The Times - 14.08.2026.pdf

最热之日：房屋被焚，火车脱轨

● 西米德兰兹山火摧毁房屋 ● 卢伊斯附近铁路事故导致两人重伤

Laurence Sleator 交通记者 Lowri Lewis, Mario Ledwith Emma Yeomans, Charlie Parker 卢伊斯

昨日，随着山火席卷英国并在年度最热之日焚毁房屋，一名儿童和数名消防员被送往医院。

在全国酷暑难耐之际，一列火车在东萨塞克斯的卢伊斯附近脱轨，导致两名乘客严重受伤。专家表示，此次事故可能与热浪有关。

西米德兰兹地区受高温影响严重。斯托尔布里奇的一场草地火灾导致六处房产起火，斯托克-昂-特伦特有四栋房屋被焚毁。

一名儿童因吸入烟雾被送往医院，另有六人接受治疗。

该地区的首席消防官 Simon Tuhill 表示，西米德兰兹地区的山火是其消防部门处理的“最重大”事件之一。他补充道，“破坏情况非常严重”。他表示，安迪·伯纳姆已获悉山火的最新进展。

该地区市长 Richard Parker 告诉天空新闻，伯纳姆已承诺，在与大火搏斗期间，将为西米德兰兹的消防和救援服务提供他们所需的任何额外资源。

在全国其他地区，消防员正在全力扑救已持续近一周的火灾。

下午 4 点前不久，一列从伦敦维多利亚站开往伊斯特本的南方铁路服务列车脱轨，车厢侧翻，导致卢伊斯北部的乘客被抛向空中。

卢伊斯议员 James MacCleary 告诉泰晤士广播电台，近期人们对该地区因高温导致的轨道状况表示担忧。铁路行业人士表示，事故现场的照片显示部分轨道发生了变形。

昨日，伦敦西部的 Kew Gardens 记录到 38.1℃ 的温度，使其正式成为年度最热之日。

脱轨事故发生后，英国运输警察局宣布这是一起重大事件，并开始营救被困在残骸中的乘客。所有人员均已撤离。20 人被送往医院，其中两人受重伤，另有 9 人受轻伤。

这列由 8 节车厢组成的列车于下午 2.24pm 从伦敦出发，在一段 5 分钟的行程中脱轨，位于（续见第 5 页）

在全国记录到 38.1℃ 最高温之际，斯托尔布里奇的六栋房屋被大火夷为平地。高温可能导致轨道变形，从而造成东萨塞克斯卢伊斯附近的三节车厢脱轨

天空新闻，EDGE MITCHELL 为《泰晤士报》供稿

天气预报

东南部炎热、干燥且晴朗，但西北部较为凉爽并有阵雨。完整预报请见第 56 页

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监察机构将就500万英镑“赠款”对法拉奇进行询问，此前该议席举行了补选

Steven Swinford 政治编辑

奈杰尔·法拉奇（Nigel Farage）在预计赢得克拉克顿（Clacton）补选后的几周内，可能会接受议会标准监察机构的询问。

这位改革党领导人上个月辞去了国会议员职务，此前其财务状况受到日益严密的审查，其中包括一份来自一名英泰加密货币亿万富翁的500万英镑“赠款”。

议会标准专员丹尼尔·格林伯格（Daniel Greenberg）正在调查法拉奇是否应当将该赠款申报为一项利益。如果格林伯格做出不利于他的裁定，他可能会面临标准委员会的正式调查，并最终被暂停议员资格，这可能会触发另一次补选。

在法拉奇辞职后，调查被暂停，但如果他再次成为国会议员，调查将重启。法拉奇坚称自己没有做错任何事，并表示他辞职是为了“向建制派竖中指”。

然而，没有任何主要政党竞争该席位，使得法拉奇的主要对手变成了独立候选人宾面伯爵（Count Binface）。在吸引了大量独立人士参选后，此次补选共有34名候选人参选。

法拉奇将在今天结果公布后的演讲中坚称“建制派无法击败我们”。一名改革英国党（Reform UK）的消息人士表示：“他们可以随心所欲地采取任何手段，但克拉克顿的人民支持我们。”

法拉奇于2024年4月收到了居住在泰国的加密货币亿万富翁克里斯托弗·哈博恩（Christopher Harborne）赠予的500万英镑。他坚称这笔赠款是私人性质的，他可以根据自己的意愿支配。

他为这笔赠款给出了一系列解释，包括用于他的安保，以及作为脱欧的奖励。

法拉奇告诉LBC广播电台，这“不关你们的事”，并补充道：“恕我直言，这跟你们有什么关系？这是一份无条件的赠款。如果我想，我可以把它花在法拉利上。那完全由我决定。我想怎么用就怎么用。我可以拿去赌马。”

该赠款被提交给专员，被视为可能违反了国会议员行为准则，该准则规定，新任议员必须申报在当选前一年内收到的任何可登记利益。

规则规定，来自家庭的“纯私人赠礼或利益”或商业贷款通常不需要登记。然而，规则同时指出，“赠送者的可能动机以及赠款的用途”都应被考虑在内，并补充道：“如有任何疑问，该赠款应予以登记。”

他还面临着关于乔治·科特雷尔（George Cottrell）提供实物利益的审查，后者是他的亲密朋友且是一名被定罪的诈骗犯。《星期日泰晤士报》披露，在法拉奇当选前的一年里，这些支持包括安保人员和社交媒体工作人员。

据Politico报道，改革英国党在克拉克顿竞选期间在Facebook和Instagram广告上花费了1万英镑。法拉奇是社交媒体上关注人数最多的英国政党领导人，他还通过其TikTok和X账号分享选举内容。

据估计，此次竞选花费了纳税人25万英镑，而长达90厘米的选票给滕德灵区议会（Tendring district council）带来了麻烦。由于选票尺寸较大，计票时需要比平时更大的桌子，且由于必须在台上容纳所有候选人，结果最终在克拉克顿休闲中心的地板上而非舞台上公布。

接第一页

伯纳姆“绕过”村民

北约克郡对他们应对这些地点可能引发的抗议活动的能力表示担忧。

诺福克郡和萨福克郡的警察局长保罗·桑福德（Paul Sanford）和瑞秋·基顿（Rachel Kearton）已致信内政部和当地国会议员，警告称他们可能无法应对由伯纳姆皇家空军基地（RAF Burnham）选址引发的骚乱。

他们尤其感到担忧，因为他们的警力将该地点用作特种作战训练中心，而现在被告知必须在几周内搬离。

他们表示：“我们越来越担心伯纳姆皇家空军基地拟议的未来用途可能导致社区紧张局势加剧和动荡……如果在没有足够时间确定并建立替代设施的情况下，我们将无法维持应对两个郡内新兴紧张局势和公共秩序挑战所需的特种能力，这将带来明显的风险。”

亚历克·谢尔布鲁克爵士（Sir Alec Shelbrooke）是靠近林顿-昂-乌兹皇家空军基地（RAF Linton-on-Ouse）的韦瑟比和伊辛沃尔德（Wetherby & Easingwold）选区的保守党议员，他表示北约克郡警察局长已告知他，他们没有资源来处理潜在的每周抗议活动。他说：“像这样将成年人口增加两倍是不恰当的；这对这里居住的人们不公平。”

约克中心选区的工党议员瑞秋·马凯尔（Rachael Markell）表示：“让社区参与到这一过程中并真正被倾听是非常重要的。”

西南诺福克选区的工党议员特里·杰尼（Terry Jerny）表示：“风险在于，我们正确地将重点放在权力下放和赋予当地社区权力上，而这个过程似乎与此相反。我们的方法中存在矛盾。”

比斯特和伍德斯托克（Bicester & Woodstock）选区的自由民主党议员卡勒姆·米勒（Calum Miller）表示：“这是对民主的冒犯。政府在故意绕过当地代表和民众的意见。”

政府表示：“所有皇室开发规划申请都需要与地方当局沟通。我们正在确保公众能够提交他们的意见。” Politico，第 8-9 页

伯纳姆与英格兰中产阶级的对抗仅仅是个开始，帕特里克·马奎尔（Patrick Maguire），第 23 页

尼克·蒂莫西评论

这话听起来似乎很有争议，但它是事实，所以我必须说出来。大量穿越英吉利海峡并被安置在农村地区小村庄附近的男性是非法移民。他们在未经许可的情况下潜入我国，应当被遣返，而不是被安置在像萨福克郡那样安静祥和的村庄附近。

这不是观点或修辞的问题。《1971年移民法》第24条规定，非英国公民在明知没有许可的情况下进入该国属于刑事犯罪。然而，国家已经放弃了执行法律。

这些非法移民来自法国——一个安全的国家——但他们的旅程始于世界上某些最暴力、最厌女的地方。政府拒绝公布按国籍和移民身份分类的犯罪定期数据，但几乎每隔几天就会出现由申请庇护的非法移民实施的强奸和暴力犯罪新案例。

部长们声称他们正在取得胜利，因为他们正在减少庇护案件的积压，并关闭少数几个用于安置这些非法移民的“庇护酒店”。但他们所做的不过是让申请者快速通过系统。

他们通过将移民转移到住宅区的多户共用住宅（HMO）来清空酒店，而现在，又将前军事基地转变为非法移民的新城镇。

位于萨福克郡的伯纳姆皇家空军基地（RAF Burnham）就在我的选区之外。该基地被警方用作训练基地。政府突然宣布，计划在那里安置多达1,250名男性非法移民。（相邻的伯纳姆村人口为588人。）那里安置的男性人数将是当地女性人数的四倍多。

政府没有通过当地的规划系统，而是利用紧急的王室开发程序，剥夺了当地民众发表意见的机会。

警方表示，离开他们的基地将损害其行动效能，并增加其工作量。这部分涉及抗议活动（在诺福克郡边界的塞特福德，抗议活动已演变为暴力冲突），但也涉及与非法移民涌入相关的犯罪率激增——且通常是严重罪行。

在萨福克郡，我已经收到选民的联系，他们担心安置在当地的非法移民的行为，这些人曾在公共场所对儿童做出不恰当的行为。

警方将他们驱离，但他们很少理解我们这里所期望的行为标准。公共当局的优先事项往往是限制向公众提供的信息，并抵制使用诸如“非法移民”之类的准确术语，而不是告诉当地人真相。

首相说他安置非法移民的方法是为了“公平”，并要求全国各地区“发挥作用”。但允许潜入我国的男性留在这里，免费提供住房，并让他们使用当地人经常无法获得的服务，这毫无“公平”可言。国家的努力应该是彻底停止非法移民——而不是将我们不想要的人安置在我们这样安静祥和的社区中。

尼克·蒂莫西（Nick Timothy）是西萨福克郡的保守党国会议员，兼任影子司法大臣

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THE TIMES / Friday August 14 2026

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News

阳光、大海与尖叫：野猪在法国里维埃拉海滩肆虐

亚当·塞奇（Adam Sage）报道：一个日益增长且胆大妄为的群体正占据沙滩，觊觎度假者的零食

法国里维埃拉的度假者们不得不与一种新型的“海滩拾荒者”共用沙滩：寻找食物的野猪。

今年夏天，蔚蓝海岸（Côte d'Azur）出现野猪的频率日益增加，这是欧洲野猪数量呈指数级增长的最新迹象。当地人表示，这些动物发现人类在前往海滩时往往携带大量零食，而这些零食在无人看管时就成了美味的猎物。

有时，海滩游客会被说服自愿交出食物。尽管喂食野猪属于违法行为，但据官员称，人们依然这样做。海边的垃圾桶也是野猪营养的另一个丰富来源。

沿海的露营地、餐厅和度假住宅均表示，他们正难以应对这些动物的入侵，而这些野猪在寻找食物时，尤其擅长撞翻带轮垃圾桶。

目前尚未有事故报告，专家表示这些动物通常没有攻击性。然而，已知它们在受伤或担心幼崽时会发起冲锋。

一名在里维埃拉海滩晒太阳的法国游客告诉 TFI 电视台（该海滩野猪出没频繁）：“我们很小心，时刻保持警惕。”另一人表示，他习惯于在地区森林中遇到野猪，但补充道：“在海滩上非常罕见。”

5月，一只重 45kg（7 stone）的野猪在伊耶尔（Hyères）的阿尔马萨雷（Almasarre）海滩引起骚动，它从海中游上岸，随后在沙滩上横冲直撞，显然处于恐慌状态并试图寻找出路。据专家称，野猪能够游泳数公里，并且近年来已在佩尔克雷耶（Perquereilles）、波尔克罗斯（Port-Cros）和列万（Levant）等地中海岛屿定居。它们也能游回大陆。

与欧洲大陆大部分地区一样，

一只野猪及其幼崽出现在西班牙边境附近的塞尔贝雷（Cerbère）海滩。当局正努力控制整个欧洲的野猪数量。

蔚蓝海岸似乎也无力阻止野猪数量的增加。例如，弗雷茹斯（Fréjus）度假胜地今年引入了一项最高 €450 的罚款，针对任何被抓到喂食野猪的人，此前有投诉称市政公园和私人花园的花坛都被破坏殆尽。

农民们讲述的苦难规模要大得多。据法国猎人联合会称，野猪每年给全国农作物造成的损失估计达 €9000 万。该联合会表示，他们正尽最大努力控制数量，在 2024-25 狩猎季期间剔除了 881,372 头野猪，这一数字是 20 年前的两倍，是 1970 年代的 20 倍。但据官员称，野猪的繁殖速度快于联合会成员的射杀速度。

科学家表示，野猪增加的原因之一是气候变化，因为冬季气温升高意味着更多幼猪能存活到春天。但批评者还将原因归咎于近几十年来引入的猎物管理实践，旨在确保猎人有充足的野猪供应。这些实践包括在森林中投放食物，以及避免剔除幼猪和雌猪。该联合会的反对者称，这一政策导致种群数量增长失控。

在欧洲其他地方，情况也类似。野猪在西班牙的太阳海岸（Costa del Sol）已成为常见景象，在意大利首都罗马也是如此，2024 年那里部署了 177 名士兵来射杀这些动物。

2020, 一名德国天体主义者在柏林的一座湖边被拍到在追逐一只抢走他装有笔记本电脑包的野猪。当他拍手并用棍子敲击地面时，野猪丢下了包，他找回了自己的笔记本电脑。

神秘学者谴责德鲁伊教徒为穿着廉价长袍的博关注者

大卫·巴内特 (David Barnett)

在充满神话色彩的安格尔西岛（Anglesey），一场争端正在酝酿。

德鲁伊教徒经常使用新石器时代的环形阵和布林·塞利·杜（Bryn Celli Ddu）墓冢等古代遗迹。而安格尔西岛上一家神秘学商店（在威尔士语中称为 Yoys Mon）的所有者谴责他们不尊重这些遗址，并指控他们在干旱条件下乱扔垃圾并点燃危险的火堆。

康纳·法里蒙德（Connor Farrimond）经营着 Malphas & Co 在线巫术商店，并自称为一名神秘学者。他抨击现代德鲁伊团体在演绎一场“角色扮演幻想”，并声称“他们的行为无异于蓄意破坏，是对关注度的误导性追求”。

安格尔西岛的德鲁伊教徒则不这么认为。他们在布林·塞利·杜庆祝夏至和冬至等重要的异教日期，并表示法里蒙德的言论等同于宗教偏见。

安格尔西德鲁伊教团（Anglesey Druid Order）的克里斯托弗·休斯（Kristoffer Hughes）表示，法里蒙德的攻击是“在没有与当代德鲁伊社区或那些致力于保护威尔士精神和文化传统的人进行任何有意义的交流的情况下形成的。在没有对话的情况下将整个宗教社区漫画化并非学术研究，而是偏见”。

29 岁的法里蒙德原籍纽卡斯尔，于 2016 年搬到北威尔士，并在四年前开设了服务于巫术社区的 Malphas & Co。他本月在 Facebook 上写道：“所谓的现代德鲁伊教徒已成为那些对古代历史、实用魔法甚至考古学感兴趣的更广泛群体中的一种祸根。”

“令人惊讶的是，这么多个体经常穿着廉价的长袍，拿着伪装成仪式工具的玩具，四处游行，声称要与英国的古代过去重新建立联系。然而，现实与真实的历史相去甚远。他们倾向于误解并浪漫化古代习俗，将其改编成一种角色扮演幻想，

布林·塞利·杜墓室的德鲁伊教徒

这与我们所知的真正的史前实践几乎没有任何相似之处。”

法里蒙德告诉《泰晤士报》，他们“攀爬在结构上并不安全的重建墓冢上”，并且尽管近期出现了热浪，他们依然乱扔垃圾并点火。

英国有几个德鲁伊组织，其中最大的两个——吟游诗人、欧法特与德鲁伊教团（Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids）以及英国德鲁伊教团（British Druidry Order）——拥有超过 20,000 名成员。

安格尔西德鲁伊教团由休斯于 1999 年建立，旨在“促进对安格尔西岛智慧及其历史意义的学习、奉献和庆祝”。

休斯对法里蒙德关于蓄意破坏的指控提出质疑，称：“这是一个严重的指控。如果个人破坏了受保护的遗址，绝对应该受到质疑……但暗示这种行为代表了整个现代德鲁伊教，是没有根据的。”

他表示，他的组织与威尔士历史环境服务机构 Cadw 以及英国遗产委员会（English Heritage）进行了协商，以正确使用古代遗址。

法里蒙德表示，他的批评并非孤立的声音：“朋友、家人、顾客，甚至是我在路边偶遇的人都持有这种观点。”

休斯表示他对讨论持开放态度，但为德鲁伊教辩护。他说：“我们完全愿意对话；然而，面对偏见，我们没有义务保持沉默。”

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4

新闻 英国热浪

“一阵剧震，随后车厢跳了起来”

乘客讲述他们如何被甩出座位，劳伦斯·斯莱特（Laurence Sleator）、艾玛·约曼斯（Emma Yeomans）和马里奥·莱德威斯（Mario Ledwith）报道

内森·科尔（Nathan Cole）乘坐火车时经常感到紧张。每当在伦敦地铁中央线（Central Line）上，车厢例行地颤抖和摇晃时，他就会感到一种紧张感。

昨天下午2:24，当他乘坐从伦敦维多利亚站（London Victoria）开往伊斯特本（Eastbourne）的南方铁路（Southern Rail）班次，且车身开始摇晃时，他感到了同样的恐惧。这位30岁的男子很快发现自己被甩向一侧，盯着一扇布满污垢的窗户。

在他身边，一名女性被从座位上弹了起来，在科尔看来，她就像是“从天而降”，几乎落在他的身上。

科尔是这趟“拥挤”班次上的150名乘客之一。在英国一年中最热的一天发生的脱轨事故后，这些乘客不仅受到了惊吓，而且身上带血。专家表示，事故原因可能是由于酷暑。

当火车产生一种加速感，随后开始左右摇摆时，乘客们首先意识到情况不对。

罗布·布拉德利（Rob Bradley）与他六岁的女儿梅贝尔（Mabel）同行，他目睹了自己的车厢在司机拉动紧急制动、使这列八节车厢的火车剧烈停止时，“垂直向上”跳了起来。

布拉德利看着他们的包，以及他的笔记本电脑和AirPods，被突然的剧震甩向前方。

下午3:44，火车在卢伊斯（Lewes）火车站正北方向“打滑”停止后，布拉德利转身看向车厢后方，意识到他们距离可能的伤害有多近。“车门开着，烟雾和灰尘涌入车厢，”他说。

虽然他所在的四号车厢保持直立，但五号车厢则是滑下铁路沿线堤岸的三节后车厢之一。所有这些车厢现在都侧翻了。

比他运气差的人之一就是科尔，他当时就在一节翻覆的车厢里。“我看着窗户。我看到了泥土，”他说。“我在想，希望这扇窗户不要破碎，因为那样会直接撞在我的脸上。”

他补充道：“然后我看到那个女人，就在我面前，直接从天而降。接着是另一位老妇人，她抓着椅子上的扶手，当火车停止时，我不得不把她扶起来。”

科尔没有受重伤，但被送往医院检查。他说：“我还活着，但我当时在最末端，承受了最剧烈的冲击。”

翻覆车厢里的人陷入了恐慌，他们对发生了什么几乎一无所知。在五号车厢的香农·琼斯（Shannon Jones）说，乘客们认为“我们可能撞到了某人”。来自卢伊斯、现年31岁的查理·霍布登（Charlie Hobden）表示，火车的突然停止“感觉像一条滑行的蛇”，他在告诉BBC时说：“我们直接翻了过去，在地面上拖行。”

在翻覆的车厢内部，随着昏迷的乘客逐渐清醒，有些人摸了摸头部，发现血液正顺着流下并滴在衣服上。其他人则受到了感觉像被重击肋骨般的冲击。

车上的人表示，火车感觉“相当拥挤”，其中有相当数量的老年乘客和享受学校假期的儿童。

考虑到乘客的构成和脱轨的严重程度，伤势没有进一步恶化是幸运的。英国运输警察局（British Transport Police）表示，两人受重伤。昨晚有20人住院。

这可能得益于火车的速度，专家表示速度可能低于40英里 / 小时。事故发生在库克斯布里奇（Cooksbridge）和卢伊斯（Lewes）之间，这段路程仅需五分钟，这意味着火车不会获得太高的速度。

事故发生后，一些在翻覆车厢中的人设法爬了出来，站在车厢侧面俯视现场。

脱轨的可能原因就摆在他们面前。现场图像显示，铁轨处于严重的扭曲状态。尽管事故原因尚未确定，但众所周知，高温会增加铁轨扭曲的风险。据信，卢伊斯昨天的最高气温约为 33℃。

火车的司机日志显示，此次事故似乎是由“轨道缺陷”引起的。

其他专家则表示，脱轨可能是由山体滑坡引起的。

卢伊斯议员詹姆斯·麦克利里（James MacCleary）表示，铁路公司此前已报告，极度干燥的天气正影响着路堤和轨道状况，且该区域已实施限速措施。

交通大臣海蒂·亚历山大（Heidi Alexander）表示，她对脱轨报告感到“深感忧虑”。

黑斯廷斯与赖（Hastings & Rye）议员海伦娜·多利莫尔（Helena Dollimore）形容此次事故“极其令人心碎”，并补充道：“我认为我们所有人都在依赖当地的火车，并理所当然地认为它们运行安全。”

此次脱轨导致该事件被宣布为重大事故，一项大规模救援行动随即展开。约 14 辆救护车、10 辆消防车以及一批警车和技术救援车辆从东萨塞克斯和西萨塞克斯各地被派往该区域。

布拉德利表示，当火车工作人员最初告知乘客刚刚发生了什么时，其“通知语气相对轻松，称服务将出现‘延误’”。

影响还波及到了其他地方，南方铁路（Southern Rail）关闭了所有经过该车站的线路，宣布在晚上 10 点之前将出现重大干扰，并警告盖特威克机场将受到连锁影响。

在周围警笛长鸣、直升机在头顶飞行的环境下，乘客在车内被留置了约 90 分钟，以便警方检查线路是否已断电。到下午 6 点，所有人都已成功从火车中被救出。在救援人员忍受最新一波热浪酷暑工作时，当地居民向警戒线送来了装在保温瓶里的茶和冷饮。

拉娜·路德维希（Lana Ludwig）是那些在事故中被“撞得相当惨”的人之一，她当时被顶在另一名乘客身上。

这位 56 岁的美国人告诉天空新闻（Sky News）：“在这些时刻，每个人都会团结在一起。”她描述了在应急服务部门到达之前，乘客们是如何互相照看对方的。由查理·帕克（Charlie Parker）提供额外报道

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5

新闻

在空中且充满烟雾'

DAVID SEIDIE MITCHELL / 《泰晤士报》

昨日下午，南方铁路（Southern）的一列火车在卢伊斯（Lewes）正北方脱轨，导致数节车厢倾覆，多名乘客被困。车上有约 150 人，其中两人受重伤。昨晚有 20 人在医院接受治疗。事故发生后的现场一片混乱（见左图）。部分乘客能够自行离开现场。

调查可能聚焦于夏季极端高温

分析

虽然卷入东萨塞克斯（East Sussex）火车脱轨事故的乘客所受的冲击需要很长时间才能消退，但业界已经将注意力转向了事故原因（Laurence Sleator 撰文）。

脱轨的 14 24 南方铁路（Southern Rail）班次是从伦敦维多利亚站（London Victoria）开往伊斯特本（Eastbourne）的八节车厢慢车。据信，该车在库克斯布里奇（Cooksbridge）与卢伊斯（Lewes）之间行驶一小时多后脱轨。

幸运的是，由于两站之间的行驶时间仅为五分钟，该列火车当时可能并未高速行驶。业内人士估计，车速不太可能达到 40mph，如果速度更快，事故可能会更加严重。

在这种时刻，铁路事故调查局（RAIB）的团队会到场收集证据，试图确定发生了什么。

一份概述细节的初步报告通常会在几天或几周内发布，随后在几个月后进行更彻底的检查。即使是为了排除某些因素，RAIB 也会对所有因素进行审查。

专家的理论已经聚焦在酷热的夏季天气上。这是因为英国的钢轨在特别温暖的天气下较为脆弱，温度可比空气温度高出 20 度。

在今天卢伊斯气温超过 30℃ 且为全国年度最热的一天的情况下，这意味着轨道温度可能超过 50℃。

随着钢材吸收热量而膨胀，使其容易发生弯曲（buckling），尽管通常会实施列车限速以降低脱轨风险。

专家表示，现场照片表明这可能是脱轨的原因。由于后三节车厢脱轨，他们认为在火车前端通过后可能发生了轨道弯曲。

在 RAIB 的任何调查中，这一点都将变得清晰，因为前向火车摄像头以及司机本人在接近时都能清晰地看到轨道。

缺乏降雨也可能是一个因素。在英格兰有记录以来最温暖的春天和炎热的夏天之后，长段铁路下方的地面可能已经干涸并收缩。这会导致轨道在某些地方下沉并变得不平整。

前卢伊斯议员、前交通部长诺曼·贝克（Norman Baker）告诉《泰晤士报》广播电台（Times Radio）：“可能的推测是……山体滑坡，或者显然另一个可能的解释是由于高温导致轨道弯曲。”

自由民主党卢伊斯议员詹姆斯·麦克利里（James MacCleary）表示，他上周与南方铁路的母公司 GTR 举行了会议，讨论轨道情况以及“最近几个月行驶起来有点颠簸的事实”。

最近一次严重的火车脱轨事故发生在今年 6 月，当时 60 岁的肖恩·伯顿（Shaun Burton）驾驶的东米德兰兹铁路（EMR）科比（Corby）至伦敦圣潘克拉斯（London St Pancras）班次撞上了一列停在前方、开往伦敦的 EMR 诺丁汉班次的车尾，导致其丧生。

一份初步报告发现，伯顿在以 76mph 的速度行驶时踩了刹车，在与另一列火车相撞前约九秒，导致两列火车均脱轨。

脱轨前轨道问题引发关注

库克斯布里奇（Cooksbridge）和卢伊斯（Lewes）。专家表示，由于行驶距离短，列车行驶速度不太可能超过40英里 / 小时。

事故现场的照片显示，乘客站在翻覆的车厢顶部，一些成功逃出的人正在帮助他人。

30, 岁的内森·科尔（Nathan Cole）是翻覆车厢中的一名乘客，他表示列车在脱轨前发生了剧烈摇晃和偏离。他补充道：“我们听到了悬挂系统，某种程度上，它达到了最大强度。”

当车厢翻覆时，他身旁的窗户被泥土填满。他说：“我在想，希望这扇窗户不要破碎，因为如果窗户碎了，泥土会直接拍在我的脸上。然后我看到正对着我的那个女人，就像从天而降一样。”

科尔没有受重伤，但被送往医院检查。

另一位七十多岁的乘客苏珊（Susan）表示：“我很高兴自己还活着。”

她说他们是通过乘务员之门上的梯子，从“现在变成了车顶的地方”逃出来的；随后她在“田野和泛滥平原上”接受了分诊。

麦克利里（MacCleary）表示：“就在上周，我与南方铁路（Southern Rail）的母公司[Greater Thameslink Railway]开了一个会，我们确实讨论了轨道问题，以及近几个月来行驶颠簸增加的事实，这可能是由于我们近期经历的极端高温天气所致。”

铁路事故调查局（Rail Accident Investigation Branch）正在进行调查，预计很快将发布中期报告。

火灾吞噬房屋，第6页

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6

新闻 英国热浪

“末日般”的大火吞噬房屋

DAN WEAK

埃莉诺·海沃德（Eleanor Hayward）健康编辑

昨日，在记录到今年最高气温后，火焰摧毁了房屋，野火在英国各地肆虐，导致消防员和一名儿童必须入院治疗。

西米德兰兹受灾严重，斯图尔布里奇（Stourbridge）的一场草地火灾导致六处房产起火，斯托克-昂-特伦特（Stoke-on-Trent）有四栋房屋被烧毁。

在全国其他地区，消防员正在全力扑救的火灾已持续近一周。

英国气象局昨日宣布，这是今年迄今为止最热的一天，伦敦西部的 Kew Gardens 记录到临时温度 38.1℃，超过了 6 月 28 日 38℃ 的此前最高纪录。

下午 1.30pm 前，消防员接到报案前往斯图尔布里奇高尔夫俱乐部附近的一场大规模草地火灾，这场覆盖 40 英亩的大火蔓延至道路及六栋房屋。

根据西米德兰兹消防救援服务的说法，三名消防员和一名儿童被送往医院。

另有六名公众因吸入烟雾接受治疗。

在达德利区议会代表沃拉斯顿和斯图尔布里奇镇的安德鲁·特罗曼斯（Andrew Tromans）将斯图尔布里奇的火灾描述为“末日般”的。

在西米德兰兹的其他地区，斯托克-昂-特伦特的桑迪福德（Sandyford）有四栋房屋被火灾摧毁；在伯明翰卡斯尔韦尔（Castle Vale）的另一场火灾中，一名女性受重伤，多栋房屋受损严重，其中一栋建筑的屋顶坍塌。

在沃里克郡，消防救援服务将斯特拉特福-upon-Avon 的索尔福德普里奥斯（Salford Priors）的一场“大火”宣布为重大事件，但随后撤销了该状态。

附近的伍斯特郡珀肖尔（Pershore）也发生了火灾，一名人员因吸入烟雾接受治疗，30 栋房屋被疏散。

赫里福德和伍斯特消防救援服务表示，火灾导致约 200 处房产断电。

西米德兰兹市长理查德·帕克（Richard Parker）表示：“我们地区发生了多起火灾，情况极其令人担忧且发展迅速。”

“我非常担心那些被要求撤离家园的家庭，以及那些行程被延迟或取消的人——但安全必须放在首位。”

他补充道：“我们的应急服务部门在极端环境下表现出色，我们将继续给予他们全力支持。”

由于野火产生的烟雾，伯明翰附近的 M6 公路北行线在 5 号和 6 号出口之间也暂时关闭。

在剑桥郡彼得伯勒以南，一场吞噬了霍姆芬（Holme Fen）自然保护区 660 英亩土地一半面积的野火已进入第六天。

约 130 名消防员继续扑救汉普郡新森林（New Forest）的另一场野火，该火灾始于周日，目前影响面积约相当于 230 个足球场。起火原因是 A31 公路上一辆面包车起火，随着火势蔓延，23 名司机被迫弃车。

由于消防员难以应对该郡内巨大的需求，威尔特郡也宣布进入重大事件状态。

来自该地区各地的救援队伍昨日在西伯里白马（Westbury White Horse）附近扑救一场重大火灾，房屋被疏散

在南威尔士，消防员在扑救该地区的七场大火时，部分人员被疏散。

消防旅工会（Fire Brigades Union）总书记史蒂夫·赖特（Steve Wright）表示：“看到斯图尔布里奇、南威尔士以及英国其他地方野火肆虐，我们深感担忧。”

“消防员们正勇敢地扑灭每一场大火，努力确保公众和所有社区的安全。我们的成员还在协助其他应急服务部门处理卢伊斯的火车脱轨事故。提高消防和

一场野火在西米德兰兹城镇斯图尔布里奇引起房屋起火，如图所示，由于马场起火，马匹不得不被引导至安全地带。该地区还发生了更多野火

救援服务，招募 5,000 名更多消防员，并提供充足的个人防护装备（PPE），以便我们的成员能以最安全的方式处理这些事件。”

在热浪期间，自 6 月以来，近一半的 NHS 信托机构记录到病房温度超过 33℃。

这些由自由民主党根据《信息自由法》获取的数据显示，6 月在曼彻斯特的 Northern Care Alliance Trust 记录到的最高温度为 41.8℃。

很少有医院配备空调或充足的通风设施。

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7

新闻

由 JIMMY PIPELI 为《泰晤士报》拍摄

酒客，102, 岁，在“噪音争执中被推”后去世

Herbie Russell

一名102岁的男子在当地酒吧请求调低音乐音量后，涉嫌被推搡，随后去世。

格温特郡警方表示，菲利普·奥默罗德（Philip Ormerod）涉嫌于8月 1. 晚上 10. 25分左右，在南威尔士克姆布兰（Cwmbran）的 Crow's Nest 酒吧遭到袭击。

一名来自拉内利（Llanelli）的56岁男子因涉嫌违反第20条袭击罪被逮捕，随后在调查期间被释放。

在收到袭击报告后，警方与威尔士救护服务中心一同赶赴该酒吧。警方最初表示，该男子在医院处于危急状态。随后，警方确认奥默罗德已经去世。

警方呼吁任何在事发当晚（周六）晚上10点至11点之间在该酒吧的人员提供线索。

奥默罗德的儿子罗伯特（Robert）表示，他希望父亲能获得公正。他形容父亲是一个受欢迎的人物，年轻人在他光顾酒吧时会请他喝啤酒。

据了解，奥默罗德当时在 Crow's Nest 酒吧喝酒，随后走上舞台投诉音乐音量过大。

“这是最令人难受的部分，”罗伯特·奥默罗德说，“他不可能永远活下去，但这显然不是一种体面的方式，他承受了痛苦。”

“当然，我们希望看到公正。如果他能在睡梦中安静地离世就太好了。他在医院里受苦了一个多星期。”

奥默罗德是一位曾祖父，退休前从事设计工作。

在40年前妻子去世后，他继续住在克姆布兰的郊区拉尼拉丰（Llanyrafon），他的两个儿子经常来看望他。

罗伯特说：“我以前经常去看他，到了后期，我和我哥哥尽可能地帮他打扫房屋并购买食物，因为他的视力下降了。”

他说，他的父亲在“两年前”被诊断出患有认知障碍症，“他可能在那之前就患病了”。他的父亲每周会去酒吧喝两三次啤酒，成了那里的一张熟面孔。“我想他成了酒吧里的一个名人，”他说。

酒客告诉《威尔士新闻》（Wales News），当来自拉内利的 SuperHans 乐队演出时，奥默罗德走上了舞台。一名目击者说：“根据我当时从警方和工作人员那里了解到的情况，这位102岁的老人独立生活且是酒吧的常客，他走上了有三级台阶的舞台，请求调低音乐音量。”

当地人形容这位百岁老人“可爱”但“糊涂”。附近拉尼拉丰社交俱乐部的经理凯西·史密斯（Casey Smith）确认，奥默罗德也是他场馆的常客。

在 Crow's Nest 的事件发生后，该乐队删除了其 Facebook 页面。在页面消失前，其中一名成员发布了一份声明称：“出于个人原因，我将退出[乐队]。直到最近，这八年非常美好，我遇到了很棒的人并参加了一些精彩的演出。谢谢大家。”

格温特郡警方的首席督察谢莉·康利（Shelley Comley）表示，他想提醒人们，这次调查的“核心是一个家庭”，他们正在“面对失去挚爱的痛苦”。

酒吧的一位发言人表示：“我们的思念和最深切的哀悼与他的家人、朋友以及所有受这次悲剧影响的人在一起。”

菲利普·奥默罗德在 Crow's Nest 酒吧的一场演出期间从舞台上跌落

下方左侧的伊万·斯泰恩斯（Ivan Staines，99, 岁）、保罗·特里（Paul Terry，101, 岁）和阿尔弗雷德·库利（Alfred Cooley，100, 岁），乘坐双座驾驶的喷火战斗机飞行，《泰晤士报》摄影师理查德·波尔（Richard Pohle）在旁边的“追击机”中随行。库利、特里和斯泰恩斯在起飞前与斯泰恩斯的曾孙在一起

我是如何拍到退伍军人驾驶喷火战斗机的梦幻照片的

这是一个无法拒绝的邀请（理查德·波尔写道）。退伍军人出租车慈善机构（Taxi Charity for Military Veterans）邀请我为三位参加过第二次世界大战的退伍军人拍摄照片，他们将分别乘坐三架双座喷火战斗机飞向蓝天。

我知道这将能拍出极佳的照片，但我能随行飞行吗？这是我极力想要实现的，因为我热爱古董飞机。这一天属于三位退伍军人：101岁的保罗·特里（Paul Terry）、99岁的伊万·斯坦斯（Ivan Staines）和100岁的阿尔弗雷德·库利（Alfred Cooley）。我很早就抵达了伦敦南部的比金希尔（Biggin Hill）机场，但由于“追击机”只有四个位置，我尽量克制自己对随行飞行的期待。

退伍军人们与他们的家人、其他退伍军人以及慈善机构成员一同抵达。斯坦斯带着他兴奋的五岁曾孙，孩子坐在离真机仅几英尺远的地方，玩着一个小喷火战斗机玩具。

在得知我可以加入追击机后，我兴奋得无法坐稳。能与喷火战斗机并肩飞行是飞机爱好者的梦想。

退伍军人们听取了简报并穿上飞行服，在英国今夏第五次热浪的酷暑中，他们被护送到等待中的喷火战斗机旁。

与此同时，我们四个人挤进了狭小的派珀萨拉托加（Piper Saratoga）追击机。很快我们起飞了，努力寻找喷火战斗机的身影。

飞行中的喷火战斗机绝对是一道绝美的风景，但在湍流中，很难在取景器中构图，尤其是考虑到我为了让螺旋桨呈现运动感，特意使用了1 / 160秒的较慢快门速度拍摄。

很快情况变得混乱起来。一名电视摄像师靠在我的肩膀上，另外两名摄影师也挤在一起，试图构图。这种情况被描述为“在小型飞机里玩人体叠叠乐”。

由于起飞较晚，我们只有两分钟时间能拍到三架飞机编队飞行的画面。我知道我拍到了一张构图精美的照片，但它清晰吗？在不断的推搡和湍流之中，在着陆之前很难确定。

最重要的是，三位退伍军人带着笑容降落。这对他们来说是人生一次的体验，对这位摄影师而言亦然。

主教被指在卢尔德朝圣后强奸女孩

David Brown 首席新闻记者

法庭获悉，一名主教在职业生涯早期，在两人前往卢尔德朝圣后强奸了一名女孩。

据指控，北安普顿天主教主教大卫·奥克利（The Right Rev David Oakley）在 2000 年代初期袭击了这名不满 16 岁的女孩。

检方代表莎拉·马登（Sarah Madden）昨日在威斯敏斯特治安法院表示：“奥克利和该女孩在前往卢尔德朝圣后开始约会。她回忆起至少有两次发生了性关系。”

70 岁的奥克利通过视频链接在律师事务所出庭，身穿一件白色开领衬衫。他未进行答辩。

英格兰和威尔士首席治安法官保罗·戈德斯普林（Paul Goldspring）命令该主教于 9 月 10 日在中央刑事法院（Old Bailey）出庭。

在涉嫌犯罪期间，奥克利是一名教区神父。去年 9 月，在向斯塔福德郡警方提出指控后，他被逮捕。

英格兰的大多数天主教教区都会组织前往卢尔德圣母圣地的朝圣活动。

这一传统始于 1858 年，当时

14 岁的贝尔纳黛特·苏比鲁（Bernadette Soubirous）报告称在法国的马萨比耶洞窟看到了圣母玛利亚的幻象。朝圣者相信洞窟的水具有疗愈功效，可以治愈疾病和残疾。

奥克利于 1980 年被授予神职，并在伯明翰总教区内的多个教区任职。他于 2020 年被任命为北安普顿主教，管辖北安普顿郡、贝德福德郡和白金汉郡。

教皇已任命威斯敏斯特总主教理查德·莫斯（The Most Rev Richard Moth）为北安普顿教区的宗徒管理人员。

大卫·奥克利在涉嫌犯罪期间是一名教区神父

该教区在奥克利 6 月被起诉时的一份声明中表示：“我们理解这对所有相关人员来说都将是非常痛苦的，但无法对正在进行的法律程序发表进一步评论。”

英格兰和威尔士天主教主教团在

起诉后表示：“我们深切意识到，这一指控的报道可能会唤起许多人痛苦的回忆，并再次向那些在英格兰和威尔士天主教会中遭受虐待的人们表达毫无保留的歉意。”

“英格兰和威尔士的天主教会对教会内部及更广泛社会中的虐待行为维持零容忍政策，我们正与法定机构全力合作。我们目前的重点是提供牧灵支持，并确保我们作为教会能够安全且透明地继续执行使命。”

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8

新闻 政治

水务公司将客户视为“空白支票”

亚当·沃恩 (Adam Vaughan) 环境编辑 罗伯特·利 (Robert Lea) 工业编辑 史蒂文·苏特尔福德 (Steven Sutelford) 政治编辑

安迪·伯纳姆指责水务公司将客户视为“空白支票”，并对监管机构批准的新一轮账单上涨表示强烈不满。

这位首相表示，在 Ofwat 周四批准五家水务公司在 2030. 前共同额外支出 34 亿英镑 billion 后，他感到“愤怒”。这笔投资是在该行业现有的 1040 亿英镑 billion 计划之上的，该计划旨在解决污水溢出问题，建设新水库及其他基础设施。

此次初步批准对塞文特伦特水务（Severn Trent Water）、泰晤士水务（Thames Water）、威塞克斯水务（Wessex ）和南东水务（South East ）的客户账单影响不大。然而，南方水务（Southern ）的 400 万名客户将承受此次决定的沉重打击，他们此前已面临到 2030, 涨幅达 53 per cent 的局面，这是该行业最剧烈的涨幅。

该公司的账单是全国最昂贵的，本财年平均为 £759。由于 Ofwat 的批准，明年账单将上涨至 £800 以上。

次年的影响将略有减轻，但由于通货膨胀和此前获批的支出增加，典型账单将维持在每年 £800 以上。

Ofwat 表示，额外费用将用于资助价值 34 亿英镑 billion 的新项目，包括住房基础设施、数据中心以及提高饮用水安全性的措施。这些批准尚需经过下个月结束的咨询程序。

该监管机构的交付执行董事海伦·坎贝尔（Helen Campbell）表示：“我们将跟踪绩效，以确保公司为客户和环境提供预期的改善。如果他们未能做到，支出将被追回。”

然而，伯纳姆表示：“我理解人们为什么愤怒——我也一样。事实是，多年来客户一直被要求支付更多费用，但严重的污染事件却处于历史最高水平，管道依然在渗漏。”

“这些都不是缴费者的错，他们不应被视为他人失败的无底洞资金来源。客户不能被当作空白支票。只要水务公司试图将不必要的成本转嫁给家庭，他们就会受到质疑。”

“我们的水务行业显然在太长时间内没有为民众服务。这就是为什么本届政府将研究如何让公众获得更多控制权，并帮助将账单维持在尽可能低的水平。”

目前尚不清楚伯纳姆拥有什么样的权力来限制账单上涨。遏制污水排放和保障水供应需要巨额资金。

行业机构 UK 表示：“今年夏天的干旱恰恰证明了新投资为何如此至关重要。这笔支出将有助于保障服务，解锁新住房和商业增长，并更换老旧的基础设施。”

安迪·伯纳姆表示他希望账单保持在低位

在汉普郡和怀特岛的客户中实施了软管禁令。该公司是唯一一家寻求非必要用水禁令的企业，禁止企业洗车或填充公共游泳池，以确保干旱期间的水供应。

这是一个比软管禁令更为严厉的措施。如果部长们选择批准该申请，这将是二十年来首次获批。

自由民主党攻击了新一轮的账单上涨。该党环境发言人蒂姆·法伦（Tim Farron）表示：“由于一个无能的监管机构，缴费者再次因为使用一项基本资源而被榨干。”

“Ofwat 仅仅是失败的橡皮图章。勤劳的家庭被迫再掏出 34 亿英镑 billion，去修复一个被贪婪的高管们忽视了数十年的破损网络。”

在工党的水务部门改革计划中，Ofwat 正在被废除，取而代之的将是由四个现有监管机构组成的全新“超级监管机构”。然而，近期改革进展缓慢，政府最初希望在今年通过一项新水务法案的希望正在破灭。一份白皮书已于 1 月发布，但一份旨在阐明改革大部分关键细节的所谓“过渡计划”尚未出台。

南方水务（Southern Water）表示：“这是监管机构的一项初步决定，该决定承认，在我们致力于实现客户所希望的改进（包括国内几个最大的水务基础设施项目）的过程中，成本有所上升。

“我们知道客户可能会担心账单进一步上涨。我们已努力将未来几年的涨幅更均匀地分摊，以减轻对家庭的影响，并扩大了为最需要帮助的人群提供的支持。”

监管机构批评“无需禁用水管”的自夸行为

亚当·沃恩 (Adam Vaughan)

在干旱期间，一名监管人员告知一家水务公司，该公司声称三十多年来未曾实施禁用水管（hosepipe ban），这向客户传递了“错误的信息”。

服务于英格兰中部的塞文特伦特水务公司（Severn Trent Water）在今年夏天异常炎热干燥的天气下，面临着创纪录的用水需求。

尽管目前英格兰和威尔士有超过 2700 万 人生活在禁用水管的限制之下，但塞文特伦特是少数几家尚未实施该禁令的公司之一。

“该公司表示，很自豪如此长时间以来不需要禁用水管。其网站上写道：‘目前，塞文特伦特客户无需禁用水管。自 1995 年以来，我们所在的区域从未实施过禁令，当然，我们希望这种情况能继续下去。’”

然而，在私下会议中，该公司与环境局（EA）就如何在干旱期间最有效地沟通节水需求产生了分歧。

7 月 8 日环境局与水务公司工作人员会议的记录显示，一名监管机构官员表示：“[已删除] 注意到我们仍在沿用‘30 年来没有禁用水管’的说法，并认为这传递了错误的信息。”对此，水务公司表示，它是在陈述一个事实，“以帮助消除一些客户认为目前有禁用水管，或认为我们去年实施了禁令的困惑。”

在《泰晤士报》通过透明度法案获取的文件中，一名塞文特伦特员工表示：“这种叙事是为了鼓励客户尽其职责，以确保继续无需实施限制。”

环境局还批评了该水务公司干旱准备计划的可见度，该计划是每家水务公司为干旱期间应急措施而制定的关键文件。监管机构告诉该公司，其干旱计划在[公司]网站上“相当隐蔽”。

会议记录和电子邮件揭示了负责干旱规划的官员之间的摩擦，以及如何与公众进行最佳沟通的罕见内幕。

该水务公司同样批评了环境局。

7 月 29 日，该公司表示，对于监管机构未能对其干旱计划提供妥善反馈感到非常失望。在被要求置评时，塞文特伦特表示，自会议以来，它已收到环境局对其干旱计划的反馈。

一名环境局发言人表示：“在节约用水以确保现有水资源储备持久方面，我们每个人都扮演着重要角色。我们能节省的每一滴水，都能为我们的农民、野生动物和河流增加一滴水。”

英格兰目前有近四分之三的地区被正式宣布处于干旱状态。气象局表示，尽管在昨日 38℃ 的峰值之后预计气温将下降，但对于未来 10 天将有多少降雨缺乏信心。

库珀抨击斯塔默的领导风格

康斯坦斯·坎普夫纳 (Constance Kampfner)

卫生大臣批评了基尔·斯塔默爵士 (Sir Keir Starmer) 的领导风格，并表示工党在他的首相任期内没有“很好地履行政府职能”。

作为斯塔默最资深的部长之一，伊薇特·库珀 (Yvette Cooper) 指责这位前首相在宣布政策时将她边缘化，并在掌权几个月内就放弃了该党的“使命”。

库珀曾在斯塔默任内担任内政大臣和外交大臣，据称她是几位在斯塔默 6 月宣布辞职前私下要求其下台的高级同事之一。

在《政治货币》(Political Currency) 播客节目中，她表示，虽然工党自 2024 年上台以来在某些问题上取得了“巨大进展”，

包括 NHS 等候名单和街头警察人数，但“重心发生了相当大的转移”。

“我们在前六个月有明确的使命，然后它们就那样消失了，”她告诉前保守党财政大臣乔治·奥斯本 (George Osborne)。当时奥斯本在没有其常规共同主持人埃德·鲍尔斯 (Ed Balls)（库珀的丈夫）的情况下主持节目。

库珀在上个月安迪·伯纳姆 (Andy Burnham) 的内阁改组中被任命为卫生大臣，她还将工党运势下滑归咎于斯塔默的领导“风格”，她将其描述为“给我解决方案，而不是问题”。

“我不确定在政治中能否这样做，”库珀说。“你在安迪身上看到的是，就像是，‘等等，把问题告诉我。我想和你们谈谈问题。我想参与其中。我想让我们一起解决这些问题。’”

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9

新闻

JIM HENKELPH, BEN HENKINSON GETTY MAKER

奈杰尔·法拉奇 (Nigel Farage) 在克拉克顿 (Clacton) 补选投票后享用了一品脱啤酒。对改革英国党（Reform UK）领导人主要对手“垃圾桶脸伯爵” (Count Binface) 的支持体现在克拉克顿海滨大道上的涂鸦，以及这座埃塞克斯度假胜地路边的一个人像中。尽管主要政党抵制此次补选，但选票上包含 34 名候选人，长度达 90 厘米（约 3 英尺），是英国选举史上最长的选票。

酒店业负责人痛批工党导致成本上升

Steven Swinford

工党被指以“轻蔑”态度对待酒店业，并发出警告称，繁琐的行政手续和税收上涨将加剧青年失业。

一份针对安吉拉·雷纳（Angela Rayner）就业改革的官方影响声明发现，这些改革将对公司产生负面影响，迫使它们应对新的行政手续、额外的员工成本以及收入损失。

该声明发现，这些计划可能给企业带来每年高达 30 亿英镑 billion 的“惊人”成本。

政府分析发现，酒店业和零售业等部门已经承受了雇主国民保险费率和最低工资上涨带来的沉重打击，将受到这些变化最严重的影响。

分析称，这些计划将使雇主更难以应对需求的变化，并可能对收入和投资产生连锁反应。

英国酒店业协会（UK Hospitality）首席执行官艾伦·辛普森（Allen Simpson）昨天告诉泰晤士电台（Times Radio）：“我们在 2024, 一项预算中，保护了银行、制造业、生物技术和医疗技术的税收，却提高了酒店业和零售业的税收，而且他们在去年进一步加码。因此，我们看到经济中 45 per cent 的所有岗位流失就发生在酒店业内部。”

“所以我认为，我们在过去两年中看到的对酒店业的轻蔑——我会使用这个词——比广泛的反商业情绪更具针对性。”

“我非常希望随着首相和财政大臣的更换，我们能看到改变，当然，情况不可能更糟了。”

辛普森表示，政府终止零小时合同的计划将沉重打击年轻人。

他补充道：“政府提议采取的方式给雇主增加了负担，这将导致许多职位的提供成本过高而无法实现。”

“因此，你提供的职位会减少，这意味着更多的岗位流失，尤其是年轻人。从事这类灵活工作的将不成比例地集中在年轻人身上。”

他表示，“希望”安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）的政府能在商业税率、国民保险以及潜在的增值税（VAT）削减方面为酒店业提供更多支持，他认为这可以带来“积极的改变”。

但他补充道：“如果我们不这样做，我必须说，NEET危机（年轻人不在教育、就业或培训中）将会恶化。”

政府正在就相关提案进行磋商，这些提案可能会赋予所有签署零小时合同的工人新权利。目前，此类合同并未规定工人有权获得的最少工作小时数。

这些改革将强制公司向员工提供每周保证的工作小时数，以反映他们目前的工作量。同时，公司还将被要求向工人提供“合理的排班通知”，并为那些“在短时间内被取消、缩短或移动”的班次支付报酬。

在一项评估中，官员们计算出，如果所有签署零小时合同的员工都被纳入该计划，企业每年可能承担 29 亿英镑 billion 的成本。然而，如果部长们将新权利限制在工作时间较少的人员范围内，企业的成本可能会降至每年 11 亿英镑 billion。

评估还补充称，如果仅将工作时间最少的工人纳入其中，该政策给企业带来的最低成本将是每年 £3.5 亿。

一名政府发言人表示：“我们绝对致力于终止剥削性的零小时合同，在这种合同中，当工作时间、排班和收入不可预测时，工人承担了所有的财务风险。”

“这些改革将使每个邮政编码区域的工人获得更高的收入保障和小时数可预测性。虽然尚未做出最终决定，但我们正在进行磋商，以确保细节准确并确保其在现实世界中可行。”

通过释放被监禁女性，我们可以迅速腾出监狱空间

埃德温娜·格罗斯文诺（Edwina Grosvenor）评论

这个系统已经崩溃了。监狱人满为患，法院积压的案件长达数年，缓刑监管人员长期严重不足。性犯罪者被提前释放。受害者的家属感到被背叛。这对政府来说是一场噩梦，是国家机构中一场非常真实的危机。

对新任首相的考验在于，当头条新闻消散后，他能否确保公众的安全。这意味着将监狱留给那些构成严重风险的人，并为那些不构成风险的人投资可靠的社区替代方案。

监狱是一个毫无光彩的职责领域，且几乎没有选票上的优势。大多数政治家都对此深感恐惧，我们在十年内已经更换了十二任部长。然而，正如我们在过去一周所见，

当令人震惊的罪行与由愤怒驱动的社交媒体碰撞时，它能迅速使政府陷入瘫痪。

我们这些在系统内部工作的人实时见证了这场车祸。我的组织“One Small Thing”在数十所男女监狱中开展工作。在一个令人毛骨悚然且广为人知的案例中，一名被羁押等待审判的青少年在牢房中独自分娩，尽管她多次呼救。她用牙齿咬断了脐带。由于缺乏紧急护理，婴儿在她的怀抱中死去。当她最终受审时，被判定无罪。

太多被关押在监狱中的女性最终被判定无罪。在等待法院审理期间，许多人失去了太多，包括工作、房屋和孩子（孩子通常被送入护理系统）。一些女性因严重犯罪而被刑事法院判处监禁，这是正确的，但绝大多数女性并不属于这一类，而且她们

伤害自己的可能性远高于伤害社区中的任何人。

在“One Small Thing”，我们设计并建立了“希望街”（Hope Street）——一个可复制、可扩展的女性及其子女的监禁替代居住方案。我们将女性从昂贵的监狱中分流出来，并与当地的药物、酒精和心理健康团队密切合作，在她们执行法院指定的社区判决期间，改善其健康状况并对抗成瘾。她们的孩子能留在身边，否则孩子们将开始一段昂贵且具有创伤性的护理系统之旅。

监狱已经爆满，但法院必须有空间来安置那些犯有暴力和性犯罪的人。那么解决方案是什么？让我们从释放那些对公众风险最低的人开始腾出空间。绝大多数这类人群是女性。

让我们结束这种将数千名女性因轻微犯罪而监禁，或羁押如此多人的残忍、昂贵且退步的做法。让我们接纳社区替代方案，其成本仅为监禁判决的一小部分，且效果好得多。每个人都能从中受益，包括政府，因为政府可以迅速将这些女性监狱改造为男性监狱。例如，位于萨里郡阿什福德的 HMP Bronzefield 是英国最大的女性监狱之一，其建筑规格本就是按男性标准设计的。

本周的新闻周期将会过去，我们将恢复那种有毒的倦怠状态，但公众的信任和受害者已经受到了损害。答案就在这里。我们知道如何支持女性远离犯罪。如果我们希望拥有一个能够使人重新社会化、能减少社会伤害且公正的司法系统，那么我们需要紧急采取行动。

我们可以做到这一点。HMP Wandsworth 正在通过受斯堪的纳维亚监狱启发的“北欧翼”（Scandi wings）帮助男性实现自我转变。最近的一篇报道赞扬了 HMP Birmingham 中一个花园所产生的影响。The Clink 连锁餐厅则培训囚犯从事餐饮业，并帮助他们在释放后就业。

我们的新任首相承诺要展现勇气和激进精神。司法始终是最终的考验。你想勇敢吗？那就听取专家的意见。关注关于监狱、康复和降低犯罪率的数据。我曾合作过的来自两个政党的司法部长们在解决方案上有着惊人的共识，他们只是在任时间不够长，无法推动他们全部认同的变革。

我持乐观态度，因为我们的司法部门聚集了大量了解有效方案的杰出人才。我们现在需要的是一个足够勇敢的政府，能够将有效的方案规模化。最重要的是，一个高效的司法系统将让我们所有人更加安全。

埃德温娜·格罗斯文诺夫人（Lady Edwina Grosvenor）是一位犯罪学家，也是监狱改革组织 One Small Thing 的创始人。

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新闻

研究就如何保持健康提供友好建议

Kaya Burgess 科学记者

弗朗西斯·培根曾写道：“友谊的主要果实，在于能够轻松地宣泄心中满溢的情感。”一项科学研究现在证明他是正确的。

研究发现，对生活中友谊质量感到满意，与心理和生理健康感的提升之间存在强烈的联系。研究表明，深厚的社交关系不仅有助于心理健康，还能提升对身体健康的感知。

在 0 到 10 的评分量表中，将友谊评为“极好”的人，其心理健康得分比评为“较差”的人高出 4.6 分。来自土耳其 Kitabya 健康科学大学的研究人员发现，前一组人的身体健康评分也高出 3.4 分。

坏消息是，在 22 个国家中，英国对友谊满意度的排名第 20 位，高于中国和日本。英国人对其关系幸福感的评分为 6.26 / 10。

在被要求对心理健康进行评分时，英国在 22 个国家中排名第 19 位，高于德国、土耳其和日本；而在被要求对身体健康评分时，英国排名第 21 位，仅高于日本。领导这项研究并将其发表在《心理健康杂志》（Journal of Mental Health）上的 Veli Durmus 分析了来自一项名为“全球繁荣研究”（Global Flourishing Study）项目的 22, 个国家 204,907 名成年人的数据。

他们被要求对友谊和关系的满意程度，以及童年时期与父母关系的良好程度（从“非常好”到“非常糟糕”）进行评分。同时，他们还被要求对心理和身体健康进行评分，而收入、年龄和教育程度等因素也被纳入考量。

Durmus 表示：“我发现，那些对友谊和关系更满意的人，往往报告更好的心理和身体健康状况。”

对于那些童年时期与父母关系非常好的人，也出现了类似的模式，尽管联系较弱。已婚、拥有足够的资金以及认同某种宗教（尤其是伊斯兰教），也与更好的心理和身体健康得分相关联。

印度尼西亚人的友谊满意度评分最高，而日本人的评分最低。坦桑尼亚的心理健康评分最高，印度尼西亚的身体健康评分最高。日本在这两项指标上均得分最低。

大水花 艾尔郡欧文海滩上，一名骑手在浅水区疾驰

Quintagram® 第 2646 期

使用下方每个字母仅一次，解答所有五个简短线索

1 正式着装 (5)

2 高地运动撑杆 (5)

3 冰冻甜点 (6)

4 来自拉萨等地的 (7)

5 长期金融债券 (9)

A / B / C

D / E E / I / N / O / R R / S / T / U

答案见 T2 MindGames 第 15 页 加密线索见 T2 MindGames 第 14 页

飞蛾重返光芒

在一家国民信托（National Trust）遗址，一种稀有飞蛾种群在最后一次被记录 74 年后被重新发现。在蝴蝶保护协会（Butterfly Conservation）慈善机构工作的 Dave Wainwright 表示，在诺森伯兰郡的沃灵顿庄园（Wallington estate）发现英格兰第二个深缘美蛾（dark bordered beauty）种群是他职业生涯的高光时刻。另一个种群位于约克郡的斯特伦索尔公地（Strensall Common）。

18 × 仅限英国。最低速度 2.5Mbps。直播时间表可能会有变动。适用完整条款。

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11

新闻

前学生坚称性指控并非幻想

Lara Bowman

一名指控其前任教师在自己孩童时期与其发生性关系的男子，否认自己是编造指控的“幻想者”。

65岁的萨莉-安·鲍恩（Sally-Anne Bowen）正在哈罗刑事法院受审，被指控对两名因法律原因无法透露姓名的男子实施了八项猥亵袭击。

检方指控，在20世纪80年代后期，当鲍恩在芬奇利（Finchley）的基督学院（Christ's College）担任教师时，她与这两名当时年龄约为14或15岁的男子发生了性关系。

鲍恩的辩护律师马克·金西（Mark Kimsey）昨日质询其中一名原告，该原告声称他与鲍恩发生了“大约二十或三十次”性行为。

金西询问他认为什么是幻想者。他回答道：“我认为是指那些沉溺于幻想的人。”

金西进一步追问，询问他是否同意幻想者会持有“不切实际的想法”并将幻想与现实混淆。原告回应道：“我认为这个问题相当具有侮辱性。”

当金西表示鲍恩不承认参与过任何形式的性活动时，原告回应道：“那么，这就是对幻想者的定义。”

他指称鲍恩要求他执行的一些性行为是“变态的”，并补充道：“‘我是个幻想者’，对吧？参与变态行为并不在任何人的幻想之中。”

他告诉陪审团，鲍恩向他“灌输”他们所谓的关系不能告诉任何人。他仅向一个人倾诉，那是他在另一所学校的一位好朋友，并补充道：“因为我保持沉默，她得以继续教书多年。”

在播放给陪审团的一段警方采访录音中，他表示鲍恩的穿着方式具有“性挑逗性”，描述她“过去常穿紧身李维斯（Levi）牛仔裤和能看清一切的黑色紧身裤，以及黑色超短裙”。他补充说，虽然他不能否认享受那些性行为、“游戏”和“秘密”，但“对我而言，这摧毁了我的教育”。

他告诉警方：“我想和所有那些老师以及萨莉-安·鲍恩待在同一个房间里，然后说，‘这就是我的生活’，因为人生只有一次。”

检方代表玛德琳·沃尔夫（Madeleine Wolfe）告诉法院，在一次午餐时间，鲍恩从一名男孩及其朋友手中抢走了一本色情杂志。她告诉陪审团，该男孩原以为她会没收杂志，但她却指向一张裸女照片，并将自己比作该模特。陪审团获悉，这导致该男孩回到了她的黄金绿（Golden Green）公寓，两人在那里接吻。

沃尔夫表示，该男孩“觉得他爱上了她”。法院获悉，在男孩的母亲产生怀疑并向学校提出担忧后，她被告知鲍恩已不再在那里工作。沃尔夫表示，来自赫特福德郡（Hertfordshire）赫梅尔海姆斯特德（Hemel Hempstead）的鲍恩被委托照顾学生的福祉，但她滥用了这种信任。

鲍恩否认相关指控。审判仍在继续。

实验室培育钻石是女孩最好的朋友

拥有钻石的传统途径是寻找一个愿意为你买钻石的人（安德鲁·埃尔森 Andrew Ellson 撰文）。

然而，根据施华洛世奇（Swarovski）珠宝公司的首席执行官所述，随着价格更低廉的实验室培育钻石的兴起，越来越多的女性不再需要满足这一条件。

亚历克西斯·纳萨德（Alexis Nasard）表示，实验室培育钻石正在“使女性能够自主购买”，而传统的天然矿产钻石则“在大多数情况下是由男性向女性赠送戒指”。

在接受《金融时报》采访时，他表示：“如今，一位女性走进我们的店里。她看到了它，觉得它很美。她试戴后说：‘你知道吗？让我给自己买吧。这是我应得的。’我们觉得这非常讨人喜欢，且令人鼓舞。”

这种转变得益于实验室培育钻石生产成本的剧烈下降。这些钻石具有与天然矿产钻石相同的化学和物理特性，但它们是制造出来的，主要产地在中国和印度。

实验室培育钻石迅速占据了市场份额。据纳萨德称，目前在美国销售的钻石订婚戒指中，超过 60% 的钻石是实验室培育的，他预测这一数字在两年内可能会达到 80%。

行业分析师估计，实验室培育钻石目前约占全球钻石珠宝市场的五分之一。

它们日益普及的程度在红毯亮相中得到了体现。詹妮弗·劳伦斯（Jennifer Lawrence）在 2024 年的奥斯卡颁奖礼上佩戴了实验室培育钻石，而吉莉安·安德森（Gillian Anderson）在去年的戛纳电影节上佩戴了一串带有实验室培育钻石的项链。黛米·摩尔（Demi Moore）今年在戛纳亮相时，也佩戴了一串含有超过 150 克拉实验室培育钻石的项链。

上图中的莎拉·杰西卡·帕克（Sarah Jessica Parker）正与一家实验室培育钻石公司合作。左图的黛米·摩尔和吉莉安·安德森在红毯上佩戴了此类钻石。

莎拉·杰西卡·帕克走得更远，她成为了专业实验室培育钻石珠宝商 Astrea London 的全球创意总监兼股东，并在那里开发自己的系列产品。

与此同时，随着产量的扩大，价格大幅下跌。全球领先的天然钻石公司戴比尔斯（De Beers）在今年的一份报告中表示，合成实验室培育钻石的批发价格自 2020 年以来已下跌 93%，平均每克拉约 $100。

然而，零售价格的下跌速度远没有那么快。戴比尔斯表示，这种差距使得珠宝零售商在实验室培育钻石上获得了异常丰厚的利润，尽管竞争的加剧意味着门店价格预计将会下降。

这种颠覆也导致了天然钻石市场的价格下跌。钻石市场信息提供商 Rapaport 表示，合成钻石竞争的加剧与需求疲软共同推低了抛光天然钻石的价格。

施华洛世奇于 1895 年在奥地利成立，长期以来与水晶珠宝和玻璃制品相关联，于 2018 年进入实验室培育钻石市场。该公司从未销售过天然矿产钻石。

纳萨德表示，批发价格的下降在“一定程度上”提高了公司的盈利能力，但他坚持认为施华洛世奇并不根据原石成本来为其珠宝定价。

“无论市场如何波动，我们的定价策略始终如一，”他说。“当他们购买施华洛世奇时，他们买的是施华洛世奇钻石，而不是一种原材料。”

日食后出现眼睛疼痛的投诉

埃莉诺·海沃德 (Eleanor Hayward) 健康编辑

眼科医生预计将迎来一批在周三日食期间直视太阳而导致视力受损的患者。

在 1999 年 8 月的全日食之后，英格兰的专家在随后的几天内确定了 70 名与日食相关的视力受损患者，其中部分患者遭受了永久性问题。

本周，数百万英国人聚集在户外观看这场一代仅一次的日食，但由于全国范围内的防护眼镜售罄，许多人无法获得安全观看所需的防护眼镜。

直视太阳会损害视网膜（眼睛后部的感光层），导致一种被称为太阳性视网膜病变的疾病。人们通常在第二天出现症状，开始经历诸如视力模糊或视野中心出现黑点等问题。

昨天上午，社交媒体用户抱怨眼睛疼痛的视频和帖子广泛传播。一名 TikTok 用户评论道：“我的眼睛疼得要命。这是一种我以前从未有过的感觉，我觉得我要失明了。”另一人说：“他们没撒谎。我直视了日食，现在我的视野中心有一个巨大的红色色调。”

1999 年日食的影响在 2001 年发表于《自然》(Nature) 杂志的一项研究中得到了分析。研究发现，在随后的几个月里，有 70 人因与日食相关的视力受损而需要 NHS 治疗。患者的平均年龄为 30 岁，其中一半人在日食后两天内就诊于眼科医生。大多数人在几个月内好转，没有人经历永久性失明。

摩尔菲尔兹眼科医院 (Moorfields Eye Hospital) 的顾问眼科外科医生亚历克斯·伊奥尼德斯 (Alex Ionides) 表示，如果人们出现视力模糊、眼睛疼痛、发红或视野中出现黑点等症状，应寻求“紧急医疗救治”。

他表示：“损伤可能并不疼痛，因此人们通常在数小时后才意识到有问题。”

英国皇家眼科医师学会主席穆罕默德·埃尔阿尔菲 (Mohamed Elalfy) 表示：“虽然有些人会在数周或数月内康复，但其他人可能会留下永久性的视力障碍。”

一个国家团结的罕见时刻，社论，第 27 页

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12

新闻 A-levels

总理被告知：职业教育重塑需数年才能根植

Georgia Lambert 教育编辑 Nicola Woolcock

安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）收到警告，在他推崇的职业资格证书被广泛采用之前，可能需要至少一代人的时间，而与此同时，获得大学录取名额的离校学生人数创下历史新高。

总理计划为 14 岁青少年开辟新的技术教育路径，以引导更多年轻人选择就业而非学术研究。他希望有更多学生取得与工作相关的资格证书。

然而，尽管人们对学生贷款债务和毕业生失业问题普遍感到不安，今年秋季仍将有创纪录的 262,820 名青少年进入大学。

T-levels 于 2020 年作为 A-levels 的技术等效课程推出，而职业版本的 V- 将从 2027 年 9 月起开始教授。伯纳姆引入的任何新资格证书都将在此基础上增加。

考试监管机构负责人警告不要频繁变动。Ofqual 首席监管员伊恩·鲍克汉姆爵士（Sir Ian Bauckham）表示，新资格证书需要数年时间才能被家庭所理解。

他表示：“A- 可能是世界上最著名的资格证书，但它们是从 1952 年起就开始提供的。我们经历了很长一段时期才建立了公众认知。T- 则是新加入者，它们正开始在公众心中建立影响力。GCSEs（于 20 世纪 80 年代后期推出）现在已广为人知。我认为我们需要建立一个清晰的品牌并坚持下去，直到它在公众心中站稳脚跟。”

“只有当年轻人能够说，‘实际上，我的父母，在 A- 的情况下，我的祖父母也考过这个资格证书’时，”

“它才会成为我们集体文化的一部分，并真正具有公信力。因此，过多的变动是有害的，但你必须确定一个品牌和一种资格证书类型，并准备好坚持下去，直到它建立起影响力。”

学校和学院领导者协会（Association of School and College Leaders）秘书长佩佩·迪塔西奥（Pepe DiTasio）表示，T- 和 V- “必须像 A- 长期以来被广泛理解那样，植根于国民心理之中”。

今年是 T- 第五次颁发，近 20,000 名学生参加了该考试——比去年增长了 65%——整体通过率为 92.6%。教育大臣露西·鲍威尔（Lucy Powell）表示，这一增长“非常令人鼓舞”，并补充道：“实现抱负并没有单一的路径。”

A-level 成绩的地区差距进一步扩大。Ofqual 的数据显示，在 A-level 获得至少 A 等级的比例方面，伦敦与东米德兰兹及东北部之间的差距为 9.6 个百分点，高于去年的 9.2 个百分点。在伦敦，32.7% 的 A-level 成绩为 A 或以上，而东米德兰兹和东北部均为 23.1%。东南部记录的比例为 31.5%。

全国校长协会（National Association of Head Teachers）秘书长保罗·怀特曼（Paul Whiteman）表示：“A-level 等级的地区差异仍然令人担忧。贫困程度、在教育、医疗、社会护理及其他支持服务和基础设施方面的投资差异，以及疫情的持续影响，可能都起到了作用。”

怀特曼表示，政府的权力下放提案及其在塑造新技术教育路径中的作用，对于缩小地区成绩差距至关重要。

桑德兰大学副校长、前 Ofsted 负责人大卫·贝尔爵士（Sir David Bell）表示：“在学生离开学校或学院后可获得的不同机会的价值方面，我同意总理的看法。但去年有超过 289,000 名 16 至 19 岁的青少年[选择]进入大学，因此我认为对于许多学生来说，这无疑被视为一个非常好的选择。此外，超过 100,000 名成年学生（即 21 岁以上的人员）选择进入高等教育。”

尽管今年进入大学的学生人数创下纪录，但离校学生的总数比以往任何时候都多，其中开始攻读学位的比例则有所下降。

总体而言，私立学校学生在 48.6% 的成绩中获得了 A 或以上等级，高于去年的 48.4%。学院制学校（Academies）学生的顶尖成绩比例从 26.5% 下降至 23.5%，而综合学校学生的顶尖成绩比例则从 22.6% 增加到 23%。学生应当获得更好的待遇，社论，第 27 页

A-level 成绩与排名表

登记册 第 54-55 页

学生需要薪资数据以做出明智选择

分析

对于许多六年级学生来说，这是一个庆祝时刻：前往大学就读的 18 岁青少年人数创下纪录（弗雷泽·尼尔森撰文）。而对于其他人来说，这意味着焦虑，因为他们必须在清理系统（clearing system）中抢夺大学名额。但大多数人并未申请，也不会承担相关的 5 万英镑 债务。这提出了一个部长们往往倾向于回避的难题：在那些拒绝大学教育的人中，有多少人做出了明智的选择？

这一纪录是由于 18 岁青少年人数增加而导致的。实际就读大学的比例略有下降，尤其是在背景最富有的群体中。最富有的五分位数群体中，有 44% 的人将就读大学，而最贫困群体的这一比例为 22%。随着学生开始对多少大学课程具有价值提出更深刻的质疑，这些数字似乎已进入平台期。“毕业生溢价”的概念——长期以来一直是大学的卖点——始终是一个具有误导性的简化说法。作为平均值，它是真实的，但正在下降：终身回报率约为 10 万英镑。但这些数字涵盖了截然不同的命运：经济学专业超过 3 万英镑；医学专业 40 万英镑。但一个典型的创意艺术、语言或表演艺术专业的毕业生，如果能看到任何回报就足够幸运了。

根据财政研究所（Institute for Fiscal Studies）的数据，总计约 20% 的女性毕业生和 30% 的男性毕业生如果根本不去上大学，财务状况会更好。那么，哪些课程应该避免？这类信息仅发布了删减版本——而且即使是这个版本也非常难以找到。

安迪·伯纳姆最近发布了一段视频，他拿着一个安全帽，表示它应该享有与毕业帽同等的尊重。但超过一半的学徒岗位是由 25 岁以上人士担任的；19 岁以下人群就读的数量正在下降。伯纳姆可以通过帮助人们了解相关薪资来进一步推广贸易行业：典型的水管工、电工和机械师在三十岁之前的收入都高于平均毕业生。而且还没有学生债务。

最新的大学数据显示，工程和技术课程的申请量增长了 14%，数学增长 5%，法律增长 5%。但在创意和表演艺术、媒体以及人文科学领域，出现了类似规模的下降。

英国拥有欧洲最好的大学——也是世界上最好的大学之列。昨天收到录取通知书的绝大多数人可以期待其投资获得极佳的回报。但正如学生们开始意识到的一样，“上大学”本身并不是一种投资策略。这完全取决于你学习什么、在哪里学习，以及你原本可以从事什么。

昨天的大学录取情况表明，青少年正通过申请进行投票：倾向于更难的学科、筛选更严格的大学以及具有相同财务回报的课程。但如果伯纳姆想要引导人们选择安全帽，他就应该发布完整的、具有可比性的学徒与学位的薪资数据，这样青少年才能更清楚地知道最好的前景在哪里。

案例研究

Musa Moiz

许多学生想要重新回忆起 6 月参加 Pearson Edexcel 数学第一场考试时的记忆，有些人将其描述为一场“战争罪行”以及“从地狱第十层爬出来”。但对于来自伦敦纽汉（Newham）的十岁少年 Musa Moiz 来说，情况则完全不同。与父母和姐姐同住的 在考试中获得了 95% 的分数，拿到了 A* 等级。

加入了全学制学校 Harris Academy Chobham 的 A-level 数学班，并接受了由父母安排的校外额外课程。在学校努力学习之余， 和其他十岁孩子没什么两样。他热爱乐高、板球、足球以及和朋友们一起玩耍。

他最新的成绩是在去年 GCSE 卓越表现基础上的延续，当时他在数学中获得了 95% 的分数，在进阶数学中获得了 99% 的分数。

随着小学生活的接近尾声， 希望明年能参加进阶数学的 A-level 考试。

Clara Burton-Dowsett

Roedean College 的体育队长 Clara Burton-Dowsett 拿到了三个 A* 等级，尽管在此之前她花费了数百小时进行海水游泳训练，并在 17 岁时成功横渡英吉利海峡。

现年 18 岁的 Burton-Dowsett 在生物、化学和

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13

新闻

我们的比较 《泰晤士报》 EDWARD CARMITT / ALBUQUERQUE / ENNEY / 2025年9月14日

女孩们在斯特拉特福德的伦敦卓越学院（London Academy of Excellence）庆祝：最左侧为 10 岁的 Moiz，获得了数学 A；左上方的 Emmanuel Ilegar 将学习电气工程；左侧的 Clara Burton-Dowsett 在横渡海峡后获得了三个 A；右侧的布拉德福德学生 Oles Kuzomko 逃离乌克兰战争，取得了 A 和 A* 的成绩。

数学学习与训练之间取得了平衡，因为她希望为慈善机构 Taylor Made Dreams 筹款，该机构为萨塞克斯郡重病儿童的家庭提供支持。在幼年时期与严重的健康问题作斗争后，选择这家慈善机构对她而言具有特殊意义。她通过在 12 小时 56 分钟内横渡世界上最繁忙的航道，为她担任大使的该慈善机构筹集了 9,455 英镑。

这位来自克劳利（Crawley）的青少年将前往诺丁汉大学学习兽医学，并希望成为一名马科兽医。

Emmanuel Ilegar

一名来自尼日利亚的学生开发了一款可能用于危险环境的创新机器人手臂，目前他正在庆祝自己的 A-level 成绩。

Emmanuel Ilegar 是剑桥独立学校卡迪夫第六形式学院（Cardiff Sixth Form College）的一名寄宿生，在数学和化学获得 A 等级、物理获得 B 等级后，他将前往曼彻斯特大学学习电气工程。

“当我到达卡迪夫并看到之前的学生所创造的项目时，我想挑战自己，打造一些有野心的东西，”他说道。

Ilegar 和同学利用开源设计和 3D 打印机制造手臂组件，他还开发了软件使机器人手指能够响应人类动作。“这个项目让我更加坚定地学习工程学并继续开发此类技术，”他表示。

他通过在太阳能公司 Eauxell Ltd Nigeria 的实习获得了行业经验，并参加了 First Tech Challenge，这是全球规模最大的青少年机器人竞赛之一。

大学毕业后，Ilegar 希望在可再生能源领域发展事业。他原籍拉各斯，希望改善整个尼日利亚的电力供应。

“我的长期目标是在太阳能领域工作，并最终创办自己的公司，提供负担得起的太阳能技术，”Ilegar 说道。

数学考试人数创纪录，男生领先优势进一步扩大

Nicola Woolcock, Georgia Lambert, Mary Downer, George Willoughby

今年参加数学考试的青少年人数创下纪录，超过 115,000 名学生参加了该科目考试，占所有 A-level 考试的八分之一。

报名人数的激增拉高了整体成绩，同时也部分解释了男生在 A* 等级中表现更强的原因，他们与女生之间的差距进一步扩大。

专家对社会对待计算能力的态度发生巨变表示赞赏。考试监管机构 Ofqual 的首席监管员 Ian Bauckham 爵士表示：“令人震惊的是，现在每八门 A-level 考试中就有一门是数学。数学正成为一个成功的故事……人们感到更加自信，选择数学 A- 并且表现良好，这解释了我们今年看到的绝大部分整体头条变化。”

对英格兰、威尔士和北爱尔兰结果的分析显示，与去年相比，获得 A* 等级人数下降的科目多于上升的科目。

然而，增加的科目足以将 A* 的整体比例提高到所有 A- 的 9.6%，高于去年的 9.4%。这是新冠疫情年份之外的最高纪录。

男生占所有数学考生的 63%，占参加进阶数学（further maths）考生的 74%。

今年数学 A- 获得 A* 等级的比例为 17.7，进阶数学为 29 。

相比之下，第二受欢迎的科目心理学为 6，第三受欢迎的生物学为 9.3。

在男生中，10.2 的 A- 报名获得 A* 等级，而女生为 9.1。去年，男生获得该等级的比例为 9.9，女生为 9.1。

女生占所有 A- 报名的 54%，且从绝对人数来看，获得了更多的整体最高等级。

白金汉大学教育与就业主任 Alan Smithers 教授表示，科目选择是产生性别差异的主要原因。

不过，还存在其他因素。

他说：“其中一点是男生在课程结束考试中往往表现更好，而女生则更受益于模块化考试或教师评估。”

“另一点是，在能力测试中，男生的结果往往分布更广，达到顶峰的人更多，不及格的人也更多。虽然男生在 A 方面领先，但女生在包括 A 在内的所有其他及格等级中都处于领先地位。”

总体而言，英国 78.4 的结果被评为 A 至 C 级，而去年为 77.9，2019 年为 75.5。Ofqual 表示，有 7,245 名 18 岁学生在参加的所有科目中均获得了 A 等级，其中 25 人参加了五门或更多 A- 考试。

其他受欢迎的 A- 科目包括化学、经济学、商业研究、历史、物理、社会学以及艺术与设计。

在前十名中，百分比增幅最大的是经济学，排名从第 10 位跃升至第 5 位。艺术与设计在前十名中跌幅最大，下降 1.2 至 42,620 份报名。

英国文学和语言类科目不在前十之列。仅有 2,294 名学生参加了德语考试，6,888 人参加了法语考试。经济学报名人数增加了 10.5，达到 47,157 份。

主要考试委员会之一剑桥 OCR 的董事总经理 Myles McGinley 表示：“经济学的受欢迎程度正在激增。今天收到 A- 结果的学生大约出生于 2008 年——他们是金融危机下的孩子，许多人被近期塑造他们世界的经济事件所吸引。”

政治科目的报名人数增长了 11.9 ，共有 24,824 名学生参加；而法律科目的报名人数增长了 10.4 ，共有 16,526 份报名。

McGinley 对数学报名人数的增加表示赞赏，他说：“不久前，我们还有一代人几乎以自己完全不懂数学为荣。”

右翼智库政策交流中心（Policy Exchange）教育主管伊恩·曼斯菲尔德（Iain Mansfield）表示：“看到顶端成绩的占比连续第三年上升，且目前远高于疫情前水平，这令人失望。成绩膨胀似乎已重新成为该系统固有的一部分。”

伯纳姆在面试前在酒吧喝了杯“定心酒”

康斯坦斯·坎普夫纳 (Constance Kampfner) 政治记者

安迪·伯纳姆承认，在参加剑桥大学面试之前，他在酒吧喝了一杯“定心酒”，以对抗他的“冒充者综合征”。

在 A-level 成绩公布日发布的一段社交媒体视频显示，这位首相被约翰·马伦教授（Professor John Mullan）惊艳到了，马伦曾是他在菲茨威廉学院（Fitzwilliam College）的导师，伯纳姆在那里学习英语文学。

伯纳姆在默西赛德郡就读期间被学校老师说服申请该大学，他谈到了面试当天的焦虑：“我现在可能不应该向您承认这一点，但我认为我在转角处的酒吧里喝了一杯面试前的定心酒，”他告诉这位 18 世纪文学专家马伦。

“回想起来，我认为我对此过于担心，而且太紧张了。你知道，这就是那种冒充者综合征，不是吗？你走进去然后[想]：‘我不应该在这里，’”他说。“我总是谈论这件事，就是为了告诉年轻人……即使有些人听起来更自信，更出色，但你所要表达的内容同样重要。”

斯蒂芬·哈灵顿（Stephen Harrington）是伯纳姆在纽顿-勒-威洛斯（Newton-Le-Willows）圣埃尔雷德天主教高中的英语老师，他表示伯纳姆当时需要“很多劝说才愿意申请，因为他觉得作为一个工人阶级的男孩，去剑桥并不适合他”。然而，马伦在 6 月为《泰晤士报》撰文时回忆道，伯纳姆在面试中表现出了相当强的口头自信。

伯纳姆是自斯坦利·鲍德温（Stanley Baldwin）以来，第一位在剑桥大学完成本科就读的首相，打破了近一个世纪由牛津大学主导的首相传统。他也是第一位拥有英语文学学位的首相。

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15

新闻

内塔尼亚胡将英国称为“不列颠伊斯兰共和国”

加布里埃尔·韦尼格 (Gabrielle Weiniger)

本雅明·内塔尼亚胡表示，英国被人们称为“不列颠伊斯兰共和国”，并声称以色列正与伊朗作战，以防止“第二个”伊斯兰国家获得核武器。

在与前军官阿维·哈鲁什 (Avi Harush) 的一次播客对话中（哈鲁什之子在加沙战斗中牺牲），以色列总理谈到了用阵亡将士的名字为孩子命名，并提到曾见过温斯顿·丘吉尔的孙子——同样名叫温斯顿。

他表示，丘吉尔的孙子是一个“不错的人”且“热爱以色列”，认为六日战争是“积极的”。在 1967 年的战争中，以色列占领了东耶路撒冷和约旦河西岸。他说：“现在试着在英国——或者在所谓的‘不列颠伊斯兰共和国’中寻找这种态度吧。你找不到的。”

“有人说过——你知道——第一个拥有核武器的伊斯兰共和国将是不列颠伊斯兰共和国。所以，我们正在确保伊朗不会出现另一个那样的国家。”

他的言论呼应了美国副总统 JD 万斯 (JD Vance) 的观点，后者在 2024 年的一次国家保守主义会议上称英国是第一个“将获得核武器的真正伊斯兰主义国家”。

由于加沙战争以及去年对巴勒斯坦国家的承认，英国与以色列的关系一直处于紧张状态。内塔尼亚胡指责肯·斯塔默爵士 (Sir Ken Starmer) 绥靖哈马斯，并曾在过去警告激进伊斯兰主义的全球影响力。

然而，他向哈鲁什发表的这些言论（哈鲁什此前曾就其儿子里夫 (Reef) 的离世接受过《泰晤士报》采访）标志着内塔尼亚胡首次指责英国成为激进伊斯兰主义者的家园。这些言论引发了愤怒的回应。社交媒体上的一些人指出，伊斯兰国家巴基斯坦同样拥有核武器。

上个月，英国将伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队 (IRGC) 列为国家安全威胁并予以禁止。IRGC 此前已受到英国制裁。

在由以色列军队广播电台播出的播客中，哈鲁什对内塔尼亚胡回答道：“整个欧洲都是这样的。”

除了 2025, 年访问匈牙利外，自从国际刑事法院因涉嫌在加沙犯有战争罪和反人类罪而对他发出逮捕令以来，内塔尼亚鲁再未踏足欧洲。如果他前往英国或其他《罗马规约》签署国，他可能会面临被逮捕的风险。

安迪·伯纳姆 (Andy Burnham) 指责内塔尼亚胡试图让“两国方案”变得不可能，同时他暗示英国在中东问题上的立场将发生转变。最近几周，他为工党最初对以色列在加沙军事行动的反应道歉，称该反应造成了“巨大的伤害”，并疏远了党内及选民中的很大一部分人。他表示，英国在“呼吁停火方面太慢了”，且前任政府“搞错了”。

在冲突初期的几周里，斯塔默支持人道主义暂停，以允许援助进入加沙地带，但并未直接呼吁停火。他因在 10 月 7, 2023, 之后几天接受 LBC 采访而受到批评，他在采访中暗示以色列有“权利”切断加沙的电力和水供应。斯塔默随后澄清，他仅是指该国有权进行自卫。

丑闻频发，剑桥大学校长前途堪忧

Nicola Woolcock 教育编辑 George Odling

在剑桥大学经历的极其糟糕的一周里，该校副校长宣布在两天内启动第二次调查。

该校此前已因处理杰森·阿尔代（Jason Arday）剽窃指控争议的方式而饱受抨击，阿尔代是该校最年轻的黑人教授，已于上周辞职。随后，该校在针对另一位剑桥学者尼尔·温·埃文斯教授（Professor Neil Wyn Evans）的雇佣法庭诉讼中败诉；法庭周一认定，在埃文斯教授就霸凌问题提出担忧后，大学为了维护名誉而封杀了这位举报人。

剑桥大学此前已宣布对阿尔代事件展开调查，随后在周三致信教职员工，称将对高级学术任命以及招募阿尔代的教育学院进行第二次审查。

德博拉·普伦蒂斯教授（Professor Deborah Prentice）在信中表示，阿尔代的任命是一个“异常现象”，并承认该案件“困难且具有破坏性”，导致了剑桥大学内部的愤怒与焦虑。

昨天，她向员工发布了第二封信函，涉及阿尔代和温·埃文斯两人。在最新的声明中，普伦蒂斯表示，需要进行制度变革以改进并使大学现代化。

普伦蒂斯试图与这两起丑闻撇清关系，称她在三年前就任时继承了一系列复杂问题，并强调：“这些问题在我就任前就已经开始，但在我的任期内得到了结论。”

然而，在副校长的管理体制下，大学最初对阿尔代进行了强力辩护，将媒体对其剽窃指控的报道描述为“旨在破坏其公信力的卑劣抹黑行动”。

普伦蒂斯在温·埃文斯的法庭判决中也受到批评，因为她声称参与起草了一份声明，而雇佣法庭法官发现该声明完全是由学院注册主任撰写的。此外，尽管大学声称该诉讼是个人之间的私事，但仍允许利用其保险单为一名教授在应对温·埃文斯发起的诽谤诉讼时提供辩护资金。

学者们表示，副校长在一周内发布两份此类声明是前所未有的，并质疑其职位是否还能维持。一些人还批评了最新信函的内容，认为副校长将其作为削减摄政院（Regent House）权力的借口。摄政院是大学的立法和选举机构，由 7,000 多名学者、高级研究员和高级行政人员组成。

在最新的信函中，普伦蒂斯将剑桥描述为一个“非凡的、自治的学术共同体，通过高度分权的模式运行，许多决定在系、学院和机构内部做出”，并补充道：“我将利用我的领导角色来推动必要的变革。”

关于温·埃文斯的法庭审理，她表示，两名高级人物将对“所有相关的大学流程”建立独立审查，结果将直接报告给大学理事会（university council，大学的执行机构）。该审查将独立于阿尔代调查运行，但也将审计人力资源程序。

一名学者告诉《泰晤士报》，这封信暗示了对摄政院权力的威胁。他们还批评副校长称自己在问题出现时尚未就职，尽管她的许多副手当时都在任。该学者补充道：“我认为他们希望副校长和副校长们拥有更大的权力。”

谈到过去两周的事件，他们表示：“我从未见过如此多不同政治倾向和学科领域的人如此担忧且愤怒。”

另一人则形容副校长处于一个“非常危险的境地”。

“美人计”情侣使用强奸药袭击富商

一对利用虚假性服务广告锁定目标的男女被判处 17 年监禁（Jessica Sharkey 报道）。

阿迪娜·米海（Adina Mihai）伪装成妓女，在男性的家中与他们见面，并使用 γ-丁基内酯（GBL）给他们下药，随后与她的伴侣、30 岁的马达林·杜米特鲁（Madalin Dumitru）一起盗走手表、珠宝、古龙水和现金。

被告在交友网站 VivaStreet 上发布米海（31 岁）的“性服务”广告，并将目标锁定在富有的男性身上。当米海到达后，她会秘密在对方的饮料中下药使其失去意识，而 30 岁的杜米特鲁则在他们的宝马车中等待。昨天，

马尔科姆·金（Malcolm King，上图）在被马达林·杜米特鲁和阿迪娜·米海（下图）用 GBL 下药盗走劳力士手表后死亡

牛津刑事法院获悉，他们的四名受害者中有两人死亡。

80 岁的马尔科姆·金是一位退休商人兼大猎物猎人，在 2024 年 8 月这对情侣拜访他数小时后，被发现死在位于科茨沃尔德（Cotswolds）的家中。不到一年后，公司董事加里·穆阿特（Gary Mouat）在米海于其位于牛津郡班伯里（Banbury）的房产中对其下药后死亡。

这对原籍埃塞克斯郡伊尔福德（Ilford）的情侣承认杀害了金和穆阿特，并承认在 6 月份对另外两名男子非法且恶意地投喂 GBL 毒药的两项指控。泰晤士河谷警察局认为，可能还有更多男性成为了这对情侣的目标，但由于感到尴尬而没有站出来举报。

在受害者影响陈述中，穆阿特九岁的儿子说道：“你们为什么要杀掉我的爸爸？我的心感到如此空虚，有时痛到我觉得必须重启它。我每天都很悲伤，一直想念他。”

法官布伦纳夫人（Mrs Justice Brunner）告诉被告，他们目前的释放日期不得早于 17 年刑期的三分之二，但早期囚犯释放计划“将使其改为不得早于一半”。

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16

新闻调查

山达基教利用儿童作为

被登记为在家自学的青少年“志愿”从事传播教义的工作，Tom Ball 报道

一名 15 岁的男孩拿着两个连接到设备的金属圆柱体，该设备向他的身体发送微小的电流。这实际上是一个简陋的测谎仪，用于测量他在紧张时手掌产生的汗液。他光着脚，因为据说紧身衣会干扰该机制。

“在你最近的学习中，是否遇到过任何你没有完全理解的词语？”他的主管，一名 18 岁的女孩问他。他保持沉默。但设备替他回答了，指针瞬间跳动，从而揭示了他对一名美国科幻作家教义知识的缺失。

这个男孩留着棕色短发，声音还在变声期，他不上学。相反，每天早晨，他和另外几个孩子来到爱丁堡旧城烟尘斑斑的石墙建筑群中一座不起眼的建筑里，传播 L Ron Hubbard 的教义，每间房里都挂着 Hubbard 的画像。这座位于苏格兰首府中心南桥（South Bridge）上的建筑官方称为哈伯德个人独立学院（Hubbard Academy of Personal Independence，简称 Hapi），实际上是一座山达基教（Scientology）教堂。

一项《泰晤士报》的调查发现，在过去两年中，该教会一直雇佣年仅 13 岁的儿童与成年人一起从事行政、培训和招募工作。一名 teenage 女孩承担的角色涉及为成年人（包括男性工作人员和公众）提供按摩。山达基教对此予以否认。

一名卧底记者伪装成学习“生活改善课程”的学生在教堂待了一周，并观察到在那里工作的儿童。

教会坚持认为他们是志愿者，尽管他们签署了“员工合同”，要求他们全职工作以换取零散的报酬。虽然被称为员工，但教会坚持认为这并不表示雇佣关系，而是指由“志愿者”完成的“培训课程的人员配置”。

在加入“员工”行列后，他们被赋予“哈伯德通信官员协调员”的职称——相当于人力资源角色——并被指派执行包括发送信件和粉碎文件等文书工作，以及更具实践性的工作，例如帮助为来到教堂参加基于 Hubbard 教义的付费课程的公众运行培训环节。

随后，他们可以接受更专业角色的培训。据一名前员工称，一名 14 岁加入员工行列、现年 15 岁的女孩担任“医疗联络员”。在她的角色中，她为成年男性员工和公众提供按摩，这是山达基教中一种被称为“神经辅助”（nerve assist）的伪医疗实践的一部分。

前高级员工 Amir Essaihi 声称，这些“辅助”是在锁上的房间里且在无人监督的情况下进行的。山达基教对此予以否认。在今年早些时候离开教会后，Essaihi 向警方提交了一份报告，指控其强迫儿童劳动，并通过与成年人的不当身体接触剥削未成年人。警方以缺乏证据为由结案。

据信，招募儿童是由于该运动全球领导层为了加速扩张而施加的压力。近年来，山达基教花费数百万加元在全球范围内购买高价值房产，作为一项名为“理想组织”（Ideal Org）增长战略的一部分。

然而，研究人员表示，由于信徒人数下降，许多分支机构难以招募足够的员工和教区居民来填满这些教堂。

2019 年，教会购买了 Murrayfield 橄榄球体育场附近的一栋现代办公楼，意图取代南桥的场地。七年后，该建筑依然空置。

在《泰晤士报》看到的一封内部电子邮件中，一名英国教会高级官员写信给 Hapi 的执行董事马尔科姆·弗雷泽（Malcolm Fraser，见右下），抱怨爱丁堡教会仍然缺乏足够数量的人员，无法在 2026 年前搬迁至 Murrayfield 大楼。该官员为弗雷泽设定了一个目标，要求在年底前增加 10 名在职工作人员，以及另外 10 名接受全职培训的人员。

山达基教徒认为，人类体内居住着一个被称为“thetan”的永恒灵魂，它通过轮回在不同的身体之间转移。因此，儿童与成年人没有区别，因为这两个身体都由一个拥有数万亿年历史的 thetan 所占据。

1984 年，一项高等法院的判决指出，山达基教“旨在捕捉人们，尤其是儿童和易受影响的年轻人，并对其进行灌输和洗脑，使他们成为该教派盲从的俘虏和工具”。

在山达基教会（在英国是法律认可的宗教）中，“工作人员”的角色与传统教会的志愿者、牧师或教堂管理员截然不同。他们的角色更像企业员工，负责向公众销售课程并吸引更多教友。

Hapi 约有 25 名“工作人员”，其中 4 名是 16 岁以下的儿童。另一名最近满 16 岁的女孩在 14 岁时加入了“工作人员”队伍。另有两名 14 岁少年每天前往教会，尽管目前认为他们并非工作人员。

除一名女孩外，他们全部由父母登记为居家学习。

三名 16 岁以下的儿童与父母分开居住，其父母位于南方 450 英里外的西萨塞克斯郡东格里斯廷斯特（East Grinstead），那里是山达基教在英国的总部。其余人员则是苏格兰社区长期成员的子女。

苏格兰法律不要求居家学习的父母教授孩子特定的课程，也不规定必须在学校上课时间内进行教学。

但法律确实规定，16 岁以下的居家学习儿童在学期期间的标准学校时间内不得被雇佣。任何雇佣该年龄段儿童从事任何

山达基教全球领导人大卫·密斯卡维奇（David Miscavige，见左下）在西萨塞克斯郡英国总部向成员发表讲话。一种新的

形式的工作必须申请儿童就业许可。

针对《泰晤士报》的调查结果，教会表示“爱丁堡山达基教会没有 16 岁以下的成员担任工作人员”。教会未回应是否获得了儿童就业许可。一名发言人表示，那些签署合同（律师将其描述为“志愿者协议”）的人“完全是以志愿者的身份这样做”。在内部文件中，这些协议被描述为“员工合同”。

他说：“自然地，在苏格兰的所有宗教场所中，儿童都参与其中。我们也不例外。与其他宗教一样，我们允许一些较大的孩子在教会帮忙。任何志愿参与行为均在法律规定的所有规则之内，并在正常的儿童保护政策和实践背景下进行。”

山达基教的律师表示，该文件是一份“志愿者协议”，且“并非雇佣合同”，而是一项宗教誓言。他们补充说，不存在“义务的互惠性，而这是雇佣合同成立的绝对要求”。他们表示，这些人没有领取薪水，而是获得了一项酌情津贴，通过工资系统处理该津贴是为了方便，并已与英国税务海关总署（HMRC）达成一致。

山达基教由来自落基山脉的通俗小说作家哈伯德创建，他在生命后半段致力于构建一套庞大且错综复杂的宗教信仰体系，这套体系在借鉴精神信仰的同时，也大量借鉴了自助法、心理治疗和科幻小说。

其基础文本是 1950 年在美精神分析兴趣日益浓厚之际出版的《Diuretics》，该书提供了一套通过回顾创伤记忆来改善心理健康的自助指南。哈伯德后来声称，许多尝试过《Diuretics》的人发现自己能够回忆起前世的记忆，这促使他宣布发现了“西坦”（thetan）。

多年来，他关于西坦的著作演变成了一部巴洛克风格的太空歌剧，涉及一个名为 Xenu 的古代外星独裁者，后者将西坦囚禁在地球上。Xenu 的故事仅向那些晋升到该宗教最高阶层的人揭露，而在这个过程中，这些人通常需要花费数十万英镑。

目前由大卫·密斯凯维奇（David Miscavige）领导的山达基教声称拥有数百万名信徒，但研究人员估计其全球信徒人数约为 50,000 人。根据 2021 年的人口普查，其中在英国的人数为 1,844 人，比十年前下降了 24%。然而，该教会仍拥有强大的追随者，包括好莱坞演员汤姆·克鲁斯、约翰·特拉沃尔塔和伊丽莎白·莫斯。

《泰晤士报》在与一名曾在 Hapi 担任高管两年、并于去年离开山达基教的前工作人员交谈后，开始在爱丁堡对该教会展开调查。

Essaihi 在 2022. 年底首次进入山达基教的视野时还是一名青少年。作为一名 18 岁的电影学院学生

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17

新闻

年仅13岁即成为全职“员工”

下方的爱丁堡站点自2019年以来因缺乏员工而一直处于空置状态。下方的马尔科姆·弗雷泽（Malcolm Fraser）负责管理该市的Hapi机构。

他对这个拥有众多好莱坞明星追随者的宗教产生了好奇。

埃萨利（Essalhi）被“山达基教（Scientology）是将哲学应用于现实生活”这一说法所吸引，很快开始每天前往，完成了从人际关系到财务稳定等方方面面的课程。

随后在2024年初，包括执行董事弗雷泽在内的三名高级员工在佛罗里达州克利尔沃特（Clearwater）——山达基教相当于梵蒂冈的地方——接受了为期三年的培训后返回爱丁堡。埃萨利表示，他们带来了一项指令，要求作为全球扩张计划的一部分，迅速增加教会的员工人数。

不久之后，埃萨利被邀请加入员工队伍。他声称，在几个月内，他的工作时间每周高达100小时，这迫使他退出了电影学院。

新员工签署的合同被称为《积极参与申请及宗教誓言》（Application for Active Participation and Religious Pledge），承诺他们将投入两年半或五年时间“积极推进教会的工作”。

《泰晤士报》看到的资料显示，1月份教会一名员工一周获得的最高“工资”为£249.74。部分员工（包括未成年人）的工资低至£62.44。

埃萨利表示，在加入山达基教之前，他并未注意到负面报道。然而，在教会期间，他逐渐意识到一些批评，并开始进行自己的研究。最终，这引导他与亚历克斯·巴恩斯-罗斯（Alex Barnes-Ross）进行了交流，后者是山达基教最著名的批评者之一，也是一名前成员，他在15岁时加入教会，四年后离开。

两人私下进行了几次电话交谈，最终埃萨利同意出现在巴恩斯-罗斯的播客节目《背教者亚历克斯》（Apostate Alex）中。他们进行了公开对话，之后埃萨利对此并不在意，尽管巴恩斯-罗斯曾警告他，教会会对一名员工与被宣布为“压制性人物”的人交谈持有非常负面的看法。

他是正确的。在接下来的两周里，埃萨利说他受到了弗雷泽和都柏林特别事务主管斯科特·沃迪（Scott Wordie）反复的“审问”。

他声称，作为惩罚，他被安排从事“繁重的体力劳动”，负责翻修教会底楼的一个房间，该房间正被改造成一家销售山达基教书籍的商店。他在决定辞职前干了一天。

山达基教声称，它一直成为巴恩斯-罗斯“持续的反宗教和歧视性言论”的目标。对此，巴恩斯-罗斯表示，他并不反对山达基教的信仰，但是在“呼吁停止其虐待行为，我欢迎教会有一天能以共情和同情心对待幸存者，而不是攻击那些敢于发声的人”。

教会的律师否认埃萨利每周工作高达100小时，并声称他的工作时间表为每周四天。他们补充说，埃萨利通过“从事秘密且欺骗性的行为”而“背叛”了教会员工。

埃萨利离开教会已有几个月，他仍在努力消化自己的经历。他说，他认为这个宗教是一个利用人们情感的“骗局”。

6月，埃萨利、巴恩斯-罗斯和一群其他前山达基教成员向唐宁街10号递交了一份请愿书，呼吁政府就强迫控制、虐待和强迫劳动的指控对该教会展开调查。

我潜入后所见之事

第一人称

我曾听说过所谓的“山达基凝视”，但直到我在该教会潜伏一周后，才亲身体会到许多成员所展现出的那种强烈且毫无表情的目光所带来的令人不安的力量（汤姆·鲍尔撰文）。

我伪装成一个正在寻找新方向的人，报名参加了爱丁堡 Hapi 教会的一项“生活改善”计划，这使我能够在那里参加为期一周的课程。

作为一名新人，我很快引起了吉莉安·布朗（Gillian Brown）的注意，她负责管理教会面向公众的部门。她用不眨眼的目光盯着我，对我本人进行了一系列深入的询问，然后询问我在网上读到了关于该运动的什么内容。

我告诉她，我读到山达基教是一个邪教。她回避了这一说法，称邪教通常围绕一个单一的救世主人物展开。“我们其实没有那样的情况，”她解释道。我本可以反驳说，我们正坐在一幅 L·罗恩·哈巴德（L Ron Hubbard）——山达基教创始人——的画像之下，周围环绕着全部由哈巴德撰写的书籍，而且这座建筑就冠以哈巴德的名字。

二十年前，布朗在爱丁堡大学就读，有一天她决定走进教会参加一次免费的人格测试。她的生活从此发生了翻天覆地的变化。

对于许多人来说，这些人格测试是进入该宗教的入口。这项由哈巴德设计的测试包含 200 个问题，范围从通用类——如“过去的失败是否仍让你担忧？”——到奇怪的特定类，例如：“你是否反对针对罪犯的缓刑制度？”在我完成问卷后，我被带到一间房间，对方向我展示了一张据称描绘了我人格的图表。它显示我处于深度抑郁、不负责任且紧张的状态，而这一切对我来说都是闻所未闻。

对方建议我参加一个名为“起伏”（Ups and Downs）的课程，这是教会提供的“生活改善”计划之一，费用为 £15。

从那时起，我进入了一个常规现实法则不再适用的奇幻世界。在那一周里，我遇到一个男人，他声称自己能记得数万亿年前的前世生活。我看到布朗命令另一个男人在两面墙之间重复行走一个多小时。我被告知，如果我全身心地投入到这个宗教中，有一天我可能会获得神一般的

每天使用桑拿房五小时，持续数周，这种做法在山达基教中被称为“净化清理”（purification rundown）。

我提到我的肩膀已经疼痛好几年了。古雷（Gourlay）建议我尝试一次“辅助”（assist），这要求从业者在患者躯干的前后上下抚摸，据称是为了开启身体与精神之间的能量流。令人不安的是，他随后说，这些“辅助”的从业者中有一名 15 岁的女孩。“有各种各样的辅助，”他告诉我，“例如，甚至有一种是关于如何让醉酒者清醒的。”

我被要求将大部分时间留在教会里家具简陋的课程室中，那里还放置着一台“E-meter”（电子表）——实际上是一个简陋的测谎仪——用于测试学生的学习情况。

“起伏”课程教材将自身呈现为一种“技术”，用于识别社交和家庭圈子中的“潜在麻烦源”和“压制人”，并与他们“断绝关系”。我被要求阅读文本，然后写论文，列出我生活中属于这类“不受欢迎者”的人名。该课程似乎在鼓励读者考虑将此应用于现实生活，通过与朋友和家人切断联系来实现。

我与布朗进行了几次交谈，在交谈中她警告我，我认识的人会试图劝阻我加入。尽管她外表表现得十分热情，但我感觉到她并不信任我。

“你问的问题真多，”有一天她带着一丝意味深长的微笑说道，“你以前没做过新闻工作吧？”我尽力用笑声掩饰，但心中却觉得她已经看穿了我。

L·朗·哈伯德于1952年创立了山达基教。

对时间和空间的掌控。

山达基教精神信仰体系的许多核心教义在其他主要宗教中也能找到。但其不同之处在于它对物质世界的主张。

哈伯德对医生持有怀疑态度，他在山达基教内部开发了一系列伪医学实践。一个下午，曾任拖网渔船船员、现任教会副主任的约翰·古雷（John Gourlay）给我看了一段视频，视频声称70%的疾病可以通过“处理精神”来治愈。

古雷后来告诉我，他成功地将自己的智商提高了17点。

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19

新闻

四成男性认为自己能成为奥运选手

波比·科隆卡 (Poppy Koronka) 健康记者

在每一位参加奥运会的运动员背后，都有更多的人尽管拥有天赋并经过多年的刻苦训练，却未能入选。

但一项民意调查显示，这并未阻止近四成英国男性相信，如果他们从今天开始训练，就能获得 2028 年奥运会的参赛资格。

这项针对 2,000 名成年人的调查发现，38% 的男性认为，如果能获得专业指导和严格的训练计划，他们可以获得奥运会资格。略超过四分之一的受访者认为，如果给予机会，他们能在所选项目中击败专业选手。

约 17% 的人认为自己在足球项目中具有最强的竞争参赛机会，而 11% 的人认为网球是他们最好的竞争机会。

尽管 20% 的人表示从未尝试跑过 100 米，但 12% 的男性认为他们能在 15 秒内跑完。

根据 45% 的成年人的看法，最难掌握的运动是体操，而 33% 的人认为跳水最困难。

近四分之一的受访者在观看奥运会后，产生了开始或恢复一项运动的动力。

汽车制造商沃克斯豪尔 (Vauxhall) 的董事总经理尤里格·德鲁斯 (Eurig Druce) 表示（该公司委托此次研究以纪念其与英国队 Team GB 的合作伙伴关系）：“超过四分之一的成年人相信只要时间足够就能获得 2028 年奥运会的资格，这清楚地表明我们是一个具有相当体育雄心的国家。当然，仅有信心是不够的，正如英国队运动员所展现出的奉献精神、训练水平和天赋所证明的那样。”

在综合体育能力方面，38% 的男性认为自己比普通人强，而 49% 的女性认为自己较弱。

三分之一的成年人认为，在取得体育成就时，信心比天赋更重要，24% 的人形容自己对自身的体育能力感到“低调自信”。这项由民调公司 OnePoll 为沃克斯豪尔开展的研究还发现，67% 的成年人认为“友好的竞争”能让他们在体育运动中表现得更好。

心理学家将这种个体对其能力产生过高估计的现象称为“达宁-克鲁格效应”（Dunning-Kruger effect）。例如，一名网球初学者在看了几个教程后，可能会认为自己能像专业选手一样发球。这种自我意识的缺乏不仅影响他们的表现，还可能导致教练在球员角色和训练优先级方面做出错误决定。研究表明，近 70% 的无技能个体认为自己的表现高于平均水平，这往往导致角色分配和资源配置的错位。

一项来自国家教练会议 (National Coaching Conference) 的研究发现，拥有至少两名过度自信球员的队伍，其胜率和效率等性能指标下降了 15%。

最近的一项研究发现，男性在马拉松比赛中“撞墙”的可能性几乎是女性的两倍，研究人员怀疑这是由于过度自信造成的。研究作者指出，男性表现出更强的“冒险行为”倾向，导致他们采取了不可持续的起跑速度。YouGov 在 2021 年对美国成年人进行的一项调查发现，22% 的男性认为他们能在打斗中击败一只黑猩猩，而认为同样情况的女性仅占 8%。

赢得像克里斯·霍伊爵士 (Sir Chris Hoy) 那样的奥运冠军能有多难？

TMS

diary@thetimes.co.uk / @timesdiary

另一方的反叛者

在违抗党鞭方面，有些议员毫无之耻。一场关于前议员约翰·默瑟（Johnny Mercer）新书《无法这样治理国家》（No Way to Run a Country）的《政治之余》（Rest is Politics）讨论揭示了在极具分歧的脱欧投票期间，一些保守党人为了反叛而采取的极端手段。其中一人试图为不支持特蕾莎·梅的协议寻找借口，他告诉党鞭，他不能投赞成票，因为他的父亲告诉他不要这么做。即便如此，这本来就是一个相当苍白的借口，但其中还存在一个特别严重的问题。“你父亲已经去世了，”党鞭迅速指出。至少这位反叛的议员证明了他能够随机应变并坚持立场。他没有退缩，而是坚称：“我们举行了降神会。”

大帐篷阵营

安迪·伯纳姆对斯塔默派的清洗高效且残酷，但这是否明智？历史表明，对失败派系保持宽容是有益的。政府研究所（Institute for Government）正在制作一个关于任期中途接任首相的播客系列，其中一位就是短暂在任的利兹·特拉斯（Liz Truss，见下文）——她完全不懂得伸出橄榄枝。“人们普遍认为，利兹应该吸纳更多里希·苏纳克阵营的人并尝试统一党内，”她的前演讲撰稿人亚萨·本内特（Asa Bennett）说道。“但在私下里，她明确表示没有理由尝试将那些——用她的原话来说——‘认为她很烂且她也这么认为’的人纳入阵营。”这恰恰证明，拥有异议总是很有价值的，因为有时他们是对的。

当许多人读到

此处时，我们将知道克拉克顿（Clacton）补选的结果，但值得考虑的是法拉奇夏季“愚行日”的代价。在爱丁堡艺术节（Edinburgh Fringe）与伊恩·戴尔（Iain Dale）交谈时，记者迈克尔·克里克（Michael Crick）愤怒地抱怨道，举办这次补选花费了“25万”，而且“各政党的支出上限更高”，因此我们可以庆幸几乎没有政党抓住这个机会。不过，凡事总有积极的一面。选举分析专家约翰·库蒂斯爵士（Professor Sir John Curtice）指出，克拉克顿的成本减轻了大约 1.6 万英镑，因为“将有创纪录数量的押金被没收”。

在他的FOMP中被削减

关于本周板球记者风度翩翩（如《泰晤士报》的约翰·伍德考克）或风度欠佳（如非《泰晤士报》的E.W. 斯旺顿）的故事，我们收到了一段小小的尾声。格雷厄姆·里德博士（Dr Graham Read）告诉我，被绰号为“庞波尼乌斯·埃戈”（Pomponius Ego）的斯旺顿，有一次在为电视节目准备当日总结时，对一名戴着耳机走过布景的男子感到不满。“把那个人弄走！”斯旺顿挥舞着手臂大吼。那个戴耳机的男子回答道：“听着伙计，你干好你那该死的活，我干我的。”他其实是音响工程师。

谷歌报告称，在周三晚上壮观的日偏食之后，“眼睛疼痛”的搜索量增加了 5,000%，但即使是那些使用间接方法观察的人可能也遭受了后遗症。随着康沃尔郡的兴奋气氛升级，有人听到一个警告，是给那些使用沥水篮投影天文现象图像的人的：“小心点，”他们说，“筛子才是‘过滤’（straining）眼睛的最佳工具。”

杰克·布莱克本（JACK BLACKBURN）

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新闻

TIMES 摄影师 JAMES ELTRIDGE

五分之一的电动汽车车主曾因电池没电而受困

安德鲁·埃利森 (Andrew Ellison)

消费者事务记者

一项针对驾驶者的调查显示，在过去一年中，近五分之一的电动汽车车主曾因车辆电池电量耗尽而受困。

然而，汽油车和柴油车驾驶者对电动汽车的担忧程度明显高于电动汽车车主，这表明围绕电池驱动汽车的怀疑态度可能比车主的实际体验所证明的更为严重。

在一项针对近 2,000 名驾驶者的调查中（其中一半是电动汽车驾驶者，另一半是汽油或柴油发动机驾驶者），18.5% 的电动汽车车主表示，他们在过去一年中曾因车辆电池没电而受困。

四分之一的人表示，由于无法充电，他们在过去 12 个月中放弃了一次出行；同样比例的人表示，在某个阶段由于公共充电桩短缺而无法为车辆充电。

这项由充电网络 Be EV 委托开展的研究结果表明，即使是已经完成转换的人，对电动出行仍持有持续的保留意见。仅五分之二的电动汽车车主认同电动汽车能够进行长途旅行，而只有不到三分之一的人表示家附近有足够的公共充电桩。

更令人震惊的是，只有不到一半（43%）的电动汽车车主表示他们的下一辆车可能会是电动汽车。

驾驶者对电动汽车的担忧在假期期间尤为明显。五分之二的电动汽车车主表示，他们有信心驾驶车辆进行长途公路旅行。而表示有信心开车穿越欧洲大陆的人数则更少。

然而，研究还发现，电动汽车车主与尚未转换的驾驶者之间在态度上存在显著差距。仅十分之一（12%）的汽油或柴油车驾驶者认为电动汽车能够进行长途旅行，而电动汽车车主中这一比例为五分之二（40%）。汽油和柴油车驾驶者对公共充电桩短缺的担忧也更为严重。

这些差异表明，尽管电动汽车车主对该技术有显著的保留意见，但没有直接体验的驾驶者对其看法则更为负面。制造商表示，许多最受欢迎的新型电动汽车在单次充电后可轻松行驶 400 英里。

同时有迹象表明，随着汽油和柴油成本的上升，人们的态度可能正在发生变化。六分之一的汽油和柴油车驾驶者表示，更高的燃料价格促使他们考虑购买电动汽车。近四分之一的人表示他们的下一辆车可能是电动汽车。

虽然制造商和政府正试图加速摆脱汽油和柴油的转型，但调查发现人们对这一变化存在一定的抵触。超过四分之一的汽油和柴油车驾驶者表示，电动汽车是被强加给人们的。有趣的是，电动汽车车主（15%）比其他驾驶者（11%）更倾向于认为对人为气候变化的担忧被夸大了。

“很明显，英国在充电方面仍然存在认知问题，”Be EV 首席执行官阿西夫·加富尔 (Asif Ghafoor) 表示。“但这些拥有电动汽车的障碍主要存在于人们的心理中。英国有超过 121,000 个公共充电桩。其中绝大多数在一天中仅被使用 10 到 15% 的时间。认为充电可用性不足的想法有点荒谬。”

大场景：北约克郡艺术家休·米勒 (Hugh Miller) 在莱顿水库 (Leighton Reservoir) 上方的石楠花丛中创作一幅油画风景。

大赦国际攻击女性团体并非“孤立错误”

Sanchez Manning

性别批判活动人士拒绝接受英国大赦国际（Amnesty International UK）的说法，即一份将其谴责为“反权利”的报告是一次“孤立”的错误。

这份上传至该慈善机构网站随后被撤回的简报中，提到了基于性别的权利团体 Sex Matters 以及 Beira's Place——一个由作家 J.K. 罗琳共同创立的性暴力受害者中心。

在面对这位《哈利·波特》作者的法律行动威胁后，英国大赦国际首席执行官 Kerry Moscogiuri 发表了公开道歉，并声称该报告并不代表其作为机构的立场。

她表示，大赦国际对发布该简报感到“遗憾”，该简报将性别批判活动人士贴上“反权利运动”和“日益增长的威胁”的标签。

然而，Sex Matters 昨天致信该人权慈善机构，表示不接受该报告的发布是“一次孤立的质量控制失败”。《泰晤士报》看到的这封信还拒绝了这样一种暗示，即简报中对性别批判团体表达的负面观点并非大赦国际的机构立场。

信中进一步认为，大赦国际“反复”声称“女性权利”必须包括出生为男性的跨性别女性的利益。信函还指称，该慈善机构此前曾推广针对患有性别焦虑儿童的青春期阻断治疗，而该疗法目前已被政府禁止。

英国大赦国际在的一份声明中表示：“英国大赦国际在研究、证据和编辑监督方面坚持最高标准。这份简报未能达到这些标准。”

“我们依然深切致力于捍卫女性和女孩的权利，并支持英国的跨性别群体，因为他们的权利、尊严和安全正遭受持续的攻击。”

作者与邪恶的邂逅绝非平庸

克莱夫·戴维斯（Clive Davis）撰文

斯特恩夫人漫步于普鲁士国家图书馆 爱丁堡特拉弗斯剧院（Traverse, Edinburgh）（80分钟）

★★★★☆

时机恰到好处。珍妮·林·贝德（Jenny Lyn Bader）这部关于汉娜·阿伦特（Hannah Arendt）的非百老汇剧作抵达爱丁堡之时，恰逢这位出生于德国的《极权主义的起源》作者的新传记在书店上市。

阿伦特如今最著名的贡献是在关于阿道夫·艾希曼（Adolf Eichmann）审判的书中提出了“平庸之恶”这一短语。在贝德这部沉思式的戏剧中，我们看到了年轻时代的学者阿伦特（当时嫁给海德格尔的一名学生），她正经历着自己与威权主义势力的近距离接触。

1933年，在被普鲁士国家图书馆的一名图书管理员举报后，她被拘留。在这部由美国Luna Stage剧团带来的室内剧中，贝德将我们带入了

阿伦特被一名盖世太保初级官员卡尔·弗里克（Karl Frick）审讯的牢房。艾拉·凯尔（Ella Kaille）令人信服地刻画了一位谨小慎微的学者，她深知任何关于她与异见人士及犹太复国主义活动家关系的口误都可能导致灾难性的后果。她的语气简洁且正式，但很快意识到自己有机会赢得审讯者的同情。

布雷特·坦普尔（Brett Temple）饰演的弗里克并非身穿皮衣的暴徒，而是一个

布雷特·坦普尔饰演的卡尔·弗里克审讯由艾拉·凯尔饰演的汉娜·阿伦特

刚刚从民警转岗而来的年轻人。他的举止像是一个希望在社会上有所成就的普通公务员。在他的对话中，潜藏着一层矛盾心理以及一丝人性闪现。贝德提醒我们，我们正窥视着一个数百万普通人仍有机会在善与恶之间做出选择的世界。

导演阿里·劳拉·克雷斯（Ari Laura Kreith）主导了一场戏剧化的辩论，任何喜欢迈克尔·弗雷恩（Michael Frayn）关于原子弹的戏剧《哥本哈根》的人都会对此感兴趣。列奥·施特劳斯（Leo Strauss）的名字在对话中被提及，而阿伦特在激情地为追求真理辩护时引用了康德。德鲁·希尔斯菲尔德（Drew Hirshfield，将从8月18日起由丹尼尔·亚当·坎托尔 Daniel Adam Cantor接替）短暂出场，饰演一名试图营救被拘留者的犹太律师。

阿伦特在房间里踱步，抽着烟，计算着自己的每一步行动。弗里克似乎对她产生了好感，但她知道，如果自己失去平衡，就有可能坠入深渊。演出至8月30日，traverse.co.uk

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21

承认吧查尔斯，白金汉 宫简直丑极了 艾玛·邓肯（Emma Duncan）

评论

伯纳姆与英格兰中部的对抗仅仅是个开始

首相曾表示将停止将寻求庇护者安置在较贫困地区，但只有阻止船只才能让他免于遭到强烈抵制

@PATRICKKMAGUIRÉ

罗纳德·里根认为英语中最令人恐惧的九个词被引用得如此频繁，以至于我们无需在此重复。但到了2026年，英国对应的九个词会是什么？也许是这些：“我是来自市政厅的。隔壁要变成合租房（HMO）了。”或者可能是这些：“我们要把寻求庇护者安置在旧的皇家空军基地里。”毕竟，这正是目前英格兰许多省份中令人不安的政治现状。

因此，首相在本周早些时候得到了提醒。周二，安迪·伯纳姆前往了德比郡的伊尔克斯顿。这座城镇曾为英格兰提供煤炭、砖块、瓦片和钢铁，还出过罗伯特·林赛，但如今——就像这个国家许多停滞的工业摇篮一样——它产出的不过是给改革英国党（Reform UK）的一箱箱选票。这就是伯纳姆前往那里的原因：去倾听那些认为工党无话可说的人。

其中两段被记录在案的对话，确实揭示了英格兰政治巨大的分水岭，以及首相在两个截然不同的英格兰之间所看到的边界。一段对话发生在街头，一名当地人询问伯纳姆将如何处理小船问题。“看看这些数字！一艘充气艇上就有超过200人！”这个人得到了首相一名顾问礼貌、详尽且不傲慢的回答，对方告诉他，伯纳姆刚刚在GB News上就这个话题进行了详尽的谈话。

这是一次有趣的采访，其问题与答案同样耐人寻味。他们确实身处后工业时代的德比郡，但伯纳姆被问到了一个名为皮丁顿的牛津郡村庄。《泰晤士报》本周访问了那里，发现其350名居民因计划在附近一个废弃的国防部仓库安置1,250名寻求庇护者而陷入愤怒、恐惧和焦虑。程度之深，以至于在上个月举行的一次当地公投中，96%的村民投票决定脱离英国。

首相会为皮丁顿的人民做些什么？GB News解释说，他们已经写信给了他。其中一名叫雷克斯·珀金的七岁男孩说——虽然措辞简单——新邻居将“淹没这个小村庄”。他希望他的操场能保持原样。本周早些时候接受本报采访的村民们也表达了类似的观点。他们不想要1,000名或更多无业且陌生的男人。

在作为梅克菲尔德议员的演讲中，他誓言要废除“HMO英国”

涌入皮丁顿，在同一片草地上徘徊饮酒，惊吓到那些原本会不锁门的女性。

很少有人会表示反对——除非这件事发生在他们自己身上。在北约克郡的林顿-昂-乌兹（Linton-on-Ouse）也传出了同样的抱怨，那是另一个美丽的村庄，其前皇家空军（RAF）基地已被指定用于同一目的。当被问及皮丁顿时，伯纳姆承诺会倾听那里“好人们”的声音，就像他一贯做的那样。但他补充道：“我们不能让国家中只有最贫困的社区承担所有难民和寻求庇护者的分散安置。我确实认为全国所有地区都需要发挥作用，尽到自己的责任。”

而这又是典型的、微缩版的首相世界观。在他作为梅克菲尔德议员的首次演讲中，以及后来在伊尔克斯顿（Ilkeston）的演讲中，他都承诺要废除“HMO英国”。这句话可以翻译得非常简洁，而且确实会被广泛理解。简单的英文版本是这样的：在像阿什顿（Ashton）、艾布拉姆（Abram）或布林（Bryn）这类城镇的住宅区街道上，将房屋改造成单间出租屋来安置寻求庇护者，这对每个人都不公平，尤其是对当地社区，这种情况必须结束。这是一个受欢迎且无可争辩的主张，相关人员能够迅速且轻易地理解。

但其中另有深意。“HMO英国”并非皮丁顿。它是黑普尔（Blackpool）、伯恩利（Burnley）或者确实是上周爆发骚乱的塞特福德（Thetford）——这里的每一栋房子都是伯纳姆所诊断的这个国家及其经济弊端的微小纪念碑。这些地方更贫穷，住房存量廉价。投机房东趁机牟利，外包商从预算捉襟见肘的地方政府那里拿走资金，而对政治早已不信任且感到失望的当地人只能默默忍受变动、犯罪、露宿街头和反社会行为。移民往往也承受了反弹的冲击。没有人询问过他们。没有人倾听。而另一些人却在发财。

这种必然导致愤恨（甚至更糟）的处方，被一次又一次地应用于伯纳姆希望赢回支持工党的地区。正如他在25年前的处女演说中提到利（Leigh）时所说，这些城镇一次又一次地被他们无法控制的力量所摧毁，并且

诺福克郡塞特福德附近，因寻求庇护者问题爆发暴力冲突的抗议活动

且对他们的民主意志无动于衷。但是，如果你在皮丁顿询问，你会发现英格兰中部（Middle England）同样不喜欢这种情况。而如今，相当多工党的选民恰好居住在那里。

“公平”是伯纳姆另一个钟爱的词汇，而公平必然意味着补偿——以及输家。新工党（New Labour）能够负担得起向“工党的英格兰”重新分配资金。而现在，在涉及移民问题时，这位首相只能提议将痛苦和不适从那里重新分配出去，让其他地方感受到同样强烈的冲击。

这并不令人惊讶。“HMO英国”就是伯纳姆的英国，在这个英国中，原本预设的生活秩序被来自远方的政府政策所颠覆。不过，请记住那个在伊尔克斯顿的人所说的话。他首先想知道首相将如何处理小船跨境问题，而不是乘客在南海岸登陆后发生了什么。因此，伯纳姆的前提是人数应该继续下降，而事实也确实如此——包括寻求庇护的安置人数。这就是为什么在经历了一阵相反的猜测后，他上个月以一名“重生”的后座议员身份投票支持沙巴娜·马哈茂德（Shabana Mahmood）的《庇护法案》，随后让她继续担任内政大臣。重新分配并非他的长期解决方案。

马哈茂德的计划，以及首相的计划，是将寻求庇护者转移到像那些军事基地这样更大的场地，以便在场地内部提供服务。随着时间的推移，她打算超越“富人还是穷人必须承担这一负担”的问题。内政部正在研究是否可以将废弃的、更为偏远的工业设施重新利用，从而让更少的人——无论他们身在何处——感到家门口受到了干扰。关闭寻求庇护者酒店的逻辑也是如此。

伯纳姆谈到了“同情与控制”。毫无疑问，他能够对那些合法在此居住的人表达前者。在伊尔克斯顿，当摄像机关闭时，一名来自海外的护理人员走向了伯纳姆。她在关于社会护理的演讲中听到了他向海外工作人员致敬。她感谢他这么说。她感到自己被关注、被倾听、被认可。他希望英国那些对合租房（HMO）感到不满且不情愿的居民也能有同样的感受。但要从房东、外包商、人口走私者以及那些风景如画的村庄里愤怒的退休人员手中夺回控制权，是一场更为艰巨的考验。

我们知道他的诊断结果。正如提前释放的情况一样，他的首相任期、工党的未来以及对政治的信任，全部取决于首相能否开出药方。

与刘易斯·穆迪共度一晚

从担任英格兰橄榄球队队长到应对人生最艰巨的挑战——包括他最近被诊断出患有运动神经元病（MND）——刘易斯·穆迪（Lewis Moody）一直是一个行动派。请加入我们，听刘易斯与《泰晤士报》橄榄球记者亚历克斯·洛（Alex Lowe）进行一场坦诚且鼓舞人心的对话，探讨塑造一个伟大男人坚毅品质的错误、胜利与人生教训。

11月5日，星期四 / 7.30pm

伦敦，SW1P 3DW，马舍姆街9-23号，伊曼纽尔中心（The Emmanuel Centre）

TIMES Events

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评论

承认吧查尔斯，白金汉宫简直丑极了

一次前往君主制总部的旅行是一场穿梭在无可救药的庸俗之中的体验——我们难道不能将其重新利用吗？

艾玛·邓肯（Emma Duncan）

我的姐姐从南非来访，一直住在我的地方，所以我认为应该带她好好玩玩。我们行程中的最高点是白金汉宫。一张门票£13，这次出行相对昂贵，但我认为带她领略一些奢华是值得的。

我错了。从你通过安检后迎接你的石膏瓮中人造黄杨木灌木开始，白金汉宫就显得无可救药地庸俗。

这并不完全是现任管理层的错。这座宫殿是由约翰·纳什（John Nash）在那个奢华象征权力而非庸俗的时代重新设计的。幸运的是，黄金、大理石、镜子、圆柱以及自己和亲属的巨幅肖像已经过时，尽管这种审美在中东、中亚和华盛顿特区的权势人物中依然存在。文化评论员彼得·约克（Peter York）将其描述为“独裁者时尚”。

但是，虽然你不能把一座洛可可风格的宫殿变成一个极简主义画廊，但你可以选择展示什么；而在我看来，宫殿里所做的选择大多很糟糕。

几平方码铺着深红色植绒壁纸的宝座室足以说明这一点。一座顶端带有擎天神阿特拉斯和地球仪雕像的金钟，尴尬地立在带有金边装饰的镜门前。旁边是一把扶手为狮头形状的红色天鹅绒面扶手椅，紧挨着它的是一个带有侵略性龙形火狗（炉边挡火架）的壁炉。壁炉架上有一面顶端带有皇冠的巨大镜子，以及一座装饰着战士的黑色大理石钟，两边各有一个烛台。如果这些东西是我的，我会把它们全部扔进阁楼。

那些镀金的累赘掩盖了美好的事物，比如约翰·科普利（John Copley）画的三位乔治三世女儿在一起玩耍的肖像画。但是。

“蓝色”起居室就像被困在了一盒 Quality Street 巧克力中

国王显然偏好过度堆砌。在最近重新开放的画廊里（那里确实有一些极佳的作品），画作从底端一直密集地排到了天花板。即便你把脖子向后极力仰起，也几乎无法分辨顶排的一幅卡纳莱托（Canaletto）和一幅斯塔布斯（Stubbs）的区别，因此这样布置唯一的目的可能就是为了炫耀自己拥有多少好东西。

当代艺术作品大多令人厌恶。在走廊的一系列画作中，马车和制服在大量黑色涂鸦下勉强可见。当我们陷入沉默的惊恐时，其他人则表达得更直接：“简直太糟糕了”；“三岁小孩都能画成这样”；“太恐怖了”（Quelle horreur）。国王的加冕肖像让他看起来像一个身材矮小、肩上披着块窗帘的八旬会计师。乔纳森·叶欧（Jonathan Yeo）为他画的一幅奇怪的红色肖像，配上诡异的手势，被挂在红色的植绒壁纸上，正对着约翰·罗素（John Russell）在 1791 年创作的、细腻且幽默的处于肥胖巅峰时期的摄政王（Prinny）画像。无论哪种选择都没有给这幅当代画作带来任何好处。

然后是颜色。所谓的“蓝色”起居室拥有灰绿色的植绒墙壁、红地毯、棕色大理石柱、金白相间的天花板、青绿色椅子和黑色边柜。这就像被困在了一盒 Quality Street 巧克力中。

室外的情况也没有好转。白金汉宫的花园几乎和圣詹姆斯公园一样大，但后者是一个欢迎疲惫之人的阴凉水源绿洲，而前者则被一片巨大的草坪占据，平民百姓（hoi polioi）不得踏入。一条铺设的路径将他们引导绕过草坪，走向一家巨大的礼品店，在那里，一对印有金色皇家标志的抹布售价为 £24。

恐怕我不得不说，这一切都庸俗得可怕。也许是因为王室没有品味，但由于傲慢，他们并未意识到这一点。这是戴安娜·奥凯利（Diana O'Kelly）对上层阶级的看法。在她精彩的回忆录《代替信件》（Instead of a Letter）中，她解释说，她成长过程中接触到的美好事物都是由她的祖先购买的。任何近期购买的东西都是“旧物的可怜且颓废的私生子……如果任由其发展，我的家族中只有少数成员比他们最厌恶和鄙视的人——那些住在郊区的人——拥有更自然的品味。”

也许王室拥有体面的品味，但认为大众（vulgus）想要庸俗的东西。从敲竹杠的价格、拥挤的房间到禁止拍照，这个地方散发出一种不尊重客户的商业机构那般毫无乐趣的气息。

或者，问题可能不在于王室，而在于这个国家。英国人倾向于保护过去，而没有充分考虑现在的需求。正是这种本能使得我们的规划系统如此僵化，并阻碍了我们的经济。

并不是说我们做不出好的设计。离开宫殿后，我和我姐姐去了 Waitrose 超市——那些被鄙视的郊区居民购物的地方——那里的一切，直到木制垃圾桶，都设计得非常精美。但我们对历史有着过度的崇拜，不愿像欧洲人那样将当代与历史相结合。例如，荷兰王室的海特洛宫（Paleis Het Loo）是一座巴洛克式的奇迹，拥有一个令人惊叹的当代地下扩建部分，过去与现在在此相得益彰。

国王管理着白金汉宫，但他不再住在那里，也不拥有它。拥有它的是我们。我一直被告知，你不应该拥有那些既不美也不实用的东西，所以如果国王不能让它变得美，那就让我们把它变成实用的东西，比如把它变成一个数据中心，或者考虑到我们目前的需求，变成一座监狱。

公共厕所的动态定价是地方议会的新低

夏洛特·利顿 (Charlotte Lytton)

如果询问人们希望在公共厕所体验中获得什么，“动态性”不太可能排在首位。然而，在塞夫顿（Sefton）和科茨沃尔德（Cotswolds），人们可能很快就别无选择。这些地方议会一直在就利用实时数据来实现公共厕所的动态定价进行咨询，以便在繁忙时段收取更高费用。在发达国家可能堕落到的深渊中，提高一项基本人权的成本无疑处于最底层。

在任何繁荣的国家，这些额外费用都会令人尴尬，但在英格兰，这种感觉尤为强烈，因为这里的公共厕所已经成了全国性的耻辱。今年早些时候，英国皇家公共卫生学会警告称，英格兰的供应存在“严重短缺”，每 15,481 人才拥有一座公共厕所——在十年间下降了 14%。在现有的厕所中，许多即便肮脏不堪或几乎无法使用，仍心安理得地继续收费。

其他国家的设施则让这种处境雪上加霜。以新西兰为例，无论你在哪个小镇，都能找到一个绝对干净且免费使用的公共洗手间，而且通常还播放着欢快的背景音乐；即便是在美国这样一个如果可以的话连呼吸都会收费的国家，你也可以在加油站免费使用厕所。

而在英国，没有这样的运气。大多数人——主要是带孩子的女性、老年人或行动不便者——被迫对方圆五英里内的每家酒吧和咖啡馆的厕所了如指掌。

你可以看出当今现状的逻辑来源：公共厕所少，意味着人们被迫在私人企业消费，以便使用其设施。而现在，地方议会或许在无意中创造了这只“金鹅”，于是想重新分一杯羹，并愿意安装顶尖的监控技术以确保自己能分到钱。当你能从一名急需上厕所的八旬老人身上多赚一英镑时，谁还会关心憋尿可能导致的潜在感染？

今年 4 月，英格兰几乎所有的地方当局都将市政税提高了 5%。不知为何，这不仅没能覆盖偶尔使用公共厕所的成本，反而激励了一些议会尝试动态定价。英格兰银行报告称，今年将有 31% 的企业尝试这种模式——这种模式目前正被用于在酒吧、杂货、出租车、机票等方面敲诈我们。

更糟糕的是接下来的发展。处方药动态定价？炎热天气的水费上涨？急诊病床的动态票价？这种我们生存状态的“优步化”（Uber-isation）——至少在比喻意义上——已经低到了极点。

夏洛特·利顿是一位自由撰稿人

迈克·阿瑟顿笔记本

曼彻斯特在繁荣，但试着告诉郊区的人们吧

在一个温暖的夏日夜晚，漫步在曼彻斯特的北区（Northern Quarter），穿过史蒂文森广场（Stevenson Square），沿着步行街托马斯街（Thomas Street），人们无法不被这个曾经荒废的后工业废墟中所奔涌的非凡活力所吸引。

对于我们这些在 20 世纪 80 年代在这座城市长大的人来说，这种转变是惊人的。四十年前，这里只是人们在上班途中经过的地方。那时郊区才是核心。而现在，工厂被改造成了仓库公寓，高租金使得市中心变得认不出来。曼彻斯特市中心的人口已增长到约 100,000 人，经济增长速度远快于英国其他地区。

“曼彻斯特主义”最近成了一个热门话题，但危险之处在于可能会得出错误的教训。长期愿景、稳定且有能力的管理阶层，以及为了——秉承伟大的北方传统——把事情办成而愿意将意识形态搁置一边的态度，一直是关键。但边缘地带的情况如何？沿着我以前上学的路线（乘坐 76 路公交车）向外走，城市的光鲜面很快就消失了。安科茨（Ancoats）、迈尔斯普拉廷（Miles Platting）、纽顿希斯（Newton Heath）和费尔斯沃思（Failsworth）看起来并没有从多少“滴漏效应”中获益。在纽顿希斯，三分之二的学龄儿童来自低收入家庭，这使得该地区成为全国最贫困的地区之一。

在我最近一次行程中，与我交谈的人们传达了复杂的信息。有人赞扬交通系统的效率和成本。但同时也存在一种带有黑色幽默的、阴郁的宿命论，当地人对此会深有共鸣，这种感觉源于一种认为并没有太多改变的心理——尽管曼彻斯特市议会已经批准了一项为期十年的纽顿希斯振兴计划。

我是在市长选举的那个周末在那里。在一家兼作投票站的工人俱乐部里，我询问了两名穿着足球衫的中年男子他们如何投票。他们笑了：“曼联，”其中一人说；“曼城，”另一人说。

一座无与伦比的城市

曼彻斯特是一座足球之城。所有足球俱乐部中最伟大的一家，最初是以“纽顿希斯兰开夏与约克郡铁路足球俱乐部”之名在当时的北路（North Road）成立，随后在 1893 年搬迁至克莱顿（Clayton）的银行街（Bank Street）。一块纪念牌记录了曼联在第二个地点的早期岁月。

周围到处都是这些联系的提醒。就在纽顿希斯的主要干道老教堂街（Old Church Street）旁边，有一组以在慕尼黑空难中丧生的“巴比之子”（Busby Babes）命名的街道：汤米·泰勒巷（Tommy Taylor Close）、埃迪·科尔曼巷（Eddie Colman Close）、罗杰·伯恩巷（Roger Byrne Close），以及以杰夫·本特（Geoff Bent）和大卫·佩格（David Pegg）命名的步行道。尽管安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）是一名埃弗顿球迷，但当地人认可他是一位真正的足球之人，而不是一个为了展示亲民而伪装成足球迷的政客。他说，除了家人，对他来说最重要的事情依次是埃弗顿、工党和天主教会。我们在剑桥大学就读，相差一年，并在一次杯赛中交手，他在其著作《向北》（Head North）中回忆起了这次经历。他正确地记住了我在右后卫位置上的笨拙，以及我那个导致我们输掉比赛的乌龙球。在球场上，他是个努力的人。

卓越的埃文斯

《星期日泰晤士报》最伟大的几位主编之一来自纽顿希斯 / 费尔斯沃思。哈罗德·埃文斯爵士（Sir Harold Evans），也就是大家口中的老哈里，在艾什沃思街的一栋小型排屋中长大，那里就在76路公交车的路线附近。

