Tt 2014 10 11

OF LONDON

saturday october 11 2014 | thetimes.co.uk | no 71325

Basking in Bali Pressure grows on No 10 for Ukip pact

How to find peace away from the parties in Indonesia

Pages 52-53

ANTONIO OLMOS / EYEVINE

Farage by-election triumph leaves Tories reeling Sam Coates Deputy Political Editor Michael Savage, Laura Pitel Lucy Fisher

David Cameron is being urged to form an election pact with Ukip after Nigel Farage’s historic by-election triumph left the three main Westminster party leaders reeling.

Six out of ten votes cast in the Essex seat of Clacton went to Ukip, crushing the Conservatives, who received only a quarter. The result made Douglas Carswell, who resigned as a Tory in August, the insurgent party’s first elected MP. Ukip also came within 617 votes of toppling Labour in the Greater Manchester seat of Heywood and Middleton, confounding Labour’s predictions and prompting anxious questions about Ed Miliband and his party’s strategy. “The real explanation of Heywood was people don’t want or vote for Ed. That’s what it’s about,” a senior Labour source said.

The prime minister took the rare step yesterday of agreeing with Labour that the double by-election results put Mr Miliband closer to the door of Downing Street, gambling that the prospect of a Labour return would remove some Ukip support.

However, Mr Cameron faced immediate demands from the Tory right to

take advantage of the challenge posed

by Ukip to Labour in the north.

The Eurosceptic MP Jacob ReesMogg called the Heywood and Middleton result encouraging. “We should think about what that means in terms of the Ukip-Conservative relationship, because the Conservative family could win a majority on that basis,” he said.

“Otherwise, the only thing we manage is mutually assured destruction.”

Referring to the child sex-abuse scandal reported by The Times, he added: “There are seats like Rotherham which the Conservatives are highly unlikely to win in any realistic view. But Ukip could win after all the terrible things that have gone on there.”

Peter Bone, the Tory MP for Wellingborough, said: “If we can get that vote as one we would have a massive centreright majority in parliament, but if we split the vote we could have Labour winning on 31 or 32 per cent of the vote.

“In seats where it is difficult for us to win, maybe let Ukip run in that seat — being endorsed by the Conservatives. If that was repeated in Heywood and Middleton at the general election, it would have a Conservative and Ukip MP.” John Redwood, the former cabinet minister and a figurehead for the Tory right, said yesterday that he would have Continued on page 9, col 4

IN THE NEWS Indian public to spy on ‘slacker’ civil servants The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, has initiated arguably the world’s most intrusive employee surveillance scheme in an effort to force his 100,000 civil servants, known as notoriously tardy workers, back to work. The biometric monitoring system enables members of the public to keep minute-by-minute tabs on them using the website www.attendance.gov.in. Page 63

Mob castrates ‘rapist’ A man was castrated by an angry mob wielding a meat cleaver after he was caught attempting to rape a teenage girl. Suresh Kumar, 40, was dragged into a butcher’s shop and beaten with sticks in Ganganagar, Rajasthan. Page 63

Tension on the border North and South Korea exchanged gunfire across their land border yesterday, while the absence of Kim Jong-un from a key event renewed speculation over the health and whereabouts of the North’s despotic ruler. Page 63

Mexican mass grave Investigators searching for 43 Mexican students allegedly abducted by police in the pay of a drugs cartel have discovered a second mass grave believed to contain the remains of some of the missing youths. Page 62

Hong Kong pushes on The streets around the Admiralty financial district of Hong Kong were once again transformed by a mass rally of more than 10,000 people last night as the public piled in from across the city to protect student protesters. Page 64

Lesson in bravery Malala Yousafzai, 17, who survived a Taliban murder attempt, has won the Nobel peace prize for her campaign to educate all children. Page 14

Buying The Times overseas: Belgium €4.00; Bulgaria BGN 7.50; Cyprus €4.00; northern Cyprus YTL 10.50; Denmark DKK 40; France €4.00; Germany €4.00; Gibraltar £2.50; Greece €4.00; Italy € 4.00; Luxembourg €4.00; Malta €4.00; Morocco MAD 55; Netherlands €4.00; Norway NOK 55; Oman OMR1.50; Portugal €4.00 (CONT.); Spain €4.00; Sweden SEK 55; Switzerland CHF 7.80; Turkey YTL6.50 ; UAE AED11

2

FGM

News INSIDE TODAY

Comment

We talked to the IRA, so why not to Isis?

Jonathan Powell, page 19

Broadcaster cleared of sex crimes after torment of one year on bail Sean O’Neill Crime Editor

Don’t mess with the meze

Mary Berry has angered a fellow chef with her recipe for hummus

News, page 15

Opinion & weather 17 Leading articles 20 Letters 21 World 32 Weekend 37 Games 55 Business news 65 Register 74 Sport 78 Please note, some sections of The Times are available only in the United Kingdom and Ireland

© TIMES NEWSPAPERS LIMITED, 2014. Published and licensed for distribution in electronic and all other derivative forms by Times Newspapers Ltd, 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF, telephone 020-7782 5000. Printed by Newsprinters (Broxbourne) Limited, Great Cambridge Road, Waltham Cross, EN8 8DY and also at Newsprinters (Knowsley) Limited, Kitling Road, Prescot, Merseyside, L34 9HN; Newsprinters (Eurocentral) Limited, Byramsmuir Road, Holytown, Motherwell, ML1 1NP; Belfast Telegraph Newspapers Ltd, 124 Royal Avenue, Belfast, BT1 1EB; Smurfit Kappa NewsPress Ltd, Kells Industrial Estate, Kells, County Meath, Ireland; Irish Times Print Facility,4080 Kingswood Road, Citywest Business Campus, Dublin 24, Ireland; Arab Media Group, Masar Printing and Publishing PO Box 485100, Dubai, UAE; Europrinter, Av J. Mermoz, Zone Aeropole, 6041 Gosselies, Belgium; Bermont S A, Av./Portugal, 4 (Centro de Transportes de Coslada), 28820 Coslada, Madrid; MOP, Zone Industrielle, Avenue De L’Europe, 13127 Vitrolles, Marseilles; Estetik Ltd, Kuscuburnu mevkii bati beton yolu no: 4 yazibasi torbali, Izmir, Turkey; and Miller Newsprint Ltd, Miller House, Tarxien Road, Malta Airport, LQA 05 Luqa, Malta; Hellenic Miller Newsprint Ltd, Ioanni Kranidioti Avenue 206, 2235 Latsia, PO Box 24508, 1300 Lefkosia, Cyprus; Milkro Hellas Publisher Services Ltd, 2nd Kilometer Peanias – Markopoullo Ave, Position Nisiza 19400 Koropi, Greece; Omniprint SA, Poligono Industrial, Nave Omniprint, Santa Maria Dell Cami, 7320 Mallorca. For permission to copy articles or headlines for internal information purposes contact Newspaper Licensing Agency at PO Box 101, Tunbridge Wells, TN1 1WX, tel 01892 525274, e-mail copy@nla.co.uk. For all other reproduction and licensing inquiries contact Syndication Department, 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF, telephone 020-7782 5400, e-mail syndication@thetimes.co.uk

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

The veteran broadcaster Paul Gambaccini was cleared of sex offences allegations yesterday when prosecutors ruled that he would face no further action under Operation Yewtree.

Mr Gambaccini, 65, had been on police bail for almost a year after being arrested in an early morning raid on his central London home on October 29 last year.

The length of time it has taken to resolve his case will raise further concerns about the potential abuse of police bail and whether sufficient resources are being devoted to a soaring number of historical abuse cases.

Police sources conceded that the case against Mr Gambaccini had been “weak” and should not have taken so long to resolve.

Nigel Evans, the MP who was acquitted of sex assaults after a lengthy process of investigation and trial, said that the experience had taken “an enormous toll” on the broadcaster.

“I have spent several occasions in Paul’s company over the past 12 months and I have seen first-hand the effect the accusations and ensuing public interest has had on him,” Mr Evans wrote in a blog for ITV News.

“The torture, torment and stress to himself, family and friends is almost indescribable. Jim

Davidson, Jimmy Tarbuck, Freddie Starr and now Paul Gambaccini have all endured a nightmare semi-existence of uncertainty and financial damage.

“In Paul’s case he had to wait over a year of bail, re-bail, and further re-bails. He was due to be before police on October 13th but he received the information that he is to have no further action taken against him.”

Mr Evans said the government should consider introducing measures to protect the identities of people who are under investigation but have not been charged.

Mr Gambaccini was arrested on the same day as another man, now aged 75, over allegations of sex offences claimed to have taken place over two years in the early 1980s.

Baljit Ubhey, the chief crown prosecutor for London, said he had concluded there was “insufficient evidence to prosecute in relation to allegations of sexual offences made by two males believed to be aged between 14 and 15 at the time of the alleged offending”.

He added: “The complainants have been informed and we will be writing to them to more fully explain our decision and offer a meeting should they wish to discuss the matter in more detail.”

At the time of his arrest, Mr Gambaccini

released a statement to say: “On Monday night, October 28, I attended an excellent production of the Kander and Ebb musical The Scottsboro Boys at the Young Vic theatre.

“It concerned a group of black men in Alabama in the 1930s who were falsely accused of sexual offences. Within hours, I was arrested

by Operation Yewtree. Nothing had changed, except this time there was no music.”

The two men were the 15th and 16th people to be arrested under Operation Yewtree, the Metropolitan police inquiry sparked by abuse allegations against Jimmy Savile. Ten people have been told they will face no further action after being questioned as part of the investigation. Three have been convicted — Rolf Harris, Max Clifford and Dave Lee Travis — and the singer Gary Glitter and former radio DJ Chris Denning are due to face trial.

A former BBC chauffeur, David Smith, was charged but died before court proceedings could take place.

Another man, aged 73, remains on bail after he was arrested in April.

Mr Gambaccini has not appeared on the BBC since his arrest. A BBC spokesman said: “We will be meeting Paul to discuss next steps shortly and will make any announcements in due course.”

Police spied on local reporter investigating rape Alex Spence Media Editor

Police used surveillance laws to uncover the source of a journalist who asked questions about a rape investigation, it has been claimed.

Press Gazette, a media trade publication, reported that Suffolk police had confirmed it had used the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa) to obtain the phone records of a crime reporter on the Ipswich Star after he started looking into a cold case in 2006.

The incident has resurfaced amid controversy about the use of powers to snoop on journalists, exposing their confidential sources without their knowledge or permission from a judge.

Phone companies were yesterday accused of making vast amounts of their customers’ data available to the authorities “at the click of a mouse”, but by law they are obliged to hand over

the data as long as the request has been deemed to comply with Ripa by a senior officer.

It came after Boris Johnson backtracked on comments he made defending Scotland Yard for secretly seizing a Sun reporter’s phone records while investigating the Plebgate affair.

The mayor of London had said it was reasonable for the police to use Ripa to see a journalist’s communications data without their knowledge if they were investigating serious crimes.

He retreated from those remarks at the London Press Club Ball, saying: “It is crucial that journalists should be able to protect their sources and to give whistleblowers the confidence to come forward and reveal stuff that the public needs to know.” He believed the police should not be able to see a journalist’s phone calls without “prior judicial approval”.

Use of Ripa has been under scrutiny since it

European human rights have benefited UK, says top judge Frances Gibb Legal Editor

Human rights have been “very beneficial” to court rulings and are “fundamental to the rule of law”, the UK’s most senior judge has declared.

Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, president of the UK Supreme Court, added that it was also “particularly important” that the rights of serious criminals or others who were locked up as a danger to society were “not ignored”.

The judge was making his first public comments since the Conservative party announced plans last week to scrap the Human Rights Act and replace it with a UK bill of rights. The Conservatives also want to restrict the scope of rights claims to the most serious cases, saying that they should no longer apply in “trivial” cases.

Lord Neuberger noted that the future of the Human Rights Act 1998 had become a “matter of party political controversy”, insisting: “I do not wish to enter that arena.”

However, he said that rights, such as those embodied in the European Convention on Human Rights, were “fundamental to the rule of law” — particularly at a time of ever-increasing government powers.

Outlining the positive benefits of the convention, he said that as people had sought to enforce their human rights in the UK courts, a UK human rights jurisprudence had developed.

“This in general is very beneficial,” he said, as part of the Conkerton Memorial Lecture to Liverpool Law Society on Thursday night, which was released yesterday.

Lord Neuberger also noted that one of the justifications for the Human Rights Act was to put an end to UK judges being unable to decide in favour of people on the basis of their human rights, who would then go to Strasbourg for a remedy. The act enabled UK judges to give effect to those rights for the first time, he said, “avoiding the UK government having to foot the bill in terms of costs and damages of having to defend a successful Strasbourg court claim”.

The Human Rights Act, which incorporated the convention into domestic law, had brought in “a brave new Top judge world of human rights in this country”, Lord Neuberger said, which had expanded significantly this century.

Looking at key decisions of the UK Supreme Court, he said that “many of them are concerned with European law and the great majority of those involve human rights”.

Lord Neuberger acknowledged that there was tension between the public interest and individual rights in some areas but he pointed out that although there had been much criticism of the Strasbourg court’s decisions in general, the only areas where there had been specific vocal complaint were over asylum and the right of prisoners to vote.

emerged that the Metropolitan police obtained phone records of Tom Newton Dunn, The Sun’s political editor, during an investigation into a row between Andrew Mitchell, the former chief whip, and Downing Street officers.

In another case, a Kent police officer investigating the speeding scandal involving Chris Huhne, the former energy secretary, gained data of a Mail on Sunday journalist and his source.

Part of the concern about the use of Ripa is that companies will hand over data without customers knowing. It is not known, therefore, how often police use it or if there is proper oversight.

The Interception of Communications Commissioner’s Office, which oversees Ripa, is conducting an investigation. The Suffolk case suggests that the police have been using Ripa against journalists for years. Suffolk police did not return a call seeking comment.

Lawrence mother may run for London mayor Jill Sherman Whitehall Editor

Two decades after the murder of her son, Doreen Lawrence has revealed that she would like to stand for mayor of London.

Baroness Lawrence, a working Labour peer, says that she is not ready yet but could be in a few years, leaving open the possibility that she could run as Labour’s candidate in 2016 or later.

In recent months she has been tipped as a mayoral candidate but has maintained that she was not interested. However, in an interview in today’s Times Magazine, she appears to have changed her mind.

“I don’t know. I think probably in a few years, but at the moment I’m trying to understand my role as a peer,” Lady Lawrence said. “Somewhere down the line but not at the moment.

Boris has another year, two years to go. I don’t see myself there just yet.”

Lady Lawrence fought for justice after the racially motivated murder of Stephen, her eldest child, in 1993. She joins a growing list of hopefuls for the Labour mayoral candidacy.

David Lammy, the MP for Tottenham, has officially thrown his hat into the ring for 2016.

Eddie Izzard, the comedian and long-standing Labour supporter, has said that he is interested in running for mayor, but not until 2020.

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

3

FGM

News

Switch off and book your way to bliss

Wine and conversation are out: reading clubs are getting together in glorious silence.

Rhys Blakely writes

The smarter we get, the fewer books we read. Try to find five minutes for a novel and your iPhone will chirp, a text will ping in and, inevitably, there will be an urgent need to check Twitter. In an age of such digital dexterity, there is no time left to bother with a long read.

Now, though, change is afoot. The country’s book lovers are about to rebel against the endless bleeping and settle down in a comfy chair with a good novel and read in silence.

Britain is about to witness the dawn of its first “Slow Reading” clubs — part of a growing global mission to revive a love of books in a culture plagued by gadgetry distractions.

Unlike most book clubs, the point is not to discuss literature. It is simply to settle down and read for an hour of blissful, uninterrupted silence.

The British clubs, which are finalising venues in north and east London, will be an offshoot of an original founded in Wellington, New Zealand, by Meg Williams, 31, a British marketing manager who works for an arts festival there.

The Wellington club is at the vanguard of the global “Slow Reading Movement” whose aim is to carve out time to rediscover the joy of uninterrupted reading, a skill that experts fear is being forgotten in a click-happy culture.

Advocates argue that “true reading” — that is, patiently imbibing a good book — can improve concentration and memory, reduce stress and deepen the ability to think and empathise.

Polls suggest, however, that this in sharp decline. Ms Williams, who studied English at the University of Warwick, suspects that her own story is typical. She started her reading club after realising that she had not finished a proper book in a year.

Concerns about reading are almost as old as reading itself. Socrates was not sure that literacy was a good thing at all.

Reading, he feared, would get in the way of youngsters focusing on their own daily lives.

In the 19th century the essayist Charles Lamb railed at magazines.

They pushed readers to “pant and toil” as they scrambled to stay abreast of topical events, he warned, forcing them to say “farewell to reading for its own sake”. In the 1950s, the TV revolution stoked similar concerns.

However, David Mikics, a professor

A novel approach Rules for slow reading

by David Mikics, author of Slow Reading in a Hurried Age Be patient Give yourself time to figure things out.

Look out for what is small but significant Think like a detective Ask questions. The best questions often tie parts of the book together Use a dictionary Take the Followers look at the book in a different way

Book lovers attend “Slow Reading Clubs” to escape the distractions of modern life and enjoy an hour of quiet reading

Inside

Have we all forgotten the first big thing we learnt at school?

Leading article, page 20

of English at the University of Houston, who has emerged as a slow reading guru, believes that our “age of digital distraction” throws up unprecedented challenges.

He cites studies that have shown how, when we read online text we do not read all of it, parsing only the left-hand side of the column. We risk “losing sight of what reading is and can be," he says.

“We are primed to scan and skim.”

Professor Mikics believes that reading a classic novel is a skill that must be learnt. In his book, Slow Reading in a Hurried Age, he sets out rules on how to become a better reader. He suggests, for instance, that readers keep a “short shelf” of beloved books, and that they return to them, because “true reading” is often most fruitful when one is re-reading.

At the Wellington Slow Reading

Club, attendees are given advice on how to focus, and sessions begin with calming breathing exercises.

The clubs are part of a broader rallying cry. William Powers is an America author who has just lived for a year according to the principles of the “Slow Movement”, which advocates for a broad cultural gear shift.

By becoming more efficient, Mr Powers says he was able to work 24/7.

He ate “slow food” — patiently prepared using traditional techniques — and he indulged in “slow travel”, which involves wandering without a rigid plan and emphasises the value of making friends along the way. And, of course, he spent many hours slow reading.

In quiet corners he savoured classic works. It was, he believes, time well spent. “I rediscovered a joy I had last experienced in childhood,” he says.

What brings an SAS hard man to tears? Opera Jack Malvern Arts Correspondent

Opera-goers who managed to get through Sir Nicholas Hytner’s production of Cosi Fan Tutte without shedding a tear may congratulate themselves for their mental toughness. They are more resilient than Andy McNab. The former SAS sergeant, whose account of his capture and torture in Iraq in Bravo Two Zero made him the bestselling combat author in the world, told an audience at the Cheltenham Literature Festival that he has only ever cried once in his life, at one of Mozart’s most frivolous works.

Asked by John Inverdale, who interviewed him on stage, whether anything could make him cry, McNab replied: “Yeah. Opera. About four years ago. I pretended there was a bit of dust in my

eye, but it wasn’t. I love opera. It’s amazing.”

The author, who was promoting For Valour, his latest thriller, is best known for his spare descriptions of his treatment at an interrogation centre during the Gulf war. “The first three weeks of my own incarceration were spent under physical interrogation, being whipped and burnt, and having my back teeth pulled out,” he recalled earlier this year.

His experience at Glyndebourne was a different matter, he said. “It’s the event. It’s the fact that it’s live. Then I went to Milan, to La Scala. Even English National [Opera] I thought was great. People say that changing it into English is wrong, but I don’t care. It’s about the per-

Andy McNab: “ I love opera. It’s amazing”

formances.” The Times awarded four stars to the production, which starred Sally Matthews as Fiordiligi and was conducted by the late Charles Mackerras.

The former soldier said he was told by psychiatrists three years ago that he was a psychopath, which limits his emotional responses.

“I don’t register empathy.

That’s why I find it very hard to register fear in people’s faces.”

McNab, said he was trying to persuade his wife to come with him to Vienna to watch Wagner’s The Ring Cycle.

“It’s 15 hours, so my wife . . . she likes it, but not for 15 hours. But it’s got to be done.”

time to look up a few words that interest you Take notes These can give a firmer sense of your response Find the author’s basic thought Imagine someone asking you, ‘What is that book you’re reading about?’ Then try to find the deepest and most rewarding answer to the question

4

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

News ANTHONY DEVLIN / PA

She’s a dame Angelina Joli, the 39-year-old actress, has been made an honourary dame by the Queen for her services to Britain’s foreign policy and her campaign to end sexual violence in war zones

Fears grow of terror attack on police officers Sean O’Neill, Will Humphries

Police across the country were warned yesterday that they were targets for violent attacks by Islamic State sympathisers. The unprecedented alert was issued by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) three days after five men were arrested on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack in London.

The five, aged 21 and 20, who have been friends since their secondary school days in west London, remain in custody at high-security police stations.

Police are understood to have recovered a Russian-made Baikal handgun, a silencer and ammunition in a separate operation last month. ACPO declined to comment on what specific intelligence from the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre lay behind its warning.

People working in police stations or other police buildings are being advised against wearing any items of uniform or distinct insignia, especially when offduty or arriving at and leaving work.

The two men who killed Fusilier Lee Rigby outside Woolwich Barracks in May 2013 singled him out because he was wearing a “Help For Heroes” top and carried a camouflage rucksack.

Assistant Commissioner Mark Row-

ley, the national policing lead for counterterrorism, said: “The threat level to police officers and staff has been heightened, but we are used to confronting risk and danger, this is what we do on a daily basis, and we are well trained.

“We are informing our officers and staff of the heightened risk and reminding them to remain vigilant and alert to any possible dangers. We are asking them to follow existing policies and Friends described Yasir Mahmoud as “a nice guy”

good practice. Measures are being put in place to increase vigilance.”

There would be “no major changes in the way we continue to police the UK and engage with our communities — our emphasis is on vigilance”, he added.

Investigations into the suspected plot broken up by police and MI5 this week are continuing, with further searches of properties carried out.

Four of the men in custody were

pupils together at Westminster City School, which describes itself as a “Christian non-denominational comprehensive academy”.

The school, which became an academy in 2012, declined to comment on the arrests. Despite its Christian ethos about one third of its pupils are of other faiths.

It has a military cadet detachment that goes on trips to the Brecon Beacons and visits the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey every year. Cadets learn about firearms and are taught to shoot but it is thought none of those arrested was a member.

The men in detention are Tarik Hassane, 21, who is studying medicine in Sudan and was arrested, friends say, 48 hours after returning to London to spend Eid with his family; Rawan Kheder, 20, who comes from an Iraqi Kurdish family and whose father is a prominent member of the community; Gusai Abuzeid, 21, a student at Greenwich School of Management; and Yasir Mahmoud, 20, who lived with his mother and was described by friends as “well educated and a nice guy”.

A fifth man, aged 20, who studies physics at a leading university, cannot be named for legal reasons.

Jihadists’ father defends ‘honourable’ cause Gabriella Swerling

The British father of three jihadists who went to fight in Syria insists that his sons are not terrorists, arguing that Islamic State (Isis) has hijacked the “honourable” Syrian revolution.

Abubaker Deghayes’s sons Amer, 20, and Jaffar, 16, are in Syria with Jabhat

al-Nusra, an Islamic jihadist organisation. Their brother Abdullah, 17, was killed in April after being shot in the chest while fighting President Assad’s forces near Latakia province.

Jabhat al-Nusra is linked to al-Qaeda and the Khorasan, a group targeted in US airstrikes last month.

Mr Deghayes, from Brighton, who

admits that his sons are now “thoroughly radicalised”, said: “I worry about them constantly. I want them out of danger. They [Isis] have messed up an honourable revolution.

“People can no longer distinguish between people fighting Assad and [Isis] criminals.”

Isis advance, page 32

PM considering fighters’ school for his daughter Greg Hurst Education Editor

David Cameron is considering sending one of his children to a school from which two former pupils have been killed fighting in Syria.

The prime minister and his wife have twice visited Holland Park School in Kensington, west London, with their eldest child Nancy, who attends a state primary near by. The Camerons visited on an open day and this week made a second visit in which they toured classrooms and chatted with pupils.

Three former pupils of the school have travelled to Syria; two were killed during fighting, while a fourth was convicted of funding terrorism by enlisting a friend to smuggle cash for her husband in Syria.

The school’s head teacher, Colin Hall, said he was aware of all four cases but said all had left the school six or more years ago. He was confident none had been radicalised while they were pupils.

The school was firmly secular, Mr Hall said, and did not allow discussions on religious extremism in the belief there was no legitimate debate on the subject to be had.

Holland Park is one of England’s leading comprehensive schools, with its exam results in the top 2 per cent of non-selective state schools. It has consistently been rated “outstanding” by Ofsted, the highest rating.

Although close to some of central London’s smartest streets, the school serves a mixed inner-city community with children from a wide variety of ethnic and religious backgrounds.

When inspectors last visited in 2007, they said 60 per cent of pupils spoke English as a second language.

It emerged in late August that two former pupils, Mohammed Nasser and Hamzah Parvez, left for Syria in May to fight with Islamic State, telling their

families they were visiting Germany.

Mr Nasser, 21, was subsequently killed after being struck by shrapnel in his forehead but Mr Parvez, 21, released a video calling fellow Britons to arms and is believed to still be fighting.

In the same month Amal El Wahabi, 27, another Holland Park alumnus, became the first Briton to be convicted of funding Syrian jihadists. She asked a friend to hide €20,000 in her knickers and fly to Turkey to give it to her husband, who had already left for Syria.

Last year a fourth ex-pupil, Mohammed el-Araj, 23, was killed fighting with al-Nusra Front, an affiliate to alQaeda, during an ambush on forces of President Assad. He had previously been jailed for 18 months after being arrested while protesting outside the Israeli Embassy in London.

Mr Hall, who has been head of Holland Park since 2001, said he made clear to all parents and pupils that the school did not tolerate extremism.

“We don’t have a prayer room in school,” he said. “We don’t talk about religion in school. We run a secular school and we have got a very, very strong line in our prospectus and all of our admissions criteria that you leave religion at the front of the school gate.”

“The vast majority of our student community understand and subscribe absolutely to the fact . . . which we believe makes it a safe place,” Mr Hall said. “We won’t facilitate discussion on, for example, the difficulties in Syria because to facilitate it would expose and open up in a school with a complex make-up, would allow a debate when in fact we don’t think there is a debate to be had about extremism.”

A No 10 spokesman said: “As with other parents at this time of year, the PM and Sam are looking at various schools for their daughter to go to next September.”

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

FGM

Hackers threaten to show teenagers’ intimate photos James Dean Technology Correspondent

Hackers threatened last night to publish indecent images of children that had been hijacked from Snapchat, a popular smartphone app.

Members of 4chan, the notorious photo-sharing website, claimed to have access to a cache of as many as 200,000 private Snapchat images.

Snapchat allows individuals to send and receive photos and short videos. It is popular with children and young adults, but concerns have been raised about its use for underage “sexting”.

Snapchat images, or “snaps”, selfdestruct within a time frame allotted by the sender. The images can be copied on the phone, but the sender will be notified if that happens. However, there are third-party apps on the market that link in to Snapchat allowing a recipient to save and store snaps without the sender’s knowledge.

The hackers behind the alleged leak are believed to have accessed photos and videos saved in one or more of these image-storing apps. They may, alternatively, have created an imagestoring app or apps themselves with the aim of harvesting private images.

The legitimacy of the claims could not be fully verified last night. However, Snapchat issued a statement that appeared to confirm the hack.

The company said that its own systems were never breached and were not the source of the leaks, adding: “Snapchatters were victimised by their use of third-party apps to send and receive snaps, a practice that we expressly prohibit in our terms of use precisely because they compromise our users’ security. We vigilantly monitor the App Store and Google Play for illegal third-party apps and have succeeded in getting many of these removed.”

An anonymous 4chan user, who

claimed to be behind the hack, said that they would upload the entire collection of stolen Snapchat images overnight. “I know how big this is so I don’t wanna hold out too long,” the user said.

Another user said: “Seems like they’re going to launch a site as soon as they’re able to identify the people in the pictures, [so] that you’ll be able to search up people you know.”

Some members of 4chan claimed to have seen smaller bundles of the hacked images. One said that they were predominantly of Norwegian and Danish individuals, while another said that there were some of British and American individuals.

One user asked: “Why the f*** does anyone want to see underage girls? This whole site is full of sick perverts.”

The discussion thread was later deleted from 4chan.

About half of Snapchat’s users are between 13 and 17 years old, according to the company’s marketing literature.

The company, which was set up in 2011, was recently valued at $10 billion. It rejected a $3 billion takeover offer from Facebook last year.

Snapchat was forced to settle a complaint by the US Federal Trade Commission this year over its promise that snaps “disappear forever”. The FTC said the company had misled consumers, because it was easy to install third-party apps to save the images.

The 4chan website was the source of a huge leak of private, intimate photographs of scores of British and American celebrities at the end of August. Matt Smith, the former star of Doctor Who, Jennifer Lawrence, the Hunger Games actress, and Rihanna, the pop star, are among those who had private smartphone photographs stolen from cloud storage services and leaked online.

Young are the Judge rules me, myself and on £700m divorce battle I generation A High Court judge has ruled on one of the biggest money disputes seen in an English divorce court, lawyers say. The financier Sir Chris Hohn, 47, and his estranged American wife, Jamie Cooper-Hohn, 49, fought over a fortune said to run into hundreds of millions of pounds at the Family Division of the High Court in London this summer.

Lawyers representing the pair said yesterday that they had been given a draft of Mrs Justice Roberts’s ruling and had been told what her decision was.

They gave no detail of what financial awards the judge had made. It is not known when the ruling will be made public.

Sir Chris and Lady Cooper-Hohn had fought over assets totalling more than £700 million. He said that she should get a quarter of their fortune while she claimed that she was entitled to half.

Mrs Justice Roberts allowed journalists to attend the trial but placed limits on what could be reported. The court was told that the couple had separated after being married for more than 15 years.

Anna Pujol-Mazzini, Oliver Moody

Young people talk about themselves considerably more than their elders, according to a study of language used.

Mark Liberman, professor of linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania, analysed data from 75,000 volunteers’ Facebook accounts and found that under-20s used “I”, “mine”, “my” and “me” almost twice as often as over-60s.

Conversely, first-person plural pronouns — “we”, “us”, “our” and “ours” — were much more frequent among older Facebook users.

It is the latest in a series of linguistic studies to show that “Generation Y” — those born between the mid-1980s and the turn of the millennium — talk about themselves rather a lot.

However, James Pennebaker, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas, said that self-centredness had been a perennial characteristic of the young for centuries. “When we are young, we are far more insecure about who we are, where we are in society and how we feel,” he said. “We want others to know more about us.”

5

News DOMINIC LIPINSKI / PA

People watching Beasley Street by Nicole Eisenman and The Seven Acts of Mercy by Pieter Brueghel the Younger, left, feature in Christie’s Bad Shepherd exhibition, which explores the influence of the Flemish Renaissance artist Pieter Brueghel the Elder

6

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

News

Expats in ‘tropical’ France denied fuel benefit Ben Webster Environment Editor

When Roger Boaden paid £400 to a farmer last week for logs to feed the hungry wood burner in his French home, he wondered how the department for work and pensions (DWP) could possibly claim that where he lived was too hot to justify a winter fuel payment.

He found out that it was quite simple: the officials had lumped in a few tropical islands when they decided on the definition of France.

The temperature in winter regularly falls to -10C in the Limousin region of France, to which Mr Boaden and his wife, Maria, retired 12 years ago on a

modest pension after he spent 30 years working for the Conservative party.

The Boadens are among almost 60,000 British pensioners living in France who are to be stripped of the annual winter fuel payment, worth up to £300, on the ground that the country’s average winter temperature is warmer than in southwest England, the warmest part of Britain.

Another 120,000 British pensioners living in Portugal, Spain, Greece, Gibraltar, Malta and Cyprus will also lose the benefit from winter next year under a reform planned by the government.

Mr Boaden, 74, who ran six election campaign tours for Ted Heath and

Where the money goes Spain (7.20C)

£8,742,000 France (70C*, 4.90C) £5,177,000 Cyprus (120C) £1,432,000 Portugal (10.30C) £579,000 Greece (7.10C) *With overseas territories £362,000 Malta (13.70C) Mean winter temperature in southwest England: 5.6 C £295,000 Gibraltar (13.90C) Source: Winter fuel payments 2013-14 £55,000 0

Margaret Thatcher, decided to investigate how Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, had been able to claim that French winters were so balmy. Using the Freedom of Information Act, he discovered that Mr Duncan Smith had included several Frenchspeaking tropical islands and part of South America in his definition of France, bumping up the average winter temperature by more than 2C. By including Martinique, Guadeloupe, Réunion, Mayotte and French Guiana, where the average winter temperature is at least 20C, Mr Duncan Smith was able to claim 7C for France, above the 5.6C of southwest England.

Without its tropical territories, France’s winter average falls to 4.9C. Documents obtained by Mr Boaden from the Met Office reveal that it advised Mr Duncan Smith that France’s average winter temperature could be calculated in these two ways and that France on its own was colder than southwest England.

In a letter to Sir Alan Haselhurst, the Conservative MP who took up Mr Boaden’s case, Mr Duncan Smith wrote that the tropical places had been included because they were France’s départements d’outre-mer, “which are integral parts of the French state”.

Mr Boaden said: “The department for work and pensions has fiddled the temperatures for France to make it warm and thereby deprive hard-up British pensioners from having the winter fuel payments.

“Guadeloupe is very French, but it is 6,750 kilometres from Paris and enjoys temperatures in the 20s all year round.

We need heat most days from mid-October to early June and the payment helps us with the €3,000 [£2,360] a year we spend on heating.

“Pensioners are being treated in a shameful way by this government.”

The DWP said: “Any suggestion of DWP manipulating figures is wrong. It is just not something that could have happened. Winter fuel payments are intended to encourage older people in Britain to keep themselves warm. They were never intended to be paid in warmer countries. This change is in response to an EU court ruling which exposes the taxpayer to increased risk of this happening.”

Success is . . . enough sleep Britons who embraced the materialism of the 1980s no longer believe that greed is good, according to research.

It found they are turning their backs on the philosophy celebrated by Gordon Gekko, the stockbroker played by Michael Douglas in the 1987 film Wall Street, who argued that “greed is right, greed works”. Instead of material achievements, the study found, sleep, family, exercise and healthy eating have become priorities.

The research cited a survey from the 1980s that found 33 per cent of respondents believed a flashy car such as a Ferrari was a “key indicator of success”.

Among the 1,300 Britons questioned for the latest study, by a hotel chain, this had fallen to 2 per cent now.

Among the Eighties respondents, 36 per cent considered a large salary and a high-powered job as “key to being seen as successful”. In 2014, however, 10 per cent say wealth and an “important job” are signs of success, with 35 per cent believing it is wiser to “put money aside” rather than spend it.

Today’s top goals were found to be spending time with family, achieving a better work/life balance, keeping healthy and getting more sleep.

Cycle route opponents are ‘old men in limos’ Boris Johnson must not give into “old men in limos” and scrap plans for cycle superhighways, Chris Boardman, the Olympic gold medallist, has said. The mayor of London announced proposals last month to build a “Crossrail for bikes”, yet support is not unanimous, Boardman said.

He wrote on The Guardian website: “There is an intense lobbying operation to destroy the plans, led by just one company, Canary Wharf Group, and by the City of London Corporation.”

Michael Welbank, planning chairman at the City of London Corporation, said they supported the plans in principle but claims that the proposals are “heavily biased towards cycling”, which Boardman said was “like opposing Crossrail on the grounds that it is heavily biased towards trains”.

Hannah’s send-off

Hannah Witheridge, 23, who was murdered in Thailand, was buried in Hemsby, Norfolk, with friends and family giving her a vibrant send-off. The coffin was carried in a hearse driven by four white ponies to a celebration of her life that her parents named “Hannah’s party”. Her body was found on a beach on Koh Tao last month beside that of David Miller, 24, from Jersey. Two Burmese men have been held for the killings.

Met targets graduates The Metropolitan police hope to lure graduates with a new recruitment scheme that will target top universities. Police Now, modelled on the Teach First programme, will start accepting applications later this month.

Trainees will undergo a two-year course in some of London’s toughest areas, after which they will become police “ambassadors” with the chance to be fast-tracked to the rank of inspector.

17th-century flat-pack A flat-pack 17th-century tithe barn is up for sale. Having stood on a farm on the Acton Hall estate, near Stowmarket, Suffolk, for 350 years, it was dismantled 25 years ago and its oak timbers put in storage. Each piece has been numbered and an expert will be on hand to help with piecing it together. It is to be sold at the Summers Place auction house, Billingshurst, on October 22 and is expected to fetch £100,000.

Intern started shop fire A 15-year-old schoolgirl set fire to a shop because she was bored of her work experience placement, Warwick crown court was told.

The girl caused up to £1 million in damage to the Wilkinson shop, in Nuneaton, on July 8, after she set fire to cardboard boxes as she was fed up of stacking shelves and wanted to go home. She pleaded guilty to arson. The judge ordered for her to be examined by a psychiatrist before sentencing.

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

Schools furious at exam markers who can’t add up Nicola Woolcock Education Correspondent

The examinations regulator, Ofqual, has come under fire for the “endemic incompetence” of examination boards because of their inaccurate marking of GCSEs and A levels this summer.

Many leading schools told The Times that they had experienced an unprecedented number of marking and grading mistakes this year.

Examiners could be barred from adding up marks in future years because there have been so many errors in calculating results, one headmaster was told by an exam board.

At Brighton College, a leading independent school, 769 papers were found to have been wrongly marked, resulting in 160 grade changes. Of these, 167 errors related to A level and 602 to GCSE. Last year the school uncovered 230 marking errors and 36 grade changes.

Richard Cairns, the head teacher, said: “What baffles us is that no alarm bells go off at the exam boards when a large group of children who are predicted A*s get really low marks.

“You can forgive the oversight if just one or two children underperform but when 100 A*s are predicted and only a handful get them, which is what happened with our GCSE English papers this year, that should make exam boards start to question the marking.

“We certainly did and thank goodness — our querying triggered a whole centre re-mark that dramatically changed the grades and highlighted a deeply troubling crack in the system.

“The faith of children has been shaken. Ours too. And it will only be restored when the Department for Education makes a clean sweep and establishes new teams of sufficientlypaid, well-qualified and properly regulated markers.”

Another school said it was told by one board that examiners would no longer be allowed to add up marks.

David Goodhew, headmaster of Latymer Upper School in west London,

said: “We have never seen this level of grade change. The causes are not just inaccurate marking, but clerical errors.

“The board’s response is that next year examiners won’t be allowed or trusted to add up marks. One board sent us a promise to re-check all geography papers but they meant to send it to a different school.

“There is no pattern about specific boards or subjects — this appears to be endemic incompetence across the system.”

At Latymer, more than two-fifths of A-level reassessments resulted in higher marks. There were 27 grade changes, compared with 11 last year.

The biggest change added 20 marks to one candidate’s result but he had already missed his place at Durham University by then.

Ninety per cent of resubmitted economics papers had their marks revised, resulting in seven grade changes.

A teenager who achieved four A grades was turned down by Cambridge.

After re-marking she was awarded two A*s and two A grades, which might have secured her the place.

Glenys Stacey, the head of Ofqual, said: “Some 15 million scripts and about 100 million individual answers to exam questions are marked by more than 30,000 markers over a relatively short period each summer.

“We are making changes that next year will enable and require exam boards to categorise errors, to show system and individual marker error, and make the information public so that all can see how such mistakes happen. When significant system problems arise, we require them to make changes to stop the same thing happening again.”

Michael Turner, director general of the Joint Council for Qualifications, which represents exam boards, said: “Although the examination system is large, it delivers a high level of accuracy.

But awarding bodies know that improvements can be made and are constantly looking at ways to deliver them.”

Wilshaw accuses critics of running a smear campaign Greg Hurst Education Editor

The chief inspector of Ofsted lashed out at his critics yesterday, accusing them of trying to damage him with smear campaigns and of seeking to politicise the schools inspectorate.

Sir Michael Wilshaw suggested that “vested interests” wanted to block his changes to Ofsted and said he would not be intimidated from challenging poor performance wherever it was found.

His comments came as a leaked email showed that Michael Gove’s closest adviser criticised Sir Michael’s management abilities and suggested forcing Ofsted to appoint a new chief executive to work alongside him.

The memo, written in October 2013

by Dominic Cummings, Mr Gove’s special adviser, said Ofsted was “at best a poor organisation” and accused Sir Michael of lacking focus and a weakness for media attention.

Sir Michael said its contents came as no surprise to him and linked it to a clash with the education secretary in

7

FGM

January when he demanded a public endorsement from Mr Gove.

That was triggered when The Times reported that two think-tanks close to Mr Gove were planning critical reports advocating Ofsted’s reform. Sir Michael reacted with an interview in which he complained of dirty tricks against him.

His fresh outburst will renew tensions between Sir Michael and ministers and, potentially, with David Hoare who took over last month as the chairman of Ofsted. Mr Hoare has told colleagues he was appointed to “sort out” Ofsted after the removal of his predecessor, Baroness Morgan of Huyton.

In his statement, Sir Michael said: “I will not allow Ofsted to be politicised and I will not be swayed from making the difficult decisions that are sometimes necessary to raise standards.”

Mr Cummings said yesterday: “It is obvious that Ofsted is causing significant damage to schools and it is sad that, like many failing chief executives, Wilshaw interprets evidence of his organisation’s failure as a personal attack.”

News IVISTAPHOTOGRAPHY / BARCROFT

Praise for the morning The sun rises on Milverton, a village in the vale of Taunton Deane in Somerset. Forecast, page 17

8

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

News Politics

I’m not making plans to replace Laura Pitel Political Correspondent

Douglas Carswell declared that he had no ambitions for the Ukip leadership yesterday after becoming its first elected MP. The former Conservative said that it would be “disastrous” for himself and the party if he took the helm. “I am not the leader of Ukip, I never will be the leader of Ukip and I will never seek to be leader of Ukip,” he said.

That does not mean that the marriage between him and his new party is going to be a happy one. Tensions between Mr Carswell and Nigel Farage were on display from the moment he declared his defection in August.

They were further laid bare in an extraordinary victory speech after his resounding win in Clacton. He used the address to allude to the claims of bigotry and xenophobia that have dogged Ukip. He said of his new political family: “We are a party for all Britain and all Britons, first and second generation as much as every other.”

Speaking on a tour of Clacton yesterday, he refused to endorse a call by Mr Farage for HIV-positive migrants to be banned from settling in Britain. The MP’s father was the first doctor to diagnose Aids in Uganda and was the inspiration for the physician in The Last King of Scotland, the book-turned-film about the dictator Idi Amin.

Mr Carswell insisted that the Ukip leader’s remarks had been misinterpreted. Mr Farage, however, expanded on the idea, saying that all of those suffering from serious diseases, including HIV and tuberculosis, should be prevented from making Britain their home in order to avoid over-burdening the NHS. The two men have divergent approaches to politics, even if they start from an ideologically similar base. Both are libertarians who support small state, low tax government that keeps out of citizens’ lives. They abhor the impact of the European Union on Britain’s ability to govern itself.

It is in the execution where they diverge. Mr Farage has happily latched onto populism to propel his movement forward, proffering political catnip to entice Britons fearful of social change.

Mr Carswell, by contrast, is a purist who has made plain that he will not tolerate dog-whistle politics or attempts to hark back to the past. Asked about the

The Conservatives pack up after their crushing defeat by Ukip in Clacton

Who has HIV bans?

Countries that forbid entry to foreigners who are HIV positive Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Russia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, Yemen Additional countries with restrictions for short-term stays (less than 90 days) Bhutan, Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, Suriname, Taiwan, Tunisia, Turks and Caicos Islands Additional countries with restrictions for long-term stays (more than 90 days) Aruba, Australia, Bahrain, Belarus, Bosnia Herzegovina, Canada, China, Cuba, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Germany (Bavaria), Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Montserrat, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Oman, Paraguay, Rwanda, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Syria, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Virgin Islands

Ukip leader’s now infamous claim that he felt “slightly awkward” when fellow train passengers spoke in foreign languages, he said: “I have no difficulty with Britain as Britain is today.”

He revealed that he had challenged

Mr Farage on the measures in place to keep out the far-right fringe. The conversations that took place before his defection “focused almost exclusively” on the issue, he said, but he was suitably assured.

He supports feminism, and has said that he rejects the disparaging language used by prominent Ukip members to talk about the impact of maternity leave on business.

Even when politics is left behind, the two men are very different characters.

Mr Farage revels in an old fogey persona, far older than his 50 years. He can barely use a computer.

Mr Carswell, 43, is a fired-up radical who lives for the zeitgeist. He has written a book, The End of Politics and the Birth of iDemocracy, and is an industrious tweeter. He goes tieless because Zac Goldsmith, the debonair MP for Richmond, told him that it was fashionable.

The MP is an eminently more sober presence than the heavy-drinking, extrovert Ukip frontman, who began his career as a high-rolling City metals trader. Not only does the former member of the Conservative research department barely drink, but he also prides himself on a serious demeanour that can verge on the po-faced.

Mr Carswell insisted that there was not a shred of difference between him and the Ukip leader, but in doing so he inadvertently highlighted yet another contrast. “I am absolutely convinced you will not get a cigarette — I was going to say a cigarette paper but that’s not politically correct — you will not get a campaign leaflet between my views and Nigel Farage’s,” he said.

It is not a caveat that Mr Farage would have inserted. The chain-smoker routinely cites PC culture as one of the worst facets of modern Britain.

The two men enjoyed basking in their joint success. They laughed and joked with the crowds as they made a victory lap of Clacton town centre.

For now they remain close, but the relationship will be under scrutiny in the coming weeks and months. Mr Farage does not respond well to those who challenge his authority. The history of Ukip is littered with former members forced out or disillusioned after finding what they, too, thought was their true political home.

Matthew Parris, page 17 Leading article, page 20

Douglas Carswell enjoys a victory tour of Clacton with Nigel Farage, his party

Cameron attacked from within as panic looms No seat is

Michael Savage Chief Political Correspondent

David Cameron conceded that Ukip’s surge could cost him the election yesterday as senior Tories warned that Ed Miliband had taken a step closer to Downing Street.

Several Conservative MPs levelled the blame for Ukip’s rise squarely at No 10, with many angered by the party’s reluctance to curb immigration from within the European Union. Others attacked Mr Cameron’s attempts to modernise the party, through the championing of gay marriage and foreign aid spending.

Their frustrations surfaced after two by-elections in which Ukip earned its first MP and Labour narrowly held on to a seat. The results prompted the return of Tory unease, which had dissipated after a strong conference performance by Mr Cameron.

The attacks were led by Sir Edward Leigh, the former chairman of the public accounts committee, who

warned that “Ukip was created by the failures of our leadership”. Writing on the ConservativeHome website, he said: “A whole host of errors conceived or approved of by Tory bigwigs has fostered the steady loss of votes. The coalition with the Liberals, increased taxes on the middle classes, cuts to the armed forces, failed and wasteful green policies, the massive increase in international aid, and controversial and revolutionary social policies such as same-sex civil marriage. All these actions have been pervaded by a constant tone of attacking the record of the oldest and most successful political party in the world as ‘the nasty party’.”

Bernard Jenkin, chairman of the public administration committee, said that Ukip’s success had been predicted.

“We are delivering this country to a despair about Westminster politics,” he told the BBC. “We ignore the fact that whatever promises we make about immigration, for example, we don’t control immigration because we gave the power away to Europe.” Stewart

Exclusive to members

Dispatch Philip Webster on Ukip’s historic victory — and its aftermath for the Tories and Labour www.thetimes.co.uk/politics

Jackson, the MP for Peterborough, also complained that the party had ignored his calls to stem EU migration.

Last night, Conservative MPs were openly warning that their party should give Ukip a clear run against Labour in the north in exchange for Ukip’s help in winning key marginals elsewhere.

Yesterday, one Tory MP admitted that he had considered jumping ship to Ukip before the prime minister’s pledge to hold an EU referendum in 2017. Mark

Pritchard, the MP for The Wrekin, said that he had been “attracted” by Mr Farage’s party.

Other MPs are rumoured to be considering their options. Ukip activists in Kettering have deliberately held off selecting a candidate in the hope that they can persuade Philip Hollobone, the local Tory MP, to run for them.

Grant Shapps, the Tory co-chairman who has ruled out any election deal with Ukip, gave the bluntest assessment of the threat. He said that Ukip’s success “puts Miliband one step closer to Downing Street”.

Mr Cameron said that the by-election results revealed a “wider truth” about the election. “If you vote Ukip, you are in danger of getting a Labour government with Ed Miliband as prime minister, Ed Balls as chancellor,” he said. “You’ll get no action on immigration, no European referendum and, most importantly, you won’t get a continuation of the plan that’s delivering success for our economy and security for our people.”

safe, Labour chiefs are warned

Sam Coates Deputy Political Editor Lucy Fisher Political Correspondent

Labour’s election chief has been urging colleagues to calm down over the threat posed by Ukip after a wobble in the ranks over the party’s strategy to combat Nigel Farage.

Douglas Alexander, who is overseeing the election campaign, has repeatedly made clear internally that he believes that the Conservatives will suffer more from the continued success of Ukip than Labour. He rejects calls for a change in the strategy of focusing on the NHS to win back Ukip voters, and wants party members to “knock on more doors”.

The near miss in Heywood & Mid-

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

9

FGM

Politics News

Nigel, insists Ukip’s new MP JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP / GETTY IMAGES

The Blessed Douglas greets his disciples Patrick Kidd Political Sketch

U

leader. The two men are very different political animals, however, and a harmonious relationship is far from assured

dleton, which Ukip came within 617 votes of taking, was not Labour’s fault, he suggested yesterday. “Both the Conservative vote and the Liberal vote collapsed into supporting Ukip. We actually increased our share of the vote in the seat last night,” he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

There are fears in Labour circles that Mr Alexander is unwilling to take the threat seriously enough or to embrace a more radical vision to win power next year.

Visiting Heywood yesterday, Ed Miliband said he understood that there were lessons for Labour from the result and repeatedly said he agreed that immigration was an important issue. No change of policy on the issue, or on Europe, is expected, however.

Mr Miliband admitted: “We’ve seen once again the scale of disillusionment with Westminster politics, disillusion-

ment that has been building for a long time and disillusionment that led people in some communities that used to vote Labour to choose Ukip in this by-election.” He left without taking questions.

A string of Labour figures appeared to question whether Mr Miliband fully understood the scale of the challenge.

John McTernan, who worked in No 10 under Tony Blair and has been loyal to Mr Miliband until recently, said: “Apparently we have lost the power of hearEd Miliband admitted there were lessons for Labour

ing.” Writing for the Progress website, he added: “With no engagement and no passion, what we were left with was a campaign with no vision. I fully appreciate how difficult by-elections are, and the extent to which their dynamic is revealed on the ground and not imposed, but we chose to be bloodless.

“We are in deep, deep trouble. We are lost and our voters want us back. They keep sending us messages. When will we listen?”

Simon Danczuk, the Labour MP for Rochdale, said that the party could not win back voters who had turned to Ukip by campaigning on the NHS alone.

“Going round speaking to people in Heywood and Middleton during this by-election, people have been mentioning immigration but all we would speak about is the NHS. We cannot win a general election just based on one policy, on one issue. We have to broaden our appeal and we have to address immigration. We have to have a stronger policy on it.”

Frank Field, the Labour MP for Birkenhead, said: “If last night’s vote heralds the start of Ukip’s serious assault into Labour’s neglected core vote, all bets are off for safer, let alone marginal, seats at the next election.”

kip were right. Clacton is full of immigrants. They swarmed around the town centre yesterday.

Immigrants from east London, central London, even from as far as west London. Refugees from the Snapperi and Scribbleri tribes as well as hordes of Broadkasti, all had flocked to the Essex coast in search of a better story.

The new (old) MP for Clacton took a stroll round his new (old) constituency, accompanied some of the way by a toad-faced fellow called Nigel. No one seemed too interested in Nigel, though, as Douglas Carswell was propelled in a giant, rolling maul of supporters and press.

It was like the parading of a Catholic icon through the streets of a Sicilian village at fiesta time, only without people pinning money to the cult figure. Ukip should look into that; could be a good way of fundraising.

At the centre, the Blessed Douglas stood tall and tieless, looking just a little pious. It seemed like a changing of the guard (just as well Nigel had baggsied another four-year term as leader last month) but Carswell demurred. “I will never be leader of Ukip and I will never seek the leadership,” he said.

The arrival of the messiah was heralded by an angel wearing a football shirt. We knew he was an angel because it was written on his shorts. “Earth Angel” it said, in bold red letters. God works in mysterious ways. “Morning, Earth Angel,” Carswell shouted. “Wahey,” replied the angel. On the fringes, acolytes were muttering their creed, phrases such as “we’re on a roll” and “they

don’t like it up ’em” over and over again. This was Biebermania for pensioners.

The procession stopped the traffic.

One bus to Jaywick even opened its doors in the middle of the road to let more disciples join the throng.

Anything is better than going to Jaywick, I suppose.

The maul drove on, the Blessed Douglas preaching as he went. “The two old parties are propping each other up,” he said. “They are using fear of each other to . . .”

“Make way for a wheelchair,” went the shout. This happened quite often. On they rolled. He stopped dead in his tracks only once, when asked whether Malala Yousafzai, the latest Nobel laureate, should have been denied entry to Britain as a health tourist. The messiah stood still. One nostril flared, his crooked smile slanted further. “I’m not familiar with that case,” he said, delivering his words carefully. “She’s pretty famous,” someone shouted.

The Blessed Douglas looked for deliverance. Up came the cry: “Another wheelchair coming through.” The procession moved on.

The perambulation ended at the constituency office, which used to be a café and still had a whiff of chip fat about it. Down the road sat his former headquarters, next to a tanning salon and nail bar, in case we had forgotten we were in Essex.

“Lovely weather for a honeymoon,” one Tory said. “And that’s all he’s going to get. We’ll take the seat back next May.” Carswell knows he has work to do.

“There are two fences in this race and I’m still in the saddle after one,” he said. “The next is in six months.”

Sights turn now to Rochester and Strood and another Tory defector.

“Mark Reckless is a good man, a decent man, who is being smeared,” the Blessed Douglas said. “I will be campaigning for him tomorrow.”

The People’s Army have miles more to march.

Tories urge anti-European pact in quest for majority Continued from page 1

welcomed a Ukip victory in Heywood and Middleton. “An extra Eurosceptic vote and the replacement of a federalist Labour MP with one who would support a new relationship with the EU and an In/Out referendum would have been welcome,” he said.

Mr Cameron and Michael Gove, the chief whip, will continue to oppose such demands but the Tories are likely to suffer a much bigger loss of nerve if Ukip’s second defector, Mark Reckless, wins a by-election victory in Rochester and Strood before the end of the year.

After drinking until almost 5am yesterday, Mr Farage celebrated in Clacton by declaring his “people’s army” could hold the balance of power in the next parliament.

Paul Nuttall, Ukip’s deputy leader, said: “The focus of the party will have to shift and it will have to shift to the north.” He added that most Labour frontbenchers were out of touch with

life in the north and “wouldn’t know what the inside of a working men’s club looked like if it fell out of the sky and hit them on the head”.

Labour officials argued the tight result was down to the collapse of support for the Tories and Liberal Democrats.

The former foreign secretary Jack Straw said: “We could and should have done better.” Of Mr Miliband, he told Sky news: “I know people say he’s got panda eyes and strange lips. Well, I could make the same remarks in different ways about Mr Clegg or Mr Cameron. All I can say is I was knocking on doors all yesterday in this by-election and nobody . . . told me that their concern was about Mr Miliband.”

Margaret Hodge, the Labour head of the public accounts committee, said that Labour needed to be more honest about migration. “I think all the mainstream political parties have got to talk in a realistic way about immigration and in a way that they can deliver.”

10

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

News Politics

Next stop Rochester for a sense of reckless optimism Immigration is the big issue winning over voters as Ukip prepares for another by-election, Valentine Low writes

A lifelong Tory voter, Philip Ruby was feeling under siege. Still smarting from the decision of Mark Reckless, the Conservative MP for Rochester and Strood, to defect to Ukip, yesterday he found himself faced with a shopfront of Mark Reckless posters as Ukip set up their campaign HQ in a former alternative therapy centre opposite his flat.

A volunteer puts up a sign in Ukip’s new office in the Kent town

“The building is lovely,” said Mr Ruby, 67, casting a glance at the timberframed shop that used to be the High Street home of Rainbow Healings, “but now it has a nasty carbuncle”.

There will, unfortunately for Mr Ruby, be quite a few more carbuncles to put up with over the coming weeks as the by-election campaign gets under way. After the Clacton result, Ukip can scent victory in Strood; and judging by the number of voters there yesterday ready to vote for Mr Reckless, their optimism did not seem ill-founded.

Former Tory voters going over to Ukip were not in short supply: more surprising were the former Labour voters who were also going to vote purple. “I’m going to give it a try,” said George Greer, 67, a retired roof tiler.

What was the big issue for him? “Foreigners,” he said. “There are too many of them.”

People who have not voted for years also seem to be flocking to Ukip’s colours. On the north — Strood — side of the Medway, the more working-class half of the constituency, one 37-yearold woman said: “Previously I haven’t bothered voting, but this country needs something drastic done.” It was about helping people who are “born and bred in this country” she said.

If immigration turns out to be a big issue in Rochester, it will be ironic.

A couple of hundred yards from Ukip’s headquarters is the French Hospital, an alms house set up in 1708 to help Huguenot refugees, French protestants fleeing persecution: even today the elderly who are admitted have to prove that they are of Huguenot descent.

“The word refugee came into our language around that time,” said Jon Corrigan, the chief steward. “It highlights that we have always had refugees coming into this country.”

So he won’t be voting Ukip, then?

Actually, he will. “We need a change,” he said. “They are worth trying. We’ve tried the other three parties.”He added, as an aside, that Nigel Farage came from Huguenot stock. “He could come here.”

The bitter attacks aimed at Mr Reck-

Purple reign

Mark Reckless at the Ukip national party conference in Doncaster

less after his defection suggest the campaign could turn nasty. Mr Reckless said voters had told Ukip of telephone calls from supposedly independent pollsters — most likely in the pay of the Tories, he said — who had brought up personal details from his past, specifically the time in 2010 when he admitted being so drunk in the Commons that he was unable to vote in the Budget debate.

Buoyed by Clacton, he says he is taking support from all parties and is “in with a fighting chance” in the seat.

One factor helping them is the Conservative decision to choose their candidate by open primary, which means it could be two weeks before they say who will fight the seat. “It is not doing anything to help their campaign,” he said.

Tory battle plan is to outspend Ukip rival Laura Pitel Political Correspondent

The Conservatives believe that they can stop Ukip in its tracks by exploiting a loophole to massively outspend their rivals in the Rochester and Strood byelection.

The contest in Kent was triggered by the decision of Mark Reckless, the former Conservative MP, to follow Douglas Carswell by defecting to Ukip.

Tories believe that retaining the seat is vital to party unity, and party strategists have latched onto a quirk in Electoral Commission rules that they think will help them to gain the upper hand.

The spending limit for each party in a by-election campaign is £100,000.

However, the rule kicks in only when a candidate is selected. Ukip already has Mr Reckless in place, but the Conservative challenger is yet to be decided.

Under a parliamentary convention, the Tories will choose when the byelection takes place, and they are planning a long campaign. They want to dull the effects of Mr Carswell’s victory

in Clacton-on-Sea, and have yet to set a date. As a result, they believe they can spend tens of thousands of pounds on campaigning before the limit kicks in.

Ukip sources dismissed the tactic.

“They can spend as much as they like,” said a campaign organiser. “Throwing money at it won’t make a difference.”

An early poll, published last week, gave Ukip a nine-point lead in Rochester and Strood.

Ukip will also continue its battle in Labour’s northern heartlands by taking on the party in a battle for a new police and crime commissioner in South Yorkshire. Shaun Wright was forced to resign last month over failures to act over a child abuse scandal in Rotherham; he had been head of children’s services at the council. Ukip was accused of exploiting the racial aspect of the scandal, which predominantly involved Asian men.

In the by-election to replace Mr Wright, which takes place on October 30, Ukip is fielding a retired police inspector, Jack Clackson, as its candidate.

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

11

FGM

Politics News How many seats will Ukip win in 2015?

4 Current polls

Heywood & Middleton result

Clacton result 6-8

Ukip 21,113 (59.7%)

Ukip sources Number of Ukip candidates selected?

To be selected by the Currently end of November selected more than 320

500

Lib Dem 483 (1.3%) -11.6% Turnout Majority

Labour 3,957 (11%) -13.8%

Labour 11,633 (40.9%) +0.8%

Conservative 8,709 (24.6%) -28.4

Green 870 (3.1%)

Green 688 (1.9%) +0.7%

Lib Dem 1,457 (5.1%) -17.6

35,338 (51%) 12,404 (35%)

Swing +44%

Ukip 11,016 (38.7%) +36.1

Conservative 3,496 (12.3%) -14.9

Turnout

28,472 (36%)

Majority 617 (2.2%)

-10.7%

Ukip’s strongest targets for 2015 Four seats in which Ukip is in pole position [ICM, Lord Ashcroft, Survation] Other top targets

3. Boston & Skegness (46%)

Great Grimsby Rotherham

Dudley North 4. Camborne and Redruth (28%) (joint-first with Conservative)

Forest of Dean

2. Thurrock (37%)

North Thanet

1. Thanet South (32%)

Plymouth Moor View

Folkstone and Hythe

Cameron faces a triple whammy Analysis Peter Kellner

N

igel Farage is wrong.

He claims that he poses an equal threat to Labour and the Tories. In fact there are three reasons why David Cameron has far more reason to be worried than Ed Miliband.

The first is that Ukip’s strongest support is in Conservative areas.

True, the party has won some impressive second places in northern Labour seats in by-elections, most notably in Heywood and Middleton on Thursday. But it did this by taking votes off the Tories and Lib Dems. Together, the two coalition parties won 50 per cent there

in 2010. On Thursday their combined share was only 17 per cent.

Labour’s share actually went up slightly. The best Ukip can hope for in the north is to establish itself as the main challenger to Labour next May. Second, Cameron needs to squeeze Ukip’s support in the marginal seats that the Conservatives gained from Labour four years ago. “Vote Farage, get Miliband” will be the prime minister’s constant refrain for the next six months.

However, each defection and each dramatic by-election adds to Ukip’s credibility.

The third reason is potentially the most explosive. Ever since the modern Conservative party was formed by Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s, it has succeeded by harnessing two great causes: enterprise and patriotism. It has been the party of business, commerce and trade, instinctively internationalist; but is

has also been the party of nation, tradition and the Union flag.

Occasionally these two great causes conflict, and the Tories are ejected from power. It happened over the corn laws in the 1840s, tariff reform 110 years ago and Europe in the 1990s.

But each time the party eventually reconciled the two causes and returned to office.

Now, with Ukip’s surge of support, there is a real possibility that the two causes will be advanced by two separate parties: a Conservative Party that wants to stay in a reformed European Union, and Ukip, which wants a completely different relationship with the rest of the world: fewer immigrants, no overseas aid and outside the EU. Under our first-past-the-post system for electing MPs, such a division within Britain’s right could well help Labour, not just next May but for years to come.

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

13

FGM

News

Airports still awaiting orders for ebola action plan Chris Smyth Health Correspondent Billy Kenber

Ebola screening of passengers from west Africa arriving at British airports will not begin for several days, as the government scrambles to find staff to administer checks.

David Cameron yesterday denied claims that the plans were “shambolic” after it emerged that Public Health England, which is charged with coordinating Britain’s response to the virus, had still not been given details of his proposals more than 24 hours after the policy was announced.

Around 10,000 passengers a week are thought to arrive from Guinea,

Liberia and Sierra Leone. However, Gatwick airport and Eurostar said last night that they had not been told who would be carrying out tests on those showing signs of illness and when this would start. A spokesman for Heathrow airport said only that it was expected to begin “in a couple of days”.

The death toll in west Africa has now reached 4,000, the World Health Organisation said last night.

Mr Cameron decided to implement screening despite scientific advice that it was “almost never worthwhile”. Officials in Whitehall spent yesterday struggling to mobilise doctors and arrange private contractors.

Downing Street has revised its initial

Families prepare for the worst with food, water and safety goggles David Brown Devika Bhat Washington

With government plans to prevent the spread of ebola in apparent disarray, the public are taking their own precautions to protect themselves in the event of the outbreak reaching Britain.

Medical supply companies are experiencing unprecedented demand for infection control kits and there has been a surge in interest in advice from “preppers” who specialise in preparing for disaster.

“Steve”, writer of the UK Preppers Guide website, warns that if an ebola outbreak occurs in Britain a quarantine may prevent the preppers’ preferred option of a “bug out” — fleeing to an isolated rural area. Families should therefore stock up on drinking water and food and prepare for an enforced stay in their own homes, he writes.

“It is important that you have enough safety equipment for each person in the family and those with a disease should wear a mask as well as those not infected,” he advises. He says that families

should monitor news organisations to keep informed about the spread of the disease.

“If your neighbour has to knock on your door to inform you of a problem in the area — and by the way they might be infected — your chances of survival have decreased dramatically,” he says.

“Kerry”, from southern England, is monitoring reports of the spread of ebola on her website, Prepper Girl UK. “You don’t need to be that person waiting on rescue or wondering what the hell to do next,” she writes. “You can take control with a little thought and preparation.”

Planning for an ebola outbreak in the UK has been discussed on survivalist websites since news of the first case in west Africa in the summer. One man from Nottingham wrote: “I’ve checked the rations cupboard and should have enough to last both of us 2 months in

case of shut-in.” Another described how he had stocked up on “gloves, overshoes, disposable chemical suits and some lightweight masks/goggles”.

SP Services, a Shropshire-based medical supplies company, is selling hundreds of thousands of specially designed ebola infection control kits, which can be bought by the public for £23.94 each. The kits include goggles, a coverall, gloves and overshoes.

Anneka Lowe, the company’s marketing manager, said that demand for the specialist kits was greater than during the swine flu pandemic in 2009.

“We are having to work around the clock to meet the demand,” she said.

She added that the big orders are from charities and non-governmental organisations but there have been increasing inquiries from NHS trusts and from individuals.

Nightingale Nursing Supplies, based in Greater Manchester, is selling face masks advertised as recommended by the World Health Organisation for ebola protection for £2.99 for a pack of ten, while other companies are selling highlevel protection suits containing breathing apparatus for £1,000 each.

In the United States, where survivalists are on permanent standby for disaster, they are recommending buying industrial-strength gas masks, touch-free antibacterial dispensers, and, in some cases, a firearm. The disease may have claimed only one life in the US so far but its outbreak has confirmed the worst for the survivalist community.

Purchases of one type of body suit on Amazon, for instance, were said to have risen by 131,000 per cent in the space of 24 hours. A browse on the website yesterday showed that sales of a disposable wipe brand were up by 7,400 per cent in the same time frame, while stethoscopes and respirator/gas masks were also flying off the digital shelves. Sales of a nuclear radiation monitor rose by 5,300 per cent and glow sticks that provide light were up 300 per cent.

It is not all doom and gloom, though.

One Prepper website suggests using the time that people are forced to stay indoors to embark on yet-to-be explored adventures: writing a book, learning to play an instrument, relearning “the art of the handstand”, and, most enticingly, “karaoke like a rock star”.

Airports said they had not been told how or when to begin ebola screening

proposal for checks to begin this weekend, saying that the US took six days to decide how to implement screening.

Keith Vaz, chairman of the Commons home affairs select committee, welcomed the screening decision, but said: “There is a touch of the shambolic about the way this is being handled and what is needed now is certainty.”

Mr Cameron said the government was “taking all the steps we can” to prevent an ebola outbreak in the UK”.

He added: “What we do is listen to the medical advice and we act on that advice, and that’s why we are introducing the screening processes at the appropriate ports and airports. What we are focusing on as a country is taking

Sneezing joke puts flight in quarantine

action right across the board to deal with this problem at source.”

While a specialist isolation unit at the Royal Free hospital in London is primed to take ebola patients, NHS England said any hospital should be able to deal with a case.

In a drill exercise today, hospitals are to be tested on spotting the disease and isolating patients.

“It is vital that we test plans in as realistic a situation as possible,” the Department of Health said.

“It is important to remember that the overall risk to the public in the UK continues to be very low, and the UK has some of the best public health protection systems in the world,” it added.

writes). “It’s going to look worse than it is,” a flight attendant told passengers before the blue-suited crew boarded the aircraft.

The incident happened as the US Airways flight was about to land in the Dominican Republic. The man is said to have sneezed loudly before

telling fellow passengers: “I have ebola, you are all screwed.” He also shouted out: “I’ve been to Africa!”

Passengers had to wait two hours before being allowed to disembark once it was confirmed that the man, who has not been identified, was joking.

A Spanish leader faces abuse from nurses man who claimed to have ebola after he sneezed on board a flight

to the Caribbean from Philadelphia was escorted off the aircraft by officials in biochemical protection suits (Philippe Naughton

Graham Keeley Madrid

The prime minister of Spain was heckled by nurses during a visit to the hospital at the centre of the country’s ebola outbreak yesterday, as pressure mounted over the government’s mishandling of the crisis.

Workers at the Carlos III hospital in Madrid, where a nurse who caught the disease is being treated, shouted “bastards, useless cowards” at Mariano Rajoy and his entourage as they arrived to inspect the facility.

Teresa Romero, 44, who was diagnosed with ebola five days ago was stable but critical, the authorities said yesterday, while 14 people remain in quarantine in the hospital.

Ms Romero caught the disease while helping to treat one of two Spanish missionaries who were repatriated for treatment after catching ebola in Liberia, becoming the first person known to have acquired the disease outside of west Africa. Health workers and oppo-

sition parties have demanded the resignation of Ana Mato, the health minister, for failing to ensure sufficient training for those treating ebola patients.

It has also emerged that Ms Romero should have been admitted to a specialist hospital after complaining of a fever but instead was assessed at a local hospital on the outskirts of Madrid where the doctor who examined her was not wearing a protective suit.

Calls have grown for the resignation of Javier Fernández, the head of healthcare in Madrid, who blamed Ms Romero for the outbreak. He said that she had “lied” by failing to inform doctors that she had treated ebola patients, when she first sought hospital treatment on September 30. José Ramón Romero, 40, the nurse’s brother, said his sister should not take the blame.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the president of Liberia, has appealed to the country’s parliament for draconian new powers to ban public gatherings and seize private property, in a desperate attempt to

stem the spread of the virus. The proposals came as six plane-loads of US marines arrived in the capital, Monrovia, to bolster the government’s response to new cases of ebola.

Other countries remain on high alert for the disease but there have been no new confirmed cases. Brazilian health officials have quarantined a 47-yearold Guinean man following his arrival in the country with a fever.

6 A British businessman whose sudden death in Macedonia led to fears of ebola had been unwell for some time, it emerged yesterday as the health authorities said it was unlikely that he had the highly contagious disease.

Colin Jeffrey, 58, a married father of three from Cambridge who had worked for the chemical company Johnson Matthey, died in Skopje on Thursday after displaying ebola-like symptoms.

His business partner Michael English and other hotel guests were all placed in quarantine to await test results.

14

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

News

Malala, 17, awarded Nobel peace prize Robin Pagnamenta, Aoun Sahi

For Malala Yousafzai, the 17-year-old Pakistani campaigner for girls’ rights who survived a Taliban assassination attempt two years ago, yesterday started much like any other day.

That all changed when her lesson was interrupted with news that she had become the youngest ever winner of the Nobel peace prize, for “the struggle against oppression of young people and the right of all children to education”.

The schoolgirl was awarded the prize jointly with Kailash Satyarthi, an Indian human rights activist who has campaigned for an end to child slavery.

She decided to mark her historic win by finishing her classes as normal at Edgbaston High School for Girls in Birmingham while celebrations took place around the world in her honour.

Ms Yousafzai said she was honoured to have been picked as both the first Pakistani and the youngest person to win the award, which she dedicated to the “voiceless”.

“When I found I had won the Nobel peace prize I decided I would not leave my school, rather I would finish my school time,” she told a news conference shortly after finishing her classes.

“I was really happy with the response of my teachers and my fellow students.

They were all saying they were proud.”

She said that she had previously thought she “didn’t deserve” the honour, but was taking it as a sign of the

widespread support to open up education to young women.

Ms Yousafzai began writing a blog about life in the Swat valley in Pakistan at the age of 11, which brought her to the attention of militants who wanted her silenced.

When she was 15 she survived an assassination attempt by gunmen who boarded her school bus and shot her through the head and neck. She was flown to Britain for medical treatment, and now lives in the UK with her family.

Thorbjørn Jagland, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel committee, said that Ms Yousafzai had shown “great personal courage” and carried out her work “in the most dangerous circumstances”.

“Through her personal struggle she has become a leading spokesperson for girls’ rights and education,” he said.

She was honoured with Mr Satyarthi, 60, who the committee said has maintained the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi and led various forms of peaceful protest “focusing on the grave exploitation of children for financial gain”.

Credited with freeing tens of thousands of children from forced servitude, he welcomed the award as helping to shine a light on the issue.

The award is an extraordinary achievement for Ms Yousafzai, who joins the ranks of luminaries such as Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, the Dalai Lama and Aung San Suu Kyi. Janice Turner, page 22

REX FEATURES

Iranian trial of British student will go ahead Hugh Tomlinson Dubai

Girl power The actress Natascha McElhone mentored students at Dunraven School in southeast London to mark the third UN International Day of the Girl

A British-Iranian woman held in a Tehran jail after attempting to watch a men’s volleyball game will stand trial next week, despite being denied access to a lawyer during more than 100 days in custody.

Ghoncheh Ghavami, 25, faces a court on Tuesday charged with “spreading propaganda against the regime”. If convicted she faces up to a year in jail.

She was arrested when she joined about 20 women trying to get into Azadi stadium in Tehran to watch the national volleyball team play Italy.

A graduate of the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, she began a hunger strike last week after threats were made against her in prison.

Her family is furious that while her attorney, Alizadeh Tabatabaei, is barred from Evin prison, where she is held, she received a visit from an unknown man two weeks ago. Claiming to be a lawyer, he demanded that he replace Mr Tabatabaei. If she refused, he warned that more serious charges would be brought against her.

Setting a court date is at least a sign of progress for relatives, but Ms Ghavami’s brother, Iman, who lives in London, said the family were close to breaking point: “My father hasn’t worked since Ghoncheh was detained.

He’s a broken man. My mother is extremely distressed. I don’t know if they will ever recover from this.”

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

15

FGM

News

Don’t mess with the meze, Mary Berry

The Bake Off star has incurred the wrath of Yotam Ottolenghi with her hummus recipe, David Sanderson writes

Mary Berry can do little wrong with her lemon drizzles, Victoria Sponges and wonderful ability to make the British feel at ease about having a cake.

Keep her away from the hummus though. The doyenne of baking has angered Yotam Ottolenghi, the Israeli cook credited with transforming vegetarian cooking in Britain, by adding olive oil. To add to his fury, she keeps the tahini out. “That makes me really upset,” he told the Cheltenham Literature Festival.

‘In Jerusalem we start by enjoying the hummus and then we fight about who started it’ “Hummus cannot have anything but chickpeas, soaked overnight and never from a tin, lemon juice and tahini and water and a little bit of garlic. Olive oil, or any oil, is a big no no,” he said.

“I love Mary Berry,” Ottolenghi declared, before drawing breath as he prepared an assault on the culinary abilities of a national treasure. “But she did a hummus on television the other day and she made it without tahini and she had chickpeas crushed with olive oil.”

She also uses tinned chickpeas.

To further infuriate the meze purist, Berry advocated some other, unorthodox, ingredients. Feel free to add chopped coriander leaves, she says. A pinch of ground cumin also. And while tahini can be used, if you like the “traditional sesame seed flavour of hummus”, Berry says that three tablespoons of Greek yoghurt should be added.

Ottolenghi, who does not object to an olive oil drizzle on top of the hummus, said that debates about hummus were more heated in Jerusalem.

Indeed, a chapter in one of his books is entitled Hummus wars, where he

explains the “hummusia fetish”. He writes that scholars interpret scriptures as evidence that Jews ate it in biblical times but that “nobody seriously challenges the Palestinian hegemony in making hummus, even though both they and the Jews like calling it their own”.

At Cheltenham, Ottolenghi said he was surprised by British attitudes to food. “When you talk about food and politics it seems it is a dialogue that is separate from the food. We [in Jerusalem] start by enjoying the hummus and then we fight about who started it. . .

Discussions here are so detached from the food. I want to bring it back to the food and how wonderful it is.”

And so back to the hummus.

The hummus technique of Berry — who declined to comment — does have its supporters. Delia Smith mixes in olive oil and garnishes with parsley, while Nigella Lawson uses garlic oil.

One can almost imagine Ottolenghi’s shudder at the Domestic Goddess’s use of Philadelphia cream cheese.

Heston Blumenthal gave a slightly contemptous shake of his head when informed of Ottolenghi’s hummus views. The leading modernist chef in Britain said that he would even consider ditching the lemon juice. “I use one third olive oil and two thirds groundnut oil,” he said. “The oil brings richness.

You have got to put salt and you need acidity, lemon juice or vinegar. Without that, it would be all wrong.”

Since supermarkets began selling hummus in the late 1980s, it has become a staple of our shopping baskets. A survey last year found that 41 per cent of us had a pot in the fridge, almost twice as many as our European counterparts.

We get through 12,000 tonnes a year, worth £60 million, with sales at Waitrose growing by 40 per cent a year.

O

Tony Turnbull compares the recipes

ttolenghi has history on his side (Tony Turnbull writes). The earliest known recipe for a dish similar to hummus dates back to 13th-century Egypt and includes chickpeas, tahini and vinegar, but no olive oil.

The chef also has the support of Claudia Roden, an authority on Arab cooking. She said: “Some people sprinkle olive oil on top of their hummus, but you should never blend it in. Tahini is simply crushed sesame seeds and they are full of oil already.”

Not everyone was so quick to dismiss Mary Berry’s recipes, though. Andrew Konya, of Hummus Bros restaurant in London, said:

“We prefer our hummus to have olive oil in. We tried making it without it, but we felt the taste is not as good.”

In the interests of settling the debate, The Times made up two batches, first following Berry’s recipe in her Complete Cookbook, olive oil and all, then using Ottolenghi’s basic hummus recipe in Jerusalem.

Berry called for two cans of chickpeas to be tipped into a blender with two cloves of chopped garlic, one tablespoon of tahini paste, the juice of one lemon, salt and pepper, and three tablespoons of olive oil. This was puréed until smooth — or at least as smooth as it would go.

Ottolenghi, on the other hand, called for his dried chickpeas to be soaked overnight, then cooked for 40 minutes with a

Yotam Ottolenghi, who takes his hummus very seriously indeed, is not amused by Mary Berry’s “improvements”

Schama struggles to put Picasso display nearly good spin on Jews’ story lost out on star exhibit David Sanderson

Simon Schama has revealed that despite attempting to accentuate the positive in telling the story of the Jewish people, the continual rearing of anti-semitism keeps forcing him back to the “death star of the Holocaust”.

Schama said that the “gathering drum roll of antisemitism” after the recent Gaza conflict had forced him to reassess his conclusions about the journey of the Jewish people.

The historian, who is late finishing the second volume of The Story of the Jews, said that he previously “ran away from writing about Jewish history because it was so unsettling”.

He said that he had begun the second volume, starting with the Spanish Inquisition, with the “blithe assumption” that he could “put the balance back” because there was “plenty to rejoice and celebrate”.

“I wanted to say that there was so much else about Jewish history worthy

teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda, but this was substituted for canned chickpeas to make it a more even contest (and to turn a 12-hour recipe into a twominute one). To this I added twice as much tahini paste as in Berry’s recipes, lemon juice, four garlic cloves and a large pinch of salt. Once this was blitzed, I added 100ml of iced water to create a much smoother purée.

The result?

Ottolenghi’s hummus was looser and tasted more authentically of chickpeas and sesame; Berry’s had a slight pepperiness from the oil and tasted that bit more indistinct. So which was better? It depends on whether you want to savour the flavour of the chickpeas or just have something to put on the end of a carrot stick.

of celebration. That was my hope, to look at the Jewish subject in a qualitatively different way,” he told the Cheltenham Literature Festival.

“But then what happened was the gathering hideous drum roll of antisemitism, particularly in Europe.”

He cited protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza with chants of “gas to the Jews” and caricatures of Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, resurrecting the “blood libel”.

“There has been a toxic antisemitism where criticism of Israel, which is legitimate — I do it myself — has leaked out and morphed into a much more dangerous, vitriolic and loathsome attack on Jews across the world for just being Jews.

