.

Russian attack on Kyiv weapons unit kills 37

At least 37 people have been killed in a Russian drone strike that hit a depot storing weapons for Ukraine's military near a residential area on the outskirts of Kyiv. In a statement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a warehouse had been struck in the village of Myla "followed by a detonation," on Friday night. He said an investigation had been launched into "terrible negligence on the part of those who stored explosive right next to people". Four children were among the 42 people injured and a further 400 were evacuated.

Long stories short

● The World Health Organisation declared an end to the Ebola epidemic in Uganda after the country passed a 42-day monitoring period with no new cases.

- A £71m Rembrandt painting, Portrait of Catrina Hooghsaet (1657), was granted “national treasure” status to prevent it leaving the UK.

● Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, arrived back in Britain after leaving their California home.

● Tim Curry, star of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, died aged 80.

Grass is greener for French cheesemakers

The summer drought in parts of France has been so bad that the government has granted temporary dispensation to makers of some of its best-known cheeses to import feed from outside their appellation. Manufacturers of Abondance, Beaufort and Comté, cheeses made in the mountainous eastern region, have faced a shortage of grass for their herds after heatwaves left their pastures yellow and dry.

On the cover

Grief-stricken crowds wait to board a rescue helicopter in the Nepal district of Rasuwa near the border with Tibet last Thursday. Atul Loke/The New York Times/Redux/eyevine

Sections of The Observer are carefully collated at our print site and by newsagents. If any section of today's UK edition of The Observer is missing, call freephone 0800 839100. Back issues can be obtained from www.historic-newspapers.co.uk, or by calling 03300 669700 © 2026 Published by Tortoise Media Limited, 22 Berners Street, London W1T 3LP Printed at Newsprinters (Broxbourne) Ltd, Great Cambridge Road, Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, EN8 8DY; Reach Oldham Limited, Hollinwood Avenue, Chadderton, Oldham OL9 8EP; Discovery Print, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee, DD4 8SL; and Irish Times Print Facility, 4080 Kingswood Road, Citywest Business Campus, Dublin 24. Registered as a newspaper at the Post Office. ISSN 0029-7712

‘TS6 has gone mad’: rumours run rife over crime spree after A66 crash

Police investigate possible gang link after arrests – while social media fuels local fears. Andrew Anthony reports from Middlesbrough

An acrid smell hung around the Grangetown house in which seven-year-old Valentina Foster and her 34-year-old aunt Natalie McDonald died last week. It's the tang of burnt timber and incinerated domestic materials, but many locals think there's something malodorous about the sudden media interest in the area.

“They want egging,” says one man on a bicycle, pointing to a gathering of reporters across the road from the house. “You’re all fucking leeches,” says another, barefoot and bare-chested on the street corner.

In Grangetown, on the eastern fringes of Middlesbrough, where the blast furnaces of the steel industry once dominated the skyline, there is high unemployment and few amenities. The place has an abandoned feel to it, as if it has been left to languish on the wrong side of history.

But what most bothers inhabitants at the moment is the assumption on social media and in some early news reports that Wednesday's alleged arson attack, for which two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder, was linked to a car crash last Saturday morning on the nearby A66 that left seven dead, including two policemen. Josh Kirton, McDonald's brother, said that his sister "was not involved in anything to do with gangs or the A66 [crash]".

"I've known Natalie since I was a kid, and it's got nothing to do with that crash," says the man on the bicycle.

On Friday, Cleveland police said that the fire was not believed to be connected to the investigation into the A66 crash. The force previously said it could not “rule out any links to wider organised crime”.

Around the time we were talking a 39-year-old was attacked with what the police call “a bladed weapon” in Eston, a short distance away. Earlier the same day a car rammed and knocked down the wall of any empty property 2.5km away in South Bank.

Later last Thursday cars were set alight in South Bank at a memorial event held for Michael Cahill, one of the five men who died when the Volkswagen Passat in which they were travelling the wrong way along the A66 collided with a police car carrying PCs Matthew Blades and Tom Clough, both of whom were killed. Two hundred extra police have been drafted in to support the investigations. Twenty-four people have been arrested so far in the town by police investigating the events leading up to and following the A66 crash.

Something seems to be happening in Middlesbrough. One resident told the Yorkshire Post: "TS6 has gone mad, it's brutal." TS6 is the postcode for Grangetown, Eston and South Bank, all neighbourhoods that have known better times on Teesside. Yet the events that led to the A66 crash began on the other side of town on a sedate road in the suburb of Acklam.

The Thursday before last, a house owned by Gye Worthy, 39, was attacked and its windows smashed. The following night, in the early hours of Saturday, a Volvo reversed several times into the same house with such force that it removed all the brickwork beneath the bay window.

A neighbour who was woken by the commotion says he kept his blinds closed because of fear of reprisal. It's a sentiment that is echoed by others, who say that the street is otherwise peaceful, with friendly working families and retired people, and they don't wish to provoke any further violence.

It is understood that after a series of incidents centred on the same house – ram-raids, smashed windows, paint-throwing, numerous police visits – over six or seven years, some of the locals petitioned the council and their local Labour MP, Andy McDonald.

“Everyone has stories to tell but no one wants to put their names to them,” says one man involved. “Your life could be in danger.” Worthy himself was stabbed in an altercation that spilled out of the house and into the street.

The remains of a house in the Grangetown area, top, in which a woman and child died. Above, police at the scene of the fatal A66 crash last Saturday. PA images/Alamy

"When he came out of hospital, he carried on as if nothing had happened," says another neighbour. There is no suggestion Worthy is involved in any criminal activity.

Whatever the cause of these incidents, it appears that Worthy's 17-year-old son Cole, and four friends – Cahill, 23; Theo Rae, 17; Jacob Matusiak, 23, and Makai Saddington, 18 – got into the Passat with cloned number plates to go in pursuit of the Volvo.

Their own chase gave rise to that of the police, although that was called off when the Passat drove onto an exit ramp of the A66 into traffic going in

Tributes left outside the Cleveland police station where PCs Matthew Blades and Tom Clough were based.

the opposite direction. At a curve in the road, the Passat collided head-on with a different police car.

Earlier this year Aaron Saddington, the uncle of one of the occupants, was jailed after he tried to lose the police by speeding into oncoming traffic on the same dual carriageway. This detail, along with criminal histories of the young men in the Passat – four had between them 22 convictions, three for assaulting police officers – suggests a social milieu of shared contempt for the authorities.

One of the three people charged last week after the police dragnet was 19-year-old Kai Beattie from Redcar. He appeared at Teesside magistrates' court charged with possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

Every city has crime and gangs but there are signs that in some of the poorer areas of Middlesbrough, there is notable support among peers for the young men involved. Scores attended last Thursday night's balloon-lighting vigil for Cahill, where several cars were set on fire.

Alec Brown, the leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council, expressed concern about how the combination of national press and social media “feeds into people not feeling safe in their homes”. Online rumours are rife. A number of locals claimed the incident last Thursday with the “bladed weapon” involved a man having his arm cut off, though there is no official information to support the claim.

A combination of national press and social media ‘feeds into people not feeling safe in their homes’ Alec Brown, council leader

"The algorithm keeps going," the man on the bike in Grangetown says. But the feuding does too. Cars and, in one case, a tractor, have been used to smash houses a number of times on Teesside as a means of intimidation. This and the fact that the wrong house is sometimes selected makes people feel unsafe in their homes.

In Acklam, the street with the wrecked house has had enough. "When will this ever end?" one local asks. "When will someone finally do something about it?"

'Everything I've worked for is gone': Nepal reels in aftermath of devastating deluge

The collapse of a glacier unleashed a torrent of rocks, mud, ice and debris that swallowed buildings, left hundreds dead and saw people searching for loved ones among thousands missing. Isabel Coles reports from Bidur

The chief of customs for the Nepal border crossing was busy doing paperwork when he felt the first tremor.

"Was that an earthquake?" Rajendra Dhungana asked his colleagues. Unlikely, they said; it was probably just a heavy goods vehicle trundling along the road to China.

Then came the second tremor – this one powerful enough to shake the windows of the office and prompt Dhungana, 56, to go outside.

Looking up the valley, he “heard an explosion like a volcano”. Suddenly, a cloud of dirt obscured the view.

Instinctively, he turned and began running towards higher ground, clawing his way up the steep sides of the valley by gripping on to tufts of grass. “I didn’t even dare to look back,” he said.

The air was so thick with dust that Dhungana choked on it. At one point, he considered stopping, but his colleagues said to keep going. When he finally paused, his uniform was smeared with mud. Down in the valley below “there was nothing left”.

A glacier had collapsed, crashing into the floor of a valley and dislodging an avalanche of rocks and ice that unleashed a deluge. The torrent swallowed buildings, bridges and people in its path.

Nepali officials had initially pointed to an earthquake, but the US Geological Survey later said the tremor was, in fact, seismic energy generated by the collapse of glacial rock and ice, followed by the debris flow. More than 670 bodies have been recovered so far, while the number missing is nearly 3,000 and rising.

In a village further down the valley, Nema Dorje Tamang was happy to be home after seven years working abroad. The 50-year-old had returned to Nepal two weeks earlier and could finally enjoy the fruits of his labour.

With the money he had earned washing dishes in a Baghdad hotel, his family had built a four-room house in a bend of the Trishuli River. Like many residents of Betrawati, he had moved down on to the plains after an earthquake destroyed his home on higher ground in 2015.

After a morning meal of dal bhat, Tamang went out for a cigarette. The skies were clear and the valley was peaceful – until he received a call

The ice and rock fell 1,300m (2) into the valley below, where the impact registered 5.2 on the Richter scale. It pulverised the ice, forming the first of two

The best explanation offered so far for the disaster is that (1, see above) thousands of tonnes of glacier fell off the remote west face of Langtang Lirung peak early last Wednesday morning along with its underlying bedrock.

from his sister, who had heard about the flood from the police. "Go! Go!" she shouted.

There was no time for Tamang to grab his wallet or the watch he bought himself before leaving Iraq. He shouted for his wife, daughter and two sons – and ran. Behind them a wall of water mixed with concrete and debris was coursing down the valley.

When it reached the sharp bottle-neck bend at Betrawati, it entirely overwhelmed the banks.

Within five minutes, the water was up to Tamang's knees. As he ran, his flip-flops came off and he carried on running barefoot, reaching higher ground just in time. "I was saved by inches," he said.

The relief was shortlived. His immediate family had survived, but a brother, his eldest sister, both their spouses and numerous nieces and nephews were gone. Tamang sees no point in reporting them missing because he is sure they are dead.

“Maybe it would have been better if the flood had swept me away too,” he said. “Everything I worked for all those years is gone.”

Elsewhere in Betrawati, Shyam Bahadoor Tamang also received a warning. His son's wife worked at a hotel just across the border in Tibet and called to say a huge torrent was heading towards them.

The 42-year-old jumped on his motorbike with his wife and three-year-old granddaughter on the back. There was no room for their eldest daughter Sangmo, so the 22-year-old ran behind on foot as they sped off. On their way, Tamang and his wife drove past the school where their younger, 13-year-old daughter was in class and told her to run too.

There had been floods before, but nothing like this, Tamang said: "It felt as though it came from the sky". It was only when they made it to safety they realised Sangmo was missing.

Days after last Wednesday's flood, the waters have receded. They have left a trail of destruction and a key test for Nepal's new leader, Balendra Shah, the 36-year-old former rapper known as Balen, who took office in April after the previous government was toppled by Gen-Z protesters.

Outside an army base in the valley, dozens of people gathered early yesterday sheltering from a downpour as they waited for information. The clouds hung low; helicopters were grounded.

Shambhu Raut rushed here on Wednesday after losing touch with his son Nawaraj. They last spoke at 7.45am that morning – just before Nawaraj began his shift at the SinoHydro plant. The Trishuli River valley is a main energy corridor glacial lakes which then overflowed (3) into the steep-sided valley above the Gyirong border post. Swollen by water from other decaying glaciers, the flood swept southwest, leaving a 60-mile trail of destruction.

that hosts several large hydropower projects. The 32-year-old had been working there for four years and was recently married, Raut said, his face crumpling.

He managed to speak with the deputy superintendent of police for the Rasuwa district, pleading with him to mount a rescue mission. The officer said the matter was in hand, but Raut was not convinced. "It's a way to trick us," he said.

Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said late on Friday that 191 hydroelectric workers had been rescued, but 933 still had not been contacted. Chinese tunnel experts landed near the Upper Trishuli 3B hydropower plant yesterday to help with the rescue efforts. Entrances to tunnels have been blocked and buried by debris and mud.

Among those waiting outside the base, some expressed frustration with the rescue efforts. “It’s much too late,” said an English teacher trying to find a way to get medicine to his mother across the river. “People are not happy with the government.”

But Rajendra Shrestha said the government was handling the disaster better than the previous one would have. He was impressed that power had been restored to the Bidur district in just two days. Of 198 telecoms towers damaged by the flood, authorities said they had repaired 145.

Nepal's foreign minister, Shisir Khanal, denied reports the government had rejected foreign help. The country has requested “specific and specialised assistance” from its neighbours, including help opening tunnels, technology to help trace survivors in affected areas, quick forensic DNA analysis – and mortuaries.

As the cloud lifted from the valley, the whir of rotor blades picked up. By that time, Nepali army helicopters had evacuated 2,265 people, including 163 foreigners.

Ashim Nepali, a medical student, hoped they would reach his cousin – one of thousands stranded across the river after all the bridges were swept away. As for his younger brother and elder sister, he has given up on finding them alive and is losing hope of identifying their remains as well. On Friday, he inspected 15 bodies recovered from the flood zone – and they were all in pieces.

Police detained 29 people for attempting to break open a bank safe that was swept downstream. In a home for the elderly that lay in the flood's path, everyone on the ground floor died and those on the upper two storeys survived, a local person said. It was unclear what had happened to the local jail. Some said the prisoners had all escaped; others said they were dead.

Down near the river, Saustav Bhattarai launched a Mavic drone,

watching on a screen as it flew over a mud-slicked wasteland where the Trishuli burst its banks. Flying it slowly to conserve battery, he guided the drone over a solar farm partially submerged in sludge and zoomed in on what used to be a poultry farm. There were footsteps in the mud, he noted, indicating the owner had gone to check out the damage.

As a loss adjuster for the hydroelectric industry, Bhattarai used to survey the damage done during the monsoon season, but he has never seen anything like this – and he fears it will happen again.

A build-up of debris at the Nepal-China border has created a new lake that risks overflowing with more rain. Rescue efforts were briefly paused on Friday over concerns of further flooding. So-called glacial outbursts will become more common as global temperatures rise, experts say.

"Our systems are on high alert for any additional flood risks," Nepal's foreign minister said.

There are plans to use bigger drones that can carry between 85kg and 100kg to deliver supplies to people stranded on the other side of the river. For now, however, the priority is rescue. And time is running out.

After scrambling up the valley, customs chief Dhungana corralled about 100 survivors together so they would be more visible to the rescue helicopters. Within hours, he was picked up and flown to safety, but of the 36 fellow customs workers on duty that day, only 16 survived.

Helpless but hoping: relatives wait for news of missing Britons

David Connett & James Tapper

Relatives of the 33 British tourists and pilgrims missing in Nepal and Tibet have faced a difficult choice: fly to Kathmandu to join the search, or wait at home and hope. In Nepal's capital there is not much that can be done except to check the lists of rescued people, but some have gone anyway. Others, including Deepesh Patel and his elder brother Anant, are anxiously watching news programmes in the hope of an update.

Patel's mother and father Bipin, 66, and Mala, 60, were on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet when the floods hit. He said the couple, who run a tutoring business, were part of an organised tour which crossed the border into Chinese-controlled Tibet last Wednesday.

More than 2,400 people are still missing in Nepal, and the death toll has risen to at least 675. On Friday Nepali authorities named 573 tourists who are among the missing.

Patel's parents are among at least 10 Britons who were taking part in a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet with tour company Alpine Eco Trek and remain missing. The group includes a girl of 13 and a boy of 15.

The mountain is sacred to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and followers of Tibet's Bon tradition. Pilgrims often undertake a three-day trek around the peak's lower slopes, and to reach it they need to cross several valleys.

“We believe they passed into Tibet because we have seen border logs for the group but we haven’t heard anything from them since,” Patel said. “We have spoken to the tour company and to the Foreign Office but we haven’t heard anything. There has been complete radio silence. It is very frustrating. We have thought of going out there but given the difficulties of getting to the affected area that did not seem wise.”

On Saturday the UK sent its Rapid Deployment Team to Nepal to support British nationals and their families hit by the floods. Officials arrived in Kathmandu with orders to work

A man surveys the devastation of buildings in the Devighat area of central Nepal. Atul Loke/Eyevine

alongside embassy staff and Nepali authorities to provide additional consular support and assistance.

The Foreign Office said the deployment was part of Britain's wider response to the flooding, including £5m of aid.

Pramod Poudel, who runs a Nepalese street food company in East Sussex, told that he was planning to fly to Nepal to look for his wife Sumitra Poudel, who had been on her way home from Nepal after visiting family. The couple are recently married. "The flood came and took everyone, including the house," he said. His mother, brother and uncle are missing too.

Prajval Haldia said his parents Pavan and Kavita Haldia were among a group on a pilgrimage arranged by the Sanatan Mandir and Community Centre in south London. The 22-year-old told Sky News he wanted to tell his parents that “they mean the world. I don’t think you say that enough when you’re in front of your parents,” he said. He spoke of feeling helpless: “Sitting here you can’t do much.”

The Londoners' tour group had been led by a Hindu priest, Nabhi Nandan Das, 64. Among their number were the Sahu family from Cobham in Surrey. The youngest member was their daughter, Syna Kumar, who is 13 years-old and was travelling with her brother Spandan, 18, their mother Surabhi, 44, and their father Santosh, 46. The Sahus run a technology business in London and started their trip last week in India, planning to return for the start of the school year.

Others missing include Hemangini Patel, 65, who had been on the Alpine Eco Trek tour; Sarada Simkhada, a senior nurse at Darent Valley hospital in Kent; Pravin Atmakur, a 54-year-old NHS psychiatry consultant; Neetu Goyal Tiwari, 51; and Geetha Reddy from London, who has two daughters, aged 12 and 14.

Foreign secretary Ed Miliband said on Friday: “The safety and welfare of British nationals is our top priority. We will continue to do everything we can to support British nationals impacted by this tragedy.”

‘We can make Britain start believing again’. Burnham to set out his mission to the nation

Decisions on justice and defence spending will be part of a reality check for the prime minister as he settles in after the summer, reports Rachel Sylvester

Andy Burnham will declare that he wants to “bring back hope” to Britain when he addresses MPs for the first time as prime minister this week, but the problems are already piling up.

In his first Commons statement since becoming Labour leader, Burnham will pledge to make the cost of living his overriding priority. Downing Street insiders say early announcements, including taking VAT off electricity bills and capping bus fares across England, were a down payment designed to give people “breathing space” from soaring costs, with the prime minister determined to offer further support.

Over the summer, Burnham toured Britain, hearing from families and business owners about what mattered to them.

"The prime minister does not accept that the government's role is to stand by and watch on as every bill goes up and up, squeezing the joy out of life," one No 10 source said. "He will promise the country that, wherever we can make life more affordable, we will."

In his statement on Tuesday, when MPs return to the House of Commons after the parliamentary recess, Burnham will also reiterate his determination to tackle issues that have been “ignored for too long”, such as social care.

"We can make this the moment when Britain starts believing again

Autumn timetable

1 September Parliament returns and Andy Burnham delivers his first House of Commons statement as prime minister.

2 September Burnham faces his first prime minister's questions. He hopes to emphasise “problem solving”, not “point scoring”, but Tory leader Kemi Badenoch is likely to be combative. The prime minister meets the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who is in London for the formal opening of the Bayeux tapestry exhibition. 22 September Burnham attends his first UN general assembly and is expected to meet Donald Trump. 29 September Burnham makes his first party conference leader's speech in Liverpool.

28 October Chancellor John Healey delivers the first Burnham budget. October/November Former cabinet minister Alan Milburn publishes the final report of his review on young people not in education, employment or training. Social security and disability minister Stephen Timms produces recommendations on benefits for disabled people.

November Burnham lays out his 10-year plan for Britain.

14-15 December Burnham attends the G20 leaders' summit in Miami.

and we bring back hope," the Downing Street source said.

The prime minister's optimistic tone appears to have made some headway with the voters. The latest Opinium poll for The Observer found that Burnham's net approval rating has increased by three percentage points over the past two weeks.

According to the survey, 37% of voters think he is doing a good job, while just 23% think he is doing a bad job. He retains a clear lead over both Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage as to who would make the best prime minister. The Labour party is also leading in the polls, on 27%, two points ahead of Reform UK, which is on 25%, and eight points ahead of the Conservatives, on 19%.

However, the prime minister has difficult decisions accumulating in his in-tray. On Tuesday, Alex Norris, the justice secretary, will announce changes to the government's early release scheme, aimed at preventing the freeing of two of the killers of PC Andrew Harper in Berkshire in 2019.

The government is thought to be preparing to exclude from the scheme anyone convicted of “unlawful act manslaughter”. But the families of other homicide victims are calling those convicted of any form of manslaughter to be excluded. They have written to the lord chancellor warning that “the protection now being considered for one group of bereaved families should not inadvertently exclude others whose loved ones were killed”.

Burnham is also under pressure over defence spending after the chancellor, John Healey, said the decision on when to hit the target of 3% of gross domestic product would be deferred until the spending review, rather than being taken in the budget on 28 October.

Former cabinet ministers who served alongside Healey under Keir Starmer are furious that the chancellor is now refusing to meet the demands he made when he resigned as defence secretary. One said the chancellor's position was “either unsustainable or he will be up to his neck in hypocrisy for the rest of his career”.

Downing Street is downplaying

Clockwise from above: Andy Burnham in a mobile studio in Kyiv, at a farm in Cornwall, at an illegal dump in Bradford, and on the streets of Belfast. WPA/Getty Images

Vote reform is a Labour cause. Burnham should lead the way

COMMENT

Neil Kinnock

Westminster is behind the times. It has been for decades, and during

that time the two-party duopoly has been crumbling. But now the conditions for change are here. After more than 40 years of

deindustrialisation, austerity and a sense of being “left behind”, the public are more distrustful than ever of our democratic politics. Just 12% trust political parties to put the country first. The first past the post (FPTP) voting system is among the chief causes of that alienation. It must be replaced, not for some glib reason of “modernisation”, but as a profound act of democratisation. Advancing democracy is a Labour cause. It has to be pursued.

There is now consensus that FPTP is not sustainable. In February, more than 50 of the UK's leading constitutional and political academics wrote to the government warning that Westminster's electoral system is becoming a

liability. Political scientist Vernon Bogdanor has described FPTP as a “destabilisation mechanism”. Hannah White at the Institute for Government has likened it to “a lottery”, while the Economist has described the UK voting system as “slot-machine politics”.

Support for electoral reform unites the great majority of Labour members, and it is endorsed by others in centre and left parties. Three-quarters of Labour-affiliated trade unions call for it and most Labour MPs back it. In a country where the public is not always interested in “constitutional” matters, about half support such a change. Dozens of business leaders have written to the government making the connection between the erratic FPTP voting system and diminished business confidence.

On Wednesday, an amendment to the representation of the people bill calling for a national commission on electoral reform will be presented to the Commons by Labour MP Alex Sobel. It carries more MPs' signatures than any other tabled to change proposed legislation in this parliament. Nearly 90 Labour MPs have added their names.

Proportional systems are the norm among developed democracies, and the few countries with high and rising public satisfaction with democracy all have proportional representation (PR). The Gini index of economic inequality shows that countries with PR rank, on average, nine points above FPTP-style democracies, have lower levels of poverty, enjoy stronger social welfare systems and continued public investment.

They also routinely outperform Westminster on many measures of political stability, with governments serving, on average, four years longer than our own and ministers staying in post longer. Meanwhile, we have had seven prime ministers and eight chancellors in 10 years.

We now live in a multi-party electorate where voters are resorting to “tactical” voting, more to show who they don’t want than to express their real preference. Parliament’s response to this will shape the country for generations. The prime minister brings a new clarity, produced by seeing the whole problem from the inside and – crucially – at an operational distance as mayor of Greater Manchester.

More PR – in a form that, vitally, keeps Westminster's link between a single MP and their constituency – would stabilise British democracy. Andy Burnham has made clear that he is a dedicated pragmatic reformer. A national commission on electoral reform now would put that enlightened purpose into practice.

Neil Kinnock was leader of the Labour party from 1983 to 1992

the significance of the budget. One insider insisted it would not be a “mega event” and Burnham’s 10-year plan later in the year would be more significant.

The public finances are under severe pressure, with many economists believing the £24bn fiscal headroom left by former chancellor Rachel Reeves could have halved because of the war in Iran and higher borrowing costs.

Crossbench peer Jim O'Neill, the former Goldman Sachs chief economist who has been advising Burnham, warned yesterday of “hard choices” ahead. He told the Times it would be “stupid” to increase taxes on wealth and urged the prime minister to focus resources on a small number of places that can deliver growth – London, Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and West Yorkshire – rather than seeking “growth in every postcode”.

The prime minister is also facing several political dilemmas. Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock has thrown his weight behind calls for a national commission on electoral reform. In an article for The Observer, he says the first past the post voting system must be replaced “as a profound act of democratisation”.

Almost 200 MPs, including nearly 100 Labour politicians, have expressed support for an amendment to the representation of the people bill that will be presented to the Commons on Wednesday. The amendment is unlikely to be voted on because it is thought to be out of the scope of the bill, but Labour MPs say it shows the level of backing for electoral reform, and Burnham is being urged to bring forward his own plans.

A Labour source said the prime minister “remains strongly committed to electoral reform and has indicated that this is a matter for a future manifesto”.

ON OTHER PAGES

Andrew Rawnsley: Memo to Mr Burnham – don't expect your ministers to clap like performing seals every week Forum, page 29

Cleverly to stand for London mayor

Rachel Sylvester Political editor

The Conservative MP James Cleverly yesterday resigned from the shadow cabinet to run for London mayor.

He told Tory leader Kemi Badenoch that he was stepping down as shadow housing secretary so that he could “concentrate fully” on winning the race. “London needs more than an administrator,” he said. “It needs a champion, someone who understands its potential and is prepared to fight for its future. That’s why I’m running to be the Conservative candidate for London mayor.”

Cleverly, the MP for Braintree, is seen as a pragmatic centrist in the Tory party. He voted for Brexit but is socially liberal. Last night, aides said Badenoch was considering whether to just replace him or start a wider shake-up of her team.

A source close to the Tory leader said: “Kemi really didn’t want James to leave the shadow cabinet, but she believes he will be a big asset in London. She wants someone who can take on Sadiq Khan, who she feels is destroying the London she loved when she was younger.”

The London mayoral contest will not take place until May 2028. The Labour incumbent Sadiq Khan has not yet confirmed whether he will seek a fourth term.

Cleverly represented the Tories on the London Assembly before his election as an MP in 2015. He held ministerial positions under three prime ministers, including serving as foreign secretary, home secretary and education secretary.

Milo Yiannopoulos at Boston's Straight Pride parade in 2019. Getty

British supporter of ICE is deported from US after visa expires

Far-right activist Milo Yiannopoulos was arrested by immigration agency he called on to deport ‘millions and millions’ emerged in which he said that some 13-year-olds were mature enough to consent to sex. He later apologised and denied he was condoning paedophilia but continued to court controversy.

He posted online that vigilante gangs should shoot journalists, and expressed regret that pipe bombs sent to Trump critics hadn't gone off.

Patrick Kidd

A provocative British far-right commentator who campaigned for Donald Trump to become president and has called for aggressive immigration enforcement in the US has been deported from the country after overstaying his visa.

Last summer, Milo Yiannopoulos posted on X that deporting “millions and millions and millions of people” should be a higher priority for the US government than reducing the national debt. He also called for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to issue “on-the-spot deportation for anyone who can’t prove they are in the US legally”.

Yiannopoulos was arrested by ICE agents in New Orleans last Thursday. A day later, the Department of Homeland Security issued a statement saying he had entered the US legally in May 2019 but became an “illegal alien” when his visa expired.

“He chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation’s laws,” the statement said. An immigration judge had issued a final order of removal on 22 July after Yiannopoulos failed to appear for an immigration hearing.

Yiannopoulos, 41, was born in Kent and dropped out of Manchester and Cambridge universities. In 2014 he became technology editor for Breitbart News, an American conservative website, where he was accused of soliciting pieces from people in the alt-right and neo-Nazi movements.

He was also a prolific poster of social media attacks on feminism, Islam and liberals. He described himself as “the most fabulous supervillain on the internet”.

In 2017 he resigned from Breitbart and lost a book deal after a video

He also attracted protests on a speaking tour of American colleges. One event at the University of California, Berkeley, was cancelled when demonstrations became violent, causing \$100,000 of damage. In 2016, he was banned from Twitter (now X), where he calls himself Nero, for inciting abuse and harassment, though he was reinstated when Elon Musk bought the company.

An enthusiastic supporter of Trump when he first ran for president in 2016, Yiannopoulos later turned against him, saying he had betrayed those who put him in office. He worked with the controversial rapper Kanye West on his brief 2024 presidential campaign. He also founded a talent management firm, Tarantula, that specialised in problematic clients.

Laura Loomer, an influential right-wing political activist who is close to Trump and describes herself as the president's “loyalty enforcer”, wrote on X that she had reported Yiannopoulos's immigration status to the authorities after he appeared to call for her assassination. She said he had posted her picture on X with the caption “target practice”. It is unclear whether his arrest was connected to her complaint.

Loomer also attacked Yiannopoulos for working for “Marjorie Traitor Greene”, a reference to Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former congresswoman from Georgia who had been a leading figure in the Maga movement but has been critical of Trump in his second term.

“He wrote her speeches and helped coordinate her treasonous activities inside the halls of Congress,” Loomer wrote.

The Observer approached Yiannopoulos and the British embassy in Washington for comment.

Matthew Lock, left, in a selfie taken on the day he died in September 2023. He had autism and had been diagnosed with ADHD 11 months earlier, but the condition went untreated.

Christine and Richard Lock, right, with a portrait of their son, Matthew. Today they offer advice and free ADHD tests at a centre in Maghull, near Liverpool. Gary Calton for The Observer

'Mum, you don't know what it's like inside my head': ADHD culture wars put lives at risk

Doctors and families are braced for results of a new review they fear will narrow the pathway for treatment

Karl Mathiesen

It's sometimes said that the best way to find out what a government fears most is to check the list of ongoing independent reviews. By that measure, ADHD has Whitehall rattled.

The condition has been the subject of two major official reports inside 12 months. The second of these will be delivered to health secretary Yvette Cooper within weeks, setting up an unavoidable test for Andy Burnham's new government.

Everyone agrees there is a crisis, though not what kind. At the last count, the backlog of people referred for specialist care had increased to more than 730,000, with waits of two years not uncommon; in some areas it's a decade or more. But demands for reform have been met with more than handwringing over strained budgets.

Few things ventilate the passions of public debate like ADHD. On the rightwing side of politics, it has come to stand for society's self-defeating excess of empathy. Some practitioners question the definition itself, arguing that diagnoses have grown so broad they medicalise normal behaviour. Those with ADHD and their families and doctors are braced for disappointment from this latest review, commissioned by Cooper's predecessor, Wes Streeting, to investigate a surge in mental health diagnoses.

Experts working in ADHD care think the review was misconceived. Jessica Eccles, the chair of the Neurodevelopmental Psychiatry Special Interest Group at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, views the last government's focus on the growth in referrals as a convenient piece of misdirection that allowed it to defer addressing the real problem: the large number of untreated people. "By trying to pretend that ADHD and autism are not that common, that they don't need investment or joined-up pathways, we are letting down huge swathes of society," she said.

A spokesperson for Streeting said: "Wes has direct personal family experience of the challenges facing people with autism and ADHD. It is precisely because he takes these issues seriously that he commissioned a major programme of work to get an evidence-based understanding of our mental health system, autism and ADHD services."

Insiders said the review had brushed aside expert and patient concerns, and may be preparing recommendations that would narrow the pathway to care for a significant number of people. They also worry it will fuel the debate over the very existence of ADHD. "It runs the risk of institutionalising that prejudice," said Henry Shelford, the chair of ADHD UK, a charity that contributed to the review.

It is hardly a new fight. “Morbid alterations to which attention is subject” were first described by the Scottish physician Alexander Crichton in 1798. Ever since, those displaying what we now call attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have been subjected to the judgment that they are not suffering from a medical condition, but somehow lack moral fibre.

An often hereditary condition, ADHD alters “executive function”. This term conjures an internal boss, responsible for planning, time management, the taming of impulses and emotions. This means ADHD is associated with creative thought and originality. Some people develop strong coping mechanisms and pass unnoticed. But the condition is debilitating. Those who have it typically refer to their mind’s workings in terms of noise.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Treatment can be highly effective – stimulant medications, lifestyle changes and talk therapy. Where medication is required, it is “generally very safe and well tolerated”, said Eccles. I spoke to more than 20 people with ADHD. Some said the pills weren’t for them, or that they used them only as needed. Others described a life-changing moment when the gad-fly in their mind came to rest.

According to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), about 5% of children and 3-4% of adults have ADHD. But a Lancet study in August found that only 1.19% of people in England have been diagnosed. ADHD UK says this means there are two million people in the country facing ADHD without professional support. Left untreated, it is linked to educational failure, longterm unemployment, prison, suicide and other social and health costs totalling £17bn a year.

Twice a week in a council advice centre in Maghull, a small town on Liverpool's northern outskirts, the Matthew Lock ADHD Charity offers advice and free preliminary ADHD screenings. It is run by Christine and Richard Lock, whose son Matthew had untreated ADHD when he took his own life in September 2023.

At the centre that day, Oliver Cunliffe, a wiry 21-year-old, sat in an office chair swinging his knees back and forth. Cunliffe was diagnosed with ADHD at 15. He briefly took medication, but stopped. Now he is struggling. His finances had been swallowed by compulsive spending. "Alcohol, girls, drugs, clothes, games... anything distracting." The day before, he'd begun weeping, uncontrollably for no reason he could understand.

Cunliffe was trapped by an absurd bureaucratic quirk: patients who stop medication as children must seek a fresh diagnosis to get a new prescription as adults. His GP said he would have to wait two years. (Last week he said he had eventually paid £600 for a private diagnosis. He started medication last Saturday. His family say they already see “a different person”.)

"The bloody system is broken," Christine said. Cunliffe is just a few months younger than her son would have been had he lived. "I can't lie. I'm trying to save Matthew again by seeing these kids. I look and think, what's in their heads? God bless 'em."

The NHS operates a “right to choose” system. People can access private clinics for diagnoses, with the cost borne by the NHS. Last week the NHS Alliance, which represents health system managers, warned they were struggling to control the quality of assessments and aftercare. They said the costs to the taxpayer varied from provider to provider, with one local health board warning their spending had risen up to 10 times in a year. Some NHS areas have restricted access due to budget pressure.

Cunliffe's story is a familiar one, said ADHD UK's Shelford. Move from your NHS area, he said, and you can be kicked off your prescription; even changing dosage can mean a specialist consultation and a year-long wait. "It's a national scandal," he said.

According to some politicians, the true scandal is an epidemic of mollycoddling and benefits grift. “They haven’t got real problems,” Nigel Farage said in March of children with ADHD. This argument stems from a view that society is plagued by “suicidal empathy”, a term promoted by Elon Musk to describe how misplaced kindness undermines rational policymaking. In August, Reform’s treasury spokesperson, Robert Jenrick, used it as he outlined a plan to cut disability benefits for millions with mental health conditions, including ADHD.

'By pretending ADHD and autism are not that common, we are letting down huge swathes of society' Jessica Eccles, psychiatrist

ADHD is recognised by every major global health authority, but some researchers argue that it is too readily diagnosed or isn't a true neurodevelopmental condition.

“ADHD behaviours, of course, they exist, but ADHD as a concept is simply an unproven hypothesis,” said British psychiatrist Sami Timimi. Because there is no known biomarker or objective test, he said, the diagnostic bar has been lowered so much that people who don’t have a disorder are being burdened with a lifelong label.

These questions have been fuelled by a rise in diagnoses, which grew almost two-and-a-half times between 2021 and 2024. Private clinics have filled the gap left by the NHS, with some found to provide low-quality diagnoses. The number of adults self-diagnosing with ADHD is around 5.8% – double the expected real number. The top 100 #ADHD videos on TikTok have been viewed almost half a billion times, yet many contain incorrect information. Most ADHD clinicians argue that, despite these dynamics, the rise overall reflects a positive increase in public awareness – especially of how the condition presents in women and girls, by far the fastest-growing cohort of new diagnoses.

The point, Shelford said, isn't that it's wrong to talk about what's behind the rise, but focusing on that at the expense of the millions who remain untreated badly – perhaps wilfully – misses the point. "Instead of celebrating people getting the help they need, people throw their hands up and say, 'What's going wrong?'"

Few people find this debate more exasperating than Anita Thapar, a child psychiatrist who is professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neuroscience at Cardiff University in Wales. Last November, she delivered to Streeting the results of a 20-month NHS England ADHD Taskforce, which she had led. It concluded: "There is consistent evidence that ADHD is under-recognised, under-diagnosed and under-treated (including with medication)." It proposed spreading diagnosis and care beyond specialists – to parents, schools, GPs and mental health services. But while it argued that results could be delivered through more efficient, digitised systems, it did not skirt the need for more resources.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

As her work progressed, Thapar sensed she was delivering inconvenient answers that the government didn't want to hear. An influential psychiatrist pulled her aside: "Wes is going to hate your report," he told her, urging her to reconsider her findings regarding underdiagnosis.

Last year, Streeting shocked patient groups by agreeing that some conditions were overdiagnosed. “There’s too many people being written off,” he told the BBC.

During the 16 months that their roles overlapped, Thapar and Streeting never met, she said. Stephen Kinnock, who was a health minister at

In figures

730,000

The backlog of people waiting for specialist ADHD treatment.

5%

Of children have ADHD, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. For adults the figure is 3-4%.

£17bn

What untreated ADHD is believed to cost the economy each year.

2

The number of major official reports on the condition over the past year. The second will soon be delivered to the health secretary Yvette Cooper.

the time, was initially supportive but later pressed her on overdiagnosis.

When Thapar's report was released, the government gave it a cursory nod. A month later, Streeting announced a further review. This time, he said it would investigate why diagnoses of ADHD, autism and other mental health conditions were “sharply rising”. Writing in the Guardian, he acknowledged his comments on overdiagnosis had been controversial, but insisted, “We have to get to the bottom of the causes” of rising diagnoses “because services are not keeping up.”

Thapar felt the announcement was “insulting” to the many people who had shared their experiences with her taskforce. In April, she wrote to the minister to ask again for backing for the report. A health department “correspondence officer” replied, telling her the Department of Health and Social Care was “carefully considering” her findings. Streeting’s spokesperson said the review’s terms of reference “explicitly set out how it would work closely with people with lived experience of ADHD and autism and would consult other reviews, including the independent ADHD taskforce”.

The health department declined to answer detailed questions about Thapar's taskforce and the review. Its spokesperson noted reforms to special educational needs that will put schools in charge of support for children with ADHD. The government argues this will identify ADHD earlier and manage it more effectively.

After the review was announced, Eccles wrote to the chair, psychologist Peter Fonagy, on behalf of her Royal College of Psychiatrists committee, warning that a narrow focus on increasing prevalence could miss ways in which ADHD and autism overlap – a finding that was, she wrote, of “utmost importance” to policy. She offered her committee’s help, but didn’t receive a response.

The review's interim report, released in June, cautiously agreed that the number of people confirmed to have ADHD still lagged behind the real number. But it is the review's policy recommendations that worry patient groups the most. Two people involved said the panel had anticipated the government's reluctance to spend, and reined in its ambitions.

Those two people, plus another with knowledge of the review process, said a three-tiered system for screening people into high, moderate and low bands had been received with enthusiasm by senior members of the review. The government would not confirm such a system was under consideration. But the interim review foreshadowed it, arguing for “a more differentiated and stratified approach”.

Shelford said his own demands for increased services had been rebuffed. "They appear focused on reduction and not optimisation," he said.

Christine and Richard Lock quietly resigned from the review in May. They said their hopes for broad systemic change were unfulfilled. They have campaigned for Matthew's Law, which would give every school pupil the right to a digital ADHD screening. They estimate this would cost £724m a year, a cost they said would be outweighed by the benefits of early detection. Instead, they feared the review might end in recommendations that Richard said “would have excluded my son from treatment, which is the only thing that genuinely could have saved him".

Matthew Lock was only 19 when he died, but he had already been elected a Labour councillor in Maghull. His passion for vacuum cleaners had spawned a semi-regular slot on ITV's This Morning. "If this isn't a thing of beauty, I don't know what is," 15-year-old Matthew once told a rapt Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, holding up the cordless Dyson V11.

But Matthew was struggling. "Mum, you don't know what it's like inside my head," he said a few days

Richard and Christine Lock with their son Matthew, at a younger age.

before his death in 2023. He had been diagnosed with autism at 14, and with ADHD 11 months before he died. The two conditions frequently occur together, with autism creating a desire for predictability and ADHD sparking chaos. Like many with ADHD, he appears to have used drugs and alcohol to quieten his mind. His parents didn't know of the link between substance abuse and ADHD, or about rejection-sensitive dysphoria, an extreme emotional response some people with ADHD and autism have to a real or perceived criticism. His parents believe this was a contributing factor on the night he died.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Suicide is rarely considered to have a singular cause. But both autism and ADHD are major risk factors. One in 10 men or boys with ADHD have attempted to take their own life, a Canadian study found. For women and girls that number is one in four. In April 2024, Richard Lock wrote to the Merseyside senior coroner Julie Goulding, listing a series of state failures he said “could have significantly changed the outcome for Matthew”.

Despite many referrals to mental health services, starting from reception class, Matthew's ADHD was missed until the year before he died. "While these failures will not bring Matthew back, identifying these to the coroner could prevent this happening to others," Richard wrote.

Goulding encouraged them to continue their fight, but as the inquest was complete she could not respond to their concerns. She was, she added, "functus officio" [duty discharged].

Families like the Locks, Thapar said, were why the new government needed to seize its chance to change the debate on ADHD. She had bumped into Burnham in Cardiff and urged him to take a strong stance on ADHD.

The prime minister seemed, Thapar said, “receptive and compassionate”. One side of the debate says policymaking needs that compassion. The other says there is already too much. Meanwhile, the gadfly persists.

The youth suicide charity Papyrus can be contacted on 0800 068 4141 or pat@papyrus-uk.org.

'Everything Dolly did was about taking care of others'

Dolly by numbers

People in Appalachia mourn the superstar who died last week, a local hero who understood the daily hardship of their lives

Ed Helmore Sevierville, Tennessee

Chad and Kristin Burrows are standing outside the Dolly Parton children's hospital in Knoxville, Tennessee, with their six-month-old twins, Lila and Drew. Coming to this private, independent, not-for-profit, 152-bed paediatric hospital was “more recommended” for what their children need, the couple say. They add that the country music star’s Imagination Library sends new children’s books to the twins every month.

Dolly Parton made what the former East Tennessee children's hospital called a “generational and transformational commitment” to the facility, which was renamed after her in February.

"I've always believed every child deserves to grow up healthy, hopeful and surrounded with love," Parton said in a video statement. "Ever since I've been in a position to do my part and to help others, I have tried to do just that, especially when children and families need it most."

The hospital's chief executive, Matt Schaefer, said meeting Parton had been “a surreal moment” and her gift would create a “halo effect of everything she stood for in her life, including her love for children”.

Parton is everywhere in the hospital: the facility's name is on a neon sign over a walkway; a picture of her, with her coat of many colours, is on a wall inside. Playrooms and wards have been brightened up to reflect the singer's lust for life.

About $60\%$ of patients here receive free treatment. "We really depend on donations," said Natalia Havasy, the hospital's director of marketing. "We felt the children's hospital in town \$1.8bn annual economic boost to Tennessee, attributed to Dollywood

should be hers. The halo effect of Dolly... you just can't touch it."

In 2022, Jeff and Lauren Bezos awarded Parton \$100m to give to charities, saying the singer led “with her heart” and would put the money “to great use helping so many people”.

Leah Heintz and her children, Sophia, 14 and Daniel, 11, had come from Sevierville, 12 miles (19km) from Parton's Locust Ridge birthplace and about five miles from Dollywood, the theme park that attracted nearly four million visitors last year and was top US theme park on Tripadvisor in 2024. "I love the rollercoasters," said Sophia optimistically, having recently suffered spells of dizziness.

Parton's legacy is formidable: she left more than 3,000 songs and a trail of rhinestones, shoes and wigs. A sort of beatification has been taking shape since she died, with both political sides trying to make her their own: the right lauding a Christian woman who believed faith demands action; the left stressing her stance on LGBTQ rights and vaccinations.

Donald Trump, who is prone to uncharitable comments on the deaths of public figures, including Arizona senator John McCain and Hollywood director Rob Reiner, went in another direction. After the singer died last week at the age of 80, he ordered flags to be flown at half-mast until 1 September, and wrote on his Truth Social platform that she was “one of the greatest Country singers, and far beyond, EVER”. Her death, he added, is a “true loss for millions of people”.

But her greatest gift may be her legacy to literacy and Appalachian

A portrait displayed at the Dolly Parton Children's Hospital, Knoxville.

304,539,509 books given to children around the world since 1995 under her Imagination Library programme \$124,330,000

amount (at least) that Parton raised and donated to charity

23,000

jobs created by Dollywood in Sevier County, Tennessee

14,200

mentions in published academic articles and scholarly journals

3,000

songs written during her seven-decade career

1,021

concerts performed around the world

350 wigs owned

45

acting credits in films and TV shows

27

successful business ventures, from hotels to pet apparel

healthcare. In 2020, Parton gave \$1m to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. The gift supported research connected to Moderna's mRNA-1273 Covid vaccine. "I felt so proud to have been part of that little seed money," she later said.

She also helped raise \$1m for a project that eventually housed the Dolly Parton Center for Women's Services in Sevierville, her “Tennessee mountain home”. It is close to a statue of the singer which has become a shrine for fans. “We will always love you, Dolly,” says a handwritten sign.

Local florist Dustin Manning said he'd received orders for flowers from countries as far apart as Germany and South Korea – so many that they were collected up and taken to hospitals and homes for the elderly before

'Dolly was optimistic about life despite the hurdles in the world' Fan Terese Tolley, Utah

more arrived. “The best gift is given twice,” he says, paraphrasing Parton.

Many remembered Parton for the help she provided after the 2016 Smoky Mountain fires. Her Dollywood Foundation gave 900 families \$1,000 a month for six months, with a final payment of \$5,000. “She was here before Fema [the Federal Emergency Management Agency],” said one recipient, Michael Gibson, 27.

Gibson grew up in a nearby children's home, to which Parton sent tickets for Dollywood twice a year. She also gave money after Hurricane Helene struck the region in 2024, saying she loved her “mountain people”.

Well-wishers say Parton spoke to people of the Appalachian mountain chain, an area traditionally hit by poverty, poor services and high rates of diabetes and addiction. Brit Hessler, 26, said she identified with Parton having also grown in “a tough background” in these hills. Her family, she said, were coalminers and steelworkers, many taken by addictions she calls “the Appalachian demons”. “Life is hard in holler [hollow] hole,” Hessler added, referring to the isolated valleys of the Appalachians.

The superstar also spoke openly about her experience of alcoholics. She once said. “I’ve seen a lot of sorrows because alcoholism runs on both sides of my family.”

Like Parton, who was the fourth of 12 children, Hessler said her family “learned to take care of each other”. She added: “It’s important that we see beyond politics and religion. Everything she did was about taking care of others.” Hessler, who identifies as queer, says Parton was her first crush, and she learned to make quilts inspired by the singer’s famous coat. “She was beautiful but she never let that hold down her intelligence or her fierceness to get what she wanted and give to other people," Hessler said. "She allowed me to be myself."

Parton's commitment to literacy through her Imagination Library – which gave out its 300 millionth book last November – runs in parallel with her healthcare work.

"I believe Imagination Library was her main thing because her father couldn't read or write," said Karen Fitzgerald-Gonzalez, who'd driven from North Carolina to pay her respects. She said she would take her children to Dollywood to visit Santa. "They would tell him what they hoped for, and later receive a letter from Parton, saying: 'I heard you've been a good boy or girl, and hope you got what you wished for.'"

Parton's Appalachian empire, which enabled her charitable donations, derived from music, of course. She collaborated in the 1970s with singer Porter Wagoner and enjoyed success with Jolene and other 1970s hits. But then her career faded and she decided to break out of country music and go mainstream.

She teamed up with Sandy Gallin, who managed the careers of Michael Jackson and Cher among others. Parton and the openly gay Gallin referred to each other as “girlfriend”, and it was he who convinced her to record Here You Come Again. This pop crossover hit opened her way to mainstream and movie star-dom. Roles in films 9 to 5 and Steel Magnolias were followed by collaborations with Kenny Rogers, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris.

Then I Will Always Love You, Parton's 1973 tribute to Wagoner, became a hit for Whitney Houston in 1992, as the theme for The Bodyguard.

Flowers and balloons left by Parton's statue in Sevierville, Tennessee.

The soundtrack sold 45m copies and spent 20 non-consecutive weeks at No 1 in the US album charts. Parton had refused to sell the rights to the song to Elvis Presley, and held all the songwriting and publishing royalties.

In Sevierville, it's hard to find a store that does not in some way pay tribute to the town's 5ft-tall "dreamer-in-chief".

Standing by Parton's statue, Terese Tolley, who had flown in from Utah, said: "She had a big heart. She was caring and loving. She was so optimistic about life despite the hurdles in the world." Tolley doubted any one group would be successful in claiming her. Parton was, she said, "open to loving everybody".

ON OTHER PAGES

Will Hutton: My capitalist heroes Dolly and Keynes Forum, page 31

Appreciation: 'Everybody felt good in her orbit' New Review, pages 14–15

Every stage of my life has a Dolly Parton-related memory attached to it

Charlie Connor

W

hen I was 10, I wanted to be Dolly for Halloween. My mom and I went

to Macy's department store in New York to find a bra to fulfil my vision. We spent ages in the lingerie department, trying them on to see if they were “Dolly enough”. We found a fuchsia bra covered in lace, the largest cup with the smallest band size available, though it still had to be tied at my back to fit. Later, I dragged my babysitter to beauty supply shops across Brooklyn to find the perfect big, curly, peroxide blond wig.

On Halloween, I stuffed the bra with paper towels and socks, put on a bandana-print shirt and blue skinny jeans, and propped a pink cowboy hat on top of my wig. To this day, that was my favourite Halloween costume, not because it was the most intricate or outlandish – but because for a day I got to be my hero.

I cried my eyes out when I heard that Dolly Parton had died. She seemed immortal to me, maybe because she has been a presence in my life since I was a little kid. Growing up in Brooklyn, other children were weaned on cartoon characters, but I was raised on Dolly. It wasn't just her music, I was always drawn to her larger-than-life personality, her sense of self, and above all her care for others. She has stood as a sparkling reminder to be faithful to myself.

I am now 20 and almost every stage of my life has a Dolly Parton-related memory attached to it: from singing along to Jolene in the car with my mother, to waking up on weekend mornings and hearing Dolly Parton songs playing while my mother cleaned or worked. If anyone asked me who my favourite singer was, no matter how old I was or what was playing on the radio, I said Dolly. I wore a locket with her portrait around my neck.

One spring break, my mother and I, along with two fellow fans, took a road trip from New York to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, to visit

Superfan Charlie Connor, aged 10, dressed as her hero, Dolly Parton.

Dollywood, the amusement park she created. We piled into our friend's car, taped a sign reading "Dollywood or Bust!" to the window, and set off. Dollywood was one of the most magical places I had ever been to, full of beautiful flower gardens and replicas of old-timey shops and buildings, with Dolly's music playing seemingly at all times.

There was a museum with some of those famous rhinestoned outfits, and I spent ages in there, face pressed to the protective glass,

I was drawn to her larger-than-life personality, her sense of self, and above all her care for others

looking at every gem and stitch.

Dollywood is where I learned her origin story, visiting the replica of her childhood home. At seven years old I was shocked to discover that the Dolly Parton I thought I knew, the rhinestone-covered queen of country, had grown up in that tiny one-room house.

Over the years, I learned much more about her life: how she used determination to lift herself out of poverty, how she persevered in the cut-throat music industry and had given away many millions of dollars.

To me, Dolly Parton is one of the greatest Americans who ever lived. She has left an incredible legacy, not only as a country music phenomenon and philanthropist but as a role model for me and so many others of my generation. Her songs will play on in my heart.

Festivalgoers make the best of it as the weather means a lot of wet legs

Heavy rain and storms caused disruption at Reading and Leeds

David Connett

After weeks of sunshine, many music fans faced weather misery this weekend as heavy rain and thunderstorms hit bank holiday festivals.

The Met Office issued a yellow weather alert warning for the weekend as festivalgoers at Reading, Leeds and other live music events braced for a drenching on Saturday, with meteorologists blaming a low-pressure system pushing eastwards.

The warning of downpours in areas from south-west England and parts of Wales and across the Midlands to parts of east and northeast England was in force for nine hours. The Environment Agency also issued flood alerts for seven areas.

Organisers at the Reading festival, where the headline act on Saturday night was the British singer-songwriter Raye, said many fans have been battling high winds and attempting to find shelter between acts. Others accepted the adverse conditions and refused to let the bad weather dampen their moods.

At Creamfields in Daresbury, Cheshire, where Calvin Harris and DJ Amelie Lens had top billing, heavy rain and severe thunderstorms left parts of the festival grounds waterlogged – they were dubbed “Mudfields” on social media.

The extreme weather had already caused some power cuts and stage closures before the weekend. On Friday night Vikkstar, a member of the Sidemen YouTuber group, revealed that his set had been “shut down” by heavy rain.

Torrential rain also affected the Leeds festival, where Florence + the Machine performed on Friday.

The latest deluge came as organisers of the UK's biggest Christian festival abandoned their celebrations after a large sign collapsed in high winds, falling on to people standing beneath it.

Sussex police said they were called to the incident at the Big Church Festival near Steyning in West Sussex on Friday afternoon. It was later confirmed that a 41-year-old man from Eastbourne died at the scene and six others had been taken to hospital, some with serious head injuries.

Festival organisers said they were “devastated” by the incident, and Sarah Mullally, the archbishop of Canterbury, was “sad and shocked”. She said: “I pray for his family, friends and loved ones as they grieve. I pray for those receiving treatment, and the healthcare workers looking after

The online supermarket them. I pray too for the other festivalgoers, staff and event organisers as they come to terms with these tragic events."

Revellers at the Leeds Festival, where Florence + the Machine headlined, cover up against the rain. Getty

Big Church, described as the UK's biggest Christian festival, had been due to run until Sunday. A spokesperson said the Health and Safety Executive was investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.

John Rostron, from the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), said that other than the Christian festival, none of its members had cancelled events despite the bad weather. "Our members are reporting a mixed reaction from audiences. A lot are upset that it's raining after such an idyllic summer, but then after the initial disappointment of rain after the period of hot weather, many have knuckled down and said basically, 'Let's get over it. This is Britain: the weather can change.' And they have got on with it.

“Strangely, bad weather can actually lead to a better festival experience, with greater bonding on the site as people see they are all in it together and they resolve to have a good time.”

TikTok and YouTube must apply child protections too, says Meta

He said the AIF advises members on what insurance to carry to help them through the financial challenges posed by a washout.

Patricia Clarke Technology editor

Meta ran full-page print advertisements in the New York Times, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times last week, urging its competitors to adopt new safety standards for teenagers.

The unusual appeal came after the tech company, which runs Instagram and Facebook, agreed a settlement with 47 US states, worth up to \$17.1bn, over allegations that it deliberately designed the platforms to keep children hooked. Meta did not admit wrongdoing in the California hearing.

Meta made more than \$83bn in operating profit last year and the fine will be spread over a decade. A legal defeat, Meta said, could have cost the company up to \$1.74tn, roughly its entire value.

Teenagers in some US states will be limited to two hours a day across Facebook and Instagram and blocked from using the apps between midnight and 6am. By default, “like” counts will be hidden, and teenagers will be offered a “non-algorithmic” feed that isn’t personalised by Meta’s recommendation systems.

Meta told reporters last Wednesday that teenagers drive less than 1% of its overall revenue, but suggested the company would be at a financial disadvantage if its competitors do not face the same rules.

"The Meta case has shown us that self-regulation doesn't work," said Imran Ahmed, founder and chief executive of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a non-profit organisation. "What we need is laws in place, and regulators or prosecutors who have the courage to bring cases against big platforms."

Earlier attempts to sue social media companies have fallen foul of Section 230, the US law that protects internet platforms from being held liable for content posted by their users. But it was argued in the Meta case that platform design choices, such as the infinite scroll, are the company's products – so Meta can be held responsible when those features cause harm. More than 3,000 other

ON OTHER PAGES John Naughton: AI surveillance is handing power to the peepers New Review, page 16

cases are pending against Meta and its rivals in California.

The same questions about safe design choices are beginning to be asked of AI chatbots. OpenAI already faces dozens of lawsuits alleging that the design of ChatGPT contributed to suicides, self-harm and delusional episodes, including the death of a 16-year-old boy.

Just over a week before Meta's settlement, OpenAI launched ChatGPT for Teens, a version with additional safeguards for users aged between 13 and 17. Anyone who gives their age as under 18, or who OpenAI's systems predict is a teenager, automatically gets the restricted version.

OpenAI said its guidelines were drawn up with an outside expert council on wellbeing and AI, in-house clinicians and a network of doctors who test how the model responds. The company said it supported independent audits of such protections.

The UK government plans to bar under-18s from chatbots that are primarily designed to provide sexualised relationships, to restrict sexual role play on other chatbots and to require mandatory breaks. The measures are still being developed, however.

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How Sally-Anne Bowen finally faced justice for crimes against her pupils

Gareth was only 14 years old when his teacher began a sexual relationship with him. Chloe Hadjimatheou reports on his long battle to be believed

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There is a particular day from his childhood that Gareth remembers with crystal clarity. He was 14 years old,

and it was the spring of 1988. On his lunch break from school, he headed to a cafe with friends. But they weren't interested in food. They wanted to show off their loot: the adult magazines they'd stolen from a corner shop. As they bundled in, Gareth noticed one customer sitting alone. It was Sally-Anne Bowen, a young chemistry teacher all the boys at Christ's College Finchley fancied.

In the cafe, one pupil started waving a porn magazine at her. It was a brief provocation, inappropriate but ultimately harmless, and Gareth's friends soon sloped off back to school.

But Gareth, which is not his real name, stayed. The 14-year-old slid into the seat opposite the woman he knew as Miss Bowen, who was then 27. For the previous few weeks they had been sitting together on the bus to and from school. For the teenager, whose home life was in turmoil, it made him feel special. "She was my friend at this point," he says. Or so he thought at the time.

Bowen asked Gareth to hand over the porn mag he had. He assumed she would confiscate it. Instead, she started flicking through the pages. "She came to a page, and she pointed to it and said, 'That's what mine looks like.'" He didn't understand, so she clarified: "That's what my pussy looks like."

For Gareth, now 53, this was the moment that friendship with his teacher tipped into an intense, months-long sexual relationship, which was, he claims, an “open secret” at the school. They spent most afternoons after school at her house having sex. “I was like a kid in a sweet shop,” he says.

For years afterwards, he bragged to girlfriends about how his first sexual experience had been with the best-looking teacher at his school. It wasn't until much later that he began to characterise that relationship as abusive.

When, after around six months, Gareth's affair with his teacher ended suddenly, his behaviour deteriorated. His school asked him to leave and soon after, his mother asked him to move out. By 16 he was homeless. He began self-harming. By the age of 23, he had tried to take his own life three times.

In 2014, by now in his early 40s, Gareth began seeking justice.

It took more than a decade, but last Thursday, following a 14-day trial at Harrow Crown Court, Bowen was found guilty of six counts of indecently assaulting Gareth when he was 14. She was also found guilty of one count related to another 14-year-old boy. She will be put on the sex offenders register and was told by the judge that she may receive a custodial sentence.

As part of the trial, Gareth had (and continues to maintain) the legal right to anonymity given to any alleged victim of a sexual crime. The Observer is using the pseudonym it used in our previous reporting.

Directly after the verdict, Gareth was elated. But he said it would take days to come to terms with the fact that the jury had believed him.

When he had begun to ask his contemporaries to act as police witnesses, back in 2014, some denied any memory of the relationship. Others said he was a lucky boy, and shouldn't complain. In court, Bowen's defence team tried to portray the case as a schoolboy obsession gone "out of control".

The verdict was a vindication. "There are not many things [that are] important, but telling the truth in life is important. And I was telling the truth," he says.

More than 20 female teachers have been struck off for inappropriate sexual conduct with a pupil or as the result of child abuse convictions since Lucky Boy was first published in Feb 2025.

In the US a 2019 study into 350 cases of sexual abuse in schools reported in the media found that 29

'That's what these people do. And the people who survive it carry it all their lives' Gareth

per cent had female perpetrators.

When Gareth's mother found out about the relationship in 1988 she called the school. The head of science, and Bowen's supervisor, Richard Luker, remembers waiting for a call from Gareth's mother – he says she told them she was scared her son was planning to run away to meet Bowen abroad.

Gareth says that towards the end of the summer term, Bowen told him she had been confronted by senior staff who said they knew about the relationship and that she would not have her contract renewed. Gareth's mother says the school assured her Bowen would never teach again.

In a final act of defiance after being asked to leave the school, Gareth says Bowen took him to the end-of-year staff drinks. “She was insistent on it. I didn’t want to go in there,” he recalls. They sat together as a couple in front of other teachers. “It was embarrassing for me, for them, for everyone,” Gareth says. Still no teacher intervened.

The couple continued their relationship during the holidays. At the end of August 1988, Bowen told Gareth she was going travelling.

Gareth hadn't been emotionally equipped to deal with the

What the Lucky Boy podcast uncovered

In the spring of 2024, over lunch, an old friend told me about someone he had been at school with.

"Gareth" said he had been abused by a teacher when he was 14 years old. It was an open secret at the school but he was finding it impossible to find anyone who would testify to what happened. His allegation had met with a wall of denial and indignation, and a legal case wasn't progressing. Gareth agreed to let me investigate what happened to him. The result was Lucky Boy – a four-part podcast published in spring 2025 by Tortoise Media, which now owns The Observer.

The investigation found that:

- Gareth was not the only victim. Sally-Anne Bowen was widely rumoured to have had sexual relationships with at least three other boys – one of whom confirmed he had sex with her as a sixth-former. - Another man said

that when he was 14, Bowen allowed him and his friends to kiss her and touch her breasts. This man's experience, as well as Gareth's, formed part of criminal proceedings brought against her after the podcast was published. Last week Bowen was found guilty of seven counts of indecent assault.

• Former staff at Gareth's school believe that there was a cover-up by senior staff, who asked Bowen to leave quietly without reporting her to the authorities.

• A former pupil at the school recalled seeing another boy touching Bowen's breasts. This pupil was a key witness for the prosecution during the trial.

Chloe Hadjimatheou

Sally-Anne Bowen arrives at Harrow Crown Court during the trial. Last week a jury found her guilty of indecent assault against two of her former pupils. PA Images/Alamy

relationship or its sudden end. He was devastated, but the relationship with Bowen had isolated him and he still felt compelled to protect her by denying it had happened. It was only when his own adoptive son reached the age of 14 that he began questioning the relationship and searched for Bowen online. She had not stopped teaching. Christ's College had given her a reference that let her continue for decades.

In 2014 Gareth called the police. When they brought Bowen in for questioning, she told them he was a fantasist. A criminal investigation was opened but was dropped in 2016 due to a lack of witnesses.

G areth kept appealing for it to be reopened; he contacted the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA), which took the allegations

seriously and between 2022 and 2023 held a tribunal at which he and Bowen gave evidence.

The panel found Gareth's testimony convincing and Bowen's version of events inconsistent. The TRA found Bowen had more likely than not engaged in sex with Gareth at her home, and banned her from teaching. When the ban was made public in January 2024, former Christ's College pupils began sharing it, trying to guess the identity of the pupil. Possible names were shared and it became clear that Gareth was not alone in his sexual encounters with his teacher.

It was at this point in 2024 that I began reporting on the story. Over several months, I spoke to former staff and pupils from Christ's College, and confirmed Gareth's claim that his affair with his teacher had been an open secret. My reporting found at least two other pupils who claimed to have had sexual relations with Bowen and former staff who believed the school had covered up her behaviour.

In early 2025, I published Lucky Boy – an investigative podcast about the allegations against Bowen, but also the school’s responsibilities to protect Gareth and other pupils, and society’s failure to take male victims of female perpetrators seriously.

Weeks after the podcast was released, the police pressed charges against Bowen. She was charged according to laws that existed in 1988 when the apparent crimes were committed: eight counts of indecent assault on a boy under the age of 16 relating to her relationship with Gareth and another ex-pupil.

The trial began at Harrow Crown Court on 10 August this year, with two plaintiffs – Gareth and another former pupil, who The Observer is referring to as Sanjay. He said

Bowen had met him and his friends in a cafe where she kissed them and allowed them to touch her breasts and put their hands near her crotch.

Opening the case for the prosecution, Madeleine Wolfe accepted that the complainants may have appeared willing to participate in the sexual activity. However, Bowen was their teacher: an adult in a position of trust. “[By] sexualising her relationship with them and encouraging them to engage in sexual conduct with her, she exploited that position for her own sexual gratification,” Wolfe said.

Gareth gave evidence in person, from behind a screen, telling the court it was “drummed” into him that he must not tell anyone. He said he had complied because he felt compelled to protect Bowen – as he did for decades. Wolfe told jurors there could be “no doubt” about the lasting impact of the abuse on him.

Another former pupil, Tobias Oliver, said that in one lesson the teacher described sexual positions and spoke of giving a boyfriend a “blow job”. On other occasions, he said Bowen sat on a raised platform, stroking her breasts and opening and crossing her legs.

Bowen denied all charges and it was the defence's argument that Gareth was a fantasist obsessed with Bowen. She said she believed there had been a conspiracy against her involving the Lucky Boy series, part of which was submitted as evidence. On Thursday, a jury found Bowen guilty on seven of the eight counts. The judge had told the

'She exploited her position for her own sexual gratification' Madeleine Wolfe, lawyer

jury to find her not guilty on the eighth count, relating to the second victim, because it did not meet the threshold for indecent assault.

Gareth was happy with the verdict. “But the sad thing is [that] then the reflection will come,” he told me. “She’s still the first woman I had sex with. I don’t get to change that... and I don’t get a rerun to do my education again.”

Bowen's abuse, he says, has also affected the lives of his children. "That's what these people do. And the people that survive it have to carry all that through their lives."

He found intolerable the defence claim he was “a liar and a fantasist”.

The trial raised questions about safeguarding at Christ's College, which refused to engage with my investigation despite numerous attempts to speak to them. They have not apologised to Gareth nor released any statement in response to Bowen's ban or conviction.

When contacted last year, Bowen said she believes Gareth needs psychiatric help, as do the other men who made allegations about her.

Lucky Boy is available to listen to now on all podcast platforms. A new episode will be released soon.

On a stroll with Rachel Sylvester around a social development in London, the reinstated housing secretary says her deprived childhood has given her a resilience and empathy that is driving her to deliver £10bn of new homes

The Observer Walk Angela Rayner

MAP BY ELLIE WINTOUR

Blackheath
Eltham Palace

‘I have more than I ever dreamed of, but the feeling of poverty never leaves’

ngela Rayner has a unique political superpower. "I thrive on chaos," she says. "I don't mind change. I'm used to instability." While most MPs are still traumatised by the divisions of the Brexit years, discombobulated by the churn of party leaders and distressed by the abuse they receive on social media, the housing secretary relishes unpredictability and finds it harder to take compliments than insults.

"I'm not used to people saying: 'You're amazing,' because that's just not something that I had as a child, so it doesn't come naturally to me. It feels a bit self-indulgent," she says.

Her life has been extraordinarily tough. Raised on a council estate in Stockport, Greater Manchester, she was a carer from the age of 10 for her mother, who has bipolar disorder. Rayner was pregnant at 15 and left school at 16 with no qualifications. Her emotionally abusive father threw her out after her baby, Ryan, was born. It was, she says, a childhood full of fear.

But she hates the “poor little Ange” narrative and refuses to be a victim. She thinks having struggled in her early life makes her stronger and a better politician. “It’s given

me a level of resilience and some practical life skills. That then allows me to have a different perspective," she says. "I like to be moving or making or doing something. I like to build and do solid things."

Our walk will take us around a social housing project that is being built in Kidbrooke, south-east London. Rayner, who resigned last year over underpaid stamp duty, is now back in the cabinet, having settled a £40,000 tax bill. Last week, she announced plans for her department to spend almost £10bn on social and affordable housing. For her, the political commitment is deeply personal. “I grew up in poverty but my council house was always there,” she says. “It was never a question of being evicted. Now so many people don’t have a secure home. We desperately need social housing and we want councils to be part of that.”

Most experts think it will be impossible for the government to fulfil its promise to construct 1.5m new homes by 2029, but Rayner insists she has been exceeding expectations all her life. “I think [the target] is a stretch but I’m absolutely determined to meet it.”

The builders are still at work as we head down a street between the Kidbrooke tower blocks, although the first residents have moved in. Many Labour ministers have made the journey from council estate to the cabinet. But Rayner is different. The defence secretary, Wes Streeting, went into politics after Cambridge University, while Bridget Phillipson, minister for women and equalities, entered it via Oxford. Both had loving, aspirational parents.

The housing secretary was neglected and tormented as a child. In the social hierarchy of the estate, her family was part of the underclass. Her mother, who cannot read, once brought home a tin of dog food because she thought it was stewing steak. Another time, she gave the children hair removal cream to use as toothpaste. There were no hugs or bedtime stories.

“I think the emotional deprivation leaves more lasting scars,” she says. “I didn’t do well at my GCSEs, but that’s not because I couldn’t do my GCSEs. It’s because I had so many other challenges at that time, and so I didn’t see the relevance. That was for other people. It wasn’t for me.”

When she heard about the teenage girls who became victims of grooming gangs in northern towns, Rayner thought it could have been her. "I was looking for emotional support in all the wrong places. That's why I ended up a teenage mum. I wanted to be loved and what I saw as love was not love. I was out on the streets at all hours. I was putting myself in very risky situations. I was a vulnerable teenager, looking for validation in the world, but I was bolshie."

She thinks she was lucky in some ways because caring for her mother meant she could not go completely off the rails. “I understood that it wasn’t all about me. I had burdens of responsibility that other children didn’t have. Then, when I got pregnant, I had something that was mine. I wasn’t worthless. I was growing this human being that I was going to love and nurture.”

As we walk into the estate's central courtyard, where children are playing by the swings, she describes trying to be the perfect mother. "I went round charity shops to get him the best clobber. He had a bath every night. I got a bath once a week at my nana's."

One day, she went to a parenting class at a Sure Start centre. “The woman was talking about how to give positive reinforcement to your child. I remember thinking: ‘Oh my God.’ I thought being a good parent meant making sure Ryan had the best nappies, the best food and a bedtime. I never played with him

because nobody had played with me. I never said: 'That's fantastic, what you're doing.' It wasn't because I didn't want to be a good mum – it was the pattern through generations of my family."

Rayner says her story proves it is possible for politicians to have a lasting impact on people's lives. "I don't want it to sound like the Monty Python sketch – 'My poverty was worse than your poverty.' I don't measure myself on a Richter scale. What I try to do is think, in my hour of need, even before I knew that I needed anything when I was a child, what helped me? What encouraged me and what held me back? I bring that experience of me, my friends, my childhood, my teen-mother years into government and ask: how do we enable and support people?"

She wants young people to understand there are many routes to success. “I wasn’t an academic learner. I was a vocational learner, and I think that’s why I thrive as a politician, because you can go to university, but politics is about people,” she says. “You can read the data and you can learn about certain things, but the vocation of being around people is as valuable as a PPE [philosophy, politics and economics] degree. My education is in life.”

'It feels like I've got a real opportunity to see the delivery of what I started.' Angela Rayner, in south-east London, on her return from the backbenches.

'You don't want a Commons full of Angela Rayners, that would be awful, but, equally, you don't want a Commons full of Jacob Rees-Moggs'

Rayner was bullied at school because her hair was always a mess and she wore ugly steel-capped boots that her grandmother bought because they would last. “I really felt my poverty stood out,” she says. Now her hair is always immaculate and she has lost count of how many pairs of shoes she has. For our walk, she is wearing kitten heels that go perfectly with her red silk dress.

"I take pride in my appearance," she says. "I think, if you've had poverty, and then you are suddenly able to provide for yourself and your family, that's what you try and do. My working-class mates have the biggest tellies – some of my posh friends don't even have a TV."

Does she think of herself as middle class? She still craves supermarket own-brand ham and chicken paste from a jar. Her children think it is “disgusting” but it reminds her of her childhood. “I know the privilege that I have,” she says. “But I understand how it feels when you’re working hard and then your fridge freezer breaks, and you’ve got no means of getting credit. I know the challenges when you have to go without.

“So am I middle class? I know I’ve got more than I could have dreamed of having when I was young, but the feeling of poverty never leaves you.

You know it's something that can happen, and that gives people who have come from poverty a drive and a level of fear."

As for the emotional deprivation, Rayner says she is “more accepting” of love than she was when she was younger. “I’ve trained myself to be kinder to myself,” she says. “You can grow as a person. Am I the finished article? I’m probably not as touchy-feely as some other people but I’ve definitely improved.” She tries to ignore the trolls. “I don’t need the gratification of people saying I’m wonderful, and I don’t need people to tell me I’m horrible, and I’m thick and I shouldn’t be around, because I know that I’m not thick. I know I’ve got self-worth, and I know I try my best and I know I’m not perfect.”

The attacks came thick and fast after she was photographed vaping in an inflatable dinghy. “It wasn’t the best picture but there was a huge outpouring of people who said: ‘I’ve never felt more represented by a politician,’” Rayner says. “I think having people from different backgrounds in politics is a good thing... You don’t want a House of Commons full of Angela Rayners – that would be awful – but, equally, you don’t want a Commons full of Jacob Rees-Moggs.”

As we continue along the path between well-tended flowerbeds, Rayner says she is her own harshest critic. "I take it particularly hard when I feel like I've fallen below my standards. I set a high bar for me, a lower bar for everyone else."

ast September, she quit as deputy leader of the Labour party and deputy prime minister when it emerged she had paid too little

stamp duty on a flat in Hove. In May, she was cleared by HM Revenue and Customs of deliberately avoiding tax, but she was furious with herself for making what she insists was a genuine “mistake”.

"It was very humbling. I'd spent nearly 10 years in opposition. I'd done 14 months in government, and then, all of a sudden, I got to take a rest. The frustration was feeling like I'd let myself down. I had to forgive myself. I didn't think: 'Somebody did this.' I thought: 'I put my children on the news.' But, you know what? My children see that I'm not perfect. That's a good thing. My children are so proud of me. They were kinder to me than I was to myself. I didn't want people to feel that I was disingenuous, or I was a hypocrite."

Returning to the cabinet after

Photograph by Tom Pilston

a period on the backbenches has given her a new perspective. “I’ve had that moment to think about how are the government doing. We had the landslide victory, and then it was not going particularly well. Now we’ve got a new prime minister. It feels like I’ve got a real opportunity to see the delivery of what I started. We have to show that we understand that people are feeling the strain.”

She has not spoken to Keir Starmer since he left No 10, but she sent him a message. “I don’t think Keir will be feeling sorry for himself. I think he will be proud of the things he achieved and he’ll also recognise that he made some errors,” she says. “I overshare, Keir undershares. I think the challenge was that people didn’t feel the change quick enough, and there were mistakes, like the [cut to the] winter fuel allowance. It didn’t speak to our values.”

Andy Burnham is a better communicator. “I think being authentically you is important. People warm to someone if they can feel there’s a connection.” The new prime minister’s team is also more inclusive than Starmer’s advisers. “Working with politicians, recognising what the cabinet can bring is a really important way of governing,” Rayner says. “Andy’s style is to do that – to make sure that everyone is empowered and feels valued. I think, at times, there were people around Keir who felt frustrated by politicians.”

She had a “stirring up of pride” when Burnham made social care a priority. She first met him when he was a young MP and she was a care worker campaigning for better conditions as a shop steward for the Unison trade union. “Then, a few weeks ago, I sat in the audience as Andy Burnham made a passionate speech which basically spoke to that care worker. I said to him: ‘Oh my God, it’s come full circle.’”

