Table of contents for 1519 in The Week

Controversy of the week “Fifteen. That is the number of times the authorities were informed that Sara Sharif was potentially in danger,” said The Times. As well as these documented opportunities, there were no doubt many undocumented chances “to rescue this child from the fate that awaited her” at the hands of her father Urfan Sharif, 43, and her stepmother Beinash Batool, 30. Sara was found dead, aged ten, at her home in Woking, in August 2023. A post-mortem found that she had at least 71 external injuries, including bruises, burns and human bite marks. She had 29 bone fractures, including one to her neck and 10 to her spine, from being beaten with a cricket bat and a metal pole. Plastic hoods, with holes for her mouth, had been…

Almost half of British adults (46%) believe that guests staying at other people’s homes over Christmas should contribute towards the cost of the festivities, a poll for MoneySuperMarket has found. Support for the idea is highest in Leeds, where 57% believe that guests should contribute, and lowest in Brighton, where only 33% think they should. According to 17% of people, guests failing to contribute is a source of resentment and arguments. The nation’s sleeping habits are changing, new data suggests, with adults going to bed earlier, and getting up earlier. Virgin Media O2 says traffic on its network now drops off from 9:20pm, compared with 9:40pm in 2020. It then starts up again at 6:20am, 15 minutes earlier than in 2020.…

Wuppertal, Germany Nurse accused: A nurse employed to care for Michael Schumacher has been implicated in a plot to extort €15m from his family. The F1 champion’s wife is fiercely protective of his privacy, and since his catastrophic skiing accident in 2013, no details of his condition have been made public. But three men (including a former security guard for the family) are now on trial for allegedly threatening to publish online hundreds of “intimate” images of Schumacher, if a ransom fee was not paid. The images were stolen from a computer used by his team of carers, and one of the defendants has testified that the nurse had supplied them. Dunkirk, France Camp shootings: A 22-year-old man with no criminal record handed himself in to police in northern France…

1 A Whiter Shade of Pale by Keith Reid, Gary Brooker and Matthew Fisher, performed by Procol Harum 2 Love Me Tender by George R. Poulton, Ken Darby, Vera Matson and Elvis Presley, performed by Elvis Presley 3 A dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes by Mack David, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston, performed by Ilene Woods 4 Evil by Stevie Wonder and Syreeta Wright, performed by Stevie Wonder 5 You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ by Phil Spector, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, performed by The Righteous Brothers 6 I Can’t Make You Love Me by Mike Reid and Allen Shamblin, performed by Bonnie Raitt 7 Minute by Minute by Michael McDonald and Lester Abrams, performed by the Doobie Brothers 8* A Change Is Gonna Come, written and performed by Sam Cooke Book: The Saracen Blade by Frank…

The Assads’ one-family rule was underpinned by a secret police that terrorised the population on a vast scale. Collectively called the Mukhabarat, it consisted of four branches, each watching the people and each other, so none posed a threat to the regime. According to the UN, there were more than 100 detention facilities across the country, in every city and large town. People disappeared into them, and there they were tortured: electrocuted, burnt, starved, strangled, raped, tied to pipes and beaten so their wrists and shoulder bones broke. Children were taught that walls had ears; those who disappeared were said to have gone “behind the Sun”. In the 13 years after the 2011 uprising, around 300,000 Syrians were imprisoned. More than 100,000 people disappeared entirely. At the centre of Syria’s…

Joe Biden: a legacy of failure Michael Warren The Dispatch In his one term as president, Joe Biden was able to push through “a progressive laundry list” of big-government legislation, says Michael Warren. But on his own terms, Biden’s presidency has been “an unmitigated disaster”. The entire basis of Biden’s run in 2020 “was to keep Trump – and Trumpism – from returning to the Oval Office”, and to restore normalcy to Washington. But as Biden’s term is “limping to an end”, he leaves as a highly unpopular figure, with Democrats “staring at four more years of Trump and a generation of Republican politics shaped in his image”. Indeed, an emboldened Trump will likely be more autocratic, and bring more chaos, than in his first term. Biden’s failures were many:…