“We have seen it here. The Sainsbury’s fiasco in removing all kosher food, the collective ban on anything that receives subsidies from the Israeli government.”

He said it had made him think again about the “parameters of the

Jack Malvern Arts Correspondent

When Tate Britain put on its exhibition Picasso and Modern British Art, its curator thought there was one painting he could rely upon to draw the crowds.

Chris Stephens, head of displays for the gallery, was sure he could get Pablo Picasso’s Nude, Green Leaves and Bust, inset, which became the world’s most expensive painting in 2010 when it fetched £69.8 million, because it was housed two miles away in Tate Modern.

Asking permission from its anonymous owner, who agreed a longterm loan to Tate Britain’s sister gallery, would be a formality, he thought.

“For a rather awkward moment he refused to let it go to Tate Britain,” the curator told an audience at the Cheltenham Literature Festival. He suggest-

ed that billionaires are often swayed by insurance advisers, who are keen to emphasise the benefits of private insurance over government indemnity, under which the Treasury underwrites works on loan between British galleries. “At first you think, this guy’s been totally unreasonable about moving this picture.

“Then you realise it costs more than an estate in Scotland, or more than that — more than an estate in the south of England.”

Mr Stephens was in a bind. “We had to have this painting because it received a lot of press coverage for being the most expensive painting ever sold,” he said.

The curator prevailed, but only after help from Sir Nicholas Serota, director of the Tate.

Asked how he persuaded the owner, Mr Stephens said: “I didn’t, because I didn’t know who the owner was. I still don’t.”

Scottish wounds still raw Scotland is still too “radioactive” after the referendum for authors to consider writing about it, Ian Rankin believes. The Scottish author of the Rebus crime novels said there were claims from independence supporters that they “should get a retrial, that MI5 had fixed it, that the Queen had fixed it”. He told the festival: “It was quite ugly at times. There was this weird dichotomy, this Jekyll and Hyde, a tension between the rational and the irrational. We are still living with it. I feel it is still radioactive. We can’t write about it yet.”

Selfies linked to Munchies People who enjoy taking selfies are following a technique pioneered by Edvard Munch, the artist best known for The Scream, according to James Hall, author of The Self-Portrait: A Cultural History.

“He had a handheld camera, and while he was on a break from a [mental] asylum he took a whole sequence of portraits at arm's length,” Hall said at the festival. “He was the artist, of course, who went mad and shot himself in the hand. Selfies should come with a health warning, I think.”

of LONDON

Feel closer to home. Every day.

Wherever you live in the world, stay in touch every day with The Digital Pack, just £1 for 30 days.

Our tablet edition automatically downloads every section, every article and all the weekend supplements.

So you’ll never miss the news from home.

Try it today at timespacks.com/london

THE DIGITAL PACK £1 FOR 30 DAYS

Offer subject to availability, £1 for 30 days trial to new customers (18+) of the Digital Pack only. TNL reserves right to exclude this offer in certain territories. See timespacks.com/london for full terms and conditions.

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

17

FGM

comment pages of the year

Opinion

Malala’s peace prize puts Obama to shame Janice Turner Page 22

Voters, not the politicians, are out of touch

Ignore the piffle about Westminster needing to reconnect with a disaffected public. It should be the other way around since Tony Blair and “new” Labour stole his party. Forget Primrose Hill, say Rochdale Man’s intellectual friends in high places: back to the slag heaps and trade-union solidarity where Labour was born.

“Back to our roots, or Ukip will get us!” This is the fundamentalism of the left. It’s populist, resentmentfuelled and intellectually all over the place.

Clacton Man, says the right, has told David Cameron that a cornerstone of his party’s support is white, depressed, elderly, economically pinched, angry about immigration and anxious about welfare cuts; and thinks Britain’s gone to the dogs because of foreigners, wind farms, the antismoking brigade and the European Union. David Cameron, says Clacton Man, has stolen the Conservative party from him and taken it sledging with huskies.

“Back to the saloon bar, or Ukip will get us!” This is the fundamentalism of the right. It’s populist, resentment-fuelled and

Matthew Parris

T

wo by-elections. Two voices. Two ultimata will be said to have been directed at Westminster.

From Rochdale (including the constituency of Heywood and Middleton) the Labour party quavers before the exasperated voice of Rochdale Man. From the Essex coast the Conservative party hears with dismay the fury in the voice of Clacton Man. These, we’ll be assured, are the voices of voters variously described as alienated from or neglected by one of the two mainstream political parties that could once rely on their vote. “Labour have taken us white working classes for granted for too long!” cries Rochdale Man. “We’re off to Ukip.”

“You Tories,” cries Clacton Man, “thought you could count on us Eurosceptic, low-tax, high-carbon, traditionalist Tories, while you cavorted with your lah-di-dah new friends in the liberal metropolitan elite. Well we’ve found new friends too: Ukip.”

Pin back your ears, then, brace your retina for an autumnal babble, in broadcast and in print, about how each of the two mainstream parties must now “reconnect” with its “core”.

Rochdale Man (mutters the Labour left) has told Ed Miliband that the bedrock of his party’s vote is white, “blue-collar”, economically pinched, angry about immigration and anxious about cuts to welfare.

Rochdale Man has felt left behind

Populism is driven by dislike of the present and fear of the future intellectually all over the place.

But sneer though we may at the contradictions in the various messages sprayed out by Ukip, there is a deep internal consistency between the voices of Clacton and Rochdale Man. It’s called populism, and if you ask it for its manifesto you miss the point. Dislike of the present and fear of the future is what drives it. Fear, in the end, has no manifesto.

But the trouble with populism is that it isn’t popular: not in our

country. Or, rather, it attracts a grumbling chorus of support from its client groupings but tends to repel the rest of us.

But we had better pull our duvets over our heads for the next couple of months, as a gale of clichéd commentary rages. Be ready to duck the flying piffle. Labour must “reach out” to Rochdale. The Tories must “focus on the concerns” of Clacton.

The by-elections have sent a “wakeup call” to Westminster. MPs must “listen more”. Ukip has pricked the “Westminster bubble”. An “antipolitics” wave is sweeping the nation.

MPs must “engage with” the “disaffected” voters “out there”, “turned off” by a generation of politicians who are “arrogant and out of touch,” who “don’t get it”, and who don’t “understand voters’ worries”.

What fashionable nonsense. I remember the Commons as it was more than three decades ago. Talk about being “out of touch” — some still wore morning dress.

Today’s parliaments are the most inclusive, diverse, unpretentious, least corrupt, most streetwise, hardest-working assemblies that Britain has ever elected, and by a long chalk the most in touch with the concerns of ordinary citizens.

They do know how the other half lives. They try ceaselessly — they try too hard — to understand and empathise. They inquire, they engage, they research, they listen.

They’re painfully aware of the impact of policy on people.

Politicians do know what to do: in Jean-Claude Juncker’s phrase they just don’t know how to get re-elected after doing it. So cut the crap about reaching out to Rochdale or connecting with Clacton. There are parts of Britain that need to reach out to reality. Sometimes it’s the

Sooner or later, Douglas Carswell will have to level with his constituents

voters who should try harder to “engage”: engage with those who have to govern.

Perhaps the aggrieved citizen who wants lower taxes, higher government spending, cheaper whisky and buckets more money thrown at the NHS, should reach out to the chancellor as he burns the midnight oil with his sums. Perhaps the disaffected pensioner who wants free transport, higher pensions and no tax to pay is the one who doesn’t get it? Perhaps it’s the tweed-jacketed squire who should understand the agriculture minister’s concerns, the chain-smoking couch potato who’s out of touch and needs to focus more on the health secretary’s worries?

Perhaps, though, Clacton and Rochdale Man are the wrong targets for my ire. Life has been good to me but God knows it has not been easy for them; and if they’re nostalgic for the past and depressed about the future, they may have reason to be.

Those, however, whom I cannot forgive — and if you’re really looking for arrogant metropolitan snobs then look no further — are those on the right who want to use the poor as a vehicle to lend a fake salience to their own nutty opinions about Europe, immigration, diversity, climate change or whatever.

Like the strangler fig with its seed in Central Africa, whence I’ve just returned, they lodge their arguments in a host — the poorer citizen — whose welfare is not their first concern; put down their roots; and thrive on the sap of his own despair.

Ukip is not the fault of Clacton: Clacton is just the parasite’s unlucky host. We do not do best for Clacton by simulating “engagement” with the town’s opinions. We do best not by patronising its voters when we know they’re wrong, but by levelling with them and telling them so. In the end their MP, Douglas Carswell, who is not dishonest, will find that this is what he has to do.

Matthew Parris and Tim Montgomerie debate the future of the Conservative party on October 28. For tickets, visit www.mytimesplus.co.uk/events/redbox-event

The Opinion pinion pod podcast Ukip’s victory, with Philip Webster, Daniel Finkelstein and Tim Montgomerie ntg thetimes.co.uk/commentcentral

Today Rain and heavy showers across Iberia and central Europe, but staying drier elsewhere. Max 28C (82F), min -6C (21F) Noon today

Today’s temperatures forecast for noon

HIGH 1024

1016

1024

LOW

HIGH 1032

992

1016

LOW LOW 1000

1008

1008

1016

1016 HIGH

1016 1008 LOW 1016

1024 Please note some sections of The Times are available only in the United Kingdom and Ireland ©TIMES NEWSPAPERS LIMITED 2014 Published and licensed for distr bution in electronic and all other derivative forms by Times Newspapers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF telephone 020 7782 5000 Printed by Newsprinters (Broxbourne) Limited Great Cambridge Road Waltham Cross EN8 8DY and also at Newsprinters (Knowsley) Limited Kitling Road Prescot Merseyside L34 9HN; Newsprinters (Eurocentral) Limited Byramsmuir Road Holytown Motherwell ML1 1NP; Belfast Telegraph Newspapers Ltd 124 Royal Avenue Belfast BT1 1EB; Smurfit Kappa NewsPress Ltd Kells Industrial Estate Kells County Meath Ireland; Print Division Limerick Press Leader Print Unit 3 Corcanree Industrial Estate Dock Road Limerick Ireland; Arab Media Group Masar Printing and Publishing PO Box 485100 Dubai UAE; Europrinter Av J Mermoz Zone Aeropole 6041 Gosse ies Belgium; Bermont S A Av /Portugal 4 (Centro de Transportes de Coslada) 28820 Coslada Madrid; MOP Zone Industrielle Avenue De L’Europe 13127 Vitrolles Marseilles; Miller Newsprint Ltd M ller House Tarxien Road Malta Airport LQA 05 Luqa Malta Ioanni Kranidioti Avenue 206 2235 Latsia PO Box 24508 1300 Lefkosia Cyprus TF Print SA Edifico Multiusos Poligono Industrial Los Majuelos 38108 La Laguna Sta Cruz de Tenerife; Estetik Kuscuburnu mevkii bati beton yolu no: 4 yazibasi torbali Izmir Turkey Newsprint Ita ia srl Via Campania 12 I 20098 San Giuliano Milanese Italy Omniprint Poligono Industrial Estate Nave Omniprint Santa Maria Dell Cami 7320 Mallorca For permission to copy articles or headlines for internal information purposes contact Newspaper Licensing Agency at PO Box 101 Tunbridge Wells TN1 1WX telephone 01892 525274 e mail copy@nla co uk For a l other reproduction and icensing inquiries contact Syndication Department 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF telephone 020 7782 5400 e ma l syndication@thetimes co uk

Alicante Amsterdam Athens Barcelona Belgrade Berlin Brussels Bucharest Budapest Corfu Faro Florence Frankfurt Geneva Gibraltar

25 15 23 24 25 14 17 20 24 22 20 23 16 20 25

Fair Shower Sunny Thunder Sunny Rain Shower Sunny Sunny Sunny Rain Thunder Drizzle Cloudy Cloudy

Helsinki Innsbruck Istanbul Lanzarote Las Palmas Lisbon Madeira Madrid Majorca Malaga Malta Milan Moscow Munich Naples

Most of Spain, Portugal, southern Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Alps, northern Poland, northern Italy, Austria, Switzerland Mostly cloudy with heavy showers, some thundery and merging areas of rain in places.

Maximum 21C (70F), minimum 7C (45F).

France Rather cloudy much of the time with a few light showers possilbe, but most places staying dry.

Maximum 23C (73F), minimum 8C (46F).

The Baltic states, eastern Europe, western Russia, southern Sweden Some long spells of sunshine and staying largely dry, but cloudier across Latvia and Estonia.

Maximum 21C (70F), minimum 4C (43F).

Northern Norway and Sweden, Finland Rather cloudy, cold and mainly dry, but some

13 16 19 23 23 20 20 18 24 25 24 17 15 19 24

Sunny Drizzle Shower Cloudy Cloudy Cloudy Shower Shower Fair Cloudy Sunny Rain Cloudy Cloudy Sunny

Nice Nicosia Oslo Paris Prague Reykjavik Rhodes Rome Salzburg St Petersburg Stockholm Tenerife Venice Vienna Warsaw

24 24 12 18 19 6 23 25 20 12 14 22 25 21 22

Shower Rain Sunny Shower Shower Cloudy Thunder Thunder Fair Cloudy Fair Sunny Shower Fair Cloudy

patchy sleet across central Finland at first.

Maximum 6C (43F), minimum -6C (21F).

Southern Italy, the Balkans, Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, southern Poland, southeastern Spain Staying dry with sunny spells and feeling warm.

Maximum 28C (82F), minimum 4C (39F).

British Isles An unsettled day with scattered showers, some heavy and thundery across Wales, central and southeastern England and East Anglia. Drier in the northeast at first and across the southwest later. Maximum 18C (64F), minimum 1C (34F).

Outlook Largely dry across eastern Europe, but areas of rain and showers will move from west to east across the rest of Europe over the next few days.

9 8 7

13

13

14

14

18 7

15

Forecast for noon today. Wind speed in mph.

Temperatures maximum for day, degrees C

Spea ak dirrectly y to o one e of our fo orec casters on 09065 77 76 75 6am to 6pm daily (calls charged at £1.50 per minute plus network extras) For more information on the services we can provide, visit our website: questt www.weatherquest.co.uk weatherq

Online thetimes.co.uk

18

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

Opinion

Don’t mourn the old high street. It was awful

We used to shop for essentials in town centres; now we go there for inessentials – and buy the important stuff online Hugo Rifkind

@hugorifkind

Y

ou can’t download a tattoo.

You could try, I suppose, but I just don’t see your arm fitting into the printer.

Plus, you’d have messed up the print queue, wouldn’t you, like everybody always does, by turning off the printer too early last time.

So, instead of a neat little heart shape on your bicep, perhaps above the word “Mum”, you’d be almost guaranteed to end up with an indelible branding of the terms and conditions from the last time you printed out an EasyJet boarding card — which would not be cool, except for maybe in some bits of east London — as a sleeve.

This is one of the reasons why, as you may have read this week, tattoo parlours are on the up on British high streets, near tripling in number over the past ten years. There are likewise more gyms and takeaways, and a hell of a lot more coffee shops.

Tattoo shops, it is true, might be a more faddish phenomenon but I shouldn’t worry about that. Our high streets will cope. For it is far easier to remove a tattoo shop than it is a tattoo.

The continuing flux and change of the British high street is the ground zero of a little social revolution.

Being objective about this revolution

isn’t easy, because we’re right in the middle of it. Once, there were high streets as we all felt that God intended, with butchers and bakers and candlestick makers. Or at least, so I’m told, but these are not the high streets I remember. Rather, I remember high streets full of chain stores; o’erflowing with Dixons and Woolworths and Clinton Cards. And I don’t miss them at all. And nor am I sure why I should.

It all depends, granted, on what comes next. In the five years I’ve lived in Crouch End — a cosy north London suburb that is so archetypically cosy, north London and suburban that you’d probably find a picture of it if you looked up “cosy north London suburb” in the Encyclopaedia Britannica — I daresay we’ve been sheltered from the worst of it. Woolworths went, Blockbusters

It is so much easier to get rid of a tattoo shop than a tattoo went. The adored independent bookshop went and then, a few years later, the more maligned charity bookshop went too.

Some of these places have been boarded up, but never for very long.

In their place came coffee shops, icecream parlours, coffee shops, cake shops and yet more coffee shops. We retain, meanwhile, a fair few pubs, a butcher and a fishmonger I keep forgetting to use. A savagely overpriced hardware shop. A greengrocer. Two bakeries, one with pretensions towards the artisan. And,

Visible ink: the number of high street tattoo parlours has tripled in ten years

as I may have mentioned, quite a few coffee shops. We do not have a tattoo parlour. For this is cosy north London, as I mentioned, and we already have tattoos from our gap years.

We also have a handful of local, smallish supermarkets. On a Sunday, none of them open until 11am, I suppose as the result of some shady cartel agreement designed to give checkout staff a lie-in.

Habitually, everybody forgets this and the pavements become briefly thronged with sad-faced men in angular spectacles, waiting grimly for their bagels.

This is what a community looks like. Or, at least, it is what my community looks like. It’s more affluent than most, certainly, and

doubtless quite a lot more anal about its coffee, but the fundamentals of change, I suspect, are fairly universal.

Once our high streets were the places we dutifully bought our essentials. Today they are the places we flippantly buy our non-essentials, often as part of a self-conscious, recreational facsimile of the habits of an earlier age. And the health of any high street, I guess, depends squarely upon just how much money the local populations have available to buy stuff they don’t strictly need.

When we do need stuff, increasingly, we buy it online. Tesco, the great giant of the giant supermarkets, is currently pulling out of building such places left, right and centre. Never once in my adult family life have I driven to such a place, pushed a trolley around and done the weekly shop. Many still do, I know, but I cannot for the life of me figure out why. Get the app on your phone, guys, and press the “again” button.

In time, I suppose, kids will marvel at the thought that people ever shopped like this; at the effort and time it took. What few remain will become places the middle classes visit at the weekend for a hipster taste of antiquity, like the farmers’ markets of today.

Nobody will mourn the death of the out-of-town supermarket. I wonder, though, if we mourned the death of the high street too soon, and too instinctively. Maybe that period of boarded-up shop fronts — the one we are now just crawling out of — was actually a blip, between one age and another. Sales moved online, chains left town, the rents stayed

high and up went the hoardings. At the start of this year, one in seven shops in the UK was standing empty.

That figure was a mere one in nine in London, but right up at one in five, or more, in the northeast.

Yet eventually rents have to fall, and something has to fill them.

Tattoo parlours, we learn. Cafés.

Convenience stores. Gyms. Betting shops. All the experiences that fall through the cracks of our shiny,

In future, kids will marvel that people ever shopped like this

online lives, and need somewhere to land.

It’s not great for landlords, admittedly. But for the rest of us?

Isn’t this a better sort of high street than the one that came before?

Whoever decided, anyway, that the heart of your community needed to have, at its very beating heart, a Dixons and a Dorothy Perkins? Is that what communities do? Buy frocks and televisions at each other?

Sure, it’s nice to be able to potter, to pick up the pint of milk you forgot to get on the way home from work, or a packet of sausages because the kids dropped the last one into the dog. But high streets dominated by chain-store retailing were a bad thing, not a good thing, delivering what ought to have been our most cherished communal spaces straight unto Mammon. So raise a latte, if you can find one nearby, at the way that age is past. Then get a tattoo. If you must.

Miriam Darlington Nature Notebook

Read about autumn: it’s in animal handwriting

R

ound the side of Morrison’s, just over a chicken wire fence, the ground drops away to one of those invisible spaces. You can hear it rippling quietly between mossy, concrete walls and drooping ribbons of ivy. Despite its scattering of silty litter and lost bags, the water is clear and vibrant. It curves under the road bridge and seeps into the boggy area beside the cycle path on its way down to the more robust tidal flow of the River Dart.

I like these urban spaces where human and water territory overlap. Beyond the grassland of the school

field and the railway track, these slivers of ground are otter ways, newt paths, fish roads. Among tall dried grasses, a heron watches for frogs, eyeing something at its feet. Then with a lightning peck, a writhing eel is wrestled into submission and swallowed head first.

After the dry days of summer, tributary streams can seem like fish paths with no fish in them. But now the air has changed, it has rained and the intricate mesh of these water veins becomes lubricated by springs; the stream is a toad march once again, a mink road, a way for water vole, a thoroughfare for sea trout and salmon. And now in early October the moist edges of the riverscape are transformed by spiders, their webs casting everything in silvery veils.

This stream may not be picture-book pretty but as it travels through town it provides a secret freeway. Areas on the fringes that are left alone like this contain the calligraphy of the wild, a living landscape tracing everything that dragonflies, wrens, dippers and voles need.

If you step over the wall you descend into another version of time; this is seasonal time, not clock time.

Entering it is like eavesdropping on a private conversation about the coming of autumn. A coot startles away and through the broken cover I catch sight of its algae-green, marshwalking toes. It disappears among desiccating reeds and old hemlock.

Weed straggles on the glistening wires of a supermarket trolley half submerged in mud. A little farther downstream the water washes over tidal banks and into the shallows of the main river. Hidden by a patchwork of dried loosestrife, it riffles into a surface molten with autumn light, adrift with copper and bronze beech leaves.

Otter loo sunset

D

own on the river bank I search for something in particular and on a narrow spit I find it; the clawed signature of the otter. Pressed into the gravel and sand are the fivetoed tracks and, scraped into an odd little peak with some spraint deposited on the top, an otter loo.

The water level is low and a mellow September has left these scent-marks displayed like an open book. It’s a delight to see that this apex predator, the otter, is making regular visits and a great sign that the habitat is healthy and prey abundant.

A shady canopy makes visible

Herons catch prey with lightning speed

what is usually invisible — the river bottom, past the wobbling image of myself. Evidence of the less charismatic but equally important parts of the ecosystem rise subtly to the nose — the bitter-sweet aroma of slime and mould from the layers of mud as it composts.

From inside the soup of this alien world other creatures hide; water snails and minnows feed on clouds of algae, billions of bacteria swarm over everything and I feel watched by hordes of uncanny eyes.

Salmon on the menu

W

here the riverbank has been built up into a weir and fixed in concrete — engineering designed for the convenience of humans, not rivers —

the water is kept flowing along one fixed course that, being a river, it would not naturally choose.

But around the weir pool, where swimmers come during the summer while it is warm, now herring gulls and herons perch, waiting for migrating salmon on the fish pass. The water works its way over, crammed with eager salmon surging upriver to spawn in their ancestral streams and tributaries high on Dartmoor.

Here nature has found its balance; the place where the otter has slipped out of the water is visible, its sinuous pathway around the weir and through the undergrowth cutting off the awkward hazard. The dew in the grass has been disturbed, and a tumble of mud in the bank has been smoothed by webs and a long, wet tail.

As our towns have encroached into the wetland wildscapes, we can still find contact with them, even in our busy urban lives. The wild is all around us — and the dividing distance between urban and rural, wild and civilised, between us and them, is not what we might think.

Miriam Darlington is author of Otter Country.

@mimdarling

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

19

FGM

Opinion

We talked to the IRA, so why not to Isis?

However repellent their cause and their methods, we will have to negotiate with the jihadists in the long run AFP / GETTY IMAGES

Jonathan Powell

I

n his speech to the UN General Assembly last month President Obama said: “There can be no reasoning — no negotiation — with this brand of evil. The only language understood by killers like this is the language of force.”

His aim, he said, was to “degrade and ultimately destroy” Islamic State (Isis). His language closely echoes that of Dick Cheney insisting “we don’t negotiate with evil; we defeat it”. This is the refrain of every government every time we meet a new terrorist group.

The trouble is that history suggests it is not true. We very rarely defeat terrorists and nearly always end up talking to them if we want a lasting settlement. It is natural that we react with emotion to scenes of ghastly brutality. But if we are going to succeed we need to stop, think clearly and have a long-term strategy that draws on our past experience.

Bombing is a perfectly sensible first step in trying to stop the advance of Islamic State. But no one would claim that it will roll it back from territory already captured. I agree with General David Richards, who says that this will require boots on the ground. But whose boots? In the current political context I see absolutely no prospect of US or UK troops being involved.

We are arming the Iraqi Kurds, the Iraqi army and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) to take on the job. But there is little immediate prospect of the Kurds advancing beyond Mosul or the largely Shia Iraqi army making progress in the Sunni heartland of Iraq. The only way to beat Islamic State there is to revive the Anbar Awakening, which successfully united Sunni tribes against al-Qaeda in Iraq. Of course, the government in Baghdad is nervous about the longterm consequences of an armed

Philip Aldrick If Germany were more French and France more German, the euro would be fine

E

urope’s woes are intractable.

The single currency project needs to be redesigned or ditched. Half-baked monetary union doesn’t work. We’ve heard it all before. Endlessly, it feels, for the past five years.

Yet here we are, with the eurozone still in crisis and once again threatening the global recovery. Well, enough is enough. It’s time for drastic measures. Let’s ignore the eurozone’s underlying structural problems.

We opened a secret channel of communication with the IRA and we need one with Islamic State as soon as possible

enemy, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Beyond that we need to understand the limitations of what can be achieved by military means. Bombing and ground troops can contain the

threat and keep deaths “at an acceptable level” as we used to say in Northern Ireland. But they cannot wipe out the organisation unless we seriously think we can kill each and every one of them.

As General David Petraeus said of Iraq, we could not “kill and capture our way out of an industrial-strength insurgency”.

If Islamic State cannot be destroyed by military means alone we will have to try talking. We should engage with the former er Baathist officials and Saddam’s Republican Guard generals who make up much of Islamic State’s real muscle. They are not fans of a universal caliphate but do have genuine grievances about how they were treated by a

sectarian government in Baghdad.

They will need guarantees that they really have a place in a united Iraq.

One of our greatest mistakes in Iraq was failing to try to bring about an understanding between the Shia and Sunni communities in our rush to leave.

Even that is unlikely to be enough.

Experience over the past 30 years shows that in the end if such groups enjoy subs substantial political support we will need to talk to them.

That is not to suggest that we should try to sit down with Islamic St State now and start neg negotiating, even if they would agree to meet us. That would be ludic ludicrous. But we do

Those will take too long to fix and the world doesn’t have time to waste.

What’s needed right now to give the currency bloc a short-term boost is threefold: budget cuts and market reforms in France and Italy, cushioned by higher spending in Germany to boost demand across the region, and proper quantitative easing at the European Central Bank.

Only the politicians won’t play ball.

The prudent Germans are proud that their books balance and refuse to blow a hole in the public finances even if it is for the greater good and the French would rather eat bratwurst than make those awkward decisions on savings.

The solution is staring us in the face. Switch the governments around for the next five years. The international community should put the French in charge of Germany and instal the Germans in Paris.

OK, there is that little issue of democracy. But it would work.

Europe is perilously close to

economic stagnation because investment in two of the region’s three largest economies — France and Italy — is drying up. Private companies are not willing to take a risk in countries with such unstable economic foundations.

With the economy stalling, the threat of deflation is rising. Falling prices would be a disaster, deterring investment further, pushing more people out of work and entrenching the recession. Europe really is at a critical juncture.

To restore investor confidence, France desperately needs a little of Germany’s prudence. The French state spends 57 per cent of GDP every year — more than any other advanced nation. By comparison, the eurozone weighted average is 50 per cent, even with France pulling it up.

Manuel Valls, France’s Socialist prime minister, this week admitted it was too high and that the country should “aim to be at the European average”. The Socialists’ efforts to cut

€50 billion over the next three years won’t do it, though. The IMF predicts spending will be 53 per cent of GDP in 2019, when the eurozone average will be 48 per cent.

At the same time, French labour markets need to be made more flexible. Mr Valls openly praises Germany’s Hartz reforms in 2003, when benefits were cut to drive more

Sunni militia, so the only way to get this going is for the Americans to work directly with the tribes.

In Syria the problem is even greater. The FSA’s track record is not encouraging. Perhaps it will do better when we have armed it properly. But we are not arming the one force that has performed well against Islamic State, the Syrian Kurds, because we are afraid of Turkish reaction, given their affiliation to Ankara’s arch

Its present demands are impossible. But it will settle for something else

France needs belttightening; Germany needs belt-loosening

people off welfare and into work and companies were given greater powers over hiring and firing.

Reform and austerity in France will suck economic energy out of the region, running the risk of tipping it into deflation. To offset that, Germany needs to step up. It needs a little Paris profligacy.

Having balanced the books, Berlin

need to open a secret channel now so that we can communicate. We opened such a channel to the IRA in 1972 and kept it open for two decades. Without such a secret way of communicating, the negotiations between John Major and Martin McGuinness in 1991-93 would not have been possible. People always underestimate how long it takes to develop such channels and to get to a negotiation once a military stalemate emerges. That is why we need to start the work now.

In The Times, the historian Michael Burleigh asked what would we talk to Islamic State about? It is true that its demands are impossible: the demands of terrorist groups always are. No British government was going to agree to a united Ireland at the barrel of a gun, but when we started talking to Sinn Fein it turned out they were prepared to settle for something else. The same will be true of Islamic State.

Every time we meet a new terrorist group we say that it is completely different from the ones we have faced before. In 2008, when I left government, I said that we should be ready to talk to Hamas, the Taliban and even al-Qaeda. I was predictably rubbished by my former colleagues who said that while it might be acceptable to talk to the IRA and the PLO it was not acceptable to talk to these new groups. In the six years since then the US has negotiated the release of Sergeant Bowe Berghdal with the Taliban, Israel and the US have negotiated a ceasefire with Hamas and a former head of MI5 has argued quite correctly that we will need to be ready to talk to alQaeda. So if in six years these groups are no longer beyond the pale, who is to say it will not be acceptable to talk to Islamic State in another six?

We need to learn from experience, draw up a long-term strategy for dealing with Islamic State and get to a dialogue earlier so a large number of people do not die unnecessarily.

Jonathan Powell was Tony Blair’s chief of staff, 1995-2007. His new book, Talking to Terrorists: How to End Armed Conflicts, is published by Bodley Head

today has room to borrow 3 per cent of GDP without breaking the rules.

That would be $100 billion it could spend every year on new autobahns or cutting income taxes so Germans could holiday in France.

To ensure deflation doesn’t take hold, the ECB could start buying billions of euros of government debt — as the UK and US have done.

Once again Germany is the obstacle. With its memories of hyperinflation, it is refusing to let the ECB print money.

A French government in charge of Europe’s economic superpower would have no such problem. It’s not a long-term solution to the eurozone’s travails. That will require closer fiscal and banking union. But it would get the bloc, and the rest of the world, over the latest hump.

If only Germany was a little more French and France a little more German.

Philip Aldrick is economics editor

20

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

Leading articles Daily Universal Register

The People’s Revolt

The surge in support for Ukip is not simply a protest vote against Westminster.

The party has a constituency among those left behind by globalisation Britain is a country that is economically and culturally open to the world. For many people and for the nation, this is generally a net benefit. Free trade and movement both register positive contributions on the national balance sheet. This is not how people lead their lives, however, and the globalisation of the economy has produced losers as well as winners. As a rule the winners are among the better off and the losers among the least affluent.

This is the best explanation of Douglas Carswell’s powerful victory for Ukip in Clacton and its near win of the previous Labour stronghold of Heywood and Middleton. Mr Carswell’s ability to turn a 12,000 majority for the Conservatives into a 12,000 majority for Ukip is, at least in part, an endorsement of his personal popularity as an assiduous local MP. The Ukip surge in Heywood and Middleton, though, where its vote rose 36 points, was more of a surprise. To come from nowhere to within 617 votes of overturning Labour in a safe seat is a remarkable effort.

It is now clear that there is more to the Ukip surge than mid-term protest. Their typical voter, though there are many exceptions, is an older white male who is less likely than the average Briton to be well educated and in stable employ-

ment. This is a good description of the electorates of Clacton and Heywood and Middleton, which are both constituencies where the staple form of employment, tourism in one and textiles in the other, has declined to be replaced by very little.

The established political parties had little to say to them and the politics practised in Westminster is far removed from the concerns of electorates in impoverished parts of the country.

The Labour campaign in Heywood and Middleton was a good example. Although the NHS is a vital issue there, campaigners reported time and again that immigration and welfare, on which Labour was silent, were being raised spontaneously by voters. The perfunctory response from Labour that Ukip is more Tory than the Tories will hardly impress an electorate that has decided that the mainstream parties are all as bad as each other.

The same problem afflicts the Conservative response that a vote for Nigel Farage is a vote for Ed Miliband.

The troubling truth to emerge from these two by-elections is that there is little either main party can do in the short term. As a tendency to break promises is one of the accusations successfully levelled by Ukip against established politics, this would only make things worse. The problems of

run-down areas and people with poor prospects are endemic and can only be tackled with longterm action.

It would help, of course, if there were more money in pockets. It is wrong that those in work should be poor and Britain has a long tail of lowpaid work. The solution is to educate and train the workforce better so that productivity can rise and opportunities can be created. In the meantime, the government would be wise to demand an increase in the minimum wage from the Low Pay Commission.

Welfare provision in this country is not only too expensive, it is also barely linked to the contribution people have made. This is what is at the heart of the objection to immigration. It is not hostility to foreign-born people per se. It is a sense of unfairness that those who have not earned their help receive it all the same. The parties always talk about returning welfare to the principle of contribution but none of them appears to mean it.

On the morning after the storm, the representatives of the main political parties were unsure whether to remain calm or to panic. In fact, they would be better off devising ways to ensure that the people of Britain who have been left behind are brought back within the fold.

Stem Cell Breakthrough

Science is tantalisingly close to ending the terrible scourge of diabetes “We’re tired of curing mice.” With these words Professor Doug Melton, of Harvard University, gave hope this week to millions of diabetes sufferers that a breakthrough he and his team has achieved towards curing the disease in mice could in a few years be achieved in humans too.

If so, it would be an advance comparable to the first use of antibiotics. Professor Melton would join Sir Alexander Fleming in the pantheon of medical pioneers and the pain and anxiety of near-constant insulin injections to regulate blood sugar would fade gradually from history.

Diabetes sufferers are right to hold their expectations in check. The path of medical progress is littered with experimental therapies that failed to make the leap from animal to human testing. Yet the process devised by Professor Melton for growing millions of insulin-producing “beta” cells from stem cells in the lab appears robust. It has prompted a rare outbreak of optimism across the field of diabetes research, and is evidence that stem cell research generally is at last moving from potential to actual progress. This has, in short, been a banner week for biotech.

It has long been known that embryonic stem cells specialise naturally into every different cell type in the body. Persuading them to follow a particular specialisation in the lab has proved dauntingly complex, however, and Professor Melton’s method is not simple.

It has six steps, takes 40 days per batch of cells and is based on 23 years’ research by a 50-strong team. Each step involves switching individual genes on or off and replicates a natural stage in the cell’s specialisation, with the help of chemical cocktails refined through years of trial and error.

The result is a technique for producing the huge numbers of self-sustaining beta cells — about 150 million per patient — that a type 1 diabetes sufferer would need to replace those lost to the condition. The small proportion of type 2 patients who need insulin injections could also, in principle, use transplanted beta cells to replace them.

Researchers must still perfect a delivery capsule to protect the cells from attack by the body’s immune system, but the Harvard team has high hopes of a capsule already being tested successfully in animals.

A cure based on this method would transform the lives of 3.5 million people in Britain and America alone — people for whom injected insulin is a life-support system little changed since the 1980s, with serious long-term side-effects that shorten life expectancy and add huge burdens to national healthcare systems. Type 1 and type 2 diabetes together cost Americans more than $260 billion a year when lost productivity is taken into account.

In Britain, according to a 2012 study, the condition costs the NHS £1.5 million an hour.

Professor Melton began his search for a cure for type 1 diabetes when told that his young son and daughter had it. A ban on US federal funding for stem-cell research under the second President Bush did not help, but private donors filled the breach. At the very least science now has a beta cell supply on which to test a wide range of diabetes drugs, and early believers in stem-cell research are starting to find vindication.

Britain is another leader in the field, with human trials under way on eye cells and laryngial tissue cultured from stem cells. The message from Massachusetts is: persevere.

Slow. Down. And. Read

Have we all forgotten the first big thing we learnt at school?

The following is a public service editorial. It is to be read at normal speed but without interruption.

[Ping. Ignore.]

If the founders of the “slow reading movement” are right, forcing yourself to ignore all distractions and concentrate on these words, however shallow they may be, will go some way towards curing the attention deficit disorder from which we all suffer in an age of too much hyperlinked information, too thinly spread. [Buzz. Ignore.]

For the avoidance of confusion, slow reading is not the opposite of speed reading. It’s just reading, without skimming or getting bored and clicking

on the grabby headline about a BIKINI IN BARBADOS on the right-hand side of the screen. Ordinary reading is what slow readers claim we have forgotten how to do, which is why Britain’s first two slow reading clubs will ask no more or less of their members than to switch off their phones, sit down and read in silence for an hour. [Tweet.

Ignore.]

Even if this catches on, we won’t be able to claim we set the pace. The world’s first slow reading club was founded in Wellington, New Zealand. About 125 years before that Friedrich Nietzsche called himself a teacher of slow reading, and in the long

and increasingly frantic interim the urge to switch off and slow down settled like a cloud of pot smoke over California, then drifted back east to Texas.

There, in Houston, Professor David Mikics wrote Slow Reading for a Hurried Age, published this month. [Compulsive need to check for emails even though no buzz or ping has registered. Ignore.]

Professor Mikics’ title is deceptive. He’s not offering addled modern minds an excuse to snooze with a clear conscience. He considers reading vital mental exercise and thinks we should take notes and use the dictionary. Too much like hard work?

Well, at least you finished this. [Ping. Answer.]

Today: The Scottish Green party annual conference begins in Edinburgh; the United Nations International Day of the Girl takes place; St Helens face Wigan in the Super League Grand Final at old Trafford, Manchester; Scotland host Georgia in a Uefa Euro 2016 qualifier at Ibrox, Glasgow; enhanced ebola screening begins at five US airports; the European day of action against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) takes place.

Tomorrow: Bosnia and Herzegovina goes to the polls for presidential and parliamentary elections; England play Estonia in a Uefa Euro 2016 qualifier in Tallinn; Egypt and Norway co-host the Gaza reconstruction conference in Cairo; the Formula One Russian Grand Prix takes place in Sochi; The Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival concludes.

Birthdays today Valerie Cumming, pictured, dress historian and chairwoman, Olive Matthews Collection Trust, 68; Sir Henry Boyd-Carpenter, private solicitor to the Queen (1995-2002), 75; Maria Bueno, Wimbledon women’s champion (1959, 1960, 1964), 75; Sir Bobby Charlton, former Manchester United and England football player, 77; Sir Timothy Daunt, diplomat, 79; Dawn French, actress, The Vicar of Dibley (1994-2007), 57; Daryl Hall, former lead vocalist, Hall & Oates, 68; Lord (Toby) Harris of Haringey, chairman, Metropolitan Police Authority (2000-04), 61; Sir Denys Henderson, chairman, Rank Group (1995-2001), 82; Jenny Leach, chief guide, Girlguiding UK (2001-06), 70; Allan Little, BBC reporter, 55; Andrew Logan, sculptor, 69; John Nettles, actor, Midsomer Murders (1997-2011), 71; Alan Pascoe, athlete, 4x400m relay Olympic silver medallist (1972), 67; Luke Perry, actor, Beverly Hills 90210 (1990-2000), 48; Lord (Jim) Prior, secretary of state for Northern Ireland (1981-84), 87; David Rendall, tenor, 66; Elizabeth Ward, founding president, British Kidney Patient Association, 88; Michelle Wie, winner, 2014 US Women’s Open golf, 25.

Birthdays tomorrow Hugh Jackman, pictured, actor, Les Misérables (2012), 46; Shola Ameobi, footballer, Newcastle United (2000-14) and Nigeria, 33; Professor Juliet Cheetham, director, Social Work Research Centre, Stirling University (1986-95), 75; Martin Corry, former England rugby player, 41; Les Dennis, actor, Coronation Street, 60; Ruth Evans, chairwoman, Association of Television on Demand, and director, National Consumer Council (1992-98), 57; Professor Roger Heath-Brown, mathematician, 62; Jonathan Holborow, editor, The Mail on Sunday (1992-98), 71; Martie McGuire, co-founder, Dixie Chicks, 45; Rick Parfitt, singer and guitarist, Status Quo, 66; Katie Piper, philanthropist and ex-model, 31; Angela Rippon, broadcaster, chairwoman, English National Ballet (2000-04), 70; Daryl Runswick, composer, Atlantic Bridge (1970), 68; David Threlfall, actor, Shameless (20042013), 61; Professor Nigel Thrift, geographer and vice-chancellor, University of Warwick, 65; Sir David White, chairman, Nottingham Health Authority (1986-98), 85.

The last word “An empty book is like an infant’s soul, in which anything may be written. It is capable of all things, but containeth nothing.”

Thomas Traherne (c1637-74), English mystic, Centuries of Meditations

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

21

FGM

Letters to the Editor

1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF Email: letters@thetimes.co.uk

Britain needs to rethink how it helps Iraq

Spine-chiller Sir, I welcome the comment by Lord Falconer of Thoroton (“Police can snoop on press if crime serious, says Boris”, Oct 8) that police abused the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa) when they used it to seize journalists’ phone records. Few people would define either the Plebgate affair or Chris Huhne’s crass attempt to dodge a speeding ban as a threat to national security. In the latter case, the fact that police flouted a judge’s order protecting the confidentiality of a newspaper’s sources should send a chill down the spine of anyone believing that the police are subject to the rule of law that they are charged with protecting.

Too many senior police figures are using the post-Leveson climate to justify an arrogant and secretive approach to the media and, with it, the public’s right to know. paul connew St Albans, Herts Sir, Ripa makes it perfectly clear that, subject to safeguards, certain public bodies — including the police — can obtain details of communications data for the purpose of detecting or preventing crime. Perhaps your real point (“Abuse of the Law”, leading article, Oct 8) is that parliament has no real grasp of the legislation that it enacts. alex rae West Bridgford, Notts Sir, You are disingenuous with your examples regarding Ripa. The police did not investigate Mr Huhne for speeding: he was convicted of perverting the course of justice.

Similarly, Ripa was not used to identify whether Andrew Mitchell called a police officer a “pleb”, but to find if officers had conspired against a minister. Ripa needs to be debated but giving police access to such records is necessary to fight crime. mark hipkiss Chesterfield

Angel of musicals

Sir, Events in Kobani and Iraq demonstrate that Isis may be degraded by attacks from the air, but not destroyed. Already there is the inevitable evidence of collateral damage to civilians, who recognise with frustration the limited nature of the support given to them.

If Isis is to be destroyed, the military must be provided with the sources and material to disable its command-and-control sources, as well as its visible assets. This will require ground troops including special forces, and also high quality intelligence and other logistical support. Parliament should be asked without delay to provide fresh objectives and to remove the inhibitions currently preventing a successful military campaign.

The military effort must be seen to support all the people of Iraq, and their new, brave and conciliatory government. They want our help, and we should provide what is necessary rather than the merely politically expedient.

Iraq sits in a crucial place geographically. At the conclusion of the current and regrettably necessary hostilities, she should be able to take a comfortable place alongside her neighbours. This should be supported by the twin pillars of mutual and balanced benefits shared with those neighbours, including Iran and Turkey, and the recognition by her neighbours of Iraq’s sovereignty, free from outside interference. lord carlile of berriew House of Lords

Sir, Your leading article “Saving Kobani” (Oct 9) claimed that “so far Turkey has sent only a lorry load of medical supplies to the besieged Kurds of Kobani and has otherwise confined itself to the role of spectator”. This claim disregards Turkey’s £2.5 billion of humanitarian aid and ignores the threat posed by terrorist groups.

Legal and humanitarian reasons mean that our borders must stay open. We already host more than 1.5 million refugees (a number larger than the population of some EU countries) and help many more in Iraq. In the space of a week, we received 200,000 people from Kobani.

Despite the risks, we continue to maintain an open door, regardless of refugees’ ethnicity. Aid is also being sent into Kobani and we have retaliated to Isis attacks on our territory.

Turkey has handled the issue of Ayn Al Arab/Kobani with sensitivity but the greater conflict cannot be viewed purely through developments in Kobani. A few months ago, we highlighted Isis’s advance towards the Turkoman villages of Tel Abyad and Çobanbey on our border, but this was ignored by the wider world.

Isis has been able to dig in because of air support provided by the Damascus regime, and so it is vital that a no-fly zone is put in place to enforce a safe haven. This strategy should also guard against regime elements or various terrorist structures replacing Isis in areas from which it is eliminated.

Ukip’s win

billion a year then give some of it to worthy causes overseas. Middle England voters are crying out for help. Woe betide any party that assumes the status quo will prevail next May. eamonn hamilton Rawdon, Leeds

Sir, The Ukip march on Westminster (“On the brink of history”, Oct 10) will continue as long as the Westminster elite continues to surround itself with lobbyists, spin doctors, essay writers and media advisers, and ignores the opinions of Middle England. We look on with astonishment at the MPs’ pay rise, the paltry rise in money for the NHS set against the £50 billion for HS2, and a £26,000 cap on household benefits — a net income for which many people would give their eye teeth. We don’t understand why we borrow £100

Sir, Are Rupert Goold and Jodi Myers (letter, Oct 9) being deliberately obtuse in omitting Andrew Lloyd Webber in their estimate of British musicals? His four greatest hits transformed musical theatre. simon callow London N1

Corrections and clarifications 6 We incorrectly referred to the Cessna 180 in which Geraldine Mock flew round the world (Obituary, Oct 9) as the Spirit of Columbia. This should have been Spirit of Columbus.

The Times takes complaints about editorial content seriously. We are committed to abiding by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (“IPSO”) rules and regulations and the Editors’ Code of Practice that IPSO enforces.

Requests for corrections or clarifications should be sent by email to feedback@thetimes.co.uk or by post to Feedback, The Times, 1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF

on this day october 11, 1914

HEROIC DEFENCE OF ANTWERP The defences of Antwerp, especially regarding the arrangement of the outer forts, were not planned to cope with such artillery as the Germans used. The very early days of the siege showed that the outer forts were helpless against modern great guns.

Neither Belgians nor British need have any feeling but pride in the courage with which a desperate and forlorn hope was clung to.

Sir, Ukip defeated all the other parties in Clacton by a margin of about two to one, yet the audience at the BBC’s Question Time from Clacton on Thursday appeared to be 20-1 against Ukip. Is this a coincidence? clive chafer Newquay, Cornwall Many of the Belgian troops defending the city had been almost continuously under fire since Namur. The British troops were placed suddenly in a most trying situation. Both failed only because their task was beyond human capacity. Both deserve nothing but honour and admiration.

Twenty-four of the Antwerp forts were still holding out today in face of a continuous bombardment. Last night in the darkness over 20 blazing fires could be distinguished from afar in different parts of the city. I am informed by one in authority who came out of Antwerp on Friday night that, as at Maubeuge, platforms of solid concrete on which big guns could be mounted were discovered in the suburbs of Vieux Dieu and Hove, where many of the German residents had villas surrounded by large gardens. Another big gun bed had been prepared in a paper mill belonging to Germans.

Belgian officers and soldiers are talking of the dauntless courage and self-sacrifice of a British officer

We should not be selective while reflecting upon and managing public opinion. It is important to give the complete picture. Above all, however, Turkey is not “confining itself to the role of spectator”. abdurrahman bilgiç Ambassador, Turkish Embassy, London Sir, Turkey’s reluctance to help the Kurds fighting Isis is disappointing but predictable. There is sympathy for Isis in some sections of its population and government, and Turkey has a long record of oppressing its own minorities. This issue does, however, call into question Turkey’s suitability as a Nato ally and may mean an end to its hope of joining the EU. andrew brown Allestree, Derby Sir, Given that the US and UK have ruled out sending in ground troops, it is odd that western commentators demand that Turkey becomes the first and only country to do just that.

Given the tragic history of relations between Turks and Kurds, it is all the more important that the world acts collectively to protect them and others. If the West was serious about its objective of “degrading and defeating” Isis, it would devise a suitable military strategy.

At present, it appears to wish to outsource to others what it is unwilling to do itself.

Meanwhile, civilians pay the price. john slinger Rugby, Warks Sir, I remember the febrile excitement in 1973 when the MP Dick Taverne won the Lincoln by-election for Democratic Labour, after falling out with Labour over his proEuropean views. There was speculation about this heralding a new centre party. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose, Messrs Carswell and Farage. john gaskin Bainton, E Riding We take letters by email, fax or post, but not by telephone. We may edit letters, which must be exclusive to The Times.

in one of the Antwerp forts. The particular fort was being pounded to dust by the great German shells, and when its doom was sealed this officer ordered the mixed garrison to save themselves. They succeeded in doing so, but the officer, who stuck to the fort as a captain to his sinking ship, was made a prisoner.

A Taube repeatedly flew over Ghent this afternoon, but no attempt was made to fire upon it, nor did it drop any bomb. The enemy is expected any hour, as for several days he has been hovering about the vicinity, and as the town was declared an open one some weeks ago, no effort is now to be made to defend it.

When I reached Ostend I found that during the day five boats had left crowded with refugees, and thousands more of the homeless were waiting to sail on the morrow. sign up for a weekly email with extracts from the times history of the war ww1.thetimes.co.uk

Age wearies us Sir, Your report (“Delay retirement if you want to avoid disaster in old age”, Oct 8) suggests that we all need to work for longer to avoid poverty, while also stating that many people stop working in their late 50s or early 60s because of poor health or redundancy. How are these people to live if not by using savings, and where are the jobs for the over-60s? The population in general may be living longer but there is no evidence that it is healthier, and many have to rely on benefits at an age when, had they been born five years earlier, they would have been enjoying a pension.

For every Mary Berry, David Dimbleby and Nicholas Parsons who is able to continue working, there will be many builders, nurses, dustmen and others less able to continue to work — but they will have to do so because low wages have meant little opportunity to save.

No politician seems prepared to admit that age benefits have been too generous, and not means-tested, for much too long, meaning that those born after 1955 will have to make up the shortfall as well as trying to save enough for themselves to afford to eventually retire. It seems unfair that those who made it to pension age by 2010 are enjoying a state-subsidised retirement, the like of which will never be experienced by future generations. rosalind taylor Ashbourne, Derbyshire

Lady is a lord Sir, The French MP Julien Aubert — who addressed Sandrine Mazetier as madame chairman instead of madame chairwoman and was fined €1,400 (“Le sexist jibe”, Oct 8) — may be heartened to know that he will find some solace across La Manche.

Debrett’s informs us that in our second chamber, the lord speaker in the House of Lords should be addressed as lord speaker even if female. af kellner London W1

Straight spin Sir, The Speaker’s spin doctor has had to resign (News, Oct 9) because she may have jeopardised the impartiality of the Speaker by giving a speech at the Lib Dem conference. It is ironic that John Bercow uses a spin doctor to maintain his impartiality. jeffrey box Shalford, Surrey

#Crotchety Sir, May I express my disquiet at the piece in Times2 (Oct 9) which mentioned “#feelingnuts” — about young men holding their crotches for charity — and hereby apply for the post as the replacement to the late lamented Mary Whitehouse? That youth indulges in vulgarity does not make it acceptable to civilised society. helena fielder Southsea, Hants

G-r-r-r-eaction Sir, Following David Cameron’s indiscretion that the Queen “purred” over the result of the Scottish referendum, I am still waiting to read of the prime minister’s subsequent meeting with Her Majesty.

Did she hiss, growl or spit? tony killeen Bristol

22

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

Opinion

Buy prints or signed copies of Times cartoons from our Print Gallery at timescartoons.co.uk

Malala’s peace prize puts Obama to shame One faced a Taliban bullet to defend a girl’s right to read. The other won’t even face down the American gun lobby Janice Turner

@victoriapeckham

A

t a talk last weekend by the artist Jonathan Yeo, I was struck by the title of his portrait of Malala Yousafzai: Girl Reading. In it, Malala looks up as if disturbed from her book. Her gaze is bright and candid; her finger points down at the page as if fearful of losing her place.

Just a girl reading. The simplest yet most revolutionary act in the world.

In the week that Malala became the youngest winner of the Nobel peace prize, details emerged of daily life in territory controlled by Islamic State. Citizens complaining about lack of running water or two hours of electricity a week were told to get used to it: that was how people lived in the time of the Prophet.

Teachers in Islamic State schools were ordered to regress scholarship by 1,400 years. Why do children need to learn about the human respiratory system? Why waste time over maths calculations? Rip out those pages! In their reverse Enlightenment, the

only book required is the Koran, the only worthwhile knowledge is how to pray and how to kill.

Malala reminds us how to respond to this tyrannical ignorance and assault on progress. Her blog, which she began in 2009, could almost have been written in today’s Raqqa. Living in Pakistan’s Swat Valley, she witnessed the Taliban destroy its unusually well-developed education system, saw fighters bomb, ransack and demolish 172 schools in two years.

“I am afraid,” she wrote more than once, as the disciples of medievalism swaggered around town. She saw her teachers forced into burkas as they shopped in the bazaar, passed the corpses of those who had broken the

When school uniform was too dangerous she put on her pink dress

smallest Taliban rule. When it was too dangerous to wear school uniform she put on her favourite pink dress; when told that the Taliban would think it immodest she wore it anyway. She knew her life was in danger, yet in a community where girls had no face, she remained visible, writing, studying, reading. She met foreign emissaries who could not compute this person

with adult opinions but a child’s love of trashy fiction and vanilla ice cream. She kept speaking out until the men tried to silence her in the only way they had left — with a bullet to the head.

In Malala we have a Nobel peace laureate worthy of the name. Her response to violent intolerance was not hate and vengeance but calm defiance. “I do not even hate the Talib who shot me,” she said. “Even if there is a gun in my hand and he stands in front of me, I would not shoot him.”

I wonder what President Obama thought when they met and she told him with her crisp, clear voice and teenage directness that he should send books and pens to Pakistan, not drones. Does his own peace prize, awarded in overexcited expectation of greatness, not weigh on his conscience? He’s spent six years doing so little to deserve it.

Malala, who suffered a brain injury and has a titanium plate in her head, daily defies the mullahs who wanted her dead.

Obama didn’t even dare visit Ferguson, Missouri, after the death of the unarmed teenager Michael Brown, in a country where two black men a week are shot dead by police.

He won’t challenge the racism that was the core purpose of his election, just as he failed to face

down the gun lobby after the Sandy Hook massacre.

Two Nobel laureates — the president who won’t even broker peace in his own backyard and the girl who speaks out to the whole world.

A radical Islamism that shuts down debate, bans books, terrorises unbelievers, leaps to suppress the education of girls, now presents itself across the world as the pure version of the faith. The name of Boko

Humans yearn for knowledge more than they fear death

Haram, which kidnapped and sold into sexual slavery hundreds of Nigerian schoolgirls, translates as “western education is a sin”.

Asked why she had risked her life to go to school, Malala replied: “I didn’t want my future to be just sitting in a room, imprisoned in my four walls, cooking and giving birth to children.” Islamism sees any attempt to break out of these roles as western corruption. If a girl reads, she might think, find a job, be economically independent and evade the control of man and mosque.

Islamism has its roots in Salafism, an intellectual ebola spread from Saudi Arabia, a nation that abhors

history so much that it has even demolished the most ancient sites of Mecca and replaced them with shiny, new tower blocks. Malala represents a more tolerant Islam of erudition that the Salafis want forgotten; of the Wali of Swat, the regional leader who proudly built its schools; of the Arab scholars who brought forth astronomy, trigonometry, surgical instruments and algebra.

In Pakistan, whose once flourishing public life is now muted after the imprisonment and slaying of Christians or secularists for alleged blasphemy, Malala is not universally acclaimed. To many she is an embarrassment, damned as a sinner, a CIA spy, a Zionist stooge, an apostate, shameless — even a phoney who was never shot and is just a propaganda tool of the West.

But Malala has never wavered from her true self, had a make-over or been watered down. She represents a cause beyond her own history and shows that humans yearn for knowledge more than they fear death, that the book-burners and history-erasers, whether Nazi, Stalinist or Islamic State, ultimately cannot win. In her youthful courage she puts to shame our political gerontocracy, predicated on what the old want rather than what the young need.

Nothing is finer or fiercer than a girl reading.

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

23

FGM

News

Hip-ho stars Hip-hop tars are keeping eepin Bible ibl alive, Church hurc told ld Oliver Moody

And lo, Lady Gaga’s Judas begat Kanye West’s Yeezus, and Kanye West’s Yeezus begat Lily Allen’s Sheezus, and together they went forth and offended the Church mightily.

Something like that. Study after study has shown that biblical literacy is on the wane, reduced to a casual plaything of the film and music industries.

Or is it? A new book tries to explode the Church of England’s “intellectual snobbery” about biblical references in popular culture and argue that the stories are reaching a wider audience than ever before. Katie Edwards, lecturer in

The Bible in Contemporary Culture at the University of Sheffield, claims that the prevailing pessimism about young people’s familiarity with chapter and verse is a nonsense. She said: “The Church of England has a lot of questions to answer in this respect. Its leaders, including Rowan Williams [the former Archbishop of Canterbury], persistently bemoan the scourge of Bible illiteracy that we are all apparently experiencing.

“Worse still, it isn’t actually only the Church of England that seems to view biblical illiteracy as a pandemic — it is also academics, teachers and public figures, for example Joan Bakewell and

Last man standing A sightseer pushed his luck with challenging sea conditions on Pulpit Rock, off Dorset, at the height of yesterday’s gales. Forecast, page 79

Anguish for Warming will mother at drive fish to Alice’s inquest northern seas David Brown

Hannah Devlin Science Editor

The mother of the murdered schoolgirl Alice Gross heard yesterday how her daughter’s body was wrapped in a bag before being dumped in a riverbed.

Rosalind Hodgkiss, 50, was at the opening of an inquest at West London Coroner’s Court. Alice, 14, went missing after leaving her home in Hanwell, west London, on August 28. Her body was found in a river, near where she was last seen, on September 30.

John Chadwick, a police coroner’s officer, told the inquest: “As a result of a search of the River Brent, the body of Alice Gross was found by London Fire Brigade divers. The deceased was found submerged, wrapped in a bag and had been weighted down.”

Alice was identified by her medical records and an initial post-mortem examination failed to determine the cause of death.

The body of Arnis Zalkalns, 41, the prime suspect in her murder, was found hanging in woodland in the nearby Boston Manor Park on Saturday last week.

Chinyere Inyama, the coroner, adjourned the inquest to January 29 because of continuing investigations.

Large numbers of fish will migrate to the Arctic by mid-century, according to research on the impact of the warming oceans. The study suggests that as fish move polewards, there could be new fishing opportunities in the north, but that the tropics could become hotspots for fish extinction.

Previous work suggests that around Britain, species such as cod, mackerel and haddock are already moving northwards. At the same time, species such as sea bass, john dory, hake and sardines are spreading from the south into British coastal waters.

William Cheung, of the University of British Columbia, a co-author of the study, said: “The tropics will be the overall losers.” The latest study looked at how different levels of warming would influence the geographical ranges of 802 commercial fish species.

Under a climate change scenario where oceans warm by 3C by 2100, fish would migrate polewards at a rate of 16 miles a decade, the models suggested.

The study, in the ICES Journal of Marine Science, used computational modelling combined with evidence on the ecological limits of different species.

the former poet laureate Andrew Motion, who assume that biblical al literacy is in widespread decline.” In Rethinking Biblical Literacy, due to be published in the spring, Dr Edwards talks to scholars who contend that scripture is flourishing as vigorously as ever — just not where you would expect. From EdLady Gaga and Jean Paul Gaultier use biblical motifs

die Izzard’s riff on the flood story from Genesis — “I want an ark, with a big room wa for poo” — to echoes of Leviticus in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the academics claim that pop culture gives young people a new and complex way to engage with the Bible.

Dr Edwards, who calls Jesus “the biggest celebrity of them all”, said: “Jesus imagery is very common in hip-hop videos, and Mary Magdalene and Mary, mother of Jesus, can be used in

haute couture fashion — see the Jean Paul Gaultier Spring 2007 collection, which was inspired by the biblical Marys.” Partly to prove her point, and partly, one suspects, to wind up critics, Dr Edwards commissioned the graffiti artist Kid Acne to spray a hip-hop nativity on the side of a Sheffield school for the city’s Festival of the Mind.

“At the heart of a lot of these discussions , I think, is intellectual snobbery,” Dr Edwards said. “Yes, the Bible matters for us all, not only Christians . . . because the Bible is used in contemporary culture to address the big social questions of our time.”

Leading article, page 20

24

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

News

Hysteria and sexual passion fire this Crucible of the classroom

National Gallery

Film Kate Muir The Falling London Film Festival HHHHH The hormonal cauldron of a strict English girls’ school in the late Sixties is the setting for Carol Morley’s atmospheric, darkly funny and accomplished drama The Falling, which has its premiere in competition at the London Film Festival today.

Combining the otherworldliness of Picnic at Hanging Rock and the obsessive passions of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, the story explores a hysterical fainting epidemic which suddenly plagues the schoolgirls.

The breathless intensity of female friendship is the lodestone here, and the lead role of Lydia is taken by Maisie Williams of Game of Thrones, with her malleable, determined, pixie face. Lydia’s best friend for ever — they carve their initials in an oak tree — is Abbie, played by Florence Pugh, who has been nominated for best newcomer at the festival.

The film opens with the eerie, romantic notes of Abbie playing her guitar and singing Mary Hopkin’s Voyage of the Moon. The beautiful blonde Abbie (her name echoing that other hysterical Abigail in The

Florence Pugh and Maisie Willams play best friends in The Falling

Crucible) is the magnetic, charismatic class leader, with a predilection for older boys and shorter skirts.

A hootworthy early scene has Abbie being made to kneel in front of the class to have her sinful skirt measured by Greta Scacchi, the tweedy deputy headmistress with hair stiffly sculpted like an ionic column.

The headmistress, played by Monica Dolan with the driest disdain, flounces through the corridors, a cigarette always at her red lips.

“I feel so crummy,” says Abbie, in that Sixties’ speak, and her illness involves fainting at moments that seem designed to irritate and disrupt the stuffy school. Soon, Maisie begins to display similar symptoms, a twitching eye signalling an oncoming

fit, perhaps as the result of a tragedy and the catatonic lack of response from her mother (Maxine Peake) a housebound hairdresser with a red beehive. The hysteria spreads through the school like a malignant virus.

(Mass psychogenic illness is well documented — most recently an epidemic of fits struck cheerleaders at Le Roy High School in New York state in 2012, in the full glare of the fascinated media.)

Beneath the hysteria there is a deep vein of unnatural sexual passion, and the occult-obsessed Kenneth (Joe Cole), Maisie’s sleazy brother, seems keen to befriend many of the schoolgirls. Layers of mystery unfurl in The Falling, its strange rhythms of hormones and nature marked by lyrical, bucolic moments beneath the oak tree and glassy lake by the school, all made ethereal by the cinematographer Agnès Godard.

Morley does an amazing job of handling a cast of mostly first-time teenage actors, and the feature also has disturbing echoes of the mood of Dreams of A Life, the director’s investigative documentary-drama about Joyce Vincent, a 38-year-old woman whose body was found three years after she died. This time Morley has created a school story that should become a classic, a tale of Girl Power long before the term existed.

“I honestly don’t think I could have had a more boring three I’d decided to read Chantelle’s autobiography backwards”

‘Stonehenge? A bunch of rocks in the middle of nowhere’: what tourists think of our treasures

I

t is, according to English Heritage, “an icon of Britain, a wonder of the world, a spiritual place and a source of inspiration” (Tom Whipple writes). Savier M, a US contributor to the travel review site Yelp, had a rather less ethereal take on Stonehenge. “Some rocks,” he explained,

in a review that is difficult to fault on factual grounds at least, “in the middle of nowhere”.

Similarly, Bath Tourism describes the Royal Crescent as “without doubt one of the greatest examples of Georgian architecture anywhere in the UK”.

Does FredFoster1975, contributor of 14

hours unless

reviews to Tripadvisor and, somewhat confusingly, a 39year-old woman, concur? Absolutely not. “A bunch of terrace houses,” she said. “Really nothing special.”

This week VisitBritain, the body responsible for promoting UK tourism, claimed the strongest period of growth on record — with almost 20 million visits to the country between January and July. It argues that Britain is “unique, traditional, cutting edge, refreshing,

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

25

FGM

GETTY IMAGE, ALAMY, REXFEATURES

Ben Nevis

London Eye

Hadrian’s wall

News

Google agrees 6,000 requests to be forgotten Anna Pujol-Mazzini

More than 6,000 Britons have persuaded Google to remove links in “It’s a couple of relation with the “right to be forgotten” bricks in a bit of More fun at a fu mud, introduced in May this year by a nera expect from a wa l. What do you European Court of Justice ruling. ll though? Next can y tor his ch tim mu e I fancy trekking so The search engine has revealed that “How a city with be defined by a th ro ug h de bris I’ll go to a co to allow its skyline ” nstruction site. a total of 18,304 requests have been me nd yo be PS ely : Full of weirdos tir in Berghaus” ferris wheel is en made to remove links to more than 60,000 URLs. The UK was the country with third highest number of requests, behind stunning the prize pr for the most France and Germany. A third of recoastal passionate one-star quests from the UK, of which Facebook scenery and review views goes to the attracted the most, were successful. a fantastic British itish Museum — or, In a blog post, Jess Hemerly, public Unless you desperately want to write array of flora to give giv it the name policy manager for Google, said: “It’s r get a significant ego boost by havin a Facebook status atop the UK’s highest mountain, g conquered it, I wouldn’t bother” and fauna suggested by one important to be transparent about how can be boring ng visitor, “The den of visitor much information we’re removing to some!” thieves.” thiev from search results while being reimaginative, scientific debate and it? Save yourself a it wrote.

“If you want to visit spectful of individuals who have made surprising”. captured the trip. Visit your local While it might be thieves then the thiev requests. Releasing this information to But while the imagination of all builder’s yard and true that some of the British itish Museum are the public helps hold us accountable for democratising power who see it”. Not quite take a quick look at more vitriolic review views the biggest thieves our process and implementation.” of the internet has all. “How interesting the nearest stack of of national treasures es around, ound,” said one Google also published a list of anonyenabled many to can a pile of stones blocks — job done.” are indeed caused by review viewer, possibly of mised examples of requests they had agree, it has also be?” asked the In the case of the philistinism, others Mediter diterranean origin. received. These included a woman who allowed some to TripAdvisor user Giant’s Causeway, the had more geopolitical opolitical “If you yo do visit these successfully petitioned for the removal demur by posting the Atticus. He then National Trust felt roots — not least thieves then make thiev of a decades-old article about her alternative views. provided the answer sufficiently offended those involving what at suree you tell your kids husband’s murder.

The Giant’s to anyone considering by negative reviews to many visitors might the truth tr about how In another example, which Google Big Ben Causeway in following in his offer a reply. “Nearly argue are not Britain ain’s they got some of their declined, a British media professional “A giant clock? I Northern Ireland has, footsteps. “For the 40,000 polygonal national treasures at treasur easures. Give back sought the removal of four links to genuinely don’t know the National Trust first five minutes it is columns created by all. Which is why, of the Elgin Marbles and articles reporting on embarrassing what the fuss is about” claims, “ inspired mildly diverting. Then the great forces of all the major the other treasures content he had posted online. artists, stirred you realise . . . is this nature, hectares of attractions in London, ndon, stolen from abroad.”

In total, members of the EU have sent nearly 500,000 requests.

26

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

News

Confused heart patients reject statins Heart patients are abandoning statins because of mixed messages over their use, cardiologists have warned (Kat Lay writes).

A survey of British Cardiovascular Society members found that 80 per cent thought patients were confused about the role of statins, following concerns over plans earlier this year to extend their use and offer them to anyone aged over 50.

Some 59 per cent thought the concerns had resulted in their patients discontinuing statins, with 30 per cent saying more than five patients had discontinued the cholesterol-lowering drugs. Over a fifth thought one or two patients had discontinued statins, and 15 per cent thought three to five patients had done so.

Earlier this year, the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) halved the risk threshold at which people should be offered statins, saying there should be an option for anyone with a 10 per cent chance of a heart attack within ten years, as calculated by looking at factors such as age, blood pressure and cholesterol.

However, a group of leading doctors attacked the guidance, writing in a letter to NICE that it

would “medicalise healthy individuals”.

The doctors, including Sir Richard Thompson, president of the Royal College of Physicians, wrote: “We believe that the benefits in a low-risk population do not justify putting approximately five million people on drugs that will then have to be taken lifelong”. They did agree the drugs have benefits for patients with existing heart conditions.

A spokesman for BCS said: “This survey of members was triggered by concerns raised by a number of members that they had patients who had been prescribed statin medication . . . and, where as a direct result of recent media stories and published articles, this had been discontinued inappropriately.”

Dr Mike Knapton, of British Heart Foundation, said: “Evidence shows that statins are a safe, effective, cholesterollowering drug and proven to lower the risk of heart disease. Rightly, there was a debate over widening their availability to people but this may have been misinterpreted as a debate on their validity as a treatment.

“Anyone who has already been prescribed statins should continue to take them as advised by their doctor.”

Millions at risk from poor medicine control Two million people taking several drugs are at risk of harm from poor NHS medicine management, the medicines watchdog has warned (Kat Lay writes).

In new draft guidance, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) says that people taking multiple medicines should have their prescriptions reviewed regularly.

Between 5 and 8 per cent of all hospital admissions are due to “preventable problems with medicines”, such as adverse effects or their interaction with other medicines. Patients should be more involved in decisions about their care, with prescriptions taking into account their individual needs, preferences and values, it recommends.

In 2008, about 1.9 million people in England had more than one long-term condition,

being managed with a number of different medicines. That number, including about 25 per cent of people aged over 60, is expected to reach almost 3 million by 2018.

Between 30 and 50 per cent of medicines prescribed for long-term conditions are not thought to be taken as intended. The guidance notes: “When patients transfer between different care providers, such as at the time of hospital admission or discharge, there is a greater risk of poor communication and unintended changes to medicines. When patients move from one care setting to another, between 30 per cent and 70 per cent of patients have an error or unintentional change to their medicines.”

A study found that more than 90 per cent of care home residents were exposed to a potential error in their medication.

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

27

FGM

News

Let young take risks, paranoid parents told Kaya Burgess

British parents are too “paranoid” about their children’s safety and should let them walk or cycle to school and take more risks, according to a leading Swedish psychiatrist.

David Eberhard sparked controversy last year when his book, How The Children Took Power, suggested Sweden’s child-centric culture had created a nation of spoilt “porcelain dolls”.

Ahead of a visit to London for the Barbican Centre’s Battle of Ideas debate next weekend, Dr Eberhard said that, while Swedish parents are emotionally overprotective of their children, British parents are overprotective on issues of safety.

“In some ways, Britain is quite similar to Sweden, though there are differences when it comes to overprotection, he said. “In Britain there is an overprotection when it comes to safety and security issues and regulations.

“The kids can’t walk or cycle alone to school, for example, because of a fear of paedophiles or something happening to them. That seems to be stronger in Britain. It’s a paranoid attitude.”

Dr Eberhard has six children, brought up in Stockholm. From the ages of six and seven years old they were allowed to walk to school every day. “I would advise parents that most of the things we think will happen to our kids are really small risks — like the risks of paedophiles or being run over

by cars,” he said. “You need to let them develop and help them become a functioning adult.”

A survey of parents by the Living Streets charity last year found that half of parents in Britain who drive their children to school by car live under a mile away. A survey by the Sustrans charity in 2010 found that almost half of children want to cycle to school, but only 4 per cent are allowed to.

Dr Eberhard argued that children who were overprotected as infants, growing up in a “padded world”, will become disillusioned teenagers and young adults.

“When they become adolescents and find out that the world isn’t really like that and it is a cruel place where you have to compete, it will be very easy to become disappointed,” he said. “Where once everything was all about you, now nothing is about you.”

Children are exposed to adult images and themes from a young age, but are not introduced to the responsibilities that come with being an adult, he said.

“Young children are very adult when it comes to knowing about sex and so on,” Dr Eberhard said, “but they are very childish when it comes to . . . the responsibility of taking care of themselves.”

He stressed that parents should educate their children about safety before letting them loose on the streets and teach them how to cross roads and be wary of strangers.

OWEN HUMPHRIES / PA

Still life A herd of deer pose for the camera in the grounds of the 14th-century Raby Castle, in County Durham

Take That fans ‘don’t care about tax avoidance’ Alexi Mostrous Special Correspondent

Take That fans are “not interested” in revelations that band members invested more than £60 million in tax avoidance schemes, Gary Barlow has said.

The 43-year-old singer insisted that his tax affairs were “private” despite earlier apologising for the band’s controversial investments on Twitter.

In May, The Times revealed that Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen

and their manager Jonathan Wild attempted to shelter £66 million in the Icebreaker tax scheme. Barlow, who is understood to be the largest individual investor in Icebreaker, said the revelations would not affect their popularity.

“Our fans, they want to buy our records and watch our tours. They’re not interested,” he told The Sun. Barlow faces a substantial tax bill after a judge ruled against Icebreaker in May, finding that it was “known and

understood by all concerned to be a tax avoidance scheme”.

Barlow, Donald and Owen also invested millions of pounds in Liberty, another tax avoidance scheme described as one of the most aggressive on the market. Other investors included George Michael and Sir Michael Caine.

Jason Orange, a fellow Take That member, did not invest in either Icebreaker or Liberty. Orange left the band last month after 23 years.

28

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

News Saturday interview

‘Sorry Mr Pinter, could you take Margaret Thatcher’s advertising guru has a lifetime of stories to tell, writes Roger Boyes

F

rom the drawing rooms of Belgravia to the presidential hangout of Europe’s last dictator, Lord Bell has fought his battles and against the

odds won quite a few of them. The biggest victory of all: he’s still alive, held together it seems by therapy, cigarettes and an absolute passion to make sure that the Conservative party does not stray too far from the path of Margaret Thatcher.

We know that Tim Bell’s heart is still ticking because he has just written a memoir that he wanted to call Life’s a Pitch and then you’re Dead. The publishers got him to change the title but one of the great and most controversial PR operators of his

generation is still pitching hard at the age of 72. In this business, it seems, there’s always another tarnished reputation to save.

Lord Bell’s task now is to rescue his own battered reputation and he is doing it exactly as he would counsel his own clients: with carefully dosed candour, a bit of panache and a determination never to be boring. The result is a chronicle of hand-to-hand combat with narcissistic lefties (the most lecherous of all being the playwright Harold Pinter, who groped

Lord Bell’s wife under the dining table), Mad Men-style excesses with the Saatchi brothers, awkward moments with Princess Diana and cosy interludes with Thatcher (“she would talk to me about her feelings, about her children, I could tell she enjoyed my company”) Half a century of professional spin usually leaves its mark. Many of Lord Bell’s contemporaries have flushed Château Lafite faces and listening to his stories of the early white-knuckle years in ad land, it’s no surprise. With a desk positioned between Charles and Maurice Saatchi, he found himself caught in the middle of a fraternal rivalry.

“Charles would yell at Maurice and Maurice would shout back and things would be chucked — I once got hit by a flying chair,” Lord Bell says. “It was a very tense environment. Our own money was at stake and we had to succeed.” This was the 1970s and soon enough the years were being measured out by the shift from a Maserati Indianapolis (“a penis substitute, quite obviously, especially as it was metallic pink”) on to an Aston Martin and, after having children, a sensible Bentley. “Long lunches,” he writes, “big nights, irrelevant expenses. Sometimes I got through on a wing and a prayer . . . for example, we used to make up research results all the time.” That was part of the culture, he says, its very essence.

The move to political consultancy reflected the times too: parties had to be sold like washing powder, given images that would work for television.

Maurice Saatchi had written a book called Brutal Simplicity of Thought and it was to be a guide of sorts. “Brutal and simple, those were to be the watchwords for beating Labour,” Lord Bell says. As Thatcher’s election adviser in 1979, 1983 and 1987, he would advise David Cameron’s Tories to stick to that formula. “In 1959 the Tory slogan was: ‘Britain is a success, don’t let Labour ruin it’. The Saatchis turned this for Margaret into: ‘Britain’s great. Don’t let Labour wreck it.’ I would go for a version of that.”

L

ord Bell was until very recently very sceptical about the leadership of Mr Cameron. It couldn’t be any other way for a man who keeps as many framed photographs of Margaret Thatcher on his coffee table, almost a shrine, as he does of his family. “What do I think of Cameron now? I would say that the speech he just made to conference was the first Conservative speech of his life. Until that speech, he was in what Margaret would have called the ‘wet’ camp. Fact is that the majority of Conservatives are not wet at all.”

Fighting elections in a time of coalition politics is more complex. “It used to be that the opposition would say Time for a Change while the government would say It’s Not the Time for a Change. But if you’re facing a coalition outcome, it’s always going to be about change. So you’ve got to get the message clear.”

He is broadly against using negative advertising against Ed Miliband, although he describes him as a loser.

Again, he takes his tune from Thatcher. At times he almost seems to be channelling her, a spiritual medium (with the spirit being defined as a good tumbler of Scotch). “We had this great poster worked out,” he recalls.

“It showed Michael Foot, duffle coat, stick, walking bent over Hampstead Heath and the slogan was: ‘Even pensioners are better off under the

Lord Bell made his name with Saatchi

Conservatives.’ But Margaret ruled it out straight away.” That was the right call, he says, even though Mr Miliband has left plenty of hostages to fortune. “We are living in a generation of abuse,” says the PR guru, who has described Twitter as the end of civilisation. “The carrot is ten times more valuable than the stick. That’s what she believed too.” As for billboards (should the Tories ask for his thoughts), they should be used; they were still, as in the days of the famous “Labour isn’t working” slogan, far more potent than digital advertisements. “You can put fifty pages of research into three words.”

After co-founding Saatchi and Saatchi, Lord Bell went on to become international chairman and then left to form Chime Communications and become chairman of Bell Pottinger.

Over the years he has had a spread of controversial international clients including Asma Assad, wife of the Syrian dictator, Alexander Lukashenko, the autocratic president of Belarus, and the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. His view has been that even the ruthless deserve the right to state their case.

This has laid him open to accusations of naivety (“I think naivety can be

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

29

FGM

Saturday interview News

your hand off my wife’s leg?’

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER, MATTHEW LLOYD

Timothy John Leigh Bell Curriculum vitae Born October 18, 1941 Education Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Barnet Career Started as a post boy in 1959 at ABC television. After jobs in media sales, he co-founded Saatchi and Saatchi in 1970 and created the Labour Isn’t Working campaign for Margaret Thatcher. He was knighted in 1990 and in 1998 elevated to the peerage Quick fire Therapy or stiff upper lip? Until four years ago I would have said stiff upper lip. Now it’s definitely therapy Charles or Maurice? Oh, Charles.

My emotional attraction to him is enormous University or school of life? I don’t have any regrets about not going to university Putin or Gorbachev? Definitely Gorbachev. I have worked with him on the question of water resources Kate or Diana? Neither

and Saatchi advising the Conservatives under Margaret Thatcher. “I could tell she enjoyed my company,” he says

rather refreshing”) and hypocrisy. Still, he did turn down Robert Mugabe.

He believes that the image of some politicians are tarbrushed by unthinking, unreflective soi-disant liberals. He certainly fought the corner of General Pinochet, a friend of Thatcher, in his attempt to fend off extradition from Britain to Spain.

At a dinner party in 1988, the cream of the liberal intelligentsia was present — Pinter, his wife, Lady Antonia Fraser, the American novelist Gore Vidal — and they were all fuming about Pinochet. Lord Bell argued that Pinochet was more of a democrat than the murdered Marxist Salvador Allende.

“What do you know about Chile?” snarled Vidal.

“Well,” Lord Bell remembers saying, “I know Jack Henderson, CIA chief in Santiago.” This apparently nonplussed Vidal, who asked after the CIA man.

Lord Bell then admitted that he had simply made up the agent’s name.

“Pinter started to fly off the handle.

So I stood up and said, ‘I’m very sorry,

Mr Pinter, could you take your hand off my wife’s leg?’ His hand had been half way up her thigh, you see.” At this point Lady Antonia stormed to the bathroom. “She returned a few minutes later to apologise for breaking the lavatory seat.” The dinner party broke up soon afterwards.

As Tim Bell stories go, this ticks all the boxes: a tactical deception, the spreading of chaos, the shifting of blame, a bit of malicious fun, all in the service of a client. It is also the classic behaviour of what used to be called an Alpha male and is now, rather less flatteringly, described as a Great White male.

Lord Bell’s book, now titled Right or Wrong, hints that he might have been for a while a beached Great White male, struck down by a series of misfortunes. He had survived a brush with colon cancer but kept up his 80-a-day smoking habit. In the space of a couple of years he was hit by three traumatic events — separation from his wife, Virginia (“I had grown up as the child of a single parent and had always vowed I wouldn’t bring up my two kids that way”), the forced sale of his Belgravia home and Thatcher’s death. He fell into a depression — “there’s a very large black dog in my character” — and sought out a therapist. “I don’t feel like a wimp because I have a therapist,” he says.