他的母亲具有创业精神。她起初向路人出售柠檬水，接着卖冰淇淋，直到最后他们的店铺演变成一家规模齐全的街角店，销售杂货和针线用品。她在抚养四个孩子的同时经营这家店，而她的丈夫在火车司机的轮班工作结束后会提供帮助。埃文斯的父亲是个聪明人，对数字很敏感，但几乎没有受过正式教育，而他的祖父则完全没读过书：在自传中一段令人动容的文字里，埃文斯讲述了1981年他担任本报主编时拜访父亲的经历，父亲告诉他：“如果人们知道编辑这份报纸的人，竟然是一个连报纸上的字都认不出的人的孙子，他们会怎么说？”

他的成功主要归功于教育。他拥有了父亲和祖父所没有的好运。我最近走在艾什沃思街上，54号——也就是埃文斯家的旧居——现在依然开着一家杂货店。如果能在这里设立一块纪念牌，以致敬埃文斯的成就及其父母的精神，将是非常合适的——无论对他个人还是对纽顿希斯而言。

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25

评论

从我们的打印画廊 timescartoons.com 购买《泰晤士报》漫画的印刷版或签名版，或致电 0800 912 7136

特朗普的空军之行令人尴尬

一名总统在与伊朗的一场不得人心且充满风险的战争中躲避敌方火力，这种象征意义将加深公众的反感

杰拉德·贝克（Gerard Baker）

@GERARDTBAKER

即便按照美国记者看待自身角色的那种夸大的自尊标准，白宫记者团也自成一类。对于大多数初出茅庐的美国记者来说，报道总统的工作仍被视为新闻业职业生涯的巅峰。

来自主要新闻机构的记者在白宫简报室拥有自己的指定座位，座背上贴着报纸、网站或电视网络的名称。当总统前往异国他乡进行访问时，他们随行报道。他们长期且艰苦地在政府内部培养深喉线人，希望有一天能以此获得一项独家新闻，并在未来由某个罗伯特·雷福德或达斯汀·霍夫曼在他们想象的人生电影中将其永恒记录。

因此，你可以想象本周他们得知自己的工作描述被扩展到——为针对特朗普总统的潜在致命袭击充当人类诱饵时——所受到的震惊。

《华盛顿邮报》报道了一场由美国特勤局精心策划的骗局，发生在上个月特朗普结束对土耳其参加北约峰会的访问之际。美国情报官员收到迹象表明，特朗普在土耳其期间面临恐怖主义威胁，且有报告称，在安卡拉总统所在地附近有配备重型武器的伊朗代理恐怖分子。

他的安全顾问认为风险严重，而空军一号——无论是卡塔尔赠送的新飞机还是原有的那架——对敌人来说都是过于诱人的目标。他们决定秘密地将总统转移到另一架飞机上返回国内。

随后的电视画面显示，特朗普在安卡拉机场登上了旧的空军一号飞机，但随后，在摄像机未捕捉到且除少数官员外无人知晓的情况下，他立即穿过飞机客舱，进入了一个餐饮单元——那种用于向航空公司运送机上餐食的单元——该单元已被提升至另一侧的舱门处。特朗普爬进容器，容器被降至一辆等待的卡车上，随后他被运送到几百码外另一架较小的飞机上，那是一架空军C12-A喷气机，他与一小组助手一同乘机返回美国。

毫无察觉的记者们随后登上了他们认为的空军一号（根据协议，该呼号属于总统实际乘坐的任何飞机），且从未意识到总统并不在其中。更重要的是，他们不知道更换飞机的原因——即他们被留在了一架美国官员认为可能面临被击落风险的飞机上。

在本周《邮报》的报道之后，愤怒随之而来。“白宫竟然会对整个记者团就总统所在位置撒谎。

记者发现自己扮演了人类诱饵的角色

“总统……这跨越了一条新的卢比孔河，”华盛顿新闻界的一位知名成员加勒特·格拉夫（Garrett Graff）说道。

对新闻界撒谎？我们并不惊讶。尽管特朗普对他口中的“人民之敌”向来不屑一顾，但将他们当作地对空导弹的消耗性掩护，以便自己安全回家，这确实是头一次。

不过，在记者们自以为是的愤怒中，几乎被忽视的一个事实是，在这场惊人的欺骗戏码中，扮演该角色的人并不止他们。

那架诱饵飞机上还包括白宫工作人员和内阁官员，其中包括国务卿马可·鲁比奥（Marco Rubio）和财政部长斯科特·贝森特（Scott Bessent），他们分别是如果三军统帅发生意外后的第四和第五顺位总统继任者。

当然，无论乘坐哪架飞机，所有人都安全回到了家中，或许这场闹剧被夸大了。毕竟，这并不是总统在面临可靠威胁时首次利用欺骗手段出行。比尔·克林顿和乔治·W·布什都曾在某些场合采取绝密掩护——但在他们的情况下，少数几名记者得到了通知，且似乎没有其他人被置于潜在的危险之中。

除了少数记者外，很难想象还有谁会对这件事感到不满。美国人明白，行动安全是以总统为优先的——而且总统通常会听从建议。然而，这个不同寻常的故事可能只会凸显特朗普目前的困境。在一次不得人心的战争中，一名总统字面意义上地在躲避敌方火力风险，这种象征意义只会加深公众对他外交政策的反感。

或许为了弥补他在与伊朗战争中显而易见的犹豫不决，特朗普在过去几周里尽力塑造一个果断领导者的形象。白天，他在升级、降级或与伊朗陷入僵局之间摇摆不定；而到了夜晚，他在 Truth Social 上的发帖则产生了一些他以军事风格摆拍的惊人图像。其中一张上周发布的照片显示，他身着全套陆军礼服，与二战时期的真实英雄——乔治·巴顿（George Patton）将军和道格拉斯·麦克阿瑟（Douglas MacArthur）将军并肩而行。

“空军一号”的这场闹剧引发了排山倒海般的嘲讽。它可能不像鲍里斯·约翰逊为了躲避电视采访而藏在冰箱里的景象那样令人震惊或卑微，但它引发了批评者在社交媒体上的一系列反击，包括一些 AI 生成的图像，显示总统潜伏在航空餐车里，周围堆满了椒盐卷饼包装袋以及锡箔盘装的鸡肉和牛肉。

无论此举多么谨慎，一名总统为了避免被敌人刺杀而通过秘密手段登机和离机的想法，并不能让大多数美国人感到宽慰。在他坚持认为几天内就能结束的战争爆发六个月后，这只会强化一种感觉：特朗普让自己陷入了一场要么无法逃脱，要么极其屈辱的困境。

美国现状

在任何您可以获取播客的平台上收听 Katy Balls 和 Gerard Baker

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26

致编辑的信

囚犯释放

先生，关于囚犯提前释放引发的争议（见8月 12 日读者来信），解决方案应该是让所有判决都名副其实。为了安抚民粹主义情绪，主刑期有所增加，但其中很少有能被全部执行的。而提前释放在一定程度上抵消了这一点；当这种情绪再次抬头时（如在哈珀案中），便导致了目前的混乱局面。如果一名诈骗犯被认为与一名强奸犯同样值得被判处十年监禁，那么他们两人都应该服刑同样的时间。让强奸犯服刑时间更长，说明最初的判定是错误的，或许他本该被判处 15 年。服刑比例可能会有所不同，但这种差异应仅限于量刑法官在判决时未知的事项，例如在狱中的表现以及在考虑释放时所构成的危险程度，而不应取决于犯罪性质。

理查德·科尔比 (Richard Colbey) 大律师，坦普尔区 5 Pump Court

先生，提前释放或实际服刑时间并不是问题所在，因为犯罪者最终都会回到他们的社区，这令受害者和证人感到担忧。几年前，切尔滕纳姆青少年法院的一名常客被指控在他人用刀刺入受害者腹部时按住该少年的双手。在格洛斯特刑事法院，证据遭到质疑，他被判无罪。显然，社区对此持有不同看法，该家庭的朋友拜访了这名年轻人并向他说明了情况：“走——否则后果自负。”用都铎时代的术语来说，这相当于放逐。缓刑服务局为他找了一个较远的地方。他远离了切尔滕纳姆，在与同伙断绝联系后，他的犯罪行为减少了。

在法院、量刑标准和监狱都失效的地方，放逐起作用了。真正的受益者是社区：受害者的家属可以重新开始生活，证人们不再害怕阴暗的小巷，而且，或许他本人也从中获益。

更正与澄清

● 我们此前报道称，南泰恩赛德议会绿党候选人托尼·盖尔 (Tony Gair) 删除了支持弗拉基米尔·普京以及指责特蕾莎·梅策划对谢尔盖·斯克里帕尔发动诺维乔克袭击的社交媒体帖子。盖尔先生告知我们，他并未删除这些帖子，而只是将他的 X 账号设为私密几个月。他还指出，他的诺维乔克帖子发布于 15, 2018, 3月，而非我们错误报道的 5 月 15 日。我们很乐意对此予以更正。

1956 监管 《泰晤士报》严肃对待有关编辑内容的投诉。我们致力于遵守独立新闻标准组织（“IPSO”）的规则和条例，以及 IPSO 执行的《编辑实践准则》。更正或澄清请求请发送电子邮件至 feedback@thetimes.co.uk，或邮寄至 Feedback, The Times, 1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF

关于伯纳姆零小时合同改革的动荡

先生：关于贵报报道的禁止零小时合同可能产生的影响，受影响而失去工作的将不仅仅是年轻人（见 8 月 13 日新闻，“企业对零小时改革感到愤怒”）。零小时合同所提供的灵活性一旦终结，可能意味着其他群体会感到被迫离开工作岗位，甚至可能完全退出就业市场。

在市场和社会研究领域，大量研究员和调查访谈员受雇于灵活工人合同，并从中获益。目前的合同条款赋予了人们选择承接哪些项目的权力，并能控制工作的时间、地点和量。他们中的许多人是幼子的父母，或承担着照顾其他亲属的责任，其就业需要配合这些义务。如果我们全面禁止这种工作方式，我们可能会在政府需要更多税收的时候，面临失去一大批经验丰富的人员（主要是女性）退出劳动力市场的风险。挑战“剥削性”合同是正确的。然而，立法必须考虑到那些非常合理的

灵活模式，这些模式支持了这么多人的就业，并为企业和公共部门提供了具有成本效益的研究。

简·弗罗斯特 (Jane Frost) 市场研究协会 (Market Research Society) 首席执行官

先生：贵报关于零小时合同改革可能导致 30 亿美元成本的报道重点关注了酒店业。地区剧院受到的打击将更为严重。对于前台工作人员来说，工作时间随演出计划而定。当剧院停演时，没有观众，没有票房收入，通常也没有工作可提供。然而，这些岗位为许多在学业、试镜和其他工作之间寻求平衡的年轻人提供了宝贵的灵活就业机会。僵化的工时保证可能会减少这些机会，而非改善它们。

许多地区剧院由公共所有并由慈善机构运营，且已经面临更高的雇主国民保险、上涨的工资和能源成本，以及减少的商业税率支持。在没有工作的情况下要求他们保证工时并不能创造更大的保障。这将意味着就业岗位减少、节目编排缺乏雄心，以及对本已脆弱的财务状况造成更大的压力。

政府应当区分剥削性的零小时实践与真正不规律的工作。对于剧院而言，任何保证都应反映实际可提供的工作时间，而非与运营方式几乎没有关系的历史平均值。

帕特里克·格雷西 (Patrick Gracey) 剧院制作人，伦敦 W6

先生：关于对禁止零小时合同的抱怨，这不过是无能的雇主对穷人的一种剥削形式。这种糟糕且阴险的做法早该被摒弃了。

特伦斯·哈特 (Terance Hart) 剑桥

先生：对工人最好的保护是一个繁荣的经济，在这种经济中，如果薪资和条件不令人满意，人们拥有一个现实的选择，可以迅速转移到另一个雇主那里。

保罗·里德利 (Paul Ridley) 斯托克-昂-特伦特

致《泰晤士报》的信件必须为独家投稿，且可能会被编辑。请附上详细地址和白天的联系电话。

投资英国

先生：

在推动人们投资英国的努力中（“谨慎的储蓄者如果不在英国投资，就不能指望获得税收减免”，8月12日），奥尔曼男爵夫人忽略了纳税人和养老金储蓄者其实是同一群人的事实。她提案的基本前提是，“纳税人为每年超过£70的税收减免提供资金，以补充个人或雇主的养老金缴款”，因此这些个人应该被强制投资于英国资产。但“纳税人”和“个人”是同一群人，因此他们应该能够决定自己的资金如何投资。

正如养老金自由化所表明的，通常个人比国家更清楚什么对自己更有利，因此强制要求不同的行为只会导致更糟糕的结果。如果政治家希望个人增加对英国的投资，他们应该专注于使英国成为一个更具吸引力的投资地（降低商业税、减少监管），而不是告诉人们将自己辛苦赚来的钱投资在何处。

尼克·沃林 (Nick Wallin) 伦敦 SW12

达到标准

先生：

迪安·克莱写到她的女儿尽管考试成绩令人失望，但仍获得了牛津大学的录取（信件，8月13日）。我凭借生物和英国文学的 A-level 合格成绩被爱丁堡大学的医学专业录取，我认为这可能是个错误，但我随后成功地从事了 40 年的全科医生职业。考试并没有人们吹捧的那么重要。

伊恩·麦基 (Ian McKee) 爱丁堡

阿代（Arday）的“异常”

据报道，剑桥大学副校长德博拉·普伦蒂表示，任命杰森·阿代是一次“异常”（新闻，8月13日）。她不可能知道这一点。她本可以说她希望这是一种异常，但如果报道属实，她表现出了令人质疑的逻辑掌控力，并降低了她随后就此事发表的任何评论的价值。

约翰·索德 (John Sword) 牛津郡，奇平诺顿

夜间游泳者

我感到震惊的是，匿名作者将擅闯、违反附例、刑事损坏和鲁莽行为描述为几乎只是一个无害的夏季冒险（“汉普斯特德池塘的深夜秘密”，Times2，8月12日）。文章描述了未成年饮酒、在没有救生员的情况下擅自进入游泳池、损坏设施以及年轻人从更衣室屋顶跳入水中的行为。这使他们及他人面临严重的受伤风险。汉普斯特德荒野由伦敦市公司作为注册慈善机构管理，不向当地社区收取费用。这类破坏行为使该慈善机构损失了数千英镑，而这些资源本应投入到慈善目标中。汉普斯特德荒野警局与大都会警察局协作。我们已授权其采取强有力的执法行动，包括在适当情况下进行逮捕和起诉。

格雷戈里·琼斯 (Gregory Jones KC) 伦敦市公司汉普斯特德荒野、海盖特森林及女王公园委员会主席

《天路历程》再次售出

摘自《泰晤士报》2026年8月14日

RC Warner先生持有的1678年版班扬（Bunyani）《天路历程》首版副本再次被售出。该书于7月26日在苏富比（Sotheby's）以6,800 英镑的价格成交；昨日，Quaritch公司宣布将其退还给苏富比公司，理由是该书并非首版的第一次发行。随后在当天，另一则公告宣布该书已被Quaritch公司的一位客户购买，该客户是一个不能透露名称的英国团体。

在拍卖会上，Quaritch公司将其购入作为库存，并未代表来自美国或其他地方的委托人收取佣金。令人欣慰的是，可以报道该书已售予一个英国团体，且目前仍留在本国。关于支付的价格未作说明，但有理由认为该价格远低于上个月成交时的6,800 英镑。

在苏富比公司的官方公告中指出，“首版存在两次发行这一事实在书目编纂者中并不广为人知”。然而，调查显示，这一事实在40年前就已被知晓并发表，但此后被完全遗忘。曾拥有一本残缺副本的Joseph Angus先生在1886年11月的册子（第182页）中对其进行了描述。他写道：“我相信这本副本在某一方面是唯一的。在最后一页第232页的‘Finis’（完）字下方五行处，有一份勘误表（Erata）。”这里值得一提的是，Angus先生的副本曾属于Marsom家族。Marsom先生曾与班扬一同入狱，并且是那些说“约翰，把它印出来”的人之一。据传他曾协助支付费用，并在书籍印刷过程中添加了勘误表（或如印刷所示的Erata）。Marsom先生是卢顿浸信会教堂的创始人。该副本于1921年7月25日在苏富比以£500的价格“按现状（含所有缺陷）”售出。到目前为止，仅记录了两本第二次发行的副本，即Angus-Marsom本和Warner本。

● 英格兰队与澳大利亚队的最后一场测试赛将于今日在椭圆球场（the Oval）开赛。与惯例不同，这场决定系列赛胜负的决赛将进行至分出胜负，不设时间限制。此前的时间限制为六天。

文化资金

先生：Tristan Hambleton（8月12日来信）误解了艺术（及博物馆）资金的性质。大多数“免费”博物馆在国家或地方层面接收大量公共补贴，主要的表演艺术机构亦然。然而，这绝不能覆盖其所有的运行成本，更不用说像皇家歌剧院所需的那种资本投资（8月2日报道）。我担任威尔特郡博物馆（Wiltshire Museum）的信托委员会主席，该馆是一个庞大的独立博物馆网络的一部分，这些博物馆必须通过入场费、会员费、遗产捐赠和捐款来维持运营，而重大资本投资则依赖于国家彩票遗产基金和慈善捐赠。我完全支持国家文化资金——其经济回报远超投资水平——但所有文化领域都面临着同样的资金挑战。

Caroline Kay 威尔特郡博物馆主席，德维齐斯

“谷歌医生”的裁决

先生，Andrew Colman（8月12日来信）提到他的全科医生妻子赠送的一个马克杯，上面写着医学学位优于互联网搜索，遗憾的是，这似乎反映了医学界依然存在的一种傲慢，即认为所有患者都是白痴。我觉得，如果我母亲的全科医生能对她的症状、病史以及严重的头痛持更开放的态度，那么她更有可能在最初就怀疑是中风（事实证明确实如此），而不是尿路感染。

所有咨询全科医生的患者都是关于自身感受的专家，并且担心这意味着什么，任何全科医生都不应轻率地否定患者通过谷歌搜索产生的任何担忧。

Tim Harrison 诺福克郡，卡斯尔艾克尔

琐碎部长

先生，我们真的希望我们的首相在 Cobra 紧急会议上决定是否禁止一次性烧烤炉吗（报道，Aug 13）？肯定有更重要的问题需要占用他的时间。

尼克·麦坎德鲁 (Nick MacAndrew) 汉普郡，哈瑟登

单调设计

先生，将“美感”作为规划要求听起来是个好主意（信件，Aug 13），但遗憾的是，美在观者眼中。我愿意将其定为“有趣”。我最近看到的所有新住宅开发项目都是方形建筑，配有完全相同的方形窗户，唯一的缓解是米色或灰色砖墙在色调上的轻微变化。增加伪木饰面反而让其中一些显得更加沉闷。

布鲁斯·亨特 (Bruce Hunt) 剑桥郡，林顿

吧台排队

先生，在 73, 岁这个年纪，我可能与 Z 世代没有太多共同点，但有一件事我们可以达成共识，那就是在酒吧排队（笔记本，Aug 13）。我绝对厌恶在吧台等待时，猜测在我之后到达的人是否会在我之前获得服务。我觉得这压力极大，并且一直想知道为什么顾客不像在其他任何地方那样排队。年轻人的这种理智是正确的。

伊丽莎白·克拉克 (Elizabeth Clarke) 谢菲尔德

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27

社论

每日通用登记

爱丁堡艺术节开幕，将持续至 August 30. 世界风笛乐队锦标赛于今天和明天在格拉斯哥举行，共有来自 16 个国家的 8,000 名风笛手参赛。

自然笔记

林鸽并不是安静的邻居；它们大声且重复的鸣叫声感觉可以持续数小时。下次当你被它们看似无止境的咕咕声吵醒时，思考一下你正在聆听的声音是在曾经覆盖北半球大部分地区的林地森林中缓慢演化而来的，或许会有所帮助。这些鸣叫声具有刻意的穿透力——因为它们必须在所有那些茂密的叶丛中被听到。在求偶期间，林鸽的存在感更加不可忽视。如果它们没有在烟囱顶上亲昵地咕咕叫，那么它们就像卡通里的窃贼一样，在屋顶之间笨拙地跳跃。它们的飞行展示包括响亮的拍翅声和空气穿过羽毛时发出的尖锐哨音。乔纳森·图洛克 (XONATHAN TULLOCH)

今日生日

哈尔·贝里 (Halle Berry)，如图所示，演员，《怪物之球》(2003)，60岁；达伦·克拉克 (Darren Clarke)，高尔夫球手，公开赛冠军 (2011)，58岁；尼科·德·博因维尔 (Nico de Boinville)，国家猎马赛骑师，37岁；德莫特·德斯蒙德 (Dermot Desmond)，商人

及金融家，凯尔特足球俱乐部最大个人股东，76岁；马克·弗朗索瓦 (Mark Francois)，保守党雷利和威克福德区议员，影子国防大臣，61岁；尼克·格里姆肖 (Nick Grimshaw)，电视和广播节目主持人，BBC Radio 6 Music 早间节目，42岁；埃尔文·“魔术”·约翰逊 (Earvin 'Magic' Johnson)，篮球运动员，五次 NBA 冠军 (1980-88)，67岁；加里·拉森 (Gary Larson)，漫画家，《远方》(1980-95)，76岁；杰森·伦纳德 (Jason Leonard)，橄榄球运动员，哈利昆队和英格兰队 (均为 1990-2004)，58岁；艾德里安·莱斯特 (Adrian Lester)，演员，《骗局》(2004-12)，58岁；多纳塔尼·沃兰勋爵 (Lord Donathani Warland)，英联邦企业与投资委员会主席，70岁；帕迪·麦金尼斯 (Paddy McGuinness)，电视主持人、演员及喜剧演员，《顶级骑手》(2019-22)，《体育问答》(2010-23)，53岁；史蒂夫·马丁 (Steve Martin)，喜剧演员及演员，《飞机、火车和汽车》(1987)，81岁；吉尔·莫里斯 (Jill Morris)，英国驻土耳其大使，59岁；杰基·奥利弗 (Jackie Oliver)，一级方程式赛车

车手 (1967-77)，勒芒 24 小时耐力赛冠军 (1969)，84岁；托马斯·帕肯汉姆 (Thomas Pakenham)，隆福德伯爵，作家及历史学家，《瓜分非洲》(1998)，93岁；乔纳森·鲍威尔 (Jonathan Powell)，外交官，英国国家安全顾问，托尼·布莱尔幕僚长 (1995-2007)，70岁；麦迪·普赖尔 (Maddy Prior)，民谣歌手，《Steeleye Span, All Around My Hat》(1975)，79岁；弗雷德里克·拉斐尔 (Frederic Raphael)，作家，《大开眼戒》(1999)，95岁；苏珊·圣詹姆斯 (Susan Saint James)，演员，《麦克米伦与妻子》(1973-76)，80岁；丹妮尔·史蒂尔 (Danielle Steel)，小说家，《公爵夫人》(2017)，79岁；卡洛斯·塔瓦雷斯 (Carlos Tavares)，首席执行官，Stellantis (2021-24, 汽车集团)，68岁；吉莉安·泰弗罗斯 (Gillian Tayflorth)，演员，《东区东区》(自 1985 年起)，71岁；北山 (Caroline) 沃尔德格雷夫夫人 (Lady (Caroline) Waldegrave of North Hill)，Leithis 食品与葡萄酒学校创始校长 (1977-2008)，74岁；维姆·文德斯 (Wim Wenders)，电影导演，《巴黎，德克萨斯》(1984)，81岁。 (1)

历史上的今天

2018 年，意大利热那亚的莫兰迪高速公路桥的一段坍塌，造成 43 人死亡，多人受伤。

最后一言

“我最大的力量是对我人民的爱；我最大的弱点是我太爱他们了。”——谢赫·穆吉布·拉赫曼，领导孟加拉国独立的前总理，于 1975 年这一天被刺杀，他在 1972 年接受 BBC 大卫·弗罗斯爵士采访时如是说。

测试时代

随着学生们在 A-level 成绩中创下纪录，且比以往更多的人获得了首选大学的录取名额，政府和学术界必须为他们提供更好的方案。

今年在八月的酷暑中紧握来之不易的成绩单的 A-level、T-level 和 Btec 学生们值得祝贺。英格兰、威尔士和北爱尔兰的 A-level 最高分连续第三年上升：28.5% 的报考科目被评为 A* 或 A。成绩稳步但小幅的提升不可避免地引发了关于成绩膨胀的议论。然而，毫无疑问，大多数考生——或许是意识到了就业竞争日益激烈——一直非常努力：考试依然严苛。

或许更具挑战性的，是在许多人即将面对的高等教育不稳定领域中寻找方向。自 1998 年托尼·布莱尔政府通过《教学与高等教育法》结束全英范围内的免费大学教育以来，这段旅程变得昂贵得多，且更具不确定性。该法允许大学收取上限为 1,000 英镑 的学费，并用可偿还的学生贷款取代了生活补助金。不久后的 1999 年，布莱尔先生自豪地提出了他的目标，即让 50% 的年轻人接受高等教育。

2004 年的《高等教育法》更进一步，允许大学收取可变的年度费用（当时上限为每年 3,000 英镑），并提供由政府支持的低利率学费贷款。还款仅在学生进入职场且收入超过固定金额后才开始。尽管引入之初较为温和，但支撑今日高等教育格局的模板已然确立：扩大了入学机会，但个人承担的财务成本大幅增加。

工党政府经常以“毕业生溢价”来证明这种个人成本的合理性，即大学毕业生与没有学位的人相比，预期可获得的平均终身经济收益。2003 年，高等教育大臣玛格丽特·霍奇引用了一个所谓的毕业生收益 40 万英镑。2010 年，马丁格利勋爵（Lord Browne of Madingley）对大学资助的审查将该数字大幅下调至 10 万英镑。最近一项财政研究所（Institute for Fiscal Studies）的审查在计入学生贷款还款后，仍将这一优势定为 10 万英镑。但该审查还得出结论，四分之一的毕业生在读完大学后财务状况反而会恶化。

随着毕业生溢价在实际价值上缩水，学生贷款还款的负担却飞速增长。政府通过一些手段——从冻结还款门槛到使用较高的 RPI 通胀数据来计算贷款利息——悄悄地加重了毕业生的压力。如今，英格兰的大学毕业生在进入一个充斥着高学历人才的疲软就业市场时，平均债务接近 4.8 万英镑。

如果说历届政府让英国毕业生失望了，那么大学也经常让学生失望。令人愤慨的是，当学者与大学管理部门之间的争端升级为罢工行动时，学生竟然被要求接受估算的、未经评分的最终证书，正如在诺丁汉大学和爱丁堡大学所发生的那样。而围绕剑桥大学杰森·阿尔代（Jason Arday）教授的丑闻，则是缺乏学术严谨性——被时尚意识形态所取代——影响我们更广泛大学系统的一个极端例子。

这一切并不一定意味着大学不再有价值：在许多情况下，它依然有价值。而且，大学应当恰当地鼓励的智力发展，以及它所提供的经历和友谊，是无法用价格标签来严格量化的。然而，现在的高中毕业生必须比前几代人更批判性地思考大学课程究竟能为他们提供什么，以及代价是什么：在某些情况下，工作或学徒制可能会提供更多。在对待处于人生转折点的年轻人的体贴与公正方面，政府和学术界都太经常未能通过这项考验。

琐碎与繁杂

苏格兰正面临巨大的财政赤字，若非英国的支持，这将导致毁灭性的后果

曾几何时，苏格兰民族党（SNP）曾对一项名为“苏格兰政府支出与收入”（Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland）的会计核算结果感到欣喜。这项被称为 Gers 的核算提供了边境以北公共财政的年度快照。在 2008 年金融危机后的几年里，时任 SNP 首任大臣的亚历克斯·萨蒙德（Alex Salmond）曾利用该数据来证明苏格兰可以作为一个独立国家独立生存。但那是过去，现在情况不同了。今年的 Gers 数据继续为该国在脱离英国后的财政前景描绘出一幅阴郁的图景，正如过去许多年以来那样。尽管 SNP 试图否认这些它曾经如此热切祈求支持的数据，但它无法掩盖这样一个事实：如果没有来自威斯敏斯特的补贴资金，其长期的挥霍将无法持续。

赤裸裸的事实是，居住在苏格兰的人们受益于一项巨大的全国性补贴，这被描述为“联盟红利”：其人均支出高于英格兰，相当于每人 2,720 英镑。然而，在 SNP 灾难性的管理下，这种相对丰厚的资金并没有带来更好的教育或医疗，反而导致了巨大的赤字。

虽然 2025-26 年英国的人均支出为 119,561，但苏格兰的人均支出为 22,281 英镑。尽管税收收入处于历史高位（部分原因是 SNP 政府决定冻结中高收入者的所得税起征点），但苏格兰人的公共支出红利只能通过运行高达 253 亿英镑 billion 的巨额赤字来支付。这相当于国内生产总值的 10.9%，是英国赤字的两倍多。这将立即使一个独立的苏格兰沦为经济上的“绝望之境”，主权债券市场的借贷成本也将随之攀升。这种凄凉的现实在短期内不太可能有所改善。

那么，苏格兰人民从这种大规模的结构性补贴中得到了什么？没得到多少。诚然，苏格兰的大学生不需要像他们不幸的英格兰同行那样承受如山般的债务，但苏格兰的学校教育曾令全英国羡慕，但在过去的 20 年里，无论是相对于其他国家还是从绝对标准来看，其标准都经历了长期的下降。即便在最极端的情况下，SNP 也不能将这一惨痛失败的责任推给威斯敏斯特。

随着北海油气收入的崩溃，以及随之而来的关于独立苏格兰长期经济可行性的另一个论据的瓦解，SNP 试图将注意力从 Gers 中那些冷酷的统计数据转移到令人宽慰的假设上。该党认为，一个摆脱英国财政部枷锁的苏格兰将能够设定自己的优先事项并重新分配资源。但独立将增加而非减少成本。以国防为例：假设苏格兰加入北约，它将负责一个巨大的空中和海上防御区，需要拥有自己的空军和海军。与此同时，在克莱德河为英国皇家海军建造战舰的工作将随着工作向南转移而逐渐停止，从而导致相应的工业投资和就业机会流失。

Gers 也许不是预测独立苏格兰财政状况的完美指标，但它包含了无论 SNP 如何掩饰都无法隐藏的硬数据。而且，这些数据也应该给安迪·伯纳姆敲响警钟。SNP 在教育和医疗方面的失败是用更高的人均支出换来的。简单地向失效的系统投入资金永远不是答案。

天堂般的体验

周三的部分日食是一个罕见的全民共聚时刻

在他们 1973 年的杰作《月之暗面》（Dark Side of the Moon）的结尾，平克·弗洛伊德（Pink Floyd）提醒我们，“太阳之下的一切都和谐共鸣，但太阳被月亮遮蔽了。”周三晚上的情况确实如此，英国人纷纷抬头仰望自 1999 年以来最完整的一次日食。在场的人们得到了最高 95.7% 覆盖率的最佳景观，而诺里奇（Norwich）则经历了覆盖率较低的 89.7% 的日食。这一现象持续了两小时，在晚上 7 点刚过时达到顶峰，此时白昼短暂地变成了黄昏。虽然它可能不像在西班牙北部和格陵兰岛看到的日全食那样壮观，但依然是一个令人难忘的景象。

在一个除了足球场之外，集体国家体验寥寥无几的时代，这次日食是一次罕见的共聚，随机的人群聚集在高地或公路桥上。在那个神奇的瞬间，人们停止了刷负面新闻。一些英国人表现出了他们对官方说教式建议的传统怀疑，直接凝视太阳，天知道这会产生什么令人担忧的眼科影响。另一些人则在最后一刻的抢购中设法弄到了一副稀缺的日食眼镜，慷慨的人将其分享给装备不足的人。人们使用纸板甚至沥水篮制作的针孔相机来捕捉这一事件，这让观看者想起了主宰他们生活的那个庞大而沉默的机制。这一切都显得如此迷人且低科技。

至于日全食，它们通常每隔一两年在地球表面的某个地方发生一次。然而，下一次在英国可见的日全食直到 2090 年才会出现，这为前往异域进行长途旅行提供了充足的理由。

希望周三的事件能激发人们对天文学及其实现工具的更多兴趣。比如那个美妙但如今已濒危的乔德雷尔银行（Jodrell Bank）无线电天文台。

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28

世界

泄密导致政权刺杀特朗普的报复计划落空

伊朗 Michael Evans

情报人士认为，伊朗政权上个月可能曾命令一名携带肩扛式导弹的特工企图刺杀特朗普总统。

一名摩萨德前官员告诉《泰晤士报》，西方情报机构在最近几周内一直在仔细研究数千条来自伊朗的截获信息和对话。

据了解，一段被窃听的来自德黑兰领导层的对话或指令中，可能提到了在特朗普准备乘坐“空军一号”起飞的机场附近使用便携式导弹发射器的方案。据《纽约时报》报道，当天疑似有人目击到了此类武器。

这些情报足以让美国特勤局采取一次精心策划的掩护行动：在7月8日土耳其首都的北约峰会结束后，特朗普在安卡拉机场被装入一辆餐饮车移出总统专机，随后换乘另一架飞机飞往英国。

摩萨德前官员拉米·伊格拉（Rami Igra）表示，尽管上个月没有发生刺杀特朗普的企图，但这位总统已被列入伊朗什叶派武装组织网络的报复击杀名单。

由于在美以对伊战争第一天的空袭中，大阿亚图拉阿里·哈梅内伊（Ayatollah Ali Khamenei）死亡，特朗普和以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡（Binyamin Netanyahu）成为了目标。

曾任摩萨德人质与失踪人员部门负责人的伊格拉表示：“美国人正在审查海量信息。如果有情报表明有人——无论是伊斯兰革命卫队（IRGC）、伊朗情报局还是某个恐怖组织——正试图因哈梅内伊被暗杀而向特朗普报复，那么就必须严肃对待。”

“哈梅内伊是一位宗教领袖，是什叶派世界中最重要的人物。全球有2.5 亿什叶派穆斯林。因此，为领袖之死寻求报复具有巨大的宗教驱动力。”

“（关于空军一号威胁的）情报极有可能来自技术来源。技术来源是硬证据，通常来自对对话的截获，或者是关于某人应在何时何地出现的一项指令。”

“特勤局从不冒险。他们不被允许冒险。他们的工作就是时刻想象最糟糕的情况。”

“以色列总是会传递它获得的情报，即使是对不友好的国家，只要这能挽救人们的生命。”

总统特朗普在特勤局收到阴谋警告后，在安卡拉机场被装入一辆餐饮车秘密移出空军一号。下方为德黑兰参加阿里·哈梅内伊大阿亚图拉葬礼的哀悼者呼吁报复的情景。

伊格拉补充说，伊朗有暗杀历史：“但唯一一次明确涉及伊朗情报局的暗杀是[1992]年在柏林米科诺斯餐厅对反政权活动人士的袭击。”

四名流亡的库尔德裔伊朗人在这次袭击中丧生，德国法院将此次事件归咎于伊朗政府领导人。

伊格拉说：“总的来说，伊朗情报部门并不擅长暗杀。其专长是间谍活动。以色列的辛贝特（Shin Bet）反间谍组织已经抓获了30名由伊朗情报局招募的以色列间谍。”

伊朗有两个职能重叠的情报机构：情报部（MOI）和伊斯兰革命卫队（IRGC）自己的组织，两者均在最高领袖的领导之下。

此外还有伊斯兰革命卫队的圣城军（Quds Force），这是其海外行动分支，负责为真主党等遍布中东的伊朗代理民兵组织进行情报收集和破坏活动。卡塞姆·苏莱曼尼（Qasem Soleimani）在2020年根据特朗普的命令被暗杀时，正是圣城军的负责人。

伊斯兰革命卫队（IRGC）的情报部门近年来一直活跃，绑架伊朗异见人士并试图绑架以色列商人。

据信，伊朗情报部（MOI）和伊斯兰革命卫队（IRGC）在土耳其和阿拉伯联合酋长国均有活动。

2024年，美国司法部（DOJ）指控伊斯兰革命卫队（IRGC）在特朗普竞选总统期间策划刺杀他。

一名美国前高级外交官员表示：“伊朗一直想刺杀特朗普以及他第一任期内的其他人物，如迈克·蓬佩奥 [时任国务卿]、约翰·博尔顿 [国家安全顾问] 和布莱恩·胡克 [伊朗问题特使]，这些人都参与了导致苏莱曼尼死亡的无人机袭击，这早已不是秘密。”

他们补充道：“这种复仇欲望因以色列策划的导致真主党瘫痪的刺杀行动、针对叙利亚境内伊斯兰革命卫队（IRGC）人物的袭击，以及2024, 年对哈马斯成员伊斯梅尔·哈尼亚的刺杀而进一步加剧，更不用说那些开启了当前与伊朗战争的斩首行动，包括杀掉最高领袖以及许多安全部门的高级领导人。”

“到目前为止，伊朗在刺杀西方高级领导人方面并不太成功，而与针对政权反对派的情况截然不同，但他们通过攻击像布宜诺斯艾利斯犹太社区中心 [1994年导致85人死亡] 这样的软目标，展示了他们的触角。”

“他们到目前为止未能除掉西方领导人，并不意味着他们会停止尝试，或者在某个时间点他们可能不会成功。”

在安卡拉更换飞机并非特勤局首次使用欺骗手段来保护总统。

2000年，当两个核大国之间因克什米尔问题而危机升级时，比尔·克林顿秘密飞往印度和巴基斯坦。他也曾被秘密转移，从一架美国军机换乘到一架无标志的喷气式飞机，从孟买飞往伊斯兰堡。特朗普的空军之行则相当尴尬，杰拉德·贝克，第25页

致友谊 布鲁塞尔一个由超过500,000朵大丽花组成的花毯激发了

乌克兰平民死亡人数创 2022 年以来最高纪录

乌克兰 Marc Bennett

随着俄罗斯对乌克兰的战争陷入一个全新的、甚至更加血腥的阶段，边界两端的平民死亡人数都在上升，且这场杀戮几乎看不到结束的希望。

联合国昨日表示，7 月份被杀害的乌克兰平民人数超过了 2022 年 5 月以来的任何一个月。联合国补充称，至少有 437 名平民在俄罗斯的袭击中丧生，比去年同月增加了 70%。联合国表示，包括 2,600 多人受伤在内的整体伤亡数字是 2022 年 3 月以来最糟糕的，而儿童伤亡人数则是战争初期以来的最高水平。

联合国驻乌克兰监测团负责人丹妮尔·贝尔（Danielle Bell）表示：“今年每个月被杀害和受伤的平民人数都在增加。这一趋势在 7 月份急剧加速。”

本月的情况可能更加糟糕。8 月的第一周，在莫斯科加强对乌克兰首都的轰炸之际，俄罗斯对基辅的一次袭击造成 17 人死亡。

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29

葛饰北斋的《神奈川冲浪里》庆祝比利时与日本外交关系建立 160 周年

泽连斯基总统表示，由于缺乏用于美国制造的“爱国者”防空系统的拦截导弹，乌克兰无法击落俄罗斯发射的 28 枚弹道导弹中的任何一枚。

尽管特朗普总统承诺在进入白宫一天内结束战斗，但根据联合国的说法，去年乌克兰平民的死亡和受伤人数比 2024 年增加了 30%，比 2023, 年增加了 70%。

联合国昨日还表示，自战争开始以来，至少有 16,874 名平民被杀，这是 1945. 年以来欧洲规模最大的一次。联合国补充称，真实数字可能会更高。

特朗普表示，华盛顿无法抽出被美国及其盟友在中东使用的“爱国者”拦截导弹，并且他撤回了给予基辅生产这些导弹许可的承诺。

泽连斯基暗示，华盛顿不愿提供保护可能是为了强迫乌克兰同意俄罗斯在领土方面的要求。

联合国表示，7 月份至少有 437 名乌克兰平民在俄罗斯的袭击中丧生

“这也许是政治手段，旨在让乌克兰更加顺从，”这位乌克兰总统告诉其国家安全和国防委员会。

虽然乌克兰的平民伤亡远高于俄罗斯，但上周，联合国秘书长安东尼奥·古特雷斯（António Guterres）谴责了两国针对人口密集区采取的“令人担忧的升级袭击模式”。联合国的一位发言人补充道：“平民越来越多地陷入这些致命袭击的交火之中。”

莫斯科方面称，7 月份有 79 名俄罗斯平民死亡，601 人受伤。联合国表示，由于无法进入俄罗斯领土，无法核实这些数字。

根据俄罗斯反对派网站《新报欧洲》（Novaya Gazeta Europe） 5 月发布的一份报告，2022 年以来，俄罗斯和被占领的克里米亚已有 1,400 多名平民死亡。

泽连斯基表示，乌克兰对俄罗斯石油设施和其他基础设施的袭击是为了迫使莫斯科结束入侵。

尽管乌克兰在打击克里姆林宫军事供应线和袭击俄罗斯境内目标方面取得了成功，但普京的军队正在侵入克拉马托尔斯克（Kramatorsk）和斯洛维扬斯克（Slovansk），这是顿涅茨克在基辅控制下的两个最大城镇。

“这是克拉马托尔斯克和斯洛维扬斯克尚未沦为废墟的最后一个夏天，”一名叫阿尔特姆·卡里亚金（Artem Kariakin）的乌克兰士兵在社交媒体上写道。

教皇选择一名公主管理其财务

社交媒体影响力者成为卡特尔的攻击目标

哈利·波特与普京总统的囚徒

奥列克桑德·伊万诺夫向凯瑟琳·菲尔普讲述了 J.K. 罗琳的故事如何帮助他在俄罗斯监狱中生存四年

奥列克桑德·伊万诺夫及其海军陆战队战友被带到的那座监狱感觉就像另一个星球，与外界及其所有消息完全隔绝。每天的整天，他们都被强迫在沉默中站立。狱卒们冷漠、残暴且残酷。

这座俄罗斯监狱唤起了伊万诺夫童年时期沉浸其中并一直阅读的那些书籍的记忆：“那就是阿兹卡班。”

当伊万诺夫提到这个由吸魂师看守的、来自《哈利·波特》系列中无法逃脱的监狱之名时，他的战友们一脸茫然。于是，这名乌克兰人在狱卒听不到的地方，开始低声向他们讲述这个故事。现年 33 岁的伊万诺夫在被俘于马里乌波尔后的 1,494 天里——即四年一个月零三天的时间里，向多名室友至少四次复述了这部跨越七卷的小说。

“它让我们的希望得以延续，”他在基辅地说道，在今年 5 月通过囚犯交换获释两个月后，他回忆起被囚的经历。“每一章都让我们有期待的事情。我每晚都会在悬念处停止，第二天早上就会有人说，那么，我们等着呢。继续讲故事吧。”

关于伊万诺夫讲故事的消息在他人回国之前很久就传回了乌克兰。

在被囚的前三年里，除了已经看到的他在马里乌波尔被俘的照片外，他的家人没有听到任何消息。直到去年一名室友被释放，关于他幸存以及他在记忆力和动力方面的壮举的消息才传出。

“对于我的妻子来说，听到这个非常重要，”伊万诺夫说。“在被囚三年后，她明白，如果我还在讲《哈利·波特》的故事，这意味着我的精神状态依然健全。”

据信，至少 7,000 名乌克兰士兵和多达 15,000 名平民被关押在俄罗斯的监狱和劳改营中，环境恶劣，遭受虐待、饥饿和酷刑。

联合国特别报告员认为，俄罗斯使用酷刑“并非随机的、异常的行为”，而是“作为国家政策的一部分而精心策划的，旨在恐吓、制造恐惧或惩罚”。

伊万诺夫不愿谈论此事，尽管毫无疑问

奥列克桑德·伊万诺夫拿着一封来自 J.K. 罗琳的信和一本签名的《哈利·波特与魔法石》

酷刑被常规化使用，或者他本人也经历过。

“当然，对我来说很难忘记。但当我从囚禁中回来后，我看了很多在俄罗斯被囚伙计的视频，他们谈论这件事，但忘记了这段视频会被那些仍在狱中的人的妻子或孩子看到。所以为了他们，我不想谈论这件事。”

伊万诺夫于 2022 年 4 月被俘，当时他与海军陆战队战友试图突破马里乌波尔的包围圈。俘虏他们的俄罗斯士兵态度亲切。但当他们到达随后四年中将要经过的四座监狱中的第一座时，一切都改变了。

“在士兵之间，军人之间存在某种尊重，”他说。“但当我们到达监狱时，我不能称他们为人。他们遵循自己的规则，而他们的规则是非人的。他们认为我们是怪物，并且被指示像对待怪物一样对待我们。”

伊万诺夫在青少年时期阅读了大量奇幻书籍，从托尔金到盖曼，但正是 J.K. 罗琳的系列作品真正抓住了他的想象力。狱卒的行为让伊万诺夫想到了她最阴暗的创作之一。

“我想‘他们就像吸魂师’，”伊万诺夫说，吸魂师是罗琳创造的旨在唤起临床抑郁症所引起感受的怪物。“他们吸走了我们的幸福。他们试图摧毁我们的精神，摧毁我们的性格。”

罗琳给伊万诺夫写了信。“我听说你是‘哈利’的忠实粉丝，并且这些故事在你被囚禁在俄罗斯期间给了你慰藉，”她写道。“得知你已被释放并回到乌克兰，我感到非常高兴，祝愿你未来的生活长久且幸福。”

他的获释毫无预兆。囚犯们被叫出牢房，被带上巴士，随后被送往一个军用机场，登机前往边境。

伊万诺夫说，在看到乌克兰平民在路边排队为他们的回归欢呼后，他自被俘以来第一次落泪。在被情报部门带走进行汇报之前，他只有一两分钟的时间拥抱妻子和儿子德米德（Demyd）。直到在进行了两周的身体和心理康复后，他才再次见到他们。

伊万诺夫说，重新回归自由和普通生活并不容易。“我被俘时，我的孩子三岁，”他说。“现在他八岁了，他变成了一个不同的人。我必须重新了解他。”他认为儿子比许多人更坚强。“当我被囚禁时，我意识到很多家庭在回家后会分崩离析。我确信我的妻子在等我，但我明白，即使有1%的可能性是我错了，最重要的是她还活着。我的儿子还活着。”

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10

世界

美国将以色列定居者称为“恐怖分子”

以色列报道 Gabrielle Weinger

美国驻以色列大使对围困约旦河西岸一个巴勒斯坦村庄数日的定居者“以色列恐怖分子”发表了罕见的谴责。

迈克·哈卡比（Mike Huckabee）昨日表示，美国驻耶路撒冷大使馆已要求以色列军方和警方在夜间采取行动，驱逐定居者并拆除他们在纳布卢斯（Nablus）南部的库斯拉村（Qusra）周围搭建的营地。

自周日以来，该村庄一直被极端主义定居者包围，他们将至少两个家庭（其中包括一名美国公民）的房屋作为目标，阻止他们离开或获取物资。

以色列国防军（IDF）士兵在与定居者于当日早些时候发生冲突但未能拆除其临时营地后，在夜色掩护下进入库斯拉村。军方表示，他们在现场拘留了至少一名以色列人，没收了设备，并将继续执行“防御任务”巡逻，以“维持安全并保护该地区”。

针对批评以及要求特朗普总统政府干预的呼吁，哈卡比在 X 上发帖称，大使馆一直“深度参与，且以色列国防军和以色列警方已应我们的要求，去清除实施此类行为的以色列恐怖分子”。

他补充道：“这些人对该家庭房屋采取的行为是犯罪行为。[白宫]没有干预是因为我们一直让华盛顿了解情况。那些实施这种旨在恐吓和骚扰该家庭的恐怖行径的人，其行为令人作呕。”

“这种暴徒行为没有任何借口。但说[我或美国大使馆]不在乎或没有采取任何行动，纯属不实。”

哈卡比发布了一段视频，显示一支以色列军警车队进入库斯拉村，以此证明他们正在清除“为了恐吓巴勒斯坦居民而非法侵入的人”。

一名以色列定居者埃利沙·耶雷尔（Elisha Yereel）在社交媒体上写道，“边境警察在夜间袭击了他们的营地，并拆除了其中三个”。

巴勒斯坦当地委员会负责人阿卜杜勒-阿齐姆·瓦迪（Abd al-Azim Wadi）否认所有定居者已被清除，并表示村庄及周围山坡上仍有大量军队驻守。

周日，当十几名定居者抵达并开始恐吓居民时，以色列军队最初几乎没有提供帮助。在两名巴勒斯坦房主向以色列军队报告袭击后，首批抵达现场的士兵被拍到与定居者一起祈祷。周三的一次清除尝试在以色列国防军撤离前引发了暴力冲突。阿布·里迪（Abu Ridi）和哈桑（Hassan）两家人在水电被切断且食物储备不足后，在社交媒体上发帖寻求帮助。

库赛·阿布·里迪（Qusay Abu Ridi）表示，他的家人“生活在恐惧中”，并补充道：“他们正受到定居者的骚扰和攻击。我对此无能为力。”

居民最初表示，在清除定居者的行动之前，以色列国防军要求他们离开家园。昨日清晨，以色列军队试图驱逐几名巴勒斯坦人。他们因担心无法返回而拒绝离开。

以色列国防军表示：“士兵们接到的指示是，库斯拉居民将留在家中。此外，士兵不会在位于被撤离和拆除的帐篷搭建地附近的巴勒斯坦家庭房屋内部执行任务。”

以色列国防军表示，其正致力于“避免对居民造成干扰”。

联合国表示，约 15 名巴勒斯坦人（包括两名儿童）被“困在家中，处于恐怖状态，无法满足基本需求，且无法获得水或电”。

超过 500,000 名以色列人居住在西岸的定居点中，这些定居点根据国际法是非法的。在包括伊塔马尔·本-格维尔（Itamar Ben-Gvir）和贝扎莱尔·斯莫特里奇（Bezalel Smotrich）在内的政府成员支持下，极端主义定居者利用恐吓和暴力手段将居民赶出家园。

库斯拉（Qusra）位于 B 区，由巴勒斯坦权力机构管理，但由以色列军队控制。以色列国防军（IDF）被指在援助巴勒斯坦人方面几乎没有采取行动，联合国表示，定居者的袭击已达到“前所未有的水平”。上个月，库斯拉一座新建的清真寺遭到了纵火袭击。

联合国表示，今年在西岸已有 76 名巴勒斯坦人（包括 18 名儿童）被以色列军队或定居者杀害。根据同一份报告，约 3,800 名巴勒斯坦人因定居者暴力、拆除和驱逐而流离失所。

普京访问争议岛屿，日方称“不可接受”

俄罗斯 Marc Bennetts

普京总统首次访问太平洋上的一个争议岛屿，被日本称为“不可接受”，这是莫斯科与东京之间紧张局势的最新迹象。

普京访问了依托鲁岛（Iturup），这是日本和俄罗斯均主张拥有主权的四个库页岛（Kuril Islands）之一。国家媒体显示，他在一家鱼类工厂品尝鲑鱼籽，会见了儿童并参观了一家医院。

这些被日本称为“北方领土”的岛屿自第二次世界大战结束以来一直由莫斯科控制，当时它们被苏联吞并。约 17,000 名日本居民被驱逐。如今，这些岛屿约有 20,000 名俄罗斯公民居住。

这场争端导致莫斯科和东京在 1945 年未能签署正式和平条约，两国之间几十年来一直因这些岛屿而存在紧张关系。

苏联直到 1945 年 8 月 8 日才对日本宣战，这是在美国向广岛投下原子弹两天后，以及东京投降一周前。

日本首相高市早苗（Sanae Takaichi）表示，普京的访问“伤害了日本人民的感情，是绝对不可接受的”。

外务大臣茂手光光（Toshimitsu Motegi）也提出了抗议，并使用了东京对依托鲁岛的称呼。他表示：“包括择捉岛（Etorofu）在内的北方领土，无论从历史还是国际法来看，都是日本固有领土。”

自莫斯科在乌克兰发动战争以来，俄罗斯与日本的关系持续恶化。日本加入了 G7 对俄罗斯的制裁，并向乌克兰提供资金和非致命性军事援助。

在俄罗斯全面入侵开始后，基辅正式承认这些岛屿为日本领土。

近年来，莫斯科加强了在这些岛屿上的军事部署，而东京经常部署战斗机以监测俄罗斯和中国在日本附近进行的海军演习。本月，日本强调了其所谓的来自中国、俄罗斯和朝鲜的日益增长的风险。普京昨天表示，东京的制裁是“无端地”发起的，并否认莫斯科对日本构成威胁。他说：“相反，它对我国提出了领土要求。”

普京在视察萨哈林岛（Sakhalin）附近的军事演习后抵达依托鲁岛。尽管他在今年年初很少离开莫斯科（可能是出于对自身安全的担忧），但在过去三周内，他访问了六座城市，以及萨哈林岛和库页岛。

分析人士表示，根据一名与克里姆林宫有关联的民调专家的说法，这些行程是为了提高他不断下降的支持率，其支持率在上个月跌至乌克兰战争爆发以来的最低点。

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31

世界

日本皇太子暗示：女性亦可登基

理查德·斯宾塞（Richard Spencer）

日本天皇德仁的继承人罕见地干预政治，对自身是否必须继承皇位提出了质疑。

由于日本实行仅限男性的继承制，如果秋篠宫文仁亲王（60岁，右图）比其兄长（现任天皇）长寿，他很可能会成为天皇。否则，皇位将传给文仁亲王的儿子久宫礼尚亲王（19岁）。

多年来，许多日本人一直敦促修改法律，允许德仁天皇唯一且极受欢迎的子女爱子公主（24岁）进入继承序列。然而，由该国首位女性首相高市早苗领导的保守派政府近期宣布的《皇室典范》修订案，进一步强化了现状。

日本皇室被严格禁止就政治事务（包括其自身地位）发表评论。

然而，在一次新闻发布会上，皇太子发出了信号，表明他至少在个人层面对此问题感到矛盾。他说：“我是一个人，所以当然会有各种想法和观点。我认为如果没有这些想法反而很奇怪。”

他承认无法就此问题给出直接答案。他表示：“我该如何表达这些想法？如果这些想法涉及法律，我又该怎么做？我认为这种关系非常复杂。”

当话题转向女性角色的普遍问题时，他的立场则更为稳妥。法定调整取消了皇室女性成员在嫁给平民后必须放弃头衔和职责的要求。

文仁亲王表示：“皇室成员的角色是根据社会的诉求来履行职责，只要这些诉求是正向的。”

随后，他补充了一段可能指向辩论核心的评论：“我相信在履行这些职责方面，男女之间没有区别。”

在日本历史上，曾出现过多位在位女帝。然而，19世纪末所谓的“明治维新”期间建立的规则实施了父权法，将女性完全排除在外。在二战后引入的经美国认可的宪法中，君主制的这一方面保持不变。

本世纪初，在爱子公主出生后曾出现过短暂的危机。政府曾下令研究允许她继承皇位的可行性，但在其表弟久宫礼尚亲王出生后，该研究被放弃。

然而，男性继承人依然匮乏。如果礼尚亲王及其父亲均去世，德仁天皇的叔叔正仁亲王（90岁）将成为继承人。

德仁天皇现年66岁。更复杂的是，他的父亲、因高龄于2019年退位的上皇明仁，现年92岁且依然在世。

此次法定修订不仅维持了现状，而且在很大程度上积极地防止未来考虑女性继承。为了解决男性短缺问题，修订案放宽了收养皇室远亲的路径，旨在让他们最终成为继承人——前提是所有相关人员及其皇室血统必须全部为男性。

教皇选定一名公主掌管其钱袋子

汤姆·金顿 (Tom Kington)

吉塞拉·伯格曼 (Gisela Bergmann) 来自列支敦士登，其统治家族可追溯至 1136 年，她应当非常擅长管理另一个拥有悠久历史的微型国家的财务。

本周，教皇任命列支敦士登公主伯格曼协助管理梵蒂冈的现金流，他继续沿用近期教皇将天主教会管理层高级职位委托给女性的做法。

教皇任命这位 36 岁的公主为经济委员会的最新成员，该委员会是由专家和枢机主教组成的，负责监督梵蒂冈的财务状况。

这位来自欧洲小国的公主在进入规模更小的梵蒂冈之前，拥有极其丰富的资历，首先是她全职经营列支敦士登王室的财富管理公司 Industrie-Und Finanzkontor。

伯格曼此前曾表示：“我们从整体角度看待财富和家庭，始终以世代为考量，”这一信息将在梵蒂冈产生良好反响，因为那里的决策者是以世纪而非周或年为单位进行思考的。

天主教新闻网站 The Pillar 的编辑埃德·康登 (Ed Condon) 表示：“利奥 (Leo) 通过引入外部人员加入委员会表现良好，而财富管理人员正是人们所期待的人选。”

梵蒂冈曾因资金处理业余且不透明而臭名昭著，但近年来已整顿局面，尽管围绕一项在切尔西公寓投资亏损而引发的贪污指控仍在梵蒂冈法院中发酵。

除了在家族企业的工作外，这位公主还将带来在伦敦 Hannam & Partners 投资银行以及加拿大金矿开发公司 Midas Gold Corp（现名为 Perpetua Resources Corp）工作的经验。

与伯格曼一同加入委员会的还有另一名新成员埃琳娜·普林西帕托-韦特施泰因 (Elena Principato-Wettstein)，39 岁，是瑞银 (UBS) 银行的一名意大利执行董事。这两位将协助批准梵蒂冈年度预算的女性被任命，是梵蒂冈女性任命浪潮的一部分。这一浪潮由利奥的前任方济各 (Francis) 在 2022 年签署的一部新宪法推动，该宪法首次允许女性领导梵蒂冈部门。

利奥可能没有迹象表明将向女性开放

教皇利奥聘请了玛丽亚·蒙塞拉特·阿尔瓦拉多 (Maria Montserrat Alvarado，左) 负责通信工作，以及吉塞拉·伯格曼

神职人员身份，但梵蒂冈传出的信号是，管理岗位是开放的。今年，教皇任命一名销售会修女亚历山德拉·斯梅里利 (Alessandra Smerilli) 为梵蒂冈促进人类整体发展部门的长官，该部门负责人道主义援助和人权。

一年前，在 2025 年 4 月去世之前，方济各任命意大利方济各会修女拉法埃拉·佩特里尼 (Raffaella Petrini) 管理梵蒂冈城国。此前，她已成为首位被主教部门（负责审核新主教）聘请的女性。

在今年一项出人意料的举动中，利奥聘请了来自美国天主教电视网络 EWTN 的 39 岁女性玛丽亚·蒙塞拉特·阿尔瓦拉多，使其成为首位领导梵蒂冈通信办公室的女性。这一决定引起了关注，因为 EWTN 一直是保守派天主教徒的发声渠道，并经常抨击自由派的方济各。

康登表示，近期任命女性已成为常态。“我没有看到任命蒙塞拉特·阿尔瓦拉多引起抵触，人们对佩特里尼管理梵蒂冈城国感到适应，”他说。

迈克尔·肖恩·温特斯 (Michael Sean Winters) 本月在《国家天主教记者》(National Catholic Reporter) 中写道：“几个世纪以来，罗马教廷一直是全男性、全白人、全意大利人和全神职人员。现在不再如此，以后也绝不会再如此。”他补充道：“在过去几年中发生了一场革命，首先是教皇方济各，现在是教皇利奥，他们正在任命女性担任罗马教廷最高级别的权威和责任职位。”

首位领导梵蒂冈部门的女性西蒙娜·布兰比拉（Simona Brambilla）修女于去年1月接管了奉献生活团体及宗徒生活团体部，该职位的职责是监督全球超过 700,000 名男女宗教人士。

然而，康登（Condon）表示，她的工作伴随着一个限制条件：“当涉及属灵治理，即将神职人员还俗甚至解散宗教团体权力时，紧张局势就会出现。在这种情况下，他们会任命一名枢机主教担任代理部长，以便共同签署文件，赋予其圣事权力。”

当方济各任命布兰比拉时，他还任命了一名枢机主教担任该部门的代理部长。“这感觉像是一种折中方案，”康登说道。

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12

世界

处于卡特尔瞄准镜下的网红

斯蒂芬·吉布斯（Stephen Gibbs）写道，社交媒体明星已深陷墨西哥致命的毒品战争之中

在一个闷热的夜晚，刚过晚上8点，塞萨尔·加斯特卢姆（César Gastélum）在墨西哥库利亚坎的一家肯德基餐厅外开始了一场直播。两名朋友加入了他的行列，参加一项扮演外卖员的社交媒体挑战活动。

这一切看起来都像是无害的娱乐，直到一辆载着一名乘客的摩托车经过。

“他们让我害怕，”25岁的加斯特卢姆说道。片刻之后，摩托车折返并停在这一组人身边。戴着头盔的乘客掏出一把手枪，向这位内容创作者的头部开枪。他瘫倒在地。他的同伴未受伤害。

加斯特卢姆于8月4日被谋杀，这是一个阴森的类似案例清单中的最新一例。根据墨西哥报纸《宇宙报》（El Universal）的报道，自2024年以来，该国至少有19名内容创作者被杀。其中8起谋杀案（包括加斯特卢姆案）发生在锡那罗亚州。

该州一直被锡那罗亚卡特尔内部的一场同室操戈之战所震荡，这场战争在2024年伊斯马埃尔·“埃尔·马约”·赞巴达（Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada）被逮捕并移交给美国后爆发。一个效忠于赞巴达盟友的派系（被称为 La Mayiza）一直与一个竞争对手团体作战，后者由臭名昭著的毒枭华金·“矮子”·古兹曼（Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán）的儿子们领导。古兹曼是锡那罗亚卡特尔的共同创始人，据报道曾是一名亿万富翁，目前在美国服无期徒刑。这场大屠杀已导致数千人死亡或失踪。

他们是本世纪版本的“毒品走廊”（narcocorrido）歌手：自20世纪20年代以来，这些流行音乐家一直将墨西哥匪徒的生活浪漫化。一些人认为，现代网红比他们那些低吟浅唱的前辈们强大得多，因为他们不仅歌唱犯罪生活的冒险，而且正生活其中。

或许是将毒品文化与社交媒体结合得最臭名昭著的网红是克劳迪娅·奥乔亚·费利克斯（Claudia Ochoa Félix）。她经常被地称为“墨西哥的金·卡戴珊”，因为她与这位美国社交名媛惊人地相似，且两人都对私人飞机和整形手术充满热情。奥乔亚·费利克斯的在线动态显示她还有另一个爱好：武器。这引发了人们对她是杀手的怀疑，据称她经营着锡那罗亚卡特尔的一个武装分支，但她否认了这一指控。2019年，她在32岁时去世，显然死于药物过量，当时她拥有数十万追随者。

墨西哥西北部的网红经常发现自己与高级毒品卡特尔成员处于重叠的社交圈中。与一名成功的网红约会（在锡那罗亚州通常被称为 buchona）能为毒贩展现权力与成功。对于网红而言，这种关系可以让他们迅速接触到这个价值数十亿美元产业的财富。当关系破裂时，毒贩们表现出对前女友的残暴程度与对待犯罪竞争对手时一样。

瓦莱里娅·马尔克斯（Valeria Márquez）的情况似乎就是如此。这位23岁的网红去年5月在哈利斯科州自己的美容院直播时被枪杀。当局本月表示，马尔克斯曾与弗朗西斯科·阿尔瓦雷斯（Francisco Álvarez）保持浪漫关系，后者是拉蒙·安赫尔·阿尔瓦雷斯·阿亚拉（Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayala）的儿子——后者是哈利斯科新世代卡特尔的高级人物，于7月在一次特种部队行动中被抓获。

来自武装冲突地点与事件数据项目（Acled）的玛丽亚·费尔南达·阿罗查（María Fernanda Arocha）表示，在墨西哥拥有大量追随者的网红可以充当卡特尔的宣传员，协助招募人员。他们还可以推广所谓的合法企业，而这些企业实际上是洗钱的掩护。

Acled报告称，在墨西哥，有64名网红因涉嫌帮助犯罪团伙洗钱而受到调查。

上图左侧的塞萨尔·加斯特卢姆和瓦莱里娅·马尔克斯都是拥有数千名追随者的社交媒体网红，两人均被卡特尔谋杀

一种理论认为，加斯特卢姆（Gastélum）被杀是因为他支持 Mayiza 派系。另一些人则推测，加斯特卢姆在 TikTok 视频中戴帽子的习惯，要么是刻意的宣传，要么是一个致命的错误，因为赞巴达（Zambada）的绰号也是“El del Sombrero”，即“戴帽子的人”。在他死后十天，尚未有人被逮捕。

无论加斯特卢姆是否是无辜的受害者，分析人士表示，他这一代许多影响力人物正处于这种

斯普利特、赫瓦尔与达尔马提亚之美 (CUTR)

全程配备经验丰富的行程经理

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在我们的双桅豪华游艇 MS Mendula 号上，体验海上独特假期的浪漫与魅力。当游艇停泊在迷人的达尔马提亚海岸最风景如画的小港口时，您将感受到 VIP 的待遇，轻松登岸，沉浸在数世纪以来未曾改变的中世纪小镇的魅力与氛围，以及沿途迷人的历史名城之中。

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埃普斯坦模特球探“受害者”起诉法国政府

法国 一名前模特正在起诉法国政府，指控检察官在杰弗里·埃普斯坦的合伙人丹尼尔·西亚德（Daniel Siad）上月去世前，未能对其强奸投诉采取行动。56 岁的埃巴·卡尔森（Ebba Karlsson）于 2 月向警方举报前模特球探西亚德涉嫌在 20 世纪 90 年代实施强奸，但西亚德未被审问。超过 20 名女性指控 69 岁的西亚德强奸她们或将她们贩卖给埃普斯坦，他对此予以否认。检察官办公室表示，西亚德曾接受调查，但没有足够的证据将其逮捕。

飞行员“吸食大麻”后进行药检

印度 根据一份内部备忘录，在一名涉及严重空中事故的机长据报大麻检测呈阳性后，印度航空的飞行员将接受强制性药检。印度航空表示，检测结果尚未与该公司共享。备忘录称：“我们决定对所有集团飞行员进行全面筛查，检查是否使用了任何不允许的物质或药物。” 8 月 4 日，一架飞往德里的空客 A320 飞机在飞行中高度下降约 300 英尺，导致至少 24 名乘客受伤。

男子将数百只蜥蜴藏在袜中走私

日本 一名墨西哥男子在东京羽田机场被捕，他将 200 只蜥蜴藏在行李箱内的 22 双袜子和 T 恤中进行走私。23 岁的丹尼尔·艾萨克·维拉斯科·巴尔塔萨尔（Daniel Isaac Velasco Baltazar）被认为于周六将这些蜥蜴从韩国走私而来，用于爬行动物展览和销售。其中包括九只墨西哥鳄蜥，据信在墨西哥的购买价格每只在 560（£2.60）至 750 日元之间，而在日本每只价值高达 100,000 日元。

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33

商业

世界市场（当日变动）

大宗商品

货币

Anthropic 估值可达 $2 trillion，或将超越马斯克的 SpaceX

科技商业记者

Anthropic 在即将到来的首次公开募股（IPO）中，估值可能超过 $2 trillion，这将使这家 Claude 的开发公司有望成为历史上规模最大的上市企业。

在此估值水平下，这家人工智能公司将超越埃隆·马斯克的 SpaceX。后者是一家火箭制造商，于 6 月成为上市公司，估值为 $1.75 trillion。投资者认为， 在大语言模型能力方面的领先地位，以及其工具在企业中的快速普及，证明了这一估值的合理性。

年度经常性收入（Annual recurring revenue）——这是 首选的收入指标，通过单月收入数据推算公司的年度业绩——预计到 2026, 年底将达到 1000 亿美元 billion 至 1200 亿美元 billion，高于 5 月的 480 亿美元 和年初的 90 亿美元 。

已于 6 月申请在纽约证券交易所上市，预计上市时间将在 9 月或 10 月。

据报道该 $2 trillion 估值的《金融时报》称，该公司的高级管理人员尚未设定目标价格。

由首席执行官 Dario Amodei 于 2021 年共同创立，今年取得了飞速进展。该公司的模型在企业用户中已超越 OpenAI，并在 5 月获得了 9650 亿美元 的估值，使其价值超过了 ChatGPT 的开发商。

该估值是在一轮 650 亿美元 的融资后得出的，凸显了投资者对该公司预期上升的速度。

然而， 也面临着挑战，包括成为第一家被美国政府指定为供应链风险的美国公司。 正在对这一认定提出挑战，该认定限制了联邦机构和国防承包商使用其模型。

竞争压力已经加剧。 拥有市场上能力最强的模型，但更便宜的开源模型正在缩小差距。Moonshot，一家中国 AI 初创公司，续见第 35 页

Harvey Nichols 落入 Frasers 之手

迈克·艾希利旗下集团通过预包装协议收购连锁店

Alex Ralph 首席商业记者 Isabella Fish 零售编辑

迈克·艾希利（Mike Ashley）旗下的 Frasers Group 通过一项备受争议的快速破产程序，收购了陷入困境的百货连锁店 Harvey Nichols。

Harvey Nichols 的接管人 FTI Consulting 表示，这项预包装协议（pre-pack deal）“保护了一家拥有 200 年历史的机构”，涵盖了约 1,000 个工作岗位、该零售商在英国的 6 家门店、在线部门以及国际特许经营业务。

然而，这家富时 100 (FTSE 100) 零售商 Frasers 警告称，将对 Harvey Nichols 启动“重大重组”，以“调整业务规模”并使其恢复盈利。预计这将导致部分门店关闭。

Frasers 的首席执行官、艾希利的女婿迈克尔·默里（Michael Murray）表示：“扭转局面需要做出艰难的选择，我们准备好做出这些决定，即使这意味着短期内业务规模会缩小，但为了长期打造一个更强大、更可持续的 Harvey Nichols，这是必要的。”

在这次预包装协议之前，Frasers 在一项销售程序中击败了在伦敦上市的零售商 Next，赢得了对这家陷入困境企业的控制权。

这家高端百货连锁店在最新的财务报表中曾警告称，如果无法获得新投资，将在一年内“停止营业”。艾希利曾表示 Harvey Nichols 正处于“死亡螺旋”之中。

Harvey Nichols 成立于 1831 年，最初是一家位于骑士桥（Knightsbridge）的亚麻店。随后它扩展成为一家英国奢侈品企业，并在 20 世纪 90 年代因成为 BBC 情景喜剧《绝对时尚》（Absolutely Fabulous）中角色 Eddy 和 Patsy 的时尚圣地而名噪流行文化。

该企业一直难以维持其顶尖地位，且自疫情以来一直未能盈利。它受到了在线竞争、高昂成本、表现不佳的区域门店以及国际游客消费能力下降的挤压。包括 Harrods 和 Selfridges 在内的竞争对手则对其门店和在线业务进行了大量投资。

与 Frasers 的交易包括 Harvey Nichols 在英国的 6 家门店资产：位于伦敦西区骑士桥的总店，以及位于伯明翰、布里斯托、曼彻斯特、利兹和爱丁堡的分店。Frasers 计划将 Harvey Nichols 整合进集团，并将审查并“合理化”其门店组合、组织结构、运营模式和成本基数。

Harvey Nichols 为精英阶层提供服务，提供专属体验，例如私人“云端普拉提”改良普拉提课程、屋顶香槟吧以及价值数千英镑的设计师礼服。而艾希利的 Sports Direct 则是通过针对日常廉价购物者而成名，销售 15 英镑的涤纶运动服、打折运动鞋及其臭名昭著的巨型两品脱马克杯。

对 Harvey Nichols 的收购深化了 Frasers 向高端零售业的推进。它希望扩大与 Gucci、Burberry、Prada 和 Dior 等奢侈品牌的合作关系。

在艾希利收购另一家陷入困境的百货连锁店 House of Fraser 后，该公司名称于 2019 年从 Sports Direct 更改为 Frasers。艾希利卸任了（）

乔安娜·鲁姆利（Joanna Lumley）在 BBC 情景喜剧《绝对时尚》中饰演 Patsy Stone，该剧让陷入困境的奢侈品零售商 Harvey Nichols 在流行文化中名声大噪

政府支付 Avant 的外墙覆层账单

詹姆斯·赫利 (James Hurley)，阿里斯泰尔·奥斯本 (Alistair Osborne)

政府因一项“令人愤慨”的协议而面临批评。该协议旨在提供信贷，帮助一家由全球最大对冲基金之一所拥有的房屋建筑商支付因格伦费尔 (Grenfell) 外墙覆层丑闻而产生的债务。

住房部门达成了一项“付款计划”，以帮助 Avant Homes 支付 £1.13 亿 的账单，用于修复建筑上潜在危险的外墙覆层，该公司在最新的财务报表中披露了这一情况。

由埃利奥特管理公司 (Elliott Management) 拥有，并由杰夫·费尔本 (Jeff Fairburn) 担任主席。费尔本曾是 Persimmon 的负责人，在 2017 和 2018, 获得了 £8200 万 的奖金，这些奖金是由纳税人支持的“购房援助” (Help to Buy) 计划所支撑的。埃利奥特是一家著名的美国投资机构，管理资金约 800 亿美元 billion。

在 2017, 造成 72 人死亡的格伦费尔塔大火之后出台的新法律规定，开发商有责任支付追溯 30 年的建筑修复工程费用。

修复费用最初由纳税人通过建筑安全基金 (BSF) 承担，随后该基金再从负责建造该房产的开发商那里追回资金。

房屋建筑商随后承诺评估潜在的危险房产并支付修复费用，但 披露，今年 1 月该公司已与住房、社区和地方政府部“签署了一项付款计划协议”，该协议“转移了修复义务”。

政府将资助这些修复工程，而不是由 执行，随后政府将寻求从 处追回资金。

Persimmon 的首席执行官迪恩·芬奇 (Dean Finch) 表示：“我认为英国政府救助美国最富有的私募股权公司之一，这确实相当令人愤慨。”

以保密义务为由，拒绝回答关于该协议的问题。埃利奥特公司和政府已被要求就此发表评论。关于 协议的愤怒，见第 34 页

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14

商业

必读

1 迈克·艾希利（Mike Ashley）旗下的 Frasers Group 通过一项预包装协议（pre-pack deal）收购了陷入困境的百货连锁店 Harvey Nichols。这家 FTSE 100 零售商 Frasers 警告称，将开始进行“重大重组”。Page 33

2 Anthropic 在首次公开募股（IPO）中的估值可能超过 $2 trillion，这将使 Claude 的开发商有望实现历史上规模最大的上市。这家 AI 企业将超越埃隆·马斯克（Elon Musk）的 SpaceX，后者于6月上市，估值为 $1.75 trillion。Page 33

3 政府因一项“令人愤怒”的协议而面临批评，该协议旨在提供信贷以帮助房屋建筑商 Avant（由全球最大的对冲基金之一 Elliott 所有）支付因格伦费尔（Grenfell）外墙 cladding 丑闻而产生的 £1.13 亿 账单。Page 33

4 由于全球范围内创纪录的夏季热浪带动了对其高端凉鞋的需求，Birkenstock 上调了全年销售增长预测和季度营收预估。

5 码头区（Docklands）金融区背后的业主在上半年重回盈利。金丝雀码头集团（Canary Wharf Group）在截至6月底的六个月中实现了 £1.763 亿 的利润，扭转了去年同期的 £1300 万 亏损。Page 36

6 英国经济在第二季度增长了 0.4 per cent，由服务业增长驱动，而6月的 GDP 则受到世界杯开赛和酷热天气的提振。国家统计局表示，增长速度较第一季度的 0.6 per cent 有所放缓。Page 38

7 Ladbrokes 和 Coral 背后的博彩集团 Entain 首席执行官斯特拉·戴维（Stella David）反击了安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）关于收紧新投注店开设规则的计划，称传统博彩公司不应与博彩游戏厅混为一谈。Page 39

8 雇主声称，每周仅工作一天的年轻员工已开始请病假，因为他们仍能领取 80 per cent 的工资。Page 40

在工作中表现能干有许多被充分证明的弊端

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Frasers Group 对麻烦的偏好

迈克·艾希利（Mike Ashley）的 Frasers Group 对陷入困境的品牌情有独钟。这个始于 1982, 年的 Sports Direct 零售帝国已经建立了一个由曾经知名品牌组成的投资组合，大量收购倒闭的品牌以及处于失败边缘的品牌。其中许多品牌在其实施的零售店中销售，包括 Jack Wills、Missguided 以及百货连锁店 House of Fraser（Isabella Fish 撰文）。

该公司还收购了包括 Burberry、Mulberry 和 Hugo Boss 在内的关键供应商的股份，以及 Boohoo 和 Asos 等竞争对手的股份。

这些激进的交易反映了该集团更广泛的“提升战略”，旨在将 Frasers 推向更高端的领域，同时加强其在奢侈品、体育、电子产品和数字零售方面的地位。

该战略还涉及多元化。Frasers 不再仅仅是一家体育零售商：其业务涵盖时尚、奢侈品、技术、健身和房地产（包括购物中心）。这使该集团在传统零售业务之外拥有多种收入来源和资产，使其在市场某一部分陷入困境时可能具有更强的韧性。

然而，奢侈品和体育领域的营收一直承压，凸显了在消费者需求仍是挑战的情况下激进扩张的风险。那么，Frasers Group 想要通过 Harvey

Avant 达成递延 1.13亿英镑 外墙覆盖层账单协议引发愤怒

一家由全球最大对冲基金之一拥有的房屋建筑商已获得政府的信用支持，以帮助其支付因格伦费尔（Grenfell）外墙覆盖层丑闻而产生的债务。

由美国对冲基金 Elliott Management 拥有且由 Jeff Fairburn 担任主席的 Avant Homes 表示，该公司已达成一项“付款计划”，以帮助其支付 1.13 亿英镑 million 用于修复建筑上潜在危险外墙覆盖层的账单。一家竞争对手开发商称该交易“令人愤怒”。

Avant 是英国最大的房屋建筑商之一。Fairburn 在担任 Persimmon 负责人期间，在由纳税人支持的“购房援助”（Help to Buy）计划的支撑下，于 2017 年和 2018 年获得了著名的 £8200 万 奖金。这些奖金引发了愤怒，并最终导致他离开 Persimmon。

Elliott 是一家著名的美国投资机构，管理资金约 800 亿美元 billion。

相关费用最初由纳税人通过建筑安全基金（BSF）支付，随后该基金再从开发商处追回资金。BSF 成立于 2020 年，旨在为修复消防安全问题提供资金。

房屋建筑商随后承诺评估潜在的危险房产并

住房巨头重塑故事

杰夫·费尔本（Jeff Fairburn）最为人所知的可能是他在 2017 和 2018. 担任 Persimmon 公司负责人期间获得的 £8200 万 奖金。这些款项引发了愤怒，并最终导致了他的离职（夏洛特·本德撰文）。

如今，这位 60 岁的男子再次成为新闻焦点，因为他担任主席的负债房建商 Avant Homes 获得了政府的信用支持，以帮助其支付修复潜在危险外墙饰面（cladding）的费用。

费尔本于 2021 年加入 Avant 担任主席，此前他的建筑公司 Berkeley DeWeer 与美国对冲基金 Elliott Management 合作收购了该公司。

自从离开 Persimmon 以来， 是费尔本投资的众多项目之一。批评者认为，Persimmon 的奖金发放很大程度上是由与政府支持的“购房帮扶”（Help to Buy）计划相关的房价上涨所驱动的，而该计划反过来又提高了建筑商的利润。

2023 年，这位前富时 100 指数（FTSE 100）首席执行官在达勒姆成立了一家名为 Third Stone Investments 的新“信用授予”业务公司。

出生于约克的费尔本是一名机械师之子，在 17, 离开学校后，他将职业生涯投身于房地产开发，最初担任见习工程量测量师，并在约克学院完成了建筑课程。在退休房产开发商 McCarthy & Stone 工作后，他于 1989 年加入 Persimmon。

当公司在纽卡斯尔开设办事处时，他调任为技术总监。到 2000 年，他负责管理东北地区，并参与了 2001 年以 £6.12 亿 收购 Beazer Homes 的交易。他表示，这次交易是他职业生涯的高光时刻之一——就像在困扰住房市场的经济衰退中幸存下来一样。

接收纳税人资金，政府随后将回收这些资金。

在其账目中表示：“集团不再被要求承担或采购修复需要工程的建筑所需的工程。”该公司称，政府帮助其将成本“分摊到多年中，这提供了重要的流动性支持以及长期承诺资金的可交付性”。

以保密为由，拒绝回答有关该交易的问题。

的账目中包含一项警告，称“重大不确定性”可能会“使集团和公司的持续经营能力产生重大疑问，因此 [ Homes] 可能无法在正常业务过程中实现其资产并履行其债务”。

政府被问及是否就破产事件可能发生的情况寻求过任何保证。

在截至 2025, 6 月的一年里， 的营收为 £4716 万，税前亏损 £1.111 亿。其财务费用为 £9330 万。此后，其债务已减少至约 £2000 万。该公司列出了一项 £1.132 亿 的外墙饰面相关准备金，其中包括通过 BSF 欠纳税人的款项，以及确保剩余建筑安全的成本估算。

此前指出，需要修复的建筑是在之前的所有权下开发的。该公司在修复法律责任产生之前就被收购。

Elliott 和政府已被要求就此发表评论。

随后自行支付修复费用。然而， Homes 在其账目中披露，今年 1 月它与住房部门“签署了一项付款计划协议”，该协议“转移了修复义务”。 将不再交付修复工程，而是将

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35

商业

哈维·尼科尔斯（Harvey Nichols）的交易延续了 Frasers 老板迈克尔·默里（Michael Murray，见左下）所倡导的“提升战略”

Nichols？该品牌恰好符合其向高端市场转移的尝试。由集团首席执行官、艾希利（Ashley）的女婿迈克尔·默里倡导的提升战略，旨在使 Frasers 脱离其“大量堆积，廉价销售”的形象，通过 Flannels 和高端健身房等业务，转向高端品牌和更高端的零售体验。

Harvey Nichols 是 Frasers 和 Flannels 的直接竞争对手。收购竞争对手在消除商业街竞争的同时，使 Frasers 能够掌控极具价值的门店、地理位置以及客户关系。

有猜测认为，该连锁店最终可能会被转换为 或 Flannels 的模式，这意味着 Harvey Nichols 可能会作为一个独立品牌而消失。

该交易是通过预包装管理（pre-pack administration）完成的，这是一种

** 已习惯使用的流程。它允许破产公司的资产在进入管理程序后立即出售给新所有者，从而有可能将部分历史负债和债务留在原处。**

虽然在商业上很聪明，但这种做法可能会激怒债权人，尤其是那些可能无法获得已交付库存款项的供应商。Matches Fashion 曾引发类似的担忧，且此类安排存在损害与品牌关系的风险。

** 的战略不仅仅是拯救陷入困境的零售商，而是旨在获得品牌的控制权、减少竞争、向高端市场转移并实现业务多元化。**

但如果 想要将自己打造成为一个高端零售集团，它需要确保其激进的收购战略不会继续以牺牲其所依赖的供应商和品牌关系为代价。

：Frasers 收购 Harvey Nichols

他在 2022 年担任 Frasers 的首席执行官，但目前仍是其大股东且是一个极具影响力的人物。

GlobalData 的首席服装分析师 Louise Deglise-Favre 表示，Frasers “花费了数年时间构建奢侈品方案，但一直未能完全实现”。

她补充道：“虽然 Flannels 提供了规模，且该集团在 Mulberry 和 Burberry 的持股使其能够接近品牌，但那些定义真正奢侈品的品牌仍然不愿在 Frasers 的店面下进行交易。”

Deglise-Favre 表示，Harvey Nichols 交易的结果可能是“一个以骑士桥（Knightsbridge）为中心的、更集中的奢侈品方案，而较弱的门店将被并入集团旗下的其他店面”。

位于伦敦南岸的 Oxo Tower 餐厅自 1996 年起也由 Harvey Nichols 经营，现已单独出售给 Fallow 背后的团队。FTI 表示，这将保留 100 多个工作岗位及该业务的运营。

FTI 高级董事总经理 Lindsay Hallam 表示：“从一开始，我们的重点就是寻找一个能够保护业务潜在价值的解决方案，为这家拥有 250 年历史的零售商确保未来，并为利益相关者提供最佳结果。”

Frasers 以通过“预包装”破产管理（pre-pack administrations）抢购陷入困境的品牌而闻名，这可能会让债权人背负未偿债务。Harvey Nichols 的债权人（如供应商、房东和英国税务海关总署（HMRC））目前的处境尚不明确。

交易完成后，Frasers 在伦敦的股价收盘上涨 13p，即 1.6%，至 8175p，公司估值为 36 亿英镑 billion。

阿斯顿·马丁玩了一出快手

商业评论 Alistair Osborne

阿斯顿·马丁（Aston Martin）并非无缘无故成为詹姆斯·邦德最喜欢的汽车公司。任何人只要看看在其133年的历史中，它曾007次破产——而且这还是在它作为一家英国上市公司与008调情八年之前——就能发现这一点。

尽管如此，谁能想到由亿万富翁执行主席劳伦斯·斯特罗尔（Lawrence Stroll）领导的董事会，竟然将其中一部电影的标题选作其经营手册：《生与死》（Live and Let Die）？

在2018年的上市中，由摩根大通 Cazenove、德意志银行和高盛等十几家银行推动，将估值推高至荒谬的43.3 亿英镑 billion，从而从伦敦市场抽走了10.5 亿英镑 billion。随后，该公司开启了一段令人愉悦的旅程，寻找各种方式来坑害股东。

结果如何？在经过1比20的股份合并以及总计16 亿英镑 billion以上的无尽财务注资调整后，股东们现在损失了99 per cent的资金，该集团目前的估值为£3.57 亿。

事实上，自从斯特罗尔将公司变成几个富豪所有者的私人领地——他持有33 per cent，中国的吉利（Geely）和沙特阿拉伯的公共投资基金各持有14 per cent，梅赛德斯-奔驰持有8 per cent——以来，这家企业就像一个带轮子的财务黑洞，诱骗新赌徒进来，以资助习惯性的资金调用。

即便如此，谁能猜到斯特罗尔及其同伙现在在做什么：显然是试图连债券持有人也一起坑了。他们持有13 亿英镑 billion的债务，以公司的资产作为抵押。因此，当他们发现阿斯顿·马丁已将关键的未披露资产（据称包括公司名称）转移到一家开曼群岛公司时，威胁采取法律行动也就不足为奇了。不仅如此，该公司随后还将这些资产作为抵押，从HPS Investment Partners借款£4.5 亿，后者是一家由贝莱德（BlackRock）拥有的私人信贷提供商，并在斯特罗尔拥有的阿斯顿·马丁一级方程式赛车队中持有股份。

此外，如果这家汽车制造商将其“非汽车”品牌权利（例如带有阿斯顿·马丁翼形标志的服装）501 per cent的股份交给Authentic Brands（美国公司，拥有锐步 Reebok、Dockers和Blidkong等品牌），可能还会再借£1 亿。

自从两周前阿斯顿·马丁故意含糊地披露这一小伎俩以来，债券持有人的债务价格已从每加元约80 cents暴跌至56 cents，评级机构惠誉（Fitch）将其评级下调至更低级别的垃圾级——CCC。在惠誉看来，阿斯顿·马丁此举“显著削弱了公司现有高级担保债券持有人的担保地位”。

没错，债券持有人是成年人，没有人强迫他们投资像阿斯顿·马丁这样一场财务车祸。然而，此类诡计在伦敦市场似乎尚属首次。正如一名接近债券持有人的人士所言，这不仅具有高度的“攻击性”，而且引发了关于英国上市公司监管的更广泛问题，因为投资者期望其成为“治理的金标准”。

因此，有一个问题：阿斯顿·马丁的高级独立董事奈杰尔·博德曼爵士（Sir Nigel Boardman）对此怎么看？他在Slaughter & Klee律师事务所担任合伙人37年，因此应该知道这种令人反感的资产窃取行为在约十年前首次由美国服装零售商J Crew尝试。结果就是，现在的债券持有人合同中都设有“J Crew阻断条款”，只有不诚实的公司才会试图绕过。博德曼对此感到满意吗？

阿斯顿·马丁坚称“该交易完全符合债券融资协议的条款”，并荒谬地声称这“增强了集团的财务状况”，使“所有利益相关者”受益。试着把这话告诉那些债券持有人吧，他们在董事会向他们玩这一出“J Crew”之前，已经提出了自己的再融资方案。他们正准备根据合同法和《破产法》第423节（关于“欺诈债权人交易”的部分）发起法律战。

另一个问题是：这是否是阿斯顿·马丁的一项策略，旨在压低债务价格，随后强迫债券持有人接受低价重组——从而以极低的价格将公司私有化？如果真是这样，你希望法院能看穿这种策略。英国上市公司的使命不应该是确保其债务持有人，正如一部邦德电影所言，Die Another Day（明日之死）。

别开玩笑了

政府正在认领。不过，谁在乎那个？对于我们日益枯竭的资金，还有什么比救助 Avant 更好的用途呢？这家房屋建筑商由那家不错的埃利奥特（Elliott）对冲基金所有，该基金管理着 800 亿美元 billion 的资产，并由某位杰夫·费尔本（Jeff Fairburn）担任主席——这位前 Persimmon 负责人因 £8200 万 奖金而闻名。

更绝的是，部长们决定出手相助的原因——因为他们声称盈利低微的 Avant 无法承担 £1.13 亿 的费用，用于修复建筑上危险的覆层，而这些费用是由于格伦费尔火灾（导致 72 人死亡）后出台的新法律而产生的。结果如何？正如 Avant 最新的账目所示，它已与住房部门“签署了一项还款计划协议”，由纳税人买单，而 Avant 则在不确定的期限内悠闲地偿还我们。

你对此怎么看？大概和 Persimmon 的负责人迪恩·芬奇（Dean Finch）的想法一样：“我认为英国政府救助美国最富有的私募股权公司之一，这简直太离谱了。”确实如此。其他房屋建筑商的股东不得不掏钱，为什么埃利奥特和那个贪婪的费尔本不能？正如芬奇所指出的，令人震惊的是，还款条款和利率（假设有的话）竟然被保密。

事实上，如果询问埃利奥特是否威胁称，若政府不配合就将公司申请破产管理，Avant 阵营并未否认。但谁能保证它以后不会这么做，从而让纳税人永远无法拿回钱？

alistair.osborne@thetimes.co.uk

炎热天气助力 Birkenstock

西蒙·弗里曼 (Simon Freeman)

由于全球范围内创纪录的夏季热浪带动了对其高端凉鞋的需求，Birkenstock 上调了全年销售增长预期，且季度营收超出预估。

强大的定价能力和品牌忠诚度，使得像 Birkenstock 这样迎合富裕消费者的公司在很大程度上能够免受影响该行业大部分领域的自由支配支出减少之苦。

该德国鞋业制造商的凉鞋、木屐和闭趾鞋在季度内的需求具有韧性，而其不断扩张的直接面向消费者（DTC）业务和零售版图则助力了各地区的增长。通过自有门店和网站实现的直接面向消费者销售额增长了 14%，占季度营收的近 39%。

该公司表示，中东冲突仍是海湾市场的不确定因素，但对本季度的影响比最初预期的要小。其亚太地区销售额在季度内增长了 18%，美洲地区增长 11%，欧洲、中东和非洲地区增长 15%。

Birkenstock 预计全年营收将增长 15%，达到 23 亿欧元 (€23 亿加元)，处于此前预测的 13% 至 15% 增长区间的上限。第三季度营收增长 13%，至 7.2 亿欧元 (€7.2 亿)。

该公司于 2023 年在纽约上市，其首次公开募股（IPO）定价较高，每股 46 加元 ($46)。在上市时，它将自己定位为一个拥有 250 年历史的凉鞋制造商，现已重生为现代欧洲奢侈品牌，与耐克 (Nike)、Crocs 和 Skechers 竞争，并与迪奥 (Dior) 和 Manolo Blalnik 等品牌合作。在当季电影大片《芭比》(Barbie) 中担任重要角色，进一步提升了这些期望。

然而，该股在上市首日便遭遇挫折，由于投资者对其 86 亿加元 (86 亿加元 billion) 的估值感到不满，股价下跌 13%。这是两年多来，美国上市估值 80 亿加元 (80 亿加元 billion) 或以上的公司中，首日表现最糟糕的一次；随后，由于战争、美国贸易关税和通货膨胀削弱了消费者信心，股价继续下滑，低点约为 35 加元 ($35)。

但自那时起，尽管并不惊艳，但恢复情况一直较为稳健。坚挺的销售额和需求带来了持续的双位数营收增长和行业领先的毛利率。在跟踪该股的 22 位分析师中，有 17 位将其评级为“买入”，共识目标价为 52.90 加元 ($52.90)。

然而，疑虑依然存在，包括对该品牌可能失去高端定位的担忧。

伯纳德·阿诺特 (Bernie Arnault) 旗下 LVMH 奢侈品帝国的继承人之一定员亚历山大·阿诺特 (Alexandre Arnault) 本月以职业承诺为由辞去董事会职务。董事会目前正在寻找接替者。

昨晚在纽约，该股收盘上涨 4.26 加元 ($4.26)，涨幅 11.6%，报 41 加元 ($41)，公司估值为 75 亿加元 (75 亿加元 billion)。

Anthropic 计划在 IPO 时寻求创纪录估值

上个月发布了 Kimi K3 模型，该模型在许多任务上的表现与 Anthropic 的模型相当，但成本仅为后者的一小部分。OpenAI 同时也降低了其模型的价格，导致 取消了原计划的价格上涨。

研究机构 Exponential View 的创始人 Aseem Azhar 表示， 最近的一些行动显得“是被动反应而非战略布局”。他表示：“鉴于市场压力，决定不对 Sonnet 等模型涨价显得是被动的。它面临着来自更便宜的开源模型以及 OpenAI 自身降价的全面竞争。”

支付公司 Ramp 追踪企业在 AI 上的支出数据也表明，虽然 在美国企业中的市场份额持续增长，但企业对 Fable 5,（其最昂贵的模型）的采用速度较为缓慢。

根据 Ramp 的数据，在过去一个月企业从 购买的 token 中，Fable 5 仅占 6%。尽管它是 迄今为止最昂贵的模型，但它在 模型支出中所占的比例仅为 11.4%。

Ramp 的首席经济学家 Ain Kharazian 表示，这些数据指向了“AI 论点中的裂痕”。Kharazian 说：“通过 Fable 5，我们发现企业愿意在 AI 上投入多少资金存在一个新的上限。更高的性能并不值得那个价格。”

Azhar 表示，Ramp 的数据表明，许多企业难以在最强大的模型中找到明确的使用场景。

他说：“这项技术演进的速度超过了客户理解它的能力。Fable 很昂贵，但它也非常强大，这使得它难以使用。普通公司无法保证如果他们花 $10 购买一百万个 token，就能获得 $11 的回报。商业案例更难成立。”

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16

商业

金丝雀码头业主重回盈利

GETTY IMAGES, NEX, 8 / 6, LIEPA

Ben Martin 金融编辑

由于伦敦码头区（Docklands）办公空间需求的增长，金丝雀码头（Canary Wharf）迎来复苏，这使得该金融区背后的业主在今年上半年扭亏为盈。

金丝雀码头集团（Canary Wharf Group）昨日报告，截至6月底的六个月内实现利润 £1.763 亿，扭转了去年同期的 £1300 万 亏损。其物业价值的上升推动了这一结果，并记录了 £1.084 亿 的增值，该集团表示这反映了“办公和零售投资组合的新租赁影响以及市场条件的改善”。

这巩固了该业主令人瞩目的命运反转。该业主管理着规模达 58 亿英镑 billion 的投资组合，由负责人 Shobi Khan 领导，所有权归属于主权财富基金卡塔尔投资局（Qatar Investment Authority）和加拿大投资集团 Brookfield。

在 2020, 冠状病毒危机爆发时，该办公区的前景一度显得暗淡，危机迫使人们转向居家办公，导致许多办公室几乎空置。

即使在疫情消退后，灵活办公仍是许多企业的特点，促使部分企业削减其办公地产。

这给金丝雀码头带来了打击，该区几家知名租户宣布他们将搬回伦敦城（City of London）。其中包括富时 100 指数成分股银行汇丰银行（HSBC），该行计划在 2027, 前离开其位于码头区的 45 层总部，以及律师事务所 Clifford Chance。这两次退出引发了猜测，认为金丝雀码头在混合办公的新时代可能会陷入困境。

然而，它现在正迎来回归。这主要由伦敦城和西区（West End）优质办公空间的短缺，以及雇主敦促员工增加每周回办公室办公的时间所驱动。

由于担心其在伦敦城的新总部缺乏足够的办公桌空间，汇丰银行部分撤回了离开金丝雀码头的计划，转而在该区的其他地方租赁空间。

快速增长的金融科技集团 Revolut 最近搬入了位于金丝雀码头的新总部，规模更大；在线银行 Zopa 同样如此。四大会计师事务所之一的普华永道（PwC）上个月表示，已选择该区作为其新的英国总部。Visa 正在将其欧洲总部从帕丁顿（Paddington）迁至金丝雀码头。

伦敦东区的这一地段受益于伦敦城优质办公空间的短缺，以及 Sea Lanes 游泳池等休闲设施的开业。

作为美国最大的贷款机构且在伦敦拥有重要影响力的摩根大通（JP Morgan Chase），在去年 11 月公布计划建造一座 300 万平方英尺的新摩天大楼，可容纳多达 12,000 名员工，进一步提升了金丝雀码头的前景。

金丝雀码头集团近年来为提高该区吸引力所做的努力也为该地区带来了另一波推动。这些措施包括开设新的餐厅、酒吧和咖啡馆，以及包括沉浸式娱乐场所 The Cube 和 6 月开始运营的露天游泳池 Sea Lanes 在内的休闲活动。

该业主的上半年营收同比增长 5 per cent，达到 £2.591 亿，其中办公租赁收入增长 4.2 per cent 至 £1.15 亿，这主要归功于汇丰银行和 Zopa 入驻其新址。零售租赁收入增长 3.5 per cent，至 £3829 万。

账目显示，金丝雀码头集团上个月将其办公大楼 1-5 Bank Street 以 £6.25 亿 的价格出售给了自己的投资者，该大楼是法国贷款机构法国兴业银行（Societe Generale）和欧洲复兴开发银行的所在地。

这次与 Brookfield 和卡塔尔投资局关联方的交易使金丝雀码头集团能够偿还 £4.535 亿 的债务，并为该业主留下了 £1.682 亿 的净收益。

此前在6月达成的一项协议中，巴克莱银行同意以£7.5 亿从金丝雀码头集团（Canary Wharf Group）手中购买其总部所在的32层摩天大楼。

其投资组合价值增加的£1.084 亿并不包括巴克莱银行的这笔交易；该房东表示，该交易产生了单独的£3440 万处置收益，并进一步提升了其上半年的利润。

长和（CK Hutchison）利润增长三十倍

Chris Dorrell

由香港亿万富翁李嘉诚创立的这家企业集团在今年上半年记录了30倍的利润增长，这主要由其出售一系列英国业务所驱动。

长和报告的收益在2026年前六个月跃升3,000%，达到34 亿加元 billion，而去年同期为$10800 万。营收增长6.1%，至325 亿加元 billion，这主要得益于其港口部门的强劲表现。

这家在香港上市的企业集团于5月将其在英国电力网络（UK Power Networks，英国最大的配电网络运营商）中的权益出售给了法国的意昂集团（Engie）。此外，该公司还在1月出售了滚动资产租赁公司 Eversholt Rail。

该公司从这两项出售中获得了23 亿加元 billion的收益。公司表示：“处置资产带来的现金收益显著增强了集团的流动性和财务状况。”

除了这些处置外，长和于5月同意以43 亿英镑 billion出售其在 VodafoneThree 中持有的49%股份。该合资企业在最终获得竞争与市场管理局（CMA）的批准后，于2025年5月启动。

34亿美元

上半年收益

许多分析师此前预计该公司会持有该股份更长时间。

此次出售于7月完成，长和表示将在今年下半年记录$751.800 万的出售收益。在剔除资产出售以及英国电信业务的影响后，基础利润增长6%，至16 亿加元 billion。

在过去几年中，该公司一直在进行战略转型，在应对“异常动荡的时期”时，优先考虑资产负债表的强度。

公司表示，由于这些战略交易，其账目现已显著增强，净债务与净资本比率降至8.1%的历史低点。现金及现金等价物增长25%，至228 亿加元 billion。

公司董事长、李嘉诚之子李泽楷表示，今年上半年“异常动荡且充满不确定性”。

他表示：“地缘政治紧张局势，尤其是美伊战争以及霍尔木兹海峡航运的反复中断，引发了商品价格的剧烈波动，带来了新的通胀压力，并导致全球增长预测走弱。”

他说：“尽管股票市场相对活跃，但未来的不确定性严重影响了消费者信心，并增加了成本压力。”

改革英国党威胁将对沃达丰高管采取监禁措施，因其为移民提供SIM卡

杰西卡·纽曼 (Jessica Newman)

改革英国党（Reform UK）对沃达丰（Vodafone）的英国业务发起了攻击，原因是该公司向一家难民慈善机构捐赠了SIM卡。

根据Care4Calais最新的年度报告，在截至9月的年度内，该公司从富时100指数电信巨头的英国分支机构VodafoneThree获得了2,500张预装六个月免费流量的SIM卡。

报告称，其中2,221张SIM卡被分发给了住在埃塞克斯郡布雷特里（Braintree）附近韦瑟斯菲尔德（Wethersfield）前英国皇家空军（RAF）机场的移民。在该期间，该地点支持了2,500多名居住在那里的个人。报告称，该基地在任何一个时间点大约安置了1,100名男性。

改革英国党内政发言人齐亚·尤苏夫（Zia Yusuf）要求该公司终止与Care4Calais的关系，并注销所有已发放的SIM卡。他警告称，如果改革英国党赢得选举，沃达丰的首席执行官和董事会成员“如果公司在明知的情况下协助非法入境，可能会面临刑事制裁和监禁”。他还表示，该党将取消沃达丰的政府合同。

尤苏夫表示，他已致信沃达丰负责人玛格丽塔·德拉·瓦莱（Margherita Della Valle）及集团董事，要求该公司将SIM卡的追踪数据移交给英国和法国当局，“以帮助打击非法穿越英吉利海峡的行为”。

VodafoneThree的一位发言人表示，该公司的计划“向注册的英国慈善机构提供移动SIM卡，以便在英国境内分发。

‘参与的慈善机构受慈善委员会监管。所有通话、短信和数据仅限在英国境内使用。’ ”

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17

商业

Rhymer Rigby

为什么工作能力强反而会对你的职业生涯不利

“一位在高级职位担任临时工作的朋友最近在抱怨他目前的工作。‘简直难以置信，如果我想在这里把事情办成，我必须亲力亲为，’他说。‘我的工作内容不是运营、物流、人力资源或 IT，但我发现自己一直在做这些事情。’他解释说，问题在于那些本该履行这些职能的人要么太差，要么太慢，以至于他自己动手通常更快，也更少感到沮丧。

我耸了耸肩回答道：‘这就是能力强的麻烦之处。’

我当时说得比较轻率，但我一直对这个现象很着迷——即在工作中表现出色并不一定对你个人和你的职业生涯有利。事实上，一旦你开始观察，就会发现能力强有许多被详细记录在案的弊端。这些弊端从无法获得晋升（能力陷阱）到因‘能力蔓延’而导致职业倦怠（就像我的朋友一样，你最终得承担所有事情）。我对这些现象的统称是‘能力诅咒’。

能力陷阱可能是最广为人知的负面影响。在这种情况下，人们在自己的岗位上让自己变得不可或缺——这意味着他们永远无法脱离该岗位。如果一个人精通财务软件是团队成功的关键，老板为什么要晋升这个精通财务软件的人呢？这方面最著名的例子或许就是那些超级能干的行政人员。这些人（通常是中年女性）确保了整个部门的顺畅运行，但却被留在低级别的支持岗位上，因为只有他们知道一切是如何运作的。

如果这听起来已经很糟糕，那么能力诅咒会变得更加诡异。工作能力出色也可能让你变得‘隐形’。你会达到这样一个阶段：你的表现基准就是卓越。因为大家都知道你能胜任，所以你被分配到最困难、要求最高的工作。但正因为你没有制造任何摩擦，你与经理相处的时间反而很少。你的绩效评估几乎不需要怎么做（但可能会因为你没有明显的进步而显得异常平淡）。你的工作量远超他人，却成了公司里一个高效运行的‘背景板’。与此同时，那些能力较低（但更

可见度更高）的同事却得到了关注并获得晋升。

那么，解决方案就是提高可见度吗？别急。那些富有魅力、高调且能干的人也经常受苦——因为他们会吸引沉重的工作量。这是我在即将出版的新书《电视 MBA：来自流行文化的商业课程》（The TV MBA: Business Lessons from Popular Culture）中探讨的内容。

2000年代的电视剧《迷失》（Lost）讲述了一群飞机失事幸存者在一个神秘热带岛屿上的艰辛经历。从第一集就可以看出，男主角杰克·谢泼德（Jack Shephard）拥有一项极其有用的技能——一架客机从天而降，数十人死亡或受伤，而他是一名医生。因此，他在第一集的大部分时间里都在奔波，照顾伤员并拯救生命。

接着，有趣的事情发生了。因为他的能力如此显而易见，群体开始将杰克视为领导者，甚至是一个救世主——于是他们开始要求他做出所有决定并解决所有问题。起初他感到很荣幸——谁不喜欢被征求意见呢？但很快他就陷入了忙乱，因为每个人都把每件事交由他审核。他变成了一种‘仆人式领导’，成了那句格言的一种奇特变体：‘如果你想把事情办成，就去找一个忙碌的人。’更糟糕的是，他压力极大，开始难以兼顾救治伤员。显然，这是次优的状态，因为他是岛上唯一的医生，而任何一个不那么忙的人都有能力决定谁去丛林里寻找那个烟雾怪兽。

我喜欢《迷失》对‘能力’的细致解读。我们生活在一个‘能力崇拜’的时代——在这种环境下，那些

那些在技术层面上精通其工作的人，被赞颂为英雄般的问题解决者，这种方式几乎到了令人兴奋的程度。你在医疗剧《匹兹》（The Pitt）和《白宫风云》（The West Wing）等电视剧中可以看到这一点。最著名的例子或许是电影《火星救援》（The Martian），片中被困的宇航员马克·沃特尼（Mark Watney）在两个半小时的时间里，几乎一直在即兴构思精妙的解决方案。不过，公平地说，沃特尼被困在火星上，最近的同事也在数百万英里之外，因此他必须成为一名精通各项技能的能手。

回到地球，当你必须与他人（通常是没那么有用的人）协作时，能干的人并不总是能帮到自己。他们经常对每一个请求都说“好”（因为他们想帮忙，而且这让他们感到受宠若惊）。他们会选择亲自完成任务而不是培训他人（因为短期内这样更简单，且他们喜欢掌控感）。而当他们擅长某件事时，他们可能会投入更多精力并过度专业化，从而增加自己的不可替代性。因此，不受节制的能力可能会成为一种诅咒，无论你是全才还是专家，无论你是隐形人还是备受瞩目的人。

那么，解决方案是什么？能干的人必须学会说“不”，设定界限，并且不要那么随和。他们可能需要大声宣扬自己的成就，或许应该专注于几个被认为最容易获得晋升的领域。他们应该教导他人如何做他们所做的事，而不是嫉妒地守护自己的技能。而且，他们或许应该在政治上更圆滑一点，甚至在对自己有利的情况下采取战略性的“无能”。老板们在这里也有工作要做。他们需要对那些工作出色的人进行绩效管理，就像管理那些表现不佳的人一样。而且至关重要的一点是，他们需要意识到，虽然晋升那些不可或缺的能干之才可能会带来短期阵痛，但从长远来看，这对每个人都是一种收益。

当然，如果这一切都行不通，被诅咒的能干之辈的终极手段就是离开（或者至少威胁要离开），这通常能奇迹般地让其他人意识到他们到底承担了多少工作。

Rhymer Rigby 是一位记者兼作家。他的著作《电视MBA》（The TV MBA）将于 10 月 29 日出版

尽管世界杯带来助力，经济增长仍有所放缓

杰克·巴内特 (Jack Barnett) 经济记者

在至关重要的服务业增长驱动下，英国经济在第二季度增长了 0.4%。同时，世界杯的开幕和酷热天气推动了 6 月份的 GDP 增长。

国家统计局 (ONS) 周四表示，增长速度较今年第一季度的 0.6%有所放缓。分析师此前预测，在截至 6 月的三个月里，GDP 将增长 0.4%。

从月度来看，6 月份的产出增长了 0.3%，远好于分析师的预期。5 月份的 GDP 处于停滞状态，这较国家统计局此前估计的该月增长 0.1%有所下调。高温和世界杯的开始有助于提升 6 月份的产出，尤其是酒吧、酒吧和餐厅，因为球迷们聚集在一起观看比赛。气象局估计，这是有记录以来第二热的 6 月。

国家统计局经济统计主任利兹·麦基翁 (Liz McKeown) 表示：“服务业再次成为增长的主要驱动力，而生产业基本保持不变，建筑业也有增长。在服务业内部，计算机编程和广告业继续表现强劲，正如它们在全年表现的那样，而批发业是一个显著的薄弱领域。”

国家统计局估计，在第一季度增长 0.8%之后，今年第二季度的服务业活动增长了 0.5%。与去年同期相比，服务业 GDP 估计增长了 1.5%。

在截至 6 月的三个月里，生产产出处于停滞状态，而前三个月则增长了 0.2%。第二季度建筑业产出增长了 0.3%。

第二季度增长率的下降受到了期间全球能源成本大幅上涨的影响，这是由于中东战争所致。期间油价超过每桶 $100。

财政大臣约翰·希利 (John Healey) 表示：“我知道人们担心中东冲突对其生活成本的影响，这……给英国企业增加了压力。这是一个积极、务实的政府，将英国利益放在首位——为感到压力的人提供喘息空间，增强我国的韧性并带回希望。”

今年上半年，英国在 G7 国家中实现了最强劲的增长——前财政大臣瑞秋·里夫斯 (Rachel Reeves) 在其任期内抓住了这一记录。里夫斯在 X 平台的一篇帖子中写道：“上半年的增长数据强劲。这并非必然。这是因为英国经济的韧性以及选举以来采取的负责任行动。”

她补充道：“已完成很多，仍有许多工作要做。”分析师表示，经济已经

故事背后

当人们涌入酒吧观看英格兰队在世界杯第一阶段小组赛中名列第一（在此过程中击败了克罗地亚和巴拿马）时，他们帮助经济取得了一场意外的胜利（杰克·巴内特撰文）。

如果该月没有这项赛事，GDP 增长可能会非常接近停滞或完全陷入停顿，这大概是事实。天知道如果英格兰队在小组赛中出局会发生什么。

英格兰队的表现是该国 60 年前赢得该赛事以来最好的表现，这可能意味着 7 月份的增长也得到了助力。这些数据将于 9 月 11 日公布。

在 7 月 6 日以 3-2 击败共同东道主墨西哥后，英格兰球迷在深夜（以及凌晨）饮酒庆祝，酒吧对额外的营业时间表示欢迎。当球队在 7 月 11 日以 2-1 击败挪威时，类似的庆祝活动再次上演。

炎热的天气也对经济有所帮助，提升了零售支出。你能想象如果英格兰队再次捧起世界杯奖杯，会对增长产生怎样的助力吗？

六周暑假？我们为您准备好了

从实用建议到最佳度假地，我们将所有育儿相关内容汇集在一个目的地，以便您在度过暑假的同时，创造更美好的回忆。

访问育儿中心获取专家建议和个人故事：thetimes.com / parenting

《泰晤士报》 《星期日泰晤士报》

尽管海湾冲突带来了挑战，但表现依然稳健。

毕马威英国（KPMG UK）首席经济学家 Yael Sellin 表示：“尽管能源价格上涨和地缘政治不确定性……影响了信心，但家庭和企业的活动强于预期，有助于维持增长。”

凯投宏观（Capital Economics）英国首席经济学家助理 Ruth Gregory 表示：“经济很好地应对了能源冲击，但由于通胀尚未见顶，我们怀疑这种强势能否持续。我们预计第三季度 GDP 将停滞，第四季度仅小幅增长。”

英格兰银行的经济学家认为，本季度的产出将陷入停滞。

数据公布后，英镑兑加元下跌 0.12%，至 $1.34，十年期国债收益率持平。

英国经济放缓

季度 GDP

来源：国家统计局 (ONS)

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19

商业

神秘亿万富翁发起对瑞典 Evolution 公司的收购

Martin Strydom, Jessica Newman

亿万富翁 Kenneth Dart 已对瑞典游戏软件制造商 Evolution AB 发起强制收购要约，以遵守严格的市场规则。

Dart 的 Candle Lake 投资工具开出每股 695 瑞典克朗的价格，这意味着 Evolution 的估值约为 1320 亿瑞典克朗（£100 亿），低于目前 733 瑞典克朗的市场价格。

该报价与 Candle Lake 在 7 月将其在这家斯德哥尔摩上市公司的持股比例增加至略高于 30% 时支付的价格一致，从而触发了瑞典的强制收购规则。根据规则，如果一家公司的持股比例超过 30%，则必须以其支付的价格对剩余股份发起收购，或将其持股比例降低至阈值以下。

持有 Evolution 30.02% 股份的 表示，该持股是一项长期财务投资。该公司补充说，它并不打算“收购整个公司，或对其运营、管理或员工队伍做出更改”。

杰富瑞（Jefferies）分析师 James Wheatcroft 表示：“ 低于当前股价的报价旨在满足证券交易所的要求，而非出于拥有 Evolution 所有流通股的愿望。这次报价似乎暗示 希望拥有更多 Evolution 的股份。

我们的理解是…… 发起该要约时可能预期很少有股东会投标。之后， 将获得‘祖父条款’保护，即 [它] 可以机会性地进一步增加在 Evolution 的持股，而无需再次触发强制收购。”

现年 71 岁的 Dart 在减持两家全球最大烟草公司的巨额股份后，一直投资于博彩公司。

根据 FactSet 的数据，Dart 通过 成为 Flutter Entertainment 的最大股东，该公司是 Paddy Power、FanDuel 和 Betfair 背后的博彩公司，Dart 持有 18.6% 的股份。

个人资料

Kenneth Dart 自封为“投资者、创新者、探险家和企业家”，在开曼群岛享有神秘的声誉（Alex Ralph 撰文）。作为美国 Dart Container 泡沫杯家族企业的后裔，他在这个避税天堂积累了庞大的业务组合。据福布斯估计，他的财富达 37 亿美元 billion。Dart 在 20 世纪 90 年代从美国搬到大开曼岛，并建立了一个涵盖酒店、零售、娱乐、金融、生物技术和房地产的全球投资帝国。由于收购政府债务并提起诉讼，他被一些人描述为“秃鹫投资者”，在岛上的当地人眼中，他以离群索居著称。《纽约时报》2019 年的一篇文章称，Dart 被认为是该群岛最大的私人土地所有者。当地人将他与蝙蝠侠和沃伦·巴菲特相类比。他在该群岛投资了超过 15 亿美元 billion。近年来，他大量持有英美烟草公司（British American Tobacco）和帝国品牌公司（Imperial Brands）的股份，但从去年开始减持。在巨额股票回购和股息支付后，Dart 从香烟和电子烟制造商的反弹中获利。城市银行 Panmure Liberum 在 2024 年为《泰晤士报》进行的研究估计，他从持有 BAT 和帝国品牌的股份中获得了 38 亿英镑 billion 的回报。

受理期预计从 8 月 17 日持续到 9 月 15. 日。完成交易将取决于任何必要的监管批准。

Evolution 由 Jens von Bahr、Fredrik Osterberg 和 Richard Hadida 于 2006 年创立。该公司为在线赌场运营商开发并授权软件。

上个月，在监管机构认定其游戏可通过未获许可的运营商被英国客户访问后，Evolution 与英国博彩委员会达成了一项 £475 万 的结算协议。

表示，已终止与两家赌场运营商的商业协议，这两家运营商运行着六个向英国玩家提供内容的未获许可网站。

首席执行官 Martin Carlesund 当时表示：“我们不希望来自未获许可运营商的流量，并将始终迅速采取行动处理任何此类情况。”

的一名发言人拒绝就此次收购提案发表评论。

Entain 就博彩店改革发表强硬看法

Jessica Newman

休闲产业记者

Ladbrokes 和 Coral 背后的博彩集团负责人对安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）收紧新博彩店开业规则的计划予以反击，认为传统博彩公司不应与高额赌注的游戏机厅混为一谈。

Entain 首席执行官 Stella David 表示，政府需要“非常小心，不要将我们伟大的传统博彩店”与成人游戏中心捆绑在一起，因为后者的“风格和基调截然不同”。

首相本周承诺让商业街“恢复活力”，宣布采取措施赋予地方议会封杀博彩店、游戏中心和电子烟店的权力。

提供 24 小时赌博机的成人游戏中心近年来在全国范围内扩张，而与此同时，传统的商业街博彩店则持续衰落。

博彩与游戏委员会（Betting and Gaming Council）表示，自 2019 年以来，英国的博彩店数量下降了超过三分之一，约 3,000 家店铺关闭。根据博彩委员会（Gambling Commission）的数据，提供数字老虎机和水果机等高额赌注游戏机的成人游戏中心数量在 2022 年至 2024 年间增长了 7%，达到 1,451 家。Entain 拥有约 2,300 家博彩店。

一名行业人士表示，虽然针对《博彩法》中“旨在允许”规则（该规则限制了议会在面对公众反对时拒绝申请的权力）的改革将涵盖博彩店，但重点可能会放在成人游戏中心上。在 X 上发布的一段视频中，伯纳姆在谈到赋予议会的新权力时，专门点名了电子烟店和游戏中心。

Michael Snape，

由 Stella David 领导的 Ladbrokes 所有者拥有 2,300 家博彩店，这些店铺可能会受到安迪·伯纳姆计划的影响

Entain 的财务主管表示，公司的店铺“为人们提供了安全的赌博场所”。

“我们对未成年人禁止进入执行得非常严格，这与许多成人游戏中心不同，而且我们缴纳的税款更高。”

他说：“如果你看看其他那些可能不缴税且不对玩家安全采取任何措施的运营商，那才是问题所在。”

博彩与游戏委员会表示，政府将“受到高度监管且持有执照的博彩店与违规或犯罪企业混为一谈”是错误的。

Entain 在 2004 年由 Kenny Alexander 创立，最初名为 GVC Holdings，现已成长为全球最大的博彩企业之一。它拥有 BetCity、Coral 和 Eurobet 等博彩品牌，以及 Foxy Bingo、Gala 和 Partycasino 等游戏品牌。

这家富时 100 指数（FTSE 100）公司报告称，截至 6 月底的六个月内，净游戏收入增长了 5%，高于管理层的预期。在世界杯的推动下，在线净游戏收入增长了 7%。在赛事期间，其体育部门接收到的首次存款数量是 2022 年世界杯期间的两倍。

该公司报告的基础运营利润为 £4.79 亿，比去年同期下降 2%，但高于分析师的预期。该公司坚持今年在线净游戏收入增长 5% 至 7% 的目标，并表示对其能够实现除美国合资企业外基础利润 £9.34 亿感到“放心”。

该公司的股价今年已下跌近三分之一，此次再次下跌 145p，即 2.6%，至 5455p。

Rank 警告不要增加税收

Jessica Newman

Rank Group 的新任负责人警告称，任何进一步增加赌博税的行为都将使其宾果大厅和赌场面临关闭风险。

Mecca Bingo 和 Grosvenor Casinos 连锁店背后的公司首席执行官 Richard Harris 表示，该公司去年支付了超过 £2.25 亿 的税款和关税，并警告称任何进一步的税收上涨都将降低业务的可行性。

智库社会市场基金会（Social Market Foundation）最近的一份报告称，将机器游戏税从 20 per cent 提高到 40 per cent 可能会增加 £2.75 亿 到 £4.58 亿 之间的税收。

Rank 表示，这些提案未能考虑到“不可避免的场馆关闭、岗位流失以及税收收入减少”的负面后果。

这家富时 250 指数（FTSE 250）公司的警告是在该集团公布全年业绩时发出的。业绩显示，在截至 6 月底的 12 个月里，同口径净游戏收入增长 6 ，达到 £8.341 亿。

其数字化业务表现突出，同口径潜在净游戏收入增长 8 ，至 £2.485 亿。Mecca Bingo 场馆的销售额增长 4 。其西班牙宾果分店 Enracha 的销售额增长了 7 。

Rank 表示，其最大的销售来源 Grosvenor Casinos 的净游戏收入增长 5 ，达到 £3.973 亿。该公司将这一增长部分归功于去年在 37 家赌场安装了 850 台新游戏机。

然而，Harris 表示，在 4 月至 6 月期间，由于“通常在该期间访问英国的中东客户缺席”，其在伦敦的赌场每周损失在 85 万英镑 和 20 万英镑 之间。

潜在营业利润增长 21 ，至 £7859 万，与管理层之前的预期一致。

展望未来，Rank 表示，在本财年的前六周，净游戏收入增长了 9 ，这使管理层对其在中期内实现至少 £1 亿 潜在营业利润的目标充满信心。

股价收盘上涨 6p，即 6 ，至 1055p。

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40

商业

周末工作者“请假更多”

工党改革意味着每周仅工作一天的年轻人可获得 80% 的薪资，理查德·泰勒 (Richard Tyler) 撰文

雇主声称，由于仍能领取 80% 的工资，每周仅工作一天的年轻员工已开始请病假。

政府在 4 月份提高了病假工资的慷慨程度，并首次将每周工作一到两班的人员纳入其中。此后，雇主表示他们发现请病假的年轻人有所增加，这促使部分雇主减少了提供的周末工作岗位数量。

安迪·伯纳姆 (Andy Burnham) 正优先考虑为英国 100 万名不在就业、教育或培训（NEETs）中的年轻人提供就业机会。雇主表示，如果首相希望避免更多人被排除在工作之外，就需要对政府的就业权利立法进行修改。

政府本周透露，其关于改革零小时合同和排班（通常用于为年轻人提供灵活的临时工作）的独立提案，将给雇主带来的直接成本每年高达 29 亿英镑 billion。酒店业和零售业将因额外的人员成本、收入损失和繁琐的行政手续而受到最严重的打击。

在米尔顿凯恩斯和彼得伯勒拥有两家名为 Safari Play 的室内游乐中心并雇佣 100 人的戈登·福斯特 (Gordon Forster) 表示，他的一些年轻员工已开始请病假，因为他们意识到自己将获得 80% 的薪资，且这一问题在整个行业中普遍存在。担任行业组织英国酒店业协会 (UK Hospitality) 室内休闲委员会主席的福斯特说：“这种情况在各处都在发生。”

“这将成为给年轻人背后的另一把匕首。从技术上讲，他们获得了另一项福利，但像我这样的雇主会认为：‘我需要可靠的人，绝对会出勤的人。我需要的是不会只工作一天然后就不出现的人。’”

在工党的改革下，员工可以从患病的第一天起申请法定病假工资，而不是第四天。部长们还取消了之前的最低收入门槛，该门槛此前使约 130 万 人无法享受该福利。这使得 16 到 21 岁、在周六或周日工作的群体进入了法规的适用范围。

雇主表示，其中一个因素是法定病假工资按周计算，这意味着那些工作一天然后在那一天请病假的人，从改革中获得了不成比例的利益。

曼彻斯特室内游乐中心集团 Head Over Heels 的创始人凯西·邓利维 (Cathy Dunlevy) 已将此问题反映给当地工党议员杰夫·史密斯 (Jeff Smith)，她说史密斯在听到这些变化带来的负面影响时感到惊讶。

“这是他感兴趣的事情，他也对此做了记录，”她说。“如果你雇佣处于教育阶段的年轻人，而他们只在，比如，周六工作，且这并不是他们的正式工作或正式职业，如果他们因为感觉不舒服而请一天假，他们能拿到

当天应得薪资的 80%。这可能会让雇主在雇佣该年龄段人群时更加谨慎，我认为这很遗憾。”

福斯特表示，他雇佣了 28 名 21 岁以下的员工，由于国民保险和最低工资等雇佣成本上升，这一数字在近年来有所下降。“你想成为一名优秀的雇主，但你不想被那些要么是欺诈、要么是想偷懒的人所累。”

他表示，自 4 月以来，至少有一名每周工作一天的员工连续三次请病假，这意味着在能召集他们开会之前已经过去了一个月。“年轻人给职场带来了惊人的东西。[但]当你达到某种程度时，你会想：‘我不想再经历一次了，’所以我不再雇佣年轻人。”

政府表示，其就业权利立法将使超过 1800 万 名员工受益，并让“工作对每个人都有回报”。

7月，伯纳姆表示他将为年轻人创造清晰的就业路径，这是他努力降低不断上涨的福利开支的一部分。他说：“解决英国的青年失业危机需要对我们的运作方式进行重大调整——而这正是本届政府将要做的。”

法定病假工资设定为每周 £123.25 或收入的 80%，以较低者为准。随后将每周总额除以该人员请病假的天数，这意味着全职员工如果生病请假五天，其日薪率将低于每周仅工作一天的员工。一些雇主选择提供比法定最低标准更优厚的病假工资计划。

与法国和德国相比，英国很少有保护雇主免受欺诈性病假工资申请影响的保障措施。律师事务所 Eversheds Sutherland 的就业合伙人 Sophie White 表示，这两个国家都在朝着“加强对病假缺勤的审查”方向发展，“法国引入了更严格的反欺诈措施，而德国则提出了首日证明要求以及对电话病假条的限制”。

在英国，员工对于持续七天或更短时间的疾病无需提供“健康证明”（fit notes），雇主也不能要求员工获取此类证明。

政府表示，病假工资的变更将使雇主每年多承担超过 £400 的成本。商业团体估计这一数字要高得多。英国小企业联合会（FSB）表示，小雇主的平均病假缺勤成本为每年 3,500 英镑。在员工少于 50 人的 140 万 家雇主中，这对经济造成的总成本是巨大的，FSB 认为今年的改革可能会使该成本翻倍，达到每年 100 亿英镑。

Dunlevy 是室内游戏协会（Association of Indoor Play）执行委员会成员，她知道为了削减人员成本，她的一些同行正在引入更多的自助服务。Head over Heels 正在抵制减少年轻人机会的压力。

她说：“我们仍然 [雇佣年轻人]，因为我们非常享受培养和培训他们——我们一些最优秀的团队成员在入职时年纪非常小。他们拥有那种活力和热情，尤其是在与儿童打交道时，孩子们能与他们产生很好的共鸣。”

Cathy Dunlevy 是一位游戏中心集团创始人，她表示雇主可能会变得谨慎

安托法加斯塔在洪水后下调铜产量预测

Emily Gosden 能源编辑

上个月袭击智利的强降雨迫使安托法加斯塔（Antofagasta）下调了今年的铜产量预测。

这家富时100指数（FTSE 100）矿业公司在7月18日开始的“强降水和间歇性停电”后，不得不暂时停止其洛佩兰布雷斯（Los Pelambres）矿山的生产，此次天气事件导致智利宣布进入灾难状态。

该矿山于7月23日开始恢复运营，公司最初维持全年产量指引不变。

然而，安托法加斯塔周二表示，目前仍在提高产量，并发现“某些管道平台和水管理系统需要维修”。

因此，该公司目前预计今年的铜产量将在 625,000 至 655,000 吨之间，低于此前 650,000-700,000 吨的区间。

安托法加斯塔首席执行官 Fran Arriagada 表示，这一区间反映了智利目前仅处于冬季中期，且由于厄尔尼诺（El Nino）天气现象的影响，仍有可能出现更多与天气相关的干扰。

产量下调掩盖了这家伦敦最大的纯铜矿业公司的半年报业绩。

18%

营收增长至 44.8 亿加元 billion

营收增长 18% 至 44.8 亿加元 billion，息税折旧及摊销前利润（ebilda）增长 27% 至 28.4 亿加元 billion，因为价格上涨抵消了产量下降和成本增加的影响。

其销售铜的价格比 2025, 年同期高出 36%，而其利润丰厚的矿业副产品——金和钼的价格分别上涨了 46% 和 55%。

上半年铜产量下降 9%，为 285,000 吨。

Arriagada 表示，由于中东冲突扰乱了全球市场，公司感受到了通胀压力，尤其是燃料和硫酸的价格。他表示，这些价格已从峰值回落，预计下半年情况不会那么糟糕。

安托法加斯塔运营着位于智利中部圣地亚哥以北约 246 公里的洛佩兰布雷斯矿山，以及位于更北端安托法加斯塔地区的 Centinela、Astucoya 和 Zaldívar 矿山。

智利是全球最大的铜生产国，这种红色金属在电气化进程中的需求日益增长。

与世界大部分地区一样，随着气候变化的加剧，智利正经历着更极端的天气条件。智利中部已遭受十多年的干旱，今年 1 月，由于山火肆虐其中部和南部地区，该国宣布进入灾难状态。

上个月，在暴雨导致中部地区发生闪电洪水和山体滑坡后，智利被迫再次宣布进入灾难状态。干旱导致土地硬化，吸收雨水的能力降低，使得闪电洪水更容易发生。

安托法加斯塔的运营长期受到干旱影响，促使其建设一座海水淡化厂，以便在洛佩兰布雷斯矿山的加工运营中使用海水。该公司目前正在扩大该工厂的产能。

该公司最近宣布计划投资 9亿美元 建设水管和泵送系统，以使其 Zaldívar 矿山从 2028. 年中期起能够使用“来自安托法加斯塔市的再生废水”。公司希望这将为确保该矿山的寿命延长至 2051 年铺平道路。

Arriagada 表示，其投资使“集团能够很好地从铜需求的增长中获益，而这种增长是由包括能源安全、电气化……以及 AI 在内的全球趋势所驱动的”。

该公司的股价在过去一年上涨了 82%，此次下跌 273 便士，或 6.8%，收于 £3756。

Secure Trust Bank 节省开支成效显著

在 Secure Trust Bank 表示其成本削减计划进展快于预期后，该行的改革进程已加速。

这家在伦敦上市的贷款机构今年将记录 £1350 万 的节省额，优于此前预期的 £1000 万。

一年前被任命的负责人伊恩·考菲尔德（Ian Corfield）正在对该行进行全面改革，此前他出售了 Secure Trust 亏损且耗资巨大的汽车金融部门——这是将集团重心转向回报率更高的商业和零售金融部门计划的一部分。

剥离车辆贷款业务已使该行的员工人数从去年夏季的约 845 人减少到约 650 人。

---

41

商业

企业警告“病假滥用”

ANTHONY ROX BUYER 《泰晤士报》

在病假工资计算方式变更后，雇佣年轻人的情况如何，而安迪·伯纳姆（左图）正在应对 Neets（不就业、不教育、不培训青年）危机。

考菲尔德还试图简化集团的剩余部分，部分通过数字化实现，但他昨天表示，这不会导致类似的“员工人数剧烈变化”。

他在银行公布上半年调整后税前利润增长 9.4% 至 £3130 万（高于预期）时发表了上述言论，这一消息带动该行股价上涨 36 便士，或 2.3%，至 £16.04.