She will not say how any change should be funded. “The discussions are going on there and obviously that announcement will be made. But it’s not just about how you pay for it, because at the moment we pay for it with people being in hospital.”

Nor will she be drawn on whether taxes will rise, council tax revalued, stamp duty reformed or wealth redistributed. “I’m not going to be speculating on tax. We’ve got to have a balanced economy, making sure that we look after people.”

As we complete our circuit of the estate, Rayner says the lesson she takes from her childhood is that the state can make a difference. One of her most emotional moments was seeing Ryan cuddle his own daughter. It reduced her to tears to see how it was natural for him to scoop her up and tell her he loved her, as she had learned to do at the Sure Start centre. Her family had been trapped in a cycle of dysfunction for generations. "I thought: 'You've broken that link.'"

HELP SUPPORT OUR MEDICAL TEAMS TODAY

A man carries a wounded child into the MSF-run clinic at Rafah Indonesian Field Hospital in southern Gaza. Photograph © MSF

DR BIRSEN GASKELL IS AN ANAESTHETIST WHO WORKED IN GAZA.

"We arrived in Gaza and were immediately confronted by huge numbers of people crammed into the streets. You could hear the bombing and see the fear in people's faces.

We immediately got to work at the hospital. We treated a large number of patients for burns and trauma injuries, mostly people who'd been injured in explosions. There were a lot of children. I'd never seen so many burns patients in one place.

Some children were malnourished, and it was clear many were not eating properly. With post-operative care, it's vital that patients have a good diet to assist with tissue healing, but due to food shortages that just wasn't happening.

We were seeing around 180 patients every day. We didn't have the capacity to take everybody into the operating theatres – some procedures had to be carried out on the ward.

As an anaesthetist, one of my roles was to improve pain management. Due to shortages of medical supplies, there have been a lot of incidents during this conflict when people have been operated on without anaesthetics. It's inconceivable that this has happened, but it has.

Some patients stick in your mind. There was a nine-year-old girl who'd been injured when her home was bombed and lost part of her jaw. She and her mother were the only survivors from their family. I changed her dressing every few days and gave her antibiotic treatment. One day, she gave me a hug and asked if she'd ever look normal. I didn't have an answer for her. Reconstructive surgery would really help her, but nothing like that is on offer in Gaza.

The situation in Gaza is getting worse and people's medical needs are growing. The fact that there are people there who have had to undergo medical procedures without anaesthesia is barbaric. It's an inhumane situation.

Yet, despite the carnage and the horror, the MSF hospital was an oasis of calm. I was so impressed by the Gazan staff, by their resilience. Many had lost family members and were living in tents, but they were still there every day, helping people.

The work MSF is doing in Gaza is needed now more than ever."

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Root it out: fighting bacteria and fungi on UK's new security frontline

The woman who built Britain's defence against imported plant diseases is hanging up her tools, but the testing will go on

The 1845 Irish potato famine, as depicted by artist Daniel MacDonald, was caused by the fungus Phytophthora infestans. Fine Art Images/Getty

James Tapper

Lavender is meant to help you sleep, but it keeps Nicola Spence awake at night. That's because one of the many pests and diseases that worry England's chief plant health officer is Xylella fastidiosa, and lavenders are welcoming hosts for the bacteria.

Xylella has not yet arrived in the UK but it has devastated olive groves in Italy and is spreading north. It would be a serious threat to British fruit growers, and native oaks and elms, so the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has banned several plant imports, including lavender, from the Chelsea Flower Show.

"If we found Xylella at Chelsea, we'd have to close the whole thing down," Spence says. "In the build-up, we've got two inspectors on site for two weeks, checking everything with the RHS biosecurity team. We found some lavender last year on the bottom of a trolley. Someone had forgotten." The plants were tested and were disease-free, but the incident underlines the fragility of Britain's biosecurity.

We meet at the UK's biosecurity frontline, at Provender Nurseries in Kent. A main grower and distributor of plants and trees to garden centres and landscapers, it hosts an inspection point for the Animal and Plant Health Agency (Apha). Lorries come straight here from Channel ports and unload their plants inside a secure warehouse – even the ground is specially sealed – for officers to examine.

Plant health and the environment are now considered integral to the UK's national security. It is not just making sure that Xylella does not infiltrate Britain's gardens. It is also ensuring that pests and fungi do not devastate crops, as Phytophthora infestans did in 1845, causing the Irish potato famine.

The variety of threats is enormous. A stray lavender tray may seem trivial, but in the US, a disease brought in on a caver's boot is devastating agriculture. The fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans was accidentally imported about 20 years ago by cavers returning from Ukraine. It causes white-nose syndrome in several species of North American bat, wiping out at least 90% of some populations. Beetles, caterpillars and other crop pests that are usually eaten by the bats have thrived, so American farmers have increased pesticide use by more than 30% – a factor that may be linked to higher infant mortality.

Even more concerning for UK security services is the possibility of a pathogen being introduced deliberately. Last year, a Chinese couple were arrested in the US after allegedly smuggling in a wheat-destroying fungus that was described by local attorney Jerome Gorgon as a “potential agroterrorism weapon”. In 1989, a disease of cocoa plants in southern Bahia, Brazil was reported to have been deliberately introduced to attack the plantation owners.

"There is concern in the counter-terrorism and homeland security network that plant products could be a risk," Spence says. "We haven't seen plant pests and diseases used for deliberate release, but it's obviously something we are aware of."

Last year, some UK households received mysterious packets of seeds in the post from China. Spence's team at Apha found they were harmless – apparently part of a “brushing scam”, where vendors use the delivery as evidence of a sale so they can post fake reviews online – but “things like that can pop up from nowhere”, she says. “If you were intentionally wanting to spread something, it’s a pathway.”

Natural threats such as Xylella are more pressing, and the types and variety of them are growing. Spence is the first chief plant health officer, appointed in 2014 after the post was created in response to ash dieback, a fungal disease that will kill as many as 80% of ash trees in Britain.

She retires on Friday, leaving an agency that has grown from 100 inspectors to about 400 working at border control points across England. The risk register she launched a decade ago has expanded from 600 to 1,400 pests and diseases, and assesses up to 10 new threats a month. Her replacement has yet to be announced.

“We’ve definitely seen an increase in numbers of pests and diseases affecting plants and trees over the past 30 years,” Spence says. “It’s driven by climate change because some pests and diseases can establish [themselves] now if they get here.” Milder or wetter winters let some pests survive that would once have died.

Unsolicited seed packets and importing diseased plants are two pathways, but there are others.

Nicola Spence is the UK's first chief plant health officer, appointed 2014.

Spence reels off wood packaging – particularly wooden shipping pallets – hitchhiking bugs, fungus spores that float on the winds across from France, and even furniture imports.

That includes “headboards from very reputable furniture retailers”, Spence says. “You take it apart and it’s riddled with longhorn beetles, which can get into our native trees.”

Keeping disease out seems an impossible task, but Spence says border inspections and environmental monitoring with the help of the Forestry Commission reduce risks.

“We’re even using detector dogs, as well as the public looking out for things,” she says. “We have helicopters, drones – we fly over miles of forest every year and take photographs of the canopy. We use satellites with spectral filters, which can tell a diseased plant or tree, what species it is and whether it’s under stress. And then we send our person or our dog [to inspect it].”

“We would rather woodlands were managed, because then we can see early warnings of pests and diseases,” Spence says. “We have found some pests and diseases in neglected, wilded patches.” In south-east England, Apha helicopters have spotted damage to trees that is evidence of eight-toothed spruce bark beetles, which bore into trees and eventually kill them, causing destruction in rewilded areas.

That is assuming the inspector or dog can reach the tree. One emerging problem is rewilding, she says.

“[But] they’re impenetrable. So we know where they are, and then we can’t get to them.”

After she stands down this week, Spence, an RHS trustee, will “spend more time with plants and trees” and the people who tend them. At Chelsea next year, she will be a care-free attendee – while somebody else loses sleep over the lavender.

Natural born killers

Ash dieback A fungal disease, officially detected in the UK in 2012, will kill as many as 80% of ash trees in Britain

Xylella fastidiosa The bacteria, which has devastated Italian olive groves, has yet to appear in the UK, but Apha is taking no chances

White nose syndrome The fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans killed North American bat colonies, which led to a huge rise in crop-destroying insects

Edinburgh comedy winner says he owes it to Saturday Night Live

Chris Cantrill won on his fourth nomination and now feels like ‘a dad’ for the next generation of performers

John Simpson

The winner of the biggest prize at this year's Edinburgh fringe festival has credited his work on Saturday Night Live UK with helping him win.

Chris Cantrill, 42, won the Audible best comedy show award for his show Rewilding, a parody whodunnit that's loosely based on Cantrill's life in rural Northumberland and the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree. It was the fourth time he had been nominated for the top prize.

Previous winners of the award, which is in its 45th year and is known as the “Oscar of comedy”, include Frank Skinner, Steve Coogan, Jenny Eclair and Rose Matafeo.

Cantrill, who found out he had won the award seven minutes before going on stage yesterday, said writing for SNL UK had been a new challenge that helped with the show as well as his performances at the fringe this year.

“[SNL] has been one of the most intense things I’ve ever done. It’s been a truly brilliant experience, but it’s an absolute machine.

"The great thing about this job is it keeps you thinking, developing and learning. And SNL was that. What I noticed is, it's bringing silliness back and people are really trying stuff."

The TV programme has been a significant and popular presence at the fringe this year, with shows from stars including Paddy Young, Ania Magliano and Larry Dean. Fellow writer Omar Badawy was also nominated for the best comedy show award and Lorna Rose Treen, another writer, was part of the team that won the Audible panel prize, which is awarded to the act or organisation that best represents the “spirit of the fringe”. Treen led a 60-comedian lineup for the charity event One Joke, which aimed to have the comics tell as

Maddening crowds

Chris Cantrill, above, won the Audible best comedy show for Rewilding, a parody whodunnit about the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree. Top right: a Badenoch and Farage spoof in Saturday Night Live UK. Rebecca Need-Menear, Sky UK Ltd

Performers at this year's Edinburgh fringe said crowd behaviour was more challenging than ever.

Standup Alexander Bennett said he had been shown footage by staff from a venue "of a man on the second row of a small gig doing [what appeared to be] a line of coke, mid-show." US comedian Michael John Ciszewski said an audience member in the front row answered a FaceTime call at the emotional climax of his performance and another was disruptive because they were so drunk. One audience member said it was the worst behaviour she had seen in 20 years at the fringe.

Zoe Wohlfeld, whose solo comedy is called Dog Funeral, said: "A lady in the front row got out some needles. I said, 'Are you knitting?', and she was like: 'It's crochet.'"

many jokes as possible in an hour. Her regular performing partner Jonathan Oldfield hosted the night..

"This festival's been very different for me because of the SNL connection," Cantrill said. "Suddenly I've got all these wayward children all over the festival, whose lives I am totally invested in, and I want them to succeed at all costs. I've felt like a dad for the entire fringe. And some of them are just getting started."

Cantrill, who is from Bradford, West Yorkshire, was nominated twice for the prize as part of his duo Delightful Sausage with Amy Gledhill. Gledhill, who is from Hull, won the award for Best Comedy Show in 2024. Cantrill said his previous nominations had taken him from a desk job to working full-time in comedy, adding that winning the award had not quite sunk in and that there were tears following his show yesterday.

"I kept it together," he said of the performance, "but at the end I just said, 'I'm really sorry, I forgot to thank my mum and dad,' and then I was gone, and everyone was crying."

Terms and Conditions Apply. Prices based on 2 adults sharing subject to availability. 15% discount available on all touring holidays, durations and departures from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2027. Offer is for a limited time only#. Valid on new bookings only, cannot be retrospectively applied to existing bookings. Discount cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Titan reserves the right to withdraw, extend, or reduce offers at any given time. They are available on a first-come, first-served basis and are subject to change — your holiday price will be confirmed when you book.

'Don't give him an American-shaped head': Ian Fleming's orders for comic-strip Bond

David Barnett

As the search for a new James Bond hots up, director Denis Villeneuve would do well to heed advice given by the super-spy's creator in newly resurfaced letters: don't cast an actor with an "American-shaped" head.

Amazon is now the owner of the 007 film franchise, after its purchase of MGM studios, and an announcement about who will replace Daniel Craig as the licensed-to-kill British secret agent is thought to be imminent. But well before Sean Connery came to the big screen in 1962, the author of the original books, Ian Fleming, sanctioned a newspaper comic strip featuring Bond.

Glasgow-born artist John McLusky adapted Fleming's stories for a Daily Express strip between 1958 and 1966, providing the first visualisation of the agent who debuted in Casino

Royale in 1953. With Fleming's permission, he went on to draw each scene, word-for-word, from all 12 of the Bond novels. McLusky died in 2006 aged 83.

Eventually, McLusky's depiction of Bond came to bear a striking likeness to Connery – which is said by some to have helped the actor land the role he embodied for seven films. But before the first comic strip went to print, Fleming had some thoughts on how his character was presented.

While sorting through his father's effects, McLusky's son, Sean, has discovered a clutch of letters between the artist, Fleming, and the then-Daily Express literary editor Anthony Hern, who adapted the stories.

After seeing the first draft of the adaptations, Fleming wrote to Hern that he thought “your artist has made a splendid start on stripping Bond”, but he had a few thoughts.

Most notably, Fleming wrote: "In

Bond boys: Sean Connery, the first film 007, looked a lot like McLusky's cartoon, above. Today's contenders, from left, Harris Dickinson, Jacob Elordi and Callum Turner. A Gallery/Sean McLusky

general, I think the artist should avoid giving Bond an American-shaped head and a duck's haircut." He even had a sketch drawn up by another artist showing how he envisaged Bond might look.

Fleming also went into granular detail about some of the other representations of his novel in the comic strip, suggesting that Bond's boss M "should not wear a signet ring" and

that 007 himself “should not look so hang-dog”.

He was of the opinion that “the head of S [evil spy organisation SMERSH] looks rather a booby”, and wanted the chief baddie, Le Chiffre, to look “a good deal more villainous. Perhaps if you gave him round, staring eyes and turned down his mouth a bit it might help.”

The letters and sketches are going on show at the A Gallery in London, which has been displaying and dealing in McLusky's artwork for the comic strip. Fraser Scott, the gallery's owner, said: "McLusky's illustrations visually tell the story of Fleming's Bond, which is vastly different from the stories in the films, as it is more character-based. These letters give insight into how the eight-year collaboration between John McLusky and Ian Fleming started and what Fleming's greatest concerns were on how his stories were told visually.

"John McLusky's drawings led to Sean Connery being cast. Our hope is that those currently casting Bond will review these letters and drawings, because if there's anyone who should have a say in Bond's appearance, it is his author, and the illustrator he authorised to give Bond a face."

Ladbrokes has Callum Turner leading the contenders at 2/1, followed by Harris Dickinson at 12/1 and Jacob Elordi at 15/1. The American-ness of their heads has yet to be determined.

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‘It’s like a sickness’: Germany’s grannies prepare to do battle with the far-right AfD

An activist group of ‘Omas’ is determined to stop the populist party taking control of its first German state next week by winning hearts and minds with a strategy of protest and coffee chats. Ruth Michaelson reports from Quedlinburg

"We are the future," the rising star of the German far right proclaimed to an enraptured crowd of thousands. A father lifted his young daughter on to his shoulders. Others waved German flags – one stitched together with the Russian tricolour. Nearby, stood bikers with neo-Nazi tattoos and iron crosses on their leather waistcoats, along with young men in T-shirts bearing the words "National pride" and "Freedom is my birthright".

Some had travelled a long way to attend the campaign rally in the chocolate-box town of Quedlinburg, eastern Germany. All came to see 35-year-old Ulrich Siegmund, the far-right candidate running for state president in Saxony-Anhalt, recently described by Der Spiegel as “the most dangerous man in Germany”.

Siegmund preached that a historic victory was close. Polls bear this out: the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), which he represents, is tipped to win an outright majority in elections to the Saxony-Anhalt regional parliament on 6 September, meaning a far-right party is on the cusp of controlling a German state for the first time since the end of the Second World War. Its manifesto for Saxony-Anhalt includes expelling immigrants, state funding only for organisations deemed patriotic, prison time for anyone defaming German history or culture, relaxation of gun laws and restrictions on displaying the LGBTQ flag.

“Here, no one is far right – everyone is totally in the right,” Siegmund told the crowd, to cheers.

The party's popularity is not limited to Saxony-Anhalt: it is polling in first place before another local election, in the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on 20 September. Polls also show the AfD leading nationally

'Siegmund knows how to manipulate people. He's a great salesman, and his product is the AfD' Ingrid Pfennig, activist with just under a third of the vote share, meaning that if an election were held tomorrow, it would be first in line to form a government.

All of which spells trouble for the chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and his centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), as Germany's “firewall” barring mainstream parties from any form of co-operation with the AfD appears on the verge of collapse.

A key ally of the chancellor, Michael Kretschmer, the state president of Saxony, recently said that those still talking about firewalls “haven’t recognised the signs of the times”. A CDU mayor in Saxony-Anhalt declared a €10,000 (£8,500) donation to the AfD, adding that he would vote for the party. A few years ago, both incidents would have been considered a scandal – but no longer.

Siegmund and his devoted following exemplify his party's surge. Many attendees in Quedlinburg arrived wearing T-shirts bearing images of his smiling face or simply his signature. A 22-year-old student came clutching a copy of Der Spiegel for Siegmund to sign; the politician was selling autographed copies for €1,000 each online.

“He’s like a pop star,” said supporter Bernd Szyska. He scoffed at the idea that anyone could find Siegmund dangerous. Szyska sees him instead as a fresh, charismatic face – one who can inspire even more support. Siegmund told the crowd in Quedlinburg that victory would be theirs, no matter what happens at the ballot box. “The blue wave can’t be stopped,” he said, referencing the AfD’s signature aquamarine.

Yet some are desperate to stem the tide.

Sitting in a cafe in Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt's state capital, Ingrid Pfennig is terrified of impending AfD rule. Siegmund, she said, "may look like every mother's dream son-in-law, but to me this man is truly dangerous. He studied business psychology, so he knows how to manipulate people... he's a great salesman, and his product is the AfD."

Several members of Pfennig's family are keen to buy what Siegmund is selling, which has created a rift. She is appalled by their devotion to the AfD and they sneer at her activism with the group Omas gegen Rechts (Grannies against the Far Right). Many of its roughly 50,000 members are fixtures at demonstrations, and go into schools to warn about

Germany's history with the far right.

The Grannies have also led efforts to have the authorities probe whether the party is violating the constitution, with a view to a ban: legal experts have backed a government review after finding the party opposes the basics of democracy, targeting its political opponents while failing to respect the human dignity of those it scorns, notably immigrants.

Pfennig had long seen her 86-year-old aunt as an older sister. Now the two are now barely speaking. Her aunt's casual declaration that she would vote for the AfD in Germany's 2025 general election "immediately broke something within me", Pfennig said. Their once-loving relationship has been reduced to brief phone calls on birthdays and holidays; Pfennig got sick of hearing her aunt say that she wants foreign doctors expelled from Saxony-Anhalt, when the healthcare system desperately needs them, or unwanted advice to focus on her health instead of activism.

Pfennig, her son Andreas and daughter-in-law Steffi are also increasingly estranged from Steffi's parents because of their views: at a children's birthday party earlier this month, Pfennig said: "Not a word was uttered about politics – it was the elephant in the room."

Pfennig is repulsed by Siegmund's charms, his party's hatred of immigrants and its nostalgia for the past, particularly the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) – or East Germany – that existed as a state from 1949 to 1990. AfD members have sung its national anthem at rallies, while some such as Szyska want deeper ties with Moscow.

Already in her 30s when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, Pfennig initially doubted the promises of reunification. But she found work, despite the mass unemployment that swept former East Germany as factories and businesses collapsed. To her, the idea that things were better in the past is a fiction – as is the idea that expelling migrants will help this glorious past return.

She fears for the estimated 193,000 people, primarily from Ukraine and Syria, living and working in Saxony-Anhalt: some went on strike last week to prove how vital they are to the workforce. For Pfennig, this is personal; both her parents fled eastern Europe for a village outside Magdeburg during the second world war “with nothing more than the clothes on their backs”, to escape the advancing Russian army. Even though both were German, Pfennig saw how the stigma of being a refugee stuck.

In 2013, this drove her to begin working in a local refugee office to ease integration for new arrivals.

AfD politician Ulrich Siegmund campaigning in Quedlingberg earlier this month, opposite. Jan Woitas/dpa Picture Alliance/Avalon

Protesters with Omas gegen Rechts (Grannies against the Far Right) badges and signs. Joe Klamar, Ronny Hartmann/AFP/ Getty Images

What started out as a day job became her life, and she is now many people's first point of call, whether to witness a birth or help prevent a suicide attempt. Her phone lights up with a constant stream of messages requesting her help as she speaks. "I became Grandma Ingrid to everyone," she said.

Founded in 2013, the AfD has thrived as hostility to immigrants rose, buoyed by incidents such as a 2024 attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg that killed six, even though local authorities said the attacker was a far-right Islamophobe. The party's anti-immigrant rhetoric did not work on Pfennig – these were the same people calling her "grandma".

She started to shrug off a lifelong aversion to politics, and when the AfD held a party conference in Magdeburg in 2023, she spotted a placard for the Grannies at a counter-protest and ran towards it. Six months latera, she texted Andreas proudly to tell him she'd joined. "Finally!" he replied.

While the Grannies are the AfD's No 1 enemy, many of them feel Merz's ruling CDU is ultimately to blame. In their view, the CDU has turned on them and their cause since coming to power last year. The chancellor has advocated for mass deportations in an unsuccessful attempt to syphon away AfD votes, and stonewalled the Grannies' push for a government investigation to examine whether the far-right party merits a ban for violating the constitution.

Last year, the CDU instead bowed to AfD pressure after protests against its migration policies, launching a parliamentary inquiry into the Grannies' funding, although they have never received state support. But a swathe of other groups advocating for democracy still had their state funding cut – a move that delighted the far right.

This has put the Grannies in Saxony-Anhalt in an uncomfortable position before the election, in which activists say tactical voting for the CDU is the only way to stop the AfD. Pfennig's postal vote has sat untouched on her dining room

‘These people are bombarded with negative messaging. They’re detached from reality’ Karin Exner, protester

table as she girds herself to do what is necessary. Others can't swallow their dislike of Merz's party. Martina Hradsky, another Magdeburg Granny, said she would "rather cut off a finger" than vote CDU.

As election day approached, the Saxony-Anhalt Grannies ramped up their outreach. On a grey afternoon in central Magdeburg, a group of them laid flowery china, coffee and cupcakes on a table decked with a patterned tablecloth, hoping to reel in prospective far-right voters and talk them round.

A softly spoken woman sat at the table across from Granny Karin Exner, who deftly dissected the AfD's promises. Exner ignored a man who saw their table and began hurling abuse. Another dejected-looking potential AfD voter in a fleece sat for a long while, saying little. "These people are bombarded with negative messaging," Exner said. "They're detached from reality. They are lonely – it's like a sickness."

Pfennig explained the group's tactics for coffee chats. "You have to set it up nicely with pretty cups," she said. "We say the coffee is free, but we need to hear your opinion: most people claim they don't have time, but then you end up talking for half an hour." These exchanges have given Pfennig and the Grannies a front-row seat to public discontent with life in Saxony-Anhalt, as they attempt to push people to reconsider seeing the AfD as the solution to their problems.

Not everyone can be reached. Standing in the field in Quedlinburg where Siegmund was speaking, Szyska said he had not voted or cared about politics for decades since the end of the GDR. Then, last year, he attended an AfD rally with his wife: both emerged converts to the cause. Grateful to have a part time-job, despite his retirement, the 74-year-old in a Led Zeppelin T-shirt fretted at rising prices and the state's crumbling health services.

In the decades since the fall of the Berlin Wall, Szyska felt that politicians had ignored those in remote towns such as his. He stopped reading newspapers, instead getting his news online: this fuelled a fervent, if inaccurate, belief that immigrants are getting support denied to him, and a resentment of German military aid to Ukraine. The AfD could be as bad as all the other politicians he so despises, Szyska added, but it's time to see what the party can do in power.

"People say that the AfD are fascists, Nazis, but I never heard anything like that at their demonstrations – they're just saying what I'm thinking," he said. "Anyway, that was our parents', our grandparents', generation – we had nothing to do with it."

Lindsay Clancy's trial is about motherhood as much as the deaths of her three children

ESSAY

The US court case of a ‘loving’ woman who killed her sons and daughter has divided a nation. She claims postnatal psychosis caused the tragedy. A jury is deciding if it agrees, writes Megan Nolan

How does one family's nightmare become a nation's cause célèbre? In Plymouth, Massachusetts,

Lindsay Clancy's trial for the murder of her three children in January 2023 has concluded. She admits to taking their lives, but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, claiming to have strangled them in the midst of a psychotic episode caused by postnatal psychosis, over-medication, and alleged medical negligence.

On that day in January, as her three children were dead or dying, she attempted suicide, leading to her permanent paralysis below the chest. Her then husband and the father of the three children, Patrick Clancy, has since divorced her and remarried, but firmly defends Lindsay's version of events.

In court she sat pale and wide-eyed, shifting from blank to anguished when details of the killings were read aloud. Now a jury will decide whether she will spend her life in prison as a murderer, or in a state psychiatric facility as a mother devastated by a terrible illness that cost her everything.

Lindsay Clancy is the one on trial, but maternity itself seems to have joined her in the dock for all to pass judgment on. There has been an eruption of public scrutiny, comment, and projection, with warring factions using the case's particulars to bolster their beliefs about mothering more generally. On one side are Clancy's passionate supporters, who see her terrible story as emblematic of society's carelessness about female suffering, particularly after childbirth. On the other are conservative firebrands outraged by any sympathy extended to a woman who they view as a cold-blooded killer of children. To them, the support for Clancy is yet another sign of a godless culture gone wrong.

Lindsay and Patrick Clancy, top, with Dawson, Cora and Callan. Above, a memorial outside their Massachusetts home. Media News Group/Boston Herald/Getty

America doesn't have a monopoly on using highly vulnerable individuals to play out its culture wars, as we have seen in the UK media with the Jason Arday case. Nor are Americans unique in frantically discussing their lightning-rod trials, particularly those involving photogenic young women, as we have seen with the trial of Lucy Letby.

America is, though, an unusual country for allowing its trials to be televised. This moment-to-moment accumulation of detail – an excess of availability that can seem obscene to the outside world

– has always made for a different tenor of obsessive civilian interest. OJ Simpson's trial once gripped this country and became something beyond the simply sensational, standing in for, and spurring on,

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MARELLA CRUISES

conversations about race, fame and misogyny. Now, in our 2026 dog days, we have the trial of Lindsay Clancy to animate our darkest fears and feelings about motherhood.

I am struck daily by the ubiquity with which I hear her name, in conversations between employees at coffee shops, from my cab driver, on the Instagram stories of family members in quiet parts of Ireland who ordinarily couldn't care less about what is taking place in the American justice system. I hear myself, too, just lately. I hear my idle repetition of what soon turns out to be merely a rumour about the case – that Patrick Clancy has a new child with his new wife – while discussing it in passing. I was not, to be clear, making any kind of criticism. I was speaking to my boyfriend, who is a widower with two young children. We are both aware of how judgmental and prescriptive outsiders can be when it comes to deciding how the bereaved must bide their time before being allowed to participate in life again.

I'd have been happy for Patrick Clancy to have had a new baby. But when I check, I see that what I have said is untrue, that he has not had any children since his own died. My minor untruth was one of many that have metastasised during the trial.

Clancy, universally described as a loving mother, has always enjoyed strong support in the wake of her terrible actions. Following the events of 24 January, Patrick Clancy posted a GoFundMe to cover the funeral expenses for his children, which quickly raised a million dollars. In the note that accompanied the appeal, he wrote of his wife: "The real Lindsay was generously loving and caring. All I wish for her now is that she can

Lindsay Clancy, above, at her trial in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The jury is considering its verdicts. Josh Reynolds/AP, Pool
Supporters of Clancy gather outside Plymouth Superior Court during the trial, below. John Thlumacki/Boston Globe/Getty

I am struck by how often I hear Lindsay's name, at coffee shops, from my cab driver, on Instagram posts

somehow find peace." It wasn't only her husband who rushed to defend her, but nursing colleagues and fellow mothers.

As the case gathered more national press coverage, the empathetic outreach of those in her actual life and community – something relatively localised and personal – became a broadly based and abstracted kind of support, driven by posts and discussion on TikTok, Threads and other platforms. Often, it seemed that women who felt most incensed by Clancy’s prosecution were those who had their own experiences with postnatal psychiatric disorders, who felt that they, like Clancy, had sought help and had been trivialised and demeaned.

The women supporting Clancy have suffered in ways they see as comparable to her suffering. Whether or not they were ever in true danger of doing what Clancy did, what is clear is that many more women than we would like to admit have at some time felt themselves to have utterly exhausted their

ability to keep themselves or their children alive. One reason I have always known I won't have my own children is because of my experience of being a mentally ill person unable to take care of myself; I couldn't imagine the idea of then having to be responsible for another life.

Before too long, the cadence of some supportive posts went from humanely extending care for Clancy to something stranger. Conspiracy theories began to abound, accusing Patrick of being responsible for the killings, by alleged neglect for her condition and alleged lacklustre parenting. Or, despite Clancy's uncontested confession, they even began to suggest that he had committed the killings in physical reality, then framed his mentally ill wife. After all, he had gotten remarried, hadn't he? And, by the way, didn't he already have a new baby?

The theories were fuelled by the apparent possibility of omniscience when it came to the case, an unseemly gloating. One commenter crowed to another that they knew what had really happened because they had listened to every single second of the trial. Lisa Rinna, the

Real Housewives star, went live to deliver her verdict: “Patrick’s the one who did it... Not Lindsay. Patrick did it. Because [I] heard that women, typically, don’t strangle.”

C lancy did, at least once, disclose her suicidal ideation and thoughts of harming her children to her husband. He

accepted it, though, when she quickly disavowed these thoughts, telling him she was fine to take care of them. Of course he would want to disbelieve that she was capable of such horror, and of course she, in those moments not fully consumed by her illness, didn't want that to be true either. In times of acute mental distress – even for privileged and articulate patients like Clancy – there comes a splinter in communication during which the mundane embarrassment of looking another adult in the eye and saying you are helpless is too difficult.

To say aloud that you are suicidal, you are thinking of harming others, you are unable to control yourself, becomes in that moment impossible. After all, it's not true every second of the day, is it? So is it then true at all? The mind recoils. It may seem absurd that an emotion as superficially trivial as embarrassment could hold up against the concrete drama of life and death and florid madness, but we are remarkably well shaped by social shame, even when it costs us our lives. How many people die or derail through tiny moments, missed chances for urgency, like this? A Wired article begins: "For many watching Lindsay Clancy's murder trial, the primary takeaway has been how the deaths of her three small children – Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, eight months – were tragically preventable."

as it often has been during this trial. The killings may indeed have been preventable, but there is also every chance that they were not, in any meaningful sense, preventable. There is every chance that if they had not taken place on that day, they would have taken place on another. That if Clancy had remained in her temporary inpatient clinic, they would still have occurred whenever she left; that any number of medication combinations or abstentions would have led to this same dreadful place.

It unsettles me to see this proposed as a forgone conclusion,

Not because she is a bad person, not because her husband went to brunch while she was alone with the kids, and not because a magic silver bullet mix of drugs that a doctor failed to identify would have fixed everything. But instead because of a terrifying inexplicable illness whose expressions weren't, and couldn't, have been accurately predicted before the fact.

The only way these deaths could have been absolutely avoided would have been to take Clancy into custody against her will indefinitely, and allow her no alone time with her children. While we would all – most of all Clancy herself – prefer that this took place than what eventually did, it is hard to assert with confidence that such drastic measures were warranted by the interactions Clancy had with her doctors.

And of course, horribly, the fear of drastic measures like those are part of why women in Clancy's position are terrified to be completely honest about the extremity of their thoughts; they do not want their children to be taken away from them. Clancy left her inpatient clinic because she had to prepare for her daughter's birthday party.

The jury will now decide on Clancy's culpability. In the future, civil claims against her medical providers accusing them of negligence will be determined. Some supporters are so blinded by agony over what took place, and projection of their personal pain on to the situation, that they cannot accept that a woman they feel for, and respect, could have done what she admits to having done. They can't reconcile the idea of a woman who loves her children with the idea of a woman who kills her children. They are compelled to create false realities that fit a little neater, worlds in which a mother should be good and well constantly, every moment of their lives, to be judged worth saving.

Then there are those whose reaction to that incomprehensible horror is to insist that only an evil woman, rather than a sick one, could have committed it. Their minds can't accept reality either, and must fashion Clancy into a more legible villain. Still others cling to the medical records as proof that someone, somewhere, must be to blame. All three approaches are scrabbling to accommodate the finally intolerable truth, which is that some things, some of the worst things, can never be prevented or explained.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123

The sensemaker

What CIA chief's trip to Moscow says about east-west relations

Donald Trump told a conservative talkshow host last Wednesday that a trip his CIA chief made to Moscow the day before was “semi-routine”.

So what? It was anything but. John Ratcliffe seldom travels abroad. When he does it is usually to convey a message that the US is serious about deterring a potential threat, just in case an adversary has got the wrong impression from the venting of his commander-in-chief, the histrionics of defence secretary Pete Hegseth or the soft-soaping of Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.

This trip, the last leg of which was from Latvia in a C-17 military aircraft, prompted days of speculation and two plausible briefings to reporters. Unnamed US intelligence officials said its purpose was:

to warn Vladimir Putin not to attack Nato, and

to urge him to face the bleak reality of his failed invasion of Ukraine and make peace instead.

Why now? Ratcliffe and his staff are worried that Putin is not being told the truth about the war, which has brought mass military casualties, and inflation and shortages for citizens, and is therefore more likely to respond to setbacks by lashing out. They fear specifically that he might probe Nato's defences to:

- ease his domestic pressure over the stalemate in Ukraine

- punish western allies for supporting Kyiv, and

- exploit a shortage in their stockpiles of weapons as a result of the drawn-out conflict in Iran.

Those weapons. Munitions supplies most at risk include long-range

Vladimir Putin onboard a Russian navy missile cruiser. Gavriil Grigorov/AFP/Getty

precision strike missiles and army tactical missile systems, as well as short-range Stinger surface-to-air missiles and air defences such as Patriot interceptors, officials said. A report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies said the US has used 1,060-1,430 Patriot missiles in the Iran war, leaving as few as 870 in the arsenal.

The trip. The US had informed Ukraine that a senior delegation was flying to Moscow and asked Kyiv to suspend strikes on the city until it had left. Ratcliffe reportedly told his Russian counterparts that the US remains committed to Article 5 of the Nato Treaty, requiring a united response from members if one of them is attacked.

The reaction. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, told reporters that Ratcliffe had met Russian

intelligence officials but not Putin, though the president had been briefed. He dismissed concerns of an attack as “scare stories”, but said that Russia was encountering “a very aggressive policy” from European nations.

Mission accomplished? Trump said after Ratcliffe's return that Putin was "not going to be attacking a Nato territory".

European officials are said to be more concerned of the risk of a Russian attack in a couple of years, perhaps a lightning raid into one of its neighbours in response to manufactured protests, as happened in Crimea. Putin has already been testing European defences with suspected cyber attacks and sabotage of undersea cables.

But JC Lintzenich, a former senior US intelligence officer based at the German Marshall Fund, told the Wall

Street Journal: “Putin... is unlikely to roll the dice on actions that could threaten the Russian state”.

Cruise control. After Britain announced last week that it was supplying technology plans to Ukraine so it can start production of Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles, a spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry said Andy Burnham was “playing with fire”. The prime minister's response was to tell reporters in Kyiv: “Who started the fire?”

Andrei Fedorov, a Kremlin adviser, told the BBC that British factories manufacturing drones for Ukraine could be targeted by “unknown sources”. Factories producing drones and ammunition in Italy, Bulgaria and Estonia have recently been hit by unexplained fires and explosions.

Separately, the head of the Royal Navy has warned of unavoidable “catastrophic events” as a result of Britain’s inability to contain Russia’s undersea capabilities. General Gwyn Jenkins said that Russia’s subsurface military systems posed a “real concern” to protecting underwater infrastructure.

To note. The last known CIA director to visit Moscow was William Burns in November 2021 to urge Putin not to attack Ukraine. Russia invaded three months later. Patrick Kidd

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Memo to Mr Burnham: don’t expect your ministers to clap like performing seals every week Andrew Rawnsley

The PM's can-do talk has landed with the public, but with the Commons returning this week he faces some tough tests

It is often said, almost always in a scornful tone, that Andy Burnham is a people-pleaser. "Well, better than the opposite," retorts one of the prime minister's friends. They have a point. It is no crime for a politician to want to make voters happy. People-displeasers don't prosper in high office in democracies all that long.

The public are sounding a bit jollier about their government since he took the helm. For the first time in nearly 18 months, Labour's typical poll rating has overtaken that of Reform. This doesn't tell us anything particularly useful about what will happen at the next election, but it is a morale-booster for Labour folk. The Opinium poll we publish today suggests his personal ratings have waxed more positive since he moved into Number 10, a rare feat when incumbency is commonly a curse. He's got the highest score for any prime minister since the early days of the Covid pandemic and is ahead of every rival as the public's preferred choice of national leader. This is the clapometer rewarding an energetic curtain-raiser to his premiership, which has featured an optimistic can-do spirit and a summer blitz of applause-seeking policy announcements.

So a positive early period, but also, as his more level-headed allies will acknowledge, a slightly phoney one. The cabinet has met only once, right at the beginning of his premiership, where ministers welcomed him to the role with applause. Memo to Mr Burnham: don't expect your ministers to clap like performing seals every week. Parliament has not been in session and the sabre-toothed tigers of Westminster journalism have been on their August breaks, depressing the levels of scrutiny applied to the government.

All that changes this week with the return of the Commons. Now, things get much more serious. Hopey-changey talk and feelgood vibes will meet crunchy choices and dicey dilemmas. Mr Burnham will make a “state-of-the-nation” statement to MPs on Tuesday, the first time he has performed at the government dispatch box since he was health secretary more than 16 years ago. The following day will be his debut Prime Minister's Questions. This will test his pledge to “do politics differently”. We will see how long that aspiration survives contact with Kemi Badenoch, an aggressive protagonist in the ignoble art of parliamentary mouth-to-mouth combat. Through Tory eyes, Mr Burnham's desire for a “more collaborative politics” is a device to try to make life easier for himself. The prime minister may yearn for “problem-solving, not point-scoring”, but for the leader of the opposition the purpose of PMQs is point-scoring and problem-exploiting.

Mr Burnham's feelgood vibes will meet crunchy choices.

The prime minister must contend with several acute challenges that will reveal his mettle as a decision-maker. From immigration reform to whether to approve more gas and oil production in the North Sea, none of the items in his in-tray can be resolved in a way that will keep everyone happy. First up is a decision on the early release scheme for prisoners. He has delayed its implementation from September to October, but there's no scope for further delays over this incendiary issue, which has demanded a lot of his attention since he moved into Number 10. Grant early release to offenders who particularly disgust the public – such as members of grooming gangs or two of the killers of PC Andrew Harper. who died after being dragged behind a getaway car – and the prime minister will trigger an avalanche of outrage. Fail to free enough space in jails and he'll have prison governors warning that the estate, where occupancy is already at about 98% of capacity, is on the cusp of collapse. This decision is a reminder of John Galbraith's maxim that politics is often the art of “choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable”.

Another challenge is posed by the water utilities, widely despised for creating the effluent society. "What he does about water will be a test of whether he is truly going to be radical," says one long-standing supporter. It would be a crowd-pleaser to take the water companies back into public ownership, with more than eight in 10 voters backing renationalisation. It would also be consistent with everything Mr Burnham has said about stronger state control over the "essentials of life" to ensure they are run "for the public interest, not for the private interests". It ought to be nirvana for a politician when something they fervently believe is also wildly popular. Here's the rub. Officials are cautioning that putting Thames Water into a special administration regime will cost the taxpayer £2bn, while the bill for taking permanent control of just this one water company could be 10 times as high. That wouldn't be a people-pleaser for a chancellor already struggling to make his sums add up.

The prime minister says he wants the budget, scheduled for the end of October, to focus on alleviating the cost of living. One risk here is of over-inflating expectations. The cut to VAT on household electricity bills, announced as part of the package of summer lollipops, has been more than wiped out by the increase to the energy price cap.

Another indicator of the strain on the public finances is John Healey swerving the £10bn question of how and when the government will hit its 3% of GDP target for defence spending, one of the issues he cited when he resigned as defence secretary. Though he's ducking that one, the chancellor still needs to find money to bridge the gap in defence equipment funding. How will he do this while also raising the funds to fulfil the many transformative ambitions articulated by the prime minister, from tackling youth unemployment to fixing social care? If the chancellor is candid with the prime minister, he will tell his nextdoor neighbour that he won't be able to do everything he has been promising unless he is prepared to contemplate stiff increases to tax.

It isn't a sin for a politician to want to be liked, but nor is it enough to be successful at leadership. That demands the ability to grapple with tough trade-offs and explain to the public why unpleasant decisions are necessary. Sir Tony Blair got it right in remarks he made at his institute's summer party. "You may think you're going to be loved, but you're not going to be," the triple election-winner told the gathering on the Thames riverside. "Just try to be respected." That's a wise warning about the perils of people-pleasing.

Society functions by accepting citizens are equal. Reform wants a two-tier system Kenan Malik

S hould British citizens born in this country be privileged over those born abroad? Reform UK's latest housing policy includes a pledge

An immigrant family at an east London housing estate. Nearly $82\%$ of lead tenants in the capital's social housing are British nationals. Gideon Mendel/Corbis, Getty Images

to prioritise workers born in Britain when allocating social housing. At the heart of this policy lie two important questions. How should we allocate scarce resources? And what does citizenship mean?

There are two ways in which policymakers can think about an essential resource for which demand is greater than supply. One is to reduce scarcity, the other is to ration it. When it comes to affordable housing, politicians have, for half a century, talked about the first but pursued the second.

Rationing requires policymakers to decide how best to allocate the resource. The obvious metric is need. But defining who is most needy is not straightforward. Nor is it necessarily popular. Many who are needy can face social stigma – the unemployed, single parents, asylum seekers. And they do so not least because politicians often set one group against another, blaming one for the other's deprivation.

In recent years, politicians and commentators have generated moral fury about immigrants taking over social housing. Reform leader Nigel Farage, in an essay entitled “Britain is a two tier state – against white people", claimed that successive governments had sought to "redistribute the nation's stock of social housing away from the White British populations". A Reform government, he wrote,

would evict, and possibly deport, foreign nationals living in social housing. Reform's Zia Yusuf told BBC Newsnight that “the majority of social housing in London goes to foreign nationals”, while the Tories' Chris Philp claimed that “48% of London’s social housing is occupied by people who are foreign”.

These claims are false: 78% of social housing tenancies are held by white households, while 89% of all new lettings in 2024-25 were to British citizens, and 77% to white people. In London, 81.6% of lead tenants in social housing are British nationals.

Nevertheless, the insistence that foreigners are excluding Britons from social housing has become embedded in the national conversation. And a conversation about housing has transformed into one about immigration, with foreigners – and, now, British citizens born abroad – fingered as responsible for scarcity.

A different approach is to directly address the issue by making a scarce resource less scarce. The lack of social housing is the result of deliberate policy. In the 1950s councils built almost 200,000 new homes a year. In 2025-26 they built just 2,850 – and sold off six times as many. Policies introduced by Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, and reinforced by subsequent governments, including the right to buy council housing, restrictions on local authority borrowing and the slashing of government funding, ensured that council house building dropped off a cliff, leaving more than 4 million people today needing an affordable home.

Any serious social house building programme requires considerable

state input. The Centre for Cities estimates that to match the rates achieved between 1956 and 1979, the government's Affordable Homes Programme must provide £16.6bn every year. Currently, the AHP promises £39bn over 10 years, the first tranche of which was released this week. The revelation that only 60% of an initial £10bn spend will be allocated to social housing led to criticism that Andy Burnham had backtracked on his pledge for it all to “be dedicated to council homes”. Reform’s pledge to build 50,000

Defining who is most needy is not straightforward. Nor is it necessarily popular

affordable homes a year is like promising to build the front porch but not the rest of the house.

Funding the necessary level of housebuilding requires governments to make difficult calls about tax rises and increased borrowing. Which is why many politicians find it easier simply to blame foreigners.

What kind of a society is it, though, that is unable to provide its citizens with the most basic of needs, such as housing, and has deliberately chosen not to do so over the past half century? And what kind of a society scapegoats marginalised groups to camouflage that failure?

The second issue Reform's policy raises is what it is to be a citizen. A fundamental principle of liberal citizenship is the acceptance of all citizens as formally equal. To create two tiers of citizens based on

A search for meaning in a world without my husband

Widow time is a life sentence for the partners left behind. Melanie Reid is looking for ways to fill it

Three years ago, a study revealed the answer to a long-standing puzzle: why do bereaved women

experience such a dramatic decrease in mental health and life satisfaction after the loss of their partner, with slow partial recovery over a five-year period? Researchers pinned down for the first time what previous datasets never could: the key factor behind widows' reduced wellbeing is increased time spent alone.

By analysing time-diaries kept by widows in several European countries and the US, Home Alone:

Widows' Well-Being and Time showed that a critical factor was the hours they had been with their husbands were now spent without company.

Acknowledging that loneliness and being alone are not the same, the researchers found widowhood correlates strongly with both. Almost 70% of married older women in the UK spend the biggest part of their day with their partners. Widows, however, are on their own up to 60% more.

Compared with married women, widows do less cooking and housekeeping and spend more hours sleeping, on personal activities and on TV and leisure. After an initial increase in time spent with other people, widows spend little more time in outside company than before.

widows still reported tears in the previous month, compared with 35% of married women.

They also do more crying: two years after the death, about 60% of where one was born, and to treat Britons unequally on that basis, is to eviscerate this conception of citizenship.

The results beg a serious question: what are we to do with the concept of widow time for better wellbeing? Widowhood awaits most married women surviving past 70 in wealthy countries – a number that's grown rapidly over the last decade. England and Wales have more than 2 million of us, outnumbering widowers by three to one.

If that sounds implausible, think of how implausible it would have seemed 20 years ago, even to conservatives, that Britain should embark on a policy of mass deportations, including of those legally settled here, or that British citizens should be treated unequally depending on their place of birth.

Poignantly, one of the oft-asked questions on Google's Gemini is "what are good things for widows to do?". (Anodyne answers: join a support group, practise gentle self-care, start a low-pressure hobby,

I'm beset with restlessness, the need for a purpose to fill the void

organise daily routines, talk about your husband to trusted friends.)

None of that appeals to me. I'm beset with restlessness, the need for a purpose to fill the void. I want to do something but I don't know what. As my husband's main carer I had no down time. Now I can easily stare out of the window for an hour.

What hurts is that the default of familiar company and conversation, albeit increasingly maimed by dementia, has been replaced by emptiness and lack of stimulation. It is as if years of camaraderie, laughter, shared memories and a million wicked, amused glances have been sucked out of the air.

A spouse is a live-in fellow critic. Films, TV, sunsets, journeys, events, parties – they're hollow when you have no one to share the question: "What did you think?" Those discussions are life itself.

It is an inherently dangerous step. Beyond social housing may come the argument that British citizens born abroad should be denied certain benefits or should pay for the use of the NHS, just like foreign nationals. Some commentators already argue that citizenship has been handed out too liberally, to the wrong kinds of people, and that in many cases it may have to be revoked. Such claims feed off the growing debate on the right over ethnic visions of Britishness and attempts to whip up anxiety about the white decline.

Last year, Tory MP Katie Lam claimed that too many people “who came here legally... shouldn’t have been able to do so” and “need to go home” to help create a more “culturally coherent” nation. Lam was not talking about British citizens, and she was mildly rebuked by Kemi Badenoch, but, given the direction of political winds, it is not too difficult to imagine the leap from “deport legal migrants who should not have been given legal status” to “strip citizenship from those who should not have been granted it”.

Continuing to write is good diversion therapy and, more importantly, I don't think anyone should ever stop working – if you do, you let the old woman in. But I crave a new goal. Book clubs would irritate. Cruises would be lonelier than home. An Open University science module would terrify (therefore a reason to try).

Lately I've taken to skimming lists of part-time masters degrees, fantasising about deep dives into food security, modern history or archaeology, though I doubt I'd endure the hopeless verbosity of academese again.

An MSc in human-animal interaction? There's a thought – an acerbic dissertation on those who call their pets "fur babies". The good and bad thing about widow time, I guess, is that nobody cares what you do.

My capitalist heroes – Dolly and Keynes Will Hutton

ne of the baleful consequences of the capture of our national narrative by the right is the recalibration of

what are considered public virtues. Welfare is now coterminous with cheating; punishment trumps rehabilitation; taxation is always a burden; immigration is toxic; public spending is wasteful; climate action is purposeless because one country alone achieves nothing. So it goes on.

Generosity, big-heartedness, empathy, openness, doing the right thing, reciprocity, acting together and respecting our humanity are values to be pursued only privately, if at all. To regard them as virtues to be publicly expressed and striven for is to invite ridicule. Reach out generously to the disadvantaged? Suggest that economic stasis might have roots in private sector dysfunction as much as poor public policy? Act collectively to deliver a public good? Express optimism about the future? Support European integration? You are rowing madly against the powerful currents from the right.

Yet the extraordinary reaction to the death of Dolly Parton last week suggests a near-universal yearning for that narrative to be dialled down if not binned. Of course Parton was an amazing singer-songwriter with a rags-to-riches backstory – but that wasn't the trigger for such an outpouring of grief, admiration and love. The prompt was the raw humanity of songs that spoke to everyone, and the generosity with which she gave herself to the world.

It was this side of Dolly that took her into another league. The Dolly who made sure her roadies and musicians got paid union rates. The Dolly who set up the Imagination Library to promote children's reading. The Dolly who campaigned for LGBTQ+ rights and vaccination during the Covid pandemic. She may have steered clear of overt politics, but it doesn't take a genius to recognise who the woman, brought up in a shack, thought was on her side and who not – even as she hard-headedly managed her career, rivalling any single-minded capitalist. Yet her humanity, tolerance and above all generosity shone through.

They are virtues in short supply in 2026. The longer I continue to write and broadcast on matters economic, the more important I consider the dominant value set as framing not only what are considered as feasible economic policy options but the performance of the economy itself – and the societal vitality that accompanies it. Yes, I admire the great economist John Maynard Keynes for his compelling analysis of why capitalist economies are inherently unstable, with an inbuilt tendency to degrade into monopoly and crippling inequalities. But above all, I am drawn to the generous spirit in which he thought and wrote. He didn't want to abolish or socialise capitalism but rather use public authority and initiative to harness its creativity to produce outcomes for the common good. He would have understood what drove Parton – marrying a commitment to personal self-betterment with promoting the same for others.

Like her, he recognised our frailties. Human beings overexaggerate both imagined optimistic and pessimistic futures in animal terms – alternating between enthusiasm and despair. Unless there are some embedded counterweights and enlightened public interventions, capitalism goes off the rails. But to create those counterweights and support for public action requires the wider supportive value system that underpinned both the national and the international Keynesian settlements after the Second World War. And it is why neoliberalism has been so focused over the past 40 years on trying to expunge them from our public language.

Yet a survey of 36,000 people in 34 countries conducted for Gordon Brown's forthcoming book The

Future Starts with Us demonstrates the stubborn underlying resistance to neoliberalism's efforts. In the survey, 80% of respondents said they want governments to promote peace, stability and comprehensive action to promote human dignity; 70% supported similar public action to uphold human rights and the rule of law, and to take action on climate change. And, importantly, 55% would support international collaboration to achieve these goals even if it meant some compromise of their country's national interest. These were the values that underpinned the postwar settlements, and the 30

Reactions to her death suggest yearning for an end to the rightwing narrative

years of sustained prosperity that followed. As Brown argues, they could now underpin parallel action today, spearheaded by the “middle powers” of Europe and Asia.

This is important not only as a counterweight to the US and China, but to anchor an emergent complex multipolar world and so offer not just a better prospect of peace but the sort of stable international order that is the handmaiden of economic growth. Nor is it a pipe dream. By the time you read this,

hitherto EU-phobic Iceland might have voted to start talks about joining the EU. The Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, will attend the State of the European Union event in September and address the EU parliament: the French foreign minister and Finnish president have both canvassed Canada joining the EU, while within Canada there is a near two-to-one majority in favour of it. That may be extremely unlikely – but closer integration is certain. Tectonic plates are moving.

This emergent order is one behind which Andy Burnham's government must throw its weight – speaking up for Canada's right to nationhood, the EU as a collective force for good, and Brexit, the error of the ages, steadily to be reversed. It is not merely that it makes geopolitical and economic sense – it is the best means available to reassert generosity and the importance of collective action as vital public virtues. Dealings between nations should be based on reciprocity, mutual respect and the rule of law rather than Trumpian might is right. There is an interdependence between public and private. Entrench these values internationally and then import them at home. Keynes would have applauded. And who knows? Dolly Parton might have conjured up a song.

Letters

ECT is not perfect, but it does help treat severe mental illness

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is indeed the most controversial treatment in current psychiatry practice, and the media has an important role to play in ensuring accuracy in the way it is viewed. Your piece (“A war of anecdotes: the problem with ECT”, News, last week) includes three detailed accounts from people who are opposed to ECT but only two lines from someone who benefited from it.

Memory problems after ECT are common – clinicians discuss them with patients, and they are described in patient information sheets. However, the difficulties described by one of the people in the article are very rare. In 25 years of treating more than 450 patients, I have never seen anyone unable to count or read, or forgetting their children's names due to ECT. I have, however, seen people who could not recall their children's names or dates of birth before receiving ECT because of severe mental illness, only to regain this faculty upon recovery.

Stories like this will frighten people away from ECT. In the UK, two thirds of people who receive ECT are rated as “much improved” or “very much improved” according to nationwide data. Many patients reach a complete restoration of functioning, an astonishing result when we consider that it is normally used as a treatment of last resort for the most severely ill patients.

The article contains some commonly repeated anti-ECT arguments, which I will address briefly.

“Placebo-controlled trials have not been performed for over 40 years.” The fact is that after ECT’s effectiveness was established many decades ago, researchers started performing many other types of trials. It has been shown to be more effective than antidepressants and any other brain stimulation treatment. High-dose ECT is more effective than low-dose; right unilateral ECT is less effective than bilateral (unless given at higher electric charge); shorter pulses are less effective than standard pulses. All this data points to its effectiveness.

“Women are consistently overrepresented among ECT recipients,” implying that their distress is misinterpreted. The fact is that women suffer with depression almost twice as commonly as men (in any part of the world), and the 2:1 ratio for ECT patients is the same in other European countries where depression is the most common indication for treatment.

“Postcode prescribing.” The data is based on an incomplete survey of trusts in England, without correction for catchment area size, and the author noted that there was no use in three trusts. There is data on ECT usage in the 71 clinics in England, and the three trusts mentioned delivered it to 14, 23 and 24 patients respectively during 2024. Every patient in England can be referred for ECT. There are indeed differences in the rates on ECT per capita in different regions. The reasons are different levels of resourcing provided by trusts (number of clinics per week, number of staff).

The root of this problem is the stigma attached to ECT, perpetrated by negative stories. The anti-ECT lobby makes passionate appeals against the use of ECT, which are amplified in the media. They are damaging and difficult for patients (and their families) who know they have been helped by treatment, and for clinicians who know that the evidence base for treatment is strong.

Prof George Kirov

University of Edinburgh

'It is neither a wonder treatment nor barbaric'

I am a consultant psychiatrist who has had multiple courses of ECT for bipolar disorder and treatment-resistant depression. ECT has been effective for me, but has also caused long-term impairment to my autobiographical memory. This may well be better than the alternative – bipolar disorder has a high mortality – but has been very difficult.

ECT arouses strong feelings, both among those in favour and those against it, but, like many treatments, it has pros and cons. In Scotland, where I live, quality improvement standards for ECT are set by the Scottish ECT Accreditation Network (SEAN), currently coordinated by Public Health Scotland. Elsewhere in the UK, a similar role of maintaining standards is led by the Royal College of Psychiatrists' ECT Accreditation Service (ECTAS).

Postcode prescribing is due to a lack of resources. This causes many problems for those with mental illness, but mainly long waits or general lack of all types of therapy – psychological, pharmacological and ECT.

There will always be people who decry ECT, and those who will say it saved their lives. There are others, like me, who found it difficult to go through, yet appreciate that it may well have helped, and are grateful to the clinicians who cared for them. The longer-term effects of memory problems should be more clearly acknowledged, however, and better supported post-treatment. It is neither a wonder treatment nor barbaric, but it is a treatment for severe mental illness. Dr Rebecca Lawrence Author of An Improbable Psychiatrist Edinburgh

Marking GCSE essays fairly is very difficult

It is bad that GCSE English grades appear to be something of a lottery (“39,000 pupils may have to resit GCSE English due to ‘unfair exams system”, News, last week). The article suggests that senior markers would, on average, have awarded 39,000 students a higher grade, giving them a better chance of getting on in the world. What it doesn’t say is that, on average, 39,000 other students would have received a lower grade. In other words, some students have benefited from the variability in marking. You could say these students are getting on in the world when they shouldn’t be.

Clearly the marking of essay-type questions is very subjective, which means that the exam is not particularly useful for discriminating between students' abilities, whoever marks it. The problem is not the markers. The solution is to make the exam less subjective, for example by not asking essay-type questions. Prof David Stevenson University of Edinburgh

A tax to save the world

You are right that the UK needs to invest in renewable energy, electrification and energy storage, in order to cut energy costs, improve energy security and combat climate change (“The Observer view: Positive energy”, News, last week).

However, we emit only a small part of global greenhouse gas emissions, so cutting our own output can never be enough if we are to prevent climate catastrophe.

We must also look at other strategies. We should approach the other major economies and try to agree on an international financial transactions tax, in order to research and invest in technological solutions such as carbon capture and solar radiation management, and to pay poorer countries to protect their forests. Richard Mountford Hildenborough, Kent

Keep the BBC public

Pluralism of audience and diversity of offering are fundamental to public service broadcasting (“The BBC v the algorithm”, New Review, last week). The European Broadcasting Union has documented the sustained attack on PSB and its very existence.

The Silicon Valley giants and the streamers are fierce lobbyists against regulation, and the jury is out on whether Matt Brittin's appointment as director general means the fox is now in the henhouse, but there has been a long-term failure by BBC management to defend its budget against government plunder and to resist editorial interference.

Furthermore, the Media Act 2024 opens up public service provision to contenders without adequate

definitions or the resources for Ofcom to enforce compliance.

The flight of 16- to 24-year-olds to YouTube is regularly cited to justify the irrelevance of a whole institution. Yes, they are important, but they are less than 10% of the audience – and they grow up.

What remains our cultural right is a BBC that is accountable to its users, independent of government, and under a permanent charter that guarantees its future. Holly Aylett, Director, UK Coalition for Cultural Diversity London N4

Mind the shuttlecocks

Neil Squires (“I wouldn’t swap places with Emma Raducanu”, Sport, 16 August) says: “Badminton with its back-garden, shuttlecock-over-the-washing-line image ... does not command much airtime or column inches.” But I remember in the early 1980s The Observer gave quite a bit of column space to the sport and to players like Gillian Gilks, who was an unassuming star in her own right. Mike Daly

Ushaw Moor, Durham

Welcome to anywhere

James Naughton hit the nail on the head (“We already live in ‘clone towns’ – AI makes it worse”, New Review, last week) but perhaps sameness is to be expected. I first became aware of the creeping uniformity of American towns in the 1980s, after years of disastrous urban renewal and the arrival of big-box stores. Marlys de Alba

Promise to the dead

Maisie Cowell

Ah, Imber (“The lost village”, New Review, last week)! In 1967 my husband became vicar of a group of villages about nine miles from Imber. We inherited a gardener and he told us he and his wife had lived at Imber until they had been evicted in the war. It had saved him a long, cold bicycle ride to work but his wife was less forgiving. Her consolation was that the army promised to stop all activity in the village on the day of her funeral (and that of everyone who had lived in Imber). Glena Chadwick

Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire

A WORLD WITHOUT DOLLY

For the record

- In The week in brief (News, 23 August, page 4), we stated that two police officers killed on the A66 near Middlesbrough were in pursuit of a suspicious vehicle. While there was an aborted police pursuit of a Volkswagen Passat, the officers were not directly involved. - A piece on electroconvulsive therapy (23 August, pages 14-15), referred to a British Psychological Society audit published in 2021. In fact the audit was done by independent researchers and published in a British Psychological Society journal.

Observers needed

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Obituary

Yayoi Kusama

Japanese artist who found success in later life with immersive work reflecting her mental health struggles

Yayoi Kusama in front of one of her paintings in 2012. Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

A rt lovers don't get long to contemplate eternity in a Yayoi Kusama installation. Such was the demand to see the Japanese

artist's work when it came to Tate Modern in 2021, the gallery limited each visit to one of her Infinity Mirror Rooms to just two minutes.

That was generous. When the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington DC showed some of these installations, in which mirrored walls reflect an array of lights, polka dots and colourful pumpkins that stretch on for ever, visitors queued for two hours and got 30 seconds. Just long enough to nip in and take a photograph for Instagram.

For an artist in her 90s, Kusama seemed made for the social media age. Not only did her surreal, cartoonish creations appeal to those who like to snap and share, but her frank honesty that her art was fuelled by – and a remedy for – severe depression resonates in a time when mental health concerns are no longer taboo.

“She feels very contemporary,” the art critic Will Gompertz said. “At the time when she created a lot of her art, she was dealing with an inner trauma, addressing, exploring and coping with it, and must have come across as an oddball. As the decades passed and the queues got longer, what she did seemed relevant to culture now. She is also, for all her traumas, constantly optimistic.”

Kusama created interactive spaces. For her Obliteration Room, also seen at the Tate, visitors were given a sheet of stickers as they entered an all-white room and told to cover it with colour. "You enter Kusama World and become part of the art," Gompertz said.

She spent the second half of her life in a mental hospital in Tokyo, which she had checked in to having fled New York in despair. The hospital specialised in art therapy and each day she went to her studio to create new pieces. Her reputation was refreshed at the Venice Biennale in 1993 and exploded after the millennium. Old works created for her Infinity Nets series of vast monochrome paintings sold for millions. No 2, which she had sold in 1962 for \$75, fetched \$5.1m at Christie's in 2008, then a record for a living female artist.

Six years later, the auction house sold White No 28, from the same series of swoops and curls that form a lattice across the canvas, for \$7.1m. In 2023, her work fetched a combined sum of \$80.9m at auction, surpassing David Hockney. It included \$8.3m for A Flower, a violet dahlia on an orange background painted in 2014. The fashion brand Louis Vuitton collaborated with her on a range of goods, marketing them with huge sculptures of her in signature red bob wig outside their stores.

Her career had its controversies. Her 2002 autobiography, Infinity Net, and some of her earlier written works featured descriptions of Black people that she would later apologise for.

She was born in Matsumoto, Japan, the youngest of four children in an arranged and unhappy marriage. Her father was a serial adulterer and Kusama's mother would send her to spy on his affairs. This gave her a dislike of men that was later manifested in a range of installations filled with hundreds of flaccid cloth phalluses.

She began to have hallucinations from the age of 10 that inspired her art, later writing of how the floral pattern on a tablecloth had spread to swamp the room, how pumpkins

'She continued to paint until her final days, never setting aside her brush'

on a farm had spoken to her, and how her Infinity Nets were inspired by seeing millions of white pebbles in the stream behind her home, each one individual yet connected.

Having trained in the traditional Japanese painting style of nihonga, she was drawn to abstract impressionism and wrote to the American artist Georgia O'Keeffe for inspiration. With O'Keeffe's encouragement, she moved to the US in 1957; following a solo exhibition in Seattle, she settled in New York and become involved in the pop-art scene. As well as installations, she organised events called Happenings in which she would daub naked volunteers with bright polka dots in public locations.

She worked ferociously, exhausting herself in 40-hour sessions without a break, but felt she lacked recognition. Claes Oldenburg and Andy Warhol were accused of copying her work and when Lucas Samaras exhibited a mirrored installation a few months after her first Infinity Room was created in 1965, she threw herself from the window of her apartment. Her fall was broken by a bicycle. The next year, Kusama displayed her Narcissus Garden, a “kinetic carpet” of 1,500 mirrored balls, outside the Italian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale but fell foul of the organisers for hawking them.

She had a close but platonic relationship with the assemblage artist Joseph Cornell – “I disliked sex and he was impotent, so we suited each other very well,” she said – but when he died in 1972 her health suffered another relapse. After further suicide attempts, she returned to Japan, where she was rejected by her family and critics for her scandalous behaviour in America. In 1977, she checked herself in to Seiwa Hospital for the Mentally Ill, which saved her.

From there, she worked unstintingly at her art, latterly with a team of assistants. "She continued to paint until her final days," a statement from her company said, "never setting aside her brush, and continued exploration of forever love and eternal soul." As she finally found fame, painting relieved her turmoil. "If it were not for art, I would have killed myself a long time ago," she said. Patrick Kidd

Yayoi Kusama, artist, was born on 22 March 1929 and died on 14 August 2026, aged 97

My week

Indian saw-scaled viper

'm one of the deadliest snakes in the world, but don't blame me. Blame the humans. Us lot hill about 5,000 tons, however

I kill about 5,000 two-leggers every year, and no other snake can match that. But it's not my fault, is it? I'd be happy if I never saw another human for as long as I live.

Monday

I spend my life trying to keep out of the way of humans but there are just so many of them here in India. They're everywhere. I'd prefer to keep my venom for the lizards and the frogs, but I'm always ready to bite any blundering human. It only takes a few drops to disrupt the blood-clotting system, cause haemorrhage and provoke kidney failure – and I have plenty to spare.

Tuesday

I'm 2ft long and inconspicuous, and I have no wish be trodden on or otherwise disturbed. So I give fair warning – and you'd be well advised to heed it. It happened today: a human stumbling round far too close, so I went into the routine. I formed an ever-shifting S-shape and rubbed my sharp-edged scales together. Ever spilled water on a hotplate? It sounds just like that and it means bugger off.

Wednesday

I mean that in the nicest possible way, of course. This snake is very dangerous: when you attack it, it has the cheek to defend itself. But I suppose I should add that I have a fairly wide-ranging view of what constitutes attack. I don't have a bad temper, as humans so often say: I have a highly developed concept of personal space.

Thursday

Sometimes I get sick of talking about venom. Is that the only interesting thing about me? Look at the way I travel across loose ground, faster than most humans can run, in a way that looks like magic. It's called sidewinding: just two tiny bits of me in contact with the ground at any one moment. It's a kind of continuous leap that leaves behind a series of J-shaped tracks. Forget the venom and savour the miracle.

I'd prefer to keep my venom for the frogs, but I'm ready to bite any blundering human

Friday

I love the half-light and the pitch-black. I slept away the day as usual in my borrowed burrow and emerged into the twilight: hungry for a change, for serpentine appetites are slow. A scorpion filled the gap. Not my favourite, but good enough to keep me going. It amuses me, the way scorpions think themselves as fierce – until they meet a greater power. But that's true enough for us all, I thought, as I sidewound homewards under the first faint light in the sky.

Saturday

I looked back on that moment of danger earlier in the week: all my body in motion to create the ssss-shaped sizzle, all except my head and neck, poised should my warning go unheeded. Call it the coiled- spring posture. I can strike so fast – well, want to see it again? A startled cry, running feet, and I was sinking back into the darkness in case he returned with a weapon. One thing's for sure: this world ain't big enough for the both of us.

Indian saw-scaled viper CV

Lifespan A dozen years Eating habits Frogs, lizards, scorpions, centipedes Hobbies Sidewinding Sexual preferences Venomous ladies

As told to Simon Barnes

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Business Economics, work and money

Nvidia's results have intensified scrutiny of its increasingly bold and novel financial activities $\rightarrow$ Matthew Bishop, page 37

Kevin Warsh, centre, braves the Wyoming rain with Andrew Bailey, right, governor of the Bank of England and Tiff Macklem, governor of the Bank of Canada, on Friday. Natalie Behring/Getty

Fed chair calms investors' nerves at Jackson Hole

Kevin Warsh vows to bring down inflation in his first major speech at the annual gathering of the world's central bankers, Ben Zaranko reports

The gathering of the world's most powerful central bankers at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is one of the biggest dates in the financial calendar. In a windowless room without views of the dramatic peaks of Grand Teton national park, Kevin Warsh, the new chair of the Federal Reserve, sought to soothe investor nerves in a high-stakes speech: his first since taking the helm. For many listening, his remarks were a breath of fresh mountain air.

The speech was subject to even more scrutiny than usual. In part that was due to his bumpy first 100 days in post, with investors complaining that his minimalist communication style leaves them guessing. But his speech also followed a tumultuous fortnight in which US borrowing costs surged to multi-decade highs and the two powerhouses of US economic policy seemed to be pulling in different directions.

US inflation has been above the 2% target for 65 consecutive months, but Warsh assured his audience of his commitment to bringing it down. He said prices should be the Federal Reserve’s “predominant focus”, recommitted to the existing 2% target, and said that he and his colleagues would have “work to do” if inflation didn’t start falling soon.

Investors had been clamouring for the Fed chair to explain his thinking and his reading of the latest economic data, and Warsh obliged. Notably, he said he would be “hard pressed” to describe current financial conditions as economically restrictive, and that underlying inflation trends haven’t improved fast enough. Market expectations of an interest rate hike when the rate-setting committee next gathers in a couple of weeks immediately jumped.

Warsh refused to be drawn into any sort of commitment to action, reiterating his antipathy towards “forward guidance” – which central banks use to signal in advance what they plan to do with interest rates – and stressing the value of having the freedom to change course.

The speech also contained what appeared to be a subtle rebuke to

Treasury secretary Scott Bessent. Warsh spoke of the value of market prices in providing information about the world, saying “the Fed needs clear market signals, as unfiltered as possible”. He is well known to take a dim view of governments interfering in financial markets, and has remarked previously that rising bond yields can be helpful, in that they tighten financial conditions without any need for the Federal Reserve to change policy.

Bessent told financial markets last week that rising long-term bond yields “don’t reflect the underlying fundamentals” (in effect telling the market it’s wrong), and has staged several interventions aimed at bringing those yields down. That included action to prop up the Japanese yen, and a surprise announcement of plans to step up “buybacks” of long-term Treasury bonds.

'He's provided more clarity, but without committing. It's helped to boost his credibility' Michael Pearce, Oxford Economics

At the start of the week, Stanley Druckenmiller, feted fund manager and a former mentor to both Warsh and Bessent, criticised the Treasury secretary for his recent forays in the bond market. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, he warned that “governments defending prices against fundamentals always lose. The only variable is how much they spend before conceding.”

So far, Bessent has been recalcitrant, leaving a notable disconnect between the top two US economic policymakers. One is talking up the value of freely determined bond market prices; the other is trying to apply his “big toolkit” to change them. One is hinting that financial conditions might need to become more restrictive to tame inflation; the other is deliberately trying to ease them in time for the midterms.

Dissonance within the US economic policymaking establishment aside, Warsh's speech was well received. "He's provided more clarity, but without firmly committing. I think it's helped to boost his credibility," said Michael Pearce, chief US economist at Oxford Economics. His performance was "pretty flawless", according to Thomas Ryan, senior North America economist at Capital Economics, who said Warsh's "hawkish tone claws back any credibility [he] may have lost from his wishy-washy July press conference".

Warsh has quietened his critics, at least for now. Come September's meeting, the focus will be on his actions as well as his words.

John Healey stalls on 3% of GDP for defence spending

Ben Zaranko

John Healey stressed his commitment to “fiscal discipline” as he prepared to fly to North Carolina for his first meetings with G20 finance ministers as chancellor today.

Healey will present his first budget on 28 October. It was reported last week that it will not set out a path to spending 3% of GDP on defence, even though Healey resigned from Keir Starmer's government over the issue. In his resignation letter, Healey told Starmer he was “certain that a headmark date for 3% of GDP on defence in 2030 is what Britain must set”. Raising spending to 3% of GDP in 2030 would cost about £10bn a year.

The budget is instead expected to focus on funding June's defence investment plan, which included about £1.2bn a year of unfunded spending promises. A timeline for the 3% commitment could come in next year's spending review, when plans for all departments will be set for the remainder of the parliament. The chancellor is expected to discuss defence financing with his G20 counterparts, and has previously been a proponent of multilateral funding mechanisms, such as the Canada-led Defence, Security and Resilience Bank.

Healey's stalling on defence comes as fiscal storm clouds gather over the UK. The economy has performed better than expected over the first half of the year, clocking up the fastest growth in the G7, but the fallout from the war in Iran, higher energy prices and rising borrowing costs are expected to worsen the public finance forecasts. Rachel Reeves bequeathed her successor a £24bn margin against the fiscal rules, a figure that could plausibly have halved.

Spending cuts or tax rises are likely to be required to restore the fiscal buffer to its previous level. Robert Wood and Elliott Jordan-Doak, economists at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said they think Healey will be forced into another tax-and-spend budget, with at least £15bn of tax rises needed to cover higher interest costs and cost-of-living spending. Funding additional spending on defence, social care or council homebuilding could require further revenue-raising measures, but the signs are that such decisions will be delayed until next year.

The minutes

Deals & earnings

Nvidia boss declares AI ‘golden age’

The AI industry has entered its “golden age”, according to Nvidia chief Jensen Huang, as the chipmaker announced that its quarterly revenue had doubled over the last year to nearly \$100bn. Revenue guidance for the current quarter came in slightly ahead of analyst predictions (\$108bn versus \$105bn), and company management said they expect revenue to grow by a further 70% in 2027. “Companies this big are not supposed to grow like this,” said Kate Leaman, chief market analyst at AvaTrade. Huang described Nvidia’s success as a blueprint for the rest of the sector. “AI has reached its inflection point,” he said. “Now, compute is revenue.” Investors appear to share his optimism: Nvidia stock price increased by more than 4% after the earnings call.

RedBird swoops to snap up Puck

Puck is on the verge of being snapped up by investment firm RedBird Capital Partners in a deal that values the digital media company at around \$250m (£184m). “Puck is in advanced discussions about a strategic recapitalisation to accelerate growth that would make RedBird our leading investor,” a Puck spokesperson said in a statement. Puck was founded by ex-New York Times journalists in 2021 with the aim of turning well-informed journalists into influencer brands. Its tone is deliberately clubby, covering Washington, Wall Street, Hollywood, Silicon Valley, media, fashion and art. It has attracted 50,000 subscribers and recently snapped up AirMail, former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter’s newsletter, adding a further 50,000. The company will look to acquire small to medium-size media properties, including other newsletters, according to people close to the deal.

The Observer business matrix

Unimportant

Governance

London robotaxi race hits bump in the road

The 100,000-plus Londoners reportedly on the waiting list for a ride with Wayve and Uber robotaxis will have to wait their turn. Trips had been anticipated to begin this summer, with a full public rollout next spring. But, lack of guideline from Transport for London is now expected to delay the start, despite the UK transport secretary's eagerness to accelerate the timeline, and Uber and Wayve already having been granted minicab licences for their self-driving services. TfL said it would not be ready to approve transport authority applications "for some time". Delays aside, Uber and Wayve will be eager to beat competitors Waymo – owned by Google – and Apollo Go, which is

Cooling equipment sales through the roof

Wayve and Uber will have to wait 'some time' for Transport for London to turn their test drive permissions into full approval. Tim Arnold

The coming week...

● Company earnings A quiet week for UK corporates; things pick up next month.

and storage critical to the rollout of artificial intelligence. Critics have raised concerns about the energy and water usage associated with data centres, but the government has classified them as critical national infrastructure, and stressed the importance of building capacity on UK soil. According to the ONS, 35% of UK businesses report that they are making use of AI, including 58% of businesses in the information and communications sector.

● Economic data/reports Tuesday: UK manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI). Wednesday: UK services PMI. Friday: Bank of England decision maker panel; US payrolls data

also racing to launch robotaxis in the capital. For now, autonomous cars on the streets are only conducting test drives, and have not been approved by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.