B

y way of illustration he tells the joke about a Welshman in the valleys whose house gets flooded and who takes refuge on the first floor. “A rescue boat appears and the man says he will stay where he is, ‘I will trust in God.’ The waters rise higher, he mounts the roof and he refuses a rescue helicopter, vowing that God will save him. The man drowns, goes to heaven and asks God why he didn’t save him. “Who the f*** do you think sent you the lifeboat and the helicopter?” says God. What did Lord Bell learn from half a century of spinning? How to get politicians and tycoons to identify their weaknesses, take responsibility for them and play to their strengths.

Now he has applied the same techniques to his own life. It makes you like him more. Maybe, though, it’s just spin; the Last Pitch.

30

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

News HULTON ARCHIVE / GETTY IMAGES; TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER, DAVID BEBBER

Desert heroes honoured as saviours of the SAS Brigade of expert navigators transported special forces deep within enemy lines, Ben Macintyre writes

M

ike Sadler’s story is one of extraordinary adventure, told with consistent understatement. It was 1943, and Sadler had just trekked more than 100 miles on foot across the North African desert after narrowly escaping from a German ambush. For four days, he and two companions had survived on a handful of dates and brackish water from a leaking goatskin. Stoned by hostile Arabs and pursued by German patrols, roasted by day and frozen at night, they were exhausted, parched, hallucinating and close to starvation.

In the middle of a dry salt lake, one of Sadler’s comrades collapsed, unable to go on, and asked to be left behind.

“It was,” says Sadler, looking back 70 years with a dry chuckle, “a bit of a Captain Scott moment.”

Major Willis Michael Sadler, now 94, is one of the few surviving former soldiers of the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG), the British army’s reconnaissance, raiding and intelligence unit that operated alongside the SAS during the Second World War. The group carried out deep-penetration missions behind enemy lines, and transported the fledgling SAS in its attacks against Axis airfields. Without the help of the desert navigators, the SAS might not have survived and flourished, yet their role has often been overlooked.

Today, Major Sadler, fellow veterans and members of the SAS, together with relatives of LRDG veterans no longer alive, will gather near Stirling for the unveiling of a memorial to the unit, to stand alongside the existing statue of

Colonel Sir David Stirling, SAS founder, in recognition of one of the most successful partnerships in modern military history.

“The Long Range Desert Group is very dear to the SAS. It goes back to the beginning, when David Stirling turned to them for help,” LieutenantGeneral Sir Cedric Delves, president of the SAS Regimental Association, said. “They showed us how to work in the desert. They got us going. They were there for us at the outset, and I am deeply proud that the regiment can acknowledge what is owed.”

The battle in North Africa was largely fought along a narrow strip of coastline: to the south lay a vast expanse of empty desert. In 1941, the Special Air Service was formed by Stirling to parachute into the desert and attack enemy airfields on foot, using small units of men armed with handheld bombs. The first SAS mission, carried out in a ferocious desert storm, was a disaster: one plane was shot down, and several parachutists were killed on landing.

Only 22 men, a third of the raiding party, came back.

Stirling then turned to the LRDG, the reconnaissance unit founded by Ralph Bagnold, a soldier, scientist and explorer with an unrivalled knowledge of desert conditions.

The LRDG, nicknamed “the desert taxi service”, agreed to transport the SAS at night to specific targets by Jeep and truck, and pick them up after they had planted time-bombs on parked planes.

Mike Sadler signed up with an artillery regiment at the start of the war, and joined the LRDG at 21 after meeting members of the unit in a Cairo bar. Trained to navigate using the sun and stars by an officer of the merchant marine, he became one of the group’s best desert navigators. In December 1941, Sadler took part in the first

successful SAS raid, led by Lieutenant Blair “Paddy” Mayne, a former Irish rugby international who would go on to become one of Britain’s most decorated soldiers. Sadler dropped Mayne and five men three miles south of Wadi Tamet airfield: in the space of 15 minutes, the team destroyed 24 planes and a fuel dump.

Sadler, awaiting the returning raiders, watched the explosions light up the desert. “We saw the flashes in the sky,” he says, gazing out of the window of his neat flat in leafy Cheltenham. “It was quite dramatic.”

With Maine and his men on board, Sadler drove back into the desert, but as the sun came up they came under attack from Italian bombers. “We were dodging across the desert. I was

‘They are saying we should give them our clothes because they are going to kill us anyway’ navigating and they were flying over.

You could see the bombs leaving the planes, and we would get out of the way by making an immediate right turn.” Sadler pauses to remember what, to most people, would have been a terrifying experience. “I suppose it was quite alarming.”

With the help of the LRDG, the SAS went on to carry a series of similar attacks, blowing up hundreds of Axis planes, disrupting enemy lines of communication and degrading the Luftwaffe’s ability to attack the Allied convoys supplying Malta. Stirling later obtained his own transport, including 40

Members of the LRDG with their SAS passengers return from a three-month trip behind enemy

lines in North Africa. Top left, Mike Sadler in 1943 and, below, at his home in Cheltenham

Jeeps which he armed with Vickers machineguns; he also invited Sadler to join the SAS as a navigator.

In January 1943, Stirling and Sadler, now an SAS lieutenant, set off with a convoy of Jeeps to cross the Tunisian desert to link up with the BritishAmerican 1st Army, which was advancing east. “We planned to do a job on the way, blow something up.

Probably an airfield,” Sadler recalls.

The SAS team hid during the day and travelled at night. One afternoon, hidden in a dried out riverbed or wadi, Sadler was asleep when he was woken by the crunch of boots on sand. “A soldier of the Afrika Korps was standing over me with a gun trained on us. That was an unusual experience.” A German armoured personnel carrier was blocking the entrance to the wadi; the SAS team was trapped. Sadler believes spies had tipped off the Germans.

The German motioned to the men to stay put, and moved down the wadi to round up the rest of the British party. “The only thing to do was to leg it.” Sadler, along with SAS soldier Johnny Cooper and an Arabicspeaking Frenchman called Freddie Taxis, ran for about 400 yards up the steep side of the wadi and hurled themselves into a small gully.

The Germans combed the area. By good fortune an Arab herder arrived with a herd of goats, which milled around helping to conceal them. The rest of the contingent was captured, including David Stirling, who spent the rest of the war in captivity.

That night, the three men agreed they would try to reach the 1st Army, still more than 100 miles away, on foot. “I knew the lay of the land. I had no compass or maps, but I knew that to the west along the edge of the salt lakes there was Tozeur, which ought

to have been in the hands of the Allies, with any luck. So we set off.” A group of Berbers gave them some dates and a goatskin, which they sewed together with bootlaces to create a makeshift water container.

After walking further they were surrounded by menacing Arabs who began hurling rocks. Taxis translated: “They are saying we should give them our clothes because they are going to kill us anyway.” Cooper was struck on the head and temporarily blinded by pouring blood: the other two, taking one arm each, dragged him across a wide expanse of loose rock, which the barefoot Arabs could not cross.

A

fter four days, they were nearing collapse. Taxis asked to be left behind, but was persuaded to struggle on. “It turned out he had six toes on each foot, which made walking painful.” Nearing Tozeur, they suddenly found themselves surrounded by black African soldiers pointing guns. They turned out to be Free French forces, part of the 1st Army. “The French gave us a great reception. They had jerrycans full of Algerian wine, which was pretty popular.” They were handed over to the Americans, who promptly put them under guard. Having finally convinced the Americans they were not German spies, Sadler told a newspaper reporter that the odyssey had been “very interesting . . . some of it was a lot of fun”.

Sadler served with the SAS for the remainder of the war, and was awarded the Military Medal and the Military Cross. Today he is one of a dwindling handful of SAS and LRDG soldiers to have fought in the desert.

At 94, the eyesight that led raiders across the Sahara with unerring precision is beginning to fade. But his memory remains pin-sharp. Alone among the veterans, he served with both units, a living monument to a remarkable collaboration that will now have a permanent shared memorial site.

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

31

FGM

News

My Week* Paul Hollywood ywood Monday

I’m in Starbucks, getting a cappuccino. “Mmmm,” I say. “There’s a good boil on that.”

“I’ve got a boil?” says the barrista.

“On the coffee,” I say, nodding at it.

“It’s just froth,” she says.

The boil, I explain. It’s good. She’s done a decent chocolate, also, and there’s no faulting the cuppage.

Frankly, this coffee is very coffee. And I don’t say that lightly.

“Anyway,” she says, “I should probably get back to work.”

“Am I doing a weird speak again?” I say.

“I think you might be,” she says Tuesday

Mary Berry is doing a cross with me.

When I get back to the big house we share with Mel and Sue, which is basically a barn with lots of kitchens in it, she’s got a sulk on.

“It’s because you dissed her buns,” says Mel. “And Mary has lovely buns,” says Sue. “Are they being rude?” says Mary.

“I can never tell.”

I can’t either, but I know why she’s angry. The papers have got hold of an interview I did in a magazine, in which I said that her bakes weren’t as good as my bakes. And it’s true. It’s because she doesn’t knead her buns.

“But we all need her buns!” says Sue. “Nobody kneads my buns but me,” says Mary.

“You’re a natural!” says Mel. “At what?” says Mary.

offensively cute sofa to watch the final. It was recorded months ago, so none of us can remember what happened.

“There’s a good seat on this,” I say, settling down.

“And on you, Paul,” says Sue. “Oo-er!” says Mel. “I’m serious,” I muse, leadenly.

“This sofa is very sofa. They’ve sofaed this sofa very sofa-ishly. It’s got a sort of couch-ish structure that you just can’t fake and there are no shortcuts with a settee because it either is one or isn’t. And this one is.

Also, I don’t see how that television could be any more television. It’s got a very screen. And the remote control is both remote and . . .”

“Oh for God’s sake be quiet,” says Sue. “Moist,” says Mary, eventually, as she sometimes just does.

Thursday

Tonight, we all gather on our one

I can’t believe we made them make windmills. That was weird. Probably we’d overdone the ginnage.

We’re all a bit despondent this morning, anyway. It’s an anti-climax.

The morning feels very morningy.

Even our bunting is sagging. You might even say there’s a bad bunt on it. So I do. Again and again. Until somebody notices.

“Sue loves a good bunt,” says Mel, wearily, looking bleakly outside, where there’s a rain on.

“Maybe I’ll bake a cake,” says Mary.

“Make it a cakey cake,” I say.

“Good idea,” says Mary.

Men with big feet are more likely to cheat

Bag designer quit top job for her family

Gabriella Swerling

Gabriella Swerling

Men with large feet are more likely to seek extramarital affairs, a study of 3,000 British men claims.

The poll found that men with feet above size ten were more than three times more likely to stray than those who wear size seven to nine shoes.

The results refer to famous love cheats such as Bill Clinton, who wears size 12 shoes, Hugh Grant, who has size 11 feet, and Tiger Woods who wears size ten shoes.

The study of 3,128 men matched men’s shoe sizes against the percentage of men looking to have an affair. It was conducted by IllicitEncounters.com, a dating site for married people.

According to the results, 18 per cent of British men have size seven feet and 4 per cent of them would consider an affair. In comparison, 5 per cent of men wear size 11 shoes and 22 per cent of them are looking for an affair.

The figures do prove an increasing trend in the size of men’s feet and their desire to engage in adultery, however it is not a direct correlation. For men with shoe sizes 12 and 13, the statistics fall to 16 and 12 per cent of men who would consider being unfaithful.

David Perrett, who specialises in psychology and neuroscience at the University of St Andrews, said: “Body proportions are related and big shoes will likely mean a bigger, taller body. Body stature will relate to personality. Size will enable individuals to dominate in social situations. Dominance itself may open opportunities for affairs.”

The handbag tycoon Anya Hindmarch has revealed that she “fired herself” as chief executive of her company because she found it hard to juggle her work-life balance.

The designer, who has five children aged 11 to 25, stepped down from the role at her self-titled company three years ago, but remains its chairwoman and chief creative officer.

Hindmarch, 46, who is a close friend of Samantha Cameron, disclosed her exhaustion at balancing family life with running a global multimillion-pound business, saying that her children had come to accept deep-fried chicken as home cooking.

Speaking at the British Chambers of Commerce’s international trade conference, she said: “I think the business had grown too big, really, for me. I was working every hour God sends and, with lots of children, that is quite hard.”

Despite leaving the role, Hindmarch added that her family had enjoyed watching her career blossom.

“Children remember mood more than they do actual presence,” she said.

“If you are happy and you have had a really thrilling day, your children will recognise that and be very proud of you.

I love working and I think my kids get a kick out if it too and I would say include them.”

She launched her company in 1987 and her handbags sell for about £1,000.

She is married to James Seymour, 59, the company’s financial director.

Wednesday

Friday

This morning, the producer comes around for a debrief. He says we’ve got a while till the next series, so he wants us to start thinking up double entendres early. Because these things don’t come easy.

“But I do!” shrieks Sue. “That’s the spirit,” says the producer.

“There’s a good pun on that,” I agree.

After that, we’re off. Popping cherries, beating off, drizzling creamy nozzles, whipping knobs of cheese and stiffening puddings we’ve tossed our sauce into. All that. Only Mary doesn’t seem to be pulling her weight.

“Oh leave me out of it,” says Mary.

“I don’t do any of the rude stuff. In fact, I don’t even normally notice it happening.”

“Yeah,” says Mel. “You’re just a little tart.”

“Well exactly,” she says. * according to Hugo Rifkind.

32

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

World

Isis to capture key province in days as Iraqi defences fade Iraq

Catherine Philp Beirut Deborah Haynes Defence Editor

Islamic State (Isis) fighters are on the verge of seizing a key Iraqi province that would give them control of a swathe of territory from their Syrian stronghold to Baghdad.

Iraqi officials in Anbar warned that the province would fall to the jihadists within days unless urgent action was taken to save it.

The US-led coalition has unleashed more than 40 airstrikes on Anbar since August, helping drive Isis back from the critical Haditha dam.

However, the strikes have failed to blunt the militants’ overall advance, which has accelerated dramatically in the past three weeks. They have taken two military bases and a string of strategic towns, putting the Iraqi government’s already tenuous presence in Anbar at risk. Daily attacks on Iraqi security forces are taking place around the provincial capital, Ramadi.

After the capture of Hit last week, Ramadi and Haditha are now the only two government-held enclaves standing in the way of an unbroken Isis supply line running along the Euphrates river from Raqqa, its de facto capital in Syria, to Baghdad.

“Anbar province will fall in ten days,” Faleh al-Issawi, the vice-president of the provincial council, said this week as a request for urgent intervention was lodged with the Iraqi parliament.

Tony Blinken, the US deputy national security adviser, said Anbar represented a significant challenge, with Iraqi forces under siege from Isis in parts of the province. In London for

TURKEY Mosul Raqqa

Arbil Haditha dam

Deir Ezzor

IRAQ

SYRIA Ramadi ANBAR PROVINCE Isis control Isis support Kurdish control

Baghdad

50 miles

talks with British officials, he said it was hard to tackle the Isis presence from the air because of the need to avoid civilian casualties.

The US assessment of Iraq’s security forces was that half were not competent. Some had almost called down American airstrikes on themselves, he said. “We have had instances where Iraqi security forces have said, ‘Oh you have got to hit these guys, they are at our throats’, but when we have gone and looked where they want us to hit, it turns out we would have hit them.”

Faris Ibrahim, a member of the Anbar tribal council, said attention had been drawn away from the province by the campaign against Isis in northern Iraq and neighbouring Syria, where the focus has been on Kobani, the besieged Kurdish town on the Syrian-Turkish border.

The loss of Anbar, however, would be a far greater strategic blow, bringing Baghdad within artillery range of Isis and providing an unimpeded route into the Baghdad belt, the Sunni-dominated

ring that allowed al-Qaeda in Iraq to bring carnage to the capital during the worst sectarian violence of 2006-7.

Mr Blinken said a new training mission for the Iraqi armed forces would be announced within weeks, but warned that it would take time to build them up.

Anbar was the birthplace of al-Qaeda in Iraq, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who began the practice of filming beheadings of western hostages in orange jumpsuits at his base in Fallujah.

After his death, his organisation became the Islamic State of Iraq, adding Syria to its title when it moved its base there last year, and becoming simply Islamic State when its current leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, declared an Islamic caliphate in June.

Isis re-established itself in Anbar in January this year, crossing the border from Syria to recapture Fallujah and parts of Ramadi, its first territorial acquisitions in Iraq since its relocation.

In June, the group came over the border from Syria to capture Mosul and a string of military bases, seizing tanks, heavy weaponry and vehicles, many of which were then used to launch the offensive in Anbar.

“Anbar is the main incubator of Isis and it is expanding to Iraq’s other regions from here,” Mr Ibrahim told the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. “Therefore ignoring Anbar has led to disaster, as we are seeing today.”

Much of the success of Isis in Anbar has relied on the sense of disenfranchisement of its majority Sunni population. Tribal leaders have refused to take part in a reconstituted Sunni Awakening, like the one that drove al-Qaeda out of the province six years ago, as long as Shia militias remain active there.

Secret police in burqas terrorise Raqqa Syria

Tom Coghlan Foreign Correspondent

A women-only group, that includes British jihadists, has become the most feared arm of a secret police force operating in the Isis-controlled Syrian city of Raqqa.

Activists in the city, who have been secretly passing information about life in the stronghold of Islamic State to the outside world, said that the burqa-clad al-Khansaa brigade patrol the streets and report any dissent.

“The biggest problem for us is the female police,” said an activist whose nom de guerre is Abu Ibrahim. “They immediately call the male fighters if they see you. One of our activists was captured on a checkpoint. He had some videos for our group. There are spies all over the city. They say to the children, ‘we will give you money to say who has been taking photographs’.”

The group, which calls itself “Raqqa

is Being Slaughtered Silently”, posts information, photos and video, compiled at huge personal risk. Two of its members have been killed.

Abu Ibrahim, who co-ordinates the group from outside Raqqa, said that the female force includes members from western countries.

The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at King’s College London believes that more than 65 British women have travelled to Syria.

Researchers say that at least four Britons are members of the al-Khansaa.

Aqsa Mahmood 20, a privately educated student from Glasgow, is believed to have a prominent role. Her family have pleaded for her to return to Britain and claimed she had been brainwashed.

One part of the al-Khansaa brigade carries weapons and enforces social edicts, such as those banning women from showing their face in public or mixing with men. Another part patrols the city incognito, watching for people

breaking Isis rules. “There are many, many executions,” said the activist. “If you are smoking it is 40 lashes; if you don’t wear the niqab it is 40 lashes; if you are caught with drugs, execution; opposition to Isis, execution; membership of Free Syrian Army, execution; being an activist, execution. Most of the judgments are execution.”

A third role for the brigade is to negotiate on behalf of male jihadists seeking wives. “Anyone who wants to marry an Isis fighter puts a white veil under the black veil. They go to speak to them to arrange a marriage.”

The activists allege that the western bombing campaign has so far failed to damage Isis militarily, although airstrikes on oil refineries and grain silos are hurting the local economy.

“The bigger problem is the people are getting very poor,” said the activist.

They claim that 90 per cent of the population is now opposed to the extreme regime imposed by Isis.

An armed protester on the streets of Istanbul, where conflict between Kurds and

Mob rampages in Turkey Turkey

T

Alexander Christie-Miller Istanbul

urkey faced the prospect of widespread civil conflict last night as rival gangs shot at each other in the street and the death toll mounted from the country’s worst unrest in more than a decade.

Kurds rioting at Turkey’s perceived abandonment of the Syrian border town of Kobani prompted armed bands of Turkish nationalists to take to the streets in violent counter protest, leading to running battles that have left 31 people dead since Tuesday.

With Kobani’s fall to Islamic State (Isis) seeming imminent, the country was braced for a fourth night of violence. On Thursday four people were killed in the southern city of Gaziantep, as Turkish nationalist mobs marched on the

streets bearing shotguns, rifles, swords and clubs, burning the offices of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democracy Party (HDP).

In the main Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, unidentified groups raided two hunting stores, stealing 100 rifles and ammunition.

Atalay Urker, the police chief of the eastern Kurdish province of Bingol, was in a stable condition after an attempt on his life on Thursday evening in which his deputy and another officer were killed. Officials said that five “terrorists” responsible for the attack had been found and killed by police officers in a shoot-out.

The unrest has also affected cities such as Istanbul where there are large Kurdish minorities. A total of 351 people have been injured and 1,000 arrested since the riots began.

The clashes have raised the spectre of two grim periods in

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

33

FGM

Charge-per-chuckle gives comedy club the last laugh Page 62

SENER ASLAN / LE JOURNAL / SIPA / REX

Jihadists move into the centre of Kobani Hannah Lucinda Smith Mursitpinar

Turkish nationalists has erupted over the threat from Islamic State to the Syrian border town of Kobani, defended by Kurds

Beijing’s football show is threatened by smog Page 64

Islamic State militants have advanced into the centre of the besieged Kurdish town of Kobani, forcing some of its last defenders to flee to Turkey.

Residents say that airstrikes have done little to halt the Islamic State (Isis) assault on the town, even though the US-led coalition has stepped up the number of laser-guided bombs dropped on the jihadists in recent days.

Isis yesterday penetrated central districts and took some local authority buildings in what has largely become a ghost town. Militants control 40 per cent of the town, according to residents.

Airstrikes were followed by machinegun and artillery fire, as the Kurdish militia, the YPG, struggled to defend their territory inside the town. As the battle dragged into its eighth day, there was still no sign of any outside support.

As the militants inch closer to the centre of the town, the men who picked up weapons to form a home guard against Isis forces are finally fleeing to Turkey.

Mazlum Ali’s family left central Kobani on the first day of the assault, while he stayed behind to defend their home. Late on Thursday, however, he too decided to flee after spotting two Isis fighters outside his house.

“I saw that I can’t fight any more, so I ran,” he said. “There are still people in there who are staying in their homes and resisting, but this is the first time that I have seen the jihadists with my own eyes in Kobani,” he said.

The town he left behind is a deserted place where those who have stayed avoid walking the streets for fear of being spotted by Isis snipers. They rely on food deliveries from the YPG. “The bakeries closed when most of the civilians left, but the YPG has restarted one to provide bread for the people,” Mr Ali said. “We have to go to wells to get water, and it’s dirty. The Islamic State’s snipers are even shooting at old people and animals.”

The sound of jet engines in the sky above Kobani is an almost constant accompaniment to the noise of the battle

raging inside the town. But while each airstrike is met with cheers from the crowds of Kurds who have travelled from all over Turkey to watch the battle from the border, the people of Kobani are increasingly sceptical about the effectiveness of the international coalition’s attempt to push back Isis.

Majham Osman was silent as the crowd applauded another strike. It slammed into the centre of Kobani.

“That one hit my neighbourhood,” he said. “It was close to my house, so maybe it’s destroyed now.”

The coalition increased air attacks around Kobani after Isis entered the outskirts of the town on Monday and raised two black flags over high build-

Smoke rises into the sky after a coalition airstrike on Kobani

ings. It seemed that air support would provide the YPG with enough breathing space to repel Isis. However, with a stretch of territory extending from Kobani to Raqqa, the militants have been able to rearm, regroup and return.

“The airstrikes kill a few jihadists but they can’t break them,” Mr Osman said.

As another strike hit, his despair turned to anger. “Our town is being bombed and everyone is cheering,” he said. His fabric business now sits inside a town being invaded on the ground and bombarded from the air.

“Why are they striking them now when they have arrived in Kobani?”

Mazlum Ali asked. “They need to hit their supply lines, not the town. Now our houses will be stolen by Islamic State or destroyed by airstrikes.”

raise spectre of civil war on the streets Moscow caught watching Turkey’s past: the 1970s, when leftwing and right-wing gangs fought bloody street battles, and the 1990s, when the Kurdish region was put under martial law as the PKK rebels fought an insurgency.

On a tour of the Black Sea coast yesterday, President Erdogan vowed to restore order. “Our soldiers and police will do what is necessary. We will speak to them in the language they understand,” he said.

He accused his political rivals, including the HDP and the Republican People’s Party, the main opposition, of provoking the unrest by trying to create the impression that his government had abandoned Kobani. Turkey has so far accepted 200,000 refugees from the town but has

refused requests from the Kurdish Syrian people’s protection militia (YPG) to reinforce its units in the town or to directly confront Isis.

Turkish officials have hardened their rhetoric against the town’s defenders, who have close links to the PKK, which has been fighting for greater Kurdish autonomy in Turkey for the past 30 years. “There is no tragedy in Kobani as cried out by the terrorist PKK,” one Turkish official told the BBC. “There is a war between two terrorist groups.”

Such words may only inflame Refugees at a camp near the Syrian border

anger among the country’s 15 million Kurds, many of whom harbour deep sympathy for the PKK despite its designation as a terror group by the EU and the US. In Tarlabasi, a poor district with a large Kurdish population in central Istanbul that has witnessed rioting in the past week, anger was simmering on both sides.

“How can [the pro-PKK Kurds] on the one hand hurt us by smashing our shops, our buildings, our vehicles, and then ask us to help them? How is that logical?” fumed Mirac Cetinkaya, a 26-year-old Turkish car park attendant.

Fikri Dagdak, a 47-year-old Kurdish textile worker, condemned the violence but was furious at Mr Erdogan’s refusal to help Kobani.

“A bullet in Kobani is like a bullet in my heart,” he said. “If this situation doesn’t change then Turkey will become another Syria.”

Israel from Syrian border

Middle East

Tom Coghlan Sara Elizabeth Williams Amman

A secret base overrun by Syrian rebel forces this week yielded more than a grandstand view of the Israeli border.

After seizing the 3,280ft peak at Tal alHara, the rebels found a military eavesdropping base bristling with equipment.

Intriguingly, though, the walls were also covered in maps of Israel annotated in Russian to show the layout of Israeli forces and signal stations.

There were lists of Russian soldiers who had apparently served with Syrians at the base, less than 10 miles from the sensitive Golan Heights region of Israel. Wall-mounted displays showed Syrian army emblems alongside the insignia of the Osnaz GRU, the Russian special forces’ electronic intelligence

unit. Video footage shot by the rebels showed a wall-mounted list of six past commanders of the base, all Russians with the rank of colonel.

An Arabic document left at the base, dated May 31, showed it was heavily involved in tracking Syrian rebel electronic communications. Rebel commanders said they believed that the Russian garrison and the most sensitive electronic equipment and documents were evacuated by helicopter two weeks before the site was overrun.

One rebel, a former soldier in the Syrian army, said that the site was the most important in a network of Russian-operated listening posts in Syria.

The American senator John McCain said that the base reflected enduring Russian support for President Assad’s government, describing its discovery as a “shocking revelation”.

34

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

World

Egypt’s ivory sellers thrive as police turn a blind eye

Despite a worldwide ban on the trade in ivory, hundreds of souvenirs are on sale in one of Egypt’s busiest markets

Egypt

Bel Trew Cairo

Tucked away in a back alley, up a crumbling staircase, is Abu Mohamed’s workshop, where he carves and sells illegal ivory goods in the heart of Cairo’s historic bazaar.

“It’s the best quality from Kenya,” he said, brandishing an elephant tusk intricately inscribed with Quranic verses. Behind him, dusty glass cabinets are bursting with ivory figurines, bracelets and walking sticks.

Abu Mohamed inherited the business from his father and has a factory where many other sellers also sculpt larger items that they sell to tourists.

“The biggest piece we ever had was two metres long,” he said, pointing to a photo of the enormous tusk that he had stuck up on the wall.

Despite a ban on ivory trading, Egypt is one of Africa’s largest markets for the illegal trade, according to Traffic, a wildlife trade monitoring network.

The main sales hub is Khan alKhalili, a bustling Cairo souk and popular destination for tours in

Egypt, where vendors sell the illegal wares alongside resin sphinxes and plastic pyramids. Luxor, another tourist town, is also a sales hub.

Last year, global ivory seizures hit a record high, with the majority occurring in east Africa. Hundreds of elephants have been slaughtered by organised crime networks to keep the business going.

As a result, the African elephant population has dropped from five million to only 400,000 in the past century, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

On Tuesday, Interpol launched an environmental crime unit, based in Nairobi, to combat the trade. Its focus will be Egypt.

Despite mounting pressure from environmental groups, there have been only nine police seizures of ivory shipments in Egypt in the past two years, and retail outlets have been largely left alone.

The vendors at Khan al-Khalili say the security forces never check their shops, although inspections are meant to be carried out every three months. There are thought to be

Greek riot dog has finally had its day Greece

Anthee Carassava Athens

The dog that became an internationally renowned symbol of the protests that marked Greece’s economic crash has died.

Loukanikos the mongrel, whose name means sausage in Greek, had stood beside protesters in clashes with police and was sometimes seen in a revolutionary red neckerchief. His poor health, exacerbated by smoke, tear gas and police beatings, led to his retirement from the front line two years ago.

“He was on the

couch, sleeping when suddenly his heart stopped,” one of his carers told a daily newspaper affiliated to the left-wing Syriza party.

Loukanikos was fêted

by Time as one of the 100 most recognised personalities of 2011. A year later, Davis Rovics, a US singer-songwriter, paid tribute to “this brave dog’s fight for justice”.

more than 8,000 ivory items for sale in Cairo, described by Traffic as the “carving centre of the country”, but nobody has inspected a single stall.

Most of the ivory is transported from Kenya, Tanzania and Ivory Coast via Sudan, over land or by air.

“We just slip a bit of money to the police when the raw material is brought through the airport,” Abu Mohamed said. Sometimes the tusks are painted to look like wood. Prices range from £125 to just under £400 per kilo. However, the finished product can fetch thousands of dollars.

The biggest buyers are the Chinese, who see possession of elephant ivory as a status symbol.

Abu Mohamed even sells his goods online to customers across the world.

None of the vendors was worried about Interpol’s new efforts, explaining that the Egyptian police had bigger problems to worry about than the illegal ivory trade.

“If the authorities were ever to come here we’d tell them it’s camel bone,” said a seller called Amr. “They are too stupid to know the difference.”

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

British guide to Nazis conquers Germany Germany

Allan Hall Berlin

They are large, fleshy, blond and “brutal in victory”. They struggle to control their feelings, are imbued with a streak of hysteria and can fly into a rage if things go wrong. However, they also make excellent sausages.

These are among the official observations — mostly unflattering — made of Germans for British soldiers preparing to oversee the defeated nation and the generation that served Hitler.

More surprising, perhaps, is that the 1944 manual has been flying out of today’s bookstores. Leitfaden für Britische Soldaten in Deutschland 1944 — Instructions for British Servicemen in Germany — has soared into fourth place in the German bestseller list.

Its popularity, 69 years after the fall of the Third Reich, has sparked vigorous debate. “Hitler’s Robot Race” was the headline in the Suddeutsche newspaper, in a story chronicling the success of the little red book, right, which was issued nearly ten months after D-Day, when 30,000 British troops crossed the Rhine.

Intended to condition a conscript army to resist German propaganda, it also provided a crude crash-course in German culture and mores.

The reissued version has the original English text with

35

FGM

German translations. One learns that “never before has murder been organised on such a vast scale like that of the German government and the German army in this war”.

The book, originating from the Ministry of War, was re-released in English some years ago as a novelty and picked up by a German publisher Helge Malchow. He did not see insults, but a “natural humanity” filled with “democratic self confidence”, and believed that his countrymen would also find its observations fascinating and insightful.

Mr Malchow was correct, but it should not perhaps have come as a surprise given Germany’s 21st-century appetite to wrestle publicly with the war years.

Following a post-war gap in the collective consciousness, where the younger generation’s interest was blocked by their elders’ shame about what had happened, Germans are now more interested than at any other time.

According to the Media Control research group, television documentaries on Hitler air twice a day.

Last year saw more than 2,000 books on Hitler, the Nazis and the war published in Germany, while visits to sites of the Third Reich continue to spike.

Hitler’s tea-house on top of a mountain in Berchtesgaden, Bavaria, is now the 20th-biggest tourist pull in the country.

World BRITTAÝPEDERSEN / EPA

Palin family in fracas at house party United States

Devika Bhat Washington

Cabaret An artist during a photocall in Berlin yesterday for The Wild — Out of this World, a revue at the Friedrichstadt-Palast Theater, opening on October 23

As drunken shindigs go, it is up there with the most memorable: angry words, ripped shirts and the host being punched in the face by the daughter of Alaska’s most famous Republican.

Such are the insights in a police report into a fracas earlier this month at a house party in Anchorage attended by the former state governor Sarah Palin and her family.

Well-wishers had insisted that the incident was overblown by the media and political opponents. However, the report by Officer John Daily suggests that although the former vice-presidential candidate was not directly involved, her daughter Bristol played an active role, punching Korey Klingenmeyerand ending up on the ground.

The drama unfolded when officers were called in response to a fight among 20 people. Mrs Palin was celebrating her husband Todd’s birthday and arrived in a white limousine.

Her son Track told officers that some men “had been talking rudely to his sisters, making them cry”. Todd Palin added that when a friend got knocked down, “everything escalated. It was a situation they couldn’t walk away from”.

Bristol Palin appears to have become involved after trying to confront a woman who had pushed her sister, Willow. The Palin family lawyer declined to comment.

Weekend

‘I don’t like having to charm people’ Kristin Scott Thomas Interview, pages 40-41

Saturday October 11 2014

Travel Starts on page 47

the times Saturday October 11 2014

38 Food + Drink Aubergine parmigiana with pancetta

Chorizo, spring onion and mango noodles

Tarte au saucisson sec with brie and tarragon pastry

Cooking with charcuterie: revamp From aubergine parmigiana with pancetta Smoked sausage to noodles with chorizo, Miranda Ballard casserole shares her favourite ways of adding extra flavour to common dishes Aubergine parmigiana with pancetta

Serves 2 Ingredients Olive oil 3 aubergines, cut into 5mm slices 1 onion, finely chopped 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 100g pancetta, diced 1 tsp tomato purée Freshly chopped or dried oregano 1 tsp soft brown sugar A small pinch of ground nutmeg Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 tbsp white wine vinegar 2 x 400g cans of chopped tomatoes 10–12 fresh basil leaves 300g buffalo mozzarella, drained 1 tsp finely grated parmesan cheese 1 tsp breadcrumbs Large ovenproof dish (about 35 x 25cm), greased Method 1 Preheat the grill to a high temperature.

2 Rub olive oil over foil or a baking sheet and set aside. Rub more olive oil over the top of each slice of aubergine.

3 Put a single layer of aubergine slices on the prepared baking sheet. Grill under the preheated grill for 4–5 min on each side and then remove to a plate.

4 Grill the remaining aubergine slices in

the same way, cooking them in batches.

You can then lay the cooked slices on some paper towels to soak up some of the olive oil. Set aside.

5 To make the tomato sauce, fry the onion, garlic and pancetta in a frying pan with a little olive oil until soft and browned. Add tomato purée, oregano, sugar and nutmeg, and season with salt and pepper. Stir for a minute. Add the vinegar, then the canned tomatoes. Tear in the basil leaves, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 min. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

6 Now you are ready to assemble the dish. Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4.

7 Spread some of the tomato sauce over the base of the prepared ovenproof dish, then lay some of the aubergine slices over the top to cover. Take a third of the mozzarella, tear it into little strips, then sprinkle over the aubergine slices.

8 Spoon over some more tomato sauce and repeat the layer of aubergine slices, then another third of the mozzarella.

Repeat the layers for a third and final time, finishing with a last bit of tomato sauce dotted about on the top. Mix the parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs in a bowl, then sprinkle over the top.

9 Bake in the preheated oven for 25 min.

If you want to brown the top more, pop the dish under a preheated hot grill for 2–3 min. The mozzarella will be melted and gooey on every layer, and the sauce with the added pancetta is delicious and thick between the aubergine slices.

Serve immediately.

Serves 2 Ingredients 20g butter 1 red onion, chopped 1 garlic clove, chopped 1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped 200g mushrooms (such as button or chestnut mushrooms), halved 5 tbsp red wine 20g plain flour 400ml chicken stock 1 bay leaf A sprig of fresh thyme 200g smoked sausage, chopped Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method 1 Melt the butter in a heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat, add the onion and garlic and fry for about 5 min, until softened. Add the red pepper and mushrooms and cook, stirring, until they soften. Pour in the red wine and let that reduce a little, then sprinkle the flour over the top and stir for a minute or so to mix. Pour over the chicken stock and stir well.

Add the herbs and smoked sausage, and season with salt and pepper.

2 Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 1½ hours.

For a thicker casserole, leave the casserole cooking for 2 hours.

3 Remove and discard the bay leaf and thyme stalk before serving. Serve with mashed potato and a glass of German beer.

Cook’s note This casserole freezes well for up to three months. Defrost thoroughly and then bring gently to the boil before serving. Top up the seasoning if needed.

Chorizo, spring onion and mango noodles

Serves 2 Ingredients 1 tbsp sesame oil 8 spring onions, chopped 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 200g chorizo, diced (or use soppressata) A pinch of ground ginger (or use grated peeled fresh root ginger) 1 small fresh red chilli, deseeded and chopped 1 pak choi, chopped Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 tsp soft brown sugar 2 tbsp soy sauce A big pinch of freshly chopped coriander leaves ½ mango, peeled, stoned and chopped 250g rice noodles Method 1 Heat the sesame oil in a frying pan or wok and fry the spring onions and garlic over a medium-high heat until soft and browned. Add the chorizo, ginger, red chilli and pak choi, and season with salt and pepper, then cook, stirring for a minute or two, until the pak choi starts to soften. Add the sugar, soy sauce and coriander, and stir well. Add the mango on top for the last few minutes of cooking.

2 Meanwhile, cook the noodles as instructed on the packet. Drain well.

3 Add the cooked noodles to the stir-fried mixture and toss to mix.

Serve immediately, or cool, chill and eat it cold the next day.

Smoked sausage casserole Recipes taken from Charcuterie by Miranda Ballard (muddyboots.com), Ryland Peters and Small,

the times Saturday October 11 2014

Food + Drink 39 STEVE PAINTER

Chorizo and bean burger

Chicken breast wrapped in prosciutto

your stews, noodles and burgers Tarte au saucisson sec with brie and tarragon pastry

Serves 2 Ingredients 1 red onion, thinly sliced 2 tbsp runny honey 100g butter (at room temperature) 220g plain flour A big pinch of sea salt A big pinch of dried tarragon 200g brie, sliced 7–8 slices saucisson sec (about 60g) 100ml crème fraîche Freshly ground black pepper Dressed salad leaves, to serve Tart pan or baking sheet, greased

£16.99. Buy it for £14.99 from the Times Bookshop, with free p&p, on 0845 2712134; thetimes.co.uk/bookshop

Method 1 Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4.

2 Put the onion in an ovenproof dish, drizzle over the honey and stir to mix.

Roast in the preheated oven for 15 min until caramelised.

3 Meanwhile, to make the pastry base, rub the butter and flour together in a bowl with your fingers until crumbly, then add the salt and tarragon. Add about 1 tbsp cold water and mix to make a dough, but don’t let the mixture get too soggy. Gather the pastry into a ball, then turn it out on to a flour-dusted surface and roll out.

4 Use the rolling pin to help you transfer the pastry to the prepared tart pan and gently press it into the base and up the sides of the pan (or transfer the pastry to a greased baking sheet if you don’t have a suitable tart pan: just make sure you fold in the edges so the topping doesn’t leak out during cooking).

5 Prick the base of the pastry all over with a fork, then bake the pastry base on its own in the preheated oven for

5 min. Arrange the brie slices over the pastry base, then sprinkle the caramelised onions over the top. Put the slices of saucisson sec over the onions, then add little blobs of crème fraîche around the top. Add a sprinkling of pepper.

6 Bake in the preheated oven for a further 20–25 min. Serve with dressed salad leaves and an ice-cold glass of wine or cider.

Chorizo and bean burger

Serves 4 (makes 4 chunky 175g burgers) Ingredients For the burgers 400g lean minced beef 125g chorizo, finely diced 80g canned red kidney beans (drained weight), rinsed, drained and crushed 60g breadcrumbs 4 tsp tomato purée 1 tsp freshly chopped parsley Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper For the caramelised red onions 1 red onion, thinly sliced 2 tbsp runny honey To serve 4 crusty bread rolls or toasted English muffins, halved Salad leaves Method 1 Put all the burger ingredients in a large bowl and mix together really well with your hands. Divide the mixture into 4 and then shape each portion into a burger.

2 Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Put the onion in an ovenproof dish, drizzle over the honey and stir to mix so that the onions are well coated. Roast in the preheated oven for about 15 min, until

caramelised. Roast for a little longer if you want them chewy and crispy. If you’re doing a bigger batch, it’s worth giving them a shimmy around in the tin so that they all get a chance to caramelise.

3 To cook the burgers, fry them in a frying pan over medium heat for 12–15 min, turning a few times, until cooked through. Alternatively, pop them on the rack in a grill pan and cook under a preheated hot grill for 6 min on each side, until cooked through.

4 Serve the hot burgers in the bread rolls with some salad leaves and the caramelised red onions.

Chicken breast wrapped in prosciutto

Serves 2 Ingredients 1 tbsp red wine vinegar 1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for griddling 1 tsp soft brown sugar 1 garlic clove, finely chopped A big pinch of freshly chopped parsley A pinch each of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts 4 slices prosciutto 1 chicory, halved 1 tsp paprika For the chorizo and red cabbage salad 1 tbsp olive oil ½ red cabbage, cored and sliced or shredded 150g chorizo, peeled and diced For the dressing 3 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp red wine vinegar ½ tsp garlic purée or crushed garlic A big pinch of freshly chopped parsley A pinch of freshly chopped tarragon

1 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice Method 1 Put the vinegar, olive oil, sugar, garlic, parsley and salt and pepper in a bowl and mix together, then rub this mixture into the chicken breasts. Wrap the chicken in clingfilm and leave in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

2 Meanwhile, for the salad, heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat, then add the red cabbage and fry until soft, stirring regularly. Add the chorizo and keep stirring for 2–3 min, so that the chorizo starts to cook and releases its oils. Remove from the heat and leave it to cool. Meanwhile, put all the ingredients for the dressing into a bowl and mix together well.

Once the cabbage and chorizo mixture has cooled, pour over the dressing and toss to mix.

3 Remove the chicken from the refrigerator, then wrap each chicken breast in 2 slices of prosciutto.

4 Heat a ridged stove-top griddle pan over a high heat with a drop more olive oil added to the pan, then add the prosciutto-wrapped chicken breasts to the hot pan and cook for 6–7 min.

Place the chicory halves, flat-sides down, next to the chicken in the same pan. Turn the wrapped breasts and leave to cook on the other side until cooked through. Sprinkle the paprika over the top of the wrapped breasts and the chicory.

5 Turn the wrapped chicken breasts again before the end of the cooking time and you should have attractive brown griddle lines across the prosciutto. Turn the chicory halves over near the end of cooking time, just to soften the outside, but they’re happy staying face-down for most of the cooking time to get the nice crunchy griddle lines across them as well.

40 saturday review

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

the conversation

‘Film-making is vampiric. It just Kristin Scott Thomas tells Kevin Maher the future looks fabulous now she’s said goodbye to movies and hello again to the London stage

H

ere’s one thing you never knew about Kristin Scott Thomas: she’s good at keepyuppies. No, really. The 54-year-old actress, English Patient star and elegant powerhouse of contemporary French cinema is, by her own admission, Ronaldo when it comes to the ancient art of foot-based ball-juggling. She does it every night, downstairs in the rehearsal rooms of the Old Vic theatre in London, where she is currently starring in the title role of Sophocles’ Electra (according to one critic, a “kill-for-a-ticket triumph”.)

The play, about a distraught daughter who avenges her father’s murder, is the distaff juggernaut of classical drama, the “female Hamlet”, says the translator of this version, Frank McGuinness. The football is an icebreaker, a bonding exercise between Scott Thomas and the rest of the cast (like the play itself, they do it in the round), and very much a stress-reliever for a lead actress upon whose slim shoulders the entire production rests. She’s on the poster. She’s rarely off the stage. She

carries the meaning of every scene. It is, I say, the Kristin Scott Thomas Show.

“Nooooo!” she howls, throwing her hands up to her face. “Don’t say that.

Because that really frightens me.” We are upstairs in her dressing room, next to an imposing and strangely raised bed, very imperial (it was installed by the theatre’s former artistic director, Kevin Spacey), on which Scott Thomas sleeps between her two Saturday performances. She is barefoot, dressed in a casual sleeveless black frock (you could probably posh it up with a decent pair of heels) and mostly hops about in her make-up chair, or leaps up occasionally to fiddle with the lighting (“Oooh, this is a really attractive light” — basically, dark), or winces in agony at the memory of her eye-wateringly crude dialogue in the last year’s Ryan Gosling gorefest Only God Forgives (“It’s too rude.

It’s unbearable.”), or suddenly lunges forward with teeth on show and claws outstretched, “doing” a vampire, while she complains: “Film-making is vampiric.

It just, sssseeeuucchhhh. Sucks the life out of you. Hahaha!” I move my chair back an inch or two.

And yes, she is strikingly beautiful, with those startling eyes and the best cheekbones in the business (adored by close-ups in everything from Four Weddings and a Funeral to The Horse Whisperer to the French dramas I’ve Loved You So Long and Leaving). Yet the genuinely arresting thing here is the energy, the buzzed-up vibe of a woman who, just over two years ago, announced her decision to pack in the tedium of the movies and instead devote herself to theatre, and has now emerged with a once-in-a-lifetime performance in a career-topping stage production.

She must feel vindicated?

“No, not vindicated,” she says, after some consideration. “Just happy, and really pleased that it worked out.” She says that she brought the idea to the play’s director, and her long-term collaborator, Ian Rickson (they’ve already worked together, to awardwinning success, on Pinter and Chekhov), in January. “I was thinking: ‘God, I’m getting quite old, and I’m going to be too old to do Electra soon, so, quick, quick, quick, we’ve got to put this on.’”

She discusses the allure of the play, which nightly finds her writhing around on the sandy theatre stage in grief-stricken agony (Electra’s father has been killed by her mother and she briefly believes, incorrectly, that her brother and saviour, Orestes, is also dead) or lifting the upper circle out of its seat with synapse-splitting cries (the stage directions say “Electra howls”, and she does).

Scott Thomas loves the profundity of its themes. As a child, the eldest of five raised in Dorset, who lost her Navy pilot father to

‘I made one film director cry, but that was out of rage. It was a very long shoot’ a plane crash when she was five years old, she can identify completely with the pain of Electra, who never forgets, “her father’s cruel end”. It’s personally cathartic for her, yes, she says, but it’s much more than that, and in the story of children driven to murder, and in the brutal references to throat-slitting, it also, somehow, echoes the topics of the day, and nods towards the butchery in the deserts of Iraq and Syria.

“Everything in the play is relevant today,” she says. “How does a young boy turn from being a young boy to being a murderer?

How do these kids go out there, leave home and then murder? It can be a commentary on modern life.” Mostly though, the actress places Electra in opposition to her recently abandoned movie career, and at every possible juncture the latter appears essentially underwhelming.

She quit, she says, “a couple of films ago, when I just thought, ‘Ugh. I don’t want to do this any more.’ And I meant it. I don’t want to make any more films.”

It was around the same time, she says, that she found herself halting unexpectedly while walking the dog early one morning on the near-deserted streets of Paris (she’s lived there since she was 19, has been married and divorced there, and had three children there). She couldn’t understand why she had stopped. It was a reflex thing. Then she looked down at the ground, and saw a blue piece of gaffer tape (aka a movie “mark”) from “some random film”. She had, without thinking, “just drawn up to the mark and then stopped.

At six in the morning, walking the dog.

So I thought: ‘If your second nature is to do this, then something is wrong.’ ” Scott Thomas has, of course, done a couple of movies since then. Call them her wind-down flicks. My Old Lady, a cute comedy set in Paris with Kevin Kline, and the highly anticipated World War II drama Suite Française are both on their way. I’ve seen them both.

I try to talk them up, but in the shadow of Electra they seem incredibly safe, tame and quite piffling indeed. I tell her that, with Suite Française, it must have been nice to be able to arrive on set for the co-starring role of the stubborn, German-hating mother-in-law of lead actress Michelle Williams, and just, well, knock it out of the park (she does, and gets all the best lines, hissing at the film’s sensitive piano-playing Nazi protagonist: “He’ll be playing Deutschland über Alles before we know it”). “I used to enjoy it,” she says, with some finality. “But I don’t any more.”

She says that the entire extracurricular nonsense surrounding the film business turns her stomach. “I don’t like fighting for parts,” she says. “I don’t like putting myself out there. I don’t like having to charm people.”

I’ve heard that she’s tough on set, and has made two different directors cry, a man and a woman. “No, I made one film director cry, but that was out of rage,” she says. “She was just so frustrated and she was really tired. It was the end of a very long shoot and, well, the dams burst.”

And what does she think of actresses such as Lindsay Lohan who, failing in movies, come to the London stage in the apparent hope of some career Viagra?

“I don’t see it as a calculation on their part,” she says. “Instead, it’s simply about the fact that if you can go out there and make it work for a London audience, it just makes you feel better. And if the films don’t happen after that, it’s not your fault.”

Her own career, she says, was full of these same ambiguities and contradictions from the start. As a child, at home and in her Dorset boarding school howling success Kristin Scott Thomas, now starring in Sophocles’ Electra, above, at the Old Vic

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

saturday review 41

FGM

The Times Film Show

Watch Kate Muir and Wendy Ide review the weekend’s biggest movie releases tablet editions and thetimes.co.uk/film

sucks the life out of you’ PHILIP GAY / THE GUARDIAN

‘I would love a facelift if it made me look fabulous but you don’t know’

(St Antony’s Leweston), she had kept her acting ambitions under wraps for years because she was, she says, “ashamed and embarrassed by it”.

She eventually tried to get into acting through the back door, by becoming a drama teacher, but this only led to a now infamous clash with her Central School of Speech and Drama tutors who told her that she had “no talent and was useless”. At 19 she fled the country, as you do, became a French au pair, and eventually studied acting at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Techniques du Théâtre in Paris, from where she was chosen by Prince to star in his 1986 vanity project Under the Cherry Moon (she keeps in regular contact with the teeny megastar, and met up with him last year at the Roundhouse in London). And yes, she says, she soon scaled the heights of fame, from Four Weddings to an Oscar nomination in The English Patient to The Horse Whisperer and Random Hearts. But she never wanted it.

Any of it. “When I had the opportunity, the

goodbye to all this Kristin Scott Thomas in, from top, the Oscar-winning The English Patient, on the set of The Invisible Woman and in her latest film, Suite Française

invitation if you like, to go and ‘make it’ in Hollywood I had two small children, and I wanted to bring them up in Europe, so that was that.”

At the time, she was married to a French gynaecologist, François Olivennes, with whom she had Hannah (born in 1988), Joseph (1991) and George (2000). She says that, consequently, that entire high Hollywood English Patient “Oscar palaver” was just, “really, really tough. Constantly schlepping backwards and forwards across the Atlantic. Promotion, promotion, promotion. I had two small children and it was heart-wrenching every time. ‘Sorry darlings, I’ve got to do this thing.’ You imagine it to be fantastically exciting. Well, it is exciting, but it’s also extremely expensive on your family, yourself and your loyalties.”

To add insult to injury, in 1996 her own Hollywood agent suggested that she go, well, under the knife. “He said: ‘You need to have your eyes done.’ And I said, ‘OK. Thank you.’ And I left the agent.” She says trying to look younger is absurd, though she still bemoans the bags under her eyes.

She tells the story of a friend who looked fabulous immediately after a facelift, but a year later appeared “kind of weird.

The rest of you seems to grow around the facelift. It’s like wearing a too-tight pair of trousers. I would love to have a facelift if it made me look fabulous, but you don’t know if it’s going to, and it’s scary.”

In the Noughties, of course, Scott Thomas was essentially reinvented as a knockout francophone actress, as the whip-smart lesbian lawyer in Tell No One, the self-tortured ex-con in I’ve Loved You So Long, and the brutalised trophy wife in Leaving. Her French movie career is pretty much over too, she notes, casually. She says that she is persona non grata in the French film industry, after turning down one too many offers.

She is currently based in London and, though her youngest is still 14 she has, she says, “managed to set up a different system of childcare”, which means that she’s here for both Electra’s entire run and for another top secret and “just as exciting” play afterwards.

And, off stage? Socially? Romantically?

She’s been divorced since 2006, keeps an iron-clad grip on her private life, but is she, well, you know, out on the pull every night? “Am I out in the pub?” she asks, confused. No, I clarify, on the pull. She beams coyly and says, not entirely convincingly: “No, I’m busy. I don’t know. I’m, er, I’m calm.” She smiles some more and says, still smiling, that she doesn’t want to talk about it, asks me why I’m interested, and when I tell her that it’s simply part of the new Scott Thomas persona, movie-free and with the best play in the world under her belt, she can only coo: “Yes, I’m happy.”

I ask her about the future just as the door creaks open and a stagehand indicates that she is wanted below for pre-show high jinks. She leaps up excitedly. “The future is fabulous,” she says, bouncing around the room. “We might all die tomorrow, so make the most of it. The future is now!”

She pings out the door and down the stairs.

Nothing can stop her. It’s footie time.

Electra is at the Old Vic, London SE1 (0844 8717628) to Dec 20. My Old Lady is showing on Monday and Wednesday at the London Film Festival, and opens nationwide on Nov 21

42 saturday review

books

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

Read our new books bulletin Sign up to our weekly digest of news, reviews and opinion at thetimes.co.uk/bulletins

The girl with God in her army Book of the week

Behind the legend of Joan of Arc was a determined, fleshand-blood teenager.

Charles Bremner admires a biography that rewrites the myth

F

ew individuals change the course of history. The number of illiterate teenagers who have managed the feat may be limited to one: Joan of Arc. Without the farm girl from Domrémy, in Lorraine, it is possible to imagine the European Union with a member state called Burgundy or AngloBurgundy encompassing the territory of northern and eastern France, a chunk of western Germany and the Low Countries.

Another nation, perhaps called Armagnac France, covers the lands south of the Loire to the Mediterranean.

In the early 15th century, after the Plantagenet victory at Agincourt in 1415, that alternate version of history was plausible. The ambitious Dukes of Burgundy, Jean the Fearless then his son Philippe the Good, had expanded their dynasty and joined forces with the occupying English.

The other side of the Valois, France’s ruling family, was forced south in a bloody civil war. King Charles VI and his weak dauphin were the figureheads of a military power known as the Armagnacs.

Then along came la Pucelle, the Maid, as the 17-year-old Jeanne called herself. In a few brief months, she rallied Armagnac morale, inspired victory over an English force at Orléans and organised the swift coronation of Charles VII, bolstering his kingly claim after her army fought their way into Reims.

The extraordinary adventure of the warrior-saint and her divine mission to save France has served for centuries as a model of patriotic heroism, but her tale was much less simple than the legend. It is enlightening to see her in the military-political context of her times and understand how uncertain was the outcome of her cause. Helen Castor unlocks that story in Joan of Arc: A History. Her elegant and vivid account spends the first 86 pages setting the scene in the closing decades of the Hundred Years War before the appearance of the country girl with a small military escort in 1429 at the Loire château de Chinon.

Joan’s local reputation had brought her to the attention of the commander of Vaucouleurs, the town near her village. She persuaded him to send her across country, through Burgundy-held territory, to the court at Chinon. There, Yolande, the powerful dowager duchess of Anjou, took up her cause and brought her to Charles, the uncrowned king.

After massacres and defeats, morale was so low on the Armagnac side that they were ready to take the risk of trusting the strangely self-assured peasant girl with cropped hair and men’s clothes and a claim to be sent by God. In an age when much time was spent trying to fathom God’s will, Joan was not

maid for glory Joan of Arc, portrayed here by Milla Jovovich in Luc Besson’s 1999 film, had a powerful sense of mission that, near her death, gave way to doubt

alone as a woman claiming a gift of divine prophesy, but her force of character won over the sceptics and her fearless presence in battle helped turned a civil conflict into a war of liberation. By securing the coronation, she shored up the legitimacy of Charles over Henry VI, the rival monarch of France, who was a child on the other side of the Channel. The outcome remained in doubt after “the Armagnac whore”, as her enemies called her, lost her winning streak and was captured at Compiègne after a 13-month career, convicted of heresy by compliant ecclesiastics and burnt at the stake in English-occupied Rouen. Yet the rulers of English France acknowledged that her action had turned the tide, opening events that ended English occupation of France, except the port of Calais, in 1453.

Joan was not alone as a woman claiming a gift of divine prophecy In the summer of 1434, three years after Joan’s execution, the Duke of Bedford, the commander of English France, confided to his king in London that a spell cast on the Armagnacs by “the follower of the fiend called the Maid” had cost many

Jo of Ar Joan Arc: A History

by Helen Castor Faber, 352pp £20 £17; ebook £12.99

English lives and “encouraged your enemies to assemble . . . in great number”.

The story is helped by Castor’s long account of the years after Joan’s burning, leading to the quashing of her conviction 25 years later and the final English defeat.

Castor’s Joan, drawn from her own dictated letters and the multitude of contemporary accounts including the well-known trial documents, emerges not so much a saint as a pious flesh-and-blood woman of stubborn character. She enjoyed the luxuries to which she gained access; she was oddly attached to her gravely “sinful” cross-dressing in silken hose and doublet; she was imbued with a burning sense of mission that gave way to doubt and fear as her end approached in the shackles of her jailers in Rouen. After her inquisition, she recanted and was sentenced to life before reverting to her heresy, talking of hearing her saints’ voices in a state of confusion and distress.

A rigorous historian and a specialist in strong female figures, Castor is writing popular history. She injects a little imagination into Joan’s plight, helping the sense of drama. She describes, for example, the arrival of Bishop Cauchon, the chief inquisitor, in Joan’s cell, at the end of his weeks of hearings. “As the bolts were drawn back and the key turned in the lock, she knew he was here again,” she writes. “He remained the same, in fur-

lined episcopal robes, a man of about 60 . . . smiling kindly, chillingly.” Castor makes no attempt to dissect Joan’s character or diagnose the mental state that caused her to see and hear her visiting saints. Such things would not have been unusual, given the beliefs and superstitions of the late Middle Ages, she implies.

Castor’s account of a woman caught up in civil war and political intrigue is perhaps more easily digestible for a British public than the French, for whom Joan remains a pure symbol of patriotic victory over the ancestral English adversary. That remains particularly the case for the far right National Front of Jean-Marie and Marine Le Pen, who claim her as the party patron.

The image of Joan survives as part of the heritage of the Hundred Years War — the mutual suspicion mixed with envy and some admiration that continue to thrive on each side of the Channel. The collaborationist wartime Vichy regime made use of that when it produced posters showing British bombers over Rouen with the caption: “They Always Return to the Scene of Their Crimes.”

*

The Times Bookshop

Most books reviewed on these pages are available at discounted prices.

To order call 0845 2712134 or visit thetimes.co.uk/bookshop

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

saturday review 43

FGM

nonfiction

An officer, a gentleman and a kidnapper THE ESTATE OF WILLIAM STANLEY MOSS

Anthony Loyd admires Patrick Leigh Fermor’s account of a civilised abduction Ab Abducting a General: the Ge Kreipe Operation Kr and SOE in Crete an

by Patrick Leigh Fe Fermor John Murray, 240pp £20 £16

M

easured beside the mercilessness and horror of contemporary conflict, the manners and gentility shown between combatants during Patrick Leigh Fermor’s abduction of a German general in Crete during the Second World War at first make the operation seem less like an act of war than a contest between rival teams of gentlemen.

Abducting a General is Fermor’s beautifully written personal tale of his capture of General Heinrich Kreipe, commander of the German forces in Crete, in April 1944.

This event was famously portrayed in the 1957 film Ill Met By Moonlight, which featured Dirk Bogarde as Fermor, a dashing and reckless hero even by the standards of the day.

His account serves as a disquieting reminder of just how much the codes and ethics of combatants have changed.

Published posthumously, 69 years after his fellow Special Operations Executive officer Billy Moss wrote the original account that became the basis of the film,

The general asked: ‘Tell me, major, what is the object of this hussar-stunt?’ home run Billy Moss, the kidnapped General Kreipe and Patrick Leigh Fermor on Mount Ida

Fermor’s story affords an extra dimension to the legendary operation.

Moss was just 22 and newly arrived in Crete when the two men, dressed in German uniform, seized Kreipe and drove through 22 checkpoints in the general’s staff car before making good their escape, pursued across Mount Ida to a shoreline rendezvous with a British boat. Fermor, though, was already a familiar figure to the Cretan resistance. He had first arrived on the island in June 1942, a year after it had been captured by the Germans.

A skilled linguist, and at the ripe age of 29 more worldly wise than Moss, Fermor’s love of Crete and scholarly knowledge of the Classics exude from the pages as he describes the race up and down the slopes

of Mount Ida, birthplace of Zeus, with his high-value captive in hand, pursued by hordes of vengeful “Huns”.

Boozing on local raki, singing and dancing with the Cretan resistance along the way, the operation, as Fermor describes it, follows in the finest tradition of war as a generation of British public school boys once knew it. Nowhere is this seem more clearly than when Fermor, on reconnaissance dressed as a shepherd, waved at his intended target — who waved back.

Fermor was parachuted into Crete with a box of tricks that included commando daggers, pistols, bombs disguised as mule dung, knuckle-dusters, sewn-in files for prison bars and suicide pills. After the capture, he ensured that the general’s car was

Kellogg as a keeper of woodland pigs (cornflakes will never be quite the same), and the phenomenal honeycomb quality of charcoal (one gram can have a surface area of 500 square metres, the key to its success as a filter) were among the many things new to me in Adams’s gallimaufry of observations, reflections and microessays about the biology of trees and, crucially, our relationship to them.

Interesting stuff, charcoal. The dark material once powered the forges of the

Industrial Revolution, yet as “biochar” it may be the magic environmental solution to permanently improving dead earth.

“Wood is a material that can be endlessly re-imagined,” Adams says. Proofs abound.

The Swedes are planning a high-tech 34storey timber skyscraper, something of a step-up from flatpack shelves, while there are road bridges in the Netherlands composed of lumber modified via acetylation.

The sustainable future belongs to wood.

Adams is, as well as a woodsman, an archaeologist and historian, the biographer of Admiral Collingwood. Nelson’s fellow admiral at Trafalgar used to, in a lovely doubling-up of conservation and militarism, tramp the hedges of Northumbria planting acorns so that the Royal Navy would never want for oaks for its wooden walls. But, aside from our patriotic love of the oak, I do wonder whether the British really have a place in their heart for woods.

We probably have the least tree-cover in Europe. Our forest literature is commensurately thin: there are the Robin Hood tales, Hardy’s Woodlanders and John Evelyn’s Sylva from 1662, the illustrations from which garnish Adams’s own volume — and that’s about all, woodcraft folks.

A comparison with the German psyche would have been instructive; the Germans really do like black forests, ever since Hermann beat the Roman general Varus

Going back to our roots

I

The Wisdom of Trees

by Max Adams Head of Zeus, 256pp £14.99 £13.49 ebook £5.99 wooden walls The Royal Navy never wanted for oaks thanks to Admiral Collingwood

f you go down to the woods today you could do worse than take a copy of The Wisdom of Trees, even it poses a troublesome ethical shopping dilemma: do you buy the e-version and save a tree, or the hard copy and promote sustainable forestry?

Like Thoreau, the tree-lover’s guru, Max Adams has done his time among the trunks; he once spent three years living in a caravan in a dripping northern wood.

There was plenty of fuel for the fire though not, it seems, for the heart. His partner left him. What endured was Adams’s fascination for everything dendrological, from how trees are the ultimate in solar panels to the 26 practical things you can do with hazel. He does know his stuff, and kernels of knowledge plop out pleasantly. I once spent a year living on wild food and considered myself wise about trees, but the usefulness of silver birch bark as an ad hoc firelighter, the origin of the surname

abandoned in a decoy position to confuse his pursuers. He also left a letter he and Moss had penned to the German authorities in Crete, in which they admitted their role in the operation and warned against retaliation on the local population. The two officers put wax seals from their signet rings beside their signatures “for fun”.

The captor and captive ended up exchanging Latin lines from Horace’s ode Ad Thaliarchum as they crossed Mount Ida, and Fermor, who clearly liked his prisoner, treated him with impeccable manners throughout their 18-day flight to a rendezvous with the British motor launch.

“Tell me, major, what is the object of this hussar-stunt?” the German asked Fermor during the abduction. The hope was to erode German morale on the island while preventing reprisals against locals by ensuring that the abduction was bloodless.

Yet not even Fermor’s beautiful prose can fully disguise the brutal realities of war that lurk at the root of every conflict. The general’s driver was coshed too hard and, endangering the escape, had his throat cut with a knife. In the final section of the book, Fermor recalls accidentally shooting and killing one of his great Cretan resistance friends, as well as presiding over the execution of traitors.

Moreover, for all Fermor’s verve and flair, the snatch of Kreipe did little to rein in the Germans. Kreipe was replaced by the brutal General Müller, who in the summer of 1944 massacred scores of Cretans in reprisal raids, which may have been a response to the abduction.

Yet Fermor’s account still recalls a lost world in which adversaries often shared recognition of beauty and spirit, not to mention Roman poets. Once, in a cave on Mount Ida, Kreipe turned to his captor after an exchange of poetry, paused for a few seconds, before remarking “Ach so, Herr Major.”

“For five minutes,” Fermor recalled, “the war had evaporated without a trace.” in the Battle of Teutoburger Wald in AD9.

“Mythology, Germans and the forest — they all belong together”, Chancellor Helmut Kohl once explained, though he might have grafted Art on to his list. After all, the first oil landscape painting was by the 16th-century Danubian Albrecht Altdorfer and it featured, wait for it, a tree.

Someone at the publishers should have taken a chainsaw to Adams’s more gnomic utterances, which invariably come in the ponderous prose of books found on a gift-shop spinner: “When we treat our uplands with contempt by planting the wrong trees, we do our cultural heritage a disservice.”

These gripes apart, Adams’s enthusiasm is beguiling, his knowledge as bountiful as beech-mast, and his appreciation of the utility of trees is a pointer to a better world.

We need more trees. If growing a tree seems a long-winded project, then remember the wisdom of the French marshal, Hubert Lyautey. When Lyautey’s gardener moaned that trees were slow to grow, the marshal replied: “In that case there is no time to lose; plant this afternoon.”

John Lewis-Stempel

The reviewer is the author of Meadowland: The Private Life of an English Field

44 saturday review

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times REX FEATURES

fiction

Taxi to the Isle of Man Marcel Berlins enjoys dirty dealing from a New York bag man to a Manx Halloween

L

eigh Russell has become one of the most impressively dependable purveyors of the English police procedural. She has done so without stooping to gimmicks, overeccentric characters or unnecessary violence. Following her Geraldine Steel novels, Race to Death is the second appearance of DI Ian Peterson, promoted to the York force, his wife ill at ease in her new surroundings. At the local races, a punter is pushed to his death from a high balcony; a woman is strangled when she leaves a restaurant after quarrelling with her boyfriend; the third victim is a womanising

Race to Death

by Leigh Russell No Exit Press, 320pp £7.99 £7.59; ebook £3.48 The Red Eagles

by David Downing Old Street Publishing, 232pp; £7.99 £7.59 Brainquake

by Samuel Fuller Hard Case Crime, 312pp £7.99 £7.59 Dark Tides

by Chris Ewan Faber & Faber, 438pp £14.99 £13.49 The Dark

by VM Giambanco Quercus, 437pp; £18.99 £16.99; ebook £10.99

marketing manager about to propose to his lover. Peterson seeks the link. No fireworks, but a thoroughly satisfying read.

The Red Eagles is an enjoyable romp by one of the foremost exponents of wartime spy thrillers. It’s 1944; Russia, Germany and the United States are vying to be the first to create the atom bomb. Stalin and Hitler, both behind in the race, develop elaborate plans to steal, or at least to give the impression they possess, the deadly weapon. Amy — Russian-born, Germanhating, American citizen — is Stalin’s secret agent in New York. She and the supporting cast of liars and deceivers play the espionage game with verve. Never mind that we already know what really happened, Downing entertains us on the way.

Samuel Fuller is known as a much lauded and influential director of classic American noir films, but he was also the author of some superb novels in the same genre.

Brainquake, his last, was published in a French translation in 1993; only now does it appear in its original English. At its centre is Paul Page, a New York taxi driver with a brain disorder who operates as a bag man, delivering large sums of Mafia money to various criminal interests. He witnesses a Mob killing and falls in love with the deceased’s widow. They run away and are chased, to Paris, by cops and hitmen (including a killer disguised as a Catholic priest). Breathless action, terrific dialogue and strangely moving.

Every chapter of Dark Tides takes place during “Hop-tu-Naa”, the Isle of Man’s disturbing version of Halloween. It’s a day to be avoided, not so much trick or treat as disappear or die. Eight-year-old Claire

you looking at me? Samuel Fuller’s taxi driver falls foul of the Mob in Brainquake

Cooper’s mother vanishes on October 31, never to reappear. Subsequent, usually sinister and often fatal events on that date, mark Claire’s progress through adolescence, love, shifting allegiances and becoming a police officer. The trauma of failing to discover her mother’s fate continues to affect her. The novel’s formula is clever and well executed, and his portrayal of the island duly atmospheric.

Yet another first-rate tale of the past haunting the present features Seattle

The plot takes place during ‘Hop-tu-Naa’, the Isle of Man’s disturbing festival

homicide detective Alice Madison, a welcome addition to the fast-growing collection of courageous, intelligent, fictional female cops. The remains of a boy, David Quinn, who’d died in 1985 during a botched kidnapping, is discovered in a shallow grave. It had been assumed that he’d died of natural causes; the autopsy proves he’d been murdered. The discovery provokes a new rash of killings. Madison investigates the deaths, 25 years apart. She has a special reason for doing so. The life of her own godson Tommy had been saved

by David’s older brother Nathan, who’d incurred terrible injuries doing so; she owes him. VM Giambanco is a powerful writer with a strong story. She draws her troubled heroine with vigour but sympathy; the other characters are firmly delineated.

This, her second book, augurs well.

Adrian Mole meets Marathon Man Ala Stoob: Alan Nazi Hunter Na

by Saul Wordsworth Co Coronet, 368pp £12.99 £11.69

T

he death of Sue Townsend in April means we will never know what became of Adrian Mole in his twilight years. Had the troubled diarist ever made it into his seventies, it seems likely he would have ended up a lot like Alan Stoob. A retired police officer obsessed by his erectile dysfunction, Stoob is now Britain’s Premier Nazi Hunter™ and never forgets the trademark symbol when mentioning it.

His septuagenarian vocation is to weed out the underground network of surviving Nazi war criminals who have shunned Argentina and moved en masse to 21st-century Bedfordshire, particularly the Dunstable and Houghton Regis area. In Alan Stoob: Nazi Hunter, his diaries take us through a year in the life of Britain’s most determined detective, following his gaffeprone fight to stave off a return of the

Third Reich, launched from the market towns around Luton.

Stoob is the latest Twitter phenomenon to graduate into hardback. Created by Saul Wordsworth, a London-based journalist, the @NaziHunterAlan feed sprang up in 2012. As ever with Twitter, the line between reality and parody is a fine one, and the notion of a deluded old man chasing imaginary Nazis around Dunstable seemed worrying plausible. Thankfully, the feed, which has more than 10,000 followers, is fictional, as is the secret Nazis of Bedfordshire association (NOB for short).

Plagued by doubts about his potency, his marriage and his affair with Deborah Meaden from Dragon’s Den, Alan uses his diaries to chart his hunt for The Griffin, his Nazi nemesis. “My life is clearly in danger, my wife sick of my constant hunting and my judgment of late [has been] questionable,” he muses. “On the flipside, for the first time in my second career I have the chance to infiltrate the Nazi network, work my way into their secret world, capture The Griffin, shut down the flow of National Socialism into the Bedfordshire region and retire, universally admired.”

Mocked by the press and Interpol, Alan is undeterred in the chase, despite a series of humiliating mistakes that threaten his claim to be Britain’s “premier” Nazi hunter.

However, even when Alan ends up wedged in an open manhole or wandering naked through the streets of Letchworth, you cannot help rooting for him.

With its scatological humour and, at times, farce-like plot, Wordsworth’s creation is unlikely to earn comparisons with his Romantic namesake, but Alan Stoob and its hero are laugh-out-loud funny on several occasions, not least when Alan sets off in hot pursuit of a 106-year-old war criminal, on his racing bike nicknamed Nuremberg Raleigh. Yet the human story at the heart of the diaries charting Alan’s failing marriage and his relationship with his depressed fortysomething son is tragicomic amid the increasingly surreal plot.

The author’s use of Stoob as a mouthpiece to give David Cameron a ticking off for the bedroom tax and welfare reform is unsubtle, yet this is a book that begs not to be taken seriously. Prepare yourself for deep frowns from fellow train passengers when they see you chortling away to a book called Nazi Hunter.

Kaya Burgess

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

saturday review 45

FGM

Ali Smith, Howard Jacobson, Martin Amis and Val McDermid

Hear the authors at Cheltenham this weekend

cheltenhamfestivals.com / 0844 8808094

Sartre eats with Hannibal Lecter REX FEATURES

A master of the horror movie conjures up a suitably grisly novel, says Kate Muir Co Consumed

by David Cronenberg Cr

T

4t Estate, 288pp 4th £18.99 £15.99 ebook eb £9.49

he director David Cronenberg is the high satanic priest of the body-horror genre, particularly in his earlier films such as Dead Ringers, The Fly and Crash. Now, diseased pen a-dripping, he has written his debut novel, Consumed. Being Cronenberg that consumption involves cannibalism, perversity and philosophy, as though Jean-Paul Sartre were dining with Hannibal Lecter.

Cronenberg’s protagonists are two social media-savvy journalists, Nathan and Naomi, whose iPhones and MacBook Airs are almost extensions of their bodies, and certainly the place where they display their sordid souls. Nathan is a photographer with a fascination for medical freaks, commencing with radioactive, cancerous breasts. Meanwhile his girlfriend Naomi is investigating the “true-crime” story of the Paris Marxist thinker Aristide Arosteguy, whose philosopher wife

the evil red Jeremy Irons in Dead Ringers, David Cronenberg’s 1988 psychological chiller

Aristide may have eaten a human amuse bouche before his disappearance

Célestine has supposedly been found dead and mutilated in their apartment.

It appears that the ageing Aristide may have consumed a human amuse bouche before disappearing . . .

Of course, the story is a metaphor for Cronenberg’s usual preoccupations: death, ageing, technology, bodily decline and the parasites within. Oh, and there’s no shortage of superweird sex: everyone is in an open relationship, just like good old Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. And there’s a discombobulating moment when a facsimile of a penis suffering from Peyronie’s disease, a boomerang-like deformity, is produced on a 3D printer.

At one point, Célestine becomes convinced that her left breast is filled with insects and wants it removed, echoing the

bug hallucinations of Cronenberg’s film version of the William S Burroughs book Naked Lunch and its insect typewriter.

Nathan’s sexual and photographic obsession with a patient with radioactive pellets in her breasts, and with arcane sexually transmitted diseases, recalls the famous “gynecological instruments for operating on mutant women” in Dead Ringers.

As a prose technician Cronenberg is less thrilling than he is behind the camera, and the characters remain flatpacked as satire in his cool hands. He also has a tedious obsession with technology, and his descriptions of cameras, recorders and tablets read like IT-Crowd pornography.

As the book notes: “The only authentic literature of the modern era is the owner’s manual.” But in the end, with page after page of Naomi and Nathan fingering electronic I05 macro lenses and D300s on LCD screens and chunky black wireless SU-800 Commanders in airport shops, you feel as though you’re trapped in Dixons Travel for ever.

The plot is stapled together across continents, from Toronto to North Korea, like a gaping wound, but it is compelling in its scabrous transgression, daring in its tackling of taboos such as geriatric sex.

Plus “Cyberkampf” is a new and useful word that emerges from the unlikely shenanigans.

You’ve got to hand it to Cronenberg — at 71 he has written a first novel as provocative and neo-adolescent as they come.

It would have helped, though, if he had seduced the reader more, rather than just playing the story for shock value. Tellingly, Cronenberg began Consumed as a screenplay, and that is possibly a better form for this amusingly repulsive material.

Memoirs of a lost Queenie

R

achel Joyce is the veteran Radio 4 dramatist whose debut novel, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, won her a place on the 2012 Booker longlist and in thousands of readers’ hearts. It was a whimsical picaresque about an ordinary Englishman who walks out of his neat marital home to post a letter and carries on walking. All the way from Devon to Berwick-upon-Tweed, to see his old friend Queenie Hennessy, who lies dying in a hospice. Along the way, he accumulates blisters, gifts and kindnesses from villagers the length of the country, and ultimately attains a cult following of New Age seekers and a bewildering social media presence.

It was perfect BBC Radio fodder — like an Archers summer solstice special scripted

by Alan Bennett: a shade of darkness here, a sponge finger there.

Now we hear Queenie’s side of the story.

As she hangs on to life in a strangely cheerful Catholic hospice, she delights in Harold’s regular postcards asking her to “wait for me”. Unable to speak, and made monstrous by a facial tumour, she holds out little hope of a meaningful reunion, yet feels compelled to confess a secret from their shared past. So she sets out to compose a letter for Harold to explain something that has been haunting her since she fled from their hometown two decades before.

Th Love Soong of The Miss Queenie Hennessy

by Rachel Joyce Doubleday, 350pp £14.99 £12.99 ebook £7.48

in memoriam Rachel Joyce thanks the staff of two hospices

To order books at discounted prices call 0845 2712134 or visit thetimes.co.uk/ bookshop

Queenie recalls their happy drives together through beautiful Devon with a lyrical nostalgia. She relives falling quietly in love with this tall, shy man who always dressed in beige and spoke respectfully of his wife and son, despite there being obvious problems at home. She bitterly regrets never telling him she loved him.

The story darkens and tightens when Harold’s troubled son, David, comes into Queenie’s life. Long hair, poetry and drugs set him apart from his respectable father, but his face reminds her so much of Harold that she courts an intense platonic intimacy with him as a placebo for the real pleasure she cannot take from her soul mate.

The poignant testament skips — sometimes dreamily, when the morphine takes hold — from the increasingly tragic past to the unexpectedly light present. The nuns who care for Queenie and her brilliantly rendered cast of tragi-comic fellow moribunds espouse an ever-loving philosophy of mindfulness: “Stop holding on to yourself, and look at the world around you.”

In the book’s acknowledgments Joyce thanks the staff of two hospices she herself came to know (she has spoken eloquently elsewhere of her father’s demise from the same disfiguring disease as Queenie’s), and much of the book is a paean to the amazing talents of those who help people die well. Yet the dramatist in her will out,

in short Gingerbread

by Robert Dinsdale Borough Press, 421pp Bo £8.99 £8.54; ebook £3.99 The dark forest in this strange novel is in Belarus, but it also Be belongs to the endless be dark fo forests sts in the stories collected by the Brothers Grimm. A little boy, Alek, has come to the house of his unknown grandfather. His mother is dying, and makes him promise to take care of the old man, no matter what (“You’re him, just as you’re me and I’m you”). In the desolate forest, Grandfather tells his stories to keep the outside world at bay, and also his memories of the past; the fact that Alek goes on his journey with a chunk of his mother’s gingerbread sets the tone perfectly; this is Little Nell crossed with Little Red Riding Hood.

In the world imagined by Robert Dinsdale, you can’t tell where legend ends and history begins; he creates a terrific atmosphere of suspense with the pace of a thriller, and spiked with what might be magic.

Sacred Ends

by Lisa Appignanesi Arcadia, 352pp Ar £8.99 £8.54; ebook £5.99 It’s 1900. The beautiful It Ma Marguerite, Comtesse de La Landois, has been called from Paris by her husband. fr Marguerite Ma ite is puzzled: the two of them lead mostly separate lives (she mainly married him to keep her family’s estate) and she can’t imagine why he needs her now. The nightmare begins on the journey when a young man throws himself in front of the train.

She finds her husband has changed, possibly influenced by a priest. The Comte then amazes his wife by stating that he has adopted a foundling child.

Marguerite is not convinced that this child is an orphan and is increasingly restricted by her husband’s strict new rules. Fortunately, she has Chief Inspector Durand to turn to. Sacred Ends, part two of Appignanesi’s Belle Epoque trilogy, is an elegant delight, superbly researched and written by an author who really knows her way around the human psyche.

and The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy ends with a flourishing double twist that will leave you wide-eyed and wanting to read it all again. And why not, because a second reading will bring out the subtler colours of this quietly wondrous book.

Read it for Joyce’s stunning descriptions of England’s wild north east, its blossomy south and the paths, both literal and figurative, that link the two. But most of all relish its celebration of the kind of love that endures decades of silence and even death, and emerges burnished all the brighter.