总部位于 Solibull 的 Secure Trust 可以追溯到 1952. 它向企业提供储蓄产品、房地产融资和基于资产的贷款，并提供零售金融服务，供消费者购买家具、电器产品、乐器和牙科治疗等商品和服务。

与其他贷款机构一样，其前汽车金融部门也卷入了席卷汽车贷款行业的持续误导销售丑闻。

虽然投资公司 LCM Partners 在 2 月以约 £4.59 亿 收购了 Secure Trust 在该领域的业务，但该行仍需承担可能欠消费者的任何赔偿责任。该行表示，去年为该问题拨备了 £2150 万，但此后使用了部分拨备，将其降至 £2020 万。

基础设施支出计划助力 Costain 增长

罗伯特·利（Robert Lea）工业编辑

土木工程公司 Costain 承诺，升级英国水务和电力基础设施的大型项目将提升其营收和利润。

首席执行官亚历克斯·沃恩（Alex Vaughan）在过去七年致力于扭转 Costain 的局面，他表示，讨论基础设施投资的时代已经结束，他的公司正处于一个“拐点”，收入、收益和股东回报将出现“阶梯式变化”。

在金融城预测确认今年营收将增长超过五分之一至 12 亿英镑 billion，且预计未来三年利润将增长约三分之一后，Costain 的股价推高至疫情后的新高。

股价收盘上涨 10 便士，或 4.6%，至 2290 便士——比年初高出 50%，比新冠疫情危机最深处高出六倍。

沃恩表示：“我们已经赢得了工程，花时间制定了（施工）计划，现在我们正在交付。”

今年前六个月，该公司报告营收增长 3% 至 £5.41 亿，其中基础营业利润同步增长至 £1900 万。

然而，随着公司将其 70 亿英镑 billion 的订单簿（约六年的工作可见度）转化为现金和收益，所有建筑项目的资金将从现在开始流入。

Costain 对未来的信心使其将中期股息翻倍至 2 便士，分析师预计这一趋势在未来三年将持续。

Panmure Liberum 将其目标价从 240 便士上调至 270 便士，并表示：“我们看好英国基础设施，并希望‘阻碍因素’能够被消除。”

美国投资使第一太平戴维斯（Savills）具备扩张条件

Charlotte Bend

尽管全球经济的不确定性冲击了关键市场，但房地产代理公司第一太平戴维斯（Savills）在公布强劲业绩后，其股价出现反弹。

第一太平戴维斯表示，截至6月底的六个月中，营收同比增长9%，达到12 亿英镑 billion；基础税前利润增长47%，至£3429 万。

在税前利润层面，利润下降56%至£700 万，原因是第一太平戴维斯支付了£6.700 万的费用，用于收购美国房地产投资银行 Eastdil Secured，该收购金额为110 亿加元 billion。

第一太平戴维斯的股价上涨107p，即11%，收于£10.88。

首席执行官 Simon Shaw 表示：“展望未来，扩大后的集团管线强劲，尽管在当前环境下交易时间线难以预测，但我有信心我们已处于有利位置，能够为客户、同事和股东创造价值。”

许多人将第一太平戴维斯视为传统的住宅地产代理，但这仅占其业务的十分之一。其代理人负责撮合仓库销售、为企业寻找办公室以及为投资者安排交易。

其许多费用来自投资管理、物业管理及其咨询业务。

虽然第一太平戴维斯在世界大部分地区都是知名品牌，但其在利润丰厚的美国市场的影响力仍然较小。这在很大程度上是 Shaw 及其前任 Mark Ridley 决定在今年早些时候收购 Eastdil Secured 的原因，后者在纽约、圣莫尼卡以及伦敦设有办公室。

第一太平戴维斯表示，其在商业地产交易方面的营收

第一太平戴维斯已从一家住宅地产代理公司成长为一家全球性企业

在该期间增长了19%，达到£3.19 亿，而住宅营收仅增长3%，至12 亿英镑 million。

其商业营收得益于数据中心和办公空间租赁相关业务的推动。第一太平戴维斯表示：“总体而言，由于中东冲突升级以及国内政治变革进程，第二季度英国市场的谨慎程度有所增加。商业交易咨询工作的管线依然强劲，为我们接下来的阶段奠定了良好基础。”

英国的住宅业务受到了工党新出台的《租客权利法案》（Renters’ Rights Act）的影响，该法案取消了固定期限租赁协议，这意味着房东必须提前四个月通知租客以终止租约。

第一太平戴维斯表示，这导致房东出售租赁房产的情况增加，从而导致可用房源减少，并给租金带来上涨压力。

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43

市场商业

John Ficenec Tempus

买入、卖出或持有：今日最佳股票建议

转向养老金业务初见成效

STANDARD LIFE

市值 930 亿英镑 客户数 1600 万

Standard Life 今年经历了重大转型。该集团由 Phoenix Group 更名，并宣布以 20 亿英镑 收购 Aegon UK。结合强大的现金生成能力以及股市飙升带来的资产增长，该公司已具备继续增长的良好条件。

今年以来，其股价已上涨 25 per cent，且看来未来仍有上涨空间。目前的重点是扩展至职场和私人养老金市场。Aegon 的交易将带来一支庞大的财务顾问团队，能够为这个服务不足且不断增长的市场提供指导。

公司提供终身最终薪金养老金的时代早已过去。自动加入计划和公司缴费现在使许多人在很大程度上只能依靠自己，管理来自不同工作的多项不同养老金。

对 Aegon 的收购预计将在今年年底或 2027, 年初完成，届时总客户数将达到 1600 万，管理资产将达到 4800 亿英镑。这将使管理定额缴费职场计划的养老金和储蓄业务成为最大的利润来源。运营定额给付计划和年金的退休解决方案仍将是业务的主要部分。此外，该公司在爱尔兰和德国设有分支机构，并拥有传统的分红养老金和储蓄业务。

设定标准

建议：持有。为何需要一个关于多余现金将如何推动业务增长的清晰战略

这家 FTSE 100 集团通过大量收购英国人寿保险集团（如 Pearl, Sun Life, Abbey Life, ReAssure 以及亚伯丁公司的 Standard Life 部分）来壮大自身。在借贷资金的推动下，这一连串的交易导致其债务在 2022. 年底上升至 40 亿英镑 billion。自那时起，英国人寿保险业的 fortunes 发生了剧烈变化。

需要一支由精算师组成的小规模队伍来计算出准确的变动。即便如此，一个简单的经验法则是：长期英国国债收益率的急剧上升会导致

人寿保险基金需支付的现金金额下降。基准英国 10 年期国债收益率已从 2022 年初的 1.17 per cent 上升至 7 月底的 5 per cent。与此同时，用于安置从客户那里收取的现金保费的投资也一直处于强劲增长状态。

去年年底，Standard Life 的调整后营业利润增长 15 per cent，达到 £9.45 亿，营业现金生成增长 4 per cent，达到 14.7 亿英镑 billion。Berenberg 的分析师认为，持续强劲的现金生成意味着到 6 月底，债务将减少至 29 亿英镑 billion。

人寿保险领域最优质的交易似乎已经结束，且大宗购买年金业务（大量公司在定义收益计划转为盈余时将其剥离）在去年有所放缓。集团管理层有信心在年底实现 11 亿英镑 billion 的调整后营业利润，而这一切为增长，或通过股息和回购增加股东回报提供了充足的运作空间。

报告的业绩总是波动较大，因为其中包含了非现金项目，例如冲销之前收购产生的商誉，或用于保护管理资产的金融工具的表现。

该股票表现极佳，远高于 Tempus 在 12 月初建议以 60Sp 买入时的价格，因为当时市场忽略了新战略的潜力。昨日收盘价为 920Sp。股息收益率不再像之前那样明显具有吸引力，目前为 6.3 per cent，低于之前的 8 per cent。

但战略已变得更加清晰，资产负债表更加强健，提高股东回报的潜力也更大。定于 9 月 7 日公布的半年报将提供当前交易的最新情况，而定于 11 月 30 日举行的资本市场日将为明年度及之后的分配战略提供更清晰的图景。

对于保险公司而言，始终存在面临市场剧烈回调或另一场针对养老金储蓄的税收掠夺的风险。但该公司的基础业务预计在未来三年将产生巨额现金。这一点，结合成为第二大养老金提供商的实力，意味着我们愿意继续持有这只赢家股。

新闻简报

休·皮尔呼吁提高利率

英格兰银行首席经济学家休·皮尔（Huw Pill）表示，英国好于预期的经济增长增强了提高利率以控制通胀的理由。

在昨日接受《华尔街日报》采访时，皮尔表示，今年第二季度 GDP 0.4% 的增长“让我更加确信，我们并未进入剧烈的经济衰退”。

他说：“在我担任货币政策委员会（MPC）成员期间，我们拥有 59 个月的数据，其中只有三个月处于目标水平或低于目标水平。这对我很重要。”

在上个月的委员会会议上，皮尔是希望将利率提高 0.25 个百分点至 4% 的三名成员之一。他们最终被包括行长安德鲁·贝利（Andrew Bailey）在内的其他六名 MPC 成员否决，后者主张将政策维持在 3.75% 不变。

6 月份通胀率下降速度快于预期，至 2.6%，但仍高于央行 2% 的目标。

皮尔在 6 月份曾表示：“我确实有点担心，因为我们见过通胀达到 11%，导致政策讨论变成了‘哦，3% 的通胀也没那么糟糕’。我们的职责非常明确：通胀必须始终保持在 2%。”

阿克曼精选六大持仓

比尔·阿克曼（Bill Ackman）披露了包括 Netflix、Visa 和 Mastercard 在内的六项新持仓，这标志着这位亿万富翁投资者多年来最大规模的投资组合调整。阿克曼传统上投资的公司不超过十几家，他昨日表示，他从第二季度开始买入这些股票，并将由其投资资金持有，其中包括他最新的产品 Pershing Square USA，该基金已于 4 月在纽约上市。这位基金经理认为，这些公司的盈利有望强劲增长。阿克曼的选股受到专业投资者及其在 X 平台上的 280 万 粉丝的密切关注。

Robinhood 推出基金

Robinhood 的第二只风险投资基金于昨日亮相，使零售投资者能够接触到早期初创公司，而这类公司传统上除了风险投资公司和富裕投资者外，其他人难以触及。这家金融科技公司的 Ventures Fund II 筹集了 $225.500 万，用于投资早期和成长阶段的私营公司。Robinhood 在 3 月份推出了其首只基金，重点关注后期初创公司。第二只基金将聚焦于 Y Combinator 初创企业加速器计划的现任和前参与者，该计划自 2005 年以来已资助超过 5,000 家公司，其中包括 100 家“独角兽”企业。

Tapestry 品牌适配不佳

Tapestry 昨日预测营收增长缓慢，掩盖了好于预期的季度利润，凸显了美国时尚品牌 Kate Spade 的持续疲软以及北美地区的谨慎消费。Tapestry 一直在努力恢复 Kate Spade 的销售额，作为一项包括改进产品设计在内的转型计划的一部分，该公司上个月任命苏格兰设计师乔纳森·桑德斯（Jonathan Saunders）为创意总监。在固定汇率基础上，Kate Spade 的销售额下降了 7%，而 Tapestry 的旗舰品牌 Coach 的销售额则比一年前增长了 14%。

富时 100 指数在令人失望的交易日下跌 0.6%

市场报告

当 18 家最大成员公司的股票在交易时不再享有下次股息支付权时，富时 100 指数（FTSE 100）注定难以在当日交易中获得正增长（Robert Miller 撰文）。

截至收盘，伦敦主指数连续第四个交易日收跌，下跌 60.48 点，或 0.6%，至 10,772.67 点，为 7 月 24 日以来的最低收盘值。在除权交易并导致指数下跌的公司中，汇丰银行（HSBC）下跌 12p，或 0.8%，至 £15.26；伦敦证券交易所（London Stock Exchange）下跌 141p，或 1.6%，至 £85.56；巴布考克国际（Babcock International）下跌 185p，或 1.5%，至 £11.82。

并非所有股票都呈下跌趋势。Lion Finance Group（前格鲁吉亚银行）在宣布股票回购后，上涨 660p，或 5.2%，至 £113.80，位居涨幅榜首；紧随其后的是备受青睐的防御性股票英美烟草（British American Tobacco），上涨 114p，或 2.8%，至 £42.64。

在英国 GDP 增长表现稳健且对利率上升的担忧有所缓解后，房屋建筑商也受到追捧。英国最大的房屋建筑商 Barratt Redrow 上涨 75p，或 2.4%，至 3285p；Persimmon 上涨 26p，或 2.2%。

华尔街报告

由于生产者价格指数（PPI）读数较低，进一步缓解了市场对通货膨胀以及美联储下月加息的担忧，指数随之上涨。Jefferies 的 Mohit Kumar 表示，系统内大量现金的背景以及美联储不加息“应将继续支撑风险资产”。标准普尔 500 指数上涨 50.49 点，或 0.7%，至 7,798.99 点，创下新纪录；纳斯达克指数上涨 214.54 点，或 0.8%，至 26,803.03 点。道琼斯工业平均指数上涨 69.72 点，或 0.1%，至 53,839.99 点。

今日最大波动股

Company / Owner

Lion Finance / 5.2% British American Tobacco / 2.8% Barratt Redrow / 2.4% Computacenter / 2.3% Persimmon / 2.2% Weir / -3.6% Fossello / -3.7% Motion Energy & Metals / -4.0% Endowour Mining / -4.2% Antetagasta / -4.8%

Seraphim Space 是空间技术企业投资领域的领导者

至 £11.96。伦敦少数科技股之一的 Computacenter 同样表现强劲，受益于市场对人工智能相关公司兴趣的回升，收盘上涨 110p，或 2.3%，至 £49.38。

在较低层级的指数中，更侧重于英国本土市场的富时 250 指数（FTSE 250）再次收涨，并一度触及新的盘中高点，随后回吐部分涨幅，最终上涨 22.83 点，或 0.1%，收于 24,837.71 点，而上周五的纪录为 24,854.86 点。表现最好的是第一太平戴维斯（Savills），在尽管全球局势不确定但该房地产代理公司公布了强劲业绩后，上涨 107p，或 10.9%，至 £10.88。紧随其后的是 Rank Group，在 Mecca Bingo 和 Grosvenor Casino 连锁店的所有者公布良好的年度数据后，上涨 6p，或 6%，至 1055p。

Seraphim Space Investment Trust 出现较大幅度下跌，下跌 7p，或 3.6%，至 1865p。据 Citywire 报道，该信托已开始将其 £1.37 亿 的 C 股融资资金投入到诸如 Pixcel（一家空间数据公司和航天器制造商）等持仓中。由于该股今年已上涨 56%，此次下跌极有可能是由于部分获利了结所致。

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“帮助16岁青少年成为学徒”

简·汉密尔顿（Jane Hamilton）写道，那些希望“边学边赚”的离校学生机会有限。

安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）呼吁国家应“像重视毕业帽一样重视安全帽”，但对于那些希望在16岁就开始工作的离校学生来说，机会依然有限。

尽管十分之九的年轻人表示他们会考虑选择学徒制而非传统的学位，但专门为没有工作经验的年轻人设计的全新基础学徒计划，在启动后的前九个月中仅记录了160人开始参与，而其目标是到2029年达到30,000人。

年轻人必须接受教育或培训直到18岁，因此创建更多基础级别（相当于GCSE）和3级（相当于两个A-level）的学徒岗位，将为进入职场提供一条经过验证的路径。

亨利商业学院（Henley Business School）的梅丽莎·卡尔（Melissa Carr）表示：“雇主在毕业生和专业人才端已经做了相当大的调整，大学毕业后有成熟且结构化的早期职业路径，但针对16至18岁离校学生，还没有相应的调整。名额的增长没有跟上年轻人的需求。”

随着8月20日GCSE成绩公布日的临近，这种需求正在增长。学生求职网站报告称，五分之一的年轻人正积极申请毕业后直接就业的路径，而不是选择Btecs、A-levels或传统的大学路径。这种转变可能尚未代表伯纳姆所希望的完全平等的尊重，但确实表明学生和家长的态度都发生了相当大的变化。

作为就业非营利组织 Generation UK 的首席执行官，迈克尔·胡利汉（Michael Houlihan）正见证着这一变化。他说：“越来越多的年轻人选择更早地进入职场，因为他们对自己的选择采取了更务实的看法。对于某些人来说，大学仍然是一条强有力的路径，但成本上升和回报的不确定性意味着它不再是每个人的默认选择。对于许多人来说，在16岁或18岁开始工作或参加学徒培训提供了一个非常有吸引力且实用的替代方案——边学边赚，从第一天起就积累经验。”

而且，从16岁起提供的不仅仅是“安全帽”类职业。一些最积极的雇主包括专业服务、法律、金融和会计领域，他们提供结构化的学徒制和专业资格认证，为学生提供快速通道。许多人最终获得了与大学毕业同行相同的资格证书，但到前同学毕业时，他们已经拥有了至少五年的职场经验。

“我避免了债务并获得了一份事业”

案例研究

16, 纳普里特·巴姆拉（Narpreet Bhamra）选择了微软的金融学徒计划而非大学，这使她能够在建立职业生涯的同时，获得薪水、积累经验并取得英国会计技术人员协会（Association of Accounting Technicians）的资格认证。在六年内，巴姆拉从金融学徒晋升为财务主管，现在在消费品集团联合利华（Unilever）担任全球财务业务合作伙伴。来自伯克希尔的巴姆拉说：“在25岁时，我的收入比刚开始工作时翻了三倍，我正在攒钱买自己的房子。在获得现实世界经验的同时避免学生债务，也让我的职业生涯得到了显著的领先。我看到许多大学毕业生在申请或从事我早已通过学徒路径获得的相同职位。”

招聘离校学生并帮助其成长的高级建议

学生求职网站 Higherin 的联合创始人奥利·西德韦尔（Ollie Sidwell）表示，GCSE离校者优先考虑提供职业晋升和长期稳定性的雇主。以下是如何吸引他们加入您的组织。

投资您的未来人才储备：那些以构建未来员工队伍为目的而接收GCSE离校者的雇主，能够产生极高的忠诚度和绩效。

设计结构化的入职培训和指导：将新员工与能够引导他们熟悉岗位职责和职场规范的资深同事配对。

引导并提供定期反馈：你的年轻员工具有适应能力且渴望学习，但他们在专业标准和绩效预期方面需要指导。

向他们展示两年、五年或十年后他们可能达到的位置：规划出切实可行的职业发展路径。

挑战固有观念：为他们创造机会，以展示其技能和新鲜视角。

会计技术人员协会（AAT）率先采用了学徒制，提供 Level 2 基础和 Level 3 学徒培训，以及 Level 4 专业会计专业文凭，后者相当于大学一年级水平。

培训生在 16 岁直接从学校毕业后开始学习，在雇主处领取薪水的同时遵循结构化路径。AAT 首席执行官 Sarah Beale 敦促家长和雇主“重新思考我们告诉年轻人的关于成功的定义”。她表示：“认为只有一条路径才能获得高薪且充实职业生涯的想法根本不正确，而且长期以来就不是这样。学徒制将教育直接与职业联系起来，让年轻人在赚取工资的同时获得所需的起步机会。”

六项最佳实践

Mission 44, Sir Lewis Hamilton's foundation, 鼓励代表性不足的年轻人追求 STEM（科学、技术、工程、数学）和赛车运动职业。在庆祝成立五周年以及年轻人收到 GCSE 成绩单之际，首席执行官 Jason Arthur 分享了如何在组织中纳入年轻人的声音。

1 将希望作为一种纪律而非一种情绪：刘易斯谈到了那些“梦想不可能”的孩子。领导者的工作不是忽视情况看起来多么暗淡，而是保持希望。

2 给年轻人真正的权力，而不仅仅是发声机会：我们最正确的举措之一是设立青年顾问，由他们来制定我们的战略、沟通方案和资助计划。一个好的故事比一个好的统计数据更能打动人：我以前习惯以数据开头，因为我觉得这样更严谨。但一个讲述得好的年轻人的故事，才是真正让你获得机会的关键。

习惯于说“我不知道”：我在 34. 岁时成为了 Mission 44 的 CEO。为了成为一名高效的领导者，我必须不断适应、授权并始终保持进化。

慢下来：并非所有事情都必须立即发生。单打独斗地快速行动，往往比深思熟虑地共同行动更慢。

用行动证明，而非仅仅陈述多样性和包容性的必要性：我们的团队、合作伙伴和青年顾问涵盖了广泛的背景，而这种多样性使我们的工作更精准。

本周任命

医疗与护理国家数据监护人

卫生创新与安全部长正在寻找一名医疗与护理国家数据监护人。这是一个在医疗和成人社会护理信息的利用、保护和共享事项上，代表患者和公众的独立倡导者。

被任命者将向政府、NHS、社会护理机构以及更广泛的医疗和护理系统提供值得信赖的指导和挑战，在确保机密信息得到保护的同时，使其能够被负责任地使用，以改善服务、患者预后和研究。

候选人需在私营、公共或志愿部门拥有资深级别的良好运作记录，并在敏感健康数据的安全和伦理使用方面拥有广泛经验，同时对支撑现代医疗和护理服务的演进技术有深刻理解。

薪酬为每年 6.3 万英镑，工作时间为每周 3.5 天。卫生大臣决定任命期限，最长不超过三年。请在 9 月 1 日前通过 appointments.thetimes.com 申请。

工作周

入门级年长员工

特许管理学会（Chartered Management Institute）的数据显示，就业市场上的年轻人正被资历过高的高龄申请者挤出初级岗位。三分之一的英国经理报告称，申请入门级职位的资深员工人数有所增加，其中 41 至 50 岁人群的增长最为显著。近四分之一的经理表示，他们更倾向于选择有经验的候选人。

劳埃德银行增加 T-level 名额

虽然 T-level（技术等级资格认证）可能不如 A-level 知名，但它可能帮助学生更好地为职场做好准备。这种面向 16 至 18 岁青少年的资格认证将课堂学习与强制性的行业实习相结合。劳埃德银行集团（Lloyds Banking Group）已将其实习名额从 2022 年的 6 个增加到每年 100 个以上，其中约一半的学生在实习后转为该集团的正式员工。

Z 世代倾向于在本地发展职业

在年轻员工涌向城市开启职业生涯数十年后，一项新研究表明，47% 的 Z 世代希望在完成学业后留在当地社区。可口可乐的一项民意调查发现，靠近家人和可负担的生活成本是主要原因。可口可乐英国公司（Coca-Cola GB）副总裁 Dusan Stojankic 表示：“这项研究表明，年轻人对工作和抱负的思考方式发生了明显转变。”

虚假会议帮助员工

由于工作压力过大，部分员工通过安排虚假会议来挤出时间完成实际工作，这引发了关于员工时间利用的问题。三分之二的员工表示，在工作日结束时，他们的清单上仍有未完成的任务，而 70% 的人表示他们更希望能够勾掉待办事项清单上的某一项。软件公司 Atlassian 的 Molly Sands 表示：“领导者应当像保护会议一样，刻意地保护员工的专注时间。”

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THE TIMES / Friday August 14 2026 v2

51

Intrepid Times foreign correspondent Trevor Fishlock 第 52 页

讣告

朱镕基

这位言辞犀利但致力于改革的领导人被人们称为“朱疯子”，他主导了中国加入世界贸易组织的历史性进程。

当朱镕基在 20 世纪 80 年代后期出任上海市长时，他接手的是一座曾经以“东方之珠”闻名，但当时正苦于吸引游客以重现昔日辉煌的城市。在经历了毛泽东激进的文化大革命带来的混乱之后，中国仍在向世界开放，但深陷于贫困和共产主义的官僚主义之中。

但直言不讳的朱镕基并不被完成旅游指标的挑战所吓倒。他召集该市的官僚们开了一次突击会议。“如果连个干净的厕所都找不到，上海怎么能吸引 900,000 名外国游客？”他问道。他命令他们刷洗城里所有的公共厕所。

这种直率让他树敌众多，并导致他两次在共产党等级体系中被清洗。但这也让他赢得了同样坦率的党内领导人——最高实用主义者邓小平的赏识，邓小平认可了朱镕基的才干，并将他提拔至中国最高权力机构之一。

在担任总理期间，他是将中国从一个被苏联式中央计划拖累的平庸经济体转变为全球巨头的驱动力。

他在就职时就意识到，他必须做出一些会给数千万普通中国人的生活带来剧烈冲击的决定。他还将面临共产党高层根深蒂固的既得利益集团。

1998 年初就任总理时，他以在大多数中国领导人中罕见的坦诚说道：“我们的国家面临着许多随时可能爆发的潜在危机。普通民众在很多方面对我们不满。特别是官员中的腐败、贫富差距，以及一些地方官员像暴君一样行事的方式。”

他愿意承担风险，并拥有改善人民生活的钢铁般决心，尽管党内保守派对他认为背叛了共产主义原则的政策感到震惊并予以抵制，但这为中国令人瞠目结舌的繁荣奠定了基础。

作为经济支柱的那些陈旧、负债累累且低效的国有企业，立即成为了他的目标。他的口号是“抓大放小”。石油、航空和重工业等大型战略垄断企业被纳入更严格的中央控制，以将它们转变为现代竞争力的经济支柱。他深知，如果不进行痛苦的改革，中国无法希望在世界经济中竞争。

较小的城市企业被私有化、合并或直接关闭。成千上万家低效公司消失了，随之而去的是数千万个工作岗位。经济学家安德鲁·巴特森（Andrew Batson）估计，国有企业的就业人数从 1995 年的 7700 万 下降到他在 2003 年离任时的 4200 万。

朱镕基在芝加哥的一个交易大厅内，以及（左图）1999 年与克林顿总统在一起。

批评者警告说，大规模裁员将导致广泛的社会动荡——这是在 1989 年学生抗议活动引发混乱并最终在 6 月 3-4 日演变为天安门广场大屠杀之后，该党最大的恐惧。然而，工人的不安程度有限，并被他的政策所缓解。他建立了一个基础社会福利体系，包括初步的医疗保健——这些政策他的继任者未能在此基础上进一步构建。

朱镕基有效地打破了“铁饭碗”——即从摇篮到坟墓的福利体系和终身雇佣制，这曾是毛泽东倡导的基本政策之一。“即使面前是雷区或深渊，我也将直截了当地前进，绝不回头，开辟自己的道路，”他承诺道。

虽然许多年长的国企员工再也没找到工作，但年轻人通过重新培训，成为了支撑新兴私营经济的劳动力骨干，而这正是推动中国繁荣的动力。

为了进一步减轻冲击，他将这些公寓——几乎全部是狭小且破旧的——以名义价格或高度补贴的价格转让给失业工人所有。其结果是形成了一个充满活力的房地产市场，为许多人带来了繁荣，但在过去十年中，这导致了贪婪的开发商和地方政府造成灾难性的过度建设。

事实上，他的目标不仅仅是低效的工人与产业。他最强烈的愤怒指向的是腐败官员。作为一名著名的直言不讳者，他告诉那些企图收受贿赂的同事：“我在这里准备了100口棺材——99口给腐败官员，一口给我自己，因为我会累死。”他那尖刻的幽默感和坦率——与大多数党内官僚不同——为他赢得了中国普通民众在一定程度上的喜爱与尊重。他们给了他这样一个昵。

在经济改革方面，他的口号是“抓大放小”

人们称他为“朱疯子”和“朱老板”。他也被称为中国的“协调员”。他讨厌这个称呼，当被问及此事时，他回答道：“我是朱镕基。”

在他担任总理的五年任期内，影响最深远的成就或许是监督中国在2001年加入世界贸易组织，这一举措使中国成为了地球上最具活力的出口国。谈判过程充满艰辛，极其复杂，且需要WTO的每一个成员国达成一致。

最艰难的谈判是与美国之间的。

整个进程在1999年几乎陷入危机，当时朱镕基访问华盛顿，满心期待终于能签署一项协议。但深陷莫妮卡·刘易斯丑闻且急于避免进一步争议的比尔·克林顿拒绝了，甚至泄露了谈判的秘密细节。

由于国内的反对，朱镕基此前已经做出了他难以承受的让步，这让他感到受辱且愤怒。他公开地愤怒地表示，克林顿总统没有足够的勇气，并补充说“你最终可能一无所获”。这次挫折本可能让他丢掉工作。然而，留在职位的代价是在政治局成员面前进行一次毛主义风格的“自我批评”。

两年后，协议达成。中国与世界的贸易额从2001年的5100亿加元飙升至2025年底的巨额6.5万亿加元。

朱镕基首先是一个实用主义者。他必须如此。他的早年生活充满了困难与悲剧。

他1928年出生于湖南省省会长沙，主要由两位叔叔抚养长大。他的父亲在他出生前去世，母亲在他仅九岁时去世。据称，他的家族是明朝（1368-98）开国皇帝朱元璋的后裔，且非常富有，拥有大片土地和一座宏伟的府邸。正是这样的背景给朱镕基带来了麻烦。

他在北京著名的清华大学学习电机工程，成为学生领袖，并于1949年加入共产党。毕业后，他被分配到权力巨大的国家计委工作并迅速晋升，看起来正处于事业上升期。但在1957年，他批评毛泽东的经济政策存在“不合理的过快增长”。这一批评加上他地主家庭的出身，导致了他的垮台。他被开除，被剥夺党籍，并被重新分配为一名教师。

1962年他获得短暂赦免，但在毛泽东1966-76年的文化大革命中再次被清洗，被送到一个专门安置落马官员的农场进行“再教育”。他花了五年时间养猪、种稻和清理厕所。这段经历他拒绝讨论。

他于1976年恢复工程师工作，两年后在官员们象征性地烧掉他的开除信时，他被正式平反，并在中国社会科学院获得了一个职位。次年，他被分配到国家经济委员会，并担任副部长直至1987年。一年后，他被任命为上海市市长。

他雷厉风行的作风和对变革的迫切感令懒政官员感到恐惧，吸引了外国投资者，并引起了邓小平的关注。他在上海的高效率为他赢得了第一个绰号：“一拍即合朱”（One Chop Zhu）。他为将上海中心区对岸的浦东农田改造为如今光鲜的大都市及中国最富有的地区之一奠定了基础。此外，他与当地的党首江泽民通过确保1989年该市的学生抗议活动和平结束而引起了关注。

两人都被召集到北京。朱镕基在1991年成为负责经济的副总理，并在1993年担任中央银行行长。他将通货膨胀率从1994年的24.3%降低到1998年的-0.8%。他为臃肿的国有银行注入资本，并增加了中央政府的税收收入。

他坚持要求给挣扎在贫困中的农民支付现金购买粮食，并威胁要“砍掉”任何开具欠条的当地官员的“脑袋”。当记者询问这一言论时，他打趣道：“我不能在这里承认我说过那样的话。随意砍头是侵犯人权且违法的。如果这件事出现在新闻报道中并被中国以外的一些人注意到，我会陷入很大的麻烦。”

中国经济或许是他生命的全部，但朱镕基还有其他兴趣。他是一位京剧的狂热爱好者，从小就学习欣赏这一艺术形式。在他与妻子老安 70 年的婚姻生活中，这是他们共同的爱好。这对夫妇育有两个孩子，一子一女。

但在京剧方面，他不仅仅是一个欣赏的观众。他精通传统的两弦乐器二胡，而且还会唱歌，有一次在演出期间登台表演，令观众大为惊讶。在日本被要求展示才艺时，他开玩笑说：“我想，如果你不喜欢京剧，那么听我拉琴的声音就像是在宰猪。”

朱镕基，政治家和经济学家，出生于 1928 年 10 月 23 日。他于 2026 年 8 月 12 日去世，享年 97 岁

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52

登记册

特雷弗·菲什洛克 (Trevor Fishlock)

勇敢的《泰晤士报》驻外记者，一位好奇心旺盛的“文字大师”，以生动且富有诗意的视角报道故事

“在电视时代到来之前，我的父亲和母亲阅读日报时就像喂饱了饲料袋的马一样开心。”特雷弗·菲什洛克在名为《记者》（Reporter）的回忆录中写道。“在他们脚下揉皱的报页间，我呼吸着那个时代的墨香和头条术语：spix、雾霾、Skylon、泰迪男孩、冷战、预制房、配给本、氢弹、铁幕、IJ-plus、朝鲜、丘吉尔、艾森豪威尔。花生和布拉德曼的鸭蛋球。”

就这样，他开启了终身报道的生涯（其中大部分为《泰晤士报》供稿），足迹遍布世界最遥远的角落（以及他的第二故乡威尔士）。这种热情由永无止境的好奇心和冒险精神驱动，并凭借其生动的散文笔触和对细节的敏锐洞察而得以升华。

作为那个时代最优秀的驻外记者之一，菲什洛克报道了苏联在阿富汗的战争、米哈伊尔·戈尔巴乔夫关于魅力与“新思维”（perestroika）的实验、罗马尼亚尼古拉·齐奥塞斯库的倒台、美国入侵格林纳达、“小多克”杜瓦利埃在海地的被罢免、纳尔逊·曼德拉当选南非总统、彼得·赖特在澳大利亚的《间谍猎手》（Spycatcher）审判、哥伦比亚的一场灾难性火山爆发、亚美尼亚一场同样致命的地震，以及更多、更多的事件。

他采访过英迪拉·甘地、贝娜齐尔·布托、达赖喇嘛和特蕾莎修女，后者向他保证：“即使是记者也可以从事主的工作。”他热爱那些不寻常的故事，例如在中央邦的峡谷中追寻土匪之王，乌干达罗尼国王的登基，或是德克萨斯州亨茨维尔监狱举办的年度牛仔竞技赛。

回到威尔士后，他主持了一部为期 14 年的电视系列剧《荒野足迹》（Wild Tracks），该节目带他走遍了该国的最偏远地区，并与煤矿工人、养羊农、圆船制造者以及迪兰·托马斯的理发师进行了令人难忘的接触。“她在 1953 年他前往美国之前帮他剪了头发，”他写道。“当她剪完后，他照了照镜子说：‘太棒了，这发型能维持我一辈子。’这次旅行最终以他在纽约的去世而告终。”

菲什洛克说，他的生活是“描绘生活、集体努力、对新闻的热爱以及故事带来的快感之生活”。

爱德华·特雷弗·菲什洛克于 1941 年出生在赫里福德，当时他的母亲艾达正在那里躲避闪电战。在他出生三个月后，他们回到了朴次茅斯，他的父亲泰德在那里担任皇家海军陆战队的军士长。后来，他的父亲在海灵岛成为度假营娱乐经理，随后在朴次茅斯成为一名酒馆老板。

菲什洛克在阅读书籍和报纸中长大。16, 岁时，在朴次茅斯南部文法学校就读期间，他看到了一则在朴次茅斯招聘初级记者的广告

他成为了一个“全能记者：报道审判、火灾、谋杀、罢工、车祸”

《晚间新闻》（Evening News）。“我把它看作是基钦纳的手指在向我指指点点，”他说，从他“闻到洗礼般的味道并推开记者室沉重的黑门”那一刻起，他就被新闻业深深吸引了。他成为了一个“全能记者：报道审判、火灾、谋杀、罢工、车祸，车祸，车祸 es，）

他转为自由撰稿人，向舰队街（Fleet Street）提供故事，并通过电话为《观察家报》（The Observer）口述约翰·阿洛特（John Arlot）的板球报道来赚取额外的一点现金。在为《汉普郡杂志》（Hampshire magazine）撰稿期间，他结识并娶了第一任妻子安吉拉（Angela），两人育有三个孩子：梅兰妮（Melanie）、理查德（Richard）和蒂姆（Tim）。在畅销小说家、当时任《伦敦晚间新闻》记者的莱斯利·托马斯（Leslie Thomas）的鼓励下，他于 1968 年申请了《泰晤士报》的工作，编辑威廉·里斯-莫格（William Rees-Mogg）将他派往威尔士。

他报道了煤炭和钢铁工业的衰落、查尔斯王子被册封为威尔士亲王、威尔士民族主义的兴起，以及一场在蒙哥马利举行的议会选举，该报道的标题是：“威廉·威廉姆斯·温恩先生会赢吗？”（Will Mr William Williams Wynne Way?）。他的 20 本书中的第一本是关于威尔士的合集

Fishlock 在阿富汗报道了对抗苏联占领的战斗

绰号——共产主义者“埃姆林·克里姆林”（Emlyn Kremlin）、伞兵“戴·掉落”（Dai Drop），以及内政大臣大卫·麦克斯韦-法伊夫爵士（Sir David Maxwell Fyfe），后者不可避免地被戏称为“戴·香蕉”（Dai Bananas）。

1977 年，他获得了一项奖学金，前往美国停留了八个月，之后回到了《泰晤士报》的伦敦总部。在那里，他结识了第二任妻子，一名叫佩妮·赛蒙（Penny Symon）的议会记者，她在两人婚后生活的大部分时间里负责管理他的职业生涯并组织他多次出国旅行。Fishlock 从不使用自动取款机。

1980 年，在英迪拉·甘地回归专制权力后不久，《泰晤士报》将他派往印度。在三周之内，他就报道了她的幼子桑杰（Sanjay）在飞机失事中丧生的消息。他与对抗苏联占领的穆贾希丁游击队深入阿富汗，并由一名鸦片走私者护送回巴基斯坦。但在接下来的三年里，他大部分时间带着便携式打字机在次大陆旅行，提交关于人物、地点和帝国残余余烬的精彩故事——他将所有这些内容写成了另一本书，《印度档案》（India File）。

他在 1982 年的英国新闻奖中被评为年度最佳外派记者，次年《泰晤士报》将他调往纽约。在那里，他报道了黑手党谋杀案、利伯拉塞（Liberace）在无线电城音乐厅的演出、挑战者号航天飞机的灾难性发射，以及海地的一次巫毒仪式；在仪式狂热之中，一名男子走上前，抓起一只鸡，“似乎在血雨中将其头咬掉了”。

1986 年，马克斯·黑斯廷斯（Max Hastings）被任命为《每日电讯报》（The Daily Telegraph）的编辑，并迅速挖走了被他描述为“文字大师”的 Fishlock，让他担任巡回记者，并在两年内担任莫斯科特派员。

于是，他的漂泊生活仍在继续——雷根与戈尔巴乔夫在雷克雅未克的峰会、柏林墙的倒塌、爱尔兰共和军（IRA）在恩尼斯基伦的爆炸袭击、克里斯蒂娜·奥纳西斯在希腊的葬礼、澳大利亚建国200周年纪念，以及香港、新加坡、文莱、孟加拉国、北极和巴布亚新几内亚。在巴布亚新几内亚，他采访了一位名叫万·万爵士（Sir Wamp Wan）的八旬部落酋长。菲什洛克写道：“万·万爵士见到的第一个轮子，是载着（白人）来到他位于西部高地家园的飞机上的。”

1996年，他再次成为自由撰稿人。他定居在卡迪夫，为哈莱赫电视台（Harlech Television）推出了《野迹》（Wild Tracks）节目，并撰写了更多书籍，但冒险并未停止。为了撰写一本名为《眼镜蛇罗莎尔》（Cobra Rosal）的书，他从阿富汗与巴基斯坦边境的开伯尔山口一直旅行到印度南端。2001年，他与著名的帆船运动员兼赛艇运动员约翰·里德格韦（John Ridgway）一起，从苏格兰乘船横跨大西洋前往鳕鱼角并返回。

他最后一次伟大的远征发生在2003年。在51天的时间里，他、里德格韦和其他四人经历了雪、雨夹雪以及巨大的海浪，从开普敦航行至墨尔本，航程超过7,000英里，海浪之大使得游艇在其中像“雪橇”一样下滑。这位走遍全球的人写道，那片广阔而汹涌的海洋是“我去过的最狂野的地方”。

记者爱德华·特雷弗·菲什洛克（Edward Trevor Fishlock）出生于1941年2月21日。他于2026年7月3日去世，享年85岁。

薇奥莱特·亨斯利 (Violet Hensley)

被誉为“奥扎克山脉的斯特拉迪瓦里”，她守护了美国大萧条时期的音乐精神

薇奥莱特·亨斯利是最后一个与美国旧时农村大萧条时期保持联系的人。在那个时代，音乐是一种社区活动，人们在南部和中西部各州的后廊上，使用粗糙的自制乐器演奏。

亨斯利在阿肯色州的山脉中生活了 109 年，被誉为“奥扎克山脉的斯特拉迪瓦里”。她在 15, 岁时制作了她的第一把小提琴，在父母的厨房桌子上用奥扎克当地的木材削制而成。“我做一把是因为我想拉一把，”她说，“我们当时没什么别的事可做。没有电视也没有收音机。我父亲会拉，我想我当时突然觉得我也想拉。”

她观察父亲的技巧——她的父亲在 1888 年 14, 岁时制作了他的第一把小提琴。她切割图案，用手斧劈开木头，在壁炉旁将其烘干，然后雕刻并制作出她的第一件乐器，并自学如何演奏。她很快又制作了三把，但在 18 岁时结婚，随后抚养九个孩子占据了她的时间。

她有 27 年没有再制作小提琴。“我真的没时间，”她说，“我们开垦花园，给水果和蔬菜装罐。我制作了我们穿的所有衣服。我负责所有的刮胡子

亨斯利与她的一些乐器

以及理发，我也帮邻居们做这些。如果我想建篱笆，我就建篱笆。如果我想砍树，我就砍树。”

然而，到了 1961 年，随着她的孩子们全部长大，且民谣音乐复兴运动正盛，她重新开始制作小提琴。这还促使她与家人成员一起录制了名为《Old Time Fiddle Times》的黑胶唱片，在全国巡演参加节日活动，并出现在从《比佛利山庄的土包子》到《CBS晚间新闻》的电视节目中，尽管由于她位于奥扎克山脉的家中没有信号，她无法观看这些节目。

她随后共制作了 73 把小提琴，每把都按时间顺序编号，并因其工艺和独特音色而备受推崇。其中几把现存于博物馆，但她最喜欢的一把——她将其用于个人使用并演奏了九十年——是 1934 年制作的 4, 号琴。

每把小提琴大约需要 250 小时制作，在她的厨房桌子上使用折叠刀、手锯和刨子完成，除了台钻外没有使用任何机械。当她削完一件乐器时，地板上的一个五加仑桶已被刨花填满。

木材是她从附近的森林中自行切割的。“有人问我让小提琴产生音色的秘诀是什么，”她说，“据我所知，音色就来自木材——七叶树、黄檀、松木、云杉、椴木、香桃木、樱桃木、卷枫木、软枫木、鸟眼枫、绗缝枫、火焰枫，以及普通的硬木。这些我都用过。”视力衰退最终导致她停止制作小提琴，但她继续演奏和唱歌，并于 2018 年在 101 岁时出现在纳什维尔的 Grand Ole Opry 演出。

她于 1916, 年出生在阿肯色州的蒙特艾达，与小提琴家兼作曲家叶胡迪·门胡因同年出生。她的父亲乔治·华盛顿·布鲁姆利和母亲诺拉曾是分成制佃农，两人身高都只有 3 英尺 3 英寸。“父亲常说，他们可以在头上横放一块板，上面放一桶水，走路也不会洒出来，”她在 100 岁时接受美国国家铁路客运公司（Amtrak）杂志记者大卫·拉姆齐采访时说道。

她在阿肯色州西部的一个农场长大，她的父亲通过制作小提琴来增加收入。“他会以一加元的价格卖掉一把，或者用一把换一只奶牛，”她回忆道，“他用一把换了一把散弹枪，另一把换了一辆农用马车。”物物交换意味着大萧条几乎没有影响到他们。“我父亲银行里没钱，所以银行倒闭没有打击到我们。我们跟银行没什么关系。”

1935年，她与艾德伦·亨斯利（Adren Hensley）结婚，结婚许可证的3加元是借来的。她穿着一件自己缝制的黄绿条纹连衣裙，而他穿着背带裤和工作衬衫。“我们的蜜月从那天下午躺在爱尔兰土

豆地里就开始了。第二天，我们耕种玉米，”她回忆道。

关于分娩，她从未经历过长时间的阵痛，“因为我的身体状况非常好，肌肉像牛一样强壮，”她说。“我可以用右手撑在艾德伦的膝盖后面，左手按在他的胸口，然后把他直接翻过我的肩膀。”

当她开始学习小提琴时，她声称自己在脑海中听到了音乐，并凭直觉将其转移到乐器上。“如果我在脑海中无法演奏它，我就无法在小提琴上把它弹出来，”她说。她总共制作了三张专辑，她的女儿们刘旺娜·尼尔森（Lewonna Nelson）和桑德拉·弗拉格（Sandra Flagg）、儿子卡尔文·亨斯利（Calvin Hensley）以及女婿蒂姆·尼尔森（Tim Nelson）也参与其中；在艾德伦1997年去世后，蒂姆·尼尔森接替了他的位置加入了家庭乐队。

“我当过理发师、铁匠、制琴师、农民和伐木工——砍伐木材，并用骡子将原木从森林中拖出，”她在2014年出版回忆录《以我的方式雕刻与演奏：薇奥莱特·亨斯利的故事》（Whittler and Fiddles My Own Way: The Violet Hensley Story）时说道。“但如果没有音乐，我的生活将会非常枯燥。”

薇奥莱特·亨斯利（Violet Hensley），卓越的小提琴手兼制琴师，出生于1916年10月21日。她于2026年8月7日去世，享年109岁。

---

53

登记册

缅怀逝者

贾斯汀·哈迪 (Justin Hardy)

邓斯托尔勋爵（Lord Dunstall DL）写道：我们是在 2013 年认识贾斯汀·哈迪（讣告见 8 月 12 日）的，当时他正在我们位于北爱尔兰的家中——巴利沃尔特公园（Ballywalter Park）拍摄电影《37 天》（37 Days）。这部电影涵盖了从斐迪南大公被刺（我们的马厩被用作萨拉热窝的场景）到第一次世界大战爆发的这段时期。哈迪既有魅力又迷人。按照他的习惯，在拍摄的第一天，他穿着一套三件套西装，配有背心和领带。

我们提议在周六晚上为部分演员和工作人员举办一场晚宴，这一提议很快得到了接受。与拍摄首日那身考究的装扮形成鲜明对比的是，哈迪参加晚宴时穿着的是睡衣。晚餐气氛非常融洽，人们饮用了不少葡萄酒。最后，哈迪建议在我们的台球桌上玩一场 Freda 游戏。我们拒绝了这个提议。

加菲尔德·索伯斯爵士 (Sir Garfield Sobers)

WS Higson 写道：1972 年 3 月，在与朋友结束一次航海假期后，我们抵达巴巴多斯，想打一些高尔夫球。酒店接待员将我们引导至附近的罗克利（Rockley）俱乐部，在那里我们受到了热烈欢迎，并被告知当天是比赛日，随后为我们分配了当地球员作为搭档。

令我感到有趣，且令我的朋友们羡慕的是，我发现自己的搭档竟然是加里·索伯斯（Garry Sobers，讣告见 7 月 17 日）。他证明了自己是想象中最友好、谦逊、放松且宽容的球友；尽管我的贡献微乎其微，且令我的朋友们更加懊恼的是，完全凭借索伯斯精湛的击球技术，我们竟然赢得了这次比赛。

大卫·诺曼 (David Norman)

英国皇家建筑师学会（Riba）成员约翰·卡希尔（John Cahill）写道：我有幸作为建筑师，领导大卫·诺曼的施工团队负责白 Lodge（White Lodge，皇家芭蕾舞团初级学校）的建设。为了获得法定建筑许可，大卫（讣告见 8 月 10 日）和我制作了一本“销售手册”，在当地规划部门甚至还不知道我们的意图之前，我们就到处推销这本手册以寻求书面认可。大卫的典型作风就是，他请到了当时的威尔士亲王（我们的赞助人）为该手册撰写前言。

我记得在向持有租约的皇室地产局（Crown Estate）进行推介时，希望获得在都市开放土地（Metropolitan Open Land）上增加 60% 建筑面积的认可。在面对这位重要地主的高级主管时，大卫当然知道——他认识每个人——他进行了一场时长 30 分钟、充满典型强度与激情的推介。最后，他竟然直接要求对方立即在一封信中给出此类认可。对方笑了笑，挑起眉毛，平静地说：“明天可以吗？”

不用说，信件随后寄到了，大卫获得了当局的许可。能与他共事，我的生活变得丰富多彩（尽管也让我感到有些精疲力竭）。

托尼·里德利 (Tony Ridley)

迈克尔·奥斯汀（Michael Austin）写道：虽然我从未认识过托尼·里德利（讣告见 8 月 10 日），但他关于香港地铁成功竞标的评价——“这是一个拥有支持者、拥有优秀且聪明的客户、注重良好流程与决策、具有强大团队精神和责任感的项目”——应该被刻在石头上，安置在交通部的董事会会议桌上方，因为交通部最终应对 HS2 的惨败负责。

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缅怀挚爱

露丝·麦吉利弗雷 (Ruth MacGillivray)

对女性健康感兴趣且热爱打油诗的医生

露丝·麦吉利弗雷于 94 岁去世，曾于 2025 年 6 月 21 日星期六出现在《泰晤士报》上

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《泰晤士报》

出生、结婚与死亡

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“耶和华虽有愤怒，但满有慈爱，赦免罪孽过犯；然而绝不免除有罪之人的罪，必将父辈的罪孽传给子孙，直到三四代。”《民数记》14.18 (NRSV)

圣经经文由圣经协会（Bible Society）提供

出生

AGUTU，2026年4月30日，Anne（原姓 Frayling Con）与 Mikel 喜得一子 Luke James Michael，Oscar 的弟弟

FULLER，2026年5月23日，居住在肯特郡 Sevenevers House 的 James 与 Mous（原姓 Sturgis）喜得一子 Frederick James Akunsi

RELIHAN，2026年8月5日于法国 Burdwick，Harriet Lorne 与 Tim 欣喜宣布得女 Verity Russ。

即将结婚

W. M. S. HALL 先生

与 R. A. HAMP 女士

宣布订婚：William，汉普郡 Ecclesiwall 的 Timothy Hall 先生与夫人之子；以及 Rebecca，萨里郡 Rotherwell 的 Christopher Henry 先生与夫人之小女。

H. M. T. FABER 先生 与 C. R. RAMIREZ 女士

宣布订婚：Henry，伦敦的 David Faber 先生与威尔特郡 Walthenough 的 Sally Johnson 女士之子；以及 Carolina，纽约 Sutton Place 的 Samuel Ramirez 先生与夫人之长女。

死亡

ASPINALL

Jack，2026年7月24日安详离世，享年 97. 岁。他曾任皇家军事警察上校，后任 Mail 警察首席候选人，因卓越服务被授予女王警察勋章。他的女儿 Susan、Joost 和 Maryann 以及所有家人和朋友将深切怀念他。葬礼安排请联系 Reynolds Oschmeier。

DAVIS Roger O'Bryne，深受家人和朋友喜爱，在长期患病后于家中安详离世。曾任 Cooper's & Lybrand 和 PwC 合伙人。感恩礼拜将于周四 9. 月 3 日正午在诺福克郡 Langham 的 St Andrew and St Mary 教堂举行。如愿捐款至 Parkinsbury UK，可通过在线方式发送至 S.T. Sutton Funeral Directors, N823 1HW。

FARROW David 博士 (D. webtower of Liz, clerk of home on West Green, East Sussex)，2026.年7月9日离世。他是 Simon、Paul 和 Andrew（已故）深受喜爱的父亲，也是 Matthew、Louis、Samuel 和 Douglas 亲爱的祖父。

FOSTER Ann Denise（原姓 Gaspel），2026,年7月10日安详离世，享年 88, 岁，此前长期患病。她是 John 的遗孀，Donna 和 Brenda 最亲爱的姐妹，Amanda、Gemma 和 George 挚爱的母亲，以及 Simon 的继母。她是 Frinys、Mela、Ruby、Jack、Lisa、Marcell、Sam 和 Luise 深受喜爱的祖母。感恩礼拜将于 9 月 1 日周二上午 9.30 在 St Mary's Church, Cheldeपूर्वd GDB 4SH 举行。为纪念 Ann，请向阿尔茨海默病协会（Alzheimer's Society）捐款。

HADOW Valerie Ann（原姓 Browning），2026年8月2日安详离世，享年 96. 岁。Fay 挚爱的丈夫，Andrew（已故）、Nicholas、Peter 和 Christopher 深受喜爱的父亲，以及尽职的祖父。所有家人和朋友将深切怀念他。私人家庭仪式。追思礼拜待定。如愿，请向 St Christopher's 捐款。

宫廷通报

圣詹姆斯宫

2026年8月13日

爱丁堡公爵与公爵夫人今日出席了在伯明翰沃尔索尔路亚历山大体育场举行的欧洲田径锦标赛。

HAYLOCK Paul 博士，7月16日在家中安详离世，享年 79. 岁。他是 Sherrie 深爱的丈夫，也是 Adam、Giles 和 Fergus 亲爱的父亲。感恩礼拜将于 9 月下旬举行。查询请联系 Richard Steel & Partners，电话 0Y862 862333。

MACLEOD John Mathieson FIA，2026, 年7月28日在睡梦中安详离世，享年 95. 岁。他是已故 Natalie 57 年的挚爱丈夫，是 Helen、Nicole 和 Andrew 最亲爱的父亲，是 Nicholas、Paul 和 Judith 的岳父 / 公公，是 Charlotte、Louise、Thomas 和 Angus 亲爱的祖父，也是四个曾孙的曾祖父。葬礼将于 8 月 28 日星期五正午在伦敦 SW19 7BP 威姆布尔登圣玛丽教堂举行。仅限家属献花。

TOOMEY Brian Richard RN (Bert) 中校，已故妻子 Mary 的丈夫及挚友，2026年8月2日离世，享年 82. 岁，此前患短时疾病。他是 Richard、Charles 和 James 深爱的父亲，也是祖父及曾祖父。葬礼将于 9 月 4 日星期五在 Taunton's Constricuity 举行。请勿献花。Constricuity 与 ARC Inspire Taunton 相关。葬礼及招待会的详情可向 S. White & Son Funeral Directors (Taunton) 查询，电话 0Y8823 272183。

WARRILLON Victoria (Kate) Mary (原姓 Turner) 2026年7月8日安详离世，享年 81. 岁。她是 Malcolm 深爱的妻子，是 Jeremy、Tim 和 Nick 优秀的母亲，也是她光荣的孙辈们挚爱的祖母。葬礼将于 9 月 3 日下午 1.30pm 在巴内特圣玛丽教堂举行。

WINNING Robert Anthony 2026年8月8日安详离世，享年 82. 岁。他是 Fay 挚爱的丈夫，是 Andrew (已故)、Nicholas、Peter 和 Christopher 深爱的父亲，以及尽职的祖父。他的所有家人和朋友都深切怀念他。私人家庭仪式。纪念服务待定。如愿捐款，请捐至 St Christopher's。

纪念专栏 - 私人

ANA ISABEL CASTRO

纪念 Aza 2023。

永远在我心中与灵魂里。Eric。

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特此通知，一份申请书已于 2026 年 7 月 31 日在陛下高等法院发布，旨在寻求确认取消上述公司的股份溢价账户。特此进一步通知，该申请书定于 2026 年 8 月 25 日星期二上午 10.30 在皇家法院，The Roth Building, 7 Roth Building, Fetter Lane, London EC4A 1NL 由破产与公司法院法官审理。

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2006年公司法

特此通知，一份申请书已于 2026 年 8 月 3 日在陛下高等法院发布，旨在寻求确认取消上述公司的股份溢价账户。特此进一步通知，该申请书定于 2026 年 8 月 25 日星期二上午 10.30 在皇家法院，The Roth Building, 7 Roth Building, Fetter Lane, London EC4A 1NL 由破产与公司法院法官审理。

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54

“当我被诊断出患有长新冠时，我最终选择了[远程学习]，因为我的身体状况不足以让我去正常的学校，”她说道。

“到我准备参加 A-level 考试时，重新加入主流学校已经太晚了，所以我不得不进入 King's InterHigh。这成了一种能够保持灵活性、管理我的症状并完成 A-level 学习的好方法。”

Smith 在 2024 年加入了 King's InterHigh，这是一所面向 7 至 18 岁学生的在线学校，其灵活的模式使她能够在管理健康状况的同时继续学业。她的 A-level 预测成绩为 BBB，但她最终在生物学中获得了 A*，在化学和西班牙语中获得了 A。她将于 9 月开始在伦敦大学学院学习西班牙语和艺术史。

韦塞克斯伯爵

国王的侄子韦塞克斯伯爵在取得了所选课程所需的成绩后，将就读于皇家农业大学。詹姆斯，

伊丽莎白女王学校的男生们在庆祝。下方为 12 岁的 Dominic Pugaciuskas，他获得了一个 A*

18 岁，将在位于赛伦塞斯特的该大学攻读农村土地与财产管理学位。

詹姆斯在牛津郡私立的拉德利学院（Radley College）取得的成绩及其学习科目尚未公开。

该学位课程在大学网站上的描述为，教授“农村专业实践的基础知识，以及规划与开发、法律、估价、建筑施工与管理”。

他的妹妹露易丝·温莎小姐（Lady Louise Windsor）今年从圣安德鲁斯大学毕业，获得英语与国际关系学位，其父母爱丁堡公爵与公爵夫人当时在场观看。

天气之眼

保罗·西蒙斯 (Paul Simons)

如果你在天气预报中寻找降雨迹象，那么观察昆虫的行为或许值得一试。

雨甲虫（rain beetle）名副其实，在雨前会疯狂地在地面上奔跑；但如果这种甲虫飞向空中，盘旋并发出嗡嗡声，则预示着好天气即将到来。而这种甲虫在雨前如此兴奋可能有充分的理由，因为潮湿的天气会引出它们赖以生存的食物——蛞蝓。

另一种能预报天气的昆虫是外表凶猛的锹甲（stag beetle），它是英国最大的甲虫，长度可达（3英寸）。雄性锹甲拥有令人畏惧的大颚，它们用大颚与其他雄性格斗，以赢得与雌性交配的权利。

锹甲也被称为雷甲虫，因为在民间传说中，据说它们在飞行时发出的低沉嗡嗡声能召唤雷电。人们经常在黄昏前温暖闷热的夜晚看到它们，有时是在风暴爆发之前。

昆虫的交配习性也能提供天气预报。一项科学研究发现，当气压下降时，雌性葫芦甲（cucurbit beetles）和蛴螬蛾（army worm moths）不会向雄性发出交配的“呼唤”；但当气压上升时，雌性会向雄性发出交配意向的信号。

研究发现蚜虫拥有压力传感器，能检测到极其轻微的气压下降，这将触发蚜虫的大规模繁殖，在 48 小时内导致这些害虫数量激增，而此时它们的捕食者——食蚜蝇、瓢虫等——还未能及时开始疯狂捕食。

瓢虫本身也能预报天气。威尔士波伊斯（Powys）的人们过去习惯将一只瓢虫放在手掌心中，如果它直接掉到地上，就预示着即将下雨；如果它飞向空中，则预报天气晴朗。正如一首童谣所写：“瓢虫，瓢虫，告诉我，天气将会如何；若晴朗，则飞向天空；若愚钝，则掉在地上。”

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入住三家令人愉悦的 Paradores（由前宫殿、修道院、城堡和历史建筑改建而成的优雅酒店），探索西班牙最迷人、最美丽的角落之一。

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57

纽伯里 (Newbury)

Thunderer

3.00: 0.6 (Pole At Dawn 4.45 Evenfall) 3.35 Dontiohabulokampulla 23 Angels Lane 4.10: 4.0 (P L / R) (10) 5.30 Lyns Lea

场地：好至坚实

Bones: 0.0 (s) (s) (s) (s) (s) (s) (s)

Sky Sports Racing

2.00 让赛 (25.757 1m 2) (S runnen)

1 (2) 3:12 BARTHURST (2.7.2) (1) Brown (1.0) 4 McHugh (3) 2 (2) 4:42 GREY FOX (1.7.1) (1) Covelle '9 (4) 5:3 Taylor Langley 3 (2) 4:43 DECAUGAR (1.7) (1) Oakes '4 (4) 5:3 Whitney 4 (4) 4:51 NO MILE AT EASER (2) (2) Oakes (1) Easel (1.7) 5:3 Wrigton 5 (5) 5:4 LIVING IN HOPE (4) 5:5 Harry Easel (3.4) 7 Ford (7) (1) 8:6 Pole At Dawn, 3:3 Sackley (4) 8:6 Stoney (4) 8:6 Dunlop, 2:3 Living in Hats

Thunderers' choice: We Ride At Dawn 在 Sandman 取得了决定性的胜利，且 month Danger وإبعاضه

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58

体育 欧洲田径锦标赛

亨特摘金并发出咆哮：你们难道没有被震撼吗？

马特·劳顿 (Matt Lawton)

首席体育记者

为了搭配那对新买的金耳环，艾米·亨特 (Amy Hunt) 现在拥有了一对相当漂亮的配套奖牌。这位英国田径界最新的短跑女王昨晚在伯明翰完成了一次极其出色的欧洲赛双冠。

亨特在周一赢得100米冠军后透露，她两枚个人银牌的升级源于父母的一次及时购买。由于她一直只佩戴银饰，父母决定为他们速度极快的女儿挥霍一次，希望这能激励她在赛道上追求更贵重的金属。

显然，这奏效了。亨特在200米比赛中展现出的表现显得尤为重要，使她超越了另一个欧洲领奖台的顶峰。“你们难道没有被震撼吗？”她完全进入了马克西姆斯·德西姆斯·梅里迪乌斯 (Maximus Decimus Meridius) 的模式，对着电视摄像机大喊，并用右手示意她已经赢得了本周目标的四枚奖牌中的两枚。

虽然亨特将在本周末与迪娜·阿舍-史密斯 (Dina Asher-Smith) 共同回归赛道，在4x100米和混合4x100米项目中追求进一步的荣耀，但这已经感觉像是一次接力棒的传递——从一位30岁的前伟大冠军传递给了她24岁的继任者。

在去年世界锦标赛的突破性表现（她在较长短跑距离中获得银牌）之后，亨特无疑正进入一个新的领域。本赛季她首次将100米成绩跑进11秒，并进一步增强了她作为重大赛事选手的声誉；而 22.19秒的成绩更令人印象深刻，因为为2022年英联邦运动会铺设的跑道并非最快、最昂贵的表面。

正如人们对一名剑桥大学毕业生的预期，亨特跑了一场聪明的比赛。当阿舍-史密斯在出弯时领先一丁点时，她没有惊慌，而是信任自己更出色的最高时速和体能，从而超越了她的同胞以及获得第二名、将两名英国选手隔开的爱尔兰选手拉西达特·阿德莱克 (Rhasidat Adeleke)。

这一次有相当规模的观众在现场见证，人数接近亚历山大体育场 23,000 人的容量，是周一观众人数的两倍多，这一定让胜利更加甜蜜。

亨特赛后透露，由于低血压问题，今年的200米项目实际上更具挑战性。

“我今年经历了很多健康问题，有些是非常非常严重的低血压，”她告诉BBC。

“200米比赛一直让我感到很恐惧。今年在很多次200米比赛后，我几乎晕厥。”

“我必须在这次比赛中进入状态，在弯道上保持勇敢。这是一场惊人的比赛。我想到了我的教练。在我进入赛场前，他说：‘想象我就在第十道，拿着秒表和哨子。大腿保持抬高，姑娘。继续跑。’”

“观众太棒了。这正变成一个神奇的星期，是我一生都会记得的一周。”

当然，比赛还没有结束。“我还有4x100米和混合接力，”她补充道，“希望你们还没看厌我的脸。”

遗憾的是，第三个英国奖牌希望在当晚早些时候破灭，马克斯·伯金 (Max Burgin) 在热身期间受伤，在男子800米决赛前几分钟宣布退出。

伯金拥有极高的天赋，但运气也极差，他脆弱的身体过于频繁地出现故障。对于一名经常不得不为了避免受伤而克制训练的运动员来说，他的速度快得惊人，但上个月在格拉斯哥的英联邦运动会上，他因感染病毒而错失荣耀。对于这位24岁的运动员来说，这成了其漫长不幸历史中的又一个片段。

在他缺席的情况下，一名来自爱尔兰、名叫英格利什（English）的选手夺冠。此前从未有爱尔兰男性运动员在欧洲锦标赛上获胜，但这位 33 岁的医生马克·英格利什（Mark English）在两枚之前的铜牌基础上有所突破，凭借一场完美的比赛在此夺金，他在距离终点约 90 米处发起进攻，最终以 1:45.26. 的成绩获胜。看台上有大量爱尔兰代表团成员，现场瞬间沸腾。

对于组织者来说，除了前几天糟糕的出席人数带来的尴尬外，还出现了更多令人担忧的问题以及进一步的尴尬之源。

在本周获得男子 5,000 米第七个个人欧洲冠军后，雅各布·英格布里格森（Jakob Ingebrigtsen）抨击了他的大对手乔什·克尔（Josh Kerr）没有参加本次锦标赛。

克尔在选择缺席本次比赛之前，上个月在伦敦刷新了英里赛的世界纪录，并凭借那次卓越的表现夺得了英联邦运动会同一距离的金牌。然而，英格布里格森显然不以为然，指责这位苏格兰人正在“毁掉这项运动”。

在接受 BBC 采访时，这位挪威

右侧的亨特（Hunt）在 100 米获胜后，又在

这位双届奥运冠军被问及是否对他未能 在伯明翰见到克尔感到失望。

“非常失望，我认为很多人也应该感到失望，因为这正是锦标赛的意义所在，”他说。

“我们作为运动员，几乎不应该选择参加哪里。我们举办这些锦标赛是有原因的，那就是为了让最顶尖的运动员竞争；这才是核心所在。所以我绝对认为，如果我们不参加，就是在毁掉这项运动。我们都有不同的计划，但我永远无法想象自己处于那种境地。”

德国中距离跑运动员斯米拉·科尔贝（Smilla Kolbe）对社交媒体上的喷子种族歧视她的一些队友表示担忧。

在未能晋级今天的决赛后，参加女子 800 米比赛的科尔贝在一次电视采访中主动提出了这一点。

“我能再多说一件事吗？”她说。“我读到了很多评论，我非常感谢我们得到的所有支持，但即便如此，我仍然看到一些非常

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59

体育

鲍勃·坎宁安 / 8月 14 / 2026

在伯明翰的 200 米比赛中夺金。中间的阿舍-史密斯（Asher-Smith）则只能满足于一枚铜牌。

针对某些运动员的评论区出现了刻薄的评论。

“我希望我们能在这里代表德国，并以某种方式获得所有观众的支持，我期待更多的尊重。我很高兴有这么多人支持我，但我不想想象如果我不像现在这样白，情况会是怎样，对我来说说出这一点很重要。我希望所有观众都能表现出必要的尊重，并为我们运动员的精彩表现喝彩。”

组织者的另一个尴尬之源来自官员的一次重大失误：他们在男子十项全能 B 组的撑竿跳高比赛中忘记升高横杆。这意味着那些认为自己已经跨过新高度的运动员，实际上是两次跨过了同一个高度，浪费了宝贵的体力。

欧洲田径协会的一份声明称：“官员在本次横杆尝试结束时发现了该错误。为了确保对所有运动员公平，此次额外的 4.70m 轮次结果被取消，比赛从 4.80m 重新开始。”

虽跌但未出局：韦罗晋级800米决赛

在伯明翰举行的女子800米半决赛中，基莉·霍奇金森最强劲的对手在遭遇摔倒后戏剧性地恢复了参赛资格（马特·劳顿报道）。

在本届欧洲锦标赛中最受期待的较量出现了一个意外转折：正威胁着霍奇金森世界最佳女子800米跑者地位的奥德丽·韦罗被撞倒在地。

韦罗曾在6月的斯德哥尔摩钻石联赛中以历史第三快的时间给霍奇金森带来了一场震惊的失败。在本次比赛中，她在距离终点约120米处重重地撞在路缘石上，此前她一直轻松掌控着自己的预赛小组。她最终以2min 35. 秒的成绩冲线，在过线后捂着胸口，排名垫底。

起初，韦罗未能晋级今晚的决赛。但裁判在审查视频回放后，其中一个角度显示法国选手安娜伊斯·布尔古安的左手无意中勾到了这位 22 岁瑞士跑者的右脚。

在一小时内，韦罗以及同样因此摔倒的立陶宛选手加比亚·加尔维迪特均恢复了参赛资格并晋级决赛。因此，决赛的人数现在增加到了10人，而非通常的8人。

“跑在前面总是更安全，但今天存在风险——我能感觉到身后情况很混乱，”韦罗说道。“我只受了几个擦伤。当时我被撞得喘不过气来。”

韦罗在半决赛中被撞倒在地，但将参加决赛

赛事官员随后发表声明称，决定让韦罗和加尔维迪特双双晋级决赛是因为韦罗与布尔古安之间发生了“无意间的接触”。

霍奇金森在她的比赛中没有遇到此类问题，以 1 : 57.38, 的成绩完赛，领先于400米栏世界冠军费姆克·布罗德斯-博尔，并表达了希望在决赛中看到韦罗的愿望。

“这真的很遗憾。我希望她没事，并且能进入决赛，”霍奇金森在裁判做出决定前谈到韦罗时表示。

“希望这是一场精彩且干净的比赛，没有人摔倒。”

德雷珀美网外卡希望遭受沉重打击

M 兰达卢塞 (西班牙) / 6 / 7

J 德雷珀 (英国) / 3 / 5

汤姆·克肖 tennis correspondent

这一次没有情感的爆发，也没有精神的匮乏，但杰克·德雷珀在辛辛那提公开赛首轮负于西班牙选手马丁·兰达卢塞，再次遭受了沉重打击——这对他本就脆弱的美网外卡希望毫无益处。

这位前世界第四在蒙特利尔落败后曾掩面而泣，此前他正处于从困扰其近 18 个月的骨挫伤中恢复的最新回归期。好消息是，德雷珀的身体状况足以让他参加本赛季的第七场赛事，但在如此多次缺席后，去除锈迹并找回状态将是另一场艰苦的考验。

德雷珀正在调整他的发球以减轻手臂的压力，但这仍处于改进过程中，12 次双误意味着他从一开始就处于被动，面对的是世界排名第 64 位的兰达卢塞。这位 24 岁的英国人在输掉第一盘后发起反击，并在第二盘取得了两个破发优势，展现出了昔日状态的碎片，尽管他的正手缺乏同样的凌厉，但最终拿下比赛被证明是一项西西弗斯式的艰巨任务。随着脚步变慢且击球选择出现失误，德雷珀浪费了 6 个盘点，在这种局面下以 3-6, 5-7 告负，犹如一次令人沮丧的偷袭。

德雷珀需要外卡才能进入蒙特利尔和辛辛那提两项赛事，他目前的排名已跌至低位的第 143 位。他在 ATP 巡回赛过去的成功和人气为他提供了这条生命线，但美国网球协会可能不会如此慷慨。德雷珀在 2024 年进入了美网半决赛，但美国球员总是会被优先考虑，而斯坦·瓦夫林卡和格里戈尔·迪米特洛夫在排队顺序中可能排在他前面。德雷珀已经与杰西卡·佩古拉报名参加改版后的美网混双——这对组合的商业价值或许能帮助说服组织者给予他一张单打外卡——否则，他将不得不通过资格赛，资格赛同样在纽约正赛抽签前的一周举行。

20 岁的兰达卢塞自 1 月以来排名上升了近 100 位。然而，他的状态此后明显下滑，之前的四场比赛均在首轮出局，德雷珀在看到抽签结果后本应持谨慎乐观态度。

但反复出现的伤病和短暂回归带来的心理压力，可以理解地

德雷珀在辛辛那提公开赛早早出局

让德雷珀留下了许多心理创伤。他将蒙特利尔之行描述为“触底”，并承认由于伤病，他“认不出在球场上的那个球员”。德雷珀补充说，他现在已经对新现实进入了“接受阶段”，但这仍然意味着没有快速修复的方法。

54% 的一发成功率，以及 13 次非强制性失误对比仅 4 个制胜球，构成了第一盘惨淡的总结。兰达卢塞自身也存在发球问题，被判了三次脚踩线违例，但考虑到他近期的挣扎，他很好地保持了心态并挥拍自如，最终赢下了这一盘。

在交换场地后，德雷珀展现了他的顽强决心，立即破了兰达卢塞的发球，但其自身发球依然脆弱。他在连续三个局中化解了破发点，当他以 5-2 领先时，德雷珀似乎终于为这种韧性得到了回报。然而，遗憾的是，正如他近期经常遭遇的那样，这被证明是一次虚假的曙光。

拉姆可能必须退出 LIV 才能参加赖德杯

接续背面

以便他能参加明年在爱尔兰阿达尔庄园（Adare Manor）举行的莱德杯（Ryder Cup）。

但 DP 世界巡回赛（DP World Tour）的高层目前表示，明年极不可能向 LIV 球员授予此类有条件释放。今年 2 月，包括泰瑞尔·哈顿（Tyrrell Hutton）、托马斯·德特里（Thomas Detry）和亚德里安·梅龙克（Adrian Meronk）在内的另外八名球员也达成了类似的协议。

所有这些球员现在必须考虑是否承诺参加明年修订后的 LIV 计划。由于该反叛巡回赛近期失去了沙特阿拉伯公共投资基金（PIF）的资金支持，该计划规模正在缩减。

自四年前启动以来，PIF 已向该巡回赛投入超过 13 亿美元，但其未来的生存状况在近几个月陷入疑虑，尽管 首席执行官斯科特·奥尼尔（Scott O'Neil）上周表示，已确保一名新的领投投资者支持该巡回赛直到 2030 年。

因此，拉姆（Rahm）需要在未来几周内做出决定，是承诺参加一个新的 结构（赛事可能更少且奖金规模更小），还是意识到这可能会危及他参加

拉姆达成了一项协议，使其能够参加 DP 世界巡回赛

莱德杯，他此前曾四次代表欧洲队出战。

当 DP 世界巡回赛今年与这九名球员达成有条件释放协议时，曾强调这些协议不为未来的赛季设定先例。目前这一立场已进一步坚定，巡回赛已告知 球员，此类安排在 2027 年极不可能再次达成。

在这种情况下，有条件释放仍将根据具体情况个案考虑，但预计巡回赛将通过 DP 巡回赛的“冲突赛事规则”，恢复对参加 高尔夫赛的巡回赛成员处以巨额罚款。

尚未公布明年的赛程，但其 2026 赛季预计将提前结束，因为原定于本月举行的团队锦标赛已被取消。在拉姆及其 同僚权衡未来之际，这增加了更多的不确定性。

拉姆在近期的莱德杯中为欧洲队立下汗马功劳，在去年纽约对阵美国的历史性胜利中贡献了 3 分，延续了西班牙在该项赛事中的强劲传统。

他在该赛事中与哈顿形成了强大的搭档关系，两人在五场比赛中保持不败，并赢得了其中四场。

据报道，拉姆于 2023 年 12 月以 £2.22 亿 的价格加入 ，此后在反叛巡回赛的三个赛季中赚取了超过 5.9 亿（£6675 万）。

在今年接受《泰晤士报》采访时，欧洲莱德杯队长卢克·唐纳德（Luke Donald）表示，他乐观地认为拉姆明年能再次为他效力。

“尝试让他能够出战是我的工作一部分，”唐纳德说道。

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60

体育 足球

青少年球星 Madjo 直到上周才获准为维拉出战

前锋的转会曾被拦截直至法院裁决——且他也可以为英格兰队效力，Charlotte Duncker 报道

Brian Madjo 为阿斯顿维拉打进的首粒进球等待了很久。这是这位青少年前锋在超级杯决赛的萨尔茨堡体育场迎来的第四次机会，但这一刻的酝酿时间远不止于此。如果不是因为国际足联（Fifa）的繁文缛节，这位 17 岁的球员在 1 月份从法国俱乐部梅斯（Metz）加盟后，可能在上赛季就已为乌奈·埃梅里（Unai Emery）的球队完成了首秀。

但该管理机构拦截了他的转会，认为这违反了限制 18 岁以下球员国际转会的规定。

Madjo 无法在球场上做出贡献，只能与新队友一起训练，无法将训练成果付诸实践。

维拉有信心能够推翻这一决定，但这需要时间。考虑到这位青少年出生于 2009 年的北伦敦恩菲尔德（Enfield）并持有英国护照，这种延迟显得十分荒谬。

国际足联的争议点在于 Madjo 在卢森堡长大，并在 2025 年 3 月为卢森堡成年队首秀之前，曾效力于其 U-16 队。然而，他在同年首次代表英格兰 U-17 队出场——由于他为卢森堡成年队出战的三场比赛均为友谊赛，他有权转换效忠对象，使其具备代表英格兰队的资格。

在他被公布为维拉球员 205 天后，体育仲裁法院表示其裁定维拉胜诉，并确认他在 18 岁生日之前有资格为俱乐部参加正式比赛。这位青少年在 Instagram 上发布了一篇帖子来纪念这一时刻，配文道：“没有干扰，我自由了。”

他的父亲是 Guy Madjo，一名前喀麦隆青年国脚，曾效力于包括克劳利镇（Crawley Town）、史蒂夫尼奇（Stevenage）和什鲁斯伯里镇（Shrewsbury Town）在内的几家英格兰俱乐部。

维拉已经观察 Madjo 有一段时间了。在必须谨慎对待转会支出的时期，他们愿意花费 £1000 万 签下一名几乎没有一线队经验的前锋，这足以证明他们对其天赋的深厚信心。

但在过去的八个月里，以及在对阵巴黎圣日耳曼的比赛前已攻入四球的成功季前赛中，埃梅里已经看到了足够多的表现，决定在第一个可用机会就让他完成正式比赛首秀。

或许在早期的机会中，他表现出了一点紧张，导致射门有些仓促。但如果这位身高 6 英尺 4 英寸的前锋在俱乐部期间证明了什么，那就是他很有耐心且不愿放弃。

约翰·麦金（John McGinn）不断将球传向禁区；前三次 Madjo 都未能射正。他的跑位和身体素质让 William Pacho 和 Manquinhos 压力倍增，但此前他一直欠缺最后的一击。

他最终完成的这次进球可以说是他面对的最难的一次：他顶住 Pacho 的干扰，将麦金的传中球凌空抽射，球从 Malvey Safonov 的近门柱入网，使他成为该项赛事中最年轻的进球球员。他兴奋地奔跑庆祝，将双臂从

Madjo, 17, 在超级杯对阵巴黎圣日耳曼的比赛中首发并进球

背后解脱，示意隐喻中的枷锁现已被打开。

埃梅里会对进攻线增加一个选项感到欣喜。维拉并未排除在转会窗口关闭前再签下一名前锋的可能性，但有了 Madjo，他们拥有了一名能够在球权争夺中压制英超后卫的球员，更重要的是，他已经在过去八个月里研究了球队的风格。

这位青少年提到，从小与成年球队比赛对于提高比赛强度以及应对大俱乐部期望带来的责任感至关重要。但这段没有表现压力的时间也对他有所帮助。

此前的新援在谈到融入维拉球队所需的时间时，都提到了埃梅里对他们提出的要求。但从他在对阵巴黎圣日耳曼（PSG）时的表现来看，很明显马乔（Madjo）已经适应了这套体系以及他被要求扮演的角色。

他知道何时以及如何进行压迫，并且在密切观察奥利·沃特金斯（Ollie Watkins）之后，他正试图复制这位英格兰前锋在有球和无球状态下的跑位工作。如果他继续研究这位维拉队友，考虑到英格兰队必须为哈里·凯恩（Harry Kane）之后的时代做打算，他很可能在国际赛场上也能步其后尘。

虽然仍有改进空间，但初步看来，在面对世界上两名顶尖中后卫的比赛中亮相，应该能让他带着信心进入新赛季。

“显然，他是一个很难防守的人。我想他大约有100公斤。他是个大块头，”维拉后卫泰隆·明斯（Tyrone Mings）说道，“面对他比赛非常、非常困难。”

中暑悲剧提醒我们：橄榄球并非夏季运动

橄榄球不是一项夏季运动。不久前，一小部分愚蠢的入行新人还认为，一个阳光明媚的、被美化后的七人制版本就是这项运动的未来，而那些无休止的争抢球（scrums）和推挤（mauls）等消耗战则被贬低为枯燥的部分。现在我们知道，从5月中旬到6月期间比赛甚至是不安全的。不仅对球员不安全，对观众也是如此。

这是一项在训练场上和比赛日同样需要提高意识水平的运动。身高6英尺5英寸、体重18英石6磅的萨姆森·武尼拉吉（Samson Vunilagi）在上周五训练时疑似中暑后去世。上周，日本福冈市的温度达到了35摄氏度。这位斐济的第二排前锋最近加入了二级球队Kruden Vollex。尽管得到了立即诊断并被送往医院，但他还是在四天后去世了。

年仅26岁。对于这位斐济人及其朋友和家人来说，这才是悲剧的定义，而非某种备受关注的失败。

对于那些从未听说过他的人来说，这件事让所谓的“橄榄球大家庭”陷入了一种挥之不去的悲伤，并让人陷入沉思。沉思他的离世究竟是“偶然发生的意外”，还是给这项运动敲响了警钟。

In 2019 as many as 149 people died in Japan while the Rugby World Cup was taking place in that country. Typhoon Hagibis hit Japan in October 2019, towards the end of the typhoon season. 包括英格兰对阵法国在内的三场小组赛被取消，这在头条新闻中占据了极其不成比例的篇幅，而死亡人数却被淡化，但这就是全球事件的本质。

国际足联世界杯（Fifa World Cup）可能是所有体育赛事中规模最大的。是的，最近的补水休息时间提醒人们美国那种硬核的资本主义，但确实有些时候，高温和高湿让评论员们——更不用说足球运动员了——感到吃力，且确实需要饮水。

关于世界杯的话题，在2023, 10月那个模糊的过去，曾有关于2011年将在美国举行的男子橄榄球世界杯时间安排的澄清。但自那以后便陷入了沉默，而一旦网络上出现沉默，谣言就会四处传播。事实是，大多数申请举办这场橄榄球盛会的城市和体育场都是NFL（美国职业橄榄球大联盟）的体育场，且赛事将与美国的国民运动以及主要的足球联赛发生冲突。美国能否尝试调整常规赛程？这不会是第一次。

在美式夏季的高温下举办世界杯，且届时湿度和热度将达到未知程度，这个前景如何？这是一个令人恐惧的提议。或者更准确地说，曾经是。本周，世界橄榄球协会（World Rugby）的消息人士向我确认，为了照顾美国市场，该赛事不会被移至夏季。如果说武尼拉吉的早逝是长期以来最糟糕的橄榄球新闻，那么确认世界杯不会成为一场疯狂的夏季盛事则是最好的消息。

在我撰写本专栏时，威尔特郡的温度刚刚升至35摄氏度以上。掉下来的苍蝇比雨水还多。草地被烤得像骨头一样硬。在周三的《泰晤士报》版面中，我读到球迷们为下赛季巴斯队的露天座位支付£80，并以雨水倾盆而下为乐。也许到9月会这样，但别对此下注。

2022年，英超橄榄球联赛（Premiership rugby）有六个周末因极端天气而损失——赛季初因干旱导致球场坚硬，而12月和2月则遭遇阴雨天气。我们知道，在未来的整体趋势中，我们将面临更多极端的极端天气。

夏天持续时间过长，而秋天则倾泻入冬与春季。对于支持者来说，这类季节已不再像以前那样，尽管这总比在六月和七月被烤焦要好。极端天气对每个人来说都是坏消息。这些地区的地面如此坚硬，以至于裁判会判定球场不适合比赛，就像在寒冬之日一样。随着英格兰西南部的橄榄球场崩裂，干旱可能已近在咫尺。

如果有人认为人造草坪

是解决方案，那么在天气变得更加炎热时，它们往往会升温。世界橄榄球联合会（World Rugby）在 2024 年探讨了气候问题。“可持续性”是一个被长期青睐且令人厌烦的流行词，而七人制球队却在世界各地进行着不可持续的飞行往返。但具有里程碑意义的世界橄榄球联合会报告《橄榄球与气候变化》是向正确方向迈出的一大步。目前已有旨在减少环境影响的、出于好意且严肃的计划。气候危机被描述为“对我们所热爱的这项运动的生存威胁”。

正如科学所显示的，世界正在升温。我们被提醒（且令人悲剧地提醒），热浪不仅影响球员的表现，还影响观众的健康。这些事实对于专业体育企业的经济福祉毫无益处。

我们被告知，干旱将“更频繁地”影响天然草坪，而强降雨则预示着洪水淹没。这是地球的动荡时期。橄榄球无法逃避，而橄榄球本身仅仅是从这些困扰中获得的一次神圣且短暂的喘息。

某个天真的傻瓜可能会说服这项运动的权力掌控者，认为夏夜橄榄球将是一种性感且轰动的逃避方式，从而脱离那些看起来非常像“过去美好时光”的现状。

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61

体育

莫布雷在抗癌后准备好执掌布莱克本

经理的生活在患上结肠癌后发生了改变，但他已回到教练席并瞄准升级，保罗·乔伊斯 (Paul Joyce) 报道

托尼·莫布雷 (Tony Mowbray) 从凌晨3点就起床了。前一天，他与布莱克本流浪者 (Blackburn Rovers) 的所有者 Venky's 在瑞士举行了会议，早起是为了前往机场，搭乘从苏黎世返回曼彻斯特的航班。

落地后，他需要拨打电话，履行媒体承诺，并监督足球俱乐部的运行。62岁的莫布雷没有表现出任何放慢脚步的迹象。当然，他本可以选择那样做。在战胜结肠癌后，他曾在西布罗姆维奇阿尔比恩 (West Bromwich Albion) 经历了一段令人沮丧且短暂的执教时期。对于许多人来说，一种更安静、压力更小的生活方式会更有吸引力。

然而，正是在他带着他的可卡普犬贝利 (Bailey) 在雷德卡 (Redcar) 沙滩散步时，一个挥之不去的念头变得清晰：他还没有准备好彻底告别足球。

因此，莫布雷回到了布莱克本，指导这家他曾在 2017 年至 2022 年间首次执掌五年之久的俱乐部，并准备在今晚前往伍尔弗汉普顿流浪者 (Wolverhampton Wanderers) 的比赛中开启新的英冠赛季。

“我在海滩上遛狗时有过这样的时刻，心想，‘我需要在这个人生阶段获得更多，’”他解释道。“因为足球就是我的事业。我觉得我可以影响年轻球员，驱动他们渴望变得更好，成为一支能够创造惊人结果的球队的一部分，这些结果比他们个人认为自己能达到的还要好。”

“这就是我回来的原因，因为我真的会坐下来观看足球比赛并思考，‘他为什么那样做？球场上到底为什么会发生那种情况？’你懂吗？我回来是为了挑战我关于如何比赛以及如何实施的理论。”

在足球界度过了 45 年——作为米德尔斯堡 (Middlesbrough)、凯尔特人 (Celtic) 和伊普斯维奇镇 (Ipswich Town) 的球员参加了 670 场比赛，以及作为九家不同俱乐部的经理执教了 880 多场比赛——他对这项运动的热情并未减退。

尽管如此，生活在许多其他方面已经发生了变化。莫布雷在 2024 年与癌症抗争时切除了 15 厘米的肠道，但他以微笑面对由此产生的障碍。

“我现在生活在不同的环境下，但我并不介意分享这一点，”他说。“我带着一个造口袋。所以这改变了你的生活。但只要你自律并管理好事情，就不是问题。我必须注意在某些时间进食，在某些时间做事。”

“当然，我一直在从疾病中恢复。我并不傻。如果我没准备好，我就不会回来。这对布莱克本流浪者是不公平的。如果我缺乏精力，这对球迷或球队也不公平。”

最佳西方灵感

“在康复期间，我收到了四五家其他俱乐部的邀请，但当时我觉得自己还没准备好。我认为离开家、离开家人，去某个地方住公寓，并尝试将生活奉献给让球队变得更好，对我来说并不是正确的事情。但只要我有精力完成工作——我知道我有——并且能管理好，我就没问题。”

莫布雷依然坚持他整个超过 20 年的执教生涯中所秉持的积极进攻哲学，这将改变布莱克本近期采用的中后场低位防守和反击战术。

自从莫布雷在合同到期后离开俱乐部以来，这家位于伊伍德公园 (Ewood Park) 的俱乐部在随后的几个赛季中分别排名第 7、第 19、第 7 和第 20 位，策划一次持久的复兴绝非易事。

尽管本赛季英冠升级附加赛已扩大至六支球队，但该级别联赛中没落巨头的名单依然很长。Opta 的超级计算机本周预测，布莱克本有 15% 的降级概率，仅有八支球队被认为风险更高。

反击阴郁的预测能起到激励作用，而莫布雷（Mowbray）希望从布莱克本在顶级联赛的邻居那里获得一些帮助，形式是租借协议。

利物浦的哈维·埃利奥特（Harvey Elliott）和埃弗顿的贾拉德·布兰斯韦特（Jarrad Branthwaite）此前都曾受益于莫布雷的指导，而曼联的亚马德·迪亚洛（Amad Diallo）曾在桑德兰时期在他麾下效力。

“我们将看看是否能再次实现这一点，因为球队需要来自某些地方的一点‘魔力’，一些很难单纯通过购买而获得的高质量素质，”他说。“如果你能租借一名极具天赋但尚未完全准备好进入英超的年轻球员，那么希望这能帮助我们取得比没有他们时更多的成功。”

如果说莫布雷在寻求挖掘未来，那么过去对他而言依然是一种激励，尤其是前利物浦主教练比尔·香克利（Bill Shankly）。

“他是一位演说家，擅长运用语言，他能带动整个利物浦市与他同行，”他说。“他激励了我。事实上，我给我的第一只狗起名就是以他命名的。”

“我喜欢与我的足球队交谈，用语言激励他们，让他们在每场比赛中都激起后颈的汗毛，准备好战斗。你知道，我们可能会给对方更多机会，但我认为我们会打进更多进球，对于球迷来说，来看一支试图赢得比赛而非不被击败的球队会更令人兴奋。我希望布莱克本成为人们在谈论最佳球队时会提及的一支球队，并且拥有真正机会重返英超。”

上周在曼彻斯特国家足球博物馆举行的英格兰足球联赛（EFL）新赛季启动仪式上，话题转向了管理方式的变化。18个月前在西布罗姆维奇（West Brom）为期三个月的经历尤其让他大开眼界。

“我发现这与我在2006-07年担任西布罗姆维奇主教练并最终赢得冠军联赛时截然不同，”他说。“现在我们有了体育总监，他们使用A1，利用所有可获得的数据来影响球队的选人。”

“我认为这削弱了教练的地位。如果球员的经纪人知道他们可以越过你去找其他人，这会削弱你在更衣室里的权力。”

“布莱克本仍然设有体育总监，比如鲁迪·赫拉尔多（Rudy Gerardo，足球运营主管），他们还有技术总监以及体育科学和表现主管。但我感觉我将被允许管理这支足球队。”

萨尔福德老板在担任波斯特科格鲁多年“士兵”后开始独立执教

多米尼克·阿基博耶 (Dominic Akiboye)

彼得·克拉莫夫斯基 (Peter Cklamovski) 的教练生涯大部分时间都处于安格·波斯特科格鲁 (Ange Postecoglou) 的阴影之下。现在，在他开启英格兰足球的首份工作之际，他希望在继承前导师教诲的同时，走出这个阴影。

当被问及是否继承了波斯特科格鲁那著名的、热衷于做出大胆预测的胃口时，克拉莫夫斯基说：“我们会在第一个赛季赢得某些东西，你觉得怎么样？”

他的雄心是真诚的。42岁的克拉莫夫斯基来到了萨尔福德城 (Salford City)，该俱乐部正寻求从英乙联赛 (League Two) 升级，其所有者的抱负远不止于第四级别联赛。

克拉莫夫斯基的自信源于一段不寻常的职业生涯。这位澳大利亚人的球员梦想在青少年时期因一场严重的车祸而终结，在事故发生前，克拉莫夫斯基曾被考虑入选澳大利亚 U-17 国家队。在二十多岁时，他开始在悉尼的国王学校 (The King's School) 指导青年队，随后成为西域体育高中 (Westfields Sports High School) 的表现主管，但他的成长主要由波斯特科格鲁塑造，他与波斯特科格鲁共事了 15 年。

两人最初在 2004 年于澳大利亚青年队共事，他们的职业伙伴关系随后延伸至布里斯班狮吼 (Brisbane Roar)、澳大利亚国家队和横滨水手 (Yokohama F Marinos)。

在布里斯班，克拉莫夫斯基是波斯特科格鲁麾下的教练组成员，该俱乐部在 2011 年和 2012 年连续赢得 A 联赛冠军，这在当时的澳大利亚国内足球界是一项前所未有的成就。随后他跟随波斯特科格鲁加入国家队，包括参加 2014 年巴西世界杯，并且是赢得 2015 年亚洲杯的教练组的一员。

他们最著名的俱乐部成功发生在日本。克拉莫夫斯基于 2018 年作为波斯特科格鲁的助手加入横滨水手，并帮助打造了那种激进、高节奏的足球风格，带领俱乐部夺得 2019 年 J1 联赛冠军，这是该俱乐部 15 年来的首个冠军。

“我的职业生涯和我所做的一切，我都希望它是他遗产的延伸，”克拉莫夫斯基说，“这就是我多么热爱这个家伙。”

然而，克拉莫夫斯基的主教练生涯并非一帆风顺。他的第一份成年队工作是在 2020 年的清水 S-Pulse，那里的成绩糟糕，在因新冠疫情而中断的赛季离职前，他在 28 场联赛中仅赢了三场。他在日本第二级别的山形蒙特迪奥 (Montedio Yamagata) 重塑了

萨尔福德城的克拉莫夫斯基曾与波斯特科格鲁共事 15 年

自己的名声，带领球队在 2022 年进入 J2 季后赛，并以进攻足球著称。

在 2023 年中期被任命为 FC 东京都主教练时，他接手了一支缺乏方向的球队，一年后，他围绕着一种强调前倾、高压且极其重视年轻球员的风格重塑了球队。随后，他花了 18 个月执教马来西亚国家队，将该国带到了 20 年来的最高国际足联 (Fifa) 排名，之后在 6 月双方协商一致离职。

“他（波斯特科格鲁）的热情始终在欧洲。所以作为他的一名忠诚士兵，我为那个目标倾尽所有，”克拉莫夫斯基说，“我的旅程一直只是想成为亚洲一名强大且受人尊敬的主教练，但几个月前，我内心深处有些东西改变了——开关被拨向了前往欧洲。”

克拉莫夫斯基在日本的岁月赋予了他对球员培养的独特见解。他指出，日本的学校和大学足球体系是一条额外的路径，而这种形式在英格兰并不存在。他还认为，教练工作应该根据面前的人进行调整，而不是遵循单一的模型。

在索尔福德，这意味着要创造一些不仅仅是对“92班”（Class of '92，塑造了俱乐部现代历史的前曼联球星们）的模仿。大卫·贝克汉姆爵士和加里·内维尔参与索尔福德可能为该项目带来了极高的足球血统，但克拉莫夫斯基（Cklamovski）坚持认为，接下来的篇章不能仅仅属于他们。

“我不是‘92班’，球员们也不是‘92班’，”他说。“我们可以拥有关于索尔福德足球的自己的DNA。”

他的任命是在俱乐部遭遇最新失望之后：在以一分之差错过自动升级后，在英甲（League Two）升级附加赛决赛中被诺茨郡击败，这导致了卡尔·罗宾逊（Karl Robinson）被解雇。“在‘92班’接管后，索尔福德在五年内实现了四次升级的快速崛起，但近期陷入停滞，该俱乐部在该级别联赛待了七年后，仍在寻求逃离第四级别联赛。

索尔福德的夏季签约表明，一支球队正渴望最终克服这个已被证明是困难的障碍。麦考利·朗斯塔夫（Macaulay Langstaff）从米尔沃尔加盟——他在2023-24赛季为诺茨郡在英甲打入26球——而卢克·莫利纽（Luke Molyneux）上赛季在英甲（League One）的唐卡斯特罗弗斯贡献了8个进球和7次助攻。中后卫威尔·艾姆森（Will Aimson，来自维冈竞技）和边锋亚伯拉罕·奥多（Abraham Odoh，来自彼得伯勒联）也带来了更高级别联赛的经验。

克拉莫夫斯基表示，如果索尔福德能在12个月内“触碰到奖杯”，所有者们将成为“世界上最幸福的人”。

他的挑战是将从波斯特科格鲁（Postecoglou）那里学习的15年经验、在日本的七年经历以及在马来西亚的短暂任职，转化为能够激励索尔福德走出英甲（League Two）的力量。

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体育 足球

“我正在突破界限且

卡里克喜欢曼联的中场，并且了解梅努在令人沮丧的夏天后的感受，保罗·赫斯特 (Paul Hirst) 撰文报道

英超赛季尚未开始，迈克尔·卡里克 (Michael Carrick) 就已经处于庆祝情绪之中。

昨天早晨，当他坐在都柏林以西 30 分钟路程的曼联五星级酒店吃早餐时，卡里克的手机响了。电话那头是他的女儿路易丝 (Louise)，她带来了一些好消息。

“我的女儿今天刚刚通过了考试 [A-levels]，所以这是一个不错的好消息，”45 岁的卡里克在几小时后与国家级报纸的简报会上带着自豪的微笑说道。

这个夏天，卡里克有很多事情要处理。他的两个孩子都在参加考试（杰西 [Jacey] 一直在参加 GCSE 考试），他一直忙于规划他作为曼联主教练的首次季前备战活动，并且与上级保持定期联系，尝试招募新球员。

哦，此外，他还与参加世界杯的 12 名曼联球员保持着联系。科比·梅努 (Kobbie Mainoo) 的号码是他电话簿中拨打最频繁的号码之一——稍后将详细介绍。

“这并没有什么让我感到惊讶的。事情就是这样，你处理好就行了，”当被问及他繁忙的夏天时，卡里克说道。三周前，未参加世界杯的球员返回曼联卡灵顿 (Carrington) 基地训练，他的忙碌之夏随之结束。

“这个夏天很不错。我们确实休了一个短假。”

在卡顿庄园 (Carton House) 的众多会议室之一，我们进行了 20 分钟的采访。曼联在哥德堡与巴黎圣日耳曼战平后，于上周六抵达此处。显然，卡里克对即将到来的赛季充满信心。

三个月前，卡里克签署了一份为期两年（含一年续约选项）的合同，成为曼联的全职主教练。他得到了董事会的支持，并且——至少目前为止——让那些声称他无法胜任此职的质疑者们闭了嘴。

周三晚上，当曼联的教练车在都柏林的街道上穿行时，他感到一阵兴奋。街道两旁挤满了球迷，车队正前往克罗克公园 (Croke Park)，在那里，82,000 名支持者（包括七名闯入球场的人）目睹了他的球队在 90 分钟内 1-1 战平后，通过点球大战击败了利兹联。

曼联决定采取“足球优先”政策，旨在照顾球员，而不是飞往美国或远东进行长途季前赛。该政策包括以曼彻斯特为基地，往返于赫尔辛基、特隆赫姆、斯德哥尔摩和哥德堡进行友谊赛。

“ [担任曼联主教练] 是一个非常荣幸的职位，我完全理解这意味着什么，以及它带来的影响，”在两支英格兰球队在克罗克公园进行首场比赛后的第二天早晨，卡里克说道。

“我热爱我现在的位置。我从未将这个职位和这家足球俱乐部所带来的一切视为理所当然。昨晚开车前往体育场时，感觉像是一个盛大的场合，它真实地展示了支持者的热情以及我们作为一家足球俱乐部的样子。”

“因此，能够处于顶端并再次带领我们进入新领域，我们正在突破界限，这是一个绝佳的位置，是的，我真心绝对热爱每一个部分。”

尽管他希望在 9 月 1 日转会窗口关闭前为球队增加一名左后卫和一名中场，但他对曼联目前完成的三次签约感到兴奋。

安德烈·桑托斯 (Andrey Santos) 以 £5000 万的价格从切尔西转会而来，此后他参加了每一场季前赛。尽管他只有 22 岁，但他的领导能力和成熟度给工作人员留下了深刻印象。

“对于安德烈这样一个年轻人来说，他以这种方式加入，他的性格、他的个性简直是理想的，”卡里克在谈到这位前巴西 Under-21 国家队队长时说道。“他如此积极，如此成熟，如此专注；他渴望学习。他一进来就立刻

“他正努力帮助其他球员，在比赛中进行交流和沟通，而且他具备那种很有内涵的个性。我们很高兴能拥有他，在他加盟时我们就感到非常欣喜。”

从阿斯顿维拉以 £1500 万 签下的尤里·蒂勒曼斯被描述为一名“顶尖的人格魅力者”以及一名“懂得如何将每个人联系在一起的团队球员”。卡里克补充道：“这两名中场球员将在未来的发展中为我们提供巨大的助力。”

尽管卡里克在赢下 17 场比赛中的 12 场并将联队带至第三名后，理应获得长期执教的机会，但本赛季将对他以及他的幕僚团队的管理能力提出更多考验。由于获得了欧冠资格，他们将不再拥有周中的空档时间来与球员共同训练。

卡里克的球员管理能力将受到考验，但据了解他的人透露，他在这一领域非常专业。他在世界杯期间多次联系迈努以试图鼓励他，这一点充分体现了这位联队主教练的素质。

卡里克（上图）对新加盟球员桑托斯（左图）的领导能力和成熟度印象深刻，他将该球员描述为

游戏播客

我是一个真正的 现在就登录 thetimes.com / podcasts / the-game 聆听《泰晤士报》最新一期的《游戏》（The Game）播客。

在被卡里克的前任鲁本·阿莫林（Ruben Amorim）忽视之后，梅努（Mainoo）在卡里克的指导下在赛季后半段表现出色，但在世界杯期间没有获得一分钟的出场时间。

卡里克在 2010 年世界杯期间曾受到法比奥·卡佩罗（Fabio Capello）类似的对待——当时英格兰队拥有史蒂文·杰拉德（Steven Gerrard）和弗兰克·兰帕德（Frank Lampard）等可选球员——因此他深知这种情况会带来多大的伤害。“在整个夏天，我经常与他保持联系，”卡里克在谈到 21 岁的梅努时说道。

“我自己也处于过那种境地，我知道那是种什么感觉。从外界看来，每个人都会说：‘你能在那儿就应该感到高兴’，而且你确实会心存感激，这毫无疑问，但作为一个人类和一个专业球员，你想要的是上场比赛。这令人沮丧，我能理解，但本周他的精神状态非常好，能回家并期待新赛季对他来说是一件好事。”

曼联能否拥有一个成功的赛季，将在很大程度上取决于梅努、桑托斯（Santos）、蒂莱曼斯（Tielemans）和梅森·芒特（Mason Mount）的表现，除非有新援加盟，否则这四名球员将竞争双后腰中的两个位置。

在目前的季前赛中，桑托斯和芒特一直是主要组合，比赛包括战胜利兹联、马德里竞技和罗森堡，以及一场与巴黎圣日耳曼（PSG）的平局和一场负于雷克瑟姆（Wrexham）的比赛。这主要是因为蒂莱曼斯和梅努由于参加世界杯后期阶段而较晚地与球队汇合。

这四名球员都是技术型球员而非拦截型球员，这与亚历克斯·弗格森爵士在 2006-07, 赛季采取的方案类似，当时他将卡里克与保罗·斯科尔斯（Paul Scholes）搭档在中场。

“作为一名中场球员，这就是我对比赛的看法，”他说。“我认为这也是支持者们想要看到的足球。”

至此，我们与卡里克的交流时间结束。下一站：高尔夫球场，他将希望在那里庆祝又一次胜利。

接续自背面 拉什福德将留队

“对此我们有答案，”当被问及为什么曼联的支出不如竞争对手多时，卡里克说道。

“我们正在尽一切努力使其达到最佳状态。”

他补充道：“我认为这家俱乐部内部存在一种责任平衡。”

马库斯·拉什福德（Marcus Rashford）看来将留队

卡里克表示费尔南德斯“状态非常好”

此前巴塞罗那拒绝了以 £2600 万签下他的机会。“他是我们的球员，”卡里克说。

卡里克表示，尽管布鲁诺·费尔南德斯（Bruno Fernandes）在夏天早些时候被传将离队，但其“状态非常好，并期待新赛季”。

加拉塔萨雷、尤文图斯和 AC 米兰一直在关注这位 31 岁的球员。

“我们仍然希望从布鲁诺身上挖掘最大潜力，并让周围的球队发挥出最佳水平，”卡里克说。“自从我回来后，他一直非常积极。”

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63

体育

热爱它

ELI MARTIN WILLE-MAGO, VITA TREMMANN

称这位 22 岁的球员为“一个梦想”。他表示，左下方的蒂莱曼斯是一个“顶尖的人格”

雷因德斯以£52m交易离开曼城加盟沙特

保罗·赫斯特 (Paul Hirst)

曼城的蒂贾尼·雷因德斯 (Tijjani Reijnders) 已同意以5200 万英镑 million的交易加盟沙特职业联赛俱乐部阿尔卡迪西亚 (Al-Qadsiah)。

尽管诺丁汉森林队表示出兴趣，但这位28岁的荷兰中场决定加盟由布伦丹·罗杰斯 (Brendan Rodgers) 管理的沙特俱乐部，并在此过程中获得了大幅加薪。

雷因德斯去年夏天以£4610 万从AC米兰加盟曼城，在完成体检并签署所有相关文件后，他将完成此次转会。

雷因德斯在上赛季初在曼城队中占据常规位置，但在秋季失去了青睐

雷因德斯去年才从AC米兰加盟曼城

并且在赛季后半段仅在五场英超比赛中首发。

他为曼城出场50次，打入七球并贡献八次助攻。

与此同时，杰雷米·多库 (Jérémy Doku) 成为今年夏天第四位延长曼城合同的球员。

这位24岁的比利时边锋在上赛季后半段是曼城表现最好的球员之一，他签署了一份新的五年合同，并包含一年续约选项。

他之前的合同原定于2026年到期。

多库于2023, 以£5540 万从雷恩加盟曼城，上赛季在47场出场中打入八球并贡献34次助攻。

菲尔·福登 (Phil Foden)、阿卜杜勒卡迪尔·胡萨诺夫 (Abdulkadir Khusanov) 和约什科·格瓦迪奥尔 (Josko Gvardiol) 今年夏天均签署了长期合同。

认识巴蒂亚：收购利物浦三分之一股份交易背后的关键人物

前QPR主席在任期间经历了七任主教练，但他深知支持者想要什么，保罗·乔伊斯 (Paul Joyce) 撰文报道

关于具体时间的细节有些模糊，但阿米特·巴蒂亚 (Amit Bhatia) 已经体验过在安菲尔德球场的比赛日。

请注意，他并非在董事会中与精英们社交。相反，在他与女王公园巡游者 (QPR) 长期合作期间的一场客场比赛中，他站在球门侧边，随着其他客队支持者一样，心情随着比赛起伏。

这位领导此次收购利物浦三分之一股份交易的英裔印度商人，其个人形象与财团的其他成员——亚马逊创始人杰夫·贝佐斯 (Jeff Bezos) 和 Facebook 联合创始人爱德华·萨弗林 (Eduardo Saverin) 不同。然而，他是唯一一位拥有英格兰足球背景的人。

2007年12月，巴蒂亚作为其岳父拉克什米·米塔尔 (Lakshmi Mittal) 的代表加入了洛夫图斯路球场的董事会，米塔尔与一级方程式赛车巨头伯尼·埃克莱斯通 (Bernie Ecclestone) 和弗拉维奥·布拉托雷 (Flavio Bratore) 一起购买了该俱乐部的股份。虽然那些大人物在体育商业领域拥有专业知识，但巴蒂亚最初专注于建立与支持者的联系。

他参与了球迷咨询委员会、支持者团体，并担任 QPR 社区信托基金的主席。据说正是通过这些联系，他培养了对足球俱乐部对人们意味着什么的理解，而这一点很快将再次面临考验。

上个月，他宣布转让在 QPR 的股份，这清楚地表明收购利物浦的讨论正在取得进展，这在现代足球中产生了一种罕见的现象。社交媒体上出现了大量关于巴蒂亚的正面信息，而非仅仅是谴责。

尽管巴蒂亚在2018年8月升任 QPR 主席后，直到今天未能带来赛场上的成功——期间经历了七次教练更换，其中包括两名前利物浦青训教练迈克尔·比尔 (Michael Beale) 和尼尔·克里奇利 (Neil Critchley) 的短暂任期。

尽管如此，仍有人提到在2014年英冠升级附加赛决赛结束后，在温布利球场外偶遇过巴蒂亚。

巴蒂亚是一个希望购买利物浦 30 per cent 股份的财团成员。

当时鲍比·扎莫拉 (Bobby Zamora) 的进球击败了德比郡队，确保了重返顶级联赛。

“他在足球，尤其是英格兰足球方面有深厚的根基，”一名消息人士表示，“他了解英格兰足球迷如何看待自己的俱乐部，以及他们希望俱乐部提供什么。”

在应对利物浦球迷时，这一点将至关重要，因为球迷们可能会对一个极其富有的财团为何想要获得这家体育机构大量股份的动机持怀疑态度。

利物浦的优势之一是他们继续受到球迷的监督，在2021年欧洲超级联赛计划崩溃后，结构化的参与机制被直接写入了俱乐部的章程。

早在那时之前，芬威体育集团 (FSG) 就从中受益。针对前所有者汤姆·希克斯 (Tom Hicks) 和乔治·吉莱特 (George Gillett) 的抗议促使了其政权的瓦解，随后允许约翰·W·亨利 (John W Henry) 等人在2010年以 £3 亿 的价格买下俱乐部。

目前摆在桌面上的交易将利物浦的估值定为 45 亿英镑 billion，巴蒂亚及其伙伴投资 15 亿英镑 billion 以获取约 30 per cent 的股份，这显示了球场内外随之而来的增长。

然而，就在最近的 4 月，FSG 同样在利物浦支持者对安菲尔德的审视下陷入困境。

连续三个赛季提高普通入场票价的计划引发了由“尚克利精神” (Spirit of Shankly, SOS) 组织在场内进行的抗议。不久之后，这项预计每赛季增加 15 亿英镑 million-£200 万 收入的计划被取消。

为了理解利物浦历史上的一个重要时刻，SOS 寻求进一步明确关于

Bhatia 的财团正在加入。例如，购买者将获得什么回报，以及这是否是计划中更广泛出售的一部分？

考虑到 Bhatia 是如何扎根于足球的，如果他不与球迷团体和支持者委员会建立沟通渠道，那将是一个失职。开展接触至关重要。

虽然与 FSG 就该交易的谈判已进行了约三个月，但据了解，在纽约康奈尔大学学习经济学、目前与妻子 Vanisha 及其三个孩子住在伦敦的 Bhatia，在他们的圈子里已经活动了一年多。

他被认定为 FSG 希望建立战略少数股权合作伙伴关系的人选。

投资者的回报似乎将来自于像现任所有者在过去 16 年中所做的那样，将利物浦作为一个企业进一步扩大规模，而非追求短期利益。

乍一看，Bhatia 的公司 AyBe Capital Advisors 持有 Hundred 联赛中伦敦精神（London Spirit）板球特许经营权的股份，他能带来在印度和亚洲的人脉与专业知识。

巴西企业家 Saverin 在南美拥有类似的联系，而 Bezos 所拥有的关系网则让利物浦确信，他们已经是美国最大的英超俱乐部。

受众研究公司 GWI 指出，利物浦在美国拥有 2600 万 名支持者，并计算出他们是该国所有英超俱乐部中球迷增长最快的一家。

鉴于英超联赛和欧足联关于支出与营业额挂钩的财务规定，财团财务实力的深浅并不如其开拓新商业机会的能力那样重要。这才是增长所在，而年收入（目前为 £3.51 亿）的增加将允许在球队上投入更多资金。

例如，苹果公司曾与皇家马德里合作，该俱乐部主席弗洛伦蒂诺·佩雷斯（Florentino Pérez）将皇马的“无限伯纳乌”（Infinite Bernabéu）虚拟现实项目描述为类似于“向全球开启球场大门”。不难想象亚马逊在未来也会探索类似的机会。

如果交易达成（目前看来很有可能），46 岁的 Bhatia 将在安菲尔德球场现身。这一次，他将出现在董事会会议室，而非球门后，但他迄今为止所经历的这段旅程的起点，应当会继续影响他的思考。

维拉就鲁格里1710 万英镑m转会达成协议

夏洛特·邓克（Charlotte Duncker）

阿斯顿维拉准备签下马德里竞技的全背锋马特奥·鲁格里（Matteo Ruggeri），该防守球员即将接受体检。

双方已就£1.71 亿的费用达成一致，据了解此次转会应在未来几天内完成。

在卢卡斯·迪涅（Lucas Digne）返回巴黎圣日耳曼后，维拉正在寻找一名左后卫，而伊恩·马特森（Ian Maatsen）并未被乌奈·埃梅里（Unai Emery）视为首选方案。

24, 岁的鲁格里去年夏天从亚特兰大加盟这家西班牙球队，并出场47次。

维拉还就亚伦·万-比萨卡（Aaron Wan-Bissaka）的交易进行了谈判，因为他们希望在另一侧翼为马蒂·卡什（Matty Cash）提供竞争。这位西汉姆联的防守球员合同期至2031年，但这家冠军联赛俱乐部在今年夏天愿意将其出售。

与拜仁慕尼黑关于若昂·帕利尼亚（João Palhinha）转会的谈判仍在继续。据了解，这位31岁的球员对加盟维拉公园球场持开放态度，但尚未与这家德甲球队达成协议。

尽管今年夏天签下了约翰·曼扎尼斯（Johan Manzanis）和若昂·戈麦斯（João Gomes），但维拉仍希望引进帕利尼亚，

尤其是考虑到阿马杜·奥纳纳（Amadou Onana）因长期前十字韧带损伤而缺阵，该伤势是他代表比利时参加世界杯期间受的。

前锋也在埃梅里的愿望清单上，但维拉可能需要出售一名球员才能加强进攻线。阿森纳有兴趣签下尤里·科萨（Euri Kossa），然而，他们只想花费约£4500 万，低于维拉想要的£6000 万。

在阿斯顿维拉输掉超级杯决赛后，埃梅里被问及转会计划。他说：“还会有更多变动。”

马乔上周获准参赛，见第60页

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THE TIMES

1 / 2 / 2014

体育

反对夏季橄榄球

中暑悲剧提醒我们体育需要安全条件

斯图尔特·巴恩斯（Stuart Barnes），第60页

莫布雷癌症康复回归

布莱克本主帅在经历改变生活的磨难后寻求升级

采访，第61页

短跑女王

亨特夺得 双金

马特·劳顿（Matt Lawton）

首席体育记者

艾米·亨特（Amy Hunt）昨晚在200米决赛中夺金，在伯明翰完成了短跑双冠。

这位24岁的运动员（左图）此前已在本届欧洲锦标赛中获得100米金牌，她在直道上冲过迪娜·阿舍-史密斯（Dina Asher-Smith）这位英国队队友，以22.19秒冲线。

30, 岁的阿舍-史密斯未能坚持，最终获得铜牌，被爱尔兰的拉希达特·阿德莱克（Rhasidat Adeleke）以0.01秒之差挤到第三名。

“100米在心理上最难，200米在体力上最难，”亨特说。“200米一直让我感到很恐惧。我曾晕倒过。我必须勇敢。这是一场惊人的比赛。在周日晚上之前，不庆祝，不喝香槟。”

亨特还将参加混合4x100米和女子4x100米比赛。她的双冠之举效仿了阿舍-史密斯在2018年的成就。报道见第98-99页

卡里克：我们需要引援

联队主教练对新援到来感到“欣喜”，但想要一名左后卫和另一名中前卫

保罗·赫斯特 (Paul Hirst)

迈克尔·卡里克已告知曼联董事会，他希望为球队增加更多新援。

尽管他强调对尤里·蒂勒曼斯、安德烈·桑托斯和卡尔·达洛的加盟感到“欣喜”，并声称他的球队在本赛季能够取得“非凡成就”，但这位曼联主教练表示，他仍然需要更多新球员。

“我认为在规划阵容时，我们已经拥有了相当不错的平衡，但当然，我们希望增加更多，”卡里克说道。

“我们需要继续争取更多。我们一直在寻找。我们想要进步，我们需要进步。这是我们努力的目标。”

与曼城相比，曼联 8500 万英镑的支出显得较为克制，曼城在三名中场球员上的花费可能最终达到 3 亿英镑；而切尔西则向阿斯顿维拉支付了 1.17 亿英镑以签下摩根·罗杰斯。

托特纳姆热刺则花费 1.85 亿英镑签下了曼联的两名中场目标：马特乌斯·费尔南德斯和桑德罗·托纳利。

曼联希望签下一名左后卫以减轻卢克·肖的压力，以及另一名中场球员，因为卡塞米罗已通过自由转会离队，而曼努埃尔·乌加特则遭受了严重的膝盖伤势。曼联目前的债务超过 10 亿英镑。“坦白说，我没有……”（详见第 62 版）

拉姆参加赖德杯仍存疑

约翰·韦斯特比 (John Westerby)、汤姆·克肖 (Tom Kershaw)

在欧洲巡回赛主管们对致力于竞争对手 LIV 高尔夫联赛的球员采取更强硬立场后，乔恩·拉姆能否参加明年的赖德杯再次面临不确定性。

现年 31 岁的西班牙世界排名第 13 位球员拉姆曾在 5 月达成一项协议，允许他在支付约 200 万英镑罚金的情况下参加 DP 世界巡回赛，这似乎已经铺平了道路（详见第 59 版）

泰晤士报纵横字谜 29,621

1	2		3		4		5		6		7		8
9									10
11			12				13
14					15
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22						23				24
25					26

横向

1 City function subsequently returned food (10) 7 Desire sex next to church (4) 9 Painter's second drink ending in disaster (8) 10 Go after South American's heavenly body (6) 11 One who's gone home, leaving home later than Charlie (6) 13 Slapdash stroke across second and third in Gleneagles (8) 14 Rogue helpers upset homeless person (5,7) 17 Lecturer collects a scrap item of old farmyard machinery (6,6) 20 Pursue around St Ives, primarily to rebuke (8) 21 Predecessor of King George IV rebuffed capital (6) 22 King and jack, perhaps, or two other high cards? (6) 23 French commune organised retrospective — good for them! (8) 25 Smackhead zealously guards cutting tool (4) 26 County snubbed very famous artist, possibly (10)

纵向

2 保守党显贵揭露了旧文件，据报道 (8) 3 渴望缩短田径赛的第一部分 (3) 4 仅使用新材料表演 (5) 5 腐烂的、寒冷的溃疡内容定期被忽略在耳朵的一部分中 (7) 6 餐馆掩盖了柜台上的一个渗透性病菌 (9) 7 对挥发性清洁剂的偏见感到狂热 (11) 8 撞进树林，且无法停止大笑 (6) 12 也许是冰上舞蹈中的圆圈公主？ (6-5) 15 海军武器的肮脏方面靠近白俄罗斯 (9) 16 描写关于方形山丘 (8) 18 前女王伊丽莎白的首字母使一个孤独者感到困惑 (7) 19 防护装备开始持有线路 (6) 21 教会官员在道路旁修剪草坪 (5) 24 定期使用的社交润滑剂 (3)

昨日答案 29,620

在午夜前拨打 0905 757 0141 检查今日答案。通话费用为每分钟 £1，另加您的电话公司网络接入费。SP: Spoke 0333 202 3390。

报纸支持回收

2024 年英国报纸的再生纸含量为 34.7%

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THE TIMES

2 艺术

2026年8月14日

我崩溃了 —— 我患有 结肠癌。现在我回到了舞台上

西蒙·罗素·比尔谈他的诊断与康复

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艺术专栏

理查德·莫里森 (Richard Morrison)

我们真的要放弃乔德雷尔银行和伊甸项目吗？

在艺术版面刊登一篇关于乔德雷尔银行天文台及其巨大的洛弗尔望远镜所面临威胁的文章，似乎有些奇怪。是的，英国研究与创新署（UKRI）提议在 2028 年 3 月停止向乔德雷尔银行提供每年 £280 万 的年度拨款，这可能会结束在这个著名的切希尔遗址上持续 80 多年的先驱研究。但关于谁能获得科学资金的争论，是不是有点太，怎么说呢，太“科学”了，以至于无法引起我们这些追求美学的人的兴趣？

你如何回答这个问题，取决于你如何回答一个更大的问题。什么构成了一个国家的文化？仅仅是绘画、书籍、城堡、管弦乐团、流行乐队和电影等“文化”事物吗？还是应该将其定义得更广泛，将塑造我们社会的科学、技术和工业也包含在内？

这些同样需要远见和创造力。它们同样能给人带来启发。为什么这么多音乐家和艺术家在发起拯救乔德雷尔银行的活动？这肯定是因为那个巨大的结构及其令人难以置信的历史，就像莎士比亚和巨石阵一样，不可磨灭地刻在我们的文化遗产之中。从伯纳德·洛弗尔在 1945 年开创性地利用废弃的军事设备研究宇宙射线（我很喜欢这个故事：他将工作搬到乔德雷尔银行，是因为牛津路上的有轨电车产生的电干扰影响了曼彻斯特大学的无线电信号），一直到该天文台不断揭示遥远星系中发生的事情，这是一个扣人心弦的探索传奇。而且，得益于其出色的参与中心，它每年仍吸引着 5 万英镑 名访客，其中包括 25,000 名参加学校旅行的孩子——他们就是未来的天体物理学家。

即便 UKRI 的资金被撤回，乔德雷尔银行面向公众的运营很可能会继续。毕竟，它是联合国教科文组织世界遗产地，洛弗尔望远镜被列为 I 级保护建筑，因此不会被突然拆除。而且该遗址由曼彻斯特大学拥有并运营，大学每年为其预算贡献 £570 万，当地政府（东切希尔）则另外出资 100 万。受到威胁的 UKRI 资金是专门用于该望远镜在 e-Merlin 无线电天文网络中所扮演的角色——而这笔资金的分配完全取决于科学优先级，而非公众参与。

乔德雷尔银行的洛弗尔望远镜

尽管如此，对乔德雷尔银行未来的担忧揭露了另一个令人不安的问题。那就是英国科学与发现中心（SDCs）普遍存在的结构性衰退。乔德雷尔银行是全国 28 个此类中心之一。这些独立慈善机构在确保科学普及方面发挥着至关重要的作用。它们每年触达 520 万 人，涵盖了英国 37% 的学校。因此，在推动英国成为一个具备科学素养、精通技术且具有环保意识的国家的过程中，它们发挥着核心作用。

你会认为，一个像现任政府这样致力于 STEM 教育目标（而且在安迪·伯纳姆的领导下，现在显然专注于让毕业生掌握雇主所需的技术技能）的政府，会确保这 28 个 SDC 获得适当的资金支持。但现实情况完全相反。根据科学与发现中心协会的说法，其成员目前迫切需要 £2000 万 来进行最紧急的基础设施维修，并在未来五年内需要 £1.8 亿 来修复其老旧建筑中失效的屋顶、窗户和供暖系统。他们根本没有这笔钱，而原因令人气愤。

其中许多中心是在 25 年前由千禧委员会通过一次性的彩票资金拨款建立的（还记得吗？）。从那时起，他们在覆盖运营成本方面表现出了极强的创业精神。但基础设施的更新则是另一回事。如果他们

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“政府中没有人能让他们恳求帮助”

如果被归类为博物馆，它们就可以申请政府和彩票基金的拨款。但它们并非如此。政府中没有人愿意为它们承担责任。在被要求提供资金时，文化、媒体和体育部实际上是这样说的：“抱歉，你们不属于文化类，请尝试联系科学、创新和技术部（DSIT）。”但科学、创新和技术部（目前正在更名）则表示：“我们没有预算用于这类教育项目。”而教育部则完全拒绝与科学发现中心（SDCs）接触。

毫无疑问，这种厚颜无耻的推诿将对公众参与科学造成实质性损害。科学发现中心正面临着文化机构同样遭遇的所有价格上涨——尤其是飙升的能源和劳动力成本。但与博物馆和艺术中心不同，它们在政府中找不到可以恳求帮助的人。后果如何？其中最著名的两家——康沃尔的伊甸项目（Eden Project）和苏格兰最大的游客景点之一的格拉斯哥科学中心——已经警告称将出现大规模裁员且赤字增加。此外，另外几家科学发现中心在私下警告称，如果得不到帮助，它们将在 18 个月内完全关闭。

面对所有关于气候变化、人工智能和未来能源来源的担忧，我们应该增强公众对科学技术的认知，而不是危及那些提供这些知识的机构。例如，英国各地的 15 家科学发现中心刚刚合作举办了一个名为《揭秘人工智能》（Demystifying AI）的展览，我认为我们大多数人都能从中受益。

但这里有一个更大的问题，这回到了我在开头写的内容。从最广泛的意义上讲，我们的国家文化在很大程度上是由英国在工业、科学和技术领域取得的惊人突破所塑造的，其影响不亚于我们在艺术、音乐和文学领域所做的贡献。因此，如果我们承认需要公共资金来维持博物馆、美术馆和剧院的正常运行，为什么我们要让那些庆祝并解释科学的中心陷入破败之中？

我们当然要拯救乔德雷尔银行（Jodrell Bank），但不能止步于此。秋季预算即将出台。如果科学、文化和教育部门无法就支持我们至关重要的科学发现中心是谁的责任达成一致，财政部应直接授权为其紧急维护提供资金。

妮可·基德曼在59岁时如何重塑自我

在伊比萨岛隐姓埋名，在波托菲诺派对狂欢，新男友，新电影，新造型……欢迎来到这位巨星的“第三幕”。作者：哈丽特·沃克（Harriet Walker）

翻开最新一期的《Vogue》杂志，你会发现妮可·基德曼（Nicole Kidman）正在尝试让自己看起来不再像原来的自己。如果今年夏天你在伊比萨岛发现一名短发高挑的女性在你身边跳舞，那么很有可能就是她。在这本时尚圣经的最新一期中，这位59岁的澳大利亚超级巨星承认，为了隐姓埋名地出入该岛的彻夜狂欢俱乐部，她戴上了“小小的深色假发”和太阳镜。

“我需要这样，”她告诉该杂志——其他处于中年时期的“电音妈妈”们会完全理解其中的原因。在67岁的麦当娜（Madonna）发布了一张关于在舞池中“塑造新人格”的专辑几周后，这种逃避现实的方式似乎也成为了基德曼重塑自我的核心。她承认，今年夏天她还无意中在波托菲诺的舞台上跳了舞，并前往伦敦观看了《俄瑞斯忒亚》（The Oresteia），这是一个关于——除其他内容外——一名中年女性按照自己的意愿结束婚姻的永恒故事。

基德曼是人们可以称之为“第三章女性觉醒”趋势的最新光辉典范。在宣布结束与歌手基思·厄本（Keith Urban）长达19年的婚姻不到12个月后，基德曼成为了今年《Vogue》神圣的九月刊封面之星。“我对我的生活将如何发展曾有过不同的看法。但现在就是这样，”她说。“未来，对我来说目前完全是未知的。”

上个月，基德曼被狗仔队拍到在洛杉矶机场被传为她新男友的迈克尔·莱因斯坦（Michael Reinstein）接走，从而勾选了今年夏天另一个最大的趋势：一个私募股权基金男友。

新电影，新男人，新造型。在《Vogue》封面上，基德曼穿着一件橄榄球衫，留着《对手》（Rivals）中的发型，表情像一个找回了人生20年时光的女人。

在许多凡人无法企及的方面，她确实做到了。去年10月，基德曼再次被宣布为香奈儿（Chanel）品牌大使，距离卡尔·拉格斐（Karl Lagerfeld）选中她出演由巴兹·鲁赫曼（Baz Luhrmann）执导的No 5广告已过去二十年。下个月将上映1998年电影《实用魔法》（Practical Magic）的续集，她在片中再次与62岁的桑德拉·布洛克（Sandra Bullock）饰演姐妹，后者表示整个过程感觉“就像时间完全没有流逝一样”。

好莱坞的女性，以及日益增多的男性，都是停止时钟——甚至将其回拨的专家。基德曼不仅展示了那种我们其他人应该在不提及的情况下默默接受的、新填充的胶原蛋白，而且根据《Vogue》的说法，她现在的气味甚至与几十年前一样。她的香水是一种“秘密混合物”，她最近开始重新使用，这是自二十多岁以来第一次。事实上，除了基德曼与

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厄本所生的两个女儿，18岁的星期日·罗斯（Sunday Rose）和15岁的费思（Faith）之外，几乎看不到这几十年时光流逝的痕迹——这确实是“实用魔法”。

然而，在这段时间里，基德曼做了大量工作，使她成为了A级权力经纪人，她曾在2017年承诺每18个月与一名女性导演合作，以平衡竞争环境。在过去的十年里，她通过《大小谎言》（Big Little Lies）、《解构》（The Undoing）和《完美情侣》（The Perfect Couple）等剧集，相当成功地将利润丰厚的时尚电视惊悚片类型变成了自己的领域，所有这些剧集都通过她自己的Blossom制作公司完成。今年，她首次在Prime Video中饰演侦探凯·斯卡佩塔（Kay Scarpetta）。基德曼作为最高薪且最著名的女演员之一的时间如此之久，以至于她对成名前的生活几乎没有记忆。“我对那段时期的记忆相当模糊，因为那时我真的很年轻，”她告诉《Vogue》。

“因为我在那么年轻的时候结婚，所以我从22岁起就被推入了这种生活，”她提到她的第一任丈夫汤姆·克鲁斯，两人于2001年分居。“我们当时陷入了疯狂的爱……[但]随后我就成了他的‘妻子’。”

她指的是一种为了那段婚姻而抛弃事业的感觉，但妮可·基德曼过往的作品集证明，她不仅修正了这一轨迹，而且拥有令人钦佩的职业操守。

“她是我们最后几位真正传奇的电影明星之一，”Z世代最喜爱的歌手Charli XCX通过短信告诉《Vogue》，她在基德曼参加她的其中一场演出后与这位女演员成为了朋友。

妮可·基德曼在英国版《Vogue》九月号中（左图），该刊将于8月20日发行并提供数字下载。下方：Michael Reinstein

“她的表情像是一个找回了人生20年时光的女人”

（年轻的“社交好友”是女性复兴运动的一个关键组成部分。）

基德曼在采访中还承认，她最初是从变装艺术家那里学习重塑自我的艺术。

“我以前常去跨性别俱乐部，”她说。“我会作为一个长着雀斑的小红发女孩坐在那里，然后他们……会帮我贴睫毛……给我戴发片……让我变得美丽。”

让她在29岁时首次在时尚界崭露头角的，是她穿着参加1997年奥斯卡颁奖礼的那件迪奥高级定制礼服——那是由John Galliano设计的黄绿色中国风礼服。资深评论员琼·里弗斯可能在直播中称其“丑陋”，但这却是一个具有塑造意义的时刻，不仅是对基德曼而言，对整个行业也是如此。这次巴黎高定首次登上红毯，在时尚界最高端的T台与好莱坞自己的走秀之间建立了一条管道，实际上发明了我们现在所认知的“名人”概念。

基德曼最近的一次“病毒式传播时刻”发生在去年10月，就在宣布她与Urban分居一周后，她出席了香奈儿新设计师Matthieu Blazy在巴黎的首次秀场。这一次，她的装扮毫无繁琐之感，仅穿着一件男式白衬衫和浅蓝色牛仔裤——这是该品牌的一款新造型，刚从T台下来，甚至还没在T台上正式亮相。基德曼的两个女儿也随行。

“这些孩子，就是我们愿意为之放下一切的存在，”基德曼在《Vogue》中说道。“我的生命中出现过很多优秀的年长女性导师——我知道我是谁。”

所以，如果你在舞池中偶遇她而认不出她是谁，请不要感到惊讶。

凯特·莫斯毫无益处的裸泳

她以惊人之势推出了她的健康品牌 Cosmoss。结果却沉没了。作者：Charlie Gowans

我原以为凯特·莫斯（Kate Moss）几乎能向所有 X 世代和千禧一代的英国女性——包括我在内——推销任何产品，因为在过去的三十年里，我们一直在模仿她的每一套穿搭。尽管她在 2022 年宣布推出健康品牌 Cosmoss 时，通过一段裸泳的视频引起了巨大的轰动，但该公司在去年倒闭了。现在，根据清算人的报告，我们得知该公司欠债 £290 万。

那么问题出在哪里？名人品牌泡沫肯定还没有破裂：我们从金·卡戴珊（Kim Kardashian）的 Skims 买内衣，从奥尔森双胞胎（Olsen twins）的 The Row 买设计师服装，从蕾哈娜（Rihanna）的 Pretty Beauty 买化妆品——这些品牌的价值都超过 10 亿美元 billion。但当涉及到价值 £5 trillion 的健康产业时，情况就不同了——这就是名人健康品牌的诅咒。

罗茜·亨廷顿-怀特利（Rosie Huntington-Whiteley）在 2018 年创立了 Rose Inc；她的无动物实验、纯素美容产品于 2021. 在 Space NK 上线。她的合资伙伴 Amyris 在 2023 年破产，该品牌在拍卖中以 $2.500 万 的价格被售出，亨廷顿-怀特利不再与其相关。

霍莉·威洛比（Holly Willoughby）在 2021 年 9 月推出了 Wylde Moon（日期选择在收获月）。到 2022 年，她的蜡烛、香水和扩香器在哈罗德百货（Harrods）上架。2023 年，该品牌在扣除债权人款项后的资产记录为 £149；目前该品牌仍在网上交易，但已从哈罗德百货网站下架。

这两位女性都具备推动销售的能力。当威洛比在 Instagram 上分享她主持《今晨》（This Morning）和《我是名人...》（I’m a Celebrity...）时穿着的高街服装时，这些衣服售罄的速度之快被称作“霍莉效应”；她影响购物趋势的能力仅次于威尔士王妃（“凯特效应”）。当亨廷顿-怀特利与马莎百货（Marks & Spencer）合作的内衣系列在 2012 年推出时，它是该品牌销售最快的内衣系列，第一年就售出 600,000 units。十年后，马莎百货每 30 秒就售出一件 Rosie 的产品，并达到了 500 万 bras 的里程碑。

至于莫斯——嗯，她才是最初的“凯特效应”。她穿的一切——亚历山大·麦昆（Alexander McQueen）的围巾、在格拉斯顿伯里（Glastonbury）穿的 Hunter 雨靴、她与 Topshop 的合作系列——都成为了下一个大热门。但健康产品的推销太难了，大概是因为即便这现在是莫斯的生活方式，但这并不是她成名的原因。在 2000 年代，她被拍到的照片总是带着一支烟和一瓶健怡可乐（她于 2022 年成为了后者的创意总监）。

因此，无论莫斯现在是否以一杯 Cosmoss Dawn 茶（含有洛神花和姜根以唤醒感官）开始一天，或者以一杯洋甘菊和蝶豆花 Dusk 茶（每杯 £20）结束一天，她都不是那个我们会向其购买这些产品的人。我随时会信任莫斯的时尚见解，但如果我想寻找一套健康方案，我想要的是一个真正生活在其中、呼吸其中的女性，而且这样的人可能生活得没那么有趣。

这或许就是为什么格温妮丝·帕特洛（Gwyneth Paltrow）的 Goop 依然在运营，并且在 2024. 被 PitchBook 估值为 4.33亿美元。帕特洛在她的社交媒体上记录 Goop 的生活：举办不化妆的晚餐派对，遵循特蕾西·安德森（Tracy Anderson）的健身计划和间歇性禁食。

当然，她的名气是最大的卖点，但当帕特洛被引用谈到她热爱下午 5.30 的早晚餐以助于消化时，我们完全可以相信。我曾经见过她似乎在宿醉，那是她在意大利庆祝 50 岁生日的那一周，飞来参加一场关于“Goop 游轮”的演讲：她当时在喝绿汁以恢复体力。

“我开始每天冥想，做超觉冥想，野泳……我尝试了所有[新事物],”莫斯告诉她的老友罗丝玛丽（Rosemary）。

弗格森为《Vogue》的一篇特写文章在 2022. 年推出了 Cosmoss。也许我们执着于“旧”凯特，不让她进化，期待她在 52 岁时还向我们推销派对礼服（尽管她确实在这么做，通过 Zara）是不公平的。

作为女性的凯特·莫斯可能改变了，但作为传奇的凯特·莫斯依然如故。这或许是一种赞美——我们认为她太酷了，以至于不可能真的每天睡足八小时。

当消息传出时，莫斯正乘船在伊比萨岛度她的年度假期，携带了多个爱马仕包，一只 Birkin 挎在左肩，一只 Kelly 挎在右肩。去年，她被拍到将 Kelly 包当作沙滩包使用，这正是我们对莫斯所期待的那种摇滚式的不羁。

当一个名人品牌关闭时，另一个品牌又冒了出来：哈珀·贝克汉姆的 Harlo by Harper 美容帝国即将面世，为我们带来身为 Posh 和 Becks 15 岁女儿所拥有的丰富经验和商业专业知识。

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4

封面故事

“我觉得很好，感觉很正常。人们真的非常友善和体贴”

去年，西蒙·罗素·比尔（Simon Russell Beale）因癌症退出了一部皇家莎士比亚剧团（RSC）的戏剧。现在，他在银幕上饰演温斯顿·丘吉尔，在舞台上饰演利伯拉切（Liberace）。他接受了埃德·波顿（Ed Potton）的采访。

西蒙·罗素·比尔刚刚在两部关于夏尔·戴高乐的法国史诗电影中饰演温斯顿·丘吉尔，其中第一部《戴高乐：抵抗》（De Gaulle: Résistance）于本月上映，第二部《戴高乐：自由》（De Gaulle: Liberté）将于9月上映。“我认为这是一个相当大的表演，”他笑着说。无论是从体型还是语调上。丘吉尔比比尔更丰满——他穿了填充物吗？“噢没有，我那时很胖。我患过癌症，所以体重减轻了很多。”

比尔去年被诊断出患有结肠癌，这迫使他退出了9月份为皇家莎士比亚剧团出演的《安德罗尼库斯之子》（Titus Andronicus）。他即将开始第九个月，也希望是最后一个月的化疗。对病情的坦诚对他很有帮助。“我想，我就告诉所有人吧，因为这样人们会变得非常友善和体贴。人们的态度改变了。”

他在4月宣布了这件事。“《泰晤士报》在同一周发布了这个故事，而那周正好是我父亲的讣告发布时间。这不是很奇怪吗？”他的父亲彼得·比尔爵士（Sir Peter Beale）是一位卓越的军队医生，在1991-94年期间担任英国武装部队的军医总监。

对于65, 岁的比尔来说，这确实是艰难的一年，但他看起来状态极佳：皮肤黝黑，身材苗条，且思维活跃。“我觉得很好。感觉很正常，”他坐在位于伦敦的公寓厨房里说道，

右图：西蒙·罗素·比尔，以及他在《戴高乐：抵抗》中饰演的温斯顿·丘吉尔

“丘吉尔是任何稍微有点超重的英国演员的宿命”

《戴高乐：抵抗》将于8月28日起在电影院上映；《我将再次见到你》（I’ll Be Seeing You）将在苏格兰皮特洛克里节日剧院（Pitlochry Festival Theatre）于9月22日至10月11日上演。

他独自居住在这里。他出身于医生世家，因此得到了很多良好的医疗建议，而且他的父亲活到了92, 岁，这是一个好迹象。

化疗是否影响了他的耐力？“下周就知道了，”他说。那时他将开始新剧《我将再次见到你》的排练，他在剧中饰演利伯拉切。稍后将详细介绍。 “显然我不得不退出《安德罗尼库斯之子》……你可能认为这没那么重要，但实际上很重要。”1993年，他在表演著名的驼背动作时导致背部椎间盘突出，不得不退出为萨姆·门德斯（Sam Mendes）出演的《理查三世》。 “我记得当时在想，‘没关系的。’但我当时简直崩溃了。”

比尔曾获得三个奥利维尔奖、两个英国电影学院奖（Bafta）和一个托尼奖，在同辈的莎士比亚演员中，只有马克·赖兰斯（Mark Rylance）能与他相媲美。他在《奥赛罗》（1997）中饰演了一个令人胆寒的伊阿古，在《哈姆雷特》（2000）中饰演了一个书卷气的丹麦王子，在《暴风雨》（2016）中饰演了一个令人难忘的普罗斯佩罗。他出生在父亲驻扎的马来西亚，在布里斯托的寄宿学校就读，随后进入剑桥大学，并在1991年通过在皇家莎士比亚剧团制作的契诃夫剧作《海鸥》中饰演康斯坦丁实现了突破。

我们之前见过面，是在2017年电影《斯大林之死》的宣传活动上，比尔在片中饰演苏联秘密警察恐怖首脑拉夫连季·贝利亚（Lavrentiy Beria）。“大多数戏剧演员都想拍电影，”他当时说道。近年来，他频繁出现在大银幕上，在《合唱团》（The Choral）中饰演飘逸的爱德华·埃尔加，在《雷神4：爱与雷霆》中饰演慵懒的狄俄尼索斯，以及在《唐顿庄园：大结局》中饰演一个爱管闲事的同性恋者。

现在，他第三次为我们呈现他的丘吉尔。这是一部大预算、《至暗时刻》风格的制作，第一部《戴高乐》电影讲述了由西蒙·阿布卡里安（Simon Abkarian）饰演的流亡将军抵达伦敦，在几乎孤身一人的情况下，尽管没有政治经验，依然创立了自由法国运动。丘吉尔对他那种唐吉诃德式的胆量感到困惑但印象深刻。

比尔最早在2004年的一次名为《敦刻尔克》（Dunkirk）的制作中饰演丘吉尔——并非克里斯托弗·诺兰的电影，而是一部获得英国电影学院奖（Bafta）的电视纪录剧集——随后在2021年的战争间谍喜剧《肉馅行动》（Operation Mincemeat）中再次饰演该角色。他说，这个角色“是任何稍微有点超重的英国人的宿命”。不仅是英国人——除了加里·奥德曼、阿尔伯特·芬尼和迈克尔·甘本，丘吉尔还曾由一名苏格兰人（布莱恩·考克斯）、一名爱尔兰人（布伦丹·格里森）和一名美国人（约翰·利斯高）饰演。丘吉尔已经

变得像李尔王一样：成为了特定年龄且具有威严的演员的一种成年礼。当然，比尔在2014年也为门德斯饰演过李尔王，并获得了预料之中的赞誉。

他在《戴高乐》（De Gaulle）中的大部分表演是用法语完成的，包括他与这位英语水平有限的将军的大部分互动。丘吉尔的法语是那个时代上层阶级男性的典型风格：“流畅且能进行日常交流，但带有无法消除的英国口音。如果他想不出某个词，就直接编一个法语词。”

比尔曾为了好玩而自学古希腊语，他非常享受用法语演戏带来的智力挑战。“我进入了超负荷状态：服装组的人必须用法语跟我交流，但这只持续了大约五分钟，因为我不知道‘这条裤子不对’用法语怎么说。”

“并不是说他之前能说完美的法语，但他学得很快，”执导《戴高乐》的法国外交官转行电影制作人安东宁·鲍德里（Antonin Baudry）说道。一些演员学习

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CEHER, ANDREW CROWLEY / GAMENA PRESS, DELUXE, CHRIS MCKINSEY FOR THE TIMES, MALOOSA-JEREMIA / INDIA

5

艺术

虽然比尔（Beale）在发音上能模仿外语对话，但他也“意识到每个词的每一种内涵”。

“问题在于我的虚荣心，”比尔说。“有一句话，因为我真的很自负，我说他会使用虚拟语气。但实际上，法国人就像我们一样，并不一定经常使用虚拟语气。安东宁（Antonin）说：‘好吧。’”

“我说：‘我知道这很糟糕，但我希望人们认为我真的会说法语。’”

“他内心蕴含着野兽般的能量，”鲍德里（Baudry）说。“他用身体表演，就像他用眼睛和头脑表演一样，方式令人惊叹。” 的确如此，比尔在我们的交谈中不时地瞪大眼睛，并投以带有共谋意味的目光，邀请你进入一个私人世界。他博学且风趣，这种特质会让你误以为你们处于同一水平。

最重要的是，他充满好奇心。在准备《敦刻尔克》（Dunkirk）时，他与丘吉尔的女儿玛丽·索姆斯（Mary Soames）一起喝了茶。“她会说：‘你知道，欧洲胜利日那天我就在他身边。’她说他戴着结婚戒指。我祖父是不会戴的，所以这决定相当不羁。”这与《戴高乐》（De Gaulle）电影中的服装相呼应，其中包括栗色背带裤和一件刺绣背心。“服装设计师认为他有点像个花花公子。我想：‘这不是我记忆中的丘吉尔！’”

他在新电影中塑造的丘吉尔将冷酷——例如在命令摧毁法国舰队以防止其被用于对抗英国的场景中——与同情心和幽默感相结合，再加上那些华丽的点缀。他在《敦刻尔克》和《明西肉馅行动》（Operation Minc特征）中的丘吉尔分别被赞誉为激烈和粗犷，尽管鲍德里在单独与我交谈时表示，他并没有被这些表演折服。“我不知道该怎么跟他谈这件事！”他说，“显然这不是他的错 [鲍德里将责任归咎于剧本和导演]。当西蒙说：‘我很乐意再次饰演丘吉尔，因为我对之前演的那两个不满意’时，我想：‘噢，谢天谢地！’”

“其实那不是真的，”比尔在承认之前，否认了对那些表演不满意地说法。“我永远不会满意。这就是为什么我过了很久才真正去看这些电影的部分原因。”这个丘吉尔无疑更加丰满，尤其是当他喝着白兰地并与《戴高乐》一起用法语唱歌时。“丘吉尔对他感到困惑、钦佩且愤怒，”他说。这反映了当时的英国和法国。“是的，可能确实如此。”

在拍摄完《戴高乐》后，比尔将现实政治转向了《权力的游戏》衍生剧《龙之家族》（House of the Dragon）中的维斯特洛大陆，饰演贵族西蒙·斯特朗爵士（Ser Simon Strong）。他之前没看过《权力的游戏》，所以采取了碎片化观看的方式。“实际上，《权力的游戏》完全让人上瘾。它具有那种莎士比亚式的结构。”剧透预警。他对西蒙爵士的理解是，这个角色“绝对不想卷入这些废话之中”。在几个剧集前，他被一把剑刺穿腹部，不光彩地领了便当。我告诉他，我原本希望他的死法能更复杂一些。“我希望死得晚一点，”他说。

尽管如此，工作依然接踵而至。他正在写一本随笔集，并将在九月于皮洛克里节日剧院（Pillochry Festival Theatre）出演马丁·舍曼（Martin Sherman）创作、艾伦·卡明（Alan Cumming）执导的超现实新剧《再见》（Til Be Seeing You）中的利伯拉塞（Liberace）一角。该剧构思了这位浑身珠宝的音乐家与一名正在创作关于他的剧本的作家之间的对话。他精准地捕捉到了那个声音，切换成一种做作的美国慢腔。“利伯拉塞说话非常慢，而且带有很重的鼻音。有趣的地方在于，他并不是个出色的舞者但必须跳舞，他也不是个出色的歌手但必须唱歌，而且显然他必须弹钢琴。”

唱歌应该没问题：比尔（Beale）小时候是圣保罗大教堂的唱诗班成员，并在吉尔霍尔音乐与戏剧学院学习过唱歌。他也会弹钢琴，并在 2021 年的《巴赫与儿子们》（Bach & Sons）中饰演约翰·塞巴斯蒂安·巴赫时在舞台上演奏。他在《再见》中会演奏吗？他戏剧性地停顿了一下，狡黠地笑了笑。“我弹不成利伯拉塞那样。”所以这次他将采取对口型表演。

这对他来说似乎是一个大胆的角色，你会好奇这个选择是否受到了他患癌的影响：一种对死亡的感知在激发他的勇气。事实证明，他在生病之前就已同意饰演利伯拉塞。“但这有点像是在说，‘我刚演完《安德罗尼库斯·提图斯》——当然，接下来我要演利伯拉塞！’这就是我工作的乐趣所在。”

比尔在整个化疗期间一直在工作，今年他为一部广受好评的莎士比亚诗作《维纳斯与阿多尼斯》的木偶剧版配音。该剧去了罗马尼亚，因此他必须在佩戴临时造口袋的情况下，在英国接受治疗期间往返于两地。“每次化疗结束，他们会给你装一个泵，”他说，“但他们说，‘因为气压原因，你不能带着泵飞行。’整个过程都在处理物流问题。我拒绝面对其他的可能性。”

他的日程表依然繁忙得令人惊叹。他刚刚为罗伯特·哈里斯（Robert Harris）的新小说《阿格里帕》（Agrippa）录制了有声书，并在即将上映的电影《初步证据》（Prima Facie）中饰演一名大律师。该电影改编自关于法律制度和性侵犯的奥利维尔奖获奖剧作，由辛西娅·埃里沃（Cynthia Erivo）接替乔迪·科默（Jodie Comer）在舞台上饰演的角色。明年二月，他将与鲁珀特·埃弗里特（Rupert Everett）共同主演由帕特里克·马伯（Patrick Marber）执导的哈罗德·品特（Harold Pinter）剧作《无人之地》（No Man’s Land）。“我不认识鲁珀特，然后我们进行了一次剧本朗读，”他说，“天哪，他真是个迷人的伙伴。”你可以打赌，埃弗里特对他也说了同样的话。

我们真的需要《芭比》续集吗？

据报道，该片主演们将不会签署续集合约，Sarah Ditum 认为一部完美的电影就足够了。

《芭比》的续集是要被送进“天空中的大玩具箱”（夭折）了吗？三年前，《芭比》是一场电影现象，也是一次商业巨制。该片成为华纳兄弟历史上最赚钱的电影，全球票房超过 14 亿美元 billion。按照好莱坞的常规规则，这理应保证会有续集。

然而，根据《纽约时报》和《综艺》的报道，由于该片的核心人员在等待高额报酬，华纳兄弟目前正处于停滞状态。一个硬性的截止日期即将到来：如果到 12 月仍未签署任何协议，《芭比》的权利将回归玩具制造商美泰（Mattel），整个项目将不得不从零开始。

这意味着将没有饰演芭比的玛格特·罗比（Margot Robbie）：还有谁能同时具备玩偶般完美的外貌和足以胜任该角色的演技？这意味着将没有由瑞安·高斯林（Ryan Gosling）饰演的肯，他对该角色的惊人投入——无论是在电影中还是在宣传活动中——都是现代电影的一大奇迹。而且，这意味着将没有格蕾塔·格威格（Greta Gerwig）担任导演和编剧。

通常，像《芭比》这样的大制作电影合同中会包含续集的承诺。然而，对于华纳兄弟来说，《芭比》曾是一次冒险——尽管这是一次成功的赌博。

我去观看《芭比》时，特意为了这个场合做了粉色的芭比美甲。在放映厅里，我看到一些女性穿着全套芭比装扮，留着光亮的吹风造型。《芭比》是一次完美的流行文化事件。

有些人认为这部电影内容轻浅，但你对一部关于时尚玩偶的喜剧电影还能期待什么？有些人指责它在伪装女性主义，但美国费雷拉（America Ferrera）关于女性面临矛盾需求的独白却出人意料地触动人心。与此同时，高斯林饰演的肯所表现出的存在主义焦虑，比一百篇矫揉造作的论文更能揭示男性气质危机。