Hot commodity

UK data centres drive investment boom

UK business investment in digital infrastructure – including data centres – is booming, according to new estimates from the Office for National Statistics. Investment rose to £11.2bn in 2025, almost double the £5.8bn recorded a decade earlier. The statistics office recently revised its methodology to better capture spending on data centres, which provide the computing capacity

Air conditioning suppliers have been clear winners from rising UK temperatures, according to new analysis of Barclays bank account data. In the second quarter of this year, air conditioning businesses saw their cash inflows increase by 4.3% relative to the year before. Given that the heatwaves only intensified after that, it is likely that they profited handsomely. Barclays also found that 37% of businesses surveyed have increased their investment in heat-related equipment, such as ventilation and air conditioning. Others introduced additional breaks for employees (28% of businesses), offered more remote working (23%), or adjusted working hours (21%). Overall retail sales appear to have suffered from the heat, falling by 0.5% in July as more shoppers stayed home rather than head out to the high street.

Entrepreneurs

Concern over British Business Bank loans

Small businesses have benefited from £4bn in loans through the British Business Bank over the past four years. Growth in the flagship lending scheme is seen as a success, but concerns are mounting about oversight of the loans. According to the latest BBB data, taxpayer-funded payouts for defaults have reached £90m. So far, annual fees paid by participating lenders – charged at 1.5% of outstanding loan value – appear to have offset the cost of defaults. The BBB is subject to a higher level of scrutiny as a PuFin – a public financial institution that is taxpayer funded. Some academic critics have questioned whether the loans made by the bank are genuinely stimulating economic activity, or whether it would have happened anyway. The BBB's annual report revealed its top executives received a total pay rise of more than a third, including significant bonuses.

Vital statistics

\$18bn

The highest sum Meta is expected to pay to settle its social media addiction trial. In the landmark case, described as social media's "tobacco moment", dozens of US states accused the tech giant of harming children with dangerous, addictive products. Terms of the settlement, which cut short a major trial in California, included first-of-their-kind usage limits for teenagers in the US.

\$1.4tn

The value of Meta – equivalent to about £1tn. The owner of Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook denied all allegations of addiction and harm throughout the four days of legal proceedings.

10

The payment period in years for the \$18bn settlement, subject to court approval. California could receive up to \$2.1bn over the course of this time, and Colorado about \$615m. New York state, set to receive about \$819m, said money would be distributed across mental health and education services to “repair and reduce harm caused by unhealthy social media use among young people”.

6.3

The average number of years a user will spend during their lifetime on social media, according to Datareportal figures. In total, 29 states brought claims against Meta, citing social media's harm to young users. California attorney general Rob Bonta declared the outcome of the trial would bring “massive transformations that will reduce the risk of harm from [Meta's] platforms – and will do it within months.”

Nvidia reigns as the ‘central bank of AI’ but critics fear what happens if the crown slips

ANALYSIS Matthew Bishop

The US semiconductor giant has announced record revenues, but its financial activities have stoked concerns it is helping to inflate a fragile debt market bubble

Jensen Huang, chief executive of Nvidia, in Tokyo last month. Akio Kon/Bloomberg/ Getty

I has become useful," said Jensen Huang, chief executive of Nvidia, last Wednesday,

by way of explaining the record quarterly revenues of \$96.2bn (twice what they were a year ago) that the semiconductor company had just released. The same day, the Information website reported that Nvidia is buying the open-source artificial intelligence platform Hugging Face for \$12.9bn, bringing it key intellectual property that will further strengthen its position as the “king of AI”.

Yet alongside the celebrations from AI believers, last week's results have intensified scrutiny of the company's increasingly bold and novel financial activities. These have become arguably so crucial to the unprecedented surge in investment in chips and the data centres to house them that the company has earned another title alongside king: the “central bank of AI”. To its critics, however, it is a far from prudent

central bank, whose activities may be helping to inflate what could turn out to be the biggest financial bubble ever.

It has bought significant shareholdings in some of the companies that are big buyers of its chips, including, the company reported last week, investing more than \$50bn in frontier labs including Open AI and Anthropic. The firm has also built significant stakes in SpaceX and data centre providers Nebius and CoreWeave, as well as its resurgent chipmaking rival, Intel.

Nvidia has also been extending growing amounts of various forms of credit to enable its customers to buy its chips. In other words, Nvidia sells the chips, and simultaneously provides the investments and guarantees that keep the orders coming. During last Wednesday's earnings call, Colette Kress, Nvidia's chief financial officer, defended the company against accusations

taxes and regulations and reduce transparency in ways that can allow risk to build up unnoticed

that this sort of “circular finance” could be pumping up demand for its chips, insisting the company was making “excellent” investments with “limited” risks. We shall see.

A year ago, the financial markets' main fear around AI was that it was producing a stock market bubble. Now, the bigger worry is about a bubble in the debt markets, which when they burst can often have far nastier consequences for the entire economy than crashing share prices.

A staggering amount of money is being borrowed. Goldman Sachs calculates that worldwide almost \$500bn of AI-related corporate debt has been issued so far this

Nvidia sells the chips, and simultaneously provides investment and guarantees that keep orders coming year, more than double 2025's record total. Around 40% of that is accounted for by the “hyper-scalers”, which are borrowing to cover at least one-third of capital spending.

On 10 August, Nvidia announced its latest initiative to provide credit to buyers of its chips, which promises to turbo charge the process – a series of partnerships with big financial institutions including Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs and KKR, to mobilise more than \$500bn to build AI infrastructure.

Larry Fink, the boss of BlackRock, who earlier this year predicted that computing power would become a new financial asset class, said the Nvidia partnership marked the start of the “next future for financial engineering” – words that are not entirely reassuring. While financial engineering often helps improve financial decision making by allowing people to manage their risks better, it is also used to avoid – sometimes catastrophically. Financial engineering played a crucial role in the rise and fall of the hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management, Enron and the 2008 financial crisis.

Last November, Kress sent a private memo (later leaked) to financial analysts explaining how Nvidia's use of off-balance-sheet vehicles was very different from Enron's, and did not bring similar risks, which is reassuring, up to a point.

A recent note by the influential anonymous Groundbreaker newsletter draws a direct parallel between the rapid growth of mortgage-related risk before the 2008 crisis and the ongoing AI build-out. Very few noticed the looming danger in the mortgage market in the 2000s, because most borrowers were on low-rate teaser deals: only when these teaser rates expired did it become clear that many couldn't afford the repayments. Likewise, argues Groundbreaker, because many of the contracts for leasing data centres do not start to require payment until the delivery of computing capacity begins, it could be a year or two before any problems emerge.

According to Groundbreaker, there will be a surge in the demand for payment in 2027-28, which will provide a serious test of whether these contracts, and the increasing amounts of credit backing them, make sense. If Huang is right that revenues are booming because AI is now useful, and it keeps being so useful that users will pay ever larger sums of money for it, there is probably nothing to worry about.

More students pick degrees with higher pay potential

Ben Zaranko Economics editor

Students are increasingly opting for the subjects most likely to deliver greater financial rewards, according to analysis by The Observer.

Since 2019, university applications have tended to rise fastest for courses associated with more lucrative careers – subjects such as economics, maths, engineering and law. In contrast, applications have fallen for courses with lower average financial returns, including English, modern languages and performing arts.

The analysis is based on Ucas data, which include a subject-by-subject breakdown of applications, and estimates produced by the Institute for Fiscal Studies of different degrees' financial returns. The IFS finds that while the average graduate can expect to be about £100,000 better off over their lifetime for going to university, a quarter of graduates will be financially worse off.

The financial returns vary enormously across subjects. Economics graduates, for example, earn about £460,000 more over their lifetime than a non-graduate with similar school grades. But the average student enrolling in performing arts can expect to be about £60,000 worse off. Students appear to be taking this into account, and voting with their feet.

There are also signs that teenagers are shifting their A-level choices towards subjects that unlock access to degrees associated with high salaries. Entries for maths, business studies, law and economics have risen, while numbers taking English, history and modern languages have fallen.

% Change in applications v median return Percentage change in applications, 2019–2025, v median lifetime financial return, by subject

Note: Lifetime return denotes IFS estimates of how much graduates of each subject can expect to earn over their lifetime, relative to how much they would have earned if they had not gone to university. For full details, see Britton, Ogden, Ornadel and Waltmann (2026), 'New estimates of the impact of undergraduate degrees on lifetime earnings', Institute for Fiscal Studies. Sources: UCAS, IFS analysis of lifetime returns to undergraduate degrees

Any Other Business

American workers lose out as corporate share of GDP rises

The US economy may be growing more slowly than it would have done without tariffs and Iran war costs. Yet corporate America earned record profits in the second quarter of this year – an annualised \$4.8tn, according to data last week from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Corporate profits are now at 14.9% of GDP, which economists at EY say is a “new all-time high”. The latest measure of the share of national income going to employees in wages and benefits slipped to 54.1%, the lowest since 1947, and 43% for wages alone, the lowest since 1929.

The shift in the balance of economic reward from labour to capital may be a bit overstated by these percentages. Changes in definitions used to calculate profits may explain some of the rise. And some of the higher profits end up in workers' pockets if they own shares or pension plans, as many do – albeit typically not the worst paid. But the shift is real, largely due to policies such as lowering business tax rates, lighter anti-trust enforcement, and weakening union rights and other worker protections. It has continued almost regardless of whether Republicans or the ostensibly more pro-worker Democrats have been in power.

The low point for profits was around 8% of GDP in the 1980s. Labour's share peaked at 65% of GDP around 1970. A few years ago, a study by Rand Corporation found that had the shares of GDP going to labour and profit remained roughly where they were in the 30 years after the Second World War, aggregate annual income for the vast majority of American workers (excluding the best paid 10%) would have been \$2.5tn higher in 2018.

Extrapolate the Rand methodology forward, it would now top \$3.6tn. No wonder ordinary Americans are losing faith in capitalism.

By Matthew Bishop

The 200-year-old condiment needs a new home after Unilever and McCormick decided to cut it from their merger. Alamy

Gates calls for robot taxes - again

In his alarm-raising essay published last week about the threats AI poses to jobs and key societal institutions, Bill Gates predicted the transition will be “one of the most turbulent times in human history”.

To limit the damage and ensure AI is ultimately a force that leaves everyone better off, he proposed regulations preserving certain jobs for humans, as well as a new tax on AI tokens and robots.

This tax would “slow the rush away from human labor a little and raise money for retraining and a stronger safety net”, he argues.

As he acknowledges, this is not the first time he has proposed a robot tax – then, in 2017, he says, “most of the reaction was that it was a strange idea". That is not entirely accurate: the typical reaction of economists was that for all its attractions, it would be almost impossible to implement because of the difficulties of agreeing what counts as a robot in order to tax it. Taxing AI tokens looks like it solves that problem, since usage is already metered and billed. But it is far from certain they would remain AI's dominant currency once a tax was attached to them.

Taxing data centres, or their energy use, might work better. But if the goal is to promote labour versus automation, robotic or algorithmic, the best strategy may be simpler: reduce payroll taxes on humans and stop giving machines a tax advantage.

Unilever plays pass the mustard with Colman's

A beloved British brand is seeking a new owner. Last Thursday, the consumer goods giant Unilever and Maryland-based spice-and-flavour group McCormick announced that Colman's, the 212-year-old maker of Norwich's finest English mustard, will not after all be included in the \$44.8bn merged food business the two firms are creating, and will instead be put up for sale.

It is probably too late to save Marmite for the nation, another Unilever-owned brand that is falling into American hands through the deal, but perhaps a British buyer can be found for Colman's.

This decision is the result of worries that anti-trust regulators might object to a single company owning both Colman's, which has a $50\%$ share of the UK mustard market, and McCormick's French's mustard, potentially delaying the closing of the deal.

Colman's has history with French's, having teamed up with another British foods business, Reckitt, to buy its US counterpart for £750,000 back in 1926. They parted when Unilever bought Colman's in 1995. McCormick acquired French's when it bought the then Reckitt Benckiser's food business in 2017.

Unilever is doing the deal with McCormick to exit the food business and double down on its higher-margin household goods, personal care and soap brands. It did a decent job of growing Colman's at home and abroad, but despite Colman's sponsorship of the local Canaries football team (Norwich City), the company moved its main manufacturing operations in 2019 from Norwich to Burton upon Trent and Germany, leaving only a small rump operation to maintain the historic link with the city.

At a moment when local economic development is likely to be championed by Burnham's government, surely there is a wealthy citizen of Norwich keen as mustard to bring the company back home?

Economic reality is set to collide with PM's ambitions

William Keegan

We seem to be hearing as much about the fact that Andy Burnham read

English literature at Cambridge as we did that Keir Starmer's father was a toolmaker.

Our new prime minister will no doubt have read Anthony Trollope's The Prime Minister, thought by Tolstoy to be the greatest novel he had ever read. Among the requirements Trollope listed for a prime minister were: "He should be clever but need not be a genius. He should be conscientious... cautious but never timid, bold but never venturesome. Above all he should have a thick skin."

Burnham's honeymoon period is generally considered to have gone well. But his mettle has yet to be tested. He has introduced some

popular micro measures, but the macro economic problems he faces are formidable.

There is hardly a serious economist to be found who does not think that, in the face of mounting budgetary pressures, he should raise taxes. But he feels bound by the red lines of the 2024 manifesto – which got Labour elected – and ruled out increases in income tax rates, VAT and employees' national insurance.

A way of resolving this dilemma would be to seek a new mandate, by calling a general election. But despite his initial wave of popularity, it would be, in Trollope's phrase, far too “venturesome” for Burnham to risk calling an election.

One route to eschewing tax rises would be to bow to the voices urging vast welfare cuts. Yet that would be a sledgehammer that would hurt many genuine hard cases, not just those the right tells us are “playing the

system". It would also be a good way of splitting the Labour party.

In my view, the general economic outlook – not least thanks to the Trump-induced damage to the world economy – is so much more disturbing than when the 2024 manifesto was written that Burnham would be justified in an act of Trollope-style boldness, ie revising and updating the manifesto.

Now, while on the whole being impressed by Burnham's early actions, I should like to register one note of disappointment. In this, I am following the example of one of the

The economic outlook is so much more disturbing than when the Labour manifesto was written in 2024

people I most admire in public life, the Nobel prizewinner Paul Nurse, who is now serving his second term as president of the Royal Society.

There is wide agreement that science is vital to productivity and faster economic growth, and British science has a lot of potential. Yet one of Burnham's first acts was to break up the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and scatter its functions within a new Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.

Nurse wrote in a recent report that “science should inform ALL government activities, not just business. That would be best served by a single department responsible for all science which supports all other departments. So we will have to work hard to make the new department work for the rest of the cabinet beyond business.”

More power to his elbow!

Weather

UK and Ireland

Today Monday LowHigh Weather LowHigh Weather

	Today		Monday		Tuesday
	Low	High	Low	High	Low	High
Belfast	13	18	12	17	12	18
Birmingham	14	21	12	19	11	20
Bristol	14	20	13	18	12	19
Dover	15	21	15	22	11	21
Edinburgh	13	18	12	19	11	18
Glasgow	13	18	12	18	12	16
Inverness	11	17	12	17	10	16
Leeds	14	21	12	19	13	19
Leicester	14	21	13	19	12	20
Liverpool	13	21	13	18	12	20
London	16	23	14	22	12	23
Manchester	14	20	12	18	12	19
Newcastle	12	20	11	19	11	19
Norwich	15	23	13	21	11	22
Plymouth	15	19	14	20	13	20
Swansea	16	19	14	19	13	19
Dublin	12	19	11	18	12	19

Europe today

High tides

	Today			Monday			Tuesday
Aberdeen	03:12	4.4m 15:45	4.2m	03:45	4.4m 16:18	4.1m	04:21	4.4m 16:54	4.1m
Belfast	00:38	3.5m 13:04	3.3m	01:13	3.5m 13:39	3.3m	01:53	3.6m 14:20	3.3m
Dover	00:54	6.5m 13:10	6.7m	01:23	6.6m 13:41	6.8m	01:55	6.6m 14:15	6.8m
Galway	07:19	4.9m 19:26	5.1m	07:49	4.9m 20:00	5.1m	08:23	4.9m 20:39	4.9m
Harwich	01:51	3.9m 13:56	3.9m	02:23	3.9m 14:25	3.9m	02:56	3.9m 14:56	4.0m
Holyhead	00:08	5.7m 12:30	5.4m	00:42	5.8m 13:03	5.4m	01:17	5.7m 13:38	5.3m
Hull	08:18	7.6m 20:49	7.3m	08:54	7.6m 21:22	7.3m	09:30	7.6m 21:56	7.1m
Leith	04:33	5.6m 17:02	5.5m	05:06	5.6m 17:37	5.4m	05:42	5.6m 18:14	5.3m
Liverpool	00:57	9.5m 13:18	9.2m	01:30	9.6m 13:50	9.2m	02:04	9.5m 14:24	9.1m
London	03:58	6.9m 16:13	7.0m	04:31	6.9m 16:45	7.0m	05:05	6.8m 17:18	7.0m
North Shields	05:17	5.2m 17:49	5.0m	05:50	5.3m 18:22	4.9m	06:25	5.2m 18:58	4.8m
Penzance	06:44	5.4m 19:01	5.6m	07:17	5.4m 19:36	5.6m	07:51	5.3m 20:10	5.4m
Plymouth	08:04	5.2m 20:15	5.4m	08:37	5.2m 20:48	5.4m	09:09	5.2m 21:21	5.3m
Portsmouth	01:16	4.6m 13:46	4.7m	01:47	4.6m 14:19	4.7m	02:21	4.6m 14:52	4.6m
Southport	00:38	9.2m 12:52	8.9m	01:04	9.3m 13:24	8.9m	01:31	9.2m 13:51	8.8m
Weymouth	09:18	2.0m 21:32	2.1m	09:42	2.0m 21:52	2.1m	09:58	1.9m 22:12	2.0m
Wick	01:09	3.6m 13:41	3.3m	01:44	3.6m 14:14	3.3m	02:19	3.5m 14:49	3.2m

Around the world

	Today		Monday
	Low	High Weather	Low	High Weather
Amsterdam	17	22 showers	15	20 showers
Athens	23	31 sunny	24	33 sunny
Auckland	12	17 rain	13	16 rain
Baghdad	31	44 haze	26	39 sunny
Beijing	17	33 sunny	17	31 sunny
Belgrade	19	33 sunny	20	36 storms
Berlin	18	26 fair	15	25 showers
Brussels	16	22 showers	15	20 showers
Budapest	16	32 sunny	16	34 sunny
Buenos Aires	8	21 sunny	11	20 fair
Cairo	24	35 haze	24	34 haze
Cape Town	10	18 fair	9	18 sunny
Copenhagen	16	20 showers	14	19 showers
Dublin	12	19 showers	11	18 fair
Geneva	14	28 sunny	17	27 sunny
Gibraltar	18	27 sunny	19	26 fair

Speedy crossword No. 1,612

Across 1 Pleasantly brief (5,3,5) 8 Bargain (4) 9 Keep-fit exercises (5-3) 10 Member of the immediate post-war generation (4,6) 12 Comedian's butt (6) 14 Malevolence (6) 15 Two-piece warm athletic wear (10) 19 Overshoes (8) 20 Umbrella (4) 21 Road safety measure (5,8)

Showers

Storms

Rain

Flurries

Snow

Ice

	Today	Monday
Belfast	2022 to 0630	2019 to 0632
Birmingham	2000 to 0616	1957 to 0618
Bristol	2002 to 0622	1959 to 0624
Dover	1945 to 0606	1943 to 0608
Edinburgh	2013 to 0616	2010 to 0618
Glasgow	2017 to 0620	2015 to 0622
Inverness	2020 to 0615	2017 to 0617
Leeds	2001 to 0613	1959 to 0615
London	1953 to 0613	1950 to 0614
Manchester	2003 to 0617	2001 to 0618
Newcastle	2005 to 0611	2002 to 0613
Plymouth	2005 to 0629	2003 to 0631
Swansea	2007 to 0627	2005 to 0629

Lighting up

Helsinki	15	20 rain	15	19 showers
Hong Kong	27	31 rain	27	31 showers
Istanbul	20	29 sunny	21	29 sunny
Jerusalem	21	28 sunny	20	29 sunny
Kingston	27	34 fair	27	34 storms
Kolkata	27	32 rain	26	31 rain
Kyiv	17	24 showers	16	28 storms
Los Angeles	22	32 sunny	20	30 sunny
Madrid	14	34 sunny	16	34 sunny
Melbourne	8	15 cloudy	9	15 fair
Mexico City	13	24 rain	14	25 showers
Miami	27	33 storms	27	33 storms
Moscow	11	22 rain	14	23 cloudy
Nairobi	14	24 fair	14	23 showers
Nassau	28	33 fair	27	33 storms
New York City	19	28 fair	21	26 showers

Down 2 All-woman pre-wedding celebration (3,5) 3 Response (5) 4 Officially sanction (7) 5 Cherished aspiration (5) 6 A good-for-nothing (7) 7 Catch sight of (4) 11 Caledonian (8) 13 In the open air (7) 14 Manages with limited resources (5,2) 16 (Committee) created for a specific purpose (2,3) 17 Strong impulses (5) 18 Destiny (4)

	LowHigh Weather		LowHigh Weather
Oslo	15	20 showers	14	21 showers
Ottawa	16	22 storms	14	24 cloudy
Paris	16	24 cloudy	16	23 rain
Prague	16	26 fair	15	24 fair
Riga	14	23 showers	15	23 cloudy
Rio de Janeiro	24	27 sunny	22	29 fair
Rome	23	33 sunny	21	33 sunny
Seoul	23	28 rain	22	25 showers
Singapore	27	32 storms	27	33 fair
Sydney	10	21 haze	11	22 haze
Tokyo	21	28 cloudy	24	29 storms
Toronto	18	23 storms	19	23 showers
Vancouver	13	19 cloudy	13	21 showers
Vienna	16	31 sunny	17	28 showers
Warsaw	13	27 fair	16	26 cloudy
Washington	21	32 fair	24	33 sunny

SOLUTION No. 1,611

If your bank hasn't raised the interest rate on your savings, it's not because they've forgotten.

They're just hoping you have.

Don’t tolerate inactive banks Search >> Active Savings

HARGREAVES LANSDOWN

Fun & games for all the family Observers needed Tip: Words can go in E I

Word search

1. Magic
2. Vortex
3. Spiral
4. Roundabout
5. Hypnosis
6. Corkscrew
7. Dizzy
8. Spin
9. Coil
10. Rotate

Answer on the back page

□ A banana skin
□ A hula hoop
□ A green apple
□ A proposal
□ A cow
□ A bag of crisps
□ Drums
□ An umbrella hat
□ A marshmallow
□ A blue hairdo?

Obliks by Godefridus

No 133

	2		1			1
3				3
	3		2			2
				2
		2				3
				1
1		3			1

1	2	3
			3	1
1	2
			2		2
		3
3					1

Quick example Here's a small 6×6 grid to show how it works. The goal is to separate each set of the same number into different regions using diagonal slashes

1	2	3
			3	1
1	2
			2		2
		3
3					1

The two 3s at the top can't be in the same region, so you draw a slash between them. Slashes must always cross the entire square – ie, from point to point

No 134

The 1s and 2s on the left also need to be in a separate region. Add more slashes to make sure they are isolated in their own area

Continue adding slashes logically to separate matching numbers while keeping all numbers connected within their own regions

Solutions to the above, plus crosswords, Sudoku, Cinema Connect and Guess the Picture can be found on pages 30-32 of New Review Found a bug? Have a favourite? Got a suggestion? We'd love to hear from you, email us at puzzles@observer.co.uk

Mindset by Etruscan

How to play

Identify one trait for each circle. Sort objects accordingly.

• Each circle = one single trait (e.g. "red" not "red-filled")

- The trait must apply to every object in that circle

- No objects outside that circle can have that trait

- Numbers show how many objects belong in each section

Think you've found another solution? Email us – valid ones will be printed in the paper and featured in The Puzzle Edit newsletter

No 77

No 78

Scan to play more Mindset

Copyright © Magicave Holdings Limited 2025. Mindset is a registered trademark of Magicave Holdings Limited.
Wordsearch answer positions

Beyond the print edition: scan to subscribe to The Puzzle Edit – exclusive columns, setter insights and a weekly clue breakdown from puzzles editor Caitlin O'Kane

'I'M VERY COMFORTABLE BEING UNANSWERABLE TO ANYONE'

Player, pundit, Pod God... How Gary Lineker reinvented himself (again) By GEORGE SIMMS

Cao Thurn

the taste of

a glass and a half

Welcome

Firstly, a confession: I am distinctly clueless about football, and so it would not be an exaggeration to say my defining memory of Gary Lineker, one of the great sporting icons, is a 1990s crisp advertisement. More specifically, his smiley, cheeky face as he pinches a bag of Walkers from a kid while the tag line “no more mister nice guy” runs over the top. That tousled quiff ruffling in the wind; that cheese and onion deliciousness.

30.08.26

That is to say, despite how little your world overlaps with Lineker's, there has been no escaping him in British culture over the last 40 years. There has been Gary the football megastar (he never received a single yellow or red card in his 16-year career, I've since learned), Gary the pundit (no one says “and now, to St James's Park” more alluringly), Gary the Kaiser of crisps (still my personal favourite Gary), and now Gary the podcasting visionary (Goalhanger has been valued at room). Today, age 65, he has found himself in a position where he can, in his own words “just do what I want”. At the height of his powers and looking to the future, he tells The Observer's sports reporter George Simms about the pleasures of entering a new era.

Also in this issue, The Observer's very own John Simpson, our former home-affairs editor, has written about his decision to leave his job at the newspaper to retrain as... a clown. “Think of everyone you’ve ever laughed at because you know the stupid thing they did reflects a little of your own stupidity, of the absurdity of your own humanity,” he writes on its appeal, which in the end he couldn’t resist. Colleagues said they found themselves weeping reading this piece (from its humour, yes, but also its hard truths). It’s as profound of a journey as it is comical.

Enjoy, and thank you for reading.

Hannah Keegan Deputy Editor

Contributors

Olivia Ovenden (Erdem, p22) Olivia is a senior

writer at The Observer, for which she has profiled Malala, Cillian Murphy and Noah Baumbach. She previously worked at GQ as a writer and editor. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? "A Dalmatian."

Alixe Lay (Homes, p30) Alixe is a Malaysian-

born, London-based photographer in constant search of the spirit of place, fuelled by an enchantment with the world.

What is your hidden talent? "An uncanny radar for taking one random left turn and finding absolute quiet in the middle of a chaotic city."

Freya is the style and editorial assistant at The Observer Magazine and a recent graduate of Central Saint Martins, with previous experience at Wonderland and 10 Magazine. If you could master any skill overnight, what would it be? "Knife skills – my meals would look much more professional, and I wouldn't end up in tears after slicing up an onion!"

George Simms (Gary Lineker, p12) George is a sports

reporter at The Observer, covering everything from darts to squash. Since joining he's reported on 17 sports across four continents, and one Elvis festival in the Outback.

If money wasn't a factor, what vocation would you choose? "This one? That or animal conservation. Unfussy on which animal. Maybe lemurs."

John Simpson (Comic timing, p18) John has been a crime reporter for 15 years in newspapers, podcasts and documentaries. He recently quit his job to train as a clown. What would you say to anyone considering a career change? "You are not your job. Do what you love before you die."

Cover image: Brian Daly. The Observer Magazine • 22 Berners Street, London W1T 3LP • magazine@observer.co.uk Printed at Walstead Bicester Ltd, Chaucer Business Park, Launton Road, Bicester, OX26 4QZ

So the ASA regulates UK ads, including online? Oh yes.®

ASAW

Legal, Decent, Honest and Truthful

Churchill, ‘Churchie’ the dog, and OH YES are registered trademarks of Aviva Brands Limited used under licence.

RESERVATIONS

Island of plenty

A restorative retreat on Estonia's Hiiumaa island embraces the country's unique five seasons

There is a saying on the Estonian island of Hiiumaa, encircled by the Baltic Sea, that “even time takes time off here”. It is this pace of life that has inspired Eha, a new 11-room wellness retreat opening on 5 October in the island’s Unesco-listed biosphere reserve. “Hiiumaa naturally asks you to slow down,” says co-founder Eva Maran. “You begin to notice the light, the air and the changing landscape.”

Rather than offering the same programme year-round, Eha is shaped by Estonia's five seasons. Autumn is designed to encourage reflection, while Springrise - the country's fleeting fifth season, when nature begins to awaken - focuses on renewal. And the wellness offering goes well beyond a hotel facial. Guests can drift between Qigong, guided sauna rituals, forest walks and mushroom foraging before unwinding with mineral body wraps using peat and mud from Hiiumaa's mineral-rich wetlands - a contemporary take on a centuries-old local tradition.

The connection to place extends to the architecture, with reed-thatched roofs woven by local thatchers and interiors combining oak, limestone, linen and wool with bespoke ceramics and furnishings by Estonian makers. “Luxury here is about space, light, craftsmanship and stillness rather than excess,” says Maran.

In the evenings, chef Peeter Pihel cooks with ingredients sourced from the island's fishermen, grain growers and herbalists, alongside produce from Eha's kitchen garden. Guided sound journeys later help lull guests into a deep sleep. "We realised the seasons weren't simply a backdrop," says Maran. "They were the richest and most authentic thing we had to offer." ● TABITHA JOYCE For more information, go to eharetreat.com

GOING VIRAL Beehiving yourself

originally credited for its invention in the 60s, advised that “the ideal ratio of hair to face is two to one.” ● FREYA GOODCHILD-BRIDGE

Taking inspiration from those who backcombed before them, stars are creating a buzz around the beehive. Singer-songwriter Sienna Spiro, who has perfected the art of this teased updo, spoke in a recent interview of her homage to the style of Swinging 60s girl groups, including the Ronettes and the Shangri-Las. Lily Allen took to the stage with a variety of towering beehives during her West End Girl tour this year, and Zendaya added a modernising micro-fringe to hers on a recent red carpet. Margaret Heldt, the late American hairstylist

My father was a huge fan of both Enya and of her family's band, the Irish traditional supergroup Clannad. Both were Celt-infused pop acts, but Enya's mode was altogether more otherworldly. Her angelic chorus vocals, arpeggiated synths and dense walls of reverb were unlike anything else in Irish music – an odd melange of baroque harpsichord, new age mysticism, and ambient techno. Despite these ineffable trappings, which made her a genre unto herself, Enya's fame had entirely eclipsed that of her siblings by the time I was in my teens. At the turn of the millennium, she spent a couple of years as the bestselling recording artist on earth. She appeared to wear only velvet. She moved into a castle.

As a youthful devotee of Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada and Brian Eno, I was thrilled by Enya's compellingly mad ethereal recluse persona, but I had few friends who felt the same way. For them, her music was banal nonsense for crystal-bothering mums. They did not see the breadth and range of her work; the globular synths of Caribbean Blue, the angular stabs of Orinoco Flow, the soaring, trickling cosmology of a track like Aldebaran (a wordless work of ambient techno she made at 24, predicated on the idea of the ancient Celts travelling across the galaxy).

With time comes wisdom, or at the very least the discarding of faddish connotations and, even if my own generation may have regarded her as an asinine joke, Spotify and streaming has massively boosted her fame among the young. I hope they play their millennial and Gen-X parents her soothing music everywhere and often. And I hope that somewhere in her castle, cloaked in the finest velvet, Enya knows this now. • SÉAMAS O'REILLY

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Describe your perfect hour

Swimming in the cool, clear sea, probably in Ireland, with people I love. The sun is out and the water is bracing, so you get a kind of high afterwards. Then we'd go to the pub, sit in a snug with pints of Guinness and have a laugh.

Which era in history would you have liked to live through?

I'll pick one I did live through, which is the late 90s. The turn of the century coincided with me becoming an adult and going to university, where my world opened up. I was independent for the first time, figuring out who I was and discovering dance music before the era of algorithms.

What period of your life do you daydream about the most?

My early 20s, when I moved to England to seek my fortune. I lived with my brother's band, worked all sorts of mad jobs, made very little money and got very little sleep. There was always the sense that I might have to go home with my tail between my legs, but it was all formative.

When was the last time you checked social media? Right before this interview. Unfortunately I have to check it for my job – and then I get sucked in. I use a device called a “brick”, which means it doesn’t take over my life.

What hobby would you pursue if you had all the time in the world? There are some things I've decided to postpone until I'm older, and one of them is learning how to be a gardener. I'm looking forward to being one of those people who cocks

ANNIE MAC

The Irish DJ and author, 48, presented a show on BBC Radio 1 for 17 years and has written two novels, with a third out in 2027. She is also the founder of Before Midnight, a phone-free clubbing experience. Tickets to her next show on 12 September, at London's Alexandra Palace, are available now.

her head and goes “oh, that’s a wren!”

If you could spend five minutes with anyone famous, alive or dead, who would it be? Phil Lynott, the lead singer of Thin Lizzy. He was born in England to an Irish mum and Guyanese dad, then raised in Dublin, where he was othered because he was Black, and also because he was English. I'd like to ask him about identity, and how it felt to be in the middle of those two countries.

What was the last song that you Shazammed?

Take Me To Heaven by Sylvester. Beth Ditto played it on her BBC6 Music show and I didn't catch what it was.

When was the last time you cried?

In the sea, on holiday in Ireland. I'd walked along the beach to this beautiful cove, where the water was like glass, and I got in and had a gratitude cry. I've always been good at emoting. My friends used to call me The Leaker.

If you could speak to your 18-year-old self, what advice would you give her?

It's ok that you didn't get on to the drama course. I was so upset at the time that I cut my hair off in protest, but I'd tell myself "you're going to figure it out".

If you make it to your 100th birthday, what would be the reason? Football. I joined a local team two seasons ago and absolutely love it. I had to borrow my eldest son's boots the first few times, but now I'll keep playing until I can't kick anymore. ●

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER ALL CONSUMING

GHOST NATION

The Story of Taiwan and its Struggle for Survival URIS HORTON

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What We

PHILIP PULLMAN WITH NEW ORIGINAL LITERATIONS AND CHEESE MOTTLELL THE BOOK OF DUST

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'Today's titillating new films are a glorious rebuttle to this generation's sexlessness'

In the summer of 2026, kissing was declared dead. Mouths, closed. Eyes, opened. Memorials planned. The death of kissing, of course, is related to Gen-Z's “sex recession”. While too much sex was once seen as a defining crisis of an age, data shows young people are now having so little sex that some see a new kind of problem. This recession has been fuelled by a whole grab-bag of things, like technology, #MeToo, the political climate, a shifting emphasis on platonic relationships, the pandemic, anxiety, anxiety meds, “heteropessimism” and the committed relationships entered into with phones and all their associated alienations.

One in four Gen-Z adults say they've never had sex, while the number of young people who said they hadn't had sex in at least a year doubled between 2010 to 2024, from $12\%$ to $24\%$ . Alongside this drop in sex, there's been a drop in kissing, which is where I get interested. In a recent YouGov survey, more than a third of British adults reported kissing romantically less often

my favourite movie of the year: Kris (played by Hannah Einbinder) is a filmmaker hired to reboot the 1980s Camp Miasma slasher franchise, which inspired her own “queer awakening”. Kris journeys to meet the film’s original “final girl”, Billy (Anderson), a recluse, now in her 60s, glamorous and drawling and eating chicken. Camp Miasma was only ever about two things, she tells the younger woman (prone to intellectualising), “Flesh and fluids.”

Here, as Kris, a long-time horror fan and self-confessed “prude” attempts to seduce Billy into signing on to her new project, she too is seduced, eventually learning at Billy’s hand that to find either art or climax (the name of our lake-dwelling slasher is “Little Death”, a literal translation for the French term for an orgasm), she needs to relinquish control. In that dark house, where pleasure and desire is littered over the carpet in the form of gummy sweets and KFC tubs, Kris tell Billy how, like the rest of her generation, sex has always been a form of projection for her. Sex

than they did five years ago. Those aged 18-24 said they fretted about the “right moment” for a kiss and whether they might be bad at it; 27% believed kissing was becoming less common, while nearly one in five said they hadn’t been kissed in more than a year.

It was this I thought of as I sat in a darkened cinema and watched Gillian Anderson dip fried chicken into barbecue sauce with an erotic, velvet languor. Into this sex recession has landed a raft of films seemingly produced to counteract their audiences' sexlessness. One Night Only imagines a world in which premarital sex is outlawed, apart from a single night each year. The Invite saw a married couple (who hadn't had sex in a year) invite their neighbours (whose sex they hear every night through the floor) to dinner, only to be invited in return to swap partners. In I Want Your Sex, a naive Gen Z-er becomes assistant to a sexually provocative artist, only for each to rebel against their assigned roles.

Anderson's latest film, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (a lesbian slasher by indie auteur Jane Schoenbrun), couldn't be more up my street if it lived at No 16 and was called Paula. This is how it goes, “seems so easy for so many people, but I’ve never been able to get there with someone else unless I'm really far away in my head". Sex is horror at Camp Miasma. And horror is comedy, sort of, and comedy is romance, which is also pain, the pain of retreating from human connection as you twist yourself to fit into gender and sex binaries, and away from the body, in the process disconnecting from flesh and fluids and back into the movie in your head. I left the cinema euphoric, grinning, hungry.

Sex on film today veers sharply away from the Vaseline-lensed romance of my youth, preferring a sharper angle that reflects and confronts the attitudes of a voluntarily celibate generation. Does it also, perhaps, remind audiences, sitting with their phones off, that they are bodies of blood and nerve, feeling something in the dark? At the cinema again last week, I turned round to see

a young couple wetly snogging. Making a pleased mental note to call off the funeral, I wondered if it could be the cinema itself that inspires a kiss rather than the film. We were seeing Spiderman. But, you know, whatever works. ● Eva Wiseman is an Observer writer

THINGS WORTH WEARING...

Pack smart 10kg bag? Here's what will fit...

After scoring a last-minute short-break in the sun, your next mission is to navigate the budget airline carry-on challenge. Can your luggage meet the ever-changing criteria? Do you know your inches from your centimetres? All will be revealed at the boarding gate. Fortunately, help is at hand. Samsonite's Proxis 55cm is ultra-lightweight, has a durable hard shell and four smooth spinner wheels, and includes a 10-year global warranty. Best of all? It meets the hand-luggage dimensions of 38 airlines, including Ryanair and EasyJet.

When it comes to packing, rushing only leads to missed essentials. Avoid the scramble by pulling out your suitcase early, and pack with intention. I start gathering clothes and accessories a week in advance, so I don't accidentally wear a favourite outfit and have to factor in an emergency laundry cycle.

Packing cubes are great for checked-in bags, but can be bulky in a carry-on. Instead, stuff undergarments into compostable food bags, which are incredibly thin and lightweight (bring extras for wet swimwear or dirty laundry). Tuck these small bundles into your trainers or sandals, to maximize every millimetre of space.

A multi-purpose capsule wardrobe is key. Start with a chic co-ord set, designed to be worn together or split into multiple outfits. Bring two swimsuits: while one dries, the other doubles as a bodysuit paired

with bermuda shorts. A single sarong transitions effortlessly from a beach towel to a skirt or dress.

To outsmart shifting airport security liquid restrictions, pack Rehab's innovative shampoo, conditioner and body wash

sheets, which rehydrate under running water. This frees up valuable space for a portable speaker and a camera. Finally, avoid surprise fees by investing in a handheld luggage scale. Beating the airlines at their own game is the perfect start to a well-earned break. ● JO JONES

A sarong is easy to pack, dries super fast, and works like a towel

1) Swimsuit, £99, Whistles 2) Jumper, £140, With Nothing Underneath 3) Bracelet, £95, Tilly Sveaas 4) Cami, £32, Free People 5) Jorts, £284, Mother Denim 6) Sarong, £29, John Lewis 7) Raffia bag, £28, Next 8) X-T30 III digital camera, £999, Fujifilm 9) Sandals, £110, Loeffler Randall 10) Skirt, £65, Arket 11) Tie-waist top, £78, Free People 12) Swimsuit, £30, M&S 13) Tank, £65, Cos 14) Dress, £54.99, H&M 15) Bag, £160, Farm Rio 16) Trousers, £28, M&S 17) Sunglasses, £485, Cutler and Gross 18) Shorts, £30, Topshop 19) Dress, £160, Sézane 20) Sandals, £75, Teva 21) Earbuds, £119.95, Bose 22) Co-ord shirt, £99, Whistles 23) Wash sheets, £19.20 for 25, Rehab 24) Speaker, £149.95, Bose 25) Trainers, £49.99, Nike 26) Proxis suitcase, £359, Samsonite 27) Co-ord shorts, £69, Whistles

30.08.26 THE OBSERVER MAGAZINE

'It's been win-win all the way'

By GEORGE SIMMS

Football may be a game of two halves, but Gary Lineker's remarkable life is a tale of three careers: goal-scoring legend, television host and now podcast god. As the nation's favourite son starts this third chapter, he opens up about luck, mortality and political provocation

If there is an English dream, Gary Lineker has lived it. You can lop his adult life neatly into three slabs, any of which would make him one of Britain's great success stories: the market trader's lad from Leicester who captained England and played for Barcelona...

The Kaiser of crisps who transitioned relatively seamlessly into a televisual colossus. Now, he's taken on the role of Pod God as co-owner of Goalhanger, named Britain's fastest-growing business by the Sunday Times, which currently produces four of Spotify's top nine podcasts. He's even breaking America via Netflix's deal to stream a video version of his The Rest is Football podcast for the World Cup, now extended for the Premier League season. His existence has been one of perpetual progress, the Kendall Roy's birthday party of lives: all killer, no filler.

We meet twice in mid-August, in fervid heat that further infuriates Lineker about climate change, first in a concrete studio in Dalston, then crammed into the karaoke booth of a vacuous central London sports bar. He's softly spoken as you can only be if everyone is always listening to you, coupled with spending much of the past three decades mic-ed up. He has nailed dressing well without obviously trying, and today has got the late-era Lineker look down pat: thick Gucci glasses and plaid shirts, the hallmark quiff snowier than it once was, but holding firm.

Now 65, and just over a year post-BBC defenestration, Lineker's third act has begun in earnest. “I’m enjoying this as much as any of them, if not more,” he said. “When you’re a footballer, or even talking about football, there will always be people who disagree with you, and you get this abuse. With the podcasts, everywhere in the street people go: ‘I love The Rest is Entertainment. Tom [Holland] and Dominic [Sandbrook] are amazing on The Rest is History. I love you guys on football.’ There’s no negative. Work-wise, it’s probably the most enjoyable and refreshing part.”

Today, Goalhanger claims over 250,000 paying subscribers and employs more than 80 people – earlier this year, they sold a minority stake to an American investor, valuing the company at around £100m. They anticipate a billion listeners in 2026 alone, and in September the Southbank Centre will host

The Rest is Fest, a weekend of live podcast recordings and audience events. “It’s been just win-win all the way,” Lineker said. “I sit down with Tony [Pastor, former ITV sport controller and Goalhanger co-owner] and we just go, ‘How the fuck has this happened?’”

The Overlap, the podcast company part-owned by ex-Manchester United full-back Gary Neville, has recently made a similar agreement to The Rest is Football £14m Netflix deal with Disney+. “I take it as a huge compliment that he’s trying to copy us,” Lineker laughs. “Obviously The Rest is... series has been copied by Gary and Piers Morgan, not quite as successfully, but they’re both trying their best.”

But still not quite willing or able to quit traditional TV, our second meeting is at a launch event for The Box, the new Saturday night ITV game show he's presenting, a Norwegian concept that mixes elements from Taskmaster and Traitors. It's an exhibition of wry Gary, side-eye Gary, smug I'm-famous-enough-to-not-need-to-jump-into-a-river-on-live-TV-but-Graeme-Souness-isn't Gary. "I've got myself in a position where I can just do what I want," he grins. "I didn't necessarily need to do The Box, but I really liked the idea, and I'd never done anything like that before. It's not often there's something fun and different you can do when you're in your mid-60s." Both he and ITV getting one over the BBC in the process is just a bonus.

Few people have ever aged better than Lineker. I ask which devil he promised his soul, after I find myself telling him he looks “fucking amazing”. He laughs it off, but he really does, Ferris Bueller youth melting into perhaps the consummate silver foxhood. He’s just shy of 40 years older than me and in better shape than I’ve ever been. He sees a personal trainer three times a week, alongside a Pilates session, resulting in ship-rope forearms. He doesn’t enjoy training – never has – but it’s better than “the alternative”. His PT is two years older than him, and also trains two of his sons, but they’re “nowhere near me” in the gym. “[The secret is] fitness. Strength is really important as you get older, and good genes.” He discovered recently his mother’s side of the family has Spanish and French ancestry, hence the olive skin, which was enough to incite occasional racial abuse in 1970s Leicester.

He's been thinking about dying more and more of late. “I’ve definitely noticed ageing since I turned 65,” he said. “Knees a bit creakier, hips a bit creakier. I always thought if I could get to maybe 80, living in a relatively healthy, fit state – not lose my marbles – and then just go overnight, I’d take that. I’m not worried about death. It’s the suffering along the way. Particularly for footballers, we’re all worried about the possible onset of dementia or Alzheimer’s. But just get me to Switzerland if it gets that bad. I’ve got no interest in growing old like that.”

His second divorce – from Danielle Bux, an actress 19 years his junior – was a decade ago, and despite “the odd date, a few short relationships,” he’s been single since. “I’ve become very comfortable being unanswerable to anyone. Call that selfish if you want, I don’t feel I need someone in my life. I have a lot of female friends who I get on really well with, so that’s satisfying because I love female company. But it’s the other bit that comes with it,” he giggles like a puckish schoolboy. “I’m quite happy to be without that.”

In 2019, he called himself “unbelievably fussy” and “not massively into sex”. He believes his testosterone levels have dropped since and interest has waned further. He doesn’t foresee another long-term relationship, but is open to a “thunderclap”. He worries about burdening a partner or his kids with his potential care, especially when he’s able to pay his own way.

Lineker's second son, Harry, and wife, Annabelle, have a daughter due later this year, around Gary's birthday in late November. He used to tell his four boys – all from his first marriage to actress Michelle Cockayne, whose grandmother lived next door to Lineker's when they first met – that the first to make him a grandfather was out of the will, but at 65 he's ready.

Harry and Annabelle only live 10 minutes from his Barnes home, and while he doesn't want to be a full-time grandparent, he's aware he will be "the resident babysitter for a while." "I'm very much looking forward to it," he says. "But I do have concerns thinking, 'What a time to bring a child into the world.' Which one of the things do we worry about? Do we worry about AI? Do we worry about the climate? Do we worry about blowing ourselves up in some kind of war?"

An enduring fascination of Lineker's life has been his younger brother Wayne, perhaps the defining nepo-sibling. While Gary stayed in school until 16, Wayne left at 14 to man the family fruit and veg stall in Leicester Market, before opening Lineker's, a Tenerife sports bar, in 1988, subsidised by his older brother. He spent two and a half years in prison in 2006 for tax fraud, but now owns clubs across southern Europe and Dubai and has 1.2m Instagram followers, only 200,000 behind his brother.

They are a fascinating study in genetics and social conditioning – Gary has said he is more like their mother, Wayne their father, and called his younger brother the more talented footballer by a distance. While they were close into their 40s – in 1996 Gary said “apart from my wife and children, I am closer to Wayne than anyone” – until last year they hadn’t really spoken for almost two decades. Wayne once said this was because he didn’t get on with Gary’s ex-wife Danielle Bux, and he didn’t attend their 2009 wedding. After a 60-day drug and alcohol binge last summer, Wayne checked into rehab and has been sober since, though during rehab his immune system crashed and he contracted pneumonia, which nearly killed him.

The brothers chatted at Gary's son's and Wayne's daughter's weddings last summer, and were pictured together for the first time since the late 2000s. "We just live different lives, really," Gary explained. "You have falling-outs, and then you look at the bigger issues. I see him every now and again. Wayne's a different human being, by his own admission, than I am. Just because we're brothers, doesn't mean to say you have to be really close forever. We were close when I was young, and then we just grew apart. But we're OK. I think he's got himself back on track, which has helped." Wayne told Spencer Matthews earlier this year, that "our friendship's got back to how it was," but Gary is more reticent.

Lineker says he's never struggled with his mental health, and doesn't believe he's experienced clinical depression. He's had therapy a few times, though, and recommends it. Talking has helped navigate his life's few defined lows – his first son George's diagnosis of myeloid leukaemia at two months old, the ensuing dreams of little white coffins as Lineker was told multiple times over seven months that he was unlikely to survive the night; his parents Margaret and Barry's deaths in 2015 and 2017 respectively (although he said he found losing his dog a few years ago even harder), and his two divorces. "Going through a divorce in public is really difficult, because they make it feel like you've committed a crime when you're basically just sorting your life out."

Winner of the Golden Boot in the 1986 World Cup. He scored six goals

Retiring as presenter of Match of the Day in 2022 after a Man City v Liverpool FA Cup semi-final

Protesters at a march against racism in London outside the BBC in Portland Place

Presenting Match of the Day in Leicester City shorts after his club won the league

He also claims to rarely, if ever, lose his temper, and to not feel nerves. He moved to Barcelona and within two years spoke Spanish well enough to commentate on La Liga matches. He doesn't get hangovers, even though he said his liver needs a rest after spending the World Cup in New York.

At 18, he ran the room in 10.5 seconds, a second off the world record. If he wasn't a footballer, he would have played cricket, captain-ing the Leicestershire Schools team from 11 to 16. I ask what he's bad at, apparently "dancing, singing, anything musical, anything artistic, can't paint, can't draw. Maybe you could say I'm not that great at being married, but I think they've both been successful marriages." Yet, he even seems good at being divorced – he calls Danielle his "best mate", and even gets on well with her new husband. Maybe he's just good at telling the world what they want to hear, but he has largely done so with remarkable consistency for four decades. He says he's not a control freak but "likes being in control of myself" and that "I tend to focus on my strengths rather than address my weaknesses."

In a high-performance world, Lineker seems an increasingly rare exponent of the idea that “You can have ambition, a desire to be as good as you can possibly be at something, without being a fucking nutjob.” Only golf would consistently break him, so he quit. “I didn’t like myself on the golf course. That used to piss me off so much, it’s the only time I used to get petty. Sometimes I’d get home and think, ‘Oh my God, you behaved like a prick today.’” He gets shy in crowds, conscious that everyone recognises him and worried about not remembering people. I point out that this is universal, that he might be reaching for hardship.

“I sometimes wonder why I’ve been so lucky in life,” he said, and you can tell he really does. “I always wonder whether I’m being played by someone with a PlayStation game on some other planet who’s actually quite good, and I’ve got the best player playing.”

e are speaking 10 years to the day since Lineker presented Match of the Day in Leicester City-branded underpants, the

peak of “BBC Gary”, but also the end of something, a shift from national treasure to national talking point. The past decade has redefined him as, for better or worse, perhaps the British left’s most significant non-political political figure, led by his vocal opposition to Israel’s war on Gaza. In late July, he appeared on a podcast hosted by two UK-based Palestinians and was told he is loved in Gaza for his support. “It felt quite poignant, because speaking out has become very →

GROOMING BY KRYSTLE GOHEL USING ARMANI BEAUTY

'I have a lot of female friends who I get on really well with, so that's satisfying because I love female company' difficult. It has cost people their jobs, I can speak from personal experience on that.”

In 2025, Lineker reposted an Instagram video about Zionism that featured a rat illustration, a widely recognised antisemitic trope. He later deleted the post and apologised, explaining he did not see the illustration. While he was due to leave Match of the Day at the end of the 2024-25 season, it meant he dropped out of planned coverage of the World Cup and FA Cup.

Around the Brexit vote he supported the Remain campaign, his first public political cause having then spent 20 years at the BBC. In October 2016, he tweeted that Britain's treatment of refugees was “hideously racist and utterly heartless” and the Sun attempted to get him sacked from Match of the Day, and would keep trying for a decade for his perceived breaches of impartiality rules he was not technically bound by. By December 2016, Vice anointed him “the British Left’s Loudest Voice”, but after the 2017 election he branded himself “politically homeless”, writing: “Everything seems far right or way left. Something sensibly centrist might appeal?”

A decade on, he has shifted further from the comfort of the middle ground. “For a lot of people, empathy goes as you get older, and you turn perhaps more to the far right. I’ve been the opposite.” That said, some of the BBC impartiality impulses linger on – he’s very deliberate with his language, diligently caveating and balancing, still finding the limits of uncaged life, but he likes it. “I don’t need to tread on eggshells all the time,” he says. “I’m now entitled to an opinion. Generally, life’s slightly more relaxed. I haven’t missed the BBC. I’ve got lots of respect for it, but it’s lost its way. They talk about impartiality, but at the top they’re definitely partial. We need to look beyond political parties deciding who’s on the board.”

During the World Cup, he invited New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani on his podcast, and said meeting him was “a thrill,” calling him “fantastic, amazingly charismatic, incredibly intelligent and articulate”. “He’s already made a bit of difference in New York and almost proving that lefty policies can work,” he said. “It’s early days, obviously, but the far right will always say, ‘Oh, we can’t have these leftist things, it’s been proved [not to work]... We’ve never really tried proper leftist policies [in the UK]!”

Lineker doesn't know who he'll vote for, but was interviewed by Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party, late last year, and interviewed Andy Burnham shortly after he became prime minister. "Polanski made an impact in a similar way to Mamdani. I tend to find myself agreeing with a lot of [the Green Party's] policies, particularly on the environment," he said. "Here we are living another day in this heat and our government is talking about drilling for oil in the North Sea. For what? There's not even any real benefit. Maybe it's lobbying again from the fossil fuel merchants that put us in this mess. I just wonder how politicians who we vote to try and make a difference are not seeing this, or if they are seeing it, they're allowing themselves to be lobbied."

Alongside Richard Curtis and Brian Eno, Lineker was one of 120 UK millionaires to sign a letter last month asking to “tax us,” saying: “We know that wealth and power has been concentrated in a small group for too long, at the cost of our country, its people, our democracy and our environment.” The campaign, Patriotic Millionaires UK (led by, among others, Gary “Garys Economics” Stevenson), proposes a 2% tax on wealth over £10m and matching both capital gains and income-tax rates. Lineker wouldn’t have chosen the name – “Patriotism is a little like tribalism, I don’t like either particularly” – but is all-in on the idea.

The standard retort has been that if he wants to pay more tax so badly, HMRC accepts direct bank transfers. “Maybe I do,” he says to this criticism. “I would never admit it if I did. But it makes absolutely zero difference if it’s just you. What we’re actually demanding is not just those that wish to do it, but everybody that is able to do it should contribute to society to a degree. People talk about [multi-millionaires] fleeing the country. Will they really, for a tiny fraction of their super wealth?”

He's increasingly obsessed by AI, too, to the point of conspiracy. “The amount of water [data centres] use and the energy levels at a time when we should be doing the exact opposite, and for what? For putting people out of work?” he says. “I think these billionaire tech oligarchs think AI will give eternal life for the super rich,” he adds, before musing that “the young people might need a global revolution”. He suggests I lead it, a kind offer that I’m still considering, but Greta Thunberg is his first choice. “She’d get a lot of people behind it. Obviously I don’t think that will happen, but it’s the way forward.”

Lineker's third act is only just beginning, the daybreak of his twilight. There are more podcasts to come, reports about branching out into a cooking show, likely more grandchildren, a return to Saturday-night screens. Despite everything, he remains optimistic, about England, the world, humanity. “I still think we can do the right things,” he pauses. “We have the power to do that.” And then the PR wolves are at the door, and Britain’s unlikeliest revolutionary is whisked away. ●

By JOHN SIMPSON

Comic timing

Why I quit my life as a veteran crime reporter to become a clown

Photographs

MATILDA HILL-JENKINS

complex legal matter in a difficult investigation needed an urgent response. I picked up my phone and wrote an email to lawyers and editors know-

ing every level of the newspaper's hierarchy would pore over it. In earnest, I included the words, “These are matters I take very seriously.” It was true. It was also true that, at that exact moment in time, I was dressed as a lion, which was only the latest in a string of events that led to me taking drastic action.

I had to choose one of my two lives, and I knew which it would be. I quit my career as a crime reporter to train as a clown. That's the top line. That's the story.

Specifically, I walked away from a job that for many years was the dream. I was the home affairs editor at The Observer. Now I'm unemployed, freelancing and learning to become a clown. Not a pie-throwing kind of circus clown. I only wear a red nose occasionally, in training. My discipline is loosely termed “theatre clown”, a form of alternative comedy and physical theatre. Think Buster

Keaton with a little less slapstick, or Mr Bean but sort of otherworldly. Think of everyone you've ever laughed at because you know the stupid thing they did reflects a little of your own stupidity, of the absurdity of your own humanity.

That's the sort of idiot I hope to be. If you're going to have a midlife crisis, make it a good one, right?

I never expected to be the best-known John Simpson in journalism, but in the end I qualified for the title “veteran”, as in “veteran crime reporter”. I’ve been undercover as a football hooligan, I’ve infiltrated terrorist networks, I once solved a murder.

But towards the end of my time at The Observer things had started getting silly. For three years I'd been training as a clown whenever possible. I'd studied clowning, taken courses and workshops in clown. I'd started a business to make spaces for other clowns to train. Things inevitably began to overlap.

Not long before what I'll refer to as #liongate, I'd had a brass clown horn confiscated by security at the Royal Courts of Justice, a particularly embarrassing experience only because I'd been quite "do you know who I am"-ish when my bag was pulled aside after the x-ray. To lighten the mood, I demonstrated the horn's "haa-hee" noise, before a security officer gave me a paper slip and told me to pick it up when I left.

Soon after that I logged in for a counter-terrorism briefing with Scotland Yard and received a message saying the meeting's host would let me in soon. Sitting in a little booth in The Observer's offices, I went back to some other work. Then my mind drifted to a bit of clown comedy I'd been working on – a “laughter guru” character. The entrance needed work. I thought about making some loud, breathy laughing sounds. Kind of “hee, hoooo, haaaa” sounds. And I practised a bit.

Then my WhatsApp exploded.

“Dude. Your mic,” came a message from David Woode of the Times.

“Mate, your microphone,” from Lizzie Dearden at the New York Times.

The meeting's host had let me in. My loud, breathy laughs were broadcast to the entire Crime Reporters Association, a senior police officer and multiple members of the Met Police press office, all of whom were sitting in silence awaiting the arrival of the head of Counter Terrorism Policing UK. Fifty people in total, maybe my biggest audience to date. The fact I wasn't mortified might have been the $\rightarrow$ deciding factor in leaving the job. Not long after, I told my newspaper bosses I would not be renewing my contract. They asked if there was another role I wanted. I said I would think about it. Then the paper's editor, James Harding, blindsided me. "John," he said. "If money were no object, what would you do?"

Without missing a beat I said, “Clown school”. There isn’t much the editor of a newspaper can do to help at that point.

So how did I, a very serious news reporter, stumble into clowning, and why did I keep stumbling? Breaking up with a vocation has been much like losing a great love. There are stages of grief and blame, of anger, frustration and disillusionment. More than anything, I was disappointed. For most of my newspaper career I was sustained by the great dream of journalism. I was hooked on the investigative process and getting my nose in where it wasn't wanted. And despite seeing the worst things people do to each other every day, I took heart from the powerful stories of those who suffered awfully, but committed their lives to helping others. Fifteen years later, I look at our depleted newsroom and the screaming headlines on the newsstands and not a bit of it feels like All the President's Men.

Reading the papers each day became wearisome. The cycles of moral panic and pearl-clutching outrage are tedious and often hypocritical. They sell papers, though in diminishing returns. There is a habit of finding a problem, making it bigger, and blaming someone – before starting again. Too often I found myself delving into horrors and wondering if the outcome was simply a fearful, inaccurate portrait of a cruel and unforgiving world. The stories were true, but they were packaged up with other unrelenting misery that I couldn't square with the world as I saw it.

I changed, too. Towards the end of 11 years covering crime for the Times, I was a brain, a screen, hands and a keyboard by day and a blur of bottles, bars and bad decisions by night. I curated fragments of myself as an image of success. I wore the suit and tie. But pieces kept falling out.

In 2017, there were five terror attacks in the UK, including the Manchester Arena bombing, as well as the horror of the Grenfell fire. Something in me grew brittle and snapped that year. My drinking grew torrid, my relationship exploded and my work became the last token of any value I was willing to ascribe to myself. Living as an old-film caricature of a hard-drinking crime hack, I still went on to do some of my best work. I won an award for a podcast series I'm still proud of.

John Simpson dressed as a human telephone for one of his acts

Before joining The Observer last year I got sober, travelled the world and spent a couple of years at a social media news company. It put me on the front line of the mess that humans are making of their brains. Short videos and single-image posts flood the mind with frenetic, unpredictable vignettes that trigger all sorts of emotions. Ironically, we try to use our phones and social media feeds to self-soothe. We stare into cascading snippets of lives that appear better or desperately worse than our own. We curate an online identity. We escape and deny ourselves. We disappear.

I've increasingly found that, in an age of artificial intelligence and superficial happiness, our authentic stupidity and imperfect humanity can be an unlikely north star.

Enter the clown.

One day over coffee, a friend and mentor flashed a look over the table. "You should do a clown course," he said. Kelly Kingham, a retired stand-up comedian I befriended during my recovery from alcoholism, is a poetic, inspirational man. I didn't ask any questions. I booked a one-day workshop. The funny thing was that Kelly was talking to my friend – I'd just intercepted his glance. A month or so later I was playing peekaboo with a stranger.

My first workshop led to another and another. In the last three years I've had about 25 teachers on short courses and workshops, from a petite Brazilian clown called Angela de Castro to a peculiar, moustachioed Spanish clown called Aitor Basauri and an avuncular, English clown named Mick Barnfather, a member of the theatre troupe Complicité. Next, I fly to Italy in November to spend a month training with a teacher called Giovanni Fusetti, who previously taught at the famous École Jacques Lecoq. The training has been hilarious, brutal and confronting. At times it has felt like reversing a lobotomy or conducting an archaeological dig to uncover my truest self, every discovery giving way to another tomb or burial ground, like a miner's pick striking some other, richer seam.

Early on, I found myself in a workshop with Tinky Winky from Teletubbies. My teacher that day was Dave Thompson, a clown and comedian who was among the actors to play the purple Teletubby. The task I remember most clearly is often called, in the industry, “Discover the audience”. The clown enters the room. No plan, no clever, wacky annoying crap, none of the nonsense you might presuppose comes with the much-maligned label “clown”. With stillness in the body, eyes available and no fixed expression, the clown discovers the room, the audience and the world. Something magical happens. We see them, they see us – as if for the first time. From there anything is possible.

This task reveals the masks, twitches and habits a person has when they are nervous. We see them swagger or smile apologetically. They cover their bodily organs. They fear being seen in case they are not enough. People operate behind avatars, curated and projected into the world; a suit and tie. They keep us safe from judgment, but far from our binding humanity and the hilarious predicament of being alive.

Clowning is hard. It is exposing. I've cried more than a few times. I once flew into a sweary rage and couldn't persuade my feet to carry me out from behind the stage curtain. As a child, I hated being laughed at. It is a strange choice of training. Some training puts the clown in repeated contact with what we term "the flop" – failure. You try to make an audience laugh and you fail. The flop is like a bad dream in which you give a presentation, naked, to a room full of colleagues. It is also, I have been told many times, a clown's best friend. Teachers say that it is here, on the brink of disaster, that real creativity happens. The best clowns play there, teetering on the edge of calamity, occasionally visiting but always saved by their optimism, innocence or sheer stupidity.

I duped myself for months that being a clown was just a hobby, that it complemented some personal growth work I'd been doing. I said I'd never perform. I went to every show I could. I saw ethereal creatures such as Julia Masli, Paulina Lenoir, Lucy Hopkins and Jamie Wood. They seemed to elicit laughter without even moving. They tugged on the tension in the air as though it were a kite string and the audience was three to one. Today it seems vast portions of the British public have been persuaded by an aggressive white-nationalist narrative. I could not shake the feeling it happened on our watch.

It hurts to walk away, to fall out of love with news reporting, to know I'm abandoning my post when good journalism is still needed. But the poetry I have discovered in clowning begins from the same humility as good journalism or scientific endeavour. It starts from “I don’t know.” It builds to wonder, joy, laughter. In my life it is now time to commit to building offline spaces for people to connect and find common ground. I feel lucky to have found an art that cannot yet be replicated by machines, too.

The energy I had for late nights in the office

‘It is on the brink of disaster that real creativity happens. The best clowns play here, teetering brilliantly on the edge of calamity’

the wind and together they made something fly.

After training in New York with a teacher called Christopher Bayes I confessed I wanted to get on stage. I started doing open-mics as a gameshow-host character whose objective was to get the audience to agree to marry him. It was no doubt cooked up by my subconscious as a way of laughing about my failed engagement years earlier. Other acts have bubbled up, too. The Telephone, for example, in which I play a mobile phone interacting with the audience, a semi-confessional piece about struggling with screen time and doomscrolling. There's a journalist clown who gets scared of nothing (make of that what you will) and the aforementioned laughter guru, a chance to laugh at my masculinity, deep spirituality and faith.

Last year I “bombed” for the first time. To bomb is to die on stage. I tried the engagement gameshow bit and it just came off as creepy. I didn’t have what almost all clown teachers demand: the pleasure to be there and to play. The spirit was absent and I just seemed needy. I was crushed. So I retreated into my training and continued at The Observer. At first I was revived, committed and energised by the job and our small team of brilliant reporters. But all the old doubts crept back over the crime beat.

I remember feeling a sense of professional failure as I walked through the crowds of more than 100,000 people at a Tommy Robinson rally on Whitehall last year. Elon Musk appeared on a big screen to call for the overthrow of the government. I recalled that my first job for the Times as a cub reporter in 2011 was a Robinson rally that drew 500 English Defence League hooligans; they were outnumbered by anti-racists waned while the boundless enthusiasm I had for clowning only seemed to grow. I once persuaded the paper to send me to Paris to cover the funeral of the great clown master Philippe Gaulier, whose students included Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter.

I was running workshops twice a week and building a community of clowns who shared my passion for this weird craft. I was performing at open mics in the evenings, often dashing home for an after-work power nap before running to do a five-minute slot in a pub.

E very reporter dreads becoming the story. So when I got a WhatsApp message from a journalist at Private Eye shortly before my leaving date I recoiled. "This is going to be very embarrassing if I've been misinformed," it read. Then it asked if I was leaving to retrain as a "professional clown".

That week I had my first headline slot at a comedy night in London. Suddenly the forward motion seemed irreversible. I begged the Eye reporter to wait to publish, at least until I was out of the door. He did. The piece, published last month, ended: "His are very large shoes to fill."

Then, in a culminating experience, I was asked to write this piece. My editor wanted to film my “laughter guru” act, but I said a clown needs an audience. So I found myself in something like the bad dream I described earlier, performing in a church hall to four former colleagues, not quite naked but stripped of all my curated crime-reporter protections. No suit and tie. Where once my great fear was that they would all laugh at me, now I fear they will not. This time, at least, they did. ●

By OLIVIA OVENDEN

Adored by everyone from Taylor Swift to Michelle Obama and Zendaya, Erdem has always followed his heart. As he celebrates 20 years since the launch of his label, the great outsider says he’ll continue to ‘march to his own drum’

ne day a week, the fashion designer Erdem Moralioğlu travels to the London Library, deposits his phone into a wooden locker, and spends the day drawing. Each sketch begins with a woman's neck, followed by her face and the rest of her head, and each time he draws on a Muji sketch-

pad with a Bic 0.5 pencil. It is in this building, which has stood in St James's Square for almost 200 years, that Erdem falls down strange rabbit holes. When he was working on his SS26 collection, he became interested in Hélène Smith, a late 19th-century French medium. "She would have these strange visions, go into trances and think she was part of the court of Marie Antoinette," he says. At other times she believed she was an Indian princess or space traveller through Martian skies.

The eventual collection featured trippy, illusionary details: threads sprouting from a pair of eyes on a bag, floating crochet discs strung together like a paper-chain, and a high-neck dress

with a lampshade skirt and ribbons of lace escaping below the hem as though breaking free.

“I really believe in the library,” Erdem says. “There’s an amazing

Taylor Swift wears a sculptural mini-dress by Erdem in June

librarian that I work with there. I can say: 'I'm interested in some of these ideas. Have you come across anything in the collection that could take you somewhere else?"

We are at Erdem's east London studio in the middle of one of this summer's heatwaves, specifically in his office, where books line the walls and spill on to the floor in small stacks.

There are fashion photography books the size of paving slabs, poetry collections scoured from across Europe, volumes of spellbooks and old editions of EM Forster, Christopher Isherwood and James Baldwin. It is too tasteful a place to be 32-weeks pregnant and dripping with sweat, as I am, but he is politely preoccupied with pouring water and dragging over his white leather desk chair for me.

Erdem is 48, but has the whippet bone structure and fresh face of someone two decades younger. Today he is wearing chinos with a blue T-shirt from the California surf brand Dekka and furry slip-on Birkenstocks. Behind his round-framed glasses are deep brown eyes that seem not to blink. There is an intensity to him undercut by a friendliness bordering on conspiratorial. He greeted me insisting we had met before with such warmth and certainty that he made me start to question if he was right, despite knowing he definitely was not.

“I wonder if people think I’m really controlled, but I’m not,” he said after we had sat down. “I like a frayed edge.”

Anna Wintour has described Erdem as “London’s pre-eminent storyteller”. He often finds the spark for his collections in the lesser-told stories of women throughout history, like the English poet and author Radclyffe Hall, or the youngest Mitford sister, Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. Women, as Wintour puts it, “of mettle, character, conviction and immense style”. Through a process he describes as

'Being dressed by Erdem is so wonderful, because he has incredible respect for the female form'

“filtration”, his initial spark of an idea lights the way onward. “When someone’s in the store and they’re putting on a dress, do they think of a seminal lesbian novel from the 1920s, or are they like: ‘This dress has pockets, and it makes me look beautiful?’” he grins. “I think it’s probably the latter.”

Still, the layers of fantasy and imagination that underpin the clothing with a sense of theatricality make them beloved by both the wider fashion scene and his high-profile customers. “The process of being dressed by Erdem is so wonderful because he has such incredible knowledge and respect for the female form,” says actor Nicola Coughlan, who has worn the label numerous times, including a custom look she took to the Bridgerton season three premiere. “He can dress anyone and make them feel like the best version of themselves.”

The designer's AW26 collection, which brought past Erdem muses into an “Imagined Conversation”, has in recent months been worn by Emily Blunt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Zendaya (twice) and Taylor Swift. An Instagram comment beneath a photograph of Swift in a mini-dress with a corset body and floral patches on the skirt reads: “This dress is beyond magnificent and makes me cry with joy. Whoever designed it should be followed around with chocolate and sainted at the Vatican.”

Erdem has not yet been sainted at the Vatican, but he did receive an MBE for services to the fashion industry in 2020. AW26 marked 20 years since he set up shop, during which time Erdem has remained fully independent, expanding last year to a second London store, this time on Sloane Street. On the morning we meet, he has just signed to take over his first US site on New York's Upper East Side, and tomorrow he will fly to South Korea to visit his two stores there.

It sounds relentless, I say, when he talks about simultaneously working on the upcoming SS27 collection as well as pre-fall, but he likes to see these deadlines as pleasingly rigid school terms. “There’s something about the blank page that always offers the opportunity of the unknown,” he says. “You’re always trying to figure out where she’s going to go.”

The idea of a mysterious and eternal “she” has been a fascination of Erdem’s since he was a boy. Growing up in Montreal he would only ever draw women, often using books like Anne of Green Gables as a reference. “I think my parents were like, this child is very odd,” he laughs. “I have a twin sister and she would draw trees and clouds. I would just draw women, particularly with puff sleeves. So even then I was like, ‘Give me a historic sleeve silhouette."

Erdem's father, a chemical engineer from Turkey, met his mother, who was from Birmingham, while she was working as a secretary at DuPont in Geneva. His mother loved art and history and would take him and his sister to galleries, inviting them into her passions rather than keeping them at arm's length.

The family settled in Canada, but Erdem believes that the connections maintained to both parent's native countries helped form

his way of seeing the world. “I grew up with this strange rootlessness: your accent didn’t sound like your family, and no one else sounded like your parents,” he says, his accent oscillating between British and Canadian, both yet neither. He found an asset in that sense of rootlessness. “Your eyes were always open: going to Topkapı Palace in Istanbul or the Tower of London, the world was so big and interesting,” he says. “To keep your eyes open is the most basic thing, but it can also be the most challenging.”

That rootlessness was also useful when, in 2000, he moved to London to study womenswear at the Royal College and was “so far away from home, but in the greatest way”. He arrived to find his fellow students had spent their summers working at Chanel or Christian Lacroix; meanwhile he had taken a job on a home-renovation show in Canada to earn some money. His painting was judged as not accurate enough to be trusted with decorating the sets, so he was tasked with priming the walls.

Studying at the Royal College, Erdem heard lectures from Wolfgang Tillmans and Hussein Chalayan. He lived with student friends Daisy and Cressida, and recalls “going to Nag Nag Nag on a Wednesday, dancing until your feet hurt and strangely never being hungover”. It was there he met his now-husband, the architect Phillip Joseph, as well as milliners and embroiderers who he still works with to this day.

At the end of his first year, Erdem's father died from cancer and his mother from vasculitis four years later. He credits this painful period as the making of him. “There’s nothing you can go through that makes you feel as young and as old at the same time,” he says. “At your very core, you just want your parents. I think when you lose them at a young age, it’s sink or swim.”

Journalist Claudia Croft remembers the moment Erdem walked into the room of young designers she was interviewing for the Sunday Times in 2005. “He looked like a young Yves Saint Laurent, slightly nerdy, with these big, heavy-framed spectacles on and he spoke so beautifully about the ideas behind his work,” says Croft, now editor of 10 Magazine. “When you’re a designer, doubt is the most destructive emotion. It is about putting a really clear vision out into the world, and that’s what he did right from the start.”

The group were finalists for Fashion Fringe, a £100,000 prize fund awarded to help new designers set up their business, started by the journalist Colin McDowell. Perhaps because of the strong impression Erdem made, perhaps because he ended up winning the prize, Croft says she doesn't remember any of the other contestants.

Erdem's first full collection the following year was bought by the luxury New York department store Barneys, and installed not with other emerging designers, but $\rightarrow$ alongside more established names on another floor. As Erdem is recounting this, he interrupts himself. “Is this a good story to tell? Maybe I’m waffling...” he says, continuing after some encouragement. “At the time I was like, ‘Why am I not with all the young designers?’ But I look back and just think how extraordinary that they took a risk on me. I don’t think any of us realise we’re there when we’re there.”

An embroidered satin dress from Erdem's AW 2026 collection

In the two decades since that breakthrough, Erdem has

become one of British fashion's great success stories. His clothes have been worn by the full spectrum of women: royals from the Duchess of Cambridge to Meghan

Markle, politicians' wives from Michelle Obama to Samantha Cameron, and celebrities from Dame Helen Mirren to Charli XCX. In February, the Business of Fashion reported the brand was on track to generate £23.66m in sales that fiscal year, up from £17.63m in 2024.

“In an industry driven by constant change, he has remained unwavering in his creative vision, building one of Britain’s most respected independent fashion houses without compromising his identity,” Laura Weir,

The beauty is in the details, both in Erdem's designs and his studio

CEO of the British Fashion Council, told me. “Through both his collections and the business he has built, he continues to demonstrate that independent British fashion can be creatively ambitious, commercially resilient and internationally influential.”

Erdem has survived the closure of stockists Barneys and Matches Fashion. After Barneys – his first client, and where he had sold for 15 years – went bankrupt, the Covid lockdowns began. During this shutdown period he knew he must still make a collection to keep the brand going. Packages of samples would go between a pattern cutter living on a houseboat to a product developer, with fittings taking place on video calls. “We all pushed forward together,” he says. “The success I have is because of the amazing team I work with.”

But what has given the label the staying power to outlast many of the designers he came up with feels unique to him. "He understands so innately what the women who wear his clothes are looking for: that romantic, slightly historically inflected approach to getting dressed," Chioma Nnadi, head of editorial content at British Vogue, told me. "I think being and staying independent has helped him to protect that flame, too."

The Erdem look – flattering, feminine, often floral – is works of art that make the women wearing them feel that way, too. I went to meet him having just seen my mum and when I told her who I was interviewing she said: “Oh, such beautiful dresses.” A friend 30 years her junior who I saw later that evening said almost exactly the same thing. As fashion has become trend-chained, as “quiet luxury” and “Ozempic

dressing" drag us under, Erdem has continued to offer women a version of femininity on their own terms. "Erdem is so considerate. He listens to women's wants as opposed to telling them what they need," says the actor Claire Foy. "He is a true creative, an artist. And he's a lot of fun."

Croft describes Erdem almost like armour for women: the outfits worn to big occasions where they need to “gather all the confidence they can”. For Erdem, that imparting of confidence is the truest expression of what he does. “To me, the most important thing is that moment in the mirror,” he says. “Where someone is zipped into something, where you look at yourself, and you’re like: ‘I look like a better version of myself.’”