Rooms by Lauren Oliver Hodder & Stoughton, 341pp, Ho £16.99 * £15.29 ebook £7.99 Lauren La Oliver is a bestselling writer of teen be fiction; Rooms is billed as her first grown-up novel, but she doesn’t let that interfere with her breakneck pace. interfe These “rooms” are in a house belonging to Richard Walker, who has just died. His ex-wife, Caroline, his daughter, Minna, and teenage son, Trenton, have come for their inheritance. They have no idea that the house is haunted by two watchful ghosts, prissy Alice and loudmouth Sandra. Alice tries to put a charitable gloss on what she sees, but Sandra was an alcoholic when alive and she knows that Caroline has the same problem.

And things are about to change dramatically when a new ghost arrives, who is able to communicate with the sensitive Trenton. Oliver has a terrific talent for old-fashioned storytelling, nailing your attention from the first sentence.

Melissa Katsoulis

Kate Saunders

46 saturday review

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER, MATTHEW LLOYD; PACE GALLERY

visual art

‘I want people to feel they’re in heaven’ Richard Tuttle is about to fill the Tate Turbine Hall with his enigmatic work.

Rachel Campell-Johnston met him

B

rilliant or bonkers? When it comes to Richard Tuttle — the latest artist to take on the Tate Turbine Hall commission — it can be hard to tell the difference.

And a meeting with him does very little to make it clearer. Tuttle is a sculptor cum painter turned philosopher cum poet who, born in New Jersey in 1941, developed his ideas originally against the billowing backdrop of abstract expressionism and then in the sterner formal context of the minimalist movement.

He first cropped up in the wider public consciousness, though, when he was offered a Whitney Museum survey in 1975. The exhibition whipped up an art world furore that got its curator sacked.

Spectators stared angrily, baffled by the tiny constructions made from detritus: twists of wire, coloured Styrofoam, tinfoil pieces and scraps of cloth.

“Less has never meant as less as this,” fulminated the New York Times critic Hilton Kramer. “In Mr Tuttle’s work, less is unmistakably less. It is, indeed, remorselessly and irredeemably less,” he declared.

And yet, ironically, even as he set out to condemn Tuttle’s work by describing it as setting “new standards of lessness”, Kramer recognised an essentially radical talent. Here was an artist with a truly innovative vision; a vision from which he steadfastly refused to veer, with the result that, by the time some three further decades had passed and Tuttle found himself invited back to the Whitney, his exhibition was hailed by The New York Times as “sublime” and Tuttle all but universally fêted as the elder statesman of American postmodernism.

Now Tuttle comes to this country, to take up the newly sponsored Hyundai commission at the Tate where I meet him.

You might think he makes an improbable choice. He knows, he says, that strong is supposed to be good, weak bad. But “what is fragile, weak and tentative makes my heart sing,” he says. He is known for pieces so delicate they almost disappear, for pieces no more substantial than folded scraps

reasons to be cheerful Richard Tuttle with a model of his installation, which will be covered in bright textiles

In 14 (1999), acrylic, canvas and wood, above; In 23 (1998), acrylic, canvas and wood, right; Walking on Air, C10, cotton with Rit dyes, grommets and thread (2009), below

‘This is a chance for my work to speak from a platform it has sought for 50 years’

of paper or pencil-sketched shadows cast by fine twists of florist’s wire.

But Tuttle has always been interested in making art that interacts with and hence alters the space in which it is displayed. And now, invited to take on the monumental theatre of the Turbine Hall, he is excited to be addressing a task of such scale. “Scale is individual; size is not,” he explains. “A room can be small, but an experience huge.” Besides, “the Turbine Hall is like the ur-centre of the universe as far as the art world is concerned. It’s far more important than just my work. This is a chance for my work to speak from a platform it’s been looking for 50 years.”

What, though, does it want to say? It’s not clear to me at all as I stare at the project so far: a row of huge pieces of teardropshaped wood with a form which I am told looks — perhaps fittingly — like a question mark in the middle. This object, covered in bright materials, will be hoisted up into the air to be surveyed either from above from the bridge of the Tate or from below when the installation opens next week. What are we supposed to make of it? The most obvious starting point is the textiles: the bolts of bright cloth that will cover the structure. “Almost half of this project was designing the textiles,” Tuttle says as, his slender hands waving about like a conductor’s, he describes the creation of a taffeta shot through with dark blue.

To many, Tuttle is far more famous as a scholar and collector of textiles than he is as a contemporary artist; a major exhibition which also opens this week at the Whitechapel Gallery, the largest and most significant survey of his work held in this country, will focus particularly on the importance of fabrics to his sculptural vision.

It is not easy to follow Tuttle. His ideas pour out in word streams that flow unbroken for what feel like minutes at a time until, troubled by the look of perplexity that he spots in the eyes of his interlocutor,

he buries his brow for a moment in a cup of fingertips and hunts about in his brain for the right language to make his point more clear. It is all but impossible to follow any single thread of an argument. It always gets lost in a denser background weave.

Strands of thought part, come together and part again. Digressions suddenly take on a central role. No question can be tracked to its final answer.

The fascination of textiles to him, it emerges, tracks back to ancient links between text and textile, a “mysterious relationship” between two words which

linguistically share the same root but not the same stem. He declares that “my happiest moments on this earth are when we come into contact with the originary.

With that fundamental notion that you have found a beginning.”

Tuttle has been accused (“by less ambitious people”, as he describes them) of pretentiousness. He feigns to brush hostile opinions swiftly aside, but he is clearly upset by criticism. Once, on a train, he remembers, he could not even travel in the

carriage because a show of his had opened and he was terrified of hearing what fellow passengers might say. Whatever the opinion of others, though, it becomes increasingly clear that he is not prepared to accept or follow any predefined or conventional course.

For instance, “In the wake of 9/11”, he tells me — we meet on the anniversary — “I did two things: I decided to acquire a major piece of Islamic calligraphy; and sign up for an Arabic course, so that I would not fall the way everyone else was going.” At the time, in his work, he was making tiny 3in-square panels of colour.

“And I was thinking,” he says, “that through that 3in-square centre I could see beyond the edge of this world. And I needed to be able to do this in order to handle the emotion I was feeling.”

Tuttle seems to be struggling in his art to evoke that mysterious sense we all sometimes have of having “glimpsed” or sensed something that is so far outside our known world that we are not sure how to explain or articulate it. His quest is for the truth, he says. “Truth: that is the tightrope that I have to walk — I wake up in the morning and there it is, this idea of the truth. All I care about is truth.

And yet human beings need mythologies the way dogs need to sniff.

“Most artists are concerned with putting a mirror up to the world,” Tuttle says. “But I’m not just going to do that. Instead, as an artist, I am like a servant, and the way I can serve is to enrich, to enlarge, to do something beneficial. It’s a return to the Platonic idea that artists return a bit of the heavenly world. I go through the world and I’m not feeling as if I’m in heaven. So I make my work to fill in the difference.

I make work for everyone; I want everyone to feel like they’re in heaven.”

In the end it all comes down to something quite simple. “Art is man-made to help us to make our lives better,” Tuttle says. “So forget all the philosophy,” he laughs. “In the end I just want this Tate Turbine sculpture to be cheerful. I’m actually thinking, when we get to the dark part of the year, people will be able to come here and feel really cheered up.”

Richard Tuttle’s Hyundai commission is in the Turbine Hall, Tate Modern, London SE1 (020 7887 8888), from Tuesday to April 6. I Don’t Know. The Weave of Textile Language is at the Whitechapel Gallery, London E1 (020 7522 7888), from Oct 14 to Dec 14

the times Saturday October 11 2014

Travel

Travel 47

Page 52

‘The sea is gentle, warm and crystal clear with trumpetfish, eels and tiny blue reef fish’

Amanda Linfoot visits Bali away from its noisy resorts

LUCIANO MORTULA / GETTY IMAGES

The Grand Canal in Venice (2).

Below: the Hotel Astoria 7 in San Sebastian (1)

20 bargain breaks in Europe

If you want a great escape this autumn with flights and a hotel for less than £250, look no further. By Robert Ryan 1 San Sebastian Spain It’s all about the food in the Basque country, but you can add a side order of art to your pintxos (tapas) with a visit to the Guggenheim in nearby Bilbao (Guggenheim-bilbao.es, entrance £7.80). In San Sebastian itself, as well as the classic bars/restaurants in the Old Town (Borda Berri, La Viña, La Mejillonera, Zeruko), explore the Gros

side of the river, with its spectacularly rough Zurriola surf beach. There’s a great selection of pintxos bars here too (Hidalgo 56, Bodega Donostiarra, Casa Senra)and good value restaurants (especially along Calle Zabaleta — try Mil Catas). The Ondarra Bar almost opposite the Kursaal conference/arts centre serves G&Ts

in glasses big enough to keep goldfish in.

Stay The Hotel Astoria 7 (00 34 943 445 000, astoria7hotel.com) has doubles from £72 named after movie stars and is close to the bus station Getting there Vueling (vueling.com) has return flights from Heathrow from £86. The Bilbao city bus to the right of the terminal costs £1.10

2 Venice Italy

Can this notorious money pit be done on a budget? Yes. Use a Line 2 vaporetto for a sightseeing tour for under a fiver and the couple-of-euros traghetti ferries instead of tourist gondolas. To eat, the area around Campo Santa

Margherita is a favourite with students and Caffe Rosso (Campo Santa Margherita, 00 39 041 528 7998), aka the Red Bar, is the place to people-watch.

Fill up on cicchetti snacks in the Cannaregio district at places such as Alla Vedova (Ramo Ca’d’Oro; 00 39 041 528 532), which does great meatballs.

There’s also the tiny La Cantina (Campo San Felice, Cannaregio; 00 39 041 522 8258) famous for its charcuterie.

Stay Residenza de l’Osmarin (00 39 347 4501440, residenzadelosmarin.com) has three basic, decent-sized rooms from €100 B&B and is close to the centre Getting there BA has return flights from Heathrow to Marco Polo airport from £88pp. Take a “Venice Express” bus to Piazzale Roma (about £3.90) W

the times Saturday October 11 2014

48 Travel

KAROL KOZLOWSKI / GETTY IMAGES

12

9 3 Amsterdam The Netherlands

Arrive by train and head to the tourist office across the square to buy the I Amsterdam transport/attraction card (£36.70 for 24 hours, £44.50 for 48, iamsterdam.com) for travel on trams/buses plus dozens of free museums and attractions, including a canal cruise. Note that it gives you only £1.95 off the must-see revamped Rijksmuseum (rijksmuseum.nl), with its iconic The Night Watch, where admission is about to go up to £13.70pp. Don’t miss an important adjunct to the Anne Frank House, the recently opened “Junior” part of the Resistance Museum, which tells the story of other children’s lives in the country during the Second World War (annefrank.org, free with I Amsterdam card). Refuel at Singel 404 (00 31 20 428 0154), a good eetcafé just along from the flower market that produces filling broodje (sandwiches), from about £4.

Stay The 215-room Citizen M (00 31 20 8117 090, citizenm.com) has compact doubles from £55 per night, with free wi-fi and cool lounges Getting there London to Centraal station by rail is from £118pp return (0844 848 5 848, voyages-sncf.com)

4 Antwerp Flanders

Antwerp has some great clothes shopping courtesy of its design past, including Dries van Noten (see fashioninantwerp.be). There is also a thriving visual arts scene and massive regeneration of districts such as the dockside Het Eilandje, with lots of small

shops and cafés, as well as the stunning ten-storey Museum Aan de Stroom, or MAS (mas.be), with free views or £3.90 for the galleries. The exhibition about Flanders in the First World War, Exodus: Fleeing The War, is on until next April, and is also free. There’s more free art in the Middelheimmuseum sculpture park (middelheimmuseum.be), with a bridge

by Ai Weiwei and works by, among others, Rodin, Hepworth and Moore.

Stay Right across the square from the gothic Cathedral of Our Lady is Hotel O Kathedral (hotelokathedral.com) with doubles from £79, but note that the compact rooms are mostly done in black Getting there Return train from London to Antwerp through Eurostar (0843 218 6186, eurostar.com) is from about £79

5

5 Berlin Germany

Next month the German capital celebrates 25 years since the Wall came down. One essential stop should be the DDR Museum (00 49 30 847 12373, ddr-museum.de, £5.45), which shows what life was like in the east before the fall, with a restaurant serving East German favourites. The 1.4-km remaining section of the Berlin Wall (berliner-mauer-gedenkstaette.de) is free to visit, as is the Reichstag/Bundestag near the Brandenburg Gate, where you can climb to Norman Foster’s spectacular roof (register at bundestag.de). For budget food, try Das Meisterstück pub in Hausvogteiplatz (six sausages for £7.50, 00 49 30 558 725 62, dasmeisterstueck.de).

Stay The 25Hours Bikini Beach Hotel (00 49 30 12 02 21 0, 25hours-hotels. com) has comfortable rooms from £93, with free bike hire. Lux 11 in Mitte (00 49 30 936 2800, lux-eleven.com) is a conversion of an old Stasi building and has 73 chic rooms from £109 Getting there Norwegian (norwegian.com) has flights from Gatwick to Berlin Schönefeld from £68 return. Use the Airport Express train to get to the city centre (RE7 and RB14 trains from the airport); tickets are £2.50 each way

6 Bologna Italy

Famous for its portici (covered arcades), Bologna’s centre is refreshingly compact — all roads seem to lead to the drunken Due Torri, twin leaning towers (climb the tallest for a magnificent view over the city’s ochre rooftops; £2.35). The

city’s love of rich food has earned it the nickname “la grassa” (the Fat), and you can try the salumi, hams and cheeses at Tamburini deli, which sells mains from £6 and has 200 wines by the glass (Via Caprarie 1; 00 39 051 232226, tamburini.com). Or try a plate of pasta for £5 at the Osteria Dell’Orsa (I Via Mentana; 00 39 51 231576, osteriadellorsa.com) near Piazza Maggiore, where you dine at communal tables. At 7pm head for MAMbo (00 39 051 6496611, mambo-bologna.org), the modern art museum, for happy hour at the museum’s dark-wood beamed bar. A glass of prosecco for just over a fiver gets you a choice of various appetizers, pizza, pasta, couscous and salads.

Stay Featuring sleek Italian design with just a hint of the Orient, the Hotel Metropolitan (00 39 051 229393, hotelmetropolitan.com) is both stylish and central, with doubles from £78 Getting there Ryanair (ryanair.com) flies from Stansted and Edinburgh with returns from £46. Catch the AerobusBLQ shuttle to the train station (£4.70)

7 Bordeaux France

Elegant, refined, cultured, the limestone city of Bordeaux has much going for it, not least the sheer beauty of its Unescolisted centre. There are splendid museums, such as the recently reopened Musée des Beaux Arts (00 33 5 56 10 20 56; musba-bordeaux.fr, £3.15), which includes Picasso, Braque, Titian and Rubens, as well as the more cutting edge Musée d’Art Contemporain (00 33 5 56 00 81 50, bordeaux.fr, £5). For wine, pop into the Bordeaux Wine Council HQ (3

10

the times Saturday October 11 2014

Travel 49

NEALE CLARK / ROBERT HARDING / REX

8

with returns from £55. Take the shuttle bus (£5.90) direct to Milano Centrale station

3

10 Istanbul Turkey

Cours du XXX Juillet; 00 33 00 5 56 00 43 47, vins-bordeaux.fr), which serves a decent glass from £2.20. For food from £5 a plate or a ten quid set lunch, try the Commerce (22 rue du Parlement St-Pierre, 00 33 5 56 79 76 58) for excellent seafood.

Stay The charming Chez Dupont (00 33 6 95 15 77 37, chez-dupont.com) is a fiveroom B&B in an 18th-century building in the Chartrons district with doubles from £98. The 50-room Hôtel Continental (00 33 5 56 52 66 00, hotel-le-continental. com) is less stylish, but is located at the heart of the city with doubles from £75 Getting there EasyJet (easyjet.com) flies to Bordeaux from Bristol, Gatwick, Liverpool and Luton from £54 return.

City Bus 1 runs from outside Terminal B to the centre for £1.09

8 Budapest Hungary

One of the most beautiful of Europe’s capitals, with its wide river, fancy bridges and the fairytale lights of hilly Buda, Budapest still offers value for money.

Walk around the huge, neo-Gothic triple-level Central Market on the Pest side of Liberty Bridge and make sure you get a pizza-like deep fried langos (£1.70) from one of the stalls on the upper levels. Relax in the pools under the restored Ottoman domes of the Veli Bej, aka the Csaszar Baths (Arpad fejedelem utja 7, £7.50), and have a cheap but thorough massage for £4. For the price of a hot chocolate you can sit in the gilded magnificence that is the Lotz Hall (Andrassy ut 39 says Parizsi Nagy Aruhaz), a hidden Neo-Renaissanceballroom-turned-café above a bookshop.

Then head for the brick-vaultedceilinged Doblo Wine Bar (Dob utca 20,

It doesn’t seem possible that you can enjoy a £250 weekend break here, where Europe meets Asia, but we found flights a reasonable £119 return, and some good budget hotels. Visit the main attractions of Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace in the old town, then head north of the Golden Horn to Beyoglu, once a smart embassy district with grand Ottoman buildings. Plunge into the maze of small streets around Istiklal Caddesi for the cafes, restaurants, boutiques, craft shops and the fish market as well as nightlife spots — it’s big on rooftop bars. Leb-i-Derya (00 90 212 293 4989, lebiderya.com) has views over the Golden Horn. Eat in one of the packed “meyhanes” (wine and meze bars) on Sofyali Sokak, such as Sofyali 9 (00 90 212 252 3810, sofyali.com.tr) or Refik (00 90 212 243 28 34, refikrestaurant.com).

Stay The Grand Hotel de Londres (00 90 212 2450670, londrahotel.net) in Beyoglu has a scuffed Ottoman charm, with economy rooms from £39 B&B though we recommend upgrading to standard from £70 B&B. The balconied Basileus Hotel, Istanbul (00 90 212 5177878, basileushotel.com, doubles from £39 B&B) is a surprisingly sophisticated little hotel in the old, cobbled Sultanahmet region of the city Getting there British Airways (ba.com) has return flights from Heathrow into Ataturk from £150 but Skycanner (skyscanner.net) has flights from Stansted to the more distant Sabiha with Pegasus from £119 return. From both, there are buses for Taksim (£3.40). Make sure you pre-book an e-visa on evisa.gov.tr (£12.50pp)

00 362 03988863, budapestwine.com) in the old Jewish quarter where four wine samples and a platter of food costs £12.

Stay On a quiet square in the grand, café-filled Palace Quarter, the 80-room Hotel Palazzo Zichy (00 36 1 235 4000, hotel-palazzo-zichy.hu) has B&B doubles from £64 Getting there EasyJet has returns from Gatwick from £94. Bus number 200E from Terminal 2 goes to the KobanyaKispest metro terminal for £1.14

9 Cremona Italy

Why this marvellous city, a little more than an hour by train from Milan, isn’t more visited — apart from by violin lovers lured by the home of Stradivari — is beyond me. The main square has a spectacular cathedral and a massive brick bell tower, fronted by an astronomical clock that predicts phases of the moon and solar eclipses. In any other town, this cluster would be surrounded by overpriced cafés but here you get a fishmonger, a cheese shop, a gelateria and a café under the arches of the town hall.

There is music everywhere — it has a scaled-down version of La Scala’s horseshoe auditorium, called Teatro Ponchielli (teatro ponchielli.it) and a stunning Museum of the Violin (museodelviolino.org, £8.30).

Stay The cool 33-room Hotel dei Arte (00 39 0372 23131, dellearti.com) is just steps from the main square, with doubles from £85 Getting there EasyJet flies to Malpensa from Gatwick and Luton

11 Lisbon Portugal

4

The Portuguese capital remains one of the best-value cities in western Europe — you can eat and drink well for a fraction of the cost in London. Bring comfy footwear — there are seven big hills, although the famous tram 28 will save you some shoe leather. It goes through the main areas, including Alfama, the old Moorish quarter, loomed over by Saint George’s castle and its views over city and river, Bairro Alto (one of Europe’s best bar-hopping destinations), the Tuesday/ Saturday fleamarket, the Feira da Ladra, and the magnificent azulejo tile panels in the nearby São Vicente monastery.

Get a Lisboa Card for 24 hours (£14.39) or 48 (£24.50) from the tourist information office and you can hop off and on the trams as much as you like. For bargain eats, try the food court in the market at

Mercado da Ribeira, Avenida 24 de Julho, which is open till late at weekends.

Stay On the restaurant-lined Largo do Carmo in upmarket Chiado, the Lisboa Carmo Hotel (00 351 213 264 710, lisboacarmohotel.com) has clean, smart doubles from £69 Getting there Ryanair has return flights from Bristol and Luton from £39. The Metro (metrolisboa.pt) runs to Saldanha station (£1.10)

12 Lodz Poland

This once careworn city is undergoing a renaissance, especially in the arts. Filmmaker David Lynch loves it so much that he has plans to open an arts centre with Frank Gehry. It evokes old Manchester or Leeds — and has an incredible industrial heritage as a textile manufacturing centre, which means dark, satanic mills. The vast redbrick Manufaktura is a brilliant reimagining of an old mill, workers’ houses and hospital, into a complex of shops and restaurants. Piotrkowska Street, the longest pedestrianised road in Europe, is also great for restaurants, bars, shops, and architecture, with examples of the wealthy textile merchants’ art nouveau palaces.

Stay All cast-iron beams and lofty ceilings, Andel’s Hotel (00 48 42 279 10 00, vi-hotels.com/en/andels-lodz) is a striking conversion of a textile mill, with a startling swimming pool suspended partly in mid-air on the top and rooms from £60 Getting there Ryanair has returns from Stansted or Birmingham from £57. Bus 65 goes from the airport to Lutomierska St near Manufaktura; one-way is 50p

More bargains in Europe next page

the times Saturday October 11 2014

50 Travel

13 Malaga Spain

Get your bearings with a steep walk up to the 1,000-year-old Castillo de Gibralfaro (entrance £1.70) and the neighbouring Roman/Moorish Alcazaba, with its tranquil gardens and limestone courtyards. Both have gorgeous views over mountains, sea, the port and the bullring. Malaga majors on Picasso — there is a first-rate museum dedicated to his art (Calle San Agustín 8; 00 34 952 127 600, museopicassomalaga.org — normally £6.25, but free Sundays 6-8pm) and there is also his childhood home (Plaza de la Merced 15; 00 34 951 926 060, fundacionpicasso.malaga.eu; £1.60, free on Sundays). Or just wander the squares and side streets of the old town around Plaza de la Constitución. For modern, adventurous tapas from £1.70, try tiny Uvedoble (Cister 15, 00 34 95 124 84 78; uvedobletaberna.com). The Casa de Guardia at Alameda Principal 18, (antiguacasadeguardia.net) serves Malaga’s sweet wine for 95p a glass.

Stay Room Mate Lola (00 34 912 179 287, lola.room-matehotels.com) is a modern hotel located a short walk from the main attractions. Doubles are from £52 Getting there Ryanair has returns from £37. Bus A75 runs from the airport to Malaga city centre every 30 minutes, £2.35 each way

14 Palma Majorca

Out-of-season Majorca still has the sea, the promenade, the magnificent Gothic cathedral (entrance £4.68), and Picasso and Miró at the Es Baluard contemporary art museum (0034 971 908200; esbaluard.org; entrance £4.68 and “you decide” the entrance fee on Fridays). There’s a very fine dining scene, including oysters and wine at the stalls at Mercat d’Oliver and the Italian-ish The Room (00 34 971 281 536, theroompalma.es; set lunch from £10.50).

Stay Hotel Feliz (00 34 971 28 88 47, hotelfeliz.com) on the promenade has contemporary doubles from £75 Getting there Ryanair flies from Stansted and most major regional airports from £60. Take the Line 1 bus to the seafront (£1.95)

15 Prague Czech Republic

It’s not too late to catch the year-long celebration of Prague’s musical heritage that encompasses all of 2014 (yearofczechmusic.cz/projekty). Try to go to a concert at Smetana Hall, a grand art nouveau space with a stained glass ceiling, in the Municipal House. You can sometimes get seats from £3 for the Prague Symphony Orchestra (fok.cz) there. The Strahov Monastery, with an astonishing 17th-century library and great city views, is a worthwhile walk, either past the famed castle or up Petrin Hill. Pop into Il Tri Ruzi brewpub (u3r.cz) for beers from £1.70 to go with the big portions of sausages, wiener schnitzel or ribs (£5-£6).

19

14

16

Stay The Novotel Centre Wilson (15 Place Wilson, novotel.com, 00 33 5 61107070) has modern doubles from £75.

Or try the more traditional Hotel Albert 1er (8 rue Rivals, 00 33 5 61 21 17 91; hotel-albert1.com) with doubles starting from £79 Getting there BA has return flights from £82. The Flybus shuttle to four stops in the centre costs £3.90 each way (toulouse.aeroport.fr)

19 Vienna Austria

Stay Don’t be put off by the pokey entrance and desk at Domus Balthazar (Mostecká 282/5, 00 420 257 199 499, domus-balthasar.cz). Large, light rooms cost from £60, B&B Getting there Ryanair (ryanair.com) has flights to Prague from £76. Take the Airport Express bus to the city centre; tickets (£1.40) from the driver or online (cd.cz)

16 Rome Italy

Go to Rome and visit a theme park? Ah, but this is Cinecittà World, dedicated to Italian cinema and the famed Cinecittà studios. The new park, just outside the capital in Castel Romano, was designed by the Oscar-winning set designer Dante Ferretti, who has worked with Pier Paolo Pasolini, Federico Fellini and Martin Scorsese and the theme music is by the great Ennio Morricone. Open at weekends only in winter, it has 20 different attractions, and eight stage sets dedicated to movies. Combined park day tickets and bus can be bought from Rome’s main rail station online (£22.60 adult, £18 children; cinecittaworld.it). In the city, head for the Testaccio district for affordable eating — try the no-frills decor of Nuovo Mondo at Via Amerigo Vespucci 15 (00 39 06 574 6004) for excellent thin pizza (about £10).

Stay The small but stylish Hotel San Francesco (00 39 06 58300051, hotelsanfrancesco.net) has doubles from £74 with a great rooftop bar Getting there EasyJet has returns to Rome Fiumicino from Luton, Gatwick and Bristol, from £68pp. The TAM bus to Termini costs £3.90

17 Aarhus Denmark

Denmark’s second city is colourful, with lovely walks or bike rides in the forests of Jutland or along nearby empty beaches, as well as some great art and culture. The impressive ARoS Aarhus Art Museum (00 45 8730 6600, en.aros.dk, £11.50, under-18s free) houses a striking collection of paintings, sculptures and installations. The new Moesgaard Museum (moesgaardmuseum.dk, £11.50, under-18s free) is a high-tech centre for archaeology and ethnography with displays featuring the

famous Tollund “bog man” from the 3rd century BC and, of course, the Vikings.

Stay CABINN (00 45 86 75 70 00, cabinn.com) is a bright hostel-hotel with rooms from £75. Or try the sleeker Hotel Oasia (00 45 87 32 37 15, hoteloasia.dk), with B&B doubles from £104 Getting there Ryanair (ryanair.com) flies to Aarhus from Stansted, with returns from £45pp. A bus runs to Aarhus centre from the airport, £10.50 each way (see aar.dk)

18 Toulouse France

The Ville Rose, so named because of its reddish bricks made from the clay of the Garonne river, is best enjoyed from a café table on the Place du Capitole (or Places Wilson or St-Georges). There’s plenty to see, with a trio of grand churches: the soaring Romanesque Basilica St-Sernin church; the enormous Les Jacobins, with its exquisitely ribbed ceiling; and the somewhat gloomy-incomparison Notre-Dame-de-la-Daurade.

Don’t miss the ugly Victor Hugo covered market, for its five first-floor “hidden” restaurants, which offer top-value local cuisine (including cassoulet and sausages). Get there as soon as possible after opening (12 noon) at weekends.

20

15

Vienna has always known how to deal with the chillier seasons — regular breaks for warming coffee and cake in a café in between excursions. Try the Café Sperl (Gumpendorfer Strasse 11; 00 43 1 586 41 58, cafesperl.at) with its twin billiard tables and marble tables for twocourse lunches at £6-£7. Culture on a budget? Standing tickets are available at the box office of Vienna State Opera (00 43 1 514442250, Opernring 2, wienerstaatsoper.at) 80 minutes before curtain up at this famous 19th-century hall (from £2.50-£3.40). If you’re there on a weekday, take your passport to the Palace of Justice at Schmerlingplatz 10 (justizcafe.at), go through the security pods, take the lift to the top floor and you’ll find the staff canteen with fantastic views and mains for about a fiver.

Stay Harmonie Vienna (Harmoniegasse 5-7, 00 43 1 317 66 04, harmonievienna.at, doubles from £98, B&B) is in the quieter part of town, but is well served by the D tram into the centre Getting there EasyJet has return flights from Gatwick from £102pp. The City Airport Train (viennaairport.com) goes to the city centre (single, £9.35)

20 Zurich Switzerland

Surely you can’t have a budget weekend in the City of Gnomes? You can if you hang out in Districts 4 and 5 in Zurich West, the latter once the city’s industrial zone, the other the red light district, now a haven for young clothes designers. The Im Viadukt (im-viadukt.ch) acts as a border between District 5 and District 4.

The 1,640ft-long span of arches has been filled with clothes shops, restaurants, cafés, and a thriving food hall. Or there’s the Schiffbau (Schiffbaustrasse 6), where paddle steamers were once constructed, now home to three theatres.

Stay Small, fashionable chain 25Hours (00 41 44 577 25 25, 25hours-hotels.com) has doubles from £85 Getting there Easyjet (easyjet.com) flies from Luton and Gatwick from £72 return. Catch the S16 train from Zurich airport and get off at Hardbrücke station for districts 4 & 5 (about £6.50) All prices are correct as we went to press for a weekend break in November

the times Saturday October 11 2014

Travel 51

ROBERT PALOMBA-PASCAL LEQUENNE / STATIONS DU MERCANTOUR; JOHN HARPER / GETTY IMAGES

The ski resort of Auron is just over an hour from Nice, below

Skiing

Breakfast by the beach, then lunch on the piste — that’s the Nice way to ski An hour’s drive from the French Riviera are great slopes where the in-the-know go, says Tristan Rutherford

I

t’s 10.30am, Monday. My wife and I are on a snowy mountain top just north of Nice. By 11am we’ve slalomed down a curving four-mile run without seeing a soul. It feels strange to be here — especially as this morning I ate a sunrise breakfast of croissants and café au lait on the Promenade des Anglais.

To be precise, at 7.30am we hopped on an inexpensive ski bus (£3.30 each way) to Auron, one of a succession of secret slopes in the south of France. Not content with revelling in 300 days of sun per year, lucky locals have also kept these Alpine pistes to themselves. Indeed, each south of France ski resort is tailored towards pampered weekenders from Monaco, Cannes and Nice. Which means super-fast equipment changeover and excellent public transport links. It also means that outside weekends and French school holidays, the slopes are usually empty.

Sure enough, the slopes are crowd-free as we ascend the 2,474m-high Las Donnas, Auron’s loftiest peak. From this powdersoft redoubt the surrounding ski resorts of Valberg and Isola 2000 are visible on the horizon. It’s an amphitheatre of brilliant white. Some 42 pistes — totalling 135km — wind down to the medieval village of Auron. Skiers predominate, although gentle snowboarders are welcome; poseurs head to Isola 2000’s acclaimed snowpark.

Auron built its first ski lift in 1937. It was

a petrol-powered, lift-button-betweenthe-bottom-cheeks affair. But the resort’s popularity grew when the likes of Sacha Distel and Jacques Chirac started swooshing down the slopes. It remained une affaire française until recently.

Riviera regulars including Russians and Italians then began making day-trip discoveries from the coast. Yet, despite up to 25 daily flights from the UK to Nice, British voices remain rare.

On day two we explore Auron’s northern slopes from the 2,453m-high Cime de Chevalet. We glide down a 12-mile bluerun circuit (Bouchlet and Alpages). It’s a magic carpet through an Alpine Eden. When we stop we can hear birdsong.

Deer tracks stud the snow. Lunch on the slopes is spent in the company of Alpine snowshoers and Nordic skiers. A shared platter of vegetables and potatoes dauphinoise, plus cheeseboard and lager, is €15 (£12) each.

That afternoon we take the chair lift again to Chevalet. We ride nearcontinuous reds (Riounet, Fournet and Puy) back to the base. It’s hard to believe that this ski station, only 55 miles north of Nice, gets so much snow: there was a 25cm powder fall on the higher slopes the night before our visit. But the Alpes-Maritimes resorts usually open from early December until April 27, their northwesterly alignment holding the snow cover.

Our eight-hour powder surf ends with us careening through the family ski enclosure (packed on weekends, empty now). I thump the children’s punch bag as I glide past, while my wife rings the miniclub bell.

Yes, our limbs hurt on the 5pm bus back to Nice. The sun had set when we pulled into Nice airport at 6.30pm, as some passengers hopped off for their flight home.

But we took solace in the fact that Auron flips into being a summer resort from June onwards, as mountain bikes replace skis on the pistes.

We’ll be back for another round of downhill punishment then.

Need to know Auron (auron.com) is connected to Nice train station every morning (several times daily at weekends) by the No 740 Ligne d’Azur ski bus (lignesdazur.com, £3.30 each way). The route also calls at Nice airport.

Reserve online, then show your printed PDF ticket to the driver.

Where to stay for less in Nice Hotel Windsor (hotelwindsornice.com) has rooms decorated with modern art and is about 500m from the station and the Med; doubles are from about €80 (£63).

For something a bit fancier, try the Beau Rivage (hotelnicebeaurivage. com), which is where Matisse once stayed, with rooms from about €100 if booked in advance.

If you would like to stay in Auron, the villagecentre Hotel le Savoie (00 33 493 23 02 51, hotelsavoie.com) offers two nights’ half-board with gourmet five-course dinners, plus a three-day lift pass, for €205pp midweek. This is good value, as regular threeday lift passes cost €87.50pp. The hotel has a pool, sauna and steam room. Room prices rise at weekends and during the French school holidays.

Ski hire For boards, skis and clothing see Ziggy at Zen

Altitude (00 33 493 03 27 23, ziggyshop.fr). Threeday ski hire starts at £31.

Getting there British Airways (0844 493 0787, ba.com) offers sixtimes daily flights from London to Nice from £77.50 return.

French Riviera resorts Isola 2000 (isola2000. com) is the closest ski resort to Nice (allow an hour from Nice airport by car). It’s also the busiest.

As large as Auron (with 120km of runs over 42 pistes), it’s sunnier and more snowboard friendly, with a massive dedicated snowpark to boot.

A wealth of non-ski activities is also available, including snowmobiling, ice driving plus daredevil ski paragliding and speed skiing. Take Ligne d’Azur’s No 750 daily ski bus (lignesdazur.com, £3.30 each way) from Nice.

Valberg (valberg.com) is a shade smaller than Auron with 90km of runs, but just as family friendly.

There’s a family ski park, beginner’s snowboard park and plenty of Nordic ski routes. Ligne d’Azur’s No 770 ski bus (lignesdazur.com; £3.30 each way) runs from Nice railway station and Nice airport every morning.

Val d’Allos (valdallos. com) is the serious Riviera ski resort. Regular winter snow falls on 230km of pistes over two deep valleys at heights of up to 2,675m. Take the Saturday-only ski bus (haut-verdon-voyages.fr, £37 return) at 1.30pm from Nice airport (three hours) or drive (two hours).

the times Saturday October 11 2014

52 Travel Indonesia

No parties, just peace — welcome to the other Bali Bypass the glitzy hotels and noisy clubs in the south and head for lush landscapes and chilled out resorts, says Amanda Linfoot

I

f anywhere embodies my notion of a tropical paradise, it is surely Bali: south-east Asian island, welcoming people, interesting culture, beaches washed by the Indian Ocean, endless sunshine. Which makes what greets me when I step off the plane for my first visit all the more disconcerting. It’s a bit like being dropped into a tropical Ibiza.

In my mind, it was all spas and honeymoon hotels; but young Australians, rucksacks on their backs, outnumber British tourists by nearly five to one. And they are here to party.

Few tourists make it any further than a stone’s throw from the airport, which has

turned the south of the island — Kuta, Denpasar, Sanur — into an enervating sprawl of backpacker hostels, bars and beach clubs, all wrapped up in a traffic jam.

The only escape is the gated five-star hotels in sanitised Nusa Dua, which leave you slightly struggling to identify which country you’re in. Even Ubud, once a boho, artsy retreat, has been chock-a-block with Elizabeth Gilbert wannabes since the makers of Eat Pray Love pitched up.

There is only one thing for it: strike out and find an unspoilt part of the island for tranquillity and gorgeous countryside. You don’t even need to start with a long transfer — you can fight off the jet lag an hour and a quarter from the airport in supreme peace at Waka Gangga.

Newly refurbished, this 27-room

beachside hotel is only a few miles past Canggu, which marks the end of the hipster beach resorts on the southwest coast, yet still our driver got lost en route.

The hotel’s design is based on a traditional Indonesian village. The rooms consist of spacious bungalows, each set in their own lush walled garden, with a plunge pool and raised seating area from which you can watch the sea. The decor is understated Balinese (dark wood furniture, ornate carved pillars, batik, a combination of Buddhist and Hindu icons), the beds are fit for a princess and you can have an outdoor shower in the shade of a banana palm.

The hotel’s refurbishment was overseen by a Japanese architect and nowhere is his influence more visible than the restaurant, situated at the end of the black sand beach.

A raised wooden pagoda with slats in place of walls, it offers the best seat in the house for watching the sun go down over the Indian ocean. Right on cue, the sky is ablaze and dinner doesn’t disappoint: it’s an all-in feast in the Balinese megibung (communal) tradition, with lumpia (spring rolls) to start, and then super-fresh grilled prawns, steamed fish wrapped in banana leaf, chicken breast in a creamy tomato sauce, with rice, and some delicious veg poached with coconut.

After a restorative night at Waka Gangga, it is time to strike out — but not too far.

Sang Giri, a tented resort right in the centre of Bali, is only a one and a half hour drive from Denpasar, Bali’s capital, but it feels like another world. Set in a steep-sided valley that’s thick with rainforest, 865m above sea level, Sang Giri is just round the corner from the picturesque Unesco-protected Jatiluwih rice terraces. The camp is the labour of love of a Balinese engineer called Yunsar, an avuncular sixtysomething who dreamt of buying some woodland to protect a pocket of Bali’s biodiversity and then creating an eco resort. At present, the nine-acre site houses just eight tented rooms — comfortable rather than plush, with electricity and showers but no phones or wi-fi — and once finished there will be fewer than 20.

Sang Giri isn’t for everyone. One Dutch couple simply refused to get out of their car when they realised they had to walk down 158 steps to get to their room. After a woman burst into tears upon discovering there was no infinity pool, Yunsar had to book her and her husband into a resort in Ubud. But if you want to switch your brain off, work your way through a pile of books

The landscape is unbelievably enchanting — and all ours.

We don’t see a tourist for hours

and commune with some unspoilt mountain rainforest, you’ll probably love it.

Soon there will be a t’ai chi and yoga platform, and a spa will open by the end of the year. But there is still enough to keep you occupied. Yunsar guides us on a lovely bike ride, on a gently undulating route, picking its way down country tracks and round the footpaths that enclose the paddy fields, where tiny women in conical hats are bent double, thinning out the rice seedlings. We stop halfway for a drink under the shade of a temple’s banyan tree.

The landscape is unbelievably enchanting — and all ours. We don’t see another tourist in the entire two hours.

The next day, Yunsar leads us on a walk through the forest around Sang Giri. He has a range of treks, which take up to eight hours, but we opt for the one-hour circuit — although it takes nearly as long to get ready as he kits everyone out with wellies, gloves and walking sticks, and sprays us with a home-made anti-leech concoction made from soap, water and salt. We spend the next hour navigating some pretty thick vegetation, trying — and failing — to avoid slipping on to our backsides on muddy slopes, and gingerly picking our way across wet boulders in the river. But not a leech in sight as we suck on a post-walk pick-me-up of sugar cane.

The food at Sang Giri is all prepared by women from the local village so really couldn’t get more Balinese: banana trunk soup (which was French onion-esque), chargrilled catfish with rice, chicken leg

the times Saturday October 11 2014

JEFF HUNTER / GETTY IMAGES

Travel 53

The coolest new hotel in Bali — W Retreat & Spa London, Paris, Milan . . . Bali. There’s a new kid on fashion’s block. Young designers are moving to Indonesia at the start of their careers to get their labels up and running, because costs are low and the local workforce has all the right dressmaking skills — they are so skilful that fashion house Balmain gets its handbeading done on the island.

Fashion designers are one part of the creative community that is helping to make Seminyak, home to the W Retreat & Spa (above), Bali’s new capital of cool. Visit Helen Milne’s shop, Miss Milne, for rock’n’roll-infused designs that sell through Minnies and celebritycloset.net in this country. Or head to the fabulous Sandra McArthur, who runs the Beaded Boudoir, a treasure trove of gorgeous sparkling dresses, all made locally. A ballsy, funny Australian, she will, in a couple of hours, put together a whole look for you: “At the end of the day, it’s frocks and what makes a girl feel good,” she says. The service is one on one, by appointment only — the W can fix it.

B&B doubles at the W Retreat & Spa cost from £211 (wretreatbali.com) Main picture: the Jatiluwih rice terraces; Ocellaris clownfish by Menjangan Island, right; Sang Giri resort, below; Balinese women with temple offerings, left

and bean curd in a curry sauce, fried cassava in coconut syrup and cinnamon, pancake stuffed with chopped coconut and hibiscus flower. After dinner? A game of cards and a cardie — the temperature drops markedly once the sun goes down.

Bali’s farthest-flung corner — the western end, which sits just across the straits from Java — is about five hours from the airport. But goodness, that drive is worth it — because sitting in the West Bali National Park, at its tip, is a lovely hotel.

The newly refurbished Menjangan occupies 1½ square miles of forest, yet has just 21 rooms — seven wooden beach villas and 14

rooms in three blocks collectively known as the Monsoon Lodge, which is a mile from the beach and restaurants (the staff will come and pick you up in a sort of Popemobile, or you can cycle).

The Monsoon Lodge reminds me of an American motel: the buildings all cluster round a central courtyard, with a swimming pool in the middle. My room there is enormous and airy, but I have promised myself that one day I will return to Menjangan and stay in a beach villa because they are my idea of perfection — based on the design of a traditional Javanese house, the wooden structures are quiet and restful, with open-air bathrooms and enormous windows that give you a glorious uninterrupted view of the Bali Sea. At one end of the beach is a little headland of mangroves, which give their name to the hotel’s spa. In a private gazebo beside the gently lapping sea, you can get the knots massaged out of your shoulders.

Getting up from that table is quite a challenge — you won’t want it to be over. We have the same problem at an atmospheric candlelit dinner on the beach, where we are joined, appropriately, by a couple of grazing doe — menjangan means deer in Indonesian. The arrival of the Popemobile at the end of the evening was never less welcome.

Same again at breakfast — sitting on a wooden deck built out across the iridescent bluey-green water, sipping freshly squeezed tangerine juice and watching the fish swim past our feet, no

one wants the day to get going. But actually, the day turns out to be the best of the trip. In front of the hotel, three miles offshore, lies uninhabited Menjangan Island, which has, just yards from the beach, some magnificent snorkelling.

After a 30-minute boat trip from the hotel’s jetty, we are wading ashore and getting our flippers and masks on.

The walk into the sea is gentle, and as soon as you start to swim you are gazing down upon a glorious swathe of marine life. There are no waves to worry about and the sea is warm and crystal clear, which means you can just wallow eight to ten feet above, gazing down at the inhabitants of the reef: long yellow trumpetfish, like multicoloured eels; black and yellow striped Moorish idols; a solitary unicorn fish; carmine-lipped clams that purse as I paddle by; tiny blue reef fish, bolts of electric blue against the calcified coral.

And then you reach the reef wall and feel as if you are flying as you swim over the edge, looking down as it falls away to the sandy seabed 50m below, which is still plainly visible so clear is the water.

The wall is a completely different environment. Washed by the current, bigger, more robust and yet more striking creatures have made it their home: huge saucer-like coral with violet antlers; another coral softly swaying like long grass, the colour of hay; anemones the size of dinner plates; a big crocodile fish basking in the diffuse sunlight.

On the boat back, in my notebook I write “Best snorkelling ever” and underline ever.

Hyperbole, I know. But if the oceans do have more impressive sights, they’re going to have to put on quite a show to beat Menjangan.

Need to know Amanda Linfoot was a guest of Western & Oriental (020 7666 1234, westernoriental.com), which has seven nights staying at Waka Gangga, Menjangan, Sang Giri and the W Retreat & Spa Resort in Seminyak from £1,999pp, including flights and some activities.

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

55

FGM

Games Samurai Sudoku No 424 — Difficult

8 1 5 6 3 9 8 5 4 8 6 4 6 2 7 9 8 9 2 5 1 7 2 1 4 2 7 3 4 5 8 9 7 1 7 1 4 1 6 9 2 2 9 1 3 3 4 9 7 6 4 5 1 5 6 1 8 7 9 8 3 2 7 5 9 9 7 7 6 8 6 5 3 1 9 8 2 4 6 7 6 6 7 5 4 9 2 3 5 2 9 5 9 7 The Listener solution

No 4312

Sudoku No 6878 - Fiendish

8

Elementary Deduction by Rood

Wordplay led to answers with an extra chemical symbol. The symbols spelt out “Initiating at column five, using D, obtain every fifth clockwise” and “Care with position of tiny particles”. Taking every 5th perimeter letter spelt out “Draw rings of atomic no. six”.

Carbon’s electrons occur in two rings, the outer ones being its “valence electrons”.

Alternative resolution of clashes could give “atomic no. five”, but choosing “boron” and “valency electrons” in the centre would leave an extra electron (e) on the perimeter.

More details at listenercrossword.com.

The winners are Tony Marshall of Prestwood, Buckinghamshire, John Mallinson of Colchester, Essex, and David J Carpenter of Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands.

9

3 1 4 8 4 6

5

2

3 9 1 4 6 7 1

7

56 min

Solution to last week’s Samurai Sudoku

7 4 6 2 4 1 1 6 8 9 7 8

10

15

5 1 9 8 6 7 3 4 2

8 7 3 2 4 9 5 1 6

2 6 4 3 1 5 9 8 7

3 8 1 4 9 2 7 6 5

6 4 2 5 7 8 1 3 9

7 9 5 1 3 6 4 2 8

6 7 2 4 8 5 1 3 9

8 5 1 9 3 7 2 6 4

4 3 9 6 2 1 7 8 5

7 9 4 8 1 2 3 5 6

1 2 3 5 4 6 8 9 7

5 8 6 7 9 3 4 1 2

9 3 6 7 8 1 2 5 4 7 3 6 9 1 8 2 6 4 5 7 3

1 2 7 6 5 4 8 9 3 5 1 4 2 6 7 3 5 8 9 4 1

8

14 19

4 17

27

19

1

1 8 6 4 2

Stuck?

Call 0901 322 5005 to receive four clues for any of today’s puzzles.

Calls cost 77p from BT landlines.

Time to solve

Killler No 3950 - Deadly (55 min)

Stuck on Su Doku or Killer Call 0901 322 5005 to receive four clues for any of today’s puzzles. Calls cost 77p from BT landlines.

Su Doku/Killer ©Puzzler Media Puzzle content © 2008 Gakken Co. Ltd.

3 4 5 4 1 6 9 8 1 6 7 9

30

6

Our five-grid Su Doku will test your powers of logic and elimination — against the clock.

Fill the grid so that every column, every row and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9. Where the puzzles overlap, the rows and columns do not go beyond their usual length but the interlocking boxes give you more clues — and more complexity!

Remember — don’t try to solve each Su Doku grid in turn, the puzzle has to be tackled as a whole.

8 13

17

22

20

9 16

19

23

10

15

22

24

7

15

10

Follow standard Su Doku rules, but digits within the cells joined by dotted lines should add up to the printed top left-hand figure.

Within each dotted-line “shape”, a digit CANNOT be repeated.

For solutions to Su Doku & Killer see Monday’s newspaper

4 5 8 9 2 3 6 7 1 2 8 9 3 4 5 1 7 9 6 2 8

7 1 5 3 9 8 4 2 6

3 4 2 6 5 1 8 7 9

9 6 8 4 7 2 5 3 1

1 4 8 3 6 9 5 2 7 9 6 3 1 8 4 7 3 6 5 2 9

3 7 9 2 5 1 4 8 6 1 2 5 7 9 3 5 2 8 4 1 6

5 6 2 4 7 8 1 3 9 8 4 7 6 5 2 1 4 9 7 3 8

9 1 7 5 8 3 6 4 2

8 5 3 6 4 2 7 9 1

6 2 4 9 1 7 8 5 3

2 8 1 7 9 4 3 6 5

7 3 5 8 2 6 9 1 4

4 9 6 1 3 5 2 7 8

4 7 5 8 1 2 6 9 3

8 3 1 9 6 5 2 7 4

9 2 6 4 7 3 8 5 1

5 1 7 6 9 4 3 8 2

2 4 8 3 5 1 9 6 7

3 6 9 2 8 7 1 4 5

Yesterday’s solutions Sudoku No 6873

9 6 4 7 3 2 5 8 1

1 2 8 9 4 5 3 7 6

7 3 5 6 1 8 4 9 2

6 1 7 4 2 3 8 5 9

5 4 9 8 6 1 7 2 3

2 8 3 5 7 9 1 6 4

3 7 1 2 8 6 9 4 5

8 9 6 3 5 4 2 1 7

4 5 2 1 9 7 6 3 8

2 4 9 3 1 7 6 8 5

3 5 1 6 8 4 9 2 7

1 6 3 5 7 8 4 9 2

5 9 7 4 2 3 1 6 8

8 2 4 9 6 1 5 7 3

Killer No 3949

9 7 5 8 3 6 2 4 1

4 1 2 7 5 9 8 3 6

6 3 8 1 4 2 7 5 9

7 8 6 2 9 5 3 1 4

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

saturday review 57

FGM

Win a Collins Dictionary & Thesaurus For your chance to win, call 0901 292 5274 (ROI 1516 415 029) and leave your answer (the 3 numbers in the pink cells) and details or text the 3 numbers to TIMES followed by a space and then your answer and your contact details to 83080 (ROI 57601) by midnight tonight. You can leave your answer numbers in any order.

6Winners will receive a Collins English Dictionary & Thesaurus Calls cost £1.02 from BT landlines (ROI € 1.50).

Other networks and mobiles will cost more.

Texts cost £1 (ROI € 1.50) plus your standard network charge. Winners will be picked at random from all correct answers received. One draw per week. Lines close at midnight tonight.

If you call or text after this time you will not be entered but will still be charged. Terms and conditions thetimes.co.uk/sudoku-comp. SP: Spoke, W1B 2AG. 0333 202 3390 / 01437 8815 (Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm).

Fill the grid so that every column, every row and every 3x2 box contains the digits 1 to 6.

Developed by Sudoku Syndication H I T O R M I S S M A S T H E A D

A P U I L L E O U N T A A L L A T H P E S O T O M P S

D S R E T I U P E N S W O R D F I S H C A S U A L T Y

T A L T T E I R N M A T E I N I G C C U R I R E E N T

S B C H E A A R E M

P Y M E D I UM I N M I D OM I N D E L O O E R D E R E D R S E A S A L E N S E A M T W A R I E D WA W N C T C H T R A V E A N R L L B O U N D V A A WA T E R B O T M R I V H O R A S P A R N R L A P D A N C I L O O A R I E V E R N T E M C N Y A R C A D E N D O F F I O I S E R T R A I T B E C T I V E N L G I N G L L R A R L O O M Y O A A R M U S I B B A D I V E N S C O N D I T N U O P I N S S O T I N F R E Q S I U E K B O N E I U U I N I S C E

S H A I L L U C E I N L O G S E N R L I O U Y N G U E S U I N T

I E E T L

C O C K A T R I C E

H A O S T H E I P A S P O T L I L T I L E S T A T E E O N O D E S P U D I H T H I S S P B C R O C K A B I A I L R I G G R D O B E A S T A T F P N E L E N G A I L P OM P A D F U L D L E S A R O I M X P E C T O R

D O I A T L L N I N N G T OO N E

E N S Q L

C U R R I C U L U M

S R U P N E R O N A N T U N R A L

L O T H E S M A E P S E R V I T I B N N S P I R E D V L R E O R E G X R S A C I O U S N L U N U R S E R Y D E P E R T F E D O R R S W E A R A E I Y M R A N C O B R U R A L D E I E A T E D A M L T G K O O S E L Y K

Solution to Friday’s Codeword M I GH U Y RUM A S L E N T Q A HUR T A I A L SO L N OP T O W F L OS

T B UN I O T S UB T E R POP L E I AWE H OM I N U N R I N S S Y

O L I V E N L J Y L I E X T C RU S T A I MPOR T E E Z AN Y E E O Y ARK E T E DWE L L

Word Watching: Stromatolite (c) A rocky mass consisting of layers of calcareous material and sediment, often rich in fossils. Petasus (b) A Greek hat with wings on either side, as traditionally worn by Mercury. Jelutong (b) Latex from a Malaysian tree of the same name, used to make chewing gum. Florideous (a) Belonging to the Florideae family of algae, or having its characteristics. Polygon army,

O R Y R E G H T Y I R O Y A L L E A M I N G T O N S P A

B I L U C E E L Y E N D N E N E D U U R A O N C T E

O T H P E U D E S L H A V E A M I N D O F O N E S O W N

Solution to Cryptic Jumbo 1112 The winner is Mrs Beryl Wakefield of Lichfield, Staffs

N N O N S S E A N S C E

Scrabble ® Allan Simmons Last week, the focus was on play-through moves, ie, those that play around an existing short word on the board. A simple example would be OUTCRYING played around CRY. No sooner had I put that column to bed than news came in of a superb such play made by the current world champion, Nigel Richards, at a major African event in Nigeria. Obviously, there is a big difference in seeing such a move under tournament pressure with no-one pointing out that one is available to find, but nevertheless, see if you can find the bonus play he made with this rack and the board position shown below.

AEE

Chess Raymond Keene

looks like being the highlight event of 2014. For more details see mindsportsevents.com Besides Richards, other favourites to do well at this championship will be the likes of UK’s Brett Smitheram, rated 6th in the world and four-time British Matchplay champion, and America’s Dave Wiegand, rated 10th in the world, and who beat Richards to win the North American Championship in 2009. But with the event being open to all levels there could be some surprise upsets and new names threatening to take the big cash prizes. If you can find the solutions to the following board challenges perhaps that could be you?

What is the highest score with each of these racks, using the same starting board given below? If you want to simulate game conditions, give yourself a total of ten minutes for all four racks. None of the topscoring words are uncommon.

You’re doing well if you can total more than 140 points for all four moves, and more than 200 is really excellent.

JRR

Richards is one of many top players from around the world who will be heading for the ExCeL in London on November 19 to play at the 2014 Mind Sports International (MSI) championship. The 24-round tournament is an open event this year with opportunity for players below the top echelons to enter and experience playing at such a grand event.

MSI has also organised a 14round youth event (under 18s) and a separate 14-round open weekend event, both on November 22-23 in parallel with the last eight play-offs of the main event. All in all, it

besmurl junicie PRUTTED WELFORE

Collins Scrabble Words is the word authority used.

Word positions use the grid reference plus (a)cross or (d)own.

2L

double letter square (dl)

A

3W

B

2W g 2W 2L 2W 2L r 2L 2L qin hoody fav ve o 2W 3L 3L 3L n m 2L 2L 2L 2L n e 3W 2L la rev vea al 2L a 2L s xi i 3L aba ashin ng 3L 2W ditto g 2L 2L 2W 2W up 2W 2W erk 2W 3L 2W dey 3L 3W 2L 2L 3W z

1

Solution to Quick Jumbo 1112 The winner is Rosalind Cashmore of Winscombe, North Somerset

F F O U R T A N I N G H I T

carry, creamery, creamy, cryer, cyan, cyme, emery, enemy, errancy, eyra, many, marry, meany, mercenary, mercery, mercy, merry, myna, nary, racy, yare, yarn, yean, year, yearn, yearner. Two Brains 1 Each had a daughter who was a singer (Nancy Sinatra, Norah Jones, Nathalie Cole and Kim Wilde). 2 They each include five consecutive letters of the alphabet. Scrabble Richards played tEARJERKER M2a (90). The top scores for each of the four racks are: UMBRELLA H1a (39), INJUSTICE F4d (102), TEXTURED G13d (34), FREELOAD D1d (48).

Literary quiz 1 Andrew Marvell, To His Coy Mistress 2 Ian Rankin’s Inspector Rebus 3 Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry 4 TS Eliot, The Wasteland.

C D E F G H I J K L M N O

2

3

4

triple letter square (tl)

3L

5

6

2L 2W

7

8

9

2W

double word square (dw)

3W

triple word square (tw)

10 11 12 13 14 15

3W 3L

2L

3W

Letter values 1 point:

AEIOU LNRST 2 points:

DG

3 points:

BCMP 4 points:

FHVWY K=5 JX = 8 QZ = 10

SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark of J. W. Spear & Sons Ltd ©Mattel 2014

Polygon Roger Phillips

Using the given letters no more than once, make as many words as possible of four or more letters, always including the central letter. Capitalised words, plurals, conjugated verbs (past tense etc), adverbs ending in LY, comparatives and superlatives are disallowed.

How you rate: 14 words average; 19, good; 23, very good; 27, excellent.

Answers to Friday’s Polygon are to the left. Today’s answers will be published in Monday’s newspaper

Puzzles online

For more of your favourite puzzles and crosswords go to thetimes.co.uk/puzzles

A friend from the middle east who recently learned about chess, confirmed her new found insights by introducing me to a most remarkable chess set, which she had discovered in the London Silver Vaults in Chancery Lane. Retailing at just over a quarter of a million pounds, the Sterling silver pieces are styled on a traditional medieval theme, and are of Germanic appearance. Each piece is studded with rubies, emeralds, diamonds and sapphires, with faces of ivory. The pawns are 13cm high, with the kings 18cm. The scale of the board itself is equally impressive, measuring 64cm x 64cm.

For chess collectors with deep pockets see www.silstar.co.uk.

Meanwhile chess and art have been coming together in other ways in London. Following on the continuing success of his film installation at Tate Britain, You will, you Are you Have, which runs till May next year, Barry Martin, former vice chair of the Chelsea Arts Club and distinguished chess columnist for Kensington and Chelsea Today, has turned his hand to curating a chess related exhibition at the Debut Contemporary Gallery: Human Suffering at Times of Crises (debutcontemporary.com). Star of the show is Daniela Raytchev’s chess set creation which contrasts black and white as two sides of human nature, the dark and the light. This runs until October 23.

Barry’s Tate installation shows 25 art students from Central St Martins being led blindfolded into a carefully prepared environment, a sure indication of Barry’s desire as a chess player to be in control of the pieces, in this case human ones!

Dominic Lawson, one of the leading columnists for The Sunday Times, will today be confirmed as the new President of the English Chess Federation thus, it is hoped, bringing to a close a period of turmoil when the Federation at times gave the impression of being entirely rudderless in a series of crises largely of its own making.

Dominic will, I am sure, not just confine himself to being a figurehead. He is a fine player in his own right, and enjoys outstanding relations with the great and the good of English and international chess.

White: Dominic Lawson Black: Donald McFarlane Sussex League 2010 Caro-Kann Defence 1 e4 c6 2 d3 d5 3 Nd2 e5 4 Ngf3 Nd7 5 Qe2 d4 This is rather committal. 5 ...

Bd6 is more flexible.

6 g3 g6 7 Nc4 Qc7 8 a4 b5 9 axb5 cxb5 10 Na5 Nb6 11 Bg2 Na4 12 Nc4 White pressurises the epawn since 12 ... bxc4 is met by the reply 13 Rxa4.

12 ... f6 13 0-0 Bd7

Twitter: @times_chess

________ árD Dkgn4] à0 1bD Dp] ß D D 0pD] ÞDpD 0 D ] ÝnDN0PD D] ÜD DPDN) ] Û )PDQ)B)] Ú$ G DRI ] ÁÂÃÄÅÆÇÈ 14 Na3 There is a remarkable alternative with 14 Rxa4 bxa4 15 Nxd4. Now 15 ... exd4 16 e5 is very strong despite the deficit of a rook, e.g. 16 ... Rd8 17 Nd6+ or 16 ... 0-0-0 17 exf6 Nxf6 18 Qf3. Better is 14 Rxa4 bxa4 15 Nxd4 Rc8 when White has good play for the exchange.

14 ... Bg7 A blunder. 14 ... Bc5 leaves White only slightly better.

15 Nxd4!

An excellent sacrifice, leading to an overwhelming attack.

15 ... exd4 16 e5 0-0-0 17 e6 Bc6 18 Bf4 Qb7 19 Bxc6 Qxc6 20 Nxb5! Qxb5 21 Rxa4 g5 After 21 ... Qxa4 the reply 22 Qe4 soon mates.

22 Qe4 gxf4 23 Qa8+ Kc7 24 Rxa7+ Kb6 25 Qxd8+ Kxa7 26 Qc7+ Black resigns

Winning move White to play. This position is Duchamp-Hanauer, New York 1952. How did White finish?

________ á 1 D D D] àD $b4rip] ß D !p0pD] ÞD DpD D ] ÝpH ) ) )] Ü) D D D ] Û ) D DPD] ÚD $ D I ] ÁÂÃÄÅÆÇÈ

The first correct entry drawn on Thursday will win a copy of

The Collins English Dictionary & Thesaurus, also available from The Times Bookshop on

0845 271 2134. The two runners-up will receive a book prize. Answers on a postcard to: Winning Move, The Times, 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF, or email to: winningmove@thetimes.co.uk.

The answer will be published next Saturday.

Solution to last week’s puzzle: 1 Qxh4+! leads to 1 ... Kxh4 2 g3+ Kg5 3 h4+ Kh5 4 Rh7 mate.

The winner is Edwyn Crowle of Exeter, Devon

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

saturday review 59

FGM

The Times Crossword is on the back page The Listener Crossword No 4315 Homer by Dysart

Codeword No 2213 9 15

12

13

4

25 4

26

1

1 13

1 24

17

14

1

5

15

4

20 10

11 1

7 4

18 14

24

2

C I

9 9

24

13

9

2

2

21

8

15

17

25

2

25

1

7

14

24

22

19

14 25

25

4 17

4

19

6

2

1

1 8

16

18 19

1

8

Solution to Listener Crossword No 4312 on page 55

3

1

14

25

1

1

24

4

4

1 4

13 2

2

13

Senders of the first three correct entries drawn will each receive a copy of Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Write your name and contact details in the space provided and send to: Listener Crossword No 4315, 63 Green Lane, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL3 6HE, to arrive by October 23.

23

14

17 21

25

1 14

5

3

19

15 18 24

9 17

17

2

21

9

1

8

listenercrossword.com

24 19

19

25

19

19

1

2

14

15

I

3

4

5

6

7

16

17

18

19

20

C

8

9

10

11

12

13

21

22

23

24

25

26

Numbers are substituted for letters in the crossword grid. Below the grid is the key with some letters solved. Completing the first word or phrase will give clues to more letters. Enter them in the key and main grid and check the letters on the alphabet list as you complete them. Yesterday’s solution on page 57

Stuck on Codeword? To receive 4 random clues call 0901 322 5000 or text TIMESCODE to 85088. Calls cost 77p from BT landlines plus network extras. Texts cost £1 plus your standard network charge. For the full solution call 0907 181 1055.

Calls cost 77ppm from BT landlines. Other networks and mobiles may vary. SP: Spoke, W1B 2AG, 0333 202 3390 / 01437 8815 (Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm).

Quick Crossword No 6529 1

2

3

8

4

5

6

7

9 10

11 12 14

13

15 16 17

18

19

20

21

22

23

Across 1 Printing error (4) 3 Work at (something) in order to improve (6,2) 8 Surmounting (4) 9 Scottish musician (8) 11 Threatening person that is really ineffectual (5,5) 14 Run at full speed (6) 15 Al —, actor (6) Solution to Crossword 6528

C

V C T

L I G H T B R I G A D E

P SO L A O N OP I N A OOB P V NEGA R R V ERN T I S TOS A H

T

B R

T

M I O X T U U RO E P E S E S ER

I N C R E A S E N O O N

I S E T L F DE M E P L SO Y NE D

T E N

R

17 Politely congratulate (10) 20 Ostentatious luxury (8) 21 Leaning tower city (4) 22 Ready (8) 23 Retained (4) Down 1 Silent monk (8) 2 Magician in The Tempest (8) 4 Relatives of the giraffe (6) 5 Theatrical organiser (10) 6 Extravagant publicity (4) 7 Harbour; drink; opening (4) 10 Musical entertainment (5,5) 12 Oil/gas transporter (8) 13 Person’s picture (8) 16 Coinage (6) 18 Play energetically and roughly (4) 19 Untainted (4)

Need help with today’s puzzle? Call 0906 757 7188 to check the answers. For help with possible words to fit a specific clue text TIMESCROSS followed by a space and the letters that you know, replacing the unknown letters with full stops, to 85088 to receive a list, eg, TIMESCROSS P.P..R to 85088. Calls cost 77ppm from BT landlines. Other networks and mobiles may vary. Texts cost £1 plus your standard network charge. SP: Spoke, W1B 2AG, 0333 202 3390 (Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm).

© PUZZLER MEDIA

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

More information about Chambers books can be found at chambers.co.uk

Name .....................................................................................................................................................................................

Address ................................................................................................................................................................................ .................................... Postcode ....................................... Phone number..............................................................

In ten clues the wordplay omits one letter of the answer; the omitted letters must be highlighted in the grid to display thematic information. The hidden names of four companions (4, 8, 10 and 6 letters) must disappear from the grid; in the case of one, the regularly spaced cells containing the letters of the name must be cut out. Ignoring empty cells, removals leave real words and a prefix. The unclued entry is a geographical feature that the companions might have seen from their point of departure, which is represented by the mutilated grid. The Chambers Dictionary (2011) is the primary reference.

Across 3 Cleared up and started imbibing a drop of aquavit (6) 7 Wintry weather’s beginning to saturate local trench (5) 10 Before an age that’s ultimately become electronic (3) 11 Moment in play regularly done as farce (9) 13 Carrying a weight, terrorist drops food container (5) 14 Cooks brains, dispensing with starter (7) 16 Venerated figure, descendant of Washington, bringing independence to the fore (4) 17 Skilful men reflected in passage (6) 18 Acting in revolutionary play about South African settlement (5) 19 Occupied binding bits of lactase and allosteric enzyme (7) 21 Kid’s abrupt with answer for last part of paper (5) 24 Release sound track of film, cutting intro and finale (4) 25 Bird fed by duke muted (5) 26 Work for Germans, that is securing opening of oil well in Queensland (6) 28 Passing snakes close to home (6) 31 Note on space around temple (4) 34 More fragrant vin rosé, though not very fruity (for Californians) (6) 37 11, after dismissing buffoon, played perfectly (6, two words) 38 Pressure from Right to block taxes succeeded (6) 40 Muslin-like fabric’s certainly not spun in Spanish city (4) 41 Lecturer splitting seeds from the east for drug (5) 42 Rhythmic music needing no introduction — a bit of Sky? (4) 43 Cockney tried to hide in Aberdeen (4) 44 Militant term for repentance at masses (6)

Down 1 Made small impact: was among the first to embrace Information Technology (9) 2 A scrap from Shakespeare — Romeo stabbing oddball in Verona (5) 3 Ideas lacking lead for unusual headgear (7) 4 Grasses gave natural screens (5) 5 Aged by debauchery, king became confused (7) 6 Nurse replacing lid of pot that’s old as a fossil (8) 7 Element of blame under stress primarily (6) 8 Buchan’s unproductive old age: his evil spirit gets daughter down (4) 9 Transcendentalist society welcoming current reappearances (of stars?) (9) 12 Urban areas in Glasgow get pretentious person upset (5) 15 Platform for Mandela, who finally leaves stage (4) 20 Earnest old soldiers offered up a short prayer (5) 22 Pronged equipment oddly repels English advance (8) 23 It’s a puddle, a puddle, no lake! (3) 26 Move on after caging Lord Glencoe’s bird of prey (5) 27 Dilapidated Ford with a following of vehicles designed for tracks (7) 29 Girl’s university must be working for goodnatured Glaswegian (6) 30 Bit of fruit squeezed into apple puree in turn (6) 32 Almost destroyed, stabbed by knight with tip of sword, like Excalibur? (6) 33 Man on board picked up island Aborigine (5) 35 Fifteen Scots relish drinking time (5) 36 Leader of Sunnis in African country elevated doctrine (5) 37 Walk overlooking loch on the side where it’s sheltered (4) 39 Past misfortunes returning to lodge (4)

Two Brains Raymond Keene

Word Watching Paul Dunn

Literary Quiz Paul Dunn

Question 1 What family similarity was shared by Frank Sinatra, Ravi Shankar, Nat King Cole and Marty Wilde?

Question 2 What do the words brocade, squirt, freight and monopoly have in common?

Stromatolite a. A Sicilian mineral b. A health drink c. Fossil-laden rock Petasus a. A small bone in the ear b. A winged hat c. Percussion Jelutong a. Dried leather b. An ingredient of chewing gum c. A watering hole Florideous a. Algae-like b. Sunny c. Red-faced

Grave concerns 1 Who wrote, in which poem: “The grave’s a fine and private place, /But none, I think, do there embrace.”

2 Which popular character was resurrected in Standing in Another Man’s Grave?

3 Which novel is set on the Day of the Dead in Mexico in 1938?

4 Who wrote in which poem: “‘That corpse you planted last year in your garden/ ‘Has it begun to sprout? Will it bloom this year?”

Answers on page 57

Answers on page 57

Thanks to Peter Davies of London for this week’s questions. Please send your puzzles to keenebrain@aol.com. All readers who have contributed to this column receive a special mention.

Answers on page 57

Bridge Andrew Robson

60 saturday review

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

For more crosswords and your favourite puzzles go to thetimes.co.uk/puzzles Jumbo crossword No 1114 Cryptic clues Across 1 Is this a fan o’ change? (11) 7 A celebrity duke is engaged in sexual activity, being corrupted (11) 13 Is male at the back of pub repeatedly showing uncivilised behaviour? (9) 14 Say a cart will return to make use of enclosed space (7) 15 A name not allowed by the Holy See to be prophetic (5) 16 Those flying across Ireland have a final word (6) 17 Do away with a barrier, allowing brother in (8) 18 Fly, but not a tiny arachnid or insect (7) 20 Each year one may have minutes to look back at (6,7,7) 23 Agony little Edward described (7) 24 English female and twin put paid to one educated Arab? (7) 26 Part of the nervous system that could refer to naps? Yes (7) 28 Youngsters to go out of control, first to last (4) 29 Opinionated man who is unpleasant and dull in charge (8) 32 Free love’s onset I lambasted (9) 35 Holy person soon has Greek character brought in for support (9) 36 Stride around hospital before work and chat about job to be done? (4,4) 37 Vessel: drink a little drunkenly? (4) 39 Fish shows a vivacity — the minnow finally caught (7) 41 Rejected acts as we might deduce? (4-3) 44 Churchill’s name for a philosopher? (7) 45 A god afar stirred with fervent anger — one charged up? (3,2,6,9) 49 Charm conveyed by French anthem (7) 50 Day’s beginning with wet weather — then there’s time for this? (8) 51 Maybe watch a tenacious person losing head (6) 53 Country fellow possessing nothing is a jerk (5) 54 Financial expert? Someone keeping records, we hear (7) 55 Target man roughly She might! (9) 56 Time to tear crossword compiler apart as a hip innovator? (11) 57 Cryptic career’d be OK for me (4-7)

1

Down 1 Super Scot possibly being cautious (6) 2 Explorer with badly scarred fair skin (3,7,5) 3 A quiet dean going wrong, not up to the job (10) 4 Green revolution of some defiance (4) 5 Note book always turning up at bottom of house (9) 6 An era long gone enthrals maiden still (3,4) 7 Regenerated rubbish no bargain (4-5) 8 Car with its roof off, say (5) 9 Expertise of a department head (9) 10 Distracting report of events in log (12) 11 Feeling furious, not keeping quiet in session? (7) 12 Rule in downturn, as seen to be lacking (6) 19 Plants making a dog ill, I fancy (8) 21 Armour on man with a wicked wife in tights (7) 22 Iron box containing fifty diamonds and common mineral (8) 23 King is kept in touch, having a knight in the country (8) 25 Goddesses put a female in a spin (5) 27 Regress, as the UK does towards the end of October (3,3,5,4) 30 Soldiers care about a personal threat (7) 31 Almost die having egg and fruit (5) 33 Address for man in US engaging gangster in support (8) 34 Full of excitement as attractions will appear to be (6-6) 38 Top expert had finally turned up to open very good gallery (10) 40 Result when smooth troublemaker gets hold of union (9) 42 Good arguer to shut up, philosopher interrupted by wife (3,6) 43 Little man carrying cube to be transported (9) 45 Report of holiday noted anti-disease measure (7) 46 Loud caper centred round a zealot (7) 47 Cardinal’s profound dislike when halves are switched (3,3) 48 Hole in old car beginning to rust (6) 50 First of drawings artist put on paper? (5) 52 Butler of yesteryear beginning with cold food (4)

2

3

4

5

13

6

7

8

9

10

14

16

11

12

15

17

18

19 20

21 22

23

24

28

29

25

30

26

31

32

27

33

34 35

36

37 38

39

40

41

45

42

43

44

46

47

48

49

50

51 52

53

54

55

56

57

Name......................................................................................................... Prizes Address..................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................... ............................................................ Postcode.....................................

Phone number......................................................................................

The prize for each of the first correct solutions to the Cryptic and times2 Jumbo clues to be opened will be a collection of Times reference books — including The Times Universal Atlas of the World, Collins English Dictionary & Thesaurus, and Bradford’s Crossword Solver’s Dictionary published by HarperCollins — worth £110. Entries should be marked “Cryptic” or “times2” and sent to: Jumbo 1114, The Times, 1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF, to arrive

by October 23. The winners and the solutions will be published on October 25.

Quick clues Across 1 Sensible middle course (5,6) 7 Cloth strips of some ecclesiastical dress (6,5) 13 Rash, lacking discretion (9) 14 Second city of Ukraine (I, not O) (7) 15 Legally mature (2,3) 16 Vitality (6) 17 Removed (chaff) from grain (8) 18 Fairground attraction (7) 20 Benefit from both alternatives (4,4,4,3,3,2) 23 Cartoon book Gaul (7) 24 Charlie —, comedian (7) 26 Promoters of activity (7) 28 Gentle, submissive (4) 29 Port of Eastern Mexico (8) 32 Rare, exotic, obscure (9) 35 Iridescent tropical fish (4,5) 36 Later form of Marxism (8) 37 Bullets, shells, etc (4) 39 Small county (7) 41 Rotate (one’s thumbs) (7)

44 45 49 50

Mosque tower (7) Correct a false impression (3,3,6,8) Clap (a performance) (7) Without responsibility or anxiety (8) 51 Verse (6) 53 Calcium carbonate (5) 54 Pus-filled cavity (7) 55 Side of a building; height (9) 56 Appear suitable (4,3,4) 57 Of thin material or build (11) Down 1 Young cow (6) 2 Narrowly beaten (6,2,3,4) 3 Variety of bramble; grey, no ruby (anagram) (10) 4 Biblical paradise (4) 5 Essential (9) 6 Virginia —, actress (Born Free) (7) 7 Toothed disc (9) 8 Unclothed (5) 9 Intense depth (of colour) (9) 10 Gory (12) 11 Most close (7)

12 19 21 22 23 25 27 30 31 33 34 38 40 42 43 45 46 47 48 50 52

Russian enemies of James Bond (6) Lacking skill (8) Like wrinkle-free materials (3-4) Distance marker (8) With limbs linked (3,2,3) Month (5) Unable to grasp or understand (something) (15) Device for connecting multiple plugs (O, not E) (7) Divided into regions (5) Fine soft wool (8) Restraining garment (12) Slowly and secretly gain access to (an organisation) (10) Lose a lot of water (9) Wrong (9) Seasonal gift (6,3) Female voice (7) The turning down of a request (7) Mischievous child (6) Decorative variety of wood (6) Rib or rib-like structure (5) Encounter (4)

62

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

World

Four more graves found in hunt for students murdered by police Mexico

James Hider Latin America Correspondent

Investigators searching for 43 Mexican students allegedly abducted by police in the pay of a drug cartel have discovered four more mass graves believed to contain the remains of some of the missing youths.

Federal prosecutors have arrested dozens of officers from the southern town of Iguala as well as a number of members of the local crime gang, the Guerreros Unidos, who are suspected of having close links to the police force.

Two of the gang members had already confessed to murdering 17 of the students and they led police to a mass grave close to the town containing 28 badly burnt bodies.

The attorney-general, Jesús Murillo

Karam, said that four more suspects then led the investigators to four further pits, not far from the first.

He said that the number of bodies they contained had not yet been established. “They say there are remains of students,” Mr Murillo Karam said. He added that some of the new bodies appeared to have been burnt, too.

A total of 34 people have been arrested for the killings — most of them local police.

Forensic scientists are carrying out DNA tests of the first batch of corpses to see if they include any of the students, who were from a teachertraining college and had been loaded into police vans after a demonstration three weeks ago against discriminatory hiring practices.

Local police and gunmen opened fire at the demonstration, apparently con-

JASON DE CAIRES TAYLOR / BARCROFT

cerned that the protesters might threaten the mayor’s wife, who was making a public appearance near by. They shot dead six people. Security cameras show students being forced into police vehicles before vanishing.

The mayor of Iguala and his wife are now on the run after it emerged that three of her brothers were highranking members of drug gangs. The town’s director of public security is also on the run.

Even in a country as inured to violence as Mexico, the wanton killing of the students — and the fact that the town appeared to be under the sway of a drug gang — has provoked widespread public outrage. Tens of thousands of people have marched in Guerrero state, where the crimes occurred, as well as in the capital, Mexico City.

Charging by the laugh? You must be joking Spain

Graham Keeley Madrid

You pay dearly for a ticket to see a comic everyone is raving about and go home at the end of the night disappointed.

Now, a comedy club in Barcelona has hit on a solution by charging per laugh, instead of for the show. The Teatreneu theatre has installed tablet computers on the back of its seats, equipped with

facial recognition software that knows when the customer in the seat behind laughs. Bursts of merriment are counted and billed at 30 centimos (£0.24).

If comedians hit the funny bone, then the theatre has the last laugh because it makes more money, though if all the jokes fall flat, it is out of pocket. The giggle meter stops at 80 laughs, about €24 (£18) worth, with further giggles free. So far the results have been impressive.

Audiences are up 35 per cent since the scheme started in April and the average take per customer has risen by €6. The performers are still paid a flat fee.

Other clubs are adopting the system, but Chris Groves, a Briton on the comedy circuit in Barcelona, is not amused. “I can just imagine people trying not to laugh to save money, especially in Catalonia where they have a reputation for being a bit tight,” he said.

Reef encounter A five-metre sculpture of a girl holding up the roof of the sea by the British artist Jason deCaires Taylor will be a home for wildlife in the Bahamas

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

63

FGM

World

Indians can check if officials are shirking India

Robin Pagnamenta Mumbai

They are known as notoriously tardy workers, spending long hours on the golf course and at lunch rather than behind their desks.

Now, in an effort to force 100,000 civil servants back to work, the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, has initiated arguably the world’s most intrusive employee surveillance scheme, allowing the entire country to check when they turn up to the office.

The biometric monitoring system enables members of the public to keep minute-by-minute tabs on them using the website www.attendance.gov.in The home page of the site, which Mr Modi ordered to be installed in July and which has now gone live, displays a real time chart showing how many bureaucrats are at work. Viewers can search for individuals by name and scrutinise the times they arrive and leave.

The civil servants clock in to work by scanning their fingerprints at the entrance to the office. Senior officials may use a dedicated device next to their

work station. Shefali Sushil Dash, of India’s National Informatics Centre, said that 148 central government organisations in Delhi were using the system and the government wanted to extend it nationwide. “That will be in Phase II,” she said. “It’s part of the Digital India programme.”

Suhaib Ilyasi, editor of Bureaucracy Today, said: “The senior officers think it’s good, although the lower-ranking staff are not so keen.”

Mr Modi has spent much of his first four months in power trying to shake up India’s notoriously inefficient and corrupt bureaucracy. Last month he ordered millions of clerical staff to go to work on Gandhi’s birthday — a national holiday — to clean toilets and participate in the launch of his new Clean India campaign.

A memorandum was also issued demanding that all civil servants be at their desks by 9am and until 5.30pm, with a half-hour break for lunch. There have been widespread rumors that his staff have been ordered to compile lists of bureaucrats who play at the Delhi Golf Club during work hours.