Scientists in Cambridge say they have created the first urine test for lung cancer. Designed to spot “zombie” cells that clear a path for tumours to develop, the test could make it possible for doctors to diagnose lung cancer before symptoms appear, leading to earlier treatment and potentially saving many lives. The test has been found to be effective on mice, and the team hope to start human trials soon. The zombie cells are so called because, although they are damaged and no longer divide, they are not dead; and when they accumulate in a part of the body, they can reprogramme their environment to make it easier for cancer cells to grow and divide. The team behind the test developed a probe that is injected into the body; in…

A striking feature of Manchester City’s current crisis is the way they’ve so often been derailed late in games by “unforced errors and careless mistakes”, said Jason Burt in The Daily Telegraph. It happened last month against Feyenoord, whom they led 3-0 with 15 minutes to go before being pegged back to a 3-3 draw. Before that, it was the same story against Sporting Lisbon and Brighton & Hove Albion. And it happened again last Sunday, as City took on Manchester United at the Etihad. A first-half goal from Joško Gvardiol had given Pep Guardiola’s men a 1-0 lead, which they kept until the 88th minute. But then, with a “vital win” appearing all but certain, City found a way to blow it. First, Matheus Nunes underhit a back pass…

Two Jewish producers – ageing impresario Max Bialystock and his anxious accountant Leo Bloom – mount a Broadway musical written by a Nazi and celebrating Hitler, assuming that it will prove so offensive that it will close on its opening night, and they will be able to keep their investors’ cash. That’s the famous premise of The Producers, Mel Brooks’s musical (based on his 1967 film) which ran in the West End for more than two years from 2004, said Dominic Cavendish in The Daily Telegraph. This first London revival, a “camp as Christmas” staging directed by Patrick Marber, is in the much smaller Menier – but it does Brooks proud. The material remains both daring and delightfully funny, agreed Arifa Akbar in The Guardian. And it’s revived with such…

Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton, 1941 (Abacus £10.99). Playwright and novelist Hamilton tells the story of tragicomic anti-hero alcoholic George Bone, his obsession for the casually cruel, ambitious would-be actress Netta, and the various lost souls they drink with. In this interwar psychological thriller, the writing is as clear as gin and as sharp as lemon. Forage by Liz Knight, 2021 (Laurence King £19.99). A brilliant book for novice foragers, like me. Knight writes with passion, a light touch, huge knowledge and a sense of humour. There are great recipes, and lovely illustrations too, by Rachel Pedder-Smith. Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor, 1971 (Virago £9.99). In this novel about old folk (people of my age) residing in a genteel hotel in west London – catered for but…

Serves 6-8 Walnuts: 60g walnuts Goo: 240g soft light brown sugar 80g butter 120g double cream 3g flaky sea salt (about 1 tsp) Cake: 400g pears (about 2) 100g butter, softened 100g soft dark brown sugar 25g caster sugar 100g whole eggs 90g plain flour 15g buckwheat flour 8g baking powder (about 2 tsp) ½ tsp ground cinnamon 1-2g flaky sea salt (about ½ tsp) 20g toasted walnuts from above 45g whole milk 35g double cream Plus: ice cream or pouring cream, to serve • Toast the walnuts in a frying pan over a medium heat for 5-8 mins, or for 15-20 mins in a 200°C oven, until toasty and golden. Set 40g aside and roughly chop – you want a mixture of sizes with some halves and larger pieces. • To make the…

● Don’t post about Christmas gifts on social media – it’s linked to money, which is vulgar. ● If you’re going to a Christmas party, do turn up with a bottle, but don’t expect it to be drunk there and then. It is up to your host to decide when to open it. ● Almost everyone has a dietary requirement these days. If yours is relatively standard – vegetarian or gluten-free for example – your host should accommodate it with some notice. If not, offer to bring something you can stick in the microwave. ● Crackers should be pulled before the meal, so you get full wear out of the paper hat. Do it quickly, though, so the food doesn’t get cold, and don’t tell the jokes until everyone has…