Erdem slips out of his office to grab the running order board from his most recent collection, prop-

ping it against the wall. Standing back, he allows for a fleeting moment of nostalgia. “To know that 20 years later it’s actually still at the beginning of something, I find it thrilling,” he says. “The emotion comes from those who are here, and also those who aren’t.”

The AW26 collection pulled archival pieces from 20 years of Erdem, but instead of treating them like treasured relics, he ripped them up. A marshmallow pink dress with floral beading and red ribbons knotted into bows at the shoulder was slashed into a crop top and paired with jeans. This look, alongside the oversized coats which were Frankensteined together from a collaboration 'The collection pulled archival Erdem pieces, but instead of treating them like treasured relics, he ripped them up'

featuring Barbour tartans, were some of the most popular pre-orders of the collection.

When he emerged in 2005, his hyper-feminine, traditional womenswear steeped in British history made Erdem seem like an outsider in a scene enjoying a more punk era. But now, that appetite for deeply feminine eveningwear is everywhere – from the gothic lacy dresses of Simone Rocha to the voluminous tulle of Molly Goddard. “I think many have been influenced by his more traditional commitment to dressmaking,” Nnadi says. “It was quite at odds with what was happening on the London fashion scene at the time he arrived 20 years ago.”

Erdem has held on to feeling like a bit of an outsider. "I've always marched to my own drum and stuck to what felt right," he says. "There's always been a language and whether you want to escape it or not, you can't. It's your handwriting."

After a knock on the door, he springs up to have his photograph taken, parking his furry Birkenstocks beside a cascade of books. Of course, he has done his research. "I'm going to wear a jumper for your picture for continuity," he says. "I want to give a September back-to-school feeling. I'm going to roast, but it's worth it."

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The English actor JAIME WINSTONE

finds the ultimate balance of family, fun and focus on the island of Ibiza

The island holds many memories for me. Since I was a baby I've had holidays with my family here, I've partied here, and now it's a place of escape. We stay with my friend, the interior designer Brigitta Spinocchia Freund, in her beautiful house that's high in the hills and completely off-grid. Acres of lush gardens surround it, with enough trees and plants to create its own microclimate.

Inside it's cosy, charming and eccentric - just like Ibiza itself. The whole place is magical. — Ibiza has something for everyone. We love a boat day, a relaxed family dinner in the town and a walk round the shops. If you want a little dance, there's music everywhere of course. We're not spring chickens any more, though, and our clubbing experience has changed. My husband is sober and loves going out as much as I do, so we enjoy ourselves to the max but come home at a decent time. — There's a hedonistic side to Ibiza, but at this stage of my life the healing, spiritual aspect appeals to me more. It's where I come to get away from the hustle and bustle of London, and where I'll bring a script to learn my lines before a show. Island life allows me to focus on the task in hand. There's no better place to be immersed in nature. It's where I feel freest. Jaime Winstone joins the new series of Strictly Come Dancing, launching this September on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

At home with a Barbican designer's modernist vision

30.08.26 THE OBSERVER MAGAZINE

Miriam Howitt in the southwest London home that she and her husband designed and built in the 1960s

In the late 1950s, Miriam Howitt was working with the great modernist architect Hugh Casson while heavily pregnant with her daughter. On asking when she might go on maternity leave, he replied: "When you can no longer reach the drawing board." Since she was designing trains, which are long and narrow, and didn't require reaching far up the board, she ended up working right up until the last minute. "I had all the drawings sent to me in the hospital," she says. "I was checking them off in an open women's ward."

Millions have experienced Howitt's designs without knowing it. Her long and varied career has included the design of the first open-plan railway carriages, of buses, of hotel interiors, private homes, a Heathrow airport lounge, the $\rightarrow$

The house combines calm simplicity with an unbounded love of colour, pattern and texture

interior of a Berkshire mansion with a kitchen big enough to serve 100 people. Her approach to design involves meticulous planning, but her life has also had its share of adventure and unpredictability.

Now 97, Howitt is sitting in the house in southwest London that she and her late husband, fellow architect David Howitt, designed in the 1960s. “We always built the ideas together,” she says. “There was never conflict.” Here she ran her practice in tandem with raising their four children. “They came very fast – the one thing I never planned,” she says. Now, it is a place where they, her grandchildren and great-grandchildren can come together for family gatherings.

The house combines simplicity with an unbounded love of pattern and texture – Heal's curtains with big circle motifs; tiles emblazoned with plants or chevrons; fabric wallpaper so rough-surfaced it's almost sculptural, painted brickwork, dark hardwood veneers and cork floor tiles which are each unique. The furnishings are varied – an inherited bureau, Eames-like swivel chairs, an abstracted landscape by a notable architect, some high-backed chairs she spotted on a pavement.

The idea was to create “totally different atmospheres in different parts of the house”. When asked whether as an architecture student in the heyday of modernism she was inspired by designers including Le Corbusier, she says: “Well, I saw all of these things, but for me, every problem has its own solution. You don’t copy. You do what is right, which is why I’ve got a house which is nothing like anything else I’ve ever done.”

If her life has been settled for six decades, her first two were anything but. She was born Miriam Cooper on the south Atlantic island of Saint Helena. “We lived on a mountain so I didn’t have a pram, I had a donkey,” she says. Following her father, a station manager with Cable & Wireless, her family lived at different times in the Seychelles, Aden, Malta, Gibraltar and Egypt, in many homes and sometimes hotels.

In the middle of the Second World War, Howitt moved to Britain, sailing into Liverpool during an air raid, and then living with relatives in rural Lancashire. She worked for Casson and studied at the Architectural Association in London. Eventually, she set up her own practice, in which she was later joined by her husband. One memorable commission was to design five show flats to help market the new Barbican Estate in London: “I always had to design for people, so I visualised who was living in it,” she says. “Was it a family, a mother and baby or someone single?”

Working to a budget of £10 per flat, she persuaded designers and manufacturers to lend their products for free, rightly arguing that this would be wonderful publicity. Each show flat came with a catalogue of the items in it, which allowed people to stretch their imaginations and their eye. As in her own house, clean lines and white walls were combined with powerful patterns and varied furniture. One of the carpets from the show flats, in red and green with a big almost-heraldic pattern, still graces her dining area.

The house stands in a generous garden in the leafy district of Roehampton, which they chose as “a nice place to bring up children.” It’s on →

The striking carpet in the dining room also appeared in the show flats Howitt designed for London's Barbican Estate

HOME & AWAY

'The house is intimate and practical. It just feels relaxed and right'

a site that David spotted by peering over a fence in 1965. It's close to the Alton Estate, a pioneering and now listed work of modernist housing designed along Le Corbusier's principles of placing vertical blocks in rolling landscape. Howitt went there on a student field trip when it was still under construction. "I never thought I'd come to live nearby," she says. "It still feels very well designed."

Howitt's house is broadside-on to the street, placed amid greenery in a way that possibly echoes a home in Alexandria, Egypt, she fondly recalls from her wandering childhood. "It had a marvellous garden all the way round," she says. The brick exterior, driven by a limited budget, is spare, while the well-proportioned windows are distributed and sized to light the interior as well as possible. They go down to the floor, with broad horizontal bars designed with children's safety in mind.

The interior is arranged without corridors, but with generous halls and landings so that you can move easily around, and an entrance which is wide enough to greet people as they come and go. Every inch of the space is exactly thought through, and the maximum amount of storage space squeezed out. Howitt's attention to detail included acoustics, which that rough fabric wallpaper helps to soften. The house is, as she says, “intimate and practical,” but also inventive, with touches of drama.

The rear exterior is designed with windows that go down to the floor

"I'm getting more notice now than ever," says Howitt, whose original show flats have been an inspiration for a new 23-piece Made x Barbican furniture collection, which will be on display as part of an installation at the famous brutalist estate during this year's London Design Festival (12-20 September), alongside an archival image of Howitt's 1960s designs. Sitting in her garden-facing living room, she continues to enjoy the fruits of her design in her own home, saying: "It just feels relaxed and right."

LE DRAGON SAVANT

A Jourdain favourite for young readers, with shelves stacked with picture books, graphic novels, manga and games. The team here knows its way around the shelves and is great at giving a proper recommendation. A good stop for families looking to find something beyond the usual souvenirs.

L'ESCARGOT BAR

Part neighbourhood bar, part time capsule, this wonderfully weathered local institution has the kind of unruly character that Paris was once known for. Housed in a former bistro dating back to 1864, it is all faded charm and eccentric touches, with a menu that refuses to follow fashion. Expect escargots and frogs' legs alongside rum cocktails.

MARDI

A corner café-bakery that's popular with locals where handmade ceramic cups inject a soothing Scandinavian vibe that extends to the coffee, brewed with beans from Copenhagen roaster April. The menu might include buckwheat bread with comté and a soft-boiled egg or Japanese rice dumplings.

In the Neighbourhood

JOURDAIN

Paris

Perched on the gentle slopes below Buttes-Chaumont Park in eastern Paris, Jourdain feels more like a village than part of an arrondissement. Centred around its neo-Gothic church and namesake Métro station, it was once a wine-growing hamlet beyond the city walls before becoming a working-class quarter following its annexation in the 19th century. While much of central Paris has given way to luxury flagships and familiar addresses, Jourdain still leaves room for old and new ideas. Here, independent cafés and quietly ambitious restaurants occupy old corner shops and neighbourhood bistros. ● ROOKSANA HOSSENALLY

SOCES

Set inside what is said to be one of Paris's oldest buildings, Soces puts a contemporary take on seafood. With its mix of ancient stone, upbeat music and a menu that changes with the tides, it captures the energy that runs through this neighbourhood.

POLLEN

This thoughtfully curated boutique of brands brings together beautifully made bags, clothing with relaxed tailoring and understated wardrobe staples. It's the kind of place that offers a more personal alternative to Paris's better-known shopping streets.

LE JOURDAIN

Lunch at this lived-in bistro is one of the best- value meals in the area. Dinner is more elaborate with plates of black pork charcuterie from the Tarn, tempura hake with tartare sauce, and chicken vol-au- vent, washed down with a selection of natural wines. Reservations are a must, almost entirely thanks to a regular roster of locals who keep it busy.

PARC DES BUTTES- CHAUMONT & ROSA BONHEUR

This romantic park is a tangle of winding paths and hidden viewpoints. The best time to visit is late afternoon, when Rosa Bonheur, the park's beloved guinguette (open-air tavern), fills with groups of friends drinking chilled wine and beer. Arrive before the 6pm crowds to nab a spot.

DRY AGED FOR 25 DAYS WITH CORNISH SEA SALT TO MAKE IT TASTE

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£6.79

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Cravings

Ripe for the baking

KITCHEN DIARY NIGEL SLATER

In deepest summer I often make an almond cake, its surface encrusted with toasted almonds and here and there, the cheek of a plum or apricot peeping through the crust. Such cakes receive a welcome at any time of day – and I have been known to eat an occasional slice at breakfast – but this is to my mind the perfect late summer's afternoon tea cake, one to eat in the garden, barefoot, while shooing wasps from your plate.

The smaller plums, Czar or Opal, can be halved and stoned for this. Anything larger, → such as the ever-useful Victoria, will need cutting into segments. Left too large, your baking will fall apart. Not actually a bad thing, of course, but some people like a tidy slice of cake on their plate.

As with biscuits, I find baking the cake on a heated baking sheet gives a nice golden bottom crust and the cake cooks more evenly. Pop one in the oven to get hot when you switch it on. I mostly use ground almonds, but hazelnuts, toasted and finely ground are excellent here, too, especially with the darker plums. I will often introduce a few chopped herbs into the mix (principally lemon or everyday thyme and rosemary) and as the season skips towards autumn, a dusting of ground spice, such as cinnamon or cardamom.

Jewel-coloured plums abound, but this is also the height of the courgette season. So far this summer they have appeared in my kitchen sliced, battered and fried into rustling coins, or grated with basil and lemon. Another evening, cooked slowly with their best friends, garlic and tomato. A sort of ratatouille without the aubergine.

It has been a while since I grew courgettes. It wasn't just the space the vast leaves took up that made me stop, so much as the relentlessness with which the long green fruits appeared. I like them best when they are small and torpedo shaped, thin skinned and sweet enough to eat raw. They interest me less when they grow to the girth of a marrow and darken in colour. I count myself lucky that I am surrounded by shops that sell the pale Lebanese variety, with fine white and delicate green skin. So fine, you must carry them home like a box of eggs, as the skin scratches easily. They are good for stuffing (the classic Middle Eastern kousa mahshi) or as I do, with rice, mozzarella, mint and garlic and baked until the cheese melts. Other cooks stuff them with minced lamb, a practice on which I am less keen, and bake them in a dish of tomato sauce.

During the heatwaves, when almost nothing could get me to switch the oven on, I grated a batch of young courgettes to toss with chopped dill fronds and capers and pile on to toast. Eaten raw, they had a crunch to them that I rather liked. Courgettes are nothing without lemon, and this time I gave them a last minute spritz seconds before I put the toasts on the table.

There is a slow change upon us. The appearance of jewel-coloured plums and dusky damsons to follow the cherries and gooseberries of midsummer is something of a marker to those of us who like to eat seasonally. There's a moment when filberts (a type of hazelnut) appear in the shops, a brief, blink-and-you'll-miss-them few weeks, when the young nuts, sweet and milky, introduce a gentle crunch to a salad of ripe figs. This is the point in the summer when we need to keep our eyes peeled for them, and for damsons and muscat grapes, for such treats are gone in a heartbeat.

Almond cake with plums and thyme

I sometimes use rosemary in place of the thyme and, on the rare occasion I spot them, greengages in place of plums. A good keeper, this cake will last in a closed tin for a day or two if kept in a cool place.

Serves 10. Ready in 2 hours butter 150g, plus extra for the tin caster sugar 150g, plus a little extra plums 300-400g bushy thyme sprigs 6 medium eggs 3 self-raising flour 110g ground almonds 75g flaked almonds 2 tbsp

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. You will need a deep, round 20cm spring-form cake tin – butter it, then line the base with parchment.

Halve the plums and make sure to remove and discard all the stones. Remove the leaves from half the thyme and finely chop.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and 150g of sugar until light and fluffy. Break the eggs into a small bowl. Whisk with a fork until the yolks and whites are combined, then introduce them, a little a time, to the butter and sugar, beating constantly. If the mixture splits or becomes grainy, then add a spoonful or two of the flour.

Add the chopped thyme leaves and the flour, a few tablespoons at a time, then mix in the ground almonds. Spoon the mixture into the cake tin, then place the halved plums on top – they will partially sink into the cake as it cooks. Scatter over the flaked almonds and the remaining whole sprigs of thyme.

Bake in the preheated oven for about an hour, until lightly firm to the touch and golden. Check for doneness by inserting a metal skewer into the centre of the cake (avoiding a plum). If any wet cake mixture adheres to the skewer then let it cook further.

Remove the cake from the oven and leave to settle for 20-25 minutes. Run a palette knife round the edge, then slide the cake from its tin. As you serve, remove the thyme sprigs from the surface.

Courgettes with spring onions and dill on toast

Raw courgettes have a mild crunch to them that is pleasing, especially the smaller fruits, with their pale, freckled skins. Older ones, coarse and dark green, can occasionally carry a bitter note. This spread will last a day or two in the fridge.

Serves 3. Ready in 30 minutes courgettes 450g spring onions 2 dill 5g, plus extra to serve (optional) capers 2 tsp thick yoghurt 200ml olive oil 2 tbsp focaccia or sourdough 6 slices lemon 1

Using the coarse side of a box grater, shred the courgettes, then put them in a colander or sieve. Sprinkle with a little salt and set aside (in the sink or over a bowl) for 20 minutes.

Cut the spring onions into thin rounds, discarding the root and thick green leaf tips. Finely chop the dill and mix with the spring onions along with the capers and a few twists of black pepper.

Wring the grated courgettes in the palm of your hands to remove excess water, then stir into the spring onions. Mix in the yoghurt, olive oil and refrigerate until needed. Toast your bread, generously spoon the courgette cream on top and serve with a little extra dill if you like and a squeeze of lemon juice. ●

CHEF AT LARGE GEORGIA LEVY

t upsets me when a dish has just the right amount of sauce. I like to see my food swimming. In my opinion, the best kind of plate of food is one you look at and wonder, hang on, do I actually need a spoon for that? Where's my bread?

The universal sign of a good meal is a plate wiped clean. What a thrill, as a cook, to see one come back to you like that. While licking your plate is hard to pull off in polite company, the Italians have a far more socially acceptable version of this: fare la scarpetta – literally “doing the little shoe”; the act of dragging a piece of bread across your plate to soak up every last drop. There is no better way of showing appreciation to both the dish and the cook, than deploying your little shoe. It’s a joyful, enthusiastic gesture that reveals just the right amount of greed and disregard for table manners. I know I will like someone if I meet them at the serving plate attempting la scarpetta before anyone else gets to it.

Pasta sauces are the obvious moment to bring out your shoe, but my favourite sauce for this purpose will always be olive oil-heavy: the kind that absorbs swiftly and efficiently into bread. My sizzling chicken piccata sauce was designed with mopping in mind. It's clearly the star of the dish; its assertively briny, pickly flavours and satisfying texture – all those chopped olives and capers – outshine the crisp chicken. (And let's be honest, upstaging a glorious, golden piece of chicken is not an easy thing to do.) If you don't fancy going the whole way with this recipe, you can skip the chicken and just eat it as a delicious olive-caper-chilli pickle dip.

The cod dish works in a different way, using the magic of slow-cooked peppers to make something irresistibly scoopable. Though the peppers require a little patience, the result is a deep, sweet sauce that has you reaching for the bread before you've even picked up your cutlery. In fact, it would almost be rude not to eat the sauce first.

Cod with sweet and sour peperonata

The key to delicious peppers is to keep going until they've wilted and completely given up that raw, grassy flavour and transformed into a silky-textured, intensely sweet sauce, gently mellowed out by tomatoes. All it needs is a splash of vinegar to lift it, making it into the perfect accompaniment to a simple piece of fish – and the ultimate invitation to a piece of bread.

Soak up the sauce

Serves 4. Ready in 1 hour onions 2 garlic 3 cloves red or yellow peppers 4 baby tomatoes 300g

extra-virgin olive oil 6 tbsp, plus extra to drizzle red wine vinegar 2 tbsp fillets of cod or hake (skin on or off) 4 x 150g parsley a handful, chopped mint a handful, chopped salt and black pepper

Slice the onions and garlic. Deseed the peppers and slice into 1cm strips. Halve the tomatoes.

Heat half the olive oil in a wide pan over a medium heat and add the onions. Cook for 10 minutes until softened and beginning to colour, then add the garlic and fry for another minute or so until fragrant. Add the peppers with a generous pinch of salt and black pepper. Turn the heat down slightly, cover, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and scraping up any sticky bits from the pan. Remove the lid and cook for a further 5 minutes, or until the peppers are beginning to collapse and soften.

Add the tomatoes, the remaining olive oil and 150ml water. Simmer gently for 20 minutes until everything is soft, jammy and fully collapsed, squashing the tomatoes with your spoon as they break down. Stir through the red wine vinegar and check the seasoning – the sauce should taste sweet, and sharp, but balanced.

Season the fish well, then nestle it into the peperonata, skin-side up. Simmer for 5 minutes, then carefully turn and cook for another 3-5 minutes, depending on thickness, until opaque and flaking easily.

Transfer to plates, spoon over plenty of the peperonata, scatter with the herbs, and finish with another drizzle of olive oil. Serve with lots of bread, for sauce mopping, potatoes, and a green salad.

Chicken piccata with olives and chillies

Here, the aromatics get sizzled with hot oil. This flash cooks and “blooms” them so they release their delicious briny saltiness. And it’s quite fun to do. I’ve made this particularly saucy – you want a nice big puddle on your plate. The sauce would usually involve butter, but here I’ve used only olive oil to keep the flavours bright.

Serves 2. Ready in 30 minutes extra-virgin olive oil 6-7 tbsp, plus extra to drizzle skinless chicken breasts 2 small plain flour 2 tbsp parmesan 2 tbsp, finely grated garlic 2 cloves, grated non pareille tiny capers 1½ tbsp drained, plus 1 tbsp brine stoned green olives 60g, chopped small pickled green chillies 2-3, chopped small lemon 1, juiced white wine (or more stock) 75ml chicken stock 75ml

Place the chicken between 2 sheets of baking paper on a chopping board and bash with a rolling pin until $\frac{1}{2}$ -1cm thick. Combine the flour, parmesan and plenty of salt and pepper on a plate, then lightly coat the chicken, pressing the mixture into the chicken so it forms a thin crust.

Put the garlic, capers, olives and pickled chillies into a small heatproof bowl. Heat 4 tbsp of olive oil in a large frying pan until hot and shimmering, but not smoking, then carefully pour it over the bowl. It should sizzle immediately. Stir well and leave for 3-5 minutes before pouring in the caper brine and lemon juice. Set aside.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in the same pan over a medium heat and add the chicken. Cook for 4-5 minutes on each side, adding more oil as needed, until golden and cooked through. You may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your pan. Remove and leave to rest.

Pour the wine into the pan, scrape up any nice sticky bits with a spoon and allow it to bubble for 30-60 seconds, or until reduced by half. Pour in the chicken stock and simmer for another 3 minutes, or until slightly reduced.

Add the sizzled ingredients to the pan and let everything bubble together briefly. Turn the heat to low and drizzle in another tablespoon or two of olive oil, swirling the pan until the sauce looks glossy. Return the chicken to the pan and spoon the sauce over it, letting everything sit together for 30-60 seconds.

Serve immediately with another drizzle of olive oil, bread for scooping up the sauce and some new potatoes and a green salad. ●

'The piccata sauce, with its briny flavours and satisfying textures, is the star of this dish'

I love a great restaurant in an incongruous location. Like Celentano's when it first opened in Glasgow. Here was an achingly cool Italian-inspired restaurant, lodged over two floors of a funny little turreted Scots baronial building that was once a halfway house for female prisoners and has since become known as the city's most haunted hotel...

RESTAURANTS CHITRA RAMASWAMY

Celentano's Arthouse, 129 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 2SZ (celentanosglasgow.com). Snacks £4.50-£12, pasta £14-£24, mains £22-29, desserts £6-£13, wine from £5/£29

And Glasgow has at least as many of those as it does Italian restaurants. Celentano's at Cathedral House was right opposite the entrance to the Necropolis, a sumptuous Victorian cemetery spilling down a hill. This meant you could pass an eccentric morning picking your way round the crumbling stone mausoleums of Glasgow's own Père Lachaise, then nip across the road for negronis constructed with house-made vermouth, impeccable agnolotti and the most divine beef-fat tatties of your life. Perfect.

That was all snuffed out when Celentano's closed last year, and its owners, Dean and Anna Parker, announced they were moving. Worrying. Now Celentano's has reopened in a very different kind of hotel. Arthouse, also in a dramatic 19th-century building, is right in the city centre; all Art Deco flourishes and towering corniced ceilings. It's an ambitious move, but also a dangerous one. Can Celentano's maintain its quirkiness in such a refined, contemporary setting?

As soon as I enter for Sunday lunch, the answer is apparent. Yes! David Byrne is playing, the welcome is Glasgow levels of warm. I've soon got a glass of perfumed strawberry wine in my hand; sparkling wine infused with strawberries, blended with a French aperitif created in 1902, pocked with oil. The room is capacious, suave, but also laidback – reclaimed timber floors and hammered zinc tables, glazed tiles and biodynamic wines on the open shelves. The menu is almost the same as it was in Cathedral House. It's all gone a bit posh, but it still feels like Celentano's in here.

My pal Jen arrives and orders a fierce, sour, flawless chilli margarita. Next, snacks: Celentano's signature sourdough, chestnut brown and properly sour, with an aerated smear of smoked cultured butter; the funkiest lasagne fritte oozing with molten slithers of porcini and tangy, slightly sweet ewe's-milk cheese; and a puffy pair of doughnuts piped with smoked cod and anointed with a hot head of kimchi. The kimchi obliterates the delicate smokiness of the fish, but still... What a party for the palate.

Many preoccupations of Dean, the head chef, are here: ferments, smoking, preservation, a zero-waste ethos and a love of fried stuff. He trained under Tom Aiken, joined Robin Gill to open The Dairy in 2013, and co-opened Sorella and Darby's, where he met Anna, now managing director of Celentano's and leading

WINE DAVID WILLIAMS

the front-of-house team. The young couple returned to Glasgow, where Anna is from, to open their first restaurant in 2021. Within six months, Celentano's was awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand.

Every day except Sunday there's a set chef's menu – antipasti, primi, secondi, dessert and a canelé for £59 per person. The à la carte is short and crowd-pleasing, packed with interesting ideas, but also an Italian reverence for simplicity. The pasta, made in-house daily, available in small or large portions, is God-tier-good. Highland beef ragù comes with superbly textured pappardelle, the meat softened and enriched with a gloss of Ayrshire milk, finished with flurries of more of that tangy Corra Linn ewe's cheese. Linguine is piled like a heap of thin silk ribbons and pushes the “inspired” in Italian-inspired to the limit: it features meaty cod cheeks, softened discs of courgette, pumpkin seeds, a berber, chilli blend and what tastes to me like preserved lemon. A pasta with one foot in the boot of Italy and the other striding out across the Med to Africa and the Levant. An inimitable plate of pasta, especially with a £5 glass of mineral pinot bianco, delivered to Celentano's by keg and decanted into bottles before serving.

ROBERT SAMUEL HANSON

Secondi has to be dayboat monkfish, thickly sliced and gleaming like vintage pearls in the way only this meaty fish can. It's served with wilted chard, lemon and a luscious butter amped up with roe. On the side? Celantano's iconic strati (those aforementioned potatoes): gold ingots, thinly stacked in striated layers, and licked with beef fat and as naughty as a Glasgow potato gets. To cut through all that mischief, a sprightly salad of kale, rocket, cucumber and carrot, bright with olive oil and lemon.

Dessert is Parker at his most idiosyncratic and sophisticated. A corn bun, tappable and sugar-encrusted on the outside, filled with a smooth dandelion-hued corn custard, lactic, clean-tasting milk gelato and stewed red currants. What are the fuzzy buds on them? Mint flowers from a recent dinner held at Celantano's during the Commonwealth Games, in which Parker was joined in the kitchen by the chef Andi Oliver, and Pam Brunton of Inver. Brunton brought some foraged herbs from her game-changing restaurant on the shores of Loch Fyne and happily they found their way to our dessert. What a good idea – another tiny curveball thrown at the end of a unique and fabulous Sunday lunch. ●

Appellation appeal

Even if you are in the unusual habit of marking landmarks in the history of obscure agricultural bureaucracy, the 90th anniversary of France's wine appellation system may seem like an odd thing to choose to celebrate. After all, this system of regulating French wine by place of origin, which came properly into force with the official rubber-stamping of the first six AOCs (Appellations d'Origine Côntrôlées) in 1936, has never been more unpopular.

Not that this is new: the AOC system has always had its critics among French wine's unusually high quotient of refuseniks, the kind of independent-minded farmers who are never going to be happy being told what to do by a bureaucrat, let alone follow the pedantic prohibitions contained in their local AOC's rulebook.

The country has more than 300 wine AOCs, each of which has a specific set of commands: where and which grape varieties a vigneron can plant, how many plants per square metre, how the plants should be pruned and harvested, the yield they are permitted, the minimum and maximum alcohol level, the winemaking techniques and the style of wine. No wonder so many of France's most creative wine producers have chosen to take their wines out of the AOC system and instead use the looser rules of the nationwide Vin de France category, where they are free to experiment with all grape varieties and winemaking techniques.

But it's not just the temperamentally free-spirited who have objections. The system has a deserved, hard-won reputation for sclerotic decision-making processes, inflexible rules and entrenched conservatism that seems ill-suited to the urgent demands imposed on wine-growers by global heating. Vignerons of a more commercial disposition blame AOCs for wine's inability to appeal to new, younger drinkers by adding unnecessary and alienating complexity between producers and consumers.

For all its flaws, I can't help feeling an affection for the AOC, or the place-first way of exploring wine that it represents. While an AOC may not always be a stamp of quality (producer name is far more important), it still does a decent job of guiding wine lovers through the sensory and stylistic map of vinous France.

For me, the 90th anniversary of the AOC is a moment to celebrate the variety of French wine with a mini-tour of some of my favourite lesser-known appellations. I’d start in the hills of Jura, with one of the original six: the Arbois AOC’s pungent, yeasty, sherry-like dry white of Domaine Daniel Dugois Arbois Savagnin Sous Voile 2021 (from £32.15, SipWines; Les Caves de Pyrene). Next, a slinky, silky light red from one of the 12 AOCs of Beaujolais, Elisa Guérin Chiroubles 2024 (£23.75, Wayward Wines) and a spicy red bargain from the slopes of cycling mecca Mont Ventoux in the Rhône, Famille Perrin L’Oustalet Ventoux 2024 (£10, Tesco). From the west, a lemon-tart, salty dry white partner for the local oysters from the Côtes de Grandlieu AOC in Muscadet in the Loire estuary near Nantes: Fief Guérin, Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu Sur Lie 2025 (£8, Waitrose), before finishing with a mango-and-marmalade-tangy Gascon southwestern sweet wine of Producteurs Plaimont Saint Albert Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh 2022 (£20.95, Corney & Barrow) and a toast: vive la différence!

Wine of the Week Elisa Guérin Chiroubles 2024, £23.75, Wayward Wines

Hot dogs and hope Ben's Chili Bowl

Washington DC's iconic restaurant has reopened after renovations, celebrating its legacy as a hub for civil rights and community

RESTAURANTS ERICA WAGNER

When Ben's Chili Bowl reopened after nine months of renovations, the fanfare was one befitting this historic and beloved Washington DC institution. Spike Lee was there; so was Muriel Bowser, the city's mayor, along with

the First Lady of Maryland, Dawn Moore, and Eleanor Holmes Norton, DC's congressional delegate to the US House of Representatives and a stalwart of the Civil Rights movement, organising with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the 1960s. The Chili Bowl has long been a place of pilgrimage: Barack Obama stopped by a few days before his inauguration in 2009: from Serena Williams to Bono, Usher and Dave Chappelle, no one goes to DC without stopping at the Chili Bowl.

But the queen of the celebrations was Virginia Ali, “Mom”, the 92-year-old matriarch of a neighbourhood restaurant that has been, and remains, an icon for the battle for civil rights in the US. Since 1958 the spot has served “half-smokes” – a hot dog, essentially, but better – with their signature chilli, along with the best onion rings you’ll ever eat, thick milkshakes and sublime banana pudding. When we speak over Zoom, I ask Virginia what her favourite moment was from the celebration. “I was amazed to see the number of people who had turned out to support me. Then I walked in the door with the mayor, and I saw my Chili Bowl looking especially good, still with that Chili Bowl feel, but new and fresh and beautiful.”

It's hard to overstate the importance of Ben's in the history of the nation's capital and in the history of the Civil Rights movement, its gains now startlingly under threat. It was founded by Virginia's late husband, Ben Ali, an immigrant to the US from Trinidad. In the early 1950s, Virginia had moved to DC from rural Virginia and was working in a bank on U Street – known as the Black Broadway. "It was a segregated neighbourhood, but ours was such a proud, classy, dignified community. We have Howard University" – one of America's Historically Black Universities – "in walking distance; Howard opened in 1867. So we had a whole bunch of educated Black people, and our own hospital, our own bank, our own hotels, our own everything," she says.

Ben courted her and persuaded her into the restaurant business. There were a lot of hamburger joints, but nowhere really serving hot dogs: he saw his opening. The recipe for the famous chilli remains a secret: Virginia will admit to some Trinidadian curry, but there is one main ingredient. “It’s just got a lot of love in it.”

That love was a necessary quality in the toughest times and Ben's became a focal point of Civil Rights activism. "When Dr King came in, it was wonderful just to have him," Virginia says. "I had plenty of conversations with him, and Ben and I went to the March on Washington, where he brought 250,000 people here on 28 August 1963." Ben's provided food for the marchers. "But five years later, someone runs in telling me Dr King had been shot." In the riots that followed the

DRINKS HANNAH CROSBIE

Virginia Ali chats to diners at Ben's Chili Bowl, which she has been running since 1958

assassination of Dr Martin Luther King, Stokely Carmichael got permission to keep the Chili Bowl open after curfew to provide food and shelter for those working to restore order to the city. There were other hard times, too: after the riots the neighbourhood went downhill, but Ben's stood firm: "Our community always knew we were there for them," Virginia says. Her husband died in 2009, commemorated by a long obituary in the Washington Post; Virginia and her sons carry on the business, along with her energetic daughter-in-law, Vida.

My son and I met Vida when we stopped in for half-smokes earlier this year; the restaurant was in a pop-up location while the repairs were being finished. We were smitten, with Vida and with the place – which had both a real sense of history and true neighbourhood vibe. Staff have worked there for decades. I guess you could call it “fast food”, but it isn’t really: this is the best of Americana – and did I mention the onion rings?

At the reopening people waited patiently for hours for their chilli dogs and the place was crowded until closing time – 4am. The Chili Bowl has several locations around DC now, but U Street is the heart. It’s the kind of place that makes a person feel hopeful: that hope is a lamp that’s burned for nearly seven decades. “I always just think you should treat people the way you want to be treated,” Virginia says. “I’ve experienced it firsthand for 67 years. A little bit of kindness is all we’re asking for. If everybody could just show a little bit of kindness, we would all be fine.” ● benschilibowl.com

Stella performer

As a brand, you're constantly telling and retelling stories. A classic story in the world of drinks brands is: a little old man/woman/community somewhere unknowingly stumbles upon/lovingly crafts a timeless ale/apéro/wine/spirit. This concoction moves with time and its people and is shaped by both of them. The recipe and the integral spirit of the drink stay the same, but everything else changes. Practical stuff – such as where it is brewed and branding – changes with time (when heritage brands do this, I weep) to meet the needs of modern audiences and to fit demand.

But how a brand can be enjoyed, and by whom, is something altogether more nebulous and largely something a brand doesn't have too much influence on. You can control pretty much everything else, but not how it is drunk and who drinks it. And this can alter from place to place. What might be classy and tasty in one place could be considered commonplace or unremarkable in another.

In this regard, Stella Artois is quite a curious brand. What began as an experimental deviation from dark, sour beers in the Den Hoorn brewery 600 years ago has become a household name. The idea here was to create something that resembled a pilsner from Germany or Czechia. Saaz hops were used to bring bright, floral notes to the beer and to this day the signature tulip-shaped glass is used to catch aromatic compounds at the narrow rim – in much the same way as a wine glass does.

Because of this thoughtful approach to drinking, Stella was considered a high-end beer – until the 1990s and 2000s, when media focus on Stella Artois consumption and acts of violence earned it some nasty nicknames. Supermarkets in the UK also contributed to Stella's overconsumption and reputation as a beer for binge-drinking, with a “pile it high” ethos in drinks aisles and offers that encouraged excess. So much so that in the late 2000s, Anheuser-Busch InBev (the brewing company that owns Stella) sought to “focus on heritage” in order to rebuild the brand’s rep.

Today it shares association with high-profile sporting events such as Wimbledon – an event that, incidentally, has a strict alcohol policy, with consumption capped at two 500ml cans of beer inside the grounds. Just a few weeks ago, the company launched a blush-pink beer, at 3.4% abv, inspired by strawberries and cream, strengthening the partnership with Wimbs and attempting, perhaps, to reach more female drinkers.

And recently the restaurant Camille bought a load of its iconic glasses, and now serves Stella Artois (with a splash of chartreuse, if you ask) alongside its offal-focused menu.

Which isn't to say that a bottle – or a can – isn't also just the thing for certain moments. Stella is my partner's favourite beer, “because it does the job”, he says. True. Sometimes when it's hot out and the sausages are on the barbecue, it really does make sense to have an easy-drinking lager.

When you have excellent heritage, you simply have to lean into it. That kind of thing can't be bought. Stories don't need to be redesigned – leave that to the new blood. ●

ISABEL ALLENDE

The Chilean-American author of The House of the Spirits, Daughter of Fortune, and many other books, shares her thoughts in their totality – a tangle of domestic chores, global worries and finding solace in dogs and musicals

What's on my mind? 100%

I notice the normal people in this column divide their thoughts into neat percentages. That's incredibly smart. I wish I could do it, but I'm hopeless at maths. I have a split personality: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. When I am writing, all my thoughts are engaged in the process; I am a happy, calm, focused, silent and practically invisible woman who spends many hours a day behind a closed door and doesn't bother anybody: the perfect spouse. During my writing episodes our house is a refuge of repose, but

this idyllic situation is dramatically reversed when the book is finished. God forbid that happens far from 8 January, the sacred starting day of all my books, and I find myself idle for some time.

Then my hyperactive tendencies take over and my mind becomes a bowl of spaghetti: entangled and mushy. My thoughts swirl and swirl eternally: Pick up the dog poop in the garden. Death is breathing down my neck. What's for dinner? Too many black clothes; I look like a widow. What's the difference between dementia and Alzheimer's? My mother was right: after 80, everyone looks like an iguana. It's an ongoing daydream, with a story always brewing inside. My husband panics, because I will redecorate the house, paint the walls in the colours of Frida Kahlo, throw away half of his clothes and buy plants destined to perish under my care. (Fortunately for him, I am not as interested in sex as I was before).

Every day, even during the writing periods, I dedicate some time to the mail; otherwise, it accumulates and haunts me even in my dreams, but I am good at it; normally, it gets done in less than an hour. Half of the correspondence is from people in distress who want help or advice and if I don't answer, their problems clutter my brain for weeks. What

can I say to the fundamentalist Mormon sister-wives who wish their common husband dead? My instinct would be to suggest ways to dispose of the body – I'm an expert; I wrote a crime novel

- but my agent has warned me against liability. The US is a very litigious country.

The rest of the mail consists of requests. Anyone with a kinder heart would succumb to the pressure, but mine is hard as granite. I have learned to decline most of them, so they are not in my mind for more than a few minutes. No to book tours, blurbs, prologues, literary events, lectures and reading other people's manuscripts, in particular poetry about motherhood and memoirs by teenagers. No to visiting a detox clinic, speaking at a school for the blind, adopting a litter of orphaned kittens, or posing for a geriatric lingerie line. No kidding, some marketing executive really thought that at my advanced age and with my flabby flesh I could parade in see-through lace underwear and a bra with pompoms on the nipples.

Whirling inside my brain is the sorry state of the world, especially the United States since Trump. This is the main topic of conversation among my friends and relatives, so I can't brush it off easily. Sometimes it gets to be so disturbing that I must watch Mary Poppins to clear my mind. I know the damn movie by heart. But there's no escape from worrying about the grantees from my foundation – vulnerable women and children, refugees, and migrants. The bad news often sends me spiralling down into doom and gloom. However, by 10am, after coffee and the gym, I recover my unrealistic optimism, which lasts until the next morning, unless I am in one of those dreaded idle periods in between books. In that case, I need extreme measures and I watch The Sound of Music.

Daily maintenance runs as a background track to my thoughts: hair-cut, roots and manicure, fertiliser for the lawn, the dry cleaners, annual medical check-up, the dogs' rabies shot, lipstick, changing the flowers. Did I take my pills? Still, stories dominate, because even when I am not writing like a maniac, I am visited by literary spirits knocking at my brain demanding attention. I spend most of my life dealing with those spirits, planning the next book, writing, deleting, writing some more, researching and editing. I have written 32 books and – to my husband's contentment – have no intention of stopping anytime soon.

My publishers hate me; they can't catch up with me.

Yet Roger and the dogs are always on my mind. They open my heart and make me laugh; they soften me and bring out the best of me (which is not much, really). I possess internal feelers tuned to their presence and absence. When they are near, there is life. When they are gone, I am simply waiting. ●

Story Telling: A Master Class in Crafting Stories (Bloomsbury, out 15 September, £16.99). Save 10% off at observershop.co.uk

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Mock Tudor

Architects use the term for modern houses dressed up as something older. Decorative beams. Period additions. A borrowed sense of history. Our new Trident Biscay Automatic may take its cues from the great skin divers of the 1960s, but there's nothing decorative about it. Its slim proportions, highly legible dial and vintage warmth are all rooted in the same practical thinking that shaped the originals. We've simply applied everything watchmaking has learned since: chronometer-certified movements, surface-hardened bezels, modern luminous materials, marine-grade alloys and a bracelet that adjusts without tools. This isn't a contemporary dive watch in fancy dress. It's a 1960s skin diver, built 60 years wiser.

Do your research.

Christopher Ward

christopherward.com

The Observer Sport

The new WSL season 4-page special

Buyer's remorse

Spurs still pointless after Newcastle defeat

This week

Reporting by Jessy Parker Humphreys

The week in brief

New boy Muñoz saves Liverpool in Forest draw

For the second weekend in a row, Liverpool rescued a 2-2 draw as Victor Muñoz scored his first Liverpool goal with a fantastic swivel to earn his team a point against Nottingham Forest. Dan Ndoye had initially put his side ahead before Aleksander Isak equalised, but Morgan Gibbs-White put Forest back in front from the penalty spot after Liam Delap's quick-thinking throw-in had led to Alisson bringing down Neco Williams. Andoni Iraola's former team Bournemouth again threw a lead away after James Tarkowski equalised for Everton in the 91st minute. Alex Scott had put the south coast team ahead.

Black day for Kiwis: The haka could not help New Zealand beat South Africa, who fought back from their series-opening defeat with a 33-26 victory in Cape Town. The next Test in the four-match series is on Saturday. Gianluigi Guercia/AFP via Getty

after Joe Clarke became the first batter to reach 1,000 runs in this year's competition on Friday. Clarke will resume on 146 with Nottinghamshire 299-7. Somerset were similarly affected in their match with Sussex, with their lead from Friday standing at 119 runs. In Division Two, Brydon Carse was back in action, dismissing two more Gloucestershire batters as Durham ended the day just four runs from victory, with bad light stopping play.

NFL drops Pro Bowl game as viewers switch off

The NFL has axed its Pro Bowl, ending a tradition that stretches back to 1938. The all-star meeting had taken on a variety of formats over the years but viewing figures have declined significantly, with players not wanting to contest the game competitively.

£30m

McLaren's Lando Norris's reported annual salary after signing new deal

Prodigal son Grant sends Charlton to summit

Charlton are the only team left in the Championship with a 100% record after Karlan Grant scored his first goal since his return to his boyhood club, seven years after he left. Millwall were unable to match their south London rivals, losing 5-1 to Southampton which moved the Saints onto a positive points total following their deduction for Spygate. West Ham remain without a win after drawing 1-1 with Watford, although Burnley have even fewer points after being thrashed 4-1 by a Norwich City side who were 3-0 up within 21 minutes. Will Lankshear's strong form for Middlesborough continued as he scored twice in a 3-1 win against West Bromwich Albion, taking his season total to six goals in five games.

Liverpool agree £123m fee for winger Barcola

Aston Villa have signed Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea for £47.5 million, with potential add-ons taking the deal to £65m. He is set to be joined by Ibrahim Mbaye, the talented 18-year-old winger, who is joining from Paris Saint-Germain for £47m. PSG have also reached an agreement with Liverpool over the transfer of Bradley Barcola, with the fee expected to be £123m, a record for a player from Ligue 1. Arsenal are still pursuing Julián Alvarez, although he has reportedly told Mikel Arteta he does not want to join the Gunners. Manchester City are expected to make an offer for Chelsea's Enzo Fernández. Chelsea are set to sign Emiliano Martínez from Villa for £7.5m.

Dominant Pogačar crashes out of Vuelta

Tadej Pogačar has withdrawn from the Vuelta a España after crashing in the middle of the peloton with 33km remaining on stage eight. The 27-year-old had been leading the

Overheard

‘It’s something that I wouldn’t like to smell. I’m not a huge fan of it.’

Katie Boulter on the smell of cannabis wafting onto courts at the US Open

'It's win-win all the way'

In a revealing intervi with The Observer Sport's George Simms, former England striker Gary Lineker discusses his life away from the game, and how he became a podcasting giant. Magazine, pg 12

race and was the heavy favourite to win when he came off his bike, hurting his left shoulder. He has won the Tour de France five times, but never the Vuelta.

Audrey Werro homes in on 800m world record

Audrey Werro further brought down her personal best in the 800m at the Zurich Diamond League meeting on Thursday night. In her home race, Werro ran 1:53.70 to beat Femke Broeders-Bol and Georgia Hunter Bell. The Swiss runner is now only 0.42 seconds off Jarmila Kratochvílová's world record, which has stood since 1983. Broeders-Bol raced into an early lead, but the Werro reeled her in and kicked on with 180m to go. Broeders-Bol did set a new PB of her own though, finishing in 1:54.71.

Washout for County Championship leaders

On a rain-affected Saturday in the County Championship, there was no play at all at Edgbaston between Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire

Contents

WSL back bigger and better: a four-page special pages 9-12

Pidcock the poster boy as the Tour of Britain arrives page 14

Billy Boston: the greatest player never picked for Wales page 15

On today's cover

A thoughtful Roberto De Zerbi saw his Spurs side lose 2-0 to Newcastle.
Nigel French/ Sportsphoto/ Allstar via Getty

Said & done by Andrew Butler

Getting thirty, part one Manchester United suffered a minor blunder alongside their surprise opening-day defeat to Hull City. Premier League rules state that if a club doesn't have a sleeve sponsor, the official league badge should be present on both arms. United are currently without a sleeve sponsor, and wore their kit with the badge attached on only one side.

Getting thirty, part two

Leyton Orient have accused Wrexham of copying their club crest. Wrexham's new crest is mildly similar to the east Londoners, though it should be noted that it depicts dragons, while Orient's features wyverns. Dragons have four legs and two wings, while a wyvern has two legs and its wings act as its front arms. Obviously.

Jamie Vardy, rights holder

Jamie Vardy's YouTube channel will broadcast seven Bundesliga games live this season after striking a deal with the German league. The channel, "Jamie Vardy's Having A Party", has more than 14,000 subscribers, and the deal is part of the Bundesliga's push to reach different audiences on non-linear television services.

Wrong Ronnie

An artist has claimed that a mural he designed of Ronnie O'Sullivan, described by locals as “shocking” and “zombie-like”, is still unfinished. Chris Ashmore produced the artwork for the Spot On snooker club in Sheffield, and based on what it currently looks like (left), we can only hope the artist does indeed complete it...

Paul Hayward

If England's cricketers can't respect the job they have to face real consequences

Brydon Carse is the eighth player caught up in alcohol-related incidents in less than a year – Britain’s hedonistic post-midnight culture clearly holds more sway than ECB deterrents

Molly Malone's in Derby city centre is like countless other drinking emporiums that industrialise

big nights out. The clue is in the opening hours: 12pm to 4am on Saturday nights. It's not the place for a quiet glass of shiraz after a day of county cricket.

The pavement around the giant bar where an England cricketer was filmed in handcuffs on Saturday night has that grimy, sticky look of spilt beer, dropped kebabs and maybe the odd splash of blood from an altercation. Until last weekend it was an unremarkable place for people to surf youth's wave through to 4am on a Sunday. Unremarkable, that is, until a 31-year-old who was in the squad to play for England against Pakistan at Lord's five days later shot to the head of the sports news agenda.

On a long drive south this week curiosity steered me into Derby to survey that landscape, to ask why an England bowler – Brydon Carse – may have fallen deaf to his new Test captain Joe Root's order that players cease and desist from involvement in “late-night incidents”. Standing there on a quieter midweek evening I could have been anywhere in Britain, where the hedonistic post-midnight downtown scene is so ingrained in our culture that pretty much every town and city centre looks the same at 2am. Imposing order on it is the unenviable task of the police and nightclub “security”.

Nobody could dispute that England's cricketers are adding to that workload and the main focus is usually on the alcohol. Does cricket have a drink problem? Is there a drinking culture in the England dressing room? Maybe. Less attention is paid to the culture – the Molly Malone magnet, if you like – that seems to draw England cricketers into situations they would view as normal, because that's what their generation is supposedly doing.

They want to be part of the crowd. It’s an astonishing disconnect, as anonymity is an illusion for them

In every captured image of an England cricketer in trouble you notice how they're dressed: ie, like everyone else on that night out. They want to be part of the crowd, to be anonymous. It's an astonishing disconnect in a team from which eight players have been involved in disciplinary incidents since last autumn that they can't see how anonymity is, for them, illusory.

Days before Carse was arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly and then “de-arrested” by Derbyshire police, Root had set out a policy on drinking and carousing that’s more realistic than the curfew that snared his predecessor, Ben Stokes, after the New Zealand Test at Lord’s.

In the footage of Carse in cuffs it's ghostly to see Stokes emerge from Molly Malone's and then fade from view like Homer Simpson backpedalling and disappearing into a hedge. Derbyshire police have since opened an investigation into an alleged assault, but they haven't said whether it relates to Carse's brief arrest.

Stokes retired from international cricket indignant about the ECB's handling of his curfew breach at

a club on London's Kings Road. He went out at Trent Bridge three weeks later like a rock star smashing his guitar and kicking over amps.

In came Root to impose a more “grown-up” set of rules and appeal to something England’s cricketers seem unable to grasp, which we may summarise as a sense of personal responsibility and consideration for the team. Root had said: “Let’s be adults. Look after yourselves, look after each other, create a good strong culture where you know the right time to celebrate and enjoy a win, or to have a sensible beer or whatever. And remember you’re playing for England.”

An ECB security official being punched in Chelsea and Stokes and Gus Atkinson being suspended for the Oval Test followed Harry Brook being punched by a bouncer in Wellington and Ben Duckett making a fool of himself in Noosa. As the BBC pointed out: “There are 30 men currently on England central contracts. More than

Next man up: last weekend at a Derby nightclub Carse joined the growing list of England players involved in alcohol-related incidents. Jason McCawley/CA/ Cricket Australia/Getty

Familiar face: when Carse was handcuffed outside Molly Malone's, below, his Durham team-mate (and former England captain) Stokes was lurking in the background.

a quarter of them have been caught up in bother in the past 10 months."

Carse was awarded a two-year ECB central contract in November 2025. He is reported to be on about £250,000 a year. Though he wasn't on England duty in Derby he was an ECB employee. He was due to report for England duty 48 hours after leaving Molly Malone's. Evidently a County Championship win (Durham had smashed Derbyshire by 338 runs) is still capable of sparking lengthy celebrations.

Cut to Root again before the second Pakistan Test. “If I’m being brutally honest, I’m really hacked off, I’m really disappointed,” he said. He spoke bitterly of “stupid mistakes”. Household name ex-players aghast at the reach of smartphones in social settings will say the only answer is to find a private room at the team hotel to unwind. An England cricketer would get the beer but not the thrill of being out, in search of the heart of Saturday night. Seeking release, paradoxically, they fall into traps.

"The weekend has landed. All that exists now is Guinness, music and that famous Irish craic," Molly Malone's promises. Or, for Carse, the crack of handcuffs going on and coming off. The nuclear option for England is surely those central contracts, which need to be reduced in value or even annulled if players can't treat the job and a team that suffers the consequences with a little more respect.

Plumb: Ollie Robinson celebrates trapping Pakistan's Saudi Shakeel LBW on Friday. Glyn Kirk/ AFP via Getty
Getting in on the act: Josh Tongue and, below, Gus Atkinson are the other members of England's powerful fast bowling attack. Gareth Copley/Getty Images/AP Photo/Dave Shopland

Despite diplomatic incidents and boozy antics, awesome foursome bowl England towards win

Cameron Ponsonby Lord's

“They are not even acting with any kind of strategy any more,” says Kasim Khan, son of former Pakistan captain and prime minister Imran Khan, who has been imprisoned in his home country for the past three years. Large periods have been in solitary confinement.

“It is not very clear what they are doing,” Kasim continued. “Just blatantly trying to kill him in there.”

Kasim, alongside his brother Sulaiman, was speaking to Michael Atherton in the pavilion at Lord's before the second Test. After the interview on Sky Sports aired, at the lunch interval of day one, Pakistan considered refusing to return to the field of play in protest – a course of action that would have resulted in them forfeiting the match.

The reason is that the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Mohsin Naqvi, is also, in his position as interior minister of the Pakistan government, widely considered to be the second most important person in Pakistani politics.

When Kasim Khan said in one room of the Lord's pavilion that the Pakistani government is “blatantly trying to kill” his dad, he was, in effect, pointing to the changing room through the wall. And they say politics and sport don't mix.

The episode has lingered over the Test match as the main story that has been impossible to tell. For Pakistanis in the media, to comment on the matter publicly carries undue risk, meaning the most important and informed voices on the issue are lost. There was a period across day one when the Pakistan Cricket Board were considering making a formal complaint to the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office about the interview. This prompted the ECB chief executive Richard Gould to hold talks with the Foreign Office to attempt to resolve the situation. Meanwhile in Pakistan, PTV, which is broadcasting the series, did not air the interview.

Back at Lord's, Pakistan head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed denied any knowledge. "You're talking about the interview?" he replied at the end of day two when asked about the situation that had dominated conversation for the previous 24 hours. "We don't know about the interview... We were having lunch at that time."

To conclude the interview with Imran Khan's sons, Atherton asked who they would be supporting across the week at Lord's. "It has to be Pakistan," answered Sulaiman. "Of course," agreed Kasim, "We always support Pakistan."

While the Pakistan Cricket Board may represent the country's government, the team represent the nation itself.

In contrast, England's off-field issues are that one of their players got drunk again. Brydon Carse's arrest and subsequent "de-arrest" (did anyone else only learn that was a word this week?) outside a Derby nightclub last weekend made him the eighth centrally contracted England cricketer to be involved in a drinking scandal in the past nine months.

On the field, the talk at Lord's – again – was about the pitch. Emilio Gay, who had battled for his 30 runs on Friday, came back on Saturday morning only to be trapped LBW by a ball that kept unplayably low. He has had a lean series and will be desperate for a score at Edgbaston to guarantee a seat on the plane to South Africa.

Across the match the ball had seamed dramatically, but on day three variable bounce was added to the equation to make batting incredibly difficult. Only Dan Lawrence, who made his second half-century (50 not out) in as many Tests since his return to the team, managed to pass 40 but by no means looked comfortable.

Earlier this year, England's Test against New Zealand was completed in fewer than 1,000 deliveries, making it one of the shortest in history. The ground staff are fighting an uphill battle, with the amount of

The Lord's gallery

Simeon Gay, brother of England opener Emilio, had the opportunity to showcase his painting talents during the second Test at Lord's. Simeon graduated from Central Saint Martins with a degree in fine art this summer, and he has also played cricket, for his home county of Bedfordshire. He posted a video from his vantage point at Lord's on his Instagram account with the caption: "What an opportunity!" BBC Test Match Special

Scoreboard

SECOND TEST MATCH

England v Pakistan (Day 3 of 5) LORD'S: England lead Pakistan by 357 runs with three second-innings wickets in hand ENGLAND: First Innings 290 (Smith 61, Cox 55, Abbas 4-73) PAKISTAN: First Innings 110 (Robinson 4-11) ENGLAND: Second Innings (Overnight 81-3)

E Gay lbw Abbas .... 31 H Brook c Rizwan b Abbas .... 34 D Lawrence not out.... 50 J Smith c Masood b Abbas .... 7 G Atkinson lbw Ali .... 7 O Robinson not out.... 2 Lb2 w5 nb3.... 10 Total (7 wkts., 46.5 overs).... 177 Fall: 1, 13, 60, 83, 128, 149, 162. Bowling: Abbas 18-2-48-3, Shahzad 14-3-56-2, Ali 12.5-1-54-2, Usman 2-0-17-0. Umpires: A Paleker & P Reiffel.

cricket played at Lord's far surpassing any other ground in the country. Every five years, Glastonbury has a fallow year to give the land a chance to recover. Maybe it's time cricket considers the same.

Thankfully, England's first-choice bowlers have ensured that while Root has had to be wasting mental energy off the pitch this week, he hasn't had to think too hard on it. A weak Pakistan batting line-up, combined with a potent English seam attack, has set England on course for a comfortable victory at Lord's and a first Test series win since late in 2024.

There was a concern that a swap from a Ben Stokes world to a Root one would make everything a little less bright in English cricket. Stokes's team may not have been sensible, but it was fun, with the headline act an erratic but box-office batting line-up. Instead, they now have a box-office, and reliable, fast-bowling unit.

The four-pronged attack of Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue had never played together before this series, and while the caveat of Pakistan's relative weakness must be applied, for as long as England can keep those four together, 20 wickets will never be far away.

Archer, 31, who said this week that he feels he could play until he is 40, recorded the second-fastest over ever in his career, averaging at close to 93mph. Robinson claimed 4-11 and Tongue made a mess of Pakistan captain Babar Azam. The tourists were all out for 110, their third score below 200 in as many innings this series.

England used to be a team you'd go to watch bat. Now, they are one you go to watch bowl.

Pakistan openers' unwanted record goes on (and on and on, probably)

The Sunday Stat: At Lord's on Friday, Pakistan became only the third team to be bowled out in fewer than 50 overs in their first three innings of a Test series in England. The others were Bangladesh in 2005 and Sri Lanka in 2016.

- n their first three innings of the series, England's bowlers have collectively taken a wicket every 25.4 deliveries – at that point, the sixth-best team strike rate in a

Test series, and the third best since 1896. They have bowled 122 overs of pace, and six balls of spin, as helpful pitches and the effectiveness of wobble seam render the arts and crafts of slow bowling increasingly, disappointingly irrelevant. Last summer against India, England's bowlers took a wicket every 71.7 balls, in a series that seems almost like a different sport in retrospect.

An Ollie Robinson no-ball, almost his only error in another forensic interrogation of Pakistan's hyper-fragile batting, at least gave the visitors their first opening-stand run of the series. The first-wicket partnership ended on an epic score of five, extending Pakistan's run of consecutive opening stands against England in England without reaching 50 to a record-obliterating 41. (The last time they reached 50 for 0 in an away Test against England was 30 years ago, in the first innings at The Oval in 1996, when the magic-wristed Saeed Anwar, en route to 176, put on 106 with Aamir Sohail.)

No other team have had such a sequence of opening stands against a specific opposition in a specific host country of more than 28 innings. With the resources available to both sides, it will be surprising if that record has not been extended to 44 by the end of the series. Pakistan have not won a series in England since 1996, but have generally been competitive – drawn series in 2001, 2014 and 2016.

One of the more astonishing stats of the Test millennium so far is that in their 21 Tests against England in this country, their average first-wicket stand (15.4) is lower than their average for any other wicket, even their 10th (16.3).

Daunting unit: Jofra Archer is part of England's best four-pronged Test bowling attack (statistically speaking) since 1981. Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images

Pakistan's performance with the bat so far in this series has been inept, but there is context and mitigation for their struggles. They are playing on yet another Lord's pitch delivering excessive lateral movement off the surface – among the most recorded in a Test in England in the ball-tracking era,

which goes back more than 20 years. They are also facing a high-grade attack. Robinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson constitute the first England attack containing (based on their numbers at the start of the match) four bowlers who have each taken at least 50 Test wickets at an average below 29 since December

1981, when Ian Botham, Bob Willis, John Lever and Derek Underwood played against India in Delhi.

When Joe Root is struggling to score runs – in 31 Tests over the past five English Test summers combined, he had averaged 64.8, with 13 hundreds – a batting line-up with minimal experience outside Asia, containing an array of players enduring significant long-term slumps in form, can be forgiven for racking up some of their 19th century-style stats.

Root is averaging 29.4 this summer, his lowest figure in a home Test summer, and by the end of Friday's play England's batters, collectively, were averaging 24.7 (their second-lowest figure since 2000), with only one century. Last summer they scored 12 hundreds in six matches and averaged 41.

Root's pads have become one of the most talked-about aspects of the season. He has been LBW seven times in his nine innings – his other two dismissals were caught behind off New Zealand's Will O'Rourke on the fiendishly difficult Lord's pitch in his first innings of the summer, and a run-out in the chaotic Bazball-ending third Test of that series.

England's old and new captain has thus tied the record for most LBW dismissals in an international season. The only other player to be out leg-before seven times in an English Test summer was Australia's captain Kim Hughes in 12 innings in the six-Test 1981 Ashes.

Since the MCG Boxing Day Test, Root has been out LBW to a seam bowler nine times in seven matches. He had only suffered three such dismissals in his previous 39 Tests and a total of 25 in his 161 Tests before Melbourne. Again, context is relevant – several of these recent Tests have been played on pitches which have been somewhere between challenging and borderline impossible. Batting confidence has been chipped away, footwork has become compromised.

In the cricket played before tea on the third day, England batted with considerable skill, judgment, patience and resolution, as inconsistent bounce was added to the jagged lateral movement. They still lost three wickets for 81.

If Pakistan can avoid becoming only the third team since the 19th century to be bowled out in under 50 overs in four consecutive Test innings, or make their first half-century opening partnership against England in England since John Major was prime minister, they will at least have achieved something meaningful in what has been thus far a dismal series for them.

‘God-like’ Cherki still not certain of his role in Maresca’s machine

Frenchman's goals and ‘off the ball’ ability have made the difference for City, but whether he continues to start remains to be seen

Manchester City E. Haaland (17', 84') R. Cherki (54', 59')

Crystal Palace G. Donnarumma (og, 56')

Venue: Selhurst Park Attendance: 25,149

Jessy Parker Humphreys

It was as if he had decided he had had enough of not much happening. Rayan Cherki was fed the ball in the box and three Crystal Palace defenders rapidly swarmed him, a magnetic attraction that was not powerful enough to disrupt his foot's own connection with the ball. He glided around all of them, his body tilting from side to side but never off-balance; a spinning top in the form of a stocky 23-year-old Frenchman. By the time he rolled the ball past Dean Henderson, he had slowed down time enough to make it feel insulting.

The start of Enzo Maresca's managerial stint at Manchester City could have looked significantly different were it not for Cherki. In the season opener against Bournemouth, they were trailing 1-0 when he came on in the 63rd minute. It was his corner that connected with Marc Guéhi's unmarked head for the equaliser in the 84th and his twisting, turning and thread of the needle to send Joško Gvardiol free of Bournemouth's defensive line in the 91st minute to conjure up City's latest comeback since that game against Queens Park Rangers in 2012.

Against Palace, City were leading – 1-0 through Erling Haaland's header, a middle finger to Samson – but they did not look comfortable. That was until Cherki worked his magic. When Yéremy Pino got a goal back almost immediately from a direct free-kick, Cherki appeared personally insulted, storming back up the pitch to score again, this time from just outside the penalty area.

Pierre Sage, on the sidelines for his first home game as Palace manager,

Double threat: Rayan Cherki scores his first of two goals against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Richard Heathcote/ Getty Images

Chelsea vs Brighton Sky Sports, Today, 2pm Man Utd vs Ipswich Town Sky Sports, Today, 4.30pm would not have been surprised by Cherki's performance. Having worked with him in the Lyon academy and at senior level, he described him ahead of the match as a “word for higher than a genius... maybe God”.

"When he has the ball, he is able to do things we don't imagine."

It is that impossibility of imagination that puts Cherki in tension with Maresca, who did not start him in their season opener against Bournemouth. Earlier this week, in an interview with Sky Sports, Cole Palmer said that last season he would not have made the run for the goal he scored against Fulham because it was not in a “safe zone”.

Palmer did not specify whether it was Maresca or Liam Rosenior who had introduced the team to those kinds of ideas, but it is telling that most Chelsea fans interpreted it as the former based on the assessments of his style of play. Few at Leicester City were disappointed to see him go after their Championship-winning season either.

In a tactical landscape where “positional play” reigns supreme – in part as a result of Maresca’s predecessor Pep Guardiola – structure and freedom are presented as mutually exclusive. That does not have to be the case, but the creative latitude available for players can run aground on the rocks of managers’ egos.

Maresca has always been a man keen to impose his own ideas on his teams, something which takes on greater importance as he attempts to step into Guardiola's shoes. On City's pre-season tour, he revealed he had taken over Pep Lijnders's office, not Guardiola's, so that players would not be going to the same place if they came to see him. There is a conscious effort to differentiate, which will no doubt also look like an effort to control.

There is also the continued pursuit of Enzo Fernández to consider. They have already spent £200m on midfielders this summer in Elliot Anderson and Ayyoub Bouaddi, the latter making his debut in the later stages against Palace. There appears to be genuine confidence that they will secure Fernández, who was left out of Chelsea's squad on Thursday for their 2-0 Carabao Cup win over Luton Town, for a fee that is expected to be around £120m.

Can a team really justify an expenditure of more than £300m on three players and not have them all be starters? It certainly does not look obvious that Maresca sees Cherki as part of his go-to midfield trio.

Maresca also said that he was waiting to announce his full leadership group until after the transfer window had closed. Fernández was of course his vice-captain at Chelsea, or as Maresca would say, his “former club”. It is hard not to hold these two statements together and come to some kind of conclusion.

Cherki implied after the game that Maresca had been considering substituting him at half-time.

"I played so shit [in the first half]," he told Sky Sports. "When I see Enzo wants to change me, I don't like that, and I need to show them I want to play, I want to score."

Maresca denied in his press conference that he had considered substituting Cherki, reiterating that he was “happy” with his performance, even if he was not “playing at his level” in the first half.

But Cherki made a similar comment to French broadcaster Canal+, saying that he had said to his manager to give him five minutes and that he would show him he did not need to be changed.

The elements of Cherki's performance that Maresca honed in on after the game were not either of the goals. It was all about how he worked "off the ball". It is that element of his play that led to Guardiola only starting him 19 times in the league last year. Yet when he finds those spaces on the pitch to break games, he is mesmerising, close to unplayable, and makes this City team look far better than it does without getting him on the ball. Maresca has the most creative player in the league at his disposal. Is he humble enough to continue to use him?

Coventry faithful's tortuous 25-year wait ends with a harsh reality check

Sky Blues suffer first Premier League loss at home since long-awaited top-flight return

Coventry
Hull L. Millar (82')

Venue: Coventry Building Society Arena Attendance: 31,239

Xavier Greenwood

Nothing, like something, happens anywhere. That was what the poet Philip Larkin concluded when he recalled his humdrum childhood in Coventry. But not even the most battered and bruised obsessive can say that being a fan of the city's only major football club is boring.

Since being relegated from the Premier League in 2001, Coventry City have had four home grounds in three places; they have had 15 different managers; they have been 20 minutes away from going bust. They have also somehow been to Wembley five times, winning the EFL Trophy and coming within a whisker of the FA Cup final.

As Paul Gillett, a flat-capped 72-year-old, put it in the pub before Saturday's game: "Down up, down up, down up." The sentiment is simple; trite even. But is there a better way of putting it?

It is hard, then, to begrudge Coventry's long-awaited return to the top flight. Their first Premier League home game of the season against Hull had the sort of atmosphere that would give a neutral an identity crisis. This was not inevitable.

Plonked in an outcrop of northern Coventry, with a warehouse fan zone as sterile as a laboratory, the ground doesn't contribute much to the occasion. Forty-five minutes before kick off the stadium announcer was practically begging fans to come to their seats to soak up – that is, to create – the pre-match buzz. But he need not have been so impatient, because when the players came out and 30,000 Coventry fans bellowed out their unofficial anthem, We'll Live and Die in These Towns by The Enemy, the noise rattled the rafters.

Despite this clarion call, the first half was typical of the drizzly, floodlights at 3pm sort of afternoon on which it was played.

Coventry dominated the ball but created few chances; Hull were pinned back and created even fewer. Taiwo Awoniyi was Coventry's biggest threat, having the only two shots on target, but the new signing couldn't find the net.

The sky, sagging with rain, seemed like it might collapse on itself and call things a day. But the energy in the ground persisted. At half-time, the

MATCHBOX

This was Frank Lampard's 15th game against Hull City as a manager or player. It was his first loss.

Only three clubs have been relegated from the Premier League after winning their opening two games. Hull, in 2016-17, are one of them.

Hull's first-half Expected Goals tally of 0.02 is the lowest of any Premier League team this season.

Welcome back: Coventry fans witness first loss at the Coventry Building Society Arena yesterday. Tom Pilston for The Observer

score was 0-0 and the Coventry fans were rocking.

Some explanation for the atmosphere. This was Coventry's first Premier League match at Coventry Building Society Arena, which has become central to the club's modern history. An overly ambitious stadium plan in the 1990s, combined with top-flight relegation in 2001, plunged the club into debt and set into motion a series of events featuring a hedge fund, rent and legal disputes, and a brief foray in League Two.

The long and short of it is that Coventry got their new stadium in 2005, then called the Ricoh Arena, but were only tenants after selling their 50% stake due to their financial woes. Worse still, they suffered the indignity of playing in Northampton in the 2013-14 season and in Birmingham between 2019 and 2021.

Many fans boycotted these two periods, with a subset watching Northampton games from a hill near the pitch. But things were hardly better back in Coventry. There was something quite embarrassing about playing League Two games at Coventry Building Society Arena, a state-of-the-art ground with 32,000 seats. Forest Green Rovers at home felt like a cup tie. Coventry lost too.

Now, at last, this ground can be something different. A symbol of ambition rather than hubris.

Eight years after being in League Two, Frank Lampard's Coventry are a Premier League club again. They even own their ground these days. They have a fighting chance of beating relegation.

Like the city, the squad is a mish-mash of new and old. In players like Caleb Yirenkyi they have potential, while in Ethan Pinnock they have experience. Even in this heavily financed era, £127m of summer signings shouldn't be downplayed.

But the second half of the game against Hull was a lesson in the fact that you cannot run on the fumes of pre-match pyrotechnics. Despite controlling the game, Coventry were caught on the break in the 82nd minute. Shortly after missing a big chance, Liam Millar calmly slotted home from a Mohamed Belloumi ball to put Hull in front. Coventry couldn't mount a response, and that was that.

Hull have two wins from two matches and, despite their doubters, look physically and organisationally built for the Premier League. In Sergej Jakirović, they have a manager who can scare the life out of them. Coventry have zero points from two, and look like they might go the way of Burnley last season. Making a good account of themselves but too rarely getting it over the line. Submission punctuated by Lampardian sighs.

What may determine Coventry's season is whether they can call on the Houdini spirit from their previous period in the top-flight. That lasted 34 years, from 1967 to 2001, only outdone by Arsenal, Liverpool and Everton, and included 10 escapes from relegation on the final day of the season.

But Larkin, that miserable sod, is right: nothing can happen anywhere. It's up to Coventry to make sure that after all the effort, all the work to make their house a home, nothing doesn't happen here.

Signs of life give way to familiar despair for big-spending Spurs

Given time, De Zerbi's side could find cohesion but Newcastle showed that old habits die hard

Tottenham
Newcastle A. Elanga (62') Y. Wissa (72')

Attendance: 61,025

Big money man: Sávio is one of Roberto de Zerbi's more expensive of his eight new signings for Tottenham. Marc Atkins/ Getty Images

Ben Coles

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

You probably became aware last week of the footage of an exasperated Spurs fan – resist the urge at this point to respond “which one?” – stood in the stands at Brentford with their arms outstretched, the weary expression on their face conveying a look of utter bemusement.

Words were not really needed after an opening weekend 3-0 defeat, but you could have inserted your own choice of profanity and it would have worked seamlessly.

That was not the beginning of a bold new era that Tottenham's extensive spending this summer had promised, as their high-price mid-field of Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes – costing a cool combined £185m – floundered and failed to establish anywhere near the same level of control as their Brentford counterpart Mamadou Sangaré, signed for considerably less.

Scraping your way to safety on the last day of the season, as Tottenham did last term with victory over Everton, only generates so much goodwill and their recruitment whether costly – weighty fees have also been dropped on Jan Paul van Hecke and Sávio – or through shrewd free transfers – Andrew Robertson, Marcos Senesi – set a level of expectation that Tottenham would not end up in a similar mess again. That now was the time to dream a little bigger.

So yes, an opening-day thrashing away at a London rival with fewer resources but who do seem to be getting it right is going to taste bitter. And it might have been worse for Tottenham had Igor Thiago not also missed a penalty.

Roberto De Zerbi, given those extensive funds after last season's survival act having become Spurs's fourth manager in less than a year, conceded that Tottenham were simply not ready "to fight the duels".

They were not physically or tactically prepared enough at Brentford. The knock-on effect of a spending spree, an aggressive overhaul in personnel, is that it can take time and patience to bed everyone in.

Now, suggesting that Tottenham supporters may need a touch more of both of those qualities, after a season in which they ran out of fingernails, is admittedly a little on the nose. But August, with teams in flux as the transfer window remains open, is the month for misleading results.

It was just over a year ago that Tottenham travelled to Manchester City, benefiting from an error-prone home debut for City goalkeeper James Trafford, and came away with a 2-0 win. In theory this was a landmark win to kick off the Thomas Frank era. He was sacked the following February. Brennan Johnson and João Palhinha, Tottenham's two goalscorers that day, are long gone too.

Unless you are Frank de Boer's

MATCHBOX

Sávio, a recent recruit from Man City for £85m, was out of the Spurs squad through injury but is expected to return against Nottingham Forest.

Spurs had seven shots inside the Newcastle box during the first half, four of them on target.

Lukás Hornícek, Newcastle's goalkeeper signed for a relatively modest £25m from Braga, stood out with three quality saves.

Premier League

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Gd	Pts
Man City	2	2	0	0	6	2	4	6
Hull	2	2	0	0	3	0	3	6
Newcastle	2	1	1	0	4	2	2	4
Everton	2	1	1	0	3	1	2	4
Brighton	1	1	0	0	4	0	4	3
Arsenal	1	1	0	0	3	0	3	3
Brentford	1	1	0	0	3	0	3	3
Chelsea	1	1	0	0	3	2	1	3
Ipswich	1	1	0	0	2	1	1	3
Leeds	1	1	0	0	1	0	1	3
Liverpool	2	0	2	0	4	4	0	2
Bournemouth	2	0	1	1	2	3	-1	1
Nottm Forest	2	0	1	1	2	3	-1	1
Fulham	1	0	0	1	2	3	-1	0
Sunderland	1	0	0	1	1	2	-1	0
Man Utd	1	0	0	1	0	2	-2	0
Aston Villa	1	0	0	1	0	4	-4	0
Coventry	2	0	0	2	0	4	-4	0
Crystal Palace	2	0	0	2	1	6	-5	0
Tottenham	2	0	0	2	0	5	-5	0

infamous Crystal Palace and clearly heading for disaster, settling on an opinion about a team before the leaves have changed colour feels risky.

Although, when exactly should you really start to panic? Losing both of your opening matches without scoring a goal, as Spurs have now done, must make it incredibly tempting.

Spend money and the expectations get higher. Or you could be Newcastle, watching your side be disassembled yet then perform surprisingly well, which must rank as one of sport's more pleasant surprises. Matthias Jaissle's side were very unfortunate to draw with Liverpool last Sunday after Lewis Hall, otherwise excellent, conceded a penalty late on.

It does not seem like a reach to suggest that out of the numerous high-profile departures from St James' Park this summer – Anthony Gordon to Barcelona, Bruno Guimarães to Arsenal, the departure of Eddie Howe as manager after five years – that the fewest tears were shed when Tonali's £100m move to Tottenham was announced.

Tonali was at times very good at St James' Park when available, following his betting ban. The reports suggesting that he was being shopped around by his agent back in January also hinted that he had long been ready to head elsewhere.

When it clicks Tonali, with those surging runs forwards, can ably support Tottenham's evolving cast of attackers, bolstered most recently by the arrival of Omar Marmoush on loan from Manchester City, who started here.

As the match progressed those surges became more frequent, linking up well on one occasion with Fernandes and Pedro Porro. Had it not been for a sharp block by the incredibly impressive Hall, then Spurs would have deservedly led at the break.

Sure, Spurs still left chasms in mid-field, leading to a collective groan so loud it almost rivalled the boos from the away end every time Tonali touched the ball. The combination of the Brentford humbling and facing his old side so soon could have turned that £100m price tag into a millstone for Tonali. Instead, as the match progressed, he seemed to play with more freedom.

While De Zerbi and Tottenham's business after eight arrivals is surely done, Newcastle's remodel feels unfinished. But for a coach in Jaissle whose arrival from Al-Ahli was not exactly heralded, this has been a highly promising start. Add in a couple more attackers to strengthen Newcastle going forward, including a more natural No 10 behind a rejuvenated Yoane Wissa, and a season which promised little may well end up over-delivering in a hurry.

What would the Spurs fan from Brentford have made of it all? Perhaps on Saturday evening his arms were slightly lower, his facial expression more relaxed.

There was, initially, more to like here. Until Anthony Elanga's effort off the post went in for Newcastle, ruining his evening as the panic button began to flash again. It also gave the travelling Newcastle fans a chance to use the chant they had been saving up: "Sandro, Sandro, what's the score?"