Vigilantes castrate man after sex attack Robin Pagnamenta

A man was castrated by an angry mob wielding a meat cleaver after he was allegedly caught attempting to rape a teenage girl.

Suresh Kumar, 40, was dragged into a butcher’s shop and beaten with sticks by a group of men for about an hour. They had found him pinning the screaming girl against a wall in Ganganagar, a town in India’s northwestern state of Rajasthan.

His testicles were thrown into the road and he was left bleeding and surrounded by a jeering crowd until police arrived.

Pictures from the scene

show a naked man covered in blood and bruises.

Mr Kumar was taken to hospital in a critical condition and police said they were appealing for the men who assaulted him to turn themselves in.

“Law and order has to be maintained and not lynch justice,” a police spokesman said.

Anger over frequent sexual attacks on women in India has fuelled resentment of weak policing and brought calls for tougher sentences.

Vigilante justice claimed the life of one man earlier this year after he was accused of raping and hanging a seven-year-old girl.

CHIANG YING-YING / AP

All together now Dancers gave a colourful display yesterday during National Day celebrations in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan

Kim nowhere to be seen on party anniversary North Korea

Leo Lewis Beijing

North and South Korea exchanged gunfire across their land border yesterday, while the absence of Kim Jong-un from a key event renewed speculation over the health and whereabouts of the North’s despotic young ruler. The gun-

shots, which are not thought to have caused any casualties, began shortly after activists released balloons bearing 200,000 pamphlets into the North.

The action was timed to coincide with the 69th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean Workers’ Party — a day of immense significance to the reclusive, Stalinist regime. Kim did not

attend a memorial service in Pyongyang yesterday and has not been seen in public since September 3. His burgeoning weight, visible limp and a recent comment in state media that he was suffering “discomfort” have prompted speculation that his ailments may be life-threatening. Others think he may simply have gout or a broken ankle.

64

FGM

World AFP / GETTY IMAGES

Beijing faces humiliation in the smog

W

hen Brazil’s national football team returned from training last night they found autographhunters, screaming girls — and smog so intense it was noticeable inside the lobby of their Beijing hotel (Leo Lewis writes).

The team, which has a £280 million insurance value and includes Neymar Jr, Kaka and David Luiz, has already inhaled deeply the worst the city has to offer before its match against the World Cup finalists Argentina today.

Until kick-off at 8pm both squads have been ordered to shelter in their hotels from pollution that has forced many Beijingers to wear face masks. What was meant to be a showcase highlighting Beijing’s ability to host a match between two of the world’s greatest teams is threatening to be a national embarrassment.

Brazilian journalists, doctors and the players themselves are openly questioning the wisdom of competitive football in air

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

Hong Kong protesters back on street Hong Kong

Leo Lewis Beijing

Smog shrouds Beijing’s national stadium ahead of today’s match between Brazil and Argentina. Below, Argentinian Lionel Messi

so toxic that children and the elderly are being told to stay indoors and where the official recommendation to the public is that Beijing is currently “not suitable for outdoor sports”.

Should it proceed, as officials insist it will, in front of a crowd of 80,000 in the Bird’s Nest stadium, the match will be played in air with pollutant levels about 20 times higher than the limit recommended by the World Health Organisation. At its worst

yesterday, the air quality index hit a 12-month high of 469: the WHO warns of health dangers of 24-hour exposure to anything exceeding 25.

However, pressure to go ahead is coming not just from fans, who have paid up to £300 for a ticket, but from the sponsors — a list that includes a Chinese mobile phone maker, Gillette razors and a home air purification company.

“It is really difficult for me. I have payed 2,000 yuan

[£200] for a ticket to the game, so I really, really want to see Brazil play,” said one fan. “But this could do big damage to the players’ lungs. It is very embarrassing.”

The embarrassment has a political edge.

For three days the pollution in Beijing has been awful, but the city has remained on orange alert — the second-highest level.

In reality, say experts,

the three-day run should have ha triggered a red alert, but officials remain reluctant to admit they cannot protect Beijing’s citizens from these “airpocalypses”. The public is increasingly aware that behind the pollution are systemic problems pr for which the government can be blamed, despite vows of a “war on pollution” which “w have so far made only a ha small difference.

The streets of Hong Kong were once again transformed by a mass rally of more than 10,000 people last night as the public piled in from across the city to protect student protesters.

The surge of people to the Admiralty area, many of them bringing tents in preparation for a weekend on the streets, followed pleas for support by organisers of a protest that had begun to flag as it approached its third week.

Indignation that Beijing has not offered Hong Kong fully free democratic elections was fuelled by disappointment at the decision of the Hong Kong government to cancel talks planned for yesterday aimed at defusing the crisis.

The highest ranks of the Communist party in Beijing are known to be rattled by the protests and have engineered a massive censorship drive to “purify” the internet of discussions about them.

During a visit to Berlin yesterday, the Chinese prime minister, Li Keqiang, tried to convince his audience that Hong Kongers would continue to enjoy a “high degree of autonomy”.

The two largest thoroughfares in Hong Kong, Asia’s biggest financial hub, have been closed for a fortnight, but the barricades had been defended by a decreasing number of activists. By Thursday night, their numbers had fallen into the low hundreds.

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

The French are failing us Osborne attacks lack of discipline Page 68

65

FGM

Black gold loses lucre

Business

What to do when oil price falls Tempus, page 73

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Microsoft boss in need of reboot business commentary Andrew Clark

S

porting a baggy T-shirt, a hooded sweatshirt and bottle-thick glasses, Microsoft’s 47-year-old boss perfected nerdy teenage shabby chic at an Arizona conference on women in computing.

Unfortunately, his attitude, too, channelled youths who spend too much time staring at flickering screens in airless rooms.

Women, declared Satya Nadella, shouldn’t ask for pay rises (report, page 50). Instead, they should have faith that the system will reward them in the long term. Such restraint, Mr Nadella conceded, requires superhuman self-control.

However, women who adopt this approach will acquire positive “karma” in the eyes of their bosses.

“Somebody’s going to know that’s the kind of person that I want to trust; that’s the kind of person that I want to really give more responsibility to,” preached the Indian-born tycoon who, incidentally, is on up to $18 million.

Only 29 per cent of Microsoft’s workforce is female, and 17 per cent of its senior executives are women — an imbalance all too common in Silicon Valley, which is almost as male as a Saudi oilrig. This isn’t a legacy issue dating back to less enlightened times; even new kids on the block such as Twitter and Facebook employ a paltry proportion of women.

In fairness, Mr Nadella swiftly apologised and admitted that his remarks were “completely wrong”.

But they reinforce a perception that software engineers tend to form a uniformly laddish community which can only be accessed by women happy to keep quiet and fit in.

Ambassadorial skills are a key part of running an organisation of Microsoft’s size and Mr Nadella needs to think more carefully, in future, before placing foot in mouth.

Cable is all froth

P

recisely a year ago, Moya Greene, the Royal Mail’s boss, climbed up to the balcony of the London Stock Exchange to receive a ceremonial cut-glass brick on the morning of the company’s £3.3 billion flotation. Ever since, Vince Cable has been praying for the stock to fall.

Humiliatingly for the business secretary, Royal Mail’s shares rocketed from 330p to 616p in their first three months, prompting howls of anguish: the government generated £1.98 billion from the sale but could have collected £3 billion if the offer price had been higher.

The stock has since stabilised at 398p, but not before the National Audit Office attacked the “deep caution” in the flotation.

According to the government, the early “froth” has come off Royal Mail’s shares, bringing them down to a realistic price. In truth, that

early surge was more than froth: it was relief that a national postal strike had been averted, a broader stock market rally on resolution of a government shutdown in the US and a conviction that the company’s parcels business was healthy.

Since then, the outlook has clouded: Royal Mail has cut prices for smaller packages because of fierce competition, profit forecasts have been shaved and a competition investigation is under way in France.

Investors who hung on are still sitting on a tidy profit. But Mr Cable’s valuation skills, not to mention those of his advisers, Goldman Sachs and UBS, are a matter of mockery in the City. A career change to stockbroking is off the table — and you wouldn’t want Vince to make you a coffee either, given his generous view of froth.

Feel-good story

T

he dusty world of publishing has blown off its cobwebs for a marketing blitz. Unsuspecting shoppers are getting the hard sell on Tracey Emin-designed tote bags, while authors are tweeting selfies at their favourite bookshops.

It’s all around Super Thursday — a confected phenomenon by which hundreds of Christmas titles, ranging from John Cleese’s memoir to Paul Hollywood’s latest baking tome, go on sale simultaneously.

After a dreadful decade, booksellers claim that things are looking up. They have a point: Nielsen figures show that in the year to September, book sales only fell 2 per cent, compared with an 8.5 per cent drop the preceding year.

And in the week to October 4, sales rose by 0.4 per cent.

Migration from bookshops to online sellers appears to be peaking — no surprise, then, that Amazon is suddenly opening a New York shop.

Time for quick exit

A

quick question for Tesco: why is Philip Clarke still on your payroll? The former chief executive was axed in July when the supermarket belched up a profit warning. Yet he is being kept on his £1.15 million salary until January to “support the transition” to his successor, Dave Lewis.

To put it mildly, Mr Clarke was a hapless chief. Not only did he preside over Tesco’s sharpest drop in sales for 20 years, he alienated senior figures around him. Not to mention a £250 million accounting scandal that unfolded on his watch.

Tesco’s new boss, who put the kibosh on a Margate superstore yesterday, knows his own mind. It seems outlandish that he needs the costly counsel of his discredited predecessor for “transitional” advice. andrew.clark@thetimes.co.uk

Adele’s repeat success keeps label on song

I

t is three and a half years since Adele’s album 21 was released, but it is still paying off for the record label that backed her (Nic Fildes

writes). XL Recordings, jowned by Richard Russell and Beggars Group, shared a £12 million dividend last year purely on back catalogue sales,

according to the label’s accounts. Mr Russell and Beggars Group warned that profit would fall this year, with no new Adele album due for release.

Challenger bank’s float may be sunk Harry Wilson, Patrick Hosking Deirdre Hipwell

Aldermore is facing the embarrassing prospect of being forced to slash the price of its stock market listing or cancel the deal as investors shun the private equity-backed challenger bank’s flotation amid a collapse in equities.

Advisers to Aldermore are making efforts to save the initial public offering (IPO) with bankers and the company’s management attempting to persuade American investors to back the flotation after getting a frosty reception from European funds.

At the forefront of investors’ minds has been the fall in the FTSE 100, with Britain’s blue-chip index down by 6.5 per cent since Aldermore announced its float on September 22. Yesterday the FTSE closed at 6,334, down 1.4 per cent.

In the past three weeks as investor concerns have grown over the ebola outbreak, geopolitical worries and falling oil prices, a number of companies have had to pull their floats. Miller Homes, the Edinburgh-based housebuilder, cancelled its IPO, citing recent financial volatility.

Spie, the French energy services group, withdrew its float, which would have been France’s biggest listing since the crisis, on Thursday. Germany’s

property company TLG Immobilie and Scout24, an online classified company, have postponed listings.

One institutional fund manager at a major UK investor said that selling shares in challenger banks in present market conditions was “a hard sell” and said it had decided against investing in Aldermore unless it reduced the price.

The bank is offering its shares at between 217p and 265p, potentially valuing the business at £875 million.

AnaCap Financial Partners, the bank’s

Inside today

World equity markets suffer week of turmoil Page 67

private equity backer, is hoping to use the float to cut its more than 50 per cent stake, while Philip Monks, the lender’s chief executive, and other senior managers are expected to sell some shares.

Three City sources said even the bottom of the range price has proved too high for some London-based funds and the price may have to be cut.

Some investors said they had indicated that they were willing to buy only at a maximum valuation of 1.5 times Aldermore’s total book value. However,

the lowest price offered values the bank on a multiple of 1.6 times book, too high for some fund managers.

Unless demand improves and Aldermore and its backers are able to persuade other investors to back the deal, advisers face having to cut the price or pull the offer.

Source close to the deal said there had been no talk of either option and pointed out there was a week to go until the shares were due to be priced.

Several investors have yet to indicate whether they would buy the shares, meaning that a deal could still be completed within the present price range.

The float is being closely watched by other challenger banks with plans to list. In particular, Virgin Money, which confirmed this month its plans for an IPO, will want market conditions to improve before formally launching its £2 billion stock market listing.

Virgin is understood to be looking for a valuation of a minimum of 1.4 times its book value, but initial feedback from some investors has suggested that this could be difficult to achieve.

Another bank understood to be following developments is Shawbrook Bank, which is backed by the private equity fund of Royal Bank of Scotland and chaired by Sir George Mathewson, a former chairman of RBS. Aldermore declined to comment.

66

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

FGM

Business

Need to know Your 5-minute digest Trade deficit: The UK’s deficit on trade in goods and services was estimated to have narrowed to £1.9 billion in August, compared with £3.1 billion in July, according to the Office for National Statistics. There was a deficit of £9.1 billion on goods partly offset by an estimated surplus of £7.2 billion on services. The main factor behind the deficit narrowing, however, was not an increase in exports but a large fall in imports from nonEU countries. The overall value of goods and services exports fell by 1.7 per cent in August, while imports were down 4.2 per cent.

Construction sector: Output in the construction industry was estimated to have fallen by 3.9 per cent in August compared with July, according to the Office for National Statistics, as the frenzied demand for homes in the past year started to cool on the back of stricter lending rules and the prospect of an interest rate rise. Analysts had expected a monthly rise of 0.5 per cent.

Page 69

banking & finance 0.79% Aldermore: The challenger bank is facing the prospect of having to slash the price of its stock market listing or cancel the deal as investors shun the private equity-backed bank’s flotation amid a collapse in equities. Advisers to Aldermore are making efforts to save the initial public offering with bankers and the company’s management attempting to persuade US investors to back the flotation after getting a frosty reception from European funds. At the forefront of investors’ minds has been the fall in the FTSE 100 since the float was launched. Page 65 Forex trading: Six of the world’s largest banks are set to admit failures in the way they ran their global foreign exchange trading businesses as part of a settlement with the City regulator that is expected to cost them more than £1 billion in total. Barclays, HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland, along with their American rivals JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup, and Switzerland’s UBS, are set to agree to fines totalling as much as £1.5 billion before the end of next month as they become the first banks to admit their involvement in alleged attempt to rig the trading in major currencies. Page 68 Stock markets: Leading exchanges were rocked by a week of volatile lurches, with indices in London and Frankfurt hitting their lowest point this year, weeks after touching all-time highs.

Against a backdrop of unease, with ebola and Islamic State dominating news bulletins, it was bleak data from Germany and China that delivered the telling blows. The FTSE 100 closed down 92 points at 6,340

— just over a month ago it was 52 points from an all-time high. The Dax in Frankfurt followed the same path. The Vix measure of volatility — Wall Street’s fear index — rose to its highest since February.

Page 67

construction & property 2.24% Balfour Beatty: The future of the company has been thrown into confusion after a leading City stockbroker said that investors should block the £820 million sale of Parsons Brinckerhoff. Weeks of a plunging share price left Balfour, having rebuffed a £3 billion merger with rival Carillion, down 3¾p last night at an 11-year low of 152p, and analysts at Jefferies International are advising investors to block the sale. The Balfour-Carillion merger collapsed in August because Steve Marshall, the Balfour chairman, insisted that his white collar project management division should be sold. Page 68

health 0.90% Oxford BioMedica: The biotechnology company has struck a deal worth up to $90 million with Novartis to collaborate on cancer treatments using LentiVector, its gene delivery system. Under the tie-up, the Swiss drugs company is buying a 2.8 per cent stake in Oxford BioMedica and will pay $14 million upfront. The two groups will collaborate on cancer research.

Optos: Profits at the developer of eye-scanning devices are likely to be slightly above market consensus, the company said. During the year it has added 1,500 customers and net debt has fallen from $39 million to $12 million. The shares fell ¼p to 204p.

leisure 0.99% D&D London: The former Conran Restaurants group reported an 18 per cent jump in underlying earnings to £8.4 million in the year to April, from turnover up 18 per cent to £93.1 million, thanks to like-for-like sales growth of 5 per cent and the launch of ventures including South Place Hotel and the Old Bengal Warehouse in London and Crafthouse and Angelica restaurants in Leeds.

Rank Group: Mark Jones, the head of the gaming operator’s Mecca Bingo chain for the past five years, is to switch to managing director of its Grosvenor Casinos division.

He replaces Phil Urban, who is returning to the pubrestaurant sector as chief operating officer of Mitchells & Butlers.

Gibraltar Betting & Gaming Association: A High Court judge dismissed the trade body’s judicial review of new

laws creating a regulatory regime for offshore operators targeting British punters.

media 0.98% TV Merger : A production giant with the rights to some of the world’s most popular shows, including MasterChef, Big Brother and American Idol, will be created by 21st Century Fox and Apollo Global Management. The linking of Shine, owned by 21st Century Fox, with Endemol and Core Media, controlled by Apollo, will establish “one of the most innovative and diverse content creators” in the entertainment industry, Aaron Stone, a senior partner at Apollo, said. Page 68

natural resources 2.90% London Mining: The combined impact of a flood of cheap Australian iron ore and the ebola virus have pushed the company to the wall. The Sierra Leone-focused miner has said that it would not be able to continue as a going concern but that it was in talks with a potential saviour for its Marampa mine. London Mining and UK-listed peers such as African Minerals and Sable Mining, are in severe distress because of the crash in the price of iron ore and investors’ fears over the ebola outbreak. Page 73

professional & support services 0.79% Lady Bracewell-Smith: one of Britain’s richest women has accused Sir David Barclay, who owns the Telegraph group, of “forcefully” demanding money from her during a commercial dispute involving his son, Alistair Barclay. Lady Bracewell-Smith, a former non-executive of Arsenal football club, claims that the media tycoon contacted her last year “to demand, in forceful terms, that she pay Mr [Alistair] Barclay a substantial sum of money” for business services that his son allegedly provided her. The allegation has emerged as Lady Bracewell-Smith hit out at the Barclay family in a dispute that has reached the High Court.

The disagreement involves the sale of Lady Bracewell-Smith’s near 16 per cent stake in Arsenal Football Club for £116 million in 2011 and her subsequent move to Monaco to avoid paying £34 million of capital gains tax. Page 71

retailing 0.81% Tesco: The supermarket group has scrapped a proposed seafront superstore in Margate in the highest profile scheme yet to be axed by the company’s new chief executive.

Dave Lewis has abandoned a contentious plan for an 82,000 sq ft store alongside the Kent resort’s defunct Dreamland

World markets FTSE 100 6,339.97 (-91.88)

6,650

FTSE 250 14,641.58 (-169.75)

15,600

6,550

15,200

6,450

14,800

6,350

Tue

Wed

6,250

Fri

Thu

Dow Jones (midday) 16,675.02 (+15.77) 17,200

Tue

Wed

Thu

14,400

Fri

Nikkei 15,300.55 (-178.38)

16,150

17,000

15,900

16,800

15,650 15,400

16,600

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

16,400

Tue

Wed

Thu

15,150

Fri

Commodities Gold $1,222.35 (-2.13)

Tue

Wed

$ 1,240

Thu

Fri

Brent Crude $90.36 (-0.24)

$ 96

1,220

94

1,200

92

1,180

90

1,160

Tue

Wed

Thu

88

Fri

Currencies £/$ $1.6046 (-0.0076)

$ 1.640

£/€ €1.2699 (-0.0025)

¤ 1.295

1.620

1.280

1.600

1.265

1.580

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

1.560

Tue

Wed

Thu

1.250

Fri

Quote of the week

‘Marc Andreessen has screwed more people than Casanova’ Carl Icahn, right, the activist investor, speaking about the co-founder of Netscape and board member at eBay

Graph of the day Combined profits at Britain’s “Big Six” energy companies dropped 21 per cent last year to £2.8 billion, according to Ofgem. During the past five years EDF, British Gas, SSE, Scottish Power, E.On and npower have made a combined £16.5 billion of earnings before interest and tax. Ofgem said that the companies were on track to make about £102 profit per household this year, compared with £48 last year.

Profits of the large energy companies Generation Domestic Non-domestic supply supply 854 569 221 2,311

568

410

681

1,190

2,408 2,010

3,500 3,000 1,133

1,951

2,500 2,000 1,500

1,240

1,000 500

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

0

The day’s biggest movers Company Telecom Plus Records higher profits esure Prices for car insurance are stabilising Persimmon Bargain hunting RSA Insurance Encouraging news on premiums Travis Perkins Further consideration of bullish research TUI Travel Continuing ebola worries CSR A profit warning from its US suitor Ladbrokes An adverse High Court ruling Vedanta Resources A mixed production update Tullow Oil More drilling disappointment

Microsoft: The recently appointed chief executive has been forced to apologise after he told a conference that women should not ask their employers for a pay rise because it caused “bad karma” in the workplace. Satya Nadella, who took over as chief executive this year, made the comments at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing event held in Phoenix, Arizona. About 8,000 delegates, mostly women, have attended the conference, which aims to raise awareness of the growing gender gap in the technology sector. Page 70 Amazon: The online trader’s decision to open a bricks and mortar store in New York should be no surprise, analysts said. The move to set up opposite the Empire State Building and near Macy’s, the department store, is rumoured to be testing the ground for how Amazon’s business model could work in a more traditional setting. If successful, it could expand to other locations. Page 70

transport 0.90%

£m 4,000

423

769

theme park. The decision comes months after Tesco emerged victorious from a costly five-year planning battle. Page 70 American Apparel: The US fashion retailer known for its risqué advertising is poised to close five of its stores in Britain, including its main shop in Covent Garden, central London, according to reports.

The fashion group, which is struggling to repair its finances, has hired the property specialists Kitchen La Frenais Morgan to auction off stores in Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Nottingham and London, Property Week says.

technology 3.40%

Source: Ofgem

economics

Change 6.9% 3.6% 1.2% 0.4% 0.3% -3.7% -6.4% -6.7% -7.7% -7.9%

FirstGroup: The Department for Transport has said that it expects to grant an extension to 2019 on the Great Western train operation between London Paddington and South Wales and the West Country to FirstGroup, the company that has operated the network since privatisation. The decision boosts FirstGroup’s position on the railways, where it has been Britain’s biggest operator. Page 68

utilities 1.29% Electricity prices: Britain’s Big Six gas and electricity companies face fresh pressure to cut tariffs as Ofgem said that falling wholesale energy prices meant that they could afford to lower household energy bills. Figures from the regulator suggest that the companies are on course to make £102 profit per household over the coming year compared with £48 in 2013, assuming normal weather and no change in tariffs.

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

67

FGM

Business The yoyo effect

Rebased to 100, this week

Dow Jones, FTSE and Dax compared Rebased to 100, year to date

Wed First ebola case outside West Africa, in Spain

Dow Jones

105 104

Thurs am Rise on back of Fed interest rate promise Fri Ebola restrictions hit airlines, travel companies

103 Mon Optimism as Hong Kong demonstrations peter out

102 101 100 99

Tues Shock 4% decline in Germany’s industrial production

98 FTSE 100

97 96

99 98 97

Thurs pm Weakest German export figures since 2009

96 95

95

Mon

94 93 92

100

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Dax Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct e s e r ve

106

Market volatility index Rebased to 100, year to date

, IM F m ana

gi n

g

al B a n k

rd e

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

es

a

n

i,

pr

80

Ce

gh

90

70

F

ntr

ga

M a r i o D ra

100

he

di

ne

La

110

r wo m a n of t

re

sti

120

hai

cto

r

C h ri

130

,c

ed

l

en

140

er

el tY

150

al R

Jane

160

id e

n t o f t h e E u ro

pe

Oct

Five days that rocked the markets Marcus Leroux, Gary Parkinson Martin Waller

It was the week that markets finally sobered up: if not quite Black Wednesday, then certainly Grey October.

Leading stock markets were rocked by a week of volatile lurches, with indices in London and Frankfurt hitting their lowest point this year, weeks after touching all-time highs. Against a backdrop of unease, with ebola and Islamic State dominating news bulletins, it was bleak data from Germany and China that delivered the telling blows.

The FTSE 100 closed down 92 points at 6,340 — just over a month ago it was 52 points away from an all-time high at 6,877. The DAX in Frankfurt followed the same trajectory. With every jolt it became increasingly clear that marketwatchers could agree only on a rising level of uncertainty.

The Vix measure of volatility, known as Wall Street’s fear index, rose to its highest since February. Dan Greenhaus, chief strategist at BTIG, a New York brokerage, wrote in a note to clients: “We’ll say this again unequivocally — the tone contained in client conversations has shifted meaningfully. What was once an assumed march higher for stock prices is now a (nearly) assumed march lower. Sentiment has done a 180.”

The litany of negative news began on Tuesday with a surprising 4 per cent decline in Germany’s industrial production. The sell-off in London continued on Wednesday Albert Edwards told investors this week: “run for your lives”

and Thursday, overwhelming shortterm relief on Wall Street that the Federal Reserve would not raise rates before the American economy hits unemployment targets. A slide in German exports, and concerns over the impact of measures to contain ebola hammered stocks again yesterday.

The IMF downgraded its growth forecasts for Germany, France and Italy, the eurozone’s biggest economies, just a few days after the World Bank downgraded China’s growth.

If confirmation were needed of a slowdown in global growth, the price of oil hit a four-year low of $88.11 a barrel in Asian trading hours before rallying to $90.21.

With the collapse of optimism came a rising level of panic. In the US, the S&P 500 had gone 60 consecutive days without moving more than 1 per cent — its steadiest run since 1995. At the closing bell on Thursday, it had breached 1 per cent, either up or down, on six of the previous 11 days. Michael Saunders, chief UK economist at Citigroup, said that the market’s jitters appeared to be well founded.

“The markets are recognising that the growth outlook is weaker globally. I don’t think the markets have been late on this — the evidence of weakness is coming through now, not three or six months ago. The data is getting worse and the prospects are getting

A perfect storm for the jitters Analysis Jim Reid

I

t has been a nervous week for financial markets as investors fret about global growth and monetary policy in the United States and Europe. So what has accelerated the move?

First, this period was always shaping up to be a test as October marks the end of US quantitative easing.

For two years the Federal Reserve has provided huge extra liquidity to financial markets, but last month it became more aggressive as to the timing and scale of rate rises as it sought to normalise policy. Unfortunately, the hint of tighter US monetary policy has coincided with a slip in global growth, especially in Europe, creating a perfect storm.

The European

Central Bank didn’t help by pulling back from offering markets hope that it was ready to start its own liquidity surge.

Disagreements among council members seem to indicate that we’re not there yet, and with the Fed pulling back, a liquidity black hole is feared.

Data this week painted a worrying picture for Europe, especially as weakness seems to be spreading into Germany. Deflation fears are also heightening, not good if debt is at record levels. The IMF has downgraded its global growth estimates and the price of oil, often a good gauge of global activity, is down 10 per cent over the past two weeks.

Is this the start of another worrying period for investors?

A lot rests on monetary policy in Europe and the US. The world economy remains fragile, but asset prices have staged a remarkable

recovery based on extraordinary stimulus from the main central banks.

If the ECB can’t find a way to provide extra stimulus, and if the expectations continue that the Fed is keen to normalise rates, then this could be the start of a deeper correction, as economic repair is far from complete.

However, it hasn’t paid to underestimate policymakers in recent years.

If markets revolt, as they are starting to, and data continues to be weak, it is likely that the ECB will be forced to act and the Fed tone down its tightening rhetoric. In a market addicted to liquidity this can still push pain further down the road and provide a sugar rush to financial markets.

As for the UK, domestic conditions possibly point to rate rises soon, but the global picture means that we’re likely to be on hold for a while.

Jim Reid is a strategist at Deutsche Bank

worse,” he said. Brenda Kelly, chief market strategist at IG, said that shares in Britain had further to fall because of the global nature of the FTSE. “The Footsie is so dependent for sales on the rest of the world that it may not yet have hit the floor,” she said.

Some analysts believe, though, that a thoroughly downbeat week provides an opportunity for investors to pick up bargains. The cyclically adjusted priceearnings ratio, a measure of companies’ profitability against their share prices, stands at 15 times, down from a longterm average of 19.7 times.

“We’re not in a stage of irrational exuberance driving the markets. Stocks are not an absolute bargain, but they

are far from expensive,” Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said.

Albert Edwards, the arch-bear at Société Générale, who jokingly told clients to “sell everything and run for your lives” this week, had no truck for such optimism yesterday. “We and a lot of clients see that the Fed has created massive financial asset bubbles — again — and it’s only a matter of time before they burst, but they are forced to keep participating until the end,” he said. Trading screens turned entirely red in London and New York last week.

If Mr Edwards is right they will stay red for some time.

Osborne attacks France, page 68

68

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

Business STEFFAN HILL/BBC

Deal creates global TV powerhouse

A

production giant with rights to shows such as MasterChef, Big Brother and American Idol will be created by 21st Century Fox and Apollo Global Management (Alex Spence writes).

The deal combines Shine, owned by 21st Century Fox, with Endemol and Core Media, run by Apollo.

Shine, which makes Broadchurch, was founded by Elisabeth Murdoch, who sold it to News Corporation, owned by her father, Rupert, for £415 million.

It became part of 21st Century Fox when it split from News Corp, owner of The Times, last year.

As well as Big Brother, Endemol is responsible for The Fall, starring Gillian Anderson, right.

BRITAIN’S LEADING MID-MARKET PRIVATE COMPANIES

?

DEFINITIVE GUIDE TOMORROW

Halt Balfour sell-off, City analyst urges Robert Lea Industrial Editor

Germany is biggest threat to growth, warns Osborne Philip Aldrick

Weak growth in Germany is the greatest cause for concern for both Britain and global recovery, the chancellor has warned as he made a thinly veiled attack on France for failing to deal with its debts.

Germany has been hit by a string of surprisingly weak economic releases this week, raising fears that Europe’s biggest economy is about to tip back into recession after contracting 0.2 per cent in the second quarter.

George Osborne has already warned that a fresh eurozone crisis is the biggest risk to British growth.

Europe’s plight is dominating discussion at the International Monetary Fund’s meetings in Washington, which the chancellor is attending.

Speaking at the fringe of the event yesterday, Mr Osborne said: “We are at a critical moment. Serious clouds are gathering on the horiThe chancellor criticised France over its deficit

zon. The biggest risk to the global economy is the risk of the eurozone falling back into recession and crisis.

“We know about the weakness of other European economies.

Germany has been the exception.

There has been surprisingly weak German data. Let us hope that doesn’t continue.”

The eurozone flatlined in the three months to June and is facing the threat of deflation.

Mr Osborne urged countries to press ahead with austerity and labour market reforms and took issue with the IMF’s central policy proposal to drive economic demand. His objection to the call for governments to borrow more to invest in infrastructure stirred up memories of last year’s battle with the fund, when Olivier Blanchard, the chief economist, pressed Mr Osborne to rein in austerity. “I’m sceptical that there seem to be in all environments certain people who seem to think the answer is more public expenditure.

I question that,”

he said. “When it comes to investment in capital, in infrastructure and the like, I would question whether there is such a thing as a free lunch. I know it is a fashionable theory, often from the people who just want to spend more money in all circumstances. Things have to be paid for.”

The chancellor reinforced his position on debt-fuelled spending with a veiled criticism of France, which wants two more years to get its budget deficit below the 3 per cent limit imposed by the eurozone’s fiscal compact. “You need credible fiscal plans. We have set out our credible fiscal plans and we have held to them,” he said. “I think on the continent of Europe there are countries that need to demonstrate fiscal credibility.”

In a direct attack on France, which is running a 4.4 per cent budget deficit and is on track to have been above the 3 per cent ceiling for ten years between 2007 and 2017, he added: “If you created a whole set of rules to demonstrate your budget responsibility and fiscal discipline, you can’t then go breaking the rules at the first test.”

Forex scandal could cost £1.5bn Harry Wilson

Six of the world’s largest banks are set to admit failures in the way they ran their global foreign exchange trading businesses as part of a settlement with the City regulator that is expected to cost them more than £1 billion in total.

Barclays, HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland, along with JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup and UBS, are likely to agree to fines totalling as much as £1.5 billion before the end of next month as they become the first banks to admit involvement in

alleged attempts to rig the trading in major currencies.

A source close to the talks said it was hoped that the settlement with the Financial Conduct Authority could be announced at the same time as deals in the US. Letters sent to the banks are understood to outline the settlement, including the admission that lenders failed to put in place controls to prevent staff manipulating currencies for their own profit.

The findings are similar to those levelled against banks over the rigging of Libor. The fines to be

imposed in the case of manipulating the more than $5 trillion (£3.1 trillion) a day foreign exchange market are expected to be higher than those for Libor.

UBS said last month in a regulatory filing that it expected to pay “material monetary penalties” in connection with foreign exchange manipulation, but gave no indication of the size of any fines.

More than 15 banks are being investigated over the claims. The Serious Fraud Office has said it could charge those it believes to have been involved in the scandal.

Balfour Beatty’s future has been thrown into confusion after a leading City stockbroker said investors should block the £820 million sale of Parsons Brinckerhoff.

After weeks of a plunging share price that left Balfour, having rebuffed a £3 billion merger with rival Carillion, down 3¾p last night at an 11-year low of 152p, analysts at Jefferies International are advising investors to block the sale.

The Balfour-Carillion merger collapsed in August because of the insistence of Steve Marshall, the Balfour chairman, that his white collar project management arm, Parsons Brinckerhoff, should be sold to shore up the group’s pension liabilities, provide working capital and keep shareholders sweet.

However, following another profits warning, no sign of a new chief executive, and Mr Marshall’s announcement that he also wishes to leave, Jefferies is urging shareholders to rethink.

Investors would have been “significantly better off” if the board had recommended the merger, which valued the group at almost twice its market capitalisation, it said. “We would urge shareholders to vote against the sale of the PB cash cow until the underlying health of the group has been established,” Jefferies said.

A Balfour spokesman said: “We have clearly set out our rationale.”

The shareholder circular for the Parsons sale was issued last night.

FirstGroup reverses run of rail losses Robert Lea Industrial Editor

There was some good news at last yesterday for FirstGroup after months of train franchise losses.

The Department for Transport said it expected to grant an extension until 2019 to its franchise to run the Great Western train operation between Paddington, South Wales and the West Country.

On Wednesday the company lost the £6 billion ScotRail franchise, months after it was ditched from running the Caledonian Sleeper from London to Scotland.

Last month it missed out on the London commuter superfranchise Thameslink-Southern and in the summer it failed to gain the Thameside network in Essex.

The extension for FirstGroup, whose shares rose 3½p to 112p, is controversial due to its past poor performance, which led to it being dubbed “Worst Late Western”.

Three years ago it effectively handed back the keys to Great Western to avoid paying £800 million to the Treasury but was still granted an extension until 2016, and now by another three years.

The franchise has been extended because of the backlog resulting from the collapse of the retendering process in 2012 when FirstGroup put in a “suicidal bid” to prise the West Coast Main Line from Virgin Trains.

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

69

FGM

Business

Philip Aldrick

Bad month for builders poses risk to GDP growth

Those who fail to learn from mistakes are doomed to repeat them — the irony of the IMF’s policy

‘‘

Philip Aldrick is Economics Editor

It is one of the ironies of macroeconomics,” Olivier Blanchard, chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, said this week. “When you see people in trouble because they have too much debt, the solution is actually to create more debt.”

He was right about one thing. The ironies are stacking up. How else do you explain the IMF — the bastion of fiscal rectitude that presided over vicious cuts in Greece, Ireland and Portugal — calling for debt-fuelled spending?

Or that it prescribed infrastructure investment as the antidote to Europe’s deflation woes — when this approach patently did not work in Japan. Or that proposal is just a rehash of the IMF’s crisis-fighting policies of half a decade ago.

The great policy policeman is out of ideas. Last year, the IMF had a wellpublicised row with Britain over austerity. It lost. Christine Lagarde, the managing director, admitted that the organisation “got it wrong”. In Britain, austerity combined with low interest rates and money printing have spurred a private sector recovery.

Britain is now “leaving the financial crisis behind”, Mr Blanchard acknowledged this week. Spain, another country that has pushed through tough reforms, is expected to grow faster than any of the leading

DAN KITWOOD/GETTY IMAGES

Infrastructure spending is effective, but not when used to prop up economies

eurozone economies over the next two years. Ireland, too, is back after years of cuts and pain — under orders from the IMF. Yet, the fund today is advocating deficit spending as though it had won the debate with Britain.

The IMF is famously inflexible. In the 1997 Asian crisis, it stuck so rigidly to its reform doctrine that it

turned a local drama into a regional crisis. Ordering countries to tighten both monetary and fiscal policy plunged them into a recession and caused mass unemployment.

Now the deficit hawks have flown, the fund’s policies could not be more different, but the inflexibility remains.

Mr Blanchard has long been pushing for a gentler path of austerity,

Wild frontier pioneers could help to transform Africa

W

e’ve had junk bonds and catastrophe bonds. Now there’s a risky instrument loved by investors in their global hunt for returns. They are “frontier bonds”, and sub-Saharan Africa is the wildest frontier of them all.

Last month Ghana got a $1 billion debt issue away — joining about a dozen sub-Saharan nations that

have found welcome buyers for their debt. So far this year the region has raised $6.9 billion — more than the whole of 2013. Many African nations are now enjoying strong growth and with interest rates slashed, investors are taking risks, leading the IMF to issue a warning of a financial crisis.

A little market discipline, though, will be good for Africa’s corrupt old

kleptocracies, especially if they get hooked on the drug of market finance. If the money is used wisely, it could be transformative.

Africa does not have a good record, but that does not seem to worry investors. Kenya is said to be the 40th most corrupt nation but still found buyers for a $2 billion sovereign debt issue this year.

and creating headroom for infrastructure investment is a policy plucked straight out of the Keynesian manual he prefers.

No matter that it did not work in Japan. Over two decades from 1990, Japan spent $6.3 trillion on public works, including white elephant projects such as concreting over rural riverbanks. The spending blitz did not defeat deflation, but it did leave a legacy of sky-high public debt. Japan is now belatedly raising taxes to pay for the binge.

It’s not clear why Mr Blanchard and his acolytes believe that the policy re-run will work in Europe. An entire chapter of the IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook is devoted to explaining how debt-fuelled spending can help debt to vanish. It reads like reverse engineered analysis — one where the conclusion has been decided in advance.

Mr Blanchard’s argument is that everything is relative. If a country grows faster than it borrows, proportionately speaking, the debt shrinks. In a perfect world, the thinking goes, clever policymakers can identify spending programmes that generate more growth than the extra debt taken to pay for them. It’s what David Cameron calls the “magic money tree”. It sounds too good to be true because, for the most part, it is.

The proposals betray a desperate lack of imagination, which in turn show just how desperate the global economic predicament has become.

Mr Blanchard has been in the job for six years, through the entire financial crisis. By softening the fund’s hardline tendencies, he played a vital part in ensuring that the crisis was not even worse. But the time has come for some fresh thinking.

If the IMF persists with its debtfuelled spending plans for already over-indebted countries, the longterm prospects can only be worse.

Which would surely be the greatest irony of all.

’’

Kathryn Hopkins

The construction sector unexpectedly slumped in August on the back of a sharp slide in housebuilding.

Output was estimated to have fallen by 3.9 per cent compared with the previous month, according to the Office for National Statistics, as demand for homes started to cool on the back of stricter lending rules and the prospect of an interest rate rise. Analysts had expected a rise of 0.5 per cent.

New work fell by 4.8 per cent, with all types of work except new public housing reporting declines. A 5.5 per cent slump in private housebuilding work, the biggest segment of the industry, provided the largest contribution to the overall decrease. Infrastructure was down by 6.5 per cent and private commercial construction by 5.6 per cent.

Production was 0.3 per cent lower on an annual basis, the first time in 18 months that the ONS has recorded a year-on-year fall.

Analysts have raised concerns that the performance has dragged down overall growth for the third quarter.

GDP grew by 0.9 per cent in the three months to June.

Alan Clarke, head of European fixed income strategy at Scotiabank, said: “Depending on the scale of the bounce next month, this could subtract around 0.1 per cent point from overall GDP growth.” Simon Wells, chief UK economist at HSBC, added that the construction sector seemed unlikely to have made a positive contribution to economic growth in the third quarter, posing a “downside risk” to its forecast of 0.8 per cent.

Figures published this week showed that growth from British factories slowed in August and the pace of recruitment eased.

Separate figures from the ONS yesterday showed that Britain’s deficit on trade in goods and services was estimated to have narrowed to £1.9 billion in August, compared with £3.1 billion the previous month. A deficit of £9.1 billion on goods was offset in part by an estimated surplus of £7.2 billion on services.

70

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

Business GETTY IMAGES

Tesco pulls the plug on Margate

A

proposed seafront Tesco superstore has been scrapped in the highest profile scheme yet to be axed by the company’s new chief executive (Andrew Clark writes).

Dave Lewis has abandoned a contentious plan for

an 82,000 sq ft store in Margate alongside the Kent resort’s defunct Dreamland theme park. It comes months after Tesco emerged victorious from a costly five-year planning battle.

Tesco cited a shift in consumer preference towards smaller shops, although the announcement is likely to be linked to its financial woes, as an inquiry continues into £250 million of accounting irregularities. “After

careful consideration we have . . . decided not to pursue a new large store in Margate,” a spokeswoman said.

Thanet council viewed the store as part of a broader redevelopment, which includes the reopening of Dreamland.

Some residents had opposed the plan, as did Mary Portas, the retail expert, who has been working on a pilot scheme in the town as part of her efforts to revitalise town centres.

Asking for pay rise leads to bad karma, women are warned Nic Fildes, Danielle Sheridan

For a relatively new chief executive still trying to find his feet, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella ended up sticking both firmly in his mouth when he told an audience of women that they should not ask for a pay rise because it caused bad “karma”.

Mr Nadella, who succeeded Steve Ballmer in February, was speaking at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing event when he was asked whether female technology workers should demand higher wages.

Addressing 8,000 mostly female delegates at the conference, which aims to raise awareness of the gender gap, Mr Nadella said: “It’s not really about asking for the raise, but knowing and having faith that the system will actually give you the right raises as you go along. Because that’s good karma.

It’ll come back because somebody’s going to know that’s the kind of person that I want to trust.”

His answer provoked a furious reponse from conference goers and across social media. Women are understood to account for between 10 per cent and 27 per cent of technical roles in the sector’s biggest companies. The gender imbalance has Satya Nadella’s comments provoked a furious response

been a growing issue and Maria Klawe, president of Harvey Mudd College and one of two female directors on Microsoft’s 12-strong board, immediately objected to the comments while interviewing Mr Nadella on the stage.

Lucy Marcus, chief executive of Marcus Venture Consulting, tweeted: “Karma doesn’t pay the bills.”

Mr Nadella immediately backtracked, describing his comments as “inarticulate” before issuing a formal statement. “I answered that question completely wrong. Without a doubt I wholeheartedly support programmes at Microsoft and in the industry that bring more women into technology and close the pay gap. I believe men and women should get equal pay for equal work . . . If you think you deserve a raise, you should just ask,” he said.

Some of America’s biggest technology companies, including IBM, AMD, Oracle and Yahoo!, are run by women, but men still dominate the workforce, particularly in technical positions. Nita Chudhary, co-founder of the online anti-sexism group UltraViolet, said that Mr Nadella was out of touch. “It’s no wonder that Microsoft lags behind its industry peers on family friendly policies such as paid leave when someone as out of touch as Nadella is at the helm,” she said.

Amazon’s high-street shop is no surprise to analysts Nic Fildes, Alexandra Frean

Amazon’s decision to open a bricks and mortar store in New York should be no surprise, analysts said yesterday.

The move to set up opposite the Empire State Building and near Macy’s, the department store, is rumoured to be testing the ground for how Amazon’s business model could work in a more traditional setting. If successful, it could expand to other locations.

“It is a bit of a turn-up on the face of it but it really should not come as a surprise,” Bryan Roberts, a director at Kantar Retail, said. “Online retailers are starting to realise that a physical presence is very useful. People want to look at and touch products before buying and sometimes want some advice.”

Mr Roberts said that Amazon was unlikely to want to take on the huge overheads of operating thousands of stores as it would remove the advantage that online retailers have. However, a smaller presence could work in helping to market its own products. “It would be the best of both worlds,” he said.

Matt Nemer, an analyst at Wells Fargo, said the move could be as much about marketing as sales. “Same-day delivery, ordering online and picking up in store are ideas that are really catching on. Amazon needs to be at the centre of that,” he said.

It is unclear whether the store will be little more than a delivery office or if Amazon plans to follow Apple in using a high-street presence to show off its growing array of goods.

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

71

FGM

Business

Media tycoon ‘demanded’ cash from Arsenal aristocrat Deirdre Hipwell

One of Britain’s richest women has accused Sir David Barclay of “forcefully” demanding money from her during a commercial dispute involving his son, Alistair Barclay.

Lady Bracewell-Smith, a former nonexecutive director of Arsenal Football Club, claims that the tycoon, who owns the Telegraph group, contacted her last year “to demand, in forceful terms, that she pay Mr [Alistair] Barclay a substantial sum of money” for business services that his son allegedly provided her.

The allegation has emerged as Lady Bracewell-Smith — the daughter of an Indian diplomat who married into the Bracewell-Smith hotels dynasty in 1996 — hit out at the Barclay family in a dispute that has reached the High Court.

The disagreement involvesthe sale of Lady Bracewell-Smith’s near 16 per cent stake in Arsenal Football Club for £116 million in 2011 and her subsequent move to Monaco to avoid paying £34 million of capital gains tax.

Mr Barclay, a consultant who heads Hillgate Property Investments, claims that he advised her to move from London and provided her with “introductions” to the

Embassy of Monaco and the Monégasque business community.

Mr Barclay, who first met Lady Bracewell-Smith after she contacted Sir David asking if he could recommend a law firm to handle potential litigation, also alleges that an “implied contract” meant that he would be retained by her. He is seeking compensation of between £500,000 and £1 million for his services.

Lady Bracewell-Smith, who is being represented by Mishcon de Reya, claims in her defence lodged at the High Court that she is a “prominent and experienced businesswoman of significant personal means” who would not have appointed a young acquaintance who “was obviously not qualified or able”.

She also claims that she had already considered relocating to Monaco to mitigate her tax liability legally and never required Mr Barclay’s “connections”.

Details in her defence reveal that she and her husband, Sir Charles BracewellSmith, sent £10,000 to Mr Barclay to “avoid confrontation or ill-will” after the “forceful communications” from Sir David. Mr Barclay

GETTY IMAGES

Sir David Barclay, left, is said to have entered a dispute involving his son and Lady Bracewell-Smith

returned the cheque and demanded payment at a level that Lady Bracewell-Smith claims is “grossly disproportionate” to the value of his activities.

Her defence states:

National Express saviour moves on The accountant who styled himself “Jez” and saved National Express at the end of the past decade has quit the coach and trains group. Jeremy Maiden, 52, who has a background in chemicals and wanted to move to Yorkshire, is to become finance director at Croda International, the supplier of chemicals to the beauty industry. Shares in Croda fell 27p to £20.39.

National Express shares declined ½p to 229p.

Bookmakers lose challenge on tax The Gibraltar Betting & Gaming Association has lost its High Court challenge over a 15 per cent tax that offshore operators will have to pay on online British bets, valued at about £300 million. The tax will be levied from November.

Banks get results day for stress test Britain’s banks are to be told the result of tests set to measure their financial stability on December 15, the Bank of England has said. The findings will be published more widely on December 16, alongside the latest Financial Stability Report.

Funding in place for Scots ‘yes’ vote The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee was ready to give banks emergency funding if Scotland had voted for independence, minutes of its meeting revealed yesterday. The precautionary measure “was to backstop sterling money market liquidity”.

“Mr Barclay is 22 years old. He held no professional qualifications, and so far as the defendant is aware, continues to hold no such qualifications. He maintained a luxurious lifestyle which (it is inferred) was founded upon his family’s wealth and not supported by the proceeds of his own work.”

The defence also claims that during a series of coffee meetings at the Landmark Hotel in northwest London, Mr Barclay asked her for a loan of £5 million and “would from time to time press upon Lady Bracewell-Smith details of London property ‘opportunities’ ”.

Lady Bracewell-Smith was born Nina Kakkar to an Indian diplomat.

Through her marriage she entered a dynasty of Arsenal aristocrats whose links to the club date back more than half a century.

Lady Bracewell-Smith’s husband transferred his near 16 per cent stake in the club to her. She sold it in 2011 to Stan Kroenke, the American businessman.

Matthew Shankland, a partner at Sidley Austin, which is representing Mr Barclay, said: “We can confirm that Mr Barclay has commenced an action to recover his fees. Since the matter is currently before the court, it is not appropriate for further details to be discussed.”

72

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

Money Markets Wall Street 21st Century Fox 3M Abbott Labs AbbVie Accenture ACE Actavis Adobe Sys Aetna Inc Aflac Agilent Tech Air Prods & Chm Alcoa Alexion Pharmas Allergan Allstate Altria Amazon Amer Elec Pwr Amer Express Amer Tower American Int Ameriprise AmerisrceBerg Amgen Anadarko Petrlm Analog Devices Aon Corp Apache Apple Applied Mats Archer Daniels AT&T Auto Data Proc Autozone Avago Tech Ltd AvalonBay Baker Hughes Bank NY Mellon Bank of America Baxter Intl BB&T Becton Dickinsn Bed Bath & Bynd Berkshire Hath Biogen Idec Blackrock Boeing Boston Props Boston Sci Bristol-Myrs Sq Broadcom Capital One Fin Cardinal Health Carnival Caterpillar CBS Corp Celgene CenturyTel Cerner Chevron Chipotle Mex Grill Chubb Cigna Corp Cisco Systems Citigroup CME Coca-Cola Cognizant Tech Colgate-Palm Comcast Conagra Foods ConocoPhillips Consd Edison Constellation Brs Corning Costco Whole Covidien Crown Castle CSX Cummins CVS Caremark Danaher Davita Deere&Co Delphi Auto Delta Air Lines Devon Energy DirecTV Grp Discover Financial Dollar General Dominion Res Dow Chemical DTE Energy Du Pont Duke Energy Eaton eBay Ecolab Edison Intl

Major indices

Oct 10 midday

Oct 9 close

Oct 10 midday

Oct 9 close

32.89 136.55 41.97 55.37 77.78 105.40 239.37 64.10 78.58 56.78 53.58 122.04 15.09 171.70 188.22 61.48 47.05 314.29 53.90 85.82 95.73 50.10 115.76 77.66 139.00 89.56 43.94 81.59 80.67 101.44 19.94 46.69 34.44 73.34 508.10 71.22 147.08 56.90 37.33 16.61 71.74 37.61 128.31 66.20 138.45 319.51 311.94 122.02 119.78 12.10 50.59 36.60 81.50 76.10 35.82 93.58 50.39 92.13 39.40 58.01 114.10 661.20 93.44 91.32 23.63 50.64 81.82 44.54 44.27 65.44 53.31 33.74 70.91 58.94 85.85 18.39 131.05 93.64 80.23 30.27 129.25 82.96 71.66 74.22 81.48 61.02 33.05 59.88 86.54 63.50 60.05 71.04 47.17 78.54 67.06 77.00 59.17 52.11 109.71 57.32

33.11 138.64 41.41 56.30 78.19 104.92 242.28 65.66 78.62 56.93 55.03 123.31 15.39 170.30 187.55 61.01 46.37 315.37 53.56 85.89 94.75 50.42 117.05 77.20 137.58 90.00 46.34 81.27 81.88 101.02 20.87 47.13 34.66 73.19 508.32 80.60 145.91 58.60 37.31 16.59 71.81 37.26 127.94 66.32 137.09 319.19 315.21 122.76 118.78 11.92 49.50 38.13 81.44 75.40 35.67 93.50 50.72 92.38 39.73 58.11 114.51 660.61 92.66 89.98 24.19 51.14 80.98 43.87 44.12 65.20 53.32 33.85 71.44 58.20 86.38 18.58 128.41 92.69 80.52 30.73 130.86 81.95 72.77 73.99 81.15 61.76 33.71 61.30 86.60 63.51 60.63 70.43 48.23 77.87 67.31 76.39 59.52 52.86 110.66 57.10

Eli Lilly 64.60 EMC Corp 28.14 Emerson Elec 59.91 Entergy 78.19 EOG Res 89.40 Equity Res 65.06 Estee Lauder 73.19 Exelon 35.14 Express Scripts 71.01 Exxon Mobil 92.13 Facebook 74.35 Fedex 155.42 Fifth Third 19.68 FirstEnergy 34.87 FIS 54.67 Fiserv Inc 63.62 Ford Motor 13.76 Franklin Res 51.02 Freeport-Mcm 31.16 Gap 36.55 Gen Dynamics 121.07 Gen Electric 24.32 Gen Growth Props 23.82 General Mills 50.18 General Mtrs 30.57 Genuine Parts 87.61 Gilead Sciences 105.36 Goldman Sachs 181.81 Google Inc 554.70 Google Inc Class A 564.24 Grainger (WW) 241.50 Halliburton 54.93 Hartford Financial 36.36 HCP 42.15 Health Care REIT 66.59 Hershey 93.29 Hess 83.07 Hewlett Packard 33.64 Home Depot 93.06 Honeywell Intl 88.48 Hormel Foods 52.28 Host Hotels 20.83 Humana 126.59 ICE Group 206.54 Illinois Tool 80.97 Ingersoll-Rand 55.37 Int Business Mach 186.92 Intel 32.29 Intl Paper 46.44 Intuit 81.48 Intuitive Surg 475.94 Invesco 37.40 Johnsn & Johnsn 101.68 Johnson Cont 42.02 JP Morgan Chase 59.25 Kellogg 60.58 Keurig Green 140.82 Kimberly-Clark 109.02 Kinder Morgan 36.58 Kraft Foods 56.41 Kroger 53.86 L Brands 67.06 Lockheed Martin 175.73 Loews 40.83 Lorillard 60.17 Lowes Cos 53.96 LyondellBasell 96.66 Macy's 56.67 Marathon Oil 34.45 Marathon Petroleum83.10 Marriott Intl 63.87 Marsh & McLenn 50.40 MasterCard 71.66 McDonald's 92.69 McGraw Hill Fin 80.07 McKesson 197.13 Mead Johnson 95.11 Medtronic 64.70 Merck & Co 59.37 Metlife 50.06 Michael Kors Hdgs 74.47 Micron 28.53 Microsoft 45.12 Mondelez 33.82 Monsanto 107.53 Monster Beverage 96.42 Moodys 94.19 Morgan Stanley 33.30 Mosaic 41.82 Motorola Sols 59.67 M&T Bank Corp 121.44 Mylan 49.72 Natl Oilwell 70.65 Netflix 455.04 NextEra Energy 94.26 Nielsen Holdings 42.19 Nike 87.36 Noble Energy 59.20 Nordstrom 70.82 Norfolk Sthn 103.39

64.30 28.39 59.66 77.51 91.96 64.10 73.61 34.80 70.44 91.82 75.91 156.51 19.62 34.55 55.09 63.67 13.84 51.43 30.83 36.67 121.50 24.78 23.71 49.89 31.03 86.52 105.85 181.27 560.88 570.81 246.15 57.28 36.52 41.14 64.95 93.43 84.60 34.32 93.07 89.77 51.62 21.18 125.03 203.01 81.68 55.84 186.42 33.62 46.98 81.81 476.35 37.57 102.08 42.28 59.08 60.67 143.17 108.45 36.70 56.23 53.26 67.41 174.55 40.90 59.87 53.91 99.18 56.40 34.71 81.80 64.58 50.07 71.83 92.72 80.88 195.82 95.83 63.65 59.21 50.35 74.91 30.64 45.85 33.65 107.69 95.47 94.67 33.30 42.05 60.46 121.01 50.12 71.34 461.62 93.59 41.29 87.23 60.30 69.82 105.43

Oct 10 midday

Oct 9 close

Northeast Utilities 46.51 46.10 Northern Trust 65.26 65.44 Northrop Grum 124.10 124.02 Nucor 49.52 49.63 Occidental Petr 91.84 92.53 Omnicom 66.27 65.93 Oracle 38.55 38.74 O'Reilly 151.06 150.06 Paccar 57.08 57.40 Parker-Hannifin 109.00 109.53 Paychex 43.77 43.83 PepsiCo 95.63 93.57 Perrigo Company 151.76 152.39 Pfizer 29.22 28.99 PG&E 45.23 44.52 Philip Morris Intl 84.61 83.92 Phillips66 76.35 76.61 Pioneer Ntrl Rscs 176.30 178.00 PNC Finl 82.79 82.54 PPG Inds 184.32 186.03 PPL 33.93 33.70 Praxair 120.66 121.98 Precision Cast 223.27 223.47 Price T Rowe 75.67 75.97 Priceline.com 1084.34 1102.19 Principal Fin 50.16 50.05 Procter & Gmbl 85.07 83.66 Progressive Cp 25.14 25.27 Prologis 37.56 37.63 Prudential Finl 82.79 83.38 Public Serv Ent 38.03 37.64 Public Storage 169.68 169.49 Qualcomm 71.71 74.08 Raytheon 95.04 94.97 Regeneron Pharm 350.42 355.04 Regions Financial 9.75 9.72 Republic Serv 38.40 38.33 Reynolds Amer 59.74 59.20 Rockwell Auto 101.03 102.95 Roper Inds 142.77 143.25 Ross Stores 77.23 76.17 Salesforce.com 56.59 57.13 SanDisk 87.30 89.99 Schlumberger 92.88 94.92 Schwab (Charles) 26.65 27.13 Seagate Tech 55.92 56.23 Sempra Energy 105.95 105.71 Sherwin-Williams 214.85 214.01 Sigma Aldrich 135.40 135.60 Simon Prop 169.45 168.66 Southern Co 45.12 44.83 Spectra Engy 37.10 37.10 St Jude Medical 61.86 61.95 Starbucks 75.33 74.48 Starwood 75.77 76.07 State Street 68.56 69.11 Sthwest Airlines 30.85 31.32 Stryker 82.82 82.92 SunTrust Banks 36.49 36.43 Symantec 22.51 23.44 Sysco 37.33 37.15 Target 61.12 61.60 TE Connectivity 52.01 54.80 Texas Insts 42.72 46.02 Thermo Fisher 117.79 117.82 Time Warner 72.39 72.07 Time Warner Cab 142.64 142.48 TJX 61.58 60.49 Travelers 94.52 93.89 Tyco Intl 42.43 42.48 Union Pacific 102.96 105.34 UPS 96.30 96.53 US Bancorp 40.62 40.58 Utd Health 86.47 84.94 Utd Tech 99.51 99.94 Valero Energy 45.92 45.43 Ventas 65.78 64.54 Verizon Comm 49.20 48.93 Vertex Pharma 106.14 105.27 VF Corp 65.12 65.04 Viacom 71.24 72.06 Visa 207.20 207.71 Vornado Realty 101.97 101.65 Walgreen 62.66 61.55 Wal-Mart 78.53 77.86 Walt Disney 86.25 85.71 Waste Mgt 47.10 46.92 WellPoint 118.35 118.93 Wells Fargo 51.23 51.12 Western Digital 91.65 93.39 Weyerhaeuser 32.03 31.77 Whole Foods Mkt 37.33 37.23 Williams Cos 50.15 50.18 Wynn Resorts 180.32 178.07 Xcel Energy 31.55 31.27 Xerox 12.68 12.76 Yahoo 40.01 41.10 Yum Brands 69.37 69.00 Zimmer Hldgs 102.34 101.73 Zoetis 36.73 37.02

London Financial Futures Long Gilt 3-Mth Sterling

3-Mth Euribor

3-Mth Euroswiss

2 Year Swapnote 5 Year Swapnote 10 Year Swapnote FTSE100 FTSEurofirst 80

Period Dec 14 Mar 15 Dec 14 Mar 15 Jun 15 Sep 15 Dec 15 Dec 14 Mar 15 Jun 15 Sep 15 Dec 15 Dec 14 Mar 15 Jun 15 Sep 15 Dec 14 Mar 15 Dec 14 Mar 15 Dec 14 Mar 15 Dec 14 Mar 15 Dec 14 Mar 15

Open 114.77

High 115.46

Low 114.67

99.380 99.250 99.090 98.920 98.760 99.910 99.920 99.930 99.920 99.905 100.03 100.06 100.08 100.08 111.56

99.400 99.270 99.130 98.970 98.810 99.920 99.925 99.930 99.930 99.910 100.04 100.07 100.09 100.08 111.57 111.56 127.34 100.00 146.61 100.00 6383.0 6320.5 4279.5

99.380 99.240 99.070 98.900 98.730 99.905 99.910 99.910 99.900 99.880 100.02 100.06 100.07 100.07 111.55 111.55 127.22 100.00 146.47 100.00 6253.5 6250.0 4278.5

127.22 146.47 6337.5 6250.0 4278.5

Sett 115.24 115.24 99.390 99.250 99.095 98.930 98.765 99.905 99.910 99.915 99.910 99.895 100.04 100.07 100.09 100.08 111.55 111.55 127.28 127.28 146.51 146.51 6322.0 6271.0 3937.0 3938.0

Vol 200654

Open Int 413392

38978 79294 54925 58988 102725 68457 76491 145594 63461 60890 5980 7194 3986 1898 283 104 359 3 212 3 161123 55 75

472120 410050 384913 296849 367357 512471 405639 380832 288719 306861 74835 80980 42376 26080 23094 10238 4871 571724 1053 75

Eurotop 100

New York Dow Jones (noon) Nasdaq Composite (noon) S&P 500 (noon)

16708.57 (+49.32) 4344.35 (-33.98) 1929.52 (+1.31)

Tokyo Nikkei 225

15300.55 (-178.38)

Hong Kong Hang Seng

23088.54 (-445.99)

Amsterdam AEX Index

395.68 (-6.98)

Sydney AO

5185.70 (-107.60)

Frankfurt DAX

8788.81 (-216.21)

Singapore Straits

3223.87 (-35.38)

Brussels BEL20

3041.99 (-50.72)

Paris CAC-40

4073.71 (-67.74)

Zurich SMI Index DJ EURO Stoxx 50

8374.59 (-108.31) 2991.50 (-50.95)

London FTSE 100 6339.97 (-91.88) FTSE 250 14641.58 (-169.75) FTSE 350 3439.79 (-48.34) FTSE Eurotop 100 2631.91 (-41.54) FTSE All-Shares 3380.02 (-47.68) FTSE Non Financials 3929.21 (-60.67) techMARK 100 3135.19 (-45.16) Bargains 1345547 US$ 1.6054 (-0.0062) Euro 1.2706 (+0.0007) £:SDR 1.09 (+0.00) Exchange Index 87.3 0(-0.40 n/a Bank of England official close (4pm) CPI 128.30 Aug (2005 = 100) RPI 257.00 Aug (Jan 1987 = 100) RPIX 256.50 Aug (Jan 1987 = 100) Morningstar Long Commodity 840.27 (-2.86) Morningstar Long/Short Commod 4577.23 (-8.03)

Commodities ICIS pricing (London 6.00pm) Crude Oils ($/barrel FOB) Brent Physical Brent 25 day (Jan) Brent 25 day (Feb) W Texas Intermed (Jan) W Texas Intermed (Feb)

89.60 89.90 90.25 85.90 85.15

-0.20 -0.15 -0.15 +0.10 +0.05

Products ($/MT) Spot CIF NW Europe (prompt delivery) Premium Unld 914.00 915.00 Gasoil EEC 769.25 771.25 3.5 Fuel Oil 475.50 479.00 Naphtha 708.00 715.00

+0.00 -2.50 -11.00 -16.00

ICE Futures Gas Oil Oct Nov Dec

unq 767.50-767.25 769.75-769.50

Brent (6.00pm) Nov 89.81-89.80 Dec 90.19-90.17 Jan 90.68-90.60

Jan Feb

773.25-772.75 BID Volume: 222428

Feb Mar

91.13 SLR 91.95-90.31 Volume: 874818

unq unq unq

LIFFE Cocoa Dec Mar May Jul Sep Dec

unq unq unq unq unq unq

Mar May Jul

RobustaCoffee Sep Nov Jan Mar

unq unq unq unq

May Jul

White Sugar (FOB) Reuters Dec Mar May

unq unq unq

Volume: 26871 unq unq Volume: 17408 Aug Oct Dec Mar

unq unq unq unq Volume: 4507

London Grain Futures LIFFE Wheat (close £/t) Nov 112.75 Jan 115.00 May 119.70 Jul 121.30

Mar 117.55 Volume: 508

AHDB meat services Average fatstock prices at representative markets (p/kg lw) Pig Lamb Cattle GB 101.62 153.37 185.10 (+/-) -5.45 -4.63 -5.03 Eng/Wales (+/-) Scotland (+/-)

101.62 -5.45

154.08 -5.56

182.85 -4.63

unq

149.67 +0.17

198.04 -8.18

London Metal Exchange (Official) Cash

3mth

15mth

Copper Gde A ($/tonne) 6696.0-6697.0 6635.0-6640.0

7310.0-7320.0

Lead ($/tonne) 2056.0-2057.0

2065.0-2067.0

1980.0-1985.0

Zinc Spec Hi Gde ($/tonne) 2310.5-2311.0 2314.0-2315.0

1943.0-1948.0

Tin ($/tonne) 20095.0-20100.0

20075.0-20080.0

Alum Hi Gde ($/tonne) 1891.0-1891.5 1922.0-1922.5 Nickel ($/tonne) 16305.0-16310.0 16395.0-16400.0

20155.0-20205.0 2280.0-2285.0 18770.0-18870.0

AP Moller-Maersk A Dn Kr AP Moller-Maersk B Dn Kr ABB Ltd S SF Air Liquide Fr ¤ Allianz G ¤ Anglo American UK p Anheuser-Busch InBev B ¤ ASML Holding Nl ¤ Assicurazioni Generali SpA AstraZeneca UK p Atlas Copco A Sw Kr Atlas Copco B Sw Kr AXA Fr ¤ Banco Santander Es ¤ BBVA Es ¤ Barclays UK p BASF G ¤ Bayer G ¤ BG Group UK p BHP Billiton UK p BMW G ¤ BNP Paribas Fr ¤ BP UK p British Am Tob UK p BT Group UK p Centrica UK p Christian Dior Fr ¤ CS Group S SF Daimler G ¤ Danone Fr ¤ Deutsche Bank G ¤ Deutsche Post AG Deutsche Telekom G ¤ Diageo UK p EON G ¤ EDF Fr ¤ Enel It ¤ ENI It ¤ Ericsson B Sw Kr EADS Fr ¤ GDF Suez Fr ¤ GlaxoSmKline UK p Glencre Xstrata Heineken NV Nl ¤ Henkel KGaA G ¤ Henkel KGaA Pref G ¤ Hennes & Mauritz Sw Kr Hermes Intl SCA Fr ¤ HSBC UK p Iberdrola Es ¤ Imperial Tobacco UK p Inditex Es ¤ ING Nl ¤ Intesa Sanpaolo It ¤ Linde G ¤ Lloyds Bkg Gp UK p L'Oreal Fr ¤ LVMH Fr ¤ Munich Re G ¤ Natl Grid UK p Nestle S SF Nordea Sw Kr Novartis S SF Novo Nordisk B Dn Kr Orange Pernod Ricard NV Fr ¤ Philips Elect Nl ¤ Prudential UK p Reckitt Benckiser UK p Repsol SA Richemont S SF Rio Tinto UK p Roche Hldgs S SF Rolls-Royce UK p Royal Bank Scot UK p Royal Dutch Shell A UK p Royal Dutch Shell B UK p SABMiller UK p Sanofi-Aventis Fr ¤ SAP G ¤ Schneider Electric Fr ¤ Siemens G ¤ Societe Generale SA Standard Chartered UK p StatoilHydro No Kr Swatch Gp BR S SF Swatch Gp Reg S SF Swiss Re AG S SF Syngenta S SF Telefonica Es ¤ Telenor No Kr TeliaSonera Sw Kr Tenaris SA It ¤ Tesco UK p Total Fr ¤ UBS AG S SF UniCredit It ¤ Unilever UK p Unilever NV Nl ¤ Vinci Fr ¤ Vivendi Fr ¤ Vodafone Group UK p Volkswagen G ¤ Volkswagen Prf G ¤ Volvo B Sw Kr Zurich Fin S SF

FTSE volumes Close

+/-

12mthhigh

12mthlow

Yield

P/E

12440.00 12840.00 19.65 92.22 122.95 1325.50 83.87 71.84 15.76 4300.00 189.00 171.30 18.27 7.12 9.03 223.90 66.58 102.75 1041.93 1613.50 79.53 48.52 428.15 3434.04 369.50 293.40 130.95 25.44 56.01 50.79 25.32 23.12 10.87 1729.50 13.29 23.99 3.85 16.61 82.95 45.44 18.51 1383.60 312.25 57.79 70.86 77.08 280.70 233.25 620.30 5.41 2618.25 20.76 11.03 2.21 149.10 75.48 123.00 125.00 148.75 872.75 68.60 87.25 84.50 258.40 10.81 85.05 23.09 1359.50 5153.58 17.42 76.00 2994.00 257.75 937.90 358.15 2197.00 2258.00 3297.63 83.07 54.56 55.37 83.60 36.79 1098.00 158.30 437.60 79.70 73.80 287.20 11.70 133.30 46.66 15.99 185.25 44.60 15.36 5.80 2515.05 30.34 42.09 18.15 195.76 150.70 150.95 73.85 279.40

-320.00 -300.00 -0.51 -1.94 -1.45 -30.50 +0.30 -3.00 -0.07 +90.00 -3.60 -3.50 -0.10 -0.05 -0.06 -2.05 -1.77 -2.60 -9.07 -52.00 -2.97 -0.34 -7.00 -46.46 +0.50 -9.00 -0.85 -0.72 -1.70 -0.24 -0.62 -0.51 -0.31 -22.00 -0.32 -0.41 -0.03 -0.39 -2.15 -0.21 -0.29 -11.40 -9.50 -0.92 -0.79 -1.11 -2.90 -2.70 -5.50 -0.04 -48.75 -0.16 -0.06

14660.00 15220.00 24.75 106.85 138.45 1648.00 89.15 15220.00 17.43 4823.50 212.20 212.20 20.50 7.89 9.93 296.50 87.36 113.65 1351.50 2096.00 95.51 60.85 523.90 3633.50 418.10 367.90 153.50 30.29 70.44 56.95 39.95 27.93 13.12 2030.00 15.31 29.73 4.46 20.40

12070.00 12660.00 19.65 92.22 117.00 1226.50 69.55 12660.00 15.01 3133.00 188.20 188.20 16.98 6.04 8.21 207.90 66.58 94.73 1008.50 1613.50 79.35 47.69 428.15 2881.00 348.10 293.40 127.35 24.17 55.97 48.83 24.49 23.12 10.87 1709.50 12.93 22.44 3.02 16.25

1.65 1.60

20.63 21.29 19.66 18.98 9.03 290.81 20.71 23.93 16.07 45.80 19.00 17.22 8.66 16.38

55.91 21.09 1690.50 377.50 60.75 77.10 86.52 314.90 271.60 703.00 5.75 2774.00 121.00 11.95 2.61 157.30 86.30 130.00 146.25 166.45 916.00 71.70

0.00 16.17 1375.00 297.00 44.96 69.00 62.35 262.10 226.90 589.00 4.43 2182.00 20.76 8.92 1.65 144.60 70.94 115.20 122.50 147.50 746.00 61.45

90.15 284.00 12.81 92.09 28.10 1455.00 5495.00 20.88 94.40 3627.50 283.80 1289.00 384.90 2453.00 2592.00 3740.00 89.56 61.12 71.37 100.25 48.38 1543.50 194.80 107.90 600.50 83.70 371.20 13.11 148.90 52.60

67.00 230.50 8.55 79.36 22.11 1177.00 4300.00 17.11 76.00 2949.50 233.40 929.50 295.50 2008.00 2096.00 2661.00 69.40 53.75 55.37 83.60 35.41 1098.00 158.30 79.70 437.60 72.70 287.20 10.87 133.30 46.66

372.20 54.52 19.23 6.85 2729.00 32.59 56.85 21.25 252.30 194.95 197.55 102.50 286.70

172.15 41.56 15.36 5.02 2306.00 27.16 42.09 17.35 188.95 150.70 150.95 73.85 235.50

-3.50 +0.21 -0.50 -2.10 -2.35 -3.25 -0.25 -0.55 -1.10 -5.50 -0.10 -1.55 -0.51 -31.50 -61.42 -0.48 -2.00 -59.00 -4.25 -4.10 -0.25 -48.50 -62.00 +0.13 -0.96 -0.09 -1.71 -3.41 -0.87 -2.50 -3.50 -7.40 -1.60 -1.30 -3.30 -0.16 -0.60 -0.47 -0.24 -1.45 -1.69 -0.25 -0.04 -25.95 -0.41 -1.19 -0.11 -1.59 -4.80 -4.65 -1.80 -2.60

2.81 3.29 3.73 1.87 0.73 2.32 3.90 2.95 3.26 4.51 6.79 1.78 2.87 4.12 2.08 1.65 4.26 2.49 3.14

32.48 11.99 23.47 22.77 10.65 8.71

4.16 17.89 2.68 15.07 5.79 22.62 1.81 15.31 1.83 121.59 4.08 8.93 2.90 27.73 2.12 27694.24 13.45 3.51 20.04 2.83 18.68 4.59 5.30 12.43 2.74 11.00 5.39 11.59 3.67 19.02 1.68 18.98 8.24 5.75 14.18 3.09 18.93 1.33 24.15 1.29 17.63 1.19 19.18 3.39 23.96 1.18 29.41 4.53 12.74 2.31 14.03 4.45 36.52 1.54 27.30 217.09 1.84 1.53 21.31 2.07 2.52 3.71 4.69 2.06 4.58 1.91 1.27 7.53 2.00 2.47 2.67 4.46 0.89 3.83 3.07 2.37

24.87 18.36 7.37 13.18 22.74 12.26 25.29 26.12 18.13 21.90 19.93 16.31 19.81 18.11 16.28 15.24 20.41 7.69

4.97 4.69 1.88 3.43 1.37 4.21 3.65 2.76 4.48 3.30 1.13 1.91 5.30 3.54 5.15 5.23 4.56 1.39 7.97 5.41 1.65

14.48 14.92 26.23 26.36 20.22 16.41 14.36 12.76 10.80 7.84 12.92 11.76 7.23 18.14 11.92 25.54 13.91 16.52 7.81 10.69 17.47

3.47 3.39 4.28 5.60 9.88 2.02 2.02 4.12

17.43 16.60 9.20 4.64 7.03 7.04 27.24 11.30

3I Group AB Foods Aberdeen Asset Admiral Aggreko AMEC Anglo Amer Antofagasta ARM Hldgs AstraZeneca Aviva BAE SYS Babcock Barclays BG BHP Billiton BP Brt Am Tob Br Land BSkyB BT Group Bunzl Burberry Group Capita Group Carnival Centrica Coca Cola HBC Compass CRH Diageo EasyJet Experian Fresnillo Friends Life Gp G4S GKN GlaxoSmKline Glencre Xstrata Hammerson Hargreaves Lans HSBC IMI Imperial Tob InterCont Htls Intl Cons Air Intertek ITV Johnson Math Kingfisher Land Secs

2,243 1,155 4,995 1,148 909 4,405 12,241 4,098 7,339 5,440 13,469 6,645 1,701 40,322 6,889 10,824 34,686 2,873 3,132 3,950 19,228 582 1,722 2,205 1,272 17,121 382 3,897 2,608 4,220 2,730 2,675 2,245 4,023 4,369 7,598 10,294 62,683 2,814 2,288 39,531 1,629 2,303 1,067 13,520 503 21,267 610 7,097 2,461

(000s)

Legal & Gen 13,489 Lloyds Bkg Gp 144,754 London Stock Exch 513 Marks Spr 6,718 Meggitt 3,395 Mondi PLC 1,735 Morrison (W) 13,702 Natl Grid 7 294 Next 538 Old Mutual 13,786 Pearson 2,809 Petrofac 2,572 Persimmon 1,761 Prudential 4,111 Randgold Res 619 Reckitt Benck 1,269 Reed Elsevier 4,108 Rio Tinto 5,975 Rolls-Royce 5,460 Royal Mail 3,994 Ryl Bk Scot 11,755 Ryl Dtch Sh A 5,742 Ryl Dtch Sh B 5,094 RSA Ins 4,486 SABMiller 3,092 Sage Gp 2,839 Sainsbury 13,085 Schroders 462 Svrn Trent 747 Shire 1,455 Smith & Neph 2,191 Smiths 1,100 Sports Direct 1,892 SSE 3,172 Std Chartd 5,624 St. James's Place 1,923 Standard Life 6,411 Tate & Lyle 1,432 Tesco 40,799 Travis Perkins 993 TUI Travel 11,568 Tullow Oil 7 290 Unilever 3,318 Utd Utilities 2,923 Vedanta Res 1,056 Vodafone 81,988 Weir 1,206 William Hill 4,311 Whitbread 602 Wolseley 1,248 WPP 5,040

European money deposits % Currency 1mth Dollar 0.10 Sterling 0.51 Euro -0.15

3mth

6mth

12mth

0.15

0.23

0.48

0.56

0.70

1.01

-0.07

0.04

0.21

Gold/precious metals Bullion: Open $1223.08 Close $1222.20-1222.50 High $1224.94 Low $1217.56 AM $1222.25 PM $1219.00 Krugerrand $1209.00-1284.00 (£752.92-799.63) Platinum $1266.00 (£788.42) Silver $17.38 (£10.82) Palladium $789.00 (£491.36)

Dollar rates Australia Canada Denmark Euro Hong Kong Japan Malaysia Norway Singapore Sweden Switzerland

1.1463-1.1465 1.1180-1.1181 5.8907-5.8932 0.7913-0.7915 7.7591-7.7601 107.85-107.88 3.2600-3.2630 6.5128-6.5156 1.2730-1.2736 7.2230-7.2250 0.9572-0.9572

Other Sterling Argentina peso

13.604-13.616

Australia dollar

1.8405-1.8407

Bahrain dinar

0.6008-0.6084

Brazil real

3.8566-3.8727

Euro

1.2706-1.2711

Hong Kong dollar

12.458-12.459

India rupee

98.288-98.492

Indonesia rupiah

19378-19962

Kuwait dinar KD

0.4622-0.4647

Malaysia ringgit

5.1421-5.3454

New Zealand dollar

2.0480-2.0492

Money rates %

Singapore dollar

2.0438-2.0449

S Africa rand

17.786-17.794

Base Rates Clearing Banks 0.5 Finance House 1.0 ECB Refi 0.05 US Fed Fund 0-0.25

U A E dirham

5.8906-5.8969

Halifax Mortgage Rate 3.5

Exchange rates

Treasury Bills (Dis) Buy: 1 mth 0.38; 3 mth 0.42. Sell: 1 mth 0.35; 3 mth 0.38 1 mth

2 mth

3 mth

6 mth

12 mth

0.5079

0.5324

0.5643

0.7133

1.0590

Clearer CDs

0.58-0.43

0.60-0.45

0.65-0.50

0.80-0.65

1.13-0.98

Depo CDs

0.58-0.43

0.60-0.45

0.65-0.50

0.80-0.65

1.13-0.98

Eurodollar Deps

0.15-0.25

0.19-0.29

0.23-0.33

0.36-0.46

0.51-0.66

Eurodollar CDs

0.15-0.08

0.18-0.12

0.22-0.15

0.36-0.21

0.52-0.38

Interbank Rates

Sterling spot and forward rates Mkt Rates for Copenhagen Euro Montreal New York Oslo Stockholm Tokyo Zurich

Range 9.4034-9.4602 1.2711-1.2668 1.7893-1.8057 1.6009-1.6134 10.421-10.503 11.418-11.642 172.73-173.97 1.5315-1.5384

Close 9.4573-9.4628 1.2709-1.2708 1.7945-1.7955 1.6054-1.6057 10.455-10.462 11.595-11.600 173.14-173.21 1.5365-1.5372

1 month 43ds 4pr 10pr 4ds 83pr 17ds 9ds 8ds Premium pr

3 month 133ds 11pr 27pr 13ds 254pr 60ds 32ds 26ds Discount ds

Australia $ Canada $ Denmark Kr Egypt Euro ¤ Hong Kong $ Hungary Indonesia Israel Shk Japan Yen New Zealand $ Norway Kr Poland Russia S Africa Rd Sweden Kr Switzerland Fr Turkey Lira USA $

Bank buys Bank sells 2.000 1.740 1.960 1.700 10.180 8.920 12.760 10.150 1.390 1.220 13.490 11.870 427.790 351.950 22695.600 18103.300 6.590 5.620 188.850 163.560 2.290 1.940 11.330 9.790 5.860 4.810 69.940 58.240 19.790 16.760 12.400 11.020 1.690 1.460 4.080 3.260 1.770 1.550

Rates for banknotes and traveller's cheques as traded by Royal Bank of Scotland plc yesterday

Data as shown is for information purposes only. No offer is made by Morningstar or this publication

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

73

FGM

Markets Business Martin Waller Tempus Special report on the oil industry

Who loses when oil price falls

the dividend only twice within memory, most recently after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010. It has been rebuilding, a total payment of 36.5 cents last year against 56 cents in 2009. Any further cut would be a serious humiliation.