Eddie Stobart 1929-2024 Edward Stobart was the antithesis of the brash, Yorkie-eating lorry driver. He was – as The Guardian noted following his death in 2011 – a neat, self-effacing man who had had a vision for an ultra-organised haulage business, with well-disciplined drivers working to tight margins. He built up a fleet of some 2,000 trucks, with shiny green and red livery and drivers in shirts and ties. The lorries were so distinctive (many of them had their own names) that spotting them became a craze, and Eddie Stobart became a “superbrand”, said The Daily Telegraph, with a fan club and its own line of merchandise. But the business had not been founded by Edward Stobart. The man whose name was emblazoned across all those trucks was his father,…

Giving gold Digital or bullion? That is the question. The Royal Mint offers a simple and straightforward plan – dubbed Little Treasures – to purchase digital gold VAT-free for your child or grandchild by setting up monthly payments, or making one-off deposits. But the allure of physical gold is enticing. Half-sovereigns are a good bet, said Tavex Bullion. They’re portable, have a rich history dating back to the 19th century, and can currently be picked up for around £260. Since they’re still considered legal UK tender, any profits are exempt from capital gains tax. Giving bitcoin Gifting “a fraction of bitcoin or Ethereum” is rather like giving someone a lottery ticket, said Logan Jacoby on Bankrate.com: “the recipient may end up with much more – or less”. Moreover, you’d hardly…

The week’s best shares Begbies Traynor Investors’ Chronicle Tax hike-induced busts are boosting the insolvency, recovery and advisory specialist: revenues and profits have jumped, supported by a margin hike. Gaining market share via M&A. Looks undervalued. Buy. 98p. J. Sainsbury The Daily Telegraph Despite share volatility, long-term prospects for the supermarket remain upbeat. It is on track for £1bn cost savings as the cost-of-living crisis abates. Sound finances and growing market share. Yields 4.8%. Buy. 272.8p. Paragon Banking Group The Times The specialist lender has generated a total return of 44% in 12 months, and has a strong pipeline of new buy-to-let lending. There’s also a small motor finance division. Cash-generative, with a 5.5% forward yield. Buy. 776p. Rio Tinto The Daily Telegraph The miner, which has “significant exposure” to…

What happened Prince Andrew was again engulfed in scandal owing to the revelation that one of his business confidants is an alleged Chinese spy. The case came to light last Thursday when a specialist tribunal in London upheld a 2023 ban on the businessman – named on Monday as Yang Tengbo – entering the UK. The Duke of York had invited Yang to his birthday party in 2020 and told him that he could act on his behalf when dealing with potential investors in China. In a file found on a digital device when Yang was detained at a UK port in 2021, Andrew’s adviser told Yang that he was in a privileged position with the Duke – “at the very top of a tree that many, many people would…

The Government has announced that the ban on prescribing puberty blockers to under-18s with gender dysphoria is to be made permanent (see page 13). In extending the ban, which was introduced using emergency legislation by the Conservatives in May, Health Secretary Wes Streeting cited independent medical experts, who had found there was an “unacceptable safety risk” in giving the drugs to children. “We do not yet know the risks of stopping pubertal hormones at this critical life stage,” he added. The ban applies to NHS and private clinics. However, a clinical trial by NHS England into the use of puberty blockers will go ahead next year. The ban will be reviewed in 2027.…

Pubs, which warned that they were running out of Guinness. The Liffey in Liverpool, which usually has 12 barrels of the “black stuff” delivered a week, was only sent one last week. Guinness owner Diageo said it was having to limit supplies to pubs in England and Wales owing to “exceptional consumer demand”. Steven Bartlett, who was accused of amplifying health-related misinformation on his hit podcast, The Diary of a CEO. A BBC investigation found that the show – which has some eight million subscribers and rakes in millions from advertising – has featured several controversial guests who have claimed, among other things, that autism can be reversed by dietary changes. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, after the woman who threw a banana milkshake at him on the campaign…

Washington DC Tech donors: Meta has donated $1m to Donald Trump’s inaugural fund. The tech giant has not donated to previous such funds – which are used to pay for the incoming president’s inauguration ceremony and any associated parades, galas or parties – but having previously banned Trump from Facebook, its CEO Mark Zuckerberg has lately seemed keen to curry favour with him. Other tech giants are also digging deep: Amazon is matching Meta’s donation; and Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, has pledged $1m of his own money. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos recently said he was excited about Trump’s plans to dismantle government regulations. With no contribution limits, inaugural funds have been described as an “open-air display of patronage and influence-peddling”. In further positive financial news for the president-elect,…