Special

Chastened Chelsea to Kim Clijsters: WSL is bigger and better than ever

New season is here with more teams, a bold disruptor and a thrilling title race in prospect, writes Jessy Parker Humphreys

n a podcast clip that circulated at the end of last season, the former Charlton Athletic CEO Charlie Methven said of women's football, "You're looking at

double-digit declines in attendance at a time where we are being told that this is a booming growth story."

"I've been a bit wary to talk about this," Methven said at the start of his Business of Sport podcast before arguing that the growth of women's football was being drastically overstated. He cited a decline in attendance figures as a shocking secret lurking at the back of women's football, which was being covered up for some reason.

The clip was shared thousands of times, drawing in reaction from concerned women's football fans and online trolls using it as proof that the women's game is a psyop.

The popularity of the clip was because it got to the heart of one of the dominant questions of the Women's Super League (WSL), one that has never felt more polarising than at the start of this new season: how much should a team invest?

Much of football finance is detached from economic reality, but that does not stop the same kind of household economic theory used to justify government austerity from regularly being applied to women's football teams, regardless of whether they are attached to behemothic Premier League spending machines.

Some teams now make eight-figure losses. Some generate eight-figure revenues. Some have invested heavily in infrastructure. Some have made the decision that now is the time to balance the books. The sheer variety of economic models present in the WSL is part of what makes it so fascinating, even if it tends to get subsumed into hand-wringing concern.

That is demonstrated best in the cases of London City Lionesses and Manchester United. On the one hand, as Paul Hayward writes on page 12, Michele Kang's side are playing football's greatest hits when it comes to fast, profligate spending. Meanwhile, United appear to have thrown in the towel, deciding that they will never be able to catch the top three of Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal, and pivoting to using younger (read: cheaper) players.

It seems obvious from Jim Ratcliffe's pronouncements that he has little interest in women's football or women's sport. The debate will take on a new twist this season as a result of two changes: an expansion of the league to 14 teams and the introduction of financial sustainability regulations.

The expansion marks a welcome return to top-flight football for Birmingham City and Charlton, who were promoted with Crystal Palace at the end of last season. Birmingham and Charlton were trailblazers in women's club football when it was in its infancy, and it is gratifying to see women's clubs associated with men's Championship sides still competing at the very top.

Charlton's women's team were disbanded after the men were relegated from the Premier League, which happened on the same day that the women contested the 2007 FA Cup final. They returned to the top flight in equally dramatic fashion after beating Leicester City on penalties in the inaugural WSL play-off, in which the WSL2's third-placed team faced off against the WSL's bottom one.

Birmingham, meanwhile, were relegated in 2021-22 after a drawn-out decline during which players were forced to write to the club complaining about the conditions in which they were expected to compete. Ever since Knighthead Capital Management took over the club, in the guise of Shelby Companies Ltd, investment has flowed back, culminating in ownership stakes being taken in the women's team specifically by their most famous alumna, Karen Carney, and the former tennis world No 1 Kim Clijsters.

New faces: Lily Crosthwaite of Birmingham City shields the ball from Ellie Mason of Charlton, two newly promoted clubs in this season's expanded 14-team WSL. Leila Coker/Getty

The financial sustainability regulations should also change how teams choose to invest, putting, as they do, a limit – albeit a generous one – on liquidity top-ups from parent companies. That kind of investment has been crucial for Chelsea and Arsenal in recent years and should encourage teams to look at different ways of boosting their women's team's value.

It is notable that two of the league's rising middle classes in

Brighton and Tottenham have both been working on significant infrastructure projects to benefit their women's sides. In Brighton's case, it is the development of their own ground, next door to the American Express Stadium, at an expected cost of £80m.

Tottenham's own proposal has run aground after their planning permission for a bespoke women's and girls' training centre was revoked by a High Court judge last month.

As for the top, the best three sides in the league are as obvious on paper as they are difficult to distinguish between. Manchester City ended Chelsea's six-year stranglehold on the trophy last season but may struggle to balance the demands of domestic competitions with Champions League football.

Chelsea, meanwhile, are showing signs of being humbled. Erin Cuthbert, their midfielder, described the team as “spoiled” when it came to their long run of success. That motivation, along with the exciting additions of Katie McCabe and Melvine Malard, should make them title challengers once again.

Arsenal are the most mysterious of the big three. Champions League winners two seasons ago, they have proved they can regularly beat the world's best sides, and feel like obvious favourites for the title at the start of every campaign. Yet it has been seven years since they last won it, despite significant spending and the benefit of the women's game's biggest fanbase.

They have perused the transfer window with all the vim of your uncle at a car boot sale, in the hope that experienced former WSL free agents such as Georgia Stanway and Ona Batlle will make them a more reliable force in the league.

It is to be hoped that those fears do not override the feeling of joy that should surround a league that gets better and better every year, profligate spending and all.

Debates over spending will rage on, not least between the supporters of different teams. The reason that some in the women's game get so focused on finance is simply fear that this league, which has been supercharged over the past decade and which showcases some of the highest-quality women's sport that can be experienced globally, may disappear overnight based on the whims of those who run the clubs.

Team-by-team guide

Predicted 2026-27 Women's Super League by Jessy Parker Humphreys

1 Chelsea

Last season's third-place finish was a massive disappointment for Sonia Bompastor's side. They will expect to bounce back strongly this year and I believe they will. Key player Lauren James

2 Arsenal

After a significant squad overhaul this summer, a tough start with matches against Man United, Chelsea and Man City will seriously test them. Key player Mariona Caldentey

3 Man City

It was crucial for last season's champions to keep hold of Golden Boot winner Bunny Shaw but a return to the Champions League will put added strain on the squad this term. Key player Bunny Shaw

4 London City

The Lionesses have had an eye-catching transfer window, bringing in Alexia Putellas, Mapi León and Kadidiatou Diani. Expect them to ruffle feathers and cause upsets. Key player Alexia Putellas

5 Spurs

8 Liverpool

A revelation last season with their high-pressing approach under head coach Martin Ho, they should only improve this year but could miss out on the top four again. Key player Toko Koga

Long-term manager Marc Skinner departed at the start of August with the club looking to pivot to a risky strategy based on using homegrown prospects. Key player Jess Park

6 Man United

They failed to win a game pre-Christmas last year before picking up form as the season progressed. Likely to stay steady under former Man City manager Gareth Taylor. Key player Mao Itamura

9 West Ham

10 Aston Villa

Previous seasons have made West Ham seem like a team adrift but signings such as Kelly Gago and Laia Codina have shown more intent than normal and bring some optimism. Key player Kelly Gago

Villa have invested heavily in Scandinavian talent for the new season, which could prove fruitful, but the loss of top-scorer Kirsty Hanson to Tottenham is a big blow. Key player Lucia Kendall

Returning to the top flight after four seasons away, Birmingham City have been steadily investing in their women's side for a while now and should be good enough to avoid the drop. Key player Lily Crosthwaite

11 Birmingham

12 Everton

Eighth last season, then bizarrely recruited a large chunk of relegated Leicester City's team. The arrival of forward Holly McNamara from Melbourne City is a coup. Key player Holly McNamara

13 Crystal Palace

7 Brighton

Relegation play-off Should just stay up thanks to the additions of Molly Bartrip, Bethany England and Lexi Lloyd-Smith. Key player Ashleigh Weerden

Departure of manager Dario Vidosic a week before the season begins is a huge blow to a team who hoped to build on last year's FA Cup final appearance. Key player Lia Wälti

14 Charlton

Automatic relegation A first appearance in the WSL should be applauded but they have not invested enough to compete. Key player Sophie Whitehouse

Barbecues, history and flags – inside Arsenal’s summer overhaul

Culture is crucial as once all-conquering club sign host of new players with the aim of bringing back past glories

Jessy Parker Humphreys

The Arsenal team that takes to the pitch against Brighton next Sunday for their first match of the Women's Super League season will look quite different. For the first time in close to a decade, there will be no Beth Mead, who joined Manchester City after more than 260 appearances for Arsenal. There will be no Katie McCabe either, who has moved to the blue side of London with Chelsea, ending her 10-year association with the club.

Mead and McCabe are two of 12 exits this summer, with seven new players brought in. On Friday, those players were introduced to the Emirates for the first time, training with the roaring noise of a crowd piped into the almost empty stadium.

Given what has amounted to quite significant turnover, Arsenal have focused on how they integrate new players into the broader culture of the club. For Clare Wheatley, head of women's football, that began by taking into consideration their fit with Arsenal beyond the football pitch.

"You can't do a psychometric on an incoming player," she says. "So you have to read body language, speak to people, have conversations to find out what people are like.

"The moment we're onboarding them, we want them to feel what the club's about. We want them to know about our history, because we see that as a massive piece to the jigsaw that we're trying to create.

“We’ve seen an improvement in our squad at accepting new players in and trying to offer an arm around them because female players don’t move with an entourage. They move on their own. It’s really important they get to feel what their new home is like and within that process, we want them to feel that connection with the club.”

Wheatley cites a barbecue that club captain Kim Little hosted for the whole squad at her house as one example of how the team have welcomed players. Manager Renée Slegers actually had to reschedule her own plans as a result – she had been intending to invite the team round to her house on the same day.

Then there are sessions like this one, where the Arsenal squad are meeting some of the club's community projects at the Community Hub next to the Emirates Stadium, as well as fans through the Block by Block initiative, a project led by supporters to develop a distinct women's culture at the Emirates.

Grounds for optimism: crowd noise was played over the speakers as the new-look Arsenal squad trained at the Emirates this week. Sophia Evans for The Observer

Forging links: Arsenal have also involved supporters' groups in trying to create a distinct identity for the women's side at the club. Sophia Evans for The Observer

All seven new members of the squad have been paired up with creatives from the Arsenal fan community to design a flag for each of them.

"It's a very warm welcome," says Selina Cerci, who joined from Hoffenheim this summer and is an Arsenal fan, having fallen in love with them after watching clips of Dennis Bergkamp growing up.

"When I imagine when I play my first game for Arsenal that I will have my own flag, it shows a lot of people want you to have a great feeling on the pitch. They want to wish you well and make you feel welcome. Everyone wants the best for you."

put into the team, which saw them dominate domestic competition and win the Champions League in 2007.

Arsenal have a strong history within the women's club game as a result of the early investment and care

“We’ve had certain things throughout pre-season that embrace Arsenal culture and what we’ve been about as a club and as a women’s team,” says Steph Catley, who is beginning her seventh season at the club.

One of those was a lunch with Rachel Yankey, one of Arsenal's legendary former players, who spent 15 seasons at the club in two separate spells.

"It's things like that that really connect the new players to the past and what we've achieved, and what players like that have done for the club and how they still feel about the club," Catley says.

"It really brings you in and makes you excited to represent the team on a deeper level. You really adopt the values and you think bigger about things. I've been around football a long time and I've never felt connections the way that I have at Arsenal. I love coming and doing things like this because you see how invested they are in the community and looking after the people that look after them."

One of the main challenges for women's teams is how they develop a distinctive culture that still sits within the wider club, constructed as that has been around the men's team. In Arsenal's case, one change they have made is choosing a different walk-out song for the women.

Yet when the culture diverges in a more negative manner, it can have tricky ramifications. The club received considerable criticism in 2023 when they posted their squad photo, and the entire team and manager were

Team building: hopes for the new season rest with long-serving players including Steph Catley, below left, and signings such as Selina Cerci. Sophia Evans for The Observer

white. Given Arsenal's long affinity with Black communities, epitomised by players such as Ian Wright and David Rocastle on the men's side, as well as Lianne Sanderson, Alex Scott and Anita Asante on the women's, it was a jarring revelation and the club has tried to respond.

"Our academy has one of the highest rates of diversity in the country so for that we're very proud," says Wheatley. "But we know that's not fully reflected in our first team."

One issue Arsenal faced is having their academy set up originally at the University of Hertfordshire, making it less accessible to inner-city girls.

They moved it over to The Hive in Barnet and are now looking at setting up a network of hubs in inner-city areas.

“We’re getting back to our roots to reconnect with the inner city so that we can open our doors and organically grow the diversity within our programmes. We’ll be able to remove barriers, whether that is financial barriers or transport barriers.”

For all of Arsenal's strong work in building a vibrant and engaged fanbase, that comes with criticism as well as praise. Towards the end of former manager Jonas Eidevall's reign, the atmosphere at the Emirates became toxic. He eventually quit, but not before "Eidevall Out" had been spray-painted on a wall by the Emirates.

Arsenal's record, particularly domestically, certainly deserves questioning given their investment. The astonishing 2025 Champions League triumph was an unexpected high point from a team who have not won an FA Cup in 10 years, or a league title in seven.

“We want the baseline to be higher,” says Wheatley, reflecting on how they can win more. “Whether that’s the resilience, the respect, the humility. There are some key core objectives we want the players never to drop below. We want to keep the lows as high as they can be.

"It's what you do with the low, rather than the actual moment itself. It's how you react to it. I think in the past, that is what has caught us out, not being able to be really robust on the pitch and off the pitch."

That robustness will be firmly tested early on in the WSL season as they play Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City within their first five fixtures. It makes the speedy integration of new players even more crucial.

Fixtures spread out to boost TV reach – but 3pm blackout stays

This season marks the second year of Sky Sports' five-year deal with the Women's Super League. The broadcaster has a rights fee of about £13m per season, almost double the previous deal, and will show 163 of 182 WSL fixtures – the BBC has the remaining ones.

Sky has made its presence felt this year with the return of a late Sunday kick-off slot for the league. The slot was removed last year after complaints from fans and low attendances, but it had been a hugely successful one for Sky with viewers often sticking with the WSL game that came after “Super Sunday”. It is now set to return, although it has only been picked once in the initial run of fixtures in September – Aston Villa v Manchester City will kick off at 6.30pm on Sunday 13 September.

The decision to show multiple matches at midday on Sundays was met with significant consternation last season as it was harder for fans to watch games consistently across the weekend. The aim this season is to have a greater spread of kick-off times, with the Friday evening slot set to be a regular feature. The season will open with London City Lionesses playing Manchester United this Friday at 7pm.

The WSL has struggled to find the right balance between fans going to games and television audiences, particularly given the diverse audience women's football has, which includes lots of families. Karen Carney's review of the women's game suggested scrapping the 3pm blackout for women's football in order to open up an appointment-to-view slot, but this is not something the WSL is currently pursuing.

In another significant change to the way the WSL is broadcast, the BBC has axed its Women's Football Show. The weekly highlights show, which has been broadcast since 2013 in the mould of Match of the Day, was often shown late at night on a Sunday with low viewership. The BBC is instead exploring a different format, with highlights still set to be available to view on iPlayer and YouTube.

North-south divide: Jess Park, far right, of Manchester United and London City's Jana Fernández will face off again on Friday. Annabel Lee-Ellis/WSL Football via Getty

London City vs Man Utd Friday, Sky Sports, 7pm

Special

Galácticos have landed in Bromley... but can they really depose old guard?

It could take London City decades to oust Chelsea and Arsenal despite their lavish spending, writes Paul Hayward

The Silicon Valley model may seem a glib concept to pin to a football club in Bromley, but London City Lionesses signing

Alexia Putellas on a base salary of £1m may be remembered as the moment the club's owner Michele Kang turned Women's Super League football into an arms race.

The whole of club football history is punctuated by individual owners spending big on the game's marquee names to make the leap from ambition to domination.

In their base at Hayes Lane, Bromley, the Lionesses are the outlier: a club not allied to a men's side but instead a manifestation of "disruptor" principles now routine in global investment.

There is plenty to suggest, though, that introducing Galácticos will not work quickly in England's highest women's league, where Chelsea and Arsenal together generate more revenue than the other 12 teams in the league combined.

Kang told a Wall Street Journal business conference last month: "The last thing I wanted to do was maintain women's football as charity, as it's kind of been perceived – as a DEI [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion] project. It's a Silicon Valley kind of opportunity in my opinion in terms of the opportunity to create value. And I did not see anyone [else] doing it."

The spectacular growth of women's football has been accompanied by a rolling debate about how that growth should be managed: as a bottom-up, infrastructure and mass participation project or a top-down commercial and elite-driven blitz. The Football Association have just announced that four WSL academy sides will play in the third-tier

There are other points on that spectrum of top-down versus bottom-up but Kang paying Putellas a seven-figure salary was taken by many as evidence that women's football has entered a new phase of wealth concentration.

"The first focus was on the product," Kang says. "To make sure your product is the best product possible." She talks a lot about the competition for people's attention – movies, pop concerts, rival teams and other sports.

The two components of her three-club empire (Washington Spirit, title challengers in the US National Women's Soccer League, and the French champions OL Lyonnes share a stable with London

National League from 2027-28, despite 52 of the 72 clubs further down the pyramid calling the plan “morally wrong” and citing a “complete lack of respect” for players and staff.

City Lionesses) are building an ecosystem specifically for the women's game so that players are no longer trained and treated as "small men" – and adding value to clubs she buys.

Analysts thought she was deluded to pay \$35m (£25.7m) for Washington Spirit in 2022 but its value now is \$200m-plus.

Yet Washington and London are still loss-makers. Kang says Washington will break even within 18 months: “Investment in marketing and branding and fan engagement got us there.”

quadrupled between 2019 and 2025 and agent fees rose 75%. The league now aims to restrict wage bills to 80% of a club's revenue plus £4m of owner contributions.

In their promotion season, 2024-25, the Lionesses lost £10.6m, more than 10 times their revenue of £902,000. That was consistent with Kang's idea of short-term pain for long-term gain: the start-up mentality that drives so much private equity investment. She claims that since 2021 the value of women's football in the US – mainly the price tag on clubs – has risen “one hundred times”.

The guarantee of success in the WSL that Kang appears to see with the acquisition of Putellas and other star names, however, is more complicated than the formula would suggest.

Even Kang admits from conversations she's had in the US: "A lot of private equity family businesses are telling me: 'We're very interested, but it's a bit small for us.'"

As Tom Garry recently reported in the Guardian, that since 2017 WSL clubs have posted post-tax losses of more than £111m. WSL wages

None of which is to cast doubt on the huge long-term value of women's football, which is already blindingly apparent. The question is how that will proceed, and whether Putellas is really the advance party for a Galáctico-style transformation, or whether London City Lionesses will take decades, not years, to develop into a match for Chelsea and Arsenal.

Putellas, 32, was Barcelona's lodestar for 14 years and helped them win 38 trophies. She is a double Ballon d'Or winner who was out of contract and so in a good position to chase a huge deal for the twilight of her career. Significantly she was unveiled at the cool W Hotel in New York, rather than Bromley, after turning down Boston Legacy in favour of last season's sixth-placed WSL club.

“This is more than a signing, it is a bold statement about the future of the sport,” Kang said.

Putellas is not alone in treading the gilded path to Kang's London branch. The former England goalkeeper Mary Earps, the Denmark midfielder Janni Thomsen and Germany's Nicole Anyomi are joining her. Mapi León, who has more than 50 Spain caps, signed from Barcelona last month.

Kang's transfer dealings are a striking escalation of a policy conceived in 2024 when the club signed Sweden's captain Kosovare Asllani and hired Paris Saint-Germain's Jocelyn Précheur as manager. He was replaced by Eder Maestre in January.

Fans of “disruptor” investment will contest the right of the “big four” to monopolise the WSL. Others will say Arsenal and Chelsea especially deserve credit, even with the financial backing of their parent clubs, for building up profiles and match attendances.

Kang is now taking the fast route to commercial viability by signing players she hopes new fans will flock to watch and with whom commercial partners will rush to hook up. At the very least, she has added intrigue.

The Lionesses lost 10 times their revenue in their promotion year: short-term pain for long-term gain

Star power: Putellas is a double Ballon d'Or winner and the Lionesses' statement signing of the summer as they try to fast-track a route to the WSL summit. Catherine Ivill/Getty

Rory Smith

How Chelsea and City became experts at price-gouging Premier League rivals

The best sellers turn failure into a profit and since almost no foreign clubs can afford to buy, those closer to home (literally) pay the price

Nicolas Jackson is a good example, but he is far from the only one. Liam Delap, now of Nottingham Forest, would be just

as fitting. So would Sávio, scorer of a goal on his debut for Tottenham on Wednesday. And those are just the ones from this week. There have been plenty of others over the past few weeks; more will doubtless follow in the next two days.

But Jackson works as well as anyone. By any standard, practical and rational definition, this summer's Nicolas Jackson market was a buyer's one. The Senegalese striker has been characterised as a flop during his three years at Chelsea, although that interpretation is a touch unfair. He scored 24 goals in 65 Premier League games: not a sensation, but hardly a disgrace. He had been fine.

But still: at the start of the summer, nobody was in any doubt that he was no longer required. He spent last year on loan at Bayern Munich. Again: it went OK. He was a perfectly capable stand-in for Harry Kane. Vincent Kompany, the coach, said he enjoyed working with him. Just not enough to ask the club to pay the £56m needed to make his presence permanent.

All of which left Jackson in limbo, a state not unfamiliar to a good proportion of Chelsea's squad. He has spent the past few weeks training adjacent to, rather than alongside, Xabi Alonso's first team, joined by a motley group of players either working on their fitness or preparing for a move away. The club have been clear that while this may sound, look and very much feel like a "bomb squad", it absolutely, definitely is not.

In football's traditional understanding of economics, Jackson should have presented an opportunity. Chelsea should be desperate to shed his wages and recoup whatever money they could on the £32m they paid to sign him from Villarreal in 2023. The subsequent and inevitable loss would function, effectively, as a karmic reminder that it is important to invest money well. That is how

Jackson may not have succeeded as a player, yet Chelsea could still double their money on him

these situations work. It is how they have always worked.

Except that it isn't, not any more. Aston Villa have agreed to pay Chelsea £47.5m for Jackson, with a further £17.5m in various performance-related add-ons. Combine that with the £14m loan fee they received from Bayern last year, and Jackson has proved to be a triumph for Chelsea's owners. He might not have succeeded as a player, and yet they may still double their money on him, and that is before anyone even mentions the word amortisation.

By the same metrics Delap has worked out beautifully too: bought from Ipswich last year for £30m, sold to Forest this week for £50m. In between he scored a grand total of one Premier League goal.

Manchester City are doubtless just as proud of Sávio, who cost £31m in 2024 but now, through the magic of two Premier League goals in two years for one of the best attacking teams of all time, can command a fee that starts at £75m and may get higher.

Both of those examples are skewed, to some extent, by the slightly curious circumstances of their arrivals. Chelsea plucked Delap from Ipswich by virtue of a release clause that made him exceptionally good value; he may always have been intended as a flip. City, meanwhile, bought Sávio from Troyes. He had just enjoyed a good season on loan at Girona. Both clubs are owned by City Football Group. The negotiations presumably were not difficult.

Even so, it is hard to understand

Tricks of the trade: Jackson, above, and Sávio, below, were flipped for healthy profits despite failing to set the league alight. Getty Images

the mechanics by which all of these players – as well as Andrey Santos, Nico González and several others – have come to attract such premium fees. Yes, Spurs and Villa’s desperation tilts the balance of negotiations in the selling team’s favour. Yes, Chelsea had the advantage of having Jackson and Delap on unfeasibly long contracts. And yes, the Premier League is locked in an increasingly self-defeating inflationary spiral, one in which all that matters is the truth as recorded by the accountants – in which all purchases can be spread over several years, but all sales are booked immediately – and where everyone seems to have forgotten that these are actual sums of money, not mere numbers on a screen.

The teams that seem most suited to that frenzied environment are those, such as Chelsea and City, with an ability to drive a hard bargain even for players they do not actually need, who have a gift for playing a hand they do not hold. The need, imposed by various forms of financial regulation, to keep the money rolling rewards those sides who are good sellers.

That is not the only impact. Chelsea's biggest sale, the crowning glory of their summer, is yet to come: Enzo Fernández, between now and the close of the transfer window on Tuesday, should move to City. It will be another vast, somehow nebulous fee, £120m or so for a player who has never fully justified the massive £107m outlay to sign him immediately after the 2022 World Cup.

This is not quite how Fernández saw his career playing out. Back in March, he made it clear that he had always wanted to live in Madrid. It was such a naked overture to Real Madrid that the Spanish club issued a statement making clear they were not interested in signing him, in order to protect their institutional relationship with Chelsea.

Besides, the reality is that at that level of fee – and especially when combined with his level of salary – Premier League clubs increasingly know that their market is domestic. Only four European sides operate anywhere close to the same economic altitude; not every player wants to be palmed off on Saudi Arabia.

In a sporting sense, it is strange that Chelsea would be willing to sell Fernández to a potential title rival, just as it is odd that Liverpool might consider doing the same with Cody Gakpo, or City with Sávio. But prices are now so high that there is no other option. To keep them there, o stave off the crash, there is nobody left to gouge but themselves.

Pidcock the poster boy as cycling fights for national attention

Strong field lines up for Tour of Britain against backdrop of recent tragedy and perennial struggle to win over hearts and minds of public

Jeremy Whittle

Fresh from his most consistent performance to date in the Tour de France, Tom Pidcock will be the main attraction in the men's Tour of Britain which starts in Lincolnshire on Wednesday. The double Olympic gold medallist, who placed ninth overall in Paris in July, will lead his Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling team in the five-day race.

Following on from the hugely successful women's equivalent, which was won by Tour de France Femmes stage winner, Kim Le Court, the Tour of Britain Men takes in Lincoln, Skegness, Beverley and Leyburn, before heading into the Scottish Borders for the final stage in Earlston.

The race's punchy profile looks ideal terrain for Pidcock, who started his 2026 season on a high, duelling with Tadej Pogačar in Milan-San Remo, and who will aim to use the five-day British race to hone his form prior to September's World Road Race Championship in Montreal.

While Pogačar was conquering much of Spain at the Vuelta this week, until a crash yesterday forced him to abandon the race while holding a commanding lead, the less-intense Tour of Britain offers respite for those in the peloton who have become weary of watching the five-times Tour de France winner disappear over the horizon.

While the British race may lack the cachet of some other European stage races, it still attracts a strong field. There's another context too, of the 2027 Tour Grand Départ, in

Edinburgh next July. There will be many in the peloton who are keen to get a feel for Britain's “grippy” roads before racing in Scotland, England and Wales next year.

Among those who will be targeting stage wins, rather than overall victory, are Tour de France stage-winners Olav Kooij, riding for the Decathlon CMA CGM team, and Tim Merlier of Soudal Quick-Step. The pair are acknowledged to be among the leading sprinters in the sport, having gone head-to-head in France this July.

Kooij, already a winner of seven stages in just two appearances in the British race, is hoping to emulate compatriot Lorena Wiebes, multiple stage winner in the women's Tour of Britain. Wiebes surpassed Mark Cavendish's record number of stage wins, with an 11th victory, just last weekend. But Merlier, making his debut appearance, is likely to be his biggest obstacle.

Pogačar's UAE Team Emirates-XRG will line up alongside the Geraint Thomas-managed Netcompany Ineos team – which, after a grim Tour de France, is very much in need of some success – and French team Decathlon CMA CGM, NSN Cycling and Belgian stalwarts, Soudal-QuickStep.

Twelve other teams, as well as the Great Britain national team, will also be on the start line. These include the American-based Modern Adventure, managed by former Lance Armstrong acolyte George Hincapie, whose stated long-term ambition is to earn his team a start in the Tour de France.

But it will be a poignant experience for the NSN Cycling team, making its first visit to Britain since Fin Tarling, riding for its development squad, was killed by a rogue vehicle during the Volta a Portugal on 14 August. While the police investigation into Tarling's death continues, the sense of outrage over the circumstances of the collision is undiminished.

Among the clutch of young British talents is Ethan Vernon, who won team pursuit silver at the 2024 Olympic Games, and was one of Tarling's closest friends in the peloton. The team has not yet announced any specific plans to honour Tarling's memory, although the race organisation is expected to pay tribute.

The Great Britain team will include under-23 national time-trial champion Ben Wiggins, son of Bradley, another of those building his form for the World Championships, and a rider whose progress is believed to be closely monitored by Netcompany Ineos director of racing, and his father's former team-mate, Thomas.

All of this is set against the backdrop of the unprecedented UK Grands Départs of the men's and women's Tours de France next summer, making Britain the first nation outside France to host both opening weekends. Inevitably, that has fuelled talk of the legacy from the multimillion-pound investment into hosting both Tours on British soil.

In the past few days, a coalition of what were described as “cycling leaders” wrote to Andy Burnham calling for £30m of government investment to deliver a lasting legacy from the Grands Départs by creating safe, accessible places to ride around the country.

The key fear – that cycling on British roads remains fundamentally unsafe – conflicts with the stated legacy goals of improving public health, reducing inequalities and creating stronger, more-connected communities. Tarling may have died within the bubble of a professional race, but the cycling community in Britain remains fretful when out on the open road.

Describing the 2027 Grand Départ as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to inspire millions of people and showcase Britain to the world”, Lee Gibbons, interim CEO at British Cycling, said, “Investment in safe and accessible places to ride would help more people enjoy the physical, mental and social benefits of cycling.”

Despite hosting three Grands Départs in just under 20 years and British riders winning multiple editions of Europe's Grand Tours, cycling has still to win over the hearts and minds of the British public. Whatever the outcome of the 2026 Tour of Britain, it will be viewed through the lens of the huge financial and cultural investment that is being made in the visit of the Tour de France next year.

Home hope: Tom Pidcock (above) will aim to take advantage of Britain's well-suited terrain against the likes of Tour de France stage winner Tim Merlier (right). Luc Claessen/Getty

Codebreakers: the statue at Cardiff Bay depicting Billy Boston (centre) alongside Gus Risman (left) and Clive Sullivan. Emily Marie Wilson/Alamy

League legends: Wembley Stadium's statue, with Boston immortalised with Risman, Alex Murphy, Martin Offiah and Eric Ashton. Tartezy/Alamy

Greatest player never picked for Wales

Billy Boston was a marvel but racism denied him his dream, writes Ben Coles

W ho better to reflect on the legacy that rugby league's first knight of the realm has

left behind, than the man who this year became its second?

"A true legend of rugby league; a pioneer who broke barriers, inspired generations, and left a legacy that will never be forgotten," Sir Kevin Sinfield, speaking to The Observer, said of Sir Billy Boston, who died on Monday at the age of 92.

“Greatness on the field, and an inspiration to us all. Rest in Peace Sir Billy.”

It would be almost impossible to look at the pictures of Boston at his investiture last year and resist a smile, the sight of a beaming Boston, flanked by his wife Joan and three of his five children, laughing with King Charles.

But that moment was also tinged with sadness. Boston, then 90, was living with vascular dementia.

As his son Stephen later told the BBC, had that moment of recognition come sooner perhaps Boston would have understood what was happening. That he was being recognised for an extraordinary career and life, having scored a staggering 571 tries in 562 first-class matches, in a sport which found him after the door to his first love – playing rugby union for Wales – was unceremoniously slammed in his face in the 1950s.

What must those people at Cardiff RFC and the Welsh Rugby Union have been thinking at the time, having overlooked Boston's potential on the grounds, allegedly, of race, as this superstar emerged for Wigan at the age of 18, going on tour with Great Britain after only six club matches.

A glaring indictment of the racism in Wales in that era, this Cardiff-born talent – the sixth of 11 children raised in Tiger Bay to a mother from Ireland and a sea merchant father from Sierra Leone – cried on the night that he signed his Wigan contract worth £3,000 (£75,000 today), conscious of the rule at the time that anyone who played league would be banned from playing rugby union. Here was a proud Welshman denied the opportunity to represent his country.

"Cardiff didn't want to know,"

Boston told ITV for a documentary in 2023 titled Codebreakers, focusing on the black and mixed-race players in Wales who, with no other option, left union to play league. “I wanted to play for Wales with all my heart but it wasn’t to be.”

The Codebreakers statue in Cardiff Bay, featuring Boston, Clive Sullivan and Gus Risman, was also unveiled in 2023. It is one of three statues that feature Boston. The others are at Wembley Stadium and in Wigan, for whom he scored a club-record 478 tries in 488 games.

It hardly seems like a stretch to hypothesise that had rugby union in Wales welcomed Boston, his name would now be spoken about in the same breath as Sir Gareth Edwards and JPR Williams. Instead, Boston is an anomaly. One the greats of Welsh sport who never represented his country. It was not until the 1980s that a black player, Mark Brown, first played for Wales.

“I would have given all the league glory away just to once pull on the red shirt of Wales,” Boston once said.

Wales's loss, rugby league's gain. Picking out a preferred Boston try is a lengthy exercise but there is one from that 1954 tour of Australia, in the second Test in Brisbane. Fending off a first tackler, then sending a second face-first into the ground as he begins to accelerate away. A third tackler's diving effort was, obviously, futile. Boston scored 36 tries in 18 matches on that tour, at the age of

Unstoppable: Billy Boston breaks through a tackle during Wigan's 30-13 Challenge Cup final win at Wembley in 1959 and (top) his statue in Wigan town centre. PA Images/Alamy

only 20. His pace and power left defences with few answers.

The east stand at Wigan is named after the man who played his part in three Challenge Cup wins along with a league championship. On Thursday night Wigan hosted Hull KR. The crowd rose to their feet, wiped away tears and applauded as Boston's son, Stephen, draped a Wigan shirt over the same throne in which Boston sat last year after receiving his knighthood.

Kris Radlinski, another Wigan great and now their CEO, said: "For a man who had achieved so much, [Boston] carried it lightly. Quiet, humble, gentle." The half-hour tribute was followed by a 46-0 thrashing by Wigan. Their coach, Matt Peet, said: "It was for Sir Billy."

Last year, after receiving his knighthood, Boston was in the stands alongside his wife Joan, that same infectious smile across his face as the crowd applauded him. Joan's funeral took place only days before her husband died.

Stephen described the delay to his father's knighthood as “scandalous”. But the great scandal of Boston's life will always be that racism in the 1950s denied him the opportunity to fulfil his dream of playing for Cardiff and Wales. He showed in rugby league that he was a tremendous talent, one who now – in Wigan especially – will be deeply missed.

There for the taking: Sabalenka has not reached the quarter-finals in any of her past three events while Alcaraz, below, is nursing a wrist injury. Getty Images

US Open Today, Sky Sports, 3pm

Sinner out, Sabalenka toiling – it’s wide open in New York

Men's world No 1 missing US Open while top of women's rankings is horribly out of form. Throw in Alcaraz's wrist injury and anything could happen

Simon Cambers

The US Open begins today with record prize money and that unique New York buzz, the envy of all the other Grand Slam events. The return of Serena Williams after four years away, even if it's only in the doubles, has spectators excited, while the appearance of Roger Federer on court again, albeit in an exhibition, thrilled a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium to further whet the appetite.

But for all the star power of Williams and Federer, the build-up to this year's US Open has been just as notable for who is not there, as much as who is. World No 1 Jannik Sinner, the British pair of Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu and a host of others, including young stars Holger Rune and Joao Fonseca, are all missing through injury. The increasing physicality of the sport and a crowded, elongated calendar are taking their toll.

The return of the defending champion Carlos Alcaraz offers some hope on the men's side but there remain serious doubts about the Spaniard. His early outing in the mixed doubles with Williams was his first time on a match court since April due to a significant wrist injury. The long sleeve on his right arm, stretching over his wrist, looked ominous and recovering full strength after wrist injuries usually takes a long time. Playing and winning seven best-of-five-set matches is an incredibly tall order, which means this year's event is arguably the most open in history.

The loss of Sinner is a blow to the tournament. The Italian would have been a huge favourite to win in New York for a second time, having won

For all the star power of Williams and Federer, it has been notable for who is not there

his second Wimbledon title in July. He won the first five Masters 1000 titles of the year and there was even talk he might win all nine, which no one has ever come close to achieving.

His knee injury leaves the door open to the rest of the field, chief among them Alexander Zverev, who won his first Grand Slam title at the French Open this year, and Novak Djokovic, who remains a huge threat at the majors even at the age of 39 and who is still striving for a record-extending 25th slam title.

For Draper and Raducanu, though, another Grand Slam passes them by.

It's a year since Draper arrived in New York carrying an arm injury that had already taken him off the Tour for the best part of two months. He suffered a recurrence of the injury at the US Open and missed the rest of the year. The 24-year-old has played only eight events in 2026 and his withdrawal from the US Open means he has missed all four Grand Slams this year. Now 141 in the rankings, the 2024 semi-finalist at Flushing Meadows is set to fall even further.

In many ways Draper is a victim of his own desire. Because he has played, intermittently, through the pain, it means he is not entitled to the protected ranking that players can enjoy when they have been out for an extended time. If he had been out for at least six months, he could have used his protected ranking to enter his first nine tournaments back instead of having to qualify. If he had been out for a year or more, the protection would have lasted 12 events.

Instead, when he is fit again, his lowly ranking will mean he will have to try to qualify or rely on wildcards to get into main draws or even drop down to Challenger Tour level.

Raducanu reached the final at Queen's Club this summer only to then miss Wimbledon with a stress fracture in her right leg. Having worked her way back up inside the world's top 30 earlier in the year, she is now No 68 and unless she can play and win some matches soon, she's likely to find herself outside the top 100 by the end of the year. It may even be better, from a ranking perspective, if she waits until she has been away six months, to avoid being in the same boat as Draper.

The women's event in New York is just as open as the men's, thanks in large part to the strange loss in form of world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka. Letting slip a commanding lead as she lost to Diana Shnaider in the quarter-finals at Roland-Garros has clearly hurt, and she has lost in the last 16 in her past three events, a far cry from the consistency that has taken her to the top.

Three other women could be No 1 after the US Open, with Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff and Jess Pegula all within striking distance of Sabalenka, who has to win the title to stay on top. With Iga Swiatek also finding form again this summer, the title is up for grabs.

Next week

Deadline Day: the gift that eventually stopped giving

Could the closure of the summer transfer window ever go back to the tension-filled telethon it used to be?

Giles Smith

Does anyone fancy Deadline Day on a wet Tuesday night in September? We're about to find out, I guess. At least it's closing later this year, so that's an improvement. For two seasons now football's summer transfer window has shut at the lustre-free hour of 7pm – a slot more befitting a child's bedtime, surely, than the appropriately dramatic moment for Stoke City to land a last-gasp loan deal for Chiedozie Ogbene, or whoever.

But this year we're back where we used to be, at the preferable 11pm. Is that shift enough on its own, though, to bring people running, to usher back the good times, to restore Deadline Day to the nation-captivating glory it once knew?

Deadline Day: the one time in which Sky Sports News could once unblushingly describe as “the day football fans around the world circle on their calendars".

Deadline Day: the time when a suited news anchor could look down the camera and remark in all seriousness: "Where does the future lie for Graham Dorrans? Don't go away."

Deadline Day: the gift that eventually stopped giving.

Back in 2008 the silhouette of Tottenham's Dimitar Berbatov was glimpsed behind a net curtain at Old Trafford. And just like that, a stint of basic admin became plausible as a 17-hour telethon of escalating tensions, whose ins and outs could be beamed from all over the country into our homes, began.

It reached the stage where Sky Sports News was not only tracking their presenter Jim White's arrival at the studio to helm this intrigue-fest's closing hours as if he were Lionel Messi de-bussing in the bowels of the Camp Nou, but could even run a feature the day before on White getting ready for his Deadline Day duties, part of which showed him ensuring his shaver was plugged into its charger.

Looking back, it was probably already over when White took to shadow-boxing on his eventual walk into the studio. But what had killed Deadline Day?

Not, it would seem, the cost of living crisis: not in a world in which

Manchester City can still find £116m for Elliot Anderson. Nor Fifa's Financial Fair Play rules: not in a world in which Manchester City can still find £116m for Elliot Anderson. It wasn't even irony: not in a world in which Manchester City can still find £116m for Elliot Anderson.

No, maybe it was simply timing. As Mark Hughes memorably said, when he was managing QPR: "Ideally you'd like a clear run at the window." That was January 2012. What was in the way? Football. Five top-flight fixtures, to be precise, causing Sky to make the immortal claim that Deadline Day that year would be “played out against the backdrop of a busy night in the Premier League”.

Even then, horses and carts came vividly to mind. But a clash on the same scale occurred in 2018, and by that point not even the most committed reporter stationed under a streetlight outside a seemingly deserted training facility could pretend to be in any confusion about what was the scenery in this arrangement, and what was the play.

One way to start bringing it back maybe: close the summer window before the season starts. Tidier for all concerned, surely: a window that everyone can have a clear run at. A window with no football in it.

And then tighten the drama. Because, thinking about it, 11pm is undercooking it, too. Final knockings should be at midnight, no? That's the properly resonant hour – the hour that really speaks to us in these contexts. Wilson Pickett didn't sing, "I'm gonna wait till 11pm." Neither did he sing, "I'm gonna wait till 11pm, which is midnight on the continent." Deadline Day needs to start respecting itself and stop compromising.

Master of ceremonies: Jim White was the face of Sky Sports' Deadline Day coverage when it was at its zenith. Sky Sports

And those final knockings should genuinely be final. Is that so much to ask? Currently Deadline Day isn't over, even when it's over.

Obscure rules around the submission of the weirdly analogue-sounding “deal sheets” routinely enable transfers to drift past the deadline undeclared. It’s not just the game itself, clearly, which now errs on the generous side in its approach to time added on.

Just blow the whistle. Bring the curtain down. Find a way to end it. Or else, surely, it ends.

World's best golfers chase \$10m pot as ‘Stockton Rocket’ soars in Spain

Britain's Brennan has made flying start to his Grand Tour debut and it doesn't get any easier for Aston Villa. By Patrick Kidd

After winning all eight men's grand-slam titles in 2024 and 2025, four apiece, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner's rivalry has been disrupted. The Spaniard missed the French Open and Wimbledon with a wrist injury, and now Alcaraz is back to defend his US Open title, the Italian has withdrawn with a knee problem.

It means that Alexander Zverev will be the top seed, while Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton hope to become the first home champion since 2003. In the women's event Aryna Sabalenka seeks to be the first to win a hat-trick of titles in New

York since Serena Williams in 2014 and only the second to win three in a row since Chris Evert in 1978 (begins today, Sky Sports Tennis, 4pm).

The first five completed stages of this year's Vuelta a España were shared between Tadej Pogačar and Matthew Brennan. The “Stockton Rocket” who won titles at the 2023 World Junior Championships with Ben Wiggins, Bradley’s lad, is making his Grand Tour debut.

The sprinter's best chance for another win comes on Wednesday's flat stage 11 through Murcia (TNT Sports 3, 1.30pm), while Pogačar's enforced withdrawal from the race after a crash yesterday ended his aspirations of becoming the first man to lead the Vuelta from start to finish since Tony Rominger in 1994.

Meanwhile, the 85th Tour of Britain begins in Lincoln on Wednesday (ITV4, 10.20am).

British Rowing, for so long a banker at the Olympics, has had a mixed performance at the World Championships in Amsterdam, though the men's double scull reached their first final since 2019 and quad Olympic champion Lauren Henry won her heat comfortably in the single. The final day will decide the singles and eights, with the battle between the Dutch and British men's crews one to watch (today, Eurovisionsport.com, noon).

Six British golfers qualified for the 30-man finale in the Tour

Championship. The Fitzpatrick brothers, Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Bob Macintyre and Justin Rose are chasing a \$10 million first prize in Atlanta (today, Sky Sports Golf, 5pm). Meanwhile, the best amateurs from Britain, Ireland and the US play in the 51st Walker Cup in County Clare. Jack Whaley, from Doncaster, recently won the US Amateur, while Luke Poulter hopes to emulate his father Ian in the Ryder Cup. However, the US have seven of the world's top 10 and are on a five-match winning streak (Saturday, Sky Sports Golf, 8.30am).

After losing their opening Premier League match 4-0 to Brighton, Aston Villa could have wished for an easier Bank Holiday game than Arsenal, who started with a 3-0 win over Coventry City (tomorrow, Sky Sports Main Event, 8pm).

Full Time

PREMIER LEAGUE
Premier League

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Gd	Pts
Man City	2	2	0	0	6	2	4	6
Hull	2	2	0	0	3	0	3	6
Newcastle	2	1	1	0	4	2	2	4
Everton	2	1	1	0	3	1	2	4
Brighton	1	1	0	0	4	0	4	3
Arsenal	1	1	0	0	3	0	3	3
Brentford	1	1	0	0	3	0	3	3
Chelsea	1	1	0	0	3	2	1	3
Ipswich	1	1	0	0	2	1	1	3
Leeds	1	1	0	0	1	0	1	3
Liverpool	2	0	2	0	4	4	0	2
Bournemouth	2	0	1	1	2	3	-1	1
Nottm Forest	2	0	1	1	2	3	-1	1
Fulham	1	0	0	1	2	3	-1	0
Sunderland	1	0	0	1	1	2	-1	0
Man Utd	1	0	0	1	0	2	-2	0
Aston Villa	1	0	0	1	0	4	-4	0
Coventry	2	0	0	2	0	4	-4	0
Crystal Palace	2	0	0	2	1	6	-5	0
Tottenham	2	0	0	2	0	5	-5	0

1 Everton (0) 1 Tarkowski 90 0 Hull (0) 1 Millar 82 2 Nottm Forest (1) 2 Ndoye 24 Gibbs-White 70 (pen) 0 Newcastle (0) 2 Elanga 62 Wissa 72

Sky Bet Championship

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Gd	Pts
Charlton	3	3	0	0	5	2	3	9
Wolverhampton	3	2	1	0	9	4	5	7
Swansea	3	2	1	0	5	1	4	7
QPR	3	2	1	0	5	2	3	7
Middlesbrough	3	2	0	1	6	4	2	6
Millwall	3	2	0	1	6	5	1	6
West Brom	3	2	0	1	6	5	1	6
Birmingham	3	1	2	0	4	3	1	5
Watford	3	1	2	0	4	3	1	5
Blackburn	3	1	1	1	5	5	0	4
Bolton	3	1	1	1	2	2	0	4
Bristol City	3	1	1	1	4	5	-1	4
Cardiff	3	0	3	0	5	5	0	3
Sheff Utd	3	0	3	0	2	2	0	3
Portsmouth	3	1	0	2	5	6	-1	3
Norwich	3	1	0	2	5	6	-1	3
Lincoln City	3	1	0	2	3	5	-2	3
Southampton	3	2	0	1	9	4	5	2
West Ham	3	0	2	1	4	5	-1	2
Wrexham	3	0	2	1	3	4	-1	2
Derby	3	0	1	2	3	7	-4	1
Burnley	3	0	1	2	4	9	-5	1
Preston	3	0	0	3	2	6	-4	0
Stoke	3	0	0	3	3	9	-6	0

THE SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP

Blackburn	1	QPR
Bolton	0	Lincoln City
Bristol City	2	Portsmouth
Cardiff	2	Sheff Utd
Charlton	1	Preston
Derby	0	Swansea
Middlesbrough	3	West Brom
Norwich	4	Burnley
Southampton	5	Millwall
Watford	1	West Ham
Wolverhampton	4	Stoke

Sky Bet League One

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Gd	Pts
Blackpool	3	2	1	0	7	2	5	7
Huddersfield	3	2	1	0	6	2	4	7
Stockport Cty	3	2	0	1	9	4	5	6
Sheff Wed	3	2	0	1	9	4	5	6
Bradford	3	2	0	1	3	2	1	6
Notts County	3	1	2	0	5	4	1	5
Luton	2	1	1	0	6	5	1	4
Oxford Utd	2	1	1	0	4	3	1	4
Barnsley	3	1	1	1	3	2	1	4
Cambridge Utd	3	1	1	1	5	5	0	4
Burton Albion	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	4
Plymouth	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	4
Bromley	3	1	1	1	4	8	-4	4
Mansfield	2	1	0	1	3	3	0	3
MK Dons	3	0	3	0	3	3	0	3
Leyton Orient	3	1	0	2	4	5	-1	3
Peterborough	3	1	0	2	2	7	-5	3
Stevenage	3	0	2	1	4	5	-1	2
Doncaster	3	0	2	1	3	4	-1	2
Leicester	3	0	2	1	2	3	-1	2
Wycombe	3	0	2	1	3	7	-4	2
Reading	2	0	1	1	3	4	-1	1
AFC Wimbledon	2	0	1	1	0	3	-3	1
Wigan	2	0	0	2	2	5	-3	0

SKY BET LEAGUE ONE

Blackpool	4	Peterborough	0
Cambridge Utd	1	Huddersfield	2
Leyton Orient	1	Barnsley	3
MK Dons	0	Leicester	0
Notts County	2	Burton Albion	1
Plymouth	2	Bradford	0
Sheff Wed	7	Bromley	2
Stevenage	2	Doncaster	2
Stockport County	5	Wycombe	1

Sky Bet League Two

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Gd	Pts
Barnet	3	2	1	0	8	4	4	7
Walsall	3	2	1	0	6	2	4	7
York	3	2	1	0	6	4	2	7
Colchester	3	2	1	0	5	3	2	7
Crewe	3	2	1	0	2	0	2	7
Oldham	3	2	0	1	6	2	4	6
Bristol Rovers	3	2	0	1	9	6	3	6
Tranmere	3	1	2	0	5	3	2	5
Fleetwood Town	3	1	2	0	3	2	1	5
Grimsby	3	1	2	0	3	2	1	5
Newport County	3	1	1	1	8	7	1	4
Cheltenham	3	1	1	1	5	5	0	4
Rotherham	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	4
Swindon	3	1	1	1	2	4	-2	4
Exeter	3	1	0	2	3	3	0	3
Chesterfield	3	1	0	2	2	3	-1	3
Crawley Town	3	1	0	2	2	4	-2	3
Shrewsbury	3	1	0	2	2	5	-3	3
Northampton	3	0	2	1	1	2	-1	2
Port Vale	3	0	2	1	1	3	-2	2
Gillingham	3	0	2	1	1	4	-3	2
Accrington	3	0	1	2	4	7	-3	1
Salford City	3	0	0	3	1	5	-4	0
Rochdale	3	0	0	3	1	6	-5	0

SKY BET LEAGUE TWO

Barnet	2	Cheltenham	2
Colchester	1	Rochdale	0
Crawley Town	0	Bristol Rovers	2
Gillingham	1	Northampton	1
Grimsby	2	Fleetwood Town	2
Newport County	2	Tranmere	2
Oldham	3	Swindon	0
Port Vale	0	Crewe	0
Rotherham	2	Chesterfield	1
Shrewsbury	1	Salford City	0
Walsall	3	Accrington	2
York	2	Exeter	1

Scottish Premiership

WILLIAM HILL SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP
Celtic	2	Falkirk	1
Hearts	2	St Johnstone	1
Kilmarnock	0	Dundee Utd	4
WILLIAM HILL SCOTTISH CHAMPIONSHIP
Arbroath	1	Livingston	0
Ayr	1	Morton	1
Partick	0	Queen's Park	0
Stenhousemuir	3	Inverness CT	1
WILLIAM HILL SCOTTISH LEAGUE ONE
Airdrieonians	0	East Fife	0
Alloa	1	Peterhead	1
Hamilton	1	Cove Rangers	0
Montrose	2	Queen of South	1
Ross County	4	East Kilbride	0
WILLIAM HILL SCOTTISH LEAGUE TWO
Annan Athletic	2	Dumbarton	0
Elgin	4	Stirling	0
Spartans	3	Clyde	3
Stranraer	2	Kelty Hearts	0

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Gd	Pts
Celtic	3	3	0	0	8	2	6	9
Hearts	3	2	0	1	7	3	4	6
Dundee	3	2	0	1	4	1	3	6
St Mirren	2	2	0	0	3	0	3	6
Motherwell	2	1	1	0	2	1	1	4
Dundee Utd	4	1	1	2	5	7	-2	4
Hibernian	2	1	0	1	3	3	0	3
St Johnstone	3	1	0	2	5	6	-1	3
Aberdeen	2	1	0	1	2	3	-1	3
Rangers	2	0	1	1	2	3	-1	1
Falkirk	3	0	1	2	1	4	-3	1
Kilmarnock	3	0	0	3	4	13	-9	0

WILLIAM HILL SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE SOUTH

AFC Totton	0	Chesham Utd	4
Billericay	2	Tonbridge Angels	2
Chelmsford	1	Maidenhead Utd	0
Dover	3	Braintree Town	3
Hemel Hempstead	1	Weston-S-Mare	3
Horsham	1	Farnham Town	2
Maidstone Utd	2	Salisbury FC	1
Slough	0	Folkestone Invicta	2
Torquay	1	Hampton & Richmnd	1
Truro City	3	Dag & Red	0
Walton & Hersham	1	Dorking Wanderers	4

Match of the Day presenter Cates: 'Patience is hardest thing to teach'

Michaela Makusha

Kelly Cates is coming off a much-needed break. She has spent the summer catching her breath including “a proper two-week holiday, not doing anything” before the season begins again.

The Match of the Day host is busy. On top of the flagship BBC show she is also on Radio 5 Live and Sky Sports this season, but says her appetite for her job grows with every season.

"It's funny because I'm often doing what I would be doing that weekend anyway – watching the match," she says. "So it never feels tiring." Sky will be showing more than 1,500 live matches across the Premier League, English Football League, Women's Super League and Scottish Premiership this season – with Cates involved in many of them.

Cates, 50, joined Sky Sports News in 1998, at a moment when women in sports broadcasting were still a rarity.

Her own experience of breaking in, though, wasn't the isolating one often assumed of that era. Her perspective is different because she didn't go straight into an all-male environment. She went in surrounded by women, two of whom have since become godmothers to her daughters.

"It was a really tight group," she says. "My experience was not typical."

That's not to say the wider industry was easy for women at the time, or even now. She points to broadcasters who were already working in sport before her. Friends of hers in other roles ran into the “very macho” culture that people associate with the sport. Cates didn't, largely because of who was around her, but she is careful not to overstate how great things were: “It still wasn't perfect.”

Cates has conversations all the time with young women who want to get into sports broadcasting and reporting. "There are so many warnings out there, which are well-meaning," she says. "We want to prepare our girls for the hurdles, but we do not talk about how fun it is."

Her practical advice is quite blunt: "Patience is the hardest thing to teach." There are so few opportunities for sports broadcasting, and you have to wait for one to come up. Cates shares advice that she did not hear until she was in her 40s: be ready for when the luck happens. "You just always have to be prepared because as soon as those opportunities come, go for them, even if you are not sure you're ready," she says.

And if you're worried that you won't know every part of the job? "I can do two or three out of the four or five things I need to do," Cates says. "You can always learn the rest."

Her advice comes from being given many unglamorous tasks along the way: "You learn so much from doing the so-called 'smaller assignments'. Nothing is ever beneath you."

Kenny Dalglish, would watch multiple leagues across Europe once satellite TV made it possible, tracking all the footage he could. That gave her an instinct for who her audience is and the headspace they would be in.

Cates grew up in a football-obsessed household. Her father, the former Celtic and Liverpool player

Bournemouth and Manchester City last season. It ended in a 1-1 draw, which meant Arsenal won the Premier League. How do you produce a broadcast for three different fanbases? "Would Man City fans and Bournemouth fans still be watching? Bournemouth were qualifying for

"It's not just about someone who has just come back from the game, head all over the place," she says. "It is someone who's had Sunday lunch, watched the game and wants to talk about it before getting ready for work during the week ahead."

Cates (below) found her ability to cater for the entire audience tested during the match between

the Europa League. City fans are trying to think about what went wrong this season – or is this the time we all get together and celebrate Arsenal, who have won? So many threads to pull together."

She has thought about the evolution in football broadcasting, especially now competing with TikTok and YouTube channels: "A conversational approach does not dilute the content but makes the conversation more natural, and then you can get into the details." This plays out differently, depending on who she is interviewing – newer pun-

dits need their comfort zone, whereas experienced voices such as Ian Wright, Gary Neville or Jamie Carragher can then be asked "spikier questions" because that's what they love.

Cates is firm about not being a specialist in predictions, but knows which players she wants to keep an eye on. She's watching the 20-year-old Ghana midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi, who

Fixtures

Football 7.45 unless stated

TODAY

PREMIER LEAGUE

PREMIER LEAGUE Chelsea v Brighton (2.00), Leeds v Brentford (2.00), Man Utd v Ipswich (4.30), Sunderland v Fulham (2.00). SKY BET LEAGUE ONE AFC Wimbledon v Wigan (2.00), Mansfield v Luton (3.00). WILLIAM HILL SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP Aberdeen v Rangers (12.00), Dundee v Hibernian (3.00), St Mirren v Motherwell (3.00).

TENNIS

US Open (Flushing Meadows, New York, all week).

TOMORROW

PREMIER LEAGUE Aston Villa v Arsenal (8.00).

TUESDAY 1 SEPTEMBER SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP

Birmingham v Southampton (8.00), Lincoln City v Blackburn, Portsmouth v Derby, Preston North End v Bristol City, Sheff Utd v Bolton, Stoke v Norwich (8.00), Swansea v Watford, West Ham v Wolverhampton.

Bradford v Cambridge Utd, Bromley v Leyton Orient, Doncaster v Notts County, Huddersfield v Oxford Utd, Leicester v Plymouth, Peterborough v Stevenage, Wycombe v Sheff Wed.

SKY BET LEAGUE TWO

Accrington Stanley v Grimsby, Bristol Rovers v Colchester, Cheltenham v York, Chesterfield v Gillingham, Crewe v Walsall, Exeter v Barnet, Fleetwood Town v Oldham, Northampton v Crawley Town, Rochdale v Shrewsbury, Salford City v Newport County, Swindon v Port Vale, Tranmere v Rotherham.

WEDNESDAY 2 SEPTEMBER

SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP

Burnley v Middlesbrough (8.00), Millwall v Wrexham, QPR v Cardiff, West Brom v Charlton. SKY BET LEAGUE ONE Barnsley v Blackpool, Burton Albion v AFC Wimbledon, Luton v Stockport County, Reading v Mansfield (8.00), Wigan v Milton Keynes Dons. WILLIAM HILL SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP Celtic v Aberdeen, Dundee v St Johnstone, Falkirk v Rangers (8.00), Kilmarnock v St Mirren, Motherwell v Dundee Utd.

CRICKET

County Championship (10.30am)- Division One: Essex v Sussex (Chelmsford), Hampshire v Warwickshire (The Rose Bowl), Notts v Leicestershire (Trent Bridge), Somerset v Glamorgan (Taunton), Surrey v Yorkshire (The Kia Oval). County Championship - Division Two: Gloucestershire v Derbyshire (Bristol), Kent v Worcestershire (Canterbury), Middlesex v Lancashire (Northwood), Northamptonshire v Durham (Northampton).

THURSDAY 3 SEPTEMBER WILLIAM HILL SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP Hibernian v Hearts.

RUGBY LEAGUE

Betfred Super League: Bradford v Castleford (8.00).

FRIDAY 4 SEPTEMBER

PREMIER LEAGUE Ipswich v Liverpool (8.00). WOMEN'S SUPER LEAGUE London City v Man Utd (7.00).

RUGBY LEAGUE

Betfred Super League: Hull K R v Huddersfield (8.00), Leigh v St Helens (8.00), Toulouse v Hull (6.00).

Football 3.00 unless stated

SATURDAY 5 SEPTEMBER PREMIER LEAGUE

Brentford v Sunderland, Brighton v Leeds, Fulham v Crystal Palace, Hull v Aston Villa (5.30), Man City v Coventry, Newcastle v AFC Bournemouth (12.30), Nottm Forest v Tottenham Hotspur.

SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP

Burnley v Bristol City, Lincoln City v Southampton (12.30), Millwall v Bolton, Portsmouth v Cardiff, Preston North End v Blackburn (12.30), QPR v Middlesbrough, Sheff Utd v Norwich, Stoke v Charlton (12.30), Swansea v Wrexham (8.00), West Brom v Watford, West Ham v Derby. SKY BET LEAGUE ONE

SKY BET LEAGUE ONE

Barnsley v Stevenage, Bradford v Mansfield, Burton Albion v Cambridge Utd, Doncaster v Plymouth, Huddersfield v Notts County, Leicester v Oxford Utd, Luton v Leyton Orient, Peterborough v Sheff Wed (12.30), Reading v Blackpool, Wigan v Stockport County (12.30), Wycombe v MK Dons.

SKY BET LEAGUE TWO

Accrington Stanley v Crawley Town, Bristol Rovers v Rotherham, Cheltenham v Grimsby, Chesterfield v Barnet, Crewe v York, Exeter v Walsall, Fleetwood Town v Shrewsbury (12.30), Northampton v Newport County, Rochdale v Gillingham, Salford City v Port Vale (12.30), Swindon v Colchester, Tranmere v Oldham. WILLIAM HILL SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP Aberdeen v Kilmarnock, Dundee Utd v Falkirk, Rangers v Motherwell, St Mirren v Celtic (8.00).

WOMEN'S SUPER LEAGUE

Chelsea v Aston Villa (12.30).

RUGBY LEAGUE

Betfred Super League: Catalans Dragons v York (5.00), Leeds v Wigan (8.00), Wakefield v Warrington (3.00).

RUGBY UNION

International Matches: South Africa v New Zealand (4.05), Argentina v Australia (10.00). Premiership Rugby Cup Pool A: Bristol v Gloucester (3.00). Pool B: Saracens v Northampton (3.00), Harlequins v Leicester (3.00).

SUNDAY 6 SEPTEMBER

PREMIER LEAGUE

Everton v Man Utd (2.00), Arsenal v Chelsea (4.30). SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP Birmingham v Wolverhampton (12.00). WILLIAM HILL SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP St Johnstone v Hibernian, Hearts v Dundee. WOMEN'S SUPER LEAGUE Brighton v Arsenal (12.00), Tottenham v West Ham (12.00), Charlton v Liverpool FC Women (2.00), Crystal Palace v Everton (2.00), Man City v Birmingham City (2.30).

MOTOR RACING

FIA Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix (Monza Circuit, Monza).

RUGBY UNION

Premiership Rugby Cup Pool A: Sale v Bath (3.00).

CYCLING

VUELTA A ESPANA—Stage 8 (Pucol - Xeraco, 171.0km): 1 B Coquard (Fra) Cofidis 3h 47m 6s, 2 M Pedersen (Den) Lidl-Trek, 3 J Meeus (Bel) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, 4 B Turner (Gbr) Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team, 5 J Labrosse (Fra) Decathlon CMA CGM Team all at same time. Overall: 1 E Mas (Spa) Movistar Team 23h 24m 00s, 2 F Gall (Aut) Decathlon CMA CGM Team +1m 11s, 3 P Roglic (Slo) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe +1:33, 4 S Kuss (USA) Team Visma | Lease a Bike +2:15, 5 O Onley (Gbr) Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team +2:16.

GOLF

DP WORLD TOUR HUSQVARNA BRITISH MASTERS (The Belfry Hotel & Resort, Sutton Coldfield)—2nd Rnd (Gbr & Irl unless stated, Par 72): 134 M Penge 69 65, 135 D Hillier (Nzl) 69 66, 136 I Elvira (Spa) 65 71, S Norris (Rsa) 67 69, T McKibbin 68 68, 137 M Jordan 66 71, 138 E Ferguson 67 71, T Olesen (Den) 71 67, F Zanotti (Pry) 69 69, 139 N Noergaard (Den) 71 68, J Skov Olesen (Den) 67 72, T Vaillant (Fra) 70 69, R Fisher 70 69, M Steinlechner (Aut) 69 70, D Bryant (USA) 66 73, 140 Y Premlall (Rsa) 68 72, B Wiesberger (Aut) 70 70, A Hidalgo (Spa) 70 70, F Lacroix (Fra) 72 68, H Hall 71 69, Y Katsuragawa (Jpn) 71 69, J Dean 67 73, M Helligkilde (Den) 71 69, M Pavon (Fra) 70 70, O Guillamoundeguy (Fra) 71 69, S Sharma (Ind) 69 71, 141 J Schaper (Rsa) 70 71, E Lopez-Chacarra (Spa) 69 72, M Wallace 71 70, A Rozner (Fra) 68 73, J Lagergren (Swe) 72 69, J Luiten (Ned) 67 74, O Lindell (Fin) 69 72, K Kobori (Nzl) 70 71, J. C. Ritchie (Rsa) 72 69, A Bergstroem (Swe) 70 71, A Arnaus (Spa) 69 72, 142 T Hatton 69 73, J Guerrier (Fra) 73 69, D van Driel (Ned) 69 73, R Hoshino (Jpn) 72 70, P Larrazabal (Spa) 71 71, D Naidoo (Rsa) 68 74, A Ayora (Spa) 68 74, J Campillo (Spa) 70 72, S Crocker (USA) 70 72, B Stone (Rsa) 71 71, E van Rooyen (Rsa) 73 69, T Rosenmueller (Ger) 71 71, E Pepperell 72 70, G Fernandez-Castano (Spa) 68 74, D Rodrigues (Por) 69 73, A Halvorsen (Nor) 72 70, M Toorop (Ned) 74 68, 143 P Reed (USA) 71 72, T Lawrence (Rsa) 72 71, H Li (Chn) 71 72, A Del Rey (Spa) 71 72, G Migliozzi (Ita) 70 73, A Meronk (Pol) 72 71, D Gavins 70 73, M Schneider (Ger) 70 73, U Coussaud (Fra) 75 68, S Bairstow 71 72, L de Jager (Rsa) 72 71, D Willett 69 74, L List (USA) 71 72, R Paratore (Ita) 68 75, D Law 69 74, G De Leo (Ita) 72 71, J Buchanan (Rsa) 71 72.

LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR KPMG WOMEN'S IRISH OPEN (Dublin)—3rd Rnd (Gbr & Irl unless stated, Par 72): 198 C Alexander (Rsa) 63 66 69, 201 S Kouskova (Cze) 68 66 67, 203 K Arwefjaell (Swe) 69 71 63, 204 C Viden (Swe) 70 65 69, L Rydqvist (Swe) 68 67 69, 205 N Komulainen (Fin) 73 66 66, L Maguire 71 71 63, 206 B Navarroso (USA) 69 65 72, A Fanali (Ita) 67 72 67, D Forbrigd (Nor) 70 70 66, L Pettersson (Swe) 71 65 70, A Foersterling (Ger) 70 67 69, 207 B Fernandez (Spa) 72 68 67, 208 A Dawson Isle of Man 67 74 67, 209 A Garvey (Nzl) 73 71 65, E Spitz (Aut) 74 68 67, M Folke (Swe) 70 71 68, A Foster 72 71 66, P Urs (Ind) 69 70 70, P Schmidt (Ger) 77 67 65, G Oboh (Ngr) 74 68 67, 210 S Tan (Sgp) 72 72 66, J Melichova (Cze) 67 75 68, 211 T Cheenglab (Tha) 71 71 69, L Walsh 74 70 67, H Screen 71 71 69, A Morgan (USA) 72 71 68, A Donegan 69 73 69, L May Humphreys 67 73 71, K Napoleaova (Cze) 74 68 69, 212 C Herbin-Marshall (Fra) 72 68 72, C Williams 75 68 69, A Pelaez (Spa) 73 68 71, U Wikstrom (Fin) 74 68 70, M Skarpnord (Nor) 71 71 70, S Schober (Aut) 72 70 70, 213 L Harm (Ger) 70 72 71, A Hewson 71 69 73, L Hall 72 69 72, R Liti (Ita) 71 72 70, C MacNab (Rsa) 71 71 71, 214 W Hillier (Aus) 76 67 71, A Fuller 68 74 72, V Knecht (Swi) 72 71 71, A Grimberg Lignell (Swe) 73 69 72, H Darling 74 67 73, L Lau (Fra) 72 71 71.

USPGA TOUR CHAMPIONS THE ALLY CHALLENGE

(Michigan)—1st rnd (USA unless stated, Par 72): 63 V Taylor, 64 J Rollins, 65 P Harrington (Irl), 66 M Block, R Gonzalez (Arg), P Goydos, 67 G Chalmers (Aus), S Cink, S Hend (Aus), B Jobe, M Wright (Aus), 68 S Alker (Nzl), C Campbell, K. J. Choi (Kor), Z Johnson, T Petrovic, H Stenson (Swe), M Weir (Can), Yong-Eun Yang (Kor), A Cabrera (Arg), 69 S Allan (Aus), S Ames (Can), J Caron, S Flesch, M Hensby (Aus), S Kjeldsen (Den), S Parel, B Quigley, B Van Pelt, C Devlin (Nlrl), 70 R Armour, K Duke, J Durant, B Estes, J. J. Henry, J Maggert, T Ridings, 71 S Bertsch, R Goosen (Rsa), T Jaidee (Tha), G McNeill, T Pernice Jr, H Slocum, M Wilson, H Frazar, J Bohn, D Bransdon (Aus), 72 S Appleby (Aus), B Gay, R Green (Aus), R Mediate, T O'Neal, R Pampling (Aus), C Pavin, B Weekley, M Tiziani, 73 B Crane, C DiMarco, D Duval, F Funk, R Labritz, S Verplank, J B. Hicks, 74 M Calcavecchia, J Daly, B Langer (Ger), B Mayfair, P Stankowski, S Stricker, K Tanigawa, 75 W Austin, R Karlsson (Swe), J Senden (Aus), V Singh (Fij), 76 T Gainey, 77 O Browne, 79 D Rooney, A Atwal, ends

LPGA FM CHAMPIONSHIP (Massachusetts)—2nd rnd (USA unless stated, Par 72): 135 M Yamashita (Jpn) 65 70, Hyo-Joo Kim (Kor) 68 67, A Corpuz 68 67, 136 R Yin (Chn) 71 65, J Bae 68 68, M Metraux (Swi) 71 65, 137 N Guseva (Rus) 69 68, E Kristine Pedersen (Den) 65 72, 138 Sei-Young Kim (Kor) 64 74, Hye-Jin Choi (Kor) 72 66, So-Mi Lee (Kor) 66 72, Hae-Ran Ryu (Kor) 68 70, S Vinijchaitham (Tha) 73 65, 139 L Duncan 70 69, L Coughlin 68 71, P Tavatanakit (Tha) 71 68, A Doherty 70 69, A Huang (Can) 69 70, 140 A Thitikul (Tha) 72 68, A Iwai (Jpn) 74 66, Jin-Hee Im (Kor) 70 70, G Lopez (Mex) 68 72, R Zhang 72 68, L Stroem (Swe) 73 67, N Nadaud (Fra) 72 68, H Cooper 72 68, 141 N Hataoka (Jpn) 71 70, C Hull (Eng) 71 70, L Woad (Eng) 68 73, H Green (Aus) 74 67, B Matthews 72 69, A Buhai (Rsa) 70 71, 142 M Saigo (Jpn) 72 70, A Jutanugarn (Tha) 75 67, M Khang 73 69, C Choi (Kor) 70 72, A Ashok (Ind) 71 71, A Nordqvist (Swe) 74 68, R O'Toole 75 67, S Schubert 70 72, Dong-Eun Lee (Kor) 71 71, I Gabsa (Ger) 73 69.

SNOOKER

WST WUHAN OPEN—Final: B Chang (Chn) bt X Zhao (Chn) 10-7.

TENNIS

WTA ABIERTO GNP SEGUROS (Monterrey, Mexico)—Semi Finals: E Mertens (Bel) bt N Bartunkova (Cze) 1-6 6-4 6-2; D Parry (Fra) bt A Li (USA) 7-6 (9-7) 6-4.

ATP WINSTON-SALEM OPEN–Semi Finals: A Fery (Gbr) bt J Duckworth (Aus) 6-4 1-2 ret L Buse (Per) bt B Bonzi (Fra) 6-2 4-6 6-1.

RUGBY LEAGUE

BETFRED SUPER LEAGUE—Hull Warrington, Toulouse L, Bradford L, Wakefield York.

BETFRED CHAMPIONSHIP—Dewsbury 6 Newcastle 56, Goole Vikings 14 Doncaster 36.

BETFRED WOMEN'S SUPER LEAGUE—Wigan Warriors Women 26 Leeds Rhinos Women 20.

RUGBY UNION

INTERNATIONAL MATCHES—Argentina L Australia L, South Africa 33 New Zealand 26.

New Corner Flag

Solve online to compete for a spot in the top 10. Results published next Sunday in The Puzzle Edit newsletter

Identify the surnames of these players:

Across

1 Walked the walk for Ipswich; talks the talk at breakfast (5)

3 England international who has just made International club move (5)

Down

1 England managers felt picking this maverick was a gamble (5)

2 Made no small contribution to Villa's 1977 League Cup triumph (5)

has signed for Coventry under Frank Lampard. “He played really well during the World Cup, despite the result for Ghana. I’m excited to see him develop as a midfielder with that coaching behind him.”

On the women's side, Chelsea's Chloe Sarwie is one to keep an eye on. The 17-year-old defender, who plays for the England under-23 team, made her Champions League debut last season. "She's an impressive young woman," Cates says. "She's studying engineering, and she's just a great, interesting character. This could be a good season for her."

As for the Premier League, she reluctantly predicts Arsenal could win again. "It is really hard to do it back to back," she says.

Cates points out that defending champions usually have a big summer signing that shows everyone they are serious about retaining the title. Whether Arsenal have found theirs remains to be seen. “I think their stability is their strength. That would be my feeling, but I hate predictions,” she says with a laugh. “They make us all look stupid.”

Three decades into the job, Cates still has a zeal for the game. Never knowing what is going to happen next keeps it fresh.

Sunderland v Fulham,

Today, 2pm, Premier League

Already capable of fielding a fast-food pairing of Berge-King in the spine of their team (the central midfielder Sander Berge and the No10 Josh King), Fulham can now introduce a King-Charles double act after the signing of the midfielder Shea Charles (below, right) from Southampton this summer. The London club will hope the

latter does not lose his head (a King Charles trait) by repeating his dismissal as a teenager when playing for Northern Ireland.

Manchester United v Ipswich Town, Today, 4.30pm, Premier League

A visit by Ipswich to Old Trafford is a reminder of their match against Manchester United there on the afternoon of the May Day Bank Holiday of 1984, when United led 1-0 at half time only to be defeated 2-1. Some 42 years later that remains the last case of United losing a home game, in any competition, having been ahead at the break. Of the 549 occasions in which they have led at the interval in that period they have

achieved 497 victories and 52 draws. Could

this fixture bring up the 550? In that 1984 match Mark Hughes opened the scoring for United before Mich D'Avray and Alan Sunderland replied after the break.

Aston Villa v Arsenal, Tomorrow, 8pm, Premier League

Statistics compiled by Bill Edgar

Arsenal were so pleased to record a 3-0 win over a City side playing in sky blue in their opening match of the season that they did exactly the same in the second, sending Coventry packing as they had Manchester City in the Community Shield (even leading 2-0 at half time in both and scoring the third within five minutes

of the restart). Here they face an Aston Villa team lacking the suspended João Gomes (right), who, already known as a card magnet, has outdone himself since joining Villa this summer: in 119 minutes on the pitch he has received two yellow cards and a straight red.

West Ham United v Wolves, Tuesday, 7.45pm, Championship

West Ham have taken their time to acclimatise to the Championship but they are on course for a record-breaking season at the turnstiles. The 62,264 full house for their only home league game so far, against Charlton Athletic, is well clear of the highest average over a second-tier campaign of 56,283 by Newcastle United in 1947-48. At this rate West Ham will register about double the average of the Championship's next-best attended clubs: Middlesbrough, Cardiff and Wolves. But the capacity of the London Stadium means the highest attendance at a single second-tier fixture will remain untouched: 70,302 watched Tottenham Hotspur host Southampton in February 1950.

TUDOR

PELAGOS FXD CHRONO

What is it that drives someone to greatness? To take on the unknown, venture into the unseen, and dare all? This is the spirit that gave birth to TUDOR, a spirit carried forward by every individual who wears this watch. This is the spirit that drives the TUDOR Pro Cycling Team. On their wrists is the TUDOR Pelagos FXD Chrono, a 43mm diameter sports chronograph boldly combining carbon and titanium. Light, just like their bikes. Some are born to follow. The TUDOR Pro Cycling Team is born to dare.

THE OBSERVER 30|08|26

Our writers celebrate the star who kept on giving

Riverside views

Rowan Moore on unruly Thames architecture

Closed book

Erica Wagner: are we losing the art of reading?