问题在于续集能否重新捕捉到那种魔力。最近一次尝试打造“男孩版芭比”的《宇宙巨匠》（Masters of the Universe，同样是美泰的财产）电影在票房上惨败，在传闻预算为 $70-2亿美元 的情况下，全球仅获得 1400万美元 票房。格威格及其共同编剧（也是丈夫）诺亚·鲍姆巴赫（Noah Baumbach）表示他们有一个故事，但两人天生都不是系列电影类型的人：如果他们决定这么做，你可以理解为什么他们希望这在财务上具有合理性。与此同时，罗比和高斯林并不缺乏工作机会。《芭比》需要他们，远胜于他们需要《芭比》。

也许让《芭比 2》继续在货架上保持原封不动才是正确的。第一部电影的寓意是，你不能永远住在梦幻屋里：即使是芭比最终也必须面对死亡。我们已经拥有了一次完美的游戏时光，也许这就是我们所能要求的一切。

瑞安·高斯林和玛格特·罗比在 2023 年电影中饰演肯和芭比

“芭比”需要玛格特·罗比和瑞安·高斯林，远胜于他们需要“芭比”

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6

v2 Friday August 14 2026 / THE TIMES

THE CRITICS

这部令人捧腹的上流社会喜剧就像是“加速版”的《盐烧》

希安·克利福德在一部绝妙的伪纪录片中饰演一名古怪的贵族。作者：凯文·马赫

终于有一部电影是为那些看完菲比·沃勒-布里奇的《伦敦生活》（Fleabag）全部 12 集并心想“是的，很好，但那个姐姐难道不应该有自己的戏份吗？”的人准备的。希安·克利福德（Sian Clifford），即《伦敦生活》中的克莱尔，现身地带来了这场绝妙且失控的喜剧表演。

在这部关于阶级偏见、创意表达以及“被看见”之重要性的伪纪录片中，她饰演伊莎贝拉·雷文海德夫人（Lady Isabella Ravenhyde），她是诺福克郡宏伟的雷文海德庄园（实际拍摄地为萨福克郡的索默雷顿大厅）中一名精神错乱的女主人。这部电影始终幽默，且经常令人捧腹。

当伊莎贝拉夫人邀请一个 Netflix 纪录片摄制组进入她的家中时，参考基调像是重新构思的《盐烧》（Saltburn）或是服用安非他明的《唐顿庄园》（Downtown Abbey）。几分钟之内，她就开始狂饮鸡尾酒，并宣布自己是“贵族阶层对卡戴珊家族的回应”。她还是自己策划的古怪才艺大赛《庄园之星》（Stately Stars）的主持人和首席参赛者。

在初次执导长片的编剧兼导演塞缪尔·亚伯拉罕斯（Samuel Abrahams）撰写的机智剧本中，可以看到很多大卫·布伦特（David Brent）的影子。其中还包含了一些艾伦·帕特里奇（Alan Partridge）的元素，以及一点《这个国家》（This Country）的味道。

然而，反转之处在于电影突然转向了科幻方向。在第一幕早期（并非剧透），伊莎贝拉开始消失。先是双手（非常像《回到未来》中的马蒂·麦弗莱），然后是小腿。

这里有明显的隐喻共鸣，亚伯拉罕斯适时地暗示伊莎贝拉在她的丈夫、同僚以及她自己眼中已经变得透明。但电影的独创性以及克利福德那令人心碎的悲伤表演，使得伊莎贝拉的状况变成了一种令人同情的性格特质，而不仅仅是一个叙事噱头。

极其令人心酸的是，伊莎贝拉对她那狡诈的导演萨姆（Sam，劳里·基纳斯顿 饰）的主要要求是，他永远不要停止拍摄她，仿佛被镜头捕捉到就能将她从存在主义的绝望中拯救出来。

希安·克利福德出色地诠释了古怪的伊莎贝拉·雷文海德夫人

《夫人》（Lady） 15, 95min ★★★★☆

通过变得透明，她失去了唯一一次获得幸福的机会。或者她真的失去了吗？《夫人》中还潜藏着一部浪漫喜剧，讲述一名记者爱上了他的采访对象。

不过，并非所有部分都奏效。萨姆这个角色塑造不足，个人成长弧线较弱。尽管如此，这部电影风格十足，且每分钟的笑点密度高于大多数好莱坞喜剧。最重要的是，它依然是一个让克利福德尽情释放光芒的机会。它是今年的《墙岛之歌》（Ballad of Walls Island）吗？大概吧。院线公映

经典电影

《海盗》（The Pirates'）（2012）

U, 88min ★★★★☆

作为制片厂 50 周年庆典的一部分，《海盗：与科学家的冒险！》（The Pirates' In an Adventure with Scientists!）重新回归院线，它是阿德曼动画（Aardman Animations）最被低估的瑰宝之一。休·格兰特在片中首次且唯一一次为动画电影配音，饰演一名维多利亚时代的海盗船长。凭借浓密的胡须和不可撼动的乐观精神，船长决心克服重重困难，赢得年度海盗称号。当查尔斯·达尔文（David Tennant 饰）揭露他心爱的肥蓝“鹦鹉”波莉实际上是世界上最后一只幸存的渡渡鸟时，他的机会增加了。

《海盗》将计算机生成效果（主要是海洋和背景）融入到定格动画中，但这些效果从未掩盖后者的触感乐趣：每一根胡须和每一个微小的背景笑点都感觉经过了精心雕琢。

吉迪恩·德福（Gideon Defoe）根据自己的儿童书改编的剧本，避开了低俗的海盗陈词滥调。正如船长的副手（马丁·弗里曼 饰）所说：“你不能只是在句尾加个‘arrr’就指望一切都能顺利。”在这里，适合儿童的动作戏中充斥着离经叛道的成人幽默，以及对奶油饼干和 Blue Peter 徽章等纯正英国元素的致敬。LI-Z 院线公映及在 ITVX 播出

船长迅速采取行动

Sunny Dancer

15, 106分钟 ★★★★☆

青少年观众对尴尬的感知极其敏锐。然而，这部关于癌症青少年的剧情喜剧却散发出一种不可抗拒的真实感。《最后生还者》主演 Bella Ramsey 饰演 Ivy，一名 17 岁的白血病幸存者，她正努力尝试与旧友及日常生活重新接轨。她那忧心忡忡的父母（Jessica Gunning 和 James Norton 饰）将她送往 Ivy 所称的“化疗营”——一个由 Neil Patrick Harris（表现出色）经营的、位于苏格兰的美式夏令营。

Ivy “像卡住的拉链一样固执”，起初十分叛逆，对营地中那种坚持不懈的励志氛围感到反感。直到她陷入一群

Bella Ramsey 和 Daniel Quinn-Toye 饰演夏令营的青少年

与一群不合群的伙伴在一起，他们逃课、狂饮伏特加、打架，并以一种令人信服的笨拙方式经历初次性行为和初恋。

Ruby Stokes 饰演 Ivy 那好色且渴望性爱的室友；Earl Cave（音乐家 Nick 之子）饰演叛逆的 Ralph，此外还有 Jasmine Elcock、Conrad Khan（你总想看到他更多戏份）以及梦幻般的 Daniel Quinn-Toye。

最终呈现的效果具有极强的亲密感和自然主义色彩。即便 Ivy 本人也不会对片中的积极基调感到过于反感。Ramsey 是最出色的演员，在每个场景中都触及了真实的情感脉络。难怪 25 岁的编剧兼导演 George Jaques 每当犹豫不决时，都会将镜头推向 Ramsey 的脸部特写。

故事刻意安排的高潮部分没能让我落泪，但总体而言，《Sunny Dancer》取得了成功。LI-Z 院线上映

不要说好运 (Don't Say Good Luck)

12, 110min ★★☆☆☆

亚当·桑德勒的 Happy Madison Productions 再次推出了一个毫不掩饰的“裙带关系”项目，这是为他 17 岁的女儿 Sunny Sandler 打造的又一个光鲜的 Netflix 展示舞台。索菲·比伦鲍姆（Sunny 饰）是一个轻微焦虑的戏剧社孩子，她最大的担忧是准备学校音乐剧《女侍者》（Waitress）的主角戏，以及她是否能与扮演妇产科医生的可爱男孩接吻。随后，在试镜当天，索菲得知母亲的癌症复发了。她还应该继续演出吗？

Sunny 在一岁时就与父亲一同在《grown ups》中完成了银幕首秀，从那时起，她的履历中就充满了与家庭相关的作品，最著名的是 2023 年的成长喜剧《你绝对没被邀请参加我的成年礼》（You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah），由她的父母和姐姐 Sadie 共同主演。

Sunny 确实拥有那种难以捉摸的“灵气”。她有一种迷人的柔软感和自然不做作的特质，让屏幕亮了起来。梅拉妮·林斯基（《黄蜂》）在饰演索菲母亲一角时表现出众，而贝贝·纽沃斯和史蒂夫·布塞米饰演的爱管闲事的祖父母则带来了不少乐趣。

有时，这部电影具有学生剧那种热切、真诚的特质，但在需要承担更沉重的戏剧冲突时，它显得力不从心。就好像桑德勒想让女儿免受痛苦一样。甚至癌症的到来都被处理得极其温和。尽管如此，讨厌《不要说好运》就像是在踢一只小猫。

在某个时刻，索菲的父亲看着她在舞台上倾情演唱，并擦掉了一滴自豪的泪水。人们可以想象桑德勒在现实中也是如此。LI-Z Netflix

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7

电影评论

SOB 18 / 24

你可能会认为一部关于名厨的传记片会让你垂涎三尺。在我参加的放映会上，主持人承诺道：“看完这个你一定会想吃一盘生蚝！”她错了。而这感觉是对的。因为尽管成为了美食界的“坏男孩”摇滚明星，安东尼·波登从未将自己视为一名名厨。真正让他心潮澎湃的是那种同袍之情。

《Tony》遵循了近期高端传记片的趋势（如《A Complete Unknown》、《Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere》），提供的是一个精选的成长片段，而非从出生到死亡的完整自助餐。电影取材于波登 2000 年那部备受推崇的回忆录《厨房机密》（Kitchen Confidential）的早期章节，向我们介绍了 19 岁时的 Tony（由 Dominic Sessa 饰演，这是他当时的称呼），此时他尚未获得全球知名度。

Tony 出身特权中产阶级，在学生酒吧里趾高气扬，裤兜里塞着双节棍，他完全没有成为厨师的打算。他想成为一名作家——乔治·奥威尔与杰克·凯鲁亚克的结合体。啊，这种对那个“酷孩子想成为作家而非网红”时代的怀旧之情。

在向父母谎称获得了一个享有盛誉的大学写作奖学金后，他跟随女友南希（Emilia Jones 饰）前往马萨诸塞州的普罗温斯敦。他身无分文，无家可归，带着一本《在路上》和似乎只有一条 Y 型内裤，最终在一家由安东尼奥·班德拉斯经营的肮脏海鲜店里洗盘子。这位西班牙演员饰演的 Ciro 带来了一种温暖的特质，他是一位父亲般的导师，对他手下员工那些出格的行径睁一只眼闭一只眼。

在那里，Tony 被厨房里那些不可一世的年长男人所震撼。其中最突出的是自信满满、吸食可卡因的 Sal（由极具魅力的 Leo Woodall 饰演），Sal 将他收在麾下，教他如何剥生蚝、如何搭讪女孩——通常是同时进行——以及如何表现得极其恶劣。

这是一个在“有毒男子气概”成为议题之前的时代，而且就像波登的书一样，Tony 将这种大男子主义的厨房文化浪漫化了。欺凌、徒手接触热锅、药物、言语和肢体虐待：这一切都被视为粗犷的打闹。但 Tony 不仅

没有焦虑感的《熊家餐厅》（The Bear）

重磅电影

关于生活放荡不羁的主厨安东尼·波登（Anthony Bourdain）早年生活的传记电影出人意料地乐观，Larushka Ivan-Zadeh 如此评价

在偶然闯入他的圈子后，他找到了纪律、目标，以及至关重要的——为他的书提供原始素材。

正如他后来在《厨房机密》（Kitchen Confidential）中所写：“坦白说，我曾是一个被宠坏的、痛苦的、自恋且鲁莽的年轻混混，急需被狠狠教训一顿。”

当

Tony

15. 106分钟 ★★★★☆

萨尔（Sal）向他介绍海洛因时，一股阴郁的潜流随之而来。对于了解波登后期成瘾和自我毁灭倾向的观众来说，警示灯已经亮起——尤其是考虑到他在 2018 年以 61 岁之龄自杀身亡。但导演马特·约翰逊（Matt Johnson）明智地没有过度渲染这种伏笔。

在很大程度上，这是一个欢快且出人意料地阳光的成长故事。想象一下一个焦虑感更少、纯真感更多的《熊餐厅》（The Bear）——这部电视现象级作品公认地欠波登一份情。

约翰逊捕捉到了《厨房机密》散文那种炽热、沸腾的能量，而更令人印象深刻的是，他赋予了这部电影独特的身份。许多传记片让你看到演员在努力模仿某个名人，而《Tony》则像是一位新星的降临。

塞萨（Sessa）因《坠落的继承者》（The Holdovers）而获得赞誉，他在片中饰演另一个早熟、叛逆且有一位年长导师的青少年。在这里，他那像查拉梅特（Chalametesque）一样的黑色卷发、单薄的体格和年轻时帕西诺般的眼神有所帮助，但这并非简单的模仿。他精准地捕捉到了波登年轻时那种令人厌烦的、自命不凡的狂妄，同时让你瞥见其掩盖下的不成熟的脆弱、不确定，甚至是纯真。

只有救赎弧线显得过于简单，将这个混乱的打破常规者过于整齐地塞进了好莱坞的模具中。尽管如此，这部关于年轻洗碗工艺术家的画像辛辣、咸鲜且恰到好处地带点甜味。我很乐意再来一份。

院线公映

橡树街的终结 (The End of Oak Street)

12A. 99分钟 ★★★★☆

一部讲述美国一家人被恐龙追逐的夏季大片，满足了人们对《侏罗纪公园》量级电影的明显期待。虽然《橡树街的终结》中带有强烈的斯皮尔伯格色彩，但它对 20 世纪 80 年代郊区的深情致敬却有着一种独特的、更阴暗的“离调”基调。

那是 1982 年一个平凡的夏天，由尤文·麦格雷戈（Ewan McGregor）和安妮·海瑟薇（Anne Hathaway）领衔的普拉特一家被一道诡异的强光惊醒。第二天早晨，出于从未被完全解释的原因，他们的社区被传送到了 2 亿年前。恐龙登场。

数量极多。且大多不友好。然而，甚至在撕咬开始之前，普拉特一家就面临着内部的威胁。海瑟薇倾尽全力饰演一名绝望的家庭主妇，她被成为作家的秘密渴望所折磨，想要抛弃孩子和那个失败的丈夫（麦格雷戈选角不当），而后者几乎不掩饰自己的酗酒。当孩子们问“妈妈，世界末日到了吗？”时，维持家庭凝聚力的责任落在她肩上。

该片由《迷失》（Lost）的创作者 J.J. 艾布拉姆斯（JJ Abrams）监制，标志着大卫·罗伯特·米切尔（David Robert Mitchell）在《银湖潜行》（Under the Silver Lake）后的银幕回归。你能感觉到一部更阴暗、更诡异的电影正挣扎着想要破壳而出。然而，它最终成了一场有趣的、史前时期的“茶杯风暴”。但它在提供强烈的恐龙惊险感方面确实做到了。LI-Z 院线公映

Holy Days

12A. 101分钟 ★★★★☆

在暑假期间，总有空间让家人一起坐在屏幕前看一部令人心情愉悦的电影。这部电影在典型的、令人震撼的新西兰背景下拍摄，还加入了一些相当精美的旅游景观。

该片改编自乔伊·考利（Joy Cowley）的小说，背景设定在1974年，《Holy Days》围绕着一座面临关闭威胁的破旧乡村修道院展开。三位自称是“最后的恐龙”的高龄修女踏上了公路旅行，誓要拯救修道院，并带上了一名悲痛的小男孩（由可爱且留着乱发的新人伊莱贾·塔马蒂饰演），他的亡母曾是修道院的女孩之一，这为影片提供了跨代喜剧效果。

资深澳大利亚女演员朱迪·戴维斯（Judy Davis）出色地饰演了严肃且抽烟不断的艾格尼丝修女——这种外刚内柔的强悍老妇形象，曾是玛吉·史密斯（Maggie Smith）的标志性风格。杰基·韦弗（Jacki Weaver，《动物王国》）反其角色特质，甜美地饰演了紧张且循规蹈矩的玛丽·克莱尔修女，而米里亚姆·马格洛伊斯（Miriam Margolyes）则非常符合其个人风格地饰演了古怪且日益健忘的卢克修女。

由演员转型的导演纳特·博尔特（Nat Boltt）在很大程度上克制了诱惑，没有试图从“修女做平常事”这一本应令人捧腹的奇观中榨干每一个笑点。影片触及了死亡、悲伤、被遗弃、愤怒和痴呆，但仅是以一种温馨且令人安心的方式呈现，而情节的衔接则像儿童拼图一样整齐。这部电影在最美好的意义上带有感伤色彩，它心地善良、不费脑力且完全是非必要的。非常适合让奶奶在观看时打盹。LI-Z

院线上映

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8

music reviews

没有人比卡莉做得更好

维多利亚·西格尔（Victoria Segal）表示，尽管患有帕金森病，这位 83 岁的歌手依然状态昂扬

流行 卡莉·西蒙（Carly Simon） 《Comes in Waves》

Iris ★★★★☆

在人生的这个阶段，卡莉·西蒙完全有理由录制一张如圣经般阴郁的唱片，就像莱昂纳德·科恩（Leonard Cohen）的《You Want It Darker》或约翰尼·卡什（Johnny Cash）的《American IV》那样。这位 83 岁的创作歌手最近宣布，她被诊断出患有帕金森病，并因基底细胞癌接受了面部手术。在一份语气温和且略带遗憾的声明中，她写道，这些健康问题促使她从公众生活中“冬眠”：“我成了一只四季冬眠的熊。”

然而，《Comes in Waves》——她自《This Kind of Love》（2008）以来第一张原创素材专辑——绝非充满绝望。这张专辑在她马萨诸塞州马莎葡萄园的家中，与家人和朋友共同录制，其中包括她与詹姆斯·泰勒（James Taylor）婚姻所生的子女萨莉（Sally）和本（Ben）。这些关于家庭、爱与记忆的歌曲充满了令人惊叹的乐观、沉静的智慧，有时还带着一种灵动的俏皮感，将西蒙带回了 20 世纪 70 年代作为“我一代”（Me Generation）标准旗手的辉煌岁月。它捕捉到了一位绝不打算为自己的职业生涯和创造力拉上帷幕的艺术家。“我没有停止生活，”她说，“我也没有停止工作。”

开篇曲目《Howl》充分证明了这一点，这首歌鼓励一位最近被背叛的朋友尽情地尖叫以宣泄情绪，并“抓破月亮”。它并不礼貌或庄重，反而散发出温暖、关怀和自信。这种古灵精怪在《Peaches》中得到了进一步强调，西蒙花园里不被欢迎的水果成了热情但并不合适的追求者的隐喻。80 年代风格的柔软键盘和鼓点增强了其迷人之感，但人们很难拒绝这样一首充满奇思妙想且兴致高昂的歌曲。

《Four in the Morning》也是如此，这首歌由她已故的朋友朱迪·贝卢希（Judy Belushi，喜剧演员约翰的遗孀）创作，像是一首旧式女性版的《In She's Leaving Home》，以一场令人眩晕的原声崩溃收尾（本·泰勒被标注为演奏“奇怪的小玩意”）。对于像西蒙这样地位的明星来说，这张唱片比人们想象的更接近新纪元私人出版社那种色彩斑斓的毯子和风铃。

不过，在其他曲目中，这些歌曲保持了平衡。《The Father Daughter Dance》最初是为舞台剧《金色池塘》（On Golden Pond）创作的，略显矫情；但为女儿创作的《Mother of Pearl》则充满力量，带有佩吉·西格（Peggy Seeger）风格的粗犷情感；而《Maybe I Never Loved You》中音乐剧般的华丽则被西蒙稳健且深思的嗓音所中和：“我嫁给了你，我们有个孩子 / 这也算是有意义的。”

她探讨了死亡，尤其是在《Love Has No Ending》中，她将 W.H. 奥登（W.H. Auden）的《As I Walked out One Evening》改编成了动人的交响民谣。制作人、前 Yardbird 成员保罗·萨姆威尔-史密斯（Paul Samwell-Smith）还帮助重新打造了《Share the End》，这是西蒙第二张专辑《Anticipation》（1971）中一首关于末日的号角。它融化了过去与现在之间的隔阂，其狂喜之情与当前的氛围形成了鲜明的共鸣。

将末日变成一场狂欢与《Comes in Waves》十分契合，西蒙并非在愤怒地对抗光明的消逝，而是用深邃的目光凝视着它。专辑在《Do It Anyway》那无畏的智慧中结束，最后淡出为一段欢乐的派对录音，人们在其中演奏音乐、大笑直到流泪。对于这张特立独行但取得成功的专辑来说，没有比这更合适的结尾了。

Getdown Services

《Massive Champion》

Breakfast ★★★★☆

相比 Dry Cleaning，Getdown Services 少了一些艺术学院气息；相比 Sleaford Moth，他们又不那么刺耳。他们让人想起 20 世纪 90 年代的华丽摇滚骗子 Earl Brutus 以及来自比肯黑德（Birkenhead）的资深讽刺团体 Half Man Half Biscuit。他们以一种不和谐且脱节——但却出奇地深刻——的方式，对类固醇药膏（《Lentils》）、梧桐树峡谷（《I Can't Die Like That》）或在巴士上呕吐的醉汉（那首带有艾沃·卡特勒风格的民谣异类《Poor Bannister》）发表评论。令人惊讶的温柔时刻包括《Cha Cha Slide》中如烟雾般轻盈的电子流行乐（一段对儿童派对恐怖回忆的由衷回顾），以及《No One Likes Me》，这是一首规模堪比《Creep》的潜在赞歌。《Massive Champion》包罗万象；只希望它不要在巴士上坐在你旁边。

Ayra Starr

《Starrgirl》

Mavin / Republic ★★★★☆

通过前两张专辑《Pi & Dangerous》（2021）和《The Year I Turned 21》（2024），尼日利亚歌手 Ayra Starr 在专辑命名上采取了一种简直像 Adele 一样严格遵循时间顺序的方法。因此，她的第三张长篇专辑被命名为《Starrgirl》也就合情合理了，这显然是对她目前进入的人生阶段的又一次客观描述：数十亿次的流媒体播放量、格莱美奖提名、格拉斯顿伯里音乐节主舞台演出，以及在 Coldplay 演出中的客串。专辑《Starrgirl》中的音乐是 Afrobeat、流行乐和 R&B 的超饱和融合，Starr 在不同风格和情绪之间流畅切换，她推销轻盈透明的钢琴芭蕾曲《Heaven Baby》（与 Zayn Malik 合作，这首歌需要大量的雪纺面料和一台风机）的力度，与推销舞厅冲击曲《Who's Dat Girl》（由 Rema 客串）或《Ms Paper》中闪烁的催眠流行乐一样强。

带有额外词句的舒伯特——以及一台方形钢琴

舒伯特的歌曲集在现场演出时加入额外元素并不罕见：也许是戏剧元素，或者是配合歌曲文本中描述的“冬之旅”或其他艰辛的电影插片。由同样来自奥地利的乔治·尼格尔（Georg Nigl，男中音）和亚历山大·格尔格利菲（Alexander Gergelyfi，钢琴）演绎的这部《美丽的磨坊女》（见右图）则采取了不同的、且可能更令人惊讶的路径。

首先，遵循一些 19 世纪的先例，尼格尔通过巧妙地朗读诗人威廉·米勒（Wilhelm Müller）所写的 25 首诗中，舒伯特未选择谱曲的 5 首诗，扩展了独唱者的角色，这些诗作讲述了一个流浪年轻磨坊工被辜负的浪漫希望。此外，尼格尔浑厚且具有探究力的嗓音有时会给舒伯特的音符加上一些装饰音和其他“表现力”的润色。值得庆幸的是，随着歌曲集的推进，这些润色逐渐减少。

格尔格利菲所使用的乐器发出的独特声音没有改变：这是一台 1810 年的“方形钢琴”（实际上是长方形结构），其音色世界，尤其是在低音区，让人想起一台患了重感冒的古钢琴。你总能感觉到是琴弦被拨动，而非键盘上的琴键被按下。钢琴与人声的结合效果让我们远离了音乐会独奏中预期的声音。就好像我们

在偷听维也纳一个家庭内部的私密演出。听者的耳朵和预期随之调整——至少我的预期调整了，并获得了丰厚的回报。而那些朗诵部分，是所有环节中演绎得最私密的，绝对增强了体验，即便手册中印制的文本及其译文的字号和字体无法获得任何验光师的认可。一张非凡的专辑。

古典

Georg Nigl/ Alexander Gergelyfi 舒伯特（Schubert）

Alpha Classics ★★★★☆

Duo Dorado 意大利之韵（Spice of Italy）

Chacoline ★★★★☆

17世纪的日记作者约翰·埃夫林（John Evelyn）在伦敦聆听时，称意大利小提琴手尼古拉·马泰伊斯（Nicola Matteis）的艺术造诣不仅是惊人的，而且是“惊人的”。

即便在今天，至少从他极具想象力的小提琴音乐来看，这种魅力依然令人目眩：四卷由咏叹调、前奏曲、加沃特舞曲、赋格以及其他曲目组成的作品集，直到上世纪末才在很大程度上被历史重新发掘。

埃夫林在马泰伊斯的音乐和演奏中听到的是意大利式的华丽技巧：这种特质在 Duo Dorado 散发出的热情与阳光中得到了强烈的呼应。该组合由小提琴手海泽尔·布鲁克斯（Hazel Brooks）和大键琴手大卫·波洛克（David Pollock）于1999年组成——这两个名字再英国不过了。

不过，请忘掉英国人的矜持，因为这对组合在演奏马泰伊斯犀利且快速的乐章时气势如虹，在庄重的萨拉班德舞曲中流连忘返，或是在马泰伊斯之子两首较为内敛的奏鸣曲之美中切换。 杰夫·布朗（Geoff Brown）

丛林（Jungle）

阳光（Sunshine）

Caiola

起初感觉 Jungle 乐队发行第五张专辑的时间似乎有点晚——并不是因为汤姆·麦克法兰（Tom McFarland）、乔什·劳埃德-沃森（Josh Lloyd-Watson）和莉迪亚·基托（Lydia Kitto）那些巧妙的复古迪斯科灵魂乐拼贴作错过了任何时尚潮流，而是因为《Sunshine》在季节末期才试图冲击“夏季之声”的领域。不过，得益于基托梦幻般的嗓音，在他们继2023年《Volcano》之后的这部续作中，边缘处透着一丝凉意，体现在《Carry On》的颤动中，在忧伤的狂欢曲《Come Back to Me》中，或是《Someday, Somewhere》中——那是你在海边酒吧跳舞时能感受到的极致惆怅。尽管如此，《Sunshine》依然保持着他们用氛围感“氦气”填满整个房间的能力。《The Wave》中类似《Music Sounds Better with You》的律动，或是《Move Like You Do》中那种如喷雾般轻盈的 Avalanches 风格放克，都丝毫没有削弱 Jungle 乐队那种足以填满体育场的积极氛围。

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9

电视

从 Tubi 到 Pluto —— 挑战 Netflix 的最佳免费流媒体平台

詹姆斯·杰克逊（James Jackson）表示，如果你不喜欢 Now 或 Disney+，在一些较小众的平台中也能发现瑰宝

如今观看电视就像处于一种持续的困境之中。当你点击任何流媒体服务目录中成排的磁贴时，面对的是无尽的选择（回想以前只有几个频道，偶尔抱怨几句重复播放，那时要简单得多）。接着是另一个困境：该为哪些流媒体服务掏钱。

如果你订阅英国所有最大的流媒体平台 —— Netflix、Prime Video、Disney+、Now、Apple TV 和 Paramount+ —— 除了执照费（今年 4 月上涨至每年 £180）之外，你每月可能还要支付近 £88。而如果你想观看圣诞节当天播出的新版《哈利·波特》系列？你还需要订阅 HBO Max。

或者，如果你选择每个流媒体平台的廉价档位，成本可以减半，但这意味着在观看《王冠》时需要忍受商业广告。这些更便宜的方案正变得受欢迎（去年年底，选择含广告套餐的人数首次超过了选择昂贵的无广告套餐的人数），但花钱买单还要看广告，是不是有点令人恼火？

虽然流媒体巨头占据了所有话题，但电视领域还在发生另一件事：替代性免费流媒体的兴起。你当然知道 iPlayer、ITVX 以及 Channel 4 和 5 的点播服务。英国通信管理局（Ofcom）上个月宣布，这些服务的观看量同比增长了 9%，使其成为增长最快的电视服务类别。现在 iPlayer 支撑着 BBC 的整体观看量。但 Tubi 呢？或者 Pluto TV，以及 Rakuten TV？听说过这些吗？

在行业术语中，你会称它们为 Avods（广告支持的点播视频）或 Fast（免费、广告支持的电视）。这些流媒体后起之秀，就像面对 Netflix 这个歌利亚巨人的大卫，它们在网上免费提供，无需账户，只要观看少量广告，即可换取数小时的观看内容。

在英国引领这一潮流的是 Tubi，它提供超过 75,000 部电影和电视集数，自 2024 年初推出以来，其目录规模扩大了三倍。上周，由福克斯公司（Fox Corp）拥有的 Tubi 在国际上宣布，

从顶部起顺时针方向：《鸟人》、《局外人》、《人类》和《桥》

其月活跃用户在 2026 年已达到 1.1 亿。其执行副总裁大卫·萨蒙（David Salmon）表示：“我们提供了一种平行的选择。在英国所有主流流媒体平台中，我们提供的内容最丰富。而且免费是一个优势 —— 当谈到进入门槛时，能够不受支付详情干扰地直接体验所提供的内容是一个巨大的优势。”

“总的来说，消费者的偏好非常广泛，而这整个 [免费含广告] 模式就是围绕着深度服务粉丝群体而构建的。我们的计划就是继续加倍投入，为用户提供尽可能多的选择，以便他们能更深入地探索。”

但谁在看 Tubi？根据 2025 年的一项 YouGov 调查，Tubi 英国观众中 51% 是 Z 世代和千禧一代观众，他们显然乐于绕过传统电视，同时在流媒体选择上精明且注重预算。

萨蒙表示，Tubi 的大多数观众在家里最大的屏幕上观看（五分之四通过联网电视屏幕观看）。这些流媒体平台可能预装在你的屏幕上，也可以通过手机、“投屏”、亚马逊 Fire stick 或其他设备进行播放。

浏览这些服务的首页可能会感觉有些随机，至少在算法算出该给你推送什么之前是这样。例如，初次尝试 Pluto TV 时，在《Catfish: The TV Show》和《Laguna Beach》等真人秀节目的一排下方，是相互挤在一起的猎鬼纪录片。

“快速”频道（Fast channels）也正在兴起，它们分布在 Tubi、Pluto 和 Rakuten 等平台，也可以在免费流媒体服务 Freely 上找到。Freely 由 BBC、ITV、Channel 4 和 5 支持，就像是 Freeview 的点播版本，拥有超过 75,000 小时的节目和电影（该平台已集成到新型智能电视中，或可通过插入电视的 Freely 设备访问）。

这些在线的 Fast 产品模仿传统的定时频道，但会策划特定节目，或将相同主题的节目或电影汇总在一起——这是一种介于点播和传统电视之间的中间地带。如果你真的厌倦了浏览菜单，并且觉得连续观看《朱迪法官》（Judge Judy）或《憨豆先生》（Mr Bean）是把时间花在正确的地方，那么这太棒了。

诚然，现代电视世界是一个多样化的事物。而且似乎你潜入得越深，就能发现越多瑰宝——而且是免费的，只需观看少量广告。

Tubi UK

它是什么？ 一个品牌色为紫色和黄色的组织良好的平台，浏览类别易于导航。除了来自美国的 Tubi 原创内容外，还有来自 Lionsgate 和 NBCUniversal 等好莱坞大制片厂的内容。Salmon 表示：“《Summer's Last Resort》（一部青少年喜剧）为我们带来了很好的反响。”

电视剧 例如，进入“Brit List”合集，你可以看到相当不错的旧剧集，从查理·布鲁克（Charlie Brooker）的讽刺剧《Dead Set》和预言 AI 的《Humans》等邪典剧，到喜剧《The IT Crowd》。例如，经典摇滚的死忠粉可以点击 Pink Floyd 来观看关于该乐队的（未经授权的）纪录片。

电影 英国电影包括《僵尸肖恩》（Shaun of the Dead）、《热血警探》（Hot Fuzz）和《鸡同鸭讲》（A Cock and Bull Story），而美国电影则包括《如果比尔街能说话》（If Beale Street Could Talk）和《多尼·达科》（Donnie Darko）。一排“邪典经典”中包括《谋杀绿脚趾》（The Big Lebowski）和《入侵者》（Invasion of the Body Snatchers）。

Pluto TV

它是什么？ 该流媒体服务于 2018 年在英国推出，目前由新成立的 Paramount Skydance 财团所有。

电视剧 除非你对真实犯罪纪录片，或者“真人秀”栏目中的《The Simple Life》或《Geordie Shore》等节目感兴趣，否则请前往“点播”（On demand）选项卡，并在“刷剧剧集”（Bingeable dramas）中搜索，可以找到包括《Monkey》和《Cugney & Lacey》在内的各种旧剧集。

电影 是一组令人困惑且杂乱的合集，但在“必看”（Must watch）栏目中有不错的作品：《鸟人》（Birdman）、《驾驶》（Drive）、《依然爱丽丝》（Still Alice）。

Rakuten TV

它是什么？ 该流媒体服务由同名的日本财团所有，导航起来可能有点让人不知所措，但某些电视剧集似乎没有广告。不过，它可能更侧重于提供的电影。

电视剧 在其中可以找到如《桥》（The Bridge）、《波根》（Borgen）和《杀戮》（The Killing）等北欧经典剧集。在“直播电视”（Live TV）选项卡中，儿童频道可以为幼儿提供背景娱乐。

电影 进入平台后，在免费观看电影中有一些不错的选择（《JFK》、《大空头》（The Big Short）、《副总统》（Vice）），同时 Rakuten 提供租赁服务（你需要注册）。《Disclosure Day》，价格为 £15.99，是 No 1。

TPTV Encore

它是什么？ 这是 Talking Pictures TV 的回看分支机构。注册后即可免费使用，或者可以选择一个没有广告且包含少量独家内容的付费版本。

电视剧 《Z Cars》、由理查德·格林（Richard Greene）主演的《罗宾汉历险记》（The Adventures of Robin Hood）、《劳莱与哈台》（Laurel and Hardy）等。

电影 一些精选的经典剪辑，例如詹姆斯·梅森（James Mason）出演的《局外人》（Odd Man Out）、《这个快乐的品种》（This Happy Breed）、《身在异乡的英国人》（An Englishman Abroad）以及 1981 年的英国邪典恐怖片《The Appointment》。

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10

first night

proms

洛杉矶爱乐乐团 / 杜达梅尔

伦敦，皇家阿尔伯特音乐厅 ★★★★☆☆

在执掌洛杉矶爱乐乐团的 17 年里，大力推广大量拉丁美洲作曲家的现代音乐，可能会被视为古斯塔沃·杜达梅尔（Gustavo Dudamel）最显著的成就。因此，在 BBC 逍遥音乐会（BBC Proms）的第二晚，由洛杉矶爱乐乐团演绎的一部最具野心的委约作品作为收尾，并在座无虚席的阿尔伯特音乐厅赢得热烈喝彩，显得十分恰当。

这是一部芭蕾舞剧，其故事取材于当代的头条新闻。2019 年，墨西哥城一名年轻女性涉嫌被警察强奸，这引发了女性的大规模抗议，她们在街道上撒下粉色亮粉——这场起义被命名为“钻石革命”（revolución diamantina）。这也是墨西哥作曲家加布里埃拉·奥尔蒂斯（Gabriela Ortiz）这部 42 分钟芭蕾舞剧的标题。她在节目单的注释中提到，这部作品还涉及其他针对女性暴力的反抗，包括针对其伴侣暴力的反抗。

虽然主题严肃，但奥尔蒂斯的血液中流淌着拉丁美洲的节奏（她的父母都是民间音乐家），在全剧六个乐章中，有几个乐章变成了远非阴郁的节奏盛宴，由一组打击乐器引领，并由来自洛杉矶大师合唱团（Los Angeles Master Chorale）的八位扩音女声歌手增强效果。她们主要发出有力且非语言的声音，直到接近结尾时才爆发式地喊出女权主义口号。

剧中也有一些沉思的时刻，以及暗示聚集人群愤怒情绪的愤怒音流。但考虑到阴暗的背景，整体基调显得出奇地充满活力。

至于音乐风格？这是一场后现代的大杂烩，其中明显向《春之祭》致敬，包含大量极简主义的脉动、流行歌曲的片段以及街道噪音的嘈杂（在一次高潮处，不可避免地出现了警察哨声的穿插）。

演出绝不枯燥，不出所料，杜达梅尔在指挥这部充满事件感和色彩的乐谱时如鱼得水。管弦乐团的演奏热情远高于此前演绎的贝多芬《第七交响曲》，后者直到强有力的终曲才真正焕发生机。

理查德·莫里森（Richard Morrison）

可在 BBC Sounds 聆听；今日在爱丁堡国际艺术节演出；可在 BBC4 / iPlayer 观看

中间的赞德·庞（Xander Pang）饰演义警 Light，与这部从不自命不凡的剧集演员共同出镜

漫画与极尽夸张的风格

凯特·马尔特比（Kate Maltby）表示，这个受欢迎的日本系列已被改编成一部欢乐的新音乐剧

戏剧

《死亡笔记》音乐剧 (Death Note: The Musical)

伦敦巴比肯中心 (340分钟) ★★★★☆

当杀手逍遥法外且司法系统崩溃时，我们该如何反应？日本漫画系列《死亡笔记》的核心问题在当下显得颇具时效性，因为这部音乐剧在政府提前释放计划引发的后续影响持续之时开演。在剧目的第一场戏中，我们见到了高中生夜神月（Light Yagami），他正对着一名凶手因技术性原因被判无罪的新闻愤怒不已。幸运的是，由于一个爱玩且无聊的神灵，月很快获得了随心所欲杀人的能力。不幸的是，他的私刑行为引起了他父亲领导的警察特别行动队的注意，以及一名拥有超能力的神秘侦探“L”的关注。

《死亡笔记》的世界观衍生出了 12 卷漫画系列、37 集动画改编作品、包括一部美国翻拍版在内的五部电影，以及电子游戏和小说化作品。每部作品都有自己的规则。但其他系列可能会要求观众具备先验知识，而《死亡笔记》音乐剧则努力吸引新观众（建议年龄 12 岁以上）。伊万·门奇尔（Ivan Menchiel）没有将月与 L 既有冒险故事中的所有支线情节全部塞进去，而是构建了一个简洁明了的剧本框架，讲述了一个单一且清晰的故事。无论是资深粉丝还是新手都会被其吸引。

饰演月的 Xander Pang 极具感染力，将我们诱入他日益黑暗的内心世界。然而，让这部音乐剧脱颖而出的是穿插在其他表演中的幽默感，尤其是 Colin Ryan 饰演的 L——那位像夏洛克一样古怪的侦探，以及 Telly Leung 饰演的像洛基一样的 Ryuk——月那愤世嫉俗的死神（shinigami，日本个人死亡之神）。《死亡笔记》的乐趣在于它从未把自己看得太严肃。这些角色极具夸张风格（high camp）且完全荒诞，而他们自己也心知肚明。这纯粹是一场极大的乐趣。

在唱功方面，所有演员在弗兰克·怀尔德霍恩（Frank Wildhorn）的摇滚歌剧配乐中表现出色，但最令人惊喜的表演来自饰演 Rem 的 Grace Mouat，Rem 是一位监视月之爱人的竞争死神。她的力量情歌《When Love Comes》是一个令人起鸡皮疙瘩的时刻，因为 Rem 意识到她必须介入，即使是以牺牲自己的永生为代价。在此之前，众神在剧中最令人难忘的曲目之一《They're Only Human》中联合演出。Rem 是一位身着白衣的冰之女神，她未能对凡人保持这种冷漠态度；而由中原幸子（Sachiko Nakahara）设计黑色皮革和外露骨骼服装的 Ryuk，则保持了令人愉悦的超然。

演出至 9 月 12 日

喜剧

Ed Night

Monkey Barrel, 爱丁堡 ★★★★☆

不少不同年龄段的喜剧演员都能快速抛出地道的笑料，其构思之精巧与呈现之随意相得益彰。不少年轻演员也会触及心理健康和被房价挤出住房市场等议题。但谁能比 Ed Night 更精准地将这两者结合在一起？

他年仅 30 岁，但已表演十年。在这部比去年获得爱丁堡喜剧奖提名、实现突破的作品更出色的 Fringe 续作中，他给人一种“年轻的老大师”之感——面孔清秀，带着一股投机商的气质。不过，他一边拄着拐杖，一边护理着最近骨折的脚告诉我们，到目前为止他已经经历了第八次或第九次“突破”了。“我负担不起再次突破的代价。”

在《We'll Be Alright, Darling》中，Night 将一种忧郁的疏离感与极强的放松感融合在一起。有时他会给我们一个共谋般的眼神，仿佛在说：“你能相信我刚才那样说……不过，效果不错吧？”他将自己的讲述包裹在最近在医院候诊室度过的时光中。除此之外，这位来自南伦敦、气质略显古怪的演员涵盖了从《罗诉韦德案》到自由通行证，从双性恋到抑郁症与强迫症（OCD）之间相互冲突的需求等所有话题。

他涵盖了从心理健康到肉汁船的所有内容

然而，除非伴随着笑话，否则他不会提及任何问题。这里有关于语言、成功、男性气概、自杀和代际不平等的思考。这里同样有关于肉汁船的笑料，其数量之多，超出了我想象中一生能接触到的量，更不用说是在一小时之内。

Night 经常提到他的母亲；较少提到他的父亲——喜剧演员兼脱口秀节目编剧 Kevin Day。他继承了父亲的匠心。但实际上，他拥有一种隐秘且悄悄揭示的幽默感，这是完全属于他自己的。

Dominic Maxwell 至 8 月 30 日

在橱窗模特的人群簇拥下，Nichola McAuliffe 在《Annie Wobbler》(Revisited) 中深入挖掘了三个截然不同女性的内心世界。自剧作家 Arnold Wesker 为这位女演员创作这些独白并最终将其带到西区以来，已经过去了 40 多年。现在，她在 Pleasance Dome 呈现了一篇按时间顺序重新排列的文本，其中散布着一些 21 世纪的元素。

结果令人着迷。McAuliffe 简短地消失在屏风后更换服装，让自己沉浸在每个角色中，从一名缺乏自信的大学毕业生开始，随后转变为一名畅销书作家，以及剧名中的角色——一位唠唠叨叨的老太太

戏剧

《安妮·沃布勒（重访）》(Annie Wobbler (Revisited))

爱丁堡普莱森斯圆顶剧院 (Pleasance Dome, Edinburgh)（90分钟） ★★★★☆

尼古拉·麦考利夫 (Nichola McAuliffe) 的表演令人着迷

显然，这个角色是韦斯克 (Wesker) 自身在东区童年时期经常见到的人物。正如近期在伦敦阿尔梅达剧院 (Almeida) 复排的五十年代家庭剧《根》(Roots) 一样，剧本的犀利提醒人们，复排韦斯克的作品已是迟早的事。

在开篇的小品中，一个犹豫不决的年轻女性凭借她的法语学位试图在约会市场中寻找方向，而一个自鸣得意且未出场的追求者则成了她讽刺的目标。在第二个微型剧目中，一位名叫安娜贝拉·沃顿 (Annabella Wharton) 的成功小说家在应对一名隐形采访者的提问。金钱是讨论的话题之一。

在《夏洛克的诞生与零·莫斯特尔之死》(The Birth of Shylock and the Death of Zero Mostel)——这部关于韦斯克重新诠释《威尼斯商人》(The Merchant of Venice) 失败的幕后日记中，有一段令人动容的文字：在成为百老汇红人的憧憬中，他兴奋地计算着预计将滚滚而来的资金数额。而沃顿则是个更冷静的人；她喜欢给人一种她并不在乎其瑞士银行账户资金多少的印象。

随后登场的是衰老的安妮，她在火车站消磨时光，在记忆的碎片中徘徊。她的思绪无法停止游离。尽管黑暗即将吞噬她，但她仍有故事要讲述。这是一个催眠般表演的凄美结尾。

克莱夫·戴维斯 (Clive Davis)

演出至8月31日，随后于9月2日至26日在伦敦芬伯勒剧院 (Finborough Theatre, London) 上演

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11

电视与广播

这部最新的时代剧女主角简直太逗了

James Jackson 电视评论

《我的辉煌职业》（My Brilliant Career） Netflix ★★★★☆

谁不喜欢澳大利亚的电视节目？其剧集（如《新闻播报员》）、喜剧（如《账户里的科林》、《菲斯克》）、肥皂剧（如《邻居》）以及儿童节目（如《布鲁伊》）都拥有一种自然且不造作的活力，让我们怎么看都看不够。现在，这部澳大利亚时代剧再次创造了奇迹——它没有试图显得过于聪明，而是以幽默的方式，像一只憨憨的袋鼠一样欢快地跳跃前行。《我的辉煌职业》就像是本周新剧荒漠中的一片水潭。没错，这部改编自迈尔斯·富兰克林女性主义小说的情节听起来

与数百部其他时代剧的轻快剧情如出一辙：一名生活在1900年的年轻女性被要求结婚，但由于她拥有不可遏制的自由精神，她对男人 / 浪漫之类的事情毫无兴趣。这又是老一套，只不过……这是澳大利亚风格。到第15分钟时，西比拉（Sybylla）就蹲在花园里，在裙子下面撒尿，可见其不拘小节的精神。

但最重要的是，这部剧之所以成功，是因为饰演西比拉的女演员太逗了。整部剧有时感觉就像是围绕着菲莉帕·诺斯伊斯特（Philippa Northeast）的脸构建的，她的表情如此丰富：宽阔的双眼之间皱起眉头，嘴角在即将发笑时向下撇。

西比拉是一位渴望撰写华丽且大胆散文的作家，她不得不离开贫穷不堪的波萨姆谷（Possum Gully）家族农场，前往高档的卡达加特（Caddagat）寻找一位绅士，那里是古怪的祖母温妮弗雷德（Winifred，安娜·钱斯勒 饰）拥有的庄园。西比拉的姐姐格蒂（Gertie）很兴奋，建议她：“也许你会遇到一个英俊的陌生人，然后陷入绝望的爱河！”对此，西比拉一脸不屑地反驳道：“那是你的梦想，格蒂。不是我的！”接下来会发生什么呢？

西比拉偶然撞见哈里·比查姆（Harry Beecham，由《慢马》中的 Christopher Chung 饰演）在马儿身边脱掉衬衫，露出肌肉线条分明的躯干。好吧，她并没有因为无法抑制的欲望而脸红，反而乐于将他的性感

菲莉帕·诺斯伊斯特饰演“不拘小节”的西比拉·梅尔文

转化为一个比喻（“太阳烧掉露水，就像干掉的汗水……”）。然而不久之后，当他们牵手共舞时，她几乎晕厥过去。

这段舞蹈场景配的不是陈腐的罗杰·德·科弗利爵士，而是乐队演绎的罗德·斯图尔特的《年轻土耳其人》（Young Turks），比该曲发行早了82年（因为现在的每部时代剧都必须配上一个时代错位的原声带）。这就像这里的每一样东西，在令人抓狂和极具感染力之间徘徊，而后者最终胜出。

西比拉跳舞的样子像一只跺脚的、长发凌乱的袋熊。至于 Chung，无论你是否觉得他迷人，毫无疑问，他与《慢马》中那个令人尴尬的“罗德齐拉”混蛋相去甚远，反而展现出一种令人愉悦的魅力。

接着是一个三角恋……好吧，我把这部剧说得相当俗气，这不公平。或许，与让朱迪·戴维斯和萨姆·尼尔开启辉煌职业生涯的1979年电影改编版不同，这部剧采用了非常2020年代的处理方式——不像《布里杰顿》那样令人厌烦地“性感”，但加入了同性恋副线，并插入了显然是面向 Z 世代的 Wet Leg 乐队歌曲。

但它具有自觉意识，并没有出卖富兰克林小说中的赋权信息。而且，诺斯伊斯特出色的表演——以及周围讨喜的澳大利亚人们——证明了无论年龄大小，任何人都会喜欢这部剧。她真是太棒了。

BBC 逍遥音乐会（BBC Proms） Radio 3, 晚上7点

由首席客座指挥埃德温·奥特沃特（Edwin Outwater）率领的BBC音乐会管弦乐团与客座歌手共同庆祝马文·盖伊（Marvin Gaye），如上图所示。演出包含了对他职业生涯中歌曲的新编曲，从经典的流行曲目《I Heard It Through the Grapevine》到后期受政治影响的作品如《What's Going On》。在幕间休息时，V&A东馆馆长古斯·卡塞利-海福德（Gus Casely-Hayford）讨论了他对盖伊音乐的热爱，以及该博物馆的开幕展《音乐是黑色的：一个英国故事》（The Music Is Black: A British Story），以及他关于该馆藏所著的书籍《物品与我们：为何事物至关重要》（Objects & Us: Why Things Matter）。克莱尔·伍德沃德（Clair Woodward）

Times Radio

数字频道、网页、智能扬声器、应用程序 5.00am Tom Nunan 主持《早间早餐》(Early Breakfast) 6.00 Rosie Wright 和 Calum Macdonald 主持《Times Radio 早餐》(Times Radio Breakfast) 10.00 Ed Vaizey 1.00pm Dom Joly 4.00 Carolyn Quinn 主持《Times Radio 驾车时间》(Times Radio Drive) 7.00 Geoff Norcott 10.00 Henry Bonsu 1.00am 《Times Radio 精选》(The Best of Times Radio)

Radio 2

FM: 88-90.2 MHz 6.30am 《Sara Cox 早餐秀》(The Sara Cox Breakfast Show) 9.30 Vernon Kay 12.00 Jeremy Vine 2.00pm Mark Goodier 4.00 Joel Dommett 7.00 Michelle Visage 8.30 《Michelle Visage 的手袋金曲》(Michelle Visage's Handbag Hits) 9.00 《Sophie Ellis-Bextor 的厨房迪斯科》(Sophie Ellis-Bextor's Kitchen Disco) 11.00 Shaun Keaveny 主持《摇滚秀》(The Rock Show) 12.00 Romesh Ranganathan：《热爱嘻哈》(For the Love of Hip-Hop) (r) 1.00am Tony Blackburn 的《灵魂之声》(Sounds of Soul) 2.00 《流行金曲》(Pick of the Pops) (r) 4.00 Angela Griffin 主持《Radio 2 放松时刻》(Radio 2 Unwinds) (r)

Radio 3

FM: 90.2-92.4 MHz 6.30am 《早餐》(Breakfast) 9.30 《经典精选》(Essential Classics) 1.00pm 《古典现场》(Classical Live) 包括周二晚间逍遥音乐会 (Prom) 的曲目，以及来自全球各地的节日录音，包括 Veriber 艺术节和哥本哈根的 Festival and Friends。圣-桑（A小调序曲与随想曲，Op 28）；班托克（序曲——《分钟许可》/ The Permit of the Minute）；巴采维奇（第一号钢琴五重奏）；贝多芬（F大调第六交响曲——《田园》）；华金·德普雷斯（圣咏曲——《噢，善良且最甜蜜的耶稣》/ O bone et dulcissime Jesu）；普朗克（长笛奏鸣曲）；以及巴托克（管弦乐协奏曲）

4.00 本周作曲家：Montgérault (1764-1836) Donald Macleod 和 Clare Hammond 探讨 Hélène de Montgérault 的音乐印记 (r) 5.00 《in Tune》 7.00 《BBC 逍遥音乐会现场精选》(Choice Live BBC Proms) Edwin Outwater 和 BBC 音乐厅管弦乐团在皇家阿尔伯特音乐厅演绎另一场交响冒险，重点呈现灵魂乐传奇 Marvin Gaye 的音乐。曲目包括 I Heard it Through the Grapevine；Too Busy Thinking About My Baby, Sunny, How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You), Can I Get a Witness, It Takes Two; Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing, If I Could Build my Whole World Around You; Your Precious Love; My Mistake (Was to Love You); You're All I Need to Get By; Ain't No Mountain High Enough; Let's Get It On; Mercy Mercy Me; Trouble Man; Inner City Blues; Here, my dear; After the Dance; I Want You; A Funky Space Reincarnation; Got to Give It Up 以及 What's Going On 10.00 《深夜接点》(Late Junction) 重点呈现 Savina Yannatou 与 Johannes 'Mo'ong' Santoso Pribadi 的合作 11.30 《午夜时分》(Round Midnight) Jamie Collum 主持 12.30am 《彻夜》(Through the Night)

Radio 4

FM: 92.4-94.6 MHz 5.00am 新闻摘要 (News Summary) 5.04 《简报室》(The Briefing Room) (r) 5.34 航运预报 (Shipping Forecast) 5.43 今日祷告 (Prayer for the Day) 5.45 今日农业 (Farming Today) 6.00 《今日》(Today) 9.00 《荒岛唱片》(Desert Island Discs) (r) 10.00 《女性时间》(Woman's Hour) 由 Anita Rani 主持 11.00 《美食节目》(The Food Programme)

11.45 本周之书：《广岛，8.15：失落的回忆录》(Hiroshima, 8.15: The Lost Memoir)，作者 Kiyoshi Tanimoto 和 Koko Kondo。由 Mark Takeshi Ota 和 Naoko Mori 朗读，Jo Rowntree 和 Lisa Lipman 节选 (5/5) 12.04pm 《稀土》(Rare Earth) (1/6) 1.00 《一点钟的世界》(The World at One) 1.45 《人类智能》(Human Intelligence) 2.00 《拱手者》(The Archers) (r) 2.15 戏剧：《中央情报》(Central Intelligence)，作者 Greg Haddrick (6/10) 2.45 《生活在边缘》(Living on the Edge) (7/10) (r) 3.00 《园丁问答时间》(Gardeners' Question Time) 3.45 《短篇作品》(Short Works) 4.00 《最后之言》(Last Word) 4.30 《侧向》(Sideways) (5/8) (r) 5.00 《PM》 6.00 六点新闻 (Six O'Clock News) 6.30 《民众已发声》(The People Have Spoken) Ian Smith 为世界问题寻求讽刺性的解决方案 (1/3) 7.00 《拱手者》(The Archers) Brookfield 达成一项决定 7.15 《添加到播放列表》(Add to Playlist) Soweto Kinch 和 NoLay 挑选英国黑人艺术家的曲目 (1/6) 8.00 《有任何问题吗？》(Any Questions?) 由 Alex Forsyth 主持 8.55 《本周历史》(This Week in History) (r) 9.00 Natalie Haynes 为古典文学发声 (Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics) (3/7) (r) 9.30 《打破循环》(Breakin' the Cycle) (3/6) (r) 10.00 《今夜世界》(The World Tonight) 10.45 《睡前书》(Book at Bedtime) 《韦克菲尔德的牧师》(The Vicar of Wakefield) (10/10) 11.00 《美国主义者》(Americanist) 11.30 《好书推荐》(A Good Read) (8/9) (r) 12.00 新闻与天气 (News and Weather) 12.30am 本周之书：《广岛，8.15：失落的回忆录》。第五部分，也是最后一部分 (r) 12.48 航运预报 (Shipping Forecast) 1.00 转播 BBC 世界服务 (As BBC World Service)

Radio 4 Extra

仅限数字广播 上午 8.00 《忏悔录》(The Confessional) 8.30 《艾德里安·莫尔：卡布奇诺岁月》(Adrian Mole: Cappuccino Years)

8.45 《小岛》(Small Island) 9.00 奥尔加·科赫：《OK 计算机》(Olga Koch: OK Computer) 9.30 《火星入侵之后》(Following the Martian Invasion) 9.45 《每日服务》(Daily Service) 10.00 《灵魂音乐》(Soul Music) 10.30 《飞行员》(Pilot) 11.00 《远方的狼》(The Wolf Far Hence) 11.30 《高级合伙人》(The Senior Partner) 12.00 《升旗》(Flying the Flag) 下午 12.30 《超出我们的认知》(Beyond Our Ken) 1.00 《忏悔录》 1.30 《艾德里安·莫尔：卡布奇诺岁月》 1.45 《小岛》 2.00 《好奇心博物馆》(The Museum of Curiosity) 2.30 《密里波尔》(Millipore) 3.00 《猎捕信天翁》(The Hunting of the Snark) 3.45 《短篇作品》(Short Works) 4.00 《灵魂音乐》 4.30 《飞行员》 5.00 《远方的狼》 5.30 《高级合伙人》 6.00 《升旗》 6.30 《超出我们的认知》 7.00 《忏悔录》 7.30 《艾德里安·莫尔：卡布奇诺岁月》 7.45 《小岛》 8.00 《好奇心博物馆》 8.30 《密里波尔》 9.00 《猎捕信天翁》 9.45 《短篇作品》 10.00 奥尔加·科赫：《OK 计算机》 10.30 恩詹比·麦格拉斯：《成为恩詹比》(Njambi McGrath: Becoming Njambi) 10.45 里瓦·詹姆斯 (Riva James Is) 11.00 《通风口》(Vent) 11.30 劳拉·索隆：《谈话与不谈话》(Laura Solon: Talking and Not Talking)

Radio 5 Live

中波 (MW): 692, 909 上午 5.00 《金钱觉醒》(Wake Up to Money) 6.00 《5 Live 早报》(5 Live Breakfast) 9.00 尼基·坎贝尔 (Nicky Campbell) 11.00 戈登·斯马特 (Gordon Smart) 下午 1.00 艾拉·詹姆斯与约翰·罗宾斯 (Ella James and John Robins) 2.00 马特·乔利 (Matt Chorley) 4.00 《5 Live 驾驶》(5 Live Drive) 7.00 《5 Live 体育》(5 Live Sport) 8.30 田径 10.00 斯蒂芬·诺兰 (Stephen Nolan) 凌晨 1.00 查理·泰勒 (Charlie Taylor)

talkSPORT

中波 (MW): 1053, 1089 kHz 上午 5.00 《早间体育早餐》(Early Sports Breakfast) 6.00 艾伦·巴西尔 (Alan Brazil) 10.00 萨姆·马特费斯与亚历克斯·克鲁克 (Sam Matterface & Alex Crook) 下午 1.00 霍克斯比与雅各布斯 (Hawksbee and Jacobs) 4.00 《talkSPORT 驾驶》(talkSPORT Drive) 7.00 开球：伍尔弗汉普顿流浪者 对阵 布莱克本流浪者 (开球 8.00)。

10.00 《体育酒吧周末》(The Sports Bar Weekender) 体育新闻与辩论 凌晨 1.00 《与本·弗莱彻的额外时间》(Extra Time with Ben Fletcher)

Talk

仅限数字广播 上午 6.00 伊恩·柯林斯 (Ian Collins) 10.00 亚历克斯·菲利普斯 (Alex Phillips) 下午 1.00 大卫·布尔 (David Bull) 4.00 凯文·欧苏利文 (Kevin O'Sullivan) 7.00 彼得·卡德韦尔 (Peter Cardwell) 9.00 《刚刚发生了什么？》(What Just Happened?) 主持：凯文·欧苏利文 10.00 安德烈·沃克 (Andre Walker) 特邀 Ash 凌晨 1.00 本·弗莱彻 (Ben Fletcher)

6 Music

仅限数字广播 上午 5.00 《混音》(The Remix) 主持：克里斯·霍金斯 (Chris Hawkins) 5.30 克里斯·霍金斯 7.00 尼克·格里姆肖 (Nick Grimshaw) 10.00 劳伦·拉文 (Lauren Laverne) 下午 1.00 克雷格·查尔斯 (Craig Charles) 4.00 休·斯蒂芬斯 (Huw Stephens) 7.00 《人民党》(The People's Party) 主持：费米·科莱奥索 (Femi Koleoso) 9.00 《独立永恒》(Indie Forever) 11.00 《6 Mix》主持：玛丽·安妮·霍布斯 (Mary Anne Hobbs) 12.00 《6 Music 稀有永恒》(6 Music's Rare Forever) 凌晨 1.00 《永恒之暗》(Forever Dark) 2.00 《聚焦节拍》(Focus Beats) 4.00 《氛围聚焦》(Ambient Focus)

Virgin Radio

仅限数字广播 上午 6.30 《克里斯·埃文斯早报秀》(The Chris Evans Breakfast Show) 10.00 艾玛 D (Emma D) 下午 2.00 本·琼斯 (Ben Jones) 6.00 斯图·埃尔莫尔 (Stu Elmore) 10.00 Goldierocks 凌晨 2.00 珍·托马斯 (Jen Thomas)

Classic FM

调频 (FM): 100-102 MHz 上午 6.30 《Classic FM 早报》主持：蒂姆·利豪 (Tim Lihoreau) 9.00 《Classic FM 名人堂之小时》主持：蒂姆·利豪 10.00 亚历克·琼斯 (Alec Jones) 下午 1.00 安妮-玛丽·明霍尔 (Anne-Marie Minhall) 4.00 玛格丽塔·泰勒 (Margherita Taylor) 6.00 《Classic FM 瞬间》主持：乔纳森·罗斯 (Jonathan Ross) 8.00 《古典聚焦》(Classical Spotlight) 主持：亚历山大·阿姆斯特朗 (Alexander Armstrong) 10.00 《宁静古典》(Calm Classics) 凌晨 2.00 凯蒂·布雷斯威克 (Katie Breathwick)

---

12

电视

今日推荐

Frank Skinner: 30 Years of Dirt (Sky One/Now, 晚上 9 点)

“他们用黑白片拍摄这个，”弗兰克·斯金纳（Frank Skinner）对他在伦敦东部沃尔瑟姆斯托（Walthamstow）索霍剧院（Soho Theatre）中那些头发花白的粉丝们说道。“他们说人们就是这样看待我的。下周将发行 VHS 录像带。”他高举双臂登场，以一个售罄了包括三场西区演出在内的全国巡演的男人的自信与理所当然，接受着粉丝们欣喜的掌声，随后他以抱怨前排的两个空座作为开场。（他带着一种故意让座位空着的姿态解释道，如果他在回家路上开车经过时，看到这两个没来的人被切成碎片留在车里，他会感觉好得多）。今年夏天足球可能没有回归故土，但凭借《30 Years of Dirt》，斯金纳赢得了胜利。——海伦·斯图尔特 (Helen Stewart)

弗兰克·斯金纳 (Sky One/Now, 晚上 9 点)

逍遥音乐会上的贝多芬第七交响曲 BBC4, 7pm

在参加完世界杯决赛中场秀后，委内瑞拉指挥家古斯塔沃·杜达梅尔（Gustavo Dudamel）将呈现他本季的第二场逍遥音乐会。他将率领洛杉矶爱乐乐团带来一个充满活力与舞蹈感的迷人夜晚，将贝多芬的《第七交响曲》与加布里埃拉·奥尔蒂斯（Gabriela Ortiz）的《钻石革命》（Revolucion diamantina）相结合。如果今年2月在洛杉矶演出的类似活动的评论具有参考价值，那么这将是一个由杜达梅尔标志性的肢体感和动能所定义的壮丽夜晚。《第七交响曲》非常契合他的风格，具有一种向着欢快、舞动般的终曲推进的驱动感。中场休息后将迎来奥尔蒂斯作品的英国首演，该作品灵感来自墨西哥2019年的“闪亮革命”（Glitter Revolution）抗议活动，旨在反对国家针对妇女和女孩的暴力。乔治亚·曼（Georgia Mann）主持。HS

BBC1

6.00am 早安节目 (Breakfast) 9.30 动物公园 (Animal Park) (r) (AD) 10.00 追踪、寻找，找回我的车 (Trace, Track, Get My Car Back) (r) 10.30 欧洲田径锦标赛直播：伯明翰 2026. 珍妮特·夸尔弗（Jeanette Kwalver）在亚历山大体育场主持第五天开幕时段的报道，七项全能赛将以100米栏和跳高拉开帷幕 1.15pm BBC一点钟新闻；天气预报 1.40 BBC地区新闻；天气预报 1.50 BBC一点钟新闻；天气预报 2.00 理发师谜案 (The Hairdresser Mysteries)。万圣节随之而来，伴随着令人惊恐的犯罪浪潮，莉莉有了一个令人胆寒的发现 (AD) 2.45 逃往乡村 (Escape to the Country)。一对夫妇在阿盖尔和比特寻求新家 (r) (AD) 3.30 修理铺 (The Repair Shop)。包括一台旧打卡钟在内的物品得到修复 (r) (AD) 4.30 答案赛 (The Answer Run)。快节奏问答赛 5.15 无用之题 (Pointless)。问答系列赛 (r) 6.00 BBC六点钟新闻；天气预报 6.30 BBC地区新闻；天气预报

BBC2

6.30am 答案赛 (The Answer Run) (r) 7.15 无偿之财 (Money for Nothing) (r) 8.00 手语区：马库斯·沃林纯粹普罗旺斯 (Marcus Wareing Simply Provence)。合辑版 (r) (SL) 9.00 BBC新闻 10.30 古董公路旅行 (Antiques Road Trip) (r) 11.15 锤下之屋 (Homes Under the Hammer) (r) 12.15pm 淘宝猎人 (Bargain Hunt) (r) (AD) 1.00 理查德·奥斯马的游戏屋 (Richard Osmaris House of Games) (r) 1.30 终点线 (The Finish Line)。问答节目 (r) 2.15 你了解你的星球吗？雷克瑟姆 (Do You Know Your Planet? Wrexham) (r) 2.45 大裂谷：非洲的野性之心 (The Great Rift: Africa's Wild Heart)。大裂谷火山的水路 (r) (AD) 3.45 大裂谷：非洲的野性之心 (The Great Rift: Africa's Wild Heart)。东非的草原 (r) (AD) 4.35 经典古董路演 (Vintage Antiques Roadshow)。(r) 5.15 甩卖 III：来自贝辛斯托克 (Flog III: From Basingstoke) (r) 6.00 理查德·奥斯马的游戏屋 (Richard Osmaris House of Games)。克里斯·比松、丹妮尔·哈罗德、凯瑟琳·梅里和罗伯特·韦伯参加 (r) 6.30 贝尔·格里尔斯：荒野清算 (Bear Grylls: Wild Reckoning)。为一对无法就购买何种类型的房屋达成一致的夫妇提供帮助 (r) (AD)

ITV1

6.00am 早安英国 (Good Morning Britain) 10.00 此刻 (This Morning) 1.30pm ITV新闻；天气预报 2.00 迪金森的真实交易 (Dickinson's Real Deal)。大卫·迪金森及其交易员团队在奥尔德姆设摊，艾莉森·查普曼在这里获得了一些木偶，而谢丽尔·哈克尼则看中了一枚精美的胸针 (r) (AD) 3.00 成交或不成交 (Deal or No Deal)。斯蒂芬·穆尔赫恩主持，另一名参赛者尝试按正确顺序打开 22 个红盒子，与臭名昭著的“银行家”对决，以争取赢得改变生活的现金大奖 (r) (AD) 4.00 倾斜点 (Tipping Point)。本·谢泼德主持这场以街机为主题的问答赛，参赛者将代币投入四个选定滑道中的一个，希望能赢得 1 万英镑 奖金 (r) 5.00 追击 (The Chase)。布拉德利·沃尔什主持，另外四名参赛者回答问题并团队协作，挑战一名冷酷的“追击者”以赢取现金奖金 (r) 6.00 地区新闻；天气预报 6.30 ITV新闻；天气预报

Channel 4

6.30am 《女王之王》(The King of Queens) (r) (AD) 7.45 《大家都爱雷蒙》(Everybody Loves Raymond) (r) (AD) 9.10 《弗雷泽》(Fraser) (r) (AD) 11.10 《拉姆齐的厨房噩梦：美国篇》(Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA)。为一家陷入困境的意大利餐厅提供帮助 (r) 12.05pm Channel 4 新闻摘要 12.10 《寻找、修复、出售》(Find It, Fix It, Flog It)。轮毂被改造成为一对舒适的小凳子 (r) (AD) 1.10 《大宅赠送》(The Great House Giveaway)。两名陌生人购买并翻新了一处房产 (r) 2.10 《倒计时》(Countdown)。前《神父泰德》(Father Ted) 明星 Pauline McLynn 出现在词典角 3.00 《阳光之所》(A Place in the Sun)。一名苏格兰男子在大加那利岛寻找度假屋 (r) 4.00 《与 Penelope Keith 共救乡村大宅》(Saving Country Houses with Penelope Keith)。在多塞特郡，雨水和风暴威胁着 Mapperion House 的年度植物展 (r) (AD) 5.00 《城堡 DIY》(Château DIY)。在 Saugé 城堡，巨大的苏格兰主题套房翻新工作已完成 (r) (AD) 6.00 《美国拾荒者》(American Pickers)。在华盛顿特区发现了一批来自美国最古老的自行车和体育用品店之一的藏品 (r) (AD)

5

6.00am Milkshake! 9.15 杰里米·Vine (Jeremy Vine) 11.30 Storm & Aliosis 12.45pm 午间5点新闻 (5 News at Lunchtime) 12.50 马特·奥尔赖特 (Matt Allwright) 2.20 电影：《我丈夫的七个妻子》(My Husband's Seven Wives) (PG, TVM, 2024) 一名女子遇到一名陌生人，对方声称同样是其丈夫的妻子，两人随后揭开围绕在他身边的谎言之网。惊悚片，由克里斯蒂·默多克 (Kristi Murdoch)、克里斯蒂娜·利恰迪 (Christina Licciardi) 和凯莉·德尔雷 (Kylie Delre) 主演 4.00 《城堡》(Castle)。一个神秘的重复梦境促使城堡和贝克特去寻找关于他失踪 2 个月期间的一些答案——但他们对真相的追寻带来了致命的后果 (r) 4.55 《自然之爱》(Love Nature)。冬季的艾莱岛 (Islay)，苏格兰最南端的内赫布里底群岛 (r) 5.00 丹·沃克 (Dan Walker) 主持的5点新闻 6.00 《伊比萨：地中海之珠》(Ibiza: Jewel of the Med)。访问以世界级夜生活和丰富文化历史而闻名的巴利阿里群岛 (r) 6.55 5点新闻更新

7.00 《One Show at 20》亚历克斯·琼斯 (Alex Jones) 和罗曼·肯普 (Roman Kemp) 主持的特别延长版，汇集了这部杂志类节目过去 20 年中的一些顶尖人物、最受欢迎的故事和突出时刻

7.00 欧洲田径锦标赛直播：伯明翰 2026 报道来自亚历山大体育场第 5 天晚间场次的赛事。项目包括女子 10,000 米决赛，同时七项全能的铅球比赛也将继续。报道将在 BBC One 频道继续

7.30 《艾比·克兰西：名人住宅》(Abbey Clancy: Celebrity Homes) 主持人访问了时尚博主兼《爱之岛》(Love Island) 明星奥利维亚·鲍恩 (Olivia Bowen) 以及巴斯侯爵夫人艾玛·辛恩 (Emma Thynn) 的住宅 (2 / 6) (r)

7.00 第 4 频道新闻 (Channel 4 News)

7.00 《汤姆·里德·威尔逊的壮丽之旅》(Tom Read Wilson's Magnificent Journey) 在穿越阿尔卑斯山后，汤姆在科莫湖的美景中找到了慰藉，在戴上面具参加威尼斯狂欢节之前，他访问了巴尔比亚内洛别墅 (Villa Balbianello) (2 / 3) (r)

8.00 欧洲田径锦标赛直播：伯明翰 2026 加比·洛根 (Gabby Logan) 继续报道亚历山大体育场第 5 天晚间场次的赛事。锦标赛中最受期待的项目之一将为夜晚收尾，英国的卫冕冠军基莉·霍奇金森 (Keely Hodgkinson)、荷兰 400 米世界纪录保持者费米克·布罗德斯-博尔 (Femike Broeders-Bol) 以及瑞士新星奥德丽·韦罗 (Audrey Werro) 预计都将参与女子 800 米的竞争。男子跳高、400 米栏、200 米以及女子铁饼的决赛也将举行

8.00 《园艺世界》(Gardeners' World) 随着干旱给朗米多 (Longmeadow) 带来影响，蒙蒂·唐 (Monty Don) 对他的花园进行了盘点。与此同时，弗朗西斯·蒂皮尔 (Frances Tiphill) 探索了北德文郡克洛夫利 (Clovelly) 的悬崖园艺，亚当·弗罗斯特 (Adam Frost) 访问了一个诺福克郡的历史厨房花园

8.00 《艾默代尔》(Emmerdale) 刘易斯用一个宣布让凯夫感到惊讶，贝尔敦促迪伦去看心理咨询师 (AD) 8.30 《加冕街》(Coronation Street) 露西的出现引发了冲突，莎拉在狱友中找到了盟友 (AD)

8.00 《超级富豪的手术秘密》(Surgery Secrets of the Super Rich) 一名美容记者接受了 9,500 英镑 纳米脂肪治疗以改善她的眼下阴影，一名前职业足球运动员通过一项长达八小时的移植手术正面解决脱发问题 (5 / 6) (AD)

8.00 《亚历山大·阿姆斯特朗在斯里兰卡》(Alexander Armstrong in Sri Lanka) 主持人前往印度洋的天堂之岛，探索其历史文化。他的第一站是加勒 (Galle) 堡垒之城，该城由葡萄牙人在 1588 年建造 (1 / 3) (r)

10.00 BBC 十点新闻 10.30 BBC 地区新闻和天气预报 10.40 《安·德罗伊德》(Ann Droid) 琳达和苏去露营，在晴朗的天空下观看流星雨。请参阅当日精选 (5 / 6) (AD)

10.30 《新闻之夜》(Newsnight) 头条分析

10.00 《阿曼达·诺克斯的扭曲故事》(The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox) 4 年后，阿曼达和拉斐莱终于恢复良好——但对阿曼达来说，家感觉变得陌生，而且她面对的是一个依然决心让她为一项她并未犯下的罪行而受苦的公众 (7 / 8) (AD)

10.00 《大肥趣：精彩片段》(Big Fat Quiz: Best Bits) 各种想象得到的问答灾难接踵而至，搞笑的演员们在《大肥趣》的一些最精彩时刻中陷入窘境

10.30 《皮尔斯·摩根：无审查》(Piers Morgan: Uncensored) 观点主导的新闻与辩论

11.10 电影：《母亲的直觉》(Mothers' Instinct) (15, 2024) 当一场意外打破了两名家庭主妇和谐的生活，愧疚、怀疑和偏执损害了她们姐妹般的纽带。由安妮·海瑟薇、杰西卡·查斯坦和乔什·查尔斯主演的剧情片。查看电影选择

11.05 电影：《坠落》(On Falling) (15, 2024) 一名在苏格兰仓库工作的葡萄牙工人，在寻求意义与联系的过程中，逐渐面对孤独与疏离。由乔安娜·桑托斯主演的剧情片

11.00 ITV 十点新闻；天气预报；随后是地区新闻 11.50 朗廷酒店内部：英国第一家豪华酒店 该酒店的总经理监督威尼斯朗廷酒店的进展 (4 / 6) (r) (AD)

11.05 莎拉·米利坎：话匣子现场 (Sarah Millican: Chatterbox Live) 2011年在伦敦布鲁姆斯伯里剧院录制的单口喜剧表演，喜剧演员在其中分享了关于她生活的幽默见解，包括独居的艰辛 (r)

12.45am-6.00 BBC 新闻

12.45am-1.45 手语区：《被提》(The Rapture) 一名法医心理学家会见了一名被定罪的杀人犯，后者预言了一场即将到来的末日灾难。由露丝·马德利和印度·阿马里洛主演的心理惊悚片。本系列最后一集 (r) (AD, SL)

12.15am 电视购物 3.00 自然之力。探讨海水变暖如何加剧为人父母的挑战，一场飓风在雏鸟仍在巢中时袭击了一个火烈鸟群 (r) (AD, SL) 3.50 寻找失散家人。两人寻找他们的兄弟 (r) (AD, ) 4.45-6.00 与 ITV 一起放松

12.10am 比尔·贝利现场：网络喷子 (Bill Bailey Live Part Troll) 这位单口喜剧明星于 2004 年在哈默史密斯阿波罗剧院演出 (r) 1.35 拉姆齐的酒店噩梦。一家位于爱达荷州且负债累累的酒店 (r) (AD, ) 2.25 四人同床 (Four in a Bed) (r) 4.35 夫妻来我家吃饭 (Couples Come Dine with Me) (r) () 5.30 克斯蒂的手工艺之家 (Kirstie's House of Craft) (r) 5.40-6.05 阳光之所 (A Place in the Sun) (r)

12.05am 逃票者：与法律开战 (Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law) (r) 1.00 邮轮电视 (Cruise TV) (r) 2.00 5 频道的娱乐新闻 2.10 全科医生：闭门之后 (GPs: Behind Closed Doors) (r) 3.00 城堡 (Castle) (r) 3.45 朋友 (Friends) (r) (AD) 4.35 与苏珊·卡尔曼一起巡航 (Cruising with Susan Calman) (r) (AD, ) 5.25 娱乐新闻 5.35 汪汪队立大功 (Paw Patrol) (r) () 5.45-6.00 帕丁顿的冒险 (Adventures of Paddington) (r) ()

---

13

电视

Ann Droid

BBC1, 晚上10.40

基础养老机器人Linda（Diane Morgan 饰）鼓励Sue（Sue Johnston 饰）翻出她的帐篷，唱起营火歌曲，并来一次观看流星雨的旅行，这对他们营地的猫头鹰——以及孩子们来说，并不是最好的消息。Morgan和Johnston是一对迷人的双人组合，尽管有安卓机器人的科幻元素，但剧本温暖且出人意料地温柔——请留意Paul Ready饰演的Michael与一名药物试验律师（Jake Bhardwaj 饰）之间一段完美的无词场景。 Victoria Segal

Carpe Diem

More4, 晚上9点

在这里受到观众欢迎的外国犯罪剧往往倾向于黑色电影风格，但这部法语剧集的案件记录则带有一种喜剧色彩。Tom Villeneuve（Samuel Le Bihan 饰）因一项并非由他实施的罪行被监禁了17年：现在成为一名律师的他，正致力于为无辜者洗清冤屈。今晚，他将运用其非传统的法律技巧，帮助一名在明显正当防卫情况下杀死一名黑帮成员的深海渔民。VS

流媒体选择

Duster

HBO Max

如果你最喜欢昆汀·塔伦蒂诺《好莱坞往事》中的片段是布拉德·皮特沿着日落大道开车，那么这部剧就是为你准备的。这部由JJ Abrams和LaToya Morgan打造、背景设定在1970年代的犯罪惊悚剧在第一季后被砍，由《迷失》的Josh Holloway饰演粗犷的逃脱司机Jim Ellis。Ellis与联邦调查局（FBI）首位黑人女特工Nina Hayes（Rachel Hilson 饰）联手，共同协助击败犯罪集团头目Ezra Saxton（Keith David 饰）。情节虽然单薄，但车辆精美，且Hilson在饰演一名应对那个时代随处可见的种族主义和性别歧视的年轻黑人女性时表现出色。Andrew Male

电影选择

Mothers' Instinct (15, 2024)

BBC1, 晚上11.10

安妮·海瑟薇和杰西卡·查斯坦饰演Celise和Alice，她们是1960年代迷人的家庭主妇兼邻居。在Celise的儿子死于一场意外后，两人之间心照不宣的冲突爆发为恶毒的指责、心虚的否认、虚假的道歉以及肢体暴力。(94分钟) Kevin Maher

BBC4

7.00pm 逍遥音乐会：贝多芬第七交响曲。古斯塔沃·杜达梅尔和洛杉矶爱乐乐团演奏贝多芬和Gabello Droz的作品。见今日推荐 8.35 TOTP: 2000. 包含Geri Halliwell, Anne Martin等人的音乐 9.05 TOTP: 2000. 演出嘉宾包括Geri Halliwell, Blink-182和No Doubt 9.35 : 1985. 包括Kate Bush和the Cars的音乐 10.05 : 1986. 包含B Bites, Lionel Riche和Anita Dobson 10.35 BBC终极翻唱版本。来自档案的翻唱表演，包括Moody Blues, Don McLean, Soft Cell, UB40等 11.35 BBC终极翻唱版本。第2. 卷。包含Adele, Annie Lennox, Happy Mondays, Erasure, Blondie和Tina Turner 1.35am : 2000 2.35 : 1985 3.05am-3.35 : 1986

Sky Arts

6.00am 安德烈·里厄：生活之美 7.45 年度艺术家。大师课 (AD) 8.45 出人意料的故事 (AD) 9.50 希区柯克呈现 11.00 探索：Claude Rains () 12.00 电影：《七个日晷之谜》(12, TVM, 1981) 2.30pm 出人意料的故事 () 3.00 八十年代 () 4.00 探索：Janet Leigh () 5.00 2022年度肖像画家 () 6.00 出人意料的故事 () 7.00 希区柯克呈现 8.00 Guy Garvey：来自金库 9.00 Fleetwood Mac的一千零一次音乐人生 10.15 经典专辑 11.35 Fleetwood Mac：波士顿现场 2.00am The Eagles: Desperado 3.30 探索：Eagles 4.00 Skinner & Minds / Jimmy Road Trip: Pope & Swift () 5.00am-6.00 Sky Arts读书会夏季阅读特辑

More4

8.55am Find It, Fix It, Flog It (AD) 10.00 Four in a Bed 12.40pm Come Dink with Me 3.20 Four in a Bed 5.50 Car SOS. 汽车修复 (AD) 7.55 Grand Designs. 跟随在峰区（Peak District）一个村庄里建造的一栋家庭住宅 (8 / 10) () 9.00 Carpe Diem. Tom 代表一名承认谋杀黑帮成员的深海渔民，而 Sigourney 发现了一个来自 Tents 过去的威胁人物。法语原声。见当日精选 (2 / 6) () 10.05 24 Hours in A&E. 一名九岁男孩心率高得危险，一名 32 岁的人从 30 英尺高的脚手架上坠落 () 11.10 24 Hours in A&E. 一名 19 岁女性因疑似脊髓损伤被送入医院 () 12.15am 999. On the Front Line 1.15 24 Hours in A&E () 3.25am-3.55 A Place in the Sun

伍尔弗汉普顿流浪者队的新签约球员 Kieran Trippier

The Hundred 直播 Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Cricket, 2pm-5.30 在椭圆球场（the Oval）举行的女子淘汰赛（开始时间 2.15）

网球直播 ** Tennis, 4pm-4am, ** +, 5pm-4am 在俄亥俄州梅森的 Lindner Family Tennis Center 举行的辛辛那提公开赛第二天

PGA巡回赛高尔夫直播 ** Golf, 5pm-11** 在田纳西州孟菲斯的 TPC Southwind 举行的圣朱德锦标赛第二天报道

The Hundred 直播 ** Main Event, 5.30pm-7.15, Cricket, 5.30pm-9** 在椭圆球场（the Oval）举行的男子淘汰赛（开始时间 6.00）

EFL 直播：伍尔弗汉普顿流浪者 v 布莱克本流浪者 ** Football, 7pm-10.30 （开球时间 8.00**）。在莫利纽球场（Molineux）举行的英冠联赛揭幕战

Talking Pictures

6.00am 电影：《Identity Unknown》(U, 1960) (黑白) 7.20 电影：《East of Sudan》(U, 1964) 9.10 电影：《Beyond the Curtain》(U, 1960) (黑白) 10.55 Litter Defence Volunteers 11.00 The Lucy Show 11.30 电影：《The Broken Horseshoe》(PG, 1953) (黑白) 1.05pm The Edge Wallace Mystery Theatre (黑白) 2.15 The Adventures of Robin Hood (黑白) 2.45 电影：《Brandy for the Pursuit》(U, 1952) (黑白) 4.20 Look at Life 4.30 The Chesters (黑白) 5.00 A Family at War 6.00 Rumpole of the Bailey 7.00 2 Cars (黑白) 8.00 Public Eye 9.10 Supernatural (7 / 8) 10.20 Tales of Frankenstein (黑白) 10.55pm 电影：《The Devil Bat》(PG, 1940) 由 Bela Lugosi 主演的恐怖片 (黑白) 12.20am 电影：《Gift Home》(PG, 1952) (黑白) 2.25am-4.30 Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster

Film4

11.00am 《埃及艳后》(PG, 1963) 由 Elizabeth Taylor 主演的历史史诗片 3.45pm 《Bingo of the Saans》(U, 1963) 由 Ronald Lewis 主演的中世纪冒险片 5.30 《The Battle at Apache Pass》(PG, 1952) 由 Jeff Chandler 主演的西部片 7.15 《Horizon Line》(15, 2020) 一对关系疏远的夫妇在飞行员心脏病发作后，在一架单引擎塞斯纳飞机上发现了新的恐惧高度。由 Allison Williams 主演的惊悚片 9.00 《狂怒》(15, 2014) 在第二次世界大战的最后几个月里，一支坦克车组在敌后执行最后一次危险任务。由 Brad Pitt 主演的剧情片 () 11.40 《The Invitation》(15, 2022) 由 Nathalie Emmanuel 主演的恐怖片 1.45am-4.00 《无底泳池》(18, 2023) 由 Alexander Skarsgard 和 Mia Goth 主演的恐怖悬疑片

BBC3

7.00pm The Catch Up 7.05 Deadly 60. Steve Backshall和团队前往挪威 7.30 电影：《博物馆奇妙夜：秘密墓穴》(PG, 2014) 由本·斯蒂勒和罗宾·威廉姆斯主演的奇幻喜剧续集 (AD) 9.00 Death in Paradise. 一场女子足球赛因明星球员被发现死亡而被迫中断 (5 / 8) (AD) 10.00 Ghosts Australia (r) 10.25 Ghosts Australia (r) 10.50 Ghosts Australia. 当凯特发现一枚订婚戒指时，肖恩承诺了一个史诗般的求婚 (8 / 8) 11.15 He Had It Coming. 共九季。由莉迪亚·韦斯特和娜塔莎·刘·博迪佐主演的喜剧剧集 11.40 He Had It Coming 12.05am He Had It Coming 2.35 My Mute's a Bad Date (r) 2.55am-3.55 Death in Paradise (r) (, SL)

ITV2

6.00am Backyard Builds (SL) 6.30 Dress to Impress (, SL) 7.30 The Real Housewives of Potomac 8.20 The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills 9.15 The Only Way Is Essex 10.15 Drawouts Creek 11.10 Charmed 12.10pm Deal or No Deal () 11.10 Supermarket Sweep 2.10 The Floor () 3.10 The Only Way Is Essex 4.10 The Real Housewives of Potomac 5.00 The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills 6.00 Celebrity Catchphrase () 7.00 The Floor () 8.00 The 1% Club () 9.00 电影：《疾速追杀2》(15, 2017) 由基努·里维斯和里卡多·斯卡马奇奥主演的动作片 11.25 Family Guy () 11.55 Family Guy () 12.25am American Dad! () 1.25am-2.15 Bob's Burgers ()

ITV3

6.00am George and Mildred 7.05 Classic Emmerdale () 8.05 Classic Coronation Street () 9.10 Agatha Christie's Poirot () 11.35 Heartbeat () 1.35pm Midsomer Murders () 3.35 Classic Emmerdale () 4.40 Classic Coronation Street () 5.50 Heartbeat: 乡村剧集 () 8.00 Doc Martin. 马丁准备面对他的听证会 (8 / 8) () 9.00 Doc Martin. 马丁的医疗职业生涯仍受到审查，一名GMC代表对他及其诊所进行评估 (1 / 8) () 10.00 Coastchester. 一名当地男子的可疑死亡打断了村民们的复活节庆祝 (1 / 8) () 11.00 Coastchester (2 / 8) () 11.50 Trial & Ambulation (1 / 10) 12.50am Trial & Ambulation 1.55am-2.20 George and Mildred

ITV4

6.00am Magnum, PI () 8.00 世界飞镖巡回赛直播。奥克兰大师赛 12.00 Dramatic Finishes 12.10pm Magnum, PI () 3.15 Boon 4.15 The Professionals () 5.25 英国房车锦标赛集锦。在Knockhill举行的比赛实况 6.55 Sharpe. 根据Munro的派遣去刺杀一名法国上校，夏普受伤了，但哈珀和一名哑巴修女开始照顾他直到康复 9.00 电影：《机械警察2》(18, 1990) 赛博格执法者与一名疯狂的毒枭搏斗，却不知创造他的公司正计划取代他。由彼得·韦勒主演的科幻惊悚续集 () 11.15 All Elite Wrestling Dynamite. 强力且高飞的动作对决 1.15am Dark Side of the Wing 2.05am-3.00 Two and a Half Men

ITV4

UKDrama

6.00am Teleshopping 7.15 The Bill 8.10 Doctors 9.20 Classic Holly City 10.40 Casualty () 11.40 The Bill 12.40pm Classic EastEnders 2.00 Classic Neighbours 3.00 Whittstable Pearl () 4.10 Lovejoy 5.20 As Time Goes By 6.00 Last of the Summer Wine 8.00 Father Brown. 一名凶手开始利用Kembleford的模型村庄来计划其袭击 () 9.00 Father Brown. 费利西亚夫人进行了一次临时访问 () 10.00 New Tricks. 团队重新开启了一起四年前被谋杀的涂鸦艺术家的案件 (5 / 10) () 11.20 Luther. 这名警察面对其行为的现实 (4 / 4) () 12.40am Lovejoy. 剧集 1.50 Sister Boniface Mysteries () 2.50 Hotel Pymifres (SL) 4.00am-6.00 Teleshopping

版本差异

BBC1 爱尔兰 11.40pm Steph McGovern 主持的 The Big Deal (r) 11.40 Ann Droid 12.10am 电影：《母亲的直觉》(Mothers' Instinct) (2024) 1.40am-6.00 BBC 新闻

ITV1 威尔士 7.00pm-7.30 Coast & Country

STV 7.00pm The STV Radio Football Takeover 7.30-8.00 What's on Scotland 12.15am-3.30 Shop on TV 4.45am-6.00 Unwind with STV

UTV 7.00pm UTV Life 7.30pm-8.00 Hidden Northern Ireland

BBC 苏格兰 7.00pm Reporting Scotland 7.30 Scotland's Greatest Escape (r) 8.00 Paramedics on Scene (r)

9.00 纪录片《熊赫拉克勒斯：一个爱情故事》(Hercules the Bear: A Love Story) (r) 10.00 Still Game (r) 10.30 Two Doors Down (r) 11.00pm-12.00 Situationships with Sophie and Christine (r)

SAC 6.00am Cyw 12.00 新闻 12.05pm Pysgod / Bawdy (r) 12.30 Heno (r) 1.00 Y CI Perflaith (r) 1.30 Dan Do (r) 2.00 新闻 2.05 Pynhawn Da 3.00 新闻 3.05 Ty Ffll (r) 4.00 Awr Fawr. Octavius (r) 4.10 Og y Dramog Hapus (r) 4.20 Misho (r) 4.30 Joni Jet (r) 4.45 Parc Glan Gwil (r) 5.00 Shwrah: Lego-Yfrindiau: Amdari Fercfied! (r) 5.10 Bwystfil (r) 5.20 Prys at iPryfed (r) 5.35 Ar Goll yn Oz (r) 6.00 Gerdil-Cymru (r) 6.30 Garddo a Mwy (r) 7.00 Heno 7.30 新闻 8.00 Mike Bubbins: Un Mewn Mlown (r) 8.55 新闻 9.00 Am Drol (r) 10.00 Y Dnis (r) 10.30pm-11.35 Miesig Fy Mywyd (r)

PBS America

8.00am Weathered: Earth's Extremes 8.35 Digging Up Britain's Past 9.35 The Real Truth. 探讨压力 10.40 彩色版《冲绳之战》(Battle of Okinawa in Colour) 11.50 彩色版《日本之陨》(Fall of Japan in Colour) 1.00pm Weathered: Earth's Extremes 1.35 Digging Up Britain's Past 2.35 The Real Truth 3.40 彩色版《冲绳之战》 4.50 彩色版《日本之陨》 5.50 Digging Up Britain's Past. 布里奇沃特运河 (Bridgewater Canal) 6.50 The Real Truth 7.30 彩色版《冲绳之战》。关于冲绳之战的故事 9.00 彩色版《日本之陨》。探讨战地记者 William Courtenay 的旅程 10.00 The Real Truth. 探讨压力的利弊 (2 / 6) 11.10 Weathered: Earth's Extremes 12.00 彩色版《冲绳之战》 1.05am-2.00 Weathered: Earth's Extremes. 气候挑战

Sky Atlantic

6.00am Fish Town (r) 8.00 Billions (r) (AD) 10.15 House of the Dragon (r) (AD) 12.35pm Homicide: Life on the Street (r) 2.30 Billions (r) () 4.35 The Last of Us (r) () 6.40 House of the Dragon (r) () 7.45 House of the Dragon. Rhaenyra 试图与 Rhaenyra 达成协议 (r) () 9.00 Station Eleven. Kristen 回到她曾与 Jeevan 和 Frank 共住的公寓，以面对她创伤的根源 (7 / 10) 10.00 Station Eleven. Kristen 到达塞文市 (Severn City) 以营救巡回交响乐团 (8 / 10) 11.00 House of the Dragon. Rhaenyra 渴望得到一个她将获胜的迹象 (r) () 12.15am House of the Dragon (r) () 1.40 Billions (r) () 3.40 The Guest Wing (r) () 4.35 Sort Of (r) () 5.05am-6.00 Urban Secrets (r)

Sky Docs

6.00am The 2010s (r) 7.00 Discovering: Glenn Close (r) () 8.00 The Directors (r) () 8.55 100 Foot Wave (r) () 10.55 Celtics City (r) () 12.00 Enigma (r) 2.00pm 电影：《巴斯比》(Busby) (PG, 2019) () 4.00 The Directors (r) () 5.00 Discovering: Glenn Close. 这位演员的生平与职业生涯 (r) () 6.00 Queen of Speed (r) () 8.00 Savage Mountain. 关于 Kristin Harita 攀登世界 14 座最高峰的故事 (r) () 10.00 电影：《登山者》(The Alpinist) (12, 2021) 关于登山者 Marc-André Leclerc 的纪录片 () 11.50 Williams & Mansell: Red 5. 赛车手 Nigel Mansell 和 Williams F1 赛车队的崛起 (r) () 1.40am 电影：《基地不再回来》(Base Not Coming Back) (PG, 2020) 3.40 Nick Cave's Veiled World (r) 5.00am-6.00 Discovering: Glenn Close (r) ()

英国昨日回顾

6.10am 《被遗弃的工程》(AD) 8.00 《破车与现金：修复经典车》(AD) 10.00 《大战故事》() 11.00 《世界大战》 12.00 《古董路演》 2.00pm 《破车与现金》() 4.00 《大战故事》() 5.00 《世界大战》纪录片系列 6.00 《古董路演》 7.00 《完美的星球》探讨人类活动对地球产生的破坏性影响 () 8.00 《运河船日记》Robbie在麦克尔斯菲尔德运河上协助救援一艘失控的船只 (7 / 10) () 9.00 《运河船日记》从高巷到曼彻斯特 (8 / 10) () 10.00 《破车与现金》() 11.00 《破车与现金》() 12.00 《破车与现金：修复经典车》() 1.00am 《寻找、修复、出售》 2.00 《被遗弃的工程》() 3.00am-6.10 电视购物

---

14

心智游戏

双陆棋 Chris Bray

UBC 挑战赛决赛

作为蒙特卡洛世界锦标赛的前奏，终极双陆棋锦标赛（UBC）挑战赛的决赛轮已经结束。今年的赛制有所不同，每位选手与其他选手各交手四次。每场比赛采取七分制，获胜得一分，每场比赛中表现评级（PR）较高者得一分。

四名选手都表现出色，但 Marc Olsen（丹麦）和 Oliver Squire（英国）都出现了一些非常不典型的错误。Marc 在为期两天的赛事接近尾声时感到疲惫，他在分析自己的表现时不会感到高兴。这提醒我们，要进行顶尖水平的双陆棋比赛，无论在精神还是身体上都需要保持健康。

到第 11 轮比赛开始时，Marc 和 Oliver 已经被淘汰，剩下的两名日本选手展开了决战。本周的局面展示了 Michihito Kageyama (Michy) 执黑对阵 Hideaki Ueda 的比赛片段，当时 Michy 必须在比赛结果和 PR 上同时获胜才能延长锦标赛。

在持有四倍骰的情况下， 通过重新加倍至八倍，将比赛置于险境。如果你是黑方，你会重新加倍吗？如果你是白方，你会接受吗？这基本上是一个三掷结束局，但在这种情况下，双方在某些掷骰结果下仍可能无法将棋子移出。例如，黑方立即掷出 43 时必须走 8 / 1，此时他仍需要三次掷骰才能将棋子全部移出。

XG 对此的判断处于临界点，重新加倍和不重新加倍都是正确的。在 正确地重新加倍且 Hideaki 轻松接受后， 掷出了他最糟糕的数字之一 21，走 8 / 6, 1 / 0。现在他在下一回合有许多缺失的数字。然而， 掷出了双六，而当 未能掷出自己的组合时，比赛结束， 获得资格在秋季对阵 Zdenek Zidka。

在整个锦标赛中的综合 PR 达到了惊人的 2.45，这足以使他获得超级特级大师的资格。 以 2.95 位列第二。 轻松击败了其他三名选手，是一位非常合格的赢家。chrisbraphg@gmail.com

胜手

白方走子。

此局面来自 Paravyan-Hnatyshyn，chess.com 2026。

正如鲍勃·迪伦曾观察到的，“当你一无所有时，你就没有什么可失去的。”虽然白方并非完全一无所有，但他少了一个车和两个子，且面临失去皇后（I...Nid2+）的威胁。保守打法的时机早已过去。白方需要避免那些不要恐慌的恳求，现在就按下绝望按钮。如何实现？

纵向

1 注意到，看到 (7) 2 盗贼行话 (5) 3 多功能口袋工具 (8) 4 管弦乐器 (4) 5 美国阳光之州 (7) 6 灰狗赛道起跑格 (5) 7 小毛巾 (4,7) 12 整个组织及其流程的 (8) 14 鸸鹋的亲属 (7) 16 棒球野手 (7) 18 罗马爱神 (5) 20 骨髓或南瓜，例如 (5) 22 拥有，持有 (4)

需要今日谜题的帮助？请致电 0905 757 0143 查询答案。通话费用为每分钟 £1，另加您的电话公司网络接入费。SP：Spoke, 0333 202 3390 (周一至周五 9am-5:30pm)。

桥牌 安德鲁·罗布森 (Andrew Robson)

二十大约定

1. Stayman

事实上，举世闻名（且理由充分）的 Stayman 约定是由 Sam 的桥牌搭档 George Rapee 发明的（同时，英国 Acol 系统的腼腆共同创始人 Jack Mars 也独立发明了它，但从未公开）。Rapee（我曾与他组队——他真是个可爱的人）将这个小想法告诉了 ，并允许他在 1945 年的《桥牌世界》(The Bridge World) 杂志上发表。正如人们所说，剩下的就成了历史。

叫牌的“圣杯”是寻找四个黑红大牌的配合。使用自然叫法，在搭档开叫 INT 之后很难做到这一点。在 Mars-Rapee（为了好玩，我们就这么称呼它吧？）中，2♠ 的响应是要求 INT 开叫者叫出四个大牌（若两者都有则叫 2♥，若没有则叫 2♦）。

关键问题是：“什么时候应该叫 ？”为了简化学生的学习，教师经常说：“具有进入局势的价值（面对 12-14 INT 拥有 II 或更多分）且持有四个大牌。”

是的……但你可以在没有进入局势价值的情况下叫 ——只要你能应对开叫者的三种回复。对于“弱 ”，有两种手牌类型。

(a) 大牌分布为五-四。如果搭档回复 2♥ / ♠ 则过牌：将 2♦ 转换为你的五张大牌。事实上，无论点数多少，只要大牌分布为五-四，你就应该始终叫 。

(b) 五张方块，且两种大牌各有三 / 四张。无论任何回复均过牌。

面对以下手牌，你会用 2♠ 响应吗？

♠ 7562 ♠ 872 ♠ 9842 ♠ 883 ♥ 0232 ♥ 79885 ♥ 018452 ♥ 9732 ♦ 90532 ♦ 4874 ♦ 5 ♦ 8108 ♣ 2 ♠ 874 ♣ 0105

第一手，是的，无论任何回复均过牌。第二手，不。进行 2♦ 转移（见下周五）。

第三手，是的——大牌分布为五-四时始终叫 。面对 2♥ / ♠ 回复过牌；将 2♦ 转换为 2♥。

第四手，不。虽然你持有四个大牌且具备进入局势的价值，但你很快就会失去王牌，且你的四个大牌很快会变得糟糕，我不认为值得费心。作为指南，我会说不要在 4333 分布时叫 。

(1) 会叫 ，能够过掉任何回复。

当明手较弱且（几乎肯定）具有吃将价值时，这是一个增加王牌数量的叫牌过程。Tuck one 走 ♠1 ♠2 ♠3 ♠4。作为庄家，你出 ♠4 并吃掉 ♠2。然后你交叉到 ♥3，回到 ♥4 并吃掉 ♥6。你现在吃掉 ♠4 并出 ♥8。无论东家是否吃高，你必须拿到 ♠10，这样就是八个 tricks。andrew.ritrosofthelimes.co.uk

大脑训练

多边形

从这些字母中，组成四个或更多字母的单词，且必须包含中心字母。答案必须出自《牛津简明词典》，不包括大写单词、复数、变位动词（过去式等）、以 LY 结尾的副词、比较级和最高级。评分标准：13 个单词为平均； 18, 良好； 22, 非常好； 26, 优秀

您应该为孩子购买学生房吗？

杰恩·道尔（Jayne Dowle）表示，为即将上大学的子女购买房产似乎是明智之举，但其中有隐藏成本需要考虑。

许多学生家长都会产生这样的想法。与其把维护贷款用来支付破旧学生宿舍的租金，为什么不给孩子买一套属于他们自己的房子呢？如果您的孩子与朋友合租，租金收入可以覆盖他们的学位费用，或者为他们第一套正式住房的定金提供资金。

对优质私人学生租赁房的需求很高，尤其是在著名的大学城市。除了学生，这些城市还聚集了需要租赁住房的年轻专业人士，这为您孩子毕业后的房产提供了另一种选择。

“这取决于地理位置以及目前学生可选择的房源，”房地产与租赁代理公司 Lang Llewellyn & Co 的董事兼所有者索菲·朗（Sophie Lang）表示。“通常情况下，学生租房比私人租赁部门更贵，但专门的学生公寓 [PBSA] 可能会主导当地市场。然而，根据我的经验，学生更倾向于在私人租赁部门 [那里] 像家庭一样生活。”

与度假屋相比，面向学生的投资受市场波动的影响较小。例如，度假屋正日益受到入住率下降和地方当局严苛规则的影响。

以下是需要考虑的要点，从轻松的话题到严峻的财务事实。

是否适合您的家庭？

这是一个家庭决定，包括您的其他孩子——您是否能负担得起为他们所有人买房？此外，一些年轻人对于在事实上充当朋友的房东感到不舒服。

如果是一个长期的学位课程，这比他们参加有海外学习或实习年份的“三明治课程”更有意义。如果您的学生子女在 12 个月后搬走，您是否准备好寻找新租户？

“另一个重要问题是，在孩子毕业后，您是将其继续作为学生房出租，还是进行翻新并提供给更广泛的人群？”朗问道。

还要考虑实际操作问题。除非您想 247, 待命，否则您需要一个可靠的、拥有物业管理部门的当地租赁代理。此外，租金是应纳税收入，因此从您孩子的室友那里收取租金可能会使您的税级提高。

如何选择合适的房产

一旦决定就立即开始寻找——不要等到下一个学年临近。卧室的数量也至关重要，因为涉及 HMO（多人占用房屋）规则。这些规则在英国各地有所不同，但在英格兰和威尔士，如果至少有三名租客居住，形成了多个家庭，并共用厕所、浴室和厨房等设施，该房产就变成了 HMO。随后它将受到某些法规的约束且必须获得许可。

£400

学生向父母或监护人支付的平均月租金

7,500 英镑

通过“出租房间计划”（Rent a Room scheme）可赚取的免税年度津贴

然而，如果您选择较小的房产，您的学生可以接收朋友作为付费租客，或者根据政府的“出租房间计划”作为房客，该计划允许每年最高 7,500 英镑 的免税收入。

“我们在利兹为儿子这么做了，”一位家长说。“他是业主自住，并与朋友签订了房客协议。我们选择了两居室以避开 HMO 规则，而且我们的儿子只想与另外一个人合租。”

Garrington Property Finders 的总经理尼古拉斯·芬恩（Nicholas Finn）强调了海外买家与国内买家之间的区别。

后者往往等到学生在宿舍度过第一年的一半时间后才决定购买，而前者则提前行动。“在牛津、剑桥和伦敦等资本价值最高的地方，存在这样一种心态：‘我的孩子将在英国学习，给他们一个没有干扰的地方，让他们专注于获得学位这项几乎像工作一样艰巨的任务’，”他说。

记住您不会住在那里

租房博主 Ammarah Hasham 表示，除了提供带保修的新家电、确保浴室设施齐全且家具现代化之外，还要记住如今的青少年和二十多岁的人喜爱鲜艳的色彩搭配。

“避开床周边的任何繁琐装饰、长毛地毯和笨重的家具，并且

大学购房抵押贷款

Vernon Building Society 允许借款金额最高可达房产价格的 100%，由作为共同借款人的父母提供支持。如果首付款低于 20%，现金必须存入 Vernon BS 的储蓄账户，或在父母的房产上设定抵押。

Bath Building Society 抵押贷款将由学生和父母共同署名，但房产可由学生单独持有，以避免额外的印花税责任。除了父母的支持，Bath BS 还将考虑其他房间的租金收入以评估负担能力。

Loughborough Building Society Loughborough BS 的贷款额度最高可达房产价值的 100%。超过 80% 的贷款需要通过其他方式提供担保。这包括储蓄，允许家庭成员使用其资金帮助借款人，而无需将资金直接交给他们。

关注良好的照明（最好是无线的）、紧凑的存储解决方案以及易于维护的地板，”她说。

为了跟上那些提供餐厅、电影室和屋顶健身房的高端私人学生住宿（PBSAs）的步伐，目前最好的私人学生租赁房与成年人的房产已几乎没有区别。

但并非所有人都如此——根据理财建议网站 Save the Student 最新的全国学生住宿调查，41% 的学生认为他们的大学住所性价比低，而在向私人房东租房的学生中，这一比例上升至 49%。

谁在管理：学生房东还是租赁代理？

要求一个年轻人担任房东是压力之源，还是一个真正的成年实践机会？

即使雇佣了优秀的代理，也可能面临挑战。一位学生房东表示，一切运行顺畅，直到租赁代理在租期结束退还租客押金时，花费的时间超过了英格兰和威尔士法律规定的 10 天（苏格兰和北爱尔兰实行不同的方案）。

“我们听说，因为房东是朋友，有时室友支付房租并不及时，”51, 岁的 Zoe Cooke 表示，她是四个女儿的母亲，也是拥有 99,000 名成员的学生家长建议 Facebook 小组“我希望在大学前知道的事”（WIWIKAU）的共同所有者。

“这对一个年轻人来说，肩上的担子太重了，”她说。“我知道有些家庭这么做过，但我认为父母们不会愿意再次尝试。”

如何寻找最佳资金来源

抵押贷款经纪公司 SPF Private Clients 的首席执行官 Mark Harris 表示，通常有三条途径。

作为第二套房购买 父母可以将房产作为第二套房购买，并让孩子住在那里。

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3

Bricks&Mortar

封面图像创意概念由 DAVID BILTY 提供，图像由 GEMINI 实现，低于滥用阶段

全英平均学生租金

“土地水平”基于申请人的收入，同时结合对其主要住所的评估。

“如果您希望出租房间，最好咨询贷款机构，但它应该允许房产内有寄宿者，”Harris 说。

由于是第二套房，需要支付更高的印花税，在基准之上增加 3%，即使房产本身低于 12.5 万英镑 的阈值。

以租养房 (BTL) “您可以将其作为 BTL 房产购买，但如果您需要抵押贷款并打算让孩子住在那里，这将被视为受监管贷款，”Harris 说——典型的 BTL 抵押贷款是不受监管的，因为没有个人居住。

受监管的 BTL（以房养房）抵押贷款通常通过 Furness、Marsden 和 Swansea 等小型建筑协会获取。Harris 警告称：“然而，这类产品在承保时往往不以租金收入来决定贷款额度，而是基于负担能力 / 收入。”

Harris 补充道，购买 HMO（多人出租房）会影响可选择的抵押贷款产品，因为这类产品通常更昂贵且供应较少。他还强调，有少数专门为学生房产投资设计的产品，即所谓的“大学购房（Buy for Uni）”抵押贷款。

以子女名义购买 “这是通过共同借款人 / 唯一所有权 [JBSP] 抵押贷款实现的，”Harris 解释道。“父母的收入被用于承保以提高借款额度，但其姓名不出现在房产契据上。”

“JBSP 抵押贷款正变得越来越普遍，且可以实现较高的贷款价值比（LTV）。此外，还需要考虑首付款的来源，”Harris 表示。“‘父母银行’可能会赠予首付款，但有些人可能会提供首付款贷款，甚至考虑对其主房产或其他房产办理二次抵押贷款。”

然而，如果房产登记在年轻人的名下，他们未来将无法利用现有的“购房帮扶”个人储蓄账户（Help to Buy Isa）或终身个人储蓄账户（Lifetime Isa, Lisa）提供的政府首房买家奖金，也无法享受首房买家的印花税减免。

考虑其他成本

许多学生房产在出租时包含所有账单。然而，大多数房产对燃气、电、水和 wifi 设有年度支出上限。

当达到该上限时，租客必须支付差额。Cooke 表示，这一点应在租赁协议中明确列出。

随着房间被租出，您将支付更高的建筑保险费用，具体取决于房屋规模、邮政编码以及安全措施等因素。

房产合规成本因地点和房产而异。一份电气安装状况报告（Electrical Installation Condition Report）通常花费 £100-£300 和有效期为五年，而年度燃气安全证书（Gas Safety Certificate）通常花费 £80-£180。所有工作必须由合格的专业人员执行。

房产需要一份能源性能证书（EPC），通常花费 £80-£150，有效期为十年。英格兰和威尔士私人租赁房产的最低评级为 E 级，到 2030. 10 月前需达到 C 级。苏格兰的住宅租赁没有法律规定的最低 EPC 评级，但适用最低能效要求。针对 HMO（多人合租房）的许可要求和费用在各地方当局之间有所不同。

您还需要安装火灾报警器、烟雾报警器、一氧化碳报警器以及室内门锁。

学生无需缴纳市政税（council tax）。但是，如果该房产是以您的名义购买的第二套房，地方当局可能会征收额外费用。

了解新的租赁规则

如果您的学生房产有租客，您将需要一份租赁协议。根据 ARLA Propertymark 的说法，在专业房东与租客事务律师的支持下，这通常花费约 £100-£300, 具体取决于房产和地点。

请注意 2026 年 5 月的《租客权利法案》（Renters' Rights Act），该法案将固定期限租赁替换为滚动周期协议，称为保证周期租赁（APT），这意味着学生可以通过提前两个月通知而搬离。如果您的学生房产有租客，这一点至关重要。

对于仅限学生的 HMO，房东依赖于所谓的“Ground 4A”条款，以便在下一个学年重新获得共享学生房产的所有权，这需要标准的四个月通知期和书面的租前警告，ARLA Propertymark 主席 Kim Lidbury 解释道。如果您在自己的学生毕业后继续拥有一个 HMO，这一点就很重要。

What £250 万 buys you in ...

伦敦 W11

“潜水员之屋”（The Submariner's House）是一栋位于诺丁山鹅卵石街道上的两居室马厩房（mews house），这里风景如画，曾被用于电影《真爱至上》中马克用提示卡向朱丽叶表白的著名场景。定制的置物架将起居区与家庭书房隔开，随后是一座红色混凝土楼梯，通向一间北欧风格的卧室，床上方有一个巨大的天窗可供观星。此外还有一间客房和一个屋顶露台。

EPC D（潜力 B）—— 评级范围从 A（最好）到 G（最差）

优点：时尚且抢手的马厩房。

缺点：网红和电影迷的聚集地。

联系方式：winkworth.co.uk

白金汉郡

正如在《大设计》（Grand Designs）节目中所见，这座时尚的泰晤士河畔住宅位于锁岛（Lock Island），这是一个位于时髦的马洛镇（Marlow）下游的私人岛屿。该房产由 Baca Architects 在十年前设计，四居室建筑坐落在河岸的固定基础上；一旦发生洪水，它会在自己的湿船坞中升起并漂浮。室内设有开放式客厅 / 厨房 / 餐厅，可通向露台、电影 / 游戏室和实用室。一楼被布置为主卧套房，包含更衣室、卫浴和土耳其浴场（hammam）。

EPC C（当前及潜力）

优点：一座面向未来的两栖房屋（外加私人停泊位）。

缺点：车辆无法进入。

联系方式：hamptons.co.uk

巴斯

位于林科姆山（Lyncombe Hill），俯瞰全市。普里奥里（the Priory）是一栋二级登录的五卧室维多利亚式住宅，采用迷人的都铎哥特式风格。它拥有一个宏伟的入口大厅、一座温室和一套独立公寓。时代特色包括檐口、原装壁炉和一座宽大的乔治亚式楼梯。

室外设有阳台和位于景观花园中的后露台。

步行 5 分钟跨过埃文河（Avon）即可到达巴斯温泉（Bath Spa）火车站。

EPC E（潜力 C）

优势 景观花园在“巴斯在绽放”（Bath in Bloom）评选中获得金奖。

劣势 登录房产的翻修难度可能较大。

联系方式 knightfrank.co.uk

或者……一座位于洛蒙德湖的私人岛屿

因奇科纳汉（Inchconnachan）是位于洛蒙德湖内的一座 100 英亩的私人岛屿。岛上覆盖着茂密的苏格兰松、橡树和桦树林。尽管如此，开车前往格拉斯哥机场仅需半小时。该地已获得规划许可，可建造一座带船屋和码头的三卧室小屋，以及路径、栈道、排水系统和种植设施。买家可以自行出资 £250 万 管理建设，或者支付 £9500 万 将其交给他人处理。

EPC 不适用

优势 一个交通便利的隐居之所。

劣势 无论采取哪种方式，你都需要雄厚的财力才能完成建设。

联系方式 sothebysrealty.co.uk

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4

砖瓦房产（Bricks&Mortar）

我为了低税搬到希腊，并找到了更好的工作与生活平衡

百万富翁交易员刘易斯·克朗普顿（Lewis Crompton）为了逃离职业倦怠，将伦敦换成了雅典

当人们问我住在雅典南部的格利法达（Glyfada）是什么感觉时，我会告诉他们，最好的那个我不是在英国时，而是在这里，在希腊 [刘易斯·克朗普顿，36，说道]。

大约三个月前，我从诺福克（Norfolk）的一栋传统乡村住宅搬到了雅典的一套现代公寓。我在伦敦北部长大，一生都住在英国，我需要改变。虽然我曾有些忐忑，但事实证明，就我的投资、公司和生活方式而言，这次搬迁是值得的。

你可能在第五频道的节目《富屋贫屋》（Rich House, Poor House）中见过我，这是一个致力于探讨英国贫富差距的节目。我并非出身富裕，很小就开始工作。我的父母都是教师，我看到了他们工作多么辛苦，尤其是我的父亲，他

在常规工作量之外还要在周末工作，仅仅是为了维持生计并能负担得起一次度假。

目睹那种艰辛在我心中种下了如今的职业道德。我只是不知道从哪里开始，但我知道我想拥有钱。我的旅程充满坎坷，在创立自己的公司 Star Trading 之前，我曾经历过教会工作和销售工作，现在我在希腊经营这家公司。

学习掌握交易技巧对我帮助极大。七个月后，我能够辞职并开始交易。我是偶然发现交易的。我报名参加了一个金融市场交易研讨会，随后便被吸引。它彻底改变了我的生活。

这个转变过程大约花了六年，但完全值得。我现在住在格利法达的海岸边。一年中有超过 250 天阳光灿烂。每天晚上我都能看到水面上的日落。这里的人们都更放松，我也在逐渐适应这种状态。

最大的区别在于它所

动人故事

刘易斯·克朗普顿 (Lewis Crompton)

对我身体造成的影响。因为来自伦敦，我一直处于紧张状态。我的神经系统从未恢复，几年前我出现了慢性疲劳症状。我一直处于崩溃的边缘。希腊让我能够停下来放松。

在我的企业税务效率方面，这里有真正的优势。我仍然在英国缴纳税款：增值税、公司税等等。但我的个人收入被计为被动收入，这意味着它适用较低的税率。

希腊还拥有一套针对新居民降低税率的累进税制。我很乐意纳税，但现在我可以缴纳较低的税款并生活在阳光下。如果你打算做出这样重大的生活决定，确实需要了解税务系统的规则。

没有什么是一成不变的。如果行不通，你随时可以搬回去。我在迪拜有朋友，如果他们

我很乐意纳税，但现在我可以缴纳较低的税款并生活在阳光下

在五年内返回英国，将面临补缴在国外期间所有累积税款的账单。那将是一笔非常巨额的款项。来到希腊，知道我可以返回而不会发生这种情况，让我感到心安。

当我最初向朋友和家人提出这个想法时，反应非常负面。我被多次问到：“你为什么要离开？”随着时间的推移，他们开始理解，有些人现在也计划离开英国。人们对于离开的看法发生了彻底的改变。这件事比以往任何时候都更受关注。

周日是格利法达（Glyfada）最完美的一天。我热爱周日的下午派对。格利法达并不完美，但与英国相比，这里的生活感觉像是一次排毒，而这对我来说已经足够了。

采访人：霍丹·苏丹 (Hodan Sultan)

房东们，

告别 预付 租赁费。

了解更多

Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward

租赁按月计费，我们的费用亦然。

许多伦敦房东预付租赁费，而我们的完整租赁服务现在由您的月租金覆盖。

租金回报以天计，而非以月计。

租赁设立费仍然适用，请参阅 kfh.co.uk / monthly-billing 的条款与条件。

---

Riverstone

一种全新的生活方式

在今天保留更多您的财富

2026年每周售出两套房产

Riverstone 是 65 岁以上人群伦敦奢华生活的先驱。Riverstone 为最挑剔的居民结合了精致的住所、精心策划的生活方式和无与伦比的价值。在有限时间内，购买公寓可享受迄今为止最低的终身月度会员费，每月 £349 起*。

卓越的生活方式

24小时礼宾服务、世界级的健康支持、豪华设施：Riverstone 应有尽有。

四种选择方案

选择最能反映您的生活方式和未来计划的会员选项。

更低的月费

不存在不可预测的服务费。一项费用，终身固定。

立即预订。稍后入住。

在 2026 年 9 月 30 日之前锁定今日条款，并预留您准备搬迁所需的时间。

请致电 020 3667 8954 与团队联系或扫描二维码。

*所引用的会员费适用于我们富勒姆（Fulham）和肯辛顿（Kensington）住所的一居室公寓。

在此优惠下，递延费按每年 8% 累积，上限为 40%。完整条款与条件请扫描二维码。

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6

Bricks&Mortar

室内设计

“你得戴上耳塞，”Aga 的制造总监大卫·卡彭特（David Carpenter）警告道，“这样你就听不到我说话了。”他这番话只有一半是开玩笑——Aga 特尔福德（Telford）工厂内部的噪音震耳欲聋，机器在轰鸣，金属在碰撞，大功率通风系统正强力排出闷热潮湿的空气。我们正进入搪瓷车间，这是手工打造每台 所需的 20 小时工艺的起点。

在这里，巨大的彩色搪瓷桶在专门设计的无尘室中进行混合。它看起来就像油漆，但正如卡彭特告诉我的那样，情况并非如此简单。“搪瓷基本上是二氧化硅或玻璃，”他解释道，并将一堆玻璃小碎片放在我的手心，“我们用喷枪将其喷涂上去。你可能会想，这怎么喷得上去？它需要经过 24 小时的[研磨]成极细的浆料。”

它与康沃尔粘土、颜料、氧化物和陶瓷球混合，形成一种泥浆（slip），即粘土和水的液体混合物。随后，这种泥浆被喷涂在铸铁原件上，这些原件采购自西班牙、法国、匈牙利以及西米德兰兹的达德利（Dudley）的铸造厂。“这是一个非常纯手工的过程——需要极高的技巧才能喷涂适量。”他说。

卡彭特在什罗普郡（Shropshire）特尔福德的这家工厂工作了 31 年，他于 20 世纪 90 年代开始担任设计与开发经理。从那时起，他帮助引领了从燃料动力向电能烤箱的转变。“旧款 你无法将其开关。它一天 24 小时一直开着。你得打开窗户、门，所有东西都得打开。”

烤箱由诺贝尔物理学奖得主古斯塔夫·达伦（Dr Gustaf Dalen）博士于 1922 年在瑞典发明。在一次化学爆炸中失明后，他在家中度过了更多时间，并意识到妻子不断地给固体燃料炉添柴、清理和监控是多么令人精疲力竭。

达伦开发了一种铸铁炉，它可以连续运行并均匀地辐射热量，且几乎不需要维护。（ 的字母代表 Aktiebolaget Gas Accumulator，基本上翻译为气体蓄能有限公司。）1929 年， 被引入英国，并迅速成为英国中上层阶级乡村生活的标志。

传统上，烤箱中心的一块厚重铸铁件会填充固体燃料（后来改为油和天然气），以便将热量分布到烤箱和热板上。 必须保持开启状态，每天需要添柴数次（取决于

照片：GUGETTY IMAGES

左上：白色 Compact 100，来自 9,500 英镑。上方：覆盆子色带扩展模块的 Signature，来自 16,500 英镑，模块来自 2,500 英镑

真正的 传奇：经典之作

产自特尔福德，令英格兰中产阶级向往， 在英国已手工打造近一个世纪——尽管它们不再由固体燃料驱动。作者：Sasha Nugara

烹饪量），且事故频发——如果你的 熄火了，需要 24 小时才能重新加热。

大约 15 年前，公司开发了一种电加热元件，使每个烤箱和热板都有自己的电源，并由计算机控制。这一转变是由环保考量和不断上涨的能源账单推动的。该技术的开发耗时 18 个月。

卡彭特向我展示了使其运转的电加热元件。“我们在烤箱顶部开了一个孔。我们在顶部安装了一个元件，但它不是普通的电元件，而是铸铁的。这有点像加热一块砖头，它可以长时间保持温度。然后我们必须开发一台计算机来控制它的开关。”现在不再需要全天开启 ，热板仅需 10 分钟即可加热，烤箱则需约 40 分钟。

左图：20 世纪 50 年代的 广告；右图：搪瓷工艺

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7

Bricks&Mortar

英国最古老的印刷壁纸将展出

剑桥一所学院的工人们发现了都铎王朝壁纸的隐藏碎片。作者：Donna Ferguson

已知最古老的印刷壁纸样本在剑桥一所学院建筑的抹灰天花板下隐藏了数世纪。这款黑白图案的壁纸可追溯至 16 世纪初，被认为受到了伊斯兰设计的启发，并代表了壁纸作为挂毯替代品出现的那一时刻。

这些无价的壁纸碎片将于下个月首次展出。它们是由工人们在 1911 年重新粉刷剑桥大学基督学院（Christ's College）院长寓所天花板时发现的。其复杂的图案是使用雕刻木块印刷在的一份宣布亨利八世（King Henry VIII）登基的公告背面。

这使得专家能够将该壁纸的年代定在 1509 年左右，使其成为已知最早的印刷壁纸样本，也是最早将纸张用于墙面装饰目的的案例。这些精致的碎片此前从未公开亮相。它们将与学院的其他“宝藏”——例如四只 16 世纪老鼠的木乃伊遗骸——一起，在 9 月 11-20 日举行的“开放剑桥”（Open Cambridge）节日期间，首次在学院图书馆向公众展出。

在威廉·卡克斯顿（William Caxton）于 1476 年在威斯敏斯特设立印刷机后，这款壁纸展示了印刷术在英格兰作为沟通和装饰媒介的出现速度之快。该设计带有雨果·戈斯（Hugo Goes）的标记，他曾在约克建立了第一台印刷机，并以印刷皇家公告而闻名。

该公司很可能是为了降低成本而将设计印刷在公告背面：在 16 世纪，纸张是一种昂贵的奢侈品，需要进口到英格兰。

基督学院的历史讲师哈丽艾特·里昂（Harriet Lyon）博士表示，在建设这座寓所（学院最古老的建筑之一）的漫长工程结束时，在天花板上贴壁纸可能是节省装饰资金和时间的一种方式。她说：“手工绘制天花板需要非常熟练的人员花费很长时间。”

由于该房产旨在接待亨利八世的祖母玛格丽特·博福特夫人（Lady Margaret Beaufort）——她于 1505 年创立了该学院——因此需要华丽的装饰。

这种引人注目的设计采用了时尚的石榴图案，与 14 世纪至 16 世纪初可见于伊斯兰纺织品的图案相似。里昂说：“这表明，在我们有时认为不同文化之间接触不多的时代，实际上存在着纺织品贸易，并且在壁纸等物品中使用了共同的视觉语言。这些就是来自伊斯兰世界的设计。”

对这类异域设计拥有国际化的熟悉程度是一种财富和地位的标志。

这些碎片被发现于一份公告的背面。下方：由 Jeffrey & Co 的 Horace Warner 还原的图像。

里昂说：“我认为，这类外国影响在当时会被认为非常酷——是那种只有精英家庭和机构才会真正复制的东西。”

根据时任基督学院院长亚瑟·希普利（Arthur Shipley）的一手记录，正是由于 1911 年发现天花板梁和托梁上碎片的工人们的勤勉，才使得这些壁纸得以保存。

在接到工头关于发现碎片的提醒后，他当晚与大学图书馆的一位专家一起去检查天花板，发现壁纸已被清理掉。希普利写道：“这似乎是一场可怕的灾难。我们以为工人们只是简单地把碎片刷掉了；但我低估了英国工人的能力……第二天早上来到寓所时，我发现每一片纸屑都被极其小心地移除并保存了下来。”

到1712年，壁纸在 upper classes（上层阶级）中变得如此流行，以至于英国政府决定对生产花纹、印刷或彩绘壁纸的制造商征税，从而推高了消费者的价格。“这项税收出台后，就像所有这类措施一样，极其不受欢迎，”里昂（Lyon）说道。人们开始购买素色壁纸，并在贴好后通过模版印刷或手工绘制。“这导致了一种某种形式的非法家庭工业。”

壁纸税最终在1836年被废除，这与机械造纸和彩色印刷技术的进步相吻合，从而引发了英国的壁纸繁荣。

“考虑到我们现在习惯于在任何地方都能看到壁纸，我认为能够展示一件在当时如此早、如此稀有且不寻常的壁纸样本是非常特别的，”里昂说道。

人们对都铎时期的物质文化也产生了比以往更大的兴趣。“我们一直在思考从馆藏中挑选哪些珍品向公众展示，”她说。“我认为像壁纸碎片这样的物质文化，是公众能够真正产生共鸣并产生想象的东西。”

上方：芥末色的 Aga Classic 100，配有三个铸铁烤箱和双热盘，来自 13,500 英镑。下方：橄榄色的 Aga Mini，售价 £7500 起。

铸铁框架几乎没有改变。一名工厂工人解释道：“这一切都基于相同的化学原理和一直以来相同的理念——将玻璃熔铸到铸铁中。它[没有]改变很多。显然，这里的机器以及人们喷涂的方式——我们随着时间的推移做出了一些调整。现在这里比以前干净多了。”

铸铁件在喷涂后被送入熔炉，在超过 800℃ 的温度下烧制。当它们从烤箱中取出时，珐琅在铸铁上泛起涟漪，仿佛液体即将滴落，但由于釉料中的粘土成分而得以防止。

在进行质量检查之前，它们至少需要一个小时冷却。即使是最微小的痕迹或气泡也会被剔除，珐琅将被喷砂去除并重新涂抹。

在 18 种可用颜色中，树莓色引起的问题最多。“它的氧化物含量非常高，”该工人解释道。“当氧化物含量较高时，会出现所谓的‘白点’，氧化物不能完全溶解，导致树莓色中出现白斑。在茄紫色中也有轻微这种情况，这也是另一种氧化物含量非常高的颜色。”

所有部件经过烧制和审核后，进入组装线进行颜色检查，由工厂的 60-70 名工人手工安装门扣和塞子，这些工人经常在生产线上轮换岗位。

我们仍然将 与经典的乡村生活联系在一起，但你现在已经无法购买那种始终开启的燃料动力 ，尽管卡彭特（Carpenter）估计英国全境仍有 100,000 台在运行。这些设备的所有者可以通过折价换购，在购买下一台烤箱时最高可获得 10% 的折扣。

“我认为 传递了一种空间感和氛围感，” Rangemaster 的总经理多米尼克·沃斯利（Dominic Worsley）说道。“它是一个炊具，但它也传递了一种生活方式，绝对有一部分人想要它，是因为他们想要那种乡村小屋的风格。”

“这是一个如此令人惊叹的产品，但我认为它在人们的关注度中稍微下降了。人们认为它们是美丽的产品，但可能很难拥有和使用，我认为这是最大的误解。我们想向人们展示今天拥有 的简单与愉悦，以及它使用起来多么方便。”

你不需要一个拥有宽敞厨房的大房子才能放得下 。Mini Cast Iron 60 型号（£7500）宽 60cm，而三门 Compact（9,500 英镑）宽 90cm。

沃斯利在伯明翰郊区长大，家里有一台 。“我母亲热爱用它烹饪，我记得很多非常美妙的家庭晚餐。”

他在其中一台炉子上学会了烹饪，还记得在学校假期期间为妹妹制作的那些水分过多、口感糟糕的土豆泥；而现在，在他位于牛津郡的家中拥有了新的 Aga 炉后，他精进了自己的厨艺。

“我在新炉子上做的第一道菜是慢炖羊肩肉。它不会被煮过头——你可以在前一天晚上十点把它放进去，第二天中午再吃，它会变得

Aga 炉由瑞典人古斯塔夫·达伦（Dr Gustaf Dalen）博士于 1922 年发明，他曾获得诺贝尔物理学奖

越来越美味。味道简直绝了。”

他说，使用铸铁烤箱烹饪是一个温和的过程。“实际上，它具有极强的容错率。如果你把东西在里面放得稍微久了一点，它也不会突然烧焦，因为你没有[将热空气强行吹向食物]，那样往往会导致食物脱水。使用 Aga 炉时，你可以将所有蒸汽保留在内部，而且由于它是辐射热，因此能保留更多营养，维持更多风味，这就是为什么人们在烹饪时会谈论所谓的‘Aga 之味’。”

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8

砖瓦建筑 (Bricks&Mortar)

买卖

八月红克劳福德 (RED CRAWFORD FOR AUGUST)

▲ 佩卡姆 (Peckham) 的松树屋 (Pine House) 拥有双倍高度的厨房和生活空间

▶ Ty Hedfan（“悬浮之屋”），由建筑师莎拉·费瑟斯通 (Sarah Featherstone) 和杰里米·杨 (Jeremy Young) 建造

河畔的愉快午餐

设计宠儿

当建筑师的住宅进入市场——你会购买吗？Elizabeth Winding 关注目前一些最不寻常的待售房屋。

作为一项独特销售主张（USP），这很难被超越：一座房子不仅由建筑师设计，而且是作为他们自己的家而设计的，没有通常的客户限制和创意分歧。“当你为自己的需求设计房子时，你在决策上可以非常激进，”Hemingway+K 房地产中介公司的联合创始人 Corey Hemingway 表示，“这就像走进建筑师的大脑——而那里通常是一个迷人的地方。”

有一些非凡的例子，从约翰·索恩爵士（Sir John Soane）那座带有地窖和伪僧侣坟墓的古怪伦敦联排别墅，到菲利普·约翰逊（Philip Johnson）在康涅狄格州的周末度假屋——一座位于森林中、取消了墙壁（以及隐私）的极简主义玻璃盒子。

市场上大多数例子没那么极端，但对于买家和中介来说，它们仍然是一个

令人好奇的前景。Louise Willocks 是 The Modern House 的总经理，该公司专注于设计驱动的销售和现代主义建筑。“当我们被要求出售建筑师拥有的住宅时，办公室里会泛起一阵兴奋，”她说，“它们可能出现在新闻报道中，但只有极少数人

位于东伦敦哈克尼（Hackney）的蓝色房子以其淡蓝色涂装的立面和纤维水泥“护墙板”饰面而脱颖而出。这座东伦敦房产由建筑师 Sean Griffiths 设计。

RED CRAWFORD FOR AUGUST

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9

Bricks&Mortar

DAN CLAUDER FOR MEMORANDUM

▲ 位于萨福克郡（Suffolk）的 The Drift 是建筑师 Marcus Lee 和策展人 Corinna Dean 的家

▼ Percy Weston 的家庭住宅，Peckham House

在现实生活中体验过它们。它们通常是独特且具有实验性的。”

The Modern House 处理过许多高知名度的案例，包括 Berthold Lubetkin 那座具有远见且被列为 I 级保护建筑的北伦敦顶层公寓，他曾与家人和一只大麦町犬住在那里（那只在客厅白色地毯上打盹的狗为营销增添了一抹优雅）。这套两居室公寓以其开阔的视野和 40 英尺高的拱顶客厅而闻名，在 2017 年以 200 万英镑的价格售出。

他们名册中更现代的例子包括 Ty Hedfan（“悬浮之屋”），由建筑师 Sarah Featherstone 和 Jeremy Young 在布雷肯（Brecon）附近的一座旧锯木厂原址上建造。该房产挂牌价为 89.5 万英镑，是一座拥有五间卧室的建筑，基于生态被动房（Passivhaus）原则设计，在 Ysgir 河上拥有一个双倍高度的悬臂式生活空间。在这座房子里，每一扇窗户，无论大小，似乎都框住了周围的风景。“位于河流之上对我们来说一直很重要，”Featherstone 说，“但我们当时没有意识到自己也会置身于树丛之中。当阳光洒下，斑驳的阴影就在房间里跳舞。”

不出所料，精巧的细节是建筑师自有住宅的标志——而且根据 Hemingway 的说法，无论规模大小，这一点都适用。她的中介公司正在营销建筑师 Nicholas Ashby 的公寓，这是一套位于布里克斯顿（Brixton）、面积 515 平方英尺的一居室维多利亚式改造房。价格为 40 万英镑，它是他们名册中迄今为止最便宜的房产，但 Hemingway 并不在意。“就其装修而言，它与我代理过的任何数百万英镑的住宅一样精致，”她指着细节说道：桉木饰面的木工活、橡木指接拼花地板，以及点缀在镶板上的微小铝制花朵（这是 Ashby 的标志性图案之一）。“你在新开发项目中找不到这些东西——它们之所以存在，是因为建筑师为自己建造了它。”

珀西·韦斯顿（Percy Weston）的家庭住宅 Peckham House 也是类似的情况。该房产由 Aucoot 代理上市，指导价为 £125 万，曾获得两项建筑奖项，且在格栅砖立面之外，还包含各种精巧的细节，其中大部分由韦斯顿及其事务所的联合创始人汤姆·瑟曼（Tom Surman）手工打造。最引人注目的是由英国落叶松天花板接缝边角料制成的端面拼接 parquet 木地板（巴比肯中心也有类似的，但是由道格拉斯冷杉制成）。这涉及切割数千个木块，随后是无数小时的打磨；结果发现锯片发生了轻微偏移，因此木块并非全部是完美的正方形。尽管——正如韦斯顿承认的——这花费了数周而非数天时间，但结果却令人惊叹。

对于 Aucoot 的总监丹·奥布莱恩（Dan O'Brien）来说，这在所难免。“在建筑师自己的家中，他们倾向于将其作为新想法的实验场，因此你会看到他们在测试材料和概念。”他表示，尽管每个项目都各不相同，但仍存在某些相似之处，包括空间的部署方式。“这就是标志性的迹象：绝对没有任何浪费的空间，每一个角落都有储物功能。”

他举了 Peckham 的 Pine House 为例，这是建筑师查尔斯·吴（Charles Wu）对一座维多利亚时代排屋的大胆改造。该房产目前处于待成交状态（under offer），价格为 £165 万，其特点是双倍高度的厨房和起居空间，以及巧妙的储物设计：环绕楼梯的食品储藏室利用了一个尴尬的角落，而背靠背的衣柜则兼作两间卧室之间的墙壁。

如果说建筑师自己的家几乎总是独一无二的，那么其中一些比其他住宅更为不寻常。以萨福克郡乡村的 Drift 为例，该房产由 Hemingway+K 代理。它是建筑师马库斯·李（Marcus Lee）和策展人科琳娜·迪恩（Corinna Dean）的住所，占据了四栋曾经废弃的农舍外壳，其中包括一座中世纪谷仓。该房产定价 £120 万，为乡村生活提供了一种坚决摒弃碎花布（chintz-free）的诠释——其中包含一个位于谷仓筒仓内的客房套房，一个可在马池中进行野泳的区域，以及一个位于荷兰式谷仓剥离骨架之下的户外用餐空间。

这些房产的易售性自然是一个重大问题。所有房产中介都认同，极少数房产处于一个独立的类别中：即由极负盛名的名家建造或改造的房产。这些房产通常被列为 I 级或 II 级保护建筑，其定价如同收藏品，类似于艺术品。卢贝特金（Lubetkin）的顶层公寓就属于这一档次，以及 Housden House——一座位于汉普斯特德荒野（Hampstead Heath）边缘、毫不妥协的玻璃与混凝土杰作，它在 2018 年以近 £300 万 的价格售出。

大多数房产可能不在那个稀有的领域，但它们在市场上仍然占据一个独特的位置。至少对于设计爱好者来说，这是一个强有力的卖点：一座与建筑师有个人联系且可能是独一无二的房子。在这个细分市场中，故事讲述的重要性几乎与建筑面积相当，买家往往在更感性的层面上对房屋产生反应，或许是被光影的交织，或是悬挑楼梯的线条所吸引。（“在这些最好的房子里，”Hemingway 观察到，“极少有东西是标准化的。”）

当然，还有更激进的设计，比如 Drift，或者位于伦敦东部哈克尼（Hackney）的 Blue House，售价 £275 万。详情描述将后者称为“一座独特的住宅”，对此很难不认同：它就像一个活过来的 2D 卡通剪影，由建筑师肖恩·格里菲斯（Sean Griffiths）设计，拥有淡蓝色涂装的立面和纤维水泥“护墙板”饰面。（除此之外，值得注意的是，它拥有四层充满光线的居住 / 工作空间，面积达 2,295 sq ft。）

它能卖掉吗？Aucoot 的奥布莱恩当然认为可以。“独特的住宅总是会引发分歧，但这是一件好事，”他说。“Blue House 是小众的——它不会适合每个人。但对于那些能理解它的人来说？他们绝对会爱死它。有时只需要花更多时间才能遇到合适的人。”

而且——当然，在房源登记允许的情况下——一旦产权易手，买家随时可以进行修改。对于建筑师来说，这种感觉如何？既然佩克汉姆屋（Peckham House）已经上市，这是韦斯顿（Weston）一直在思考的问题。“作为一家事务所，我们认同事物可以改变，建筑可以演变和适配。”他停顿了一下。“坦白说，我从未真正面对过这种情况。我想如果我们把它卖了，就会知道了。”

Adlington退休生活社区专为晚年生活精心设计，每套高端现代公寓都连接着丰富的设施和景观花园，且可便捷抵达充满活力的当地商店和服务中心。因此，无论您是在私人公寓中享受安静时光，在餐厅款待家人朋友，还是与专业的团队聊天，您的新篇章都能真正让生活达到最佳状态。

“它给了我们自由、安心以及一种我们真正享受的生活方式。”——业主，伊莱恩（Elaine）和理查德（Richard）

英格兰各地提供一房、两房和三房退休公寓出售，价格从 199,950 英镑 到 894,950 英镑*。

The Spindles, Menston, West Yorkshire, 01943 660530 Riverside Gardens, Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, 01423 222478 Brookfields House, Newcastle, Staffordshire, 01782 958850 Broadleaf House, Wylde Green, West Midlands, 0121 817 8680 The Newells, Kempston, Bedfordshire, 01234 988200 Radford House, Exeter, Devon, 01392 341515

adlington.co.uk / TB1

@AdlingtonLife

@adlingtonretirementliving

ADLINGTON — RETIREMENT LIVING —

*价格在出版时正确，适用额外费用。请参阅网站或致电了解详情。所示图片仅用于示意目的。

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10

Bricks&Mortar

拥有与租赁

“我感激我那沉重的房贷”

当丽莎·弗朗西斯卡·南德（Lisa Francesca Nand）在离婚后每月需偿还近 2,800 英镑 的款项时，她不得不提高自己的收入——而这成就了她。

2020年疫情期间，我的婚姻结束了，当时我们两人都没有地方可去，所以在找到各自的租房之前，我们在封锁期间的第一段分离时光是在同一个屋檐下度过的。直到2023年5月，我才买了一套自己的房子——一套位于霍夫（Hove）诗人之角（Poets' Corner）附近、建于20世纪30年代的三居室半独立屋 [丽莎·弗朗西斯卡·南德说道，她是一名旅游作家兼广播员]。

年轻时我住在布赖顿，后来搬到了伦敦，但我一直想回来。我在霍夫锁定了五条街道，那里能提供我们所需的一切——三个卧室、一个花园和一个有灵魂的社区。这里步行即可到达海滩、独立咖啡馆、餐厅和精品店，霍夫公园就在我儿子们的学校旁边。当这栋房子出现在 Rightmove 网站上的一瞬间，我就知道我必须拥有它。我非常兴奋，并原封不动地告诉了房产中介，而这恰恰是你绝对不该做的事。但我知道它对我们来说很完美，幸好我的出价被接受了。

这处房产的价格略低于 60 万英镑。我支付了 20 万英镑 的首付，并选择了 4.5% 的两年固定利率，这使得我每月的房贷支出接近 2,800 英镑 —— 在只有一份收入且要抚养两个男孩的情况下。我14岁的大儿子因为健康问题无法一直坚持上学，所以家对他来说是一个避风港。

我发誓无论如何都要偿还这些款项。

我买房时真的希望不会长期支付这么高的费用。我在利兹·特拉斯（Liz Truss）的迷你预算案之后买房，当时所有人都认为利率很快会回落。但它们没有。当我的固定利率期结束时，利率几乎没有变动——我的月供减少了约 £100，仅此而已。

尽管我热爱自己的职业，但人们一直坚持认为我做其他工作能赚更多钱。但我做了20年的旅游记者，我最看重的是时间、自由以及能够随处工作的能力。我想陪伴我的儿子们。

我为我的职业生涯感到非常自豪。我是 talkSPORT 的首位女性主持人，在成为自由职业者后，我曾在天空电视台（Sky）、BBC 和 ITV 工作。我创建并主持《大旅行播客》（The Big Travel Podcast），

丽莎·弗朗西斯卡·南德和她的两个孩子在东萨塞克斯郡的霍夫定居

该播客部分灵感来自《荒岛唱片》（Desert Island Discs），在全球拥有听众。我采访了从约翰·辛普森（John Simpson）到克斯蒂·沃克（Kirsty Wark）等所有关于他们通过旅行看待生活的人。有些夜晚，我结束电台节目，接送孩子上学，接听商务电话，直到午夜仍在工作——但这是按照我的方式工作。为了更稳定的薪水而放弃这一切，感觉像是一场错误的交易。

我尝试通过房产建立另一项收入。我有一套婚前买的公寓，我对其进行了重新抵押并出租，还买了一套用于出租的第二套房。但由于组织混乱以及我现在怀疑是 ADHD（注意力缺陷多动障碍）的原因，我错过了一次还款，不得不申请过桥贷款以维持生存。费用像滚雪球一样增加，我损失了约 4 万英镑，最终不得不卖掉第二套公寓。我在房产投资上失败了，我不介意承认这一点。也许我以后会再试一次，但谁知道呢。

我确实考虑过缩小住房规模，但我们至少需要三个卧室，而且孩子们真的不想搬家。因此，我开始不定期地招收房客，并在从事新闻工作的同时寻找其他工作。我加入了一家旅游公司，最初是为了从自己的旅游预订中赚取佣金。现在，我从旅游预订中获得主动收入，并从推荐费中获得更多被动收入——

有时我结束电台节目，接送孩子上学，接听电话，直到午夜仍在工作

大约每年 3 万英镑。我的其中一名代理刚刚预订了一次价值 2.2 万英镑 的日本豪华之旅，我将从中赚取 2,000 英镑。我的广播收入已下降至每年约 1.8 万英镑。总计包括广播、租金收入、房客、旅行业务和子女抚养费在内，我的年收入约为 7 万英镑。拥有多种收入来源让我能够保住自己的房子。

旅行对我来说就是一切。斐济在我的心中占有特殊地位，因为那是我父亲的家乡。我在 16 岁搬到布赖顿之前在西班牙长大，所以我对那里也情有独钟。但我非常清楚，家乡同样充满了冒险。

我目前没有搬家的计划。如果要做什么，我会扩建厨房，或许还会改造阁楼。曾经让我恐惧的抵押贷款，结果成了促使我变得更具创业精神并寻找不同工作方式的动力。对此我竟感到格外感激。采访者：安妮·海耶斯（Annie Hayes）

租赁健康

Sasha Nugara，房产记者

我一直被房东拒绝。我该如何脱颖而出？

从不靠谱的房东到室友间的戏剧冲突，我们的专栏作家为您解答疑问。

我正在克拉珀姆（Clapham）寻找一套两居室公寓，随着搬出日期的临近，我只剩一个月的时间来找房了。过去，我总能通过出价高于要价的方式抢到很棒的公寓。现在我无法这样做，发现自己到处被拒绝。

在不提供高于要价的现金的情况下，我该如何让我的申请在房东面前脱颖而出？

今年《租房者权利法案》中包含的禁止竞价条款是我最喜欢的条款。直接出高于要价的报价已成为如此普遍的做法，以至于我在找房时会降低预算，以应对不可避免的额外成本。

我记得租赁代理人曾打电话积极鼓励我提高报价，以增加抢到公寓的机会，而如果我拒绝，他们就会对我失去兴趣。即便我当时每月多出 £50 甚至 £100，似乎也没有效果。我一直好奇我的竞争对手为这些公寓多出了多少钱——以及他们是做什么工作的。

所以对此我深感欣慰，但我理解你的痛苦。租赁房产时接连不断的拒绝可能会让人难以承受，如果你负担得起，我并不责怪你挥金如土。

我请教了 Chestertons 的租赁主管 Katinka Hill，关于如何脱颖而出并锁定理想住所的建议。“最重要的单一因素就是准备好迅速行动，”她说。“虽然看起来有很多可租房产，但性价比最高的房屋仍然被抢得飞快。如果你看到喜欢的房产，请尽快安排看房。”

她解释说，犹豫几天决定或四处比价可能意味着完全错失机会。

“准备工作同样重要，”她补充道。“在开始搜索之前，请确保所有必要的文件都已准备就绪。这包括照片身份证件、收入证明、雇佣证明和房东推荐信，以及适用时的租房权利证明文件。将一切组织好意味着一旦找到合适的房产，就不会有不必要的延迟。看房后及时回复也很重要。如果你知道某处房产很合适，请立即告知代理人。房东和代理人经常收到多个申请人的意向，因此迅速、清晰的回复能产生真正的影响。

“对你的情况保持透明也有帮助。明确你倾向的入住日期以及是否具有灵活性。如果你能配合房东倾向的时间表，这可能会在没有任何经济激励的情况下增强你的申请竞争力。在当今的市场中，入住日期的灵活性可能是一个决定性的优势。房东通常青睐能够与他们倾向的时间表保持一致的申请人，因此，如果能帮你锁定最符合需求的房产，即使是短期的租金重叠也可能是值得的。”

Hill 建议表现得可靠——这是大多数房东在寻找租客时的首要考虑因素。

“证明财务稳定性、稳定的收入和良好的租赁记录同样有价值。在整个申请过程中，请保持专业的形象，沟通清晰，并及时响应请求。

“最后，值得记住的是，每个房东的优先级都不同。虽然租金自然很重要，但许多人同样关注于寻找能够爱护房产、按时交租并承诺稳定租赁的租客。理解这些优先级，并证明你是满足这些条件的合适人选，现在是锁定你心仪住所的最佳方式之一。”

与当地的租赁代理建立关系并与他们保持定期联系会有所帮助。“不要害怕询问关于你所选区域的市场状况、需求水平和定价的问题。代理商对当地市场活动有第一手见解，因此他们的指导可能具有极高价值。有些房产可能有协商空间，而另一些房产从一开始就定价极具竞争力，在这种情况下，出价全额要价是确保获得该房产的最佳方式。

“最后，在伦敦市场，总需要做出某种妥协。如果一套租赁房产能满足三个条件中的两个，那就很不错了。”

有疑问？请发送电子邮件至 sasha.nugara@the-times.co.uk

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THE BARNS AT

WILLOWSIDE GRANGE

WITHINGTON • CHELTENHAM

搬入您的

新家，并 享受一年由 我们承担的 家庭开支*，让 您有更多资金 用于真正重要 的事情。

The Martingales 和 The Hayrick 是 引人注目的四卧室荷兰式谷仓住宅， 拥有独特且无遮挡的 周边科茨沃尔德（Cotswold）乡村景观。 宽敞的内部空间、高端配置 以及可持续技术，打造出 兼顾实用性与奢华感的家园。

*激励金额约为 5 万英镑，请联系我们的销售团队 以获取更多信息。

扫描二维码获取更多信息或致电

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BuyAssociation

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投资价值可升可降，BuyAssociation 始终建议您寻求独立的财务咨询。*来源：Savills 住宅预测。

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旅程从首都德里开始，这座城市将魅力与混乱完美结合，您将探索旧德里和新德里，参观该国最大的清真寺——贾玛清真寺和巨大的红堡，并乘坐人力车穿过著名的香料市场。随后我们前往阿格拉，继续欣赏壮丽景色，参观精美的大理石坟墓伊特马德-乌德-道拉，以及位于亚穆纳河畔的红砂岩阿格拉堡。行程的一大亮点是令人叹为观止的泰姬陵，它被认为是世界上最美丽的建筑之一，其白色大理石映照着天空的色彩。在兰坦博尔国家公园进行野生动物巡游，有机会观察到将该公园视为家园的50只雄伟的孟加拉虎，以及豹子、懒熊、野猪和

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我们热爱的地方

在打卡印度众多顶级的“愿望清单”景点的同时，还增加了从人力车骑行到步行游览以及地毯编织等当地体验的趣味性。

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*价格在印刷时准确。所列价格基于两人共用酒店双人间，并反映了合作伙伴的优惠价格。单人出行价格请致电咨询。优惠视供应情况而定，价格可能会有波动。折扣已在价格中体现。此优惠适用于 2026 年 9 月 1 日前确认的预订，且不能追溯应用于已确认的预订。优惠视供应情况而定，温迪吴旅行社保留更改或撤销优惠的权利。由温迪吴旅行社（Wendy Wu, ABTA WYVM-ATOL M.26,）运营并受其预订条件约束，该公司完全独立于 News 8K。

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开启一场穿越两个山地王国的非凡冒险！在尼泊尔和不丹的旅程中，您将领略令人叹为观止的自然景观、深厚的精神传统和沉浸式的文化，穿行于该地区著名的巍峨山峰与宁静山谷之间。在仅由 18 位旅行者组成的小组中，您还将漫步于古城，欣赏壮丽的全景，并在茂密的丛林中寻找野生动物。

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两个迷人的山地王国的结合。在这次旅行中，您可以在一个行程紧凑的计划中，看到并体验尼泊尔和不丹两地的精华部分。

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DAILY NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

THE TIMES

Friday August 14 2026 | thetimes.com | No 75111

£3.20 £2.35 to subscribers (based on a 7 Day Print and Digital Subscription)

How Nicole Kidman reinvented herself at 59 Times2

A-level results and tables

Pages 12-13, 54-55

Burnham 'bypassing' villagers opposed to new asylum sites

Steven Swinford Political Editor Constance Kamphier Political Correspondent

Labour has been accused of 'bypassing' local communities as it seeks to house thousands of asylum seekers on disused military sites, while the police are warning of unrest.