“Ours is an age of jargon. The language of the boardroom is now almost as impenetrable as that of academia. Business is a world of ‘key deliverables’, ‘actionable items’ and ‘cross-silo leadership’. Even morality is now cast in jargon terms: ‘oppression’, ‘appropriation’, ‘intersectionality’. It is always the most pointless spheres of human activity that are the most prolific sources of jargon. The notoriously bloated human resources industry has developed virtually its own branch of the English language: ‘onboarding’, ‘rightsizing’, ‘annual leave’ (why not just say holiday?), ‘employee lifecycle’, ‘retention’, ‘performance calibration’.” James Marriott in The Times…

How our MPs gave succour to Assad Hamish de Bretton-Gordon The Daily Telegraph The speed with which the Assad regime crumbled should be causing pangs of guilt in Westminster, says retired colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon. For it reveals how easily this brutal dictator might have been toppled in the autumn of 2013, had MPs voted to strike his chemical weapons facilities. Having been in Syria that summer investigating a sarin chemical attack, I’d seen how close the rebels were to ousting Assad. On 21 August, when they were 1km away from Damascus, a desperate Assad again used chemical weapons on his people: they were clearly the only things keeping him in power. But many MPs were worried about repeating the mistakes of Iraq, and Ed Miliband, then leader of the…

A worrying lack of cloud cover Last year, the global average temperature reached a record 1.45°C above pre-industrial levels. Much of this rise has been attributed to global warming and the El Niño weather phenomenon, but about 0.2°C of it has proved tricky to explain. Now, scientists may have the answer: a dearth of clouds. Researchers in Germany proposed the theory after their analysis of satellite data revealed that there was 1.5% less low cloud cover globally than on average in 2023. Clouds at all altitudes reflect sunlight back into space and so reduce warming. But while higher clouds can also trap heat, those at lower levels tend to only have a cooling effect and, if there are fewer of them, the atmosphere warms, says Adam Vaughan in The Times.…

Looking back on 2024 1 The Belfast-based shipyard that built the Titanic went into administration in September. Name it. 2 Whose resignation in January sent Liverpool fans into a tailspin? 3 Which American was accused this year of “betraying the values that our father and family hold most dear”? 4 Samantha Harvey won this year’s Booker Prize with her novel Orbital. Where is it set? 5 Who published a memoir/manifesto entitled Ten Years to Save the West? 6 The former wife of a Beatle put her “love-triangle letters” up for auction in March. Who were the members of that love triangle? 7 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was released from prison in June, as a result of a plea deal with the US. In which jail had he been held for…

To The Daily Telegraph I have never been a supporter of Tony Blair, but his idea that we should adopt digital ID cards – containing our health details, passport and driving licence – is something the Government should take seriously. Blair brought in legislation for compulsory ID cards, but the scheme was scrapped by the Conservative-Lib Dem Coalition. Since then, our society has become much more dangerous, and the population has increased significantly. There is constant criticism that the Government has neither control over our borders, nor knowledge of where those here legally actually reside. Simultaneously, as citizens we have embraced a fast-developing digital world, providing private information to access goods and services on a daily basis. The potential advantages to our law-abiding society would trump any concerns about “Big…

In 1975, faced with major strikes, mass protests and a court ruling that threatened to remove her from office, India’s prime minister, Indira Gandhi, suspended the nation’s constitution and declared a state of emergency. The memory of the period “can still make people shudder today”, said Cleo Roberts-Komireddi in the Guardian. Censorship and mass jailings followed, while Gandhi’s son Sanjay, obsessed with curbing the country’s population and beautifying its cities, had slums cleared by violence, and embarked on a programme of forced sterilisation of millions. This exhibition at the Barbican is a survey of the art produced in India between the declaration of the emergency and its last major nuclear test in 1998 – an era of “political tumult”, violence, and rapid, destabilising change. Bringing together 150 exhibits by 30…