The embroidery of terror

Vanessa Thorpe on the lives of the women who wove their own trauma into the Bayeux tapestry

Agenda

The sharpest writing every Sunday for arts, science, books and ideas

Agenda 4-7

In Real Life Xavier Greenwood on a 200-year-old sweet-maker; John Simpson on anarchic cabaret; Nancy Durrant on a pioneering dance theatre; Libs Driscoll on the loudest voice in Shropshire

- Interview Comedian and Loose Women panellist Judi Love

Critics 16-23

- Jonathan Romney on the wave of directors revisiting France’s wartime legacy

- Rowan Moore contemplates the transformation of the Thames on a boat tour through the capital - Kitty Empire sees Jack White live

Features 8-15

Cover story Vanessa Thorpe on the women who stitched the Bayeux tapestry

- Interview John Healy, author of the 1988 memoir of homelessness of alcoholism The Grass Arena, talks to Sean O'Hagan about writing a follow-up nearly 40 years later

Appreciation Erica Wagner, Kitty Empire and Frank Cottrell-Boyce pay tribute to country star Dolly Parton, who died last week

John Naughton AI is powering a surveillance dystopia

Books 24-29

Laura Cumming reviews Hermione Lee's biography of the "tremendous life" of author Anita Brookner

- Erica Wagner on The New Dark Ages and the post-literate society - Catherine Taylor reviews Marie Darrieussecq's latest feminist fiction

John Ironmonger talks about conservation and The Angel of St Pirran

Puzzles & Television 30-40

- Everyman crossword, sudoku, Gemelo, chess, guess the picture, cinema connect, Lexipedia quiz and Goldilocks crossword

The week's television and radio highlights

Barbara Ellen on a powerful docuseries bringing together 9/11 survivors and their rescuers

Follow us on Instagram @ObsNewReview; email us at review@observer.co.uk

Contributors

Vanessa Thorpe (p8) has written about arts and media for the Observer for three decades. She is currently arts editor of the New Review.

Laura Cumming (p24) is the Observer's art critic. Her books include On Chapel Sands, and Thunderclap, a memoir of art and life.

Sean O'Hagan (p11) is the author of Faith, Hope and Carnage, based on more than 40 hours of lockdown conversations with Nick Cave.

Colin Grant (p27) is a frequent contributor to the New Review. His book about migration, What We Leave, We Carry, was published in June.

Frank Cottrell-Boyce (p15) was children's laureate from 2024 to 2026. His book about that experience, A British Childhood, is out now.

The big picture

Ivan McClellan captures the spirit and determination of a 17-year-old who dreams of becoming the first black female barrel racing champion

Barrel racer Kortnee Solomon. Ivan McClellan

"It's sweltering hot, and humid, and behind the camera I'm dripping in sweat," recalls Ivan McClellan of taking this photograph in Hempstead, Texas, last August. His subject is 17-year-old Kortnee Solomon, a talented barrel racer – short course horse racing in a rodeo ring. "She's used to the heat," McClellan notes, "and you can see her comfort with the herd – she's definitely [at one with] this group of animals." From Kortnee's cool gaze, and the rather disparaging

stare of her blazed horse, it would appear that McClellan is an outsider here.

And in a sense he is. Eleven years ago he was a street photographer based in Portland, Oregon who knew nothing about cowboys besides what he'd seen on TV. Then a chance encounter opened him up to the world of black rodeos. "I flew to Oklahoma and fell in love with the environment and the people. It became the singular focus of my photography." Now he runs his own rodeo events and has just published his second book on the subject.

The culture of black rodeos in the US goes back generations, including in the Solomon family. “Kortnee’s mom is a barrel racer, as was her grandma and great-grandma, so she has horse-riding in her blood,” says McClellan, who sees bright prospects for her career. “I think she wants to achieve what no black woman has ever done, and that’s to win the championship in barrel racing – no black woman has even qualified for the finals." A big reason for that, McClellan says, is economic. "She can't afford a championship calibre horse, which may run up to \$200,000."

Kortnee's focus can be seen in this photograph, as can her eye-catching style. When McClellan turned up at the family ranch outside Houston, "she came out in this multicoloured shirt with \$100 bills all over it. We went into the pasture and I took some photos

of her riding. Afterwards, we're just standing in the field talking, and all of a sudden, her horses all crowded around. I said, 'Let's take one more photo.' And she looked right into the camera, very stoic, in this energetic shirt, an entire herd behind her, and I just thought, wow, what a special moment." Killian Fox

Eight Seconds: Legacy in Motion by Ivan McClellan is published by Damiani on 29 September

In Real Life

Observations & scenes from the world beyond your phone screen

WORKING LIFE Big sugar

It takes a few tries to get to the factory. Teddy Grays of Dudley is 200 years old and makes its range of hard-boiled sweets the traditional way, with copper

pots and lots of heat. Thirty degrees outside can make it 43 in the engine room, so it has been a summer of shutdowns and melting pear drops. Aniseed is in the air as I walk up a quiet residential street towards the factory. On the other side of the road is a dentist.

"I've got floppy fudge," the sales manager David Healy says as he shows me around the premises. "Nothing is setting." Like Carmela Soprano in The Sopranos or Tom Wambsgans in Succession, Healy has married into the family business. He met his wife Julie Healy (née Gray) when she was a 15-year-old selling sweets at the market and he worked at the local butchers. "I'd never heard of Teddy Grays when I met her," Healy says. "So I wasn't a gold digger." He has been at the company for four decades and still puts in 80-hour weeks, referring to himself as "muggins" on multiple occasions. "I don't have holidays," he says. "I'm stuck in this place."

John Gray founded the company in 1826, selling sweets to retailers out of his horse and cart. The business was passed down through the family, until Teddy, Julie's grandad, took charge in an era barely within living memory. "They used to wear turbans in the factory, and in the corner of the ice-cream room there was a monkey," Healy says, citing the recollections of a 93-year-old woman he knows who worked there as a teenager. "A really naughty monkey. It must have been Ted's."

Back then, Teddy Grays operated a dozen shops and employed more than 100 people. Dudley Zoo was a particular money spinner. “They used to sell 200,000 sweets a day there,” Healy says. Teddy drove a Rolls-Royce – an unusual sight in Dudley – and bred dogs, winning first prize at Crufts with a wire fox terrier. Laurel and Hardy stopped by the factory to stay one night. “Old Teddy Gray was a very big celebrity in them days,” Healy says.

Teddy Grays now does a brisk trade online. Health inspectors have demanded a number of changes

in recent years, including stopping passers-by from wandering into the factory for a jar of sweets. The company no longer makes rock owing to the time and labour it took to roll out the letters and carefully assemble the different layers. Seven current employees have worked at Teddy Grays for more than 30 years. Mark Boden, a sugar boiler, has been there for 46.

The techniques used and products made have barely changed in two centuries. Healy is partial to a rum and raisin fudge, but the most popular product sold is the herbal tablet. Every month the factory produces four tonnes of the sweet, a complex and moreish mix of anise and menthol marketed as a “friend for cold nights and mornings”. The exact recipe was created by the mother of the original John Gray, and is known only by Julie and her brother John; counterfeit tablets sometimes make it on to the market.

The process of making sweets begins with a band of sugar boilers, who arrive at the factory at 6am to wrestle with heavy copper cauldrons, folding and mixing until their concoction is ready to pour on a slab to cool. The “girls” are in at seven to crystallise and shape the final product. Heat pulses through the factory as I watch the process from a distance. “Workers have gloves and gauntlets because if you get sugar on your skin, it goes through,” Healy says. “It is molten lava. It is evil stuff.” Evil is not the word that comes to mind as sugar is boiled and mixed and sliced

and boxed. What I see in front of me is mesmeric; a dance of colour and craft.

Healy is resistant to nostalgia. "You have to be six months in front of yourself," he says. "You have to keep moving." Gas prices are through the roof, as is the cost of sugar. This is a major issue for a factory that gets through more than 100 bags of the stuff in a week. "Sugar eats away concrete. It eats away shoes," Healy says. It eats into revenues too.

Away from the rush of the factory, on the drive to the station, Healy is in a reflective mood. “We’re not going to go on for ever,” he says. “It’s only me, Julie and John now. There’s no one else to pass Teddy Grays on to... It’s been a good 40 years. Yes it’s had its moments, but doesn’t everything in life? Since my wife had cancer, I always say there’s somebody worse off than yourself.” He bids me farewell with a box of herbal tablets and what sounds like a note of resignation. “One day in years and years to come, you’ll be able to say you’ve been here.” Xavier Greenwood

ON THE STAGE Extreme clowning

ach Zucker runs through a safety briefing then tells the Stamptown team that a reporter – me – is backstage, and

asks for best behaviour. A juggler immediately flashes a boob.

tours the globe and has a Netflix special airing this week.

The show has become a cult hit at the Edinburgh fringe; Zucker, the producer and host has been bringing some version of it to the festival for 10 years. Stamptown also

This year the troupe includes a non-binary eunuch who wants their testicles back, an idiotic James Bond who can't find the middle of the iconic black circle to fire his gun, and Mr Cardboard, an escapee from an insane comic book. Backstage Jonny Woolley, a trained clown, sits in the tech booth detonating unpredictable sound effects – shots are fired, TV soundtracks change the tone – to which the cast react.

The clowns constantly derail proceedings, but when they relent for long enough the other acts get a look in. There is a sword swallower, two standup acts, the juggler (clothed) and an aerial pole dancer.

"I want to show the audience a bunch of once-in-a-lifetime tableaux," Zucker says. The Stamptown crowd has developed something of a mob mentality, demanding he dance, rap or play characters for them. "I remember some earlier shows at the fringe where the crowds for the first time really took over. I was like 'Oh, I am a ragdoll in the ocean right now...' There's something fascinating and beautiful about it. When you connect to a room and to a group of people, you can do amazing things together."

The changing lineup has included stars ranging from sitcom actor and standup Aisling Bea to Zucker's

former performing partner, Viggo Venn, who won Britain's Got Talent in 2023, and the Hollywood actor

Stamptown is a cabaret mixing circus acts, burlesque and standup. A troupe of modern clowns drives the show. They invade the stage, ignoring instructions and making Zucker's madcap character, Jack Tucker, seem like the voice of reason.

Neil Patrick Harris, who went to clown school in France this summer as a result of his

friendship with Zucker. Harris and Zucker, who is bisexual, usually end their scenes together in a passionate kiss.

Stamptown has its origins in the small town of Étampes, south of Paris, where the late clown master Philippe Gaulier ran his theatre school. Zucker met Venn and Woolley while studying there in 2013, and the company takes its name from the word étampe, which means “stamp”.

Workers have gloves because if you get sugar on your skin, it goes through. It is molten lava. It is evil stuff

“Philippe told me it would take 10 years to find my way and that’s exactly what happened,” Zucker says. The title card at the end of the Netflix special is a tribute to Gaulier, who died in February aged 82. The teacher’s voice is heard saying “thank you, goodbye”, after the credits have rolled. These days Zucker and Woolley play with narratives that develop over the course of the 80-minute performance. In Edinburgh, one strand has been an evil billionaire who threatens the future of Stamptown by buying up the clowns and performers.

Woolley makes sure the plotline doesn't restrain the chaos on stage, briefing the performers to play

with the narrative rather than stick rigidly to it. "If people leave supercharged with a huge smile on their face, or they're leaving horny as hell – I'm like 'great, I've left you feeling something'." John Simpson

NOTES FROM ABROAD Moving on up

In this sixth floor rehearsal room at the glass-and-steel Joan Weill Center for Dance, home to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater since 2005, a

wall of mirrors reflects eight floor-to-ceiling windows with a view across Hell's Kitchen – a once-gritty, now heavily gentrified Manhattan neighbourhood next to Broadway, where every other passer-by might easily be a performer. Or want to be.

The piece that the dancer, Constance Stamatiou, is working on alongside two colleagues is Cry, one of Ailey's signature solo works. She moves with mesmerising precision and grace around the scuffed, grey painted floor. Ailey's stated

founded in 1958, was to uplift the African American experience; he created Cry in 1971 as a gift for his mother, dedicating it to “all black women everywhere, especially our mothers”.

Associate artistic director Matthew Rushing, leading the rehearsal in jeans and a blue Alvin Ailey hoodie, consults his notebook and praises Stamatiou's “nice shapes” while reminding her to keep her arm parallel to the floor, and not to come in “early on the tantrum”. She nods ruefully, and cocks her head, moving her arms slightly to think it through, embedding the instructions.

including his popular 1960 masterwork Revelations, set to spirituals, gospel and blues and inspired by his Christian upbringing in the segregated south.

Seated behind Ailey's own huge and heavy curved bronze desk, effortlessly upright like all dancers, with her grey curls loose, Graf Mack is an elegant presence, in sharply tailored black, but sporting a full set of riotously coloured novelty nails, the result of a visit – instigated by her daughter, Laila – to New York's hip stick-on nailbar Kettykiss.

Graf Mack speaks of her predecessors, Ailey and his muse Judith Jamison in particular, with a reverence that sounds quaint to British ears. “Mr Ailey”, who died in 1989, is never “Alvin”; Graf Mack still calls the light-filled corner office of which she has been the incumbent for a year “Miss Jamison’s office” – the chaise longue commissioned for it by Jamison remains in situ, despite a slightly tatty covering. As yet the modest signs of Graf Mack’s arrival are wall-mounted studio photographs of her family, who still live near St Louis, and a cardboard unicorn made by Laila, perched on the computer monitor.

There is steel there, too. Graf Mack shuts down my suggestion that the Trump administration's efforts to squash diversity and inclusion may have caused her organisation any problems, though she concedes that “today we’re afraid of saying certain words. But if your values are embedded in your identity and your practice, all you have to do is let the curtain rise, stand there in your beauty, and that’s how you define who you are. And that’s what we continue to do.” Amen to that. Nancy Durrant

COUNTRY LIFE The volume business

of Christmas Present; Woodward needed Nasa-engineered stilts to reach his height.

Wood writes his own cries, usually rhyming, but improvises too. His scrolls are in his own calligraphy, although he admits that he'll occasionally use a printer. He practises projecting against trees and stone walls. Once, his wife would sit several fields away with a printed copy of his script, checking she could hear every word. He has, by chance, cried multiple bomb scares. On one occasion, outside Buckingham Palace, Martin was there as police officers' shouts for people to move away dissolved into the multilingual hum of tourists. So he used the voice he's got: "Ladies and gentlemen, will you please move into Green Park," he cried, giving "please" ample weight, even in recollection.

On competition day, judges score clarity, diction and inflexion. The competitors swap rumours about where in the crowd the judges are hiding. One year, one stood in a bell tower so competitors couldn't exploit the acoustics. Competitive town crying seems surprisingly collegial. They have a Facebook page. They cry (and cry) at one another's funerals.

Some of the magic is in the bell. Martin's was a gift from a brewery he'd cried for. When they ignored his invoice, he assumed the worst. He mimes rolling up his sleeves: "I get the lads out..." Instead, he discovered the company had gone one better, commissioning the former Whitechapel Bell Foundry in east London as a thank you; the foundry telephoned Martin with two requests. The first was practical: he sent off measurements of his forearms. At about 5.5kg (12.5lb), his bell is the country's largest handled model, and it needed to fit him. The second was a tape of his voice. The bell was tuned to his pitch, so when he competes, a ring of the bell before he begins means the judges have already adjusted to his timbre. Competitors are given only 120 words: Martin makes every one count.

Cry was the first Ailey piece that the company's new artistic director, Alicia Graf Mack, ever saw, on VHS tape. Although the then eight-year-old aspired to be a classical ballerina, Cry "really got me. I had not seen someone who looked like me, with my same skin colour, and this woman's technical virtuosity and skill – I was like, 'Oh my gosh'."

Donna Wood, the veteran Ailey dancer who performed on that tape, "had this fierce gaze and presence. It was just incredible for a very shy young person, who was afraid to speak, to see how loudly someone could speak through their dancing. When I saw that video, I was like, 'that is what I want.'"

Cry appears in one of two programmes that Graf Mack, 47, has put together for the company's first international tour since she took the helm a year ago, coming to Sadler's Wells in September. Legacy celebrates Ailey's choreography,

Illustrations by Oscar Ingham

This October, Martin Wood will compete in the National Town Criers' championship. After 45 consecutive years always finishing

in the top five, he has every reason to fancy his chances. Yet he rarely talks about winning.

I grew up in Shrewsbury hearing about Wood: the 7ft 2in giant with the booming voice. When we met recently, he steered his mobility scooter through the cafe, murmuring quiet apologies as people shifted their chairs. Even in his civvies, people recognise him. He doesn't shout, he corrects me gently: he projects. And certainly never "Hear ye," he says. "That's American."

He learned projection from the actor Edward Woodward after they met filming 1984's A

Christmas Carol. Wood stood in as the body double of the Ghost

It is only at the end of this quiet conversation that I learn how loud he is. He can, he says, be heard from a mile and a half away. In some towns, he deliberately aims himself away from nearby hills to avoid his own echo. He has never attempted the world record title, but believes he could break it. In June, an Australian crier set the current record at 122.4 decibels (db), with the meter held within 15cm (6in) of his mouth. That's approximately the same noise level as a jet taking off. Martin's voice, he tells me, has been measured at 167.4db from about 2.5 metres (8ft) away. That could well burst eardrums.

I offer to arrange the Guinness World Records team, but he shakes his head. He wants to be at his very best when he finally breaks it – perhaps just before he retires. "A last hurrah," I call it, only noticing the irony when he chuckles. Libs Driscoll

STILL SHOWING Observer critics' takes on the events not to miss

Art

"Even as a child, she knows how to lean, turn, sashay or stretch like a cat, how to throw one arm in the air, tilt her head at a questioning, enigmatic or enchanting angle." Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait continues at National Portrait Gallery, London, until 6 September. Laura Cumming

TV

"Just as the acting is flawless (Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Bel Powley and Jonny Lee Miller all give career-best performances), the script crackles with audacity." Plantation horror Possession is still showing on Now. Barbara Ellen

Classical

Philip Glass and Phelim McDermott's opera Tao of Glass is showing in the round at Soho Place, London, until 12 September. "Juggling, puppetry, waving, tearing, sticking bits of paper may sound like slapstick. Nothing could be further from

the truth." Fiona Maddocks

NOW BOOKING

Theatre

David Threlfall returns to the Royal Exchange theatre, Manchester, to play the titular role in King Lear, in an exciting new production by Matthew Dunster. The music has been composed by Geordie musician Nadine Shah, who will also star as Goneril. Tickets are now available for the run, 2 October-15 November.

Books

Tickets are on sale for Ilkley literature festival, the north's longest-running book festival, which runs from 2-18 October across various venues in the scenic West Yorkshire town. Highlights include Simon Armitage, Samira Ahmed, Kate Atkinson, Reeta Chakrabarti, Andrew Davies and Jacqueline Wilson.

The grid

American photographer Ben Marcin documents the houses that have somehow escaped the wrecking ball in ever-changing Baltimore

Technically, nowhere pictured in American photographer Ben Marcin's debut book, The Holdouts, meets the criteria of its title. In real estate terms, a holdout is a property owner who refuses to sell to a developer and is then often forcibly evicted or built around in pursuit of some larger project. The “holdouts” Marcin focuses on in his beloved hometown, Baltimore, aren't standing in the way of malls or highways, but, as he writes in the book: “They do personify a more straightforward definition of what a holdout is, namely, the act of resisting something or refusing to accept what is offered.”

In 2009, Marcin began photographing three separate series: inner-city rowhouses standing tall and solitary, having somehow escaped the wrecking ball; big, once-beautiful houses on the Eastern Shore, now abandoned, dilapidated and surrounded by overgrown plants; and the ephemeral hodgepodge of homeless encampments. “It was only recently that it occurred to me that they might come together as one large concept,” he explains. “They are, in fact, quite closely connected; I just didn’t see it right away.”

The result is a ghostly, enigmatic series of photos, with facades embodying the story of ever-changing Baltimore. “There are no images of people. That was a decision I made at the very beginning,” Marcin explains. “I wanted the buildings to tell the stories: why is that three-storey rowhouse standing by itself on an empty lot? Why did that person build a colossal home in the bushes? What actually happened here?” Tara Joshi

The Holdouts by Ben Marcin is published by GOST; gostbooks.com

Judi Love Comedian, 46

The comedian and Loose Women panellist on her new one-woman show, Whoopi Goldberg and body positivity

Judi Love is a comedian, TV personality and actor. Born Judy Veronica Thomas in Hackney, London, she was a social worker, completing a master's in social work, before taking up comedy. A single mother of two sons, Love is a panellist on the ITV chat show, Loose Women, and has appeared on many other TV shows, including Taskmaster, Last One Laughing and Strictly Come Dancing. Forthcoming acting roles include the Rebel Wilson movie Girl Group. She is currently touring the UK with her one-woman show, All About the Love.

Your last tour, The One Like Judi Love, made you the first Black British female comedian to headline and sell out the London Palladium. What's your new show about?

There always has to be a first in something. As long as I'm not the last! All About the Love is about being 40 and looking back on life and realising what a “good girl” I've been, and how society puts women in boxes. It's OK to not be in those boxes, to be a 40-year-old woman who thinks, “I want to do comedy,” or “That relationship is not for me.” It's about having love and empathy for people but also for yourself. I'm in my era of “Let's just do me!” I wish I hadn't been as insecure as I was in my teens and 20s. I would have been a badass bitch.

Whoopi Goldberg was a huge influence for you. What drew you to her?

As a five or six-year-old girl I thought, to be on that screen, there were special people in the sky that plucked you out and you had to look a certain way. Then I saw Whoopi: funny, quirky, Afro-y hair, beautiful dark skin... I was like, damn! I felt I could see myself. Goldie Hawn was a white female, but I saw her personality in women in my family. This is what it's about: take away the things that used to divide us and see yourself, or see someone. And these were bosswomen, older, in big films, on their game.

What is the vibe when you work with comedians on shows like Taskmaster and Last One Laughing?

Amazing! When you're with other comedians, you get each other. We're weird people! Let's just say it how it is! When you're with your other weird people, it's a little village. You can say to a fellow comedian: "I'm working on this joke, and there's one bit..." And they say: "Let me hear it." Not to be entertained, but to see how it delivers. They understand the importance. It's beautiful doing that with another comedian who you admire, you respect and you've watched for so long.

You were part of the award-winning, all-Black edition of Loose Women [alongside Charlene White, Brenda Edwards and Kélé Bryan] in 2020... I don't think it had ever been done in British TV before. To think that there'd never been four Black women on one of the mainstream UK TV channels, ever, is insane.

To celebrate the Commonwealth diaspora, you went to Buckingham Palace and met the then-Prince Charles. What did that mean to you? It was one of those moments: how the hell did I get here? The [British] empire has its own things, but I was honoured to represent the Commonwealth. People like my parents came here from the Windrush. That generation were proud people, very hard-working. They wanted to contribute to the UK.

Your mother became sick when you were young. How did that affect you? When I was nine, she had an

'I wish I hadn't been as insecure in my 20s. I would have been a badass bitch'

aneurysm, then maybe another four strokes, and dementia. It was hard. As I got older, I thought: yes, social work. A lot of West Indians and people from Asia and Africa come from a background of care. It is the norm to care for your elders and neighbours. I saw some sad things in social work. It's a hard-hitting field. I loved it, and I'll definitely do my PhD in psychotherapy – something around laughter and trauma. But as I got into entertainment, it was: how else can I bring joy? And that was comedy.

Is it true you were the class clown as a child?

Have you been speaking to my teachers? I was always a happy child. Sometimes being the class clown was a distraction from what I didn't realise was dyslexia until I was about 23. Dyslexia just means I learn differently. I got a 2:1 in both my degrees, so dyslexia does not stop you. Dyslexia is, I'd say, my superpower. I see things differently, and I would never take it away.

You're candid about love and sex in your shows. What did you mean by saying you're considering being a "massive ho" in your mid-40s? As women, negative labels are placed on us, regarding our own satisfaction. When I say, "I'm gonna be a ho!", maybe that word needs to be deconstructed. Is "ho" saying I'm going to sleep with a multitude of people, and have no care for myself? Or is it saying: I'm now going to have good sex? "I've been seeing you for six months. Actually you don't satisfy me, I'm gonna move on." It's a good punchy word.

You've been vocal about body positivity.

In my culture, Caribbean, especially Jamaican, the work of our body is so much more than how it looks. If you have big thighs, that's beauty. If you have a belly, you have a belly because you have kids, or you have a good belly to have kids. Whatever is deemed not beautiful, acceptable, especially in western society, in the West Indies it is never going to stop you from having a man. It's never going to stop you from wearing your shorts, girl!

What's it like doing a one-woman show, with all the responsibility falling on you?

An absolute blessing. I could be so tired, and then I get on that stage... You don't know who's in the audience, and their reason for coming. As long as in that two hours, I can make them feel emotional joy, laughter, relatability, like they've been seen. That's my job, and if that's a job then I'm beyond blessed. Interview by Barbara Ellen

Judi Love tours her All About the Love show around the UK from 5 September to 19 November

'The Barking nuns were playing a strategic game... They were stitching for their lives'

As the Bayeux tapestry arrives in the UK for the first time in 950 years, experts say we should see it as a testament to terror – and that the women who created it did so in order to survive. Vanessa Thorpe reports

rom a chair by the door, left ajar to let in daylight, you might imagine a woman glancing up from her sewing to look out over the sea. Through an October haze it's possible for her to make out the French coast. Much closer by, a group of dark, menacing figures becomes visible, crossing the Kent marshes towards Romney. In that moment the seamstress understands that her family and all her neighbours have only moments to escape the Norman soldiers moving in to attack.

We know that the band of raiders that autumn day in 1066 were intent on avenging the town's brutal treatment of French sailors who, a month before, had been blown off course on to that shore, miles from the wider invading forces of William the Conqueror at Pevensey. During the Norman sacking of Romney that followed, Anglo-Saxon men and women were slaughtered, limbs were severed and children beheaded. Only the very lucky got away.

Some of the women who fled later found sanctuary in the convents of southern England, living alongside fellow refugees from the invasion. Together inside stone walls, at Canterbury, or on the outskirts of London, many of the country's most talented embroiderers and weavers continued to work; insecure, out of sight, making garments and artworks for the clergy and for the ruthless new regime.

Six or so years on, after Norman invaders had seized 95% of Anglo-Saxon land, it was just such a group of displaced women who made the Bayeux tapestry. We have been taught to think of it as a unique victory banner but it was just as much – in its creation – a document of trauma and survival. Four thousand Anglo-Saxons are estimated to have died at the Battle of Hastings alone, and in the following decade the Norman policy of starvation and destruction – the Harrying of the North – is believed to have resulted in at least 100,000 deaths, a huge proportion of the population.

The medieval art specialist Prof Janina Ramirez is determined to alter our understanding of the period. "What I really want to push front and centre on this whole 1066 thing is that we are talking about a genocide," she says. "The Normans came over and annihilated English culture, English society, and English people. It was horrendous. Now we dress it up as conquest and glory."

To the invading forces, the tapestry's succession of violent scenes were read as a chronicle of martial power. To those sewing the images, frame by frame, the work was no doubt a testament of anguish; something comparable to the modern destruction shown in Picasso's Guernica.

"There was an influx of women into religious communities because so many had lost their husbands. They wanted the security of a convent because otherwise they would be married off against their will [to the invaders] for their land and wealth. But at the same time, the Normans were also closing down these convents and taking that land and wealth too."

The tapestry the women created – on public display in Britain from next week for the first time in the 950 years since it was created – was intended to last: it was made from wool threaded through linen cloth. Even so, one of its mysteries is how it has endured quite so long. “It’s a miracle it was made in the first place. It’s even more of a miracle it survives,” says Ramirez, a research fellow at Harris Manchester College, Oxford. “Almost everything of its kind has been destroyed or lost.”

There are few objects to even compare with these 70 metres of storytelling. The silk and gold Anglo-Saxon embroideries on display in Durham Cathedral, known quaintly as St Cuthbert's Vestments, were sewn almost 100 years earlier. But they are precious religious garb, different in design and purpose.

"It is extraordinary enough that the Bayeux tapestry survived the Second World War, let alone all those centuries before," says Ramirez. "Himmler wanted it for his castle and if it had not been for a message decoded at Bletchley Park, saying it was about to be taken from the Louvre, it would have gone then."

The tapestry, which had been moved to Paris for safety, was saved from becoming Nazi loot when Bletchley alerted the French Resistance.

As it is, the tapestry has never travelled more than 200 miles from Hastings. Persuasive evidence suggests it was originally commissioned by Bishop Odo of Bayeux for the Romanesque cathedral there. To support this idea, art historian Christopher Norton of York University has recently

calculated it is the correct size to lie either side of a tiny cross sewn at its centre, which would have rested on the altar. “Norton thinks it would have gone up the nave on one side and back down the other side,” explains Ramirez. “The whole thing makes a lot more sense like that – as a sort of a dynamic narrative.”

Although the cathedral inventory has established definitively that the tapestry was in Bayeux by the end of the 15th century, gaps in the history remain. There's a competing theory that it might have been stored in Canterbury until the 1420s, and then been offered to France in payment of a monastic debt. However it got there, it has meant little to the French public in general. "It wasn't really part of their national story," says Ramirez. "So at one point it was bundled up and stuffed in a basement. If it had been a bit more famous then, it probably would have been stolen."

Dr Millie Horton-Insch, the British Museum's embroidery specialist on the London loan project, agrees that the tapestry has always loomed larger for British historians, although its significance to the town of Bayeux has grown in tandem with visitor numbers: "It is not just British tourists, but lots of Americans too, who come to see the D-day landing beaches nearby. So the tapestry is now linked to that invasion too."

“The Normans annihilated English culture, English society, and English people

On a beach in Cannes a year ago, during the film festival, Britain's then arts minister, Chris Bryant, was heard to whisper that a deal to borrow the tapestry was close to completion. It was an appropriate place to learn this news. First, because the piece is often seen as a kind of filmic storyboard – “It’s long and it’s thin, like a strip of film and really dramatic,” says Ramirez – but also because the making of it was already the subject of a planned British film, The Tapestry, with a screenplay by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, best known for her work on acclaimed films She Said and Ida. “We have set it in St Augustine’s Abbey in Canterbury,” Lenkiewicz tells me. “Ours is quite a dark story about power. It is fascinating to me that this anonymous collective of women were behind this banner, a piece of propaganda, and got so little credit.”

Horton-Insch believes the history of women is deeply woven through the tapestry, despite the fact only three of them actually appear in its central panels: "Where you do see women depicted, they are in moments of real suffering and tragedy. One of them is an anonymous woman fleeing a house with a child that's being set on fire by invading Norman soldiers."

The link to the past ordeals of the embroiderers is spelled out not just in that image, but literally too, in contemporary correspondence sent between clergymen that discusses the survivors' flight to the nunneries. A letter sent by the powerful Archbishop Lanfranc of Canterbury to an anonymous "Bishop G" in the late 1070s refers

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Continued from page 8

to women who “fled to a monastery not for love of the religious life but out of fear of the French”, while the chronicler and monk Orderic Vitalis also wrote of Anglo-Saxons seeking protection inside convent walls.

“Many women were left in a precarious position after the Norman conquest,” Horton-Insch says. “They were scared of what their lives would look like now and they didn’t want to experience violence or forced marriage.” Ramirez also sees the scene of the running mother and child, picked out so carefully in thread, as a key to the meaning of the whole artwork. “The tapestry catches the fear of war and reminds viewers that women and children were victims,” she says.

Convents were rather different places in the 11th century and so, urges Horton-Insch, popular modern visions of the vocational life should be dispelled. “They were essentially like boarding schools. High-status women would be sent there until they got married and widows would live out their days together.” Needlework would have been carried out in daylight, possibly outside, with a linen panel stretched on a frame, ready for the “incredibly time- and labour-intensive” process of “pricking and pouncing”, or perforating the pattern on the cloth and then marking the holes with powder before stitching with bone needles. “From the back you can see where different embroiderers’ hands met and the direction changed,” says Horton-Insch. “The thing to remember about linen and wool is that you can work quite a lot faster because the threads are thicker.”

Some scholars suspect the epic work may have been commissioned not by Bishop Odo but by a powerful English woman, most likely Edith of Wessex, Harold Godwinson's sister and the widow of Edward the

They were saying to the new regime, 'Don't annihilate us. We have amazing skills'

Confessor. According to this line of thinking – what could be described as “the Wiltshire school of thought” – the whole artwork was a grand piece of appeasement diplomacy.

A second forthcoming dramatisation of the making of the tapestry, a radio play by Jonathan Myerson, Edith Swan-Neck and the Bayeux Tapestry, places the stitching nuns in Canterbury and foregrounds the war experiences of another Edith, the bereaved mother of Harold Godwinson's children.

Ramirez, for her part, remains fairly convinced that Barking Abbey in east London is the more probable base. “Archeological work has shown it was an extremely high-status site, very much connected to both church and state.” She thinks this makes it the perfect place for sourcing the materials needed. “The Barking nuns were playing a careful strategic game. They were saying to the new regime, ‘Don’t annihilate us. We have these amazing skills.’ I always say they were stitching for their lives, and stitching the story of the destruction of their partners and their fathers. It’s a tragic piece as much as it is about a triumph.”

Horton-Insch is more cautious about the exact location, pointing to a lack of chemical analysis of the fabric to help identify the origin

peeking through a keyhole, as it were, into the 11th century, and we know so little." She does concede that high-quality wool from the area was a major export at the time. "I'm fairly confident saying it was made in south-east England, especially as French sources describe English needlework in such admiring terms."

Luxury embroidered garments and furnishings from England became known as Opus Anglicanum, and Horton-Insch sees the Bayeux tapestry as a precursor of this kind of desirable, exportable artefact. It also adheres to the conventions of the Canterbury style, where faces are left bare, rather than embroidered.

of the materials or the date. "It's very easy to pile hypothesis upon hypothesis, based on limited evidence. We're

Whether made in Barking or Canterbury, a connection to Romney remains likely.

Bishop Odo – still prime candidate as commissioner of the tapestry – was half-brother to William the Conqueror and, as Earl of Kent, familiar with the marsh area, building England's first Norman church there and so aware of the skills of its needlewomen. Kentish seamstresses later sequestered in a convent might well have thought back to the violent sacking of Romney as they sewed.

In 1885, a group of women working under the instruction of the pioneering embroiderer Elizabeth Wardle set out to create a full-scale replica. Assigned the task by the Victoria & Albert Museum, this time they put themselves right in the frame, stitching in their own names. This accurate copy has been on permanent show in Reading Museum since 1993 and, advises Ramirez, is well worth a visit if British Museum tickets prove hard to get. Much of the original's bawdier content – including four sets of human genitals – has been excised though; not by Wardle's ladies, but by the V&A draughtsman, who drew trousers on the nude men.

Left: detail believed to show Alfgifu, first wife of King Cnut. Below: Mia Hansson with her Bayeux replica, 10 years in the making to date. World History Encyclopedia; Adrian Dennis/AFP/ Getty Images

Modern women have also been inspired to make their own version. The women of New Romney have executed a mega tribute, not yet finished, which depicts the changing marshland area from 700CE onwards. And Mia Hansson of Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, has been sewing for the past decade, spurred on anew by the London loan.

So much of what we thought about the tapestry was wrong, academics tell us. It is not really a tapestry for a start, rather an embroidered wall hanging, and it was not made in Bayeux. Neither is it Harold who is pictured with an arrow sticking out of his eye. It is now largely accepted that, owing to a deceptive bit of Latin lettering, a random soldier was misidentified as the king of England, who is, instead, thought to lie dying on the ground nearby. What has emerged most strongly though, whether we come to call the tapestry the Barking embroidery or the Canterbury mural, is that the horror of war is being relayed to us by the vanquished themselves.

"I find that incredibly moving," says Horton-Insch. "All that destruction of English villages or people having their heads hacked off on the battlefield; the idea that human beings who lived through these events stitched all this is just incredible. It brings you close to that moment in history in a way that no other object can."

On the question of whether it should be permanently returned to the land of those women who recorded their losses with such care, Horton-Insch is unshakable. She is delighted to host the Bayeux tapestry, but is not bothered about ownership. "I see it as an Anglo-Norman object

– so exactly what it was meant to be,” she says. “It’s incredible to me that, 1,000 years later, in the way this loan has come about, as a collaboration between Britain and France, that it’s still doing the same job it was intended to do, which is to assert a hybrid Anglo-Norman story. Our histories are entwined.”

The Bayeux tapestry is on display at the British Museum, London, 10 September to 11 July 2027

A homespun replica

Mia Hansson, 52, works on her replica of the Bayeux tapestry from the corner of her sofa while watching crime dramas, she says, and embroiders it freehand. It has been 10 years in the making so far. "I measured it this week and it is about 59.4 metres, maybe a bit longer if stretched."

She began the work to fill in time when demand for the Viking re-enactment costumes she made and sold began to slow down. "I started making a part of the tapestry as a gift for someone, but it took me six months to complete. I found I really enjoyed the style, so I did another one."

As a carer for her son Tom, Hansson is at home a lot, and the tapestry became the perfect long-term project.

At first, Hansson says, she leaned towards the theory the original had been stitched in Canterbury, but since being contacted on Facebook by a fan who believes she is a reincarnation of one of the medieval seamstresses, Hansson has been converted. "She told me she came over from France to Winchester as a handmaid to Queen Matilda, William the Conqueror's consort, and then worked on the tapestry alongside English embroiderers."

The process of making her own tapestry has convinced Hansson it was made under duress: "It's harrowing. This was not something the embroiderers stitched of their own will. - it was a stressful job. I can see places where they were hurried on, like the half-finished trees in the margin. You just would not stop there naturally without completing the infill."

She has been rewarded for her efforts with two free tickets to the British Museum display and will take her son. "Without him, I would never have found the time to make it," she says.

Hansson hopes to finish her own giant task in autumn next year and will then put it up for auction. VT

John Healy,

the literary

establishment

His 1988 memoir of homelessness and alcoholism, The Grass Arena, was lauded one minute and pulped the next. Nearly 40 years on, John Healy, now 83, is setting the record straight. He talks to Sean O'Hagan about prison, publishing, and his years as a champion chess player

tried to erase

I meet John Healy at the entrance to Kentish Town tube station in north London, close to what he calls his “old manor” of Camden Town and Euston. In his acclaimed memoir, The Grass Arena, first published in 1988, Healy described in unflinching detail the transient life he led there

for 15 years: homeless, sleeping rough in parks and derelict houses, doggedly drinking himself into oblivion until he found a kind of redemption while serving time in prison for vagrancy.

"I called it The Grass Arena because, in the parks where the winos congregated, you could never show any weakness," he tells me as we settle in a nearby coffee shop. "There was so much casual violence, often just for the fun of it and even those who weren't really violent by character had to become that way just to survive."

Wearing faded denim jeans and a crisp, white shirt that accentuates his paleness, Healy, now 83, is frail but alert and articulate. Outdoors, he wears dark glasses to protect his damaged eyes from direct sunlight. His voice is now a hoarse whisper as a result of an operation for throat cancer in 2012. “I’ve hit the hard luck number,” he says, referring to his age, “What I fear most is the mind going. Once that happens, you die every day.”

From time to time, his speech echoes his prose, the violence and degradation he has experienced recounted in a casually matter-of-fact manner. When I mention the recent gentrification of the once scuzzy streets around King's Cross station, he shakes his head and smiles.

“Back when I was on the streets, King’s Cross was out of bounds because it belonged to the Scots. It was dog rough – they crucified a guy there one Easter with two big bits of wood. I don’t know what that was about.”

Over the years since its publication, The Grass Arena, which was canonised as a Penguin Modern Classic in 2008, has attained an almost mythic status among its devotees. They included the actor Daniel Day-Lewis, who hailed Healy as “a master storyteller... a jaunty gleeful tour guide and messenger from hell”. More recently, in 2017, Lias Saoudi, the lead singer of Fat White Family, chose Healy’s book as one of his cultural highlights for the Observer, describing it as “Jean Genet with the romanticism taken out”.

Healy spent a year writing and rewriting the book, having quit drinking and found some semblance of normality in his late 20s. How did he arrive at his pared-down but starkly descriptive prose style?

"I was writing to explain a world that had not been described before. There had been some good books written about hobos and winos, but they tended to be romantic to get around the degradation. Whereas I wanted to describe the degradation in a way that was off-putting, but still kept you reading. That's why I always write in the present tense. I want the immediacy of the thing being described."

Now, almost 40 years after The Grass Arena appeared,

John Healy photographed in Kentish Town, north London, March 1992. Leo Regan

Continued from page 11

Healy is about to publish a sequel, The Glass Cage. (The book was originally scheduled for 2025, but the initial publisher, Unbound, went bust. It will now be published by a new imprint, Wilton Square Books, later this month.) It is an honest account of his sober but no less eventful life since he briefly became an unlikely literary sensation in the late 80s, then just as suddenly vanished from public view. As with his previous book, the title is both literal and metaphorical, referring to the reinforced glass walls of a police cell he was once held in overnight and the social constrictions he has been subjected to throughout his life, from an abusive childhood at the hands of his violent father to his often fraught encounters with what he calls “the bourgeois”.

"I've been writing it for years, but certain things had to happen," he says, when I ask him about the 38-year gap between the two books. "I had to find the right way to structure it, but also make it acceptable to the bourgeois reader. You can't write about those people in a negative sense and expect them to buy your book. You have to get somehow around that, while not being dishonest to yourself."

As The Glass Cage makes clear, Healy's dealings with "those people" have been, to put it mildly, complicated. So much so that it could just as easily have been titled The Class Cage. One chapter recounts his version of the surreal chain of events that led to his long exile from London literary society following the abrupt termination of his relationship with his publisher, Faber and Faber.

The Grass Arena had been brought to their attention by the author and academic Colin MacCabe, then head of production at the British Film Institute. He had read an early manuscript draft in one sitting, later recalling that it made George Orwell's

Down and Out in Paris and London seem like “a rather inaccurate tourist guide”.

It nevertheless languished on Faber's “maybe” list for several months, before Healy was summoned to a meeting and asked if he could prove that everything in his memoir was actually true. “Their politeness,” he writes, “was almost an insult.” It was also a signal of what was to come.

Soon after, he signed a contract for £1,500 and, following its publication in November 1988, the book garnered mainly glowing reviews. Suddenly Healy found himself the toast of London, feted at gatherings and parties, invited to read at literary events and festivals. As his celebrity grew, he appeared on a host of TV chatshows, including The Last Resort With Jonathan Ross and Ireland's The Pat Kenny Show, where he was invariably treated with an uneasy mixture of reverence and condescension.

"It was all a bit much," he says now, grimacing. "For one interview, they had strewn cigarette butts on the floor all around my chair to supposedly make the setting look more authentic. The producer even suggested putting an old gas stove behind me. I said, 'How about filming me with some books behind me? That would be a lot more authentic.' They weren't up for that."

The book quickly sold out its initial print run of 2,000 and Faber printed a second edition of just 1,000, which seemed baffling to Healy given the burgeoning interest. Over time, he grew more frustrated by what he perceived as the publisher's lack of regard for him in preference to more established authors. In The Glass Cage, he recalls myriad unreturned phone calls and the traces of irritation he detected in the voices of those people he did manage to reach.

“Apparently I was not fit to be seen under their banner,” he writes. “But if you adopt a stray dog, you have to look after it and talk to it and respond when it noses the hand – to show it that it belongs. My thoughts were growing resentful.”

Having tried numerous times to contact Faber's then director, Matthew Evans, Healy's frustration turned to anger. "I was feeling a terrible rage," he writes. It came to a head during a phone call in which he told a female Faber employee – jokingly, he insists – that he would like to go round to the publisher's offices in Bloomsbury to "chop their heads off with an axe".

Faber's response was immediate: the police were dispatched to his door as if, he writes, "I was some vandal who had just walked in off the street and threatened the director and his senior editor with an axe".

Less than three years after its publication, his memoir, which had won the Ackerley prize for autobiography in 1989 and was in the process of being turned into an acclaimed BBC drama starring a young Mark Rylance, disappeared from the shelves of Britain's bookshops.

The Faber incident was gleefully reported in the press. Healy suddenly found himself persona non grata with the literary establishment. “From being a genius the week before,” he said later, “I was suddenly a psychopath.” His exile continued until 2008, when a Penguin Modern Classic edition of The Grass Arena was published, but the damage to his reputation had never really been repaired.

How does he feel about it all now?

He shakes his head as if still bemused. “I mean, come on, I wasn’t going to go out and buy an axe!” he says, laughing a little. “It was, to put it mildly, an overreaction on their part. They probably thought, this guy is a lowlife and he’s actually insulting us. From my point of view, though, it was Faber who created the problem. They

There were mad characters and there were psychos, but they all lived for the drink, and if you tried to take it from them, they'd fight weren't publicising my book the way they publicised their other authors."

Does he think that they were actually in fear of him?

“Maybe, yes. And, in a way, I was afraid of them – of their education and their sense of privilege.”

In an ensuing profile of Healy, the late Deborah Orr, writing in the Guardian, was scathing about Faber's response. "John's exclusion from the literary world," she concluded, "was entirely about class." It is a view shared by the Irish film-maker Paul Duane who in 2011 made Barbaric Genius, an illuminating documentary about Healy that addresses the long fallout of his banishment and includes excruciating and revealing interviews with former employees.

“Working with John radically changed my understanding of the English class system,” Duane tells me over the phone from Dublin. “John can be difficult and a bit spiky, but I found it incredible that a respected publisher could take an acclaimed memoir by a working-class author out of print and destroy all remaining copies. In effect, they silenced a gifted writer from a different background with a different voice.”

I ask Healy if his banishment dented his confidence. "Well," he says, "I never felt like an imposter, but I did feel even more like an outsider."

That sense of alienation, as both his memoirs attest, has been at the core of Healy's life from an early age. The Grass Arena begins with a deceptively casual sentence: "My father didn't look like he would harm anyone." The brief but compelling first chapter is a distillation of a childhood distorted by random, explosive violence.

"When he got into a temper," he writes of his father, "his eyes seemed to turn backwards in his head, going a

dark, muddy colour, and he would lash out with his fist or foot. He would not stop until I was bleeding or until my mother got in between us...”

Healy never made peace with his late father, but seems remarkably forgiving towards him. "My parents were Irish immigrants and my father in particular was essentially a product of whatever he went through himself," he tells me.

"He was a fourth born son: the first one got the land; the second became a priest; the third was a sea captain. My father was the last and because he wasn't educated, he worked digging the roads. That was a hard way to make a living and he was getting all the racism that the Irish got back then."

He pauses for a few moments as if retreating into himself. “You’ve got to get rid of some of this stuff in your head,” he says finally, “but it was tough. I often wondered why it was just me. My younger brother never got that treatment when he was growing up. He’s a different species – very casual, never worries about anything. He’s got a nice life.”

Healy began drinking at 16, his already troubled life quickly turning wildly chaotic and doggedly self-destructive. More than once, he turned up drunk for important boxing tournaments, derailing a promising career in the ring. After fleeing the family home, he led an itinerant life, stealing to fund his drinking and fighting with those who crossed him. “I never went looking for trouble, but I could handle myself,” he says. “I knew how to throw a punch and, more importantly, how to land a punch. These big fellas would be out on their feet, then they'd just drop."

Out of desperation, he joined the Royal Fusiliers, but, after spending time on manoeuvres in Cyprus, deserted and fled to his uncle's farm in Ireland, where he had spent many summers as a boy. His drunken escapades exhausted the patience of his Irish relatives and he was dispatched to Dublin with his boat fare back to England. Soon after, on a visit to his mother, he was arrested by the military police, held in custody for a few weeks, then given a dishonourable discharge. Barely into his 20s, he fell headlong into the itinerant life of a homeless alcoholic.

"At first, I'd try to keep clean and sleep in empty houses where there were just bare boards and cold water," he tells me. "After a while, I realised I had to start doing more dangerous things in order to get hold of a drink. That's how I ended up in The Grass Arena. That's how they all end up there."

Reading The Grass Arena, it is hard to believe he survived there for 12 years, so graphic is his description of the daily grind of survival and self-obliteration. In one passage of almost hallucinatory prose, he describes a murder he witnessed at close hand in a park, one crazed wino fatally wounding another with a broken bottle. "Oh, there was at least one," he says, "but you can't write about everything. That was the example I chose and it was brutal."

He pauses again as if lost in reflection. “Back then, if you were on the street, it was like a parallel universe. There were the mad characters and then there were the psychos, but the fact is everyone there lived for the drink and, if you tried to take the drink from them, they’d fight.”

Given all that, Healy's embrace of sobriety, at age 30, was sudden and fortuitous. Having ended up in prison for vagrancy, he found himself sharing a cell with a seasoned cat burglar from Brighton known as Harry the Fox, who, appalled at Healy's aimless life on the streets, began teaching him the rudiments of chess using pieces fashioned from paper placed on a board drawn on a prison bench. Healy took to the game with the zeal of a born-again convert. "I ate [chess], drank it, dreamed about it," he writes in The Grass Arena. "It replaced everything in my mind."

His facility for the game was such that, on his release, he became a celebrity of sorts in the world of competitive chess, often taking on up to 30 opponents at a time, sometimes playing blindfold and, at one point, going head to head with the journalist Dominic Lawson. (Their game ended in a draw. "He was good," Healy tells me. "Strategic, and very gracious.")

Then, having won 10 major tournaments, Healy gave up competitive chess as suddenly as he had given up alcohol. "I came to it too late," he tells me. "Youngsters begin at three years old and are tutored by grandmasters: I was 30 when I learned my first move."

grandmasters; I was 30 when I learned my first move." Does he still play?

Healy playing chess with a friend. Courtesy of John Healy

"Not that much. Someone might come to have a game with me once every few months, but that's it. I live a solitary life now, very quiet. I don't see many people from the past because they're all dead."

The dead haunt the pages of The Glass Cage like ghosts from his other life, distant yet inescapable. He tends to his dying mother, visits Harry the Fox before he passes, and, from time to time, crosses paths with characters such as the Dipper,

an accomplished pickpocket who he once drank with on the grass arena. “Sometimes on dark nights I hear them calling me with pitiful cries from the boneyard,” he writes of his old acquaintances. “The voice of despair calling out from the depths of alcoholism.”

I ask him if the writing finally laid them to rest?

He pauses for a long moment. "Well, you can't forget, but you move on. From a writer's point of view, I'd like to hear their stories. Other than that, though, they wouldn't be of any interest to me. You change and you leave that life behind."

The Glass Cage also gives a rich flavour of another, dramatically different life left behind: his journey from sobriety to fleeting celebrity. Throughout, it has the quality of a picaresque novel, one unlikely encounter leading to another as, having served his time in prison, he finds work variously as a porter in a medical college, a grass cutter on Hampstead Heath and a gardener for a couple who practise healing massage. He befriends a woman called Christine, who teaches yoga and meditation, and under her tutelage embraces a search for transcendence.

The book is also peppered with lively accounts of his entanglements with various well-intentioned young women: all beautiful, all bourgeois, all fleeting. When The Grass Arena won the Ackerley prize in 1989, he had to choose which of his two girlfriends, Emma or Adelaide, to invite to the ceremony. “I was drawn closer to Adelaide’s little touches of kindness than to Emma’s curves,” he writes, “but the curves won out.” He smiles when I mention their names. “Their photos are at the back of the book,” he tells me, “so that people can see their beauty.”

His most important – and problematic – relationship was with the late feminist photographer Jo Spence, who was the first person to read the manuscript of The Grass Arena. “Jo was an amazing talent, and she’s an icon now,” he says. “She helped me a lot.”

In his telling, Spence was secretly besotted with him and annoyed that the intensity of feeling was not reciprocal. He says she once destroyed a computer disk containing the only copy of a finished novel he had asked her to read.

“Jo saw us as a couple, but I was a bit more loose about it,” he says. “As far as she was concerned, I’d been a bit unfaithful to her. She really didn’t like me going out with bourgeois women. For her, it was taboo. For me, there was a sort of frightening mystery about them.”

When Spence died from cancer in 1992, Healy entered a protracted period of depression. “I could not bring myself to write,” he recalls in the book. “I sat for days, months, decades, listening as the years passed by, staring at the wall... the only way to escape from it, from total erasure, was to write my way out.”

That, in essence, is what he has done, though at considerable personal cost. In old age, Healy remains an exile and an outsider, albeit a softly spoken, Zen-calm one. Towards the end of The Glass Cage, he writes: "Alone in this small room with the hoarse, cracked voice I've been left with since they took the blade to my throat, I am trying to work out the distance I have come. And come not always into a kinder country, for there was always a slight uneasiness at the true meaning of the language spoken there."

That passage seems to get close to the core of Healy's outsider life as a writer: that he simply did not – or could not – fit into a cultural milieu that, having recognised his singular talent on the page, rejected him in the flesh. Against all this, the taut, descriptive writing endures: brutally real and, like the life it records, almost unbelievable in its extremity.

The Glass Cage by John Healy is published by Wilton Square Books (£16.99). Save 10% at observershop.co.uk. Free UK standard P&P on online orders over £25

Dolly Parton 'Everybody felt good in her orbit'

The Tennessee superstar always stood up for other people's rights as well as her own. Her refusal to compromise her values is the most important lesson she left us, writes Erica Wagner. Opposite, Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Kitty Empire celebrate her generous talent

“Be yourself,” Dolly said to me. “You don’t have to be like anybody else.” This was a couple of years

ago; we were talking on the phone about Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones, a book celebrating the archive of her extraordinary outfits. Mostly, these days, when you interview people down the line, Zoom is de rigueur; Dolly, however, preferred the phone. Did she tell me that this was because on the phone she didn't need to put herself together, to be the visible Dolly that all the world knew and all the world loved? Maybe she did; or maybe I imagined it, because who wouldn't want to enter Dolly's shining being even for just a moment?

Her voice was familiar, warm, confiding. Nothing she told me was a secret, or even particularly surprising. And yet – how to convey this? – she really was talking to me. “I mean, how many people are going to look like supermodels in a magazine? What’s important is to wear what’s comfortable for you, wear what you like, what you’re happy in, what you feel good in, because if you feel good about yourself, everybody’s going to feel good around you.”

And she was right, like she was about most things: everybody felt good when they were around Dolly – and when I say “around”, I use the word in its broadest, most celestial sense. Listening to her music, watching her movies, just thinking about her, wondering, perhaps: how can I be more Dolly? You’ll feel good if you put yourself into her orbit.

She was born in 1946 in great poverty in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee; the doctor who delivered her was paid in cornmeal. She was given to saying that the two-room cabin in which she was raised had “running water, if you were willing to run and get it”. She made her recording debut in 1959 at the age of 13, and as Helen Morales – classicist and author of Pilgrimage to Dollywood: A Country Road Trip Through Tennessee – has observed, her songwriting traced the trajectory of women’s lives in the second half of the 20th century, from oppression to anger to liberation. Now, as women’s freedoms are

reconstricted all over the world, we need Dolly more than ever.

She stood up for other people's rights because she always stood up for her own. Elvis Presley, a great hero of hers, once wanted to record I Will Always Love You; Dolly was thrilled and flattered – until his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, told her he'd take half the publishing rights. After that, it was no deal. But Dolly's belief in herself paid off in the end, following Whitney Houston's famous version on film in The Bodyguard: "When Whitney's came out, I made enough money to buy Graceland," Dolly joked. But she didn't buy Graceland. Instead, she invested the royalties she earned from Houston's cover into the Black community in Nashville, buying an office complex in a largely Black neighbourhood – a smart business decision that also progressed the fortunes of a community. "I just love the fact that I spent that money on a complex. And I think: 'This is the century, when the work of artists is being strip-mined for worthless “content”, we would do well to remember the absolute humanity of Dolly’s gifts. Her Imagination Library, as Frank Cottrell-Boyce writes opposite, gave hundreds of millions of books to children across the world.

It is impossible to overstate the breadth and depth of her good deeds: her advocacy for the LBGTO+ community, her support of public health – after an undisclosed donation earlier this year, the East Tennessee Children's hospital announced it would be renamed the Dolly Parton Children's hospital, and let's not forget the \$1m she donated to fund research for the Moderna Covid vaccine – her support of those in her native Tennessee and far, far beyond. And there was medicine in her music, too.

I've never thought there was a heaven – not really. And yet I believe – I truly do – that Dolly is there

Dolly's riches came not from inherited wealth or corporate exploitation but from her native genius and her staggering work ethic (some say she only slept about three hours a night). Her talent, she said, "burned" in her, she was driven by it, but driven too to raise up others around her – always. In the 21st

house that Whitney built,” she said. Among those mourning her death is Dave Pomeroy, president of her local branch of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), the union to which Dolly belonged all her working life: “Fifty-eight years as a proud member in good standing,” he said. During that time, he added, “she set the gold standard for supporting her band and fellow musicians. Dolly and her team consistently filed AFM union contracts for gigs, sessions and tours, ensuring that the bands, singers and studio musicians working alongside her received the benefits of union membership.”

I asked Dolly what advice she'd give to a young artist starting out now; at the time, my son was thinking he might make his way in the world as a musician, so I really did want to know. Again, I knew this wasn't the first time Dolly would have been asked this question, but her answer was thoughtful and real. "I would just say if you really have the talent and you believe in yourself, and that's what your dream is, you've got to stick with it, you've got to be willing to sacrifice, you've got to know how far to go. You don't want to ever sacrifice your principles and your values, but you've got to decide early on if it's going to be worth the trip, worth the journey.

"A lot of times, you can have another business and still do your music on the side as a hobby, but if you're dead serious about letting that be your lifestyle, then you've just got to buckle up and knuckle down and take it seriously, and do your best and ride that horse for as long as it'll go."

It's great advice, the best: that's why I share it here.

I've never thought there was a heaven – not really. And yet I believe – I truly do – that Dolly is there, because she wanted to go and she believed in it with all her great heart. Her beloved husband of nearly 60 years, Carl, who died last March at the age of 82, and who never much liked the limelight, is waiting for her, along with all the greats who went before her. How could it not be true?

Dolly Parton in Nashville, Tennessee, August 2014. David McClister/Redux/eyevine

'She had true grit and true wit. She'd call that grace'

I was on my way back from holiday when Dolly Parton died. I turned my phone on and saw a series of texts asking me to say a few words about her on the radio. Why would you ask a children's writer to talk about a musical phenomenon, who was also a movie star, a gay icon and a fantastically successful businesswoman?

Because she was also the founder of a charity that distributes books to children, from birth to the age of five, free of charge. Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is probably the biggest philanthropic contribution to literacy since Andrew Carnegie's libraries. She began the project more than 30 years ago in her native Sevier County, Tennessee. Last November, it handed over its 300 millionth book.

I had the disorienting privilege of interviewing her about it a few Christmases ago. The scheme was never rolled out as a big, top-down project. The importance of place, of being from somewhere, was key to her art and her life. Talking about the Imagination Library – whose financing has included sales of Dolly Parton number plates at \$35 each – she referred often to her dad who, when she was a child, could barely read but who, she said, was prouder of the project than anything else.

The obituaries describe her as the last great unifying figure in an age of division –but it was not just a matter of a sunny personality and great tunes. Watch Barbara Walters's spiky 1977 interview with her and you'll see how she used her wit – she was a terrific comedian – to square the circle of being true to her inner hillbilly with being a formidable artist. True grit and true wit. She would call that combination grace.

If you ever saw her live, you'll remember that she would stop the show at some point to "preach at y'all". Grace was what she'd preach about; the cornerstone of a consistently lived theology that she used to explain her own talent and to carry its burden.

If you want to understand her garishness, you could look at that other great, garish southern artist, Flannery O'Connor, who said: "When you can assume that your audience holds the same beliefs you do, you can relax ... when you have to assume that it does not, then you have to make your vision apparent by shock – to the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost-blind you draw large and startling figures."

Was there ever a larger, more startling figure than Dolly Parton? Frank Cottrell-Boyce

A ‘Backwoods Barbie’ brimming with talent, glamour and brains

Dolly Parton was a candid artist from the start. "Just because I'm blond, don't think I'm dumb, cause

this dumb blonde ain't nobody's fool," she sang in 1967 on her first successful track – one Parton did not personally pen, but that served as a springboard for her wit. Parton later quipped that she knew she was neither dumb, nor really blond; she was a self-styled "Backwoods Barbie" who instinctually understood branding was part of music and that glamour didn't preclude intelligence. Underneath all the feminine accoutrements of country showbiz lurked a savvy businesswoman with nerves of steel, a gifted multi-instrumentalist

– she played banjo, fiddle and saxophone – and an artist with a beating heart.

Parton's own experiences of poverty, grafting, heartbreak and survival, of being hustled and coming out on top, formed the basis of a seven-decade songwriting career. Country music is powered by well-spun tales of humble origins, hard work and loss, and Parton's greatest hits draw deep from those resonant wells. Her early song, Coat of Many Colours,

radiated with pride at her mother assembling a coat from scraps. Kentucky Gambler, a hit from 1974, is a pithy parable about a miner who abandons his family to squander what little he had, its geographic specifics not precluding universals: "When you love the greenback dollar, sorrow's always bound to follow," Parton notes, sympathising with the man's ambition, but more with his wife and children left behind.

Her 1978 country-funk hit, Two Doors Down – about drying your tears and seeking out the party down the hall – inspired Jane Fonda to involve Parton in the film 9 to 5. On set, Parton heard her acyclic fingernails as a typist's percussion, spawning the film's runaway hit, which, if you listen closely, shares DNA with Two Doors Down. Parton never identified as a feminist – the class discourse around placard-waving often didn't square with working rural women – but her work strongly centred the female experience. With 9 to 5, the rural reality of thankless female labour translated to the city, opening up Parton's fanbase to a wider audience, from the glitter of rhinestones to the glaze of glass ceilings. Kitty Empire

The networker

John Naughton

at ingesting, cross-referencing and analysing disparate data sources. And third, they're tireless, as the Hugging Face team observed in the startup's postmortem on the now notorious hack on its servers by rogue AI agents from OpenAI.

AI surveillance is handing power to the peepers

n 2013, Edward Snowden revealed to an astonished world the scope and scale of US mass surveillance. The National Security Agency (NSA), he showed, was collecting everything it could, right down to recordings of German chancellor Angela Merkel's phone conversations. But although the agency was able to "collect it all", as its then director, Keith Alexander, put it, it was drowning in the torrents of data it was hoovering up. It found it difficult to turn all that data into information, its reach exceeded its grasp.

There was a sense in which that capacity deficit was reassuring. But that was in 2013, which is 91 internet years ago. Now the NSA, and every other comparable agency in the world, seem to have the necessary capability. They call it AI, even though it's mostly large language models such as Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek or GPT-5.

These machines have several critical capabilities for this work. One is that they're very fast workers. A good example is scanning retinal images looking for cases that require human inspection. The processing time of AIs for each image range from 240 milliseconds to 45 seconds, while human graders may spend up to 20 minutes reviewing a full screening case. Given that the NHS needs to scan 12 million images every year, you can see why using the technology makes sense. Second, AIs are good

Dystopian fears about an all-knowing surveillance state have been around for aeons. But this time, writes James Ball, a distinguished British journalist who worked on the Snowden story, there's a crucial difference: "All of the technology to deliver this already exists," he observes, "and is already in widespread use."

Ball has had conversations with current and former law enforcement staff, ex-intelligence agents from multiple countries, sources inside large AI companies, as well as academics and figures in civil society. Out of those conversations, he says, one clear message has emerged: "Thanks to AI, the surveillance dystopia science fiction has spent decades warning us about is already here. We just haven't noticed yet."

Here in the UK, though, it looks as if some institutions have been paying attention. For example, the Metropolitan police recently fed data from 35 sources into an AI system provided by (surprise, surprise!) Palantir to monitor

What I'm reading

John Naughton's recommendations

Eve of destruction Would even an AI disaster on the scale of Hiroshima be enough to make humankind protect itself? Timothy Garton Ash, in a Guardian opinion piece, fears not.

Brought to books How to Read a Novel is an elegant Substack essay by Steven Johnson on what reading fiction does for us.

Web of intrigue A fascinating study by the Pew Research Center is How Much of the Internet Is Written With AI?.

officers and staff for disciplinary violations or criminality. The result was “investigations into hundreds of officers for issues including work-from-home violations, as well as a smaller number flagged for misconduct and criminality including sex offences”.

This kind of intimate surveillance used to be a wet dream for authoritarians. Now they can buy it off the shelf. What, then, will liberal democracies do about

– or with – it? Expect the usual technocratic rationalisations for it: efficiency, reducing crime, value for money in the public sector and so on. And, of course, heading off threats to public order, such as, for instance, demonstrations against the mammoth datacentres that are now defined as “critical national infrastructure”.

If that, indeed, is the path we're on, expect a rueful smile from Francis Fukuyama, the sage who thought that, after the Soviet Union imploded, liberal democracies would focus on "Getting to Denmark" – shorthand for a stable, prosperous and high-trust society. He may appreciate the irony that democracies opting for AI-powered surveillance would instead be focusing on "Getting to China", where all this technology is already up and running.

Manchester Literature Festival 9 – 25 October 2026

Culture

Russell T Davies & Bernardine Evaristo, Deborah Frances-White, Sarah Hall, Paul Mason, Patrick Radden Keefe, Marina Hyde, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Owen Jones, Hugh Bonneville, Natasha Walter, Lady Hale & Lara Feigel, Dave Haslam & Special Guests

Fiction

Maggie O'Farrell, Kate Atkinson, Yann Martel, Sufiyaan Salam, Willy Vlautin, M. John Harrison, Min Jin Lee, Eliza Chan, Louise Kennedy & Wendy Erskine, Emily St. John Mandel, Mieko Kawakami, Hernan Diaz, Lee Child, Elif Shafak

Poetry

Manchester Multilingual City Poets, The Brown Sugar RAP Party, Ian McMillan, Carolyn Forché, Kwame Dawes, Simon Armitage, Karen Solie, Inua Ellams, Jackie Kay & more

manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk

Critics

Film

Architecture Rowan Moore's tales from the Thames Clipper, page 22

The French preoccupation

As a new biopic finds an unexpected hero in the figure of Charles De Gaulle, Jonathan Romney on why a wave of film-makers are revisiting France's wartime legacy

spectre is haunting French cinema. It is the memory of the Second World War; of France's occupation by Nazi Germany,

of Marshal Pétain's collaborationist Vichy government and of the struggle for liberation. Those themes have been constant on French screens for about 80 years, but are especially prominent in 2026.

In March came the release of Xavier Giannoli's Les Rayons et les Ombres (The Rays and Shadows), a fictionalised portrait of the newspaper publisher Jean Luchaire and his film star daughter Corinne, both collaborators. Then in May, Cannes premiered four features with wartime themes: De Gaulle: Résistance, the first half of a spectacular biopic of the statesman and Free French leader; Moulin, by Son of Saul director László Nemes, about resistance hero Jean Moulin; Daniel Auteuil's occupation drama La Troisième Nuit (When the Night Falls); and Notre Salut (A Man of His Time), Emmanuel Marre's sharply ironic portrait of a Vichy official.

Two of these have been big box office successes and talking points in France. The Rays and Shadows, starring Jean Dujardin, divided critics, variously praised for its psychological analysis of its collaborationist characters and attacked for inappropriately empathising with them.

Then the spotlight turned to Antonin Baudry's De Gaulle diptych, the first part now released in the UK. Based on the 2018 biography of the general by the British historian Julian Jackson, the films depict De Gaulle as an intransigently steadfast, ostensibly mistrusted outsider determined to win the support of the British under Winston Churchill (a wonderfully peppery Simon Russell Beale). But Baudry also shows Britain ready to abandon its ally if need be, while the US initially opts for Vichy admiral François Darlan as its chosen leader in France.

While celebrating De Gaulle, Baudry also demystifies the legend, with Simon Abkarian – previously seen as a resistance fighter in 2009's Army of Crime (L'Armée du Crime) – playing up the general's personal

'De Gaulle resisted the Americans – he would have resisted Trump. There's a sense of trying to recapture that heritage'

'Demystifies a legend': Simon Russell Beale, left, as a 'wonderfully peppery' Winston Churchill and Simon Abkarian as Charles De Gaulle. Malgosia Abramowska

stiffness and awkwardness. “People thought he was crazy,” Baudry tells me on a Zoom call. “It was essential not to play down quite how strange a figure he was.”

De Gaulle represented “generational renewal”, says Baudry. “He was a young general, and the people around him were all more or less marginal. They were against an older generation who were telling them to be reasonable, to bow before the more powerful.”

Baudry's account flies in the face of De Gaulle's own memoirs, which

– in the interest of national unity – propagated the myth that all France supported his efforts. “It was the exact opposite. He was completely alone in London. The people who rallied to him at first were low-ranking army officers. Churchill bet on him attracting major political figures, but that didn’t happen. That was the reality I wanted to capture – to show how De Gaulle became De Gaulle.”

As well as attracting young viewers, Baudry's epic has won over critics who might have been inclined to see it as a conservative,

Critics Film

Film of the week

Almodóvar's mea culpa

The Spanish director's candid exploration of self-doubt, grief and an auteur's struggle with his creative life has none of the bitterness of its title

Vanessa Thorpe

Bitter Christmas (111 minutes, 15) Directed by Pedro Almodóvar; starring Bárbara Lennie, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Milena Smit

A palette of primary colours, paired with some vintage multi-layered storytelling, make Pedro Almodóvar's latest offering an especially pleasing dish for his fans. It is a cheffy kind of reduction down to the essence of the Spaniard's trademark ingredients. At times it even swerves entertainingly close to full self-parody. On the table this time we have: sublimated emotions, self-discovery, self-doubt and personal loss, all set against a backdrop of chic apartments with stylish kitchens and the sumptuous landscaped gardens of a Canary Island villa.

The film's title is misleading though. Yes, the tone is sometimes “bitter”, but only in the sense that it attempts to be honest about the mixed motivations that are shot through human interactions. And, yes, it is “Christmassy”, but only in as far as some seasonal gifts are handed out before the characters travel to spend the holiday together in the sun. The true flavour of the narrative is

sweet melancholy, nothing bitter or acrid about it, and it all stems, characteristically, from an auteur's struggle to handle his creative life and to deal with the blurred line drawn between his personal relationships and the artistic representations they have inspired.

The screenplay mines a seam of autofiction with more determined conviction than even Almodóvar's masterful – and equally playful – Parallel Mothers, or the impressive Pain and Glory, in which Antonio Banderas played a film director who functioned as Almodóvar's avatar. That role now falls to Leonardo Sbaraglia, who is cast as Raúl, a film-maker who is inevitably working on his own script for a piece of cinematic autobiography; a film called Bitter Christmas.

That plot, constructed by Raúl at his typewriter, revolves around Elsa (Bárbara Lennie) and her relationship with a younger man, a firefighter-cum-stripper-cum-model called Bonifacio (Patrick Criado), whom she watches perform and then hires for a sexy advertising campaign, before the two become romantically enmeshed. Plagued by mysterious migraines in the early scenes of the film, Elsa recognises the uncertainty of her feelings towards Bonifacio and so begins to focus instead on her close friendship with Natalia, a woman consumed by grief after the recent death of her young son.

Elsa also reconnects with her sister, an inscrutable type played by the mesmeric Victoria Luengo, a Spanish actor who will soon be seen in the UK in The Beloved. In this compelling Rodrigo Sorogoyen film, due to be released by Curzon this autumn, Javier Bardem is Luengo's didactic film-maker father, trying to make amends during a film shoot

on location amid the lava flows of Lanzarote. It can't help but make you wonder why Spain is now so full of directors critiquing their autocratic habits in their own films? And what's with this new interest in volcanic locations? Presumably, there is a current tax deal.

'Witty and sensitive': Bárbara Lennie as Elsa and Milena Smit as Natalia. BitterChristmas

As Almodóvar's meta-story starts to pull back into the real life of Raúl, and away from his filmic confection, we quickly come to understand his fear of losing his right-hand woman, Monica (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón), and to glimpse his own doubts about the power balance of his relationship with his handsome partner, Santi.

The French title for this vivid melodrama, Autofiction, seems rather on the nose. At first sight, the tension between fiction and reality does indeed seem to be the central subject, as Almodóvar dances around the discomfort of an entitled creative genius who realises that his stories reflect his own partial projections and can damage others. In fact, though, the themes eventually form solidly around other broader issues. First, they settle into a gentle appreciation of the universal experience of deep grief and then, as in Parallel Mothers, they converge into a belated, guilty tribute to all the older women who do much of the caring and facilitating of artists' lives, as Almodóvar appears to see it, without ever really standing in the limelight.

It is a witty and sensitive mea culpa that leaves no bitter aftertaste. Don't save it for Christmas Day.

Wendy Ide is away

Continued from page 17

Hollywood-styled history lesson. Pop culture magazine Les Inrockuptibles, after a thumbs-down review for the first chapter, did a volte-face on Part Two, released in France in June, acclaiming it as a “resolutely antifa” rallying call.

As France's president, De Gaulle would become the very embodiment of establishment patriarchy to the young militants of 1968. Now, explains historian of French cinema Prof Ginette Vincendeau, he is being reclaimed as a figure who stood up for his nation's political and cultural autonomy. His period, she says, "was the last time that France was a powerful, independent nation. He resisted the Americans – he would have resisted Trump. There's a sense of trying to recapture that heritage."

In stark contrast to Baudry's diptych, Marre's stylised, low-budget A Man of His Time shows the worst of wartime France in its story of an opportunist inveigling his way into the Vichy administration. The director, who based the film on his great-grandfather's experiences, says: "I wanted to make a film about the ways in which authoritarian systems manage to make people

'There's a whole phantom memory at work in France': Emmanuel Marre's A Man of His Time and, right, Gilles Lellouche plays Jean Moulin in Moulin.

work for them without forcing them to. Dictatorships can't work only by holding a gun to people's heads.

"People come up to me after screenings and talk about their great-grandfathers, their uncles – there's a whole phantom memory at work in France. My film is about those family stories that have been buried away in our cupboards."

Marre sees distinct parallels between France's Hitler sympathisers of the period and today's far right, notably Marine Le Pen and the National Rally, which threatens to be a significant contender in France's presidential elections next year. "When I researched the archives, I found it very troubling that the language used [in Vichy] was often exactly the same as it is today."

The occupation and the resistance have been dramatised in French cinema since the 1940s, with classic titles including Jean-Pierre Melville's Army of Shadows (1969), Louis Malle's Lacombe, Lucien (1974), about a teenage collaborator, and Marcel Ophuls's documentary The Sorrow and the Pity (1969), which confronted audiences with bitter truths about collaboration. "French schoolchildren saw it," says Marre, "then went home and said to their parents: 'You never told us about this.' Now hardly anyone is left who experienced the war, so people are saying: "The idea of war has returned – where can we find the stories to help us understand it?"

The memory of the Second World War, says Vincendeau, “is very intimately embedded in French culture, because one way or another it touched the whole population. Whatever your family history or origins, there are always stories coming out.” The “phantom memory” invoked by Marre is far from being exorcised yet.

De Gaulle: Résistance is out in the UK now. The second part, De Gaulle: Liberté, is released on 18 September. The Rays and Shadows and La Troisième Nuit will screen at the French Film Festival London at the Ciné Lumière in November

Theatre

Pericles and a pint, please

A punchy Prince of Tyre musical and a portrait of a pouting Perdita are among the highlights of a young, ridiculously fun festival that seeks to shake up Shakespeare in an old pub theatre

Susannah Clapp

Pericles (kind of); Perdita Shakefest at Old Red Lion, London EC1

Shakefest is Camden Fringe's Bardpoke: an August of skits and sidelong glances at Shakespeare. The venue, the Old Red Lion in Islington, north London, opened as a pub theatre in 1979: Kathy Burke appeared there, Stephen Daldry staged a spectacular train crash there, Nina and Moses Raine put on early plays there. During Shakefest it provides something like an Edinburgh Fringe experience: the bar is more beer than gastro, the steps up to the theatre are steep, lined with posters of past hits (including a certificate for “services to the macabre”). The shows are mixed, young, sometimes chaotic, often pointed. Chalked up on the blackboard last week was an ad for a play called I Hate King Lear.

Pericles (kind of) is a punchy musical from Nevermind, a company of recent graduates from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School making their London debut. It not merely shakes but pretty much shatters Shakespeare's play, taking off from the assumption that no one knows what happens in this fragmented drama – a position more arguable than it was, following the play's recent renaissance as a wave-washed refugee story.

Everyone scrambles for central position in a plot whose centre isn't obvious: "My name is in the title / I am the most vital," booms the nicely self-important Pericles. No chance. He is outnumbered, and outsung – rumpty-tumpty, easy-flowing, more or less non-stop music is delivered by an onstage keyboard player – by a group of pantalooned females. Got up in white ruffs and corsets, they are first prostitutes, then pirates (with added eyepatches and "arrrs"), and finally feminists.

All celebrate the sane doctrine of the play, sung and chanted: "Don't think with your dick, think with your heart." The pirate queen gets it on with Pericles's intended while the Prince of Tyre devotes himself to brewing his own ale and producing the groggiest joke of the evening: "Beericles."

The shows are mixed, young, sometimes chaotic, often pointed. Chalked up on the blackboard last week was an ad for I Hate King Lear

Book, music and lyrics are by Hollie Hurrell, James Hancock-Evans and Rafael Solimeno-Harris: they are best when letting rip with their own larkiness and not winking too obviously at Operation Mincemeat. Nevermind's special appeal is the way the company moves together in song, spinning the action along seamlessly, however ridiculously. Just watch them prance in We're Having a Joust, with rubber horses' heads on wrists. No neigh-saying.