The government announced in June

that it planned to convert three former bases — Bicester in Oxfordshire, RAF Burnham in Suffolk and RAF Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire — to house 3,750 asylum seekers. All are near small villages and asylum seekers will far outnumber the local people.

This week Andy Burnham defended the plans, saying that people in more affluent areas must 'play their part' in

housing asylum seekers. The government is using an 'urgent' planning process for two of the sites — Bicester and Burnham — under which the Home Office has submitted the applications directly to Angela Rayner, the housing secretary, rather than to the local planning authorities.

The approach is being used because the sites are deemed to be in the

national interest, but Labour, Liberal Democrat and Tory MPs whose constituencies are near the bases are concerned that it is undemocratic.

The applications will not involve a formal public consultation but are instead expected to use a 'community engagement plan' to inform local areas about the decision and take feedback. Only the main statutory bodies,

including National Highways, Natural England, local highway authorities and the local planning authority, will be formally consulted.

The Home Office said the approach would ensure the public could submit their views so it could 'understand the impact of large sites on communities'.

Police chiefs in Norfolk, Suffolk and Continued on page 2

Houses burn and train derails on hottest day

● Wildfires destroy homes in West Midlands ● Two seriously hurt in rail accident near Lewes

Laurence Sleator Transport Correspondent Lowri Lewis, Mario Ledwith Emma Yeomans, Charlie Parker Lewes

A child and several firefighters were taken to hospital yesterday as wildfires swept across Britain and burnt down houses on the hottest day of the year.

As the country sweltered, a train derailed near Lewes in East Sussex, leaving two passengers seriously injured in an accident that experts said may be linked to the heatwave.

The West Midlands was badly affected by the heat. A grass fire in Stourbridge set six properties alight and four homes burnt down in Stoke-on-Trent.

A child was taken to hospital after inhaling smoke and six other people were treated.

Simon Tuhill, the region's chief fire officer, said the wildfires across the West Midlands had been 'one of the most significant' incidents his fire service had dealt with. He added that 'the devastation is extensive'. He said Andy Burnham had been updated on the wildfires.

Richard Parker, the region's mayor, told Sky News that Burnham had pledged to support fire and rescue services in the West Midlands with any additional resources they needed as they battled the blazes.

Fires that are being tackled by firefighters elsewhere in the country have been alight for almost a week.

People on board the derailed train just north of Lewes were thrown into the air as carriages toppled on to their sides after the Southern Rail service from London Victoria to Eastbourne came off the tracks shortly before 4pm.

James MacCleary, the Lewes MP, told Times Radio that concerns had been raised recently about the condition of track in the area due to the heat. Rail industry sources said images from the site of the crash suggested that parts of the track had buckled.

Yesterday, a temperature of 38.1C was recorded at Kew Gardens in west London, making it officially the hottest day of the year.

British Transport Police declared a major incident after the derailment and began an operation to free passengers from the wreckage. All were evacuated. Twenty people were taken to hospital, two of whom suffered serious injuries. Nine others were less seriously hurt.

The eight-car service, which left London at 2.24pm, came off the tracks on a five-minute journey between Continued on page 5

Six houses in Stourbridge were razed by flames as the country recorded a high of 38.1C. The heat may have buckled track that caused three carriages to derail near Lewes in East Sussex

SKY NEWS, EDGE MITCHELL FOR THE TIMES

Met chief and prosecutor clash over Levy failings

David Woode Crime Editor

A row has broken out between the country's leading prosecutor and its most senior police officer over failures in the criminal justice system that left the rapist Simon Levy free to kill.

Stephen Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions, accused Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, of 'taking shots' at different parts of the system. The blame game began after Levy was jailed for life this week for killing two women and raping a third.

Parkinson said he was 'deeply sorry' that Crown Prosecution Service lawyers had twice failed to tell a magistrates' court that Levy, a registered sex offender, was on bail for murder. Police had warned lawyers that Levy still posed a risk to women and said he showed a 'total disregard for bail' by continuing to sexually assault women on the London Underground.

Yesterday Rowley said that the force had apologised for its failures in the case but called out leaders from multiple agencies for not taking responsibility for their shortcomings.

'I'm the leader stepping forward, there's no one from the courts service, no one from the CPS, no one from probation stepping forward,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today.

Parkinson heeded the call hours later. He said: 'The Metropolitan Police commissioner is absolutely right to recognise that there have been failures across the criminal justice system. We were responsible for some of those failures, and I'm deeply sorry.

'But ... I don't think that different parts of the system should be taking shots at each other. I don't think that's good for public confidence.'

Levy, who is partially blind, was given a whole-life order on Wednesday for the murders of Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo, 53, and Sheryl Wilkins, 39. He also received two concurrent life sentences for the violent rape of a third woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

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2

Friday August 14 2026 | THE TIMES

News

Today's highlights

• 7am Bridget Phillipson, right, Labour Party chair and minister for women and equalities
• 7.45am Kevin Hollinrake, chair of the Conservative Party
• 12.30pm Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University
• 2.05pm Steve Bennett, founder of the comedy review website Chortle
• 5pm Douglas Carswell, former MP for Clacton

TODAY'S EDITION

GO TO THE DIGS Should you buy your child a student house?

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COMMENT 21 LETTERS 24 LEADING ARTICLES 25

SQUAD GOALS Michael Carrick on his push for more new signings

PAGES 62-68

UNBOWED Simon Russell Beale on cancer and his comeback

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SPORT 56 CROSSWORD 64 TV & RADIO TIMES2

On the streets with the Taliban's 'virtue and vice' police

The Times special correspondent, Anthony Loyd, has been reporting from Afghanistan for 30 years. He has been back on the streets of Kabul, finding out what life is like for ordinary Afghans once more under Taliban rule

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Watchdog to interview Farage over £5m 'gift' after by-election

Steven Swinford Political Editor

Nigel Farage is likely to be interviewed by the parliamentary standards watchdog within weeks of his expected victory in the Clacton by-election.

The Reform leader resigned as an MP last month after mounting scrutiny over his finances, including a £5 million 'gift' from a British-Thai cryptocurrency billionaire.

Farage was being investigated by Daniel Greenberg, the parliamentary standards commissioner, over whether he should have declared the gift is a benefit. If Greenberg finds against him he could face a formal inquiry by the standards committee and ultimately be suspended from parliament, potentially triggering another by-election.

The investigation was suspended after Farage's resignation but will resume if he becomes an MP again. Farage insists he has done nothing wrong and said he was resigning to 'stick two fingers up to the establishment'.

However, none of the main parties contested the seat, leaving Farage facing Count Binface, an independent candidate, as his main rival. The by-election was contested by 34 candi-

dates after attracting a large number of independents.

Farage will use a speech after the result today to insist that 'the establishment can't beat us'. A Reform UK source said: 'They can throw anything they want and the people of Clacton back us.'

Farage received £5 million from Christopher Harborne, a cryptocurrency billionaire based in Thailand, in April 2024. He insisted that the gift was personal and his to spend as he saw fit.

He has given a series of explanations for the gift, including that it was for his security and also as a reward for Brexit.

Farage told LBC Radio that it was 'not any of your business', adding: 'With all due respect, what's it got to do with you? It's an unconditional gift. I can spend it on Ferraris if I want. That'd be entirely up to me. I can do what I want with it. I can put it on the horses.'

The gift was referred to the commissioner as a potential breach of the MPs' code of conduct, which states that new MPs must declare any registrable benefits they received in the year before they were elected.

The rules say that 'purely personal gifts or benefits' from family or com-

mercial loans would not normally need to be registered. However, they also say that 'both the possible motive of the giver and the use to which the gift is put' should be considered, adding: 'If there is any doubt the gift should be registered.'

He is also facing scrutiny over benefits in kind provided by George Cottrell, a close friend and convicted fraudster. The Sunday Times disclosed that the support included security and social media staff in the year before he was elected.

Reform UK spent £10,000 on Facebook and Instagram advertising during the Clacton campaign, according to Politico Farage, the most-followed UK party leader on social media, has also shared election content across his TikTok and X accounts.

The contest is estimated to have cost taxpayers £250,000 and the 90cm-long ballot paper has caused problems for Tendring district council. The size of the paper meant larger tables than usual were required at the count and the result announced on the floor of Clacton Leisure Centre rather than on a stage due to the number of candidates who would have to fit on it.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Burnham 'bypassing' villagers

North Yorkshire have raised concerns about their ability to cope with potential protests caused by the sites.

The chief constables of Norfolk and Suffolk, Paul Sanford and Rachel Kearton, have written to the Home Office and local MPs warning that they may be unable to cope with the disorder prompted by the site at RAF Burnham.

They are particularly concerned because their forces use the site as a specialist operations training centre and have been told to leave within weeks.

They said: 'We are increasingly concerned about the potential for heightened community tension and unrest arising from the proposed future use of RAF Burnham... Without sufficient time to identify and establish a replacement facility, there is a clear risk that our ability to sustain the specialist capabilities necessary to respond to emerging tensions and public order challenges across both counties will be significantly diminished.'

Sir Alec Shelbrooke, the Tory MP for Wetherby & Easingwold near RAF Linton-on-Ouse, said he had been told by the chief constable of North Yorkshire that they did not have the resources to deal with potential weekly protests. He said: 'It is inappropriate to triple the adult population like this; it's not fair on people living here.'

Rachael Markell, the Labour MP for York Central, said: 'It's really important that the communities are involved in the process and really listened to.'

Terry Jerny, the Labour MP for South West Norfolk, said: 'The risk, as that we are quite rightly focusing on devolution and power to local communities and this process would seem to be the opposite to that. There's a contradiction in our approach.'

Calum Miller, the Lib Dem MP for Bicester & Woodstock, said: 'This is an affront to democracy. The government is deliberately bypassing the views of local representatives and people.'

The government said: 'All crown development planning applications require engagement with local authorities. We are ensuring members of the public will be able to submit their views.' Politico, pages 8-9

Burnham v Middle England is just the start, Patrick Maguire, page 23

Nick Timothy Comment

It seems to be a controversial thing to say, but it is true, so I will say it. The huge numbers of men crossing the Channel and being housed near small villages in rural areas are illegal immigrants. They broke into our country without permission, and they should be deported — not housed near quiet and peaceful villages in places like Suffolk.

This is not a matter of opinion or rhetoric. Section 24 of the Immigration Act 1971 makes it a criminal offence for a person who is not a British citizen to knowingly enter the country without leave to do so. Yet the state has given up on enforcing the law.

These illegal immigrants travel from France — a safe country — but started their journeys in some of the most violent and misogynistic places in the world. The government refuses to publish regular data on crimes broken down by nationality and immigration status, but few days pass without new cases of rapes and violent crimes committed by illegal immigrants who claim asylum.

Ministers claim they are winning because they are

reducing the asylum casework backlog and closing down a handful of the 'asylum hotels' used to house these illegal immigrants. But all they are doing is rushing claimants through the system.

They are emptying the hotels by moving the migrants into houses of multiple occupancy in residential areas and, now, turning former military bases into new towns for illegal immigrants.

RAF Burnham in Suffolk is just outside my constituency. It is used by the police as a training base. Out of nowhere, the government announced that it planned to house up to 1,250 male illegal immigrants there. (The village of Burnham, next door, has a population of 588.) There will be more than four times as many men housed there as local women.

Instead of going through the local planning system, the government is using an urgent crown development process to cut out local people having their say.

The police say leaving their base will undermine their operational effectiveness, and increase their workload. This is partly about protests, which turned violent in Thetford across the county border in Norfolk, but also spikes in crime —

often serious offences — associated with an influx of illegal immigrants.

Already in Suffolk I have had contact from constituents concerned about the behaviour of illegal immigrants housed locally who behaved inappropriately to children in public places.

The police move them on, but there is little understanding of the standards of behaviour we expect here. Too often the priority for public authorities is to limit the information made available to the public, and resist the use of accurate terminology such as 'illegal immigrants', instead of telling local people the truth.

The prime minister says his approach to housing illegal immigrants is about 'fairness', and he asks all parts of the country to 'play their part'. But there is nothing 'fair' in allowing men who have broken into our country to stay here, housed for free, and given access to services often denied to local people. The national effort should be to stop illegal immigration altogether — not house people we do not want in quiet and peaceful communities like ours.

Nick Timothy is Conservative MP for West Suffolk and shadow justice secretary

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THE TIMES | Friday August 14 2026

1

News

Sun, sea and squealing as boars go wild on beaches of French Riviera

A growing and fearless population is hogging the sands hungry for holidaymakers' snacks, reports Adam Sage

Holidaymakers on the French Riviera are having to share the sand with a new type of beachcomber: wild boars scavenging for food.

Sightings have become more frequent on the Côte d'Azur this summer, in the latest sign of the exponential growth in Europe's wild boar population. Locals say the animals have discovered that humans tend to visit beaches laden with snacks, which can make for tasty pickings when left unguarded.

Sometimes, beachgoers can be persuaded to part ways with their food voluntarily. Although it is an offence to feed wild boar, people do so anyway according to officials. Seaside bins are another rich source of nourishment for boars.

Coastal campsites, restaurants and holiday residences all say they are struggling to combat the invasion of the animals, which have become particularly skilled in knocking over wheelie bins in their hunt for food.

There have been no reports of accidents, with experts saying the animals are generally not aggressive. They have, however, been known to charge when wounded or fearful for their young.

"We're careful. We keep our eyes open," a French tourist sunbathing on a Riviera beach frequented by boars told the TFI television channel. Another said that he was used to coming across boars in regional forests, but added: "It's very rare on beaches."

In May, a 45kg (7 stone) boar caused a commotion on Almasarre beach in Hyères when it swam in from the sea before careering across the sands, apparently panicked and looking for an escape. Boars are capable of swimming several kilometres, according to experts, and have colonised Mediterranean islands such as Perquereilles, Port-Cros and Levant in recent years. They are also capable of crossing to the mainland.

Like much of continental Europe, the

A wild boar and her piglets hit the beach in Cerbère, near the border with Spain. Authorities are struggling to control the wild boar population across Europe

Côte d'Azur appears powerless to halt the rise in the boar population. The resort of Fréjus, for instance, introduced a fine of up to €450 this year for anyone caught feeding boars, following complaints that flowerbeds, both in municipal parks and private gardens, were being decimated.

Farmers speak of woe on a far greater scale, with boars causing an estimated €90 million in damage to crops across the country per year, according to the

French Federation of Hunters. The federation says it is doing its best to keep the population in check, culling 881,372 boars during the 2024-25 hunting season, double the number killed two decades ago and 20 times more than in the 1970s. But boars breed faster than the federation's members can shoot, according to officials.

Scientists say that one reason for the increase in boars is climate change, as warmer winters have meant greater

numbers of young boars survive into the spring. But critics also blame the introduction of game management practices, designed to ensure a plentiful supply of boars for hunters in recent decades. The practices include putting down food for boars in forests and avoiding culls of young and female boars. The federation's detractors say the policy has allowed the population to grow out of control.

Elsewhere in Europe, the picture is

similar. Boars have become a familiar sight on the Costa del Sol in Spain and also in the Italian capital Rome where 177 soldiers were deployed to shoot the animals in 2024.

In 2020, a German nudist was photographed chasing a boar that had taken a bag containing his laptop by a lake in Berlin. The boar dropped the bag when he clapped his hands and banged the ground with a stick, and he recovered his laptop.

Occultist damns druids as attention-seekers in cheap robes

David Barnett

There's trouble brewing on the myth-scaled isle of Anglesey.

Druids, who regularly use ancient monuments such as the Neolithic henge and the burial mound Bryn Celli Ddu, have been condemned by the owner of an occult store on Anglesey, Yoys Mon in the Welsh language, for disrespecting the sites — with allegations of littering and lighting dangerous fires in drought conditions.

Connor Farrimond, who runs the Malphas & Co online witchcraft shop and describes himself as an occultist, attacked modern druid groups for living out a "role-playing fantasy" and claimed that "what they're engaging in is nothing short of vandalism and a misguided quest for attention".

Not so, say Anglesey's druids, who

celebrate important pagan dates such as the summer and winter solstices at Bryn Celli Ddu and who have said Farrimond's comments amount to religious prejudice.

Farrimond's attack, according to Kristoffer Hughes of the Anglesey Druid Order, is "formed without any meaningful engagement with the contemporary druid community or with those who dedicate their lives to preserving Welsh spiritual and cultural traditions. To caricature an entire religious community without dialogue is not scholarship; it is prejudice".

Farrimond, 29, is originally from Newcastle and moved to north Wales in 2016, opening Malphas & Co four years ago, serving the witchcraft community. He wrote on Facebook this month: "So-called modern druids have become something of a bane within the

wider community of those interested in ancient history, practical magic and even archaeology.

"It's astonishing how many of these individuals, often sporting cheap robes and toys dressed up as ritual tools, parade around claiming to reconnect with Britain's ancient past. The reality, however, couldn't be further from authentic history. They tend to misinterpret and romanticise ancient customs, adapting them into a kind of role-playing fantasy

Druids at the Bryn Celli Ddu burial chamber

that bears little resemblance to what we know of genuine prehistoric practices."

Farrimond told The Times that they "clamber all over reconstructed mounds" that are not structurally safe, and that they litter and light fires, despite recent heatwaves.

There are several druid organisations in the UK, with the two biggest — the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, and the British Druidry Order — having more than 20,000 members.

The Anglesey Druid Order was established by Hughes in 1999 to "facilitate learning, devotion and celebra-

tion of the wisdom and historical significance" of the island of Anglesey.

Hughes disputed Farrimond's accusations of vandalism, saying: "This is a serious allegation. If individuals damage protected sites, they should absolutely be challenged... But to imply that such behaviour represents modern druidry as a whole is unsupported."

He said his organisation consulted with Cadw, the Welsh historic environment service, and English Heritage to properly use ancient sites.

Farrimond said that he was not a lone voice in his criticisms: "Friends, family, customers, even people I speak to in passing all share this view."

Hughes said that he was open to discussion but defended druidry. "We are entirely open to conversation; we are not, however, obliged to remain silent in the face of prejudice," he said.

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4

News Heatwave Britain

'A jolt, then carriage jumped

Passengers tell how they were flung from seats, Laurence Sleator, Emma Yeomans and Mario Ledwith report

Nathan Cole is often nervous when he travels by rail. A tension comes over him when, on the Central Line on the London Underground, the carriages routinely shudder and swerve.

He felt the same trepidation as he sat on the 2.24pm Southern Rail service from London Victoria to Eastbourne yesterday and the shaking began. The 30-year-old soon found himself tossed to his side and staring through a window filled with dirt.

Beside him a woman was catapulted from her seat, appearing to Cole like she was 'dropping from the sky' before almost landing on top of him.

Cole was among 150 passengers on the 'packed' service who were left both shocked and bloodied after a derailment on Britain's hottest day of the year that experts said could be down to the sweltering summer.

Passengers first knew that something was not quite right when a speeding sensation took hold of the train, which then began to rock from side to side.

Rob Bradley, who was travelling with his six-year-old daughter Mabel, watched as his carriage jumped 'verti-

cally upwards' as the driver pulled the emergency brake, bringing the eight-carriage train to a dramatic halt.

Bradley watched as their bags, as well as his laptop and AirPods, were tossed forward by the sudden jerk.

After the train 'skidded' to a stop just north of Lewes railway station at 3.44pm, Bradley turned around, looked down the train and could see how close they had been to possible harm. 'It was open and there was smoke and dust pouring into the carriage,' he said.

While carriage four in which he was travelling was upright, the fifth was among the three rear carriages that had slid down the embankment adjoining the rail line. All were now on their side.

One of those less fortunate than him was Cole, who was in an overturned carriage. 'I'm looking at the window. I'm seeing dirt,' he said. 'I'm thinking, I hope this window doesn't burst, because that goes right in my face.'

He added: 'Then I see the woman, right in front of me, just dropping from the sky. Then another old woman, who was holding on to the handle on the chair, when the train came to stop, I had to pick her up.'

Cole was not seriously injured but was taken to hospital to be checked. He said: 'I'm still alive, but I was at the very back that took the brunt of it.'

A frenzy gripped the people in the toppled carriages, who had little idea what had happened. Shannon Jones, who was in the fifth carriage, said that passengers thought 'we may have hit

someone'. Charlie Hobden, 31, from Lewes, said that the train's sudden halt 'felt like a sliding snake', telling the BBC: 'We just went over and we were dragging along the floor.'

Inside the tossed carriages, as dazed passengers came to, some put their hands to their heads to discover blood streaming down and on to their clothing. Others had received blows that felt like a punch to the ribs.

Those aboard said that the train had felt 'quite packed', with a sizeable contingent of older passengers and children enjoying the school holidays.

Given the make-up of those travelling and the seriousness of the derailment, it is fortunate the injuries were not worse. British Transport Police said two people were seriously injured. Last night 20 people were in hospital.

That may be thanks to the train's speed, which experts said was probably below 40mph. The incident happened between Cooksbridge and Lewes, a journey of five minutes, meaning it would not have picked up much speed.

In the aftermath, some of those in the tossed carriages managed to clamber out, standing atop the side of the carriages where they surveyed the scene.

The probable cause of the derailment was staring straight at them. Images from the site appeared to show rails in a severely buckled state. Although the cause of the incident has yet to be determined, high temperatures are known to increase the risk of buckling. Temperatures in Lewes are thought to have peaked at about 33C yesterday.

The driver log from the train said that the incident appeared to be down to a 'track defect'.

Other experts said the derailment may have been caused by a landslip.

James MacCleary, the Lewes MP, said rail companies had reported that the extremely dry conditions were affecting embankments and track conditions and that speed conditions had been put in place around the area.

The transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, said she was 'deeply concerned' over reports of the derailment.

Helena Dollimore, the Hastings & Rye MP, described the incident as 'extremely distressing', adding: 'I think all of us rely on our local trains and take for granted that they run safely.'

The derailment led to a major incident being declared and a significant rescue operation swung into action. About 14 ambulances, ten fire engines and a fleet of police cars and technical rescue vehicles were sent to the area from across East and West Sussex.

Bradley said that when train staff initially informed passengers what had just happened, the 'announcement was relatively jovial in that there was going to be a 'delay to the service'.

The impact was felt elsewhere, with Southern Rail closing all lines running through the station, announcing major disruption until 10pm and warning of a knock-on impact at Gatwick airport.

As sirens sounded around them and helicopters flew overhead, passengers were kept on board the train for about 90 minutes as police checked the line was not live. By 6pm all had been successfully extracted from the train. Locals brought flasks of tea and cold drinks to the cordon as rescuers sweltered in the latest heatwave.

Lana Ludwig was among those who were left 'pretty banged up' in the incident that resulted in her being propped up over another passenger.

The 56-year-old American told Sky News: 'These moments, everybody kind of pulls together.' She described how passengers checked on each other before the emergency services arrived. Additional reporting by Charlie Parker

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5

News

in air and filled with smoke'

DAVID SEIDIE MITCHELL / OF THE TIMES

Several carriages tipped over leaving a number of passengers trapped when the Southern train derailed just north of Lewes yesterday afternoon. About 150 people were on board, two of whom were seriously injured. Last night 20 people were being treated in hospital. There were chaotic scenes in the aftermath, left. Some of the passengers were able to leave the scene unaided

Inquiry may focus on extreme summer heat

Analysis

While the shock of passengers caught up in the East Sussex train derailment will take a long time to subside, the industry has already turned its attention to what caused it (Laurence Sleator writes).

The 14:24 Southern Rail service that derailed was an eight-carriage slow service from London Victoria to Eastbourne. It is thought to have derailed more than an hour into the journey between Cooksbridge and Lewes.

Fortunately, with a journey time of only five minutes between the stations it is likely that the train was not travelling at high speed. Industry sources estimated it would have been unlikely to have reached 40mph, any faster and the incident could have been more serious.

At times like this, teams from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) attend to gather evidence to try to determine what happened.

An interim report giving an outline of the details tends to be published within days or weeks and then a more thorough examination months later. All the factors

will be looked at by RAIB even if it is to rule them out.

Expert theories are already focusing on the scorching summer weather. This is because Britain's steel tracks can be vulnerable to particularly warm weather, getting up to 20 degrees hotter than the air temperature.

With temperatures in Lewes today of more than 30C on what was the country's hottest day of the year, it meant that the track could have been in excess of 50C.

As steel absorbs heat it expands, leaving it vulnerable to buckling, although speed restrictions on trains are often implemented to reduce the risk of derailing.

Experts said that the pictures from the site indicated that this could have been the cause of the derailment. With the three rear carriages derailed, they suggested that a buckling may have occurred after the front of the train passed.

This will become clear in any investigation by RAIB with the forward facing train camera and the driver themselves in clear view of the tracks as they approached.

The lack of rain may have also been a factor. After England's

warmest spring on record and hot summer, the ground under long stretches of the railway may have dried out and shrunk. This can cause the track to drop in places and become uneven.

Norman Baker, the former Lewes MP and former transport minister, told Times Radio: "The suggestion might be ... a landslide, or obviously another possible explanation is that it was due to rails buckling in the heat."

James MacCleary, the Lib Dem MP for Lewes, said that he had a meeting last week with GTR, the parent company of Southern, to discuss the track and the "fact it has been a bit bumpier in recent months".

The most recent serious train derailment was in June this year when Shaun Burton, 60, was killed when the East Midlands Railway (EMR) service from Corby to London St Pancras he was driving hit the back of a stationary EMR Nottingham to London service.

An interim report found that Burton applied the brakes on his train while travelling at 76mph, about nine seconds before it collided with the other train, causing both to derail.

Concerns raised about tracks before derailment

Continued from page 1

Cooksbridge and Lewes. Experts said the short journey time meant it was unlikely to have been travelling at more than 40mph.

Pictures from the crash site showed passengers standing on top of upturned carriages and some who had managed to get out helping others.

Nathan Cole, 30, a passenger in a carriage that overturned, said the train shook and swerved before derailing. He added: "We heard the suspension, kind of, it went to full force."

When the carriage overturned, the window next to him filled with earth. He said: "I'm thinking. I hope this window doesn't burst, because if the window breaks that goes right in my face. Then I see the woman, right in front of me, just dropping from the sky."

Cole was not seriously injured but was taken to hospital to be checked.

Another passenger, Susan, in her seven-tenths, said: "I'm just happy to be alive."

She said they had escaped by ladder through the guard's door on "what was now the roof"; and she was triaged "out in the fields and the floodplains".

MacCleary said: "I had a meeting literally last week with [Greater Thameslink Railway], who are the parent company of Southern Rail, and we did discuss the track and the fact that it has been a bit bumpier in recent months, which is possibly a result of the incredibly hot weather we've had recently."

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch is investigating and an interim report is expected soon.

Fire engulf's homes, page 6

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6

News Heatwave Britain

‘Apocalyptic’ fire engulfs homes

DAN WEAK

Eleanor Hayward Health Editor

Flames destroyed houses and wildfires raged across Britain yesterday after the highest temperature of the year was recorded and firefighters and a child had to be admitted to hospital.

The West Midlands was badly affected, with a grass fire in Stourbridge setting six properties alight and four homes burnt down in Stoke-on-Trent.

Fires that are being battled by firefighters elsewhere in the country have been alight for almost a week.

The Met Office declared yesterday the hottest day of the year so far, as a provisional temperature of 38.1C was recorded at Kew Gardens in west London, exceeding the previous high of 38C on June 28.

Firefighters were called just before 1.30pm to the large grass fire near Stourbridge Golf Club and the 40-acre blaze spread across roads and to the six houses.

According to West Midlands fire and rescue service, three firefighters and a child had to be taken to hospital.

Another six members of the public were treated for the effects of breathing in smoke.

Andrew Tromans, who represents Wollaston & Stourbridge Town on Dudley borough council, described the fire in Stourbridge as ‘apocalyptic’.

Across the rest of the West Midlands, four homes were destroyed by a fire in Sandyford, Stoke-on-Trent and a woman was seriously injured in another fire that badly damaged houses in Castle Vale, Birmingham, and made the roof of one building collapse.

In Warwickshire, a major incident was declared over what the fire and rescue service described as a ‘large fire’ in Salford Priors, Stratford-upon-Avon, but was later stood down.

There was also a fire in nearby Pershore, Worcestershire, where one person was treated for smoke inhalation and 30 homes were evacuated.

Hereford and Worcester fire and rescue service said that about 200 properties had been left without power following the fire.

Richard Parker, the West Midlands mayor, said: ‘There is an extremely worrying and fast moving situation with multiple fires across our region.

‘I’m concerned for the families being asked to evacuate their homes and those whose journeys have been delayed or cancelled — but safety must come first.’

He added: ‘Our emergency services are doing an amazing job in extreme circumstances and we will continue to give them our full support.’

The M6 northbound near Birmingham was also temporarily closed between junctions 5 and 6 as a result of smoke from the wildfires.

A wildfire that has engulfed half of the 660-acre Holme Fen nature reserve south of Peterborough in Cambridgeshire entered its sixth day.

About 130 firefighters were continuing to tackle another wildfire in the New Forest, Hampshire, which started on Sunday and has so far affected an area about the size of 230 football pitches. The fire began when a van caught fire on the A31 and 23 drivers were forced to abandon their vehicles as the fire took hold.

A major incident was also declared in Wiltshire as firefighters struggled to cope with the intense demand in the county.

Crews from across the area battled a significant fire near Westbury White Horse yesterday and homes were evacuated

uated in south Wales as firefighters battled seven blazes across the region.

Steve Wright, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said: ‘We are very concerned to see wildfires raging in Stourbridge, South Wales and elsewhere around the UK.

‘Firefighters are bravely tackling every blaze trying to keep the public and all our communities safe. Our members are also assisting other emergency services dealing with the derailed train in Lewes. It is imperative we increase the resilience of the fire and

A wildfire set houses alight in the West Midlands town of Stourbridge, above and below, where horses had to be led to safety because their field was ablaze. There were more wildfires across the region

rescue service, recruit 5,000 more firefighters and provide adequate PPE so our members can tackle these incidents in the safest way possible.’

During the heatwaves, nearly half of NHS trusts have recorded temperatures above 33C on wards since June.

The figures, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the Liberal Democrats, show a high of 41.8C was recorded in June at the Northern Care Alliance Trust in Manchester.

Few hospitals are equipped with air conditioning or adequate ventilation.

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7

News

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHED BY JIMMY PIPELI

Pubgoer, 102, dies after he was 'pushed in noise row'

Herbie Russell

A 102-year-old man has died after allegedly being pushed when he asked for the music to be turned down at his local pub.

Philip Ormerod was allegedly assaulted at the Crow's Nest pub in Cwmbran, south Wales, at about 10.25pm on August 1. Gwent police said.

A 56-year-old man from Llanelli was arrested on suspicion of section 20 assault and later released under investigation.

Police, who were called to the pub alongside the Welsh Ambulance Service after a report of an assault, initially said that the man was in a critical condition in hospital. The force later confirmed that Ormerod had died.

They are appealing for anyone who was at the pub between 10pm and 11pm on the night of the incident, which was a Saturday, to come forward.

Ormerod's son Robert said that he wanted justice for his father. He described him as a popular character who young people would buy a beer for when he visited the bar.

Ormerod is understood to have been visiting the Crow's Nest for a drink when he went onto a stage to complain about the volume of the music.

'I'That's the most upsetting part,' Robert Ormerod said. 'He wasn't going to live for ever but it's not a nice way, obviously in pain.'

'We want to see justice, of course. It would have been nice if he'd gone quietly in his sleep. He was in hospital, suffering, for a week and a half.'

Ormerod, a great-grandfather, worked as a design dreadful man before his retirement.

He continued living in Llanyrafon, a suburb of Cwmbran, after the death of his wife 40 years ago and was visited often by his two sons.

Robert said 'I used to visit him regularly and then towards the end me and my brother used to keep the house clean as best we could and buy his food,

because his eyesight had deteriorated.'

He said his father had been diagnosed with dementia 'a couple of years ago, he probably had it before that'. His father would visit the pub two or three times a week for a beer and became a familiar face. 'I suppose he became a pub character,' he said.

Pubgoers told Wales News that Ormerod walked on to the stage while SuperHans, a Llanelli-based band, were playing. One witness said: 'My understanding from the police and staff at the time was that the 102-year-old, who lived independently and was a regular at the pub, went on to the stage, which was up three steps, to ask for the music to be turned down.'

Locals described the centenarian as 'lovely' but 'confused'. Casey Smith, manager of the nearby Llanyrafon Social Club, confirmed that Ormerod was a regular at his venue too.

After the incident at the Crow's Nest, the band took down its Facebook page. Before it disappeared, one of its members posted a statement saying: 'For personal reasons, I am stepping away from [the band]. Until recently, it's been a great eight years and I've met great people and played some brilliant gigs. Thank you everyone.'

Detective Chief Inspector Shelley Comley, of Gwent police, said that he wanted to remind people there was 'a family at the heart' of the investigation 'processing the loss of a loved one'.

A spokesman for the pub said: 'Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with his family, friends and all those affected by this sad loss.'

Philip Ormerod fell from a stage during a gig at the Crow's Nest pub

Ivan Staines, 99, below left, Paul Terry, 101, and Alfred Cooley, 100, flew in dual-cockpit Spitfires with Times photographer Richard Pohle alongside in a 'chase aircraft'. Cooley, Terry and Staines with Staines's great-grandson before take-off

How I got dream shot of veterans in Spitfires

It was an invitation too good to ignore (Richard Pohle writes). An offer from the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans to photograph three Second World War veterans taking to the skies in three dual-cockpit Spitfires.

This, I knew, would make great pictures, but would I be able to fly alongside? It was something I was desperate to do because I

love vintage aircraft. The day belonged to the three veterans, Paul Terry, 101, Ivan Staines, 99, and Alfred Cooley, 100. I arrived at Biggin Hill aerodrome in south London early but tried to temper my expectations about flying alongside as there were just four spaces on the 'chase aircraft'.

The veterans arrived with their families, other veterans and charity members. With Staines was his excited five-year-old great-grandson, who played with a small toy Spitfire as he sat feet away from the real things.

After learning I could join the chase aircraft, I was so excited I couldn't

sit still. To fly alongside Spitfires is an aircraft enthusiast's dream.

The veterans were briefed and put into flight overalls and, in the scorching heat of Britain's fifth heatwave of the summer, escorted to their waiting Spitfires.

At the same time, four of us squeezed into our small Piper Saratoga chase aircraft. Soon we were airborne, straining to see the Spitfires.

A Spitfire in flight is an absolute scene of beauty but in the turbulence it was difficult to frame them in the viewfinder, especially as I was aware of shooting on a slower shutter speed of 1/160 sec to have movement in the propeller.

Soon it got messy. I had a TV cameraman leaning on my shoulder, as well as two other photographers all pushing against each other trying to frame the picture. 'Human Jenga in a small aircraft' was how it was described.

Because of the late take-off, we had just two minutes with all three in formation. I knew I had a nicely framed picture, but was it sharp? With all the pushing and shoving and turbulence, it would be difficult to be certain until we landed.

The main thing was the three veterans landed with smiles on their faces. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for them, but also for this photographer.

Bishop accused of raping girl after pilgrimage to Lourdes

David Brown Chief News Correspondent

A bishop raped a girl earlier in his career after they made a pilgrimage to Lourdes, a court has been told.

The Right Rev David Oakley, Catholic Bishop of Northampton, is alleged to have attacked the girl, who was under 16, in the early 2000s.

Sarah Madden, for the prosecution, told Westminster magistrates' court yesterday: 'Oakley and the girl started dating after going on a pilgrimage to Lourdes. She recalls having sex on at least two occasions.'

Oakley, 70, appeared via video link from his lawyer's office, wearing a white open-necked shirt. He did not enter a plea.

Paul Goldspring, the chief magistrate of England and Wales, ordered the bishop to appear at the Old Bailey on September 10.

Oakley was a parish priest at the time of the alleged offences. He was arrested in September last year after an allegation was made to Staffordshire police.

Most Catholic dioceses in England organise pilgrimages to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes.

The tradition started in 1858 after

Bernadette Soubirous, 14, reported visions of the Virgin Mary at the Grotto of Massabielle in France. Pilgrims believe the grotto's water has healing properties and can cure illnesses and disability.

Oakley was ordained in 1980 and served in several parishes within the Archdiocese of Birmingham. He was appointed Bishop of Northampton in 2020, covering Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

The Pope has appointed the Archbishop of Westminster, the Most Rev Richard Moth, as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Northampton.

David Oakley was a parish priest at the time of the alleged offences

The diocese said in a statement when Oakley was charged in June: 'We understand that this will be very distressing for all concerned but cannot comment further on an active legal process.'

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales said after the

charge: 'We are profoundly aware that the report of this allegation may re-awaken painful memories for many people and again offer an unreserved apology to those who have been hurt by abuse in the Catholic Church in England and Wales.'

'The Catholic Church in England and Wales maintains a zero-tolerance policy for abuse in the Church and in wider society, and we are co-operating fully with the statutory authorities. Our immediate focus is on providing pastoral support and ensuring that we, as the Church, can continue our mission safely and transparently.'

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8

News Politics

Water firms treat customers 'like a blank cheque'

Adam Vaughan Environment Editor Robert Lea Industrial Editor Steven Sutelford Political Editor

Andy Burnham has accused water companies of treating customers like a "blank cheque" as he hit out at a fresh round of bill increases approved by a regulator.

The prime minister said he was "angry" after Ofwat gave five water companies a green light on Thursday to collectively spend an extra £3.4 billion by 2030. The investment comes on top of the sector's existing £104 billion plan to tackle sewage spills, build new reservoirs and other infrastructure.

The provisional approval will make little difference to the bills of customers with Severn Trent Water, Thames Water, Wessex Water, and South East Water. However, the four million customers of Southern Water, who were already facing a 53 per cent increase by 2030, the steepest in the sector, will bear the brunt of the new decision.

The company has the most expensive bills in the country, at an average £759 this financial year. They will rise to more than £800 next year as a result of Ofwat's approval.

The impact will be slightly less the following year but typical bills will remain above £800 a year because of inflation and previously granted increases in spending.

Ofwat said that the additional charges would be used to fund £3.4 billion worth of new projects including infrastructure for housing, data centres and measures to make drinking water

safer. The approvals are subject to a consultation which closes next month.

"We will track performance to ensure companies are delivering the expected improvements for customers and the environment," Helen Campbell, executive director for delivery at the regulator, said. "If they don't, expenditure can be clawed back."

However, Burnham said: "I understand why people are angry — I am too. The truth is customers have been asked to pay more for years, yet serious pollution incidents are at record levels and the pipes are still leaking.

"None of which is the billpayer's fault, who should not be treated as a bottomless source of funding for other people's failures. Customers cannot be treated as a blank cheque. Where water companies seek to pass unnecessary costs on to households, they will be challenged.

Our water industry has clearly not been working for people for far too long. That's why this government will be looking at how we can give the public more control and help keep bills as low as possible."

It is unclear what power Burnham has to limit bill rises. Significant sums are needed to curb sewage discharges and secure water supplies.

Water UK, the industry body, said: "This summer's drought has shown exactly why new investment is so vital. This expenditure will help to safeguard services, unlock new homes and business growth, and replace ageing infrastructure."

Andy Burnham said he wanted bills kept low

has a hosepipe ban in place for customers in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The firm is alone in seeking a non-essential use ban, barring businesses from washing vehicles or filling public swimming pools, to ensure water supplies during drought.

It is a much more draconian step than a hosepipe ban. If ministers choose to approve the application, it would be the first time one has been granted in two decades.

The Lib Dems attacked the new round of bill increases. "Once again, billpayers are set to be rinsed for using an essential resource thanks to a useless regulator," Tim Farron, the party's environment spokesman, said.

"Ofwat is merely a rubber stamp for failure. Hardworking families are being forced to cough up another £3.4 billion to fix a broken network that greedy executives have neglected for decades."

Ofwat is in the process of being axed under Labour's water sector reforms, to be succeeded by a new "super-regulator" formed of four existing regulators. However, the reforms have been slow-moving recently and initial government hopes of passing a new water bill this year are fading. A white paper was published in January but a so-called transition plan, laying out much of the key detail of the reforms, has not materialised.

Southern Water said: "This is a draft decision from our regulator, which recognises that costs have risen as we work to deliver the improvements our customers want, including several of the largest water infrastructure projects in the country.

"We know customers might be worried about further increases in bills. We've worked hard to spread rises more evenly over the coming years to reduce the impact on households and have expanded the support we offer for those who need it most.

Agency criticises 'no hosepipe ban' boast

Adam Vaughan

A regulator has told a water company it is sending the "wrong message" to customers amid droughts after the firm said it had not experienced a hosepipe ban for more than three decades.

Severn Trent Water, which serves the Midlands, has seen record demand for water amid exceptionally hot and dry weather this summer.

Despite more than 27 million people living under a hosepipe ban in England and Wales at present, Severn Trent is one of the few firms that has not imposed one.

"The company has said it is proud not to have required a hosepipe ban for so long. 'Right now, there is no hosepipe ban in place for Severn Trent customers. We've not had one in our area since 1995, and of course we'd like that to continue,' it's website said.

However, in private meetings the company clashed with the Environment Agency (EA) over how best to

communicate the need to conserve water during a dry spell.

Notes from a meeting of EA and water company staff on July 8 show that an official from the regulator said: "[Redacted] noted we are still using the 'We haven't had a hosepipe bans in 30 years' and feels it sends the wrong message." In turn, the water company said it was stating a fact "to help correct confusion where some of our customers believe there is a hosepipe ban or thought we did have one last year."

"The narrative is to encourage customers to do their part to continue not having restrictions," said one Severn Trent employee, in documents obtained by The Times using transparency laws.

The EA was also critical of the visibility of the water firm's plan for preparing for drought, the key document each water company draws up for contingency measures during dry periods. The regulator told the firm its drought plan was "quite hidden on the

[company] website".

The meeting notes and emails offer a rare insight into the friction among officials planning for drought and how best to communicate with the public.

The water company was also critical of the EA.

On July 29, the company said how disappointed it was that the regulator had failed to properly give feedback on its drought plan. When approached for comment, Severn Trent said that since the meetings it had received feedback on its drought plan from the EA.

An EA spokeswoman said: "We all have a role to play in using a little less water to make sure our current water reserves last. Every drop we can save is a drop more for our farmers, wildlife and rivers."

Almost three quarters of England is now officially in drought. The Met Office said that despite cooler temperatures expected after a 38C peak yesterday, it has low confidence in how much rain is coming over the next ten days.

Cooper takes swipe at Starmer's leadership style

Constance Kampfner

The health secretary has criticised Sir Keir Starmer's leadership style and said Labour had not "done government very well" during his premiership.

Yvette Cooper, who was one of Starmer's most senior ministers, accused the former prime minister of sidelining her during policy announcements and of abandoning the party's "missions" within a few months of gaining power.

Cooper, who served as home secretary and foreign secretary under Starmer, is said to have been one of several senior colleagues to have privately called for him to go before he announced his resignation in June.

Speaking on the Political Currency podcast, she said that while Labour had made "massive progress" on some issues since coming to power in 2024,

including on NHS waiting lists and the number of police officers on the streets, "the focus shifted quite a lot".

"We had missions in the first six months and then they kind of disappeared," she told the former Conservative chancellor George Osborne, who was presenting without his regular co-host Ed Balls, who is Cooper's husband.

Cooper, who was made health secretary in Andy Burnham's reshuffle last month, also blamed Starmer's "style" of leadership for Labour's declining fortunes, which she characterised as "bring me solutions, not problems".

"I'm not sure you can do that in politics," Cooper said. "The thing you see with Andy is, it's like, 'Hang on, bring me the problems. I want to talk to you about the problems. I want to engage. I want us to work together in solving them.'"

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9

News

JIM HENKELPH, BEN HENKINSON GETTY MAKER

Nigel Farage enjoys a pint after voting in the Clacton by-election. Support for the Reform UK leader's main rival, Count Binface, was in evidence in graffiti on Clacton promenade and in a figure by the side of a

road in the Essex resort. Despite the main parties boycotting the by-election, the ballot paper contained 34 candidates and was 90cm (about 3ft) long, the longest ballot paper in British electoral history

Hospitality chief lambasts Labour over rising costs

Steven Swinford

Labour has been accused of treating the hospitality industry with 'contempt' in a warning that red tape and tax rises will fuel youth unemployment.

An official impact statement for Angela Rayner's employment reforms found they would have a negative impact on companies, by forcing them to contend with new red tape, extra staffing costs and lost revenue.

It found that the plans could impose 'eye-watering' costs of up to £3 billion a year on businesses.

The government analysis found that sectors such as hospitality and retail, which have already borne the brunt of increases to the employers rate of national insurance and the minimum wage, would be worst affected by the changes.

It said the plans would make it harder for employers to respond to changes in demand, with a potential knock-on impact on revenue and investment.

Allen Simpson, chief executive of UK Hospitality, told Times Radio yesterday: 'We had a budget which, in 2024, protected the tax on banks, on manufacturing, on biotech, on med-tech, and raised it on hospitality and on retail, and then they doubled down on that last year. So we saw 45 per cent of all job losses in the economy come just within hospitality.'

'So I think the contempt for hospitality which we have seen, and I would use that word over the last two years, is much more localised than a broader anti-business sentiment.

'I am very hopeful that we see change with the change of prime minister and the change of chancellor, certainly it can't be worse.'

Simpson said the government's plans to end zero-hours contracts would hit young people hard.

'The way the government are proposing to go about it sets a burden on the employer, which will make lots of jobs unaffordable to offer,' he added.

'So you offer fewer jobs, and that means yet more job losses, particularly among young people. It is going to be young people disproportionately who are doing these sorts of flexible jobs.'

He said he was 'hopeful' that Andy Burnham's government would offer the hospitality sector more support on business rates, national insurance and potentially a VAT cut, which he said could lead to 'positive change'.

But he added: 'If we don't, [I] have to say the Nexts crisis [young people not in education, employment or training] is going to get worse.'

The government is consulting on proposals which could give new rights to all workers on zero-hours contracts. At present, such contracts do not specify a minimum number of hours to which workers are entitled.

The reforms would force companies to give staff a guaranteed number of hours a week, reflecting their current

Allen Simpson said ending zero-hours contracts would hit young people hard

workload. It would also require them to give workers 'reasonable notice of shifts' and to pay them for shifts that have been 'cancelled, curtailed or moved at short notice'.

In an assessment, officials calculated that if all employees on zero-hours contracts were included in the scheme, it could cost the businesses £2.9 billion a year. However, if ministers restricted the new rights to those working fewer hours then the cost to business could fall to £1.1 billion a year.

It added that the minimum cost of the policy to business would be £350 million a year, if only those workers on the fewest hours were included.

A government spokesperson said: 'We are absolutely committed to ending exploitative zero-hours contracts, where workers bear all the financial risk when hours, shifts and earnings are unpredictable.'

'These reforms will give workers in every postcode greater income security and predictability of hours and while no final decisions have been made, we're consulting to get the detail right and ensure this works in the real world.'

We can quickly free up prison space by releasing jailed women

Edwina Grosvenor Comment

The system is broken. Prisons are full, court backlogs run into years and probation is chronically understaffed. Sex offenders are being released early. Family members of victims express betrayal. It is a nightmare for the government, a very real crisis in a state institution.

The test for the new prime minister is whether he can keep the public safe once the headlines move on. That means reserving prison for those who pose a serious risk and investing in credible community alternatives for those who do not.

Prisons are an unglamorous brief and there is little electoral upside. Most politicians dread it and we are on our twelfth minister in ten years. Yet, as we have seen in the past week,

it can swiftly derail a government when appalling crimes and outrage-fueled social media collide.

Those of us working in the system have witnessed the car crash in real time. My organisation, One Small Thing, operates in scores of male and female prisons. In one horrific, well-publicised case, a teenager who was on remand, awaiting trial, gave birth alone in her cell, despite repeated calls for help. She bit through the umbilical cord with her teeth. Lacking urgent care, the baby died as she cradled its tiny corpse in her bank. When she finally stood trial she was found not guilty.

Too many women being held in jail go on to be found not guilty. While waiting for court many lose so much, including their job, their house and their children, often to the care system. Some women will rightly be sentenced to prison from the crown court for serious crimes, but the vast majority do not fall into this category and are

far more likely to hurt themselves than anyone in the community.

At One Small Thing, we designed and built Hope Street — a replicable, scalable residential alternative to custody for women and their children. We divert women from expensive prisons and work closely with local drug, alcohol and mental health teams to improve health and combat addiction, while they serve their court-appointed community sentence. Their children remain with them, when otherwise they would begin a costly and traumatic journey through care.

Prisons are bursting, but places must be available for the courts to send people who have committed violent and sexual offences. So what is the solution? Let's start creating space by releasing those who pose the least risk to the public. Overwhelmingly this is women.

Let's end the monstrous, expensive and retrograde practice of locking up thousands of women for minor

crimes or holding so many on remand. Let's embrace community alternatives, which cost a fraction of a prison sentence and are far more effective. Everyone benefits, including the government which can refit these women's prisons quickly for male prisoners. HMP Bronzefield in Ashford, Surrey, for instance, one of the UK's largest women's prisons, is built to a male specification.

This week's news cycle will pass, we will resume our stance of toxic lethargy, but the damage will have been done to public trust and to victims. There are answers. We know how to support women to move away from crime. If we wish to have a justice system that rehabilitates, that reduces harm in society, that is just, then we need to act with urgency.

We can do this. HMP Wandsworth is helping men transform themselves through 'Scandi wings', inspired by Scandinavian prisons. A recent story celebrated the effect of a garden in

HMP Birmingham. The Clink restaurant chain trains inmates in catering and helps them into employment after release.

Our new prime minister promised bravery and radicalism. Justice is always the ultimate test. You want to be brave? Listen to the experts. Follow the data on prisons, rehabilitation and crime reduction. Justice ministers that I have worked with from both parties have had a striking unanimity about solutions, they just have not been in office long enough to drive through the changes upon which they all agree.

I am optimistic because our justice sector is awash with brilliant people who know what works. What we need now is a government brave enough to scale what works. Most importantly, an effective justice system will keep all of us safer.

Lady Edwina Grosvenor is a criminologist and founder of the prison reform organisation One Small Thing

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10

News

Study offers some friendly advice on how to feel healthy

Kaya Burgess Science Correspondent

"A principal fruit of friendship is the ease and discharge of the fullness and swellings of the heart," Francis Bacon wrote. A scientific study has now proven him right.

Feeling satisfied with the quality of the friendships in your life is strongly linked with a boost in how healthy you feel, both mentally and physically, the research has found. It showed that strong relationships could not only help mental health, but also boost the perception of physical health.

On a scale of zero to ten, people who rated their friendships as “excellent” scored their mental health 4.6 points higher than those who rated them as “poor”. The former group also rated their physical health 3.4 points higher, the researchers from Kitabya Health Sciences University in Turkey found.

The bad news is that the UK ranked 20th out of 22 countries for satisfaction with friendships, above China and Japan. Britons rated their happiness with their relationships at 6.26 out of 10.

The UK also ranked 19th out of 22, above Germany, Turkey and Japan, when people were asked to rate their mental health, and 21st out of 22, above only Japan, when asked to rate their physical health. Veli Durmus, who

led the study, published in the Journal of Mental Health, analysed data from 204,907 adults across 22 countries taken from a project called the Global Flourishing Study.

They were asked to rate how content they were with their friendships and relationships, and also how good their relationships were with their parents during childhood, from “very good” to “very bad”. They were also asked to rate their mental and physical health, while factors including income, age and education were taken into account.

Durmus said: “I found that people who were more satisfied with their friendships and relationships also tended to report better mental and physical health.”

There was a similar pattern, although with a weaker link, for those who had very good childhood relationships with their parents. Being married, having enough money and identifying with a religion, particularly Islam, were also associated with better mental and physical health scores.

People in Indonesia rated satisfaction with their friendships most highly, while those in Japan scored lowest. Tanzania rated highest for mental health and Indonesia for physical health. Japan scored lowest on both of these.

Big splash A rider gallops along the shallow waters on Irvine Beach in Ayrshire

Quintagram® No 2646

Solve all five concise clues using each letter underneath once only

1 Formally attired (5)

2 Highland Games pole (5)

3 Icy dessert (6)

4 From Lhasa, eg (7)

5 Long-term financial bond (9)

A	A	B	B	B	B	B	C
D	D	E	E	E	E	E	E
E	I	N	N	O	O	R	R
R	R	S	T	T	T	T	U

Solutions see T2 MindGames p15 Cryptic clues T2 MindGames p14

Moth returns to the light

A colony of a rare moth species has been discovered at a National

Trust site 74 years after it was last recorded there. Dave Wainwright, who works at the charity Butterfly Conservation, said it was a career highlight to find England's second population of the dark bordered beauty at Wallington estate in Northumberland. The other is at Strensall Common in Yorkshire.

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11

News

Sex claims no fantasy, insists ex-pupil

Lara Bowman

A man who has accused his former teacher of having sex with him when he was a child has denied being a 'fantasist' who invented the allegations.

Sally-Anne Bowen, 65, is on trial at Harrow crown court, accused of eight counts of indecent assault against two men who cannot be named for legal reasons.

The prosecution alleges that she had sexual relationships with both men, then aged around 14 or 15, when she was their teacher at Christ's College school in Finchley, in the late 1980s.

Mark Kimsey, Bowen's barrister, yesterday questioned one of the complainants, who claims that he slept with Bowen 'about twenty or thirty times',

about what he thought a fantasist was. He replied: 'I believe it's someone that indulges in fantasies.'

Kimsey pressed, asking whether he would agree that a fantasist entertains 'unrealistic ideas' and blurs fantasy with reality. 'I think the question's quite insulting,' the complainant responded.

When Kimsey said that Bowen did not accept engaging in any form of sexual activity, the complainant responded: 'Well then, that is the definition of a fantasist.'

He alleged some of the sexual acts Bowen asked him to perform were 'perverse', adding 'I'm a fantasist', right? That's not a part of anyone's fantasy, to be involved in perversion.'

He told the jury that Bowen had 'drummed it' into him that he could

not tell anyone about their alleged relationship. He confided in only one person, a best friend at another school, adding: 'Years she got to teach, because I remained silent.'

In a police interview played to the jury, he said that Bowen dressed in a way that was 'sexually provocative', describing how she used 'to wear tight Levi jeans and black skinny pants that you could see everything in, and a black mini skirt'. While he could not deny enjoying the sex, the 'games' and 'secrets', he added: 'For me it was the destruction of my education.'

He told police: 'I would like to get in a room with all those teachers, and Sally-Anne Bowen, and say, 'that's my life', because you only get one.'

Madeleine Wolfe, for the prosecu-

Sally-Anne Bowen, 65, is accused of eight counts of indecent assault in the 1980s

tion, told the court that one lunchtime Bowen snatched a pornographic magazine from one of the boys and his friends. He expected her to confiscate it but instead she pointed to an image of a naked woman and likened herself to the model, she told the jury. This led to the boy returning to her Golden Green flat, where they kissed, the jury heard.

Wolfe said the boy 'felt that he had fallen in love with her'. After his mother grew suspicious and raised concerns with the school, she was told Bowen no longer worked there, the court heard. Wolfe said that Bowen, of Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, was entrusted with the care and welfare of pupils and abused that trust.

Bowen denies the charges. The trial continues.

Lab-grown diamonds are a girl's best friend

The traditional route to owning a diamond involved finding somebody willing to buy you one (Andrew Ellson writes).

However, the rise of cheaper, laboratory-grown stones means that increasing numbers of women are dispensing with that requirement, according to the chief executive of the jewellers Swarovski.

Alexis Nasard said lab-grown diamonds were 'enabling self-purchase for women', in contrast with traditionally mined stones 'where in most instances it was a man offering a ring to a woman'.

In an interview with The Financial Times, he said: 'Today, a woman comes into our store. She sees it. She's beautiful. She tries it and says, 'You know what? Let me get it [for] myself. I've earned this,' and we find that very endearing and encouraging.'

The change has been helped by a dramatic fall in the cost of producing lab-grown diamonds, which have the same chemical and physical properties as mined stones but are instead manufactured, principally in China and India.

Lab-grown diamonds have rapidly taken up market share. More than 60 per cent of stones in diamond engagement rings sold in America are now lab-grown according to Nasard, who predicted the figure could reach 80 per cent within two years.

Industry analysts estimate that lab-grown stones now account for about a fifth of the global diamond jewellery market.

Their increasing

ubiquity has been matched by their appearances on the red carpet. Jennifer Lawrence wore lab-grown diamonds at the Oscars in 2024, while Gillian Anderson wore a necklace featuring a lab-grown stone at the Cannes Film Festival last year. Demi Moore also appeared at Cannes this year in a necklace containing more than 150 carats of lab-created diamonds.

Sarah Jessica Parker, above, is working with a lab-grown diamond firm. Dens Moore, left, and Gillian Anderson wore them on the red carpet

Sarah Jessica Parker has gone further, becoming the global creative director and a shareholder of Astrea London, a specialist lab-grown diamond jeweller, where she is developing her own collections.

Meanwhile, prices have tumbled as production has expanded. De Beers, the world's leading natural diamond company, said in a report this year that wholesale prices for synthetic lab-grown diamonds had fallen by 93 per cent since 2020, to an average of about $100 a carat.

Retail prices have not fallen nearly as quickly, however. De Beers said the gap has allowed jewellery retailers to make unusually attractive margins on lab-grown stones, although increasing competition means that shop prices are expected to fall.

The disruption has also contributed to falling prices in the natural diamond market. Rapaport, an information provider for the diamond market, said increasing competition from synthetic stones has combined with weak demand to push down polished natural-diamond prices.

Swarovski, founded in Austria in 1895 and long associated with crystal jewellery and glassware, entered the lab-grown diamond market in 2018. It has never sold mined diamonds.

Nasard said falling wholesale prices had improved the company's profitability 'to an extent', but insisted Swarovski did not price its jewellery according to the cost of the raw stone.

'Our pricing strategy is what it is, regardless of what the market does,' he said. 'When they buy Swarovski, they're buying a Swarovski diamond. They're not buying a raw material.'

Complaints of painful eyes after solar eclipse

Eleanor Hayward Health Editor

Eye doctors are expecting to see a spate of patients suffering vision loss after staring directly at the sun during the solar eclipse on Wednesday.

After the total solar eclipse in August 1999, specialists in England identified 70 patients with eclipse-related sight loss in the days that followed, some of whom suffered permanent problems.

Millions of Britons gathered outdoors to watch the once-in-a-generation eclipse this week, but many were unable to get hold of the protective glasses required for safe viewing, as they sold out across the country.

Looking directly at the sun can damage the retina, the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye, leading to a condition called solar retinopathy. Often people develop symptoms the next day, when they start experiencing problems such as blurred vision or a dark spot in the centre of their vision.

Videos and posts of social media users complaining that their eyes were hurting were widespread yesterday morning. One TikTok user commented: 'My eyes are killing me. It's a feeling I've not felt before and I think I'm going to go blind.' Another said: 'They weren't lying. I looked directly at the eclipse and now there's a big reddish hue in my centre vision.'

The impact of the 1999 eclipse was analysed in a study published in Nature in 2001. It found that in the months afterward, 70 people required NHS treatment for eclipse-related sight loss. The average age of the patients was 30, and half of them visited an ophthalmologist within two days of the eclipse. Most got better within a few months, with no one experiencing permanent blindness.

Alex Ionides, consultant ophthalmic surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital, said people should seek 'urgent medical attention' if they developed symptoms including blurred vision, eye pain, redness or dark spots in their vision.

He said: 'The damage may not be painful, so people often do not realise there is a problem until hours later.'

Mohamed Elalfy, president of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, said: 'While some people recover over weeks or months, others can be left with permanent visual impairment.'

A rare moment of national coming together, leading article, page 27

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12

News A-levels

Vocational reset will take years to bed in, PM is told

Georgia Lambert Nicola Woolcock Education Editor

Andy Burnham has been warned that it could take at least a generation for his favoured vocational qualifications to be widely adopted as a record number of school-leavers won places at university.

The prime minister plans new technical education routes for 14-year-olds to shift more young people towards employment as an alternative to academic study. He wants far more pupils to take work-related qualifications.

However, a record 262,820 teenagers will go to university this autumn despite widespread disquiet over student loan debt and graduate unemployment.

T-levels were introduced as a technical equivalent to A-levels in 2020, and V-levels, a vocational version, will be taught from September 2027. Any new qualifications introduced by Burnham would come on top of this.

The head of the exams regulator warned against too much churn. Sir Ian Bauckham, chief regulator of Ofqual, said it took years for new qualifications to be understood by families.

He said: 'A-levels are probably the most famous qualification in the world, but they have been available since 1952. We've had a long run-in to establish public awareness. T-levels are the much newer kids on the block. They are beginning to establish a presence in the public mind. GCSEs (introduced in the late 1980s) are now well known. I think we need to establish a clear brand and stick with it until it establishes itself in the public mind.

'And it's only really when young people can say, 'Well, actually, my parents and in the case of A-levels, my grandparents did this qualification,'

that it becomes part of our collective culture and really has the credibility. So too much churn [is] bad, but you do have to arrive at a brand and a qualification type that you're prepared to stick with until it establishes itself.'

Pepe DiTasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said T-levels and V-levels 'must be embedded in the national psyche in the same way that A-levels have long been widely understood'.

T-levels were awarded for the fifth time this year and nearly 20,000 pupils took them — up 65 per cent on last year — with an overall pass rate of 92.6 per cent. Lucy Powell, the education secretary, said the rise was 'very encouraging', adding: 'There is no single route to achieving your ambitions.'

The regional gap in A-level results widened. Ofqual's figures showed a gap of 9.6 percentage points between London, and the East Midlands and North East in the proportion of A-levels awarded at least an A grade, up from 9.2 points last year. In London, 32.7 per cent of A-levels were graded A or above, compared with 23.1 per cent in

both the East Midlands and North East. The South East recorded 31.5 per cent.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: 'Regional disparities in A-level grades remain a concern. Levels of poverty, varying investment in education, health, social care and other support services and infrastructure, and the lingering impact of the pandemic may all have a part to play.'

Whiteman said it was 'crucial' that the government's devolution proposals and its role in shaping new technical education pathways were developed to close regional attainment gaps.

Sir David Bell, vice-chancellor of the University of Sunderland and a former head of Ofsted, said: 'I agree with the prime minister when it comes to the value of different kinds of opportunities available to students after they leave school or college. But last year over 289,000 16 to 19-year-olds [chose] to come to university and therefore I think it's certainly seen for many students as a really good option. In addition to that, over 100,000 mature students, that's people over the age of 21, chose to come into higher education.'

Although a record number of students are going to university this year, the total number of school-leavers is higher than ever, and a smaller proportion of them are starting a degree.

Overall, private school pupils got A or above in 48.6 per cent of their results, up from 48.4 per cent last year. Academies' pupils got top grades in 23.5 per cent of their results, down from 26.5 per cent, and comprehensive pupils increased the proportion of their results at top grades from 22.6 to 23 per cent. Students should be offered a better deal, leading article, page 27

A-level results and tables

Register Pages 54-55

Pupils need salary data for a wise choice

Analysis

For many sixth-formers, this is a time for celebration: a record number of 18-year-olds are off to university (Fraser Nelson writes). For others, it will mean anxiety as they scramble to find a university place in the clearing system. But most will not have applied and won't be taking the associated £50,000 debt. This raises a difficult question that ministers tend to shy away from how many of those university refuends: have made a wise choice?

The record is due to a rise in the number of 18-year-olds. The actual proportion going off to university is slightly down, especially among those from the wealthiest backgrounds. Forty-four

per cent of those in the richest quintile are going to university, compared with 22 per cent of the most deprived. These figures seem to have plateaued, as students start to ask harder questions about how many university courses offer value. The idea of a 'graduate premium' — long the selling point for university — was always a misleading simplification. As an average, it's real but declining: a lifetime return of about £100,000. But these figures cover a wide variety of fates: more than £30,000 for economics; £400,000 for medicine. But a typical graduate of creative arts, languages or performing arts will be lucky to see a return at all.

All told, about 20 per cent of female and 30 per cent of male graduates would be financially better off had they not gone to university at all, according to the Institute for Fiscal

Studies. So which are the courses to avoid? Only a redacted version of this information is released — and even that is very hard to find.

Andy Burnham recently released a video where he held a hard hat, saying it should carry the same esteem as a graduate cap. But just over half of apprenticeships are taken by over-25s; the number going to under-19s is falling. Burnham could do more to promote trade by helping people learn about the salaries involved: the typical plumber, electrician and mechanic all out-earn the average graduate until their thirties. And with no student debt.

The latest university figures show applications for engineering and technology courses are up 14 per cent, maths 5 per cent and law 5 per cent. But there are drops of a similar scale in creative and

performing arts, media and humanities.

Britain has the best universities in Europe — some of the best in the world. The vast majority of those given offers yesterday can expect a superb return on their investment. But as students are beginning to work out, 'going to university' is not in itself an investment strategy. It all depends on what you study, where you study it and what you could have been doing instead.

Yesterday's university offers show teens voting with their applications: towards harder subjects, more selective universities and courses with same financial returns. But if Burnham wants to steer people towards hard hats he should release the full, comparable salary data for apprenticeships and degrees alike, so teenagers have a better idea where the best prospects lie.

Case studies

Musa Moiz

Fow pupils will want to relive the memory of sitting the first of Pearson Edexcel's maths papers in June, with some describing it as a 'war crime' and 'crawling from the tenth circle of hell'. But it was a different story for Musa Moiz, a ten-year-old from Newham in London. Musa, who lives with his parents and sister, scored 95 per cent in the exam, earning an A*.

Musa joined A-level maths classes at Harris Academy Chobham, an all-through school, and received additional lessons outside school arranged by his parents. When he is not working hard at school, Musa is

much like any other ten-year-old. He loves Lego, cricket, football and playing with his friends.

His latest result builds on an extraordinary performance at GCSE last year, when he scored 95 per cent in maths and 99 per cent in further maths.

As he nears the end of primary school, Musa hopes to take an A-level in further maths next year.

Clara Burton-Dowsett

Clara Burton-Dowsett, sports captain at Roedean College, landed three A* grades despite hundreds of hours of sea swimming training before successfully crossing the English Channel at 17.

Burton-Dowsett, now 18, juggled studies in biology, chemistry and

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13

News

OUR COMPARATION THE TIMES EDWARD CARMITT/ALBUQUERQUE/ENNEY/SEPTEMBER 14, 2025

Girls celebrate at the London Academy of Excellence in Stratford: Musa Moiz, 10, far left; got a maths A; Emmanuel Ilegar, top left, will study electrical engineering; Clara Burton-Dowsett, left, got three As after swimming the Channel; Bradford pupil Oles Kuzomko, right, who fled war in Ukraine, achieved As and A*s

maths with her training as she wanted to raise money for the charity Taylor Made Dreams, which supports the families of very sick children in Sussex. Her choice of charity has a special meaning to her after she struggled with serious health problems as a young child. She has raised £9,455 for charity, for which she is an ambassador, by swimming the world's busiest shipping channel in 12 hours and 56 minutes.

The teenager from Crawley is heading to the University of Nottingham to study veterinary medicine and hopes to become an equine vet.

Emmanuel Ilegar

A student from Nigeria, who

developed an innovative robotic arm that could potentially be used in hazardous environments, is celebrating his A-level results.

Emmanuel Ilegar, a boarder at Cardiff Sixth Form College, an independent school in Cambridge, will study electrical engineering at the University of Manchester after achieving A grades in maths and chemistry and a B in physics.

'When I arrived at Cardiff and saw projects that previous students had created, I wanted to challenge myself and build something ambitious,' he said.

Ilegar and fellow students used open-source designs and a 3D printer to create the components for the arm, and he developed software for the robotic fingers to respond to

human movements. 'The project made me even more determined to study engineering and continue developing technologies like this,' he said.

He has gained industry experience through a placement with the solar energy company Eauxell Ltd Nigeria, and he took part in the First Tech Challenge, one of the world's largest robotic competitions for young people.

After university, Ilegar hopes to pursue a career in the renewable energy sector. Originally from Lagos, he wants to improve access to electricity across Nigeria.

'My long-term goal is to work in solar energy and eventually start my own business providing affordable solar technology,' Ilegar said.

Boys pull further ahead in record year for maths

Nicola Woolcock, Georgia Lambert, Mary Downer, George Willoughby

Record numbers of teenagers took maths this year with the subject sat by more than 115,000 pupils and accounting for one in eight of all A-levels.

The surge in entries skewed overall grades upwards and also partly explains the stronger performance at A* of boys, who widened the gap with girls.

Experts hailed a sea change in societal attitudes towards numeracy. Sir Ian Bauckham, chief regulator of Ofqual, the exams regulator, said: 'It's really striking that one in eight of all A-levels taken is now maths. Maths is turning into a success story ... People are feeling more confident, choosing maths A-level and doing well at it, and that accounts for most of the overall headline shift that we're seeing this year.'

Analysis of results across England, Wales and Northern Ireland shows more subjects saw a fall in A*s awarded than a rise, compared with last year.

However, those showing an increase were sufficient to bring up the overall proportion of A*s to 9.6 per cent of all A-levels, up from 9.4 per cent last year. This is a record outside the Covid pandemic years.

Boys accounted for 63 per cent of all maths candidates and 74 per cent of those taking further maths.

The proportion of maths A-levels graded at A* was 17.7 per cent this year and for further maths it was 29 per cent.

This compares with 6 per cent for psychology, the second most popular subject, and 9.3 per cent for biology, the third.

For boys, 10.2 per cent of A-level entries were graded A* compared with 9.1 per cent of girls. Last year 9.9 per cent of entries from boys achieved this grade compared with 9.1 per cent of girls.

Girls accounted for 54 per cent of all A-level entries and achieved more overall top grades in terms of pure numbers.

Professor Alan Smithers, director of education and employment at the University of Buckingham, said the choice of subjects was the main reason for the gender gap.

There were other factors, however.

'One is that boys tend to achieve better in end-of-course exams, while girls are favoured by modularisation or teacher assessment,' he said.

'Another is that, in tests of ability, boys' results tend to be spread out, with more hitting the heights and more fails. While boys lead at A, girls are ahead at all other passing grades including A.

Overall, 78.4 per cent of UK results were graded A to C, compared with 77.9 per cent last year and 75.5 per cent in 2019. Ofqual said 7,245 18-year-olds achieved an A grade in every subject they took and 25 of those took five or more A-levels.

Other popular A-level subjects included chemistry, economics, business studies, history, physics, sociology, and art & design.

Within the top ten, the biggest percentage increase was for economics, which jumped from 10th to 5th. Art & design had the biggest fall in the top ten, down by 1.2 per cent to 42,620 entries.

English literature and languages were outside the top ten. Only 2,294 pupils took German and 6,888 sat French. Economics entries increased by 10.5 per cent to 47,157.

Myles McGinley, managing director of Cambridge OCR, one of the main exam boards, said: 'Economics is surging in popularity. The pupils getting their A-level results today were born around 2008 — they are children of the financial crisis and many have been gripped by the more recent economic events that shape their world.'

Entries in politics went up by 11.9 per cent, with 24,824 students taking the subject, while those taking law went up by 10.4 per cent, with 16,526 entries.

McGinley celebrated the increase in maths entries, saying: 'It wasn't so long ago, we had a generation of people who were almost proud to say they couldn't do maths at all.'

Iain Mansfield, head of education at the right-leaning think tank Policy Exchange, said: 'It is disappointing to see the proportion of top grades awarded rising for the third year running, with this now sitting well above pre-pandemic levels. Grade inflation appears to have re-established itself as an intrinsic part of the system.'

Burnham's 'nerve settler' at pub before interview

Constance Kampfner Political Correspondent

Andy Burnham confessed to having a 'nerve settler' at the pub before his Cambridge interview as he 'batted 'impostor syndrome'.

A social media video posted on A-level results day showed the prime minister being surprised by Professor John Mullan, his former tutor at Fitzwilliam College, where Burnham studied English literature.

Burnham, who was persuaded to apply to the university by his school teachers in Merseyside, spoke about his anxiety on the day of the interview: 'I probably shouldn't admit this to you now but I think I'd had a pre-interview nerve settler in the pub around the corner,' he told Mullan, a specialist in 18th-century literature.

'I think I worried about it too much, looking back, and was too tense about

it. You know, it's that impostor syndrome, isn't it? You walk in and [think], 'I shouldn't be here,' he said. 'I always talk about it just to try and say to young people ... even if someone sounds a bit more confident, pooher, what you've got to say is important.'

Stephen Harrington, Burnham's English teacher at St Aelred's Catholic High School in Newton-Le-Willows, has said Burnham needed 'a lot of persuading to apply because he felt that, as a working-class boy, going off to Cambridge wasn't for him'. However, writing for The Times in June, Mullan recalled Burnham displaying considerable verbal confidence in his interview.

Burnham is the first prime minister to have completed his undergraduate degree at Cambridge since Stanley Baldwin, breaking nearly a century of Oxford-dominated premierships. He is also the first prime minister to hold an English literature degree.

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15

News

Netanyahu brands UK the 'Islamic Republic of Britain'

Gabrielle Weiniger

Binyamin Netanyahu has said that the UK is known as the 'Islamic Republic of Britain', stating that Israel is at war with Iran to prevent a 'second' Islamic country from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Speaking on a podcast with Avi Harush, a former military officer who lost his son in combat in Gaza, Israel's prime minister spoke about naming children after the fallen, and mentioned meeting Winston Churchill's grandson — also named Winston.

He said Churchill's grandson was a 'nice man' and 'lover of Israel', who viewed the Six-Day War as a 'positive'. The 1967 war saw Israel capture and

occupy east Jerusalem and the West Bank. 'Just try to find that kind of attitude in Britain now — or in what's known as 'The Islamic Republic of Britain'. You won't find it,' he said.

'Someone said — you know — that the first Islamic republic with nuclear weapons will be the Islamic Republic of Britain. So, we're making sure there won't be another one like that in Iran.'

His comments echoed JD Vance, vice-president of the United States, who called the UK the first 'truly Islamist country that will get a nuclear weapon' at a National Conservatism Conference in 2024.

Relations between the UK and Israel have been tense over the war in Gaza

and the recognition of a Palestinian state last year. Netanyahu accused Sir Ken Starmer of appeasing Hamas and has also warned in the past of the global reach of radical Islamism.

However, his comments to Harush, who previously spoke to The Times about the loss of his son Reef, mark the first time Netanyahu has accused Britain as being home to radical Islamists. The comments led to an angry response. Some on social media pointed out that Pakistan, an Islamic country, also has nuclear weapons.

The UK banned Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a threat to national security last month. The IRGC is already subject to British sanctions.

'It's like that in all of Europe,' Harush replied to Netanyahu on the podcast, which was broadcast on Israel's army radio.

With the exception of a visit to Hungary in 2025, Netanyahu has not stepped foot in Europe since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against him over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. If he travels to the UK or other signatories of the Rome statute, he could face arrest.

Andy Burnham has accused Netanyahu of trying to make a two-state solution impossible as he signalled a shift in the UK's approach to the Middle East. In recent weeks he has apologised for

Labour's initial response to Israel's military action in Gaza, which alienated a large section of the party and its voters, saying it had caused 'huge hurt'. He said the UK was 'too slow to call for a ceasefire' and that the previous government 'got it wrong'.

Starmer had backed humanitarian pauses to allow aid to reach the Gaza Strip in the early weeks of the conflict, but stopped short of calling for a ceasefire. He was criticised for an interview he gave to LBC in the days after October 7, 2023, in which he suggested that Israel had the 'right' to cut off the supply of power and water to Gaza. Starmer later clarified that he meant only that the country had a right to self-defence.

Doubts over Cambridge chief's future after scandals

Nicola Woolcock Education Editor George Odling

The vice-chancellor of Cambridge has announced a second investigation in two days in a torrid week for the university.

The university was already under fire for its handling of a row surrounding allegations of plagiarism by Jason Arday, its youngest black professor, who resigned last week. It then lost an employment tribunal against another Cambridge academic, Professor Neil Wyn Evans, which found on Monday that the university shut down the whistleblower to protect its reputation after he raised concerns about bullying.

Cambridge had already announced an inquiry into the Arday affair and then, on Wednesday, wrote to staff saying that there would be a second review into senior academic appointments and the university's faculty of education, which had recruited him.

Professor Deborah Prentice said in the letter that Arday's appointment was an 'aberration' and admitted that the case was 'difficult and damaging' and had led to anger and anxiety at Cambridge.

Yesterday she published a second letter to staff, relating to both Arday and Wyn Evans. In the latest statement, Prentice said that institutional change was required to improve and modernise the university.

Prentice sought to distance herself from the dual scandals, saying she had inherited a number of complex issues when she took on the role three years ago, stressing: 'These issues began before my teen, but they have come to a conclusion on my watch.'

However, under the vice-chancellor's regime, the university initially launched a robust defence of Arday, describing press reporting of plagiarism claims against him as a 'vile smear campaign to undermine his credibility'.

Prentice was also criticised in the Wyn Evans tribunal judgement for claiming to have helped draft a statement that employment judges found

was solely written by the institute's registrar. The university also allowed its insurance policy to fund a professor's defence against a defamation claim brought by Wyn Evans, despite it also saying that the action was a private matter between individuals.

Academics said it was unprecedented for the vice-chancellor to release two such statements in a week and questioned whether her position was tenable. Some were also critical of the content of the latest letter, saying they believed that the vice-chancellor was using it as an excuse to curtail the powers of Regent House, the legislative and electoral body of the university made up of more than 7,000 academics, senior researchers and senior administrative staff.

In the latest letter, Prentice described Cambridge as an 'extraordinary, self-governing academic community which operates via a highly devolved model in which many decisions are taken within departments, faculties, and institutions', adding: 'I will use my leadership role to drive forward the required changes.'

Of the Wyn Evans tribunal, she said that two senior figures would establish an independent review of 'all relevant university processes' with the outcome reported directly to the university council, the university's executive body. It would operate separately from the Arday investigation but also audit human resources procedures.

One academic told The Times that the letter implied threats to the power of Regent House. They also criticised the vice-chancellor for saying she had not been in place when problems emerged, even though many of her deputies had been. The academic added: 'I think they want to see much more power with the vice-chancellor and pro-vice-chancellors.'

Of the events of the last fortnight, they said: 'I've never seen this many people across political persuasions and disciplines so concerned and outraged.'

Another described the vice-chancellor as being in a 'very exposed position'.

Honeytrap couple used rape drug on wealthy men

A couple who targeted men using fake sex work adverts have been jailed for 17 years (Jessica Sharkey writes).

Adina Mihai posed as a prostitute, met men at their homes and drugged them with gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) before stealing watches, jewellery, aftershave and cash with her partner, Madalin Dumitru, 30.

The defendants advertised 'sexual services' from Mihai, 31, on the matchmaking site VivaStreet and targeted wealthy men. When Mihai arrived she would secretly spike their drinks to render them unconscious while Dumitru, 30, waited in their BMW. Yesterday,

Malcolm King, top, died after Madalin Dumitru and Adina Mihai, below, drugged him with GBL to steal his Rolex

Oxford crown court was told that two of their four victims died.

Malcolm King, 80, a retired businessman and big-game hunter, was found dead in his

Cotswolds home hours after the couple visited him in August 2024. Less than a year later Gary Mouat, a company director, died after Mihai drugged him at his

property in Banbury, Oxfordshire.

The couple, formerly of Ilford, Essex, admitted the manslaughter of King and Mouat, and two charges of unlawfully and maliciously administering poison in the form of GBL to two other men in June. Thames Valley Police believe more men may have been targeted by the couple but may not have come forward because of embarrassment.

In a victim impact statement, Mouat's nine-year-old son said: 'Why did you have to kill my dad? My heart feels so empty, sometimes it hurts so much I feel like I have to reboot it. I feel sad every day and miss him all the time.'

The judge, Mrs Justice Brunner, told the defendants that their current release date is no less than two thirds of the 17-year-terms but the early prisoner release scheme 'would change that to no less than half'.

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16

News Investigation

Scientology using children as

Teenagers registered as being home-schooled 'volunteer' for work spreading the word, Tom Ball reports

A 15-year-old boy holds two metal cylinders connected to a device that sends a small electrical current through his body. It is, in effect, a rudimentary lie detector, measuring the sweat produced in his palms when nervous. He is barefoot as tight clothing supposedly interferes with the mechanism.

'In your recent study, have you encountered any word that you did not fully understand?' his supervisor, a girl of 18, asks him. He is silent. But the device answers for him, momentarily jolting the dial and thereby revealing the gaps in his knowledge of the teachings of an American science-fiction writer.

This boy, who has short brown hair and a voice that is still breaking, does not go to school. Instead, each morning he and several other children come to this unremarkable building among the sooty stone frontages of Edinburgh's old town to spread the word of L Ron Hubbard, whose portrait hangs in every room. Known officially as the Hubbard Academy of Personal Independence (Hapi), the building on South Bridge, in the heart of the Scottish capital, is a church of Scientology.

A Times investigation has found that for the past two years the church has been engaging children as young as 13 to work alongside adults in administrative, training and recruitment roles. One teenage girl has a role that involves giving massages to adults, including male staff and members of the public. Scientology denies this.

An undercover reporter spent a week at the church under the guise of studying for a 'life improvement course', and observed children working there.

The church insists they are volunteers, even though they have signed 'staff contracts', which require them to work full time in exchange for desultory pay. Although referred to as staff, the church insists this does not denote employment but the 'staffing of training courses' completed by 'volunteers'.

Upon joining 'staff' they are given the job title of 'Hubbard communication officer expeditor' — equivalent to a human resources role — and tasked with duties including clerical work such as sending letters and shredding documents, and more practical work such as helping to run training sessions with the public who come to the church to complete paid-for courses based on Hubbard's teaching.

Later they can train for more specialised roles. One girl, who joined staff aged 14 and is now 15, serves as a 'medical liaison officer', according to one former staff member. In her role she administers massages to adult male staff and members of the public as part of a pseudo-medical practice known in Scientology as a 'nerve assist'.

A former senior staff member, Amir Essaihi, claimed that these 'assists' took place in a locked room and unsupervised. This is denied

by Scientology. After leaving the church earlier this year, Essaihi submitted a report to the police alleging forced labour of children, and exploitation of minoes through inappropriate physical contact with adults. The police closed the case citing a lack of evidence.

The enrolment of children is believed to be the result of pressure from the movement's global leadership to accelerate expansion. Scientology has spent millions of dollars over recent years buying up high-value properties across the world as part of a growth strategy known as 'Ideal Org'.

However, many outposts have struggled to recruit enough staff and parishioners to fill these churches, according to researchers, due to a fall in believers.

In 2019 the church bought a modern office building near the Murrayfield rugby stadium with the intention of replacing the site at South Bridge. Seven years later, the building remains empty.

In an internal email seen by The Times, a senior UK church official wrote to Malcolm Fraser, executive director of Hapi, below right, complaining that the Edinburgh church still did not have the requisite number of staff with which to relocate to the Murrayfield building by 2026. The official set Fraser a target of ten more staff members in post by the end of the year and ten more in full-time training.

Scientologists believe that humans are inhabited by an eternal spirit called a 'thetan' that passes from body to body through reincarnation. A child is therefore not distinct from an adult as both bodies are inhabited by a thetan that is trillions of years old.

In 1984, a High Court judgment stated that Scientology was 'out to capture people, especially children and impressionable young people, and indoctrinate and brainwash them so that they become the unquestioning captives and tools of the cult'.

The role of 'staff members' at a church of Scientology — a legally recognised religion in the UK — differs significantly from that of a traditional church volunteer, priest or verger. More like a corporate employee, their role is to sell courses to members of the public and attract more parishioners.

There are about 25 'staff members' at Hapi, of whom four are children aged under 16. Another girl, who recently turned 16, joined 'staff' when she was 14. Two other 14-year-olds attend the church daily although they are not believed to be on staff at present.

With the exception of one girl, they are all registered by their parents as home-schooled.

Three children under 16 are living apart from their parents, who are 450 miles south in East Grinstead,

West Sussex, where Scientology has its UK headquarters. The others are the sons and daughters of longstanding members of the community in Scotland.

Scottish law does not require home-schooled parents to teach their children a particular curriculum nor does it stipulate that children must be taught during school hours.

But it does state that home-schooled children below the age of 16 are not allowed to be employed during standard school hours in term time. Any employer who does hire a child of that age to do any

David Miscavige, Scientology's global leader, below left, addressing members at its West Sussex UK headquarters. A new

form of work must apply for a child employment permit.

In response to the Times findings, the church said 'no person under the age of 16 is a member of staff at the Church of Scientology in Edinburgh'. It did not respond to whether or not they had obtained a child employment permit. A spokesman said those who sign contracts, which lawyers described as 'volunteering agreements', 'do so entirely as volunteers'. These agreements are described as 'staff contracts' in internal documents.

'Naturally, children are involved in the life of places of worship in every religion present in Scotland,' he said. 'We are no different. Like other religions we

allow some older children to help out in our church. Any volunteer participation is done within all the rules prescribed by law, and in the context of normal child safeguarding and protection policies and practices.'

Lawyers for Scientology said that the document was a 'volunteering agreement' and was 'not a contract of employment' but a religious pledge. They added that there was no 'mutuality of obligations, which is an absolute requirement for a contract of employment to exist'. They said that they are not paid but are given a discretionary allowance, the processing of which through the payroll system is a matter of convenience and agreed with HMRC.

Scientology was created by Hubbard, a pulp-fiction writer from the Rocky Mountains, who in the latter half of his life turned his hand to constructing a vast and byzantine system of religious belief that draws as much on spirituality as it does on self-help, psychotherapy and science fiction.

Its foundational text is Diuretics, published in 1950 amid rising interest in psychoanalysis in America, which offers a do-it-yourself guide to improving mental health by revisiting traumatic memories. Hubbard later claimed that many of those who tried Diuretics had found themselves able to recall memories from past lives, which led to him declaring the discovery of the thetan.

Over the years, his writings on the thetan evolved into a baroque space opera involving an ancient extraterrestrial dictator called Xenu who imprisoned the thetans on Earth. The story of Xenu is revealed only to those who have ascended to the uppermost echelons of the religion, usually spending hundreds of thousands of pounds in the process.

Scientology, now run by David Miscavige, claims to have millions of followers, but researchers estimate it to have about 50,000 worldwide, including 1,844 people in Britain, according to the 2021 census, a 24 per cent decline on a decade earlier. The church retains powerful acolytes, however, including the Hollywood actors Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Elisabeth Moss.

The Times began investigating the church in Edinburgh after speaking to a former staff member who had worked as an executive at Hapi for two years before leaving Scientology last year.

Essaihi was a teenager when he first entered Scientology's orbit in late 2022. As an 18-year-old student at film school

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17

News

young as 13 as full-time ‘staff’

Edinburgh site, below, has sat empty since 2019 due to a lack of staff. Malcolm Fraser, below, runs Hapi in the city

he was curious about the religion that counted among its followers so many Hollywood stars.

Intrigued by the claim that Scientology is philosophy applied to real life, Essalhi was soon coming in daily, completing courses on everything from relationships to financial stability.

Then at the start of 2024 three senior members of staff, including the executive director, Fraser, returned to Edinburgh after three years training in Clearwater, Florida — Scientology’s equivalent of Vatican City. Essalhi says that they brought with them a directive to rapidly increase the number of staff members at the church as part of the wider global expansion drive.

Shortly afterwards, Essalhi was asked to join staff. Within a few months he was working up to 100 hours a week, he claims, forcing him to drop out of film school.

The contracts that new staff members sign, known as an Application for Active Participation and Religious Pledge, commit them to either two and a half or five years of ‘actively forwarding the work of the church’.

Data seen by The Times shows the maximum ‘wage’ paid to a member of staff at the church for one week in January was £249.74. Some staff, including minors, were paid as little as £62.44.

Essalhi said that before joining Scientology he was oblivious to the bad press. However, during his time in the church he became more aware of some of the criticisms and

began doing his own research. Eventually it led him to speaking with Alex Barnes-Ross, one of Scientology’s foremost critics and a former member who joined the church aged 15 and left after four years.

The pair spoke on the phone several times privately before eventually Essalhi agreed to appear on Barnes-Ross’s podcast, Apostate Alex. They had an open conversation and afterwards Essalhi thought little of it, despite being warned by Barnes-Ross that the church would look very poorly on one of its staff members speaking to a declared ‘suppressive person’.

He was right. Over the next two

weeks, Essalhi says he was subjected to repeated ‘interrogations’ from Fraser and Scott Wordie, director of special affairs in Dublin.

As punishment he claims that he was put on ‘hard manual labour’, working to renovate a room on the ground floor of the church that was being turned into a shop selling Scientology books. He did one day before deciding to quit.

Scientology claimed that it has been ‘the target of sustained anti-religious and discriminatory rhetoric’ by Barnes-Ross. In response, he said that he has nothing against Scientology’s belief but is ‘calling for an end to their abusive practices and I welcome the

day this church approaches survivors with empathy and compassion rather than attacking those who speak out’.

Lawyers for the church denied that Essalhi had worked for up to 100 hours a week and claimed he worked a schedule of four days a week. They added that Essalhi had ‘betrayed’ church staff by ‘engaging in covert and deceptive behaviour’.

It is now several months since Essalhi left the church and he is still coming to terms with his experience. He says he considers the religion to be a ‘scam’ that takes advantage of people’s emotions.

In June Essalhi, Barnes-Ross and a group of other ex-Scientologists delivered a petition to No10 calling on the government to investigate the church over allegations of coercive control, abuse and forced labour.

What I saw when I went undercover

First person

I had heard about the ‘Scientology stare’, but it wasn’t until I spent a week undercover at the church that I experienced for myself the unnerving power of that intense and impassive gaze worn by many members of the movement (Tom Ball writes).

Posing as someone searching for a new direction, I had enrolled in a ‘life improvement’ programme at the Hapi church in Edinburgh, enabling me to spend a week there on the course.

As a newcomer I soon came to the attention of Gillian Brown, who runs the church’s public-facing department. Fixing me with an unblinking stare, she asked me a series of searching questions about myself before asking what I had read about the movement online.

I told her that I had read that Scientology was a cult. She baited away the suggestion, saying that cults usually centre around a single messianic figure. ‘We don’t really have that,’ she explained. I could have retorted by pointing out that we were sitting beneath a portrait of L Ron Hubbard, Scientology’s founder, surrounded by books all written by Hubbard, in a building with Hubbard’s name.

Twenty years ago Brown was studying at Edinburgh University, when one day she decided to walk into the church and take a free personality test. Her life would never be the same again.

These personality tests are for many people their gateway into the religion. Devised by Hubbard, the test involves 200 questions ranging from the generic — ‘Do your past failures still worry you?’ — to the oddly specific, such as: ‘Are you opposed to the probation system for criminals?’ Once I had completed the questionnaire, I was

taken to a room and presented with a graph supposedly depicting my personality. It showed me to be deeply depressed, irresponsible and nervous, all of which was news to me.

It was recommended that I take a course called ‘Ups and Downs’, one of the ‘life improvement’ programmes offered by the church for £15.

From then on I entered a wonderland in which the rules of conventional reality ceased to apply. Over the week, I met a man who claimed he could remember past lives that he had lived trillions of years ago. I watched Brown commanding another man to repeatedly walk between two walls for over an hour. I was told that if I fully committed myself to the religion, I may one day acquire God-like

using a sauna for five hours a day for several weeks, a practice known in Scientology as a ‘purification rundown’.

I mentioned that I’d had a pain in my shoulder for several years. Gourlay suggested I try an ‘assist’, which requires the practitioner to stroke up and down both the front and back of the patient’s torso to apparently open energy flows between body and spirit. Troublingly, he then said that one of the practitioners of these assists was a 15-year-old girl. ‘There’s various assists,’ he told me. ‘There’s even one of them for how to make a drunk person sober, for example.’

I was required to spend much of my time at the church in the sparsely furnished course room, which also had an ‘e-meter’ — effectively a rudimentary lie detector — used to test students’ learning.

The ‘Ups and Downs’ coursebook presented itself as a ‘technology’ with which to identify ‘potential trouble sources’ and ‘suppressive persons’ within one’s social and familial circles and ‘disconnect’ from them. I was required to read through the text and then write essays naming people in my life who would fall into this category of undesirables. The course appeared to encourage the reader to consider applying this to real life by cutting themselves off from friends and family.

I had several conversations with Brown, in which she warned me that people I knew would seek to dissuade me from joining. Despite her outwardly welcoming demeanour, I felt she was distrustful of me.

‘You ask a lot of questions,’ she said one day with an oblique smile. ‘You’ve never worked in journalism before, have you?’ I did my best to laugh off the suggestion, but was left with the feeling she had seen through me.

L Ron Hubbard started Scientology in 1952

mastery over time and space.

Many core tenets of Scientology’s spiritual belief system can be found in other major religions. But where it differs is in the claims it makes within the corporeal world.

Hubbard, who was suspicious of doctors, developed a range of pseudomedical practices within Scientology. One afternoon, John Gourlay, a former trawlerman who now serves as the church’s deputy director, showed me a video which claimed that 70 per cent of illnesses could be healed by ‘addressing the spirit’.

Gourlay later told me that he had managed to increase his IQ 17 points by

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19

News

Four in ten men think they could be Olympians

Poppy Koronka Health Correspondent

For every athlete who competes in the Olympics, there are many more who fail to make the cut despite their raw talent and years of dedicated training.

But that has not stopped nearly four in ten British men from believing they could qualify to compete at the 2028 Olympics if they started training today, according to a poll.

The survey of 2,000 adults found that 38 per cent of men thought they could qualify for the Games if they received professional coaching and a strict training regime. Just over a quarter of respondents believed they could beat a professional in their chosen sport, if given the chance.

Some 17 per cent thought they would have the best chance of taking part competitively in football, while 11 per cent thought tennis was their best chance of competing.

Despite 20 per cent saying they had never attempted to run 100 metres, 12 per cent of men thought they could run it in under 15 seconds.

The toughest sport to master, accord-

ing to 45 per cent of all adults, would be gymnastics, while 33 per cent said diving would be the most difficult.

Nearly a quarter of those polled have been motivated to take up or resume doing a sport after watching the Olympics.

Eurig Druce, managing director at the carmaker Vauxhall, which commissioned the research to mark its partnership with Team GB, said: "With more than a quarter of adults believing they could qualify for the 2028 Olympic Games given enough time, it's clear we're a nation with considerable sporting ambition. Of course, confidence alone is not enough, as the level of dedication, training and talent showcased by Team GB's athletes proves."

In terms of general sporting ability, 38 per cent of men thought they were better than the average person, whereas 49 per cent of women believed they were worse.

A third of adults thought confidence was more important than natural talent when achieving sporting success, and 24 per cent described themselves as "quietly confident" about their own

sporting ability. The research, conducted by the polling company OnePoll for Vauxhall, also found that 67 per cent of adults believed "friendly competition" made them perform better at sports.

Psychologists have named the phenomenon in which individuals have an inflated view of their capabilities the Dunning-Kruger effect. For example, a player new to tennis might believe they can serve like a professional after watching a few tutorials. This lack of self-awareness not only affects their performance but can also lead coaches to make poor decisions regarding player roles and training priorities. Research has indicated that nearly 70 per

cent of unskilled individuals believe they are performing better than average, often leading to misplaced roles and resources.

A study from the National Coaching Conference found that teams with at least two overconfident players recorded a 15 per cent drop in performance metrics like win rates and efficiency.

A recent study found that men were almost

How hard can it be to win Olympic titles like Sir Chris Hoy?

twice as likely to "hit the wall" during a marathon, which researchers suspected was down to their overconfidence. The study's authors suggested that men exhibited higher tendencies towards "risk-taking behaviour", leading them to adopt an unsustainable starting pace. A YouGov survey of American adults in 2021 found that 22 per cent of men thought they could beat a chimpanzee in a fight, compared with 8 per cent of women who thought the same.

TMS

diary@thetimes.co.uk | @timesdiary

Rebel on the other side

When it comes to defying their whips, some MPs have no shame. A Rest is Politics discussion about former-MP Johnny Mercer's new book No Way to Run a Country revealed the lengths to which some Tories went to rebel during the divisive Brexit votes. One attempted to excuse himself from backing Theresa May's deal by telling the whips that he could not vote in favour because his father had told him not to. This would have been a rather weak excuse anyway, but there was something particularly wrong with it. "Your dad's dead," the whips quickly pointed out. At least the rebellious MP showed that he could think on his feet and stay on message. Rather than backtrack, he insisted: "We had a seance".

THE BIG TENT CAMP

Andy Burnham's purge of the Starmerites was efficient and brutal, but was it wise? History suggests that being gracious to a defeated faction can be useful. The Institute for Government is running a podcast series on PMs who came in mid-term, one of whom was the transient Liz Truss, below — a veritable stranger to the olive branch. "It was commonly said that Liz should have brought in more of the Rishi Sunak camp and tried to unite the party," says her former speechwriter Asa Bennett. "But she'd been clear in private that there was no reason to try and bring people into the tent who, as she'd put it, 'Thought she was shit and vice versa.'" Just goes to show that it's always valuable to have dissenting opinions as sometimes they are very right.

By the time many read

this, we will know the result of the Clacton by-election but it's worth considering the cost of Farage's summer folly-day. Speaking to Iain Dale at the Edinburgh Fringe, the journalist Michael Crick ranted that it was "a quarter of a million to run the by-election" and then "the expense limits for the parties are greater," so we can be grateful that almost none of them took up this opportunity. Still, there's always a silver lining. The psephologist Professor Sir John Curtice pointed out that the costs in Clacton have been mitigated to the tune of about £16,000 as "there will be a record number of lost deposits".

CUT DOWN IN HIS FOMP

We have been sent a little coda to our stories this week about cricket journalists being charming (John Woodcock, of The Times) or otherwise (EW Swanton, not of The Times). Dr Graham Read tells me that Swanton, who had been nicknamed Pomponius Ego, was once preparing an end of day summary for television when he took exception to a man who walked across the set wearing earphones. "Get that man off!" Swanton bellowed, waving his arms. The man with the earphones replied: "Look mate, you do your f***ing job and I'll do mine." He was the sound engineer.

Google reported a 5,000 per cent increase in searches for "eyes hurt" after Wednesday evening's spectacular partial eclipse, but even those who used indirect methods might have suffered after-effects. As the excitement mounted in Cornwall, a way was overheard offering a warning to those who were using a colander to project an image of the phenomenon: "Be careful," they said. "A sieve is the best implement for straining your eyes."

JACK BLACKBURN

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TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER JAMES ELTRIDGE

Fifth of electric car owners have been stranded by a flat battery

Andrew Ellison

Consumer Affairs Correspondent

Nearly one in five electric car owners have been left stranded in the past year after their vehicle's battery ran out, according to a survey of drivers.

However, concerns about electric vehicles were significantly greater among drivers of petrol and diesel cars than among those who own one, suggesting the scepticism surrounding battery-powered cars may be more pronounced than owners' experience warrants.

In a survey of nearly 2,000 motorists — half of them drivers of electric vehicles and half drivers of petrol or diesel engines — 18.5 per cent of electric car owners said they had been left stranded in the past year because their vehicle's battery ran out.

One in four said a lack of access to charging had stopped them taking a trip over the past 12 months and a similar proportion had been unable to charge their car at some stage because of a shortage of public charging points.

The findings, from research commissioned by the charging network Be EV, highlight continuing reservations about electric motoring even among people who have made the switch. Only two in five electric car owners agreed that electric vehicles were capable of making long journeys, while fewer than a third said that there were enough public chargers near their home.

More strikingly, fewer than half (43 per cent) of electric car owners said their next car was likely to be electric.

Drivers' concerns about electric vehicles were particularly evident around holidays. Two in five electric car owners said they would feel confident taking their vehicle on a long road trip. Fewer still said they would be confident about driving through mainland Europe.

Yet the research also found a pronounced gap between the attitudes of electric car owners and motorists who had not made the switch. Only one in ten (12 per cent) of petrol or diesel car drivers believed electric cars were capable of long journeys, compared with two in five (40 per cent) of those who owned one. Petrol and diesel drivers also had greater concerns about the lack of public chargers.

The differences suggest that although electric car owners have significant reservations about the technology, motorists without direct experience view them considerably more negatively. Manufacturers say many of the most popular new electric cars can comfortably cover 400 miles on a single charge.

There are also signs that attitudes may be changing as petrol and diesel costs rise. One in six petrol and diesel drivers said higher fuel prices had prompted them to consider buying an electric vehicle. Almost one in four said their next car was likely to be electric.

While manufacturers and the government are trying to accelerate the transition away from petrol and diesel, the survey found some resistance to the change. More than one in four petrol and diesel drivers said electric vehicles were being forced upon people. Intriguingly, electric car owners (15 per cent) were more likely than other motorists (11 per cent) to say concerns about man-made climate change were overblown.

"It is clear there are still perception issues with regards to charging in the UK," said Asif Ghafoor, chief executive of Be EV. "But these hurdles to electric car ownership exist mostly in people's minds. There are over 121,000 public chargers in the UK. A large majority of those only get used 10 to 15 per cent of the day. The idea that there isn't enough charging availability is slightly absurd."

Big picture Hugh Miller, a North Yorkshire-based artist, works on an oil landscape in the heather above Leighton Reservoir

Amnesty attack on women's groups 'no isolated error'

Sanchez Manning

Gender-critical campaigners have rejected Amnesty International UK's claim that a report condemning them as 'anti-rights' was an 'isolated' error.

The briefing uploaded to the charity's website, which was later withdrawn, mentioned the sex-based rights group Sex Matters and Beira's Place — a centre for victims of sexual violence co-founded by the author JK Rowling.

After threats of legal action from the Harry Potter author, Kerry Moscogiuri, the chief executive of Amnesty International UK, issued a public apology and claimed that the report did not reflect its position as an institution.

She said that Amnesty "regretted" publishing the briefing, which branded gender-critical activists an "anti-rights movement" and a "growing threat".

However, Sex Matters wrote to the human rights charity yesterday, saying that it did not accept that the report's publication was "an isolated failure of

quality control". The letter, seen by The Times, also rejected the suggestion that the negative view expressed against gender-critical groups in the briefing was not Amnesty's institutional position.

It went on to argue that Amnesty has "repeatedly" claimed that "women's rights" must include the interests of transgender women who were born male. The correspondence further alleged that the charity has previously promoted puberty blocking treatment for children with gender dysphoria, now banned by the government.

Amnesty International UK said in a statement: "Amnesty International UK holds itself to the highest standards of research, evidence and editorial oversight. This briefing did not meet those standards.

"We remain deeply committed to defending the rights of women and girls, and to supporting the trans community in the UK as their rights, dignity, and safety come under sustained attack."

Author's brush with evil is far from banal

Theatre Clive Davis

Mrs Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library Traverse, Edinburgh (80min)

★★★★☆

The timing is propitious. Jenny Lyn Bader's off-Broadway play about Hannah Arendt arrives in Edinburgh just as a new biography of the German-born author of The Origins of Totalitarianism arrives in bookshops.

Arendt is best known today for coining the phrase "the banality of evil" in her book about the Adolf Eichmann trial. In Bader's pensive drama we see the youthful scholar, then married to a pupil of Heidegger, experiencing her own close encounter with the forces of authoritarianism.

In 1933 she was taken into custody after a librarian at the Prussian State Library denounced her. In this chamber piece from the American company Luna Stage, Bader takes us

inside the cell where Arendt is interrogated by a junior Gestapo official, Karl Frick. Ella Kaille delivers a convincingly punctilious portrayal of a scholar who knows that any slip of the tongue about her connection to dissidents and Zionist activists could prove disastrous. Clipped and formal, she soon recognises that there is a chance that she can win her inquisitor's sympathy.

Brett Temple's Frick is no leather-coated brute but a young man who

Brett Temple's Karl Frick interrogates Hannah Arendt, played by Ella Kaille

has just made the transition from the civilian police. His demeanour is that of an ordinary public servant hoping to make his way in the world. There is a layer of ambivalence and more than a flicker of humanity in his conversation. We are, Bader reminds us, peering into a world where millions of ordinary people still have a chance to make a choice between good and evil.

The director Ari Laura Kreith oversees a dramatised debate that will appeal to anyone who enjoyed Michael Frayn's atomic bomb drama Copenhagen. Leo Strauss's name fits past and Arendt invokes Kant as she makes a passionate defence of the quest for truth. Drew Hirshfield (who will be replaced from August 18 by Daniel Adam Cantor) makes a brief appearance as a Jewish lawyer trying to come to the aid of the detainee.

Arendt, pacing the room, pulling on a cigarette, calculates her every move. Frick seems to warm to her, yet she knows that if she loses her balance, she risks disappearing into the abyss. To Aug 30, traverse.co.uk

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Admit it Charles, Buckingham Palace is hideous Emma Duncan Page 24

Comment

Burnham v Middle England is just the start

PM said he would stop dumping asylum seekers in poorer areas but only stopping the boats can save him from backlash

@PATRICKKMAGUIRÉ

Ronald Reagans nine most terrifying words in the English language are quoted so often that we need not repeat them here. But which nine words, in 2026, are the British equivalent? Perhaps these: 'I'm from the council. Next door's becoming an HMO.' Or maybe these: 'We're housing asylum seekers in the old RAF base.' For this, after all, is now the uncomfortable stuff of politics in so much of provincial England.

So the prime minister was reminded earlier this week. On Tuesday, Andy Burnham went to Ilkeston in Derbyshire. That town once gave England coal and bricks and tiles and iron, as well as Robert Lindsay, but today — like so many of this country's stilled cradles of industry — it makes little more than boxfuls of votes for Reform UK. Hence why Burnham went there: to listen to the voters who think Labour has nothing to say.

Two of those conversations, both recorded, cast a harsh light indeed on the great dividing line of English politics and the frontier the prime minister sees between two very different Englands. One was in the street, where a local asked Burnham what he would do about small boats. Look at the numbers! More than 200 on a single dinghy! The man got a polite, expansive and unpatronising answer from one of the prime minister's advisers, who told him Burnham had just spoken at length to GB News on that very subject.

It was an interesting interview, for the questions as much as the answers. They were in post-industrial Derbyshire, yes, but Burnham was asked about an Oxfordshire village called Piddington. The Times visited this week, and found its 350 residents driven to rage, fear and anxiety over plans to house 1,250 asylum seekers in a disused Ministry of Defence depot nearby. So much so that 96 per cent of the villagers voted to secede from the UK in a local referendum held last month.

What would the prime minister do for the people of Piddington? They'd written to him, GB News explained. One of them, a boy of seven named Rex Perkin, said — a little quantity — that the new neighbours would 'overwhelm the hamlet'. He liked his playing field just the way it was. Villagers who spoke to this newspaper earlier this week said much the same. They didn't want 1,000 or more unoccupied, unfamiliar men.

In a speech as MP for Makerfield he vowed to abolish 'HMO Britain'

descending on Piddington, loitering and drinking on that same field, scaring women who would otherwise leave their doors unlocked.

Few ever disagree — not when it's them. The same complaints ring out from Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire, another pretty village whose former RAF base has been earmarked for the same purpose. When he was asked about Piddington, Burnham promised to listen to its 'good people', as he always does. But, he added: 'We cannot have a situation where it's only the poorest communities in the country that receive all of the dispersal of refugees

and asylum seekers. I do believe all parts of the country need to work, to play their part.'

And there it was, again: the prime minister's world view in microcosm. It was in his very first speech as MP for Makerfield, and again in Ilkeston, that he promised to abolish 'HMO Britain'. One can translate that very succinctly, and indeed it will have been widely understood. The simple English version is this: accommodating asylum seekers in houses converted to bedsits in the residential streets of towns like Ashton or Abram or Bryn is unfair on everyone, not least the local community, and has to end. It is a popular, unarguable proposition, easily and immediately intelligible to the people in question.

But there's more to it. HMO Britain isn't Piddington. It's Blackpool, Burnley or indeed Thetford, where riots broke out last week — each house a little monument to the ills Burnham diagnoses in the country and its economy. Such places are poorer and their housing stock is cheap. Spiv landlords take their opportunity, outsourcers take the money from local authorities with precious little of it to spare, locals already distrustful of and disenchanted with politics have no option but to take change, crime, rough sleeping and antisocial behaviour on the chin. Migrants often take the force of the backlash too. Nobody asked them. Nobody's listening. And someone else is getting rich.

This failsafe prescription for resentment, or worse, is applied again and again to the places Burnham wants to win back around to Labour. Towns done over again and again, as he said of Leigh in his maiden speech 25 years ago, by forces beyond their control and

Protests near Thetford, Norfolk, where violence broke out over asylum seekers

impervious to their democratic will. But, as they'd tell you in Piddington, Middle England doesn't much like it either. Rather a lot of Labour voters happen to live there these days.

Fairness, another favourite word of Burnham's, necessarily means redress — and losers. New Labour could afford to redistribute cash towards Labour's England. For now, when it comes to migration, this prime minister can only propose to redistribute pain and discomfort away from it, to be felt with just as much intensity elsewhere.

It is hardly surprising. HMO Britain is Burnham's Britain, in which the assumed order of life is upended by government policy imposed from afar. Remember, though, what the man in Ilkeston said. He first wanted to know what the prime minister would do about

small boat crossings, not what happened once their passengers landed on the south coast. Accordingly, Burnham starts from the premise that numbers should continue to fall, which they are — including in asylum accommodation. Hence why, after a brief flurry of speculation to the contrary, he voted for Shabana Mahmood's Asylum Bill as a born-again hackbencher last month and then kept her in post as home secretary. Redistribution is not his long-term solution.

Mahmood's plan, and the prime minister's too, is to move asylum seekers to larger sites like those military bases, where services can be provided within their confines. In time she intends to move beyond the question of whether rich or poor must shoulder the burden at all. The Home Office is examining whether disused, more isolated industrial facilities can also be repurposed so that far fewer people — wherever they are — feel an imposition on their doorstep. The same logic lay behind the closure of asylum hotels.

Burnham speaks of 'compassion and control'. That he can express the former for those here legally is not in question. In Ilkeston, when the cameras were off, Burnham was approached by a carer from abroad. She had heard him pay tribute to overseas workers in his speech on social care. She thanked him for saying so. She felt seen, heard, appreciated. He wants the unhappy and unwilling residents of HMO Britain to feel the same. Taking back control from the landlords, the outsourcers, the people smugglers and the furious retirees of chocolate box villages is a far more trying test.

We know his diagnosis. As it is with early release, his premiership, Labour's future and trust in politics is all riding on a prime ministerial cure.

An evening with Lewis Moody

From captaining the England rugby team to tackling life's toughest challenges — including his recent MND diagnosis — Lewis Moody has always been a man of action. Join us as Lewis sits down with Times rugby correspondent Alex Lowe for an honest, inspiring conversation exploring the mistakes, triumphs, and life lessons that forged a great man's mettle.

Thursday, November 5 | 7.30pm

The Emmanuel Centre, 9-23 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 3DW

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Comment

Admit it Charles, Buckingham Palace is hideous

A trip to monarchy HQ is a trainee through irredeemable naffness — can't we just repurpose it?

Emma Duncan

My sister has been staying with me on a visit from South Africa, so I thought I would show her a good time. The high point in our schedule was Buckingham Palace. At £13 a ticket it's a relatively pricey outing, but I thought it would be worth it to treat her to some splendour.

How wrong I was. From the bushes of artificial box in plaster urns that greet you as you pass through security onwards, Buckingham Palace is irredeemably naff.

That's not entirely the fault of the current management. The palace was redesigned by John Nash in an era when opulence signified power, not vulgarity. Happily, gold, marble, mirrors, columns and huge portraits of oneself and one's relations are out of fashion, although the aesthetic survives among potentates in the Middle East, Central Asia and Washington DC. Peter York, the cultural commentator, describes it as dictator chic.

But while you can't turn a rococo palace into a minimalist gallery, you make choices about what to display; and the choices made at the palace are, to my mind, mostly poor ones.

A few square yards of the crimson-flock-wallpapered throne room helps

to illustrate them. A gilt clock surmounted by a statue of Atlas with a globe stands awkwardly in front of mirrored doors with gilt surrounds. Beside them is an armchair upholstered in red velvet with gilt lions' heads for arms, next to which is a gilt fireplace with aggressive gilt firedogs in the shape of dragous. On the mantelpiece is a vast gilt mirror topped with a crown, and a black marble and gilt clock decorated with warriors, on either side of which are gilt candelabras. If I owned any of that, I'd stick it in the attic.

The pilded fat drowns out the lovely things, such as John Copley's portrait of three of George III's daughters playing together. But the

'Blue' drawing room is like being trapped in a box of Quality Street

King evidently favours overload. The paintings in the recently refusing Picture Gallery, which has some stonkingly good works, are jammed together from the balm out to the ceiling. Even if you crick your neck right back you can barely tell a Canaletto from a Stubbs on the top row, so the only point can be to show off how much of the good stuff one has.

The contemporary art is mostly execrable. In a series of paintings in a corridor, carriages and uniforms are just about discernible beneath a lot of black scribbles. As we stared in mute horror, others were more vocal: 'Just

horrible'; 'A three-year-old coulda done it'; 'Quelle horreur'. The King's coronation portrait makes him look like an octogenarian accountant of restricted stature who has draped a curtain round his shoulders. Jonathan Yeo's strangely red portrait of him with weird hands is hung on red flock wallpaper, opposite John Russell's delicately funny 1791 depiction of Prinny in his fat prime. Neither choice does the contemporary picture any favours.

And then there are the colours. The 'blue' drawing room has grey-green flock walls, a red carpet, brown marbled columns, a gold and white ceiling, turquoise chairs and black sideboards. It's like being trapped in a box of Quality Street.

Things didn't improve outside. Buckingham Palace's garden is nearly as big as St James's Park, but while the latter is an oasis of shade and water that welcomes the weary, the former is dominated by a vast lawn on to which hoi polioi may not step. A turmax path funnels them round the lawn to a huge gift shop, where a pair of dishcloths with the royal logo in gold retails for £24.

It is all, I'm afraid to say, horribly common. Perhaps it's because the royals have no taste but, being arrogant, don't realise it. That's Diana O'Kelly line on the upper classes. In her wonderful memoir, Instead of a Letter, she explains that the lovely things she was brought up with were all bought by her ancestors. Anything recently purchased was 'a pitiful, decadent bastard of the old ... Only a few members of my family had, if left

to themselves, more natural taste than the people they most pitted and despised: the dwellers in suburbia.'

Perhaps the royals have decent taste but think that the vulgus wants vulgar things. From the rip-off prices and the overcrowded rooms to the ban on photography, the place has the joyless air of a business that doesn't respect its customers.

Or maybe the problem is not the royals but the nation. The British are inclined to preserve the past without giving enough thought to the needs of the present. That's the instinct that makes our planning system so inflexible and hobbles our economy.

It's not that we can't do good design. After the palace, my sister and I went to Waitrose, where the despised suburbanites shop everything, down to the wooden waste bins, was beautifully done. But we have an excessive reverence for our history, and are unwilling to combine the contemporary with the historic in the way that the Europeans do. The Dutch royals' Paleis Het Loo, for instance, is a baroque wonder with a stunning contemporary underground extension where past and present complement each other.

The King runs Buckingham Palace but he doesn't live there any more, and he doesn't own it. We do. I was always told that you shouldn't own things that aren't either beautiful or useful, so if the King can't make it beautiful, let's do something useful with it, like turning it into a data centre or perhaps, given our current needs, a prison.

Surge pricing for public loos is a new low from councils Charlotte Lytton

Ask what people want from their public lavatory experience and 'dynamism' is unlikely to top the list. Yet in Sefton and the Cotswolds there may soon be no choice. Those councils have been consulting on using real-time data to enable dynamic pricing for public lavatories, in order to charge more during busy periods. Of the depths first-world countries can sink to, ratcheting up the costs for a basic human right is surely at the bottom.

These added fees would be embarrassing in any prosperous country, but feel particularly acute in England, where public loos are already a national disgrace. Earlier this year, the Royal Society for Public Health warned that there was a 'significant shortfall' in provision in England, where there are 15,481 people to every public lavatory — down 14 per cent over a decade. Of those that remain, many happily continue to charge despite being filthy or barely functional.

Other countries' facilities add insult to injury. Take New Zealand, where no matter the small town you're in, there will be a perfectly clean, free-to-use public bathroom available, often playing a jaunty soundtrack, even in the US, a country that would charge for breathing if it could, you can use the loo for free at a petrol station.

Here, there is no such luck. Most people — largely women with children, the elderly, or less able — are forced to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of every pub and cafe loo within a five-mile radius.

You can see the logic today's status quo sprang from: few public loos means people are forced into spending in private businesses, in order to use theirs. And now, having perhaps inadvertently created this golden goose, councils want back in, and are willing to install top-notch monitoring technology to ensure they get a cut. Who cares about the potential infections caused by holding it in when you can make an extra quid from an octogenarian needing an urgent bathroom trip?

In April, almost all local authorities in England increased council tax by 5 per cent. Somehow, this has not only failed to cover the cost of the odd visit to a public loo but has inspired some councils to dabble in surge pricing. The Bank of England reports this will be experimented with by 31 per cent of businesses this year — a model that is now being used to fleece us at pubs and on groceries, cabs, air fares and more.

Worse still is what follows. Dynamic pricing for prescriptions? Inflated fees for water on warm days? Surge fares on A&E beds? This Uber-isation of our existence — figuratively, at least — is as low as it gets.

Charlotte Lytton is a freelance writer

Mike Atherton Notebook

Manchester's booming but try telling the suburbs that

Wandering through Manchester's Northern Quarter on a warm summer's evening, through Stevenson Square and along the pedestrianized Thomas Street, it was impossible not to be taken with the extraordinary vitality coursing through an area that was once a deserted post-industrial wasteland.

For those of us who grew up in the city in the 1980s, the transformation has been remarkable. Forty years ago, it was a place locale passed through on the way to work. The suburbs were king. Now, the factories have been turned into warehouse apartments and high rates have rendered the city centre unrecognisable. Manchester city centre's population has grown to around 100,000 and the economy has risen much more quickly than other areas of the country.

'Manchesterism' has been a hot topic lately, though the danger is that the wrong lessons get learnt. A long-term vision, a stable and capable

managerial class and a willingness to put ideology to one side in order to — in the great northern tradition — get things done have been the key. But what of the peripheries? Heading out on my old route from school (the No.76 bus), the shiny feet of the city soon fades. Ancoats, Miles Platting, Newton Heath and Failsworth don't look as though they have benefited from much trickle-down effect. In Newton Heath, two thirds of school age children come from low-income families, which puts the area among the most deprived in the country.

Those I spoke to on my most recent trip offered a mixed message. There was praise for the efficiency and cost of the transport system. There was also the kind of bleak fatalism, tinged with black humour, that those from the area will recognise all too readily, and comes from a feeling that not much has changed — though Manchester city council has approved a ten-year plan to regenerate Newton Heath.

I was there on the weekend of the mayoral elections. In the working men's club that doubled as the polling station, I asked two middle-aged men dressed in football shirts how they voted. They laughed: 'United,' said one: 'City,' said the other.

A city unmatched

Manchester is a football city. The greatest of all football clubs began life in the area as Newton Heath Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Football Club at what was then North Road, before moving to Bank Street, Clayton, in 1893. A plaque commemorates Manchester United's early days at the second of those sites.

All around are reminders of these links. Just off Old Church Street, the main thoroughfare through Newton Heath, are a cluster of streets named after some of the Busby Babes who died at Munich: Tommy Taylor Close, Eddie Colman Close, Roger Byrne Close and walks named after Geoff Bent and David Pegg. Though he's an Evertonian, locals recognise in Andy

Burnham a politician who is a proper football man, rather than one who pretends to be so to demonstrate their common touch. He says that, outside family, the most important things to him are Everton, the Labour Party and the Catholic Church — in that order. We crossed over at Cambridge University by a year, and played against each other in a cup match, an occasion he remembered in his book Head North. He rightly remembered my own

ineptitude at full-back and the own goal I scored that cost us the game. On the pitch, he was a trier.

Evans above

One of The Sunday Times's greatest campaigning editors came from Newton Heath/Failsworth. Sir Harold Evans, plain old Harry as was, grew up in a small terrace on Ashworth Street, just off the route the No.76 takes.

His mum had an entrepreneurial streak. She began by selling lemonade to passers-by; then ice-cream, until finally their parlour morphed into a full-scale corner shop, selling groceries and haberdasheries. She did this while raising four children, and her husband helped once his train-driving shifts ended. Evans's dad was a bright man, with a head for numbers, who had little formal education, while his father's father had none: In a moving passage in his autobiography, Evans tells of visiting his dad when editor of this newspaper in 1981, to be told: 'What would people say if they knew the man editing this newspaper is the grandson of a man who could not read a word of it?'

His triumph was one of education, principally. He had the good fortune his dad and grandad did not have. I walked down Ashworth Street recently and No. 54, the Evans's house, still boasts a grocery store. A plaque, a nod to Evans's work and the spirit of his parents, would be fitting — both for him and Newton Heath.

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Comment

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Trump's Air Force run was plane embarrassing

Symbolism of a president dodging the risk of enemy fire during an unpopular war with Iran will reinforce public distaste

Gerard Baker

@GERARDTBAKER

Even by the standards of the exaggerated self-esteem in which American journalists view their role, the White House press corps is in a class of its own. A job covering the president is still regarded by most budding US journalists as the pinnacle of a career in the news business.

Those from the major news organisations get their own seat assignment in the White House briefing room, the name of the newspaper, website or TV network affixed to the seatback. They travel with the president when he goes on exotic foreign trips. They labour long and hard to develop the kind of deep-throat sources in the administration they hope will one day earn them a scoop that will be memorialised by some future Robert Redford or Dustin Hoffman in the imagined movie of their lives.

So you can imagine the jolt they got this week when they discovered that their job description had been extended to playing the role of human decoys for a

potentially lethal attack intended for President Trump.

The Washington Post reported on an elaborate ruse conducted by the US secret service as Trump was concluding his visit to Turkey for the Nato summit meeting last month. US intelligence officials had received indications of a terrorist threat to Trump while he was in Turkey, and there were reports of Iranian proxy terrorists armed with heavy weapons in the vicinity of the president's whereabouts in Ankara.

The risk was serious, his security advisers decided, and Air Force One — both the new Qatari gift-plane, and the original — was too inviting a target for the enemy. They decided to transfer the president undercover to a different plane for the journey home, in secret.

TV pictures later showed Trump boarding the old Air Force One plane at Ankara airport, but then, unseen by the cameras and unbeknown to all but a few officials, he immediately passed through the plane's cabin and got into a catering unit — the sort that is used to convey inflight meals for airlines — raised to the door at the other side. Trump climbed into the container, which was lowered on to a waiting truck, and he was then transported a few hundred yards to another, smaller aircraft, an air force C12-A jet with a small group of aides for the onward leg back to the US.

The unsuspecting press then boarded what they thought was Air Force One (by protocol, the call sign belongs to any plane the president is actually travelling in) and never knew that the president was not with them. Nor, more importantly did they know the reason for the switch — that they had been left on a plane US officials believed might be at risk of being shot down.

Indignation followed the Post's story this week. "That the White House would lie to the press corps in its entirety about where the

Journalists found themselves playing the role of human decoys

president is ... That's a new Rubicon that's being crossed," said Garrett Graff, a prominent member of the Washington press priesthood.

Living to the press? Count us shocked. Still, even given Trump's low regard for those he calls "enemies of the people", using them as expendable distractions for a surface to air missile so that he could get home safely was a new one.

Almost overlooked in the self-righteous fuming by the reporters, though, was the fact that they weren't alone in playing their part in this remarkable tableau of subterfuge.

Also on board the decoy plane were White House staff members and cabinet officials, including Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, and Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, respectively fourth and fifth in line to the presidency should anything happen to the commander-in-chief.

Everyone, of course, made it home safely, whichever plane they flew, and perhaps the melodrama was overdone. After all, it wasn't the first time a president has used deception to travel in cases of credible threats. Both Bill Clinton and George W Bush deployed top-secret subterfuge on occasions — though in their cases a small handful of reporters were notified, and no one else seems to have been put in potential harm's way.

It's doubtful that anyone other than a few journalists are upset about this. Americans understand that operational security prioritises the president — and presidents generally do what they are advised. The unusual story, however, may only serve to emphasise Trump's current woes. The symbolism of a president literally dodging the risk of enemy fire during an unpopular war will only reinforce the public's distaste for his foreign policy.

Perhaps to compensate for his evident irresolution in his war with Iran, Trump has done his best to present the image of a resolute leader in the past few weeks. As he

vacillates over escalation, de-escalation or stalemate with Iran by day, by night his excursions on Truth Social have produced some striking images of him posing in martial style. One last week featured him in full army dress striding out with Second World War real-life heroes, generals George Patton and Douglas MacArthur.

The Air Force One caper has invited an avalanche of ridicule in response. It may not have been quite as arresting or demeaning as the spectacle of Boris Johnson hiding in a refrigerator to avoid a television interviewer. But it has led to a slew of social media counterprogramming from his critics, including AI images of the president skulking in airline food carts amid the packets of pretzels and tin foil dishes of chicken and beef.

However prudent the move, the idea of a president being smuggled on and off an aircraft to avoid being assassinated by the enemy is not one to lift the heart of most Americans. Six months after he launched a war he insisted would be over in days, it will only reinforce the sense that Trump has got himself into a mess from which escape seems either impossible or humiliating.

THE STATE OF IT USA

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Letters to the Editor

Prisoner releases

Sir, The solution to the controversy surrounding the early release of prisoners (letters, Aug 12) would be for all sentences to mean what they say. Headline sentences, few of which will be served in full, have increased to assuage populist sentiment. That is countered to some extent by early release; with the resulting mess as that sentiment re-emerges, as in the Harper case. If a fraudster is deemed as worthy of a ten-year term as a rapist, then they should both serve the same. Making the rapist serve longer shows that the initial determination was wrong, and perhaps he should have received 15 years. There may be variants in proportions of sentences served but they should be restricted to matters not known to the sentencing judge, such as conduct in prison and the level of danger posed when release is being considered, but not the nature of the offence.

Richard Colbey Barrister, 5 Pump Court, Temple

Sir, Early release or time served is not the problem, because the offenders will eventually return to their community, to the concern of victims and witnesses. Some years ago one of our regular attenders in the Cheltenham youth court was accused of pinning the hands of a youth while others stabbed the victim in the stomach. At Gloucester crown court, the evidence was contested and he was acquitted. Clearly the community thought otherwise and friends of the family visited the lad and explained the situation: 'Go — or else.' In Tudor terms it amounted to banishment. The Probation Service found him a spot some way away. He stayed away from Cheltenham and, cut off from his mates, his offending declined.

Where the courts, the tariff and jail had failed, banishment worked. The real gain was for the community: the victims family could move on, the witnesses no longer feared dark alleys and, perhaps, he too gained.

Corrections and clarifications

● We said that Tony Gair, a Green Party candidate for South Tyneside council, had removed social media posts supporting Vladimir Putin and accusing Theresa May of orchestrating the novichok attack on Sergei Skripal. Mr Gair has informed us that he did not remove the posts but merely set his X account to private for a few months. He has also pointed out that his novichok post was published on March 15, 2018, not May 15 as we wrongly said. We are happy to put the record straight.

1956 Regulated 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

Unrest over Burnham's zero-hours reform

Sir, Regarding your article on the potential impact of the zero-hours contracts ban, it is not just young people who would be disproportionately put out of work ("Firms' fury at zero-hours reform", news, Aug 13). An end to the flexibility that zero-hours contracts provide could mean other groups feel forced to leave their jobs and possibly the employment pool entirely.

A huge number of researchers and survey interviewers are employed on — and benefit from — flexible worker contracts in the market and social research sector. The present terms for these contracts give people the power to choose which projects they pick up and to control when, where and how much they work. Many of them are parents of young children or have caring responsibilities for other relatives, and their employment needs to fit around those obligations. If we ban this way of working outright we risk losing a large group of experienced people, predominantly women, from the workforce — at a time when the government needs more tax revenues. It is right to challenge 'exploitative' contracts. However, the legislation must account for the very legitimate

flexible models that support employment for so many people and provide cost-effective research for businesses and the public sector.

Jane Frost CEO, Market Research Society

Sir, Your report on the $3 billion potential cost of reforms to zero-hours contracts focuses on hospitality. Regional theatres will be hit even harder. For front-of-house staff, hours follow the performance schedule. When a theatre is dark, there are no audiences, no box office income and often no work to offer. Yet these roles provide valuable, flexible employment for many young people balancing study, auditions, and other work. A rigid guarantee of hours risks reducing those opportunities rather than improving them.

Many regional theatres are publicly owned and charity-run, and already face higher employer national insurance, rising wages and energy costs, and reduced business-rates support. Requiring them to guarantee hours when no work exists will not create greater security. It will mean fewer jobs, less ambitious programming, and still greater pressure on already fragile finances.

The government should distinguish between exploitative zero-hours practices and genuinely irregular work. For theatres, any guarantee should reflect the hours actually available, rather than an historical average bearing little relationship to how they operate.

Patrick Gracey Theatre Producer, London W6

Sir, Regarding the bleating about the prohibition of zero-hours contracts, these are a form of exploitation of poor people by incompetent employers. Good riddance to a bad and underhand practice.

Terance Hart Cambridge

Sir, The best protection for workers is a thriving economy in which there is a realistic option to choose to rapidly move to another employer if the pay and conditions are unsatisfactory.

Paul Ridley Stoke on Trent

Letters to The Times must be exclusive and may be edited. Please include a full address and daytime telephone number.

Investing in the UK

Sir, In her drive to force people to invest in the UK ("Prusion savers can't expect tax breaks if they don't invest in Britain", Aug 12), Baroness Allmann overlooks the fact that taxpayers and pension savers are the same people. The basic premise of her proposal is that 'taxpayers fund tax relief of more than £70 billion a year to supplement individual or employer pension contributions', and hence those individuals should be forced to invest in UK assets. But 'taxpayers' and 'individuals' are the same people and so they should be able to dictate how their money is invested.