Hachi 56 Brewer Street, London W1 (020-7734 2312) For a place where you can expect to spend a lot of money, this Japanese BBQ restaurant in Soho “doesn’t look like much”, says Jay Rayner in The Observer. But that’s reassuring in a way: in a city full of restaurants where you pay a lot for decor and “battalions” of waiters, it’s nice to come to a place where the money is clearly going on the ingredients. Be warned: there are “many menus” – not only a lengthy à la carte, but various set meals and specials too. My advice is to “choose a few starters and follow that with something for the grill”. Dishes of chicken and squid karaage duly arrive, along with “big, satisfying” Padrón peppers (“Hachi is not…

Home cooks will appreciate a regular supply of delicious small-batch olive oil (from £15/month; citizensofsoil.com). Or the Bold Bean Co delivers six jars of beans, from queen chickpeas to smoky chilli baked beans, fortnightly (£23; boldbeanco.com). The Toucan Box monthly art subscription is perfect for crafty kids. It comes with a magazine, stickers and all materials (£14/mth; toucanbox.com). Beards & Daisies sends out a new house plant each month, with advice on how to look after it; you can opt for pet friendly plants (£30/mth; beardsanddaisies.co.uk). Wanderlust Wine sends out either four, eight or ten sustainable wines every two months; recipients will also be invited to tastings (from £96; wanderlustwine.co.uk). Rare Birds Books celebrates female writers. Subscribers are sent two synopses a month. They choose which book they’d like to…

Number One Bruton Bruton, Somerset The launch of a Hauser & Wirth gallery in Bruton hurled this sleepy Somerset town into the limelight a decade ago, and Number One Bruton opened five years later. Don’t let its “dull name” put you off, says Fiona Duncan in The Daily Telegraph – this former coaching inn is full of “artistic, boho charm”. The 12 rooms are all different (mine had an Uzbek wall hanging and a Syrian chest of drawers), the bathrooms are “quirky and pretty”, and the restaurant – recently taken over by River Cottage alumnus Sam Lomas – serves “delectable” small plates and sharing dishes made with local ingredients. Doubles from £180 b&b; numberonebruton.com.…

SpaceX/Tesla: Musk on steroids It’s hard to know where Elon Musk finds the time, said Matthew Lynn in The Daily Telegraph. In between running Tesla, rebooting X, and plotting to shave hundreds of billions off US government spending, he has “also managed to create the world’s leading space conglomerate”. In a private share sale last week, SpaceX – which is 42% owned by Musk – was valued at $350bn, nearly double its reported value a year ago. The company has gained “a virtual monopoly on American space launches with its workhorse Falcon rocket”. The real credit for building Musk’s “Moonshot project” into “the world’s biggest private startup” lies with Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s COO, who has achieved the “unprecedented” feat of working alongside the mercurial billionaire for two decades “without falling…

Are we going into a Reeves recession? Kate Andrews The Daily Telegraph News that the economy contracted by 0.1% in both September and October means Britain is now on “recession watch”, says Kate Andrews. This all-too-familiar story of “a stagnant economy”, easily tipped in the wrong direction, helped propel Labour into power. Now it’s Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s turn to try and explain away the abysmal figures. The economy Labour inherited was nothing to celebrate, but there was a good-news story to tell: inflation was almost back on target and the economy turning upwards. Yet this inheritance was “tossed aside” for political gain, as Labour blamed the Tories for what was about to happen in the Budget. The “talking down” hit business confidence. If “doomsday warnings” have proved self-fulfilling, what will…

Pupils from English schools have performed better than expected in the international TIMSS assessment, which ranks children’s abilities in maths and science every four years. Year 5 pupils maintained a strong score in maths, while Year 9 pupils’ scores rose slightly, and both groups saw improvements in science. England was ranked ninth out of 66 countries in primary maths, sixth in secondary maths, and fifth in primary and secondary science. Singapore topped the table. An 88-year-old has passed his grade 8 piano exam with distinction, 67 years after he achieved grade 7. Ray Eveleigh, a retired vicar who lives in East Yorkshire, took up the piano as a child to accompany his father’s ukulele, and passed his grade 7 when he was at university. But after that, he says that…