Ben van Buerden, the chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell, was on CNBC yesterday talking up the oil price over the longer term. He also indicated that Shell has projects that can be put on pause if necessary. Again, I suspect that the he oil price has not been dividend is safe enough. this low for a sustained As to those that might regret a period since the end of 2010. The stock market has long period of oil price deflation, two North Sea producers stand out. been down for four days EnQuest is redeveloping the Alma out of five this week. This is odd, and Galia fields there. Premier Oil is because they tend to go in different also exposed — though most directions, a falling oil price being production is in Asia — and is favourable for the global economy developing the $5.2 billion Sea Lion and aiding the markets. project in difficult waters off the The reason is that both are falling Falklands. It is still seeking a for the same reasons, such as the partner for Sea Lion. perception of economic By contrast, companies weakness in the eurozone seeking oil and gas and concerns over slowing follow me onshore, which is cheaper in China. on twitter to exploit, or in more A price of below $90 a for updates barrel has three significant @MartinWaller10 benign conditions offshore would fare better. Ophir effects on the prices of oil Energy has the double and oil-related stocks. To benefit of low extraction costs state the blindingly obvious, it and large reserves at its wells off depresses the profits the producers Tanzania. make on what they extract, and the Shares in the various oil service effect is more noted in high cost companies, such as Petrofac and regions such as the North Sea. It acts as a constraint on future investment. Most new fields have a ‘There are reasons why cost per barrel at which they are not viable. They tend to adopt a the recent fall might benchmark of $80, though plainly reverse . . . the Chinese this varies from project to project.

Even before the recent fall, the big have a habit of buying integrated oil companies had been cutting back on significant spending, when the price is low’ in a move towards capital discipline.

John Wood Group, have fallen along It also acts as a dampener on the with the oil price. Sanjeev Bahl, at always volatile prices of the Numis, downgraded Wood this exploration tiddlers, because they week because of its exposure to rely on finding bigger partners to deep water production. I tend to fund the development of their believe that, with both companies discoveries. Paradoxically, as their winning new work, any recovery in shares fall, they become more the oil price would instead provide a attractive to buyers prepared to take bounce. a long view.

Finally, there comes a stage, as There are reasons why the recent Mr Graham-Wood points out, when oil price fall might reverse. Malcolm it is cheaper to buy reserves on the Graham-Wood, a long-term stock market than find them observer of the market, points out yourself. Genel has a strong position that the Chinese have a policy of in the Kurdish region of Iraq which topping up their reserves by buying is unaffected by the troubles when the price is low. In addition, elsewhere in the region. the mismatch between production Tullow Oil is widely seen as a bid and consumption is not that great. candidate, probably for some Demand for Opec oil in the first national oil company prepared to quarter is about 29 million barrels a take that long view. Ithaca Energy day; present production about and Faroe Petroleum have both 31 million. It would not take much strengthened their finances and concerted action to narrow the gap. have the balance sheet strength to As to the effect on individual see out temporary price weakness. stocks, it was suggested this week If that oil price starts to rise again, that if the price falls much below though, I suspect prices in the $80, BP would have to cut its sector will rise sharply with it. dividend. I am not sure. BP has cut

T Sable Mining, are in severe distress because of the crash in the price of iron ore and investors’ fears over the ebola outbreak. The shares, which peaked at 432p in 2011, have collapsed to 4¾p. The company said yesterday that investors will be wiped out and asked for the stock to be

suspended. JSW, an Indian steelmaker, was last night reported to be close to buying the Marampa project. Carole Ferguson, an analyst at SP Angel, said: “One of our concerns about the West African juniors was that their cost structure would not be able to withstand a falling iron ore price.”

Car insurers avoid trading that had the brakes on Gary Parkinson Market report

O

Dax, which fell to a one-year low. Oil n another dismal day in touched its lowest in four years and the stock market, shares industrial metals fatigued. in car insurers held up Bank of America Merrill Lynch ran better than most. The the numbers and found a “dash for latest survey of the sector cash” in a week of “risk off” in which

by Towers Watson, a professional investors pulled $13 billion from services firm, and Confused.com, part stocks, put $16 billion into bonds, of Admiral, showed that the average traditionally safer assets, and premium for comprehensive cover $47 billion into money markets, the was £582 in the three months to the most in a year. end of September.

Miners and oil shares tracked That may be a hefty 10.7 per cent commodity prices south and led lower than the same period last year, London lower. Tullow Oil, further but it is an increase on premiums in unsettled by the latest in a series of April to June this year. drilling disappointments, lost 45p to Although cover is getting cheaper 526p, while Vedanta Resources, off for middle-aged drivers, it is growing 71p at 852½p, published a decidedly dearer once again for those under 25, mixed production update. who have reaped the greatest savings Bookmakers were under pressure from tough competition. after the High Court rejected a legal For Morgan Stanley, this was the challenge to plans to bring the first sign that car insurance pricing is licensing and taxing of online gaming stabilising, although the recovery companies under UK control. No looks to be an “elongated U-shaped” great surprise, but William Hill and one, rather than a “more bullish VLadbrokes, which have based their shaped” one, the broker said. online operations in Gibraltar to Morgan Stanley also cautioned exploit lower taxes, fell 8p to that the Association of British 343¾p and 8p to 110¾p, Insurers’ survey of car respectively. insurance premiums tends follow us TUI Travel, like other to be more useful because it on twitter tour operators, rattled this measures both renewals and for updates new business, and reflects @timesbusiness week by the spread of ebola to Spain, remained friendless. the prices consumers actually The owner of Thomson and pay rather than relying solely First Choice holidays lost a on quotes for new business. further 13p to 343¾p before a vote at All of which left RSA Insurance 2p higher at 465p, esure up 7¾p at 227¾p the end of this month by shareholders on its merger with its German parent. and Admiral 4p easier at £12.55 in a CSR and Microchip Technology, stock market still deeply fearful of the the Arizonan chip company that dark clouds gathering over the global wants to buy its Cambridge-based economy and of the spread of ebola rival, are still talking.

— fears that have battered shares Meanwhile, CSR shares were everywhere in recent days. clobbered 45½p to 671p after The FTSE 100, off a further Microchip Tech pushed out a horrible 91.9 points at 6,340 and down nearly profit warning, blaming slowing 224 points in the past four trading days, languished at its lowest in a year. demand in China. Some brokers thought this could prompt the It was the same story for Germany’s

US company to drop its ambitions towards CSR. Others thought CSR small enough and with sufficiently interesting patents for this bid, and potentially counterbids, to stick.

Either way, “risk arbitrageurs” were getting torched. Risk arbs are hedge funds that try to make money from the difference between the price of a deal and the amount the share gains until the deal closes. Should the deal be sweetened, they make more, but if it falls apart, losses can be vicious.

Also carried out feet first were all those private investors who had

Wall Street report Stocks were mostly lower, but consumer staples rose amid the market uncertainty, with Coca-Cola again lifting the sector. Coke was up 1.6 per cent to $44.55. At midday the Dow Jones industrial average was up 15.77 points at 16,675.02. waded into London Mining on Thursday hoping for a rescue. None came.

There were rumours that Paragon Diamonds was close to cementing a $10 million loan, underwritten by Titanium Capital, to buy a plant in Lesotho in southern Africa that can take the £11.8 million AIM company to full-scale production. Philip Manduca, Titanium’s chief executive, is also now chairman of Paragon, 2.8 per cent easier at 3.4p.

Finally, Gamma Communications, a company born from the ashes of Atlantic Telecom, Britain’s biggest telecoms collapse, made a decent debut on AIM. Shares in the £181 million business, which provides business-grade broadband to other companies, rose 18p to 205p.

More sellers than buyers Oil price per barrel

117$

Total oil production 2013 (million barrels per day)

US 111

Saudi Arabia

105

Russia

99 93

Q1 2024

Q2

Q3

87

China Canada

12.31 11.59 10.53 4.46 4.07

UAE

3.23

Iran

3.19

Iraq

3.06

Source: EIA

T

he combined impact of a flood of cheap Australian iron ore and the ebola virus has pushed London Mining to

the wall (Marcus Leroux writes). The Sierra Leonefocused miner said yesterday that it would not be able to continue as going concern but that it was in talks with a potential saviour for its Marampa mine.

London Mining, and UK-listed peers such as African Minerals and

Source:Thomson Reuters

Miner admits defeat after price slump

74

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

Quietly confident with a wicked sense of humour, Baker was sociable and sporty. She was a skilled table tennis player who played hockey in her youth and took up squash in her forties (even qualifying for the Cheshire county team). Taking pride in her appearance, she always dressed

immaculately and never ventured out without make-up. She married Tony Levy, a GP and later a medical director of health screening centres, in 1957.

Nan, a sales director for Silvereed HK Ltd, a supplier of goods and high-end designer fashion brands, was their only child.

Register Obituaries

Shirley Baker Photographer who skilfully captured social upheaval in the Sixties The bulldozer and wrecking ball were set loose decisively on Britain in the 1950s and 1960s, when almost a million homes were demolished.

Slum clearance programmes created eerie dust-blown hinterlands where neighbourhoods had once stood.

Rolleiflex camera in hand, Shirley Baker stepped into this landscape and — click — framed humour, warmth and hope risen from the grit.

Across thousands of images she embarked upon a seldom-made journey into the heart of the postwar northern working class. The wasteland was a cricket pitch without boundaries, a playground without walls to the children she photographed. She found little girls tottering through streets in their dad’s shoes; men in flat caps waiting for the pub to open; women gossiping at the doorstep, their Silver Cross prams parked up; and tower blocks rising from the desolation — homes-to-be for the displaced.

“I have always been interested in the trivia of everyday life,’’ Baker explained in 2012. ‘‘However, I admit I have also had an eye out for the unusual in the usual. I love the immediacy of unposed, spontaneous photographs and the ability of the camera to capture the serious, the funny, the sublime and the ridiculous.’’

Although her photographs have been displayed at the Tate Gallery (now Tate Britain) and the Louvre, Baker’s modest nature contributed to a relatively low profile. Her photographs never graced the shelves around her home. ‘‘It was only when her first book was published [Street Photographs: Manchester and Salford, March 1989] that I discovered she had even written one,’’ said her daughter, Nan Levy. ‘‘All those hours spent in her darkroom, she had to have been working on something but I never guessed what.’’ Its publication was, for Baker, one of her proudest achievements. “It’s what every photographer wants to do.”

Born in Salford in 1932, Shirley Baker was the daughter of Josephine, a milliner, and Alec Baker, a furniture designer and manufacturer who owned

MADE IN THE NORTH / PAUL WOLFGANG WEBSTER

Baker was first given a camera aged six; right, families flocking to an icecream van in Manchester, 1965

a factory with his brothers in Manchester. Aged six, she and her identical twin, Barbara, were given box cameras. She never put hers down. Barbara was more interested in painting and went on to become an artist.

Baker studied photography at the Manchester College of Technology, London Regent Street Polytechnic and the London College of Printing. She knew instinctively that her creative lifeforce lay amid the streets where she was raised. ‘‘Despite the many wonderful pictures of the great and famous, I feel that less formal, quotidian images can often convey more of the life and spirit of the time,’’ she said.

She wandered alone at a time when few people carried cameras, especially women, and spoke often of the dignity

of her subjects. “She used to say to me when I was a child, looking at her photos of the slums, ‘Just look at the smiling faces and how proud the people are of their homes, still scrubbing the steps when the houses were being pulled down around them’, ’’ her daughter said.

The work of already established “street photographers” such as Henri Cartier-Bresson had influenced Baker.

She subscribed to Cartier-Bresson’s notion of “the decisive moment” — the “simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organisation of forms which give an event its proper expression”.

Much the same as Garry Winogrand, the American photographer who covered social issues in the early 1960s and whose legacy included nearly 200,000 images, Baker took a prodigious number of pictures, developing them in a darkroom set up in her house in Wilmslow, Cheshire.

“I would go out on to the streets capturing upheaval, photographing people I came across,’’ said Baker. ‘‘I couldn’t help it. Around every corner there was someone different. It became an obsession. There was so much destruction. A street would be half pulled down and the remnants set on fire while people were still living in the area. As soon as any houses were cleared, children would move in and break all the windows. There was no health and safety in those days. They could do as they liked.’’

Her photographs were featured, often with accompanying articles written by herself, in The Guardian, The Lady and The Economist. She worked for many years as an industrial photographer and lectured at Salford College of Art and Manchester Polytechnic.

In the 1970s and 1980s she moved further afield geographically, though she did not alter her approach and style.

She became particularly fascinated by punks and took many shots of them congregating in their leather jackets, often swigging cider, around shopping precincts in Stockport, close to her home.

John Gustafson Bass player with the Big Three, a raucous Liverpool band who rivalled the Beatles as a live attraction at the Cavern Club As a songwriter Johnny Gustafson would have been the first to admit that he was never in the same league as John Lennon and Paul McCartney. But there are those who were present at the birth of Merseybeat who will tell you that the finest group that played at Liverpool’s Cavern Club in its early 1960s heyday was not the Beatles but the Big Three, with Gustafson on bass.

With a repertoire of Chuck Berry and Ray Charles numbers, the Big Three – Gustafson on bass, Adrian Barber on guitar and Johnny Hutchinson on drums — were louder, wilder and more aggressive on stage than the Beatles or any of their other Liverpool contemporaries and looked set for stardom.

The Big Three and the Beatles emerged more or less together and were often rivals at talent contests, but they were also close friends and on at least two occasions, Gustafson was asked to sit in with the Beatles. In September 1961 he stood in for George Harrison during a performance at the Grosvenor Ballroom in Wallasey. “I only turned up by accident to find my girlfriend and didn’t know the Beatles were playing that night,” he later recalled. “I went backstage to see them and John said, ‘You’re on’. George had the flu but his guitar was there and so I played the whole of their second set, 45 minutes.”

At another Beatles gig, Gustafson took over instrumental duties from

Gustafson, right, with the Big Three. The band were dogged by bad luck

McCartney. “Paul wanted to do Ray Charles’s What’d I Say with a hand mike so I played his Hofner bass. It was the closing number and we did it for about ten minutes.”

Brian Epstein, the Beatles manager, added the Big Three to his roster and in July 1962 sent them to Germany for a residency at Hamburg’s Star Club. On their first day back home, he whisked the group off to London to record a demo for Decca, the label which only months earlier had turned down the Beatles. The Big Three passed the audition and appeared set for success.

Yet for various reasons, mostly beyond their control, their promise came to nothing and by late 1963, they

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

75

FGM

‘I challenged her to a sumo wrestling bout’ Marriages & Engagements thetimes.co.uk/life

SHIRLEY BAKER / MARY EVANS PICTURE LIBRARY

Camille Wolff Book dealer who specialised in true crime

A ten-week exhibition of Baker’s work, her first one-woman show in the capital, will be held at the Photographer’s Gallery in Soho, in April 2015.

Interest is expected to be high because in her later years Baker’s work was rediscovered and featured on posters, in books and on record sleeves. A parallel

was made, via flyers for club nights and concerts, between her iconic images and the wider pop culture of Manchester, particularly groups such as Joy Division and the Smiths. ‘‘Shirley was a people’s photographer roaming the streets of Salford and Manchester,’’ said her fellow docu-

had broken up. Some blamed Epstein, who forced them into matching suits and “tamed” their image, neutering their raunchy, r&b sound. Others laid the fault at the door of Decca, which was putting all its energy into marketing the Rolling Stones.

Whatever the reasons, the Big Three’s recordings failed to do them justice. For their debut single, Some Other Guy, Decca stuck out the rudimentary demo they had made of the song for their audition. Gustafson and the group felt it lacked the energy of their live performances but when they asked if they could re-record it, they were told it was too late. They were even more dispirited when for the follow-up, Epstein insisted that the group record By The Way. The record made it to No 22 in the chart in June 1963, but despite this modest success, the group responded by telling Epstein his services were no longer required.

Decca then tried to capture the group

in the live environment by recording a four-track EP live at the Cavern Club.

The notion was inspired and it should have been impossible to fail, but the label’s engineers — unversed in the ways of rowdy, live rock’n’roll — were

The band’s recordings failed to recapture the energy of live shows not up to the task and failed to capture the band’s energy.

Although the other members of the Big Three left the music business, Gustafson spent the next two decades involved in almost every passing fashion of British rock’n’roll. He played chart pop with the Merseybeats and sang on their 1964 top 20 hit Wishin’ and Hopin’ before he was sacked, allegedly for asking too many questions of the management about the group’s finances. He

mentary photographer Martin Parr. ‘‘She created a suite of photos that are both impressive and an important document of the 1960s and 1970s.’’

Shirley Baker, photographer, was born on July 9, 1932. She died on September 21, 2014, aged 82

sang the part of Simon Zealotes on the original recording of Jesus Christ Superstar and recorded three albums with Roxy Music. It was Gustafson who came up with the disco bass line on the group’s 1975 top ten hit Love is the Drug.

John Frederick Gustafson was born in Liverpool in 1942. He met his wife Anne in 1978 and they married in 1983.

She survives him along with their three children; Alice, a website editor, Lucy, an artist, and a son Joe, who works in a greengrocers.

In the late 1970s Gustafson played jazz-rock with the Ian Gillan Band. Gillan described his colleague as “a complex guy who did not like things to be steady for too long.” When Gillan told him he was out, Gustafson reportedly replied: “I guess people don’t understand my sense of humour do they?”

John Gustafson, musician, was born on August 8, 1942. He died on September 12, 2014, aged 72

Seated in a rocking chair with her beloved cat Fred on her lap, Camille Wolff appeared to be the stereotype of a greyhaired great grandmother, but a glance at the bookshelves which filled the walls of her ivy-clad cottage revealed a world of mayhem, murder and intrigue.

For more than 20 years Wolff , usually known as “Cam”, was one of the world’s top dealers in true-crime books, working from home and selling to a clientele that included one of the Great Train Robbers as well as lawyers, investigators and criminologists.

She would tell visitors that “the Mafia are in the loo”. Reports of British murder cases were kept in the sitting room. The Jack the Ripper collection was in the hall. Only the kitchen was bare of books. Customers were offered a cup of tea and a biscuit, advised not to sit on the cat, and left to browse. The stock covered the whole gamut of human wickedness from fraud to burglary and slaughter.

Already in her 60s when she started trading, Wolff was the antithesis of the traditional idea of the reticent, grey bookseller. Often dressed in purple, she was mischievous and giggly and fascinated more by her clients than her books — she once declared that she might as well have been selling potatoes. Her home became the venue for long literary lunches and she was a catalyst in inspiring fresh research and debate on Jack the Ripper.

Camille Wolff was born in 1912 in Didsbury, south Manchester. Her father was a textile trader and her mother was from the Sieff family, who helped to found Marks & Spencer.

Wolff grew up in Egypt and was sent to a boarding school in England where she was expelled from school for teaching the facts of life to her friends.

She trained as a doctor at Manchester University but, suffering from deafness, she never practised and joined M&S in London, where she worked in occupational health. After she retired in the early 1970s she was inspired to start dealing in books by her son-in-law Ronald Segal, the anti-aparthied campaigner and a keen collector of first editions, who thought dealing would fill her time. Her husband Eric, who predeceased her, was a solicitor. They had two daughters: Miriam, who also predeceased her, and Susan, who has been involved in arts and community work.

Wolff began buying books in partnership with a friend who had a car. At the time they did not specialise, but her partner only wanted to deal in “respectable” books. Wolff started dealing in detective fiction from her home in Chelsea, adopting the name of Grey House Books after the colour of her house. She stumbled on true crime by accident after JHH Gaute, a crime historian, wrongly listed her as a dealer in nonfiction in the bibliography of a book.

Wolff decided to take up the idea and diversify. For a time she ran two catalogues, one for fiction and one for factual crime books, but eventually she gave up fiction. She once complained that the fanatical aficionados of Sherlock Holmes were simply “nuts”.

At any one time her house held up to 3,000 books and she was constantly trading, disappearing off to book fairs in a taxi, armed with a shopping trolley to buy more stock. She would come back,

unload her purchases in the hall of her home, and go back again.

Wolff would also sometimes set up a stall at book fairs, arriving armed with smoked-salmon sandwiches, but she did not find the events particularly stimulating and often fell asleep.

She was visited by a parade of figures from the crime world and beyond.

Bruce Reynolds, one of the Great Train Robbers, was, she said, her “favourite ex-criminal” while the former armed robber Freddie Foreman was a lunch guest. Customers also included Nick Cave, the rock star, who invited her to a concert (to which she went), and a long list of writers, lawyers, judges and detectives. She said that hosting law breakers and law enforcers at the same time required considerable tact.

The visitors book included not only the famous and the notorious but buyers from overseas and a milkman, a gravedigger and a roofer. When the latter said he did not have enough money to pay, Wolff asked him to fix her leaking roof instead. With other

Camille Wolff’s home was visited by a variety of lawmakers and breakers

customers she often sent books out, allowing them to pay later.

Wolff’s literary lunches, fuelled by food from M&S, often chicken Kiev, and copious amounts of wine would stretch into the afternoon as experts on the Ripper argued or former criminals talked about their exploits. In 1995 Wolff, with the help of her assistant Loretta Lay, went into the publishing business with Who Was Jack the Ripper?, a collection of short essays by 53 of the leading experts in the field.

A former Fabian and Communist party member, Wolff was fascinated by the poverty and degradation of Victorian London. She became a catalyst for bringing together many of the historians and criminologists fascinated with the serial killer into a discussion group called the Cloak and Dagger Club, which later became the Whitechapel Society.

She also hoped that the final unveiling of the Ripper’s identity would not reveal a Jew, because she was Jewish herself, or an American. She once declared: “The Americans have enough serial killers of their own and the English should be allowed to keep their first notable example.”

Camille Wolff, book dealer, was born on May 23, 1912. She died on September 4, 2014, aged 102

76

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

Register Births, Marriages and Deaths

thetimes.co.uk/advertise

Credo Roderick Strange

As a student in 1964 I was in Rome waiting for Pope Paul VI to drive by. I can see him now in my mind’s eye as he passed, standing up in his car, the modest smile, the gentle wave.

What made Paul VI unique among popes were the circumstances in which he became pope. No pope for 400 years had inherited an uncompleted Ecumenical Council — the Second Vatican Council that had been opened by Pope John XXIII in 1962, 52 years ago today.

This council had been called to present in a way intelligible and attractive to contemporary society the abiding truths of the Gospel. Pope John had hoped that its task could be completed in a single session. However, it took the entire first session to clarify the council’s essential task: namely, to offer a renewed vision of the church. And indeed it was Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini, who became pope in June 1963, who had articulated that objective.

Newly elected, Pope Paul could in fact have abandoned the council, but he announced that it would continue. For three further sessions, therefore, each autumn until December 1965, he piloted this giant liner till it reached harbour. He had to harness widely divergent viewpoints: some complained that he was betraying Pope John’s vision, while others accused him

of undermining church tradition. He made mistakes, but if leadership is an exercise in bringing people with you, what he achieved was a tour de force.

What people mostly remember about Pope Paul, however, is his decision in 1968 to reaffirm the Catholic Church’s prohibition on artificial means of contraception.

That decision caused trauma in the church, was in some respects prophetic, but was also handicapped by a way of thinking that was too abstract and forensic. However, what defines his papacy more accurately was his concern for the development of peoples and his declaration that “development” is the new name for peace. It is no wonder that the impoverished turn to violence.

Peace is not just an absence of war, but made real by treating people justly. His papacy was defined further by his recognition that people listen more to witnesses than teachers, and his urge to people to bear witness to God “as if they could see the invisible”.

Next Sunday Pope Paul VI will be beatified, that is, he will be offered as an example for Christian discipleship in daily life. He bore witness as if he could see the invisible.

Monsignor Roderick Strange is the Rector of the Pontifical Beda College, Rome

Court Circular morning in order to bid farewell to His Excellency upon relinquishing his appointment as High Commissioner for the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in London.

Buckingham Palace 10th October, 2014 Ms. Angelina Jolie was received by The Queen today when Her Majesty presented her with the Insignia of an Honorary Dame Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George.

His Excellency the Hon. Paul de Jersey was received in audience by The Queen and kissed hands upon his appointment as Governor of Queensland.

Mrs. de Jersey was also received by Her Majesty.

Mr. Marc Harrison was received by The Queen when Her Majesty decorated him with the Royal Victorian Medal (Silver).

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh were represented by the Right Reverend David Conner (Register of the Most Noble Order of the Garter) at the Funeral of the Right Reverend Michael ScottJoynt (formerly Prelate of the Most Noble Order of the Garter) which was held in Winchester Cathedral this morning.

The Earl and Countess of Wessex were represented by Colonel Alastair Bruce of Crionaich.

The Princess Royal was represented by the Reverend Peter Galloway.

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester were represented by Mr. Nigel Atkinson.

By command of The Queen, Mr. Alistair Harrison (Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps) received His Excellency Dr. Chrisantha Nonis at St. James’s Palace this

Buckingham Palace 10th October, 2014 The Earl of Wessex, Patron, National Youth Theatre of Great Britain, this morning held a Meeting.

His Royal Highness this afternoon visited Gordon’s School, West End, to mark the restoration of the statue of Major General Gordon, and was received

by Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Surrey (Dame Sarah Goad).

Buckingham Palace 10th October, 2014 The Princess Royal, President, Carers Trust, this morning held Britain’s Best Breakfast at Buckingham Palace.

Her Royal Highness, President, later attended the One Hundred and Seventy Fifth Anniversary prize day at the Royal School Haslemere, Farnham Lane, Haslemere, and was received by Commander Susan Lochner (Deputy Lieutenant of Surrey).

The Princess Royal this afternoon rededicated the boathouse and named a lifeboat CLAIRE AND DAVID DELVES at Ramsgate Lifeboat Station, Addington Street, Ramsgate, and was received by Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Kent (the Viscount De L’Isle).

Kensington Palace 10th October, 2014 The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester today visited the Poppies in the Moat Installation at HM Tower of London.

His Royal Highness, Patron, British Limbless Ex-Service Men’s Association, and Her Royal Highness this afternoon met the cyclists completing Soldier Ride UK at HM Tower of London.

Annual luncheon The annual luncheon of colleagues from The Times past was held yesterday at the Oxford & Cambridge Club and was attended by Margaret Allen, Neil Allen, Cyril Bainbridge, James Bishop, John Brian, Fred Emery, Peter Evans, Ronald Faux, Nick Herbert, Michael Hornsby, Michael Knipe,

Michael Leapman, Gary Lloyd, Brian Macarthur, Christopher McKane, Edward Mortimer, Geraldine Norman, Leon Pilpel, John Shakespeare, Hugh Stephenson, Kyril Tidmarsh, Philippa Toomey, Irving Wardle, Christopher Warman, and Richard Wigg.

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

77

FGM

Television & Radio

Today’s television BBC ONE

6.00am Breakfast 9.45 Saturday Kitchen Live 11.15 Live Formula 1: Russian Grand Prix Qualifying.

Coverage from the Sochi Autodrom (Start-time 12.00) 1.30pm BBC News; Weather 1.40 Football Focus 2.20 Gymnastics: World Artistic Championships 3.50 The Great British Bake Off: The Final 4.50 Celebrity Mastermind 5.20 BBC News; Regional News; Weather 5.40 Pointless Celebrities 6.30 Strictly Come Dancing 8.35 Doctor Who 9.20 Casualty 10.10 The National Lottery Live 10.20 BBC News; Weather 10.40 Mrs Brown’s Boys 11.10 FILM: Armageddon (1998) Sci-fi thriller starring Bruce Willis 1.35am-6.00 BBC News

BBC TWO

7.15am Formula 1: Russian Grand Prix Second Practice 8.55 Live Formula 1: Russian Grand Prix Third Practice. The third and final practice session at the Sochi Autodrom 10.15 Map Man 10.45 South Africa Walks 11.15 Lorraine Pascale: How to Be a Better Cook 11.45 The Little Paris Kitchen: Cooking with Rachel Khoo 12.15pm Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Escapes 1.15 FILM: The Gay Divorcee (1934) Musical 2.55 FILM: Top Hat (1935) Musical 4.30 Escape to the Continent 5.00 The £100K House: Tricks of the Trade 6.00 Restoring England’s Heritage 6.30 Gardeners’ World 7.00 Flog It! Trade Secrets 7.30 Penguins: Spy in the Huddle 8.30 Dad’s Army 9.00 QI XL 9.45 FILM: The Gatekeepers (2012) Documentary about the Israeli secret service 11.20 The Gatekeepers: Newsnight Debate 11.50 FILM: Shine (1996) Biopic of pianist David Helfgott starring Geoffrey Rush 1.30am-2.30 TOTP2

7.25 The Grid 7.55 The Morning Line 9.00 Weekend Kitchen 10.00 Everybody Loves Raymond 10.30 Frasier 11.30 The Big Bang Theory 12.25pm The Simpsons 12.55 Gadget Man 1.30 Live Channel 4 Racing. Coverage of eight races from Newmarket and York 4.10 Come Dine with Me 6.40 Stars at Your Service 7.40 Channel 4 News 7.55 Grand Designs 9.00 FILM: Hanna (2011) Action thriller starring Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana 11.10 Rude Tube 12.15am FILM: Gangster No 1 (2000) 2.00 Homeland 3.05 Hollyoaks 5.15 Kirstie’s Handmade Treasures 5.35-6.00 How I Met Your Mother

Sky1

6.00am All Aboard: East Coast Trains 7.00 Glee 8.00 The Fantasy Football Club 9.00 The F1 Show 10.00 Soccer AM 12.00 WWE Superstars 1.00pm Modern Family 2.00 The Middle 3.00 Inside RAF Brize Norton 5.00 Futurama: Welcome to the World of Tomorrow 5.10 The Boxtrolls Special 5.20 The Simpsons 7.20 Ashley Banjo’s Secret Street Crew 8.20 Duck Quacks Don’t Echo 9.30 FILM: Dr Dolittle 2 (2001) 11.00 Hawaii Five-0 3.00am Road Wars 4.00-6.00 Nothing to Declare

BBC World

Tomorrow’s television Sky Sports 1

BBC ONE

6.00am Sporting Rivalries 7.00 Football Gold 7.30 Sporting Rivalries 8.00 The Fantasy Football Club 9.00 Game Changers 10.00 Soccer AM 12.00 Live FL72: Cambridge United v Oxford United (Kick-off 12.15) 2.30pm Live PRO12 Rugby Union: Edinburgh v Newport Gwent Dragons (Kick-off 2.40) 5.00 Live Super League Grand Final: St Helens v Wigan Warriors (Kick-off 6.00) 8.30 Live Fight Night. Lee Selby v Joel Brunker and Anthony Joshua v Denis Bakhtov 12.00 Football Gold 12.30am Super League Grand Final 2014 1.30 Super League Gold 2.00 Fight Night 5.30-6.00 Super League Gold

6.00am Breakfast 9.00 The Andrew Marr Show 10.00 Sunday Morning Live 11.00 Live Formula 1: Russian Grand Prix. Coverage from the Sochi Autodrom (Start-time 12.00) 2.15pm Sunday Politics 3.30 Strictly Navratri 4.00 Points of View 4.15 Songs of Praise 4.50 The Great British Bake Off: Class of 2013 5.50 BBC News; Regional News; Weather 6.20 Countryfile 7.20 Strictly Come Dancing: The Results 8.00 Antiques Roadshow 9.00 Our Girl 10.00 BBC News; Regional News; Weather 10.30 Have I Got a Bit More News for You 11.10 FILM: The Recruit (2003) 1.05-6.00 BBC News

Sky Sports 2

6.00am Great British Garden Revival 7.00 Countryfile 8.00 Gardeners’ World 8.30 The Beechgrove Garden 9.00 Saturday Kitchen Best Bites 10.30 The Great British Bake Off Masterclass 12.35pm FILM: Dances with Wolves (1990) 3.25 Escape to the Continent 3.55 Gymnastics: World Artistic Championships 5.30 Rugby League: Super League Grand Final 6.30 Flog It! Trade Secrets 7.00 Human Universe 8.00 Wonders of the Monsoon 9.00 Sacred Rivers with Simon Reeve 10.00 Mock the Week 10.35 FILM: Kinky Boots (2005) 12.15am FILM: Stolen (2010) 1.40 Sign Zone: Countryfile 2.35-3.35 Holby City

6.00am Boots ‘n’ All 7.00 WWE: Smackdown. Wrestling action 9.00 WWE: Bottom Line 9.55 Live One-Day International Cricket. India v West Indies 6.00pm Sporting Rivalries 7.00 Live World Grand Prix Darts. Coverage of the semi-finals 10.00 One-Day International Cricket 11.00 Super League Grand Final 2014 12.00 Super League Gold 12.15am-6.00 Live IRB Rugby Sevens. The Gold Coast Sevens

Sky Sports 3

6.00am Live IRB Rugby Sevens. The Gold Coast Sevens 10.25 Football Gold 10.30 Sporting Rivalries 11.30 Sporting Greats 12.00 Boots ‘n’ All 1.00pm Live ATP Masters Tennis.

The second Shanghai Masters semi-final 3.00 Sporting Rivalries 3.30 Boots ‘n’ All 4.30 Darts Gold 4.45 Live Euro 2016 Qualifiers.

Republic of Ireland v Gibraltar (Kick-off 5.00) 7.15 Football’s Greatest Players 7.45 Football Gold 8.00 Live Horse of the Year Show.

Day four from Birmingham 11.00 WWE: Late Night — Superstars 12.00 International Netball 2.00am WWE: Late Night — Bottom Line 3.00 Sporting Rivalries 3.30 ATP Tour Uncovered 4.00 Sporting Heroes: Gary Newbon Interviews Rebecca Adlington 5.00-6.00 Sporting Rivalries

BBC TWO

6.05am How I Met Your Mother.

Comedy 6.30 Trans World Sport

6.00am BBC World News 6.30 Our World 7.00 BBC World News 7.30 Click 8.00 BBC World News 8.10 Reporters 8.30 HARDtalk 9.00 BBC World News 9.10 Football Focus 9.30 Horizons 10.00 BBC World News 10.10 Horizon 11.00 BBC World News 11.10 Africa Business Report 11.30 Newsnight 12.00 BBC World News 12.30pm Our World 1.00 BBC World News 1.10 UK Reporters 1.30 The Culture Show 2.00 BBC World News 2.15 Sport Today 2.30 The Travel Show 3.00 BBC World News 3.30 Dateline London 4.00 BBC World News 4.10 The Police Chief of Kirkuk 5.00 BBC World News 5.30 Our World 6.00 BBC World News 6.10 Secrets of South America 7.00 BBC World News 7.15 Sport Today 7.30 The Travel Show 8.00 BBC World News 8.30 Click 9.00 BBC World News 9.10 Africa Business Report 9.30 Dateline London 10.00 BBC World News 10.10 Horizon 11.00 BBC World News 11.10 Secrets of South America 12.00 BBC World News 12.10am Reporters 12.30 India Business Report 1.00 BBC World News 1.10 Africa Business Report 1.30 The Culture Show 2.00 BBC World News 2.30 Dateline London 3.00 BBC World News 3.10 Horizon 4.00 BBC World News 4.30 Click 5.00 BBC World News 5.30-6.00 Newsnight

6.30am Live FIA World Touring Car Championship. Qualifying session from Shanghai 7.30 WATTS 7.45 Live Cycling: Tour of Beijing. Second stage of the race 10.00 Trail Running: Outrun the Sun 11.00 WTA Tennis 12.30pm Live WTA Tennis.

Generali Ladies Linz 4.30 Speedway Grand Prix 5.30 Live Speedway Grand Prix. Grand Prix of Poland 9.00 Speedway European Championship 9.30 FIA World Touring Car Championship 10.30 Darts: World Masters 12.001.00am Speedway Grand Prix

6.00am NFL 7.00 Cardiff Half Marathon 7.55 FIM Superbike World Championship 8.30 Everybody Loves Raymond 9.00 Frasier 9.30 Sunday Brunch 12.30pm George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces 1.35 Deal or No Deal 2.40 Big Bang Theory 4.10 FILM: A Monster in Paris (2011) 6.00 News 6.30 Alan Carr Does Deal or No Deal 7.30 Guy Martin’s Spitfire 9.00 Homeland 10.05 FILM: Law Abiding Citizen (2009) 12.10am Alan Carr: Chatty Man

Radio 4

BBC World Service

Radio 3

Radio 4

ITV London

6.00am CITV 9.25 ITV News 9.30 The Hungry Sailors 10.25 Murder, She Wrote 11.20 ITV News; Weather 11.30 Storage Hoarders 12.30pm The Unforgettable Hattie Jacques 1.05 Tipping Point 2.05 The X Factor 3.10 FILM: Jurassic Park (1993) Adventure 5.35 Regional News 5.45 ITV News; Weather 6.00 New You’ve Been Framed!

6.30 The Chase: Celebrity Special 7.30 The X Factor 10.00 Through the Keyhole. With Des O’Connor, Dave Berry and Myleene Klass.

Last in the series 11.00 ITV News; Weather 11.15 FILM: The Game (1997) Thriller starring Michael Douglas 1.30am Jackpot247 3.00 The Jeremy Kyle Show USA 3.45-6.00 ITV Nightscreen

Channel 4

Today’s radio

5.30am News 5.43 Prayer for the Day 5.45 iPM 6.07 Ramblings (r) 6.30 Farming Today This Week 7.00 Today 9.00 Saturday Live 10.30 A Century of Hope 11.00 The Forum 11.30 From Our Own Correspondent 12.00 News 12.01pm (LW) Shipping 12.04 Money Box 12.30 The Now Show (r) 1.00 News 1.10 Any Questions? (r) 2.00 Any Answers?

2.30 Saturday Drama: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (r) 4.00 Weekend Woman’s Hour 5.00 Saturday PM 5.30 The Bottom Line (r) 5.54 Shipping 6.00 News 6.15 Loose Ends 7.00 Profile 7.15 Saturday Review 8.00 Archive on 4: 1964: The Revolution that Nearly Wasn’t. Revisiting the results of the highly contested 1964 General Election 9.00 Classic Serial: Rebus: Set in Darkness (r) 10.15 Future Proofing (r) 11.00 Counterpoint.

Competitors from London, Kent and Oxfordshire take part in the third heat (r) 11.30 Poetry Please (r) 12.30am Brazilian Bonanza (r) 12.48 Shipping 1.00 As BBC World Service 5.20-5.30 Shipping

5.00am Newsroom 5.30 Elements 6.00 Weekend 9.00 News 9.06 Documentary. 9.30 Boston Calling 10.00 Sports Hour 11.00 News 11.06 Newsroom 11.30 Trending 11.50 Over to You 12.00 News 12.06pm From Our Own Correspondent 12.30 Documentary 1.00 Newshour 2.00 Newsroom 2.30 Why Factor 2.50 Sporting Witness 3.00 News 3.06 Sportsworld 4.00 News 4.06 Sportsworld 5.00 News 5.06 Sportsworld 6.00 Newsroom 6.30 In the Balance 7.00 News 7.06 From Our Own Correspondent 7.30 Boston Calling 8.00 News 8.06 The History Hour 9.00 Newshour 10.00 News 10.06 Forum 10.50 Sporting Witness 11.00 Newsroom 11.20 Sports News 11.30 Why Factor 11.50 Over to You 12.00 News 12.06am Newsroom 12.30 In the Balance 1.00 News 1.06 From Our Own Correspondent 1.30 Elements 2.00 News 2.06 History Hour 3.00 News 3.06 Newsroom 3.30 In the Balance 4.00 Newsroom 4.20 Sports News 4.30 Trending 4.50-5.00 Sporting Witness

British Eurosport

7.00am Breakfast. With Martin Handley 9.00 News 9.03 CD Review. With Andrew McGregor 12.15pm Music Matters. 1.00 News 1.02 Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert.

Chamber music by three of Bach’s sons 2.00 Saturday Classics. Harpist Catrin Finch presents music that has shaped her life and career 4.00 Sound of Cinema. Film music inspired by puzzles, mazes and games 5.00 Jazz Record Requests.

Including music by Lem Winchester, Barbara Thompson, Gerald Wilson and Joe Sample 6.00 Jazz Line-Up. Pianist Gwilym Simcock at the 2014 Scarborough Jazz Festival 7.30 Live Radio 3 in Concert. The BBC Philharmonic performs music by Sibelius, Nielsen and Shostakovich 10.00 Between the Ears: Coma Songs. A meditation on the cultural representation of comas 10.30 Hear and Now. Tom Service introduces recent releases and James Tenney’s Saxony 12.00 Geoffrey Smith’s Jazz. The music of the pianist Art Tatum (r) 1.00am-7.00 Through the Night. Sibelius, Bach, Bruckner

ITV London

6.00am CITV 9.25 ITV News 9.30 Dickinson’s Real Deal 10.30 ITV News; Weather 10.45 FILM: Carry On Matron (1972) 12.30pm The X Factor 3.00 Downton Abbey 4.00 Regional News 4.15 ITV News; Weather 4.30 Live International Football: Estonia v England (Kick-off 5.00) 7.15 Sunday Night at the Palladium 8.15 The X Factor Results 9.15 Downton Abbey 10.20 ITV News; Weather 10.35 International Football Highlights 11.35 Premiership Rugby Union 12.35am The Store 2.35 Motorsport UK 3.25 British Superbike Championship Highlights 4.15 ITV Nightscreen 5.05-6.00 Jeremy Kyle

Channel 4

1.05 Live American Football: Philadelphia Eagles v New York Giants 4.50 SuperScrimpers 5.05 FIM Superbike World Championship 5.35-6.20 Countdown

Sky1

6.00am Hour of Power 7.00 Are You Smarter Than a 10-Year-Old? 8.00 Glee 9.00 Inside Gatwick 10.00 WWE Superstars 11.00 WWE: Experience 12.00 Secret Street Crew 1.00pm The Middle 2.00 Inside RAF Brize Norton 4.00 The Simpsons 6.00 Secret Street Crew 7.00 The Simpsons 7.30 Moone Boy 8.00 An Idiot Abroad 2 10.00 Road Wars 10.30 Dracula Untold Special 11.00 Hawaii Five-0 12.00 NCIS: Los Angeles 2.00am Road Wars 3.00 The Kumars 4.00-6.00 Nothing to Declare

BBC World

6.00am BBC World News 6.30 India Business Report 7.00 BBC World News 7.30 Travel Show 8.00 BBC World News 8.10 UK Reporters 8.30 Culture Show 9.00 BBC World News 9.10 Reporters 9.30 Dateline London 10.00 BBC World News 10.10 The Police Chief of Kirkuk 11.00 BBC World News 11.10 Secrets of South America 12.00 BBC World News 12.30pm Newsnight 1.00 BBC World News 1.10 Reporters 1.30 Talking Business 2.00 BBC World News 2.15 Sport Today 2.30 Click 3.00 BBC World News 3.30 Horizons 4.00 BBC World News 4.10 Horizon 5.00 BBC World News 5.30 India Business Report 6.00 BBC World News 6.30 Our World 7.00 BBC World News 7.15 Sport Today 7.30 Talking Business 8.00 BBC World News 8.30 Culture Show 9.00 BBC World News 9.10 UK Reporters 9.30 Horizons 10.00 BBC World News 10.10 Police Chief of Kirkuk 11.00 Newsday 11.30 Our World 12.00 Newsday 12.30am Asia Business Report 12.45 Sport Today 1.00 Newsday 1.30 Asia Business Report 1.45 Sport Today 2.00 BBC World News 2.30 Asia Business Report 2.45 Sport Today 3.00 BBC World News 3.30 Asia Business Report 3.45 Sport Today 4.00 BBC World News 4.30 HARDtalk 5.00 BBC World News 5.30 World Business Report 5.45-6.00 BBC World News

Sky Sports 2

6.00am Live IRB Rugby Sevens. The Gold Coast Sevens 9.25 Football Gold 9.30 Sporting Rivalries 10.00 Super League Grand Final 2014 11.00 Anthony Joshua: Heavyweight Hopes 12.00 Fight Night 3.30pm NFL: A Football Life 5.30 Live NFL: Minnesota Vikings v Detroit Lions (Kick-off 6.00) 9.00 Live NFL: Seattle Seahawks v Dallas Cowboys (Kick-off 9.25) 12.30am Red Bull Air Race 2.00 The Ashes 5.306.00 Super League Gold

Sky Sports 3

6.00am One-Day International Cricket 7.00 This Week in WWE 7.30 WWE Vintage 8.30 WWE: Afterburn 9.30 Live ATP Masters Tennis. The Shanghai Masters final 11.30 Sporting Greats 12.00 International Netball 2.00pm Super League Grand Final 2014 3.00 Sporting Greats 3.30 Sporting Rivalries 4.00 ATP Masters Tennis 5.00 Sporting Greats 5.30 This Week in WWE 6.00 WWE: Experience 7.00 ATP Masters Tennis 8.00 Live Horse of the Year Show.

The fifth and final day 11.00 WWE: Late Night — Afterburn 12.00 This Week in WWE 12.30am WWE: Late Night Vintage 1.30 ATP Masters Tennis 2.30 Sports Unlimited 3.30 Sporting Greats 4.00 Sporting Rivalries 4.30 Sporting Heroes: Gary Newbon Interviews Stephen Hendry 5.30-6.00 Sporting Greats

British Eurosport

6.00am Sporting Rivalries 7.00 Football’s Greatest Players 8.00 Barclays Premier League Legends 9.00 Sunday Supplement 10.30 Goals on Sunday 12.30pm Sunday Supplement 2.00 One2Eleven 2.15 Barclays Premier League Legends 2.45 Live FL72: Barnsley v Bradford City (Kick-off 3.00) 5.00 Barclays Premier League Legends

7.30am Watts 7.45 Live FIA World Touring Car Championship. The opening race from the Shanghai International Circuit 8.45 Live FIA World Touring Car Championship.

Second race 9.45 FIA World Endurance Championship 10.45 Cycling: Tour of Beijing 12.00 WTA Tennis 12.30pm Live WTA Tennis.

The Generali Ladies Linz final 2.00 Cycling: Tour of Beijing 2.30 Live Cycling: Paris-Tours 3.45 Cycling: National Track Championships 4.45 Cycling: Tour of Beijing 5.45 Cycling: Paris-Tours 7.00 WTA Tennis 8.00 Trail Running: Outrun the Sun 9.00 Cycling: Paris-Tours 10.00 Cycling: National Track Championships 11.00 Cycling: Tour of Beijing 12.00 WATTS 12.15am12.30 Motorsports Weekend

BBC World Service

Radio 3

Sky Sports 1

Tomorrow’s radio 5.30am News 5.43 Bells 5.45 Profile (r) 6.00 News 6.05 Something Understood 6.35 On Your Farm 7.00 News 7.07 Papers 7.10 Sunday 7.55 Appeal 8.00 News 8.07 Papers 8.10 Worship 8.50 Point of View (r) 8.58 Tweet (r) 9.00 Broadcasting House 10.00 Archers 11.15 Desert Island Discs 12.00 News 12.01pm (LW) Shipping 12.04 Museum of Curiosity (r) 12.30 Food Programme 1.00 The World This Weekend 1.30 A Mix-Tape for Gus (r) 2.00 Gardeners’ Question Time (r) 2.45 The Listening Project (r) 3.00 Classic Serial 4.00 Open Book 4.30 Poetry Please 5.00 File on 4 (r) 5.40 Profile 5.54 Shipping 6.00 News 6.15 Pick of the Week 7.00 Archers 7.15 The Write Stuff 7.45 Out There 8.00 Feedback (r) 8.30 Last Word (r) 9.00 Money Box (r) 9.26 Appeal (r) 9.30 Analysis (r) 10.00 The Westminster Hour 11.00 The Film Programme (r) 11.30 Something Understood (r) 12.15am Thinking Allowed (r) 12.45 Bells (r) 12.48 Shipping 1.00 As BBC World Service 5.20-5.30 Shipping

6.00 Darts Gold 7.00 Live World Grand Prix Darts. Coverage of the final 9.00 Football: Race for the Title 10.00 Goals on Sunday 11.00 World Grand Prix Darts 12.00 The Sunday Supplement 1.30am Goals on Sunday 2.30 World Grand Prix Darts 3.30 Football: Race for the Title 4.30 World Grand Prix Darts 5.30-6.00 Barclays Premier League Legends

5.00am The Newsroom 5.30 Healthcheck. 6.00 Weekend 8.30 Outlook. 9.00 News 9.06 From Our Own Correspondent. 9.30 Heart and Soul. 10.00 News 10.06 The Forum. 10.50 Witness. 11.00 News 11.06 The Newsroom 11.30 Elements 12.06pm The History Hour 1.00 Newshour. 2.00 News 2.06 The Science Hour 3.00 News 3.06 The Newsroom 3.30 Boston Calling.

4.00 News 4.06 Sportsworld 5.00 News 5.06 Sportsworld 6.00 News 6.06 Sportsworld 7.00 News 7.06 The Newsroom 7.30 Outlook 8.00 News 8.06 The Documentary 8.30 Elements 9.00 Newshour. The stories behind the latest headlines 10.00 News 10.06 The Arts Hour 11.00 The Newsroom 11.20 Sports News 11.30 Trending 11.50 More or Less 12.00 The Newsroom 12.30am Discovery 1.00 News 1.06 World Business Report.

1.30 Outlook 2.00 The Newsroom 2.30 The Why Factor 2.50 More or Less 3.00 News 3.06 The Forum 3.50 Over to You 4.00 Newsday 4.30-5.00 Science in Action

7.00am Breakfast. With Martin Handley 9.00 News 9.03 Sunday Morning with James Jolly. Britten’s Violin Concerto and recordings by Charles Groves 12.00 Private Passions. 1.00pm News 1.02 Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert. (r) 2.00 The Early Music Show. 3.00 Choral Evensong. (r) 4.00 The Choir.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch talks to the countertenor Iestyn Davies (r) 5.30 Words and Music. Poetry, prose and music exploring what lies below the surface (r) 6.45 Strauss 150 Sunday Feature: Who Was Richard Strauss?

Tom Service travels to Switzerland in search of the real Strauss 7.30 Live Radio 3 in Concert. Mezzo Katarina Karnéus performs songs of love, death and the natural world 10.00 Strauss 150 Drama on 3: Hide the Moon. Martyn Wade’s new play to mark Strauss’s 150th anniversary 11.30 Total Immersion: John Tavener Remembered.

Chamber music by Tavener performed by Guildhall musicians 12.30am-6.30 Through the Night.

Including music by Zelenka

78

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

Sport Football

Hodgson’s faith grows in England’s new kids on the block Oliver Kay says the team that will take on Estonia in Tallinn tomorrow evening will have a fresher, more youthful look than the manager expected in the summer

F

or the first year of his tenure as England manager, Roy Hodgson clung to battle-hardened experience like a comfort blanket. Year two brought a slightly bolder approach. Year three, which continues tomorrow with a Euro 2016 qualifying match away to Estonia, has been about embracing raw, youthful potential with a vigour that even he had not expected.

On their only previous visit to Tallinn, under Steve McClaren in 2007, every member of England’s starting line-up was aged 25 or over. When they played Algeria at the 2010 World Cup, under Fabio Capello, the team’s average age was 29 years and 322 days.

By the time Hodgson took a team to Ukraine for a World Cup qualifier last autumn, with David James, Rio Ferdinand and John Terry all retired, the average age had dropped, but only to 28 years and 236 days. In their opening Euro 2016 qualifier away to Switzerland last month, with a team built around John Stones, Jack Wilshere, Jordan Henderson, Raheem Sterling and Danny Welbeck, it was down to 24 years and 292 days.

This is the way forward for England under Hodgson. In a sense, now that Ashley Cole, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard have retired, there was no alternative, but when it comes to marginal choices, Hodgson is looking beyond not just the 30-year-olds but beyond those, such as Ryan Shawcross or Mark Noble, who might, at 26 and 27

respectively, feel that they could fill a gap for England in the medium term.

The future for England is all about Stones, Luke Shaw, Wilshere, Henderson, Sterling, Welbeck, Daniel Sturridge, Calum Chambers, Phil Jones, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ross Barkley, Theo Walcott et al, but so too is the present. Were it not for injuries to Stones, Jones, Barkley and Sturridge, the starting line-up against Estonia would be among the youngest in

‘We didn’t know a year ago that Sterling would become the player he is’ England’s history. To Hodgson, who had been fretful about how life beyond the so-called “golden generation” would transpire, the future looks brighter than it did a year ago, let alone two.

“That is the way it has manifested itself,” Hodgson said. “We didn’t know a year ago that Sterling would turn out to be the player he is today. We didn’t know in the early days of Jordan Henderson at Liverpool that he would become the player he now is. We didn’t know that Barkley would kick on or that Welbeck and Sturridge would take their chances when they got them.

“To some extent, it is something where I have been lucky enough to be there when it happened and, I suppose, bright enough to realise that I don’t

Mad about the boy: Oxlade-Chamberlain will compete for a place in a line-up in Estonia tomorrow that, but for injuries,

have to hang my on hat on 30-year-olds if these guys are good enough so that I can put them in the team.”

What is far from clear is how good they are both individually and collectively. Unlike Ferdinand, Cole and Gerrard at the same ages, it is

unlikely that some of them would be regulars in the squad, let alone the team, had there been more quality to join Wayne Rooney, James Milner, Gary Cahill and Leighton Baines in the group who are now in their late 20s.

Chambers, 19, is the latest beneficiary

of an unwritten, unspoken rule whereby players’ suitability for the squad is judged not just on their ability to perform here and now but on their potential for growth, even if in some cases the under-21 team would seem for now to be their milieu.

Wenger’s English loyalty provides source of home comforts Rory Smith

Arsène Wenger makes an unlikely curator of the future of the England team. More than anyone else, the Arsenal manager has spent the past two decades driving the Barclays Premier League’s infatuation with imported stars. It was the Frenchman, too, who took that obsession to its peak: in 2005, he was the first to name a match-day squad containing not a single player eligible to represent England.

When Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain emerged from the substitutes’ bench at Wembley on Thursday night to collect Calum Chambers’s pass and pick out Danny Welbeck darting towards the near post, then, it marked a substantial

change in Wenger’s relationship with his adopted country.

It was a goal, as both creator and scorer acknowledged, forged at London Colney, Arsenal’s training base.

“I knew Calum was going to find me,” Oxlade-Chamberlain said. “And I knew that Danny likes to make that run to the front post.” Welbeck concurred. “I knew that once he [Oxlade-Chamberlain] got to the near post, he was going to cut it back there,” the striker said.

The opposition and the occasion might have been forgettable, but that moment possessed a certain significance. Welbeck, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Chambers were joined on the Wembley pitch by Kieran Gibbs and Jack Wilshere, the first time since 1936

that Arsenal have provided so many members of the national team. As Oxlade-Chamberlain pointed out, that contingent could rise to six when Theo Walcott returns from injury.

That is testament not only to the work done at Arsenal’s academy, source of Gibbs and Wilshere, but also to Wenger’s policy of plucking the best young prospects from clubs such as Southampton and, as his purchase of Welbeck illustrates Wenger’s faith in domestic talent

Welbeck hinted, his belief that there is talent in England, and that it is not necessarily overpriced.

Wenger noted last year that the “trend of buying foreign players is changing”; as in the late 1990s, he has effected that change. “It is hard not to notice more of an English presence [at Arsenal], and it is a nice thing as an English lad,” Oxlade-Chamberlain said.

It is not only Arsenal who benefit, though. The 21-year-old believes that Roy Hodgson’s team will profit from being able to draw on a cadre of players from the same club, citing the influence of Barcelona and Real Madrid on Spain and Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund on Germany as proof that being able to draw on an instinctive

familiarity honed on a daily basis can provide a tremendous advantage.

“When you train day in, day out with these lads, you get to know the way they play,” he said. “You can’t help but take that into the international break. You know where they’re going to pass the ball and where they like the ball.

“Having a lot of lads in the same team coming to the international team does help. We can say the same for Liverpool; they have been a strong force in this England squad for a while.

“Just knowing each other does really help in gelling the team together. The Germans and the Spanish have been able to do that. When you go and watch Spain play, it’s almost like watching Barcelona or Real Madrid.”

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

79

FGM

Football Sport

STEPHEN POND / GETTY IMAGES

youth of today Having used a remarkably old team in the 2010 World Cup, England have since brought down their average age considerably. Average age of players starting for England Average age of players starting for England

26.0 27.2 26.5 26.6 29.5 25.4

would be among the youngest on record as Hodgson continues to develop the potential of an increasingly youthful squad

“One aspect is winning matches today, another is hopefully planning for the future,” Hodgson said. “I would still like to think there is a large element of pragmatism. I’m picking people I think can do the job. A good example of that is Chambers. Here is a guy who played

a few times for the under-20s, jumped straight over the under-21s and went into the first team.

“I know not everyone agrees with this, but the pragmatic reason you have development teams is to get in the first team. No one has a goal to play for the

under-21s. The goal is the senior team.”

Sterling is another of those to have been fast-tracked. After he impressed in the victories over Norway and Switzerland last month, the rather different demands of playing against San Marino on Thursday night brought a reminder

World Cup 2002

Euro 2012

World Cup 2006

World Cup 2014

World Cup 2010

Euro 2016 qualifiers

that he is less than the finished article.

Handling growing levels of expectation, both with Liverpool and with England, is a challenge that he must now embrace.

“We are conscious of managing that,” Hodgson said. “A lot of players have found that in the past, Rooney for example. I don’t think it will need ‘managing’ until he shows signs of not being quite as sharp, not doing as well, trying too hard. That might be the moment we think we have to manage this and give him a break, but that’s not the case at the moment.”

The idea is that Sterling, after his World Cup experience in the summer and now Champions League football with Liverpool, will be a more refined player, at 21, by the time the Euro 2016 finals come around.

By then, Hodgson hopes to have integrated more youngsters into the senior squad, having been impressed by Lewis Baker, the 19-year-old Chelsea midfield player, Saido Berahino, the West Bromwich Albion forward, and several members of the under-20 team who followed up a 6-0 victory over Romania last month with a 1-0 win over Germany in Holland on Thursday.

Barring an unlikely succession of slip-ups in group E, England will go to France in 2016 with a squad vastly younger than those they have taken to previous tournaments — so young, in fact, that it seemed worth asking Hodgson whether he feels this generation might ultimately flourish under his successor, whoever or whenever that might be.

“At the moment it doesn’t occupy my attention,” he said. “This team is mostly 21 or 22. People will tell me players don’t reach their best until they are 27 or 28, so, realistically, perhaps not, but I’m enormously enjoying working with them. I’m enjoying the moments where they’re gaining that experience.

They’re providing a lot of things which give us a lot of satisfaction.”

Kamara’s influence not lost on Estonia Matt Hughes

Hodgson’s opposite number in Tallinn cites an unlikely managerial mentor

Roy Hodgson is unlikely to be too concerned by his opposite number in Tallinn tomorrow, Magnus Pehrsson, naming Chris Kamara as one of his main managerial influences.

The highlight of the Estonia head coach’s playing career came during a brief loan spell in England from Djurgardens, the Swedish club, in 1996, when he made a single appearance in the English league’s second tier for Kamara’s Bradford City.

It was not so much Kamara’s breathless team talks that have remained in his mind, however, but rather the identity of the elegant former England midfielder alongside

him in Bradford’s midfield. “The best memory was playing together in central midfield with Chris Waddle,” Pehrsson has said.

Like Kamara, Pehrsson has also moved into television, although he has yet to be seen in a state of undress in the bathroom while advertising a bookmaker. The Swede is a regular pundit on Premier League matches in his home country, where he has occasionally worked alongside Hodgson, who is still revered in Sweden for his managerial achievements with Halmstads and Malmo.

In common with Hodgson, Pehrsson has had more success as a manager than during his playing days, particularly in Europe. He coached

Aalborg, the Danish club, in the 200809 Uefa Cup, masterminding a surprise defeat of Deportivo La Coruña, followed by defeat by Manchester City on penalties, before a controversial spell back at Djurgardens ended in his resignation after threats from fans, with the team bottom of the table.

Since taking the Estonia job last year, he has ensured that the 81st ranked team in the world are no pushovers, despite losing to Lithuania on Thursday. While vulnerable away from home, Estonia have not lost at the A Le Coq Arena for a year, and last month they enjoyed a victory over Slovenia, who beat Switzerland this week.

Beyond England, group E is looking surprisingly open.

Disciplinary record leaves Chambers on the defensive Matt Hughes Deputy Football Correspondent

Calum Chambers last night defended his disciplinary record that has earned him a suspension from Arsenal’s Barclays Premier League match against Hull City a week today.

The 19-year-old collected his fifth yellow card of the league season in last weekend’s 2-0 defeat by Chelsea, and was fortunate to avoid being sent off for a scything challenge on Eden Hazard, to compound Arsène Wenger’s selection problems for his team’s next fixture.

Chambers was also booked in Arsenal’s Champions League qualifier against Besiktas at the Emirates Stadium in August and has collected six yellow cards in 13 appearances for his new club, but he insists that he is not a dirty player.

The former Southampton defender pointed out that he did not receive a single booking in 22 league appearances for his former club last season, and he is at a loss to explain the dramatic change in his disciplinary record since joining Arsenal.

“I played 22 games last year and no yellow cards,” Chambers said. “I’ve had five already this season, so it’s a bit weird.”

Chambers was more comfortable discussing his England debut in the 5-0 victory against San Marino at Wembley on Thursday, which he described as an amazing experience. “It’s been a

Exclusive to members

the game blog James Ducker on why Louis Van Gaal needs to show that United’s youth stars are not merely making up the numbers thetimes.co.uk/football

special few days for me,” he said. “It was an amazing moment for me and I was just very proud, especially to get a start.

I thought it went well, but San Marino were tough to break down.

“In the first half it was a bit frustrating, but we stuck to what we worked on in the training pitch and got the goals in the end.

“It’s been pretty mad this season, a whirlwind start for me at Arsenal. I’m settling down now and I’m really enjoying it. I just want to keep going, keep giving it 100 per cent and keep trying to improve my game as much as I can.”

Chambers claimed that his rivalry with Nathaniel Clyne, a former Southampton team-mate, has benefited both players. The 23-year-old was named in Roy Hodgson’s squad for the first time this week, but he has had to wait for his debut.

“He has helped me a lot,” Chambers said. “Last year we had a really healthy relationship. We both pushed each other on along, and it made us want to improve our game.

“When we both played, we knew there was competition, so we had to give 100 per cent and show everyone what we could do.”

80

FGM

Sport Football

FA makes pitch for future in 3G OWEN HUMPHREYS / PA

Matt Dickinson hears why Greg Dyke, the FA chairman, believes that artificial surfaces will benefit game at all levels

Pitch perfect: the FA wants to build more artificial surfaces in England, such as the one at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow

trust funds. If private companies want to sponsor it, then great. These are radical changes that can make a difference. We all know maintenance of grass pitches is in decline, with 80 per cent of them in the public sector.”

The first pilot has been launched in Sheffield, and discussions have been opened with Birmingham and other cities. Dyke believes that the number of artificial pitches in the 30 targeted cities can increase from 218 to more than 500 over the next six years.

A new 3G pitch and floodlighting can cost about £500,000, and it remains to be seen if raising funds proves as simple as Dyke claims. The FA hopes to put pressure on the Premier League, especially with a multibillion new broadcast deal in the pipeline, but the clubs will argue that they already make a significant investment.

“In the 2013-14 season alone we invested in 52 new 3G artificial grass pitches, our club community coaches delivered 66,000 PE lessons in primary schools and 20,000 children participat-

How Oliver Kay first reported the collapse of Dyke’s plan for B teams

ed in our competitive schools football programme,” a Premier League statement said.

The FA will have to take the lead by making significant internal savings, or changing priorities. That will lead to fresh debate about cutting FA Cup prize money. “It’s going to take some hard choices,” Dyke admitted.

The commission has also set out plans to appoint a new head of education to oversee a big improvement in the number of qualified coaches.

England lags behind other European nations. Dyke’s report suggests the recruitment of 25 new full-time FA coach educators in the next three years, and increasing the number of Youth Award Level 3 coaches from 800 to 3,000 and Uefa ProLicence holders from 200 to 300.

“If we can meet these targets and find the money to do the football hubs in the cities, I think we will transform football and the way it is played in those cities,” Dyke said.

“With the advent of 3G, the FA should have moved faster. Every town in Holland has a quality 3G pitch, but it's funded differently there. Here it is a largely discretionary spend of the local authority.”

As usual, it comes down to hard cash.

“In the end, it’s about money and we don’t control the bulk of money in football,” Dyke said.

Dyke under pressure to show commission not a waste of money

Analysis Matt Dickinson Chief Sports Correspondent

T

he FA commission and its two reports have come at a cost of more than £750,000, which could buy two of the 3G pitches now being championed by Greg Dyke. So has it been worth it?

“We have started to create a debate,” Dyke argues. But at that price, the English fan is entitled to expect results.

Has Dyke delivered? B teams was a radical idea and worthy of further exploration, but the FA chairman naively failed to nail down support before going public.

The idea is stillborn except, perhaps, for B team involvement in

Spain dare not wait and hope for a return to the golden era Rory Smith

G

reg Dyke launched the second part of his FA commission yesterday with a drive for more 3G artificial pitches across England — having written off most of the first part as unworkable.

Improving grassroots facilities is the main focus of Dyke’s follow-up report as he seeks to “turn the tanker” of a failing system in which English footballers are growing increasingly rare at the top of the Barclays Premier League. This season, Englishmen have made up only 25 per cent of the starting XIs among the top six clubs, a decrease from 28 per cent.

Having tried, and failed, to push radical ideas for B teams and loan partnerships in the professional game, Dyke turned yesterday to an area the FA can influence with facilities and coaching.

A particular problem given bad winters and poorly maintained sports fields is the lack of artificial pitches with, according to the FA, 639 full-size 3G fields in England compared with 3,735 in Germany. The commission is proposing an increase to 1,000 by 2020.

There will be a particular focus on urban areas, with plans for football “hubs” across 30 cities where new trusts will take over the facilities from local councils that cannot afford the upkeep of pitches.

Increasing the number of 3G pitches will greatly expand the hours when children, and adults, can play and train, as well as benefiting technique, though it will not come cheap. The initial estimate is £230 million of new investment over five years, but Dyke believes that a partnership of the FA, Premier League, local councils and national government makes that achievable.

“I think the Premier League will come along and say, ‘Yes, we agree with this and we will put some money in.’

The government will do, as well, because it goes into the health agenda, the obesity agenda,” Dyke said.

“We will do two or three pilots and then say across local authorities, ‘OK, who wants to come on board with this?’

For a local authority, you are spending capital, but your running costs go down by a significant amount. We can look at

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

a cup competition such as the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, which is unlikely to help to produce a World Cup-winning England team by 2022. That is, we should not forget, Dyke’s ambitious target.

From the first commission report, we are left with some tinkering of eligibility rules, including tighter restrictions on work permits for non-EU players, an easy win that will have negligible impact. The Barclays Premier League clubs may also tolerate a small increase in the mandatory number of home-grown players in their squads, but this is fiddling at the margins.

Dyke recognises the essential problem: “The issue is how do you get talented kids at 18 experience of what I call men’s football.” But he is no nearer to finding a solution apart from crossing his fingers that the revamped Premier League academies produce English talent that is impossible to ignore.

If Dyke is looking for a facesaving victory, it will have to come from this latest push for more coaches and better facilities, which is where he should have started his commission in the first place, given that this is the FA’s heartland.

A desire for more 3G pitches,

football hubs in cities and new coach educators sounds promising, but anyone could have come up with that idea. What matters is delivery.

“Let’s look in two years’ time,” Dyke said when asked if his commission could still be a success.

“But don’t hold me to that until we get the extra money to do this.”

The pressure is now on him to build an alliance with the Premier League, central government and local councils to raise £230 million over five years — and to prove that the commission itself has not been a waste of money.

Sometimes, the score is not the only statistic that matters. Taken in isolation, Spain losing 2-1 to Slovakia on Thursday night looks an aberration, the sort of defeat that does, occasionally, inexplicably, happen. Only by furnishing it with context can its true meaning be gauged.

It was Vicente del Bosque’s side’s first defeat in 28 qualifying games, stretching back eight years, but it was, more immediately, their fourth loss in six matches. The only two exceptions came against Australia, when the deposed world champions’ cheeks were still burning with the humiliation of their departure from Brazil, and at home, against FYR Macedonia. What happened in Zilina was no exception.

The figures from the game shed further light. Spain won 32 corners against the Slovakians, more than any other side in any of Thursday’s games.

They did not lack for territory.

They managed more than 20 shots, too, though it was not the sort of game to make Matus Kozacik, the Slovakia goalkeeper, a hero. It was an exercise in possession without penetration, of that curiously Spanish phenomenon of working the body beautifully, artfully, without knowing how to land a knockout punch.

It brought a cascade of obituaries in the Spanish press yesterday. The more evocative labelled it the “end of an era” Del Bosque’s only choice is to start from scratch

and a “shipwreck”; the most powerful came from As, which simply captioned their match report with the words: “Spain gets used to losing”.

There is an abundance of immediately obvious problems. Iker Casillas, seemingly recovering from the poor form that has plagued him for a year, wafted Juraj Kucka’s free kick past him to give Slovakia the lead and Diego Costa, so devastatingly effective for Chelsea, has gone six games without a goal for the country he went to such trouble to represent.

Del Bosque has promised that “there will be changes”, but to tinker with personnel, even formation, is at best treating the symptoms, not the root cause. That is rather more difficult to accept, and even trickier to address.

Spain’s golden era is now at an end.

They cannot hope to recapture the glory that led them to becoming the first side in history to win three leading tournaments in a row. They must become something new, something different. Until they do so, they will wander among the shadows.

It will be no solace at all that they are not the first to endure this. France are the most recent, most powerful example: world and European champions in 1998 and 2000, they endured a decade of failure — punctuated, admittedly, by a surprising World Cup final appearance — before they began to recover. It happened to Brazil in the 1970s and Germany in the late 1990s, too.

The lesson to be learnt from all of those examples is that waiting, hoping is not enough. It does not work. The magic, once lost, does not come back.

The only chance is to start again. If Spain do that, it may not be too late.

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

81

FGM

Football Sport

England face test of nerve after slim win England Under-21 Kane 58, Berahino 85 (pen)

Croatia Under-21 Livaja 13

Rory Smith

CLIVE BRUNSKILL / GETTY IMAGES

2 1

Gareth Southgate has spent a year sharpening his young charges’ technique, honing their talent, trying to instil in England Under-21 the style he and the FA believe they must master if they are to thrive on the international stage. Now he will find out if they have the one thing he has not been able to teach them: nerve.

Southgate’s team will travel to Vinkovci, not far from Croatia’s border with Serbia, on Tuesday with a place in the European Under-21 Championship finals next summer on the line and the tie on a knife-edge.

Thanks to Harry Kane, who cancelled out Croatia’s lead after Marko Livaja had put the visiting team in front, and Saido Berahino, who won and converted the penalty that sealed victory, they have the narrowest of advantages.

Whether they can hold on to it in England (4-2-3-1): J Butland (Stoke City) — M Keane (Burnley, sub: E Dier, Tottenham Hotspur, 46min), L Moore (Leicester City), B Gibson (Middlesbrough), L Shaw (Manchester United) — J Forster-Caskey (Brighton & Hove Albion), T Carroll (Swansea City) — N Redmond (Norwich City), W Hughes (Derby County, sub: T Ince, Hull City, 56), S Berahino (West Bromwich Albion) — H Kane (Tottenham Hotspur). Substitutes not used: J Bond (Watford), L Garbutt (Everton), J Lascelles (Nottingham Forest), L Baker (Chelsea), P Bamford (Middlesbrough). Booked: Dier, Moore.

Croatia (4-3-3): D Livakovic — D Zuparic, N Datkovic, M Mitrovic, A Milic (sub: M Milos, 90+1) — M Pjaca , F Bradaric , D Pavicic — M Livaja (sub: D Bagaric, 70), A Coric (sub: M Pasalic, 63), A Rebic. Substitutes not used: M Delac, S Perica, M Caktas, K Brucic.

Booked: Zuparic, Pavicic, Pasalic.

Referee: J Estrada Fernández (Spain).

hostile, alien territory will say much about whether this promising generation has the character to go with undoubted ability.

If Uefa’s changes to the format have rendered qualifying for the European Championship at senior level a cakewalk, things are rather more complex for the under-21s. Like Croatia, England had won their group with something to spare, picking up 28 points from the 30 available, but with only seven spaces available at the finals in the Czech Republic next summer, even that was not enough.

That Croatia would provide a stiffer challenge than the teams Southgate’s

Rock you like a Harry Kane: the Spurs striker watches on as his header restores parity in the first leg of England’s European qualifying play-off match at Molineux

side had previously encountered — Moldova, Finland, San Marino — was clear almost immediately. Nenad Gracan’s side do not lack bulk and, thanks to Livaja and Ante Rebic, in particular, they certainly are not without quality.

It was Livaja, whose nascent career has already encompassed Inter Milan and Rubin Kazan, who opened the scoring after a quarter of an hour, heading home a flick-on from the impressive Filip Bradaric. He was booed, a little harshly, by the 22,000 or so who had braved squalls of rain and an inexplicable kick-off time to come to Molineux.

Southgate would have been forgiven for wondering how his side would react

to such a setback — they have not endured many in the past two, unbeaten years — but the goal seemed to sting them into action. Luke Shaw, looking every inch a player who has matured beyond this level, cracked a low shot on to the inside of the far post after darting inside from the left flank; Nathan Redmond’s swerving effort drew an exceptional save from Dominik Livakovic, before Liam Moore, of Leicester City, headed just over from a corner.

There was a little naivety, understandably so, as they chased the game, with Croatia patiently waiting for gaps to appear and swarming forward on the counter: twice Ante Coric, the 17-year-

old Dynamo Zagreb midfielder deployed as a deep-lying striker, might have doubled the lead but steered an effort wide before fizzing another over.

Southgate, though, should be commended for his decisiveness. He removed Michael Keane at half-time, bringing on Eric Dier, then sent on Tom Ince in place of Will Hughes, injecting a little more life into his side. His reward came almost immediately, Kane stooping to head home a cross from Berahino to draw the home side level.

Both sides might have won the game from there. Croatia went close through Matej Mitrovic, their towering defender, while Tom Carroll and Redmond

almost combined to score a rather more cultured goal. In the end, though, it was Berahino who proved decisive, beating Livakovic to the ball, tumbling over, and slipping the resultant penalty past the goalkeeper to bring Molineux to its feet — something few West Bromwich Albion players can claim to have done.

That is the first test passed. Southgate’s players needed resilience, and no little degree of fortitude, to recover from their early setback. They did so, too, under extreme provocation, the game becoming more toxic as time ran on. Tuesday, though, is the acid test.

That is when Southgate will know how well he has taught his team.

82

FGM

Sport Football

Irish focus on bringing Gibraltar to book VANO SHLAMOV / GETTY IMAGES

George Caulkin Dublin

In other news, Ireland play a game of football this evening. The rhythm of this international week has been distorted by the release of Roy Keane’s book and its ocean of caustic headlines but, out of the spotlight, there has been serious business to attend to and before their home match against Gibraltar.

Martin O’Neill has been urging focus from his players. “We’re not good enough to be complacent,” the manager said.

There can seldom have been a more contrasting double-header than Ireland’s forthcoming fixtures against the smallest territory affiliated to Uefa — population 30,000 — then Germany, the world champions, and O’Neill’s initial task has been to weave through distractions.

There will be an onus on his team to win, and win comfortably, at the Aviva Stadium, but expecting it and doing it are different matters.

At their team hotel in Portmarnock, on the Dublin coast, O’Neill and Keane have repeatedly shown recordings of Gibraltar’s first-half performance in their competitive debut; while they eventually lost 7-0 to Poland, they trailed by only one goal at half-time.

“The little player on the left-hand side stepped inside the Polish centre back two minutes before half-time and fired a shot three inches over the bar. It could have been 1-1,” O’Neill said. “That might have made it interesting. I think the important thing is that you’re seeing Gibraltar at their strongest. Even when they went a goal down, they

Ireland (possible; 4-4-1-1): D Forde — D Meyler, J O’Shea, M Wilson, S Ward — M Walters, G Whelan, D Gibson, A McGeady — W Hoolahan — R Keane.

Gibraltar (4-5-1): J Perez — S Wiseman, R Chipolina, D Artell, J Chipolina — L Casciaro, R Bado, R Casciaro, L Walker, B Perez — K Casciaro.

Referee: L Trattou (Cyprus).

Television: Live on Sky Sports 3 (kick-off 5pm).

Seven up: McGeady starred against Georgia last month and “has the X factor”

didn’t change their system. They got men behind the ball and worked exceptionally hard.”

It is a relatively unusual position for the Irish, who beat Georgia 2-1 in their opening Euro 2016 group D qualifying match last month. “In recent times, there haven’t been many games that Ireland will have gone into with a high expectation of winning and, from that viewpoint, it causes its own set of

problems,” O’Neill said. “The players are pretty well focused on trying to win the game, and that’s our aim.

“Traditionally, we’re not a side which scores a lot of goals, but we want to try and win the game, be as forceful as possible — all those things — and the ultimate aim is to go to Germany with three more points.

“We saw with England [against San Marino] that it might be a wee bit

difficult early on before getting that first goal. Sometimes it might come early, sometimes late, sometimes it might not come at all. Winning is the most important thing.”

The good news for Ireland is that the mood remains positive — “We were on such a high from the Georgia game we could have flown back without the plane,” O’Neill said — and this, too, is something to cherish, even if the absence of Séamus Coleman and James McCarthy, the Everton pair, will be felt keenly. Richard Keogh, the Derby County defender, is also absent with a tight hamstring.

Much of the positivity in Tbilisi was generated by Aiden McGeady, another Everton player, whose two goals featured a sumptuous last-minute winner. Coaxing the best out of the winger will be pivotal for Ireland and O’Neill, who managed him at Celtic.

“In training yesterday, McGeady had the ball in midfield, he tried to do a trick, lost it and the other team went down and scored a goal,” O’Neill said. “Aiden just shrugged and said, ‘Wait until Saturday.’ He’s a great player, and I’ve said before he’s the only player who could have scored the goal he did against Georgia. Sometimes he’ll drive you mad, but he has just got that X factor.”

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

Fletcher finds place in doubt Paul Forsyth

Gordon Strachan, the Scotland manager, said that he would not be afraid to drop Darren Fletcher, his captain, for their Euro 2016 qualifying match against Georgia at Ibrox today.

While Strachan refused to be drawn on his team for the group D match, or who would wear the captain’s armband, he admitted that reputation counted for nothing regarding team selection.

Fletcher, the Manchester United midfielder, has long been the leader of this Scotland side, even when he was sidelined by serious illness, but he was substituted in the defeat by Germany on September 7 and has played only 25 minutes of club football since.

“I don’t think you pick a team based on reputations,” Strachan said. “I would still be picking Kenny Miller if that was the case. You pick the team which is best for this game.”

That Scott Brown, of Celtic, was given pre-match media duties, usually a job for the captain, fuelled speculation that Fletcher was set to start on the bench. That would leave Brown, and probably James Morrison, of West Bromwich Albion, to give the team a platform in midfield.

Scotland (possible; 4-2-3-1): D Marshall — A Hutton, R Martin, G Hanley, A Robertson — S Brown, J Morrison — S Maloney, S Naismith, I Anya — S Fletcher.

Georgia (possible; 4-1-4-1): G Loria — U Lobjanidze, S Kverkvelia, A Khubutia, S Kvirkvilia — I Dzaria — J Kankava, M Daushvili, J Ananidze, T Okriashvili — N Gelashvili.

Referee: M Zelinka (Czech Republic).

Television: Live on Sky Sports 5 (kick-off 5pm).

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

83

FGM

Comment Sport

Redknapp suddenly finds joke is on him Oliver Kay Chief Football Correspondent

L

ooking back, it is funny to note that, as Harry Redknapp tried to persuade himself and others that he regarded rejection by the FA as a blessing in disguise, he said that he was grateful not to have the “hassle” of managing England.

“That was something that kept bothering me,” he told The Times during his brief period of unemployment two years ago. “I know what the job brings in the end.

Nothing but hassle. Even Bobby Robson got slaughtered. I knew that. I thought: ‘Do I need that?’ ” There must be times when Roy Hodgson, the FA’s preferred choice in May 2012, regrets certain aspects of the England job, but looking at him on Thursday evening, after his young team continued what looks like a stress-free Euro 2016 qualifying campaign with a 5-0 win over San Marino at Wembley, he did not look hassled — certainly not by comparison with Redknapp, who looks drained as he approaches his second anniversary at Queens Park Rangers.