King George III considered Shakespeare "sad stuff". But his

Reynolds, caught his avid eye when she played Perdita, the supposed country wench in A Winter's Tale who pulls a future king. Her story, the basis of Sophie Todd's first play, Perdita, also shown at the Old Red Lion, is not quite as entirely "lost to time" as the young performing company Classic Vagabonds thinks – there have been two major biographies. Yet her achievements have been neglected, as if in reaction to the attention she once attracted on and 'Pericles is outnumbered and outsung by a group of pantalooned females': Anna McAuley in Nevermind's Pericles (kind of); inset below, Sophie Todd plays Perdita in her new play. Fiona Winning

off the stage. The 18th-century press makes 21st-century tabloids look both modest and underwritten as they brim over with observation of the “dart-dealing actress” with her “pouting pairings”, the “sympathetic sulking” of her husband, the spittings at a rival.

Though Robinson's affair with the future king supplied her Perdita nickname – and a lifetime annuity – it was brief, and not isolated: she later took up with Charles James Fox. She also wrote reams of poems, essays and a Letter to the Women of England on the Injustice of Mental Subordination. Todd gallops through Robinson's spell in debtors' prison, support for the French Revolution, paralysing illness and her husband's infidelity: he is vigorously spanked by a snuff-taking dominatrix ("it's all part of marriage").

The actress playing the dominatrix also (put on your bonnet) plays Robinson's Mama. The cast of three all double up (Todd as writer and star), briskly, clearly

writer and star), briskly, clearly

but over-energetically for so small a space: there's no oxygen left over for the admiration and indignation the audience is invited to feel on Robinson's behalf. Still, Perdita got me looking up its subject again and becoming envious of a time when the theatre made so many extra-theatrical waves.

Robinson had an outfit named after her: “a chip hat with a bow and pink ribbons puff’d round the crown.” She flirted blatantly with her prince from the stage – and made the stalls into a battlefield with her rivals. She also evoked some lip-smacking criticism: “very decent, but for that strange kind of niddle to noddle, that she now throws into every character”. I’m thinking of adopting that, once I’ve worked out what it means.

Artist of the week

Guitar catharsis

On the first night of his UK tour, Jack White railed against Trump, Musk and AI brainwash – but saved his purest emotion for a rousing tribute to Dolly Parton

Kitty Empire

Jack White Eventim Apollo, London W6

It all begins on a bare-bones stage, with a kaleidoscopic jam. Jack White's band, dressed all in black except for White's eye-catching white pixie boots, are accessorised only by ice blue lights, and a large white Grecian-style sculpture – a fifth member of sorts, with a cartoonish blue skull for a head. The figure is a motif from White's most recent album, Frozen Charlotte, released last month, and redolent of the artworks the musician exhibited in south London earlier this year.

Noisy intros, outros and interludes are something that White and his ace three-piece return to before, during and after songs on the first night of their UK tour. Sometimes this interstitial music is mostly feedback, or organ chords, or simmering percussion. Often, there are riffs in the raw – like figures waiting to be chiselled out of marble.

Tonight's wide-ranging set seems to grow organically out of this electrified primordial soup, take a shape, then retreat to be reformed anew; a kind of sped-up musical life cycle. Songs segue, reconfigure entirely, before returning to base.

If anyone is wondering how Jack White is feeling on the day Dolly Parton has died, we soon have our answer: roiling. Other than a drag convention, there are few more cathartic places to be on a night like this than in front of White, a Parton superfan.

The White Stripes – the band White shared with drummer Meg White from 1997 until 2011 – memorably covered Parton's classic, Jolene, as an emotive garage-blues freak out. According to online tallies, White has not performed Jolene live since 2007, before the White Stripes went on hiatus after Meg White quit the spotlight. Tonight, White and his current band fold Jolene into the middle of the White Stripes oldie, Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground.

White launches into a shrill, keening solo, which eventually morphs into Jolene – amped-up, dramatic, visceral. In a series of gestures that will become familiar by the set's end, White warns his band of his next moves with oblique hand gestures before creating another wall of guitar noise, turning to his videographer, crossing

himself, and pointing towards the sky. (White was raised Catholic, the youngest of 10.) Earlier in the day, he had posted a picture of Parton on his social media, alongside the words “instant sainthood”.

The brevity of that Instagram caption is in stark contrast to the screeds White uses to berate his opponents online. Most recently, White has been trading shots with the American country singer Charley Crockett after the latter removed the gothic Los Angeles doo-wop band Twin Temple as his tour

'Incandescent pitch and roll': Jack White performs at the Eventim Apollo on the day of Dolly Parton's death. David James Swanson

support act upon discovering their interest in Satanism. (“Not today, Satan,” Crockett commented). White scooped up Twin Temple to open for him in Hollywood in September (“get in front of me, Satan!” he quipped, a pun on one of his old album titles, 2005’s Get Behind Me, Satan), prompting Crockett to lambast White online, and White to come back with a snide rap.

The artist has also repeatedly taken aim at Donald Trump, after the 2016 Trump campaign used Seven Nation Army, the White Stripes song-turned-football chant, without permission. (It's this set's glorious final track.) At White's most restrained, he refers to the president as "the worst American of all time" – TWAAT for short.

Tonight, White's rapid-fire words from the stage are often lost to the malevolent volumes created by his band. But during the White Stripes' The Union Forever – a track about the loveless hubris of wealthy industrialists, based on Citizen Kane – he lambasts "AI brainwash" and Elon Musk. (Naturally, all phones tonight are in Faraday pouches.)

Mostly, though, the night is reserved for the band's incandescent pitch and roll, and the repeated mushrooming of songs from a filthy electric blues-rock loam – a little Deep Purple here, a little Blue Cheer there. It is a mega-mix that highlights the tightness of a foursome that toured White's previous record, No Name (2024), before going into the studio to record Frozen Charlotte.

Although reviews of Frozen Charlotte have been mixed, its selections sound fantastic tonight. The biblical retelling G.O.D and the Broken Ribs punctuates the very moment of original sin – “gotta find a way to eat the fruit from the tree of fate!” – with an unholy guitar squall and a keyboard howl. Neighbors Blues is the latest take on White’s many louche struts, redolent of past glories such as Ball and Biscuit, with echo on his vocals and his shades-wearing Hammond organ player Bobby Emmett running wiggy interference.

Twice tonight, the hyperactive White sits down, just to trade licks with Emmett. Their call and response often feels like psych-blues Wimbledon, as they stab and parry, with Emmett sometimes rocking his keyboard back and forth to make it sound even groovier. It all ends on an eye socket-rattling scree, as White gathers the band for a bow, his abandoned guitar feeding back on a monitor; the sacred “om” of his universe to which everything returns.

Other albums

Gotta Get Out The Linda Lindas (Reprise)

The Los Angeles DIY

band's third album finds them on a big label with an expanding palette, more polish – and punk rock ideals still intact. The title track's opening keyboard blare heralds a new wave flavour. On the pointed Nothing Left, the Linda Lindas even recall the Go-Go's, their 1980s Cali punk pop forebears. But despite the tuneful "na, na, nas", theirs is a California of heatwaves, wildfires and floods.

The Linda Lindas' multiple singers, aged from only 16 to 21, bring their own signature verve to Gotta Get Out, which occasionally veers into unevenness, but is never boring. Helado de Limón is a pacy pop-punk tune about personal autonomy sung in Spanish by guitarist Bela Salazar, while Hayley Williams guests on the album's least interesting track, Closer.

The group first went viral five years ago with their performance of Racist, Sexist Boy, co-sung by bassist Eloise Wong and drummer Mila de la Garza. This album's fearless analogue is Blood On Our Hands – hollered by Wong – which takes heavy aim against both “a fascist state” and the harmful micro-decisions we all make every day. Kitty Empire

While it seemed

only natural that the Beastie Boys – so indivisible for three decades – so indivisible for three decades – would never reconvene after the premature death in 2012 of MCA, AKA Adam Yauch, it’s still a surprise that 14 years would pass before one of the two surviving members released any new music. Mike D’s solo debut was recorded at home with his sons, Skyler and Davis Diamond, but despite its admirably hard-to-categorise genre-splicing (elements of dub, drum’n’bass and krautrock have all been hurled into the blender), it proves underwhelming.

Whereas in the band, the trio's voices always took centre stage, Mike D's heavily treated vocals are too often buried in the murky, lo-fi mix. Lyrically, he's more muted too; his tongue-in-cheek braggadocio gives way to more vulnerable reflections – "We all get scared but don't show it" – although these sometimes border on the mundane, as on recent single True Colors (rhyming "better" with "better", incidentally, is even lazier than rhyming "commercial" with "commercial", as per the band's 1992 track Pass the Mic). Best are the more animated moments, such as the pounding Make It Stop and the genuinely exciting Crypto, but this album is more solid than revelatory. Phil Mongredien

I Must Be Dreaming Alabama Shakes (Island)

When the 2012

breakthrough single Hold On first introduced the transcendent talents of Brittany Howard, the Alabama Shakes singer's raw vocal power was the perfect conduit for the track's themes of youthful grit and tenacity. Nearly 15 years on (and 11 since the band's second album, 2015's multi-Grammy-winning Sound & Color), I Must Be Dreaming finds Howard moulding her still astonishing instrument into new shapes that fit a more experimental era.

It's a sonic trajectory they had already started with that acclaimed second LP, but now, set against the backdrop of a politically ravaged US, the soulful pleas and lilting guitars of I Feel Hope Coming are all the more beatific. Zac Cockrell's creeping basslines provide the unsettling backbone to American Dream, a protest song about everything from gun control to reproductive rights that unleashes a litany of furies. It's the record's most headline-grabbing battle cry, but I Must Be Dreaming's illusions also extend to love lost and found. The record's softer moments, including the warmth of Friends or the gorgeous, gentle devotion of Easy, are highlights that shouldn't be overlooked. Lisa Wright

Saul Williams

is a Renaissance man. A poet, actor, writer and activist, the New Yorker has sprung up everywhere, from playing with spiritual jazz percussionist Carlos Niño to starring in Ryan Coogler's Sinners and writing a cyberpunk graphic novel. On Leap Life, this kaleidoscopic experience coalesces to beguiling effect.

Williams's lackadaisical baritone delivery is compelling as he meanders through elliptical lyrics on war, exploitation and resistance, yet it's the musical accompaniment to his declarations that has lasting weight. He is an artful arranger, weaving Kamasi Washington's keening saxophone lines around his vocals on Baobab Constellation, as well as harnessing eerie synth crescendos on I Think I Get It Now and distorted Afro house on The Dagger.

Williams leaves space for his lyrics to land, swelling synth bass beneath the drawn-out opening line: "Here I am already bored with all you taught me" on 13 Moons, and pointedly repeating "Not everything for sale" over a plaintive pipe organ on another track. Notwithstanding the artist's other talents, Leap Life cements his status as bard, preacher and oracular storyteller – an engrossing frontman with plenty left to say. Ammar Kalia

American maestro

Marin Alsop brings the US classics to the Proms, demonstrating her peerless command of greats from Copland and Gershwin to the neglected Joan Tower

Fiona Maddocks

Philharmonia Orchestra/Alsop BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall, London SW7 Grimeborn Opera Festival Arcola, London E8; until Saturday

They clicked fingers, bent notes and shouted a collective “Mambo!” until the whole Royal Albert Hall

– returns only – was discreetly but joyously pulsating. Woodwind stretched rhythms. Brass wah-wah-ed like crazy. At Monday’s Prom, the Philharmonia Orchestra, founded in 1945 within a dominant European tradition, turned itself into a gleaming, swinging, American-style big band. Early in its history, this ensemble was conducted (in that same hall) by the elderly Richard Strauss, his last public appearance, performing his Rosenkavalier waltzes.

Last week, the dances were high-energy merengue or cha-cha, in two or four beats rather than a Viennese three; the aural landscape not Berlin or Paris but the hills of Pennsylvania, the prairies and deserts of Texas via Hollywood, the streets of Manhattan via Broadway as recreated by Leonard Bernstein in West Side Story.

Only someone with the musical authority of the orchestra's principal guest conductor, Marin Alsop, could have achieved this wholesale transformation. That she was born in New York, brought up on the Upper West Side, started life as a jazz violinist and studied with Bernstein is just part of the reason. She has a rare versatility in music of every stripe. Her cycles of symphonies by Dvořák or Brahms are as acclaimed as her recordings of, especially, contemporary American music. At times on Monday, Alsop almost square-danced her way around the podium, exuberant but never extravagant, always physically concise. No gesture is wasted.

She has frequently expressed dismay, as we gallop through the 21st century, at anyone still being described as “the first woman to” – in any walk of life, but specifically in her own field. Her firsts are too many to mention. Directing big symphony orchestras in Baltimore, São Paulo and Vienna will do, for a start. She

has also conducted the Last Night of the Proms – the first woman to do so – three times. Women first stood in front of orchestras, often financed by themselves, in the mid-19th century. Another century on, Antonia Brico

'No gesture is wasted': Marin Alsop conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall BBC/Chris Christodoulou and Nadia Boulanger respectively conducted the Berlin Philharmonic (1930) and the London Philharmonic (1936): isolated incidents, but the taboo had been broken. Alsop, an important catalyst, has brought about change – in public and behind the scenes – with her Taki Alsop conducting fellowship. She is not alone, but her mix of immense popularity and reasonableness have helped. On a quick count, a dozen women feature at the 2026 Proms.

Alsop opened the programme with a punchy work dedicated to her: Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No 1 (1986) by Joan Tower, now in her late 80s and so far ignored by the Proms except in this three-minute outburst, which Alsop also conducted here in 2012. Tower is a leading US composer: her absence is an omission. Copland's Appalachian Spring suite, originally written for 13 instruments, sounds almost too spacious in its orchestral version: not so much the house, the porch, the rocking chair of Martha Graham's 1944 ballet, but an entire small town. This, though, is a matter of taste. The Philharmonia, strings particularly, still caught the pastoral mood.

That same wistfulness prevailed in William Grant Still's 1935 short Three Visions – No 2: Summerland (soloist Zsolt-Tihamér Visontay, the orchestra's excellent leader). Still was part of the Harlem renaissance (1920-35). He wrote nearly 200 works, including five symphonies, four ballets, nine operas and more than 30 choral works. So far, two pieces – amounting to nine minutes of music – have been played at the Proms. A school report might say: room for improvement.

This, though, was a night of populist “classics”. The centrepiece was an arrangement of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the Marcus Roberts Trio, and Roberts as the pianist, improvising whole sections – as Gershwin once did – with every technique, from ragtime, bebop and boogie to classical-style toccatas. All legitimate collaboration: after all, that famous opening glissando was the invention of the clarinettist at the premiere. Gershwin liked it and kept it. The propulsive encore, Victory Stride by James P Johnson, gave the Philharmonia’s brass and percussion ample chance to dazzle and swagger. I may make it my ringtone.

A shoutout for Arcola theatre's Grimeborn Opera Festival in east London, in its 19th season and one of the friendliest events around. It promises to rip up the rule book and does. Big operas are vacuum-packed to a quarter the size. Works old and new share equal billing: this season, Mozart's Così fan Tutte?! (sic) and The Magic Flute, Handel's Rinaldo and Giulio Cesare, alongside the Hildegard of Bingen-inspired Bitter Visions by Florence Carruthers Andrews, and a double bill about climate crisis. Runs until Saturday.

Critics Architecture

Rowan Moore, left, passes by Battersea Power Station on the Thames Clipper.

Below, the controversial Montevetro tower block towering over the 1777 St Mary's Church.

'As much connected to Singapore and Dubai as they are to the local hinterland': Lombard Wharf in Battersea.

Tales from the Thames Clipper

A boat tour along the London river, via towering cultural icons and forests of Dubai-style skyscrapers, reveals a cityscape shaped by opportunism and indifference. In short, writes Rowan Moore, a mighty, misunderstood mess

The Thames, object of visions and fantasies, for which architects have long dreamed up monumental bridges, riparian boulevards,

new islands, a floating swimming pool, has after all been profoundly transformed. “London’s greatest opportunity,” the architect Richard Rogers used to call it, back in the build-up to the millennium. That opportunity has been taken, if not quite in the way he may have hoped, in particular by developers of luxury residential towers.

Along most of the river's course through London, you can see these blocks, getting bigger the newer they are, and more alike. From the leafy upper reaches to the broad waters around the old docks, the global financial logic of property produces buildings designed and built by global consultancies and contractors, which erase the individuality and quirkiness you see in earlier Thames-side developments. They're as much connected to Singapore and Dubai as they are to the local hinterland behind them.

about speculative development. It's punctuated by palaces of culture and leisure, pockets of open space, small-scale entrepreneurship, survivals from its industrial past, and floating communities of houseboats. The whole is inchoate but active, a case of everyone from overseas investors to impresarios and museum directors grabbing their chances when they can. The London Eye, two architects' hopeful punt that turned into an icon, is one example; another is the strange juxtaposition of the vast brick former power station that contains Tate Modern with the oak frame and thatched roof of the reconstructed Globe theatre.

The modern Thames is not all

To comprehend these twin linear cities, one on each bank, I travelled with the photographer Suki Dhanda along the route of the Thames Clipper, a river bus that was itself the result of longstanding ambitions to do something or other about the waterway. We set off from Putney, at the point where the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race starts, but in the opposite direction and with less effort, and continued to North Greenwich, just past the fusion of state ambition and commercial

entertainment that is the O2, once the Millennium Dome.

Briefly, you glimpse an older world – stone church towers, late Victorian mansion blocks making early attempts to profit from the river view, the backs of houses garlanded with extensions and gardens – before the first speculators' ziggurats appear, four in a row, with the pointy cantilevers and stepped shapes that were in vogue about 20 years ago. Next comes the leafy mouth of the River Wandle, a brief bucolic interlude hinting at its origins in the chalk springs of the North Downs. Next are the red gantries and yellow containers of the Western Riverside Waste and Recycling Facility. More ziggurats follow, and moments of idiosyncrasy pop up, like the Buddhist London Peace Pagoda in Battersea Park. Later there will be public art.

From here on our journey is marked by centres of intensity: the clusters of towers around Battersea Power Station and the newish US embassy in Vauxhall, the cultural hubs of South Bank and Bankside, the entertainment extravaganza of North Greenwich. They're mainly on

The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben on the north bank of the Thames.

The London Eye, was ‘two architects’ hopeful punt that turned into an icon’.

'A fusion of state ambition and commercial entertainment': the O2, once the Millennium Dome.

Eastwards, houseboats form river communities among the warehouses in Canary Wharf.

the south bank, this being the side that was less intensively developed in the past, except for the dense upward surge of glass-clad office space in the City of London, and the ever-growing forests of skyscrapers around Canary Wharf.

Between and among them are outbreaks of architectural expression from days when developers were more inclined than now to indulge such things. There are thumping landmarks by Terry Farrell, including a big half-barrel over Charing Cross station and deco-ish typewriter that is the MI6 headquarters in Vauxhall. There's a stepped yellow cylinder near Tate Modern and the red expressionist facade of China Wharf, downstream from Tower Bridge, both by the postmodern architects CZWG. If their lead had been followed, the Thames banks would be more delightful than they are now.

The big beasts of their generation, Rogers and Norman Foster, left their mark, including with early projects in Battersea. There the latter's practice designed a cool glass oblong, completed in 1990, that still contains their studio. The former and his partners designed Montevetro, a big ski slope of a housing block that was controversial in its time, towering as it does above the 1777 St Mary's Church, but in 1997 Rogers managed to wow the incoming Blair government into lending its support.

Over time, the role of architects on riverside projects changed. Rogers's early ideas were about making great public pleasure grounds rather than individual buildings, where citizens and visitors might communally enjoy the part-tamed natural phenomenon that flows through London, but developers preferred to use his and other practices to supply flair and prestige to their blocks, their names also being helpful in getting planning permission.

The Shard, by Rogers's former architectural partner Renzo Piano, is a case in point. It's a London icon, stylish and impressive to a degree that lesser architects would not have managed, but it doesn't do much to raise the experience of its surroundings at ground level. In time, property companies found they didn't need fancy practices at all, and largely dispensed with their services.

Yet those calls for public space weren't wholly in vain. The Thames is now more accessible than ever, thanks to the walkways and gardens

that come with new developments – in front of the restored Battersea Power Station, for example. There are new plinths for enjoying the view, formed over the infrastructure of the giant sewer known as the Thames Tideway Tunnel. Some of these new places are desultory and unfelt, a case of laying on the

minimum required by planners, but they are at least there.

'Dense upward surge of glass-clad office space:' the Walkie Talkie in the City of London.

The Thames is easily

The Thames is easily misunderstood. It seems to be in the centre but is actually made of edges: as Prof Tony Travers of the London School of Economics likes to point out, it forms a boundary between several boroughs, and local authorities tend to take more care of their cores than their peripheries. It is magnificent but murky, and music and poetry about it tends to the downbeat: “dirty old river” (the Kinks), “charter’d Thames” (William Blake). Oscar Wilde’s “rod of rippled jade” is as beautiful as it gets. For these reasons, attempts to make it what it is not – a serene, well-populated waterway like the Grand Canal or the Seine – tend to fail.

“Who ordered that?” would be a reasonable response to the modern Thames. No one, would be the answer. It’s rather the result of opportunism and some indifference. The version we have now could certainly be much better. At worst, it offers the remorseless roar of extraction, of tourists being fleeced by “experiences” and bad food, of real estate financed God knows how.

There's an awful lot of just-stuck-together construction, interspersed with cheap granite paving and stunted trees. But the river remains a wonder of natural and human creation, in some ways more so than before.

Eventually, we get to North Greenwich, where the landing zone is adorned with an Antony Gormley figure and a Damien Hirst grotesque. We consider waiting for a boat that will take us further downriver to Barking, but choose instead to take a ride on the cable car installed under Boris Johnson's mayoral reign in 2012, which allows us to survey the panorama in which the river sits. We land next to the latest seat of London's government, an angular building formerly known as the Crystal. Earlier, we passed its predecessors, the Edwardian baroque County Hall, and the Foster-designed "glass testicle" (as Ken Livingstone called it), which is being drastically remodelled as a mixed-use commercial building.

What were the best bits? I might have said the National Theatre, as I have always loved the way that its monolithic platforms interact with views of the water, but to see its tree-shrouded form from a boat is not the best way to experience it. So I'll go for the Covid memorial wall, with its 245,000 and more hearts painted on to a 500-metre stretch of masonry, whose bottom-up and meaningful improvisation best embodies the freedoms of the river.

'Who ordered that?' would be a reasonable response to the modern Thames. No one, would be the answer

Biography

In search of Anita Brookner

Hermione Lee unravels the knotty life of the author and art historian – doing her the service of leaving all her mystery intact. By Laura Cumming

Anita Brookner: Art & Life Hermione Lee Chatto & Windus, £28, pp544

Of all the revelations in Hermione Lee's tremendous life of Anita Brookner – that the writer lied about her age, took Prozac for depression and was often in love; that she owned a pair of identical flats in Chelsea, one of which she accidentally set alight with a cigarette; that she was “a slavish fan” of Philip Roth and never missed The Archers or The Bill – the most surprising, for me, is her unqualified elation as a teenager.

Brookner spends the summer of 1943 working as a land girl in Wiltshire. She writes it up for the school magazine. “We spent our Sunday afternoons in playing licentious games and amassing a small fortune in matches... our dormitory at midnight was a scene of shameless debauchery, with lemonade flowing like water.” She loves the work, all done “on a truly communistic basis”. But most of all she misses the rural filth: “My slacks... readers will be glad to hear... are preserved in all their dirty splendour for next year – still rolled up!”

This is Brookner before the Fall, when paradise was still open, before the anticlimax of adult life. She has not yet learned the severe lessons of her fiction: that virtue is never its own reward, that the undeserving inherit the Earth and every tortoise is beaten by some carefree hare.

Perhaps the school article was already a fiction. Brookner told one journalist that she had “detested” her schooldays. Lee observes that this might have had as much to do with her family life in Herne Hill. The only child of Polish-Jewish parents, she was expected to comply with all their needs – to look after them, as she did, through many years of failing health – and it was assumed she would obviously marry.

All through a history degree at King's College London and a PhD at the Courtauld Institute of Art, Brookner lived at home. The stifling rooms, crowded with grandparents, aunts and an outstandingly nasty uncle, appear in several of her novels, the family furniture stained dark as if with “the blood of horses”. When she left home to study art in Paris, her parents immediately cut off all financial support and did not come to the station to say goodbye.

Lee, herself of Polish descent, wonders that Brookner never wanted to visit Poland. But France always sufficed. Even though Brookner deliberately suppressed the details of her decade in Paris, Lee pieces it all deftly back together, bedsit by bedsit, cafe by cafe, one brusque concierge after another. In a play on her own subtitle, she threads Brookner's Paris life back into the fiction: the way her ingenues become habitués, attentive to whatever food French women are buying at the market, absorbing the freedom and glamour, enduring the obliviousness to foreigners. Even the babies in the Luxembourg Gardens have that "same indifferent French stare".

It is very rarely that Brookner, in Lee's judicious phrase, “lets her characters go back to Paris and make a new life for themselves”. And it never happened to her. She returned to Anthony Blunt's Courtauld, then based in Portman Square, teaching students in rooms up long flights of back stairs. Her favourites included the future art historians Neil MacGregor, who was amused by “le smoking of le Woodbines”, and Norman Bryson, who found Brookner very canny, quick and wicked.

Some students, labouring up those stairs, scented Brookner's perfume long in advance. It was Lanvin's luxurious Arpège; or was it Outdoor Girl from Woolworths? Recollections vary. When Brookner insisted on holding students' hands before a viva, some felt comforted while others were simply appalled.

Lee is characteristically generous with every opposing report. Brookner is a mesmerising lecturer, students rapt at the growing undercurrents of tension in her presence; or she just reads the same dust-dry script, even after it's been published in a book. She understands psychological dramas as nobody else, or she has no real grasp of contemporary society (a common complaint about her fiction, too, where the sudden appearance of a policeman occasionally provoked critical mirth).

Brookner is scrupulous in her every sentence, rigorously researching the lives of Romantic painters for her incomparable biographies. Yet she lies about her

She would thwart journalists, appearing to reveal so much of herself without giving a single fact away

own age, subtracting a decade in Who's Who. She is loving in private, especially to great friends such as the publisher Carmen Callil, to whom Lee's biography is dedicated. Yet she is icy in a professional context. Who could fail to be awed by the tone of her complaint to Jonathan Cape? "I am inexpressibly disappointed by the shoddy appearance and quality of A Family Romance... How do you suggest rectifying this state of affairs? Can you see Julian Barnes or Martin Amis putting up with this? The obvious solution is to pulp the whole edition and to start again. Perhaps you will consider this. It would certainly influence my decision concerning future dealings with Cape."

'A steady gaze from her huge eyes': Anita Brookner. Mike Abrahams/Alamy

Yet Brookner is also vulnerable to migraine, insomnia and chronic toothache, anxiety before lectures, terror before reviews of her books. Irrevocably wounded by a critique of her monumental life of Jacques-Louis David – one of the most penetrating art books ever written – from an upstart American, she nonetheless responds to his own future works with fastidious grace. When Martin Amis rings to berate her for a negative review of his 1997 novel Night Train, her heart pounds with fear. Lee tells us that Brookner later rang the commissioning editor to offer her resignation in case he too thought she wrote “illiterate and second-rate reviews”.

From page to screen Erica Wagner on James Marriott's lament for the decline of reading in the age of the smartphone

"When she was young she looked old – and when old, she became ageless." Lee gives us many brilliant miniatures of Brookner, with her impeccable maquillage, styled hair and armoured pose: "an upright, still position, often with head tilted on hand, a steady gaze from her huge eyes, deft glides away from probing questions and an occasional dazzling smile". Thus she would thwart the spellbound journalist, appearing to reveal so much of herself – how she chose the wrong men, that she wrote fiction because she had no children, and so forth – without ever giving a single fact away.

"Everyone who has a story to tell about Brookner," Lee cautions, "has also read her novels." Few can resist the temptation to infer the life from the art. The (supposed) affair with a man in Paris is doomed because he isn't Jewish. The (rumoured) affair with the handsome art historian Michael Jaffé is doomed because he gets married; likewise the (purported) affair with the art historian Francis Haskell. Lee is so tactful about Christopher MacLehose, charismatic publisher of one of Brookner's masterpieces, Soundings, that only the ghost of a question mark hangs in the air. Her detective work with desk diaries is superb.

Soundings, not incidentally, includes Brookner's formidable essay on the Scarsdale diet doctor murder, in which Jean Harris was convicted of killing her cardiologist ex-lover in 1981. It was, and remains, the apogee of true-crime writing, in advance of Janet Malcolm and Helen Garner.

Brookner destroyed so many of her own written records that it becomes impossible to know whether she had an affair with the industrialist Max Rayne in later life; whether she regretted those early interviews; whether she was in some sense an accidental handmaiden to Anthony Blunt in his work as a Soviet agent, sent on missions to visit his old colleague (and alleged courier) in the psychiatric ward of Middlesex Hospital. Lee's chapter on Blunt and Brookner, spy and novelist, is piercingly intelligent, inspiring in the reader a desire to probe further.

Brookner published 24 novels in almost as many years and Lee writes compellingly about each, persuading us back to them right away (in my case, alas, still dismayed by the miserabilism and deaf to the vaunted comedy). In some ways, Lee's biography is the exact opposite of a Brookner novel. It has joie de vivre, high humour and energetic compassion for the multiplying complexities of the human mind. It would be hard to think of a better biographer for this uniquely contradictory intellectual.

Speaking to a journalist, Brookner once said that she would have liked six children. There is no way of testing this claim, incredible as it sounds, except that her habits would have been atrociously disrupted. The daily walk from Chelsea to Portman

Colin Grant reviews a new biography of the late Harry Belafonte, from calypso king to civil rights activism

Square, the National Gallery or the Wallace Collection, where her characters listen to their own lonely footsteps “on the shining floors”. The annual novel, begun the day after completing the last. Gossiping at lunches with her great friend Julian Barnes – “So, what have you got for me?” – dinners with Callil (half a Dover sole, a side of spinach and no lingering). She arrives at parties just before they start and leaves five minutes later. She has twice weekly appointments at the hairdresser (a good place to die, she notes: “they would know what to do”), reads all the papers daily and gradually becomes so disaffected with plot, as opposed to emotion, that her copy editor is encouraged to correct any tedious inaccuracies of time or place.

In a riveting interview – one of so many in this biography – Brookner's downstairs neighbour remembers the sound of the BBC World Service coming on at 5am, 50 minutes before the door shuts for Brookner's departure to get the papers and then to Waitrose. And the same woman who could understand the despair of Géricault as no other writer was capable of the sharpest put-downs. Invited to dinner by the actress Anna Massey, playing Edith Hope in the film of Brookner's Booker prize-winning 1984 novel Hotel du Lac, the author recoils at the first course. "I will die if I even look at a prawn."

The late novels are poignant in their enduring preoccupation with the unlived life. At 80, Brookner was still writing about solitary women who believe that romance is all that matters. It seems at least possible, reading this biography, that this was Brookner's own belief.

It is hardly surprising that even such an eminent life-writer as Lee might wonder whether Brookner would have given this book her blessing. Brookner was as secretive as a heron. The fine mystery of the writer, to quote Dickens on Shakespeare, must surely be left undisturbed. This was evidently what Brookner hoped for when she died at 87 in 2016, leaving her body to medical science, the bulk of her wealth to Médecins Sans Frontières and forbidding a funeral.

So where is Anita Brookner, wonders Lee towards the end? Perhaps she is in her fiction, her art writing or her coruscating essays; perhaps she survives in the memories of friends and former students. There is no monument or plaque, but here is Dr Brookner on the way to buy her petit pain, in haute couture and Arpège, reproving slack students and inspiring others, in all her knotted anxiety and willed self-composure, controlling the world in fiction as she never could in life, sharpest of wits, most prolific and solitary of writers, granted all the mystery she deserves – alive here and now in this book.

Order a copy from observershop.co.uk for £25.20 (10% off RRP)

John Ironmonger The zoologist turned novelist on how growing up in Kenya instilled in him a hatred of trophy hunting

The Sunday Poem

Thermos Will Eaves

A genie comes out of it and conjures this scene signed in one corner by an old couple in floppy hats

(he's bowsprit-thin; she's settled as her chair – which thank God she insisted on – and in a good spot).

There is a freshwater stream. I am clasped knees, seen with binoculars the wrong way round so that I am very small.

The tide is half-in, swallowing rocks like someone with a sore throat. I frown, almost erect under a bald towel.

People go behind things and no one likes tomato. At sea, imagine the panic, the drop. A man on his own

pours himself a hot drink, looking the other way. I know it's not nice to stare but I only have three wishes.

Will Eaves is a novelist, poet, teacher and musician. His books include the novel Murmur (Canongate) and the essay collection Broken Consort (CB Editions).

Illustration by Chris Riddell observer.co.uk 30.08.26

Books

Literacy

Twilight of the books

James Marriott's heartfelt polemic is a lament for and celebration of reading in a device- dominated age. But the battle against distraction is nothing new. By Erica Wagner

The New Dark Ages: The End of Reading and the Dawn of a Post-Literate Society James Marriott Bodley Head, £14.99, pp208

A professor assigns reading for a literature class. He thinks the story he's chosen will appeal to his young students: it's spooky, chilling, a little over the top. But the kids are left cold. The professor's worried now, because he'd hoped the eerie tale

– Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow – would win them over whereas, to say the least, poor old Henry James had not. When he'd asked them to dig into the master's 1891 story Brooksmith, he recalled: "My students could barely muster the energy for a thumbs-up or -down... It was as though some pneumatic pump had sucked out the last dregs of their spirits."

The hapless teacher had the uneasy feeling that this was more than just the sluggish beginning of a semester. He sensed, he said, "a break in historical continuity... a corroboration of something I had been on the verge of grasping for years". His students had been "entirely defeated by James's prose – the medium of it – as well as by the assumptions that underlie it".

If you've been paying attention to the "death of literacy" debate, you will have started hearing a lot of stories like this. My Students Can't Read in the Chronicle of Higher Education; The Elite College Students Who Can't Read Books in the Atlantic; There's a

Marriott calls the decline of reading ‘a personal as well as a cultural tragedy’. Jonathan Wolstenholme/Bridgeman Images

Dr Johnson said: 'People do not willingly read if they can have anything else to amuse them'

Very Good Reason College Students Don't Read Anymore in the New York Times: you get the idea. And then, of course, there's the book under review, James Marriott's The New Dark Ages: The End of Reading and the Dawn of a Post-Literate Society. It's Marriott who recounts the story of the sad professor, pointing out that the academic in question was Sven Birkerts, a renowned essayist and critic, and that the passage comes from his book The Gutenberg Elegies – published more than three decades ago in 1994.

I am as alarmed about the decline in reading as anyone else – as an author, former literary editor, and

generally a person who has given her life to the written word. But when I was a schoolgirl, in the long-ago days of landlines, we read the Bible as literature in my English class, and so I can ask: "Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?" So yes, that's me these days, coming home at the end of a hard day at the Observer coalface, glancing sidelong at the stack of books on my bedside table while scrolling through Bluesky to discover Trump's latest egregious whatever-it-is. When I was in school and at university I read and read

Poetry books of the month

Forces of nature

Two new anthologies offer a powerful showcase of defiant women writers and the climate emergency in all its vivid horror. By Jade Cuttle

Woman, Mapped Edited by Jennifer Wong Fly on the Wall Press, £12.99, pp150

Ecoshock: Pocket Aftershock Edited by Glyn Edward Aftershock Review, £8.99, pp48

In 2024, according to a Ledbury Poetry Critics report, poetry by women in the UK and Ireland was being published at a record high. That same year, women won all four categories in the Forward prizes. But as the 2021 Keats-Shelley Prize winner Katrina Naomi suggests in Woman, Mapped, women writers still feel as if they are “utterly ignorable”.

In this first Rebecca Swift Foundation anthology, contributors rally innovatively against sexual and verbal oppression. Ilse Pedler, a poet and part-time veterinary surgeon from Cumbria, addresses the normalisation of sexual violence in Lessons for Young Women. One man “pressed her back against the hardness of the wall and she felt another hardness pressed to her

front", while "a passing split-second touch" from another man "branded her nipple in an uninvited ember-hot shame forty years long". How can she speak up? The protagonist is "a fly buzzing on the inside / of a window", as she navigates the need to call out this abuse alongside the fear of being perceived as a nuisance.

Elsewhere, Jade Mutyora, a York-based poet and novelist, shares moving confessions about sobbing in toilets and problematic academic supervisors, and Katy Mack considers the gloriously grotesque spectacle of childbirth as letting insects “lay their kingdoms underneath my skin”. Instead of cute, tickling ladybirds or butterflies we encounter the “skittering” chaos of earwigs and ants. I enjoyed the collection’s parallels between conventional relationships and ones that are less so, as in Katrina Naomi’s ode to the woman who married the Berlin Wall: “She

scratched her desire deep into his core; / knowing he couldn't leave until he was demolished [...] She felt she owned him outright."

While many anthologies only skim the surface of each poet's work, Woman, Mapped offers a satisfying opportunity to dive deeper. Across 10 or so poems (plus prose), we sink into each woman's vulnerable truth. Teddy Webb compares her inclusion in this anthology to "sticking a rockhopper penguin in a flamingo enclosure". Her "experiences of womanhood are far from what society has deemed as the conventional markers of a female coming-of-age," she explains. "I'm no mother, nor do I plan to be one; I've never had a husband, nor a divorce [...] I'm a dyke." Her witty reflections reinforce a powerful message: that women are "ridiculously diverse creatures", as Hollie McNish notes in the foreword. No one size fits all. Diverse as this

Diverse as this snapshot of women's lives is, a shared resilience shines through and read – but back then, there was nothing else to do. I feel grateful for that now; I think I’d better be careful about passing judgment on a younger cohort who were not formed before the smartphone, a device that, as Marriott aptly says, “demands your entire life”.

Marriott is an astute columnist at the Times; this is his first book and it is a heartfelt polemic. His father was an English teacher who celebrated Shakespeare's birthday with homemade cake. As a boy, Marriott found happy shelter in Newcastle's Regency-era library, the Lit & Phil. He calls the decline of reading “a personal as well as a cultural tragedy” – and if you wonder what that decline looks like, he provides the figures. More than a third of UK adults now say they have given up on reading altogether; in the first two decades of the 21st century, reading for pleasure in the US fell by 40%. The National Literacy Trust has reported on “shocking and dispiriting” falls in children’s reading and reading enjoyment.

He acknowledges his debt to earlier thinkers on the subject, not only Birkets but most famously, perhaps, the media theorist Neil Postman, author of Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Showbusiness, published in 1985. For Postman, television was the screen stealing our attention and our concentration, but now we are in a whole new world. As Marriott writes: "It is difficult to read in a room in which the television is on (I find it almost entirely impossible) but you can always go to another room. With a smartphone there is never another room." Another influence is Walter Ong, who "believed that societies without writing are 'agonistically programmed', that is they have an inherent bias towards confrontation". In short, you are more likely to shout at a person than to shout at a book; and now we are returning to a confrontational orality, supercharged by social media.

In the non-reading age, we are constantly deluged by “takeaways”

– don't feel you have to actually read the article or book, here's the bitesize chunk you need to know! A thought that might stay with the reader of Marriott's book is that the print culture that he so passionately celebrates was, in fact, very short-lived. Consider: no printing at all before Gutenberg, and then several centuries until mass printing and mass literacy.

Allen Lane and his Penguin paperbacks changed the game in 1935; during the Second World War, American soldiers got “Armed Services Editions” of classic books (it was only thanks to this scheme that The Great Gatsby, for one, was rescued from obscurity and lodged in the sacred canon). But “the historical window in which reading was widespread and existed as society’s main form of entertainment was a brief one. In truth, by the 1940s, it was already waning” – before television there was cinema and the wireless. O brave new world.

Marriott offers no solution to our dilemma; he could not hope to do so. He looks for “points of light”, the banning of smartphones in schools, a move away from “uncritical optimism” about new technology. His book is both lament and celebration – and he is not wrong to champion the human-authored book as an extraordinary, unimprovable technology that allows its reader unique depth of insight and understanding.

But it's always been a bit of a struggle. After all, here's Dr Johnson himself observing: "People in general do not willingly read if they can have anything else to amuse them." No, we're not about to go back to the days in which two million mourners attended the funeral of Victor Hugo; but thanks to Christopher Nolan, copies of The Odyssey have been flying off the shelves. We'll take what we can get. Read on.

Order a copy from observershop.co.uk for £13.49 (10% off RRP)

snapshot of women's lives is, a shared resilience shines through.

Alain Boussac/Millennium Images, UK

Katy Mack compares childbirth to letting insects 'lay their kingdoms underneath my skin'. Robert Norbury/ Millennium Images, UK

himself sad; yet, if I lazily anecdote about rare spikes in temperature, I'll be as complicit as his Instagram feed." As poets including Pascale Petit, Imtiaz Dharker, Sean Borodale and Harriet Tarlo demonstrate here through daring, never didactic modes, the willingness to confront these difficult questions is a commendable place to start.

In Michelle Penn's flood-ravaged against despair you can almost feel the splinters of “loose planks and slats / needles and numbers”, and it’s hard to forget her image of a “body turned to foam” where “all you can do is balance time on your back”. If such crises can feel distant, this anthology persuasively describes a world in which rising temperatures – more than a splinter in the side – are not.

This resistance to easy categorisation, and easy answers, is also embraced in Ecoshock, a stirring anthology of poems on climate change. The editor, Glyn Edwards, confesses ignorance as to how to discuss the current heatwave with his teenage son: if he “feed[s] him data until I scare him, he may worry

Order a copy of either book from observershop.co.uk to receive a 10% discount off RRP

Fiction

French exit

How to Make a Woman Marie Darrieussecq, translated by Penny Hueston Fitzcarraldo Editions, £14.99, pp256

Marie Darrieussecq burst on to the international literary scene, aged 27, with her 1996 debut novel, Pig Tales, a dystopic satirical fable about a young woman working in an exploitative Paris massage parlour whose life is transformed when she turns into a pig.

Other remarkably unclassifiable novels followed swiftly, including My Phantom Husband (1998), Breathing Underwater (1999) and A Brief Stay With the Living (2001). In 2017, she published Being Here Is Everything, a biography of the short life of Paula Modersohn-Becker, the German expressionist painter. Sleepless, Darrieussecq's acclaimed memoir of insomnia, appeared in an English translation in 2023.

Ordinary women's complex lives, sexualities and rivalries are the author's trademark; her writing mixes sharp political and cultural commentary with a raunchy explicitness and poetic verve. Now we have her novel How to Make a Woman, in a lyrical, looping translation by Penny Hueston. It is a dual narrative of the often contentious friendship between Rose and Solange, two teenage girls from the fictional village of Clèves in the Basque Country of south-west France – where Darrieussecq herself grew up – during the late 1980s.

The book opens with Rose aged 15, on a barely supervised school trip to Madrid, which is every bit as exciting and depressing as such early forays into the adult world tend to be. Solange is absent because she has had an unplanned baby by an unidentified father. Rose, the sensible one, from a middle-class family, has only just begun fooling around with her boyfriend Christian, but she's attracted to classmate Raphaël, too.

Rose's story progresses along with those of her contemporaries. She studies at university in Bordeaux and later becomes a psychologist, working with disadvantaged teenagers. She will return to Clèves, marry Christian and have children, though she, like many of the other village girls, will also fall prey to

sleazy older bar-owner Marcos. Predatory men and harassment persist throughout the novel, as does a sheer ecstasy at life, which Solange, who eventually decamps to Paris to be an actor, finds while dancing in underground queer clubs.

The two women's paths intersect and fall away through brief visits and borrowed time. The whole is reminiscent of Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan quartet, especially the third volume, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay. It is Solange, so debased at the beginning, who finds a permanent exit through her talent and determination for acting. She will eventually end up in Hollywood, while Rose clings to familiarity. Solange's unwanted child, who has learning disabilities, will be brought up by Solange's mother.

The narration is fickle: from Rose's vantage point, Solange appears distant and selfish. Yet once Solange takes over the story, the pain and shame of a teenager undergoing a traumatic childbirth is delivered like an eyewitness account of war: "She has no idea at all how to live through it. She doesn't know how to live in this body. She has already looked around for an exit through which to jettison herself. There is no window." Similarly, the deaths of a still-teenage Solange's friends in Paris at the height of the Aids epidemic and, later, her grimy shared co-operative in London, use the imagery of the battle-weary, even as she and her cohort party with the likes of Prince and Annie Lennox.

Less successful is Darrieussecq's final section, in which Rose and her family join Solange at the premiere of her latest film in LA. The pair are now in their 40s, and this part of the novel and its schematic ending seem laboured. Yet you are reminded of an earlier enduring image of the friends from earlier in the book: "The two girls look out the window together; death is like a small figure on the path, waving at them, see you later, see you later."

Darrieussecq has delivered an excoriating feminist work, as raw and sensitive as sunburn on the skin. Catherine Taylor

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Three books on Ghosts

Chosen by Simon Wroe

Lafcadio Hearn A Penguin since 1994 Some Japanese GHOSTS

Japanese Ghost Stories by Lafcadio Hearn (1904) Lafcadio Hearn's Japanese wife, Koizumi Setsu,

would memorise folk tales and tell them to her husband in the dark. Once he'd recovered from his terror, he took notes. His collected works are astonishing in their breadth and depth: an encyclopaedia of haunting, complete with cautionary advice on how best to avoid these spirits and helpful suggestions on how to appease them (pro-tip: sitting on the back of a corpse until dawn may stop their ghost returning).

Thérèse Raquin by Émile Zola (1867) Some of the best ghost stories don't come from

horror writers. Émile Zola (like Henry James, his American contemporary, who also loved a ghost story) was primarily a chronicler of emotional lives and the social conventions that held them in tension. In Thérèse Raquin, he builds a terrifying tale of murder and betrayal out of a socio-realistic portrait of a failing marriage and a doomed love affair. The ghost in this story does not haunt indiscriminately: it is a cipher for guilt and moral failure, hounding the scheming lovers to a terrible and violent end.

You Should Have Left by Daniel Kehlmann (2016) You can be haunted by

spectres, ideas and legacies – and you can be haunted by places. Daniel Kehlmann's little knife of a book is a ghost story of the latter sort. A screenwriter rents a rural retreat with his wife and child and begins to experience terrible dreams and unsettling shifts in reality. Many of the classic haunted house tropes are present, but Kehlmann subtly subverts them, bending them out of recognisable shape. The reader keeps thinking they might be on familiar (if haunted) ground, only to realise they are more adrift than they realised.

Ghost Month by Simon Wroe is published by Faber

observer.co.uk 30.08.26

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Books

Biography

The entertainer with a conscience

The singer, actor and activist Harry Belafonte was engaged in a lifelong battle against inequality, writes Colin Grant

Daylight Come: Harry Belafonte and the World He Made Joshua Jelly-Schapiro Penguin Press USA, £26.99, pp384

“Would you let your daughter marry a negro?” The question posed by Picture Post’s headline in 1954 to Britain’s white population would have been answered with an unequivocal “No”. But an exception might have been made in the UK and in the US (where interracial marriage was only legalised a decade later) had the groom been Harry Belafonte, whose 1956 album Calypso became the first by a solo artist to sell a million copies.

As Joshua Jelly-Schapiro highlights in Daylight Come, his glowing biography of the singer, actor and activist, Belafonte (1927-2023) seemed to transcend race even among bigots. White admirers did not see what was hidden in plain view: a black man, with a “devotion to [people on] the edges” of society, who harnessed his popularity and wealth to improve the fortunes of African Americans.

Belafonte was born in Harlem and raised, unhappily, by warring Jamaican migrant parents. Aged 17, during the Second World War, he enlisted in the still segregated US Navy. Jelly-Schapiro suggests the experience led to a burgeoning race-first solidarity in Belafonte, during which period he also became a proud autodidact.

Belafonte's interest in drama was eventually sparked at the innovative American Negro Theatre (where he befriended Sidney Poitier), and he would go on to play a vital role in the racial politics of the 1960s, supporting Martin Luther King Jr and his family, and bankrolling the civil rights movement.

Jelly-Schapiro's effusive portrayal convincingly casts Belafonte as a conscientious entertainer who early on shrewdly cultivated relationships with mentors such as Marlon Brando and Paul Robeson. Belafonte was, though, uncertain about the likelihood of succeeding as an actor, and the future matinee idol opened a Greenwich Village cafe, Sage, where he regaled diners with impromptu sea shanties.

Belafonte began experimenting and “applying to music the techniques of the method he’d studied at the Dramatic Workshop”.

He found he had the ability to “juggle emotions” in performances that ranged from chain-gang work songs to Jewish folk tunes. Fortuitously, Sage attracted a creative crowd and the connections Belafonte forged there helped steer an unexpected fledging career in the midst of a folk revival.

However, even though Calypso's tracks were inspired by Caribbean folk songs, they were far removed from the mix of ribaldry and social commentary that formed the music in Trinidad, the home of calypso. But no matter the content, Belafonte's saccharine folk songs seduced US listeners, tapping into fantasies embodied by the handsome entertainer.

Hollywood was soon drawn in by the excitement Belafonte generated. Film executives recognised that the fantasies the “Caribbean gentleman” inspired could not withstand contact with the reality of the hostility towards interracial relationships in the US, but they chose to ignore

this. In 1957's Island in the Sun, he starred alongside Joan Fontaine. The “scandalous” on-screen romance between a black man and white woman was too much for audiences in the deep south, where the film was banned, even though the most

His daughter says she only saw him cry once, after the assassination of Martin Luther King

intimate moment between the characters involved drinking from the same coconut.

A million-selling sensation: Belafonte in the studio in the 1950s. Getty Images

Inevitably, there was a personal toll from a life fully engaged with activism. Belafonte's daughter Gina recounts that she only saw her father cry once, after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, with whom Belafonte had his most consequential collaboration. A particular benefit of Belafonte's association with King was his embrace of the Baptist minister's adopted philosophy of nonviolence, which encouraged Belafonte to "wash away my personal anger". That anger was transmuted into a courageous, strategic and never-ending battle against inequities. Indeed, Belafonte's bravery is demonstrated in almost every chapter: in refusing acting roles he considered demeaning; in his defiance of death threats when campaigning in the Jim Crow south; in chastising influential black performers such as Beyoncé and Jay-Z for not using their enormous fiscal and social capital to help their marginalised compatriots; and in following his heart to marry his second wife, Julie Robinson, a white woman.

“Harry Belafonte was radical before it was chic and remained so long after it wasn’t,” said Henry Louis Gates Jr. Jelly-Schapiro agrees, and he argues that Belafonte succeeded not by “occluding his ethnicity and pride, but by making both essential to his glamour and grace”. That grace was apparent to fans, no matter their colour. Whether watching or listening to him perform, Belafonte saw each individual’s appreciation as a political act, and imagined saying to them: “You were connecting with your better angels, reaching across the racial divide. Consciously or not, you were casting your vote for equality.”

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Paperback of the week By Chris Power

Christopher Clark delves into the strange and compelling case of ‘gross sexual impropriety’ involving an unorthodox religious group in 1830s Prussia

A Scandal in Königsberg Christopher Clark Penguin, £12.99, pp192

In the 18th century, the Prussian city of Königsberg, home of Immanuel Kant, became a centre of Enlightenment thought. Following the philosopher's death in 1804, it retreated into sleepy provincialism. But it was thanks to changes wrought by Kant's intellectual legacy that the city (which since the Second World War has been Russian territory, renamed Kaliningrad) returned to public attention in the 1830s, via the scandal Christopher Clark anatomises in this gripping book.

To put it in basic terms, Enlightenment ideas created the conditions for revolution, most prominently in France. In this era, as Clark explains, gaps opened between the ecclesiastical authorities and the practitioners of religion. This made the first half of the 19th century a time of “wildcat religious revival”, a rash of curious spins on Protestantism flaring up and dying away. These movements “flourished in the numerous interstices of religious belief and practice... eccentric variations on the norm, in which the tenets of licensed dogma blended seamlessly with folk belief, speculative natural philosophy and pseudo-science”.

They were “the hardy weeds that shot up ceaselessly between the paving stones of official religion”.

One such weed sprang up in the Königsberg parish of the Old City Church, which by the 1830s was presided over by the charismatic Lutheran preacher Johann Wilhelm Ebel. Back in the 1800s, when he was newly qualified, he had fallen under the influence of an “unlettered spiritual seeker” called Johann Heinrich Schönherr, who believed everything in the Bible should be taken literally – and that wasn’t even his most out-there position. One summer’s day, gazing at some waterlilies in a pond, Schönherr had an epiphany resulting in the formulation of an entire cosmogonic system.

Ebel's relationship with Schönherr was first called into question around 1809, but when the preacher's detractors took the matter to Berlin, they were rebuked. Despite Ebel being cleared, certain people continued to harbour animus towards him. By the 1830s, when accusations emerged about “gross sexual impropriety” among his

flock, pregnancy out of wedlock, and the death of two young women from “exhaustion caused by excessive arousal”, the Königsberg authorities were ready to listen.

Ebel's accusers were former adherents: a doctor, Ludwig Wilhelm Sachs, and landowner Count Finck von Finckenstein – a name that surely had Clark making libations to the storytelling gods. There followed four years of investigation, trial, judgment and appeal, in which the truth became virtually irretrievable because of the noise around the case: newspaper articles, plays, crowds of students descending on Ebelian church services demanding kisses from the congregation's women.

Clark expertly relates this fascinating episode from the outside in, beginning with a report on a sex cult reaching the minister of church affairs in Berlin before gradually working his way towards the characters and events at the story's core. Along the way he adds a huge amount of contextual detail, not only economically but also without ever abandoning the thread of the story. The position he develops,

that the scandal that engulfed Ebel and his associates was less reactionary than an unforeseen inversion of liberal impulses, is surprising and convincing.

While Clark's book teaches us to be wary of conspiracist thinking, I was surprised to note that none of the well-deserved raves it received in hardback mention the two sections in which Clark detours into fiction. The only thing established by these scenes – a theological debate at an inn and a reflection on the affair in a bookshop – is that a gift for narrative and the ability to invent believable characters and dialogue are very far from being the same thing. It's particularly unfortunate that the second of them, filled with exposition-heavy clangers such as "It arrived too late to be included with the original documentation, remember, and had to be added later... and sent by post to Berlin", is where this otherwise excellent book should end.

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John Ironmonger

‘I have a profound love for chimpanzees’

The zoologist turned author on the magic and horrors of growing up in Kenya, holding trophy hunters to account, and being a hit in Germany. By Jade Cuttle

John Ironmonger, 72, is a Kenya-born, Cheshire-based zoologist. He was 58 when his debut novel, The Notable Brain of Maximilian Ponder, was shortlisted for the Costa first novel award. His sixth novel, The Angel of St Piran, is a conservation thriller that follows Angel, a Cornish gymnast who travels to Tanzania to study wild chimpanzees, only to discover a profound, shared language, before the peace is shattered by illegal trophy hunters.

Where did the idea for your new novel come from?

It's been a slow cooker of a book. I studied zoology at university, and my wife used to work at Chester Zoo, where I'd spend hours watching their chimpanzee colony. The real spark came while watching a television documentary about a young woman studying chimps in Gabon. She was standing at the bottom of a tree, looking way up into the canopy. I suddenly thought, what if she was a gymnast who could climb up? I went straight to my laptop and wrote the first sentence.

Did growing up in Kenya shape your interest in zoology?

Absolutely. I was born in Nairobi and went to school there before moving to England at 13. It was a wonderful, magical place to grow up. One summer, I worked in a national park for a zoologist studying elephant populations. Going around every day with the researchers, I realised it was exactly what I wanted to do.

John Ironmonger photographed in Cheshire by Chris Bethel for The Observer.

Was this magic ever marred by danger, as in The Angel of St Piran? Yes. I didn't see the Mau Mau uprising, but I did see violence as a young man in Uganda. I had a holiday job working for my brother-in-law around the time of the military coup when Idi Amin took over. It was horrific; we saw bodies floating down the Nile and were even held up at gunpoint by the Ugandan army. It was a highly dangerous time, but when you're 16, those things don't faze you as much as they should.

Why is trophy hunting such a strong theme in this book? It was born of my hatred of trophy hunters and my profound love for chimpanzees. What we usually know of trophy hunting is a photograph online of somebody standing over a dead lion, and then we just scroll on to the next picture. I wanted to bring trophy hunting to the front of the narrative and make the hunters the true villains. In stories, villains are often two-dimensional characters – a rich corporate farmer, for instance – but for me, trophy hunters are real-world villains. I want to rail against that cruelty.

What ignited your distaste for big-game hunting?

American celebrities would visit Nairobi, and it would feature heavily in the newspapers. David Janssen, the star of the 1960s television series The Fugitive, came to town. We all watched that show. But then I saw a photo of him having shot a lion. I remember my utter shock and

The books interview

horror. It felt like such a massive fall from grace, in my mind.

You were once an expert on leeches, which involved a lot of looking under stones. Are you applying a similar approach to literature? I studied leeches for three years, which basically meant wading around in lakes, picking up stones and counting the leeches underneath. We think about the blood-sucking leech, but they don't do very much, besides some nasty ones that feed on cattle or live inside birds' nostrils. I don't know if there is a great story

‘We saw bodies floating down the Nile and were held up at gunpoint by the Ugandan army’

in leeches just yet. But in writing fiction, I am certainly turning over different stones to tell stories that haven't been told. I haven't read any other novels on trophy hunting yet.

How did you find breaking into an industry that is often focused on young writers?

I'd always loved writing, but for years it was just a hobby. Nobody ever read my stories until I showed a novel to my son, who is a BBC journalist. He told me I had to send it off. I found a great agent, the book went to auction, and I received a fantastic advance: £220,000. Everybody assumes debut authors are young. I remember a [BBC Radio 4] Front Row report on the Costa awards referring to “these poor young writers”. I thought how great it was to be billed as a young writer at my age! There’s sometimes an expectation that you’re going to be youthful, vigorous and exciting, and when I show up at an event, people might think: “Who is this old bloke?” But I haven’t found age to be a great barrier.

You have moved from one of the "Big Five" publishers to a small press. What prompted that change?

After publishing a zoology guide with HarperCollins, Orion published my first four novels, but then I had a new editor who wasn't really supportive. I had a novel [The Many Lives of Heloise Starchild] come out during the Covid-19 lockdowns – I didn't like the title they gave it, which made it sound like science fiction. It didn't sell well, and major publishers largely run on algorithms, so if a book doesn't hit the numbers, they move on. So, I found Fly on the Wall Press. They lack the massive funding of the big houses, but they go the extra mile.

You're a bestseller in Germany. How did that come about?

It's a peculiar career trajectory. The German public absolutely loves my books, even though I don't speak a word of German. My novel The Whale at the End of the World happened to be about a global pandemic and was published in Germany at the beginning of 2020. It became the Christmas number one and sold half a million copies. I was an accidental Covid profiteer.

Which books are you enjoying now? Recently, I picked up John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs by Ian Leslie. I didn't even mean to start it yet, but then I did and I thought: "Oh, wow!" The other book I'm really into is Benjamin Wood's Seascraper. He's a beautiful writer, so I've read everything he's written since The Bellwether Revivals.

The Angel of St Piran is published by Fly on the Wall Press (£18.99). Order a copy from observershop.co.uk for £17.09 (10% off RRP)

Puzzles

Guess the picture by Laura Cumming

This week's question: Who is holding what? (above)? Answer next Sunday.

Last week's detail showed the face of the French poet Paul Verlaine, painted by Frédéric Bazille in Paris in 1868. Verlaine's affair with his fellow poet Arthur Rimbaud, referred to by Bob Dylan on his album Blood on the Tracks, ended when he shot Rimbaud with a revolver and was sentenced to two years in jail. Verlaine's wild and lyrical sensibility has kept his fame alive since his death in 1896, whereas the name of the painter of this penetrating portrait was almost forgotten. Bazille sold not a single picture in his lifetime and died at the age of 28 in the Franco-Prussian war, at the Battle of Beaunela-Rolande. Only in the 20th century did his star begin to rise once more.

Cinema Connect

Each week we show three stills. Guess the films in question and the historical figure who connects them. (Bonus point if you can put them in chronological order.)

Set by Killian Fox Answers on page 31

Everyman crossword No. 4,167

Across

1 Spy working precisely (4-2)

4 Puddings - anxious - sent back (8)

10 Henry necessarily not beginning in attentive manner (9)

11 Flipping Everyman's ultimately parsimonious: code for 'skinflint' (5)

12 I recommend Bill gets protection from sun (7)

14 King wearing t-shirt, perhaps, not 'man-bun'-style hairdo (7)

15 Musician wanted for buffets? (13)

18 Damaged sub with mortar: hear who's overseeing the boats? (13)

20 Pop diva's entertaining, making a comeback, total cheese (7)

22 Kind of article mentioned (7)

23 The Observer's heart? (5)

24 Recreational vehicle inspired by piece of snooker equipment? That's unexpected (9)

26 Behaved antisocially and gave birth (8)

27 In Cuba and America, pretend to be one that can last a while without drink (6)

Down

1 Strong liquor: drunkard's called for pics (8)

2 Nine or three sheets to the wind? (3,4,3,5)

3 Primarily obtuse, asinine fathead? (3)

5 Type up welcoming German country (5)

6 Spelled out imperatives, not entirely in public (4-7)

7 Hesitator, biting unwisely - fish's last action? (6,2,3,4)

8 American pastries rejected, more than one rank (6)

9 Cake-burner not finishing half of scones: like a picnic? (8)

13 Social event that's hardly a ball! (6,5)

16 Noted repeatedly concerning electrical component (2,6)

17 Babbles, splatter splashing (8)

19 Use your phone to find self-catering room with bill 50% reduced (6)

21 Intelligence-gathering mission giving description of sunken ships, did you say? (5)

25 Age of beermat regularly noted (3)

Name Address

Postcode

Solvers are able to enter our crossword competitions online at: www.observer.co.uk/puzzles or via email to: competitions@observer.co.uk

Paperless entry encouraged; postal entries will still be accepted. Five randomly selected correct solutions will each win a £15 book token.

To enter the Everyman prize draw, submit a correct solution either online or by post to: Everyman No. 4,167, The Observer, 22 Berners Street, London W1T 3LP

Email entries must include the crossword name and number in the subject line as it appears in print (e.g. "Everyman No. 4,167"). Entries without the correct subject will not be accepted. UK residents 18+ only. Max one entry per person. Closing date is Saturday following publication for online entries, postal entries must be postmarked no later than the Saturday following publication and must reach us within ten days of publication of the puzzle (i.e. by Wednesday week following publication). Winners announced Sunday two weeks after publication. For full T&Cs visit:

Sudoku classic

	8			7	1
	9	4	2		5		1
							9	5
	5			2	9
	3	9	4		7		8
							4	1
	1			9				8
7			5
	2			8				6

Fill in the blank cells using the numbers 1 to 9.
Each number must appear just once in every row, column and 3x3 box.

SOLUTION No. 4,166

Everyman No. 4,165 Frank Dippnall, Bury, Greater Manchester David Helliwell, Oxford Karen Hodder, York, North Yorks Mirko Junkovic, Cambridge Rick King, Woodsetts, Worksop, Notts

Gemelo No. 46 - Plain

1		2	3	4	5	6	7	8		9	10
11						12
	13		14
15									16
17
18					19			20
21			22		23					24
25	26
27						28
29								30
		31					32
33

Normal Sudoku rules apply, except the numbers in the cells contained within grey lines add up to the figures in the corner. No number can be repeated within each shape formed by the grey lines.

Killer by Godefridus

Name

Address

Post code

Cinema Connect answers Jackie (2016), JFK (1991) and Blonde (2022) all feature John F Kennedy through impersonations or archive footage.

Across

1 Tree and shrub family aged a decade, and led to change without any dead (12)

11 Fly westward for one tenth of a dollar, just about (5)

12 Malaria epidemic putting paid to P&L (4) 14 Where hair's removed from showers I'd taken in middle of engagement (9, 2 words)

15 Unusual floral backing (6, 2 words) 16 Legendarily, one could pick up jumbo crossword, totally accurately, only taking seconds (3)

17 Another look at sensor seems mad when nothing's gone missing (12)

18 Flightless birds sing with allure, extremely attractive (7)

20 Talk about old product of palm tree (4)

21 Skunk going through potato chips (4)

23 Leech about to hang on (7)

25 First applications when decorating small crib no longer accepted in other cribs (12, 2 words)

27 Old woollen fabric, for example (3)

28 Country getting rid of king for one who'll join union (6)

29 Offensive decoration not really meant to put out independent Scotsman? (9, 2 words)

31 If only slogans could be regularly forgotten - likewise slow ads (4, 2 words)

32 Choral composition came together without religious text (5)

33 Butcher sensing sale's unprofitability (12)

Down

1 Stop scraping around section that's awkward (12)

2 Fulsome man perhaps gaining year, one way or another? (9)

3 Bomb with long pins lacking shell (3) 4 Upset Los Angeles citizen in painful argument, initially about ballooning (12)

5 Good part of cereal first? (4)

6 Scottish Highlander is embracing nationalist during unproductive uprising (7)

7 What contributes to rising skepticism [sic]? It's on gaining empiric beliefs (12)

8 Copper, say, puts two and two together in language-based analyses (6)

9 Extra active duty to get into (5)

10 Ultimately, people on planes, accepting cost, are thrown out – in these? (12, 2 words)

13 What takes blood, mainly? (4)

16 Largely anti-Green American, possibly? (9)

19 Damn accountant with unopened contract (7)

22 Gorge, eating new batter (6)

24 Cut, and others like it, beginning to hurt (4)

26 Chief accountant concealing crafty conduct in formal writing (5)

28 Moat with waterfall (4)

30 Disciple, like priest, ignoring peripheral parish (3)

The Chambers Dictionary (2016)

is recommended.

Gemelo No. 43 solution & notes

$^1$ P	U	$^2$ L	$^3$ P	$^4$ S	$^5$ W	$^6$ A	$^7$ D	E	$^8$ S	$^9$ H	$^{10}$ I
$^{11}$ H	A	I	R	$^{12}$ E	E	L	$^{13}$ A	C	T	O	N
O	$^{14}$ I	N	E	X	P	L	I	C	I	T	C
$^{15}$ T	A	N	G	E	T	E	$^{16}$ K	E	N	T	E
$^{17}$ O	G	E	N	M	E	L	O	$^{18}$ N	T	I	N
G	$^{19}$ S	T	A	$^{20}$ P	R	E	$^{21}$ S	A	G	E	D
$^{22}$ R	O	E	N	T	$^{23}$ G	E	N	R	$^{24}$ V	S	I
A	D	$^{25}$ E	$^{26}$ T	$^{27}$ A	N	T	A	R	A	R	A
$^{28}$ V	A	L	O	R	E	$^{29}$ K	T	$^{30}$ A	G	A	R
U	$^{31}$ P	E	R	I	T	E	C	T	I	C	I
$^{32}$ R	O	M	P	S	$^{33}$ U	P	H	O	L	D	S
$^{34}$ E	P	I	D	E	M	I	C	$^{35}$ R	E	A	M

• ARCH), 32 PROMS with P moved, 33 PUSH* around OLD, 34 EPIC around IDEM, 35 RE AM.

cryptic shorthand for answer explanations which can be viewed at: https://observer.co.uk/puzzles/gemelo/article/gemelo-key

Across: 1 PULPIT - IT, 4 (HAS WISED)*, 11 AIR in HEEL, 13 (NOT CA)<, 14 (EXP LICIT) after IN, 15 dd, 16 KENT CAPE - CAP, 17 O GEMELO around N N, 20 PRESSED with AG for S, 22 TORN* around E GEN, 26 ANTARA in TRA(d), 28 VR around (A LO), 30 (v)AGAR(y), 31 IC(e) after (PER ARCHITECT

Down: 1 (HR PRO GAVE OUT)*, 2 LET around INN, 3 dd, 5 (T PEW)<, 6 ((k) ELL(y) in ELA)<, 7 (KI(t) in OA D(rummer))<, 8 dd, 9 TIES after (s)HOT(s), 10 (AND I SIN CRIME)*, 12 EXE (da)M PT, 18 ARRAN(t)< TO R, 19 ADOS< POP, 21 S NATCH, 23 NUTMEG*, 24 V AGILE &lit, 25 (IE around MEL)<, 27 POLARISE - POL, 29 PIKE cycling.

Rules and requests

To enter the Gemelo prize draw, submit a correct solution either online at: https://observer.co.uk/puzzles, via email to competitions@observer.co.uk or by post to: Gemelo No. 46, The Observer, 22 Berners Street, London W1T 3LP

Email entries must include the crossword name and number in the subject line as it appears in print (e.g. “Gemelo No. 46”). Entries without the correct subject will not be accepted. Paperless entry encouraged. UK residents 18+ only. Max one entry per person. Closing date is Saturday following publication for online entries, postal entries must be postmarked no later than the Saturday following publication and must reach us within ten days of publication of the puzzle (i.e. by Wednesday week following publication). Three randomly selected correct solutions will each win a £25 book token. Gemelo No. 46 winners to be announced Sunday 27 September 2026.

For full terms and conditions visit:

https://observer.co.uk/puzzles/everyman/article/crossword-prize-draws

Gemelo No. 43 prizewinners

P Jennings, Oxford

SA Leckie, Edinburgh

G McNaughton, Otley, West Yorks

Chess by Jonathan Speelman

Diagram 1

Can you guess the splendid idea Caruana and his silicon minions had prepared? (See the game.)

Last year, the Grand Chess Tour reverted to a format last used in 2019, with a knockout finale following the Sinquefield Cup. It was held a month later in São Paulo with Fabiano Caruana beating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the final.

This year they've kept it in the family, with the finale remaining in St Louis Missouri, just a few days after the Sinquefield Cup.

The regular tour had ended with Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa first ahead of Wesley So, Caruana and Vincent Keymer and so the semis featured Pragg v Keymer and the two Americans in the other.

There's a fashion nowadays for complicated tournament formats and the matches comprised all of classical chess, rapidplay and blitz scored as (6,3,0) for win/draw/loss, (4.2,0) and (2,1,0) respectively.

Pragg won easily against Keymer and Caruana was also convincing against So with the final and third/fourth matches continuing until Thursday – we'll look at the final outcome next week

I thought that the most interesting game in the semifinals was one of the draws. It's over a century now since Frank Marshall unleashed his gambit in the Ruy Lopez against José Raoul Capablanca in New York 1918. According to legend, Marshall had saved the novelty for eight years to use against Capa who famously accepted it with his eyes wide open and managed to win. Nevertheless the gambit (1e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0–0 Be7 6 Re1 b5 7 Bb3 0–0 8 c3 d5!? ) became one of the main lines up to this day.

Opening novelties have a much shorter life nowadays and are indeed often for use once only since they will be seen live on the net and analysed to death within hours. Caruana with the help of his aides human and computer had found a splendid idea (see diagram 1) even if our silicon overlords aren't greatly impressed. He gained a big advantage and at least didn't lose though it fizzled out in the end.

Fabiano Caruana v Wesley So

GCT Finals 2026 (classical game 2) Ruy Lopez

1e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 Nf6 4 0-0

sacrifice is pretty unusual compared to Bxc6 and dxe5 Nxb5 a4. 6...exd4 6...e4 7 Ne5 Be7 8 Nc3 0–0 9 Re1 Is the main alternative. 7 c3 Be7! 7...dxc3 8 Nxc3 loses too much time. 8 cxd4 0–0 9 Nc3 Nc4 10 d5 White must act before Black can stabilise matters with d5. 10...N6e5 11 Bc2 d6 12 Nxe5 Nxe5 13 f4 Nd7 See diagram 1. 14 g4! To emphasise that he'd caught So, Caruana played this instantly. 14...c6 The computer continues nonchalantly 14...Re8 15 Qd3 g6 16 f5 b6 and is perfectly happy but it's very far from obvious that White doesn't have a massive attack. 15 g5 Nb6 16 h4 f5?! Blocking the enemy pawn's advance but leaving himself very cramped. 16...

Nxd5 17 Nxd5 cxd5 18 f5 Qb6+ 19 Kg2 Bd8 20 f6 g6 21h5 Be6 22 hxg6 fxg6! Is apparently about equal. 17 a4 Bd7 18 Re1 Rc8 19 a5 Nxd5 20 Nxd5 cxd5 21 Be3

Diagram 2

21...a6?! This gives White time to establish control and his bishop a great square. 21...d4 22 Bxd4 d5 23 Bxa7 Be8 24 Bb3 Bf7 25 Qd4 was within bounds. 22 Bb3 Bc6 23 Bxd5+ Kh8 24 Bb6 Qe8 25 Bxc6 Rxc6 26 Qe2 Rf7 27 Rac1 Missing his chance. 27 h5 d5 28 Rad1 would have established almost total control. Perhaps he was worried about 27 h5Qc8 28 g6 Rc2 but 29 Qxc2 Qxc2 30 gxf7 is winning since after Qb3 31 Rxe7 Qg3+ 32 Kf1 with the bishop ready to come back to f2 there is no perpetual check. 27...d5 28 h5 Kg8 29 Kg2 Qd7 30 Rxc6 Qxc6 31 Qe6 Qxe6 32 Rxe6 Bb4

Diagram 3

White still has pressure but with accurate defence So held pretty comfortably. 33 Re8+ Rf8 34 Re5 Kf7! 35 Rxd5 Ke6 36 Re5+ Kd7 37 Bc5 Deciding to liquidate to a rook ending but it is readily defensible. 37 Bxc5 38 Rxc5 Kd6 39 b4 g6 40 h6 Re8 41 Kf3 Kd7 42 Rd5+ Kc6 43 Rd3 Kc7 44 Re3 Rxe3+ 45 Kxe3 Kc6 46 Kd4 Kd6 47 Kc4 Kc6 48 Kd4 White can also play b5+ if he wants but it doesn't help 48...axb5+ 49 Kb4 Kd6 50 Kxb5 Kd7 51 Kc5 Kc7 etc.

Diagram 4

48...Kd6 49 Kc4 Kc6 50 Kd4 And they agreed the draw.

Caruana (to play) v Wesley So

2 Fabiano Caruana v Wesley So (to play)

3 Fabiano Caruana (to play) v Wesley So

4 Fabiano Caruana v Wesley So (to play)

Puzzles

Lexipedia Quiz: on tabletop games by Joshua Blackburn

1. Which game is the origin of the word "gambit"?
   A) Draughts
   B) Chess
   C) Dominoes
   D) The Game of Life

2. What are meeples?
   A) Domino tiles
   B) The dots on the side of a die
   C) Small, people-shaped wooden figures
   D) The discs used in tiddlywinks

3. Which word game was initially called Lexiko?
   A) Boggle
   B) Scrabble
   C) Bananagrams
   D) Wordle

4. What is believed to be the oldest known tabletop game?
   A) Mancala
   B) Go
   C) Backgammon
   D) Senet

5. Checkmate in chess comes from an Arabic word meaning what?
   A) The king is dead
   B) Broken sword
   C) The final strike
   D) Victory

6.What does mahjong, the name of the Chinese game, mean? A) Great palace B) Roof-maker C) Whole hand D) Sparrows

Lucky dip bonus question 7. From which trade do we get the words "cliche" and "stereotype"? A) Baking B) Weaving C) Printing D) Carpentry

A word about... Chess slang

Chess, once known as the “royal game”, belongs to everybody now, particularly since its explosion during Covid. I’m a poor player myself, just a witless woodpusher, but I love the slang that accompanies the game.

Take the openings: maybe you've heard of the Spanish Opening or Queen's Gambit, but how about the Fried Liver Attack, the Double Duck Formation or the Pork Chop? I particularly like the Bongcloud Attack, in which the king is the second piece moved. It's a knowingly bad strategy that's only attempted by someone who's showboating how good they are.

A fish like me is wont to play the Botez Gambit, online slang for a dumb move that'll lose you your queen. And from fish we get the fish fry – low-level tournaments good for novice players – and the fishy line, a poorly considered opening. In fact, there are many words for bad players, such as duffer, pawn grubber and the memorable patzer. A player you keep beating is a rabbit, and if you beat them enough times, it's said that you have adopted them.

There are fewer slang terms for good players, presumably because it's more fun to mock bad play – and even the compliments carry a sting. Coffeehouse players know their way around a board, but play an aggressive, risky game, full of cheapo tricks that wouldn't fool a pro. And sharks, while good, are more interested in stalking weak prey for easy wins. Regardless, they know how to place an octopus knight – a centrally placed knight that controls all eight of the squares it could attack – and how to wield the blind pigs – two rooks positioned to cause carnage on the opponent's pawn row – on their way to the blind swine mate, in which the rooks deliver the death blow. And that, my friend, is game over.