As the pension freedoms have shown, generally individuals know what is better for them than the state does, so mandating different behaviour will just lead to worse results. If politicians want more UK investment from individuals, they should focus on making the UK a more attractive place in which to invest (lower business taxes, less regulation), rather than telling people where to invest their own hard-earned money.

Nick Wallin London SW12

Making the grade

Sir, Deanne Clay writes about her daughter gaining entry to Oxford despite disappointing exam results (letter, Aug 13). I was accepted for medicine at Edinburgh on the strength of A-level passes in biology and English literature, I think by mistake, yet managed a full and fairly successful 40-year career as a GP. Exams aren't all that they are cracked up to be.

Ian McKee Edinburgh

Arday 'aberration'

Sir, Deborah Prentice, the University of Cambridge vice-chancellor, is reported to have said that the appointment of Jason Arday was an 'aberration' (news, Aug 13). She cannot possibly know this. She could have said that she hoped that it was an aberration but, if the report is correct, she has demonstrated a questionable command of logic and has devalued any further comments that she may make on the matter.

John Sword Chipping Norton, Oxon

Nocturnal bathers

Sir, I was shocked that trespass, bylaw breaches, criminal damage and reckless behaviour were presented by the anonymous author as little more than a harmless summer adventure ("Hampstead ponds' after-dark secret", Times2, Aug 12). The article describes underage drinking, unauthorised access to bathing ponds with no lifeguards present, damage to facilities and young people diving from a changing room roof into the water. This puts them and others at serious risk of injury. Hampstead Heath is managed as a registered charity by the City of London Corporation at no cost to local communities. Yandallism of this kind is costing the charity thousands of pounds, resources that should be directed to charitable objectives. Hampstead Heath Constabulary acts with the Metropolitan Police. We have authorised it to take robust enforcement action, including arrest and prosecution where appropriate.

Gregory Jones KC Chair, City of London Corporation's Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queen's Park committee

THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS SOLD, AGAIN

FROM THE TIMES AUGUST 14, 2026

Mr RC Warner's copy of the first edition of Bunyani's 'Pilgrim's Progress', 1678, has again been sold. Its sale at Sotheby's on July 26 for £6,800 and the announcement yesterday of its return by Messrs Quaritch to Messrs Sotheby as not being the first issue of the first edition were followed during the day by another announcement that it had been purchased by one of Messrs Quaritch's customers, an English collective whose name cannot be revealed.

At the auction sale Messrs Quaritch purchased it for stock,

holding no commission for it from America or elsewhere. It is satisfactory to be able to report its sale to an English collective, and to know that for the present it remains in this country. No statement is made as to the price paid but there is reason to assume that it is considerably less than the £6,800 at which it was knocked down last month.

In Messrs Sotheby's official announcement it is stated that 'the existence of two issues of the first edition had not been generally known to bibliographers'. Inquiries show, however, that the fact was known and published 40 years ago, but had been completely forgotten ever since. Mr Joseph Angus, who owned an imperfect copy, wrote a description of it in Booklet of November 1886 (p182). He said: 'This copy is, I believe, unique in one respect. It has a list of Erata five lines below 'Finis' on the last page, 232.' It may be mentioned here that Mr Angus's copy

belonged to the Marsom family. Mr Marsom was with Bunyan in prison, and was one of those who said: 'John, print it.' There is a tradition that he helped to meet the expense, and added the Erata (or Erata, as it appears in print) as the book was passing through the press. Mr Marsom was founder of the Baptist church at Luton. This copy was sold 'with all faults' at Sotheby's on July 25, 1921, for £500. So far, only two copies of the second issue have been recorded, the Angus-Marsom and the Warner copies.

● The last Test Match between England and Australia is to begin at the Oval-to-day. Contrary to custom this, the deciding match of the rubber, is to be played to a finish, no time limit being imposed. Previously there was a limit of six days.

THETIMES.COM/ARCHIVE

Cultural funding

Sir, Tristan Hambleton (letter, Aug 12) misunderstands the nature of arts (and museums) funding. The majority of 'free' museums receive large amounts of public subsidy, either at national or local level, as do the major performing arts institutions. This in no way covers all their running costs however, let alone capital investment such as the Royal Opera House needs (report, Aug 2). I chair the trustees of Wiltshire Museum, which is part of an extensive network of independent museums that have to earn their operational keep through entry charges, membership, legacies and donations, while depending on the National Lottery Heritage Fund and philanthropy for significant capital investment. I'm all for state cultural funding — its economic yield far exceeds the level of investment made — but all cultural sectors share the same funding challenge.

Caroline Kay Chair, Wiltshire Museum, Devizes

Dr Google's verdict

Sir, Andrew Colman's letter (Aug 12) regarding his GP wife's gift of a mug citing the superiority of a medical degree over an internet search unfortunately seems to speak to a certain arrogance that I believe remains in the medical world that all patients are idiots. I feel that had my mother's GP been more open to her symptoms and medical history and her severe headache, she might have been more likely to initially suspect a stroke (which it turned out to be) rather than a urinary tract infection.

All patients consulting a GP are expert on how they feel and worried about what it might mean and no GP ought lightly to dismiss any googled concerns they may have.

Tim Harrison Castle Acre, Norfolk

Minutiae minister

Sir, Do we really want our prime minister to be determining at a Cobra meeting whether or not to ban disposable barbecues (report, Aug 13)? Surely there are more important issues to occupy his time.

Nick MacAndrew Hatherden, Hants

Drab design

Sir, Having 'beauty' as a planning requirement sounds like a good idea (letter, Aug 13), but is unfortunately in the eye of the beholder. I would settle for 'interesting'. All the new housing developments I have seen recently are square buildings, with identical square windows, the only relief being slight variations in the shade of the beige or grey brickwork. Adding faux wood cladding makes some even duller.

Bruce Hunt Linton, Cambs

Called to the bar

Sir, At the age of 73, I may not have a lot in common with Gen Z-ers but one thing we can agree on is queuing in pubs (Notebook, Aug 13). I absolutely detest having to wait at the bar wondering whether someone who arrived after me will be served before me. I find it immensely stressful and have always wondered why customers don't form a queue as they would anywhere else. Young people are right to be so sensible.

Elizabeth Clarke Sheffield

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Leading articles

Daily Universal Register

Edinburgh Art Festival begins, until August 30. World Pipe Band Championships are held in Glasgow today and tomorrow, with 8,000 pipers from 16 nations competing.

Nature notes

Wood pigeons don't make for quiet neighbours; their loud, repetitive calls can continue for what feels like hours. Next time

you're woken by their seemingly endless cooing, it might help to reflect that you're listening to a sound that slowly evolved in the growwood forests that once covered so much of the northern hemisphere. These calls are purposefully penetrative — they had to be heard through all that dense foliage. Wood pigeons are even more of an unmissable presence during courtship. If they're not billing and cooing on chimney pots then they're blundering from roof to roof like cartoon burglars. Their flight displays involve loud wing claps and the sharp whistling of air passing through feathers. XONATHAN TULLOCH

Birthdays today

Halle Berry, pictured, actress, Monster's Ball (2003), 60; Darren Clarke, golfer, winner of the Open (2011), 58; Nico de Boinville, National Hunt jockey, 37; Dermot Desmond, businessman

and financier, largest individual shareholder of Celtic Football Club, 76; Mark Francois, Conservative MP for Rayleigh & Wickford, shadow defence minister, 61; Nick Grimshaw, TV and radio presenter, BBC Radio 6 Music's breakfast show, 42; Earvin 'Magic' Johnson, basketball player, five-time NBA champion (1980-88), 67; Gary Larson, cartoonist, The Far Side (1980-95), 76; Jason Leonard, rugby union player, Harlequins and England (both 1990-2004), 58; Adrian Lester, actor, Hustle (2004-12), 58; Lord Donathani Warland, chairman, Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, 70; Paddy McGuinness, TV presenter, actor and comedian, Top Gear (2019-22), A Question of Sport (2010-23), 53; Steve Martin, comedian and actor, Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), 81; Jill Morris, UK ambassador to Turkey, 59; Jackie Oliver, Formula 1 racing driver (1967-77), 24 Hours of Le Mans winner (1969), 84; Thomas Pakenham, Earl of Longford, author and historian, The Scramble for Africa (1998), 93; Jonathan Powell, diplomat, UK national security adviser, chief of staff to Tony Blair (1995-2007), 70; Maddy Prior, folk singer, Steeleye Span, All Around My Hat (1975), 79; Frederic Raphael, writer, Eyes Wide Shut (1999), 95; Susan Saint James, actress, McMillan & Wife (1973-76), 80; Danielle Steel, novelist, The Duchess (2017), 79; Carlos Tavares, chief executive, Stellantis (2021-24, car group), 68; Gillian Tayflorth, actress, EastEnders (since 1985), 71; Lady (Caroline) Waldegrave of North Hill, founding principal, Leithis School of Food and Wine (1977-2008), 74; Wim Wenders, film director, Paris, Texas (1984), 81.

On this day

In 2018 a section of the Morandi highway bridge in Genoa, Italy, collapsed, killing 43 people and injuring many others.

The last word

"My greatest strength is the love for my people; my greatest weakness is that I love them too much." Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, prime minister who led Bangladesh to independence, assassinated on this day in 1975, to Sir David Frost on the BBC, 1972.

Testing Times

As students set records for A-level results, and more than ever secure their first-choice university place, government and academia must offer them a better deal

This year's crop of A-level, T-level and Btec students, clutching hard-won grades in the August heat, deserves congratulations. For the third year in a row, top A-level marks across England, Wales and Northern Ireland went up: 28.5 per cent of entries were marked at A* or A. The modest but steady rise in achievement inevitably triggers murmurs about grade inflation. Yet there can be little doubt that most candidates — perhaps aware of growing competition for jobs — have been working extremely hard: the exams remain exacting.

Even more challenging, perhaps, is mapping a way through the unstable terrain of higher education that awaits so many. That journey has become vastly more expensive, and more uncertain, since 1998, when Tony Blair's government passed the Teaching and Higher Education Act, which ended free UK-wide university education. It permitted universities to charge tuition fees capped at £1,000, and replaced maintenance grants with repayable student loans. Shortly afterwards, in 1999, Mr Blair proudly set out his mission to send 50 per cent of young people on to higher education.

The Higher Education Act of 2004 went further, allowing universities to charge variable annual fees, then capped at £3,000 a year, along with government-backed tuition fee loans with

low interest rates. Repayments were to begin only after students were in the workplace and earning above a fixed amount. Despite a soft introduction, the template that underpins the higher education landscape today was put in place: expanded access but at far greater financial cost to individuals.

That personal cost was often justified by the Labour government with reference to the 'graduate premium': the average lifetime economic benefit that a university graduate could expect compared with someone without a degree. In 2003 Margaret Hodge, an minister for higher education, cited a purported graduate gain of £400,000. In 2010, Lord Browne of Madingley's review of university funding revised that figure sharply downwards, to £100,000. A recent Institute for Fiscal Studies review still put the advantage at £100,000 once student loan repayments were accounted for. But it also concluded one in four graduates would be financially worse off after going to university.

As the graduate premium has shrunk in real terms, the burden of student loan repayments has rocketed. Government sleight of hand — from freezing repayment thresholds to using the higher RPI inflation figure to calculate loan interest — has stealthily tightened the screws on graduates. They now leave university in England with an

average debt of nearly £48,000 to enter a weak jobs market flooded with the well-qualified.

If successive governments have let UK graduates down, universities are frequently doing the same to students. It is disgraceful that when disputes between academics and the university authorities escalate to strike action, students should be asked to accept estimated, unmarked final certificates, as has happened at Nottingham and Edinburgh. And the scandal surrounding Professor Jason Arday at Cambridge University is an extreme example of a lack of intellectual rigour — exchanged for fashionable ideology — that afflicts too much of our wider university system.

None of this necessarily means that university is no longer worth it: in many cases it still is. And the intellectual development that university should properly encourage, along with the experiences and friendships it offers, cannot be strictly quantified by a price tag. Yet school-leavers must now think more critically about what exactly a university course will offer them, and at what cost, than previous generations did: in some instances, work or apprenticeships may offer more. When it comes to the thoughtful, decent treatment of young people at this turning point in life, both government and academia are too often failing the test.

Mickles and Muckles

Scotland is running a huge fiscal deficit that would be ruinous but for UK support

Once upon a time the Scottish National Party revelled in the publication of an accounting exercise called Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland. Gers, as it is known, provides an annual snapshot of the public finances north of the border, and in the years following the financial crisis of 2008 it was used by Alex Salmond, then SNP first minister, to justify the claim that Scotland could go it alone as an independent country. But that was then and this is now. This year's Gers figures continue to paint a sombre picture of the nation's fiscal prospects outside the United Kingdom, as they have done for many years. Try as it might to dismiss figures it once so eagerly prayed in aid, the SNP cannot conceal the fact that its chronic extravagance would be unsustainable but for top-up money from Westminster.

The bald fact is that people living in Scotland benefit from a huge nationwide subsidy that has been described as a "Union dividend": spending above that in England equivalent to £2,720 per head. Yet, under the SNP's disastrous stewardship that relatively lavish funding has resulted not in better education or health but in a yawning deficit.

While per capita spending in the UK in 2025-26 was 119,561 that in Scotland was £22,281. Despite tax revenues being at a historic high, in part because of the SNP government's decision to freeze income tax thresholds for middle and higher earners, the public spending bonus for Scots can be paid for only by running an enormous deficit, amounting to £25.3 billion. That is equivalent to 10.9 per cent of gross domestic product — more than double the UK deficit — and it would instantly consign an independent Scotland to the status of economic basket case, with borrowing costs on the sovereign bond market to match. This bleak reality is unlikely to improve any time soon.

And what have the people of Scotland gained from this massive structural subsidy? Not much. True, Scots university students do not labour under the mountainous debts of their hapless English counterparts, but schooling in Scotland, once the envy of the UK, has over the past 20 years suffered a prolonged decline in standards, both relative to other countries and in absolute terms. Even at its most diameters, the SNP cannot pin the blame for this abject failure on Westminster.

As oil and gas revenues from the North Sea crumble, and with them another argument for an independent Scotland's long-term economic viability, the SNP has sought to shift attention from the unforgiving statistics in Gers to comforting hypotheticals. A Scotland freed from the shackles of His Majesty's Treasury, the party argues, would be able to set its own priorities and reallocate resources. But independence would create more, not fewer, costs. Take defence: assuming Scotland joined Nato it would become responsible for a vast air and maritime defence zone, requiring its own air force and navy. Meanwhile warship building for the Royal Navy on the Clyde would gradually cease as work shifted south, with a commensurate loss of inward industrial investment and jobs.

Gers may be an imperfect predictor of an independent Scotland's fiscal situation but it contains hard figures that no amount of SNP obfuscation can conceal. And those figures should serve, too, as a salutary warning to Andy Burnham. The SNP's failure in education and health was bought with higher spending per head. Simply throwing money at failing systems can never be the answer.

Heavenly Experience

Wednesday's partial solar eclipse was a rare moment of national coming together

In the conclusion of their 1973 masterpiece Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd reminded us that "everything under the sun is in tune, but the sun is eclipsed by the moon." That was certainly true on Wednesday evening, as Britain gazed upwards for the fullest solar eclipse since 1999. Presence was rewarded with the best sight of 95.7 per cent coverage, while Norwich enjoyed a lesser eclipse of 89.7 per cent. The phenomenon lasted two hours, peaking just after 7pm when day turned briefly into twilight. It may not have been the spectacular full eclipse seen from northern Spain and Greenland, but it was still a haunting sight.

In an era when collective national experiences away from the football pitch are few and far between, the eclipse was a rare coming together, when random groups of people gathered on high ground or road bridges. For one magical moment, the doomscrolling ceased. Some Britons displayed their traditional suspicion of nannying official advice by gazing straight at the sun, incurring heaven knows what worrying ocular effects. Others managed to acquire a pair of those elusive eclipse glasses in the last-minute rush. the more generous sharing them with the less well equipped. Pinhole cameras made from paper and

cardboard, and even colanders, were deployed to capture an event that reminded viewers of the vast, silent mechanism that governs their lives. It was all so charmingly low-tech.

As for total eclipses, they generally occur every one or two years at some point on the Earth's surface. However, the next total solar eclipse visible from the UK will not occur until 2090, providing plenty of excuses for exotic long-haul travel.

Hopefully, Wednesday's event will encourage more interest in astronomy and the tools that make it happen. Like that wonderful but now endangered radio observatory at Jodrell Bank.

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World

Loose lips sank regime's revenge plot to kill Trump

Iran Michael Evans

The Iranian regime may have ordered an attempt on President Trump's life last month by an operative carrying a shoulder-launched missile, intelligence sources believe.

Western spy services have been poring over thousands of intercepted messages and conversations emanating from Iran in recent weeks, a former Mossad official told The Times.

It is understood that an eavesdropped conversation or directive from the leadership in Tehran may have referred to the option of using a man-portable missile launcher close to the airport where Trump was due to take off on Air Force One. There was a suspected sighting of such a weapon on the day, according to The New York Times.

The intelligence was enough for the US Secret Service to carry out an elaborate subterfuge in which Trump was taken off the presidential jet in a catering truck and put on another plane at Ankara airport for his flight to Britain after a Nato summit in the Turkish capital on July 8.

Rami Igra, a former Mossad official, said that although no attempt was made to kill Trump last month, the president was on a revenge hit list for Iran's network of Shia militant groups.

Trump and Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, are targets because of the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an airstrike on the first day of the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Igra, who was head of Mossad's hostage and missing-in-action department, said: "The Americans are looking at an enormous amount of information, and if there's intelligence that suggests somebody, whether the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) or the Iranian intelligence service or a terrorist group, is seeking revenge on Trump for the assassination of Khamenei, then it has to be taken seriously.

"Khamenei was a religious leader, the most important personality in the Shia world. There are 250 million people who are Shia Muslim. So there is a huge religious incentive for seeking revenge for the death of their leader.

"The intelligence [on the threat against Air Force One] most likely came from a technological source. Technological sources are hardcore evidence which would have come from an interception of a conversation or a directive about where someone should be and at what place and time.

"The Secret Service never takes chances. They're not allowed to take chances. Their job is to imagine the worst all the time.

"Israel always passes on the intelligence it gets, even to unfriendly nations, if it will save peoples' lives."

President Trump was spirited out of Air Force One in a catering truck at Ankara airport after the Secret Service were warned of a plot. Mourners at the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran called for revenge, below

Igra added that Iran had a history of assassination: "But the only assassination specifically involving the Iranian intelligence service was the attack on anti-regime activists at the Mykonos restaurant in Berlin [in 1992]."

Four exiled Kurdish-Iranian individuals were killed in the attack, which a German court blamed on leaders of the Iranian government.

Igra said: "On the whole, Iranian intelligence is not in the business of assassinations. Its speciality is espionage. Israel's Shin Bet counter-espionage organisation has picked up 30 Israeli spies, recruited by the Iranian intelligence service."

Iran has two overlapping intelligence services: the Ministry of Intelligence (MOI), and the IRGC's own organisation, both of which come under the aegis of the supreme leader.

There is also the IRGC's Quds Force, its overseas operations branch that carries out intelligence-gathering and sabotage for Iran's proxy militias across the Middle East, such as Hezbollah. Qasem Soleimani was head of the Quds Force when he was assassinated on Trump's orders in 2020.

The IRGC's intelligence branch has been active in recent years, kidnapping Iranian dissidents and attempting to abduct Israeli businessmen.

Both the MOI and IRGC are known to be active in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

In 2024 the US Department of Justice accused the IRGC of plotting to assassinate Trump when he was on the presidential campaign trail.

"It's no secret that the Iranians have wanted to assassinate Trump and other figures from his first term like Mike Pompeo [then secretary of state], John Bolton [national security adviser], and Brian Hook [special representative for Iran], who were involved in the drone strike that killed Soleimani," a former senior US diplomatic official said.

"This desire for revenge was quickened by the Israeli paper assassination plot that decapitated Hezbollah, strikes against IRGC figures in Syria and the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas in 2024, not to mention the decapitation strikes that began the current war with Iran, including the killing of the supreme leader, and many senior leaders of the security elements," they added.

"Iran has not had much success, so far, with assassinating western senior leaders, as opposed to regime opponents, but they have demonstrated their reach by going after soft targets like the Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires [which killed 85 people in 1994].

"The fact that they have, so far, failed to take out western leaders doesn't mean they will stop trying or that at some point they might not succeed."

The switch of planes at Ankara was not the first time the Secret Service had used deception to protect the president.

Bill Clinton flew secretly to India and Pakistan in 2000 when a crisis was building over Kashmir between the two nuclear powers. He, too, was secretly switched, from a US military aircraft to an unmarked jet, to fly from Mumbai to Islamabad. Trump's Air Force run was plane embarrassing, Gerard Baker, page 25

To friendship A flower carpet in Brussels of more than 500,000 dahlias inspired

Highest death toll among civilians in Ukraine since 2022

Ukraine Marc Bennett

As Russia's war against Ukraine spirals into a new, even bloodier stage, the civilian death toll is rising on both sides of the border, and there is little hope of an end to the killing.

More Ukrainian civilians were killed in July than in any month since May 2022, the United Nations said yesterday. It added that at least 437 civilians had died as a result of Russian attacks, a 70 per cent increase from the same month last year. The overall casualty

figures, which included more than 2,600 injuries, were the worst since March 2022, and child casualties were the highest since the early months of the war, it said.

"Every month this year the number of killed and injured civilians has increased. That trend accelerated sharply in July," Danielle Bell, head of the UN's monitoring mission in Ukraine, said.

This month may be even worse. In the first week of August, 17 people were killed in a Russian strike on Kyiv that came as Moscow stepped up its bombardment of the Ukrainian capital.

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29

by The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai celebrates 160 years of diplomacy between Belgium and Japan

President Zelensky said a lack of interceptor missiles for US-made Patriot air-defence systems meant that Ukraine had been unable to shoot down any of the 28 ballistic missiles fired by Russia.

Although President Trump promised to end the fighting within a day of entering the White House, Ukrainian civilian deaths and injuries rose last year by 30 per cent compared with 2024 and by 70 per cent from 2023, according to the United Nations.

The UN also said yesterday that at least 16,874 civilians had been killed since the start of the war, the biggest in Europe since 1945. The true figure is likely to be higher, it added.

Trump has said Washington is unable to spare Patriot interceptor missiles, which have been used by the US and allies in the Middle East, and he has backtracked on a promise to give Kyiv a licence to produce them.

Zelensky has suggested that Washington's reluctance to provide protection may be intended to force it into agreeing to Russia's demands on terri-

At least 437 Ukrainian civilians died in attacks by Russia in July, the UN said

tory. "Maybe these are political moves to make Ukraine more compliant," the Ukrainian president told his national security and defence council.

While there have been far more civilian casualties in Ukraine than in Russia, last week António Guterres, the UN secretary-general, condemned what he said was an "alarming pattern of escalating strikes against populated

areas" by both countries. A spokesman for the UN added: "Civilians have been increasingly caught in the crossfire of these deadly strikes."

Moscow says that 79 Russian civilians were killed and 601 injured in July. The UN said that it had been unable to verify the figures due to a lack of access to Russian territory.

More than 1,400 civilians have died in Russia and occupied Crimea since 2022, according to a report published in May by Novaya Gazeta Europe, a Russian opposition website.

Zelensky has said that Ukraine's attacks on Russian oil facilities and other infrastructure are an attempt to force Moscow to end its invasion.

Despite Ukraine's success in hitting the Kremlin's military supply lines and striking at targets in Russia, Putin's forces are encroaching on Kramatorsk and Slovansk, the two biggest towns in Donetsk that are under Kyiv's control.

"This is the last summer when Kramatorsk and Slovansk are not yet lying in ruins," Artem Kariakin, a Ukrainian soldier, wrote on social media.

Pope picks a princess to handle his purse strings Page 31

Social media influencers in the cartel crosshairs Page 32

Harry Potter and the prisoner of President Putin

Oleksandr Ivanov tells Catherine Philp how JK Rowling's stories helped him survive four years in a Russian jail

The prison where Oleksandr Ivanov and his fellow marines were taken felt like another planet, cut off from the outside world and all news of it. All day, every day they were forced to stand in silence. The guards were cold, brutal and cruel.

The Russian jail stirred a memory in Ivanov of the books he lost himself in during his childhood and continued to read: "It was Azkaban."

His comrades looked blank when Ivanov invoked the name of the inescapable prison from the Harry Potter series guarded by soul-sucking Dementors. So, in a whisper, the Ukrainian began to tell them the story out of earshot of the guards. Ivanov, now 33, would retell the tale told over seven volumes at least four times, to multiple cellmates, over the course of 1,494 days in captivity — four years, one month and three days after he was taken prisoner in Mariupol.

"It kept our hopes alive," he said in Kyiv, recounting his captivity two months after he was freed this May in a prisoner swap. "With every chapter we had something to look forward to. I stopped on a cliffhanger every night and the next morning someone would say, so, we're waiting. Continue the story."

News of Ivanov's storytelling made it back to Ukraine long before he did.

For the first three years of captivity, his family heard nothing beyond the photographs they'd already seen showing him being taken prisoner in Mariupol. It was only when a cellmate was released last year that news emerged both of his survival and and his feat of memory and motivation.

"For my wife, this was very important to hear," Ivanov said. "After three years in captivity, she understood, that if I am still telling the story of Harry Potter, it means that my mind is still sound."

At least 7,000 Ukrainian soldiers and as many as 15,000 civilians are believed to be held in Russia's prisons and labour camps in dire conditions, subject to abuse, starvation and torture.

Russia's use of torture "is not random, aberrant behavior," according to the UN's special rapporteur, but "orchestrated as part of state policy to intimidate, instill fear or punish."

Ivanov does not wish to speak of that, though there is little doubt

Oleksandr Ivanov with a letter from JK Rowling and a signed copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

of its routine use or that he himself also went through it.

"Of course it's difficult for me to forget. But when I returned from captivity, I watched a lot of videos with guys who were in captivity in Russia, talking about this but forgetting that this video will be watched by a wife or a child of someone who is still in prison. So for their sake, I don't want to talk about it."

Ivanov was captured in April 2022, as he and his fellow marines attempted to break out of encirclement in Mariupol. The Russian soldiers who captured them were cordial. All that changed when they reached the first of four prisons he would pass through in the ensuing four years.

"With the soldiers there was some respect between military guys," he said. "But when we arrived at the prison, I can't call them people. They live by their own rules and their rules are inhuman. They think we are monsters and they were instructed to behave with us like with monsters."

Ivanov ate up fantasy books in his youth from Tolkien to Gaiman but it was JK Rowling's series that truly seized his imagination. The behaviour of the guards took Ivanov's mind back to one of her darkest creations.

"I thought 'they are like Dementors,'" Ivanov said, the monsters Rowling created to evoke the feelings caused by clinical depression. "They sucked our happiness. They tried to crush our mind, to crush our characters."

Rowling has written to Ivanov. "I hear you are a great fan of 'Harry's' and of the comfort the stories gave you during your captivity in Russia," she wrote. "I am so very happy to hear that you have been released and have returned home to Ukraine and wish you a long and happy life going forward."

His release came without warning. The prisoners were called from their cell and taken to buses, then to a military airfield and aboard a plane and on to the border.

Ivanov said he cried for the first time since his capture after seeing Ukrainian civilians lining the road to cheer their return. He was given only a minute or two to embrace his wife and son, Demyd, before he was taken off for debriefing by the intelligence services. He did not see them again until two weeks into physical and psychological rehabilitation.

Re-entry into freedom and ordinary life was not easy, Ivanov said. "My child was three when I was captured," he says. "Now he is eight, he is a different person. I have to relearn him." He is kicker than many, he believes. "When I was in captivity, I understood that a lot of families will break after returning home. I was sure my wife was waiting for me, but I understood that even if there was a 1 per cent I was wrong, the main thing is that she is still alive. My son is still alive."

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10

World

US brands Israeli settlers ‘terrorists’

Israeli Gabrielle Weinger

America’s ambassador to Israel has issued a rare condemnation of settler “Israeli terrorists” who have besieged a Palestinian village in the West Bank for several days.

Mike Huckabee said yesterday the US embassy in Jerusalem had requested the Israeli military and police move in overnight to expel the settlers and dismantle their camps around the village of Qusra, south of Nablus.

The village had been surrounded since Sunday by extremist settlers who targeted the homes of at least two families, including one US citizen, preventing them from leaving or obtaining supplies.

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) soldiers entered Qusra under the cover of darkness after clashing with the settlers earlier in the day but failing to remove their makeshift camps. The military said it detained at least one Israeli at the site, confiscated equipment and would continue to carry out patrols in “defensive missions” to “maintain security and protect the area”.

Responding to criticism and appeals to President Trump’s administration to intervene, Huckabee posted on X that the embassy had been “VERY involved & the IDF & Israel Police have gone at our request to remove the Israeli terrorists doing this”.

He added: “The actions of those doing this to this family’s home is criminal. [The White House] hasn’t intervened because we have kept DC apprised of the situation. Actions by those who carried out this horrific act of terror meant to intimidate and harass this family are disgusting.

“No excuse for such thuggish behaviour. But saying [I or the US embassy] doesn’t care or hasn’t done anything is simply untrue.”

Huckabee posted a video showing a convoy of Israeli military and police vehicles in Qusra as evidence that they were removing “illegal trespassers there to intimidate Palestinian residents”.

Elisha Yereel, an Israeli settler, wrote on social media that “border police officers raided their camp overnight and demolished three of them”.

Abd al-Azim Wadi, the Palestinian head of the local council, denied that all the settlers had been removed and said a large military presence remained in the village and surrounding hillside.

Israeli forces initially did little to aid the village when a dozen settlers arrived and began intimidating residents on Sunday. After two Palestinian homeowners reported the attacks to the Israeli army, the first soldiers at the

Israeli soldiers have entered Qusra, where residents have been petted with rocks, left, and the mosque, right, was set ablaze last month

scene were filmed praying with the settlers. An attempt on Wednesday to remove them led to violent clashes before the IDF withdrew. The Abu Ridi and Hassan families posted on social media asking for help after their water and power supplies were cut off and their food stocks ran low.

Qusay Abu Ridi said his family were “living in fear”, adding: “They are being

harassed and attacked by the settlers. I cannot do anything about it.”

Residents initially said they had been asked to leave their homes by the IDF before the operation to remove the settlers. Early yesterday, the Israeli army tried to evict several Palestinians. They refused, fearing they would not be allowed to return.

“The soldiers were instructed that

the Qusra residents will remain in their homes,” the IDF said. “Furthermore, the soldiers will not operate inside the Palestinian family’s home located near the site where the tent that was evacuated and dismantled had been erected.”

The IDF said it was working to “avoid disruption” to the residents.

The United Nations said about 15 Palestinians, including two children,

were “trapped inside their homes in a state of terror, unable to attend to their basic needs and without access to water or electricity”.

More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank that are illegal under international law. Supported by members of the government including Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, extremist settlers have used intimidation and violence to drive residents from their homes.

Qusra is located in Area B, administered by the Palestinian Authority but controlled by the Israeli military. The IDF has been accused of doing little to aid Palestinians and the UN said attacks by settlers had reached “unprecedented levels”. Last month there was an arson attack at the newly built mosque in Qusra.

The UN said 76 Palestinians, including 18 children, have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers this year. According to the same report, about 3,800 Palestinians have been displaced due to settler violence, demolitions and evictions.

Putin goads Japan with ‘unacceptable’ visit to disputed islands

Russia Marc Bennetts

President Putin’s first visit to a disputed island in the Pacific Ocean has been called “unacceptable” by Japan in the latest sign of tension between Moscow and Tokyo.

Putin visited Iturup, one of the four Kuril Islands that Japan and Russia both claim as their own territory. State media showed him sampling salmon roe at a fish factory, meeting children and visiting a hospital.

The islands, which Japan calls the northern territories, have been controlled by Moscow since the end of the Second World War, when they were

annexed by the Soviet Union. About 17,000 Japanese residents were deported. The islands are today home to about 20,000 Russian citizens.

The dispute prevented Moscow and Tokyo from signing a formal peace treaty in 1945 and there have been tensions over the islands between the two countries for decades.

The Soviet Union only declared war on Japan on August 8, 1945, two days after the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima and a week before Tokyo surrendered.

Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s prime minister, said that Putin’s visit “offends the sentiments of the Japanese people and is absolutely unacceptable”.

Toshimitsu Motegi, the Japanese foreign minister, also protested, using Tokyo’s name for Iturup. “The northern territories, including Etorofu, are

Japan’s inherent territory, both historically and based on international law,” he said.

Relations have deteriorated between Russia and Japan since the start of Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Japan has joined G7 sanctions against Russia and provided Ukraine with funds and non-lethal military aid.

Kyiv formally recognised the islands as Japanese territory after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

In recent years, Moscow has boosted its military presence on the islands and Tokyo often deploys fighter jets to monitor Russian and Chinese naval exercises close to Japan. This month, Japan highlighted what it called growing risks from

China, Russia and North Korea. Putin said yesterday that Tokyo’s sanctions were “unprovoked” and denied Moscow was a threat to Japan. “On the contrary, it has territorial claims against our country,” he said.

Putin arrived on Iturup after inspecting military drills off the island of Sakhalin. Although he rarely left Moscow at the start of the year, possibly because of fears for his safety, he has visited six cities, as well as Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, in the past three weeks.

Analysts say the trips are an attempt to boost his declining approval ratings, which last month fell to their lowest since the start of the Ukraine war, according to a Kremlin-affiliated pollster.

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31

World

A woman's place is on the throne, hints Japan's crown prince

Richard Spencer

The heir to Emperor Naruhito of Japan has made a rare intervention in politics to cast doubt on the question of whether he should necessarily inherit the throne.

Crown Prince Akishino, 60, right, is likely to become emperor should he outlive his older brother, the emperor, owing to Japan's male-only line of succession. If not, the throne will pass to Akishino's son, Prince Hisahito, 19.

For years, many Japanese have urged a change in the law that would allow Naruhito's only child, Princess Aiko, who is 24 and hugely popular, into the line of succession. However, recent changes to the Imperial Household Law announced by the conservative government of Sanae Takaichi, the

country's first female prime minister, reinforce the status quo.

The Japanese royal family are strictly forbidden from commenting on political matters, including their positions.

However, at a meeting with the press, the crown prince gave signals that he was at least personally conflicted about the issue. 'I am a human being, so of course I have various thoughts and opinions,' he said. 'I think it would be strange if I didn't.'

He acknowledged that he could not give a straight answer on the issue. He said: 'How can I express those thoughts, and what should I do if they involve the law? I think that relationship is very difficult.'

When he turned to the general question of the role of women, he was on safer ground. The statutory adjustments

ments drop the requirement that female members of the royal family lose their titles and responsibilities if they marry a commoner.

Akishino said: 'The role of members of the imperial family is to fulfil their duties in response to the demands of society, if those demands are good.'

He then added a comment that could refer to the key matter for debate: 'I believe there is no distinction between men and women when it comes to fulfilling those duties.'

There have been a number of reigning empresses in Japanese history. However, rules established under the so-called Meiji Restoration in the late 19th century imposed patriarchal laws that excluded women completely. In the American-approved constitution brought in after the Second World War,

that aspect of the monarchy was left unchanged.

There was a brief crisis in the early years of this century, after Princess Aiko's birth. The government ordered a study of the feasibility of allowing her to inherit, but it was abandoned after her cousin, Prince Hisahito, was born.

However, there remains a paucity of male heirs. Should Hisahito and his father both die, Naruhito's uncle, Prince Masahito, 90, will become the heir.

Naruhito is 66. In an added complication,

cation, his father, Emperor Emeritus Akihito, who abdicated in 2019 due to old age, is still alive at the age of 92.

The statutory revisions do not merely leave the status quo unaltered, but go a long way to actively prevent a woman being considered at a later date. To resolve the male shortage, they ease the path

to adoption of distant relatives of the royal family with a view to their heirs eventually succeeding — so long as all involved, along with all their royal lineage, are male.

Pope picks a princess to handle his purse strings

Tom Kington

Hailing from Liechtenstein, where her ruling family dates back to 1136, Gisela Bergmann should be a dab hand managing the finances of another micro-state with a long history.

The Pope this week appointed Bergmann, a princess of Liechtenstein, to help manage the Vatican's cashflow, as he continues the recent papal practice of entrusting senior roles in the management of the Catholic Church to women.

The pontiff named the 36-year-old princess as the latest member of his Council for the Economy, the group of experts and cardinals who keep an eye on the Vatican's finances.

The princess from the tiny European state arrives at the even tinier Vatican with a CV packed with credentials, starting with her full-time job running the Liechtenstein royal family's wealth management business, Industrie-Und Finanzkontor.

Bergmann has previously said: 'We look at wealth and family from a holistic perspective, always thinking in terms of generations,' a message that will go down well at the Vatican where decision-makers famously think in terms of centuries rather than weeks or years.

'Leo is doing well by bringing in outsiders to join the council and wealth managers are what you would expect,' Ed Condon, editor of The Pillar, a Catholic news website, said.

Once notorious for the amateurish and opaque handling of its money, the Vatican has cleaned up its act in recent years, although allegations of embezzlement surrounding a loss-making investment in Chelsea flats are still rumbling through the Vatican courts.

Apart from her work with the family firm, the princess will bring experience from working at the Hannam &

Partners investment bank in London and Midas Gold Corp (now called Perpetua Resources Corp) a goldmining development company in Canada.

Bergmann is joined on the council by another new member Elena Principato-Wettstein, 39, an Italian executive director at UBS bank. The appointment of the women, who will help approve the Vatican's annual budget, are part of a wave of female appointments at the Vatican driven by a new constitution signed off by Leo's predecessor Francis in 2022, which allows women to run Vatican departments for the first time.

Leo may show no sign of opening up.

Pope Leo has hired Maria Montserrat Alvarado, left, to head communications, as well as Gisela Bergmann

The priesthood to women, but the message coming

from the Vatican is that management is up for grabs. This year, the Pope named a Salesian nun, Alessandra Smerilli, as prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, which handles humanitarian aid and human rights.

A year earlier, before his death in April 2025, Francis

named the Italian Franciscan nun Raffaella Petrini to run the Vatican city state. She had previously become the first woman hired by the Dicastery for Bishops, which vets new bishops.

In a surprise move this year, Leo hired Maria Montserrat Alvarado, 39, from the US Catholic TV network EWTN to become the first woman to run the Vatican's communications office. The decision raised eyebrows since EWTN has been a voice for conservative Catholics and regularly lambasted the liberal Francis.

Condon said the recent appointments of women had become business as usual. 'I did not see the appointment of Montserrat Alvarado creating resistance and people are comfortable with Petrini running the Vatican city state,' he said.

Writing in the National Catholic Reporter this month, Michael Sean Winters claimed: 'The Roman Curia for centuries has been all male, all white, all Italian and all clerical. Not

anymore and not ever again.' He added: 'There is a revolution that has been occurring in the past few years as first Pope Francis and now Pope Leo are appointing women to positions of authority and responsibility in the highest ranks of the Roman Curia.'

The first woman to lead a Vatican dicastery, sister Simona Brambilla, took over the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life in January last year, a job overseeing the over 700,000 religious men and women throughout the world.

However, Condon said her job came with a caveat: 'The tension comes when spiritual governance is involved, the power to laicise clergy or even suppress a religious order. That is when they appoint a cardinal as pro-prefect who can co-sign documents to give them sacramental power.'

When Francis appointed Brambilla, he also appointed a cardinal as pro-prefect of the dicastery. 'That feels like a bit of a fudge,' Condon said.

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12

World

Influencers in the cartel crosshairs

Social media stars have become deeply entangled in Mexico's deadly narco conflict, writes Stephen Gibbs

Shortly after 8pm on a hot, muggy night, César Gastélum began a livestream outside a KFC restaurant in Culiacan, Mexico. Two friends joined him, taking part in a social media challenge that involved dressing up as delivery drivers.

It all seemed like harmless fun until a motorbike carrying a pillion passenger passed by.

"They scare me," said Gastélum, 25. Moments later, the motorcycle returned and drew up alongside the group. The helmeted passenger pulled out a pistol and shot the content creator in the head. He slumped to the ground. His companions were unharmed.

Gastélum's murder, on August 4, was the latest in a grim catalogue of similar cases. According to El Univer-

century's version of the narcocorrido singers: popular musicians who have romanticised the lives of Mexican bandits since the 1920s. Modern-day influencers, some say, are far more powerful than their crooning forebears, as they do not just sing about the adventures of a criminal lifestyle; they live it.

Perhaps the most notorious influencer who has intertwined drug culture with social media was Claudia Ochoa Félix. She was often referred to as "Mexico's Kim Kardashian", owing to her striking resemblance to the American socialite and a shared passion for private jets and cosmetic surgery. Ochoa Félix's online presence showed she had another enthusiasm: weapons. This fuelled suspicions that she was an assassin, allegedly running an armed wing of the Sinaloa cartel, an allegation she denied. When she died at the age of 32 in 2019, apparently of an overdose, she had hundreds of thousands of followers.

Influencers in northwestern Mexico often find themselves in overlapping social circles with senior drug cartel members. Dating a successful influencer, often referred to as a buchona in Sinaloa, projects power and success for the drug trafficker. For the influencer, the relationship can bring rapid access to the riches of a multi-billion-dollar business. When the relationships flounder, narcos have shown themselves to be as brutal to their ex-girlfriends as they are to their criminal rivals.

That appears to have been the case for Valeria Márquez, a 23-year-old influencer who was shot dead in May last year while livestreaming from her salon in Jalisco. Authorities this month

said Márquez had been in a romantic relationship with Francisco Álvarez, a son of Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayala — a senior figure in the Jalisco New Generation cartel who was captured in a special forces operation in July.

María Fernanda Arocha, from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (Acled), said that influencers with large followings in Mexico can serve as propagandists for cartels, aiding recruitment. They can also promote supposedly legitimate businesses which serve as fronts for money laundering.

Acled reports that there are 64 influencers under investigation for helping criminal gangs launder their profits in Mexico.

César Gastélum, above left, and Valeria Márquez were both social media influencers with thousands of followers and both were murdered by cartels

sal, a Mexican newspaper, at least 19 content creators have been killed in the country since 2024. Eight of those killings, including that of Gastélum, occurred in Sinaloa.

The state has been convulsed by a fratricidal war within the Sinaloa cartel, which erupted after the arrest and transfer to the US of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada in 2024. A faction loyal to Zambada's allies, known as La Mayiza, has been battling a rival group led by the sons of the notorious drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán, the co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel and a former reported billion-

aire who is serving a life sentence in the US. The carnage has left thousands dead or missing.

One theory is that Gastélum was killed because he was supporting the Mayiza faction. Others have speculated that Gastélum's habit of wearing a hat in his TikTok videos was either deliberate propaganda or a fatal mistake, given that Zambada was also nicknamed "El del Sombrero", or "the one with the hat". Ten days after his death, no arrests have been made.

Whether Gastélum was an innocent victim or not, analysts say many influencers of his generation are this

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'Victim' of Epstein model scout sues French state

France A former model is suing the French state, alleging prosecutors failed to act on her rape complaint against Jeffrey Epstein's associate Daniel Siad before his death last month. Ebba Karlsson, 56, reported Siad, a former modelling scout, to police in February for alleged rape in the 1990s, but he was not questioned. More than 20 women alleged Siad, 69, raped or trafficked them to Epstein, which he denied. The prosecutor's office said that Siad was investigated but there was not enough evidence to arrest him.

Drug tests after pilot 'smoked marijuana'

India Air India pilots will undergo mandatory drug screening, according to an internal memo, after a captain involved in a serious mid-air incident reportedly tested positive for marijuana. Air India said the test results had not been shared with them. The memo said: "We have decided to undertake a full screening of all group pilots for any substances or medications that are not permitted." On August 4, at least 24 passengers were hurt when an Airbus A320 lost about 300 feet of altitude on a flight to Delhi.

Man smuggles hundreds of lizards hidden in socks

Japan A Mexican man was arrested at Tokyo's Haneda airport after smuggling 200 lizards hidden inside 22 pairs of socks and T-shirts in his suitcase. Daniel Isaac Velasco Baltazar, 23, is believed to have smuggled the lizards from South Korea on Saturday for a reptile exhibition and sale. It included nine Mexican alligator lizards believed to have been bought in Mexico for between 560 (£2.60) and 750 yen each, which are worth up to 100,000 yen each in Japan.

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33

Business

WORLD MARKETS (Change on the day)

COMMODITIES

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Anthropic could eclipse Musk's SpaceX with a $2trn valuation

Technology Business Correspondent

Anthropic could be valued at more than $2 trillion in its forthcoming initial public offering, putting the company behind Claude on track for the largest listing in history.

At that level, the artificial intelligence business would trump Elon Musk's SpaceX, the rocket-maker that became a listed company in June with a

value of $1.75 trillion. Investors believe that Anthropic's lead in the capability of its large language models, as well as the rapid adoption of its tools among businesses, justifies the valuation.

Annual recurring revenue — Anthropic's preferred revenue metric, which extrapolates the company's annual performance from a single month's revenue figures — is expected to reach $100 billion to $120 billion by the end of 2026, up from $48 billion in

May and $9 billion at the start of the year.

Anthropic filed to list on the New York Stock Exchange in June, and the float is expected to take place in September or October.

Senior executives at the company have not yet set a target price, according to the Financial Times, which reported the $2 trillion valuation.

Co-founded in 2021 by its chief executive Dario Amodei, Anthropic has

made rapid progress this year. The company's models have overtaken OpenAI's among business users, and it secured a valuation of $965 billion in May, making it more valuable than the ChatGPT maker.

That valuation came after a $65 billion funding round, underlining the speed at which investors' expectations for the company have risen.

However, Anthropic has faced challenges, including becoming the first

American company to be designated as a supply-chain risk by the US government. Anthropic is challenging the designation, which restricts federal agencies and defence contractors from using its models.

Competitive pressures have intensified. Anthropic boasts the most capable models in the market, but cheaper open-source models are closing the gap. Moonshot, a Chinese AI start-up, Continued on page 35

Harvey Nichols falls to Frasers

Mike Ashley's group buys chain in pre-pack deal

Alex Ralph Chief Business Correspondent Isabella Fish Retail Editor

Mike Ashley's Frasers Group has acquired the struggling department store chain Harvey Nichols through a controversial fast-track insolvency process.

FTI Consulting, the administrators for Harvey Nichols, said the pre-pack deal "safeguards a 200-year-old institution" and covers about 1,000 jobs, the retailer's six UK stores, the online unit and international franchise operations.

However, Frasers, the FTSE 100 retailer, warned that it would begin a "significant restructuring" of Harvey Nichols to "right-size the business" and return it to profit. It is expected to lead to store closures.

Michael Murray, chief executive of Frasers and Ashley's son-in-law, said: "The turnaround will require tough choices, and we are prepared to make those decisions, even if that means a smaller business in the near term, to create a stronger and more sustainable Harvey Nichols for the long term."

The pre-pack deal follows a sales process in which Frasers beat Next, the London-listed retailer, to take control of the troubled business.

The upmarket department store chain had warned in its latest accounts that it would need to "cease trading" within a year if it failed to secure new investment. Ashley has said Harvey Nichols was in a "death spiral".

Harvey Nichols was founded in 1831 as a Knightsbridge linen shop. It expanded into a British luxury business that achieved pop-culture fame in the 1990s as the fashion sanctuary for the

characters Eddy and Patsy in the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous.

The business has struggled to keep its place at the top and Harvey Nichols has not made a profit since the pandemic. It has been squeezed by online competition, high costs, underperforming regional stores and weaker spending from international tourists. Rivals including Harrods and Selfridges have invested heavily in their shops and online businesses.

The deal with Frasers includes the Harvey Nichols estate of six UK stores: the main branch in Knightsbridge, west London, and others in Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Leeds and Edinburgh. Frasers plans to integrate Harvey Nichols into the group and will review and "rationalise" the store portfolio, organisational structure, operating model and cost base.

Harvey Nichols caters to the elite with exclusive experiences such as private "Pilates in the Clouds" Reformer Pilates sessions, rooftop champagne bars and designer gowns costing thousands of pounds. Ashley's Sports Direct made its name by targeting the everyday bargain hunter with 15 polyester tracksuits, discounted trainers and its infamous giant two-pint mugs.

The acquisition of Harvey Nichols deepens Frasers' push into upmarket retailing. It hopes to expand its relationships with luxury brands such as Gucci, Burberry, Prada and Dior.

The name of the company was changed from Sports Direct to Frasers in 2019 after Ashley bought House of Fraser, another struggling department store chain. Ashley stepped down as Continued on page 35

Joanna Lumley as Patsy Stone in Absolutely Fabulous, the BBC sitcom that lifted the struggling luxury retailer Harvey Nichols into pop culture fame

Government pays Avant's cladding bill

James Hurley, Alistair Osborne

The government is facing criticism over an "outrageous" deal to provide credit to help a housebuilder owned by one of the world's largest hedge funds to pay for liabilities arising from the post-Grenfell cladding scandal.

The housing department entered into a "payment plan" to help Avant Homes meet its £113 million bill for fixing potentially dangerous cladding on buildings, the company disclosed in its latest accounts.

Avant is owned by Elliott Management and chaired by Jeff Fairburn, the former Persimmon boss who received £82 million in bonuses in 2017 and 2018, underpinned by the taxpayer-backed Help to Buy scheme. Elliott is a prominent US investor with about $80 billion of funds under management.

New laws brought in following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, which killed 72 people, placed the responsibility on developers to pay for remedial works on buildings going back 30 years.

Remediation costs were initially footed by taxpayers through the Building Safety Fund (BSF), which then recouped the money from the developer responsible for building a property.

Housebuilders later pledged to assess potentially dangerous properties and then pay for remedial works, but Avant disclosed that in January it had "entered into a payment plan agreement" with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government that "transfers the remediation obligations".

Instead of Avant delivering the remediation works, the government will fund them and seek to recover its money from Avant.

Dean Finch, the chief executive of Persimmon, said: "I do think it's pretty outrageous that the British government is bailing out one of the richest American private equity houses."

Avant declined to answer questions about the deal, citing confidentiality obligations. Elliott and the government were approached for comment. Outrage over Avant's deal, page 34

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14

Business

Need to know

1 Mike Ashley's Frasers Group has acquired the struggling department store chain Harvey Nichols in a pre-pack deal. Frasers, the FTSE 100 retailer, warned that it would begin a "significant restructuring". Page 33

2 Anthropic could be valued at more than $2 trillion in its initial public offering, putting the Claude maker on track for the largest listing in history. The A1 business would trump Elon Musk's SpaceX, listed in June with a value of $1.75 trillion. Page 33

3 The government is facing criticism over an "outrageous" deal to provide credit to help the housebuilder Avant, owned by Elliott one of the world's largest hedge funds, meet its £113 million bill arising from the post-Grenfell cladding scandal. Page 33

4 Birkenstock raised its full-year sales growth forecast and best quarterly revenue estimates as demand for its high-end sandals benefited from record-breaking summer heatwaves around the world.

5 The landlord behind the Docklands financial district swung back to a profit in the first half. Canary Wharf Group made a £176.3 million profit for the six months to end of June, reversing the £13 million loss from a year earlier. Page 36

6 The UK economy expanded by 0.4 per cent in the second quarter, driven by growth in services, while GDP in June was boosted by the start of the World Cup and the scorching weather. The Office for National Statistics said growth slowed from 0.6 per cent in the first quarter. Page 38

7 Stella David, chief executive of Entain, the gambling group behind Ladbrokes and Coral, has hit back at Andy Burnham's plans to tighten rules around the opening of new betting shops, saying traditional bookmakers should not be lumped in with gambling arcades. Page 39

8 Young staff working just one day a week have started to call in sick as they can still receive 80 per cent of their wages, employers have claimed. Page 40

There are numerous well-documented drawbacks to being competent at work

Rhymer Rigby, page 37

For expert business analysis subscribe to the business newsletter thetimes.com/newsletters

Frasers Group's taste for trouble

Mike Ashley's Frasers Group has a penchant for distressed brands. The retail empire, which started out as Sports Direct in 1982, has built a portfolio of once high-profile names, snapping up collapsed labels and those on the verge of failure. Many of them are stocked in the retailers it operates, including Jack Wills, Missguided, plus House of Fraser, the department store chain (Isabella Fish writes).

The company has also been acquiring stakes in key suppliers including Burberry, Mulberry and Hugo Boss, as well as rivals such as Boohoo and Asos.

These aggressive deals reflect the group's broader "elevation strategy", designed to move Frasers

into more premium areas while strengthening its position across luxury, sports, electronics and digital retail.

The strategy is also about diversification. Frasers is no longer simply a sports retailer: it has interests spanning fashion, luxury, technology, fitness and property, including shopping centres. This gives the group numerous sources of revenue and assets beyond its traditional retail operations, potentially making it more resilient when one part of the market struggles.

However, revenues have been under pressure across luxury and sports, highlighting the risks of expanding aggressively while consumer demand remains a challenge. So what does Frasers Group want with Harvey

Outrage over Avant's deal to defer £113m cladding bill

A housebuilder owned by one of the world's largest hedge funds has received credit from the government to help it pay for its liabilities arising from the post-Grenfell cladding scandal.

Avant Homes, which is owned by Elliott Management, the US hedge fund, and chaired by Jeff Fairburn, said it had entered into a "payment plan" to help it meet its £113 million bill for fixing potentially dangerous cladding on buildings. A rival developer called the deal "outrageous".

Avant is one of Britain's biggest housebuilders. Fairburn famously received £82 million in bonuses in 2017 and 2018 while boss of Persimmon, underpinned by the taxpayer-backed Help to Buy scheme. The bonuses sparked outrage and ultimately led to his departure from Persimmon.

Elliott is a prominent US investor which has about $80 billion of funds under management.

Costs were initially footed by taxpayers through the Building Safety Fund (BSF), which then recouped the money from developers. The BSF was set up in 2020 to provide funding to fix fire safety problems.

Housebuilders later pledged to assess potentially dangerous properties and

Housing boss rebuilds story

Jeff Fairburn is perhaps best known for the £82 million in bonuses he was handed as the boss of Persimmon in 2017 and 2018. The payouts caused outrage and ultimately contributed to his departure (Charlotte Bend writes).

Now, the 60-year-old is back in the news after Avant Homes, the indebted housebuilder he chairs, secured credit with the government to help it pay to fix potentially dangerous cladding.

Fairburn joined Avant in 2021 as chairman after his building firm, Berkeley DeWeer, partnered with Elliott Management, the American hedge fund, to acquire the company.

Avant is one of a number of ventures for Fairburn since he left Persimmon. Critics argued the Persimmon payouts were largely

driven by rising property prices linked to the government-backed Help to Buy scheme which in turn boosted profits for the builders.

In 2023 the former FTSE 100 chief executive set up a new "credit-granting" business based in Durham, registered as Third Stone Investments.

York-born Fairburn, the son of a mechanic, has spent his career in property development after leaving school at 17, starting as a trainee quantity surveyor and completing a building course at York College. After working at McCarthy & Stone, the retirement property developer, he joined Persimmon in 1989.

He moved to work as a technical director when the company opened an office in Newcastle. By 2000 he was managing the northeast region and was involved in the purchase of Beazer Homes in 2001 for £612 million. He has said the deal was one of his career highlights — along with surviving the recessions that plague the housing market.

receive taxpayer funding, which the government would recover later.

"The group is no longer being required to undertake or procure the works required to remediate buildings which require works," Avant said in its accounts. It said the government had helped it spread the cost "over a number

of years, which provides important liquidity support as well as the deliverability of long-term committed finance".

Avant declined to answer questions about the deal, citing confidentiality.

The Avant accounts contain a warning that "material uncertainties" may "cast significant doubt on the group's and the company's ability to continue as a going concern and therefore [Avant Homes] may be unable to realise their assets and discharge their liabilities in the normal course of business".

The government was asked if it had sought any assurances over what would happen in the event of insolvency.

In the year to June 2025, Avant had revenues of £47.16 million and made a pre-tax loss of £111.1 million. It had finance expenses of £93.3 million. Its indebtedness has since been reduced to about £20 million. It lists a £113.2 million provision related to cladding, a mix of money owed to taxpayers through the BSF and an estimate of the cost to ensure the remaining buildings are safe.

Avant has previously pointed out that buildings requiring remediation were developed under previous ownership. The business was acquired before the legal liability over remediation existed.

Elliott and the government were approached for comment.

then pay for remedial works themselves. However, in its accounts, Avant Homes disclosed that in January that it had "entered into a payment plan agreement" with the housing department that "transfers the remediation obligations". Instead of Avant delivering the remediation works, they will

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The Harvey Nichols deal continues the 'elevation strategy' championed by Frasers boss Michael Murray, below left

Nichols? The brand fits neatly into its attempt to move upmarket. The elevation strategy, championed by the group's chief executive Michael Murray, Ashley's son-in-law, aims to move Frasers away from its 'pile it high, sell it cheap' image and towards premium brands and more upmarket retail experiences through businesses such as Flannels and premium gyms.

Harvey Nichols is a direct competitor to Frasers and Flannels. Acquiring a rival removes competition from the high street while giving Frasers control of valuable stores, locations and customer relationships.

There has been speculation that the chain could eventually be converted into a Frasers or Flannels format, which would mean Harvey Nichols could disappear as a standalone brand.

The deal was completed through a pre-pack administration, a

process Frasers has become accustomed to using. It allows an insolvent company's assets to be sold to a new owner immediately after entering administration, potentially leaving some historic liabilities and debts behind.

While commercially clever, this approach can upset creditors, particularly suppliers that may not be paid for stock they have delivered. Similar concerns surrounded Matches Fashion, and such arrangements risk damaging relationships with brands.

Frasers' strategy is more than simply rescuing struggling retailers. It is about gaining control of brands, reducing competition, moving upmarket and diversifying the business.

But if Frasers wants to establish itself as a premium retail group, it will need to ensure that its aggressive acquisition strategy does not continue to come at the expense of its relationships with the suppliers and brands it depends upon.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33 Frasers buys Harvey Nichols

Frasers' chief executive in 2022 but remains its majority shareholder and a hugely influential figure.

Louise Deglise-Favre, the lead apparel analyst at GlobalData, said that Frasers had 'spent several years constructing a luxury proposition that it has been unable to fully realise'.

She added: 'While Flannels provided scale, and the group's shareholdings in Mulberry and Burberry provided proximity to brands, the houses that define genuine luxury have remained reluctant to trade within a Frasers fascia.'

Deglise-Favre said the outcome of the Harvey Nichols deal was likely to be a 'more concentrated luxury proposition centred on Knightsbridge, with weaker stores absorbed under the other fascias within the group'.

The Oxo Tower restaurant on Londons South Bank, which had also been operated by Harvey Nichols since 1996, has been sold separately to the team behind Fallow. FTI said this would preserve more than 100 jobs and the operations of the business.

Lindsay Hallam, senior managing director at FTI, said: 'From the outset, our focus was to find a solution that protected the underlying value of the business, securing a future for a 250-year-old retailer, delivering the best possible outcome for stakeholders'.

Frasers has built a reputation for snapping up distressed brands through 'pre-pack' administrations, which can leave creditors lumbered with unpaid debts. The position of creditors of Harvey Nichols, such as suppliers, landlords and HM Revenue & Customs, remains unclear.

Shares in Frasers closed up 13p, or 1.6 per cent, at 8175p in London following the deal, valuing the company at £3.6 billion.

Aston Martin has pulled a fast one

BUSINESS COMMENTARY Alistair Osborne

Not for nothing is Aston Martin James Bond's favourite car company. Anyone could have spotted that just by the 007 times in its 133-year history it's gone bust — and all before it's spent eight years as a UK-listed business flirting with 008.

Still, who knew the board, headed by its billionaire executive chairman Lawrence Stroll, would make the title of one of the films its operating manual of choice: Live and Let Die?

Having removed £1.05 billion from the London market at 2018's float, when a dozen banks starring JP Morgan Cazenove, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs drove up the valuation to a ludicrous £4.33 billion, the company set out on a delightful trip finding different ways to do in the shareholders.

The result? After adjusting for a 1-for-20 share consolidation and endless financial refueling totalling £1.6 billion-plus, they have now lost 99 per cent of their money, with the group today valued at £357 million.

Indeed, since Stroll turned the company into a pluriating for a few rich owners — him with 33 per cent, China's Geely and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, each with 14 per cent, and Mercedes Benz, with 8 per cent — the business has operated like a financial black hole on wheels, suckering in new punters to help fund the habitual cash-calls.

Even so, who'd have guessed what Stroll & co are up to now: seemingly trying to do in the bondholders, too. They're the owners of £1.3 billion of debt, secured against the assets of the company. So, it's no big shock that they're threatening legal action as a result of this discovering that Aston Martin has transferred key through undisclosed assets, said to include the company's name, to a Cayman Islands business. Not only that; it then used them as collateral to borrow £450 million from HPS Investment Partners, a BlackRock-owned private credit provider that has a stake in the Stroll-owned Aston Martin Formula I team.

Plus, potentially, £100 million more if the carmaker hands a 501 per cent stake in its 'non-automotive' brand rights, such as for clothing featuring the winged Aston Martin logo, to Authentic Brands, US owner of the likes of Reebok, Dockers and Blidkong.

Since the revelation of Aston Martin's deliberately sketchy disclosure of this little wheeze a fortnight ago, the price of the bondholders' debt has plunged from about 80 cents in the dollar to 56 cents, with the ratings agency Fitch downgrading it to an even lower class of junk — CCC. In its view, Aston Martin's move 'has significantly diluted the security position of the company's existing senior secured bondholders'.

Yes, the bondholders are grown-ups and no one told them to invest in a financial car crash like Aston Martin. Yet such shenanigans look a first for the London market. As one source close to the bondholders put it, not only are they highly 'aggressive' but raise wider issues for the supervision of UK public companies that investors expect to be a 'gold standard for governance'.

Hence, one question: what does Aston Martin's senior independent director, Sir Nigel Boardman, make of all this? He spent 37 years as a partner at the law firm Slaughter & Klee, so would know that this sort of frowned-on asset heist was first tried by the US clothing retailer J Crew about a decade ago. The result is that bondholder contracts now have 'J Crew blockers' only dodgy companies try to get round. Is Boardman happy in that dish?

Aston Martin insists 'the transaction is fully permitted by the terms of the bond financing agreements', while risibly claiming that it 'bolsters the group's financial position' to the 'benefit' of 'all our stakeholders'. Try telling that to the bondholders, who had offered their own refinancing fix before the board sprung a J Crew on them. They're revving up for a legal fight under both contract law and section 423 of the Insolvency Act, the bit on 'transactions defrauding creditors'.

One other question: is this a rule by Aston Martin to drive down the price of the debt before strong-arming the bondholders into a low-ball restructuring — en route to taking the company private at a knockdown price? If so, you hope the courts can see through that sort of gambit. UK-listed companies should not be on a mission to make sure their debtholders, as one Bond film puts it, Die Another Day.

Avant 'avin' a laugh

Apaternity, the government is ident. Still, who cares about that? What better use for our dwindling funds than hailing out Avant, the housebuilder owned by that nice Elliott hedge fund, home to $80 billion of assets, that's chaired by a certain Jeff Fairburn: the ex-Persimmon boss of £82 million bonus fame?

Even better, here's the reason ministers have come to their aid — because they claim the low-making Avant can't afford its £113 million bill to fix dangerous cladding on buildings arising from new laws after the Grenfell fire that killed 72 people. The result, as Avant's latest accounts show? It has 'entered into a payment plan agreement' with the housing department, where the taxpayer will pick up the tab, with Avant leisurely paying us back over an unspecified period.

What do you think of that? The same, probably, as Dean Finch, the Persimmon boss: 'I do think it's pretty outrageous that the British government is hailing out one of the richest American private equity houses.' Too right. Shareholders in other housebuilders have had to cough up, why can't Elliott and the matted Fairburn? As Finch noted, it's shocking that the repayment terms and interest rate, assuming there is one, are being kept secret.

Indeed, ask if Elliott had threatened to put the company into administration if the government didn't play ball and the Avant camp doesn't deny it. But who says it won't do that later anyway, with the taxpayer never getting repaid?

alistair.osborne@thetimes.co.uk

Hot weather boost for Birkenstock

Simon Freeman

Birkenstock raised its full-year sales growth forecast and beat quarterly revenue estimates as demand for its high-end sandals benefited from record summer heatwaves around the world.

Strong pricing power and brand loyalty have helped companies such as Birkenstock that cater to wealthier consumers remain largely insulated from a reduction in discretionary spending affecting much of the sector.

Demand for the German shoemaker's sandals, clogs and closed-toe shoes was resilient in the quarter, while its expanding direct-to-consumer business and retail footprint helped drive growth across regions. Direct-to-consumer sales, made via its own stores and website, rose 14 per cent and accounted for nearly 39 per cent of quarterly revenue.

The Middle East conflict is still a source of uncertainty in the Gulf market, but the effect on the quarter

was more contained than initially anticipated, the company said. Its Asia-Pacific sales rose 18 per cent during the quarter, while the Americas grew 11 per cent and Europe, the Middle East and Africa were up 15 per cent.

Birkenstock expects full-year revenue growth of 15 per cent to €2.3 billion, at the top end of an earlier forecast for a 13 to 15 per cent rise. Third-quarter revenue rose 13 per cent to €720 million.

The company debated its shares in New York in 2023 in a richly valued $46-a-share initial public offering, where it pitched itself as a 250-year-old sandal maker reburs as a modern European luxury brand, competing with Nike, Crocs and Skechers and collaborating with the likes of Dior and Manolo Blalnik. Those hopes were boosted by a starring role in Barbie, the season's cinema blockbuster.

Yet the shares flopped on day one, falling 13 per cent as investors bristled at its $8.6 billion valuation. It was the

worst first-day showing for a US listing of $8 billion or more in over two years, and the stock continued to slide to lows of about $35 as war, US trade tariffs and inflation eroded consumer confidence.

Since then, however, recovery has been steady if unspectacular. Resilient sales and demand have led to consistent double-digit revenue growth and industry-leading gross margins. Of the 22 analysts covering the stock, 17 rate the shares a buy and the consensus price target is $52.90.

Double remain, however, including concerns that the brand may be losing its premium positioning.

Alexandre Arnault, one of the scions of Bernie Arnault's LVMH luxury empire, resigned from the board this month citing professional commitments. The board is seeking a replacement.

The shares closed up $4.26, or 11.6 per cent, at $41 in New York last night, valuing the business at $7.5 billion.

Anthropic eyes record valuation at IPO

Continued from page 33

released its Kimi K3 model last month, which performed on par with Anthropic's models on many tasks at a fraction of the cost. OpenAI has also cut the price of its models, leading Anthropic to drop planned price increases.

Aseem Azhar, founder of Exponential View, a research group, said that some of Anthropic's recent actions had left 'reactive rather than strategic'. He said: 'Its decision not to raise prices on models like Sonnet left reactive given the market pressures. It's facing all this competition from cheaper open-source models, as well as OpenAI's own price cuts.'

Data from Ramp, a payments company that tracks corporate spending on AI, also suggests that while Anthropic's market share among US businesses has continued to grow, corporate adoption of Fable 5, its most expensive model, has been slow.

According to Ramp, Fable 5 made up only 6 per cent of tokens businesses purchased from Anthropic over the past month. Despite it being Anthropic's most expensive model by far, it accounted for only 11.4 per cent of spending on Anthropic models.

Ain Kharazian, the lead economist at Ramp, said the data pointed to 'cracks in the AI thesis'. 'With Fable 5, we've

found a new upper bound for how much businesses are willing to spend on AI,' Kharazian said. 'More performance is not worth the price tag.'

Azhar said Ramp's data suggested that many businesses were struggling to identify clear use cases for the most powerful models.

'This technology has evolved faster than the capacity of customers to make sense of it,' he said. 'Fable is expensive, but it's also very powerful, which makes it hard to use. Ordinary companies cannot guarantee that if they're spending $10 on a million tokens, then they're getting $11 back. The business case is harder to make.'

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Canary Wharf landlord back in black

GETTY IMAGES, NEX, 8/6, LIEPA

Ben Martin Financial Editor

A revival of Canary Wharf, fuelled partly by rising demand for office space in London's Docklands, has helped the landlord behind the financial district swing back to a profit in the first half of the year.

Canary Wharf Group yesterday reported a £176.3 million profit for the six months to the end of June, reversing the £13 million loss from a year earlier. It was boosted by a rise in the value of its properties, and booked a £108.4 million increase that it said reflected 'the impact of new lettings across both the office and retail portfolios and improved market conditions'.

It cements a remarkable reversal of fortunes for the landlord, which oversees a £5.8 billion portfolio, is led by boss Shobi Khan and is owned by the Qatar Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund, and Brookfield, a Canadian investment group.

The outlook for the office district had looked grim when the coronavirus crisis erupted in 2020, forcing a shift to working from home that left many offices virtually empty.

Even after the pandemic receded, flexible working remained a feature for many businesses, prompting some to cut their office estates.

This hit Canary Wharf, where several of the district's big-name tenants announced they were moving back to the City of London. They included the FTSE 100 bank HSBC, which set out plans to leave its 45-storey headquarters in the Docklands by 2027, and the law firm Clifford Chance, two exits that helped to stoke speculation that Canary Wharf could struggle in the new era of hybrid working.

Yet it is now enjoying a comeback. This has been driven by a shortage of prime office space in the City and the West End, as well as by employers urging staff to return to the office for more of the week.

HSBC has partially reversed its plan to leave Canary Wharf by taking space elsewhere in the district after worries that its new headquarters in the City lacked enough desk space.

Revolut, the fast-growing financial technology group, recently moved into a new, bigger Canary Wharf headquarters, as has Zopa, an online bank PwC, the Big Four accountancy firm, last month said it had chosen the district for its new UK head office. Visa is moving its European headquarters to Canary Wharf from Paddington.

The east London district has been boosted by a shortage of prime office space in the City and the opening of leisure facilities such as the Sea Lanes swimming pool

JP Morgan Chase, which is America's biggest lender and has a significant presence in London, has further boosted Canary Wharf's prospects by setting out plans last November to build a new three million sq ft skyscraper that will house up to 12,000 of its employees.

Efforts made by Canary Wharf Group in recent years to improve the district's appeal have given the area another boost. These have included new restaurants, bars and cafés, and leisure activities including The Cube, an immersive entertainment venue, and Sea Lanes, an open-air swimming pool that began operations in June.

Revenues at the landlord rose by 5 per cent year-on-year to £259.1 million in the first half, buoyed by a 4.2 per cent increase in office rental income to £115 million, mainly accounted for by HSBC and Zopa taking occupancy of their new sites. Retail rental income was up 3.5 per cent to £38.3 million.

The accounts showed that Canary Wharf Group last month sold the office building 1-5 Bank Street, which is home to Societe Generale, the French lender, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, to its own investors for £625 million.

This transaction with affiliates of Brookfield and the Qatar Investment Authority allowed Canary Wharf Group to repay £453.5 million of debt and left the landlord with net proceeds of £168.2 million.

It followed a deal in June in which Barclays agreed to buy the 32-storey skyscraper that houses its headquarters from Canary Wharf Group for £750 million.

The £108.4 million increase to the value of its portfolio did not include the Barclays deal, which the landlord said had resulted in a separate £34.4 million gain on disposal and had further boosted its profits in the first half.

Profits at CK Hutchison leap thirtyfold

Chris Dorrell

The conglomerate founded by the Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing recorded a 30-fold increase in profit in the first half of the year, driven by the sale of a string of its UK businesses.

Reported earnings at CK Hutchison jumped 3,000 per cent to $3.4 billion in the first six months of 2026 from $108 million in the same period last year. Revenue increased 6.1 per cent to $32.5 billion, primarily due to the strong performance of its ports division.

The Hong Kong-listed conglomerate sold its interest in UK Power Networks, the UK's largest electricity distribution network operator, to France's Engie in May. It also sold Eversholt Rail, a rolling stock leasing firm, in January.

The company booked gains of $2.3 billion from the two sales. 'The group's liquidity and financial profile was significantly strengthened with the

cash proceeds arising from the disposals,' it said.

Alongside these disposals, Hutchison agreed to sell its 49 per cent stake in VodafoneThree for £4.3 billion in May. The venture launched in May 2025 after finally securing approval

$3.4bn

Earnings in the first half

from the Competition and Markets Authority. Many analysts had expected it to hold onto its stake for longer.

The sale completed in July, and Hutchison said it will book a $751.8 million gain on the sale in the second half of the year. Stripping out the impact of the asset sales, as well as the UK telecoms business, underlying profit increased 6 per cent to $1.6 billion.

Over the last few years the firm has been undergoing a strategic shift, prioritising balance sheet strength as it navigates 'exceptionally turbulent times'.

It said its books were now significantly strengthened as a result of the strategic transactions, with its net debt to net capital ratio falling to a record low of 8.1 per cent. Cash and equivalents rose 25 per cent to $22.8 billion.

Victor Li, the company's chairman and the son of Li Ka-Shing, said the first half of the year had been 'exceptionally turbulent and uncertain'.

'Geopolitical tensions, most notably the US-iran war and repeated disruptions to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, triggered significant volatility in commodity prices, renewed inflationary pressures and weaker growth forecasts globally.

'Despite relatively buoyant equity markets, future uncertainty weighed heavily on consumer sentiment and increased cost pressures,' he said.

Reform jail threat for Voda execs over migrants' Sims

Jessica Newman

Reform UK has launched an attack on Vodafone's British business for donating Sim cards to a refugee charity.

According to the latest Care4Calais's annual report it received 2,500 Sim cards loaded with six months of free data from VodafoneThree, the UK arm of the FTSE 100 telecoms giant, in the year to the end of September.

The report said 2,221 of those Sim cards were distributed to migrants staying at the former RAF airfield at Wethersfield, near Braintree in Essex, which supported more than 2,500 individuals over the period who lived at the site. About 1,100 men were housed at the base at any one time, it said.

Zia Yusuf, Reform UK's home affairs spokesman, has demanded the company terminate its relationship with

Care4Calais and cancel all Sim cards issued. Should Reform UK win an election, he warned that Vodafone's chief executive and board members 'could face criminal sanctions and prison if the company knowingly facilitates illegal entry'. He also said the party would remove Vodafone government contracts.

Yusuf said he has written to Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone's boss, and the group's directors, demanding the company hand over tracking data from the Sim cards to the British and French authorities 'to help combat illegal Channel crossings'.

A spokesman for VodafoneThree said the company's programme 'provides mobile Sims to registered UK charities for distribution in Britain.

'Participating charities are regulated by the Charity Commission. All calls, texts and data are for UK use only.'

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Business

Rhymer Rigby

Why being good at your job can be bad for your career

“A friend who does interim work in senior positions was recently complaining about his current gig. ‘It’s incredible, if I want to get anything done here, I have to do it myself,’ he said. ‘My job is not operations or logistics or HR or IT but I constantly find myself doing these things.’ The problem, he explained, is that those who are meant to be performing these functions are so bad or slow that it is usually quicker and less frustrating to do the task himself.

I shrugged and replied: ‘That’s the problem with being competent.’

I was being glib, but I’ve always been fascinated by this — the idea that being good at your job is not necessarily good for you and your career. In fact, once you start looking, there are numerous, well-documented drawbacks to being competent. These range from not getting promoted (the competency trap) to burnout via competency creep (like my friend, you end up doing everything). My umbrella term for these is the competency curse.

The competency trap is probably the best known downside. Here, people make themselves indispensable in their roles — and that means they never get out of them. Why would a boss promote the person who is amazing with finance software when their being amazing at finance software is a key part of the team’s success? Perhaps the best-known example of this is super-competent administrators. People (often middle-aged women) who ensure whole departments run smoothly but are kept in lowly support roles because only they know how everything works.

If this sounds bad, the competency curse gets weirder. Being great at your job can also make you invisible. You get to the point where your baseline for performance is excellence. You are given the most difficult and demanding tasks because everyone knows you can do them. But because you create no friction you get little time with your manager. Your appraisals barely need doing (but can be oddly lacklustre because you don’t obviously improve). You do far more than others but become a high-performing part of the furniture. Meanwhile, less competent (but far

more visible) colleagues get noticed and get promoted.

So is the solution to be visible? Not so fast. Charismatic, high-profile competent people can often suffer too — because they attract heavy workloads. This is something I explore in my forthcoming book, The TV MBA: Business Lessons from Popular Culture.

The 2000s TV series Lost follows the travails of a group of plane-crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island. It is clear from the first episode that leading man Jack Shephard has an extremely useful skill — a passenger jet has fallen from the sky, dozens are dead and injured and he is a doctor. Thus, he spends much of the first episode running around, tending to the wounded and saving lives.

Then something interesting happens. Because he is so visibly

competent, the group start to see Jack as a leader and even a saviour — and so they begin asking him to make all their decisions and solve all their problems. At first he is flattered — who doesn’t like to be asked for their input? But soon he’s swamped because everybody runs everything past him. He becomes a kind of ‘servant-leader’ and a peculiar variant of the maxim: ‘If you want something done, ask a busy person.’ Worse, he gets very stressed and begins to struggle to help the wounded. Obviously, this is sub-optimal because he is the only doctor on the island whereas any number of not very busy people are capable of deciding who goes to find the smoke monster in the jungle.

I like Lost’s nuanced take on competence. We live in an era of ‘competency porn’ — where those

who are technically good at their jobs are celebrated as heroic problem solvers, in a way that is almost titillating. You see this in TV shows such as the medical drama The Pitt and The West Wing. Perhaps the most famous example is the film The Martian, where stranded astronaut Mark Watney does little but improvise ingenious solutions for two and a half hours. Although, to be fair to Watney, he is stranded on Mars and his nearest colleagues are millions of miles away, so he needs to be a competent jack of all trades.

Back on Earth, where you have to work with other (often less useful) people, the competent don’t always help themselves. They frequently say yes to every request (because they want to help and it’s flattering). They will do tasks themselves rather than train others (because it’s easier in the short run and they like control). And when they’re good at something, they may do more of it and hyperspecialise, increasing their indispensability. Thus, unmoderated competence can curse you as a generalist and an expert and as an invisible and highly visible person.

So, what is the solution? Competent people have to learn to say ‘no’, set boundaries and be less agreeable. They may need to shout about their achievements and perhaps focus on a couple of areas that are seen as the most promotable. They should teach others to do what they do, rather than jealously guarding their skills. And they should perhaps be a little more political and even be strategically incompetent where it serves them well. Bosses have work to do here, too. They need to performance manage those who are good at their jobs, just as they manage those who are not delivering. And, crucially, they need to recognise that, while promoting indispensably competent people may cause short-term pain, in the long term it is a gain for everyone.

Of course if none of this works, the ultimate move for the cursed competent is to leave (or at least threaten to), which often focuses others’ minds wonderfully on just how much they do.

Rhymer Rigby is a journalist and author. His book The TV MBA is out on October 29

JLR sales fall 9% in quarter as woes endure

Robert Lea Industrial Editor

Jaguar Land Rover’s run of misfortune shows no sign of slowing, with geopolitical fallout from the US-Iran conflict compounding recent blows from a fire at a parts supplier, a major cyberattack, and President Trump’s trade tariffs.

Revenue at Britain’s largest car manufacturer, owned by India’s Tata Motors, fell by more than 9 per cent to £6 billion in the quarter to the end of June. That sent underlying profits down to £109 million, from £351 million in the same quarter last year.

The quarterly performance was particularly weak given that it runs up against the spring of 2025, when car-makers were sent reeling by Trump’s import tariffs. This time around, the company said sales were impacted by ‘market disruption linked to the conflict in the Middle East.’

That came on top of the longer-than-expected impact on sales after a temporary shutdown at its main Solihull plant in the West Midlands in the spring following a fire at Raufoss, a Norwegian supplier of aluminium chassis parts.

Sales have also been impacted by Jaguar’s decision to stop producing some diesel and petrol-run models, as it transitions to focus on electric vehicles.

The poor start to JLR’s year followed a troubled 2025-26, when profits came in at just £14 million. Much of that was blamed on a near two-month shutdown of production because of a cybersecurity breach last August.

This week JLR chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran announced that he had quit after falling out with Noel Tata, a scion of the multibillionaire Indian Tata family whose interests own JLR.

‘Despite the near-term industry challenges, we continue to see strong demand for our brands,’ JLR’s chief executive PB Balaji insisted.

Balaji was parachuted in from Tata headquarters last year to take control of JLR following a longer-than-expected interregnum in which JLR’s finance director Adrian Mardell stepped up to the top job after the departure of Thierry Bollore. Bollore was the architect of a decision to turn the Jaguar marque into an all-electric luxury brand, a transition running nearly two years late.

JLR said: ‘A combination of the recently announced growth objectives and the exciting product launches due in coming months leaves JLR in good shape whilst acknowledging the geopolitical, inflationary and regulatory challenges the industry faces.’

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18

Business

B. RUSKIN/CRUNNING/1/2

Pubs welcomed the extra trading hours resulting from England's deep run

Economic growth slows despite World Cup boost

Jack Barnett Economics Correspondent

The UK economy expanded by 0.4 per cent in the second quarter, driven by growth in the all-important services industry, while GDP in June was boosted by the start of the World Cup and the scorching weather.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Thursday that growth had slowed from 0.6 per cent in the first

quarter of the year. Analysts had predicted that GDP would expand by 0.4 per cent in the three months to June.

On a monthly basis, output in June rose by 0.3 per cent, much better than analysts expected. GDP had flatlined in May, a downward revision from the ONS's previous estimate of growth of 0.1 per cent in the month. High temperatures and the beginning of the World Cup helped to lift output in June, particularly at pubs, bars and restaurants as fans gathered to watch games. The Met Office estimated that it was the second warmest June on record.

Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said: "Services were once again the main driver of growth, while production was broadly unchanged and construction also grew. Within services, computer programming and advertising continued to perform strongly, as they have done throughout the year, while wholesale was a notable area of weakness."

Services activity was estimated by the ONS to have risen by 0.5 per cent in the second quarter of the year, following growth of 0.8 per cent in the first quarter. Compared with the same period last year, services GDP was estimated to be 1.5 per cent higher.

Production output flatlined in the three months to June, compared with an increase of 0.2 per cent in the previous three months. Construction output rose by 0.3 per cent in Q2.

The reduction in growth over the second quarter was influenced by the sharp rise in global energy costs during the period because of the war in the Middle East. Oil prices exceeded $100 a barrel over the period.

Chancellor John Healey said: "I know people are worried about the impact of the conflict in the Middle East on their cost of living, which ... has added pressure on British businesses. This is an active, hands-on government, putting British interests first — giving breathing space to those feeling the strain, making our country more resilient and bringing hope back."

In the first half of the year the UK posted the strongest growth in the G7 — a record seized upon by former chancellor Rachel Reeves as it came under her watch. In a post on X, Reeves said: "Strong growth numbers for the first half of the year. This was not inevitable. It is because of the resilience of the British economy and the responsible action taken since the election."

She added: "Lots done, more to do." Analysts said that the economy had

Behind the story

As people flocked to pubs to watch England top their group in the first stage of the World Cup, beating

Croatia and Panama in the process, they helped the economy to a surprise victory (Jack Barnett writes).

It is probably true that GDP growth would have come very close to flatlining or stalling altogether had there been no tournament in the month. Goodness knows what would have happened if England had crashed out in the group stages.

England's performance was the best since the country won the tournament 60 years ago and probably means that growth got a boost in July too. Those figures are released on September 11.

Pubs hailed the extra trading hours as England fans boozed late into the night (and early morning) after defeating the co-hosts Mexico 3-2 on July 6. Similar celebrations were repeated when the team beat Norway 2-1 on July 11.

The hot weather helped the economy too, lifting retail spending. Could you imagine the boost to growth if England did lift the World Cup once again?

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held up well despite challenges posed by the Gulf conflict.

Yael Sellin, chief economist at KPMG UK, said: "Despite higher energy prices and geopolitical uncertainty ... weighing on confidence, stronger than expected activity among households and businesses helped sustain growth."

Ruth Gregory, deputy chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said: "The the economy weathered the energy shock well but with inflation yet to peak, we doubt this strength will last. We expect GDP to stagnate in the third quarter and grow only modestly in the fourth."

Economists at the Bank of England think that output will stall in the current quarter.

After the release of the figures the pound dropped by 0.12 per cent against the dollar to $1.34, and the yield on ten-year government bonds was flat.

UK economy slows

Quarterly GDP

Source: ONS

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19

Business

Secretive billionaire launches takeover of Sweden's Evolution

Martin Strydom, Jessica Newman

The billionaire Kenneth Dart has launched a mandatory takeover offer for the Swedish gaming software maker Evolution AB to comply with strict market rules.

Dart's Candle Lake investment vehicle has offered SwKr 695 a share, which values Evolution at about SwKr 132 billion (£10 billion), below the current market price of SwKr 733.

The offer matches the price Candle Lake paid when it increased its holding to just over 30 per cent of the Stockholm-listed company in July, triggering Sweden's mandatory takeover rules. Under the rules, if a company's stake exceeds 30 per cent it must make an offer for the rest of the shares at the price it paid or reduce its stake to below the threshold.

Candle Lake, which owns 30.02 per cent of Evolution, said the holding was a long-term financial investment. It added that it does not intend to "acquire the entire company or to make changes

to its operations, management or workforce".

James Wheatcroft, an analyst at Jefferies said: "Candle Lake's bid below the current share price is designed to fulfil stock exchange requirements, rather than a desire to own all the outstanding shares in Evolution. The bid does seem to imply that Candle Lake would like to own more shares in Evolution.

Our understanding is that ... Candle Lake could launch the offer expecting few shareholders to tender. After that, Candle Lake is 'grandfathered', ie [it] can opportunistically further increase the stake in Evolution without again triggering a mandatory bid."

Dart, 71, has been investing in betting companies after selling down large holdings in two of the world's biggest tobacco firms.

Through Candle Lake, Dart is the largest shareholder in Flutter Entertainment, the gambling company behind Paddy Power, FanDuel and Betfair, owning an 18.6 per cent stake, according to FactSet.

Profile

Kenneth Dart is a self-styled "investor, innovator, explorer and entrepreneur" who has a secretive reputation in the Cayman Islands (Alex Ralph writes). The scion of the US Dart Container foam cups family business, he has amassed a vast portfolio of businesses in the tax haven. His wealth is estimated at $3.7 billion by Forbes. Dart moved from the US to Grand Cayman in the 1990s and has built a global

investment empire spanning hospitality, retail, entertainment, finance, biotech and property. Described by some as a "vulture investor" for buying up government debt and launching lawsuits, he has a reclusive reputation among locals on the islands. A New York Times article in 2019 said Dart was believed to be the largest private landowner on the archipelago. Locals compared him with Batman and Warren Buffett. He has invested more than

$1.5 billion in the islands. In recent years he built large stakes in British American Tobacco and Imperial Brands, but began to sell down last year. Dart profited from a rebound in cigarette and vape-makers after bumper share buybacks and dividend payments. Research for The Times by Panmure Liberum, the City bank, in 2024 estimated that he had made a £3.8 billion return from his holdings in BAT and Imperial.

The acceptance period is expected to run from August 17 to September 15. Completion would be subject to any necessary regulatory approvals.

Evolution was established in 2006 by Jens von Bahr, Fredrik Osterberg and Richard Hadida. The company develops and licenses software for online casino operators.

Last month Evolution agreed a £4.75 million settlement with the UK Gambling Commission after the regulator concluded that its games were found to be accessible to British customers through unlicensed operators.

Evolution said it had terminated its commercial agreements with two casino operators running six unlicensed websites offering content to UK players.

Martin Carlesund, Evolution's chief executive, said at the time: "We do not want traffic from unlicensed operators and will always move quickly to address any such situation."

A spokesman for Evolution declined to comment on the takeover proposal.

Entain gets on high horse over betting shop reforms

Jessica Newman

Leisure Industries Correspondent

The boss of the gambling group behind Ladbrokes and Coral has hit back at Andy Burnham's plans to tighten rules around the opening of new betting shops, arguing that traditional bookmakers should not be lumped together with high-stakes gambling arcades.

Stella David, chief executive of Entain, said the government needed to "be very careful not to bundle our great traditional betting shops" with adult gaming centres, which have a "very different style and tone".

The prime minister pledged to bring high streets "back to life" this week, announcing measures to give local councils the power to block gambling, gaming and vaping shops.

Adult gaming centres, which offer 24-hour gambling machines, have expanded across the country in recent years at a time when traditional high street bookies have continued to decline.

The Betting and Gaming Council said the number of betting shops in Britain had fallen by more than a third since 2019, and about 3,000 shops had closed. The number of adult gaming centres, which offer high-stakes gaming machines such as digital slot and fruit machines, rose 7 per cent to 1,451 between 2022 and 2024, according to the Gambling Commission. Entain has about 2,300 betting shops.

An industry source said that although reforms to the Gambling Act's "aim to permit" rule, which restricts council powers to refuse applications even where there is public opposition, will cover betting shops, they are likely to focus on adult gaming centres. In a video posted on X, Burnham singled out vape shops and gaming centres when talking about new powers given to councils.

Michael Snape,

The Ladbrokes owner, led by Stella David, has 2,300 betting shops that may be affected by Andy Burnham's plans

Entain's finance boss, said the company's shops "provide a safe place for people to gamble.

We are very strict about underage people not coming in, unlike a lot of adult gaming centres, and we pay higher taxes.

"If you look at other operators who perhaps don't pay taxes and don't do anything for player safety, that's where the problem is," he said.

The Betting and Gaming Council said it was

wrong for the government to "lump highly regulated, licensed betting shops together with rogue or criminal businesses".

Entain started as GVC Holdings in 2004 under Kenny Alexander and has grown into one of the biggest betting businesses in the world. It owns betting brands such as BetCity, Coral and Eurobet, as well as the gaming brands Foxy Bingo, Gala and Partycasino.

The FTSE 100 company reported that net gaming revenues in the six months to the end of June rose 5 per cent, ahead of management's expectations. Online net gaming revenues were up 7 per cent, helped by the World Cup. Twice as many first-time deposits

came in to its sports arm during the tournament compared with the 2022 World Cup.

The company reported underlying operating profits of £479 million, 2 per cent down on the same period last year but ahead of analysts' expectations. The company stuck by its aim for online net gaming revenue to grow by between 5 per cent and 7 per cent this year and remained "comfortable" that it would be able to deliver underlying profits, excluding its US joint venture, of £934 million.

Shares in the company, which have fallen by almost a third this year, retreated another 145p, or 2.6 per cent, to 5455p.

Rank warns against tax increases

Jessica Newman

The new boss of Rank Group has warned that any further increase in gambling taxes will put its bingo halls and casinos at risk of closure.

Richard Harris, chief executive of the company behind the Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casinos chains, said the company had paid more than £225 million in taxes and duties last year, and warned that any further tax rises will make the business less viable.

A recent report from the Social Market Foundation, a think tank, said that doubling machine gaming duty from 20 per cent to 40 per cent could increase the tax raised by between £275 million and £458 million.

Rank said the proposals fail to take into account the negative consequences of "inevitable venue closures, job losses and reduced tax receipts".

The FTSE 250 company's warning came as the group delivered full-year results showing a 6 per cent increase in like-for-like net gaming revenue to £834.1 million in the 12 months to the end of June.

Its digital business stood out, with underlying like-for-like net gaming revenues up 8 per cent to £248.5 million. Sales from Mecca Bingo venues rose 4 per cent. Sales at Enracha, its Spanish bingo outpost, were ahead by 7 per cent.

Rank said net gaming revenue at Grosvenor Casinos, its largest source of sales, was up 5 per cent to £397.3 million. It attributed the increase partly to the installation of 850 new gaming machines in 37 casinos last year.

However, Harris said that between April and June, its casinos in London lost between £850,000 and £200,000 a week due to "the absence of customers from the Middle East who would normally be in the UK over that period."

Underlying operating profits rose 21 per cent to £78.6 million, in line with management's previous outlook.

Looking ahead, Rank said net gaming revenue was up 9 per cent in the first six weeks of the current financial year, giving management confidence in its ambition to deliver at least £100 million in underlying operating profit in the medium term.

The shares closed up 6p, or 6 per cent, at 1055p.

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40

Business

Weekend workers 'pulling more

Labour reforms mean youngsters working just one day a week can get 80% of their pay, Richard Tyler writes

Young staff working just one day a week have started to call in sick as they can still receive 80 per cent of their wages, employers have claimed.

The government made sick pay more generous in April and included people working one or two shifts a week for the first time. Since then employers say they have seen an increase in young people calling in sick, prompting some to reduce the number of weekend jobs they provide.

Andy Burnham is prioritising job opportunities for Britain's one million young people not in employment, education or training (Needs). Employers say that changes to the government's employment rights legislation are required if the prime minister wants to avoid seeing more excluded from work.

The government revealed this week that the direct cost to employers of its separate proposals to reform zero hours contracts and shifts — often used to provide flexible casual work for young people — will be up to £2.9 billion a year. Hospitality and retail face being hit the hardest by the additional staffing costs, lost revenue and red tape.

Gordon Forster, who owns two indoor play centres called Safari Play in Milton Keynes and Peterborough employing 100 people, said some of his younger employees had begun to call in sick, aware that they would receive 80 per cent of their pay, and that the issue was industry-wide. 'That is happening across the board,' said Forster, who chairs the indoor leisure committee at the trade body UK Hospitality.

'It will be another dagger in the back of young people. Technically they get another benefit, but employers like me go. 'I need reliable people, people who will definitely turn up. I need people who are not going to just do one day a week and then not turn up.'

Under Labour's reforms, employees can claim statutory sick pay from the first day of their illness rather than the fourth. Ministers also scrapped a minimum earnings threshold that previously denied about 1.3 million people the

benefit. This brought those aged 16 to 21 working Saturday or Sunday jobs into the scope of the regulations.

Employers say one factor is that statutory sick pay is calculated on a weekly basis, meaning those working one day then taking that day off sick disproportionately benefit from the reforms.

Cathy Dunlevy, founder of the Manchester indoor play centre group Head Over Heels, has raised the issue with her local Labour MP Jeff Smith, who she said was surprised to hear about the negative effect of the changes.

'It's something he was interested in and he did make a note of it,' she said. 'If you hire young adults who are in education and they only work, say, Saturday, and it's not their serious job and or serious career, if they take a day off because they don't feel well they get

80 per cent of what they would have been paid for that day. That may make employers more wary of hiring in that age group, which I think is a shame.'

Forster said he employed 28 people under the age of 21, a number that has fallen in recent years as employment costs such as national insurance and the minimum wage have risen. 'You want to be a good employer but what you don't want to do is get burdened by people who are either fraudulent or wanting a lazy day.'

He said at least one employee working one day a week has called in sick three times in a row since April, meaning it was a month before he could call them in for a meeting. 'Young people bring amazing things to the workplace. [But] you get to the stage where you think. 'I'm not going through that again,' so I am not employing young people.'

The government has said its employment rights legislation will benefit

more than 18 million employees and 'make work pay for everyone'.

In July, Burnham said he would create clear routes into employment for young people, part of his efforts to tackle the rising welfare bill. 'Fixing the youth unemployment crisis in Britain will require a major shake-up in how we do things — and that's what this government will do,' he said.

Statutory sick pay is set at £123.25 a week or 80 per cent of earnings, whichever is lower. The weekly total is then divided by each day the person is off sick, meaning full-time staff falling ill for five days are paid a lower daily rate than an employee who works just one day a week. Some employers choose to provide sick pay schemes that are more generous than the statutory minimum.

There are few safeguards in place in the UK to protect employers from fraudulent sick pay claims, in contrast to France and Germany. Sophie White, employment partner at law firm Eversheds Sutherland, said both countries are moving towards 'greater scrutiny of sickness absence, with France introducing tighter anti-fraud measures and Germany proposing day-one certification requirements and restrictions on telephone sick notes'.

In the UK, staff are not required to provide 'fit notes' for illnesses that last seven days or less, and employers cannot require staff to secure one.

The government has said the sick pay changes will cost employers more than £400 million a year. Business groups estimate the figure to be far higher. The Federation of Small Businesses said the average cost of sickness absence to a small employer stood at £3,500 a year. With 1.4 million employers with fewer than 50 staff, the total cost to the economy is significant, and the FSB believes this year's reforms could double the cost to £10 billion a year.

Dunlevy is on the executive committee of the Association of Indoor Play and knows that to cut staff costs some of her peers are introducing more self-service. Head over Heels is resisting the pressure to reduce opportunities for young people.

'We still [hire young people] because we really enjoy developing and training them — some of our best team members started when they have been really quite young,' she said. 'They have that energy and that enthusiasm, particularly with working with children, and children can relate to them really well.'

Cathy Dunlevy, a play centre group founder, said employers may become wary

Antofagasta downgrades copper forecast after floods

Emily Gosden Energy Editor

Severe rainfall that hit Chile last month forced Antofagasta to downgrade its copper production forecast for the year.

The FTSE 100 miner had to temporarily halt production at its Los Pelambres mine following 'intense precipitation and intermittent power outages' that began on July 18 and resulted in Chile declaring a state of catastrophe.

The mine began to resume operations by July 23 and the company had initially left its full-year production guidance unchanged.

However, Antofagasta said on Tuesday that it was still ramping up production and had identified 'the need for repairs to certain pipeline platforms and water management systems'.

As a result, it now expects to produce between 625,000 to 655,000 tonnes of copper this year, down from a previous range of 650,000-700,000 tonnes.

Fran Arriagada, Antofagasta's chief executive, said the range reflected the fact Chile was only midway through the

winter and there was the potential for more weather-related disruption owing to the impact of the El Nino weather phenomenon.

The production downgrade overshadowed half-year results for London's biggest pure-play copper

18%

Rise in revenues to $4.48 billion

miner. Revenues rose 18 per cent to $4.48 billion and earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (ebilda) gained 27 per cent to $2.84 billion, as higher prices offset lower production and higher costs.

The price at which it sold copper was 36 per cent higher than in the same period of 2025, while its lucrative mining byproducts, gold and molybdenum, saw price increases of 46 per cent and 55 per cent, respectively.

Copper production was down 9 per cent at 285,000 tonnes in the first half.

Arriagada said it had seen inflationary pressures, particularly for fuel and sulphuric acid, as global markets were disrupted by the conflict in the Middle East. These prices had eased from their peak and were not expected to be so bad in the second half, he said.

Antofagasta operates the Los Pelambres mine, about 246km north of Santiago in central Chile, and the Centinela, Astucoya and Zaldívar mines, all much further north in the Antofagasta region.

Chile is the world's biggest producer of copper, the red metal that is in growing demand for electrification.

Like much of the world, Chile is experiencing more extreme weather conditions as climate change intensifies. Central Chile has been affected by drought for more than a decade and in January the country declared a state of catastrophe as wildfires ravaged its central and southern areas.

Last month it was forced to declare

another state of catastrophe after torrential rain caused flash flooding and landslides in central areas. Drought-hardened land is less able to absorb rainfall making flash floods more likely.

Antofagasta's operations have long been affected by the drought, prompting it to build a desalination plant to enable it to use seawater for processing operations at Los Pelambres. It is expanding this plant's capacity.

It recently announced a planned $900 million investment in a water pipeline and pumping system to enable its Zaldívar mine to use 'reprocessed wastewater from the city of Antofagasta' from mid 2028. It hopes this will pave the way to secure an extension of the mine's life until 2051.

Arriagada said its investments 'position the group well to benefit from growing copper demand, driven by global trends including energy security, electrification ... and AI'.

The shares, which have risen 82 per cent over the past year, fell 273p, or 6.8 per cent, to close at £3756.

Savings rack up at Secure Trust Bank

A revamp of Secure Trust Bank has gathered pace after the lender said its cost-cutting plan was going faster than expected.

The London-listed lender will book £13.5 million of savings this year, better than the £10 million it had previously anticipated.

Boss Ian Corfield, who was appointed a year ago, is overhauling the bank after selling Secure Trust's loss-making and capital-hungry motor finance unit — part of a plan to shift the group's focus towards its higher-returning business and retail finance divisions.

Offloading the vehicle loans business has already cut the lender's headcount from about 845 staff last summer to around 650 employees.

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41

Business

sickies’, warn firms

ANTHONY ROX BUYER THE TIMES

of hiring young adults in the wake of changes to sick pay calculations as Andy Burnham, left, tackles the Neets crisis

Corfield is also trying to simplify the remaining group, partly through digitisation, but he said yesterday that this would not result in a similar “dramatic change in headcount”.

He was speaking as the bank posted a bigger than expected 9.4 per cent rise in first-half adjusted pre-tax profits to £31.3 million that sent the lender’s shares up 36p, or 2.3 per cent, to £16.04.

Solibull-based Secure Trust can trace its roots to 1952. It offers savings products, property finance and asset-based lending to businesses, as well as retail finance used by consumers to purchase goods and services such as furniture, electrical products, musical instruments and dental treatments.

Like other lenders, its former vehicle finance arm has been caught up in the ongoing mis-selling scandal that has engulfed the motor loans industry.

While LCM Partners, an investment firm, bought Secure Trust’s business in this area for about £459 million in February, the bank remains on the hook for any consumer redress that might be owed. It last year set aside £21.5 million to cover the issue but has since used some of that provision, taking it down to £20.2 million, it said.

Infrastructure spending plans give Costain a boost

Robert Lea Industrial Editor

Major projects to upgrade Britain’s water and electricity infrastructure will lift revenues and profits at Costain, the civil engineering firm promised.

Alex Vaughan, the chief executive who has spent the last seven years turning Costain around, said the time for talking about infrastructure investment had ended and that his company was at “an inflection point” that will see a “step change” in income, earnings and shareholder returns.

Following confirmation of City forecasts that revenues will increase by more than a fifth to £1.2 billion this year, and that profits are expected to grow by around a third over the next three years, shares in Costain pushed on to fresh post-pandemic highs.

They closed up 10p, or 4.6 per cent, at 2290p — 50 per cent higher than where they were at the start of the year and six

times higher than at the depths of the Covid-19 crisis.

“We have won the work, we have spent time putting together the [construction] programmes and we are now delivering,” said Vaughan.

In the first six months of the year the company reported a 3 per cent rise in revenues to £541 million, on which underlying operating profits were up by a similar amount at £19 million.

The money from all its construction jobs, however, begins to flow from now as the business converts its £7 billion order book — about six years’ visibility of work — into cash and earnings.

Costain’s confidence in its future saw it double the interim dividend to 2p, a trend that analysts expect to continue over the next three years.

Upgrading its target price to 270p from 240p, Panmure Liberum said: “We are bullish on UK infrastructure and are hopeful ‘blockers’ will be removed.”

US investment puts Savills in position for expansion

Charlotte Bend

Shares in Savills have rallied after the property agent posted robust results despite global economic uncertainty hitting key markets.

Savills said that revenue was up 9 per cent year-on-year to £1.2 billion in the six months to the end of June and that underlying pre-tax profits rose 47 per cent to £34.3 million.

At a pre-tax level profits fell 56 per cent to £7 million as Savills paid out £6.7 million in fees related to its $11 billion acquisition of Eastdil Secured, the US property investment bank.

Shares in Savills rose 107p, or 11 per cent, to close at £10.88.

Simon Shaw, chief executive, said: “Looking forward, the enlarged group’s pipelines are strong, and although transaction timelines are hard to predict in the current environment, I am confident that we are well positioned to deliver value to our clients, colleagues and shareholders.”

Savills is thought of by many people as a traditional residential estate agent, but that makes up just a tenth of its business. Its agents broker sales of warehouses, find offices for businesses and line up deals for investors.

Many of its fees come from investment management, property management and its consultancy business.

While Savills is a well-known name in most parts of the world, its presence in the lucrative US market remained small. That is largely why Shaw and his predecessor, Mark Ridley, decided to acquire Eastdil Secured, which has offices in New York and Santa Monica as well as London, earlier this year.

Savills said that revenues from its work on commercial property transactions

Savills has grown from a residential estate agent to a global business

tions rose 19 per cent to £319 million in the period, with residential revenue up just 3 per cent to £132 million.

Its commercial revenues were boosted by work on data centres and leasing office space. Savills said: “Overall there was a greater degree of caution in the UK market in Q2 with the escalation of the Middle East conflict and domestic political change in process. The pipeline of commercial transaction advisory work remains strong, positioning us well for the coming periods.”

The residential business in the UK was impacted by Labour’s new Renters’ Rights Act, which has scrapped fixed-term rental agreements and means that landlords must give four months notice to tenants to end their lease.

Savills said this has led to an increase in landlords selling rental properties, resulting in a fall in available properties and putting upward pressure on rents.

Orsted says demand for offshore wind still strong

Emily Gosden

War in the Middle East and wildfires across Europe show the need to rapidly produce more renewable energy to improve resilience and tackle climate change, Orsted said.

The Danish offshore wind giant is emerging from a tough few years. The one-time stock market darling has struggled with rising costs, supply chain issues and setbacks in the United States, where the Trump administration has tried to thwart its projects.

Rasmus Errboe, Orsted chief executive, argued recent events showed that the long-term fundamentals for offshore wind remained strong.

High and volatile prices, driven by America’s war on Iran, underlined “the importance of European energy independence”, Errboe said, and presented “an opportunity to ramp up production of home-grown, affordable and reliable energy, so global shocks ... do not limit prosperity.”

He added: “Renewable energy is central to this necessary transition and can additionally address the effects of the continued real climate change, most recently exemplified with the rising temperatures and wildfires across southern Europe this summer, further undercovering the need for a rapid energy transition acceleration.”

Errboe was speaking as Orsted reported better than expected half-year results, with

underlying earnings before deductions up 8 per cent to DKK 15 billion (£1.72 billion), boosted by higher wind speeds and higher prices.

A year ago the company had to carry out a $9.4 billion rights issue, which it blamed on the Trump administration speaking would-be investors in one of its offshore wind farms, leaving it to foot the construction cost solo.

Orsted is continuing to build two wind farms off the US coast: Revolution Wind, which is 95 per cent complete, and Sunrise Wind, 50 per cent complete. Both were hit with “stop work” orders by the Trump administration last year but courts later granted injunctions allowing construction to continue as legal wrangling goes on.

In its results Orsted warned that “changes in the US regulatory environment can materially and further adversely affect the value of our US activities and could potentially lead us to cease development, which would result in further impairments and costs”.

Jenny Ping, an analyst at Citigroup, said: “In terms of the operational update, construction of the two US offshore projects is on track, although the rate of progress appears to be very slow. UK Hornsea 3 also appears to be making progress.

“We largely see this set of results as business as usual.”

higher wind speeds have helped Orsted’s results

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We find paid only some of the total product and where in the 3 good lists after to which orders. Carole, France, Italy, 1985, are only a coupon. To be used in the use of a more than 1 year, please call the company. The company has been issued by the company, and the company has been issued by the company, and the company has been issued by the company, and the company has been issued by the company, and the company has been issued by the company, and the company has been issued by the company, and the company has been issued by the company, and the company has been issued by the company, and the company has been issued by the company, and the company has been issued by the company, and the company has been issued by the company.

Chums Ltd. Co Reg No 1201426

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43

Markets Business

John Ficenec Tempus

Buy, sell or hold: today's best share tips

Pivot into pensions is paying off

STANDARD LIFE

Market cap £93 billion Customers 16 million

Standard Life has undergone a significant transformation this year. The group was rebranded from Phoenix Group and it announced the £2 billion acquisition of Aegon UK. Combined with strong cash generation and soaring stock markets lifting assets it is well placed to continue to grow.

The shares are up 25 per cent so far this year, and it looks like there should be more to come. The focus is now on expanding into the workplace and private pension market. The Aegon deal will bring with it a large team of financial advisers that can provide guidance to an underserved and growing market.

Long gone are the days of companies providing a final salary pension for life. Auto enrolment and company contributions now leave many largely to their own devices, managing a number of different pensions from different jobs.

The buyout of Aegon, expected to complete by the end of this year or early 2027, will bring total customers to 16 million and assets under administration to £480 billion. It will make the pensions and savings business, which manages defined-contribution workplace schemes, the largest profit generator. Retirement solutions, which operates defined-benefit schemes and annuities, will still be a major part of the business. There are also operations in Ireland and Germany, and the legacy with-profits pensions and savings business.

Setting the standard

ADVICE: Hold WHY Clear strategy for how excess cash is going to grow the business

The FTSE 100 group built itself up by hoovering up UK life assurance groups such as Pearl, Sun Life, Abbey Life, ReAssure and the Standard Life part of Aberdeen. This flurry of dealmaking, fuelled by borrowing, meant debt rose to £4 billion by the end of 2022. The change in fortunes for the UK's life assurance industry has been dramatic since then.

A small army of actuaries is needed to work out the exact movements. That said, a good rule of thumb is that a sharp rise in yields on long-dated UK gilts results in a

fall in the amount of cash that life insurance funds are liable to pay out. The benchmark UK 10-year gilt yield is up from 1.17 per cent at the start of 2022 to 5 per cent by the end of July. At the same time the investments into which the cash premiums collected from customers have been placed have been on a strong run.

At the end of last year, Standard Life's adjusted operating profit was up 15 per cent to £945 million and operating cash generation was up 4 per cent to £1.47 billion. Analysts at Berenberg think that the continued strong cash generation means debts will have reduced to £2.9 billion by the end of June.

The best deals in life assurance look to be over and the bulk purchase annuity business, whereby a huge number of companies have offloaded their defined benefit

schemes as they swung to a surplus, slowed last year. Group management is confident it will hit £1.1 billion in adjusted operating profit for the year end and that all gives plenty of room for manoeuvre on growth, or increasing returns to shareholders through dividends and buybacks.

The reported results are always much lumpier as they include non-cash items such as writing off goodwill from previous acquisitions, or the performance of financial instruments used to protect the assets under administration.

The shares have had an excellent run and are well up on when Tempus recommended buying them at 60Sp in early December as the market had overlooked the potential from the new strategy. They closed at 920Sp yesterday. The dividend yield is no longer as obviously attractive as it was, sitting at 6.3 per cent, down from 8 per cent.

But the strategy is much clearer, the balance sheet is stronger and the potential to improve returns to shareholders is greater. The half-year results due on September 7 will give an update on current trading, and the capital markets day due on November 30 will provide a clearer picture of the distribution strategy for next year and beyond.

There are always risks for insurers of being exposed to a sharp pullback in the markets, or another tax grab targeting pension savings. But the underlying business here is forecast to generate prodigious amounts of cash for the coming three years. That, when combined with the firepower of becoming the second-largest provider of pensions, means we are happy to run this winner.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Huw Pill calls for rate rise

Huw Pill, the Bank of England's chief economist, has said that the UK's better-than-expected economic growth strengthened the case for interest rate rises in order to bring inflation under control.

Speaking to The Wall Street Journal yesterday, Pill said that the 0.4 per cent rise in GDP in the second quarter of the year "goes in the direction of reassuring me that we're not entering a sharp downturn.

"We've had 59 months of data in my time as a member of the MPC [monetary policy committee], of which three months have been at or below target," he said. "It matters to me."

Pill was one of three members of the committee who wanted to increase rates by a quarter point to 4 per cent when the panel met last month. They were ultimately outvoted by the six other MPC members, including the governor, Andrew Bailey, who favoured leaving policy on hold at 3.75 per cent.

Inflation fell faster than expected to 2.6 per cent in June, but remains above the central bank's target of 2 per cent.

In June Pill said: "I do fear a little bit that, because we saw inflation go to 11 per cent, policy discussion becomes, 'oh inflation at 3 per cent is not so bad'. Our mandate is very clear: inflation at 2 per cent at all times."

Six of the best for Ackman

Bill Ackman unveiled six new holdings including Netflix, Visa and Mastercard, marking the billionaire investor's biggest portfolio overhaul in years. Ackman, who traditionally invests in no more than a dozen companies, said yesterday he bought the shares starting in the second quarter that will be held in his investment funds including his newest offering Pershing Square USA, which listed in New York in April. The fund manager believes the firms' earnings are poised for strong growth. Ackman's stock picks are closely tracked by professional investors and his 2.8 million followers on X.

Robinhood launches fund

Robinhood's second venture fund debuted yesterday, giving retail investors access to early-stage start-ups that have traditionally been out of reach for all but venture capital firms and wealthy investors. The fintech company's Ventures Fund II raised $225.5 million to invest in early and growth stage private companies. Robinhood listed its first fund in March, which focuses on late-stage start-ups. The second fund will centre on current and former participants in the Y Combinator startup accelerator programme, which has financed more than 5,000 companies, including 100 "unicorns", since 2005.

Tapestry's ill-fitting brand

Tapestry forecast sluggish revenue growth yesterday, overshadowing a better-than-expected quarterly profit, highlighting the persistent weakness at Kate Spade, the US fashion house, and cautious spending in North America. Tapestry has struggled to revive sales at Kate Spade, which named the Scottish designer Jonathan Saunders as its creative director last month as part of a turnaround plan that includes improvements in product design. Sales fell 7 per cent on a constant currency basis at Kate Spade, while those at Coach, Tapestry's flagship brand, rose 14 per cent from a year ago.

FTSE 100 falls 0.6% in disappointing session

MARKET REPORT

The FTSE 100 was always going to struggle for a positive session when 18 of its largest members had shares trading without the right to the next dividend payment (Robert Miller writes).

By the close, London's main index was in the red for a fourth consecutive day after a fall of 60.48 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 10,772.67, the lowest closing value since July 24. Among those trading ex-dividend and contributing to the loss were HSBC, down 12p, or 0.8 per cent, at £15.26. London Stock Exchange, which shed 141p, or 1.6 per cent, to £85.56, and Babcock International, off 185p, or 1.5 per cent, at £11.82.

It was not all down and gloom. Lion Finance Group, the former Bank of Georgia, topped the leaderboard with a gain of 660p, or 5.2 per cent, to £113.80 after announcing a share buyback, followed by British American Tobacco, a favoured defensive stock, up 114p, or 2.8 per cent, to £42.64.

Housebuilders were also in favour after resilient UK GDP growth and an easing of fears ahead higher interest rates. Britain's biggest housebuilder Barratt Redrow stepped up with a rise of 75p, or 2.4 per cent, to 3285p with Persimmon 26p, or 2.2 per cent, higher

Wall Street report

Indices rose as a softer producer price index reading further eased concerns about inflation and a Federal Reserve rate rise next month. Mohit Kumar at Jefferies said the backdrop of high amounts of cash in the system and the Fed not raising rates "should continue to support risky assets". The S&P 500 rose 50.49 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 7,798.99, a new record, as the Nadsaq was up 214.54 points, or 0.8 per cent, at 26,803.03. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 69.72 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 53,839.99.

The day's biggest movers

Company	Owner
Lion Finance	5.2%
British American Tobacco	2.8%
Barratt Redrow	2.4%
Computacenter	2.3%
Persimmon	2.2%
Weir	-3.6%
Fossello	-3.7%
Motion Energy & Metals	-4.0%
Endowour Mining	-4.2%
Antetagasta	-4.8%

Seraphim Space is a leader in investment in space technology businesses

at £11.96. A shoot out too for Computacenter, one of London's few tech stocks, which benefited from the resurgence of interest in artificial intelligence-related companies and closed up 110p, or 2.3 per cent, at £49.38.

A tier below, the more UK-focused FTSE 250 finished up again and briefly touched a new intraday high before paring some of the gains to close up 22.83 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 24,837.71 compared with last Friday's record of 24,854.86. Best performer was Savills, up 107p, or 10.9 per cent, at £10.88 after the property agent posted robust

results despite global uncertainty. Next up was Rank Group, 6p, or 6 per cent, higher at 1055p following good annual figures from the owner of the Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casino chains.

Seraphim Space Investment Trust had a fairly hefty drop of 7p, or 3.6 per cent, to 1865p. The trust has begun to deploy funds from its £137 million C-share fundraising into holdings such as Pixcel, a space data company and spacecraft manufacturer, according to Citywire. There is a strong possibility the fall was due to a bit of profit-taking with the stock up 56 per cent this year.

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45

Business

The Times unit trust information service

	Salt	Buy	+/-	High %
ALLIANCE GLOBAL INVESTORS
Inv Serv: 020 7900 3400 Help/Buy: 0800 317 973
Strategic Bond Fund	195.24		-0.67	1.85
UK Equity A	469.88		-0.62	3.94
UK Growth I	1862.92		-7.82	2.22

AHTENKS FUND MGRS

0800 892 2055

Authorized Inv Funds

Global Income Fund A & L	1389.98		-1.12	-
Global Income Fund B & L	1337.85		-0.62	-
Global Assets Fund A	233.56		-0.75	-
High Income Fund B & L	67.13		-0.24	-
Income Fund B & L	600.9		-0.52	-
Income Fund B & L	810.84		-0.32	-
Monthly B & L & Acc	92.75		-0.06	-
Investing Corp Equity A	1450.85		-1.31	-
Investing Other Equity A	788.63		-0.73	-
Investing UK Equity A	1450.25		-1.3	-
Strategic Assets A & L	94.5		-0.06	-
Strategic B & A & L	116.55		-0.83	-
Strategic B & B & L	53.69		-0.03	-
Strategic B & B & L	116.35		-0.83	-
Strategic B & B & L	52.56		-0.04	-
UK Select B & L	1393.61		-0.67	-
UK Smaller Cap A & L	3371.12		-0.32	-
UK Special S&L A & L	1113.79		-1.35	-

AXA FRAGRANCIUM UNIT MGMT

Dihay 0800 602 3952 Inv Chmcts:0043 777 9511

Health I	340.2	-16.40	-
UK Select Daps A's I	3152	-8.80	1.28
UK Smtl Acc Ies I	332.8	-1.30	0.37
UK Smtl Exply A's Ies I	238.4	-9.60	1.28

AXA FUND MANAGERS

Admin & Buy 0117 989 0008

UK/United Investment Companies

Global Aorls Ais A	100.1		0.52
Japan Ais A	162.3		1.51

CIS UNIT MANAGERS

00457 46 46 46

Corporate Growth I	394.28		1.14
Sun Leaders I	8396	-9.39	1.47
UK Growth I of	505.7	-0.32	1.49
UK Income I of	258.7	-0.25	3.03

CLOSE FUND MANAGEMENT

Dealing 020 7426 6232

Winchester I	5731.83	-60.51	0.68

COLUMBIA THREADNEEDLE INVESTMENTS

Engr:0879 601 6183 Dealing: 0079 6003

Share Class 2-Retail

Euro Aorls & Ins I	1631	-4	0.38
FTSE All Net Trust I	990.1	-0.7	2.78
Global Aorls S&I I	406.9	-0.7	-
Strategic B&I I	328.9	-0.2	3.90

ESENTREE INV MGMT

0800 350 3028

Smtl Eur Exply A's Ies I of	899.5	-7.93	1.05
Smtl Sft Exply A's Ies I	960	-1.30	3.53
Smtl Mkt Income I	142	-9.25	4.01
Smtl Studying Bond A's Ies I	135.29	-0.66	4.97
Smtl Sft Exply A's Ies I of	258.6	-1.35	1.74
Smtl Sft Exply Daps A's Ies I	1329.9	-1.80	1.46

FIDELITY INTERNATIONAL

Private Cntrs:0000 424161 Broker Dtps:0000 424101

Amor Spon I	2998	-	-
American I	3114	-	-
Extr. Exps I	758	-	0.48
European I	4477	-	0.76
Global Trans I	3798	-	-
Global Red Income Bond A's Ies I	13.39	-	0.38
Global Special S&I I	9992	-	-
Japan I	4387	-	0.33
Minamphier B&I I	83.71	-	0.60
Minamphier Inc I	30.29	-	5.62
Minamphier Sft Int'l I	202.37	-	2.48
Special S&I I	7568	-	1.64

	Salt	Buy	+/-	High %
UK Openhorlins Fund A & L 186.7

HALIFAX INVESTMENT FUND MGRS

01296 306 306

Authorised Inv Funds

Share Class C

Corporate Bond I	57.39	-	4.56
Ind. Aorls I	21.73	-	0.40
UK FTSE S&I II	100.6	-	-
UK FTSE A&S I II	128.9	-	-

HSBC GLOBAL ASSET MGMT (UK)

Enq:0045 745 6123 Dtp:0045 745 6126 Mon-Fri:0.0-6

HSBC Index Tracker Investment Funds (OEC)

Amor Inst Acc I	1641	-7	0.77
Euro Ind. Acc I	1876	-5	2.27
Euro Ind. Inc I	1080	-5	2.31
FTSE 100s Ind Acc I	441.3	-0.4	2.30
FTSE 100s Ind Inc I	1791.1	-0.2	2.64
FTSE 250s Ind Acc I	416.1	-	2.84
FTSE 250s Ind Inc I	2243	-	2.83
FTSE 40s & Acc I	1122	-4	2.85
FTSE FTSE 40's & Acc I	5063	-1.6	2.79
Japan Ind. Acc I	2393	-2.4	2.43
Japan Ind. Inc I	2743	-1.7	1.45
Pacific Inst Acc I	3329	-10	1.53
Pacific Inst Inc I	6332	-10.7	3.56

HSBC Investment Funds (OEC)-Retail Share Class

Corp B& Inc I of	312.3	-0.2	4.26
Income Acc I	1062	-	1.18
Income Inc I of	401.2	-1.5	3.32
Monthly Inc Acc I of	313.4	-	3.75
Monthly Inc Inc I of	316.9	-	4.02
UK BnB & Inc BnI & Acc	1873.1	-0.9	2.96
UK BnB & Inc BnI & Inv	1857.25	-0.34	3.85

HSBC Specialist Investment A's (OEC)

American Index Retail Inc I	1264	-6	0.76

INVESCO FUND MGRS LTD

Dihay:0000 003 8571 Inv Serv:0000 005 0677

Brkr Serv:0000 020 2121

Investco Funds

Corp Bond I	231.88	-	0.87
High Income Dis I	433.53	-	1.28
Income & Growth B's I	506.12	-	3.89
Income Inc I	1679.39	-	2.05
Miners Inc I	207.87	-	1.39
Monthly Inc Plus B's I	92.39	-	5.73
UK Bank M's Inc I	2950.83	-	3.87
UK Smtl Eur Exply Inc I	1377.5	-	1.39

INVESTEC FUND MGRS LTD

Broker Support and Dealing: 020 7597 1900

OEC Series I, I, I,II & IV

American A & I	877.36	-2.22	-
Creditors Managed A & I	1472.62	-4.1	2.61
Creditors Managed A Inc	1270.24	-0.88	2.48
Direct/Bad Growth A & I	1334.23	-9.96	0.35
Direct/Bad Growth Inc	1127.97	-9.35	0.94
Direct/Bad Income A & I	1376.75	-0.02	3.70
Direct/Bad Income A Inc	67.84	-	0.35
Investing Mix Bookholders Inc	66.09	-0.28	0.56
Investing Mix Bookholders Inc	66.08	-0.13	7.65
Emerging Mkts Equity A & I	1353.51	-3.64	0.84
Investing Mix Loads A & I	1307.09	-0.82	-
Global Equity A & I	303.99	-0.21	-
Global Franchise A & I	404.12	-1.66	-
Global Fee Disrupts A & I	1520.07	-10.0	-
Global Aorls A & I	971.98	-1.70	-
Global Special Situations A & I	1561.2	-0.79	-

	Salt	Buy	+/-	High %
Global Special Situations A Inc 000'16
UK Special Situations A Inc 1292'67
UK Special Situations A Inc 991.74

For 1015 Asset Mgmt: use FSC-T4 Mgmt Ltd (OEC)

JAMES HENDERSON INVESTORS

Investor Serv: 0000 832 031 Dtup:0045 946 4646

UK Stock Credit A Inc I	1213	-4.50
Asian Bks Inc 12 Pack Inc 1916.67	-	5.60
Cashless Managed 12 A & I 1956.4	-	5.80
Cashless Managed A & I 1153.8	-	5.90
China Dgs Fund A Bn I	1318	-8.30
Asia Mkts Equity A & I Inc 1365.1	-	6.20
UK BnB & Inc BnI & Inc I	1308	-6.30
For Unforth Int Inc 12 A & I 2112.2	-	5.90
Global Equity Fund A Bn I	4677	-
Global Equity Fund A Bn I	4677	-
Global Equity Fund A Bn I	4677	-
Global Equity Fund A Bn I	4677	-
Global Equity Fund A Bn I	4677	-
Global Equity Fund A Bn I	4677	-
Global Equity Fund A Bn I	4677	-
Global Equity Fund A Bn I	4677	-
Global Equity Fund A Bn I	4677	-
Global Equity Fund A Bn I	4677	-

J.P. MORGAN ASSET MANAGEMENT

OEC

UK Equity Serv E Nat A	1071,200	-0.6800	2.53

JUMTER AT TRUST MANAGERS LTD

020 7501 4020

Old Moulders & Growth I	125.2	-0.7000	2.93
Euro Special S&I I	600.50	-0.9945	8.71
Emptours I	4855.79	-0.8945	9.61
Financial Daps I	1377.85	-1.1125	1.81
Global Share S&I 1007 407, 407.74	-0.8931	1.07
Marine Nat Acc I	309.15	-0.3837	2.26

	Salt	Buy	+/-	High %
Sterling Class A Investment Funds 2
Extrs Income Acc I	526.66	-1.12	5.30
Gift A Fed Int Inc I	67.22	-0.07	6.30
Gift B Fd Int Inc I of	39.80	-0.64	5.19
Index Limited Int Inc I	201.70	-0.13	1.94
Index Trade Acc I	104.08	-0.13	2.00
Short Retail Corp Bd Inc I	25.36	-	4.25
UK Select A & I	3322.38	-3.03	2.63

Sterling Class A Investment Funds 3

Corp B& A Inc I of	32.04	-0.03	5.82
Dividend Inc I of	18.5	-0.12	5.37
Revenues B Inc I of	29.75	-0.36	2.84
Smt Can Inc I of	165.97	-1.1	2.80

Sterling Class A Investment Funds 4

Exynate Allocation A Inc I	1262.06	-0.03	3.76

MARKS & SPENCER UNIT TRUST

0000 000 5500

High Income I	87.18	-	4.60
High Income Acc I	297.5	-	4.60
UK Smtl Exps Inc I	718.6	-	5.30
UK Smtl Exps Inc I	313.4	-	5.20
UK Select Part I	439.6	-	2.90
UK Select Part I & I	1183.4	-	2.90
Private Mgt Acc I of	1183.1	-	0.35
Worldwide Mgt Acc I of	747.3	-	0.25

MORGAN STANLEY INVESTMENT MGMT

Exquisites 0000 0941 962

The Morgan Stanley Funds (UK)

Class A Shares

Equity

Gold Bbl Int F F Acc I	3049.48	-	1.54
Gold Bbl Int F F Inc I	933.65	-	1.55
Gold Bbl Int F Inc I	933.69	-	1.45
Gold Bbl Int F F Acc I	1046.53	-	1.47
Gold Bbl Int F F Acc I	1054.68	-	1.65
Gold Bbl Int F F Inc I	949.08	-	1.66
Gold Bbl Int F F Acc I	1034.12	-	1.57
Gold Bbl Int F F Inc I	959.95	-	1.60
Gold Bbl Int F F Acc I	1355.47	-	4.32
Gold Bbl Int F F Acc I	1341.48	-	4.28
Gold Bbl Int F F Acc I	1343.88	-	4.46

Taste your

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TIMES radio

Marine Growth Inc I	335.96	-0.2370	8.26
Marine Ins Acc I of	411.89	-0.1446	5.48
Marine Markets Inc I	615.14	-0.0810	-
UK Bnsmtnr Equity I, Inc I	1296.8	-0.2617	1.75
UK Bnsmtnr	304.40	-0.0882	0.64
UK Income Trust I	3833.78	-0.1231	4.50

LEGAL & GENERAL (UT MANKRS) LTD

Exquisites 0070 050 0950 Dealing: 0070 050 0956

Euro Ind. Inc I of	328.8	-2.1	1.90
Euro Ind. Inc I	458.2	-1.1	1.90
Finan Int. Inc I	330.5	-0.1	4.60
Finan Int. Dps I	62.2	-0.05	4.60
Global Pacific I	125.8	-1.7	0.90
Gold Tech Acc I of	330.9	-0.9	-
High Ins. Inc I	354.4	-0.1	1.70
Japan Ind. Acc I	315.1	-1.1	1.30
Pacific Inst Acc I	425.2	-7.5	1.40
UK Inter. Trust Acc I	510.8	-0.4	2.50
UK Index Trust Acc I	233.8	-0.2	2.50
US Int. Acc I	1400	-4	0.50
Worldwide Acc I	415.5	-0.9	0.90

MAIL SECURITIES

Exq:0000 390 390 Dealing Line: 0000 320 3396

Authorized Inv Funds

Char9est Inc I of	2903.26	-2.05	5.22

Gold Br Fund I Inc (P95 1429) 06	0.32
Gold Br Fund I Inc (P95 1649) 06	0.45
Gold Br Fund I Inc (P95 1574) 06	0.45
Gold Br Fund I Inc (P95 1833) 08	0.32
Gold Equity Fund I Inc (P95 1599) 06	0.49
Gold Equity Fund I Inc (1011) 12	0.51
Gold Equity Fund I Inc (2354) 06	0.34
Gold Equity Fund I Inc (P95 1584) 06	0.28
Gold Equity Fund F Inc I (2371) 4	0.51
Utp Decy Bond F F Inc I	1497.7	-1.00
Utp Decy Bond F F Inc I	99.22	-0.90
Utp Decy Bond F F Inc I	1282.8	-4.71
Utp Decy Bond F F Inc I	3941.88	-5.73
US Jolo F F Inc I	2462.44	-
US Jolo F F Inc (P95 I 2475) 07	0.55	-
US Jolo F F Inc I	2592.66	-
US Jolo F F Inc (P95 I 2537) 07	0.55	-

SCOTTISH MUTUAL INV MNGRS LTD

0141 240 4100

For Cashiers Inc	1653 098	649 6700
Market For Cashiers	1285 0388	1461 2790	+13.30

	Salt	Buy	+/-	High %
Market UK Eq	1429.4988	1000.7800	-	7.81
UK Equity Inc	562.2388	991.0800	-	7.81

SCOTTISH WIDOWS UNIT TRUST MNGRS

0045 300 2244

Overseas Growth Investment Funds

Tracker & Special Investment Funds

UK Trt A & Icc I	609.8	-	0.30	2.96
UK Trt A & Icc I	275.1	-	0.30	2.96

UK & Income Investment Funds

Corp Bond A & Icc I of	529.2	-	4.00
Corp Bond A & Icc I of	108.8	-	4.00
Finan Int. & Acc I	473.8	-2.90	2.30
UK BnB & Inc I of	378.9	-0.10	0.90
Mt Inc Bond A Inc I of	70.39	-0.03	0.40
Mt BnA & Inc I	316.5	-0.40	1.70
Mt BnA & Inc I	176.9	-0.10	1.00
Strat Bn A & Icc I of	228.8	-	4.50
Strat Bn A & Icc I of	26.22	-	4.50
UK Eq Trust A I	126.4	-0.10	2.90

OEC II Class

---

46

Business

EQUITY PRICES

Dividend yields Please note dividend yields are supplied by ICE Data Services. The yield is the sum of a company's annual 12-month dividend payments divided by the last day's closing share price.

12-month high and low High/low prices for UK equities and investment trusts are based on intra-day figures.

12-month High Low Company		Price b/d	Forecast P/E

Automobiles & Part

831,	1921, Inter Merito Lay	75%	-	1	-	-0.7

Banking & Finance

310	1777, Advertisers Group	245%	-	75	-0.6	11.3
	51	81, Pacific 1994		4%		-1.2
4968	2025, Admiral	1094	+	66	1.7	21.6
4632	4695, K F&M	612	-	1	1.9	21.6
10362	10370, ACN Corp	29974	-	54	0.9	-
1189	765, Altschul	799	-	69	5.6	7.2
2562	1183, Ashtons Group	1205	+	51	5.5	10.5
11362	1126, Australia & NZ	39897	+	100	5.7	39.5
1721	1965, Amba	1321	-	95	5.5	26.5
1121	668, Gasco Sottoside	1094	-	4	5.5	34.1
5540	1921, Bankers	519	-	5	2.2	11.6
715	4, 1986, Star Sydra	4%			-0.2
710	613, SP Pacific & Phara	615			5.4	5.1
9105	212, Shilpanthi No	1975	-	11	2.6	67.5
817	1945, Pocman	310			4.2	40.9
442	349, City of London Inc	400	-	2	4.9	36.2
5362	1962, Cross Bros	420	-	6	-	-4.3
752	202, CMC (Shelter)	699	+	5	2.6	25.4
29375	2007, Deutsche Bank	20385	-	21	1.9	30.5
32	14, 1714, Aetna (Hillp)	54			0.9	-
2405	136, DTC Special Sgr	111			-0.7
39	52, Fisher	67%			1.7	5.9
92	38, Provable Services NCT	10			4.9	31.5
4360	2213, Georgia Capital	4659	-	39	-	2.0
17	107, General Electric	525	+	5	5.5	40.2
230	194, Helios S/N	2235			4.5	7.7
2860	1767, Whistler	1350	-	15	2.2	11.3
3410	9285, M&C	31375	-	12	6.6	17.0
2976	1064, IG Group	1152	-	22	1.2	9.2
304	992, Impex Asset (Type 4)	1161	-	5	6.6	7.3
2360	14265, KCB	2046	-	6	4.3	12.3
1092	1170, Ind. Public P.Inst	1405	-	25	4.3	13.4
1997	4995, Invescic	1395	+	9	5.7	0.8
76	68, Investment Co	76%
75	48, IP Group	50%	-	1	1.0	9.0
24	42, Euro Securities	7%			45.2	2.4
2142	1132, Kuchin Food (Oper)	142	+	11	1.7	8.4
304	349, Lancashire (Oper)	1921	-	2	2.8	6.6
1101	1175, Legal & General	2995	-	31	7.2	29.9
1200	1000, Lim Finance Group (10)	4	610	2.4	5.4
295	1225, General Food (Oper)	123	-	3	4.0	20.5
41	39, Commerce Inv. Co	36	-	11	5.7	36.2
1175	175, Lloyds Bankers	1175	+	5	5.5	16.5
21	14, 1483, Capital	15%	+	0.9
8104	4669, London Stock Exchange (10)	196	-	15	35.9
1177	1247, M&G	1101	-	2	5.6	20.0
1171	1345, Non Group	1131	-	11	4.1	27.5
195	29, Mass Financial Co	24			2.1	4.4
10	11, Domestic Capital	5%	-	5	-13.0
1095	992, Rebro Bank	1795	+	3	-23.0

12-month High Low Company		Price b/d	Forecast P/E
26111	10645, National Australia	21645	+ 25%
730	5000, NatWest Group	5925	+ 9
2250	4000, Pufford	4000	- 11
1218	9130, Prudential	10175	- 31
11	40, Summer Blockbore	4%	- 5.9
109	1500, Ballon	1995	- 1
2900	1500, Baltimore Group	1700	+ 8
1105	298, Statistical Exchange	1295	+ 9%
24500	1429, S & M	1900	+ 42%
1	95, Green London	1%	- 3.2
995	403, Intersec BGT	46	+ 5.5
7000	1000, Edmonton	104	+ 1
10751	10000, St James's Place	1100	+ 14
2235	1200, Standard Court II	1225	+ 2
1905	1015, Standard Life	1995	+ 61
42475	42945, San Ltr Canada	54495	+ 1
41	25, National Income	3	- 1.2
5300	3615, TBC Bank (Lip)	4042	+ 4
11	95, Farrar	11	+ 5
64	400, Trust Finance	52%	- 4.2
4%	95, France	4%	- 4.7
4	15, Frankie	3%	- 0.8
132	775, Foreign Banking Co	75%	+ 5
2800	2000, Valence	2000	- 59
72300	54000, Wells Fargo	65200	- 42%
21770	16451, Westland War Corp	10675	+ 135
11	29, Westin Investors	10%
5700	40670, Zurich Insurance	57700	+ 37%

Construction & Property

109	100, Westman	109	-	5.0	0.5
65	40, Russia Properties	45	-	-	1.2
15	15, Gold International	11	-	-	0.8
971	940, Balfour Realty	9225	+	6	16.1
4105	2295, Barnett Redman	3105	+	75	5.2
2890	1753, Bellway	2890	+	56	1.3
4442	2796, Berkeley	1646	+	88	-
1200	1000, Big United City	9000	+	9	5.2
460	210, Billeague-Wilcox	413	-	25	2.7
237	1100, Bank (Power)	156	-	-	5.0
1001	2551, Bousdon	1955	+	5	4.3
4511	3110, British Land	4371	+	51	5.3
2900	2500, Gold Property	2750	-	2	2.1
2700	14000, Servant London	2000	+	12	3.9
1	95, Old Market	4%			-2.7
195	11, First Property	12%			2.0
75	29, Fletcher Group	42%			5.3
42	25, Fletcher Group	37%	+	5	1.5
635	4025, Gelfried Toy Hldp	626	+	6	1.2
1961	296, Great Group	260	-	5	4.6
435	221, Gasco (M)	139	-	1	4.0
20311	7000, Southern Sub Int.	1000	+	35	1.6
3061	1000, Gumpur	177	+	2	4.7
177	276, Great National Co	3645	+	6	2.3
1901	1630, Northman	1901	+	46	4.7
103	1110, Norwich Group	101	+	1	1.0
400	2195, North General	399	+	38	1.1
2361	1300, Aelical	304	+	1	1.2

12-month High Low Company		Price b/d	Forecast P/E
1495	675, British	990	- 11
1615	112, James Kottowell	1325	- 5
3110	1230, Aelical	1110	+ 4
18170	24645, Simpson Group	18490	- 0.9
136	1025, Land Securities	709	+ 1
2161	1575, London/District Projct 14	51	+ 4.4
1	95, Reine-Wiley (Sp 14)	4%	- 0.5
304	124, Mandarin	1730	- 25
104	66, McDermott & Boak	75	+ 5.9
1	95, West Bank	4%	- 1.3
5750	1953, Always Social	4700	+ 34
1	1000, White House	1000	+ 44
39	105, Northern NST	32%	- 5
230	130, Fisher Capital	125	- 0.2
320	261, Fletcher Securities	296	- 4.1
1952	9475, Parameen	11070	- 26
1015	19, Phas-Central	19%	- 0.1
1000	1875, Penny Health Proprt 19	5%	- 5.7
1130	28, Red-Central	1000	- 4.6
1400	1500, Sabastan	625	+ 61
1126	7951, Smith	1000	+ 107
55	81, Union Proj Dev & Co	35%	- 0.1
9875	665, Singra	9675	+ 101
1100	1250, Hathstone Capital	1350	+ 51
12	65, UK	8%	- 1.6
310	130, OpenHole	1325	- 2
113	565, Silica Real Estate	97%	+ 5.6
109	104, Year's 12	1125	- 2.9
235	16, Stages General	22	- 29.7
1105	795, Taylor Whippy	85%	- 11
109	104, Trans-Central	1195	- 3
7225	4955, Trans-Forbes	4955	+ 6
175	1125, Tritian Big-Back	1600	- 51
340	4425, Delta Group	510	+ 4
1100	1000, Delta Group	1700	+ 15%
4500	312, Workgroup Group	193	+ 5
900	730, Rhamton Group	915	- 11

Consumer Goods

229	1120, All Producers	169	+ 35	3.4	10.5
39	175, Alco 4	25%	- 0.8	10.4
1725	1725, All Prods	2000	+ 27	7.1	14.6
7725	500, Sun 1000	199	- 1	1.1	14.2
5325	3677, British Amer P&S 1204	+ 114	5.7	12.1
11550	976, Bankers Group	3000	- 22%	-
1001	105, C&C Group	97%	+ 5	5.1	-
55	25, Capital Markets	4%	-	-	-0.5
460	275, Churchill Union	105	-	5.5	9.7
5195	3276, Caco-Caco M&C	4610	+ 54	3.2	21.1
10115	321, Gilchow	1400	-	0.4	16.5
5010	4575, Cornelich	5250	+ 48	2.2	17.7
2142	1290, Simpson	1752	+ 24	3.1	16.3
55	4, McCle	4%	-	-	-0.6
2910	1164, Cross (M.P.)	1600	+ 6	3.6	10.5
1151	1140, Fowler	1500	- 45	17	6.0
2040	1000, Karmay-WirehouseCo	+ 94	3.0	30.6
11055	1000, Gloster	20165	- 5	1.9	17.2
9075	1785, Democracy	2000	+ 35	13	20.0
995	45, Reuben	10%	-	-	-0.1
1182	4975, West-Ascot	610	+ 4	3	9.7
1632	2592, Imperial Brands	2600	+ 45	4.3	10.5
16445	5760, Kerry Group	7160	+ 52%	1.7	20.9
170	1360, McBride	1610	- 51	13	4.3
216	88, Makers Group	211	+ 6	-	-16.2
1207	1000, McIntosh	1675	+ 14	3.6	10.3
194	252, Narvan	125	-	1.0
300	300, Group (U.S.A.)	367	-	1	6.0
1	81, P&C Ltd	3%	-	-0.0

12-month High Low Company		Price b/d	Forecast P/E
130	675, Feltcher (us)	580	- 1.1
15	81, Pancock	15	- 19.0
114	105, PC Cesson	1095	+ 13.2
110	92, MIA	1080	- 25. -
210	120, Trudeau	330	+ 16.2
100	228, The General Corp	313	- 2.2
10	5, Depositor (us)	6%	- 13.1
57425	3640, Lindeman	46100	+ 58
94	129, Arterial	50%	- 0.2
Engineering
590	10, San & Bt (up)	20	- 6.9
2100	1000, Aves Technology	2910	+ 4
1517	9425, Babcock	1185	- 25.6
1500	1500, B&C Systems	2100	+ 24
2500	500, Batten & N/A	1200	- 1.4
1399	1376, Batten Group	1200	+ 5.7
550	500, Batten & N/A	400	- 48
95	81, Gas Oil Ltd	9%	- 3.6
1399	1092, Lindepur	500	+ 3
27	125, Chalkill	21	- 0.1
4500	4960, Channing Group	630	- 111.1
59	201, Chancroft (up)	51	- 39.2
5100	1001, Cehnck	1552	+ 4
5100	1001, Chalkill	6	-
15	55, Fordback	6	- 0.2
1370	4820, Sam & B. Kouyap	1200	- 1.1
9820	9820, Samlin	10760	+ 168
4922	3144, Haldron	2740	- 28
1220	1290, H&C Exelts	2950	- 3
25	3, Home Trust	2%	- 12.4
1166	2156, BBS	3000	- 64
8000	3000, Sargent (us)	4000	- 39
99	94, OTA	32%	- 15.2
600	4000, Montrose	400%	- 11.1
261	1290, Morgan-Moncal	250%	- 1
400	200, Nave	150	- 13.4
2000	1120, McClell	2000	+ 5
3310	1642, British Instruments	2900	+ 24
24120	1790, Phillips Elec	20100	- 52%
95	3, Poplarus	-	- 0.9
5400	2900, Srinikova	5250	- 58
2500	990, Radio-Keyzer	2525	- 21
4595	2861, Selvich	4925	- 35
100	64, Oil Group	39%	- 5
3110	146, Senter	292	- 5
2020	25020, Off Group	20000	- 3.0
27500	2000, Srinikva	2012	- 39
115	135, Gold Union	100	- 25
240	1376, Samos Union	220	- 14
8000	9990, Samos Group	7525	+ 38
75	35, Lufkinde	4%	- 4.3
100	240, Tappi-Fuk	250	- 2.2
1825	47, Tennessee Tech	97%	- 5.1
9075	500, Aramco	99%	- 45.5
710	220, Amco	160	+ 4.0
2000	2254, Wier	2662	- 100
2000	300, Off Power	1754	- 28
2500	107, Advanced Products	2021	- 1.0
175	3, Morgan Therapeutics	-	- 0.2
8	4, Undebanded	1%	- 0.2
500	2825, Haarum	510	- 2.5

2172	9892, AstraZeneca	11700	+ 6	1.0	19.0
35	15, Cambridge Tech Vcs	15	-	-	2.7
2595	139, Cornelich	2015	- 15	3.4	34.4
10	28, Patter & Hauser	25%	-	3.3	7.7
1161	75, The School Health	10%	-	-	0.4
32	225, Off Department	25%	-	-	53.8
105	81, Calco (Rohda)	9%	-	-	0.2
32100	1000, Goss	2250	- 2	1.5	56.8
2202	12000, GSKI	2050	- 12%	3.2	13.2
95	81, Sarcena	9%	-	-	0.9
4565	2750, Hickory	4975	- 2	0.0	29.2
1000	1107, Micro Plumier	1645	+ 4	19	12.2
200	1390, Northland Group	199	+ 9	-	4.9
195	15, NorthPLume	46	+ 5	-	-31.1
32	125, September Health	16%	-	-	-20.8
15	65, O'Clive	7%	-	-	4.1
1	81, Tech Therapeutics	9%	-	-	0.0
775	1025, B&C Group	66	+ 2	2.3	34.1
2150	96, 80, Novartis	637, 1217A	- 0.46	3.0	40.6
962	4275, Great Chemical	4875	- 3	-	101.1
95	81, Pachalera	9%	-	-	0.6
95	15, Pachalera Sancuna	15	-	-	4.7
2155	3000, Northland Brands	3200	+ 2	4.2	13.0
195	149, MIA (US) Ss	26%	- 5	-	157
20	95, Lassen (Hollings)	25%	-	-	10.6
1295	1290, Smith & Hough	1100	+ 12	2.7	20.7
2565	1400, Trans-Healthcare	231	+ 1	0.6	56.5
10	5, Tobacco (M&C)	6%	-	-	0.8
45	81, Koffee	9%	-	-	0.0

Industrials

---

47

Business

12-monthHigh	Low	Company	Price(yr)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y

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48

Business Recruitment

'Help 16-year-olds be apprentices'

School-leavers who want to 'earn while they learn' have limited opportunities, writes Jane Hamilton

Andy Burnham has called for the country to 'value the hard hat as much as the graduation cap', but for school-leavers who want to start work at 16, opportunities remain limited.