The UK economy shrank for the second month in a row in October, by 0.1%. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that the fall in GDP – which followed a 0.1% drop in September – was driven by declines in construction and production, and a stagnant services sector. Economists polled by Reuters had expected to see growth of 0.1%. The ONS also found that pay growth hit 5.2% a year between August and October, meaning wages are still rising faster than prices.…

More than half of the public (53%) are in favour of the introduction of digital ID cards. 19% are against. More than two-thirds of Tory voters support the idea, as do 60% of people who voted Labour at the last election. More in Common/Times 55% of British adults say they want closer ties with the EU. 22% believe the current UK-EU relationship should continue as is. 10% feel it should become more distant, and the rest don’t know. 68% of adults say they’d be willing to accept free movement in exchange for access to the EU single market, including 54% of those who voted Leave in 2016. 51% say they’d be willing to accept European rules on food and product safety in exchange for access to the single market. ECFR/Independent…

Rebuilding Notre Dame When a fire tore through Notre Dame in 2019, a latticework of huge oak beams above the nave that had supported the roof for 800 years was destroyed. This vast structure was known as la forêt, and in the weeks that followed, a plan was formed to recreate it to the tiniest detail. But who now would have the necessary skills? Mike Dennis, an ex-Royal Marine, was one of the artisans who answered the call. By great good fortune, an architect had done a study of the roof in 2014; but his drawings were not enough, says Eleanor Steafel in The Daily Telegraph. Dennis had also to trawl the internet for photos that offered close-up views of the trusses and beam ties. Going through them, he looked…

A vicar who was invited to give a talk about the birth of Jesus at a primary school in Hampshire has apologised after parents complained that he had “ruined” Christmas. Pupils at Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School reportedly began to sob as Rev Dr Paul Chamberlain told them that Father Christmas was not real, and that their parents bought their presents and ate the biscuits left out for Santa. “I don’t know how it can be undone,” one mother told The Times, “but I think it’s absolutely disgusting.” A British tourist stumbled across a strange Covid theme park while travelling in Vietnam. The Tuyen Lam Lake National Tourist Complex “Covid-19 Park” features 80 statues telling the story of the pandemic: there are sculptures of the virus fighting with hand sanitiser, being impaled…

RUSSIA Putin’s nuclear threats have boomeranged The Moscow Times (Amsterdam) It isn’t just those in Western capitals who are disturbed by Vladimir Putin’s bellicose nuclear threats, says Alexander Shulga: ordinary Russians are, too. Their president has been ramping up his warnings of escalation, and has even struck Ukrainian territory with an “Oreshnik” hypersonic ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Intending to scare Nato allies into cutting off military aid to Kyiv, he has succeeded in scaring his public. In a poll last year, 88% of Russians said they could not support the use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine; and despite the diet of anti-Western propaganda they’re fed, a mere quarter backed using them against Nato allies. Easy to see why. Most Russians are “passive” about the war: they’re focused…

Until recently, Exeter Chiefs were the “great success story of the English rugby pyramid”, said Charles Richardson in The Daily Telegraph. The West Country club gained promotion to the Premiership in 2010, having previously inhabited the lower tiers. They won their first league title seven years later, and followed that up with a second title in 2020, amid the chaos of the Covid pandemic. That same year, they also won their first Champions Cup – rugby’s equivalent of the Champions League – beating Racing 92 in the final. “Fast forward to the present day”, however, and the tale is “all too different”, said Mark Stevens in the same paper. Rob Baxter’s side sit bottom of the Premiership, having lost their first seven matches. And to compound their misery, last Sunday…

Football Southampton – currently bottom of the Premier League – sacked manager Russell Martin after their 5-0 defeat by Tottenham last Sunday. Cricket Maia Bouchier and Natalie Sciver-Brunt both scored centuries as England’s women scored 395-9 declared in the first innings of their First Test against South Africa. Tennis Nick Kyrgios has confirmed that he is returning to tennis next month. The Australian, who has suffered knee and wrist injuries, is expected to compete in the Australian Open, his first grand slam since 2022.…