Joshua Blackburn is the author of The Language-Lover's Lexipedia (Bloomsbury, £14.99). Order for £13.49 from observershop.co.uk. Delivery charges may apply

Goldilocks SOLUTION No.39

$^1$ S	$^2$ L	$^3$ O	$^4$ G		$^5$ U	$^6$ S	$^7$ E	$^8$ S
$^9$ P	A	R	R		$^{10}$ T	O	G	A
$^{11}$ E	S	S	O		$^{12}$ I	D	O	L
$^{13}$ C	H	O	C	$^{14}$ O	L	A	T	E
			$^{15}$ E	L	I
$^{16}$ S	$^{17}$ E	$^{18}$ C	R	E	T	$^{19}$ I	$^{20}$ V	$^{21}$ E
$^{22}$ H	A	R	I		$^{23}$ I	D	E	A
$^{24}$ I	S	E	E		$^{25}$ E	L	I	S
$^{26}$ P	E	W	S		$^{27}$ S	E	N	T

Scan to subscribe to The Puzzle Edit – the weekly newsletter from puzzles editor Caitlin O'Kane

Goldilocks crossword No.40

Not too hard. Not too easy. Just right.

Goldilocks clues exclude enumerations; in a mid-sized crossword, they only make an already compact puzzle more straightforward. The enjoyment lies in lateral thinking, grid observations, and the distinctly modern British vernacular. Play the Goldilocks archive online by subscribing at observer.co.uk

Across

1 Made a mistake

6 Text protocol (abbr.)

9 Emma Mackey in Sex Education

10 First word in many rap monikers

11 Speaking in line with the party, say

13 Oasis and Blur genre

14 Unit of land

16 The "A" in VAR, for short

17 It might write your essay and invent the sources

19 __monster (Jurgen Klopp neologism)

24 _ Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Down

1 Funeral for a Friend genre

25 Off kilter

23 Milk, in Madrid

22 Cease

2 Fled

3 Artist with an eponymous Amsterdam museum

8 Rested in bed

7 Bad and Boujee trio

6 Like some comedy

4 BAFTA nominee Rupert

12 Alternatives to paper clips

14 They're the tops!

5 Of the homeland, South Asian style

15 Karate Kid 2010 villain

18 Masquerade, e.g.

20 Definite article

21 Wood used in archery

Big Apple Sudoku by Godefridus

Every row, column, and $3 \times 3$ box must contain the digits 1-9, plus an extra twist - the four highlighted $3 \times 3$ blue squares together form an additional set of boxes, which must also include 1-9 with no repeats

7. C. Printing “Claithie” and “stereotype” Both come from French terms used in the printing trade. Indeed, a stereotype is literally a process themselves.

8. A The King is Dead (Chicincts derive from Arabic sham met, first from Persian, keenly transating as “the king has been concourable”, “Iva fokik etymology, this became ‘the king is clear’ and ‘entired english via the French escetic meet’. 6) Sporrows MLing of the title and a title-like game invested in China in China in the 19th century. The name means “sporrows”, which is either reference to the cicling sounds of the title as they are played, reminiscent of the chatter of the birds, or the original design of the 6). Sporrows MLing is a title-like game invested in China in China in the 19th century. The name means “sporrows”, which is either reference to the cicling sounds of the title as they are played, reminiscent of the chatter of the birds, or the original design of the 6).

9. B. Scabable Invested in 1938 by Alfred Moher Butts, with originally called Lexiko. It was then changed to Crisis. Crosworks, before being renamed Scarable by James Broutt, who bought the rights to manufacture the game in 1948.

10. (D.) Sent This is acknowledged to be the oldest known board game, with what appears to be fragments of sent sets buried with

11. Csi Small people-shaped wooden figures Meeples are the small wooden figures used as playing pieces in certain board games. The Nobilissimo Gluco degli Scachli. Nobilissimo Gluco degli Scachli.

12. (B.) Chess “Gambit” was originally a chess term for a calculated sequence of moves designed to gain an advantage. The world is first cited in “The Royal Game of Chess-Play, a 1656 English translation by Francis Brace of Gothic grocs, traciteo del”. Chinese “Gambit” was originally a chess term for a calculated sequence of moves designed to gain an advantage. The world is first cited in “The Royal Game of Chess-Play, a 1656 English translation by Francis Brace of Gothic grocs, traciteo del”.

Staying in Audio

Life is but a fever dream

A rigorous investigation into the fantasist who claimed to be a serial killer expert raises questions about fact-checking in the publishing world. Plus, how to avoid QR scammers

Miranda Sawyer

The Mindhunter BBC Studios for Audible Scam Secrets BBC Radio 4 Jo Whiley BBC Radio 2/BBC Sounds

In 2019, Robin Perrie's wife bought him tickets to a show. The speaker was Paul Harrison, a former criminal profiler for the UK police who'd also worked with the FBI. Harrison was promoting his book, Mind Games, about serial killers. A charismatic speaker, Harrison regaled the audience with his dark encounters with the Yorkshire Ripper, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer and Charles Manson (pictured). Everyone loved it.

Everyone, that is, except Perrie. A Sun journalist, he smelled a rat. He went home, did some research and discovered some very odd facts about Harrison. The oddest of which was that Harrison was dead.

Intriguing, right? And, in The Mindhunter, the dogged, amusing investigative journalist Francisco Garcia (who is also an Observer writer) works hard to keep us intrigued. In six episodes, he and producer Brenna Daldorph carry out a deep dive on Harrison and his work – following leads, checking

facts – and quickly discover not only that Harrison is alive (he faked his own death to get out of a copyright court case) but that he also isn't quite the expert he claims to be. Gradually, they connect various different versions of Harrison, who has claimed expertise in several separate areas, from Leeds United to the Loch Ness Monster.

Garcia and Daldorph, both lovely companions, put in the legwork, including spending time on the remote island of Sanday, off Orkney. Still, towards the end of this entertaining series, someone voices the question I asked myself throughout. Is Harrison, this small-time nonsense-peddler, really worth all their efforts to debunk him? And I have other questions, such as why doesn't the publishing industry invest in fact-checkers for non-fiction books? From Mind Games to The Salt Path, it seems that any chancer with a big imagination can sell a fever dream as a true story

these days. Surely the first question an editor should ask is: does this story stand up?

Shows about scammers being brought to justice – the schaden-fraud subset of true crime – teach us, the listeners, to beware anyone with big charisma and something to sell. Enter Scam Secrets, on Radio 4, which attempts to stop us becoming victims. Hosted by fraud investigator Shari Vahl, with criminologist Dr Elisabeth Carter and ex-criminal Alex Wood – which is, I would say, one too many hosts – the programme is like an up-to-date You and Yours, each show studded with emails from listeners who've been scammed.

This week was about QR codes. Vahl wondered if her co-hosts knew what QR stands for. Carter and Wood did not (me neither). Quick Response, apparently: QR codes are superfast barcodes that jump you straight to where you need to be. Or, at least, straight to where the seller needs you to be. Recently, QR codes have been appearing on parking meters, stuck on by hand, appearing to be a legitimate payment method, and quite a few listeners have been scammed. One guy who said he

dropped out halfway through the process still found himself with a £60 direct debit, not set up

by him. Other dodgy deals came out of people using QR codes to buy a book, print off photographs, or clicking on them in an email. Modern life really is rubbish, isn't it?

On Tuesday, Dolly Parton died and the world was devastated. Music radio is the best place to be at such times and Jo Whiley, who heard the news just before she went on air, wove her throughout her evening Radio 2 show with warmth and love. Listener emails spoke of Dolly's impact on their lives. "There's a lot of people mentioning listening to Dolly in the car or the kitchen," said Whiley. Dolly, though a career woman, always retained an air of homeliness. A domestic goddess as well as a superstar. If you want to find out more about her, BBC Sounds has put up much to enjoy, including her 2014 Glastonbury set; Greatest Hits Radio was a lovely Dolly friend on Wednesday – Ken Bruce especially; and if there's anyone out there who hasn't listened to the exemplary WNYC series, Dolly Parton's America, then dive in. You will love it.

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Television

The week's highlights

By Craig McLean, Kay Ribeiro and Stephen Armstrong Films by Jonathan Romney

Today

Pick of the Day Vigil

BBC One, 9pm

After murder aboard a navy submarine, then conspiracy surrounding squaddies killed by an RAF drone, the third series of the plotty, cops-meet-military thriller takes detectives Suranne Jones and Rose Leslie to an Arctic research base. The life and professional partners investigate the death of a British special forces soldier on a covert mission, killed in a firefight with Russians. A missing Chinese scientist and armed environmental activists in Glasgow add to the geopolitical, eco-thriller high stakes. CMc

Hamza: African Birds of Prey BBC One, 7pm

Wildlife cameraman Hamza Yassin is in raptures about raptors for much of this documentary, and it's easy to see why. Each area of Kenya reveals different spectacular birds of prey, from majestic young martial eagles and shy, mesmerising scops owls to the statuesque secretary birds with their delightful crests, dinosaur-like calls and killer kicks. KR

Trigger Point

ITV1, 9pm

The clock is ticking for explosives officer Lana Washington (Vicky McClure) and her team, who must prevent an IED-laden lorry from reaching its east London destination. With an ominous drone tracking the vehicle's movements, and new commander Nia Quentin (no-nonsense Julie Graham) issuing orders, it's a thrilling start to the fourth series. KR

Film

The Godfather

(Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)

BBC Two, 10pm

An enduring American classic, for better or worse. “The film has worked for over 50 years because its violence and revenge seem healing and understanding; and because every execution is shot and cut like a perfect dream task,” writes critic David Thomson in his new book A Sudden Flicker of Light, as he wonders whether our fascination with the murderous Corleone clan hasn’t perhaps had a noxious effect on our imaginations. Ponder that as the whole trilogy unspools on BBC Two this week. Part II (1974), arguably the richest, most satisfying, most complex chapter, screens tomorrow at 10.30pm, with 1990’s belated coda, the widely reviled but no less watchable Part III, showing on Tuesday at 11.05pm. JR

Monday

Pick of the Bay Tea With Judi Dench Featuring Sir Ian McKellen Sky Arts, 9pm

As golden tickets go, tea with Dame Judi Dench is up there. Only thespian pals are eligible, though, and Sir Ian McKellen has won, enjoying a meander down memory lane and a piece of parkin chez Dench. The affectionate duo delight in making each other laugh, reminiscing about their early performances and antics together, as well as sharing their struggles – Dench's blindness and McKellen's lasting regret. A total joy to witness; their enduring friendship and zest for life is inspiration for us all. KR

The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo BBC One, 8pm

Mildar y Tattoo BDC One, 8pm From its stronghold high on Edinburgh Castle battles, the annual display of musical and marching power lords it over – literally

– the city's concurrent Fringe, Book and Film Festivals. This year's theme is A Call to Gather, an international coalition of army bands and air force drill teams heeding the bugle. Narrated by Rebus star Richard Rankin. CMc

Fred's Ultimate Hotels

Channel 4, 8pm

The titular Fred is gimlet-eyed Monsieur Sirieix, who knows a thing or two about the hospitality industry. In this series, Fred checks into the world's most spectacular hotels, allowing viewers to enjoy the pomp and splendour without the eye-watering bill. First stop, the Royal Mansour in Marrakesh, fit for the king of Morocco who commissioned it. KR

Film

Carol

(Todd Haynes, 2015)

Film4, 11.30pm

After a series of variously experimental films, mercurial US auteur Todd Haynes explored more approachable territory with an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's 1952 novel The Price of Salt, about two women falling in love. Rooney Mara stars as a young photographer in thrall to the silky allure of an older married woman, played by Cate Blanchett. Like a sequel to Haynes's Far from Heaven (2002), which channelled the style of melodrama maestro Douglas Sirk, Carol replaces wry pastiche with a controlled emotional directness. The performances are superb, while Edward Lachman's photography, Judy Becker's production design and Sandy Powell's costumes fuel the 1950s atmospherics impeccably. JR

Tuesday

Pick of the Day The Game

5,9pm

Just when he thought he was out and his quarry was safely in prison... Picking up one year after series one, we meet Jason Watkins's retired detective recuperating from his wounds in the countryside and Robson Green's serial killer banged up for life. But it'll take more than His Majesty's Pleasure to stop the psychopath's game-playing pleasure. With Green acting brilliantly against form and Watkins as watchable as ever, this is a superior cat-and-rat thriller. CMc

SCTV

Netflix

Fifty years after it launched an eight-year run on Canadian TV, a welcome resurfacing for the comedy set in a fictional TV station. Writing/performing spot-on spoofs of the era's advertisements, soap operas and children's shows were a troupe of future superstars: John Candy, Eugene Levy, Rick Moranis, Martin Short and – drumroll please – Catherine O'Hara. CMc

The Jury: 14 and on Trial for Murder Channel 4, 9pm

The jurors find themselves divided in this restaging of the real-life trial of two brothers for the brutal killing of their stepfather. The boys' claims of loss of control and diminished responsibility are rejected by a staunch few, while others argue their age (the youngest was 14) and provocation are mitigating factors. As tension mounts, the tide turns suddenly. KR

Film

Hamnet

(Chloé Zhao, 2025)

Sky Cinema Premiere, 12.05pm & 11.40pm The big art house hit of the last year, with awards and nominations up the Avon, and Jessie Buckley winning best actress at the Oscars and Baftas. Adapted from the novel by Maggie O'Farrell, it's a curious sidestep into heritage classicism from Chloé Zhao, director of Nomadland. It tells the secret story behind Hamlet, through the experience of Shakespeare's wife, here called Agnes, who contends with grief and the stresses of domesticity while Will (Paul Mescal) is off pursuing his theatrical ambitions. The emotiveness is through the roof, and it has its absurdities (that "To be or not to be..." moment). But for bold execution and Buckley's performance, it's certainly arresting. JR

Wednesday

Pick of the Day

9/11: Days That Shocked the

World Channel 4, 10pm & 11pm A two-part, no-frills doc – because no frills are required. Via archive footage and talking-head interviews, Americans and Brits offer first-hand accounts of the morning, 25 years ago, when the US's darkest day and history's worst terrorist attack emerged – as one South Tower escapee puts it – from an “impossible blue sky”. Survivors and the bereaved, civilians and the military take us right back there. Especially chilling: the brief, seemingly accidental audio of the hijackers. CMc

Stolen Babies

BBC Two, 9pm

"A machine that gathered vulnerable young women and left us broken." "State-sanctioned human-rights abuse on a massive scale." These and other testimonies speaking to the trauma of 250,000 unmarried mothers who, between 1949 and 1976, had their babies forcibly removed for adoption. They may finally have a voice, but many still don't have their children. CMc

The Airport Chaplain Netflix

This bustling eight-part Australian dramedy stars Hugo Weaving as a runway reverend whose pastoral care encompasses smugglers, dead passengers, support dogs and missing cuddly toys. But new terminal manager Mira (Shabana Azeez) has a short-haul view of his usefulness. And you thought your airport experience this summer was stressful. CMc

Film

My Man Godfrey

(Gregory La Cava, 1936)

Talking Pictures TV, 9am

A screwball comedy of the drawing-room variety, chic but with a social conscience. Carole Lombard plays Cornelia, a spoiled socialite whose chums organise a scavenger hunt. Her mission is to find a “forgotten man”, one of the multitudes socially excluded by the Great Depression. A certain Godfrey fits the bill, and ends up becoming the family butler. Making comic champagne from the same bitter economic dregs as Preston Sturges’s Sullivan’s Travels (1941), the film isn’t quite as socially challenging as it initially seems – Godfrey is played by William Powell, synonymous with insouciant elegance as Nick Charles in 1934’s The Thin Man. Thirties Hollywood at its most joyous and pristine. JR

Thursday

Pick of the Day Taskmaster

Channel 4, 9pm

By series 22, you might worry Alex Horne's well of amusingly barmy tasks would run dry, but thankfully not. The left-field genius has the new intake – Richard Ayoade, Matt Lucas, Isy Suttie, Chloe Petts and Nina Conti – hunting golden apples while cuffed to him, monosyllabically moving beds, and performing duets about themselves with themselves. Horne and host Greg Davies haven't taken account of Ayoade, though. Like an obstructive smart kid at school, he exploits every loophole. Excellent. KR

The Gentlemen

Netflix

No Meghan Markle, not yet (maybe not ever). But the duchess-not-duchess would fit right into Guy Ritchie's trademark larky/brutal caper about a landed aristo (Theo James) running a marijuana-growing empire. This second series introduces Hugh Bonneville as a libidinous lord and Maya Jama as a [checks notes] Middle East envoy. CMc

Sandi's Ireland: A Literary Journey More4, 9pm

No stately, plump Buck Mulligan coming from the stairhead, not in episode one of this two-part travelogue anyway. But Sandi Toksvig, aided by Marian Keyes, does a grand job of conjuring Ireland's rich literary heritage. Travelling the isle, she brings to evocative life Jonathan Swift, WB Yeats and “forgotten giant” Maria Edgeworth. CMc

Film

The Italian Job

(Peter Collinson, 1969)

BBC Four, 8pm

One of Michael Caine's most popular films, and arguably the most beloved of British thrillers, this also boasts a big-screen writer credit for Troy Kennedy Martin, famous for his epoch-making TV work (Z-Cars, The Sweeney, Edge of Darkness). Some of its attitudes, both sexual and patriotic, look very crusty now, which only makes it more definitive a 1960s genre case study. Caine blows the doors off as Charlie Croker, fresh out of prison and targeting a truckload of bullion. The eccentric casting includes Benny Hill as a computer wizard, once inescapably trendy TV host Simon Dee as a gentlemen's outfitter, and Noël Coward, of all people, as the crime boss. And talk about cliffhanger endings... JR

Friday

Pick of the Day

Diabolical: The Epstein Files Quest Red, 9pm

A thorough investigation into the sex trafficking operations and downfall of Jeffrey Epstein from reporter Grace Tobin. Notable experts offer their insights into the global scandal, encompassing a royal, the rich and the famous. What makes it so watchable are the testimonies of various courageous women, be they survivors or the journalists who held Epstein and co to account, and the Republicans who defied their party and president to demand the release of the damning files. KR

Gogglebox

Channel 4, 9pm

Actors and execs alike love having their shows featured on Gogglebox – now on its 28th series – such is the power and influence of the nation’s favourite armchair critics over our TV viewing habits. Armed with a fine selection of snacks and drinks, the contributors offer their hilarious hot takes and reactions to the week’s telly. KR

Live from the Lycett Arms

Channel 4, 10pm

Joe Lycett is in his pub landlord era, albeit vastly different from Al Murray's publican, and one who, jammily, only works Fridays. Each week, Lycett welcomes a different celebrity manager to run his pop-up east London boozer, plus a comedian to entertain the starry punters. Broadcast live, it promises to be fun, anarchic and a source of some regret. KR

Film

Harvest

(Athina Rachel Tsangari, 2024) BBC Two, 11.05pm

Athina Rachel Tsangari made her name as a mainstay of Greece's Weird Wave, as producer to Yorgos Lanthimos and director of furiously idiosyncratic features Attenberg and Chevalier. She explores altogether different territory in this adaptation of Jim Crace's 2013 historical novel, about a rural community dismantled by a ruthless landowner. While the book is set in a version of 16th or 17th-century England, Tsangari uses sets, costumes and language to create an anachronistic world less rooted in the real than in myth and ritual. Caleb Landry Jones, Harry Melling, Rosy McEwen and Frank Dillane are among those caught up in a carnivalesque, elemental swirl of madness, violence and ruin. JR

Saturday

Pick of the Day Casualty

BBC One, 8pm & 8.50pm

The world's longest-running medical drama turns 40 and this double-bill special is carnage. Literally. A major explosion at St James' Hospital sends Holby City into meltdown, as it becomes flooded with critical patients, firearms officers and random looters. An embattled Dylan, dealing with his own personal tragedy, struggles to cope, while Flynn and Stevie stare death in the face. Featuring bells, whistles and blaring sirens, the scale, stunts and performances are spectacular. KR

Celebrating Disney at the Proms: The Music of Menken BBC Two, 5.30pm That'll be Alan Menken – the 77-year-old octuple Oscar winner who has composed the scores for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Enchanted and Tangled, among others. An appropriately early broadcast so that all little princesses and princes can wish upon his musical star. CMc

Queen Night

BBC Two, from 9pm

Bending the knee to mark what would have been Freddie Mercury's 80th birthday, an evening of royally great rock music. Queen at the BBC is followed by The Legendary 1975 Concert (10pm), valedictory 2021 documentary Freddie Mercury: The Final Act (11.05pm) and, finally, A Life in Ten Pictures (12.35am) for the great showman. Bismillah! CMc

Film

Evil Does Not Exist

(Ryusuke Hamaguchi, 2023) BBC Two, 1.35am

This is perhaps the simplest and the most enigmatic film from one of the frontrunners of new Japanese cinema, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, director of Drive My Car and Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy. At once culture-clash drama, comedy of manners and elliptical eco-political baffler, it's set in a rural community where two reps arrive to tout a proposal for a glamping site. Facing scepticism, they recruit a local man, Takumi (Hitoshi Omika), as their caretaker, but his warnings about being conscious of nature presage a strange turn of events. Cast with nonprofessionals, this is a film that at no point goes where you expect. Eiko Ishibashi, who scored Drive My Car and released last year's superb album Antigone, provides the music. JR

TV streaming

Picks of the Week

The Grand Tour (Prime Video, Friday) faces the same problem the BBC struggled with when Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May previously departed Top Gear. Any newcomers had to wheel spin from 0-60 in 20 minutes of the first episode before the internet decided they were rubbish. Chris Evans and Matt Le Blanc simply couldn't cut it. Amazon's choice – James Engelsman, Thomas Holland and Francis Bourgeois – sort of do. They've come from the socials: YouTube car review channel Throttle House for Engelsman and Holland; TikTok for trainspotter Bourgeois. Having worked together for years, the friendship is real. They also have millions of followers to shelter them. Crucially, producer Andy Wilman, who devises the insane challenges, remains in charge. (Season one's include sneaking undetected across Colorado in a trio of Japanese microcars.) Holland, Engelsman and Bourgeois bring a fresh delight, reminiscent of the early Top Gear episodes, where shooting would dissolve into presenters laughing helplessly as their stupid plans came undone. Episode one sees a handover from Clarkson, Hammond and May, who already feel like the past. Watching the newcomers flounder around racetracks, scream with delight at some spectacular torque and try to assemble some useless boats feels like the future. Let's hope they can keep it up and avoid any nasty accidents.

Much the same could be said of Lanterns (HBO Max), although the accidents are way more catastrophic. DC has always made their superhero shows a bit darker than Marvel, as Damon Lindelof's edgy Klan-based Watchmen proved in 2019. Lindelof also co-created this series, but it has been slow going so far, as Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler), a grizzled adventurer near burnout, trains newbie John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) as a backup Green Lantern. With a certain amount of friction existing between the men, Jordan drags Stewart to Nebraska to investigate a murder he believes has extraterrestrial dimensions. Episode two introduced the villain, the shapeshifting Manhunter. And in tonight's episode, we start to get the backstory – always a risky move. Three episodes in, the feeling remains that this is a good show that still hasn't quite found its feet. SA

Greenhorn: Aaron Pierre as John Stewart in Lanterns. Warner Bros

Today's television

BBC Two

BBC One

6.0 Breakfast (T) 8.50 Match of the Day (T) (R) 10.0 Prayer and Reflection (T) (R) 10.30 Sunday Morning Live (T) 11.30 Money for Nothing (T) (R) 12.15 Bargain Hunt (T) (R) 1.0 News (T) 1.10 Weather for the Week (T) 1.15 Songs of Praise (T) 1.50 FILM The Croods 2: A New Age (2020) (T) 3.15 Zog (T) (R) 3.35 Planet Earth III: Wonders of Nature (T) (R) 4.35 Homes Under the Hammer (T) (R) 5.35 News (T) 6.0 Countryfile (T) 7.0 Hamza: African Birds of Prey (T) Documentary.

8.0 Antiques Roadshow (T) (R) Fiona Bruce presents the show from Wollaton Hall in Nottingham.

9.0 Vigil (T) New series. Silva and Longacre investigate the murder of a British citizen in the Arctic and become caught in an escalating political situation.

10.0 News (T) 10.25 Regional News (T) Weather 10.30 Match of the Day (T) 11.40 Chase & Status @ Reading Festival 2026 (T) The duo headlines the final day. 1.00 Weather (T) 1.05 News (T)

6.30 A to Z of TV Gardening (T) (R) 7.15 Glorious Gardens from Above (T) (R) 8.0 Countryfile (T) (R) 9.0 Best of Weatherman Walking (T) 9.30 Beechgrove Garden (T) 10.0 Saturday Kitchen Best Bites (T) 11.30 Caribbean Food Made Easy (T) (R) 12.0 FILM Ben-Hur (William Wyler, 1959) (T) 3.25 The Big Deal with Steph McGovern (T) (R) 4.25 Fake or Fortune: What Happened Next? (T) (R) 5.25 FILM The Italian Job (Peter Collinson, 1969) (T) 7.0 Today at the Test (T)

8.0 Pilgrimage: The Road Through the Alps (T) (R) Celebrities undertake a journey through the Austrian and Swiss Alps.

9.0 Rob and Rylan's Passage to India (T) (R) Rob Rinder and Rylan Clark embark on a journey around India to discover its art.

10.0 FILM The Godfather (1972) (T) Epic crime drama.

12.50 Saving Lives at Sea (T) (R) 1.50 Sign Zone: Murder Trial: Death of a Dog Walker (R) 2.50 Sign Zone: Buried with Michael Sheen (T) (R)

ITV1

6.0 The Voice UK (T) (R) 7.0 James Martin's Saturday Morning (T) (R) 9.25 News (T) 9.30 Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh (T) (R) 11.25 The Joy of Pets (T) 12.30 Gary Barlow's Food and Wine Tour: New Zealand (T) 1.0 News (T) 1.15 ITV Racing: Live from Goodwood (T) 4.0 Celebrity Lingo (T) (R) 4.30 FILM Jurassic World (Colin Trevorrow, 2015) (T) 6.35 News (T) Weather 6.45 Local News (T) Weather 7.0 Force of Nature (T) Last in series.

8.0 Emmerdale (T) DS Ramsden is suspicious. 8.30 Coronation Street (T) Nina bids an emotional farewell to her friends.

9.0 Trigger Point (T) Return of the thriller, starring Vicky McClure and Maisie Ayres. Lana and her team track a suspicious lorry.

10.0 News (T) Weather 10.15 Unbelievable Moments Caught on Camera (T) (R)

11.10 Trigger Point (T) (R) 12.10 Shop on TV 3.0 The Rainmaker (T) (R) 3.50 Unwind with ITV (T)

Channel 4

6.20 Cheers (T) (R) 7.15 Everybody Loves Raymond (T) (R) 8.30 Frasier (T) (R) 10.0 Sunday Brunch (T) 1.0 The Simpsons (T) (R) 2.25 Our Farm Next Door: Amanda, Clive and Kids (T) (R) 3.30 FILM The Bridge on the River Kwai (David Lean, 1957) (T) Oscar-winning Second World War drama starring Alec Guinness. 6.35 News (T) 7.0 Gogglebox (T) Compilation of highlights from series 27, in which the Goggleboxers check out more of the biggest and best TV.

8.0 Richard E Grant's Very Modern Odyssey (T) On Corfu, Richard learns about the Greek island's past. Last in the series. 9.0 24 Hours in Police Custody: The Ambush (T) Part one of two. The case of a teenager left critically injured on the roadside.

10.15 Love Cheats (T) New series. 11.15 Gogglebox (T) (R) 12.15 FILM Three Thousand Years of Longing (George Miller, 2022) (T) 2.0 Kitchen Nightmares USA (T) (R) 2.50 The Simpsons (T) (R)

5

6.0 Milkshake! 9.05 Entertainment News (T) 9.15 Bargain-Loving Brits in the Sun (T) (R) 9.40 Super Dogs with Extraordinary Jobs (T) (R) 10.35 Super Dogs with Extraordinary Jobs (T) (R) 11.35 FILM Clifford the Big Red Dog (2021) (T) 1.40 Cruising the Islands of the Med with Jane McDonald (T) (R) 3.30 The Great Flood of 1968 (T) (R) 5.0 Britain's Favourite Ads of the 70s & 80s (T) (R) A 6.50 News (T) 7.0 Cycling: Vuelta a España 2026 (T) Stage nine action.

8.0 Inside the Four Seasons: Park Lane (T) Clients request an early-morning hotel tour. Last in the series.

9.0 Rich House, Poor House (T) (R) A wealthy couple who own a manor house and wedding venue swap with a single mother of two living in a small council flat.

Trigger Point, ITV1, 9pm Lana (Vicky McClure) must defuse a terror plot targeting London

10.0 The Most Embarrassing TV Moments (T) (R)

12.05 The Rise & Fall of John Leslie (R) 1.0 Cruise TV (R) 2.0 GPs: Behind Closed Doors (T) (R) 2.50 Friends (R) 3.20 Friends (T) (R)

BBC Four

7.0 The Golden Age of Canals (T) Documentary charting the changing face of Britain's canals after the Second World War, as enthusiasts fought to save the inland waterways from destruction.

8.0 Modern Classics at the Proms (T) Tom Service introduces the classics of tomorrow in a special compilation performed at the classical music festival. Featuring bold and brave compositions, illustrious orchestral pieces and more.

10.0 Dame Maureen Lipman Remembers – Absurd Person Singular (T) 10.15 Absurd Person Singular (T) 12.10 Alan Ayckbourn: The Levin Interviews (T) A talk with the playwright.

Monday 31

BBC One

6.0 Breakfast (T) 9.30 Morning Live (T) 10.45 Rip Off Britain: Rogues (T) 11.30 Homes Under the Hammer (T) (R) 12.15 Bargain Hunt (T) 1.0 News (T) Weather 1.20 Regional News (T) Weather 1.30 Money for Nothing (T) 2.15 The Travelling Auctioneers (T) (R) 2.45 Escape to the Country (T) (R) 3.45 Garden Rescue (T) 4.30 The Answer Run (T) (R) 5.15 Pointless (T) 6.0 News (T) 6.30 Celebrity Escape to the Country (T) (R) 7.30 EastEnders (T)

8.0 The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo (T) The annual spectacular from Edinburgh Castle. 9.0 Vigil (T) After the kidnap of a government minister, Amy starts connecting the dots between his policy and his abduction as she zeroes in on the kidnapper.

BBC Two

6.20 Beechgrove Garden (T) (R) 6.50 Sign Zone: Celebrity MasterChef (T) (R) 7.50 Match of the Day (T) (R) 9.0 News (T) 1.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R) 1.30 The Edge (T) (R) 2.15 Weatherman Walking (T) (R) 2.45 Animal Park Summer (T) (R) 3.30 Serengeti III (T) (R) 4.30 Vintage Antiques Roadshow (T) (R) 5.15 Flog It! (T) (R) 6.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R) 6.30 Great British Railway Journeys (T) (R) 7.0 Today at the Test (T)

8.0 Only Connect (T) The Creepy Crawleys take on the Risk Takers. 8.30 University Challenge (T) Quiz show. Birmingham takes on Leicester. 9.0 Surviving 9/11 (T) (R) The stories of 13 people caught up in the events of 11 September 2001.

10.30 FILM The Godfather Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974) (T) Oscar-winning drama sequel starring Al Pacino. 1.40 Sign Zone: Countryfile (T) (R) 2.35 Sign Zone: Emergency 24/7 (T) (R)

ITV1

6.0 Good Morning Britain (T) 10.0 This Morning (T) 1.45 News (T) Weather 1.50 Local News (T) Weather 2.0 Dickinson's Real Deal (T) (R) 3.0 Lingo (T) (R) 4.0 Deal or No Deal (T) (R) 5.0 Tipping Point (T) (R) Quiz, hosted by Ben Shephard. 6.0 Local News (T) Weather 6.10 News (T) Weather 6.30 The Chase Celebrity Special (T) (R) With Jayde Adams, Tony Cottee, Naughty Boy and the Vivienne. 7.30 Millionaire Hot Seat (T) New series. Return of the quiz show.

8.0 Emmerdale (T) Gabby is unable to cope.

8.30 Coronation Street (T) Todd is rocked to learn about Celeste's death. 9.0 Trigger Point (T) Lana and her team spring into action after the previous attack, with clues leading them to a boatyard.

10.0 News (T) Weather 10.20 FILM Superman Returns (Bryan Singer, 2006) (T).

12.50 Shop on TV 3.0 The Staircase (T) (R) 4.05 Unwind (T) 5.10 Dermot's Taste of Ireland (T) (R)

6.30 The King of Queens (T) (R) 7.45 Everybody Loves Raymond (T) (R) 9.10 Frasier (T) (R) 11.10 Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back (T) (R) 12.05 Find It, Fix It, Flog It (T) (R) 1.05 The Great House Giveaway (T) (R) 2.10 Countdown (T) 3.0 A Place in the Sun (T) (R) 4.0 The Great B&B Challenge (T) (R) 5.0 Chateau DIY (T) (R) 6.0 A New Life in the Sun: Where Are They Now? (T) New series. 7.0 News (T) 7.30 Love It or List It: Brilliant Builds (T) (R)

8.0 Fred's Ultimate Hotels (T) New series. Fred Sirieix meets the people behind the world's most spectacular hotels.

9.0 24 Hours in A&E (T) Documentary. Patient Emma has significant burns to her leg after spilling a kettle of boiling water.

10.0 Love Cheats (T) 11.05 The Murder Detective (R) 12.05 The Murder Detective (T) (R) 12.55 The Murder Detective (T) (R) 1.55 Secret Lives of Gypsy Wives (T) (R) Reality series.

5

6.0 Milkshake! 9.0 Entertainment News (T) 9.15 Jeremy Vine (T) 11.30 Storm & Alexis (T) 12.30 Live Snooker: British Open 2026 (T) Coverage of the afternoon session on day one. 5.30 Motorhoming with Merton & Webster (T) (R) Paul Merton and Suki Webster head to Snowdonia. 6.25 News (T) 6.30 Britain's Greatest Bridges (T) (R) The Britannia Bridge was built. 6.45 Live Snooker: British Open 2026 (T) Coverage of the evening session on day one.

8.0 Street Cops: Catching the Yobs (T) Officers try to find youths linked to a machete incident. Last in the series. 9.0 Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law (T) Investigators Joey, Ela and new recruit Weronika track a suspect believed to have avoided more than £1,400 in fares. 10.0 Police: Suspect No 1 (T) (R) 11.05 Traffic Cops (T) (R) 12.05 Motorway Cops: Catching Britain's Speeders (T) (R) 1.30 Cruise TV (T) (R) 2.30 GPs: Behind Closed Doors (T) (R) Documentary series.

Fred's Ultimate Hotels, Channel 4, 8pm Fred Sirieix visits the palatial Royal Mansour in Marrakesh

BBC Four

7.0 The Architecture the Railways Built (T) Tim Dunn visits Snowdon's summit station. 7.45 The Flying Gardener (T) Chris Beardshaw takes a helicopter ride to Kent, famed for its orchards. 8.0 Archaeology: A Secret History (T) How discoveries in the 18th and 19th centuries overturned previous beliefs. 9.0 Mastermind: 1977 (T) Specialist subjects include Dante Gabriel Rossetti. 9.30 Call My Bluff (T) With Anna Ford and Derek Jacobi. 10.0 Close to Vermeer (T) 11.20 Tutankhamun: The Truth Uncovered (T) 12.20 Nature and Us: A History Through Art (T) 1.20 The Flying Gardener (T) 1.35 Close to Vermeer (T)

6.0 Breakfast (T) 9.30 Morning Live (T)10.45 Rip Off Britain (T)11.30 Homes Under the Hammer (T) (R)12.15 Bargain Hunt (T) (R)1.0 News (T) Weather1.35 Regional News (T) Weather1.45 News (T) Weather2.0 Money for Nothing (T)2.45 Escape to the Country (T)(R)3.45 Garden Rescue (T)4.30 The Answer Run (T)(R)5.15 Pointless (T) With co-host Susan Wokoma.6.0 News (T) Weather6.30 Regional News (T) Weather7.0 The One Show (T)7.30 EastEnders (T)	6.30 Bargain Hunt (T) (R)7.15 Money for Nothing (T) (R)8.0 Sign Zone (T) (R)9.0 News (T)11.15 Politics Live (T)1.0 House of Games (T)(R)1.30 The Edge (T) (R)2.15 Weatherman Walking (T) (R)2.45 Animal Park (T) (R)3.30 Dogs in the Wild: Meet the Family (T)(R)4.30 Vintage Antiques Roadshow (T) (R)5.15 Flog It! (T) (R)6.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R)6.30 Great British Railway Journeys (T) (R)7.0 Celebrity Antiques Road Trip (T) (R)	6.0 Good Morning Britain (T)10.0 This Morning (T)1.30 News (T) Weather1.55 Local News (T)Weather2.0 Dickinson's Real Deal (T) (R)3.0 Deal or No Deal (T) (R)4.0 Tipping Point (T) (R)5.0 The Chase (T) (R)Olly, Michelle, Carl and Laura take on one of the ruthless Chasers.6.0 Local News (T) Weather6.30 News (T) Weather7.30 Millionaire Hot Seat (T) Jeremy Clarkson hosts the quiz show in which six hopefuls compete for the chance to win £1 million.	6.30 The King of Queens(T) (R)7.45 Everybody Loves Raymond (T) (R)9.10 Frasier (T) (R)11.10 Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back (T) (R)12.05 News (T)12.10 Find It, Fix It, Flog It (T) (R)1.10 The Great House Giveaway (T) (R)2.10 Countdown (T)3.0 A Place in the Sun (T) (R)4.0 The Great B&B Challenge (T) (R)5.0 Chateau DIY (T)(R)6.0 A New Life in the Sun: Where Are They Now?(T) Wet weather threatens to derail Caroline and Paul's new venture.7.0 News (T)	6.0 Milkshake! 9.05 Entertainment News on 5 (T)9.15 Jeremy Vine (T)11.30 Storm & Alexis (T)12.30 Live Snooker: British Open 2026 (T) Coverage of the afternoon session on day three.5.30 News (T)6.25 Car Pound Cops (T)(R) Officers use automatic number plate recognition on patrol.6.55 News (T)7.0 Cycling: Vuelta a España 2026 (T) Rebecca Charlton presents highlights of stage 11 of the race, a flat 151.3km route from Cartagena to Lorca.7.55 News (T)
8.0 The Repair Shop: Beyond the Barn (T) New series.The experts revisit people who have been reunited with cherished mementos.9.0 Celebrity MasterChef (T) Sue Cleaver, Melvin Odoom, Una Healy, Lauren Steadman and Max Fosh use a mystery ingredient.	8.0 Inside the Factory (T) (R)Paddy McGuinness visits the Lincoln factory where Quavers are made.9.0 Stolen Babies (T) The story of forced adoption and its lasting effects, looking at a practice sanctioned by administrations across the UK from 1949 until 1976.	8.0 Emmerdale (T) An arrival shocks the villagers.8.30 Coronation Street (T)Idris confronts Ronnie for stealing his car.9.0 Professor T (T) Maiya is working to get a spate of burglaries under control when a school inspector is found murdered at home.	8.0 Love It or List It: Brilliant Builds (T) A look back at seemingly unresolvable property problems faced by families in Hamilton and Milton Keynes.9.0 The Jury: 14 and on Trial for Murder (T) Fourteen-year-old defendant Daniel takes the stand.	8.0 Call the Bailiffs: Time to Pay Up (T) Agents pursue a company owing money deducted from a former employee's wages.9.0 The Game (T) Patrick intensifies his psychological assault on Huw and Margot when Jackie breaks into Margot's flat.	8.0 Rome: A History of the Eternal City (T) Simon Sebag Montefiore charts Rome's rise from the abandonment of the 14th century. Last in the series.9.0 Rome's Invisible City (T) Alexander Armstrong explores the city's underground treasures.
10.0 News (T)10.30 Regional News (T) Weather10.40 Reading Festival Highlights 2026 (T)11.40 The Hit List (T) (R)12.25 Weather for the Week Ahead (T)12.30 News (T)	10.30 Newsnight (T) Weather11.05 Couples Therapy (T)12.05 A House Through Time (T) (R)1.05 Sign Zone: Celebrity MasterChef (T)(R)2.05 Sign Zone: The Mother of All Cons (T) (R)	10.0 News (T) Local News10.45 WhatsApp Obsession (R)11.40 British Touring Car Championship (T) (R)12.55 Shop 3.0 Force of Nature (T) (R)3.55 Breaking Dad (T) (R)4.15 Unwind (T)	10.0 9/11: Days That Shocked the World (T)12.0 Helicopter Medics (T) (R)1.0 Kitchen Nightmares USA (T) (R)1.50 FILM Minari (Lee Isaac Chung, 2020)3.50 Sunday Brunch (T) (R)	10.0 A&E: Crash Scene Emergency (T) (R)11.0 Ambulance: Code Red (R)12.0 A&E After Dark (T) (R)12.55 Car Pound Cops (R)1.30 Cruise TV (T) (R)2.30 GPs: Behind Closed Doors	10.0 I, Claudius (T)11.45 The Australian Wars (T)12.45 Rome's Invisible City (T)1.45 Fred Dibnah's Building of Britain (T)2.15 Villages by the Sea (T)2.45 Rome: A History of the Eternal City

Tuesday 1

BBC One

BBC Two

ITV1

Channel 4

6.0 Breakfast (T) 9.30 Morning Live (T)10.45 Rip Off Britain: Scams (T)11.30 Homes Under the Hammer (T) (R)12.15 Bargain Hunt (T) (R)1.0 News (T) Weather1.35 Regional News (T) Weather1.45 News (T) Weather2.0 Money for Nothing (T)2.45 Escape to the Country (T) (R)3.45 Garden Rescue (T) (R)4.30 The Answer Run (T) (R)5.15 Pointless (T)6.0 News (T) Weather6.30 Regional News (T) Weather7.0 The One Show (T)7.30 EastEnders (T)	6.30 Bargain Hunt (T) (R)7.15 Money for Nothing (T) (R)8.0 Sign Zone: The Great British Sewing Bee (T) (R)9.0 News (T)12.15 Politics Live (T)1.0 House of Games (T) (R)1.30 The Edge (T) (R)2.15 Weatherman Walking (T) (R)2.45 Animal Park (T) (R)3.30 Serengeti III (T) (R)4.30 Vintage Antiques Roadshow (T) (R)5.10 Flog It! (T) (R)6.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R)6.30 Great British Railway Journeys (T) (R)7.0 Nigellissima (T) (R)7.30 Race Against the Tide (T)	6.0 Good Morning Britain (T)10.0 This Morning (T)1.30 News (T) Weather1.55 Local News (T) Weather2.0 Dickinson's Real Deal (T) (R)3.0 Deal or No Deal (T) (R)4.0 Tipping Point (T) (R)5.0 The Chase (T) (R)Bradley Walsh presents as Ruth from Redditch, Alex from Kettering, Lauren from Shenfield and Edwin from Belfast take on one of the ruthless Chasers.6.0 Local News (T) Weather6.30 News (T) Weather7.30 Millionaire Hot Seat (T) Hosted by Jeremy Clarkson.	6.30 The King of Queens (T) (R)7.45 Everybody Loves Raymond (T) (R)9.10 Frasier (T) (R)11.10 Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back (T) (R)12.05 News (T)12.10 Find It, Fix It, Flog It (T) (R)1.10 The Great House Giveaway (T) (R)2.10 Countdown (T)3.0 A Place in the Sun (T) (R)4.0 The Great B&B Challenge (T) (R)5.0 Chateau DIY (T) (R)6.0 A New Life in the Sun: Where Are They Now? (T) Lesley-Ann and Paul try something new in their garden.7.0 News (T)	6.0 Milkshake! 9.10 Entertainment News on 5 (T)9.15 Jeremy Vine (T)11.30 Storm & Alexis (T)12.30 Live Snooker: British Open 2026 (T) Coverage of the afternoon session on day two, held at the Centaur in Cheltenham, featuring second-round matches.5.30 News (T)6.25 Car Pound Cops (T) (R) Enforcement officers are cracking down on Blue Badge fraud.6.55 News (T)7.0 Cycling: Vuelta a España 2026 (T) Highlights of stage 10.7.55 News (T)	7.0 The Architecture the Railways Built (T) Tim Dunn visits the former HQ of London Underground.7.40 The Flying Gardener (T) Chris Beardshaw heads to Devon to help develop a spring woodland garden.
8.0 The Great British Sewing Bee (T) The sewers make outfits inspired by literary icons Sherlock Holmes, Matilda and Jane Austen.9.0 Celebrity MasterChef (T) Sue Cleaver, Melvin Odoom, Una Healy, Lauren Steadman and Max Fosh enter the kitchen.	8.0 Saving Lives at Sea (T) The Newbiggin crew race to the rescue of three children who have been swept out to sea on a small inflatable dinghy.9.0 Emergency 24/7 (T) A pensioner arrives with life-threatening burns after his shed explodes.	8.0 Emmerdale (T) Nicola has a breakthrough.8.30 Coronation Street (T) Todd carries out Celeste's final wishes, and Ronnie finds a way to pay his debt.9.0 The Sugar Daddy Murder: True Crime Presents (T) A look at the murder of Peter McMahon in 2012.	8.0 The Dog House (T) (R) Cockapoo twins Milo and Mable cause double trouble, and Floyd the lurcher arrives at Woodgreen in need of some serious TLC.9.0 The Jury: 14 and on Trial for Murder (T) New series. A dramatic restaging of a real-life murder trial.	8.0 Motorway Cops: Catching Britain's Speeders (T) PC Chris Bagnall hunts a car with cloned plates linked to a recent burglary.9.0 The Game (T) New series of the thriller, starring Jason Watkins. Huw's daughter receives letters from imprisoned killer Patrick.	8.0 To the Manor Born (T) DeVe neglects to invite Audrey to the hunt ball.8.30 Keeping Up Appearances (T) Comedy. Hyacinth agrees to meet a VIP.9.0 How the Celts Saved Britain (T) Tracing the footsteps of Ireland's earliest missionaries.
10.0 News (T)10.30 Regional News (T) Weather10.40 FILM Creed (Ryan Coogler, 2015) (T) Boxing drama starring Michael B Jordan.12.45 Weather for the Week Ahead (T)12.50 News (T)	10.0 Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing (T) (R)10.30 Newsnight (T) Weather11.05 FILM The Godfather Part III (Francis Coppola, 1990) (T)1.30 Captive Audience (T) (R)2.20 Celebrity MasterChef	10.0 News (T) Local News10.45 FILM Man of Steel (Zack Snyder, 2013) (T)1.0 Shop on TV 3.0 The Staircase (T)4.10 Unwind (T)5.10 Prue Leith's Cotswold Kitchen (T) (R)	10.0 9/11: 102 Minutes That Changed America (T) (R)12.30 The Never Ending Murder (T) (R)4.05 Couples Come Dine with Me (T) (R)5.0 A Place in the Sun (T) (R)5.30 Sunday Brunch (T) (R)	10.0 9/11: Unseen Footage (R)11.30 The Day Diana Died (T) (R)1.05 Car Pound Cops (T) (R)1.30 Cruise TV with LoveitBookit (T) (R)2.30 GPs: Behind Closed Doors (T) (R)3.20 The Highland Vet (T) (R)	10.0 Britain in Focus: A Photographic History (T)11.0 I Am Martin Parr (T)12.05 The Brits Who Designed the Modern World (T)1.05 The Flying Gardener (T)1.20 Britain in Focus (T)

The Jury: 14 and on Trial for Murder, Channel 4, 9pm A restaging of the case of two brothers accused of killing their stepfather

BBC Four

Wednesday 2

BBC One

BBC Two

ITV1

Stolen Babies, BBC Two, 9pm Mothers who had their children taken away speak of their trauma

BBC Four

6.0 Breakfast (T) 9.30Morning Live (T) 10.45Rip Off Britain: Holidays (T) 11.30 Homes Under the Hammer (T) (R) 12.15Bargain Hunt (T) 1.0 News (T) 1.35 Regional News (T) 1.45 News (T) 2.0 Sister Boniface Mysteries (T) 2.45Escape to the Country (T) (R) 3.45 Garden Rescue Revisited (T) (R) 4.30 The Answer Run (T) (R) 5.15 Pointless (T) 6.0 News (T) 6.30 Regional News (T) Weather 7.0 The One Show (T) 7.30 The Travelling Auctioneers (T) (R)	7.15 Money for Nothing (T) (R)8.0 A House Through Time (T) (R) 9.0 News (T) 12.15Politics Live (T) 1.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R) 1.30 The Edge (T) (R) 2.15 Weatherman Walking (T) (R) 2.45 Animal Park (T) (R) 3.30 Dogs in the Wild: Meet the Family (T) (R) 4.30 Vintage Antiques Roadshow (T) (R) 5.05 Flog It! (T) (R) 6.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R) 6.30 Great British Railway Journeys (T) (R) 7.0 Iolo's Anglesey (T) (R) 7.30 Beechgrove Garden (T)	6.0 Good Morning Britain (T)10.0 This Morning (T) 1.30News (T) Weather 1.55Local News (T) Weather2.0 Dickinson's Real Deal (T) (R) 3.0 Deal or No Deal (T) (R) Jackie tries to open the 22 red boxes in the right order. 4.0 Tipping Point (T) (R) Quiz, hosted by Ben Shephard. 5.0 The Chase (T) (R) Ben, Jolene, Alfie and Maria take part in the quiz. 6.0 Local News (T) Weather 6.30 News (T) Weather 7.30 Millionaire Hot Seat (T) Quiz show, hosted by Jeremy Clarkson.	6.30 The King of Queens(T) (R) 7.45 EverybodyLoves Raymond (T) (R)9.10 Frasier (T) (R) 11.10Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back (T) (R) 12.05News (T) 12.10 Find It, Fix It, Flog It (T) (R) 1.10 The Great House Giveaway (T) (R)2.10 Countdown (T) 3.0 A Place in the Sun (T) (R) 4.0The Great B&B Challenge (T) (R) 5.0 Chateau DIY (T) (R) 6.0 A New Life in the Sun: Where Are They Now? (T) Simon and Cheryl give a progress update on their kite. 7.0 News (T) Updates.	6.0 Milkshake! 9.05Entertainment News on 5 (T) 9.15 Jeremy Vine (T)11.30 Storm & Alexis (T)12.45 Live Snooker: British Open 2026 (T) Coverage of the opening two quarter-finals. 4.0 Car Pound Cops (T) (R) 4.30 Wetherspoons vs Toby Carvery: Which Is Better? (T) (R) Philippa Davis reviews some of Wetherspoons' and Toby's meals. 5.30 News (T) 6.25 Love Nature (T) (R) Expert Chris Wren explains how otters were nearly wiped out in the 1970s.
8.0 Celebrity MasterChef (T)The celebrities pair up to serve a three-course meal.9.0 Would I Lie to You? (T) (R) With guests John Cooper Clarke, Lucia Keskin, Kadiff Kirwan and Sara Pascoe.9.30 Mrs Brown's Boys (T) (R)Cathy goes to great lengths to impress her boyfriend.	8.0 Gardeners' World (T) Monty Don celebrates a rewarding summer fruit harvest, and Rachel de Thame visits a Hertfordshire plant library.9.0 The Marlow Murder Club (T) 2/2. Judith, Becks and Suzie help the police investigation.	8.0 Emmerdale (T) Sarah is left racked with guilt, while Serena is alarmed.8.30 Coronation Street (T) Shona leaves Harper in the car, as Jodie invites Kit to Number 8 for a rematch.9.0 The Rainmaker (T) Rudy and Deck have a tense encounter with a witness.	8.0 Jimmy Doherty's Big Bear Rescue (T) (R) When a pack of 12 Arctic wolves need a new home, Jimmy and his team build an enclosure with pools and woodlands for them to explore.9.0 Gogglebox (T) New series. The households' opinions on recent television.	6.30 Live Snooker: British Open 2026 (T) Coverage of the evening session on day five, featuring the concluding two quarter-finals. Louis Heathcote won the first two frames against John Higgins at this stage last year, but the three-time champ fought back to win.	8.0 TOTP: 2000 Featuring Melanie C, B*Witched, Destiny's Child and more.8.30 TOTP: 2000 With Steps and Bloodhound Gang.9.0 TOTP: 1986 (T) Featuring Bruce Hornsby and the Range and Bon Jovi.9.30 TOTP: 1989 (T) Marillion, Alyson Williams and others.
10.0 News (T) Latest headlines.10.30 Regional News (T) Weather10.40 RuPaul's Drag Race UK (T) (R) New queens take part.12.0 Alan Carr's Celebrity Picture Slam (T) (R) 12.50Weather (T) 12.55 News (T)	10.25 Air Fryer: The Secret Genius of Modern Life (T)10.30 Newsnight (T) Weather11.05 FILM Harvest (Athina Rachel Tsangari, 2024) (T)1.10 Sign Zone: The Big Deal with Steph McGovern (T)	10.0 News (T) Weather10.30 Local News (T) Weather10.45 It'll Be Alright on the Night (T) (R) Compilation.11.40 Sorry, I Didn't Know (T) (R)12.10 Shop on TV 3.0 The Staircase (T) (R) Drama.	10.0 Live from the Lycett Arms (T) New series.11.05 Joe Lycett: More, More, More! How Do You Lycett? How Do You Lycett? (T) (R) Standup comedy show.12.10 Taskmaster (T) (R)	10.0 Police: Night Shift 999 (T) (R) Officers race to catch burglars red-handed.11.05 Piers Morgan: Uncensored (T) Debate show.12.55 Car Pound Cops: Give Me My Car Back! (T) (R)	10.0 Bee Gees at the BBC and Beyond (T) Classic clips.11.0 Barry Gibb: Glastonbury 2017 (T) Live performance.12.10 TOTP2: Bee Gees Special (T) 12.55 TOTP: 1986 (T) 1.30 TOTP: 1989 (T)

Channel 4

Thursday 3

BBC One

BBC Two

ITV1

6.0 Breakfast (T) 9.30 Morning Live (T)10.45 Rip Off Britain (T)11.30 Homes Under the Hammer (T) (R)12.15 Bargain Hunt (T) (R)1.0 News (T) Weather1.35 Regional News (T) Weather1.45 News (T) Weather2.0 Money for Nothing (T)2.45 Escape to the Country (T) (R)3.45 Garden Rescue (T) (R)4.30 The Answer Run (T) (R)5.15 Pointless (T)6.0 News (T) Weather6.30 Regional News (T) Weather7.0 The One Show (T) With Alex Jones and Clara Amfo.7.30 EastEnders (T)	6.30 Garden Rescue (T) (R)7.15 Money for Nothing (T) (R)8.0 Gardeners' World (T) (R)9.0 News (T)12.15 Politics Live (T)1.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R)1.30 The Edge (T) (R)2.15 Weatherman Walking (T) (R)2.45 Animal Park (T) (R)3.30 Dogs in the Wild: Meet the Family (T) (R)4.30 Vintage Antiques Roadshow (T) (R)5.15 Flog It! (T) (R)6.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R)6.30 Great British Railway Journeys (T) (R)7.0 Escape to the Country (T)	6.0 Good Morning Britain (T)10.0 This Morning (T)1.30 News (T) Weather1.55 Local News (T) Weather2.0 Dickinson's Real Deal (T) (R) In Nottingham's Albert Hall.3.0 Deal or No Deal (T) (R) Jay tries to open the 22 red boxes in the right order.4.0 Tipping Point (T) (R) Quiz show, hosted by Ben Shephard.5.0 The Chase (T) (R) Anna, Josh, Tom and Dawn compete.6.0 Local News (T) Weather6.30 News (T) Weather7.30 Millionaire Hot Seat (T) Hosted by Jeremy Clarkson.	6.30 The King of Queens (T) (R)7.45 Everybody Loves Raymond (T) (R)9.10 Frasier (T) (R)11.10 Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back (T) (R)12.05 News (T)12.10 Find It, Fix It, Flog It (T) (R)1.10 The Great House Giveaway (T) (R)2.10 Countdown (T)3.0 A Place in the Sun (T) (R)4.0 The Great B&B Challenge (T) (R)5.0 Chateau DIY (T) (R)6.0 A New Life in the Sun: Where Are They Now? (T) Abi and Darren launch a silent disco business in Spain.7.0 News (T)	6.0 Milkshake! 9.05 Entertainment News on 5 (T)9.15 Jeremy Vine (T)11.30 Storm & Alexis (T)12.30 Live Snooker: British Open 2026 (T) Coverage of the afternoon session on day four.5.30 News (T)6.25 Car Pound Cops (T) (R) Morar Motors helps a langoustine fisherman move his boat.6.55 News (T)7.0 Cycling: Vuelta a España 2026 (T) Highlights of stage 12 of the Grand Tour race, a 166.6km mountain route from Vera to Calar Alto.7.55 News (T)
8.0 Dragons' Den (T) The Dragons hear pitches for alcohol-liberated wine, music events with social enterprise at their core, a retail venue, and all-natural plant-based ice cream.9.0 Ludwig (T) John gets sidetracked while gathering intel for Lucy's interview.	8.0 The Big Deal with Steph McGovern (T) The contestants face a challenge that straddles Berlin and London.9.0 A House Through Time (T) Featuring the Ruggs family, witnesses to a German attack in October 1939. Last in the series.	8.0 Emmerdale (T) Bear talks to Sarah, Nicola is mortified, and Kim is concerned.8.30 Coronation Street (T) Debbie experiences a brush with the past.9.0 Long Lost Family (T) New series. Decades after family separations, Avril and Marie seek answers.	8.0 Renovation Rescue (T) In Nottinghamshire, Sylvia and Dave have sunk £250,000 into their project and want to turn chaos into calm.9.0 Taskmaster (T) New series. Richard Ayoade, Isy Suttie, Matt Lucas, Nina Conti and Chloe Petts compete in a series of wacky challenges.	8.0 The Yorkshire Vet (T) The team attends to Pedro the bull, who has a bad case of sunburn, and a 12ft Burmese python with a serious eye problem.9.0 Benidorm Is Murder (T) A farewell party takes a deadly turn during a blackout. Last in the series.	8.0 FILM The Italian Job (Peter Collinson, 1969) (T) Crime comedy starring Michael Caine, Noël Coward, Benny Hill and Tony Beckley.9.35 Talking Pictures: The Godfather Trilogy (T) Exploring the story behind Francis Ford Coppola's acclaimed series of films.
10.0 News (T) Latest headlines.10.30 Regional News (T) Weather10.40 FILM Creed II (Steven Caple Jr, 2018) (T) Boxing sequel.12.40 The Repair Shop: Beyond the Barn (T) (R)1.40 Weather (T)1.45 News (T)	10.0 Red Dwarf (T) (R)10.30 Newsnight (T) Weather11.05 Emergency 24/7 (T) (R)12.05 FILM Respect (Liesl Tommy, 2021) (T) Biopic, starring Jennifer Hudson.2.25 Sign Zone: Vigil (T) (R)	10.0 News (T) Weather10.30 Local News (T) Weather10.45 The Late Debate (T)11.15 Unbelievable Moments Caught on Camera (T) (R)12.10 Shop on TV 3.0 The Staircase (T) (R) Drama.	10.0 Celebrity Gogglebox (T) (R)11.0 24 Hours in Police Custody: The Ambush (T) (R)12.15 Crime Scene Cleaners (T) (R)1.10 Kitchen Nightmares USA (T) (R)2.0 FILM Our Friend (2021) (T)	10.0 Killer at the Crime Scene (T) (R) Documentary.11.05 Killed by Our Daughter: The McCullough Murders (T) (R)12.20 Street Cops: Catching the Yobs (T) (R)1.20 Entertainment News (T)	10.20 FILM The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972) (T) Starring Marlon Brando.1.10 Talking Pictures: 70s Legends Part I (T)2.0 Talking Pictures: The Godfather Trilogy (T)

BBC Four

Friday 4

BBC One

BBC Two

ITV1

Channel 4

Live from the Lycett Arms, Channel 4, 10pm Good for what ales you: Joe Lycett has comedy and chat on tap

BBC Four

Saturday 5

Celebrating Disney at the Proms: The Music of Menken, BBC Two, 5.30pm The songs and scores of the award-winning composer

BBC One

6.0 Breakfast (T) 10.0 Saturday Kitchen Live (T) 11.30 Anna Haugh's Big Irish Food Tour (T) (R) 12.0 News (T) 12.10 Weather (T) 12.15 The Football Interview (T) 12.25 MOTD Live: Women's Super League (T) Chelsea v Aston Villa (kick-off 12.30pm). 2.45 Homes Under the Hammer (T) (R) 3.45 Final Score (T) 5.15 News (T) 5.25 Regional News (T) Weather 5.30 Weather (T) 5.35 The Hit List (T) 6.20 Alan Carr's Celebrity Picture Slam (T) 7.10 Pointless Celebrities (T) (R)

8.0 Casualty: 40th Anniversary (T) Part one of a two-part special, produced to mark the anniversary of the medical drama. 8.50 Casualty: 40th Anniversary (T) The team look to Dylan in their hour of need. 9.40 Ghosts (T) (R) Alison is sent into meltdown.

10.10 News (T) 10.25 Weather (T) 10.30 Match of the Day (T) 12.0 FILM Brighton Rock (Rowan Joffe, 2010) (T) 1.45 Weather for the Week Ahead (T) 1.50 News (T)

BBC Two

6.05 Children's TV (T) 8.50 Gardeners' World (T) (R) 9.50 This Wild Life (T) (R) 10.20 FILM GI Blues (Norman Taurog, 1960) (T) Musical starring Elvis Presley. 12.0 The Great British Sewing Bee (T) (R) 1.0 Bargain Hunt (T) (R) 1.45 Race Against the Tide (T) (R) 2.15 Escape to the Country (T) (R) 2.45 Super League Live (T) Wakefield Trinity v Warrington Wolves. 5.0 Flog It! (T) (R) 5.30 Celebrating Disney at the Proms: The Music of Menken (T)

7.0 Athletics: Diamond League Brussels (T) Coverage of day two of the AG Memorial Van Damme.

9.0 Queen at the BBC (T) (R) A collection of TV appearances by the rock band, including highlights from their trips to the Montreux Pop Festival.

10.0 Queen: The Legendary 1975 Concert (T) (R)

12.35 A Life in Ten Pictures (T) (R) 1.35 FILM Evil Does Not Exist (2023)

ITV1

6.0 FILM Never Say Never Again (Irvin Kershner, 1983) (T) 8.25 Prue Leith's Cotswold Kitchen (T) 9.25 News (T) 9.30 James Martin's Saturday Morning (T) 12.0 Gary Barlow's Food and Wine Tour: New Zealand (T) 12.30 James Martin's Great British Adventure (T) (R) 1.0 News 1.15 ITV Racing: Live from Haydock (T) 4.0 Celebrity Lingo (T) (R) 4.25 News (T) 4.40 Local News (T) 4.50 FILM Jurassic World (Colin Trevorrow, 2015) (T) Adventure sequel.

7.0 The Voice UK (T) Singing contest, with Emma Willis. 8.15 The Box (T) New series. Celebrity game show, hosted by Gary Lineker. 9.15 Romesh Ranganathan's Parents' Evening (T) (R) Featuring Gabby Logan, Pete Wicks and Krishnan Guru-Murthy.

10.15 News (T) Weather 10.30 FILM Lucy (Luc Besson, 2014) (T) Sci-fi thriller.

12.10 English Football League Highlights (T) 1.30 Shop on TV 3.0 Dermot's Taste of Ireland (T) (R)

Channel 4

6.05 Cheers (T) (R) 7.55 Everybody Loves Raymond (T) (R) 9.20 Frasier (T) (R) 10.50 The Simpsons (T) (R) 1.20 Four in a Bed (T) (R) 3.55 George Clarke's Amazing Spaces (T) (R) George explores more inspirational and ingenious spaces. 4.55 Grand Designs (T) (R) Kevin McCloud returns to Cornwall to see former skydivers Leigh and Richard's progress on the transformation of a derelict 17th-century flour mill into a three-bed home. 6.0 News (T)

6.30 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix Qualifying Highlights (T) The battle for grid positions in the 13th race of the season.

8.0 FILM Captain Marvel (Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, 2019) (T) Sci-fi adventure with Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn.

10.20 FILM Nope (Jordan Peele, 2022) (T) Sci-fi thriller starring Daniel Kaluuya.

12.45 FILM A Quiet Place Part II (John Krasinski, 2020) (T) 2.20 Kitchen Nightmares USA (T) (R)

5

6.0 Milkshake! 9.05 Britain's Greatest Bridges (T) (R) 9.20 Bargain-Loving Brits in the Sun (T) (R) 9.50 FILM Clifford the Big Red Dog (Walt Becker, 2021) (T) Adventure starring Jack Whitehall. 11.45 The Royals: Uncensored (T) 12.45 Live Snooker: British Open 2026 (T) Coverage of the opening semi-final. 4.30 Alexander Armstrong in India (T) (R) 5.25 Althorp House: Diana's Family Home (T) (R) A look at the stately home in Northamptonshire. 6.25 News (T) Headlines.

6.30 Live Snooker: British Open 2026 (T) Coverage of the concluding semi-final on day six of the tournament, which takes place at the Centaur in Cheltenham, and is played over the best of 11 frames. Presented by Katie Shanahan, with analysis from Stephen Hendry.

10.30 Britain's Favourite Ads of the 70s & 80s (T) (R)

12.25 Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law (T) (R) 1.25 Entertainment News on 5 (T) 1.30 Cruise TV with LoveitBookit (T) (R)

BBC Four

7.0 Natural World: Africa's Lion Kings (T) Revisiting the African lions that learned to prey on elephants. 7.05 Life on Earth (T) David Attenborough has his famous encounter with a group of gorillas.

8.0 Great Railway Journeys: Confessions of a Trainspotter (T) Michael Palin travels from London Euston to the Kyle of Lochalsh. 9.0 Beck A pastor dies in an arson attack at one of the Pentecostal movement's parish halls.

10.30 To the Manor Born (T)

10.50 to the Manor Born (T)
11.0 Keeping Up Appearances
11.30 Timeshift: The History of Pubs (T)
12.10 Steve Backshall's Extreme Mountain Challenge (T)
1.10 Life on Earth (T)

On the radio

Sunday

Radio 3

6.30am Breakfast 9.0 Sunday Morning 12.0 Private Passions 1.30 Music Map 3.0 The Colours in Sound, with Caroline Shaw 4.0 Jazz Record Requests 5.0 The Early Music Show 6.0 Choral Evensong 7.0 BBC Proms 2026 10.0 Night Tracks 11.30 Unclassified 12.30 Through the Night

Radio 4

6.0am News Headlines 6.05 Heart and Soul 6.35 On Your Farm 7.0 News 7.0 Sunday Papers 7.10 Sunday 7.54 Radio 4 Appeal 8.0 News 8.0 Sunday Papers 8.10 Sunday Worship 8.48 Witness History 8.58 Tweet of the Day 9.0 Broadcasting House 10.0 The Reunion 11.0 The Archers 12.15 Profile 12.30 Just a Minute 1.0 The World This Weekend 1.30 The Dictators' Survival Guide 2.0 Gardeners' Question Time 2.45 New Storytellers 3.0 Drama: Midnight Cowboy 4.0 Take Four Books 4.30 Brain of Britain 5.0 Witness History 5.10 All Kinds of Minds 5.54 Shipping Forecast 6.0 Six O'Clock News 6.15 Pick of the Week 7.0 The Archers 7.15 Bouncing off the Walls: A Prison Soundscape 7.45 Just One Thing with Michael Mosley 8.0 Word of Mouth 8.30 Last Word 9.0 Money Box 9.26 Radio 4 Appeal 9.30 From Our Own Correspondent 10.0 The Westminster Hour 11.0 Great Lives 11.30 Hoax 11.45 Short Works 12.0 News and Weather 12.15 Crossing Continents 12.45 Bells on Sunday 12.48 Shipping Forecast 1.0 As BBC World Service 5.0 News Summary 5.04 Last Word 5.34 Shipping Forecast 5.43 Prayer for the Day 5.45 Farming Today

Monday

Radio 3

6.30am Breakfast 9.30 Radio 3's Proms Marathon Monday 11.0 Radio 3's Proms Marathon Monday 3.45 Radio 3's Proms Marathon Monday 5.15 Radio 3's Proms Marathon Monday 7.0 BBC Proms 2026 9.30 Classical Mixtape 10.0 Night Tracks 11.30 'Round Midnight 12.30 Through the Night

Radio 4

6.0am Today 9.0 The Great Crime Mystery 9.30 How Did We Get Here: No World Order 10.0 Woman's Hour 11.0 All Kinds of Minds 11.45 You Do Not Have to Say Anything 12.0 News 12.04 You and Yours 1.0 The World 1.45 A 9/11 Story 2.0 The Archers 2.15 Fags, Mags and Bags 2.45 New Storytellers 3.0 Great Lives 3.30 You're Dead to Me 4.0 The Dictators' Survival Guide 4.30 Soul Music 5.0 PM 6.0 Six O'Clock News 6.30 Unspeakable 7.0 The Archers 7.15 Front Row 8.0 The Briefing Room 8.30 BBC Inside Science 9.0 The Great Crime Mystery 9.30 How Did We Get Here: No World Order 10.0 The World Tonight 10.45 Book at Bedtime: A Working Mother 11.0 There's Something I Need to Tell You 11.30 Everything Is Fake and Nobody Cares 12.0 News and Weather 12.30 You Do Not Have to Say Anything 12.48 Shipping Forecast 1.0 As BBC World Service 5.0 News Summary 5.04 The Dictators' Survival Guide

Tuesday

Radio 3

6.30am Breakfast 9.30 Essential Classics 1.0 Classical Live 4.0 Composer of the Week: Elisabeth

Jacquet de La Guerre 5.0 In Tune 7.0 Classical Mixtape 7.30 BBC Proms 2026 10.0 Night Tracks 11.30 'Round Midnight 12.30 Through the Night

Radio 4

6.0am Today 9.0 Invisible Hands
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Wednesday

Radio 3

6.30am Breakfast 9.30 Essential Classics 1.0 Classical Live 3.0 Choral Evensong 4.0 Composer of the Week: Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre 5.0 In Tune 6.30 BBC Proms 2026 8.30 New Generation Artists 10.15 BBC Proms 2026 11.45 'Round Midnight 12.30 Through the Night

Radio 4

6.0am Today 9.0 Sideways 9.30 Breakin' the Cycle 10.0 Woman's

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Thursday

Radio 3

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Radio 4

6.0am Today 9.0 What Did the Normans Ever Do For Us? 10.0 Woman's Hour 11.0 The Food Programme 11.45 King Harold Writes Back 12.0 News 12.04 Scam Secrets 12.32 Dough 1.0 The World 1.45 A 9/11 Story 2.0 The Archers 2.15 Drama: Edith Swan-Neck and The Bayeux Tapestry 3.0 Open Country 3.27 Radio 4 Appeal 3.30 Word of Mouth 4.0 You're

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Friday

Radio 3

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Radio 4

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Saturday

Radio 3

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Television

This 9/11 reunion makes for powerful viewing 25 years on

Barbara Ellen

9/11 Reunited National Geographic/Disney+ The Murder Detective Channel 4 The Big Deal with Steph McGovern BBC Two

New York firefighters are among those interviewed for 9/11 Reunited, below; inset above, a mural of Lyra McKee, who was shot dead in County Derry in 2019. Photo courtesy Bill Spade/AFP/Getty Images

Footage of al-Qaida terrorists in 2001 flying planes into the World Trade Center on September 11 still feels inconceivable – like the 21st century's most shocking disaster movie. With the 25th anniversary of the attacks approaching, we can expect a great

deal of commentary and reflection on the atrocity that claimed 2,977 lives. First off the block is 9/11 Reunited, a three-part National Geographic docuseries, made in conjunction with the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, that is also showing on Disney+.

Younger people – those under 30 – are increasingly thought to have a low awareness of September 11, and this docuseries sets out to engage them emotionally. Directed by Julian Jones, producer of 2021's 9/11: One Day in America, it focuses on the two strikes on the twin towers and the attack on the Pentagon (a fourth plane crashed in a Pennsylvania field after passengers.

crashed in a Pennsylvania field after passing, fought back against the hijackers). What makes this show different is that it reunites people with those who saved them, Long Lost Family-style, sometimes bringing them together for the first time since the attacks. With episodes segmented into timezones, the show blends footage from news reports and mobile phones with first-hand accounts.

John Paczkowski and George Phoenix were among six people trapped in a lift in the North Tower when a fellow passenger, window cleaner Jan Demczur, used parts of his squeegee to scrape through a drywall, enabling them all to escape five minutes before the tower collapsed. Their reunion is understated, all careful bear hugs and firm handshakes, but Paczkowski and Phoenix are clearly moved to get the chance to thank the unassuming Demczur.

Debbie St John, another New York survivor, was running in the street when plane debris hit her in the back, causing injuries so severe her intestines were exposed. Stefan Horlacher ensured she received help. When they meet, the mother of two wants him to see that, although she uses a wheelchair, she can walk a bit and ride a horse, saying: "I just want you to be proud of me."

The stories continue: an army lieutenant colonel leading people to a Pentagon window, and then being saved herself, jumping into the arms of a Navy Seal commander. An injured firefighter kept safe by a paramedic. A policeman rescued from rubble after 22 hours. (Together, emergency services saved more than 20,000 people). The footage, while familiar, remains overwhelming, the grey vastness of the dust storm billowing from the collapse of both towers.

The focus is on the survivors, but there's not even

Younger people under 30 are increasingly thought to have a low awareness of September 11

a cursory attempt to give geopolitical background to the attacks, stripping the programme of context and – arguably – authority. There are also constant “poignant” prompts, mainly in the form of swirling emotive music as survivors recollect events or are reunited. These are vivid human stories in their own right; viewers don’t require emotional cue cards.

On Channel 4, there's another harrowing three-part documentary, The Murder Detective, James W Newton's study of the case of 29-year-old Northern Irish journalist and author Lyra McKee, who was shot and killed while observing a riot in County Derry in April 2019.

It occurred on the Creggan estate, viewed as an IRA enclave during the Troubles, and now the alleged headquarters of the New IRA, which accepted responsibility for the unintentional shooting of McKee

as she stood with her partner beside a police van.

This is the first time access has been allowed to a Northern Ireland terror-related murder investigation as it unfolded. The series follows Det Supt Jason Murphy, the Police Service of Northern Ireland's head of major investigations at the time, who is seen checking under his car for bombs as he endeavours to bring charges against the gunman and other key operators in McKee's death.

The incident had a large number of witnesses, and there was even an MTV camera crew led by presenter Reggie Yates in Derry looking into the effects of Brexit on communities. The crew left before shots were fired and local people suggest, on camera, the riot was staged for its benefit.

The shooting isn't graphically shown (someone cries: “There’s a fucking kid shot in the head”). A celebrated Catholic writer, McKee came to prominence with her blogpost Letter to My 14 Year Old Self, about growing up gay in Belfast, Her grief-stricken family are represented by her sister Nichola, who is passionate and articulate about getting justice for her sister while also heartbroken: “We’re never getting her back.”

Murphy is shown struggling to obtain information, mainly because people are afraid of reprisals from the New IRA. The trial, when it happened, was protracted, ending only last month. Marred also by police procedural errors, it resulted in no convictions for the killing. In all, it amounts to a complex, disturbing documentary.

The Big Deal with Steph McGovern (BBC Two) is billed as The Apprentice for wannabe art dealers. Contestants work in couples, the head expert is art dealer Cordelia de Freitas and there's a prize of art worth £50,000. The deeper brief is

about connecting ordinary people with art (presenter McGovern's father is a sculptor).

Halfway through the six-part series, the remaining contestants land in Margate, the seaside town turned bustling art destination (thanks to Tracey Emin and the Turner Contemporary gallery). The guest expert is artist and gallery owner Margo McDaid, and the amateurs look into limited editions and prints, for which there is a huge global market, and sell at an art fair.

If this is about art for the masses, then more space could be given to the artists to explain their work. That said, it's an insight into a hidden world, and it's a definite plus that the would-be dealers – who include wide boys and game midlifers – feel more akin to a gathering of Poirot suspects than standard reality contestants. The Big Deal is fun and unusual – take a look.

WATCH LIST Barbara Ellen's best of the rest

The Terror: Devil in Silver

(Sky Atlantic) The first series of The Terror... horror anthology (about a cursed navy ship) was a cult masterpiece. In this third series, Downton Abbey's Dan Stevens (below) is trapped in a psychiatric unit. The result is a supernatural One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, with nods to the US healthcare system.

Fightland (Sky Atlantic) Rapper 50 Cent co-produces this London-set drama about boxing and the criminal underworld. It stars Nicholas Pinnock and Howard Charles.

Bookish (U&Alibi) Mark Gatiss creates, writes and stars in this returning postwar cosy crime drama, about a closeted gay sleuth. Jason Watkins features as a conniving medium.