Despite nine in ten young people saying they would consider apprenticeships over a conventional degree, the new foundation apprenticeship, designed specifically for young people with no work experience, recorded just 160 starts in its first nine months, against an ambition of 30,000 by 2029.

Young people have to stay in education or training until age 18, so the creation of more apprenticeships at foundation level — equivalent to GCSEs — and Level 3, which equates to two A-levels, would provide a proven path into the workplace.

'Employers have adapted considerably at the graduate and professional end and there are well-established, structured early-career routes out of university, but there hasn't been comparative adaptation for 16 to 18-year-old school-leavers,' Melissa Carr at Henley Business School said. 'Places have not kept pace with the demand from young people.'

As GCSE results day approaches on August 20, this demand is growing. Student job sites report one in five young people are actively applying for direct-to-work routes after school, rather than taking Btecs, A-levels or the traditional university route. This shift may not yet represent the full parity of esteem that Burnham hopes for, but does indicate considerable movement both in pupil and parental attitudes.

As the chief executive of Generation UK, an employment non-profit organisation, Michael Houlihan is witnessing the change. 'More young people are choosing to enter work earlier because they're taking a more pragmatic view of their options,' he said. 'University remains a strong route for some, but rising costs and uncertain returns mean it's no longer the default for everyone. For many, starting work or an apprenticeship at 16 or 18 offers a very attractive and practical alternative — earning while learning and building experience from day one.'

And it's not just the 'hard hat' careers on offer from age 16. Some of the most proactive employers include professional services, law, finance and accounting, offering structured apprenticeships and professional qualifications which fast-track students. Many go on to the same qualifications as their university-educated peers, but with a minimum of five years' workplace experience under their belts by the time their former classmates graduate.

'I avoided debt and gained a career'

Case study

A 16, Narpreet Bhamra chose a finance apprenticeship with Microsoft over university, enabling her to earn a salary, gain experience and achieve Association of Accounting Technicians

qualifications while building her career. Within six years, Bhamra progressed from finance apprentice to financial controller, and now works as a global finance business partner for Unilever, the consumer goods group. Bhamra, from Berkshire, said: 'At 25 I have tripled my earnings

since starting work and I'm saving up to buy my own home. Avoiding student debt while gaining real-world experience has also given me a significant head-start in my career. I see many graduates applying for, or working in, the same roles I had already secured through the apprenticeship pathway.'

Top tips for hiring a school-leaver and helping them thrive

Ollie Sidwell, co-founder of Higherin, a student jobs site, says GCSE leavers prioritise employers offering career progression and long-term stability. Here's how to attract them to your organisation.

Invest in your future talent pipeline: Employers that take on GCSE leavers with a view to building their future workforce

generate exceptional loyalty and performance.

Design structured onboarding and mentorship: Match up your new lives with an experienced colleague able to guide them through their role and workplace norms.

Guide and offer regular feedback: Your young employees are adaptable and eager to

learn, but they need guidance on professional standards and performance expectations.

Show them where they could be in two, five, or ten years: Map out realistic career development routes.

Challenge preconceptions: Create opportunities for them to showcase their skills and fresh perspectives.

The Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) has pioneered the use of apprenticeships, offering Level 2 Foundation and Level 3 apprenticeships, alongside a Level 4 professional diploma in professional accounting, equivalent to the first year of university.

Trainees start straight from school at 16 and follow the structured pathway, while earning a salary at their employer. Sarah Beale, the AAT's chief executive, is urging parents and employers to 'rethink what we tell young people about success'. She said: 'The idea that there's only one route to a well-paid, fulfilling career simply isn't true, it hasn't been for a long time. Apprenticeships connect education directly to careers, giving young people the start they need whilst earning a wage.'

Six from the best

Mission 44, Sir Lewis Hamilton's foundation, encourages under-represented young people to pursue Stem and motorsport careers. As it celebrates its fifth anniversary — and as young people receive their GCSE results — the chief executive, Jason Arthur shares how to include young voices in your organisation.

1 Choose hope as a discipline, not a mood: Lewis talks about kids who 'dream the impossible'. A leader's job isn't to ignore how bleak things can look, it's to stay hopeful.

2 Give young people real power, not just a voice: One of our best moves was to have youth advisers who shape our strategy, comms and grants. A good story moves people more than a good stat: I used to lead with data because it felt rigorous. A young person's story, told well, is what actually gets you through the door.

Get comfortable with saying 'I don't know': I became Mission 44's CEO at 34. To be an effective leader, I've had to continually adapt, delegate and always keep evolving.

Slow down: Everything does not have to happen immediately. Moving fast alone is often slower than moving deliberately together.

Show, don't just state, the case for diversity and inclusion: Our team, partners and youth advisers span a wide range of backgrounds, and that range makes our work sharper.

Appointment of the week

National data guardian for health and care

The minister for health innovation and safety is seeking a national data guardian for health and care. This is an independent champion for patients and the public on matters relating to the use, protection and sharing of health and adult social care information.

The appointee will provide trusted guidance and challenge to government, the NHS, social care organisations and the wider health and care system, ensuring that confidential information is safeguarded while enabling its responsible use to improve services, patient outcomes and research.

Candidates will bring a strong track record of operating at a senior level within the private, public or voluntary sectors, and will have extensive experience of the secure and ethical use of sensitive health data, together with a deep understanding of the evolving technologies that underpin modern health and care services.

Remuneration is £63,000 a year for 3.5 days a week. The health secretary determines the length of appointment, up to a maximum of three years. Apply by September 1 at appointments.thetimes.com

Working week

Entry-level older workers

Young people in the jobs market are being squeezed out of junior roles by older, overqualified applicants, the Chartered Management Institute shows. A third of UK managers report an increase in the number of more experienced workers applying for entry-level positions, with the biggest surge coming from 41 to 50-year-olds. Nearly a quarter of managers say their preference is for experienced candidates.

Lloyds lifts T-level places

They may be less well known than A-levels, but technical level qualifications, or T-levels, may help pupils become better prepared for the workplace. The qualifications for 16 to 18-year-olds combine classroom study with mandatory industry placements. Lloyds Banking Group has expanded from six placements in 2022 to more than 100 annually, with about half of the students progressing to permanent roles with the group.

Gen Z keep careers local

After decades of young workers flocking to cities to start careers, new research suggests that 47 per cent of Gen Zs are looking to stay in their local communities after education. Proximity to family and an affordable cost of living are the key reasons, the poll from Coca-Cola found. Dusan Stojankic, vice-president at Coca-Cola GB, said: 'This research shows a clear shift in how younger people are thinking about work and ambition.'

Fake meetings help staff

Overstretched employees are scheduling fake meetings to make time to get their actual work done, raising questions about employees' time. Two thirds of staff say they end the working day with tasks still left on their list, while 70 per cent say they'd rather tick something off their to-do list. 'Leaders should protect focus time as deliberately as they protect meetings.' Molly Sands from Atlassian, a software firm, said.

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THE TIMES | Friday August 14 2026 v2

51

Intrepid Times foreign correspondent Trevor Fishlock Page 52

Obituaries

Zhu Rongji

Caustic but reforming leader known as 'Madman Zhu' who oversaw his country's historic admission into the World Trade Organisation

When Zhu Rongji rose to become mayor of Shanghai in the late 1980s, he took over a city that had once been famed as the Pearl of the Orient but now battled to lure tourists to its faded glories. China, still opening its doors to the world after the chaos of Mao Zedong's radical Cultural Revolution, was mired in poverty and communist red tape.

But the blunt-speaking Zhu was not one to be deterred by the challenge of filling tourist quotas. He called the city's bureaucrats to a surprise meeting. 'How is Shanghai expected to attract 900,000 foreign tourists if they can't find a clean toilet?' he asked. He told them to scrub every public lavatory in town.

Such bluntness earned him enemies and saw him purged twice from the Communist Party hierarchy. But it also won him the patronage of a similarly frank party leader, the supreme pragmatist Deng Xiaoping, who recognised Zhu's talents and promoted him to one of the highest offices in China.

As premier he was the driving force in transforming China from a lacklustre economy dragged down by Soviet-style central planning into a towering global giant.

He knew when he took on the job that he would have to take decisions that would wreak havoc with the lives of tens of millions of ordinary Chinese. He would also face the entrenched vested interests of Communist Party bosses.

Speaking in early 1998 as he assumed the premiership, he spoke with a candour rare in most Chinese leaders: 'Our country faces many potential crises that could erupt at any time. Ordinary people are discontented about us in many ways. Especially, there is corruption among officials, the gulf between rich and poor, and the way some local officials act like tyrants.'

His willingness to take risks coupled with a steely determination to improve people's lives despite resistance from party conservatives aghast at policies they believed betrayed communist principles laid the foundation for China's jaw-dropping boom.

Creaking, debt-ridden and inefficient state-owned enterprises, the backbone of the economy, were at once in his sights. His slogan was 'grasp the big, let go the small.' Large, strategic monopolies such as petroleum, aviation and heavy industry were brought under tighter central control to turn them into modern competitive pillars of the economy. He knew China could not hope to compete in the world economy without painful reforms.

Smaller urban enterprises were privatised, merged or simply closed. Thousands upon thousands of inefficient companies disappeared, taking with them tens of millions of jobs. The economist Andrew Batson estimated that the number of people employed by state-owned enterprises fell from 77 million in 1995 to 42 million by the time he left office in 2003.

Zhu on a trading floor in Chicago and, left, with President Clinton in 1999

Critics warned that the mass layoffs would lead to widespread social unrest — the party's greatest fear after the mayhem of the student protests in 1989 that culminated in the Tiananmen Square massacre on June 3-4. Worker unrest was limited and mitigated by his policies, however. He created a basic social welfare system, including rudimentary healthcare — policies his successors failed to build upon.

Zhu effectively smashed the 'Iron Rice Bowl' — the cradle-to-grave system of benefits and a job for life that had been one of the fundamental policies championed by Mao. 'Even if a minefield or abyss lies before me, I will march straight ahead without looking back and blaze my trail,' he pledged.

While many older state workers never found another job, the younger ones retrained and moved to form the backbone of a workforce staffing the nascent private economy that fuelled China's boom.

To further soften the blow, he transferred the apartments — almost all small and run-down — to the ownership of the unemployed workers at

nominal or highly subsidised costs. The result was a vibrant property market that brought prosperity to many, but later led in the past decade to catastrophic over-construction by greedy developers and local governments.

Indeed, it was not only inefficient workers and industries that were in his sights. His fiercest anger was directed at corrupt officials. A famed straight-talker, he told colleagues looking to take bribes: 'I have prepared 100 coffins here — 99 for corrupt officials and one for myself because I will die of fatigue.' His caustic wit and openness — unlike most party apparatchiks — won him a measure of popularity and respect among ordinary Chinese. They gave him such nick-

On economic reform, his slogan was 'grasp the big, let go the small'

names as 'Madman Zhu' and 'Boss Zhu'. He was also known as China's Cocharter. He hated the name and when asked about it said 'I'm Zhu Rongji.'

Perhaps the most far-reaching achievement of his five-year term as premier was to oversee China's admission in 2001 into the World Trade Organisation, a step that was to turn China into the most vibrant exporting nation on Earth. The negotiations were fraught, fiendishly complicated and required the agreement of every member

of the WTO. The toughest talks were with the US.

The whole process almost came to grief in 1999 when Zhu visited Washington with every expectation of signing off, at last, on a deal. But Bill Clinton, mired in the Monica Lewinsky scandal and eager to avoid further controversy, refused, even leaking secret details of the talks.

Zhu, who had offered concessions that he could ill afford because of opposition back home, was left humiliated and furious. President Clinton did not have enough courage, he fumed openly, adding that 'you may wind up with nothing.' The setback could have cost him his job. The price of staying in office, however, was to offer a Maoist-style 'self-criticism' before his fellow members of the Politburo.

Two years later the deal was done. China's trade with the world soared from $510 billion in 2001 to a massive $6.5 trillion at the end of 2025.

Zhu was above all a pragmatist. He had to be. His early years had been fraught with difficulty and tragedy.

Born in 1928 in Changsha, the capital of central Hunan province, he was brought up mainly by two uncles. His father died before he was born and his mother when he was just nine. The family were reputedly descended from Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming dynasty (1368-98), and were wealthy, owning huge tracts of land and a sprawling mansion. It was a background that was to cause Zhu problems.

He studied electrical engineering at the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing, became a student leader and

joined the Communist Party in 1949. After graduation he was assigned a job at the powerful State Planning Commission and rose swiftly, appearing on course for a high-flying career. But in 1957 he criticised Mao's economic policies for 'irrational high growth'. That criticism, coupled with his landlord family past, led to his downfall. He was fired, stripped of his party membership and reassigned as a teacher.

Briefly pardoned in 1962, he was purged again in Mao's 1966-76 Cultural Revolution and sent for 're-education' at a special farm for disgraced officials. He spent five years raising pigs, planting rice and cleaning lavatories. It was an experience he refused to discuss.

He returned to work as an engineer in 1976 and was formally rehabilitated two years later when he was given a position at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences when officials symbolically burnt his letter of expulsion. The following year he was assigned to the State Economic Commission and served as vice-minister until 1987. A year later he was appointed mayor of Shanghai.

His no-nonsense approach and impatience for change frightened lazy officials, lured foreign investors and caught the eye of Deng Xiaoping. His efficiency in Shanghai earned him his first nickname: 'One Chop Zhu'. He laid the foundations for transforming the fields of Pudong over the river from central Shanghai into a gleaming metropolis and one of the richest districts of China today. In addition, he and his local party boss, Jiang Zemin, won attention by ensuring the 1989 student protests in their city ended peacefully.

Both men were called to Beijing. Zhu became vice-premier with responsibility for the economy in 1991 and governor of the central bank in 1993. He cut inflation from 24.3 per cent in 1994 to minus 0.8 per cent in 1998. He recapitalised lumbering state banks and boosted central government tax revenues.

He insisted that struggling peasants be paid cash for their grain, threatening to 'cut off the heads' of any local officials who issued IOUs instead. Asked by reporters about the remark, he quipped: 'I cannot admit here that I said that. Wantonly cutting off heads is a violation of human rights and against the law. If this appears in the press and is noticed by some people outside China, I'll get into lots of trouble.'

China's economy may have been his life, but Zhu had other interests. He was a passionate devotee of Peking opera, learning to appreciate the art form as a child. It was a passion he shared with his wife, Lao An, during the 70 years of their marriage. The couple had two children, a son and a daughter.

But when it came to opera he was much more than an appreciative audience. He mastered the traditional two-stringed erhu instrument and could also sing, once surprising an audience by taking to the stage during a performance. Asked in Japan to show his skills, he joked: 'I imagine that if you don't care for Peking opera then listening to me play the fiddle would sound like a pig being slaughtered.'

Zhu Rongji, politician and economist, was born on October 23, 1928. He died on August 12, 2026, aged 97

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52

Register

Trevor Fishlock

Intrepid Times foreign correspondent and 'star wordsmith' of insatiable curiosity who brought a vivid, poetic eye to stories

'In the age before television, my father and mother read the daily news as happy as horses with nosebags.' Trevor Fishlock wrote in a memoir entitled Reporter. 'Among the crumpled pages at their feet I breathed the inky tang and headline lingo of the time: spix and smog and Skylon, teddy boy, Cold War, prefab, ration book, H-bomb, Iron Curtain, IJ-plus, Korea, Churchill, Eisenhower. Groundnuts and Bradman's duck.'

Thus it began — a lifetime of reporting (much of it for The Times) from the furthest corners of the world (plus his adopted homeland, Wales) that was driven by an insatiable curiosity and sense of adventure, and enhanced by his vivid prose and eye for detail.

One of the finest foreign correspondents of his age, Fishlock reported on the Soviet war in Afghanistan, Mikhail Gorbachev's experiment with glamour and perestroika, the fall of Nicolai Ceaușescu in Romania, the US invasion of Grenada, the ousting of 'Baby Doc' Duvalier in Haiti, Nelson Mandela's election as South Africa's president, Peter Wright's Spycatcher trial in Australia, a catastrophic volcanic eruption in Colombia, an equally deadly earthquake in Armenia and much, much more.

He interviewed Indira Gandhi, Benazir Bhutto, the Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa, who assured him: 'Even a journalist can do the work of the Lord.' He loved offbeat stories such as chasing down bandit kings in the gorges of Madhya Pradesh, the enthronement of Uganda's King Ronnie, or the annual rodeo held in Huntsville prison, Texas.

Back in Wales, he presented a 14-year television series, Wild Tracks, that carried him to the furthest reaches of the country and memorable encounters with coalminers, sheep farmers, coracle makers and Dylan Thomas's barber. 'She cut his hair before he left for America in 1953,' he wrote. 'When she had finished snipping he looked in the mirror and said: 'Lovely, it'll last me a lifetime.' The trip ended in his death in New York.'

Fishlock's was, he said, 'a life of por-

traying life, the collective effort, the love of news, the thrill of the story.'

Edward Trevor Fishlock was born in 1941 in Hereford, where his mother, Ada, was seeking refuge from the Blitz. Three months after his birth they returned to Portsmouth where his father, Ted, was a Royal Marines sergeant major. He later became a holiday camp entertainment manager on Hayling Island then a publican in Portsmouth.

Fishlock grew up reading books and newspapers. At 16, while a pupil at Portsmouth Southern grammar school, he spotted an advertisement for a junior reporter in the Portsmouth

He became a 'reporter of everything: trials, fires, murders, strikes, crashes'

Evening News. 'I saw it as a Kitchener's finger, pointing at me,' he said, and was hooked on journalism from the moment he 'took a baptismal sniff and pushed back the heavy black door of the reporters' room'. He became a 'reporter of everything: trials, fires, murders, strikes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes, crashes,）

He turned freelance, supplying stories to Fleet Street and earning a little extra cash by dictating John Arlot's cricket reports to The Observer by phone. While writing for Hampshire magazine he met and married his first wife, Angela, with whom he had three children, Melanie, Richard and Tim. Encouraged by Leslie Thomas, the bestselling novelist who was then a journalist on the London Evening News, he applied for a job on The Times in 1968 and William Rees-Mogg, the editor, posted him to Wales.

He covered the decline of the coal and steel industries, the investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales, the rise of Welsh nationalism and a parliamentary election in Montgomery that earned the headline: 'Will Mr William Williams Wynne Way?' The first of his 20 books was a collection of Welsh

Fishlock reported from Afghanistan on the fight against the Soviet occupation

nicknames — the communist Emlyn Kremlin, Dai Drop the paratrooper, and the home secretary, Sir David Maxwell Fyfe, who was inevitably dubbed Dai Bananas.

In 1977 he won a fellowship that took him to the US for eight months, after which he returned to The Times head office in London. There he met his second wife, a parliamentary reporter named Penny Symon, who would spend much of their married life managing his career and organising his many trips abroad. Fishlock never used a cash machine.

In 1980 The Times posted him to

India shortly after Indira Gandhi's return to autocratic power. Within three weeks he was reporting on the death of her younger son, Sanjay, in a plane crash. He ventured deep into Afghanistan with mujahidin guerrillas fighting the Soviet occupation, and was escorted back to Pakistan by an opium smuggler. But he spent much of the next three years travelling around the subcontinent with his portable typewriter, filing colourful stories about the people, the places and the dying embers of empire — all of which he turned into another book, India File.

He was named foreign reporter of the

year in the 1982 British Press Awards, and the next year The Times moved him to New York. From there he covered mafia murders, Liberace's appearance at the Radio City Music Hall, the catastrophic launch of the space shuttle Challenger and a voodoo ceremony in Haiti where, amid the frenzy, a man stepped forward, grabbed a chicken and 'appeared to bite its head off in a shower of blood'.

In 1986 Max Hastings was appointed editor of The Daily Telegraph and swiftly poached Fishlock, whom he described as a 'star wordsmith', to be a roving reporter and, for two years, Moscow correspondent.

And so his itinerant life continued — the Reagan-Gorbachev summit in Reykjavik, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the IRA's Enniskillen bombing, Christina Onassin's funeral in Greece, Australia's 200th anniversary, Hong Kong, Singapore, Brunei, Bangladesh, the Arctic and Papua New Guinea where he interviewed an octogenarian tribal chief named Sir Wamp Wan. 'The first wheel Sir Wamp ever saw was on the aircraft that brought (white men) to his homeland in the western highlands,' Fishlock wrote.

In 1996 he went freelance again. He settled in Cardiff, launched Wild Tracks for Harlech Television, and wrote more books, but the adventures continued. He travelled from the Khyber Pass on the Afghan-Pakistan border to the southern tip of India for a book entitled Cobra Rosal. In 2001 he sailed across the Atlantic from Scotland to Cape Cod and back with John Ridgway, the celebrated yachtsman and rower.

His last great expedition came in 2003. Over 51 days he, Ridgway and four others sailed more than 7,000 miles from Cape Town to Melbourne through snow, sleet and waves so huge that the racht 'toboganned' down them. That vast and turbulent ocean was 'the wildest place I have ever been', wrote the man who had been everywhere.

Edward Trevor Fishlock, journalist, was born on February 21, 1941. He died on July 3, 2026, aged 85

Violet Hensley

Fiddle-maker known as the 'Stradivarius of the Ozarks' who preserved the musical spirit of Depression-era America

Violet Hensley was the last remaining lank with an old rural, Depression-era America in which music was a communal activity played on rustic homemade instruments on back porches all over the southern and midwestern states.

Known as the 'Stradivarius of the Ozarks', the Arkansas mountain range where she lived for 109 years, Hensley made her first fiddle at the age of 15, whittling the instrument at her parents' kitchen table from native Ozark timber. 'I made one because I wanted to play one,' she said. 'We didn't have anything else to do. We didn't have television or radio. And Dad played it, and I guess it just struck me I wanted to play.'

Observing the techniques used by her father, who had made his first fiddle in 1888 at the age of 14, she cut the pattern, split the wood with a hatchet and dried it by the fireplace before carving and creating her first instrument and teaching herself how to play it. She made three more in short order but at 18 got married, and raising nine children intervened.

She didn't make another fiddle for 27 years. 'I didn't really have time,' she said. 'We made a garden and canned fruits and vegetables. I made all the clothes we wore. I gave all the shaves

Hensley with some of her instruments

and haircuts, and I did that for the neighbours too. If I wanted a fence built, I built the fence. If I wanted a tree cut, I cut the tree.'

However, in 1961 with her family fully grown and the folk music revival in full swing, she began making fiddles again. It also led to her recording the LP Old Time Fiddle Times with members of her family, touring the country playing at festivals and appearing on TV shows

from The Beverly Hillbillies to CBS Evening News, although she was unable to see them as there was no reception in her Ozarks home.

She went on to make 73 fiddles, all numbered chronologically and prized for their craftsmanship and unique sound. Several are now in museums but her favourite, which she kept for personal use and played for nine decades, was No 4, which she had built in 1934.

Each fiddle took about 250 hours to make, built on her kitchen table using pocket knives and hand saws and planes with no machinery other than a drill press. By the time she had finished whittling an instrument, a five-gallon bucket on the floor had been filled to the brim with shavings.

The wood she cut herself from a nearby forest. 'Someone asked me what my secret was of putting the tone into a fiddle,' she said. 'The tone just comes with the wood as best as I can figure — buckeye, sassafras, pine, spruce, basswood, myrtle, cherry, curly maple, soft maple, bird's eye maple, quilted maple, flamed maple, and just plain hard maple. I've used them all.' Failing eyesight eventually caused her to stop making the fiddles but she continued to play and sing and appeared at

the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville in 2018 at the age of 101.

She was born Violet Brumley in Mount Ida, Arkansas, in 1916, the same year as the violinist and composer Yehudi Menuhin. Her father, George Washington Brumley, and mother, Nora, were sharecroppers and both stood just 3ft 3in tall. 'Dad use to say they could put a board across their heads and put a bucket of water on it and they could walk without spills it,' she told David Ramsey, who interviewed her for Amtrak's magazine in her 100th year.

She grew up on a farm in western Arkansas where her father supplemented his income by making fiddles. 'He'd sell one for a dollar or trade one for a milk cow,' she recalled. 'He traded one for a shotgun and one for a farm wagon.' Burtering meant the Depression barely affected them. 'My dad didn't have no money in the bank, so the bank closures didn't hit us. We didn't have anything to do with no banks.'

In 1935 she married Adren Hensley, borrowing the three dollars for the marriage licence. She wore a yellow and green striped dress she had made herself and he wore his overalls and work shirt. 'Our honeymoon began that afternoon by layin' by the Irish ta-

ters. The next day, we ploughed corn,' she remembered.

Giving birth, she was never in labour for long 'because I was in such good shape and had muscles like an ox,' she said. 'I could put my right hand behind Adren's knees and my left hand on his chest and flip him over my shoulder.'

When she took up the fiddle she claimed she heard the music in her head and intuitively transferred it to her instrument. 'If I can't play it in my head, I can't put it on the fiddle,' she said. In total she made three albums which also featured her daughters Lewonna Nelson and Sandra Flagg, son Calvin Hensley and son-in-law Tim Nelson who replaced Adren in the family band after his death in 1997.

'I've been a barber, a blacksmith, a luthier, a farmer and a logger — cut timber and skidded the logs out of the woods with a mule,' she said when she published her memoir Whittler and Fiddles My Own Way: The Violet Hensley Story in 2014. 'But my life would be pretty dull without music.'

Violet Hensley, fiddler and fiddle-maker extraordinaire, was born on October 21, 1916. She died on August 7, 2026, aged 109

---

53

Register

Lives remembered

Justin Hardy

The Lord Dunstall DL writes: We got to know Justin Hardy (obituary, August 12) in 2013 when he was on location at our

home, Ballywalter Park in Northern Ireland, during the filming of 37 Days. The film covered the period from the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, where our stable yard stood in for Sarajevo, and the outbreak of the First World War. Hardy was both charismatic and charming. As was his wont, on the first day of filming he wore a three-piece suit, complete with waistcoat and tie.

We offered to host a dinner party on the Saturday evening for some of the cast and crew, which was accepted with alacrity. In contrast to the sartorial elegance of the opening day of filming, Hardy arrived for dinner dressed in pyjamas. Dinner was a very convivial affair, with much wine consumed. At the end, Hardy suggested a game of Freda on our billiards table. We declined the offer.

Sir Garfield Sobers

WS Higson writes: In March 1972, at the end of a sailing holiday with friends, we arrived in Barbados look-

ing for some golf. The hotel receptionist directed us to the nearby club at Rockley where we were warmly welcomed, told it was a competition day and allocated local players as partners.

To my amusement, and to the envy of my friends, I found myself playing with Garry Sobers (obituary, July 17). He proved the most friendly, unassuming, relaxed and forgiving playing partner imaginable and, despite my negligible contribution, and to the further chagrin of my friends, we managed to win the competition entirely due to Sobers's masterly stroke play.

David Norman

John Cahill, Riba, writes: I had the privilege of leading, as architect, David Norman's construction team for White Lodge, the

Royal Ballet junior school. In order to achieve the listed building consent, David (obituary, August 10) and I constructed a "sales brochure" which we hawked around for a written endorsement before the local planning authority even heard of our intentions. It was typical of David that he procured the foreword written by the then Prince of Wales, our patron.

I remember pitching this to the Crown Estate, which held the lease, looking for endorsement to increase the footprint by 60 per cent in Metropolitan Open Land. The most senior

executive of this important landowner before David of course knew — he knew everybody received a 30-minute pitch of typical intensity and passion. It ended with no less than a demand for such an endorsement in a letter — at once. The recipient smiled, raised an eyebrow and calmly said, "Would tomorrow be all right?"

Needless to say, the letter appeared and David got his consent in (in favour by the authority. My life was very much richer for having worked with him (if not a little exhausted).

Tony Ridley

Michael Austin writes: Although I never knew Tony Ridley (obituary, August 10), his quote regarding the successful

competition of the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway—"It was a project with a champion, an excellent and intelligent client, attention to good process and decision-making, strong team spirit and sense of responsibility" — should be carved in stone and set above the board table of the Department for Transport who are ultimately responsible for the H52 fiasco.

If you would like to add a personal view or recollection to a published obituary, you can send your contribution by email to tributes@thetimes.co.uk

Reader's Press

Remembering loved ones

Ruth MacGillivray

Doctor with an interest in women's health and a love of limericks

Ruth MacGillivray, who died aged 94, appeared in The Times on Saturday June 21, 2025

Commemorate the life of a friend or relative in Readers' Lives, a service in contracted tributes

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Bible verses are provided by the Bible Society

Births

AGUTU or 30th April 2026 to Anne (née Frayling Con), and Mikel, a son, Luke James Michael, brother to Oscar

FULLER on 23rd May 2026, to James and Mous (née Sturgis), of Sevenevers House, Kent, a son, Frederick James Akunsi

RELIHAN on 5th August 2026 in Burdwick, France, to Harriet Lorne and Tim, joyfully announcing a daughter, Verity Russ.

Forthcoming Marriages

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AND MRS R. A. HAMP

The engagement is announced between William, son of Mr and Mrs Timothy Hall of Ecclesiwall, Hampshire, and Rebecca, younger daughter of Mr and Mrs Christopher Henry of Rotherwell, Surrey

MR H. M. T. FABER AND MRS C. R. RAMIREZ

The engagement is announced between Henry, son of Mr David Faber of London and Mrs Sally, Johnson of Walthenough, Wiltshire, and Carolina, oldest daughter of Mr and Mrs Samuel Ramirez of Sutton Place, New York.

Deaths

ASPINALL

Jack, passed away peacefully on 24th July 2026, aged 97. A colonel of the Royal Militiary Police, then chief candidate of Mail police, he was awarded the Queen's Police Medal for distinguished service. He will be greatly missed by his daughters Susan, Joost and Maryann and all of his family and friends. Funeral arrangements contact Reynolds Oschmeier.

DAVIS Roger O'Bryne, much loved by his family and friends, died peacefully at home after a long illness. Formerly a partner of Cooper's & Lybrand and PwC. A thanksgiving service will be held at St Andrew and St Mary Church, Langham, Norfolk, on Thursday. 9rd September at noon. Donations to Parkinsbury UK if desired, may be sent online to S.T. Sutton Funeral Directors, N823 1HW.

FARROW Dr David (D. webtower of Liz, clerk of home on West Green, East Sussex, on 9th July 2026. Much-loved father of Simon, Paul and Andrew (decr'd) and loving Grandpa to Matthew, Louis, Samuel and Douglas

FOSTER Ann Denise (née Gaspel) died peacefully on 10th July 2026, aged 88, after a long illness. Widow of John, dearest sister of Donna and Brenda, beloved mother of Amanda, Gemma and George, and stepmother to Simon. Much-loved County to Frinys, Mela, Ruby, Jack, Lisa, Marcell, Sam and Luise. Thanksgiving service to be held at St Mary's Church, Cheldeपूर्वd GDB 4SH on Tuesday 1st September at 9.30am. Donations in Ann's memory to the Alzheimer's Society.

HADOW Valerie Ann (née Browning) died peacefully on 2nd August 2026, aged 96. Beloved husband of Fay, much-loved father of Andrew (decd), Nicholas, Peter, and Christopher, and devoted grandfather. Greatly missed by all his family and friends. Private family orientation. Memorial service to be arranged. Donations, if desired, to St Christopher's.

Court Circular

St James's Palace

13th August, 2026

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh today attended the European Athletics Championships at Alexander Stadium, Walsall Road, Birmingham.

HAYLOCK Dr Paul, passed away peacefully at home on 16th July, aged 79. Much-loved husband of Sherrie, loving father to Adam, Giles and Fergus. Thanksgiving service will take place later in September. Inquiries to Richard Steel & Partners, 0Y862 862333.

MACLEOD John Mathieson FIA, died peacefully in his sleep on 28th July 2026, aged 95. Beloved husband for 57 years of the late Natalie, dearest father to Helen, Nicole, and Andrew, father-in-law of Nicholas, Paul and Judith, dear grandfather to Charlotte, Louise, Thomas and Angus, and Pap to his four great-grandchildren. Funeral service on Friday 28th August at noon at St Mary's Church, Wimbledon, London SW19 7BP. Family flowers only.

TOOMEY Lt Cdr Brian Richard RN (Bert), husband and best friend of his late wife Mary, died 2nd August 2026, aged 82. Before a short illness. Much-loved father of Richard, Charles and James, grandfather and great-grandfather. Funeral on Friday 4th September at Taunton's Constricuity. No flowers please. Constricuity related to ARC Inspire Taunton. Details of funeral and reception available from S. White & Son Funeral Directors, Taunton, 0Y8823 272183.

WARRILLON Victoria (Kate) Mary (née Turner) died peacefully on 8th July 2026, aged 81. Dearly loved wife to Malcolm, wonderful mother to Jeremy, Tim and Nick, and beloved grandmother to her glorious grandmother. Funeral to be held at St Mary's, Barnet, on 3rd September at 1.30pm.

WINNING Robert Anthony passed away peacefully on 8th August 2026, aged 82. Beloved husband of Fay, much-loved father of Andrew (decd), Nicholas, Peter, and Christopher, and devoted grandfather. Greatly missed by all his family and friends. Private family orientation. Memorial service to be arranged. Donations, if desired, to St Christopher's.

In Memoriam - Private

ANA ISABEL CASTRO

Remembering Aza 2023.

Always in my heart and soul. Eric.

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The do of the above named are requested to apply to the Treasury Solicitor (BVI), HMRC, Croydon Regional Centre, 1 Ruskin Square, London, L302 2HP, United Kingdom or at www.gnu.lawformersonline. Selling and Marketing of Treasury Solicitor may take steps to administer the estate.

BM

Government

and Government

CR-2026-005002

IN THE HIGH COURT

OF JUSTICE BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS OF ENGLAND AND WALES COMPANIES COURT (Ch D) IN THE MATTER OF OCTOPUS APOLLO VCT PLC AND IN THE MATTER

THE COMPANIES ACT 2006 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Claim Form was on the 31 July 2026 issued in HIS Majesty's High Court of Justice seeking the confirmation of the cancellation of the share premium account of the above named Company. AND NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that the said Claim Form is directed to be heard before the insolvency and Companies Court Judge at the Royal Courts of Justice, The Roth Building, 7 Roth Building, Fetter Lane, London EC4A 1NL on Tuesday 25 August 2026 at 10.30am

Any Creditor or Shareholder of the said Company desiring to oppose the making of an Order for the confirmation of the said cancellation of share premium account should appear at the time of the hearing in person or by Counsel for that purpose. A copy of the said Claim Form will be furnished to any such person requiring the same by the undermentioned Solicitors on payment of the regulated charge for the same.

DATED this 14th day of August 2026

Howard Kennedy LLP

No. 1, London Bridge

London SE1 9SG

BUT 3957

Tel: 020 7755 6000

Fax: 020 3650 6847

Solicitors for the above-named Company

CR-2026-003931

IN THE HIGH COURT

OF

JUSTICE

BUSINESS AND PROPERTY

COURTS

OF

ENGLAND AND WALES

COMPANIES COURT (Ch D)

IN THE MATTER

OF

TRIPLE PORT VENTURE

VCT PLC

AND

IN THE MATTER

OF

THE COMPANIES ACT 2006

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Claim Form was on the 3 August 2026 issued in HIS Majesty's High Court of Justice seeking the confirmation of the cancellation of the share premium account of the above named Company. AND NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that the said Claim Form is directed to be heard before the insolvency and Companies Court Judge at the Royal Courts of Justice, The Roth Building, 7 Roth Building, Fetter Lane, London EC4A 1NL on Tuesday 25 August 2026 at 10.30am

Howard Kennedy LLP

No. 1, London Bridge

London SE1 9SG

BUT 3957

Tel: 020 7755 6000

Fax: 020 3650 6847

---

54

A-level results

KEY

M Mixed = B Boys - A Girls

Camp Campodocciara = Set Sales/Live

Ind Independent = BC Roman Catholic

	Pupils	Exam entries	% A*	% A*,A,B
Queen Elizabeth's School, Garner, G, Sol, State	179	392	42	97.0
South Hampshire High School, Camden, G, Sol, Ind	63	214	47.7	97.2
London Acad of Excellence, Newbury, M, Camp, State	205	764	38	95.4
Guildford High School, Surrey, G, Sol, Ind	103	343	51.8	95.3
Albert's School, Southwark, M, Sol, Ind	135	567	36.3	95.2
Winchester High School GEFE Sol, State	94	290	32.1	95.2
Imperial College London Mathematics School, Garner, M, Camp, State	68	205	44.9	95.1
University College School, Camden, M, Camp, Ind	172	540	37	94.0
Kings College London Maths School, Lambeth, M, Camp, State	77	231	71.9	94.0
Epsom College, Surrey, M, Camp, Ind	214	697	30.6	94.7
Lake Eleanor Heller School, Richmond upon Thames, G, Camp, Ind	98	325	39	93.6
St Edward's (St Gadsher's Grammar School, Bromley, G, Sol, State)	203	761	37.1	94.2
William's School, Sutton, B, Sol, State	186	659	43.9	94.1
St Matthew Halls Catholic Primary School, Hampshire, M, Camp, State	45	219	26.9	94.1
City of London School, City of London, G, Camp, Ind	159	521	40.9	94
Petron's High School GEFE, Westchester, G, Sol, Ind	69	219	31.9	93.9
Patri's Grammar School, Gloucestershire, M, Sol, State	212	671	42.9	93.9
Montreal Eastern School, Hertfordshire, B, Sol, Ind	146	492	46.4	93.5
Catfish School, Greenwich, M, Sol, Ind	108	291	24.2	93.3
James Albert Girls' School, Southwark, G, Camp, Ind	107	346	37.9	93.1
St Eustatius's College, Lowndes, M, Sol, Ind	94	292	20.1	92.5
Oakland High School, Croydon, G, Camp, Ind	43	232	22.7	92.4
Barnwell's School Camp, State	121	394	34.3	92.4
TPB School, Kingsboroughs, Blarens, B, Sol, State	166	490	36.7	91.9
King Edward III High School for Girls, Birmingham, G, Sol, Ind	91	290	37.6	91.3
King Edward III Grammar School, Dover, M, Sol, State	191	605	33.5	91
Exeter Mathematics School, Dover, M, Sol, State	62	207	51.7	90.8
Columbian School, Surrey, M, Sol, Ind	156	491	33.8	90.6
St William's Preform School, Surrey, G, Sol, Ind	46	250	22.8	90.5
The TPRs GEFE School, Kingsboroughs, Thames, G, Sol, State	183	509	36.2	90.5
Servon Maths School, Surrey, M, Camp	83	264	37.7	90.1
Redbury Hill & Ealing High School GEFE Sol, State	79	256	22.5	89.8
Eltham College, Bromley, M, Sol, Ind	107	342	30.1	89.8
Waltham-on-Sea City Grammar School, Sutton, B, Sol, State	103	435	37	89.8
St Thomas Blyth School, Gloucestershire, B, Sol, State	225	700	21.3	89.4
Oxford College, Southwark, M, Camp, Ind	256	700	30.1	89.4
Some Alice Green's School, Hertfordshire, M, Camp, State	238	769	34.3	89.2
Rockford School, Reading, B, Sol, State	179	602	38	88.9
WALLET School, Croydon, G, Camp, Ind	209	667	20.9	88.3
Walsall College, Northbridge, M, Camp, State	122	369	20.7	88.2
The National Mathematics & Science College, Coventry, M, Sol, Ind	63	251	43	88
Walthall Grammar School, Blyth, Hertfordshire, B, Camp, State	209	706	22.5	87.9
King Edward IV Camp Hill School for Boys, Birmingham, B, Sol, State	166	549	34.2	87.6
King Edward IV School, Bath & North East Somerset, M, Camp, Ind	135	439	24.3	87.6
The St Thomas Bnr Epsom College, Southwark, G, Camp, State	146	390	24.3	87.2
Colston Grammar School, Dover, M, Sol, State	142	544	31.2	87.1
King Edward IV School, Warwickshire, B, Sol, State	207	674	27.3	87.1
Oxford High School GEFE, Oxfordshire, G, Camp, Ind	63	205	40.5	86.8
Cardinal School, Bournemouth, Christchurch & Pears, M, Sol, Ind	146	454	24.9	86.6
King Edward IV Camp Hill School for Girls, Birmingham, G, Sol, State	174	541	23.5	86.5
Howard's School GEFE Sol, State	81	250	26.4	86.4
London Grammar School, Trafford, G, Sol, State	142	433	21.7	86.4
The Cotsman School, Oxford, M, Sol, State	199	609	26.7	86
Dr Chalkovir's Grammar School, Buckinghamshire, B, Sol, State	251	763	26.6	85.8
The Judd School, Kent, B, Sol, State	271	659	25.2	85.4
Allonshire Grammar School for Boys, Stafford, B, Sol, State	105	605	30.8	85.2
West London Univ School, Hammersmith & Fulham, M, Camp, State	133	469	26.7	84.9
Bramley High School, Bromley, G, Camp, Ind	94	340	30.8	84.4
Waltham College, Surrey, M, Camp, Ind	133	424	22.2	83.8
Oxfordshire County High School for Girls, Essex, G, Sol, State	184	652	21.3	83.7
Almond School, Sheffield, M, Camp, State	66	208	24.3	83.7
King Edward III Plan Maps School, Birmingham, M, Sol, State	207	757	28	83.1
Woodhaven Green Acad, Hackney, M, Camp, State	137	564	24.3	83
Oxford High School, M, M, Sol	121	376	26.2	83
Overseas Grammar School, Buckinghamshire, M, Sol, State	167	675	29.7	82.9
University of Liverpool Mathematics School, Liverpool, M, Camp, State	54	266	29.5	82.5
The Royal Grammar School, Buckinghamshire, B, Sol, State	204	693	30.8	82.2
Scotswold Island GEFE High School, Blackburnville Danvers, G, Camp, State	79	230	34.7	82.1
New Haven Street School, Newbury, S, Sol, State	71	453	30.7	81.4
Leeds Mathematics School, Leeds, M, Camp	97	326	20.8	81.6
Highland Grammar School, Kent, B, Sol, State	58	300	16.4	81.5
Northampton High School, West Northamptonshire, G, Camp, Ind	31	96	9.4	81.2
The Royal School Grammar, Kent, M, Sol, Ind	207	665	21.3	81.2
Sheffield High School, Sheffield, G, Camp, Ind	73	320	27.3	80.9
The Royal School, Cheshire District of London, M, Sol, Ind	126	507	26.9	80.4
Bklynp Vessels Grammar School, Birmingham, B, Sol, State	242	755	24.1	80.5

Free thinking

is our key, says the top Times head

Georgia Lambert,

Georgia Middlemiss

Queen Elizabeth's School in north London is celebrating a stellar set of A-level results. With 62 per cent of grades at A and 98 per cent at A-A grades, the selective state boys' grammar school has come first on the Times results day league table.

The headmaster, Neil Enright, said that he was “absolutely thrilled”, attributing the results to “the culmination of seven years of free-thinking scholarship”.

The school has consistently ranked among the country's strongest A-level performers, recording more than 95 per cent A*-A grades for the past 21 years.

But this year marks a striking leap in the proportion of A* grades among its pupils, rising from 51 per cent last year to 62 per cent.

Enright said the results reflected the school's determination to tailor each boy's education to his own interests. "There isn't, and there shouldn't be, a typical QE boy," he said.

Medicine, economics and PPE (philosophy, politics and economics) remain the most popular university choices, but the breadth of ambition stands out. One pupil is taking up an

art foundation course after securing four A*, while two others will combine their studies at Cambridge with choral scholarships.

“It was lovely and so rewarding to see their happy faces — literally jumping for joy,” said Enright, praising the pupils’ “phenomenal hard work” and the school’s “brilliant colleagues”.

He puts the results down to an educational philosophy that promotes “Bair and higher-order thinking” where teachers and students focus on class environments that encourage discussion, debate and the challenging of viewpoints.

This year, 40 students from QE boys will take up places at Oxford and Cambridge, and 95 per cent of confirmed offers among students are for Russell Group universities.

The school also puts considerable emphasis on life beyond the classroom. Enright points to 115 societies running each week, designed to give pupils the “rounded and grounded experience that they need”. The school’s choir alone has 160 members.

QE is now also preparing to extend its model overseas. Working with Global Education (GEDU), the school plans to open two branches in India and one in the United Arab Emirates.

	Pupils	Exam entries	% A*	% A*,A,B
Oxford School, Hampshire, M, Camp, State	160	530	25.2	86.4
Colston Grammar School, Lincolnshire, M, Sol, State	78	220	10.9	79.7
Lancaster University School of Mathematics, Lancashire, M, Camp, State	46	247	22.1	79.6
St Mary's Grammar School, M	131	428	31.9	79.4
Saint Andrews College, Trafford, B, Sol, State	134	438	31.6	79.2
St Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School, Medway, B, Sol, State	204	603	36.1	79.1
Cambridge Halls Girls' Grammar School, Kent, C, Sol, State	135	407	25.4	78.7
Christchurch & Bishop Grammar School, Brodley, M, Sol, State	290	903	33.1	78.6
State School, Cheshire District, M, Camp, Ind	134	438	22.3	78.4
The Lion School, Cambridgeshire, M, Sol, Ind	186	736	26.4	78.3

Maths whizz and

long Covid teen are A-level stars

Case studies

Dominic Pugaciauskas

Dominic Pugaciauskas, right, could “count before he could speak” and has achieved an A* in A-level maths. The 12-year-

old pupil at Solihull School completed the A-level in just a year, scoring 100 per cent in one of his papers.

Nola Smith

A teenager who was forced to abandon mainstream

	Pupils	Exam entries	% A*	% A*,A,B
Streud High School, Gloucestershire, G, Sol, State	161	491	37.3	79.2
Blodyn's Stratford College, Northampton, M, Camp, Ind	166	354	37.8	78
Buffalo Royal Acad, Buffalo	195	598	25.6	77.9
Lancaster Royal Grammar School, Lancashire, M, Sol, State	204	645	30	77.6
Woodbridge School, Suffolk, M, Camp, Ind	71	317	32.9	77.4
The King's School in Macclesfield, Cheshire East, M, Camp, Ind	181	305	35.7	77
Southend High School for Girls, Southend-on-Sea, G, Sol, State	147	468	35	76.9
Eastbridge Academy, M, M, Sol	154	438	36.2	76.7
The Stoward School, Kent, B, Sol, State	175	569	39.2	76.3
Norwich High School for Girls GEFE, Norfolk, G, Sol, Ind	82	308	35.4	76.1

This table shows A-level results submitted by schools and colleges to The Times. Where schools have identical scores the table ranks them according to two decimal places. Table compiled by Nicole Woolcock, Georgia Lambert, Mary Dawson, Jason Manning, Georgia Middlemiss and George Willoughby.

Results by subject

All UK candidates	Number	A* %	A %	B %	C %	D %	E %	U %
All subjects
Female	408,643	9.1	28	94.9	79.0	92.5	97.9	100
Male	407,782	20.2	29.9	94.5	76.0	90.5	97.1	100
Accounting
Female	627	1.7	12.3	94.6	93.3	88.0	91.6	100
Male	1,993	5.3	12.2	94.6	61.6	82.7	94.8	100
Against History
Female	469	2.6	19.1	95.9	82.2	95.3	98.3	100
Male	917	1.5	10.8	96.9	81.4	94	98.5	100
Art & Design subjects
Female	20,149	12.9	57.4	78.6	90.6	97.7	99.7	100
Male	10,491	13.2	20.2	98.5	83.0	95.1	99.2	100
Biblical History
Female	91	43.1	60.4	92.2	96.3	100	100	100
Male	22	45.5	63.6	86.4	90.9	100	100	100
Biology
Female	40,058	9.2	27.8	91.4	72.6	88.1	96.3	100
Male	25,075	9.4	27.8	98.7	71.7	87.3	96.1	100
Built Environment
Female	1	0	0	26.4	51.4	100	100	100
Male	14	0	0	7.1	20.6	71.4	100	100
Business Studies
Female	19,031	5.1	10.5	98.2	77.3	90.2	97.9	100
Male	27,946	6.6	24.7	96.4	76.7	90.5	99	100
Chemistry
Female	37,121	0	30.2	94.4	73.6	87.5	96	100
Male	20,418	13.3	39.1	98.4	75.9	88	96	100

All UK candidates	Number	A* %	A %	B %	C %	D %	E %	U %
Classical Civilisation
Female	2,527	5.3	20.3	64.1	56	94.4	99.2	100
Male	1,181	4	21.2	53.6	82.2	94.7	99	100
Classical Greek
Female	77	45.1	80.5	98.9	97.4	98.7	98.7	100
Male	91	42.9	62.6	96.2	100	100	100	100
Composting
Female	1,792	7.2	20.0	52.1	73.1	88	96.6	100
Male	16,227	6	24.7	48.1	70.1	86.9	95.7	100
Design and Technology
Female	1,036	0	24.4	54.6	80.2	93.9	98.5	100
Male	7,290	4.9	16.9	92.8	73.2	89.2	97.9	100
Digital Technology
Female	316	11.7	30.7	59.9	84.0	95.3	98.7	100
Male	726	18.6	25.1	91	79.7	91.7	97.4	100
Drama
Female	5,592	6.5	24.3	64.9	90.1	98.5	99.9	100
Male	1,595	3.8	21.4	58.6	86.4	97.2	99.6	100
Economics
Female	16,188	6.7	32.5	63.3	83.4	94.1	98.3	100
Male	32,349	7.3	29.2	61.1	82.9	93.8	98.1	100
Electronics
Female	40	8.3	23.5	61.7	63	88	96.7	100
Male	420	24.9	36.1	52.4	79.7	86.8	95.3	100
English Language
Female	9,713	2.7	13.1	96.2	80.1	96.1	99.4	100
Male	3,479	2	10.2	38.8	75.2	94.5	99.1	100

All UK candidates	Number	A* %	A %	B %	C %	D %	E %	U %
English Language & Literature
Female	4,640	3.0	35.3	67.7	82.1	96.5	99.4	100
Male	1,734	3.1	23.3	81.6	75.7	94.0	99	100
English Literature
Female	28,692	9.1	24.9	57.6	83.4	94.2	99.3	100
Male	7,064	10.1	24.9	54.9	85.8	99	99	100
Environmental Science
Female	1,239	5.3	17.3	42.2	67.6	84.4	94.3	100
Male	1,302	3.2	12.3	37	63	84.3	95.2	100
Film Studies
Female	4,554	3.4	18.4	64.7	82.3	90.3	99.3	100
Male	1,227	1.7	12.6	54.9	86.7	97.3	99.3	100
Road Preparation & Nutrition
Female	477	7.3	35.2	69.6	91	92.5	99.6	100
Male	94	6.4	25.1	93.5	75	93.7	96.6	100
French
Female	4,735	11.2	30.6	67	85.8	95.4	98.8	100
Male	2,260	11.7	40	68.2	87.3	95.9	99	100
Geography
Female	16,625	8.4	31.3	62.0	89.3	96.6	99.9	100
Male	18,509	3.9	29.2	48.2	76.9	92.7	98.2	100
Geology
Female	338	30	26.7	67.6	75.2	87.9	99.4	100
Male	627	9.4	26.5	50.7	73.2	92.7	97.3	100
German
Female	1,322	15.4	48.5	70.6	88.6	96.7	99.3	100
Male	931	16.4	47.7	74.1	89.2	97.3	99.5	100

---

55

A-level results

EUROMOTIVELI

schooling after developing long Covid has secured a place at University College London, having achieved an A* and two A grades in her A-levels.

Nola Smith, 19, was diagnosed with long Covid about five years ago and became bed-bound, suffering from brain fog, chronic fatigue and other health problems. She was placed on the special educational needs and disabilities register.

Unable to continue her GCSEs in mainstream education, Smith turned to online learning.

With limited subject choices on offer, she taught herself four GCSEs, including Spanish,

which she learnt from BBC Bitesize, and 'fast-tracked' herself in four months.

'When I was diagnosed with long Covid I ended up [distance learning] because I was not well enough to go to a normal school,' she said.

'By the time I was ready to do my A-levels, it was too late to rejoin a mainstream school so I had to go to King's InterHigh. It's been a good way of being able to be flexible and to manage my symptoms and do A-levels.'

Smith joined King's InterHigh, an online school for pupils aged 7 to 18, in 2024, where its flexible model enabled her to continue her

education while managing her health. Her predicted A-level grades were BBB, but she went on to achieve an A* in biology and A grades in chemistry and Spanish. She will begin studying Spanish and history of art at University College London in September.

The Earl of Wessex

The King's nephew, the Earl of Wessex, will attend the Royal Agricultural University after achieving the grades needed for his chosen course. James,

Queen Elizabeth's School boys celebrate. Below, Dominic Pugaciuskas, 12, got an A*

18, will study for a rural land and property management degree at the university in Cirencester.

James's grades and the subjects he studied at the private Radley College in Oxfordshire have not been disclosed.

'The early degree course is described on the university's website as teaching 'the fundamentals of rural professional practice as well as planning and development, law, valuation, building construction and management'.

His sister, Lady Louise Windsor, was watched by their parents, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, when she graduated from the University of St Andrews this year with a degree in English and international relations.

Michaela Community School

Katharine Birkulasingh, who describes herself as Britain's strictest headmistress, has praised pupils at Michaela Community School in Wembley after another strong set of exam results. Serving a disadvantaged community, the school said its pupils achieved an average of AAA across all subjects, with one in three exams awarded an A grade, and nearly 70 per cent of all grades being A or A.

The school, which boasts consistently good results, said on its website: 'We are incredibly proud of our students.'

It added: 'These results reflect their hard work, discipline, and dedication. At Michaela, we believe every child can achieve excellence, whatever their background, and today's results prove it.'

	Pupils	Exam entries	% A*	% A*,A,B
Westcliff High School for Boys: Asad, Scarbend-on-Sea, B, Sel, State	203	160	10	75.0
Newcastle High School for Girls, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, G, Comp, Ind	52	157	10.2	75.0
Hygrane-on-High School for Girls, Barnet, G, Comp, State	67	135	22.7	75.7
Queen Mary's Grammar School, Walsall, B, Sel, State	226	723	14.6	75.6
John Hampton Grammar School, Buckinghamshire, B, Sel, State	173	543	10	74.0
Parnsham's School, Hertfordshire, M, Comp, State	194	686	10	74.6
St George's School, Hertfordshire, M, Comp, State	294	837	25.6	73.6
Barclingham Girls' High School, Nottingham, G, Sel, Ind	72	229	16.9	73.1
Rothwaite' High School, Bristol, G, Sel, Ind	72	227	25.2	73
Aylesbury High School, Buckinghamshire, G, Sel, State	216	480	12.2	72.0

	Pupils	Exam entries	% A*	% A*,A,B
Adamsle-Keal, Barnet, M, Comp, State	159	736	12	72.7
The King's School, Lincolnshire, B, Sel, State	160	511	17.4	72.8
Thirendown High School, Shropshire, M, Sel, Ind	74	192	14.7	72.5
Berham Sixth Horn Centre, County Durham, M, Comp, State	715	1,746	18.6	72.2
Berham Johnston Gone School, County Durham, M, Comp, State	184	495	13.6	71.5
St Dominic's Sixth Horn College, Harrow, M, Comp, State	746	2,292	11.6	71.4
Windsor's School, Cumblydgafane, M, Comp, Ind	96	335	12.9	71.3
The Holt School, Nottingham, G, Comp, State	135	485	14	71.3
Leinster's Girls' Grammar School, Lancashire, G, Sel, State	179	396	16.2	70.0
Lowrence Steel' School, Worcestershire, B, Sel, State	226	681	12.5	70.6

All UK candidates	Number	A*	A	B	C	D	E	U
Health & Social Care
Female	1,101	5.0	17.0	54.7	39.2	95.2	99.6	100
Male	964	5.3	4.7	31.2	79.5	95.1	99.5	100
Health & Social Care (Deaths Award)
Female	312	5.2	5.9	43.3	87.9	98	99.8	100
Male	49	0	4.5	31.0	82.4	90.9	100	100
History
Female	25,661	6.4	26.4	63.5	86.9	95.9	99.1	100
Male	21,299	5.2	22.7	56.2	83.2	95.5	99	100
Stich
Female	260	8.0	53.0	62.1	83.0	97.1	98.0	100
Male	135	18.4	54.1	50.7	95.6	95.3	99.1	100
Labor
Female	495	22.9	61.5	60.1	90	93.6	97.2	100
Male	361	29.6	60.4	35.6	92.2	95.0	98.9	100
Law
Female	10,737	5.5	10.7	42.2	66.7	86.4	96.5	100
Male	1,199	5.6	13.0	75.0	61.4	83.7	95.6	100
Life & Health Science (Deaths Award)
Female	113	3	11.2	54.5	87.9	100	100	100
Male	92	6.5	10.9	45.7	82.6	95.7	99.7	100
Life & Health Science (Stitch Award)
Female	409	2.5	10.3	34.5	65.7	86.3	97.8	100
Male	235	0.6	6	11.1	67.7	90.2	97.9	100
Mathematics
Female	42,761	15	40.1	61.2	76.2	90.1	96.7	100
Male	32,619	19.4	43.0	62.6	76.2	89.4	96.3	100

All UK candidates	Number	A*	A	B	C	D	E	U
Mathematics (Author)
Female	5,504	26.1	57.2	88.3	93.6	95.6	98.1	100
Male	10,402	29.2	54.4	86.6	93.0	95.9	98.3	100
Media Studies
Female	9,304	25	17.4	54.5	55.2	97	99.5	100
Male	5,605	1	0.2	35.9	72.2	93.0	99.1	100
Music
Female	2,220	11	23	49.7	76.9	92.0	98.1	100
Male	2,094	7.7	26.9	54.9	73.7	93.2	98.9	100
Other Modern Languages
Female	4,867	30.5	64.4	87.9	93.3	96.2	99.3	100
Male	2,077	34.5	64.4	86	94.0	97.6	98.7	100
Performing / Expressions
Female	1,135	7.9	27.1	59	55.2	96.6	99.4	100
Male	397	6.4	14.3	54.1	59.4	96.2	100	100
Philosophy
Female	1,975	6.6	28.2	48.5	73.0	86	96.4	100
Male	1,373	6.7	27.1	51.1	76.0	90.7	97.5	100
Physical Education
Female	1,424	4	27.7	56.7	79.1	93.9	98.2	100
Male	7,623	33	14.0	48.3	68.2	87.6	96.9	100
Physics
Female	10,054	30.5	38.9	55.2	72.9	86.6	99.0	100
Male	34,946	12.2	12	54.7	73.2	87	98.8	100
Political Studies
Female	12,440	1.1	28.4	59.9	81.9	93	97.0	100
Male	12,164	7.9	28.4	58.6	82.5	93.0	98	100

	Pupils	Exam entries	% A*	% A*,A,B
The Geysers' Company & Culture School, Haverley, W, Comp, State	256	778	9.5	70.1
Fairford School, York, M, Comp, State	190	579	12.4	70.3
Grey Court School, Richmond upon Thames, W, Comp, State	165	562	10.9	70.1
The Kingston Acad. Kingston upon Thames, W, Comp, State	105	334	13.2	69.0
The Alderham Foundation, Hertfordshire, W, Comp, Ind	95	279	13.6	69.5
Rover-Governor School, North Yorkshire, W, Sel, State	164	512	10.2	69.5
Andersand (Cavallion) Girls' School, Oxfordshire, G, Sel, State	145	431	16.5	69.4
Award House School, Harrow, M, Comp, State	140	436	13.1	69.3
Greenford High School, Glang, M, Comp, State	256	532	9.0	69.2
Highworth Grammar School, Kent, G, Sel, State	254	735	8.7	68.4
Archbishop-Holport's School, York, M, Comp, State	125	311	10.6	68.2
Cathedral Memorial College, Lincolnshire, M, Comp, State	1,000	4,586	16.1	67.3
Maidstone Grammar School, Kent, B, Sel, State	179	500	11.6	66.5
Westcliff Hotel Grammar School, Kent, G, Sel, State	200	739	11.5	66.3
St (Glancks)' College, Hertfordshire, M, Comp, Ind	73	211	10.9	65.9
Bridgton School, Sheffield, M, Sel, Ind	128	299	11.1	65.7
Harvard of Effingham School, Surrey, M, Comp, State	150	424	12.7	65.6
Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Lincolnshire, M, Sel, State	87	260	10.4	65.3
The Stitch Horn College Scarborough, Hampshire, M, Comp, State	1,002	4,980	11.6	65.2
The Gateswell Acad. Gideonstorphine, M, Comp, State	199	402	12.9	65.1
Waleschamplow Girls' High School, Waleschamplow, G, Sel, State	154	479	6.6	64.9
High Storm School, Sheffield, M, Comp, State	202	639	11.0	64.7
The Queen Elizabeth's High School, Lincolnshire, M, Sel, State	99	300	9.7	64.7
The Cardinal Missman Cathedr. School, Ealing, M, Comp, State	205	604	6.0	64.6
Han (Birth School, Lowlis, M, Comp, State	202	500	9.3	64.6
Waltham Grammar School for Girls, Hertfordshire, G, Comp, State	177	545	11.1	64.5
South Hill's Grammar School, Wiltshire, G, Sel, State	215	799	11.9	64.5
Wimbledon College, Weston, B, Comp, State	115	317	6.6	64.4
Whitboy Bay High School, North Teeswale, M, Comp, State	269	732	7.2	64.2
Wakefield Girls' High School, Wakefield, G, Sel, Ind	48	144	12.5	62.9
Winstonley College, Wilton, M, Comp, State	973	2,500	10.1	62.0
Wadnesbury School, Wiltshire, M, Comp, State	129	425	9	62.6
Groeness School, Wandsworth, M, Comp, State	442	1,243	10.6	62.6
The Clerewell School, Oxfordshire, M, Comp, State	306	1,110	14	62.5
The Highfield School, Solih from Gretz, Kingsheaps in Thames, M, Comp, State	145	330	10.1	62.4
Valfines Watkins County High School, Ehsan, W, Comp, State	260	596	10.9	62.3
Buckermouth School for Girls, Buckermouth, Christchurch & Pauls, G, Sel, State	190	600	11	61.0
Wiley Grammar School, Bradford, M, Comp, State	312	600	12.4	61.7
King's Acad. Gay House, Hampshire, M, Comp, State	159	450	7.9	61.5
Knowlett School, Carlsley, M, Comp, State	127	394	9.2	60.9
Winn Acad. Findlay, Earnest, M, Comp, State	146	462	8.4	60.2
St Ignatius College, Enfield, B, Comp, State	87	260	8.6	59.3
Wheyday Park School, Oxfordshire, M, Comp, State	117	316	8.5	59.2
Hannamore High School for Boys, Garret, B, Comp, State	68	200	8.9	59.0
Acad. Edward St. Roots School, Birmingham, B, Sel, State	149	440	7.9	57.7
Maidstone Grammar School for Girls, Kent, G, Sel, State	169	509	7.1	57.6
Trentley High School, Sofford, M, Comp, State	115	275	3.3	56.1
Royal Acad. Holthaus, Hounslow, M, Comp, State	74	294	5.2	55.2
Highwest School, Enfield, M, Comp, State	100	329	6.4	55
Catboy George Grammar School, Wired, B, Sel, State	176	545	11	54
Shipwood School Acad. Hampshire, M, Comp, State	167	350	9.2	53.9
King David High School, Liverpool, M, Comp, State	67	212	5.2	53.0
The Brookmead School, Hertfordshire, M, Comp, State	132	394	6.6	53.3
Yampay-Styer Grammar School, Warley, B, Sel, State	106	322	6.2	52.0
Yefberington School, Cheshire East, M, Comp, State	134	330	8.2	52.7
Whitburn-Caffl Acad. South Teeswale, M, Comp, State	82	231	5.2	52.4
Burkwell School, North Somerset, M, Comp, State	137	377	9.3	52.3
The Graybar School, Epsom, M, Comp, State	179	502	8.2	52.2
Harwood Acad. Quaternary, North Yorkshire, M, Comp, State	79	259	6.7	52.2
Bridkin-Kendall School, Carlsley, M, Comp, State	67	200	7.2	50.5
Bridgle Grammar School, Bradford, M, Comp, State	125	326	9.2	50.3
The Milestar School, Nottinghamshire, M, Comp, State	162	475	7.2	48.6
The Rhope Acad. Waterfordshire, Waleschamplow, M, Comp, State	92	245	8.7	46.2
Netherthorpe School, Oxfordshire, M, Comp, State	73	200	3.4	45.0
The Spindler School, Ecsow, M, Comp, State	76	206	3.0	45.7
St (Bodry's Catholic College, Bristol), M, Comp, State	136	400	4.0	45.4
Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Derbyshire, M, Comp, State	111	361	4.9	44.9
Churchall Green School, Wandsworth, M, Comp, State	131	330	9.1	44.0
Jeff's Johnson, Lancashire, M, Sel, Ind	49	137	11.9	44.1
Wendlewood High School, Wired, G, Comp, State	101	220	3.6	43.6
Luke's Geysers' School, Hammersmith & Fairburn, G, Comp, State	102	300	10.9	43.7
Spalding High School, Lincolnshire, G, Sel, State	125	425	3.3	39.0
Acad. Edward St. College, Burntley, Radley, M, Comp, State	1,273	5,161	7	36.7
Hatton-Caffl Grammar School, Lancashire, B, Comp, State	66	1,452	0.5	5.3

All UK candidates	Number	A*	A	B	C	D	E	U
Prachology
Female	99,846	7	20.6	51.7	76.5	92.2	97.7	100
Male	29,307	2.9	12.1	35.9	63.5	84.1	95.4	100
Religious Studies
Female	21,234	6.1	25.5	57.3	82	94.0	98.6	100
Male	9,828	5.0	25.3	59.8	83.4	93.7	98.5	100
Sociology
Female	33,624	6.1	20.0	52.2	78.7	93.2	98.3	100
Male	9,900	3.4	13.0	38.9	69.3	88.0	96.7	100
Spanish
Female	9,646	10.9	35.2	66.2	85.9	95.3	99.3	100
Male	1,800	8.8	34.5	69.6	89.4	95.2	99	100
Students
Female	104	2.2	17	35.2	68.8	88.9	94.4	100
Male	324	1.1	10.0	31.3	54.4	76.5	92	100
Worlds First Language
Female	211	5.7	39.4	46.4	78.2	93.4	99.5	100
Male	91	2	11.0	31.4	60.8	88.2	100	100
Worlds Second Language
Female	124	6.7	30.6	47	75.1	94	97.5	100
Male	91	9.8	25.5	47.1	70.6	78.4	92.2	100

---

56

Weather

Today Hot, dry and sunny in the southeast but showers in the north and west. Max 34C (93F), min 7C (45F)

Around Britain

Max 34C (93F), min 7C (45F)
Max 34C (93F), min 7C (45F)

	Today 0		State min		Sun 8-7
	mostly yesterday		all this to late yesterday
Aberdeen	33	R	0.8	0.8
Alamogordo	27	R	0.8	0.8
Anderley	25	S	0.8	12.0
Anderley	25	S	0.8	0.8
Burndrydale	33	PC	0.8	0.8
Bedford	29	S	0.8	0.8
Bedford	29	PC	0.8	0.8
Birton	26	PC	0.8	0.8	7.8
Birmingham	31	S	0.8	0.8
Bournemouth	30	S	0.8	12.5
Bridlington	23	S	0.8	0.8
Bristol	26	S	0.8	12.0
Camborne	27	S	0.8	13.4
Cardiff	29	R	0.8	20.0
Edinburgh	26	R	0.8	0.8
Esthदेशwair	22	R	0.8	9.0
Glasgow	32	S	0.8	9.9
Hartford	29	S	0.8	12.5
Hertfordshire	28	S	0.8	11.7
Hertfordshire	27	S	0.8	10.8
Isle of Mias	20	PC	0.8	12.5
Isle of Wight	20	S	0.8	0.8
Jersey	33	S	0.8	13.4
Keynett	25	PC	0.8	0.8
Kirklea	25	S	0.8	0.8
Leeds	28	PC	0.8	0.8
Leeds	25	M	0.8	0.8
Loudon	27	S	0.8	9.0
Lincoln	26	S	0.8	13.0
Liverpool	27	S	0.8	0.8
London	30	S	0.8	12.5
Lonsdale	31	S	0.8	12.5
Manchester	29	S	0.8	12.1
Marysin	24	S	0.8	20.0
Milford Haven	26	S	0.8	0.8
Monmouth	26	S	0.8	0.8
Nottingham	26	S	0.8	12.0
Orkney	21	S	0.8	0.8
Oxford	31	S	0.8	0.8
Plymouth	31	S	0.8	0.8
Portland	24	PC	0.8	0.8
Scific, St Mary's	23	PC	0.8	0.8
Stansbury	26	S	0.8	12.4
Stennisbury	26	S	0.8	11.3
Stennisbury	27	S	0.8	0.8
Southend	23	S	0.8	11.5
South End	18	S	0.8	0.8
Stennisbury	20	PC	0.8	0.6
St. John's	20	S	0.8	9.7
Wilmington	23	R	0.8	12.5
Wick	23	S	0.8	0.8
Yunfitton	32	S	0.8	13.5

The world

We wonder the world's yesterday
Albacete	36	S	Madonna	20 PC
Amchicoke	32	S	Maidai	20 S
Athens	31	PC	Malaga	31 S
Auckland	31	PC	Madonna	36 S
Bahrain	29	S	Maidai	34 PC
Bangkok	32	PC	Madonna	15 S
Buenos Aires	30	PC	Malaya City	25 PC
Barcelon	32	S	Milani	34 PC
Beijing	30	S	Milani	34 S
Basel	32	S	Mandana	25 PC
Belgrade	29	S	Montreal	25 PC
Borak	30	S	Monseye	25 S
Bermuda	30	SP	Manshai	27 M
Bratislava	29	S	Mansh	26 S
Brocovsk	34	S	Ruinshi	25 S
Buckwood	28	PC	Raphae	27 S
Budapest	26	S	New Orleans	27 S
Buenos Aires	13	SP	New York	29 S
Cairo	35	S	New York	32 S
Cakorba	29	R	Nicosia	34 PC
Caulsona	14	PC	Oulu	22 S
Cape Town	27	S	Perth	35 S
Chicago	27	S	Perth	10 PC
Chattanooga	27	S	Perth	10 PC
Cecily	29	PC	Roslyniki	24 S
Dubai	34	S	Risa	21 S
Dubai	40	S	Rio de Janeiro	22 S
Dublin	28	PC	Riyadh	44 S
Euro	28	S	Rome	35 S
Thornton	30	S	San Francisco	17 PC
Frankfurt	35	S	Scotland	23 PC
Geneva	33	S	São Paulo	20 PC
Gibraltar	28	PC	Sanal	30 S
Helsinki	31	PC	Scandinavia	26 S
Hong Kong	34	S	Singapore	31 S
Honshills	34	S	St Petersburg	28 S
Isfahan	30	R	Scotland	25 S
Jerusalem	34	PC	Sydney	28 S
Johannesburg	11	S	Tel Aviv	34 PC
North Central	26	PC	Yaoofiji	30 PC
Kyiv	30	S	Tokyo	20 S
Lancashire	30	PC	Vancouver	21 PC
Las Palmas	27	PC	Yoruba	32 S
Lima	22	DU	Vienna	27 S
Lisbon	29	PC	Warsaw	22 S
Los Angeles	24	PC	Washington	20 PC
Lunex	42	S	Zurich	31 S

Five days ahead

Some cloudier days with showers rain in northern Britain but clear and warmer further south

Tomorrow

A few showers in southeastern England at first; otherwise it will be a dry and warm-up with sunny spells in Scotland, Malaysia, England, sunny spells and showers over Scotland.

Sunday

We with warm spells of sunshine over England and the south of Scotland. Used increasing across Ireland, Wales and northern Scotland to bring showers rain.

Monday

Dry with sunny spells over central and southern England. An area of cloud and rain will spread out south across Ireland and Scotland. Then into Wales and northern England salar.

Tuesday

Many dry with warm spells of sunshine in southern Britain and the south of Ireland. Rather cloudy over northern Britain and the north of Ireland with showers rain.

Wednesday

Mostly dry with sunny spells and only a few isolated showers over England, Wales and Ireland, mainly in the north and west. Scattered showers across Scotland, today at times.

The Times weather page is provided by

WeatherQuest

General situation: Mainly dry with plenty of hot spells of sunshine over England and Wales. Fresher with a few showers in Scotland and Ireland. E Ainglis, SE Eng, Channel Is, London: A dry and hot day with long spells of sunshine. Light and variable winds, perhaps moderate near the coast. Maximum 34C (93F), minimum 13C (64F). SW Eng, NW Eng, Wales, Lake District, Borders: Some warm spells of sunshine but cloud will tend to increase to

bring the risk of a few showers. Light to moderate northwesterly winds. Maximum 27C (83F), minimum 9C (49F). Cen S Eng, E Eng, Cen N Eng, Midlands, NE Eng: Dry and sunny in the morning but cloud will increase to bring the risk of an isolated shower during the afternoon. Light to moderate north or northwesterly winds. Maximum 32C (90F), minimum 12C (54F). Edinburgh and Dundee, Aberdeen: Rather cloudy with a few heavy

showers at first, then turning dry with sunny spells. Light to moderate west or northwesterly winds. Maximum 21C (70F), minimum 10C (56F). Republic of Ireland, N Ireland, IcM, SW Scotland, Cen Highland, Glasgow, Argyll, NW Scotland, Maray Fath, NE Scotland, N Isles: Some dry and sunny periods but areas of cloud will bring showers at times. Light to moderate west or northwesterly winds. Maximum 23C (73F), minimum 7C (45F).

Tides

Total predictions. Weight in metres. All times in local time

Today		HC		HC
Aberdeen	82.95	4.6	15.02	4.2
Anderworth	89.54	11.4	15.02	14.3
Bedford	—	—	11.04	5.1
Cardiff	89.84	12.3	15.22	12.9
Doncourt	87.52	5.4	20.02	5.7
Dover	—	—	14.00	7.8
Dublin	81.90	3.9	11.98	5.1
Falmouth	87.64	5.1	19.39	5.9
Greenock	81.50	3.6	14.48	3.3
Haverhill	81.24	4.2	13.41	4.2
Highland	—	—	12.18	5.4
Hull	88.80	7.9	20.41	7.4
Leith	84.52	3.9	14.41	6.7
Liverpool	—	—	13.18	9.5
London Bridge	83.40	5.3	14.65	7.1
Leecroft	11.89	2.8	23.93	2.5
Milford Haven	88.20	7.2	20.18	7.5
Monrovia	—	—	13.08	6.6
Northaven	—	—	13.16	6.9
Newspay	87.80	7.1	19.18	7.4
Winn	87.46	3.9	15.54	4.2
Peresano	84.32	5.3	14.91	5.5
Portsmouth	—	—	12.28	4.8
Shenham	—	—	13.28	6.4
Southampton	89.20	4.6	12.59	4.6
Swansea	88.19	9.8	20.35	9.9
Toys	89.22	5.8	17.94	5.6
Weymouth	89.89	2.1	21.08	2.4

Synoptic situation

Low pressure control to the east of Ireland will push a cold front slowly northwards across England, Wales and Scotland, bringing thicker cloud and some cooler temperatures in northern and western areas with the chance of a few isolated showers. Hot and dry in southeastern England ahead of the cold front. Feeling fresher over the next few days.

Highs and lows

24hrs to 5pm yesterday Warsaw: Peresano, Worcestershire, 17.7% Lisbon: Writh's, 18.0% Milford: Monmouth, Lancashire, 11.8mm Scotland: Waterloo, 13.2hrs

Sun and moon

Fri: Angewith Sun: Hues 25.30 Sun: 1015 20.25 Moon: Hues 37.52 Moon: 6455 20.58 First quarter: August 20

Hours of darkness

Aberdeen 21.02-00:05 Bedford 21.04-00:38 Birmingham 21.06-00:28 Cardiff 21.07-00:28 Dunfer 21.04-00:30 Glasgow 21.26-00:18 Liverpool 21.12-00:02 London 20.56-00:16 Manchester 21.18-00:18 Newcastle 21.12-00:11 Norwich 20.56-00:07 Peresano 21.13-00:41 Sheffield 21.06-00:14

Weather Eye

Paul Simons

If you are looking for rain in the weather forecast, it may be worth looking at what insects are up to.

The rain beetle lives up to its name, scampering around on the ground in a frenzy before rain arrives, but if the beetle takes to the air, flying and buzzing around in circles, it's a sign of fine weather on the way. And there may be good reason for the beetle's excitement before it rains because wet weather brings out the slugs that it feeds on.

Another weather forecasting insect is the ferocious-looking stag beetle, Britain's largest beetle that can reach from (3in) long. The males are armed with fearsome-looking pincers, which they use to wrestle with other males to earn the right to mate with females.

Stag beetles are also known as thunder beetles because in folklore they were said to summon up thunder and lightning with their deep droning noise as they fly around. They are often seen on warm, sultry evenings before dusk, sometimes before storms erupt.

The mating habits of insects can also give a weather forecast. In a scientific study it was found that when atmospheric pressure drops, female cucurbit beetles and army worm moths do not "call" out to males for mating, but when the pressure rises the females signal to males they are interested in mating.

Aphids have been found to possess pressure sensors that detect even a slight fall in pressure, which triggers a mass reproduction of aphids that in 48 hours results in a population explosion of the pests before their predators — facewings, ladybirds and others — can dive in for a feeding frenzy.

Ladybirds themselves also give weather forecasts. People in Powys in Wales used to hold a ladybird in the palm of their hands and if it simply fell to the ground then it was a sign of rain on the way, but if it flew up and away then fine weather was predicted, as a rhyme went: "Lady-bird, lady-bird, tell to me, what the weather is going to be; if fair, then fly in the air, if fool, then fall to the ground."

Speak directly to one of our forecasters on 09065 77 6075

8am to 5pm daily (calls are charged at £1.55 plus network extras)

WeatherQuest

weatherquest.co.uk

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57

Newbury

Thunderer

3.00: 0.6 (Pole At Dawn 4.45 Evenfall) 3.35 Dontiohabulokampulla 23 Angels Lane 4.10: 4.0 (P L/R) (10) 5.30 Lyns Lea

Galley: good to firm

Bones: 0.0 (s) (s) (s) (s) (s) (s) (s)

Sky Sports Racing

2.00 Handicap (25.757 1m 2) (S runnen)

1 (2) 3:12 BARTHURST (2.7.2) (1) Brown (1.0) 4:3 McHugh (3) 2 (2) 4:42 GREY FOX (1.7.1) (1) Covelle '9 (4) 5:3 Taylor Langley 3 (2) 4:43 DECAUGAR (1.7) (1) Oakes '4 (4) 5:3 Whitney 4 (4) 4:51 NO MILE AT EASER (2) (2) Oakes (1) Easel (1.7) 5:3 Wrigton 5 (5) 5:4 LIVING IN HOPE (4) 5:5 Harry Easel (3.4) 7 Ford (7) (1) 8:6 Pole At Dawn, 3:3 Sackley (4) 8:6 Stoney (4) 8:6 Dunlop, 2:3 Living in Hats

Thunderers' choice: We Ride At Dawn was a decisive winner at Sandman and month Danger وإبعاضه

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58

Sport European Athletics Championships

Hunt strikes gold and roars: Are you not entertained?

Matt Lawton

Chief Sports Correspondent

To go with those new gold earrings Amy Hunt now has a rather nice pair of matching medals, with the latest sprint queen of British athletics completing a quite brilliant European double here in Birmingham last night.

Hunt had revealed after her victory in the 100m on Monday how an upgrade from her two individual silvers had followed a timely purchase by her parents. Noting that she only ever wore silver;ewellery, they chose to splash out on their speedy daughter in the hope it would inspire a pursuit of more precious metal on the track.

Clearly, it has worked. Hunt delivered a performance over 200m that seemed particularly significant, elevating her beyond even the summit of another European podium. 'Are you not entertained?' she screamed to a television camera in full Maximus Decimus Meridius mode, indicating with her right hand that she had now won two of the four medals that remain her objective for the week.

While Hunt will return to the track with Dina Asher-Smith this weekend as they chase further glory in the 4x100m and the mixed 4x100m, this already felt like a passing of the baton between a 30-year-old once great champion and her 24-year-old successor.

Hunt is certainly moving into new territory after that breakthrough performance at last year's World Championships, when she took silver over the longer sprint distance. She has dipped below 11 seconds for 100m for

the first time this season and further enhanced her reputation as a major championship performer, with the time of 22.19sec all the more impressive for the fact that a track laid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games is not the fastest, most expensive surface.

As one might expect from a Cambridge graduate, Hunt ran an intelligent race. She did not panic when Asher-Smith came off the bend a fraction ahead, trusting her superior top-end pace and fitness to carry her past her compatriot as well as Ireland's Rhasidat Adeleke, who split the two Britons in second.

That there was a decent crowd to see it this time, close to Alexander Stadium's 23,000 capacity and more than double the number of spectators who came here on Monday, must have made it sweeter still.

Hunt revealed afterwards that the 200m has actually been more of a challenge this year because of an issue with low blood pressure.

'I have had a lot of health things going on this year, some really, really low blood pressure,' she told the BBC.

'The 200s have been really scary. I have been nearly fainting after a lot of my 200s this year.'

'I had to go into that one and get on the bend and just be really brave. It was an amazing race. I was thinking about my coach. He said before I went in, just imagine me in lane ten with a stopwatch and a whistle. Just keep those thighs up, girl. Just keep going.'

'The crowd was amazing. This is becoming a magical week and one I will remember for the rest of my life.'

It is not over yet, of course. 'I have got the 4x100m and mixed relay too,' she added. 'I hope you are not sick of my face.'

Sadly, a third British medal hope evaporated earlier in the evening, with

Max Burgin suffering an injury during the warm-up and withdrawing only minutes before the men's 800m final.

Burgin has so much talent but so much bad luck too, with his fragile body too often breaking down. He runs remarkably fast for an athlete who often has to temper his training to avoid injury, and missed out on Commonwealth Games glory in Glasgow last month after picking up a virus. This goes down as another episode in a long history of misfortune for the 24-year-old.

In his absence, a man called English from Ireland triumphed. Never before has a male Irish athlete won at the European Championships, but the 33-year-old doctor Mark English improved on two previous bronze medals to take gold here with a perfectly executed race, attacking with about 90 metres remaining to win in 1:45.26. With a large Irish contingent in the stands, the place erupted.

There were yet more concerns for the organisers, as well as further sources of embarrassment after the poor attendance figures of the first few days.

After securing a seventh individual European title in the men's 5,000m this week, Jakob Ingebrigtsen took a swipe at his great rival, Josh Kerr, for not turning up to these championships.

Kerr has chosen to sit out this competition after following his world record in the mile in London last month with that superb performance to take gold over the same distance at the Commonwealth Games. Ingebrigtsen is clearly unimpressed, however, accusing the Scot of 'ruining the sport'.

Speaking to the BBC, the Norwegian

Hunt, right, follows up her success in the 100m to win gold in

double Olympic champion was asked if he was disappointed not to see Kerr in Birmingham.

'Very, and I think a lot of people should be, because that is what championships are all about,' he said.

'It's not for us as athletes to choose almost where to participate. We have these championships for a reason, and that is for the best athletes to compete; that is the whole point. So I definitely think it is ruining the sport if we are not participating. We all have different

plans, but I could never see myself in that position.'

The German middle-distance runner, Smilla Kolbe, raised her concerns about social media trolls racially abusing some of her team-mates.

Kolbe, who has competed here in the women's 800m, made the point, unprompted, in a television interview after failing to progress to today's final.

'Can I just say one more thing?' she said. 'I read so many comments and I'm really grateful for all the support we're getting, but even so, I see some really

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59

Sport

BOB CUNNINGHAM | AUGUST 14 | 2026

the 200m in Birmingham. Asher-Smith, centre, had to settle for a bronze medal

harsh comments in the comment section of certain athletes.

"I'd like us to represent Germany here and, somehow, get support from everyone watching and I'd expect a bit more respect. And I'm really pleased that so many people are supporting me, but I don't want to imagine what it would be like if I wasn't as white as I am, and it was important for me to say that. I expect all viewers to show the necessary respect and to celebrate the fantastic performances of our athletes."

A source of more blushes for the

organisers came in the form of a major cock-up by officials who forgot to raise the bar in the pole vault for group B of the men's decathlon. It meant the athletes who thought they had cleared a new height had in fact cleared the same one twice, wasting precious energy.

A statement from European Athletics said: "The error was identified by the officials at the end of the attempts for this bar. In order to ensure fairness to all athletes, the results of this additional 4.70m round were cancelled, and the competition was resumed at 4.80m."

Down but not out: Werro into 800m final

Keely Hodgkinson's fiercest rival was dramatically reinstated after suffering a fall in the women's 800m semi-finals in Birmingham (Matt Lawton writes).

The most eagerly anticipated contest at these European Championships took an unexpected twist when Audrey Werro, who is threatening Hodgkinson's status as the world's best female 800m runner, was sent crashing to the ground.

Werro, who inflicted a shock defeat on Hodgkinson at a Diamond League meeting in Stockholm in June with the third-fastest time in history, was comfortably in

control of her heat when she landed heavily on to the kerb with about 120m remaining. She eventually finished in last place, clutching her chest after crossing the line in 2min 35.35sec.

Initially, Werro was not advanced to tonight's final. But the referees reviewed the video replays, with one angle showing the left hand of France's Anais Bourgoin inadvertently caught the 22-year-old Swiss runner's right foot.

Within an hour, both Werro and Lithuania's Gabija Galvydyte, who also fell as a consequence, were reinstated and advanced to a final that now includes ten athletes rather than the usual eight.

"It's always safer to run at the front but today there were risks — I could sense things were hectic behind me," Werro said. "I've only got a

Werro hits the ground after being brought down in her semi-final but will race in the final

few scrapes. It knocked the wind out of me at the time."

Race officials later released a statement saying that the decision to advance both Werro and Galvydyte to the final was due to "an unintentional touch" involving Werro and Bourgoin.

Hodgkinson had no such issues in her race, finishing in 1:57.38, ahead of Femke Broeders-Bol, the 400m hurdles world champion and expressed a desire to see Werro in the final.

"[It's] a real shame. I hope she is OK and is in the final," Hodgkinson said of Werro prior to the referees making their decisions.

"Hopefully it's a good race and clean race and with no one falling over."

Draper's US Open wild card hopes suffer body blow

M Landaluce (Sp)	6	7
J Draper (GB)	3	5

Tom Kershaw Tennis Correspondent

There was no outpouring of emotion this time, nor a shortage of spirit, but Jack Draper's defeat against Spain's Martin Landaluce in the first round of the Cincinnati Open was another hollowing blow — and did his already fragile hopes of receiving a US Open wild card no favours.

The former world No 4 broke down in tears in Montreal after losing on his latest comeback from the bone bruising injury that has saddled him for the best part of 18 months. The positive news was that Draper was fit enough to play only his seventh tournament of the season, but shedding the rust and rediscovering his form after so many absences will be another trying ordeal.

Draper is tweaking his serve to reduce the strain on his arm, but that remains a work in progress and 12 double faults meant he was on the back foot

from the off against Landaluce, the world No 64. The 24-year-old Briton rallied after losing the first set and went two breaks up in the second as he showed glimpses of his old self, even if his forehand lacked the same spite, but closing it out proved a Sisyphian task. Draper spurned six set points as his feet slowed and his shot selection erred and a 6-3, 7-5 loss from that position arrived as a miserable sucker punch.

Draper required a wild card to enter both Montreal and Cincinnati, with his ranking now a lowly No 143. His past success and popularity on the ATP Tour provided that lifeline, but the United States Tennis Association may not be so generous. Draper reached the US Open semi-finals in 2024, but American players will invariably be prioritised, while Stan Wawrinka and Grigor Dimitrov are

likely to be ahead of him in the queue. Draper has entered into the revamped US Open mixed doubles with Jessica Pegula — and the marketability of that pairing could perhaps help persuade organisers to afford him a singles wild card — but otherwise he will have to come through qualifying, which also takes place in the week prior to the main draw in New York.

Landaluce, 20, has risen nearly 100 places in the rankings since January. However, his form has dipped markedly since then, with his previous four matches ending in first-round defeats, and Draper would have been cautiously optimistic after seeing the draw.

But the mental strain of his recurring injury and short-lived comebacks has understandably

Draper made an early Cincinnati Open exit

left Draper nursing plenty of scar tissue. He described Montreal as "rock bottom" and admitted he "didn't recognise the player I was out on the court due to my injuries". Draper added that he had reached the "acceptance phase" with his new reality now, but that still entails no quick fix.

A 54 per cent first-serve percentage and 13 unforced errors to only four winners made for a grim summary of the first set. Landaluce had service problems of his own and was called for a foot fault three times, but held his nerve well and swung freely, given his own recent struggles, to close out the set.

Draper evidenced his dogged determination after the change of ends to immediately break Landaluce's serve, but his own serve remained brittle. He saved break points in three consecutive games, and Draper seemed to have finally been rewarded for that resilience when he moved 5-2 ahead. Instead, as has sadly been the case for him so often of late, it proved a false dawn.

Rahm may have to quit LIV to play at Ryder Cup

CONTINUED FROM BACK

for him to compete in the Ryder Cup at Adare Manor in Ireland next year.

But DP World Tour bosses have now indicated that it is highly unlikely such conditional releases will be granted to LIV players next year. Eight other players had struck similar deals in February, including Tyrrell Hutton, Thomas Detry and Adrian Meronk.

All those players must now consider whether to commit to a revised LIV programme next year, which is being scaled down after the rebel tour recently lost funding from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

PIF had poured more than 1.3 billion into the tour since it was launched four years ago but its future existence has been plunged into doubt in recent months, although Scott O'Neil, the LIV chief executive, said last week that a new lead investor had been secured to support the tour until 2030.

Rahm, then, will need to make a decision in the coming weeks on whether he commits to playing in a new LIV structure — likely to have fewer events and smaller prize funds — in the knowledge that he could be jeopardising his participation in the

Rahm agreed a deal that enabled him to play on the DP World Tour

Ryder Cup, having represented Europe four times previously.

When the DP World Tour agreed conditional releases with the nine players this year, it stressed that the deals did not set a precedent for future seasons and that position has now been firmed up as it has told LIV players that such arrangements will be highly unlikely to be made in 2027.

In that case, conditional releases would still be considered on a case-by-case basis, but it would be expected to resume the imposition of heavy fines on tour members for competing in LIV Golf, through the DP Tour's conflicting events rule.

LIV has yet to announce its schedule for next year, but its 2026 season is due to end early as its Team Championship event, scheduled for this month, has been cancelled, adding more uncertainty as Rahm and his fellow LIV players weigh up their futures.

Rahm has starred for Europe in recent Ryder Cups, scoring three points in the historic victory over United States in New York last year, continuing Spain's strong tradition in the competition.

He has formed a formidable partnership in the event with Hutton, remaining unbeaten in five matches together, and winning four of them.

Rahm joined LIV in December 2023 for a reported £222 million and has since earned more than 590 million (£66.75 million) in three seasons on the rebel tour.

In an interview with The Times this year, Luke Donald, the Europe Ryder Cup captain, stated that he was optimistic Rahm would be available to him again next year.

"It's part of my job to try and make him available," Donald said.

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60

Sport Football

Teenage star Madjo barred from playing for Villa until last week

Striker's move was blocked until court ruling – and he can also play for England, writes Charlotte Duncker

Brian Madjo's first Aston Villa goal had been a long time coming. It was the fourth opportunity the teenage striker had at Stadion Salzburg in the Super Cup final, but it had been in the making for much longer than that. Had it not been for Fifa red tape the 17-year-old would probably have made his debut for Unai Emery's side last season, having signed from French club Metz in January.

But the governing body blocked his transfer, believing it was a breach of its rule that limits international moves for players under the age of 18.

Instead of being able to contribute on the pitch, Madjo could only train with his new team-mates, and was unable to put any of it into practice.

Villa were confident they would be able to overturn the decision but it took time, which seemed ridiculous given that the teenager was born in Enfield, north London, in 2009 and holds a British passport.

The sticking point for Fifa had been that Madjo grew up in Luxembourg and played for their under-16s before making his debut for the senior team in March 2025. However, he then made his first appearance for England Under-17 that same year — he is able to switch his allegiance given his three senior appearances for Luxembourg came in friendlies, making him eligible to represent England.

Two hundred and five days after he was unveiled as a Villa player, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said it had found in Villa's favour and confirmed he would be eligible to play in competitive matches for the club before his 18th birthday. The teenager marked the moment with an Instagram post accompanied with the caption: 'No distractions, I'm free.'

His father is Guy Madjo, a former Cameroon youth international who had spells with several English clubs, including Crawley Town, Stevenage and Shrewsbury Town.

Villa had been scouting Madjo for a while and it shows the depth of their belief in his talent that they would spend £10 million on a forward with very little first-team experience at a time where they are having to be astute with their transfer spending.

But over the past eight months, and a successful pre-season in which he had already scored four goals coming into the game against Paris Saint-Germain, Emery had seen enough to hand him his competitive debut at the first available opportunity.

Maybe those nerves showed a little as he snatched at early chances. But if the 6ft 4in striker has shown anything during his time at the club it is that he is patient and not willing to give up.

John McGinn kept delivering balls into the area; the first three times Madjo had failed to find the target. His movement and physicality had been keeping William Pacho and Manquinhos on their toes, but he was just missing that final touch.

The chance he did convert was arguably the hardest that had fallen his way as he held off Pacho to volley in a McGinn cross past Malvey Safonov at his near post, making him the youngest player to have scored in the competition. He wheeled away in celebration, releasing his arms from

Madjo, 17, started and scored against Paris Saint-Germain in the Super Cup

behind his back, indicating that the metaphorical shackles are now off.

Emery will be delighted that he has another option in attack. Villa have not ruled out signing another forward before the transfer window closes, but with Madjo they have a player who is capable of bullying Premier League defenders off the ball and, more importantly, someone who has been studying his team's style for the past eight months.

The teenager cites playing against senior teams from a young age as being important in helping him with the intensity of his game and dealing with the responsibility of the expectations at a big club. But that time without any pressure to perform has also aided him.

Previous new signings have spoken about the time it has taken them to bed into Villa's team due to the demands placed on them by Emery. But it was evident from the way he played against PSG that Madjo was comfortable with the system and the role he was being asked to play.

He knew when and how to press and, having watched Ollie Watkins closely, he was trying to replicate the work the England striker does off the ball as well as on it. If he continues to study his Villa team-mate, he may well find himself following in his path internationally too, given that England must plan for an eventual life after Harry Kane.

There were things to improve upon, but on first glance it was an appearance against two of the best centre backs in the world that should give him confidence going into the new season.

'Obviously he is a tough person to defend against. I think he is about 100kg. He is a big old boy,' Tyrone Mings, the Villa defender, said. 'He is very, very difficult to play against.'

Heatstroke tragedy reminds us rugby is not summer sport

Rugby is not a summer sport. It's not that long ago that an idiotic minority of newcomers to the game thought a sunny version of glorified sevens was the future with attrition relegated to the boring bits, all those endless scrums and mauls. We now know it's not even safe to play from the middle of May to June. Not safe, not only for players but also spectators.

It's a sport in which new levels of awareness are required on the training field as much as on match day. Samson Vunilagi, 6ft 5in and 18st 6ft, died last Friday after suffering a suspected heatstroke in training. Last week the temperature reached 35C in the Japanese city of Fukuoka. The Fijian second-row forward had recently joined the second-tier team Kruden Vollex. Despite receiving an immediate diagnosis and being taken to hospital, he died four days later.

Only 26 years of age. This, not some high-profile defeat, is the very definition of a tragedy, for the Fijian, his friends and family.

For those of us who had never heard of him, it left what is often called the rugby family with the sort of sadness that lingers and leaves you wondering. Wondering whether his demise was 'one of those things' or whether it serves as a warning for the sport.

In 2019 as many as 149 people died in Japan while the Rugby World Cup was taking place in that country. Typhoon Hagibis hit Japan in October 2019, towards the end of the typhoon season. The cancellation of three pool games, including England v France, gained its ridiculously unbalanced share of headlines compared with the death toll, but that is the nature of global events.

The Fifa World Cup is probably the greatest sports competition of them all. Yes, the recent hydration breaks were a reminder of the hardcore capitalism of the United States, but there were times when heat and humidity had the commentators, let alone the footballers, struggling and in legitimate need of water.

On the subject of World Cups, there was, in the dim past of October

2023, clarification of the timing for the 2011 men's Rugby World Cup, to be held in the US. But since then there has been silence, and where there is silence online, rumours run amok. The fact is that the majority of cities and stadiums that have applied to host rugby's jamboree are NFL.

stadiums and the tournament would clash with both America's game and the major football leagues. Could the US try to shift the usual schedules? It wouldn't be the first time.

The prospect of a World Cup in the heat of an American summer with who knows what degree of humidity and heat by then? It is a frightening proposition. Or rather, was. This week World Rugby sources confirmed to me that the event will not be moved to summer for the benefit of American markets. If Vunilagi's premature death was the worst rugby story for a long time, the confirmation that the World Cup will

not be an insane summer event is the best.

The temperature in Wiltshire has just risen beyond 35C as I write this column. More flies are falling than rain. The grass is baked, bone hard. In Wednesday's edition of The Times I read of fans paying £80 next season for Bath seats in the open with the delight of rain pouring down upon them. Maybe by September, but don't bet on it.

In 2022 six weekends of Premiership rugby were lost to extreme weather — hard pitches due to drought at the start of the season and wet weather in December and February. We know that we are set for more extreme extremes in the general future.

Summer lasting too long and autumn pouring into winter and spring. These sorts of seasons aren't what they once were for supporters, although it's better than burning up in June and July. The weather extremes are bad news for everyone. The ground in these parts is so hard that referees would judge the pitch unfit to play as if a frozen winter's day. Drought cannot be too far away as the rugby pitches in southwest England crumble.

If anyone thinks artificial surfaces

are the answer, they have a tendency to heat up when the going gets even hotter. World Rugby addressed the climatic issue in 2024. 'Sustainability' was an annoyingly long-favoured buzzword as the sevens sides jetted unsustainably around the world. But the landmark World Rugby report Rugby and Climate Change was a leap in the right direction. There are well-meaning and serious plans to reduce environmental impacts. And climate crisis is described as 'an existential threat to the game we love'.

As the science shows, the world is heating up. Heatwaves, we are reminded (tragically so), affect player performances as well as spectators' health. These are not facts that do much for the economic wellbeing of a professional sporting business.

Droughts will, we are told, 'more frequently' affect turf pitches, while hard rains promise submersions from flooding. These are troubled times for the planet. There is no escape for rugby and rugby is only a blessed and brief respite from the troubles.

Some naive fool could have convinced the sport's powerbrokers that summer-night rugby would have been a sexy, sensational escape from what look very much like the good old days.

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Mowbray ready for Blackburn job after cancer

Manager's life changed after bowel cancer but he is back in dugout and eyeing promotion, writes Paul Joyce

Tony Mowbray had been up since 3am. The previous day there had been a meeting in Switzerland with the Blackburn Rovers owner Venky's and the early alarm call preceded the trip to the airport to catch a flight from Zurich back to Manchester.

Upon landing, there were calls to make, media commitments to fulfil and the running of a football club to oversee. At 62, Mowbray shows no sign of slowing down. He had the option to do so, of course. Having overcome bowel cancer, he then experienced a bruising, short-lived spell in charge of West Bromwich Albion. A quieter, less stressful routine would have appealed to many.

Yet it was while he was out with his cockapoo, Bailey, on Redcar sands that the nagging realisation crystallised that he was not ready to call time on football for good.

So Mowbray is back at Blackburn, guiding the club where he first spent five years at the helm between 2017 and 2022, and preparing for the new Championship season with a trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers tonight.

'I had those moments walking my dog on the beach thinking, 'I need

more through this part of my life,' he explained. 'Because football is what I do. I feel as if I can impact young footballers, to drive themselves to want to get better, to be part of a team that can produce amazing results, better than what the individuals might think they are.

'So that's why I'm back, because I genuinely sit and watch football matches and think, 'Why is he doing that? Why on earth is that happening on the pitch?' You know? And I'm back to challenge my theories of how I want to play, how I do it.'

After 45 years in football — 670 games as a player with Middlesbrough, Celtic and Ipswich Town and more than 880 matches as a manager with nine different clubs — his passion for the game is undimmed.

Still, life has changed in many other ways. Mowbray had 15 centimetres of his bowel removed when he was battling cancer in 2024 but meets the obstacles that have resulted from that with a smile.

'I live with different circumstances now, but I've got no problem sharing it,' he said. 'I have a colostomy bag. So that changes your life. But as long as you are disciplined and you manage things, it's not a problem. I have to be wary of eating at certain times, doing things at certain times.

'I've been recuperating from my illness, of course. I'm not silly. If I wasn't ready, I wouldn't be back. It's not fair on Blackburn Rovers. It wouldn't be fair on the fans or the team, if I was lacking energy.

BEST WEST INSPIRATION

'I had four or five offers from other clubs during my recuperation and at that time I didn't feel I was ready. I didn't think it was the right thing for me to do to move away from home, move away from your family, go and live in a flat somewhere and try and dedicate your life to try and make your football team better. But as long as I've got the energy to do the job, and I know I have, and I manage that, then I'm going to be fine.'

Mowbray remains wedded to the front-foot, attacking philosophy he has adhered to throughout a managerial career spanning more than 20 years, which will serve as a change to the mid-to-deep block, counterattacking approach Blackburn have adopted in more recent times.

The Ewood Park club have finished 7th, 19th, 7th and 20th in the seasons since Mowbray left the club upon the expiry of his contract and orchestrating a lasting revival will be far from straightforward.

Even though the Championship play-offs have been expanded to six sides this season, the list of fallen giants in the division is lengthy. Opta's supercomputer this week predicted that Blackburn have a 15 per cent chance of relegation, with only eight sides deemed to be more at risk.

Defying gloomy predictions serves as motivation and Mowbray is hoping for favours from Blackburn's top-flight neighbours in the form of loan deals.

Liverpool's Harvey Elliott and Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite

previously benefited from time under Mowbray's tutelage, while Manchester United's Amad Diallo played under him at Sunderland.

'We'll see if we can do that again because the team needs a little bit of magic from somewhere, a bit of quality that is hard to get simply by buying it,' he said. 'If you can loan a young player with lots of quality, but who is not quite ready for the Premier League, then hopefully it helps us to be more successful than we might be without them.'

If Mowbray is looking to tap into the future, then the past remains a stimulus for him and, in particular, the former Liverpool manager Bill Shankly.

'He was an orator, he had a way with words, he could take the whole city of Liverpool along with him,' he said. 'He inspired me. In fact, I named my first dog after him.

'I like to talk to my football team and inspire them with words, getting the hairs on the back of their neck up ready to fight in every game they are in. You know, we might concede more chances, but I think we'll score more goals and it'll be more exciting for the fans to come and watch a team that's trying to win football matches rather than not get beat. I want Blackburn to be a team that people talk about when they talk about the best teams, with a genuine chance of getting to the Premier League.'

Speaking at the launch of the new EFL season at the National Football Museum in Manchester last week, the conversation turned to bow management has changed. A three-month spell at West Brom 18 months ago was particularly eye-opening.

'I found it was really different from when I went to West Brom as the manager in 2006-07 and we went on to win the Championship,' he said. 'Now we had sporting directors who were using A1 and were using every piece of data that was there and influencing the selection of the team.

'And I think it undermines coaches. If agents of the players know that they can go above you to somebody else, it undermines your power in the dressing room.

'Blackburn have still got sporting directors, Rudy Gerardo [head of football operations], and they've got technical directors and heads of sports science and performance. But I feel as if I'll be allowed to manage the football team.'

Salford boss goes solo after years as 'soldier' to Postecoglou

Dominic Akiboye

Peter Cklamovski has spent much of his coaching life in the shadow of Ange Postecoglou. Now, as he begins his first job in English football, he wants to step out of it while embracing his former mentor's teachings.

'We'll win something in the first season, how about that?' Cklamovski said when asked whether he had inherited any of Postecoglou's famous appetite for making bold predictions.

His ambition is genuine. Cklamovski, 42, has arrived at Salford City with the club seeking promotion from League Two, led by owners whose aspirations stretch far beyond the fourth tier.

Cklamovski's confidence has been forged by an unconventional career. The Australian's playing aspirations were ended in his teenage years by a serious car accident, with Cklamovski under consideration for Australia's under-17 squad before the incident. In his twenties, he began coaching youth teams at The King's School in Sydney before becoming head of performance at Westfields Sports High School, but his development was shaped principally by Postecoglou, with whom he worked for 15 years.

The pair first worked together

with Australia's youth set-up in 2004, and their professional partnership eventually took them through Brisbane Roar, the Australian national team and Yokohama F Marinos.

At Brisbane, Cklamovski was part of the coaching staff under Postecoglou as the club won consecutive A-League titles in 2011 and 2012, an unprecedented achievement in Australian domestic football at the time. He then joined Postecoglou with the national team, including at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and was part of the staff that won the 2015 Asian Cup.

Their most celebrated club success came in Japan. Cklamovski joined Yokohama F Marinos as Postecoglou's assistant in 2018 and helped create the aggressive, high-tempo football that took the club to the 2019 J1 League title, their first championship in 15 years.

'My career and everything I do, I want it to be an extension of his legacy,' Cklamovski said. 'That's how much I love this guy.'

Yet Cklamovski's managerial career has been far from a straightforward ascent. His first senior job came at Shimizu S-Pulse in 2020, where results were poor, he won only three of 28 league matches before leaving during the disrupted Covid season. He rebuilt

Cklamovski, of Salford City, spent 15 years working with Postecoglou

his reputation at Montedio Yamagata in Japan's second tier, taking them to the J2 play-offs in 2022 and developing a reputation for attacking football.

At FC Tokyo, where he was appointed midway through 2023, he inherited a team struggling for direction, and a year later he had reshaped the side around a front-footed, high-pressing style with a heavy emphasis on youth. He then spent 18 months coaching the Malaysia national team, taking the country to its highest Fifa ranking in 20 years, before he departed by mutual consent in June.

'His [Postecoglou's] passion was always Europe. So as a loyal soldier for him, I gave everything to that cause,' Cklamovski said. 'My journey was always just to be a strong, well-respected manager in Asia, but a few months ago, something within myself changed — the switch flipped to get to Europe.'

Cklamovski's years in Japan have given him a distinctive view of player development. He points to Japan's school and university football systems as an additional pathway that does not exist in the same form in England. He also believes coaching should be adapted to the people in front of him rather than following one model.

At Salford, that means creating something that is not simply an imitation of the Class of '92, the former Manchester United stars who have shaped the club's modern history. Sir David Beckham and Gary Neville's involvement in Salford may have brought an extraordinary level of football pedigree to the project, but Cklamovski insists the next chapter cannot simply belong to them.

'I'm not the Class of '92, and the players aren't the Class of '92,' he said. 'We can have our own DNA on what Salford football is.'

His appointment follows the club's latest disappointment: defeat by Notts County in the League Two play-off final, after missing out on automatic promotion by one point, which led to Karl Robinson's dismissal. 'Salford's rapid rise of four promotions in five years after the Class of '92 takeover has stalled in recent times, with the club still seeking to escape the fourth tier after seven years in the division.

Salford's summer signings point to a side desperate to finally overcome what has proved to be a difficult hurdle. Macaulay Langstaff joins from Millwall — he scored 26 League Two goals for Notts County in 2023-24 — while Luke Molyneux provided eight goals and seven assists at Doncaster Rovers in League One last season. The centre back Will Aimson (from Wigan Athletic) and winger Abraham Odoh (from Peterborough United) also add experience from higher divisions.

The owners, Cklamovski said, would be 'some of the happiest people in the world' if Salford were 'touching a trophy' within 12 months.

His challenge is to turn 15 years of learning from Postecoglou, seven years of experience in Japan and a brief spell with Malaysia into something that can spur Salford out of League Two.

---

62

Sport Football

'I'm pushing boundaries and

Carrick likes United's midfield and knows how Mainoo feels after frustrating summer, writes Paul Hirst

The Premier League season is yet to begin and Michael Carrick is already in a celebratory mood.

Yesterday morning, as he sat down to eat breakfast at United's five-star hotel 30 minutes west of Dublin, Carrick's phone buzzed. On the end of the line was his daughter, Louise, who had some good news.

'My daughter just passed her exams [A-levels] today, so that was a nice bit of good news,' Carrick, 45, said with a proud smile a couple of hours later during a briefing with national newspapers.

Carrick has had a lot on his plate this summer. Both of his children have been sitting exams (Jacey has been doing his GCSEs), he has been busy planning his first pre-season campaign as United head coach, and he has been in regular contact with his superiors as they try to recruit new players.

Oh, and he has been keeping in contact with the 12 United players at the World Cup too. Kobbie Mainoo's number was one of the most dialled in his phonebook — more on that later.

'It's not been anything that's caught me by surprise. It's kind of what it is and you deal with it,' Carrick said when asked about his hectic summer, which ended three weeks ago when the players who were not at the World Cup returned to training at United's Carrington base.

'The summer was good. We did manage to have a little holiday.'

During our 20-minute interview in one of the many conference rooms at Carton House, where United arrived last Saturday after drawing with Paris Saint-Germain in Gothenburg, it is clear that Carrick is buoyant about the season ahead.

Having signed a two-year contract, with the option of a further year, to become United's full-time head coach three months ago, Carrick has the backing of the board and has hushed — certainly

for now — the doubters who claimed he was not up to the job.

On Wednesday night he felt a real rush as the United coach weaved around the streets of Dublin, which were lined with fans, en route to Croke Park, where 82,000 supporters — including seven pitch invaders — watched his team defeat Leeds United on penalties after drawing 1-1 in 90 minutes.

Rather than flying long haul to the United States or Far East for pre-season, United decided on a 'football first' policy, designed to look after the players, which involved being based in Manchester and flying in and out to play friendlies in Helsinki, Trondheim, Stockholm and Gothenburg.

'[Being United head coach] is a really privileged position and I fully understand what it is, what it brings,' Carrick said, the morning after the first match at Croke Park between two English football teams.

'I love the position that I'm in. I never take anything that this position and this football club brings for granted. Driving to the stadium last night, it felt like a bit of an occasion and it really showcased the support and what we are as a football club.'

'So to be at the top of that and leading us into new territory again, we're pushing boundaries and it's a great position to be in, yeah, and I genuinely absolutely love every part.'

Although he would like to add another left back and midfielder to his squad before the transfer window closes on September 1, he has been enthused by the three signings that United have made so far.

Andrey Santos, who has started every pre-season game since his £50 million move from Chelsea, has impressed staff with his leadership skills and maturity even though he is only 22 years old.

'Andrey, for such a young man to come in the way he's come in, his character, his personality is a dream,' Carrick said of the former Brazil Under-21 captain. 'He's so positive, so mature, so switched on; he wants to learn. He comes in straight away and

he's trying to help other players and talk in games and communicate in games, and has that personality where he's got a real substance to him, and delighted to have him, delighted to have him when he came in.'

Youri Tielemans, the £15 million signing from Aston Villa, is described as a 'top personality' and a 'team player who understands how to connect everyone together'. Carrick added: 'The two midfielders will give us an awful lot moving forward.'

Although Carrick deserved a shot at the job long-term after winning 12 of his 17 matches and leading United to third, this season will test his managerial skills, and those of his backroom staff, much more. Having qualified for the Champions League, no longer will they have midweeks free to work with the players.

Carrick's man-management skills will be tested, but he is a pro in that area according to those who know him, and the fact that he reached out to Mainoo several times during the World Cup, in an attempt to keep his spirits up, reflects well on the United head coach.

Carrick, above, has been very impressed by the leadership skills and maturity of new arrival Santos, left, describing the

Game podcast

I'm a real Listen to the latest episode of The Game from The Times online now thetimes.com/podcasts/the-game

After being ignored by Carrick's predecessor, Ruben Amorim, Mainoo enjoyed an impressive second half of the season under Carrick but did not play a single minute during the World Cup.

Having received similar treatment from Fabio Capello during the 2010 World Cup, when England had the likes of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard to pick from, Carrick knows how damaging that can be. 'I was in contact with him quite a bit through the summer,' Carrick said of Mainoo, 21.

'I've been in that position myself and I know what it's like. From the outside, everyone goes, 'You should be happy to be there,' and you do take it for granted, for sure, but as a human being and a professional, you want to be playing. It's frustrating and I understand it, but he's been in great

spirits this week and it's nice for him to be home and looking forward to the new season.'

Whether United have a successful season will depend largely on the performance of Mainoo, Santos, Tielemans and Mason Mount, who are the four players slated to compete for the two slots in the double pivot unless a new recruit arrives.

Santos and Mount have been the main combination so far in their pre-season campaign, which has included wins against Leeds, Atletico Madrid and Rosenborg, as well as a draw against PSG and a defeat by Wrexham. That is mainly because Tielemans and Mainoo joined up late with the squad because of their participation in the latter stages of the World Cup.

All four players are technicians, rather than destroyers, which is a similar approach to the one Sir Alex Ferguson took in 2006-07, when he paired Carrick with Paul Scholes in midfield.

'Just being a midfielder, that's kind of how I've seen the game,' he said. 'It's the kind of football I think the supporters want to see as well.'

And with that, our time with Carrick is up. Next stop: the golf course, where he will be hoping to celebrate yet another win.

CONTINUED FROM BACK Rashford set to stay

answers for that,' Carrick said when asked why United were not spending as much as their competitors.

'We're pushing everything that we can to make the best of it.'

He added: 'I think there's a balance of responsibility in this club.'

Marcus Rashford looks set to stay

Carrick said Fernandes is 'in a really good place'

after Barcelona turned down the opportunity to sign him for £26 million. 'He's our player,' Carrick said.

Carrick said that Bruno Fernandes is 'in a really good place and looking forward to the season', despite being linked with a departure earlier in the summer.

Galatasaray, Juventus and AC Milan are keeping tabs on the 31-year-old.

'We still want to get the best out of Bruno and get the best out of the team around him,' Carrick said. 'He's been so positive since I came back.'

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63

Sport

loving it'

ELI MARTIN WILLE-MAGO, VITA TREMMANN

22-year-old as "a dream". He said Tielemans, below left, was "a top personality"

Reijnders leaving City for Saudi Arabia in £52m deal

Paul Hirst

Manchester City's Tijjani Reijnders has agreed to join Al-Qadsiah, the Saudi Pro League club, in a £52 million deal.

Despite interest from Nottingham Forest, the 28-year-old Netherlands midfielder has decided to join the Saudi club, who are managed by Brendan Rodgers, thus earning a big pay rise in the process.

Reijnders, who joined City in a £46.1 million move from AC Milan last summer, will complete his move once he has undergone a medical and all the relevant paperwork has been signed off.

Reijnders held down a regular place in the City team at the start of last season but fell out of favour in the autumn

Reijnders only joined City last year from AC Milan

and only started five Premier League matches in the second half of the campaign.

He made 50 appearances for City, scoring seven goals and setting up eight more.

Meanwhile, Jérémy Doku has become the fourth player to extend his City contract this summer.

The 24-year-old Belgium winger, who was one of City's best players in the second half of last season, has signed a new five-year contract, with the option of a further year.

His previous contract was due to expire in 2026.

Doku, who joined City from Rennes for £55.4 million in 2023, scored eight goals and recorded 34 assists in 47 appearances last season.

Phil Foden, Abdulkadir Khusanov and Josko Gvardiol have all signed long-term deals this summer.

Meet Bhatia, the man behind deal to buy third of Liverpool

Former QPR chairman went through seven managers but knows what supporters want, writes Paul Joyce

The details of exactly when are somewhat sketchy but Amit Bhatia has already experienced a match day at Anfield.

Not in the boardroom rubbing shoulders with the elite, mind you. Instead he was to the side of the goal, his hopes rising and falling along with the rest of the visiting supporters during one away game in his lengthy association with Queens Park Rangers.

The British-Indian businessman leading the deal to buy a third of Liverpool does not possess the profile of his fellow syndicate members Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, and Eduardo Saverin, the co-founder of Facebook. He is the one, however, with a background in English football.

Bhatia joined the board at Loftus Road in December 2007 as a representative of his father-in-law, Lakshmi Mittal, who bought a shareholding in the club alongside the Formula 1 grandees Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Bratore. While those big personalities boasted expertise in the business side of sport, Bhatia initially focused exclusively on building links with supporters.

He was involved with the fan advisory board, supporters' groups and was chairman of QPR in the Community Trust. It was through those connections that he is said to have developed an understanding of what football clubs mean to people, something that will soon be put to the test again.

The announcement last month that he was transferring his shareholding in QPR, a clear sign that the discussions to buy into Liverpool were progressing, produced something of a rarity in modern football. There were a slew of positive messages about Bhatia on social media rather than simply opprobrium.

This was despite Bhatia's promotion to QPR chairman in August 2018 failing to bring on-field success — amid seven managerial changes, including the short-lived tenures of two former Liverpool academy coaches in Michael Beale and Neil Critchley — up to the present day.

Still, there were references about bumping into an dated Bhatia outside Wembley immediately after the Championship play-off final in 2014

Bhatia is part of a consortium that wants to buy 30 per cent of Liverpool

when Bobby Zamora's goal downed Derby County and sealed a return to the top flight.

"He has a big grounding in football and in English football," one source said. "And how English football fans see their clubs and what they want from them."

That is going to be crucial in dealing with Liverpool fans who may be sceptical about the motives of exactly why a ludicrously wealthy consortium wants a large slice of a sporting institution.

One of Liverpool's strengths is that they continue to be held to account by their fans, with structured engagement written directly into the club's Articles of Association after the collapse of the European Super League plot in 2021.

Long before then, Fenway Sports Group (FSG) had benefited from that. The protests against former owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett played a part in the unravelling of their regime, which then allowed John W Henry and co to buy the club for £300 million in 2010.

The deal on the table now values Liverpool at £4.5 billion, with Bhatia and co investing £1.5 billion for a stake in the region of 30 per cent, and shows the growth that has followed on and off the pitch.

As recently as April, however, FSG also fell foul of the scrutiny Liverpool supporters cast over Anfield.

Plans to increase general admission prices across three consecutive seasons prompted protests inside the ground organised by Spirit of Shankly (SOS). Soon after the plan, which would have raised an additional £1.5 million-£2 million a season, was scrapped.

In an attempt to understand a significant moment in Liverpool's history, SOS has sought greater clarity on what the impact will be of

Bhatia's consortium coming on board. What will the purchasers get in return, for example, and is it part of a planned wider sale?

It would be remiss of Bhatia — given how he became rooted in football — not to strike up a line of communication with fans' groups and the supporters' board. Reaching out is essential.

While negotiations with FSG on the deal have been taking place for about three months, it is understood Bhatia, who studied economics at Cornell University, New York, and lives in London with his wife, Vanisha, and their three children, has spent time in their circle for more than a year.

He has been identified as someone with whom FSG wants to be in a strategic minority partnership.

A return for the investors will seemingly come from growing Liverpool more as a business, as the present owner has over the past 16 years, rather than in the short term.

At first glance Bhatia, whose company, AyBe Capital Advisors, owns a stake in the London Spirit cricket franchise in the Hundred, brings networks and expertise in India and Asia.

Brazilian entrepreneur Saverin has similar links in South America and the connections Bezos possesses come with Liverpool convinced they are already the biggest Premier League club in the United States.

GWI, the audience research company, points to Liverpool having 26 million supporters in the US and calculates that they have the fastest-growing fan base of any Premier League club in the country.

Given the Premier League and Uefa's financial regulations on how spending is linked to turnover, the depth of the consortium's financial might is not as important as its ability to open up new commercial opportunities. That is where the growth lies and an increase in annual revenue, which stands at £351 million, will allow more to be spent on the team.

Apple, for example, has collaborated with Real Madrid, with the club's president, Florentino Pérez, describing Real's "Infinite Bernabéu" virtual reality project as akin to "opening the stadium doors to the entire planet". It is not difficult to envisage Amazon exploring similar opportunities in time.

Bhatia, 46, will be visible at Anfield should the deal go through, as seems likely. This time he will be in the boardroom, rather than behind the goal, but the start of the journey he has undertaken to this point should continue to shape his thinking.

Villa agree £17.1m move for Ruggeri

Charlotte Duncker

Aston Villa are set to sign the Atletico Madrid full back Matteo Ruggeri, with the defender due to undergo a medical.

A fee of £171 million has been agreed and it is understood the transfer should be completed in the coming days.

Villa are in the market for a left back after Lucas Digne returned to Paris Saint-Germain, while Ian Maatsen is not viewed as a first-choice option by Unai Emery.

Ruggeri, 24, signed for the Spanish side from Atalanta last summer and made 47 appearances.

Villa have also held talks over a deal for Aaron Wan-Bissaka as they look to provide competition for Matty Cash down the other flank. The West Ham United defender is under contract until 2031 but the Championship club would be open to selling him this summer.

Negotiations are continuing with Bayern Munich for the transfer of João Palhinha. The 31-year-old is understood to be open to a move to Villa Park but an agreement has yet to be reached with the Bundesliga side.

Despite signing Johan Manzanis and João Gomes this summer, Villa would still like to bring in Palhinha,

especially with Amadou Onana out with a long-term anterior cruciate ligament injury, which he suffered while on duty with Belgium at the World Cup.

A forward is also on Emery's wish list but Villa are likely to have to sell a player to be able to strengthen further up the pitch. Arsenal are interested in signing Euri Kossa However, they want to spend only about £45 million, below the £60 million Villa want.

Emery was asked about transfer plans after Aston Villa's defeat in the Super Cup final. "There will be more changes," he said.

Madjo cleared to play last week, page 60

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THE TIMES

1/2/2014

Sport

No to summer rugby

Heatstroke tragedy reminds us sport needs safe conditions

Stuart Barnes, page 60

Mowbray back after cancer

Blackburn boss eyes promotion after his life-changing ordeal

Interview, page 61

Sprint queen

Hunt claims golden double

Matt Lawton

Chief Sports Correspondent

Amy Hunt won gold in the 200m final last night to complete the sprint double in Birmingham.

The 24-year-old, left, who had already taken 100m gold at these European Championships, stormed beyond her Great Britain team-mate Dina Asher-Smith down the straight to cross the line in 22.19sec.

Asher-Smith, 30, could not hold on and finished with the bronze, edged into third place by 0.01sec by Ireland's Rhasidat Adeleke.

"The 100m is the hardest mentally, the 200m is the hardest physically," Hunt said. "The 200m has been really scary. I've been fainting. I had to be brave. It was an amazing race. No celebrating, no champagne until Sunday night."

Hunt will also race in the mixed 4x100m and the women's 4x100m. Her double emulates the 2018 achievement of Asher-Smith. Report, pages 98-99

Carrick: We need signings

United head coach 'delighted' with arrivals but wants left back and another central midfielder

Paul Hirst

Michael Carrick has told the Manchester United board that he wants to add more signings to his squad.

Although he stressed he was "delighted" with the arrivals of Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Karl Darlow — and claimed that his

team could achieve “something special” this season — the United head coach said that he still needed more new players.

"I think we've got a pretty good balance when you lay the squad out, but of course we would like more," Carrick said.

"We need to keep pushing for more. We keep looking. We want to improve,

we need to improve. It's something that we're working towards."

United's £85 million outlay is modest compared with Manchester City, who could end up spending £300 million on three central midfielders, and Chelsea, who paid Aston Villa £117 million for Morgan Rogers.

Tottenham Hotspur spent £185 million on two of United's midfield

targets, Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali.

United want to sign a left back to lighten the load on Luke Shaw, and another central midfielder, as Casemiro has left on a free transfer and Manuel Ugarte has a long-term knee injury. United are more than £1 billion in debt. "To be honest, I haven't got the Continued on page 62

Rahm doubt

for Ryder Cup

John Westerby, Tom Kershaw

Jon Rahm's participation in next year's Ryder Cup could be back in doubt after European Tour bosses hardened their stance against players committed to the rival LIV Golf circuit.

Rahm, 31, the world No 13 from Spain, agreed a deal in May that enabled him to play on the DP World Tour in return for paying fines of about £2 million, which seemed to have paved the way Continued on page 59

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ACROSS

1 City function subsequently returned food (10) 7 Desire sex next to church (4) 9 Painter's second drink ending in disaster (8) 10 Go after South American's heavenly body (6) 11 One who's gone home, leaving home later than Charlie (6) 13 Slapdash stroke across second and third in Gleneagles (8) 14 Rogue helpers upset homeless person (5,7) 17 Lecturer collects a scrap item of old farmyard machinery (6,6) 20 Pursue around St Ives, primarily to rebuke (8) 21 Predecessor of King George IV rebuffed capital (6) 22 King and jack, perhaps, or two other high cards? (6) 23 French commune organised retrospective — good for them! (8) 25 Smackhead zealously guards cutting tool (4) 26 County snubbed very famous artist, possibly (10)

DOWN

2 Conservative dignitary uncovered old documents, reportedly (8) 3 Aspire to shorten first part of track and field event (3) 4 Only performs with new material (5) 5 Content of putrid, cold ulcer regularly ignored in part of ear (7) 6 Eatery harbours a penetrating germ on the counter (9) 7 Fanatical about volatile cleaner's bigotry (11) 8 Run into trees, and be unable to stop laughing (6) 12 Maybe circles princess in dance on ice? (6-5) 15 Sordid aspect of naval weapons close to Belarus (9) 16 Writes about square hills (8) 18 Former Queen Elizabeth's introduction confused a loner (7) 19 Protective equipment started to hold line (6) 21 Church official cut grass next to road (5) 24 Periodically used social lubricant (3)

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THE TIMES

2 ARTS

August 14, 2026

I was devastated — I had colon cancer. Now I’m back on stage

Simon Russell Beale on his diagnosis and recovery

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the arts column

Richard Morrison

Are we really going to abandon Jodrell Bank and the Eden Project?

It may seem odd to have an article in the arts section about the threat to Jodrell Bank Observatory and its giant Lovell Telescope. Yes, the proposal to stop a £2.8 million annual grant to Jodrell Bank from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) in March 2028 could end more than 80 years of pioneering research on that famous Cheshire site. But isn't a row about who gets science funding a bit too, well, scientific to interest us aesthetic types?

How you answer that depends on how you answer a bigger question. What constitutes a nation's culture? Is it just 'cultural' things such as paintings and books, castles and orchestras, pop bands and movies? Or should it be defined more broadly to include the science, technology and industries that shape our society?

They, too, require vision and creativity. They also inspire. Why are so many musicians and artists campaigning to save Jodrell Bank? It's surely because that massive structure and its incredible history are as indelibly written into our cultural heritage as Shakespeare and Stonehenge. From Bernard Lovell's trailblazing efforts in 1945 to repurpose discarded military equipment to investigate cosmic rays (I love the story that he moved his work to Jodrell Bank because electrical interference from trams on the Oxford Road were affecting radio signals at the University of Manchester) right up to the observatory's continuing revelations of what's going on in distant galaxies, it's a gripping saga of discovery. And thanks to its excellent Centre for Engagement it is still enthralling £50,000 visitors a year, including 25,000 children on school trips — the astrophysicists of tomorrow.

It's probable that Jodrell Bank's public-facing operations would continue even if UKRI funding is withdrawn. After all, it's a Unesco world heritage site and the Lovell Telescope is grade I listed, so it's not going to be suddenly demolished. And the site is owned and run by the University of Manchester, which contributes £5.7 million to its budget each year, with the local authority (Cheshire East) chipping in another million. The threatened UKRI funding is specifically for the part the telescope plays in the e-Merlin radio astronomy network — and the allocation of that funding is all about scientific priorities, not public engagement.

Jodrell Bank's Lovell Telescope

Nevertheless, the concern over Jodrell Bank's future has brought to light another alarming matter. It's the general structural decline of Britain's science and discovery centres (SDCs). Jodrell Bank is one of 28 such centres around the country. These are independent charities doing vital work to ensure that science is accessible to all. They reach 5.2 million people each year, including 37 per cent of UK schools. So they play a central part in the drive to make Britain a science-literate, technically savvy, environmentally conscious nation.

You would think that a government as committed to Stem educational goals as this one is (and, under Andy Burnham, now apparently focused on equipping school-leavers with the technical skills employers need) would ensure that the 28 SDCs were properly funded. Nothing could be further from reality. According to the Association for Science and Discovery Centres, their members desperately need £20 million right now to do the most urgent infrastructure repairs, and £180 million over the next five years to sort out failing roofs, windows and heating systems in their ageing buildings. It's money they simply do not have, and the reason is exasperating.

Many were set up 25 years ago with one-off grants of lottery money by the Millennium Commission (remember that?). Since then they have been resourcefully entrepreneurial about covering their running costs. But infrastructure renewal is a different matter. If they were

“There’s no one in government they can beg for some help”

classed as museums they could apply for government and lottery grants. But they aren’t. Nobody in government will take responsibility for them. When approached for funding the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said, in effect: “Sorry, you aren’t cultural, try DSIT.” But the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (now being renamed) said: “We don’t have a budget for educational projects like this.” And the Department for Education refused to engage with the SDCs at all.

This shameless buck-passing will do real damage to the public’s engagement with science, no question. The SDCs are coping with all those price increases also faced by cultural institutions — soaring energy and labour costs particularly. But unlike museums and arts centres they have nobody in government they can beg for help. The consequences? Two of the most famous — the Eden Project in Cornwall and the Glasgow Science Centre, one of Scotland’s biggest visitor attractions — have warned of substantial job cuts and growing deficits. And, privately, several other SDCs warn they will have to close completely within 18 months if they don’t get help.

With all the concerns about climate change, artificial intelligence and future sources of energy we should be boosting the public’s knowledge of science and technology, not jeopardising the very institutions that deliver it. For instance, 15 SDCs around Britain have just co-operated on an exhibition called Demystifying AI, which I think most of us could benefit from seeing.

But there’s a bigger issue here that goes back to what I wrote at the start. Our national culture, in the broadest sense of the word, has been shaped at least as much by Britain’s incredible breakthroughs in industry, science and technology as by what we have done in the realms of art, music and literature. So if we acknowledge the need for public funding to keep our museums, galleries and theatres in reasonable working order, why do we let the centres that celebrate and explain science fall into disrepair?

By all means let’s save Jodrell Bank, but let’s not stop there. There’s a budget coming up in the autumn. If the science, culture and education departments can’t agree whose responsibility it is to support our vital SDCs, the Treasury should directly authorise the funding for their urgent maintenance.

How Nicole Kidman reinvented herself at 59

Incognito in Ibiza, partying in Portofino, new man, new film, new look... Welcome to the star’s third act. By Harriet Walker

Pick up the latest copy of Vogue and you’ll find that Nicole Kidman is experimenting with not looking like herself any more. If at any point this summer you have been in Ibiza and noticed a tall woman with short hair dancing next to you, chances are it was her. In the latest issue of the fashion bible the 59-year-old Aussie megastar admits to putting on a “little dark wig” and sunglasses to hit the island’s all-night-long clubs incognito.

“I need it,” she tells the magazine — and other midlife rave mums will understand exactly why. Weeks after Madonna, 67, released an album about “creating a new persona” on the dancefloor, the escapism available there seems to be at the heart of Kidman’s reinvention too. She also ended up inadvertently dancing on stage in Portofino this summer, she admits, as well as taking in The Oresteia in London, a timeless tale of — among other things — a woman in midlife ending a marriage on her own terms.

Kidman is the latest glowing example of a trend one may call the third-chapter womanaisance. Not quite 12 months after announcing the end of her 19-year marriage to the singer Keith Urban, Kidman is the fresh-faced cover star of Vogue’s hallowed September issue this year. “I had a different view of what my life was going to be. But this is what it is now,” she says. “The future, it’s completely unknown to me right now.”

Last month Kidman was also snapped by paparazzi being picked up from a Los Angeles airport by the man rumoured to be her new beau, Michael Reinstein, thereby ticking off another of this summer’s biggest trends: a private equity boyfriend.

New film, new man, new look. On the front of Vogue Kidman is wearing a rugby shirt, Rivals hair and the expression of a woman who has gained 20 years of her life back.

In more ways than are available to mere mortals, she has. Last October Kidman was announced as a Chanel brand ambassador once more, two decades after Karl Lagerfeld picked her to star in his Baz Luhrmann-directed No 5 adverts. Next month there’s the release of a sequel to the 1998 film Practical Magic, in which she reprises her sisterly turn with Sandra Bullock, 62, who says the whole thing felt “as though no time has passed at all”.

Hollywood women, and increasingly its men too, are expert at stopping the clock — even turning it back. Not only is Kidman showcasing the sort of newly plumped collagen the rest of us are supposed to assimilate without mentioning, according to Vogue she even smells the same now as she did decades ago. Her perfume is a “secret mix” she has started wearing again recently for the first time since her twenties. In fact, beyond the existence of the two daughters Kidman had with

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Urban, Sunday Rose, 18, and Faith, 15, there is little sign of the intervening decades at all — practical magic indeed.

In that time, though, Kidman has done much of the work that has made her an A-list power broker, having pledged in 2017 to work with a female director every 18 months to even the playing field. She has, over the past decade, fairly made the lucrative genre of glossy TV thrillers her own in shows such as Big Little Lies, The Undoing and The Perfect Couple, all of which went through her own Blossom production company. This year marked her debut as the detective Kay Scarpetta on Prime Video. Kidman has now been one of the best-paid and most well-known actresses for so long that she has little memory of life before fame. “My memory of it not being that is quite blurry, because I was really young,” she tells Vogue.

“Because of who I married at such a young age, I was thrust into it since I was 22,” she says in reference to her first husband, Tom Cruise, from whom she separated in 2001. “We just fell madly in love... [but] then I was his ‘wife’.”

She refers to a sense of having thrown her career away for that marriage, but the Nicole Kidman back catalogue is proof not only of correcting its course but of her impressive work ethic.

“She’s one of our last truly legendary movie stars,” Gen Z’s favourite singer Charli XCX tells Vogue by text, having made friends with Kidman after the actress attended one of her shows.

Nicole Kidman in the September issue of British Vogue, left, out on August 20 and available for digital download. Below: Michael Reinstein

“She has the expression of a woman who gained 20 years of her life back”

(Younger “going-out friends” are a key plank of the womanaissance.)

Kidman also admits in the interview that she first learnt the art of reinvention from drag artists.

“I used to go to trans clubs,” she says. “I would sit down as a little freckled-faced red-headed girl and they... would do my lashes... put hairpieces on me and... make me beautiful.”

It was the Dior couture gown she wore to the 1997 Oscars — chartreuse, chinoiserie, created by John Galliano — that first put Kidman on the fashion map, aged 29. The doyenne Joan Rivers might have called it “ugly” live on air, yet this was a formative moment, not just for Kidman but for the industry too. This first instance of Paris couture on the red carpet created a pipeline between fashion’s most haute catwalks with Hollywood’s own runway, practically inventing the concept of celebrity as we know it.

Kidman’s latest “viral moment” came last October, a week after the announcement that she and Urban were separating, when she arrived at the new Chanel designer Matthieu Blazy’s debut show in Paris. This time she was in nothing more fussy than a man’s white shirt and pale blue jeans — a new look by the label so hot off the catwalk it hadn’t even appeared there yet. With Kidman were both of her daughters.

“These kids, that’s what we drop everything for,” Kidman says in Vogue. “I have had so many older women in my life who were incredible mentors — I know who I am.”

Just don’t be surprised if you don’t, should you bump into her on the dancefloor.

The naked dip that did Kate Moss no good at all

She launched her wellness brand Cosmoss with a splash. It sank. By Charlie Gowans

I would have thought Kate Moss could sell pretty much anything to the Gen X and millennial British women — myself included — who have spent the past three decades copying her every outfit. But despite the literal splash made in 2022 when she announced the launch of her wellness brand, Cosmoss, with a video of her wild swimming in the nude, last year the company folded. Now, thanks to the liquidator’s report, we know it was £2.9 million in debt.

So what went wrong? The celebrity brand bubble certainly hasn’t popped: we buy our undies from Kim Kardashian’s Skims, our designer clothes from The Row by the Olsen twins and our make-up from Rihanna’s Pretty Beauty — all brands worth more than $1 billion. But when it comes to wellness, an industry worth £5 trillion, it’s a different story — that of the curse of the celebrity wellness brand.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley founded Rose Inc in 2018; her cruelty-free, vegan beauty products launched at Space NK in 2021. Her joint venture partner Amyris went bankrupt in 2023 and the brand was sold at auction for $2.5 million, with Huntington-Whiteley no longer attached to it.