Long Island by Colm Tóibín Picador 304pp £20 The Week bookshop £17.99 Colm Tóibín’s sequel to his much-loved 2009 bestseller Brooklyn is set in the 1970s, 20 years after its predecessor. It begins with Eilis Lacey, the Irish emigrant in Brooklyn, discovering that her American husband, Tony Fiorello, has conceived a child with another woman. This prompts Lacey to return to Ireland, where she encounters familiar figures – the publican Jim Farrell, whom she became close to on her previous visit home, and her irascible mother. Most critics found Long Island to be a worthy successor to Brooklyn – a work that yet again reveals Tóibín’s talent for capturing deep emotion in quiet, understated prose. Praise: “Tóibín’s rich talents as a novelist need no further enumerating… you just have to…

“It’s a cosy tradition at the National Gallery to showcase one of its Christmassy paintings at this time of year,” said Jonathan Jones in The Guardian. Its 2024 offering, however, “is different”. Now back on display after a decade of restoration work, the Italian mannerist Parmigianino’s “huge” altarpiece The Vision of Saint Jerome (1526-27) is no cosy nativity scene. It’s a true oddity. The composition sees Jerome sleeping in the wilderness, as the Virgin and Child materialise above him in the night sky. In the foreground, a loincloth-clad John the Baptist gestures towards the divine vision. Yet instead of following conventional representations, Parmigianino chose to pack the already hallucinatory scene with “flamboyant” gestures, creating a painting that is “wild, quirky” and “subversive”. The work’s genesis wasn’t short of drama either,…

What happened last week Kirsty is blindsided when Philip’s son Gavin turns up at her house in Beechwood – he’s out of prison and wants to make amends. Joy suggests that Mick moves in over Christmas for a trial run. Seeing Gavin at the bus shelter, Lynda gets a shock. Natasha pressures Tom about making an offer on the Beechwood house, but he’s not sure. Kirsty tells Natasha she wonders if Gavin is back because he feels entitled to proceeds from the house sale. When Alan calls in to Lynda to say that Gavin would like to meet with her, a furious Robert says no. Later, Lynda sees Gavin in secret; she says he must learn to accept what happened but she can’t forgive him. Ruth and David beep as…

Sweet wines are so unfashionable that they now offer exceptional value, says Will Lyons in The Sunday Times. I suggest you make room in your “Christmas drinks cabinet” for several bottles, and that you don’t only drink them with dessert. Sauternes is great with foie gras and lobster; port is perfect with cheese, but also ideal for what the French call a vin de méditation – “a quiet glass last thing at night, or when you’ve come in from a chilly afternoon walk”. If you’re in the market for Sauternes, the Wine Society’s Ulysse Cazabonne Sauternes (£21) is “heavenly”. Or try Aldi’s 2020 Specially Selected Sauternes from the “great Château Suduiraut”, which costs £9.99 for 375ml. As for ports, Tesco Finest 10-Year-Old Tawny (£14.50) is amber-hued and “spicy”, while Warre’s…

Isak Andic The death of the billionaire founder of Mango, in a hiking accident near Barcelona last weekend, has shocked the fashion retail industry and elicited many tributes – not least from the Spanish PM, who praised his “great work and business vision”, said Euronews. In an accident witnessed by his family, Andic, 71, slipped and fell down a 150m ravine in the Caves of Montserrat. An elder statesman of the Catalonian business scene – who arrived as an immigrant and built an international brand – his death was described by one peer as “a great loss for the Spanish business fabric”. Born in 1953 in Istanbul, into a Sephardic Jewish family, Andic arrived in Catalonia at 14 and took his first steps in business selling clothes and shoes in…

THE WEEK CROSSWORD 1445 Two Connell Guides and three Week-branded items will be given to the sender of the first correct solution to the crossword and the clue of the week opened on Monday 30 December. Send it to The Week Crossword 1445, 121-141 Westbourne Terrace, London W2 6JR, or email the completed grid/listed solutions to crossword@theweek.co.uk. Tim Moorey (timmoorey.com) This week’s winner will receive Week-branded items, as well as two Connell Guides (connellguides.com). Hint: Five unclued entries are musical and three unclued entries are seasonal creatures. The remaining 40 entries are derived from answers to cryptic clues, almost all of which are in Collins English Dictionary ACROSS 1 Wash that’s standard operating procedure (5,2) 5 (1,10) 11 I help with returned national insurance (5) 12 Fictional woodcutter is a politician…