Sometimes it seems that the only way to coax a smile from Redknapp these days is to invite him to take you down memory lane.

This week has seen the launch of his latest book, A Man Walks Onto A Pitch, a collection of anecdotes from a lifetime in football. His stories from his apprenticeship at West Ham United to the muck-andnettles days managing Bournemouth make for compelling and at times hilarious reading — the one about the psychotic doctor is a particular favourite — as do his more withering observations on modern footballers, but it is doubtful that, when the time comes to look back, he will recall his QPR days with much of a smile.

QPR were a shambles when Redknapp took over in November 2012 and they are barely less of one now, bottom of the Barclays Premier League with four points from seven games. The atmosphere in the dressing room is no longer described as “poisonous”, as it was two seasons ago, but that is not to confuse it with a happy place.

Indeed, the only positivity at Loftus Road seems to emanate from Tony Fernandes, the club’s Malaysian owner, whose optimism is a source of increasing bafflement.

Fernandes appears to be one of the few Premier League owners with a genuine, heartfelt desire to do the right thing by his club and the supporters, but it would help if he knew what the right thing was. For the opening weeks of the season, he was convinced that the right thing was to give Redknapp, 67, a new three-year contract. Six weeks ago this column suggested that such a move would be terribly hasty. Now it transpires that even the man himself has told Fernandes similar.

Go back to August 21, just one game and one defeat into the season, and you will see

a post on Fernandes’s Twitter account: “Just spoke to Harry. He’s a happy man. We’re thinking of buying a horse together.” A week later he and Redknapp were happy to tell the world that they were about to extend his tenure at QPR. Redknapp on

August 29: “Tony has offered me an extension. I probably won’t read it. I’ll just sign it.” Fernandes on September 6: “We’ve made our mind up. We’ll stick with Harry come what may.” Fernandes on September 9: “We’re looking at another year at a MICHAEL REGAN/GETTY IMAGES

Tradition must be safeguarded by FA

W Serious business: QPR’s woe was always unlikely to feature in Redknapp’s book of anecdotes as he tries to resuscitate a club whose start to the season has drifted from bad to worse

Big spenders want too much for their money

A

ccording to Pedro López Jiménez, the Real Madrid vice-president, Uefa’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations were driven by a desire to control the culture of overspending, which, he said, is caused by the undue pressure put on clubs by supporters. “They,” he said, “are the ones pushing the clubs to spend.”

Can a director at Real, of all clubs, seriously believe this? Real are the biggest spenders in world football, but successive regimes in Madrid have been elected and founded on promises of spending on a scale that even their notoriously demanding supporters and card-carrying socios could barely have imagined.

Or perhaps Señor López Jiménez is

minimum. I enjoy Harry. He’s full of stories, full of laughs. We joke around a lot.”

Redknapp on October 7: “I don’t want a new contract. I don’t need one. We’ll see where we finish. If we get relegated, I wouldn’t expect to stay and wouldn’t want to.”

None of this dispels the long-held suspicion that Fernandes, a highly successful businessman in his own right, is running QPR on personal whims. Now the uncertainty is about whether he will keep faith with Redknapp if the team’s dreadful start drags on much longer. They certainly cannot afford to be relegated again. This is a club who, as has been well documented, have had wage bills larger than Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid in recent years. If those teams can claim, pound for pound, to be among the best in Europe, QPR would be among the very worst.

If you were to list the five most inept performances from any team in the top flight this season, they would have a reasonable prospect of claiming three of them. What looks, on paper, like a decent squad appears dreadfully short of fitness, desire and organisation — far, far less than the sum of its expensive, ageing parts.

The bad apples and the poisonous characters have gone, but a stale odour of mediocrity remains among a cast of big names on a downward trajectory. Winning promotion from the Sky Bet Championship last season, scrapping their way unconvincingly to fourth place and through the play-offs, was less an achievement than an imperative. They have started the new season abysmally.

Redknapp is by no means the cause of this culture of underperformance — playing the blame game would bring up a long list of the culpable — but he is coming, like just about everyone else at Loftus Road, to be a symptom of an energy-sapping struggle. For Fernandes to have come so close to extending the manager’s contract is truly alarming. For Redknapp to have talked him out of it makes you wonder whether the 67-year-old is approaching the point where he can do without the hassle.

talking about the smaller clubs who dare to think they can try to compete with Real, whether in Spain, where his regime continues to stand in the way of a more equitable distribution of broadcast money, or across Europe, where the likes of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain have had their wings clipped by FFP. Overspending has been a serious problem, one that the Uefa regulations have gone a long way towards addressing, but no club — not Chelsea, not PSG, not City — have inflated the transfer market so wildly as Real over the past decade and no club seems to have quite such a warped view of what constitutes fairness.

Talking of fairness, Umberto Gandini, the

AC Milan director, proposes wild-card places for “important” clubs who, like his own club or Manchester United this year, miss out on Champions League qualification. Again, it is about little more than ring-fencing that self-perpetuating elite.

There might ultimately be a case for expanding the competition, but the idea of basing Champions League qualification on “importance” rather than performance — meaning that, say, Fiorentina or Everton might have to make way for an underachieving Milan or United — is dreadful. The competitive landscape throughout Europe is more than distorted enough as it is.

hen the Premier League launched its plans for world domination in 2008, proposing to take some of its matches overseas, the FA stood firmly in the opposition camp, refusing to back the initiative on the laudable basis that it had “a responsibility to the whole of English football” and “to consider any wider consequences and implications that this proposal might have.”

Now that those ugly globalisation plans have begun to germinate once again, it is worth wondering whether, two chairmen later, the FA would still feel that same responsibility to the game if push came to shove.

Or would it prefer to engage in a bit of horsetrading in the hope of persuading the Premier League to help to force through some of Greg Dyke’s more contentious proposals? Indeed, would an anti-expansionist, anti-globalisation stance even be sustainable, given its growing desperation not just to stage regular American football matches at Wembley, but also to host a permanent NFL franchise?

This FA regime has some bright, progressive ideas — and a few bad ones — but if ever there was a time for English football’s governing body to stand up for tradition, it is now, with so much upheaval being threatened.

84

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

Sport Football

Minus Suárez, Liverpool’s title challenge had little bite Daniel Finkelstein The Fink Tank

H

ow important was Luis Suárez to Liverpool last season? If it’s all right with you, I thought we would try for something a little more precise than “very”.

Dr Henry Stott, Dr Mark Latham and Dr Kostas Paraschakis have taken a look at Suárez’s goals and the difference it made to Liverpool’s title challenge.

So, for instance, away against Sunderland in the first game of his league campaign, Liverpool won 3-1 and Suárez scored twice. Without his goals, the

team would have dropped two points and without any of his 31 goals, Liverpool would have won 16 fewer points. A large bite out of their total.

Without his goals, they would have finished sixth. Everton would have taken fourth place, earning an extra two points last November when Suárez helped to gain a 3-3 draw.

The problem with this analysis is obvious — it removes Suárez’s goals, assuming that a replacement would not have scored any. This is improbable.

So we conducted a simulation. We randomly removed only some of his goals to see what would have happened with a lesser striker. We then calculated the probability that Liverpool would finish in a given place with fewer goals from Suárez or his replacement.

Scoring two fewer goals would reduce the chance of a second-place finish to 99 per cent. If the replacement had scored 24 goals rather than 31, the chance of being runners-up would have dropped to 64 per cent. With half of the Uruguayan’s goals, there would have been only an 8 per cent chance of finishing second. The title challenge was dependent on him.

Yet, as the graph shows, even with only seven goals from a Suárez replacement, there would have been an 86 per cent chance of making the fourth Champions League spot.

Liverpool’s Champions League chances The graph associates the number of Suárez's goals with the probability of occupying one of the top four spots that lead to the Champions League.

Liverpool's place would have been endangered only if Suárez had scored fewer than ten goals in the season.

100%

75

50

25

Suárez’s goals 30

25

0 20

15

10

5

0

West Ham could decide to allow Tottenham to share the Olympic Stadium in Stratford for the 2017-18 season after all

West Ham open to sharing

Gary Jacob

West Ham United could be willing to allow Tottenham Hotspur to share the Olympic Stadium while White Hart Lane is being redeveloped into a 56,250-seat stadium.

The east London club will move into their new home for the start of the 2016-17 season and are not prepared to share the limelight with another club after their hard work in securing the venue. However, they might allow Tottenham to rent the stadium for 2017-18, in what would be arguably the most high-profile ground-share in English football. Spurs would then kick off at their newly expanded home the next season.

Tottenham pulled out of the bidding process for the Olympic Stadium in 2011, smoothing the way for their Barclays Premier League rivals to secure a 99-year lease. West Ham, who fought off an aborted judicial review challenge by Leyton Orient amid concerns over the impact on

attendances, will pay £2 million a season in rent to be anchor tenants and retain a veto on who can use it.

Karren Brady, the West Ham vicechairman, strongly suggested that she would rule out sharing the ground with Tottenham when asked last month.

The possibility of using the Olympic Stadium would be a boost for Tottenham, after they were told this week by the FA that Wembley was not a plausible destination because of its existing calendar of events and the FA’s plan to attract more American football matches to the venue.

Wembley was overwhelmingly the favoured destination in a poll of the Tottenham Supporters’ Trust taken last month, and the group had “serious issues” with the club’s other option in Milton Keynes. They have complained about its distance from London and the 22,000 capacity of stadium:mk being lower than the number of season ticketholders at White Hart Lane.

Joe Lewis, Tottenham’s principal owner, will not fund a new stadium and

the club appointed Rothschild, the merchant bank, to help to finance the redevelopment project, which is likely to cost between £350 million and £400 million.

The club’s initial plan was to remain at White Hart Lane while the building of the new stadium took place on an adjacent, overlapping site, and the final stages of the work were planned to be completed in the close season.

Tottenham later concluded that it is cheaper, quicker and would reduce construction issues if they vacate the present site while work is carried out.

They secured planning permission for a new stadium nearly three years ago, but have been bogged down in politics, funding and planning problems.

The club still needs to secure one piece of land but Archway Metals, a family-run business, has appealed against a compulsory purchase order on its property in the adjacent Paxton Road. There remain local issues about land purchase for other property developments required to fund the project.

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

85

FGM

City ponder summer move for Pogba

GETTY IMAGES

James Ducker Northern Football Correspondent

Manchester City are weighing up a move for Paul Pogba, the Juventus and France midfielder, next summer.

Pogba, 21, has established himself as one of the top young players in Europe since leaving Manchester United for Turin two years ago and City are understood to have identified him as one of a number of possible midfield targets.

Ross Barkley is another option being considered by City, who inquired in June about the prospect of signing the Everton and England midfielder, only to be quoted a £50 million fee.

That valuation — City view Barkley as being worth about half that amount — coupled with the 20-year-old’s chequered injury record are potential obstacles to the Barclays Premier League champions following up their initial interest next summer.

Pogba has scored 14 goals in 91 appearances for Juventus since leaving Old Trafford in acrimonious circumstances in 2012, as well as making 18 appearances for France, for whom he played in the World Cup finals in Brazil during the summer.

A tall, powerful, athletic midfielder with a keen eye for goal who offers greater versatility than Barkley, City view Pogba as a potential long-term replacement for Yaya Touré, who will be 32 by the end of the season, at which point he will have two years left on his contract.

Touré’s perceived attempts to engineer a transfer in the summer, and his indifferent form this term, have raised fresh questions about the Ivory Coast midfielder’s future, although Manuel

Pellegrini, the City manager, insists that he remains a key part of his plans.

One potential sticking point over Pogba surrounds the home-grown ruling. Whereas Barkley would boost City’s English quota and inject some youth into an ageing squad, Pogba falls narrowly outside the qualification criteria for home-grown players.

Premier League rules stipulate that a home-grown player is defined as one who, regardless of his age or nationality, has been registered with a club affiliated to the FA or Welsh FA for a period — continuous or not — of three entire seasons or 36 months before his 21st birthday or the end of the season during which he turns 21.

Pogba joined United on October 7, 2009 before signing for Juventus on August 3, 2012 and, as such, it is understood that he would fall marginally short of passing as home-grown. Since Pogba will be 22 in March, there would be no prospect, either, of City making up that two-month shortfall.

Reports in Italy have suggested that Juventus are in talks with Pogba to extend his contract. His present deal expires in June 2016, which, if not improved, would leave him with only 12 months left on his deal next summer and drastically reduce his price.

United had been quoted a fee of about £60 million during inquiries about the possibility of re-signing Pogba while David Moyes was the manager at Old Trafford.

A move for Pogba would also necessitate talks with Mino Raiola, the player’s controversial agent, whom City know well given his representation of Mario Balotelli, the club’s wayward former striker who is now at Liverpool.

Such has been the start to the season by José Mourinho’s Chelsea that few observers can see beyond a straightforward tilt at the title. The club’s female counterparts have been similarly impressive, but the Women’s Super League offers a close-run finale.

Chelsea’s women head the table as the WSL concludes tomorrow but two clubs are snapping at their heels should they fail to beat Manchester City. Bir-

mingham City and Liverpool need the west London club to slip up while beating Notts County and Bristol Academy respectively.

It has been a remarkable transformation for Chelsea, who finished second from bottom last season and Emma Hayes, their manager, unsurprisingly, is known as “the other Special One”. If Chelsea secure the title, it will be their first. The title, which could be won on goal difference, is so finely poised that

Johnson sets sights on recall after comeback Glen Johnson, the Liverpool defender, insists that he is fully focused on winning his place back at Anfield despite the growing uncertainty over his future.

Johnson’s contract expires next summer and he appears unlikely to be offered an extension to his deal, understood to be worth £120,000 a week.

The 30-year-old returned from a hip injury against West Bromwich Albion last weekend, being brought on as a substitute, and must now attempt to force his way back into Brendan Rodgers’s side ahead of Javier Manquillo. “My body feels good. I just need some game time,” said Johnson, who played yesterday in a behind-closed-doors friendly at the Melwood training ground with the rest of the club’s players not on international duty.

“I just want to take it week by week. I’m back out on the pitch now and I want to stay fit and well and get back into the team and put in some good performances.”

Shawcross wants more

In demand: Pogba, left, is regarded as one of the most exciting young players in Europe and Manchester City are considering a move for the Juventus midfielder

First title beckons if Chelsea can keep their cool Alyson Rudd

Football Sport

Eniola Aluko, the Chelsea striker, says that if she dwells too long on the game she “will feel paralysed” with tension.

It will be a slightly surreal day for Birmingham. Bouncy castles will be near the pitch and, after the game, live bands and comedy acts will perform as part of a fun day in aid of the players’ benevolent fund inspired by a former player who is suffering from cancer.

“No matter where we finish we will celebrate,” Karen Carney, the Birming-

ham captain, says. “Life is too short to sulk if we don’t win.”

If they do lose out, it will be hard not to dwell on the controversy of the season. Three weeks ago, Liverpool’s Fara Williams scored a dramatic winning goal from the halfway line against Carney’s side that the referee later admitted should not have stood.

6 For an exclusive interview with Eniola Aluko, of Chelsea, go to thetimes.co.uk/football

Ryan Shawcross, the Stoke City captain, says that he will have had no regrets about rejecting the chance to play for Wales even if his England ambitions fail to materialise. Shawcross has been in excellent form this season but the central defender has not been called up by Roy Hodgson since appearing as a late substitute in a 4-2 defeat by Sweden two years ago. “It’s up to the manager to pick me and if he doesn’t, I’ve just got to carry on playing well for Stoke,” the 27-year-old said. “I’ve got one cap and I want more. If it happens, it happens.”

Draw back to Mondays The FA Cup draw is returning to Mondays and the one for the first round will take place next week in front of a live audience on BBC TV and radio. St George’s Park will host the event, which will be broadcast on BBC2 and Radio 5 live at 7pm. Eighty clubs go into the hat for the first round as Sky Bet League One and Two sides join the competition, alongside non-League teams who have survived the qualifying rounds.

86

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

Sport Formula One

Hamilton pushes limits on fine line between risk and reward Jules Bianchi’s plight casts a shadow but British driver remains as bold as ever, writes Kevin Eason in Sochi

I

t takes a rare breed to do what Lewis Hamilton did between the concrete walls of the Sochi Autodrom yesterday. Five days after witnessing a friend and rival being almost killed in a terrifying accident, Hamilton flew around a slippery Sochi track.

The driver who saw a friend killed on a go-kart track at the age of 9, who says that he never climbs into his Mercedes without sensing danger and who knows that Jules Bianchi is fighting for his life in a Japanese hospital, simply did what he does best — drove very fast.

It is almost routine to say that Hamilton topped the timesheets, but he did and by a margin.

Practice for the inaugural Russian Grand Prix was a raw affair, a battle between emotion and courage. The usually ebullient Daniel Ricciardo had lost his trademark 100-megawatt smile to confess: “I would be lying if I said other things weren’t on my mind today.”

His thoughts were half a world away, at the Mie General Medical Centre in Yokkaichi, where Bianchi’s family are holding vigil. Tom and Melanie, Bianchi’s brother and sister, have joined Philippe and Christine, his parents, at the bedside.

Lorenz Leclerc, said to be Bianchi’s best friend, is there, too. John Booth, Marussia’s team principal, is refusing to leave his stricken driver, who is on life support and in a critical condition.

Max Chilton will be Marussia’s only driver this weekend. Bianchi’s car, No 17, stands, fully race-prepared and polished, in an empty garage under the glare of a spotlight, as a tribute to its missing driver. It is also a stark reminder.

In Sochi last night, the drivers confronted the details of the crash that so severely injured Bianchi in the final moments of the Japanese Grand Prix last weekend. Charlie Whiting, the race director, spent an hour offering reassurance and cajoling opinions.

Whiting has presented a detailed report to Jean Todt, president of the FIA, the governing body that has done so much to improve safety in the 20 years since Ayrton Senna died at the San Marino Grand Prix. Now he wants a panel of experts to go through the fine detail to search for any loophole that must be closed.

He has already identified a series of

Road to change The Bianchi crash. What will happen next?

6 Teams and the governing FIA will examine imposing speed limits during laps when cars are being recovered or there is an accident. It could be an electronic message or intervention.

6 An expert panel will examine the detailed report on the crash prepared by Charlie Whiting, the race director. A first meeting will be this week, led by Peter Wright, head of the FIA safety commission and a highly respected engineer.

6 Helmet safety will be examined.

Present helmets are twice as strong as those worn by Ayrton Senna when he was killed by a head injury in 1994, but more may be done.

6 The introduction of cockpits will be studied again. The FIA has conducted tests but not found a solution. Teams may be asked to suggest ideas.

6 Skirts could be fitted around the recovery tractors such as the one hit

by Bianchi last weekend to prevent cars “submarining”, or driving underneath the huge steel bodywork.

Exclusive to members

Video track guide Find out what awaits the drivers with our virtual tour of Sochi On tablet and at thetimes.co.uk/sport

Despite a slippery track, drivers were hurtling around the circuit in practice for the main race in Sochi, in front of a

measures and will put them to teams at a meeting this morning. It will start with imposing speed limits on drivers, perhaps with an electronic warning or intervention, on laps during a crash, instead of waiting for them to react to yellow warning flags.

“One of the most important things for us to learn is that it is probably better to take the decision to slow down away from the drivers,” Whiting said. Crash prevention skirts could be fitted to recovery tractors, such as the one that Bianchi hit after spearing off the track at an estimated 130mph.

It is like chasing shadows, though, for safety in a high-speed sport is a never-

Bianchi’s car is on display as a tribute to the driver after his crash in Japan

‘The chances of an accident like that being repeated are very slim’ ending quest. Whiting admitted that Bianchi’s accident was the result of a “perfect storm”. “The chances of an accident like that being repeated exactly are very slim,” he added.

The aftermath has been devastating, for this is a generation of drivers unused to being stalked by death and few have witnessed an accident that has had such alarming consequences.

Hamilton has, and at the age of 9: Daniel Spence was a friend competing in his home town of Kimbolton in Cambridgeshire. Spence’s kart flipped over and killed him.

“Even now, I can remember standing on the bank beside a track with him with our suits on just before a race, all laughing and joking,” Hamilton said.

“The next thing I knew I was at his funeral. It was the first time I had ever been to one.”

Hamilton is totally without guile and he knows that many think he is one of an over-privileged gang of multimillionaires in a cosseted existence of yachts and private jets — “a bunch of overpaid kids going out to play”, he said.

But he added: “There is not a second I get in the car that I am not fully aware

of the dangers in front of me. That is part of the adrenaline rush, knowing you are on the edge.”

It is the fine balance between risk and reward. Bianchi took the risk and lost in the worst way. Most get away with it, such as Jenson Button. He emerged from the tunnel at 180mph at the 2003 Monaco Grand Prix and smashed into a barrier. He was knocked unconscious and so concussed, he could not race.

“As soon as you come round, you want to get back into the car. It’s your first aim,” Button said. “Most of us have been doing this since we were eight years old and it is something we love.

We feel alive when we are racing.

“When we are in the car, we feel most at home. You get away from everything else to go into your own little world.

When you put the visor down, it is the most peaceful place to be. All of your problems go out of the window.”

For all that F1 is a global sport, it is a small village of, perhaps, fewer than 1,000 people who travel together, eat together, work together and race together. When one person runs into trouble, the tremors are felt in every corner of the paddock.

The shock waves are still rippling through the glamorous paddock at the Sochi Autodrom — but when the visors go down and the engines start, F1’s drivers will be racing regardless of the danger.

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

87

FGM

SRDJAN SUKI / EPA

Formula One Sport

Alonso faces the exit while uncertainty engulfs Button Kevin Eason

smattering of spectators. Shock waves have been created by Bianchi’s accident as he fights for his life in Japan, but on the track it is business as usual

Putin will feel at ease within chainmail of security Kevin Eason Motor Racing Correspondent

The security will be an iron fist in an electronic glove. When Vladimir Putin, president of Russia and patron of the inaugural Russian Grand Prix, arrives in the paddock tomorrow, Formula One will be on a war footing.

Television companies will be shut down briefly while Russia’s secret service bombards the Sochi Autodrom with radio waves to detonate any remote bombs. It is that serious and carefully rehearsed, for Sochi is no stranger to sport and security.

The backdrop for this race is the Olympic Park built for the Winter Olympics staged in February. That was the most recent time Putin commandeered a sporting event, towering over the opening ceremony and turning up at his beloved ice hockey to see Russia play the United States. Russia lost that one.

It doesn’t seem to matter. The economy is nosediving and Russia is regarded as a rogue state, but it had the Olympics and now it has a grand prix, and tens of millions will see Putin acknowledge crowds and stride along the grid guided by Bernie Ecclestone,

the F1 chief executive. Sochi is the new home of Russian sport, a seaside resort 850 miles south of Moscow. Rozsypne is 400 miles closer; that is the Ukrainian village where bodies fell on to rooftops when Malaysia Airlines jet MH17 was brought down.

More than 50,000 fans are expected to join Putin tomorrow, but few in the grandstands will be the ardent F1 tourists from abroad who populate grands prix around the world.

Even after the Olympics, Sochi remains a mystery.

There are hardly any direct flights and the trek from Heathrow can be epic, with a five-hour stopover in Moscow.

One academic who lived in nearby Krasnodar told me: “Not even Russians go to Sochi. They go to Turkey and Monaco, and Cuba is popular. Now

the Crimea has been opened to Russians, they like going there.”

Perhaps F1 tourists also view a rogue state in a stand-off with their home nations as deterrent enough.

The most important holiday visitor, though, is Russia’s Action Man, the president who loves the forests and adores skiing 3,000 metres up in the mountains around Sochi. This is very much a Putin town — one of his best mates is said to run O’Sullivan’s, the local Irish pub.

Little wonder that Sochi has been the beneficiary of such lavish investment and F1 is destined to be part of the Olympic legacy. leg Tomorrow, the To F1 cars will circle the Olympic Stadium and fire past the curling centre, where Great Britain teams won

silver and bronze. And when F1 goes home, the builders will move in and take the retractable roof off the Olympic Stadium and turn it into a football ground for the 2018 World Cup finals.

The racetrack will become a centre for driver training and seeking stars of the F1 future, such as Daniil Kvyat, elevated to the second seat at Red Bull, the world champions. He is about to become a star in his homeland.

By contrast, Lewis Hamilton acknowledged that he could walk the streets of Moscow unrecognised, but then found a gaggle of fans outside his hotel. Jenson Button’s face adorns huge posters and fans have turned up with Union Jacks and T-shirts bearing his name. Hundreds queued on Thursday night just to see an empty pit straight.

Yet the taint will remain. Should F1 race in a state at odds with the rest of the world?

Franz Tost, of Toro Rosso, delivered a blast to make the hair curl. “There are always negative critics,” Tost said. “To be honest, I don’t care about this. The only thing I am interested in is that we have a fast car. The rest is politics.”

President Putin is among friends at his Russian Grand Prix.

He might be rated by many as the best driver in the world, but he could soon be in the world’s most expensive dole queue.

Fernando Alonso appeared calm in Sochi but the questions over his future swirl. Ferrari have dumped him and McLaren want him — but not at any price. And the man in the middle — Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion — waits to learn whether he has a future in Formula One. Either he or Kevin Magnussen, his team-mate, would have to be sacrificed to make way for Alonso.

The complexity of the off-stage negotiations has sparked speculation that Alonso’s intransigence may be about to cost him dearly. Although he has driven brilliantly for Ferrari, producing results out of thin air, the Spaniard has been a disruptive influence at the proud Scuderia. Marco Mattiacci, Ferrari’s team principal, appears to have decided that his talent did not outweigh his occasionally malign influence.

When The Times asked Mattiacci how he could mollify his star driver, he replied: “I am not here to please Fernando Alonso.” One phone call later and Sebastian Vettel had handed in his notice at Red Bull.

Attention has turned to McLaren, who have made no secret of their desire to recruit Alonso as a marquee signing to kick off their new era in partnership with Honda. However, they want commitment and sources in the Spanish media believe that Alonso hankers after a deal at Mercedes in 2016. That presumes that Lewis Hamilton will leave — unlikely if he wins the world championship this season. McLaren will not want to be the stopgap. In all of this, Button waits.

“Nothing has changed,” he said in Sochi, as he mounted a defence of his own record in the team. “Who says it will be me to go? I hear things all the time, that I am the guy who is 34 and on his way out and not a 21-year-old, not that I am the guy who has scored 82 points to 39.”

Button’s assessment of Alonso’s qualities were diplomatic but hinted at turbulence that McLaren might expect.

“We have a good atmosphere here with two drivers who respect each other,” he said. “One is less experienced but unbelievably quick and he tells the truth. He is the most straightforward team-mate I have ever had, so we work very well together.

“My family find really difficult to understand the situation I find myself in at this point, considering what I have done in the sport.”

Not being indulged: Alonso’s stubborn characteristics may cost him his place

88

FGM

Sport Rugby union

Bath ordered to show merciless streak and leave Wasps stinging

HENRY BROWNE / ACTION IMAGES

Bath have scored the most tries in the Aviva Premiership this season and have been giving a run to the most entertaining threequarter line in the league, and yet Mike Ford, the director of rugby, believes that his team are a long way from their best. In his words, they have still “only scratched the surface.”

Bath travel to play Wasps tomorrow, to an Adams Park that is expected to be thronged with angry, disenfranchised Wasps fans. While the home team will be trying to please, Bath will be trying to get closer to the attacking game that Ford has in mind and to which he says they are not yet close.

After their 21-11 victory over Saracens last weekend, the Bath players were given an extra day off. The coaches, meanwhile, regrouped for an extra analysis session and worked out that the team had let some 20 tries go begging in the past three games. It was the review session that persuaded Ford the best is yet to come and may still be a long way off.

“We really do think we are nowhere near [our best] in attack at the moment,” he said. “We have so much to

Exclusive to members

Tries! Tries! Tries!

Watch clips of this weekend’s Aviva Premiership tries moments after they are scored On tablet and at thetimes.co.uk/rugbyunion

offer. It’s a case of keep doing what we are doing, keep refining it, getting the repetitions in so it becomes second nature, so we don’t miss opportunities like we’ve been missing.

“We know where we want to get to.

It’s a case of keeping together, keep the philosophy, keep being brave and courageous; if it’s on to play from behind your tryline, that’s what you do.

And [focus on] how quickly can we get into our shape from chaos” As Ford said, “rugby is chaos”. His game plan is to strike fast when the opposition are still struggling to organise themselves.

He regards every week as an opportunity to hone the attacking game he has in his mind. For that reason, he is not of the mind to play with his line-up, to rotate players or to rest them. “We are going to pick our strongest side for Wasps,” he said. “We respect them; we don’t think we can rotate or put a weaker squad out, we’d be kidding ourselves. We know what they’ve just done to Northampton [beat them 20-16].”

The reward for Bath’s form may also hurt them. Stuart Lancaster will select his England squad for the QBE autumn internationals in 11 days’ time and Ford expects a considerable cohort of his players to be named in the initial squad.

If there are not a number of Bath players chosen, he said he would be “really disappointed”. As he explained: “Quite rightly, Stuart’s asked for that extra time to pick the men in form. But there are certainly two or three positions that he is probably still debating, especially in the backline.

And our backs, on the platform they’ve been given, have been the form back line. It will be interesting to see what kind of squad he picks.”

By questioning the “kind” of squad Lancaster will pick, Ford is asking whether he will select a team with an attacking ethos like Bath’s. Ford’s son, George, will surely be in the squad that

Australian rugby has lurched from one crisis to the next over the past fortnight.

In the latest extraordinary twist, Ewen McKenzie, the head coach, has been forced to deny claims that he is in an intimate relationship with the Wallabies team official who was involved in a row with Kurtley Beale on the flight to Argentina last week.

Beale was initially facing disciplinary action for the argument with Di Patston, the business manager, but that has been overshadowed by allegations that he sent “deeply offensive” text messages referencing an ARU staff member, reported to be Patston, to fellow players. The 25-year-old has been dropped from the Australia squad and will face an independent code of conduct hearing next week.

McKenzie faced a series of questions over the nature of his relationship with Patston, amid claims that it had caused friction within the squad.

“I’ve got a professional relationship with her and I refute that,” he said.

McKenzie denied that the squad was divided as they prepare for next week’s game against New Zealand and November internationals against Wales, France, Ireland and England.

Nick Eastwood, the Wasps chief executive, has dismissed suggestions McKenzie denied that the Australia squad was divided

Leading the charge: Eastmond has been one of Bath’s best players and is in line to claim an England place, but there is more to come from his team-mates

Lancaster names, but it is the players outside him that will be jostling for selection.

Kyle Eastmond, named player of the month yesterday, is the Premiership’s in-form No 12. Jonathan Joseph, has

been the in-form No 13. Yet Lancaster may also recruit from Bath’s wings.

Anthony Watson returns from injury tomorrow. On the other wing, Semesa Rokoduguni has also earned international consideration.

match-by-match guide to the weekend’s aviva premiership action Today London Welsh v Newcastle Falcons (2.30pm, Kassam Stadium) The clubs have never met in the Premiership. Their only previous matches were in the second tier in 1998, when Newcastle were known as Gosforth. London Welsh have reacted to their 53-0 defeat by Harlequins in making five changes to their pack, which includes a first start for Chris Hala’ufia. The Falcons are unchanged from last week’s win against Exeter Chiefs, which was their first in the Premiership for almost a year.

Exeter Chiefs v London Irish (3pm, Sandy Park) After wins against Gloucester and Harlequins, Exeter hit a speed bump away to Newcastle last week, but they are boosted by the return of Jack Nowell, the England wing, and Sam

Hill, one of the league’s most impressive centres this season. Irish bring Tom Guest in at flanker and make three changes to the backs after their defeat away to Northampton Saints, with Scott Steele, Eamonn Sheridan and Topsy Ojo all starting. how they stand Northampton Bath Saracens Exeter Gloucester *Harlequins London Irish Sale Wasps *Leicester Newcastle London Welsh

P W 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 3 5 3 5 3 5 2 5 2 5 2 5 2 5 1 5 0

D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

L 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 5

F 154 172 160 157 141 111 101 137 120 95 92 44

A 72 88 100 88 131 113 112 125 119 137 150 249

B 4 3 2 3 2 1 4 3 3 2 1 1

Pts 20 19 18 15 14 13 12 11 11 10 5 1

*Does not include last night’s Leicester v Harlequins result

McKenzie hits back after new crisis adds to Australia woe Alex Lowe

Ford says fearsome attack is yet to hit full stride Owen Slot Chief Rugby Correspondent

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

Saracens v Gloucester (3pm, Allianz Park) Schalk Brits starts for Saracens after returning from international duty with South Africa and Brad Barritt has overcome a calf injury to start in midfield, while Ben Ransom has replaced Alex Goode at full back.

Gloucester’s starting XV is unchanged from the win away to Leicester Tigers, although Darren Dawidiuk and Bill Meakes come on to the bench.

Northampton Saints v Sale Sharks (3.15pm, Franklin’s Gardens, BT Sport 1) Tom Wood returns to the Northampton back row after three weeks out and he will captain the Saints, while Dylan Hartley is included on the bench after overcoming a back injury. George North has also been rotated on to the bench, with Jamie Elliott replacing him on the wing. Sale have made one

change to the team who beat Wasps, Josh Beaumont starting in the second row.

Tomorrow Wasps v Bath (2pm, Adams Park, BT Sport 1) The beginning of the end for Wasps at Adams Park, with their move to Coventry having received the go-ahead this week. James Haskell and Joe Launchbury return to the side at the end of a turbulent week for the club, while Bradley Davies, the Wales lock, will make his first start for the club. Bath recall Anthony Watson to the wing in place of Olly Woodburn, but are otherwise unchanged from their impressive win against Saracens.

They also get to show off Kyle Eastmond, the Premiership player of the month.

Words by Alex Lowe

that Derek Richardson, the club owner, bought the Ricoh Arena in Coventry as part of a long-planned property deal as “poisonous” and insisted that every attempt was made to relocate nearer to London.

Eastwood insisted that the Ricoh Arena emerged as the leading option only in the spring of this year, after he had concluded that it would be “impossible” to build a stadium anywhere in London or the south east.

“This is not a property play, it is about sport,” Eastwood said. “People say it is about making money, it is about not losing money. It is about providing nonrugby income streams. In the spring we realised the unlimited potential of the Ricoh at the same time as I came to the conclusion that building and owning our own stadium was impossible.”

Eastwood confirmed that Richardson’s purchase of 50 per cent of the stadium’s operating company, Arena Coventry Ltd (ACL) — with a view to completing a full takeover in due course for about £20 million — had been made outright, without the need for leveraged finance. “The money generated stays in the business from day one,” he said. “It doesn’t fund the deal.”

Some fans have threatened protests at tomorrow’s Aviva Premiership match against Bath, and Eastwood urged them to direct their ire at him, not the players.

“If you want to come and throw eggs at me at the fans’ forum, then throw eggs at me, but the players are the wrong people to go after,” he said.

6 Russia hold a one-point lead going into the second leg of their World Cup play-off against Uruguay in Montevideo today. The winners will be the last team to qualify for the tournament and join the group that includes England, Wales, Australia and Fiji.

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

89

FGM

Woeful Welsh on hiding to nothing after horror start

DAVID ROGERS / GETTY IMAGES

losing touch London Welsh Played 5, won 0, drawn 0, lost 5 Points for 44. Points against 249 Points difference -205 Tries scored 6. Tries conceded 33 The worst Premiership teams Rotherham Titans 2003-04 Lost all 22 matches Played 22, won 0, drew 0, lost 22 Worcester Warriors 2013-14 Lost their first 18 matches Played 22, won 2, drew 0, lost 20

Exiles regard game against Newcastle as pivotal Alex Lowe

It seems remarkably early, only six weeks into the Aviva Premiership season and with the leaves only just beginning to turn on the trees, to be talking of pivotal fixtures — but that is the stark reality facing London Welsh at home to Newcastle Falcons today.

The exiles have made the worst start to a Premiership season in the history of the competition. No team had conceded more than 40 points in four consecutive matches but London Welsh have now done it in five, at an average of 49.8 per game.

Twice, against Exeter Chiefs and Harlequins, they have failed to trouble the scorers while conceding more than half a century — 52-0 both times, the kind of score England’s opening batsmen would be content to reach by lunch on the first day of a Test match.

Olly Barkley, the former England fly half, had been on the end of only one 50-point defeat in his career before he agreed to join London Welsh, one of 25 new recruits hastily assembled by Justin Burnell, the director of rugby,

after the club won promotion. “Now I have had two in five matches, and it hurts,” he said.

Burnell is having to build a team in the unforgiving environs of the Premiership. Even the exiles’ best performance, when they were competitive for an hour against Gloucester, ended in a 46-10 home defeat. They have lacked cohesion and have struggled to cope with the pace and intensity of the top flight.

Newcastle’s win over Exeter Chiefs last week, their first in 21 league matches, has made the task of surviving in the Premiership harder still for London Welsh, which is why today’s match at the Kassam Stadium in Oxford has taken on such importance, even though it is still October.

“It is a pivotal game,” Barkley said.

“We need to perform better and that has to start against Newcastle. We are under no illusions as to the size of it. The levels we are achieving aren’t good enough, we know that. We are not sugar-coating it. Every week we are trying to improve and find our identity, where our strengths and weaknesses

Rugby union Sport

Bedford Blues 1999-2000 Lost their first 15 matches Played 22, won 1, drew 0, lost 21 West Hartlepool 1998-99 Lost their first 11 matches Played 26, won 3, drew 1, lost 22

Crunch time: Barkley knows that London Welsh need to learn their lessons fast

are. The Premiership is a brutal place to try and learn those things.

“We are starting from scratch.

Getting 25 new players to gel is not easy and at the same time we have not performed, we have made basic errors.

The intensity of the Premiership has caught some of the boys by surprise.

“I am confident that in time we will not be the pushovers we are at the moment. What better week to get it kick-started than this one?”

One of Burnell’s biggest challenges is to keep the squad motivated, to keep them believing as they dissect another video nasty of missed tackles and conceded tries that they can bridge the gap and will not end up as the worst team in the history of the Premiership.

Rotherham Titans lost all 22 matches in the 2002-03 season and there are plenty of other long losing streaks; Worcester Warriors took 18 matches to win a game last season and Newcastle’s

victory over Exeter last weekend ended a wait of nearly a year.

“You can’t go in every Monday morning and keep flogging it and keep banging the drum. That’d be dampening the spirit,” Burnell said. “Some people say that you have got to work harder. But I say it’s like driving down the motorway and there’s a massive sign saying, ‘Don’t drive when you are tired’. The reason it says that is because your concentration and reflexes are nowhere near where they should be.

“You can flog people until they are exhausted, but you will get more mistakes. Morale is a massive thing and we have to keep it as high as possible. They are not pointing the finger or blaming someone else, which is remarkable given the points we’ve conceded.”

90

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

Sport Comment

Want to know something? Rugby hurts Paul Ackford

Y

ou know you’re getting old when . . . you come across an RFU document entitled Play It Safe, which is part of a package rolled out to coaches to encourage good practice when working with children (defined as under-18s). Let me state that the intention behind this initiative is laudable. It aims to enable kids to learn and play a sport as safely and enjoyably as possible. And in a year when the RFU is gearing up to capitalise on a World Cup held, for the most part, in its own fiefdom, that makes absolute sense.

It is just that a chunk of the material contained in Play It Safe fails to strike a chord with the character of rugby as a recreation and the nature of the youngsters who play it. Here’s what a coach is not allowed to do. He or she is not allowed to expose a young player to “unnecessary heat or cold”. That comes under the heading neglect. He or she is not allowed to expose a young player to “overplaying, overtraining or fatigue”. That’s called physical abuse.

He or she should not “provide repeated negative feedback, demand performance levels above the young player’s capability or overemphasise the winning ethic”. That’s called emotional abuse. And he or she should not adopt “a win-at-all-costs philosophy”. That’s called bullying.

Well, d’you know what? Using those criteria, during most of my formative years playing rugby, I was neglected, physically abused, emotionally abused and bullied, and I loved pretty much every minute of it. The experiences toughened me up, taught me resolve, gave me an understanding of my physical capabilities, how I reacted in adversity, furnished me with aspirations and provided lessons in dealing with disappointment.

Only a fool would fight against making rugby safer — and if anyone ever asks whether their son should consider a career as a professional rugby player, my response is invariably no, simply because the injuries are so catastrophic, the legacy so physically debilitating — but to seek to remove all hardship from those at the early stages of the sport, to sanitise it, is a mistake.

Most people get this. Most people get that having kids standing out on the wing on a bitterly cold day, or diving on to a ball on a frozen, rutted pitch, or running up a sand

DAVID ROGERS / GETTY IMAGES

Barnes times it right to keep scrum alive

T

Right signals: Barnes manages the scrum with confidence as South Africa beat the All Blacks

ime on the ball: the commodity that separates the good international players from the great holds true for referees too. Last Saturday, Wayne Barnes was calmness personified as the Springboks strove to end the All Blacks’ 22-game unbeaten run. During those final pulsating seconds, though, it was not Barnes’s decision to review an incident of foul play allowing Patrick Lambie to land the match-winning penalty that grabbed the attention. It was his management of the scrum.

Scrummages are slowly returning to genuine contests of strength and technique, partly because players have got used to changes in the engagement sequence, but principally because the better referees, such as Barnes, now have the confidence to get the scrummage set, stable and square before the ball comes in.

He waited until there was a proper, lawful struggle for the ball, at which point, and only then, did he penalise transgressors.

Seven years ago, a picture of Barnes was placed at the bottom of a Queenstown urinal after his involvement in the quarter-final against France that ended the All Blacks’ World Cup campaign.

Seven days ago, there was barely a peep of complaint as Barnes presided over another rare New Zealand defeat.

dune in June as part of a punishing preseason training regime is neither neglect nor physical abuse. Just as most people get that there isn’t some kind of bizarre watershed for the “winning ethic”, whereby it appears fully formed and acceptable on a player’s 18th birthday, but inconvenient and inappropriate before that mark.

I suspect the RFU gets this too, but it is forced to enshrine good practice in Play It Safe because not to do so would leave it vulnerable to the health and safety brigade and those litigious individuals who seek to profit when the risk/reward relationship gets out of kilter.

But where does it leave the next generation of coaches who want to guide all those rugby virgins seduced by the World

because it might encourage a drinking culture.

There is a section in Play It Safe that outlines various scenarios and invites comment on whether these are “acceptable” or “unacceptable”. They include “a referee picking up a player and taking that person to the match”; “a club committee member taking a player home”; “a team manager talking with a coach about a young person’s social life away from the club”; “a coach forcing a team to do five laps of the pitch as a punishment”; and “the club’s safeguarding officer challenging a parent on the touchline”.

Good luck with sorting the rights and wrongs from that lot, because I haven’t got a clue. But, as I said, I’m old.

Cup? I’m told now that the advice is not to touch children if at all possible, that to get their attention you should tap them with the ball. That goes for drills too, though trying to coach scrummaging or rucking practices without some hands-on advice as to appropriate body positions and feet placement would appear to be a tad tricky.

As for sending players round the posts at the far end of the field, or getting them to do a series of press-ups for a dropped pass or a missed tackle? They’re both a no-no because they might be misconstrued as bullying, in the same way that allowing teams of 15-year-olds to indulge in “boat races”, where five lads from one team try to down half-pints of lemonade quicker than five from the other team is frowned upon

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

91

FGM

Sport

Whitaker produces timeless display Equestrianism

Jenny MacArthur

Forty-three years after his first appearance at the Horse of the Year Show, John Whitaker displayed a competitive edge as sharp as ever when he and Lord of Arabia won the Horse Radar Stakes in front of a vociferous support in Birmingham’s LG Arena yesterday.

Drawn last in the 29-strong field, Whitaker, 59, shaved more than a second off the time of second-placed Nicole Pavitt, on Victor Blue, in a scintillating round. “Every turn came off perfectly — he was really listening to me,” Whitaker said of Lord Arabia, a

horse with limitless ability but whose temperament can get the better of him.

“When he is like he is today, he’s unbeatable.”

The success continues a fine season for Whitaker, a former European champion. With Argento, his top horse, he won the Glock’s Grand Prix in Austria in July and was second in the Lausanne Global Champions Tour last month — bringing their prize money for the year to €300,000 (about £236,200).

Despite its modest rewards (he won £1,320 yesterday), Whitaker retains a special affection for the Horse of the Year Show. “It’s where it all started,” he

said. “ I used to watch it as a kid — that’s what got me into the sport.”

Michael, his younger brother, and William, his nephew, are in Barcelona chasing the €1,500,000 (about £1,181,896) on offer in the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping Final today as part of the Great Britain team.

The four-man squad — which also includes Joe Clee and Spencer Roe — reached the top eight in Thursday’s qualifying round. Rob Hoekstra, the team manager, is confident that they can improve on their place today.

“It was very hard for them on Thursday,” he said. “They are on inexperienced horses and it was a big

course with no warm-up class beforehand. I was very pleased with them.”

While Germany and the Netherlands, the favourites, are fielding their top teams, Britain are competing without Scott Brash, the world No 1, and Hello Sanctos, his Olympic and European team gold medal-winner. Explaining his absence, Hoekstra said: “We need to use [Hello Sanctos] sparingly to make sure he’s all right for the European Championships in Aachen next year.”

Great Britain, having failed to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics at the World Equestrian Games in Normandy last month, need to finish in the top three in Aachen if they are to compete in Brazil.

Rolling back the years: Whitaker first competed at the event 43 years ago

Fixtures Today

THE BEST FOR RUGBY

Football Kick-off 3.0 unless stated European Championship qualifying: Group D: Poland v Germany (7.45); Ireland v Gibraltar (5.0); Scotland v Georgia (5.0). Group F: Finland v Greece (7.45); Northern Ireland v Faroe Islands (7.45); Romania v Hungary (5.0). Group I: Albania v Denmark (7.45); Armenia v Serbia (5.0).

Sky Bet League One: Bristol City v Chesterfield; Colchester v Fleetwood Town; Crawley Town v Peterborough; Crewe v Coventry; Gillingham v Scunthorpe; Oldham v Walsall; Port Vale v Yeovil; Sheffield United v Leyton Orient.

P W D L F A GDPts Bristol City 11 7 4 0 22 10 12 25 Swindon 10 6 3 1 22 11 11 21 Peterborough 11 6 2 3 16 11 5 20 MK Dons 10 6 1 3 25 14 11 19 Preston 10 5 4 1 20 11 9 19 Chesterfield 10 5 3 2 19 14 5 18 Bradford City 11 5 3 3 15 11 4 18 Notts County 11 4 5 2 12 7 5 17 Rochdale 11 5 1 5 19 12 7 16 Fleetwood Tn 11 4 4 3 10 8 2 16 Sheffield Utd 10 5 1 4 15 16 -1 16 Oldham 11 3 6 2 14 13 1 15 Doncaster 10 4 2 4 11 15 -4 14 Crawley 11 4 2 5 8 14 -6 14 Coventry 11 3 4 4 12 14 -2 13 Walsall 11 2 6 3 10 11 -1 12 Barnsley 10 3 3 4 14 16 -2 12 Gillingham 11 3 3 5 12 15 -3 12 Yeovil 11 3 3 5 10 16 -6 12 Leyton Orient 10 2 4 4 11 13 -2 10 Colchester 11 2 3 6 14 17 -3 9 Port Vale 11 2 3 6 11 18 -7 9 Scunthorpe 11 2 1 8 11 25 -14 7 Crewe 11 1 1 9 8 29 -21 4 League Two: AFC Wimbledon v Bury; Accrington Stanley v Dagenham & Redbridge; Cambridge United v Oxford United (12.15); Carlisle v Stevenage; Exeter v Hartlepool; Luton v Southend; Morecambe v Wycombe; Newport County v York; Northampton v Burton Albion (2.0); Portsmouth v Mansfield; Shrewsbury v Cheltenham; Tranmere v Plymouth.

P W D L F A GDPts Bury 11 7 2 2 18 8 10 23 Wycombe 11 6 4 1 14 7 7 22 Burton 11 7 1 3 14 12 2 22 Southend 11 6 2 3 12 8 4 20 Morecambe 11 6 1 4 13 9 4 19 Northampton 11 5 3 3 19 14 5 18 Luton 11 5 3 3 10 8 2 18 Plymouth 11 5 1 5 12 8 4 16 Portsmouth 11 4 4 3 10 8 2 16 Cheltenham 11 4 4 3 9 8 1 16 Accrington 11 5 1 5 16 20 -4 16 Shrewsbury 11 4 3 4 12 9 3 15 AFC Wimbledon11 4 3 4 17 17 0 15 Exeter 11 4 3 4 12 14 -2 15 Mansfield 11 5 0 6 11 15 -4 15 Cambridge 11 4 2 5 18 14 4 14 Stevenage 11 4 2 5 14 15 -1 14

STUART BARNES

LAWRENCE DALLAGLIO

STEPHEN JONES

THE FLY-HALVES WHO WILL RULE IN EUROPE

WHY WASPS TOULON: HAVE TO FLY TO THE GREATEST COVENTRY CLUB SIDE EVER?

Rugby league

Premiership: Cardiff Rugby v Newport (2.30).

SWALEC Welsh Championship (2.30): Bargoed v Narberth; Bridgend Athletic v Blackwood; Llanharan v Tondu; Merthyr v Swansea; Newbridge v Tata Steel; Pontypool v Cardiff Met; RGC 1404 v Glynneath.

BT Scottish Premiership: Ayr v Currie; Gala v Boroughmuir; Glasgow Hawks v Edinburgh Academicals; Hawick v Stirling County; Melrose v Heriot’s.

Scottish National League: First division: Biggar v Watsonians; Hillhead/Jordanhill v Dundee HSFP; Jed-Forest v GHA; Kelso v Stewart’s Melville FP; Marr v Peebles; Selkirk v Aberdeen Grammar.

Other sport Equestrianism: Birmingham NEC: Horse of the Year Show.

Ice hockey: Rapid Solicitors Elite League (7.0 unless stated): Belfast v Dundee; Cardiff v Hull; Edinburgh v Braehead (6.0); Nottingham v Fife; Sheffield v Coventry.

Motor sport: Brands Hatch: British Touring Car Championships.

Tomorrow

First Utility Super League: Grand Final: St Helens v Wigan (6.0, Old Trafford).

Football

Rugby union

Kick-off 7.45 unless stated European Championship qualifying: Group C: Belarus v Slovakia; Luxembourg v Spain; Ukraine v FYR Macedonia (5.0). Group E: Estonia v England (5.0); Lithuania v Slovenia. Group G: Austria v Montenegro (5.0); Russia v Moldova (5.0); Sweden v Liechtenstein.

Sky Bet League One: Barnsley v Bradford City (3.0).

Petrofac Training Challenge Cup: Semifinal: Livingston v Stranraer (4.05).

Kick-off 3.0 unless stated Aviva Premiership: Exeter v London Irish; London Welsh v Newcastle (2.30); Northampton v Sale (3.15); Saracens v Gloucester.

British & Irish Cup: Pool one: Pontypridd v London Scottish (2.30). Pool two: Aberavon v Ulster (2.30). Pool three: Munster v Moseley. Pool four: Cross Keys v Doncaster. Pool five: Jersey v Carmarthen Quins; Plymouth Albion v Leinster.

SSE National League One: Blaydon v Rosslyn Park; Cinderford v Coventry (2.30); Esher v Darlington Mowden Park; Hartpury College v Fylde (2.30); Macclesfield v Tynedale; Old Albanian v Loughborough Students; Richmond v Ealing Trailfinders; Wharfedale v Blackheath. League Two: North: Ampthill v Hull Ionians; Birmingham & Solihull v Leicester Lions (2.0); Broadstreet v Harrogate; Caldy v Huddersfield; Hull v Stourbridge; Otley v Luctonians; Sedgley Park v Preston Grasshoppers (2.30); Stockport v Chester. South: Bishops Stortford v Taunton; Chinnor v Southend; Dorking v Launceston; Henley v Cambridge; Lydney v Worthing; Redruth v Canterbury; Shelford v Old Elthamians.

Guinness PRO12: Edinburgh v Newport Gwent Dragons (2.40); Ulster v Glasgow (5.05); Zebre v Leinster (3.0).

Principality Building Society Welsh

Rugby union Aviva Premiership: Wasps v Bath (2.0).

Guinness PRO12: Ospreys v Cardiff Blues (4.0).

British & Irish Cup (3.0): Pool one: Bristol v Connacht. Pool three: Nottingham v Worcester. Pool four: Cornish Pirates v Bedford.

Other sport Basketball: BBL Championship: Plymouth v Leicester (4.0); Manchester v Bristol (6.0).

Equestrianism: Birmingham NEC: Horse of the Year Show.

Ice hockey: Rapid Solicitors Elite League: Coventry v Cardiff (5.15); Dundee v Braehead (6.30); Fife v Nottingham (6.30); Hull v Sheffield (6.0).

Motor sport: Brands Hatch: British Touring Car Championships.

Results Oman

Football

(1) 3 Costa Rica (2) 4

European Under-21 Championship play-offs, first leg

Ibrahim 25 Al Shyabi 52 Emad 58

Kane 57 Berahino 85 (pen)

Pakistan v Australia 2nd ODI

England

Slovakia

(0) 2 Croatia (0) 1 Italy

Zreläk 69

(0) 1

Belotti 64

International Friendlies Uzbekistan (0) 0 Bahrain Mexico

(1) 1

Livaja 13 21,107

(0) 0

(2) 2 Honduras (0) 0

Hernández 22 Alanís 37

PLUS: ROY KEANE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW AND ANDREW STRAUSS ON KEVIN PIETERSEN

Newport County11 3 4 4 12 12 0 13 Dag & Red 11 3 2 6 14 19 -5 11 Oxford United 11 2 4 5 10 13 -3 10 York 11 1 7 3 10 14 -4 10 Tranmere 11 2 3 6 11 15 -4 9 Carlisle 11 2 3 6 12 21 -9 9 Hartlepool 11 2 2 7 5 17 -12 8 Vanarama Conference: Aldershot v Bristol Rovers; Alfreton Town v Torquay (5.30); Altrincham v Woking; Barnet v Kidderminster; Braintree Town v Southport; Dartford v Macclesfield; Dover v Chester; Eastleigh v Halifax; Forest Green v Gateshead; Lincoln City v AFC Telford; Welling v Nuneaton; Wrexham v Grimsby. North: Bradford Park Avenue v Barrow; Hednesford v Hyde; Oxford City v Solihull Moors. South: Farnborough v Bishop’s Stortford.

William Hill Scottish Cup: Second-round replays: East Kilbride v Spartans; Forres Mechanics v Elgin; Montrose v Arbroath (2.0).

Scottish Championship: Alloa v Heart of Midlothian; Hibernian v Dumbarton.

League One: Airdrieonians v Brechin (1.0); Forfar v Stenhousemuir; Morton v Stirling (1.0). League Two: East Fife v Clyde (1.0); East Stirling v Queen’s Park.

UAE

(0) 0 Australia

(0) 0

Japan

(1) 1 Jamaica

(0) 0

Nosworthy (og) 16

S Korea

(2) 2 Paraguay

(0) 0

Kim Min Woo 26, Nam Tae Hee 32

China

(0) 3 Thailand

Hathairattanakool (og) 63 20,000 Sun 83, Yang 88

(0) 0

Saborio 3, Ruiz 45 Bustos 46 Ramirez 49

Cricket Dubai (Pakistan won toss): Australia won by five wickets Pakistan (balls) A Shehzad c Smith b Doherty 61 (82) †S Ahmed c Maxwell b Johnson65 (72) A Shafiq c Johnson b Lyon 29 (35) *Misbah-ul-Haq run out 15 (29) Umar Akmal c Smith b Johnson 5 (9) F Alam not out 20 (39) Shahid Afridi c Smith b Johnson 2 (9) W Riaz b Richardson 2 (8) R Hasan run out 0 (2) Z Babar c Maxwell b Faulkner 6 (11) M Irfan run out 0 (1) Extras (lb 2, w 8) 10 Total (49.3 overs) 215 Fall of wickets: 1-126, 2-130, 3-159, 4-168, 5-185, 6-199, 7-203, 8-204, 9-213.

Bowling: Johnson 10-0-40-3; Richardson 9.3-0-43-1; Doherty 10-0-44-1; Faulkner 7-0-27-1; Lyon 10-0-40-1; Maxwell 3-0-19-0.

Australia (balls) D A Warner c Irfan b Hasan 29 (27) A J Finch c Ahmed b Irfan 14 (12) S P D Smith c Ahmed b Babar 12 (15) *G J Bailey run out 28 (68) G J Maxwell c Shafiq b Babar 76 (81) J P Faulkner not out 26 (37) †B J Haddin not out 17 (20) Extras (lb 3, w 12) 15 Total (5 wkts, 43.2 overs) 217 Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-39, 3-72, 4-157, 5-178.

Bowling: Hasan 10-0-68-1; Irfan 9.2-042-1; Babar 10-1-52-2; Afridi 10-0-3-0; Riaz 2.2-0-7-0; Shehzad 1.4-0-9-0.

Umpires: N J Long (Eng) and Shozab Raza (Pak).

Tennis ATP Shanghai Rolex Masters Quarter-finals: R Federer (Switz) bt J Benneteau (Fr) 7-6, 6-0; N Djokovic (Serbia) bt D Ferrer (Sp) 6-4, 6-2; F López (Sp) bt M Youzhny (Russ) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4; G Simon (Fr) bt T Berdych (Cz) 7-6, 4-6, 6-0 .

WTA Generali Ladies Linz, Austria: Quarter-final: K Knapp (It) bt T Pironkova (Bul) 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.

92

FGM

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

Sport

Joshua gets ready to take the step up ANDREW COULDRIDGE / ACTION IMAGES

Boxing

Ron Lewis Boxing Correspondent

Anthony Joshua responds to the hype surrounding him with a shrug. No one could accuse the Olympic superheavyweight champion of getting carried away; while others talk of dream fights 12 months ahead, Joshua’s focus stays impressively short term.

Tonight, at the O2 arena, southeast London, Joshua faces his toughest test since the Olympic final two years ago when he faces Denis Bakhtov. The route ahead is planned well past the Russian — his next opponent, Michael Sprott, is booked for next month and there is talk of facing David Haye in 12 months’ time — but Joshua says that he has not looked past the man who stands in front of him.

“That’s the way I’ve always been, it has worked so far, so why change it,” Joshua, 24, said. “I don’t look at the rankings, I never did, even as an amateur.

“It was just a case of ‘what championship am I going in?’ I never looked at anyone beyond my opponent. I didn’t think ‘win that and I’ll be in the Olympic squad’, so I don’t worry about the rankings too much.”

Bakhtov, 34, represents a significant step up in quality on Joshua’s first eight professional opponents. The Russian is no world-beater, but he is tough, a hard puncher, having stopped 25 of his 38 victims, and good enough to provide the unbeaten Joshua with some problems that he has not faced before.

Good enough, too, to take Joshua deep into the bout. No opponent has survived three rounds with Joshua; this contest, which is for the WBC’s international belt (not to be confused with a world title) is scheduled for 12.

“I have not done the rounds in the ring, but I have always prepared for them,” said Joshua, who recently sparred with Wladimir Klitschko.

“Even when I have been blowing out these guys, I go back to the changing

Rob Wright

5.50 Major Muscari 7.50 Rasselas 6.20 Ar Colleen Aine 8.20 Todegica 6.50 Encore D’Or 8.50 Foxcover 7.20 Seychelloise 9.20 Evacusafe Lady Going: standard Draw: 5f-7f, low numbers best At The Races

5.50

Handicap (£2,264: 5f 216y) (13)

1 (9) 04560 HONEY MEADOW 10 (C,D) R Eddery 3-9-5 W Twiston-Davies S Sanders 2 (10) 20550 THREE PIPS 16 (H,C,D) E McMahon 3-9-5 M Hopkins (5) 3 (4) 01051 PEARL NOIR 8 (H,B,C,D) S Dixon 4-9-5 4 (5) 10404 DOUNEEDAHAND 8 (P,C,D) J S Mullins 3-9-4 G Mahon (7) 5 (12) 43050 INSOLENCEOFOFFICE 8 (P,C,D) R Ford 6-9-4 N Grundy (7) J F McDonald 6 (7) 46-4 RANDOM 32 D Loughnane 3-9-4 7 (6) 23332 LUCKY MARK 21 (P,C,D,BF) J Balding 5-9-3 Martin Lane 8 (11) 02100 METHAALY 2 (E,B,C,D) M Mullineaux 11-9-3 H Bentley 9 (8) 30046 HIT THE LIGHTS 37 (P,D) P Chamings 4-9-3 Thomas Brown (3) D Cremin (7) 10 (1) 50650 DE REPENTE 67 (D) P Green 3-9-3 11 (2) 03061 MAJOR MUSCARI 15 (P,CD) Shaun Harris 6-9-3 P Aspell 12(13) 03000 INTERCHOICE STAR 8 (P,C,D) R Peacock 9-9-2 D J Bates (3) 13 (3) 30006 PRINCE OF PASSION 5 (V,C,D) D Shaw 6-9-2 R Kennemore 5-1 Lucky Mark, 11-2 Major Muscari, Pearl Noir, 13-2 Honey Meadow, 9-1 Douneedahand, Insolenceofoffice, 10-1 Hit The Lights, 12-1 others.

Tennis Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer set up a rematch of their Wimbledon final with straight-set wins to reach the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters yesterday.

Djokovic defeated David Ferrer 6-4, 6-2 to extend his winning streak in China to 28 matches, while Federer played an almost flawless second set to beat Julien Benneteau, of France, 7-6, 6-0.

The other semi-final features Gilles Simon, the Frenchman, and Feliciano López, of Spain — two veterans who are playing some of their best tennis.

6 Rafael Nadal will remain on antibiotics and hopes to keep playing as he continues to battle a bout of appendicitis.

room and do pads and finish off the rounds that I didn’t do in the ring.

“Before me there was a heavyweight everyone was hyped about and before him there was a heavyweight everyone was hyped about. I’m just the geezer they are hyped about right now. Guys like Haye, [David] Price, [Tyson] Fury, the reality is if I reach a good level in the heavyweight division, these are the guys I am going to have to beat. I just have to keep nurturing my talent.”

It is a year since Joshua made his professional debut at the same venue. “I didn’t know what I was doing, I even had my shorts on back to front,” he said.

“The way I see it, the pressure is on

‘I don’t look at the rankings, I never did, even as an amateur’

Taller order: Joshua, after a string of early nights during his nascent professional career, is expecting a greater challenge tonight against Bakhtov, the Russian

the harder they fall John L Gardner v Ibar Arrington, September 27, 1977 Arrington was supposed to be the next step up for Gardner, but needed just 160 seconds to knock out Britain’s latest heavyweight hope.

Frank Bruno v Floyd “Jumbo” Cummings, October 11, 1983 Cummings, who had drawn with Joe Frazier, came close to wrecking Bruno’s big plans, seriously rocking him at the end of the first round before Bruno turned things around.

Lennox Lewis v Jean-Maurice Chanet, October 31, 1990 Just 16 months after turning

6.20

Wolverhampton

Djokovic faces Federer in Shanghai semi-finals

Nursery Handicap

(2-Y-O: £2,264: 5f 216y) (13)

1 (6) 33011 AR COLLEEN AINE 7 (CD) M Channon 9-12 D Cremin (7) S Donohoe 2 (8) 444 BURAUQ 33 (P) W Muir 9-7 Luke Morris 3 (11) 55252 LYFKA 39 P Cole 9-7 M M Monaghan (5) 4 (12) 0430 AQLETTE 16 (BF) M Botti 9-6 H Bentley 5 (3) 060 TREATY OF YORK 15 H Candy 9-3 Martin Lane 6 (4) 030 CARTMELL CLEAVE 43 W S Kittow 9-3 M Harley 7 (5) 04353 TARANDO 43 Michael Bell 9-3 F Norton 8 (2) 0616 RUBY ROSE 26 (C) K A Ryan 9-2 T Atkinson (5) 9 (10) 043 STAR PURSUITS 26 N Quinlan 9-2 10 (9) 65410 ARIZONA SNOW 31 (H) R Harris 9-2 W Twiston-Davies D J Bates (3) 11 (7) 20506 BANNISTER BELL 7 (B) P D Evans 9-0 W A Carson 12 (1) 5545 GAMESTERS LAD 96 T Dascombe 8-13 13(13) 5500 SHIMMERING SILVER 11 D Loughnane 8-13 J F McDonald 11-2 Aqlette, Tarando, 13-2 Ar Colleen Aine, 15-2 Lyfka, 8-1 others.

6.50 1 (6) 2 (5) 3 (1) 4 (3) 5 (9) 6 (4) 7 (2) 8 (10) 9 (7) 10 (8)

Maiden (Div I: 2-Y-O: £2,911: 5f 216y) (10) 00 ALWAYS BE READY 19 (T) Lady Cecil 9-5 M Harley 05 BUSHTOWN BOY 107 M Johnston 9-5 F Norton 20 ENCORE D'OR 22 R Beckett 9-5 S Sanders 00 ON THE TILES 100 D Brown 9-5 S Levey ROYAL BLESSING G Peckham 9-5 Luke Morris BEAU SPARKLE S Hollinshead 9-0 J Duern (5) 40 GRUMPY ANGEL 35 (H) R Fahey 9-0 P Aspell 05 KYLIES WILD CARD 44 S Hodgson 9-0 W A Carson 562 MEDICEAN BLISS 26 J Gask 9-0 H Bentley 0 VIVA MADIBA 16 D Kubler 9-0 Thomas Brown (3)

5-4 Encore D'Or, 9-4 Medicean Bliss, 7-1 Bushtown Boy, 11-1 others.

professional, Lewis was pitched in for the European title, coming through the test comfortably in six rounds.

David Haye v Carl Thompson, September 10, 2004 Haye was still a cruiserweight when put in with the veteran former WBO champion and looked on top before he was stopped in the fifth round.

David Price v Tony Thompson, February 23, 2013 The American was supposed to be Price’s first big test, and so it proved.

A right hook by the ear in the second round wrecked his unbeaten record.

Words by Ron Lewis

7.20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Maiden (DIV II: 2-Y-O: £2,911: 5f 216y) (9)

MAGICAL EFFECT C Appleby 9-5 (8) 5 MUSTAQBAL 14 M Johnston 9-5 (3) STAMP OF AUTHORITY J Tate 9-5 (5) TARRAGON J Gask 9-5 (7) (2) 20043 WINSTANLEY 19 R Fahey 9-5 (6) 432 ILLOGICAL 15 E Dunlop 9-0 65 LADY IN WHITE 108 R Varian 9-0 (9) (4) 60506 MARY ANN BUGG 88 Phil McEntee 9-0 SEYCHELLOISE Sir M Prescott 9-0 (1)

A Kirby F Norton M Harley H Bentley T Hamilton R Havlin F Tylicki Doubtful Luke Morris

9-4 Illogical, 7-2 Magical Effect, 6-1 Stamp Of Authority, Winstanley, 7-1 Mustaqbal, 9-1 Lady In White, Seychelloise, 20-1 Tarragon.

7.50

Handicap (£2,264: 1m 1f 103y) (13)

1 (12) 00000 STRONG CONVICTION 18 (P) S Hodgson 4-9-7C Bishop (3) A Kirby 2 (11) 63-30 CHERRY TIGER 30 G McPherson 4-9-7 N Farley (3) 3 (6) 05650 SPAVENTO 11 (D) E Alston 8-9-7 M Harley 4 (13) 04504 STANLOW 14 (P,C,D) D Loughnane 4-9-7 A Mullen 5 (3) 16035 RASSELAS 3 (H,C,D,BF) M Appleby 7-9-7 H Bentley 6 (5) 60604 POOR DUKE 10 (C) M Mullineaux 4-9-5 7 (10) 00300 DELIGHTFUL SLEEP 14 (C,D) P D Evans 6-9-4 D J Bates (3) J Fahy 8 (8) 05060 TRIPLE STAR 39 H Morrison 3-9-3 G Baker 9 (9) 04433 LOLA MONTEZ 18 (B) D Lanigan 3-9-3 O Murphy 10 (7) 00-50 COASTAL STORM 37J (T) J Candlish 3-9-3 11 (4) 26004 TAXIFORMISSBYRON 12 (P,C,D) I Jardine 4-9-2 K Shoemark (7) 12 (2) 64440 SQUIRREL WOOD 23 (B) Mrs M Hambro 6-9-2 W Twiston-Davies J F McDonald 13 (1) 54050 SUPER DUPLEX 20J (T) R Teal 7-9-2 4-1 Lola Montez, 5-1 Rasselas, 6-1 Stanlow, 8-1 Spavento, 9-1 others.

Márquez trips up MotoGP Marc Márquez crashed in the first practice session for Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix as the Repsol Honda rider looks to secure the championship in Motegi. The Spaniard, who is on the verge of retaining his title, won the opening ten rounds of the season, but has managed only 15th and 13th places in the previous two races after his victory at Silverstone. Andrea Dovizioso, the Ducati rider, headed the second practice, with Márquez sixth.

him, not me. If he wins, there is everything to gain, if he loses he has been beaten by a guy in his ninth fight.

It’s not really a good look?”

Lee Selby, the former British, Commonwealth and European champion, will be trying to book a world-title shot as he faces Joel Brunker in a final eliminator for the IBF featherweight title. Selby knows the unbeaten Australian well, having sparred him on three occasions in the United States, the first time at Floyd Mayweather’s gym in Las Vegas.

“My manager [Chris Sanigar] is a friend of Cornelius Boza-Edwards [the former WBC super-featherweight champion] who runs the Mayweather gym,” Selby said. “Boza said there was a boy coming in who was 23-0, ranked by the IBF, come along and spar.

“We must have done three lots of eight rounds. It could be good, it could be bad. If he hadn’t sparred with me before, I could have shocked him with my style, but the good thing is that you know what to expect.

“This is a great opportunity for both of us. Whoever wins gets to face Evgeny Gradovich for the world title.”

8.20

Gymnastics Simone Biles, of the

United States, was crowned women’s all-around champion at the world championships in Nanning, China, as the British hopefuls, Claudia Fragapane and Ruby Harrold, finished 10th and 11th respectively. Larisa Andreea Iordache, of Romania, took silver and Biles’s US team-mate, Kyla Ross, bronze. The apparatus finals begin today when Fragapane, the four-times Commonwealth Games champion, competes again, in the vault.

8.50

Nursery Handicap

(2-Y-O: £4,725: 7f 32y) (12)

1 (7) 41330 RED ICON 71 T Dascombe 9-7 2 (8) 4612 SWIFT APPROVAL 23 (D) K A Ryan 9-3 3 (4) 1360 MUQAAWEL 34 (D) M Johnston 9-2 4 (3) 21032 JAGANORY 16 (H) P D Evans 9-1 5 (10) 032 ZIGAYANI 47 Sir M Stoute 9-1 6 (1) 4516 HEAVEN'S SECRET 22 (C) R Fahey 9-1 7 (9) 33310 FARAAJH 37 (CD) J Tate 9-1 8 (5) 01354 ALPINE AFFAIR 35 (B) B Meehan 8-13 01 TODEGICA 30 (CD) R Beckett 8-11 9 (2) 10(12) 0203 BITING BULLETS 30 J Hughes 8-11 11(11) 42210 MAKE ON MADAM 27 B Ellison 8-9 12 (6) 55220 SALTARELLO 32 J J Quinn 8-8

Biles top of the world

Hayley Turner O Murphy F Norton A Kirby G Gibbons T Hamilton M Harley Martin Lane S Levey S Donohoe P Pickard Joe Doyle (5)

13-2 Todegica, 7-1 Swift Approval, 15-2 Faraajh, 8-1 Red Icon, 9-1 Alpine Affair, Heaven's Secret, Make On Madam, Muqaawel, 10-1 others.

Rob Wright’s midday update thetimes.co.uk/sportsbook 6Wonderful Charm scored a threelength defeat of Colour Squadron in the toteexacta Pick The 1, 2 Intermediate Chase at Newton Abbot yesterday.

Taquin Du Seuil was well held in third.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Maiden Stakes

(£2,911: 5f 216y) (9)

R Tart (8) 30046 AARANYOW 21 (T) C Lines 6-9-5 G Gibbons (4) 60005 ECHOLOGIC 11 (E) B Baugh 4-9-5 2 BAILIWICK 14 D Kubler 3-9-4 R Kingscote (2) 23 FOXCOVER 45 (BF) R Fahey 3-9-4 T Hamilton (7) Thomas Brown (3) (3) 6-305 KNOCKROON 155 A Balding 3-9-4 Luke Morris (5) 04300 SUITSUS 37 (P) P Makin 3-9-4 6 GIFTED SPIRIT 105 W M Brisbourne 4-9-0 W A Carson (6) O Murphy (1) 23/56 PEARL BELL 32 O Stevens 4-9-0 MOIETY Rae Guest 3-8-13 M Harley (9)

2-1 Foxcover, 100-30 Knockroon, 5-1 Moiety, Suitsus, 9-1 Bailiwick, Pearl Bell, 14-1 Gifted Spirit, 50-1 Aaranyow, 100-1 Echologic.

9.20

Handicap

(3-Y-O: £2,264: 1m 4f 50y) (10)

A Kirby (9) 44111 EVACUSAFE LADY 2 (T,C) John Ryan 10-8 Luke Morris (3) 03445 ANJIN 18 (B,BF) Sir M Prescott 9-7 R Kingscote (7) 3-040 STAR ANISE 44 (H) H Dunlop 9-5 G Baker (5) 06004 SAKHRA 8 W M Brisbourne 9-5 G Gibbons (4) 0-006 TAANIF 165 (P) M W Easterby 9-1 (8) 0-566 STILLA AFTON 33 (P) M Tregoning 9-0 Charlotte Jenner (7) M Harley 7 (1) 02234 ROCK OF LEON 52 (P,BF) Michael Bell 8-12 S Donohoe 8 (2) 000 BALLYFARSOON 121 I Williams 8-8 D J Bates (3) 9 (6) 60660 DOVER THE MOON 37J T Gretton 8-7 Doubtful 10(10) 05000 PEPPERELLO 7 (H) T Etherington 8-7 1 2 3 4 5 6

3-1 Anjin, 100-30 Evacusafe Lady, 4-1 Rock Of Leon, 13-2 Stilla Afton, 15-2 Star Anise, 14-1 Ballyfarsoon, Sakhra, Taanif, 33-1 Dover The Moon.

Yesterday’s racing results Carlisle

Going: soft 2.10 (2m 1f hdle) 1, Acordingtoscript (Harry Challoner, 11-1); 2, Nafaath (11-4 fav); 3, Spanish Fleet (9-1). 15 ran. 9l, 2Kl. M Todhunter.

2.40 (2m 1f hdle) 1, Knight’s Parade (T Scudamore, 4-1); 2, Golans Choice (40-1); 3, Heist (8-1). Voyage A New York 9-4 fav. 12 ran. 5l, 13l.

G Elliott (Ire).

3.10 (2m 4f ch) 1, Drop Out Joe (N D Fehily, 8-15 fav); 2, Water Garden (10-1); 3, Keeneland (4-1).

5 ran. 9l, 3Kl. C Longsdon.

3.45 (3m 2f ch) 1, Dark Glacier (Donal Devereux, 4-1); 2, Orange Nassau (3-1); 3, Mazuri Cowboy (11-2). Dreams Of Milan (5th) 5-2 fav. 6 ran.

1Kl, 18l. P Bowen.

4.20 (2m 4f hdle) 1, Rolling Maul (Donal Devereux, 10-1); 2, Simply The West (2-1); 3, Mount Beckham (50-1). Back To Bracka (5th) 15-8 fav.

9 ran. 3l, 34l. P Bowen.

4.50 (2m ch) 1, Robin’s Command (Craig Nichol, 4-1); 2, Authinger (28-1); 3, Final Assault (9-4). Classic Move (4th) 13-8 fav. 6 ran. 3Kl, 1l. Mrs R Dobbin.

5.20 (2m 1f flat) 1, Mr Steadfast (J M Maguire, 7-1); 2, Divine Port (6-1); 3, Kingswell Theatre (7-1). Deadly Move (4th) 8-15 fav. 11 ran.

NR: Derrydoon, Innis Shannon, The Phantom Winger. Nk, Kl. G Elliott (Ire).

Placepot: £230.50.

Quadpot: £33.90.

Newton Abbot

Going: soft (good to soft in places) 2.20 (2m 3f hdle) 1, Burtons Well (Aidan Coleman, 20-1); 2, Buckhorn Timothy (5-1); 3, Polamco (3-1). Arenice Et Pictons (pu) 5-4 fav. 9 ran. 3l, 2Ol. Miss V Williams.

2.50 (2m 110yd ch) 1, Little Jon (Ryan Hatch, 6-1); 2, Solar Impulse (8-11 fav); 3, Turn Over Sivola (7-4). NR: Surprise Us. Kl, 21l.

N Twiston-Davies.

3.20 (2m 6f hdle) 1, Uncle Jimmy (R Johnson, 2-1 fav); 2, Sound Investment (5-1); 3, Toby Lerone (8-1). 7 ran. NR: Henryville. 4Kl, 1l. P Hobbs.

3.55 (2m 5f 110yd ch) 1, Wonderful Charm (Sam Twiston-Davies, 100-30); 2, Colour Squadron (13-8 fav); 3, Taquin Du Seuil (7-2). 5 ran. 3l, 21l.

P Nicholls.

4.30 (2m 6f hdle) 1, Our Maimie (W Hutchinson, 7-1); 2, Russie With Love (16-1); 3, Shabra Charity (25-1). Petrovic (pu) 11-8 fav. 7 ran.

NR: Ruby Glow. 9l, 1Nl. G McPherson.

5.00 (3m 2f 110yd ch) 1, Abbeygrey (Adam Wedge, 10-11 fav); 2, Milosam (10-3); 3, Tea Caddy (14-1). 7 ran. 3l, 1Ol. Evan Williams.

5.30 (2m 1f flat) 1, Dashing Oscar (C Brassil, 9-2); 2, Act Now (5-2); 3, Native River (7-1).

More Buck’s (5th) 9-4 fav. 7 ran. NR: Bilbrook Blaze. 4Kl, 3Ol. H Fry. Placepot: £815.80.

Quadpot: £35.00.

York

Going: soft (good to soft in places) 2.00 (6f) 1, Miami Carousel (Joe Doyle, 25-1); 2, George Bowen (4-1); 3, Four Seasons (7-1).

Acolyte 7-4 fav. 10 ran. 1Nl, 2Kl. J Quinn.

2.30 (5f) 1, Arctic Feeling (Samantha Bell, 16-1); 2, Free Zone (33-1); 3, See The Sun (9-1); 4, Jamaican Bolt (8-1). Eccleston 5-1 fav. 19 ran.

NR: Secret Missile. 1Nl, sh hd. R Fahey.

3.00 (1m 110yd) 1, Homage (R L Moore, 7-1); 2, Spirit Of The Law (14-1); 3, No Poppy (20-1).

Gm Hopkins (4th) 6-4 fav. 15 ran. NR: Big Baz, Earth Drummer, St Moritz. 1Kl, Ol. W Haggas.

3.30 (5f) 1, Handsome Dude (Graham Gibbons, 8-1); 2, Brando (7-4 fav); 3, Quintus Cerialis (5-1).

12 ran. NR: Spiritual Journey. 1Nl, 2Ol. T Barron.

4.05 (1m 4f) 1, Old Town Boy (R L Moore, 11-2); 2, Emerahldz (6-1); 3, Aramist (5-1 jt-fav).

Esteaming (4th) 5-1 jt-fav. 11 ran. NR: Treasure The Ridge, Zeus Magic. 1l, 1Nl. P McBride.

4.40 (1m) 1, Storm Rock (W Buick, 11-4 fav); 2, Red Rubles (6-1); 3, Cabelo (7-2). 15 ran.

3Kl, sh hd. H Dunlop.

5.10 (7f) 1, Zacynthus (Jordan Nason, 25-1); 2, Whozthecat (50-1); 3, Instant Attraction (14-1); 4, Shouranour (7-1). Mujazif 13-2 fav.

19 ran. NR: Rodrigo De Torres. Kl, Kl. S Harris.

Jackpot: not won (£22,381.25 carried forward).

Placepot: £268.30.

Quadpot: £29.90.

Thursday’s late details Wolverhampton

5.20 (6f) 1, Luna Mission (M Harley, 7-2); 2, Scent Of Summer (7-2); 3, Mary’s Secret (22-1). Silvery Blue (5th) 9-4 fav. 12 ran.

NR: Slovak. 1Kl, Kl. M Botti.

5.50 (7f) 1, Pollination (W Buick, 5-6 fav);

2, Yard Of Ale (40-1); 3, Copperbelt (11-4).

5 ran. NR: Bold Spirit, Gentlemen, Tasaaboq.

1l, nk. C Appleby.