Holly Willoughby launched Wylde Moon in September 2021 (the date chosen to coincide with the harvest moon). By 2022 her candles, perfume and diffusers were stocked in Harrods. In 2023 the brand recorded £149 in assets after deductions to creditors; it’s still trading online but is off the Harrods website.

Both women have an ability to drive sales. When Willoughby began to share the high street outfits she wore to host This Morning and I’m a Celebrity... on her Instagram the clothes sold out so quickly it was called the “Holly effect”; her ability to influence shopping trends second only to that of the Princess of Wales (the “Kate effect”). When Huntington-Whiteley’s lingerie collaboration with Marks & Spencer launched in 2012 it was the brand’s fastest-selling lingerie collection, selling 600,000 units in the first year. A decade on, M&S was selling a Rosie item every 30 seconds and had reached a milestone of five million bras.

As for Moss — well, hers was the original Kate effect. Everything she wore — Alexander McQueen scarves, Hunter wellies at Glastonbury, her collaboration with Topshop — became the next big thing. But wellness was too hard a sell, probably because even if that is Moss’s lifestyle now, it’s not the one she’s famous for. In the Noughties she was forever pictured with a cigarette and a Diet Coke (she became the creative director of the latter in 2022).

So whether or not Moss now begins her day with a Cosmoss Dawn tea — hibiscus and ginger root to waken the senses — or ends with the chamomile and butterfly pea flower Dusk tea

(£20 each), she’s not the woman we’d buy them from. I’d trust Moss’s fashion opinion any day, but if I’m looking for a wellness regime I want a woman who has lived and breathed that life, and probably has had a lot less fun.

Which is perhaps why Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop is still going, and was valued at $433 million by PitchBook in 2024. Paltrow documents the Goop life on her social media, hosting make-up-free dinner parties, following a regime of Tracy Anderson workouts and intermittent fasting.

Of course, her fame is the biggest selling point, but when Paltrow is quoted talking about her love of an early-bird 5.30pm dinner to aid digestion, we can well believe it. I saw her seemingly hungover once, after she flew in for a talk on “Goop Cruise” the week she was celebrating her 50th birthday in Italy: she was drinking green juice to recover.

“I started meditating every day, doing transcendental meditation, wild swimming... I tried everything [new],” Moss told her old friend Rosemary.

Ferguson for a Vogue feature to launch Cosmoss in 2022. Perhaps it’s unfair for us to hold on to the “old” Kate, not let her evolve, to expect her to sell us party dresses at 52 (although she is, with Zara).

Kate Moss the woman may have changed but Kate Moss the legend remains. Perhaps it’s a compliment — we think she’s too cool to really be getting a full eight hours of sleep.

As the news breaks, Moss is on her annual holiday on a boat in Ibiza, carrying £50,000+ of Hermès bags, a Birkin on one shoulder, a Kelly on the other. Last year she was photographed using the Kelly as a beach bag, which is just the sort of rock-and-roll irreverence we expect from Moss.

As one celebrity brand is shuttered, another pops up: Harper Beckham’s Harlo by Harper beauty empire is coming soon, bringing us the wealth of experience and business expertise that comes with being the 15-year-old daughter of Posh and Becks.

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‘I feel fine, I feel normal. People have been really nice and kind’

Last year Simon Russell Beale pulled out of an RSC play due to cancer. Now he’s playing Winston Churchill on screen and Liberace on stage. He talks to Ed Potton

Simon Russell Beale has just played Winston Churchill in two epic French films about Charles de Gaulle, the first of which, De Gaulle: Résistance, is out this month, followed by De Gaulle: Liberté in September. “I believe it’s quite a big performance,” he says with a chuckle. Physically as well as tonally. Churchill was portlier than Beale is — did he wear padding? “Oh no, I was big then. I’ve had cancer so I’ve lost a lot of weight.”

Beale was diagnosed with colon cancer last year, which forced him to pull out of playing Titus Andronicus for the Royal Shakespeare Company in September. He is about to start his ninth and hopefully last month of chemotherapy. Openness about his illness has served him well. “I thought, I’ll just tell everybody, because then people are really nice and kind. Attitudes have changed.”

He announced it in April. “The Times published the story in the same week as my father’s obituary. Isn’t that weird?” His father, Sir Peter Beale, was a distinguished army doctor who was surgeon-general of the British Armed Forces from 1991-94.

It has been a tough year then for Beale, 65, but he looks great: tanned, slim and simmering with ideas. “I feel fine. I feel normal,” he says, sitting in the kitchen of his flat in London,

Right: Simon Russell Beale and as Winston Churchill in De Gaulle: Résistance

“Churchill is the fate of any slightly overweight English actor”

De Gaulle: Résistance is in cinemas from Aug 28; I’ll Be Seeing You, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Scotland, Sep 22 to Oct 11

where he lives alone. He comes from a family of doctors so he had plenty of good medical advice, and his father lived to 92, which is a good sign.

Has the chemo affected his stamina? “We’ll see next week,” he says. That’s when he starts rehearsals for a new play, I’ll Be Seeing You, in which he plays Liberace. More on that later. “Obviously I had to drop out of Titus... you think it wouldn’t matter that much, but it does.” In 1993 he had to withdraw from playing Richard III for Sam Mendes after slipping a disc in his back doing the famous hunch. “I remember thinking at the time, ‘It won’t matter.’ I was absolutely devastated.”

The winner of three Oliviers, two Baftas and a Tony, Beale is rivalled only by Mark Rylance as the leading Shakespearean actor of his generation. He was a chilling Iago in Othello (1997), a bookish Dane in Hamlet (2000) and a haunting Prospero in The Tempest (2016). Born in Malaysia, where his dad was stationed, he went to boarding school in Bristol before Cambridge and had his breakthrough in 1991 as Konstantin in an RSC production of Chekhov’s The Seagull.

We have met before, at a movie junket in 2017 for The Death of Stalin, in which Beale played Lavrentiy Beria, the terrifying head of the Soviet secret police. “Most theatre people would love to do films,” he said then. He has been on the big screen a lot in recent

years, playing an airy Edward Elgar in The Choral, an indolent Dionysus in Thor: Love and Thunder and an interfering toft in Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.

Now he is giving us, for the third time, his Churchill. A big-budget, Darkest Hour-style production, the first De Gaulle film shows the exiled general, played by Simon Abkarian, arriving virtually alone in London and founding the Free France movement despite having no political experience. Churchill is bemused but impressed by his quixotic chutzpah.

Beale first played Churchill in Dunkirk — not the Christopher Nolan film but a Bafta-winning TV docudrama — in 2004, then in the wartime spy romp Operation Mincemeat in 2021. The role, he says, “is the fate of anybody slightly overweight who’s English”. Not just English — as well as Gary Oldman, Albert Finney and Michael Gambon, Churchill has been portrayed by a Scot (Brian Cox), an Irishman (Brendan Gleeson) and an American (John Lithgow). Churchill has

become like King Lear: a rite of passage for an actor of a certain age and gravitas. Beale has played Lear too, of course, for Mendes in 2014, to predictable acclaim.

A good chunk of his performance in De Gaulle is in French, including most of his interactions with the general, who didn’t speak much English. Churchill’s French was typical of an upper-class man of his era: “Good and conversational but with an irremovable English accent. If he couldn’t think of something he’d just make up a French word.”

Beale, who once taught himself ancient Greek for fun, relished the intellectual challenge of acting in French. “I went into overdrive: the wardrobe people had to speak to me in French, but that lasted about five minutes because I didn’t know the words for ‘these are the wrong trousers.’”

“It’s not that he was speaking perfect French before, but he’s a fast learner,” says Antonin Baudry, the French diplomat turned film-maker who directed De Gaulle. Some actors learn

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foreign dialogue phonetically but Beale “was aware of every connotation of every word”.

“The trouble about that is my vanity,” Beale says. “There was one sentence and, me being really pompous, I said he would use the subjunctive. But actually French people, like us, don’t use the subjunctive very necessarily. Antonin said, ‘OK.’

“I said, ‘I know it’s awful but I want people to think that I can actually speak French.’”

“He has the energy of a beast inside,” Baudry says. “He acts with his body as much as he does with his eyes and his mind in a way that is stunning.” Well, quite, Beale peppers our conversation with wide-eyed stares and conspiratorial glances that invite you into a private world. He is erudite and witty in a way that fools you into thinking you’re the same.

Above all he is curious. Preparing for Dunkirk, he had tea with Mary Soames, Churchill’s daughter. “She would say, ‘You know, I was there with him on VE Day.’ She said he wore a wedding ring. My grandfather wouldn’t have worn one so it’s quite a louche decision.” That ties in with the wardrobe for the De Gaulle films, which included maroon dungarees and an embroidered waistcoat. “The costume designer thought he was a bit of a dandy. I thought, ‘This is not the Churchill I remember!’”

His Churchill in the new films blends ruthlessness — as in the scene where he orders the destruction of the French fleet to avoid it being used against Britain — with compassion and humour, plus those flamboyant flourishes. His Churchill’s in Dunkirk and Operation Minc特征 were praised respectively as intense and gruff, although Baudry says he wasn’t bowled over by them when I speak to him separately. “I didn’t know how to talk to him about it!” he says, “It wasn’t

his fault, obviously [Baudry blames the script and direction]. When Simon said, ‘I’d be happy to do Churchill because I was not happy with the two I did.’ I was like, ‘Oh, thank God!’”

“That isn’t true, actually,” Beale says of being unhappy with those performances, before admitting. “I’m never happy. That’s part of the reason it takes ages for me to actually watch the films.” This Churchill is certainly more fleshed out, especially when drinking brandy and singing in French with De Gaulle. “Churchill was puzzled and admiring and infuriated by him,” he says. It mirrors Britain and France then. “Yeah, it probably does.”

Having shot De Gaulle, Beale swapped real-life politics for Westeros in the Game of Thrones spin-off series House of the Dragon, playing the nobleman Ser Simon Strong. He hadn’t seen Game of Thrones so he hinge-watched it. “And actually Game of Thrones is completely addictive. It has that Shakespeare structure.” Spoiler ahoy. His hook for Ser Simon was that the character has “absolutely no desire to be involved with this nonsense”. He was unceremoniously bumped off a few episodes ago with a sword to the gut. I tell him I was hoping his death would be more elaborate. “I was hoping it would be a bit later,” he says.

The work keeps coming though. He is writing a book of essays, and in September will play Liberace in Til Be Seeing You, a surreal new play by Martin Sherman, directed by Alan Cumming, at Pillochry Festival Theatre. It imagines conversations between the jewel-encrusted musician and a writer working on a play about him. He has nailed the voice, slipping into a camp American drawl. “Liberace speaks very slowly and very nasally. What’s lovely about it is he’s not a great dancer but he has to dance, he’s not a great singer but he’ll have to sing, and obviously he has to play the piano.”

Singing should be fine: Beale was a chorister at St Paul’s as a boy and studied singing at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He plays the piano too, and did so on stage as Johann Sebastian Bach in Bach & Sons in 2021. Will he play in I’ll be Seeing You? He gives a dramatic pause and smiles archly. “I can’t play like Liberace.” So he’ll be miming this time.

It seems a bold role for him, and you wonder if the choice was affected by his cancer: a sense of mortality fuelling bravado. It turns out he had agreed to play Liberace before he became ill. “But it was a bit of going, ‘I’ve just done Titus Andronicus — I’m going to do Liberace, of course!’ That’s part of the delight of my job.”

Beale has been working throughout his chemotherapy, narrating an acclaimed puppet version of Shakespeare’s poem Venus and Adonis this year. It went to Romania, so he had to travel back and forth for his treatment in the UK while wearing a temporary stoma bag. “They put a pump on you at the end of each chemo session,” he says. “But they said, ‘You can’t fly with a pump because of the air pressure.’ The whole thing has been about logistics. I refuse to face the other possibilities.”

His schedule is defiantly busy. He has just narrated the audiobook of Robert Harris’s new novel, Agrippa, and plays a barrister in Prima Facie, a forthcoming film of the Olivier-winning play about the legal system and sexual assault, with Cynthia Erivo taking over the role played on stage by Jodie Comer. In February he stars opposite Rupert Everett in Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land, directed by Patrick Marber. “I don’t know Rupert, and then we had a reading,” he says. “God, he’s enchanting company.” You can bet that Everett said the same thing about him..

Do we really need a Barbie sequel?

As reports suggest the film’s stars won’t sign up to a follow-up, Sarah Ditum says one perfect film was enough

In the Barbie sequel headed to the big toybox in the sky? Three years ago Barbie was a cinematic phenomenon — and a commercial megahit. The film became the biggest earner in Warner Bros history, making more than $1.4 billion in worldwide box office. Which, by the normal rules of Hollywood, should guarantee a follow-up.

However, according to reports in The New York Times and Variety, Warner Bros is stalling while the film’s key personnel hold out for a hefty payday. A hard deadline looms: if nothing is signed by December, rights to Barbie revert to the toy manufacturer Mattel and the whole project will have to be restarted from scratch.

That would mean no Margot Robbie as Barbie: who else has the mix of doll-perfect looks and acting chops to take the role? It would mean no Ken played by Ryan Gosling, whose incredible commitment to the part — both in the film and on the publicity trail — is one of the marvels of modern cinema. And it would mean no Greta Gerwig as director and writer.

Usually the contracts for a tentpole film such as Barbie include commitments to a sequel. Barbie, however, was a risk for Warner Bros

— albeit a gamble that paid off.

When I went to see Barbie I got a pink Barbie manicure for the occasion. I saw women at my screening dressed in full Barbie outfits, with glossy blow-outs. Barbie was a perfect pop-culture event.

Some judged the film lightweight, though what do you expect from a comedy movie about a fashion doll? Some accused it of faux-feminin, but America Ferrera’s monologue about the conflicting demands

on women hit unexpectedly hard. Meanwhile, the existential angst of Gosling’s Ken said more about the masculinity crisis than a hundred overwrought essays.

The question is whether a sequel can recapture that magic. A recent effort to do Barbie-for-boys with the Masters of the Universe film (another Mattel property) flopped at the box office, taking just $14 million worldwide on a rumoured $70-$200 million budget. Gerwig and her co-writer (and husband) Noah Baumbach say they have a story, but neither is naturally the franchise type: if they do this, you can see why they would want it to make financial sense. Meanwhile, Robbie and Gosling are hardly short of work offers. Barbie needs them more than they need Barbie.

Perhaps it’s right for Barbie II to remain shrink-wrapped on the shelf. The moral of the first film was that you can’t live in the Dreamhouse for ever: even Barbie has to confront mortality in the end. We got one perfect playtime, and maybe that’s all that we can ask.

Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie as Ken and Barbie in the 2023 film

“Barbie needs Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling more than they need Barbie

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THE CRITICS

This hilarious upper-class comedy is Saltburn on speed

Sian Clifford plays a loopy aristocrat in a fabulous mockumentary. By Kevin Maher

Finally a movie for anybody who watched all 12 episodes of Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag and thought, "Yes, it's good, but shouldn't the sister have her own thing?" Step forward, Sian Clifford, aka Fleabag's Claire, who has been granted a fabulously unhinged comedy showcase.

She plays Lady Isabella Ravenhyde, the deranged chatele of the grand Ravenhyde Estate in Norfolk (actually Somerleyton Hall in Suffolk), in this consistently funny, frequently hilarious mockumentary about class prejudice, creative expression and the importance of being seen.

Saltburn reimagined or Downtown Abbey on amphetamines are the reference points as Lady Isabella invites a Netflix documentary crew into her home and, within minutes, is guzzling cocktails and announcing that she's "the aristocracy's answer to the Kardashians". She is also the hostess and lead contestant of her own crackpot talent contest, Stately Stars.

There is plenty of David Brent in the witty screenplay by the debut feature writer-director Samuel Abrahams. There are bits of Alan Partridge too, and a dash of This Country.

The twist, however, is where it suddenly segues into science fiction. Early in the first act (not a spoiler), Isabella begins to disappear. The hands go first (very Marty McFly in Back to the Future), then the shins. There are

obvious metaphorical resonances, Abrahams duly suggesting that Isabella has become invisible to her husband, her peers and herself. But the ingenuity of the film and the power of Clifford's achingly sad performance mean that Isabella's condition becomes a sympathetic character trait, not merely a narrative gimmick.

It is almost unbearably poignant that Isabella's primary demand of her shifty director, Sam (Laurie Kynaston), is that he should never stop filming her, as if being seen on camera will rescue her from existential despair.

Sian Clifford excels as the eccentric Lady Isabella Ravenhyde

Lady 15, 95min ★★★★☆

By becoming transparent she loses her one chance at happiness. Or does she? There is a latent rom-com in Lady too, about a journalist falling for his subject.

Not everything works, though. Sam is an undercooked character with a weak personal arc. Still, the movie has buckets of style and a higher gag-per-minute ratio than most Hollywood comedies. And it remains, most importantly, a chance to see Clifford gloriously unleashed. This year's Ballad of Walls Island? Probably. In cinemas

the classic film

The Pirates' (2012)

U, 88min ★★★★☆

Sailing back into cinemas as part of the studio's 50th anniversary celebrations, The Pirates' In an Adventure with Scientists! is one of Aardman Animations' most underrated gems. Hugh Grant makes his first and only animated film appearance voicing a Victorian pirate captain. Armed with a luxuriant beard and an unsquishable sense of optimism, the Captain is determined, against all odds, to win pirate of the year. His chances improve when Charles Darwin (David Tennant) reveals that his beloved fat blue "parrot", Polly, is in fact the world's last surviving dodo.

The Pirates' blended computer-generated effects — chiefly sea and backgrounds — into the stop-motion, but these never swamp the latter's tactile pleasures: every beard and tiny background joke feels meticulously fussed-over.

Gideon Defoe's script, adapted from his own children's book, eschews dumbed-down piratical clichés. As the Captain's deputy (Martin Freeman) say, "You can't just put arrr at the end of a sentence and expect everything to be all right." Here the kiddie-friendly action is awash with left-field adult humour and proudly British references to custard creams and Blue Peter badges. LI-Z In cinemas and on ITVX

The Captain swings into action

Sunny Dancer

15, 106min ★★★★☆

Teen audiences can smell cringe a mile off. However, this teens-with-cancer dramedy has an irresistible whiff of authenticity. The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey plays Ivy, a 17-year-old leukaemia survivor struggling to reconnect with her old friends and everyday life. Her worried parents (Jessica Gunning and James Norton) pack her off to what Ivy dubs "chemo camp", an American-style summer camp in Scotland run by Neil Patrick Harris (excellent).

Ivy, "stubborn as a stuck zip", is initially mutinous, bristling at the camp's relentlessly inspirational ethos. Things look sunnier once she falls in

Bella Ramsey and Daniel Quinn-Toye play teens at a summer camp

with a gang of misfits who bunk off, neck vodka, start fights and fumble their way believably through first sex and first love.

Ruby Stokes is Ivy's horny room-mate; Earl Cave (son of the musician Nick) plays the rebel Ralph, alongside Jasmine Elcock, Conrad Khan (you always want more of him) and dreamy Daniel Quinn-Toye.

The result is winningly intimate and naturalistic. Even Ivy wouldn't roll her eyes too hard at its positivity. Ramsey is the standout, tapping an honest vein in every scene. No wonder that whenever the 25-year-old writer-director George Jaques is in doubt he pushes the camera closer to Ramsey's face.

The story's contrived climax left me dry-eyed, but overall Sunny Dancer lands sunny side up. LI-Z In cinemas

Don't Say Good Luck

12, 110min ★★☆☆☆

The latest unabashed nepo project from Adam Sandler's Happy Madison Productions is another glossy Netflix showcase for his 17-year-old daughter, Sunny Sandler. Sophie Birenbaum (Sunny) is a mildly anxious theatre kid whose greatest worry is preparing for the lead in her school musical, Waitress, and whether she'll get to kiss the cute boy playing the gynaecologist. Then, on audition day, Sophie learns that her mother's cancer has returned. Should she still do the show?

Sunny made her screen debut aged one in Grown Ups, alongside her dad, and her CV has been chock-full of family-related credits ever since, most notably You Are So Not Invited to My

Bat Mitzvah, a 2023 coming-of-age comedy co-starring her parents and her sister, Sadie.

Sunny really does have that elusive "it". She has an engaging softness and appealingly unforced quality that lights up the screen. Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets) is the standout as Sophie's mother, while Bebe Neuwirth and Steve Buscemi amuse as her interfering grandparents.

At times this film has the eager, sincere quality of a student play, but when heavier dramatic lifting is required it falls short. It's almost as if Sandler wants to spare his daughter pain. Even cancer arrives wearing kid gloves. Still, hating Don't Say Good Luck would be like kicking a kitten.

At one point Sophie's father watches her sing her heart out on stage and wipes away a proud tear. One can picture Sandler doing the same. LI-Z Netflix

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7

film reviews

SOB 18/24

You would expect a biopic of a celebrity chef to get you drooling. “You’ll want a plate of oysters after this!” the host at my screening promised. She was wrong. Which feels right. Because, despite becoming the bad-boy rock star of the foodie world, Anthony Bourdain never saw himself as a celebrity chef. What made his mouth water was the camaraderie.

Tony follows the recent prestige-biopic trend (A Complete Unknown, Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere) of serving one choice formative morsel rather than the full cradle-to-grave smorgasbord. Drawn from the early chapters of Bourdain’s cult 2000 memoir Kitchen Confidential, the film introduces us to Tony (played by Dominic Sessa), as he was then known, aged 19, long before global fame hit.

Privileged, middle-class and strutting around the student bar with nunchucks tucked into his trousers, Tony has no intention of becoming a chef. He wants to be a writer — George Orwell meets Jack Kerouac. Ah, the nostalgia for a time when cool kids wanted to be writers not influencers.

After lying to his parents about landing a prestigious college writing fellowship he follows his girlfriend Nancy (Emilia Jones) to Provincetown, Massachusetts. Broke, homeless, armed with On the Road and seemingly a single pair of Y-fronts, he ends up washing dishes at a grimy seafood joint run by Antonio Banderas. The Spanish actor’s Ciro brings a lovely warmth as the paternal mentor who turns an unsightly blind eye to his crew’s outrageous exploits.

There, Tony is awestruck by the swaggering older men of the kitchen. Chief among them is cocksure, coke-snorting Sal (a charismatic Leo Woodall), who takes him under his wing and teaches him to shuck an oyster and pull a girl — often at the same time — and behave appallingly.

This was an era before toxic masculinity was a thing, and, like Bourdain’s book, Tony romanticises the macho kitchen culture. Hazing, bare-handed hot pans, drugs, verbal and physical abuse: it’s all treated as robust joshing. But Tony had not only

The Bear without the angst

the big film

A biopic of the early years of the hard-living chef Anthony Bourdain is surprisingly upbeat, says Larushka Ivan-Zadeh

stumbled into his tribe, he had found discipline, purpose and, crucially, the raw ingredients for his book.

As he later wrote in Kitchen Confidential, “I was — to be frank — a spoiled, miserable, narcissistic and thoughtless young lout, badly in need of an ass-kicking.”

A darker undertow arrives when

Tony

15. 106min ★★★★☆

Sal introduces him to heroin. For viewers aware of Bourdain’s later addiction and self-destructive streak the warning lights flash — particularly knowing that he would die by suicide in 2018, aged 61. But the director Matt Johnson wisely doesn’t overseason the foreshadowing.

For the most part this is a rollicking, surprisingly sunny coming-of-age story. Picture The Bear with less angst and more innocence — a TV phenomenon that owes Bourdain a much acknowledged debt.

Johnson bottles something of the blistering, sizzling energy of Kitchen Confidential’s prose while, perhaps more impressively, giving the film an identity of its own. And where so many biopics leave you watching an actor straining to impersonate

someone famous, Tony feels like the arrival of a star.

Sessa won acclaim for The Holdovers, where he played another precocious, rebellious teenager with an older mentor. Here, his Chalametesque black curls, pangling physique and young-Pacino eyes help, but this is no impersonation. He nails Bourdain’s annoying young Turk braggadocio while letting you glimpse the unformed vulnerability, the uncertainty, even innocence underneath.

Only the redemption arc feels a little too pat, folding this chaotic mould-breaker rather too cleanly into a Hollywood mould. Still, this portrait of the artist as a young pot-washer is spicy, salty and just sweet enough. I’d happily have second helpings.

In cinemas

The End of Oak Street

12A. 99min ★★★★☆

A summer blockbuster wherein an American family are chased by dinosaurs ticks an obvious Jurassic Park-sized box. And while the Spielbergian force is strong with The End of Oak Street, its loving homage to 1980s suburbia has its own darker “off” tone.

It’s an ordinary summer in 1982 when the Platt family, led by Ewan McGregor and Anne Hathaway, are woken by a weird bright light. Next morning, for reasons never entirely explained, their neighbourhood has been transported 200 million years into the past. Cue dinosaurs.

Lots and lots of them. Mostly unfriendly. Yet even before the chomping starts, the Platts are under threat from within. Hathaway gives it her all as a desperate housewife eaten away by a secret desire to become a writer and ditch her brood and loser husband (McGregor is miscast), who barely conceals his drinking. It’s her job to hold everyone together when the children ask: “Mom, is it the end of the world?”

It is produced by the Lost creator JJ Abrams, and marks David Robert Mitchell’s big-screen return after Under the Silver Lake. You sense a darker, stranger film scrabbling to escape. Instead, it’s an entertaining, prehistoric storm in a teacup. But it more than delivers on the intense dino thrills. LI-Z In cinemas

Holy Days

12A. 101min ★★★★☆

There’s always room for another feelgood movie to plonk the family in front of during the summer holidays. Shot against a typically staggering New Zealand backdrop, this one throws in some pretty travel porn too.

Adapted from Joy Cowley’s novel, set in 1974, Holy Days centres on a dilapidated rural convent threatened with closure. Three elderly nuns, self-described “last of the dinosaurs”, set off on a road trip vowing to save it, taking along a grieving young boy (the adorably mop-haired newcomer Elijah Tamati), whose late mother was once one of their convent girls, which provides cross-generational comedy.

The veteran Australian actress Judy

Davis puts in a good turn as the stern, cigarette-puffing Sister Agnes — the kind of tough old bird (with a soft centre) Maggie Smith once made her own. Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom) plays sweetly against type as the nervy, goodie-two-shoes Sister Mary Clare, while Miriam Margolyes is very much on brand as the fruity, increasingly forgetful Sister Luke.

The actor-turned-director Nat Boltt mostly resists squeezing every last gag from the supposedly hilarious spectacle of nuns doing normal things. Mortality, grief, abandonment, anger and dementia are touched on, but only in a way that’s cosily reassuring, while the plot fits together as neatly as a children’s jigsaw puzzle. Sentimental in the nicest sense, it is kind-hearted, undemanding and entirely non-essential. A perfect one for Nana to nod off in front of. LI-Z

In cinemas

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8

music reviews

Nobody does it better than Carly

At 83, the singer is in buoyant form despite having Parkinson's, says Victoria Segal

pop Carly Simon Comes in Waves

Iris ★★★★☆

At this stage in her life, Carly Simon has every right to turn in a biblically gloomy record, her own take on Leonard Cohen's You Want It Darker or Johnny Cash's American IV. The 83-year-old singer-songwriter recently announced that she had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and had also undergone facial surgery for basal cell carcinoma. In a gently rueful statement she wrote how these health issues drove her to "hibernate" from public life: "I have become an all-season bear."

Yet Comes in Waves, her first album of original material since This Kind of Love (2008), is far from doom-laden. Recorded at her Martha's Vineyard home with family and friends — among them Sally and Ben, her children from her marriage to James Taylor — these songs about family, love and memory are remarkably full of good cheer, quiet wisdom and, at times, a twinkling playfulness that rolls back the years to Simon's 1970s glory days as a Me Generation standard-bearer. It catches an artist who's absolutely not drawing the curtains on her career and creativity. "I have not stopped living," she said, "and I have not stopped working."

That's made abundantly clear by the opening track, Howl, a song encouraging a recently betrayed friend to give into cathartic screaming and "scratch out the moon". It's not polite or stately, instead radiating warmth, concern and self-possession. That eccentricity is underlined by Peaches, the unwanted fruit in Simon's garden

becoming a metaphor for a keen but unsuitable suitor. The squashy 1980s keyboards and drums underline the winsomeness, but it's hard to object to a song of such whimsical high spirits.

The same is true of Four in the Morning, a song written by her late friend Judy Belushi, widow of the comedian John, a kind of old-school women's In She's Leaving Home that ends in a dizzy acoustic meltdown (Ben Taylor is credited with playing "weird little things"). It's a record that's closer to the colourful blankets and wind chimes of new-age private presses than might be imagined from a star of Simon's status.

Elsewhere, however, these songs stay in balance. The Father Daughter Dance, originally written for a stage musical of On Golden Pond, tips into mawkishness, but Mother of Pearl, written for her daughter, is fierce with ragged, Peggy Seeger-style feeling, while the musical-theatre glitter of Maybe I Never Loved You is tempered by Simon's steady, reflective voice: "I married you, we had a kid/ That counts for something."

She tackles death, not least on Love Has No Ending, her moving symphonic-folk setting of WH Auden's As I Walked out One Evening. The producer and former Yardbird Paul Samwell-Smith also helps to remodel Share the End, an apocalyptic call-to-arms from Simon's second album, Anticipation (1971). It melts away the barriers between past and present, its raptures chiming sharply with the current climate.

Turning the end times into a jamboree fits Comes in Waves, though, Simon not so much raging against the dying of the light as fixing it with a penetrating stare. The album closes with the fearless wisdom of Do It Anyway, fading out into a joyful recording of a party, a riot of people playing music and laughing until they cry. For this idiosyncratic but triumphant album, it couldn't be a more appropriate ending.

Getdown Services

Massive Champion

Breakfast ★★★★☆

Less art school than Dry Cleaning, less abrasive than Sleaford Moth, Getdown Services evoke the 1990s glam-racketeers Earl Brutus and Birkenhead's veteran satirists Half Man Half Biscuit, delivering distempered, disjointed — but oddly revealing — commentary on steroid cream (Lentils), the Sycamore Gap (I Can't Die Like That) or vomiting bus drunks (the Ivor Cutleresque folk outlier Poor Bannister). Surprisingly tender moments include the vaporous electropop of Cha Cha Slide, a heartfelt flashback to the horrors of kids' parties, or No One Likes Me, a Creep-sized anthem-in-waiting. Massive Champion contains multitudes; just hope it doesn't sit next to you on the bus.

Ayra Starr

Starrgirl

Mavin/Republic ★★★★☆

With her first two albums, Pi & Dangerous (2021) and The Year I Turned 21 (2024), the Nigerian singer Ayra Starr followed a positively Adele-like approach to rigorously chronological titles. It makes sense, then, that her third LP is called Starrgirl, apparently just another factual description of the stage of life she's now entering: billions of streams, Grammy nominations, Glastonbury main-stage performances, guest spots with Coldplay. The music on Starrgirl is a supersaturated fusion of Afrobeat, pop and R&B in which Starr glides between genres and moods, selling the diaphanous piano ballad Heaven Baby — a collaboration with Zayn Malik that demands yards of chiffon and a wind machine — as hard as the dancehall slam of Who's Dat Girl (featuring Rema) or Ms Paper's strobing hypno-pop.

Schubert with extra words — and a square piano

It isn't unusual for Schubert's song cycles to be performed live with extra ingredients: a theatrical element, maybe, or filmed inserts underlying the "winter journey" or other travails described in the songs' texts. The present account of Die schöne Müllerin from fellow Austrians Georg Nigl (baritone) and Alexander Gergelyfi (piano), right, takes a different, possibly more eyebrow-raising path.

First, following some 19th-century precedents, Nigl expands the soloist's role by skilfully reading the five poems that Schubert chose not to set from the 25 written by the poet Wilhelm Müller about the forborn romantic hopes of an itinerant young miller. Also, Nigl's sonorous and probing voice sometimes gives Schubert's notes twiddly bits and other "expressive" embellishments. Happily, these diminish as the cycle advances.

There's no change in the striking sounds of Gergelyfi's instrument: a "square piano" (actually of oblong construction) from 1810 whose tone world, especially in the lower registers, suggests a clavichord with a heavy cold. You're always aware of a string being plucked rather than a note on a keyboard being pressed. The combined effect of piano and voice takes us far from the sounds expected in a concert recital. It's as if we're

eavesdropping on an intimate performance inside a Viennese home. The listener's ears and expectations adjust — well, mine did, with significant rewards following. And the spoken sections, the most intimately delivered of all, definitely add to the experience, even with the texts and their translations printed in the booklet in a size and typeface that wouldn't win any optician's approval. An extraordinary album.

classical

Georg Nigl/ Alexander Gergelyfi Schubert

Alpha Classics ★★★★☆

Duo Dorado Spice of Italy

Chacoline ★★★★☆

The 17th-century diarist John Evelyn, listening in London, called the artistry of the Italian violinist Nicola Matteis not just stupendous but "stupendous".

It's still pretty dazzling today, to judge at least by his brilliantly imaginative violin music: four volumes of arias, preludes, gavottes, fugues and other pieces, largely forgotten by history until late last century.

What Evelyn heard in Matteis's music and playing was Italianate bravura: something strongly echoed in the spice and sunshine radiating from Duo Dorado, formed in 1999 by the violinist Hazel Brooks and the harpsichordist David Pollock — names that couldn't be more English.

Forget about English reserve, though, as the duo charge through Matteis's incisive fast movements, linger awhile in grave sarabandes, or switch to the less florid beauties of two sonatas by Matteis Jr. Geoff Brown

Jungle

Sunshine

Caiola ★★★★☆

It initially feels as if Jungle might have left it late to release their fifth album — not because Tom McFarland, Josh Lloyd-Watson and Lydia Kitto's artfully vintage disco-soul paste-ups have missed any fashionable boat, but because Sunshine shoots for sound-of-the-summer territory late in the season. Thanks to Kitto's dreamy vocals, though, there is a slight chill around the edges of their follow-up to 2023's Volcano, there in the quiver of Carry On, the sad carnival banger Come Back to Me or Someday, Somewhere, as wistful as you can get while dancing at a beachside bar. Still, Sunshine maintains their ability to fill a room with atmospheric helium. The Music Sounds Better with You groove of The Wave or Move Like You Do's aerosolised Avalanches-style funk do nothing to subvert Jungle's arena-filling good vibes.

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9

television

From Tubi to Pluto — the best free streamers taking on Netflix

If you don't fancy Now or Disney+ there are gems to be found on lesser-known platforms, says James Jackson

To watch television today is to be in a constant dilemma. There is the endless choice as you click through rows of tiles in the catalogue of any streaming service (it was so much easier when it was a handful of channels and a few grumbles about repeats). Then there is the other dilemma: which streaming services to shell out for.

If you were to subscribe to all the biggest streamers in the UK — Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Now, Apple TV and Paramount+ — you could be paying close to £88 a month on top of the licence fee (which in April rose to £180 a year). And if you want to watch the new Harry Potter series coming on Christmas Day? You'll need to subscribe to HBO Max.

Or that cost could be chopped in half if you choose each streamer's bargain tier, which means watching The Crown with commercial breaks. These cheaper deals are proving popular (the number of with-ads packages taken out overtook the pricier ad-free ones for the first time late last year), but not paying to watch adverts a bit galling?

While the streaming giants receive all the hype, there is something else going on in TV: the rise of alternative free streamers. You'll of course know about iPlayer, ITVX and Channel 4 and 5's on-demand services. Viewing of these increased by 9 per cent year-on-year. Ofcom announced last month, making them the fastest-growing category of television service. Now iPlayer props up overall BBC viewing. But how about Tubi? Or Pluto TV, or Rakuten TV? Heard of those?

In industry terms you'd call them Avods (ad-supported video on demand) or Fast (free, ad-supported television). These streaming upstarts, Davids to the Netflix Goliath, are there online free, no account needed, and offering hours of stuff to watch in return for a few adverts.

Leading the charge in the UK is Tubi, which has more than 75,000 films and TV episodes available, having tripled the size of its catalogue since launching in early 2024. Internationally Tubi, which is owned by Fox Corp, announced last week

Clockwise from top: Birdman, Odd Man Out, Humans and The Bridge

that its monthly active users had reached 110 million in 2026. David Salmon, its executive vice-president, says: "We do offer a parallel choice. We have the largest content offering available in the UK of any of the major streamers. And it helps that we are free — when you talk about kind of barriers to entry, to be able to dive into what's on offer uninterrupted by the payment details is a big

advantage.

"In general, consumer preference is very broad, and this entire [free with ads] model is built around super-serving fandoms. Our plan is to just keep doubling down and providing users with the most choice possible so they can dive more deeply."

But who is watching Tubi? According to a 2025 YouGov survey, 51 per cent of Tubi's UK audience is Gen Z and millennial viewers, presumably happy to bypass traditional telly while being media-savvy and budget-conscious when it comes to streaming.

Most of Tubi's viewers, Salmon says, watch it on the biggest screen in the home (four out of five watch via connected TV screens). These streamers can be found pre-loaded on your screen or can be "cast" from your

phone or with an Amazon Fire stick or other device.

Browsing the homepage of each of the services can feel a somewhat random experience, at least until the algorithm has worked out what to feed you. An early go with Pluto TV, for example, offered ghost-hunting documentaries jostling below a row of such reality shows as Catfish: The TV Show and Laguna Beach.

"Fast" channels are also on the rise, which are on platforms such as Tubi, Pluto and Rakuten but can be found on the free streaming service Freely, which, backed by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and 5, is like an on-demand version of Freeview and has more than 75,000 hours of shows and films (the platform is integrated into new smart TVs or can be accessed through a Freely device plugged into your TV).

These online Fast offerings mimic traditional scheduled channels but curate particular shows or round up programmes or films on the same theme — a kind of midway ground between on-demand and trad telly. Which is great if you're really sick of surfing menus and feel watching wall-to-wall episodes of Judge Judy or Mr Bean is time well spent.

Truly, the modern TV world is a multifarious thing. And it seems the deeper you dive, the more gems can be found — for free, with just a few ads.

Tubi UK

What is it? A well-organised platform with purple and yellow branding and easy-to-navigate browsing categories. There is content from big Hollywood studios such as Lionsgate and NBCUniversal in addition to Tubi originals from the US. "Summer's Last Resort [a teen comedy] did really well for us," Salmon says.

TV shows Go to the "Brit List" collection, for example, and you get decent older series, from cult dramas such as Charlie Brooker's satire Dead Set and the AI-presaging Humans to the comedy The IT Crowd. Classic rock diehards, for example, could click on, say, Pink Floyd to get (unauthorised) documentaries about the band.

Films British films include Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and A Cock and Bull Story, while American ones include If Beale Street Could Talk and Donnie Darko. A row of "cult classics" includes The Big Lebowski and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Pluto TV

What is it? Launched in the UK in 2018, this streamer is now owned by the freshly minted Paramount Skydance conglomerate.

TV shows Unless you're interested in true crime documentaries or such shows as The Simple Life or Geordie Shore in the "Reality" row, head to the "On demand" tab and search in the "Bingeable dramas" to find a hotchpotch of old titles including Monkey and Cugney & Lacey.

Films A bewilderingly eclectic bunch, but with decent titles in the "Must watch" row: Birdman, Drive, Still Alice.

Rakuten TV

What is it? This streamer, owned by the Japanese conglomerate of the same name, can be a bit overwhelming to navigate, but some TV episodes seem to be ad-free. It is, though, perhaps more about the films on offer.

TV shows Scandi classics such as The Bridge, Borgen and The Killing can be found in the mix. In the "Live TV" tab, the Kids channel could offer background fare for tots.

Films Some decent options in the free-to-watch films once you get into the platform (JFK, The Big Short, Vice), while Rakuten has a rental service (you'll need to register). Disclosure Day, at £15.99, is No 1.

TPTV Encore

What is it? This is the catch-up offshoot of Talking Pictures TV. It's free once you've signed up, or there is a paid-for version without ads and with a few exclusives.

TV shows Z Cars, The Adventures of Robin Hood starring Richard Greene, Laurel and Hardy etc.

Films Some choice vintage cuts, such as James Mason in Odd Man Out, This Happy Breed, An Englishman Abroad and cult 1981 British horror The Appointment.

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10

first night

proms

LA Phil/Dudamel

Royal Albert Hall, London ★★★★☆☆

Championing lots of new music by Latin American composers will probably be seen as Gustavo Dudamel's most significant achievement in his 17 years at the helm of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. So it was apt that one of the most ambitious of these commissions should end the LA Phil's second night at the BBC Proms — and be enthusiastically acclaimed in a packed Albert Hall.

It's a ballet score with a story ripped from contemporary headlines. The alleged rape by police officers of a young woman in Mexico City in 2019 prompted a huge protest by women who threw pink glitter on the streets — an uprising given the name revolución diamantina. That's also the title of the 42-minute ballet by the Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz, who refers in her programme note to other rebellions against violence directed at women, including that by their own partners.

A serious subject, then, but Ortiz has the rhythms of Latin America in her blood (both her parents were folk musicians) and several of the six movements became far-from-sombre fiestas of rhythm led by a battery of percussion and enhanced by eight amplified female vocalists from the Los Angeles Master Chorale. They delivered mostly punchy nonverbal sounds, except towards the end when they erupted into feminist slogans.

There were more reflective moments and angry swirls of sound suggesting the fury of a gathering crowd. But the overall mood seemed surprisingly vibrant, given the dark context.

And the musical style? A postmodern potpourri, with some obvious nods to The Rite of Spring, a lot of minimalist pulsing and snatches of popular song as well as cacophonies of street sounds (the inevitable police whistle cutting through one climax).

Dull it never was, and predictably Dudamel was in his element directing a score with plenty of incident and colour. The orchestra played with much more enthusiasm than was evident in a performance of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony that came to life only in the forceful finale.

Richard Morrison

On BBC Sounds; at the Edinburgh International Festival, today; on BBC4/iPlayer

Xander Pang, centre, as the vigilante Light with the cast of a show that never takes itself too seriously

Manga and high camp

The popular Japanese franchise has been turned into a jolly new musical, says Kate Maltby

theatre

Death Note: The Musical

Barbican, London (340min) ★★★★☆

When killers walk free and the justice system buckles, how should we react? The central question of the Japanese manga franchise Death Note feels topical, with its musical incarnation opening as the fallout continues from the government's early release scheme. In the show's first scene, we meet Light Yagami, a high-school student raging at the news of a murderer's acquittal on a technicality. Fortunately, Light is soon given the power to kill at will, owing to a playful and bored god. Unfortunately, his vigilantism draws the attention of a police task force led by his own father, and of a detective with superpowers of his own, the mysterious "L".

The Death Note universe has spawned a 12-volume manga series, 37-episode anime adaptation, five movies including an American remake, plus video games and novelisations. Each has its own rules. But where other franchises might expect prior knowledge from its audience, Death Note: The Musical works hard to draw in newcomers (age guidance is 12 plus). Instead of packing in all the subplots from the established adventures of Light and L, Ivan Menchiel has constructed a clean and simple book framework telling a single

clear story. Veterans and novices alike will be enchanted.

As Light, Xander Pang is compelling, luring us into his ever-darker inner world. What makes this musical a standout, however, is the humour laced through the other performances, especially that of Colin Ryan as L, our Sherlockesque oddball detective, and Telly Leung as the Loki-like Ryuk, Light's cynical shinigami (a Japanese personal god of death). The joy of Death Note is that it never takes itself too seriously. These characters are high camp and utterly absurd, and they know it. It is just great fun.

Vocally, all perform well with Frank Wildhorn's rock opera score, but the breakout performance comes from Grace Mouat as Rem, a rival shinigami keeping an eye on Light's love interest. Her power ballad When Love Comes is a hairs-on-the-back-of-the-neck moment, as Rem realises she's going to have to intervene even at the cost of her own immortality. Earlier, the gods had united for one of the show's most memorable numbers in They're Only Human. Rem, an ice goddess in white, fails to maintain this chilly attitude to mortals, but Ryuk, beautifully costumed by Sachiko Nakahara in black leather and exposed bones, stays deliciously aloof.

To Sep 12

comedy

Ed Night

Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh ★★★★☆

A fair few comics of all ages can rattle out real proper gags, as cannily crafted as they are casually deployed. A fair few younger comics will touch on issues of mental health and being priced out of the housing market. Can anyone combine the two with a surer touch than Ed Night?

He's only 30 but has been doing shows for a decade. He comes across like a young-old master — fresh-faced, spiv-mounted — in this even better Fringe follow-up to last year's Edinburgh Comedy Award-nominated breakthrough. Mind you, he tells us, leaning on a crutch, nursing a recently broken foot, he's on his eighth or ninth breakthrough by now. "I can't afford to do it again."

In We'll Be Alright, Darling, Night spreads a morose sense of alienation with a supreme sense of relaxation. Sometimes he gives us a conspiratorial glance, as if to say, "Can you believe I just said that... Good, though, wasn't it?" He wraps his storytelling into his recent time in the hospital waiting room. Otherwise, this gently askew south Londoner wraps in everything from Roe v Wade to Freedom Passes, from bisexuality to the competing demands of depression and OCD.

He wraps in everything from mental health to gravy boats

He won't mention a problem unless it comes with a joke attached, however. Here are ideas about language, success, masculinity, suicide and generational inequality. Here, too, are more good laughs about gravy boats than I thought I'd have in one lifetime, let alone one hour.

Night often mentions his mother; less often his father, the comic and panel-show scriptwriter Kevin Day. He has his old man's sense of craft. Really, though, he has a stealthy, furtively revealing sense of fun that is all his own.

Dominic Maxwell To Aug 30

Flanked by shop window mannequins, Nichola McAuliffe buries deep under the skin of three very different women in Annie Wobbler (Revisited). It's more than 40 years since the playwright Arnold Wesker created these monologues for the actress, who eventually took them to the West End. She now presents a chronologically reordered text at the Pleasance Dome with some 21st-century elements scattered here and there.

The results are beguiling. Briefly disappearing behind a screen to change costume, McAuliffe immerses herself in each role, beginning with an insecure university graduate before moving on to a bestselling author and the title character, a rambling old dear

theatre

Annie Wobbler (Revisited)

Pleasance Dome, Edinburgh (90min) ★★★★☆

Nichola McAuliffe is beguiling

who was, apparently, a fixture in Wesker's own East End childhood. As with the recent revival of the Fifties domestic drama Roots, at the Almeida in London, the sharpness of the writing is a reminder that a Wesker revival is overdue.

A smug, unseen suitor is the target for barbs in the opening piece as a hesitant young woman, armed with her degree in French, tries to navigate the dating scene. In the second miniature, a successful novelist named Annabella Wharton parries questions from an invisible interviewer. Money is one of the subjects under discussion.

In The Birth of Shylock and the Death of Zero Mostel, Wesker's behind-the-scenes journal about the failure of his reinterpretation of The Merchant of

Venice, there's a touching paragraph in which, buoyed by thoughts of being the toast of Broadway, he excitedly calculates how much money he thinks is about to come rolling in. Wharton is a cooler customer; she likes to give the impression that she doesn't care one way or the other about her Swiss bank account.

And then comes the decrepit Annie, whiling away the hours at a railway station as she shuffles through fragments of her memory. Her mind cannot stop wandering. Darkness may be about to claim her, yet she still has stories to tell. It's a poignant end to a hypnotic performance.

Clive Davis

To Aug 31, then Finborough Theatre, London, Sep 2 to 26

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11

television & radio

This latest period heroine is an absolute hoot

James Jackson TV review

My Brilliant Career Netflix ★★★★☆

Who doesn't love Australian telly? Its dramas (The Newsreader) and its comedies (Colin from Accounts; Fisk), its soaps (Neighbours) and its kids shows (Bluey) have a kind of natural, unforced energy that we can't seem to get enough of. Now here's an Aussie period drama that again works wonders for not trying to be too clever, for being funny, for bouncing along like a daft kangaroo. My Brilliant Career is a billabong in a bit of a desert of a week for new telly. Yes, the plot of this adaptation of Miles Franklin's feminist novel sounds

identical to several hundred other period romps: a young woman in 1900 is required to marry, except she has no truck with the men/romance thing because she's too irrepressibly free-spirited. This again, except... this is Australian. By the 15-minute mark Sybylla has squatted down in the garden to have a pee from under her dress, uncouth spirit that she is.

But above all, it works because the actress playing Sybylla is such a hoot. The entire show can sometimes feel as if it's built around Philippa Northeast's face, such is its expressiveness: a frown wrinkling between wide-set eyes, a mouth downturning at the corners on the verge of amusement.

Sybylla, an aspiring writer of florid, ribald prose, has had to leave the family farm at dirt-poor Possum Gully to find a gentleman at posh Caddagat, the estate owned by savory granny Winifred (Anna Chancellor). Sybylla's sister Gertie is excited, advising her: 'Maybe you'll meet a handsome stranger and fall desperately in love!' To which Sybylla shook back, with a scoffing look on her face: 'That's your dream, Gertie. It's not mine!' Whatever could happen next?

Sybylla chances on Harry Beecham (Slow Horses 'Christopher Chung) taking off his shirt next to his steed to reveal a ripped torso. OK, rather than blushing with unbridled lust she instead delights in how his hotness has

Philippa Northeast as the 'uncouth spirit' Sybylla Melvyn

inspired a simile ('sun burns off the dew like drying sweat...'). Yet shortly afterwards she near-swoons when they join hands to dance.

This dance scene isn't to a fusty Sir Roger de Coverley but to the band's rendition of Rod Stewart's Young Turks, 82 years before it was released (because every period drama now has to have an anachronistic soundtrack). Which, like everything here, wanders the line between maddening and infectious, the latter winning.

Sybylla dances like a stomping, wild-haired wombat. As for Chung, whether or not you find him swoonsome he's unarguably a long way from his cringe-inducing 'Rodzilla' git in Slow Horses, showing instead a pleasant charisma.

Then a love triangle follows... OK, I'm making the series sound pretty naff, and that's unfair. Perhaps, and unlike the 1979 film adaptation that launched the brilliant careers of Judy Davis and Sam Neill, this has a very 2020s approach — not as annoyingly 'sexy' as Bridgeton, but with a gay subplot and Wet Leg needle-dropping apparently slanted at Gen Z.

But it's self-aware and doesn't sell out the empowerment message of Franklin's novel. And it says something about Northeast's terrific performance — along with the likeable Aussies— all round — that anyone, regardless of their age, will enjoy it. She's a ripper.

BBC Proms Radio 3, 7pm

The BBC Concert Orchestra under the principal guest conductor Edwin Outwater, alongside guest vocalists, celebrates Marvin Gaye, above. There are new arrangements of songs from throughout his career, from the classic pop of I Heard It Through the Grapevine to his later politically influenced work such as What's Going On. In the interval Gus Casely-Hayford, the director of V&A East, discusses his love of Gaye's music and the museum's opening show, The Music Is Black: A British Story, and the book he has written about its collection, Objects & Us: Why Things Matter. Clair Woodward

Times Radio

Digital, web, smart speaker, app 5.00am Tom Nunan with Early Breakfast 6.00 Rosie Wright and Calum Macdonald with Times Radio Breakfast 10.00 Ed Vaizey 1.00pm Dom Joly 4.00 Carolyn Quinn with Times Radio Drive 7.00 Geoff Norcott 10.00 Henry Bonsu 1.00am The Best of Times Radio

Radio 2

FM: 88-90.2 MHz 6.30am The Sara Cox Breakfast Show 9.30 Vernon Kay 12.00 Jeremy Vine 2.00pm Mark Goodier 4.00 Joel Dommett 7.00 Michelle Visage 8.30 Michelle Visage's Handbag Hits 9.00 Sophie Ellis-Bextor's Kitchen Disco 11.00 The Rock Show with Shaun Keaveny 12.00 Romesh Ranganathan: For the Love of Hip-Hop (r) 1.00am Tony Blackburn's Sounds of Soul 2.00 Pick of the Pops (r) 4.00 Radio 2 Unwinds with Angela Griffin (r)

Radio 3

FM: 90.2-92.4 MHz 6.30am Breakfast 9.30 Essential Classics 1.00pm Classical Live Including music from Tuesday night's Prom, plus recordings from festivals around the world including the Veriber Festival and Copenhagen's Festival and Friends. Saint-Saëns (Introduction and Rondo capriccioso in A minor, Op 28); Bantock (Overture – The Permit of the Minute); Bacewicz (Piano Quintet No 1); Beethoven (Symphony No 6 in F – Pastoral); Joaquin Despres (Motet – O bone et dulcissime Jesu); Poulenc (Flute Sonata); and Bartók (Concerto for Orchestra)

4.00 Composer of the Week: Montgérault (1764-1836) Donald Macleod and Clare Hammond discuss Hélène de Montgérault's musical imprint (r) 5.00 in Tune 7.00 Choice Live BBC Proms Edwin Outwater and the BBC Concert Orchestra performs another symphonic adventure, featuring the music of soul legend Marvin Gaye, at the Royal Albert Hall. Songs to include I Heard it Through the Grapevine; Too Busy Thinking About My Baby, Sunny, How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You), Can I Get a Witness, It Takes Two; Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing, If I Could Build my Whole World Around You; Your Precious Love; My Mistake (Was to Love You); You're All I Need to Get By; Ain't No Mountain High Enough; Let's Get It On; Mercy Mercy Me; Trouble Man; Inner City Blues; Here, my dear; After the Dance; I Want You; A Funky Space Reincarnation; Got to Give It Up and What's Going On 10.00 Late Junction Featuring a collaboration between Savina Yannatou and Johannes 'Mo'ong' Santoso Pribadi 11.30 'Round Midnight' Jamie Collum presents 12.30am Through the Night

Radio 4

FM: 92.4-94.6 MHz 5.00am News Summary 5.04 The Briefing Room (r) 5.34 Shipping Forecast 5.43 Prayer for the Day 5.45 Farming Today 6.00 Today 9.00 Desert Island Discs (r) 10.00 Woman's Hour Presented by Anita Rani 11.00 The Food Programme

11.45 Book of the Week: Hiroshima, 8.15: The Lost Memoir By Kiyoshi Tanimoto and Koko Kondo. Read by Mark Takeshi Ota and Naoko Mori and abridged by Jo Rowntree and Lisa Lipman (5/5) 12.04pm Rare Earth (1/6) 1.00 The World at One 1.45 Human Intelligence 2.00 The Archers (r) 2.15 Drama: Central Intelligence By Greg Haddrick (6/10) 2.45 Living on the Edge (7/10) (r) 3.00 Gardeners' Question Time 3.45 Short Works 4.00 Last Word 4.30 Sideways (5/8) (r) 5.00 PM 6.00 Six O'Clock News 6.30 The People Have Spoken Ian Smith seeks satirical solutions to the world's problems (1/3) 7.00 The Archers A decision is reached at Brookfield 7.15 Add to Playlist Soweto Kinch and NoLay select tracks by black British artists (1/6) 8.00 Any Questions? Chaired by Alex Forsyth 8.55 This Week in History (r) 9.00 Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics (3/7) (r) 9.30 Breakin' the Cycle (3/6) (r) 10.00 The World Tonight 10.45 Book at Bedtime The Vicar of Wakefield (10/10) 11.00 Americanist 11.30 A Good Read (8/9) (r) 12.00 News and Weather 12.30am Book of the Week: Hiroshima, 8.15: The Lost Memoir. The fifth and final part (r) 12.48 Shipping Forecast 1.00 As BBC World Service

Radio 4 Extra

Digital only 8.00am The Confessional 8.30 Adrian Mole: Cappuccino Years

8.45 Small Island 9.00 Olga Koch: OK Computer 9.30 Following the Martian Invasion 9.45 Daily Service 10.00 Soul Music 10.30 Pilot 11.00 The Wolf Far Hence 11.30 The Senior Partner 12.00 Flying the Flag 12.30pm Beyond Our Ken 1.00 The Confessional 1.30 Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years 1.45 Small Island 2.00 The Museum of Curiosity 2.30 Millipore 3.00 The Hunting of the Snark 3.45 Short Works 4.00 Soul Music 4.30 Pilot 5.00 The Wolf Far Hence 5.30 The Senior Partner 6.00 Flying the Flag 6.30 Beyond Our Ken 7.00 The Confessional 7.30 Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years 7.45 Small Island 8.00 The Museum of Curiosity 8.30 Millipore 9.00 The Hunting of the Snark 9.45 Short Works 10.00 Olga Koch: OK Computer 10.30 Njambi McGrath: Becoming Njambi 10.45 Riva James Is 11.00 Vent 11.30 Laura Solon: Talking and Not Talking

Radio 5 Live

MW: 692, 909 5.00am Wake Up to Money 6.00 5 Live Breakfast 9.00 Nicky Campbell 11.00 Gordon Smart 1.00pm Ella James and John Robins 2.00 Matt Chorley 4.00 5 Live Drive 7.00 5 Live Sport 8.30 Athletics 10.00 Stephen Nolan 1.00am Charlie Taylor

talkSPORT

MW: 1053, 1089 kHz 5.00am Early Sports Breakfast 6.00 Alan Brazil 10.00 Sam Matterface & Alex Crook 1.00pm Hawksbee and Jacobs 4.00 talkSPORT Drive 7.00 Kick Off: Wolverhampton Wanderers + Blackburn Rovers (Kick-off 8.00).

10.00 The Sports Bar Weekender. Sports news and debate 1.00am Extra Time with Ben Fletcher

Talk

Digital only 6.00am Ian Collins 10.00 Alex Phillips 1.00pm David Bull 4.00 Kevin O'Sullivan 7.00 Peter Cardwell 9.00 What Just Happened? with Kevin O'Sullivan 10.00 Andre Walker ft. Ash 1.00am Ben Fletcher

6 Music

Digital only 5.00am The Remix with Chris Hawkins 5.30 Chris Hawkins 7.00 Nick Grimshaw 10.00 Lauren Laverne 1.00pm Craig Charles 4.00 Huw Stephens 7.00 The People's Party with Femi Koleoso 9.00 Indie Forever 11.00 The 6 Mix with Mary Anne Hobbs 12.00 6 Music's Rare Forever 1.00am Forever Dark 2.00 Focus Beats 4.00 Ambient Focus

Virgin Radio

Digital only 6.30am The Chris Evans Breakfast Show 10.00 Emma D 2.00pm Ben Jones 6.00 Stu Elmore 10.00 Goldierocks 2.00am Jen Thomas

Classic FM

FM: 100-102 MHz 6.30am Classic FM Breakfast with Tim Lihoreau 9.00 The Classic FM Hall of Fame Hour with Tim Lihoreau 10.00 Alec Jones 1.00pm Anne-Marie Minhall 4.00 Margherita Taylor 6.00 Classic FM at the Minute with Jonathan Ross 8.00 Classical Spotlight with Alexander Armstrong 10.00 Calm Classics 2.00am Katie Breathwick

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12

television

PICKS OF THE DAY

Frank Skinner: 30 Years of Dirt Sky One/Now, 9pm

"They're filming this in black-and-white," says Frank Skinner to his audience of grey-sprinkled fans at the Soho Theatre in Walthamstow, east London. "They said that's how people picture me. It comes out on VHS next week." Having emerged on to the stage arms aloft, accepting the delighted applause of his fans with the confident

entitlement of a man who has sold out an extended nationwide tour including three West End runs, he sets out his store with a complaint as to the two empty seats in the front row. (He will, he explains with an air of a man who purposely left them empty, feel much better about the non-attendance if he drives past them being cut out of their car on his way home). Football might not have come home this summer, but with 30 Years of Dirt Skinner is triumphant. Helen Stewart

Frank Skinner (Sky One/Now, 9pm)

Beethoven's Seventh at the Proms BBC4, 7pm

After his appearance at the World Cup final half-time show, the Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel presents his second Prom of the season, directing the Los Angeles Philharmonic for a tantalising evening of energy and dance as he pairs Beethoven's Seventh Symphony with Gabriela Ortiz's Revolucion diamantina. If the reviews of a similar event

performed in LA in February are an indication, it promises to be a spectacular night characterised by Dudamel's signature physicality and momentum. The Seventh is suited to his style, with its propulsive sense of movement towards a prancing, dancing finale. After the intermission is the UK premiere of Ortiz's work, inspired by Mexico's 2019 Glitter Revolution protest, which was staged against state violence against women and girls. Georgia Mann presents. HS

BBC1

6.00am Breakfast 9.30 Animal Park (r) (AD) 10.00 Trace, Track, Get My Car Back (r) 10.30 Live European Athletics Championships: Birmingham 2026. Jeanette Kwalver presents coverage of the opening session on day five from Alexander Stadium, where the heptathlon gets under way with the 100m hurdles and high jump 1.15pm BBC News at One; Weather 1.40 BBC Regional News; Weather 1.50 BBC News at One; Weather 2.00 The Hairdresser Mysteries. Hallowe'en arrives along with an alarming crime wave, and Lily makes a chilling discovery (AD) 2.45 Escape to the Country. A couple seek a new home in Argyll and Bute (r) (AD) 3.30 The Repair Shop. Items including an old clocking-in clock are restored (r) (AD) 4.30 The Answer Run. Fast-paced quiz 5.15 Pointless. Quiz series (r) 6.00 BBC News at Six; Weather 6.30 BBC Regional News; Weather

BBC2

6.30am The Answer Run (r) 7.15 Money for Nothing (r) 8.00 Sign Zone: Marcus Wareing Simply Provence. A compilation edition (r) (SL) 9.00 BBC News 10.30 Antiques Road Trip (r) 11.15 Homes Under the Hammer (r) 12.15pm Bargain Hunt (r) (AD) 1.00 Richard Osmaris House of Games (r) 1.30 The Finish Line. Quiz show (r) 2.15 Do You Know Your Planet? Wrexham (r) 2.45 The Great Rift: Africa's Wild Heart. The Great Rift Volley's waterways (r) (AD) 3.45 The Great Rift: Africa's Wild Heart. The grasslands of east Africa (r) (AD) 4.35 Vintage Antiques Roadshow. (r) 5.15 Flog III: From Basingstoke (r) 6.00 Richard Osmaris House of Games. Chris Bisson, Danielle Harold, Katharine Merry and Robert Webb take part (r) 6.30 Bear Grylls: Wild Reckoning. Help for a married couple who are unable to agree on what type of house they should buy (r) (AD)

ITV1

6.00am Good Morning Britain 10.00 This Morning 1.30pm ITV News; Weather 2.00 Dickinson's Real Deal. David Dickinson and his team of dealers set up stall in Oldham, where Alison Chapman gets her hands on some puppets, and Cheryl Hackney falls for a beautiful brooch (r) (AD) 3.00 Deal or No Deal. Stephen Mulhern hosts as another contestant tries to open the 22 red boxes in the right order, taking on the infamous Banker for the chance to win a life-changing cash prize (r) (AD) 4.00 Tipping Point. Ben Shephard hosts the arcade-themed quiz in which contestants drop tokens down a choice of four chutes in the hope of winning a £10,000 jackpot (r) 5.00 The Chase. Bradley Walsh presents as four more contestants answer questions and work as a team to take on one of the ruthless Chasers and secure a cash prize (r) 6.00 Regional News; Weather 6.30 ITV News; Weather

Channel 4

6.30am The King of Queens (r) (AD) 7.45 Everybody Loves Raymond (r) (AD) 9.10 Fraser (r) (AD) 11.10 Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA. Help for a struggling Italian restaurant (r) 12.05pm Channel 4 News Summary 12.10 Find It, Fix It, Flog It. Wheel rims are turned into a cozy pair of stools (r) (AD) 1.10 The Great House Giveaway. Two strangers buy and renovate a property (r) 2.10 Countdown. With former Father Ted star Pauline McLynn in Dictionary Corner 3.00 A Place in the Sun. A Scottish man seeks a holiday home on Gran Canaria (r) 4.00 Saving Country Houses with Penelope Keith. In Dorset, rain and storms threaten Mapperion House's annual plant fair (r) (AD) 5.00 Château DIY. At Château de Saugé, the enormous Scottish-themed suite renovation has been completed (r) (AD) 6.00 American Pickers. A stash from one of the US' oldest bicycle and sporting goods stores is found in Washington DC (r) (AD)

5

6.00am Milkshake! 9.15 Jeremy Vine 11.30 Storm & Aliosis 12.45pm 5 News at Lunchtime 12.50 Matt Allwright 2.20 FILM: My Husband's Seven Wives (PG, TVM, 2024) A woman meets a stranger who claims to also be married to her husband, and the two uncover a web of lies surrounding him. Thriller starring Kristi Murdoch, Christina Licciardi and Kylie Delre 4.00 Castle. A mysterious recurring dream drives Castle and Beckett to seek some answers about the two-month period when he went missing – but their search for the truth has deadly consequences (r) 4.55 Love Nature. Winter on Islay, Scotland's southernmost Inner Hebrides island (r) 5.00 5 News with Dan Walker 6.00 Ibiza: Jewel of the Med. A visit to the Balearic island known for its world-class nightlife and rich cultural history (r) 6.55 5 News Update

7.00 The One Show at 20 Alex Jones and Roman Kemp present an extended edition bringing together some of the biggest names, favourite stories and standout moments from the past 20 years of the magazine show

7.00 Live European Athletics Championships: Birmingham 2026 Coverage of the evening session on day five from Alexander Stadium. Events include the women's 10,000m final, while the heptathlon also continues with the shot put. Coverage continues on BBC One

7.30 Abbey Clancy: Celebrity Homes The presenter visits the homes of fashion blogger and Love Island star Olivia Bowen, and Emma Thynn – the Marchioness of Bath (2/6) (r)

7.00 Channel 4 News

7.00 Tom Read Wilson's Magnificent Journey Having travelled across the Alps, Tom finds solace in the beauty of Lake Como, visiting Villa Balbianello before donning a mask for the Venice Carnival (2/3) (r)

8.00 Live European Athletics Championships: Birmingham 2026 Gabby Logan presents further coverage of the evening session on day five from Alexander Stadium. One of the most eagerly anticipated events of the championships brings the night to a close, with reigning champion Keely Hodgkinson of Great Britain, Dutch 400m world record-holder Femike Broeders-Bol and rising Swiss star Audrey Werro all expected to be in women's 800m contention. Finals also take place in the men's high jump, 400m hurdles and 200m, and the women's discus

8.00 Gardeners' World As the drought takes its toll on Longmeadow, Monty Don takes stock of his garden. Meanwhile, Frances Tiphill explores clifftop gardening in Clovelly, north Devon, and Adam Frost visits a historic Norfolk kitchen garden

8.00 Emmerdale Lewis surprises Kev with an announcement, and Bear urges Dylan to see a counsellor (AD) 8.30 Coronation Street Lucy's presence stirs up conflict, and Sarah finds an ally among her fellow jailbirds (AD)

8.00 Surgery Secrets of the Super Rich A beauty journalist has a £9,500 nano-fat treatment to rejuvenate her under-eye shadows, and a former professional footballer tackles hair loss head-on in an eight-hour transplant procedure (5/6) (AD)

8.00 Alexander Armstrong in Sri Lanka The presenter heads for the paradise isle of the Indian Ocean, exploring its historic culture. His first port of call is the fortress town of Galle, built by the Portuguese in 1588 (1/3) (r)

10.00 BBC News at Ten 10.30 BBC Regional News and Weather 10.40 Ann Droid Linda and Sue go camping to see a meteor storm under clear skies. See picks of the day (5/6) (AD)

10.30 Newsnight Headline analysis

10.00 The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox After four years, Amanda and Raffaele are finally fine – but home feels unrecognisable to Amanda, and she faces a public still determined to see her suffer for a crime she did not commit (7/8) (AD)

10.00 Big Fat Quiz: Best Bits There is quizzing disaster in every form imaginable, as the hilarious cast come unstuck in some of the finest moments from the Big Fat Quiz

10.30 Piers Morgan: Uncensored Opinion-led news and debate

11.10 FILM: Mothers' Instinct (15, 2024) When an accident shatters the harmonious lives of two housewives, guilt, suspicion and paranoia harm their sisterly bond. Drama starring Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain and Josh Charles. See film choice

11.05 FILM: On Falling (15, 2024) A Portuguese worker in a Scottish warehouse comes to terms with loneliness and alienation as she seeks meaning and connection. Drama starring Joana Santos

11.00 ITV News at Ten; Weather; followed by Regional News 11.50 Inside the Langham: Britain's First Grand Hotel The hostelry's managing director oversees progress on the Langham Venice (4/6) (r) (AD)

11.05 Sarah Millican: Chatterbox Live Stand-up show recorded at London's Bloomsbury Theatre in 2011, in which the comedienne shares humorous insights into her life, including the perils of living alone (r)

12.45am-6.00 BBC News

12.45am-1.45 Sign Zone: The Rapture A forensic psychologist meets a convicted murderer, who foretells an imminent apocalyptic disaster. Psychological thriller starring Ruth Madeley and India Amariello. Last in the series (r) (AD, SL)

12.15am Shop on TV 3.00 Force of Nature. How warming seas exacerbate the challenges of parenthood, with a hurricane hitting a flamingo colony while chicks are still on the nest (r) (AD, SL) 3.50 Long Lost Family. Two people search for their brothers (r) (AD, SL) 4.45-6.00 Unwind with ITV

12.10am Bill Bailey Live Part Troll The stand-up star performs at Hammeremith Apollo in 2004 (r) 1.35 Ramsay's Hotel Hell. A debt-ridden hotel in Idaho (r) (AD, SL) 2.25 Four in a Bed (r) 4.35 Couples Come Dine with Me (r) (SL) 5.30 Kirstie's House of Craft (r) 5.40-6.05 A Place in the Sun (r)

12.05am Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law (r) 1.00 Cruise TV (r) 2.00 Entertainment News on 5'2.10 GPs: Behind Closed Doors (r) 3.00 Castle (r) 3.45 Friends (r) (AD) 4.35 Cruising with Susan Calman (r) (AD, SL) 5.25 Entertainment News 5.35 Paw Patrol (r) (SL) 5.45-6.00 Adventures of Paddington (r) (SL)

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13

television

Ann Droid

BBC1, 10.40pm

The Basic Eldercare Robot Linda (Diane Morgan) encourages Sue (Sue Johnston) to dig out her tent, sing campfire songs and take a trip to watch a meteor shower, not the best news for their campsite's owls — or children. Morgan and Johnston are a charming double act and despite the sci-fi presence of an android, the writing is warm and surprisingly tender — watch for a perfect wordless scene

between Paul Ready's Michael and a drug-trial lawyer (Jake Bhardwaj). Victoria Segal

Carpe Diem

More4, 9pm

Foreign crime dramas that find an audience here tend towards the noirish, but this French-language show's casebook comes with a comic twist. Tom Villeneuve (Samuel Le Bihan) spent 17 years in prison for a crime that he didn't commit: now a lawyer, he's on a

mission to exonerate the innocent. Tonight he turns his unconventional legal skills towards helping a deep-sea fisherman who has killed a gangster in apparent self-defence. VS

STREAMING CHOICE

Duster

HBO Max

If your favourite moments in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood were Brad Pitt

driving along Sunset Strip, then do we have a series for you. Cancelled after one season, this JJ Abrams/LaToya Morgan 1970s-set crime thriller stars Lost's Josh Holloway as the rugged getaway driver Jim Ellis. Ellis teams up with the FBI's first black female agent, Nina Hayes (Rachel Hilson), to help to bring down the crime syndicate boss Ezra Saxton (Keith David). The plot is flimsy but the cars are beautiful and Hilson is terrific as a young black woman navigating the era's casual racism and sexism. Andrew Male

FILM CHOICE

Mothers' Instinct (15, 2024)

BBC1, 11.10pm

Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain play Celise and Alice, glamorous 1960s housewives and neighbours. After Celise's son dies in an accident, the unspoken conflict between the pair erupts in venomous accusations, guilty denials, ersatz apologies and physical violence. (94min) Kevin Maher

BBC4

7.00pm Beethoven's Seventh at the Proms. Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic perform works by Beethoven and Gabello Droz. See picks of the day 8.35 TOTP: 2000. With music by Geri Halliwell, Anne Martin, and more 9.05 TOTP: 2000. Acts include Geri Halliwell, Blink-182 and No Doubt 9.35 TOTP: 1985. Including music by Kate Bush and the Cars 10.05 TOTP: 1986. With B Bites, Lionel Riche and Anita Dobson 10.35 Ultimate Cover Versions at the BBC. Cover performances from the archives, with Moody Blues, Don McLean, Soft Cell, UB40 and more 11.35 Ultimate Cover Versions at the BBC. Volume 2. With Adele, Annie Lennox, Happy Mondays, Erasure, Blondie and Tina Turner 1.35am TOTP: 2000 2.35 TOTP: 1985 3.05am-3.35 TOTP: 1986

Sky Arts

6.00am André Rieu: La Vie Est Belle 7.45 Artist of the Year. Masterclass (AD) 8.45 Tales of the Unexpected (AD) 9.50 Alfred Hitchcock Presents 11.00 Discovering: Claude Rains (AD) 12.00 FILM: Seven Dials Mystery (12, TVM, 1981) 2.30pm Tales of the Unexpected (AD) 3.00 The Eighties (AD) 4.00 Discovering: Janet Leigh (AD) 5.00 Portrait Artist of the Year 2022 (AD) 6.00 Tales of the Unexpected (AD) 7.00 Alfred Hitchcock Presents 8.00 Guy Garvey: From the Vaults 9.00 The Thousand and One Musical Lives of Fleetwood Mac 10.15 Classic Albums 11.35 Fleetwood Mac: Live in Boston 2.00am The Eagles: Desperado 3.30 Discovering: Eagles 4.00 Skinner & Minds | Jimmy Road Trip: Pope & Swift (AD) 5.00am-6.00 Sky Arts Book Club Summer Reads Special

More4

8.55am Find It, Fix It, Flog It (AD) 10.00 Four in a Bed 12.40pm Come Dink with Me 3.20 Four in a Bed 5.50 Car SOS. Car restorations (AD) 7.55 Grand Designs. Following the building of a family home in a village in the Peak District (8/10) (AD) 9.00 Carpe Diem. Tom represents a deep-sea fisherman who admits to murdering a gangster, while Sigourney discovers a threatening figure from Tents past. In French. See picks of the day (2/6) (AD) 10.05 24 Hours in A&E. A nine-year-old boy has a dangerously high heart rate, and a 32-year-old has fallen 30ft from scaffolding (AD) 11.10 24 Hours in A&E. A 19-year-old woman is brought in with suspected spinal injuries (AD) 12.15am 999. On the Front Line 1.15 24 Hours in A&E (AD) 3.25am-3.55 A Place in the Sun

Wolverhampton Wanderers' new signing Kieran Trippier

Live The Hundred Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Cricket, 2pm-5.30 The women's Eliminator match at the Oval (Start-time 2.15)

Live Tennis Sky Sports Tennis, 4pm-4am, Sky Sports +, 5pm-4am Day two of the Cincinnati Open staged at Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio

Live PGA Tour Golf Sky Sports Golf, 5pm-11 Coverage of day two of the St Jude Championship which is staged at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee

Live The Hundred Sky Sports Main Event, 5.30pm-7.15, Sky Sports Cricket, 5.30pm-9 The men's Eliminator match at the Oval (Start-time 6.00)

Live EFL: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Blackburn Rovers Sky Sports Football, 7pm-10.30 (Kick-off 8.00). The opening match of the Championship campaign, held at Molineux

Talking Pictures

6.00am FILM: Identity Unknown (U, 1960) (b/w) 7.20 FILM: East of Sudan (U, 1964) 9.10 FILM: Beyond the Curtain (U, 1960) (b/w) 10.55 Litter Defence Volunteers 11.00 The Lucy Show 11.30 FILM: The Broken Horseshoe (PG, 1953) (b/w) 1.05pm The Edge Wallace Mystery Theatre (b/w) 2.15 The Adventures of Robin Hood (b/w) 2.45 FILM: Brandy for the Pursuit (U, 1952) (b/w) 4.20 Look at Life 4.30 The Chesters (b/w) 5.00 A Family at War 6.00 Rumpole of the Bailey 7.00 2 Cars (b/w) 8.00 Public Eye 9.10 Supernatural (7/8) 10.20 Tales of Frankenstein (b/w) 10.55pm FILM: The Devil Bat (PG, 1940) Horror with Bela Lugosi (b/w) 12.20am FILM: Gift Home (PG, 1952) (b/w) 2.25am-4.30 Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster

Film4

11.00am Cleopatra (PG, 1963) Historical epic starring Elizabeth Taylor 3.45pm Bingo of the Saans (U, 1963) Medieval adventure starring Ronald Lewis 5.30 The Battle at Apache Pass (PG, 1952) Western with Jeff Chandler 7.15 Horizon Line (15, 2020) An estranged couple discover new altitudes of fear aboard a single-engner Cessna plane when the pilot suffers a heart attack. Thriller starring Allison Williams 9.00 Fury (15, 2014) A tank crew undertakes a final dangerous mission behind enemy lines in the last months of the Second World War. Drama starring Brad Pitt (AD) 11.40 The Invitation (15, 2022) Horror starring Nathalie Emmanuel 1.45am-4.00 Infinity Pool (18, 2023) Horror mystery starring Alexander Skarsgard and Mia Goth

BBC3

7.00pm The Catch Up 7.05 Deadly 60. Steve Backshall and the team head to Norway 7.30 FILM: Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (PG, 2014) Fantasy comedy sequel starring Ben Stiller and Robin Williams (AD) 9.00 Death in Paradise. A women's football match is cut short when the star player is found dead (5/8) (AD) 10.00 Ghosts Australia (r) 10.25 Ghosts Australia (r) 10.50 Ghosts Australia. When Kate discovers an engagement ring, Sean promises an epic proposal (8/8) 11.15 He Had It Coming. Nine series. Comedy drama starring Lydia West and Natasha Liu Bordizzo 11.40 He Had It Coming 12.05am He Had It Coming 2.35 My Mute's a Bad Date (r) 2.55am-3.55 Death in Paradise (r) (AD, SL)

ITV2

6.00am Backyard Builds (SL) 6.30 Dress to Impress (AD, SL) 7.30 The Real Housewives of Potomac 8.20 The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills 9.15 The Only Way Is Essex 10.15 Drawouts Creek 11.10 Charmed 12.10pm Deal or No Deal (AD) 11.10 Supermarket Sweep 2.10 The Floor (AD) 3.10 The Only Way Is Essex 4.10 The Real Housewives of Potomac 5.00 The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills 6.00 Celebrity Catchphrase (AD) 7.00 The Floor (AD) 8.00 The 1% Club (AD) 9.00 FILM: John Wick: Chapter 2 (15, 2017) Action starring Keanu Reeves and Riccardo Scamarcio 11.25 Family Guy (AD) 11.55 Family Guy (AD) 12.25am American Dad! (AD) 1.25am-2.15 Bob's Burgers (AD)

ITV3

6.00am George and Mildred 7.05 Classic Emmerdale (AD) 8.05 Classic Coronation Street (AD) 9.10 Agatha Christie's Poirot (AD) 11.35 Heartbeat (AD) 1.35pm Midsomer Murders (AD) 3.35 Classic Emmerdale (AD) 4.40 Classic Coronation Street (AD) 5.50 Heartbeat: Rural drama series (AD) 8.00 Doc Martin. Martin prepares to face his hearing (8/8) (AD) 9.00 Doc Martin. Martin's medical career remains under scrutiny, as a GMC representative assesses both him and his surgery (1/8) (AD) 10.00 Coastchester. The suspicious death of a local man interrupts the villagers Easter Fole (1/8) (AD) 11.00 Coastchester (2/8) (AD) 11.50 Trial & Ambulation (1/10) 12.50am Trial & Ambulation 1.55am-2.20 George and Mildred

ITV4

6.00am Magnum, PI (AD) 8.00 Live World Series of Darts. The Auckland Masters 12.00 Dramatic Finishes 12.10pm Magnum, PI (AD) 3.15 Boon 4.15 The Professionals (AD) 5.25 British Touring Car Championship Highlights. Action from races staged at Knockhill 6.55 Sharpe. Despatches by Munro to kill a French colonel, Sharpe is wounded, but Harper and a mute nun set about nursing him back to health 9.00 FILM: RoboCup 2 (18, 1990) The cyborg law enforcer battles a deranged drug lord, unaware the corporation that created him is planning to replace him. Sci-fi thriller sequel starring Peter Weller (AD) 11.15 All Elite Wrestling Dynamite. Hard-hitting, high flying action 1.15am Dark Side of the Wing 2.05am-3.00 Two and a Half Men

ITV4

UKDrama

6.00am Teleshopping 7.15 The Bill 8.10 Doctors 9.20 Classic Holly City 10.40 Casualty (AD) 11.40 The Bill 12.40pm Classic EastEnders 2.00 Classic Neighbours 3.00 Whittstable Pearl (AD) 4.10 Lovejoy 5.20 As Time Goes By 6.00 Last of the Summer Wine 8.00 Father Brown. A murderer begins using Kembleford's model village to plan their attacks (AD) 9.00 Father Brown. Lady Felicia pays an impromptu visit (AD) 10.00 New Tricks. The four-year-old case of a murdered graffiti artist is reopened by the team (5/10) (AD) 11.20 Luther. The cop confronts the reality of his actions (4/4) (AD) 12.40am Lovejoy. Drama series 1.50 Sister Boniface Mysteries (AD) 2.50 Hotel Pymifres (SL) 4.00am-6.00 Teleshopping

Variations

BBC1 It Ireland 11.40pm The Big Deal with Steph McGovern (r) 11.40 Ann Droid 12.10am FILM: Mothers' Instinct (2024) 1.40am-6.00 BBC News

ITV1 Wales 7.00pm-7.30 Coast & Country

STV 7.00pm The STV Radio Football Takeover 7.30-8.00 What's on Scotland 12.15am-3.30 Shop on TV 4.45am-6.00 Unwind with STV

UTV 7.00pm UTV Life 7.30pm-8.00 Hidden Northern Ireland

BBC Scotland 7.00pm Reporting Scotland 7.30 Scotland's Greatest Escape (r) 8.00 Paramedics on Scene (r)

9.00 Hercules the Bear: A Love Story. Documentary (r) 10.00 Still Game (r) 10.30 Two Doors Down (r) 11.00pm-12.00 Situationships with Sophie and Christine (r)

SAC 6.00am Cyw 12.00 News 12.05pm Pysgod | Bawdy (r) 12.30 Heno (r) 1.00 Y CI Perflaith (r) 1.30 Dan Do (r) 2.00 News 2.05 Pynhawn Da 3.00 News 3.05 Ty Ffll (r) 4.00 Awr Fawr. Octavius (r) 4.10 Og y Dramog Hapus (r) 4.20 Misho (r) 4.30 Joni Jet (r) 4.45 Parc Glan Gwil (r) 5.00 Shwrah: Lego-Yfrindiau: Amdari Fercfied! (r) 5.10 Bwystfil (r) 5.20 Prys at iPryfed (r) 5.35 Ar Goll yn Oz (r) 6.00 Gerdil-Cymru (r) 6.30 Garddo a Mwy (r) 7.00 Heno 7.30 News 8.00 Mike Bubbins: Un Mewn Mlown (r) 8.55 News 9.00 Am Drol (r) 10.00 Y Dnis (r) 10.30pm-11.35 Miesig Fy Mywyd (r)

PBS America

8.00am Weathered: Earth's Extremes 8.35 Digging Up Britain's Past 9.35 The Real Truth. Examining stress 10.40 Battle of Okinawa in Colour 11.50 Fall of Japan in Colour 1.00pm Weathered: Earth's Extremes 1.35 Digging Up Britain's Past 2.35 The Real Truth 3.40 Battle of Okinawa in Colour 4.50 Fall of Japan in Colour 5.50 Digging Up Britain's Past. Bridgewater Canal 6.50 The Real Truth 7.30 Battle of Okinawa in Colour. The story of the fight for Okinawa 9.00 Fall of Japan in Colour. Examining the travels of war correspondent William Courtenay 10.00 The Real Truth. Examining the pros and cons of stress (2/6) 11.10 Weathered: Earth's Extremes 12.00 Battle of Okinawa in Colour 1.05am-2.00 Weathered: Earth's Extremes. Climate challenges

Sky Atlantic

6.00am Fish Town (r) 8.00 Billions (r) (AD) 10.15 House of the Dragon (r) (AD) 12.35pm Homicide: Life on the Street (r) 2.30 Billions (r) (AD) 4.35 The Last of Us (r) (AD) 6.40 House of the Dragon (r) (AD) 7.45 House of the Dragon. Rhaenyra makes an attempt to strike a bargain with Rhaenyra (r) (AD) 9.00 Station Eleven. Kristen travels back to the apartment she shared with Jeevan and Frank to confront the source of her trauma (7/10) 10.00 Station Eleven. Kristen arrives in Severn City to rescue the Travelling Symphony (8/10) 11.00 House of the Dragon. Rhaenyra grows desperate for a sign that she will prevail (r) (AD) 12.15am House of the Dragon (r) (AD) 1.40 Billions (r) (AD) 3.40 The Guest Wing (r) (AD) 4.35 Sort Of (r) (AD) 5.05am-6.00 Urban Secrets (r)

Sky Docs

6.00am The 2010s (r) 7.00 Discovering: Glenn Close (r) (AD) 8.00 The Directors (r) (AD) 8.55 100 Foot Wave (r) (AD) 10.55 Celtics City (r) (AD) 12.00 Enigma (r) 2.00pm FILM: Busby (PG, 2019) (AD) 4.00 The Directors (r) (AD) 5.00 Discovering: Glenn Close. The life and career of the actor (r) (AD) 6.00 Queen of Speed (r) (AD) 8.00 Savage Mountain. The story of Kristin Harita's climb of the world's 14 highest mountains (r) (AD) 10.00 FILM: The Alpinist (12, 2021) Documentary about climber Marc-André Leclerc (AD) 11.50 Williams & Mansell: Red 5. The rise of drive Nigel Mansell and the Williams F1 racing team (r) (AD) 1.40am FILM: Base Not Coming Back (PG, 2020) 3.40 Nick Cave's Veiled World (r) 5.00am-6.00 Discovering: Glenn Close (r) (AD)

UK Yesterday

6.10am Abandoned Engineering (AD) 8.00 Bangers & Cash. Restoring Classics (AD) 10.00 Great War Stories (AD) 11.00 The World at War 12.00 Antiques Roadshow 2.00pm Bangers & Cash (AD) 4.00 Great War Stories (AD) 5.00 The World at War. Documentary series 6.00 Antiques Roadshow 7.00 A Perfect Planet. A book at the destabilising effect human activity is having on the Earth (AD) 8.00 Canal Boat Diaries. Robbie helps rescue a runaway boat on the Macclesfield Canal (7/10) (AD) 9.00 Canal Boat Diaries. From High Lane to Manchester (8/10) (AD) 10.00 Bangers & Cash (AD) 11.00 Bangers & Cash (AD) 12.00 Bangers & Cash: Restoring Classics (AD) 1.00am Find It, Fix It, Flog It 2.00 Abandoned Engineering (AD) 3.00am-6.10 Teleshopping

---

14

MindGames

Backgammon Chris Bray

UBC Contender finals

As a precursor to the world championships in Monte Carlo, the final rounds of the Ultimate Backgammon Championship (UBC) Contender tournament were completed. There was a different format this year with each player meeting the others four times each. Each match was to seven points with one point for the win and one point for the better performance rating (PR) in each match.

All four players acquitted themselves well, but both Marc Olsen (Denmark) and Oliver Squire (UK) made some very uncharacteristic errors. Marc tired towards the end of the two-day event, and he will not be happy when he comes to analyse his performance. This reminds us that to play top-class backgammon you need to be fit, both mentally and physically.

By the time the 11th round of matches started, Marc and Oliver had been eliminated and it was left to the two Japanese players to fight it out. This weeks position shows the dennenment from the match in which Michihito Kageyama (Michy), playing Black, had to win both

the match and the PR against Hideaki Ueda to extend the tournament.

Holding a four-cube, Michy put the match on the line by redoubling to eight. Would you have redoubled as Black? Would you have taken as White? This is basically a three-roll ending, but one where both players can still fail to take checkers off with some rolls. For example, an immediate 43 by Black must be played 8/1 when he will still need three rolls to bear off his checkers.

XG has this right on the borderline, and both redouble and no redouble are correct. After the correct redouble from Michy and the easy take from Hideaki, Michy produced one of his worst numbers, 21, played 8/6, 1/0. Now he has lots of missing numbers next turn. However, Hideaki rolled double sixes and when Michy failed to roll his own set of boxes, the match was over and Hideaki had qualified to meet Zdenek Zidka in the autumn.

Hideaki's overall PR for the tournament was a staggering 2.45, which would qualify him as a super grandmaster. Michy was the next best on 2.95. Hideaki easily outplayed the other three and was a very worthy winner. chrisbraphg@gmail.com

Winning Move

White to play.

This position is from Paravyan-Hnatyshyn, chess.com 2026.

As Bob Dylan once observed, "When you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose." While White ain't exactly got nothing, he is a rook and two pieces down and threatened with the loss of his queen (I...Nid2+) The time for conservative play is long gone. White needs to avoid entreaties not to panic and hit the desperation button now. How?

Codeword No 5919

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

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

Every letter in this crossword-style grid is represented by a number from 1 to 26. Each letter of the alphabet appears in the grid at least once. Use the letters already provided to work out the identity of further letters. Enter letters in the main grid and the smaller reference grid until all 26 letters of the alphabet have been accounted for. Proper nouns are excluded. Yesterday's solution, right

Chadines Stuck on Codeword? To receive 4 random clues call 0901 293 6262 or text TIME CODE to 64343. Calls cost £1 plus your telephone company's network access charge. Texts cost £1 plus your standard network charge. For the full solution call 0905 757 0142. If you have an old newspaper and need clues from the past 7 days, call 0905 624 0024. Calls to 0905 cost £1 per minute plus your telephone company's network access charge. SP: Spoke, 0333 202 3390 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5.30pm).

Lexica Easy No 9053 Hard No 9054

Slide the letters either horizontally or vertically back into the grid to produce a completed crossword. Letters are allowed to slide over other letters.

Train Tracks No 2944

Lay tracks to enable the train to travel from village A to village B. The numbers indicate how many sections of track go in each row and column. There are only straight sections and curved sections. The track cannot cross itself.

Quintagram® No 2646

Solve all five cryptic clues using each letter underneath once only

1 Explorer tense on small bed (5)

— — — — —

2 Retired elitist collecting eastern relics? (5)

— — — — —

3 Very unusual hollow tin Roman god (6)

— — — — —

4 Half of tiny rubies reshaped for emperor (8)

— — — — —

5 Craft features at front of joint (8)

A	A	B	B	C	C	E	E
H	I	I	I	L	N	N	O
O	P	R	R	S	S	S	S
S	T	T	T	T	U	U	V

Solve Ponder crossword on Wednesdays and Fridays at thetimes.com/puzzles and on the Live app

KenKen Difficult No 6911

All the digits 1 to 6 must appear in every row and column. In each thick-line "block", the target number in the top left-hand corner is calculated from the digits in all the cells in the block, using the operation indicated by the symbol.

Futoshiki No 5459

Fill the blank squares so that every row and column contains each of the numbers 1 to 5 once only. The symbols between the squares indicate whether a number is larger (+) or smaller (-) than the number next to it.

Kakuro No 4418

Fill the grid using the numbers 1 to 9 only. The numbers in each horizontal or vertical run of white squares add up to the total in the triangle to its left or above it. The same number may occur more than once in a row or column, but not within the same run of white squares.

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15

MindGames

times2 Crossword No 10,235

Across

1 Too high in pitch (5) 7 Of a bone of the lower leg (7) 8 Stiff dressmaking fabric (7) 9 Become happier (5,2) 10 Saturn's largest moon (5) 11 Steeped (herbs, eg) in liquid to extract flavour (7) 13 Pair of artistes (3) 15 Curving line (3)

Solution to Crossword 10,234

17 Moves up and down as if on a pivot (7) 19 Shingy, penny-pinching (5) 21 Made of baked clay (7) 23 Devon coastal town (7) 24 Discontinuous (7) 25 Tree with fragrant wood (5)

Down

1 Noticed, saw (7) 2 Thieves' jargon (5) 3 Multipurpose pocket tool (8) 4 Orchestra instrument (4) 5 Sunshine state of the USA (7) 6 Greyhound track's starting stalls (5) 7 Small towel (4,7) 12 Of a whole organisation and its processes (8) 14 Relative of the emu (7) 16 Baseball fielder (7) 18 Roman love goddess (5) 20 Marrow or squash, eg (5) 22 Possess, own (4)

Need help with today's puzzle? Call 0905 757 0143 to check the answers. Calls cost £1 per minute plus your telephone company's network access charge. SP: Spoke, 0333 202 3390 (Mon-Fri 9am-5:30pm).

Bridge Andrew Robson

Top Twenty Conventions

1. Stayman

Actually the world-famous (for good reason) Stayman convention was invented by Sam Stayman's bridge partner George Rapee (and also, simultaneously by the shy co-founder of the British Acol system Jack Mars, who never went public with it). Rapee (with whom I've teamed up — what a lovely man he was) told Stayman about his little idea and gave him permission to write it up in The Bridge World magazine in 1945. The rest, as they say, is history.

The Holy Grad of bidding is locating a four-four major-suit fit. Using natural methods, this is hard to do after partner opens INT. In Mars-Rapee (shall we call it that — just for fun?), a 2♠ response asks the INT opener to bid a four-card major (2♥ with both, 2♦ without other).

The big question is: "When should you bid Stayman?" To keep life simple for their students, teachers often say, "Game-going values (II or more points facing a 12-14 INT) with a four-card major."

Yes ... but you can bid Stayman without game-going values — as long as you can cater to opener's three replies. There are two hand-types for "Weak Stayman".

(a) Five-four in the majors. Pass if partner replies 2♥/♠: convert 2♦ to your five-card major. Actually, you should always bid Stayman with five-four in the majors, regardless of point-count.

(b) Five diamonds and three/four cards in both majors. Pass any reply.

Would you respond 2♠ Stayman with these?

♠ 7562 ♠ 872 ♠ 9842 ♠ 883 ♥ 0232 ♥ 79885 ♥ 018452 ♥ 9732 ♦ 90532 ♦ 4874 ♦ 5 ♦ 8108 ♣ 2 ♠ 874 ♣ 0105

With the first, yes, pass any reply. With the second, no. Make a 2♦ transfer (see next Friday).

With the third, yes — always bid Stayman with five-four in the majors. Pass a 2♥/♠ reply; convert 2♦ to 2♥.

With the fourth, no. Although you are game-going with a four-card major, you are soon nottrumpy and your four-card major is soon poor that I wouldn't bother. As a guide, I'd say don't bid Stayman with a 4333 shape.

(1) Would Stayman, able to pass any reply.

With dummy weak with (almost certainly) a ruffing value, this is a trump-loading auction. Tuck one goes ♠1 ♠2 ♠3 ♠4. As declared, you cash ♠4 and ruff ♠2. You then cross to ♥3, back to ♥4 and ruff ♥6. You now ruff ♠4 and lead ♥8. Whether or not East ruffs high, you must score your ♠10 and that's eight tricks. andrew.ritrosofthelimes.co.uk

Brain Trainer

Polygon

From these letters, make words of four or more letters, always including the central letter. Answers must be in the Concise Oxford Dictionary, excluding capitalised words, plurals, conjugated verbs (past tense etc), adverbs ending in LY, comparatives and superlatives. How you rate 13 words, average; 18, good; 22, very good; 26, excellent

Yesterday's answers

aback, arak, award, back, backward, bard, bark, bowel, brock, brad, brow, carb, card, crab, craw, dark, drab, drack, draw, drawback, kara, rack, wack, wada, ward, wrack

Cell Blocks No 5802

Divide the grid into square or rectangular blocks, each containing one digit only. Every block must contain the number of cells indicated by the digit inside it.

Set Square No 4421

Enter each of the numbers from 1 to 9 in the grid, so that the six sums work. We've placed two numbers to get you started. Each sum should be calculated left to right or top to bottom.

Please note, BODMAS does not apply

Killer Moderate No 10,876

Killer Deadly No 10,877

As with standard Sudoku, fill the grid so that every column, every row and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9. Each set of cells joined by dotted lines must add up to the target number in its top-left corner. Within each set of cells joined by dotted lines, a digit cannot be repeated.

Clockless Stuck on Sudoku, Killer or KenKen? Call 0901 293 6263 before midnight to receive four clues for any of today's puzzles. Calls cost £1 plus your telephone company's network access charge. SP: Spoke, 0333 202 3390 (Mon-Fri 9am-5:30pm).

Solutions

Quick Cryptic 3379

Sudoku 17022

Sudoku 17023

Sudoku 17024

Killer 10,874

Killer 10,875

Codeword 5918

Teterror 700

Cell Blocks 5801

Futoshiki 5458

Kakuro 4417

Train Tracks 2943

KenKen 6910

Today's solutions

Crypto

Quintagram

1 Scott

2 Brown

3 Vulcan

4 Tiberian

5 Standup

Quiz

1 Alan Partridge 2 English language 3 Cream 4 Only Pools and Fierces 5 Nokia 6 Manchester, as in the Greater Manchester Police 7 Blackboard or Edward Teach 8 Cardiac muscle or myocardium 9 1919 to 1939 10 Favourite Worst Nightmare 11 Guadalquivir 12 Beirut 13 Facial Justice 14 Golf 15 Art Malik

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THE TIMES

14.08.26

MindGames

Word watch

David Parritt

Keraunograph

a An image impressed by lightning

b A diagram for recording dance steps

c A device for measuring hair strength

Compages

a The countryside

b A structure

c Organisms aiding the decay of matter

Myelon

a A wild mountain sheep

b The spinal cord

c A synthetic fabric

Answers on page 15

Sudoku Mild No 17025

Difficult No 17026

Fiendish No 17027

	4	2				8	1
8			3		4		9
			7	9	8
5	3						8
2	8		5	3	6		9
		6				5
3	1		6		5		7

8		1
		9	8		7
			6			2	8
9		4			6		2
		2	5		1	3
3			4			7	6
5		6			8
			3		4	8
						5	1

		2				8
							6
5			1		8			3
		8		2		1
	2			9	1
9	7					2
	4	3			2			6
		5	8	7
			5			7

Fill the grid so that every column, every row and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9.

The Times Daily Quiz Olav Bjortomt

1 In 2020, a brass statue of which Steve Coogan character was temporarily erected in Norwich?

2 Henry Fielding accused poet laureate Colley Gibber of "High Crimes and Misdemeanors" against which language?

3 Strawberry fool is made with strawberries, lemon juice and which dairy product?

4 Del Boy falls through an open bar flap in the 1989 Yuppy Love episode of which sitcom?

5 Which Finnish company first introduced the game Snake on mobile phones in 1997?

6 The GMP is a police force headquartered in the Newton Heath area of which English city?

7 Which English pirate's (d 1718) second-in-command was Israel Hands, who captained the sloop Adventure?

8 In the human body, what type of muscle

forms part of the wall of the heart?

9 The subtitle of EH Carr's book The Twenty Years' Crisis refers to which interwar period?

10 Which 2007 Arctic Monkeys album features the singles Brianstorm, Fluorescent Adolescent and Teddy Picker?

11 Historically, Seville lies on the east bank of which river, the only major navigable river in Spain?

12 In 1995, the fashion designer Georges Hobeika opened his atelier in which Middle Eastern capital?

13 Which 1960 dystopian sci-fi novel by LP Hartley is set in the aftermath of a Third World War?

14 18 Biedies is a mobile app for players of which sport?

15 Which British-Pakistani actor is pictured?

Answers on page 15

Sakuro No 4820

Place the numbers 1 to 9 in the spaces so that the number in each circle is equal to the sum of the four surrounding spaces, and each colour total is correct

For interactive puzzles visit thetimes.com

The Times Quick Cryptic No 3380 by Cheeko

1		2		3		4		5		6		7
8								9
10						11
12				13						14		15
16		17		18		19				20
21								22
23						24

Across

8 Volume about exposed lives causing strong feeling (7) 9 Let everybody down essentially (5) 10 Understood diplomacy about India (5) 11 Protein in stale nuts (7) 12 Bury religious subgroup's cross (9) 14 Age fragment from triceratops (3) 16 Shade house periodically (3) 18 Shocking actor is out, mostly performing (9) 21 Writer's attitude Democrat forced on others (7) 22 Deputy colonel retreating — indication of hesitation (5) 23 Odd hint of dew on dam (5) 24 Sharp knife left in strange places (7)

Down

1 Accompanied fool, stopping when confused (4,4) 2 Animal in ancient times aboard ark? (6) 3 Reportedly selected northern Brit many moons ago (4) 4 Remove TV set up in vacated domicile (6) 5 Perform under girl in charge of a myriad of stars? (8) 6 Carefree couples starting blog itemise headlines (6) 7 Tense wife in couple (4) 13 Composition in D sharp you almost screwed up (8) 15 Company skilfully covering bungle up (8) 17 Naughty priest's wit (6) 19 Plant impetuous former princess breaks (6) 20 Hold old trophy in 100 years (6) 21 Area south of island state (4) 22 Youth boxes European first (4)

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THE TIMES

Bricks & Mortar

FRIDAY AUGUST 14 2026

Inside

Aga saga The making of a middle-class icon

Page 6

Plus

For sale, a vision

Would you buy an architect's home? Page 8

Buy. Sell. Move. Improve. Your weekly property guide

Doing the honours

Everything you need to know about buying student property for your children

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Bricks&Mortar

Cover story

PROPERTY BAROMETER

39%

Burglary claims were up by this much between 2023-2025. The average claim value is £40,000, a 20 per cent increase Source: Anisa Private Clients

Second home hotspots where cottages have fallen in value

The value of the average cottage in the UK is down 0.3 per cent

North Devon	-6.1%
Ceredigion	-6%
East Lindsey	-5.7%
Isle of Wight	-5.1%
Cotswold	-4.2%
East Devon	-3.9%
South Lakeland	-3.8%
Dorset	-3.3%
Torbay	-3.2%
East Suffolk	-2%
UK	-0.3% Source: Zepala

£24,598

A dedicated home gym or workout room is the most in-demand feature for new home buyers, adding this much in value to the average home

Source: UK Property Development

Holiday lets for sale

The proportion of holiday lets for sale in each region of England

106.7%

the stamp duty land tax bill for the average UK property has increased by this percentage over the past decade, while the typical house price has only increased by 28.4%

Source: Slick Rotterdam

Landlord sales are slowing

The percentage of sellers who are landlords from 2019 to 2026*

*Less: Source: Hotspots Research

Should you buy your child a student house?

Purchasing somewhere for your off-to-uni offspring may seem wise, says Jayne Dowle, but there are hidden costs to consider

It's a thought that crosses the mind of many a student parent. Rather than musing out maintenance loans to pay rent on shabby student digs, why not buy your child a place to call their own? If your offspring shares with friends, the rental income could cover the costs of their degree or fund the deposit on their first proper home.

Demand for decent private student lets is high, especially in prestigious university cities. As well as students, these cities are home to young professionals needing rental accommodation, an option after your student graduates.

"It depends on the location and what's already available for students," says Sophie Lang, the director and owner of the estate and letting agent Lang Llewellyn & Co. "It's generally more expensive for students to rent than the private rented sector, but purpose-built student accommodation [PBSA] can dominate a local market. However, in my experience, students prefer the private rented sector [where] they live as a family."

A student-orientated investment is also less exposed to changing markets than holiday cottages, for example, which are increasingly subject to falling occupation rates and punishing local authority rules.

Here are the points to consider, from the fun stuff to hard financial facts.

Is it right for your family?

This is a family decision, including any other children you have — could you afford to do it for them all? Also, some young people feel uncomfortable acting as a de facto landlord to their friends.

If it's a long degree course, it makes more sense than if they are on a sandwich course with years abroad or placements. If your student offspring moves out after 12 months, would you be prepared to seek new tenants?

"Another big thing is, would you keep it on as a student let after your child had graduated, or revamp and offer it to a wider demographic?" Lang asks.

Think about practicalities too. Unless you want to be on call 247, you'll need a dependable local letting agent with a property management arm. Plus, rent is taxable income, so taking rent from your student's housemates may push you up a tax band.

How to choose the right property

Start looking as soon as you decide — don't wait for the next academic year to loom. The number of bedrooms is crucial too, because of HMO (houses in multiple occupation) rules. These vary

£400

Students' average monthly rent to parents or guardians

£7,500

Annual allowance you can earn tax-free through the Rent a Room scheme

around the UK, but in England and Wales, if at least three tenants live there, forming more than one household and sharing amenities such as lavatory, bathroom and kitchen, a property becomes an HMO. It is then subject to certain regulations and must be licensed.

However, if you choose a smaller property, your student can take in friends as paying tenants, or as lodgers under the government's Rent a Room scheme, which allows tax-free earnings up to a threshold of £7,500 per year.

"We are doing this in Leeds for our son," one parent says. "He is the owner occupier and has a lodger agreement with his friend. We went for two bedrooms to avoid HMO rules and our son only wanted to share with one other person."

Nicholas Finn, managing director of Garrington Property Finders, highlights a difference between overseas and domestic buyers.

While the latter tend to wait until their student is halfway through the first year of halls before deciding to buy, the former act in advance. "In locations such as Oxford, Cambridge and London, where capital values will be highest, there is that mindset of 'my child will be studying in the UK, give them somewhere with no distractions, let them focus on what's almost a job of getting a degree'," he says.

Remember you won't live there

Aside from providing brand-new-with-warranties appliances, ensuring the bathroom is well appointed and that furniture is modern, remember that today's late teens/twenty-somethings love a vibrant colour palette, says the renters' blogger Ammarah Hasham.

"Avoid anything frilly around the beds, shaggy rugs and clunky furniture, and

Buy-for-uni mortgages

Vernon Building Society it is possible to borrow up to 100 per cent of the property price, which is supported by the parents, who will be joint borrowers. Where there is a deposit of less than 20 per cent, cash must be deposited in a Vernon BS savings account, or a charge placed over the parents' property.

Bath Building Society The mortgage will be in the joint names of the student and parent(s), but the property can be owned solely by the student, to avoid additional stamp duty liability. As well as the parents' support, Bath BS will also consider rental income from the other rooms towards affordability.

Loughborough Building Society Loughborough BS will lend up to 100 per cent of the property's value. Loans greater than 80 per cent need security through other means. This includes savings, allowing family members to use their money to help the borrower without having to give the money to them.

focus on good lighting, preferably wireless, compact storage solutions and easy-to-maintain flooring," she says.

Keeping pace with swanky PBSAs that offer dining rooms, cinema rooms and rooftop gyms, the best private student rentals are now indistinguishable from grown-up properties.

But not all — 41 per cent of students think their university home is poor value for money, rising to 49 per cent of those renting from a private landlord, according to the money advice website Save the Student's latest National Student Accommodation Survey.

Who's in charge: student landlord or letting agent?

Is asking a young person to be landlord a recipe for stress or a real opportunity for adulting?

Even if you employ a good agent, there can be challenges. One student landlord says that everything ran smoothly until the letting agent took longer than the legal requisite of ten days in England and Wales (different schemes operate in Scotland and Northern Ireland) to return tenant deposits at the end of the tenancy.

"We've heard that because it's a friend who's the landlord, sometimes housemates haven't been quick to pay the rent," says Zoe Cooke, 51, mother of four daughters, and co-owner of the 99,000-strong student parent advice Facebook group What I Wish I Knew About University (WIWIKAU).

"It's too much for a young person having that on their shoulders," she says. "I do know families who have done it, and I wouldn't say the parents would be quick to do it again."

How to find the best source of funds

There are three typical routes, says Mark Harris, chief executive of the mortgage broker SPF Private Clients.

Buying as a second home Parents could purchase the property as a second home and let their child stay there. The

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Bricks&Mortar

COVER IMAGE CREATIVE CONCEPT BY DAVID BILTY IMAGE REALISED BY GEMINI BELOW ABUSE STAGE

Average student rent across the UK

"level of land" is based on the income of the applicant/s, also taking in assessment of their main residence.

"If you wish to let rooms, it is best to consult with the lender, but it should allow the property to have lodgers," Harris says.

As it is a second home, there will be increased stamp duty to pay, 3 per cent above base, even if the property itself is below the threshold of £125,000.

Buy-to-let (BTL) "You could purchase as a BTL, but should you require a mortgage and intend for your child to live there; this would be deemed a regulated loan," says Harris — typical BTL mortgages are unregulated as there is no personal residency.

Regulated BTL mortgages are typically sourced via small building societies such as Furness, Marsden and Swansea. "However, products of this ilk tend not to be underwritten with rental income used to govern the level of lend, but are affordability/income based," Harris warns.

Buying an HMO impacts the mortgage products available, Harris adds, as

products are typically more expensive and less available. He also highlights a select number of products specifically designed for student property investing, so-called Buy for Uni mortgages.

Buying in your child's name "This is done via a joint borrower/sole proprietor [JBSP] mortgage," Harris explains. "The parents' income is used in underwriting to boost the level of borrowing while not being named on the property deeds.

"JBSP mortgages are increasingly available and high loan-to-values are achievable. Also, there is the consideration for where any deposit is sourced," Harris says. "The Bank of Mum and Dad may gift the deposit but some may loan the deposit or even consider a second charge loan on their main/another property."

However, if the property is put in the young person's name, they won't be able to take future advantage of the first-time buyers' government bonus from an existing Help to Buy Isa or Lifetime Isa (Lisa), or first-time buyers' stamp duty relief.

Consider other costs

Lots of student properties are rented with all bills included. However, most include an annual spending limit on gas, electric, water and wifi.

When that limit has been met, tenants must foot the shortfall. This should be clearly outlined in the tenancy agreement, Cooke says.

You will pay increased buildings insurance costs as rooms are let out, depending on the size, postcode and factors such as security measures.

Property compliance costs vary by location and property. An Electrical Installation Condition Report typically costs £100-£300 and is valid for five years, while an annual Gas Safety Certificate usually costs £80-£180. All work must be carried out by qualified professionals.

The property will need an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), typically costing £80-£150 and valid for ten years. The minimum rating for private rentals in England and Wales is band E, with band C required by October 2030. Scotland has no legal minimum EPC rating for domestic rentals, although minimum energy efficiency requirements apply. Licensing requirements and costs for HMOs vary between local authorities.

You will also need fire alarms, smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms and locks on internal doors.

Students are not liable for council tax. However, if the property is bought as a second home in your name, the local authority may levy an extra charge.

Know the new tenancy rules

If your student has tenants, you will need a tenancy agreement. With professional support from a specialist landlord and tenant solicitor, this typically costs about £100-£300, depending on property and location, according to ARLA Propertymark.

Be aware of the May 2026 Renters' Rights Act, which replaces fixed-term tenancies with rolling periodic agreements, called an assured periodic tenancy (APT), meaning students can leave with two months' notice. This is important if your student has tenants.

With student-only HMOs, landlords rely on what's known as Ground 4A to regain possession of shared student properties for the next academic year, requiring a standard four-month notice period and written pre-tenancy warning, explains Kim Lidbury, president of ARLA Propertymark. This matters if you continue to own an HMO after your own student graduates.

What £2.5 million buys you in ...

London W11

The Submariner's House is a two-bedroom mews house on a Notting Hill cobbled street so picturesque it was used for the famous scene where Mark reveals his love for Juliet using cue cards in Love Actually. Purpose-built shelving zones off the living area from the home study, then a red concrete staircase leads up to a Scandi-style bedroom with a large skylight above the bed for stargazing. There is a guest bedroom and a roof terrace.

EPC D (potential B) — on a scale from A (best) to G (worst)

Upside Stylish sought-after mews.

Downside A magnet for influencers and film fans.

Contact winkworth.co.uk

Buckinghamshire

As seen on Grand Designs, this slick Thames-side home is on Lock Island, a private island downstream from the chchi town of Marlow. Designed by Baca Architects ten years ago, the four-bedroom property sits on the riverbank on fixed foundations; in case of a flood it rises up in its own wet dock and floats. Inside, an open-plan lounge/kitchen/diner opens onto a terrace, cinema/games room and utility room. The first floor is arranged as a principal suite with a dressing room, en suite and hammam.

EPC C (current and potential)

Upside A future-proof amphibious house (plus a private mooring).

Downside No vehicular access.

Contact hamptons.co.uk

Bath

In Lyncombe Hill, overlooking the city, the Priory is a grade II listed five-bedroom Victorian house in charming Tudor-gothic style. It has a grand entrance hall, a conservatory and a self-contained apartment. Period features include cornicing, original fireplaces and a sweeping Georgian staircase.

Outside there is a balcony and a rear terrace in landscaped gardens.

Bath Spa railway station is a five-minute walk over the Avon.

EPC E (potential C)

Upside The landscaped gardens have won a gold award at Bath in Bloom.

Downside Listed properties can be more difficult to renovate.

Contact knightfrank.co.uk

Or... a private island on Loch Lomond

Inchconnachan is a 100-acre private island set within Loch Lomond. It's richly wooded with Scots pine, oak and birch trees. Despite this, it's a half-hour drive to Glasgow airport. There is planning permission for a three-bedroom lodge with a boathouse and jetty, alongside paths, boardwalks, drainage and plant facilities. Buyers will need to manage the build themselves for £2.5 million, or can pay £95 million and leave it to someone else.

EPC N/A

Upside A well-connected hideaway.

Downside However you do it, you'll need deep pockets to complete the build.

Contact sothebysrealty.co.uk

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Bricks&Mortar

I moved to Greece for low taxes and found a better work-life balance

The millionaire trader Lewis Crompton swapped London for Athens to escape burnout

When people ask what it's like living in Glyfada, southern Athens, I tell them that the best version of myself isn't when I'm in the UK, it's when I'm here in Greece [says Lewis Crompton, 36].

About three months ago I made the move from a traditional country house in Norfolk to a modern apartment in Athens. I grew up in north London and, having lived in the UK my whole life, I needed a change. Though I was a bit apprehensive it has proved worth it in terms of my investments, my company and my lifestyle.

You may recognise me from the Channel 5 show Rich House, Poor House, a programme dedicated to exploring Britain's wealth divide. I did not come from wealth and started working at a very young age. Both of my parents were teachers and I saw how hard they worked, particularly my dad, who

worked weekends on top of his regular workload just to make ends meet and afford a holiday.

Witnessing that struggle instilled in me the work ethic I have today. I just never knew where to start but I knew I wanted to have money. My journey has been a rocky one, taking me from the church to sales before I founded my own company, Star Trading, which I now run from Greece.

Learning to master the skills of trading helped immensely. After seven months I was able to leave my job and begin trading. I discovered trading by mistake. I signed up and attended a financial market trading seminar and I was sold. It has completely changed my life.

The transition took about six years, but it was totally worth it. I now live on the coast in Glyfada. The sun shines for more than 250 days a year. I get to see the sunset over the water every single night. Everyone here is more relaxed and I am adopting that much more.

The biggest difference is what it has

Moving stories

Lewis Crompton

done to me physically. Being from London, I was on edge all the time. My nervous system was never recovering and I had given myself chronic fatigue symptoms a couple of years ago. I was always riding that edge of burnout. Greece has allowed me to pause and relax.

There are real benefits here in terms of my businesses' tax efficiency. I still pay my taxes in the UK: VAT, corporation tax, all of that. But my personal income is counted as passive income, meaning it is taxed at a lower rate.

Greece also has a progressive tax system with lowered taxes for new residents. I am very happy paying tax but I now get to pay lower tax and live in the sunshine. You do need to understand the rules of the tax system if you're going to make big life decisions like this.

Nothing is permanent. You could always move back if it doesn't work out. I have friends in Dubai who, if they return

I am very happy paying tax but I now get to pay less and live in the sunshine

to the UK within five years, would face a bill for all the tax accumulated during their years away. That would be a very hefty sum. Coming to Greece, knowing I can return without that happening, has given me peace of mind.

When I first planted the idea with friends and family, the reaction was very negative. I was asked, "Why would you leave?" many times. With time they have come to understand and some are now planning to leave the UK themselves. There has been a complete change in perception about leaving. It is more on the radar than it has ever been.

Sunday is the perfect day in Glyfada. I love a Sunday afternoon party. Glyfada isn't perfect, but life here compared with the UK feels like a detox, and that feels like more than enough.

Interview by Hodan Sultan

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Interiors

You've got to put ear plugs in," warns David Carpenter, Aga's manufacturing director. "So that you can't hear me." He is only half joking — the noise inside Aga's Telford factory is relentless, as machines whir, metals clang and the high-powered ventilation forces out hot, clammy air. We're entering the enamel shop, the start of the 20-hour process taken to hand-build each Aga.

Here big tubs of coloured enamel are mixed in specialised chambers designed to keep out the dust. It looks just like paint, but, as Carpenter tells me, it's not that simple. "Enamel is basically silica or glass," he explains, dropping a pile of little glass pieces in my hand. "We spray that on with a gun. You think, well, how do you spray that on? For 24 hours [it's ground] into a very fine paste."

It's mixed with Cornish clay, pigment, oxides and ceramic balls to create a slip, a liquid mix of clay and water. This is then sprayed over the raw cast-iron plates, sourced from foundries in Spain, France, Hungary and Dudley in the West Midlands. "It's a very manual process — it requires a lot of skill to put the right amount on," he says.

Carpenter has been working at the factory in Telford, Shropshire, for 31 years, after starting as a design and development manager in the 1990s. Since then he has helped to pioneer the shift from fuel-powered to electric ovens. "An old Aga, you couldn't turn it on and off. It was on 24 hours a day. You'd have to open the windows, the doors, everything."

The Aga cooker was invented in 1922 in Sweden by Dr Gustaf Dalen, who had won a Nobel prize in physics. Having been blinded after a chemical explosion, he spent more time at home and realised how exhausting it was for his wife constantly having to stoke, clean and monitor their solid-fuel stove.

Dalen developed a cast-iron stove that would run continuously and radiate heat evenly, requiring little maintenance. (The letters in Aga stand for Aktiebolaget Gas Accumulator, basically translating as Gas Accumulator Ltd.) In 1929 the Aga was introduced in the UK, where it quickly became the hallmark of upper-middle class English country life.

Traditionally a chunky piece of cast iron in the centre of the oven would be stoked with solid fuel (later oil and gas) to distribute heat to the ovens and hot plates. The Aga would have to be left on, stoked several times a day (depending on

AGA PHOTO: GUGETTY IMAGES

Above left: Aga Compact 100 in white, from £9,500. Above: Aga Signature in raspberry with an extension module, from £16,500 and the module from £2,500

A real Aga saga: the making of a classic

Made in Telford, dreamt about by Middle England, the Aga has been hand-built in the UK for nearly a century — although they aren't fired by solid fuel anymore. By Sasha Nugara

how much you were cooking), and mishaps were frequent — if your Aga went out it would take 24 hours to reheat.

About 15 years ago the company developed an electrical element so each oven and hot plate had its own power source, controlled by a computer. The change was fuelled by environmental concerns and rising energy bills. It took 18 months to develop the technology.

Carpenter shows me the electrical element that makes it tick. "We put a hole in the top of the oven. We put an element in the top, but instead of just doing a normal electric element it's cast iron. It's a bit like heating up a brick, it holds the temperature for a long time. We then had to develop a computer to switch it on and off." Instead of needing to leave the Aga on all day, the hot plates take ten minutes to heat up, and the oven about 40 minutes.

A 1950s Aga advert, left; the enamelling process, right

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Bricks&Mortar

Britain's oldest printed wallpaper to go on display

Hidden fragments of the Tudor paper were discovered by workmen at a Cambridge college. By Donna Ferguson

The oldest known example of printed wallpaper lay hidden under the plaster ceiling of a Cambridge college building for centuries. Dating from the early 16th century, the black-and-white patterned paper is thought to have been influenced by Islamic designs and epitomises the moment when wallpaper emerged as an alternative to tapestry.

Priceless fragments of the paper, which will be on display for the first time next month, were discovered by workmen who were replastering the ceiling of the master's lodge of Christ's College, Cambridge, in 1911. The intricate design had been printed using carved wooden blocks on the back of a proclamation announcing the accession of King Henry VIII to the throne.

This allowed experts to date the wallpaper to around 1509, making it the earliest known example of printed wallpaper, and of paper being used for decorative purposes on a wall. The delicate fragments have never been seen in public before. Along with other college 'treasures' — such as the mummified remains of four 16th-century rats — they will be exhibited to the public for the first time in the college library during the Open Cambridge festival, which takes place from September 11-20.

The wallpaper shows how quickly print emerged as a medium for both communication and decoration in England, after William Caxton set up his printing press in Westminster in 1476. The design displays the mark of Hugo Goes, who established the first printing press in York and was known to have printed royal proclamations.

It is likely that the company printed the design on the back of a proclamation to reduce costs: paper was an expensive luxury in the 16th century and needed to be imported to England.

Dr Harriet Lyon, a lecturer in history at Christ's, says wallpapering the ceiling may have been a way of saving money and time on decoration at the end of a lengthy project to build the lodge, which is one of the oldest buildings in the college. 'Painting a ceiling by hand takes a very skilled person a long time,' she says.

The property needed an opulent decor because it was intended to accommodate Lady Margaret Beaufort, Henry VIII's grandmother, who had founded the college in 1505.

The striking design features a fashionable pomegranate motif, similar to those seen in Islamic textiles between the 14th and early 16th centuries. 'It shows how — at a time we sometimes think there's not that much contact between cultures — there is, in fact, a trade in textiles and a shared visual language used in things like wallpaper,' Lyon says. 'These were the designs coming in from the Islamic world.'

Having a cosmopolitan familiarity with such exotic designs was a marker

The fragments were found on the back of a proclamation. Below: a reconstruction by Horace Warner of Jeffrey & Co

of wealth and status. 'These kinds of foreign influences, I think, would have been seen as pretty cool — the sort of thing that only elite households and institutions would really have been reproducing,' Lyon says.

It is thanks to the diligence of the workmen who uncovered the fragments on the ceiling beams and joists in 1911 that the wallpaper was preserved, according to a firsthand account from the then master of Christ's, Arthur Shipley.

After being alerted by the foreman to the discovery he went to inspect the ceiling with an expert from the university library that evening and discovered the wallpaper had been cleared away. Shipley wrote: 'This seemed to be a terrible disaster. We thought that the workmen had simply brushed the fragments off; but I had underestimated the ability of the British workman... On coming down to the lodge next morning I found that every fragment of paper had been most carefully removed and preserved.'

By 1712 wallpaper had become so popular among the upper classes that the British government decided to impose a tax on manufacturers of patterned, printed or painted wallpaper, pushing up prices for consumers. 'The tax comes in and, like all these measures,

is wildly unpopular,' Lyon says. People began buying plain paper and, after hanging it, would either stencil or paint it by hand. 'It led to a sort of illicit home industry.'

The wallpaper tax was eventually abolished in 1836, which coincided with advances in mechanical paper production and colour printing, leading to a wallpaper boom in Britain.

'I think it's quite special to be able to display an example of wallpaper so early and rare and unusual in its day, given that we're now so used to seeing wallpaper everywhere we go,' Lyon says.

There is also much greater interest in Tudor material culture than there used to be. 'We've been thinking about the treasures from our collection we've keen to show the public,' she says. 'I think material culture, like wallpaper fragments, is something that the public can really connect to and imagine.'

Above: Aga Classic 100 with three cast-iron ovens and twin hot plates in mustard, from £13,500. Below: Aga Mini in olivine, from £7500

The cast-iron framework has barely changed. A factory worker explains: 'It's all based on the same chemistry and the same kind of ethos that it's always been — striking glass to cast iron. It's [not changed] a lot. Obviously the machines in here, the way people spray things — we've altered things over time. It's a lot cleaner in here now than it used to be.'

After the pieces of cast iron have been sprayed they're sent into furnaces to be fired at more than 800C. When they emerge from the oven the enamel ripples across the cast iron as if the liquid will drip off, prevented from doing so by the clay element in the slip.

It takes at least an hour for them to cool down before quality checking, even the tiniest mark or air bubble will be rejected, and the enamel will be shot-blasted off and reapplied.

Of the 18 colours available, the raspberry shade causes the most issues. 'It has a very high oxide content,' the worker explains. 'When you have a higher oxide content you get what's called a white dot and the oxide doesn't quite dissolve and it causes a white spot in the raspberry. 'We have it slightly with the aubergine as well, which is another with very high oxide content.'

After all the pieces have been fired and approved they go onto the assembly line where the colours are checked, and the door catches and plugs are fitted by hand by the factory's 60-70 workers, who frequently rotate jobs along the production line.

We still associate an Aga with classic country living, but you can no longer buy an always-on, fuel-powered Aga, although Carpenter estimates that there are 100,000 still in use around the UK. The owners of these can trade them in and receive up to 10 per cent off their next oven.

'I think the Aga conveys a sense of place and feel,' says Dominic Worsley, the managing director of Aga Rangemaster. 'It's a cooker, but it also conveys a lifestyle and [there's] definitely a section of people who want them because they want that country cottage look.'

'It's such an incredible product and I think it's fallen off people's radars a little bit. People think they're beautiful products but probably quite difficult to own and use, and I think that's the biggest misconception. We want to show people the simplicity and the delight of owning an Aga today and how easy it is to use.'

You don't need a sprawling home with an impressively large kitchen to fit an Aga. The Mini Cast Iron 60 model (£7500) is 60cm wide, and the three-door Aga Compact (£9,500) is 90cm wide.

Worsley grew up on the outskirts of Birmingham with an Aga. 'My mum loved cooking on it, and I remember loads of really amazing family meals.'

He learnt how to cook on one, remembering dodgy, overwatted mashed potatoes made for his sister during the

school holidays, and now with his new Aga in his Oxfordshire home he has refined his skills.

'The first thing I cooked in mine was a shoulder of lamb overnight. It won't overcook — you can put it in at ten o'clock the night before and eat it for lunch the next day, and it'll just get

The Aga was invented in 1922 by Swede Dr Gustaf Dalen, who had won a Nobel prize in physics

better and better. It just tastes phenomenal.'

He says cooking in cast-iron ovens is a gentle process. 'It's incredibly forgiving actually. If you leave something in a little bit too long it won't suddenly burn because you're not [forcing hot air over food], which tends to dehydrate it. With an Aga you're keeping all the steam in, and because it's radiant heat it's preserving more nutrients, it keeps more of the flavour, which is why people talk about an Aga taste when they're cooking.'

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8

Bricks&Mortar

Buying and selling

RED CRAWFORD FOR AUGUST

▲ Pine House in Peckham features a double-height kitchen and living space

▶ Ty Hedfan ("the hovering house"), built by the architects Sarah Featherstone and Jeremy Young

A HAPPY LUNCH ON THE RIVER

Design darlings

When an architect's home hits the market — would you buy it? Elizabeth Winding looks at some of the most unusual houses for sale now

As a USP, it takes some beating: a house that an architect has not only designed but designed as their own home, free of the usual client caveats and creative

differences. "When you design a house for your own needs, you can be quite radical in your decision-making," says Corey Hemingway, cofounder of Hemingway+K estate agents. "It's like walking into an architect's mind — and that's often a fascinating place."

There are some extraordinary examples, from Sir John Soane's eccentric London townhouse, complete with a crypt and mock monk's tomb, to Philip Johnson's weekend retreat in Connecticut, a minimalist glass box in the woods that did away with walls (and privacy).

Most examples on the market are a little less extreme, but they're still an

intriguing prospect for buyers and agents alike. Louise Willocks is managing director at The Modern House, which specialises in design-led sales and modernist architecture. "An excitement ripples through the office when we're asked to sell an architect-owned home," she says. "They may have appeared in the press, but only a handful of people

Blue House in Hackney, east London, stands out for its pale-blue painted façade and fibre-cement "clapboard" finish. The east London property was designed by the architect Sean Griffiths

RED CRAWFORD FOR AUGUST

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9

Bricks&Mortar

DAN CLAUDER FOR MEMORANDUM

▲ The Drift in Suffolk is the home of the architect Marcus Lee and the curator Corinna Dean

▼ Percy Weston's family home, Peckham House

will have experienced them in real life. They're often unique and experimental."

The Modern House has handled the sales of numerous high-profile examples, including Berthold Lubetkin's visionary, grade I listed north London penthouse, where he lived with his family and dalmatian (who made an elegant addition to the marketing, dozing on the living room's white rug). Notable for its expansive views and 40ft vaulted living room, the two-bedroom flat sold for £2 million back in 2017.

More contemporary examples on their books include Ty Hedfan ("the hovering house"), built by the architects Sarah Featherstone and Jeremy Young on the site of an old sawmill near Brecon. Listed at £895,000, it's a five-bedroom affair, designed on ecological Passivhaus principles, with a double-height, cantilevered living space over the River Ysgir. It's a house where every window, large and small, seems to frame the surrounding landscape. "Being over the river was always important to us," Featherstone says. "But we weren't so aware that we'd also be in among the trees. When the sun's out, dappled shadows just dance across the room."

Crafted details, unsurprisingly, are a hallmark of architects' own homes — and one that applies regardless of the

scale, according to Hemingway. Her agency is marketing the architect Nicholas Ashby's flat, a one-bedroom, 515 sq ft Victorian conversion in Brixton. At £400,000, it's by far the cheapest property on their books, but Hemingway doesn't care. "It's as exquisite as any multimillion home that I've represented in terms of its finish," she says, pointing to the detailing: the eucalyptus-faced joinery, the oak-finger parquet and the tiny aluminium flowers that punctuate the panelling (one of Ashby's signature motifs). "You won't find those things in a new development — they're there because the architect built it for himself."

It's a similar story at Percy Weston's family home, Peckham House. On the market with Aucoot, it comes with a guide price of £1.25 million, a brace of architectural awards and — beyond its latticed brick facade — all kinds of crafted details, most handmade by Weston and his practice's cofounder, Tom Surman. Perhaps most striking is the end-grain parquet floor, made from ceiling-joint offcuts of English larch. (The Barbican has something similar, made from Douglas fir.) It involved cutting thousands of blocks, followed by countless hours of sanding; the saw had shifted slightly, it turned out, so they weren't all perfectly square. The result is striking, even if — as Weston admits — it took weeks instead of days.

For Dan O'Brien, the director of Aucoot, that goes with the territory. "With an architect's own home, they tend to use it as a chamber for new ideas, so you start to see them testing materials and concepts." Different as every project is, he says, there are certain similarities, including the way space is deployed. "That's your telltale sign: never, ever is there wasted space, and every nook and cranny has storage."

He cites Pine House in Peckham, the architect Charles Wu's bold reworking of a Victorian terrace. Under offer at £1.65 million, it's notable for its double-height kitchen and living space but also its clever storage: the larder wrapped around the staircase, repurposing an awkward nook, and the back-to-back wardrobes that double up as walls between two bedrooms.

If architects' own homes are almost always unique, some are more unusual than others. Take the Drift in rural Suffolk, listed with Hemingway+K. The home of the architect Marcus Lee and the curator Corinna Dean, it occupies the shells of four once derelict farm buildings, including a medieval barn. Priced at £1.2 million, it offers a resolutely chintz-free take on country living — one with a guest suite in a grain silo, wild swimming in the horse pond and an alfresco dining space beneath the stripped-back bones of a Dutch barn.

How saleable these homes are is, of course, the big question. A select few, every estate agent agrees, are in a category of their own: those built or converted by hugely famous names. Often grade I or grade II listed, they're priced as collector's items, rather like works of art. Lubetkin's penthouse falls into that band, along with Housden House, an uncompromising glass-and-concrete masterpiece on the edge of Hampstead Heath, which sold for almost £3 million in 2018.

The majority may not be in that rarefied sphere, but they do still occupy a distinct place in the market. For design-lovers, at least, it's a powerful selling point: a house with a personal connection to an architect that's likely to be one of a kind. It's a niche where storytelling matters almost as much as floor space, and buyers often respond to houses on a more emotive level, drawn by the play of light, perhaps, or the lines

of a cantilevered staircase. ("In the best of these houses," Hemingway observes, "very few things are standard.")

Then, of course, there are more radical designs, like the Drift or Blue House in Hackney, east London, on sale for £2.75 million. The particulars describe the latter as "a singular home", and it's hard to disagree: it's a 2D cartoon cut-out come to life, designed by the architect Sean Griffiths, with a pale blue painted facade and fibre-cement "clapboard" finish. (Beyond that, it should be noted, are four light-filled floors of live/work space, spanning 2,295 sq ft.)

Will it sell? Aucoot's O'Brien certainly thinks so. "Unique homes will always

split opinion, but that's a good thing," he says. "A Blue House is niche — it won't be for everyone. But for the person that gets it? They're going to absolutely love it. Sometimes it just takes a bit more time to get in front of the right person."

And — listings permitting, of course — the buyer can always make changes, once the deeds have changed hands. How does that feel for the architect? It's something Weston has pondered, now that Peckham House is on the market. "As a practice, we like the idea that things can change, and a building can evolve and be adapted." He pauses for a moment. "Truthfully, I've never really had to confront that. I guess if we sell it, we'll find out."

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10

Bricks&Mortar

Owning and renting

'I'm grateful for my crippling mortgage'

When Lisa Francesca Nand was left with monthly repayments of nearly £2,800 after her divorce she had to up her income — it was the making of her

When my marriage ended in 2020, during the pandemic, there was nowhere for either of us to go, so we spent the

first stretch of our separation living under the same roof through lockdown before finding separate places to rent. It wasn't until May 2023 that I bought a place of my own — a three-bedroom 1930s semi near Poets' Corner in Hove [says Lisa Francesca Nand, SI, a travel writer and broadcaster].

I'd lived in Brighton when I was younger before moving to London, and I always wanted to come back. I pinpointed five streets in Hove that would give us everything we needed — three bedrooms, a garden and a neighbourhood with a bit of soul. We're a short walk from the beach, from independent coffee shops, restaurants and boutiques, and Hove Park is right by my boys' school. The moment the house appeared on Rightmove I knew I had to have it. I got very excited and I told the estate agent exactly that, which is precisely what you're not supposed to do. But I knew it would be perfect for us and thankfully my offer was accepted.

The property cost just under £600,000. I put down £200,000 and took a two-year fix at 4.5 per cent, which left me with a mortgage of almost £2,800 a month — on a single income, with two boys to support. My elder son, who's 14, can't always attend school because of ill health, so home is a sanctuary for him.

I vowed that I would make those payments somehow.

I took it on really hoping I wouldn't be paying that much for long. I bought in the wake of the Liz Truss mini-budget, when everyone assumed interest rates would soon drift back down. They didn't. When my fix came to an end the rate had barely moved — my payments dropped by about £100, and that was it.

Even with a career I've loved, people kept insisting I could earn more doing something else. But I've spent 20 years as a travel journalist, and what I value most is time, freedom and being able to work from anywhere. I wanted to be there for my sons.

I'm very proud of my career. I was the first female presenter on talkSPORT, and since going freelance I've worked across Sky, the BBC and ITV. I created and present The Big Travel Podcast,

Lisa Francesca Nand and her two children are settled in Hove, East Sussex

which was partly inspired by Desert Island Discs and has listeners all over the world. I've interviewed everyone from John Simpson to Kirsty Wark about their lives through travel. There were nights I'd finish a radio slot, do the school run, take a business call and still be working at midnight — but it was work on my terms. Giving all that up for a steadier salary felt like the wrong trade.

I tried to build another income through property. I had a flat from before I was married that I remortgaged and let out, and a second buy-to-let. But between disorganisation and what I now suspect is ADHD I missed a payment and had to take out a bridging loan to stay afloat. The fees spiralled, I lost about £40,000 and in the end I had to sell the second flat. I failed at property investing, and I don't mind saying so. Maybe I will try it again, but who knows.

I did look at downsizing, but we need a minimum of three bedrooms and the boys really didn't want to move. So instead I took in lodgers on and off and started looking for other work alongside journalism. I joined a travel business initially to earn commission on my own travel bookings. I now earn an active income from travel bookings and a more passive income from referral fees —

At times I'd finish a radio slot, do the school run, take a call and still be working at midnight

about £30,000 a year. One of my agents has just booked a luxury Japanese tour costing £22,000 and I will earn £2,000 from that. My broadcast earnings have dipped to around £18,000 a year. In total, including broadcasting, rental income, a lodger, travel business and child maintenance, my income is about £70,000 a year. Having multiple income streams has allowed me to keep my home.

Travel is everything to me. Fiji has a special place in my heart because that's where my dad is from. I grew up in Spain before we moved to Brighton when I was 16, so I have a soft spot for there too. But I'm very aware that home is full of adventure as well.

I've no plans to move for now. If anything, I'll extend the kitchen and perhaps convert the loft. The mortgage that once terrified me turned out to be the push I needed to become more entrepreneurial and find different ways of working. I'm oddly grateful for it. Interview by Annie Hayes

Rental Health

Sasha Nugara, Property Reporter

I keep getting rejected by landlords. How do I stand out?

From dodgy landlords to housemate dramas, our columnist answers your questions

I'm searching for a two-bedroom flat in Clapham, and with my move-out date looming I have one month left to find a place. I've always managed to secure a great flat by offering to pay above asking price. Now I can't do that, and I'm finding myself being rejected from everywhere.

How can I make my application stand out to landlords without offering cash above the asking rent?

The ban on bidding wars was my favourite clause included in the Renters' Rights Act this year. It had become such a common practice to go straight in with an over-asking offer that I would lower my budget when looking for a flat to accommodate the inevitable extra costs.

I remember calls from letting agents actively encouraging me to raise my offer for a good chance of securing a flat, and them losing interest in me if I

refused. When I did offer £50 or even £100 more a month, that didn't appear to work. I always wondered how much more my competitors had offered for these flats — and what they did for a living.

So hallelujah for that, but I understand your pain. The relentless rejection from rental properties can become too much to bear, and if you can afford it I don't blame you for having splashed the cash.

I asked Katinka Hill, the head of lettings at Chestertons, for her advice on standing out and securing the perfect place. "The single biggest factor is being ready to act quickly," she says. "Although there may appear to be plenty of rental properties available, the best-value homes are still being snapped up very fast. If you see a property you like, arrange a viewing as soon as possible."

She explains that waiting a few days to decide or shopping around can mean missing out altogether.

"Preparation is equally important," she adds. "Before you even begin your search, make sure you have all the necessary documentation ready to go. This includes photo ID, proof of income, employment and landlord references, and right to rent documents where applicable. Having everything organised means there are no unnecessary delays once you've found the right property. It's also important to respond promptly after a viewing. If you know a property is the right fit, let the agent know immediately. Landlords and agents often receive interest from multiple applicants, so a swift, clear response can make a real difference.

"Being transparent about your circumstances also helps. Be clear about your preferred move-in date and whether you have any flexibility. If you can accommodate a landlord's preferred timeline, that may strengthen your application

without any financial incentive. "In today's market, flexibility on your move-in date can be a decisive advantage. Landlords often favour applicants who can align with their preferred timeline, so even a short period of overlapping rent may be worthwhile if it helps you to secure the property that best meets your needs."

Hill recommends coming across as reliable — that is most landlords' priority when looking for a tenant.

"Demonstrating financial stability, a secure income and a strong rental history can be just as valuable. Present yourself professionally, communicate clearly and respond to requests promptly throughout the application process.

"Ultimately it's worth remembering that every landlord has different priorities. While rent is naturally important, many are equally focused on finding tenants who will look after the property, pay on time and commit to a

stable tenancy. Understanding those priorities, and showing that you're the right person to meet them, is now one of the best ways to secure the home you want."

Building relationships with your local letting agents and staying in regular contact with them can help. "Don't be afraid to ask questions about market conditions, demand levels and pricing in your chosen area. Agents have first-hand insight into local market activity, so their guidance can be invaluable. Some properties may offer room for negotiation, while others will be priced competitively from the outset, making a full asking-price offer the best way to secure the property.

"Finally, in the London market there will always be a compromise needed. If two out of three boxes are ticked with a rental property, that is good."

Got a query? Email sasha.nugara@the-times.co.uk

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hyena. Amongst Rajasthan's hidden gems is captivating Bundi and its immense fortress. Driving on to Udaipur, you will visit the equally impressive Chittor Fort, one of India's largest, whilst later in the afternoon you will cruise on Lake Pichola to admire the city's palaces. Further tour highlights include the sight of fifty-two ghats built on the water's edge of one of India's most sacred lakes, used for bathing by Hindu pilgrims. Spend two nights in Jaipur, the "Pink City" with time to visit the Maharajah's City Palace and Jantar Mantar Observatory before travelling out to admire the majestic Amber Fort, constructed from pink and yellow sandstone.

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This tour is a vibrant blend of the rich culture, natural beauty, and unforgettable experiences of Kerala, India and Sri Lanka.

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Fly to Sri Lanka, delving straight into the wilds of Minneriya National Park. Discover the ancient, UNESCO-listed sites of Sigiriya and Polonnaruwa before travelling to Kandy, Sri Lanka's cultural hub. Head up

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into the highlands to Nuwara Eliya and take a scenic train ride to Demodara. Spend time in Ella, visiting a tea factory before returning to Colombo, where the tour ends.

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From Kolkata, head high into the Himalayas for mountain views and colonial charm, before exploring the state of Assam from the serene waters of the Brahmaputra River, discovering the nature, culture and unique heritage on its banks.

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Passing through the Kaziranga National Park, you'll pause for a safari to spot tigers and rhinoceros, visit a tea estate growing the famous Assam tea and explore the rich culture and heritage on the river's banks.

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