6.20 (1m) 1, Jet Mate (M Dwyer, 13-2); 2, Framley Garth (15-8 fav); 3, Activation (16-1).

11 ran. NR: El Draque, Missandei. Kl, sh hd.

W Muir.

6.50 (2m) 1, Mister Bob (T E Durcan, 9-4 fav); 2, Black Iceman (8-1); 3, Annaluna (6-1). 8 ran.

3l, 1Kl. J Bethell.

7.20 (1m) 1, Complicit (L Morris, 7-2); 2, Emirates Flyer (4-5 fav); 3, Premio Loco (13-2). 7 ran.

NR: Solar Deity, Zampa Manos. Ol, nk. P Cole.

7.50 (1m 4f) 1, Strawberry Martini (M Dwyer, 2-1); 2, Perspicace (4-9 fav); 3, Dukes Den (33-1). 5 ran. 1l, 9l. W Muir.

8.20 (1m 1f) 1, Evacusafe Lady (M Harley, 4-5 fav); 2, Classic Mission (8-1); 3, Coillte Cailin (40-1). 11 ran. NR: On The Hoof, Scarlet Plum.

Kl, nk. J Ryan.

Placepot: £13.80.

Quadpot: £3.40.

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

93

FGM

Racing Sport

Nearly Caught can fend off Cesarewitch rivals Rob Wright

Nearly Caught, who has untapped potential over marathon distances, can win the Betfred Cesarewitch (3.50) at Newmarket today.

The Hughie Morrison-trained fouryear-old, for whom Ryan Moore is an eyecatching booking, was doing his best work at the finish, on his first try at two miles, when second to Noble Silk at Haydock Park in May. He was given a break after that and, despite being unsuited by a drop in trip, shaped really well when eighth in the Ebor at York in August. He was never able to land a blow but stayed on willingly to the line.

Moore is not called upon often by Morrison but the combination have a good record when they do team up, boasting a 30 per cent strike rate from 37 runners in the past five years.

Soviet Courage (5.15 Goodwood)

and the way that he travelled through the race when third in the Melrose Handicap at York last time suggested that there should be more to come.

He was just outstayed in the final furlong there and, back down in trip, can reverse form with Adventure Seeker, who was a half-length ahead in second.

3.50

Rob Wright

Betfred Goals Galore Autumn Stakes

C4

(Group III: 2-Y-O: £28,355: 1m) (10 runners) 21 41 5411 12 431 621 611 421 13 21

BARTHOLOMEW FAIR 23 (D,G) L Cumani 9-1 A Atzeni COMMEMORATIVE 30 (D,G) C Hills 9-1 James Doyle DANCE OF FIRE 28 (D,G,S) A Balding 9-1 O Murphy FUTURE EMPIRE 42 (BF,F) S Bin Suroor 9-1 R Hughes HAIL CLODIUS 57 (S) R Hannon 9-1 P Dobbs JOLIEVITESSE 31 (D,F) K Burke 9-1 J Crowley MUKHAYYAM 35 (D,S) Sir M Stoute 9-1 R L Moore ORDER OF ST GEORGE 58 (D,S) A O'Brien (Ire) 9-1 J O'Brien RESTORER 31 (D,S) W Muir 9-1 Martin Dwyer STRONG CHEMISTRY 19 C Appleby 9-1 W Buick

63 65 65 v84 67 72 70 76 58 --

3-1 Future Empire, 9-2 Order Of St George, 5-1 Strong Chemistry, 15-2 Bartholomew Fair, 9-1 Commemorative, Dance Of Fire, Hail Clodius, Mukhayyam, 12-1 Jolievitesse, 66-1 Restorer.

Rob Wright’s choice: Future Empire was beaten a short head at this level last time and can improve Dangers: Strong Chemistry, Commemorative

2.40 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

(11) (5) (2) (9) (16) (7) (3) (8) (19) (13) (14) (17) (1) (10) (15) (12) (6) (18) (4)

Betfred Mobile Pride Stakes

(Listed: Fillies & Mares: £22,684: 1m 2f) (19) 0-6015 153U-2 212100 36220-04524 -11302 -22421 1-5363 411063 2211 3-5040 140 -46403 65110 210541 13113 0-3130 -02311 513012

AUDACIA 42 (D,S) H Palmer 4-9-6 ALBASHARAH 24 (H,D,S) S Bin Suroor 5-9-3 COSSETED 30 (V,D,F,G) J Fanshawe 4-9-3 LA BANDERILLA (S) J Gosden 4-9-3 MAGIC ART 35 (S) M Botti 4-9-3 NULLARBOR SKY 24 (P,F) Mrs L Wadham 4-9-3 TOAST OF THE TOWN 51 (P) J Gosden 4-9-3 VANITY RULES 15 (F,S) E Vaughan 4-9-3 MARSH DAISY 17 (D,S) H Morrison 3-9-1 BLUE WALTZ 30 (D,S) L Cumani 3-8-12 ISLAND REMEDE 15 (C,S) E Dunlop 3-8-12 KALLISHA 84 (D,S) R Beckett 3-8-12 MUTATIS MUTANDIS 21 (F) E Walker 3-8-12 PERFECT LIGHT 24 (D,F,G) W Haggas 3-8-12 PLACIDIA 23 (D,G) D Lanigan 3-8-12 PROVENANCE 15 (H,BF,F,G) Sir M Stoute 3-8-12 TALMADA 114 (G) R Varian 3-8-12 THIS IS THE DAY 14 (D,G) C Fellowes 3-8-12 WAHGAH 21 (D) S Bin Suroor 3-8-12

J Crowley F Tylicki T Queally W Buick M Harley O Murphy R Havlin James Doyle J Fortune R Hughes G Lee P Dobbs Luke Morris J Fanning L Dettori R L Moore A Atzeni Martin Lane K Fallon

C4 103 106 101 106 91 94 101 105 103 103 102 77 102 97 94 v108 103 99 89

4-1 Provenance, 5-1 Albasharah, Blue Waltz, 10-1 La Banderilla, Marsh Daisy, 12-1 Vanity Rules, 14-1 Perfect Light, Talmada, This Is The Day, Wahgah, 16-1 Mutatis Mutandis, Nullarbor Sky, Placidia, Toast Of The Town, 20-1 Audacia, Kallisha, 22-1 others.

Wright choice: Provenance has a progressive profile and is bred to appreciate this step up in trip Dangers: Blue Waltz, This Is The Day

3.10

Betfred TV Stakes (Heritage Handicap)

C4

FIRE FIGHTING 7 (B,D,F,G,S) M Johnston 9-8 J Fanning CONNECTICUT 49 (D,BF,F,G) L Cumani 9-6 A Atzeni MINER'S LAMP 91 (CD,F,S) C Appleby 9-6 W Buick FAMOUS KID 14 (CD,F,S) S Bin Suroor 9-2 R Hughes BATTERSEA 35 (D,F) R Varian 9-2 G Lee EPSOM HILL 35 (D,S) C Fellowes 9-0 James Doyle MIN ALEMARAT (D,S) M Botti 8-11 M Harley SAAB ALMANAL 22 (G) J Fanshawe 8-11 T Queally REWAAYA 21 (CD,S) J Gosden 8-11 L Dettori ADVENTURE SEEKER 29 (D,BF,G) E Vaughan 8-10 J Crowley TOP TUG 134 (S) Sir M Stoute 8-10 R L Moore FLAG WAR 28 (D) S Bin Suroor 8-8 F Tylicki OUR GABRIAL 14 (D,G) R Fahey 8-7 J Fahy GALIZZI 15 (D,F) Michael Bell 8-5 Joe Doyle (5) LATENIGHTREQUEST 14 (D,F,G,S) R Fahey 8-5 C Catlin MISTIROC 23 (BF,G,S) J Goldie 8-5 F Lynch FARQUHAR 29 (S) P Chapple-Hyam 8-5 Luke Morris PENHILL 35 (D,F,G,S) J Bethell 8-4 B A Curtis NABATEAN 91 (BF,G) A Balding 8-1 Hayley Turner CINNILLA 36 (D,G,S) R Beckett 8-1 C Hardie (3) KNIFE POINT 4 (P,D,G) H Palmer 8-0 Martin Dwyer VENTURA QUEST 14 (G,S) R Fahey 8-0 J F McDonald STETCHWORTH 7 (G) M Johnston 8-0 F Norton HESKETH BANK 91 (D,G) R Fahey 8-0 J Quinn

103 103 103 102 101 104 102 105 103 104 100 100 97 103 104 102 82 v106 102 102 105 104 101 101

(3-Y-O: £62,250: 1m 4f) (24)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

(20) (2) (24) (15) (7) (6) (1) (14) (4) (5) (19) (23) (22) (12) (17) (8) (10) (18) (13) (16) (21) (11) (9) (3)

321162 31113 1-2160 41611 3-5211 362112 6215 265132 411 -51626 312-61 62-1 221000 002165 316010 5115 051640 241160 0-215 355311 01222 520533 33-11 63210

Rainbow chaser: Dark Glacier, far side, en route to winning at Carlisle yesterday

The Betfred Goals Galore Autumn Stakes (2.05) can go to Future Empire.

A ready winner on his debut in a maiden on the July course here, he looked in need of the experience when stepped

Betfred Cesarewitch (Heritage Handicap)

C4

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 34

(24) (22) (23) (13) (20) (33) (30) (35) (34) (19) (12) (32) (5) (11) (18) (15) (7) (26) (36) (29) (1) (25) (2) (4) (21) (9) (10) (17) (27) (31) (3) (14) (8) (16)

5-0060 155346 -31203 001103 60-020 00-220 43-240 -33411 3/6-15 241435 1212-1 -00623 433303 114510 024010 46/301 20/0-0 255440 1-3240 -03002 115515 3-3010 0/00-2 000153 410044 15-200 205352 100130 213011 052355 -00004 051601 605004 150002

SADDLER'S ROCK 114 (T,D,F,G,S) Jonjo O'Neill 6-9-10 G Lee BRASS RING 29 (H,C,F) J Gosden 4-9-9 James Doyle SUEGIOO 29 (P,G) M Botti 5-9-8 M Harley DE RIGUEUR 42 (T,P,F,G,S) M Botti 6-9-7 A Atzeni NEARLY CAUGHT 49 (S) H Morrison 4-9-5 R L Moore EARTH AMBER 63 (G) N Henderson 5-9-4 K Fallon MUBARAZA 21 (F,G) E Dunlop 5-9-4 G Baker RHOMBUS 22 (G,S) I Mohammed 4-9-4 C Hardie (3) SWNYMOR 75 (S) J J Quinn 5-9-1 P Makin NOBLE SILK 42 (P,F,G) Mrs L Wadham 5-9-0 L Dettori QUICK JACK 75 (H,G,S) A Martin (Ire) 5-9-0 R Hughes RAY WARD 21 (BF,G) D Simcock 4-8-13 J Crowley COMMUNICATOR 35 (F,G) A Balding 6-8-13 O Murphy VILLA ROYALE 116 (H,G,S) M Appleby 5-8-13 A Mullen GABRIAL'S KING 21 (F,S) D Simcock 5-8-12 F Tylicki TED SPREAD 140 (T,S) Miss S Smith 7-8-11 Luke Morris VERY GOOD DAY 29 (G) R Fahey 7-8-10 P Cosgrave DEBDEBDEB 30 (H,G) A Balding 4-8-10 Hayley Turner SOHAR 30 (C,S) J Toller 6-8-10 W Buick LADY KASHAAN 23 (F,G,S) G A Swinbank 5-8-8 B A Curtis SPICE FAIR 39 (F,G,S) M Usher 7-8-8 L Keniry DIGEANTA 28 (T,F,G) W Mullins (Ire) 7-8-7 W M Lordan BIG EASY 21 (P,G,S) P Hobbs 7-8-7 T Queally MOIDORE 22 (F,S) J J Quinn 5-8-6 Joe Doyle (5) GABRIAL'S STAR 14 (B,S) R Fahey 5-8-5 C Catlin SULA TWO 14 (F,G,S) J Hughes 7-8-5 P Prince (3) GROOVEJET 30 P Chapple-Hyam 3-8-4 F Norton MR BURBIDGE 176 (B) N Mulholland 6-8-4 W A Carson TEAK 20J (P,D,F,G) I Williams 7-8-4 C D Hayes SIR FRANK MORGAN 8 (F) M Johnston 4-8-3 J Fanning WATERCLOCK 18 (B,F) Jedd O'Keeffe 5-8-2 J Quinn LAUGHING JACK 45 (F,G) G Baker 6-8-1 Martin Dwyer ARGENT KNIGHT 21 (F,G) W Jarvis 4-8-1 N Garbutt (5) JONNY DELTA 22 (F,G) J Goldie 7-8-0 J Haynes (3)

103 106 106 106 103 108 101 106 103 107 99 107 108 106 107 108 92 107 108 106 104 101 v111 107 104 105 108 60 105 102 102 105 106 108

7-1 Quick Jack, 12-1 Big Easy, Swnymor, 14-1 Moidore, Nearly Caught, Ray Ward, 16-1 Brass Ring, Suegioo, 20-1 Communicator, Rhombus, Teak, 22-1 De Rigueur, 25-1 Digeanta, Groovejet, Johnny Delta, Mubaraza, Noble Silk, 28-1 Sohar, Ted Spread, 33-1 Earth Amber, Sir Frank Morgan, Spice Fair, Villa Royale, Waterclock, 40-1 Argent Knight, Debdebdeb, Gabrial’s King, 50-1 others.

Wright choice: Nearly Caught is unexposed and shapes as though he will appreciate this extreme test Dangers: Communicator, Waterclock

4.25 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

(12) (9) (1) (14) (5) (8) (15) (6) (2) (3) (4) (7) (13) (11) (16) (17) (10)

Betfred Supports Jack Berry House Maiden Fillies' Stakes (2-Y-O: £5,175: 7f) (17) BELLA NOUF W Haggas 9-0 CAELICA C Hills 9-0 3 COLORADA 14 W Knight 9-0 COLOUR PARTY J Gosden 9-0 FARLETTI A Balding 9-0 FRENZIFIED L Cumani 9-0 GILDED LILI C Hills 9-0 IRISH ROOKIE M Meade 9-0 JASMINE BLUE P Cole 9-0 64 LASHKAAL 86 (BF) J Gosden 9-0 MALICE P Chapple-Hyam 9-0 MORUADH Sir M Stoute 9-0 05 MRS EVE 14 A Bailey 9-0 SHARQEYIH W Haggas 9-0 TAZFFIN R Varian 9-0 0 TOCORORO 21 E Dunlop 9-0 4 TWITCH 14 H Palmer 9-0

R Hughes James Doyle T Queally W Buick O Murphy L Souza C Hardie (3) L Keniry J Crowley R Havlin P Dobbs R L Moore R Tart J Fanning A Atzeni P Makin G Lee

--v55 ------52 --49 --44 50

Betfred “Racing's Biggest Supporter” EBF Stallions Fillies' Conditions Stakes

(2-Y-O: £12,938: 6f) (3) 1 2 3

(1) 31415 WAR ALERT 21 (D,F) D Brown 9-1 (2) 246132 PARSLEY 21 (S) R Hannon 8-12 (3) 111322 WHITE VIN JAN 12 (D,BF,G,S) Michael Bell 8-12

Doubtful R Hughes R L Moore

71 v88 58

1-12 Parsley, 8-1 White Vin Jan.

5.40 (12) (8) (7) (5) (6) (13) (9) (3) (1) (10) (11) (4) (2)

Betfred Racing “Follow Us On Twitter” Handicap (£9,703: 1m 2f) (13) 012231 6-5205 404422 5-0400 043522 363050 2-3244 24-16 041416 215200 503151 3-104 36-106

York

Totescoop6

1.50 Lily Rules 4.10 Navigate 2.20 Magic Hurricane (nb) 4.45 Kashmiri Sunset 2.55 Teruntum Star 5.20 Ribblehead 3.30 Lancelot Du Lac Going: good to soft (soft in places) Draw: 1m 2f, low numbers best Racing UK

Leg 1 2.05 Newmarket Leg 4 3.10 Newmarket Leg 2 2.20 York Leg 5 3.30 York Leg 3 2.40 Newmarket Leg 6 3.50 Newmarket Rollovers: Win £158,500 Bonus £52,019

QANAN 24 (D,G,S) C Wall 5-9-8 A Morgan (3) KIKONGA 21 (D,F,G,S) L Cumani 4-9-7 A Atzeni PASAKA BOY 13 (D,F,G,S) J Portman 4-9-5 D Brock (3) BANTAM 37 (F,G) E Dunlop 4-9-5 G Lee ENOBLED 29 (BF,G) Sir M Stoute 4-9-5 R L Moore TRUTH OR DARE 30 (F) R Hannon 3-9-5 Martin Dwyer MISSED CALL 16 (D,G) J Fanshawe 4-9-1 T Queally NIGHT PARTY 21 (F) S Bin Suroor 3-9-0 R Hughes NANTON 15 (D,F,G) J Goldie 12-8-13 F Lynch COINCIDENTLY 15 (H,D,F,S) A Bailey 4-8-12 L Keniry RED RUNAWAY 35 (D,F,S) E Dunlop 4-8-12 J Crowley SHAMA 14 (D,BF) Sir M Stoute 3-8-9 C Hardie (3) ROCK 'N' ROLL STAR 147 P Chapple-Hyam 3-8-5 J Fanning

1.50

sportingbet.com Stakes (Handicap) C4

(3-Y-O: £16,172: 1m 208y) (11 runners)

1-2 INDY 135 (S) T D Barron 9-7 G Gibbons 1 (7) Mikey Ennis (7) 2 (11) -62060 LILY RULES 42 (G,S) T Coyle 9-7 P Mulrennan 3 (3) -45020 GOD WILLING 14 (G) E Dunlop 9-6 D Probert 4 (8) -20330 END OF LINE 28 (V,S) A Balding 9-2 A Kirby 5 (6) 2210 LACAN 15 (G) Clive Cox 9-1 J Egan 6 (9) 230202 MASTER OF FINANCE 14 (D,G,S) M Johnston 9-1 R Winston 7 (10) 443030 EXAMINER 14 (BF) W Haggas 8-13 T E Durcan 8 (4) 226460 BRAIDLEY 42 (G,S) J Bethell 8-13 D P McDonogh 9 (5) -01221 EMPRESS ALI 14 (S) T Tate 8-13 J Garritty (5) 10 (2) 211100 IMSHIVALLA 23 (H,F,G) R Fahey 8-7 T Hamilton 11 (1) 046003 SHOT IN THE SUN 13 (F) R Fahey 8-7

83 90 98 84 94 96 96 v99 95 94 94

92 v98 94 97 95 55 91 87 93 97 81 92 70

7-1 Battersea, Rewaaya, 10-1 Connecticut, Top Tug, 11-1 Nabatean, 12-1 Epsom Hill, Famous Kid, 14-1 Stetchworth, 16-1 Flag War, 18-1 Fire Fighting, 20-1 Adventure Seeker, Knife Point, Min Alemarat, 22-1 Cinnilla, 25-1 Saab Almanal, 28-1 Mistiroc, Ventura Quest, 33-1 others.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Wright choice: Connecticut looked the likely winner for a long way at York and this return to shorter is ideal Dangers: Adventure Seeker, Farquhar

6-1 Enobled, 7-1 Red Runaway, 15-2 Kikonga, 8-1 Pasaka Boy, Qanan, Shama, 9-1 Night Party, Truth Or Dare, 11-1 Coincidently, 12-1 Missed Call, Nanton, 16-1 Bantam, 25-1 Rock 'N' Roll Star.

4.10

(2-Y-O: £7,439: 7f) (13) 2 04 6 6 0 66 4 56

AKEED CHAMPION 35 R Fahey 9-5 CADEAU MAGNIFIQUE 17 R Fahey 9-5 COUNT MONTECRISTO 22 K A Ryan 9-5 HUMPHRY REPTON 16 M Tompkins 9-5 KAINE KEIRA 7 P Midgley 9-5 MONTEFALCON 17 R Fahey 9-5 MUTAMAKKIN 15 Sir M Stoute 9-5 NAVIGATE 15 M Meade 9-5 NEBULLA N Quinlan 9-5 65 NORMANDY BARRIERE 16 N Tinkler 9-5 NORTRON A Balding 9-5 SATANIC MILLS N Tinkler 9-5 0 ROYAL ROMAN 178 M Brittain 9-0

T Hamilton D Nolan D P McDonogh Doubtful P Mulrennan J Garritty (5) G Gibbons D Sweeney Sam James R Winston D Probert Shelley Birkett (5) R Dodsworth (7)

v64 29 45 -14 41 52 51 -28 ----

Rob Wright’s choice: Lily Rules travelled best when second in the Musidora Stakes in May and drops in grade Dangers: Braidley, Indy

2.20

2-1 Akeed Champion, 7-2 Mutamakkin, 5-1 Navigate, 7-1 Count Montecristo, 9-1 Montefalcon, 10-1 Nebulla, 11-1 Nortron, 16-1 Cadeau Magnifique, 33-1 Satanic Mills, 40-1 others.

5-1 Empress Ali, 11-2 Master Of Finance, 6-1 Examiner, 13-2 Indy, 7-1 Lacan, 10-1 Shot In The Sun, 11-1 Braidley, 12-1 End Of Line, Lily Rules, 14-1 God Willing, Imshivalla.

Download The Coral App Stakes (Handicap) (£19,407: 1m 2f 88y) (11)

A Subousi (7) 1 (9) 504440 EDUCATE 14 (CD,F,S) I Mohammed 5-9-12 2 (8) 061452 SENNOCKIAN STAR 21 (V,D,F,G,S) M Johnston 4-9-9 A Nicholls C O’Donoghue 3 (6) 010020 BALTY BOYS 14 (B,F,G,S) B Ellison 5-9-9 P Aspell 4 (1) 3030-0 INDIAN CHIEF 14 (D,S) D Nicholls 4-9-3 D Tudhope 5 (2) 0-0413 FATTSOTA 47 (D,G,S) D O’Meara 6-9-3 D Probert 6 (11) 5-3102 SOVIET ROCK 10 (C,D,F,G,S) A Balding 4-9-1 A Kirby 7 (3) 1-1305 SUDDEN WONDER 85 (D,G,S) C Appleby 3-9-1 D Allan 8 (4) 0-0630 SILVERY MOON 36 (D,F,G,S) T Easterby 7-9-1 D Nolan 9 (10) 000644 GABRIAL 21 (F,G) R Fahey 5-9-1 G Gibbons 10 (5) 511305 MAGIC HURRICANE 31 (S) J Fanshawe 4-9-1 P Mulrennan 11 (7) 330152 FIRST FLIGHT 21 (D,F,G) S Bin Suroor 3-8-10

C4 108 106 106 104 109 109 105 99 108 105 v110

3-1 First Flight, 5-1 Soviet Rock, 7-1 Magic Hurricane, Sennockian Star, 8-1 Educate, Fattsota, Gabrial, 11-1 Sudden Wonder, 16-1 Balty Boys, 25-1 Silvery Moon, 33-1 Indian Chief.

2.55

coral.co.uk Rockingham Stakes

(Listed: 2-Y-O: £25,519: 6f) (10)

211 1 (1) 2 (8) 32150 3 (6) 3154 4 (2) 4142 43 5 (5) 6 (3) 221132 21201 7 (7) 8 (10) 11041 611 9 (4) 10 (9) 125561

CHARMING THOUGHT 19 (D,F,G) C Appleby 9-1 Doubtful COOL STRUTTER 22 (G) R Hannon 9-1 S Levey FANCIFUL ANGEL 35 (D,F) M Botti 9-1 C O’Donoghue HATCHET HARRY 14 (S) P D Evans 9-1 J Egan MANOFMANYTALENTS 29 M Squance 9-1 P Mulrennan MATTMU 7 (P,D,F,S) T Easterby 9-1 D Allan TERUNTUM STAR 35 (D,F,G) K A Ryan 9-1 D P McDonogh BOND’S GIRL 30 (D,F,G,S) R Fahey 8-10 P P Mathers PARK GLEN 44 (D,S) N Quinlan 8-10 Sam James ROSIE’S PREMIERE 15 (G) D Ivory 8-10 R Winston

C4 86 78 71 62 60 80 82 v87 70 83

3-1 Bond’s Girl, 11-2 Mattmu, Teruntum Star, 13-2 Rosie’s Premiere, 7-1 Fanciful Angel, 9-1 Cool Strutter, 14-1 Hatchet Harry, Park Glen, 100-1 Manofmanytalents.

Wright choice: Teruntum Star was most impressive in a nursery at Haydock and can handle this higher grade Dangers: Mattmu, Rosie’s Premiere

3.30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

(9) (10) (13) (20) (5) (6) (15) (14) (16) (4) (19) (17) (7) (2) (1) (8) (11) (3) (12) (18)

Coral Sprint Trophy (Handicap)

C4

SPINATRIX 14 (P,D,G,S) M Dods 6-9-10 C Beasley (3) WATCHABLE 21 (P,D,F,G) D O’Meara 4-9-9 D Tudhope HIGHLAND COLORI 50 (D,F,G,S) A Balding 6-9-8 D Probert ASHPAN SAM 21 (D,F,G,S) J Spearing 5-9-7 K Shoemark (7) MASS RALLY 21 (H,B,CD,G,S) M Dods 7-9-7 P Mulrennan RENE MATHIS 21 (D,G,S) R Fahey 4-9-5 D Nolan LANCELOT DU LAC 91 (CD,G,S) D Ivory 4-9-4 R Winston AETNA 16 (CD,G,S) M W Easterby 4-9-4 G Gibbons ANOTHER WISE KID 20 (D,F,G,S) P Midgley 6-9-4 A Kirby HIGHLAND ACCLAIM 7 (H,CD,F,G) D O’Meara 3-9-4 Sam James SEEKING MAGIC 14 (H,T,D,BF,F,G) Clive Cox 6-9-3 R Tate (3) RACY 14 (P,D,F,S) B Ellison 7-9-2 C O’Donoghue ARNOLD LANE 47 (D,F,G,S) M Channon 5-9-2 T E Durcan OUT DO 28 (V,D,F,G) D O’Meara 5-9-2 S Levey FAST SHOT 21 (D,F,G,S) T Easterby 6-9-1 Rachel Richardson (7) COMPTON PARK 21 (T,D,F,G,S) L Eyre 7-9-0 D Allan SUPPLICANT 14 (D,F,G,S) R Fahey 3-9-0 J Garritty (5) FAIRWAY TO HEAVEN 56 (D,S) M Wigham 5-9-0 J Mitchell REX IMPERATOR 25 (D,F,G) W Haggas 5-9-0 D P McDonogh CHILWORTH ICON 14 (D,F,G,S) M Channon 4-8-13 C Bishop (3)

108 105 103 105 108 107 103 109 108 105 109 97 103 109 101 v112 108 109 95 107

(£46,687: 6f) (20) -26221 343310 454065 210050 064000 031200 500000 3-1013 201262 311506 020004 100000 003504 235310 114005 110100 600002 0-0010 200035 065150

4-1 Aetna, 8-1 Watchable, 9-1 Mass Rally, 10-1 Supplicant, 11-1 Highland Colori, 12-1 Lancelot Du Lac, Spinatrix, 16-1 Highland Acclaim, 18-1 Out Do, 20-1 Another Wise Kid, Ashpan Sam, Compton Park, Fast Shot, Seeking Magic, 25-1 Chilworth Icon, Rene Mathis, Rex Imperator, 28-1 others.

Wright choice: Lancelot Du Lac has recorded two wins and a second from four starts here and remains well treated Dangers: Rene Mathis, Aetna

(11) (10) (1) (2) (13) (4) (6) (3) (12) (8) (7) (9) (5)

coral.co.uk EBF Stallions Maiden Stakes

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Wright choice: Magic Hurricane pulled hard in a slowly run race at Doncaster and is worth another chance Dangers: Sennockian Star, Sudden Wonder

6-1 Lashkaal, 7-1 Colour Party, 9-1 Bella Nouf, 10-1 Sharqeyih, Tazffin, 11-1 Colorada, Frenzified, Malice, Moruadh, 12-1 Farletti, 14-1 Gilded Lili, Irish Rookie, Twitch, 16-1 others.

5.05

up to group three company at Sandown Park last time. He was beaten a short head by Aktabantay but will be more streetwise this afternoon and can regain the winning thread.

Rob Wright

(£155,625: 2m 2f) (34)

2.05 Future Empire 4.25 Tazffin 2.40 Provenance 5.05 Parsley 3.10 Connecticut (nap) 5.40 Shama 3.50 Nearly Caught Timekeeper’s top rating 5.40 Kikonga.

Thunderer’s double 3.10 Nabatean. 3.50 Jonny Delta (nap).

Going: good Tote Jackpot meeting Draw: no advantage Racing UK

1 (9) 2 (3) 3 (5) 4 (4) 5 (8) 6 (6) 7 (2) 8 (7) 9 (10) 10 (1)

Provenance, who has improved since being fitted with a hood on her past three starts, should appreciate a first try at ten furlongs and can take the Betfred Mobile Pride Stakes (2.40).

At York, Lily Rules can return to form in the sportingbet.com Stakes (1.50). She put up her best effort of the year when second in the Musidora Stakes at the track in May and is better than her recent efforts suggest.

Magic Hurricane is another who has not had things go his way recently and can take the Download The Coral App Stakes (2.20). He is only 1lb higher in the weights than when a good third in the Old Newton Cup at Haydock.

Lancelot Du Lac has a fine record on the Knavesmire and looks a solid option in the Coral Sprint Trophy (3.30). He was unsuited by a switch to front-running tactics when dropped down to five furlongs at Ascot last time.

Sunday best

Newmarket

2.05

JOHN GROSSICK / REX FEATURES

Nearly Caught was unraced as a juvenile and has had only nine starts, so there is every chance of improvement, particularly now that he runs beyond two miles for the first time. He rates fair value at the 14-1 generally on offer.

Connecticut will take plenty of beating in the Betfred TV Stakes (3.10).

He has made terrific progress this year

4.45 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

(1) (15) (5) (4) (13) (17) (12) (3) (16) (18) (6) (7) (9) (11) (8) (10) (14) (2)

064200 0-3046 325331 140212/10-0 413320 352441 225422 323065 411012 356161 062/05 004 4-0105 661306 316343 3346-0 122444

Easyodds “The Odds Comparison App” Stakes (Handicap) (£7,439: 2m 2f) (18) BE PERFECT 22 (CD,G,S) D Nicholls 5-10-0 A Nicholls KIWAYU 34 (P,C,F,S) P Kirby 5-9-12 D P McDonogh NASHVILLE 22 (G) R Fahey 5-9-11 D Nolan MISTER PAGAN 386 (G,S) K Dalgleish 6-9-10 P Mulrennan HIDDEN JUSTICE 149 (D,S) J J Quinn 5-9-9 I Brennan LONGSHADOW 22 (V,F) J Ward 4-9-7 T E Durcan DEEPSAND 26 (P,S) T Easterby 5-9-6 D Allan DR IRV 18 (P,F,G) P Kirby 5-9-6 Megan Carberry (5) HIGH OFFICE 13 (F,G,S) R Fahey 8-9-5 J Garritty (5) HOT SPICE 47 (F) M W Easterby 6-9-5 G Gibbons MISS MACNAMARA 11 (H,F,G,S) M Todhunter 5-9-3 Kevin Stott (5) CAPE TRIBULATION 134 (S) J M Jefferson 10-9-3 D Probert ROCK ON BOLLINSKI 25 T Fitzgerald 4-9-2 C Beasley (3) CALEDONIA 18 (S) J Goldie 7-9-1 J Nason (5) ALBONNY 22 (S) T Jarvis 5-9-0 R Winston LA BACOUETTEUSE 11 (P,F,G,S) I Jardine 9-9-0 C O’Donoghue MONTAFF 25 (F,S) Richard Guest 8-8-12 J Butterfield KASHMIRI SUNSET 15 (S) E De Giles 3-8-12 D Tudhope

83 85 82 84 83 83 83 84 79 83 80 81 77 78 83 81 v87 83

8-1 Miss Macnamara, Mister Pagan, Nashville, 9-1 Dr Irv, Kashmiri Sunset, 10-1 Deepsand, 11-1 Be Perfect, High Office, 12-1 Caledonia, Hot Spice, 14-1 Cape Tribulation, Kiwayu, La Bacouetteuse, Longshadow, 16-1 Albonny, Hidden Justice, 33-1 Rock On Bollinski, 100-1 Montaff.

5.20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Coldstream Guards Association Cup (Handicap) (£8,086: 1m 2f 88y) (20)

Josh Doyle (7) (2) 352014 SHOURANOUR 1 (S) D O’Meara 4-9-10 (10) 502110 INGLEBY SYMPHONY 23 (D,G,S) R Fahey 4-9-9 J Garritty (5) (1) -02110 ONLY ORSENFOOLSIES 55 (G,S) M D Hammond 5-9-8 Mikey Ennis (7) Megan Carberry (5) (8) -54154 NOBLE ALAN 25 (F,S) N Richards 11-9-7 D Nolan (17) 101215 SOPHISTICATED HEIR 23 (D,S) D O’Meara 4-9-7 D Tudhope (16) 0-0005 OPEN EAGLE 55 (D,G,S) D O’Meara 5-9-7 (6) 011150 CHAIN OF EVENTS 15 (D,F,G,S) M Wigham 7-9-7 C Beasley (3) P Mulrennan (3) -25660 GINGER JACK 84 (F,S) K Dalgleish 7-9-6 J Mitchell (14) -31211 GIANTSTEPSAHEAD 64 (D,F,S) D Quinn 5-9-5 G Gibbons (7) -36600 KALK BAY 49 (D,F,G,S) M W Easterby 7-9-5 D Sweeney (18) -15153 LUNGARNO PALACE 13 (D,F) J Gallagher 3-9-5 R Winston (11) 0-0213 WAR POET 133 (D,BF,G,S) B Ellison 7-9-5 T E Durcan (20) 250-10 PINTRADA 25 (D,F,S) J Bethell 6-9-5 Sam James (19) 3431 NEVER UP 14 (G) D O’Meara 3-9-0 J Rogers (5) (9) -56100 ALDBOROUGH 84 (P,S) R Beckett 4-8-13 133 RIBBLEHEAD 34 (F) T Easterby 3-8-12 D Allan (5) P P Mathers (4) 256-30 MYSTERY BET 14 (C,S) R Fahey 4-8-11 Kevin Stott (5) (15) 030540 FAZZA 23 (BF,F,G,S) E Tuer 7-8-10 I Brennan (13) 1-3333 EL BEAU 29 (S) J J Quinn 3-8-10 J Egan (12) -20230 ULTIMATE ACT 10 J S Mullins 3-8-7

89 87 86 88 86 79 88 86 87 89 86 -86 83 87 87 v94 88 87 89

9-1 Chain Of Events, Shouranour, 10-1 War Poet, 11-1 Giantstepsahead, Never Up, Open Eagle, 12-1 Ingleby Symphony, Lungarno Palace, Sophisticated Heir, 14-1 Aldborough, Fazza, Ginger Jack, Kalk Bay, Mystery Bet, Ribblehead, 16-1 El Beau, Pintrada, 20-1 others.

6Bryan Cooper will have his first competitive ride since suffering a complicated multiple fracture of his right leg at the Cheltenham Festival when he partners Guitar Pete in the Dunraven Arms Hotel Hurdle at Limerick tomorrow. Tony McCoy sits out the weekend after suffering a heavy fall at Worcester on Thursday.

94

FGM

Sport Racing Musselburgh

Chepstow

Hexham

1.55 Cyril 4.15 Kickboxer 2.30 Pigeon Pie 4.50 Stanarley Pic 3.00 Miss Mullberry 5.25 Bronze Beau 3.35 Titus Bolt Going: good (good to soft in places) Draw: no advantage Racing UK

2.00 Russian Bolero 4.20 Manhattan Swing 2.35 Emerging Talent 4.55 Agreement 3.05 Bandit Country 5.30 Carruthers 3.40 Monkey Kingdom 6.00 Murphys Way Going: good to soft (soft in places) At The Races

2.10 Blue Kascade 4.35 Uisge Beatha 2.45 Be My Present 5.10 Molko Jack 3.20 Clondaw Knight 5.45 The Cobbler Swayne 3.55 Solway Sam Going: good to soft At The Races

Rob Wright

1.55 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Maiden Stakes

(2-Y-O: £4,204: 7f 30y) (9)

53 CYRIL 17 K A Ryan 9-5 B McHugh (2) (7) 3242 HENRYTHEAEROPLANE 22 R Fahey 9-5 G Chaloner (3) 5 MR COOL CASH 44 Mrs A Duffield 9-5 P McDonald (4) PONIEL I Semple 9-5 D Swift (1) L Jones (9) 23250 SUMMER TIMES 45 M Johnston 9-5 4 THANKSTOMONTY 7 D O'Meara 9-5 R P Whelan (3) 03 TOOT YOUR FLUTE 18 W Haggas 9-5 R Kingscote (5) A Carter (5) (8) 32226 YTHAN WATERS 47 B Smart 9-5 3 PENELOPE PITSTOP 13 K Dalgleish 9-0 T Eaves (6)

9-4 Henrytheaeroplane, 100-30 Summer Times, 4-1 Ythan Waters, 13-2 Cyril, 9-1 Penelope Pitstop, Toot Your Flute, 12-1 others.

2.30

Selling Handicap

(£3,234: 1m 1f) (14)

T Eaves 1 (13) 51-00 MEGAMUNCH 47 (P) K Stubbs 4-9-10 D Muscutt (5) 2 (2) 6-064 AN CAT DUBH 14 (P) T Pitt 5-9-8 J Hart 3 (12) 43004 AL MUHEER 12 (V,C) M Herrington 9-9-8 L Jones 4 (5) 33516 PIGEON PIE 5 (B,CD) M Johnston 3-9-6 G Chaloner (3) 5 (6) 0-225 BROOKE'S BOUNTY 23 R Fahey 4-9-6 D Fentiman 6 (8) -2460 IFTIKAAR 26 P Kirby 4-9-2 B McHugh 7 (3) 10624 GABRIAL THE THUG 43 (T) R Fahey 4-9-2 R Kingscote 8 (9) 34230 STAFFHOSS 7 (CD) M Johnston 4-9-2 9 (14) 00410 FUNDING DEFICIT 11 (H) J Goldie 4-9-1 G Bartley (3) J Sullivan 10 (7) 60626 SILVER DUKE 36 J Goldie 3-9-1 E Sayer (5) 11(11) 32425 CALL OF DUTY 24J Mrs D Sayer 9-8-12 12(10) 44600 ROYAL STRAIGHT 13 (T,CD) Miss L Perratt 9-8-11 Sammy Jo Bell (5) 13 (4) 00400 TOBOGGAN STAR 2 (P) Mrs A Duffield 3-8-9 R Scott (7) P McDonald 14 (1) 42035 MOUNT CHEIRON 21 Mrs D Sayer 3-8-6 11-2 Staffhoss, 13-2 Brooke's Bounty, 15-2 Pigeon Pie, 8-1 Gabrial The Thug, 9-1 Funding Deficit, Royal Straight, 10-1 Al Muheer, Call Of Duty, 11-1 An Cat Dubh, Iftikaar, 12-1 Silver Duke, 14-1 Toboggan Star, 20-1 others.

3.00

Conditions Stakes (2-Y-O: £9,703: 5f) (7)

1 (3) 1106 SHOWING CHARACTER 15 (D) T Dascombe 9-5 R Kingscote T Eaves 2 (6) 021 CANNY KOOL 24 (D) B Ellison 9-0 3 (2) 14402 LIGHTSCAMERACTION (D) Miss G Kelleway 9-0 D Muscutt (5) 4 (7) 22116 MISS MULLBERRY 22 (H,D) D O'Meara 8-12 R P Whelan 00 GLENBUCK LASS 2 A Bailey 8-9 L Jones 5 (4) P McDonald 6 (5) 13004 SHE'S A WORLDIE 14 (D) B Smart 8-9 7 (1) 130 ZUHOOR BAYNOONA 14 (D) R Fahey 8-9 G Chaloner (3)

Rob Wright

2.00 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

11-4 Full Blast, 9-2 Karezak, 11-2 Magic Magnolia, Russian Bolero, 13-2 Golden Doyen, 8-1 Brook, 10-1 Maid Of Tuscany, 20-1 others.

2.35

6-5 Shelford, 11-4 Emerging Talent, 6-1 Sivron, 8-1 Kleitomachos, 12-1 Flying Bandit, Wizards Bridge, 20-1 Arty Campbell, 33-1 others.

3.05 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

11-2 Giovanni Jack, 15-2 Dhaular Dhar, 8-1 Gold Chain, Pressure Point, Titus Bolt, 9-1 Clear Spell, Right Of Appeal, 10-1 A Southside Boy, 12-1 Testa Rossa, 14-1 El Bravo, Latin Rebel, Ronald Gee, 16-1 Vittachi, Voice From Above.

4.15

Conditions Stakes (£12,938: 5f) (8)

1 (2) 05045 BORDERLESCOTT 24 (CD) R Bastiman 12-10-1 D Swift 2 (8) 05003 BURNING THREAD 18 (B,CD) T Etherington 7-10-1 J Sullivan 3 (4) 40024 TANGERINE TREES 18 (V,CD) B Smart 9-10-1 T Eaves R P Whelan 4 (7) 00010 DOC HAY 30 (H,D) D O'Meara 7-9-12 J Hart 5 (1) 21-62 VIVA VERGLAS 155 (B,CD) T D Barron 3-9-8 S Hitchcott 6 (3) 40612 KICKBOXER 7 (D) M Channon 3-9-5 B McHugh 7 (5) 51100 SEARCHLIGHT 22 (D) K A Ryan 3-9-5 D Muscutt 8 (6) 24506 ONE CHANCE 21 (P,D) J Butler 3-9-0 15-8 Kickboxer, 4-1 Viva Verglas, 6-1 One Chance, 15-2 Tangerine Trees, 9-1 Doc Hay, Searchlight, 10-1 Borderlescott, 20-1 Burning Thread.

4.50 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Handicap

(3-Y-O: £16,172: 1m 6f) (7)

L Jones (7) 10041 SWIVEL 14 (D) M Johnston 9-7 T Eaves (1) 02222 ALTAAYIL 28 (BF) Sir M Stoute 8-13 S Hitchcott (5) 32111 CHESIL BEACH 14 A Balding 8-6 D Fentiman (4) 22411 STANARLEY PIC 12 G A Swinbank 8-4 Rosie Jessop (3) (3) 12122 INDIRA 21 (BF) J Berry 8-2 J Sullivan (6) 42102 THORNTOUN CARE 21 J Goldie 8-2 (2) 03424 JAMMY MOMENT 11 Miss L Perratt 8-2 Sammy Jo Bell (5)

100-30 Swivel, 4-1 Altaayil, Stanarley Pic, 9-2 Indira, 6-1 Chesil Beach, 7-1 Thorntoun Care, 20-1 Jammy Moment.

5.25

Handicap

(£3,234: 5f) (11)

G Bartley (3) (2) 16452 CLASSY ANNE 12 (D) J Goldie 4-9-8 (11) 21600 NOODLES BLUE BOY 14 (P,CD) O Pears 8-9-7 D Swift (8) 00106 AMBITIOUS ICARUS 14 (E,D) Richard Guest 5-9-6 J Hart P McDonald (1) 55600 BUNCE 22 (CD) Miss L Perratt 6-9-5 J Sullivan (6) 21434 FLASH CITY 16 (P,D) Mrs R Carr 6-9-4 (4) 43100 GO GO GREEN 22 (CD) J Goldie 8-9-3 Sammy Jo Bell (5) 46300 PERFECT BLOSSOM 14 (CD) A Berry 7-9-2 (3) G Chaloner (3) T Eaves 8 (10) 36663 JINKY 11 (D) Miss L Perratt 6-9-0 P Sword (7) 9 (9) 2133 EVA CLARE 173 (D) K Burke 3-9-0 S A Gray (5) 10 (5) 00022 BRONZE BEAU 7 (T,D) K Stubbs 7-8-12 B McHugh 11 (7) /060- SANDWITH 466 (P,CD) I Semple 11-8-7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5-1 Noodles Blue Boy, 11-2 Bronze Beau, 6-1 Classy Anne, 13-2 Jinky, 15-2 Go Go Green, 8-1 Bunce, Flash City, 9-1 Perfect Blossom, 11-1 others.

Blinkered first time: Chepstow 2.35 Kayf Charmer.

5.30 Highland Lodge. Hexham 2.45 Nautical Twilight.

Newmarket 2.40 Cosseted. Wolverhampton 6.20 Bannister Bell. 8.50 Echologic. 9.20 Anjin. York 1.50 End Of Line.

(Div II: £3,898: 2m 4f) (9)

15-8 Truckers Steel, 11-4 Bincombe, 6-1 Bandit Country, Onwiththeparty, 13-2 Relentless Dreamer, 14-1 Vinegar Hill, 20-1 others.

3.35

(£9,703: 1m 5f) (14)

Novices' Hurdle

133- BANDIT COUNTRY 197 (BF) Jonjo O'Neill 5-10-12 R McLernon 311P- BINCOMBE 175 (D,BF) P Hobbs 6-10-12 R Johnson 3-0 KINGFISHER CREEK 162 C Tizzard 4-10-12 B Powell 3130- ONWITHTHEPARTY 348 P Nicholls 5-10-12 S Twiston-Davies F23- RELENTLESS DREAMER 210 Miss R Curtis 5-10-12 B J Geraghty 5U-20 RUPERRA TOM 11 (H) Mrs S Leech 6-10-12 Killian Moore (5) 1/13- TRUCKERS STEEL 300 T George 6-10-12 P Brennan P/F- VINEGAR HILL 518P B Case 5-10-12 D Jacob 0600- PANDY WELLS 173 G McPherson 5-10-5 C Poste

1

T Eaves (12) 04616 PRESSURE POINT 21 (C) K Dalgleish 4-9-10 K Lundie (7) (8) 10002 EL BRAVO 26 Shaun Harris 8-9-9 (9) 14146 GIOVANNI JACK 36 (CD) G A Swinbank 4-9-7 D Fentiman P McDonald (6) 61332 CLEAR SPELL 18 A Whillans 3-9-4 L Jones (1) 53135 RIGHT OF APPEAL 4 (D) M Johnston 3-9-4 E Sayer (5) (7) 61650 GOLD CHAIN 6J (D) Mrs D Sayer 4-9-2 (3) 50232 DHAULAR DHAR 12 (C) J Goldie 12-9-1 Sammy Jo Bell (5) B McHugh 8 (4) 62665 RONALD GEE 2 (BF) J Goldie 7-9-1 D Swift 9 (13) 42320 TESTA ROSSA 23 J Goldie 4-8-13 G Bartley (3) 10(10) -0163 TITUS BOLT 36 (C,BF) J Goldie 5-8-13 11(11) 44540 A SOUTHSIDE BOY 11 (H,D) J Goldie 6-8-12 G Chaloner (3) J Sullivan 12 (2) 25454 LATIN REBEL 2 J Goldie 7-8-8 J Hart 13(14) 01562 VOICE FROM ABOVE 18 (D) P Holmes 5-8-6 R Scott (7) 14 (5) 06060 VITTACHI 12 (P,C) A Whillans 7-8-3

Novices' Hurdle

(Div I: £3,898: 2m 4f) (10)

006- ALBERTO'S DREAM 189 T Symonds 5-10-12 Felix De Giles 1 R Williams (5) 2 O5-3 ARTY CAMPBELL 6 B Llewellyn 4-10-12 1- EMERGING TALENT 216 P Nicholls 5-10-12 S Twiston-Davies 3 3FLYING BANDIT 169 Fergal O'Brien 5-10-12 C Shoemark (3) 4 KLEITOMACHOS 42F W S Kittow 6-10-12 P Brennan 5 0-0 MUTASHABEK 158 Mrs C Keevil 4-10-12 I Popham 6 22- SHELFORD 195 D Skelton 5-10-12 H Skelton 7 1/ SIVRON 608P D Pipe 6-10-12 T Scudamore 8 3 WIZARDS BRIDGE 162 C Tizzard 5-10-12 B Powell 9 G Sheehan 10 00F-6 KAYF CHARMER 83 (B) H Howe 4-10-5

3.40

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

(3-Y-O: £3,898: 2m 110y) (13)

1 RUSSIAN BOLERO 20 (D) D Bridgwater 11-5 J M Maguire 21 BROOK D Pipe 10-12 T Scudamore FOOT SOLDIER J Hughes 10-12 James Davies 3- FULL BLAST P Nicholls 10-12 S Twiston-Davies GOLDEN DOYEN P Hobbs 10-12 R Johnson HOPEIGETLUCKY 50F W S Kittow 10-12 P Brennan KAREZAK 16F A King 10-12 W Hutchinson U PLANET ROCK 20 (P) Keiran Burke 10-12 J Banks (5) U6 LADY KNIGHT 8 S Curran 10-5 Felix De Giles 535 MAGIC MAGNOLIA 34 (T) M Gillard 10-5 T Cannon MAID OF TUSCANY 7F (P) N Mulholland 10-5 M Quinlan SHEER POETRY 39F R Woollacott 10-5 C O'Farrell SYMPHONY OF PEARLS 452F D Burchell 10-5 R Dunne

11-4 She's A Worldie, 4-1 Zuhoor Baynoona, 9-2 Lightscameraction, Showing Character, 5-1 Miss Mullberry, 13-2 Canny Kool, 100-1 Glenbuck Lass.

Handicap

Juvenile Hurdle

2 3 4 5 6 7

Novices' Chase

(£12,996: 2m 3f 110y) (7)

00-12 BROADWAY BUFFALO 135 (T,D,BF) D Pipe 6-11-4 T Scudamore 232-2 COLOUR SQUADRON 1 (C,BF) P Hobbs 8-11-4 R Johnson /110- MONKEY KINGDOM 189 (T,C,D) Miss R Curtis 6-11-4 B J Geraghty 32- SEA CURRENT 209P D Skelton 6-11-4 H Skelton 3521- SOUTHFIELD THEATRE 168 (D) P Nicholls 6-11-4 S Twiston-Davies 1525- TARA ROAD 195 (T,C) Miss R Curtis 6-11-4 J M Maguire 441-2 PRIMA PORTA 154 (D) E Williams 8-11-2 P Moloney

Rob Wright

2.10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

4-1 Lady Of Verona, 11-2 Cobajayisland, 6-1 Blue Kascade, 13-2 Carlanstown, 15-2 Brother Scott, Shady Sadie, 8-1 Carlos Fandango, 9-1 others.

2.45

02121 I C GOLD 3 (D) G Elliott (Ire) 6-12-3 L Dempsey (7) 0P- ATTENTE DE SIVOLA 215 (H) T Coyle 4-10-10 N Fehily 3431- BE MY PRESENT 212 (H,CD) J Ewart 7-10-10 D Bourke (7) 34-22 BOBS LADY TAMURE 142 (T) M Barnes 7-10-10 S Mulqueen (7) P Buchanan 5 000-5 BRACING 149 N Alexander 5-10-10 6 -6U5P DEFINITELY GLAD 8 (T) S Corbett 7-10-10 J Corbett (10) 12-2 JENNYS MELODY 139 (H,D) B Arthey (Ire) 5-10-10 7 J McGrath (3) H Brooke 8 536P KAYLAN'S ROSE 17 F Murtagh 4-10-10 9 260-5 NAUTICAL TWILIGHT 25 (B) J M Jefferson 4-10-10 B Hughes 33 PETRE' ISLAND 126 Michael Smith 5-10-10 D Cook 10 3-1 Be My Present, 9-2 I C Gold, 5-1 Jennys Melody, 11-2 Petre' Island, 8-1 Bobs Lady Tamure, Nautical Twilight, 9-1 Bracing, 14-1 others.

3.20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

3-1 Clondaw Knight, 9-2 Sergeant Pink, 5-1 Qoubilai, 13-2 Mister Wall Street, Moyode Wood, 7-1 Allanard, 8-1 Mighty Whitey, 14-1 Work Boy.

3.55 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

7-2 Dawalan, 4-1 Dispour, Dormello Mo, 9-2 Manhattan Swing, 6-1 After Eight Sivola, 15-2 Bertimont, 9-1 Mandy's Boy.

4.55 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Handicap Hurdle (£9,747: 2m 4f) (9)

F/60- PECKHAMECHO 350 Miss R Curtis 8-11-12 B J Geraghty -02P0 JOIN THE CLAN 42 Jonjo O'Neill 5-11-11 M Linehan (3) 043-F HIGHWAY CODE 7F (T) R Lee 8-11-2 J E Moore 6115- BOONDOOMA 178 (D) Dr R Newland 7-11-1 C Ward (5) 16114 GET IT ON 42 (C,D) E Williams 9-11-1 P Moloney 210-5 CLOUD CREEPER 162 (D,BF) P Hobbs 7-11-1 R Johnson 010-3 AGREEMENT 18F Mrs N Evans 4-10-10 O Garner (7) 3-130 COLEBROOKE 90 (D) D Skelton 6-10-10 Miss B Andrews (7) 3312- THE HAPPY WARRIOR 184 (D) R Buckler 6-10-2 G Derwin (7)

4-1 Peckhamecho, 5-1 Cloud Creeper, Get It On, 6-1 Boondooma, The Happy Warrior, 7-1 Join The Clan, 9-1 Colebrooke, 11-1 others.

5.30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Handicap Chase (£16,245: 3m) (15)

1320- REBEL REBELLION 190 (T,P) P Nicholls 9-11-12 R Mahon 26U0- CARRUTHERS 168 (T,C,D) M Bradstock 11-11-10 N Boinville (3) 0UF-F TWIRLING MAGNET 104 (T,V,D) Jonjo O'Neill 8-11-8 R McLernon 4150- MONBEG DUDE 189 (C,D) M Scudamore 9-11-7 T Scudamore 242-0 FORGOTTEN GOLD 148 T George 8-11-4 P Brennan 4P60- HIGHLAND LODGE 203 (V,D) Miss E Lavelle 8-10-12 A Coleman 2112- BENBENS 196 (D,BF) N Twiston-Davies 9-10-12 S Twiston-Davies P/2P- VICTORS SERENADE 273 (D) A Honeyball 9-10-10 D F O'Regan F1PP- NIGHT ALLIANCE 212 (B,D) Dr R Newland 9-10-9 D Jacob 340U- GAS LINE BOY 178 (H,D,BF) P Hobbs 8-10-9 R Johnson 1PPP- THE ITALIAN YOB 195 (BF) N Williams 6-10-7 B J Geraghty P64-2 HANDY ANDY 156 (T,D) C Tizzard 8-10-6 B Powell 6P30- DE LA BECH 178 (P,CD,BF) P Hobbs 7-10-5 Tom O'Brien 30-V3 CLOUDY BOB 11 Pat Murphy 7-10-0 C Bolger /15-4 TRAFALGAR 45 (T,BF) D Skelton 7-10-0 H Skelton

Handicap Hurdle (£6,844: 3m) (9)

43324 BLESS THE WINGS 14 (P,BF) G Elliott (Ire) 9-11-12 W Renwick 31052 BELL WEIR 8 (C) Mrs D Sayer 6-11-9 H Brooke 000-4 BOURNE 126 (P,BF) D McCain 8-11-4 A Lane -0123 REV UP RUBY 74 (H,CD) G Bewley 6-11-3 J Bewley (5) 400-0 ALL THAT REMAINS 84 S Corbett 9-11-2 J Corbett (10) 0541/ SENTIMENTALJOURNEY 538 W Kinsey 7-11-0 H Challoner (3) P10-P LUCTOR EMERGO 25 (P,D) K Dalgleish 5-10-6 C Nichol (3) P4-36 NEXT HIGHT 11 Mrs S Smith 7-10-5 J England (3) 24122 SOLWAY SAM 17 (C,D) Miss L Harrison 11-10-4 R Day (10)

9-2 Bell Weir, 5-1 Bourne, 11-2 Solway Sam, 6-1 Luctor Emergo, 13-2 Bless The Wings, 15-2 Next Hight, Rev Up Ruby, 8-1 others.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

(4-Y-O: £16,245: 2m 110y) (7)

Handicap Chase

(£5,198: 2m 4f 110y) (8)

1333- CLONDAW KNIGHT 172 (BF) Miss L Russell 6-11-12 P Buchanan FP202 QOUBILAI 9 (H,D) T Coyle 10-11-9 D C Costello 25443 SERGEANT PINK 8 (D) Mrs D Sayer 8-11-6 J Reveley 01104 MIGHTY WHITEY 17 (T,C) N Kelly (Ire) 8-11-5 D R Fox (3) 1U3U- WORK BOY 172 (D) R Drake 13-11-2 Samantha Drake (5) 3-216 ALLANARD 120 (V,D) M Todhunter 10-11-2 W Renwick /P2P- MOYODE WOOD 315 B Ellison 9-11-1 D Cook -3134 MISTER WALL STREET 11 (T,P,CD) R Menzies 9-10-0T Kelly (3)

4.20

3060- BERTIMONT 173 (D) D Skelton 11-10 H Skelton 4601- DISPOUR 156F (D) D McCain 11-9 J M Maguire 611 MANHATTAN SWING 14 (D) B Ellison 11-2 T Scudamore 1200- DAWALAN 195 (D,BF) N Henderson 11-2 B J Geraghty 1415- DORMELLO MO 204 (D) P Nicholls 11-2 S Twiston-Davies 20-12 MANDY'S BOY 121F (D) I Williams 10-4 W Kennedy 5550- AFTER EIGHT SIVOLA 232 N Williams 10-4 R Johnson

Mares' Novices' Hurdle

(£3,898: 2m 110y) (10)

1 2 3 4

4.35

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

(£4,548: 2m 4f 110y) (11)

11-62 LADY OF VERONA 32 (C) Miss L Russell 7-11-12 C Nichol (3) 335-2 COBAJAYISLAND 154 Miss L Russell 6-11-12 P Buchanan -PF30 CARLOS FANDANGO 32 (D) M Todhunter 8-11-10W Renwick 015-F SILVER DRAGON 6 (P,D) T Coyle 6-11-7 D C Costello 35-53 BLUE KASCADE 139 (D,BF) A Thomson 7-11-5Steven Fox (7) 12223 CARLANSTOWN 15 (P,BF) G Elliott (Ire) 10-11-0 N Fehily P0-34 BENEFIT IN KIND 137 Michael Smith 6-10-8 D Cook 050 STUCKINTHEFENCE 97 R Drake 7-10-8 J England (3) 3-053 BROTHER SCOTT 11 Mrs S Smith 7-10-6 C Bewley (7) -4253 SHADY SADIE 17 (T) Mrs R Dobbin 7-10-0 B Harding 6O553 FORESTSIDE 8 (V,C,D) F Murtagh 9-10-0 H Brooke

2-1 Colour Squadron, 7-2 Southfield Theatre, 11-2 Monkey Kingdom, 7-1 Tara Road, 15-2 Broadway Buffalo, 8-1 Sea Current, 11-1 Prima Porta.

Handicap Hurdle

Novices' Handicap Chase

Maiden Hurdle

(£2,274: 2m 4f 110y) (8)

0 DESTINY AWAITS 24 K Pollock 5-11-0 J Kington (3) 0/6 GALLEONS WAY 24 I Jardine 5-11-0 B Harding 124 ITCHYMEI'MSCRATCH 69 D McCain 6-11-0 W Renwick 4322- RIDE THE RANGE 190 C Grant 5-11-0 B Hughes 432- TETRALOGY 188 F J Brennan 5-11-0 R Mania 3- TURTLE CASK 282 Mrs D Sayer 5-11-0 Colm McCormack 22/ UISGE BEATHA 550 Miss L Russell 6-11-0 C Nichol (3) /P-05 WATCHMEGO 8 (T) M Barnes 6-10-7 S Mulqueen (7)

2-5 Ride The Range, 8-1 Itchymei'Mscratch, 10-1 Uisge Beatha, 12-1 Turtle Cask, 20-1 Tetralogy, Watchmego, 25-1 Destiny Awaits, 33-1 Galleons Way.

5.10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Handicap Chase (£2,924: 2m 110y) (8)

52514 ENDEAVOR 6 (D,BF) Mrs D Sayer 9-11-12 R Day (7) 3P-12 MOLKO JACK 8F (CD) M Mullineaux 10-11-9 R Mania 2P-65 SOME LAD 137 (H,D) Alison Hamilton 9-11-6 Mr T Hamilton (7) 5-203 SHINE A DIAMOND 33 (T) Miss L Russell 6-11-4G Watters (5) 3P-00 TAKAATUF 10F Miss T Jackson 8-11-4 Samantha Drake (5) 16-06 MILAN ROYALE 135 J K Hunter 9-11-2 C Bewley (7) 4-655 ZAZAMIX 43 (V,D) Andrew Crook 9-10-0 J Kington (3) 5P4-5 CRACKERJACK LAD 150 (H,D) Miss L Russell 11-10-0 D R Fox (3)

3-1 Endeavor, 9-2 Shine A Diamond, 11-2 Crackerjack Lad, 13-2 Molko Jack, Zazamix, 8-1 Milan Royale, 9-1 Some Lad, Takaatuf.

5.45

NH Flat Race (£1,642: 2m 110y) (14)

513- COOZAN GEORGE 241 (D) J M Jefferson 5-11-11 J Holliday (10) 1 54 BRICBRACSMATE 38 M Mullineaux 6-11-4 B Poste (5) 2 P5- CLAN LEGEND 180 N Alexander 4-11-4 Mr K Alexander (7) 3 CLENAGH CASTLE C Grant 4-11-4 D O'Regan (7) 4 CORRELATE J Wade 4-11-4 Mr C O'Mahony (7) 5 CYRIUS MORIVIERE D McCain 4-11-4 Mr H Stock (7) 6 30DREAMISI 194 J Ewart 5-11-4 D Irving (7) 7 00- HARLEYS MAX 303 S Corbett 5-11-4 J Corbett (10) 8 04-0 IFFJACK 109 (T) G Elliott (Ire) 4-11-4 L Dempsey (7) 9 22 LUCCOMBE DOWN 24 (BF) J J Quinn 4-11-4 D Pratt (7) 10 42 SOLWAY PRINCE 16 Miss L Harrison 5-11-4 R Day (10) 11 12 /4P1- THE COBBLER SWAYNE 223P Miss L Russell 5-11-4 G Cockburn (5) 5- PREACHER'S BELLE 243 (H) P Kirby 5-10-11 P Dennis (10) 13 0 PRESENTLY TIPSY 157 N Alexander 5-10-11S Mulqueen (7) 14 11-2 Luccombe Down, 6-1 Coozan George, Iffjack, 13-2 Dreamisi, 7-1 others.

Course specialists

15-2 Highland Lodge, Trafalgar, 8-1 De La Bech, 9-1 Benbens, Gas Line Boy, Monbeg Dude, 10-1 Night Alliance, 11-1 Rebel Rebellion, 12-1 others.

Chepstow: Trainers B Case, 3 winners from 11 runners, 27.3%; D Pipe, 18 from 76, 23.7%.

Jockey R Johnson, 23 winners from 119 rides, 19.3%.

6.00

Hexham: Trainer J J Quinn, 5 from 14, 35.7%.

Jockey Mr K Alexander, 4 from 5, 80%.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

NH Flat Race (£1,949: 2m 110y) (10)

0 DARNITNEV 115 M Keighley 4-11-0 I Popham 1- DETROIT BLUES 208P J Snowden 4-11-0 B Powell DOUBLE RISK T George 4-11-0 P Brennan DUKE DES CHAMPS P Hobbs 4-11-0 R Johnson HERBERT PARK D Pipe 4-11-0 T Scudamore 1- MURPHYS WAY 188P Miss R Curtis 4-11-0 B J Geraghty 0 PRESENTING BERKLEY 45 T Vaughan 4-11-0 M Byrne SALVATOR'S LEGACY (T) Keiran Burke 5-11-0 N Scholfield 26- THEUNNAMEDSOLDIER 200 N Hawke 6-11-0 S Twiston-Davies SISTER SUZIE D McCain 5-10-7 J M Maguire

4-1 Murphys Way, 9-2 Herbert Park, 11-2 Duke Des Champs, 6-1 others.

Musselburgh: Trainer W Haggas, 6 from 14, 42.9%.

Jockey B McHugh, 13 from 92, 14.1%.

Newmarket: Trainer M Appleby, 3 from 12, 25%.

Jockey J O'Brien, 6 from 27, 22.2%.

Wolverhampton: Trainer R Varian, 20 from 61, 32.8%. Jockey O Murphy, 5 from 24, 20.8%.

York: Trainer D Ivory, 6 from 23, 26.1%.

Jockey D Probert, 3 from 24, 12.5%.

Saturday October 11 2014 | the times

Warner confident that Big Easy will thrive in deep end Saturday interview Veteran owner tells Alan Lee about his Cesarewitch contender and an enduring love of racing

T

erry Warner was 20 when he met the woman who was to become his wife and business partner. They were working in the same Gloucester sports shop but the first impression he made on her was with a particular ambition. “He told me very early on that he wanted to own a racehorse,” Jill Warner said yesterday.

More than 60 years on, Warner has realised that ambition many times over.

He has owned dozens of horses and presently has nine. The winners tally for his familiar yellow-and-black silks stands at 307 and, at Newmarket today, he will seek to win a second Betfred Cesarewitch, this time with the heavily backed Big Easy.

“I’m glad they’ve had some rain and, unlike last year, he has a good draw,” Warner said, assessing the seven-yearold he bought, unseen, on the recommendation of a French agent.

“He’s had dodgy joints, so he swims every day — he must be the best horse in the country at swimming.”

His ripe, West Country accent is as unchanging as his philosophical approach to racing and the shrewdness glinting behind his spectacles as he sat in the window of their home, a mellow house with 21 acres of grounds — space enough for Warner to bring all his horses home each summer. “I look after them myself, go and talk to them two or three times a day,” he said.

From modest beginnings, Warner became an entrepreneur in the sports retail trade. Eighteen years ago, he suffered a heart attack at Uttoxeter races. But for that, you suspect he might never have retired.

“We left that sports shop in Gloucester and set up our own, across the street,” he said. “The parting words of the owner were that he’d break us inside three months.” Instead, the Warners expanded their empire to 22 shops.

“We sold up after my heart trouble but I missed it for some while,” he said.

It was then that his hobby became his prime pursuit. Warner plays golf every Tuesday and bridge every Wednesday.

He enjoys dabbling in the stock market.

Outside family, though, his principal pleasures come from racing.

“My father was a farmer who thought racing was terrible,” he said, chuckling.

“I still remember him saying ‘it will be the downfall of you’.” It has been quite the reverse, this preoccupation he traces to an illegal betting shop in 1951.

“I’d had a tip for Barnes Park in the Lincoln,” he said. “I found this bookie in a back street of Gloucester and had a pound each-way at 33-1. When he won, I thought, this is easy, that’s more than I earn in a month. I suppose that’s what started me off.

“In 1963, three of us clubbed together to buy a horse called Relic’s Son. Owen O’Neill trained him and he won eight

races for us. I’ve never been without a racehorse from that day on.”

It is his relationship with Philip Hobbs that defines Warner’s racing progress. “Philip only had about 12 horses when I first went there,” he said.

“I think I was his fourth or fifth owner.

Since then, he must have trained me 150 winners. Kibreet was the first good one — he gave Tony McCoy his first Cheltenham Festival winner.”

Rooster Booster, who won a Champion Hurdle aged nine, is the horse of Warner’s lifetime — despite the fact that he ran 14 times in his colours before winning and caused what he recalls as the only fallout he has had with the trainer. “Philip wanted to run him at Wincanton and I insisted he should go to Cheltenham for the County Hurdle,” he said. “It was the one time we’ve ever had an argument.

“Rooster was a popular horse and his Champion Hurdle was my best moment. But then to get Detroit City to follow him . . .” He shook his head in wonder at his good fortune, then frowned. “They both had dicky hearts,

In the spotlight

Name: Terry Warner Age: 82 Lives: Dursley, Gloucestershire First winner: Relic’s Son, 1963 Total winners: 307 Best horses: Rooster Booster, Detroit City Weekend wish: A second Cesarewitch winner

eventually. Rooster Booster died on the gallop and Detroit at Ascot.”

A grey, like Rooster Booster, Detroit City won eight successive races, including the Triumph Hurdle and the 2006 Cesarewitch. “I much prefer the jumps but they go for a Flat race if the trainer thinks they are good enough.

I’d had a small bet at 25-1 for the Cesarewitch and he went off favourite,” Warner said with satisfaction.

“Jamie Spencer rode him and I remember him weaving through the field.

He won comfortably, in the end. Jamie rode Big Easy in the race last year but he said in the paddock we had no chance, with the wide draw.”

Today, he has the aid of an improved draw and the jockeyship of Spencer’s close friend, Tom Queally. Terry and Jill will be there together, just as they have been on so many racecourses since he first fulfilled that ambition.

the times | Saturday October 11 2014

95

FGM

Rugby league Sport

Amor’s all the merrier after rapid rise leads to Grand Final The St Helens prop has gone from working in a factory to a showpiece derby match, writes Christopher Irvine

P

rofessional rugby league was as far off Kyle Amor’s radar as it was possible to be on the 2am shift as a printer at a factory in Workington. It was only a colleague urging him to have a “mess-about at the weekend” that led to him playing as an amateur for the Hensingham club on Cumbria’s northwest coast.

He rejected a couple of overtures from Whitehaven to turn semiprofessional but, when his wife became pregnant, he took up their £300-amonth offer “because it’d come in handy for a pram and bits and bobs”. Six years after his first game of any sort since his under-12 team days, Amor will step out at Old Trafford this evening as the self-styled “caveman” of the St Helens pack.

Beneath a mighty beard that had its first trim in a year this week, Amor sports an almost perpetual grin. Little wonder. The 27-year-old prop has had a meteoric rise from the factory floor to a First Utility Super League Grand Final appearance against Wigan Warriors and a rivalry that he will experience for the first time in the sport’s end-ofseason showpiece, having missed the teams’ two league encounters this year through injury.

He was seen as unlucky to miss out on England selection for the Four Nations series in two weeks’ time, although Amor still pinches himself when he considers how far he has come.

“I was 21 when I signed for Whitehaven and 23 by the time I started playing week in, week out,” he said. “I didn’t really watch the game. One of my mates at the factory wondered if I’d fancy a mess-about at the weekend.

“I just enjoyed playing for Hensingham, having a few beers, going

ED SYKES / ACTION IMAGES

on the odd Barla [British Amateur Rugby League Association] tour.

“I wasn’t bothered about playing professionally, but with our daughter on the way and Whitehaven offering a few quid, I thought, ‘Why not?’

Fourteen months after I started, Leeds came in for me. It all seemed crazy. One minute I was still doing the night shift, the next I’m sat with Jamie Peacock and Kevin Sinfield. I didn’t open my mouth for two weeks, thinking, ‘What the hell am I doing here?’ ” Much of his time at Leeds was spent on loan at Whitehaven and later Wakefield Wildcats to learn his new trade. “Some people were saying I’d been let go and wouldn’t be back at Leeds,” he said. “So it was a case for me of proving them wrong, as well as learning and understanding the game.

One time they stuck me in the back row.

I wasn’t used to running laterally and got dragged over the shale of a surrounding speedway track.

“Ged Stokes, our coach, said, ‘You’re

‘One minute I was doing a night shift, the next I was sat with Sinfield’ a front-rower, Kyle, that’s it.’ I come from a work environment, unlike a lot of the lads who’ve grown up through the academies. If you understand your role in a side and you do that to the best of your ability, you can’t go too far wrong. I’m a latecomer to the sport, but having that working background and a young family to provide for helps keeps you real.”

An initial loan spell at Wakefield turned into a three-year apprenticeship there under John Kear and later Richard Agar. Amor turned up as a tramp for the club’s “Mad Monday” at the end of last season before joining St Helens. The beard followed him. In his first year at Langtree Park, he has been a bedrock for Saints in a fearsome pack containing Alex Walmsley, another astute product of the second-tier Championship, and Mose Masoe, a 20-stone Samoan.

Amor’s appetite was further whetted

Powerful presence: Amor drives forward for St Helens during his first season with the club since joining from Wakefield

in the winning Leeds Grand Final dressing room against St Helens in 2011.

“They’d brought me back from Wakefield and I looked around at these great players seeing how happy they were and wondered whether I’d ever get the chance to do that,” he said. “That

image stuck with me and I’ve been working hard towards it ever since. It’ll mean everything to win on Saturday.

“Most people are writing us off. It’s been a rollercoaster getting here but, every time we’ve been challenged, this group have stuck their hands up and

pulled together.” As a proud Cumbrian — “every time I play, I somehow feel I’m representing the county,” he said — Amor will be urged on at Old Trafford by former Hensingham team-mates, who appreciate more than anyone their one-time prop’s remarkable journey.

Daggers drawn between Wigan-born Wane and rival Brown Christopher Irvine

Shaun Wane, the Wigan Warriors head coach, referred to the rivalry with St Helens as a “healthy hatred”. Although there is no love lost for each other ten miles either side of “Billinge Lump”, the admiration is mutual, based on the home-grown talent being produced by both clubs.

Tonight’s Super League Grand Final sides are a reflection of strong junior development at Langtree Park and Wigan’s DW Stadium. It is there in St Helens’s three-quarter line of Tommy Makinson, Mark Percival, Josh Jones and Adam Swift. There is 19-year-old Joe Burgess on the left wing for the Warriors, with Dom Crosby alongside more experienced Wigan-born team-

mates in the pack. “If we played each other at tiddlywinks, there’d be blood,” said Wane, who was raised on the rivalry in his home town.

Not so Nathan Brown, his St Helens counterpart, whose last game before he returns to Australia offers the prospect of a perfect farewell after six years here, the first four at Huddersfield Giants.

Brown is not given to hyperbole but was apoplectic after the last derby encounter in June, despite a 16-12 St Helens win. “Phil Bentham had an absolutely shocking performance,” Brown said then of tonight’s referee.

“Waney has been whingeing the last two months, then we cop it on the backside today.”

“That’s absolute garbage,” Wane responded at the time. “Nathan Brown

probable line-ups and form St Helens P Wellens (captain); T Makinson, M Percival, J Jones, A Swift; L Hohaia, M Flanagan; K Amor, J Roby, M Masoe, L McCarthy-Scarsbrook, L Thompson, J Turner. Interchange: S Soliola, W Manu, A Walmsley, G Richards.

Wigan Warriors M Bowen; J Charnley, A Gelling, D Sarginson, J Burgess; B Green, M Smith; B Flower, M McIlorum, D Crosby, J Tomkins, L Farrell, S O’Loughlin (captain). Interchange: S Powell, E Pettybourne, T Clubb, J Bateman.

Referee: P Bentham.

Television: Live on Sky Sports 1 from 5pm (kick-off 6pm).

2014 meetings April 18: St Helens 14 Wigan 33 Two tries by Liam Farrell on Good Friday helped to end St Helens’s eight-match unbeaten start.

June 27: Wigan 12 St Helens 16 A brace of tries by Tommy Makinson were crucial in St Helens taking the League Leaders’ Shield by a point from Wigan.

shouldn’t be allowed to say stuff like that. He came out with a comment at the start of the year about headhunters and got away with that.”

At Monday’s press conference, Wane accepted Brown’s invitation for a beer before he heads home. Until then, they remain at daggers drawn in the sport’s ultimate rivalry. It is the clubs’ third Grand Final encounter, St Helens triumphing in 2000 at the height of their Super League powers and Wigan in 2010, at the start of the club’s revival under Michael Maguire, first, and Wane in the past three seasons.

Unless the St Helens forwards can overpower and disrupt Wigan’s rigidly structured approach in attack and defence, it could be a long night for the underdogs.

sport

Saturday October 11 2014

Drivers wear fitting tribute Jenson Button shows his support for Jules Bianchi, whose No 17 car will stay in the Marussia garage at the Russian Grand Prix out of respect for the stricken Frenchman, pages 86-87

Times Crossword No 25,915 1

2

3

4

5

6

9

7

8

10

11 12 13

14

15 16

17

18

19

20

21 22

23 24

25

27

26

28

A £20 W H Smith gift voucher will be awarded to the senders of the first five correct solutions opened on Thursday. Enter by post to: The Times, Saturday Crossword Competition, 3 Thomas More Square, London, E98 1XY, or online through the Crossword Club, timesonline.co.uk/crossword.

Winners and solutions will appear on Monday week.

Name/Address ...................................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................................................................................... ...............................................................................................................................................................................

Please note, some sections of The Times are available only in the United Kingdom and Ireland

Across 1 Solutions left one with things to chew over (7) 5 Saw British returning after Test (7) 9 Traditional girl is enthralled by military leader almost completely (9) 10 Merman, say, coming in to traverse the lagoon (5) 11 I’d worry badly about wife following subject matter in this operetta (3,5,5) 13 Network backed call to block regulation (8) 15 Particular person long enthralling editor (6) 17 Someone having siblings put into street has you looking askance (6) 19 Source of magic forbidding passion, restricting love (8) 22 Create difficulties: request foreign currency with little time in hand (3,3,7) 25 Trail fighting men, heading off on return (5) Yesterday’s solution 25,914 P I C K P O A R S O T H E Y S F S U P E H I R O P T I C N H O L D S A U A R R A Y G A T E B A R I S L I E S P Y

OC L R E A R V E S G R U J R A R T A T M I

K E X P O I S U OR E M I N D C A R N D

T

Y E R I T R E A

U F F O OR T D I N F S I E E E D A W G I T N R E A

R I M B A U D

A H I NG H AW A R Y M R A N E L T E A E R

26 Tory involving a Liberal with it, I observe at the outset? (9) 27 Brown jelly having zero fruit (7) 28 Cunning attempt to secure pound off small quantities of paint (7)

Down 1 Forward, notice, avoiding header (4) 2 Skill needed for one in piano chamber group (7) 3 Problem occurs? Runs from stable (5) 4 Instant deposit finally accepted by bank in confidence (8) 5 Sorry partner appearing before judge (6) 6 Finished with nautical steering in swamp (9) 7 Exotic creature beginning to haunt one in wild dance (7) 8 Tom, perhaps, getting soppy over that female trendsetter (10) 12 Radio: greet second and latest broadcast (7,3) 14 Hall not for lectures? (9) 16 Conceited and brazen, holding progress up (8) 18 Variable, currently indefinite number supporting end of taxation in UK (7) 20 Flower under rocks revealed by Alpine tool (3,4) 21 Economies upset firm producing wall covering (6) 23 Betty's opener: "I love flipping pancakes" (5) 24 Finger, not tip, stained thus? (4)

The recycled paper content of UK newspapers in 2013 was 83.5%

y(7HB7E2*OTSRQT( +&!=

© TIMES NEWSPAPERS LIMITED, 2014. Published and licensed for distribution in electronic and all other derivative forms by Times Newspapers Ltd, 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF, telephone 020-7782 5000. Printed by Newsprinters (Broxbourne) Limited, Great Cambridge Road, Waltham Cross, EN8 8DY and also at Newsprinters (Knowsley) Limited, Kitling Road, Prescot, Merseyside, L34 9HN; Newsprinters (Eurocentral) Limited, Byramsmuir Road, Holytown, Motherwell, ML1 1NP; Belfast Telegraph Newspapers Ltd, 124 Royal Avenue, Belfast, BT1 1EB; Smurfit Kappa NewsPress Ltd, Kells Industrial Estate, Kells, County Meath, Ireland; Irish Times Print Facility,4080 Kingswood Road, Citywest Business Campus, Dublin 24, Ireland; Arab Media Group, Masar Printing and Publishing PO Box 485100, Dubai, UAE; Europrinter, Av J. Mermoz, Zone Aeropole, 6041 Gosselies, Belgium; Bermont S.A, Av./Portugal, 4 (Centro de Transportes de Coslada), 28820 Coslada, Madrid; MOP, Zone Industrielle, Avenue De L’Europe, 13127 Vitrolles, Marseilles; Estetik Ltd, Kuscuburnu mevkii bati beton yolu no: 4 yazibasi torbali, Izmir, Turkey; and Miller Newsprint Ltd, Miller House, Tarxien Road, Malta Airport, LQA 05 Luqa, Malta; Hellenic Miller Newsprint Ltd, Ioanni Kranidioti Avenue 206, 2235 Latsia, PO Box 24508, 1300 Lefkosia, Cyprus; Milkro Hellas Publisher Services Ltd, 2nd Kilometer Peanias – Markopoullo Ave, Position Nisiza 19400 Koropi, Greece; Omniprint SA, Poligono Industrial Estate, Nave Omniprint, Santa Maria Dell Cami, 7320 Mallorca.

For permission to copy articles or headlines for internal information purposes contact Newspaper Licensing Agency at PO Box 101, Tunbridge Wells, TN1 1WX, tel 01892 525274, e-mail copy@nla.co.uk. For all other reproduction and licensing inquiries contact Syndication Department, 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF, telephone 020-7782 5400, e-mail syndication@thetimes.co.uk